Discussion: City of Heroes Freedom and Issue 21: Convergence Head Start Patch Notes
My head just exploded
Wow ...just wow
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
EULA The EULA has been updated. Please take a moment and read it here. |
Global = Hedgefund (or some derivation thereof)
Almost as long as longcat?
Right, only two issues that I will voice;
1) Has the AE censor bug, y'know, the one which CRIPPLES an insane amoung of legit arcs for no good reason, dealt with? If not...Why. The Frag. Not?
2) Is there STILL no option to turn the damn spinning discs of lame off? We've managed fine for years without them, some of us LIKE not having giant, WoW-esque visual vomit there, thanks very much...
That said?
BRING IT ON!
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Poison
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Globals: @Midnight Mystique/@Magik13
So wait, is the maintence period over?
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
It's hard to believe that Going Rogue was a footnote to this all along.
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
Characters with Old Content Still Unfinished With the makeover to Atlas Park and Mercy Island and the destruction of Galaxy City, some characters may still be on missions that have had their contacts changed so they don't give missions anymore. Characters in this situation will need to do the following:
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Paragon Rewards - Celestial Armor
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Short of spending real money to hit Tier 9, does this mean that the Celestial Armor pieces will forever be out of reach for my characters?
I'll admit, I am still having trouble understanding the nuances of the new (and, admittedly, rather disliked by me) Rewards Program. So, if someone can help me with this, I'd be very appreciative.
Very excited to get back playing.
Also, that cat is WAY long. I think it is longer than these patch notes.
Arc #6015 - Coming Unglued
"A good n00b-sauce is based on a good n00b-roux." - The Masque
two bad they said on ustream they may have to add another 30-90mins to the servers. They up and running, but they're testing them from bugs have non-devs locked out.
So instead 4pm est, it maybe 430pm-530pm before we can play
This part concerns me a bit. I'm a huge fan of the Celestial Armor, but if I understand how the Rewards Program works, I (as a 24 month vet) do not have enough of the points available to me (short of spending more, real, money) to access Tier 9. As such, costume pieces will be unavailable to me.
Two concerns with that... 1) Does this mean that any character I have who already have some, but not all, of the Celestial Armor pieces will no longer be able to access them? 2) Short of spending real money to hit Tier 9, does this mean that the Celestial Armor pieces will forever be out of reach for my characters? I'll admit, I am still having trouble understanding the nuances of the new (and, admittedly, rather disliked by me) Rewards Program. So, if someone can help me with these questions, I'd be very appreciative. |
They said that they plan to actively rotate items in and out of the market, so even if the armor pieces are gone before you're able to get them, it seems you'll have another chance (or five.)
They said that they plan to actively rotate items in and out of the market, so even if the armor pieces are gone before you're able to get them, it seems you'll have another chance (or five.)
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I'm especially a detractor when it comes to something as cool as the Celestial Armor, since I've not been a player long enough to earn yet.
(BTW, I had to edit my post because I was confusing the Celestial and Ascension pieces, but your answer still works)
As an addendum, could someone point me to a thread where the Rewards Program is explained a bit more in-depth? I don't understand how it works very well, and I'm afraid my search-fu must be weak, as I can't find it.
Thank you.
The funny thing is, I was just commenting the other day that my lowbie ill/rad would be noticably more awesome if brawl were affected by containment.
For a list of Known issues, please go here!
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Zwillinger has said that they don't have details yet, but those parts WILL be available in some other way later -- this is not a one-chance deal.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
Servers are "locked" but up, and this has revealed what appears to be a bug:
I can't scroll down the list of servers. (There are 2 at the bottom that don't fit in the list)
When I scroll down, as soon as I release the mouse it pops back up, making (on my screen) Justice and Exalted unclickable.
Sorry to ask such a stupid question!!
I KNOW the servers arent open yet, but I have encountered a problem (bug?).
On the login screen, after entering the password, I get directed to the server selection. Exalted is the last on my list and I need to use the scroll button on the right to scroll down to it, however, when I release the mouse button to select Exalted Server, the mouse button springs back up to the first server listed. How the heck am I going to be able to select the Exalted server if this always happens?
I hope this is fixed before we are allowed to play or I wont be able to get into the Exalted server!!
Get away from that computer once in a while!
Opinions are like bottoms, we all have one, and they usually stink.
Peace.
Servers are "locked" but up, and this has revealed what appears to be a bug:
I can't scroll down the list of servers. (There are 2 at the bottom that don't fit in the list) When I scroll down, as soon as I release the mouse it pops back up, making (on my screen) Justice and Exalted unclickable. |
City of Heroes Freedom and Issue 21: Convergence
Freedom and the accompanying issue Convergence are the culmination of over a full year of research, planning, designing, development, testing, and debugging. Paragon Studios has re-imagined the MMO of City of Heroes into a hybrid business model. Players can pay a monthly subscription and get access to a ton of new content, new Power Sets, costume pieces, zones, abilities, and the like, or if they want, they can play the game at no charge, experiencing some of the best content that City of Heroes has had to offer over the past seven years.
