ShadowsBetween
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Posts
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Joined
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It seems likely. I'd be a little disappointed if this is the case though, there are still some fairly serious bugs running loose. Mostly because we've seen how likely it is that they'll be swiftly dealt with once the build goes live. (The various chat bugs and the glitches with character bios, for example.) And while I really like the new graphics options for some power sets (the alternate Spines and Stone Armors, for example) there are some issues with the new models that look really, really awful and aren't currently fixed on Test. (The metal Spines float behind the left leg of a female character, and in front of *both* legs of anyone using the Monster legs, and there's some weird issues with Ice Swords.)
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As I understand it, each proc is a percentage chance. And the rolls are made independantly - if you had three procs with a 10% chance to fire, each one will fire (on average) once every ten attacks. (For AoEs, I believe most actually roll when they hit a target, but I could be mistaken.) In any case, it *is* possible for all of them to fire at once. I don't have time for all the math involved, but if you had three procs, any combination of them has a chance to occur. (No proc, at least one proc, any two procs, all three procs.)
However, since most procs fire less than once every three attacks, you'd be losing damage compared to simply slotting the set pieces that boost accuracy, damage, and recharge. From playing around with Mids Hero Builder, adding a proc to an attack effectively adds the equivalent of about 14 damage to each attack. (If the proc added 140 damage, but only fires on average once every ten attacks, 140 / 10 = 14.) If the attack does any real damage to begin with (ie, we're not talking about Gale or similar attacks) then it doesn't take much effort to find an IO that will add more damage to each attack than a proc.
Personally, I take procs to finish getting the bonuses for a set, or in a few cases where the effect is useful when combined with powers I already have. (I'll take sets with a Chance for Hold on my controllers, because adding even a short hold to an attack can be useful for dealing with a Boss or Elite Boss.) -
Thinking about it, it actually seems a bit more complicated than just setting it to check if you're using a Crab build or not. Since the backpack is a back slot item, it would overwrite capes or wings. So what happens if you're in your Huntsman costume, and forget to switch to a costume without a cape when you switch to the Crab build? For the backpack to turn on and off, and *not* wreck the costume, they'd have to include some way for the engine to keep track of what is "supposed" to be in the back slot. The only other possiblity is to allow the backpack to turn on and off, but keep the back slot locked if either build has Crab powers. (So you could do a Crab and Bane build, but your Bane can never have a cape. Ever.)
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I still find it rather odd that people have such a problem with Heroic Masterminds. Half the heroes I see in Atlas have horns, demon wings, or flaming skulls for heads. Not to mention the exceedingly fatal nature of most of the powersets if they existed in a real world - fire, electricity, assault rifles, swords, maces and battle axes aren't generally known for being "bring 'em back alive" compatible. And even aside from all that, there are still plenty of "real" comic book heroes who use a variety of fairly nasty powers in a heroic way. Cloak and some versions of Ghost Rider leap to mind. (And then there's the X-Men - I haven't been keeping up, but last time I checked, Sabertooth, Mystique and Magneto have all taken at least a short turn as good guys, and just about all the actual X-Men have gone bad at least once.)
In terms of this game, I can't really see the devs changing the game mechanics of an AT depending on which side you're on. It would be a balancing nightmare if nothing else. I don't think that they'd do "good" versions of the pets, either. A big part of the reason Masterminds get new primaries so rarely is that setting up the summon powers is supposedly much more work than for any other powerset. Creating a Good version of each set would be as much work as adding six new primary sets for MMs. -
I'm still a fairly new player, to this game and MMOs in general (wandering upwards towards ten months now.) So I wasn't present when all the drama apparently occured - Who are Emmert and Gecko, and what did they do to become so hated? I'm just curious.
