Crystalline

Wait...we can do that? So, hypothetically, if there were some consumable someplace lower on the tree that I wanted, I could spend my token on that rather than proceeding with filling in my current tier?

I'd like to see compiled results as well.

Oh, you must! Sooo much fun.

It's been applied inconsistently, though. The DA arcs don't do it, and the new low-level arcs that came out in i22 don't do it (at least, redside, but I assume blueside would be the same). The First Ward arcs, which I'm currently re-running, do. I'll be pretty excited if they actually start implementing this across the board.

I would not go so far as to say people are 'wrong' because this is very much a matter of perspective and personal preference, especially in regards to the aesthetics of the zones. But I am completely in accord with your perspective, as stated in the emphasized part. The revamped Atlas Park is pretty. Pretty, to me, does not necessarily mean interesting. I find the redside zones infinitely more visually compelling. I find the blueside zones, and most of the content that was written before the last couple of years, boring. Despite that, I do have blueside characters, typically for roleplay reasons, but I don't do a lot of the legacy content with them, except for TFs, and they don't get nearly as much play as my redsiders.

While I would love to see some new SFs to fill those gaps, I have to agree with those posters who've stated that we're unlikely to get them. I just count myself lucky that we have gotten so much good content in recent months. Playing through the 20s on redside is some of the best fun the game has to offer me, and it starts even earlier now with the inclusion of the two cool new arcs from i22. Frankly, I count myself lucky they don't just phase it out or shut it down.


I agree, regarding the inherent difficulty. Although each character is unique, I think it's reasonably safe to assume that most, if not all, heroes fundamentally want to do "the right thing." Of course, they may very much differ in what that right thing is or how to achieve it. But at least that basic desire gives the writer a hook. Villains and rogues, in my opinion, don't have that fundamental commonality. They don't necessarily have any fundamental commonality, thus a story written with Villain A in mind may be completely wrong for Villain B. This is a problem that pops up in the redside content and one I've frequently lamented in private, but overall, I think they managed to make a pretty good job of it.

Thank you very much for the detailed reply, Plasma.

That made my day. Thanks for the laugh.

I actually just rerolled a brute as DM/EA (from DM/DA). She's still a baby right now, but I have reason to believe I'll continue to love it as she goes up in level.

Seconded. Love my KM/EA stalker.

I opened a ticket asking about my 3 Year vet badge not being awarded and was told that it was a known issue that is being worked on.

I must have this!

Aye!

Despite my delight at this change, I have a degree of sympathy for your perspective regarding costume options for males. I play both male and female characters and I actually tend to roleplay my guys more; I would love to see them have more and better options. I was initially very excited about some of the Pocket D pack items for just this reason; unfortunately, they looked great in the pictures but, IMO, look terrible on the actual characters. I ended up being very glad that I had only cherry-picked a few of the pieces that could be used on men, and not bought the whole pack, as I probably won't be using them.

Having said that, there are (at least) two different aspects to the "gender equality card" as you call it. One, is parity in terms of quantity. There, I must agree, male characters get the short end of the stick. The other aspect though, is parity in terms of quality or style. At the risk of reigniting the previous debate, I believe there is a trend that has increased with the current art team, where men get to look bad*** and women get to look like a piece of ***. I find this trend distasteful. I recognize that some will argue the trend does not exist, but their arguments have yet to sway my perception. I am therefore thrilled that we will be getting more options for our female characters that buck that trend.

Personally, my preference would be for every piece to be accessible to every character, regardless of gender, but I imagine that would be inefficient in that it would require a lot of development time for pieces that would be unlikely to get used much.