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Thanks for it! Great FAQ!
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I'd be very unimpressed if the Epic Villains are Kheldians. Unless they make them substantially different somehow. Otherwise, it's one big "meh!"
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Getting the nictus mission was one of my favorites. It was well... cool 
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I'd be very unimpressed if the Epic Villains are Kheldians. Unless they make them substantially different somehow. Otherwise, it's one big "meh!"
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Hopefully you won't be unimpressed with villain Kheldians, then, because it's pretty obvious that they're gonna be the first villain Epic AT... 
And I do think they'll make them substantially different. That, and the fact that they have to create several storyarcs to match the hero versions' storyline to 50, is undoubtedly what's taking them so long to produce.
I really want to see the power sets cloned. I find it very hard to play my lowbie hero and try very hard on it after getting a villain to 50 and having so much fun that side even though I'm more heroic in how I play.
I still so want the peacebringer powers for the white look. They should have light and dark powers for villain epics anyway otherwise warshades should be for villains and not heroes. A dark power using guy being a hero? I think they decided that before CoV was even an option. I want the choice to choose light or dark in my ATs and I definitely want dwarf form, but I don't want to be forced to go to CoH to do so. People who didn't buy both games or the Good Vs. Evil Edition will also be angry too if they want the same choices.
Btw, what could be more balancing than having the exact same Ats available to villains only with new names and a few new looks? They wouldn't have to balance it since the same playability is available in the rikti warzone. Designing new power sets takes a lot more time than renaming others as well. I am very surprised they didn't do that long ago since it is easy to do and very balanced. They could have been working on the Incarnates already then and made them very different for each side.
Btw #2, Nictus have only ever been described as evil kheldians. They should have the same powers if they are the same race. You don't humans with tales and cat ears and call them humans; they are either mutants or another race. It's all semantics anyway, and this is all very open to flaming and counterpoints. I just think that two things that are the same race only named by their beliefs should have the same powers like the traditionalist and restructurist rikti factions that employ the same powers, but are good and evil respectively.
That's my 2 inf and then some.
The nictus that are in game on missions with kheldians on the team or solo also have those quantum rifles that can do great harm to kheldians. How are they going to work those into the story?
A great way to balance the epics against each other and work the quantum rifle mechanics into the ATs is to have the respective epics do more damage to the enemy epic ATs. It could be a second inherent power that could work like Scourge for Corruptors. An epic vs. epic battle would be interesting indeed then.
just for reference, check here:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...art=1&vc=1
What part of phnglui mglw'nafl Cthulhu r'lyeh w'gah nagl fhtagn don't you understand?
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just for reference, check here:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...art=1&vc=1
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Note that, while that is a great guide to epic ATs that have been mentioned in the past, the info we have on villain Kheldians is a bit more up-to-date and detailed than any of the others. And in the Boomtown interview with Posi, it's pretty clear that villain Kheldians will appear before any "new" epic AT. Personally, as long as it's taking to put villain Khelds in the game, I doubt we'll ever see *any* epic ATs after villain Kheldians. I hope I'm wrong.
It seems to me they've put a lot of planning into the stories and concepts for epic archetypes beyond letting villains have kheldians. I think it is much easier to make story elements anyway. I have no trouble going into detail about my characters' backstories, but not enough room in the description box lol.
I still think that giving villains kheldians is rather easy with all the powers and concept thought out already, but they've been sidetracked by a feature that makes them think "oh cool! we NEED that first!". The devs are probably just as into the game as we are, but all of them started with CoH and since they have epics there and all that, they look to implementing things that will also affect that side. There are also players on both sides who complain when one side gets something and the other doesn't or one side has it better, myself included. They are under pressure to add to both sides more than just making them even.
Maybe they are planning to give heroes and villains newer epics along with villain kheldians to satisfy everyone.
That would explain the very long time it takes to port a couple ATs over to the other side. I hope they aren't changing the villain kheldians a lot. I still want to be able to choose light or dark looks and powers for both sides. The invulnerability toggles going dark for villains and light for heroes looks good both ways but it's sad that the exact same powers have different looks. I also like white more than black, but play a villain mostly.
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Q: What will the (first? last? only?) Villian Epic AT be?
A: Evil versions of Peacebringers and Warshades.
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*Cries* I never liked Kheldians. I am the Sad! WHY WHY! *Cries* I never cared about making it to the 50 mark because all the Epic stuff never appealed to me ESPECIALLY these shapeshifting punks... Why I'm so Alt-crazy...
Just to say.... I don't want Nictus Villains.... Oh well, not like I'd play them anyways.... And not like I'd want to push to 50 to get them either side.... So i should stop complaining, obviously people who already have a 50 will be happy.
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Great article! It really cleared some stuff up (although I heard somewhere that they actually WOULD be adding Coralax as an epic... dont remember where...)
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Q: What will the (first? last? only?) Villian Epic AT be?
A: Evil versions of Peacebringers and Warshades.
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*Cries* I never liked Kheldians. I am the Sad! WHY WHY! *Cries* I never cared about making it to the 50 mark because all the Epic stuff never appealed to me ESPECIALLY these shapeshifting punks... Why I'm so Alt-crazy...
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Because they are epic - aka story driven - and there's a whole second side to the story presented heroside.
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Great article! It really cleared some stuff up (although I heard somewhere that they actually WOULD be adding Coralax as an epic... dont remember where...)
