concreteshift

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Numina First. She's an empath and must die. Sister Psyche second. She's mind/FF and must also die. After that it's your choice who to get. We took Manticore 3rd to rid them of Leadership buffs (at least it looked it he had it). Take out the support first and the team crumbles

Statesman does have this cool looking lightning nuke power when he's near death. Too bad he couldn't hit any of us

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Big Big Congrats!! You guys absolutely deserve every glory. You should get a special badge.

One question, were you able to taunt the Heroes with your brute to protect the squishier members of your team to keep up the debuffs?

Kudos again.

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So - here it is.

Added to the patch notes:

The Hamidon has been increased in difficulty. It is now capable of using one of its attack powers even when Held, Slept, or Stunned.

Evidently Hammy got a laser beam on it's head a long time ago but just now figured out how to use it.


The Mitos are AVs and are acting according to this patch note:

AVs/Heroes and Giant Monsters now ignore threat level damage multipliers for different Archetypes. They are still affected by Taunt as before.

As for the drops? Bug.

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And why was this not documented in any way until now?

This change obviously was planned and meticulously analyzed in a brazen attempt to make Hamidon Raids and Mito encounters tougher and less routine. It strikes at the heart of the Hami tactics employed by Raid Leaders.

Then it was implemented on Test and now Live. And yet it was NEVER documented for the players until we have to beg for an explanation.

If you wanted to exponentially increase the difficulty of a Hamidon Raid at least have the courtesy to inform us in the Patch Notes. As such, this and the forceful implementation of the AV/GM changes even when we stated that the regen rates were astronomically out of line for 8 man Task Forces to handle Babbage, etc. shows the now typical disregard and callous attitude to the players.

At least be honest in the fact that you want to put a big wooden stake in the practice of routine Hamidon Raids. All you have done is create an even greater situation ripe for griefing for players who do work to make a successful raid occur.

These actions are disingenuous in the extreme. And that makes me wish to support this game even less.

Congrats! Many continuing happy adventures to the LoF

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FYI: Melee AT Patron Power Pool Ranged attacks which cause damage will be changed to using the Melee damage scale.

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Can someone translate this dev speak for me? What does this mean? Why would range attacks be considered melee damage?

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As far as magnitude goes, expect it to be exactly the same as Tanker APPs such as Block of Ice, Stone Prison, etc..

Those have a hold magnitude that is able to work on LTs but not Bosses, making it Mag2 I believe. Recharge will likely be 30+ seconds, and duration will be around 8-10 seconds.

Ranged holds are possibly the most nerfed APP crossover skill, and I think that it will be the same for PPPs.

If I'm wrong about mag and recharge/durtation then GW's hold will indeed be an amazing skill for stalkers. Otherwise, the holds are a bit of a let down.

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Sounds about right, actually.

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Since we're still debating this and other details, why don't we just get the real, accurate numbers for all powers. It would really help everyone involved, including some of us who are testing to know the values in order to accurately evaluate if the game is working correctly and let us adjudicate which Patron Power is more conducive to our characters needs?

The fact that such values such as resistance percentages and magnitude are unavailable is really inefficient to the testing process for players. We really do not know what is "working as intended". In addition, we were told that the Patron Power numbers would be available, now we discover that important details are being left unknown.

I therefore humbly ask that such details be made available to the playerbase. The magnitude of a hold is supremely important in an evaluation process. We appreciate all the hard work that is being done; however, to reveal only some power details without giving others is like selling a car to a customer and asking him to take it without being given the percentage of the financing and only revealing the monthly payment.

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Defender Force Field: Repulsion Bomb: 27% and 5% for 1 Toggle; 1.35% chance of 2 Toggles
Controller Force Field: Repulsion Bomb: 19% for 1 Toggle

gutted from 100%

increase the stun back up on these powers or they are totally useless.

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Yea, this pretty makes the power pointless now. I guess a Defender shouldn't waste his time attacking.

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Why isn't it 4 out of 5, like dentists?

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Because no squirrels were involved in testing

To refine a bit, there has never been a court that ruled that EULAS as a contractual presentation and assent are illegal. That is, merely because an agreement or a contract is instantiated in an electronic presentation form requiring an active button press/electronic acknowledgement is not automatically considered as invalid.

However, the contents of a EULA can be invalidated and ruled unenforceable. It's just basic contract law. There have been many cases where a specific passage in a EULA has been invalidated or changed because of certain legal rights between the parties.

I would say MMO EULAs are pushing the very extreme edge of validity and maybe have gone overboard in some areas. This is just a stupid opinion of course and is not legal advice in any way shape or form and is merely for the sake of providing certain general information.

