Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Forums To Be Upgraded

They're finally getting rid of the troublesome UBB and replacing it with vBulletin.

Will the infamous "lost connection" errors be squashed, or will they have the last laugh? Stay tuned! Same CoX time, same CoX forum!

Can't Get Enough CoX Comics?

Then check out CoHComics.com. They have a lengthy list of comics (including some I've never heard of before). My only complaint is I wish they'd offer PDF format as an option (the way their reader is set up is kind of awkward; PDFs are almost always easier to work with). Still, worth checking out.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Take PvE Out of PvP

I've been PvPing for the first time in a long while. My Bane is a blast in zones. One thing interferes with that fun though. Carebears in PvP zones going after so-called "PvE" content. Keep in mind, I'm 90% cearbear myself.

First of tall, there is no PvE content per se in PvP zones. If you're in the zone, you're agreeing to the possibility of other players attacking you. When I'm going after a temp power or trying to get to a mission door in zones, and I get attacked, I never bitch and moan about it like so many do. I either fight if I think I can win, or try to get away if I think I can't. I never disrespect my opponent enough to say, "I'm just badging" or holding still and letting the opponent kill me. This is very disrespectful, violates the agreement you made upon entering the zone (thereby casting doubt upon your integrity), and breaks the paradigm of the zone.

I understand the theory behind PvE rewards in a PvP zone. Get more people in the zone so PvPers have more targets. In theory, it works. In practice, it fails a very high percentage of the time. People try to remove their consent to being attacked by telling opponents they are "just badging" or "not PvPing". The reality is, you can only remove consent to being attacked by leaving the zone. You cannot amend it by being in the zone and trying to remove the consent that is implicit in your presence.

When people try to do so when I attack them, I generally leave them alone. After all, even though I have every right within the rules to attack them all I want, I'm a nice guy at heart, and 90% carebear myself, so even though it frustrates me to no end, I'll leave them be. It would be a pyrrhic victory. [Though I do on rare occaision, just because it angers me so, attack the person until they leave the zone. I have every right to, after all. But it's been a long time since I've done that, and I consider it a personal failiure to do so.]

I'd rather just have the PvE rewards removed from PvE zones (especially badges) so that PvPers like myself can get some actual PvP when we want it, and cearbears can stay in PvE and out of my line of sight. The current system is broken, and definitely not working as intended.

Oh, and we have people on the forums bemoaning the fact their powers will be adjusted for PvP in a PvP zone in Issue 13, because they are just there for the PvE. The PvE. In a PvP zone. Idiots.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

City of Heroes Podcast

Once upon a time there was a great little CoX podcast called City of Stories. It covered the game's news, but the central feature of the show was the host reading stories set in the CoX universe. And they were good! Alas, it is no more.

For a long time City of Heroes was without a podcast. Then, out of the blue came the not-so-creatively-named City of Heroes Podcast. The hosts chooch and viv have great podcasting voices and personalities, and they cover various aspects of the game (sometimes in excruciating detail; witness their coverage of Invention Origin Enhancements).

Subscribe to CoH Podcast in iTunes.

Today's DING!s

Huntsman Tourney, level 47 Bane Spider

Saturday, September 27, 2008

City of Heroes: The Unknown Genius

You know, the fourthcoming Mission Architect feature reminded me of just how adhead of the curve CoX is on a number of features in MMO design.

The costume creator is the most obvious thing. Brand new games like Age of Conan are still providing the kind of "customization" you could have found 7 years ago: that is to say, not much.

Sidekicking. Did you play too infrequently and now your friends are higher level than you? No problem in CoX! Just Sidekick and away you go. Other MMOs, for whatever reason, aren't using this sort of feature yet.

And now with I13, CoX is pushing the boundaries even further with player-made missions.

Every other MMO out there is so 10 years ago. CoX is the Mac of MMOs.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Today's DING!s

Huntsman Tourney, level 45 Bane Spider

I'm kind of regretting the "Huntsman" part of his name. Maybe I'll buy a rename token some day and change his name to "Executioner Tourney". The name he currently has came about because he is a minor character in a CoX fanfic I wrote about my Mind/Psi Dominator, and I thought it was neat to bring that character into the game since the VEATs get the awesome Arachnos outfits. Something for the future I guess.

