Wicked_Wendy

I don't really see a need to make these available for trade. You claim you have low levels with 600 merits .. 1) the exchange rate for merit to Tier 3 Inspirations is 1 to 1 and I have 2 SG bases with 8 inspiration collectors all completely filled with 100 each of every type available. Below 20 level when End sucks having a constant supply of tier 3 End enhancers can really help out a low level character. Yes they are random drops BUT you can combine 3 of anything to make whatever you are short on. 2) the exchage rate on merits to enhancements is 8 to 1 even at level 50 so this can be an outstanding way to DO and SO your character before you start looking at IOs and the savings will help that character down the line when he or she wants to start crafting/buying IOs. 3) as mentions take your chances and just buy rare salvage then sell it at the market. Again this will add influence you can use later on when you want to start enhancing with IOs.

Tickets are pretty much the same story although the cost to buy enhancements fluctuates as you get higher in level. One really nice aspect of turning tickets into salvage and then into influence or Infamy is you can actually PICK what you purchace not roll the dice and hope. I have gone to Wentworths found out what was selling the best and then headed to AE and bought those exact piece of salvage .. adding millions to a characters available funds.

I generally don't start to IO an character much until the late 30s. A 40 level IO enhancement is better than a 50 level SO so by 37 I will start adding as I find the necessary recipes and salvage.

I think it's great that soon we will be able to email influence, recipes and salvage.. hey I have high level characters that get a recipe they can't use in their build. Now I can email it to one that can and even email any salavge needed that the character getting said recipe is short on. That in itself is a giant step forward I really don't see a need to add Merits and Tickets to the mix.. plenty of things any character can use them for so why start moving them around?


Oh I'm also curious what you coinsider a "low level character" and depending on the anser just how you managed 600 or more merits on one.

Positron TF 10-Up 66 Merits
Synapse TF 15-Up 58 Merits
Sister Psyche TF 20-Up 50 Merits
Moonfire TF 23-Up 32 merits
Citadel TF 25-Up 40 Merits
Hess TF 25-Up 19 Merits
Manticore TF 30 -Up 32 Merits
Numina TF 35 -Up 36 merits
First Respec trial 24 -Up 27 Merits
Second Respec trial 34-Up 20 Merits
------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 380 Merits

Even adding in the cave of Trancendance Trial (8 Merits), Katy Hannon TT (9 Merits) and The Eden Trial (7 Merits) along with completing the Midnighter Club Arc(8 Merits) so you have access to the ITF at level 35.. that only comes to 404 Merits and since you can't do the Eden Trial untl level 39 we are talking a 40 level character at best having 400 or so Merits. So at best say a 20 level character might have 150 or so Merits available since all of the rest of that listed is too high for them to join. I personally consider characters between 1- 20 as lower level - few powers yet, low on end, stilll working toward a travel power till 14, etc. Mid-levels are 21-40 (even that may be off since a 40 level is pretty HIGH IMO) but now they are coming into their own - more attacks, better defense, nore HP, etc. And finally high level from 40 and up. But as I have shown above even if you think of anything below 40 a "LOW LEVEL character" the best they could possible have is around 400 merits not 600. LOL

I think the Grocrey Store tabloids would be the worst. "Thunderman saves city from alien invasion. Two small kittens killed during the attack. Is Thunder Anti Cat?"

With the constant rating wars I am sure television news would have a field day pointing out that yeah Galazy Maid foiled an attempt to blow up the entire city but she destroyed a Mini-mart in the process. "Who is paying for all that collateral damage?" Let's face it the Police face the same problems... Detective foils a bank robbery and ends up suspended pending an investigation because during the pursuit the robbers did X million in damage to cars, building, etc. Never mind that it was them trying to escape after say killing two bank guards, injuring a teller who they assumed hit the silent alaerm, and wounding or killing a dozne other cops during their foiled escape attempt. We have businesses and private citizens threatening to sue... you are in big trouble mister! Of course if the same detective lets them get away he's in trouble with the bank and all it's customers because they did.

I'm sure they's all try for the "Who is he or she dating?" angle and the Paparazzi would be everywhere they went. then again what powers are we talking here? Sort of hard for a normal guy with a camera to keep up with say a superman that can FLY and is faster than a speeding bullet. Heck all Sue Richards would have to do is go invisible until she got to her boyfriend's house and they'd never even know she left her apartment. LOL

For a while I had a short single mission story invloving Ausin Powers, Doctor Evil and eben the fembots.. Okay I am a Mike Meyers fan. LOL I had someone comment that the whole thing seemed "SILLY"... Ummmmm Yeah and so was the movie. I was creating a comical story not trying for "War and Peace".

