Details on Dark Astoria Makeover?
By
Agent White,
Posted on: 2011-11-21 09:32 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Well it's a good thing the new Dark Astoria will have street sweeping be a viable activity, then, right?
Unfortunately, they said that the red war walls won't be seen from the Talos side.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Then why do you need hazard zones? a fair number of the 'city' zones do just that too, especially villainside.
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Originally Posted by Talen Lee
I want non-stop killing of huge spawns of guys that requires no teaming and zoning so I can go kill, kill, kill for an hour. I get that other people don't like it, but don't they have tons of other stuff they can do?
I don't need other people to make my fun, I don't need a zone to have other people in it to validate the way I choose to play. |
QR: those screenies look nice. Now just pop the fog back in there, and we'll be good.
I have a funny feeling that the NPCs in here are going to be the level 50 version of what's going on now in Praetoria, so most people will still be running trials - soloing will be seriously painful, like it is now in Praetoria. Therefore I have a feeling that after a spurt of "let's check this out!", the zone will still be mostly empty.
Gamers always seek the path of least resistance vs most reward. There ought to be an official law stating this 
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City zones don't have regular, consistant spawns including bosses of hazard-zone scale. Surely you know that.
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Originally Posted by Agent White
Then why do you need hazard zones? a fair number of the 'city' zones do just that too, especially villainside.
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One of those slides in the screenshots says that the enemies won't be as difficult as the ones on the Trials, so they shouldn't be too tough - plus, we'll be fighting them with the full range of our powers, unlike low level Praetorians.
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Originally Posted by Bad_Influence
I have a funny feeling that the NPCs in here are going to be the level 50 version of what's going on now in Praetoria, so most people will still be running trials - soloing will be seriously painful, like it is now in Praetoria. Therefore I have a feeling that after a spurt of "let's check this out!", the zone will still be mostly empty.
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
We'll see. I'm going to check out this 'alternate' path.
Stand UP.
FIGHT BACK!
A place where we can run normal story arcs with small teams instead of waiting for a full league to form up? I'm all for that. Sure the trials may get you more rewards in one go, but the time it takes to get them going sometimes will make it a less efficient way then just going somewhere and kicking stuff. Hell if they ever get the copy tool fixed I can't wait to send an incarnate over to the Beta to be ready to try this out.
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Waaait... people still think Praetoria is hard?
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Originally Posted by Bad_Influence
QR: those screenies look nice. Now just pop the fog back in there, and we'll be good.
I have a funny feeling that the NPCs in here are going to be the level 50 version of what's going on now in Praetoria, so most people will still be running trials - soloing will be seriously painful, like it is now in Praetoria. Therefore I have a feeling that after a spurt of "let's check this out!", the zone will still be mostly empty. |
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A bitter river flows from a salty spring.
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Originally Posted by Scythus
Waaait... people still think Praetoria is hard?
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So she's no longer under Tyrant's absolute control? Eeeeeenteresting.
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
Dilemma Diabolique - the new Trial in I22 - after First Ward, she's escaped to Primal Earth, and is trying to tap into the power of Mot to become death incarnate.
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For characters at that level, it varies between hard and annoying.|
Originally Posted by Scythus
Waaait... people still think Praetoria is hard?
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For IOd and Incarnated out 50s, Praetorians are harder than AE fire farms, so again, yes.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
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Her spirit is tied to the world of the living by a talisman that her father made, and Tyrant got hold of it, and used it to make her his servant - but during the First Ward story, you and your Resistance allies break into Tyrant's Tower and steal the talisman - with a little extra help from an unexpected soruce |
Originally Posted by Kierthos
So she's no longer under Tyrant's absolute control? Eeeeeenteresting.
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Why should my lowbies put up with Praetoria, when they can get regular content which is much easier - and the Praetorians don't give me any more xp for my trouble? Its foolish to me, to make things harder for myself than they have to be. |
Originally Posted by Scythus
Waaait... people still think Praetoria is hard?
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A level 19 'troller, EB Vanessa DeVore and about nine Fauxnessas: that one instance was enough to put me off Praetoria forever.
I am sure there are many self-proclaimed Ubermensch who enjoy that sort of thing on an alt not even "old" enough to have SOs yet; I shamelessly admit I am not one of them.
So.... if the new DA has level 50 content anywhere like this, it'll be easier for me [and many others, I doubt not] to keep running BAF. Risk vs reward: I like them to be somewheres in the same universe.
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Spectral Daemon Lords. Madness Mages. Gardvords. Vahzilok. Frickin' Minions of Igneous. Y'mean that sort of easy?|
Originally Posted by Bad_Influence
Why should my lowbies put up with Praetoria, when they can get regular content which is much easier -
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| A level 19 'troller, EB Vanessa DeVore and about nine Fauxnessas: that one instance was enough to put me off Praetoria forever. |
Purples, eat more of them. Or call in a friend.
