Takarik

I think the answer is:

With the current setup, and what they know, they can't do it the same way they did weapon customization. The only way they can think of to do it and do it right involves a massive amount of time and effort with the only return on investment being that Block of Ice now comes in lime green. In other words, not much visible return for the effort expended. Compare that with other areas that they get more bang for the buck, and power customization keeps getting set aside in favor of other things.

However, they're going to keep trying to figure out a way to do it. If they figure out a way that they can do it without basically writing City of Heroes 2, they'll jump on it.

In other words: Power Customization will be added just as soon as it's feasible. Right now, it's very much not feasible. But just as soon as it is, they'll add it.

The Long Version of 'Base Design & Editing: A Very Immodest Proposal

Short version:

An item editor that allows for:

<ul type="square">[*]Creation of 'gestalt' items made up of multiple items[*]Elimination of the need for stacking[*]Selection as to if a gestalt is a floor, wall, or ceiling item[*]Scaling and rotating of items[*]Reasons for the programmers to want me to die, die, die, die, die, in a fire, die.[/list]

Agreed- moving things after the fact can be difficult, so it's best to try and keep it in mind. Although there's certainly no 'right' way to do it, since each base configuration is going to require its own plan according to what's there and what will be added later.

For instance, I had to go from this to this.

Thanks to the configuration of the different rooms, it was a multiple step process that included temporary room placement, plot size shifts, and having to shuffle items in the rooms in order to temporarily add and subtract doorways. Expansion is certainly something to be considered, although I think it's something left for people with more prestige than myself. It would be hard for me to justify writing about logical expansions when I've little to no experience with same.

Even with the understanding that this whole thing's not meant to be taken seriously, I still have to say that it makes me want to avoid Regen Scrappers. And I play one.

I'll add a few, although they can be situational:

ZZZ: Shorthand for being slept, although it can also be used for other status effects like disorient or holds. Used as a combination warning (as in, "I can't help you") and a request (as in, "somebody dispel this, please").

Quant: Quantum, as in those guys who make Kheldians feel the pain. Used to indicate one's been spotted as well as a substitute for My Target. Sometimes used with the expectation that all non-Kheldian team members will prioritize eliminating the target or protecting the Kheldian (which is arguably the same thing).

Crack Dealer: Someone with the Kinetics power set who has gained the Speed Boost power. Any references to crack or drugs will often refer to this as well as other recovery-boosting powers. Crack may also refer to Superadine labs in those missions where these provide a recovery boost.

Stealth It: Using invisibility, teleport, or similar powers to bypass large parts of a mission. Often performed by only a few members of the team. This tactic is generally saved for timed missions or 'filler' missions between good parts in a story arc. Obviously not useful in 'defeat all' or rescue/kidnapping missions.

SK/LK/EX/Mal: Sidekick, Lackey, Exemplar, or Malefactor. These refer to the appropriate team-ups to allow people to fight at comparable levels. Although typically used outside of combat, there will be times when its invoked during battle, particularly to notify someone of a change in status (e.g., "Going to unEX to LK Fire.")

Rez/Wakie: Awaken inspirations or resurrection powers. Used either to ask for, or notify possession of.

Bases So Good That Nobody Will Notice - aka managing traffic flow and prioritizing teleport beacons.

So you want to set up a base, but in the past it hasn't gone so well. Maybe you've run across a few bases where it seems like you can't figure out where you are, or where you're trying to go. This guide aims to help you set up your base so that it becomes convenient enough for your supergroup that you'll never hear anything about it.

[u]Raids Versus Convenience[u]
Alright, so here's your first question: what do you want to do with this base? Are you looking to raid? Or do you just want something convenient? This is an important question because your choice will determine the end results. A base that is designed to be raided is going to be set up almost opposite to one designed for convenience. This is because of what your goals are. A raid base is going to be set up so that moving from room to room is difficult and accessing key elements of the base is hard to accomplish. Further, you're going to want to make sure energy, control, and the vault are all easy to keep an eye on to prevent people from sneaking over there and blowing them up. That's pretty much contrary to what I'm trying to do.

