Arctic_Princess

So, any factions which would be good to include?

I can think of some Pros and Cons for the following (I'm going up to 50, even though technically we can fight +4s):

Circle of Thorns - Level Range 1-50
PRO: Because they are a persistent threat (See Council, Arachnos, Longbow below) then a benefit versus them as you continue to fight them would be handy.
CON: Because they are a persistent threat (!) it makes little sense to 'subdue' them and then continue to fight them.

Arachnos - Level Range 1-50
Same PROs and CONs as above, PLUS:
CON: If you're a Villain/Rogue taking a Patron, although you have proved 'Survival of the Fittest' I think it sort of jars with the Arachnos theme - "Yeah, thanks for killing most of my faction on your way to the top. Here, have access to the Powers of the Leviathan...". YMMV.

A very long and difficult to code way around this would be to take Arachnos by faction - Mako (Crab Spiders), Black Scorpion (Arachnobots), Ghost Widow (Widows), Scirocco (Mu), and Recluse (Banes). But seeing as current missions only very rarely restrict Arachnos to a particular faction, I think that would be verging on 'impossible' where impossible equals more work than benefit.

Longbow - Level Range 1-50
Same PROs and CONs as CoT.

Council (and to some extent, 5th Column) - Level Range 1-50
Same PROs and CONs as CoT.

So, perhaps for now, restrict those groups from Faction Nemesis, until an alternative way of doing things presents itself to me?

As it stands those groups feature heavily in arcs anyway, so you'd be fighting them in due course just by following story arcs and such as opposed to highlighting to the group that you are actively going after them.

Now, if anyone's following this, I have decided to put limits on factions and content etc with one particular reason in mind: Rather than blanket cover all factions, no matter how fleeting their presence in game, with the same cover-all system, I'd rather see something like this introduced slowly to see how it works.

For instance, say you're a F2P player, never been up against Crey, Freakshow and Nemesis before and suddenly, at level 30 and onwards, you're getting more heat from these groups because of a faction system that you have limited control over; it could be annoying and frustrating.

Veterans (no matter how long they've been playing) are likely to have some knowledge of these enemy groups and so would know to avoid/go for certain factions to make their lives easier.

I think I'm going to leave the idea here now, unless someone comes up with something really juicy and gets my brain going again. If anyone wants to add or detract then please do. It is a Suggestions and Ideas forum after all.

EDIT: And finally! I think the system, or something like it, should be implemented from level 10 upwards. I.e. start with factions such as the Outcasts, Trolls, Clockwork -> Warriors, Tsoo, Family, Freakshow -> Crey, Nemesis, Carnies -> Malta. In the utopia that is my head, story arcs would be written/rewritten on a faction-by-faction basis to include Faction Nemsis in it, rather than doing it all at once and getting more Story Bible rage.

So what kind of powers would be available?

Damage types?

I know not everyone's a fan of 'Swap Ammo' but I think if it was just a Smashing Damage with various minor secondary effects set, it could get dull, fast. So something similar (but not the same) as Swap Ammo might be a possibility.

The following powers are numbered to what I could think of, off hand. They are not Tier 1-9 as I would see them.

E.g.

1. Crack - ST, ranged, moderate smashing damage, chance for -resist

ANIMATION: a 'whip-crack' animation.

2. Sonic Boom - PBAOE, +Def, Disorient (possibly minor smashing DoT/just plain smashing damage?)

ANIMATION: A whirl around the head followed by a 'boom'.

3. Electrify - Build-Up style power that adds Energy damage and a chance to stun/end drain

ANIMATION: Build up with lightning flashes

4. Choke Hold - ST, Hold, Moderate Smashing DoT

ANIMATION: Character launches the whip at a target and it 'curls around them' before the effect disappears. Affected enemy is left doing the 'choke' emote

That sort of thing would be gimmicky, but potentially fun for me. Needs more info other than 'I want this set' I feel.

So I've had a few more ideas.

They are limiting at the moment, because story-wise I think they should be. YMMV.

