Winterminal

I think some kind of "extendable attacks" set for ranged players would be cool. Someone suggested whips, which sounds nifty. The issue I see with this set, however, is how to make it exclusively ranged and no melee (and avoiding remakes of *a comic character recently played by Mickey Rourke* or Stretchy characters if the skeleton of the set is looser than whips).

Kinetic Blast? This one is difficult to justify since I'm sure it would be similar to Energy Blast in terms of effects and unfortunately the typical Kinetic Melee set comes with 2 (or possibly 3 if you count Burst) powers that would go into this set. (Which leads me to wonder if this was a possibility for a ranged set, but they just couldn't come up with a wide enough variation of attacks.) I am suggesting this under the idea that it could be a good set for anyone who wants a "Wind Blast" looking power set, though that concept can be fudged with existing power sets (just not as well).

I'm with the masses for staffs/polearms. Granted, it would extend the melee range of the attacks, but maybe balance that with slower, more elaborate animations with a bit more damage to them?

That's all I have now. ALSO, slightly off topic and I'm sure this has been discovered already, but to anyone who was wishing and hoping for a Shield Offense set, Shield Defense + Super Strength with the newer animations makes for a very Shield Melee looking attack chain. Jab looks like you shove the edge of the shield in the enemy's throat, Punch looks like a similar but stronger attacks (provided it fires from your left hand), and Knockout Blow looks like you take the shield and break their face/jaw.

First, I would wait to start this character until issue 19 goes live, and you get the fitness power pool for free, or just have a respec ready to go once it hits. Next, I would ditch the melee moves (or, if you want to get Kick for access to Tough and Weave, don't bother slotting them). Ice/Ice/Cold is a very controlling combination, and you can be a powerful "blastroller."

The Slow aspect incorporated into all the powers is what makes melee difficult. They will take longer to get to you, so you will have to actually go to your enemies to use the melee powers, as opposed to just blasting until they reach you, then resorting to punching them in the face.

Definitely take Aim. It's worth it for putting strong things down quickly (i.e. trumping a Paragon Protector's Moment of Glory defense boost).

I recommend taking Bitter Freeze Ray. Yeah, yeah, long animation, whatever... Use it as an opener. Open on a 4 enemy mob, you can freeze 2 by following it with Freeze Ray, and make things much more managable. Or freeze the boss before they can get off a single attack. I find it is worth it.

There's my 2 cents.

Interesting. Are crashes that commonplace? I'll ususally play anywhere from 1 to (on rare occasions) 4 hours straight, and I can't remember the last time I had a total crash. I get brief periods where it looks like I'm being Mapserved, and once in a while I'll get bumped back to the log in screen, but it usually snaps out of it and resumes play as usual. I'm currently on Leopard (rather than Snow Leopard). Perhaps that is part of the elusive pattern in question?

The situation:

I have CoX on the two computers in my house. One is an Intel Pentium 4 PC that is (I think) 4 years old, and was purchased for the simple, every day family functions (Microsoft Office, internet browsing, music listening/sharing, etc.) The other is my 13" Macbook Pro, which I got last year. I play CoX on my Macbook because the graphical differences between it and the PC are staggering (and I don't even play with Ultra Mode). Naturally, the fan in the Macbook Pro turns on very shortly after starting up the game, and while I've never found the heat to be a hindrance in terms of comfort, I am beginning to wonder if it may be causing any long-term problems (not that I've experienced any problems yet, this is a preemptive concern). I would like the Macbook to last at least another 3 years, because I use it for way more things, and I would hate to find out in a year and a half that some of the hardware has been slowly cooked due to my favorite video game.

I've included any tech specs that may be relevant, let me know if I missed something:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.26 GHz
GFX: Nvidia GeForce 9400M
Memory: 2GB

The question:

Should I look into a new computer? If I were to get one, I would most likely get a PC built more for gaming (if I can find one at a reasonable price, ha ha...), since there are some other PC-exclusive games I would like to try out eventually. It will cost a decent chunk of money no matter what, and I thought I would ask around a bit before investing in something I may not need.

This topic is kind of old, though still relevant. The discussion seems to be continuing here.

