Peacemoon

I play exclusively on Virtue so never had a problem with population.

I do sometimes play on other servers to test a character out before "committing" to using a slot on Virtue, but thats about it. Still, those servers do seem pretty quiet in comparison :/

Hopefully GR will bring in some fresh blood and returning players. I know some people don't like crowded servers, but I think for the games health and players in general it would be nice to see a more lively, buzzing community. Playing on your own for most people is pretty boring.

Also... the lower the populations go, the more people will avoid low population servers and instead migrate to servers which are popular. So even if the devs don't do anything, unless something changes you are only going to see the quieter servers get quieter and the busier servers get busier, which has already been happening for a while now.

Been trying to choose a 49th power for my FF/AR but just don't what to choose. Also I don't have experience with most of the powers on the list which makes it hard to really weigh up the options.

A little about my hero:

I specialised her to be a good team player with buffs and leadership. I usually play Controllers so really wanted to capitalize on a Defenders strength, so gone for a lot of AoE attacks.
She has 4 toggles, dispersion bubble, manouvers, assault and temporary invulnerability. EndUse comes out as 0.99 with all 4 running. (They are all slotted for end reduction.) I'll link her Mids build at the end.

Anyway about the 49th power, here are the options. I have 2 slots avail for it (Max is 3 if I take out an end reduct in temp. invuln.)

Conserve Power: Im a bit worried she will continue to have end problems so this is kind of a fail safe. With her global recharge and 2 recharges slotted it has a pretty decent uptime.

Total Focus: Because I specialised her in AoE powers, I thought it might be nice to give her a big hitting single target attack for use on bosses. Also I could stack the stun with Beanbag, although i have slotted beanbag to be great for that task just on its own. The other advantage is its non-lethal damage. Pesky robots!

Ignite: Seems like it does a load of damage but I have no experience with the power at all. My common teaming partner is a fire controller, so with AoE immobalize..?

Repulsion Field or Force Bolt: Been trying to squeeze these powers in but just never found the room for them.

So...now you see my dilemma! Any advice is appreciated. At the moment I'm favouring either total focus or ignite.

Nina's build as promised:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Nina Faithshield: Level 48 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Assault Rifle
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(3), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(3), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(5), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(5), RedFtn-Def(7)
Level 1: Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 2: Slug -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(13), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 4: Buckshot -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(17), Posi-Dmg/Rng(17), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Posi-Dam%(19)
Level 6: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 8: Hover -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 10: Personal Force Field -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(21), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(21), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(23), RedFtn-Def(23), RedFtn-EndRdx(25)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Insulation Shield -- RedFtn-EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(25), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(27), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(27), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29), RedFtn-Def(29)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(31)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(31), EndMod-I(31)
Level 22: Beanbag -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(33), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(33), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(33), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(34)
Level 24: Sniper Rifle -- Mantic-Acc/Dmg(A), Mantic-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Mantic-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(37), Mantic-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(37), Mantic-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Mantic-Dam%(39)
Level 26: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(34), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFtn-Def(36), RedFtn-EndRdx(36)
Level 28: Flamethrower -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(40), Posi-Dmg/Rng(40), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Posi-Dam%(42)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 35: Repulsion Bomb -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(46), Posi-Dmg/Rng(46), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(48)
Level 38: Full Auto -- Ragnrk-Dmg(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(42), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(43), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Ragnrk-Knock%(43)
Level 41: Power Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(45), AdjTgt-Rchg(45)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(45), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(50)
Level 47: Force Bubble -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 49: [Empty] -- Empty(A), Empty(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 6: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 13% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 13% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 13% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 13% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 13% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 13% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 13% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 13% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 3% Defense(Smashing)
• 3% Defense(Lethal)
• 3% Defense(Fire)
• 3% Defense(Cold)
• 15.2% Defense(Energy)
• 15.2% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 3% Defense(Melee)
• 19.9% Defense(Ranged)
• 3% Defense(AoE)
• 71% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 96.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 13% FlySpeed
• 13% JumpHeight
• 13% JumpSpeed
• Knockback (Mag -4)
• Knockup (Mag -4)
• MezResist(Immobilize) 8.8%
• 21% (0.35 End/sec) Recovery
• 12% (0.51 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 14.8% Resistance(Fire)
• 14.8% Resistance(Cold)
• 17.5% Resistance(Toxic)
• 13% RunSpeed

In Talos island there is a newsie who shouts about new additions to the game. Mentioning the train station at Founders', Crotoa, etc.

I think the terminals should be changed into this. With each issue, update the text to give clues and hints about new content and new happenings.

In Asheron's Call, they used to have Town Criers who after each patch would tell you information about new additions. I really think this would be a good purpose for them.

I have to say, when choosing a height for my characters I tend to disregard the numbers because I don't feel they are an accurate representation once you get ingame.

I tend to think "Above average" or "Below average" and move the slider based on that. If you want a character to be a really big, I would put the slider far to the right.

