Issue 12 Highlights & Guide to I12 Guides

[u]Issue 12 Highlights and FAQs & Collected Links to Issue 12 Guides[u]

1. New Story-Content in I12 and Giving New Life to Old Content
2. VEATs! (Villain Epic ArcheTypes)
3. Powerset Proliferation
4. Boatloads of QoL Upgrades
5. Costumes and Badges
6. Other Stuff

New Story-Content in I12 and Giving New Life to Old Content

Positron warned us a while ago that Issue 12 will be a ‘light’ issue – mainly a bridge in an overall story arc leading to I13. He was referring mainly to story-content, because I12 is loaded with plenty of other features. Some players will not be happy with the minimal amount of new arcs. But for anyone who has said that they wished that the Devs would go an issue without any content so as to fix bugs or improve Quality of Life (QoL) issues, then they will be ecstatic.

So, what exactly is the new content of I12?

[u]Midnighter Club[u] <ul type="square">[*]The Zone: The level of the Midnighter Club Zone is 10+ for heroes and 30+ for villains (although if you tag along with someone who has the mission, you can get in as early as level 1). Think Pocket D and you’ll get the hang of it quickly. There is one Villains’ entrance on one side (the Cap University), and three Heroes’ entrances on the other (the 3 universities in Steel, Croatoa, and Founders). The map is blacked out, so, I made a crude ASCII drawing below (doesn't look right on the red-skinned villains board, go blue to see it line up right).
[*]Heroes: Montague Castanella (level 10 – 50) inside the Steel Canyon University. Arc: Lost and Found. Makes you a member of the Midnighters and grants access to the Midnighter Club.
[*]Villains: Ashley McKnight (level 30-50) in Cap standing outside a university building. Arc: Midnight’s Hand. Makes you a member of the Midnighters and grants you access to the Midnighter Club.
[*]Ashley and Percy Winkley (heroes) offer an additional short arc Origins of Power which is more of a story driven background arc. (30+)
[*]Villains: Darrin Wade (level 20-29) in Sharkshead. Arc: The Midnight Hour. A nicely villainous arc. And when you do Darrin's arc, you'll realize why villains don't get access to the club until level 30, and that is because Darrin's arc wouldn't make sense if you were already a member.
[*]A clue-hunt in the Midnighter Club that grants a badge (like the history plaques, only ‘hidden’).
[*]Access to Cimerora[/list]
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
__________
/ \
/ \
| Round |
| Table |
| |
\ /
\ /
| |
| |
_______ | | _________
| \___________| |___________/ |
| |
|storage storage|
| ____________ ____________ |
|_______/ | | \_________|
| |
| |
Founders | |
___|__ | | ________
/ \_______________| |_______________/ \
| Hero Villain |
|-Croatoa Doors Crystal Door Cap-|
| ____________________X___________________ |
\___|__/ \________/
Steel </pre><hr />


Issue 12: “The Midnight Squad” Trailer NC NorCal [I12 Beta]



[u]Cimerora [u]

1. The Zone: (35+ to enter): Whether it’s a colony of Rome or its CoH/V’s alternate reality version of Rome, just think, “Rome.” This coop zone is small (Atlas Park small), but it has two unique mini-zones attached to it that become accessible in the Task/Strike Force found in Cimerora. New tilesets and unique maps! In some ways, Cimerora is like the Shard in that it exists for the TF and not for a series of regular contact arcs.
   
2. Senator: An intro to the isle arc with background information from the Senator.
   
3. Marcus: An eternal mission generator, Marcus (35+) is just like Borea in RWZ (all timed missions).
   
4. Imperius: A Task/Strike force (35+) from Imperius that rocks! (No need to unlock the Force, just unlock the Midnighter Club to get to Cimerora.)

Here's Fuzun's more specific FAQ to the Midnight Club and Cimerora. Fuzun [I12 Beta]

Guide to the Cimeroran Traitors Faction JadKni [I12 Beta]

Guide to the Imperious Strike/Task Force Silverspar [12 Beta]

Dev Diary: Ken Morse Lead Artist on Designing Cimerora gaming.Hexus.net [I12 Beta]

Fan Videos of the Midnighter Club and Cimerora (Under Issue 12) Dark_Respite [I12 Beta]

And don't forget, the VEATs story arc is also new story-content for I12 (see below).




[u]The Hollows: New and Refurbished.[u]

Added to the Hollows is an eternal mission generator contact named Meg (level 5-15).

And to make content there that was often avoided because level 5 toons sprinting across a hazard zone that’s up to 10 levels higher than them was a bad idea to begin with, the zone was revamped. Spawn sizes and levels were reduced. The ‘doors’ to missions were moved to be in the neighborhood of the contact (and not the other side of the zone). A hospital, ‘stores’ at both gates, and a trainer were also added. (Everything a normal city zone has except a difficulty level adjuster and a base portal.) The zone is still restricted to level 5 and up to enter.

If you miss the hazards of the old Hollows Hazard Zone, don’t worry, you can still find spawn sizes of 7-9 foes that go all the way up to level 15. And the Tunnels of the Trolls is still a packed level 12 Hazard Zone. (And Perez Park is still a densely packed Hazard Zone of the same level as the Hollows.)

