DKellis

They laughed at me.

"Vital signs have stabilized, my lord."

They laughed, oh yes they laughed.

"What is the purpose in creating this... this..."

"His plans are not your place to question!"

And then...

... and then there was pain.

"Double-check the shields. We can't be too careful."

Pain.

Pain pain pain pain pain PAIN

... pain.

Am I dead?

"Psychic fluctuations detected, my lord. Shield strength has been increased to maximum."

"What power!"

Power?

What about power? What can I do with power?

Oh, the possibilities.

Power...

"... pressure gauges read normal. Power yield has improved by seventy percent."

"His lordship will be pleased. Deploy these against the heroes at..."

Heroes.

Yes, the heroes. And the hero. The hero that burned and blasted and broke and maimed and crippled and killed...

... am I dead?

Heroes. They laughed at me.

They will laugh no more.

"What about other organics?"

"We've managed to salvage his eyes, at least. As for everything else..."

Am I dead?

Who/what am I?

I have no eyes and I must see and I have no ears and I must listen and I have no mouth and I must

"The new housing is complete, sir."

"Good work."

"Sir, I must question the use of this mechanism. We have relied faithfully on steam to power our..."

Power.

Power power power.

I have nothing left but my mind.

Let me think...

... think...

"The operation is running like clockwork, my lord."

"Paragon City will fall to its knees!"

... think...

... clockwork.

Clockwork. Bits and pieces and nuts and bolts and screws and iron and copper and metal and rust and time...

Paragon City.

Will fall to its knees.

And the heroes.

Will die.

"He's escaping!"

"Sound alarums! We must not let him-"

I can sense/think I can think/sense I can SEE

Little humans running around. Like ants.

But there are so many of them. Oh so many. An army.

An army of them...

"Stand down."

"But-"

"I repeat, stand down. Our lord has ordered it."

I will create my own army.

I will create my own army, and they will conquer this city.

Paragon City will fall, and the heroes will die.

And in its place, I will create my own empire. A perfect, beautiful empire.

Running like clockwork.

-

((Just something I cooked up in fifteen minutes. As such, may be non-canon.))

[ QUOTE ]
well in either case that is still a far cry from "plowing through a dozen +8 bosses" I don't think ANY AT should be capable of that

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... yeah, I think we've all pretty much established that no AT can do that anyway.

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you have a link to that because last I hcecked states was prety set on the rule of 3when it comes to soloing (3 white con mobs to a hero*

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Last I checked, States retracted that, largely because of SOs. Now it's "more like" three red minions to a hero at higher levels when soloing.

I have to add "more like" because I remember that's what he said, and I know that some people will point out all the various combinations that are not exactly three minions.

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Also remember that the statistic itself doesn't communicate important qualifiers.

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Not to mention that even the low number may not mean anything.

8% of players have a level 50. 4% of players read the forums.

4% of players reading the forums is apparently enough to stick in the Kill Skuls badge anyway.

[ QUOTE ]
best investment for Dev time and new zones is in the pre-50 game at this point. (that will change soon).

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I'm kind of divided on this issue.

When a character hits 50 (well, it's happened to me only once, but I'd do the same no matter how many times I get a 50), I find that I'd like content for two things:

- Something for my 50 to do, so I don't have to stand around in Gemini Park RPing away when I could be doing something.

- Some low-level content for the alts I invariably roll.

There's nothing quite so demoralizing as taking three characters (per server) on the exact same story arcs at the same time. It's irritating to have to find a team for Dr. Vahzilok for my Peacebringer... then my tanker... then my controller...

So yes, I'm quite happy that there's any new content that provides an alternate route for my characters, but I haven't touched my 50 in several months, save for powers-testing around Peregrine. Even Hamidon raids get really, really old after a while.

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A majority of future content, I would wager especially end game content, is meant to be player generated...ie:PvP.

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I would hope not, but I am afraid that this might be where the endgame would stay for a long while, whether or not it is where it's supposed to be (in the Vision).

