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Casual and Hardcore gamers...can't we all just get along?
Fizzle
Player of GamesRegistered User regular
Player of GamesRegistered User regular
I've been tinkering with this idea for a long time, and I'm sort of curious about what the broader gaming public thinks. I know it's long...
The Problem
MMORPG's have come an incredibly long way since my days of mudding on Gemstone III, but for all the advances there remains a significant issue: how do you keep and properly incentivize casual gamers? MMORPG's have come an incredibly long way since my days of MUDing on Gemstone III, but for all the advances there remains a significant issue: how do you keep and properly incentivize BOTH hardcore and casual gamers?
Speaking as a person who has been alternately a hardcore gamer and a casual gamer throughout his life, I have dealt with the frustrations that face both. As a hardcore gamer, I've been frustrated when a game stagnants as a result of new/casual gamers avoiding the game due to the perception it is impossible to "catch up" to the older gamers. When I was weekend wayfaring, I was aggravated by my inability to achieve anything meaningful in games (beyond grinding) because my worth as a companion was precisely nil. I'd fume as my friends relayed fanciful stories of storming keeps in battlegrounds while I was stuck slaughtering rabid raccoons in the Forest of Noobdungeon
So, how do we incentivize casual gamers to join in and play a meaningful role in all elements of the game without frustrating hardcore gamers who may feel their extensive devotion is being undermined by the handouts?
Why Hardcore Gamers Should Care
Hardcore gamers often overlook the critical role casual gamers play in their gaming world. Weekend wayfarers provide a large base for the game economies and provide depth and entertainment to social interactions. While weekend wayfarers occasionally frustrate daily devotees, the empty expanses in their absence, particularly when a hardcore gamer elects to create a new character, would make games that rely on cooperation exceedingly more difficult. Even more importantly, their monthly fees are an engine of growth for games by providing an expanded revenue base, which ensures continued attention and support from the administering company. Companies are often leery of dropping hard earned cash into losing propositions.
Get to the Mechanic Already
Ok ok ok, I can't help but justify myself. This burning need stems from deeply held insecurities. I'm seeing a nightelf healer in World of Warcraft about it.
The answer? Leadership systems. Yes, I know most games incorporate rudimentary ranking and reward systems, and I know most games also include grouping capabilities, but that isn't what I'm speaking of. What I am talking about is a comprehensive world leadership system (that may be split into factions if it serves game purposes) that will create chain of command bonuses.
What's in it for the Hardcore Gamers?
Ranks will not be achieved at set point scores, rather it will be a fluid system where ranks will constantly be redetermined based upon the scores of each other player. Thus, hardcore gamers will have an incentive to continue their devotion and will be rewarded by attaining the highest ranks and staying ahead of competing gamers.
Why do they want the highest ranks? SUPREME EXECUTIVE POWER! The highest ranks will be able to control the world conflict by issuing orders that will accord chain of command bonuses. Lower ranks will be able to refine the broader orders issued above. Each order followed in the chain of command will accord a bonus to the loyal follower. Each follower increases the chain of command bonus accorded to each other follower by empowering the leader and granting him additional options to employ to the followers' benefit.
But what about our Weekend Wayfarers?!
Casual gamers will receive bonuses for following the Hardcore Gamer's leadership. Each bonus followed in the chain of command will provide an additional layer of bonuses that increases the casual gamer's power. These bonuses will be scaled according to the difference between the level of issuing commander's order and the follower's level (thus a low ranking player following a high ranking player will receive a large bonus while a medium ranking player following a medium ranking player will receive a negligible bonus).
So, our casual gamer may operate completely outside of this system and grind to his heart's content away from the world conflict, or he may meaningfuly participate, though he must do so under the restrictions placed upon him by his need for chain of command bonuses. This will allow our casual gamer to participate in a greatly expanded selection of the game's offerings.
Allow me to explain by way of example:
Rank 1:
Rank 1 issues an order to attack Region A. As Supreme Commander, he gains no bonus for following commands. He gains more options of the bonuses to accord to followers as he gains followers.
Rank 2:
Rank 2 decides to comply with Rank 1's order and commences his attack on Region A. He receives a small follower bonus for listening to Rank 1. Rank 2, a high ranking general just beneath the Supreme Commander, refines Rank 1's order by issuing a command to attack City A in Region A.
