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Behind the Mask

Interviews by
Teldon

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PerilX

Victory Server

What is your home server and why did you end up picking it as your
home server?

My home server is Victory. I actually ended up starting on Victory
because a friend of mine who got CoV first chose that server. We had this whole
themed SG idea where we would have the corniest names with the most feminine SG
name. We ended up with names like Crusher of Skulls, Dr. Illkillyou and Painful
Reminder. It didn't work out as planned though, since my friends left the game
before hitting level 20, but hey, it got me hooked.

Where do you live?

I live in a Southern California city called Upland. It's in the
San Bernardino county, an hour outside of Los Angeles.

What else do you like to do in your free time besides play CoX?

I'm a gamer at heart, so naturally, I play a lot of games. Well
let me rephrase that, I play a small amount of games a lot. As with most
gamers, minimal activity is necessary just to save face and remain amongst the
"I don't JUST play game" crowd. So to fill the "I got outside" gap I play
paintball. Nothing like yelling BOOM HEADSHOT at someone with paint in their
face.

What are your favorite movies?

I love well directed films. Not films with cult followings just
because of how awesome the blood was, like ALL of Tarantino films. So I watch
any genre as long as it's good. I love films like, Garden State, Requiem of a
Dream, Dancer in the Dark and The Secret Window. Films that aren't made to be
incredible blockbusters but are made from an artistic purpose or idea. Film is
art, and I love art.

What are your favorite Books and authors?

I don't generally read too much. Novels that is. I read comics
quite a bit though. Green Lantern to be more specific. GLGLGLGLGLGL. But the
Halo Novels by Eric Nylund were pretty sweet.

What TV shows do you like to watch?

I don't watch much scheduled television mainly because I always
forget it's supposed to be on. I'm not one to do the same thing every week. I'm
like, terrified of the idea of going to the same job every day for years. But
when I get around to it, Heroes, House, Monk and everything on Adult Swim.

Do you have any pets?

Yeah, I have this really stupid terrier/chihuahua mix dog. All he
does is sit in his house all day! Open the door to let em in, yell at em, kick
his house, he will just ignore you and sit there. Even when I pick his house up
and stare at him in the face he won't do anything. I think he's broken.

How did you get drawn to this game?

The thought of playing a villain is what initially brought me in.
I was so excited to see that you could play against heroes and wanted to try my
hang at it. This is before I knew that only certain powersets had a fighting
chance in PvP.

What is your favorite aspect of the game?

Player versus Player. It's why I still play. I enjoy the strategy
and speed required to keep up. Games like WoW are way too slow for me. I come
from a FPS background so the speed in this game is like second nature.

Who is your namesake character and what are they?

perilAXE was my original character, a play off of the Green
Lantern character "Parallax." He is an Energy/Dark corruptor and is still stuck
at level 41. Once the PvP bug really caught, I drifted toward power leveling
and since there is no future for dark miasma in PvP, I decided no cease his
leveling. I have since leveled 6 50s since he hit 41 and it doesn't look like
his level will be changing anytime soon. Maybe grinding for IOs, just maybe.

Which of all the archetypes and powersets would you say is your
favorite?

I am in love with thermal corruptors. Corruptors in general are my
perfect play style. Not too controly but have the power to shut down a target
and deal a fair amount of upfront damage. So versatile on the field, that's
what I love.

Your least favorites?

Controllers. I could just never get the hang of them. In PvE I can
play them with no problem, but that is PvE. There is no real sense of
accomplishment of holding a group of baddies over and over to death. It's too
monotonous, too easy. In PvP, I just couldn't get the hang of not having
upfront damage. Too much upkeep for me.

Do you prefer Hero side or villain side?

Honestly, villains. Sure heroes are far superior in team play but
I like being an underdog. I also enjoy the idea of being able to solo with any
character. Having more than one job on a team is pretty fun if you ask me.
Keeps you on your toes.

What would you say is your greatest strength in the game?

The ability to read players movements and actions before they make
them. It's how I stalker hunt with no +perc.

Your greatest weakness in the game?

The lack of telepathy. Sure reading people is easy at times, but
when I find a person that can out think me, I know I'm in for a world of hurt.
Demon Sorcerer is the only person to do that to me though.

What zone is your favorite?

Recluses Victory. It's where villains are at their worst
comparatively and that fact makes me love it even more. I enjoy being able to
rock a team of heroes on my stalker or with my team of friends. It's so
satisfying. And there isn't that much complaining about an overload of stalkers
like in Sirens Call.

What is your favorite Storyline in the game?

Hrmmm, I would have to say the Ice Mistral strike force. It gets
really hard at the end but is pretty fun.

What one feature would you like to see added to the game?

More PvP. The current state of PvP is very poor and a greater
embrace of that aspect of the game would greatly increase morale and I think
would greatly increase the player base.

What advice do you have for any new players to the game?

Don't cross my path lol. No, it's just to have fun and do what you
need to have fun. Don't be afraid to ask questions and if there is something
you don't understand, don't be negative about it, figure out what and why it is
the way it is.

Psoma

Infinity Server

What is your home server and why did you end up picking it as your
home server?

Infinity. I don't remember exactly why I picked it; I didn't
know it was an East coast server at the time. If I were to make something up,
I'd probably tell you that I was guessing that if they took down all the other
servers, Infinity should be the only one that stays up for obvious reasons.

