Dr_Arcanus

Hijack This log has been posted, see above. And yes, I was able to launch in Safe Mode just now, if that helps. Of course it looked like warmed-over crap, but it was nice to see my level 50 fire blaster again, in all his pixelated glory.

It also gave me a popup that that character was new, and I had the option to flag myself as "Needing help". Anyway...thanks for the help, everyone.

And here's the Hijack This log:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 7:07:13 PM, on 7/8/2011
Platform: Windows 7 SP1 (WinNT 6.00.3505)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16421)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNo tifier.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Gateway\Hotkey Utility\HotkeyUtility.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Gateway Photo Frame\ButtonMonitor.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Canon\Solution Menu EX\CNSEMAIN.EXE
C:\Program Files (x86)\Canon\Canon IJ Network Scan Utility\CNMNSUT.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\Identity Protection\agent\bin\avgidsmonitor.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Mail\wlmail.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Contacts\wlcomm.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://homepage.gateway.com/rdr.aspx...5v155k46i1r251
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://homepage.gateway.com/rdr.aspx...5v155k46i1r251
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://homepage.gateway.com/rdr.aspx...5v155k46i1r251
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\Windows\SysWOW64\blank.htm
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Int ernet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Messenger Companion Helper - {9FDDE16B-836F-4806-AB1F-1455CBEFF289} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Google Toolbar - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Hotkey Utility] C:\Program Files (x86)\Gateway\Hotkey Utility\HotkeyUtility.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Gateway Photo Frame] C:\Program Files (x86)\Gateway Photo Frame\ButtonMonitor.exe -A
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG_TRAY] C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\avgtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AppleSyncNotifier] C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleSyncNotifier.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CanonSolutionMenuEx] C:\Program Files (x86)\Canon\Solution Menu EX\CNSEMAIN.EXE /logon
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IJNetworkScanUtility] C:\Program Files (x86)\Canon\Canon IJ Network Scan Utility\CNMNSUT.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [StartCCC] "C:\Program Files (x86)\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\Core-Static\CLIStart.exe" MSRun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATICustomerCare] "C:\Program Files (x86)\ATI\ATICustomerCare\ATICustomerCare.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [swg] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNo tifier.exe"
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - Startup: Neverwinter Nights Registration.lnk = C:\NeverwinterNights\NWN\ereg\ATR1.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: Add to Google Photos Screensa&ver - res://C:\Windows\system32\GPhotos.scr/200
O8 - Extra context menu item: Google Sidewiki... - res://C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\Component\GoogleToolbarDynamic_mui_en_6CE5 017F567343CA.dll/cmsidewiki.html
O9 - Extra button: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companionlang.dll,-600 - {0000036B-C524-4050-81A0-243669A86B9F} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll
O9 - Extra button: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WindowsLiveWriterShortcuts.dll,-1004 - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WindowsLiveWriterShortcuts.dll,-1003 - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: S&end to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics
O15 - Trusted Zone: *.clonewarsadventures.com
O15 - Trusted Zone: *.freerealms.com
O15 - Trusted Zone: *.soe.com
O15 - Trusted Zone: *.sony.com
O18 - Protocol: linkscanner - {F274614C-63F8-47D5-A4D1-FBDDE494F8D1} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\avgpp.dll
O18 - Protocol: wlpg - {E43EF6CD-A37A-4A9B-9E6F-83F89B8E6324} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Photo Gallery\AlbumDownloadProtocolHandler.dll
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: AMD External Events Utility - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\atiesrxx.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: ASP.NET State Service (aspnet_state) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspn et_state.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: AVGIDSAgent - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\Identity Protection\Agent\Bin\AVGIDSAgent.exe
O23 - Service: AVG WatchDog (avgwd) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG10\avgwdsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: GameConsoleService - WildTangent, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Gateway Games\Gateway Game Console\GameConsoleService.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate) (gupdate) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdatem) (gupdatem) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Software Updater (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: PnkBstrA - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\PnkBstrA.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Splashtop® Remote Service (SplashtopRemoteService) - Splashtop Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Splashtop\Splashtop Remote\Server\SRService.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Splashtop Software Updater Service (SSUService) - Splashtop Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Splashtop\Splashtop Software Updater\SSUService.exe
O23 - Service: Steam Client Service - Valve Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Updater Service - Acer Group - C:\Program Files\Gateway\Gateway Updater\UpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Wat\WatUX.exe,-601 (WatAdminSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wat\WatAdminSvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

--
End of file - 11801 bytes

Well the 11.5 drivers didn't work, I went to 11.6 just for kicks, that didn't work, so I rolled all the way back to 10.12 which was the version that came out in mid-December 2010. I think that's probably what I had installed, last time the game worked. That didn't work either.

