FlyingCodeMonkey

Having seen it happen plenty of times, I'm basically sick of the scenario where some small number of persons with a lot of resources and a lust for lulz decides to buy up all of (whatever) and relist them at higher prices. This especially applies to common salvage bits like Ruby or Nevermelting Ice. I'm sure it's fun for them, but I don't know why it's more tolerated than any other form of griefing.

What I'd love to see: some kind of account-wide market throttle on purchases. Basically, do some data-mining. Figure out what is the maximum possible number of X salvage that a person might need to fully equip a level 50 character, all at once, no matter how strange the combination of inventions and sets. Then set the throttle: your account may buy no more than 2x or 3x of that thing in a 24-hour period. Maybe that means a maximum of 50 or 100 Fortunes per day. As an IO manufacturer, I could live with that.

Yes, craft badging would take a little longer. Been there, would be fine with that, too. So maybe it takes a full week to get all the craft badges. You can spend that same time getting the Day Job for Went's, so it works out.

If that's too big a technical challenge, then administratively punish accounts that engage in market griefing with temporary bans. It should be pretty easy to identify the accounts and even distinguish them from badging, since they involve a huge number of Buy transactions and I'd suspect little or no corresponding crafting, along with the commensurate resell transactions and drastically-diminished supply.

But, no. Instead, we have a transaction throttle. So if I sell a full selection of 22 items, and I click the "Get All Inf" button, I'm automatically locked out of the UI for ten or twenty seconds because the "Get All" collection exceeds the transaction threshold. Cool.

Ty,

DO. YOU. WANT. RABIES?!

-Din (Liberty)

(honestly, it makes perfect sense in RP context)

GR added new Ancillary Power Pools for Villain ATs, which was necessary or else we'd have had a situation where classically Villain ATs who had spent their entire post-Praetorian lives on the blue side had no access to an APP or PPP. Now though, we have a couple of weird asymmetries. Not only are there roughly twice the total number of epic selections for red-side characters, but APPs and PPPs do not have the same range of functional selections. For example, a Mastermind who places a high value on an area-immobilization power like School of Sharks is forced to spent time as a Villain, regardless of inclination, because none of the semi-proliferated APPs contain such a power. In the same way that the new APPs borrowed from the design of the original blue APPs, there's a need for a collection of new hero-side PPPs that reflect the structure of the original PPPs.

Granted, "Patron" isn't necessarily the best term for heroic mentors. Substitute whatever term makes the most sense to you; for now, I refer to "Hero Patron Pools" for sake of clarity. Rather than worry about which, if any, of the Freedom Phalanx would wish to have followers, I've chosen to base these HPP suggestions on the Vindicators. My expectation is that the Vindicators would be more generally willing to assume these mentor roles. They also tend to have at least a few logical options for pets. These pools are needed to restore parity to the Hero/Villain sides in terms of symmetry, theme, and functional selection. Structurally, they resemble the Villain Patron Pools in the same way that the Ancillary Pools for Villain ATs reflect the original Hero APPs, as much as possible.

The power selections are without a doubt not perfect. Avoiding duplicate powers is sometimes difficult, and some themes have fewer powers of certain types (mezzes) than others. However, I think they're a pretty good rough draft. For pets, (M) (L) (B) refer to Minion, Lieutenant, and Boss.

INFERNAL: INFERNO MASTERY

Infernal provides access to a wide array of fire-themed powers, and his advanced students receive lessons in the summoning and binding of demons. Inferno Mastery is an approximate counterpart to Leviathan Mastery, and probably the easiest to design given the wide variety of existing fire powers.

Arachnos Soldier / Arachnos Widow / Brute
Flares
Fire Cages
Fire Blast
Fire Ball
Summon Behemoth Master (L)

Mastermind
Fire Cages
Fire Breath
Incinerate
Fire Shield
Char

Dominator
Blazing Aura
Fire Shield
Fire Ball
Rise of the Phoenix
Summon Behemoth (M)

Corruptor
Fire Cages
Fire Shield
Char
Rise of the Phoenix
Summon Behemoth (M)

Stalker
Fire Blast
Blazing Bolt
Rise of the Phoenix
Char
Summon Behemoth Master (L)

Tanker
Flares
Fire Cages
Fire Blast
Fire Ball
Summon Behemoth Master (L)

Blaster
Fire Cages
Incinerate
Fire Shield
Char
Summon Behemoth Lord (B)

Controller
Combustion
Fire Breath
Fire Shield
Consume
Summon Behemoth (M)

Defender
Fire Cages
Fire Shield
Char
Rise of the Phoenix
Summon Behemoth (M)

Scrapper
Flares
Fire Blast
Fire Ball
Char
Summon Behemoth Master (L)


MS. LIBERTY: MILITIA MASTERY

As the organizer of Longbow, Ms. Liberty grants heroes access to Longbow weapons, devices, and training. Militia Mastery is an approximate counterpart to Mace Mastery, and provides an option for a firearms/devices-type HPP (especially absent from existing Mercs Mastermind options).