Hell, Frostfire is more frustrating than she is, as he spawns in that stupid room filled with ice, another boss, and couple lieutenants and minions. At least the faux Vanessas have the decency to die quickly and not slide all over the damn room.
You guys are tangenting off into another thread entirely.
Dark Astoria will need content intended for people who have Alpha unlocked but are otherwise normal level 50s.
It will also need content for people who are 50 +3 and have T4 Judgement.
There should be enough difficulty range in there for everybody.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
I'm still wondering how the Tsoo tie into the new DA. I know they worship their ancestors, so if the god of Death is resurfacing, perhaps he brings some of the dead Tsoo with him, but is that all there is to it?
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As i recall the spirits the Tsoo sorcerers bind to serve them aren't actually their ancestors, but it suits their purposes to present them as such. It's quite possible the Tsoo are concerned about an ascendant Mot enslaving/consuming them and their ancestors' spirits regardless. i don't recall offhand what reason is given for the Tsoo presence in the current Dark Astoria.
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Originally Posted by Zombieluvr
I'm still wondering how the Tsoo tie into the new DA. I know they worship their ancestors, so if the god of Death is resurfacing, perhaps he brings some of the dead Tsoo with him, but is that all there is to it?
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Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
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Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
You guys are tangenting off into another thread entirely.
Dark Astoria will need content intended for people who have Alpha unlocked but are otherwise normal level 50s. It will also need content for people who are 50 +3 and have T4 Judgement. There should be enough difficulty range in there for everybody. |
I'm kind of curious how they're going to handle level shifts for the missions, if it'll go off your threat level (50) or if it will take into account level shifts.
Pretty sure the devs said the zone was designed for incarnates of all walks though.
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The easiest way to do it (off of the top of my head) would be to have certain Contacts/Missions for each tier and simply label them.|
Originally Posted by Agent White
I'm kind of curious how they're going to handle level shifts for the missions, if it'll go off your threat level (50) or if it will take into account level shifts.
Pretty sure the devs said the zone was designed for incarnates of all walks though. |
For instance, you might go to a Contact, and they might say, "My missions will be challenging even for those who are effectively level 53, and enjoy the exalted 4th Tier of Incarnate Ability. You may attempt them regardless, and I will laugh at your humiliation when you fail."
A different Contact might say, "Those new to the ways of Incarnation will find my missions challenging but educational. I am confident you can manage them."
The important thing would be to have enough content of each Tier to get you to the next one.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
I'm pretty sure for the most part the zone is going to function like First Ward, with a string of regular mission contacts and 1-2 contacts for repeatable missions. I don't really see them putting in information for contacts that talks about level shifts and specific abilities.
Actually I'm mostly expecting the main arcs to be scaled around someone with just the Alpha, since the main arc is really going to be the 'pinnacle' of the solo path for people to earn their Emp merits and components. I don't think the devs are going to expect someone to max out their tiers by the end of the arc, so I don't really foresee anything in the main arc telling you "Oh hey you might want to bring friends or a few level shifts with you".
Thinking about it though, I guess that is something of a conundrum for folks that have T 4 in all 5 slots. And sort of just the inherent problem with the system atm, it ends and there's nothing at the end that worth doing atm. But then, what *can* the designers put in that people maxed out will want to run continuously that isn't just stockpiling more merits, threads, and components? The only things you can earn in the game are More Salvage, More Enhancements (And end game usually has people Purple IO'd out to the gills already) and.. More costume pieces? Oh and Badges. I guess it's kind of an inherent flaw in the game since there's so few systems and the ones in place already hand 99% of themselves out like candy. The height of it used to be Hami-Os, but most of those have been made pretty obsolete by now
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This was from the February Producer's Letter:|
Originally Posted by Agent White
Thinking about it though, I guess that is something of a conundrum for folks that have T 4 in all 5 slots. And sort of just the inherent problem with the system atm, it ends and there's nothing at the end that worth doing atm. But then, what *can* the designers put in that people maxed out will want to run continuously that isn't just stockpiling more merits, threads, and components?
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| "Eventually, once we release all of the Incarnate Slots, youll even be a little overpowered for the first waves of Incarnate Trials, and by then, well have something much more challenging for you to do with your newfound power. (Evil chuckle redacted.)" |
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
You know it's the Battalion.
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Well, it could be |
Originally Posted by Scythus
You know it's the Battalion.
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
I don't need other people to make my fun, I don't need a zone to have other people in it to validate the way I choose to play.