Release Notes for Build 19.20090702.2 ~ 7/7/09
By
300_below,
Posted on: 2009-07-07 15:25 in The Global Training Room Test Server
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Key note here, your not going to stop farming. So why punish all the other small servers thats not going to get any and everyone else with the high prices that they are going to be. Shield wall proc anyone. 1 bill will get you it right now. Panacea proc. ummm thats going to be 2 bil to the first bidder.
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Bolded for an amazing point. Devs, no matter what happens in this game, people will always farm. There will always be an FotM, there will always be the better mission, there will always be the better something so long as this game exists. By trying to reduce the farming, you are only creating trouble and discouraging PvP even more than you already have. This game does not need any more inflation that it already has to encounter. Please reconsider.
22 50's in Bio
@Siphonic
RIP PX, GMW, and the game that used to be fun.
Still playing for reasons unknown.
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another way that would make this seem at all decent is have some way to get these recipes through a vender like merits or tickets. Someone mentioned in a thread somewhere about making a bounty system across all zones and then using the bounty to buy recipes.
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I have an idea based on this but since I haven't gotten to experience much PvP due to my newness to the game I'm not sure of the merit.
Make it so that controllable PvP zones like Siren's Call and Recluse's Victory have a vendor that pops up after a side gains a certain amount of control. Using one of the forms of currency (inf or merits) allow players on the controlled side a chance for a random IO drop. The kicker is that the player had to have been in the zone for 5 or so minutes before the control was established to be able to access the vendor. This gives more incentive to actually be in the zone helping as opposed to having a single scout there and just running in when control is passed or switching sides if your side loses to try to cheat and get rewards anyway. Essentially a Little Red Hen scenario that would hopefully encourage more actual PvP participation and subsequently balancing out the market. It's still farmable if setup right but would be more incentive to actual PvP.
Hey you think sometime in the next year we can get a fix for the chat bug?
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For completeness on the STF:
Link to thread #1 the penultimate post mentions an in game discussion with a GM
Who gave the Cimerorans Coffee ? Thread which could be related to the issue. Mobs being 'active' when spawned. If the Repairmen are spwaning 'aware' there first heal will fire before they can be hit.
Players have bugged it in game, I personally haven't because why start a TF when you know there is a bug that stops you finishing it ?
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It is beatable...if you have bubbler that has Force Bubble. 
We could have actually attempted a MoSTF that run it went so smoothly (two deaths...both completely random). It was even tanked by an Ice Armor tank (the bubbles helped with that one too). I actually don't know if they managed to heal any of the towers...
But, yeah, it should be fixed. Force Bubble shouldn't be necessary for...anything really.
I don't know if the devs wanted to stop farming for PvP IOs... just the fact it felt like farming. There were too many IOs available due to farming methods for their tastes, at least for too little effort by afk/arena.
Devs want you to actively play to get your IOs. Stuff like Targeted AoE, PBAoE dmg/rech IOs were going for 66k to 566k on snipe bids and consistently around 1-2 million.
What this is gonna really hurt is the indemand stuff like the 3 big survival procs, the PBAoE -Res unique and quads or acc/end/rech IOs.
Inflation thanks to AE may lead to the devs raising the influence cap though lol. The 2 billion number is an oldschool ceiling. These days... you can get that number from even inexperienced marketeering in a month.
Thank you, City of Heroes, for giving me a superhero social network combined with amazingly smooth game play. Petitions signed with realistic expectations.
Got a legitimate panacea proc for sale, i'll burn a respec if someone wants to buy it for 1 billion.
YOU CANT STOP FARMING!
Like i said in another post. this is the kind of crap they need to test for before giving us something then taking it back. You mean to tell me not one of the DEVS did not ask another DEV... Hey before we add these PVP Io's lets check and see if these can be farmed. That should be the first question that they ask each other when new content is added to the game
Ticks me off when they take crap back or screw it up so bad and then punish the player because THEY screwed up and didn't ask the right questions. If this kinda stuff happened where i work people would be fired. Would go something like this....
Employee: "Hey boss, Epic just pushed out a patch to the 4 file server"
Boss: "Did epic test the patch?"
Employee: "No boss thats why im coming to you, all the student can login to the information system and change there own grades"
Boss: "Epic, YOUR FIRED, Pack your crap and get out"
Get your [censored] together. Fix STF, Fix Chat Bug, Fix the little lag spikes since i15, Fix whats broke. I don't pay 30 a month to lag. I don't pay 30 a month to run a broken (but do able) STF.
