Chase_Arcanum

Renowned
  • Posts

    1706
  • Joined

  1. And as counterbalance to Sam's post, I've always found blasters to be an enjoyable challenge well worth playing.

    I don't large-team, though, so the "force multipliers" that give the other ranged sets an edge over blasters don't really come into play. I also don't play to level 50 very often, as I find the late-game mechanics rather dull for any archetype.

    For me, the changes to blaster secondaries will help with pacing, the changes in range will make managing the attack chain easier (though I'm often a blapper) and the snipe bonus might surprise me as the assassin's strike changes did. I'll wait and see.

    About the only "blaster" issue that still frustrates me is the mezz issue, but I see that as a general-game-mechanic issue. Simply adding "more protection" would have been as it just extends the sets that have "all or nothing" protection while marginalizing the ones with "none at all." Addressing this would be a "total mezz redesign"-- not just a blaster thing.
  2. Quote:
    Originally Posted by GreenFIame View Post
    They just talked about it now, Snipe Attacks going get a buff with using Aim, giving you a quick Recharge. using Targeting Drone, Tactics or anything that increase Acc or whatever will Perma it.
    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.

    Quote:

    40 Foot Attacks will be able to fire at longer Range always form Melee Range.
    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.

    Quote:
    There Secondary powers will have a toggle, buff or heal that can keep them alive longer and lasting in a battle.
    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.
  3. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill View Post
    I swear, I'm going to outlive you just so, on that final day, I can pop my head in and say "By the way, EG, you were wrong." I don't care if i have to transplant my brain into a robot to do it.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
    Pthhth. I don't see why you have to wait that long. I do that all the time now.

    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.
  4. Chase_Arcanum

    I24 hopes?

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood View Post
    I don't think so, the devs seem to want us to take it seriously
    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....
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch View Post
    I don't know whats left of the East Coast, but this is an extremely interesting comment. Why hasn't posi done anything even remotely close to this? Also, space base? Our posi doesn't have one of those either. Why is he slacking so badly?
    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.
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Coyote_Seven View Post
    Here's something that I can guarantee that no one on the Internet ever follows:

    If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
    I thought it was:

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

    I24 hopes?

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
    That should be interesting. I might actually drag myself out of bed for that. I'm most interested to see what players' reaction will be to adding [redacted], [redacted], and especially [redacted] to [redacted]. Although making [redacted] into something like [redacted] when your [redacted] is [redacted] will also be interesting. Especially for /devices. And even I don't know what Arbiter Hawk is thinking about adding to [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted] since they don't [redacted].
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake View Post
    I love it when she talks dirty.
    You make a compelling case for a new forum game:

    "Arcanaville Mad Libs"
  8. Chase_Arcanum

    Jocas = Joking??

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJ_Korith View Post
    Does anyone else suspect that this "Jocas" may be a part of the Battalion? After all, weaponry which can mess around with Incarnate/Ascended power really sounds like their sort of thing...
    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.
  9. Chase_Arcanum

    I24 hopes?

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood View Post
    It just bugs me that the people in Preatoria are to similar given the differences in the history.
    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.
  10. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Golden Girl View Post
    Heroes now talk to Positron, who's been researching Incarnates.
    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.
  11. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Creole Ned View Post
    The CGW Museum has PDFs of most issues of the magazine. December 2004's issue says this about Issue 3 and the skill system:
    Thanks, Ned.
  12. Anyone have a December 04 issue of Computer Gaming World? Supposedly it was released with some exclusive info about the SSOOCS right before it was scrapped for "not being fun."

    EDIT:
    I haven't found the article, but from what I found of people recapping it:
    • Four skill trees: Detective, Science, Communication, or Scholarship. As you advanced, it more specialized branches appear (Detective breaks into "Forensics" and "security.
    • Wisdom. Skills can provide temporary buffs something "wisdom" at a university. Wisdom then leads to permanent skill buffs.
  13. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Organica View Post
    Another great hero name has been claimed on Virtue!



    He's a classic, iconic, four-color super hero! (It says so in his bio).
    I love this community
  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dark_Respite View Post
    Once they get this fixed, I'll have to play through this one.