As far as the actual topic, I'd guess that the effect on the market would be pretty minimal as well. The worst that could happen is some portion of the playerbase (who both like CO's gameplay and have shiny enough computers to actually run it) might leave permanently. More will look but not stay, and some might play both. Transaction volume might dip slightly, but I don't see how CO can have any drastic effects on the market here. -
Quote:You are correct. I was mistaken that there was any proliferation at all in I 13 - it only contained Pain Domination and Shield Defense.Originally Posted by Dispari
That certainly explains why melees have gotten Dual Blades, Willpower, and Shield Defense. And why in addition to Brutes being the only class that got three new sets last time, half of the melees are getting two sets this time, and one of them is getting a new epic! PLUS some of them got new stuff in i7 as well.
Not only that, but Doms and Controllers, who haven't gotten any new sets since the last proliferation, are only getting one new set each this time.
I don't think there's any relation between new sets/proliferation.
As for the imbalance in the number of new sets given to each At... *shrug* Not on the team, couldn't say for certain. At a guess, it's because melee sets are immediately useful for up to four ATs, and blast sets three, I think. (Defenders, Corruptors and Blasters.) And with a little effort, Dominators can use powers for which there is both a melee and blast set. Control sets are only shared between Dominators and Controllers. Mastermind primaries are only useful to Masterminds, and take more work than any other type - we're probably lucky that they're getting a new set at all. -
They really need to do something about the train exit thing. I still consider myself a pretty new MMO player. (Around nine months in this game, just a bit over ten for MMOs in general. And yes, I started with "that other" MMO.) I was running up to the train in one of the higher level hero zones, and see a broadcast on the lines of
Guy: "So, they still haven't fixed the train door bug?"
Me: (via tell) "What bug is that?"
Guy: "You click on the train doors, and nothing happens."
Me: "Really? I've never seen that one."
Guy: "It's doing it to me right now. I took a break about a year ago, and just re-upped for a month. I'm kind of ticked that this isn't fixed yet."
Me: "Right now? I'm at the train station, I don't see you."
Guy: "I'm standing right in front of the door!"
(I look around, then lean around the corner.)
Me: "You're standing right in front of the exit. I think the train doors are one-way."
(After he sees me and follows me back to the main room and zones)
Guy: "Oh for crying out loud. I've been playing this game off and on for three years, and I never noticed that. Thanks." -
Quote:Reading comprehension is your friend. I said that the powerset proliferation was for the classes that *didn't* get new sets. Pain Domination and Shield Defense = new, not a lot of proliferation on the ATs that got them. Everyone else got at least one power set that they didn't have before though. I'd still expect Going Rogue to do the same thing.Originally Posted by Da_Captain
Pain Domination is not a proliferated set, sets that are proliferated are either sets directly from other ATs or combinations of powers from existing sets like /Psi for blasters and /earth and /elec for Doms.
Also just wanted to know does anyone else want those extra 10 enhancement slots? I would hope that they are included in GR also. -
Quote:A few guesses of my own, in answer to your questions.Originally Posted by Slax_
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A few questions that I don't expect immediate answers to, but hope springs eternal:
1. Will the going rouge process be an arc, a TF or a some other series of actions that change your "alignment?"
2. Which begs the question- will it be called alignment?
3. Other than the whole alignment (or whatever) system, 2 new sets (pistols and demons), a zone (is it one zone?) what content will GR include?
4. Any idea as to release time frame?
5. How much will it cost to buy the expansion?
6. Will there be limits to how often a single toon switches sides?
7. Other than time, will there be a cost to switching sides? Will inf, levels, IOs etc be lost in the process? (I for one most sincerely hope not as this would kill GR for me)
1. If you look at your missions list in game, you'll note that since I 13, some have been labled "Hero" and "Villain." At a guess, they could add light/dark points to those missions, in a similar way to how some missions now award Merits. If fact, if they use the same mechanic, that also solves the problem of people who just want to run missions without getting "Rogue-jacked" and ending up changing sides when they didn't really want to. Merits are already set up so that only the mission owner and players who also have the same mission can get them. Everyone else just gets the standard mission completion goodies.
2. Let me flip the question - if it *isn't* called "alignment," does it actually matter?
3. Pure speculation, but at a guess, Going Rogue would include:
* At least two brand new powersets, Demon Summoning (MM) and Dual Pistols (blasty types. Probably.)