I'm placing my hope on the possibility that the statement that PvP will be "entirely optional" does not mean "if you don't want PvP, then just don't play your endgame character".

For some reason I'm seeing something like The Rogue Isle Tribune.

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I find this disappointing, as some fruitful discussion may have resulted with the ability to get immediate feedback. I mean, I can understand not personally wanting to discuss issue 5, but doing your best to make sure no one else gets to either?

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I dunno. I suppose it could be because there was only limited time (I'm guessing) for that seminar thing, and a discussion about I5 would have resulted in the usual "I'm right, you're wrong" shouting match as seen on the forums (again, I'm guessing).

Better to leave it for when the devs return to the forums. Besides, I5 isn't something particularly huge when compared to the marketing and such surrounding the RPG and all that.

I could be wrong.

The dark shape flitted through the night, bounding from rooftop to rooftop.

She didn't like this life, not one bit, but from where she stood, it wasn't much of a choice. No friends, no family, and nobody would want to have anything to do with such as her, anyway. And she couldn't even have the satisfaction of revenge against them, anyway, because who'd believe the word of a-

Distant sirens shrilled, and she clutched her prize tighter in her jaws. Not much time now; she had to find a safe place to hole up for the night, where the authorities wouldn't find her, and then tomorrow would be another day, filled with more of the same.

Not much farther now; Baumton was just up ahead, and maybe she could lose the pursuit in the zigzagging alleyways. She would have to go through a different route to her destination, though; she kind of liked the few other homeless people who lived in the area, and even if they hadn't exactly welcomed her with open arms, at least they hadn't formed a mob with torches and pitchforks to kill the-

A flash of red and blue. She blinked; was that just a trick of her vision? She hadn't quite had the opportunity to get used to her... new circumstances.

No, there it was again. And again. Something moving far too fast to register except for a blur of fading afterimages, teasing her, toying with her.

Her eyes narrowed. So it was speed they wanted to play with. Well, she'd show them some tricks of her own.

She veered west, noting out of the corner of her eye that the red-and-blue blur was easily keeping up. She had to give him some grudging respect; few people, even heroes, had managed to keep up with her speed and agility until now.

Her pursuer had to be a hero. Maybe it had been a bad idea to steal from the same shop twice in a row; someone had probably seen her, made the obvious conclusion, and called in some superpowered help.

She jumped towards the next rooftop, then twisted in mid-air and caught purchase on what looked like a sheer wall. From there she leapt towards a streetlight, swung around, and made a perfect landing close to an alleyway. Freedom was near, and...

The hero stood calmly in her path, arms crossed, waiting expectantly.

She hissed through the bag in her mouth, and flung herself at him, claws extended. But he wasn't there anymore, and then she felt her arms being firmly restrained behind her.

"No more of that, now. I think we've established that I'm way quicker than-"

She twisted out of his hold, and swiped at him. His hand moved in a blur, and caught her wrist.

"I said, enough." This was accompanied by a mild electric jolt that coursed through her body and left her on her knees.

The hero picked up the bag, and looked through its contents. "Doughnuts," he said. "Not very fresh, either. You must have been really hungry."

She glared at him.

"Look, kid, I'm not here to hurt you, okay? My name's Synapse. Actually, it's Steve, but most people call me Synapse." He extended a hand, offering to help her up. "What's yours?"

She hesitated, but accepted the hand. "Kat. Katherine Stevens." Pause. "Minx."

"Minx, eh? Not many people can give me a workout like that. How'd-"

"Crey." She spat the name. "They made me like this."

Synapse's eyes were unreadable through his visor. "I can relate. Believe me, I can relate." He looked appraisingly at her. "You've been living on the streets for some time now. Steel Canyon's shops are on the verge of putting out Wanted posters, telling everyone to be on the lookout for a-"

"Monster." She whispered the word. "I'm a monster."

"No, you're not." Synapse held her chin up. "You're a girl who's just in a bad spot at a bad time, and who needs a bit of guidance. You've got potential, kid, real potential... and I know just the way to unlock it."

