Noxilicious

As a rule, only story arcs have the fun story bits, whereas most other missions are just "evil people are doing evil stuff and you must stop them" flavour-type.

Plus, there's no need to worry about outlevelling story arcs. Thanks to Ouroboros, you can always just do arcs you outlevelled. Even better, Ouroboros marks arcs you did with stars, so you also know which are left.

The only exception I can recall is a mini-story arc by Maxwel Christopher in the 40-45 range. It's three consecutive missions dealing with Nemesis doing stuff that are not in the Ouroboros flashback list. Apparently it isn't considered a story-arc, so that's the only thing you really have to worry about outlevelling.

I'M GONNA SING THE DOOM SONG NOW!

[ QUOTE ]
I rarely join PuGs because most often pick up teams stand around talking about things they think they "need". If a pug stood around RPing or discussing some interesting topic that be cool. I'd be ok with standing around doing that. Instead, they are discussing how we "need this" or "need that" and "we won't start until we have this" or "that many players". Or let's wait around for him to sell, train, go to wentworth's, buy SOs and comb his hair. Why bother? He can join us in the middle. He can join us next mission. I think every single one of those needs is stupid, wrong and misguided. I think the only thing we need to do is enter the mission and start shooting stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

NEED HEALER!

Yeah, the beautiful thing about CoX is that team composition is irrelevant 90% of the time, and your "role" in a team comes down to preference. When I start a PuG or TF, I do things on a first-come-first-served basis, and as a rule said approach ends with victory on our side. Hell, I even take the minimum requirements of TFs literally. If I have six people and can't find two more interested to join, then that's enough to start.

On the other hand, when I'm joining someone else's TF, I have a pretty generous ten minute limit to team-forming. Some people have less patience. It's all cool. After all, we're here to have fun, not to wait.

Yes, I don't think anyone can disagree that fun is the main purpose of any game, but when your fun comes at the expense of someone else's, well, I think it's time show some restraint. People quitting without a word annoys me, but it's just a pet-peeve of mine that doesn't cripple my enjoyment of the game. TFs are more of an exception than the rule, anyway, so me getting heated about that isn't exactly relevant to the whole rest of teaming. TFs are the only time where leaving just 'cuz crosses a line, since those are team efforts by design. In every other case, I'm cool with people quitting.

[ QUOTE ]

Look at the video at about 54 seconds; in the power list it mentions "Shape Shifting". There are many other powers listed that were 'recently' released and also one we dont have "Light Control". Maybe this was originally illusion trolling power?

[/ QUOTE ]

My favorite has to be Super Intelligence. Defeat villains by... outwitting them in a debate of advanced ethics?

The Defender's role is to stay in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.

[ QUOTE ]
So yes, how dare that Mastermind hide behind his robots! What a cheater! =p

[/ QUOTE ]

PvP zones actually taught me how much of a difference Bodyguard mode made.

Normally I always have them in Bodyguard mode when I'm not sending some of them to attack people, but for the aforementioned mini-tournament, I usually had them in Passive mode to make sure they don't do anything while other people dueled and turned them to Defensive again when it was my turn.

When I was playing against my scrapper body, I usually was able to withstand quite a few hits thanks to all six bots being in bodyguard mode. Maybe not quite tanker level, but I still stood after getting hit. One time I accidentally left them in Passive, and he one-shotted me.

The lesson to be learned here is to never forget to hide behind your meatshields.

[ QUOTE ]
Wow, I hate Grandville. It's so vertical that it basically requires some sort of flight power.

[/ QUOTE ]

If only there was someone in Grandville that sold a flying travel power for pocket change...

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't mind the paint-on clothes. In fact, I actually like them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Semi random thought - I find it interesting to see people in a Supers game disliking "painted on" outfits...... because "design painted on a basic naked form" is the basic standard for comic book heroes. Yeah, you then add details like capes, utility belts, etc, but the standard generic "comic hero" is a naked muscle study covered in ink.

(Not to say that this is the One True Only Way. Just that it's kind of a basic feature of the genre. )

[/ QUOTE ]

Three quarters random thought - A week ago or so was the annual body paint competition. This year an artist using a male model has won.

The funny thing about those body paint models, both male and female: They actually look clothed at first sight when they're completely painted on. Yet hero toons in costumes that are supposed to be spandex look more naked than clothed. Funny how that works.

Those people! *fist-shake*

Are you part of the global channels dedicated to your servers of choice? I find those are the best places to find teams, certainly a lot better than broadcast.

Other than that, I doubt there's any server where AE isn't the main attraction. If you don't feel like starting your own teams, global channels are your best bet.