I think the original posters point is so blatently obvious, most people wont even bother to psot to agree with it.

That is the problem with MMO's though, they spend a lot of time adding new and amazing stuff, adding better tech, raising the standard and the bar....

...but then forget about all the old crap and leave it as a horrible experience.


For example, I have been trying to get my brother back into the game. I keep telling him how it has changed and how much it has improved, yet he makes a new character and begins to play the first 10 levels and gets bogged down in "Kill 10 Lost or Kings Row" or "Visit that cop guy in Hollows" or "Kill 10 Circle of Thorns mystics in Perez Park" or "Speak to the Steel Canyon Security Chief". or "Speak to the Boomtown Security Chief" or...do I really need to go bloody on??

Granted, Going Rogue will be a great boon for this issue, and I don't want to see the devs spend 9 months revisiting all old content whilst giving us nothing else to do. Yet in my mind, I can't think why this stuff is just blatently abandoned. I don't want a huge revamp, but why not cull some of the god awful missions that plague low level contacts and just tidy it up a bit??

I agree completely with the Shadow Shard stuff by the way. It should be opened up to Villains as well. But I would prefer to have low level stuff cleaned up first.

This came up in google when I searched for it, so thanks Silver Gale :-)

What server are you on?

Yesterday I was doing a Sister Psyche TF on Virtue at offpeak time, which was almost called off due to the unbearable lag being suffered by the entire team. One person even logged off in a tantrum it was even that bad.

Hey guys, I have a friend who was using a trial account and recently upraded to a standard one. Now he is trying to buy the ninja and mutant booster packs but keeps getting the following error when trying to pay:

"We're sorry, but we are unable to accept your order at this time. Please try again later or tomorrow. If you continue to have problems, you may wish to visit one of our retail partners."

So I offered to buy it for him on my computer, and I'm getting the same issue aswell.

Is the store offline or is it a bug to do with the fact he was a trial account?

My only problem with radio/paper missions is that its highly likely some players do not realise that there are story arcs.

I think the devs should review the old arcs and bring the travelling into line. They should then also give everyone all the contacts a zone has to offer the first time they arrive there.

Why?

I have a few characters who at level 5, joined a radio team and then quickly became level 14. Then having to go back and bring all your contacts up to date is a real time waster.

Oh, and they can get rid of the "Kill 10 CoT in Perez Park" missions, something my level 7 Defender wondered why bother with.

Recently I have noticed a rise in the "We need a tank!" or "We need a healer" mentality, even from people I would consider as veterens with 30+ months under their belt, or otherwise intelligent players who have the awareness to join TF related chat channels.

I'm just wondering, will we ever shake this? Is the 'Wow Culture' just too hard to fight against?

I was doing a Synapse TF yesterday with 3 controllers (Fire+Thermal, Illusion+Rad, Grav+Kin) and 2 defenders (FF+AR, Rad+Sonic), and yet despite all these buffs, debuffs and the sheer amount of control at our disposal, plus the fact they were all high level's exemplared down, there was a sense of sheer panic from some members that I had not included a tank in the roster.

The other day I was doing a Posi TF and the leader (a tank), commented how Defenders are only good for healing. Thankfully some of the team quickly corrected him, but as a Force Field defender, it gets me down. This is not the first time I have heard such talk, with comments like "not enough defenders have heals these days" being something that sticks.

Today, I ran a sister psyche TF. We had a tank, several blasters and a peacebringer. We also had 2 defenders, both of us being Force Fields. With 1 spot remaining what does the leader ask for? A healer. We managed to get him to invite a scrapper instead after a quick talk from some of the team, but it feels like an uphill struggle. Although I did enjoy the fact with 2 FF's in the team, everyone was pretty much a tank.

Finally, in the last 3 days I have seen so many heros with the word "Healer" in their name. (All empaths). I've had Empaths proudly flashing a healer inscribed neon sign whilst looking for a team, only to rock the aura and do little else.

With every new wave of players or returning players, it seems we have to refight the same war. You. Don't. Need. A. Healer!

You don't need a tank either if controllers know what they are doing.

I know this seems like a general consensus on the forums, but believe me ingame is a different matter.

Oh well, rant over. :-)

The EU homepage is also dead, and makes the game seem dead as well :P

Interesting article and I happen to agree to an extent.

Yet, do we really want our heroes to be murderers?

Yes, Batman would probably do us all a favour by killing The Joker, and would probably save many innocent lives in the process. But does that mean we need to round up and kill all convicted murderers, or criminals and execute them?

Does it matter if we kill off all Skulls, Hellions, Trolls etc in the name of the greater good? The author seems to think it is a price worth paying for a safe and civilised society, yet its not as simple as that. Are Hellions really "evil" or simply misguided and misunderstood youths? Are Trolls really beyond redemption? I seem to remember a pleasant one in The Hollows.

