James_Donner

I know them very well. Thats actually where I met Hawk. I would and do recommend them to new players who want to learn the game and basic teaming. They almost never pvp though.

They have some good folks I enjoyed my time is the SG until the few days before I also had a falling out. But thats just life.

Its just sounds like a situation where one person holds VERY strong personal beliefs on certain topics.

If you have the time check out my Mosh Pit. I don't remember my arc ID but its up. 3 mission Arc, the first 2 are short and sweet to set the story a little but the final mission is epic.

Bill Z loved it before I took it down the first time. I've added the 2 small missions so it wouldn't be confused for a farm.

There are 2 version up now. The story version posted by me and the original which I sent to Iron Tiger. Check out both and have fun.

Sounds like a deep sink ticket farm to me. Whats the Arc number?

Thanks Feihung

I am trying to decide what to do next, any suggestions?

Speed ITF Guide

This is the first guide I've written so cut me a little bit of slack. I hope everyone interested in Speed runs of the ITF benefits.

Team Options (what works and what doesn't)

The team makeup of a Speed ITF can be diverse. All Hero/Villian teams can be effective but I find a blending of the two works best, After all it is a co-op TF.

1. Leave the lowbies at home: Speed Runs are not the place for Sidekicks. Be lvl 50 or at least everyone be at the same lvl.
2. Bring Damage: If you kill you can't move on. I prefer a mix of Melee and Range.
2a. If you can't take a beating, don't go: Melee toons need to be able to stand up to a full 8 man spawn of Nictus guards, solo a Cyst Crystal, and escape. They need to be able to do it again 5 seconds later.
2b. You need powerful AOE and solid single target. Plan ahead with lets that can provide both.
3. Bring Stealth: Everyone should have some form of stealth. Cimeroran's agro at the wind so getting past them to your goals is imperative.
4. Bring debuffs: The more damage they take the faster they drop.
5. Bring Buffs that fit the team

My ideal team: 1 fire/kin Corrupter, 1 Cold/X Corrupter, 1 Cold/X Defender, 1 X/Therm Troller, 1 Elec/Elec Blaster, 2 Fire/SR Scrappers, 1 Stone/X Brute.

(Tips: Core team needs to contain Def and Res shields. I like Cold and Thermal because of the debuffs)

Detailed Mission Objectives

Mission 1
A. Free the Sybils
B. Lead Sister Solaris to Altar

Basic Plan: Double Ice Buffs, Fire Buffs and Speed Boost on everyone. While stealthed 2 melee toons speed to the dead end rooms and free the sybils there. Use care not to agro the main room group, its easy to loose the guards in the mix and it takes time to solo the room. Once the End rooms are clear the entire team wipes the T crossing room as a unit. The Sybil placement guarantees side group agro so just kill them all as quickly as possible. Skip the hall groups and go out the door. Jump up the back side of the mountain, rebuff everyone on the fly. Attack just the EB and the Sybils guard, don't go towards the edges or you may trigger the ambush, ignore them if you do. Turn of Stealth when she is free and escort her to the alter.

Time Goal: 5 min

Mission 2
A. Destroy 10 Shadow Cyst Crystals

Basic Plan: Buff the Melees with everything, they run like hell. The Main group stays at the door to draw ambushes and earn inf. Melee's pogo over each cyst until the halls split, each melee takes a path. Ignore everything but the Cyst Crystals. If you die, get TPed back to the buffer group, rez and get back to work. Insaly buffed blaster gets to play tank and AOE god for the Buff group on the ambushes.