In my idea for Faction Nemesis and Phasing, I am excluding the following game zones:

• Atlas Park
• Mercy Island
• Rikti War Zone
• Cimerora
• Croatoa
• First Ward
• Striga Isle
• Faultline
• Monster Island
• Shadow Shard
• Nova Praetoria
• Imperial City
• Neutropolis

My reasoning is that these zones already have 'stories'. Sure folks may think a couple of them could do with updating but personally, I think their stories are sound enough and, mechanically, some of them don't have 'easy' neighbourhoods in which to be 'ambushed' (Faultline being one of these, Striga another, let alone First Ward with its Shadowed Paths and faction-controlled areas: Besides this also has phasing depending on where you are in the story AND a gigantic monster!).

I am proposing that Faction Nemesis and Phasing Tech begins from level 10, even though I know the new training missions go up to 15-20 (I think it's 20 anyway).

TFs and SFs are a tricky one as they tend to have multiple factions (apart from Synapse) within them, and in the case of the Hunt missions for each faction in various TFs I think it would be confusing to allow Faction points for those hunts but not for any of the other missions within the TF.

However, I think Respec Trials should be fair game. Admittedly as a Villain you're only ever facing Thorns, but heck, at least they are the only faction in those trials. Makes things less complicated.

And obviously iTrials do not count.

So, now I've laid out the content restrictions I will go on to explain how the system would work for a level 10... Wish me luck.

Upon training at level 10, the trainer informs the player that they now have the choice of going after bad/good guys which could lead to rewards but at the price of that faction singling them (and their teammates if they are the leader - important to point this out especially for new players, let alone those of us who were previously unaware how Phasing tech worked!) out.

If the player has not already grabbed their newspaper / radio, at this point the trainer gives out a little 'go speak to a detective/broker' mission - Port Oakes for Villains, Kings Row for Heroes. The text for said contact is then updated to include an explanation of Faction Nemesis:

e.g.

Hellion lieutenants from lv 15+ (I think they go up to lv 20 now? Not sure) now have, joy of joys, Molotov Cocktail. (in Beta - I was doing the final Twinshot training arc)

I can sense everyone's so happy about that.

You thought Blast Masters were annoying? Now your favourite cannon fodder will demolish your pets in seconds!

Hello!

When GR was released there had been a contest to do some billboards (mainly pro-Cole propaganda) which was awesome.

After visiting the ex-Hero-turned-movie-star (Or director, or whatever she is) in Atlas Park, I was a little dismayed to find no update to the cinema (or theater for teh Americans).

So I would like to suggest that there's a contest to design some film posters/billboards. It'd be a good PR opportunity with the usual 'You submit, it's ours' rule as before. And as there is a frightening amount of artistic talent out there, I think it would be neat!

The ebil thing that lives inside my brain would love to see the DulcoEase advert playing on a giant billboard (the actual UK/EU (I'm guessing it's EU too) in Steel Canyon a la Piccadilly Circus / Times Square.

If the ad also exists in Teh Americaz then I apologise but every time I see it, I can't help but go slack-jawed and then laugh like a little schoolboy afterwards.

I also won't disturb you all by finding it and linking it (highly unlikely that would be 'cool' anyway) but I will give a brief overview:

Two ladies, enjoying a lunch at a classy brasserie, are joined by a third companion.

Lady 1: Hi Diana, how are you?
Lady 2: Well Sue, my poo's a bit hard.*

(absolutely no reaction to this from either Lady 1 or the ever-silent Lady 3)

Lady 1: You should try this...
(close up of a well-manicured hand with DulcoEase)

Lady 2: Thanks! I will!

Voiceover Lady (possibly Lady 3, but we never see) then explains the 'Science-y bit' prevalent in today's adverts.

(then, without any pill-popping or 'application' the ladies continue their lunch, laughing and chatting).

I kid you not, this is a genuine advert.

*I've obviously paraphrased this bit to make it funnier (in my head, anyway)

I think that's the big problem, Claws: It really is just a weird, vague idea in my head.

I'll have another think about it and see if I can come up with something more substantial.

Okay, the warning on this idea is that it is a phantom, buried in my hindbrain kind of idea. I haven't got a fully-formed idea, in translation!

So, Going Rogue brought phasing tech (contacts who appear/disappear depending on your choices - mainly disappear in this case)

Freedom/i21: Convergence has brought us 'in-zone phasing tech' which I happen to like (Others do not: You win some you lose some...).

So... what about a Faction Nemesis, that would change as you progress through the game - bearing in mind that some enemy factions only exist at certain parts of the game - depending on your actions against them?