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Cryptic does not purport to own the name Captain Marvel or Drizzt Do'Urden.

It is because they do not own these names that they cannot allow you to play characters with those names on their servers.

By the act of creating a character on the servers, you are stating that the character is your own original creation, and not previously legally protectd, which you are gifting to Cryptic.

If the character is not your own original creation, you are lying.

If the character is previously legally protected, you are lying.

If you also played a character of the same name and appearance in Dark Age of Camelot, it is probably (I haven't read their EULA) owned by DAOC, in which case you are mistaken or lying.

When Cryptic discovers that you are playing a chearacter in their game that is owned by DAOC, they technically should generic that character.

They may not, because they are nice. But if they do not, they are chancing a lawsuit.

Marvel forced their hand.

It is true that Cryptic only owns your character data. They cannot really own the character name and appearance. But they can make you change the character name and appearance as it appears on their servers.

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Alright, lets clear up some concepts here. Technically, Artic and Kitsune are more right than wrong. In addition they give practical advice on how to stay absolutely clear of intellectual property issues by saying don't create anything you want to commercialize on the CoX servers. Good advice.

However, let's clarify some details:

The interplay of ownership and commercialization of characters created on CoX, the game, is complicated one that draws upon copyrights, trademark law and trade dress. Each is based on federal statutes and court rulings handed down by the legal system.

Copyrights protect creative expression on an original work of authorship. Trademarks protect a brand, a designation for goods or services in a marketplace. The act of creating and naming a character in CoX involves both bodies of law.

An "idea" is not copyrightable or is a trademark. It can be patented but you must show the idea is novel and fulfills the legal test for "utility".

A name is not copyrightable. An idea is not copyrightable. A name, in and of itself, is a term and unless it embodies a recognizable brand, it is not infringing on a trademark. I challenge anyone to find me a statute or a case where a name is copyrightable. In fact, check the U.S. Copyright Office circular 34 and show me where it says a name is copyrightable; the opposite is true.

The EULA is only a contract, a written agreement between the user and the company. A contract cannot be enforced what is beyond the allowable law. For example, a contract to assassinate someone is not enforceable. A contract to engage in fraud is not enforceable.

You are not "gifting" your character to NCSoft. You are agreeing to a grant of a non-exclusive, royalty free license to NCSoft. You agree that if you use the graphic created images and elements to create your character, NCSoft owns those game "objects".

If you actually gifted you would be giving an assignment, which is not in the EULA.

Trademark infringement depends on a complicated legal standard called "likelihood of confusion". If there is no confusion in the marketplace, even if the terms were identical(!) there is no infringement.

Taken all together then, there are limits to the enforceability of the EULA. If it goes beyond allowable copyright and trademark law, then it's unenforceable. Those limits are still being defined and tested today, YMMV and TNSTAAFL.

Therefore, it will very difficult to enforce copyright violation of the use of a name per se. Remove any character building elements in your character from the character generator and there will be no trademark or trade dress issues. REMOVE YOUR BIO. Yes your character will be bland and empty. That's a cost and decision you have to make.

The EULA is not an I WIN button, it's not even an EASY button (whoops, trademark reference! [I kid]) Bottom line, ---> Don't be stupid and be careful. To be absolutely sure, don't put it on the servers.

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In the lobby of the watchtower in Grandville is a statue of each of Lord Recluse's lieutenants. At the base of this statue is a plaque that, when you click on, brings up a text box with tabs. The tabs are for the Archetype, and it goes into detail about the powers (including the hard numbers) that that Patron will give that Archetype. (Thus you can easily look at all the patron powers for your AT, and even those not for your AT).

You are given a mission to visit each of these plaques before you choose your patron.

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Will we see anything similar for the rest of the powers in the game, or is this just for these pools since they're permanent choices?

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There's other powers aside from the Patrons? Or is this just wishful thinking that was being tossed around in the forums?

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Also, any other brutes thinking about taking Mako, SIMPLY so they can puke on people?

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you and I will be Mako buddies!

p.s. pl me plz

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It'll be great if you can activate without needing an enemy target.

Ohh the RP applications for vomit on demand!!

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Im actually wondering

IS this an APRIL FOOLS JOKE?

I cant believe they would actually put out powersets this bad, and not have then changeable.

They are so inferior to the hero versions that are changeable. I just dont see it.

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Unfortunately, no joke. I think it's pretty clear that these are it. And they will be permanent.

Which, after reading them, pretty much came out as expected except for the snipes for Stalkers. Can't imagine why Stalkers needed snipes...