Plus, I have no idea what I'm doing talking about how to build a base to be raided, so I'm just going to leave that to other people who've got a better idea what's what.

If you've figured out that you're going for convenience, then you're in the right spot. So let's start thinking about some of the core ideas here.

[u]Flow Of Traffic[u]
Alright, here's your big concern when you're looking at making a convenient base. What makes a base convenient or not is basically if you can move from your starting point to where you're trying to get to with a minimum of hassle. That means both distance and obstacles should be minimized.

But what, then, are we trying to reach? Well, let's think about this a bit.

[u]Transportation[u]
This is the big thing for people who're going to your base, and as others have said, the main reason to have a base in the first place: getting to use teleporters. People who are going to want to use the teleporters are going to primarily be coming from the base portal, so you'll want to keep these nearby. The other direction from which people will be going to the teleporters is the med bay, although this is less likely. It won't hurt to keep these all clustered together, but give priority to getting from the base portal to the teleporters if push comes to shove.

[u]Storage[u]
Storage is another reason people will be stopping by the base, and with inventions available the Personal Vault will be the biggie here. It would be very easy to just say, "Oh, well I'll just toss one in each room." That could work- but not as well as you might like. If you can manage to keep your storage centralized in one or two rooms, you'll be better off because people who can't remember where they put that level 45 SO will be able to quickly go from one storage device to another without much trouble.

Of course, Storage is best located somewhere close to workshops, because people are going to want to move from one to the other quickly. You'll also do well to sort out what you're grabbing by what's nearby: an Invention Desk placed next to the Personal Vault will be better than one grouped with the forges and worktables. Similarly, you can drop the Inspiration and Enhancement storage away from the work areas, because these won't be interacting as much.

[u]Healing[u]
The ability to revive in a base is questionable at best, given that you're not able to recover to 100%, and you'll likely still have to trek across a zone to get back to your mission door- reviving at the base will reduce your starting health and endurance while making you wait for load times. However, particularly below 10th level, members of your supergroup may find an infirmary useful for getting around- you just die, step into the teleporter, and there's no worry about running to the tram. In some places like Mercy this can also save you time since the spot you show up at from teleporting is a long ways away from the base portal. In any case, as stated before if you want a med bay, you'll want to put this near the main transport routes.

[u]Missions[u]
Between the CoP Trial, the Task Force, and the ability to (now) add a Pillar of Ice &amp; Fire to your base, you can find youself spending a lot of time running to and from the control room of your base, particularly as part of a group. Because of this, the Control Room is another room that's best set up somewhere near to your main transport routes (which incidentally translates as 'Base Portal and Teleporters), although you'll want to keep it off to the side. It's also going to be useful to keep in mind what people will be accessing- in this case, two auxiliary items. That means you'll do best to put these near the door and keep the rest further in. You don't need to worry about blocking access here, you'll only have to get to these two items.

[u]Energy and Lack Thereof[u]
The Energy room isn't something you're going to need to go into unless you're upgrading your power source. And for that reason you can stick this out in the corner where it's difficult to reach. There just isn't a good reason to do otherwise. Similarly, if you have rooms dedicated to lounging around and chatting with your friends, you're really not going to have to worry about speed of travel- your goal's going to be to stop traveling, after all. So these can be placed in relatively inconvenient areas without any harm.

Okay, so we've got a good idea of what rooms need fast access and what ones don't. It's worth noting that every room except Energy and Decorative benefits from being close to the base portal. That should make it rather clear that your Entryway should serve as a hub around which everything else is arrayed. If we were to prioritize things it would be something like this:
<ul type="square">[*]Entryway[*]Transport Rooms[*]Workshops[*]Control Room[*]Med Bay/Infirmary[*]Decorative[*]Energy[/list](And yes, I skipped red for those of you on the CoV side).

So if you're looking at the standard 8x8 plot, you're going to do best by reserving the N,S,E, and W directions for Transport, Workshops, and Control, and then leave your NE, SE, SW, and NW corners for Medical, Energy, and Decorative or extra Storage/Workshops.

