The City Scoop! ~ Front Page ~July 8th, 2009
By
Niviene,
Posted on: 2009-07-08 11:57 in Announcements
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Fighting AVsUsing a Bots/Traps MastermindThis is another case study in a series of articles about fighting Arch Villains (AVs) and similar class mobs. These are some of the most difficult mobs in the game. They have a HUGE number of Hit Points (HP), and they do a LOT of damage. And yet with the proper build, it is possible to solo them. I was planning to do a Scrapper this week, but the Test Server character copy lockout before Issue 15 prevented that. So here's another villain AV slayer. Granted many of the AV class mobs that villains fight are labeled as "Hero", you get the point. I'll get back to heroes after this. My AV slaying Mastermind is Robots/Traps, and those are two great sets for someone in the AV slaying business. There are a couple nice synergies related to Defense and Healing, plus a couple of extra powers that make the whole process quick and easy. I'll also comment on some other Mastermind sets along the way. The most important thing to do when fighting AVs is to stay alive. For a Mastermind that means use Bodyguard mode, and let your Henchmen take all the agro. Of course you need to keep them around so they can hold that agro. Start with a Force Field Generator (FFG), which can provide about 15.6% Defense when well slotted. Your Protector Bots will put bubbles on your Bots for upwards of 11.7% Defense, and those will be double stacked on the Assault Bot and Drones. You can slot an Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus for another 5% Defense. Add in Maneuvers for another 4% Defense. With all that, your Protector Bots will have 36.3% Defense, while your other Bots will have 48%. AVs have a hard time hitting that. Thugs/Traps should work just as well, given that the Enforcers have a Maneuvers power that is about as effective as the Force Bubbles from the Protector Bots, plus you can slot the Call to Arms: Defense Bonus in Gang War. Ninjas will be a bit more squishy as they don't have quite as much Defense. Masterminds with the Force Field secondary can keep their Henchmen alive pretty easily as well, as long as they load up on Defense. Of course AVs will hit despite your Defense, so you want some way to keep your Bots working. The Protector Bots have a Repair function that they'll automatically use once in a while on damaged Bots. The Triage Beacon from Traps will slowly heal your Bots. And I like taking Aid Other (and Aid Self for that matter) from the Medicine pool just to make sure. I don't bother with the Repair power in the Robotics primary as it has a long Recharge time. Big attacks can one-shot some of your Bots, but you can usually keep your Protector and Assault Bots alive if you keep an eye on them. Mercenaries have a Medic, while several secondary power sets have heals, so take whatever you need to keep your Henchmen fighting. | There are three more Traps powers that make soloing AVs much easier. Web Grenade is great for making an AV stand still. It'll usually prevent the AV from getting into melee range with your bots, which will significantly improve their lifespan. Plus it's just the thing if you want to plant some other traps and make sure they have full effect. Poison Trap is a good example, and the second "EZ mode" AV soloing power. It's the perfect thing to deal with AV Regeneration. It has a 90 second Recharge, and will floor an AVs Regeneration for around 40 seconds. With some Global Recharge, you can completely stop an AV from regenerating any HP. Finally Acid Mortar is great to debuff Defense (by 20%) and Damage Resistance (also 20%). Although the Defense debuff is significantly resisted by most AVs, it allows you to slot an Achilles Heel: Chance for Resistance Debuff. With enough global Recharge, you can have two Acid Mortars out a lot of the time (-40% Resistance) and up to two Achilles Heels (another -40% Resistance). I took Caltrops and Trip Mine in case I have the time and END to use them. Caltrops has a high Damage Per Second of Activation (DPSA) ratio, especially on an immobilized AV. I didn't bother with the Pulse Rifle attacks available in the Robotics primary because of their low DPSA. I usually spend my time using most of my Traps powers. Plus I have to re-summon and upgrade my bots from time to time. Soloing AVs is NOT a Henchman-friendly activity. Even if you're not Traps, you'll probably still get more mileage out of your secondary powers. The Bots benefit from Supremacy, which means they get 10% ToHit and 25% Damage bonuses. They're all slotted for 95% Damage and 60-74% Accuracy. I also run Assault for +11.25% damage. Add in the multiple Resistance Debuffs from dual Acid Mortars and the Achilles Heel proc and this is my fastest AV slayer yet. He can defeat an average AV in about 3 minutes. AVs with Immob protection take longer, as do those with auto-hit debuffs or location AoEs. Soloing GMs