Where do you live?

Roanoke, VA. I've always lived in VA, and I love it. However, I
try my best to hide my accent on TS/Vent. It's not so much that I care about
any stereotypes associated with "hillbilly" accents, but some words are
really difficult for others to figure out (for instance, my "I's" sound more
like "Ah's.")

What else do you like to do in your free time besides play CoX?

I spend a lot of time with my family and a close circle of
friends. I try to stay in shape; I've always been a runner. I like eating out
a lot, so I'm usually owing myself more workout time anyway. :P

What are your favorite movies?

I'm all over the map with movies. I love anything that keeps me
guessing. Like, I just watched The Illusionist, and though I had pretty much
figured out how it was going to end, it still surprised me with a couple of
things...but that one kind of irritated me a little too, because some things
didn't actually add up completely. I don't think I have an absolute favorite
movie. I really loved the Lord of the Rings Trilogy; the fantasy thing needs to
be done right, though, or it comes off too cheesy. I'm also a big fan of older
classics like Cool Hand Luke, 12 Angry Men, Dr. Strangelove, etc. But I also
love a lot of sci-fi like the Star Wars movies, Blade Runner, Logan's Run. I
could go on forever here.

What are your favorite Books and authors?

Wow. I wanted to be a writer and teach literature when I first
went to school, so this is a difficult question. I was really into classic
literature at the time...and still am, I suppose. As for both writing style and
theme, I enjoyed Mark Twain's (or Samuel Clemens) Huckleberry Finn and J.D.
Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. I guess my list would end up looking like
every other fan's of classic novels if I went on. Hawthorne, Hemingway,
Fitzgerald...all great.

What TV shows do you like to watch?

I'm not into TV as much as I once was. The only regular shows I
watch now are Heroes and Lost. I'm more fascinated with Heroes at the moment;
I can see a lot of potential with a show like that.

Do you have any pets?

We have an outdoor cat, but we're really more into dogs. We had a
dog that we ended up having to put down; we swore off pets because of how much
it hurt. Well, we swore them off until we figured we had plenty of space for
them.

How did you get drawn to this game?

We thought it looked like a good idea for a game and figured it
would be worth trying.

What is your favorite aspect of the game?

I'm definitely still around for two reasons: PvP and social ties.
PvP gave life to a game that had become a little mundane for me, except for
teaming with friends.

Who is your namesake character and what are they?

Psoma is the only hero I play. She's a Mind/Emp. I have a L50
villain, but she very rarely sees the light of day.

Which of all the archetypes and powersets would you say is your
favorite?

I've never had a desire to roll alts, so my opinion is a little
biased here. I can see how other toons would be fun, but I like sticking to
what I know...that and I just wouldn't want to put forth the effort and time
to create other characters. Yes, I'm weird like that. :P

Your least favorites?

I can't think of a build that I think has zero potential, and I
find it difficult to criticize something that I've never tried anyway.

Do you prefer Heroside or villain side?

I'm only evil when I'm TK'ing someone for the length of a PvP
match...other than that, I'm all about being a goodie-goodie.

What would you say is your greatest strength in the game?

In-game...probably thinking ahead when I'm handing out buffs, but
you'll always find someone that differs with your strategies. *shrug*
Out-of-game, but relating to the game: moderation. I'm a big fan of keeping
the peace and resolving problems. I hate conflict and seeing people argue/fight
about unnecessary things. That's impossible to avoid 100% of the time, but
when things happen, I'd rather people just forgive and forget and work at
treating each other better in the future.

Your greatest weakness in the game?

Trying to save everyone isn't always the best thing to do, but
it's difficult to just let someone die. I'm still guilty from time to time of
chasing someone to heal then instead of buffing others to prevent further
damage to the team overall.

What zone is your favorite?

At this point, it must be a PvP zone. I suppose I like RV better
than any of the others, simply for having access to all my powers.

What is your favorite Storyline in the game?

I'm excited about I10 because the whole Rikti thing was my
favorite story-related part to this game.

What one feature would you like to see added to the game?

I'd just like to see the devs devote their time to fixing
anything that isn't completely fixed at this point. Obviously, my biggest
headache is with arena crashes and the lack of options there. I think the
number of players just wanting fixes for known issues is starting to really cut
into the number of players that are screaming for new content.

What advice do you have for any new players to the game?

Read the boards and get involved. I think that being involved with
the community is what takes any MMO to the next level for most people. Get
involved with an SG...and hopefully some PvP as well.

Any closing comments?

I love being involved with the community, especially Infinity.
I'm extremely proud of how many people are willing to come together for
special events that we hold as SGs, committees, or individuals. I'm also very
honored to be nominated by my fellow players to help represent them. for Infinity!!!

The
Arena

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Base Raid!

By
Dumok

Sunday night 6-24-2007 saw two of Liberty's largest Villain
groups battling between each other's bases. At approximately 7:30pm EST, The
Mythos invaded the base owned by The Association but failed to catch them
unawares. Having heard from an inside source that The Mythos were planning a
break in, The Association alerted their members and were lying in wait.

The ensuing battle raged back and forth for the better part of an
hour with The Mythos gaining ground and penetrating deep into The
Association's base several times only to be quickly repulsed by fast acting
Associates. The invaders did manage to destroy one dimensional anchor but were
unable to push this advantage any further.

