Dollhouse

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Mob confused the heck out of me for the first few weeks until I read something here about the "mobile unit" abbreviation..

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Ditto. The ambiguity is that for anyone other than those using gamer jargon, the word "mob" is roughly equivalent to "group," albeit with a somewhat negative connotation of violent behavior. It's an unfortunate coincidence that the portmanteau happens to form a word with a different, pre-existing meaning, and a word with particular applicability to what we're doing here (we fight "angry mobs" pretty frequently). Even though I'm familiar with the gamer usage, it still has a rather glaring linguistic wrongness about it.

As it happens, one of my regular teaming groups contains several people who play no other MMOs and aren't really connected to gamer culture at all. If I say "mob" to them, they will definitely take me to mean a group of enemies, not a single target.

Also, as a roleplayer, it's unlikely my characters would say "mob" when referring to a single enemy, or "spawn" for a group. If I want to use "mob" in the gamer sense, it would only be in OOC chat. So mostly, I just avoid using the word in-game at all! =P

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You learn a lot about the Carnies on Madeleine Casey's arc

Paragon Wiki Article on her missions, yes there are spoilers

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Thanks. So it looks like the answer is yes, a Carnie can be reformed if the psychic link between the Carnie's soul and the head Madame can be severed. There's a magical ritual that would need to be performed; it would be more than just taking off the mask.

Yes, no, maybe so?

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And in addition, there is Praetorian Earth's Carnival of Light. They're freedom fighters against the Praetorians. I used that backstory as a foundation element in my Carnival of Light SG (Triumph...and spread to at least two more servers). I suspect in that case the masks serve as more of a benign psychic (and probably empathic) link. That's how we RP it, anyway. =)

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Anyone else think that the carnies are hawt? Especially when they do that scream thing?

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The carnies have always been my absolute most favorite group in game.

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This!!!

I mean, I founded a Carnival of Light hero SG over four years ago, so much do I love me some Carnies!

My favorite among my modest roster of tanks is my WP/DB. With several area attacks to compliment RttC, she's able to overcome most if not all WP/'s aggro-holding issues. And because WP/ is at its best with a huge mob of enemies surrounding you, she's just plain heroic to play! Been at 50 for a long time now, and the build is pretty mature...can tank Recluse in the STF (albeit with a bit of help!), etc. I love this character for RP, story-related reasons...but I'd love her for the fun-and-effectiveness factor alone, were I not an RP'er.

My namesake (Dollhouse) was my first 50, an old-school firetank. I've accommodated the copious nerfs as best I could, and she's also fun and effective...but it's always been hard to look back at what she was and not have some regrets. Not that some or all the nerfs weren't necessary, but she'll always feel like a shadow of her former self. I have another Fire/Fire now, but she's part of a level-pacted duo...with an Earth/Storm Controller. ANY character feels like a walking god teamed with one of those...

Enjoying a baby Dark/Dark so far...that one has potential!

I'd love to jump in on the next one. I've moved a lot of my redside 50's to other servers, but I still have an Ice/Cold Corr... would she be of any use?

I love my tanker(s) because there's nothing like taking an AV's alpha, letting a slow grin creep across your face, and saying, "if that's your best shot, you're about to have a very bad day."

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Seriously though ANY well played defender should make a team safer and more effective offensively.

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This.

I'm something of a Defender aficionado, and I find that once you really get the hang of the AT, the power combo isn't really all that big a deal...they all work. That said, D3s are my personal favorite. In fact, Dark/anything is very effective. Pretty much any Kin/ Defender can turn a team into an unstoppable killing machine, too...but you have to be willing to spend a significant amount of your time buffing (and putting up with "SB plz" in chat).

I've about 125 characters, have my 5 year badge, and have something like 13 50s. Altoholic? Yeah, that's me.

With the possible exception of a few lowbie toons that are still in their "trial period" (will they gel or will they get deleted?), all are reasonably complete realizations that have backstories, personalities, etc. I am always RP'ing to some degree in the game, so some level of character development is essential. No, I can't always call up the personality of long-neglected alts right away, and I find some are really different when I play them again after a long "sleep." That's actually kind of fun!

This game is a serious "enabler" of altoholics: there are so many distinct combinations of powers, so much variation in the creator, that you can reel off a seemingly endless string of alts without feeling like you're repeating yourself.

