Dumok

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I put up another one and would love feedback on it. I've been able to through and play Whiteseeker's, PoliceWoman's, Bill's, and Dumok's. When I get some more time I will play the rest. Here's my next:

Arc Name: Legacy Chain Task Force
Arc ID: 19767
Morality: Heroic
Enemy Faction: Circle of Thorns (Primary), Longbow, Mother Mayhem's minions
Creator Global/Forum Name: Test Center Global @alyiah, Forum Name Alyiah
Difficulty Level: Medium
Synopsis: The Legacy Chain has chased a Circle of Thorns mage to Paragon City, attempting to stop him before he summons the Demon Kings to the mortal plane. But the mystery doesn't stop there. Your contact seems to be hiding something as well. The final mission has some EB/AVs, but you will have help and should be able to solo.
Estimated Time to Play: Hour maybe

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Your Arc ID is actually: 19676

I also highly recommend this arc. It's better than most of the 5 Star arcs I've played on test.

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in i13 they made an attempt at transforming pvp into a "solo" viable experience. By DR'ing everyone to the point where team cohesion no longer really matters and by making everyone have similar/same damage and similar/same survivability.

Of course they failed entirely in the survivability department. But they are taking care of that in i14 by now ensuring def will be pretty useless to.

So res, heals, def, buffs, and most debuffs now don't really matter and even phase is counterable (maybe). So the only thing that matters is damage. But don't think for a second that some toons won't have better everything still. Not until Castle is able to execute his final pvp vision.

Castle's goal is basically to reduce everyone down to brawl and sprint and he is doing a good job.

Some might find that fun in a game about supers, in a game that they introduced loot to, in a team based MMO, but it isn't.

The goal of "everyone is the same" is entirely flawed in an MMO that brags about player customization. They would have been so much better served by embracing the wild and chaotic team based balance that the early dev team aimed for.

However, the same [censored] that whined in pve about not being able to solo all of the content and was listened to, whined in pvp and was listened to, just look at the anti-gank mechanic Castle tried to jam in and was ONLY removed because it was bugged and could not be fixed (for now).

However, Castle (and crew) live in spreadsheets, which is why it takes literally yrs for most changes to occur and why it makes them seem totally out of the blue. Team based balance can not be governed by only an excel spreadsheet, it has to be playtested, observed and tweaked basically on the fly with a scalpel.

Castle only has a sledgehammer, the dev team are pve carebears, and you can count on one hand how many times they observed high end pvp.

So we get brawl+sprint as the end goal for pvp and each issue Castle takes steps toward it.

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Too bad I can't sig this entire post.

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Open world PvP fails in just about every single MMO out there, even one like Warhammer that was built around the concept.

Instanced PvP with equal number of teammates, mini-games, and rewards is the way to go.

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I disagree.

Planetside had awesome open world PvP.

Warhammer on the other hand has many other factors for why their open world PvP concept failed. For one, I don't think level based is ever viable to mix with an open world pvp game. Sure they say their concept is based on a open world pvp game, but it isn't. They're core game is based around RvR lakes, very similar to having PvP zones, along with instanced based PvP. They just happen to have PvP servers. Doesn't make it a game focused on open world PvP to me.

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Never played Planetside so I'll have to take your word for it.

RvR "Lakes" seems the same as Open WOrld PvP to me. Same as PvP zones in CoH. They stay the same and you come and go as you please.

Between RvR lakes and Scenarios, which one in your opinion was used by a larger percentage of the population.

I know I participated in both but found the Scenarios to be MUCH more enjoyable and much more frequent. Simply starting both sides with equal numbers is a big step towards having balanced gameplay in PvP in my eyes.

I liked Warhammer PvP just like I enjoyed WoW PvP, but that like was limited to the scenarios/battlegrounds.

I just wish CoH would get on that train and get off the one that they are currently on.

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I did Dark Dreams yesterday and it was pretty nice, I liked the custom mobs. It was a little hard though when I tried it with my 32 Dominator, 1 enemy killed me.

I also remember seeing some typos. You should add more clues or explantions too, it was hard to understand why some of the characters were there. Explanations are better in clues too.

Overall, I liked it, had fun.

Here's mine: (STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A REVIEW FROM THIS POST!)
It's ready!

Birth of a Fossil
Arc ID: 18632
Length: Very Long
Morality: Heroic
Plot: A long time ago... Dragons ruled the world. No one knows what happened to them. Now, a fossil of one of the greatest has been found. Who shall claim it's power? Be the hero that caused the birth of the villain Fossil Dragon!
Author: @PartyClown

I've just completed my very first arc and I'd like some comments on story, difficulty and writing, especially syntax as I tend to use some french ones. I'd also need some technical testing if possible.