As an example:

Centurion is a Hero who has vowed to keep Talos Island safe from the Tsoo. His hobbies include street sweeping and he has just been seen speaking to a contact in Indy port regarding a reported 'Tsoo Coup'. He favours hitting Tsoo on the head and responds to a lot of these incidents involving the group whenever he hears them over the police band radio.

As a result of each mission, a 'point' against the faction is gained and, say, for each 10 Tsoo in the gameworld (not in an instance) he defeats he gets another point, and for doing a story arc linked to the Tsoo he gets a bonus of 2 points. And perhaps for gaining the Tracer badge (100 Tsoo Sorcerers), he gets another 2 points.

There is no 'decay to this system, short of outlevelling the group.

Pretty soon (say after 5 points are accrued) more-powerful bosses begin appearing and will have a dialogue related to Centurion.

After 10 points are accrued (10's an easy number, and like I said this is by no means a fully-formed idea...), this opens up a special arc/mission involving Centurion's Faction Nemesis where he must fight an EB/Boss (not downgraded to a lt), and where the reward could be a badge, and/or a temp power, and/or a costume piece related to the group.

The idea behind phasing tech... almost forgot that! So our Hero is travelling around the city when he enters a neighbourhood and is 'ambushed' by his Nemesis Faction. He needs to fight off a couple of waves, maybe a few other objectives to get the Tsoo off his back, nothing too nasty.

As I made the excuse before, this is not a fully-formed idea in my head but it occurred to me t'other day as I passed a City Info Terminal in Beta, after doing some of the phasing tech starter missions in Atlas and Mercy.

Just thought I'd put the idea down here and see what kind of reaction it got. I can think of several downsides and some tenuous upsides to this. But it could be a fun mini-game if anything else. And most people like badges, right?

Just chucking in my recent experience of a Mind 'Troller - They're actually fun!

Sleeps are also useful in 'oh dear, we appear to have aggro'd another mob' situations.

The benefit of Sleep and Mind Control, of course, is that there are 2 powers that cause sleep, so Bosses are taken care of.

But on Electric Control, the sleep is awesome too. Not so much a fan of Salt Crystals on Earth Control as it's a PBAoE and it's other powers are, imho, much better at mitigation.

But Mind and Electric are cool as is, with regards to Sleep. Not tried my 'troller out on the STF yet as she's too low, but as she's Mind/Thermal, I am very much looking forward to Mass Sleep and Mass Debuffing the heck out of the AVs

I like the new tutorial mainly because I know it's not meant for me, because I've been playing for 6 years now.

Why die during the tutorial anyway? Why does it have to be a challenge? Also the comic book is neat-o.

And it's cool that those lazy heroes who tend to stand around, even during a Rikti Raid, doing nothing can now be seen to be doing something and give characters something to aspire to.

And now that the assets are there, some missions exploring the meteor strike and Shivans for future issues'd be a good thing in my book. (And are likely as this is 'obviously' the first real 'event' of the Coming Storm. Kinda like the Plague of Locusts. So next would be... Blood?)

Change -> Fear -> Doom.

If everything is given to you* all at once, it's not long before you're scrabbling around for something new.

I think this applies at the moment. On Beta, I've unlocked everything and there is an element of 'So what's next?' Thankfully Live won't give me everything all at once.

Of course there's the stuff like Signature Story Arcs, actually understanding more about Reward Points so that I unlock what I want etc etc

Plus we haven't got the influx of free players yet to spend time talking to in-game.

There's a lot that we can't decide on until it's experienced Live.

I'm just sad that people are falling into the 'DOOOOOM' trap so soon. It's normally at least a week after Live, isn't it?


*you = anyone in particular, including myself

The lore in game, for me, is as interesting as comic-book lore. I.e. depending on who does the writing will change which stories we get.

Whilst the Well of the Furies is not, according to a certain global channel I frequent, considered a popular direction it is nevertheless more of a unifying theme from which other stories can be told.

Playing through the new starter arcs for Heroes and Villains, I would say that now playing and lore have caught up a little bit. For instance, we now know what Manticore's mansion looks like (similar to Dollface's admittedly, but at least that aspect of his billionaire character has some foundation within the game).

