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September 30, 2005

Post ghosties

I've been making more of an effort to keep up on game journals for my CoH characters as I do them. I've realized I can't (timewise, at least) do big, grand, RP novels like some folk do. But I can, at the very least, do little journal entry sorts of things for each character when I pull them out to play. It helps find the voice, it helps maintain interest, and it makes me feel like I'm doing more than just running around with an accent.

Haven't done this with everyone, but I need to get into that habit. At the very least, Torchielle and Psi-clone have been getting some posts under their respective belts. And it's been noticed.

Actually, it's kind of funny -- I have a metaplot for PC, and have since Day 1. I've run hot and cold on it, and it tends to morph a bit depending on the mood I'm in when I'm playing -- but that actually works well with it, too. And for what it's worth, the questions asked in Doyce's post are pretty good ones, though not the only good ones that could be asked ...

It will be an interesting balancing act to give out enough info to keep it interesting, to not reveal stuff too quickly, but to reveal it quickly enough. Where the story will eventually go, I don't know. I'm not sure where I want it to go -- I'm certainly not interested in a massive Alliance-wide thang, but there are aspects of it that could be blown up that broadly (or should, if played the way they ought to be).

In the meantime ... fun.

(There's also a lengthy Honey post out there waiting for Margie to look at it and go ooh and aah and Kazima doesn't talk that way before I put it up.)


Posted by Dave at 10:17 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Writing

September 28, 2005

Tech Support

A great resource post on tech support for CoH questions -- what NCSoft provides, what's available on the boards, and a slew of basic diagnostics and workarounds you can try. Keen.

Learned that the servers for CoH are located in Virginia and California (Champion is one of the latter). Interesting.


Posted by Dave at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

September 27, 2005

A Guide to Guide to Guides

CuppaJo has updated the Guide to Guides section of the CoH boards. It now stretches into two posts, and there are at least some indications of Issue number, as well as some of the ATs being broken out into power sets. Good stuff.


Posted by Dave at 10:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

A few snatched hours

I'm not sure my situation is directly analogous to using video games for pain management, but I was very happy to have a few minutes to grab in Paragon last night.

First, a brief SK for Amethyst Crown in Kings Row with a level 19 Ice Controller fighting Abominations and other mid-range Vahz. Given how sketchy AC's attack chain is (Hack. Slice. Punch. Punch. Punch. Punch.) it was both alarming and gratifying to be thanked by him for contributing my "higher DPS."

Then a quick adventure with Fazenda and Araware wherein we discovered that running at Rugged wasn't all that bad, even if there was a distinct orange cast to all those Skulls ...

Fought a fire, briefly, just by the Steel Canyon Yellow Line. Discovered (a) hey, those Outcasts Hellions try to keep you from it! (b) unslotted Hover is sooooooo slooooooooooow, and (c) I dunno what happened, but no badge or award or anything.

Oh, and (d) squirting Skulls in a later mission with your still-present fire extinguisher pack doesn't really do anything to them.

Nothing special, but needed fun nonetheless.


Posted by Dave at 7:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Gameplay

September 26, 2005

Dev updates

Updates from the dev list over the weekend:

  1. The sonic power graphics change is on Test. Go look and see if it still makes you queasy. Reviews, so far, are mixed. Some folks see no difference, some see major differences, still others say it's better but nothing they could run a TF with. (UPDATE: This will go in as a partial fix, with something better rolling out next.)

  2. How Defense stacking works with different powers. It two of the same positions (melee, ranged, area) or type (cold, energy, smashing, lethal, etc.) of Defense apply, then they stack. If not, then it's just the highest that applies. Folks seem to think this is broken. I just find the descriptions confusing.

  3. An explanation of Vigilence, and of how the whole inherent powers thing came about.


Posted by Dave at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

Level Best

Aside from getting Torchielle and Kazima up to 21 over the weekend (with some Friday and Saturday prep, and the Synapse TF wrapping it up), we also dinged Psi-clone and Amorpha to 36. W00T!

Actually considering a Respec on PC. While I like his power set, as I was tossing slots into him I realized that I have a hell of a lot of recharges on various powers (Group Invis, Phantom Army, Recovery Aura, with more to come). Enough that it might be worth sacrificing a power slot to Hasten and perma it, and in return free up another 5-6 slots.