Patron and Epic Power Pools Rebalanced!

This is a big one. According to Positron in this tentonhammer.com interview, the Patron and Epic Power Pools have been rebalanced in Issue 13 to bring more parity between them.

It's fantastic news, as the Patron Powers have been much-maligned by players (and rightly so) for being so weak when compared to Epic Powers. I can't wait to see what got changed in each, and if Patron Powers finally live up to their promise!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

HUGE Changes Coming to Issue 13!

Read the announcement on the official site.

I'm still digesting this, so I'll comment more later, but the Mission Architect has been postponed to Issue 14 so that the customizable character feature can be included with it at launch. This moves the release of Issue 13 up to fall 2008, retitled "Power and Responsibility" (that's a neat title!)

Disappointing we have to wait for Architect, but I don't want it now, I want it good. And if this is what it takes to get what I consider an essential feature into it at launch, then I'm all for it.

This is a developing story, so stay tuned!

CoX Headed to Consoles?

In a recent interview, David Reid (President of Publishing) explained the subtleties of the NCWest consolidation, and said they were going to be porting all their existing titles (except Dungeon Runners) to consoles (most likely PS3).

The MMO industry seems to be heading in this direction, but so far only Final Fantasy has garnered any kind of success on consoles. Will MMOs work in the long run for consoles? It remains to be seen, but I'm doubtful. Time will tell.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Today's DING!s

Huntsman Tourney, level 44 Bane Spider
Six Arms, level 15 Wolf Spider

There Needs To Be A Word For Taking The Alpha

Because taking the alpha and actually Tanking are two completely different things.

People like to say they can Tank when what they mean is they can take an alpha. Taking an alpha is only one aspect of what a Tanker does.

Taking an alpha <> Tanking.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Jerks Release a New Episode

The Circle of Jerks (that's "Jerks" with a capital J) have released a new episode of their podcast.

The audio quality isn't the best, but they often have some intriguing things to say about City of Heroes (both game play and lore). Definitely worth a listen.

Today's DING!s

Demondand, level 28 Night Widow

And debuting on DING!s:
Alien Lad, level 10 Spines/Willpower Scrapper

60 Day Market Purge Is Ridiculous

This is one of the few things that really irks me about CoX. If one of your characters doesn't access the market server for 60 days, your belongings are summarily deleted.

This really works against the "encourage alts" ethic of the game's design. And if this is aimed at improving performance on the market server, then they clearly are employing a server that isn't up to the task at hand and need a better one. To delete your items is silly and unnecessary. There's not one good argument in favor of it that holds any water.

The things on the market, the things you've earned through your play time, are just dumped. All this does is create ill-will in NCNC's customers. For those who lose something really valuable, it may downright anger them. I wouldn't be surprised if they've lost a sub or two over it.

It's a bad policy and it needs to go. Surely there must be a better solution than simply deleting player's belongings.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Today's DING!s

The Crimson Chameleon, level 23 MA/NIN Stalker
Powerground, level 12 Grav/Elec Dominator

Belated DING!s

And a belated gratz to:
September 21, The Star-Spangled Basher, level 21 SS/WP Brute

He's got his cape and his second costume slot now. Oh, and he picked up Rage, the defining Super Strength power. This guy is a blast! Onward to SOs!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

PvP Looking Up

According to this article at ign.com, Positron states that PvP is going to see "new systems" to improve it implemented "very soon". Great news! Could cross-server zone PvP be one of the "new systems"? I can only hope!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

New-School Brutes

What is it with new-school Brutes anyway? They take Taunt, and they rely 100% on mobs attacking them for Fury generation. They seem to be more and more common (at least in the Brute forum). What the heck is up with that?

I'm old-school all the way. To an old-school Brute, Taunt is a big no-no (it's a wasted power, except in PvP). And you rely not just on getting attacked to build Fury, but you have a Fury-building attack chain you use whenever your Fury needs a boost. I've actually seen some new-schoolers say they wait for the mobs' attacks to build their Fury before even attacking. They wait? What kind of a Brute waits for anything?