Rank 3:
Rank 3 complies with Rank 1 and Rank 2's order. He attacks City A in Region A and receives a medium follower bonus for following orders from Rank 1 and a small follower bonus for following the orders of Rank 2. Rank 3, a medium ranking commander, refines both Rank 1 and Rank 2's order by issuing a command that the South Gate of City A in Region A be attacked.
Rank 4a:
Rank 4a complies with Rank 1, 2, and 3's order and gains scaled bonuses for each. He refines the order further, by issuing a command that the South Gate be attacked with archers.
Rank 4b:
Rank 4b is the same rank as Rank 4a, he too complies with Rank 1, 2, and 3's order and gains scaled bonuses for each. He elects not to join 4a's command and instead opts to issue his own command, demanding that South Gate be attacked with mages. 4a and 4b compete for followers.
Rank FILTHY NOOBLET A:
Filthy Nooblet A just joined the game today. He just spent 9 hours killing gregarious goats in the Forest of Noobdungeon and he wants to get in on the action. His lack of power isn't an issue, because he, as a mage, elects to follow Rank 1, 2, 3, and 4b's orders and attacks South Gate of City A in Region A. He gains massive bonuses to his powers and is able to actually participate meaningfully in the battle, though he is by no means the most powerful participant. He has no control over the course of the battle and no one follows him, but he has the possibility of landing the occasional killing blow or providing support at key moments.
Rank FILTHY NOOBLET B:
Filthy Nooblet B is nobody's fool, and he ain't gonna listen to anyone. Ever. He elects to ignore all orders and gains no chain of command bonuses. He grinds in solitude but in contentment. One day he accidently wanders into contested Region A and grinds there, mistakenly following Rank 1's order. He gains a massive chain of command bonus and grinds as he has never done before, but he is an easy target for others who are following more orders on the opposing team and hunt him throughout the contested region.
The Problem
MMORPG's have come an incredibly long way since my days of mudding on Gemstone III, but for all the advances there remains a significant issue: how do you keep and properly incentivize casual gamers? MMORPG's have come an incredibly long way since my days of MUDing on Gemstone III, but for all the advances there remains a significant issue: how do you keep and properly incentivize BOTH hardcore and casual gamers?
Speaking as a person who has been alternately a hardcore gamer and a casual gamer throughout his life, I have dealt with the frustrations that face both. As a hardcore gamer, I've been frustrated when a game stagnants as a result of new/casual gamers avoiding the game due to the perception it is impossible to "catch up" to the older gamers. When I was weekend wayfaring, I was aggravated by my inability to achieve anything meaningful in games (beyond grinding) because my worth as a companion was precisely nil. I'd fume as my friends relayed fanciful stories of storming keeps in battlegrounds while I was stuck slaughtering rabid raccoons in the Forest of Noobdungeon
So, how do we incentivize casual gamers to join in and play a meaningful role in all elements of the game without frustrating hardcore gamers who may feel their extensive devotion is being undermined by the handouts?
Why Hardcore Gamers Should Care
Hardcore gamers often overlook the critical role casual gamers play in their gaming world. Weekend wayfarers provide a large base for the game economies and provide depth and entertainment to social interactions. While weekend wayfarers occasionally frustrate daily devotees, the empty expanses in their absence, particularly when a hardcore gamer elects to create a new character, would make games that rely on cooperation exceedingly more difficult. Even more importantly, their monthly fees are an engine of growth for games by providing an expanded revenue base, which ensures continued attention and support from the administering company. Companies are often leery of dropping hard earned cash into losing propositions.
Get to the Mechanic Already
Ok ok ok, I can't help but justify myself. This burning need stems from deeply held insecurities. I'm seeing a nightelf healer in World of Warcraft about it.
The answer? Leadership systems. Yes, I know most games incorporate rudimentary ranking and reward systems, and I know most games also include grouping capabilities, but that isn't what I'm speaking of. What I am talking about is a comprehensive world leadership system (that may be split into factions if it serves game purposes) that will create chain of command bonuses.
What's in it for the Hardcore Gamers?
Ranks will not be achieved at set point scores, rather it will be a fluid system where ranks will constantly be redetermined based upon the scores of each other player. Thus, hardcore gamers will have an incentive to continue their devotion and will be rewarded by attaining the highest ranks and staying ahead of competing gamers.
Why do they want the highest ranks? SUPREME EXECUTIVE POWER! The highest ranks will be able to control the world conflict by issuing orders that will accord chain of command bonuses. Lower ranks will be able to refine the broader orders issued above. Each order followed in the chain of command will accord a bonus to the loyal follower. Each follower increases the chain of command bonus accorded to each other follower by empowering the leader and granting him additional options to employ to the followers' benefit.
