Lorax

I haven't tinkered with AE in a while. My constantly missing the giant monster hunt makes me interested in making a GM-Safari arc for AE. I understand that GM may be availible, but my knowlodge is sparce as to if they are already there of if I have to trade in some stuff before making an Arc that has GMs. Anyone know or could direct me to the respository of knowledge?

Positives:
Anticipation: Had some people who looked forward to the run, picked thematic toons, and took part in each TF. That's rewarding.
Diversity: The "misfits" label help let people know that they could bring whatever. We didn't have to have any particular combo. We even did one without a single melee AT. As discussed, the strength of the game meant any ol' bunch of toons could reach their goals. I saw less common ATs too, toons that have a ton of KB for instance got plenty of play throughout the run.
Exposure: Some people hadn't really TFed much. The low pressure of the misfits run let people hit some signature TFs, try the revamped ones, and take on a wide aray of challenges.
Fun: It was fun to play together with what was basically 7 different PUGs taking on some signature content. New content is great, but it was fun getting back to roots, and by playing the TFs in order, it was like leveling up in 1 day. Good times.
Teamwork: This ties in to Diversity. The lack of team structure meant it wasn't a herd to kill zone, kill, heal the injured, repeat. It was chaotic at times, but we learned to adapt to each unique team makeup. Also, the strict scale of the TFs meant that toons specced for lvl 50 incarnate content had to be rely on early powers and adjust, while at the same time toons in their 20s made do with just single or double origins.

Negatives:
Communication: There were folks who had no idea this was coming. Also, the "Misfits" title confused people; they wanted to know if they had to bring an off the wall toon or was their main ok. I bet there are plenty of casual players who would have enjoyed a low pressure TF or two - but had no idea it was going on. I really wanted this to be something that drew casual players. Vent had its issues too. For example, no matter what I did, some people were hard to hear while at the same time others were way too loud.
Knowledge: This is on me. I hadn't run a couple of these in a while and leaned on Paragonwiki more than I should have. So more prep time would have been cool.
Schedule: Perhaps ties in with communication. We only had full 8 for 1 of the 7 TFs. Several times people had conflicts with other events like PVP time, a CC, or another TF.

Thanks to all the folks that logged in their misfits for the TF run. It was a lot of fun. We had a great collection of toons, powersets, and combinations. Some of the highlights for me were the following:
Crushing Position 1 & 2 with mostly "support" toons.
Racing the clock for Synapse (Next time, Babbage. Next time.)
Enjoying the knockback heavy scattershot of toons for Sister Psyche.
Chewing through Citadel in a personal best time.
Maticore "Can we stealth it?" rush.
Wrapping up Numina with some of the same people from the very first Positron run of the morning.

It was great. Thanks again to the participants, hope y'all had as much fun as I did:

@tiggy
@renee
@white shot
@seggestork
@flammesfatale
@mage black
@pyrocitic one
@bluedemon
@geek-star
@captain nightfire
@cassiopea
@globetrotter
@methodinsomniac
@chef inferno
@perpetual motion
@speedblaster70
@cyan spike
@blue tick1
@magic13

Update to the Misfits TF Commander run.

I have had an unexpected obligation crop up on Saturday. I will only be able to run the Misfits TF Commander run until 5PM Saturday, July 9th. At that point, I will have to drop off. Good news though, Layla Rei has volunteered to take care of the rest of the run. Given the time, I am expecteding to make it through Positron 1 & 2, Synapse, & Sister Psyche. Sorry for the adjustment so close to zero hour. If anyone has any questions, PM me. Thanks everyone.

Argh, typos stike again. ;}

Thanks for answering my question.

So I know Steamy Mist will not stack with other concealment powers, but does that apply to Super Speed? Basically, what's the impact of them both being on at once? Does it hit invis like stealth + SS, or will it refuse to stack since SM is non-stackable. I'm guessing that it won't ,since that's what the description says, but want to be sure.

"Protector: Day of Vigilance" Official Event Thread
To Shine Brightly part 2


“They make good tea in the Midnighter Club,” Skyshard thought as he finished a mug and turned another page in a slim, frost-covered book. One of the librarians and a suit of armor were nearby, making sure he took care of the tome. His research on returning to his own realm was, as always, slow and vague. There was nothing vague about the smell that suddenly hit his nostrils, however. Turning around, hands sparking in defense, he caught sight of Clochard climbing the stairs. The sparks faded only to reemerge as he noticed Clochard was eating a sandwich. Here, in the Midnighter Club, he was eating some greasy, yellow, possibly found in a dumpster, sandwich. How that vagrant had managed to enter the Club posed a minor mystery until Skyshard remembered that Clochard maintained a soft spot for the Lost.

Stinking of THT while still masticating the last golden bits of his (shudder) meal, Clochard took a small scroll from a pocket of his cargo pants and handed it over, saying “Trouble.” Skyshard was about to ask more, but realized that would entail more talking with his fellow SG-mate, so just replied, “Thank you,” slowly and deliberately. Clochard nodded, picked a few bits of yolk out of his beard, then wandered further into the Club, mumbling to himself as Skyshard began reading the scroll.