I do tend to test arcs with my Tankers and Scrappers mainly and had someone comment that "The AV and EBs in The League of Extraordinary Villains were too HARD". So I went in with my Arch/Ice Blaster and soled it with absolutely no problem. So what were you using a one level Defender with the now defunct flyswatter attack powerset? lol I've had other people comment that those same EBs and Av and too easy to beat. Sigh.... PT BARNUM put it best "You can't please all of the people all of the time!" lol

Goodness PT are we having a bad day or what? Congratulating a team mate on an accomplishment is not just a COH thing. I've been watching sports for years with my Dad, Brothers, Ex-Husband and even my daughters and ball players will hug, high five, SMACK butt, and an assortment of other things to congratulate a comrade on a job well done. Now I am not comparing those real life situations to going from level 17 to level 18 but exactly what is so wrong about your TEAM MATES wishing you well as you get one step closer to level 50?

This whole game revolves around pats on the back.. Or should we also do away with rewarding badges as well? I mean after all it's not like thousands of other players haven't done the exact same mission you just did before. Its a simple gesture of recognition and yes like many players I have a macro set up up so that even in the heat of a battle I can click and say "Gratz!" when I hear that familiar DING. Does that mean I am not sincere in my praise for their accomplishment? No it just means that I am surrounded by thugs trying to seperate my head from my shoulder at the moment so I TOOK the time in advance to still have a means to wish a fellow team mate well when they level. Sorry it annoys you but it is the norm here so you'll either just have to live with it or solo constantly.

Drones .. I HATE drones! lol They are very hard to take down and add in the fact that they have outstanding perception since they are one of a very few things that can see through my Superior Invisibility (Controllers) and Hide (Stalkers).

As mentioned AoE attacks seem to work and I have had good success with fire. The flamethrower my AR Blaster uses cuts through them (of course that is an AoE attack) and DP's incendary bullets work as well. I find the best way to deal with them is to let them kill each other I simply confuse them(with my Ill Troller of course) and let them shoot one another. LOL

Darn you know I have posted twice in this thread and have yet to answer the OPs question..YES OF COURSE WE ARE HATED. We do awesome damage and don't need a team.. WE ARE A TEAM! lol

I'm definately noit anti team with any AT I play. I solo occassionally for fun or when I can't find anything interesting going on but I always have my globals running and will switch to another character and even from Blue side to Red side if a good TF or SF comes up. With my characters over 40 I hit PI and start advertising X level ____ LFT... if no one responds of I check and discover a whopping 5 or 6 players in zone I solo rather than standing around doing nothing. Sadly I do know players, good friends, that will ONLY play with friends and when no one is around they'd solo for days before joining a PUG. The reasons vary but include a lot of bad teams they wound up on with horrible leaders and included in that is the notion that "Your a tank all you do is hold aggro." "You a Defender what do you mean you don't heal?" "I don't like scrappers they never stay with the team always running off on their own!" and countless more. I tend to ignore these things and just go with the flow.. they don't.

I've seen this sort of ?? "profiling" ?? Myslef recently. I have been doing a lot of ITFs with my Mastermind to build prestige for a new Villain Group a friend and I have. A few mornings ago a guy must have advertised 4 or 5 times wanting to know if anyone was interested in an ITF. I was on a 17 level Defender at the time Came back in the TF global and said sured I'd join and would switch to my 43 level MM. At that point he announced "well that makes 3 of us" and then the volunteers started up. I logged off and back on with my MM and headed to Cimerora. Got there and waited for an invite.. standing RIGHT behind the team leader and letting him know it was me and I was there and ready for an invite. Then I watched as he and 7 other players took off to tackle Romulus.. I'd been replaced by an Arachnos Crab I think. Funny thing is by that time I had done about 5 ITF in that same week and everyone was a success. I debuffed like mad and my minions dealt out a ton of damage.. but he wanted a support AT. Damage, Heals, rez, debuffs and slows? Sounds like support to me. Worst of all he didn't even have the decency to say anything to me just ignored me completely and took off. I wondered how much longer he'd have been begging for team members if I hadn't spoken up to begin with and there I was all alone with Imperious. best part... later that day I somehow ended up team leader, briefly, forming an ITF ..turn leadership over to a 50 level after I built the team and it was the smoothest, easiest and least DEADLY one I'd done all week. But everyone knows masterminds are lousy team players.. thay are used to soloing everything and their pets are annoying. My point? Everyone has some notion of what each AT is and does and more than half the time, unless they play that AT too, they are dead wrong.

Oh and Blue my number come from the Devs.. I logged on my tank and my blaster and went into the enhancement management.... Clicked to show stats and got the Average Damage per Activation they assigned based on the enhancements I had slotted. The activation time THEY assigned to each attack and the recharge times based on the number of recharge reductions I slotted to each attack. Some people may use more IOs than I do so blaster damage and recharge may vary but the same is true for the tank.. I will give you MAYBE 2-3 times the damage if a blaster has spent a fortune and really IOed out his build.. then again a TANKER can do the exact same thing.

