Less than impressed...
By
Aliana Blue,
Posted on: 2011-09-21 08:44 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I've run this twice so far, once in a team on a scrapper, and once solo on my PB.
The first time was fun, mobs were easy enough and we had a blast.
Second time, not so much. Why, I ask?
Simple. VOIDS!
Mission 1 was OK. Just a couple of minion class Voids which aren't a problem to contend with. Blasted through the mission and had fun.
The second mission got a little messier. For every single mob that had an Elder Igneous in it, it ALSO had a LT class Void in it. These buggers can stun and kill you dead in 2/3 shots. This was not a lot of fun at all.
The LAST mission was a total sod. LT class voids in each mob so I decided to avoid them like the plague, and then, stood right next to the mission EB, there was a Boss class Void Slayer.
Thanks for that. 
Those buggers are NASTY when you're missing all your decent powers thanks to exemping down, and whilst I don't mind the exemping, at level 20 you do NOT normally come across Void Slayers, and they can kill you in 2 shots, easy. Trying to content with one of them when you've also got an EB smacking you AND a couple of regular mobs is suicide.
If I didn't have the Return to Battle power and the brief invulnerability it provides, it would have been impossible to defeat both these mobs and go on to complete the mission, not solo.
The problem isn't the mission itself, the problem lies in the Voids spawning inside it. I'm just glad there wasn't a cyst, too!
I will not be re-running this mission on my PB. Not solo.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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I love fighting at Level 20. I must be crazy. To me, if I get a character ABOVE 20, I must be pretty dedicated to that character. I have, I think, 10 characters within 5 Levels of 20 on one server, and I love to play them all... which is why none of them are above that yet, I switch off.|
Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
Exemping down can be fun, but NOT at level 20. If you enjoy fighting as a level 20 you have a twisted sense of "fun".
It feels very unheroic, boring, limited...why not just level a man build if you want that type of "fun". |
Man build? What the heck is that? All my characters are male.
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Enhancement scaling will cut your values in half - meaning you'd need 2 SO's worth of accuracy to soft-cap against even cons. Those of us with IOed build will need yellows to hit things with any ease - and that Ruin Mage at the end of the first mission makes things more tricky.|
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
Sorry, but even exemped, you're STILL ridiculously overpowered compared to the content. Most of your attacks are 5/6 slotted at this point and your defenses are fleshed out.
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Not a huge fan of going *that* low (even going to 25 annoys me on some toons).
Deamus the Fallen - 50 DM/EA Brute - Lib
Dragos Bahtiam - 50 Fire/Ice Blaster - Lib
/facepalm - Apply Directly to the Forehead!
Formally Dragos_Bahtiam - Abbreviate to DSL - Warning, may contain sarcasm
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Originally Posted by Shubbie
Im very good at taking a problem and making it worse.
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You don't know the fun of a leveling a natural origin man/woman build? You have missed out on a piece of CoX history. |
Originally Posted by Thirty-Seven
I love fighting at Level 20. I must be crazy. To me, if I get a character ABOVE 20, I must be pretty dedicated to that character. I have, I think, 10 characters within 5 Levels of 20 on one server, and I love to play them all... which is why none of them are above that yet, I switch off.
Man build? What the heck is that? All my characters are male. |
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I sit at about 45% Acc on my attacks. I honestly didn't notice all that many misses. Maybe against higher level enemies with higher levels of defense I might miss more. But I quite honestly didn't notice.|
Originally Posted by DarkSideLeague
Enhancement scaling will cut your values in half - meaning you'd need 2 SO's worth of accuracy to soft-cap against even cons. Those of us with IOed build will need yellows to hit things with any ease - and that Ruin Mage at the end of the first mission makes things more tricky.
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Maybe on someone squishier, I might notice more.
As to getting annoyed when exemping. All I can really say is "grow thicker skin".
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
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I ran it in 11 minutes on my Warshade. I ran it 5 times back to back on my Brute. It doesn't bother me all that much.
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Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
I sit at about 45% Acc on my attacks. I honestly didn't notice all that many misses. Maybe against higher level enemies with higher levels of defense I might miss more. But I quite honestly didn't notice.
Maybe on someone squishier, I might notice more. As to getting annoyed when exemping. All I can really say is "grow thicker skin". |
Deamus the Fallen - 50 DM/EA Brute - Lib
Dragos Bahtiam - 50 Fire/Ice Blaster - Lib
/facepalm - Apply Directly to the Forehead!
Formally Dragos_Bahtiam - Abbreviate to DSL - Warning, may contain sarcasm
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Originally Posted by Shubbie
Im very good at taking a problem and making it worse.
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Ugh. Just tried starting one of these, muddled around the first mission, gave up. I hate TF mode. Not worth it for me. Pass. I'd rather have story arcs that are actually story arcs, not TFs.