But what about our Weekend Wayfarers?!
Casual gamers will receive bonuses for following the Hardcore Gamer's leadership. Each bonus followed in the chain of command will provide an additional layer of bonuses that increases the casual gamer's power. These bonuses will be scaled according to the difference between the level of issuing commander's order and the follower's level (thus a low ranking player following a high ranking player will receive a large bonus while a medium ranking player following a medium ranking player will receive a negligible bonus).
So, our casual gamer may operate completely outside of this system and grind to his heart's content away from the world conflict, or he may meaningfuly participate, though he must do so under the restrictions placed upon him by his need for chain of command bonuses. This will allow our casual gamer to participate in a greatly expanded selection of the game's offerings.
Allow me to explain by way of example:
Rank 1:
Rank 1 issues an order to attack Region A. As Supreme Commander, he gains no bonus for following commands. He gains more options of the bonuses to accord to followers as he gains followers.
Rank 2:
Rank 2 decides to comply with Rank 1's order and commences his attack on Region A. He receives a small follower bonus for listening to Rank 1. Rank 2, a high ranking general just beneath the Supreme Commander, refines Rank 1's order by issuing a command to attack City A in Region A.
Rank 3:
Rank 3 complies with Rank 1 and Rank 2's order. He attacks City A in Region A and receives a medium follower bonus for following orders from Rank 1 and a small follower bonus for following the orders of Rank 2. Rank 3, a medium ranking commander, refines both Rank 1 and Rank 2's order by issuing a command that the South Gate of City A in Region A be attacked.
Rank 4a:
Rank 4a complies with Rank 1, 2, and 3's order and gains scaled bonuses for each. He refines the order further, by issuing a command that the South Gate be attacked with archers.
Rank 4b:
Rank 4b is the same rank as Rank 4a, he too complies with Rank 1, 2, and 3's order and gains scaled bonuses for each. He elects not to join 4a's command and instead opts to issue his own command, demanding that South Gate be attacked with mages. 4a and 4b compete for followers.
Rank FILTHY NOOBLET A:
Filthy Nooblet A just joined the game today. He just spent 9 hours killing gregarious goats in the Forest of Noobdungeon and he wants to get in on the action. His lack of power isn't an issue, because he, as a mage, elects to follow Rank 1, 2, 3, and 4b's orders and attacks South Gate of City A in Region A. He gains massive bonuses to his powers and is able to actually participate meaningfully in the battle, though he is by no means the most powerful participant. He has no control over the course of the battle and no one follows him, but he has the possibility of landing the occasional killing blow or providing support at key moments.
Rank FILTHY NOOBLET B:
Filthy Nooblet B is nobody's fool, and he ain't gonna listen to anyone. Ever. He elects to ignore all orders and gains no chain of command bonuses. He grinds in solitude but in contentment. One day he accidently wanders into contested Region A and grinds there, mistakenly following Rank 1's order. He gains a massive chain of command bonus and grinds as he has never done before, but he is an easy target for others who are following more orders on the opposing team and hunt him throughout the contested region.
Fizzle on
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I would totally love a game that had a system like that.
And are you really serious? "Hardcore" doesn't equal intelligence in the world of MMO games, it only means time spent. Do you really want a bunch of fourteen year olds with no jobs and "teh uber rank!!11" giving you orders? Making decisions that affect the entire game? What?
Another mechanism is having a penalty for orders that fail. Thus ineffective leaders will quickly lose ranks. The leadership ranking system will be separate from the objective leveling system in order to prevent people from losing the benefit of their experience grinding.
I'll be frank though, anything would be better than the two class system that is currently dominating.
I don't know if you are being sarcastic, but City of Heroes/Villains already does that. You just don't get powers at that level. Which would be hard to do because the powers are choices from different pools and level ranges not a predefined path a certain archetype must take.
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
Chiefly because both of those categories are full of unbearable faggots.
Touche sir. Touche.
The reason hardcore players are hardcore is to have better items/skills than everyone else. Take that away by boosting up casual players and they are going to be pretty cheesed off!
From the POV of the players, they're a person with the same rights as anyone else.
If you had voting systems in games that would be fine - but one vote each.
Politics? If you want, but there's no reason to favour time played over any other factor.
Basically, I don't know why some people think hardcore gamers matter more than any other.