New-school Brutes, apparently. The Brute player base has become decadent.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Today's DING!s

The Star-Spangled Basher, level 17 SS/WP Brute

I'm loving SS/WP. And I love the character's concept. I have that feeling I get when I know a character is going to go all the way to 50.

More Spring Cleaning

I went through my entire lineup and deleted a bunch of characters. Most notably, I'm rerolling Master Obsidian on Virtue. He was pre-SOs, so it isn't that big a deal rerolling him. But I also deleted my second-oldest Villain Ceratos (SS/INV Brute). I love SS/INV, but I fell out of love with the concept and at 6'6" tall, he was too small for my tastes given his powersets.

Also, I'm leaving Infinity in favor of Freedom as my secondary server. Infinity just isn't populated enough for my tastes, and the prospect of zone PvP there isn't promising at all given that population.

It's Time To Turn On The...Web!

Check out the web site of the Matrix machinima contest winner 8baller, featuring movie clips, art and comics.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Today's DING!s

Brain Caster, level 24 Psy/MM Blaster

Yes, I'm still playing a blaster. Not my favorite to play, but the character has me charmed so I persist (I mean, just look at that name lol). And the play isn't bad at all, really. She's the Praetorian version of my Mind/Psi Dominator, so she has that keeping her going, too.

New Issue of Justice Knights

Issue #3 is the latest. Check them all out at the comics page of the Justice Knights website. Definitely worth a read.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Cyborg Booster Pack Now Available

More micro-transactions for City of Heroes, this time it's the release of the Cyborg Booster Pack. Click on the link in the CoX RSS feed at the bottom of this page, or just click here if you're nasty.

My thoughts? The costume pieces could have been better. When I think "cyborg", I think Arnold Schwarzenegger
(yes, I copied that last name from Google lol) in Terminator, with half his face blasted away showing the endoskeleton underneath. Instead we got "Enforcer, part 2". I will say some of the pieces look really good and will combine into costumes very nicely.

The auras are really very good. There's the expected eye-glows, but there's also a real gem: the heads-up display aura. It looks really cool.

The emotes are fairly good, more cute/funny than anything.

The power that comes with the pack is a self-destruct. It's a nuke power that kills you (without debt) when you use it. At level 50 it does only 534 or so points of damage, and with a 10 second activation, you won't be using buildup with it. If you're killing yourself, you should be able to do more damage than that. The animation looks and sounds really great, but I can't imagine in what game conditions you would actually use it. Alas, it's already being used to grief people at the markets.

I really don't like this trend of a subscription based MMO like City of Heroes using both ads and micro-transactions like this, but we'll see what the future brings. If nothing else, we should see some cool new content from the revenue generated by the pack. But is the game doing so poorly that this is how they must pay for adding new content to the game? Or perhaps this is going to allow them to avoid putting out a paid expansion (you'll notice NCSoft doesn't really put paid expansions out)?

I might buy this at some point in the future, for now it's a pass.

Bane Backpacks Are Back

One of my favorite Archetypes, the Bane Spider, suffered yet another indignity recently when their very cool looking backpacks went missing some time ago.

Well, just when it looks like it's all pain and suffering in Bane land, Tuesday's patch brought the backpacks back in a stealth fix. Banes suffer enough indignity on the forums, this just added insult to injury (even if it was also kinda funny).

All is forgiven JLove, all is forgiven. ;)

Character Deletions, Vet Rewards and New Slots

It was time for some "spring cleaning" on my home server of Virtue. I went over my alts and determined which ones I just didn't like playing to free up the slots. Carterium (Fiery/Fiery Dominator), Sepia Tone (WP/SS Tanker), Red House (Axe/SR Brute) and Zorngeist (Dark/Dark Brute) were the casualties. I do plan on rerolling the Fiery Dom at some point in the future, but there's just other Doms I'd rather be playing right now. I really, really want a Super Reflexes Brute, but the primaries make it kinda hard to roll one I like (and I don't want to be playing 2 Super Strength Brutes). I might roll Stone/SR.

The vet rewards were a bit of a disappointment this time around. A Supergroup Base teleport power, comic book cover poster base decorations and additional level 15 character titles. Very "meh!"

On the bright side, I also got an additional character slot! Spent it on Virtue, of course (I really like that server).

Comic Characters <> CoX Archetypes

I really wish people would stop trying to show how comic book character X is CoX Archetype Y, because it's never true.

