Lady_Sadako

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Over in another <un-named at this time> MMO, you could set permissions on your apartment, allow anyone access, allow friends only, allow none.

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The one problem I foresee with simply allowing anyone access is that the pop-up list of bases that you could enter (when you click on the base portal) would be half a mile long. But maybe that wouldn't be a problem in practice.

It's bizarre, really. Everyone can see my costume, but as it stands now, I have no way to allow everyone to see my base.

EDIT: Dammit, now I want to be able to let anyone in! Imagine if we could just stand in Atlas and yell 'Party in the (SG Name Here) Base!' and let everyone come who wanted to! We could even have 'Maze of Doom' contests as well as costume contests!

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Ok so here's a question Lady_Sadako >.> I think you've got a good point here - but how do we make them more visible without running out of landscape nor having people in our bases when we don't want them there?

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I don't mind having people in the base. It's not like they can harm anything.

I suggest an option to make the base publicly accessible, and a point from which we can enter all publicly accessible bases. For example, a 'visit base' button could be added to the list of SGs that the guy in City Hall shows you.

Cost isn't the issue nearly so much as exposure is, IMO. Why would people invest in something impressive if nobody else ever got to see it? To use a silly example, would people bother with elaborate costumes if other players had to arrange to wear special glasses in order to see them?

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Intestingly, costumes have no gameplay value. They don't boost damage. They don't boost resistance. They don't boost defense. They're only for show.

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Yes, and everyone can see them. You look at my character, you see my costume.

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Admittedly, there's not quite the same amount of textures, colors, etc., but there's still a lot of versatility. And the layout possibilities are endless.

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And they're hidden away, effectively in their own dimension. Other people can see my costume and go 'wow' simply by my flying past. To see my base, they have to be in a coalition with me, or on my team while we go there (and for that to happen, we need to have a reason for them to go, other than me saying 'come check out the base'). They can't simply happen across it and go 'wow!'

When something has substantial show value, you have to be able to show it off!

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An empowerment station is a fairly cheap addition to a base that lets you turn basic salvage into hour-long buffs -- healing, attack rate, resistance to individual mez effects, and the like -- that you can't readily obtain any other way.

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Yes, and the buffs themselves are puny. Maybe you can't get a 2.5% buff to your run speed elsewhere, but why in hell would you WANT to?

The buffs are weak because they were supposed to stack. It was discovered that they don't stack. So they made them last an hour instead. We now have long, weak buffs.

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You can't place them wherever you want or rotate them in three dimensions.

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And everything is huge and spacious, because otherwise, you couldn't PvP in it.

I've made some suggestions for more useful PvE base items here.

Sorry, I have to add another 2c...

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Although bases are built by a team, Emmert and his team viewed them as being “incredibly, incredibly individual” because each piece of the base is designed and added by individuals.

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This just isn't so!

Bases aren't built by a team. They're built by the (usually very few) people who are given base editing permissions. Often this devolves to a single base architect.

Many people feel locked out of bases because they can't contribute. The only way they can help with the base is to earn Prestige, which just gets swallowed up by rent or by high prices - and after level 25, they have to sacrifice Influence to do that. The only way they can contribute is via a negative. They don't get to ADD anything.

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I love my base. It's awesome, and would be a very cool place to hang out. Unfortunately...No one hangs out there. Why? Because there's no reason to.

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Nail, head, bang.

The problem with bases is that although they are wonderfully customisable and can be decorated in all sorts of ways, they are isolated from the rest of the game.

I think the Devs expected people to appreciate bases a lot more as a social space where they could decorate as they pleased. But in that, they missed one of the fundamentals - if you're in your base, then you are NOT out having fun against the bad guys. Sitting in your base is much like sitting in the cupboard. It doesn't matter if the wallpaper is nice. It's still a cupboard.

Moreover, time invested in customising a base doesn't reward the player in any tangible way. Give a player a choice between investing time in earning XP and investing it in adding furniture to the base, and they'll usually choose the XP.

People are quite happy to invest money in building group identity. If Cryptic were to release a 'SG Pack' tomorrow for $10, which contained exclusive SG uniforms, SG base items and SG prestige powers, people would buy it. Bases don't contribute to group identity like they should, because people can't SEE them.

We can't even visit other people's bases without being teamed with them or in a coalition with them. How am I supposed to be impressed with SG X's base if I don't even know it exists? Because all of the bases are accessed through the same nondescript little portal, it's as if they exist in a parallel world somewhere that doesn't intersect that of CoX. Again, they end up being decorated cupboards.

And to be brutally honest, they don't even contribute to group identity all that much even when you CAN see them, because they don't say anything distinctive about the group that built them. Everyone gets to choose from the same set of items and styles. We can't even add our own text! (I made a suggestion that Plaques should be added to bases, with player contributed text - I can't see how this would be a problem.)

