Lighthouse_NA
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Posts
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Joined
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[ QUOTE ]
That was a pretty sweet program watchin someone play the game live. More should be done with that in the future. Plus Posi kinda answered my question about the shield powerset.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, we think it's pretty cool too. If anyone has any ideas for using Dyyno's streaming technology with the game or something they would like to stream that they think would be interesting for the rest of the community (that is of course CoH related) please send me a private message. -
[ QUOTE ]
will there be a download of it available later?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure on a transcript or download, will be available so tune in. MMORPG.com will have the page live in about 10 minutes (4:50 Pacific) -
Positron will be broadcasting live in 45 minutes (5 PM Pacific / 8 PM Eastern). Be sure to tune in and check it out!
-
Have you obtained the 4 year anniversary badge for all the characters you want to get it on? If not, act now! Log them from now through Monday, June 2nd to obtain this commemorative badge! After the 2nd, you won't be able to get it any more!
-
[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to guess there's a major exploit fix in this patch. It's honestly the only reason this patch should have gone live without some tweaks first. There's some major changes that didn't get nearly ironed out. Night Widow changes are buggy and is Hover still as fast as Fly? Even the Stalker changes have a tweak coming up according to Castle.
So, what was so game breaking that this had to go live?
[/ QUOTE ]
We don't post notes on exploit or other changes. There were a number of Known Issues that were corrected in the update on the 28th. We'll have a new public Known Issues list (that's nicely shorter than previous) on the website shortly.
Thanks for your patience as we work through issues and our apologies for any inconvenience caused by known issues. We are already working on another build internally - look for patch notes to the Training Room on that later this week or early next week. -
[ QUOTE ]
Do not like the animation changes to widows. Please put them back pre patch.
I do not need 3 attacks with pretty much the same animation.
[/ QUOTE ]
Please see Back Alley Brawler's post on this here. -
Hey gang,
I thought I'd point out the ongoing discussion with Back Alley Brawler about Widow Animations. I know that BAB has some good ideas for where the animations are going, but thought it might be cool of someone captured the animations in question and hosted them for reference. Especially for those interested in the VEATs.
You can find the thread here.
Just a thought
-
MMOABC.com recently interviewed City of Heroes Executive Producer and NCsoft Norcal Studio General Manager Brian Clayton to find out what's currently going on and future plans for the MMORPG title. Heres an excerpt:
[ QUOTE ]
Also, among MMORPGs it (CoH/CoV) has an unrivaled character creation system that results in every character being different. Our players love to create interesting and unique characters as evidenced by over 32 million of them having been created in North America alone!
We also think that City of Heroes / Villains has a nice combination of mass market friendly gameplay and the right amount of depth to keep the hardcore gamer challenged.
[/ QUOTE ]
Click here to read the full article.
To discuss this announcement, please join us here. -
Please use this thread to discuss the below announcement.
MMOABC.com recently interviewed City of Heroes Executive Producer and NCsoft Norcal Studio General Manager Brian Clayton to find out what's currently going on and future plans for the MMORPG title. Heres an excerpt:
[ QUOTE ]
Also, among MMORPGs it (CoH/CoV) has an unrivaled character creation system that results in every character being different. Our players love to create interesting and unique characters as evidenced by over 32 million of them having been created in North America alone!
We also think that City of Heroes / Villains has a nice combination of mass market friendly gameplay and the right amount of depth to keep the hardcore gamer challenged.
[/ QUOTE ]
Click here to read the full article. -
This Thursday evening at 5pm PST / 8pm EST, City of Heroes / Villains lead designer Matt Positron Miller will be testing Dyynos streaming technology with a live demonstration straight from his computer desktop of some of the new content from Issue 12: Midnight Hour.
Matt will give viewers a brief tour of the new Villain Epic Archetypes, including creating new characters in the costume creator and demonstrating their powers in game. As part of this, he will take viewers on a tour of the new Roman and Greek inspired zone, Cimerora, and hell try to answer your questions along the way.
This is a test and there is the possibility that technical issues could arise but we hope that you will join us to experience this exciting new technology and City of Heroes game content.
Read the details on MMORPG.com.
Click here on Thursday to visit MMORPG.coms Dyyno Room and watch the live video stream!
