Berzerker_NA

I think when a name infringement wasn't obviously deliberate, they should give you a free rename token after generic-ing you. It sucks to totally lose a character just because some fantasy company has a character you've never even heard of.

Is there any validity to these rumours? I mostly see them on threads that talk about i-17, or GR, and I'm curious if there are any valid sources behind them. I think it would be awesome to have an electricity set, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

I also don't like hysteria getting started over stuff that isn't true, so I'd also like to know for sure if it's not happening, so I can correct posters who say it is.

I know it might seem silly to take advice on this subject from someone with a "_NA" at the end of their forum name. I'm new to the forums, and I haven't gotten around to trying to find out how to change my forum name to something cool yet.

I just noticed on the last "Double XP/Reactivation" weekend, yesterday, that it looks like a lot of new players are experiencing difficulty finding awesome sounding names for their characters. I've compiled sort of a list of tips and proceedures over my months of playing that usually work whenever I need to name a new character concept, and which I've found great success with in the past. My hope is that, between my tips and any others that people might be willing to add, this thread can serve as a place for players to go when they need inspiration and/or ideas on how to give their character a name that will make it fun to play all the way up to level 50, and come back to again and again.

At the same time.... I'm kind of reluctant to reveal my secrets, because I like being able to find names.....


I generally us a very simple formula. Two words, that both start with the same letter (or rhymes are even better, but harder to think of). Usually it's best if one word is an adjective/descriptor, and the other is a noun (but not always). Consider, for example names like: "Wonder Woman", or "Silver Surfer" or maybe better examples from in game would be character names like "War Witch" or "Back Alley Brawler". Those are the kind of names that make you think "Man. I wish I thought of those." But there's not really that much to thinking of them, really, once you break down the process into simple steps.


1) - The first thing to consider is the basic idea of your character. What is your character's general theme? Start coming up with a list of adjectives and nouns that relate to the theme.

2) - Break out a thesaurus. Usually the most obvious words are not available, but that doesn't mean you have to start moving into academic or highly obscure words (unless that kind of thing fits your character - ie. science/magic origins). Often there will be a synonym to the word you're trying for that isn't academic at all, but you just didn't think of it. (Like "ice" vs. "snow" or "blade" vs. "sword") A thesaurus will list every word that makes any sense and carries the same meaning.

3) - Start trying to match words from your adjectives list with words from your nouns list. Sometimes the best match isn't a pair of words that actually rhyme or start with the same letter, but just sound cool together.

4) - Open up City of Heroes, and start trying them against the name checker. Remember that the name check feature on the character selection screen works, but the name checker in the character design screen is still broken as of this posting.

A few additional hints:

1) - Titles are often handy, such as Mr., Ms., Man, Girl, Woman, Boy, and etc. But also there's always Doctor, Baron/Baroness, Lady/Lord, Count/Countess, Duke/Duchess, .... etc, or military titles like Captain, Major, or Sergeant.

2) - Mispellings are ok sometimes, but best if they sound wicked awesome like Stryker, or Wycked, or sometimes the proper English spelling will make more sense (especially if your character is British) such as Armour, or Theatre. Or, sometimes the best names are "leet speak" (1337) type names, where a number acts as a letter.

3) - Don't get caught up too much in proceedure. Be willing to break your own naming rules when appropriate. Sometimes the best name is one you would have passed over if you were using too narrow of a method, like 8-D, for example. (Turn the name sideways and look at it.)


Anyway. This is far from comprehensive. I'm hoping other people will have something more to add. Any good naming hints that a person has discovered are very welcome here!!!

If you're going down without a def or troller who can heal, then you're asking for a team sweep. Also a good idea to have at least two melee people if you're doing a group of 8.

It's true that all powersets are basically equal in terms of damage and hitpoints, but you still need a balance of general power types. Scrapper=Tank, Def=Troller, and Blasters make things go faster (because they have more attack powers at low levels).

Why not, instead of heavy damage range attacks..... use fly protection ranged attacks? It should be easier to knock people out of the sky, not kill them while they're still flying.

I just ran a hover blaster up to about level 34, and flight is pretty powerful. Knockback effects just push you around a little. (I think they should cause you to fall). I could massacre Warrior mobs from above, and I'm thinking to myself: why can't they just knock me out of the sky?

It would be totally lame to make them do uber damage with their pitiful bows and throwing knives, but would anyone really object to adding a fly protection effect?

I guess other people must not have as much vanity as me, or something. I'm actually pretty happy with the idea of new faces. Of course, I haven't seen them yet, because I don't do betas.

I'm just annoyed whenever a low level mob gets something special that my player doesn't, or their version is better than mine. Or, if something defies the theme of a mob. (Having stronger range than melee totally defies the theme, ruining the experience of fighting them.)

They should focus on having ways to bring a flier to the ground, not just being able to hit them while they're in the air. Or.... the mobs' special attacks should *only* work on airborne heroes/villains. (Like the power to summon killer birds, or make an ascending poison cloud)

Then, make a temp power players can buy at WW to get the same functionality on their toons.