So, color me meh. Not going to rant about it. Just wait for the murderous screams of rage when the devs make adjustments to the powers in Issue 8 after a full vetting of heroes v. villains in high stakes Level 50 PvP. That's when it's gonna get bad.

Choose wisely.

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Ok...It may have been mentioned, but did anyone, upon seeing the power "Summon Blaster" imediately picture tossing synapse? Anybody...?Just me?

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I so saw it but didn't want to beat a dead horse. Heck, half my jokes on this forum is about Synapse's vaunted Limp Body Patron Power [TM]

See?? I can't stop!

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Nice to hear your basically forced to read it before you choose the Patron stuff. Makes people less likely to wine..then again, everyone wines about something

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It might force them to drink more actually. I wine all the time, sometimes even while playing CoX. Then I pass out in a drunken stupor.

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I don't think you quite got the concept down but thanks for giving it the old college try.

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Perhaps not a direct strawman, but I guess my point is "YMMV".

As for terms such as "Enhancement Depreciation", that's your opinion of course. Using it as a "matter of fact" in terms of the dev's long-term plans, though, is erronious and, IMHO, a little sensationalist.

YMMV. As a blaster who started post-ED, my mileage is still good.

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Wait, you accuse me of engaging in a fallacy with pointed URL reference to make your point, then admit that it doesn't fit the fallacy cited? And I'm supposed to be sensationalistic?

I used the tongue in cheek term "Enhancement Depreciation" as a satirical dig at the devs obviously propagandistic "Enhancement Diversification". As has been pointed out by hundreds of intelligent poster here, slotting for diversity is inefficient and sometimes contrary to the true effectiveness of a power. In addition, you can't slot for diversity in many powers, hence the real purpose is not to enhance diversity in slotting but to nerf and ramp down the entire powerset system. And that's fine, but let's just call a nerf is a nerf.

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Hover, for example, is fine by me IMHO. IIRC, Hover can be slotted with Fly, EndRedux, and EnhDef. You could easily go Fly x3, EnhDef x2 (might be overkill), and EndRedux x1. Slower than Pre-ED? Definitely. Still useful? Yes.

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This shows right here that you have no idea now ineffective ED is in actuality. It is pointless to waste slots in EndRedux and Defense in Hover. The Global Defense Nerf prior rendered defense in Hover as a moot point. ED is a chimera, you're riding on the conveyor belt going nowhere and slotting just to slot.

And of course my post is an opinion, based on my observations and then conclusions. It is no more or less than other posters here that write conclusory statements. I guess we all should post disclaimers. But I think the others here know what point I was trying to make and not being overly-sensitive.

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Can Blasters get some more unresistable damage to compensate? Since even with detoggling we where pretty ineffective against tankers.

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30 per cent unresistable damage isn't enough for you? There is more than one way to skin a cat, you know?

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Tell that to any Blaster that has to contend with a Stone Tanker in Granite. Not going to happen.

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What was posted:

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Hover is not going to change. It's pretty clear that they are more than happy with Enhancement Depreciation. If a few powers suffer, that's the cost for making the entire game more "balanced".

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What I read:

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Hover is not going to change. It's pretty clear that they are more than happy with Enhancement Depreciation. If a few powers suffer, that's the cost for making the entire game more "balanced".

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I don't think you quite got the concept down but thanks for giving it the old college try.

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So there's no hope for Hover then

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Hope for Hover would be to increase its base speed. Really that's a better solution than making anything exempt from ED anyway.

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Hover is not going to change. It's pretty clear that they are more than happy with Enhancement Depreciation. If a few powers suffer, that's the cost for making the entire game more "balanced".

Not based on anything concrete, but the intimation I've been getting the past few dev comments is that we will not see any new blaster secondaries, ever. Too much trouble, not enough time for too few players.

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Kronos Won.

His blasts have a -regen component, plus babbage wasted a lot of time summoning cogs that were promptly one-shotted by the Kronos footstomp

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Is there any way we can replicate this with the Gladiator Arena?

This feature (if it can be done) will sell more copies than the nude Diabolique slash command.

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I'm 99% postive that the reason this isn't respecable is that it ties into your badge/souvenir rewards for the Patron Story Arc.

Yes. We got the concept.

The point is that this is a stupid way to do it.

It's not that it won't work. It's that it can't work.

Even if the Patron Powers are the most brilliant example of balance and design ever seen in the history of muds/MMOs, even if like Caesar they are as constant as the northern star, carved in stone never to be changed, the rest of the game will change around them. Changes to main power sets and game systems will invalidate old choices. It will happen.

