Primal

If the NPC AI improves, their damage and abundance of secondary effects drops, and mezzes shouldn't be so ubiquitous. The reason they have all that is because they're brick-stupid and predictable. If one level rises, the other falls. Raise BOTH too much, and bam, forced teaming to do anything, outside of some very specific builds, as you'd NEED debuffers, buffers, and a tank, rather than those just being helpful.

And how long should each mission take, really? If enemies are taking cover and you have to coordinate a plan to get them, you can end up with a lengthy mission, which can hurt the "I can log in and finish a mission during lunch" appeal this game has. I also question if PuGs would be as easy to join, since there's coordination involved now; I suspect that SGs and groups of friends would soon become the biggest (or only)game in town, rather than the fringe groups they are now. Fine for some, the game's death knell for others. Seen it happen in other MMOs.

Agent Ziyi, DP/Energy.

Still at work for another couple of hours sadly, will post when I get home. Just wanted to say though, I foresee a whole lot of characters with the Government Glasses. Love that not-at-all-a-Grammaton-Cleric there bAss.

I've got my Lara Croft clone all planned out.

****, did I just type that out loud?

Best. Set. Ever. Combine it with jumping in the Ninja Run, seriously.

I'm not a big fan of playing Defenders honestly, but the three I've played up 'til decent levels went along just fine without it.

Dark/Electric made it to 34 or so before I decided she'd work better conceptually as a Dark/Rad, who's back to level 24. Neither has nor really needs Stamina. I attack a lot with both. Don't get me wrong, the blue bar stays less than half full most of a mission on a team, but as long as I have SOME end it doesn't matter.

Also had a TA/A who made it to 23 before I frankly got bored with the concept and lost interest in the character. She was rarely ever even close to being out of end, unless something majorly hoggy in TA came later I had no plans to dip into Fitness. I have no idea what I'd drop to get it either.

Hmm, just realized that Swift is part of Fitness, isn't it? Okay, the Dark/Rad has Swift, just isn't bothering with anything else.

That cost $50!

Plus, honestly, the game didn't get that good 'til later. By which time it was around $37.50.

I do so hope we can pre-order the Complete Collection. Best $40 I will have ever spent.

Legally anyway.

I can say with absolute certainty that I've played this game far longer than any other. Approaching 6 years here, closest competitors are Diablo 2 (2.5 years) and Oblivion (about 3), and I think I logged more actual in-game hours on my two mains alone than either of those games.

As far as MMOs go, Co* blows everything away, there's simply no competition at all right now, and until 2011 I see no change, maybe not even then.

I break every now and then, don't log in at all, and at times in the past I've dropped my account for financial reasons, but I always come crawling back. Rather than making it easier to not log in, like most games, absence just fuels the desire.

Best game ever? All the signs I care about point to yes. GR will just make it better.

I play my Bane Spider like a War Mace Stalker. Works pretty well.

I'll happily back Battle Axe (and Mace) for proper Stalkers too, hard to argue against the good ol' offscreen-teleporting Stealthy-when-the-plot-demands Axe Slasher being available as a character concept. I've long been a proponent of every set going to those who can use it. I have a concept for an Axe Stalker myself, albeit one that's more (anti-)heroic and will have to wait for GR.

Hmm, perhaps an underhand swing? Note the animation for the Undead Slaying axe, a two-handed blow to the kidneys. (Is the animation the same for everyone? I haven't used it enough to notice, I seem to recall a difference.) That's more subtle and stalkery.

I love the game 1-10ish and then again 22-50, but the teen levels make me want to scream. It's not the lack of end that's the big issue, not every character has trouble with the blue, but EVERY character has horrible accuracy during that time period, and the ways to ameliorate it (slightly) are almost as annoying for me as just gritting my teeth and getting through it already. I don't PL, teaming's the best way to endure it. If I'm unlucky with getting a team, the only way I can make it is by playing until I start swearing, then it's time to play a higher-level character or something else entirely.

Promise it wasn't my fault. I don't red-rep anybody anymore, and barely bother with the green.

I haven't come to a decision on you, Westley, which is unusual for me. I usually pretty consistently either like people, loathe them, or feel entirely indifferent, and all of these are represented on the forums. Most of the ones I really dislike have gone, thankfully, not naming names.

But you I waffle on. Some posts have me rolling my eyes, others have me seeing your point or at least entertained. Sure, even other posters I usually like have made the occasional facepalm post, and people I don't like have suddenly made brief sense before jamming their hat firmly back into its familiar orifice, but to yo-yo so consistently is something special. You're not quite a unique snowflake, there are others like that, but this thread isn't about them.

My point here? Hell, I don't know. What color do you get from green and red? It occurs to me that I'm apparently allergic to poinsettias, which surely is a coincidence and not at all drenched in the subtle symbolism of an English 101 paper written by an IT major.

Very interesting. I've been an NVidia user for many years, but those links are something to think about. Hmm, $122.99 for that HIS at newegg, not bad, beats the $300 I paid for the 7800 (back when it was brand new and on the edge, lol).

