Steelclaw

Personally, I would love to see the Vet Reward system switch to a ticket base. Yes, I know... MORE Tickets?!

What I would like to see is a reward of X number of Vet Pts every 3 months in steadily increasing amounts. So the 36 month reward is substantially higher than the 3 month, but all are cumulative allowing the player to "save up" their points if there is some expensive item they would really like to get.

I would then like to see a shopping list of purchasable items in a Vet Store format. The really cheap items may be Free Costume Tokens or Respecs while the Team Teleport or Buff Pets would be substantially more expensive.

I would also be in favor of lower cost "upgrades" once the power is purchased. Think of this as a way of slotting enhancements into the power on an account-wide basis. So you pay 100 points for the Sands of Mu then 10 more points to give it an accuracy enhancement; say equal to a level 20 IO. Or a Recharge Reduction enhancment on the Team Teleport.

They could also add such items as the Booster Packs or a free month's subscription. These items could be either purchased in whole or could be broken down into their component costume pieces, emotes and powers at a lower cost.

I think of this as long term gains over short term ones. The Booster Packs do provide a good infusion of cash for the company, but ultimately it is more important for them to retain their customer base over time than it is to bleed them dry immediately.

Veteran rewards are an excellent manner to entice people to stay with the game as well as a way of showing developer appreciation for the faithful. I don't think the current reward system takes full advantage of its potential.

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Meh. Barely worth a chuckle IMHO. Forced stupidity for the purpose of attention deserves no more than a passing glance

Natural stupidity with the intention of being serious should be worshiped. This is why UniquDragon is our savior.

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Yup. It was funny until he busted himself.

But, the CoH forum mass is easily amused and in general everything goes over its head so no doubt this'll still get like 15 pages.

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Wow... sheesh.. okay.. I'll try to tone down my lists from now on...

Heh.

I deliberately avoid sticking with a single character; since I run things tournament-style with spreadsheets, score keeping, dedicated turn cycles, etc.

However, I do have favorites and despite my efforts to give every one of my characters an "equal footing" there are huge discrepancies between them sometimes. Each character's turn is day-based; that is they each have one day to play. What I've noticed is that the characters I really love tend to have 12 hours of play time on their days while the ones I am iffy about average around 2.

"Dinner time? But... but... I'm only 200 influence away from being able to afford the wings for Draconic Rage!"

"Well.. today is Shrapnel Storm's day to play... hmmm... you know... I HAVE been putting off that yard work for a while..."

So the Dev team is high? Hmmm... there must be some way of verifying this..

Warning Signs the CoH Dev Team is High:

1) They sit around listening to Hydra talk and saying: "Wow man, like that explains everything!"

2) The five layer blue cave room is now the five layer psychedlic tie-dye room.

3) Pocket D now has a lot more dark corners with guys in them who can "hook you up."

4) They remove the Just Said No to Superadine badge.

5) They all start turning green and growing horns and their press releases read like the Cookie Monster wrote them.

6) They change "Going Rogue" to "Going for Munchies."

7) Obvious signs of paranoia; sitting in place rocking back and forth while muttering "It's all a Nemesis plot... It's all a Nemesis plot..."

8) All heroes and villains get the Walk Emote.... All civillians get Hover.

9) The illusion control power set just got a LOT more new powers and is available to every archetype.

10) The average population of the Shadow Shard will increase dramatically.

Oh! Oh! My turn! I got some!

1) Yo momma is so fat she once got the Top Dog badge and made the Atlas Statue scream.

2) Yo momma is so fat there's an exploration badge hidden somewhere on her.

3) Yo momma is so old she changed Statesman's diapers.

4) Yo momma is so ugly people pay her not to enter costume contests.

5) Yo momma is so fat EVERY costume selection item is "shows skin."

6) Yo momma is such a tramp she once left the house wearing a Japanese school girl outfit... two days later Lusca was found dead.

7) Yo momma was the first Hellion's Girlfriend.

8) Yo momma is so dumb she can't read "Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls."

9) Yo momma is so lazy even Rest costs her endurance to use.

10) Yo momma can only select the Combat option for boots.

11) Yo momma is so fat she always brings tartar sauce if she knows there will be a Kheldian on her team.

12) Yo momma is so fat they invented a new size for her: Large, Extra Large and Oh My Gawd It's Moving Towards Us!

13) Yo momma is so fat if she were a Mastermind she'd name her minions Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

14) Yo momma is so ugly she gets the Fear power even though she's an Ice Tanker.

15) Yo Ice Tanker momma is so fat she still has the scar from where the Titanic hit her.

16) Yo Fire Tanker momma is so ugly the flames won't go above her neck.

17) Yo momma is so nasty she's the first Blaster with the Gastric Distress power set.

18) Yo momma is so dumb she obeys the "no trespassing" sign on the cave mission door.

19) Yo momma is so dumb she wouldn't pick up the "Undefeated" badge because she got wasted by a Hellion earlier.

