Syra

OK, thanks for the input so far guys; it's helping me get a solid idea of how to go about things. Didn't actually consider what sort of impact on the emotional development a single change could have (if the character's lover had been killed by anything else, for example, she'd be considerably different). A silly thing, true, but I never seem to notice them until it's too late.



I have about six/seven hours where I'm just say on my [censored] travelling this evening (Holland, w00t, seeing Augury, w00ter), so I'll get started then.

Will let you know how things turn out.

Simply put, how the hell do you do it?

While not strictly related to CoX, I'm reworking a great deal of my character's history in order to refine her past, sort out some conflicting background, things that contradict the lore and so on. Problem is, we're talking about well over a year's worth of real time characterisation and I haven't the foggiest clue where to go.

Anyone done this sort of thing before? If so, how did you go about it?

Right now the most likely option seems to be sitting down with a notepad and shifting things around that way, while talking over the changes that involve other player characters.

Any help with this would be massively appreciated.

Don't bother with Serum.

Chances are you won't use it often, and when you do the effects are gonna go un-noticed.

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New Clocktower Back Story

1) It's Dr. Maelstrom's Pseudo-Discombobulator
2) It froze at the exact time that the Rikti War started.
3) It's Ghost Widow's Tether to the Physical plane.
4) It's the secret escape tunnel from Fort Recluse.
5) It was a Nazi Treasure that Recluse/Statesman liberated from the Axis when they were still friends.
6) The Clock Tower itself is just a Ghost.


Pick one, none or all

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Hey, why not all of them?

Well, except number three; that one's kinda nullified by a certain story arc at level 15.

That powerset combo is - supposedly - the strongest AoE based one a Mastermind can get; what with the Bots focusing on AoE at higher upgrades, and the /Dark skills providing significant debuffs.

I can't give specific details, though; the noise of the Robots drove me absolutely insane after twelve levels.

My second Spec-Ops - named "Omega" - has more balls than the rest of my squad put together, yet he barely has the brains to fill his left glove.

He will always -without fail - run up and start meleeing the Enemy Dishing Out MegaDoom(tm), rather than, y'know, stay away from the sharp stabby bits and shoot it from a distance.

Ironically enough, he seems to be the last to die.

Don't underestimate the strength of tier 1 units; especially when slotted up.

Mine are two accuracy/three damage, and they consistently hit while putting out significant damage. While they're delicate - a solid couple of hits from a Boss will make them crumple - I think it would be folly to ignore them.

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There is the Sleeper in EQ, but it's a relatively specialised case.

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Yeah, AFAIK wasn't that meant to be unkillable but players found a way around it?

'lo there. Welcome to the joys of Roleplay.

Not an GGer myself - I can't seem to integrate myself into CoH too well, so I spend my time bothering people over the GGOOC channel - but I've heard good things, and it's a solid group; not much more you can ask for there.

If you ever pop over to the Villain side of things, you're unlikely to find "open" Roleplay outside of Pocket D; sadly, for whatever reason, most of it on the Villain side takes place within Villain groups. Either a good or bad thing depending on your viewpoint.

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That's the thing, see, I'm a roleplayer, not a gamer. I see things like this and it annoys me because it demonstrates the contempt Cryptic have for their own backstory. You, on the other hand, don't see a roleplaying game, you see a game that lets you progress your character and has a loosely stitched narrative holding it together, and you don't care.

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Now now, just because I have certain expectations of MMORPGs doesn't mean I "don't care".

That said, however, I'll just agree to disagree and leave it at that. I seriously doubt either one of us will convince the other to change their view.

No, actually, I'm just saying that the self-referencing I've seen amuses me; not that something has to break the fourth wall in order to be funny.

I can tell the difference, and I still say....lighten up. "Kill Skulz" was adopted in-game by Cryptic (hell, the Skulls backstory references it, and there's a certain story arc in Cap au Diable that includes a vengeful group of Skulls venting their frustration against a civilian caught saying it), and a lot of people - as mentioned above - keep thinking Influence/Infamy purely counts as money. I don't see the harm in breaking the OOC/IC lines every so often, especially when the times they do it are so minor and sporadic.

A lot of games do it these days. WoW, EverQuest, Neocron, EvE....etc. Yet, despite that, the games still retain a strong narrative and cohesive - by MMO standards - storyline.

How many comments are self-referential, though? They seem to be in the tiny minority as near as I can tell; with a few groups being fairly "light" in places anyway - Freakshow spring to mind, as does the Civic Squad - I'm not overly jarred by things such as this.

Without wanting to sound hostile, I think it's best to just take the comments as they're intended; humour. CoX - in my eyes - doesn't lose anything for occasionally breaking away from a "serious" tone, and I feel it's all the better for that; I doubt Westin Phipps' arc would have been anywhere near as effective if the previous contact was relatively lighthearted, for example.

Er, Raven, try not to take War Witch's script too seriously....

Personally, I quite like this sort of thing; a lot of comics break the fourth wall at times, and it always gives me a giggle when done right in CoX ("Are you sure you're using Inspirations?").

Your mileage may vary, of course.

