Chase_Arcanum

Correction- the "quick recharge" was just the dev-hack for the demo- not the actual bonus.

Snipe is changed to have a short activation time (like fast assassin strike) when you have a tohit buff of (I think) +22%. So if you use build-up, aim, your team has stacks of Tactics, or eat 3 little yellow inspirations, you'll snipe with practically no interrupt time.

Depending on your situation, this could let you add the high-damage snipe into your regular attack chain.

This also applies to Corruptors and Defenders.

Many 40-foot range heavy hitters are now 80foot, matching many of the other powers ("because with our travel speeds, 40 feet is effectively melee range"). This also affects defenders and corruptors.

All secondary sets have a power that's been modified (not a new power) to have additional effects... usually +regen +recovery, but at least one (ice) has the new 'absorb' mechanic to give blasters less downtime between battles. Only the Psi secondary remains unchanged because, let's face it, Drain Psyche already did this for that set.

Just to be absolutely clear, you're talking about the "EG, you were wrong" part, not the "transplant my brain into a robot" part. Right?

'cause with you, well... you could mean both, for all I know.

Well, in many (literary) theories on alternate universes/timelines/infinite-worlds, etc, worlds that have fewer divergent points are "closer" to one another and therefore easier to "connect to."

I never cared for the "infinite worlds" argument-- where every decision spawns a divergent universe. If that was the case, when we defeat Emperor Cole in one Praetoria, the well could just select another nearby universe's Cole (the one from the universe that emerged when Emperor Cole decided to have the pastrami-on-rye for lunch the day before rather than the reuben) and once we defeat THAT one, there's always the Cole from the "decided to stay up rather than take a late nap yesterday" universe, then the one that successfully stifled a sneeze last Tuesday, etc.

Of course, that WOULD explain why we have to repeat so many trials....

One word: Numina.

Anti-Matter's still single. He's trying to impress someone, so he's trying extra hard. Most of Positron's time and creative energy is spent... on other things.

I thought it was:

"If you can't say something nice, you're probably posting online."

You make a compelling case for a new forum game:

"Arcanaville Mad Libs"

I bet Jocas was from a previous "age of heroes" and his dagger is similar in origin to the mythical "god-killer" sword the Tsoo sought to use in Dark Astoria.


My suspicion is that the cycle we're seeing here has repeated itself over the centuries:

• the "potential" awakens, bringing with it a new age of heroes
• these heroes do great things, inspire legends and battle among themselves.
• the greatest powers become incarnate, and the greatest of these ascend.
• the ascended ones become so powerful that their wars threaten all mortals.
• as humanity becomes too dependent on the ascended (relying on the gods) their own "collective potential" diminishes and the well goes into a more dormant state.
• some seek to destroy those ascended (perhaps that era's equivalent of malta). The dagger of Jocas is an artifact from one of these, as is the god-killer sword.
• some seek to banish the ascended gods to the spirit world,
• some benevolent ascended may even voluntarily go so humanity can again develop its own potential.
• a few lesser powers stay behind, but don't directly intervene with humanity (the furies, as portrayed in the novel?)
• eventually, a new heroic age emerges and the cycle repeats.

This is due to the most powerful fundamental force in every universe:

Literary license.

Fans of the the Firefly series once speculated on the "map of the 'verse" and speed of travel in that universe. When asked, Joss said Serenity traveled at the "speed of drama." He didn't let the laws of physics dictate the story he wanted to tell, he just focused on what was necessary for a good story and ignored the niggling details.

People that like to build out a whole universe in great detail and expect everything to fit are bound to be disappointed by that, but that's the way it works. If the devs wanted to tell a tale with each familiar signature characters having a mirror opposite to show how things could have gone, that's their story, and they need all of the signature heroes' mirror selves to live for it.

I thought "researching Incarnates" was just the excuse he used when Numina caught him downloading videos of scantily-clad heroines?


It seems that some people will go pretty darn far to maintain their cover stories.

Thanks, Ned.

I love this community

I dunno, :


They just might go and make that canon just throw yet another monkeywrench into Samuraiko's "superhero romance."

That's a possibility.

We know that the job listings have suggested a next-gen MMO. We also know that the listings have suggested a "new intellectual property." I

We were under the impression that NCSoft bought all the rights to the CoH licensing, and if so, it'd seem foolish to toss aside an intellectual property that has gotten some brand recognition to go with a new name.