Dev Diary (War Witch) on Revamping the Hollows




[u]The Sewers Trial: Exemplaring Working![u] Maren MacGregor has been moved from Founders to the (regular) Sewers entrance in Atlas Park. She's gotten a new look and an even more Celtified name of Mairenn. And now, she auto-exemps high level toons to level 40 for the level 38-40 Task Force (it’s sort of a Trial / Task Force hybrid now since it still has a timed final mission, but the rewards are Pool C, Task Force Pool). So, no more exploiting this Trial by exemplared 50s unexemplaring and finishing it off with no risk.

Watch out, you lowbies in the regular sewers! When this Trial is started an ambush rushes the team in the regular sewers as they’re heading to the Abandoned Sewer Network (ambushes are suppressed in Atlas Park). That’s level 38-40 Rikti in the AP entrance to the Sewers where lowbies start power leveling themselves. At least there’s no debt at that level. This has been brought to the Devs’ attention to be fixed.

(And, no, the Eden Trial / TF’s exemplaring problem isn’t fixed like the Sewers Trial was.)





VEATs!

There will be lots of VEAT (Villian Epic Archetype) threads popping up, let me hit the highlights:

On the forums, the two VEATs are called collectively ‘Soldiers of Arachnos.’ One AT is the [u]Arachnos Widow[u] which incorporates three powersets for the Blood Widow, Night Widow, and Fortunata. The other AT is called [u]Arachnos Soldier[u] (and not Arachnos *Spider* for some strange reason). The Soldiers incorporate three powersets for the Soldier (Wolf Spider), Crab Spider, and Bane Spider. Note the confusing terminology of ‘Soldiers of Arachnos’ for both of the VEATs and ‘Arachnos Soldier’ as the AT name of one of the VEATs.

You need a level 50 villain to unlock the VEATs. When you create a VEAT you will *not* go into the Tutorial (you have a level 50 villain, what do you need a tutorial for?). But don’t worry, you can flashback in Tesseract's arc to pick up the Breakout exploration badge.

You will have a new first level contact other than Kalinda or Burke and then you will discover what your Epic Archetype is all about. Remember: ‘Epic’ is meant in the sense of a long narrative (i.e., story), not the in the sense of ‘gigantic’ or ‘overpowering.’ From level 1 – 50, you will have a special series of contacts and arcs that tell your story as a Soldier of Arachnos… and it is *not* what everyone supposed it would be.

One thing you should know now about the VEATs is that at level 24 you’re given the opportunity to branch out or remain the same ‘type’ of Widow or Spider. Wolf Spiders (‘Soldiers’) can choose either to become Crab Spider or Bane Spiders. Once you pick a power from the Crab or the Bane track, you’re locked out of the other track. However, you always have access to most of your base Wolf (Soldier) powers. Or you can chose neither track and just remain a Wolf (with lots of power pools). And the same scenario holds for Blood Widows as they get to choose either the Night Widow or Fortunata track.

Be warned, at level 24 you will be *forced* into a power respecification which allows the reconfiguration of your powers into the new track (even if you don’t want either new track, you still have to go through the respec). Hey, look at it this way: free respec!

Issue 12: “Villain Epic Archetype” Trailer NC Norcal [I12 Beta]

Soldiers of Arachnos F.A.Q. v1.1 Silverspar [I12 Beta]

Guide to Soldiers of Arachnos Guides &amp; FAQ's compilation [I12 Beta]





Powerset Proliferation
Twenty Powersets of various ATs have been 'proliferated' to, that is, shared with, other ATs which did not previously have those powersets. So, e.g., Controllers now have the Plant Control powerset that previously only Dominators had. Since the MasterMind primary (Summon) is so unique, it didn't get a new powerset. But all the other Primaries and Secondaries got a proliferated set with Brutes getting two. Here's the run down:

Blaster<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Psychic Blast
* New Secondary - Mental Manipulation[/list]Corruptor<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Electrical Blast
* New Secondary - Storm Summoning[/list]Controller<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Plant Control
* New Secondary - Thermal Radiation[/list]Dominator<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Earth Control
* New Secondary - Electricity Manipulation[/list]Defender:<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Cold Domination
* New Secondary - Ice Blast[/list]Mastermind:<ul type="square">
* New Secondary - Storm Summoning[/list]Brute:<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Battle Axe
* New Primary - War Mace
* New Secondary - Super Reflexes[/list]Stalker:<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Electric Melee
* New Secondary - Electric Armor[/list]Tank:<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Dark Armor
* New Secondary - Dark Melee[/list]Scrapper:<ul type="square">
* New Primary - Fiery Melee
* New Secondary - Fiery Aura[/list]
Official Power Proliferation in-game rationale

Official Power Proliferation in-game rationale, part II

Dev Diary (Dr. Brainstorm) on Power Proliferation (the mechanics)


Mid's Unofficial I12 update *Seventh Edition* Lord of Time [I12 Beta]




Boatloads of QoL Upgrades

You need to read the whole list which should be in the Patch Notes once I12 goes Live. Until then read the whole list on Test and weep tears of joy. Seriously, take some time to go through this list several times. Play around with it in-game. Then come back and read the list again. It's just too much goodness to comprehend at once.