This last bit is worth noting because it seems to contradict what I said above- but it doesn't. While you want storage to be immediately available to people who show up from the Entry Portal, people who are wanting to make things aren't going to be in as nearly as big a rush as someone dumping salvage before heading off to the teleporter. You can prioritize things as your workshops move further out from the Entry Portal, with the Invention Desk, Vault, and Inspiration storage being near the door, and then your base salvage, Forges, Worktables, and Enhancement devices next, and your Enhancement storage in the back. In fact, you could even drop your Forges and Worktables at the far end, since you're not likely to need them except when you're cleaning up the salvage racks or tinkering with the base- things that you aren't going to be doing except when you have a lot of time on your hands.

[u]The White Zone is for Loading and Unloading Only[u]
Here's something to think about now that you have your rooms laid down: what you put in them, and where. This is a pretty simple concept: people who are in a hurry probably have their travel powers on when they show up in your base, or otherwise are going to want to make as straight a shot from the place they are to the place they want to be. You want things to be convenient, but if I'm going from A to C, and to get there I have to pass through B, I'm going to want my path of travel to be free of obstacles. Of course, that means sticking those workstations and teleporters and such in places so that they can be bypassed easily- but what about people?

Anyone from the early days of City of Villains can relate the horror stories of the bank heists. You see, bank heists originally were full of civilians. And these civilians could move you, but you couldn't move them. That meant that trying to get to the vault and taking down all those security guards attacking you was a matter of navigating an organic, constantly shifting maze. One that you could often find yourself cursing. That's no longer a problem (or at least not as much) but there's still the same effect possible in maps where your teammates (or their pets) can keep you from getting to where you're trying to go. You want to make sure that your base doesn't end up being one of those maps.

So how do you do this? Simple: don't just stick things out of the way, think about where people are likely to stand while accessing them. It does me no good if you've moved the salvage racks out of the way, if I have to go around Bob who's using those same racks. Get things positioned so that someone standing nearby will naturally move themselves away from the path of traffic.

This same idea goes for elevations in your base: while it may be useful in a raid base to shrink the size of the place down to a minimum, or that one really neat decoration requires more height, moving up and down can be a pain, particularly because stairs will count as blocking doorways. So there's always going to be a narrow gap where someone can find themselves halted by a step up. Similarly, sudden drops in the ceiling or big spiky decorations that hang down can annoy flyers and leapers. If you want to change elevation, do so- but try to keep the path of travel homogeneous throughout your base. You can test this with a few volunteers- just have them try to zoom through the base as fast as they can, and see where they get stuck.

As for those Masterminds? Well, you can't put two Doorways right next to each other. So the only real advice I can offer you there is institute a No Pets policy in the base. There's no real need for them, so you might as well avoid summoning them so that your groupmates can avoid the hassle. Or, if you prefer, just give them a place to hang out.

[u]Where To Go[u]
Alright, so we've got our basic layout. But I mentioned something about beacons, so let's look at that.

Villain-side, life's good. Four teleporters will take you anywhere you can go, since there's only eight Beacons available as of I11. That means two 2x2 rooms are all you need. Set 'em up next to your Base Portal and you're good as gold. Hero-side, you've got 21 possible Beacons. That means you'll need eleven teleporters. Ouch. It's not easy being blue.

So let's say you're a resident of Paragon City, or maybe just a villain with less prestige than you'd like. You're going to want to get the most bang for your buck from your teleporters, aren't you? Well then, let's talk travel hubs.

For the villain, your number one place to teleport to is going to be Cap Au Diable. This is your one stop shopping mall, with a University, Black Market, Facemaker, and the ability to get to every other PVE zone in the game. Further, although I'm not 100% sure of this, I believe there's even a Vanguard station here as well as a Vault, so you're pretty much set. People might not like having to jump from one zone to another, but if you have only one beacon to your name, CaD's the place you want that beacon to go to. Mercy is your second bet because of convenience- the base portal puts you at the starting location, while the teleporter will drop you in Mercy proper. Your new recruits will appreciate it when they get beat down, rez at Fort Darwin and need to get back to the tiki bar to kill some Snakes. From there, Port Oakes (since it can only be reached from Mercy or CaD) will be useful for your higher level types, and you can start filling in as you see fit.

