Heraclea

Yes, you can do both of those things.

You learn interesting things about mobs besides. I was making a custom Circle of Thorns subset, because I wanted the Succubus and the Hordelings to spawn blueside if appropriate to the levels. I also wanted the story to be playable between 12 and 40, so I failed to include the spectres.

It seems the reason you get so many Fire, Earth, and Air mages in the standard spawns is because there are several copies of those mobs with identical names and slightly different powers. I added only one of each. Removing them skews the spawns in favor of the archer and behemoth guys; you may get one mage per spawn but never spawns of three mages on solo.

You may keep your damned Speed Boost to yourself, please.

I'd rather know what's going to happen when I try to move. And if you must go zipping off ahead of the tanker, you do so at your own risk.

It seems that one of every two Controllers has Kinetics instead of a useful buff set. For Defenders it seems almost as bad. This is a source of some frustration.

Enjoyed all of the custom characters and reading their descriptions. The "M" chest detail was a stroke of genius in itself well worth the admission.

I think that since the patch made them harder some of them might be revisited. The scrapper I played through with had a tough time on some of the large spawns.

Also, I'd make more use of mob statements around the hostages and toss in a couple patrols with different patrol statements, just to add some characterization and color. The only NPC speech was the end boss, really. Optional bosses are also a good idea, if only because they can give more speeches as well.

This works even if the two events are different types, as well. You can make a mission to display:

2 secret agents to rescue
...
Rescue the last agent
...

and it works even if there's only one NPC to rescue, and the second instance is actually attached to the glowie Pile of Bones.

Bad nav text is GOOD, though. One of these days I am going to make a mission with a boss or clickie whose nav text is "Defeat 10 Skulls".

I use a lot of unique maps. Most of the maps with "character" are unique maps - Infernal's lair, the Hellion abandoned office, all the Croatoa maps. Non-unique maps are caves, warehouses, and offices.

I also use a lot of outdoor maps. They typically suit my style well, which involves using lots of patrols for color text, using multiple misleading items, and hiding things in plain sight. Outdoor maps suit different play styles well; you can steamroll the mobs, or you can pick off the significant details and be done with it.

I was quite proud of my Lesbian Hellions. Some can still be seen as Reformed Hellions in "The Cathedral of Mild Discomfort"

Of my current live designs, the Amazon army of CoMD is based on several of my characters, so I tend to like them as pure design. I'm also fairly fond of the American Woman from "Jerk Hackers!" Uncle Sam is also spot-on, but he is very easy to do. The American Woman looks a lot like Donna Reed, which is what I was going for. It looks great when she produces her assault rifle out of nowhere.

My forthcoming story has some nice designs in it, especially with the Killjoys. The Killjoy Puritan is based on Witchfinder General's costume, with some of the magic pack stuff added. The Killjoy Klansman and the Killjoy Prelate are also fairly nice designs.

I also saw snake eggs and shadow cyst crystals on the list of destructable items.

AE System to Holiday

I have had to split up the list in order to post a revision, otherwise, I get an error. This is now in two parts.

AE System
--------
[url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13315151]Mission Architect Playable Tutorial - 28470
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
Signal to Noise -- Neutral -- 67277
5th Anniversary Flashback Smackdown -- Neutral -- 126896
*

Allegory
---------
Who is Kidnapping the World's Great Philosophers? -- Neutral -- 86347
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
Secret Origins(Tech) The Snake Women of Epsilon V (42221) - Heroic
Noah Reborn -- Heroic (2370)
Polar Emergence Neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 - Heroic
Jumping in Feet First - Heroic - 1345
Midnight Bells Toll ----Villanious
A Hero is made, Not Born. -- Heroic -- Arc# 20863
A Mother's Nightmare -- Heroic -- #6955
*
A Rose's Thorns -- Heroic -- 113224


Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
--------
THE BOMBER --- Heroic --- Arc 16607
In The Shadow of Statesman --Neutral--1160
A Show to Die For! --- Heroic --- 30645
Check... and Mate #15095 - Heroic - Mini Task Force
Teen Phalanx Forever! -- Heroic (67335)
This Life Immortal - (5756) Heroic
Paradox Paradox - (69221) Heroic Stop yourself and Stellar from being erased!
Sidekicks Can Be A Pain In The Cape - (28430)
'Tis Nobler in the Mind - Heroic
Deadly Sins! - 99366: fairly tough arc, can be solo'd.
Marketing Opportunity - Villainous - 83747
To Save A Single World - Heroic - 83744
*


Comedy
--------
The String Thief, Arc ID: 15726 Neutral 1-54
Mean People, Arc ID:16690 Neutral 1-54
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic (2595)
MacGuffin Delivery Service (1567) -- Villainous
ParaCon -- Heroic (1684)
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
Trademark Infringement -- Heroic (2220)
Hail to the King Neutral (34640)
Walk On the Wild Side - Neutral - 3580
Shirley You Jest (25474) -- Neutral
The Invasion of the Bikini Clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space! - Heroic - 61013
Gnomish Madness (30204) - Heroic
Doctor Nadir and the Hellion Heist (49661) - Heroic
Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE! - Heroic
The P.U.G. Strike force (arc 35585) -Villian
A Translator is the Wind or the Thunder in Turns -- (2936) - Heroic
What's in a Name? - Villainous
None More Black, Dude! (#86312) Neutral
Rise of the Drakule - Neutral
Return of the Revenge of the Son of Drakule Part 2: First Blood - Neutral
Martian Chimpanzees and the Cyborg Cheerleaders of DOOM! (Arc #69947) - Heroic
Daytime Divas - #94504 Where else can you get a hair extension as a souvenir?
Death to Disco! - (Neutral, 84420) A short arc that has time travel, silk shirts, platform shoes, Jimmy Carter and a chance to save Rock and Roll.
Too Many Bunnygirls! - ID#101165(neutral). Time to stop them once and for all.
Invasion on Earth BX1132! - Neutral - 45+ - #98943
Ee=Ai-Ee-Ai-Oh! - Neutral - 3662
The foul-mouthed Handyman! - Neutral - 1076
City of Norms - Neutral - 132944
Killing The Meow Farm - 141625 - Neutral
Shortbow - Arc ID: 143566 - Heroic Lvl: 30-38
Jerk Hackers! - Heroic (162482)
*
Comedy/Drama
--------
Kidnapping an Idol 136188 Neutral
Fashion Apocalypse - Neutral - 14840
The Running of the Bulls -- Heroic 29973
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic (12669)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019)
The Toypocalypse! (49280) - Heroic
Fishing for Fame with Red Herring - Heroic (66861)
Putting Out Fires: A Corporate Satire (20100) - Villainous
The Rise and Refall of Pets'n'Things.com - Heroic - 1061
The Cat's in the Cradle (8776) - Villainous
Females for Hire - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
The Cathedral of Mild Discomfort - Heroic (153712)
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
Bricked Electronics -- Heroic (LIVE! 2180)
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
The Black Flag Is On The Rise (Pirates!) - Villainous
Win the 2009 Freak-Lympics (2150) - Villainous
Ninja Crimewave! (2142) - Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
The Internet is for Crime (53385) - Villains
Plastic Pistol Peril (1135) - Heroic
Friends in Need (Of Body Parts) - Villainous (31005)
A Little RnR - Heroic (17523) click for Promotional Poster
Mechanical Mayhem - Villainous (76721)
Females for Hire (about a mercenary gang) - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
Battlin' Tom's Murder Extravaganza! -- Villainous -- 99803
*

Drama
--------
The Conciliators: Simone -- Heroic (4010)
The Fan Club -- Heroic
Matchstick Women -- Heroic -- 3369
Of Mentors and Legacy - Heroic - 1589
Digital Love -- Neutral -- 3571
A Flame the Burns Bright- 112548
Clonus, Parts 1 & 2 - Arc ID: 21499 - Heroic Lvl 30-54
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
*

