Level 53 and weaker than a Hellion
By
AkuTenshiiZero,
Posted on: 2011-12-16 06:40 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Quote:
Those two powers only last for a single minute then take 25 to recharge, not really seeing how much help they'd be in a trial overall.|
Originally Posted by Yogi_Bare
Between T2+ Barrier and T2+ Void; you should be able to bump up your survivability quite a bit and there are other avenues outside of Incarnate abilities. I try to ensure that all of my toons get Demonic Aura (especially my squishies) and Force of Nature (so I can get what I need up faster). |
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| And you shouldn't be having issues with damage as a Blaster: 2 Aim/BU powers, a nuke (my corr's nuke is better than any judgement power), Judgement plus access to Musculature and Reactive... just hang close to a Brute or Tank and learn to dance a little. |
There is a difference between retreating and giving up.
"A good evil villian kills with style"-Galgarion
"Ha you're more full of yourself than I am!"-Jack Spicer
Quote:
I can't say that I understand your stance here. The ability to deal ranged damage has certainly be proliferated to all ATs via Judgement powers, but it also seems like a new premium has been placed on ranged damage with mechanics like purple patchs in MoM and the Avatar of Hamidon's powerful debuffs in the UG.
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Originally Posted by ElementalFury
Bingo, with incarnate powers all the melee classes had their most glaring weakness negated, the ability to damage things far away and with the new batch of alphas a way to increase their survivability even more. As a blaster I still have all the exact same downsides as I did before incarnates and am actually finding my one strength, ranged damage, to be getting weaker and weaker as the trials progress, and my weaknesses to be getting worse and worse.
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Yes ranged damage is now more important in certain trials but overall out of incarnate abilities ranged attackers have gotten very little. Meleers got to solve their biggest weakness, no ranged damage. Ranged attackers have gained very little for themselves from incarnate powers outside of a slight 22% damage increase from musculature. And while it's easier to keep fighting in those trials as they're progressing in level shifts and higher HP and higher resistances ranged damage output is slowly falling off beginning to negate that tiny boost the alphas gave usin the first place.
There is a difference between retreating and giving up.
"A good evil villian kills with style"-Galgarion
"Ha you're more full of yourself than I am!"-Jack Spicer
Quote:
With 12-23 other Incarnates sitting around and some decent leadership; there should be some staggerable Destiny powers available to you.|
Originally Posted by ElementalFury
Those two powers only last for a single minute then take 25 to recharge, not really seeing how much help they'd be in a trial overall.
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Quote:
| Aim and BU are indeed great, however they crap out after about two attacks. I'm an energy blaster so using my nuke on a trial boss would require me -diving into the pit where all the AoE attacks are raining down-. Even if I get it off my end is now completely drained and I'm completely out of the fight for 30-45 seconds until my end recovers a decent amount. The judgement you recommended requires the same. I have musculature but not reactive. The highest reactive debuff you can have on an enemy is 10% So if my snipe is doing 300 damage, it now does 330. Woop. De. Doo. If you're referring to the DoT thats even worse against an AV. And standing next to the tank in a battle is the opposite of everything a blaster is meant and should do, I have no idea what you mean by dancing but no amount of dancing will keep me from dying when a massive AoE is dropped on the tank's head with me standing next to them. |
Nothing is 100% foolproof and in an environ where even the Tanks are crying about getting put down; you're probably going to die anyhow. Hosp and soldier up.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
Quote:
...That was Amazingly cool.
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Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
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That sounds disturbingly like old issues of World's Finest and old Superman/Batman team-ups. And I, for one, think it's a frelling good idea.
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
One "probelm" with the game is that it's a permanent crossover event - all the content is designed to be played by all the players - it's not like the various comicbook series for separate heroes, where the stories and enemies are written around them and their powers - so while Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Spider-Man, the Hulk and so on will have their comics made to fit each of them personally, that doesn't happen in CoH - cosmic level heroes fight street gangs, and street level heroes fight cosmic threats, so the enemies have to be pretty even in their challenge level, because the game doesn't know what kind of hero is going to be playing through the missions, and it'd be unfair to make certain ATs and origins more powerful than others.