Why not add player statues, formed from a retextured static model of the character? Or player portraits, taken straight from our hero ID? If bases are meant to be about group identity, then give us more ways to impress our identity upon them.

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I was under the impression you could bring coalition members with you, provided they have access to your base and are raid-ready themselves?

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That would be good, but I've not seen anyone say they've done that, whereas I have seen reports saying coalition members couldn't come.

Okay, it's looking like the old '1% boost' from the Monuments has been well and truly scrapped. The current boost is more like 6-7%.

More info as it becomes available.

From Swampchicken:

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We had a guy get 52K (out of SG mode) and 55K (in SG mode) for a +3 mission bonus.

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This from one XP buff IoP.

That's a bit more than a 1% increase. That's more like 6%.

Maybe, as Swampchicken suggests, the buffs have been placed after all, but the text has been left unchanged? Anyone got any data to add here?

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How many times during the 7 day window can one SG run the CoP assuming they can fit 5 IoPs in their base?

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As many as they like. There's no apparent limit on how many times you can run the trial while it's open. The only limit is on how many IoPs you can earn.

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btw- just though i'd point out that i managed to fit all the requirements onto the basic plot

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Arcane Raid Telepad in 2x2 teleport room, right?

Post duly amended...

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Just as a quick question, what are the different types of IoP's and what do they all do?

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The Monuments look like rotating globes with script on. They're the most common ones. Going from memory, they give one of the following (WARNING, this is from MEMORY):

+Damage (about 7%)
+XP Gain (about 6%)
+Debt Reduction (this seems to reduce debt whether you are playing or not)
+ Psy Resistance

Mez Protection (three of these on Test gave blasters tank-level mez protection, allegedly. One is certainly enough to resist one Controller hold, though two holds break through.)

The Heart of a Storm Elemental gives +5% HP.

The True Furnace gives +10% Endurance and a bajillion points of Power for your base.

The One Book of Rularuu gives +20% debt reduction.

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I've searched to no avail. Is there a guide for the CoP for those of us who are new to it?

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I've just put one up here.

1. Getting Started

The CoP trial is for Supergroups/VillainGroups only. It's not possible to join it unless you're in one.

To start the CoP trial, you will need:

A Raid Teleporter, with power and control. This can be bought.

A Mission Computer or Oracle, with power and control. This must be crafted.

A Vault Room.

An Item of Power base (in the Vault room)

6 Dimensional Anchors.

A medical bay is recommended but not essential; it makes getting back in to the action much quicker.

Note that it is not supposed to be possible to fit all of the above into the smallest size of base plot. This is why the second smallest size is described in the base editor as the smallest possible plot you can have for a 'raid ready' base.

Note for base architects: The Arcane version of the Raid Telepad is slightly smaller than the Tech version, meaning it's easier to fit into smaller rooms. This DOES make a difference!


2. Activating the Trial

The trial is activated through your Mission Computer / Oracle. Once you select 'Get the Item of Power', a sixty minute timer starts. You have that long to finish the trial successfully. If you fail, you can always try again.

Enter the trial zone through the Raid Teleporter. You're now in a part of the Shadow Shard.

A maximum of 20 people can take part. The minimum is one person.


3. Breaking In

The first phase of the trial involves opening the gate to the Cathedral of Pain. Rularuu has warded the gate with three Psionic Resonators, big obelisks sending beams of energy into the sky. These are in different parts of the map, but are easy to find. Their names are Gloom, Woe and Despair.

Each obelisk has a Willforge (a big levitating cube) next to it. This is an indestructible spawn point for Rularuu creatures. The Willforges spawn more Rularuu as each group is defeated, but they don't do so instantly.

Each obelisk is surrounded by a forcefield that makes it immune to damage. Only when the attendant Rularuu are all defeated does the field drop.

The three obelisks must be brought down at around the same time (the window appears to be about three minutes). If this is done properly, the gate to the Cathedral opens. If not, the obelisks regenerate and you must try again.


4. Aspect of Rularuu

Once everyone's through the gate, it's time for the finale. The Aspect of Rularuu is here, as are three Willforges with a spawn apiece. Like the obelisks earlier, Rularuu is invulnerable while there are spawns of Rularuu present.

In brief: you have to defeat all the spawns and then defeat the AV. This thread mentions the interesting discoveries that people have made concerning the timing of the spawns.


5. Reap the Reward

When you defeat the Aspect of Rularuu, you get your IoP. You can't choose it, and once you have it it can't be sold or deleted.

Further updates to this guide will detail the different IoPs that can be claimed and their various benefits. For now, suffice to say that you must be in SG mode to get the effect of your IoP.

Note: During the trial mobs don't yield XP, but there is a big reward at the end.


6. Any Questions?

Are there any level requirements to do the Trial?
None. Any level can join, and all participants are auto-sidekicked up to 50.