Last night I uninstalled the game client and did a fresh download, and patched all the way up to current, and that didn't work either. Here's my CoH Helper info, if anyone sees anything useful, I'd appreciate your input - thanks.

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---

DxDiag gathered at July 8, 2011 19:03 (-07:00)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110408-1631)
System Manufacturer: Gateway
System Model: DX4320
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Central Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1035T Processor (6 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 8192MB
.Net Memory Report: 6247MB out of 8175MB available
Page File: 14060MB (2289MB currently in use)
C Drive: (WDC WD15EADS-22P8B0 SCSI Disk Device) 1125118MB out of 1411176MB (79%) free
D Drive: (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH60N SCSI CdRom Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 6.01.7601.17514 (64-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.

No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor:
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Manufacturer / Chip: ATI Technologies Inc. / ATI display adapter (0x68BE)
Video Memory: 4070 MB
Driver Version: 8.801.0.0
Driver Date: 11/25/2010 7:57:08 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6045
Driver Date: 2/9/2010 8:28:22 AM

Sound Device Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6045
Driver Date: 2/9/2010 8:28:22 AM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Gateway
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: DX4320
Motherboard Version:
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Name: Default System BIOS
BIOS Version: ACRSYS - 20100421
BIOS Release: 20100421000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1024x768
3D Resolution: 1024x768 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: Medium
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Unknown (0)
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Medium quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High


World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Unknown (4)
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Shadow maps
Shadow Map Shader: Low quality
Environmental Reflections: Disabled
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: Off
Occlusion Strength: Off
Blur: Bilateral
Ambient Resolution: Performance


Gamma Correction: 1.000
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 1.000
Music Sound Volume: 0.600

Show Advanced Graphics Options: No
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.500
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: 2050.201106290226.1.0
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\NCsoft\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

I've been doing Google and forum searches for the last few nights, and I've seen this problem discussed and I've been trying most of the suggestions, to no avail. I've played CoH on and off since shortly after launch; in January 2011 (last time I played) I got my 51-month Veteran badge. At that time this PC was new, and the game worked without a hitch. I decided to resubscribe this week, and patched the client, but now it gets to that Loading graphic (the one that superimposes itself over the desktop) and that's as far as I can get.

My system is running Windows 7, 64-bit Home Premium on an off-the-shelf Gateway DX4320 system. Video card is a 1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5750, CPU is an AMD Phenom II X6 at 2.60 GHz, with 8 gigs of RAM. City of Heroes ran on this computer back in January. I can play RIFT and LOTRO with no problems, as well as Steam games. I can even launch both Aion and Guild Wars from the NCSoft Launcher - I don't currently have accounts with either game, but I can get to the log-in screens for both.

Windows is fully updated; I downloaded the 11.6 Catalyst drivers last night but that didn't change anything. I was running 11.5 before that. I don't know what I was running back in January - my next step will be to guesstimate what the current driver was at that time, and reinstall it, if that might fix the issues. I've tried launching the game from the Launcher, as well as directly from the City of Heroes .EXE file, and I've tried disabling Visual Themes from the properties tab on both shortcuts. I've tried running in Windows XP compatibility mode as well. Nothing has worked. I tried turning off all elements of the Aero theme completely and switched to a bare-bones Windows Classic layout, just in case. I turned on GameBooster (a utility that turns off "unneccesary" background processes to theoretically increase game performance) and I disabled 33 running processes, including my AVG antivirus...nothing.

When I try launching and the Loading bar appears, Task Manager shows City of Heroes as an active program, and the Processes tab shows it as using 17% of the CPU. But it never finishes loading. Aside from rolling back my video drivers to a January 2011 state, anyone have any other ideas? CoH is an old friend and I'd love to come back, but after a while the headache is just not worth it, for any game. Thanks in advance.

Does anyone else remember the original Hover animation? It seems to me that it was the same as the Fly animation, just much slower. At some point they changed it to that dorky "standing" animation that it has now. I preferred the original one. Or I am imagining things?

And my level 50 fire blaster hovers the entire time he's in a mission. I have the +stealth IO (forget the name) and it allows me to get into position and rain fiery death from above. I'm also inching closer to the ranged defense cap and that little bit from Hover actually helps, in my case.