[ QUOTE ]
At least this guy is honest with you. I think i prefer deal with such types than the lying ones that are way too polite but end doing exactly the same pretending to be "needed" elsewhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think anyone demands an explanation for someone quitting the team. Me, I'm just fine with just a "gtg bye". It's a game and everyone is free to leave when they like. Well, there's also the TF thing where I feel a significant bit more strict, but that's generally it.

Really, it's not the lack of the explanation, but the lack of a "goodbye" that gets to me. Silly, I know, but hey. I don't pretend I can get everyone to follow etiquette, and I rarely PuG, anyway.

Well, as a rule, a level 25 generic IO is about as powerful as a +0 SO, and a level 35 IO is about as powerful as a +3 SO; in both cases the IOs are less effective by a neglectable amount. For that reason, it's best to stick to TOs/DOs/SOs until level 32.

Incidently, outside of salvage drops from enemies, your best bet to find the salvage you need for your recipes is at Wentworth's/the Black Market. Alternatively, you can use Merits for random salvage rolls, but that's extremely unreliable, or use tickets to get salvage. I'm not sure if you can choose specific salvage at the ticket vendor because I blew all my tickets on unlockable conent for the MA and then never looked at the vendor again.

You get generic recipes at universities both blue- and redside and abandoned labs redside. Interact with a crafting table, pick a recipe, and you can buy it. It might be cheaper to buy IO recipes from the market, though. I'm lazy so I just put the extra money forth and buy from the university.

You could also buy already crafted IOs, but their price generally exceeds that of the salvage, recipe and crafting, so I suggest not doing that unless you struck a goldmine (ie, found several purple recipes and decided to sell them).

Aside from generic IOs, there's also IO sets. They got unique icons and names, and they enhance more than one aspect of your power. Naturally, they are also a lot more expensive on the market. Having several pieces of an IO set in a power gives Set Boni, like enhanced global recharge, enhanced regeneration or enhanced recovery. I have a level 50 toon almost fully slotted with IO sets, but while the Set boni are really nice and make quite a bit of difference, I personally feel it's a bit too much effort when you can still do extremely fine with generic IOs. It all depends on how casual or how intensive you play.

[ QUOTE ]
good ole' soul storm...

[/ QUOTE ]

Now with 20% more Mudokon bones!

[ QUOTE ]
I'd really like one of those people who sent her a PM to post here, preferrably with the information, please.

[/ QUOTE ]

I PMed her, and she definitely has a method, but posting it here toes on the line between sharing information that's pretty much public anyway and private information from PMs that shouldn't be made public.

I sincerely doubt her method actually does go faster than 60 seconds, but from the initial looks, it looks pretty speed-efficient for soloing AVs. Let's jus say lots of Temp Powers have been involved and leave it at that. Best just take the sixty seconds as hyperbole.

Scouting is a very important task where indiscriminate slaughter is the Modus Operandi of everyone indeed.

[ QUOTE ]

Unless your every whim is "Please, please, for the 6th time, please stop using dimension shift on every other mob!", or something... :P

[/ QUOTE ]

See, quitting a TF full of idiots is something I can deal with, too. After all, chances are, that team will never finish the TF in the first place. It's just outright rude to join a TF and quit, not because something came up that needs your attention or because the team has a collective IQ of 12, but because you "got what you came for".

I do a lot of TFs, but my search message still says "Won't do TFs". The reason is simply because I'm not willing to commit to something when I can't reliably know that I won't have to leave on short notice. Things can always come up, but when you join a TF without any intention to see things through, it would be REALLY nice to know beforehand.

Except that wouldn't be selfish. I mean, who'd let someone on a TF who outright admits to have no intentions to stick along? He'd have to intentionally withhold that information to get on teams.

That's why he's a dick. Yeah, this game's about having fun, but there's lots of the people in the game. About the most frustrating thing in the game is spending an hour or two to get to the end and then find you now lack the manpower to finish it become some people dropped out. It happened one time to me and another we only barely pulled through, and it's really disheartening when you feel you've wasted hours of your life only to find you fail. That's why I took an instant dislike to that guy: He is willing to disregard and undo the enjoyment of others because he puts his own enjoyment above others. Normally not an issue in an MMO like CoX, but when you want to be a loner, don't bloody join a TF, for god's sake!

[ QUOTE ]
<QR>

I was playing nice earlier. Here's the deal. I don't like teaming. So when I do it is for a specific reason. If I feel the team will not help me accomplish whatever goal I'm going for, then I will quit. I won't give notice or anything. I'll just quit the team. I personally don't care if it is a PuG radio team or a task force. If I don't think the team directly benefits me in the way I want, then I'll just leave.