The author states that wiping out the "bad eggs" of society would be better for humanity as a whole, but this is dangerous talk. Its interesting to see how close to the line people can get to before they realise they've just jumped over it.

Come on, I know you've all done it. No one can be that eager to train when they reach 7,9,11 or even 13.

Maybe when you get higher and you have good enhancements waiting. But at low level, I wait for a "power level" ;-)

Not every power has to trump all others. It has utility, combine that with a clever player and thats all it needs to be useful.

was thinking about this issue last night... don't ask why, and had some thoughts on how they could be improved. :-)

Like we said in the other thread, the intention is to preserve the mechanic and make it useful.

I have played with powers like Dimension Shift; years ago I took it as Kinetic Kat's main AoE control instead of Crushing Field, so I have experience in figuring out ways to make it useful. (Yes, I was a noob :P). Even today, it is still on her build and I took the liberty of playing around with it again. So these ideas are not just random, but designed to specifically target problem issues.

(1) Make phased enemies untargetable.

The biggest problem with AoE phase powers is the amount of wasted effort by the team as they accidently target phased enemies. It often takes a while for people to realise they are hitting an intangible enemy. This can cause a lot of annoyance to team members. Especially if they have used a long recharge power like total focus or lingering radiation. However it is even worse if you waste a power like Transfusion, Twilight Grasp etc.

By making enemies who are phased untargetable, the player will not have to sift through a whole pack of phased mobs to find the ones that are still attackable. Think of how Freakshow are untargetable whne they rezz, that was the inspiration for this idea. Suddenly, only the attackable ones will be targetable and this will greatly reduce the burden on the player. (They are meant to be in a different dimension or stuck in a black hole anyway!!)


(2) Reduce the chance to apply phase to 50%~ for AoE powers.

There is nothing worse then casting Dimension Shift and phasing the whole pack, forcing your team to sit and wait for 20s while they all unphase. Trust me, I've done it a few times. One of the suggestions was to lower the base accuarcy so that it would be unlikely to hit everyone in the pack, but I would go one further.

After a successful hit check, have a 50% chance to apply phase. Aslong as the random number generator is playing nice, only half a pack should ever be phased at once. This would make Dimension Shift and Black Hole powers that could effectively remove half a pack of enemies. For some groups, this would make them more manageable. Ideally this number would be enhanceable, but that might be too much work.


(3) Debuff Regeneration + Recovery while phased.

This was another idea in the other thread which I think is good. Phased enemies should be in "stasis", and not be effected by natural regen while phased out.


Conclusion: The idea of these changes would be to make intangibility powers more usuable in combat, and I think these changes would do that. They still would not be good for those amazing teams which AoE and steamroll everything, but it would give them much more utility, which I think is fair. Not every powers needs to be useful in every situation. I imagine them being used on either a weak team or in response to a massive ambush, to turn the tide of battle in the teams favour.

Thoughts & comments appreciated, peace. :-)

I'm aware of the pros and cons, but my opinion is that they should be global. It would be nice to have a "I was around back then" badge, which represents whether the player was online at the time it was given.

Vet badges kind of do this but actually, unless you've had your account on the whole 6 years its difficult to tell how much of a veteren some people are once they get into the 30+ months.

Personally I have the 1yr, 2yr, 4yr, 5yr and 6yr badges, but most only have 5 and 6..

It all started wrong with the tutorial. "You're only free because we freed you from prison, now you owe us." Not a great way to start a career, in debted to Arachnos for saving your ***.

Personally I tend to disregard that. It is a shame that CoV has always been much more restrictive in terms of creating a story for your villain. Even so much as forcing them to take an Arachnos patron to get your epic powers. Thats one of the reasons I prefer CoH, it assumes nothing and gives you freedom over your characters story.

I would like to request a foot version of sleek tights for males. Currently you can get sleek tights for legs but not for feet. There is a version available to females.

I would also like to request the small padded fingerless gloves option for males. I know you can access it in the Smooth/Bare option, but for female characters they actually get a unique option for it.


As for suggestions put me down for more elegant dresses and tops with skin for females. The wedding pack has some great options with bridal, heart plus, excess plus, angelic plus, would love to see some more variations with that level of quality. Long gloves which cover the forearm would be great as well, currently the only option is the witch gloves which are a bit menacing.

Would be nice to get long dresses which go down to the ankles as well, its really missing.

For male characters this could pave the way for full length robes, like what the Circle of Thorns wear.

I would also like to see more shoes added and not just boots. For any formal character wearing long trousers, both male and female, there is no option for appropriate footwear. You have to make do with "Work" boots, or use a variety of cowboy, stealth or even rubber to make the look you want. Thanks :-)

If there was an expansion, of course I would buy it.

Yet, since GR has been on the cards regular issues have been smaller. I17 gave us a new story arc, but compared to previous issues it really wasn't much. Having said that, I love Ultra mode, but I wish I had new content to use it on