I've been playing Champions some (no, this is not why I haven't been on CoX much at all; work has just sucked, and I haven't had much free time.)
Some things that interest me:
Some powers you can 'charge up' (holding the button down before releasing it) which makes the power do more damage or affect more targets, &c.
Other powers you can 'maintain' for a continuous blast & the damage per tick goes up as you pour more energy into it. You can just 'tap'
both kinds of powers for a basic blast, too, but being able to pour on extra power for an alpha strike or a punishing attack feels very comic-booky in a good
way.
The default 'block' mechanic was weak but after replacing it with the electric shield, I belatedly realized that it's not just for blocking those
big ZOWIE attacks. In trouble, I can turtle up behind the shield, which converts a good chunk of incoming damage to energy. Which I can then dump--all at
once--into a PBAoE. This will drop an equal level henchman from full health--if the knockback chance doesn't send them flying out of range.
To add insult to impending injury, teleportation in Champions is a kind of flight+invisibility+phase shift thing. You 'wobble' in flight, so you
can't always land right in the middle of a bunch of mobs, say, but it wobbles around your direction of travel, so you don't have to worry too much
about course corrections when crossing the zone, and it comes with bit of a grace period as you phase in; gravity takes hold kind of...slowly. And it makes
such a crazy good escape button that I'm afraid it will be nerfed.
The way the power 'frameworks' are set up seems confusing but I do like the fact that you can add entirely new effects to some powers.
The character creator can do things I wish CoX could do, like asymmetrical costumes, custom eye colors, more layers, and four colors on (some) costume parts.
And the 'stance' thing that changes your char's basic body language and movements is way cool. But the reliance (and sheer number) of sliders for
face and body design seem to throw me continually into the uncanny valley. It's very easy to make interesting freaks. Or armor. But it's easier for me
to make human(ish) characters that look cool to me (subjective, I know) on City of Heroes.
Favorite thing about Champions, though? Not having to compete for names. About @#$%! time someone figured that out.
Some things that interest me:
Some powers you can 'charge up' (holding the button down before releasing it) which makes the power do more damage or affect more targets, &c.
Other powers you can 'maintain' for a continuous blast & the damage per tick goes up as you pour more energy into it. You can just 'tap'
both kinds of powers for a basic blast, too, but being able to pour on extra power for an alpha strike or a punishing attack feels very comic-booky in a good
way.
The default 'block' mechanic was weak but after replacing it with the electric shield, I belatedly realized that it's not just for blocking those
big ZOWIE attacks. In trouble, I can turtle up behind the shield, which converts a good chunk of incoming damage to energy. Which I can then dump--all at
once--into a PBAoE. This will drop an equal level henchman from full health--if the knockback chance doesn't send them flying out of range.
To add insult to impending injury, teleportation in Champions is a kind of flight+invisibility+phase shift thing. You 'wobble' in flight, so you
can't always land right in the middle of a bunch of mobs, say, but it wobbles around your direction of travel, so you don't have to worry too much
about course corrections when crossing the zone, and it comes with bit of a grace period as you phase in; gravity takes hold kind of...slowly. And it makes
such a crazy good escape button that I'm afraid it will be nerfed.
The way the power 'frameworks' are set up seems confusing but I do like the fact that you can add entirely new effects to some powers.
The character creator can do things I wish CoX could do, like asymmetrical costumes, custom eye colors, more layers, and four colors on (some) costume parts.
And the 'stance' thing that changes your char's basic body language and movements is way cool. But the reliance (and sheer number) of sliders for
face and body design seem to throw me continually into the uncanny valley. It's very easy to make interesting freaks. Or armor. But it's easier for me
to make human(ish) characters that look cool to me (subjective, I know) on City of Heroes.
Favorite thing about Champions, though? Not having to compete for names. About @#$%! time someone figured that out.