Deadly_Buzz

I deleted an unloved toon on Defiant last night (in a bought extra char slot), replaced it with a spanking new toon that will be similarly neglected, completed the tutorial and logged off to go on to Union.

In the Union character list, the character in the corresponding slot to the one I'd deleted was no longer there, the slot was locked and I did not have a corresponding free slot to assign. While it was a relatively new alt that I wasn't too attached to, it was still enough to put my undies on brown alert.

I logged in as another toon in the same SG as the abductee, I could see the missing toon's name in the member list. I logged back out and in again and lo and behold - they'd been returned, unharmed, and were available for use again.

Just letting you know as it may cause an embolism if it happens to someone's main.

The real problem is that we kick such a sizeable amount of boot-ay that there's no debt to offset the boatloads of XP we're bringing ashore to keep the progress and content more in line with eachother. Victims of our own success...

/signed - have wanted this for a long time. One mutant arm, colour-coded fists - the possibilities are endless

I agree that it shouldn't be easy, but the fact is that it *is* easy to get a functional base together on your own. I have 8 of them (I experimented with having 2 SG bases in coalition to give me 6 teleport destinations and remove the need to choose between either an inv or worktable - it means you have a lot of alts that get ignored...) What's difficult is putting a base together as a small SG that is significantly better than what you could achieve on your own.

One way you could address this - which would be a [censored] to implement - would be to have craftable power and control sources that individually are not enough to run a base but are inexpensive to create, can only be placed if you've been a member of an SG for 30 days and you can only create one per account. Stops blow ins and trial account abuse, encourages use of the base salvage system which is currently all but useless to all but the biggest SGs and solves the mid-table expandability crisis, at the cost of only a few hundred precious man-hours of coding.

The big problem is that a small SG can get a decent base going very quickly - with 15 members, and only 3 of them actively playing the game (ie alt-padding) you can have (salvage permitting) a single-unit medbay, salvage storage, a 2-destination teleporter and either an inv or worktable with about 3-4 days worth of work (levelling 3 toons up to about 18-20 between them). The jump from there to a medium sized base - assuming an SG of 15 genuine members, or the same small 3-man SG looking to upgrade - things go a bit screwy.

A second teleport will require more power and control than your startup can supply, so that's going to set you back an extra 250,000 for the necessary rooms and a whopping 375,000 for your generators. If you want to ditch the startup generator, you'll also need a few control auxs, (starting from 32K each). It works out over 10 times the cost of the small SG base (after membership bonus) - still achievable but if you're a medium sized SG you're not going to have 10 times the manpower, especially the way the populations on the servers are. And if you're a moderately sized SG - say 10 active members - that isn't padding the ranks to get extra money, you're screwed! And we aren't even looking at upgrading the plot yet.

given the way the levelling system works (showing you the bars till next level so you always feel like you're making some progress, however small, it's amazing that they've allowed the base system to be so spirit-crushing - the finishline never looks achievable, so there's no real drive for a small-to-medium SG to try and build their base up beyond the initial starter config.

I can see why the gulf is there - it stops 1-man SGs from building big small bases with all the mod cons without a very significant amount of effort, pushing the average player in to joining a real SG and sharing the game experience. But there needs to be some sort of median option for genuine small-to-medium sized SGs, small groups of friends who want to enjoy teaming together without being pushed in to tiresome farming to achieve that certain QoL that I think the base system was introduced to offer to regular players.

And us Altoholics need love too!

As such, one of the following might work :
1. Introduce an interim set of power and control rooms and devices - lower capacity and limited aux at reduced cost, possibly fitting in to 1x2 rooms so they don't add too much glamour to the base. Something achievable for the determined solo altoholic or a small group to drive towards on their way to the big leagues

2. Allow for the crafting of devices that work at in and around the same level as basic power and control generators and aux devices at lower placing cost than the current craftable devices (1.5million for the turbine generator? who has that kind of prestige?)

Oops - I've gone off topic, haven't I? Ctrl + Alt + placate!

One other thing - what ever happened to the idea of Apartments, the one-man base for the solo player that all his toons on that server can access? I thought that was an official idea being put in to action way back when villains was released, but I might have dreamed it. Like that time me and Ghost Widow.. uh.. never mind!