FCM and I duoed this arc with his Bots/Time MM and my bi-form "blaster build" Peacebringer (native levels 31 and 40 at the time, with both running on mostly-SO builds). Just taking it at regular play speed, not going out of our way to either speed things or clear the maps, it took us slightly over half an hour to complete.
The first and last missions gave us no real trouble, in spite of the Voids and the unfriendly-to-pet-pathing maps. The ambushes in the second, though? Those were a freakin' pain in the rear. The pummies didn't manage to kill either of us, but I wouldn't call what we had to deal with Super Simple Easy Mode. If I'd been trying to solo that mission with my PB, she would have been squid-pulp after the second group. o_0
@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...
It's quick and easy with the right character/friends, not sure what to think about getting one reward per week, no matter how many of the 7 parts you do mechanic though.
Brawling Cactus from a distant planet.
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Comments like this serve only to get people's backs up and REALLY don't help anything...
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Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
As to getting annoyed when exemping. All I can really say is "grow thicker skin".
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@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan
Comments like this serve only to get people's backs up and REALLY don't help anything...
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He's trying to be a more annoying GG, quite a few people have already started ignoring him.
Brawling Cactus from a distant planet.
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I know I said I wouldn't, but I ran it 2 more times on my PB today, just to give it another chance.. The first time there were few Voids and I had little trouble, the second time there were even more voids than the original run through and I was squid paté. |
Originally Posted by Bright
The first and last missions gave us no real trouble, in spite of the Voids and the unfriendly-to-pet-pathing maps. The ambushes in the second, though? Those were a freakin' pain in the rear. The pummies didn't manage to kill either of us, but I wouldn't call what we had to deal with Super Simple Easy Mode. If I'd been trying to solo that mission with my PB, she would have been squid-pulp after the second group. o_0
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Void spawning could do with some tweaking in here...
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan
I know I said I wouldn't, but I ran it 2 more times on my PB today, just to give it another chance.. The first time there were few Voids and I had little trouble, the second time there were even more voids than the original run through and I was squid paté.
Void spawning could do with some tweaking in here... |
Fill trays with purples and speed run it?
Brawling Cactus from a distant planet.
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Believe me, I've tried that. It's not impossible to do... But getting a boss class Void Slaying standing right next to the EB is not nice!!|
Originally Posted by CactusBrawler
Fill trays with purples and speed run it?
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The end result generally is that, sure it's doable solo with a PB, but don't be expecting to do it QUICKLY...
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan
Believe me, I've tried that. It's not impossible to do... But getting a boss class Void Slaying standing right next to the EB is not nice!!
The end result generally is that, sure it's doable solo with a PB, but don't be expecting to do it QUICKLY... |
Four purples before attacking, switch to squidy form, hit the boss, and move back over the lava, enemy chases you into the lava, and dies :P
If they are going to be silly and make us level 20, we can be silly and deep fry the boss in lava.
Brawling Cactus from a distant planet.
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Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
But think on this... sometimes your game is off. You can't come to the crease and smash a century of 20 balls... maybe you'll get out for a duck... or you bowl your best spell ever and still get carted around the field without a wicket to your name.
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Originally Posted by rsclark
I don't know what any of those words mean.
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"Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change themselves." -Tolstoy
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Maybe. Maybe not. The thing is, my comment delivers the basic gist of what people are telling him.|
Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan
Comments like this serve only to get people's backs up and REALLY don't help anything...
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At some point certain things just need to be said flat out with no ambiguity. In these forums, subtlety and ambiguity in flat text only serve to prolong arguments like this past any form of useful lifespan. Being PC and pussyfooting around the issue serves no further purpose. Yes, some people aren't emotionally prepared for blunt truth and get offended.
We're now what? 200+ posts into this thread?
How long are we going to dance around the basic point?
Does this make me look like an insensitive Summon One Beach when I cut to the chase? Sure!
While it may not seem courteous, rather than stringing the person I'm addressing along with platitudes, I'm doing them a favor of rigidly delineating my response so they aren't confused in any way shape or form and I don't waste 15 or 20 posts dribbling my thoughts in on them bit by bit.
They're free to respond in any manner they wish (positive or negative) to it, but like it or hate it you know where I stand on the subject.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
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What about going dwarf form? I know dwarf on a PB isn't as useful as on a WS, but would the extra resistance in dwarf form help you handle voids better?
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Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan
Believe me, I've tried that. It's not impossible to do... But getting a boss class Void Slaying standing right next to the EB is not nice!!
The end result generally is that, sure it's doable solo with a PB, but don't be expecting to do it QUICKLY... |
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This just screams of being a bug FFM - did you bug it in game?|
Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan
I know I said I wouldn't, but I ran it 2 more times on my PB today, just to give it another chance.. The first time there were few Voids and I had little trouble, the second time there were even more voids than the original run through and I was squid paté.
