LunarKnight

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… I just can’t be led by a guy named Floyd.

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OMG I can.

<3 Dark Side of the Moon and Brain Damage... and On the Turning Away... and Shine On... and many, many more...

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I'm rather partial to "Learning to Fly" and "Welcome to the Machine" myself.

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I should have just hinted at

"Money get back
I'm all right Jack keep your hands off my stack."

Instead of my two dollars stint.

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My Grandpa's name is Floyd so I'm rather fond of the name. Unfortunately his (potentially evil?) twin brother is named Lloyd.

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Agreed. Why didn't we get THAT spiky hairstyle, or that awesome chi flare-up from that screenshot, or the John Woo-style freeze-frame-as-the-camera-circles-the-fight?


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Probably because it would have had to freeze the frame of everyone in the game

I'm glad this thread popped up again. I haven't read those diaries in ages (or some of them at all). I just wanted to pull this quote out of Journal #4:

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Now, before you say anything, I know there are other ways to do player versus player in a more controlled manner. You can have safe zones for new folks and/or danger zones where such combat takes place. Dark Age of Camelot seems to be using this latter strategy fairly well. But that kind of solution doesn't work for City of Heroes. Maybe if we had two cities - one full of villains, the other full of heroes - warring with one another, it might work. But that would be a very different and, in my opinion, very silly game indeed.

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This issue is absolutely amazing so far. Seeing everyone out of missions ready to fight is great fun, even if the lag is absolutely terrible. I can't really compare it to anything else, since its been so long since we actually had people out and about in zones and not passing through.

I love the chaos and impromptu team work. The fact that people just start randomly clumping into teams and fighting whatever comes their way is awesome. Not having to decide anything, team makeup, level differences, anything, really makes this something special. You just invite people and fight with all you've got.

Last night we had two major battles in Mercy and Oaks, each with 2-4 teams piled up fighting for their lives. The lag sucks, but with no debt it's not that punishing. Well worth it to see just how massive this game really is. It's easy to forget sometimes with everyone hiding indoors.

Long live Invasions!

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Can't they just rework the damn thing to be an 8-man TF/Trial and be done with it? With all the IO set bonuses nowadays, the IOPs have pretty much lost their appeal. I don't know anyone willing to risk their base being blown up in a "real" raid just because of an extra 5% damage or somesuch.

Base raids can still happen and be fun, but the whole "destroy my base to steal my IOP" mechanic should be forgotten. Ditch scheduled raids. Make the COP an 8-man trial that awards a non-tradable RECIPE for an IOP, which requires salvage drops only available in the trial. Then your SG can run it as many times as needed, and then craft the IOP they want for their base.

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I think that's exactly the point. The "destroy your stuff" aspect of the raid system just didn't work and wasn't in any way in line with the current systems within the game. It's a strange, grief happy system that feels like it belongs in another MMO. I think the devs realize they need to redesign this stuff from square one and make it actually fun.

I don't think they want to lose the multi-team aspect of the cathedral though. That's a unique, and potentially very exciting system to add to the game. Excellent ideas on salvage and recipies though, I could see those working quite well. I think the real hold up is simply priorities. The devs can't quick fix it at this point, as the IOPs, base raids, and such are all coded into the system. They need to scrap it, redesign, and rebuild it into something fun and functional, but right now, there's just more important things on their mind.

I really don't know what to think of the Pain Pads now...

Looks awesome. I'm guessing there will be some great new missions in the 35-50 range. My biggest question is really just how many and what ranges are they limited to. I'll be curious to see how much they redo the RCS. Will it be a "new" zone like Faultline was or are they just finally giving us something to do there? I'm really happy to see they're putting a lot of work into making the new invaders new art rather than just filling missions with enemies we've been fighting for years.

Should be fun. Gimmie gimmie gimmie NOW!

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Peregrine_Falcon wrote:

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This can't be anymore of a problem than creating the content yourself. In fact if anything it'd be much less manpower intensive.

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No offense, but I love it when someone not intimately involved in the project tells someone who is that it =must= be simple or it =can't= be that hard.

And some people wonder why the devs don't post as much any more.

--NT

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Just a fun story this reminds me of. In college, we had an assignment where we wrote to a company requesting a job. After the letters were graded, the professor decided to have a little fun and post the 10 worst mistakes in class to show how NOT to write a letter. The #1 letter included the following (long letter, just pulling out the best lines):

Dear Bill,

You need to hire me, I will fix what is wrong with your company. Microsoft needs me to fix its problems and make a competitive software developer.

There was a lot more, but it really had the class rolling. The professor was kind enough to black out his name, but I'd wager it was the kid sitting nearby cussing him out that wrong the thing.

