Patteroast

For a long time, I've wished there was a badge like this for Malta Gun Drones or Sky Raider Force Field Generators. I mean, there's already a badge for Devouring Earth Eminators... and I'm still angry as the Malta Gun Drones because of how many times back before SSKing where my mentor would go to the hospital and a gun drone everyone had ignored would destroy me.

When I first started playing, the friend who got me into the game suggested I start out with a Scrapper. He specifically told me not to try a Controller until I'd gotten into the game. Then again, that was probably because he had chosen a Controller as his first character, and spent a huge amount of time soloing with a very solo-unfriendly build. His advice was that Controllers were more complicated, although if played right could be some of the most powerful in the game.

I had never played an MMO before, and I found starting with a Scrapper to be a fine introduction. However, I'd recommend that as soon as you're comfortable with the game, start making lots of other characters of all sorts of ATs. Within a couple months of starting the game, I was fiddling around with a Tanker, Blaster, Controller, and Defender (this was pre-CoV) and I felt that I had a pretty good grasp of the game.

I know people want to discourage the whole Defender = Healzor thing (with good reason!), but my support-concentrated Empathy Defender is still one of my favorite characters. Are they needed? Hell no. But they can make sub-par teams good, and good teams awesome. I am thoroughly glad that most defenders take a good balance of primaries and secondaries, but the occasional all-support-for-story-reasons kind of character isn't an abomination to be stamped out forever.

My Empathy/Electric Defender is squarely focused on buffing and healing. He only has five of his attacks, and of those only three have any reasonable slotting for damage. However, I always make sure to use Short Circuit, especially with Power Build Up. Making the entire mob unable to attack is a great thing. After that, I've got some Leadership and Concealment powers as well, plus recall friend, just to help my teammates. It's worth noting that I spent most of my time while leveling this character in a duo with a Scrapper. Before they changed AVs, we duoed just about every one in the game.

Also, even with a number of toggles, I find that I don't need Stamina on this character. Recovery Aura and Conserve Power from my ancillary just about always take care of me. I19 will just make things easier. Also, I made a second build just for the times when I needed to bring more damage. Highly recommended.

In any case, if you do try to make a all-support character, go ahead. But also make sure to try a more balanced character, and hell, all sorts of characters! Variety is the spice of life, and the vast number of different kinds of characters is probably the number one reason that I still play this game almost six years after I started.

I know it's not a perfect sample, but for these kind of questions, I always find the statistics page on City Info Tracker to be informative. Here's what they have currently for defenders:

1117 Empathy
599 Kinetics
585 Dark Miasma
555 Radiation Emission
299 Storm Summoning
287 Force Field
273 Trick Arrow
241 Cold Domination
210 Sonic Resonance
99 Traps

Another program that is very similar to Ventrilo is Teamspeak. I used to use that quite a bit with a supergroup I was in a few years back.

Personally, I only worry about voice chatting with friends who I am playing with. Whenever I get together and play with them, we usually Skype.

Back before power customization, I always liked to recharge my Terra Volta reactor shield right before finishing a respec, and then running to Atlas to make lowbies wonder how I got the bright red bubble around me. (See my avatar.)

I have to admit that I once cast a Warburg nuke on a costume contest, just for the wtf factor. A lot of people swinging around, confused about what had just happened. I think that was around the time that I defeated Sally with a Warburg nuke, too.

As for powers to use on enemies, Levitate and Lift slotted up for knockback are hilarious on low level enemies. They fly so high!

I don't know anyone else who has anything good to say about Serum, but I personally find it very useful on my Mastermind. He's Mercs/Poison. When fighting tough bosses, EBs, or AVs, I give my commando Noxious Gas + Serum and send him into melee. Serum makes him tough enough to survive and give him knockback protection so the enemies get the full effect of the debuff from Noxious Gas.

That MM was my first villain, so he ended up being my main redside badge hunter... when I ran a MoLRSF with friends, my main contribution was debuffs, largely from that method with serum and noxious gas.

I can see why it's lackluster for most people, though. And I would love to see the Spec Ops do more consistent mezzes!

