FlyingCodeMonkey

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I keep seeing people whine about the possibility of "in-game advertising" ... If NCSoft *doesn't* pursue passive real-world brands to put on the billboards, they'd be very, very foolish.

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I always thought so, as well. Unlike a lot of games, City has a modern setting that would seem to be perfect for that sort of thing. I don't especially want to see real-world ads on the City billboards, but it still seems like an opportunity lost. The last time I brought up the topic, which was long-long ago, people had the same sort of reactions. They threatened to quit if real ads ever appeared, and they imagined horror stories of advertisers dictating policies. Meh. As long as they're not animated, and they don't pop up dialogs on me, or anything else intrusive, I wouldn't really care. It would even make the setting more real-world-ish.

I'd bet that MUO will have in-game ads. They'll have a similar setting, and a big publisher with a vested interest in ad dollars and the necessary tech to implement it. Is that, by itself, a reason to pursue the idea? No, but in an age where Google became a titan through a decent search engine and pervasive advertising, it's something to consider.

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I think the difference worth pointing out here is that if this weren't taking place, you'd have the conflict of interest created by MUO hanging over the future of CoH like the sword of Damocles. That would have been the road of certain despair (and DOOOOOOM).

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Agreed. Whenever MUO eventually goes live, Cryptic would have had incentives to shut down further City development, and try to lure us all over to the new shiny game client with its popular licensed characters and it's different publisher. Meanwhile, City is a stable money-making title for NCSoft, so it was in their best interests to take ownership and to continue to develop and promote the property. It makes sense for both companies, and I think it'll be a long-term win for all of us. Whatever results in my being able to spend more time in more new activities with my favorite characters ... is good. With NCSoft owning City, I can imagine that happening, certainly more likely than it was before.

My biggest hope is that now NCSoft will provide the City team with enough resources that we'll be able to check some items off the Wish List. I won't name them, nor will I stir too much cautious optimism, but it Would Be Nice.

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Why? What % of the population is doing Hami raids? What about the LRSF and STF? I'm betting the % is even smaller than even I expect.
Why waste time on events that the majority don't find fun?

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There were Hami raids several times per week on Liberty before he was changed; now, not so much, a logical consequence of interrupted momentum and alternative availability of the rewards. These days, I see numerous LGTFs, STFs, various other TFs, and the occasional mothership raid. All of these raid-type things work within the City, and there are plenty of people running them, even just on Liberty with our smallish population.

In fairness, I'm not a veteran of any WoW raid-type events, so I don't know if that's a totally appropriate comparison. However, it seems to me like there's enough of an audience for new TFs, Trials, and raid activities like RWZ. If anything, I'd like to see more Really Big Things to do at the highest levels, since 11 of my 12 heroes on Liberty are level 50. Maybe now, with a bigger development staff, it will happen.

Halloween costume temps are exquisitely awesome! Whoever thought of it must receive a large bonus and warm admiration. But no Vampire or Witch costumes? For shame. I'll just have to stand around in my Freakshow Boss costume basking in massive Defendery badassedness instead.

There were at least a half-dozen Jacks in PI on Liberty last night in the span of a couple hours, so that wasn't a problem either. I have no idea if we were just lucky or if Jack's spawn percentile was adjusted, but it was certainly a nice change of pace. Did Jack have Unseelie spawns last year? For some reason I was thinking it had only been Eochai.

I think my only minor criticism is that trick-or-treating at doors could use some kind of streak-breaker. When you have every new badge except the one for 50 costumes, getting 8 or 10 Tricks in a row is kind of extra-annoying.

Oh yeah ... would it kill someone to add progress bars for holiday badges? I understand not wanting to show progress bars for badges that can't currently be obtained once you're outside the event window, but if that's the problem then aren't we overdue for badge progress bars with associated hidden date ranges? So they will appear between dates X and Y, or when event flag Z is set, or whatever? Here we are, years after the first Halloween event, still with no Halloween critter progress bars. Costumes, either.

Mechanically, I've seen no problems at all.

The temp power costume idea is pure win. I only wish Hamidon were on the list! I'd be fine with all of my other powers being grey while dressed as Hamidon.

Please tell me Iron Jack's spawn characteristics were tuned slightly this year? There were exactly two annoying problems with last year's event: (1) Jack's spawn rate, and (2) people going around killing the Unseelie things accompanying Eochai without defeating the monster itself.

Are the badges all the same this year as last year? My main badge collector has changed during that time (thanks Issue 9!), so I have some work ahead of me!

I'll see you guys someday when you're in the Pacific NW. There's a pretty substantial gamer population here, and quite a lot of City players.

