There's a new buzz in the CoH forums and in game, and that buzz is over the newest round of nerfs.
Enhancement Diversification is an across the board cut of the effectiveness of slotting multiple enhancements of the same type in powers.
Since the Non Disclosure Agreement was lifted (yesterday) for CoV, some folks have posted numbers on what ED will do to our powers.

Here's a link to the official explanation of ED : ED

Here's a copy/paste of a couple of posts on what it all means (actual numbers posted by players who are in the CoV beta test):

What Enhancement Types are what bonuses (schedules)?

Schedule A Enhancements (33.33%, 16.66%, 8.35%)* are:
Accuracy, Confuse, Damage, Defense DeBuff, Drain Endurance, Endurance Discount, Fear, Fly, Heal, Hold, Immobilize, Intangible, Jump, Recharge, Recovery, Run, Sleep, Snare, Stun, Taunt, To Hit Debuff
These bonus types start to see reduction when the bonus is 70% or more, and a severe reduction at 100% bonus or greater.
Schedule B Enhancements (20%, 10%, 5%)* are:
Range, Defense Buff, Resist Damage, To Hit Buff
These bonus types start to see reduction when the bonus is 40% or more, and a severe reduction at 60% bonus or greater.
Schedule C Enhancements (40%, 20%, 10%)* are:
Interrupt
This bonus type starts to see reduction when the bonus is 80% or more, and a severe reduction at 120% bonus or greater.
Schedule D Enhancements (60%, 30%, 15%)* are:
Knockback
This bonus type starts to see reduction when the bonus is 120% or more, and a severe reduction at 180% bonus or greater

*The numbers in parenthesis represent the bonus for enhancement type:
Single Origin, Dual Origin, Training Origin (SO, DO, TO)
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Now, here are the numbers on what ED will do to our enhancements and our powers:


Schedule A SOs 70/100

---# of SO ------Starting Value ------Cumulative Total ------Total After ED
---------1 --------------33.33% ------------------33.33% -----------------33.33%
---------2 --------------33.33% ------------------66.67% -----------------66.67%
---------3 --------------33.33% -----------------100.00% --------------- 95.50%
---------4 --------------33.33% -----------------133.33% ----------------100.50%
---------5 --------------33.33% -----------------166.67% --------------- 105.50%
---------6 --------------33.33% -----------------200.00% ----------------110.50%

Old max +200.00% New Max 110.50%

Schedule B SOs 40/60

---# of SO ------Starting Value ------Cumulative Total ------Total After ED
---------1 --------------20.00% ------------------20.00% -----------------20.00%
---------2 --------------20.00% ------------------40.00% -----------------40.00%
---------3 --------------20.00% ----------------- 60.00% -----------------57.00%
---------4 --------------20.00% ------------------80.00% -----------------60.00%
---------5 --------------20.00% ------------------100.00% ---------------63.00%
---------6 --------------20.00% ------------------120.00% ---------------66.00%

Old max +120.00% New Max 66.00%

Schedule C SOs 80/120
---# of SO ------Starting Value ------Cumulative Total ------Total After ED
---------1 --------------40.00% ------------------40.00% -----------------40.00%
---------2 --------------40.00% ------------------80.00% -----------------80.00%
---------3 --------------40.00% ------------------120.00% ---------------114.00%
---------4 --------------40.00% ------------------160.00% ---------------120.00%
---------5 --------------40.00% ------------------200.00% ---------------126.00%
---------6 --------------40.00% ------------------240.00% ---------------132.00%

Old max +240.00% New Max 132.00%

Schedule D SOs 120/180

---# of SO ------Starting Value ------Cumulative Total ------Total After ED
---------1 --------------60.00% ------------------60.00% ------------------60.00%
---------2 --------------60.00% ------------------120.00% ----------------120.00%
---------3 --------------60.00% ------------------180.00% ----------------171.00%
---------4 --------------60.00% ------------------240.00% ----------------180.00%
---------5 --------------60.00% ------------------300.00% ----------------189.00%
---------6 --------------60.00% ------------------360.00% ----------------198.00%

Old max +360.00% New Max 198.00%


So, what does this all mean?
Well, it means that if you slot more than 3 of one type of SO enhancement in one power, you're probably wasting money.
The new slotting for attack powers will probably look something like:
(SO ) 1 Acc, 1 Recharge Reduction, 1End Reduction, 3 Damage

Also, say goodbye to perma-hasten...it will be a thing of the past


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An interesting side effect of the way the diminishing returns are implemented is that +1 & +2 level enhancements give you the best possible bonus (+115.5% for 6 slot). +3 gives 93.92%.
This next part will blow your mind... -3 gives 96.83%. That's right, -3 enhancements actually give a greater effect than +3 do. All because achievement is punished while mediocrity is rewarded.
Here are the numbers by enh level (sched A):
-3 = +96.83
-2 = +88.00
-1 = +99.00
+0 = +110.00
+1 = +115.50
+2 = +115.50
+3 = +93.92
To get the Schedule B numbers for the -3 to +3 chart, multiply the numbers given by 0.6
Also, the net effect is a 45% reduction in SO values if you 6 slot. You are basically getting just a few more points of oomph compared to having 6 slots of the same attribute DOs.

