Nericus

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Not worried about the end time so much as the start time.
Should I plan a sick day because it starts early on Friday?
Should I plan a half day because it starts at 5 pm est?

I know there's an email going out but these are things we need to know now so we can make vacation requests!


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It starts when the server return from the maintenance cycle. So might want to be ill that day.

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They usually run from Friday at noon (EST) to Sunday at noon (EST).

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I don't think it has ever ended in the middle of the day on Sunday. It always goes at least until midnight. I think it usually goes until the scheduled maintenance Monday morning.

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Every event I've been in for the past few years in the game starts and ends with the maintenance cycles, whether its holiday or double xp.

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Wow, this' a big thread. I don't know if I have time to check it all to see if it's been mentioned, but I thought I'd mention this. On Liberty, the past few nights about 3-4 am, I'd get one, and by the time I'd have the /ignore_spammer <username> typed out, I'd get a "<username> is not a valid username." Am I doing it wrong, or are they just getting sneakier and deleting the toons as soon as they send the tell?

Hrm, random thought.. would it be possible to create an option to block you from being seen by /search's done by trial accounts somehow?

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Didn't they say that trial accounts dont register any differently than regular accounts? If that is the case, until that changes there isnt much they can do to limit things based on trial accounts versus non trial accounts.

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Hm, perhaps the Vet badges could be used at least in part to designate between trial and real accounts?

Granted the first Vet Badge is for 3 months.....unless they want to slip in a One Month vet badge that offers a costume token (retro rewarded to long term players of course), then have the system designate accounts less then one month as not having in game email capacity.

Granted it would hurt some who have joined for real but how often is the in game email system used and by how many?

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I'm with Culach on travel powers. Most of my villains waited untill they were 30 before they got travel powers

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I think that this is backwards thinking esp. with mal/exemp and now the I11 time travel. Both scale powers back to what you had at that level. Furthermore the paper/scanner powers are temporary which means anyone doing a no-temp run pre-30 on one of these builds is now running everywhere.

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Yes but villainside you can timehop back as much as you want and get the Skyraider rocket pack from that story arc as often as you need to.

Granted setting to No Travel or No Temps would inhibit usage of the pack but once you secure the No Travel/No Temp badges then you can just warp back for a new rocket pack as much as you need to thus never needing to take an acutal travel power once you secure the Flashback badges.

Also the Ouroborus portal is good for zone hopping as well.

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That's like, the first time I've ever heard of a stoner making something go faster.

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Well my stoner is Turbocharged via IO to the point where he has good mobility in granted+rooted. If a kin hits it with SB now my stoner obtains hurricane level run speed and permacharge to powers.

Hmmm think maybe one day a Master of LGTF badge will come? perhaps all the TF/SF should have a "master" badge?

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Other tricks:
The Rikti and the Mitos con as foes to each other. If you can convince a Rikti guarding a pylon to get too close to a Yellow, he'll get blasted, and then the Rikti team is agro'd onto the Mito. In the end, the Mitos win. You can fly over a Mito and TP foe a Rikti to drop on it. Or use whatever method you like to pull a Rikit into the goo. Or, you can try to use TP Foe to drop the Mito onto the Rikti spawn, let them agro each other, then come in and finish off the winner.

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When I run the LGTF with my stoner I tell the rest of the team to stay back, run to a pylon, taunt/herd the rikti around it to chase me and lead them all into Hami, once Hami start s blasting, I TP out of there and let the Rikti and Hami slug it out.

End Result: Rikti quickly wiped by Hami and sometimes if lucky one or 2 of the mitos are destroyed by the Rikti. Saves time

TP FOE for this is nice when triple slotted for accuracy and 1 range booster, in lieu of 3 accuracy slots then have 2 Accuracy, 1 range and some nicely stacked IO bonuses to your accuracy.

Also if you have a Dominator with the power; Wormhole, that power works much better at times then TP Foe.

Also if you are really lucky you can Wormhole/TpFoe Hami itself out of the blob of goo, however I've only seen this done twice and do not know how the power was slotted since it wasn't my toon that did it.

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Looks like he crushed my FFG


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err... I thought you said you weren't using Bodyguard.
In the combat tab it says you henchman protected you for a certain amount of points.
sir you have some explaining to do

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When you resummon a henchmen they automatically are replaced in Defensive follow. If you get hit during that process, they share the damage. If I had used bodyguard during this fight, my Bots would be dead.

