_eeek_

I write bios simply to amuse people. And by people, I pretty much mean me.

What entertains someone else is highly subjective. Other than amuse myself, my aim is to inject a sense of the characters personality. I write them all different ways - in first person, in third person, as letters, one as the summation of a psychiatric report, another is from PPD Hero Files report. I have some that are 1 or 2 sentences. Some struggle to fit in the allotted space. I don't think ANY of that matters. What matters is, do YOU enjoy the dickens out of your bio?

I think if people wrote in this fashion more often, we'd all enjoy reading them more, too.

I hope whoever wrote this (Beast, was that you?) is also an in-game writer.

I LOL'd. I don't usually LOL. I grin. Occasionally I chuckle. But this was a full LOL.

Well done whoever you are, well done.

The hair is even workable for my young teen character, sans highlights. From the back it is a touch older for her than I'd prefer, but it's by far the best thing for a non-girly girl who still wants to look stylish, and it allows her to wear a cape (which is a must!) without clipping.

Hard to find hairstyles for a few of my characters - pigtails/high pony tails are too young (despite the odd number of grown woman characters who seem to favor it), and many hairstyles are either too feminine, too severe, or look too much like "mom hair".

Would love to see more of this sort of hairstyle - a bit tousled, fresh, flattering on a lot of different faces and can be used in some unexpected places.

Really well done! Who do we have to thank for this, besides "everybody"?

After having a day to tinker with the new clothes, I must say I'm very pleased with my new clothes. Of particular delight, I find the metallic dress fills in all kinds of previously really frustrating wardrobe issues.

* the metallic skirt matches the shiny vest/lapels of the (wedding pack) female tux.

* skirt closely matches (not exactly) the slick, glossy tops-with-skins options we've had for awhile now (excess plus, hearts plus and another one I can't recall off the top of my head now). If a belt is worn with the skirt, these near-identical finishes look identical, though may have to tinker with colors a bit. (YAY! I don't have to wear those itty-bitty-omgisthatmybuttcrackshowing??! bottoms any longer!)

* the top matches metallic parts of many of the bottoms with metallic parts. My only quibble with the top is that it can't be worn with anything over it (jacket, trench, bolero). It's such a PERFECT laying piece, it seems (in a "I like the CC waaaay to much way) a tragic waste.

* you could even wear it as a dress!

So, whatever other mutant toes issues exist, all-in-all am delighted to find so many really useful wardrobe "fixes" with this dress. Wonderful job, art department!


Organica, I made that same outfit yesterday, with different colors. Only difference is - yours looks GOOD! Well done, you! Hat's off!

Another thing seems like a bug: as you do the various missions, the "select active mission" button has to be re-clicked each time. When you need to "return to contact", Jessica is way, way down my contact list.

Well, okay, that's just a nuisance. But the thing is, if you run this mission on a team when you also hold the mission, you never get the prompt to complete the mission if you have that particular option checked for running an identical mission. I think you don't get credit for completing the mission if you have auto-accept checked in options.

This is actually a real problem, as ONLY THE MISSION HOLDER GETS THE BADGE

Introverted does not mean shy.

Introvert means you're attuned to the inner world. Extroverts are attuned to the external world. That's all the words mean. Carl Jung coined the term eons ago to understand personality types back before the myriad of diagnostic tests we have available now.

IF introverts are shy, it can be a learned behavior (being picked on for their lesser ability to pick up on social cues, or to interpret them correctly), or their nature is ALSO shy, or various other things.

An extrovert can be shy. An introvert can be outgoing.

Arcanaville, you are amazing!


Now I want a Sam hat.

I think the new dress (tops with skin + skirt) is really cute! When I briefly tried in on in the CC, in black at least, it looked a lot like soft leather. I can see a LOT of use from these pieces to mix with other leather options!

Am VERY pleased with this purchase!

I have Super Speed on about half my characters, so I haven't seen my feet in years.

The only part of any boots I ever see are the calves, and these look wonderful on the calves! Plus, about half my characters are also mutants, so I'm not bothered on this angle, either.

PS The female hair is CUTE! Am only saddened that the male hair isn't available for females. I am getting sick of using "wild" or "tall spikes" for my characters who should have big, strategically messy hair. Hair that big, and that high seems female to me, with a lot of teasing, gel and hair spray involved.

I am not sure that the issue is one of solo vs. anything else. People who dislike large groups of strangers are often happy to team with a small group of friends.

Am not sure where the "YOU DARN SOLO-INSISTING PEOPLE!!" came from with this thread.