Thanks in advance! Hope you like it and have fun!

P.S. Terribly sorry about the circle maps but it was fitting story-wise!

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Hoy Clown- take a quick look at the first post on this page. Might be surprised

EDIT- Did I kill the thread or something? Also, I wouldn't mind more reviews of my arcs... I think I've gotten all of one for each >.<

And I'm morbidly curious... thus far every person who's tried my second arc, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising", has had a different problem with it. Not mistakes, per se, just balancing stuff, or 'yeah, this didn't really work for me'. And none of them are ever the same! It's starting to make me a bit neurotic >.<

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I really enjoyed the arc except for the Malta on the Cargo Ship map. That one just seemed "off" for me and was very deadly.
Perhaps add in a few of your custom robots for flavor. Perhaps an ally as well.

The first mission was a blast. The Ally was perfect. He helped but didn't plow thru the mission killing everything. He really liked to use his secondary and buffed alot. Playing a THugs/Pain MM is was empowering to say the least.

Open world PvP fails in just about every single MMO out there, even one like Warhammer that was built around the concept.

Instanced PvP with equal number of teammates, mini-games, and rewards is the way to go.

Don't worry, the dev's only took 4 years to figure out PvP could use rewards so the instancing and balanced teams concept is probably just a decade or so away from happening.

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Bugs:
* The contact says that Thunderhead is already inside. The hero inside is named Shockriot.

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Fixed.
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* Shockriot's electric field kills his captors, resulting in me getting a clue out of nowhere and an ambush at the door. If the ambush was intended, I'd remove the clue since it makes it look like an obvious bug.

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Changed Shockriot's powersets a bit to eliminate Electric Field. The colors of the electrical powers don't mesh as well but is better than throwing a wrench into the mechanics of the encounters.

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* Emerald Star is useless past the first floor since she keeps getting stuck in the elevator on that floor. I can reproduce this bug over and over, she gets stuck trying to fly into the doors of the far back elevator but never moves. Maybe try removing her flight power?

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Did just that and ran a test run through and she was with me to the end with no problems... at least until the end boss stomped her.
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* The contact says for the second mission that some heroes already went in but the only one I found was Emerald Star. Is Malaise supposed to count?

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Not sure what happened here but there were supposed to be 2 heroes in there to find but when I went to check it today the second one wasn't in at all. Either the MA didn't save it or I messed something up when editing (most likely). Should be fixed now.

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* The Dark Oak ambush is beatable now, but still annoying. The issue here was they spawned on a set of stairs, and with all the roots making me unable to jump and all those Carrion Creepers I had to kill every creeper in my way as I slowly ran into meelee range, making it a long fight.


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Toned down and tested, then toned down again with slightly different primary powerset. I wanted to keep the Plant motif but did not like how the encounter played out with Plant Control so went with Thorny assault with only first 2 powers so no damn thorntrops.
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Nitpicks:
* The first mission feels like it should be an escort. I know people hate them, but with the ambushes being trigger when he's freed, how is he supposed to make it back down 5 floors to escape?

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Took your advice and redid it as an escort. Actually seems to work out better as well as making more sense. Having a little issue with one encounter on the way out with Harold though.



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* Seth is somewhat useless of an Ally against these foes. I know Illusion is thematically appropriate for him, but these foes are all resistant to Psi damage and fear, so he makes rather little impact during the fight with the Shadow Beast.

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I didn't even realize the powersets involved. BIG oversight on my part. Changed Seth a bit with secondary. Kept Illusion as primary but replaced Psi Assault with Earth Control. He helps but won't win the fight for you without major help.

Gawd I hope I didn't break anything when fixing this stuff.

Thanks for the feedback Lazarus. I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the feedback.

Lazarus also pointed out one of my bigger oops moments in that arc.
In one of the ambushes it's supposed to be Lt. (hard/hard) mob and instead I entered in an older version Boss (hard/extreme). Doh!
Went back and fixed that brainfart as well as fluffed out some clues and other stuff.
Been thinking of adding 1 more mission to that arc in the middle to try and explain how "M" discovers the kid but not quite sure how to do it just yet.

EDIT: Very sorry about that Lazarus.
On a related note, ideally I'd like that ambush to be just one single critter that's decently challenging but nothing to worry over. I can't seem to get single critter ambushes though. Am I overlooking something on how to do that?

