NPrince

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this means that we do not get the free content and the paid content. we only get one of them. what would have taken up issues 8, 9, 10 are replaced with what was supposed to be the box. hence net loss on story and content.

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No. The presence of a paid expansion box on the horizon does not magically double Cryptic's artwork time-budget or the number of writers or programmers they have on staff. They have a given, more-or-less static amount of development. We'll call this development X. Now, you can either divide X between a free issue and a paid box (giving you X/2) or you can give it all away (X). You don't get less than X at either point.

You might argue that without a paid-expansion, Cryptic will get less money and thus have less budget (for new programmers and such) but I doubt they'd do this if they thought they'd lose money. I expect they believe that larger, more consistent Issues will draw in more subscribers/keep more subscribers which, in the long run, will result in more money than a paid box that only die-hards pick up.

Put another way, we're getting Incarnates with or without a paid box. The lack of a paid box won't deny us any sweat EATs.

Personally, I think the Coralax will be unique to villains. Why? I think alot of their powers (like, for example, their travel power) will be tied to water. Playing Aquaman in the middle of New York sucks, but playing him on an island where he can hop into the sea at any time is fun.

The Rogue Isles are right by the sea. Paragon City is mostly dry. Thus, I see the Coralax as sticking to the villain side.

And I doubt we'll have a limited set of Coralax costume pieces. The Khelds didn't. Why would we? Instead, like the Khelds, using certain powers will likely make us look more coral-like. Maybe we'll get an armor that makes coral sprout from us, for example.

Update: According to a recent interview with CuppaJo, villains will NOT recieve the Nictus EAT

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I just have one question.. Why in the heck would it be worth it to set up your base for IOP's then run this event and defend your IOP's the whole time when you are going to loose them aynway.. Just sounds kinda silly if you ask me.. Risk v Reward?????? No thanks.. I don't belive our base will EVER go this far.. We have a ton of time and effort in it already and still can't afford the upgrade plot size..

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I think you're missing the underlying point. Until the raid portion of the CoP cycle is fixed, there won't be any "defending." You go into the CoP, you get your item, and then you enjoy it for three weeks. No raids, no battles, no defending.

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The Cathedral of Pain is expected to be released prior to Issue 8, and it will be a little different than originally planned. It will be PvE oriented and the trial will remain active for 7 days.

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Cricket, can you clarify this please? The CoP trial was already entirely PvE in all its previous incarnations, so in what sense will it be PvE oriented?

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I was wondering the same thing. Maybe she meant that it will be PvE oriented because base raids aren't functioning so you won't have to worry about having another group raid your base just because you have an IoP?

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That's my reading as well. Instead of doing the CoP and then frantically defending your IoP MacGuffin to keep from losing it, you're doing the CoP and being garunteed of losing it... when the next CoP comes up. So instead of it being a PvE gateway into PvP, it's a PvE cycle where you have to do the CoP every month (or so) to renew your IoP

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On the second, it is more of a philisophical debate and the devs may not be moved by player complaints if they believe the course they've chosen is the correct one for the game.

I will offer this, though, from my own perspective. If I am given a game that is too easy vs. one that is too difficult, I'm more likely to give up on the latter. Being frustrated is not fun. The devs seem to have gotten a knack for putting things into the game(s) that present a challenge that goes beyond what many would consider enjoyable. It is a worrying trend, although there's no need for DOOM™ quite yet.


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The conundrum of difficulty is that harder IS more fun. You must challenge someone to really make him sit up, to get his adrenaline flowing, to elicit FUN. The more challenging, the better.

But when something becomes impossible, it's no longer a challenge, because it cannot be defeated. You're just getting kicked around. So its Fun -> More Fun -> TONS OF FUN -> No fun.

How close can you get to the tipping point without going over?

I think they're doing pretty well.

But none of this has anything to do with Born In Battle. Getting the Nigh Indestructable is not hard (not in the sense you're using). It's not "Challenging." Any mook can sit between a pain crystal and a healing crystal and go to bed.