Then again, in the MMO field, sequel titles haven't always fared well-- One of the challenges a sequel has is convincing others it isn't just an expansion- a retread of a several-year-old game that's getting long in the tooth. It might be that they're challenging conventional wisdom that says "use the existing franchise" and betting that a "new superhero mmo brought to you by the same people that brought you CoH" may be more able to generate the new-user-buzz than an official sequel.

Like Statesman in a bar, drowning his sorrows over being killed off?
or Lord Recluse working in a hospital: "Its my day job- see, there's this badge..."

My first day in CoH I saw a massive team running around Galaxy city:

"Multiple Man
Mu1tiple Man
Mu1tip1e Man
Multip1e Man"
Multipl3 Man
etc

I imagined some GM having fun renaming them:

Generic Hero
G3neric Hero
G3n3ric Hero
Gen3ric Hero
etc.

Well, yeah, with the frequently-overheard mistells in Virtue Pocket D, I thought everyone knew that already.

Word salad can facilitate creative expression. Google translate can facilitate creative expression. A thesaurus can facilitate creative expression. These can all be used to facilitate creativity. In this you are incorrect. However, the people saying "be more creative" are equally incorrect.

Using the exact word you want for a specific symbolic meaning is incredibly creative. The intrinsic value of that word can contribute to the character and narration, granting the character a specific symbolic dimension that will NOT be the same with any old synonym or word combination. A single word carries substantial power, and the freedom of using the one that best works for your purposes is equally powerful.

Abandoning that vision by selecting another name isn't a matter of "being more creative." It is a matter of "abandoning a creative endeavor." Anyone that's had to step away from a powerful muse knows how difficult and unfulfilling that can be.

Yeah, was totally unaware of the Potter thing when I chose the "Arcanum". I didn't even do my golden rule of "google it" to see if there were alternative meanings. I was just making up a variation of "arcane" and pretended it meant "student of Arcane" in some fictional language. Arcane was supposed to a midnighter that had tried to get the somewhat reluctant and skeptical Chase to hone his natural magical talent. He only really came around to it after his death and chose the name as to give a tribute to the guy.

As time progressed and I became more familiar with the lore (like the Arcanus family) and "arcanum's" actual meaning... and the fact that there's already a well-known forum guru using an "arcan" variation... I just started liking it less, but by then it was the moniker I was most recognized by.

Actually, that brings up a unique naming system I'd once heard of, interesting, but with issues... and way too cumbersome for the modern MMO gamer. I mentioned it once before not because I endorse it, but because its so different:

You name the people you meet.

You essentially have the option to put an alias on anyone you encounter, calling them what you want to call them. That name then appears in above them, and that's the name you use see in chat for them and what you use to send them tells.
It worked something like this:

- you could "alias" anyone you want with any other name you wanted. You'd see that one instead.
- when I see someone I haven't alias'ed, it shows me the most common alias my friends use for that person instead. I can opt to use that one or create my own.
- if neither I nor my friends have alias'ed someone, it checks to see if there's an extremely popular name on the server. otherwise, it uses the person's own preferred name, which I can opt to use.
- I could see the "top" few names people are using for me, but not who was using them.

It was meant to:
1) let you label real jerks by name- and warning your friends, assuming that people would try to avoid negative IDs (forgetting that many people revel in negative attention)
2) let you manage identical names like you do in real life (Have 3 "Daves" at work, you may differentiate it with "Dave in IT" or lastname or nickname, etc).
3) encourage unique names without requiring them. People that don't want nicknames or alternatives will gravitate to the unique names. Those that want to be something less unique may call themselves whatever they want, but may find that others don't consider them the "real" freelancer as there's another more popularly-known "freelancer" already on the server. (On the other hand, someone who's "freelancer" running in different social circles than you are has no issue with using the same name you are using).

eh, was more of a private ribbing toward a friend that recruited me to CoH.

I never really liked it, but never could think of one better. I explain it away as him being somewhat distracted while registering as a hero ("Chase" is his first name)

"I always meant to get around to fixing that, but let's face it, combat isn't really the best place to try out a new name... Y'know, people yelling "Arcanum, DUCK!" and you totally don't realize they're yelling at YOU until WHAM! it hits. Much better to just keep with something you're familiar with, really...."

I don't see him as being dismissive.

He's at least acknowledging that he recognizes there IS a difference in values here, and that that difference is so broad that there may be no common ground to work on. Yes, it includes a snub toward the others' name. Yes, that's unnecessary, but that's a bit different than dismissing another person's entire position AND insulting them by saying they're just not creative.

(and yes, I do see the oddity in arguing this, given that my name, which started out as just a joke, is neither very creative nor very good)