The_Static_Man

All the maps are stored clientside, the map doesn't get "downloaded" as such, the demorecord will simply call whichever map your on and the client will load it up. So you could have a 1 second demorecord and you will still have the entire map. Bases are different since they are stored on the server and the individual assets are on the client. You may need to run around the base to get it all or it might have loaded it all when you first load the base, not too sure on that one.

As far as data collection goes, things like NPC spawns and other characters probably only get collected if you were within viewing range or just beyond ingame when you recorded. So if a character for example is running around on the other side of IP and you're down the other end, you're probably not going to see demorecord take down that data because the server hasn't downloaded that data to the client since you would be too far away to see it ingame. It's whatever the server is streaming to the client that will be captured in demorecord. The server is most likely smart enough to know what it doesn't need to stream stuff in the zone that the client isn't going to see. You may notice when you're in crowded areas especially, characters may start vanishing, there are limits to just how many characters and NPCs the server will stream to you at a time.

So, whatever you can't "see" ingame is probably not being recorded, but that's just purely NPCs and characters. The map itself is purely clientside.

That's just my beliefs, I haven't used demorecord anywhere near as extensively as Dark_Respite here, but that is the basic gist if I am not too far mistaken.

Even though I haven't had much time the last couple of years to play City of Heroes this is still all a big shock to me nonetheless... 12 lvl 50s, over 5 and a half years... pretty much my entire highschool life went into this game, it was a big part of me and it's sad to see this go.

I guess at the moment with uni almost up and starting a fulltime job immediately afterwards all I can say is gaming time is going to be hard to come by for me if it hasn't already for the last 2 years. I am holding out for the new Sim City, the only other 2 games that have really captured my attention is Sim City and Roller Coaster Tycoon (which hasn't exactly announced of a restart yet). So I guess that will be where my gaming side of life will head to.

I guess what is really the worst bit of all is not that the game is closing down, but when it does, that's it, there's no way anybody can ever experience it again. It's the brutal bit about MMOs when they die, they don't just "go out of fashion", they go out of existence.

It's been great fun COH, I've made some lifelong friends and given me some great inspiration! This is probably the greatest MMO to date to be put to sleep and its innovation and legacy will surely live on!

I did suggest about 3 years back that there should be the ability for the community to write it's own storyarcs and potentially shape the game lore...

Striaght up defence, resistance or mez protection is going against the theme of the blaster. The Blaster is meant to be a volatile creature that is all about the punishment rather than the durability. If blasters were to get something like added defence or mez then it needs to be apart of some system that is encouraging blasters to not only chain attacks, but also to be agile and move around.

My playstyle with blasters has always been to move them around as much as possible, stick to range but jump in close now and then to deliver some powerful melee hits because blaster melee attacks are brutal.

While I am for a bit of added survivability, It needs to be part of a system that actually rewards tactile and skilled behaviour rather than equally benefiting those that stand in the middle of a group of mobs, derping around with attacks then whining because they died.

I've reverted back to the old troll caves and just putting in S/L damaging enemies on my AE farm and having a non-damaging ally running around behind me. People have seemingly forgotton that you can still have one combat ally and not suffer a penalty to the rewards so long as you only choose non-damaging powers. For me I've gone Ill/cold, illusion just for some occasional AoE stuns and fear, cold because you get wicked ice shields and just about all the debuffs in that set don't deal damage.

Now you can just bump up the difficulty past what you could normaly do soloing and hey you'r earning some decent xp. This mish works particularly well on my Masterminds since they all get ice shielded also.

/Signed, definetly run into this problem making some more rougher looking toons, they always had to settle for a tattooed tank top.

Some interesting ideas there, but the Trickster, I reckon I would be fine with just a new traps-like powerset that can actually make use of some of the new tech the devs have. Not that the original traps suck, just having played my demon/trap MM to death, traps don't require strategy much more beyond having the attack chain of Seeker Drones into the mob, poison trap, caltrops, acid mortar then PROFIT!! I don't think it would really warrant making an entire new AT

The Hunter is a cool idea, but the difference between you and a corruptor would be pretty negligible to the point where you could just have a support powerset that has a decent pet in it in exchange for some buff/debuff.

Devourer would be a little out of place because a well-built tank can take whatever gets thrown at it which would mean it's role would be little more than just being a much sturdier version of a defender, also for soloing it would be terrible. The absorption idea is good and I reckon it would make a nice niche defense powerset.