It's just WORK. It's grinding. It's farming. It's doing the same thing over and over. Worse, it encourages botting.

Wherever you stand on the "At what point is challenging unfun" debate, I think you'd agree that farming a badge is neither challenging NOR fun. It's ok to spend an evening, for a few hours, hunting for a badge, learning the lay of the land, becoming familiar with, say, Hordeling spawn points in Mt. Diable or whatever.

But damage farming? Blah. Boring. Next?

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Although, yenno the Kheldians' powers can be substituted by other AT's powers as well.

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Actually, they can't. No other AT can shape-shift. Period. You can't play a blaster that suddenly tanks for people. You can't do it. That's rather my point. If a new AT is "Tankers with a unique powerset that isn't all that different from what you already had," it isn't really an epic AT, cool story or no.

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Well, overall, my point is, let's just wait for their story to come out before we think poorly or highly of them. I know it's irritating that we can't put them in a certain category yet, but we'll see soon.


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You're taking my comment that "I don't see how they'll do it" as "I don't like them."

It's actually "I have no idea how they'll make this AT unique, and I'm curious how they'll do it." It's poorly stated, and for that I apologize, but that's the thrust of my ponderings.

I'm a mechanic monkey. I like systems and seeing how they integrate. Cryptic is really good with unique takes on how systems impact story and vica versa.

It's not enough for Khelds to have a unique story. They need a unique style of play too. The same goes for Incarnates, or any other EAT. I'm not saying that Incarnates DON'T have this. I'm perfectly confident they WILL have it.

I just have no idea HOW they'll do it.

You CAN make gods with current ATs. You can also make aliens. But you can't make Khelds because you can't shape shift, and you can't make Incarnates because... *fill in the blank*

I wanna know what that blank will be. That's what has me sitting on the edge of my seat.

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One more time, to reiterate - EAT's - Incarnates included - are NOT meant to be more powerful than any regular AT. They simply require an "Epic" playstyle, and in return, get to be 'in' on "Epic" level plots.



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I too have a hard time imagining how they would balance an Uber AT. From a PvE perspective, I can almost imagine it by setting you at a perma-higher difficulty setting. Just like simply having an Kheld on your team spawns a Void Hunter, having an Incarnate could spawn a set of 3 higher level monsters for every spawn. Or whatever. But that would only work in instances. PvP would instantly become problematic, as well out "shared" PvE (like street-hunting).

But the problem of "But States is an incarnate" is solvable by suggesting that States and Recluse were lords of their pantheons. You're merely members. Naturally, the heir to Aphrodite or Demeter won't compare to the towering might of Zues.

Still, they do have a "Uber" vibe going on with them. I wonder how the Devs will resolve that, and how the Devs will cover their powers in a way made necessary by their design. I can see the need for BotBS because I can't make shapeshifters with the current power-sets. I can see the need for Khelds for a similar reason. I can see the need for Coralax because it's hard to build aquatic characters under the current system (but one could create a Swimming Power Pool to tackle that problem... though there's no reason you couldn't do both).

But what do the Incarnates do that normal heroes and villains can't? Aphrodite? Mind Control/Empathy controller. Loki? Illusion/Kinetic Controller. Geb? Dark/Stone Brute (that's how one of my friends did him, anyway).

I don't see where we need a unique Archtype to cover the godly characters. Story's nice, yes, but there needs to be mechanical, in-game difference, otherwise why bother? I'm curious to see how they handle it.

Oh, and I thought I'd post a picture of the Eye of Horus Oil Spill you guys were talking about before:

The Oil Spill

For reference

I just saw it for myself and thought I would share

Ok. Why are we saying he got a "harsh" sentence?

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Calhoun surrendered himself to the authorities. Although the District Attorney’s Office offered a deal for 5 years of jail time acknowledging his pure motives, Calhoun refused, believing wrongly that the jury would find him innocent. He was stunned by his conviction. Still, the judge was extremely lenient in his instructions, and a relatively light sentence was handed down as Calhoun’s heart was judged to be in the right place.