Ice/Energy sounds like a great combination. Hell, play what you want. I would say the only powersets that might give you trouble while soloing in Praetoria are Archery, Assault Rifle, and Dual Pistols. I found they did not perform as well against the Clockwork that are present in so many missions over there. And if you don't have your heart set on /Energy, you may want to consider a secondary with a ST immob. as the tier 1 power. It keeps Ghouls out of melee range, which changes them from hard-hitting beasts to weak rock-throwing enemies that you can defeat with ease.

Until we can get a link to the information in question, I'm open to hearing feedback/criticism on the sets I've suggested. I would love to get a think tank going on how to refine those into viable powersets. Not sure if I said this already, but I'm all for the archery set that has been tossed around in this topic already.

I think the OP was referring mainly to the tier 1 attack power as annoying. Personally, I like the sound effects for the rest of the set, but that first attack does, indeed, sound like someone purposefully sighing loudly in my ear. That's the only one I dislike hearing. The rest of the attacks are loud, sure, but you're a Sonic character! What happens when Banshee let's loose a scream in a marvel comic book? People cover their ears! I agree with streetlight here, it's hard to find a balance.

I've been seeing a lot of requests for a secondary that would bring with it some Martial Arts, so I thought I'd whip one up. However, the problem I ran into was that this set may have to overlap with powers from other sets. So sue me, but here goes:

Body Manipulation

1. Front Kick (A 300 "This is SPARTA" animation (which exists already) with an effect like that of Power Thrust from Energy Manipulation. Possible alternate animation would be the palm thrust animation of Cobra Strike from Martial Arts.)
2. Storm Kick
3. Dragon's Tail (Much weaker than MA's version, but with an accuracy bonus to ensure the Knockdown)
4. Crane Kick
5. Adrenaline Burst (a.k.a. Build Up)
6. Weakness Exploitation - Ranged Targeted AoE: You analyze and aim for your enemies' weak spots. Each enemy that is hit suffers a -Recovery, -Regen debuff. (Recharge is about the same as Build Up).
7. War Cry (need a better name) - PBAoE, Foe Fear (melee range): You let loose a bellow of power and determination. Surrounding enemies will be intimidated by your tenacity. (Stronger enemies will have a higher resistance).
8. Blindside - Self +Special: After activation, each enemy successfully hit will be confused. The effects of Blindside last a short while, and only the next couple of attacks will be affected. (In other words, your enemies can't tell where the attack is coming from, and attack their allies in their confusion. Lasts as long as Build Up, with a slightly longer recharge.)
9. Eagle's Claw

So there it is. Not sure what people think, or how viable it is, but that's why I'm posting it, to find out.

And as long as I'm posting suggestions for other Manipulation sets...

Radiation Manipulation

1. Toxic Pit (ST foe Immob.)
2. Contaminated Strike (the weaker melee attack of the Shivans)
3. Noxious Gas (Toggle: PBAoE Foe Stun(Special). Essentially, it works like Choking Cloud from Radiation Emission, but with a much smaller range, and it is a Sleep instead of a Hold.)
4. Radioactive Smash (the stronger melee attack from the Shivans)
5. Build Up
6. Radiation Drain (Essentially the same as Drain Psyche from Mental Manipulation)
7. Nuclear Shockwave (PBAoE Minor Smashing dmg, Foe High Knockback)
8. Internal Mutation (High DoT, Foe Hold. You cause your enemy to rapidly mutate from the inside out, leaving them writhing in pain.)
9. Lingering Radiation

If these go over well, I'll see what I can come up with for Dark Manipulation since I would like to see that if/when we get Dark Blast.

Hmmm, really Knight Jolt? I'll have to give it another shot. I think it just got phased out of my attack chain once I had both Freeze Rays, then especially once I got Flash Freeze. Though, I definitely can still hypothetically see where it would be useful

I play a DP/NRG blaster, and I too prefer to stay at range. Surprisingly, at least while solo, I have found that using the standard ammo works wonders since a few of the powers add -DEF while using it. If you're opening against a mob, I find

Pistols->Empty Clips->Executioner's Shot

will kill the first enemy target, and you've lowered the DEF of the rest of the mob (or at least most of it). To continue killing, I recommend adding on to that chain with

Pistols->Dual Wield->whatever you want (a Bullet Rain here will probably get things down to where Pistols or Dual Wield will kill any enemy)

If you are dealing strictly with Single target attacks (and the earlier ones, since I don't see Piercing Rounds up there for you), I suggest

Pistols->Dual Wield->Executioner's Shot->Pistols (then probably Dual Wield)

Those 4 attacks, especially when slotted, will take out minions quickly, along with most LTs.