/signed

Makes perfect sense gameplay-wise as a QoL move and is a sound business decision, since co-op content has a better Cost-per-head ratio than exclusively red/blueside content - facilitating people who use this content should be paramount. It being a game filled with robots, werewolves, aliens, romans and psychochronometrons, I don't think fitting it in story-wise will stretch credibility much further than it's already gone

Given that I have 2 one-man SGs and 1 one-man VG per english server, I know the pain of trying to earn prestige to get even the most basic of bases together. That said, a week ago I finally earned enough that I could ditch my starting control/power combo unit and move over to a full power- and control-room setup, running both my tele's. It felt brilliant. Then I realised there was no one there to share the moment, and I wept like an unhealed sore.

Anyway, 2-3 people with a handful of alts between them can get a decent base started with all the basics. If you want a big base, get a big SG....

[ QUOTE ]
....and us losing a member early on to what looked like a DC or seriously long AFK (not sure which. Shiverwitch, if you read this thread, let me know what happened.)...

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry about that - That was a DC due to the router getting accidentally unplugged followed by a "spousal intervention" which prevented me from recovering. Hope you didn't wait too long before kicking my ghost off the team.

Durn, missed it too. Although in my defence, there was no way I could go another 24hours without finding out the result of the Spain/Italy match that I'd taped on sunday, gotta have priorities. If anyone else is desperately trying to catch up soloing through Yin or Doc's missions (why won't they let you drop the hard ones? Swines!) and needs a lazy non-healing defender as company, look me up during the week

'Twas epic. We were indestructable. Except for that one time when I ran off on my own to pick a fight with a blood widow but some things are best forgotten.

Don't think there's any harm in giving people a little homework - if we all arrive at roughly the same level and ready to do the same mish, it keeps the teams fluid and adaptable instead of pidgeonholing you into specific groups. It also means that if you have to drop out of the theme night your character might actually have a viable contact to get a mish from. Although Azuria is still waiting for me to call about those 10 hellions....

The extra cossie slot should be do-able. The Tsoo in Steel around the tailor are usually 15-16. If we go in all guns blazing at about 21, there'll be zero effort required and a bare minimum of experience picked up. Think of it as a test of leadership - can you keep your team together and focussed when faced with the awesome power of a new pair of snow-themed pants?

Dark/Dark - after 2 1/2 years, was the first toon I got into the 30s.
Storm/Psy
Rad/Rad
FF/Elec
Cold/Ice
TA/Arch

Deleted :
Rad/Nrg - After getting the travel power, realised I hated TP. Was also tough to solo.
Kin/Psy - my other /psy was doing better, and slots were tight. Tried to bring her back after buying more slots but the name was gone
Oh and two other dark/darks, one because I couldn't make a costume to do the name justice, and the other who was a placeholder for a dark/dark corruptor before villains came out.

Well, for one thing it would mean I wouldn't keep having the awkward "you're playing as a girl???" conversation with my wife once I'd set up a quick bind. For another, it opens up a whole new realm in terms of character concepts. Ok, maybe not a realm, more like a small cupboard with one cramped shelf.

+1 Great idea. If new players arrive in Atlas and see nothing but baddies' body-parts flying around as squads of high-levels fight to keep the streets clean, it's really going to excite you - nothing motivates you to climb the ladder like seeing the high-level powers in action.

You could rank SGs based on their members' contributions to keeping that zone/area clean - or villain groups staking a claim for their own turf. You could even add an extra button to the SG/Team menu for Enter Hunt Mode that makes all minions in the zone that otherwise con blue or below to you con white, Lieuts yellow, bosses orange etc etc. but you can only earn prestige, not XP, inf, salvage or recipes so that you can hunt in any zone and make it worth your while without making it too farmarific. As a low-level alt-a-holic, I'd love to be able to holler on the Hunt channel that I've fallen in the Gulch and can't get out, only to find 8 identically-coloured shining knights come piling over the horizon clearing a path to the gate for me. It would also reinvigorate the GMs since they're no longer just a badge waiting to happen - Nobody wraps flails a tentacle at a warehouse in <insert SG name>'s town! Get 'er!