I realize I've created a false dichotomy in the thread title as there really is a spectrum rather than two polarized extremes, I just felt it was easier for the purposes of debate.
As to the concern regarding powering up new players to the point where casual players will become frustrated, I definitely see that as a balancing concern, which can be remedied through the time honored practice of patching. Hardcore players will still have better equipment and levels than casual players, but they will have the added bonus of being able to issue commands and shape world events in the game. The trade off? One level 70 warlock will no longer be able to slaughter a gaggle of level 45 opponents without breaking a sweat.
Rather, if a level 70 warlock strays into a zone that is currently subject to layered commands (resulting in bonuses), even 3 or 4 lowly 15 level characters may pose a problem (though these characters will be limited in skills/range of attacks, just not power). Of course, the level 70 warlock may elect to avoid contested zones and keep his massive advantage over newer players.
Hardcore gamers play HOURS upon HOURS each day, and get totally burned out after a couple of months, and either take a break or move onto another MMO.
Casual players play a couple hours a week (this varies), so they don't get bored as quickly, and tend to stay subscribed for longer.
I can't show you the stats, but I have read some in the past. As far as I know, the number of hours a subscriber plays per week is not supposed to affect how long they play for. I think one of the Garriotts also said that as MMOs become less of a niche, playstyles are changing - eg some people unsubscribe and then resubscribe at different points. I would imagine it differs from game to game. COH's veteran rewards keep people subscribed whether or not they're playing, and WOW's high-end raiding also tends to burn people out, so that they don't come back once they've quit.
Regardless, although I don't want to argue with you, playing MMOs for hours is nothing to do with discipline.
Its a vague feeling, and from my own observations. I know one guy who's been playing since the original release, a couple hours a week, mixed in with other games and a full social life, and he's still going.
I can't even begin to guess the number of people who i convinced to get into WoW, who did nothing BUT WoW for a few months then quit.
What do I mean by arbitrarily? Well look at any other genre of multilayer game and compare it to MMOs. RTSs, FPSs, strategy, and puzzle games are (generally) very skill based. This means a player who plays often will get good and continue to improve, but a newer player is on equal footing from a gameplay perspective. All players in Team Fortress 2 (a personal favorite) have the same weapons and character choices, but an experienced player will play better and score higher than a newbie. All Starcraft players starts with the same 3 choices of race and have the same build options for each one. However, there is nothing that the game itself does to prevent that newbie from being just as good as the pro, even right out of the gates. A game of chess is completely symmetrical (except the first turn), but nothing in the rules prevents a 14 year old savant from crushing his grandfather who has played for 50 years. Whats more, all of these games are fun to both new players and experienced ones, long after release. Counter Strike is still going strong, and Chess is over 600 years old.
Now, I'm not saying there is no skill involved in an MMO -- in fact some of the PvP or raid content can be quite involved. However, due to the ever-present theme of a grind (be it levels, items, or skills), there is a forced unevenness, which is where I feel the hardcore versus casual problem stems from. In WoW terms, a level 60 character will never beat a level 70 BT or full Arena geared character, nor will a newly 70 player.
I think the lack of equal footing is important. There is a huge difference between being killed mid air by a well timed rocket and thinking "Wow, I need to work on my hand-eye speed and timing, but I could totally do that if I work at it" and "Wow, that guy creamed me because he's been raiding 5 months in an area I'll likely never see, because to do so I would have to play much more often and make regularly scheduled play commitments with 24 other people, and even then we would have to jump through the hoops of raiding in lower tier dungeons just to get to the place that drops the gear I want. Even if I do get into it, by the time I have his gear, he'll be in the next set of leetness and it won't make a difference." I think, therefore, that any attempt to bridge the gap between hardcore and casual need to focus on increasing the amount of skill play in a game, with character progression being improvements in player skill and/or perhaps adding more variety in the number of viable (but balancedly powerful) tactics. One might compare it to starting with 3 of the classes in TF2 and eventually unlocking all 9. Puzzle Pirates (not a game I'm incredibly familiar with) had a system where different swords produced different patterned and styled block attacks in their fencing mini-game (sort of a battle tetris style affair) -- a type of variation that could easily be worked in as a progression reward without minimizing skill in a future game.