Not sure how much I can add that hasn't already been said, but like a few already on here, my first ever character and first to fifty is was/is my Ice/Ice/Cold Blaster. I strongly recommend taking your ranged attacks and skipping your melees (like some have suggested). Most of your ranged attacks are comparable to, if not better than, the melees anyway, and since your damage output will probably be a little less than the fire/fire (at least for the first 20 or so levels) you will probably want to keep your distance since you won't kill everything as quickly. Now, for bulletpoints!

-Chilblain is a great companion almost all the way to lvl 25, after that you probably won't need it. But up 'til then, use it. You gotta take it anyway, it does decent DoT, recharges as fast as your tier 1 blast, and will keep things away if you start to get overwhelmed.
-I recommend taking both Freeze Ray and Bitter Freeze Ray. Nothing cooler than being able to hold a boss like a controller, but kill it 3x as fast. Yes, the latter has a long animation... so use it as an opener! By the time you get access to it (26) you'll be doing decent enough damage that, in a 3 enemy mob, you freeze 2, and you can likely kill everything with hardly a dent to your health.
-Shiver, Ice Patch, Ice Storm, and (kind of) Frost Breath are your large scale mitigation powers. They work best on teams, with the exception of Frost Breath which will be effective no matter what or when.
-If you are not opposed to hover blasting, I highly recommend it. It allows you to set up your cones quickly and most effectively, but also can keep you out of harms way should (say) Freeze Ray miss an opponent that your really needed to stay frozen.
-I also recommend Hasten. The recharge times on this set can be painful (you start out with 4 and 8 seconds on your tier 1 and 2 blasts, respectively). You might find it isn't such a big problem post lvl 30 or so, but from someone who is big on their Single Target attacks, Hasten helps keep a steady chain of attacks. (To me, there's nothing more painful than launching 3-4 blasts consecutively, then just having to stare at my opponent for a few seconds while an attack recharges).

If you choose to stick with the ice theme, Cold Mastery I wonderful. Flash Freeze has allowed me to solo groups of 5-6 +2 bad guys with ease. Frozen Armor is great because... well, defense for blasters is great in general. And Hibernate makes for a great themed panic button (about to die, Hibernate, yawn for a few seconds, break out and finish what you started). Hoarfrost I didn't find to be as useful, and Snowstorm is almost unnecessary, considering Frost Breath and Shiver together get you darn near the slow cap.

Long story short: You are the ultimate blast-troller. Instead of the "Fire! Fire! Fire! BURRRRRN!" mentality that works and kills everything for a fire blaster, you'll probably be thinking more along the lines of, "Okay, you two, freeze! I'm gonna take out your buddy here first, just chill for a sec." A bit slower, but just as effective, and a lot of fun.

*Possible spoiler alert if you haven't seen the movie*

If you saw Kick-***, then that means you probably saw the ending, where they are flying through the city on a jet pack! Maybe just keep a steady supply of the Jet Pack temp. power recipe? Sure, it is more expensive in terms of inf., but if you are dedicated to the concept, I would use that. Not only is it the actual method she uses, but she has multi-millions (I think) left to her from her father, so she'd be able to afford it (assuming of course you have an upper-level toon that could front some of the money in the early levels.)

And yes, I know it is TECHNICALLY Kick-*** flying the jet pack, but she would have been if the circumstances were different.

And, after all that, if you hate that idea, I would go with Super Speed, however you want to design that.

I live in the Chicago area. Unfortunately never heard of Microcenter.

Hey there.

Does anyone know any major store chains that sell the $30 sixty-day time cards (as opposed to the $20 thirty-day time cards)? I have been looking for a number of weeks now, and the only ones I've come across are the 30-day cards. Anyone know where to find the 60-day cards?