The devastator is treading on the toes of the controller/dominator, ok more damage more control for more endurance and recharge but what then? ok you got defense, so you just gonna stand there and take damage? It would be nice to have a Titan Weapons equivalent for control powerset which basically means excactly what you just outlined but again, a powerset would do, the AT doesn't really have much of it's own niche to it.

Same for the demolisher, just an OPed version of a Blaster, again having a couple of powersets that perhaps sacrifice endurance and recharge for more damage would be cool but thanks to IOs, this toon could easily surpass a Mastermind in terms of damage and get pretty close survivability wise.


The ATs that are in the game are good because each has it's little niche. Besides the Hunter and Trickster ATs the others are somewhat just more powerful versions of another AT, they don't have any particular role that can't be filled by at least two other ATs. Even the Hunter and Trickster are kind of ideas that could be brought to life by some new powersets but to the existing ATs.

Yeah but you get that with any new change, a small minority group will make a post and about a thousand comments on it about how they hate it yet the rest of the community really doesn't care or don't mind. Also intially people didn't know what the scope of the advertising would be, people were fearful that there would just be adverts in every spare space possible and it would just be a terrible intrusion to a game you have to pay for. When we were told that it would be limited to just billboards and they had to fit thematically into the game there was a far better response.

What I'd like to know is that I don't think i've seen a single billboard with an actual advertisement on it, is it still going or did it get canned? I like the idea that SGs could do a bit of advertising and stuff like that.

Hey guys, so my Thug/Timer is approaching 50 and I want to get a build finalised for him. I've basically designed him to be untouchable, to be able to run max diff missions no sweat, just wondering if people have any suggestions before I go ahead with it.


Cheers.


Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.956
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

10k Timestreams: Level 50 Magic Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Thugs
Secondary Power Set: Time Manipulation
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Presence
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Call Thugs -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(7), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(7), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), BldM'dt-Acc(9), BldM'dt-Dmg(11)
Level 1: Time Crawl -- P'ngTtl-Acc/Slow(A), P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(40), P'ngTtl-Acc/EndRdx(40), P'ngTtl-Rng/Slow(42)
Level 2: Temporal Mending -- Dct'dW-Heal(A), Dct'dW-Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(3), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 4: Time's Juncture -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(A), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(34), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(34), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(36), Slow-I(48)
Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(11), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(17)
Level 10: Temporal Selection -- Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(36)
Level 12: Call Enforcer -- SCotMastermind-Acc/Dmg(A), SCotMastermind-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), S'bndAl-Dmg(13), S'bndAl-Build%(15), HO:Cyto(15), Achilles-ResDeb%(17)
Level 14: Boxing -- Dmg-I(A)
Level 16: Distortion Field -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(37), Lock-Rchg/Hold(42), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(46), Lock-%Hold(46)
Level 18: Gang War -- SvgnRt-PetResDam(A), EdctM'r-PetDef(19), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(19), C'Arms-+Def(Pets)(21), SCotMastermind-Rchg/PetAoEDef(45), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48)
Level 20: Time Stop -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(21), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(23), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(23)
Level 22: Tough -- GA-3defTpProc(A), GA-ResDam(25), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(31)
Level 24: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(25), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 26: Call Bruiser -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(27), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(27), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), BldM'dt-Acc(29), BldM'dt-Dmg(31)
Level 28: Farsight -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(33), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(33), GSFC-ToHit(48), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(50)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Slowed Response -- AnWeak-DefDeb(A), Achilles-ResDeb%(37), AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(37), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg(36)
Level 38: Chrono Shift -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(39), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(39), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(40), P'Shift-EndMod(50)
Level 41: Provoke -- Zinger-Acc/Rchg(A), Zinger-Taunt(43), Zinger-Taunt/Rng(43), Zinger-Dam%(43)
Level 44: Scorpion Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(45), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Super Speed -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(46)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(33), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(34)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon
Level 50: Vorpal Partial Core Judgement
Level 50: Clarion Partial Core Invocation
Level 50: Spectral Radial Flawless Interface
------------

Soul tentacles is a cone attack, so it's best used if you're not in the middle of the group but outside it, maybe have a range enhancement in there also. Web envelope is a better attack in that respect if you ever decide to switch to mace.

Poison traps is your bread and butter crowd control power. It has a hold component which will hold most of the group in addition to causing them to vomit.

The gas cloud lasts for about 30 seconds, the debuffs last 10 seconds, so if they're still in the cloud they'll still keep getting debuffed.

Also throw in a Lockdown +2 Mag Hold proc in there, It has a chance to fire once every 10 seconds on everyone caught in the cloud, you'll get some great mileage out of it.

