_eeek_

Well, I would like to see what the costume pieces look like before I buy them. I can see them in the costume creator, but generally that isn't where or when I would purchase them. Marketing could show us the different versions of the items, and different ways to use them, perhaps. Or start at thread like someone put up after Steampunk: "Show us how you use the new ____ Costume Pack!"

In fact, there are a few items I'd like to see before purchasing. It would also be a good spot to put in promotional videos for new powersets, or the SSA, for example.

Since the market appeared, I've felt like Paragon Studios isn't really taking advantage of what they've got here. What we currently have is a price list, and that's about it. There are so many ways to get into the price list, but once you do, that's all you've got.

Now, if is how the company wants to sell things, if that's working for 'em, that's fine. But speaking for myself, as a consumer, I'd like to see how some of these items work, or what they look like - a short explanation of how to use new items and a few pictures would be welcome before I buy something. I'm not too keen on purchasing items "sight unseen," or with no user-friendly explanation of how they work.

I can understand the desire to limit comments like "THIS SUCKS!" but honestly, most on-line places do have a place for customer ratings. I have a lot more faith in what I purchase if a place has the guts to allow negative comments. That means the positive comments are something I have some faith in. Of course, the whole forum could be all stickies. I wouldn't prefer that, but I'd still go in there to literally SEE what's new, and to learn about the different items that are available.

I'd be in that Forum every Tuesday!

I feel badly for the devs. Whenever they try to change things for the better, we (not individually, but collectively) have a huge fuss before even giving it a chance.

I get this, though. Once I've figured something out, I HATE when that thing changes. My poor husband gets the brunt of this in my house, because each time he changes the set up for my computer - changes to make it EASIER FOR ME, mind you! - he gets fussed at. And it's not because I'm actually MAD at him! I'm not! I'm touched and happy that he went to that effort to do something sweet for me. But, understand, I am a technological neanderthal. If he changes things, I HAVE TO LEARN NEW BUTTONS! This is very aarrggh-inducing! I rant! I MUST let out this inner angst about the trauma of ... NEW BUTTONS!

Have you ever looked at a universal remote? First of all, how do they know it's universal? Have they actually checked with anyone living on Mars, or Alpha Centauri, or wherever? So, first off, I already know they're lying to me. Then, the buttons are all in different places. How is that universal? Or even planetary? They are all different, meaning it will be WEEKS before I can watch TV with the lights off, not squinting at the stupid remote because I tried to turn the volume up at a critical part of the show, and turned on the Home Shopping Network instead. Now I am DOUBLY sad that Steve Jobs has passed on, because now he will never design a remote that make any sense to me.

Yes, I digress... Um, maybe a lot. But change is arrggh-inducing. Maybe it's because I like this build-area idea, but maybe because I'm so often the perpetrator of the irrational ARRGGHYOUMOVEDTHEBUTTONSANDBESIDESTHISWON'TWORKONJ UPITORYOUSTUPIDGRRRRAARRRGH rant, only to feel guilty about it later, but maybe we should try it out before hating the idea.

Instead of feeling frustrated because the whole build section will be clogged up with SS/Fire Brute builds, can't we look at the half full part of the glass and say "YAY! Now I can finally learn something about Brutes, without wading through 14 pages of farm builds! YESSS!!" And to be honest, that is EXACTLY the reason I like all the builds being somewhere else.

PS I am pretty sure my next toon name is going to be Lobotomized Chimp

First off, I would suggest reading any of the guides written by Local Man. They are so good at explaining the powers and what you need to focus on, that you can get a very good idea of where to go with each power. You also get a ton of general controller information, even if the guide is not specifically about either of your chosen powersets.

Another really good guide is Silas Plays Support and So Can You. He writes primarily for corruptors, with none for trollers, but a ton of great information about the powers both AT's share. Plus, you know, near-perma fits of giggles (I almost drowned my keyboard by making the mistake of drinking coffee while reading).