The CoX Archetypes have qualities and limitations set by the game environment, with things like balance served foremost. Comic book characters are created with no limitations other than imagination and the needs of the story. They are completely and utterly different.

For example, is Wolverine a Scrapper? Explain the Tanker-like survivability then?

Superman a Tanker? Explain the Scrapper-like damage?

Comic characters <> CoX Arcthetypes. Stop trying to make the comparison, there are none to be made.

Today's DING!s

Demondand, level 27 Night Widow

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

City of Zeroes

The artist has left the game behind, but the comics he produced based on it are really quite good (especially "Game Over", which I loved!) Do yourself a favor and check 'em out.

Today's DING!s

The Star-Spangled Basher, level 14 SS/WP Brute

And debuting on Today's DING!'s:
Powerground, level 10 Grav/Elec Dominator

Welcome to the lineup, Powerground!

Powerground is a reroll of my Earth/Elec Dominator. I'd rather pair Electrical Assault with Gravity Control because the idea of having Singularity and Voltaic Sentinel out at the same time really appeals to me. They'll look great together! I'm sure I'll reroll Earth Control, probably with Fiery Assault (Earth is a fantastic control set).

Monday, September 15, 2008

Today's DING!s

Ending a five day hiatus from playing the game, we have:
The Crimson Chameleon, level 22 MA/NIN Stalker

Why I Solo

I play MMOs, and I play them mostly solo. By "mostly" I'd say 90% of the time I'm street-sweeping or doing missions while not on a team. I do team on occaision, mostly just as a change of pace, or to take on something I can't take on my own (a very rare situation indeed), or to get that little extra bit of XP rate (soloing in CoX is actually very good XP per hour; only the very best PuGs can beat it, and lots of PuGs produce inferior XP per hour to soloing...group leaders that hold the team back while looking for the 8th member, I'm looking at you!)

Many people can't wrap their minds around the concept of soloing in a game that is by design meant to be multiplayer. They find the solo game boring. To me, if I found a game boring while playing it solo, I wouldn't play it at all. It doesn't say much for a game if you find it entertaining only in the context of playing it with others.

So why not just play single player games? There's definitely something to be said for playing alongside others as opposed to with others. You see other people's costumes, read other people's bios, get amused by the RP exchanges you can hear all over Virtue. You can get compliments on your costumes and bios, too.

But when it's serious mission time, it's solo time. When I'm solo, I set the pace. I set the strategy. I decide which mission to do and on what difficulty. I'm the star of the show, the center of attention, rather than a bit player. The missions are all about me.

And hey, the Inf' you earn solo is vastly superior. When I play a team-centric character, I'm always shocked at how little Inf' you earn on a team (even if the XP is better). Not being able to afford a complete set of SOs at level 22 without twinking is not something I'm used to.

I also find it easier to pay attention to the story. On a team, the first thing to go out the window is paying attention to the story. I don't know why that is. Task Force stories are especially difficult to follow (I rarely do TFs, but I have done a couple over my 2 years of play; I can't say I enjoyed them much at all. People want to ghost everything and just get the TF over and done with ASAP. I wish they had an option to solo TFs with diminished rewards. I'd do it in a heartbeat.)

And sometimes the character you're playing is a "lone wolf" type (especially common with Scrappers). In the Avengers animated movie, when the group of super heroes started bickering and falling apart, Iron Man said, "This is why I work alone." Well said, Iron Man! Well said. Some of the most bad ass comic book characters are of the lone wolf variety.

Most of all, if a character "needs" a team (you almost never really need a team in CoX. You can solo with anything. That's part of the beauty of CoX. But it's a question of whether that soloing is fast enough--my standard is the 15 minute Paper/Radio mission--safe enough--faceplanting every single mish is a drag--and dangerous enough--having zero chance of being defeated is boring) then I don't feel like a super-powered being. I feel like an also-ran peon.

I play MMOs, and I play them (mostly) solo. It's how I roll.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Old, But Interesting CoX Article

@Massively.com

Jack Emmert talks about his infamous "vision", and the fact he still doesn't understand that MMO players like numbers (Real Numbers being one of the best things to ever happen to CoX; it makes build decisions rational instead of witchcraft).