With this patch comes a brand new Tutorial experience. In Freedom, you will be able to choose from all of the basic Archetypes from the start. You will actually make a moral choice during the tutorial and determine on which side of the law you will fall. Once you complete the tutorial, you’ll find yourself in an updated Atlas Park or Mercy Island, with an entirely new series of missions for you to level up with. If you didn’t learn enough in the tutorial to grasp the nuances of City of Heroes, you can experience the Ongoing Training Missions that give you more information on many of the game’s systems while weaving a fun tale for you to play through.
With Freedom, Paragon is adding the all-new Paragon Market. This completely replaces the existing store where you would buy in-game items with a slick new interface, and it’s accessible from within the game itself. The Paragon Market accepts Paragon Points as its currency, which can also be purchased right in-game, or VIP subscribers will find a monthly bonus to their Paragon Points total as part of their ongoing subscription. In Freedom, you don’t need to buy an entire costume pack to get just the few pieces you wanted to actually use to make your “perfect” character. You can buy each piece individually, from within the costume creator itself!
We’re also revamping the old Veteran’s Reward system as the brand new Paragon Reward Program. Now you have more flexibility about which reward you earn next, and you can even earn rewards in this system without a subscription, simply by purchasing points for use on the Paragon Market. Returning players will find that we are honoring their time invested, as they will have credit in the new program based on how long they played City of Heroes previously.
Of course, we wouldn’t be City of Heroes without having a new Issue. In Issue 21: Convergence, you’ll venture into the zone of First Ward to fight Emperor Cole’s DUST soldiers, take down the Seed of Hamidon, and uncover what happened to magic in Praetoria. This zone is for characters level 20 to 29, and can be accessed from either Praetoria or Primal Earth. You can also dig deep into the secrets hidden below the streets of Praetoria in the Underground Incarnate Trial.
Finally, we’re going to start rolling out weekly updates. These might be store-bought items or the brand new Signature Stories (monthly story arcs that come with the VIP subscription). Every week we’ll be adding something new to the game in some way. We’ve got a ton of surprises planned for you all in this area, just wait and see!
I really hope you enjoy City of Heroes Freedom and Issue 21: Convergence,
Matt “Positron” Miller
Lead Designer
City of Heroes
Paragon Market™
In the Paragon Market you will be able to purchase new in-game items and account services, manage your game account, and access the customer support knowledge base without leaving the game.
Shopping at the Paragon Market
You will access the Paragon Market by clicking on the store icon in the City of Heroes Character Creator or the regular in-game user interface. You pay for items and services in the Paragon Market using Paragon Points™.
The Paragon Market home page opens to New, Featured, and Bestsellers items. You can view more items by navigating the Category Menu on the left hand side of the item display.
Once you open an item you can either add the item to the shopping cart or place it in your Wish List.
Please note that the Paragon Market is a work in progress.
Managing Your Account at the Paragon Market
You will be able to manage your account at the Paragon Market by clicking on the My Account button on top bar of the Market. This feature allows you to perform all of the same account management functions you would perform under your Master Account at ncsoft.com. This includes managing your billing information and subscription and viewing and managing your account information.
Customer Support at the Paragon Market
Quick Downloader
Please Note: The Quick Downloader will not be available until September 15th, 2011. Additionally, the Quick Downloader is currently only available on Windows.
When installing City of Heroes Freedom for the first time (that is, a fresh install rather than patching up an existing version), the NCsoft Launcher now allows the user to launch the game after a portion of the game has been downloaded. Instead of waiting for the full game to download (currently about 3.7GB), the player can launch the game after the first data “stage” is downloaded (about 700MB currently). The NCsoft Launcher then continues to download additional stages in the background. These stages are as follows:
If players attempt to access a zone before its data is available, they will be notified that they need to wait for that stage to complete downloading. So while this feature is very useful for new players who want to get quickly into the character creator and tutorial, veteran players may want to delay launching the game until the Launcher has completed the full download (as once the game is launched, the Launcher will throttle the download rate so as not to interfere with the game’s network communications).
While in game, an icon showing the current progress will appear if the Quick Downloader is active. Mouse over this icon to get more details regarding what content is available in each stage.
New VIP Server: Exalted
With the release of City of Heroes Freedom, we are also adding a new server: Exalted. This server will be available to VIP Players only, and you will be able to transfer your characters to and from it as with any other server. Should a VIP Player choose to become a Premium player, they will no longer be able to access their characters on Exalted. However, they will still be able to transfer their characters from the VIP server to any other server. The VIP server will be identical to other servers with the exception of being limited to VIP players.
EULA
The EULA has been updated. Please take a moment and read it.