Dark Dreams
Arc ID: 18914
Length: Medium
Morality: Heroic
Mission 1: Unique map, level range 1-54, Contains Ambush, Release Captive, Ally.
Mission 2: Unique map, level range 45-54, Contains Ambush, Boss( 2 AVs encountered seperately), Ally (2 to help with AVs)
Enemy Groups: Custom
Description: A frantic 911 call about shadowy monsters invading an office building during their annual Father/Son Day sets off a story of where these strange monsters came from and why they are so interested in a young boy named Seth McNiel. (Tried to make it solo friendly).

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Arc Name: The Amulet of J'gara
Arc ID: 16977
Faction: Tuatha de Dannon, Circle of Thorns, Void Demons
Creator Global Name: @Lazarus
Difficulty Level: Medium
Synopsis: A pair of Midnighters have disappeared while on a mission to Croatoa. What begins as a rescue leads to an assault on the Midnight Club itself and a battle for your own mind and soul. (AV present, Allies are provided.)
Mission Count: 4
Estimated Time to Play: 25-45 minutes

I'm currently testing some improved allies in the 4th mission. I'd most like to know if they make the AV too easy or don't help enough. Also, be sure to list your level, archetype, and primary/secondary so I can put such feedback into perspective.


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Typo: Midnight Club Raid mission
NPC dialogue: "We won't let your plunder this place!"
should be "We won't let you plunder this place!"

I liked the missions. Wasn't really a bad one in the bunch. I like how it went with the twist. I really liked the last mish.
The critters in the last mission are scaringly similiar to what I used in my arc.... guess I wasn't as original as I thought.

The last mission could use a bit more fluff I think. The NPC allies could use a bit more in the descriptions is all.

Love the ambiance of that last mission though. Spot on what you were shooting for.

Overall I give it 4 stars. I give it 4 stars because I think this arc could be polished even more and fully filled out and be amazing. I hope you continue working on it as I think it's a diamond in the rough right now.
Will recommend to friends and even play again probably.

Note: Cleverly done with the book on the alter in the second mish. Normally you think you are clicking on the alter to get the clue or whatever. It wasn't till I saw the clue that I realized that I had read the book on top of the alter. Bravo sir, bravo.
(It's the small things that get me.)

Just finished The Echo

Overall a very good arc. I actually like the gut wrenching twist at the end.
My only real complaint is the last mission I ended up running all over the map several times trying to find the Boss spawns. It got old very fast. Maybe have all the spawn points in the front or just in the back.

I'd recommend this arc on the NPC dialog alone though. Most of the little tidbits found thru NPC chatter and the clues are pure gold.

Now on to try and find a team for Stormy_Defender's arc.

If I end up runing solo I'll probably run...

Arc Name: The Amulet of J'gara
Arc ID: 16977
Faction: Tuatha de Dannon, Circle of Thorns, Void Demons
Creator Global Name: @Lazarus
Difficulty Level: Medium
Synopsis: A pair of Midnighters have disappeared while on a mission to Croatoa. What begins as a rescue leads to an assault on the Midnight Club itself and a battle for your own mind and soul. (AV present, Allies are provided.)
Mission Count: 4
Estimated Time to Play: 25-45 minutes

PS: I see a ton of heroes running arcs so to get a different perspective I am running arcs with a Thugs/Pain MM.

EDIT: I republished my arc

Dark Dreams
Arc ID: 18914
Length: Medium
Morality: Heroic
Mission 1: Unique map, level range 1-54, Contains Ambush, Release Captive, Ally.
Mission 2: Unique map, level range 45-54, Contains Ambush, Boss( 2 AVs encountered seperately), Ally
Enemy Groups: Custom
Description: A frantic 911 call about shadowy monsters invading an office building during their annual Father/Son Day sets off a story of where these strange monsters came from and why they are so interested in a young boy named Seth McNiel. (Tried to make it solo friendly).

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The Echo

Just ran thru the first two missions before test went down for maintenance.

1) I liked the dialogue from the Freaks. I've seen so much Freak chatter over the years that I tend to ignore it but these Freaks are up to something entirely different.
The dialogue from the Boss at the end is pretty good as well as the clue.

2) I agree with Chameleon, the Archivists SOOOOOO need handlebar mustaches.



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LMAO I'm on it. lol you're both SO right.