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Ok Ultimus.....now I have a challenge for you. You think your MM is the uber god of MM eh?

Ok then, in the Flashback Guide for Villains that I wrote, I identified certain.....more challenging arcs and designated them as the IRON MAN FLASHBACK CHALLENGE.

The challenge parameters are listed for the arc.

Among the screenshots to prove it are:
1. screenshot of the mission description
2. screenshot that shows you are indeed in max difficulty
3. screenshot of the status window that appears at the end that shows all the parameters and which ones you succeeded.

Gotta succeed at em all, fail even one, and you sir are NO Iron Man.

Villain Flashback Guide

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Frankly flashback is unfair because your enhancements are weaker (Even though you have more) then if you were actually that level due to the way they scale. I'm not interested in flashing back to Mercy and fighting +2's and bosses. I want to fight GM's and the do the level 50 SF's.

Don't take this as being mean just saying that isn't my cup of tea.

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No meaness taken. If you arent up to the challenge thats fine.
Oh and perhaps I should have stated....parameters for the Iron Man challenge include: No Enhancers, You are Debuffed, Enemies are buffed.

But if you think your godlike toon cant handle such a powerdown challenge, well thats fine.

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Looks like he crushed my FFG


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err... I thought you said you weren't using Bodyguard.
In the combat tab it says you henchman protected you for a certain amount of points.
sir you have some explaining to do

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When you resummon a henchmen they automatically are replaced in Defensive follow. If you get hit during that process, they share the damage. If I had used bodyguard during this fight, my Bots would be dead.

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Ok Ultimus.....now I have a challenge for you. You think your MM is the uber god of MM eh?

Ok then, in the Flashback Guide for Villains that I wrote, I identified certain.....more challenging arcs and designated them as the IRON MAN FLASHBACK CHALLENGE.

The challenge parameters are listed for the arc.

Among the screenshots to prove it are:
1. screenshot of the mission description
2. screenshot that shows you are indeed in max difficulty
3. screenshot of the status window that appears at the end that shows all the parameters and which ones you succeeded.

Gotta succeed at em all, fail even one, and you sir are NO Iron Man.

Villain Flashback Guide

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This could have been in the planning before the divorce? Plans like this, I would imagine, are in the works for a long period of time. Software development, for any company, is not an "overnight" thing.

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Then lets in what I suspect about the divorce from Cryptic constituting the removal of a lot of red tape that slowed some things down.

Between coding not being fast, then all the testing, recoding and retesting that comes with it then throw in excessive red tape.... well as someone works in I.T. I can honestly say that I feel the dev's pain at times.

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can get the Jailbird Badge from the Zig flashback if you missed it in the beginning

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From the Ouroborus tutorial arc yes, but not from the Level 15 to 19 mission Breakout at Zig, its never been there.

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Another is once you are Level 25 and haven't yet been exposed to Time Travel, have someone open their Ouroborus Portal and you travel into it to the new zone and get the map badge in it.

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Or use the Pillar in your base to do any flashback mission and you'll get the power. However, you may not get the Entrusted badge! You can just go to Ouroborus and get the explore badge any old time, though, now that you have the power.

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Or simply be between Level 15 and 24 and have a hi level pal team with you, enter their base to use their Ouroborus Pillar to Flashback to Echo Down the Aeons. Every toon I've done this for be they my low level toons or friends toons emerge from the Arc with the Portal and Entrusted Badge

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Arc Name: Echo Down the Aeons (note: this is the Arc to run at level 15 in "real time" to obtain the requirements to gain the Ouroborus Portal and Entrusted with the Secret badge ALSO if you want to take a partner with you that is at least level 15 into this, THEY will emerge from the arc with the Portal power and Entrusted badge)

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You won't be able to flashback this arc with a level 15-24 character on your team, because everyone has to be in Ouroboros to start, and you have to be 25 to get into the zone.

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Or the ALTERNATE Method: Have an Ouroborus Pillar in your BASE and all teammates meet up in the base for the person to start it.

Works just fine as that was how I tested this.