MARTy
City of Heroes Freedom introduces a new system designed to catch and limit exploitive behavior. This system is known as MARTy (Metric Analyzing Reward Throttle). If your character earns rewards at an exploitive rate then they will find their rewards are shut off for a period of time. You can continue to play but cannot receive rewards until the cooldown for MARTy expires. In addition, a log of your reward activity is tagged for review by customer service and the development team. Bonus rewards from Day Jobs, XP boosts, double XP weekends, large teams, etc. are NOT factored into MARTy, just the raw original rewards are looked at. MARTy is designed to limit the worst offenders, and should have no impact on normal, or even aggressive, playstyles.
COMBINED
User Interface
Galaxy City
Freedom Tutorial
Atlas Park Makeover
Mercy Island Mission Makeover
Combat Phasing
"Death from Below" Low-Level Sewer Trial
Ongoing Training Missions
The intent of these missions are to teach through fun, not to feel like the 4th wall has been broken
Access to Cool Features
This is a revamp of how and when players access the cool features of our game. In an effort to make these features more accessible, we re-evaluated their availability:
Travel Power Pool Additions
Power Pool Changes
Contact Access Improvements
Striking visual improvements have been made to Contacts so that they are easier to find, visually (both in person and on the MiniMap). Access to available content has also been made easier via a Content Finder button.
Contact Icons
Content Finder
Character Creation
Characters with Old Content Still Unfinished
With the makeover to Atlas Park and Mercy Island and the destruction of Galaxy City, some characters may still be on missions that have had their contacts changed so they don't give missions anymore. Characters in this situation will need to do the following:
Paragon Reward Program
This feature replaces and upgrades the existing Veteran Reward program and offers players choices for which rewards they would like to obtain.
Paragon Rewards - Celestial Armor
VIP Status
Circle of Thorns Makeover
Introducing "The Underground" Incarnate Trial
Storyline
Vanessa DeVore, leader of the Carnival of Light, has learned a secret about Emperor Cole which could change the world. It is a secret which the Emperor has gone to great lengths to keep hidden, and Vanessa’s knowledge of it has made her his next target for elimination. Seeking to stay alive, she has reached out to Statesman, who has sent his protégé, Desdemona, to work with the Incarnates as they try to save Vanessa and learn the secret she has uncovered.
Synopsis
The event takes place deep in the vast Underground beneath the surface of Praetoria. Players are tasked with making their way through the tunnels, initially confronting the IDF as they try to catch up with and rescue Vanessa. Throughout the trial, the players will be accompanied by Desdemona, who will help them at various points and will require their aid at others. As players progress deeper into the Underground, the nature of the threats they face becomes more ominous. The IDF is not alone in the depths of the Underground.
Some of the Unique Powers
Incarnate Trials
New Power Sets
New Power Set - Time Manipulation
New Power – Beam Rifle
Rocket Board
Energy Aura Revamp
Dampening Field
Entropy Shield (Brute & Scrapper)
This power has been redesigned to be a taunt aura that will enhance the user's recharge for each target in melee up to 10 targets and will reduce the recharge of nearby foes.
Entropy Shield (Stalker)
This power has been improved to remain competitive with Entropic Aura and also fit the Stalker play style better than a scaling melee buff.
Repulse (Stalker)
This power has been completely redesigned and renamed to Disrupt. Instead of knocking back foes, this power is now a minor disorient aura and can stun lesser foes in close range to the user.
Energy Protection (Scrapper & Brute)
Energy Protection (Stalker)
Energy Drain
This power has been redesigned to offer a form of sustainable survivability. Its healing effect has been removed and has been replaced by a scaling defense buff.
Conserve Energy
This power has been replaced by Energize. This power is a copy of Electric Armor/Energize. It is intended to offer the user a measure of burst survivability.
POWERS
Blasters
Tankers
Controllers
Corruptors
Stalkers
Masterminds
Dominators
Hero Epic Archetypes
Peacebringers
Warshades
Cancelable Buffs
Real Numbers Improvements
Poison
General
Power Set Proliferation
Mission Architect – New Maps
Mission Architect - Powers
TASKS
PRAETORIA
FIRST WARD
FIRST WARD MISSION CONTENT
Note: First Ward's mission content requires VIP status or purchase of the First Ward Zone Pack from the Paragon Market.
FIRST WARD Zone Event - Seed of Hamidon
A new Giant Monster threatens First Ward! The Seed of Hamidon periodically invades the Sunken City area, spawning Seedlings and blasting those who venture too near!
- This is a Zone Event recommended for 8+ players.
- Players must gather allies to defend First Ward by defeating Seedlings, then finish the fight by assaulting the Seed itself!
- Defeating Seedlings will give players and all of their teammates/leaguemates 2 minutes of a temporary power called “Buoyant Membrane”. This group flight power allows all players to participate in the airborne sections of the event.
- Charges of Buoyant Membrane can also be purchased from the Seed Hunter NPCs in the Survivor Compound and at the Chapel of Enduring Light.
Players who manage to defeat the Seed of Hamidon will receive Reward Merits, and a temporary power boosting their experience and influence gain for a limited time. There are also new badges for this event to be discovered in game.POWERS
Praetorian Clockwork
Syndicate
For a list of Known issues, please go here!
Kevin Callanan
Community Specialist
Paragon Studios