I was planning on taking Presence on my completely terrible and ill-advised petless mastermind. He's Necro/Force Field, level 15... he can currently solo, it just happens to be the slowest soloing ever. It's good to hear that Presence is actually useful! It's the only pool I've never tried.

Hell, when he gets high enough for presence, and after I19 hits with inherent Stamina... maybe my petless MM will be not terrible!

Not good, mind you. But not terrible. I'd take it.

I've been having a lot of fun with my Force Field/Psychic Defender. Not super fast, but quicker than the average Defender, I'd say.

I've also recently realized how awesome my Dark/Dark Defender is, even in the teens, but I see that is already a well-recognized build of awesomeness.

Personally, the only things that I really have trouble soloing are Corruptors. I don't know what it is... I just can't get the hang of them by themselves. On a team, I have lots of fun on them. I think that might be more of a peculiarity of my playstyle though.

But yeah... just about any AT is soloable, and even the slower ones work great if you build right. Hell, it was quite painful, but I've soloed an Elite Boss on my petless Mastermind. Anything seems easy after that.

I wonder if you'd be able to take the train from say Steel South to Steel North.

I don't think I've really had a particularly epic level 50 ding, but probably my most interesting was during a Lady Grey TF... I was stealthing through the last mission to the end so I could use my veteran teleport power on all my teammates, and as soon as I turned the corner to the last room, I leveled up. Turns out my teammates were randomly killing stuff at the other end of the map.

I have made an effort to save screenshots of all my 50s when they get there... because of that, I can at least say what enemies I was fighting each time!

Explomadoza (Empathy/Electric Defender): Malta
Patteroast (Claws/Invuln Scrapper): Malta
Professor Orange (Mercs/Poison Mastermind): Longbow
Dr. Fejwol (Stone/Stone Tanker): Banished Pantheon
Asoposl (Fire/Radiation Controller): Rikti (deadlevel during LGTF)
Kiviuq (Ice/Ice Dominator): Vanguard
Particle Accelerator (Energy/Energy Stalker): Rikti
Captain Kalamari (Warshade): Praetorians (Battle Maiden's minions)
Crater Jr. (Stone/Willpower Brute): Rikti (while stealthing in LGTF)
Lord Richter (Earth/Sonic Controller): Praetorians (Chimera's minions)
Patticus (Illusion/Trick Arrow Controller): Nemesis
Setebos (Spines/Regen Scrapper): Tsoo (shortly after SSKing came out)
Operative Greyling (Night Widow): Cimerorans

Sometimes it's fun to try something different, even if it's not the best choice... there are always other characters. Personally I'd find non-stop uber to be boring. It's way better to have to work for awesome.

If I was on a team and saw someone kick someone because they made a power choice they disagreed with, I'd probably leave the team... not the kind of team leader I'd like to play with. The only good reasons I find for kicking people is because they're jerks or terrible players.

My first build for my Night Widow was pretty messed up, and I don't think I ended up getting TT:Maneuvers until 35. But that was a case of not knowing what I was doing. I've since respeced into it much sooner, and my other SoAs all have it, even the ones in their teens. TT:Leadership, I like to get, although much later, if it fits.

As for TT:Assault, I don't have any with it in their builds. Although I'm planning on adding it for them all when I19 comes around.

Also, I did have TT:Vengeance but not a travel power for a while on my Night Widow, but that was more because I'd never had Vengeance and wanted to try it out. After I hit 60 months, I swapped Combat Jumping for Super Jump.

ETA: Oh, and as for how many SoAs I see with or without Maneuvers, I'd have to say the vast majority that I've encountered do have it.

PRAETORIA HIGH AND LOW POINTS

Nova Praetoria (zone ceiling: +1400)

• Cole's Tower (From +44 to +1232)
• Loyalist Lounge Skyscraper (From +17 to +481)
• Ministry of Information (From +41 to +356)
• PPD Headquarters (From +41 to +339)
• Statue of Emperor Cole (From +45 to +147)
• Water level (-82)

Imperial City (zone ceiling: +1400)

• Yin Corporation Tower (From -47 to +1096)
• TPN Antenna (+628)
• Building, 375 yd WNW of Four Gables (From -10 to +275)
• Top of tree, Tiberian Overlook (+178)
• Building, 225 yd NW of BAF (From 0 to +175)
• Water level (-82)
• Water level, People's Park (-98)