I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as the experts that we (thankfully) have on these boards, but I do want to mention that Flares AND Fire Blast, as well as Ring of Fire, can save your bacon now that Defiance allows us to use all three of those powers even when held or slept. My Firex3 build is based on ranged defense, I've scraped it up to 42.76% now. I ran an office mission where I carelessly turned a corner and hovered straight into a pair of Malta. I was held by that nasty, really long hold that one of the operatives has, but I managed to hit both a sapper and the operative with Ring of Fire. The sapper missed me three times in a row thanks to my ranged DEF, and using Ring, Flares and Fire Blast I defeated them both, while held the entire time. In the old days that would have been an immediate hospital trip.

You may not have room for all three powers if you are going for a blapper build, but they really are very good now in conjunction with the revamped Defiance.

Hello all. I have a level 50 fire/fire/fire blaster, he was my first character (born in June 2004 or so) and I now have enough veteran respecs to play around with his build a bit. I actually parked him at level 32 and started a controller who ended up as my first 50; this was because my blaster was so squishy compared to the other AT's I saw around me. I love CoH and I sometimes miss the old days when I just played, and didn't bother reading the forums or researching builds. Of course I spent most of the "old days" in perma-debt as well.

So now I have leveled a tanker to 43, and I see the immense value in defense and resistance stats, and although it seems counter-intuitive (to me) to build for defense on a blaster, I'm ready to experiment with my fire blaster's build. He's already 50 so leveling is not a concern, and I don't run task forces; I usually team with one other real-life friend, and I enjoy running with pick-up groups on occasion. Basically I'd like to buff my guy's survivability and I don't mind dropping a few of the powers I rarely use (like the sniper attack or even Inferno) in order to increases defense and/or resistance. I can always respec back anyway.

I find that I prefer being on the ground (I run with Combat Jumping and Acrobatics) and I like using my AoE's first, then Blaze and Fire Blast to finish things off. I used to try and hover-blast a while back, but I don't really care for it anymore. Plus I have to be on the ground for Burn and Hot Feet anyway. What Fire powers would you consider critical, and which can be jettisoned in order to pick up more S/L defense/resistance? Is Frozen Armor the only epic shield that actually provides +DEF? It seems the rest are all +resistance, not defense. Of the pool powers, I guess I need Tough and Weave, and Maneuvers...any others? Even if I cannot reach the S/L soft cap, 35%-40% would probably be a huge benefit and would make my hero alignment and radio missions a whole lot easier.

I can easily afford to slot yellow IO sets...probably an orange or two...not really any purples, however. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

I've been browsing the guides and doing web searches, but I can't find anything that addresses this question. Some of the older guides are pre-ED and suggest 5 or 6 SO's in a given power, which obviously is no longer valid. I'd like to know how high I can expect to get my tanker's smashing/lethal defenses (as well as other defenses and resists) by just using optimal power selection, slotting, and common IO's.

By way of explanation, I enjoy soloing and duoing with a real-life friend; I don't do any PvP and I don't intend to run task forces or even be main tank for large groups. I enjoy tanking the doors for Halloween trick-or-treating and things like that, but otherwise I'd just like to make my character (currently level 40) as durable as I can get him, for my own fun. My original toon is a level 50 fire/fire blaster, leveled up in the old painful days of almost perma-debt, and I have two level 50 controllers and various squishy alts. So my tank is my fun character with whom I can run missions and not worry about death around every corner. It takes a while to defeat enemies, but it's a nice change of pace.

I'm Invulnerability/Super Strength, and I can already run fairly smoothly on my missions, although now that I hit 40 and I am getting Malta missions, I'm taking more of a beating than before. I've read some of the excellent guides to IO sets but whenever I check Wentworth's, the costs of these sets just completely deflates that idea. And, it's probably not necessary anyway to spend millions on sets if I don't plan to tank task forces. So if my goal is to maximize my survivability for solo or maybe small-group door missions only, how well can I do that with common IO's and proper slotting? Any suggestions for powers and slots for an Invuln/SS tanker? I already have everything but Unstoppable from my primary, but my slotting could probably use some work. I still need Tough and Weave (don't have either) and I have Combat Jumping but haven't slotted it for defense yet. I have several veteran respecs I can use to tweak my build. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

I thought there was a way to view the overall, cumulative stats on our characters, such as my total or global defenses, overall resistances, etc. Is there such an option in the game? Or do I have to just manually add up the bonuses from my powers? I'm trying to determine my level 38 tanker's smashing/lethal defense, his various resistances, etc. I've been looking in-game but I can't figure it out, and I thought I'd lucked upon it once on another character, but I forget how I did it (if I even did). I have an idea of his stats from mousing over each of the enhanced powers, but is there a way to see the totals someplace, as calculated by the game? Thanks in advance.

