Wanted! City of Heroes Players!

[ArrMatey!]

Actually, what I'm looking for is a little more RP out of my life, but ...Well, the pickens, they're slim. :/
The badge challenge does sound kinda fun. Maybe I'll try it some time. I thought about doing the Mastermind Iron Man challenge, but I realized it would be even -more- grinding than I'm already doing, so... That was out.

[Fish]

I've posted a new Stan and Lou, #28 in Croatoa, on YouTube. :)

[Bosstone]

You could also come up with something really screwy to do, like I did with Agoraphobic Man. My goal with him was to gather as many badges as possible unaided without ever gaining any xp. Take away the option of fighting the mobs, and Paragon City becomes a very different place, and sneaking around the high-level zones at L1 can be a real challenge.A friend of mine created the laziest superhero ever. The only way he would gain any XP is by leeching off a team or (primarily) dropping missions and getting the mission success XP from that. It got a lot easier once the time limit between dropping missions was reduced from 7 to 3 days, but the project was dropped before the character ever got to level 4, IIRC.

[Bosstone]

I've posted a new Stan and Lou, #28 in Croatoa, on YouTube. :)You might have mentioned Stan and Lou in the thread earlier, but unfortunately I wasn't following it for a long time. This is frickin' hilarious. I started at #1 and have been laughing all the way through.

[Fish]

Thanks, Bosstone. Seems like someone has added a citation to Stan and Lou on the tvtropes website under "Seinfeldian Conversation" I think. Glad you're amused by them. :)

[Balance]

New information is up concerning the upcoming Issue 13: Architect. See the official announcement (http://www.cityofheroes.com/game_update13.html) and Positron's discussion of the new features (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Dev&Number=11778121&bodyprev=#Post11778121) for details.

I think I'm more excited over I13 than over any other issue to date.

Quick summary:

The Mission Architect feature will enable players to create their own missions and story arcs, which can be played and rated by other players. Well-rated arcs will unlock new mission options and other rewards, and may even be selected as "Dev's Choice" arcs and upgraded to official status with increased rewards.

Day Jobs will allow characters to pursue other activities while you're not playing them, based on where you log off. If you log off in a hospital, for example, you earn Caregiver credit. Logging off in a university would give Scholar credit. This credit is applied to new badges, and provides rewards when you log back in on that character. (Caregivers get regen buffs, for example, and Scholars get extra salvage.)

New powersets: The defensive Shield set will be in for melee ATs in I13, as will Pain Domination, the villainous analogue to Empathy.

Base improvements: Apparently there will be changes in the way we buy things for bases, but the announcement doesn't offer much detail, or describe any other changes.

Task Force Merits: You will have the option of receiving merits instead of a recipe or enhancement as a Task Force/Strike Force reward. Longer and more difficult TFs give more merits. You can trade the merits in for various other rewards, including a rare recipe of your choice.

Cimerora is getting new missions added.

Villains will be able to respec their Patron Pool choice.

There will be new IO sets, new costume sets, and some unspecified zone refinements.

[Antinor01]

Without having to wade through all 16 pages of this thread, is there a doper supergroup on Liberty? I'd like to join with my main Astralburn if there is.

[Lok]

I probably have a CECIL group there Antinor. But I will need to log on to check. And it would be small, most of them are since it is hard to get much done for bases when you have a solo group.

Are you on the CECIL global channel? I am Justice Blues there, give me a shout if you see me.

[E-Sabbath]

Update: The Shield set will not work with Stalkers, that bit of the announcement is incorrect.

[Bosstone]

Update: The Shield set will not work with Stalkers, that bit of the announcement is incorrect.Some friends and I were trying to puzzle out how Shields would work for a Stalker. Does it look like a rock and you hide behind it?

One suggested that the Stalker shield would be a cardboard box (http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/The_box). :D

[Nanook of the North Shore]

So my wife(Aangelica here on the dope) and I have come back to COH. We last played in like 2004 or so, so it's been a while. We rolled up new characters on Justice, good guy side. She made an Ice/Ice Blaster named Aangelica, and I rolled a Fire/Fire tanker named Urry. We're a bit lost with all the changes and stuff though, so we could use a SG and some advice. Teammates for missions are always welcome. I also made a Stalker named Serrated Angel, also on Justice.

One specific question. How do you use the global chat thing? I joined Global CECIL, I think, but I don't know how to chat in it or check if anyone else is on.

[Antinor01]

I'm not sure how to join a global chat. I'll look at it again tonight.

[Balance]

The command for joining the channel is just /chanjoin CECIL. Thanks to problems with spammers lately, I believe it defaults to "silenced" when you join, so you may need to send a tell to one of the channel operators to get unsilenced.

To actually see the channel, you'll need to add it to a tab in your chat window. Pick wherever you want to see the chat, and right-click on that pane. Select "Edit Tab", and you'll get a popup window with a list of the channels for that pane on the left and the channels you have access to on the right. Pick CECIL from the list on the right, add it to the list on the left, and click OK.

Nanook, some of us (mostly my family) have been playing quite a bit on Justice lately. We've got a couple of theme teams and some more one-off heroes. We've almost always got room for a couple more. We mostly talk over Skype, rather than using the chat, but most of us can keep up with both.

[Raza]

After a long hiatus I've picked CoH back up, having tired of WoW and EVE. My character is on Freedom, which seemed to be the most active server when I joined.

Is Virtue still the preferred SDMB server? Is there still an active SuperGroup on Virtue?

If so, I'll create a new character there...any particular AT needs? I have some experience with Blasters (Ice) and Scrappers, but I'm willing to try others if it helps out.

If Virtue "sticks", I'll eventually transfer over my other characters.

[Dangerosa]

There is an active supergroup with a rather nice base (thanks to Culex and Balanced, mostly), but there isn't a lot of chat regarding forming pickup teams on the channel - once in a while someone asks for some help. Most of us have so many alts that there are plenty of ATs that can be sidekicked or exemplared to the appropriate level to fill any need. Usually there are about six or so people on in the evenings and weekends, occationally more - but that is the CECIL channel, not the supergroup - and the CECIL channel is spread across the servers - Virtue being the primary home for most of our heroes, but people playing on any server thay want. (Its a little different than WoW since most interesting things - except TFs and a few missions - can be done solo and sidekicking means you can play any two characters together, making the supergroup not nearly as important as a WoW guild.)

[Lute Skywatcher]

Is Virtue still the preferred SDMB server? Is there still an active SuperGroup on Virtue?The most active servers and SGs are Virtue for Heroes, Protector for Villains, but I think we have smaller groups everywere.

[Lok]

The most active servers and SGs are Virtue for Heroes, Protector for Villains, but I think we have smaller groups everywere.

That is the most active for the SDMB players. Freedom is the most active in terms of players in general, with Virtue second. I have a CECIL group started on Freedom, not many members, I don't think I have even started a base yet.

Raza, the base really makes things easier (especially when you get the Base Transporter (http://www.cityofheroes.com/community/veteranrewards_24months.html) for getting around with the transporters.

[Raza]

I have a CECIL group started on Freedom, not many members, I don't think I have even started a base yet.
If you don't mind some help/questions, my level 12 Ice/Energy Blaster Free On would like to join your group and receive your newsletter.

[Lok]

If you don't mind some help/questions, my level 12 Ice/Energy Blaster Free On would like to join your group and receive your newsletter.

You are welcome in any of the CECIL groups on any of the servers. The hard part is actually catching me online to get invited to the SG. :p If you haven't yet, be sure to join the CECIL global channel, Balanced gave the instructions a couple of days ago here. If you see Justice Blues there, just mention you need an invite to the Freedom group. I am pretty sure someone else can invite you there too, maybe Obscure Blade. I just love having alts, it is so easy to keep track of things. :D

[Antinor01]

And of course y'all are welcome to come visit me on Liberty! :)

[Lute Skywatcher]

That is the most active for the SDMB players.Isn't that what I said?

[Lute Skywatcher]

New features announced for I13 (http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/archives/2008/09/issue_13_so_big.html); user-created missions has been pushed back to I14 and replaced with stuff likeThe Leveling Pact: A new innovation to MMOs, this groundbreaking system allows you and a buddy to create new characters and have your XP be permanently in sync, whether both characters are online or not. You will always be the same level, even if your buddy plays ten times more often than you do! It's sort of like "Extreme Sidekicking."

Multi-Builds: Another innovation to City of Heroes, we are delivering the ability to have two different build-outs of each character, including which powers are selected and which Enhancements are slotted. This will now be possible for characters who want to take advantage of it. By visiting any Trainer you can switch the entire build of your character to an alternate one. You can use this separate build for whatever you like. If you wish to use different power selections for soloing and groups, you can do that. This even makes it possible to have different IO sets slotted for PVP and PVE. It's up to you.

[Raza]

Also: revised SG base pricing, which I'm looking forward to.

While I don't have a real need for the changes just mentioned, it impresses me greatly that they've thought of, and implemented, such cool features. Take that, WoW!

[Balance]

New features announced for I13 (http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/archives/2008/09/issue_13_so_big.html); user-created missions has been pushed back to I14 and replaced with stuff like

To clarify a bit, those aren't "replacing" the Architect feature. As I understand it, they were always in the feature list for I13, they just hadn't all been announced yet. The marketing team tends to dole out feature lists and such gradually; it was about time for them to announce the rest of the list anyway, and this way, they could use it to soften the news of the Architect being split out into a separate Issue.

The delay on the Architect feature isn't as big as it sounds, I think. They're wedging another issue between I13 and the planned I14 (which will now be I15), not putting the feature off until the original date planned for I14 (which I would expect to be mid-to-late 2009). From what Posi said, I would expect to see Architect in January or February. Anxious as I am for the feature to go live, I can wait that long to get custom character designs in it. I wasn't expecting to see it before December, anyway.

[Lute Skywatcher]

To clarify a bit, those aren't "replacing" the Architect feature. As I understand it, they were always in the feature list for I13, they just hadn't all been announced yet.Doesn't sound that way to me (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Dev&Number=11990297&bodyprev=#Post11990297).

[Bosstone]

The delay on the Architect feature isn't as big as it sounds, I think. They're wedging another issue between I13 and the planned I14 (which will now be I15), not putting the feature off until the original date planned for I14 (which I would expect to be mid-to-late 2009). From what Posi said, I would expect to see Architect in January or February. Anxious as I am for the feature to go live, I can wait that long to get custom character designs in it. I wasn't expecting to see it before December, anyway.Yep. The Halloween event starts in a week or two, then I13 will hit, then the Winter event, then I14, and they'll already be rolling on to I14-now-15. There'll be plenty to do in the next few months.

The main thread on the CoH forums has been an absolute trip to read, though. I'm sure there's not any more doomsaying on the forums than there usually is, but some people are freaking out hard. Day Jobs and Leveling Pacts are intended to make you play less! :eek::eek::eek:

[Balance]

Doesn't sound that way to me (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Dev&Number=11990297&bodyprev=#Post11990297).

The post you linked there seems to be saying much the same thing I said, though more vaguely--that there were more features coming in I13 than they had released information on at the time, and that they were encountering feature creep (presumably in the increased focus on customizable enemies in the Mission Architect). How are you interpreting it?

They plan the Issues well in advance, with lists of all the major features, and additional features (or details of features) as stretch goals. Sometimes a feature gets delayed or canceled, or a minor tidbit (extra costume pieces, badges, and such) gets added, but not multiple features that require substantial coding time. If they had started coding for Multi-builds and Pacts when they decided to delay the Mission Architect--which can't have been more than a week or so ago, given that the decision was a response to forum feedback on the feature--then there's no way they'd have them ready in time for I13.

[Lute Skywatcher]

The post you linked there seems to be saying much the same thing I said, though more vaguely--that there were more features coming in I13 than they had released information on at the time, and that they were encountering feature creep (presumably in the increased focus on customizable enemies in the Mission Architect). How are you interpreting it?That the recently released features weren't always in the feature list for 13, thus the feature creep.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Now this (http://www.cityofheroes.com/community/contest_14.html) is a costume contest!

[The Mad Hermit]

I'm looking for players to collaborate on a story arc for the Mission creator. Is anyone else looking forward to this?

We still have planty of space on Victory server for new villains; come by and join us. I try to keep an eye on the CECIL channel.

I like the prizes in the costume contest, looks like something more to work for.

[Raza]

I've tried yet again to create a Villain, but as of level 4 I'm still not feeling the love....err, hate? Maybe I'm just too much of a nice guy, or maybe I've chosen the wrong AT.

Defender question: as an Empathy Defender I have the Clear Mind power; great. The problem is: how, practically, do I know who on my team is being slept/disoriented? I know I can look at each team member individually and get a clue, but that's just not practical in the heat of battle, when some teammates may be out of view or distant, and especially true when there are a lot of visual effects going on.

I'm guessing there may be a circle icon that appears next to their name in the team member list (the buff/debuff icons), but the typical team member may have a half-dozen or more icons under normal conditions, and picking out one particular one might be difficult (and I don't even know what icon to look for).

Is there some tip you can give to help quickly identify sleeping/disoriented teammates, one that works well in the thick of battle?

[Tabby_Cat]

I used to look for the icons, myself. You get used to the icons after a while, the colour changes, but the logo remains the same regardless of what kind of sleep/stun it is. And, you don't really have to look out for mezzes unless you have mezzing enemies around.

The other option is to ask your teammates to type "zzz" when they're mezzed - not like they can do anything else anyway.

