Sardan

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i wanted to know what AT is pwning at the moment.

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What's more important is how the various ATs are going to do in i14. Widows have been very strong but the elusivity nerf combined with their damage being reduced may change things somewhat. Or not.

I just don't see cars working without major work, and it's hard to see how it'd be worth it. You couldn't attack while in car form, so it'd be pretty limiting. I'd much rather see hover boards/flying carpets. No, they're not directly comparable to vehicles but they're more doable and give us some variety. Oh, and I'd like some tech wings that are really fixed wings with rocket pods on the tips, please! Not the current ones that flap (although those are cool).

What are the best powers in Cold? Does Snow Storm prevent a Stalker from hiding?

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Please update the patch notes to this:
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• Pet Powers Change:
o Recharge times on pet attack powers will no longer be affected by any outside source. This includes buffs and debuffs. What this means is that pets can no longer have the recharge time on their powers increased by player buffs (like Speed Boost) or their recharge time decreased by player or NPC debuffs. This change was made to limit the effectiveness of pets to match our original design; a bug was allowing nearly all pets to exceed intended levels of damage and control. This fix also allows pets with multiple powers to correctly cycle through their attacks instead of getting locked into using a single power, and allows Recharge Intensive Pet IO sets to have the intended effects.


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Very nice. Agreed. A huge part of the confusion is the difference in the existing patch notes vs "the rest of the story".

I'm a total PvP newb so I can't tell you who the king of PvP is, but one thing I do know is that they're toning down Elusivity a bit in i14. So don't roll an SR or Widow based solely on how they perform in i13.

Are 2 Steadfast knockback IOs enough to not get knocked down by KO Blow?

Here's my first stab at a build. I tried to go for a lot of ranged defense (22% with Maneuvers), but I'm not sure how DR affects set bonuses. If DR is going to nullify the ranged defense, I'd love to save some money and frankenslot instead of going for the bonuses.

I only slotted one knockback IO. Should I do one more? Build also includes the +ToHit and +Perception IOs.

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 1: Flares -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(15), Range-I(40)
Level 1: Power Thrust -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(39), Mako-Dam%(39), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 2: Fire Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Range-I(11)
Level 4: Fire Ball -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Acc/Dmg(17), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(17), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), RechRdx-I(36), Range-I(37)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7)
Level 8: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 10: Maneuvers -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(40)
Level 12: Aim -- AdjTgt-ToHit(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(13), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(13), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(15), AdjTgt-Rchg(40)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Clrty-Stlth(A), Zephyr-Travel(34), Zephyr-ResKB(37)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Tactics -- AdjTgt-ToHit(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(19), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(19), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(21), Rec'dRet-Pcptn(21)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(23), P'Shift-End%(37)
Level 22: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(23), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(25), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Build%(43)
Level 24: Blaze -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(25), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(27), Range-I(29), Range-I(29)
Level 26: Blazing Bolt -- ExecCtrt-Acc/Dmg(A), ExecCtrt-Dmg/EndRdx(31), ExecCtrt-Dmg/ActRdx(31), ExecCtrt-Dmg/Rng(31), ExecCtrt-Dmg/Rchg(46), ExecCtrt-Stun%(46)
Level 28: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 30: Aid Other -- Heal-I(A)
Level 32: Aid Self -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(33), IntRdx-I(34), IntRdx-I(34)
Level 35: Boost Range -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 38: Bone Smasher -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50), F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg(50)
Level 41: Personal Force Field -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(42)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(45), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(45)
Level 47: Force of Nature -- Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(48), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(48), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(50)
Level 49: Vengeance -- DefBuff-I(A)

I've had a TON of fun taking my controller into RV on Freedom. It started that I just wanted to get the RV badges for heavies & pillboxes but I slowly got drawn in. I gotta say one thing that's remarkably different from the last time I poked my head into a PvP zone (over a year ago) is that there is very little of the childish smack talk that was spewed constantly in the past. Has that truly changed or have I just been lucky? The friendlier atmosphere definitely encouraged me to try it more. In the past, the constant smack talk and repeated TP Foe into death traps made it totally un-fun for me.

Anyway, I wanted to dust off my lvl 50 Fire/NRG blaster and spec him for zone PvP. Any tips you can give, especially build templates, would be most welcome. I know there are lots of older guides, but i13 is a new ball game, and i14 brings more changes, right? So I want advice that's really aimed at i14, not i9!