After thwarting the attack, The Association decided to retaliate
and called more members in to attempt a strike into The Mythos' base. Judging
that the already beaten Mythos would be licking their wounds and unprepared for
another prolonged fight, The Association boldly attacked.

Unfortunately for The Association, The Mythos was not as beaten as
was thought and was ready for the counter-attack. To say The Association's
assault was doomed would be an understatement of gargantuan proportions. Most
of the invading Associates were defeated without setting foot out of the area
they teleported into. The few who managed to escape the death trap upon
entering quickly found themselves swarmed by Mythos filled with one purpose,
revenge.

The night ended with neither villain group making much headway
against one another but both learned a great deal in the exchange and acquired
a mutual respect for their opponents.

After the raids The Association's leader Dosk had this to say.

Dosk: "It was fun and all but really showed the flaws in the base
raiding system. It would also be nice to have something to actually fight over.
I came to the Rogue Isles almost 2 years ago after hearing that I could
assemble a group and acquire one of these fabled Items of Power. Two years and
still nothing!"

Dosk's frustration was also shared by members of both villain
groups. Many believe the Powers that Be have abandoned Villain/Super groups in
general as not much headway has been made to improve the base raid system in
the last year. Seemingly small flaws are keeping items such as the Fusion
Generator and the vaunted Cathedral of Pain trial out of player's hands since
they were created. Perhaps these flaws warrant further investigation.

Justice League: Semi-Finals!

By
Dumok

It started with a simple registration thread on the forums.
Players could submit their character name, powerset, and global I.D. singly or
also sign up in pairs with the information for both participants included.

Once everyone who was interested posted, the organizers for the
event put together teams from the duos first and filled in open spots with
singly registered players. Great care was made to keep the teams as balanced as
possible.

The results were eight teams consisting of 5 players each which
was split into two divisions. Each team was organized to battle every team in
their own division once a week for 2 weeks in a Swiss Style Ladder. Points are
earned thus, 2 for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss. Each match is a 4 versus 4
with the option to play all 5 teammates if it was available to both teams and
agreed upon. A team short on players come fight night had the option to fight
the match 3 versus 4 or forfeit.

Rules were kept as simple as possible.

1) A team cannot have the same player sit out in consecutive matches.

2) Inspirations were traded before each match to ensure only tier 1s were used.

3) Poor sportsmanship is not tolerated and the offending player is removed from
the event.

After 2 weeks of battles, the top 2 point earners in each division
advanced to the playoffs. The #1 point earner in Division 1 fighting the #2
point earner in Division2 and #2 point earner in Div 1 matching up against the
#1 point earner in Division 2, in a best 2 out of 3 match.

Semi Final Match #1

Team Awesome'ish VS Team Crimson Sun

Semi Final Match #2

Team Bacon VS Team Banana Hammock

First match: Banana Hammock wins 2-0

Second match: Tie 0-0

Third match: Bacon wins 4-1

Overall tally 4-3 Bacon.

Congratulations Team Bacon!

Team Banana Hammock did very well fighting with only 3 players as their Empath
had real life interference that kept them from making the match.

The semi-finals are still ongoing this week. Coverage will be
available of the Championship matches once they are scheduled and fought. Many
thanks to SmokeSignal for information on this event.

For more information, visit the
Justice League Semi-Finals!

Villain Pentad - Test Server

By
Excentric

Coming to the Test Server on July 7th is the Villain Pentad, hosted
by Psypunk of the Justice for All League. A Pentad is a 5-Man team that must
consist of one of every Archtype (One Stalker, Brute, Corrupter, Dominator, and
Mastermind).

The event is scheduled for 5:00 EST, 2:00 PST. All attendees must
be in at Pocket D at least one hour before the event starts for teams and
matches to be drawn out.

Vengeance is illegal, along with any inspiration above Tier 1's.
Anything that can be bought in the Arena Store is open for players to use. Once
a team is signed up players may not switch characters, or alter the team at
all. Players are only allowed to enter one character, to avoid a situation
where a person has characters on opposing teams.

Solo entrees are welcome, as teams may be formed on Test server.
However it is highly recommended that teams are formed before the event starts,
for example VG teams.

Pentads are known to be one of the most competative formats with
close scores and dynamic team play. If past Pentads are any indication, this
one should be a full night of PvP fun as a player or an observer.

To access the Test server, please look at this thread.

Test
Server information.


Villain Pentad - Test Server

Advice

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State of the Archetype

Controllers

By
Frost

The Controller archetype has had its share of developer attention
over the years. The first of the changes in semi-recent history was Issue 5's
global defense adjustment, where controllers received their Containment ability
but lost the potency of their area of effect control powers as well as their
armies of pets, a change directed at making it easier to solo and harder to
permanently lock down entire groups of enemies. More recently, there was the
adjustment of the controller epic pool damage powers along with the lowering of
containment damage in PvP.

Despite all of the changes and contrary to the fear of many of the
players who were reading the Issue 5 patch notes, the spirit of the Controller
AT remains basically unchanged. Controllers primarily are crowd control and
team support specialists, however these days build and play style options are
much more open. Primarily solo Controllers, for example, were a rarity before
the introduction of containment but are quite common now. It's also now
possible to build in varying degrees of damage capabilities, if that happens to
be your cup of tea.