Myself, I'd given up playing my fire/rad, because she got mezzed so often, with a quick death following, that it wasn't any fun to play at high levels. After reading everything I could find, I decided to try her out just one more time, slotting for Ranged Defense, rather than S/L Defense. The reasoning behind this is that most mezzes have a ranged component to them, and I wasn't having a tough time surviving other than the dreaded: mez--->reach for breakfree----->oops, dead.

This worked beautifully. I wish I could credit whoever mentioned this, but I just cannot recall. I have a fire/kin with good S/L defense, and very honestly, the ranged defense makes my /rad just as survivable as the /kin with S/L.

Also, for both Fire/ characters, using Super Speed in the missions plays an important defense role for me. I can quickly and easily position myself just outside of close melee range, but be close enough that the foes are getting nailed with both Hot Feet and Choking Cloud. I can easily scoot over if the foes try to close on me, being considerably faster than they are. Use 2 end reducers (or just 1 with a lvl 50 IO) in Super Speed if you choose this option, and the end cost is not a problem.

Six slot both Hot Feet and Choking Cloud aiming FIRST for end reduction, second for damage/hold, respectively. A full 6 set of MultiStrikes (which are VERY cheap) will give you maximum end reduction AND damage (or, 5 Scirocco's + end reducer, which is near-max end reduction, if you prefer the bonuses.). Frankenslot Choking Cloud to get maximum (that's 95% before ED kicks in) endurance, and be sure to get the Lockdown proc in there (credit: the /rad section in Local Man's illusion/rad guide.).

I opted for Cardiac in the Alpha slot in the fire/rad (with a ton of recharge bonuses), and have Spiritual for my fire/kin (with a lot of end reduction and quite a bit of recharge bonuses), so it's doable either way, but am very happy I chose the Cardiac on the /rad. It's a lot easier to find recharge bonuses than to find recovery bonuses. Use numina proc and miracle proc in health - if cost is a problem, use Hero Merits - you get 2 from running the SSA the first time, and 1 every 7 days thereafter.

I hope this info helps, I can't take any credit for any of it (except the Super Speed, That's my weird "thing" ) - this is paraphrased from great guides and great info gleaned from brilliant forum minds. Good luck, and happy hunting!

I've done that mission only twice, but feel that is more than sufficient. The next time I met Mercedes was on the Mortimer Kai TF, and was delighted to find I could beat the bejeebers out of her. Especially gratifying to find her acting prissy and fussy during the fight, complaining that we made her break a nail, and etc.

Ah, sweet justice!

I like this idea. I like it a lot.

Sometimes I'm looking for information about AT's, synergies, different ideas people have that help me to think outside the box.

Sometimes, I want to compare my build with what other people have. Like... am I overslotting this? Underslotting?

These things are entirely different. The former is when I'm thinking of rolling something new, and information when I get to new stages during leveling up. The later is build-tweeking, which I do every time a new issue is about to come out, and I have a gazillion free respecs to use up.

I find it depressing to have to wade through pages and pages and pages of stuff to find whatever information I'm looking for, because the builds and the information are all jumbled together.

Player guides give me both things, and I'm a huge fan of player guides, but there aren't guides for all powerset combinations.

No one's going to ever get rich fast by trying to exploit one niche forever. If you want to make IO's to sell, you have to do your research.

1. look at recipe prices vs. IO's, and find something with a decent profit margin. If the profit margin is TOO extreme, realize that others will catch on soon. Make a few, okay. But have an exit strategy, as it will not last.
1a. KEEP RESEARCHING, even if you find a recipe you want to craft. Keep it in mind, as..
1b. Prices will continue to rise (and stay there awhile) and lower (and stay there, too)

2. Think of the IOs (or sets) that you use a lot. These are probably the sets others like to use often too, so that's a good place to start. Avoid the the "elite" ones. Those are the ones everyone tries first, so the profit margins are very slim because competition is high. But there are others you DO use, and probably use on all your toons. Some are kind of "bread and butter" sets. These can be very, very lucrative options, because everyone else needs them on all their toons, too.