*Note: The live stream is limited to up to 500 viewers, so be sure to tune in early!
To discuss this announcement, join us here. -
Please use this thread to discuss the below announcement.
This Thursday evening at 5pm PST / 8pm EST, City of Heroes / Villains lead designer Matt Positron Miller will be testing Dyynos streaming technology with a live demonstration straight from his computer desktop of some of the new content from Issue 12: Midnight Hour.
Matt will give viewers a brief tour of the new Villain Epic Archetypes, including creating new characters in the costume creator and demonstrating their powers in game. As part of this, he will take viewers on a tour of the new Roman and Greek inspired zone, Cimerora, and hell try to answer your questions along the way.
This is a test and there is the possibility that technical issues could arise but we hope that you will join us to experience this exciting new technology and City of Heroes game content.
Read the details on MMORPG.com.
Click here on Thursday to visit MMORPG.coms Dyyno Room and watch the live video stream!
*Note: The live stream is limited to up to 500 viewers, so be sure to tune in early! -
On the morning of Wednesday, May 28th we pushed out a new patch to City of Heroes and City of Villains. While this was mostly a follow up patch to the launch of Issue 12: Midnight Hour, it did include a few new features, including a new Hover animation along with other animation revisions and improvements and revision to some basic Stalker attributes.
Click here to read the complete Patch Notes.
Click here to discuss this update. -
Please use this thread to discuss the patch to live version 15.20080521.1 that went out on May 28th, 2008.
Click here to read the Patch Notes. -
[ QUOTE ]
silly question about the Freespec....when ish 12 hit was the freespec switch toggled inadvertently? I checked an alt that I was sure that didnt have one before ish 12, and it had one and I was able to freespec it. Or was I lucky recipient of a nice glitch?
As to Global Chat Handle reset....Thanks!
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, a free respec was given out during the maintenance on May 20th that launched Issue 12. -
Please use this thread to discuss the below announcement.
During the regularly schedule maintenance on the morning of Friday, May 30th (starting at 6 AM Pacific and lasting for 2 hours) we will be running the following grants on the live servers:
<ul type="square">[*] Free Respec
This will grant a respec to characters that does not stack with any previous free respecs a character may have. Given this non-stacking nature, if you have a free respec currently, you may want to use it before the grant is run.
[*] Free Tailor Token
This will apply free tailor or facemaker session tokens for each costume slot a character has.
[*] Global Chat Handle reset
All accounts initially start with the ability to change their global chat handle one time. This grant will reset that and allow accounts who had previously changed their global chat handle to do so again. This is a one time chat handle change, so please use it wisely.[/list] -
During the regularly schedule maintenance on the morning of Friday, May 30th (starting at 6 AM Pacific and lasting for 2 hours) we will be running the following grants on the live servers:
- [*] Free Respec
This will grant a respec to characters that does not stack with any previous free respecs a character may have. Given this non-stacking nature, if you have a free respec currently, you may want to use it before the grant is run.
[*] Free Tailor Token
This will apply free tailor or facemaker session tokens for each costume slot a character has.
[*] Global Chat Handle reset
All accounts initially start with the ability to change their global chat handle one time. This grant will reset that and allow accounts who had previously changed their global chat handle to do so again. This is a one time chat handle change, so please use it wisely.[/list]To discuss this announcement, please join us here. -
On Wednesday, May 28th starting at 6 AM Pacific (9 AM Eastern) the North American City of Heroes / City of Villains servers will come down for maintenance. The downtime is expected to last 2 hours. The purpose of this downtime will be to upgrade the servers to version 17.20080521.1 that is currently in testing on the US Training Room. Read the Training Room Patch Notes here, or view the live patch notes on the Patch Notes Web Page once the patch is underway.
To discuss this announcement, please join us on the Technical Issues Forum. -
Edition 49 of "The City Scoop a publication for Supers by Supers!
Here it is, Issue #1 of year #2 for The City Scoop, otherwise known as Issue 49.
If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Lighthouse or Ex Libris.
If you would like to do a feature article, have an event covered, or join "The City Scoop" team please PMSnow_Globe or Pants_Stealer
If you or someone you know should be considered for Behind the Mask Teldon
If you need some Advice contact Lady_Athyna or would like to Ask The X contact LiquidX
Finally if you have a Classified Ad you would like included please contact: LadyK -
Edition 49 of "The City Scoop a publication for Supers by Supers!