You ran into some bad tanks.. They are out there and so are bad blasters, scrapper, defenders and controllers. Part of the reason you have trouble finding the good ones is the very notion you have of what a tank is and does. The good ones are so tired of people assuming they can only do ONE thing well that they either solo constantly or only team when they are the leader and hand pick their team from a group of friends. The GOOD tank I learned to herd form is exactly this way. he will NOT join a PUG to save his life and would rather solo or play another AT than TANK for people he doesn't know. Sadly I think he misses out on meeting a lot of new people and making new friends that way but he just doesn't want to deal with the BS anymore

Okay boys lets put this argument to bed once and for all. I agree with Rylas and I am going to use MATH to prove that it is not possible for a Blaster to do 20 times the damage of a Tanker.

I took the average damage per activation numbers for my best Tank .. my SD/SS and the same numbers for the attacks my best Blaster had ... my Arch/Ice.

Tanker.. Total damage from one activation of all attack 1379.50 in 16.94 seconds of time to activate

Blaster.. Total damage from one activation of all attack 1529.85 in17.67 seconds of time to activate

1379.5/16.94 = 81.43 points of damage per Second

1529.85/17.67 = 86.57 points of damage per Second

Now recharge times will make a difference but the tanker has 4 attacks that take more than 6 seconds to recharge and the worst is Shield Charge which even with a reduction is still 90 seconds. On the other hand the blaster 5 attack that take more than 6 seconds to recharge including one that take 20 and another that takes 36 seconds.. the Blaster recharges a bit faster due to the 90 seconds for Shield Charge but it's pretty even on most of the other attacks all falling in under 5 to 6 seconds and many in less than 2 on both ATs.

Overall the tankers powers take 171.1 seconds to recharge/ 10 attacks = 17.1 seconds

The Blaster 103.55 seconds to recharge / 9 attacks = 11.50 seconds

Now this is all very raw data but that means a Tanker can expect to fire off every attack for damage about 3.5 times a minute (and that is greatly affected by that one 90 second recharge on Shield Charge) but 81,43 X 3.5 = 285.355 points of damage a minute. The Blaster's numbers 86.57 X 5.2 = 450.164 a minute. Doing the math 450.164/285.355 = 1.57 times the damage in a minute NOT 20.0 times the damage not even 5 times the damage. BOTH characters are 50 levels and both use a combination of IO and SO enhancenments since I am NOT one of those people willing to spend billions to Purple IO out any character. My tanker has every defense available and took added attacks (which are figured in to these numbers) with its epic. My Blaster took added holds and defense and not one of its epics added attacks to its chain. Numbers may vary by powersets and by the way players slot but NOT by that much... 1.57 is not even close to 20 and my 50 level tank can chew through mobs with a lot more abandon simply because it has more hit points and more defenses. Mt Blaster can solo as well and did/does all the way to level 50 but has to move a little slower and more carefully taking on one mob at a time. I practice herding with my tank solo grabbing 2 or 3 mobs at a time or more, depending, and just stands there surrounded by targets pounding on them so really I'd say it's actually pretty equal or possibly even favoring the tanker for speed. Now you Tanker/Blaster combo is going to have to go at TANKER speed unless you plan to run ahead and take on mobs by yourself which sort of defeats the whole idea so 2 tanks do 571 points of damage a minute while a tanker/blaster combo would do 735 a minute.... that's about 1.3 times the damage output! For your claim to be true the blaster in that combo would need to do over 11000 points of damage a minute and I don't care what build and what type of enhancements you use that just is NOT going to happen.

Of course there is the human factor.. how fast can I get those powers to activate by clicking or hitting binds but since I AM PLAYING BOTH we will call that a toss up. Sorry Blue but you wanted MATH.. I just gave you math and i hope that helps the rest of the Tankers out there when a team leader says.. You only hold aggro I need scrappers and blasters for real damage. The fact is that all Tanker attacks, slotted for it or not, have a certrain amount of taunt added to them... YOU want the Tank to be standing there pounding on things because each hit that lands only taunts more. Now My SD/SS has One with the shield which taunts constantly, Foot Stomp which I slot for damage and accuracy but knocking everything on its butt taunts as well, and Shield Charge taunts like crazy.. so I have one aura and 2 attack taunting before I ever touch the T A U N T button.

Of course I am sure, from the posts I have seen you make responding to criticism that you'll claim that doesn't apply to your 2 level tank.. You're right it doesn't No tank alive can even think about taunt until level 10 and unless he is insane or has a debt wish doesn't rush into a huge mob until after 15 or even 20. Then again, Archery aside, how accurate are most Blasters attacks until about that same time frame when they start getting Sos or start to IO... I don't even bother with IOs below 20 level because I tend to team a lot and those levels fly by so fast even the IOs are useless quickly before then. I'm sorry you are wrong.

Okay first I agree with Obsidus .. bad idea all the way around. Okay I pay my $10 and now have a completely broke 50 level that can't afford a single enhancement... so what's the first thing most players are going to do? Head straight to PI or the AE building and star farming because now they want, and short of a LOT exemplaring.. which sort of defeats the whole purpose of BUYING a 50 level to begin with, IOs... more over they want PURPLES so they can be Uber awesome. Frankly I don't see this hurting those "we can level you or we will sell you Influence sites" one bit.. in fact it may increase the sales they have because now that dead broke 50 want CASH and wants it fast.. Let's face facts if he or she was willing to spend 10 dollars to get a 50 level I seriously doubt they'd balk at spending more to make them rich quick as well.