After Issue 5, the Controller AT remained largely static until
December 2006 when the tweaks to controller containment damage in PvP and the
epic power pool attack damage reduction was introduced to the live servers.
This change was (and still is to some degree) a controversial issue. The
containment modification made it a lot trickier for some types of controllers
to operate outside of a group in a PvP setting due to the reduction in overall
damage ability. The damage reduction was an attempt at bringing controller epic
attacks back in line with the level they operated at prior to containment. The
reaction was predictably mixed. Some felt that Controller damage was fine as it
had been since Issue 5. Others felt that the change was entirely justified. A
third group of posters felt that the main concern with the epic attacks was
with the area of effect powers (particularly Fireball from the Fire Mastery
epic) and changing the single target powers was overkill.

Other than the smoldering controversy over the latest changes,
there isn't really a lot of large, game breaking issues affecting the entire
Controller archetype. There are a number of smaller issues that tend to crop up
frequently though. The most recent of these deals with Inventions. From the
controller perspective, the general consensus is that the hold specific sets
are fairly uninteresting as far as their set bonuses are concerned. Controllers
seem to be, instead, mixing and matching various other sets in their powers to
create a useful collection of set bonuses. Some of the secondaries, such as
Kinetics also have a limited number of beneficial sets available. On the other
hand, the set bonuses for the non-hold sets, such as Sleep, Confuse and
Immobilize have some interesting and useful bonuses. Given the abundance of mez
and pet damage sets in the heroside consignment house, a controller relying on
"soft" control powers can find good deals on some nice sets.

Controllers also share some of the same concerns as Dominators
about Archvillain encounters. Archvillains contain a game mechanic that
dramatically reduce the amount that a Controller can contribute to the fight,
giving them extra high resistance against holds, stuns, confuses, etc. Unlike
Dominators though, Controllers can fall back into their secondaries for buffing
their teammates and debuffing the Archvillain.

Another concern expressed frequently in the Controller Forum is a
matter of pets. Mind Control needs a p-- er, no wait, that's not it. The real
issue is that of the Ice and Earth Control pets. The problem is that these pets
have both ranged and melee attacks. Their AI is set so that they tend to use
their ranged attacks instead of their more damaging melee attacks, lowering
their overall damage output, as well as frustrating their owners. Thankfully,
this little AI issue is fixed on the current version of Issue 10, now in open
testing. And there was much rejoicing from the Ice and Earth Controllers.

Looking at the big picture though, things are going fairly well
for Controllers these days. With its ability to be flexible within the confines
of its core crowd control/team support, Controllers can be appealing to a wide
range of players. Hopefully future game updates will address some of the
current issues and increase the quality of life for all Controllers.

In my Humble Opinion

By
LadyK

Over the years, several law makers have attempted to make the
world safer for all involved. When it comes to heroes, the best of these laws
was The Citizens Crime Fighting Act of 1937. This is the law that allows us to
do our heroing jobs, day in and day out, assisting local, state and federal law
enforcement agencies. Other laws have been adopted, adapted, ratified and
repealed, however the CCFA remains the strongest ally in the fight against
super powered crime. This national law has been little comfort to several
heroes over the last three and a half years. Since the delcorationof the end of
major combat against the Rikti, more than one hero has been on the wrong side
of a civil law suit. Many of us adult heroes have faced off with Chris Jenkins,
Esq. at one time or another. Some duped civilian or gang associate suing the
well meaning hero for damages. Some of us have even lost. A good many more
have, unintentionaly, spured on Mr. Jenkins by settleing. These settlements
have usually been for more than most Super Groups can afford, and always
include a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Some of our fellow heroes have it harder than others. While we
actively engage villains and the hiding of our secret identities, they do it
while battling homework, puberty and curfues. These heroes, of course, are our
brethren under the age of 18. These fine young men and women have been fighting
a different battle over the last few years, though one unknown to most of them,
that of defendants in these bitter court cases. Two years ago Jenkins's firm
started a campaign of law suits against younger heroes and heroing schools. Two
of the schools named were, The Hero Academy, a school of science and tech
heroes, and Maxwell's School for the Magically Adept, a magical hero school.
The law suits stated that juvenile heroes were running amok and, there for,
were little better than the so called "villains" they were fighting. Several
of Jenkins former clients were ecstatic to help out and bring forth claims of
"overzealous vigilantism" at the hands of heroes who appeared young. Last
year Mr. Jenkins launched a campaign that was achingly close to our hearts.
Using facial recognition software, five juvenile heroes were sued,
individually, in civil court for damages ranging from property damage to loss
of income. Sadly only two of these heroes are still fighting with us today.
What became of the other three? I do know that after her family declared
bankruptcy, to pay fines and fees, one hero was forced to move west.

Due to this epidemic of law suits and bad publicity, the Rhode Island State
Senate introduced a bill last week. This bill is designed to protect our city's
juvenile heroes from their greatest enemy to date, themselves. In SS-5327, the
author, State Senator Larry Comwell, proposes the wholesale revocation of
licenses for heroes under the age of 18. On the surface, the bill claims to be
upholding child labor laws and bringing the job of crime fighting up to the
standard of the military. However, like most good intentions, the politicians
have fowled it up. One of the bills provisions is that, upon their 18th
birthday, these heroes would not only have their licenses reinstated, but their
security level within the Regulatory Agencies. This would be done by breaking
the seal on the license regesteration and having court officials go through
them removing the juvinille's documents which would then be held at the clerk
of courts office. This would have the side effect of making these now
"former" hero's identies public record. An interesting addition to the bill
states that as well as those young hero's who will have their license suspended
but also all retired hero's will also have their files placed in the clerk of
courts making them also public record.

