Teams are central to the CoX game. Of course, this is a well established fact in CoH with pretty much everyone knowing what role each member will be playing based on their AT and power sets. But what about CoV?
I’ve heard several people complain about the ability to get a decent team put together on CoV, and have not had the best experience myself in that area. So far, the best experience I’ve had with pick up groups (PUGs) in CoV was when it first started, otherwise it’s team up with my Villain Group (VG).
Part of it maybe because the AT’s are still new, and people are still trying to figure out what role they play on a team. So, when you get people that can easily figure this out, well, chances are they have no trouble getting a team, are probably in a VG, and also probably fly through the levels fairly fast. That means, if you tend to take things a bit more slowly, you’re going to be stuck with the people still fumbling around trying to figure out what role they should play.
It would help if people maybe would offer some constructive criticism. I know I made sure to ask my VG if I was handling my ‘bots okay with my Mastermind, since people complain about Mastermind pets so much. Is the person on your team not ‘playing well’ with the team? Why not shoot’m a tell and let them know that ‘hey, dude, can you keep your zombies out of the doorway so people can get by?’, or ‘Can you please not hit me with the flaming rocks of doom-to-graphics buff without asking, thanks?’, or how about ‘I realize you want to smash stuff, but could you at least give everyone else a chance to recover a teeny tiny bit before you aggro the next group?’ or maybe ‘You know, if you wait until the group starts attacking before you assassin strike, you might live longer, maybe?’ And so on. Generally, people just leave the group instead.
Leaving doesn’t help matters much. When I think about it, I doubt teams on CoH ran like melted butter when it first came out. I know from my own experience that it takes a while to figure out just how to fit in, and the advice that I got from others, not to mention the team chat with strategy, really helped with my teaming ability. If it’s just a matter of bad play meshing on the team, why not offer some advice, talk a bit, and see if it can be worked out before you run off and leave them hanging?
Maybe part of it is people trying to play their Villains like they are the Heroes? It’s sometimes easy to associate Villain AT’s with Hero AT’s. A Brute is like a Tank, right? And a Stalker like a Scrapper? Right, right? Wrong. I did this, too, at first. And it’s easy, because there is a superficial similarity between some of the AT’s, but they are far different creatures. So, you know, Tanking with your Brute is probably a bad idea, not that you can’t, but you aren’t going to do it that well. Play the Villains as they are, not as inferior Hero AT’s and chances are, things will probably be better – it worked for me!
Outside of these factors, what else could be the problem? Maybe it’s the combination of the two, or maybe the person really just is clueless, or a jerk – there’s certainly enough of those. I tend to add another factor in myself, and that’s another facet of the Villains themselves. They don’t function like the Heroes in another way – they are self centered. Their powers are self centered, as well. Not that they don’t have occasional buffs and things that might assist teammates, but for the most part, those things are for their own benefit. Every single Villain AT has a damage dealing power set as their main set. It makes sense, Villains are selfish, they want all the glory, the loot, the power for themselves, right? Of course, that it’s also what makes playing CoV different from playing CoH. It also means that the team dynamic for Villains is much, much different then in CoH.
I’d offer some constructive criticism, but I don’t have any. Even in my VG, with all the long familiar people from CoH, we’re still learning how to work together with each combination of AT’s, and we tend to run like a well oiled machine. I highly doubt my opinion is going to change anyone’s play-style, but if even one person who wonders why they have team troubles gets something out of this, that’d be nice. Besides, I’d love to get some truly kickin’ teams going on CoV rather than drowning in misery and wondering why I bothered to say yes to that team invite yet again..
Remember, have fun and play nice, at least with your teammates, and chances are the world will be a much more appealing place.. or at least you can beat up more stuff. @Mialiah.