[Dangerosa]

I used to look for the icons, myself. You get used to the icons after a while, the colour changes, but the logo remains the same regardless of what kind of sleep/stun it is. And, you don't really have to look out for mezzes unless you have mezzing enemies around.

The other option is to ask your teammates to type "zzz" when they're mezzed - not like they can do anything else anyway.

Its nice if they do that - the icons can be hard to catch - especially when stacked. I hated playing my empathy defender in large groups - because everyone assumed you were watching THEM - and you can't watch seven people easily. Then they'd get mad at you when they'd do something stupid and die. So some rules to keep in mind are - controllers and blasters have to stay close to me for area heals - the distance heal is for tanks and scrappers. I stick with the main group - wander away, its your problem. Let me know if you are sleeping. I can't Fortify seven people - so I'm going to go for the people who do damage. I'll let you know when the regenerates are ready between groups and YOU COME TO ME. If you aren't paying attention, so sad, too bad.

Now, playing my empathy defender rocked when it was just Eliza and Thermocline - and was great when we used to play with Jim Beam a lot as well. Two other people I could manage easily without needing to hassle people. Three started to get tricky. And idiots were always bad (wander off, die, blame the Defender for not being there to save YOUR butt.)

[Tabby_Cat]

GOD, even talking about it reminds me of the rush of playing CoH.. I loved my Mind/Kin, Governess Peake.


Then, I remember the utter PAIN in getting teams together on off peak times, much less rocking and coherent RP teams, and how little time I have to play at all...

Bleargh.

[Bosstone]

Defender question: as an Empathy Defender I have the Clear Mind power; great. The problem is: how, practically, do I know who on my team is being slept/disoriented? I know I can look at each team member individually and get a clue, but that's just not practical in the heat of battle, when some teammates may be out of view or distant, and especially true when there are a lot of visual effects going on.Keep in mind that Clear Mind (and Break Free inspirations, for that matter) is preventative as well as restorative. Knowing this, before my team goes into battle I make sure to put Clear Mind on everyone except the Scrappers and Tankers, as they have personal mez protection powers. If they don't (and this can be confirmed by checking the power icons by their name), I'll throw Clear Mind on them as well.

By doing this, I gain two benefits: one, the only icon I have to watch for is the Clear Mind icon. If that's not on a team member, I need to add it ASAP. I don't need to worry so much about various hold/sleep/stun icons. Two, this frees me up to handle other buffs and heals.

[Balance]

Its nice if they do that - the icons can be hard to catch - especially when stacked. I hated playing my empathy defender in large groups - because everyone assumed you were watching THEM - and you can't watch seven people easily. Then they'd get mad at you when they'd do something stupid and die. So some rules to keep in mind are - controllers and blasters have to stay close to me for area heals - the distance heal is for tanks and scrappers. I stick with the main group - wander away, its your problem. Let me know if you are sleeping. I can't Fortify seven people - so I'm going to go for the people who do damage. I'll let you know when the regenerates are ready between groups and YOU COME TO ME. If you aren't paying attention, so sad, too bad.

The icons and the "zzz" thing are mostly what I do with my empath, too, although I make some effort to preemptively Clear Mind the most vulnerable targets. I also make a point of buffing others with antimez buffs--if there's a second empath, I will keep CM on him, and expect the same courtesy in return.

My Emp playstyle is a little more active than Dangerosa's, I think. I don't call for people to gather; there are points where the team clusters naturally, and I hit the auras then. If someone misses them, oh well--maybe they'll learn to stick closer to me. I also do a lot of maneuvering to catch people in the healing aura, and use Heal Other on a case-by-case basis. I can keep Fortitude on 5 people pretty consistently; on large teams, I shift the Forts around dynamically to wherever I think they'll do the most good. I find that optimal buffing saves a lot of healing effort, so I think it's worthwhile. Still, I agree that it's much, much easier to play an empath on small teams; I generally find a team of 3 or 4 to be best, unless I'm specifically craving the frantic pace of a huge team. (It can be very exciting.)

It does occur to me that I should make an official suggestion on the City forums about a clearer mez marker. Maybe changing the color of a teammate's name bar in the team window when they're mezzed would work. The bar already changes with health status.

[Bosstone]

My Emp playstyle is a little more active than Dangerosa's, I think. I don't call for people to gather; there are points where the team clusters naturally, and I hit the auras then. If someone misses them, oh well--maybe they'll learn to stick closer to me. I also do a lot of maneuvering to catch people in the healing aura, and use Heal Other on a case-by-case basis. I can keep Fortitude on 5 people pretty consistently; on large teams, I shift the Forts around dynamically to wherever I think they'll do the most good. I find that optimal buffing saves a lot of healing effort, so I think it's worthwhile. Still, I agree that it's much, much easier to play an empath on small teams; I generally find a team of 3 or 4 to be best, unless I'm specifically craving the frantic pace of a huge team. (It can be very exciting.)Ha, same here. I don't care to set up a bind telling people to gather or type it in manually; for one thing, it can waste too much time getting people to react to me in the middle of a fight, and for another I don't see that I should have to get them to stop what they're doing so I can do my thing. Even if I get Recovery Aura on 5 of 8 teammates, that's still a significant boost in overall effectiveness. If I see someone didn't get hit with the aura that needs it, I'll feed them inspirations if I have any. With Fortitude, I try to shift it around more to spread the love than trying to be strategic about it; I see no harm in letting a Controller have some fun rather than keeping it solely on the Tankers and Scrappers, and the defense boost is a huge help to Blasters and sidekicked teammates, too.

My POV is that it's my job to make sure people are healed and buffed so that they don't need to think about it. Making them stay close to me or ordering them around violates that.

[Dangerosa]

The icons and the "zzz" thing are mostly what I do with my empath, too, although I make some effort to preemptively Clear Mind the most vulnerable targets. I also make a point of buffing others with antimez buffs--if there's a second empath, I will keep CM on him, and expect the same courtesy in return.

My Emp playstyle is a little more active than Dangerosa's, I think. I don't call for people to gather; there are points where the team clusters naturally, and I hit the auras then. If someone misses them, oh well--maybe they'll learn to stick closer to me. I also do a lot of maneuvering to catch people in the healing aura, and use Heal Other on a case-by-case basis. I can keep Fortitude on 5 people pretty consistently; on large teams, I shift the Forts around dynamically to wherever I think they'll do the most good. I find that optimal buffing saves a lot of healing effort, so I think it's worthwhile. Still, I agree that it's much, much easier to play an empath on small teams; I generally find a team of 3 or 4 to be best, unless I'm specifically craving the frantic pace of a huge team. (It can be very exciting.)

It does occur to me that I should make an official suggestion on the City forums about a clearer mez marker. Maybe changing the color of a teammate's name bar in the team window when they're mezzed would work. The bar already changes with health status.

I think you have a thicker skin and higher tolerance for idiots. I sort of figure that if someone is yelling at me for not catching them with a heal, I really don't need to be there - I don't play to take abuse from teammates.

(Also, my movement skills aren't great, I'm not a former FPS player - so depending on ME to be in the right place is a guarentee of me missing the stairs four times and getting stuck behind a box)

[Balance]

I think you have a thicker skin and higher tolerance for idiots. I sort of figure that if someone is yelling at me for not catching them with a heal, I really don't need to be there - I don't play to take abuse from teammates.If someone yells at me for not catching them in a heal, they get no healing until my patented pissoff meter drops back down (which may take days). Also, if they're melee-oriented, I may randomly target them and turn on Telekinesis to shove their targets out of range and scatter them. :D

Fortunately, I find that I rarely have to fire Healing Aura except to patch myself up. Buffs and spot-healing take care of almost everything. If I have to spam the aura, it usually means everyone's clumped up in the middle of a serious brawl, so everyone gets it anyway.

[Der Trihs]

I don't recall the exact label, but if you right click on the icons by the team's names there will be an option something like 'hide auto powers". Picking that will hide a lot of the icons, and makes it easier to keep track of things like who's mezzed and who needs a buff refreshed.

[Raza]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies, and if it does what I'm hoping it does, a double-thanks for:

I don't recall the exact label, but if you right click on the icons by the team's names there will be an option something like 'hide auto powers". Picking that will hide a lot of the icons, and makes it easier to keep track of things like who's mezzed and who needs a buff refreshed.

So it seems I haven't overlooked anything obvious. Some of my teammates last night had 12+ icons next to their name, and if the above reduces that, it will be a great help.

So far I've been pleased with my PUGs, although the one last night had less discipline (actually, 2-3 of the 8). Several kept running in opposite directions of the leader, or would go over the railing rather than staying on the upper-floor, which introduced blocking issues for heals. I lost one or two in 3 missions, but didn't feel too bad since they wandered away from the tour.

At level 17, Fortitude is the only real buff I currently have. I put some recharge reducers on it so I can buff more people, but still I can only get two at any one time active with the buff.

If there are any particular recommendations for my 18 and 20 power choices (Empathy/Dark Blast), let me know. I only take DB powers when there are no Empathy powers available for choosing.

[Der Trihs]

If there are any particular recommendations for my 18 and 20 power choices (Empathy/Dark Blast), let me know. I only take DB powers when there are no Empathy powers available for choosing.It's generally best to get Stamina at 20, if possible.

[Bosstone]

It's generally best to get Stamina at 20, if possible.Only for certain builds (okay, 90% of them). I haven't found Stamina necessary at all for my Empathy Defender. Vigilance isn't the best inherent, but it does help right when you need to be firing off powers like mad. Stamina's worthwhile to get if you find yourself bottoming out on endurance constantly in the first 20 levels, but if you've never had to pop a blue inspiration it's not really necessary.

[Der Trihs]

Only for certain builds (okay, 90% of them). I haven't found Stamina necessary at all for my Empathy Defender. Vigilance isn't the best inherent, but it does help right when you need to be firing off powers like mad. Stamina's worthwhile to get if you find yourself bottoming out on endurance constantly in the first 20 levels, but if you've never had to pop a blue inspiration it's not really necessary.If you say so ( that's why I said "generally ); my knowledge of Defenders is very limited. Now if it was a question about Scrappers or Masterminds or Corruptors, say . . .

[Balance]

So it seems I haven't overlooked anything obvious. Some of my teammates last night had 12+ icons next to their name, and if the above reduces that, it will be a great help.
Oh, something I don't think we've explicitly mentioned--you can right-click on the icons by their names, and select numeric stacking, which will make multiple instances of the same effect appear as one icon with a number on it. That may cut down on the number of icons a bit in some cases.

Also, most of the mez icons are variations on a little human figure with a cylinder around part of it. (Immobilize has a cylinder around the feet, stun has it around the torso, hold has it around the whole body, and sleep looks like hold with dotted lines.) Fear and confusion are different (with a skull and a head surrounded by little bubbles), but they're also pretty rare; you'll learn which enemies use them as you play, and can watch for them. Enemy attack icons also have their own colors usually--you can learn what color the icons for particular enemy mezzes are, and watch for the color. I think most mezzes tend to be pinkish (which is associated with psychic effects, for some reason), followed by dark blue or gray.

If there are any particular recommendations for my 18 and 20 power choices (Empathy/Dark Blast), let me know. I only take DB powers when there are no Empathy powers available for choosing.
At 18, you almost certainly want to take Recovery Aura. It's a great power for you, and wildly popular with teams. It gives everyone in range a huge boost to their endurance recovery.

At 20, you have a number of choices. I like Stamina in my empath build, but that's largely because I activate powers pretty much non-stop--buffs, heals, attacks, mezzes--and like to use Telekinesis (which is really endurance-heavy). If you decide you want Stamina, though, you can easily put it off for a while, and just rely on Recovery Aura.

The Empathy powers that are high priorities by 20 (IMHO) are: Healing Aura, Heal Other, Fortitude, Clear Mind, and Recovery Aura. Absorb Pain and Resurrect are available, but I strongly dislike AP, and I feel that the rez can be delayed somewhat (it appears at 22 in my current build).

I think you would do yourself and your teams a disservice to completely avoid your blast set. Even if you're not concerned with dealing damage, there are powers in it that can be very useful to a team. Tenebrous Tentacles should be available to you, and it is one of the best powers in the Dark Blast set. It immobilizes minions and lieutenants for a very long period with a single application (and can be used to keep bosses immobilized indefinitely with repeated shots). It also applies a -9.38% ToHit debuff to your targets, making them miss about 19% more often (mob ToHit base is 50%). A 19% reduction in damage from mobs means you have 19% less healing to do, keeping your team safer and your endurance from bottoming out during RA downtime. Let the mobs clump up around the tank or scrapper, then hit 'em with the hentai blast to lock them down and debuff them.

Short version: I would recommend Tenebrous Tentacles at 20. That's what my current build has at that level. You can put off slotting it if you like, with just an accuracy in the default slot, but I think you'll eventually want to slot it up for damage (the immobilize and debuff are good enough unslotted). The Tentacles/Night Fall combo is one of your major sources of damage later in the game.

[Raza]

Thanks, Balance; a lot of tips there. I'll look for the icons you noted; I'm familiar with the "man in a barrel" icons from the enhancements, so I have a bit of a clue what to look for now.

I ended up taking Tenacious Tentacles at 16; nothing was available in Empathy, and TT seemed the best of the Dark choices available. Obviously, I'm relieved that you recommend it.

I will definitely take Recovery Aura at 18, which hopefully will be tonight. It sounds like a real crowd-pleaser.

