Oh, Great. Mayhem Missions are versus Longbow
By
10ian,
Posted on: 2006-03-09 13:34 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Amen, brother.
Leets were kinda funny. 
I do agree that Longbow gets old. All PvP missions are longbow, and now the mayhem missions too?
CoT definitely gets the "most annoying enemy group" award with all the slows, debuffs, and such. At least the phasing was toned down.
Mayhem missions should all be against DE! 
CoT 40+ are one of the funnest mobs there is, no more freakin Spectres to deal with, just Air/Ice Thorns, Behemoths, and Death Mages.
Longbow however, suck <censored>. I hate them with all my heart.
Ah, so unlike CoH where the CoT used to be pretty reasonable around 30 when the annoying ghosts turned into Demons, in the new CoV and CoH that doesn't occur until 40? Shame that in CoH the CoT dry up after 40 except as occasional missions in Shard TFs and a couple of story arcs.
I've come to the conclusion that of all of the annoying mobs the CoT have, the Spectral Lts are the worst. They're even worse than Earth Thorns (but only barely). Not only do they phase and run, but they do enormous damage with their melee attack, are difficult to control, debuff like mad, and do far far more damage with Chill of the Night than my poor fluffy. They also of course resist Smashing and Lethal damage, which means at least half of the players need a long time to take them down, espcially if they're melee players and have to stand in the debuff to attack.
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Let me say something first: I'm very excited about Issue 7, and it can't get here soon enough, and I'm all in favor of most of what I've heard about it. But I just learned one thing, today, that is almost all by itself enough motivation for me to hate Issue 7. Mayhem Missions will be versus Longbow.
[/ QUOTE ]"If it weren't for Longbow I wouldn't be the villain I am today." No kidding, I've fought and killed so many they must be cloning themselves. Everytime I see another Longbow mission my brain hurts. No way could they be having babies that fast.
All purpose video game design
Your <arbitray level reched by running the developer's treadmill long enough> characters will still be fighting <set of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels> in every battle. Oh, but these aren't just any <set of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels>! They still look like <sets of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels>, they're still a computer generated opponent designed to offer a fixed degree of challenge. They're may be giant l<sets of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels>, , or even differently colored pixels. But these l<sets of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels>, have new arbitraily designed and added algorithms designed ot make certain they always stay at your releative power level! Oh, yeah, and every third <arbitrary set of tasks designed to earn an imaginary reward> or so we let you deceive yourself into believing that "defeating" one <set of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels> is somehow more interesting or meaningul than defeating any other <set of 1s and 0s represented by a set of pixels>.
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Mayhem Missions will be versus Longbow.
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[censored] dammit!
The thing I don't understand is that Longbow were created to go to the Rogue Isles and intervene there. What are they doing in Paragon City? Are there not enough superheroes there already? What about using Freedom Corps (which, I know, are basically the same thing), Hero Corps, the army, or even some new made-up SGs.
Longbow are boring enough on their own. They all look the same and don't appear to have very diverse powers. Arachnos is a much more fleshed out group. You have robots, soldiers, mages, armored people, etc. They should really spice up Longbow if they're going to use them so often, but I really think they should add some new groups.
Hear hear! Longbow wouldn't be so bad... if not for the ten thousand Longbow missions in the 30's.
You know how each of the Praetorians has his own minion/lt/boss villain group? That's who we should be fighting level 40-50, except for each signature hero. Longbow should just be Ms. Liberty's group, not the generic group they stick into missions every time you're actually doing something evil.
Citadel should have an army of good-guy Citadel bots. BAB should have some of his hard pipe-hittin buddies from the street. Sister Psyche should have a whole gang of psychic hero-wannabes at her disposal. Etc.
Heck... bring back the Luddites and Legacy Chain for 40-50! They both had some cool powers that set them apart, and got phased out way too early.
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The thing I don't understand is that Longbow were created to go to the Rogue Isles and intervene there. What are they doing in Paragon City?
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What, indeed -- considering that none of the people who live in Paragon City (CoH) ever see them? I remember doing that first mission for Radio Free Opportunity, in my first week in the game, and finding King's Row guarded by Longbow, and ever since then I've been asking what the (long series of profanities deleted) they're doing there? And in Steel Canyon (cape mission, others)? And in Skyway City (Peter Themari story arc)? And in Boomtown (I forget which story arc)?
If I were living in Paragon City and every day when I went out onto the streets I saw this many identically-uniformed heavy-weapons-toting vigilantees and nobody else, not even the cops I'd be thinking "military occupation?"
But even story telling reasons aside, it's poor game design, because it's pointlessly repetitive. I say pointlessly because it's not as if Cryptic doesn't already have all of those other alternatives in their mission-design palatte to choose from. It's a sad, horrible failure of imagination that whenever they need good guys for the story, it's almost always the same red and white uniforms, and whenever they need bad guys for the story, at least half the time it's the same set of robes.
Replace all LB with Freakshow and I'm fine. They're everyone's favorite to fight. Great named bosses and some very hilarious story arcs,something all LB missions have none of.
3 50's on Justice(1 retired)
29 Kinetics/Psychic Defender(Virtue)
40 Energy/Fiery Brute
40 Ice/Kinetics Corruptor
39 Radiation/Dark Corruptor
(On Freedom)
I must be one of the few who actually really do like Longbow, but that's not to say that I wouldn't approve or enjoy more diversity. I agree with what some people have said... Longbow are Ms. Liberty, Wyvern are Manticore (and are in a very narrow level range), so why not have another couple groups? Heck, add in the Hero Corps, they're established already, why not use them in the Rogue Isles (or in Mayhem Missions, since they are established and known in Paragon City, if not the Rogue Isles)? I also enjoyed the Legacy Chain, but they were also a very narrow level range, why not open them up a bit more?