Here it is, Issue #1 of year #2 for The City Scoop, otherwise known as Issue 49.
If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Lighthouse or Ex Libris.
If you would like to do a feature article, have an event covered, or join "The City Scoop" team please PMSnow_Globe or Pants_Stealer
If you or someone you know should be considered for Behind the Mask Teldon
If you need some Advice contact Lady_Athyna or would like to Ask The X contact LiquidX
Finally if you have a Classified Ad you would like included please contact: LadyK
Discussion on the latest edition of "The City Scoop" is located here. -
The City Scoop Staff
-
Classifieds
TO: The Sinclair Syndicate. Just a public note of thanks for always being
there, even when the viewing public doesn't know that it's you. Without your
help, some of the coolest shots in my videos would never happen (to say nothing
of me meeting deadlines). And in case you missed it, the I-12 teaser was
dedicated to you guys. Thank you.
- Johanna Sinclair
The Cooperative Story project is in need of authors. You can locate the current
work
here. Support, commentary and introductions are located
here. The idea is simple: Find an author you know well and can work
with, and write a story together. At present, all styles are welcome. We look
forward to your contributions.
Lost: Paradigm Shift Device. Contact Demented Cynic at Portal Corp. by Friday.
Remember to bring Hawaiian shirt.
Want to be part of the VEAT Army? Yes we are an offshoot branch of the FUSION
empire in the Protector dimension loyal only to Ghost Widow. We are destined
for greatness.
Ghost Widow has ordered my organization to form a new sect in support of special
operations. I will recruit within our ranks as well as go outside of our known
coalition. These chosen members will go to an academy for training as various
Arachnos soldiers. While I do not like to be told how to run FUSION, Widow
assures me that I will be rewarded for forming this group.
My first order of business is to choose villains among my organization that
display some of the following qualities: Mind control, knowledge of poisons,
stealth, acrobatics, weapons fighting, and most importantly do not display fear
and that would die if I ordered them to do such. I have at least 20 in mind
from my 150 Villain organization that fit this criteria. Over the next few
weeks I will begin listing them in preparation for training.
This training will consist of a series of trials and strike forces ordered by
Ghost Widow. More to follow soon.
Want to know more?
Please come to the Veat Army Project
LOST: My pet Alpha Bomb has been lost. Last time I had him he was on Protector.
He has been last seen on Champion, but bounces to different places. He is very
sly and can go by different names, but he always responds to Yo Gamma. If found
please contact Crimson Betrayal.
Do you have an event coming up? Are you going to attend an upcoming event? Do
you want to see or even write an article for The City Scoop? Drop a line to
LadyK a week in advance, and you too could be a guest writer for The City
Scoop.
Hiram Giovanni's Deli and Pizzeria
Food, Fence and Forgery
"Everything's Kosher"
Help Wanted: Writers for The City Scoop. Please contact Snow_Globe,
Pants_Stealer, or Marcian_Tobay for submission details.
Lost: One sense of humor. If found, please return to Agent Omega.
WANTED: Fan Artist to draw my character. I cannot offer much compensation other
than any of the wares I would otherwise sell on the Auction House. If you are
interested, please contact Hakuro de Killer on the Virtue Server
Head of the Thug Security Task force is looking for new pryotechnic thug. IQ
required, and tank like urges removed (or supply your own self rez). Thanks
Mal Boneface
Lost: Hub of the Wheel of Destruction. If found, please contact Azuria. P.S.
Please do not use to construct deadly wheel of Destruction. Thanks. -Azuria
Lost: One Zinc Oxide bottle, last seen on the beach of Independence Port. Lost
it last Sunday when I rushed to a costume contest. Burnt LifeGuard
Need to sell something? Post it in The City Scoop Classifieds. Send PM to LadyK.
-
Food
& Recipes
With Issue 12's subject matter and myself being a bit of a food historian, I
thought I would step back and shed some light on the food of ancient Rome, the
Italian peninsula and the whole of the Roman Empire.