Can we bring Coalition members on the trial?
No. Only members of the SG that owns the Mission Computer can go. If you want to bring help, then your friends will have to join your SG temporarily.

Weren't the IoPs supposed to be getting buffed?
Yes - Positron did mention a 'larger' bonus. We'll have to wait and see what happens with that. NOTE: Recent evidence suggests that the IoPs have possibly been buffed but the text has not been changed. More news as it comes!

What are the different types of IoP's and what do they all do?
The Monuments look like rotating globes with script on. They're the most common ones. They give one of the following:

Anger Monument: +Damage

Fury Monument: +XP Gain

Torment Monument: +Debt Reduction (this seems to reduce debt whether you are playing or not)

**Unknown Monument Type** + Psy Resistance (only seen on Test, possibly discontinued)

Monument of Iron: Mez Protection (three of these on Test gave blasters tank-level mez protection, allegedly. One is certainly enough to resist one Controller hold, though two holds break through.)

As for the unique IoPs:

Heart of a Storm Elemental gives +5% HP.

The True Furnace gives +10% Endurance and a bajillion points of Power for your base.

The One Book of Rularuu gives +20% debt reduction.

There are reports of other unique IoPs, such as an Eye that increases Perception, but these have yet to be confirmed.

Do IoPs reduce your rent?
Looks like. They reduce 'upkeep' by 40,000 for Monuments, 50,000 for the True Furnace (when last tested) and a massive 150,000 for the One Book of Rularuu. We don't yet know if this translates to a simple drop in base rent, or what.

Can you do this more than once?
Yes, but you can only earn as many IoPs as your base can hold. Hidden plots can hold one IoP. Secure plots can hold an unlimited number, though you still need an IoP base for each one, which in turn needs to go in a Vault.

Is there a badge for doing this trial?
There's no badge for doing it just the once. Dark legends tell of badge art being discovered that relates to multiple runs, but of this, it is not wise to speak.

Why am I not getting any benefit from my IoP?
Try going into SG mode.

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Are the door spawns really zone-specific, not character-specific?

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Both. If you click on a door in a zone too low for your level, it won't work.

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And is Granny Beldam actually Granny Bedlam?

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No, it really is Beldam.

Beldam or Beldame is an old word for witch. Bedlam is an insane asylum.

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There have been hints during the last year or so that the 5th Column would return. I assume the above is another allusion to that.

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Not hints, outright statements.

And that was what I was driving at. The Council are the only villain group that actually have any kind of a power centre (in the sense of 'base'). So, when the Fifth came back, they could boot the Council out of Striga and take over.

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Heros have tons of missions and zones to explore compared to villains.

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Do you actually play CoH? Because if you did, I can't see how you'd believe hazard zones are anything special.

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So lets take the only thing villains had that heros didn't away from them, newpaper missions and mayhem missions.

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No, villains get to keep those. They aren't being taken away and given to the heroes. The heroes just get them too. Villains lose nothing.

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As for the Council...I don't think they really have a center of power, despite their leader's name.

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I meant Striga Isle.

Sorry, I took it as read that 'power centre' meant a GEOGRAPHICAL centre. As in, base. As in, Striga.

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God in heaven, not Hero/Villain Hami raids ... but maybe something ... better? Maybe Hamidon ... changes? In a big, spectacular, story-filled way?

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Ooh. Good point. That works just as well.

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Issue 10 is a ways out, but it will bring us an update to an old familiar villain group. This group will have their power center altered

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Right, let's list all the villains that have a power centre.

1) The Council
2) ...
3) Er
4) That's it.

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having an iop does lower your rent cost, my apologies I don't remember the amount.

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40,000 for a regular IoP, 50,000 for a special one. If I remember correctly, that is.

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I agree with this idea also. It would be a nice compromise since player apartments were scrapped.

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I think the solution, which has probably been mooted already, is this:

Allow personal player 'space', about the size of a single 2x2 base room. Make this accessible by clicking a door.

That door can then be linked to a real door in the game world (say, one in King's Row) or linked to a door that can be put into the base as a wall detail.

Let's say I make 'Sadako's Room' complete with mini-fridge, posters and so on. I then connect that to my SG base by adding a Personal Room Door somewhere inside the base itself. You can already add those three bathroom doors. It would be like that, except clickable. You could set your personal room door location from the 'place personal item' menu, so nobody else could place the door to your room in the Vault or something equally silly.

The clever part is that the personal room doesn't actually occupy real space in the base (so it's not on the base map) and clicking on personal doors would be disabled during base raids.

So, you could have a personal space either as part of your SGs larger base, or somewhere in the city.

There's already a precedent for clicking on a base object and being transported somewhere else (teleporters, of course) so I don't see why this couldn't be done.

But what about the implied difference in scale, and the reality breaking step of having many personal 2x2 rooms with no 'real' existence in the base? Two words - Terra Volta!