Issue 15 is now in clopen (closed-open, get it? :p) beta on the test server.
Patch notes.
A Task Force, a Special Forces, two costume sets, 20 faces and bug fixes. Mission Architect search and functionality improvements (very nice ones, too). Definitely a light Issue, but a solid one. Dominator changes aren't in yet. Here's hoping they're in before live. I consider it the Issue's main feature lol.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Purple Drop!
Funky Flames (47 Fiery/Fiery Scrapper) has been out of commission for a while with a broken build, but I used the freespec to get him in shape and he's funkier than ever! So much so that he got a Purple drop (Hold double). That makes 2 Purple drops in 17 days or so IIRC. w00t!
Also, I forgot just how quickly he defeats mobs. I have him specced to single target, but he defeats everything so quickly he is an AOE. He seems to generate about 6 million Inf an hour (compare to Daemodand 50 MA/SR Scrapper who generates about 3 million an hour). Yeah, he basically prints money.
His one downside is he plays a lot like a Blaster in that he either defeats something quickly, or gets defeated. Once you get a good amount of practice with Burn and Healing Flames so they're used at the right times, Fiery Scrappers are quite survivable. But if you have a lapse of concentration or misjudge...faceplant. That's probably part of why I find him so entertaining to play. He demands constant attention and proper concentration. That's unusual for a Scrapper.
Also, I forgot just how quickly he defeats mobs. I have him specced to single target, but he defeats everything so quickly he is an AOE. He seems to generate about 6 million Inf an hour (compare to Daemodand 50 MA/SR Scrapper who generates about 3 million an hour). Yeah, he basically prints money.
His one downside is he plays a lot like a Blaster in that he either defeats something quickly, or gets defeated. Once you get a good amount of practice with Burn and Healing Flames so they're used at the right times, Fiery Scrappers are quite survivable. But if you have a lapse of concentration or misjudge...faceplant. That's probably part of why I find him so entertaining to play. He demands constant attention and proper concentration. That's unusual for a Scrapper.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Dominator Buff Confirmed for I15
On paper, Dominators are my favorite Archetype in the game. I don't roll that many of them because in the end, the play is just too subpar compared to every other Archetype in the game to justify the time spent (though I reiterate I do love them and still want a "complete set" some day).
According to one of the best powers guys in the business Castle, "To that end, I am proposing the following changes to Dominators, effective in the I15 release. The overall effect of these changes will be refocusing the AT from Control primary with Damage as a weak secondary, to effectively giving the Dominator dual primary purposes of Control and Damage. While this sounds unbalancing, it is apparent from how the ATs are being used that this is actually the proper method of addressing the issues of this AT."
Two primaries no waiting. Sounds exciting!
Read it and weep/Venture rejoice.
According to one of the best powers guys in the business Castle, "To that end, I am proposing the following changes to Dominators, effective in the I15 release. The overall effect of these changes will be refocusing the AT from Control primary with Damage as a weak secondary, to effectively giving the Dominator dual primary purposes of Control and Damage. While this sounds unbalancing, it is apparent from how the ATs are being used that this is actually the proper method of addressing the issues of this AT."
Two primaries no waiting. Sounds exciting!
Read it and weep/Venture rejoice.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Purple Drop!
I was getting some play time in with my 50 Bane when I noticed a Purple Recipe (pet triple) dropped.
I've been moving away from running MArcs with characters I'm trying to earn Inf on. You just get a lot more of everything (especially Purples) when you run standard content rather than MArcs. MArcs I think will end up being just for when I really need a change of pace, hear about a really good MArc, or run fully IOed characters on (the ones for which Inf no longer matters).
I love my Bane, but boy Banes really are squishy to an unreasonable degree. Took a defeat or two today that I had zero chance to avoid (Health at 90% then in 1 second flat dead). I hope something is done about that (I vote for a damage output increase; if we're going to have squishy Banes, let them put out Blaster-esque levels of damage, or give us the 20 second Placate back).
I've been moving away from running MArcs with characters I'm trying to earn Inf on. You just get a lot more of everything (especially Purples) when you run standard content rather than MArcs. MArcs I think will end up being just for when I really need a change of pace, hear about a really good MArc, or run fully IOed characters on (the ones for which Inf no longer matters).
I love my Bane, but boy Banes really are squishy to an unreasonable degree. Took a defeat or two today that I had zero chance to avoid (Health at 90% then in 1 second flat dead). I hope something is done about that (I vote for a damage output increase; if we're going to have squishy Banes, let them put out Blaster-esque levels of damage, or give us the 20 second Placate back).