The first major food fallacy is that there was no pasta in Italy before Marco
Polo. This is so wrong; however it was not the pastas we are used to. Since the
tomato is a New World cropas are corn, bell peppers and chilisthese were not
staples in the Roman diet, so no Marinara, no Bolognaise, no nada. However,
there were wheat dumplings that were boiled in salted water or stuffed with
fillings of cheeses, herbs and meat, then baked or boiled. These were often
served with sauces of browned butter, cream and cheeses, plain or with the
"Roman Ketchup." This sauce was truly the ancestor of Worcestershire sauce and
the Asian fish sauce, and was made similar to the Asian style. The leftovers of
the fishing industry were set in the warm Roman sunshine to ferment, with a lot
of salt to keep the flies away. After about a month, the guts and heads were
reduced to a lemon yellow paste that was used on just about everything from the
morning porridge to the evening meals.
Most food was boiled, since it was easier to maintain a temperature in water.
And when you are cooking over an open fire, this can be a plus. Mini ovens,
similar to the Middle Eastern Tanginess were often used as well. Terracotta
vessels, often with leaded glazes, were placed in or near the fire and left to
bake all day. Bread was the main staple of the Roman diet, for all classes,
from slaves to the wealthiest Senator. But don't think that it was the white
fluffy stuff we have today. All of the Roman flour was stone ground and
leavened with wild yeasts. It had most of its proteins in tact, had a more
chewy texture and, if you were poor, little bits of granite from the mill. Fish
was also a main stay of the free Roman diet, since it was readily available.
Meat was highly prized since it was so hard to store. Beef wasn't really that
often eaten; keeping cows for dairy was common though. Chickens and other
domesticated fowl were also kept for eggs. Goats and sheep were also a source
of proteins. However there were other meat sources, most common to the larger
cities and the lower classes. Rat and pigeon were common tavern fair, often
being caught in the building itself.
Speaking of taverns, yes wine was the primary drink of the Roman world, but
again not as we are used to it today. Most wine was diluted with water or milk,
heated, spiced or sopped up with bread. It was really a social faux pas to be
drunk or drink undiluted wine.
Any liquid that could be fermented was. This was a natural occurrence and a
great way to preserve things. Grape and other fruit juices for wines, wheat for
beers and honey for mead, all fermented using the natural wild yeasts in the
air. The quality of the beverage again was dependant on a person's station and
personal wealth. The poor receiving the dregs, wine with more in common with
vinegar than with Chianti. One thing is true: all wine was red, and this is due
to the nature of the wine-making process.
No meal would be complete without dessert, and Roman meals were no exception.
Bread could be layered with fruit, honey and cream to make a trifle/parfait, or
English style puddings could be baked with mashed fruit, bread crumbs, honey
and spices. It would be a long time before cannolis and tiramisu.
If you are ready for your own Roman Feast, here are a few recipes and
instructions on how to make a clay oven.
Fast clay oven
Measure the inside of your standard oven or interior of your BBQ. If you are
cooking over an open fire, you can skip this step. Head to a hardware store or
garden center and buy a terracotta pot set, pot and saucer, which will fit in
your oven or BBQ. Make sure that when the pot is turned upside down, not only
will it fit in your oven but there is room between the lip of the pot and the
lip of the saucer. Preheat your new clay oven by placing it into your main heat
source and then turning on the heat. If you are using an open fire, just let it
get to a decent temperature before you start cooking.
Clay oven fish with herbs
4 whole dressed trout or other fresh water fish
Fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, dill, bay leaf, parsley
Butter
Salt
Lightly grease a sheet of aluminum foil (not authentic but great for easy
cleanup) with butter. Lightly salt the fish, inside and out. Stuff the fish
with the herbs. Preheat your oven and clay oven to 350 deg. F. Then bake for
15-30 minutes or until the fish is firm, and slightly flaky. Pepper is a nice
touch, but also not historically accurate. If you want to, you can buy a cedar
plank from a cooking supply store to add a more authentic flavor.
Pear and plum pudding
2 pears, slightly soft, peeled and cubed
2 plums pealed and cube
½ of unseasoned bread crumbs
Up to ¼ cup of honey (depending on the sweetness of the fruit)
1 egg
Cinnamon, nutmeg and clove to taste
In a medium bowl, add the fruit; mash with the back of a wooden spoon until a
paste is formed. Add the bread crumbs, honey, egg and spices; stir until it is
well combined. Grease a shallow baking dish, pie tin or cake round with some
butter; pour the mixture into the dish. Bake inside your clay oven, at 350 deg.