3. check the dates on the last IO's sold - if they are very recent, then the turnover is fast enough that you can, potentially, make a decent amount of influence.

4. If the price drops (and this will happen, especially as you have not been following that item for months), then lower your prices to the current selling price. Don't wait for the market to go up again. It might. But it will likely take months. If that area is no longer profitable, move on to something else. No shame in doing that - recognize that a lot of areas are pretty volatile (20 mil. for a month or two, then 5 mill for another month or two).

Okay, that was the beginner information. Here's the big boy (girl?) tips:

5. Note the terms I used in my opening sentence. A big flaw people have is being greedy. When you're greedy, you lose. (And keep repeating that. I know I had to!) You don't need to "exploit a niche" - if you think about that statement, what you're really saying is you're exploiting your fellow players. Is that necessary? What about providing a service (buying the recipes, salvage, and crafting them) for those who dislike that aspect of the game? Then selling your crafted items at a fair and reasonable price?
3a. I got very, very rich on all my toons doing just this. When my stock of the "good stuff" in my base gets low, I do marketing for a month or two on a few toons to restock. This info continues to work, though I do not have the same depth of knowledge as when I did consistently over a long period of time, so it takes me longer now. It will take YOU less time later on, as well.
3b. I found it MORE PROFITABLE to keep my prices reasonable, than to attempt price gouging. Sure, I could plunder a niche, use it up, then dump what didn't sell - AT A LOSS - to nuke that market for everyone else. Then go and do the same thing on some new area for a few days till that tanks, then mess up that niche, and so on. Why? Why waste my time like that? Why, when I can consistently sell every single IO I had on the market (with as many as I had open spots in WW's), twice each day, simply by being reasonable with my fellow players?

6. You sure can to to the Markets and Inventions section. THere are some good folks there. Personally, I have never gotten much out of it, but I had already been marketing awhile before I thought to check in that area. The truth is, it seems you don't really need advice, as much as you need to keep plugging away at it, doing your research, and finding out what works best for you. Just hang in there, and follow what works.

This is a fine guide for how to build a character. But for the computer-stupid among us (ie, me), it doesn't show how to actually USE mids.

Super Zombie? That's so... dull.

I'm calling him George. Or maybe Cuddles.

Yep, that's the only issue I have, or hear of from others - please, PLEASE! For the love of all that is holy, dismiss them before entering WW's.

Other than that, WELCOME BACK!! (And that welcome goes for your demons, too )

WOW! Fabulous job, GG! It's just beautiful, thank you!

PS Loved the *pounce huggle* catgirl the very best

Aww, Bruthaman, you cracked me up with the Kim K. personal failing! Hahaha!

Well, as I have said before, and will probably say again (not because I'm trying to beat a dead horse, but because I'm getting old and the memory is failing), this is a very female-friendly game. That which we might have complaints about in regards to costumes, or with stances, or stature/weight/etc, make me wonder:

How much of this is our own doing?

Let me explain. A few posts previously, I noted that the "standard model" for all kinds of things, is the male model. This has caused all sorts of problems, not the least of which are medical ones, simply because women are not scaled down men. We all know this. We aren't idiots, we really do know this. So do brilliant minds who are working on life-saving disease cures, medicines, and methodology. We ALL know this! The problem comes into play because we forgot we started with that unspoken premise, that the standard was based on the male. Example, optimal dosages were discovered for some new medicine. Dosages were adjusted by weight. But they forgot that the optimal dosages were correct for a male, and female physiology sometimes caused even fatal reactions, all because they forgot their basic premise: that the standard was based on the male model,

This doesn't make it sexist. Something had to be the standard, it could have as easily been the female, which would have then had unforeseen consequences on the different male anatomy.

