Spatch

This.

Heh. Nor did I, discovered it by accident.

I run on Champion server, and recently started getting a pentad match together. By sheer luck, the 3rd person we invited was the same AT as either myself or the other person. Once he joined the team, the "Start Match" button enabled, and we started. Honestly, I'm not sure this is Working As Intended, but there it is.

For swiss draw, unfortunately you need 8 peeps.

Hollows content can also still be run through level 15.

I've been noticing an increase of this kind of behavior lately. It's certainly not epidemic in proportion, but disturbing nonetheless.

Heh. Didn't know what the heck you were talking about until your second-to-last sentence where you spell "pact" correctly for the first time. Didn't know what the heck a "lvl pack" was.

You might want to edit to correct, although LL has answered the question.

*cough*

Welcome. I hope you stick around awhile.

I definitely recommend you upgrade with the GvE edition. You can upgrade with the regular retail versions of CoH or CoV, but GvE comes with some perks that you'll find come in handy. Also, do make sure you UPGRADE your existing trial account. If you "ADD" a new account, then you won't have access to your original characters. The game is also already fully installed on your computer, so simply apply the upgrade code, and you're good to go. No further downloading of the client is required.

The additional expansion packs are just perks, such as temporary powers, and costume pieces. Not having them, at least right away, will not in any way restrict you from playing the full game. You can buy serial codes later to add these packs if you feel so inclined. I personally have them all, but some are more useful than others.

Welcome, and enjoy the game!

This.

Seems a bit rich for the OP to act surprised, even offended, at the response he/she received.

Howdy.

To your specific questions, the objectives are as follows:

1. Badges. You get a badge when you (and/or your team) plants a bomb 25 times, and when you (and/or your team) contributes to the defeat of the Giant Monster 10 times.

2. Vanguard Merits. You can redeem these at the work stations in the Vanguard base for a variety of items, such as a salvage sack (ability to hold up to 10 extra salvage items), Vanguard Heavy (temp ally power), Vanguard Uniform costume items, Vanguard Sigil costume change emote, and much more.

Definitely check the wiki, the info is there.

The raids themselves are full of chaotic fun as well, and I enjoy running them when they form.

This.

And the the OP, a very good P.S.A.

I would advise not to give up your SG. By "work[ing] hard soloing to get what I have" you mean a highly functional base, I say keep things as-is. My hero-side SG is pretty much my own solo SG -- I have many online friends, and a few of their lesser-played alts are in my SG, but for all intents and purposes, my SG and base are for my own, primary use (crafting station, porters, storage bins, etc.).

Honestly, the SG name can't be that bad, to the point it cannot be ignored, can it?

Ignore it.

Oh, and disable your reputation in your user options. I gather folks can still "rate" you, but nobody can see your reputation.

LOL I remember hitting 14 for the first time beating on Hydra in Perez Park, sometime mid-July 2004. I ran immediately to Ms. Liberty and selected Fly, and spent the next half hour flying around AP. I was so dissapointed when I found out I could not land, and stand on the AP Blimp.

Yes, the new boxed presense on the shelves (CoH: Architect Edition) is bringing in a lot of new players, many (most?) of whom are focussing primarily on AE content.

This is a good point, and dovetails with my point above about "teaming up." I should have mentioned it to the OP, but yes, being in teams does provide a bonus to xp (i.e. being in a team of 8, for example, doesn't just dole out the same xp, times eight, that a player running solo would gain).

Hi there.

I'm going to move forward on the assumption, based on your forum join date and post count, that you're new to the game.

As a 5+ year vet of this game, I'm happy to provide some advice:

1. Ignore the AE. There's nothing wrong with AE per se, but it is currently largely being used for power leveling and farming. A new player really ought to have no interest in these activities. IMO.

2. Team up (not in AE). There's some great content out there in terms of story arcs, task forces, trials, giant monster spawns, etc. There's a great big city out there to explore, stories to read, etc., that you'll miss out on if you stick in the AE building.

3. Read the content. Read clues. Read the mission text. Read the souvenirs.

4. You have a level 6 character now. Try rolling another character. If your existing character is, for example, a scrapper, try something completely different, like a controller.

5. Find a heavily used (non farming, non AE) global chat channel on your server. For example, on Champion server it is BMT of Champion. It is a channel devoted to players wanting (B)adges, (M)onster hunting, and running (T)ask forces. I understand similar types of channels pretty much exist on all servers.

Welcome to the game! Enjoy the content, enjoy your characters, and the leveling will take care of itself.

This. I never use the e-mail system myself. The offline /tell feature is personally how I communicate with offline friends, and they me.

No plans for the e-mail system have been announced by the devs since they added the Spam button several issues back. Sadly, for most players (I believe), the e-mail system is little more than a spam in-box.

Many players do use the existing system quite legitimately, so I don't think removing it is a viable option.

Personally, I'd like to see an option to disable e-mail altogether.

You missed:

4) ........
5) Profit!