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There's no notes concerning the Barracuda Strike Force final encounter.
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Power of Black Scorpion (Mastermind Version) now has the correct targeting information and help text. It also now works correctly when used on Reichsman. This power prevents Reichsman from using his Unbreakable power. If it is used while Reichsman is Unbreakable, it will prevent Reichsman from using it again.
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For completeness on the STF:
Link to thread #1 the penultimate post mentions an in game discussion with a GM
Who gave the Cimerorans Coffee ? Thread which could be related to the issue. Mobs being 'active' when spawned. If the Repairmen are spwaning 'aware' there first heal will fire before they can be hit.
Players have bugged it in game, I personally haven't because why start a TF when you know there is a bug that stops you finishing it ?
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It is beatable...if you have bubbler that has Force Bubble. We could have actually attempted a MoSTF that run it went so smoothly (two deaths...both completely random). It was even tanked by an Ice Armor tank (the bubbles helped with that one too). I actually don't know if they managed to heal any of the towers...
But, yeah, it should be fixed. Force Bubble shouldn't be necessary for...anything really.
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Nothing wrong with Force Bubble at all. Hm....given this STF problem perhaps I need to blow the dust off my FF/NRGY blast Defender....
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how about increasing drop rates to compensate ?
Shenanigans
LotD - JaL - POWT/SMD - SoCo - AJs
This will make PvP IO sets almost impossible to obtain for the casual PvPers.
I feel sorry for the PvPers on low populated servers. One more reason for them to head over to freedom.
GG devs. PvP IOs will make purples look cheap.
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how about increasing drop rates to compensate ?
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Patch notes are often cold and lack hands-on detail. We'll need to play this patch for a few hours/days/weeks (take your pick for the powergamer level you rest at) before I cry for this to be increased and to what level ... but /signed from the feel the news.
Thank you, City of Heroes, for giving me a superhero social network combined with amazingly smooth game play. Petitions signed with realistic expectations.
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Hey you think sometime in the next year we can get a fix for the chat bug?
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wwwwqqqeeeeeWhich one?
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well with that being said I hope they increase the drop rate becuase if they didint they jsut royally [censored] all the small servers
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You know, I remember one of the original PVP IO suggestions was to give them a chance to drop when you are defeated, too. Even if it was half the chance of a victory, it would make a rep-based system seem a little less futile. That also helps alleviate the problem posed earlier in the thread with wanting to "Rebound" and not getting a chance to get the ultimate reward for it.
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Hey you think sometime in the next year we can get a fix for the chat bug?
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wwwwqqqeeeeeWhich one?
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ghj2313nmklyes thats the one.
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New farming method if they were to increase the drop rate would be the same as rep farming for the 400 rep badge. Log in one toon, kill. Log in another, kill, every 5 min you cycle through your toons on your secondary account and start over.
No matter what you will not stop people from farming. All you do is end up costing the people that want to buy the farmed product more money while the farmers are stuck with less efficient methods and much higher profit per sale.
There is a much easier fix. Remove inspirations from pvp zones. This would slow down farming without hurting the casual pvper.
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Don't think inspirations will change anything. But as a followup to my earlier post the drop rate does need to be increased or supply will be retarded.* I for one intend to RP that PvP IOs don't exist anymore.
* diminished
Infinity and Victory mostly
dUmb, etc.
lolz PvP anymore, Market PvP for fun and profit
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Hey you think sometime in the next year we can get a fix for the chat bug?
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wwwwqqqeeeeeWhich one?
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1122444wwweeeeeeesdddddd224444990This one.
[Global Channel] Or
[Global Channel] Maybe
[Global Channel] This
[Global Channel] One?
@macskull, @Not Mac | XBL: macskull | Steam: macskull | Skype: macskull
"One day we all may see each other elsewhere. In Tyria, in Azeroth. We may pass each other and never know it. And that's sad. But if nothing else, we'll still have Rhode Island."
"One day we all may see each other elsewhere. In Tyria, in Azeroth. We may pass each other and never know it. And that's sad. But if nothing else, we'll still have Rhode Island."