For the hero, your first bet will be Steel Canyon. Like CaD, this is the place that will get you everywhere you're going while offering Icon, the Vault, a University, Wentworth's, and vendors of every stripe. It may not be very kind to you when you're trying to cross the zone (what with all those buildings) but this is still the first beacon you'll want. From here, there's two places to consider: King's Row and Peregrine Island. Why these two? Simple: KR has a Pocket D portal, while Peregrine Isle's the only non-hazard zone you can't get to via tram. From here you've got to prioritize, since your base isn't likely to offer enough room for all 21 portals. If it does you probably don't need me telling you how to set it up! My suggestion past these three is to look at Hazard Zones that are difficult to get to: particularly those that have only one way in. Fallout, Terra Volta, Crey's Folly, Dark Astoria, and Eden are all good choices. Boomtown is less so because you already have a Steel Canyon beacon. The Hollows and Striga are other good ones although easier to reach, and Perez should likely be left alone since you can get to it from four different (widely used) Zones. Prioritize, and don't be afraid to adjust the beacons based on what your group's using. Remember that they don't require salvage so you can swap them as necessary.

[u]Summary[u]
While it's fun to build bases that look really cool, it's really important to remember that the main reason you're sinking all this cash into a base in the first place is the fact that it makes your spandex-filled life more convenient. Your teammates are going to be happier with a base that they can hop through in a moment's notice than one where they have to dodge through your carefully arranged crystal garden in order to reach what they're after. Sometimes the best compliment is when people say, "I never noticed that before."

If the other threads about MMOs on that forum are any indication, this is true. None of them have grown to be more than a quarter the size of the COX thread, and that's being extremely generous.

I just figured I should share this picture- but first it needs some explanation.

This is a cropped screenshot from a forum for another game- a tabletop miniatures game. It's taken from the Off-Topic forum, which is not visible to people who aren't members. And there's one topic in that forum that has grown to legendary status, simply for its size and tenacity.

So what is this one topic that has people talking about it?

I'll give you three guesses, first two don't count.

Ninth one from the bottom, or 10th from the top. Your choice.

Worth noting also that 1) It's not the first thread on the subject, and 2) The thread was started on August 14th, 2004. The screenshot was taken earlier today.

There's one reason why I picked up an attack from my primary.

Because it looks frelling cool.

Something like 1%, I think it is.

In Founder's Falls I've gotten five side missions- raiding, smash and grab, arson, kidnapping, and jailbreak. Bricks, however, does seem to be four. The mission description seems to tell you how many- and they're always in the same spot.

Also, the time you get for a given mission seems constant:

Arson - 4:00 minutes
Kidnapping - 8:00 minutes (note you have to run back to your entry point, not just the door of the mission)
Smash and Grab - 6:00 minutes
Raiding - 6:00 minutes

I don't recall if I got any time at all for the jailbreaks. Also, the villain in Founder's Falls is named Silent Blade.

Other powers I've gotten from raiding sidequests:

Kinetic Shield (+res vs Smash, Lethal, max amount of time 'on', looks like the first sonic shield, but yellow-orangeish)
Tear Gas Grenades (IIRC, 12 use AOE)

This is probably shooting myself in the foot in the name of helping others, but here's the Christmas Ninja's gift-gathering route.

Head to Nerva and find the isle with four statues, one at each corner. Just about straight north of the base portal. At each plaque on that island (note they aren't history plaques, they're just there) a gift will appear. That'll give you five (four corners, center).

Now, from there, head to the island to the East. A statue straight out of Galaxy City marks the direction. There's two buildings by a Crey holding facility- the first respec is on the far side. The northernmost building, first 'balcony' you'll find a gift on. Now run around the building and jump northeasterly towards some boats. One has a gift on it. From there, jump southwards. There's three buildings East to West in the Crey compound- go to the Westernmost one and check inside. Another gift awaits you.

That'll put you at eight presents.

Now, the opposite side of that four-statue island, down towards the base portal, there's one rediculously large building. Atop that there's a present. Further, between that building and the statue island, there's a small harbor with a single boat tied up next to a two-tier dock. Present on the dock.