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I'd just like to point out that this whole issue has nothing to do with CoX per-se. It's an issue with MMOs. By their nature, they simply can't handle this kind of thing because, again by their nature, they must remain static. They are games designed to be played in groups, but which actually only work story-wise when played entirely solo.

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Which has always been my viewpoint.

I just feel it's a bit odd to speak out against narrative because of game mechanics, and the very reason I prefer not to approach them from an IC viewpoint.

This sort of thing is especially irritating in WoW; every week you get an Orc claiming to have wiped out a Sentinel company, completely ignoring the small fact of their own - repeated - deaths. Or the monthly reports of someone slaying Ragnaros, or the Horde whinging the Elves aren't really "in tune with nature" because things keep respawning, etc.

I prefer not to take the actions of players into account when talking about the world, as it does fudge things enormously. There are only so many times I can pretend Countess Crey "was just a body double" before my suspension of disbelief breaks.

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Just like to point out that these mobs are only present in Breakout, in CoV. In hero's, there are no Longbow around the jail...

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WarWitch's plans for zone renovation have only included Atlas, Galaxy and bits of the Hollows at the moment.

I don't think there'll be a lack of Longbow presence for too much longer; she seemed pretty eager to fix the other places.

/EDIT - Woah, just realised how quickly I jumped on your reply. I do step away from the forum every so often, I assure you.

Yes, discussion. Hence why I'm presenting my view of things.

I consider it secure, as does my character. The Zig breakout would - "realistically" - have been one a time thing, Arch-Villains aside. As a Roleplayer, I feel it's just fighting a losing battle - as I said - to elaborate too much beyond that when the gameworld itself is against me.

Hence why I don't worry myself about justifying everything In Character; if I did, it would seriously inhibit my enjoyment of the game.

Plus, as pointed out above, where do you draw the line for game mechanics? I don't recall civilians sleeping, I don't remember seeing cars parking anywhere, I don't ever think I've seen someone go into a building other than myself....etc, etc.

While it's admirable to try and tie these things up from an IC viewpoint, I do feel you're fighting an uphill battle and it isn't worth focusing on to such an extent.

No, it just points out the world is static. Nothing more, nothing less.

I can't think of any MMORPG that would keep its mobs defeated/slain. Gameplay > Roleplay with a lot of today's market.

Except, Raven, as I've already pointed out those prisoners would have been locked up and been secured again by now if the world wasn't static.

There's a CoV mission where you go back to the Zig and help break out a few stragglers; on that map it's fairly clear the security forces are cleaning up, even if the place isn't completely locked down.

Christ, there was something in Warburg the other day that made me LOL; my Villain and her VG were in there for an IC contract - four of us at the time - and on our way to The Web, I turned to see our Brute getting attacked by a Stalker.

Naturally, the team dove in to help her. Another Stalker popped out, and both were promptly flattened.

What happened next....well, let's just say when someone spams "cowards and idiots" over Broadcast - completely ignoring the fact they attacked first - then goes on to make it sound as if we're some group of sixteen-strong gankers....heh.

Just found it amusing.

That first reason could be applied to any comic book world; how many times has the Joker, etc, broken out?

The only series I can think of without villains such as that is the Punisher; even then it's only because he brutally slays them.

Secondly, the prisoners there are - as I said above - the result of a game mechanic. By now they'd all be locked up again; MMOGs aren't organic, for the most part.

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Yes... Hence, is the Zig good enough?, seeing as the buggers walk out of the place...

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When the most powerful beings in existence escape - yet everything else is still locked in - do you think it's fair to say the Zig is completely hopeless?

I seriously doubt it's as simple as them walking out, either. Even Arachnos didn't do a terribly good job; cracked open a few cells, then had to run like hell before the defensive force could respond properly.

That's the problem: Arch Villain. Some of the most powerful entities on the planet.

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Well, the thing is, the Zig needs an enormous amount of fudge applied to it - the 'Breakout' by Arachnos military is presumably a one-off event, but of course, since this is a game, it is in constant progress. I would say that it probably should be considered secure, as when one actually visits the Zig it seems completely locked down, with the Arachnos full military assault taking place some time in the past.

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I agree with this fellow.

The complaints I've seen aimed at the Zig - "there are so many villains on the streets", "I can arrest a group and five minutes they're back" - seem to be warping the game mechanics, rather than taking actual lore into account.

1.) Yes, Scorpion's arcs are heavily bugged; however, the first one - which you do to unlock the pool - works perfectly fine.

2.) Down to personal preference, really. I've always enjoyed avoiding damage altogether; I also use Force Field Generator which stacks with the Scorpion Shield. Can't give a definite answer, unfortunately.

3.) I haven't taken the damaging power, but I can vouch for the others; the holds are awesome. I've kept a Longbow Ballista locked down, and his abilities were recharging so slowly - due to the first Nullifier Mace power - that he was hardly a threat.

The Brute I team with has confirmed the mace prevents knockback (although there's a mace power that doesn't hold; it knocks people all over the place).

I never went into the Scorpion power pool intending to do damage, and I have to say I'm very impressed with the set as a result.