Avatea

We definitely have things to improve in the future and we'll be hard at work doing just that. I'm sorry some of you have had to suffer lag, certain events aren't appropriate to a server as popular as Freedom and we've learnt from that.

Glad some enjoyed themselves though!

Patch notes for build 1800.201005212331.1T

COMBINED

Powers

General

• Fixed a bug that caused many critters with ranged attacks to change behavior and prefer melee range, including Rikti Drones and most Mastermind pets. Critters should behave as they used to again.
• Fixed a bug with the Blackwand power drawing from the ground and planting the player vs. just drawing the weapon normally.
• Players may once again choose to not accept or decline the Mystic Fortune buff power.
• Shield Defense (all) – characters will no longer walk on air when jumping with a shield drawn.

PVP

• Fiery Aura Fiery Embrace will no longer cause Travel Suppression in PVP
• Teamwork/Mind Link will no longer cause Travel Suppression in PVP
• Telekinesis in the Ancillary pools should now behave the same in PVP as standard versions and no longer repel players.

Invention

• The Backup Radio temp power now has only 5 charges as intended.

Badges

• Fixed a bug that caused only Wolf Spider minions to count towards the Spider Smasher badge.

Mission Architect

• Fixed an issue with enemies disappearing when using "The Fab" unique map.
• Fixed a bug where pets would malfunction when using “The Fab ” and “Grandville” unique maps.
• Fixed pathing problems in the first room in the Vanguard Base (Interior) map.
• Guest Author: Quest for Magic: The last objective map icon will now work.
• It is no longer possible to create an un-completeable mission with defendable objects.
• Guest Author: Stolen Legacy Part 2 and Part 3: Correct some typos in the contact text.

Tasks

• Lady Gray Task Force: Reduced the Green Mitos’ hold protection from magnitude 53 to magnitude 10.
• Fixed a bug where the last objective of a mission will still be marked if the player resets the mission and starts over.

Tailor

• Put back the Braided Buns hairstyle from the Martial Arts pack, which had temporarily gone missing.

City Zones

• Midnighter Club – Fixed a bug that sometimes caused characters to get stuck in the ground when moving between the Midnighter Club and Cimerora. The previous fix stopped working as soon as a player took a pet through the portal, and would not start working again until the shard was restarted.

Arenas

• The Observer camera now properly flies again.

Emotes

• The drink emote will no longer cause female characters to slide back and forth.

CITY OF HEROES

Powers

Controllers

• Dispersion Bubble inadvertently set to affect a maximum of 16 targets. Corrected to a max of 255.

Defenders

• Dispersion Bubble inadvertently set to affect a maximum of 16 targets. Corrected to a max of 255.

Scrappers

• Broadsword and Shield Defense – the Head Splitter power will no longer play the Air Superiority attack animation when flying with a shield readied.
• Katana – Weapon draw animations now work correctly again.

Tasks

• Faultline – The Safeguard mission in this zone now correctly starts at a PPD van instead of a cave entrance.
• Positron Task Force Part 1: The final mission door is now located in trams instead of an office building.
• Katie Hannon Task Force – in the “Defeat Mary MacComber” mission, the successive waves attacks did not increase in difficulty as intended. This has been fixed.

CITY OF VILLAINS

Powers

Masterminds

• Demon Summoning/Crack Whip – the description was corrected to state Knockdown instead of Knockback.

Tasks

• Good Villains Never Die (Part 2): Fixed a bug where the name for the final boss in the task, "Find Thomas Mane" was labeled incorrectly.
• Good Villains Never Die: Adjusted Leonard’s location to make him slightly easier to get to.

Unsettling news are spreading across Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. Kadabra Kill has managed to secure a mystical item that seems to be of interest to the Circle of Thorns. The latter will probably be sending the heavy artillery to get it.

Kadabra Kill has previously been spotted in Founders' Falls and Cap au Diable, probably to plan a safe route to one of the entrances to the Midnighter Club where he is sure to be taking this item.

