The City Traveler

by Taxibot Belle

"scoop_ghgb"> "http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/adsogw/CityScoop/Coin.png"
align="absmiddle"> Go. Hunt. Get Badge. "http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/adsogw/CityScoop/Coin.png"
align="absmiddle">

"/showprofile.php?User=138640"
class="Byline">by Lemur Lad

This week's badge is Gravedigger, something
appropriate to set as your title this time of year. Getting it
has nothing to do with the Halloween Events, and it's just as
easy or hard any other time of the year, but still it's
thematically appropriate. Gravedigger
is for taking out 100 of the Vahzilok Embalmed Cadavers, the
zombies with backpacks full of explosive chemicals that run up to
you and explode.

Heroes

I rate this a 1 out of 5 on the difficulty
scale. There are Vahzilok in most of the low level zones, and
there are more than enough missions that you can often get this
during normal gameplay. The most difficult aspect is the toxic
damage done by the Cadavers. If you are a low level character
fighting Vahz close to your level, you often don't have the
protections against this yet, and they can prove quite lethal if
you're not careful. Apart from the story arcs below, there are
large numbers of Vahz in the Positron
Task Force.

Notable Story Arcs (Contacts listed in
link):

The
Vahzilok Pollutant Plot (10-15)

The
Vahzilok Plague (15-20) This is the one where you get
to fight Dr Vahz himself.

If you decide to hunt the badge outside of
missions, I recommend Perez Park. Inside the northern wall of the
park there are numerous locations for Vahz to appear. Perez Park
is an excellent zone for badge hunting, by the way. I'll more
than likely discuss that in a future installment. Faultline used
to be an excellent zone for getting this badge quickly. However
since the revamp, the vahz only appear in limited numbers and
only during ingame night. As I learned painfully last week, the
zone is not under the Halloween event permanent night, either
(curse you, Numina Task Force- you win, this time).

Villains

This badge becomes a 3.5 out of 5 on the difficulty scale for
villains. Normally it's much harder to get for villains There are
only limited places to see Embalmed in the open, and only a
couple of missions where you fight the Vahz.

Notable Mission:

Steal
Facemaker's reanimation chemicals

This mission is also the mission that grants the Mask Maker
badge. I recommend the two birds with one stone approach. Farm
the mission a couple of times to get Gravedigger, and then
complete it to earn the mission badge.

Hunting this badge is tricky, but not
impossible. There are two spots in Cap au Diable where Embalmed
Cadavers spawn. However unlike on the hero side, you have to have
quick reflexes, even if you are a very high level character and
the foes will not aggro on you. The issue here is that quite
often, most of the spawns are scripted, by which I mean they are
a face off between the Vahz and Arachnos, or Luddites. That means
the Embalmed will spawn, lock on the foe NPC, and explode. You
need to be quick to get a hit in before that happens. If not,
you're greeted with a series of explosions as your prey blows
itself up before you can get credit. There are some spawns that
are not in combat though, so from time to time you will be able
to get free shots. Additionally, I recommend avoiding Area effect
attacks. If you are careful, then you can kill an Embalmed
yourself, and a Mortificator will run over and reanimate it,
allowing you to kill it again, for double credit. That's really
difficult to manage though, I think I've only gotten that to
happen twice, so don't count on it.

The warehouses near the Facemaker's lair in
Cap au Diable have a few spawns that can contain Embalmed in
them. The other area is to the southeast of Aeon City. The
alleyways of the buildings nearest the water.

Final Note: Once Issue 11 hits, life becomes
simpler. Anyone level 25 and up will be able to use the Ouroboros
system to get missions. If I had thought of that before I wrote
the article, I wouldn't have gone into such mind numbing detail
on how a villain can hunt it in the open, but then again, if you
want the badge early for some reason, or just don't like farming
missions, that is always an option.

"http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/adsogw/CityScoop/Coin.png"
align="absmiddle">Behind the Mask "http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/adsogw/CityScoop/Coin.png"
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By Teldon

Jason the X

Pinnacle Server

Welcome Jason and thanks for doing this. Let's start with the basics shall we? If you would, where do you live, how old are you and your gender?

I recently moved to Dallas, TX. I'm 29 and hang on.........yep, male.

So are you an only child or did your parents get busy?

I'm the oldest of 2 children, I have a younger sister who I torture for a hobby.

Well are you married or seeing someone special?

I'm married to a great woman who got me into MMOs. We've been married for 3 years and together for 6.

Good to hear! Do you two have any children as of yet?

We just welcomed a new addition into our family as of the 14 of October. His name is Edward and we are very happy to have him.

That is great news man! So you mentioned that your wife was the one who got you into MMOs. Which one did you two first start playing together?

Well she was a beta tester for COH and I reluctantly tried it for a bit, next thing I know it was 8 hours later

So what drew you in fully during that time?

I always had a thought for a character since I was a child. After seeing energy melee and invulnerability together I was like, wow, this is my character.

Can you remember your biggest n00b moment?