The people I know (who are not representative of anything but, well, the people I know) who dislike the Raids, are people who love to with friends. The reason some of them play the game is to meet new people, to socialize with with the ones they already know. They don't care what level anyone is on the team, and they don't (much) care if the team is a great one. They are there to meet with friends. They loathe I-Trials. They can't have the social teaming they enjoy.

Others enjoy small teams with friends, as well as soloing. They don't feel heroic on a big steamrolling team. They don't enjoy playing with strangers, even though meeting one or two is often a nice thing. These people hate the I-Trials.

I don't know a lot of RP-ers, but the ones I do know, enjoy RP teams a lot. That's why they're here, it's a place to play a game, and to RP that game. THEY hate the I-Trials.

Personally, I LOVE teaming! I love teaming with friends, I love teaming on PuG's, too! I like meeting new people, and seeing how a bunch of strangers can really mesh their particular powers. My favorite kind of teaming is TF's. I thought the WST as a path to incarnate powers was brilliant! (I really wish they would allow Emp. Merits be a reward option, personally)

So, while the OP has his/her reasons for disliking the current changes in game focus, a lot of people are feeling that very same way. Excluded. Though I don't believe in any way this was the devs intent, I DO believe that if they say "the only way your character can progress in the game is if you do I-Trials", then what many, MANY different groups of people who have found a home here, only hear is: "we don't want you here."

This saddens me no end.

I only have one character who has aged, because how they look defines so much of the character for me.

The character who aged is an 11 year old, who loves quirky costumes, particularly if it involves a hat. She is the only character who has so much personality that SHE picks out her costumes, not me (Once I put her in a pretty party dress. Oh, there was hell to pay for that!).

So, anyway, trying on new clothes one day, she lit upon the Defense set, and fell in love with it, and now feels that she is a PROPER super hero. Thing is, it's so tight, that even with the bust and leg sliders at minimum and waist slider at max, her figure shows too much development to look 11. Since she's not giving up the costume, then it stands to reason that she's about 14. But only in that costume. With the other costumes, she's still 11.

But since I just rescued Statesman a couple days ago, several weeks after I saw him die, I feel that her aging up and down is pretty much just another typical day in Paragon!

I'm not sure why this thread has become an argument about absolutes, definitions or extremes. I don't know anyone who prefers to solo that thinks that every bit of game content should be available for solo players, nor do I know anyone who enjoys teaming that thinks solo players should all just pack up and leave. No one posting here has suggested that either of these views is their belief, either. So if no one here believes any of these things, then why is there an argument about how each extreme is wrong, stupid, etc. and how can people believe such rubbish? Doesn't someone have to actually voice support for the rubbish extreme viewpoint in order for everyone else to jump on them and tell them they're idiots?

Paraphrasing (broadly), the OP was saying is that the current endgame content is a "deal-breaker" for some, and possibly for lot of players, and I22 is, or can be, the determining factor whether or not there is any place for them in the game as it appears to be unfolding. This isn't controversial. This how someone feels However, the conclusions based upon those feelings may be faulty, which the OP admits is a possibility. Yet that isn't the part anyone seems to be arguing over, and that's what actually does seem controversial:

If I22 doesn't provide a viable (eg, not 2 threads per arc for the mission holder only, or whatever), alternative to character progression other than I-Trials, do you think there will be a significant drop in longtime players? What kind of percentage of long-term, more stable playerbase (which the OP was referring to) do you think are feeling this level of hopelessness about the game, and them having a place in it? Should we joke about it, and say DOOOOOOOOM and "can I have your stuff?" or should this be taken seriously?

Tony, your point is well taken. However, I can't entirely agree with it, either. There is a difference between saying "it is not unreasonable to expect that there will be some parts of the game that require teaming up" and saying "the only way you can progress your character is to participate in huge raids".

What I hear from friends and acquaintances, is that the game is becoming something meant for someone else, not them. A lot of people I know feel alienated because they dislike raids. As it stands, their choices are: a) play content they loathe so they can keep up with everyone else, or b) avoid playing what they dislike, and feel gimped, weak, and useless.

Is it necessary to add content that only appeals to a certain style of play? Yes, actually I think it's quite important to offer varied content that appeals to a broad range of tastes. However, there is nothing else in the game but the I-Trials which actively limits your characters if you don't participate, either. Only the Trials.

I do not believe the argument is about whether raids should exist for those who enjoy them. Of course they should! The argument is about whether or not a certain segment of the playerbase is important or not. If you design character advancement around only ONE style of play, then whether it's intended or not, the message is heard "we do not care about you."

I did not mean in any way to point a fingers at any one (especially TonyV for whom I have a great deal of respect). My point is that people here do matter, and so long as the game remains balanced, and as exploit-free as possible, then I would like to see viable alternatives so that everyone feels included and important.