Time goal: 4 min

Mission 3
A. 5 Generals
B. Romulus Phalanx
C. Defeat Romulus
D. 100 Cimeroran Traitors

Objective A:
Basic Plan: Buff the Melee's on the way to the bridge. The best scenario is for the EB group to be on the bridge or the flat ground before the aqueduct.
Scenario A: EB group on the bridge- Everyone but one melee hits and kills them. solo melee, finds and spikes the General in the 2nd group on the flat, works forward spiking other generals till the rest of the group catches up. (The ONLY group that is a kill all is the EB group, ignore everything else but the general is the 3 other groups.)
Scenario B: EB group is somewhere else- Team spikes the General and keeps moving till they find the EB group, solo melee splits off to kill remaining Generals.

(Tips: For the Generals in the Boss and Surgeon groups. Kite the general with one hit each and break line of site up on some rocks or stairs. They will typically agro alone or with a small group and are very easy to solo. For the General in the mixed group, kill the 1/2 surgeons first then focus on him.)

Objective B:
Basic Plan: Once all 4 Generals are down everyone go strait to the Romulus Phalanx. Use the ambushes the follow as fuel for Fulcrom Shift. Use a mix of AOE and Single target to kill the ambushes and the Computer at the same time. Stay Buffed and the Phalanx is just fuel for future Fulcrum Shifts. Rebuff and kill the leftover Traitors once the computer is down.

Objective C: Defeat Romulus and Requiem
Basic Plan: Jump up onto the platform with both AVs. One Melee tanks each while the team focus's on the other. Kill one, then the Other. Use the mobs on the platform for Fulcrum fuel.

(Tips: Squishees should pop and have breakfrees before going up onto the platform. Spam Immobilize on the AVs to prevent them from running)

Objective D: If you haven't killed 100 already use Requiem's ambush group or some random ones on the map to top off the kill count

Estimated Time: 8 Min

Mission 4
A. Defeat Romulus and Nictus AVs
B. Defeat 300 Traitors

Basic Plan: Buff everyone at the door and go strait to Romulus. Land on the room for the building behind him and finish buffing. Drop down on his head and go to town. Focus on Romulus. Ignore the Nictus. The blaster should take out any surgeons in the area and then focus on Romulus. Use the Nictus and Traitor ambushes as fuel for fulcrum. Cast vengeance when people go die (yes someone usually does) rez them or have the HP it quickly. Debuff Romulus with everything at your disposal. Make sure he stays Immobilized so he doesn't rabbit and agro the 5th column.

(Tips: Break line of Sight when he is defeated or you will get stunned, distance doesn't matter. Stay focused. AOE's will eliminate the ambush mobs)

Once Romulus is down clear the platform and any remaining ambushes that come. You should have about 225 traitors left to defeat. Team moves to the Left tower, triple heard the mobs into a corner and AOE them. Move to the 2nd platform and repeat. Move to the street level or a 3rd tower to get the remaining Traitors needed for the 300.

Time Estimate: 8 Min

Total Time: 25 min
Average Time: 30 min

The Key: Keep Moving all the time. Defeat the bare minimum needed to complete the objectives. Practice.

With the introduction of the merit system in CoX its important for players to learn the skills and tactics needed to maximize the productivity of their gaming time.

We all know CoX's history of very generous community members who are always willing to help, teach and learn from one another. I'd like to use that sense of unity to help each other with the transition from a Roll TF reward system to Merits.

To accomplish this its important that we pool our resources. So I'd like to see an influx of new guides on how to do Speed runs for each Task/Strike Forces.

Guides should contain the following:
Team Options (what works and what doesn't)

Detailed Mission Objectives (What really needs to be accomplished)

Effective Strategies (Tips from veteran players or new ways approaching mission objectives.)

Estimated Completion times for each mission. (Benchmarking)

Any other information you may find relevant to the TF.


If you're way is different that the existing guides, please post your own. The more ideas and options we all have the more successful we will be.

Please don't post exploits. Only methods that use existing game mechanics should be posted.

Here are some great links for TF information: Everything you need to know to do speed runs is there.

Badge Hunter: Each TF/SF Badge has a link to a TF guide:
http://www.badge-hunter.com/view_bad...ype.php?type=3

Paragonwiki:
http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Task_Force


To start it off I'd like to post some notes on how I approach running speed TF's.