The only thing lacking in the creator imo is belts, scabbards, holsters. Optional asymmetrical ability obviously is the preference here, but if that's a problem, and it seems to be, then we'll take what we can get. Especially with Dual Pistols coming around soon, the lack of holsters, ANY holsters, has real poignance. Hmm, perhaps that Officer's Belt is a good start.

The only thing I've done in the game really GR related is make some placeholders* for new characters, and think conceptually about the existing ones that'll switch sides.

Otherwise I'm just playing as usual. I'm also trying to get through Dragon Age, but that accursed "memory leak", aka each loading screen increases the length of the next, until it takes FOR-FREAKIN'-EVER to load, means I can't seem to play that game for more than an hour. I recently cancelled my subscription (again) to AoC, I've already secured my access to The Secret World anyway, and I've had my fill of decapitations and stylish neck-breaking for awhile. A little bit of Titan Quest IT, a bit more of Sacred 2 (GRRR at having to buy the International edition to get access to the expansion...), the whole RL thing, and I have plenty to do 'til GR.

* - Never fear, I'm 99% sure the names I've taken don't include The One you desperately want.

That darn MA-using baddie can be a right royal pain if the all-powerful god RNG is displeased with you and you forgot to bring the proper offering of a break-free. He (the robber that is) loves him some Cobra Strike, it recharges pretty fast, and one of my characters got stunned three times in a row back to back, unable to do anything. Oddly enough though he missed every other attack, so maybe RNG just needed a laugh that day.

OP, if you haven't discovered (or been told) the trick yet, it's this. Blue-side safeguards, RUSH the bank, ignore everything else, the robber's standing in the lobby just waiting for you to move a few feet from the entrance. Let not a single enemy in the bank get out. Red-side it's the polar opposite (unless you're looking to show off your AoE ability), you WANT to meander your way to the bank, that way you can take on the Longbow ambushes at a manageable rate, whatever that is for you. Those ambushes stack, and they WILL follow you.

This is great news. Bravo, whoever made this decision. Heck, it's even getting some money out of me which wouldn't happen otherwise, since I can now justify (to myself) buying extra slots. Shrewd move there NCSoft.

I have a couple of level-1 nameholders, and several existing characters of various levels that are sitting idle, all waiting for GR. Although I have been playing other characters in the meantime, some of which were new.

Entirely new, waiting for GR:

- Al 'Aqrab (i.e. The Scorpion), evil Archery/Something Blaster
- Silent Force, heroic Fire/Storm Corruptor
- Blood of the Damned, evil Pistols/Something Corruptor

And two more, an evil MA/Regen Scrapper (alternate universe version of my namesake) and a heroic Pistols Blaster, neither of which has a name yet.

To be rerolled/switch sides come GR, to fit various concepts better:

- Ason Svivati, currently a Stone/Elec Brute...she's pretty darn anti-, but she's a hero at heart.
- Bane Spider Minchew and
- Fortunata Epps will both go blue-side (assuming such is allowed).
- Mecha Wasp is a Bots/TA MM, who'll finally see that it was just a few bad apples calling themselves "heroes" that destroyed her life, and will turn toward the blue.

Some might go the middle route, specifically the Pistols Blaster, not sure about the alignment of the new area. There's a rumor (or a fact?) of a new AT too, might throw a wrench into plans if it strikes my fancy.

I love being a wierdo. Sure, people may cross the street and call me THAT guy, but there are certain benefits as well. I know you're gagging for a full list, but only one is important here: I come up with some wacky names, and I rarely ever have any issues getting the name I want.

Foreign languages are a fertile source for names, for instance, yet they're scarcely even tapped. I was into names from Swahili for awhile, but for the last couple of years it's been the various Arabic forms. The Scorpion will most assuredly be in use (or copyrighted), but Al'Aqrab was there for the taking. Last time I checked the Spanish version, El Alacran, derived from Arabic, was available as well. I like both of those better than Scorpion too, they have a more sinister sound to them. Sure, few in the game will get the meaning, but that's what the doggone bio field is for.

But I don't even have to Google for online translators much, sometimes I get lucky. I got Staff Chick, on Virtue, a few days ago. Bite me, that's an awesome name, once I can realize my dream of a Staff/Regen Scrapper I simply shall not want.

Sadly it doesn't always work out so well. For a Dual Pistols Blaster, I got an image of a horrendously stereotypical anime-ish heroine, trenchcoated and guns akimbo. Decided she'd be military, and the rank of Major sounded really good. Now I needed a last name, and "Kusanagi" was a perfect fit. Went through the creator, got to the end... "That name is not available". Huh, normally it says "in use", doesn't it? Finally it dawned on me to remember that particular anime, and now my whole darn concept seems like a knock-off.

Look, the point is, I don't like attaching Global names to character names either. Okay, that wasn't the point, but I've got to end this rambling somewhere.