I had and opertunity to sit down with several heroes, on both side
of this issue. Teens, adults, parents and children, all heroes. Opinions were
mixed, emotions were high. In the next article in this series, they will have
their chance to weigh in.

CRUELTY OF THE WEEK

Hey, everyone, it's time for the next Cruelty of the Week. This
week, I discuss the poor shape of the Rogue Isles and

[...editing in process...]

You know what? The Rogue Isles are perhaps the best thing to
happen to this dark and lowly world since...well...ever! There's plenty of
history in the area, especially Nerva Archipelago with its ancient ruins.
There's opportunity abound with the Golden Giza and the Jackpot area in St.
Martial, and there's always time for a photo shoot with any of the four patrons
in Grandville.

Talk to your travel agent, today!

Evitron
(and totally not some random Night Widow)

Horoscopes

Sun is in Cancer/Defender, Moon is in Sagittarius/Corrupter moving
into Capricorn/Stalker.

Julian Day 2454281.25

Heroscopes

Controller
-Uranus trine Jupiter presents you with new opportunities to broaden yourself
and may indicate good fortune. Opportunity does knock more than once, but why
wait?


Defender
-Neptune trine Mercury marks an extremely creative period in your life and you
should take full advantage of this. You are particularly witty and make
stimulating company.


Scrapper
-Venus conjunct Mercury enhances your creative intellect and communication
skills. You may feel renewed interest in art, literature and nature. Your
eloquence today will enhance your influence over others.


Blaster
-Mercury trine Sun empowers you with the mental acuity to perceive an unusual
opportunity.


Tanker
-Sun transiting the Seventh House marks a time when relations with a team mate
or SG mate are on a solid ground.



Peacebringer -Sun square Sun may create difficulties between
you and a friend. Don't close your mind to other's opinions, even if they
differ from yours.


Warshade
-With Mars transiting the Fourth House, you may tend to quarrel with family
members, particularly if you take an active interest in improving the home on
your conditions.

Villainscopes

Brute
-Caution should be exercised before entering into any type of relationship or
transaction impulsively.


Corruptor
-There may be a great deal of financial "panic" with your monetary situation
now, and it may be as difficult to gauge as an elevator going up and down.


Dominator
-You may feel like "breaking out" from any strictures you feel others have
placed on you at this time.


Mastermind
-Mars trine Mars marks a transit of great energy which will probably be
channeled into your work or new projects. Romance is generally put on hold.


Stalker
-Uranus square Pluto marks a time when profound changes occur in your
relations with loved ones.

Horoscopes provided by
Lady Athyna

Handwritten page found laying atop the Horoscope submission

Sun is in the sky... so is the Moon...

Julian Day 2454281.25... What the... what is a Julian Day?

Is June such a difficult concept?

Oh what do we have here...

Oh my... this simply will not do.

Villainscopes

Brute
-You smash things. That's it dear, now go smash more.


Corruptor
-The stars *snicker, yeah right* say nothing for you dear. Sucks, doesn't it.


Dominator
-Today is a good day to dominate something. Go on, dominate something.


Mastermind
-You Necro's need to get new bits and pieces once in a while. A little
Febreeze wouldn't kill the rest of you either.


Stalker
-Oh where did I put that star chart for Stalkers... odd that it would disappear
too...

Heroscopes

Controller
-Arachnos is watching you.


Defender
-And you.


Scrapper
-You too.


Blaster
-I'm noticing a pattern here.


Tanker
-Oh big surprise, Arachnos is watching you.


Peacebringer
-Do I need to spell it out for you?


Warshade
-Yes, and you. Mua ha ha ha!

~Love and Kisses


~Scorn

On the Side

By
LadyK

"NutriPaste? This is what I let Arachnos break me out for!? This is
what they're feeding us!? No wonder so many people in the Isles are going nuts!
Seriously, why haven't we had a wholesale riot across the islands over this? We
were fed MUCH better in the Zig! It almost makes me want to go back! It may
have everything the body needs, it can probably be molded and flavored however
you want, but it's still, essentially, flavored toothpaste! Grah! I'm so angry
now!"

Power Breaker

As a food critic, nutritionist, and a hero I was very concerned
when I received this letter about the food conditions in the Etoil Islands. It
took a little research to find out that NutriPaste is created by Aeon Labs, and
is a dietary supplement given to the less affluent citizens of the Etoil
archipelago. "NutriPaste," Dr. Von Dozer, of Aeon Lab's nutritional R&D
department told me, "is a single-celled protein combined with synthetic
aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Virtually everything the body needs." He
continued, "we grow it in a vat, and in its pre-refinement form it looks
similar to thin yogurt or runny eggs." From this state it is refined into a
paste-like consistency, not unlike the food given to astronauts and cosmonauts
during the early space programs. "The raw materials for NutriPaste are
byproducts of our Geo-Theromal Energy plant in Cap Au Diable." When asked if
these byproducts were from fungi or sulphur eating plants, Dr. Von Dozer went
quiet, stated the information was proprietaryand a trade secret, then he
declared the phone interview over. I believe that he is now on vacation, as I
have been unable to contact him since.

