Paladin

And it makes a beautiful sound when it hits enemies! It's just too bad its limited to charges AND a limit of 4 real time days. Maybe it's a preview of a new "Magic" energy Judgement? I'd solo the DD trial if it meant we'd get more explicitly magical powers.

You get access to a power called "Aura of Mot" or something along those lines. It's a 9% damage and 9% recovery buff. No idea if it also includes a special power like "Magical Burst" though.

You (and just about everyone else) would know better than me; my only 50s are a scrapper and a Controller, and I only really play the scrapper. Those are my only real alts, too. I blame the lack of Broadsword for tankers..

I think that makes his responses something people should be able to empathize with, if not necessarily agree with. When you put in AVs, then suddenly the tougher enemy is the "real" one - the EBs are just watered down versions for those who aren't up to snuff. Granted, they are anyway, but it's just the pretense that's at stake. A pretense that's in the heart of the Dark Astoria solo storyline.

If they can't get the mechanics right to balance the classes versus the silly regeneration of AVs and GMs, balance the monsters. I can see why this would be a deliberate choice on the Devs part, if it is.

It's a shame that it was taken out; after running through DAs amazing content I really, really want more arcs, even if its just one mission to set up the trial. The writing is just that engrossing. It would be a nice proof of concept way to unite missions and trials, too, and provide characters a better way to feel involved in CoH's endgame.

Who knows? Maybe we'll see it revealed in a later mini-issue once people have had the chance to play through Dark Astoria. I sure hope so.

I can see it now: 8 hours of watching the Dev team play a certain also-just-release game on the Xbox. Even better if we can join them during Co-Op mode.

And congratulations to both of you!

I'm hoping that the new Incarnate abilities will provide such a widening of character concepts that it will be far too tempting not to go VIP just to use them to finish building a character that you envision. Along with the possibility of linking Battalion (read: full content, and not simply raids) and future "epic" content to VIP status, I can see it being a successful lure towards paying for the content.

It would get a lot of screams from the forums, but it would provide distinct experiences for VIPs.

It's not a perfect solution, but it shows that they're listening and open to the desires of the players. It's a good start.

I had the same thought back when this was first discussed.

There was mention by staff about making Veteran Rewards a separate toggle than Non-combat pets to enable both Shield Oscillators and Clockwork Gears to function together. I'd gather it's low on their priority list, but they're aware of and understand the desire for a small pet army.

My favorite past time was to tack on the Clockwork Connection temporary power from flashbacks to the Shield Oscillator and Vanity pet. Felt like a Clockwork Mastermind to rival the Clockwork Paladin at that point.

That's some seriously amazing news. They're really taking the idea and running with it in ways I didn't expect - sounds like additional shape-shifting outside of HEATs to me. Thanks for the quote Zombie.

Don't you dare try to bring reasonable expectations into this to counter my conspiracy theory-crafting!

It'll be tied to the new "Ultra Rare" option in the incarnate reward table at the end of trials.

Now it's my turn to Quote for Truth.

As far as I'm concerned, the turn this thread took didn't take away from the amazing work Dink performed. The charity and kindness showed to the community speaks for itself, and is more important than to be washed away by a secondary conversation in the thread - no matter how heated it may have gotten. If anything, on top of the praiseworthy actions of Dink my appreciation and respect for Zwillinger has increased thanks to his straightforward expression of the coming policy.

I can only speak for myself, but my interest is in the beautiful, unique halos and head-dresses that the Carnival of Light have. Those seem like they could fit a man as well as a woman - and it's just as gaudy as the Ascension Radiance set.

Just another thing to add on the "To-Do Someday" list.

*laughs* I suppose I shouldn't have mentioned that face - It is a little Derpy, isn't it?

If they do think you or anyone else is blaming or complaining about Dink, the fault is with them; disagreement is an opportunity to offer ridicule instead of polite discussion on these forums. The responses to the concerns here and piecemeal quote twisting is proof of that. But this is just an opportunity to address something that was becoming apparent.

I'm thankful for Zwillinger's honest relation of the costume department's decision. It does seem atrocious that, now that the shoe is on the other foot, chatters aren't nearly as respectful to those with a problem with the design team being the other extreme, but that's to be expected. If it leads to a significant increase in revenue for Paragon, so be it.

It's too soon to see if this costume policy will affect things in a drastic way. Dink's amazing use of her free time towards the community isn't anything more or less than seeing a need and filling it. The proof of the design plan will be in the Retro Sci-fi and future packs, with possibly the Imperial Dynasty if it was made under the new policy. Given the additional parts in the Dynasty sets such as Female Only Crowns, Female Only Plate Legs, and a new Face, I'd suggest that the Imperial Dynasty armor will be the first example we can hold up to examine.

On the whole, we're fortunate that there's only a few noteworthy, obviously unisex pieces that should be ported from females to males at this point. My concern is that this policy will lead to much more. We'll see.

That answers any questions I might have had on the subject. Thank you for the clear explanation of where you're headed; I don't particularly like it, but the feedback from the last year grossly outweighs what one person might think on the subject. I hope the next year is such a success that you can move towards creating distinct outfits for each gender, but I appreciate the man hours and limited payoff that involves.

To be completely honest, I'd wish you'd stifle critical comments more often. But that's even getting further off topic.

Don't move, or the Meme gets it!

But if I'm out of line, I do apologize. I just thought Mr. Thirty Seven's comment deserved something more reassuring.

This might not have been the place for expressing such sentiment, but it didn't deserve ridicule or a frivolous dismissal. After the uproar over the Gunslinger pack we saw the Carnival of Light pack released with wonderful bits for female avatars but nothing substantial for males. The new Imperial Dynasty armor has plenty of amazing pieces, but the only unique-to-a-sex items are for females only (crowns, specifically). The Pocket D Valentines day pack again had plenty of stuff for everyone but only exclusive items for female characters.

Now the most requested piece of wardrobe that was distinct for the male avatar has been ported to be for everyone, and female avatars get access to two full costume sets in the Gunslinger pack - including the single costume set that's available for male characters. After the hullabaloo surrounding favoring male costume bits, it's looking like the costume department has shifted to the other extreme.

What was asked for was equivalent costume pieces, designed with a masculine or feminine flair on the same theme. But instead of getting distinct options for both, it appears that female avatars are getting the male costume pieces ported directly along with something extra.

I'm carefully phrasing things with "looks like" and "appears" because I don't know what's coming down the pipe - The Carnival of Light was being worked on before things blew up over the Gunslinger Pack, as was probably the Club Outfits. But for crying out loud, can we get a "Clockfaced belt is on it's way!" instead of a disgruntled meme? Distinct options for everyone, please.