appears to be beyond my MM. A Quarry I attacked was still walking around with over 20 Mag worth of Immob, so I don't think I can get him to hold still for Poison Trap or Acid Mortars. Chasing him around, my Bots lost the protection of the FFG, the Edict of the Master IO, and sometimes even Maneuvers. He has a 1.5 Accuracy multiplier as a GM, and his attacks have a 1.5 multiplier on top of that, so he was hitting my Defense deprived Bots fairly often. And being a GM, he was one-shotting them. If you want to try fighting some AVs, or even soloing them, try out my "Level 50 AV Challenge" arc #168611 in the Mission Architect. It has every AV available in the MA (excluding any new ones from Issue 15) spread out over three missions, plus a couple of Giant Monsters in the second mission. If you have an MM with high Defense Henchmen, see if you can take down any AVs.      |
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Exploring the Architect#6: Stories and Lore InterviewGreetings Mission Architects! Today I am featuring a part of the Mission Architect that no one really expected to see, but has become a large part of the Stories and Lore section of the forums especially - Arc reviews. This week I sat down with Venture, one of the most prominent, and talked about reviewers in that section. If you missed the Architect Edition Horoscopes, it was due to a temporary lack of internet connection and slight shortage of submissions. You can fix the second part of that by submitting your Arc in this thread. Remember, if you don't want to write up a horoscope style description, I'll be happy to write one for you. Q) First, let's start with the introductions. You were the first person to start a review thread for MArcs and have had one of the most popular review threads in the Stories and Lore section. So, Venture, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? A) Sure. I'm 45 years old. I've been a fan of the typical "geek" stuff (science fiction/fantasy, comics, computers, gaming, etc.) for most of my life. I currently work in the family antique business but I'm also taking classes at Montclair State University (NJ) majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Philosophy. Q) So, what made you decide to start that first review thread in the forums? A) I felt it would be a good way to popularize the system. People would see reviews of good arcs and consider playing them. I expected others would jump on the bandwagon, posting their own reviews - which they did with both feet. The MA system has so much content in it that it's really impossible for any one person to sort through it all. Q) Absolutely, it seems that the Stories and Lore section has become the Advertising and Reviews section. A) It has, very much, and that's probably a good thing. Q) Now, besides being the first of the reviewers, you are also regarded as one of the harshest critics on the forum, most often coming from one of your most frequent complaints: "Just a bunch of stuff that happened". Do you feel that reputation is deserved? A) Yes, I'd have to say I'm probably the toughest critic currently posting reviews. I expected it. I've been at this (as a fan, not a pro) longer than a lot of City players have been alive. Q) Being a popular reviewer, that means that you've played a lot of arcs, can you name an arc, or even just an objective in a mission that completely surprised you, in a good way? | A) An arc that was a pleasant surprise was "Aeon's Nemesis." I have pretty low expectations for Nemesis plots but this was a five-star arc. An arc with a number of very clever objectives is "The Beating Heart of Astoria: A Play in Five Acts." - I didn't really care for it (too artsy) but the Architect was very inventive with the tools available. I gave it four stars. Q) And on the other side, was there an arc you had high hopes for that didn't deliver? A) I haven't posted a formal review of it (though the author has since requested one - I'll replay it when it comes up in the queue) but I had high hopes for a certain film noir themed arc and ended up rating it one star. I even broke out my gumshoe character Phil Noir for it. Q) So, what advice do you have for aspiring Mission Architects in terms of story writing and objective creation? A) The first thing I would say is that the creative process has a destination (a good story) but no map. There's no one way, right way, or wrong way to get there. Everyone has to work out the process for themselves, and that process may be different from one story to the next. Sometimes you'll have a theme you want to work with, and you'll build around that. Other times it will be a character or characters at first, or maybe a particular plot twist. That's OK, as long as it works. (One of Murphy's Rules of Combat definitely obtains: "if it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid".) The next thing I'd say is "learn to kill your darlings." Writers in general, not just here, can find themselves too attached