She stared at him, feline eyes wide.

"Minx, how would you like to be a hero?"

-

Steel Canyon: -2427; 48; -3406
Nimble Minx
This spot is where Synapse first found Mynx and began training her.

[ QUOTE ]
1) Is there any way to get mission badges after you've out leveled the contact. (I missed the Spirit Warrior badge)

2) Event Bagdes. Due to being deployed, I missed both the Holloween and the Winter events and was unable to log in during the aniversery month. Is there any way to get them?

[/ QUOTE ]

1) At the moment, no. There are various tips and tricks and workarounds to accomplish getting that outlevelled badge, such as teaming with a lower-level who has that mission (ask in Broadcast or such), or the bait-and-switch (roll a new character, get that mission, team with a friend, enter the mission, log off the character, log back on with the one that needs the badge, have that friend /invite you).

2) Unfortunately not.

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All I wanna know is when does it go live? I know it's on the test server, but when for the rest?

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Probably not for some time yet. They still need to test a lot of things (the new TF being one), and there are plenty of bugs to work out.

While they've released buggy issues before, I think this can be safely said to be "game-breaking".

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It's the same symbol that Lord Recluse uses, although I'm not certain if it has an official name or not.

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No, the Arachnos symbol is some sort of stylized red spider (well, the spider legs, at least).

I'm not sure if it even has a name. As far as I know, it's their group symbol.

Looks like a stylized anarchy symbol, if nothing else. (Very stylized.)

(For those who are wondering, there's a picture of it somewhere here.)

[ QUOTE ]
And you can learn more about how big a Manticore fan Celtic is, his connection to Statesman, and Statesmans origins in the upcoming book "The Web of Arachnos" written by Mark Weinburg!

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean Robert Weinberg.

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I therefore never bothered. My RP on Virtue is fairly resiliant and I think it's easy to spot if I am in or out of character. I couldn't speak for Rei Rei though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would actually say that knowing when something is said IC or OOC is normally done by the listener, rather than the RPer.

I've never actually met an RPer whose character isn't way out there (mute, roars instead of talks, whatever) in terms of interaction, and whose OOC cannot somehow be construed to be IC. (For example, one of my characters says very strange things that would appear to be OOC... but they're all IC, and it's part of a story plot.)

I figure that the double brackets help save on any potential confusion. They may not be necessary, but better safe than sorry.

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LoL, where else in the world will you find the views of so many opinionated arm chair authorities and self proclaimed know-it-alls in one place?

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Slashdot.

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The majority of this thread is a good reason not to mix religon and city of heros.

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The majority of this thread is pretty much the reason why I don't read Official Threads.

I still want to know what the heck the Vahzilok Mortificator was using on Statesman. Because I sure as heck haven't seen anything like it from them in-game.

I have the feeling that Hequat may not precisely be following Tielekku's orders, at least not the spirit in which they were given. That would reconcile the whole bit about Tielekku being benevolent but Hequat engaging in religious genocide. (This is assuming that these gods are not simply as multifaceted as most humans.)

After all, Hequat is listed as Tielekku's "most promising pupil", and there are plenty of stories about the brightest stars... look at Blizzard's Sargeras, if you will, or for something a bit closer to home, Lucifer.

Going into rampant speculation here:

- Lughebu and the rest of the Banished Pantheon are, well, banished. During the fight, magic as used by Tielekku is seen to be "decisive".

- Ermeeth gets the idea that to prevent anything like the Banished Pantheon from ever rising again, it might be best to teach humans to move away from gods. Thus, he teaches magic to humans for the express purpose of making them self-sufficient.

- Tielekku tells Ermeeth to stop, since if humans no longer needed gods, then all the gods would die, having no worshippers. Ermeeth refuses. As such, war is declared.

- Tielekku puts Hequat in charge of her armies, and Hequat defeats Ermeeth. Ermeeth flees to North America, and creates Oranbega, in an attempt to try again.