Response to OP:

My problem is that I really like the Kheldian powersets/animations, what I dislike is the shapeshift dancing that seems to be necessary to be effective. I am also someone who likes fairly instant results in SOME respect. With all the other archtypes, you can do something really well right off the bat. Sure, blasters and scrappers are going to have the easiest time soloing, but by level 4 defenders, tankers, and controllers will all be able to keep their team alive, take the hits and keep on coming, and provide some sort of containment (all respectively of course). With the Kheldians, unfortunately for someone in my position that wants to skip the forms, we get some pretty good rapid-fire attacks and a decent shield all prior to level 6, and can take things down relatively easily, albeit a little slower than damaging ATs. But post lvl 8, unless you've taken Nova, that really all starts to change and you need a good amount of patience for about the next 10 levels before you start to get some worthwhile attack chains going.

The crux of the matter: I would love to build a human-only warshade and/or peacebringer, because I love the idea of a Blapper-type character who can withstand a hit or two. But with the PB, you almost need to take Fitness>Stamina to deal with the endurance woes, and there are so many other powers to choose from that it is hard to take that and skip others until later levels. (Let's be realistic, Conserve Energy does not really count due to it's excruciatingly long recharge.) With the human-only warshade idea, it seems really good on paper, especially Stygian Circle and Essence Drain since those can take care of health/endurance problem, but I am so damn afraid to try it because all I ever hear is doom from dedicated triformers.

I have tried twice now to say, "You know, the Kheldians just will not be what I want them to be," and walk away. But I am so drawn to the backstory and the powersets that I cannot stay away, despite the fact that I hit the same walls every time I attempt to build one.

First, let me say that it is doubtful that these options would be added to the existing booster packs simply because that would probably provide a nightmare for getting the options to the people who already own the boosters.

Now, the options you wish to add to the Cyborg and Science boosters have been asked for before. I believe it is something the devs are aware of, and hope to one day implement. I don't know when, but I have a feeling we will see the some day. The magic wand I am not so sure about. Yes, it would be cool to have some of these options, and I think we will see actual clawed hands and available arm cannons at some point, but I don't know how soon.

Agreed with all. This is new with i15, rather annoying, and shouldn't be the case as far as I know.

However, it should be noted that a DoT effect, such as a Family/Council/etc. machine gun, has always continued its full animation/damage output, but that's only if you killed the target mid-animation, not before it even started.

The original post is fascinating. My thoughts:

-Heroes get more attention because it is the original game, the game opens up to the City of Heroes screen, rather than the City of Villains screen, and as said before, everyone loves a hero. I know when I first joined, my thought process was basically (paraphrased) "Let me see what I can do on CoH, then I'll see what CoV can offer." I'm betting this resonates with many new players.

-Blasters and Scrappers have the greatest Creation rates due to their "High" damage output. Let's be real, most people joining this game are looking to be their own slightly different version of existing superheroes. By the game's standards Ironman, Superman, Wolverine, etc. are all 50s. But the new player doesn't know that. And a "High" damage output sounds (to the 0-experience player) like the best way to replicate those heroes. Of course they quickly learn that the level 1 Claws/Regen Scrapper isn't nearly as ferocious as their Wolverine from their comic books, nor is their Energy/Energy Blaster nearly as durable as Ironman. Which is why I think Arcanaville's thoughts on why those characters are quickly abandoned for others makes complete sense.

-The EATs migrations is quite surprising, to me at least. However, I do have to wonder how how many of those created characters are actually seen through to the end. I myself ran with all speed towards the Kheldians after I got my first hero to 50. I have given the Peacebringer 4 tries already, each to post-level-16, and I have realized that it just won't do what I want it to do. I wonder how many others have had similar reactions.

Thanks Arcanaville! Great analysis.

[ QUOTE ]
I think it is appropriate, on both sides, that "Shield Charge" and "Parry" are single powers rather than whole powersets. Yes, shields can be used to strike, and swords to block. Nevertheless, shields are primarily defensive tools, and swords offensive ones. Before we get around to making them powersets for their backup roles, there are plenty of more intuitive powersets to be made (quarterstaff, crossbow, pistols [coming, hooray], etc.).

[/ QUOTE ]

I gotta agree here. I can think of three actual moves that would be in a Shield Offense set, which is a single target animation like Brawl-with-a-shield, Shield Charge (which exists), and Shield Throw. Here is where I would repeat everything I quoted above. Not to mention, a Shield Offense set is just BEGGING for Capt. America impersonators.

Not that it wouldn't be cool, because it would, but I think there are a lot of things in front of it on the priority list.