I won't go into detail on the whole "Okay you now have a 50 level .. whatever but do you have a clue how to play it?" It's an old arguement and there are way to many people on both sides .. some saying I can play anything and don't need to learn my power and others insisting the normal leveling they missed now means at level 50 they know as much about this new character as a 1 level in Outbreak. I will say I know some people are now selling their account on Ebay and there are players out there with a TON of Vet badges that play the game like they started last week.

Frankly my question is what is the point? Okay a brand new player to the game buys a 50 level character and let's say by some miracle actually learns quickly and does well. Does well at what? Repeatedly running ITFs, LGTFs, Mothership Raid, Hamidon raids and some newspaper missions? Not to say that as soon as you hit 50 life is over. I manage to keep my 50s active but I also enjoy creating new characters with different power sets and learning how to play them successfully. By skipping level 1 through 49 they missed almost all of the content people have been screaming to get for years and now if they want it.. the need to exemplar down to see it.. so they spent 10 bucks and are now losing levels to see what they could have seen for free if they just rolled a character normally and started as a one level.

The idea behind leveling is to make a player feel good about themselves.. "I accomplished THIS today!" I created a DP Blaster the first day DP became available. I hit the sewers and then KR with a good team and in no time I was level 14. Before Double XP weekend even hit I was over 22 and slotting with SOs and now that character is closing in on 40 level and it's not the only one I play. People moan that the lower levels are boring.. unless you solo constantly they fly by so fast I really don't understand that at all. Heck a freind and I duo missions with a ILL/FF Controller and a EMP/AR Defender. We have now taken to playing constantly at +1 difficulty and both of us are at 38 pushing 39.. we play together a few hours a night a few days a week. Anyone that claims they can't find a team isn't trying very hard because I can find them quite easily and even start them myself when no one else is around to take the leadership role. If you ONLY want to solo.. Yeah ts going to take a lot longer so either deal with that fact or change your mind set and join a TEAM once in a while.. BUYING a 50 level is not the answer.

I have seeen my share of good and bad tankers over the years and while I don't consider myself and "outstanding" Tanker I know how to do my "job" and do it as best I can. That said let's not place all the blame for mismanaged aggro control on the TANK. I have seen good tanks that had to be pulling their hair out at home because the team didn't know enough to let them do their job.

Case in point.. I was playing my Arch/Ice blaster and the tank announces I will herd to here! My eyes light up as I set my Rain of Arrows to hit that spot once the mob arrives. I watch as the tank moves through the next room collecting his herd and head back to the exact spot he said he'd use with a nice size mob trailing behind him. And then several team members rush forward and attack the mob before it gets to the tank. Aggo goes POOF and now we have a huge mob running around attacking everything it sees.

Joined another team where the leader, a Fire/Kin, insisted we HAD to have a tank before we could start. Then we got inside the mission and the tank may as well have gone out and picked up coffee and danish .. the Kin consistantly rushed ahead and attacked mob after mob until the tank finally got ticked off and just quit the team, Mission ends and what happens next? We spend another 5-10 minutes standing around while our glorious leader searches for .. A Tank.

I did the Defeat Infernal Mission and when we entered the portal chamber the tank announced. "I will taunt him and pull him away from the portal so the demons don't spawn." That sounded like a great strategy.. too bad the team didn't pay attention and attacked before Infernal got two steps away from that portal. After several deaths we did manage to bring down the portal, polish off the remaining demons and went on to defeat Infernal as well but I couldn't help wonder how many players would not have needed to rez if they had waited oh say 5 seconds? and let the tank PULL!

Oh don't get me wrong there ARE bad tankers out there. I did an ITF earlier and on mission 3 when we got to the Phallanx Control suddenly all He** breaks lose and I go flying half way across the map and land dead. I popped an awake and discovered the team desperately trying to take out the control device and battle Romulus and a pile of minons, lieutenants, and Cimeroran Traitor Bosses. The Tank's excuse was "Sorry I am used to playing on a more defense oriented team!" OH REALLY? ... I have lost track of how many ITFs I have been on and no one has ever tried to tackle that control device and an Arch Villain at the same time no matter what the team build was like. What fantasy world do you live in?

I am not saying you personally did any of these things wrong and chances are you did run into some very bad tanks. But far too often here I see posts like these and they quickly turn into "Oh the entire Arch Type sucks and there isn't one really GOOD in the game." The fact is there are Good tanks, Great Tanks and absolutely fantastic tanks out there... You are just not finding them.