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They're not specific with what they slapped him with, but I'm guessing it was under 10 years. If he behaved well and learned to use his powers under their supervision and repeatedly expressed a desire to join the forces of good in defending the city, I'm guessing he could have been out in less than 5 years, easy.

That's not "harsh." Well, at least according to the story. According to the story, he got a "very lenient" sentence.

I think they should keep the Nigh Indestructible requirement and change the requirements for the BADGE

Badges shouldn't be something you farm for days and days to get. That's pointless. Not what I consider fun. Sure, it's nice if you do that to be able to brag about it, but that's what the 6th level badge is for.

The problem isn't with Born in Battle requiring a first tier epic badge. The problem is with a first tier epic badge requiring a week of standing between a pain crystal/healing crystal while you sleep and do other stuff.

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Becaue it isn't working as intended. A power that has a 4 minute recharge AND requires people to attack stuff 50 times (minimum) isn't meant to be perma'ed. That's pretty obvious, right?

We can argue about whether we SHOULD feel like Brutes, kept on our Domination high by solid applications of Corruptor buffs (it's comparable) or not, but I'm pretty sure Domination isn't MEANT to work like that.

So I'm sure it'll get fixed.


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In the end I think it depends on how you view the devs.


<ul type="square">[*]If you think they're morons or mean or anti-fun then a person probably thinks it will be shut down. [*]If you think they're reasonable then the first thing they will probably say is "how is this affecting the game"?[/list]
I just don't see it as any more or less game breaking as what a group of /rad or /kin can do to the game.

In essence I think they "allow" the all-rad or a-kin groups to do sick things because it doesn't happen all that often. I've seen demos where AVs are destroyed in something like 15-20s by such groups, and I'm sure the devs didn't plan it that way, but they let it go because it's not like every other group is built this way.

If tons of people starting doing this, and if it results in normal hard parts of the game becoming insanely easy, then I expect they will look at it. Then again, I don't think the devs are evil morons.

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I don't agree with your categorization. I like the Devs. I defininetly think they have fun in mind when they design these AT and powers.

But I know how a game designer thinks. If he builds a mechanic to work in a certain way, and it doesn't, it's broken.

And let's be honest, this IS broken.

Are you telling me that we should be balanced around having 2 kinetic corruptors and Hasten? If that's the only way we're really going to shine, then something's WRONG with our design. Double Domination isn't meant to "balance" us.

I think you're right that the Developers will say "Huh, I wonder how this affects the game." They've shown before that they'll let errors stay if it benefits players, or through the error, realized something could use a buff (The Controller Slow value was switched with the Defender. They let that stand, and then boosted the Slow values of Defenders, as a good example of this). I think it's likely that they'll decide that we shouldn't keep Double Domination, but might realize that if Double Domination isn't breaking the game, then maybe we could stand to have a solid boost to our powersets. Or maybe they'll find a way to INSTITUTIONALIZE Double Domination (like the bar drops as soon as you press Domination, but if you can fill it again before it fades, you can pop it again)

But I don't think our entire AT should be balanced around having Hasten and two Kinetics Corruptors. Nor do I want it. I don't want to be forced to take a specific Pool power and get two specific teammates with specific powersets just to be able to compete with other ATs.

If Double Domination is genuinely a good thing in that it doesn't break the game in any way (I haven't done any number crunching to see how I feel about it) and gives us the shiney usefulness we need, I still don't think we should keep it. Rather, I think it highlights our weaknesses and the Devs should use this opportunity to re-examine us, rather than just let us keep a rather convoluted advantage.

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If you've ever played defenders or scanned the boards for a while you've see the all-rad and all-kin groups running around who have been doing stuff like this for a while now. I don't see why it's a surprise now. If multiple controllers can hold Hammi I'm not sure why people think the devs will shut down this double domination thing.



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Becaue it isn't working as intended. A power that has a 4 minute recharge AND requires people to attack stuff 50 times (minimum) isn't meant to be perma'ed. That's pretty obvious, right?