I think a key barrier to making these games skill based is technology, which hopefully will be less of a problem in the future. Most skill based games require pretty decent timing or would be very very hard to play in a persistent world. Keeping the high frame rates needed for an FPS would be impossible with 1000 players and a map big enough to hold them, and similarly a 200 v 200 Starcraft game would be a nightmare. Furthermore, the AI for any aggressive NPCs would have to be far more sophisticated rather than just beefing up the DPS and health and reskinning the thing (FFXI was lambasted for fighting the same mobs all the time at every level, but really, it was just a more blatent and honest implementation of every game on th market. Felboars at 65 in WoW are essentially the same as level 2 boars, only they hit harder and have more health). Sophisticated anti-cheating tools are also required, because people will cheat whenever they can, and it has a bigger impact the more skill that is required. All of this requires massive bandwidth, processing power, and storage, or a whole slew of programing tricks, but I have faith in the abilities of the tech market.
Well, this turned out much longer than I thought it would be, but I hope I argued the case well. In any game were a player routinely finds himself in a situation where he is beaten purely due to equipment or levels rather than opponent merit, there is going to be tension between those who can afford the time commitment to get those things and those who cannot. Yes, someone who plays all the time will generally be more skilled at a game too, but it has been my experience that people are more willing to stomach losses they feel were their own fault rather than ones seemingly imposed on them by the mechanics of the game. I think there is room for limited "progression" of characters in game as rewards for prolonged play, but that they shouldn't be the defining characteristic of the gameplay itself.
Addendum: The problem with side-kicking, is while it works great in some games that are highly level dependent (like CoH), they don't work in games that are item dependent (like WoW). A level 68 or even a new 70 is about as useful as a level 10 in most of the raid content.
Black Desert: Family Name: Foolery. Characters: Tome & Beerserk.
(Retired) GW2 Characters (Fort Aspenwood): Roy Gee Biv
(Retired) Let's Play: Lone Wolf
Further more, they're features most casual players play those games for. Fighting mobs is only as stressful as you make it, advancing your character both unlocks new abilities (keeping the gameplay fresh) and allows you access to new content still, plus there's the matter of personalization- most people enjoy making their character look unique (or, unique enough, given the circumstances), and most other genres can only provide that in a portrait type deal, which is a far cry from an actual avatar.
Give me an MMOFPS where weapons upgrade like Bioshock's every 2 hours of gameplay, where you move to new, different battlefields every 5 hours of gameplay and where I can dress myself up like a pimp and run around cooping with other pimps assaulting AI mobs and I'm there.
You are right, I'm listing traditionally RPG features because no MMO of another genre has been released very successfully. Sure there is Planetside (MMOFPS) and Puzzle Pirates (MMO Puzzle), but neither of those really took off -- the former due to lag reasons as far as I can tell, the latter because it never promoted itself, tried a wonky subscriber method, and was just all around awkward. However, the things you listed aren't unnecessarily tied to the RPG genre. Both those aforementioned games allowed as much character customization as MMORPGs at the time -- really the only genre that might have trouble with that is a top down MMORTS, but even then you might at least get an EVE Online style personalization (after all, that game is very much like an MMORTS, just with autonomous units).
As for the desire to progress in skills and weapons, well, you run into the grind issue. I don't know how many times I've heard "The game doesn't start till [insert max level here]" in my time playing MMOs. There is a reason, and its because max level is where all the abilities are finally unlocked and generally the area where devs can spend the most time balancing. That doesn't mean unlocking things isn't a good carrot to get people through all those "tutorial" levels -- its a nice psychological reward to go along with filling up bubbles of exp and allows players to get to know their abilities one or a couple at a time -- but its really been used just as stall to get people hooked until the "end game." Upgrading equipment often then takes over as a more boring form of gradually increasing ones power artificially (and asking for upgrades every two hours would put a player who started 2 months after you a hopeless 112 upgrades behind you if you only averaged 2 hours of play a day O.o). I guess in the type of skill game I want, instead of killing 100 mindless doombots to get some sword that makes you better by inflating your stats, killing 100 clever doombots makes you an equivalently better player through your experience in successfully fending them off. In both cases your character is better off at the end, but in the latter you aren't being inflated simply by the virtue of having an extra 2 strength or something. Additionally in a skill based game, you aren't shoehorned into beating old content before you can explore new due to gear. A player that reaches max level (or whatever) 6 months late can just trial by fire into the new content until he is personally skilled enough to get through it.
Changing battlefronts is something I'm all for (and someday I hope to be procedurally generated), but I'm not entirely sure how it would work with a persistant world as you would either be constantly getting rid of parts of the world (not persistant) or diluting concentration of players as they spread over more and more fronts (not fun). Random and new maps are nice because dynamic situations where players have to improvise is an ideal setting to test actual player skill, as you can't just get improvisation from a build posted on a forum. But that is somewhat off topic.