On or before December 21st, apparently.

Signature character costume temporary powers? Bahahahahaa ... yes, please!

This year I'm gonna dress up as Synapse and go around throwing myself at people.

I hope the Posi costume is the "helmet on" version, though.

Well, assuming that "CoX NPCs" means the signature characters. If it turns out that all I get is a Cadao Kestrel or Wilson Zucco costume, I'll be rather disappointed.

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Ok anyways Devs you need to add these to Archery/ and /Trickarrow sets for customization

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I'd forgotten to mention this same thing ... Archers need some custom-weapon love, too!

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anyone have an idea as to what they plan to do first with the new powersets?

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DB/WP Scrapper, no doubt ... unless for some reason I learn to hate one or the other set during the open beta. I'll be one of hundreds of identical newborn DB/WP characters running around in Atlas that day, but that's fine. Atlas weathered a similar storm of Archers, once upon a time.

DB/WP just happens to be an excellent match for one of my all-time favorite tabletop RPG characters, so he'll be reborn into City form. This will probably be my final attempt to make a Scrapper character; in general, Scraps never last very long with me. I think I've tried every Scrap primary and secondary in various combinations, but maybe this one will endure.

So far, it's freed up exactly zero of the several dozen names I was hoping to get and have checked. I imagine quite a few of those millions are similar to the "CostumeTest4" and "CostumeTest8" I've left scattered across various servers where I don't play.

I'm still looking, though.

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So, here's another question about the Flashback (easier to type than "Ouroboros") auto-exemplar: the features page states that "Heroes and Villains will be auto-exemplared to the appropriate level for each story arc." How does this work, exactly?

Back when I9 was in beta, and Pool B was going to be rewarded for arc completion, and some of us were asserting that Flashback was the only way to make that system even remotely fair, several possible systems were suggested for handling the auto-exemplar. Offhand, the two I remember were (1) make a Flashback arc similar to a "mini Task Force" and (2) auto-exemp the team as necessary while inside Flashback-related missions.

The first of those two methods has the advantage of being similar to the existing TF system. We obviously have had auto-exemp for TFs for some time. However, that would also lock the current team into running the entire Arc at a reduced level just like a real TF (but with no minimum level or minimum team size?). The second system would be cleaner and more versatile, but it would have to introduce the new mechanic of a mission having some sort of "Flashback" bit set so that the engine would know to auto-exemp the team to an appropriate level while inside the mission. However, it would tend to make any outdoor hunts that were part of the Arc ... well, even more trivial than usual. Ideally, in that case the mission title would be prefixed with some sort of "Flashback: " prefix.

So, needless to say ... I'm really curious if Flashback will work like either of those suggestions from months ago, or if it will be an entirely different setup. FCM craves details! How soon will we know?

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IO's are great, but you don't need em to kick-*** in the game. Regular SO's will do.

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True enough, though I reserve judgement until we know what the purples do. If they just carry bigger enhancement amounts and better bonuses ... eh, as you say. Nice to have, but not absolutely necessary unless you're in some sort of competitive PvP arms race.

They may carry other really nice effects, though. The sort of thing that would cause the WoW equipment situations you describe? Nah, not ever likely to happen in this game. There could well be bonus effects so nifty that you can't help noticing the difference in performance, though.

What kinds of effects would those be? No clue.

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In the screenshot of the Apocalypse and Hecatomb enhancements, the title includes a "Superior" designation I can't recall seeing before. What does that mean?

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Should simply indicate that the -recipie- is superior; it being purple are rare and powerful and such.

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Do the existing I9 recipe titles carry the word "Rare" or "Uncommon"? As many thousands of them as I've crafted, I'm embarrassed to admit I can't remember since I tend to glance at the white/yellow/orange color for that information. Nor do I have a screenshot handy.

So I have a question, one I haven't seen posed yet (my search-fu is weak):

In the screenshot of the Apocalypse and Hecatomb enhancements, the title includes a "Superior" designation I can't recall seeing before. What does that mean? Do super-rare sets have the ability to transform a Moderate-damage power into a Superior-damage power? Although a Superior-damage fireball sounds really good to me, the implications would be incredibly scary. What would happen if the same Targeted AoE set were slotted into Terrify, which currently has Minor Psionic damage? What if a Ranged Damage version were slotted into a fast-charging Minor single-target power?

What if a Superior set were slotted into an Extreme-damage power? Obviously that would represent a downgrade, which wouldn't make any sense.

Therefore, I assume that that isn't what "Superior" indicates ... so, what does it mean?