Thus far, in 17 levels with teams as many as 8, I've never run out of Endurance, despite pushing Heal Other and Healing Aura pretty much non-stop. I fully expected to, but haven't yet. I also have a few blue inspirations on hand for when/if it does happen. So, I think I'll forego Stamina for now.

I have Absorb Pain, and use it maybe twice in a mission. Even though it gets so little use, it's definitely a death-saver when I've used it (typical scenario: I get mezzed, or tied up on a different group, and return to find someone at 20% and falling fast). I'm glad I took it, since I didn't really give up anything to get it.

As for damage: I will throw some Dark Blast on occasion, but only if all heals are up-to-date and no one's falling fast. It's got good range. But I do focus on the healing (something I make clear in my Search Comment), and generally no one else has to heal unless I get mezzed or our group gets split. Part of this depends on how aggressive (read: reckless) our group is; with some of them, it's all I can do to keep up with the heals.

[Bosstone]

I will definitely take Recovery Aura at 18, which hopefully will be tonight. It sounds like a real crowd-pleaser.Oh, it is. Unfortunately, what I've found is that it lasts an incredibly short duration, given its long recharge. Naturally, the effect is excellent, so this makes sense. But you won't want to throw it down like the other buffs when beginning a mission; I've found the best time to use it is in the middle of a difficult fight and everyone's spending their endurance like mad. Remember that when your endurance bar is full, every second that passes is wasted endurance that you could be recovering, and this is magnified if you use Recovery Aura when everyone still has full endurance. Make it count.

[wolfman]

I've tried a couple times to check out the game on a free trial, but they are always out of serial numbers, ohh well I'll never be a hero.

[Raza]

Wolfman, they give out "friend request" codes good for 10 days. If you'd like, send me a PM with your email and I'll get one sent to you (if no one else has).

[wolfman]

Wolfman, they give out "friend request" codes good for 10 days. If you'd like, send me a PM with your email and I'll get one sent to you (if no one else has).

Thanks for the offer, I actually managed to find an old friend who gave me one so I'm good. I have a shiny* new scrapper noob on virtue to check things out. :)


*And I mean shiny, I had fun testing the design system and she really stands out in a crowd.

[wolfman]

Well got a pretty good check out in over the weekend. Tried a couple classes, and had the most fun with a blaster who I got to level 10. Man leveling is fast :)

A couple observations. The high level stuff looks really sweet and fun, but the lower level is about what I expected. I feels more like "the Warriors" with all the wierd little gangs I'm facing, rather than comic book so far. Not a bad thing really, but I figured it would be more squaring off with real villians, than purse thieves whose momma dresses em funny.

The neighboodhood set up is kind of wierd in a few places. Within 400 yards on a straight line it goes from newbie zone, to one-shot killers back to newbie. I got caught a couple times.

I also have a compulsion that is very bad for my health. When ever I see a baddie, no matter how purple, that is standing on the edge of a building on cliff, I must try to sneak behind them and use a blowback power to push them off. :cool: Unfortunatly with the purples, I of course miss most of the time and get pounded, oh well.
All in all a solid B from my solo experience. I will play the rest of my trial, and I'm about 50/50 if I'll buy a real subscriprion. Havn't tried team at all yet though, which will be the decider.

[Maus Magill]

The neighboodhood set up is kind of wierd in a few places. Within 400 yards on a straight line it goes from newbie zone, to one-shot killers back to newbie. I got caught a couple times.If you pull a Zone map, you will notice how each neighborhood in a zone is shaded with different colors. I find that very useful with running around with a lowbie.

I also have a compulsion that is very bad for my health. When ever I see a baddie, no matter how purple, that is standing on the edge of a building on cliff, I must try to sneak behind them and use a blowback power to push them off. Unfortunatly with the purples, I of course miss most of the time and get pounded, oh well. Yeah - I got nothin' here. It's just a good thing you don't have to run back to your corpse.

[Balance]

I also have a compulsion that is very bad for my health. When ever I see a baddie, no matter how purple, that is standing on the edge of a building on cliff, I must try to sneak behind them and use a blowback power to push them off. :cool:
I have the same impulse. Knockback may annoy people who like to use area of effect (AoE) powers, but there's no denying that it's fun. Fortunately, until you hit level 10, there's no penalty at all for dying, so you can be as reckless as you like.

A couple observations. The high level stuff looks really sweet and fun, but the lower level is about what I expected. I feels more like "the Warriors" with all the wierd little gangs I'm facing, rather than comic book so far. Not a bad thing really, but I figured it would be more squaring off with real villians, than purse thieves whose momma dresses em funny.
The Hellions and Skulls are the equivalent of giant rats in the fantasy-type games. They exist mostly to give you some fighting practice. Remember, though, that Batman and Spider-Man beat up purse snatchers and muggers quite a bit.

The other groups are more supervillain-ish, if you think about them. The Clocks are the mechanical minions of a mysterious mastermind. The Vahz are the thoroughly evil followers of a mad-scientist supervillain. The Circle of Thorns is a secret society that steals souls and practices human sacrifice. The Council doesn't really fit the pattern of modern comics, but they would fit in pretty well with old-school Captain America villains, I think.

Of course, even with those groups, you're still fighting flunkies, for the most part. You can take on Frostfire, the Outcast leader, pretty early, but you don't face Dr. Vahzilok and the Clockwork King themselves until the late teens. That's when it really feels like you're taking on supervillains.

To tide you over, you can start doing radio missions in King's Row at level 5. Those build up to a Safeguard mission, in which you get to stop a supervillain (a real named, distinctively costumed supervillain) from robbing the bank. Completing the Safeguard also nets you a temporary travel power; the King's Row Safeguard gets you the Raptor Pack, so you can fly. It's not as fast as the real travel powers that you can unlock at level 14, but it's faster than running, and flying is fun.

[Bosstone]

I find City of Heroes to be better than most MMOs at making you feel like you're really getting into the game early. The Hellions and Skulls may be the giant rats of CoH, but at least they make strong thematic sense, whereas going out into the newbie field in a fantasy game to blast rats and snakes with spells doesn't feel like anything more than grinding in order to get to the 'real' game. Tabula Rasa does it better, as you start out fighting the enemy army immediately, but City of Heroes does its best to keep things interesting at all levels.

As for leveling up quickly, 1-10 is lightning quick; you can do it in a night, solo, if you push. 10-20 takes a little longer, but you can still earn a level every two hours or so. It gets progressively longer from there. I've heard it said that the 'halfway point' in leveling isn't 25, but 35; that is, 35-50 takes as long as 1-35. I don't think that's far off.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I also have a compulsion that is very bad for my health. When ever I see a baddie, no matter how purple, that is standing on the edge of a building on cliff, I must try to sneak behind them and use a blowback power to push them off. :cool:First thing I did when I picked up a sniper blast was to go to a rooftop in The Hollows and pick mobs off the roofs of neighboring buildings.

Stay with the game long enough and you can pick up a permanent Nemesis Staff. Range + knockback! Great for knocking mobs off the castle ramparts in Cimerora.

[wolfman]

To tide you over, you can start doing radio missions in King's Row at level 5. Those build up to a Safeguard mission, in which you get to stop a supervillain (a real named, distinctively costumed supervillain) from robbing the bank. Completing the Safeguard also nets you a temporary travel power; the King's Row Safeguard gets you the Raptor Pack, so you can fly. It's not as fast as the real travel powers that you can unlock at level 14, but it's faster than running, and flying is fun.


Thanks man, I had totally neglected the radio mission. It was kind of fun putting the smackdown on the folks out to get me. The Bank was cool too, but I have a question, if you happen to remember. I got the Zero-G pack from the mission. But what does a temporary power do. Once I hit it up does it start thec ounter then all go away? or go I get that much total flight time, however I choose to use it.

[The Mad Hermit]

The temporary flight power from the jetpack is a toggle; the time used stops when you turn it off. It's useful to conserve the flight time so that you have some in reserve even after you get your major travel power; Ouroboros missions under level 14 for example- it may be your only flight method.

[wolfman]

Cool, flying is so much easier.

iI also discovered something that make leveling much easier. I had been afraid of "boss" level mobs, assuming they were like other mmorpgs 'elites' and could never be soloed. But the I got trapped against one and figured I wouldn't go down without a fight. I figured out they are not that hard to kill really, and give as much exp as a whole mission, in one 20th the time. So now I'm a boss huntin' machine(better salvage too). I should be able to get super speed tonight, hehe lets see if my video card can handle it.

[Bosstone]

Cool, flying is so much easier.

iI also discovered something that make leveling much easier. I had been afraid of "boss" level mobs, assuming they were like other mmorpgs 'elites' and could never be soloed. But the I got trapped against one and figured I wouldn't go down without a fight. I figured out they are not that hard to kill really, and give as much exp as a whole mission, in one 20th the time. So now I'm a boss huntin' machine(better salvage too). I should be able to get super speed tonight, hehe lets see if my video card can handle it.There's *counts* seven variants of enemy: Pet, Minion, Lieutenant, Boss, Elite Boss, Archvillain, and Giant Monster.

Minions are your basics, you should be well acquainted with them by now. Most players should have no trouble taking on 3-5 minions at once, and some characters are able to handle more. You'll have encountered Lieutenants too; they're considered to be worth ~3 minions. Bosses are considered to be worth ~3 Lieutenants or 10 minions, but they're actually easier since you're only dealing with one vector of attack instead of 10. They're definitely soloable by most builds, although the more you're built for support the harder it will be. Elite Bosses are even tougher, and while they can be soloed by damage-oriented ATs, they get pretty rough. Two people can take them down without a sweat, though.

Archvillains are the worst of the lot, and usually need a team to take down. Some characters can solo AVs, but the player needs to be very experienced and the build needs to be pretty tricked out. They're not meant to be soloed at all. These are the types of bosses you're probably more familiar with from other games.

Pets are a step lower than minions and are pretty fragile. Enough of them can be an issue, but generally speaking they're purely annoyances. Giant Monsters tend to be zone events, which you may see players talking about on Broadcast every so often ("Paladin up in Kings Row" "Hunting Hydra" etc.). They're very large, very tough, and usually can't be reliably killed except by 10+ people, though I've seen it done with less. Giant Monsters use a unique damage system to allow people of all levels to engage the same one (if you're level 15, it takes and receives damage from you like it's a level 15 monster, but if your teammate is level 50, it takes and receives damage from him like it's level 50).

Definitely don't be afraid of bosses, although you may want to approach them carefully in a mission so you're not fighting two lieutenants and four minions alongside the boss. As you level, your powers will enhance your survivability, and bosses will become much easier to handle.

One last note: You've probably seen the Hero Corps Analysts and maybe fiddled with difficulty settings for missions by now. Heroic will only ever spawn minions and lieutenants if you're solo; if you want bosses in your missions, you'll need to go to the next difficulty, Tenacious.

[wolfman]

Cool thanks for the tips.

I didnt really read any guides(probably why I have so many questions :smack:), and kind of stumbled through the build process experimentally. I ended up with a Blaster who uses sonic and energy. It seems a pretty effective build, but I have nothing to compare it to obviously. It's a good mix of heavy range and heavy melee damage(I'm such a geek I actually talk to myself in the Grover voice, "near"*punch..run back*..... "Far"*zap*). With just enough short stuns and knockbacks to keep me dictating the fight. But with weak HP, when adds are there and I lose the upper hand quickly. My build just seems much better at one-on-one, that I have about as much trouble with three minions, as I do with one boss, so it works much faster for me to seek them out.

[Raza]

You've probably seen the Hero Corps Analysts and maybe fiddled with difficulty settings for missions by now. Heroic will only ever spawn minions and lieutenants if you're solo; if you want bosses in your missions, you'll need to go to the next difficulty, Tenacious.
I've been running on the default "wus" level and having no problems with level-appropriate missions with any of my heroes. For experimentation I turned up the level one notch for my 22 ice blaster, and while I completed the mission, it seemed considerably more difficult (more Rests between battles, more use of Inspirations, much more frequent near-death-experiences, etc).

Is this expected/normal just going up one notch? Or do I suck as a blaster?

[Bosstone]

I've been running on the default "wus" level and having no problems with level-appropriate missions with any of my heroes. For experimentation I turned up the level one notch for my 22 ice blaster, and while I completed the mission, it seemed considerably more difficult (more Rests between battles, more use of Inspirations, much more frequent near-death-experiences, etc).

Is this expected/normal just going up one notch? Or do I suck as a blaster?I think it does take some adjusting, but can be overcome. One suggestion would be to try out the third level of difficulty. The second level calculates the number of enemies as if you had an extra person on your team, but the levels of the enemies are +0 to +1 above yours. The third difficulty doesn't assume there's an extra person on the team, but the enemies are +1 to +2 levels above yours. Depending on your character, it may be that more enemies are actually more difficult than fewer but stronger enemies. Worth a try, anyway.

The powers you have really make a difference in survivability, too. My Blaster has Stealth and Hover, and can basically destroy enemies with impunity, whereas someone on the ground is going to get trashed pretty quickly once the enemies get to melee range. CoX is an interesting game in that the high-level powers aren't necessarily stronger than the low-level powers, but the different things they do give you more options and enhance your survivability.

All that said, there's nothing wrong with Heroic, the lowest setting. For my first character, I was on Heroic for something like 40 levels. If you're soloing, it's perfectly acceptable.

(Now, if you'd said you had trouble fighting on Heroic, then you'd suck as a blaster. ;) Just about any character in the game should be able to solo Heroic.)