Being able to heal faster could come in handy sometimes, too.

Of course, there is no power I want to give up. Dagnabbit.

Archetype: Controller
Primary Powers - Ranged : Illusion Control
Secondary Powers - Support : Empathy

01 : Healing Aura hel(01) endred(5) hel(13) hel(7) hel(33)
01 : Spectral Wounds dam(01) dam(3) acc(5) dam(11) dam(36)
02 : Deceive cnfdur(02) cnfdur(3) acc(7) rng(11)
04 : Heal Other hel(04) hel(13) hel(15) endred(17) hel(33)
06 : Hover fltspd(06)
08 : Blind hlddur(08) acc(9) endred(9) hlddur(17) acc(34)
10 : Air Superiority acc(10) dam(27)
12 : Group Invisibility recred(12) recred(15) recred(19) recred(19) recred(21) recred(21)
14 : Fly endred(14) endred(36)
16 : Hurdle jmp(16)
18 : Phantom Army recred(18) recred(25) recred(27) recred(31)
20 : Swift runspd(20)
22 : Stamina endrec(22) endrec(23) endrec(23) endrec(25) endrec(29) endrec(29)
24 : Fortitude defbuf(24)
26 : Maneuvers endred(26)
28 : Recovery Aura recred(28) recred(31) recred(34)
30 : Tactics thtbuf(30) endred(31) thtbuf(34)
32 : Phantasm acc(32) dam(33) dam(36)
35 : Resurrect endred(35)

The next two powers -- Adrenaline Boost and Conserve Power -- end up being recred-heavy as well. Power Boost at 47 is the same. So there's some real value there.

Problem is, what to give up? PC is such a utility player that he's got a wide variety of powers in his Primary and Secondary, plus Leadership. All of them are key parts of his strategy.

Rrg. The least important is Rez (already pushed back to this level a while back); I could take it (again) at 37, if I were willing to give up a future power -- the ones I've mentioned above, plus TI and Vengeance. Again, doable, but then I need to shuffle things a bit (shove Rez off, take Hasten earlier so I can have it perma by now).

I also hate to add the Hasten glowy to myself. Just not me. But ...


Posted by Dave at 9:09 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Character Design

World of Tiers

The decades of character experience each have their own qualities to them -- to the extent, at least, that I'm able to identify them.

1-9: Crude and Unformed
At the beginning levels, it's all about a few fresh powers and testing character concepts. There's not a lot to differentiate characters or missions, just the freshness of it all. There's a lot of initial turnover here, but these levels tend to go so (relatively) fast that it's pretty easy to survive.

10-19: Make or Break
By this time the difficulty is begining to ratchet up and the time-to-level is increasing. Steel Canyon and Skyway provide new places to live, and die. TFs show up, giving a way to seriously immerse in the character and team with others. Most of the leveling here is taken up with getting a travel power, bumping up Hasten, and struggling for Stamina. DOs and paying for them become an issue.

I find this is the level where (my) characters tend to stall, as their limitations in play and personality become clear. I've dropped many more characters in this range (esp. right around 15) than in the first decade.

20-29: Establishing a Rep
Characters come into their own. Basic power sets are in place, the basic supporting powers (travel, stamina) are taken, and now differentiation can occur. Missions move to IP/Talos, and become a lot more interesting. SOs show up. Major story arcs become more visible, and there are a large number of TFs. Respecs and costume changes become available.

More importantly, I've found that the heroes who make it to this level start getting a lot more involved in SG events and social chit-chat. They become known, and get to know others. Enough activities take place jumping off of IP/Talos that their survivability there (not to mention being able to travel and having a breadth of powers) lets folks be easily SKed. In short, the social network for heroes solidifies here (though it requires maintenance), and adds a new level of enjoyability to the game.

These levels are long, but rich. In my (limited) experience, my alts who make it into this range are solid.

30-39: Living Large
Glory days. Founders Falls and Crey's Folly. Rikti and Crey and the return of the Circle of Thorns, not to mention Devouring Earth. Money stops being so much of a problem. Get this far and you are a competent, powerful, hero, as well balanced as the constantly changing landscape of new issues can allow.

Characters at this level seem unlikely to be dropped (after all that investment) but might stall.