F. for about 30 min or until the mixture is set and a knife sent into the
center comes out clean. Turn out and cool, then slice like a cake or leave in
the pan and spoon out portions.
(These recipes were taken from a BBC/History International show on Roman
England.)
-
Base Showcase
The Elven Tree
Who is your base designer and who are your supergroup leaders?
SG Lead: Xenathia Swiftbolt
SG 2nd in Command: Thamior Swiftbolt
SG base Architect: Ice'Macil Swiftbolt ( @IceHeart.) - That's me!
Which server is your base on, and is it a Hero or Villain SG/VG?
We're goodly wood elves, hailing from the Heroic landscapes of the Virtue
Woods.
When was your supergroup established?
We just had our first birthday a little while ago! Our SG was created on April
01, 2007.
How many players are in your supergroup?
We have some seventy elves, dwarves and other fey creatures annotated in our
membership parchments
What is the approximate value of your base?
That nice bald human fellow who does the accounting at the Atlas park SG
registration desk says that our patch of the woods is juuust a tad south of 8
million...
How much time do you spend working on your base? How much time have you
invested so far?
This was actually a completely new project for me. My main SG is in Triumph and
from there, we had a common friend that introduced me to Xenathia, the lead of
the Swiftbolt clan at Elven Tree. She saw and liked the work I had done at the
base in Triumph and asked me to join Elven Tree and rework the base here since
they had lost their base architect a couple months ago. All in all, redoing the
base completely took me about thirty hours (it was a loong weekend). I expect
I'll spend some four-to-six hours monthly keeping the base updated from now on.
What is your favorite thing about base editing? Least favorite?
Favorite: Well, just base editing by itself, if you understand what I mean. The
option to have a small part of the game customized the way we want it for the
purposes of our SG. It does add a nice extra dimension that not many games
have. Even more useful if you like RP (you did notice we are in that crazy
server, Virtue, right?).
Least favorite: Not having a Z axis control.. I love the building and
creativity, but having to do the whole "magic desks" thing, and place, say
sixteen desks just to put a single cabinet high in a wall, then do it all over
again for the next cabinet.. Doesn't make a lot of sense and gets old fast.
What is your favorite base item? Least favorite?
I like the Leader's Desk a lot. Doesn't do much, but it looks really nice. I
think it's simple and elegant, and fits nicely with the rest of the base theme,
all wood and trees.
Least favorite, it would be the 'potted' part of the Potted Trees. I wish we had
trees coming straight out of the floor for base items. I mean, come on! Who has
a 16 foot tree in a tiny pot anyway!? The poor thing would have no roots. It
would wither and die!
What is the highest thing on your wish-list for new base items?
Beyond the Z axis control, most of my pains are in that
list of suggestions (Snow Globe note - New thread for Issue 12 can be found here:
Base Issues List, post-I12) that the community made a while ago. (Kudos for the
great effort to Warface, Snow Globe, yourself, Bonker and others that I forget
right now).
Perhaps I'd wish to have more 'arcane' decor items. Many of the items in the
'Room details' are rather modern; I'd like to have, for example, a candle on
top of a skull instead of a telephone on my desk And the thing is that many of
those items are presumably already created, since you can see them in missions.
If you could give just one piece of advice to a new base editor, what would
it be?
Join the "BaseBuildersInc." global channelfast! I have gotten more base tours,
tips, questions answered, etc., in the last four months or so since I joined
that channel, that in all the year and a half before I did, trying to google
for ways to do things. The channel is the home to builders both new and
experienced, and everybody is really friendly. Probably the best way to 'build
your building skills.'
Anything else you'd like to add about your SG, your base or the base system
in general?
I'll have to paraphrase our SG lead, Xenathia Swiftbolt, on something she said
as part of the welcome chat to a new member, and it kind of stuck in my memory
(the quote may not be literal to what she said, but it definitely reflects the
idea): "Here at Elven Tree we're more than just a bunch of heroes running
around for missions, we're a family."
I think that sentiment embodies what every SG should aim for, and is something
that we honestly do try at Elvens'.