Be vigilant, tomorrow, Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 4PM Pacific Time (7PM Eastern Time)!

Mother Mayhem is the world's most powerful psychic. Her powers are so great, she escaped death itself. Now merged with the body of Aurora Borealis, Mother Mayhem uses her immense mental talents to keep Praetoria safe....from itself. Thanks to her loyal network of Seers, Praetorians can enjoy the harmony that comes from having pure thoughts.

Visit the City of Heroes Going Rogue site, to find out more about Mother Mayhem and the Seers!

Join in the Community discussion here!

Mother Mayhem is the world's most powerful psychic. Her powers are so great, she escaped death itself. Now merged with the body of Aurora Borealis, Mother Mayhem uses her immense mental talents to keep Praetoria safe....from itself. Thanks to her loyal network of Seers, Praetorians can enjoy the harmony that comes from having pure thoughts.

Visit the City of Heroes Going Rogue site, to find out more about Mother Mayhem and the Seers!

This is a tough decision. Yogi_Bare, you've found the right names but havn't included the list of names. Scootertwo, you've got it all.

According to the rules though, I'm afraid Scootertwo is this week's winner, sorry Yogi_Bare. Don't forget the list next time

Congratulations to you Scootertwo! PM me your choice of costume code and I'll get it to you asap.

The Virtue server will be offline for a maintenance and some back end changes on Tuesday, 25th May 2010.

Start Time: 6AM Pacific Time (9AM Eastern Time / 2PM British Summer Time / 15:00 Central European Summer Time)
Expected Duration: 2 hours
Expected Finish Time: 8AM Pacific Time (11AM Eastern Time / 4PM BST / 17:00 CEST)

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!

Just a heads up to let you know we are still looking into this. I'm not sure about the 2nd instance of Pocket D but I forwarded it anyway just in case.

Please note: next Monday being a holiday, Ebil-o has decided to kick back and will also be having a day off. We will consequently not need anybody to save the Earth next week. Thank you for your continuous efforts to save everybody from a very unpleasant fate.

Submissions open on Mondays only from 10 AM Pacific Time (1 PM Eastern Time / 6PM GMT / 19:00 Central European Time) until 5:00 PM Pacific Time (8:00 PM Eastern Time / 1:00 AM GMT / 2:00 Central European Time) between January 11, 2010 and July 26, 2010).

Welcome to our "Search the words, save the world" forum mission!


A super computer turned evil codenamed Ebil-o is attempting to take over our most powerful nations' computer systems and exterminate us puny human beings (how original, huh?). However, every week, a short window of opportunity allows us to break into Ebil-o's matrix and reset the timer leading to our undoubtedly apocalyptic end!

How do we do that, I hear you ask? Well, we happen to have an anonymous little helper and each week, he or she snail mails us a word search puzzle containing anywhere between 10 to 15 words related to City of Heroes related theme (Ebil-o likes City of Heroes; apparently, it helps him unwind after a long day hard at work planning to get rid of humanity).

Each week a new theme will be passed along and you will need to find the exact number of words you’re being told exists within the block of letters you are given.

Your opportunity to save us all is through a word block located at the bottom of this post.

The goal is to be the first one to find the words based on the theme (without being told what they are), circle them in the word block (using Paint or an equivalent program) and then list them below it.

If you are the first one to answer with the correct words, you win and only then will we be able to input the words into Ebil-o's matrix, thus delaying our impending doom. As a token of our gratitude, we'll give you the "Ebil-o FTL [date]" forum title as well as 1 (one) costume code amongst the following ones:

• Carnival of Shadows Harlequin
• Freakshow Tank Boss
• Paragon Police Department Hardsuit
• Carnival of Shadows Ring Mistress
• Knives of Artemis Lt.
• Praetorian Clockwork

Have fun…but not too much as each week we’re counting on you to save the world!

Rules

1) Reply in the official City of Heroes® forum (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/) thread created for each weekly " Search the words, save the world Contest” with your submission.