Dear Athy

Dear Athy,

I am an avid collector of super hero memorabilia and autographs. I
have garnered quite the collection over the years but one particular red clad
William Tell wanna-be has so far been able to elude my innocent attempts to
obtain a simple harmless souvenir. Being a native of a certain lovely Caribbean
Island republic, it's not as if I can go to Brickstown and pester him in
person. I've written him several earnest letters inviting him to come down but
I simply get a form letter response asking me to speak with my local Wyvern
representative. Do you know anyway I can lure this solitary hero into making a
public appearance?

Seraph...

Since you mentioned Wyvern, I made a call myself and inquired as
to aiding a resident of your island. I didn't get very far... the first time.
Luckily, a friend of a friend of mine knows a few fellows higher up the food
chain, so to speak. I'm told that one of the Sting Agents, Agent Frederick
might be able to assist you. I do suggest that you do not contact him through
public channels. Good luck.

~Athy

Send
Athy your questions!

Advice from the X

Greetings boys, girls, and beings of indeterminate gender! It's
LiquidX again, still swamped with truckloads of mail here at the scoop. And
while searching through all the fanmail, I managed to find a letter that WASN'T
from my mother. So, without further ado...

"Dear LiquidX

As a recent arrival into Paragon City and joining the proud number
of heroes that fight the good fight. I was beginning to notice the number of
stains, scratches, bullet holes, knife slashes, laser burns, and etc. on my
costume from the day to day grind. Now I take pride in what I wear so I was
wondering if I would be able to get spares of my costume or new ones for when
the need for a change hits. So by any chance do you happen to know where I can
find a tailor and what I need to get them to help me with my costume problem?

Sincerely,

Parvink"

Dear Parvink,

Icon is the Heroes one stop shop for all things costume, and they
have shops located in Steel Canyon, Independence Port, and Founders' Falls.
They provide a wealth of services, ranging from free mendings for financially
challenged Heroes to designing new outfits. They also typically provide
multiple costumes at a discount, as well as a range of materials and styles to
suit their clients tastes. In fact, thanks to Sinclair Industries, Icon also
has access to special fabrics that make use of new space age polymers that were
developed after the aftermath of the Rikti War. These fabrics are resistant to
dirt, cuts, blood stains, rust, and other types of wear and tear that is common
for Heroes, as well as providing a small amount of protection against blunt
trauma, bullets, and other hazards.

Plus, Icon Tailors will also make adjustments to costumes for a
fee that is cheaper then most tailors and seamstresses. Even better is that
with the implementation of the Veterans Reward Program that was recently
initiated by the Paragon City Government, Icon has donated coupons for free
costume alterations to be donated to Heroes that have served the city for
extended periods of time. All in all, Icon simply can't be beat when it comes
to value, skill, and fashion sense.

Ask
the X for advice!

The Six Million Influence ... Asterisk

Built with Inventions

So there I was, your intrepid reporter, attending a press
conference on the steps of Crowne Memorial last Saturday morning. I'd been
summoned there by billionaire inventor Tony Snark, maker of such super-powered
enhancers as Gambling Addiction: Increased Inf Drain and Nummy Nummy Cancerous
Growth. As you might imagine, I was listening with rapt attention.

"At 4 am this morning, fair citizens," Snark began in airy tones,
"while most of our City slept, a fallen hero washed ashore in Founder's Falls.
Beaten, drowned and nearly dead, it was all our best doctors could do to keep
him from slipping into permanent comma -"

"Don't you mean coma?" I blurted, then reddened as the crowd
turned to stare.

Snark fumbled with his notes. "'s what it says..." he mumbled, but
seemed to recover. "The details of this brave hero's history are not known at
this time," he continued. "But his condition is dire. We've seen this time and
time again: the struggle with evil exacts a high cost, and sometimes a hero
needs to be... rebuilt.

He swept his arm grandly. "And that's where Snark Industries can
help. We've decided to take, uh," shuffled notes, "Aggrovac's case on a
pro-bono basis, rebuilding him using Snark technology. We can make him
stronger, faster, tougher. We'll show how Snark enhancers can improve a hero
beyond anyone's wildest expectations. We'll spare no expense. I'm prepared to
throw all of Snark's considerable leverage behind little Aggravat - er, Aggrip
- Aggrovac, to the tune of -" he paused, staring the crowd right in the eye (a
feat I'm still not sure how he managed) - "One - BILLLLION -"

"Actually," a voice interrupted, "I don't think I need that much."

Snark jerked: the voice had come from behind him. Up beside the
podium stepped a ... thing. How to describe it? Spiny, dark, pulsating, this
reporter has to admit his first thought was a giant urchin after a tussle with
a squid.

"Aggrovac!" Snark gasped. "You've recovered from your, er, coma!"

"Comma," Aggrovac corrected, blithely displacing Snark at the
microphone. "I'm not exactly human, you see. Actually, I'm an asterisk."

"An asterisk?" I couldn't help but prompt him/her/it, scribbling
madly in my notebook.