Global Destruction
--------
The Twilight of this Blue Orb -- Villainous (98529)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (1388)
Easy Money -- Villainous (31490)
The Great Diamond Heist -- Villainous (96169)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
Wrinkle in Time -- Heroic(68920)
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
Origins - Volume 1 (57077) -- Heroic
The Once and Future King (#71601) - Heroic
*

Holiday
--------
City of Ho Ho Ho #18775 - Heroic
Hectic Holidays -- Heroic (36999) also comedy
Santa's Missing List - 34961
Santa's Workshop of Misfit Toys - heroic - 134140
*

My experience has been somewhat different. The MA has been and continues to be a good way to level up your characters at least to level 32, and it is far easier to keep those characters in current DO's and SO's using tickets than it is by collecting influence in the outside game. My older characters all needed cash infusions during the teens and twenties, and did not become self supporting until the thirties levels. My post-MA characters have all done well for themselves.

I have not sought out farm maps to level on, either. The characters grew by finding missions that looked interesting, not specifically for farming.

When you hit level 32 the balance seems to shift away from MA. That's when you can equip the level 35 IOs that are as good as white SO's, and you start looking to replace expiring SOs with permanent generic IOs and the sets that give helpful bonuses. MA falls behind because you can only roll for recipes, without being able to pick the ones you need: in that tickets are worse than merits, which can be saved for specific needs.

On the other hand, I am slowly converting the salvage storage in my SG from a repository of rare and uncommon salvage to common salvage. Rares and uncommons can always be made to order through MA. Common salvage is a roll. Since, at least during the farm craze weeks, common salvage was a field day for gougers at the market, buying it for inf is out of the question. But if I have the commons I need, I can acquire the rest and make any recipe I want.

The only difference now appears to be the lack of patrol XP bonuses in MA. And this, I don't really mind, since the bonus is not lost, just postponed.

[ QUOTE ]
that's a mind field

[/ QUOTE ]

Resolves: My next tale will include a mind field as well.

[ QUOTE ]
Is it possible it was more copyright infringement? after all there's the novel Monstrous Regiment about recruiting er... gender ambiguous soldiers... I do not think it probably violated that either, but maybe between the two issues they figured it came too close to two lines to be given benefit of doubt?

[/ QUOTE ]

Pratchett borrowed his title from a screed by John Knox from 1558, which makes it public domain and fair game for anybody.

Scenario:

Hero once was kidnapped by Villain Group. Got to know them, concluded that Villain Group was at minimum not irredeemably bad, and came to like them.

Hero learns that some in the PPD have unpleasant plans for the members of the Villain Group in custody. Hero contacts you, the player, to bust them out.

Is this basic plot:<ul type="square">[*] (__) Villainous, or[*](__) Heroic?[/list]
I'm inclined to go with Villainous.

Some say that Villainous should only be used on missions with purely mercenary or power-hungry scenarios. Stories where you set out to help the contact out of sympathy cannot be Villainous.

What it is, more than anything else, is Chaotic - but that isn't an alignment option in the game. I am leaning towards Villainous, partially because I want a Villainous arc (and my current live ones ain't); but mostly because this mission will pit you against police, and people who imagine they're on the side of the angels as enemies.

Isn't it wonderful that Mission Architect raises all of these ethical and political complexities?

I am too easily bored to do any repetitious activity that comes even halfway close to generating 1500 tickets in a single mission. Not going to alter my interest even slightly.

Loss of the chicken tug animation, though, is a blow that strikes straight to the heart.

I have a brute that's been waiting for just this sort of thing, and that I mean to bring over to blueside if that becomes possible. Assuming that it doesn't mean starting over at level 1, losing your enhancements and so forth; that would give pause.

I can't see sending many heroes over there, though.

Unless something else seems needful for plot purposes, I always use the main title for the mission title and something beginning "Part One:" and so forth as the subtitle. E.g.

Jerk Hackers!
Prologue: This is how it starts ...