2) Your reply must contain a number of words or names that will be defined every time this contest is run. Please refrain from posting more than the number of words indicated in every contest post. Only post the correct number of words or names, even if you notice duplicates..

3) Your reply must also contain the following statement. Please note that your submission will be disqualified if this statement is not present in your post:

If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

4) To enter the contest weekly, as of January 11, 2010, you must be 13 years of age or older. If a winner is under 18 or a minor in his or her state/province/country of residence, his or her parent or guardian must also sign any applicable releases and documentation.

5) Please note, only 1 (one) entry per forum account will be accepted. If you post a second time, you'll get disqualified, so make your one entry count! Also, once you have posted your entry, do NOT edit it as any edit will disqualify you from that day's forum game.

6) Entries must conform to the Official City of Heroes Message Forum Rules and Guidelines and to the Contest Official Rules and Conditions.

7) [I] If you win the City of Heroes® Search the words, save the world Contest one week, you are not eligible to do so again for the next 8 weeks. This is to allow other people the opportunity to win. Please be courteous to others and refrain from participating during the weeks you are not eligible to win.

-After reading the feedback from previous "Search the Words, Save the World" puzzles, I have made a few changes to how this will work and removed the failsafe.

- Note that if a word includes more than 1 word, they will run together in the puzzle. Example - Envoy of Shadows would be found in the puzzle as ENVOYOFSHADOWS

If there is not a winner by the end of the day, I will post the solution.

This week's word list consists of 13 Last Names related to high ranking Arachnos officers.



Monday, May 24th, 2010 - Word Block






Good luck all, and don't forget that the fate of the world is in your hands!

The City of Heroes Going Rogue FAQ has now been updated with the latest information regarding our upcoming Going Rogue expansion!

The pricing for the Complete Collection Item Pack has been announced, so if you were waiting on it to make up your mind on whether to prepurchase the City of Heroes Going Rogue expansion or wait for the Complete Collection, now is the time to sort out your priorities! Will you get anticipated access to Dual Pistols and Demon Summoning or will you wait patiently until Going Rogue comes out this Summer?

Thank you for reading our FAQ for all kinds of information on City of Heroes Going Rogue!

The City of Heroes Going Rogue FAQ has now been updated with the latest information regarding our upcoming Going Rogue expansion!

The pricing for the Complete Collection Item Pack has been announced, so if you were waiting on it to make up your mind on whether to prepurchase the City of Heroes Going Rogue expansion or wait for the Complete Collection, now is the time to sort out your priorities! Will you get anticipated access to Dual Pistols and Demon Summoning or will you wait patiently until Going Rogue comes out this Summer?

Thank you for reading our FAQ for all kinds of information on City of Heroes Going Rogue!

Join in the community discussion here!

There is indeed a discrepancy between our websites and we are looking to get that sorted out. Both sets used to be managed separately but we are hoping to bring all of them to the same level of content sooner rather than later.

We are aware that Virtue has been experiencing stability issues over the past few days and we would like to apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.

We are currently investigating this problem and will let you know as soon as we've managed to locate its roots.

Thank you for your patience with this matter.

Congratulations Skullgrind! PM me your choice of costume code and I'll send it to you asap. Your title has now been set, you world savior you

Submissions open on Mondays only from 10 AM Pacific Time (1 PM Eastern Time / 6PM GMT / 19:00 Central European Time) until 5:00 PM Pacific Time (8:00 PM Eastern Time / 1:00 AM GMT / 2:00 Central European Time) between January 11, 2010 and July 26, 2010).

Welcome to our "Search the words, save the world" forum mission!


A super computer turned evil codenamed Ebil-o is attempting to take over our most powerful nations' computer systems and exterminate us puny human beings (how original, huh?). However, every week, a short window of opportunity allows us to break into Ebil-o's matrix and reset the timer leading to our undoubtedly apocalyptic end!

