City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Mack_Moonlight

Recruit

  • Posts

    9

  • Joined

  1. Mack_Moonlight
    Confirmed there is a level gap between 10 and 14 for getting access to these missions. My level 14 that tried via Ouroboros could not get a crystal to offer a mission list. My level 16 was successful at getting the 1-15 list and starting a flashback version of Twinshot's first arc.

    Edit: Played through the first arc as flashback, and it does open the next arc from Twinshot via Ouroboros.

    Of course, it does NOT allow you to access Twinshot normally, so the only way to do any of these arcs is via flashback after you have outleveled the intended range of the initial arc. In other words, not until after you should have been introduced to the things the arcs were meant to teach. The flashbacks then become just a way to get the badges, like many Ouroboros arcs.

    C'mon, this is a no-brainer. Extend access to Twinshot and the villain contact, Dr. Graves, to at least 19 so you can get all their arcs pre-20 even if you don't look them up until level 10 or later. By level 20, you should be able to get to Ouroboros and access them as flashbacks. Extending contact access would fix the 5-level gaps in availability from 10-14 and 15-19 depending on the arcs.
  2. Mack_Moonlight
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Freitag View Post
    City of Heroes Freedom and Issue 21: Convergence

    Ongoing Training Missions
    • Through a series of missions, players are taught the higher-level features of our game in a very informal and easygoing series of storyarcs.
    • Players are introduced to a contact who has heard things about their adventures and is considering inviting them to join their elite group of super-powereds
    • These arcs are OPTIONAL and can be done at any time, though it’s recommended to start at the levels listed below for an optimal training experience
    • These missions are intended for training of Heroes and Villains; there is not a Praetorian version of these ongoing training missions
      The intent of these missions are to teach through fun, not to feel like the 4th wall has been broken
    • Heroes report to Twinshot who has teamed up with a ragtag collection of heroes:
      • Twinshot – Twinshot is a trained commando with a friendly demeanor and a mysterious past
      • Grym – Grym is a guardian from another realm; he is one of the grims that has been sent to watch over Paragon City
      • Proton – The last survivor of a future version of Earth, Proton has traveled to our time in an attempt to prevent the catastrophe that consumed his world
      • Dillo – Part of the Galactic Refugees, Dillo has been sent to Earth to warn them of the threat of the Shivans
      • Flambeaux – Sassy li’l thing, that Flambeaux
    • Villains receive a message from Dr. Graves about an opportunity to test their strength against a rogues' gallery of rough characters:
      • Dr. Graves– A scientist who found a way to stop cellular death, Graves is a rather nice guy who needs to chop apart people to replace his limbs, which become damaged due to an illness
      • Crosscut – A serial killer who likes using blades. On anyone or anything. Anytime. Anywhere.
      • Dollface – A coy assassin with a penchant for drama.
      • Omnicore – A woman obsessed with creating the ultimate weapon, this tech-geek has given up her humanity to ensure her goal becomes realized
      • Zephyr – A nebulous being composed of smoke and cloud, Zephyr is a manifestation of the wind itself.
    • Players will learn the following throughout Level Ranges 5 - 19:
      • Contact introduction
      • Redirects
      • Cell-phone contacts
      • Consistent use of trainers
      • Using trams (aka Monorail / Ferry)
      • Notoriety settings
      • Kidnap and kill boss missions
      • Pet combat
      • Auction houses
      • Where to find clues that progress a mission
      • Ambush combat behavior
      • Mission maps
      • Dialogue trees
      • Supergroups
      • Lore characters
      • Enhancements
      • Introduction to Inventions
      • Sidekicks and Lackeys
      • Enemy Groups
      • Introduction to Alignment and Morality
    Note the text I highlighted in red. This is decidedly untrue. You COULD NOT play the new arcs if your character was level 10 at launch, for example.

    Characters above the initial Twinshot mission range (5-9, apparently), do not get introduced to her automatically, and so far I have not been able to get any existing contacts to introduce her. Clicking her in Atlas also doesn't give access to her arcs.