Arachnos Soldier / Arachnos Widow / Brute
Slug
Wide Area Web Grenade
M30 Grenade
Heavy Burst
Summon Longbow Eagle (M)

Dominator
Burst
Body Armor
M30 Grenade
Cloaking Device
Summon Longbow Officer (B) *

* Summon Longbow Officer is an Assault Rifle-type Officer without Full Auto

Corruptor
Wide Area Web Grenade
Body Armor
Cloaking Device
EMP Grenade
Summon Longbow Nullifier (L)

Mastermind
Wide Area Web Grenade
Body Armor
Buckshot
Heavy Burst
Beanbag

Stalker
Slug
Sniper Rifle
Beanbag
M30 Grenade
Summon Longbow Spec-Ops (M)

Tanker
Slug
Wide Area Web Grenade
M30 Grenade
Heavy Burst
Summon Longbow Eagle (M)

Controller
Burst
Body Armor
M30 Grenade
Cloaking Device
Summon Longbow Eagle (M)

Defender
Wide Area Web Grenade
Body Armor
Cloaking Device
Heavy Burst
Summon Longbow Nullifier (L)

Blaster
Wide Area Web Grenade
Body Armor
Heavy Burst
EMP Grenade
Summon Longbow Nullifier (L)

Scrapper
Slug
Sniper Rifle
Beanbag
M30 Grenade
Summon Longbow Eagle (M)

WOODSMAN: NATURE MASTERY

Woodsman serves as a spirit guide to those who would learn to interact with flora, fauna, and stone. Nature Mastery is a rough counterpart to Mu Mastery.

Arachnos Soldier / Arachnos Widow / Brute
Entangle
Roots
Strangler
Quicksand
Summon Tuatha Warrior (M)

Dominator
Stone Skin
Rock Armor
Stone Fist
Earth's Embrace
Summon Tuatha Bres (B)

Corruptor
Spore Burst
Rock Armor
Strangler
Spirit Tree
Summon Tuatha Champion (L)

Mastermind
Fault
Rock Armor
Roots
Tremor
Strangler

Stalker
Entangle
Hurl Boulder
Strangler
Fault
Summon Tuatha Champion (L)

Tanker
Entangle
Roots
Strangler
Quicksand
Summon Tuatha Warrior (M)

Controller
Stone Skin
Rock Armor
Stone Fist
Earth's Embrace
Summon Tuatha Warrior (M)

Defender
Spore Burst
Rock Armor
Strangler
Spirit Tree
Summon Tuatha Champion (L)

Blaster
Spore Burst
Rock Armor
Roots
Strangler
Summon Tuatha Bres (B)

Scrapper
Entangle
Hurl Boulder
Strangler
Fault
Summon Tuatha Champion (L)


LUMINARY: LIGHT MASTERY

The android Luminary teaches followers mastery of a broad collection of energy-themed abilities. Light Mastery is a thematic opposite of Soul Mastery. Because of the general lack of energy-themed mezzes, Luminary pools tend to be more damage- and boost-oriented.

Arachnos Soldier / Arachnos Widow / Brute
Power Blast
Energy Torrent
Explosive Blast
Focused Accuracy
Summon RADIANCE-Series 1 (M)

Mastermind
Energy Torrent
Temp Invulnerability
Explosive Blast
Conserve Power
Total Focus

Dominator
Physical Perfection
Temp Invulnerability
Explosive Blast
Conserve Power
Summon RADIANCE-Series 2 (L)

Corruptor
Conserve Power
Temp Invulnerability
Total Focus
Power Boost
Summon RADIANCE-Series 3 (B)

Stalker
Power Blast
Sniper Blast
Aim
Focused Accuracy
Summon RADIANCE-Series 1 (M)

* Luminary-themed android "RADIANCE" pets are same as Nightstar "SPECTRA" series skinned with Luminary's golden appearance

Tanker
Power Blast
Energy Torrent
Explosive Blast
Focused Accuracy
Summon RADIANCE-Series 1 (M)

Blaster
Brilliance *
Temp Invulnerability
Whirling Hands
Force of Nature
Summon RADIANCE-Series 2 (L)

Controller
Physical Perfection
Temp Invulnerability
Explosive Blast
Conserve Power
Summon RADIANCE-Series 2 (L)

Defender
Conserve Power
Temp Invulnerability
Total Focus
Power Boost
Summon RADIANCE-Series 3 (B)

Scrapper
Power Blast
Sniper Blast
Aim
Focused Accuracy
Summon RADIANCE-Series 1 (M)

* Brilliance is functionally equivalent to the Peacebringer power Pulsar

Yep, checked again last night to be double-sure.