How do we do that, I hear you ask? Well, we happen to have an anonymous little helper and each week, he or she snail mails us a word search puzzle containing anywhere between 10 to 15 words related to City of Heroes related theme (Ebil-o likes City of Heroes; apparently, it helps him unwind after a long day hard at work planning to get rid of humanity).

Each week a new theme will be passed along and you will need to find the exact number of words you’re being told exists within the block of letters you are given.

Your opportunity to save us all is through a word block located at the bottom of this post.

The goal is to be the first one to find the words based on the theme (without being told what they are), circle them in the word block (using Paint or an equivalent program) and then list them below it.

If you are the first one to answer with the correct words, you win and only then will we be able to input the words into Ebil-o's matrix, thus delaying our impending doom. As a token of our gratitude, we'll give you the "Ebil-o FTL [date]" forum title as well as 1 (one) costume code amongst the following ones:

• Carnival of Shadows Harlequin
• Freakshow Tank Boss
• Paragon Police Department Hardsuit
• Carnival of Shadows Ring Mistress
• Knives of Artemis Lt.
• Praetorian Clockwork

Have fun…but not too much as each week we’re counting on you to save the world!

Rules

1) Reply in the official City of Heroes® forum (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/) thread created for each weekly " Search the words, save the world Contest” with your submission.

2) Your reply must contain a number of words or names that will be defined every time this contest is run. Please refrain from posting more than the number of words indicated in every contest post. Only post the correct number of words or names, even if you notice duplicates..

3) Your reply must also contain the following statement. Please note that your submission will be disqualified if this statement is not present in your post:

If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

4) To enter the contest weekly, as of January 11, 2010, you must be 13 years of age or older. If a winner is under 18 or a minor in his or her state/province/country of residence, his or her parent or guardian must also sign any applicable releases and documentation.

5) Please note, only 1 (one) entry per forum account will be accepted. If you post a second time, you'll get disqualified, so make your one entry count! Also, once you have posted your entry, do NOT edit it as any edit will disqualify you from that day's forum game.

6) Entries must conform to the Official City of Heroes Message Forum Rules and Guidelines and to the Contest Official Rules and Conditions.

7) [I] If you win the City of Heroes® Search the words, save the world Contest one week, you are not eligible to do so again for the next 8 weeks. This is to allow other people the opportunity to win. Please be courteous to others and refrain from participating during the weeks you are not eligible to win.

-After reading the feedback from previous "Search the Words, Save the World" puzzles, I have made a few changes to how this will work and removed the failsafe.

- Note that if a word includes more than 1 word, they will run together in the puzzle. Example - Envoy of Shadows would be found in the puzzle as ENVOYOFSHADOWS

If there is not a winner by the end of the day, I will post the solution.

This week's word list consists of 11 Names (not restricted to character names) seen in the Mender Lazarus Task Force.



Monday, May 17th, 2010 - Word Block






Good luck all, and don't forget that the fate of the world is in your hands!

New intel suggests that a Rikti Invasion is afoot. Our psychic network is detecting unusual activity in the immediate space surrounding our planet and while no visible spacecrafts can be seen, we suspect the Rikti are using a new shielding system to thwart our detection technology.

Founders' Falls and St Martial have been determined to be the most likely landing locations.

Thursday, May 13th at around 4PM Pacific Time (7PM Eastern Time) is when we expect them to land.

Be on the lookout and come prepared! We recommend you team up with high level super-entities if you want your contribution to count!

Fixed, thanks for the heads up!

Patch notes for build 1800.201003300904.20T5r.

COMBINED

Powers

General

• Corrected an error in Critter powers which could prevent them from being shut down in appropriate circumstances. Good examples are Reichsman keeping his max Resistance despite being shot with the Dimensional Grounding Ray, Green Mito's in the Lady Grey Task Force keeping their Healing Aura despite being held, and some critters retaining Hide when damaged.

Powers Customization

• Characters that had customized powers in Issue16 will no longer lose customization the first time they log in to Issue 17.