We can argue about whether we SHOULD feel like Brutes, kept on our Domination high by solid applications of Corruptor buffs (it's comparable) or not, but I'm pretty sure Domination isn't MEANT to work like that.

So I'm sure it'll get fixed.

What might come out of this, though, is a relaxation of the Devs. They seem tense about Dominators, as though they're afraid we'll Tank Mage if we get too powerful. Double Domination is pretty much the defininition of over-powered Dom... but if it turns out that it's "not so bad," then maybe the Devs will decide it's ok to give us a solid boost.

I mean, if we lose Double Dom but gain .85 Melee and .75 ranged damage and Controller level holds, I don't think anyone will complain.

Every epic archtype seems to me to be an attempt to fill a unique comic-book niche that the primary ATs cannot, as well as an effort to expand the storyline of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.

Kheldians are the "alien" archtype, ala Martian Manhunter, the Shiar or Statesman's favorite "Badoon." They're a unified race of beings with powers inherent to their nature (while that's possible with any "Natural" AT, having a unified set allows Khelds to relate to one another).

Incarnates seem to me to be Divine heroes, along the lines of Thor, with possible nods to Spawn/Angelica and Wonder Woman. Making them into an EAT would allow you to tie them more deeply into the setting's mythology, which is exactly the point of giving them there own storylines.

A quick glance at the Kheldians show a few things we might expect from any Epic Archtype, including the Incarnates. As has been repeatedly stated, EATs are all about the story. Incarnates would likely recieve their own brand of storyline, including unique contacts, arcs and/or TFs (new EATs might be unlocked with a TF, allowing you to get solid backstory before you play one). What has me curious is the fact that Kheldians have a well-defined background. Incarnates don't. If I'm a kheld, you can tell me what planet I came from and about the races that I'm bound with, etc. But with Incarnates, do I get to conjure up whatever god I'm bound to ("I am the reincarnation of Hades!" "I am the reincarnation of Lugh!" "I am the reincarnation of Ameterasu!"), or do I have to pick ("I'm the reincarnation of Apollo!" "Hey! So am I!"). In the latter, it becomes possible to create specific storylines. In the former, only general.

The second thing all EATs seem to get (ie, Kheldians got it, so I wouldn't be surprised if others get it) is a unique playstyle. Cryptic doesn't do things by halves, and avoids desperately rehashing old elements. If you could do Incarnates simply by making a (whatever) hero and pretending he was an incarnation of a god (something many people do already), it wouldn't add much to the game, and would likely go the way of the Skill system.

Whether you love or hate Kheldian shapeshifting, it adds a completely new dynamic to CoH that hadn't existed before. They're characters that can shift their role in a team, and they're extreme flexbility leads to a great variety of unique builds. I would expect nothing less interesting from Incarnates.

Like what? I'm not sure. If you need to tackle a slew of possible gods (The gods of the dead. The gods of war. The gods of love), I would either create new powersets to reflect them, or possibly (considering they're often seen as infusions on other ATs), they could get a "third" powerset, one that reflects their divine origin. This would allow Statesman to have his Tanker Powers, and then turn around and gain lightning blasts. I don't know what tricks Recluse has; maybe others can enlighten me. Regardless, a third rail of power would create a completely new dynamic to the game without unbalancing the game (though people would go nuts with cherry picking, I'm sure).

This is all conjecture, naturally. I have zero evidence that it'll work that way. I'm just pointing out that EATs take such a long time to develop because Cryptic tackles them so completely. They get unique story and play-dynamics, so EAT would likely have the same assets should they be added. "Plain better than you" isn't enough, naturally, so they'd have to have something more interesting than that.

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again, coralax is not the common foe. the common foe is the battalion which was mentioned in the announcement where they scrapped the skill system for good and announced the invention system.

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Who are you to say? Your name doesn't look red. I think the Coralax could, quite likely, be the common foe, being that they hate all life on Earth. (rather than in the ocean)

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I'd also love to see that quote. I can't seem to find anything in the search engine.