Hello all. I'm not finding this information anyplace: I was wondering what epic power pools are available to "villain" archetypes who decide to go the Hero route, as well as vice versa for villainous Hero archetypes? I have a level 33 demon mastermind and I'm also leveling a lowbie war mace brute; both will choose the "hero" path (well the mastermind already has) so what epic power pools are eventually available to them? Thanks in advance.

Hello friends. I'm not sure if "global" is the right term here, but here's my question: I have a level 50 illusion/radiation controller, and I'm just starting to outfit him with some of the more inexpensive IO sets. I'm using one of Local Man's excellent slotting guides as a basis. I won't have perma-anything for a while but any improvement will be useful, since I've been slotting mostly normal IO's and even some SO's until now.

I've got 5 Doctored Wounds in my heal power, and the set bonuses are lit up, with the 5-piece bonus being a 5% recharge reduction on all my powers. I also managed to get 4 of the Dark Watcher's set into Radiation Infection, and the 4-piece bonus is also 5% recharge reduction on "all powers". But how do I know if I am actually getting any reduction? When I mouse over Phantom Army, it shows an enhanced recharge of 2 minutes 10 seconds, which is exactly what it showed before I slotted either set. OK, so...maybe it doesn't display on the power, I thought. So I just did a test with a cell phone stopwatch (not completely scientific, but oh well) and PA took a good 2 minutes and 8 seconds to recharge. That, to me, is essentially the same as it was before I slotted either of the IO sets. I certainly do not appear to be getting a 10% reduction.

I'm new to the IO set business so maybe I am missing something? I did all of this in Steel Canyon, I was not in combat, does that make a difference? I just want to know that I'm on the right path, before spending millions more in influence. Is there any in-game indicator to show that set bonuses are working? Thanks in advance.

Hello. I've been checking but can't find any such guides, and of course all of the Google results that seemed like they might have some info are broken since the forums were moved/changed. I have a 42 fire/kinetics controller, and I play other characters too so I think the best I'll ever do for this guy is some Frankenslotting on the critical powers. I'd like some actual information of what (partial) sets are recommended for which powers.

Also, is Frankenslotting something I should wait to do till level 50? Or are there lower level IO's I can get that would be worth the effort (and maybe cheaper)? I probably would do some of the more critical powers, maybe not everything. I just need some slotting suggestions/recommendations. Thanks in advance.

Thanks, Mind4. I ended up changing to a larger outdoor map (I was using the ruined Atlas Park map with the huge robot pieces strewn everywhere - awesome map but hard to navigate and the smoke is annoying) and I also tried bumping my character's difficulty level to 2. I don't know if either thing actually affected it, but I did a complete run-through and every one of my custom mobs was in there.

I've definitely noticed that my minions appear in groups, and usually all three models show up in each spawn, which I think is very cool. So it seems to be working fine now.

I ask this because I made a short mission, mostly for personal fun and to run with friends. I have quite a few custom enemies, there are three different minions and probably nine different lieutenants, and one elite boss. The three minions always spawn, usually in groups; the boss is always there, but I don't always get all of the LT's to show up. I've used the Find Next Enemy tool while in Invisible mode, and once or twice I HAVE finally seen an LT that I would have sworn wasn't there. But today I checked again, and I was only seeing 3-4 of the different LT's, repeated around the map. Did I use too many? Is there a limit as to how many unique custom enemies will spawn on a given map? Or, if I am solo, will I not get them all? Thanks in advance.

I did one based on a previous job I had, for a printing company. I have a real-life friend who plays, and who still works at the place I used as a basis for my mission, and he LOVES it and thinks it's hilarious. But no one else would "get" it, unless you are also unfortunate enough to work in commercial printing like we do. But it was fun creating the mission.

I don't think it will come back to bite you unless any of your coworkers play CoH? Guess that's the thing to keep in mind. Have fun and good luck if you decide to attempt it.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Fire probably made out the worst, relatively speaking. DPE went down relative to the old version, and AoE damage went down compared to before while in Domination. Not that bad really but if you had a /Fire perma-Dom you might be wishing for the old version back.

