Get it while its hot!

[Gremlyn]

So after much soul searching, and the lack of better MMOs, a group of DtD members are now playing Champions Online.

I know what you're thinking, "Champions was that fail game that failed", and I would for the most part have to agree with you. Champions was terrible in beta and fell flat on its face on release. But it just goes to show you that you can't judge an MMO by the first few months of its life.

BUT, after a year of release time, I dared to try again. And, I was pleasantly surprised. Ok, I was more than surprised, I was freaking BLOWN AWAY Champions is light years ahead of what it was. With a extraordinary character creator, a skill system to rival any pen and paper game, and a fun and fast paced PvP setup, Champions makes almost all the other MMOs on the market look unimaginative.

If you are interested in playing Champions, its only $20 on steam and a 3 month sub is only another $30 bucks. We currently have a majority of the guild playing the game, and I'd have a hard time finding someone playing the game who doesn't fully enjoy it.

[Draidin]

But it just goes to show you that you can't judge an MMO by the first few months of its life.

^ Thats a lie since you judged Global Agenda like that :-P

[Zer0 Point]

Yeah, I bought the lifetime subsription, because I really loved champions, or at least I tried to, 6 months later, and a lot of the bugs they had when the game first came out, and also the fluidity of the missions improved. But, the most important thing is that: MELEE IS NOW ACTUALLY USEFUL!

[Gremlyn]

Melee does seem on the OP side now but its a huge improvement from where it was on release. That and when I played in Beta, the game was so buggy that it was laughable, while there are still some bugs its soooooooo much better than it was.

[MagicWalkerMB]

From the experience of someone who played at beta and release and then now, please tell us how things have changed. Some of us, myself especially, are not willing to throw money down for another fail-month of fail-game.

[Zer0 Point]

At beta,

obvious bugs and such, changing things drastically, CTDs were common with most betas. The testers helped change a lot of the gameplay before release, now like having your energy available now instead of building up to it as a lower level, but as a higher level you then get to see the gameplay mechanics, almost like a slow guidance into the aspect of the game.

At release however, they had broken powers, many did not work as intended.

-- There is obviously balance issues in any MMO... But, in the beginning and I would say for about 2 months or so, they changed the system dramatically. Think about it as if the game changed the rules on you as you began to learn the gameplay mechanics, and then not only change the rules but the mechanics themselves as well!

-- Melee, with the exception of Might, was nearly useless.. It did not do what really the ranged powers already did. As someone who played with the single and dual blades, it was underwhelming to see many heroes just out damage and practically out live you as well.

-- Passive Defensive powers were great, too Great in fact, that most choose regeneration, just because of it's at the time, healing ability. The Offensive/Supportive passive powers were not appetizing at all.

-- Then they didn't have a full re specialization system until AFTER the dramatic changes (it made some builds virtually unplayable).

-- The missions for the most part were playable, but there were many at the time that were broken, either at the beginning of the mission, or during the mission. Because of that, and at the time lack of middle game content.. It was a lot harder to level in the lower 20s, especially when you have no more missions to do (except for the crime computer AKA Generic missions). Another point was they had rez powers, but, you could also simply click recover and re spawn at the beginning and get back quickly.

-- No real motivation to team, and hard to find groups.

Now, 6+ months later they really changed much:

-- Powers that were underwhelming got fixed, the overpowered got rebalanced (not as always nerfed, but changed)

-- Melee is now very powerful and very needed now, not to mention they included more variable powers for melee. Including having Tier 4 powers now.

-- Missions that were bugged that I knew of are now fixed, and I have not encountered a broken mission.

-- Defensive powers rebalanced (although PFF still needs a lot of LOVE), and offensive powers are very appetizing. They offer various effects or bonuses, and the damage was upped.

-- They now have added much more content, higher levels and so far I have heard that they have fixed the gap missions for the lower 20s.

-- Easy system to find groups or a solo player that wishes to team.

The best plus is that:

PVP is actually fun instead of min/maxers taking Overpowered powers and turning into who clicks the fastest.

Not to say that they are gone, you'll always have min/maxers, but if you play a variety you now have a better chance to PVP now.

[Fiasco]

Melee does seem on the OP side now but its a huge improvement from where it was on release. That and when I played in Beta, the game was so buggy that it was laughable, while there are still some bugs its soooooooo much better than it was.

two shotting != OP