Yes, provoke is not taunt. A mastermind has to be very active to keep the attention to him. Mastermind pets I believe have an inherently higher threat level so to keep the damage going through you and not directly to your pets requires alot of attention grabbing.

Provoke is good for AV and boss fights, however despite being AoE, it is marginally ineffective in holding group aggro since it only hits a maximum of 5 targets, it has to be spammed a fair bit to keep the foes on you and even then there will always be a few loose cannons still wailing on your pets. If you plan on using BG mode alot and want the attention to come through you then yes provoke is what you want.

Good work on the guide, Just one small suggestion to Masterminds:

You may want to mention that pets need to be in Defensive/Follow in order to be in Bodyguard mode to be active.

This gave me a chuckle dated back to when the lieutenant only ambush farms were still in existence.

Keep in mind Spinning Strike does more damage than Spring attack, and that's before any combo addition. While it looks cool, Spring Attack is more or less a heavily watered down version of Lightning Rod so unless you want it for thematics or you got a free power slot it's probably not worth it.

If you wanted to use them up aim for powers like soul storm's hold duration or MOG, places where the enhancement isn't being affected by ED, It'll take about 2-3 enhancements at +5 to really noticeably boost something like your damage only because it's been 3 slotted, probably not really worth it unless you really want a strong Eagle's claw.

Actually i would consider dropping tactics to grab powerboost. Farsight already increases tohit and perception so you have that covered already, and you get to keep CJ for that little extra defense (and hey why not throw an LOTG in there to).

From my demon/traps, Traps is good because just about everything is stackable, Acid mortars, beacons, poison traps etc. are all stackable. In addition everything has good use, an aoe hold and -regen that requires no accuracy check is really something. Traps is probably the best all-round set, Other powersets can outperform it in certain areas but as a package, it's quite nice, good debuff with some nice buff, very much like time is now.. just different.

Time is definitely something for those who like to be busy. (geddit?) I also recommend traps.


And i apologise for my severe case of bad pun :P

Demon/Thermal is a solid build, to answer your questions:

- Crack whip is a good investment, cone attack with -res, definitely worth picking up.

- Yes, that is skippable if you take clarion, even if you don't take clarion you won't miss it much.

- Same with ROTP, it doesn't work on pets so only useful if you're planning on being team oriented.

- Vengeance, same as ROTP, It doesn't affect pets so only really useful if your gonna team alot or you just really need it for an extra LOTG proc.

- Personally I take chill mastery for the defence, you're probably better off taking ice blast and adding a couple of chance for dmg procs on it or something, flashfreeze personally never did anything for me. Hoarfrost is alright, if you got a free power slot then go for it
keep in mind you do have a heal though.

- Travel power, traditionally speed or jump, something to get a little defense out of but it is more of a personal choice there.

- You won't be softcapping your defenses with thermal but depending on what other powers you take and set bonuses etc. you can get a nice little additional defense that will definetly help

I would post you a build but it appears that i am unable to find my demon/therm build... :/ my apologies.

I really don't think we need it. I mean, sure it would be great to have, will make some set bonuses mean a hell of a lot more than what they do now. But in all honesty, Masterminds are already pretty overpowered as it is, it's almost expected that your mastermind can take on missions spawned for an entire team otherwise there's something really wrong with your build.

I find one of the challenging things about Masterminds is the fact that you have to look after your pets, you have to cover their behind otherwise they die, It's not just simply, walk into mission with AV, set pets to attack then go make your coffee. Tactics play a role, and most builds I've found at least I can still work it around to get the maximum benefit from set bonuses


Just my two cents

I would also consider throwing in a Lockdown proc in Distortion Field, you get decent mileage out of it, far better than what you get with it being in Time Stop.

If you're going time then definetly get BS's patron set. Power Boost will make a big difference to Far Sight and I think it'll make it much more viable for bots. Time in general is a really good all-round set so once you reach the end-game you're no doubt still going to kick some.

On my Demon/Traps, I usually keep in BG mode and try to get as much aggro go through me on account of my pets still being prone to death on my romps through max difficulty. I think the difference of using BG mode or not really depends on your playstyle and build. Some powerset combinations also tend to work better in BG mode and other work better when pets are aggressive so it's whatever works for you. Having a few semi-bg macros also helps and I have all my commands bound to keys as opposed to numbers along with having single-unit commands on Alt+key, it just maks things so much easier and drastically frees up your power trays.