Instead, the game gives out missions and enemies than anyone can fight, and gives a sense of power progression by increasing the importance of the enemies - so we go from street gangs, to Nazis, to aliens to cosmically powered villains from another dimesion - but that method still has problems for both ends of the hero scale - like the cosmic level hero still has challenging fights with street gangs, and the street level hero is forced to leave the street behind as they progress to a cosmic level. An alternative would be to have multiple paths 1-50 based on various classic comicbook hero types, with players being asked to choose one at the avatar creation process, like alien, mythological, cosmic, street fighter, super scientist, magaician and so on, and then being given contacts and content to fit their choice - that way, at level 1, a street fighter would be battling street gangs, and a cosmic would be dealing with a giant robot attack - they'd both still only have their basic starting powers, and the enemies would be at the same difficulty level, but the content would make them feel different. It'd also mean that at, say 40, the street hero wouldn't need to fight alien invaders, time travel or dimension hop - they'd still be getting "lesser" enemies to suit their theme - like they'd be breaking up a multi-gang alliance before it could cause chaos in the city, while at 40, the cosmic hero would be investigating a distress signal from a distant planet - both would still be at the same level of power, with enemies at the same difficulty level, but with a totally different feel to the two paths. But that would still hit the problem of the permanent crossover event that is the default setting for an MMO - like if that level 40 cosmic who was investigating the alien distress signal teamed up with the street hero for their gang busting mission, they'd find themselves suddenly being challenged by street thugs, when a few minutes earlier they'd been fighting poweful extraterrestrials - or the reverse, if the street level hero joined the cosmic hero on their mission, they'd suddenly find they were able to hold their own against dangerous aliens on another world when a few moment earlier they'd been finding street gangs to be a challenge. There's really no way to a have superhero MMO that won't cause the various power levels of heroes to appear to be either massively increased, or massively decreased when they team up with each other. |
I must be bugged or something then, because my Incarnate powers dont take 25 mins to recharge on my en/en blaster. I seem to be doing ok in terms of damage. I hardly ever use my nuke, but when I do I always immediately eat some blues. Ithought this was pretty much standard nuke behaviour.
In the BAF, i use Judgement in the first phase, It's recharged by about mudway rhru the NS fight, I can use it at least twice in the mindwashed phase and a few times in the Siege/NS fight. My lore pets last for the whole Mindwashed phase, and I also manage to get off a good few Oncarnate Rebirths too.
Maybe I've got uncommonky good IO recharge set bonuses? I havent put any real tjought into making a trial-focussed build.
I also fibd it pretty easy to avoid any patches, pink or blue, or Maraudes nova fist etc, whenever they hit. Camera pulled back, fly/hover on demand keybind is great for movememt plus def when stopped.
In short, it's news to me that Blasters are worthless in trials.
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."
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I wasn't referring to judgements, I was referring to the two badge powers he listed. (Demonic and force of nature) Those last 1 minute then take 25 to recharge.
There is a difference between retreating and giving up.
"A good evil villian kills with style"-Galgarion
"Ha you're more full of yourself than I am!"-Jack Spicer
Quote:
Their recharge is affected by bonuses to recharge plus you're using it in conjunction with your Judgement, Destiny and potential teammates buffs (regular and/or Incarnate). You also have insps available to you and I would hope that on a Trial team, some of the Hero types had the sense to pick up 'Call to Justice' to help out with your damage output (or you with Frenzy; if a villain).|
Originally Posted by ElementalFury
I wasn't referring to judgements, I was referring to the two badge powers he listed. (Demonic and force of nature) Those last 1 minute then take 25 to recharge.
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And it's kind of irrelevant if it takes 25 minutes to recharge; use it (DA) as a panic button if you need to. You're a squishy Blaster; don't take any tools for granted.
[As an NRG Blaster, I would suggest (if you have slots available) slotting Force Feedback procs (AoEs first, then quick recharge STs); if you can't increase your DPS with raw power then do it with speed]
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
Quote:
WotF: /JessicaRabbit|
Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
Romulus. You'd better get out of my head RIGHT NOW!
WotF: Aww, please don't send me away. SS: Are you going to stop rocks defeating me? I can catch bullets in my teeth and swords bounce of my skin but rocks go straight through me. WotF: I don't know how to stop them hurting you. SS: Then you've broken your promise to me. Piss off - I'll take my chances without you. WotF:... *sniff* |
I'm not insane, sentient, controlling and bad... I'm just written that way.