to something they want to include, to the point that "the tail wags the dog." When that happens you have to cut out what's responsible, no matter how much you like it. Q) Sounds like good advice for writers, do you have any advice for aspiring reviewers? A) As for reviewers, you need to have standards and stick to them. If you don't know what it is you like to see in an arc, you're talking just about aesthetics, and aesthetics are entirely subjective. I try to grade arcs on technical issues: does the plot make sense, are there any logical flaws, spelling errors, mechanical problems (missing objectives, clues, etc.), how well the themes were developed (if any), etc. I try to keep "did I like it?" out as much as possible. No one, of course, is perfectly objective but that's no excuse not to try. Q) Well, thank you for talking with me today, do you have any final words? A) I hope for the day when someone can walk up to the MA browser, hit "random" (coming soon in issue 15) and be assured of getting a well-written arc that wasn't just a farm. That won't happen, but every time an Architect raises his bar, we get closer. Q) Thanks again for your time. A) You're very welcome. |
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Patriots and NationalistsA celebration of national identity in City of Heroes Hello my little American chums, it is Crime of Fashion your friend and mentor in City of Heroes fashion. And before anyone makes nay comments, I have been experimenting with Castle's latest toy on test and I look fabulous. Well, it is July and this month always gets my patriotic juices flowing. This month we celebrate the day that signifies the rise of democracy and the death of tyranny. All over the world people will be celebrating the day that gave rise to the greatest democratic nation the world has ever seen. That's right my little American chums; July 16 is Bastille Day! You didn't think I was talking about some other date in July, did you? To celebrate this momentous event in world history, I have decided to examine the concepts and ideas behind Patriotic and Nationalistic toons. I use these two separate terms to describe Heroes and Villains respectively. A good guy with a flag on his chest is a patriot; a bad guy is a nationalist. How we humans love our labels! Why make a patriot or a nationalist? Patriotism is a powerful psychological force. We are raised to love our country and respect our heritage. What better way to act out a fantasy of defending your country than playing a hero who embodies those values? The classic super heroes of comic books are littered with examples of this, probably best embodied by a certain super solider with a shield. Nationalism is also a powerful psychological force. It encapsulates the negative connotations of patriotism, blind obedience to authority and hatred of those who don't fit your values. It is perfect conceptual material for a great villain, probably best embodied by the various Nazi and Soviet super villains in the silver age of comic books. Where to start? First of all, you need to pick the nation of country you wish to embody, then you need to have some inspiration. You can draw inspiration from a variety of sources. I will look at the national symbol and national icons. Look around at the symbols and mythology that surround you and just draw on those. In no time you will have a Patriot or Nationalist of your very own to play with. Don't feel limited to national symbols either, local and regional icons can be just as rewarding. I wonder how many players in Pittsburgh have characters with peg legs and hook hands? | National Flag Probably the easiest place to start is with your nation of choices flag. It gives you two key components to start designing, your colour palette and some symbols. As a test I decided make a character by picking a random nations flag and basing a toon off it. I give you the National Hero of Pakistan, the Karachi Kid, a simple design using the palette and symbols provided.   . National Icons A good place to look for these is in the history and propaganda of your nation. Uncle Sam, the French Foreign Legionnaire, the Spartan Warrior, Britannia, The Soviet Worker and Fred Dagg are all examples of patriotic icons. Take inspiration from these Icons and make a tribute, or use them as the basis for an idea. Susiebot, from the forums submitted the following character based on a Icon for the USA from World War II, allow me to introduce "The Riveter"   Conclusions Playing a toon like this is fun, you will find a back story will readily come together, and people in game will easily identify with what your toon is about. COX is about having fun and living out the fantasy. The following image is just a sample of the rich variety of costuming that can be achieved while creating a Nationalist or A patriotic toon.  My thanks to all those who contributed to this collage, and my apologies to all those I could not include. Please find the full thread with costumes here. |