40-49: Thousand Yard Stare
This one I can't speak to from direct experience (just yet). My impression, reading from other people, is that heroes that get here tend to be (a) key SG members who get much involved in group activities, and (b) obsessed with getting to 50 (especially when there are dire warnings about future nerfs). Long levels and long TFs/Trials can make this something of a slog.

50: Top o' the World, Ma!
Hero of the City. Now what? Either act as elder statesman (so to speak), fostering others activities and playing socially -- or else roll up a Kheldian and begin the cycle again.

Any other thoughts?


Posted by Dave at 8:08 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Character Design

September 25, 2005

Synapse

2005-09-25_synapse1.jpgHad a great Synapse TF this afternoon -- "Task Force Dexterity." Actually, that's a misnomer. Very little dexterity. Very much firepower.

Dinged from just over 19 to just over 21 (so no XP in the last few missions, but what the heck). And managed to grab 5 badges: Clockstopper, Gearsmasher, Keeper of the Peace, Synapse's Cohort, and Tough.

I The team was a lot of blasters -- Torchielle, Avocet, Lady Photon, and Toy Maker -- along with one Defender (Agent Twelve), one Scrapper (Kazima), and one "Tank" (Peacebringer, actually, Emissary, who organized the soiree).

I had been concerned that we'd be too squishy a group, but it worked out great. Emissary kept the big baddies aggroed, Agent kept us healed, and the Damage-Dealers simply blasted/slashed them into oblivion. No melee lasted too long except when we inadvertenly grabbed more one group.

So, yeah, it's a boring TF from one aspect ("ALL CLOCKWORK! ALL THE TIME!"), but it was a fun group of personalities, and we were so capable, especially once we got used to each other, that we practically took the final few mishes -- including the Clockwork King himself -- at a run. Even Babbage was a relative cakewalk (certainly no knockdown-dragout sort of endurance contest -- we steadily just carved away at him and took him down with little problem).

Endurance was probably the biggest problem (aside from having to constantly step on Gears ...). Early on I was suffering badly. Once I got some slots into Conserve Power and took Stamina, that stopped being a problem until we started running forward between encounters with no rest.

Even so, despite a few close calls, we only ever had one death, Emissary himself (done in by a Void Seeker -- one cool thing about having a Kheldian along is the occasional different villain). But that was it.

Fun. And profitable.

Probably the last Kazima/Torchielle hurrah, though. We did a test (SKing) run of Torchy and Hildegard the other evening, and it just simply rocked the house (aggro management, baby)


2005-09-25_synapse2.jpg

2005-09-25_synapse3.jpg

Official post by Emissary, with better pictures, is here.


Posted by Dave at 6:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Gameplay

September 22, 2005

The visual side of sonics

It's ironic that the sonic power set is becoming most notorious for its visuals, in particular the sonic shields and their fit-inducing stuff.

Next patch on Test should have the proposed fix, which is primarily removing the flasing/strobing aspects of the power. While some folks might dislike how it still looks (spinning rings, atom-style), I think that's going to help a lot.

Running over the weekend with Amethyst, the sonic defender in the party was putting these on everyone, and they all strobed differently and it was making even me a little queazy. This is a definite improvement.


Posted by Dave at 7:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

A dark and windy night

2005-09-21_lynn.jpgSo I made up for a full day (and I mean a full "Working from home because there's not a gap to drive to the office, and wiping out a battery's worth of cell phone time on meetings, plus added meetings beyond that" day) of work, followed by house tidying, followed by a long meeting down at church ... by staying up too late playing CoH. Indeed, Margie was headed upstairs at 10 about the time that I was firing things up to begin play.

That all said, and granted that it was 1:30 a.m. or so when I went up, it was both therapeutic and productive. I did the respec on her to the "LC3" build, and that worked pretty well for me against the Clockwork and Council I ran up against. Did some time teaming with Toxin Infection (Rad/Rad Def) from Exodus, which worked out quite nicely; Rad Infection is da bomb for scrapper partners. "It's like a glowy pet!" we said, herding along one hapless cog from encounter to encounter ...

Ultimately (and why I ended up playing so long) I dinged to 16 (Unyielding -- and just in time to get a Tsoo assignment as I signed off). I also got the "Tough" badge (100K of damage, I believe), which was both gratifying and and a nice badge to wear IC.

