Dante

“You would be correct,” intoned the mage, “and I intend to cover a few bases that I believe our counterparts in other areas of city hall have not investigated. Although I am glad to see you alive and well, traversing the Netherworld carries with it huge risk. I will need to establish whether you have been altered in any way by your time there, whether anything has returned with you and most importantly, whether any damage has been done to the balance of the dimensional planes.”

Dante’s face did not change as he read out his intentions, his brow furrowed in its customary veil of solemnity. He pulled out one of the chairs to take a seat, waiting for Sebille to be seated first.

“Ms Riley here will be taking notes for us,” he continued. “Now, as I understand it, you always had the ability to sidestep into the Nether for limited periods of time. When were you aware of your incarceration?”

At one of the large work desks in the MAGI library, an Arab in a black suit sat, reading through the latest update from their spies in the field. The man would have given his age as 49 but in truth it was a lot more than that plus the cares of many years had etched deep lines into the dark skin of his face that made him look much older. He read out of boredom, the brief report of hundreds of Wailer demons rampaging through the Isles after being kicked out of their nest the only thing that piqued his interest.

He was more interested in the traveller. Having spent a long time crossing dimensional barriers and manipulating the dark energies of the nether, he had been a sound pick by MAGI to interview the revenant hero. Dante Carver wondered just how much he might have changed. He knew only too well the coiling energies of the dark realm and how they could try to manipulate their user. All too often he had fought with them and that was just the power of the place. It’s denizens, with their hunger for the warmth of humans were another matter. The few times he had dared to venture into the nether, it had been under the protection of the most powerful protective spells. How a mortal, without that resistance would far when left to the mercies of the Netherworld he dreaded to think.

He turned the page of the report and waited for Britanic to arrive.

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I think it doesnt fit sonic resonance being different colour

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Then they really need to fix the difference between Energy Blast and Energy Manipulation as well.

Please no.

The blasts are fine as they are. Triggering an attack and watching someone fall over a distance from you with only a shimmering of the air in between looks great and makes a difference from the brightly coloured blasts seen on almost all the other sets.

I can understand the need for the orange glow on buffs to show that they are active but not on the blasts.

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Hmmm.... or why not just add 'Recipe: Costume Slot'...

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That definitely has merit as well.

I can possibly do this so save a slot for me.

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Give a maximum of 20 and it is simply going to be crazy.

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I figured a maximum of 10 slots per character as I think you could do a double layer of the existing costume select bar on a screen. Any bigger and it would need scrolling or pages.

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"Hmmm... that gives me an idea... "

Suggestion Thread > 'More Slots' ?

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Et voila!

Okay, so given that microtransactions appears to be the way that things are going and with the announcement of possible costumes for civilian clothing, it’s about time I got down an idea that’s been knocking around my brain for ages.

The Fashion Victim Expansion Pack

The pack gives 20 costume slots that can be distributed across as many of your toons as you like up to a maximum of 10 costumes per character. They can be allocated from the character selection screen in the same way that we can now pay for a respec or add more character slots.

As an added bonus, there could be a small animation that plays for changing costume, selectable from either a flash of light or a black smudge (to suit dark or light characters). This could be turned off in the options screen though in case it got annoying.

The only downside I can imagine is that the costume slots we obtain at levels 20, 30 and 40 (10 for VEATS) would become less special. However, there could be a cap on how many costume slots can be allocated per ten levels.

Levels 1 – 10 = 3 costumes (one base, one Halloween salvage, one bought),
levels 10 – 20 = 4,
levels 20 – 30 = 6,
levels 30 – 40 = 7 and
levels 40 – 50 = 10.

So reaching each of those levels still has a bonus associated with it as doing to tailor mission raises the cap on how many costume slots you can apply to your character.

Please feel free to leave constructive comments. Thanks!

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acording to one of the magazine articles, castle has been making costumes to go with day jobs: buisiness suits and police uniforms are mentioned.

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This would be awesome for those seeking a true 'secret identity' but it might also cause a bit of 'slot crunch' in that people may not be willing to give up one of their five slots for a civillian identity costume.

Hmmm... that gives me an idea...

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No, the other thing isn't happening yet. This is definitely the big thing.

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Oh that big thing? Oh yes, that will be very big.

((Many apologies for not updating this, that annoying thing called real life got in the way. This small piece moves things on a few hours after the defeat of the aliens and their bizarre cloning machine. If you wish to post a reaction, please feel free but if not, this news report can neatly draw a line under the incident.))


An hour later, fire trucks and ambulances line the streets of Kings Row, surrounded by the flashing blue lights of a number of police cars. Within these crowds can be seen a few white vans, all plastered with station logos and names, equipped with a large satellite dish on their roofs. Next to one of them, a slender woman in a beige suit does her best to retain her calm as a river of diluted slime trickles past her expensive shoes. She stares down the lens of a camera held a few feet in front of her, taking her queue from the studio as the live transmission is handed over from the studio.

