Ninja Run and a stale game.

Maybe 'stale' was the wrong choice of words. What I'm going for is really is 'too familiar' or 'routine'. This is simply from my point of view seeing as I've played this game since a month after launch in 2004.

The game was just 'too' familiar.

Now other day I decided to purchase the Martial Arts Booster for the Ninja Run, all I can say is 'wow'!

There are new animations for every movement. Jumping forward, backward, strafing, backtracking, stances.. every movement was new.

This, paired with Dual Blades made this feel like a completely new game! Everything was awesomely fresh again!

I remember a few years ago the devs said they could definitely put in different 'stances' and 'movements'. I just want to throw in my 2 cents and say this would breathe so much new life into the game.

I've always loved the game, but now it feels like a new experience again.

I can identify with what you are saying. More accurately I found that Ninja Run has added a different level of gameplay, even if it is visual only.

I, like many others, rolled a Ninja Stalker and got myself up to the magic level 4 to play around. What I found is that the new mobility made playing the stalker fun (I hate stalkers...they just do not work with my normal playstyle)


Quick attack from stealth, then flip back and out of range. By the time they can catch up I am in hide again and can leap from the rooftop and hit them with another critical.

For me this little bit of mobility really gave me a new perspective, one that I really enjoy.

I've found that Ninja run, though it clashes with some of my character concepts, just adds an INCREDIBLE amount of character mobility. The combination existed to a certain degree already, but required several power choices to achieve, limiting options elsewhere.

I ran the final "Crown of Glory" mission last night on my Rad/Elec blaster.

Where, on my Fire/Fire/Fire, I would have hover-blasted, here I wound up ninja-leaping onto portions of the container stacks that the NPCs just couldn't get to and zapping them from there. I've run the mission multiple times on ranged combat characters before, but this is the first time I've done it this way. And it added a completely new dimension to the run. One I enjoyed tremendously.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

I hear that dude. I want bot stances badly. Seeing my brutal mindless bot brute stand there, arms crossed, then on the hips, looks around, crosses arms again, that's garbage. It's way too human-like. Maybe a stance tab in the char creator?

For me ninja run makes the early levels so much more enjoyable and at later levels it is just a really helpful and cool looking power. I don't use it much in battle but in between or for the first strike it makes a real difference.

For some characters it even freed up two power slots at 12 and 14 which I really like.

Not that I really think City of Heroes is a stale game though.

Of all people, I used it on my sword and shield scrapper, TollTaker Jones. His backstory is that he's a tolltaker on the Golden Gate Bridge, possessed by the bridge's spirit. Well, with moves as awesome as his were with Ninja run engaged, he sure looked the part. Even standing still with his sword and shield out, and ninja run on, he looked wicked cool.
My only regret was not changing over to his toll collector's uniform costume before helping pwn snaptooth. Imagine that redcap boss looking at all these spandex and armour clad heroes, and spotting a normal guy in a tolltaker's uniform. "What's that clown doing here? And why is that foolish mortal carrying a glowing orange sword..OWW, Sonuvab!!ch, Whaa???..Thunk!!"

If you have Slide, pairing that with Ninja Run takes way the anime run style.

Of course, now you have to justify the Slide animation for your PC's concept.

Take a stale game and place it on a cookie sheet. Now run around it at ninja run speed. The heat generated will bake out the staleness.

True story.

Ever since picking up the MA booster, I too have found that the game has a brand-newness to it that I haven't felt since around the time of I7.

All ninja run needs now, is the ability to keep Combat Jumping toggled on while I use it

So much fun to just hit jump in combat when using Ninja Run.

Admittedly, I don't use it on every toon. It just doesn't fit the concept, but for my main and the few others I have that it does...GLEEEE!

I was running baby new year mission on my mastermind last night. I usually don't play that character with ninja run on, but I had to turn off superspeed and shadowfall so that Baby would follow me. So I turned ninja run on.

I was having so much fun running up, debuffing a spawn, and then back-flipping behind my minions. So cool!

I'm just wondering... what exactly do I have Combat Jumping for now that Ninja Run makes you jump LOTS higher, makes you also much faster, and is generally absolutely awesome?
Only for yet some more immobilize protection?

Does Ninja Run take up a power pool selection too?

Immobilization protection, a little defense, and a great place to stick IOs.

I am not sure but I think the DEVS might be figuring out how to make things a bit more exciting. I really hope they have learned giving us the same content and slightly changing it is killing this game.

If Ninja Run was such a pain for BABs to do the animations for I'm surprised he didn't try to sell the idea of a Ninja power pool to Posi/Castle to show it off more. Stick in something like Throw Shuriken/Entangling Arrow/Ninja Run/Smoke Flash. (craptacular powers!)

Well, the suppression is surely perceived differently by different people, but Ninja Run suppresses exactly like any regular travel power. It doesn't last an onerous duration but, if you're in a sustained fight it will be suppressed pretty much constantly.