I also took a title. Titles are tough for non-traditional heroes. I skipped over it last level, for just that reason. Lynn isn't the sort to call herself (or accept being called) "Wonderful" or "Heroic." I finally chose "The Awesome Lynn Calodo," because if a teenage girl can't calll herself "awesome," who can. Plus she'd get a kick thinking of it as being the same as "Awful."


Posted by Dave at 6:21 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Character Design , Gameplay

September 20, 2005

Problem Child

So I'm looking to respec Lynn, since I feel like she's way too brittle right now under I5. Here's the current version; she's at SL15, so I've noted the things she doesn't yet have:

Lynn Calodo #1

Archetype: Scrapper
Primary Powers - Ranged : Dark Melee
Secondary Powers - Support : Invulnerability

01 : Resist Physical Damage damres(01) damres(7) damres(9)
01 : Smite dam(01) acc(3) dam(5) dam(7) // dam(29)
02 : Shadow Maul acc(02) dam(3) dam(5) dam(9) // dam(31)
04 : Dull Pain recred(04) recred(11) recred(11) recred(13)
06 : Combat Jumping endred(06)
08 : Shadow Punch dam(08)
10 : Swift runspd(10)
12 : Hasten recred(12) recred(13) recred(15) recred(15) // recred(17) recred(19)
14 : Super Jump jmp(14)
====
16 : Unyielding damres(16) damres(17) damres(19) damres(23) damres(27) damres(29)
18 : Health Empty(18)
20 : Stamina Empty(20)
22 : Kick (Fight) acc(22)
24 : Tough damres(24)
26 : Weave defbuf(26) defbuf(27)
28 : Invincibility thtbuf(28) thtbuf(31)
30 : Soul Drain dam(30)

Present build (enh slotted fully to only 21), designed for I4 along the non-toggle approach to Inv, since then nerfed. Too brittle in the DR area (though even the builds below don't help that much at this level and with only even-level DOs). Ignore the future Weave -- it looked a lot better in I4, and I'd already changed my mind on it.

Lynn Calodo #2

01 : Resist Physical Damage damres(01)
01 : Smite acc(01) acc(3) dam(5)
02 : Shadow Maul acc(02) acc(3) dam(5) dam(9) // dam(31)
04 : Dull Pain recred(04) recred(7) recred(7) recred(9)
06 : Combat Jumping endred(06)
08 : Temp Invulnerability damres(08) damres(11) damres(11) // damres(17) damres(19) damres(19)
10 : Swift runspd(10)
12 : Hasten recred(12) recred(13) recred(13) recred(15) recred(15) // recred(17)
14 : Super Jump jmp(14)
====
16 : Unyielding damres(16) damres(27) damres(29) damres(29) damres(31) damres(31)
18 : Health hel(18) hel(21)
20 : Stamina endrec(20) endrec(23) endrec(21) endrec(25) endrec(25) endrec(27)
22 : Siphon Life acc(22) hel(23)
24 : Shadow Punch acc(24)
26 : Dark Consumption acc(26)
28 : Invincibility defbuf(28)
30 : Soul Drain acc(30)
32 : Midnight Grasp acc(32)

This version gets rid of RPD extra slots, and adds in TI (at the expense of my third DM attack, Shadow Punch, which waits until 24, leaving me with two DMs and Brawl). Better, but I hate losing my attack chain like that.

The approach here is the idea that you can cap Lethal/Smash Resistance in Scrappers(70%) with 6xUny, 1xRPD, 6xTI (76% with even SOs -- so it's all off in the distant future anyhow). The Uny also then gives you some res to Elemental and Energy dmg, too. I would just as soon (on principle plus not needing it) avoid Tough from the Fighting pool, which is also used to hit the cap.