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Once the Winter Event ends, will we still be able to trade in the candy canes for the badges, etc? If the chalet closes, will the green-clad elf move to another location or do we have to wait until next year to swap out our goodies?

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Likely we will sit on them until next event.

My question is this: will Valentine event 08 and Winter 08 finally add the following to Pocket D for the duration of the Event:

1. Quartermaster to sell off stuff u dont need that u gained in the mish

2. Arbiter to go to for training and leveling

3. Representative to alter mission difficulty

For the winter event these contacts could be in the chalet near father time, for Valentine they could be near DJ Zero.

Adding these things would be nice QoL for hero/villain teams so that no one gets the auto-kick from team when they leave the zone to train/sell.

Also I figure its time to clarify something about the normal Strikeforces that Villains can run.

I refer to:

Binder of Beasts in Cap Au Diable
Silver Mantis SF: generated via Mission Computer in Base
Leviathan in Sharkhead Isle
Crystal Keeper in St. Mart
The 3 Respec Trials
Mender Silos and any other SF's given by contacts in Ouroborus
Lady Grey/Rikti Strikeforce

Yes when you start these you get the challenge settings window as if you were starting a Flashback. However running any of these SF's doesn't really involve time travel hence setting ANY of the challenges will NOT award any of the challenge badges. This while you can enable the challenge parameters you will receive no extra rewards, AT THIS TIME.

This is of course subject to change with future updates.

Of course there is the one notably infamous exception and that is: The Recluse Strike Force

Setting Recluse Strike Force to No Deaths and No Temp Powers and winning the SF will reward you the highly coveted Master of Recluse Strike Force badge.

Toss these 2 out, they have since been replaced, thanks

http://boards.cityofvillains.com/sho...Number=9128920

http://boards.cityofvillains.com/sho...Number=9130384

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This may have been said already but I don't know since I just scanned most of the looooooong posts in this thread, but what about the people that have already earned the badges? I agree with the OP, the original parameters for the badges are absurd. However, for those that did sacrifice their time to earn the badges in their original, and apparently intended, form, what do they get if the badge requirements are changed? To me, if I earned Empath for instance, and suddenly the requirements changed, not only would I get pissed about the change but I would also worry about what future changes might hold and their repercussions.

I make this argument with the realization of the changes made for Zookeeper and the non-existent negative impact that adjustment created. However, that's a difference of 9000 Rikti monkeys, not millions of hit points healed. The prestige of earning the badge would be greatly lessened IMHO, and I say this while simultaneously wishing it were easier to earn the badge.

[/ QUOTE ] A few people with Empath have stated they wouldn't mind if the requirements were lowered. It's not something everyone agrees on, but nothing ever is. I think the majority is there. Regardless, in the case of Empath, I don't think the devs should really care about hurt feelings. At all. "Oh my, I AFK farmed using a known bug in order to get a badge that would be otherwise impossible, and am now angered that the devs made the badge possible to get the way it was intended to be achieved. Oh woe is me." ...Yeah, I think the devs would be laughing.

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I have Immortal on my mastermind and that MM is now on the quest for Empathic. I wouldn't object at all if either requirements were lowered.

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Hey, do you have an alternate for the 15-19s? The breakout at the zig just doesn't work for a stalker. I mean, I guess I could make it work by defeating everything singly, and then rescuing after I defeat everything - but that goes real slow. And I'm totally worthless after I rescue someone, cause I don't have hide anymore.

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Hmm

Perhaps this:

Contact name: Operative Wellman
Arc name: Master of Destruction

Mission 1: Kill all
Mission 2: get glowies
Mission 3: get glowies

Missions 2 and 3 can be stealthed to the glowies, get the glowies mish should end.

Here's the one thing about the Winter Event that I find a bit surprising in that it wasn't fixed from last event.

How come Pocket D still does not have the contacts to alter mission difficulty as well as training when one levels up? For winter event they could be in the ski chalet and for Valentine they could be near DJ zero then disappear when the event is turned off.

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Aha, so you made a new thread! I was wondering where the old one went. I'm glad you posted more info on the 15-19 arcs and recommend Breakout at the Zig. I did the Any Body Will Do in the 20-24 range and found it quick and easy due to the very few mobs you need to defeat.