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One other possibility is the Coralax, since Posi said that in the expansion, villains and heroes will be joining to fight a "common foe" so it's easy to think that it might be the Coralax, but that's just pure speculation.



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There's another meager bit of evidence. The Expansion pack will contain new zones based on the survey they took recently. And what was one of the survey options? Underwater zones!

We've already got underwater content... there's a "deep" pool of water just west of the Grandville walls, clearly a test-run of underwater code, so it seems my dream of deep waters have come true.

Regardless, it seems they ARE coming. Maybe not I8 or I9 nor even the expansion, but Soon(TM). I wonder what other sweetness they will bring? Perhaps a swimming power pool? I'd love to be able to make non-Coralax underwater charactes too. There's no reason, after all, that you can't have an atlantean Brute or a aquatic Dominator.

This presumes, naturally, that Coralax will play similar to Khelds (only one choice of powersets but with many powers and no patron powers). It's possible that they'll play quite differently.

*ponders*

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Like many of the dev's "problem solving" techniques, I find it makes the game less enjoyable as they are only paying attention to the issues that will make people level faster. It's the way of things, because money talks louder than thier pride in the game.

But not completely unenjoyable, so here I am. I despise PvP. I love badges though. So I do my badgehunting at 3-7AM if I'm going to do it, and never let my cape cross the theshold of those accursed zones again.

Go on devs, waste your time on 'improving' PvP. I've got plenty to do in the meantime...like watch my pets randomly vanish, fail to reappear after exiting an elevator, or (my favorite) rename themselves "Fire Tarantula" or some other such NPC.

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Can't we comment on all this without the snark? I pick on your post, but god knows there are more than enough posts in this thread that I could just as easily pick on.

This doesn't have to be an evil, money making plot or a dark attempt to stop powerlevelling for it to be a bad idea. It can be a completely well-intentioned idea meant ONLY to enhance your experience of the game, and still fail miserably to do so.

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Yes. Also no XP or Prestige in PvP zones.

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HA.. hahahhaha ... *sniff* ahh anyways.

No thanks. I'm not goin to dig some scientest out of The Web in Warburg for zero xp given for all the junk I must clear out of the way.

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Then why would you ever go after nukes after 38?

Because nukes rock. And it's fun.

I think this debt thing is a bad idea. Why? Because I just experienced it first hand.

In normal PvE play, I am in control. If I screw up, if my skill is not up to the task, then I get debt. This is Statesman's way of telling me to slow down. So I take heed, lower the difficulty or try a different tactic or whatever. But I do not get frustrated due to the fact that I was "inflicted" with debt.

In PvP, I am not in control. I do not set the difficulty. If nobody's there but newbs, I pwn. If the grand high poobah of PvP shows up, I die like everyone else. PvP depends, necessarily, on the input of other players.

If I participate in a PvE portion of a PvP zone, this means I'm fighting Mobs. Mobs that can give me Debt. For example, Arachnoids in the Web (one of my favorite places to hang. I'll go down there JUST to fight Arachnos and skip the technicians, at times). If I die fighting them, it's not terribly different from dying in any normal PvE circumstances. It means I bit off more than I could chew or that I used some power incorrectly or whatever.

But I have no control over the Blaster that just sniped me, or the Stalker that just assassinated me. They're players, so they can match or exceed me. They don't think like a computer. You can't expect me to PvE against them. So I die. And I take debt.

Or maybe I just want to PvP. I just want to fight other players. I go head to head in the exciting, dynamic setting of a PvP zone, taking all comers while dodging wandering monsters. Maybe one of those monsters tags me with a missile or something. I don't even notice in the fury of my fight. But I die. And I take debt. Worse, I'm likely to die to players many, many times over. And many times, I'm likely to take damage from stray monsters. So the debt starts to add up. This means I need to take time away from PvP and perform debt relief.

Neither of these scenarios are exceptional. They represent the bulk of my PvP experience, actually, and the bulk of most people's, I must imagine. I just noticed this problem today, in fact. I recieved 23k debt in Warburg (I'm level 41 and running Life Insurance), the first half from the first scenario, the second half from the latter.

