Aerospark

I've done a lot of Lambdas with my Bots/Traps, and I haven't had any frustration with the final fight. Yes, I do end up having to do a lot of resummoning. But I haven't seen the artillery barrage every hit me for anything more than negligible damage. I also stay pretty close to Marauder except when he activates Nova Fist. Twice I've been the only significant source of -regen in the league, and that required I stay close to M. If I die in that section of the trial, it's usually due to Marauder's reinforcements, and not the AV or any of his exotic attacks.


If anything's frustrating in Lambda, it's the sabotage phase. I am nearly constantly out of bodyguard range while rushing through the corridors for the next crate or chamber, FFG does not keep up, so I'm vulnerable to being mezzed by grumpy seers, and a loud clattering army of mechanical terrors can create a ton of aggro if I'm not careful.

I'm okay with this. I think bots/traps shines in the BAF, particularly. We have a lot of tools at our disposal to deal with the escaped prisoners, and having a small army means that sequestration is less likely to be enforced on us (I've never gotten more than 1 warning). I think that the variety of exotic abilities and tactics means that at some point everyone will be at a disadvantage.

A customer support representative restored most of my rewards a little less than 24 hours after my initial petition.

Provided you're a Robotics Mastermind, you should be able to use all of your henchman with a level shift provided that you do not use Upgrade on the Assault Bot or protector bots.

Edited to add: and with a hotfix being applied very shortly, this may no longer be an issue.

My experiences this morning directly correlate with your findings. Without fail, every time protector bots summoned seeker drones I experienced a mapserver. I also experienced a mapserver every time the assault bot summoned more than one burn patch with incendiary missiles.

I ran missions with level shifted henchmen who were not upgraded and experienced no unusual problems in play.

There does seem to be a correlation between pets who summon their own pets and the crashes. I ran through a variety of different scenarios solo this morning in tip and newspaper missions on my Bots/traps MM and these are my results:

Protector Bots summon seeker drones= crashed 100% of the time.
Assault Bot uses incendiary missiles= crash, but only about 50% of the time. If only one burn patch is summoned, or all enemies die quickly after missile usage I did not experience a crash. Multiple burn patches at the beginning of engaging an enemy resulted in crashes.
Acid Mortar=no crashing experienced.
Poison trap=no crashing experienced.
Running missions with all henchman/available traps, but no upgrades on bots=no crashing experienced.
Mastermind summons own seeker drones=no crashing

Hopefully this is helpful.

Please note that at no point in my post did I invoke the Meyers-Briggs Type indicator. Nearly every modern theory of personality includes extroversion/introversion as key traits whether as a single continuum, or as dominant and secondary traits (as in Jungian theory). I am personally uncomfortable with the MBTI as an assessment because of it relies solely on self-report. My point was to define introversion as it exists in every theory of personality that I am aware of and not as some sort of social disorder.



There was no hyperbole in my statement. Please note that the example I used as something an introvert may find repugnant was "teaming with strangers," not merely interacting with people. While it may seem a fine distinction, it is still a distinction. I personally know a number of people who also play City of Heroes/Villains; this means that I can nearly always find someone I know to team with if I so desire. Frankly, I don't really mind teaming with people I don't know, nor do I mind PUGs, but I can certainly see where some people would find either to diminish their enjoyment of the game, or even remove it entirely.

Please also note that I never argued for solo content, or dismissed the WST and whatever's coming in I20. I defined a term that was being used incorrectly and pointed out some differences in introverts that are did not seem to be readily apparent to some extroverts. I personally, am thrilled about the WST, and eagerly awaiting the next morsel of information about I20. But as a fairly strongly expressed introvert, I can certainly see where others may not be so thrilled, and I think it's important to note that those people are not necessarily suffering from any sort of psychological disorder.

I apologize in advance for taking the thread slightly off-topic, but I feel it imperative that I correct some misconceptions that people have propagated in this thread. You are not nearly the only person doing so, but you are the most recent, and I find it easiest to address some problematic thinking by directly addressing you.