When I first started I thought the ten squares in your level indicator were your actual level. So when I told my wife I was 60 I was informed that I was only 6. Also, I used to spell out full names when responding to tells before I knew you could just hit backspace.

Well let's take the focus off the game for a bit. What do you like to do for fun when you are not playing the game?

I'm big on physical training from my years in the military, so I'm at the gym a lot. I also obsessed about Transformers. Some say it's unhealthy but I disagree.

<cough>Going to look for The Transformers game a week before it launched because a friend told you it was out and threatening the clerks
was healthy?<cough>

Yeah, I fell for that one hook line and sinker. I think an obsessed Transformers fan searching store after store looking for something that a good friend told him was definitely out there.

How long were you in the military and which branch?

I was in the U.S. Navy for 10 years I started out as a gunners mate and switched to master at arms after 4 years.

what does that mean exactly for those of us not up to date on the military?

I worked with ammo and explosives my first 4 years. A Master at Arms basically deals in military law enforcement.

Thank you, I did not know that. What television shows and movies do you like to watch the most?

I love the programing on Adult Swim, The Boondocks, The Venture Bros., Robot Chicken, I love em all. As far as movies I like action and comedy. Transformers was the best movie I've seen this summer. Spiderman 3 was the worst you know I'd give them a mulligan if they wanna redo that one.

What type of music do you like to listen to?

Hard rock, Static-X, Metallica, lots of what my coworkers in the Navy called music to hurt people by.

So what is your favorite quote from anything out there?

Hmmm better stay away from things R rated. My granddaddy used to say "It's amazing what one can do when one's butt is on the line."

So what is that that drew you to
SNF?

JJ: Having a scheduled time
to PvP with my friends.

Fuego: What drew me to SNF?
The DJs of course. If SNF was any other PvP event I would NOT be
involved at any level. Pinz started it as way to "Take back the
arenas" right after the PvP zones opened. And he being not only a
DJ or a fellow Fool but a friend as well, I found myself only to
happy to offer what support I could. Now that DJ Free-Radical
runs the event I feel no less strongly about wanting to support
my friends.

Mrs. F: To tell you the
truth... LOL. Okay, no really DJ Needlez and Fuego. They are both
awesome people and have incredible skills.

What advice would you give to a new
SNF participant?

JJ: Just don't get
discouraged if you die alot at first.... keep at it you will only
get better.

Fuego: Get a toon with a dark
secondary. The slows and debuffs are a pain. Other than that,
just enjoy it and take nothing personally its all in good
fun!

Mrs. F: Advice!!! LOL Run
away from The Merry Prankster and Just Joan!!!

And read information on toon building and strategies. Watch other
PvPers play and don't get upset if you lose. Remember, if you can
take 'em down once you can take 'em down again! And lastly, if
the match allows for it USE those inspirations! That's what they
are there for!

Well there you have it folks! First off, I
want to give a big thanks to DJ Free-Radical, Just Joan, Fuego
and Mrs. Fuego, who were all gracious enough to take the time to
share their experiences with us.

And remember, if you're ever on Justice
server and feel like punching someone in the face in a fun and
friendly PvP environment that caters to all character and skill
levels, then come on down to the Rikti Monkey Fight Club and get
your fight on!

The City Scoop

Saturday Night Fights

By Excentric

Vol. I, Issue XXV

November 2, 2007

By Snow_Globe


"http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g151/vg-mmorpg/Scoop/ParagonCW24.jpg"
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"http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g151/vg-mmorpg/Scoop/ParagonCW23s.jpg" class="Plain">
Last week's puzzle.

Classifieds

by LadyK

Artist Interview

By Dirtwolf

This was an amazing interview with Dark Respite, aka Michelle Travis!

Hey there! You're a new type interview subject
for me *rubs hands together* newww flesh.. I mean... Well, lets
start simple. Whats your name and what do you do?

*laughing* My name is Michelle Travis,
the artist also known as Samuraiko (or Dark Respite on the COH
forums), and I am a creative geek. Author, musician, artist,
gamer, video creator - if it's creative, I do it. But for this
interview, it's all about the videos.

What inspires you to make your videos? How
did you learn to do video editing?

Inspiration? Nine times out of ten,
it's music. I hear something and I think, "Oh, wow, that would so
rock for some-type-of-video-or-another." Like a week or so ago,
while at work, I emailed my husband and said, "I have a video
idea for your Necromancy mastermind (Bloodspeaker - go Mr.
Liberty Rogue Isles!)... and I want to do it to "I'm Your Boogie
Man" by White Zombie." He loved the idea. Of course, now I have
to make it for him...

I learned to edit by trial and error,
but I have pretty good instincts when it comes to editing. I've
loved movies since I was little, and stuff like camera angles,
cinematography, that sort of thing is a little easier for me than
most. And good music helps too - it gives me ideas on things to
try.

What kind of programs do you
use?