If anybody wants to reach out to me directly, either for our SG or for questions
about base building, feel free to
PM me on the forums, try a shout in the "BaseBuildersInc.," channel or
just send a tell to "@Iceheart." (note the dot) in-game. I'll be happy to help
any new builders wherever I can.
-
Market Watch
A Cost:Benefit Analysis
This column is supposed to be about the market, but the market was only added to
the game to support the invention system. Today we will look at one of the
intersections between the market and Invention Origin enhancements (IOs). I'd
like to dive into some detailed numbers, but that means we'll have to look at a
very specific example. I chose the pure Resistance IO from the Titanium Coating
set, as applied to the Dark Embrace power in the Scrapper /Dark Armor powerset
for a level 50 Scrapper facing a melee attack by a level 53 Iron Strongman from
the Carnival of Shadows.
Titanium Coating
Effectiveness
EnhancementBenefit
Level 25
19.2%
Level 35
22.0%
Level 45
24.3%
Level 46
24.5%
Level 47
24.8%
Level 48
25.0%
Level 49
25.2%
Level 50
25.5%
The Titanium Coating set ranges from level 25 to 50. We'll look at the
effectiveness of that recipe at different levels, and compare the effectiveness
to the average price to get a sense of the true cost:benefit ratio of this IO.
First, let's lay out all of the numbers. The stronger of the two hammer attacks
from the Strongman does 265.05 points of smashing damage. Dark Embrace provides
22.5% resistance to smashing and lethal damage, unslotted. It also provides 15%
toxic and negative energy resistance, but that doesn't matter for this example.
The next number we need is the enhancement value of the Titanium Coating. The
benefit of any IO depends entirely on the level of the IO itself. The level of
the character is immaterial. We'll limit ourselves to enhancements of the
following levels:
Note: Damage Resistance is a schedule B enhancement. All of the pure resistance
set IOs give the same benefits, though not all exist in the same level ranges.
A common damage resistance IO will also give the same benefit, but they only
exist at levels divisible by five. An even level SO would give 20% benefit. A
+3 SO would give 23%.
The last set of numbers we need are the prices. As always, prices vary from day
to day, even from minute to minute. I did my best to get a reasonable average
of prices over the last ten days or so. Still, there is no guarantee that you
will see the same prices when you look at the market. Not only is there a delay
between the time when I write and the time when you read, but I saw some really
wild variations in price from day to day. Despite these limitations, I still
found the results quite interesting, and I hope you will too.
Titanium Coating Costs
LevelCrafting Cost Estimated
Salvage CostAverage
Recipe Cost
Level 25
37,400
20,000
20,000
Level 35
66,200
20,000
100,000
Level 45
187,100
1,000
250,000
Level 46
198,720
1,000
350,000
Level 47
210,340
1,000
500,000
Level 48
221,960
1,000
425,000
Level 49
233,580
1,000
500,000
Level 50
490,400
1,000
550,000
Why does the price of salvage drop suddenly after the level 35 recipes?
Alchemical Silver. It's the only ingredient for Titanium Coating that has any
significant expense, and it isn't used for the higher level enhancements.
Now that we know all the numbers, let's talk about the formulas we will use them
in.
Once we add a single enhancement to the Dark Embrace power, what will the new
damage resistance be? Base damage resistance + (Base damage resistance *
enhancement value). How much damage will we actually take from that giant
mallet? Original damage * damage resistance.
As for price, of course, we just add up the costs to get the final price for the
enhancement. You can also buy the enhancement pre-crafted. During the time I
was paying attention, I never saw a crafted Titanium resistance IO sell for
less than it would cost to make it yourself.
That sure is a lot of numbers. Let's work through one set together: the level 25
IO. It provides 19.2% enhancement to Dark Embrace's base 22.5% resistance.
19.2% of 22.5 is 4.32, giving us a total of 26.82% damage resistance. That
mallet does 265.05 points of smashing damage. Without the enhancement, Dark
Embrace would resist 22.5% of that attack, or 59.6 points of damage. Thanks to
our level 25 enhancement, Dark Embrace blocks 26.82% of the damage, or 71
points of damage. The enhancement spared us from 11.4 points of damage. 11.4 is
4.32% of 265.05, to look at it another way. That's the benefit. What about the
cost? It would probably cost you something like 77,400 influence to obtain,
craft, and slot a level 25 Titanium Coating resistance IO. That IO took us from
22.5% resistance to 26.8% resistance, so we gained 4.3 points of resistance at
the cost of 77,400 influence. That's 18,000 influence per point of damage
resistance.