Neutropolis (zone ceiling: +1400)

• Neuron's Tower (From -50 to +1151)
• Smokestack, 420 yd NE of Lambda Sector (From -55 to +398)
• Reactors, Keyes Island (From -23 to +365)
• Water level (-82)

Underground Nova

• Highest ceiling (+730)
• Common entrance from Nova Praetoria (+704)
• Loyalist entrance from Nova Praetoria (+640)
• Entrance to Underground Imperial (+638)
• Resistance Base (From +508 to +603)
• Resistance entrance from Nova Praetoria (+507)
• Lowest floor (+493)

Underground Imperial

• Highest ceiling (+554)
• Common entrance from Imperial City (+528)
• Entrances to Underground Nova and Underground Neutropolis (+462)
• Resistance Base (From +332 to +427)
• Resistance entrance from Imperial City (+331)
• Loyalist entrance from Imperial City (+315)
• Lowest floor (+253)

Underground Neutropolis

• Highest ceiling (-998)
• Common entrance from Neutropolis (-1024)
• Entrance to Underground Imperial (-1090)
• Resistance Base (From -1220 to -1125)
• Resistance entrance from Neutropolis (-1221)
• Loyalist entrance from Neutropolis (-1253)
• Lowest floor (-1267)

I do this with my Earth Controller, Lord Richter. (Although he's really from Wisconsin, he insists to everyone he meets that he's British, complete with terrible accent.) He calls his animated stone 'Earl'.

On a couple teams with some friends, we all decided to name our veteran pets. I actually can't remember my own, but I know that someone had a wisp buff pet named 'Booger', and a non-combat Mek-Man named 'Mek-Pigeon'. (That one is owned by a character named Clay Pigeon, by the way. )

I tend to create characters with only vague ideas of their backgrounds, and over time develop them. Sometimes this leads to trouble, especially when I chose an origin that is hard to fit... and also when I say... picked a silly nonsense word as a name. But despite apparently doing my best to make only terrible characters (ex: Atomic Lizard-Donkey), a few of them have grown into really interesting characters that I'm quite proud of.

Explomadoza (Empathy/Electric/Power Defender): My first level 50. Xavier Paloma was born in the south Pacific, near a nuclear test site. His parents were humanitarian aid workers who came there to care for the mistreated natives. As he grew up (often in the care of relatives, as his parents were off in some faraway war-torn country), he wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps, and went to medical school to get the training to help save lives. He was working in an emergency room on a particularly terrible case when he got word that his parents had been killed in a volcanic eruption. His grief caused his mutant powers to finally manifest into something he desperately wanted, the ability to heal and save people. Over time, he learned many odd quirks of his powers, notably that he could sap energy from people who threatened others, that he could in times of great stress remove someone from harm in other ways (making them invisible or even teleporting them away from danger), and in these moments of strain he could boost his healing powers as well. He joined a U.N. peacekeeping force and fought in the Rikti War when it came to Kuala Lumpur.

Dr. Fejwol (Stone/Stone/Earth Tanker): Professor Jefferson Lowell was born in Kings Row, and from an early age it was clear that he was brilliant. He entered college by the age of 16 and quickly proved to be a highly skilled nanotechnologist. After graduating, he joined the faculty at Paragon University and assisted many tech-based heroes as a contact. One young hero he counseled ended up turning to villainy, and although Lowell wasn't as fault for that, he felt some sense of guilt about it. When the Rikti came, he couldn't just stand by and watch the heroes he'd befriended go off alone, so he constructed a rough rock armor with his nanites and joined the fight. Today, he manages to find time to not only teach at the university and work as a contact with fledgling heroes, but works as a hero himself.