The article writer suggests the NGE was a good thing for Galaxies with the silly assertion that, "
...this genuinely improved the game..." I was there, and no, it didn't improve the game at all. If it did, all those people would not have left. Even Yivvits and Mr. Bubble have recently complained about server population over there (so you know it's really bad). But I digress. :p

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Forums Are Great But They Suck

I hate that the forums are so useful because they are also very eye-rolling. People actually arguing against the idea of being able to filter e-mail? People who want to rape redisde of its Archetypes (and population)? People who argue Bane Spiders are weak (even as they solo Arch-Villains with them)? It's all there, in living, pathetic color.

I think I need another hiatus from that place. Maybe permanently. The downside is there are very useful things on the forums. Maybe if I limit myself to the Dev Tracker and guides? Maybe.

Machinima Contest Winner

Congratulations to 8baller for winning the big prize in the Matrix CoX Machinima contest with his entry Infinite Dark! I had no idea they were announcing it on Spike TV and even showed clips from the finalists. Making a machinima and having it aired on TV like that must be a great feeling.

I was a bit surprised (and very pleased) the judges went with the dramatic piece, but I'm not at all surprised 8baller won it. The man does terrific work, and 8baller is one of my favorite characters.

"It's time to turn on the lights!"

Justice Knights

Sin_Stalker puts out a really great CoH comic based on the Justice Knights Super Group. It's really well done, especially from a characterization and dialogue standpoint. Grab the PDFs and have yourself a great read.

Friday, September 12, 2008

BABs Is Even Cooler Than I Thought

I ended my hiatus from the forums tonight and found this little gem posted by Back Alley Brawler:
I play characters. I have to have a very strong visual appearance, backstory, name, etc. to get involved with a character, otherwise I simply won't play it very long. I'm not an RPer by any stretch of the imagination, but character concept is very important for me.
ITA BABs! I'm the same way.


The Game Starts At Level 1

I keep hearing people say that when playing CoX, the game doesn't start until level 20, or 30, or even 50 (hello PvPers :p).

For me, the game starts at level 1. That's right. I'm having fun at level 1. I'm playing the game at level 1. The same game I'll be playing at level 50. Things like Stamina are nice when they come up, but they don't define the game for me.

The game, my game, starts at level 1.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Justice Avengers!

Quite possibly the best animated CoX video at YouTube, or anywhere else in the known universe. And by "Quite possibly" I mean "Definitely".

Rage suits FTW!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Today's DING!s

The Crimson Chameleon, level 21 MA/NIN Stalker
Master Obsidian, level 21 Necro/Dark Mastermind

Explicative Deleted

I was going to write a forum rant, but you know what? I just need to take a break from the forums and just play the damn game.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

My Pick for the Machinima Contest

Donuts

I think it'll win because it clearly shows the good and dark side of the character, shows a lot of skill in CoX machinima-making, and is funny (I think the contest runners prefer funny over serious based on their example video).

Honorable mention to Infinite Dark.

It shows plenty of technical skill, and the good and dark versions of the character are clearly depicted. It's a serious take though, and I don't think that's quite what the contest runners are looking for. Extra points from me for making it serious though, because it's far more challenging doing drama with CoX than comedy. Let's face it: the game is ready-made for comedy. Drama is far more of a challenge. Also, 8 Baller is an awesome character. One of my favorites. "Let's turn on the lights!" What an awesome line.

Both videos feature great voice acting. Dollars to donuts (hehe) one of these two wins.

P.S. As a side note, I think the fact that there is a big prize to be had in this contest (a new car) has brought out a lot of ugliness in some of the contestants/contest audience. Lots of gaming the system going on. My Villains would say that's why you screw the other guy before he can screw you, it's human nature. My Heroes would say look how good all those videos are despite who wins. That too (producing beautiful things), is part of human nature. The part worth saving.

I agree with my Heroes, even if the world agrees with my Villains.

Today's DING!s

The Star-Spangled Basher, level 13 SS/WP Brute

Welcome to the DING!s lineup, Star!

Master Obsidian, level 20 Necro/Dark Mastermind

Monday, September 8, 2008

Bane Spiders: The Best Kept PvP Secret

If you look at the PvP forums on the official site, you'll see plenty of talk about Fortunatas. And it's true, Fortunatas are very good in PvP.