The problem becomes that we all have a "standard model" in our own minds, but we forget we have done just that - imposed a standard, against which we judge other things. If I were to say "everyone, create a basic superhero. Quick, roll one up. It must be male, beyond that, whatever you want, you have 3 minutes, GO!"

How many of us make tanks big and hulking guys? But make their empaths female?

Are the differences in some gender-related items (costumes/stances/musculature builds/what have you) caused by the fact that our options are limited, OR this is what the majority of us continue to choose? Do we have it somewhere in our heads that the empath is a sweet, kindly, ministering (female) angel, and that tank is a rough and tough guy, with the heart of gold?

Does the Art Department know what we're buying, and continue to provide us with more of the same, despite a vocal group that says they want more parity?

Are we ourselves creating the very situation we're complaining about?

Interesting thread topic, Samuel. Am surprised to see it here. (We explore subjects here? Who knew!) Movie Bob's "The Big Picture" video on "Gender Games," was great, and I'm embarrassed to say that I hadn't really thought about many of those things beyond the most superficial aspects, most of which can be summed up with me looking at my big, klutz tank character standing in Wentworth's and wondering why she's suddenly taken on these peculiarly ultra-feminine mannerisms.

I don't notice these stances at all when it's on an ultra-feminine character, though. The stance fits then, and blends (to me, anyway) with the costume/body/etc. creating a consistent character.

It would be nice if we could set a default pose or stance for our toons, regardless of gender. Like: aggressive, or angry, or cocky, or quick (or afraid to touch anything for fear of breaking it, in the case of aforementioned tank). We have the option for fly poses, but that needs to be reset each time, so I never bother with it. Ditto costume change emotes. However, these things take the discussion away from feminism, and thus off-topic.

My thought is that the default position for anything is always based on a male model. In the game, and often in real life, too, creating real problems in areas as diverse as proper medication to shoe design. Very often, everything is based on a male model, then scaled down for females. And, as it turns out, this often doesn't work due to the fact that >SURPRISE!< women are different from men, and not just scaled down versions of men.

If this is correct in the game as well, then it seems quite possible that the art department looked at the male stances on female characters and said "you know, real women players are not going to be pleased at being forced into this "manpose," perhaps we should go the extra mile and make a more feminine version?

Which just goes to show that sometimes they just cannot win.

When I started playing the game, I was never emotionally drawn to any of the arcs. I didn't know it was even possible - I just never thought of it. My emotional investment was limited to who gave missions with badges, or were too darned far to try to traverse without travel powers. Contacts were guys who had jobs for me, to fight some growing threat or other. Was not - and am not - drawn to any of the Big Heroes of the Game. Why would I? I never had any relationship with any of them. They are the Big Famous Guys, and sometimes I do TF's for them, while they stand in one place looking Big and Heroic. They say "thanks, good job" or something, but am pretty sure they would not recognize me on the street a week later. That's ok, I wouldn't recognize them either, unless they were wearing all the nifty costume pieces I can't get (that's the dead give-away!). I get to feel some sense of satisfaction finally when I rescue Statesman at the end of Maria's arc, it's as if I have somehow entered the Big Girl's Super Hero Club at last.

I think the first arc that I had some emotional investment in is Jim Tremblor's arc in Faultline. I mean, I'm some dorky level 15 superhero wannabe, right? I can't do much of anything, but suddenly am faced with not only actual EB's (!!) but, crap, Fusionette! And it's at this point I realize I might be a weenie little 15, but I'm not Fusionette, so maybe there is hope for me. My very favorite (maybe in the whole game!) is the mission fighting Nocturne. I start Jim's arc being a weenie little dork. Once I beat Nocturne, I am a super hero. Period.