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In the Scoop Okay, so here I am sitting in my office, wandering through the boards for my next article. My phone startles me as it loudly rings at me. It's my boss, Snow Globe. She says to me, "VexXxa, I hear there is a street fair in Siren's Call and that there are supposedly some heroes and villains that are good artists showing off their talents by painting the streets and sidewalks. I need you to get over there and get the scoop on it." I reply with a "yes, ma'am." and grab my camera as I head out the door. - an assignment from the Editor-in-Chief, I best make this a good one! I arrive in Siren's Call, and find that it is peaceful with heroes and villains all about. The artists are painting the streets with images that look magnificent! I wander through the streets observing the crowds as they walk around each huge image. The people are watching the artists as they kneel and magically create for all to see these awe-inspiring pictures.  I see this one artist that just seems to stand out from the others. I watch him as he crouches above the section of the image that he is painting onto the pavement. What a fascinating piece of work. Looks like the image is leaping out of the pavement! I quietly watch this artist until he was done for a moment and stood up. He turns to me and smiles as I do my little wave. He walks over to me and I introduce myself and ask him if I may talk with him about his work. He says, "Sure! Come on over here. I have a few easels with some of my other work on display. By the way, my pen name is Lady Judgement, but I go by LJ." We shake hands and LJ, says, "I have lived in Liberty's Paragon City for 36 months and plan to be here until I am at least 42. I mostly hang out in Atlas, or you can find me in just about any Icon store." As I look through some of LJ's other pieces of work, I ask him if he can recall about how old he was when he started to discover his artistic talents. LJ gives me a big smile and says, "Sometime around age 7, my brother was drawing 'Gigantor' the space-age robot. I noticed it was off here and there, so I corrected it. I also did a lot of wildlife with crayons and liked working big, on 14" x 17" paper; that was huge to me as a kid." I ask LJ if he has any pieces that he thought would depict his best work. LJ thought for a moment and then picked up two of his pictures for me to see. LJ said, "As to the best pieces, that's hard to put my foot on, as I feel I've gotten better and will continue to do so. So to use one example as, well, this is my best; I'm not sure I can. I will give you two examples of early and better work. As probably, my Mr. Majesty pieces illustrate my growth in three years: | It amazes me to see the difference between both of those pieces. I asked LJ if he has any favorite CoX pieces he has done. LJ replied with a serious look, "I don't have a favorite, usually it's the newest piece I am doing, because that's what excites me at the moment. And I try to keep consistent or improve if I can. I draw a lot of women , so if I had a favorite subject, that would be it." LJ continues to chat with me and says, "I did a lot of freebies before I thought myself good enough to charge for my work. I actually have a gallery of those, AND my first tries, as well as a gallery of pieces I thought were breakthroughs in style. I do have a gallery of the first pieces I ever charged for, kind of like framing your first dollar bill - First Queue " I was curious if LJ was working on any current CoX pieces. He thought for a moment and said, "Currently I am having a Summer Sale, with four slots open at a given time, By the time this story prints, I may not have a current project. Here is a gallery to my previous commission pieces." http://baquitania.deviantart.com/gallery/#Previous-Commissions After looking through all of LJ's artwork and then looking back at the image that he is laying out on the pavement, I asked LJ where he gets his creative ideas. LJ replied with a smile, "I am primarily a portrait artist at heart, so I look at A LOT of photos. I collect them for shadows, for highlights, for colors. I think of it as data, so that if I fill my head with enough inspiration, I can 'recall' some of it as I work, and think, oh yeah didn't I see that somewhere? I also watch an inordinate amount of movies, over and over - more visual stimulation. Lastly, I play music during every work session, silence for me is not golden." I believe that LJ's work is fabulous and ask him if there are places where the City Scoop readers can see more of his work and whether or not he takes commissions. LJ smiles brightly at me and says, "I have two sites, my account on Deviant Art under 'baquitania', which stands for Bobby Aquitania (the real name), and an art blog where I post some personal work." I tell LJ that I need to get back to the office and ask him if there was anything else he wishes to share with The City Scoop readers. LJ jokingly says, "Did I mention I was having a sale? Just kidding. If you haven't hired someone yet from the COH Art Forum, there is a very good thread on how to request fan art. 