"I was once part of a footnote in a contract," Aggrovac
elaborated. "The 666th contract with the Devil since the founding of Las Vegas,
to be exact. The magical inks allowed me to free myself from my former master's
control, and I've been fighting the good fight since. The contract expired last
night, apparently. I was, ah, unprepared for the backslash..."

"Yes, well." Snark tried for the microphone, but the pulsing
spines kept him at bay. "I'm sure that with Snark Industries behind you, we'll
-"

"Yes, about that," Aggrovac's look darkened, though I'm at a loss
to explain how. "Mr. Snark, did I mention who had signed that contract? Someone
who needed some, shall we say, inspiration to help them in their work? Someone
we might possibly all know?" Snark blanched and retreated.

"I will rebuild," Aggrovac continued. "I will become better,
faster, stronger. But I'm going to do it without any help from Snark, just
plain ol' Brainstorm parts. I've sold everything I had on me when the good
people pulled me from the water, and that's my budget."

"You think you can rebuild for just that much?" I asked,
intrigued. "No offense, but you still seem a bit rough around the edges."

"I was in bad shape, it's true," Aggrovac admitted. "My colon had
collapsed into a semicolon, and I'll probably be in braces for a while. But I'm
pretty sure it's doable. I did a lot of thinking about this while I was in my
comma - the quiet time between words, you know, very refreshing for punctuation
like me - and I've got it mapped out pretty well. With a little patience and
dedication -"

"Aha," Snark made one last attempt to rescue the situation.
"There, you see, without backing like what Snark can provide, you'll have to
wait months, years to afford -"

"Three days."

"There's just no -"

"Three days," Aggrovac insisted. "That's the deadline." He got an
almost bashful look. "See, my friend Octothorpe is throwing a party in honor of
my release." I suddenly noticed fliers stuck to Aggrovac's spines; had they
appeared just then? * Mitzvah, they announced in
garish letters.

"So you're going to take - what, just 6M inf, and 3 days?" Even
yours truly looked dubious at this proposition.

"That's right," Aggrovac said emphatically. "6M inf, 3 days.
Period, end of story."

Did Aggrovac finish this mad dash rebuild? Read the original thread
here
to find out.

- Protea

The City Scoop

Behind the War Walls

Vol I, Issue VII

June 29th, 2007

This Issue:

Advice

Arena

Behind the Mask

Puzzles & Games

To be e-mailed a printer friendly copy of this edition, send a
blank e-mail to: CityScoop7@the-swarm.org


(This is an automated service, no emails will be read)

The Issue 10 Closed beta test.

By
Lemur Lad

I was standing in Steel Canyon and snapping a few pictures of
Positron when it happened. The atmosphere got heavy like right before a storm,
and the ubiquitous blue glow of the war walls faded in an hissing sizzle. The
Alert came over the wire just as the sirens began to sound through the streets.
They'd picked this moment to attack again. The way they use demoralizing fear
tactics like carpet bombing and hit and run raids that target supers is the
worst part of this war. I tighten the straps on my armor. I hate the static
discharge of their weaponry, it makes my hair stand up for hours, but the
Vanguard gear helps. Just a few moments more before the first Drop Ships make
their pass. It's up to me to stop any Unexploded Bombs. Barely enough time to
wonder, if they're softening us up, what are they softening us up for?

Things have been moving fast for the launch of Issue 10: Invasion.
The closed period of the beta test was only two weeks long, and three of those
days extended over the double experience weekend. The changes came fast,
furious, and sometimes jaw dropping. A lot of focus and concern has been put
into the War Zone Pylon Game, the Invasion zone events, and the missions of the
new story arcs. A lot of input was asked for and given, a lot of changes made,
and a lot more still in store. There are still some important bugs out there to
stomp, but here's a short rundown of how things improved over the course of the
two weeks.

The missions were the testers' first assigned goal. Story arcs
from four contacts, a repeating mission contact, and the Task Force contact all
needed to be run. The biggest portion of show stopping bugs came in the Lady
Grey Task force. With one mission all but impossible for several days. The
missions are the area with the largest remaining complement of bugs: NPC
behavior, mission goals that are still broken, and mission goals that complete
early. My advice if you run the missions is to keep an eagle eye on them, and
report everything unusual you see.

The night the double experience weekend began, they also activated
the Pylon Game. It was a hard decision for most of us where and what we should
be doing that weekend. However the decision was aided by the fact that the
first version of the game liked to crash the zone. Now that it's working, the
Pylon Game is a gem. Once you've completed the Welcome to Vanguard
introduction, you can earn Vanguard Merits, which can be used for most of the
rewards available in the zone. You get merits anytime you fight the Rikti, but
the end stage of the game is a special setup where the Merits come in fast and
furious. The Pylons were originally much tougher, and in different places. Now
the consensus is they may be a bit too weak, but the placement is good. The
latest addition to the game is a Giant Monster class foe, with a badge that
requires multiple defeats to earn. There are still a few bugs to be ironed out
when it comes to the game, but on the whole it's looking good.

The
next big area to test was the Invasion events themselves. There are badges for
several different aspects of the invasion, and an accolade attached to them.
However if anything, these events are proof of how deadly the Rikti can be. If
you play in the next day or two, don't be too outraged about the events though,
they haven't made a full patch to them yet, and there are a lot of features we
know or hope are on the way. Outdoor debt during an Invasion will be gone, and
they are trying to set up a Safe Area around Hospitals. Hopefully they will
also make a change so the alert messages are less obtrusive, because it's
something that quickly wears out its welcome.