    Michelle
    aka
    Samuraiko/Dark_Respite
    I dunno, :


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJ_Korith View Post
    Well, people can have two grandfathers (maternal and paternal).

    That would make Ms. Liberty's father (Patrick Duncan) the son of Positron.

    Typical last-naming conventions would defy this, though Patrick Duncan could have been adopted while retaining his old family name.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EvilGeko View Post
    Who said Positron knows about Patrick? It's entirely possible that Patrick was the result of a mistake when Positron was a teenager and the mother (Miss Duncan) had the child without telling Positron.

    EDIT: Hmm... wonder if I have a spare AE slot!
    They just might go and make that canon just throw yet another monkeywrench into Samuraiko's "superhero romance."
  15. Quote:
    Originally Posted by CactusBrawler View Post
    So if it's a Super hero MMO, but uses a different series of names, it's not CoH2?

    Despite having the same design team, artists and the like behind it?

    Or could it easily be called a spirtual sequal aka 'Coh 2'?
    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.
  16. Quote:
    Originally Posted by cursedsorcerer View Post
    Be honest... how many of you are secretly hoping Lord Recluse or Tyrant or someone from the CoX universe makes a cameo?
    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..."
  17. When someone multibox-solos a hamidon raid... THEN I'll be impressed.
  18. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rajani Isa View Post
    It'd be more impressive if he had the names looking the same without numbering them.

    Smurphy did it with his nemesis clone project. 8 Thug/Storms...

    Just one of those is something like 18 entities at once.
    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.
  19. Quote:
    Originally Posted by EU_Damz View Post
    The catgirls, they be multiplying!


    Well, yeah, with the frequently-overheard mistells in Virtue Pocket D, I thought everyone knew that already.
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Traska View Post
    Again, word salad =/= creativity. Using a thesaurus =/= creativity. Google Translate =/= creativity. There is nothing at all creative about calling the Blue Beetle the "Azure Scarab". There is nothing creative about calling Iron Man "The Awesome Armored Avenger". There is nothing creative about calling The Tick "Le Cocher". And there's nothing creative about tearing down a perfectly good character concept just to choose a name that doesn't fit. Many of my characters are easy to fit with the current name system. But many are not.
    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.
  21. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
    You think there's a possibility Harry Potter is summoning water fowl at your location?
    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.
  22. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sparkly Soldier View Post

    Also, in many superhero stories, the name of a character isn't something they came up with beforehand: it's the name the media gave them, that the townspeople started calling that mysterious rescuer making the headlines, and it stuck. So a name doesn't always have to be a precise reflection of the character's personality. Maybe the flame guy whose name is "Lord Asbestos" isn't weirdly pretentious: perhaps it's the name that some random crook mockingly called him during his very first mission ("hey look guys, check out Lord Asbestos there! Har har... ow..."), and the hero has a sense of humor and kept the name as kind of a dare for anyone else to try taking him lightly. Creativity isn't just creating in a void, it's also writing around the roadblocks that might spring up between the initial inspiration and the final story.
    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).
  23. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Blue Rabbit View Post
    It's not? I actually like your name. I must be missing the joke part...
    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...."
  24. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Forbin_Project View Post
    If you think that a person who chooses to use unique names means that you don't have common ground to discuss the naming conventions with that person, then your dismissive attitude negates any value your opinion on the subject has and can be dismissed as easily as you dismiss others.
    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)
  25. Yes. Kinda. its rebounding.

    I used to be an alt-aholic.

    My play time is rather limited, but it generally was spread (thinly) among a bunch of alts.

    Over the past year, most of that time instead went to "leveling up" 2 of my 50's with T3 incarnate slots rather than my preferred alting playstyle. I also found myself logging in considerably less and playing for shorter periods. It isn't that Incarnate content is bad, it just means more time concentrated on fewer characters, and I was left with too little time or motivation for anything else.

    With the release of the last issue, I decided to opt out of Incarnate play and focus on alting again. Its early, but I'm enjoying the game more, logging in more frequently, and coming up with so many alt stories that I'm tempted to get back into doing fancomics (which, ironically, will result in even LESS time playing the game than I had with Incarnate leveling, but I guess I just swing between the extremes, eh?).