I would disagree with repeated beat-downs spawning missions though - this defeats the purpose of enhancing street-hunts, you're taking people off the streets and back into instances. Although you could spawn zone events - fires, riots, maybe have a GM-style boss make a run for it across the city to an escape vehicle or a live zone bank robbery. Or maybe go less violent, more heroic - saving people from burning buildings, lifting fallen trees off cars, getting cats out of trees.

One thing that's always bothered me is how easy it is to walk away from an NPC that calls for help. If you get close enough that they see you, the NPC should be able to ask for your help by name - and you lose influence if you don't help (ie losing face by chickening out of a fight). Stops you being a coward, and teaches you those all-important mob-avoidance skills that you used to get from the Hollows pre-jetpacks.

Would love to join in on monday with my cold / ice fender Shiverwitch. Should be able to make 9-10 by monday and have my jetpack sorted if there's a slot available and my wife will let me play (is having to pop off to do household chores every 2 minutes considered a no-no?) Please pretty please can I come?

re: Ice/mental names :
The Menthol Patient - a traumatic childhood of parental abuse and tic-tacs has left the player character with minty-fresh breath that can crystalise vapour from air, but a scarred mind that cries out for justice.

Psicicle - when a combined liquid-nitrogen-juggling / card trick act goes hideously wrong, a childrens entertainer finds himself imbued with awesome powers, poor circulation in his extremities and a boatload of guilt from the parents of the kids who didn't survive the botched birthday party.

Frigid Brigid - a strict catholic upbringing leaves it's mark in the heart of young Brigid, leaving her introverted, distant and in denial of her sexuality. But you know what happens when you mix schoolyard taunts, repression, puberty and mutant genes, right? Kablammo!

The Climate Primate - either a gorilla or high-ranking priest (your choice) who has come to Paragon to (warn of the dangers to his habitat posed by / preach about the will of god sending punishment to the wicked in the form of) global warming. Psychic powers explained away by holy might / being shot into space by the russians for experimentation (I presume you can tell which origin is which, but mixing and matching is fun too

The Blizzard of Id - Cold word + mind word = pun!

Currently I've got the entrance room, a 2x2 med bay, 2x2 teleport bay with 2 porters, 2x2 energy room, 1x4 control room, 2x2 workshop and a 3x3 oversight center.
Assuming no non-standard equipment that can't be bought from the word go, if you stick the bog standard generators for control and power, 1 med bay, 1 monitor bank control aux, 1 workshop table, 1 invention table, 1 personal salvage vault, 1 base salvage store, 2 teleporters and the 4 associated beacons, this gives you all the base functionality for your hq for about 1.33 million - assuming you had an SG with 15 members that got both payouts you would be about 430,000 short of getting it all. You can save cash by not getting the oversight center (it's purely ornamental with the other rooms there but it's cheaper than the other ornamental rooms, and it also gives you the space to take the cheaper 2x2 control room). You only really need 1 teleporter and 1 beacon (if everyone has editing rights they can switch to the desired beacon on arrival in the base) which saves another 40K and removes the need for the power Aux. Similarly you don't need both a worktable and invention table - why not ditch one or the other and switch them in Editing when you need to? With cutbacks you can have a fairly decent all-rounder for a total of about 270K earned prestige - which isn't that much if you have even a handful of members or can convince members of a PUG to join the SG while you're teamed and earn prestige for you. Oh, and a lot of time on your hands.

Can't compete with "at Wentworths I do my shopping" But it's not a competition till someone comes last, so here goes....

Recluse the 8-armed villain
Had a very shiny head
And if you ever saw him
you'd say no-thing (or you'd be dead)

All of the other villains
kicked up 10% of all their schemes
They wouldn't let poor Recluse
run out of cash to fund his world dominating (and rhythym breaking) dreams

Then one foggy christmas eve, Statesman came to say
Recluse, see this white flag here?
I surrender - come to my place for chips and beer!

But there, Freedom Phalanx ganked him
And they shouted out with glee
Tricked you, ya stupid hunchback
This ain't Recluse's Victory

Or a mini-carol, to the tune of The First Noel :

The first Task force
Where Positron did say
"I hope you've got nothing else planned for today"

I was playing for about 2 hours last night, was invited to no fewer than 5 VGs, which brings my total of VG invites since joinging Villains at launch to..... 5! Looks like no one's taking any chances on that date being wrong.