* There is a strong probability that there will be Powerset proliferation for the ATs that don't actually get new powersets. This is what happened in I 13 when Villains got Pain Domination and the melee classes got Shields.
* A new series of Praetorian themed zones, contacts, missions, and task forces. It has been hinted that this would include a new Rogue starting area, where all AT can start from level 1 with no preset alignment.
* There is also a good chance that it will include new costume options, emotes, and temporary powers.
* There may be new features for base builders and/or PvP. Nothing has been hinted at, but if they're going to do anything at all for either group, this would be a good time to at least announce that it's being worked on.
4. Release time frame - Soon! (tm) Realistically, it probably won't be out until early next year. A November or Christmas release would be totally amazing. But for that to work, it would have to be basically finished and in private beta testing already. I'm not sure how that could be possible, since all indications are that the amount of manpower needed to get Power Spectrum running was quite large, just for the coding and graphics updates required. (Over 1,200 powers have been altered to be customizable, and there are still a few normal powersets, almost all Mastermind primaries, and all the Pool, Epic, and Ancillary powers that aren't being included.)
5. Depending on how much is included, a full expansion will probably be at least $20 US, and somewhere from $29 to $39 seems likely. Anything above that is currently the domain of brand new games, and even then it's normally only Collector's Editions that go above $49.
6. I don't see why they would force an arbitrary limit. If they end up using something like Merits to keep track of your good/evil standing, it would likely take a fairly decent amount to "purchase" a side switch. Also, it's a good bet that depending on how far you've shifted, you'd have to at least go to a new area to find contacts that are willing to give you further missions. (While I'm certain that Lord Recluse would be happy for every new minion... er.. ally that decides to follow his glorious example, even he isn't stupid enough to give a copy of his "Top Secret plan to humiliate Statesman and Conquer the World" to someone who was punching him in the face the previous evening. He'll only give it to people evil enough to punch him in the face and steal the plan for themselves.
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7. As far as what happens to your stuff, that's currently completely unknown. One way to handle it would be to merge the markets and turn all the "currency" into a single type, rather than influence and infamy. (Listens for a moment to the collective screaming from the marketeers.) A more likely method would be that influence and infamy remain seperate, and your character can earn both. The Going Rogue areas could quite easily have merchants that will only take one or the other (or both, for truely shady merchants.) They could also borrow a page from "the evil, other MMO" and have a neutral market that can be accessed by characters from either side, but that charges much larger fees. If they go this route, then when you switch sides, you keep all your stuff. After all, both sides use IOs, and both sides use salvage, so there really isn't a good reason to strip items from the character. (And there's a lot of reasons why taking away a character's "stuff" would be a really bad idea.) You keep your influence/infamy, but unless you're in the new "grey zone" areas, you can't spend it unless you switch sides again. (Arachnos Quartermaster - "So you're the Master of Statesman's Task Force, and you were best friends with Manticore. Good for you. I'm impressed, really. And what have you done for Lord Recluse? Nothing. Which is exactly what I'm authorized to give you. Now leave, before I decided to make sure that the disintegration beams on the Defense Drones are working properly.") -
Quote:Personally, the in-game voice chat is a big part of the reason that I've pretty much stopped playing WoW. Frankly, some people are offensive enough when they have to take time to type whatever gibberish is in their heads. Also, it does nothing for my immersion when the massive Tauren Warlord sounds like an eight year old girl, or the scantily clad Blood Elf rogue has the voice of Wolfman Jack. I realize that I'm in the minority on this. But I *hate* voice chat. (I'm not overly fond of cellphones, either. Maybe I'm just anti-social.)Originally Posted by Doctor_Arthos
This sounds like a good thing, and a bad thing as well.
Now, if we could get an in-game voice chat client (instead of having to rely on things like Ventrilo, TeamSpeak... or in some cases I've heard of people using Skype... OUCH!!!), that would be a real boon for fans of CoH/CoV, and group play.
It was one of the really great benefits of WoW, and it enhances the group experience immensely.