1. HAVE FUN. Not every run is a speed run. Speed runs are you pushing yourself and your team to the limit. The difficulty slider isn't the only way to measure things.

2. This isn't for everyone: Lets just all be honest with ourselves and admit that not everyone is going to be capable of doing this. Its not the build, or the method. Its the Player.

3. Speed: GO FAST, it sounds obvious but your not going to accomplish your goal of a Speed TF by standing around and talking about what you going to do before each mission.

4. Form an A-team: Find a group of players who enjoy doing speed runs and do them together. The more you play, the better your communication, the faster the runs. Adding PUG players can come later when your good enough to just need a few pads.

5. Have a Plan: Know exactly what you and your team is going to do before you step foot in the mission. This takes practice.

6. Play on PUGS be aware of the action: Someone may do something different that can be incorporated into your tactics. Plus they are great for showing you what Not to do.

7. Game Mechanics: Understanding the buff/debuff system and how it relates to your objective is critical. NPC's are designed with weaknesses. Speed Runners take advantage of them. Its not an exploit, its how you play the game.

8. Focus on the objectives: Anything that isn't directly related to the objective is fluff, skip it. Speed runs aren't about smelling the flowers, its about SPEED.

9. Ghosting: Just Do It. Stealth is part of the game for a reason.

10. Pads are Fillers: They get the reward by staying out of the way and not slowing the team down. That's their job.

11. HAVE FUN. If you aren't having fun go find something else to do. I get an adrenaline rush from a great run because its fun. The reward is just an added bonus.


I'll be posting a few guides to my favorite speed TF's in the coming weeks, no, not Katie or Eden, but if you want to know how to do a 25 min ITF keep an eye out.

[ QUOTE ]
I was stunned upon hearing the news that you'd resigned.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am just having a hard time buying into this.

There was clearly a disconnect between LH and the other rednames or he would never have been forced to post his PVP retraction statement. Yes, I do believe he was forced and this departure is no coincidence.

If I had to guess I would say that NorCal is in a bit of upheaval right now over the direction the game is taking and we, as a community, are going to suffer from its implosion.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd say good luck but whoever posted that wasn't Lighthouse.

[/ QUOTE ]

*pulls the tin foil hat off of his head and hands it to James_Donner*

Here, I think you need this more than I do.

[/ QUOTE ]

Happily puts it on his head. States that no former employee is going to post as a redname. Fired/Quit or carried out on a stretcher nobody speaks as a company rep unless they are one. He isn't.

That isn't Lighthouse.

I'd say good luck but whoever posted that wasn't Lighthouse.

This depresses me. This game is dying. Posi and crew have lost touch with their most dedicated player base.

I am actually sad.

They just need to look at their sub numbers to see its true. Lowest playerbase number yet. My friends and other players leaving by the dozen and no new real content on the horizon till is 15.

This sucks

So first we pay cash for wedding stuff. then for respecs. Now if we want the "neato" cyborg stuff we better pony up some green.

I thought I already bought this game and paid $15 a month for it.

Does this mean we are gonna have to pay for new AT's and powers now to? Oops, we do pay for new powers already.


I'll keep playin, but I ain't buyin. At least not until April of next year.

SG/VG Name: Honor First

Peak teaming hours: 5pm-1am EST

Amount of PvP: When we feel like it

Amount of Powerleveling: When its needed

Amount of Drama: None

Size of Base: Small but growing. Fully Functional with TP's to major zones and Hospital

Requirements: Ventrillo, we run a lot of TF's and vent helps with the communication

Other: We are here to have fun. We run several TF's on weekends and teams everynight.

Guild Description: Have fun, Play Hard

Leader or Recruiting Officers: @James Donner or @ White Thunda

Voice chat: Yes

Preferred Method of contact: (ingame email, or global)