Particle Accelerator (Energy/Energy Stalker): The son of a mechanic, Particle Accelerator grew up around machines, and also reading as many books about physics as he could find... although he could have gotten a scholarship with his aptitude for science, he opted to go into the family business when his father died. In his free time, he tinkered around and eventually managed to build various energy field emitters. Wanting to do something more with his life, he fitted them into a set of power gloves and registered as a hero. However, he felt lost among the thousands of other heroes in Paragon... and one day while working with a contact named Professor Lowell, he went to a warehouse to arrest some thugs, when another hero stormed in and oblivious to his presence, blasted everything away. Particle Accelerator was badly injured, and combined with the fact that his business was failing, a growing sense of resentment and anger built within him. He used an invisibility field he has been working on to sneak into a bank and rob it without being detected. And it worked! However, when he tried a second time, he was caught, arrested, convicted, and sent to the Zig. Any second thoughts he had were overridden by his rage at the good he had tried to do having been ignored, and when Arachnos staged a jailbreak, he jumped at the chance.

Bill Bowman (Trick Arrow/Archery Defender): William Bowman III spent his entire life living in Atlas Park. His father ran a hardware store, and after retirement left it to Bill. Living in a City of Heroes, he heard jokes several times that he name made him sound like some sort of archery-based hero. He laughed them off for years, but one day after seeing an ad for an archery class, he decided to try it out on a whim. He actually was rather good at it. His mundane life continued until the Rikti invaded. He huddled inside his apartment above the hardware store as battles raged outside. However, when he looked outside he saw a remarkable thing: the hero Manticore fighting off the aliens without having any powers, just a bow and arrow. Bill felt a responsibility to protect his home. He grabbed his bow, quiver, and some various scraps from around his store, and walked outside. He only fought a few Rikti himself, but when the war was over, he decided to register as a hero. He now runs a small supergroup with some other lower-powered heroes in his neighborhood, and they work to keep Atlas Park safe.

I spread out making my new builds for all 112 characters I have over about a month from when inherent fitness was announced. I imagine I'll go at around the same pace when it comes to respecs... here and there when I feel like it, or when I don't really feel like playing but don't have other stuff to do.

You know what I'm really excited about on a lot of characters? Not getting new powers, but being able to get powers that I used to put off sooner. The late teens are going to be so much more awesome from now on.

Continuing the big list of highs and lows... the only places in the Rogue Isles above the zone ceilings are in Cap Au and Warburg. However, there is more variation in the ceiling height than in Paragon. Unsurprisingly, the clear winner for tallest thing in the Rogue Isles is the tower in Grandville.

ROGUE ISLES HIGH AND LOW POINTS

Mercy Island (zone ceiling: +900)

• Ghost Widow's Tower (From +12 to +870)
• Building, 100 yd WSW of Mercy (From +239 to +642)
• Clocktower, 80 yd S of Darwin's Landing (From +96 to +530)
• Steet level, Mercy (+238)
• Fort Darwin (From 0 to +232)
• Black Helicopter Line (+176)
• Steel level, Darwin's Landing (+96)
• Ferry to Port Oakes (+19)
• Water level (0)

Port Oakes (zone ceiling: +1225)

• Marconeville Tower (From +63 to +1222)
• Fort Hades (From +10 to +468)
• Arena (From +160 to +463)
• Diable Mountains, 685 yd N of Oil Spill (+384)
• Ferry to Cap Au Diable (+22)
• Ferry to Mercy Island (+20)
• Water level (0)
• Drydocks, Oil Spill (-55)

Cap Au Diable (zone ceiling: +1280)

• Cap Au Diable Tower (From +135 to above ceiling)
• Aeon Corp Tower (From +135 to +1245)
• Smokestack, 450 yd N of Mount Diable (From +224 to +778)
• Mount Diable (+741)
• Atom Monument (From +166 to +430)
• WSPDR building (From 0 to +391)
• Steet level, Aeon City (+135)
• Black Helicopter Line (+24)
• Rogue Island Ferries (+4)
• Steet level, Haven and New Haven (0)
• Water level (-32)

Bloody Bay (zone ceiling: +900)

• Smokestack, 100 yd SW of Water Street (From -5 to +330)
• Top of tree, Dead Coast (+229)
• Watchtower, Freedom Base (+224)
• Smokestack, Arachnos Base (+190)
• Helicopter to Cap Au Diable (+88)
• Water level (-35)

Sharkhead Isle (zone ceiling: +900)