Void spawning could do with some tweaking in here... |
I think I ran it solo once on my warshade and I don't recall hitting anything that would kill me like that (L45 warshade) but I also kept my difficulty settings intentionally low (+0/x2 no bosses) because I knew that the arc scaled up in a really ugly way. Second and third times I ran it on my warshade where in all kheld groups for protectors all kheldian friday night - and while we did have a few deaths, I don't recall it being overwhelming, just tough.
Globals: @Midnight Mystique/@Magik13
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did it on my lvl12 Dark/Dark Blaster and my lvl14 Beam/Sonic Corrupter, took a few hits, but not very troubling.|
Originally Posted by Justice Blues
I could have sworn I posted about running it on my level 11 blaster. A few hit points and 2 empty slots being the only difference from being level 10. I will probably be taking all my characters through, either exemping or doing it some time between 10-20 if they haven't outleveled it. Because it doesn't take long at all and the rewards are nice.
I am certainly not going to avoid it because it is too hard. |
I won't deny it can probably be problematic if you're difficulty is set too high, but that's easily fixed.
(This might have come up already; thread too long, didn't read. if so, go about your business. I just wanted to get it on record.)
The thing that annoys me about the Signature Arc isn't that it's at a particular level per se; it's that it uses the Task Force mechanism to achieve this, so that it ignores my difficulty setting.
That'd be fine if the default +0 difficulty actually was +0, but it's not, it's "+0, or +1 if we randomly feel like it, which you can bet we will at the absolute least convenient times and places within the mission." I'm not down with that. It's why I'm playing at -1 in the first place. It's not because I feel like beating up blue minions, it's because I don't feel like being beaten up by orange lieutenants.
On the plus side, I'd be mightily annoyed if I had paid for the arc and then made that discovery, so it's good that it's free-for-VIP. I got to find out for free that I'm not interested in the rest of them.
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What do you normally run on? have had different people in global channels mentioning they had to drop their difficulty because they left it on something like x3 or x8. I think the only Task Force mechanism is that Bosses will be Bosses regardless of settings and can't go below +0.|
Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
The thing that annoys me about the Signature Arc isn't that it's at a particular level per se; it's that it uses the Task Force mechanism to achieve this, so that it ignores my difficulty setting.
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| That'd be fine if the default +0 difficulty actually was +0, but it's not, it's "+0, or +1 if we randomly feel like it, which you can bet we will at the absolute least convenient times and places within the mission." I'm not down with that. It's why I'm playing at -1 in the first place. It's not because I feel like beating up blue minions, it's because I don't feel like being beaten up by orange lieutenants. |
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While true, when you set missions at -1, you end up with blue/white minions, and white/yellow Lts instead of white/yellow minions, and yellow/orange LTs.|
Originally Posted by Mr. DJ
The game in general has always been like that though.
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Now, granted the power difference between a yellow LT and a orange LT isn't that much, but for some people it can seem like a massive difference and can make or break missions (especially when said orange Lt is really a down graded boss...)
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I know, that's what I just said. I normally play on -1 because that way, when the "randomly one level higher than you asked for" thing happens, they're +0 (yellow lieutenants), which is what I actually want. I trade the lost XP for the ones that spawn -1 for the reduced annoyance of not having to deal with +1s I didn't order. Which is fine; unlike a lot of people around here, I'm not in any great hurry.|
Originally Posted by Mr. DJ
The game in general has always been like that though.
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Who Will Die?, on the other hand, ignores that setting. I get set to level 20, the mission gets set to level 20, orange lieutenants spawn at random - even with "-1/0" still showing at the top of the mission tab. It's hella annoying.
I can understand not wanting to trivialise this content so exemping me down a bit I could understand (or hell just making Incarnate powers not function) but by pushing me so far down my characters with few exceptions are gimped. Losing damaging powers, knock back protection and pets is non-trivial too and it makes the arc annoying rather than fun.
I just hope that the subsequent arcs aren't for such low level characters. Oh yeah and bearing in mind that Sutter at least boosts the powers of lowbies, there is nothing stopping that being used to artificially level 20s up to say 40, which IMO would result in a far better experience for everyone.
I ran my main tank through this. And even though he's built to exemp, gracefully, down to 30, 20 can be a bit...much. He still walked right over the content. Runs of the Signature arc were 8-11 minutes. Non-ghosting.
At level 20, with all his powers up to 25, he was sitting around 20% defense before Invincibility. Combined with his resists, regen and recovery (which is balanced for his power consumption at 50 and totally overkill for 5 attacks with his vet powers comprising 2 of them) he's a monster.
Considering that these arcs give you the ability to rack up 2 hero merits a week, I can see these becoming the preferred method for building hero merits without spending any Inf. And I can see myself getting very rich and loaded out on nice rares this way.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.