Lynn Calodo #3

01 : Resist Physical Damage damres(01)
01 : Smite acc(01) acc(3) dam(5) dam(17)
02 : Shadow Maul acc(02) acc(3) dam(5) dam(9) // dam(31)
04 : Dull Pain recred(04) recred(7) recred(7) recred(9) recred(13) recred(13)
06 : Combat Jumping endred(06)
08 : Temp Invulnerability damres(08) damres(11) damres(11) // damres(17) damres(19) damres(19)
10 : Swift runspd(10)
12 : Shadow Punch acc(12) dam(15) dam(15)
14 : Super Jump jmp(14)
====
16 : Unyielding damres(16) damres(27) damres(29) damres(29) damres(31) damres(31)
18 : Health hel(18) hel(21)
20 : Stamina endrec(20) endrec(23) endrec(21) endrec(25) endrec(25) endrec(27)
22 : Siphon Life acc(22) hel(23)
24 : Dark Consumption acc(24)
26 : Hurdle jmp(26)
28 : Invincibility defbuf(28)
30 : Soul Drain acc(30)
32 : Midnight Grasp acc(32)

Replaces Hasten. Adds enh slots to perma-DP, uses the power slot to get Shadow Punch that much earlier. Much nicer, and I'm seriously considering this, though it's almost blasphemous to get rid of Hasten with a Scrapper. But it's a pretty quick attack chain regardless, if I've permaed DP is not as big a deal, and it frees up a lot of enh slots.

Thoughts?


Posted by Dave at 7:34 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Character Design

Because what I need is another alt ...

At breakfast last Sunday, I didn't have a book with me. Margie had her usual sheaf of CoH forum print-outs, so after tormenting myself with the Hypertension Induction Which Is The Perspective Section of the Sunday Paper, I borrowed some of what she'd brought to read for myself.

Which was a mistake, of course, because doing that always makes me want to generate an alt. And the fact is, I already had one in mind ...

screenshot_2005-09-20_amethyst.jpgBehold Amethyst Crown, exiled queen of another dimension, here on a path seeking honor and glory, the defeat of ancestral enemies of her people -- and, perhaps, a way home. Broadsword/Regen Scrapper, boo-yah.

I'd build a prototype of her on Triumph a while back, so I claim prior art to the Broadsword/Regen Scrapper that Margie was playing with in Pinnacle (!) this evening. And after we did some Fazenda/Araware, I went ahead and built her.

Oh, yeah. Very nice. Carved a bloody path up one side of Galaxy City and down the other. Had her to 4 in no time ...

... and got a blind request for a PUG. Well, what the heck, I thought.

Until I got there, and found out it was a level 4-6 group, and the contents of mish were, for whatever reason, level 8 Clockworks. Yup, a good buttload of purple there.

The team was rough to start out with -- the 8 of us, of course -- and there were some odd flakiness from a number of people at different times.

But we persevered. And even though we died, individually, there were never any TPKs (close, at the beginning, but never quite), and folks had plenty of Awakens, and we had a kick-ass healer who, even at a low level, kept us going. And going. And going.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

AC went up three full levels over the course of the mish, and 3.5 pips into a 4th. The bad guys went from all purple to a few reds, a few oranges, and a lot of yellow and whites. Excellent.

I like her. I like the power set, primary and secondary. And I like the character (though I haven't had much opportunity to RP her). I think she's going to be a keeper.

As much as any of my characters are keepers.

Now ... when do we get cross-server transfer ...?


Posted by Dave at 2:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Character Design , Gameplay

September 19, 2005

Upcoming ch-ch-ch-changes

New stuff up on Test. Who says big stuff only with Issue numbers?

(Linked to the European boards because that's where I saw someone reference them.)

# Added new inherent power to Defenders - Vigilance: As a Defender's teammates lose Health, the Defender gains an Endurance Discount.

Sweet. Of course, if it's like Defiance, it won't do anything nearly soon enough (and I'd rather have a Recharge Redux than an EndRedux), but it beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Or, at least, heals it more cheaply.

# Added Damage Resistance Inspirations (Reduces the damage you take from an attack). Drop rate for non-defensive Inspirations has not changed. 50% of defensive Inspirations that drop will be the old Defense (avoid getting hit) Inspirations, and 50% will be the new Damage Resistance Inspirations.

On one level, very cool. Very, very cool. On the other hand, gah, another Insp type to make room for. I'd really liked the consolidation of the mez ones.

# Made several changes to the Force Field powersets for Defenders and Controllers:
Deflection Field now has Defense to Melee attacks, in addition to its old effects.
Insulation Field now has Defense to Ranged attacks, in addition to its old effects
Dispersion Bubble now has Defense to Area of Effect attacks, in addition to its old effects
Significantly Reduced the Endurance cost of Force Bubble. Also, added a small chance to knock down foes.