• Hell Forge (From +64 to +662)
• Architect Entertainment (From -4 to +367)
• Radar tower, Villa Requin (+203)
• Shack, 125 yd S of Hospital (+191)
• Rogue Islands Ferry (+4)
• Water level (-32)
• The Pit (-384)

Nerva Archipelago (zone ceiling: +900)

• Crey building (From +16 to +462)
• Thorn Tree (From +12 to +385)
• Architect Entertainment (From +12 to +383)
• Watchtower, Agincourt (+259)
• Rogue Isles Ferry (+12)
• Water level (0)
• Tunnel, 235 yd N of Primeva (-117)

St. Martial (zone ceiling: +900)

• Golden Giza (From 0 to +732)
• Skyscraper, 250 yd E of The Flop (From +16 to +652)
• Skyscraper, 350 yd E of Jackpot (From -32 to +595)
• Smokestack, 450 yd N of Black Mariah (+352)
• Arachnos Base, Double Down (From 0 to +277)
• Rubble pile, 215 yd E of The Hard Way (+156)
• Rogue Isles Ferry (+16)
• Water level (0)
• Lowest street level, Jackpot (-32)
• Pit, 270 yd S of Black Mariah (-185)

Warburg (zone ceiling: +900)

• Several skyscrapers (Above Ceiling)
• Ledge, Skyscraper 300 yd SSW of Warburg (+900)
• Warburg rocket (+300)
• Warburg monument (From +110 to +274)
• Helicopter to St. Martial (0)
• Water level (-12)
• Sludge pool, 70 yd NW of The WEB (-114)

Grandville (zone ceiling: +1300)

• Grandville Tower (From -340 to +1097)
• Lord Recluse's Chamber (-59)
• Statue of Lord Recluse (From -335 to -155)
• Rogue Isles Ferry (-483)
• Water level (-512)
• Dev Dungeon (-672)
• Lowest point in tunnels, 200 yd S of The Fab (-865)
• Grandville Tower lobby (-1044)

The Abyss (zone ceiling: +900)

• DeGen building (+56)
• Hill (+53)
• Water level, outside pit (-64)
• Water level, inside pit (-544)

Hidden among all the awesome in the I19 overview was the statement that hazard zones will be getting new exploration badges. I'm really hoping this means the same eight badges and accolade treatment that city zones got. Am I alone in thinking that would be awesome?

Hell, I hope this includes the Shadow Shard. Because I'm weird like that.

Okay. Over the last two days, I went around Paragon and made this list. It turns out that everywhere in Paragon City has the same zone ceiling of +900, except Steel Canyon, where it is +930.
The number of zones with buildings over the ceiling is larger than I remembered... Outbreak, Atlas, Galaxy, Kings Row, Perez Park, Steel, Skyway, Boomtown, Siren's Call, Talos, Dark Astoria, Founders', and the Rikti War Zone. Other things that go above the ceiling include the reactor in Terra Volta and the giant spire in The Hive neighborhood of Eden. I'd say the Eden Spire is the tallest thing in Paragon, as it looks to be easily twice the zone ceiling.
Notably under the zone ceiling: the blimp in Atlas, skyscrapers in Peregrine and Independence Port, a huge building with a smokestack on top in Crey's Folly that only misses the ceiling by a few feet, and the volcano in Striga Isle.
As for drops, one of the longest nearly straight drops is in Skyway, from the top of a skyscraper (+895) to a ditch maybe 100 feet from the building's base (-142).

PARAGON CITY HIGH AND LOW POINTS

Outbreak

• Two skyscrapers (From -32 and -16 to above ceiling)
• Ledge, Skyscraper (+892)
• Debris pile, Hot Zone (+36)
• Starting point (0)
• Lowest street level (-32)

Atlas Park

• Several skyscrapers (Above Ceiling)
• Window ledge, Skyscraper 250 yd WSW of Atlas Plaza (+899)
• Blimp (+700)
• Statue of Atlas (From +27 to +316)
• City Hall (From +16 to +141)
• Inside Yellow Line (+74)
• Water level, Prometheus Lake (-32)
• Ms. Liberty (+18)
• Gates to Steel Canyon, Skyway City, Perez Park, and The Hollows (0)
• Entrance to the Sewers (-16)
• Lowest street level (-42)
• Entrance to Recluse's Victory (-642)
• Inside City Hall (-768)