20) Yo momma is so dumb she keeps asking Clockwork what time it is.

Hmm? Oh, oops.. My bad. I thought the thread title said "this is dedicated to yo momma"

1) Because being trapped inside that suit 24-7 has given him intimacy issues.

2) Because he sees enough of you already through those spy cameras he set in your bedroom and bathroom.

3) Because he's actually looking at the new monitor he just had installed in his helmet; the one marked X-Ray Vision.

4) You wouldn't be looking at you either if you were standing behind Sister Psyche.

5) You wouldn't be looking at you either if you were stadning behind Statesma... er.. nevermind.

6) He's too busy staring at the bare head behind that silly half-helmet.

7) He's too busy fighting sea sickness from the constant up and down... up and down... up and dow.. urk!

8) He's too busy checking all his email and signing up for all the Spam products using Synapse's credit card.

9) He's preoccupied with wishing he could revamp his exo-suit since shoulder pads are SO 80's.

10) Those antenna on his helmet pick up the Playboy Channel.

We all think about how great it would be to have super powers, but there have to be some downsides to it as well. Especially in the off-duty hours or when trying to keep your secret identity intact.

So, this thread is dedicated to giving our heroes and villains voice to the problems they have when not wearing spandex.

Invulnerability Tank - "Well, I'm gettin' tired of having to shave with a belt sander for one thing. Especially around the nose."

Ice Blaster - "Yeah, frost breath is great in combat, but kinda sucks in real life. You know how your tongue sticks to cold metal in winter time? Yeah, try that year round. Forks and spoons too."

Gravity Controller - "Umm, last month was my wife's birthday and I figured I'd save some money, you know? Well, you can't actually control what you get with Propel. I eventually found a lamp that she really loves... but now our backyard resembles a 'You might be a redneck if...' joke."

Sonic Defender - "I got a job because of my powers. I'm on the radio now! You know that 'The following is a test of the broadcast system' message? No, no I don't say the words. I do the alarm noise."

Regen Scrapper - "You'd think healing from any injury would be the best power, wouldn't ya? Let me tell ya it ain't all it's cut up to be. Last year I broke my leg at work. The bone healed completely in ten minutes. In order to hide my powers though I hadda wear that danged cast for 2 months! Well... at least Janice in accounting signed it.. heh."

Fire Armor Tank - "That urban myth about being able to light your own farts? It ain't no myth. I'm here to tell ya. That'll be the last time Ma makes beans for Thanksgiving dinner."

Fire Blaster - "You don't know how tempting it is when some wanna-be Lothario walks up to me in a club and tells me how hot I look in that dress."

Necromancy MasterMind - "They're just not so useful around the house. My husband doesn't understand I get tired after a day of villainy. So, I asked one of my minions to make dinner. I think he was over reacting; all he had to do was remove the eyeball from his salad and keep eating, but noooooo..."

Psychic Dominator - "Being a villain can get lonely sometimes (hot date). Most nights I just sit alone at home (hot date). I guess I can understand why (hot date), but it still does wear on me a times (hot date). What? Oh my! You're asking me out? What a surprise! Of course, I'd love to go out with you! (your treat)"

Claws Scrapper - "Picking your nose while distracted? Bad idea."

Dark Armor Stalker - "I'm not invisible; I just look like a little cloud of smog. I'm only REALLY invisible in Los Angeles."

Spines Scrapper - "You know what really ticks me off? When people come up behind me and scream 'boo!' at the top of their lungs. Yeah, they think it's funny but my civies don't have holes in the right spots for my spines. Well, at least they don't BEFORE I get startled."

Super Strength Tank(male) - "Yeah, my girlfriend isn't talking to me right now. I got a little over excited the last time I spent the night at her place. I think she's over reacting. I told her I'd fix the wall behind her bed. And the doc said it was only a MINOR concussion."

Super Strength Tank(female) - "I think my boyfriend is over reacting; after all the surgeons were able to sew it back on."

Electrical Armor Stalker - "Yeah, going invisible and spying on naked women is fun, no doubt, but you have to take precautions. Example? Well, let's just say spying on a team of female athletes in the showers after the game is not advisable when your powers are electricity-based."

Fire Controller - "Fire Imps do NOT make good pets. At least; that's what my home owner's insurance provider says."

Empathy Defender - "Yes, being a doctor with super powers is a good gig. What gets old is yelling 'hey look over there! Is that Elvis?!' to my surgical team so they don't see the green glow."

War Mace Brute - "If ONE more jerk asks me how's my hammer hanging...."

Ninja Mastermind - "Oh sure, you THINK it's cool to have ninjas at my beck and call? They appear out of nowhere when I need someone killed... but when the trash has to be taken out? Whoosh! Nowhere to be seen."

Robotics Mastermind - "Clean, quiet, yes yes, robots do make the best servants both at home and in the field. Well... there was the unfortunate time when one of my Battle Drones fell in love with the dishwasher, but we won't speak of that or the water damage to my kitchen floor."