[Maus Magill]

I've been running on the default "wus" level and having no problems with level-appropriate missions with any of my heroes. For experimentation I turned up the level one notch for my 22 ice blaster, and while I completed the mission, it seemed considerably more difficult (more Rests between battles, more use of Inspirations, much more frequent near-death-experiences, etc).

Is this expected/normal just going up one notch? Or do I suck as a blaster?

The way the difficulty levels go is:

Level 1 - 3 to 4 Even con minions or equivalent per spawn.
Level 2 - 5 to 6 Even con minions or equivalent per spawn.
Level 3 - 3 to 4 +1 con minions or equivalent per spawn.
Level 4 - 5 to 6 +1 con minions or equivalent per spawn.
Level 5 - 3 to 4 +2 con minions or equivalent per spawn.

As an Ice Blaster, you should have fantastic single-target damage, so you should opt for fewer, more powerful enemies.

My bow blaster does well with more, less powerful enemies, so I usually run on Level 2 or 4.

[Balance]

I've been running on the default "wus" level and having no problems with level-appropriate missions with any of my heroes. For experimentation I turned up the level one notch for my 22 ice blaster, and while I completed the mission, it seemed considerably more difficult (more Rests between battles, more use of Inspirations, much more frequent near-death-experiences, etc).

If no one has pointed it out yet, 22 is a significant breakthrough level in your character's power. You can now slot level 25 Single Origin enhancements, which are roughly twice as effective as most of the enhancements you've been using up to now. (IOs are very slightly less effective at L25, but of course, they don't degrade as you level.) The difference is quite dramatic once you're slotted out with them, but even the first few will provide a noticeable improvement. If you're on Virtue, you might check the enhancement bins in the CECIL base (the tables with all the bottles on them); there may be some L25 generic IOs left in there from our crafting. If not, I can make some for you. (I'm chasing the crafting badges.)

I generally recommend waiting until you're slotting SOs before increasing the difficulty setting, and in the case of a strong single-target character, it's often better to bump it up two notches, rather than one.

[Bosstone]

If no one has pointed it out yet, 22 is a significant breakthrough level in your character's power. You can now slot level 25 Single Origin enhancements, which are roughly twice as effective as most of the enhancements you've been using up to now.Very good point, one I forgot about. A lot of powersets don't come alive until SOs are accessible.

[Lok]

And you tend to really start to bloom at about 30. You have most of your basic attacks, you have your travel powers (and the Fitness pool if you want it), and you have everything slotted up except the newest power pick. From there, it is getting everything just right and adding in the last few non-pool powers you have left.

[Der Trihs]

I didnt really read any guides(probably why I have so many questions :smack:), and kind of stumbled through the build process experimentally. I ended up with a Blaster who uses sonic and energy. It seems a pretty effective build, but I have nothing to compare it to obviously. It's a good mix of heavy range and heavy melee damage(I'm such a geek I actually talk to myself in the Grover voice, "near"*punch..run back*..... "Far"*zap*). With just enough short stuns and knockbacks to keep me dictating the fight. But with weak HP, when adds are there and I lose the upper hand quickly. My build just seems much better at one-on-one, that I have about as much trouble with three minions, as I do with one boss, so it works much faster for me to seek them out.It's a good combo; I have one myself. Pick up Siren's Song at 18, and you can Sleep every enemy in a spawn except a Boss, and take them one at a time as long as you use single target attacks. And Sonic/Energy has nasty single target attacks.

Which brings up mezz; sleep, stuns and so forth. Every enemy has a magnitude of mezz resistance against various effects; in your case, the Sleeps and Stuns ( the latter also called "Disorients ) you dish out. Lieutenants resist more than Minions, Bosses more than Lieutenants, and so one. So, for example, Siren's Song will sleep anything lower than a Boss, because Boss's have a higher magnitude resistance to Sleep than the Sleep Siren's Song puts out. However; many of your Energy Manipulation attacks have a chance for stun in them ( the descriptions give details ), and you have a ranged Stun in Sonic Blast as well. This lets you stack Stuns on a Boss until the combined magnitude is great enough to overcome his resistance and he's disabled.

This is true of other mezz effects as well; a controller typically * can't hold a Boss with a single Hold power, but either has to hit them twice, or stack it with a second Hold, from another power or another player.



* Controller have a chance to "Critical Mezz", to hit with a stronger mezz than normal that can disable a Boss with one hit; that's what the "OVERPOWER" you may occasionally see over a target being attacked by a controller is.

[Ice Cream Conquest]

Are there currently any rewards for inviting someone back? I'm going to restart my account, and if there's a way to get free time PM me.

[Maus Magill]

Finally - having played since a week after launch, I have a character who's 50.

Man, I'm slack.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Today through the 2nd.

In other news: congrats, Maus!

[CandidGamera]

Finally - having played since a week after launch, I have a character who's 50.

Man, I'm slack.

I've got Stranger at 48. Getting close, myself. ;)

[Lok]

You 2 make me feel better about taking so long to get me 50. I still only have the one, but I didn't take as long as you. :D

[Maus Magill]

You 2 make me feel better about taking so long to get me 50. I still only have the one, but I didn't take as long as you. :D

Yebbut, how many alts do you have?

[Lok]

Well, CIT (http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/900#list) says 59 at the moment. It doesn't count the originals I have on Test, and I am thinking about what to make when I13 hits.

[bouv]

I only played for a little over an hour tonight (first time since Halloween started,) and I already got all 4 zombie badges, two trick-or-treating costume badges, and one of the badges for fighting enemies that spawn for tricks.

I love getting badges. I wish they had a badge for having 300 badges, cause I'd be very close to that.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Paragon City is going cross-platform! (http://www.cityofheroes.com./news/news_archive/battle_of_good_vs_evil_coming.html)

[E-Sabbath]

Issue 13 launches tomorrow. Issue 14 to beta soonish. Issue 15 ... April?

In time for the Fifth... anniversary of CoH.

That's how Pos phrased it. So we heil! Thbbt! Right in der Reichman's face.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Nice!

[E-Sabbath]

Super Booster II will focus on mages, stage and arcane.

In game, we may get some more spandex stuff.

[Licentious Ectomorph]

Gah! The servers are down for five hours while they prepare for the launch. And they expect it to take the whole five hours! No shields 'til noon for me. :(

[Maus Magill]

Dag-nab it. I wish I had read this last night. I guess tonight will be for running the patch and defragging. CoV always works better if I defrag after an update.

[Hugh Jass]

noticed this thread was still going on when I did a vanity search. This thread has been going on since 2005! I'm wondering if any other thread has lasted this long...

[E-Sabbath]

I dunno. But I can tell you that you can play for free!
From now till Sunday night at 11:59 PM EST, all former retail accounts are reactivated!

[jayjay]

noticed this thread was still going on when I did a vanity search. This thread has been going on since 2005! I'm wondering if any other thread has lasted this long...

Actually, poopah chalupa's (RIP) Rudolph T.V. Special (http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=48886&highlight=rudolph+reindeer) thread was begun in 2000 and is resurrected every year around this time.

[Maus Magill]

Double XP this weekend.

[MindWanderer]

I just got my first character to 50 last night, an Archery/Dev Blaster. I wanted to get that out of the way before Double XP weekend so I can make good progress on a new character.

I tried out a peacebringer, they remind me of a Rad Corruptor so far. The blasts look a lot like that.

But my next main will be a new Dual Blades / Willpower Brute. I've set up this character to be a rival for my Archer. My archer originally signed up for an interesting supergroup that had a whole backstory before they all left COH behind, so I've carried on the backstories of the SG into my archer's story and now her rival.

I should be able to get pretty far with the brute this weekend, especially if I can stay in some good teams. One funny thing is my archer always wore a lot of dark colors, red and black and whatnot, so I've decided to be different and make the brute the opposite, with white and blue as main colors. That way my hero and villain as rivals are backwards compared to the "expected" colors.

[Brainiac4]

How do you like Willpower? My SS/WP Brute, Truck Driving Elvis, is up to 32, and has more endurance regen than I have ever seen. I picked up Stamina to go along with WP's Quick Recovery, and then adding in Speed Boost from Dangerosa's Sonics/Kin Corruptor, I have almost never seen him go below 50% end, running all of my toggles and attacking constantly (thanks to Speed Boost).

[MindWanderer]

It was fun. I doesn't seem to provide much at low levels but I'm sure it gets better later. Duel Blades was fun but seems incomplete until I get some combos.

I ended up playing a Rad/Rad corruptor over Double XP weekend instead. On a team, he did really well, but when I went soloing later I struggled a lot. I took too many secondary powers I think. I like the look, its just it takes forever to take down anyone.

[Maus Magill]

How do you like Willpower? My SS/WP Brute, Truck Driving Elvis, is up to 32, and has more endurance regen than I have ever seen. I picked up Stamina to go along with WP's Quick Recovery, and then adding in Speed Boost from Dangerosa's Sonics/Kin Corruptor, I have almost never seen him go below 50% end, running all of my toggles and attacking constantly (thanks to Speed Boost).

Love it. Samandarin, my WP/Fire, only drops below 50% when Strength of Will drops, and then for only a minute.

My only complaint about WP is the weak taunt aura, but with my two /Fire PBAOEs slotted for taunt, I don't have much of a problem keeping bad guys' attention.

[Brainiac4]

I've been considering taking Taunt on Elvis for just that reason, plus the -75% strength to range wouldn't hurt.

[Fish]

Mission Architect information released.

Mwwaaaa.

Mmwwwwwmwwwwwaaaaaa.

Want. Want now.

[Der Trihs]

Architect is now in Open Beta.

[E-Sabbath]

And now, phased people can punch other phased people in PvP.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Just tried the Architect on Test. Nice tool and easy to use, but save often in case you lose the server (like what happened to me).

[Der Trihs]

Just tried the Architect on Test. Nice tool and easy to use, but save often in case you lose the server (like what happened to me).
I've heard people say on the Beta Testers channel that there's a memory leak of some sort, and that you should save, exit the Architect and use /unloadgfx every so often.

[Maus Magill]

I've heard people say on the Beta Testers channel that there's a memory leak of some sort, and that you should save, exit the Architect and use /unloadgfx every so often.

I thought the memory leak had been fixed. I could be wrong, though.

I agree with Lute, the tool is very easy to use, and more powerful than I would have expected.

[Lok]

Part of the problem is using custom critters. When you add them into a mission or arc, the file size grows hugely. When you get up much past 50%, it seems to really start slowing your system down. Even typing stuff in takes forever.

[Bosstone]

Part of the problem is using custom critters. When you add them into a mission or arc, the file size grows hugely. When you get up much past 50%, it seems to really start slowing your system down. Even typing stuff in takes forever.That seems odd. Looking at the FAQ (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13201551&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1) on the CoH forums, apparently that percentage is of a 100k file, which is apparently how big an MA arc is allowed to be. I should think most computers capable of running CoH can handle working with a 100k file (provided there's no leaks or anything).

[Fish]

Can you fiddle with the Warwolf Transformation code? I mean, if you wanted, could you rig a creature to go through that "by the power of Grayskull!" animation and transmogrify into anything you want?

Because I have ideas, you see...

[Lok]

That seems odd. Looking at the FAQ (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13201551&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1) on the CoH forums, apparently that percentage is of a 100k file, which is apparently how big an MA arc is allowed to be. I should think most computers capable of running CoH can handle working with a 100k file (provided there's no leaks or anything).
It should be able to, but it doesn't. Evidence that there is still a memory leak. At least there was last night, I have not been back on since the patch, my interwebs went down last night. :p

Fish, no you can't. No shape-changing of any kind in the custom critters, don't even have Kheldian powers available for them. That may or may not change, depends on how tough it is to add. But you can do a decent job of faking Kheldian humanform powers from what others have said.

My 2 arcs have focused on creating offshoots of current villain groups to use in arcs. I created Crey Security, which is full of all the regular Crey mobs that do not use armor, along with 4 minions, 2 Lts, 1 Boss, & 1 AV I created for the story I was doing. So players get a mix of new and old, at least until above level 45. Only mobs that spawn then are my new ones, because all Crey minions above there are armored. :p

[Lute Skywatcher]

I have an arc in mind, seems some ships have been reported missing and when they finally pull into harbor there appears to be nothing on board but empty crates, but don't know when I'll get around to putting it in.

[Der Trihs]

Fish, no you can't. No shape-changing of any kind in the custom critters, don't even have Kheldian powers available for them. That may or may not change, depends on how tough it is to add.
I hope it gets added sooner or later; I have a few story ideas in that direction myself.

Right now I'm fooling around with other people's missions, and working on my own custom group. The Furies of the Earth, Earth & Fire themed critters that are the manifestations of the Deep Earth's hatred for all life. They were banished by the Banished Pantheon because the Furies want to destroy all life, while the Banished want to eat it.

[Lok]

The best mix I have found so far for custom groups is 4 minions, 3 Lts, 2 Bosses, 1 EB/AV. That gives you a decent randomness on spawns at Heroic/Villainous, but leaves a lot of room for multiple missions and/or a custom ally. And if they do ever increase the amount of room for an arc, it is basic framework to add more mobs.

[Fish]

I posted a new Stan and Lou, #30 in Siren's Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacH95JoN0I).

[MindWanderer]

Has anyone tried pohsyb's arc? I tried it yesterday and it real amazed me all the ambience and action she(he?) packed into the missions. I wish it was longer because every mission was filled with really cool stuff.