Huzzah for more bubbly goodness!

Reduced duration of XP Debt protection in Resurrect Powers.

Booo! Didn't they just give this power? Obviously they saw folks writing about perma-Revive ...

Reduced recharge time of Rest.

Yay! All level 12 and below characters thank you! (Heck, a few higher ones that solo or don't have healers along thank you, too.)

Decreased Recharge time of Police Bot attack.

Rats. That's the best part of the Hollows, gunning down invading troll gangs before the police bots disintegrate them.

* Fixed bugs with escort NPCs: Fixed bug in some missions where if a hostage is killed, the mission does not end. Fixed bug that could cause escort NPCs to become hostile and attack players. Fixed bug that caused escort NPCs to despawn 10 minutes after being freed. * Removed invisible turrets that appeared in some missions.

Yikes. Yeah, those all sound like things worth fixing.

More stuff listed, too.

Btw, thanks much for attentive support folks. I /bugged not getting a badge and credit I ought to have last night, and it appeared in about 5 minutes. Nice.


Posted by Dave at 6:10 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

September 16, 2005

Big designs on the drawing board

Answers in the Ask Positron column on the Skills System, the Archenemy System, the Flashback System, Holiday Events, Post-50 Content, Defender Inherent Powers, Distribution of Origins, and more. Very cool beans.


Posted by Dave at 5:01 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

MT 3.2

I've upgraded my Movable Type installation to v3.2. If something seems odd or broken around here (at least, more odd or broken than usual), please let me know.


Posted by Dave at 3:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: This Blog

Maybe it's to counter nerfing Bubblers

On the subject of sonic shields making folks feel ill.

Cuppajo says:

I found out today that the fix for this is in the next patch that we are getting (we = NCsoft) from Cryptic. So - you will probably see one more patch on test before we see the one with the fix hit test.

Margie seems to be enduring with this, but it's definitely making her queasy. Me, I just find it mildly annoying ...


Posted by Dave at 8:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

September 15, 2005

Storm Knights

A few weeks back we were chatting with Mal and working with him to set up a Kheldian in the Consortium. Somehow the subject of reciprocating came up, and we ended up planning on Fazenda and Araware joining the Storm Knights.

Which, last night, they did, with a fun interview by Mal and Silver-Streak. I wanted to wait until we dinged 10 (and so were "serious" superheroes), and then things were delayed further by our applications getting lost in the Great Forum Crash of September 2005. But we finally got it all in place, and now we're Storm Knights.

It's kind of weird. Most of our characters are in the CoJ, which means we can be as negligent of them as we want to be (except PS/A, whom I feel obliged to trot out, at a minimum, every couple of days). Velvet and PC are in the FP, but they were our first characters, and it's such a large group and they've been around long enough that they just feel like part of the background, and if they don't come out often, it's not a big deal. Lynn is in the Allies, but, well, they're a non-group, right?

But now we have SG Obligations with another set of production characters. So I expect over the next few evenings we'll be playing them relatively heavily, to establish our presence in the group (and Alliance), and will keep them in moderate rotation for a the forseeable future.

(I was ... mildly dismayed by the relative lack of response, as a "newbie" in the group, to our arrival on comms. I made a particular effort with F. to say hi to everyone as they came along, toss in a few comments here and there, etc. I got one "hi" back, from Will, and a very nice set of private tells from Kin, but aside from that I might as well have been running hidden.

It's an interesting, somewhat disturbing perspective. Next up, a request for help.


Posted by Dave at 12:49 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Gameplay

September 14, 2005

New Zone

The Paragon Times unveils the disaster zone of Siren's Call. Folks speculate on when it'll be here and what it all means.


Posted by Dave at 3:04 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

Devouring Earth Goodies

What are all those things that various DE leave sitting in the battlefield? Doyce has the scoop:

Good to know. What's unclear is whether, if a DE is Deceived/Confused and they lay a goody, whether the benefit redounds to the heroes or not (a la Force Field Generators).

(Doyce cites the CoH Forums, but I can't find the quote there.)


Posted by Dave at 6:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

September 13, 2005

Damage Resistance inspirations

Coming your way soon.


