Dante

What an excellent guide.

I have a Katana/Dark Scrapper and even at 37, I still find him weak. Something tells me that I'm going to be going down to Woolworths later this evening to do some bidding.

Thanks!

A while ago, someone interviewed Tarantino about writing the infamous ‘ear-cutting’ scene in Reservoir Dogs. According to him, he had no idea what Mr Blonde was going to do, it just happened. Now a lot of people I know who saw the interview reacted derisively, claiming he was talking complete dingoes kidneys. But I knew exactly what he meant. Once characters get established, they form mannerisms of their own. For me, I get an idea of how they talk, what their voice sounds like in my head. From that point on, they talk freely, and when writing sometimes the words just flow out uncontrollably.

Oh hell yes. I'm far more likely to use runes on my characters than Greek letters.

This suggestion gets my thumbs up.

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i recon i14 will bring us some good stuff with a large side order of dooom with a capital D

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I hear that tends to come with most issues these days.

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I've never had much problem with bad reactions, in interviews or with friends and family. I think a lot of it really is how you explain it. If you sounds like you expect someone to think you're a geeky loser, than that's what you'll get.

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I take your point and yes, in an ideal world I would be able to scream to the world at the top of my lungs about my interests and no-one would give a damn. But there are certain things that I just don't want to have a conversation about.

Take my birthday for example. I was born on the 5th November. I dread the subject coming up because in a group of people (typically work although there are other times as well) there will always be some wag who thinks that there is a Bonfire Night joke that I haven't heard in the last 33 years. The same with Paganism. I can't be bothered to fend off the stupid comments when I mention it as it's a conversation I've had a hundred times over and I'm pretty much tired of it.

I've mentioned roleplaying a few times to people outside of my social circle and watched as the conversation descends into ridicule and laughing about the hobby. It's ok for me to be writing a novel about superheroes but strangely it's not ok to roleplay being one in an MMO. Go figure. So these days I'll talk about it with someone who I reckon will get it (sci-fi nerds and gamers are typically understanding) but otherwise I don't bother. It's not that I particularly care about their reaction, it's more that I've had that conversation and I can't be bothered to go over it again.

I think Elky's pretty much hit it spot on. My partner and close friends know what I get up to but it's just not worth mentioning it to people outside of that circle. Otherwise it just descends into the 'my bizarre hobby is ok but yours is just weird' conversation already mentioned.

Besides, once you've mentioned in polite company that you play online games, you've pretty much established yourself in the geek trench. Saying that I RP as well would just seem like digging a deeper hole.

Each to their own really.

EDIT: This would also go for a number of other things I do as well. Although I'm all for being open and honest with others, sometimes the brainless responses that can come from such admissions are just not worth my time fielding.

Gratz on the 50, hope you enjoy the tentacles. And even as a Unionite, I'm pleased to see that Defiant is still kicking butt and taking names. Long may it continue.

I'll just leave a shovel here for anyone else if they wish to use it.

((It was a good time, thanks for organising it. I'm almost always up for IC missions/TFs if I'm available.

Oh and the joke I made about being after debt badges? I got Unbroken after the third team wipe. Yay! ))

If you don't know how the XP is shared between people in a pact and don't know if you can quit it, should you really be posting a guide just yet?

Scorpio Rose listened to the message and hung up. Giving a mental command to Bruno to follow, she stood up and walked out of the bar.

“Revenge comes with a sting,” she muttered as she stepped into the street. She momentarily flicked her scorpion tail into view from underneath her coat, its wicked stinger glinting in the muted sunlight. “Like you wouldn’t believe hun, like you wouldn’t believe.”

As Bruno slipped into the shadows of a back alley, Tara rose into the sky, heading towards home.

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I understand that some people are bored, but the poor devs can't win can they? The event was a bit buggy to start with causing lots of moans and complaints, so to make up for a shaky start they extend it by a couple of days to apologise and get moans and complaints.

Some of us have commitments meaning we have to play less than others and extending the event means we get a bit more fun with ToTing and zombies. I'm just happy to be involved with a game where the people who run it care enough about the players to extend an event to make up for a poor start.

My personal opinion, Thank you devs, I still love you

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This.

With the added few days, I've finally managed to get the badges on all of my alts and it's been great fun doing so. Thanks.

Although I am also curious about the answer to Banana's question.

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Illusion Control - a ranged immobilize power or ranged hold power

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So like Blind then?

I'd love a god-mode for Dark Armour. Something that turns you into a smoking Avatar of the Darkness or something for a short period of time.

Sitting in a greasy spoon cafe in Port Oakes, Tara Rose Phillips, better known as Scorpio Rose put the paper down and glanced over at her bodyguard Bruno. As per usual, he was staring off into the distance, thinking about gardening. She knew because she could read his thoughts, just as she could read the thoughts of all of her henchmen. Fortunately, the ad she'd just read would be plenty to interest him.