There is a certain mindset you need to have to tank.. You are never going to do the damage a scrapper or a blaster does and you're team support consists of standing there like a punching bad while the team does the damage. Early game you really suck because not only don't you have a lot of damage but your defenses haven't increased enough yet and actually TRYING to tank will more often than not land you face down on the floor. There are players that should never even consider rolling a tank because they simply can't accept that fact. I can say the same about Defenders though as well.. You don't do as much damage as even a controller does and you need to be willing to stand back Heal, buff, debuff and/or hold ..depending on your powersets and be happy with the fact that you helped keep the team alive so THEY could do damage. There are a LOT of players out there that should, BY LAW, only be allowed to roll scrappers and blasters so they can just click and damage to their hearts content!

And YES Tankers do have MULTIPLE tools to protect the team (not JUST TAUNT). I have a SD/SS Tanker... Shield Charge taunts like crazy and so does Foot Stomp. when I am not herding and simply rush a mob I hit them with Shield Charge first, pi**ing everything off and knocking it down, then Foot stomp next effectively doing the same thing.. I have both slotted for Damage and taunt so I am not only getting their attention by the time they stand up the second time most of the minions are more than half way dead. Then I hit taunt as fast as it recharges and just continue with it and foot stomp until nothing is left standing. Will Power Tanks have Against all Odds which not only sends of an aura that taunts constantly it increases the defense of the tank based on the number of villains attacking. Oh and don't forget slotted or not every attack a Tank has includes at least a small amount of taunt so the more they hit things while standing their surrounded .. the more they aggro.

There are good and bad players using ever AT available.. sorry you found a few bad tanks but believe me there are good ones out there as well. And don't forget taunt does NOT last forever... I have a very dear friend that I consider an outstanding tanker. I have watched him herd entire rooms to one spot and hold aggro while we picked off everything. Same tank and I did the Stateman TF and on two seperate occasions as we battled Black Scorpion at some point taunt dropped and for whatever reason BS came over and gave me a love tap... By love tap I mean he ran over smacked me so hard I wound up in hospital and then.. ran right back over and started pounding on THE TANK. I was on my Emp Controlled and trying to stay close enough to heal my buddy making me the next closest target.. My own personal theory is the Black Scorpion likes my cute little EMP Troller and that was just his way of saying "Hi I think you look cute. Are you busy after the TF? I'd love to take you out to dinner and a movie." LOL

I like the the idea it sounds like fun. And Doc if its a team and there are minions MAYBE they helped him escape? Seems like it would be easy enough to set up and they couold even use a lot of the same signature villains you see in Safeguard missions. Save the Black Scorpion, Ghost Widow, Sciricco, or Mako for higher levels or at least lerger teams.

I honestly thin a simliar thing could be done on the COV side.... You helpless citizens for the hero side could be replaced with Arachnos Troops the hero has vanquished and has restrained and ready for transport to jail. Like a Mayhem mission you or your team could set fires to try and distract the hero... hey they may be living in the Rogue Isles but civilains are civilans and any hero worth his or her stuff isn't going to let a house burn down while little Cindy is inside..even if daddy does work as an Arachnos agent LOL

To be honest no not really. Look at the improvements we now sort of take for granted...

OLD DAYS .. I ran everywhere until level 14 because there was no such thing as a Raptor Pack and since there also was no such thing as radio mission I was at the mercy of my contact. Said contact were, in my opinion, somewhat sadistic since it seemed like not one mission they gave ever took place in the same zone they were standing in. I spent more time running back and forth and using the train than I did actually running missions. A classic example.. Look at the Positron TF which back then was ONLY available (for XP) between level 10-15. I did one the other day and we hit Skyway (3-4 time) Perez, Galaxy, Atlas Park, Kings Row oh yeah and aside from running back to TALK TO Positron ther was actually 1 whole mission that took place in Steel Canyon. Now remember we are talking 10-15 level running this for the most part so almost no one had any travel power unless thery took hover.. and I can RUN faster than that. So where does Posi send us again and again? To Skyway where there are 19 level villains lurking about perfectly happy to sepreate our heads from our shoulders.

TODAY.. By Level 6 or 7 almost everyone has a Raptor Pack and if you don't want to run all over Paragon City.. sit right in Kings Row and do radio missions till level 14 when you have that permanent travel power. Heck now with Ninja Run I barely even use the raptor pack since that's even faster that flying.

OLD DAYS .. everyone relied heavily on the contacts they had and I can still recall getting to level 19 with my Regen Scrapper and finding myself completely out of missions from all five. I had new contacts in Talos and IP but was still 5 bars short of any of them talking to me. I had to street hunt and run door mission in PvP to get to 20 so I could start all over again. Heck I even recall somewhere in the 30s finishing off one contact's missions and then after starting another realizing "These are the exact same missions I just did for So-and So?" Much more content now giving players a lot more options on ways to level their characters

OLD DAYS.. I had friend that were serious badgers and they actually went out and got themselves killed constantly to stay at the debt cap so they wouldn't out level a contact before he or she FINALLY gave up the badge mission.

TODAY... I like badges too but rather than grind though a ton of misc missions and a story arc trying to coax a badge I want out of a contact I play how I want and what I want and simply use the Ouro Portal to run Time Travel mission and pick up any badge I may miss along the way.