It was like a movie, a twisted one, sure, but still awesome. The huge fire was totally unexpected, and I hate blind effects a lot, but it was worth it in the second mission.

The third mission was creepy and funny at the same time.

pohsyb's arc really proved to me that amazing things can be done with MA (unless pohsyb used gm powers to cheat, but I don't think so).

Then I tried the ninja mission that had been at the top of the ratings list for a while, and got owned by the first ambush in 2 hits. Anyone who can solo that one is a god of COH.

[Lok]

I did that ninja mission too. It was a three hit fight, 2 attacks on me, I hit the floor. The ninjitsu powers are nasty. They have a bonus to damage that just wipes out hit points fast. I should try it with my tank and see how long he takes to die. :p

[Bosstone]

Has anyone tried pohsyb's arc? I tried it yesterday and it real amazed me all the ambience and action she(he?) packed into the missions. I wish it was longer because every mission was filled with really cool stuff.I'm waiting for I14 to go live. :(

Also, apparently there's a bug right now that allows Ninjitsu critters to stack their Hide power for 400% damage. I'm not quite sure how it works, but that's why they're so bloody powerful.

[MindWanderer]

I posted a new Stan and Lou, #30 in Siren's Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacH95JoN0I).

I just listened to that, never heard of Stan and Lou before but it was very funny.

Backal assault, hehe.

[Der Trihs]

This year's April Fools from the devs is here (http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/news_archive/ncnorcal_announces_city_of_her.html). Quite funny if you remember the old days of gaming.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I14 should be going live this week.

[Bosstone]

I14 should be going live this week.From what I hear, there's still a lot of known issues with the MA. They've certainly been patching like crazy. They're pushing hard to get as much content out before Champions goes live, though.

Still, I can't wait to start using the MA. Right now, the best method for acquiring merits aside from TFs is running Ouroboros Flashback story arcs, and that doesn't really appeal to me; I don't like the idea of replaying content over and over and over (TFs get a pass, and then only because the Lady Grey TF and Imperious TF freaking rock). The ticket system in the MA functions much the same as the merit system, though, and I'm looking forward to getting IO recipes by playing and creating new content.

[Lok]

You really rake in tickets doing both. I can't publish my arcs until I get some stuff unlocked, but I expect to have enough tickets to get that done in the first day, easy. Not everything, but enough for what I am doing in my arcs.

[Der Trihs]

Issue 14 goes live tomorrow.

Also; BuckeyeStar on the CoX forums posted a link to an oldish thread on the Paragon Forums (http://paragonforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1133), which has links to pictures of the Magic Booster costume bits.

[Fish]

Yeah, uh-huh, that's right. Mission Architect, baby.

On the assumption that Dopers will make better missions than the average slack-jawed nitwit, has anybody here got any missions they'd like feedback on, or would like tested?

I've got one you might try out: 82369, "Quid Pro Quo," author @Hertz.

[Lok]

My current two arcs are

Future Skulls, ID 4727
Low level, 1-14

Simple Times, ID 70801
Low level, 5-15, sequel to Future Skulls

[Der Trihs]

On the assumption that Dopers will make better missions than the average slack-jawed nitwit, has anybody here got any missions they'd like feedback on, or would like tested?My only arc at present is #40529, The Furies of the Earth.

[Der Trihs]

Well, well. An overview for Issue 15 (http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/game_updates/issue_15/issue_15_overview.html) is already out. Two high level task forces, new costume parts, new faces, costume change emotes, Mission Architect stuff. Interesting, but it's little enough I doubt that that's all there will be.

[E-Sabbath]

It is interesting it involves Hero 1's time capsule: it was supposed to be opened 5 years after the Rikti War.

Guess what time it is?

[Lute Skywatcher]

It's also Re-activation Week. Until 11:59pm EST on Sunday, May 3rd, all expired retail and trial accounts that are in good standing will be able to access the live servers

[Raza]

Lute, do you have a link/reference for the re-activation deal? I don't see any mention of it on the CoH home page or forum's announcement section. Or I can't read.

[Bosstone]

Lute, do you have a link/reference for the re-activation deal? I don't see any mention of it on the CoH home page or forum's announcement section. Or I can't read.Linky (http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/news_archive/city_of_heroes_5_year_annivers.html).

[Lute Skywatcher]

Massively (http://www.massively.com/2009/05/12/ncsoft-announces-city-of-heroes-going-rogue-expansion/)
Going Rogue will be a new experience for CoH fans introducing the 'mirror universe' of Praetoria and an all-new alignment system that blurs the lines between Heroes and Villains.

For the first time ever, Heroes can become Villains, and Villains can become Heroes.:eek: :cool:

[Lok]

I have characters on both red and blue sides that have been waiting for this to come along. The only question is, how long before it comes out. :(

[Der Trihs]

I have characters on both red and blue sides that have been waiting for this to come along. The only question is, how long before it comes out. :(Look (http://www.newzyouwant.com/NCsoft/CityofHeroes_GoingRogue_V1.html) at what was accidentally leaked as an E-mail yesterday, scroll down to the bottom to "Unsubscribe", and hover the button there. It has the address of "http://www.newzyouwant.com/NCsoft/unsubscribe_general.php?list=ncsoft_issue_16_1_mailing_list ". So, Issue 16, which probably means not too far off. Issue 15 looks to be small, and like it'll be out soon.

[Lok]

Yeah, I saw that. But I15 has not even hit Test yet, and it will be there for few weeks. Then there will be a month or so at least before they start closed beta of the expansion. And who knows how long that will last. I figure at least September before it shows.

[Bosstone]

Yeah, I saw that. But I15 has not even hit Test yet, and it will be there for few weeks. Then there will be a month or so at least before they start closed beta of the expansion. And who knows how long that will last. I figure at least September before it shows.Hardly. I15 is small. They're not even doing a closed beta of it. It'll be on Test two weeks at most. The thing is it's pretty much only new content. New costumes, emotes, faces, and two new task forces.

The updated Mission Architect stuff will need some debugging, but as it's just changes to an existing system I'd hope they shouldn't take that long...right?

Once it hits Test, it'll hit Live dead quick, is my prediction. I16 will be right on its heels; this is apparently their shield against Champions (and the Mission Architect their armor). They'll want to get it out mid-summer, when CO is scheduled to come out.

Side note: I've been looking at video of CO, and I have to admit it looks pretty as anything. But given that they are apparently targeting the X-Box crowd, it's not going to be RPG-ish at all, but more of an action game, something that can be played on a controller. I doubt it's going to draw nearly as many players off City as some folks fear, and there may well be incentive to have both games.

[Der Trihs]

Hardly. I15 is small. They're not even doing a closed beta of it. It'll be on Test two weeks at most. The thing is it's pretty much only new content. New costumes, emotes, faces, and two new task forces.Good point. Really, it's not much more than a Holiday Event ( at least from what we've seen ); the biggest difference is it's expected to be permanent.

[Jophiel]

Is there such a thing as a soloable Architect mission? The few I've tried have either been real dogs or else seemed geared towards a full party. You know, the first group of mobs is six orange con lieutenants, that sort of thing. I just re-started so I missed any information when they came out so maybe they're only for group/raid style exercises and I just don't know it.

[Lok]

Hardly. I15 is small. They're not even doing a closed beta of it. It'll be on Test two weeks at most. The thing is it's pretty much only new content. New costumes, emotes, faces, and two new task forces.

The updated Mission Architect stuff will need some debugging, but as it's just changes to an existing system I'd hope they shouldn't take that long...right?

Once it hits Test, it'll hit Live dead quick, is my prediction. I16 will be right on its heels; this is apparently their shield against Champions (and the Mission Architect their armor). They'll want to get it out mid-summer, when CO is scheduled to come out.

Side note: I've been looking at video of CO, and I have to admit it looks pretty as anything. But given that they are apparently targeting the X-Box crowd, it's not going to be RPG-ish at all, but more of an action game, something that can be played on a controller. I doubt it's going to draw nearly as many players off City as some folks fear, and there may well be incentive to have both games.
Sure I15 will be out fairly soon. I figure by the end of the month, probably on live right after Memorial Day. (I doubt the week before that, a 3 day weekend right after a new issue is not good, not matter what size it is.) The first full week of June at latest.

But Rogue is an entire expansion. Whole new zones, the side-switching arcs, new mobs, emotes, animations, etc. They have been working on it, but I figure they will probably be doing multiple waves of closed beta, and I very much doubt they will be able to get open beta started before August.

Remember, they wanted I15 out around the 5th anniversary, that was what was announced when they originally split I13 into 2 issues. So it is already going to be a month late, which pushes I16 back that much farther. (My guess is that is why there will not be a closed beta for I15. They want to push it through to live as fast as possible.) As much as they would like Rogue to be out to counter CO, I think they have had too much slippage in their schedule.

Is there such a thing as a soloable Architect mission? The few I've tried have either been real dogs or else seemed geared towards a full party. You know, the first group of mobs is six orange con lieutenants, that sort of thing. I just re-started so I missed any information when they came out so maybe they're only for group/raid style exercises and I just don't know it.
It sounds like you have been hitting the farming missions that people have been creating. There are a lot of things out there for solo players. Both of mine that I mentioned earlier in the thread are for low levels, not too hard to solo even for level 4s. Search for SFMA in the MA and you should find mostly arcs that are story focused rather then challenges or farms. And if you are on the CECIL channel, you can ask for help there, some of us old-timers are usually around somewhere.

[Bosstone]

Is there such a thing as a soloable Architect mission? The few I've tried have either been real dogs or else seemed geared towards a full party. You know, the first group of mobs is six orange con lieutenants, that sort of thing. I just re-started so I missed any information when they came out so maybe they're only for group/raid style exercises and I just don't know it.To add to what Lok said, search for not only SFMA, but skip any missions with custom groups. You'll have to sort through a lot, but they're there.

I recommend arcs by @Twoflower. He's an active writer and CoH player, and his arcs are extremely entertaining and he's very conscious of how difficult custom enemies can be. I played Household Chores of the Damned (don't have the Arc ID, sorry) the other night, and despite the custom enemies I was able to solo it easily enough with my Mastermind. (There is a tough Elite Boss at the end, fair warning.) It's hilarious, too.

[Jophiel]

Thanks, I'll give the Arch. missions another look. After insta-dying three times in a row from missions that sounded promising and were highly rated, I just wrote the whole thing off.

I'll be sure to check Lok's out. At least I know they'll be better than the ones described as "xp mision go get ur xp" ;)

[Lok]

To add to what Lok said, search for not only SFMA, but skip any missions with custom groups. You'll have to sort through a lot, but they're there.
I wouldn't go so far as to skip all mission with Custom groups. There are custom groups in both of mine, all 3 when I get the 3rd arc finished, but they are designed to be around the same level as the regular mobs. It isn't the custom mobs, it is what the designer does with them.

[Bosstone]

I wouldn't go so far as to skip all mission with Custom groups. There are custom groups in both of mine, all 3 when I get the 3rd arc finished, but they are designed to be around the same level as the regular mobs. It isn't the custom mobs, it is what the designer does with them.True enough. The problem is the vast majority of people use them incorrectly, and if you're just poking through the list looking for a random one to play, it's easier to just skip ones with Custom Groups. I've been frustrated constantly due to that. A group of even-level minions should not be able to completely destroy me and my bots as effortlessly as they did in one particular mission.

[Jophiel]

Speaking of, are Arch. Missions universal or server dependent? I get the impression that it's the former but don't want to waste my time looking for Lok's stuff if it ain't there (I'm on Victory these days).

[Lok]

They are universal, all servers, red and blue sides. Mine are set as Heroic, but that is just a suggestion, someone tested them on low level villains and didn't have a problem. Another place to find out about good arcs would be here in the MA section (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=villains) of the COH forum. There are multiple threads of arc reviews, you just need to find one that rates thing high that you enjoy playing. You can also check out COH Mission Review (http://cohmissionreview.com/) and Mission Search (http://www.masearch.somee.com/) for reviews of arcs.

[Lute Skywatcher]

But Rogue is an entire expansion. Whole new zones, the side-switching arcs, new mobs, emotes, animations, etc. They have been working on it, but I figure they will probably be doing multiple waves of closed beta, and I very much doubt they will be able to get open beta started before August.I don't think it will take nearly that long; announcing in May and starting open beta in August is the same schedule that Villains had and this will certainly be smaller than that.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Almost the same schedule, rather. The first mention of CoV I can find in the official news was April.

[Lok]

I don't think it will take nearly that long; announcing in May and starting open beta in August is the same schedule that Villains had and this will certainly be smaller than that.
I don't see why you think it will be smaller than CoV. They are adding another universe, with all of the zones that already exist in the game, with new graphics for them. Or at least new graphics for the Paragon zones, we haven't seen the Rogue Isles on Praetorian Earth yet. But I bet they are different there also. Not only do those zones need populated, they are adding in an entirely new system for switching sides, which I bet will be full of bugs to start with. If anything I think it will be larger than Villains.

And they have announced that next Monday or Tuesday, they are wiping out the Test 2 server and copying over Freedom to it, in preparation for the open Beta for I15. If they start open on Wednesday, with 2 weeks of testing, then the first week of June looks like the probable live date. Assuming nothing game breaking shows up. That is always possible.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I don't see why you think it will be smaller than CoV. They are adding another universe, with all of the zones that already exist in the game, with new graphics for them.Exactly. The zones already exist, they just need to give them new skins. Praetorian mobs also exist, in Shadow Shard. I dobut they'll give us any new ATs other than maybe adding an Epic or two. It's not like they need to create a bunch of new zones from scratch, the mobs to populate them, and five new ATs to fight them.