"Hey Bruno, looks like work," she said, indicating the paper. He glanced at it momentarily and smiled.

Tara lifted her cell phone from her pocket and dialled, quite used to strange adverts in papers. "You want revenge? Scorpio Rose can deliver the pain," she said.

((I'll need a lackey if possible but I'll bring my highest villain, Scorpio Rose, level 40 Thugs/Dark Mastermind.))

So, it’s been a while since I hit 50 and so far, I’ve spent all my time on my Warshade. Now, I love my Shade and I’ve had 30 odd levels of pleasure out of him but I haven’t tried the light side yet. Namely, I’ve yet to have a go with Peacebringers. But planning out my build and looking at the power sets, I’m a little concerned. My concerns are thus:

Endurance I love Stygian Circle. It’s an awesome power and I fire it off at every opportunity. But instead of this amazing power, Peacebringers get Conserve Power to help with their endurance concerns which has a longer recharge and appears to be less effective. So am I going to have to succumb to Stamina on my PB?

Damage I love my mires too. There’s nothing quite like double miring a huge spawn then leaping into Nova and blasting the snot out of them. PBs instead get Build Up. Which last for how long? And that is just one boost, not two. So come on, how does the damage output from a PB compare? Is it really as good? And what do I get instead of my Fluffies? Demented brainless balls of light that go boom?

Control Warshades get some nice control powers: stuns, knockback, holds, immobilises. From what I can see, there’s a bit of knockdown in the melee attacks and a few stun powers but that seems to be it. How do you guys cope with Quants and Voids?

In short, I want to love my Peacebringer and want to feel inspired to level her up a bit. But what do I have to look forward to? The above is all a bit tongue in cheek, I’ve seen Peacebringers in action and they’re pretty impressive. But what should I be getting excited about? Where do they shine brighter than their dark cousins? Lacking the above, they seem lacklustre to me so I figure I must be missing something. Help me find what it is.

Cheers.

Dante stood to address the crowd. He despised public appearances at the best of times but needs must in the current situation.

“Fellow luminaries,” he began. “Many of you may have sensed what has already transpired. For those who are unaware, you have been called here to address a situation that threatens all of us, be you conjurer, mage or seer.”

He lowered his hands, his voice cutting through the idle chatter.

“The walls that hold our dimensions clear and separate are failing.” The chatter started again, people exchanging worried glances at each other. “Most importantly, the wall that keeps our dimension free from the intrusion of the Netherworld is exceptionally thin. And has developed a number of breaches.” The chatter returned, this time at a louder volume. “We are here to discuss what may have precipitated such an event and more importantly, how we are to address this threat before the darkness consumes us all.”

The fruit of my loins is due to spring into the world on precisely 22 November. So attending Memo this year would make me exceptionally unpopular with Mrs Dante. (Plus I wouldn't miss it for the world. )

So no show this time but have fun everyone that goes.

Buck Salinger's arc is the one you need to do to get the introduction but it's never an actual introduction. You just need to complete his missions (including the humdinger that is his last one - get a good team of 5 is my recommendation).

If you're over 30, you should get an introduction to Kelly Nemmers, the contact before him from Gordon Bower.

Good luck with it, they're some of the most annoying arcs in game thanks to the rabid, knife-wielding pixies.

A big /signed from me.

If it could extend to Defenders too so I can name my Dark Servant, that would be great.

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Its just a pity the Change into form animation is a bit long really. I'd love it to be halved to 1 sec.

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That would be awesome.

Following my late night post, I thought I’d follow up with some random thoughts that I’ve learnt from my Warshade.

Passives (aside from the Kheld inherent from i13) don’t work in forms. So the Fitness pool is not necessarily a good investment. Stygian Circle at 22 makes Stamina pale in comparison and can take you from 0 to full in one hit.

A lot of Warshade powers are on long recharges so Hasten is a must. That gives you access to Superspeed which when coupled with Shadow Cloak = Invisibility. Add in your inherent teleport ability and you can ghost missions for teams and TFs easily.

Set bonuses from inventions do cross forms so they’re well worth investing in.

Buffs do cross forms so it’s common practice to drop into human form, fire off your buffs (Hasten, Sunless Mire etc) and then jump back into Nova or Dwarf to take advantage of them. To get maximum benefit, you’ll be swapping forms regularly so get some binds sorted out.

There is a secret to respecs as well when it comes to easing the slot crunch. Bear in mind that when doing a respec, you choose powers first, then slots so you can slot your forms before the level you gained them.

If you’ve ever played a defensive set, you’ll know what it’s like to go from uber monster slayer to punchbag in a matter of seconds. Khelds are like that a lot. Get used to it.