That's ten in a small area that you can hit in a quick, easy circuit.

If you want to expand outwards, to the North of the Crey island, there's a big building- think maybe one of the Brokers is there- haven't paid attention. In any case, there's a fountain there, in a group of pillars. Another present is there.

Also, just to the NE of the base portal, there's a present.

So there's twelve. Lots of people already hit these, but even so with all of them there, I can get enough gifts to hand out to the little 'uns down on Mercy and Port Oakes. Last night I got a full thirty-eight present inspirations over about two hours, including trips to hand 'em out. Probably clicked three times that many glowies.

And if you see a ninja in a Santa suit jumping around there, it's probably me.

Gotta slot more Acc than a TO in black marker there, Wincott.

Hmm.

Don't think I've seen more than two Spec Ops in a spawn- and they might've been from two close spawns that aggro'd together. I have seen some rooms and maps where you can get a very nasty 'chain aggro,' particularly in the sewers with larger teams- one group alerts, which alerts another, and another, until you're fighting the entire room's spawns at once.

As for the quarter-second, unresistable hold...

Well first off, I can already think of a way for my main to get around this. It'd definitely affect him, being a Ninjitsu Stalker- but I should have the abilty to mitigate it. I just have to slap down a smoke bomb after the toggle drop, giving me ten seconds to vanish. But that isn't an option everyone has.

I admit I'm skeptical about the balance of the power, just because of how everything's been set up to this point.

There's always a defense against an attack in game- be it defense, damage resistance, status protection, whatever- there's a counter to it. Damage of a particular type? Resist it. Damage with no type? Defense. Disorient, Sleep, Hold, Immobilize, Knockdown? Status protection. Slow? Speed buffs. Stealth? Perception. It doesn't give you 100% immunity, but it gives you something. If you get hammered enough you are going down- but if you have the appropriate defensive power, you should be alright for at least a little while.

This Sonic Concussion thing seems to break that balancing act, declaring that flat out it will happen to you. That might not be entirely the case- I don't know the full details here. Is it autohit or is it something you can dodge? Is this a PBAoE, a ranged AoE? Single target? Is it something you see used over and over, or is it likely to be used only once or twice in a fight due to recharge?

Sappers have long been a thorn in the side of heroes, just because they can drain your endurance down to nothing and then Hold you while their buddies change you into a red stain on the carpet. But there's been ways around them found- take them down first, get some of those lovely endurance buffs, Confuse 'em, Hold 'em, and so on. I've heard, in the heyday of such things, of Regeneration Scrappers who idly stood still and watched Sappers try desperately to drop their endurance bar below full- in vain.

As a Stalker, I'm already a brilliant team 'defense' against Spec Ops and other stealthy enemies- I can take them down first, and Ninjitsu's Danger Sense gives me a perception boost so I can keep track of them. Masterminds have a defense too, of a sort- their pets don't care of the Mastermind's Held or had his toggles dropped, they act independently. This does seem to be a serious pain in the rear for Brutes, however- short of carrying a tray full of defense buffs or resist buffs, they don't have much they can do to stop this from hurting them.

Not sure if this is just a Vidiotmaps thing or not, but I figured I'd offer a correction.

My SG got the Improved Igniter last night, but it had nothing to do with influence. Per the badge, we've been set on fire enough times that we deserve a flamethrower of our own.

I don't know if it's damage-related or just 'get set on fire x times' but there you go.

I've gone against Longbow solo and in a group with my Stalker. Now mind you, he's only 31 at this point, but I'd think I can still toss my two cents in.


I've yet to see the burn patches, and Spec Ops are a relatively new addition to the force. I'd guess I've seen 'em for the last five levels or so. Maybe I'm just special or something, but as a Ninja/Ninja, just about anything with stealth is a joke. Yeah, you turn that on. You look like me now. Which is to say, I can still stab you.

The only exception to this is the Night Widows with smoke bombs- those can still hide everything from me. But then I pop a yellow, and the world turns normal again. Needless to say, Night Widows are one of my top choices for assassination.