Do you know why I will do it that way?

Simple, because I see teams as nothing more than fillers to use as I see fit. When they are no longer useful, I leave. That simple. If the leader has a problem and demands an answer, I'll let him/her know. But I won't be nice about it. I will be extremely blunt and critical.

But Munki, why be so mean? Simple, because I play this game so I can have fun. As long as I'm not breaking any rules, I don't give a crap about anybody else. If somebody's day is worse off because they ran across me, I don't care. I see all of yall as nothing more than fillers on the way to accomplish my goals.

edit: The people that feel they deserve some sort of explanation are self obsessed losers. That simple.

[/ QUOTE ]

Quitting without a word on a normal PuG I can deal with. It might annoy me because I consider it impolite, but it doesn't cripple the team.

But quitting a bloody TASK FORCE because the team no longer "benefits you in the way you want"? I'm sorry, but that's nothing short of being a huge dick. It might surprise you, but you can't just recruit new people during a TF. A person quitting can be crippling when you're already at a Task Force's minimum requirements. Nothing's lovelier than someone quitting on you in a six-member Moonfire Task Force that's already pushing the team's limits. But you know what? I didn't mind because at least that person had the courtesy to say she'll be gone because her boss called.

I'm not telling you to be selfish. Hell, not like I need to, selfish people stick to themselves, so it's not like I usually have to deal with them. But if you join TFs just to quit because the team doesn't cater to your every whim, you're not just being selfish, you're being a huge bloody [censored].

[ QUOTE ]
Awesome. Thanks for help guys. I've already upgraded to a real account and trying to get some friends to join.

[/ QUOTE ]

Remember to send them invites to the game per NCSoft. If they join from your invitation, you get another free month. FRIENDSHIP HAS NEVER BEEN SO CAPITALISTIC.

To reiterate what everyone else has said, CoX's content is evenly spread out through all the levels.

Anyway, for starters, you can finish up your level 45-50 contacts. Just because you can't level up anymore doesn't mean you can't do some big-time evil.

Speaking of big-time evil, you definitely wanna do some Strike Forces. What's level 50 good for if not beating up the entire bloody Freedom Phalanx at once? You might wanna start slow first before jumping to the Lord Recluse Strike Force first. It might just be the only thing in the game legitimately challenging. Everyone gets to level 50 eventually, but not everyone can say they struck a debilitating blow at Paragon City's greatest when they were at their greatest.

On the matter of bading and such, you also might wanna try to unlock Viridian. He's got a pretty interesting arc, and I'd say the contact is worth it for the second-to-last mission alone. All you need to do is take down 200 Tsoo Sorcerers found at the western end at Black Mariah in St. Martial, 100 Freakshow Tanks found at the edges of Sharkhead Isle, 200 Council members (if you haven't beat 2000 of those guys at the time you hit 50, you did something very wrong) 200 Crey personell, and 200 Paragon Protectors found at The Fab in northernmost Grandville. Yes, that last part is redundant, but it explicitly says to defeat both 200 Crey and 200 PPs. I'll never know why.

Just getting everything together for Viridian will keep you busy for a while, and as a fellow MM, I can already tell you farming up PPs in The Fab can be immensely difficult when you try it alone.


But ultimately? Roll a new toon. Don't abandon your sweet new 50, of course. But you know what they say: Distance makes the heart grow fonder. You can always do stuff with your 50, but without the sweet sensation of dinging, things can get old quick. Have some fun with other toons, and you'll find yourself returning to your 50 every once in a while, anyway. At least I did.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious why Longbow isn't swarming all over Striga Isle trying to stop the Council from making any further inroads there than they already have... the Legacy Chain is already busy helping out in the Hollows...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[/ QUOTE ]

Longbow was founded by Miss Liberty, and everything she does is motivated by her grand-uncle Reccy not hugging her when she was little. See also: The Vindicators. What she does always somehow revolves around him, and every other purpose is secondary at best.

More serious answer: The stated purpose of Longbow is to bring peace to the Etoile Isles and topple Arachnos. Paragon City is the City of Heroes and has plenty protectors, so Longbow goes to the place where justice is not even in the dictionary: The City of Villains, Etoile Isles. Their work there would have more impact than anything they could do in Paragon City and vicinity, what with super heroes patrolling everywhere already, anyway.


Also my money is on the Council in the case of a Longbow assault.

I've had some VERY mixed experiences with PvP.

