Stealth_Bomber

As we get close to the release of I19, I have been thinking about all the changes to the game since I started playing. Inherent Fitness and a global slot system are going to be major improvements, IMHO. But back in 2004, we had no idea what was to come.

Ar/Dev Blasters were kings. We begged for teams in Perez Park. No one really knew about playing Scrappers or Controllers. The level cap was 40. Few people knew about better enhancements or where the stores were. The video card in my computer couldn't even run the game, so I had to upgrade. My son was 5 at the time, and he helped me make MagicMan, my first character on Triumph.

But I saw this video, and I was amazed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=292PZKiStsU&sns=em

My wife saw it and said "You can make costumes? Can I play?" She got her first 50 before I did.

So what got YOU hooked?

For me, it the open ended nature of the game, and the fact that it gets updated with great improvements. Sure, the Halo games, Batman Arkham Asylum and Red Dead Redemption are my favorite console games, but they feel like you are trapped in a box in the end. No other MMO, even the other hero one and the biggest one, has been able to hold my attention like CoH.

Also, its straightforward enough that my wife can play casually.

If I want to team, getting a team is easy. Solo? No problem. Want to spend the evening badging, crafting, spiffing up a costume or re-speccing? Sure.

Great writing, innovative ideas, and frequent updates keep me coming back.

I quit for a while when everyone was doing AE farms almost exclusively. I worry that the game is getting too complex for casual players to enjoy. And I'd like to see many more powersets. But all in all this game has kept my interest since 04, and is likely to continue.

This build has inspired me to start an Ill/Cold, and so far it is working out well. I have a couple of questions:
- Wouldn't slotting the Absolute Amazement set in Boxing improve your Recovery and Recharge better than the Stupefy set?
- Might be a personal thing, but would Sup Invis be better than Combat Jumping? Better defense, better stealth and no need for a Stealth IO. Consumes more End, though, so maybe its a wash.

Thanks and keep posting refinements.

I guess I'd have to say "working as intended" = "not well thought out" in this case. I would argue that the Praetoria tutorial should be exactly like the Hero and Villain side ones, i.e. to show players the basic mechanics of the game. You can team in both of those tutorials. Morality choices, picking sides, etc. are all well and good, but too much to add to a part of the game that for some players is on the level of "how do I turn left again"?

The Praetorian tutorial needs a redesign, one that does not preclude teaming. Because when people see "massively multiplayer" in the description they assume teaming is part of the design.

So I made a new character in Praetoria this weekend and started the Tutorial. When he enters, there is another player there asking how to get capes and "better armor". Several people told him about Vet rewards. He asked about wings and I told him about the auction house and how you can get new costume parts there once you are out of the Tutorial.

So the he says, "I've only had this game 3 days, can we team and you show me around?"

Instantly I was taken back six years to when some kindly soul showed me around Atlas. That person showed where Miss Liberty was, and City Hall. That was way back before you got any help at all from the game.

So of course I said "Sure" and invited him to a team. I got the door mission from the cop and we started there. He easn't sure where to go so I ended up using my Assemble the Team to zap him there.

Here's the broken part: when you click on the door, it says "You have too many team members to enter". We could not go in together.

I wad stumped, having never run into this before. I didn't know what to do. I told him I had never had this trouble.

Eventually we had to disband. I told him I would see him in Praetoria and put him on Friends. I ran thru the mission but when I got out, he was still in the Tutorial. I sent him a couple of tells but he either couldn't or didn't want to respond. A little while later he was listed as logged out.

So that's the story. Devs, I'm a resubscribed six-year vet. I would have GLADLY taken this person under my wing, but we were stymied in the freaking Tutorial. I feel terrible that I couldn't salvage the situation.

They increased the recharge time on Full Auto a bit when they improved the animation.

Just give us the option to refuse it just like teleportation that is unwanted.

I have yet to see a useful activation of this power on a team, but maybe I will witness it someday.

Our whole family liked it. The "as told to a counsellor" idea is fun, and the actors are good. Every character got the power(s) they sort of needed. I predict the boy gets accused of cheating at first.

I'm pretty sure it is Mag 3. I have it in the first two powers on one of my AR blasters and I have never had it Hold a Boss in one shot. The effect is the same as Tesla Cage, that lightning ball hold look.

Cider is a kluge. It's a crappy way to avoid making what we really need/want: a Mac native client. The biggest MMO in the world, The One That Shall Not Be Named, has one, and they maintain the same code for all platforms.

We should expect no less.

I have the lastest OS X updates and the most recent client software. Still crashes at least one time every session.

Why is there no official word from the devs about this? Why is there no plan to get this fixed?

So as I was putting out fires today in Steel, I was disappointed (again) that earning all the fire badges does not unlock a fireman's helmet costume piece. Probably been suggested a lot, I'm sure, but it seems like a no-brainer.

I'd like to see a zone based on the late 1800s wild west. There are a lot of inspiration possibilities in that, everything from the movie Westworld to classic "chase down the outlaws" movies.

Throw in "Western Fight" melee powers (think bar brawl, where you could maybe even pull out a chair and smack your opponent over the head), "Western Shot" ranged powers (a mix of pistols, rifles and shotguns; if you have ever been to a Cowboy Action Shooting match you know what I mean), and "Western Mystic" control and/or healing powers and you have the opportunity for every AT to get involved.

And of course, western costume additions: gun belts, western rifle choices, chaps, vests, bandannas, saloon girl, cowgirl/cowboy gear, and a million other things I'm leaving out.

So I was playing today and had the crash where the page comes up with the information that says it will be sent to Apple. I noticed that my Time Machine backup had activated. It backs up to the hard drive inside the TM router, not an external USB drive.

So was this just a coincidence? Or has anyone else noticed a CoH crash and then saw that TM was active?

Assault only provides 10.5% increase to your base damage. It's not worth the End to run it once you have SOs.

Thank you for putting this together, and for your committment to help the citizens of the "City for the rest of us"!

Well after playing a while this seemed to improve stability for me. It still crashes after long sessions, but it seems less now. Wish I could quantify it.

Really dumb question: didn't they change the damage output and hit points of upper level bosses back around the time they announced ED? Doesn't that make the +2 boss target increasingly more difficult as you level, and if so wouldn't that impact your level time? Would it be significant?

Stalker's Assassin Strike with Hecatomb set slotted, Build Up and Hide in effect would be pretty strong.

I may be mistaken, but I think what you are seeing is the Scrapper Crit potential that is part of their inherent. Most, but not all, Stalker powers Crit out of Hide, and they have an increased chance of Crit (even out of Hide) depending on how many teammates are in a 30' radius.

Yes, its true that Stalker MA lacks AOE powers, but I would offer that it doesn't really need them. Its ST attacks are now very strong. The only enemy that has given my MA/Nin significant trouble so far has been Polyphemus.