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Likes: The critters. Fun but not under or overpowered. They fit the theme of the story. (I was totally expecting to enter and have to fight the usual Crey mobs so it was a very pleasant surprise to find these critters.
The "Wrong" computer entries, lol.... You really have to make an arc about the cyborg nuns from the future now. The puns were nice as well.

Dislikes: The Head Librarian's look was all there except the head. Is he supposed to be wearing a robot helmet? I was thinking a Derby would fit just right.



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erm, now that you mention it, I'm not sure what happened there. i made him before the others, I was going to just put him in with a bunch of normal crey. I sort of started out with his head and then got carried away when i discovered that hideous suit he's wearing. I think now i';m kind of partial to his ludicrous helmet. lol. I'll have a look though, it doesn seem a bit bizarre.

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Computers seemed to take an annoyingly long time to activate. When an ambush would happen it would be when the bar still had about 1/4 left to go as well.



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Hm..I didnt put any ambushes in. There's one patrol i think from one of the glowies...

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I'm going to play the 3rd mish after supper and hopefully Test will be back by then.

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Awesome! Its quite late here now unfortunately, and Ive got work early tomorrow, so i might not respond till tomorrow. Thanks v much for playing it and look forward to your further comments.

Eco.

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Maybe it's that his helmet is borderline strange that seems off to me.
It's not in the style of everything else and it's not completely over the top which might be funny and really stand out. As it stands now the first impression I got was either it's a bug or a simple mistake.
Just my .02 on that.

I'm pathetic. I should be critiquing the writing and mission layout and instead I'm hung up on ONE dang helmet.....

The Echo

Just ran thru the first two missions before test went down for maintenance.

1) I liked the dialogue from the Freaks. I've seen so much Freak chatter over the years that I tend to ignore it but these Freaks are up to something entirely different.
The dialogue from the Boss at the end is pretty good as well as the clue.

2) I agree with Chameleon, the Archivists SOOOOOO need handlebar mustaches.
Likes: The critters. Fun but not under or overpowered. They fit the theme of the story. (I was totally expecting to enter and have to fight the usual Crey mobs so it was a very pleasant surprise to find these critters.
The "Wrong" computer entries, lol.... You really have to make an arc about the cyborg nuns from the future now. The puns were nice as well.

Dislikes: The Head Librarian's look was all there except the head. Is he supposed to be wearing a robot helmet? I was thinking a Derby would fit just right.

Computers seemed to take an annoyingly long time to activate. When an ambush would happen it would be when the bar still had about 1/4 left to go as well.


I'm going to play the 3rd mish after supper and hopefully Test will be back by then.

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Sorry you couldn't make it through the first mission. You're not alone in that. You are the first to take a villain AT in so it is good to get feedback. Though I really thought an MM wouldn't have that much trouble. They always seem to blow me up in PvP. Was Hoarathos running on you? He seemed to like doing that against my defenders when I'd debuff his accuracy. Anyway, I generally like to think my stormy is pretty sad when it comes to EB fights so I tend to figure that if I can get through the missions with her then most people can. I should reassess that, I suppose.

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Well, the reason Hoarathos gave me so much trouble is because I'm an idiot.
I logged in today and happened to check my challenge rating.... and it's on Relentless (5).
Like I said, I'm an idiot.

Going to go at it again tonight on lowest setting.

@Teh Chameleon: I really liked the concept and the critters fit. The only thing I found "off" was that the "Mean Girl" and "Bully" seemed to spawn alot and only as singles.

Maybe have a boss critter named "Big Bully" mixed in with the normal Lt. "Bullys".

I think I need to start playing arcs twice. Once on Heroic, once on another setting just in case there ARE bosses like that but I'm just not seeing them because of challenge rating.

I really like the atmosphere of the Green Fog Office map. Is there one that's like that in atmosphere but not green and watery. I know the hellions one is on fire but not exactly what I was looking for.

I ramble alot.

Test MA ARC: ID#13886 The Magical Miss Fitz

Just tried this one.

The dialogue is great. Had me grinning by the second sentence and chuckling by the end.

I only made it partially thru the first mission as I was running solo and this is made for teams (and CLEARLY states so).

The first mish is nice and short. The only thing that had me wondering was why the hostages just stood there after being rescued? I thought they usually ran off.

Going to try and bring a team the next time I run this one. It's got me interested how the rest of the story unfolds.

@Stormy_Defender: Took your advice and switched out Thunderhead for something close, but less annoying. Also changed a few other things.