/JessicaRabbit
************************
Incarnate Spiderman getting defeated by lunchladies with rolls, indeed.
The Incarnate lore was already wretched in its premise, and now it appears to have taken a huge turn to the utterly laughably silly in its execution.
"How do you know you are on the side of good?" a Paragon citizen asked him. "How can we even know what is 'good'?"
"The Most High has spoken, even with His own blood," Melancton replied. "Surely we know."
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Originally Posted by Melancton
WotF: /JessicaRabbit
I'm not insane, sentient, controlling and bad... I'm just written that way. /JessicaRabbit ************************ Incarnate Spiderman getting defeated by lunchladies with rolls, indeed. The Incarnate lore was already wretched in its premise, and now it appears to have taken a huge turn to the utterly laughably silly in its execution. |
You make a really interesting point. Statesman is dying not simply because of his connection with Jack Emmert but because he's been written like a dick.
States himself could be *really* interesting and solid and actually be written like the signature character he deserves to be. Instead he's been a second rate stuffed shirt we've come to know and loathe.
Perhaps this is the root of the problem: Positron (Matt Miller)* has all these grandiose ideas that he implements without actually getting their pathos and sensitivities across to the consumer. He might have the basic ideas, but the execution turns out to be sucky. Maybe it's not a question of concept - although I've always HATED that concept - but rather that it's so poorly written because the mechanics are designing the car. By that I mean, a cool car needs an artist to conceptualise and a team of designers to engineer it into reality. What we seem to have here is the guys who are at the mechanical end doing the whole job - no checks and balances.
I don't say that for certain because obviously I don't know - but the similarities are striking. We get to a point where the writing is plain sucky and the obvious choice is to solve the problem by removal. In the case of Statesman, I'm kind of sadly ambivalent - his time is done unless somebody can do a Claremont on him. But with the Well of the Furies, I hope with all my heart it can be put to bed at the earliest opportunity because I don't think even William Shakespeare could resurrect this turkey.
* I want to state clearly here I'm not tilting at Matt, but he seems to be the driving force behind this and there may be others in the mix who are responsible but their voice seems to be subsumed.
Thelonious Monk
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Troy Hickman did a wonderful job with Statesman in the CoH comic arc he wrote. Had he been given a long run, I am certain you would have seen a magnificent, nuanced Statesman whose dialogue was well-scripted, in charge of a supergroup that fought evil together as a team. Instead... well, you pretty much nailed what happened. |
Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
States himself could be *really* interesting and solid and actually be written like the signature character he deserves to be. Instead he's been a second rate stuffed shirt we've come to know and loathe.
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"How do you know you are on the side of good?" a Paragon citizen asked him. "How can we even know what is 'good'?"
"The Most High has spoken, even with His own blood," Melancton replied. "Surely we know."
Quote:
I disagree.|
Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
You make a really interesting point. Statesman is dying not simply because of his connection with Jack Emmert but because he's been written like a ...
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I am under the impression that Statesman is dying because he is the Superman of our game. He is the one that walked off a Nuke to the back of the head. He is the one that gets to pose in midair with the cape fluttering and the City of Heroes theme in the background. He is the guy whose appearance on the game box instantly lets us know what game it is.
I agree with your subsequent point that we are probably not feeling the way we 'should' about his impending doom.
I however disagree that the writing per se is the problem: I feel that it is the presentation, and not the plot or dialogue itself that is at issue.
Before we lost Statesman, we needed an SSA and perhaps several missions of various types that gave him a chance to shine as an inspiring and admirable, if flawed, character. Something that cemented in our minds and hearts exactly why he comes off as arrogant and intolerant from time to time, yet gave a reason to feel sympathy.
Maybe the next SSA will make up for lost time and opportunities.
If we, as rumored, are to lose Recluse as well, I'll feel similarly. Recluse has a certain generic style and coolness, but far too little of the backstory and development of his rivalry/antagonism/previous friendship with Statesman has been developed for my taste.
I always thought there was plenty of time to get around to it. But death happens, it would seem.
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!
