LLamaBoy

Seeing the upcoming mass of power sets, and then these awesome new pieces in development, I can't decide which I'm more excited about.

And then I realised:

Oooh, costume slots on offer. You tempt me good sirs!

(P.S. the link for the Market page on the announcement thread lacks a "here" and instead extends over most of the sentence for the community discussion. Also, the CoT costume set icon is missing there.)

You mean something like this? I like the way you think.

I don't disagree with you about the potential problems this would bring up. I'm sure messing with something as intrinsic as the Enhancement slot system would cause many headaches. Which is why I mentioned that this was more of a theoretical suggestion rather than something that should seriously be worked on. It would simply be an interesting evolution of the Enhancement system, something that hasn't seen much innovation since Inventions, really.

Regarding the gating of customisation: That already occurs to various degrees for certain options available in the game, including Capes and Auras, extra costume slots, various costume pieces (various NPC-themed weapons, Roman clothing and shields), Astral and Empyrean costumes and aura effects, etc.
I'm of the belief that having a variety of things to unlock or gain access to is one of the ways to make progression fun in the game, and gives players an opportunity to encounter content they wouldn't otherwise look at. How many people would have done Shadow Shard content, for example, if there were no cool unlocks for their swords or axes?

I'll start off by saying this is simply a conceptual idea that I thought I should share to get feedback on. I realise that it would involve a lot of work by many departments included UI, art/effects and programming, so I don't consider it at all feasible. With that said, here it is:

A lot of times over the years, players have asked about a 7th enhancement slot for powers. The usual response is that it would be an unlikely addition due to balance issues. Besides, since the addition of the Invention system, it's pretty much been established that six is the maximum number of slots we'll be having.

So to fill that tempting little gap at the end of our powers, I present to you... COs - Cosmetic Origin Enhancements!

The basic idea behind these slots would be that you can unlock them on a per-power basis. Most of the currently slottable powers can have a CO slot added. When a CO enhancement is placed in a slot, the power gains a new graphical effect, depending on the enhancement's properties. This would enable us to further customise our characters to fit better into certain themes by combining a variety of new effects.

There would be two broad categories of COs, based on how powers are activated: clicks and toggles.
Clicks would be a short effect that replaces or plays in conjuction with the existing effect of an executed power.
Toggles would act as a kind of secondary aura as long as the toggle power is active, again either replacing or combining with the existing power's effect.
In the case of replacing an effect, it could use the specific power's customised colour options.

Unlocking a CO slot would be a type of end-game inf sink. Level 50s would be able to purchase slots in the range of 100 million inf each (possibly together with another currency). You could also purchase an unlock token that can be used by any level character for ~200 million inf.

The CO enhancements themselves would be craftable from Recipes, either dropped or rewarded. The components to craft them would be similar to current purple recipes, possibly with some Incarnate salvage as well, such as threads. The crafted enhancements would be tradable as any regular crafted IO is.

Examples of CO enhancements could range from basic elemental or other effects (fire, stone, electricity, water, etc.) to more specialised styles (desaturation, blurring, animated texture overlays) and even maybe a few signature hero/villain effects, such as Ghost Widow's holds or Statesman's lightning powers.
Note: COs would not change the combat attributes of powers. Adding a fire effect to e.g. an Assassin's Strike power would not make it deal fire damage.

To prevent confusion, CO effects would not apply in PvP zones.

And finally, a little mock-up of a filled and en empty cosmetic slot in powers:

(I may have made the CO border a tad too extravagant)

As I said, this is more of a conceptual design, so I'm sure there are a ton of technical issues that would prevent it from ever happening. I just thought it would be a cool thing to imagine for the game.

Well, I'm sold.

To be fair, I was sold from the concept art, but it's great to see how well it's all been translated into the collection of triangles we see in-game.

I can only assume these pieces plus the new astronomical art from the latest SSA means we'll be punching cosmonauts within the year.

I've noticed a similar thing in several missions throughout the First Ward, usually when accepting a mission through additional dialogue choices. The map marker shows the mission entrance correctly, it's just the compass marker that is wrong.

Considering I'm funding any of my new chars with my almost-billionaire main, I'm afraid I can't see myself putting up the points to give this chappy a home.

It would be nice if someone could port over his invulnerability to the vet buff-pets, however...

Max, a German Shepherd puppy with superpowers, wanders away from his mother one day, and accidentally finds his way past the guards in Atlas Park into the Hollows.As he sniffs around some trash cans, a Gardvord approaches and offers him a handful of green powder, saying "You pretty dog. You want 'Dyne?"



If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

Excellent to see the packs making a return I was afraid I missed the chance to get the full Mutant pack after Freedom launched, but it looks like that might be possible again soon(tm)!

I may consider some of the consumables over the weekend. I assume the charges just sit in your inbox indefinitely until claimed, like the Paragon Reward mails, so there's no time limit on using them up.

Also looking forward to potential Cyber Monday offers, possibly a discount on enhancement/costume slots, hmmm?

Speeding through the end of the tunnel, he took a sharp turn to the right. His earpiece crackled with an urgent voice:

"Hurry, there isn't much time left!", Manticore bellowed.

He looked down at the package he was clutching in his arms; about the size of a young toddler, its shape was awkward and bulky. His sweating palms made it especially hard to grasp, even more so at the speed he was moving.

As he headed north, various citizens called out to him, but he didn't acknowledge their greetings. He was fully focused on the task at hand. After a few moments of weaving between pedestrians and traffic on the ground level, he leapt up and followed the thin line of the overhead monorail. He wouldn't normally break the rules set by the City, but on this occasion he felt he could forgive himself.

The radio screeched into life again: "You've got less than three minutes!". He winced as the voice mingled with scraps of broadcasts from adjacent frequencies. Maybe one day they'll give him access to the encrypted Hero band, he mused.

Through the blur of the city beneath his feet, he spotted various familiar stills: a car being vandalised by some street punks; a couple holding hands on a park bench; a meeting between Family and Council turning sour; a fellow Hero being thanked by an elderly man. A sudden, guttural roar snapped his attention away and towards the waterfront. In the murky distance he could make out a circle of columns rising out of the sea, flexing back and forth, reaching for something to smash or flatten. The bulbous mass that was Lusca's head stayed protected inside the ring, keeping watch for the imminent retaliation by emergency services.

A slight rumbling underfoot prompted him to redirect his gaze to the tracks. In the next second, adrenaline pumped into his legs, launching him into the air, his toes barely scraping the roof of the passing rail-car. He landed clumsily with his heart in his mouth, the driver's honking echoing as expletives in his mind.

"Thirty seconds left, get a move on!" The voice reminded him of his mission. Still burdened with the payload, he shot off again in his target's direction. A few moments later, he hopped off the rails and once again buzzed through the streets, careful not to pass too close to the scattered groups of villains on patrol around the neighbourhood. Finally, he rounded the corner and spotted his destination. He flew though the gates and halted directly in front of her, eliciting a slight expression of shock.

"Happy Anniversary," he panted, "these are from Justin". He thrust the package into Sister Psyche's arms, the blooms almost completely obscuring her face. He glanced at his watch mere seconds before it turned to midnight.

"Fantastic work!", Manticore cried through the earpiece. "Now maybe this year I won't be sleeping on the sofa."



Legalese: If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

After forgetting the equipment, the new, hastily-improvised game rules turn this year's Dice Rolling Contest into a farce.




If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.