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Quote:Please consider changing this, or adding the option to use the Global list as well/instead. Frankly, I never use the character friends list. There are two reasons for this. First, if I get along with someone well enough to consider accepting a Friend request at all, then it's the *player* that I'd like to keep in touch with. (I've never initiated a Friend request, only accepted them.) Second, I have tons of alts. Oodles. And I don't really make any effort to play a given character consistently. I might get ten levels on one character, and then not play that one again for weeks. Granted, it's not a huge deal for me - I've actually used the in-game email perhaps twice in the nine months I've been playing. But a Global filter would allow it to actually be potentially useful.Originally Posted by Positron
Current implementation on Training Room is "character" friends list.
I do like the changes to email in general though. Not quite as much as character customization, but lots. Even if there's no way to filter for people on my Global friends list, just the ability to block the spammers is worth it. Frankly, I'd rather turn the email off completely than continue to have to junk up my Ignore list with spammer accounts that were probably banned two hours after they were made.
As far as super-sidekicking... meh. I team so rarely, that the only part that really effects me is "XP while Exemplared." I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't like to out-level content, or at least certain content. (Such as the fact that a number of the most interesting Villain contacts are unlockable, somewhat hidden, and totally possible to miss forever. And the fact that several of those contacts have non-Flashback missions that are needed for the Villain Accolades that come with powers.
Actually, since I'll no longer need to set all my characters as "hidden from searches" to avoid spammers and fill/bridge requests, this might actually end up increasing the amount I actually team up. -
I'm not sure what I'd pair Demons with - I've already tried one of each of the other secondaries, and I already have one Controller with Thermal. I'll wait to see if we get any other powerset proliferation with Going Rogue before I decide. Another big variable is what theme the Demons themselves follow - it's already been hinted that the personal attacks will take the form of a Hellfire Whip, so fire seems likely. I'd have to agree that it is not very probable that they will use existing demons for the Mastermind pets. As noted, all of the other pets are visibly different from the in-game critters. (Aside from any programming concerns, I suspect that this is at least partly to prevent easily confused players from ranting about invincible zombies that deflect all attacks. ) It is *extremely* unlikely that Demons will have a Succubus pet - for some people, the urge to make an Infernal Pimp character would be too great. And given that some journalists can be quite stupid, especially with subjects about which they know very little, I can't blame NCSoft and Paragon for wanting to avoid that kind of publicity.
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I was considering getting this set for two of my Masterminds. (It's a long term goal. A really, really long term goal.) However, I remember seeing a list of "known issues" that stated that this set would pretty much shut down on any pet that wasn't actually level 50 - which would be all of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 pets, and all Tier 3 pets if you're Malefactored for any reason. Did this ever change, or is the set working as intended?
If it is possible to use it, the two characters I was considering getting it for are Necromancy and Bots. For the Necro, I was thinking of placing it on the Grave Knights, since the Lich seems to be more focused on debuffing than actual damage. This would also allow the set to function if I was running all but the lowest level Ouroboros missions.
For the bots, I was planning on putting it on the Assault Bot. If I understand how procs trigger, his missile swarms and AoE beam attacks would have a decent chance of getting the "Chance for Buildup" proc to fire. Alternatively, I could put it in the basic Drones, since there are three of them. (I've currently got the Protectors four-slotted with Blood Mandate, plus a standard crafted Heal and Defense enhancement. They don't seem to be damage monsters in any case, and boosting their healing and shielding potential seemed like a good idea, especially as I don't currently have any healing powers on that character.) -
I'm not sure about the betrayal, but this is apparently a known bug with Oilslick at the moment. (At least on the forums. I have no idea if the devs consider it a bug.) What is happening is that in MA missions, the Oil slick is being treated as an allied pet, rather than a hostile npc, so when you target it, you are assisting rather than attacking it.
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I expected that you weren't allowed to claim the badge rewards or use the unlocked costume bits. But using a glitched character still seems problematic - in my case, my glitched character has access to about five years worth of veteran badges, but lost access to all the Booster pack stuff. This is a problem, since three of the costumes use those pieces. I petitioned and logged as soon as I noticed the error, and the active costume *wasn't* one of the ones affected. But what happens if I switch to a slot that has pieces that the game thinks I don't have access to? What happens when it flips out and enforces Trial limits on one of my few characters that actually has any inf?