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Arc: 'Small Fears'
Arc ID: 6528
Length: Medium
Missions: 3 (nothing major- medium is a fairly accurate description)

Description: No matter how happy your childhood, there are always a few corners of darkness, little pockets of black fear that every child knows. And now those shadows are expanding. Something is clawing out of the lost childhood of Paragon. Are you ready? Ready to confront the forgotten fears of the nursery?

((It's a horror-themed arc; I really have no idea why that popped out of my brain, but it did; feel free to absolutely savage it, since horror is way outside my normal purview, and it's open to question whether or not I have the faintest clue what I'm doing with it :/))

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Definetely better than its last installments, even getting mildly creepy. Mission objective text is way wordy and would be much better placed in clues and contact dialogue, but it's without a doubt getting better.

Mother Mayhem suddenly coming back after just being beaten down in another universe is also a little...loosely plausible. It'd be much better if she showed up with either another Praetorian at her side or at least a bunch of her group.


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I agree. I had alot of fun playing this arc though.

lemme give this a try.

Arc: Dark Dreams
ID: 18436
Length: Medium
Missions: 2
Descriptions: A frantic 911 call about shadowy monsters invading an office building during thier annual Father/Son Day sets off a story of where these strange monsters came from and why they are so interested in a young boy named Seth McNiel.

(First attempt at an arc. Tried to make it solo friendly)

Leader: @Dumok, @Dumok2
Leader: @Hush
Leader: @Throttle Body
Leader: @Arctic Autzen
============

- - - - - - - - - -
@Broken Shards
@KvO aka Prince Char
@Power-Trip2
@Otelo, @Otelo1 @Otelo2,@Otelo3
@Ikken
@Cozy, @Cozy2
@Hateball
@I've Got A Glass Jaw
@Roaring Thunder
@Nullbyte
@Mr.Bender
@Ziva >>>>changed to @ The Ziva
@Kanehllfir
@Havok d i ls
@Mr.Artifice

Adding
@Ninja Havoc

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I shouldnt have said The Association is bad like that, as there are some of you guys that are decent.

But I do see some global names that got removed that I have seen in RV. Cartoon snail is probably the worst when it comes to complaining about being killed.

Anyways I hope to see Bloodline turn into a good group.

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We must really suck if Bluejoules is deciding that some of us are "decent".

===================
Leader: @Dumok, @Dumok2
Leader: @Hush
Leader: @Throttle Body
Leader: @Arctic Autzen
============
- - - - - - - - - -
@Broken Shards
@KvO aka Prince Char
@Kotchie
@Power-Trip2
@Lord Nefarious Inc.
@-Toy
@Otelo, @Xunx, @Kyole
@Rocky Riot
@Daddy-o
@Dethemental
@New York Chris
@War-Frog
@Ikken
@Fallen Knights
@Cartoon Snail
@NervRa
@Raze
@Cozy, @Cozy2
@Hateball
@I've Got A Glass Jaw
@Roaring Thunder
@Nullbyte
@Mr.Bender
@Ziva

=============
Adding
@Mr.Bender
@Ziva

2 popcicle sticks and some duct tape...no problem.

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@calescent
@darksiege
@iniquitos


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Calescent should not have to wait 2 weeks as he was not an "Active" Ladder roster.
We won't be considered active until our challenge to Resurrection is decided one way or another.

At least that's how I read the rules.

I remember fightin ya.

Fun times.

might wanna list toons you have.

I and some others on the team have TPvPL going on.

Still might be doable though. PM either @Carebear or @Hush, they might have a better idea.

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damn 32 people and 8 only get to start. sounds like highschool football.

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Why don't you make it 33?

============
Leader: @Dumok, @Dumok2
Leader: @Hush
Leader: @Throttle Body
Leader: @Arctic Autzen
============
- - - - - - - - - -
@Hateball
@Syndace
@Broken Shards
@davidian
@detroit1
@Jericho 2.0
@Kryptic
@KvO aka Prince Char
@Kotchie
@Power-Trip2
@Seraph Trance1
@Lord Nefarious Inc.
@Da Crusha
@-Toy
@Otelo, @Xunx, @Kyole
@Rocky Riot
@Daddy-o
@Dethemental
@New York Chris
@War-Frog
@morgify X
@SerialCrushr , @HammerofGod
@Galacticus Prime
@Ikken
@Forge 4 Grrrrrr
@Fallen Knights
@Cartoon Snail
@big Soto, @Lord Soto,@Dark Soto
@NervRa
@calescent, @darksiege , @iniquitos
@Demon Siege
@Raze
@D A N G E R
@LaZyie

Removing @Terpman per his request in the other thread, unless he changes his mind.