Kierthos

Argh. I've soloed the first four parts on my lvl 50 Rad/Rad Defender, and I can't solo this part.

I have no problem with any of it up to the last mission. I start attacking Wade, hit him with my debuffs, and then, poof, he's gone, and Ruladak the "IMMA SMACK YOU INNA FACE" shows up, and I'm dead.

Am I missing something obvious in the fight here, or am I supposed to bring help?

Have the Devs said that the villain characters running part 5 are going to be the ones to kill Statesman? Or are they going to just be there when it happens?

And frankly, I still have trouble buying Darrin Wade as the mastermind of this. (No, I haven't run the villain parts of the SSA.) I mean, okay, sure, his end goal of releasing Rularuu is very over-the-top villainy. He's a moron to expect any sort of reward out of it, mind you.

But his reasoning for doing all of this is to gain actual powers instead of just using artifacts? Bwuh? Possessing an artifact is actually listed as a possibility for Magic origin characters, but because he can't shoot lightning bolts from his hands without one, he's planned all of this?

It seems a little weak.

Mind you, if Darrin Wade survives the entire arc, I'm going to be surprised. Statesman dies? Fine. We knew going into this that "ONE WOULD DIE". But if the heroes don't get to drop Darrin, then at the very least, Lord Recluse needs to rip out his spine and show it to him. And there had better be a monologue before he does it.

Honestly, for Mastermind customization, I'd like to see a few different things.

Summoning animations. Right now, there's the summoning circle for Demons, the wrist console for Robotics, the hand gestures for Ninjas, the large clunky radio for Mercenaries.... well, add some more. Maybe I want Mercenaries to come out to the hand gestures. Maybe I want a different console effect for Robotics. Maybe I want to radio out for ninjas.

Also, I'd love to see customized minions. Okay, sure, some of the minions should be easier to customize then others. And some probably shouldn't be customized at all, or as much. (I mean, what can you really customize on the ninjas other then maybe clan logos?) But I should be able to change the colors of the Thugs street clothes, the mercs could maybe have different outfits, and so forth. (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESSOR! LET ME COLOR TINT MY ROBOTS!)

I'd love to see Boomtown get a revamp. Look, have the 5th Column take over most of the North section of it, and turn it into a giant 5th Column base. Above and below ground. Massive bunkers, with point defenses that you have to overwhelm to get inside, and a regularly spawning boss controlling it all.

What costume sets are available through the Super Packs? I only saw Elemental Order stuff.

Actually, who says anyone gets Statesman's powers?

Sure, Wade intends to steal the powers of a member of the Surviving Eight. But if his plans can be stymied by a single character (like we've been doing, even if it has still partly helped his goals), then how is he going to handle Statesman?

More to the point, a pissed off Statesman. For all we know, Statesman is circling the globe multiple times so he can build up enough speed to do a Mach 90 fly-through on Wade.

I don't see it unlocking an Incarnate slot, because we don't even know yet if you're going to have to be level 50 to run the next part of the SSA. Furthermore, since non-VIPs can pay points to access the SSA, having it unlock or open up something that they can't get because they're not VIPs is... well, it's a bit mean.

And yes, I'm aware that there are Incarnate item rewards for the parts of the SSA that have already been put into the game. But they're not the only rewards.

The weather today is sunny and bright, with a slight chance of rain towards evening.

It's always sunny and bright. Don't you wish you lived in Praetoria, where street gangs don't run rampant?

Honestly, if you want "easiest to replace", it's gotta be Citadel.

OH NO, THE ROBOT DIED! (Quick, go get another robot.)

Even with the ability to freely rotate items now (as opposed to the previous increments of 90 degrees only), bases could still use a lot of work. One of the things I'd love to see is the requirements for the medical room items to come down sharply. (Yes, I know that they were once required vastly more healing by SG members then they do now, but it's still ridiculous.)

I'd like to see more pre-fabbed items for bases as well, so we don't have to spend inordinate amounts of time (and hundreds of items) creating second floors, staircases, and thin walls (well, thinner then just filling in an entire base square). Mind you, the second floor thing could be handled by making the linoleum tile visible from underneath.

I'm somewhat against the idea of adding the ability to damage the environment. Considering the large numbers of players in some zones, you'd end up with Atlas Park or Mercy Island burned to the ground. Repeatedly. I mean, if it was specifically limited to instances, sure, that would be fine. We already have a limited version of that in villain bank missions.

Honestly, I'd love to see more of the lore of the Shadow Shard and Rularuu explained.

Where's the Midnight Squard/Ouro arc (or trial) where we end up going back in time to help the Dream Doctor imprison Rularuu? Honestly, that could be an entire Signature Story Arc once we get down with "Who Will Die?"

Here's something... you want to make this feel more like a superhero (or supervillain) game? I mean, even moreso then it is already?

Add secret IDs.

It would be a costume change into a (selectable) generic human body, with it's own name. Put the same restrictions that the walk power has on it (no power use), and there you go.

I mean, right now, I can have Brass Reactor (my rad/rad defender) flying around Paragon City in his massive power armor, but even when I costume change into his normal form, he still has the name Brass Reactor floating above him.

Add secret IDs.

You got your underwear over your pants model. What else do you need?

*runs and hides*

Well, once Jack Thompson got disbarred, the "Video games are murder simulators" nitwits lost their most vocal (if often most erratic) mouthpiece.

Personally, I'm waiting for Shield Offense.