Conductive Aura accepts End Mod sets (as expected), but Static Field does not. Static only accepts Sleep and Slow Movement sets.

I thought it might be a case where procs like Energy Manipulator/Chance to Stun might affect friendly targets (as I believe it did once upon a time if slotted in Speed Boost), but wasn't that problem solved ages ago?

In general, except where there's some sort of clear issue or conflict, the established pattern is that powers tend to accept sets corresponding even to their secondary effects. So, was there a problem with Static Field and End Mod sets? If it was a deliberate omission, what was the reason? Color me curious.

Same. I bugged the "hide useful salvage warning" setting months ago.

I hate that dialog with a searing intensity, but it isn't exactly a game-breaking issue.

Electric Control/Static Field accepts End Mod enhancements, but not End Mod sets. Is that by design?

I know there are a few powers that deliberately don't accept sets of a corresponding enhancement type. If I remember correctly, the Taunt auras fall into that category. So, is Static Field another power that deliberately omits a set type, or was it overlooked?

Problem solved! Thanks much.

Already done. Bright bugged it monday, and I petition/bugged it yesterday. That petition has been officially escalated to a "senior customer support rep," for what that's worth. But it's in the system, at least.

Pretty sure the in-game store is online as we speak, though I'll certainly confirm.

Regards,
M

+1.

+2 actually. Both my account and my wife's account are having this issue.

Also on Liberty.

Over the last couple of months, I created a few characters to reserve names that I intended to use later for GR characters. Today, when I delete one of those place-holder characters, I find that it isn't really being deleted. Check Names claims the name is available, but won't allow me to use it. Could the name have been taken again so quickly? Well, no. If I log out and back again, the original place-holder is still there, with the exact same name. Except now, the model is empty/blank. Subsequent attempts to delete the same name claim to have been successful, but are not; i.e., it never goes away and is still visible (minus the model) after logging in again.

In-game, an attempt to /friend the name further asserts that it does not exists, is hidden, or is not online, so I'm pretty certain no one else has claimed it. Additionally, my wife has had this same issue three times on her separate account, though from checking around we've learned that certainly not everyone has had the problem.

I don't currently have extra slots, and I'd obviously prefer not to spend extra dollars to get more slots for purposes of making the same characters with different names, then more dollars to try to rename them later. The problem has also been bugged (by both of us), but more is more. Please assist/fix. Thanks.

>> Blasters get Mastermind Patron Powers, and vice versa

This is messed up. A Mastermind is more Blastery than a Corruptor, those guys with actual blast sets and nuke powers? Really? No. Mastermind/Defender and Corruptor/Blaster, while still very imperfect, would have at least been more appropriate. While these new APPs were needed to fill what would have been an ugly gap, I hope (hope hope) we'll be seeing "Hero Patrons" soon for side parity and functional symmetry. My Masterminds shouldn't be forced to go Villain just because an area-immobilization power is very important to me.

The Shield Charge change also make very little difference, until and unless you reduce the absurd number of targets (16) to a more conventional number for a heavy/melee multiple-target attack (i.e., 5 or 10).

Most of the rest ... great stuff!

Regards,
FCM

I've never participated in a Hami raid since he was revised, but ... I would if there were raids run on the weekends. So, here's hoping.

Well ... normally I express my contest entries in iambic pentameter. However, I'm willing to make this one exception.

Wish y'all had announced this a little earlier. I wondered if the panel would be Saturday, but without a confirmation I didn't want to commit to a day. However, at this point it's too late, with the three-day and Saturday passes being sold out.

So, phooey. He who hesitates, is me.

Then again, if City really isn't (?) being represented at the NCSoft booth, not sure I have much use for them anyway.

I'm out of my element in this thread, and do not presume expertise over experienced Stalker players. So, this is little more than a question from a casual observer ... but here goes: does it really matter if Stalks aren't directly competitive with Scraps in terms of overall defenses and average damage?