This is a serious bug. Even if it's not affecting tons of people yet, glitched characters aren't getting fixed. So over time, more and more people are going to get hit by it. The number of posts in this thread isn't a good indicator of the number of people affected. Lots of players never visit the forums. And honestly, my first thought when it hit me was to /bug it, log out completely and go play Spore or something until they get it fixed. Rather than to keep playing and risk losing everything when the bug gets worse, or they have to reset the character to some previous backup state to fix it. Honestly, I'm still considering that option. If any more of my characters get glitched, that's probably what I'll end up doing. (I don't get to make an "I'm quitting" post, I prepaid through next Halloween when they had the holiday promotion.) -
It would be nice to get some kind of confirmation on this bug. Even if it's only "be patient, we're still looking into it."
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Oppressive Gloom is the one with the Disorient? I tried it on my Necro/Dark Miasma/Ghost Widow MM. I ended up burning a respec to get rid of it. The trouble is, it's an "offense" toggle, so any amount of hold/sleep/stun will shut it down. And the critters I was fighting had a surprising number of attacks that could turn it off. I got tired of turning it back on all the time, so I eventually just dropped it.
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The only thing I can think that might help the rating system, is to drop the ability to select stars. You'd have three options at the end of the mission - thumb up, thumb down, abstain. Giving a plus on mission completion wouldn't work. I've gone ahead and plowed on through missions I fully intended to one-star. In a few cases, I was in a team that was going to do something else afterwords. In most cases, I try to complete it just to be sure that I'm being fair. (If it's a farm, or has "impossible" custom NPCs, I'll quit. If it looks like they made any attempt at actually trying to make a real story, I'll try to get to the end so that I can possibly have something constructive to say.)
With the thumb up/down, the rating would be based on the proportion of good/bad ratings. An even split would be 3 stars. Five and One stars would mean that the vast majority of the people who voted liked/hated it. (Not a unanimous vote, just a large majority - if 90% of the people who voted liked it, then it fulfills whatever it is that they're looking for.)
Votes would need to come from the global handles, rather than per character. And it would *not* ask you to vote again if you replay the mission, unless it has changed since then. (That doesn't seem too insane to track - your global name, your good/bad/non vote, and the date. If the mission file has a newer date than your last vote, it brings up the window again, preferably with your previous choice highlighted.) -
Personally, I feel the rating system is fairly broken. I'm not sure how to fix it. But I know that I've often loaded a four or five star mission with dozens of votes, only to discover that it's Yet Another Damned Meow. Even selecting only multi-mission arcs doesn't completely avoid farms. Frankly, it's gotten to the point that if I decide that a mission is a farm, I quit and one star.
I didn't realize that quitting and leaving the stars blank was actually a rating of zero - I assumed that no stars meant that I hadn't voted. I do find it annoying that I have to re-rate a mission every time I play it, even with the same character. (And even with different characters, it doesn't feel consistent. If I rate an arc, then switch characters and search only for arcs I haven't voted on, the game excludes those arcs. Which that character has never seen.) -
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Ah, just checking but are you aware that SB also provides a massive Endurance Recovery buff?
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It doesn't matter. I hate the power, I hate the movement speed increase, and I'll ask politely to be skipped when it's being handed out. Once. -
I deleted the file, moved everything around where I wanted it, and logged out. Logged back in later, switched servers to copy something from a character description. Switched back, and it had randomized the character order. Again.
If I set the file to Read Only, what happens when I switch to another server and make a new character? Does the game pitch a fit because it can't alter the file? -
I opened the file to have a look at it, and somehow, it had duplicated all my characters from Justice to Virtue (the server I was visiting.) None of them actually exist on that server. Since I only have about six characters that aren't on Justice, I simply removed the entries for the other servers. I assume that the game will simply add them back when I visit those servers again.