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The Architect's real power is in Role Play groups that have their own dedicated message boards, continuities, etc. It allows them to branch out from the core continuity of the Paragon Universe and do their own thing with custom missions.

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Which, not coincidentally, describes the OP (and me). MA has been quite a boon to story-focused RP'ers. Sure, when you're not playing an arc written by someone from your own crew, you have to dig a bit for good story-centered arcs, but they're there...and a lot of them are really well done. Some of the writing is downright terrific (and our group in particular is pretty fussy in that regard, including a smattering of decent amateur and semi-pro writers and one very successful pro).

We tend to ignore the canon aspect of AE that has everything occurring in virtual reality. Most of the time, we treat the missions as actual happenings in the "Paragonverse."

MA is one of my favorite additions ever (and I don't build missions yet, myself...too stinkin' busy lately). The controversies over exploits and farming has given it a rocky start, but ultimately, I think it will be considered a milestone in MMO evolution.

I have a 50 Kin/Psi, Festival, who is my most effective "force multiplier" character. She's an okay solo'er, but she can turn a team into an unstoppable killing machine. So much fun (even if the endless serial SB buffing gets really old after a while).

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Thanks guys I think I'm going with Rad/Dark at first I wanted Rad/Rad but once I thought about it I start to love the idea of Rad/Dark and you guys sold me on it. Thanks again

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You're gonna love him/her!

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The better question to ask is which AV's can solo a tanker?

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Oh, so very, very THIS!

I'm in the slow process of rebuilding my semi-retired namesake character (fire/fire) up again, and I think it might be possible to get her to the point where she could deal with at least some AVs. Gonna be expensive, though...

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Nah..your DarkX3 can do that too.

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Well yeah, but he didn't give Dark as an option for a primary. If he did, I'd definitely be saying to fire up a D3.

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As would all right-thinking folk...best AT in the game.

That said, while the D3 remains my favorite, I'm really enjoying my Rad/Sonic lowbie. The sounds are pretty annoying, but I just turn down the volume a bit and bear with it. Rad/Dark should be good, too..but I've never tried that combo.

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I think there's a heavy dependence on AT and build as to whether certain AV's are easy or not. For instance I can imagine the Clockwork King being naturally easier for a /WP scrapper due to the psionic resistance and defense already built in. Fire off Elusive Mind (rikti invasion accolade) and have inspirations on hand and he's a breeze.

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He's a pushover for my Ill/Kin Controller (admittedly a nicely purpled-out "AV hunter" build), too. Phantom Army soaks up that nasty Psi Nova, and she's only one last purple set away from PA being perma. Takes a while, like all AVs, since she's not the queen of damage, but the outcome is never in doubt.

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Sheesh, Em...don't do that to me! I thought you'd taken leave of your senses and packed up and moved to Freedom.

Global chat channels? Avoid 'em like the immersion-breaking plague that they are.

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ill break your immersion!

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My immersion is nigh invulnerable.

/spoooooooon

Sheesh, Em...don't do that to me! I thought you'd taken leave of your senses and packed up and moved to Freedom.

Global chat channels? Avoid 'em like the immersion-breaking plague that they are.

My Kin/Elec, at 41 is a very viable "Sapper" build, actually. Along with the bread-and-butter drains of Short Circuit and Transference, the majority of her /Elec attacks also have at least some drain capability. Mostly single target (except for Ball Lightning), and not really worth slotting for End Mod (unlike the Big Two), but they add up. Because I almost always run on Invincible, she sees very few even-con minions (which can be drained with one shot of Short Circuit), so the AoE drainage capability is largely irrelevant.

However, against single targets, including bosses, EBs, and even some AVs, she can keep them fully drained for very long periods. Bosses will frequently never get an attack off once drained (and Trans + SC will do it) before they're defeated, and that's happened with EBs, too. An AV will recover fast enough to still attack, but the rate at which they do so can be reduced dramatically (in most cases; some AVs are simply too fast to recover).

Rapid recharge of the draining attacks is key. She has Hasten, and has Siphon Speed multi-slotted for accuracy. I'm building her IO sets for a lot of global +recharge, too. Short Circuit is slotted for End Mod and Recharge (it seems pretty inherently accurate...but saving a slot for a +Acc might be a vialble alternative).