However, another Archetype is also very good in PvP (especially in zone PvP). The Bane Spider. And people rarely talk about it. Most probably aren't even aware of the fact.

Surveillance is hell on Tankers and Scrappers (none too fun for squishmeisters, either). Web Cocoon to Hold or at least Slow and -Recharge opponents. A heavier out-of-Hide crit than any other VEAT is capable of (that also has a 10 foot range!) And a ranged, Toxic DoT attack in Poisonous Ray. Superior Stealth to Widows, too.

I've heard some say Night Widows are better in PvP. Ha! Night Widows are true melee (with some light-duty ranged thrown in). Banes are what I like to call pseudo ranged. They have a very good ranged attack available, and their EXECUTIONER'S STRIKE! has that lovely 10 foot range, too. And the ability to control your opponent via Web Cocoon (and Web Grenade should you choose to take it). It's no contest. I will say Night Widows are better for straight-up melee dueling, however. Banes must kite meleers, but Night Widows can waltz right up to a Scrapper or Tanker and stand a very, very good chance of beating them.

And how often does that happen in CoX PvP? It happens, but it's not the norm.

Bane Spiders: the best kept secret in CoX PvP. And now you know. Try one and you'll see.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Additional Lineup Changes

Well, Olden Archer is no more. TA/A Defenders have a very high cool factor, but they just aren't for me.

In his place we have my latest alt The Star-Spangled Basher! He's an inversion of the classic patriotic Tanker; a very unpatriotic SS/WP Brute. He does and says the kinds of things a classic silver-age superhero might, but with an evil twist (e.g. "How can I help you, citizen?" becomes "What crime can I help you commit, citizen?" and "I'm going to turn you in to the proper authorities!" becomes "I'm going to take your head in to the proper authorities!")

He's already passed the giggle test. I love Super Strength, and this is my first serious run at Willpower. And yes, I love self-rezes, especially the one Willpower has (90 seconds of +21% ToHit, +28% Damage and +100% Recharge? Sign me up!) Aw, yeah!

Change In My Character Lineup

Imaginative Imelda is out once again (this is her second deletion; I doubt I'll ever reroll her as she was an Ill/TA Controller), and the slot went to my latest Brute, Fury Flames (Fiery/Fiery). He's the Praetorian version of my Hero Scrapper Funky Flames (Fiery/Fiery/Dark).

The idea behind Fury Flames is that he transplanted his brain into an android body, and it is the android body that has the Fiery super powers. This is meant to symbolize how he's left his humanity behind. This contrasts with Funky Flames. He gets his powers from daily applications of chemicals in the form of "Smell That Funk!" cologne (well it was meant to be a cologne, but things kinda went pear-shaped. You know how it is with Super Science lol).

I also want to roll Willpower and Super Reflexes Brutes. I think I'll go with SS/WP and EM/SR. Stone/Invulnerability will eventually get rolled, too. I have a really great concept for the SS/WP.

Today's DING!s

The Crimson Chameleon, level 19 MA/NIN Stalker

Encyclopedia Dramatica Rips CoX

It's bit harsh, but there's a funny article on CoX at Encyclopedia Dramatica. And there's a grain of truth to everyting it says. WARNING: MATURE CONTENT. Don't click if you are easily offended. You have been warned.

Friday, September 5, 2008

New Scoop

Lot's of posting today lol. The new City Scoop is out. Read it since BABsie is late to his interview lol.

Edit: The interview is canned, so what was up with the delay? Hrmm. :/

BABsy Internet Radio Interview @ 7 PM Pacific!

Tune in.

Repeats tomorrow (September 6) @ 7 PM Pacific as well.

There's a Hole in the World...

...and it seems as if we should have known.

My BA/SR Brute that just dinged 24 fell into the Midnighter hole. I thought that thing was fixed? /bug time I guess. Or maybe I'll just leave him there.

Today's DING!s

Red House, level 24 BA/SR Brute

Wow, I haven't played this guy in forever. I'm slotting him with 2 +Knockback SOs in each attack, because Knockback is fun. ;)

I really do want to do SS/SR and Fiery/Fiery too, so this guy's future is in doubt. We'll see.