    However, if I log in with a character that was level 8 at the time of Freedom launch, that character gets an automatic introduction and access to the first arc (and subsequent arcs).

    I do not know if these arcs are in Ouroboros at the moment, but even if they are, that means there is a level gap between 10 and whatever the new Ouro access bottom limit is now. Even if that limit is as low as 10, most players don't get the Ouro portal until later -- around level 20 is common, from Faultline contact missions (Doc Delilah, I think?).

    This is the problem with putting restrictive upper-level limits on contact/arc access. Obviously it's OK to do stuff past the level range, or else why allow players to complete arcs in progress past the intended range? Therefore, why not allow players to access contacts "late" rather than continue to put up roadblocks?

    Regardless of the flaws of an old design decision, the patch notes explicitly state you can play these missions at ANY level, and that is not true.
  3. Mack_Moonlight

    Kheldian Concerns

    POST-ACTION

    Topic 1:
    I know this is really old now, but will we ever get a change to the way Kheldian nova and dwarf forms work so they don't negate Day Job reward bonuses? It makes no sense that Kheldian characters have to shift back to human form to get an enhancement, recipe, salvage, or other rewards at mission completion. Sometimes I just need to be in dwarf form to tank a mission-ending boss, for instance.

    In fact, this issue is a major reason why I ditched nova form completely with the I19 respec. I used to do whole missions in nova form, but particularly with extra powers available after having Fitness changed to inherent, it just didn't make a lot of sense to use nova anymore, especially if using the form costs me rewards at mission completion.

    Sure, some will say "just change to human at the end -- problem solved," but why should Kheldian characters be forced to use a workaround to get what everyone else gets naturally? It's a bug, or bad design. Either way, it unnecessarily influences play style and build choices.

    Topic 2:
    Do we really need Void Hunter NPCs or Quantum Gunner NPCs in all missions/maps? It's one thing if they show up in Primal Earth zones and missions, but Cimerora maps? It doesn't make much sense. Praetoria, other alternate universe/dimension maps, Devouring Earth missions, etc. generally should not spawn them. It breaks suspension of disbelief to just drop these in willy-nilly, and sometimes just looks downright silly when they're working for certain villain groups. I'd rather see them made a tad tougher and used more sparingly, though frankly Kheldians aren't all that uber to need them as a counter anymore. They're more like added flavor than a balancing tool.

    I suppose the mechanic for these spawns is too simple to differentiate between maps, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth improving.

    There's plenty to discuss about Kheldians, but of late these are the two things that seem to me to be fixable that could improve the game and make them a bit more desirable.
  4. Mack_Moonlight
    Team is running now with a Jack spawn -- come on quick if you want him.
  5. Mack_Moonlight
    Trying to form an Eochai/Jack hunting party for Talos tonight, but having trouble finding a 50 to start the team. If anyone still needs either badge before the event ends, come on over to Talos and look for me as Jack O'Hallow.
  6. Mack_Moonlight
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    I'd love to see a new system of advancement above 50 that doesn't use XP, but rather tracks advancement based on completion of certain tasks. As rewards, give out some special non-slot powers, costumes, badges, invention rewards, SG rewards, etc.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    For instance, to get L51, you'd have to complete all of the storylines from all prior contacts, excluding TFs. For 52, you must complete all normal zone TFs. For 53, complete all the oddball TFs like Hollows, Croatoa, Strigga, RWZ, etc. CoV would need more content for this to work for them, as well, but then CoV needs more content compared to CoH anyway.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Why would you need to "get to 51" at all? The function of levels in the game is to gate content and powers advancement. If you are not going to get any more primary or secondary powers, and you're inventing an alternate way to gate content by accomplishment, there's no actual need for a level 51. You would advance by doing what was necessary to unlock the next set of challenges in the game.