Quote:
This is how I feel, as well. City of Heroes plays about as well as you can expect a game of this type to play, and it plays damn well better than most of its competitors. However, it's starting to skirt VERY close to the edge of becoming a pure arcade game. "Are you a bad enough dude to save the president?" is enough plot for a 1980s beat-em-up just because games of the time were physically incapable of being anything more, and it's something of the basis of inspiration for a story, but it is not, in itself, a story. And that's essentially what I'm seeing in City of Heroes right now. The story has BECOME the gameplay, in the sense that yes, spelling, grammar and writing style are improving, but I am continually left wanting for better ideas.|
Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
Maybe it's not a question of concept - although I've always HATED that concept - but rather that it's so poorly written because the mechanics are designing the car. By that I mean, a cool car needs an artist to conceptualise and a team of designers to engineer it into reality. What we seem to have here is the guys who are at the mechanical end doing the whole job - no checks and balances.
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I bring up Rick Dakan a lot, but not because the original City of Heroes stories to which he set the stage are great. They're not. I bring him up because the man and his team had great ideas. Think about it for a moment, and remember who are the most prominent, most well-developed factions in this game with the most history, backstory and personality? The Rikti, the Nemesis Army, the 5th Column, the Circle of Thorns, the Freakshow, Crey Industries. These are all age-old creations that stem from a larger world and feed back into a larger world, their stories crossing over each other into the lattice of a persistent world.
The only - ONLY - other faction system that reaches anywhere near the same level of depth and complexity is Going Rogue era Praetorian Earth, and even then it still comes off shallow and simplistic. I don't say this to dis Praetoria, but I say this to express that on Praetorian Earth, there is only as much plot and depth as players can run across in-game and not a smidgen more. There is nothing to write Paragon Articles about, nothing to write character biographies about, nothing to really tell. There are a few diaries, yes, but again - those are still style over substance.
Look at the history of Paragon City. It goes as far back as the 1800s, it contains tons and tons of events that happened long before the game - the story behind Superadine, the foundation of Portal Corp, the history of Hero Corps (remember them?) and so many other different events that aren't part of the running story, but nevertheless serve as the backbone of a persistent world from which to draw inspiration and on which to build stories thereafter.
Once upon a time, I fell in love with City of Heroes because the game inspired me. It showed consistent, believable fictional world packed full of great and innovative ideas. It filled my mind with possibilities that I was compelled to explore. The alien race of invaders trapped on our world and really victims just as much as we are, the ancient race of evil sorcerers whom history has wronged so much that they have to ask: "...after all that has been done to us, is such evil not our right?" the timeless villainous genius for whom every defeat just works into another concurrent plot... Yes, some of these may have been ciche and some of them might have been done before, but they were still good ideas.
And I just don't see that now. I don't see the same kind of amazing ideas I could pull out of the narrative, point to and go "Yes! This is amazing! I want to write a story of my own about this!" I see complexity, I see plot twists, I see an engineered story to drive the action, but it has been a very long time since I saw a great idea which impressed me on its own merits. It's all ret-cons that twist existing stories to match ever more convoluted changes to game systems, I've seen plot Gordian knots where stories become so complex you need a graph to explain them, and I've seen writers trying so damn hard to make something so twisted and mangled that it's lost all sense of inspiration.
It doesn't have to be this hard. It doesn't have to be this complex. It doesn't have to be so elaborate and pre-planned and twisted and meandering. A good story can be very simple and straightforward. It doesn't even have to be told all that well, so long as there's a genuine good idea at the base of it. And yet the last good idea which impressed me greatly that I can recall was the notion of the Shadow Shard as the mind of a god, where Lanaru - the madness - literally broke the world. It really was just as simple as a single phrase: "the madness broke the world." That was all it took to impress me, because that is a good idea... And it's an idea I'm not sure is even official, and an idea which hasn't been followed up on in seven years.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
I disagree.
I am under the impression that Statesman is dying because he is the Superman of our game. He is the one that walked off a Nuke to the back of the head. He is the one that gets to pose in midair with the cape fluttering and the City of Heroes theme in the background. He is the guy whose appearance on the game box instantly lets us know what game it is. I agree with your subsequent point that we are probably not feeling the way we 'should' about his impending doom. I however disagree that the writing per se is the problem: I feel that it is the presentation, and not the plot or dialogue itself that is at issue. Before we lost Statesman, we needed an SSA and perhaps several missions of various types that gave him a chance to shine as an inspiring and admirable, if flawed, character. Something that cemented in our minds and hearts exactly why he comes off as arrogant and intolerant from time to time, yet gave a reason to feel sympathy. Maybe the next SSA will make up for lost time and opportunities. If we, as rumored, are to lose Recluse as well, I'll feel similarly. Recluse has a certain generic style and coolness, but far too little of the backstory and development of his rivalry/antagonism/previous friendship with Statesman has been developed for my taste. I always thought there was plenty of time to get around to it. But death happens, it would seem. |
You're splitting hairs.