I dislike facing Longbow because they have Smashing/Lethal resistance, which I suppose is fair. How long have people complained that Smashing/Lethal is the most common resistance pair in the game? Facing Longbow, it means I have to take long to drop a target, which can be a problem in bigger spawns. But I have that issue against Freakshow, too.

The worst for me so far has been those times that I've met a Spines Warden. These guys, along with other targets make my life miserable. They've got a PBAoE that's on from the moment they spawn. What's a Stalker supposed to do? Yes, they're bosses. Yes, I should have a team. But then... what? I can't AS. Placate does nothing- it's a PBAoE, he's just going to hit me anyways. So.. I should pretend I'm a Scrapper? Thanks, I learned that lesson in Breakout- I'm not a Scrapper. Especially not going up against a Melee Boss.

Now, conversely to this, I've taken down two Wardens at once. Sounds impressive, right? Well, first off they were both green. So we can throw that 'impressive' thing out the window. They were in the same Spawn, in Nerva. I figured I could AS and scrap at least one, Placate the other and hightail it, then repeat. Didn't work that way. I found out real fast that one was a Spines/Invul who for some reason didn't have the PBAoE. He was beating the tar out of me pretty well with that one attack, don't know it- you leap up in the air, do a few forward rolls, then land. He was a nasty fight on his lonesome. But what was worse was the other one was an Emp/Psy. I don't know what was going on there, but I tell you this- her endurance was not dropping and she was spamming AoE and targeted heals while using Psychic Lance to try and hit me. I did drop them, but it cost me a lot of greens and blues to do it.

But now that I've rambled on for pages here, lemme say this: Longbow aren't the guys I've hated the most. Yeah, that's right. These guys annoy me, they hurt me, they can make my AT superfluous. But they're not at the top of my most-hated list. There's another group that's consistently elicited groans of resignation from the teams I've been on, gotten people in my SG to avoid certain contacts altogether, and generally cost me more debt than anyone else- which is pretty impressive given they only show up on one Island. Some of you can probably guess who they are.

Scrapyarders

These are the guys I truly, truly hate- and I've seen few Longbow missions that come close to comparing. Yes, I've outleveled them with my Stalker, and I can off them like nothing now. But they hurt when I was facing them, blue or higher.

Enraged Miners aren't so bad, no. They just do huge damage to you with every attack. Die quick? Yeah, they're not too special. But you get a couple of them on you or a henchman and you're in for a serious headache.

Demolitionists- now these are the reliably nasty ones that'll really make that dark purple bar show up. Ranged Burn patches with a fast recharge, knockback, big damage. Then you get in melee... and they're hitting you with a jackhammer for a chain of double-digit damage. You can't afford to run, you can't afford to stay- and they'll show up in groups.

Foremen are nearly as bad as the Demolitionists- at least they aren't so big on the ranged death. Yes, they hurl boulders, and they have dynamite too. But that's not nearly as bad- so long as you stay out of melee. I've seen Foremen out-damage Brutes that were one-shotting Miners. And for added fun, they get Assault.

Even when I was 26 and facing -2s while going against Scrapyard's Ghost, I've been KO'd by these guys. The Demos will team up and next thing you know, there's a half-dozen Burn patches laid down and your comp's lagging, popping up red numbers over your head before the dynamite hits a couple seconds later.


Yeah, I have issues with Longbow. But I tell you this- I'd much rather face them than see Scrapyarders again.

I can give info on Tarixus. I've been playing badge-hunter for my SG, and in the process I picked up the Lore Keeper badge (I think- this is the Children of Enos history badge?). Yet when I stopped to chat with Tarixus, he wanted nothing to do with me. He told me to talk to someone else- female, two word name, both starting with C's, last one was Crush or something like that. That would determine if, 'our fates are intertwined' I think he said.

They're not all on the same island. So far there's just Loremaster, which I think requires you to hit Mercy, Port Oakes, and Cap Au Diable, if not more (I'm lazy, what can I say). That's for all the plaques discussing the Children of Enos.

Currently part of a VG that's made up of basically eight people and alts. We're online every night for at least three, four hours. We've got 22 names in our VG, most of 'em alts. We've been playing for two weeks time, give or take. Not sure how long the guys have been on before I joined up.