[Lok]

I think you may be underestimating how much work it will take to reskin a couple of dozen zones, assuming they don't do the PvP zones. I am sure they want to get it out by the time CO hits, but they are already behind on I15, which will be pushing back I16, which they need for the new expansion. The only way they can make up that time is by shorting testing, and I doubt they will do that. A buggy launch would be much worse than a late launch.

[Bosstone]

The only way they can make up that time is by shorting testing, and I doubt they will do that. A buggy launch would be much worse than a late launch.I like the dev team, but honestly they've been rushing through stuff lately. Issue 14 was a buggy-as-hell launch, especially considering it came with a redesigned box for store shelves, availability on Steam, and Reactivation Week. A friend of mine who's deeper into the testing stuff than I am is 100% behind the devs, and even she was bitching mightily about how the Architect wasn't ready to go live when it did.

It's possible all that rushing was to accommodate Going Rogue, and the expansion will be done properly, but it's also just as likely that they're concerned about Champions and are trying to push through stuff without doing as much QC as they should.

[Jophiel]

Is it possible to train between Architect missions in an arc? I know you can't reach other non-Arch contacts but don't know if that extends to trainers. I started Lok's Skulls missions last night and the character I'm using for them hit lvl 10 between missions 2 & 3.

I need my new power before I can travel through time! :p

[Lok]

Yes, just run to the trainer and level up. And a warning, the map in the future is outdoor/indoor, so look for a door.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Going Rogue Closed Beta Access will be granted using a three-tier system: Tier One: City of Heroes Veterans with 60+ months of paid time.
Tier Two: Loyalty Program players (those who maintain an active account for the time period beginning August 15, 2009 and ending November 15, 2009)
Tier Three: Players who Pre-Order Going Rogue (Preorder details to be announced at a later date)

[Lok]

Well, that is easy to do when your account is paid a year at a time and the next renewal is in 2010. :D

[E-Sabbath]

Psst. Issue 16 is Going Rouge. Going Rogue is the expansion.

It seems to be a 'Well, you'll burn through Champions in three months. We'll wait. Don't cancel your account, okay?' kind of thing.

I'm Tier One. Woo-hoo!

[Maus Magill]

Psst. Issue 16 is Going Rouge. Going Rogue is the expansion.

It seems to be a 'Well, you'll burn through Champions in three months. We'll wait. Don't cancel your account, okay?' kind of thing.

I'm Tier One. Woo-hoo!

ITYM "Issue 16 is Power Spectrum. Going Rogue is the expansion."

[Lute Skywatcher]

ITYM "Issue 16 is Power Spectrum. Going Rogue is the expansion."Did I just hear a "whoosh"?

[Maus Magill]

Did I just hear a "whoosh"?

Was it?

I thought E-Sabbath's brain was just working faster than his fingers.

[Lute Skywatcher]

E was ragging on my typo.

[E-Sabbath]

Castle told me that he wanted that name for I16 after I made the pun to him. I couldn't resist using it when I saw the typo again. It is one of those typos that gets up my nose after being a comics fan for a few decades. It happens now and again when referring to a certain X-Man. Especially in every darn movie review...

(to make more explicit: since you can change colors of powers, you _could_ go rouge in I16...)

[Lute Skywatcher]

Castle told me that he wanted that name for I16 after I made the pun to him. I couldn't resist using it when I saw the typo again. It is one of those typos that gets up my nose after being a comics fan for a few decades. It happens now and again when referring to a certain X-Man. And is the name of a certain bat (http://media.photobucket.com/image/rouge%20bat/shadowhedgehogrulez/Rouge_the_Bat.jpg).

[Maus Magill]

E was ragging on my typo.

Ahhhh.....

Stupid dyslexia.

[Bosstone]

And is the name of a certain bat (http://media.photobucket.com/image/rouge%20bat/shadowhedgehogrulez/Rouge_the_Bat.jpg).Once you go Rouge...you're a furry. :p

Best thing to come out of the Sonic universe, if you ask me.

[Captain Carrot]

So I've got a few questions, now that I've started the free trial (some technical issues as well, even though this laptop is from 2007, so it should be able to handle a 2005 game):
1. Can I join CECIL as a trial account, or will I have to pay up?
2. What sort of roles do you guys need? I have a level 8 tank on Liberty (though obviously her build is screwed up, because I didn't know how to do it and just wanted to play shit that looked fun instead of finding guides), and I've started a scrapper on Champion.
3. Will I be able to play this and do well in school at the same time? Can this be done as a weekend game, or is it hard not to log in every day? (I run Linux normally, so there's that impetus not to stop working on whatever and play instead.)

[Der Trihs]

So I've got a few questions, now that I've started the free trial (some technical issues as well, even though this laptop is from 2007, so it should be able to handle a 2005 game):
1. Can I join CECIL as a trial account, or will I have to pay up?It's a global channel, and Trial Accounts can't join them. Blame the "Real Money Trade" spammers; they spammed global channels all over the game forcing the devs to block trial accounts.

2. What sort of roles do you guys need? I have a level 8 tank on Liberty (though obviously her build is screwed up, because I didn't know how to do it and just wanted to play shit that looked fun instead of finding guides), and I've started a scrapper on Champion.Make whatever you like. CECIL is mainly on Virtue heroside and Protector villainside though. There's a small CECIL SG heroside on Guardian and another heroside on Justice too IIRC. Right now though CECIL activity is fairly light; some of the more prolific players have been moving and such. I expect it to pick up when Issue 16 comes out though. The main benefit of belonging is that you have access to all the teleports and storage space in the base.

3. Will I be able to play this and do well in school at the same time? Can this be done as a weekend game, or is it hard not to log in every day? (I run Linux normally, so there's that impetus not to stop working on whatever and play instead.)If you have the self control. The game is quite friendly to stopping whenever you choose, assuming you don't commit to a long Task Force/Strike Force ( some can last for several hours ). I have heard people with small children say they like the game because they can just stop and deal with their latest kid-crisis.

[Bosstone]

It's a very laid-back game compared to, say, World of Warcraft. WoW sucks up a lot of your time with long travel times and folding multiple quests into the same area -- so you fight a certain kind of mob, then you go over here, then over there, and quests tend to naturally lead into each other. City of Heroes cuts down sharply on travel times with their travel powers, and missions are fairly discrete as all of them are instanced. So it's pretty easy to do just one or two missions and be done gaming in half an hour, whereas with WoW it's a little harder to know when to stop.

[Lute Skywatcher]

CECIL is mainly on Virtue heroside and Protector villainside though. There's a small CECIL SG heroside on Guardian and another heroside on Justice too IIRC. Right now though CECIL activity is fairly light; some of the more prolific players have been moving and such. I expect it to pick up when Issue 16 comes out though.Which happens to be in closed beta right now.

[GoodOmens]

I'm strongly tempted to rejoin City of Heroes after realizing that there's no way that my PC will be able to run Champions Online and I can't justify the money to upgrade it. Plus, I am itching to continue the adventures of my favorite character, The Shotgun Seraph, Archangel of Firearms.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I'm now strongly considering getting Champions and the lifetime sub so I can satisfy my alt-itis without having to deal with the name I want being already taken.

[Der Trihs]

I'm now strongly considering getting Champions and the lifetime sub so I can satisfy my alt-itis without having to deal with the name I want being already taken.I think they have only a tiny number of character slots though. Not much room for alt-itis.

[Lok]

So far, they are giving everyone 8 slots, plus 8 more if you buy the lifetime sub, with the promise that you will be able to get more by earning them in-game. No details I have seen yet on the last point.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I think they have only a tiny number of character slots though. Not much room for alt-itis.So far, they are giving everyone 8 slots, plus 8 more if you buy the lifetime sub...And I'm not about to leave CoX so 16 slots for what is essentially CoH2 - The Prequel is plenty for me.

[Captain Carrot]

Okay, I'm slowly training an Ice/Fire tank on Virtue, and I think I can handle myself well enough to continue this during the school year. How, precisely, do I join CECIL once I've paid?

[Der Trihs]

IIRC, click on TAB on top of the chat box. Pick Join Channel, type in CECIL. You can also Search Channels; useful for things like finding the global channels for that server, and which are most populous.

Once you do that, pick Edit Tab from the same menu and make sure that CECIL is in one of your chat tabs. You can also create and name a tab, then put CECIL or some other channels you want to monitor there. You can also pick channel color by clicking on it, split the chat box in two ( I don't recall if it starts that way ) by picking a tab and choosing to move it to the top/bottom ).

Note; some global channels are invitation only. Others autosilence people who join until a mod unsilences them ( often an anti-spammer precaution ). Your Friends tab, when set to that channel will show silenced people as having a square next to their name, and mods as having a star. You can send the mods a tell requesting that you be unsilenced.

[Lok]

And if you want to join one of the many CECIL SGs (We actually have a version on most of the American servers, although they are not as populated as Virtue's branch.) pretty much anyone on the CECIL channel can give an invite. Just mention you want to join and we can get you in.

[Der Trihs]

Speaking of population. When you open up the server list, the last one you were on will be at the top. But the ones below are listed from lowest to highest in term of population. So if you want to be on a high population server choose one of the lower ones; if you want fewer people around choose a server higher on the list. The three most active are typically Freedom, Virtue and Infinity. Freedom is also known as "Freedumb"; probably because having the most people it has more idiots. Virtue is the unofficial role playing server.

[Captain Carrot]

Arg. I've been told to report to a cop in The Hollows, but when I go to the gateway there in Atlas Park, I can't do anything, including go in. All I can do is look at the entrance. What am I missing?

[Bosstone]

Arg. I've been told to report to a cop in The Hollows, but when I go to the gateway there in Atlas Park, I can't do anything, including go in. All I can do is look at the entrance. What am I missing?Click on one of the guards, you should see your arrow change to a hand.

[Captain Carrot]

I clicked both guards several times, they don't even have an identifying rectangle.

[Bosstone]

I clicked both guards several times, they don't even have an identifying rectangle.Huh, got me. You're looking at a yawning black hole of entropic nothingness, right?

[Captain Carrot]

Nope. It's an entrance with two guards, a barbed wire fence, and a sign over it. Black between the sides of the door, but not a yawning black hole.

[Bosstone]

Nope. It's an entrance with two guards, a barbed wire fence, and a sign over it. Black between the sides of the door, but not a yawning black hole.That's the hole I mean. Entropic nothingness gives me the willies.

Best I can think of is A, you're either not close enough to the guard you're clicking on, or B, you're not level 5 yet. But you wouldn't have been given the mission if you weren't eligible to enter the Hollows, so I don't know.

[Captain Carrot]

I'm level 7, but I guess I'll try being next to a guard when clicking on him. I was a bit far away when I tried initially. Well, I guess I'll find out tonight when I boot into Windows again.

[Jophiel]

Captain Carrot, you say you're on a trial so if you haven't purchased the game yet, a quick tip. Any version of the game will give you access to the full game (as opposed to some MMORPGs which require you to have the latest expansion). You can often find cheaper copies (http://www.amazon.com/City-Heroes-Good-vs-Evil/dp/B000UH5W4M/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1250729113&sr=8-6) of old editions of CoH (or CoV (http://www.amazon.com/City-Villains-Pc/dp/B000AFKGB8/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1250729113&sr=8-12))for $10-$15. Considering that they come with a free month of game play (a $15 value), you're essentially getting the game for free.

Heck, I've actually gone back and purchased old editions for under $15, thus getting myself a month of game play plus whatever freebies that edition offered. Just got an old (new) copy of the City of Villains DVD Collector's Edition today for $13 after shipping including the in game goodies, an art book, bunch of HeroClix figurines and other stuff. Sadly, that's all sold out.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I'm level 7, but I guess I'll try being next to a guard when clicking on him. I was a bit far away when I tried initially. Well, I guess I'll find out tonight when I boot into Windows again.Sometimes you need to move the mouse around quite a bit before the arrow becomes a hand.

[Tabby_Cat]

Sometimes, they want a foot massage.

:D

[Captain Carrot]

Well, I got to The Hollows, and now I'm working on rescuing the police from a Troll building. Except that I've been killed twice by a group of level 10 Trolls, partially due to lag and partially due to that I think they repeatedly stun me. Any ideas?

[CandidGamera]

Well, I got to The Hollows, and now I'm working on rescuing the police from a Troll building. Except that I've been killed twice by a group of level 10 Trolls, partially due to lag and partially due to that I think they repeatedly stun me. Any ideas?

In the mission, or outside of it?

The Hollows is deadly dangerous to walk around in.

[Bosstone]

In the mission, or outside of it?

The Hollows is deadly dangerous to walk around in.It's gotten better since the revamp last year, but it's still pretty tough. Stick to the streets, you'll get around most enemies.

ETA: Oh, Carrot, also, go to Kings Row, find the detective that's automatically added to your contact list to get a radio, run through three radio missions, then do the bank job. It's very easy, only takes about an hour to do all of it, and when you stop the bank robbers you'll receive a jetpack with a 3 hour flight time. It helps immensely, especially in the Hollows.

[Der Trihs]

It's gotten better since the revamp last year, but it's still pretty tough. Stick to the streets, you'll get around most enemies.