Doing the same calculations for other levels of that IO, and tossing in some
other enhancements just for fun, we get this handy dandy chart.
EnhancementBenefit % Actual Benefit Total Resistance Damage
TakenTotal Cost
Level 25 IO
19.2
4.32
26.82
193.96
77,400
50 SO
20
4.5
27
193.49
39,600
Level 35 IO
22
4.95
27.45
192.29
167,200
Level 45 IO
24.3
5.47
27.97
190.92
438,100
Level 46 IO
24.5
5.51
28.01
190.8
549,720
Level 47 IO
24.8
5.58
28.08
190.62
711,340
Level 48 IO
25
5.63
28.13
190.5
647,960
Level 49 IO
25.2
5.67
28.17
190.39
734,580
Level 50 IO
25.5
5.74
28.24
190.21
1,091,400
Three 50 SOs
56
12.6
35.1
172.02
118,800
Two Level 50 IOs
49.7
11.18
33.68
175.77
2,182,800
Three Level 50 IOs
58.48
13.16
35.66
170.54
3,274,200
Level 25 full set
50.96
11.47
33.97
175.02
324,400
Level 50 full set
57.52
12.94
35.44
171.11
4,067,400
There you have it! Aren't numbers fun? The first column shows the enhancement,
or enhancements. The next column shows the value of the enhancement in terms of
the percentage benefit it offers. Applying that percentage to our 22.5% damage
resistance power gives the third column: the actual improvement in damage
resistance. Adding the third column to 22.5 gives us the fourth column: total
damage resistance after the enhancement is slotted. The next column shows how
much damage will be taken each time that Strongman swings his big mallet. The
final column is the total cost.
See how the price goes up more dramatically than the performance does, level by
level? The 22.5% base resistance is free. Adding a few more points of damage
resistance is pretty easy. After that, every little improvement becomes more
and more expensive. I included two and three level 50 IOs and three level 50
SOs, as well as the total damage resistance gained from a full set of Titanium
Coating enhancements at levels 25 and 50. Of course, slotting a full set into
Dark Embrace will give other benefits, like reduced endurance, as well as the
set bonuses.
There are a lot of numbers there, but I'd like to draw your attention to a few
things in particular. Notice how the price jumps when you move from level 49 to
level 50? The difference in performance is miniscule. This is one of the many
places in the invention system where you can save an enormous amount of money
with very little impact on performance. In fact, compare the level 25 IO to the
level 50. The difference in performance still isn't all that large, but the
difference in price is tremendous. People tend to assume that a level 50 IO
must be twice as good as a level 25 IO, because 50 is twice as big as 25. As
you can see, it just isn't true. The level 50 IOs are better, but not nearly
twice as good. The price, on the other hand, is far more than twice as much. If
you are feeling poor, buy low. You might be surprised by how little difference
it makes to your performance, and how much difference it makes to your
pocketbook.
Another thing to look at: see the way the prices for the IOs go up and down,
without regard to level? I was surprised by how much the prices varied in this
set. I guess it's because demand isn't very strong, since Titanium Coating has
lackluster set bonuses. I think you can easily pay half of what I have listed
here if you place a low bid and wait for a week or so. On the other hand, you
could find yourself paying double the numbers I show if you pay whatever it
takes to get it now now NOW. My averages are rather misleading, really, since
the actual prices people paid varied by a factor of ten or even a hundred over
the course of just a few days.
Look at the SOs versus IOs. There is very little difference in performance, but
a great deal of difference in price. One conclusion is that people really can
ignore the IO system without gimping themselves. The performance of the SOs
comes quite close to the performance of the IOs. You might be tempted to look
at this chart and conclude that SOs are cheaper than IOs. I don't think that's
a safe conclusion. We are only looking at the price of a single set of
enhancements at one particular level. Remember, IOs never expire. You can slot
those level 25 IOs at level 22 and never touch them again. The SOs need to be
replaced over and over and over. The cost really does add up.