Introversion is not synonymous with social anxiety. An introvert is not necessarily shy, socially maladroit, a social outcast, or a shrinking violet. Introversion is a personality trait; by its very nature more likely to be "permanent" than not, since most personality traits are fixed by the age of three. An introvert is a person who tends to prefer solitary activities and introspection to group activities; in general, introverts tend to feel energized by reflection and drained by interaction. This does not mean that they cannot enjoy social interaction, nor does it mean that introverts are afraid of other people, or incapable of "teaming with strangers." It does mean that some introverts may find the prospect of teaming with strangers tiring, or even deeply unpleasant. If one plays a game as source of enjoyment, why do something one finds repugnant?

I find it baffling that you would think think that personality traits are something to "get over." I also find it unfortunate that you seem to think extroversion is always preferable to introversion. Most of the writers I know are introverts, and I'm quite happy that they're able to use their introspective thought processes to create beautiful and luminous fiction.

Most importantly, I think it's important to dispel the notion that introverts are people who really want to break out of their shell, and be the center of attention, and talk to everyone all the time. People who desire such a thing are most likely extroverts, albeit socially awkward ones. Just as socially adept introverts exist, so do socially inept extroverts. It's an important distinction that introversion/extroversion in no way quantifies ability; they're a matter of preference and comfort. Introverts tend to prefer and feel energized by solitary activities and tend to feel drained by social situations. Extroverts tend towards the exact opposite.

This hasn't been my experience. I've done multiple Apex, Tin Mage, Lord Recluse, Lady Gray, Statesman, Kahn, and Imperious Task Forces with my mastermind. I've soloed most of Maria Jenkins' arc, Viridian's arc, and Mender Remiel's arc without much difficulty (I did need another person to defeat Siege because of his auto-heal power).

Most of the higher level content doesn't seem to penalize Masterminds excessively. Exceptions would be Apex and Tin Mage (because of how poorly the lower tier pets fair against enemies 5 and 6 levels higher) and the ITF (where the AV seems to heal more with henchies and around and spawn more nictus). While this content does require an additional challenge, it hasn't been at all insurmountable in my case.

I can see Fusionette's furious confrontation with Faultline now:

"Don't try and fool me no more, Jimmy; I know what it means! Marcus Cole? Marcus Nasty! You didn't go up there to complete a mission!"

I don't think they ever granted any experience, much like the weakened destroyers in Tami Baker's arc. They're significantly weaker than normal even level enemies. Perhaps underling experience would be appropriate?

I guess my biggest disappointment is the lack of information we've received. As far as I can tell, no one has answered players' questions about the third tier of closed beta access (whether it's granted by pre-order as stated last year, or by pre-purchase which was available earlier this year, or whether it's even still valid). I'm glad that Avatea reassured the Francophile players that the Loyalty Program beta would start soon, but it would have been nice to have the same information in the language spoken by the majority of subscribers.

It doesn't necessarily gall me that non-players who attend Comic-Con may get to preview the game before most Loyalty customers; I hope that it hooks them and we get a new influx of interested subscribers. But it does mildly irritate me that we have received so little information about stuff in Going Rogue. There are two additional powersets being added. Neat! What are they like? We don't really the know the answer. There's a new morality system that's triggered by something called tip missions. What's that like? Well, there's an IGN article sort of talking about it, but that's suspect because its first publication had several errors (including calling Neromancy, a powerset in CoV since its inception "new").


I'm patient. I'm quite happy that fully half of the new powersets have been available months in advance of Going Rogue's launch. I'm happy overall with the direction that the game has taken in the last few years. I just wish that there had been more of a response to the questions of the community at large. Even a "we can't tell you that, but rest assured, you'll know soon" is better than silence.

My French isn't perfect, but it looks like Avatea said: "Don't worry, The beta for loyalty program participants has not begun, but will happen fairly soon. An email will be sent to each participant and beta forum access will be activated at the same time."


So...

Soon(tm)