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Thank you for the replies. By the time I'd come back to check, I'd already gone ahead and made the Fire/storm. We'll see how it works for now, I guess. I should have mentioned, I suppose, that PvP is not a consideration. I won't enter the PvP zones. Ever. There isn't a single thing in the PvP areas that's worth having to put up with the kind of player you're most likely to notice in PvP.
I'll try to get to level 12 or so by tomorow evening, to see whether I like Fire/Storm or not. And Fire Cages works fine against the knockback from Gale, at least. I don't really plan on taking Hurricane. It's knockback and repel, and the end drain looks massive. The only use I could see a for it, is to push thing back out of melee if they escape Cages, and frankly, Gale seems more than sufficient for that.
I do wish this game had a "danger room" mode, where you could temporarily be set to level 50 and fight a few waves of training dummies. It would be nice to know whether a given AT/powerset/build is going to fit my playstyle without having to waste ten or twenty hours first. I don't have tons of experience with the game yet, so I don't know the ins and outs of everything. And so far, a few powersets that were a lot of fun at level six felt more like slamming face first into a brick wall at level 15.
As far as the other primaries go, I already have at least one of everything but Mind, Fire, and Stone. I tried stone, and didn't care for it at all. (If I don't like it by level 10, I don't generally assume that it'll get better later on.) I'm not sure yet about Gravity - I only have it on a Dominator, and even then only because it was the closest thing I could find to a 'bad luck" powerset. (Flying up and hitting your head on the ceiling, then getting hit in the face with a forklift seems pretty unlucky to me.)
For the secondaries, as a solo player I don't really see the point of taking Kinetics or Empathy. My only level 50 hero is Plant/Thermal, and that's more due to stubbornness on my part than any fondness for Thermal - I'd gotten a lot of the Holiday stuff with that character and wandered up to the mid twenties before it really became apparent that Thermal isn't much use to a solo player. (That was about the third character I had made at that time.) With the pet, I can get some use out of it, but only until I exemplar down to a point where I can't call the flytrap anymore. (Such as Ouroboros missions.) If there was a way to re-choose the base powersets, I'd drop Thermal in a heartbeat. I'd considered Radiation, obviously, and I already have a /sonic. I've got a Force Field Mastermind, and one character with that set is plenty. And I have two with Trick Arrow. -
I've decided to replace one of the characters I never play with a Fire controller, since that's a set I've never played yet. I was thinking of either Storm or Radiation as a secondary, and can't seem to decide. I've looked at the controller guides, and they really don't narrow it down. (The simple fact is, if a combination is possible, someone, somewhere, thinks it's the best thing ever.) A major consideration for me is that I solo a great deal, which is why I was considering Storm in the first place - Rad has some nice powers, but several of them require another player character to function. In fact, Mutation and Fallout both require a dead player character, which can be tricky to get even on a team. (Unless it's a *bad* team, then they're all dead.)
Before anyone decides to be clever with the "trollers R 4 teams, lrn2play n00b," my only level 50 hero is a Plant/Thermal controller, and does quite well solo. I just don't have any real experience with either the Radiation or Storm powersets. While I mostly solo, I don't actually make anti-teaming builds. So if I do team up for some reason, I'd like to not instantly be the most hated person there just for what powersets I have. (This is the reason I don't have an Energy/Energy Blaster, for example.)
Radiation pros - early access to a self-healing power, large number of debuff powers.
Radiation cons - Accelerate Metabolism no longer hastens pets, Mutation and Fallout both require a defeated player character, EMP has a really, really long recharge.
Storm Summoning pros - some decent slows/stuns/debuffs, and two additional pseudo pets (Tornado and Lightning Storm.) Steamy Mist has stealth.
Storm Summoning cons - no self heal, and O2 Boost is a very weak heal other. Powerset includes Hurricane. Tornado pet is insane, does knockback, and will happily scatter or aggro (or both) every group of critters it can find. -
Well, as far as I know, it's just a known issue. I don't think the devs have ever confirmed whether they consider it a bug or not - it might be working as expected, as a result of something they had to do to get Mission Architect to work properly.