Black Desert: Family Name: Foolery. Characters: Tome & Beerserk.
(Retired) GW2 Characters (Fort Aspenwood): Roy Gee Biv
(Retired) Let's Play: Lone Wolf
No. It hasn't. Most PVE players play the game specifically to level. We reach level cap, try a few instances, go "this is really dull" and make an alt to level all over again. CoX doesn't even have an end game to speak of, and it takes far longer to reach 50 than it does to hit 70 in WoW, yet people still play it even after getting a level 50 (or in many people's cases never even reach 50 and simply playing dozens of alts).
That also alienates the hardcore crowd. The entire point of an MMO or RPG is the ability to build your character. The whole idea behind the genre is that if you put in the work, you get the reward. You don't have to have any natural ability. There are assuredly lots of perfectly geared T6 raiders that I and many people in this forum could wipe the floor with in any FPS even with little experience simply because we have better hand-eye coordination, however in WoW, the time they put in has its benefits; character building.
Any system with a great equalizer hasn't worked very well anyway. The vast majority of arena participants are weekend warriors who do a mere 10 games per week, which is like 1-2 hours. There is PLENTY of equal footing in the arena. They have exactly the same gear as hardcore arena junkies that do 50 games a week. The hardcores still wipe the floor with them. If someone doesn't want to put in the time, they are unlikely to put in the effort as well.
The arbitrary boosting of power is the only thing giving casual players advancement in the first place.
The same applies to PvE as well, but there is currently no equalizer system like arena (hence why I used it as an example). If a casual player were to magically have a character with unlimited gear choices, it won't suddenly make him very effective. A casual would not put in the effort to figure out that a 17/44/0 fury warrior DPS spec only needs one point in WW because of the way their DPS rotation and cooldowns work out. A casual would not figure out that a warlock can remove another warlock's curse of reck by putting up their own, then changing it to another curse (CoS/CoEx/CoE/etc, this is actually a pretty important tip for CCing many types of fearable mobs in raids, FYI).
Does this affect their PvE experience? Yes, it does. No hardcore will want to play with someone who doesn't know their shit, nor will they be of any any encounter but the more basic types, thus they will be back to playing what they're already doing now: casual content.
Levelling doesn't teach you that much about group content though. The need for CC or even a shield wearing tank doesn't really appear until the 50's, and most people I know tend to solo a lot of the content on the way to 70.
Most of what I learnt about my class, I learnt at 60.
CoX on the other hand I play almost exclusively in friend groups; TeamSpeak + exemplaring = bring whatever you feel like and/or works for the group, levels be damned. As long as at least half the team are within 5 levels of one other you're set. Throw in the PA global channel for downtime entertainment and you've a recipe for win.
I haven't touched CoH in months, it got pretty old around level 38. Every mission had the exact same storyline, and I'd finished all the 35-40 arcs.
Plus I knew like, 2 people that played it, which hurt a lot.
Have they actually fixed the mission generation now so that there is more variety, or is it still pretty repetitive?
Also, Blasters were buffed out the ass, and Scrappers and Brutes now have a Dual Blade primary that works like a combo system- instead of every move having its own effect you do damage as normal, but using them in a specific order gives you bonuses like extra damage, AoE debuffs and the like.
They also added Willpower as a secondary to a bunch of ATs, which is a bit like Regeneration that works off of mobs; the more there are around you the more it buffs you. It was also made very toned down graphically, so it's not SUPA GAY SHINEY, and most of it is composed of toggles and passives, so you don't need to be the world's greatest piano player just to keep yourself buffed.
BTW, you can apply a free 14 day trial to existing accounts to give it another whirl without paying anything. I suggest you make a character on Virtue, join the "Penny Arcade" channel (don't forget to add the channel to a tab, otherwise you won't see it) and hook up with peeps for crazy good fun.
Long replies are long.
I should probably head over to the CoX thread, and work out if I want to try out CoV or CoH.
Boring work is boring.
It's unsurprising that CoX has the weird mix going that everyone seems to like, since it's made by NCsoft, who make Guild Wars.
It's RAIDERS VS NON-RAIDERS...
Not everyone wants to or have enough time to devote to raiding in MMO like a PART TIME JOB...
from what I hear raiding in CoX is pretty much a bunch of dudes getting together and having a great time doing lots of stuff