It was from Gaslight, and it outlined an opportunity.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t to address the rising trouble from the Rogue Isles, nor the serious action starting in Recluse’s Victory, but it was instead to face the opportunistic villains here in Paragon City. Skyshard kept reading, moving past the Paragon Sentinel articles to the notes taken from the typical local news. He also looked over the portents Gaslight had included, including one that referenced the winter realm, Skyshard’s home. There was a possibility that this undertaking would provide another clue to return, just what he needed. He paused and lowered the scroll, watching Midnighters move throughout the club while he considered the omens.

Just what he needed.

Skyshard knew that as an adrift elemental, drawing power from a single source, he was less powerful than those Incarnates he’d seen, as well as the Portal Jockeys, the Phalanxers, the celebrities of the super-powered world. Despite their advantages, fate would be smiling on people like Skyshard throughout the course of this challenge. What other personal goals would be realized by his peers? To find out, he just needed to find some teammates.

“Outcasts, loners, and misfits…like me,” Skyshard said as he looked at the Suit of Armor collecting the book he’d been reading just minutes before. “Should be interesting,” he declared to the Club at large before hovering towards the door leading into Steel Canyon to begin the process of gathering a team in the same vein as himself.

OOC: In plain English, I’m running all the Task Forces needed for TF Commander Accolade. My wife has agreed to back me up, so we’ll have room for 6 more for each TF. I’ll be starting at 11AM EDT on July 9th. The plan is that each TF will have about 2 hours allocated, though we’ll be attempting to take them out as fast as possible. I will announce on the Protector Vigilance channel whenever one TF completes and another begins. The theme of misfits & underdogs is so that less played toons may get some sunshine. My own Skyshard has been collecting dust for a while and is still only wearing SOs. So if you’ve got a misfit, a “weakling,” a concept or stalled toon who you’d like to give some play, here’s a chance of a guaranteed team that will not say no while gunning for an accolade. You don’t need to be fully tricked out, you don’t need to know the TFs beforehand, and you don’t need to worry about basic mechanics. We’ve got the basics covered, so bring your misfit and let’s have some fun.

Time Manipulation
I’m curious about this. My initial guess is that we’ll have plenty of slow effects, probably haste effects, and at least one hold, possibly an immobilize too. As a Defender, I’m not really that excited. Though that may be my Defender ennui. Aside: I have so many stalled Defenders; Sonics, Kinetics, Radiation, Trick Arrow, about the only one that gets attention when I log in is my Empath. I put powers in my search comment so people know what I’m playing, and "moar hlz" seems to win over the other spectacular options. Darn it Protector, love your other Defenders. Ok, aside over. Back on point, imagine Time with something like Gravity on a Controller. Oh my, the fun one could have. Slow, plus anything to stack containment is awesome. I’m just speculating, but will probably be a great Controller set, not sure about Defenders. Second aside, can we get some more secondaries for Blasters already?

I want my Galaxy City! I start all my toons there, I use it to tip at all levels (so small, so easy to navigate), I know Derek, Gregor, Pr Kiros, Caitlin & Rebecca well. Not to mention that Brawler is the man. I do not enjoy Atlas. On a good day, the topography is obtuse for my lowbie leveling. On a bad day there are netgirls offering "cake" for inf while holding costume contests where the most skin female costume wins. So I'm annoyed I'm going to loose my starting ground, my tip sanctuary, my home.

The free to play doesn't bug me. The freebies not being able to talk to me is fine with me. Simply because the merits of the game should reel 'em in to being pay customers, not our awesome selves talking to them. I mean, I know we're awesome, but my awesomeness isn't going to get freebie to spend cash if he's pissed that this game doesn't act exactly like his old one. If I'm gold-named and I want to help, I'll seek out freebies and give them a hand, but I don't need my lvl 37 toon slogging through Crey's Folly getting hit up to help someone in Hollows.

I'm not going to a VIP server. I know how to /ignore folks that annoy me. So at the end of the day, I'm not getting big changes to my play other than Galaxy.

Let me check my schedule. I even have 1 arc published, but it needs work. Thanks for running this. I hope I can make it.

Glad it went well. I didn't get home until after 9, and was just too wiped to try and make it. That's the second one I've missed, dangit.

Looks like the update hit: Apex is next.

I may well miss the Blue Side stuff, alas. Work and such. Thank again for running something like this - I love a good GM hunt. I hope to make it on in time to do the Red and Grey, maybe even tail end of Blue.

Cool. Thanks.

Now if only the wiki had where the new male additions are.

"Protector: Day of Vigilance" Official Event Thread

To Shine Brightly


Gaslight looked up from his alchemic tinkering to watch another spider web of arcane electricity crackle across the copper and glass globe in the corner of his lab. It had been doing that for some time, and he now recognized the signals. He, like everyone else, knew something was up on the Rogue Isles –Gaslight read the Sentinel after all, but that crackle of energy on that globe meant more than just danger approaching.


It meant that the luck and magic of his supergroup were becoming entwined with these coming events. There would be a chance for a member of the Society to make an impact somewhere here in Paragon City.


Where was this chance, and with whom?