Writing/presentation amounts to the same thing. If the fan base actually gave a flying fig about our boy in red and blue spandex there would be no need to kill him off - he could remain the beacon for what we could aspire to be - a locus. He's being killed because he's rarely ever treated with pathos or empathy.
Thelonious Monk
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You forgot Spanky Rabinowitz. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
This is how I feel, as well. City of Heroes plays about as well as you can expect a game of this type to play, and it plays damn well better than most of its competitors. However, it's starting to skirt VERY close to the edge of becoming a pure arcade game. "Are you a bad enough dude to save the president?" is enough plot for a 1980s beat-em-up just because games of the time were physically incapable of being anything more, and it's something of the basis of inspiration for a story, but it is not, in itself, a story. And that's essentially what I'm seeing in City of Heroes right now. The story has BECOME the gameplay, in the sense that yes, spelling, grammar and writing style are improving, but I am continually left wanting for better ideas.
I bring up Rick Dakan a lot, but not because the original City of Heroes stories to which he set the stage are great. They're not. I bring him up because the man and his team had great ideas. Think about it for a moment, and remember who are the most prominent, most well-developed factions in this game with the most history, backstory and personality? The Rikti, the Nemesis Army, the 5th Column, the Circle of Thorns, the Freakshow, Crey Industries. These are all age-old creations that stem from a larger world and feed back into a larger world, their stories crossing over each other into the lattice of a persistent world. The only - ONLY - other faction system that reaches anywhere near the same level of depth and complexity is Going Rogue era Praetorian Earth, and even then it still comes off shallow and simplistic. I don't say this to dis Praetoria, but I say this to express that on Praetorian Earth, there is only as much plot and depth as players can run across in-game and not a smidgen more. There is nothing to write Paragon Articles about, nothing to write character biographies about, nothing to really tell. There are a few diaries, yes, but again - those are still style over substance. Look at the history of Paragon City. It goes as far back as the 1800s, it contains tons and tons of events that happened long before the game - the story behind Superadine, the foundation of Portal Corp, the history of Hero Corps (remember them?) and so many other different events that aren't part of the running story, but nevertheless serve as the backbone of a persistent world from which to draw inspiration and on which to build stories thereafter. Once upon a time, I fell in love with City of Heroes because the game inspired me. It showed consistent, believable fictional world packed full of great and innovative ideas. It filled my mind with possibilities that I was compelled to explore. The alien race of invaders trapped on our world and really victims just as much as we are, the ancient race of evil sorcerers whom history has wronged so much that they have to ask: "...after all that has been done to us, is such evil not our right?" the timeless villainous genius for whom every defeat just works into another concurrent plot... Yes, some of these may have been ciche and some of them might have been done before, but they were still good ideas. And I just don't see that now. I don't see the same kind of amazing ideas I could pull out of the narrative, point to and go "Yes! This is amazing! I want to write a story of my own about this!" I see complexity, I see plot twists, I see an engineered story to drive the action, but it has been a very long time since I saw a great idea which impressed me on its own merits. It's all ret-cons that twist existing stories to match ever more convoluted changes to game systems, I've seen plot Gordian knots where stories become so complex you need a graph to explain them, and I've seen writers trying so damn hard to make something so twisted and mangled that it's lost all sense of inspiration. It doesn't have to be this hard. It doesn't have to be this complex. It doesn't have to be so elaborate and pre-planned and twisted and meandering. A good story can be very simple and straightforward. It doesn't even have to be told all that well, so long as there's a genuine good idea at the base of it. And yet the last good idea which impressed me greatly that I can recall was the notion of the Shadow Shard as the mind of a god, where Lanaru - the madness - literally broke the world. It really was just as simple as a single phrase: "the madness broke the world." That was all it took to impress me, because that is a good idea... And it's an idea I'm not sure is even official, and an idea which hasn't been followed up on in seven years. |
But you make an excellent point again. When I first came to Paragon City, the city had existed long before me. I was the stranger and the interloper in an existing world.