On Breaking the Streak, level 30-34, it can be a bit hard for low damage ATs to defeat the force field in the second mission while debuffed. Make sure you can use Inspirations when you run it with player debuffs, and take plenty of reds.

Level 35-39, your recommended arc looks good as you don't need to travel anywhere. But the EB and rescue look to be difficult. I suppose I'll find out soon enough. I have not yet fought an EB under the various Flashback conditions.

Now for the 45-50 arc. I found The Strange Case of Benjamin A. Decker to be very easy hero and villain side. This is from memory...

Mission 1: Rescue + Escort on very small map, with ambush
Mission 2: Rescue + Escort on bigger map, but the hostage is usually very near the door
Mission 3: Click 4 glowies

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Well the original guide was more of a rough draft, now that things are a bit settled for me I was able to back in and take care of it.

The Tech Naylor Arc: the EB Can be a problem however its not so bad depending on the limiters you set. Also if you have certain accolades like Demonic and Force of Nature they can be quite valued in this fight. The Escort...scout where he is, then go back to start of map and clear path to him. This reduces the odds of him getting into a fight on the way back.

As to the Ben Decker arc, I almost recommended it, BUT the last mish with the glowies needs Stealth or at least Super Speed and if too many Rikti notice you then it turns ugly pretty fast. With certain of the challenge settings in place you can go down pretty quick if you aren't careful. The one I recommended was a 3 mission kill boss only on each one arc. Still let me know how the Ben Decker one goes for ya. Mileage does vary after all

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Is there a temp flight or jump power you can get from Flashback on Hero-side? I didn't see one on paragon wiki....

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As far as I know no. Sorry.

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Very nice guide Nericus. I was making my own, but got sidetracked and well...lazy.

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Thanks

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This really is nice work.

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Glad you like it

Ok now for the ever popular question: "Where are the Badge Missions? I can't find them!"

Level 1 to 15 Range Badge Missions
Badge Name -------Mission Name
Plague Carrier -----Steal the Outbreak Virus
Mask Maker -------Steal Facemaker's Reanimation Chemicals
Stone Cold --------Hurt the Traitorous Vendetti
Bone Collector -----The Loa Bone

Level 16 to 19 Range Badge Missions

Paragon of Vice ----- There's a Sucker Born Every Minute
(4 missions in this arc, badge mish is titled Eliminate all Arachnos Personnel)

Level 20 to 24 Range Missions:

Seaweed ------- Carpe Diem (4 mission arc, last mish is for badge)[/list]
Level 25 to 29 Range Missions:
Slag Reaper ---- Retrieve Crash's Shipment
Strikebreaker ---Bust Up Dockworker Strike

Level 30 to 34 Range Missions:

Soul Taker ------Offer Soul of Akarist
Agent of Discord -Eliminate Negotiator and Witnesses
Exterminator ----Lost and Found

Level 35 to 40 Range Missions:

Bad Luck -------- The Unlucky Artifact

Level 40 to 45 Range Missions:

Party Crasher ----Party Crasher
Portal Hopper ---- Attack Longbow Portal Base
Mage Hunter ------Selestar
Skip Tracer ------B4nKbUsTah

Level 45 to 50 Range Missions:

Couch Potato -----Video Games Made Me Do It


Efficiency Expert: not offered in Flashback at this time.

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Most recent bit o' news:

Positron, giving some I12 info here - [ QUOTE ]


<qr>

I guess I can't get in trouble for telling you what the VEAT is not...

It's not:
* Kheldian/Warshade/Nictus/Peacebringer
* Avilian (this is off the table forever for either side)
* Coralax
* Blood of the Black Stream
* Incarnates
* Anything to do with the Coming Storm

Oh, and back to the original topic... Marcian is pretty perceptive about us needing "ramp up" time for I12... I12 was planned before the acquisition, and the staffing-up takes months, by which time I12 will be mostly done.

That's not to say that we don't know that I12 will be scrutinized closely. It will, so we are trying to cram as much as we CAN into the issue with what we have. We do have some surprises planned!


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ok lets see:

Not a evil copy of the Khelds = good
Not a Coralax = very good

Not an Incarnate... = well heroes dont have that type either so we wont need to worry about "balance" issues

Not Part of Coming Storm = Bummer. I was hoping to be an Archetype that is a harbinger of doom...

Something all new = excellent