Biostem

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If you don't like the fact that there are going to be low level characters on some teams, then ASK before you accept the invite. Don't go in and give them what you think they deserve for trying to level up...

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Nah. I join the team, survey what's there, and if I'm clearly powerleveling lowbies, I drop.

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And that is perfectly acceptable. In fact, that is the preferable thing to do; don't like the team - quit.

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Yeah, in some play since I've been invited to teams by a level 2 (?!) that is demanding "Need more 30+ for 52 boss miss, have tank & kin" ... of course the tank was level 13 and the kin level 15, but my eyes just about popped out of my sockets.

I think a better LFG system would be terrific.

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Every character we make starts at level 1. There is often a dearth of people willing to start their own team. I personally have started putting together a team w/ my newly created characters, and have been thanked for it. I contribute to the best of my ability, and as I level up, I can contribute even more.

If you don't like the fact that there are going to be low level characters on some teams, then ASK before you accept the invite. Don't go in and give them what you think they deserve for trying to level up...

So you joined a team, entered the mission w/ them all, then proceeded to get them wiped out? That's real teamwork right there! I would have reported you for griefing.

Here's the problem; any mission/TF the devs come up with as "end game" content will be picked apart and reduced to a formula. The devs will put out some uber end game TF/Trial, and within a week you'll have guides about how to beat it in under an hour or somesuch...

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does it work with vista?

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It is simply a code that unlocks various costume pieces and a temp power. Above and beyond that, it's the same CoH client that everyone else is using.

So, in short, it certainly does work in Vista - I have it, and am using Vista...

(PS - Just to be clear, you still need to use the PC version of the client - you can't install the Mac version of the game on a PC...)

Think of a brute as a blank slate; depending upon what powersets you choose and how you slot your powers, it could either serve as a tanker or focus more on damage, like a scrapper. Some builds can fill both roles quite well, but those are less common.

A stalker is a burst-damage dealer. They lack the long-term survivability of a scrapper, brute, or tanker, but can deliver a lot of damage very quickly. That's not to say they can't hang out and fight, but they are more fragile. They rely heavily on the hide mechanism.

A dominator is a cross between a controller and a blaster. Imagine if you took a control set, half of a blast set, and half of a melee set, and mixed it all together. They can be quite fun to play, but do tend to require more attention and careful play than many other ATs.

A corrupter is very similar to what people call an "offender". They are basically a defender that focuses on his or her ranged set ahead of their support/buff/debuff set.

A mastermind is sort of like a defender who carries their own team around with them. The pets you can summon are a double-edged sword. They allow you to save your own end for your buffs/debuffs, but they require constant attention. They can also be upgraded as you level up, giving them more powers to use. They are very useful as aggro management tools, since if a MM pet is defeated, no one gains debt and they can just be resummoned.

I would like to see some combat auras added that were inspired by different origins; let anyone take them, but they'd be clearly intended for one origin or another:

glowing runes when you use powers

some sort of transporter-like effect

speed lines

etc, but as combat auras instead of regular ones.

Hmm... if they can have a pirate hook costume piece which overrides the opened/closed hand animations, why not just add a glove option that is locked in an open-claw-swipe position and add an invisible claw option - put the 2 together and you got it...

If the game tracks the original creation date of a character, then award the Anniversary badges to any and all characters whose create-date is at or before that year's anniversary event.

Characters made more recently should not get those anniversary badges.

The only problem arises if your account was lapsed during one or more anniversaries; here for the 1st one, not the 2nd, but back for the 3rd? Do you get the 1st & 3rd, all 3, or what?

Anyone remember the Asian "City of Hero" cinematic? We had a sword/shotgun character, a martial arts/chi blast character, and a melty-liquid metal/soul empowering character. Sometimes they showcase these signature powers in the trailers that we can't use...

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The above assessments are pretty much bang on. It's got plenty of AoE and really shines on teams because of that. ST damage is decent, but few in number which can be irritating. Cones take a little getting used to. Having your tier 9 available every mob is nice. Ignite is potent, if you can keep the npc still (ie. immob'd or held).

Conceptually it matches up nicely with /Dev, although synergy-wise it's probably better paired with /Energy.

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Honestly, I never really liked the pairing of any blaster secondaries w/ AR. What I wanted out of an Ar blaster I pretty much got out of a SoA "Huntsman" build...

AR has a slight inherent acc bonus.

It also offers a mixed damage type; mostly lethal w/ some fire thrown in.

It offers one of only 2 customizable ranged damage sets, and it's the only one that's "modern". If they'd add a few more nice AR models, I'd be more inclined to play one.

It offers a crashless tier 9 attack that can be used relatively often.

It has a good number of AoEs; Buckshot, M30 Grenade, Flamethrower, Ignite, Full Auto.

You get a mix of debuffs; -def, kb, and I think a fear effect on ignite.

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I dunno, the Mission Teleporter is really damn good, even after you have all your other ways of getting around.

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You have to weigh the availability of a power w/ its effectiveness. I can use the GvE jump jet every 10 mins or so... at least several times in a single mission and in between.

Can you take and post a screenshot of the costume screen w/ the cape dropdown expanded? I would very much like to see what options you have available. That may shed some light on the problem.

Power customization is a huge deal for the devs. The animations are, for lack of a better term, hard-baked into each power.

Second, not every tech character would or should use wrist-mounted flamethrowers, nor should every magic character read from a tome of ancient lore, etc.