Now, despite the Devs claims otherwise, there is no way that I'm even close to "being the story" - I'm just some patsy that's struggling to fight numpties with rocks.
There is no awe or mystique in this story any longer.
Thelonious Monk
It sounds like you guys are saying you feel the spirit of the game has gone?
I would not put it that strongly.
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!
But do you fear that it might be slipping away?
Not really.
I kind of feel like the game is going through it's own 'grim and gritty 80s' phase. The emphasis is more on action and plot, rather than a nebulous backstory that is full of potential. The focus is on what's happening NOW rather than setting up a world where anything could happen in the future. Storylines are being resolved (and retconned), rather than left hanging.
It's very interesting, and makes me wonder if it is a natural outgrowth of having an ongoing setting with multiple writers and editors on board.
I feel that this is a phase, and we will get through it just fine. I also feel that it is not all bad, and that the game can contain and benefit from both 'styles' of writing.
I love the story of Praetoria. It's a good story. What is unusual about it is that it seems we are heading to a definite ending rather than it being left as an open-ended place that is occaisionally updated forever.
There are an infinite number of alternate worlds beyond the Portals, and therefore an infinite number of stories that could be told that deeply, even disregarding the potential of the Shadow Shard. That's awesome. Similarly, we could finally delve as deeply into Crey Corporation, Hero Corps and other fixtures that have been around forever.
At the risk of splitting hairs, though, I think the writing may have outstripped the presentation. Things like having players not instantly comprehend the effect of the Telepathists is minor as an isolated incident, but I hope that it is a problem we can nip in the bud. I feel the same thing has happened with the Signature story arcs; IMHO those should be longer and more in depth, and written with more of a story about the various Phalanx members they are about, so that we can feel the great potential that seems to lie behind it.
The first SSA told us basically nothing about Synapse.
The second was much better, and we found out a lot about Numina and her dad, but not much was done to make us feel about the potential loss of Numina.
Then we have Miss Liberty go down without so much as throwing a token punch.
It feels like the writing staff has 'rebooted' somehow.
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 honestly sick of Praetoria. I feel the devs put all their story eggs into that basket for the past two years and everything else ground to a halt. When the devs started to pick up up the other threads again, they read like they're from another book. The SSA feels like another universe compared to everything else. No to mention the stuff that is still unresolved or has grown a thick layer of dust from neglect.
Cimmerora fell to the wayside, and there's no explanation to how it fits into anything.
Crey has been silent and devoid of plot development since, what, the original red side arcs? Oh wait, they co-created AE. For one of the major movers and shakers, this isn't acceptable.
The Igneous got a cameo in the first SSA, but we're still waiting for their true story to be told.
Reichsman was formally introduced, was defeated and then was forgotten in one TF. I thought he, along with Statesman and Imperious, would figure into whatever the ultimate fate of Tyrant is going to be, a sort of Crisis of Infinite Coles, but I guess not if the announced SSA spoiler is to be taken at face value.
Along with Reichsman, the 5th Column came back and...well nothing. That never went anywhere. No power struggle with Reichsman and Requiem. No winner take all war with Requiem and the Center.
The Rikti War (Zone) is still languishing. Any progress with Hero 1 has been, questionable. We've started into another 'big war' since, with yet another on the way.
BTW, has anyone seen little Jimmy Preston lately? He was supposed to be important in the future or something?
And I agree, the SSA has been light on characterization, but since some of those in the arcs have been acting so out of character, I'm not sure I want them to go deeper.
.
I'm not going to argue with any of your points except to say that you kind of have to pick a side; either the Devs should leave the old story potential abandoned or pick it up and develop it.
In spite of my reservations about the new Dark Astoria, I'd love to see them develop the stories you mentioned.
I'd like to see Praetoria go all the way up to 50 as well.
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!
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I and many others have been on this bandwagon for a while... and it would not necessarily have to be a FREE comic. I think a LOT of folks would pony up for such a comic.|
Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
Also, and I am dead serious, I want Paragon Studios to spend the time creating a free Nakayama/Hickman comic to be presented in electronic format and accessible from the site and ingame. This comic would let Hickman work his magic with the personalities and characterizations of the Phalanx, while providing a central place where those who have been dragged through iTrials unknowing and uncaring can catch up on the story if they so choose. And it would let Noble Savage work his magic with the tech, beefcake and cheesecake
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And it would make Troy's probation officer so happy that he had ongoing employment! Talk about a Win-Win!