Dear Sam,

If you haven't realized by now, you are much loved around here. That's why everyone wants to send you stuff - I don't know you from teaming or anything, and wanted to send you stuff I have laying around, too - I didn't, cause I didn't know if that would offend you or not (but offer is good, global is @eeek).

I have a few thoughts, please ignore anything that does not suit what you want to do, because that would really be my number 1 rule of playing: NEVER do anything you hate (reason: you'll grow to resent the game and quit playing it).

I (and probably a whole lot of us who started playing before the inventions system) used to hate the whole set IO thing, and avoided it. But when I did start to dabble a bit, the thing that really got me WANTING to do it, was that I could tailor the character exactly the way *I* envisioned it. Without IO's, I had the same cookie-cutter build everyone else did, differing only in whether I used 2) accs, or chanced using just 1) acc and 1) recharge.

With IO's, you can really customize your character via sets, just like you are so good at doing with costumes. That adds such an important element to my characters - they do what they SHOULD have done all along, but I couldn't do until the sets came out.

I would never follow someone else's build. EVER. That is for powergamers, and God bless 'em, that's great for that style of play. I look at other builds for ideas, sure! But using someone else's build is distasteful - it's like wearing someone else's underwear. YUK! I don't CARE how many times it's been laundered, it's still... someone else's underwear! That said, I invariably find that my slotting is almost identical to other people's in the key powers. But I come by it honestly, doggone it!

I also find it a lot more fun to play characters from just the game side of it. It's just less stressful to play when your tough characters are soft capped. Or your blasters are soft-capped for range, and have a whole mess of recharge to boot.

Suggestions for marketing simplicity:
*if you can bear it (and maybe you can't) find an alt to do the marketing for you. Yes, I know you don't like that. But the reason I suggest this is because all this marketing garbage is sort of "in your face" all the time when it's being done on the character you play all the time. Like it's hanging over your head, nagging relentlessly. If you can do the marketing on someone else, you can very cleanly do as Unicycle Peon suggested, which is put out lowball bids and leave them awhile. Almost all will fill reasonably quickly, which will save you a ton. Do this on an alt, and you can completely forget about it for a week, play as usual, then come back in a week and see what you've got. Thus reducing the nagging, the stress, and frustration and general "not fun" that goes with the market.

*you do not have to bid on recipes. The huge time sink of set IO's is bidding and juggling all the tons of crap you need to make the darned stuff. Some of the IO sets U.P. had suggested for you have a number of IO's which regularly sell for less CRAFTED than the recipes sell for. Crafting from recipes is going to be overall cheapest. But it IS the easiest and SOMETIMES cheapest to bid on the crafted item. Especially if you are doing the lowball bids and "completely forget any of this stuff exists for a week" thing.

*realize that marketers routinely put their selling price as MUCH less than the usual going rate for level 50 IO's. Thus, the mentioned performance shifters that usually sell for 20 mill. are actually being placed on the market for 15.xx million. ALL THE TIME. We are not talking lowball bids, we are talking the regular set asking price. Why? Everyone does what you do - find the going price, add a bit to make sure you get the thing and don't have to muck about. Something for 5 mil going price is place on the market for 4.xx. Something for 10 mill is listed at 8.xx. Marketers are competing with a zillion other marketers, and they are all trying to undercut each other, and they can do this, because almost everyone bids like you've said you do. Do what you want, of course!, but realizing that basic dynamic is always at work can be quite helpful.

*Stone Daemon has a very nice Mids guide, which has sadly fallen to 3rd page. In this, right near the top, there is an AMAZING link to "Mids Video Tutorial" by Hyperstrike. It's really a great thing, and he explains things that even a complete computer idiot such as myself can understand it. Plus, it's u-tube, so he's actually showing it to you as well.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Cnpbgfd70 is what I cut and pasted from the address, as am such an idiot I don't know how to type in a link). Since you're very good at this stuff, it will fill in any non-intuitive uses for mids.

I wish you good luck with all of this. I truly hope you find a way to make it as bearable as possible to do, and that you come out with the wonderful, unique character, tailored just to you, at the end of it all.

Ok, they are doing something amazing for us, and ground-breaking for MMO's, and STILL people are complaining. Not because of what they are doing, but because they are not going to do this in a location that's personally convenient for them.

Ridiculous, just ridiculous.

I voted for C because I liked the boots and gloves the best.

B looked a lot like the Stealth set we already have (sans "glowie bits"), so could achieve that same look with what we have, then also have a shiny new suit that isn't like anything else at all.


************************************************** ***************


Can I put a "vote" in for blinky, glowing buttons that never seemed to have any purpose at all, but were are on all the spacesuit costumes of that era?