Posted by Dave at 11:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

Also sprach Geko

Geko talks about power design, power nerfing, and ... upcoming powers:

As I write this, I am glancing over my shoulder to my white board. On the left in bright blue is a spot reserved for future power sets. Some have been there a long time, and may never happen for technical reasons. Recently erased are Archery, Trick arrow, Sonic Attack, and the CoV power sets like Plant Control and Robotics. At the top of the list are ones you can expect in the near future (names are all pending): Street Fighting, Electrical Melee, Electrical Armor, Shields (melee and defense versions), new Henchmen for CoV Masterminds, and a new techno defense set for CoV Stalkers. There is a fairly good chance you will see many of these in the next Update. Some will be shared in both CoV and CoH, and some will be exclusive to one or the other.

Street Fighting -- why this was not in the original release (although, of course, it's not like any major heroes, like Batman, Daredevil, or anyone important uses it ...) -- glee! But ... no pistols?!

Alas, much to Geko's namesake dismay, we probably won't see wall-crawling. But he makes me want to take another look at Claws ...


Posted by Dave at 5:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

ALLIANCE FORUM

Given the chronic problems of the Freedomphalanx.com forums right now, if anyone wants to use this thread as an Open Chat area (not that anyone here feels particularly restrained in using any thread for that) for whatever they want that they'd be doing there (game coordination, commentary, bitching, whatever), feel free just drop comments in on this thread.

I don't actually know anyone's e-mail address aside from the few AoC folk, so feel free to pass the word, as you see fit or necessary.

And, in the meantime, might I recommend this observation ...


Posted by Dave at 11:21 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: This Blog

September 12, 2005

CoV Powers and ATs

Lots of CoV preview stuff over here. Fun stuff.


Posted by Dave at 11:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Resources & Rules

Out of sync

Through various travails (mostly character rebuilds/restarts/replacements), our lower-level alts are out of sync, level-wise. The current "pairing" goals seem to be:

1. Psi-clone/Amorpha
2. Velvet/P-siren
3. Taste of Honey/Kazima
4. Torchielle/Hildgarde
5. Fazenda/Araware
6. Mr. & Mrs. Azure
7. Big Lungs/Star Protector

with Lynn Calodo and Fallen Twice rounding out the bunch as "unaligned."

Problem is, at the moment, #4-6 (arguably 3-6) aren't in sync, level-wise.

Thus, we spent the evening getting Big Lungs and Mrs. Azure both up in levels, closer to where they need to be. BL is there; Mrs. Azure needs a few more levels to catch back up with her hubby.

Problem is, Margie rebuilt her to be Sonic Defense vs FF Defense. And now she's finding that the Sonic bubbles make her ... a tad nauseous.

And so it goes.


Posted by Dave at 11:43 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Gameplay

September 11, 2005

Croatoa Woa

Continued this evening with Velvet and P-siren, since we'd been doing well last night.

Beat up lots of pumpkinheads and not-really-wolves. Never too much of a problem unless I got more than, say, twenty of the Fir Bolg around me (given that my Resist Elements is pretty crapola right now).

Eventually got a Keen Temporary Power, the Rune of something-or-another, which basically zaps Fay for big damage. Kind of weird having Velvet as a blaster, but useful.

Then we got sent on the Mission from Hell. Or Faerie. Guard the Dolmen. Keep the Fir Bolg from slipping through it, which they are bound-and-determined, Taunt or PunchVoke or no, to do, doing little mini-wave attacks/samba lines on their way. We did pretty good for a while, but eventually they started coming from different directions and we had to pull back to where it was nigh-impossible to distract them from their cause.

Annoyingly, it can be up to 5-7 minutes between waves (based on my Dull Pain perma). Irksome.

Evidently the story line dead-ends there if you can't beat it until you level beyond it (based on Amorpha's experience). Before we do it again, we'll be bringing in a few friends.

PS dinged 29. I'm about two pips from it. Yay.

I'd put it to bed for a week or so, just to wash the taste of the failed mish from my mouth. But with the Rune of whozits in my hand, it's like having the Lollypop ... you can't stop playing until it's gone.


Posted by Dave at 11:28 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack | Edit
Filed under: Gameplay

R-E-S-P-E-C-Vee

Finally got onto I5 with Velvet, and did the necessary Respec, going to a much more toggle-heavy build that should take care of her nicely.

Current build (bearing in mind that she's just 28):