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I'm holding my final judgement until i get a chance to test these changes (if all goes as planned, they should be on test next week) and see where this all goes. In the meantime, i'm not going to buy CoV until i'm satisfied that i still like the game system.
On a brighter note, i'm seriously looking at Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) as a viable alternative

Yeah, when this goes live, I'm quitting and starting up DDO. Guess I'll have to change my signature and avatar now....hehe.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob Yeah, when this goes live, I'm quitting and starting up DDO. Guess I'll have to change my signature and avatar now....hehe. Rob

Woahhhh there hoss! DDO hasn't begun beta tests yet
Unless DDO winds up tanking big time, i'll definitely be switchiing to it. Heck, i might even try to get in on Beta.

Dungeons and Dragons Online

Quote: Originally Posted by droeblek9 Woahhhh there hoss! DDO hasn't begun beta tests yet Unless DDO winds up tanking big time, i'll definitely be switchiing to it. Heck, i might even try to get in on Beta. Dungeons and Dragons Online

I just don't know if I want to suffer through this ED or not...probably will only if you do; however, I seriously doubt that I will change any of the slotting of my toon with the exception of replacing two of the dmg with increase attack rate...drop the hasten and pick up something stupid like Rain of Fire just for the hell of it.

They've stolen what fun I had with this game, droe. First, Phase Shift. Now, Hasten.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob I just don't know if I want to suffer through this ED or not...probably will only if you do; however, I seriously doubt that I will change any of the slotting of my toon with the exception of replacing two of the dmg with increase attack rate...drop the hasten and pick up something stupid like Rain of Fire just for the hell of it. They've stolen what fun I had with this game, droe. First, Phase Shift. Now, Hasten. Rob

Well, after Freedom crashed last night, i signed up for the DDO beta test (hope i get in). I fully understand your feelings on the ED matter: h3ll, i share them. If i was just starting the game (post ED), i'd probably feel differently. The problem is, the product (CoH) that i really enjoyed no longer exists in the state that i had so much fun with. My account is still pre-payed and unless ED really wrecks my gaming experience (time will tell), i'll probably stick around for a bit (until i have something to replace CoH with). On the other hand, if i get in on the DDO beta, i'l probably spend a good chunk of time there. (i'll still bop into CoH to hang with my friends, though )

My main problem with the changes that are happening is that i keep relating my current gaming experiences to my past experiences (with CoH) and they just don't compare favorably.
Also, i really don't think that Cryptic handled i5 and ED very well. I can't escape the feeling that i've been paying to beta-test for the past 8 months, and no one from Cryptic had the common decency to tell me.
Unless something that borders on the miraculous happens, i won't be purchasing CoV, and my days on CoH are numbered.
On a side note, Stormie might jump ship with us

just read through the first 10 pages of the ED thread and i'm pissed . .. I was already playing CoH a lot less than i was before just because I'm feeling a little bored with my 50 and while replaying the entire game with another set is fine, its still a bit boring to see the same stuff again . ..
they may be diversifying which enhancements we use but they sure are cutting down on the diversity of characters builds since everyone is going to have the exact same one now. after this hami raids are definetely dead. no way for the agro tanker to stay alive, healers to keep the agro tank alive, or holders to be able to hold hami during the holding phase . ..
do they even listen to the players that play? it seems like one person told them it was a good idea so they thought that the hundreds of other players that play the game would think the same thing . ..
definetely thinking about cancelling at least one of my accounts and maybe both. hopefully after this goes live and they see the massive amounts of people that quit, they'll do something about it.

I noticed that you haven't been on lately...thought it was because school had started back up.

Anyway, be sure to check out DDO. I just ordered the 3.5 basic rulebook set from Amazon.com for $61.00. It should go live sometime early next year.

Rob

part of the reason was that school and rotc started back up but even with a heavy schedule, i've always been able to find some time to play games. a few days ago, i actually had a solid block of 4 hours of free time and i, for the first time in my life since i was 4, had zero desire to play games. had to kind of force myself to play something and my choices were CoH or Secret of Mana which I finally started playing after my roommate got a bunch of emulators for his Xbox. Picked Secret of Mana instead . ..
I was thinking about playing CoH more since I finally got my schedule worked out but now seeing this, I don't really see the point. I'll probably continue playing a bit and keep my accounts until it goes live and I can actually see how badly it affects the game. Definetely thinking about picking up BF2 now though or even WoW now . ..