- Hequat finds out about Oranbega, and creates Mu in response, in true fanatic fashion. She specifically trains and indoctrinates the Muvians to make war on Oranbega, as a sort of semi-proxy war. (Presumably Tielekku is not around to supervise anymore.)

- Mu attacks Oranbega, and Oranbega loses. Close to defeat, the Oranbegans ask for demonic help, and the demons give them the Thorn Blades, among other "gifts".

- With the demons' help, Oranbega destroys Mu. The Muvians are scattered, their culture presumably lost. Both Ermeeth and Hequat disappear, if they haven't already.

- The Oranbegans degenerate from their utopian society, thanks to the corrupting influence of the demons.

- Baron Zoria discovers Oranbega, and stuff happens that is mostly covered in the Library of Souls story arc. Meanwhile, some Muvians remember their heritage and preserve it, while others forget. And the Banished Pantheon cultists turn up in Paragon City for whatever reason, be it the location of Oranbega or whatever Dark Astoria is all about.

I still don't know how to tie all this in with the Cavern of Transcendence, which involves Karsis (formerly of the Circle) and Talshak (who I presume could be an Akarist-like deserter from the Circle, or a Muvian, or maybe even a Banished Pantheon representative).

And as for the Magic Entities of the SOs, while Hermes is pretty much an old god (even if his domain of messages and speed is very much relevant today), Joule and Grey strike me as representative of the concepts of modern science and knowledge (including the unknown). Humans still have myths and legends today, even if we stick an "urban" in front of them.

Any comments?

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone have an example of a scrapper build that can one-shot yellows without inspirations?

Several blaster builds can do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

At lower to middle levels, no.

Once we six-slot our highest-damage attacks, though, I know Katana, Broadsword and MA (haven't seen the others) can easily one-shot critical a +3 minion... assuming said minion does not have a resistance to the damage dealt. If you don't want to rely on crits, Build Up (or equivalent) can reliably allow you to one-shot +2 minions.

However, this is only applicable to the higher, slotted levels.

So that's the answer to the question posed, but probably not the answer to the question meant.

EDIT: As an aside, I've seen a Blaster (Elec/something, I believe) use the Nova-equivalent power on a largish spawn of +3 Nemesis Jaegers. One-shotted them all.

I doubt any scrapper can do that.

[ QUOTE ]
(Notice Statesman trying to touch Synapse's toon during the fight)

[/ QUOTE ]

MIND OUT OF GUTTER. *sporks*

On another note, the scattering of downed minions outside the base does look like the end result of a Nova (or Nova-equivalent).

[ QUOTE ]
Lord Recluse: Roger Jackson, whose many credits include giving voice to Mojo Jojo on Powerpuff Girls and the wicked phone voice in the Scream movies

[/ QUOTE ]

"I, Lord Recluse, will now say that I, Lord Recluse, will see who is truly cursed now! And I, Lord Recluse, will also say that it is not me, Lord Recluse! For I am Lord Recluse, and I am not cursed, because I am Lord Recluse! So fear the name of Lord Recluse, because it is my name, and I am... Looooord Recluse!"

Wondering about Lord Recluse's voice as well... considering that it sounds nothing like the one in the original CoV trailer...

[ QUOTE ]
I think the poster was referring to the white "Spectral DEMON Lords"

[/ QUOTE ]

I stand (well, sit) corrected.

(I keep thinking it's "daemon", but same thing. More or less.)

[ QUOTE ]
In fact I think the CoT things are actually *called* "Demons".

[/ QUOTE ]

They're called "Behemoths". However, much later in the game (Praetorians), you'll be fighting "Demons" which are basically the same mob.

-

[ QUOTE ]
I suspect that the difference to a hardcore anti-demon person is that in CoH all the demons, zombies and such are villains to be defeated. In many other RPGs you can play characters who either summon or are these types of characters. I can see that making a difference to someone's opinion of a game.

--The Canuck

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, considering the number of "demons" or certain percent thereof RPed out in CoH, I'm not sure about that.