Warshades do mostly all negative energy damage. Stay away from Banished Pantheon, CoT and anything spooky.

Team as much as you can. Solo can be challenging even at high levels but on a team you can steamroller your way through a lot of opposition due to having more foes to drain from. Playing solo and playing on a team is almost a completely different game. Also on a team, you can adopt a certain role i.e. Blaster or Tank whereas solo you’re having to play all the roles yourself.

The very first thing I can do is point you to this guide right here:

Plasma's Ulitmate Guide to Kheldians

It's showing its age a little now but it is an excellent all round guide on Khelds and not only got me to grips with my Warshade but also helped me to fall in love with it. I recommend a read (might take you a while though!).

As for general tips, I would add a caveat to anything I or anyone else says as Khelds are getting a buff in i13 so our entire playstyle may end up changing. But for now, I'll attempt your questions.

Any generic tips would be good - Are there any particularly great or particularly rubbish powers?

Good: Dark Nova, Starless Step, Sunless Mire, Gravity Well, Gravitic Emanation, Unchain Essence, Dark Extraction, Shadow Cloak, Black Dwarf, Stygian Circle, Eclipse.

Not so good: Everything else. However, because Khelds are so versatile, people can have very different playstyles and what works for one may not work for someone else.

What kind of playstyle does the Human form have and what powers should I aim for?

Soft controls and buffs really. I only switch to human to rebuff myself or apply another knockback or stun.

How hard is it to slot and what should I focus on?

You will suffer for slots until around level 30, especially if you're going tri-form (which I recommend).

Can I tank TFs with the Dwarf reliably?

Without wanting to ignite the infamous debate, I say yes you can tank. Reliably? Less so. You lack a taunt aura and punchvoke only hits one target. If you can tank without those tools then yes, you can tank reliably.

Anything else I should definitely know in advance?

Persevere. It is hard at first and you may want to give up but once you get into your mid 20s, they really take off. Best of luck to you.

Funny you mention this.

I've been thinking about something similar for a while, especially in relation to teams and other events. If there was a channel where we could put a shout out about things that are going on (not just events but teams and TFs/SFs and tournaments as well) would it work and be popular?

I believe that Union Badgehunters used to be similar in some ways but I'm not sure any more. The only downside I can think of is that it takes numbers to work and would be reliant on lots of people signing up and taking part. But it could be an excellent way to organise activities without relying on the forum.

"Hungry they are indeed," pondered Erebus. "I think we can shape this situation to our purpose as long as we are willing to upset the balance somewhat. A tear in the fabric of reality is easy enough to enlarge. At least until it is suitable for our needs. Now, what is it you propose?"

Council of Magicians and Dimensional Experts - Open RP

Following the discovery of the breaches in the dimensional walls, any high level magic user will have been issued an invitation to attend a briefing at the Midnighter club (see IC thread). There a discussion of the current situation will take place followed by decisions on how to combat the current threat.

If your character is a high level magic user or a person used to cross-dimensional travel, you may have received such an invitation. Hero or Villain can attend but a powerful, magic-nullifying field surrounds the conference hall and the Midnighters’ Attendants, heavily armed, are on hand should any fights break out.

The Midnighter Club – 2 days after the discovery ((Open RP))

The Grand Hall of the Midnighters was an impressive sight. Thirty feet tall and circular in design, it was shaped as an amphitheatre, seating curving around the walls to allow everyone to see every angle of the debating floor. There was seating enough for thousands and following the emergency request from MAGI, many had attended. The breaches in the dimensional walls was getting worse, Dante had received reports of several more opening over the city and he had done his best to attend to every one of them. Behind each rip, thousands of angry spirits swarmed, desperate to feed on the abundant life force within this world.

Sat near the debating floor, Dante watched as many of his contemporaries came in and took their seats. He knew of most of them, just as they knew of him. Some chose to take their seats near to him, curious to know what the stern faced Arab would say. Others, those with long memories, chose to sit as far away as possible, remembering past grievances. Beside him sat a woman dressed in purple, her face veiled, only her glittering eyes visible. Lady Lilith, representative of the Sisterhood of Ishtar, a cult known for its interference in world politics and upholding of women’s rights, sat to Dante’s right, silent but curious to know what fate would be decided this night. The visions were murky and it was unclear what the future held for them all.

The Call of the Archmagi – An Invitation

A finely tailored invitation is delivered to a number of high profile contacts known to MAGI and the Midnighters. Both Hero and Villain receive the invitation, the subject at hand of dire consequence to all who would practice the magic arts. It reads:

If you have a concern for the dimensional walls, the realms beyond and the threat that currently stalks us all, please attend the Midnighter club when the moon is in the third house of Mercury. There is much to be discussed and action to be taken.

Please leave your differences at the door as the danger threatens to engulf us all.

Please do not be tardy.