“Thank you Gary. I am standing in Kings Row where for the past hour, heroes from around the city have bravely battled against what looks to be nothing less than an alien invasion. Eye witnesses report seeing hundreds of heroes, sometimes what appear to be duplicates or clones fighting over a meteorite which landed her in the early hours of this morning. The area had been evacuated before the impact, many fearing a repeat of the incident that occurred in the bay area a number of years ago. But from what we have learnt, these invaders were nothing like the fearsome ‘Shivans’ that still terrorise that area. Following the destruction of what experts suspect was a machine controlling the clones, the heroes found no respite as they stood up against a giant monster made from the bodies of the replicated heroes. However, by channelling the electricity of a local substation through the body of one of the Clockwork King’s monstrous creations, the creature dissolved, ending the threat to the city. Citizens of Kings Row are today breathing a sigh of relief as emergency services work to clear the area…”

Several metres away, The Amber Banshee sat with the enormous figure of her father on the sidewalk, watching as vehicles with coloured lights drove by. Once the fight was over and the professionals moved in, the work of the heroes was almost forgotten. She held his hand in hers, her tiny hand swallowed by his palm.

“That feels weird,” she said as Brian changed his skin from soft flesh to cold stone and back again. “I guess the Devoured Earth must have left you with a few gifts.”

“Or a curse,” replied Brian. “The virus is still in my system. I don’t know if there’s a way to cure it entirely.” He let out a sigh. “Does this mean I have to get a spandex uniform too?”

Saffron looked affronted. “There is nothing in my wardrobe made of spandex,” she replied. “We don’t all wear stretchy clothing you know.” She looked at her dad’s face, glad to see that he wasn’t panicking over his apparent mutation. “Besides, it’s not the clothing that’s important, it’s the job we do. It shouldn’t matter what we wear.”

Brian watched a hero take to the sky, flying off to whatever new emergency threatened the city. “I can live with that,” he said.

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I'm expecting news over the horizon and somewhat out of sight over the hill.

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Yes, that's more likely admittedly. I'm just being optimistic.

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And the actual result of this insecurity is that people post a bunch of threads claiming that the game is over, doomed, defunct. If that doesn't make new folks go "why did I bother buying this game" I can't think what will.

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Couldn't agree more. I tire of Doom Posts as much as the next person. And yes, they can often be more damaging than helpful.

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So, rather than revealing all their plans to the opposition when the opposition has more flexibility to copy them bigger and better, and wasting their advertising budget trying to beat something (a) isn't competition and (b) can't be beaten, NCW are busy setting themselves up for future efforts.

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I wouldn't want them to either. Just look at the calls of 'thief' between CoX and CO when the mission creator was announced. Best to keep their best ideas under their hat for now. Of course not revealing their plans can lead to the already mentioned insecurity amongst some players. It's a fine balancing act.

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3. Credit Crunch.

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Is it just me, or does Credit Crunch sound like some kind of new tasty cereal?

I have absolutely no doubt that NCWest have a plan for the future, any good business should. I just think some of us get anxious because we don't know what it is. Things have been quiet for a while now (aside from the i13 teasers) and I'm expecting more big news on the horizon.

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I never understood the practice of using a boss as an anchor. If I am playing as a scrapper or blaster the boss is my first target. Get the big bad one out of the way. When I am playing a character with anchor powers I tend to use a lieu. Is that just me?

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It's not just you.

Can't help on Corruptors but I'll apply what I know from my lvl44 Sonic/En Blaster. I'd say take Shockwave only if you haven't got any other control powers. Sonic has three soft control powers:

Shockwave: Knockback - a bit pants
Siren's Song: Sleep - Ace for soloing, pants on teams
Screech: Stun - all round stunning goodness

I rate the last two but leave Shockwave well alone. Besides, unless you're knocking a spawn into a wall, knockback will hamper a /Kin's effectiveness as it could scatter the mobs. The only thing I find annoying about Howl is that its damage is a bit low and as it's such a wide cone, it can be a bit of an aggro-grabber.

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In the words of Darth Vader: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

*schniff*

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Or as in the badly dubbed version that Aero and I watched last night: "DO NOT WANT!"

Lovely event, glad I could make it. Best of luck to all of you and wish you all the best for the future.

Elsewhere, several islands away, three men faced down their own monster. Of the three of them, the short fat midget was the boldest, waving his shiv around at the behemoth. The skinny one to his side backed him up while the ugly one just glared. Facing them was a muscle bound woman who stood at eight foot seven and was cobalt blue in colour. Underneath a battered cowboy hat, the rugged yet still attractive face of Indigo Blaze stared down at the trio. She folded her large, toned arms and repeated her last statement.

“We have ah no weapons policy at the Wayward Wench. If you don’t put that there knife away, I will have to escort you boys from the premises.” He voice displayed a thick accent common to the southern states of the US which even in her firm tone somehow managed to remain friendly.

“Ah screw you Bigfoot!” shouted the midget as he made a lunge at her with the knife. Reacting rapidly, Indigo grabbed the midget’s knife hand and lifted him clean off of the floor, dropping him into one of the bar’s large, decorative shipping barrels. Unless he could jump high, he wasn’t getting out of there for a while. Realising he was trapped, he began cursing loudly.