Here are some specific questions:
1. I know that PFF is being nerfed in i14, but will it still be good to have?
2. Flares: never took it in PvE. Good to have in PvP?
3. Phase is pretty much mandatory?
4. Snipe? I know long rooting attacks make stalkers happy, but I was thinking that many players don't look above them (well, at least *I* dont, but I'm an admitted PvP newb). What about the idea of hover snipe as an opener?
5. Power Boost? I didn't bother taking it in PvE. From what I've read I'll be better off fighting at range, so I can still skip this, right?
6. Travel powers: is Super Speed + the temp jet pack for vertical sufficient?
7. Would Combat Jumping protect me from being immob'd in PvP the way it does in PvE? I seem to recall getting immob'd on my controller even though I had CJ running. If it helps I'll take it but if Corrs and Doms can just blast through it I'd rather not waste a power pool on it!
8. I'd love any edge I can get to see stalkers and Widows. Should I take Tactics? The +Perception IO? What else?
9. Aid Self. Love having it PvE. Important for PvP?

Like I said, if you have a build you can share, so much the better.

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<QR>

Phoenix is a mythical creature that's been around for a LONG time, since the Egyptian times. It's also the name of a city and various sporting groups. Kinda hard to call that one "copyrighted."

Gambit, however, is a little more of a clear cut case. It's a word, no special history applied to it. A chess tactic, a sacrifice to obtain a better position. Pretty much able to be copyrighted as a name for somebody, but not as a word. Still, that's what we have the "Report for objectionable content" button for.

Edited slightly for clarity... I guess.

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You misunderstand copyright law. For example, "wolverine" is the name of an animal and cannot be owned by any company for commercial purposes. However, it is indeed owned within the restrictive domain of a comic superhero. So if you want to create a store called "Wolverine Groceries" you could and there's no infringement, but if you want to create a superhero named Wolverine, that's trouble. It's that type of domain restriction that makes it OK for one company to own the name Pioneer Electronics and another to own Pioneer Chicken. No possible market confusion.

So the use of both Pheonix and Gambit are protected when it comes to superhero characters, but not other uses.

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Will the Devs create their own arcs and publish them, would'nt mind seeing what the Devs have to write up. would be kinda cool...maybe eventually get special badges for defeating Dev created content.

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Err, that set of missions has been known as "City of Heroes".

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farming is going to be the end of this game. Looks like the devs are going to help make this city of farmers even more with this issue.

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Huh? If a player opts to exclusively play MA content, that's not farming. That's just selecting from available content. No harm, no foul. And it's certainly preferable to endlessly grinding out BORING newspaper/scanner missions, which many teams do.

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They can go up to April 14th, since that's the current release date of the Architect Edition, which is supposed to accompany the issue. I am not saying I14 won't drop before then, but they've got more than just March to aim for.

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The dates can be pretty flexible. First, Amazon just slaps the expected release date on products like this. It's no big deal for them to adjust it. On the other hand I can speak from experience that once Marketing gives a release date to retailers for software there's a TON of pressure to release it on time.

In terms of what they put in the box, don't forget that really all they have to do is put updated art files on the master to avoid the huge downloads required by older CD versions. After all, the DVD will only have the latest edition of the game for a few weeks at best. So it's not crucial to get exactly the right build on there the way it is for a console game. What's equally important is that it gives them a chance to update the text/artwork on the box to reflect the game as it is as of i14 as opposed to the old "now you can play a villain!" message, which is passe.

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Just a quick thought... people going through all 50 lvls in MA mishes will be missing out on a lot of temp and accolade powers (unless they want to do a lot of Flashbacking); hopefully the MA system will have it's own set of 'perks' available to those who spend a majority of their time in that system (even if it's only usable in that system) w/o toggling off their XP option?

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It's pretty much certain that you won't be able to put temp powers in MA missions. So players won't leave an MA-created mission with things like the Wedding Band.

As for its own set of perks, the MA offers the ticket system which will allow players to cash in tickets for recipes or MA mission creators can use them to unlock additional MA features like special maps or villain groups.

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Oh! Better idea... Is there any way you can give certain ratings more 'weight' than others? If someone rates a mission without playing it, it would have a low weight against the total rating, while someone who completes it has a greater effect on the overall rating. What do you think?