OLD DAYS .. at level 35 I had a choice to make do I want to earn influence that I desperately need to buy the SOs that allow me to survive or do I want to help the Super Group I HELPED create and stay in SG mode so I keep earning prestige

TODAY.. between the Market (selling IO salvage, recipes, and enhancemenst), Reward Merits, and even AE tickets By the time I have a character in its teens they all usually have millions in influence and I never leave SG mode on any character all the way to level 50. best part is while I may not earn as much at least I still make 50% of the influence I'd make if I left SG mode.

I could go on but you get the point. Sure I miss some things .. i almost cried when the nerfed Regen. I can still recall entering a mission and while the rest of the team battled and took out one room I would wander off and take out another by myself. HEALER? I DON'T NEED NO HEALER.. I HEAL MYSELF! LOL The game has changes and the GOOD changes far out weigh the BAD.. Hey between my Ouro Portal, access to the RWZ, and the Midnight's Club I can get to a bunch of zones without ever touching a train or even going through my own base.

Biggest thing I miss from back then is old friends that have since moved on. Other than that.. I am quite happy with the NEW DAYS. :-D

I have a SD'SS tanker I absolutely love. True your AOE attacks (Shield Charge and Foot Stomp) don't come available until later on but properly slotted your other attacks do a lot of damage and carry you through until then. I am LAZY (LOL) so I always take fly as my travel power and add Air Superiority to the mix. Along with Haymaker and Knockout Blow that gives me 3 attacks that knock an enemy on it's butt before I ever get near Foot Stomp or Shield Charge. I slot all three of those for damage, accuracy and recharge so I head in and take on the BOSS or EB and can usually keep them on their back until they are more than half dead before they even get a chance to fire off many attacks of their own.

I have really only tried a Fire tank once and while you do get Combustion at level 4 from what I have read they nerfed FIRE Melee a long time ago and it really is no where near as good as it once was.. not to say it's bad just not GOD MODE like in the old days. Basically that's the only early AOE attack you get with since Fire Sword Circle doesn't arrive until level 28. One low level AOE attack really isn't that big a deal overall so I'd personally still go with SS.

As for Axe and Mace .. I really can't say I have never tried either but maybe some others can give you more advice on them. Seems like you are leaning toward Fire or SS anyway and while it's just my opinion I'd go with Super Strength. Good luck with whatever you decide and good hunting! :-D

I don't consider myself to be the "best" tank ever by any stretch of the imagination but I am a good tank and have learned from some very good ones by watching and asking questions.

First.. as mentioned forget scrapperlock it's not your job and if you try to play a tank like a scrapper you will fail miserably. That's not to say that some tank builds can't scrap and do it well but if you are TANKING for an 8 man team running off in a corner to knock off a lieutenant while the team deals with the mob you just aggroed is NOT a good thing.

Second .. we have the same primary SD. You have several powers that taunt automatically. Against all Odds and Shield Charge. Now my secondary is SS so in addition to Taunt I also have Foot Stomp which just really P***es off anything that it hits. When the situation allows I head into the mob with Shield Charge, already having Against all Odds on, and then I hit Foot Stomp knocking everthing in range on it's butt a second time. So within a few seconds I have taunted 3 times and knocked the entire mob on it back twice. I slot both for accuracy and damage so by the time the mob gets up the second time most of the minions are lucky to still be at half life and everyone is after ME. Team comes in behind and while I am pounding on things and keep hitting just regular old taunt as fast as it recharges, and I have it slotted for recharge, they are mopping up the mob. Wash, Rinse and repeat until you see big green letters..MISSION COMPLETE

Third.. keep in mind that most TANKER secondary powers come with a certain amount of taunt added to every attack. No you don't need to just stand there like a slab of meat watching your team mates have all the fun.. HIT things! Every blow you land just taunts a little more and helps keep your team alive so they can polish off the mob and move to the next one.

Fourth.. If you don't like looking bad in front of others practice alone. I learned to herd from a very good herding tanker and I practiced my craft while soloing. I'd round up 2-3 or whatever amount of mobs I though I could handle solo and aggro them all to the spot I wanted to fight. Then stood there pounding away until I was the only one left standing.

Fifth.. be patient in the early game you don't do much damage and realistically aren't too good at holding aggro yet either. YEAH you can take taunt at level 10 but the reality is unless you hook up with an amazing team if you rush into a huge mob at level 10 and try to taunt/hold aggro more often than not you'll watch the end of the battle face down on the ground. You just don't have the defenses available yet to cope with that amount of damage all at once. As your level increases and you defenses and attacks do as well you start to shine. You are never going to do the damage that a Scapper or Blaster does but some of your higher end attacks do a LOT of damage. I have soloed with Tanks up to and including level 50.. and taken on and defeated my share of Preatroan Villains .. as EBs not AV although if I had more IOs in slots I think I could have even taken most as AVs solo.. those Elite Bosses went down pretty easy.