The Archetypes I Love...The Archetypes I Don't

Brutes. Love 'em. The play can be a bit too straight-forward (read, simplistic), but building and maintaining Fury is a great mini-game and destroying things with that level of damage can be a real stress-reliever.

Tankers. I don't. Yeah, I rerolled Sepia Tone because I like his concept and costume so much, but I'll wait until Scrappers get Super Strength and then reroll him. Tanks are boring to solo, and on teams are really just a bag of Hit Points. For me, merely surviving isn't enough. And I needs to solo, and I needs to do it at a reasonable pace and with at least some chance of being defeated.

Dominators. Love 'em. One reservation: their 40+ game is unnecessarily harsh, thanks to the PToDs making their Primary (which they depend upon for survival) useless. Other than that, tie-and-whip is my favorite play style of all. And another Dom buff is coming! More Damage, please. ;) And please do something about those PToDs. :(

Controllers. I don't. One reservation here as well: their APPs are something to behold. I espeically want to try out the Earth APP some day. But that means getting a Controller to 40. *sigh* I'm a direct damage fan, and not a fan of support, so Controllers are just about custom made for me to not like.

Blasters. Jury's still out. They define direct damage (and as I said I'm a direct damage fan) but are very squishy. Also, you get attacks...and more attacks. So play can be a bit one-dimentional. Fun sets, tons of damage, killer APPs, but something happens where I just stop playing them around level 25-26. Something about them just doesn't sit right with me.

Defenders. I don't. My latest attempt at a Defender, Olden Archer, TA/A has hit a brick wall at level 20. He hasn't passed the giggle test, and feels like work getting through missions. Fun toys, but without the damage to back it up, the direct damage aspect just doesn't feel right. Tankers do more damage, and that's pretty pathetic. I don't see how you can increase Defender damage without nerfing their buffs/debuffs, though. And the Inherent is useless solo, and of questionable utility on teams.

Stalkers. Love 'em. They're like Scrappers, but more challenging and nuanced. Also, they get the fantastic Ninjitsu secondary. I'm a big fan of Stealth+Alpha strike, and the changes Castle made to them (giving them crits outside of Hide, an enemy ToHit debuff/chance to Fear, more Health and higher base damage) are nothing short of brilliant. Proves why, IMHO, Castle is the best powers guy in the biz (or at the very least heads up the best powers team).

Masterminds. Jury's still out. My Bots/FF MM put me off them for a long time. My Necro/Dark is beginning to make me rethink them. I definitely don't like Bots or Mercs (Mercs are really just nerfed Bots lol). I look forward to rolling Thugs/Pain if my Necro doesn't let me down. Maybe Ninjas/Pain.

Corruptors. Jury's still out, but it isn't looking good. Small wonder too, because they are really just Defenders in reverse, but with an actual Inherent (a nicely Villainous one, no less!) Rad/Rad was fun for a while, but is too team dependant and I never think of playing him when I fire the game up. Always a bad sign. Will Elec/Storm be the one that wins me over?

Khelds. I don't. I can see where the devs were going with the idea, but the implementation is just awful. They definitely need some love, and when they get it, I'll take a second look. Right now, it's a "no".

VEATs. Love 'em. They're everyting Khelds aren't, most importantly fun. The only one I haven't tried yet is the Crab, but the Bane (my fave by far!), Night Widow and Fortunata all are winners. Big, fun, powerful winners! I fully expect to love the Crab as well.

Scrappers. Love 'em. The perfect balance of damage output and survivability. They alone among the Hero Archetypes feel like true Superheroes to me. Welcomed on teams, solo like champs, what's not to love? Stalkers are overshadowing them a bit for me these days, but I'll always have at least one Scrapper in process from now until the day I leave the game. Fiery/Fiery is the most fun I've had blueside since Daemodand himself.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Issue 13 Thoughts

Mission Architect. The feature is looking great so far. Looks like they won't have customizable Bosses at launch but will add it in at some point (that's all I ask). What concerns me is the talk of locking up some of the features of Mission Architect, which you then have to unlock via players giving your missions good reviews and by playing other people's custom missions. This has me concerned, but I'm willing to be shown that it isn't crippling to the MA n00b. Also, custom missions give inferior XP/Infamy. With teams so focused on XP, will custom missions be run only by the story-oriented few? If you're not into reading the stories in the game (many gamers aren't) you have no motivation at all to run custom missions. That's too bad.