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
NCNC Renamed (What a Relief lol)
The horribly named (but much loved) studio that creates City of Heroes (formerly NCsoft NorCal) is now Paragon Studios. Good riddance to the old, clunky name. Welcome to the new, pretty cool name.
Read the official press release.
Read the official press release.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Buttcapes and 60 Day Market Cap Removed
I was a strong advocate for the removal of the 60-day-inactivity-market-deletion, and with Issue 14 I and those who supported the idea of getting rid of it can claim victory. So long as your account remains active (that is, you're subscribed to the game) the items you put on the market will not be deleted. If your account goes inactive for 60 days, you'll still lose your stuff. There was never any good reason for this arbitrary rule, and data mining probably showed the devs that a lot of players were losing a lot of stuff to the 60-day-deletion rule. An MMO should never deprive you of the rewards you earned. That's my stand, and I'm glad the devs agree. Victory!
In other news, Issue 14 also features the addition of buttcapes (aka waist capes). Unfortunately they're female-only right now, but I'll take it. VEATs just got VEATier. Much crying was heard in the Kheld forums. But really, if you play Khelds, you're used to pain, so no big deal. ;)
Details on the Booster Pack II have been released. All I can say is they had better add collars and costume change emotes to the base game, because charing extra for those features is pretty low. The good news is you get a coupon for a free Booster Pack if you buy the latest boxed edition of City of Heroes. I'll get that as soon as the price drops to $9. ;)
In other news, Issue 14 also features the addition of buttcapes (aka waist capes). Unfortunately they're female-only right now, but I'll take it. VEATs just got VEATier. Much crying was heard in the Kheld forums. But really, if you play Khelds, you're used to pain, so no big deal. ;)
Details on the Booster Pack II have been released. All I can say is they had better add collars and costume change emotes to the base game, because charing extra for those features is pretty low. The good news is you get a coupon for a free Booster Pack if you buy the latest boxed edition of City of Heroes. I'll get that as soon as the price drops to $9. ;)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Long Time No Post & Issue 14 Goes Live
Greetings! Long time no post. Time constraints combined with the fact that playing CoH on a MacBook (which is doable but somewhat painful) means I've not had a lot to say about the game lately. I'll try and get some game time in due to the siren's call of Mission Architect. And speaking of Issue 14:
It's live, but Freedom has to wait extra long due to technical issues. This is why you spread characters out among more than one server (and more than one coast).
Elusivity has been nerfed hard in I14. Cut back by 66%. I think what's hurting Elusivity from a balance perspective is the fact Diminishing Returns was put into the game alongside it. In Arcanaville's original whitepaper on Elusivity, the assumption was made that ToHit would be as high as it used to be. Diminishing Returns pushed ToHit bonuses way down from where they were, so Elusivity ended up looking like a solution that no longer had a problem. I think they'll turn it back up slightly, to about a 50% nerf sometime in the future, but that's just a guess. It was nice while it lasted, and Defense based characters were certainly not unkillable (with the singular exception of Widows), but we'll see what happens.
Mission Architect is looking more promising than I thought. I can see myself leveling characters from 1 to 50 just in MA due to the wide array of enemies you can face compared to the official missions. The ability to make custom enemy groups and assign them custom powers is just amazing. If only the missions weren't "fake".
I got a really good deal on the Good vs. Evil pack ($9!) so I'll get the goodies and some extra play time, almost for free. ;)
It's live, but Freedom has to wait extra long due to technical issues. This is why you spread characters out among more than one server (and more than one coast).
Elusivity has been nerfed hard in I14. Cut back by 66%. I think what's hurting Elusivity from a balance perspective is the fact Diminishing Returns was put into the game alongside it. In Arcanaville's original whitepaper on Elusivity, the assumption was made that ToHit would be as high as it used to be. Diminishing Returns pushed ToHit bonuses way down from where they were, so Elusivity ended up looking like a solution that no longer had a problem. I think they'll turn it back up slightly, to about a 50% nerf sometime in the future, but that's just a guess. It was nice while it lasted, and Defense based characters were certainly not unkillable (with the singular exception of Widows), but we'll see what happens.
Mission Architect is looking more promising than I thought. I can see myself leveling characters from 1 to 50 just in MA due to the wide array of enemies you can face compared to the official missions. The ability to make custom enemy groups and assign them custom powers is just amazing. If only the missions weren't "fake".
I got a really good deal on the Good vs. Evil pack ($9!) so I'll get the goodies and some extra play time, almost for free. ;)
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