Lastly you are not alone... I started as a Scrapper and for a long time tried to play every AT like one. I KNOW the reason I took so long warming up to Blasters was every time I rolled one I tried to play it like a scrapper and ended up deleting them all. Now Blasters seem like a favorite to me and I love the massive damage I bring to a team .. and using the strategy and tactics I learned I even solo very successfully with them.

Every AT is different and requires a different plan to use if you want to look "good". If I am playing a Tank I take it very personally if anyone on my team dies while i am still standing. If I have on a EMP or Thermal Defender. same thing I will stand there and end up face down on the floor healing and buffing before I let a team mate fall. With my Blaster.. Hi guys I'll be the one WAYYY back here doing enormous amounts of damage so you can mop up... oh if you die I am running like a mad woman (that would be away not toward the bad guys LOL Okay I have a few Blappers that can stand toe to toe and deal damage). Controllers? hehehe Relax everyone nothing is moving anywhere and they can't hit a thing go have fun beating them up. As for my Scrappers... SIGH I miss the old days when Regen made me a Goddess and I'd enter a mission with 7 team mates and ask if they wanted to play too of should I just go destroy everything in sight. Scrapper do DAMAGE.. I pick out the biggest, meanest, nasiest thing I can find in a mob and go destroy it then help out with whatever is left. Once you learn to play your tank as a TANK you'll be fine.

Hey my Tanker buddy helped me out by teaming with me. i was the tank and he brought along a diffferent AT. He coached me through missions so I learned how to be a TANK. Find a good tank you like and ask for some lessons!

Fly is faster that Ninja run but Ninjas are trained in the art of deception and they make it appear they are moving faster. LOL

Okay... Stand alone with no additions like Swift, prestige sprints, ect it's about even actually.. Based on a buddy and I playing together me using fly and him NR we usually arrived about the same time at any mission door from the last. NOW I have prestige runs as a Vet power and when I click on NR with QUICK... Ummm I have a 17 level Rad/DP defender that used exactly 8 seconds of time on the raptor pack she earned saving the bank in Atlas and because I wanted Suppressive Fire SOOOO bad she actually didn't take Fly until level 16 and I still use Ninja Run in a lot of situations.

Fly is slow and this is not the first time this question, in other forms, has come up. Fly is the lazy man or woman's travel power which is why I love it. teleport is faster and can be just as safe but you have to practice to get good at it. SS and SJ are fast but you are more vulnerable and depending on the zone you need to practice with those too to avoid constantly running into things, like buildings, at super speed. I like Fly because once I reach my desired altitude I can point my chracter in the right direction hit "R" for auto run and cruise to the mission far above anything that may wish it COULD do me harm.

Would it upset me if they increased the speed? No Will it upset me if they don't? No Hey if I am soloing I can go at my own pace anyway and if I am on a team and they want me there for my Buffs,Debuffs, Aggro control, Damage or whatever (based on which AT I am playing) they will either offer me teleport or WAIT for me to arrive.

Besides I enjoy the In-Flight movie and those little bags of peanuts I get from the Flight Attendant.. not to mention the frequent flyer miles I earned allowed me to take vacation in the Jamaca this winter.... no cost for the flight and the hotel room was half priced... try getting that with Super Speed LOL

Auto pay for rent... or at least a way to do so remotely. Why do I have to haul my 50 level who leads from PI back to Atlas just to say "I want to pay the rent now" Time travel aside the game supposedly exists in real time so it's 2010... ever heard of on line banking or even PAY BY PHONE. Hey it could be as simple as a slash command /sg_payrent

I also saw the in someone else"s post .. better exchange rate Inf to Prestige. 2000 presitge per million, even at today's standards is rediculous. So a 50 level with 350 million decides to donate it all to the Sg and nets his or her group a total of 500,000 prestige which isn't even enough to total build an 8 by 8 plot sized base?

Definately agree with remote access to Wentworth's or the Black Market... We have remote access to the IO storage vault, remote access to the University invention system computers and even remote access to time travel so why not a small terminal that allows us to buy or sell from base?

Base building tools...

How about, instead of spending hours playing with "magic desks, a series of platforms with stairs that allow us to quickly create a 2nd floor? this doesn't need to be huge just 2 by 2, 2 by 3, 3 by 3, etc to match the varied room sizes.. give us a tech version, arcane version with maybe a few varied floor styles.. or make it possible to edit and use any of the existing ones alrerady in game.

Water.... it exists in game and how many bases are there out there with swimmin pool using a blue carpet design to "simulate" something that exists in game?

The abiliy to decorate doorways. It's listed as a room type so why can't we have banners or chairs or posters? whatever and set the floor, wall and ceiling design however we like?

More furniture options... again not asking to recreate the wheel but how about giving us access to more stuff we see in game like the privacy screen from the Mother Mayhem's asylum map (I set up a hospital in my infirmary and the patient's are NOT entitled to a screen between their beds?) more chair and couch syles and how about a bed that does NOT include tie down straps for the living quarters a lot of us create.. right now we either design one or have the option of a wooden cot or straw floor may?