I don't see how this will do anything but discourage use of the PvP zones. You can use the Arena and recieve no debt if all you want is a PvP fight, and if you want interesting and dynamic PvE stuff, then missions will have to do. If you want a mix of both, then you WILL recieve debt, problematic if you want to level quickly.

Too much stick. Not enough carrot.

I think they should remove Debt and XP from PvP zones entirly. What's this you say? Nobody will come to them? They only come due to better mob XP?

Hogwash. I go to Warburg for the nukes. I go to Bloody Bay for the meterorites. I go to Siren's Call for the PvP. You don't fight the RV AVs for XP... you do it for Temporal points and to WIN. Aren't these draw enough?

People were just arguing that they shouldn't be "forced" into PvP zones for cool badges and accolades. Well, I think they SHOULD. I think by encouraging people to experience PvP, they might come to like it and discover a whole new dimension to this game. I've certainly enjoyed some of the PvP fights I've had... sometimes despite myself.

But gaining debt last night dampened my pleasure. It's a shock to alot of people, gauging from this thread. Learning that PvP offers debt will do NOTHING to encourage reticint players to join in PvP, and may even drive away some casual PvPers.

On the flip side, if NOTHING offered debt, the PvP zones become playgrounds. Players will gleefully fling themselves in Siren Call hotspots and fight for their side. The worst of griefing vanishes, because cruel-spirited players can't hurt your PvE game. A sudden ganking becomes irritating and worthy of reprisal, drawing you into the PvP game, rather than inflicting debt and driving you from the zone.

I fail to see a problem here, except that it will promptly end my Arachnoid hunting pleasure, but I suppose I'll just have to wait until I'm level 44-46 in Grandville for that. A small price to pay.

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villains need to have AT's unlockable at lvl 50

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Not going to happen. As the developers have mentioned time, and again, having Kheldians unlock at lvl 50 has, in retrospect, been decided as a mistake, and thusly, no new AT's will unlock at 50.

The only possible exception to this might be the villainous Warshades/Nictus, as those might not be a "new" AT, but I suspect, given the tone of the WS and EAT refferences, that even those will not be unlockable simply by getting a lvl 50, but rather instead, a high level SF.

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For clear reference: The Interview

Specifically:

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Do you have any plans about creating a new epic archetype?
There’s an epic archetype planned for the retail expansion, but until then we are looking at introducing Warshades to City of Villains. You’ll not get access to the new epic AT just by hitting level 50 this time. Instead we’ll send you on a special Strike Force or trial.



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If you'll allow me to parse that out here:

There’s an epic archetype planned for the retail expansion , but until then we are looking at introducing Warshades to City of Villains. You’ll not get access to the new epic AT just by hitting level 50 this time. Instead we’ll send you on a special Strike Force or trial.

I have a hard time as reading that as anything other than "The EAT from the Expansion set (ie, the "new" EAT) will be unlocked with a SF/TF rather than hitting 50."

A Warshade is not a new epic archtype. Combine this with the fact that this paragraph is actually talking about another epic archtype, referred to as the NEW epic arctype, with the Warshade as an aside (even seperated out of the sentence with a comma) and I find it highly unlikely that he's saying the Nictus will be unlocked with a TF

Especially given that it would seem wierd that heroes get theirs at 50, but we get our clones after a SF.

STILL, would this mean a new, nifty SF that intros us into the Khelds? That would be nifty if it were true. Just don't think it is.

Personal experience: Writing ANYTHING in your search box will do more to get you invites than anything else you can do. People who search for teamates often look towards what stands out. You have a zillion empty boxes and then someone who's actually written something jumping off the page at you.

Whether that something is "hell no, go away" or "Please Send Tell" or "LFT!!"

The addition of "Ignore all invites" is very welcome, by the way

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This novel, while a good read, still bothers me on the timeline because if its in canon at all, then Synapse, Positron, and Manticore are way too old compared to how they're depicted in the game and the comics. Synapse and Positron are pushing 50 and Manticore's age is never given but he's still got to be somewhere in the late thirties to possible mid-40s.