Cyborg Bonus Pack. This game is trying to have its cake and eat it too on revenue streams. They already have our subscriptions and in-game ads, and they're adding lots of micro-transactions on top of it. It especially irks me that costume pieces are getting locked up behind $10 payments. I suppose I could cancel for a couple of months to fund these packs and stay within my gaming budget, but it's silly that has to even cross my mind. Other micro-trans games have no ads and are free to play. Other sub based games have no ads or micros. The financial direction the game is heading is really making my eyes roll.

Base Architect. Don't know much about this yet, but given the pathetic state bases are in right now, almost anything will be an improvement. For example, tying bases to PvP was a huge mistake as it limits PvE base design. And what percentage of the player base actually base PvPs? Gotta be less than 1%.

Powerset Proliferation. Looks like they didn't schedule any for this issue (though it is a stretch-goal). I want my Dark Illusion/Dark Assault Dom, dang it! ;)

Pain Domination. I got excited at first. "Domination" must be a Dominator set, right? Nope. It's a red flavored Empathy alternative for Corruptors and Masterminds. I have a viscerally negative reaction every time I try to roll Empathy. Maybe being a Pain Domination Mastermind will be more to my liking. Helps even up PvP, too.

Cimerora Missions. It's good to see them. I approve.

Bush Ranger Achieves High Pain Threshold!

It was a ton of very unfun work getting 200 Family Bosses, but the grind finally paid off and my level 50 Claws/SR/BS Stalker Bush Ranger (the Stalker that taught me to love Stalkers!) finally got the High Pain Threshold Accolade. +10% HPs giving her 1389 HPs total.

If you play Stalkers, I highly recommend picking up the Spiderlings pets from the Black Scorpion Patron Pool and slotting them with an Achilles Heel Proc. It procs very often with them. I love my Spiderlings!

There's plenty of +Damage to be had from Purple IOs, so it's a purpling I will go with Bushy next. Gotta think long term on this. Very long term. ;)

Today's DING!s

Master Obsidian, Level 19 Necro/Dark MM

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Today's DING!s

The Crimson Chameleon, Level 18 MA/NIN Stalker

My New Favorties: Necro/Dark MM & MA/NIN Stalker

I have a love/hate relationship with my Bots/FF MM. She's my oldest surviving character, and gave me 43 or so levels of comparative fun, but I can't stand to play her anymore (except in the rare Siren's Call PvP session; BTW Bots/FF sucks in RV IMHO). Bots/FF is very boring. So boring it put me off Masterminds for over a year-and-a-half.

All that's changed now with Master Obsidian, my currently level 18 Necro/Dark MM. The minions are survivable (Bots are more survivable), kill quickly (Bots kill slowly), and look really cool (Bots look...OK I guess). And Dark is a much more active secondary that puts you right in the thick of things. I love FF thematically, but it's a straight-up boring set (on a MM and doubly so on a Defender).

As for my new Stalker, I had rolled up a MA/Regen at first but once again I cannot stand green stars flying out of my keister and it's way too clicky. Also, I fell out of love with the concept (concept>all). So after mulling it around for a while I get the image of a sporty woman covered head-to-toe in a bright red body suit, with a shock of blonde hair trailing out of the top. I always wanted to try Ninjitsu (I love SR, and Ninjitsu is SR 2.0) so The Crimson Chameleon, MA/NIN Stalker was born.

I'm trying for a Staminaless build with her. At level 17, so far so good. I'll be IOing for Recovery bonuses, of course. This also lets me get the toys instead of delaying them or cutting them from the build entirely. I picked up Caltrops at 14 and they've saved my rear numerous times already. Throwing them doesn't supress Hide, so that should make some very interesting tactics possible in PvP since Caltrops Slow and have -Jump (-Jump and Slow are both deadly in PvP).

One reservation: looking at the prices of Miracle Uniques on the Black Market nearly made me cry. 50-60 million on average? Wow. That'll be saved for level 50 grinding, then. :(