Revisiting Champions Online

Champions Online did another free weekend over the "four day" weekend. I updated early and popped on a few times. And... it just didn't grab me.

Last time, I just got a character to level 14. I'd finished the intro, done most of the desert (all that was available, anyway), some of the Canadian wilderness (which seemed to have a lot fewer quests) and has just really set foot in the main city. I played some solo, and some with friends. Progress was steady and even quick. Once I found out about builds, I set up a DPS build and was defeating small groups of enemies that much faster.

This time, I didn't get to it while anyone I knew was on, so it was just solo. I found my DPS build generally getting crushed by the last one or two enemies in a pack, so had to switch back to a balanced build while survived, but was slower. I only saw a couple things I hadn't finished in Canada, so flew around the city, but the missions there started feeling dull. In the end, I gained about half a level. The game actually felt "grindy."

I'm not sure what to blame. Personal mood? Are the missions in the city (or at that level) genuinely less interesting than the bunch I'd done in the desert? Was it less fun because I wasn't playing with anyone? Whatever the case, the game just didn't seem so interesting this time around.

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