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Coralax is one of several possible epic ATs that were mentioned at one point. Among the others were Blood of the Blackstream (which got mentioned on at least one of the cards in the CoH collectible card game), Avilans, and Incarnates.
Avilans, I think, have pretty much been scrapped completely. Incarnates are what Statesman and Lord Recluse are.
Personally, I doubt we'll see any epic ATs after villain Khelds. Hopefully I'm wrong. At one point in time I never thought I'd see Flashback or weapon customization either... 
Dropped this in Oceanborn's guide, thought I'd add it here too.
Posi was one of several on IRC chatting during Split Infinity's City Scoop staff interview tonight. Spur of the moment, I asked him about avilians - if they were backburnered, scrapped, etc. He confirmed they're officially dead, since they could give players wings.
Which is a pity. I wanted to see what sort of story would be whipped up around them.
Which leaves us with:
Kheldians - active Heroside, coming "hopefully early 08" villainside.
Incarnates - "would like to do next, can't find where they fit" no other word.
Coralax - Unknown
Blood of the Black Stream - unknown.
Of course, NCSoft NorCal is getting more people and more funding... so we may actually see some of these sooner than Soon (tm) ... I hope!
That sucks about the avilians. I think it would have been interesting to see wings used as/holding weaponry of some sort.
I sorta doubt that the wings on Avilians would have been 'prehensile' in any way due to the 'non-quadruped skeleton' thing that keeps Masterminds from having 4 legged Henchies. Although, if something like that entered the game it would make for usable Arachno-limbs being a player-usable item.
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The Incarnates sound interesting. Is anyone daring to venture guesses at just what kind of abilities they would be packing, yet?
I'd play a Nictus in a heartbeat. I never saw the problem with Khelds personally.
Regarding the Avilans... I thought they'd tie into Swan's story somehow considering she had wings before wings were in game. I figured she was one of them. Too bad we'll never find out.
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Well since they now have a considerably bigger team to work on planned features we'll actually get what they've been planning/promising/talking about for the past two years.
But in past issues they had a pitifully small team and had to do whatever pleased the most people. Those who played villain side were a minority. Those who had lvl 50 villains to unlock an Epic AT with were a vast minority. Without this trade in ownership and increased development team, I'd have said we're getting an Epic AT when hell freezes over. But now... maybe there's hope.
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I'd be happy with kheldians in COV, even if the only change was the names and the colors of the powers.
It would be worth it to play through the different environments and story arcs with a squid.
Centinull
I always thought it'd be kinda cool to play as like an Arbiter or a Fortuna or something like that ya know?
But thats just my two inf.
=)
The Villain Epic AT FAQ v1.0
Since new "omg the Devs hate villains where r our epics?!" posts pop up about 50* times a day on these forums, I thought I'd throw together a little FAQ about everything known so far about the upcoming Villain Epic Archetype. (I'm getting a little tired of digging through old links and stuff to post everytime someone asks about them or says something silly like "But we won't need level 50 villains to unlock villain Khelds, right?!")
(*exaggerated for emphasis)
Q: What will the (first? last? only?) Villian Epic AT be?
A: Evil versions of Peacebringers and Warshades.
Q: OMG, there's no redname posts saying that! Are you making this up?!
A: No, I'm not. The first reference to villain Kheldians came in a Boomtown.net interview with Positron just before Issue 7 came out. There, he said:
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Theres an epic archetype planned for the retail expansion, but until then we are looking at introducing Warshades to City of Villains. Youll not get access to the new epic AT just by hitting level 50 this time. Instead well send you on a special Strike Force or trial.
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Q: Whew! I was afraid I'd have to get a level 50 villain to get a villain Kheld!
A: Reading comprehension FTW, buddy. Posi didn't say you wouldn't. He said the NEW epic AT from the boxed expansion (which has been scrapped, btw) wouldn't require a level 50. He never said villain Kheldians would have different unlocking requirements from the hero version.
Q: You think you're so smart, but that statement is a little confusing. Did Positron ever say FOR SURE that you'd need a level 50 villain to unlock villain Kheldians?
A: As a matter of fact, he did. It was in a w00t radio interview on 8/9/06. You can find a link to download the interview on this page. It's Jester's Court, Episode 33. The relevant discussion on villain Kheldians begins around the 52 minute mark, in which Posi discusses villainous versions of both Peacebringers and Warshades (calling them Nictus), as well as clarifying the level 50 unlocking requirement. (On a side note, he also talks about Incarnates, saying that they're the epic AT they want to introduce "after bringing Nictus to CoV.")
Q: Ok, you win this one. Now, do we have any idea when villain Kheldians will appear?
A: We have "an idea." It's not set in stone, of course, and it's complicated by the fact that epic ATs are always the first thing to get pushed back on the schedule when they're making new issues. But in a recent Gamedaily interview, Posi said "We want to try to squeeze those in early next year, but it's still up in the air." Note that he doesn't specifically call out villain Khelds by name, but given that they're the only CoV epic AT to be discussed with any detail, it's a safe assumption that he's talking about villain Khelds.
Well, that's about all the info out there about CoV Epic ATs (at this point I'm not considering the once-mentioned Coralax or Blood of the Black Stream to even be possibilities, given how long it's taking to port Khelds over). If anyone has any other sources or tidbits of info and would like me to include them in a future version of this FAQ, let me know and I'll be sure to credit ya.