Jerk Hackers!
Part two: Gone to the Americans

Jerk Hackers!
Finale: Going for the gold!

If it's an indoor map, you may be able to rely a little on the front / middle / back switches, and put the events that spawn the boss in the back. A kludge, but the best I can think of.

[ QUOTE ]
I tried random civilians in one of my arcs, guarded by ghosts, and the hostages ended up being ghosts. The worst thing is that rescuing the 6 civilians triggers the boss, so I ended up with 6 clones that use the same 6 lines, kind of spooky.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is supposed to be fixed in the most recent patch: and the fact that at least the hostages aren't from the surrounding group like they used to be suggests that it has been fixed, at least partly. You might try and look at it again.

Since, unlike item names, rescue names are for internal reference alone and not shown to the player, you could also try making several rescues where there was only the one repeated 6 times. That way, you could give them different lines. If you use the same plural tag for each, the MA does the math and displays them as an aggregate.

[ QUOTE ]
Still, 1.5X is a heck of a lot faster than 2X once you hit 32

[/ QUOTE ]

Math is hard.

Ain't never been. All that double XP counts for in the MA is debt deduction.

On the other hand, MA doesn't eat any of your accumulated double XP, either, except when you get debt; it just shoves it forward.

I have many such characters. Most of them end up using bits and pieces of the Cimerora and Valkyrie sets, largely because they have a shared background. Here are some of mine:

<ul type="square">[*]Egeria[*]Heraclea (actually Inv/SS)[*]Beata Beatrix (SS/Inv)[*]Androphonissa[/list]

I like WP/Dark for the same reason. It's also a fairly free build, at least as Willpower goes - a Willpower tanker does not need to take Dark Consumption, for instance.

Ice/Dark might be quite powerful as well, with all of that to hit debuff synching well with a defense based set; I am not a big fan of Ice, for aesthetic more than performance reasons, so I have not tried it.

Dark is also somewhat underrated as an AoE set, mostly because of the recharge issue. But a tanker needs an AoE mostly as a first strike to get aggro control, and since Dark potentially has three of them, something ought to be available to you just about every spawn. For Willpower, again, I'd recommend skipping Dark Consumption and going with something from an ancillary pool - mine has Salt Crystals, which I like a lot even if the sleep gets broken immediately. You're still debuffing defense and getting aggro over a huge radius.

I also like Dark/Energy. Dark Armor is about the only primary I'd recommend to pair with Energy Melee in its current state. You get more mileage out of all that chance to stun. Dark/Mace may have almost as much potential. Dark/Ice is nice for pure control as well - that's what my Dark Armor tank is.

[ QUOTE ]
I ran an ITF a few days ago as a Shields Tanker. Never died. Not even tanking Rommie. Had an easier time than even my Inv Tanker.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you have a defender or controller who wasn't Kinetics?

Random civilians won't work in this context - which involves optional encounters in which representatives of various villain factions announce that they won't stoop so low as to get involved in Jerk Hacking.

I was going to put in Freakshow, too, but they also bring forth that mysterious level range error that does not appear until you try to test it.

Invulnerability, easily. Shields are more for a damage dealing / small team tanker. On a large team, they will need team buffs (useful buffs, i.e. not Kinetics, and that's getting harder to find.) Invulnerability now is once more probably second to Stone for large team survivability.

In my most recent published arc ("Jerk Hackers!"), the final mission includes three hostage rescues. In order to keep the story 1-50 friendly, I used Arachnos, Council, and 5th Column, and chose "random" as the hostage type. The random hostage now correctly chooses a random mob from the selected group, at least.

Some mob groups that say they're 1-50 really aren't. Circle of Thorns is actually 5-50, and when I tried to include one I got a level range error when I tried to test, although none appeared when the hostage was added.

The random hostage choices contain some "interesting" choices. While testing the arc with high level characters, once the Arachnos hostage was a tornado. That, I recognized as one of Scirocco's summoned tornadoes. More mysteriously, the Council hostage once appeared as a column of smoke. I do not remember ever seeing that in game.