Galaxy City

• Several skyscrapers (Above Ceiling)
• Window ledge, Skyscraper 300 yd SSW of Freedom Court (+899)
• Statue of Galaxy Girl (From +32 to +422)
• Inside Yellow Line (+64)
• Gates to Kings Row and Perez Park (0)
• Water level, Gemini Park (-44)

Kings Rows

• Several skyscrapers (Above Ceiling)
• Window ledge, Skyscraper 330 yd N of The Gish (+890)
• PPD Headquarters (From -10 to +385)
• Gates to Galaxy City, Skyway City, and Independence Port (0)
• Inside Yellow Line (-10)
• Lowest street level (-42)
• Water level, Aqueduct (-73)

Perez Park

• Three Skyscrapers, Boneyard (From 0 or +16 to above ceiling)
• Window ledge, Skyscraper 450 yd S of Boneyard (+899)
• Gates to Atlas Park, Galaxy City, Steel Canyon, and Skyway City (0)
• Water level, Everett Lake (-38)
• Water level, stream, 50 yd E of Perez Park (-62)

The Hollows

• Radio mast, 40 yd S of Eastgate Heights (From +494 to +653)
• Rock, 40 yd W of Eastgate Heights (+558)
• Radio mast, Building 180 yd NNW of Four Seasons (From 0 to +291)
• Apartment building, 440 yd NW of Cherry Hills (From 0 to +221)
• Water tower, 130 yd SE of Cherry Hills (+111)
• Gates to Atlas Park and Skyway City (0)
• Water level, Red River (-86)
• Bottom of Grendel's Gulch (-553)

Tunnels of the Trolls

• Near entrance (+144)
• Near trial entrance (-138)

Sewer Network

• Near entrance (0)
• Underworld (-899)

Steel Canyon (zone ceiling: +930)

• Several skyscrapers (Above Ceiling)
• Several skyscrapers (+929)
• Top of tree, Gimry Ridge (+185)
• Inside Yellow Line and Green Line (+32)
• Gates to Atlas Park, Perez Park, Boomtown, Siren's Call, and Independence Port (0)
• Entrance to the Sewers (-84)
• Lowest street level (-85)
• Water level (-118)

Skyway City

• Skyscraper, 360 yd SSE of Astral District (From -110 to above ceiling)
• Skyscraper, 350 yd NW of Vista Plaza (From +31 to above ceiling)
• Skyscraper, 150 yd SSE of Astral District (From -110 to about +905)
• Roof, Skyscraper 150 yd SSE of Astral District (+895)
• Skyscraper, 150 yd NE of Astral District (From -126 to +888)
• Highest street level (+83)
• Gates to Atlas Park, Kings Row, The Hollows, Perez Park, Faultline, and Talos Island (0)
• Inside Green Line (0)
• Inside Yellow Line (-8)
• Entrance to the Sewers (-84)
• Lowest street level (-126)
• Ditch, 100 yd ENE of Astral District (-142)
• Culvert, 370 yd N of Land of the Lost (-170)
• Construction site, 200 yd NE of Land of the Lost (-224)

Boomtown

• Several destroyed skyscrapers (Above Ceiling)
• Several destroyed skyscrapers (+826)
• Highest street level (+295)
• Gate to Steel Canyon (0)
• Entrance to the Sewers (0)
• Lowest street level (-85)
• Plaza, 475 yd SE of Grenadier Village (-100)

Faultline

• Damaged skyscraper, 200 yd NE of Aftershock (From -30 to +751)
• Silo, 400 yd S of Overbrook Dam (+223)
• Overbrook Dam (From -192 to +182)
• Yin's Market (From 0 to +45)
• Gate to Skyway City (0)
• Underground parking (-32)
• Water level, Overbrook Reservoir (-36)
• Arachnos Dig Site (-158)
• Water level, Overflow (-192)
• Inside Dam (-1352)

Siren's Call

• Skyscraper, 100 ft S of Buildville (From 0 to above ceiling)
• Ledge, Skyscraper 100 ft S of Buildville (+820)
• Lighthouse (+155)
• Gate to Steel Canyon (0)
• Lowest street level (-128)
• Water level (-178)