I mean, maybe Synapse has an excuse for his appearence due to acts of science and nobody knows what Positron looks like, but Manticore is the normal one.

I mean, this didn't bother me too much during the book, but it's still not being addressed. I don't suppose that some rednamed bastion of the Story Bible could clear the age descrepency up?

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Never worry about the age of a hero. Batman has been 39 forever and will stay that way until the storyline needs it to change....:&gt;

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Which reminds me of Batman Beyond.

Which brings to mind a thought for City of Heroes 2, if you guys ever make one.

Modernize the city further. Advance the timeline substantially. Retire the Phalanx (except for Immortal Statesman, of course) and bring in the next generation. Could be fun to think of our CoH2 characters as the legacy of our CoH1 characters.

Just, you know, food for thought.

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I, for one, really hope they are (a seperate EAT), that way, we wouldn't know what to expect, and I really want to be surprised to see what the devs have learned since the Kheldians.

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No kidding. We haven't seen a new EAT SINCE the Khelds. Be kinda neat to see what direction they take them in.

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as far as wings in i8, i would not be surprised if both the costume piece and the EAT were included, there would be too much of an uproar if it were otherwise.


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What, as opposed to the uproar of Enhancement Diversification or the global defense changes?

I think between the addition of the Nictus, the Veteran reward system (including Trenchcoats, apparantly), the first portion of the Legends system, Wings and god knows what else, I doubt there will be game-busting hew and cry over the lack of Avilians.

Certainly nothing to have the Devs quaking in their boots.

Do not assume that just because you would be unhappy that the rest of the player base would be just as unhappy. Alot of them could give a crap about Avilians, or even Epic ATs in general.

Actually, if I read both that interview and the address correctly, the "upgrade" system will be in BOTH Issue 9 and the boxed expansion set.

From what I've heard before, this sounds VERY much like the "Legends" system that Statesman has been working on for a long time. They've also mentioned that "City of Legends" might be the name of the next expansion (alternately, City of Shadows), and that seems consistent with this whole discussion of upping your level 50s.

So I wouldn't be surprised to see Incarnates in the boxed set. I WANT Coralax, but I think it'll be Incarnates.

Though I'd add that "City of Legends" isn't necessarily very consistent with the idea of a new theme zone or two. It isn't INCONSISTENT, but not terribly consistent either *shrugs*

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The lvl 50 requirement is no longer gonna be used, but instead, we'll be doing a SF/trial.

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Hmm, I'm not so sure. I had heard, some time ago, that "new EATs wouldn't be unlocked by hitting 50," but I don't think that Warshades are a "new" AT.

I really suspect that comment relates the Expansion EAT, not the villain Warshade. It wouldn't be the first time they wrote about the Expansion AT in a confusing manner.

In particular, it seems odd the heroes would unlock their Khelds by hitting 50, but we have to do a SF to get it. I'd rather have Khelds at 50 and whatever new AT by SF.

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His comment seemed somewhat clear, but I wouldn't be surprised if the requirement is still the same. Though.. you'd think the devs would know better than to make the same mistake (in which the lvl 50 requirement was.)

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I dunno. Seems kinda nice to have something to work towards, an end-goal that's unlocked when you "finish" the game.

But I wouldn't want it twice, and I can think of better EAT concepts to use for the idea (Incarnates, namely, presuming they really are an uber-class like everyone seems to think they are).

[ QUOTE ]
The lvl 50 requirement is no longer gonna be used, but instead, we'll be doing a SF/trial.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, I'm not so sure. I had heard, some time ago, that "new EATs wouldn't be unlocked by hitting 50," but I don't think that Warshades are a "new" AT.

I really suspect that comment relates the Expansion EAT, not the villain Warshade. It wouldn't be the first time they wrote about the Expansion AT in a confusing manner.

In particular, it seems odd the heroes would unlock their Khelds by hitting 50, but we have to do a SF to get it. I'd rather have Khelds at 50 and whatever new AT by SF.