The thing that always annoyed me about the rep system, and annoys me even more now that PvP IOs are tied to it, is that the rep timer inexplicably starts not only when you kill someone, but when they kill you as well. As an average PvPer at best, I find that I almost never actually get any rep from killing people, simply because the populations are small enough that I'm almost never fighting anyone who hasn't fought me in the past 10 minutes. So now, the only people who will be getting the chance to get PvP IOs are those who always win the first fight they have with someone, which doesn't particularly strike me as fair if it's meant to be a random system like all the rest of the drops in the game.
I think it's high time that the rep system was changed to only care if *you've* defeated the target, not if the target has defeated you. That way, even the most casual PvPer can at least have a slim chance to get an IO.
@MuonNeutrino
Student, Gamer, Altaholic, and future Astronomer.
This is what it means to be a tank!
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The thing that always annoyed me about the rep system, and annoys me even more now that PvP IOs are tied to it, is that the rep timer inexplicably starts not only when you kill someone, but when they kill you as well. As an average PvPer at best, I find that I almost never actually get any rep from killing people, simply because the populations are small enough that I'm almost never fighting anyone who hasn't fought me in the past 10 minutes. So now, the only people who will be getting the chance to get PvP IOs are those who always win the first fight they have with someone, which doesn't particularly strike me as fair if it's meant to be a random system like all the rest of the drops in the game.
I think it's high time that the rep system was changed to only care if *you've* defeated the target, not if the target has defeated you. That way, even the most casual PvPer can at least have a slim chance to get an IO.
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This is all kinds of borked. As a new player, what's my incentive to even TRY out PVP? So the ubered out TWIXT guy can get a PVP drop and then be even harder for me to kill? Why should the fact that I've been killed stop ME from earning a reward when I come back and finally kill this guy?
This just tells me don't actually PLAY PVP just farm it for the big payoff... what a really lame change.
Now I will put the anti-doom disclaimer that maybe I/WE don't fully understand this patch...
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The thing that always annoyed me about the rep system, and annoys me even more now that PvP IOs are tied to it, is that the rep timer inexplicably starts not only when you kill someone, but when they kill you as well. As an average PvPer at best, I find that I almost never actually get any rep from killing people, simply because the populations are small enough that I'm almost never fighting anyone who hasn't fought me in the past 10 minutes. So now, the only people who will be getting the chance to get PvP IOs are those who always win the first fight they have with someone, which doesn't particularly strike me as fair if it's meant to be a random system like all the rest of the drops in the game.
I think it's high time that the rep system was changed to only care if *you've* defeated the target, not if the target has defeated you. That way, even the most casual PvPer can at least have a slim chance to get an IO.
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This is all kinds of borked. As a new player, what's my incentive to even TRY out PVP? So the ubered out TWIXT guy can get a PVP drop and then be even harder for me to kill? Why should the fact that I've been killed stop ME from earning a reward when I come back and finally kill this guy?
This just tells me don't actually PLAY PVP just farm it for the big payoff... what a really lame change.
Now I will put the anti-doom disclaimer that maybe I/WE don't fully understand this patch...
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This change does strike me as somewhat retarded. As someone that is horrible at PVP but joins a weekly "Fight Night" in pocket D just to meet some new people this now means that I will get nothing when I do manage to kill someone because rest assured they will have already killed me 3 times in the time it takes me to kill them once.
So basically if you're good at PVP this change sux. If you're horrible at PVP it basically says, don't PVP for a reward, cause it isn't coming.
<sigh> Viv says its no longer "all me".
http://wendy-mags.mybrute.com/
Over emotional much?
Repeating a point IN ALL CAPS doesn't make the point more valid. It just comes across as obnoxious yelling. And what's your point. "You can't fix farming, so don't try. At all?"
In my mind, its like saying Fire the police and save some money because youll never totally prevent crime from happening.
You're assuming that they didn't consider the possibility of farming at all, just because they changed a drop rate later? Come on.
You then assume it wasn't tested internally. Where exactly is your source for that one? You are aware they have private test servers, right?
Your comparison is painfully off the mark when you compare the developers changing the rules to a MMO- which they've been doing to day one- in order to stop an exploit- to releasing a patch that allows students to change their own grades?
... Really? Is this change somehow allowing you to adjust your billing information to add extra time? You should probably bug that.
If we're being snarky and all that, here's how I see your post...