"How do you know you are on the side of good?" a Paragon citizen asked him. "How can we even know what is 'good'?"
"The Most High has spoken, even with His own blood," Melancton replied. "Surely we know."
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I read that history at the same time I began playing. I never understood why the Statesman in the City of Heroes comics, with the exception of Troy Hickman's arc, was such a stone-cold jerk with zero people skills, while in that history, he is a noble, inspirational and beloved hero. A thousand heroes follow him in the Alpha Gambit, knowing that it is likely certain death, and around 800 of them perish. The non-Hickman Statesman could never lead that.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Look at the history of Paragon City. It goes as far back as the 1800s, it contains tons and tons of events that happened long before the game.
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The writing in the game is currently feast or famine, it seems. There has to be exposition and set-up. You can't just open up with the verbal equivalent of haymakers; there have to be some jabs thrown to set things up.
Take the "sudden and unexpected" return of the Dark Watcher in the comics. He resurrects some of the Freedom Phalanx, and when Statesman says the FP needs to "plot our next move," out of FREAKING NOWHERE, the Dark Watcher explodes with this nuclear payload: "Ill tell you what your next move is, MARCUS. It's the same as it was when YOU LEFT ME WANDERING THE OUTER DIMENSIONS AND SACRIFICED HERO 1 to the Rikti. You... do... nothing!" (emphasis mine)
(ftp://ftp.cityofheroes.com/comics/topcow/comic_20.pdf p.17)
As I recall from the history of Paragon City cited by Samuel Tow, Hero 1 volunteered for the Omega Gambit and felt he was better suited as a magical hero than Statesman, and that Statesman was better suited to lead the Alpha Gambit. Further, Hero 1 knew he would not return and gave Excalibur to Ms. Liberty for safekeeping. This riff by the Dark Watcher accuses Statesman of pretty much sending Hero 1 to certain death without Hero 1 being aware of it. He also blames Statesman for... what? Not coming to find him when he was wandering the outer dimensions? I thought DW went on his own accord, and until very recently, he was the only one that could do it. Was Statesman some interdimensional AAA towing and rescue service? How could he find him? I don't understand where all the PENT UP RAGE!!!!111!!!! from the Dark Watcher comes from. Frankly, this is poor writing without the proper exposition and setup. And it sounds like DW is channeling... William... Shatner... at... the... end.
Blecch.
There may have been a legitimate reason for the Dark Watcher to be such a prong right out of the box, but the writing does not clue us in. We just get an industrial-sized can of RAAAAAAGE!!!!111!!!! poured on us.
At the risk of beating a dead horse (or at least hitting it with a rock), the exposition, set-up and presentation are vital.The Incarnate lore continues to lack it. If you get killed by a rock while purportedly Incarnate, that really ruins the proverbial mood, doesn't it?? What is next? Papa Smurf and Smurfette off you with Incarnate level "LA-LA" Singing?? It may be technically "challenging" but it also makes you feel like a total Incarnate chump.
"How do you know you are on the side of good?" a Paragon citizen asked him. "How can we even know what is 'good'?"
"The Most High has spoken, even with His own blood," Melancton replied. "Surely we know."
And the impression I'm getting is that everyone's getting 'weaker'; regardless of AT, when referring to progressively newer Trials (using the older Trials as a basis of comparison; we're still getting stronger (or at least more utilitarian).
There are tools you can use to increase your survivability; (I primarily use squishy Incarnates) you just have to want to use them. A lot of people get tied up in concept and theme (or too vested in a single path) despite the fact that the Incarnate system is intentionally set up to allow players more flexibility and utility when confronted with diverse obstacles.
Between T2+ Barrier and T2+ Void; you should be able to bump up your survivability quite a bit and there are other avenues outside of Incarnate abilities. I try to ensure that all of my toons get Demonic Aura (especially my squishies) and Force of Nature (so I can get what I need up faster).
And you shouldn't be having issues with damage as a Blaster: 2 Aim/BU powers, a nuke (my corr's nuke is better than any judgement power), Judgement plus access to Musculature and Reactive... just hang close to a Brute or Tank and learn to dance a little.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars