Flarstux

Characters do not gain godlike power in that arc. Gaining the 'godlike power' is evidently going to take months and months of playing and possibly several Issue releases.

Unlocking the Alpha Slot is like obtaining a mounting board for the trophy Minnow you're planning to catch later on. First you've got to get the gear, the bait, and find the proper fishing hole. Then you've got to do the actual fishing. But until you catch that trophy Minnow, that mounting board is just a plank of wood.

That's my analogy and I'm sticking to it.

Sometimes my characters start with a name. For example, I might be flipping through the channels on my TV and happen upon a rerun of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Xander or Willow or whoever might say something like, "That gave me the wiggins." I might then go and make a character named the Wigginator. Or maybe not.

Sometimes they start with a powerset combo that I read about on the forums. For example, I might read a post stating Onion Armor/Spatula Melee is the WORST/MOST RARE/BEST possible combo, which might inspire me to make an OA/SM character to see for myself. (That's how I joined the ranks of the Strong and Pretty.)

Sometimes they come from me clicking the random button in the costume creator until inspiration strikes. Sometimes I'll come up with a costume I really like, and then will create/delete several characters using that costume until I finally hit upon something that 'fits'.

However they come to be, the backstories of my characters generally develop during the first few levels. Often I have the foundations of who they are before they leave the tutorial. Sometimes it takes a little longer.

My 'main' Praetorian character came from random costume generation. I saw a piece of armor I'd not seen before, and shortly thereafter I had a magic origin Archery/TA corruptor wearing a very cool and vaguely 'Ancient Egyptian' set of armor. Later, while I was mowing the lawn, actually, the character's origin came into focus - why she had a blind, burning hatred of the Resistance, where her powers came from, etc.

In closing, my advice to anyone having trouble with their character's origin - come mow my lawn. It's an inspirational experience.

LGTF earlier today, 7 players could not take down the Honoree. If we hadn't had an Amy and a Shivan we'd still be in there.

Yes.

Then there was that issue of Justice League in which Green Lantern used his ring to make a giant green harness for the Earth so Superman could pull the planet back into its proper orbit...

I know, right?

THIS

Just as obviously, there would be no shortage of folks waiting to rain upon such a parade.

It's not just a slot. Unlocking the Alpha Slot is the first step toward becoming an Incarnate - heck, they named the issue for it. I feel it should be a little more dramatic, even unslotted, than it is, because after unlocking it on my Tanker I don't feel like he's accomplished anything.

Heh, nah, I was yawning because the fight took ten minutes.

Yes, they are.

More I19 feelings forthcoming. Ahem.

A week or so ago I unlocked the Alpha Slot on my electric/ice tanker. No problems getting through the arc. Today I finally got around to doing a respec on him to take advantage of inherent Fitness. Whee. Then I decided to run a couple of missions - the last two in the revamped Hero's Epic - to see if I could get lucky with some shards.

I didn't. But that's not why I'm posting.

The main thing I noticed was, my tanker after unlocking the Alpha slot plays just like my tanker prior to unlocking the slot. Which isn't slotted yet, as I only have the one shard. Which I guess means the Alpha Slot, unslotted, does nothing. Right?

I mean, if you take, say, Quick Recovery, it does something for you even before you slot it.

Shouldn't the Alpha slot, even unslotted, do something to let you know, "Hey! I'm an Incarnate now! Well... sorta. Kinda. Almost. Maybe."

Or does it do something and I just didn't notice? My tanker didn't seem any tougher. His enemies didn't seem to fall any faster (yawn/Dominatrix/yawn). His powers didn't seem to recharge any faster. He still ran out of endurance if I forgot to fire off Power Sink every now and again.

So... Alpha what?

Quoted for well-boding.

Ah! So it is. Thus, I formally rescind a BOO!

Rick - you are NOT the zombie!

If we're powering up our 50s in order to do powered up content isn't the Incarnate System basically just a level bump in disguise? 'Cept without any, ya know, actual 51-60 content to go along with it. Well, those two TFs, I guess.

Are there any Incarnate tip missions? Radio/Newspaper missions? What else is there to do as an Incarnate?

I did this earlier today with my electric/ice tanker (at +1/x3 woo hoo go me). I ignored the clones and knocked the guy into the lava, then stood at the edge and kept him from getting out, all the while spamming the bruise attack thingy and alternating the more damaging attacks. Didn't take long.

I thought the bully boy in the last part put up the toughest fight. Anyway, once it was over I was all like... okay, got the slot, got a shard... now I'm gonna go do something else!

You can't fool us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Munki. We know what EOTM actually means.

ELVIS ON THE MOON

Alts are why I still play this game. Once I get a character to 50, I'm pretty much finished with that character. Oh, sure, I'll play them now and again just for the heck of it, nostalgia or whatever, but that level 50 ding means it's time to move on. Which means I have NEVER completed a build on one of my 50s. If I can't do it before they hit 50 - and without excessive grinding - it ain't happening.

So the Incarnate System is pretty much wasted on me. But that's okay. Inherent fitness will do for now. Maybe. I'll let you know as soon as I get my replacement video card.

Not the planet, the goddess! Who happens to be very fond of swamp cabbage.

Cougar? Bah! She's a damn Pseudaelurus!