Although it's somewhat limited, I am enjoying travelling around the zone and experiencing a story. In Atlas I'm driving out Arachnos whilst keeping a lid on the gangs that tend to frequent the place (and previously Galaxy City), AND I'm dealing with the displaced people of Galaxy City. There are good elements from Going Rogue (disappearing contacts, musical cues, quasi-moral choices) and I've been trying my best to see it from a new player's perspective.

Kheldians need the love of the story revamp, of course. And soon. Along with power customisation! And no, not a dramatic change, just something a bit more relevant to how the game is now and not how it was back then.

Similarly, I like running around Mercy driving back Longbow, and then seeing that change.

But most importantly, the new early content in terms of writing for both sides is about level. I love playing villains more for the quality of writing. In previous issues I have felt that the writing for Heroes was poorer, even after the writing teams 'merged'.

I play the game because it's fun. Story is important to me, and if we ever see level 100 robots (points for the reference) I will be putting the game to one side and doing something else.

And to add to Lemur's excellent post, it's also a business. Businesses are there to make money. It's not a public service like trash collection or the police. If they don't make money then even the VIPs eventually will have nothing.

I do think that the Marketing department could take the opportunity to explain that F2P doesn't mean everyone gets everything for free.

But I also wish that people had more common sense when it comes to the issue of paying for entertainment: It would be lovely to have a game as complex and accomplished as City of... that was free, but even saying that exposes how lacking in common sense the idea is.

One person's pleasure is another's pain, or in this case swap that!

AP is going to be the starting zone for more than just VIPs and Premium players returning to see what the fuss is all about.

There are new players coming, whether people like it or not, and at the moment the starter missions in Atlas and Mercy don't actually tell you about the game. Or rather they present walls of text.

AP needs to be shiny and it now has a story beyond lolPhantom_Armyspawn under the statue.

Yes Galaxy is gone. Yes it's a shame (I didn't see where they hid Shadowstar or relocated Sunstorm to) but things change.

The old buildings looked good maybe 7 years ago. The new upgrades now make the place look like a City of modern times as opposed to a City out of the 1960s (i.e. concrete everywhere, and not a green belt in sight).

And as for the spawns? They're fast now because there aren't 50 players trying to do the same thing. And it's Beta so things can change. And the new instances OUTSIDE that even have cued music are awesome!

I am looking at Atlas Park with hope that further 'redesigns' of drab zones like Kings and Skyway (and maybe eventually Boomtown) will occur. Especially if new players start spending money because they like what they see, they like how it plays, and they like the fact that people are supportive in game.

And so what that the tutorial now feels like other MMOs? Maybe our empty, desolate tutorial zones needed a feeling that more than 2 people were playing the game, especially for new people. Maybe the tutorial (which now extends beyond the Shivans and Galaxy into Atlas/Mercy) is better because it explains things in a simple yet fast way?

Bring back The Regulators, I say.

They're as relevant today as they were back in the 70s and 80s.

Especially now there's the potential of Praetorian 'dyne' flooding the streets. I mean, we can jump backwards and forwards between the zones as PCs - who's to say that a nefarious villain (such as a rejuvenated Samuel Frost) hasn't figured out a way to draw the substance over here?

EDIT: Also, isn't or wasn't Aurora Borealis affiliated with the Regulators?

I'm going to pass, if only because I can barely remember to RP with the one group I am in (and not just a prestige filler for) , let alone add others.

Surely by now people get that the Ancillary Pools aren't there to suddenly turn your character into an amazing one?

At level 38 you've got, for generic purposes, all of the power-set choices you'll take for that character. The Ancillaries don't add anything to those powers but they might plug a gap, without dramatically changing the nature of the AT. So you won't suddenly get Team Heals for Scrapper APPs.

Also to note is that each AT has base values for the effectiveness of their various attacks/defences/resists/buffs/debuffs/controls etc etc.

The -def of my Scrapper's Katana attacks is not as high as the -def of a /Rad Defender's blasts. But I do more damage, especially in melee, because I'm a melee AT.

So giving Scrappers 'souped-up' controls/debuffs whatever would be overpowered, because the power of the , um, power would have to be rammed up to take account for the low base value of these kinds of moves.

I certainly think that Scrapper APPs could do with some proliferation - Sonic and Electric for starters - if only for some variety.

But souping up their powers for me is a clear /unsigned.

Better?