NPC characters.. A doctor and/or Nurse for the Infimary, technicians for the generator room is jumpsuits similar to what the prisoners from teh zig wear but in some other color, Technican for the control room in suits or women's buisness attire, a security guard for the entrance, workers in hard hats for the warehouse, and maybe even a few generics that can be placed anywhere. Give the place a lived in look and make it feel like a headqaurters with an operations staff.

Here's a radical idea.. A door in real life is just a hole in a wall with a swinging piece of wood, metal, or whatever. Why in this game is it an actual 1 by 1 room? allow us to place rooms next to one another and simply pick the location we want to create that HOLE. The smallest plot in game has 8 x 8 squares (or 64) but the best we can currently hope for on that plot is nine 2 x 2 room for a total or 36 usable squares meaning almost half the map is wasted space do to requuired hallways (NOT doorways). The builds we see in game don't seem to suffer from this problem so why do we continue to do so?

Grass (for floors) Flowers (in pots or vases and even possible a floor design).. many bases have small garden areas and the best we can do in this area now is fill a spot with potted plants and say.. "That's my garden'"

How about windows? Or is every hero base in COH and Villain base in COV some underground bunker? Give us a few options for view like Skyway City view, Steel Canyon view, Founders Falls View, Grandville View, etc. How about even an outer space view? or a jungle/forest view?

Area rugs.. the technology exists, ie floor matting, so why can't we have a small area with a a rug covering a portion of the floor?

To whom it may concern... or to anyone bored enough to actually read this crap,

Before I depart on what is probably a suicide mission to the Rikti home world to, once again, save the "beloved" citizen of Paragon City I'd like to clear the air. Frankly I'm glad to be leaving Paragon City and hope we never return. You people are without a doubt the most ungrateful, impolite and obnoxious group of so called human being I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. I can't count the number of time I have been standing at the entrance to City Hall engaged in meaningful conversation with my fellow heroes only to have some mindless citizen walk right into me and bump me out of their way. Would it hurt you SO much to take two or three extra steps and walk around? Of course half the citizens I help on the street as gangs of Hellions, Skulls or whatever attempt to mug them think a perfectly good thanks you consists of "Maybe I was wrong about capes!" I see so until I personally saved you stupid purse full of who knows what trivial junk I was just another piece of $%&@! I hope this whole mission flops and the Rikti take over. It would serve you all right to end up wandering around in a mindless daze like the Lost.

Belzar, The Disgruntled


Dear Countess Crey,

I'm sorry I won't be into work for a while but I got this really neat opportunity to help Hero 1 and I think we are going through some portal and try to end the war. Anyway I left all the notes you asked for about my Dad's research on cloning in a file on my computer. I just know the Paragon Protector Project is going to help the city recover from the invasion and the crime wave that seems to be growing worse. Imagine an army of super heroes all ready and willing to help protect the city we love and call home! Well they say we have to go now so I'll end this and head off to do my part. I just know a woman as kind and thoughhtful as you will put my father's research to only good use.

Your friend and faithful servant

Gary 00007



Dear Fusionette,

Okay so like I am going through this portal thingie and that guy with the really cool British accent.. You know... Hero One. Well he says we are like going to use our powers to like seal some portal or something and stop the Rikti. I hope they have a really cool mall there cause they are only letting us take a small personal bag and well you KNOW I can't go anywhere without my makeup so all I am taking aside from that is my Bikini. I just know that there will be some really cool beaches we can hang at once we get there. Seriously though you are like totally my best friend forever and I just want to say ... Well be careful while I'm gone girlfriend. You have a habit of like walking into places without looking and I can't remember how many times I have had to totally bail you out cause you wound up captured. Anyway I should only be gone for a few day I mean how long can it possibly take to seal some silly portal? So like stay out of trouble till I get back cause I don't think the other Supers will be to happy if they have to , well you know, keep stopping whatever to find you and rescue you AGAIN.

You BFF

Candi

PS I think Hero One is so totally hot don't you?

PPS When I get back we should talk I think you should break up with that Faultline dude... he's way too moody.

PPPS I just heard some guy on the team say this is probably a one way mission.. so like what does that mean anyway? Never mind It's probably not important. See you next week :-D

PPPPS Oh forget what I said about Jim. He's cute and when he gets all moody it does kind of remind me of Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp now he is REALLY hot. Kisses see ya soon GF! XOXOXO

Ummmm NO! Not everyone has the best and fastest computer known to man and the busy servers like Freedom and Virtue see enough lag as is without combining all 12 into one huge server and making things MUCH worse. Also we have 60 month plus vets out there with who knows how many characters scattered over multiple severs. SInce the MOST slots any player can BUY on a server is 36.... your idea forces one of two things. Either NC soft has to up that limit and those players now have to purchase more slots to keep all their characters or you are forcing players to decide which characters live and which ones die because they can't keep them all anymore.

I personally have 2 accounts and close to 40 characters on Virtue alone but I also play Villains on Infinity and my daughter has characters on Pinnacle she plays from time to time.... the idea behind multiple servers was to cut lag and to allow players to have more available FREE slots to play and enjoy the game.