FAQ on the some of the QoL updates Anijo [I12 Beta]





Costumes &amp; Weapons

Here is a list of the newly organized Costume Sets. Of the sets listed, only the Roman Set is new to I12. Note that if you’re missing just one piece of a set, the set won’t show for you at all.

<ul type="square">[*]Plain[*]Bare[*]Average[*]Super Hero[*]Villain[*]Justice {requires Good v. Evil upgrade}[*]Sinister {requires Good v. Evil upgrade}[*]Bio[*]Tech Sleek {requires Veteran Reward, 27 months (anime-style)}[*]Electron[*]Leather Straps {for male &amp; huge only}[*]Leather {for female only}[*]Metallic[*]Buckled [*]ExoProto[*]Chaos[*]Insectoid[*]Chitin[*]Stealth[*]Enforcer Heavy[*]Enforcer Light[*]Zombie[*]Reptilian[*]Lizard[*]WereWolf[*]Tech Bot[*]Robot[*]Plant[*]Armored[*]Medieval[*]Tech Banded[*]Flack[*]Insect Armor [*]Tech Wired[*]Steampunk[*]Stone[*]Tech Crey[*]Suit[*]Secretary {female only}[*]School Girl {female only}[*]Tuxedo {male &amp; huge only}[*]Doctor[*]General {requires Accolade Task Force Commander badge to unlock epaulets} [*]Soldier[*]Pilot[*]Biker 1[*]Biker 2[*]Jester[*]Viking {the male and huge models require the 9 month Vet Reward, Kilt; the female model, however, doesn't use kilt to make a female Viking and so has no prerequisites}[*]Lowlander {male only} {requires Veteran Reward, 9 months, kilt}[*]Genie {female only}[*]Greek {requires Valentine costume pieces to be unlocked -- sandals, toga, laurel}[*]Pirate[*]Roman {requires you to unlock these through Imperius' Task/Strike Force in Cimerora}[*]Samurai {requires Veteran Reward, 18 months, Samurai armor [note: two other overlays are available for the Samurai armor besides the default shown in this set]}[*]Kung Fu Master[*]Ninja[*]Fighter[*]Boxer {requires Veteran Reward, 39 months, boxer set}[*]Bridal {female only, requires Wedding Pack to unlock}[/list]
In addition to these pre-made sets that appear in the costume customization screen, there are four brand new overlay sets in I12 that aren’t in this list: Arctic, Perplex, Thorn, and Vandal. As well as a bunch of ‘bullseyes’ (chest symbols). They are collected here.

Also, a new aura: Flies. (It's true!)

Official Summary of Character Creator Update

Zyphoid has pics of new weapons.



Badges

Surprisingly, no one has put together a list yet, but I bet one will be posted soon. Basically, nearly everything new in the game has a badge attached to it! Here's the compilation project from badge-hunter.com




Other Stuff

<ul type="square">[*]More Anti-Spam measures in I12, including fixing a loophole that allowed spammers to send email from 'throw-away' characters under level 10 and easier reporting of spammers (and other behind the scenes stuff the Devs don't want to say so as not to tip their hand to the spammers);
[*]Purchasable character slots (in addition to two free slots per account and Vet Reward slots);
[*]Issue 12 will come with a free respec as announced here. And here's a quick guide on types of respecs.
[*]Again, here is the Patch Notes page for Issue 12 and the Known Issues page. (They will be updated once I12 goes Live.)
[*]ParagonWiki info on Issue 12
[*]Official Game Update summary of new features
[*]Developer Diary (Hero 1) on Issue 12
[*]Developer Q&amp;A (Positron) on Issue 12
[*]In-game ads was tested a bit in I12 Test with some player-made fake ads. Real in-game ads aren't scheduled to start until after I12 goes Live.
[*]Not related to Issue 12 except by proximity: Calendar of Special Events (Rikti Invasions, Double XP, Halloween &amp; Winter Events)
[/list]

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Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides

Everything I wanted to know, all in one place. 5 stars for you. Thank you.

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Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides

Oh, hey, didn't notice my guide was up there till now. And here I thought it had fallen by the wayside.

Anyway, very helpful. Many thanks

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QR

Weatherby_Goode - "Heck, Carrion Creepers negates the knockdown from Carrion Creepers."

Well done, nicely organized.

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Thanks for the mention of my video!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Guide to Issue 12 in Comic Book form Chase Arcanum &amp; Cinder Flame [I12]

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Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides

[ QUOTE ]
One little error on the VEATs not getting the "Jail Bird" badge; they can flash back to get the exploration badge in Pilgrim's Ouroboros introductory arc, not Tesseract's arc.

Otherwise, it looks pretty tight.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oops, you're right. Tessaract gives you the mission in Pilgrim's Arc.

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Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides

very nice write-up. well done...

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nice!

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