Right now, we have two rooms, the Entry Room and a Energy Room, both 2x2. We've got some decorations, but not a whole lot. Maybe 10k at most. There's 67k prestige in the bank, and we've got a basic generator going.

That's putting us at about 442k prestige at this point. We're all pushing level 20, and we're usually fighting things +2 or worse.

Now that means that in two weeks time, we've earned about 142k prestige playing enough individually to qualify this as a part-time job.

To hit the critical 750k point (enough to get an Energy Room, Control Room, Workshop, Generator, Mainframe, and Basic Worktable) we're going to have to play for another six-plus weeks, which is going to become a big issue when we hit 25 and start suffering infamy loss. At that point we'll start seeing that six-plus weeks lengthen as we have to devote time to earning infamy to keep up with our enhancement needs.

Eight people, eight-plus weeks, 21-plus hours a week, to get a basic functional base. No crafted items, no medical, no transport, just being able to convert salvage to raw material.

I'm thinking just maybe costs need to be dropped some, if bases are to be available to the casual player.

Well, I haven't been on since 11/7, but I went to the spot that VVolf was bringing people to in beta. When I got there, I could see the hole real easily- and from there, I just walked in. The guy I brought along flew in and headed for the badge, no problem. I ended up teleporting out after trying to get my pets to leap into the abyss, then went to the location so he could use his minimap and navigate.

I'd guess you could maybe use teleport, if you knew exactly where you were going. But fly's just going to work better.

Got four of six beacons for my Stalker's SG thanks to this guide- Sweet Tooth and St. Martial are all that's left to do. My MM was able to guide someone to the Sweet Tooth badge, thanks to what I was shown in beta- just got him to the hole, then went and sat on the map where the badge was so he could navigate. He was very grateful, as that was the last one his SG needed, and I think I owe you most of that thanks, since I would have no clue personally.

I'm not wholly certain, I'll check when I can- but I think you can get the Privateer badge by fighting the Sea Witch another way. I got a mission to fight her from Mr. Bocor, while a ship was in drydock. Had to deal with Red Hands and Night Haunts, as well as the Sea Witch. And I think I got the badge for it. Again, I'll doublecheck when I can get ingame.

Any chance we'll see the Sharkshead Isle badges again? I've forgotten where most of 'em were.

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A Supercomputer costs 1.5 mil to place... loose that in a base raid as well and you just got a huge chunk of hurt put on ya.

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Taking down an item in a raid does not automatically mean it is permanently destroyed. There is a base chance that any destroyed item is fully restored at the end of the raid (I don't have the stats in front of me so I can't quote the number). This chance is increased by building Robotic Fabricators and the Flames of Hephaestus. Each adds a percentage to the recovery chance.

And, of course, for in instant raids everything is restored to full at the end of the raid.

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If a base had both a Robotic Fabricator and a Flames of Hephaestus, would the effects stack? Can a base purchase multiple Robots/Flames? And can the Robots/Flames themselves be destroyed?

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Question reposted due to ... well ... not being answered.



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My understanding is that multiple Robotic Fabricators stack- so you build 8 RFs, you get +40%. Do they stack with the arcane versions? No clue. Now the real question is:

How many Robotic Fabricators can you afford to build before the cost-benefit ratio becomes unsustainable?

I think the whole idea with the broker contacts is that they send you to one, and you proceed per normal for CoH from there. You talk to Bocor, he gives you an arc, midway through you get the Radio, you finish off both Bocor and the Radio's arcs, and by that point you should be CAD material. Much like you can't go through CoH and get every contact. You get some of them. If you want a badge for a particular mission, either you get that mission or you go around asking for it. Personally I'm hoping CoV doesn't have the equivalent of the fortuneteller mission, where you need that one mission to get the Atlas Medallion. Sure, gimme a badge for dumping Outbreak drugs in Paragon City. But don't make it a requirement.

So far the only contact I've skipped has been Doc Shirley in CAD- she sent me immediately over to Marshal Brass. That's mostly due to the fact I hit 16 before hitting CAD. But now I've got Brass and Marino, and I figure I can go back to the Russian if I get tired of these.