I've seen people (not necessarily in this thread) pose the question: why, in the GR world, would a team choose a Stalker over a Scrapper? Well sure, if we're speaking in a competitive sense, they wouldn't. Speaking as a Mastermind enthusiast, they wouldn't pick me, either. MMs don't really bring anything to the table that some other AT doesn't do better. BG is great, but we don't have the mez protection of Tanks or Brutes or Scraps or even Stalks. Our buffs are weak compared to Defenders. So, a competitive speed TF team isn't looking for Masterminds. Good luck getting the pity spot on an LRSF run. Those teams don't really want Blasters, either. Mez-proof and buffed Brutes/Scraps provide tons of damage and survivability. I'm not exactly thrilled about that fact, but it isn't a reflection on Stalkers.

Stalks get decent defenses, massive single-target burst damage, and criticals. They solo great, and they do just fine in conventional teams or PUGs. Suppose you decide that to "compete" with Scrappers, Stalks need to inflict lots more damage ... well, if that happened you've probably made Blasters even more obsolete. How much more damage is reasonable before it starts to compete with the Brute, who has to stay in constant motion stoking Rage to keep his damage high? Where does it end?

Way back around Issue 9 when the market was new, I asked for this feature. Since it's been a while, and I still think the idea makes sense, I'd like to present the suggestion again: add two new commands to the right-click menu for Salvage, like so:

Inf(o)
(D)elete Salvage
Delete Salvage (S)tack
(C)onsign Salvage
Consign Salvage S(t)ack

These new actions would have the effect of removing the salvage item(s) from your inventory and queueing them for sale by an automated account, at the same prices offered by standard stores (250, 1000, 5000). The currency generated from these sales does not come back to you, but neither do items queued for sale in this way consume your consignment house slots. The entire purpose is to make it extremely easy to send the inexpensive bits you don't want to the consignment inventories, for purchase by others. I'd also like to see the same feature for the Recipe menu and maybe even SOs (why not), but Salvage is the main one.

I said a long time ago that in general, people whose Salvage inventories filled up would not interrupt what they were doing, running missions or whatever, just to go drop bits in the CH. I'm sure there are some people who do, but in my anecdotal experience it's much more common to pause momentarily and quickly delete the stacks of cheap stuff to make space in hopes of more valuable bits dropping into your inventory. Queueing things in the CH is generally something you do during down time, calm time. They did give us the CH Teleporters, which are useful but I can't say I've ever noticed a person using one just to take a quick break from missions in order to queue up extra salvage for sale. I used to see them used for quick teleportation to a zone near your next mission door, until the Ouroboros portal mostly took over that purpose.

Alternative possibility: keep the "automated seller account" and pricing, but instead of adding (C)onsign commands, simply route any salvage bits that are (D)eleted into the sales queue. A person deleting salvage bits obviously doesn't want them, and doesn't care enough to drop by a store or the CH to sell them for a pittance, so why not move them to the CH instead of throwing them in the bit bucket?

I suppose it could be argued that the idea of poofing salvage bits from your inventory into a sales queue breaks some kind of immersion, but that's not really an argument. From that perspective, the same person would wonder where and how he was carrying around five suits of Runebound Armor and eight bars of Gold. Those four Mu Vestments look good on you, though. Nice, layered look.

Thanks,
FCM

This feature is something we've needed since roughly April 2004 (if not before), so with all of the QOL improvements over the years, I'm a little stunned it's never made it to the implemented list. Simply phrased, some visible indication on the Team window when a teammate or pet has been inhibited by a status effect.

Since the game began, the teammate bars and pet bars have changed color to reflect current health, providing a very quick, easy-to-observe indication of when someone is badly wounded, critically wounded, healthy, etc. This quick feedback is very helpful for targeted heals. However, an equally-important bit of information is missing: whether the teammate/henchman is slept, stunned, held, confused, etc. To this day, after all this time, we're still stuck with typing "zzzz" into the chat window, or happening to notice that the guy next to you has pale while Z's floating above his head, dim rings encircling his head, or perhaps one of his two dozen buff bar icons is one that represents a mez attack.

I don't know what form it would take, exactly. I probably wouldn't change the bar color from green because that could conflict with the yellow/red health indication. Perhaps change the archetype icon to something visibly obvious or slightly animated (like the little skull that indicates a dead teammate regardless of AT). If all else fails, "target_custom_next friend mezzed," but that would be a last resort.

As the unappointed spokesman for buffers everywhere, I reiterate a polite request for a mez indicator that's long overdue.

SWING and a miss!

At least they didn't make me wait the whole hour for the last one.

I may have to switch back to Firefox if there's a similar contest for the next booster.

I'm unfamiliar with its browser automation, but I suspect it's not very difficult to write something that (1) refreshes the current page, (2) scans for new bit.ly URLs, and (3) opens them in a new tab/window ... which is probably what's happening in many cases.

So basically you just have to watch for a window to pop up with the image, and quick-type the last few characters.