Although I'm sort of nonplussed imagining an all-new class of recipes selling for tens of millions each (prices for Numina's Rec & Regen are still crazy after all this time), I'm drooling a bit wondering about what kind of stats they'll carry.

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This new issue sounds very exciting. I wonder how it will work with getting very rare recipes? Will that replace the available reward at the end of a Task Force?

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How will it work? You'll pay 50 million each for them at WW's, and you'll like it.

Flashback: WOOHOO!

Power Customization: Never thought it would happen. Well done.

New Power Sets: YAYY!

Buff/Debuff/Taunt Sets: Sweet.

Very Rare/Purple Stuff: uhh ... cringe. Did you guys enjoy seeing people largely shut out of the market for costume piece recipes for months because of low drop rates? Eh, color me skeptical. Maybe it'll work out. I guess.

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Someone mentioned that possibly the blue tower is tied to LR's summoning of the EBs?

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If you move LR around while destroying the towers, he'll summon purple bosses.

If your tank walks up in LR's face and stands there in melee/taunt the whole time, he won't summon.

LR spawns larger groups beginning at about 20% health; these are all purple but composed of minions, lieuts, and bosses I believe.

I think LR spawns more mobs even faster if the blue tower is still intact, which reinforces a common belief that it's a recharge buff. That's anecdotal, though. I know the last team I was on where we didn't smash the blue tower, we kept getting overwhelmed by his low-health spawns. All of my more recent teams where we've destroyed all four towers, he's only spawned a few mobs at a time, at a very manageable rate.

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nuke/shivan farming is not something I enjoy and not being able to team with people because they arent one of the "chosen" ATs for the STF really turns me off.

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Same, on the first. As a general rule, I hate the hassle of getting nukes from Warburg and I almost never have them. I got used to carrying Shivans back during the Issue 7 AV Regen debacle, because they were so useful. The way the STF is designed, I wouldn't say that Shivans are more necessary than say ... a tray full of purple inspirations, but like the latter they can help fill some capability gaps.

It isn't accurate to say that the STF seems designed for "chosen" ATs unless you consider every AT on the hero side "chosen." I've seen it finished by teams with a Stone tank, an Inv tank, and with no tank. I've seen it finished by many different flavors of buff, debuff, and damage. I think it's more correct to say that a successful STF requires a certain core set of team capabilities. There's a lot of complex interactions between what you do and don't have, but for most teams the list includes ...

1. Aggro control: you'll need a tank or equivalent to maintain the attention of the Grandville AVs and Aeon. In most cases, a tank should have Taunt. Gauntlet generally can't reliably keep the aggro of an aggressive +4 AV. Taunt not slotted for duration will tend to expire and lose Ghost Widow's aggro when she Black Holes the tank.

2. Buffing/Debuffing: this may include enough CM/ID/Clarity to withstand Ghost Widow's Soul Storm, enough To-Hit to hit Mako through his Elude, enough Defense to mitigate Ghost Widow's Dark Regen, enough Regen/Res Debuff and Damage to overcome +4 AV regen, and so on. There's more psionic damage and unusual mezzes than heroes are used to facing.

3. Damage: an obvious necessity, but a damage-light team that relies heavily on debuffs may have a hard time in the Thorn Tree room. Scrappers will have an easier time in that room than Blasters because of the creeper traps and other Thorn Tree attacks.

4. Shortcuts: invisibility and recall ability are incredibly useful, especially (but not only) on the Thorn Tree map.

5. Keep-away/Denial: you must have some way of dealing with the repairmen on LR's towers. A team low on aoes, knockback/down powers, or other location-type controls may find themselves spending an incredibly long time on each tower. Meanwhile, the Flier is likely to respawn and interfere.

There are various ways to make up for any given team's weaknesses. PA can sub for a tank. Vengeance, Shivans, and (ouch) Warburg nukes are all useful. Trays full of purples can solve the problem of Ghost Widow's healing. If anything, the STF favors a team well-balanced in terms of ATs, except for certain super-specialized teams. It slightly favors some PvE builds over PvP builds. It gives in some ways (Scrappers less vulnerable to Thorn Tree room attacks) and takes away in others (Scrappers more liable to Ghost Widow's heal). Niche powers like Group Fly are great to have versus the Flier. AV pulling tends to work best if you have the ability to invis/stealth your sniper.

And so on. The STF is different from the other hero-side TFs. You can brute force your way through pretty much any FP TF to the AV stomp at the end, but success in the STF is less guaranteed. It is important and necessary to examine the capabilities of your team when starting an STF. If you're low on damage, or buffing, or whatever, you will have to find a way to compensate because there are specific challenges with those needs, but at the same time there are enough ways to compensate that success is feasible. It can be finished without a tank or an empath (I know this from experience). Some parts of the TF will be more difficult as a result, though.