Incidently, if anyone wants to join a VG, just gimme a shout

At least now that you've posted that idea on the forum, those of us who were contemplating doing exactly that can blame you for putting them up to it - cheers!

If the kind of thing you're looking for in an SG include :
* A complete lack of facilities including a TP that doesn't go anywhere, a med bay with no equipment and a rent debt from 18 months ago that I refuse to pay on general principle
* No prospects for promotion beyond default rank
* SG colours that change daily depending on what I think might look good on my current toon
* The nagging feeling that you are just a 20K paycheque and/or a prestige monkey
* A comprehensive dental plan (earn prestige or I'll smash your teeth)

Then welcome aboard! Erroneous are always looking for new members that aren't me.

I thought you said you had a BAB (Side Alley Slammer)?
If the Chimera is already in use, there's always Basilisk....
As for Numina, the opposite of presense (latin, Numen - plural, Numina...) would be the void.. so Nihil?
Not looking to join (no free slots) but everyone loves a name-game

"danger room" for training - rehearsing attack chains and team tactics (no XP, rewards or debt ; Available spawns based on badge/task?)

Ordinary cabinet space that can be interacted with, causing it to flip over and turn into sophisticated tech equipment - I want my secret appartment HQ!

Intermediate stage between tiny SG power/control combo unit and current 1st tier Power and Control units and rooms for smallish SGs.

Vehicle hanger that is used as one-stop TP for all locations once all beacons are collected and unfeasibly large fee has been paid.

Cant remember if it was this or the other thread that mentioned it but shared SG storage for invention salvage would be ideal - I realise that there're issues of "ye stole me lucky charm!" incidents, but it's shared storage, if you don't want to share, don't use it. And if you can't trust eachother, what are you doing in the same SG? A shared inf pool would be great too. Both would make it a little too easy for high level sugar daddies to fund their underling alts, but that's half the appeal

A sharkpit. For the villains. The heroes can have one of those giant pianos from Big or something equally pointlessly nice.

Well if you go with Katana or dual blades, you can make an awful lot of "Sometimes the sword is mightier than the pen" jokes if you're going to be a camp journo.

Aside from that, a stalker would seem the natural choice since a journalist's job is to report a story rather than be the story, so the ability to move around without interfering should come naturally. You can use non-light-show combos such as MA/SR. If he happens to occasionally drop an assassin's blow on the back of some perp's neck to make the story more of a headline grabber then so be it. You can then justify the frequent attacks by any mobs that see him as being retaliation for interfering with their plans in the past in order to get a good story out of it.

To get around the teleporter limitations in Heroes, go into coalition with a couple of other like-minded one-man or small SGs, agree on your destinations and you can cover off the whole map. (in theory. I haven't gotten off my [censored] to do this, but if you want quick access to Faultline you could do worse than befriend the Nubsticks on Union. Well, not much worse).

In terms of earning inf, I find that on my low level alts you'll often find one or two people in a pick-up group who don't have an SG and are happy to play in SG mode for you while you're teaming so long as it's not hurting their inf earning. It's not masses of mula, but it can make the difference between having to walk to the Vault on the map or having one directly over your invention table.

Also, when a new issue comes out with new power sets, look for people experimenting with them, you can often pick up a walking talking (albeit temporary) 20K pay cheque from an alt that's only going to be played for a few weeks and then neglected or - if you're unlucky - deleted.

No it's a terrible idea, but then the last time I read a guide was pre-ED
I've since taken Hurricane and am practicing driving groups into corners and using it with O2 boost to be a sort of squishy-saviour. Can't believe I was going to skip it for so long. Having backed off on using 02 when there's a real healer in the team I find I've a lot more endurance to spend on attacking while SnowStorm is up - might look into taking Psychic Scream over Lance since I'm not getting up to much sniping except when soloing which isn't often. Thanks again for the tips, keep 'em coming

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning begging. As an eternal lowbie, I'm never going to *earn* the wings But this goes beyond begging. It's like the guy has walked up to your table in Eddie Rockets, Taken a bite out of your burger and then asked you to hand him your napkin so he can wipe his mouth. He needs kicking.

I don't think I have 30K for the Demon Wings, but if you're willing to loan me it then that's what I'll bid!