At the bottom of the chart, I included some multiple enhancement values. Three
level 50 IOs give you the best possible performance, but the price is steep.
Three SOs weren't that far behind, but for a fraction of the price. Because of
ED, the third level 50 IO is mostly wasted. See how two level 50 IOs are almost
as good as three? Not only do you save money, but you could save a slot.
I hope these results help you to put IOs in perspective, and give you a better
sense of value. I know that most of you aren't running around with /DA
scrappers and using Titanium Coating, but I think I gave you enough information
to make some calculations with your own powers and enhancements. If you're up
for a little math, you may be surprised by the results.
Until next time...Go. Hunt. Kill Helions!
-
Events
Dr. Brainstorm's Resonance Manipulator Collapses
Infinity Shard
Our top scientist, Dr. Advance, received reports of large explosions from
multiple dimensions on the morning of May 20th. These explosions were
consistent with the recent activities of Dr. Brainstorm and his Resonance
Manipulator. In most dimensions, these explosions appear to have caused a rift
in the energy grid connected to all superpowered beings. This immediately
resulted in both heroes and villains in those dimensions gaining access to new
powers.
Our initial report from the Infinity shard corroborated with these reports, but
our analysts quickly detected further anomalies. Based on Longbow calculations,
the existing energy grid on Infinity was slightly out of alignment due to a
recent confrontation between Rikti forces and a large contingent of heroes.
After the explosion, the energy grid quickly became unstable. Reports surfaced
that villains scattered throughout Mercy Island and Port Oakes were losing and
gaining powers at random. Though not confirmed, reports also indicate that the
disturbance in the energy grid produced a negative feedback loop through those
same villains, rendering parts of them, and in some case all of them, perfectly
transparent. After approximately six hours of increasing instability, the
Infinity shard disappeared from our scanners, along with all Longbow operatives
stationed there.
Roughly five hours later, Infinity shard reappeared on our scanners, and our
local operatives reported increased stability. Their reports indicated that a
large confluence of technology and magic-based heroes coordinated to
restabilize the energy grid, although they were not able to repair the rift
caused by the initial explosion. Longbow operatives and all local heroes are
urged to be on the lookout for any unusual activity that may have resulted from
the rift, including any unusual behavior of previously loyal Arachnos soldiers.
P.E.R.C.
Makes Fantasy a Reality!
Hello folks! It's W.G. and I know you all probably missed me the last couple of
weeks, and I missed you all as well, but as they say, this is only a game and
real life can interfere. So anyway back to what we are really here to talk
about. This week I found myself stumbling all around Galaxy City solving
riddles in search of the infamous White Rabbit from Alice's wonderland.
This was an event that was hosted in Galaxy City on every single server at
different times. Once in Galaxy, you were immediately introduced to Alice
herself, as she was the lead contact in your mission to find the White Rabbit.
Then the event would have you meet characters such as Tweedle-Dee, Tweedle-Dum,
and the Queen of Hearts! This was a very unique and crazy event that kept the
players interested and made them use their brains.
The prizes in the event were as follows:
1st Place: a Battle Poster signed by the Dev Team.
2nd Place: a Pack of City of Comics
3rd Place: City of Bumper Sticker
After the event, there was a Bunny Hop party in Pocket D where red names showed
up and gave some festive titles for those that attended. This was a great time
for people to dance like crazy and learn some things from the Alice crew.
Everyone was having fun and the party was a blast. Another great event!
In closing, I would like to thank P.E.R.C. for making another great event for
the playing community! Keep up the good work, and keep the people happy. Rock
on!
~W.G.
Additional Events:
This Memorial Day, May 26th , Freedom Factor will be hosting our
second and now annual Memorial Day March in Atlas Park under the statue of
Atlas. It will be starting at 4 PST / 7 EST in the evening. The Cape will be
providing entertainment with guest DJ One Hit Wonder.
More details can be found in the Virtue Server forums.
Fanci and Blue N Gold's Renewing of Vows
This is on the Triumph Server in Founders Falls (where the trainer is located)
on May 24th at 7:30pm CST.
My hubby asked me to marry him again, and we chose the best way to do this is
with the many CoH friends we have made over the four years we have been here.
This is important to us because he is leaving to go back over seas to fight for
our country soon. Please come if you can and I hope to see you there!
~Fanci