[/ QUOTE ]

I couldn't disagree more. Firey Embrace combined with higher base damage modifiers and skills with increase damage scales means that Fire Assault is absolutely insane. It's within reason for a perma-Dom to have FE up for 30 out of 50 seconds.

This was a HUGE buff for Fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

Something I don't see addressed often is this: many of the people who say the changes (especially the increased endurance costs) aren't that bad, seem to be higher-level dominators who already have good builds, already have SO's or IO's, etc. I am a veteran player who has rarely played villains, but I just gave it another go about two weeks ago and rolled a fire/fire dominator. He's only level 11 and I was starting to like him, but now I can't kill more than one or two mobs before my blue bar is completely gone. I've been lucky enough to find a couple of teams, but the population is nothing close to what it is on the hero side. Heck I would even take an AE run to help me get closer to level 20 and Stamina, but the AE buildings are empty.

So I will probably take the easy way out and go back to playing heroes, which is what usually happens. I think higher-level, already-geared doms can roll with these changes...but newer ones such as myself may end up giving up. Playing my newbie dominator is currently not my idea of fun.

I'm looking to exchange maybe 10 million influence from hero side (Triumph server) to the villain side on the Champion server. I know 10 mil sounds pretty puny compared to the big-money transactions that seem to happen every day around here . I just returned to CoH/CoV after a long break, I don't have a whole lot of cash stored up, but I would like to work seriously on a couple of my villain characters and this would help.

My global is @Dr. Arcanus, which is also the name of my level 50 illusion/radiation controller on Triumph. If anyone could assist with this transfer, I'd appreciate it very much. Thanks in advance.

Thanks to all who have replied. I was testing an arc when I was having this problem; once I published it and ran it several times, as well as asking a friend to do it on his own, it worked fine. So did the next one I created. Problem solved?

Just tonight, I ran that second arc with a friend, and AGAIN I was not seeing any of the dialogue, for the first time in a few days. But my friend saw everything fine. So...I guess I will assume other people can generally read it OK. If so, that's good enough. The system is great fun. Thanks again.

Update - yes I did save everything in the proper format, I believe; on the right-side summary screen, all of the boss dialogue for each action is listed, just the way I wrote it. Same for my escort NPC. I did a test run where I deleted the characters and redid them from scratch. ONE time, I did actually see the text bubbles! But the next few times, I did not.

However, I then asked my son to log in and run the mission with me (still in Test mode) and he saw all the dialogue, both in chat bubbles and in the chat window. I still saw nothing. I checked and I have Chat Bubbles enabled. I don't know what could be happening. I suppose if I know other people can see it, then that's some comfort. I'd still like to get to the bottom of it though. Thanks.

Hello. I just started trying out the MA system and I think it's a lot of fun. I started creating a mission and everything is working correctly, except that none of the dialogue that I wrote is appearing. I did text for the escort NPC, for the enemies before they detect me, the boss before and after he sees me, etc. But none of it is going off. I did custom models for every enemy, might that have something to do with it? No errors are flagged when I am in the creation screen. It's probably something simple that I am missing...thanks in advance.

[ QUOTE ]
Hey, nice.

[ QUOTE ]
Special Thanks to Our Players

Now back to you, the players. You are the lifeblood of our game. In celebration of our new studio and our exciting plans, and in order to thank you for the fantastic community that you have built, we are pleased to announce the following.

Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!

Debt Wipe
After the launch of Issue 11: A Stitch in Time this Fall, we are removing Debt from all characters and giving you a fresh start. Actual date will be announced shortly. Have fun in the mean time.

20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.

In the near future we will begin to share more information about our development plans. With this major reinvestment and effort ahead of us, we will take City of Heroes to new heights!

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to wax pessimistic or anything, but as a veteran player (over three years now) I bought both CoH and CoV a long time ago, I have no debt at the moment on any of my main characters, and I don't belong to a supergroup. So none of those perks will do me any good; however I do find myself concerned about the future of the game. I KNEW there was no way in Hades we'd ever see the Marvel game on the shelf at Best Buy, right next to CoH, with Cryptic's name on both. I just didn't know what would change but I knew that Marvel would never allow that kind of competition. We're not talking Turbine, with LOTRO and DDO which are both fantasy games...two out of about ten million fantasy games. CoH IS the superhero-MMO market at present, there simply isn't anything else like it, and there was just no way that Cryptic would keep working on both. I just hope this doesn't spell the end of CoH as we know it.