Mission Architect

• Fixed a bug that was granting too large a reward to custom critters with Build Up or similar powers.
• Removed Koago (of the Minions of Igneous group) from the list of selectable bosses. Any missions that contain this critter may now be invalid.

Rewards

• Removed the rewards for all ‘errand’ tasks within missions. These small rewards were exploitable with the new mission abandonment feature. Mission completion rewards are not affected, including patrol missions.

Auction House

• If the MAKE OFFER and POST are disabled due to too much activity, you will no longer be spammed with a huge number of announcements telling you about it.
• If the MAKE OFFER and POST are disabled due to too much activity, the buttons will become active again after a short time as they are supposed to, instead of remaining greyed out until the player logs out and logs back in again.

City Zones

• Midnighter Club - Fixed a bug that sometimes caused characters to get stuck in the ground when moving between the Midnighter Club and Cimerora.

Global Email

• Messages with "<". "%", and "&" in the subject line will no longer be garbled.
• Fixed a crash if you attach an enhancement to a global email, delete the enhancement, and then send the email.

Gameplay

• Fixed a few more rare random crash bugs.
• Fixed a rare crash when saving changes to custom powers.

Graphics

• Fixed a crash for players using GeForce4 MX cards when creating a new character and getting to the 'name' screen. It may also clear up other crashes and issues with headshots/bodyshots on lower end graphics cards.

CITY OF HEROES

• None

CITY OF VILLAINS

• None

The Live North American & European City of Heroes servers will be offline for a publish on Wednesday, 12th May 2010.

Start Time: 6AM Pacific Time (9AM Eastern Time / 2PM British Summer Time / 15:00 Central European Summer Time)
Expected Duration: 2 hours
Expected Finish Time:8AM Pacific Time (11AM Eastern Time / 4PM BST / 17:00 CEST)

Patch notes for the publish will be available after the downtime.

We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!

Please note: costume tokens (one per unlocked costume slot) will be given to all further to the implementation, due to an issue with customised powers.

COMBINED

Gameplay

• Fixed a rare crash when saving changes to custom powers.

Graphics

• Fixed a crash for players using GeForce4 MX cards when creating a new character and getting to the 'name' screen. It may also clear up other crashes and issues with headshots/bodyshots on lower end graphics cards.

CITY OF HEROES

• None

CITY OF VILLAINS

• None

The North American and European Training Rooms will be unavailable today, Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 between 2PM Pacific Time (5PM Eastern Time / 10PM British Summer Time / 23:00 Central European Summer Time) and 4PM Pacific Time (7PM Eastern Time / 12AM British Summer Time / 01:00 Central European Summer Time).

Patch notes will be available after the publish.

Thank you for your patience during this downtime.

There wasn't one. We ended up having to delay it until further notice, which happens to be today.

The City of Heroes Going Rogue™ website has been updated with the biography of the fearless Marauder as well as the mysterious Enemy Group known as the Syndicate!

First, meet Michael White (aka: Marauder) and find out what makes him such a intimidating lieutenant in Emperor Cole's trusted group of Praetors. Marauder is the law in Praetoria, where the strong make the rules.

Then jump straight into the action as you listen to an intercepted police transmission and discover the magnitude of the threat posed by the Syndicate.

Visit the City of Heroes Going Rogue™ website to find out more about Marauder, Syndicate and the other factions in Praetoria.

Join in the Community Discussion!

The City of Heroes Going Rogue™ website has been updated with the biography of the fearless Marauder as well as the mysterious Enemy Group known as the Syndicate!

First, meet Michael White (aka: Marauder) and find out what makes him such a intimidating lieutenant in Emperor Cole's trusted group of Praetors. Marauder is the law in Praetoria, where the strong make the rules.

Then jump straight into the action as you listen to an intercepted police transmission and discover the magnitude of the threat posed by the Syndicate.

Visit the City of Heroes Going Rogue™ website to find out more about Marauder, Syndicate and the other factions in Praetoria.