Changes in content are also an issue. Someone joked about the Center, Nemesis and Lilitu becoming Patrons....what if that came to pass? What option would there be for those whose characters were better RPed as being aligned with the new factions? Delete and relevel? Are the developers prepared to commit to the idea that the Arachnos goons are the only Patrons that will ever be available? That doesn't sound like such a good idea.

The only way out is if, as some have hypothesized, all Patron Power sets contain the exact same powers with different special effects. In which case, the whole hullaballoo is overproduced codswallop. That doesn't help in the case of evolving content, either.

As long as the game is evolving -- and if it isn't, it's dead -- locking players into irrevocable choices should be a non-starter. This idea shouldn't have gotten onto the drawing board, never mind off.

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Agreed.

In addition, think about the PvP aspects. Heroes will have an advantage in that when changes come down to Villain powersets (and you know they will), Heroes will have the flexibility to change Epic Pool Powers to address these changes.

By sheer logical deduction, having permanent Patron Powers is a limitation on your Villain, it is a limitation that is contrary to the precedents and character diversity philosophy that is being espoused and marketed in CoX.

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and they dropped the ball with Kheldians

and they dropped the ball with the Purple Patch

and they dropped the ball with Epic Pools

and they dropped the ball with ED

and they dropped the ball with Patron Pools

Kettle ; Meet Pot

As for my personal opinion, the TEST server exists to check things out. We can try out each power individually, wait for others on the baords to post how each power works in practice and I'll make my decision.

I wont come and complain on the boards for a mistake I made demanding free months or demanding the devs shower me with respecs. I accept mistakes I make. We all do it. The test server is there to do our best to ensure we dont make a mistake.

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I agree that we should all not get hysterical. But here is my very obvious worry: Powers GET changed. And a Patron Pool Power can be changed irrevocably through no fault of the player (who EXTENSIVELY tested on the test server) so that they are stuck with a set that is ruined for them.

As a pure personal example, I first went with the Ice pool for my Blaster. It was okay, I tested extensively. It was crap for PvP and the changes that were made. I switched to Fire because it was the clear PvP pool power for me.

The way this game changes is so fast and drastic sometimes, through no fault of the player.

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Well, I don't doubt that'll be a common problem. What happens to pre-40 characters who switch sides?

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*switches sides to get access to hero epics*

*switches back after training to L49*

*laughs evilly, pwns*

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Love that plan...unless....

***Warning: The following paragraph will consist of content that is deemed as hopelessly speculative, waton conjecture not based upon any fact or alleged proposition and is merely made to induce discussion; therefore this writer disclaims any and all misinterpretation based on his equivocations***

The "switching" process bounces you down to Level 1 each time you switch sides. That would put a damper on frequent "forum shopping" to appropriate a legal term for such a concept.

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If it's a trial that unlocks it, then you pick, I think I'll do the trial and then copy my character to test and try each set.

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So you're going to make multiple copies to Test and play ten levels on each just to see if any of them are worth taking? Have fun.

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Permanency is not going to be very popular. The problem is you can shift to test to get the first power, but then you have to play all the rest of the levels to 49 to just get to test the other higher level patron powers. Ugh.

In addition, considering how many times this game changes, especially in regards to changing powers; you can get stuck with a patron power you were satisfied at first and then it becomes "teh gimp" broken and wasted power slot. Burn anyone?? I hope we get extremely useful descriptions of patron powers because a bad decision can be made very, very easily.

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Conjecture? It's possible that each patron set will have a few powers for everyone and the actual patron choice is more asthetic.

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More like discussion. Note that I did not say that rigid patron power permanancy will be placed in the game. All I did was state permanancy is not going to be very popular.

And what is wrong with conjecture? Especially on an internet forum discussing possibilities about future features

Since this is a memo, shouldn't there be a "cc: Lord Recluse (firm)" notation?

Proper document processing policy is the foundation of villainy!!!

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If it's a trial that unlocks it, then you pick, I think I'll do the trial and then copy my character to test and try each set.

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So you're going to make multiple copies to Test and play ten levels on each just to see if any of them are worth taking? Have fun.

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Permanency is not going to be very popular. The problem is you can shift to test to get the first power, but then you have to play all the rest of the levels to 49 to just get to test the other higher level patron powers. Ugh.

In addition, considering how many times this game changes, especially in regards to changing powers; you can get stuck with a patron power you were satisfied at first and then it becomes "teh gimp" broken and wasted power slot. Burn anyone?? I hope we get extremely useful descriptions of patron powers because a bad decision can be made very, very easily.