'How to Request Fan Art by Juggertha'" LJ continues, "What it boils down to is: be courteous; be specific; have your screenshots ready; agree to meet the artist's payment options; be patient; be vigilant; and order again - some of us make our living this way. If you can't afford art, two things: butter-up the artist community, support is always appreciated, and, as I remember, many of us still give a lot of 'free gift art' to unsuspecting forum members. It always helps to post a link to your toons in your signature, oh and also it doesn't hurt to participate respectfully in the Art forum." I asked LJ if the Scoop can use his art work in future publications and he excitedly replied, "Yes of course. It's always a thrill to be in the Scoop!" I thanked LJ for taking the time to talk to me. And with that said, I hustled back to the office. "Bring me your visions" - VexXxa |
The Hecktic Life |
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EnnVee - Bases Reyne_Maker - The Hecktic Life VexXxa - In the Scoop Neuronia - PvP Correspondent TopDoc - Under the hood - Behind the Walls | |
Barron_ - Barron's Kitchen | |
Teldon - Behind the Mask HumanMiracle - Fan Fiction Spotlight | |
Fleeting_Whisper - MArc reviews Bubbawheat - Exploring the Architect | |
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Vol. 3, Issue 7
July 8, 2009
The City Scoop a publication for Supers by Supers!
Read the latest publication and then join in on the community discussion!
If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Niviene.
If you would like to do a feature article, or join "The City Scoop" team please PM Snow_Globe.
If you would like to place a classified ad or have an event covered, contact Cende, EnnVee, or Lemur Lad.
If you need some "Advice" contact Lady_Athyna, would like to "Ask The X" contact LiquidX, or need help with fashion, "Ask Arbiter Fabulous."
If you have a base you would like featured, please contact EnnVee.
Finally if you have a Recipe you would like included please contact Barron_.
The City Scoop
Fan Fiction Spotlight
By HumanMiracle
Soul Searching
By DJKyo
"Why are we doing this again?" I muttered to Alaric as we slogged through yet another sewer in search of a hostage taken by the Circle of Thorns. "Why can't these people just carry mace or a taser or something? Why do we have to go creeping along through disgusting sewers, getting slime and gods know what else all over ourselves, just to rescue someone who could not be bothered to defend herself?"
"'Tis the noble thing to do," Alaric pointed out. "And if we did not this, then with what would we spend our time?"
I shot him a Look, one of the ones with a capital L I had perfected on 'Razur months ago. "We would have lives, maybe? Do important things, like save the world? Isn't that what the hero gig is all about, saving the world?"
This is just the beginning of some witty, fast paced and intriguing writing by DJKyo. The story can be found here and follows the adventures of several original characters. The first person perspective provides a unique style that connects with the reader on the level of human emotion and feeling, making it easier for our inner hero to connect with these fun and engaging characters.
The changes in perspective, shifting from character to character, alters the narration just enough to give more well-rounded characterization through other characters' eyes, as well as the characterization of those narrating. This adds to the depth as the plot thickens, the emotions of the characters mixing with your own is just enough to keep you worried and wondering what will happen next. If you haven't already read this, you're missing out on some good ol' fashioned fan fiction! Do yourself a favor, sit down, and read DJKyo's "Soul Searching."
Vol. 3, Issue 7
July 8th, 2009
This Issue:
Community
Fan Fiction Spotlight
Farewell to MistressNoire
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Under the Hood
Fighting AVs
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Architect Entertainment
Exploring the Architect
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Fashion
Patriots and Nationalists
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Arts
In the Scoop
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Comic
Masthead
SYNERGY by scarypet
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Farewell to MistressNoire.
After hearing of Mistress Noire's departure from the game, the staff of the City Scoop would like to send out the following message:
You will be missed. It has been a great pleasure to write with you and we wish you well in all you do. Perhaps one day you can return with new articles and a new interest in CoH once again!
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Mistress Noire VS Mistress Ivoire by Forrest Inness