Talos Island

• Four Skyscrapers, New Troy and New Thebes (From +160 to Above Ceiling)
• Skyscraper, Argo Highway (From +96 to above ceiling)
• Ledge, Skyscraper 250 yd E of Green Line (+900)
• Window Ledge, Skyscraper 160 yd NW of Green Line (+899)
• Statue of Talos (From +18 to +402)
• Rock, 100 yd NE of New Thebes (+296)
• Rock, 150 yd E of Scylla Island (+267)
• Rock, 250 yd E of The Serpent's Teeth (+255)
• Rock, 375 yd S of Eleusis (+233)
• Hill, 180 yd N of Green Line (+230)
• Inside Green Line (+192)
• Gate to Dark Astoria (+33)
• Gates to Founders' Falls and Skyway City (+32)
• Water level (-2)

Independence Port

• Bell-Wave Bridge (From -32 to +685)
• Valor Bridge (From -32 to +684)
• Skyscraper, 400 yd SSW of Bell Point (From +31 to +552)
• Smokestack, 250 yd NE of Patriot Wharf (+385)
• Smokestack, 150 yd SW of Justice Quay (+339)
• Gate to Terra Volta (+160)
• Inside Green Line (+32)
• Gates to Steel Canyon, Kings Row, and Brickstown (0)
• Ditch, 620 yd S of Steel Pier (-31)
• Water level (-32)

Dark Astoria

• Skyscraper, 300 yd S of Hospital (From 0 to Above Ceiling)
• Window Ledge, Skyscraper 300 yd S of Hospital (+899)
• Rock, NE corner of Moth Cemetary (+220)
• Gate to Talos Island (0)
• Lowest street level (-42)
• Pit, Moth Cemetary (-80)

Striga Isle

• Mount Richardson (+880)
• Mountain, 600 yd ENE of Bonny Morass (+425)
• Radio Mast, 550 yd W of Bonny Morass (+305)
• Water level (-32)
• Water level, The Bog (-38)
• Lowest point, The Wolf's Throat (-128)

Terra Volta

• Reactor cooling towers (From +448 to above ceiling)
• Ledge, Spire on reactor roof, S of dome (+881)
• Reactor dome (+744)
• Gate to Indepenedence Port (+184)
• Gordon Trench (-129)

Croatoa

• Mountain, 575 yd E of The Broken Teeth (+327)
• Mountain, 380 yd SSE of The Misty Wood (+248)
• Building, 350 yd NW of Salamanca (+208)
• Silo, 430 yd N of New Connaught (+115)
• Inside Green Line (+32)
• Water level, Lake Salamanca (-40)
• Water level, Sprite Pond, 200 yd N of The Misty Wood (-47)

Brickstown

• The Ziggurat (From -16 to +716)
• Skyscraper, 50 ft N of The Abyss Towers (From -64 or 0 to +706)
• Inside Green Line (+32)
• Gates to Independence Port and Crey's Folly (0)
• Dark Waters (-48)
• Underground parking, The Crescent (-78)
• Lowest street level (-96)

Founders' Falls

• Three Skyscrapers, The Gaspee and The Red River (From 0 to above ceiling)
• Window ledge, Skyscraper 450 yd NNW of The Red River (+899)
• Monument, 100 yd SSW of Hutchinson Park (+309)
• Obelisk, Williams Square (From 0 to +280)
• Top of tree, 320 yd SSE of Blackstone Hills (+263)
• Rock, 260 yd N of Louis Forest (+244)
• Gate to Eden (+64)
• Gate to Talos Island (+63)
• Inside Green Line (+32)
• Water level (-21)

Crey's Folly

• Skyscraper with Smokestack on roof, 250 yd W of Tangle Town (From -21 to +894)
• Smokestack, 300 yd NW of Carnival Town (+682)
• Smokestack, 425 yd N of Crey Factories (+588)
• Gates to Brickstown and Rikti War Zone (0)
• Water level (-21)
• Pit, 100 yd S of The Blight (-47)