A few more hours’ research into the now obvious signs yielded that Skyshard was the most likely member to be the focus, the carrier as it were, of this fate. After a time, and many more cups of tea, Gaslight completed the numerology matrix he had chosen to scry with and understood a bit more, but was puzzled by some of the traditionally unlucky integers chosen. Moving to the ashes in the fireplace he carried with him the various empty teacups and peered at the leaves in each one before placing them in a row on the hearth.


“So,” he said to himself as he relit the fire, “Not unlucky, just hmm, ‘unpopular?’” He thought over the portents and arranged his thoughts thus: Skyshard could positively impact events, could enrich Paragon City, by gathering to him those Heroes found unpopular, misfitting, or outside the norm. Together, they must tackle some sort of challenge traditionally considered beyond the capability of such a motley crew.


What challenge?


The next morning, Gaslight awoke to the sounds of the plasma being tuned to the local news. Clochard was in the media center, staring at an attractive lady reporting on those events in the Rogue Isles that had first been covered in the Paragon Daily Sentinel. He thought he heard Clochard mumble “pretty” over and over again as he watched the TV from about a foot away. Putting that image out of his mind, Gaslight tried to doze, but as the featured story faded and the daily recap began, phrases spoken by the newscaster resonated in Gaslight’s mind: “Trouble at Faultline Dam…Increased Clockwork Activity…Sonic Freakshow…New Mekmen…Corporate Cover Up…Woodsman.” Gaslight sat upright as these words fell into place and he knew what Skyshard was being called to do.


The events unfolding would take the attention of the most powerful Heroes, but danger and duty are no less diminished in Paragon City. Those unpopular and perhaps underpowered heroes that, by luck and fate, join Skyshard as he takes on these series of challenges will be enriched. There is an opportunity here for the misfits to shine as brightly as the superstars.


OOC Notes:
In plain English, I'm planning on running all the TFs for the Task Force Commander Accolade, starting at 11 AM Eastern on the Day of Vigilance (July 9). The theme to this run is getting some play time for rejects, outcasts, and misfits. You know those toons that tend to get picked last at PUG dodgeball; basically toons with spammy, knockback heavy, or “less efficient” powersets? Well now’s the time for them to get some play since the big name, sponsor-endorsed Heroes will be tied up with the main storyline. I will be playing a Storm/Electricity Defender (Skyshard); my wife is helping greatly by playing an Ice/Energy Controller, I mean Blaster, for this run. So basic mechanical survival is covered; bring whatever misfit you feel like, though first come, first served applies. If you know you're interested in the misfit TF Commander run, please reply or send me a PM.

If there are any questions or clarifications needed, please let me know.
@Lorax

Are Apex and Tin Mage II Incarnate Trials for the purpose of enjoying some of the new stuff in Isue 20.5? Specifically: "Alpha Slot Vouchers... Once one of your characters completes an Incarnate Trial, you can purchase and use an Alpha Slot Voucher."

I had fun, and had some disappointments.

I diliberately ran a League to test if that made things worse. Either it doesn't, or everything was so bad, dropping from the League made no difference. No matter, the lag was unreasonable, to me.

While I had some fun doing some Dev chat, the invaders popping up on the Admin channel kind of broke metaphor. Same with some of the silly. I don't know, I mean since shooting things was kind of pointless in the lag and the auto-healing GMs, the chatter was the primary entertainment, but well, I logged in to play CoH, not chat with some folks.

I feel that dimensional invaders should not shout at me on the 4th wall breaking admin line, they boom over some in-game channel. I know, more code to put this in place, but hey, I kinda want the 4th wall - I want to pretend I'm playing a game where my character fights off an invasion; not that I'm place-holding to test the capacity of the server hardware.

Devs on Admin making jokes are fun, sure, but by the end, I wasn't taking on a challenging invasion with my cool character that I have spent hours (possibly days) playing and tweaking to look and play great in this cool game I pay money for every month; I was in a brightly colored chat room.

I'm very glad I did it, I just have disappointments.

Protector is scheduled to be invaded tonight. I plan on being there; hope to see plenty of y'all too. I'll be on as Gaslight, ready to burn those Praetorians off our dimension. See you then.

I need to know when the event day is before I can commit anything, but I'd be happy to pitch in. Maybe run all the Task Force Commander trails or something like that. If not TFs, then certainly some sort of Accolade focused event. Blue Side only. Global is @Lorax, let's get in touch.

I like the original plan of Go. Hunt. Kill GMs.

I'm in, I've got several toons that need 'em, though I'll mostly be Blue Side.

I'm going to run Citadel TF tonight, starting between 7:30 and 8:00 EDT; simple run for the badge. I've got myself and 2 SG-mates confirmed, so room for 5. I'll advertise on channels when I kick off, but if any folks here want to confirm a spot, I'll check for you before starting. Just let me know your global name; my global is @Lorax. See y'all tonight.

There were only 3, I hit the same 3 he had just hit - but the "Enemies will not notice this attack" tips it to me. My debuff won over his damage.

Darn. Well, I think Area of effect plays a pretty decent factor in generating threat, but if we don't have the maths yet, we don't have the maths yet. Thanks.