I'd say an End Drain strategy is far from obsolete, so long as you keep in mind what it can and cannot do. Oh, and it's useless in PvP now. All of the above applies strictly to PvE.

I love the veteran attacks (Sands, Staff/Wand, and on more combat-ready ATs, the Axe). I also love the teleports and the Buff Pet. The latter not so much for the modest buff itself, but because when facing multiple enemies, one will invariably waste time attacking it. Useful!

I have the level 6 travel powers now...and I just got a new character to 6! Unfortunately, I still didn't take one of them...because it's a Rad/ defender and Enervating Field comes at that level, but still!

Not as important to me (but still cool) are the respecs and costume tokens...

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I've only got 3 50's and the first one was a Mind/FF Controller. I swore I'd never level another Controller again! As of yesterday, I now have a 34 Ill/Kin who is quite fun to play now that he has his pet. PA was less than what i expected, but they did make life much easier at 18. I'm looking forward to 38 and fulcrum shift.

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My 50 Ill/Kin is closing in on perma-PA and is my solo AV hunter. And was the first controller I managed to get out of the 20s! But now I'm hooked...

My .sig says all I really need to say...but I'll expound a little, anyway (coz I'm a wordy bugger).

First thing to know is that I'm a roleplayer. If I'm playing the game, I am to at least some degree immersed in my character. While I like to think I'm a pretty fair technical gameplayer (after 5 years, things sink in for even a numbskull like me), it's really all about the story, the character, the visceral and emotional impact of the situation. And tanks are just freakin' great for that.

My namesake character and first 50 is a tank (and old-school firetank, in fact). I remember desperately trying to buy the team Empath (the only other survivor of a near-wipe) enough time to teleport and resurrect the others..and somehow living through it. I remember herding a substantial portion of the final Eden Trial room and marveling at a screen filled with enemies, astonished to be alive.

One of my most recent 50s is also a tank, a WP/DB build. Even more than Dollhouse, Mirka embodies what I love about the AT. A "runt of the litter" type with no "super" powers beyond an utter refusal to let her friends come to harm while breath remains in her body, she's my take on the"first in, last out" ideal. From herding the entire "Nemesis lower parade ground" on the Dark Watcher arc ender to shrieking "come here and pick on someone your own size*" at a Kronos to standing toe-to-toe with Lord Recluse while her friends trash the towers, she's the character that makes me feel super. She's the character that will take the best an enemy has and ask, "Is that all you've got?"

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Watching other people herd, and play a defender

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Personally, I just eliminate the comma. That is to say, I herd* and play a Defender.

D3s ftw!

*Actually, snare is a better term for what I do with my D3s...but I digress.

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Since when are all random websites on the Internet authoritative? "newzyouwant"? Seriously? Doesn't the z in there automatically mean that site is illegal anyway??

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Not recognizing an official CoH marketing website FTL!

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My assumption about the z still stands, dammit!

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And in any case, I've not got Devo's "Girl U Want' stuck in my head.

Which is okay...one can do far worse.

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This certainly makes me glad I don't play squishies anymore.

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Try an Ill/Rad controller, if you haven't already. Mine beat up Malta nicely (along with most everything else).

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As does my Ill/Kin...

I always had luck with D3s against Malta, too. They can't mez what they can't hit...

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QR

Yay, more nerfherding disguised by semantics.

I'mma go play That Other Game, their forums are friendlier.

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Enjoy! Oh, and that avatar is delightful, ST.

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The point is that while you are hitting that key 16 times, there's other stuff you are not doing. If I were a kin defender, it would be no sweat. But I posted this in the troller forums. I'm an ice troller. I can shut down gobs of mobs....if I am not hitting speedboost all the time

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Very true. And even as a Kin/ Defender, sometimes SB is far from being your top priority. If there are a decent number of enemies left standing, Fulcrum Shift is usually the single most effective thing you can do to win the fight for your team. Sometimes you really need to come to the rescue of a teammate with Transfusion or Transference...and if that happens as someone's SB is running out, too bad. And if you've gotten a full-effect FS off, your own damage-capped Nova is as effective (and then some) as that of the Blaster who's been hanging back out of FS range.