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I have yet to see a clear answer as to why Teleport distance doesn't scale by level the way all of the other Movement Powers do. Heck even Sprint scales by level IIRC. Meanwhile Teleport:


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Because the base movement speed of your characters increases with level, not the powers themselves. Your base run, fly, and jumping speeds all increase with your level. Because the travel powers simply enhance your base (they are technically a self buff to those abilities), they grow as you level. Teleport is not a self buff, its a targetted summon power that is based on range. Because there's no concept of "base range" there's no way to scale it with your character as you level.

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Thanks EG. So if the +healing improves integration, what about the +regen?

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OK, I know this is confusing, but the +regen IOs and set bonuses add a regen buff. They are like a separate power.

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So Integration is a Heal and Fast Healing/Health is a Regen? That seems a little odd to me, I've always assumed Integration was a +Regen. Thanks for the info though, that makes the Improved Heal a little more attractive to shoot for. I wouldn't bother if it was just for Dull Pain.

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For the purpose of the +heal, they're all heals.

The +regen is a buff to the character's regen rate. The +heals are a buff to the character's healing and regen powers. I realized I wasn't complete in my post above and it's been edited to reflect everything the +heal helps in the Regen set. It also helps Health, but I didn't add that because it's not in the Regen set.

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Right, didn't expect you to, just thinking of my build specifically. Now the real fun, does the Improved Heal improve the +Regen from the Enhancement sets? I'd assume so, but I find the quesiton interesting none the less.

Anyway, great guide as always, EG. This has always been one of my favorite guides, simply because it explains the powers well enough that I can plan an informed build without having it handed to me.

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Thanks EG. So if the +healing improves integration, what about the +regen?

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OK, I know this is confusing, but the +regen IOs and set bonuses add a regen buff. They are like a separate power.

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So Integration is a Heal and Fast Healing/Health is a Regen? That seems a little odd to me, I've always assumed Integration was a +Regen. Thanks for the info though, that makes the Improved Heal a little more attractive to shoot for. I wouldn't bother if it was just for Dull Pain.

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I think there is something about IO's and regen that confuses me, but I'm not sure what it is. (How is that for confused?)

Bonuses you can get from IO's:
+ maximum health
+ regeneration
+ healing

I think what I'm confused about is the difference between regen and healing. They are distinct game mechanics, but the ideas are mixed up in my mind. When I turn on Integration, that boosts my regen rate? But when I click reconstruction, that's healing, right? But some things are unenhanceable, or only partly enhanceable, I think.

Doctored Wounds, for example, has a set bonus of improving your healing. Does that affect integration, or dull pain, or reconstruction, or all of the above, or none of the above?

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I was going to ask the same question, mostly about the concept of "Improved Heal". How important is this for Regen? Off the top of my head, only Dull Pain and Reconstruction would benefit from Improved Heal, but its my understanding that Reconstruction at the very least is unaffected by this Set Bonus because it is immune to external buffs/debuffs. So is the Improved Heal worth shooting for in Regen or are the +Regen and +Health benefts the only ones worth taking?

I've never really liked HeroClix, but I'm a huge fan of Heroscape. I've had my CoV DVD figures eagerly waiting for the release of Marvel Legends Heroscape so I can transfer them into that game. Heroscape is just awesome though, with so much variety and such straightforward mechanics. In a lot of ways it reminds me of what drew me into CoH. A huge variety of genres and game mechanics that were very easy to learn and teach my friends. It's definitely a game for people who haven't played tactical war miniture games, much like how CoH was a game for people who don't play MMOs.

Setting up the game board isn't too much of a hassle until you decide you want a massive 2-5 set board to play on. There's really nothing out there quite like a huge Heroscape map outside of handcrafted GW terrain though.

Cool. Helps slow inflation by making it harder to sell your goods at an inflated price. Meanwhile, it punishes those of us (myself included) with millions and millions of influence from the Pre-Prestige days if we decide to buy out actions with huge bids for whatever we need. Either way it helps keep prices reasonable for as long as possible. I don't particularly worry if its poorly designed to do something it wasn't designed for in the first place.

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Ill bet Castle is wishing he had never said anything on this post at all.

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Not at all!

Samurai: It was a player, not an NPC. I know, since I was playing him! He is a Spines/Regen scrapper.

The power: What you are seeing is actually a graphics bug created by the demo-record/playback process we use to take screenshots.

And now you know!

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And now we know...The mystery was so much better.

So how is it all the other spines aren't showing? Another graphics glitch?

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He already said. They demorecorded the battle and used the demo to take the screenshots. There's a glitch that doesn't show the body spines in the demorecord. I assume its similar to the Kheldian form glitch that happens when you do the same thing.