I really (really!) am sympathetic to Mako, GW, and LR being serious obstacles, but it's more appropriate for this particular TF than any other.

Last night, my six-man team (1x Tank, 1x Defender, 2x Controller, 2x Blaster, 2x disconnects) beat Mako, GW, and LR without Shivans or Nukes. Well, that's not quite true. I did drop a Shivan on LR, but then the Flier interfered. Recluse was back to 100% health and my Shivan expired before we finished destroying the Flier, so I might as well have not used the Shivan. So yes, I can attest that it can be done.

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In the group I described a couple posts back we had 3 Tactics, 3 uses of Geas (twice in one fight too), the 4 Blasters had their Aim, 1 Defender had Aim, and a Defender Rad Debuff going. Then added to that were the 15+ Shivans (about 4 out at any given time) and all the ACC INSP we were carrying. We still couldn't take Mako below 25% health.

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Hmm. Did Mako just stand there and take it, or did he run around a lot? How much regen debuff did you have, and were the regen-debuffing Kin/Rad/Dark characters able to hit him consistently with LR, Trans, etc?

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I know we had changes to lower there resistance to debuffs but against 54s that does nothing due to the purple patch.

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The big drop-off on efficacy is at +6 iirc, not +4. I believe it's a linear progression up to +5, at which point there's a big jump.

I'm of neutral opinion on Mako. My group beat him last night with a team of 6, but we had the right powers for it. Three of us had Tactics. Our Empath's Fortitude had 3x ToHit. Two of us had Geas (Tank/Controller though), and the two Blasters had their usual Aim buffs. None of that group of four AVs gave us any real trouble, not even GW because I (the tank) was the only one in melee with her.

The STF is meant to be difficult, though. With the rewards it offers in return for a series of five missions, it can't be as easy as the other TFs. While I have mixed feelings about having to pay close attention to the composition of the team, it's something I tend to do anyway. You go into it knowing that the last few challenges in this TF do have certain requirements. You must have a way to hit an AV with super-high defense. You must have a tank or tank+buffer or Phantom Army combo that can withstand LR's punishment. You must have a way to deal with Ghost Widow. You should have enough ranged or flying damage to deal with the Flier. You must have enough damage to kill all of the Thorn Tree vines quickly ... and so on.

Some people (myself included) who have never failed a TF before are discovering that it's possible to fail the STF, so it's a bit of a shock for all of us. It's more like a mini-Hami raid in terms of having what you need available, but for this particular TF I think that's reasonable. "Because people are failing" isn't by itself reason enough to nerf them, though I'm certainly no stranger to frustration.

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Blue, I have no clue either, I don't think anyone knows what it does. I just guessed it was endurance.

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Same, basically. A run or two ago, the team leader said "we don't have to smash that one; it's just endurance." Hard to say if he was right, but we left that tower standing and we had no major trouble with LR.

On the other hand, a completely different STF team I was with last night had a heck of a time with LR himself, even with the three non-blue towers down. That team didn't have a huge amount of damage or debuff, so when LR would get low on health and start spawning his big purple attendants, things would get out of control pretty quickly. Even with Vengeance, it was extremely difficult to finish him off, or to keep him occupied (and regenerating) while trying to deal with those big spawns.

It was hard not to wonder if the blue tower wasn't somehow involved. I hadn't seen him spawn that many purple attendants on any previous STF. He certainly does get what looks like a Speed Boost flare, though. Dunno.

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So out of curiosity, does LR's blue tower actually do anything? The last couple STF teams I've been on have said it was endurance, so we mostly ignored it. It doesn't seem like there'd be any point to an endurance tower on an AV whose blue bar hardly ever even flickers.

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Gah, that puts a lot bigger emphasis on buffers, pets, and defense. Almost forcing team to NOT use tanks. Tanks are already the "red headed stepchild" of CoH, why make it worse and force us to take along even more defenders to babysit them, or controllers pets to make them obsolete.

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Disagree, all in all. Nothing holds aggro like a tank, not even Phantoms. Since GW's Hold is single-target, it's generally better to be able to focus all that mez-protection buffing on the one character who you know will be her target. The STF can be done without a tank, but I'd usually much rather have one around.

I'm a bit confused by the stepchild argument. It was quite true in the long-ago, but to me Tanks seem quite well-integrated into the hero party structure these days. Well, except for the bad Tank players, who are more of a danger than an asset to their team. They've always existed.

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how can Hami kill PA's??

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They're grey to him.