There were a lot of very pleasant surprises too. Long asked for
power changes in Icy Blast, Ice Control, Earth Control, and even a major and
unexpected revamp of Sonic Powers. Truth be told, sonic changes were in less
than 48hours before the beta went open, so please don't shoot the closed
testers if you don't like them. Sexy Jay also delivered on a chest bandolier
and Bunny tails (the female only aspect bothers people though), as part of the
general costume pool. Lastly, the change for costume recipes to their own pool
with an increased drop rate will be the biggest news of all to many.

There were some hard feelings about the closed beta test. I hope
the speed of it, and the quality of what is out there show people that the
process does some good, and is worth the inconvenience. The people testing were
doing a lot of good work on behalf of everyone. There's a lot of exciting stuff
coming in this Issue. I hope you all enjoy it, I know I do. I'll be spending a
lot of time in the War Zone and on the streets.

Upcoming Events:

June 30th:

Poscast




*Live City of Heroes
talk podcast

Champion




*Virgil Tarikoss is
DOOMed!

Test Server




*3 + wildcard
tournment


*US vs EU

Victory




*Recluse's Victory,
Villain Style

July 1st:

Infinity




*Disciples of Power:
Recluse Strike Force

Victory




*Faathim the Kind
Task Force


*Summer Sunday night
Recluse Rumble series

Virtue




*Sister Psyche Task
Force

July 2nd to 7th:

All Servers




*Breast Cancer
Awarness Week

July 3rd:

Champion




*33rd Tanker Tuesday

July 7th:

Orgins Game Expo




*Heroes &
Villains Costume Contest

Freedom




*Breast Cancer
Awareness Event

Pinnacle




*Pinnacle's Super
Summer Jump!

Test Server




*Villain Pentad
Tourney

Virtue




*3rd Annual Ms
Independence Day Party

July 8th:

Protector




*Team Debt Cap
Presents...

July 8th:

Test Server




*TIMEFORCE II

Make sure to list your event threads in the
forum calendar to be listed in the Scoop!

Market Report

Market glitch identified; prices settle

Paragon City investigators claim to have found
the electrical issue
that was causing market machines to generate incorrect transactions. While they
are tight-lipped about the exact details, perhaps fearing exploits by
unscrupulous traders, they do appear to be in the process of replacing all
faulty machines.

Meanwhile, the lawsuits and subpoenas against Countess Crey have all been
summarily dropped. Rumors of a back-room deal to fix the market machines have
been circulating, but this reporter suspects that the even more distressing
rumors of increased Rikti activity are at the heart of this development. If the
Rikti were to descend upon the Earth once more, Crey Industries' political
jockeying would have to take a back seat to physical defense - and their combat
armor remains unparalleled.

Otherwise, the market has settled down quite a bit after the solar event two
weeks ago. Prices have returned to more or less normal levels, and it's
"business as usual" for both heroes and villains.

Top sellers in each market as of the morning of 6/28:

Read the full market report
here.

- Protea

POINT / COUNTERPOINT

By Bowfling

This is the sixth in a series of point-counterpoint articles,
which will review commonly requested player suggestions, and review the pros
and cons of those suggestions.

This week's subject - Inf transfers

POINT

There are certain advantages to increasing the ease with which
players can transfer inf and items between characters on their accounts. The
biggest is probably that players that want to do transfers would be able to
avoid the complication of finding someone to help them, and the ensuing risk
associated with such transactions. It would also mean that the Consignment
House would not be used for such transfers, and the possibility of having those
transactions intercepted by others is avoided. Since players already go through
the process even with such complications, removing those complications seems
like a positive change. With the addition of inventions, many players will find
that the salvage they need for a recipe on character X exists in storage on
character Y. Being able to trade between these two characters avoids the need
to use the Consignment House, which does not provide a sure way to get a recipe
or salvage from one character to another. If you view all your characters as a
collective time investment, then what one character does should not be limited
to just that character. Popular suggestions are the ability to send items via
an "e-mail" system, or using the CH to send items, or a bank which contains
the total inf earned by account, from which any character on the account may
draw for use in purchases.

COUNTERPOINT

But there are also certain disadvantages associated with
increasing the ease with which players can transfer inf and items between
characters on their accounts. There would be an unavoidable amount of time
spent on coding such a change. In addition, the ability to circumvent the CH
may not be intended by the devs. Indeed, a warning when the CH first launched
suggested players should not try to use the CH for transfers. Allowing players
to utilize the items they obtain on any character may significantly reduce the
use of the CH, which may also not be desirable. Most importantly, transferring
items to other characters on your account might allow those characters to
outperform characters of an equal level but who have not received transfers. If
that happens, it would become more difficult to generate content for players
that is both challenging for assisted characters, while still beatable for
those characters that have not been assisted. Game changes have already been
done to limit the ability of characters that were outperforming dev
expectations.

The use of the Consignment House for the trading of items between
all characters on a side helps build community, while helping to insure all
players have access to all items they may wish to obtain. Instead of trading
directly between characters, consider using the CH as intended, where in
character X puts an item on the CH for anyone who wants it to be able to bid
on, while character Y can put a bid in on said item. In this way, all players
can access these items, not just those who have other characters on their
account.