    The Ouroboros is a form of this type of advancement, albeit in extremely simplified form. You have to do something (satisfy the requirement to get Seeker and the Ouroboros portal) to unlock an entirely new part of the game (flashback, Ouroboros arcs). The only reason why its not considered "advancement" is that its open to all levels (above 25). If it was something only level 50s could do, it would effectively *be* level 51, even if no actual level 51 existed.


    I've always thought that was a good thing to do in general, because it prevents level escalation problems while still giving people things to do. I've liked the concept of unlockable content since before unlockable content (besides levelling) even existed in the game, except in trivial form (i.e. level 30 stores).

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Well, it was just a grain of an idea, not a really thought-out proposal. Given that there are mobs above 50, and invention recipes up to 53 in the database that aren't actually awarded, why not have some way to rise above 50? It would be nice to have it based on something other than simple XP.
  7. Mack_Moonlight
    Oh, and one more thing...

    At present, I can't find a way to go back and do the safeguard/mayhem missions solo. Yes, I can go back and exemplar with someone to do them, but again, I prefer solo play and none of those missions are so hard that you NEED to be on a team. Can we get those bank missions added to Ourobouros?
  8. Mack_Moonlight
    [ QUOTE ]
    I'd love to see a new system of advancement above 50 that doesn't use XP, but rather tracks advancement based on completion of certain tasks. As rewards, give out some special non-slot powers, costumes, badges, invention rewards, SG rewards, etc.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    For instance, to get L51, you'd have to complete all of the storylines from all prior contacts, excluding TFs. For 52, you must complete all normal zone TFs. For 53, complete all the oddball TFs like Hollows, Croatoa, Strigga, RWZ, etc. CoV would need more content for this to work for them, as well, but then CoV needs more content compared to CoH anyway.
  9. Mack_Moonlight
    Personally, I find I often have too many missions/contacts available, and if I don't go out and commit suicide frequently so I can advance at half speed, I outlevel some contacts. This happens mostly in CoH, though I did have some trouble outleveling contacts at lower levels in CoV, too.

    This is the case even though I solo 99.9% of the time, and haven't done a TF since the first couple months after CoH went live. If I soloed my contacts AND did all the TFs, I'd probably outlevel some contacts even if I play with debt 100% of the time.

    The reason why this happens so much in CoH, I think, is all the extra zone contacts, since the leveling was designed with just the normal city zone contacts in mind initially. Now, if you do the Hollows, Faultline, Striga, Croatoa, RWZ, etc., it's an effort to avoid outleveling contacts. One character I have couldn't get Talshak the Mystic in the Hollows to start his storyline. As such, if I want to do it, I'll have to wait until level 25, when I can access Ourobouros.

    As it is now, I try to make sure I do contacts with badges ahead of those without, but I do like to hit all the storylines if I can. Ourobouros does address that, but if I do Ourobouros-given missions before L50, I'm just going to outlevel other contacts and have to go back for them, too.

    Sometimes it's bad enough that I purposely take missions and then ignore them a couple levels just so I don't earn so much XP on them.

    Again, this is primarily a problem in CoH. CoV, my first 50 got sort of stuck in the 40s, just shy of 45, without any available contacts. Part of the problem there was I missed some badge-triggered contacts on the way up through the ranks. Even so, I was able to do newspaper missions. Granted, they're boring, but at least there's no way to actually get stuck at a level without missions.

    What worries me with this change is now I'm going to bascially have to play with debt 100% of the time just to avoid outleveling contacts. What that means is it might actually take me LONGER to level than before, because I'm forced to earn XP at half speed.

    It might be nice to actually do all the TFs on one of my characters someday, too.

    By the way, extra top-end content doesn't necessarily make things more interesting. I have a 50 hero I don't use anymore who's got some leftover Peregrine and Shadow Shard (whatever the zone is called) contacts/missions I'll probably never do. I'd rather spend the time on another toon than just grind out missions for badges after hitting the level cap.

    I'd love to see a new system of advancement above 50 that doesn't use XP, but rather tracks advancement based on completion of certain tasks. As rewards, give out some special non-slot powers, costumes, badges, invention rewards, SG rewards, etc.