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Company Messenger: "Hey guys, we've had a change of heart on allowing users to take tests on computers. We'd hoped simply not having them plugged into the computer would be enough to prevent cheating. Apparently, someone has found a workaround that allows them to connect to the internet in order to cheat the tests. The changes should take place later today."
(Epic bursts into the room, screaming at the top of his lungs."
Epic: YOU CAN'T STOP CHEATING, sh**head. And why didn't I get to personally approve this?! If this was the real world, you'd be fired on the spot! How DARE you not have thought of this four months before you made the change?! You're so pathetic! Fix the leaky fountains instead! I don't pay to come to this college to get my shirt wet! What's wrong with you people?! Whoever carried out this change should be fired immediately for doing their job!
Company messenger: ......
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Sarcasm intended. But it pretty much matches the vile and bile of your post, I think. Right down to the censored cursing.
Lesson here? Never post when enraged. Youre more likely to hurt your own point than make it. 
Still hate the visit Winscott mission- make it dropable, have it give actual exp or remove it altogether. PS- Down knows who you are.
J/ Wilde/ / AIL - Celebrating five years!
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Fixed PvP rewards to function once again. Now, influence, inspirations, and other normal rewards occur on every PvP kill, while PvP IO recipes can only be rewarded on rep-valid kills.
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This means no recipes in the arena right?
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Not true.
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Fixed rep-validation to function in arenas, even though it doesn't give you any reputation in arenas.
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They made the rep-validation work in arenas, so players could get PvP IOs in the arena. However, you WON'T get any REP in Arena.
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Hmmm. Why was this done? I have in an arc one of those objects that does damage and about mag 1000 knockback when destroyed. Won't kill the mission if it doesn't do the damage or the KB, but I'm still curious as to the Why of the change.
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The barrels of dynamite were being used for farming purposes. Removing other effects that hurt the player, I have no idea. Maybe it's for the sake of melee users, in case someone fills an entire mission with exploding things.
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That seriously sucks. I had a mission in the orange juicer map (you know the one. Typically BP, pointy hill with temple in the middle surrounded by deep valley. Like an orange juicer) The only thing in the mission was generators. By blowing up generators that were close enough to the edge you could blow yourself from the outer rim all the way to the middle.
Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!
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Fixed PvP rewards to function once again. Now, influence, inspirations, and other normal rewards occur on every PvP kill, while PvP IO recipes can only be rewarded on rep-valid kills.
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This means no recipes in the arena right?
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Not true.
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Fixed rep-validation to function in arenas, even though it doesn't give you any reputation in arenas.
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They made the rep-validation work in arenas, so players could get PvP IOs in the arena. However, you WON'T get any REP in Arena.
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I'd say it's technically going to be possible to get PVP IO drops in arena, but it'll virtually never happen. If A kills B he gets a 1 in 100 chance at a PVP recipe drop. Then for the next 5 minutes he gets no chances. Further, if what people have been saying about the timer resetting is true, he will likely get no further chances assuming he can kill B at least once every 5 minutes. Further, since for some bizarre reason B's timer gets set for A when the kill happens, B essentially has no chances at a drop during the entire match.
This is why people are complaining that low-pop server players are screwed. If there are only 4 people in a zone and they're engaging relatively often, they'll quickly get into a mode where none of them can earn PVP IO drops unless they sit out for 5 minutes.
They need to remove the timer reset and change it so only defeating a player sets a timer, not being defeated by a player.
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
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Removed powers from Destructible Object mission objectives that harmed or affected players in some way. These objects should simply explode upon reaching 0 health and have no secondary effects like buffing or debuffing players or causing damage to either enemies or players.
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I understand why this change was made, but consider this a request to at least put back the knockback effect from exploding objects. As long as the explosion does no damage I don't see how that can be used as an exploit. I absolutely love the feeling of blowing something up like a Rikti bomb then being pushed way back from the explosion. It helps with immersion, like screen shake.
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
another way that would make this seem at all decent is have some way to get these recipes through a vender like merits or tickets. Someone mentioned in a thread somewhere about making a bounty system across all zones and then using the bounty to buy recipes. But even that would lead to farming.
Key note here, your not going to stop farming. So why punish all the other small servers thats not going to get any and everyone else with the high prices that they are going to be. Shield wall proc anyone. 1 bill will get you it right now. Panacea proc. ummm thats going to be 2 bil to the first bidder.