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And Pie.

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Hey. He's good, but pie good?

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From what I've heard, sets won't be limited by ATs or powers. Is that correct? Because I thought you could just outfit your henchmen with Sting of the Manticore or some other universal set.

I'd be interesting to find out what limitations these sets have.

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What? No. Each set only works in a specific type of power. Sting of the Manticore, for example, only works in Snipe or Assassin Strike powers (which I believe makes Stalkers the only AT that can slot it TWICE ). Each set is tied to a type of power, simple as that.

My only question is what Sets the Mastermind upgrade powers will accept...

I think the real problem with the nukes have always been their activation time. They need to trigger a little faster to work as that last ditch effort to save yourself. As is, using them in this manner usually ends up with you hitting the floor with a dud nuke, which is double painful seeing as you now need to wait for it to recharge.

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BTW - Can we use Wentworth's early?

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Please excuse my ignorance but what is a Wentworth? I am at work right now so I cant login to see for myself.

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It's the auction house for enhancements.

Interesting post, States. It's good to hear you're looking at the success of costumes compared to the problems with bases. The costume system really IS one of the greatest parts of the City of universe.

I think what really allows the costume system to succeed, is the simple fact that the form of your character in no way reflects its function. In nearly every other MMO, players must sacrifice their beloved appearance for an outfit that provides better bonuses. The end result is that people sacrifice their individuality in the world and simply become part of the mass. City of is the only game I've played in which each player is completely unique and memorable from the moment they join a team.

The real problems with bases is that they force players to choose between functionality and authstetics. I'm not talking about the 100 prestige lighting that could have gone towards a generator when I say this, as what I'm talking about has nothing to do with Prestige. The problem is actually in the plotting system and the limitations it presents.

Plots are THE most restrictive element of the base system, and the one that truly forces players to choose between a functional base and a fun one. The base plot is simply too restrictive. The starter is 8x8 or 64 total spaces. The problem is, the buffer required between rooms is what really creates problems. A 2x2 room actually takes up anywhere between 3x3 to 4x4 spaces (9-16 of your 64). With power, control, workshop, teleporters, hospital, and entrance, that's a minimum of 6 2x2 rooms which will take up at least 48 of your spaces.

If you want a large decorative room, there's really no way to place it in the tiny grid provided. A 3x3 room fits so poorly into the grid restrictions being 4x4-5x5, it essentially takes up the space of at least 4 2x2 rooms for slightly over 2x the space. That means your base goes from having 4x2x2=16 usuable spaces to 3x3=9. In addition, this decorative room will eat at space that could be used for actual functionality.

I really think if you got rid of the whole plot concept, the base system would really work. It's the horribly restrictive floorplans that stop people from flexing their creativity with bases. There's no reason I should be forced to put 9 rooms in a perfect Tic-Tac-Toe pattern. Let me make a giant hallway, or 3 rows of 1-4-4 or whatever combination I want. That's what will give people the freedom they crave.

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Psst, Posi.... What's the word on the lack of Lt's spawning in solo missions? Only Lt's currently showig up are preset "scripted" spawns and named Lt's. Bosses that get downgraded on Villainous/Heroic aren't counted here. As far as I can tell, this shows up at all difficulty settings. IMO, this should be a top issue if it's a bug. If it's not a bug, it's a HORRIBLE change. Slogging through all minions gets extremely drab...

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This is my biggest gripe. Solo play was way more fun with Sorcerers, Night Widows, and the like.

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Most didnt affect me much but glad to hear of things coming.

Though why 8.10? O-o Is this stuff coming after Issue 8 is out?

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8.10 is today's date. These our the top issues as of today.

Nothing to see here folks move along...

<whispers>Make sure Mr. Sun here receives a memory correction, he seems deluded with some kind of conspiracy theory</whispers>

Just unlocked this set with my MM and tried it out on test:

Static Discharge - I really don't know what this power is for. Damage is pitiful, really horrid. The END drain isn't too bad, it's fairly noticable. The recharge really makes it questionable IMO. By the time I could use it again, the Even con minion had recovered all the Health and END he lost from the attack.

Charged Armor - I calculated about 30% RES. I very nice armor, it's made a very noticable difference in missions. My only gripe is the pulsing Scirrocco symbol it creates. I just find it distracting and it starts to really bug me if I stare at it.

Sadly, only characters with Knockback/up attacks could actually play with it then. Also, you wouldn't be able to shove it around, which would make it more like Fooseball than Soccer.

Dom's aren't considered a melee class though. They're PPPs are staying on the ranged scale.