The first time i really got really involved was doing Jenny Adair's arc. I got really choked up at the end of that. And even though I know what's coming each time, it continues to choke me up, too! I think that's indicative of some very good writing. It was really eye-opening for me to get drawn into a mission emotionally, and made me rethink how I was playing, and how much I might have been missing. (Is this my own faulty premise? Or is it the way it's all written? I have no idea, this is only my "VERY" subjective experience. I hope it is not taken as any sort of criticism of anyone or anything in the game. I enjoyed it before it had an emotional element, I enjoy it even more now.)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Praetorian arcs. My only regret is that I found the content difficult to solo with support toons at such a low level. I just could not counter all those ambushes alone, so found teams, which pretty rapidly withdrew me from the emotional aspect of what I was playing. However, my husband and I duo'd many of the arcs, explaining the dialogue only one of us could see, and we both fell in love with Katie, and Tunnel Rat, and Noble Savage. And ached for Penelope and Aaron. Aaron Walker's arc is probably my favorite, but it's tough to say for sure - they are just SO good! ALL of them! At the end of the Praetorian arc, I don't know if any of these people are - or will become - fabulous Big Heroes of this world. I don't care. They became my friends.

Have to also mention the last mission before leaving Praetoria. The first I did was Loyalist, and meeting Cole - COLE! - was huge, and... deeply creepy! I literally got chills. I felt sorry for the poor guys stuck with the Resistance mission, because they would not have a chance to experience the shock and creep factor meeting the guy so caught up in his own grandeur. That is, until I did the Resistance exit mission. OMG! I was in tears seeing all those people/contacts/friends! (I'm choking up again just thinking about it! How embarrassing!) It was just perfect. Beautifully thought out, wonderfully executed. Going from this mission into Talos was a letdown. "Let's see... I MET the biggest, baddest guy in the entire DIMENSION who BEGS me to help him, but I leave and now... I can go defeat 10 Freakshow." *sigh*

Luckily, now there is the First Ward, and I would vote each and every arc there as being wonderfully done, and wonderfully told. Again, am developing relationships with these people and doing things for/with them not because it's a "job", but because they've become friends. And hey! I'm in my 20's now, and can actually solo the content, though it remains challenging. I can't say which arcs are better than the others - part of the beauty of the writing is that in 1st Ward you don't really "graduate" to the next contact, you revisit them over and over again.

I'm rather hoping that Katie's situation is a cliff-hanger, pointing to further content. A 30-40 zone, based on busting up the Asylum? Another mystery to solve? And what of our blind friend - is he still squatting in a swamp? How is Noble Savage holding up, after that... mission?? And Katie....!! (Am trying to be a little vague for anyone who hasn't finished it yet)

I loved this arc - I was actually sad when it was over. I couldn't wait to get back on my little level 28 villain and solo all this new stuff. It was alternately funny, witty, heartbreaking. Master Midnight had me literally laughing out loud. And the whole thing kept me guessing, which I appreciate a lot. There was nothing in the arc that had a "canned" feel to it, or like I knew what the inevitable outcome was going to be.

A small thing I found a little irritating: I kept having to run across the zone to talk to someone, and come back again to get a mission that takes me - guess where? Back where I just was. This is particularly annoying when I had the phone number of each one of them! It's not a huge deal, but it just makes no sense, you know? I hope this part won't be included in the 30-40 content I am going to BEG them to do!

This zone is just too good to be wasted on a single arc! Please do more! Please? Pretty please?

I feel for all of you EU players (NA daytime hours are my peak gaming hours, too.). However, anything that makes our fellow players across the pond feel like 2nd class citizens, also makes me unhappy. It's NA workday hours messing up your evenings, not specially catering to the NA player base. But nobody can contest that the downtimes ARE affecting our EU fellows more than anyone else.

EU players are as much "us" as any other player group - almost more so. Everyone I know was thrilled when the servers merged (Personally, I was rather hoping you guys would class up the joint with all your posh continental ways. Mostly now am learning many new words I can't repeat in forums. But still, enjoying it fully!). Now I'm hoping that wasn't idiotically naive - I would hate to think that the only players who were happy for the server changes were those of us in NA. Bugger!