*EDIT* This could count more towards the badge, too, in some way.

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That's a reasonable idea. Someone who rates an arc after playing half of the first mission shouldn't have an equal vote compared to the person who played all the missions in the arc.

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Positron, I am a little concerned about the possible rate griefing involved with being able to rate an arc that hasn't been played. Especially when there are badges involved in rating unrated arcs or ones that don't have many ratings. A lot of people will probably get their badges simply by going down the line of unrated arcs, slapping a 1 star rating on them, and getting their badge in the process. I've seen rating systems on web-published content experience things like that, and that's WITHOUT the enticing badge. Please reconsider allowing someone to rate an unfinished arc.

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Lots of folks are going to publish arcs that are simply painful to play, and we shouldn't be forced to play the entire thing in order to rate it. Instead, let's see if rating griefing is a real problem before putting in draconian measures. It's just as likely if someone wants to get a badge for rating missions that they'll 3 star or 5 star missions anyway. The devs have already told us that one of the things the system will do is flag players who 1-star lots of missions.

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We've added a TON more datamining hooks exclusively for Mission Architect as well, so we can easily see spikes in aberrant behavior. Spikes point us to exploits, which points us to log files, which reveal the identities of exploiters. So if you find a really big exploit in the system, I'd encourage you to PM me or another Dev and try to get your Bug Hunter badge, as the alternative is not pretty.

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I really realy really don't like the wording here. I wonder just what is considered an expliot. You called running KHTF once every three hours an expliot so I wondering what "exactly" is meant here by expliot?

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How can they be more specific? An exploit by definition is gaming the system in a way they didn't anticipate. Explain to me how they can give you details on something they're not anticipating?

They're not going to play "gotcha" and ban folks who are paying money that ends up paying for their salaries just to be nasty. I think exploits will be pretty obvious to those doing them.

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So if you find a really big exploit in the system, I'd encourage you to PM me or another Dev and try to get your Bug Hunter badge, as the alternative is not pretty.

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<cue ominous music>

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I continued to sell Hellion droppings.

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Ewwww.

The guide mentions the bug where you can't select a mission unless everyone is in the same zone. But this is easily worked around. Just select the mission when you do have everyone in the same zone first, then you can add pads from anywhere. It helps to be in an SG or coalition that doesn't frown on farming. That way you don't have to broadcast or send tells to strangers asking for fillers. You just ask in SG or coalition chat.

If you are going to resort to sending tells to people, the thing that can't be stressed enough is to look at people's search comments. If the comment says anything along the lines of "No farms" or "I don't fill" then respect that person's wishes!

Brilliant. Bravo!

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Posi,

Thanks for changing your mind on this one. But even more, thanks for being so open about the process that lead to the decision.

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Agreed. I am not one that cares about badges so this particular issue is a non-issue for me, but I really appreciate Posi's candor.

Of course, him matter-of-factly confirming that side switching will eventually happen is pretty sweet too.

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I've made this suggestion before, I thought it would be cool. But, I do not think the devs will go for it.

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The devs sent out a survey last August in which side switching was a BIG theme. Of course a survey is not a promise to do it (especially since the survey was sort of a laundry list of ambitious features), but clearly they're thinking hard about how they'd do it and are excited enough about it to ask players' feedback on it.

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Workout Warrior Badge: Hit the ground running... this badge unlocks access to the Fitness Power Pool at level 6, so players can access Tier 1, 2, or 3 powers early on.


Puhweeeeeeeese?

Pwetty pweese with a chewwy on top?

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I think any request expressed as baby talk should be automatically rejected out of hand.

The new site looks really sharp and contemporary. I like it! Although I wish the "pick a side and join the fight" video on the home page was MUCH longer. As it stands, it's pretty weak.

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I can see it now. "Hey why don't you go grab your main tank and we will help this guy get his MoSTF badge" - "Sorry I can't I'm working on a badge so I can't actually log in and play, or it will take me too long to get it". /sigh

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I like nice round numbers, so let's assume in that scenario that you log in your main for 2 hours to help out. Let's further assume that you do this 2-3 times a week and it works out to doing it 12 times in the course of a month, which means that your character has been played an extra 24 hours. That means that you'll earn your offline badge a WHOPPING one day later than you would have otherwise. Big deal.