The skinny one tried to kick her with his shoe only for Indigo to catch it, pausing briefly to examine the sharp blade in his boot’s toe.

“Aw c’mon man,” she said as she twisted his foot 180 degrees, forcing him to flip over and kiss the floor, “Every fool round these parts has watched Roadhouse!” She planted a firm kick into a space between his thighs that caused him to yelp and curl up into a foetal position.

The ugly one charged her but she stepped to one side, grabbing the back of his shirt as he passed and swinging him round so that he went flying through the bar door at high speed. A shriek followed by a wet splash followed, his momentum clearly sending him off the edge of the pier. Indigo retook her seat at the bar, ignoring the rabid insults thrown at her from the barrel off to one side. Super Sized Sally poured her a drink of water.

“Is it just me or are they getting more and more stupid Sal?” she asked.

“Probably more drunk,” replied Sal. “Plus they know by now that you don’t do anything more than chuck them out of the bar. They’re probably trying to push your limits Blue.”

“Maybe,” replied Indigo, downing her water. “But you know my rules: no killing, no kidnapping…”

“No pain to those who ain’t earnt it,” finished Sal, having heard the mantra many times before. “You let too many people know that, they’ll be looking for ways to take advantage.”

“I know,” said Indigo, cracking her knuckles. “Although I’m running out of excuses for turning down alternative work ya know. Too many folks around her looking for the murdering type.”

Sal refilled the glass. “You ever considered taking out a few monsters, demons, that kind of thing? Plenty of them around these parts.”

“Bug Hunting?” replied Indigo. “Not really, never found no-one who pays that much for it. But I guess they’re dead most of them already. That’s gonna make it rest easier on my conscience.” She stood up and picked up the large swearing barrel without any apparent effort.

Sally just smiled. “You go take that trash out Blue. When you come back, I think I know someone who might be able to help you.”

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Is using a IO'd up energy torrent on level one mobs, for fun considered being not so super?

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Only about as much as using my KB slotted Power Thrust for sending rooftop dwelling Hellions to the other side of Atlas.

If people saw how much I giggle while doing it though, it might be considered evil.

Tuesday 16/09/08 – St. Martial

The hostages were protesting again. Some of them were resigned to their fate, others put up a degree of resistance. It was something that Tara never ceased to find amusing. She’d made sure that the boys had only shot the worthless ones, the few casualties she informed her employer would be inevitable. He’d been ok with that. As the stragglers were loaded onto the truck, the slim figure known as Scorpio Rose was already counting. The small bundle of money that the idiots had been carrying was clutched in her gloved hand as the cigarette burned away on her lip.

“Hey! Hey, you’re Scorpio Rose right!?” yelled one of the captives as Bruno, her thick set bodyguard pushed him towards the truck. She looked up from the wad of money at the struggling man.

“Yep, what of it?” she asked.

“I thought these days you were hunting monsters and stuff! What have we ever done to you!?” shouted the man, trying to shrug off Bruno’s heavy hands on him.

“Not a lot,” she replied, “but there’s a good price on you and your gang’s head and it’d be a shame to lose out,” she replied. “I’ve got expensive tastes you know. You got any idea how much this coat cost me?” She strode over to where Bruno had ceased moving the handcuffed man towards the truck, her scarlet coat flapping in the wind. “And the monster stuff… well it paid the rent for a while but the bounty on you is far more attractive. Besides, I got kinda tired of washing demon drool off of my clothes all the time you know?”

“You have sold your soul!” hissed the man. Tara smiled then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” she whispered before walking off, leaving Bruno to hoist the bound man aboard the truck. “We all sell our souls fool,” she announced as she strode away, “it only matters who we sell it to. Me, I’m still looking for the highest bidder.”

She returned her gaze to the bundle of notes in her hand as the door to the van slid shut.

Aw crud.

I don't want to sound cynical but I can see this thread descending into an argument (though I'm hoping it won't). So in case it does, I'll just say that I like your idea and anything that promotes more charitable giving has to be a good thing IMHO. If I was to make any amendment to the idea, I might suggest that instead of a costume piece, you may want to consider making it a badge instead. I know that may get the badgers' hackles up as it would constitute 'buying badges' in some way but it's an alternative.

The first character I ever created was a Katana/Dark Armour Scrapper and even at level 36, he still has endurance issues as the quick recharge of Katana makes you spam powers and the toggles of DA can leave you drained even if you are savvy enough to know which ones to turn on and which to leave off. With no Recovery powers other than Stamina, it can be a struggle when compared to other Scrapper combinations.

I have however recently gone back to him and with some +rec set bonuses, I've at least made him playable again. It's a very fun combination but I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.

Having been unable to attend any of the player meets so far this year (aside from Omega Sektor), Norwich is not an insurmountable distance for me to travel. As long as the date's good (and the Norwichites will have me) I'll try and make a trip up there. So yes, count me in.

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I agree with Hairy, Z & Delph. I was totally looking forward to the next OS. If it gets announced they won't be doing OS next year we should totally organise it ourselves!

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Agreed, even if I can't organise my way out of a paper bag.