I just don't understand why they would do something that almost all of their customer is completely against. I can't understand the business practice they're following since all they're doing is pissing everyone off. It's almost as if they're trying to undermine and destroy their own company especially with a new game coming out within 2 weeks. Enhancement "Diversification" doesn't have any positive components besides the endurance reduction (which is only to offset the loss from Stamina) and the lower debt cap which is worthless anyways. The only purpose is to make heroes weaker and to try to force people to use worthless enhancements and limit our choices. If people want the option of having 5 dmg and 1 acc, that's their choice. they still also have the choice of using all the other enhancements as well. the way they're making it, we lose that choice and are pretty much forced to slot the way they want us to. the only thing that could possibly offset these changes are the item of powers for the SG bases. if so, we might want to think about combining uberwoot corps and pr republic until we actually reach the max size of the sg.
i'm really regretting my choice to preorder CoV. i'm just glad i didn't go through with getting a second copy for my second account already . ..
the fact that they "lost" the original thread on ED is just another nail in their own coffin.

for those of you with hover/fly, have no idea how you're going to cope. fly was already the slowest one before and that was with 4 slots. now you can't even get to the max speed unless you six slot it with speed or something . ..

was planning on reading the whole thread but got bored and decided to just go to the end to see how many pages there are and there's 328 . ..

Well, i've made my uberw00t sig...

...and I've updated mine.

Rob

the really sad thing is that they had apparently nerfed some powers earlier to take into account the fact that hasten could be permed. they specifically made it so hasten could be permed with six slots and assumed most would take that so they made a bunch of powers like RA or the nukes to have longer recharge times . .. bah the more i read the ED thread, the more I get pissed about these changes.

Just cancelled my second account, Going to keep my first one and try out ED for a bit and see how it works. After submitting the Deactivation survey they have the gall to say this:

Quote: Originally Posted by NCSoft City of Heroes Deactivation Survey Thank you for submitting this survey. Your feedback is very important to us!

for those of you who were in the CoV beta, what do you think about ED? does it actually work at all?

Want to hear something funny?

Open my PR staff e-mail account and the first message read, "Rob's ED story". Didn't recognize the sender so I though that maybe someone from the CoH boards was sending me an e-mail or something. I opened it and here's what I got...

I am a 39 year old male and in good health and fairly fit, but realized a while back
that sometimes I had a hard time maintaining an erection.
I am single, but I do date a lot and I believe many times the problem was due to
anxiety and pressure to perform with someone new.
I bought Vjaggra online (link removed) and decided to give it a go.
WOW WOW WOW it kicked in after about 20-30 minutes and that was just perfect, as I
knew where the evening was going.
She is a beautiful woman with a great body and I did not think I needed it with her,
but let me just say After the 5th time
I am not kidding she said: Please no more lol unbelievable.
It was like being a teenager over again. Amazing!


Wha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Enko for those of you who were in the CoV beta, what do you think about ED? does it actually work at all?

I have one toon up to lvl 5 in the Beta and I'm bored already. It's pretty much the same as CoH except with crappy graphics (too many reds, browns, greys, and golds mixed together). It did get interesting once when one of my contacts told me to rob a bank, thinking that I had the option not to rob a bank.

However, I've been reading the CoV boards pretty heavily and it's the same with everyone else. They've rob countless banks now and you get no reward beyond the xp and influence you would earn on any mish. You would think that robbing a bank, you would get to keep some of the cash you find but you don't.

Mostly the same villains but there are the snakes, which are really cool.

As far as the ED thing goes, I wouldn't know. My toon is almost to lvl 6 and has yet to come anywhere near 3/4 health yet since I'm mopping the floor with the foes. Seems they made the foes a little too weak and/or the villains too powerful. I see a huge nerf coming with CoV Issue #1 with that.

I'm still debating as to whether or not I want to buy it. I don't want to waste $70 on a game that's going to bore the crap out of me. On the other hand, if I don't play it, FroggieGirl said she beat the crap out of me. So, I'm stuck either way. Chances are that I'll buy it to save a butt kicking.

Rob

well my main account is still active up to nov 19 (they announced ED right after it got charged . ..) so i'll tell you how it is. heck i'll even be willing to let you have access to my account so you can make a villain and judge it for yourself. i haven't been playing much anyways.

Ok, i finally got onto test. The ragdoll physics (specifically as it applies to knockback) are cool, but may be problematic from a game balance perspective: if your toon does KB, you may have a big advantage over others. Specifically, KB now lasts longer (the enemy lays on the ground for a second or 2 before beginning to move - sort of like a stun), and i think that this opens a new vista that will be exploited (then again i could be wrong)...so, that means more nerfs eventually.
Some of my builds need the respec, and i'll probably get around to it. For the time being, though, i'm going to stick with NWN and Diablo2....i'm completely burned out on having to make major overhauls to my toons on CoH (i'll at the very least wait till i6 goes to the live servers). If anyone wants to get together and game in CoH (or NWN or D2), send me a PM and i'll log on.
I've cancelled my CoH account, but i still have a 5ish month pre-paid balance on it (that i can't get refunded ), so my account will be active for a while yet.
I didn't do a lot of ED testing....what i did test was basically to verify what i thought would happen to some of my current builds. If any of you are able to get onto the test server (note: the character copy tool may be nonfunctional - i copied my toons a few weeks ago) and get a better feel for the ED changes, please post your feedback.