ETA: Oh, Carrot, also, go to Kings Row, find the detective that's automatically added to your contact list to get a radio, run through three radio missions, then do the bank job. It's very easy, only takes about an hour to do all of it, and when you stop the bank robbers you'll receive a jetpack with a 3 hour flight time. It helps immensely, especially in the Hollows.Plus, flying is great fun, even with the relatively slow Raptor Pack you get from the Safeguard mission.

And a note to Captain Carrot; that mission is only available until level 10 ( unless you team with someone of that level range later ); after that you get a different mission and power. The next being the temp power Zero G Pack that allows superjumping. Every 5 levels it's a different mission, and a different power.

[Captain Carrot]

In the mission, or outside of it?

The Hollows is deadly dangerous to walk around in.

In the mission. Strangely enough, the captive cop (2/5) ran away upon my arrival. I guess my distraction was enough for her to escape, though the Trolls were all still there.

On the subject of dangerous stuff in the Hollows, I was running around quite a lot trying to find the Four Seasons neighborhood, for Mina's mission, and I came across two level 14 bosses. Fortunately, I identified them well before they noticed me, and booked before they had a chance to.

[Bosstone]

That seems unusual. The main benefit of City's instanced missions is that the level of the enemies is extremely controllable. There's no real reason you should have encountered level 10 enemies inside a mission unless you're level 9-11.

[Der Trihs]

That seems unusual. The main benefit of City's instanced missions is that the level of the enemies is extremely controllable. There's no real reason you should have encountered level 10 enemies inside a mission unless you're level 9-11.
Spawns have been a little buggy recently. For example, there's an earlier Sky Raider mission that recently always seems to spawn multiple Jump Bot bosses even while solo.

[Captain Carrot]

I'm level 9 now. Quite frankly, I don't understand why even four or five level 10 minion Trolls should be giving me so much trouble. I'd rescued cops in that mission before.

[Captain Carrot]

Well, I have the police radio, and I did a mission, but there's no bank job available. Should I just keep taking missions until it shows up, or what?

[Lute Skywatcher]

Well, I have the police radio, and I did a mission, but there's no bank job available. Should I just keep taking missions until it shows up, or what?You need to do three radio missions (in the same zone) before getting a bank mission.

[Captain Carrot]

Ahhhh. That makes sense, I guess. Although given that I'm fairly close to level 10 as it is, should I go back and try again once I level, or will the jetpack help a lot?

[Lute Skywatcher]

Ahhhh. That makes sense, I guess. Although given that I'm fairly close to level 10 as it is, should I go back and try again once I level, or will the jetpack help a lot?It certainly does help because you won't have access to a full travel power for two more levels, assuming you took the prereq already. You could wait and get the Jump pack but with flight there's no worry of landing in the middle of a ring of mobs.

[Bosstone]

In the options somewhere there should be a toggle to turn off XP gains. You can shut XP off, get the Atlas Park bank mish, then turn XP back on and continue on your way. Jetpacks are just so useful, you don't want to pass it up if you can help it.

[Captain Carrot]

Ah, good, thanks. Though it seems kind of weird to do that.

[Bosstone]

I know, right? But when it's handy it's really handy.

[Der Trihs]

In the options somewhere there should be a toggle to turn off XP gains. The last option in Miscellaneous in the first options tab, as I recall.

[Captain Carrot]

Well, ultimately I decided to turn leveling back on, and sure enough, I made level 10. I think that's just as good a way to handle those Trolls, probably, and if not, I can take Hover at 12 anyway. I'm also looking forward to getting some real Invention enhancements, since I have 1 Level 10 Damage button on Flurry. I got another recipe for damage, but I stupidly bought a level 15 recipe and can't equip that enhancement, nor do I have enough influence to complete the level 10 one. Ah well, that's not hard to fix.

[Der Trihs]

IOs are fairly expensive; as a new player you may not be able to afford them until higher levels.

[badlyburnttoast]

Well, I've decided to give the game a shot too so I made a controller on virtue server.

I have a question though, is it possible to make mission objectives show up on the map? I just spent about 45 min playing an incredibly unfun game of run in circles in a cave looking for a hostage before finally finding him in an out of the way ledge that you had to make an non-obvious jump to get up to, only to be confronted with 'defeat lab leader and his crew' objective even though I'd already defeated everything in the stupid cave looking for the hostage. After spending another 10 min looking for the final monster (I assume) I just gave up and logged out.

It seems like a fun game but I really hate playing track down the final enemy hiding in a hidden corner somewhere :(

[Lok]

One thing they don't do is show mission objectives on the map when you are on a mission map. That can get annoying at times. It sounds like you had a chained objective, when you released the hostage, it triggered the leader encounter. Were you in an Architect Entertainment mission? I don't remember any chained encounters in the regular contact missions for low levels. They tend to be very straightforward so people can learn the system and how things work.

If you are running AE missions, my advice is to go to your starting contact and run regular missions until you are at least level 10 or so. And note that you do not have to run missions in the Hollows. You are sent there by a contact at level 5, but all you have to do is talk to the person you are sent to. You can turn around and run back to the contact that sent you and ignore the Hollows entirely if you want. (The Hollows has some fun content, but it can be hard to get around in and some of the missions are very challenging. I don't recommend running it on your first character.)

Are you on a trial? If not, you can join the CECIL channel and anyone on will be willing to help you out with advice or even teaming.

[Bosstone]

It seems like a fun game but I really hate playing track down the final enemy hiding in a hidden corner somewhere :(Yeah, unfortunately this is possibly my biggest gripe with the game too. "Defeat all" missions are extremely common and a gigantic pain in the ass. I spend twice as much time hunting down that last little bastard stuck in a corner somewhere as I do defeating every other enemy on the map.

[E-Sabbath]

I have just the tool for you. Blinkie Finder!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9NVY7QOP
Make a demorecord, run around a bit, stop recording, load the demo up with this, and it'll tell you every object in your local area. Great for that One Last Bomb or One Last Guy.

[badlyburnttoast]

No it's not an architect mission (what is that, anyway?) it's just the... 3rd? mission you get when you are a newbie from the first mission dispenser guy. The mission objective was "defeat lab leader and his crew and rescue the hostages!" so I thought I'd killed everything and just had to rescue the guy to finish it.

I'm still on the trial, I tried to join the CECIL channel but of course it would not let me. Can I join the actual super group if I'm on the trial, and does that give me a new channel I can talk on?

Blinkie Finder sounds like a cheat/hack that they might want to ban you for (though I guess I'm on day 1 of a free trial so who cares?) which is a shame because it also sounds very useful :( I'll try and find it on my own again, but if I can't maybe I'll give it a shot.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Bosstone]

Blinkie Finder sounds like a cheat/hack that they might want to ban you for (though I guess I'm on day 1 of a free trial so who cares?) which is a shame because it also sounds very useful :( I'll try and find it on my own again, but if I can't maybe I'll give it a shot.Not at all. I don't know if NCSoft has commented one way or the other on the program, and I don't have the TOU to quote from, but on general principle, as long as the third-party program doesn't modify the actual game files (in CoX's case I think it's the .pigg files), it's okay. There are applications that will let you write your own architect missions (the Architect is literally create-your-own-mission mode), replaces in-game icons with custom, tracks your stats, buffs, recharges, XP, and everything while you're playing the game, there's methods of silencing specific in-game sounds, and all of these have been blessed or at least ignored by NCSoft.

In this particular case, the app is just taking a movie file and identifying elements within it. It's similar to taking a screenshot and feeding it to a program that will tell you how many people are in the shot. It doesn't change the actual game at all, only provides you with more information.

[Lok]

Architect missions are only found in the AE buildings, they are mission arcs created by players. Some are good, some are not, a lot of them are farms for leveling very fast. While they can be fun, they are a poor way to learn how things work in the game. And unlike most MMOs, leveling fast to get to 50 is not that useful in COH, since there aren't huge PVP raids or things like that. COH is about the journey to 50, not what you do when you get there.

I think you can join SGs on trials, at least you used to be able to. Then you should be able to use the SG channel anyway. If you give us your character name, one of us in game can try it anyway. And at least someone could give you advice or team with you by searching for you.

[badlyburnttoast]

Yeah, I got an automatic mission update that told all about architect missions soon after I posted that :smack: oh well.

It turns out that logging out resets your missions so I had to go through and kill everything again, but I managed to find all the hostages and monsters without too much trouble this time so I guess it's OK.

My character's name is Dr. Cavorite, if anyone wants to try and invite me. Thanks again everyone!

[Mekhazzio]

Blinkie Finder sounds like a cheat/hack that they might want to ban you for Nope. My group used to do this by hand back in the day when we were stumped with a particularly well hidden blinky. When you tell it to record a demo, COH dumps the data out into a text file, it's full of instructions that the game uses to reconstruct the events when you play it out. Relevant to the topic, there's a list of all objects in the mission and their position coordinates at the start of the demo. Search for the name of what you're looking for, or for the blinky FX tag, and tada, you have its coordinates, letting you zip right to it.

I'd guess that all this program is doing is automating the text-searching process for you. It's not a cheat and not detectable by the game in any way - it's not modifying anything.

[Captain Carrot]

Is there any good way to farm influence?

[badlyburnttoast]

You could try selling the random salvage you get in the auction house. I don't know what you consider a lot of money, but I sold a single random thing (lucky charm I think) for like 50,000! Plus a bunch of other random stuff for like 2500 - 5000 each.

I guess that's not really farming because there is no way (I know of) to get salvage specifically, but I certainly don't need any extra money for anything right now

[Der Trihs]

It turns out that logging out resets your missions so I had to go through and kill everything again, but I managed to find all the hostages and monsters without too much trouble this time so I guess it's OK. You can also reset missions if you have more than one by choosing "Select Mission" to pick another one ( while you are outside ); you'll get a message asking if you want to abandon that mission. Do so and then choose the mission you were just on again, and everything on the map will have reset. Useful if the mission is bugged and you don't want to use up a mission skip.

[Lute Skywatcher]

My last Oranbega map featured a hostage tucked around a corner. I got a GM to help with that.

[Captain Carrot]

By the way, who invited me last night?

[Der Trihs]

By the way, who invited me last night?Me.

Der Trihs = Obscure Blade; Toaster = Culex. Balance = Balanced. Bosstone, Brainiac4, Dangerosa, Maus Magill, Max Carnage, Hugh Jass, Nordic all use the same names as here I believe. I can't recall offhand who some of the others are ( Lute Skywatcher is probably Skywatcher, I expect ).

And by the way; you need to add the global channels you are on to the chat tabs for every new character you make, or you won't see them.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Lute Skywatcher is probably Skywatcher, I expect. Yep, and I took that handle for CO as well.

[CandidGamera]

I am the rarely seen Eternal Ninja.

I'm actually online all the time, I'm just very good at my job.

[Captain Carrot]

Well, it appears that I won't have to worry about balancing my schoolwork with playing, because I can't play in my room (my internet isn't working on the Windows partition). If I want to boot up CoH, I have to go to the library or somewhere else with wireless access.

[Dangerosa]

Is there any good way to farm influence?

Ask the supergroup if anyone has any seed money. Most of us with long term accounts and high level characters have enough to drop over and give you some.

If we play characters past about level six, Brainiac4 and I seed them with influence.

[Saltire]

And by the way; you need to add the global channels you are on to the chat tabs for every new character you make, or you won't see them.You can save your chat settings in one character and load them in others, so that they all have the same settings.

From memory, without the game handy: You open Options, and there's a button at the bottom of the main tab. You have to scroll all the way down.

My global is Saltire, but I don't play a lot lately, and pretty much only on Virtue.

[Maus Magill]

Ask the supergroup if anyone has any seed money. Most of us with long term accounts and high level characters have enough to drop over and give you some.

If we play characters past about level six, Brainiac4 and I seed them with influence.

You're also welcome to the SOs in the Enhancement storage in the SG Base.

[Der Trihs]

And also to take the 4 Halloween costume salvage parts you need for an extra costume slot ; there's scads of those in base storage. You give them to Annah in Croatoa, the lady dressed like a witch just off the IIRC northwest edge of the tram platform. Take the Green Line to get there; it's in north steel Canyon/South Skyway.

[Captain Carrot]

So when are you guys usually on?

[Bosstone]

So when are you guys usually on?I actually haven't played in a few months, although I intend to re-up once I16 hits.

[Maus Magill]

So when are you guys usually on?

Well, Spike is now acclimated to the new bed, and Squeaky is sleeping through the night. As soon as I catch up on my sleep, I'll start logging on 2-3 nights a week from about 8:00 to 10:30 Eastern.

[Lok]

Well, right now, a lot of people will be hitting the Test Server for the Open Beta of I16.

I got in the last wave of the Closed last Friday and there is some really nice stuff in this issue.

[Der Trihs]

I got in the last wave of the Closed last Friday and there is some really nice stuff in this issue.Oh, yes. I've been fooling with the character creator and the new options are great.

[Lok]

So is the new system for setting mission difficulty. You can set it so you are considered to be a team of up to 8 people, say whether or not you want any bosses to show up in spawns, whether or not you want AVs to appear, and what level you want the mobs to be to you, including -1. I was running JB through radio missions +1 level, 8 man team, with bosses and it was a real blast.

It means no more requests for padding teams, plus the new side kicking system means no more bridging. (Although I believe there are still some bugs with that.)

[Lute Skywatcher]

A note to those who have not been in the I16 beta: in order to access the Powers area of the character creator for an existing character, at least one costume piece needs to be changed first.

[Dangerosa]

So when are you guys usually on?

9pm - 10:30 pm central time Monday - Thursday. Off and on on weekends. But not much currently as we've been travelling a lot and working a lot and have been nose deep in kid activities.