No one can give you your playing time back, or change the daytime working hours of the our continent, so it doesn't suck for you yet again. But am thinking there are all kinds of nice things our brilliant Community Reps have done to make players feel important. I vote (what do you mean, there's no vote for this stuff??) for a big EU-only perk!

Downtime affects lots of us, but when it affects one specific group significantly much more than any other, some sort of response is definitely warranted!

I don't think anyone cares what you do on your own time. It's your $15. But the constant spams, the offensive broadcasts, obnoxious justifications for bilking folks for free content, the broadcasting and help channel arguing over who makes the most off of what build/farm/ticket rolls/etc - all of it is just depressing.

If want to farm, go farm. Make a farming channel. Do what you enjoy QUIETLY. Leave the rest of us in peace.

Is this really asking too much?

That was a really fun read, thank you so much! Would love to see more storytelling like this. Great job!

I generally don't like villainside. There are a few things I do like, however:
- Cap. It's the most convenient zone! Everything is near the BM! I LOVE CAP!
- Mortie Kai SF. BEST st/tf ever! Short, sweet, hysterically funny dialogue. What's not to love? Each time I run it, I find something new to laugh about. Wonderful stuff!
-The guy that sells flight packs is lots easier for a lowbie to get to than the guy heroside.

Um... ok, that was it.

Dislike:
-tends to have poor players. NO, NOT YOU READING THIS! In summer, I could swear the average age of anyone red side is 14. Ever find yourself on a team, it's going really badly, because team leader thinks you can level faster at +3 on your level 12 toon? After the 4th team wipe, the leader silently quits the team. And, should you happen to be trudging back from hospital at this time, you will see that SAME person, broadcasting that they are starting a team. I'm not saying this doesn't happen blue side. I'm saying in 5 years of playing a lot, I've never seen it blue side.
-it's dismal and dreary. Some stuff is beautiful. However in missions, I have to jump over crap strewn all over. Why? It's just soul-sucking depressing. (And this is my primary reason for not playing redside, btw. I just get more and more glum playing in that dreary ambiance for any length of time. My husband doesn't play over there for the same reason.
-it's hard to navigate unless you have flight. Why? Flight isn't necessarily the best option for many AT's.
-you're someone's minion until you're 50. Then you are the minion of your patron. So, all that work, and .... you are the chump of a higher class villain. I am missing the point of this.
-I don't know the good contacts, the good arcs, or heck, even how to get the midnighters arc. (I know the contact. Have done missions for her! Can i get in the door? Um.. sometimes. And why lvl 35?? Why do some toons have this arc unlocked? Why not others?) Now, I'm sure this info is available somewhere. I read the forums and the guides all the time. Have not run across this info. So, could hit the Wiki. But.. why? I would have to have the desire, and frankly, I just don't.

Welcome to the game! It's great to have you here! Am also glad to see you on the forums. People here are geniuses.

OK, I'm not, but for my money, I would second the /SD suggestion. WP is ok, but once it's 50, it's just... okay. Not bad! Just not as tough as Shield Defense. Take either scrapper or brute, not a tank. If you are on a tank (the noun), a team will expect you to tank (the verb) for them. Keeping the fire blaster hiding behind a pillar safe is a real skill, maybe even an art - it's really one of the harder AT's to play well. It's not fair to you to put you in this situation, and it's not fair to your team, who will be expecting someone who knows how to keep them safe.

For a primary, I would suggest an AoE-heavy set, like Electrical Melee, or Mace. Groups will die faster by using more AoE attacks, than with single-target melee attacks. Thus, as you level up, you are able to solo bigger groups, getting you more drops, which will gain more influence. Both of these sets also do a lot of knock up and knock down in their attacks, so you keep the bad guys on their behinds a good amount of the time. That mitigates your incoming damage. Plus, you know... way fun! NOTE: Do NOT slot for knock BACK. This knocks them out of your reach, and is an utter pain the the you know where. Just slot for acc and damage + 1 endurance reducer, like any other attack.

ALSO NOTE: you will also gain more exp if you fight harder groups. However, I just fight MORE of them, at my same level. More foes equals more recipe drops along with more experience/faster levelling. MUCH more infl for you to fight more, not harder, enemies. You don't have to do any farms, ever, if you dislike them as I do. Just play the regular content, but set your difficulty for as many foes as you can handle. You'll be doing /x8 (maximum - that is to say, you can solo as many guys as an 8 man team can do) well before you're level 50.

Good luck, and happy scrapping!

Oh, my gosh, I love this thread! I thought I was the only one to do stuff like this!

I remember years ago some team leader (who was much nicer than I had any right to deserve) told everyone to not pull any extra aggro. Later, he told ME I was pulling aggro. Shocked, I said "How? I'm totally invisible!" He replied "Yes. Yes, you are. That trail of pets behind you though, they aren't."

Have often wished there was a badge title I could select reading "Big Ol' Dork." to go along with that PFP (personal face palm) emote.

Almost all my toons wear heels. Some in the form of platform heels, I'll grant you, but they are heels nonetheless. I consider the wearing of such as bona fide proof of Super Hero-ness. "LOOK! Stilettos! And I'm RUNNING! And... NO BLISTERS!" Spandex? Pfft! Anyone can wear spandex. Stilettos and Super Speed? Now THAT is a Super Human!

There is a shoe museum in Europe I saw on TV, with shoes of the ages. Royal courts were wearing them in the 18th century, with buckles and bows and gee gaws. Naturally, I loved them. But these were a type of a stacked heel, more like a cowboy boot, than what we now consider high heels. The stillettos are a relatively new invention, because they are a complex engineering marvel. In order to have a very slim, very tall heel, which could remain structurally sound while 120+ lbs. of female (usually) was rocking on it (think of the heel-to-toe step we take) repeatedly, they had to have a reinforced steel alloy heel-through-sole, which was molded in one piece, since no glue/nail/rivet/weld would ever survive such a beating. They calculated the number of pounds of pressure per minute, but I can't recall it - in the thousands, though.

And what does this mean, other than I remember too much irrelevant trivia, but do not probably know where I put my car keys? It means we are playing a pretend game, in which we dress our pretend people in pretend clothes, that's what! If I want realism, I'll go clean the toilet. I do not want a "realistic" barbarian. I would prefer to play a character who has all their teeth, thank you.

Thus, I rather think the issue is not one of heels, or historical minutia. It's the circa-1950's stereotyping that is offensive. It reminds me of a guy I met a few years ago who told me all his tanks and scrappers were men, but all his support toons were female. He did not add the obvious next line "because it's the female's job to support the man who is doing the real work." I felt sort of sorry for him, that he was that "programmed" into out-dated gender roles. Not enough to talk with him again, mind you. But yeah, pity was involved.

There is nothing wrong with a cute, frivolous female costume. Neither male or female barbarian costume is remotely offensive to me. What is dreary is that there are no alternatives, not for either gender. There is nothing light-hearted for the male, and nothing that says "I will kick your ***" for the female. I don't know anyone who is interested in unisex looks (I'm not, certainly), or knee-jerk political correctness, but this costume set, like some of the others, feels to me (subjective feedback) just the way I felt talking with that man. Men are the heroes. Women support the men being heroes (and look darn cute doing it).

I have not found this attitude anywhere else in the game, unless it's making fun of that mindset (like Skulls and Skull girlfriends). Not in the dialogue, not in the story lines, not in any comments from any dev. Ever. In fact, I got a girlfriend into the game, and one of the draws for her was my telling her it really IS girl-friendly here! And once she started, she agreed. It is not the testosterone-fueled game she figured it would be. It's JUST in the costumes.

Why?