Let's see... Way back when, when I
first started, I was using Windows Movie Maker 1.0. Ugh. Now I
use Sony Vegas Platinum Studio for my actual editing, splicing,
all that stuff, which is SOOO much better. FRAPS for video/screen
capture. ImTOO DVD Ripper for grabbing video clips if I'm doing
an anime video or TV video. Adobe PhotoShop when I need to tweak
art or screenshots or something that Vegas can't do. Nero Wave
Editor and Creative Recorder for getting quotes and sound bytes
and stuff (and then editing them as I want). COH's demorecord
feature, of course. And I owe kudos to Zloth on the COH forums
for creating a demo player that really makes my job a lot
easier.

What are some other things you like to do?
Hobbies, etc?

Write! I love to write (I've got three
novels under my belt, working on several more, plus 80+ short
stories). And I do write stories about my COH characters (my
primary character, Johanna Sinclair over on the Triumph server,
has her own website and LiveJournal community, if you can believe
it). I read like there's no tomorrow, and I'm a huge roleplaying
gamer fan (I play and I GM). I love anime, too, which is a good
chunk of what I write about. I'm not very athletic or anything -
I'm the quintessential couch potato, but I can occasionally be
motivated to hit the park with some friends for
Frisbee.

Whats been your most inspirational moment
so far in life? Who is your biggest inspiration?

Wow, tough question... um... This is
going to sound so silly, and even I can't believe I'm saying
this. But my writing and my videos both started when I first
started watching DRAGONBALL Z. Go ahead and laugh, everyone else
does. But DBZ really kickstarted it all. I liked the series so
much I wrote a book for it. Then to 'promote' the book, I made my
first video. The rest is history.

Who is my biggest inspiration? There
are just so many people I admire, or whose work I respect. I
couldn't even begin to list them. But in a way, I'm inspired when
someone - anyone - says, "I found your work and I loved it and
now I Want to try something like this, too." Things like that
make me want to make my work even better.

What are some other related goals you have
set for yourself?

The big one right now is National
Novel Writing Month in November. I have to write a 50,000 word
novel in 30 days. The length is not the problem - the problem is
the deadline. But I WILL finish this year!

The other is a rather ambitious COH
video project I've come up with in collaboration with a friend of
mine. I was working on it earlier tonight, and I laugh every time
I watch it.

And I want to get a character to level
50!!!

Weirdest thing anyone has ever said about
the videos you make?

Someone once asked me what drugs I was
on, and could they have some...

Weird for me at least, but I've now
had about two dozen people ask me if I work for Cryptic. (The
answer, by the way, is "no.")

And I always think it's weird when I
make a video, and 40 people review it and think it's great, and
then one person comes on and watches it and goes, "I don't get
it." What's not to get? I'm not trying to be David Lynch
here...

Would you consider making videos for other
people on a commission-type basis?

Absolutely. I'm doing two right now
for two different supergroups I belong to, real fast 30-second
commercials (like those Army or Air Force commercials you see on
TV). And like I mentioned before, I enjoy doing videos for
character profiles. It can be labour-intensive, but man, the
coolness factor alone is worth it (at least for me).

What video are you most proud of so
far?

COH-wise, my Rikti Invasion/I-10
video. I worked my tail off on it, and boy does it show. Every
time I watch it, I still get that totally hyped up feeling I got
from my very first Rikti invasion. And I LOVE getting emails
about how I creeped out people at the end! (It was also a big
kick getting PMs and /tells and stuff from folks who ended up in
the video and couldn't wait to tell their friends.)

Non-COH, that'd be tough... I did a
trailer for SAMURAI 7 (my all-time favorite anime) that although
it's a bit rougher than my later work (because I was using
Windows Movie Maker, never again...), it really captured the feel
of the show. I still get emails about it, how S7 fans use it to
get their friends into the series.

Do you have any hidden talents? Secret
agendas?

My greatest hidden talent is
not-so-hidden: I make to-die-for brownies. I kid you not. These
things are the cure to PMS, broken hearts, jet lag, you name it.
And no, I will NEVER, EVER share the recipe. That secret will go
with me to my grave.

My secret agenda is that one day, I
will make a video that is just so UNBEARABLY cool that the
powers-that-be for whoever is in charge of that video's original
source (be it Cryptic for COH, Gonzo for SAMURAI 7, J Michael
Straczynski for BABYLON 5, whatever) will call me and offer me a
job.

What do you listen to when you are editing
stuff?

When I do a video, I usually have four
or five music selections that I work with before I finally select
one. So I'll listen to those over and over, getting them inside
my head and around the video. For example, when I did the I-10
Rikti Invasion video, before settling on the BLUE GENDER
compilation that was used in the final version, I was listening
to Christopher Field's "Gothic Power," "Carmina Burana," anything
by Hans Zimmer, James Dooley's "Trinity"... I listen to some
really obscure stuff.

Best advice you can give people who decide
to do any kind of editing/art ventures/etc?

Like the old joke of the little boy
asking the old man how to get to Carnegie Hall... "Practice,
practice, practice." I made my first video... wow, four years
ago, and I'm STILL editing that one as I improve. And don't be
afraid to experiment - even if you're good at the way you do
things now, take a wander out to left field just to broaden your
mind. Even if you think the stuff you produce is lousy, be glad
you're brave enough to produce! Most people never even get that
far.