Incidentally, where did you see that we're gonna be fighting Longbow in the Mayhem Missions? I had thought I had read all the dev interviews and posts on the subject, but I don't remember seeing that... Do you have a link available?
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Incidentally, where did you see that we're gonna be fighting Longbow in the Mayhem Missions?
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See: Screens and Captions
Phantom Rose: Ill / Kin / Psi
Soleau: Ice / Icy / Ice / Core: Ice / Fire / Pyre / Wind / Eclipse / Flare / Corona
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Solo Space
Making an absolute statement like "Mayhem Missions are versus Longbow" based on a single screen shot is a stretch, to say the least.
From that screen shot, the most you can realistically say is that "IF that is a shot of a Mayhem Mission, then SOME of them will have Longbow in them."
You understand that Mayhem missions are the new bank heist, right?
These aren't super-special missions that you have to be 40+ to unlock. These are available to everyone from 5-50. Complaining that you'll fight Longbow in them is like [censored] that a level 35 bank heist has security guards... AGAIN!
Of course they're going to use a group that's around at every level. It's a mission type that's available at every level.
They need to phase out a significant amount of Longbow and phase in Paragon City SWAT. Natural/Tech enhanced semi-heroes especially trained and equipped to deal with Super-Powered villains.
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Let me say something first: I'm very excited about Issue 7, and it can't get here soon enough, and I'm all in favor of most of what I've heard about it. But I just learned one thing, today, that is almost all by itself enough motivation for me to hate Issue 7. Mayhem Missions will be versus Longbow.
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What on earth gave you that idea?
Mayhem Missions are set in Paragon City. They're bank heists. Coincidentally, Paragon City will be getting new reactive cops (with trenchcoats) in I7.
If you're basing your ideas on the new screenshots, you're wrong. That's a Portal Corp building, not a bank. It's highly likely that it's not a Mayhem Mission at all, but rather a shot of Recluse's Victory. The reference to heavy artillery, which is a known part of RV, also gives the clue to this, as does the Portal Corp building - you get into RV through the Ubelmann Portal.
The captions to the shots appear to have been stuck on at random with no regard to context. The second caption, for example, has nothing to do with the image at all.
I like beating up Longbow.
Longbow are tough, but be glad mayhem missions don't have kitties in them, nyo.
We will not be stoped, nyo.
First, Mayhem missions aren't generally at the Portal Corp.
Second, Longbow is one of the groups you might be fighting. There are others.
I can't BELIEVE anyone thought that was actually a shot of a Mayhem Mission.
What exactly do you suppose all those Arachnos and Mu are doing coming along to a bank heist in Paragon City, hmm?
There are silly overreactions to real information, then there are silly overreactions to outright supposition, and then there's this.
Other groups, nyo?
Do those groups include kitties, nyo? That isn't fair to the players, Statesman. We kitties are quite fierce, nyo!
I can't belive States responded to a post called "For the kitties, nyo!". I still don't see why you insist on saying "nyo".
Statesman is on my side, nyo.
Let me say something first: I'm very excited about Issue 7, and it can't get here soon enough, and I'm all in favor of most of what I've heard about it. But I just learned one thing, today, that is almost all by itself enough motivation for me to hate Issue 7. Mayhem Missions will be versus Longbow.
What Anarchy Online Would Be Like if Cryptic Developed It: Your level 60 characters will still be fighting Leets more often than anything else. Oh, but these aren't just any Leets! They still look like Leets, they're still bipedal hamsters who parrot meaningless slogans in l33t-speak. They're not giant leets, or even differently colored leets. But these leets have new special powers! Oh, yeah, and every third mission or so we let you fight something else, too.
What Neocron Would Be Like if Cryptic Developed It: Your level 35 characters will fight their way out into the wastelands, and in ruined laboratories under the ruins of a nuked-out civilization they'd be fighting ... rats. Not giant rats, not sentient rats, not rat colonies, not mutated rats, not cyborg rats, but the same old rats you fought in the level 1 sewers. But these are special level 40 rats that have a few new powers and who do enough damage to hurt your level 35 characters.
What World of Warcraft Would Be Like if Cryptic Developed It: Your level 60 WoW characters would have to put together 60-person raid teams to and go on elaborate quests in order to unlock the mighty mystic portal that only opens once per century ... to fight pigs. Not giant pigs, or magical pigs, or pigs that look or sound any different from the ones you were fighting for XP at level 1. But these are special, level 60 and up pigs that have one or two new attacks and which have enough hit points and damage output to fight a level 60 raid group!
OK, I think I've made my point. I never want to see another Longbow or Circle of Thorns mission. Ever. I'm done with them. I am sick to boring death of those two groups. Neither of them are even the especially interesting or unique groups. Except for the Wardens, Longbow are just ordinary mercenary soldiers in silly red and white tights. And the Circle of Thorns are the same stupid wizards that are in every science fiction or fantasy game on the market. Cryptic has dozens of interesting, unique hero and villain groups in this game, and they hardly ever use them!
At least in City of Heroes, while you do have to fight the Circle of Thorns all the way from level 5 to level 50, at least they don't make up over half the missions, and all the trials. In City of Villains, though, you fight Longbow in your first mission, you fight them in at least every third mission all the way to level 50, you fight them in every mission in a PvP zone, and you fight them in the cape mission. And who do you fight in at least half of the missions other than the Longbow missions, once you hit Port Oakes and from then on out? The Circle of Thorns, of course.
Give those two groups a rest, please? Please tell the content developers that they're not allowed to create any more Longbow or Circle of Thorns missions for the rest of 2006?