Eden

• The Hive Spire (From 0 to way above ceiling)
• Destroyed Skyscraper, 300 yd S of The Serpentine (From -25 to +795)
• Gates to Founders' Falls and The Hive (0)
• Water under destroyed road, 230 yd S of The Serpentine (-53)
• Pit, 50 yd SE of The Pit (-96)

Abandoned Sewer Network

• Near entrance (0)
• Trial entrance (-912)

Peregrine Island

• Skyscraper, Nelson Borough (From 0 to +766)
• Skyscraper with Radio Mast, Curry Cove (From +16 to +663)
• Statue, 260 yd SW of Ferry (From 0 to +355)
• Hill, 285 yd E of Portal Court (+192)
• Top of tree, Cutlass Isles (+160)
• Hill, Tempest Quay (+128)
• Ferry to Talos Island (0)
• Water level (-24)
• Inside Portal Corps (-208)
• Portal Rooms inside Portal Corps (-576)

Rikti War Zone

• Two skyscrapers, Pork Chop Hill (From 0 and +16 to above ceiling)
• Window Ledge, Skyscraper 300 yd W of Pork Chop Hill (+899)
• Statue of Mustang (From +10 to +333)
• Gate to Crey's Folly (0)
• Lowest street level (-42)
• Water catchment, 220 yd SSW of The Bulge (-54)
• Council base (-72)
• Near Rikti Mothership (-170)
• Inside Vanguard Base (-1188)

The Hive

• Spire, 0.53 mi W of Eden Gate (+404)
• Cooling Tower, 1.08 mi NW of Eden Gate (+321)
• Gate to Eden (0)
• Safe Rock (-173)
• Hamidon (-338)

I'm a huge dork, so I just went ahead and compiled this. It's entirely possible that I missed a higher or lower rock somewhere, but I'm fairly confident I found them. Also, the floors and ceilings have an error of about plus or minus 50.

SHADOW SHARD HIGH AND LOW POINTS

Firebase Zulu (zone floor -1100, zone ceiling +6900)

• Rock, 0.82 mi S of Firebase November (+3680)
• Firebase Zulu Forcefield (From 0 to +1970)
• Entrance from Cascade Archipelago (+1840)
• Entrance from Peregrine Island (+1080)
• Rock, 0.67 mi E of Point Sierra (Under Floor)
• Inside Mole Point (-1780)

Cascade Archipelago (zone floor -1200, zone ceiling +6900)

• Rock, Tyrant's Rock (+5480)
• Crimson Falls (From -520 to +3910)
• Entrance from Firebase Zulu (+1840)
• Rock, 0.56 mi E of Marooned Shores (-560)
• Inside Mole Point (-1780)

The Chantry (zone floor -1150, zone ceiling +6200)

• Chantry Orb (From +710 to +3220)
• Island, Path of Rage (+2290)
• Entrance from The Storm Palace (+2080)
• Entrance from Cascade Archipelago (+1540)
• Bottom of Island, 825 yd E of Bastion of Pain (-520)
• Inside Chantry Orb (-2000)

The Storm Palace (zone floor -1700, zone ceiling +6300)

• Storm Palace Orb (From +1670 to +4180)
• Rock, 0.93 mi W Storm Palace (+2850)
• Rock, Lock of Destruction (+2850)
• Entrance from The Chantry (-30)
• Rock, 650 yd W of Path of Madness (-1300)

Interesting fact: Whenever you set a marker in the Shadow Shard, it is on the level of the z=0 zone datum.

The Hive in Eden, right? When people mentioned structures reaching the zone ceiling, I immediately thought of that.

There are several skyscrapers that reach through or near their zone ceilings, in most zones with lots of skyscrapers. I specifically remember hitting the ceiling with combat jumping while on top of buildings in Steel, Skyway, and I think Peregrine...

As for the Shadow Shard, I remember there also being a particularly high point at Tyrant's Rock, or whatever that area was called...

Now I was to go around and make a list of the tallest buildings.

I'm another person who only occasionally gets hasten (usually if the character super speeds...)

My favorite travel power is super jump. If I can't think of anything for travel power, I'll just default to it. But fly is the one I use the next most often, and then super speed a bit behind that. Teleport is WAY down behind those, just because you can't idly teleport around while not paying attention. When bored or waiting for someone, I always randomly run/jump/fly around.