The Digital Continuum: Champions Online's first content lap
October is here and with it comes Champions Online's first month of heavy content updates. There's all sorts of improvements and additions hitting in the coming weeks to discuss, let alone what to expect for November and beyond. Plus, the Blood Moon update sounds like a whole lot of seasonal fun. I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish there was a repeatable mission where I got to kill moping vampires.
My two main heroes are both sitting around level 20, so I'm in that area where I really wish there were more missions to hit up. As it stands now, I'm having to hunt and peck at missions that are either a few levels below or a couple above mine. Will October rid us of this issue? I certainly hope so, especially since it's easy to get bored or frustrated doing quests that just aren't in your level range.
Mission spread would be slightly less of an issue if grouping were more common to the game, or at least long term grouping. It's easy enough to find a group in Champions Online, but keeping one is a whole other story. The mission tracking will definitely help with this, as will the addition of a healing and support power framework. Still, grouping in general needs to become incentivized more -- as do guilds, actually.
Another much needed update is the Power House 2.0, which frankly is a stroke of genius. Being able to test new powers out on real enemies is part of the genius, but what I hope really delivers are the power tips from trainers. So long as those tips make themselves obvious to players who need them and offer concise and comprehensive advice, they'll be a huge boon to the game.
You know, Cryptic should consider putting those tips directly into the character creator somehow.
With Blood Moon bringing a grandiose PvE event and a new PvP map type (with player zombies!) I certainly think I'll feel satisfied in the game content department. While the addition of Celestial is very nice, it's not really my cup of tea. I'm holding out for new martial arts powers, like a nunchaku and heavy two-handers. Plus there's obvious absentee powers like radiation and earth.
There's a lot to be happy with this month, so long as all of it pans out as expected. I'm hoping the following months see the game getting a new zone, mostly because it's something the game really needs on a few fronts. For one, it'll add some much needed variety to the game world -- especially in the 20-40 range. Obviously this is something Cryptic is working on given their recent community poll on the topic. I just can't wait for it personally, because it'll help aid my altoholism.
It's been said a lot, but Champions Online really does represent a wonderful opportunity to become a great long-term MMO. Right now it's sitting in that gray area between short and long term game, which is why these October updates are so very key. I can't say until it's all been patched in, but this could very well be the month that cements the game for a whole lot of people.