(Brainiac4 and I duo pretty extensively - we are seldom on solo).

[Captain Carrot]

When does 16 hit the ordinary servers?

[Lok]

Soon!™

But seriously, when it gets there. There is no set schedule. I wouldn't expect it before next week, and with some of the things I know are still not fixed, I would bet on 2 weeks at least.

[Maus Magill]

Since the debacle of Issue 2 being rushed out before it was fully tested, they have been very careful. It can get annoying having to wait for the new Issue, but it sure beats a major patch every other day.

[Captain Carrot]

So now I'm level 12, with four Dual Origin enhancements (none of which I can use), and I'm planning to get Super-Speed once I hit 14. Is Ice Armor/Fire Melee/Speed pool a decent set, or would I be better off starting a new character with a different, more powerful/versatile build and knowing more than I did when I created Androclea?

[Der Trihs]

So now I'm level 12, with four Dual Origin enhancements (none of which I can use), and I'm planning to get Super-Speed once I hit 14. Is Ice Armor/Fire Melee/Speed pool a decent set, or would I be better off starting a new character with a different, more powerful/versatile build and knowing more than I did when I created Androclea?Decent enough, but slow to mature and lowish damage as Tanks are ( and how I wish someone other than Tanks got Ice Armor ). Speed's fine, especially since you'll be able to get unlimited Raptor Packs in Issue 16, so the lack of vertical ability doesn't matter much.

However, the general rule when you ask "should I start a new character" is yes, IMHO. :) This game really is designed to cater to altitis. Make a scrapper; make a controller or blaster or brute. See what you like.

[Captain Carrot]

I'm reluctant to make anything other than a tank because, quite frankly, no basic archetype is as effective alone, and I enjoy just wading in there and whaling on someone. On the other hand, ranged attacks would be nice...

[Saltire]

Give some others a try anyway. Every AT can solo. Once you get the hang of them, they all do it well.

A scrapper is actually better, in most people's opinion, both solo and on teams. They aren't as bulletproof as tanks, but they can really mow down the opposition, which a tank cannot.

In particular, give Regen a try. It's not much like a tank, but those guys can soak up an amazing amount of damage and keep on swinging. (You should have seen them before several issues of down-adjustments.)

Personally, I love to solo on a blaster. Sure, I hit the floor fairly often, but I love blowing things up. And I can usually keep them upright for hours at a time.

[Lok]

I am going to agree with Saltire, yes you should make other characters. When you do it is up to you, but the diversity of powersets and playstyles are where COH really shine. Even 2 ATs as close in concept as a Scrapper and a Tank play quite differently, even solo.

This can lead to the occasional problem. I am testing the increased difficulty on my main, an Inv/SS tank, at +1 level, 8 man group, bosses spawn. This gives me red and purple bosses, but I can pretty easily solo them. (IO sets for the win! :D) But when you get used to running into huge groups like that, then get on a low level scrapper to test new powersets, it doesn't work out as well. I actually have an easier time switching to a squishy from my main, because the playstyles are so different.

Don't be afraid to try the different possibilites in the game. You may find one that you enjoy more than your tank. But don't get so involved in alts you don't progress to the higher levels. There are some very nice stories and fun times in the higher levels.

[Bosstone]

I'm reluctant to make anything other than a tank because, quite frankly, no basic archetype is as effective alone, and I enjoy just wading in there and whaling on someone. On the other hand, ranged attacks would be nice...Scrappers are better solo. Much, much better. Yes, their defense isn't quite as good as a Tanker's, but frankly, if you're not protecting a team against the increased number of enemies that spawn for teams, that extra defense is really wasted. Scrappers' defenses are more than sufficient for the number of enemies you'll encounter solo, and their offensive power is significantly higher than Tankers'. Granted, they still don't have ranged attacks. Alternately, you can go Villain and play a Brute, which have better defenses than Scrappers and better offenses than Tankers. They are so much fun to play.

If you want ranged, you can solo a Blaster. Hell, you can solo any AT, but Controllers and Defenders take a little more thought and tactics than jumping into the middle and whaling on people. Blasters have incredible offense, and though they have few options for defense you can pick powers that help you. One basic power I usually take on a ranged character is Hover. The endurance cost is cheap, and it keeps me out of melee range. Most enemies still have ranged attacks, but they're usually much weaker than melee. I have a Fire/Devices Blaster who's an utter blast to solo, pardon the word choice. While my melee fighters are lots of fun, there's nothing quite so satisfying as annihilating a group of enemies with fiery death from above.

[Raza]

I'm getting a bit WoWed-out, so I thought I'd fire CoH back up and reacquaint myself.

But no joy: it doesn't seem to want to run under Windows 7. In poking around NCSoft's site, I was surprised that even Vista is not officially supported as a platform. My symptom: the updater starts fine, downloads and verifies fine; I click Next, and I get the "Loading" banner, then the circular mouse cursor for a few seconds, then a blank screen where presumedly the login screen appears. I hear the background music, and if I start pressing keys I can hear the "dnnnkk" sound that CoH makes on the menu, but still no video.

I am re-installing from scratch right now, and I hope it fixes the problem. I know some people are running fine on Win7, and mine was a brand-new Win7 install on a brand-new hard drive, so it is as vanilla as it gets.

[Lok]

Does 7 have a Compatibility Mode like XP and Vista? I think that is how most people run it under Vista, by using XP under that setting.

[Raza]

Thanks for any ideas, Lok. I did try it in "XP" compatibility mode, and running as Administrator.

The game doesn't "lock", because I can hear the background music, and hear the expected sounds responding to my (blind) typing; just no video. I am very hesitant to mess with my nVidia drivers (8800GTS), because absolutely everything else (WoW, PhotoShop, etc) works fine.

[Kobal2]

I'm reluctant to make anything other than a tank because, quite frankly, no basic archetype is as effective alone, and I enjoy just wading in there and whaling on someone. On the other hand, ranged attacks would be nice...

What the... what ?
OK, maybe the game has changed a heck of a lot since I quit it, admitedly. But still... WHAT ? If you think tanks can solo, make a regen scrapper. Any primary (although Thorns has always been my favorite. Impale for the win !) Seriously : you will wade through crowds of mooks in 1/3rd of the time it takes your tank to dispatch them, without a second of down time. Hell, you'll even be able to solo bosses !
And if you've got City of Villains, look no further than the Mastermind, especially the Robots kind. They just sprint through solo missions. And they're ranged, too ! ;)

[E-Sabbath]

Use TweakCOH
http://www.net-marks.com/software/tweakcoh
This is a program designed to let you change CoH's graphics settings from outside the game.

Try launching it windowed instead of full screen.

[Raza]

E-Sabbath, your next SDMB (if there is one) renewal is on me. That enabled me to sign in and play. I tried forcing full-screen once I was in, but when I re-entered it was back to a blank screen, so it looks like I'll have to play windowed always. Screen performance was just fine, though - looked the same as always.

Thanks again.

[Dangerosa]

Controllers start being horrible solo characters. But once you move to the pet stage, you come with your own team. Takes a long time to get there. But I like soloing my controller now that she is in her mid-30s.

I have two characters I can't solo - one is my tank. She just doesn't do enough damage. I probably have her poorly optimized (she WAS created 60 odd months ago and is still at level 16). The other is my empathy defender - who wasn't created as anything other than a Blaster's sidekick. Her secondary is energy - so about the only attack she has is "get them off me! get them off me!"

I have a bunch of characters I seldom solo, but I've solo'd them all.

[Bosstone]

Controllers start being horrible solo characters.It depends on how you define soloing. There's survivability and speed. Controllers are very survivable solo; once you have a couple control powers, locking down a spawn of 2 minions and 1 lieutenant is cake, and it's easy to come out of the fight taking little to no damage. They are, however, exceedingly slow, slower than even Tankers. Even if you pound on a single enemy to take advantage of Containment, you're sitting there for a very long time watching health tick off in 1s and 2s.

It's possible to solo with any archetype in the game provided you take a balanced mix of available powers. The only thing that changes is speed.

[Der Trihs]

Actually, Illusion ( past 18 and Phantom Army ) and Gravity aren't that slow. And Plant isn't slow at all once you get Seeds of Confusion slotted up.

As for the other sets; take a pool power attack ( Air Superiority is favored ) and slot the immobilize for damage and you'll solo less slowly. Earth and Ice will still really drag though, unless you have a veteran attack or two ( low level Earth is especially faster with vet attacks, thanks to all the -defense from Earth ).

[Lok]

What kind of tank Dangerosa? The secret to most of the sets is pick just a few powers from the primary and emphasize your attacks until in the 20s. Like for Invulnerability, you take Temporary Invulnerability, Unyielding, and Invincibility in your first 20 levels (Dull Pain is not a bad choice also, but not required like the other 3), the rest are attacks, travel (which can be skipped in these days of easy temp travel powers, especially after I16 hits), and Fitness (which can be skipped by some tank primaries, but not Inv.) And you don't put more than 1 or 2 slots in them until then either, slotting up attacks first. (This is for a soloing build, if you are a dedicated team tank, you will need to add some slots to your defenses to try and survive. Which you may not anyway, tanks aren't that much tougher then squishies before SOs.)

[D_Odds]

Well, I've returned to the world of CoH. A lot has changed since my last foray; I think my sabbatical started right as inventions were added. But, as Brainiac4 and Dangerosa can attest, I can kill a blaster (disguised as a Peacebringer) as fast as ever.

I was able, over the weekend, to finally get my first (and only) controller to level 32. It was like hitting an easy button. Even with the extra attack powers, controlling was slow. Now, I don't even need to attack.

What is the end game? Once a character hits 50, other than trying to optimize him or her (ugh!), what is there to do, especially if I don't like PvP. I pretty much retired Jim Beam once I finally helped beat Hamidon. Anything new for these characters, or do am I better off trying to learn how to beat mezzes with a blaster for 10 more levels?

[Der Trihs]

Not a great deal of end game in CoX ( although there are rumors Going Rogue will add some ). You can use Ourosboros to do low level missions you passed up ( especially useful if the missions didn't exist when you were that level ). You can do the 45-50 TFs, Lady Grey, Barracuda and Kahn. You can further tweak your build and acquire expensive IOs. You can get purple "ultra-rare" IOs, which are more powerful and can only be slotted when you reach level 50. You can do Mothership Raids starting at 35; with Super Sidekicking though that won't be as heavily focused on 50s.

By the way; as far as blasters and mezzes go one change is that blasters can still use their first two primary and first secondary powers even while mezzed. So these days getting the first relatively weak blast is considered a good idea. Plus, they do more damage than they used to. And Flares is especially nice these days; they changed the animation so it's much faster.

[Maus Magill]

Well, I've returned to the world of CoH. A lot has changed since my last foray; I think my sabbatical started right as inventions were added. But, as Brainiac4 and Dangerosa can attest, I can kill a blaster (disguised as a Peacebringer) as fast as ever.

I was able, over the weekend, to finally get my first (and only) controller to level 32. It was like hitting an easy button. Even with the extra attack powers, controlling was slow. Now, I don't even need to attack.

Hey, welcome back. I had to give up on my Peacebringer. Maybe I'll try again sometime, but the Keldians just didn't do it for me.

Dangerosa's musing has made me miss my Tank. I think I'll log him back on. There's just something nice about being surrounded by dozens of baddies, none of them touching you.

[Dangerosa]

It depends on how you define soloing. There's survivability and speed. Controllers are very survivable solo; once you have a couple control powers, locking down a spawn of 2 minions and 1 lieutenant is cake, and it's easy to come out of the fight taking little to no damage. They are, however, exceedingly slow, slower than even Tankers. Even if you pound on a single enemy to take advantage of Containment, you're sitting there for a very long time watching health tick off in 1s and 2s.

It's possible to solo with any archetype in the game provided you take a balanced mix of available powers. The only thing that changes is speed.

Slow to me is horrible. Anything CAN solo - but if it isn't enjoyable because you are attacking greens to survive (empath defenders don't have a lot of primaries to keep themselves alive) or it takes you forever to kill something (my tank), then it isn't fun.

[D_Odds]

Not a great deal of end game in CoX ( although there are rumors Going Rogue will add some ). You can use Ourosboros to do low level missions you passed up ( especially useful if the missions didn't exist when you were that level ). You can do the 45-50 TFs, Lady Grey, Barracuda and Kahn. You can further tweak your build and acquire expensive IOs. You can get purple "ultra-rare" IOs, which are more powerful and can only be slotted when you reach level 50. You can do Mothership Raids starting at 35; with Super Sidekicking though that won't be as heavily focused on 50s.That's what I was afraid of. Other than farming for salvage / recipes, there is really nothing to strive for. I'm as addicted to the little circle lighting up as everyone else, and when the circle doesn't light up, I get bored.

Fortunately, I have 4 characters on Virtue between 32 and 40, plus one at 17, plus a few characters scattered on other servers.

[Der Trihs]

Hey, welcome back. I had to give up on my Peacebringer. Maybe I'll try again sometime, but the Keldians just didn't do it for me.Kheldians were buffed a while back; if you haven't tried them recently you might do so again. Some I recall are more damage, ability to shift into Dwarf while mezzed, and a side effect of non-offensive toggles not dropping while mezzed is that when mezzed in Nova you don't instantly drop to the ground in shieldless human form. Warshade Dwarf Sunless Mire does good damage now; it's been called a cross between lower-damage Foot Stomp and Follow Up.