Origin should not play any part in how your character looks or acts, beyond the RP/backstory component it is used for now...

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Just curious?

I never see any in game lately, so I decided to make one no budget for fun and can't seem to get any input on the build (multiple forums)...

Is Dark Armor underperforming that badly that no one wants to play/look at it?

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Dark armor, much like the other dark-themed sets, sacrifices straight forward use for lots of tricks and utility. This is a good thing if you're looking to add depth to your gameplay, or want to delve into some roll a little outside of your ATs normal role. It's bad if you wait a straight-up performer.

DA gives up higher resistance numbers towards s/l and kb protection for some good, but very conditional powers. You get a stealth power - not always that useful for a brute, and a minion-only disorient. I partnered it w/ EM to stack the disorients better, and got -kb IOs to fill that gap. The biggest draw for me is the heal - arguably one of the best for a melee person.

I just think that many players want an armor set that they can turn on and don't have to think about.

They also mention that on their character w/ the single-shoulder veteran cape, all the options are there. This leads me to believe they have the Valkyrie cape selected, and are looking for the various patterns under it.

It is never stated by the OP that they did the missions to unlock the normal cape; only that they have access to capes. My newly made characters have access to capes, but have to wait until lvl 20 to actually unlock the regular ones...

I'm not 100% familiar w/ the CoH engine, but in other rendering systems, it is possible to use "invisible" as a color. Thus, you can place an "invisible" object over an opaque on, the result being that you can see through that object now. It should be possible to mask the closed fist as invisible, place an open clawed hand over it, and get what you want.

My only disclaimer would be that, if this were done, not to expect more than 1-2 versions of this; like a bare hand, gloved hand, and any others would be gravy. A furry & reptilian version would be nice, though.

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I recently picked up the mac pack, and now whenever I take a character with access to capes (or wearing a cape) to the tailor, it automatically changes that cape to Valkyrie, with no other options. No matter what kind of cape I pick (full mantle, half mantle, etc) Valkyrie is my only choice. On my veteran shoulder cape, all the secondary options are there.

Known issue?

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Have you done the missions to unlock the regular capes? If you haven't, then the only options are the ones already unlocked; that being the single should cape & and costume packs you have.

So, for instance, I have the CoV Collector's, GvE, and Valkyrie codes on my account - when I go to the tailor, (and before doing the missions at 20 to unlock regular capes), the only options I have are Valkyrie, Collector's Edition, and single shoulder mantle. Only the single shoulder option has various patterns...

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Being soft capped to all at just level 12 or so was awesome.

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I went bane w/ my SoA at 24, but quickly switched to my second build as a crab because I didn't care for it. Can you suggest a very basic (read: doesn't require hero planner) build that's good?

Thank you.

I have a 50 wp/db tanker, and various other 50 tankers/brutes/scrappers/stalkers.

DB is a set about keeping up a constant flow of damage. It is best used when you don't need burst damage. I would advise against a db stalker. Having said that, also keep in mind that since it's not about large damage numbers at any one time, you need increased survivability to stay in the fight. I think your best bet would be to go w/ a tanker or brute. The downside w/ a tanker is, since db would be your secondary, that you don't get the attacks as quickly or as early, so it takes more time to develop the combos.

As for /EA or /Nin, here's my take:

/EA was a lot of fun for me. It isn't particularly effective, but I just liked the feel of the set and I enjoy sets w/ end recovery tools built in - let's me skip some end reducers in favor of more recharge, damage, etc.

/Nin is an interesting set. The lack of kb protection is a bit annoying - but if you play some MA missions you can drop tickets on lvl 10-14 bronze rolls w/ a good chance of getting one, (only costs like 70 tix per roll). It does offer a good balance of defense, status protection, a self heal, and utility. I wasn't wowed by smoke flash or blinding powder, but they're neat gimmicks. I skipped caltrops. The positional defense has its advantages, though.

I would probably paid DB w/ WP.

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escrima is the weapon that the red mutant turtle used right?

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Those are sai, IIRC. Escrima sticks are like 3' long...

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And he who sees that as carte blanche to ridicule the ignorer is clearly demonstrating their own maturity.

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Absolutely. If someone sticks their head in the sand when confronted its evidence of the weakness of their position.

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Sometimes the only way to retain your sanity in an argument w/ someone who you just can't reason with is to pretend they don't exist. Ignoring someone does not necessarily mean your position is weak. They may just be persistent in their idiocy.

The biggest thing is going to be the video card. You *need* one w/ dedicated memory and of a fairly recent chipset. Do not get anything that has an integrated/shared memory video card. Even if they are touted as an nvidia or ati 3d accelerator, you will be sadly disappointed w/ the performance.

This would be a very nice machine: Nice laptop!

Even better!

And finally: Heck yeah! A 1080P laptop!

Having played for 3 months, I'm sure you're familiar w/ the big differences in powers, survivability, ability to deal, damage, etc. As such, you can imagine just how momentous of a task it would be to enact PvP in such a way that your lowest damaging Defender can stand a chance against your highest damaging Stalker. It is a very fine line between "competitive" and "curb stomp". It's also the one area of the game where tensions would run high and the worst in people may be brought out. No matter how the devs balance and adjust things, there are going to be factors *other than* skill that get int he way of a "fair fight".

I'm not saying PvP is bad - but the devs decided that in order to make the playing field as level as possible, they essentially made it a whole 'nother game...