The first I had was just collecting shards in Bloody Bay because I read about Shivan summons and that sounded awesome. By the second meteor, two villains found me and stalked me to the Longbow base, and we've been throwing taunts at each other for a few minutes, but all in good fun. PvP seemed pretty nice, assuming you're not outnumbered.

Months later I got a villain up to the high levels and gave Recluse's Victory a try, my second time ever hitting a PvP zone. I found lots of villains there and almost no heroes. Perfect conditions to capture pillboxes and defeat heroes. It was pretty fun until one or two heroes showed up, and apparently they carried an infectuous strain of extreme idiocy. THE ENTIRE BLOODY VILLAIN TEAM stalked those heroes to the police bots. The entire bloody team waited for them to get into target range while the heroes were crying for 1-on-1's.

Apparently standing around and throwing barely legible insults at each other is more fun than taking down Signature Heroes and ignoring some hero toons we could take down in seconds.

There was also the time I went back to Bloody Bay on the same villain from the previous story to get some emergency Shivans for a LRSF, and actually saw another toon for once. I was so excited by the sight of another living being in a PvP zone in such a long time (been yet another months since the last time I saw people in a PvP zone), I just had to hunt it down and kill it. Only feels natural on a villain toon. So I hunt him for a while, and eventually I succeeded in my quest, at the price of my own virtual life at the hands of a Shivan. I bragged about my first kill ever in a PvP zone in my global channel of choice, only to be told "and then a Shivan got you". Turns out I hunted someone I've been talking to before. We had a good laugh afterwards.

Another fun time I had in PvP was when a friend of mine and I were trying to "farm" PvP IOs. Because just standing around and having someone beat you up, we decided to fight legitly. It's more fun that way, for us at least. We did so in the Pocket D arena at first, then relocated to Recluse's Victory. Once there, we met up a bunch of blue-side badgers out, and eventually we ended up having out own little RV tournament under Atlas. Everyone stuck to our own little rules (basically, don't interfere in an on-going duel), no strangers showed up out for a kill, and it was a whole lot of good fun.


Guess that's a lot of anecdotes, huh. In either case, PvP can be a very mixed bag, because it relies, by its very nature, entirely on other players. If you meet a bunch of cool people, even face-planting can be fun. If you meet a bunch of illiterate jerks, you'll want to leave them alone more than you want to beat them up.


But above all that, the worst problem of the PvP zones is that they're just so empty! Most of the time, I just go into a PvP zone, and if at all, I just find people going for Shivans, nukes or badges. PvP can be fun, but CoX is so PvE-heavy, you forget PvP is even an option. PvP will always remain an after-zone and the three lower-level PvP zones will remain the true ghost zones with Croatoa and Dark Astoria as close seconds.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Smurphy, don't you assemble TF's (over VU2009?) and such where you require that every character, regardless of AT or powersets, contributes to the offence?
And aren't they usually wildly successful?

[/ QUOTE ]

"If you ain't killing, you're OUT!"

Oh yea... I approve whole heartedly.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Smurphy ITF I was on basically prohibited healing.

Our number of defeats was still pitifully low, though. Sometimes you're just too good to fail

Congratulations. I hope it was a good ding, too. You always remember your first.


I remember when my first toon got to 50. She dinged at the defeat of Lord Recluse at the end of Time After Time. I still have a picture of that magical moment.

Months later my Blaster dinged on Psychic Babbage as opposed to Tyrant as I had planned. Guess which toon I'm still using and which has been collecting dust.

I love to make the final ding epic. For most ATs it would mean dinging on Tyrant/Lord Recluse, and for EATs it would be Arakhn/Statesman. My VEAT's 45 now and I hope to have another nice ding 50 picture sometime in August.

Personally, I'd like SOME comment when someone's leaving, if it's just "gotta go". Yeah, there are those circumstances where even that is not an option, but I don't think people's mothers drop dead all that often.

Then again, I'm a chatty person myself, and I'm more likely to stick on a team if there's someone I can just talk with, even if it's about nothing. Conversely, I can't really stand silent people in an MMO. Worst has been when I was duoing with a buddy of mine who was relatively new to the game then and got COINCIDENTALLY a tell from a toon five levels below us if she can join. He invited her because hey, why not? I'm not normally opposed to PLing, but when someone gets on a team to PL like that, and then stays silent when I REPEATEDLY try to talk to her, only to later give a short "need tp", I'm just really annoyed.

It's not really reasonable, I know, but there's a reason I tend to solo or duo a lot, and just use global channels as my replacement for team-chatter.

One time I said in the game that a story arc could be a bit better and five minutes later Posi knocked my door in and kicked my puppy