Illusion Controller - "My therapist was always telling me that I need to build REAL relationships with people instead of always living in a dream world. Then I introduced her to my Phantom Army men Hans, Franz and Sven... now she pays ME for our therapy sessions."

Storm Defender - "I swear, you get blamed for every bit of bad weather by the people who know who you are. Take my sister for example; she blames ME for the bad weather during her wedding! Her wedding to my former boyfriend who she stole from me. It's not MY fault it rained at her wedding! And hailed.. lightning... hurricane winds.. and the tornado? Totally not my fault."

DShan Steelclaw - Claws/Reg Scrapper - Eviscerate

Flexible Physics - Grav/Kin Controller - Propel along with accompanying bad pun; chair thrown: "Have a seat, villain!" Lamp propelled: "Let me help you see the light!" Car body: "You have a chance to win... a NEW CAR!"

Draconic Rage - SS/Fire Aura Brute - bosses are almost always via Knock Out Blow.. he has an attitude against minions tho'... not worth his notice.. he just lets Fire Aura eat them away to nil.

Phantasmal Fantasy - Illusion/Rad Controller - She loves sending in her illusionary shock troops while she does her nails.

Passive Aggression - Empathy/Psy Defender - She prefers to heal those who do all the killing.. hey... why do you think I called her Passive Aggression?

As a follow-up on the whole deity thing; it occurred to me that some of you out there may question the legitimacy of my divinity. So, I took a small "You may be a god; find out now!" on line test... here are the results:

1) Can you walk on water?
I live in the lakes region of the semi-arctic state of Maine. I can walk on water with no problem whatsoever at least 4 months out of the year. More if I can fudge the definition of "treading water."

2) Can you raise the dead?
Frequently. Although it requires I be running one of my toons with access to the defender primaries. Otherwise I need to enact a holy rite I like to call "The Passing of the Light Blue Skittle."

3) Can you turn water into wine?
No, but then again this is an unfair question because I don't drink alcohol. I DO drink coffee, Kool Aid, lemonade and tea however and am capable of turning water into these things with minimal effort.

4) Can you multiply loaves and fishes to feed a crowd?
Mathematically speaking, multiplication is just an expression of addition. So 3x3 is the same as saying 3+3+3. If I make a trip to the grocery store and buy more loaves and fishes and add them in equal alotments to the original amount; then YES, I can multiply loaves and fishes.

5) Can you drive forth demons from a place they have possessed?
I have two teen-age children. They visit every weekend and I kick them out on Sunday to go back to their mother's house. Check.

6) Can you cure blindness and/or deafness?
I have two teenage children. I cure blindness and/or deafness by taking away their Nintendo DS or turning off the television.

Strange thing about the test though... When I submitted my answers to the website it came back with "You are a diety... You are the god of B.S."

Not sure what that means; but I'm hoping for "Bountiful Sensuality."

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*looks at Steelclaw*

Okay, I'm married to Bloodspeaker IRL and to Leandro in-game, so I can't marry you, but would you settle instead for officially now being my God?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Well... see that entirely depends on the agreement we can come to regarding tithes... I really wouldn't suggest it tho'... since my religion doesn't recognize any marriages performed under the dominion of one of those "other" dieties..

Two annulments and one religious conversion all at the same time is too much to ask of anyone.

Besides... if you read my bible then you'd know that any worshipper of mine is pretty much DOOOOOOOOOOMed anyway.

Ahem.... Don't believe them...

The REAL reasons the Carnies die holding their heads...

1) Because grabbing their privates would violate the Teen Rating.

2) They're not. They're putting their whole head in.. taking their whole head out.. putting their whole head in.. then shake it all about... they just die before they get to the Hokey Pokey part.

3) They used to grab their crotch and scream but Michael Jackson sued for copyright infringement.

4) They're actually holding on their masks to make sure they don't fall off when they die. They're all adolescent's and wear the mask to cover the acne.

5) Hello... bright silk costumes... white porcelain masks... boy-toys with whip marks all over them... Exactly what about "Heavy Duty Drama Queen" do you NOT understand?

6) They all just realized they coulda had a V-8.

7) They're about to go to the Zig; they want to check their hair to look nice for their new cell mate.

8) If you had a huge spirit creature bursting out of the top of your skull you'd grab your head too!

9) They had a big Carnie pool bet going about who would be the last one alive. They're just upset because they didn't win.

10) They all just really loved that kid in the Home Alone movies.

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What this games needs is another Frank Sinatra, so I can get you into bed!

-wanders out, see if anyone figures what song that went too-


JJ

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Cause what the world needs now
is another folk singer
like I need a hole in my head.

Teen Angst by Cracker

I <3 David Lowery.

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What we really need is music a little bit more apropriate for the thread's doom crying theme...

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Okay... it's MY Doom Crier's Bible.. so *I* get to choose the music for it... and I choose ...

(to the tune of “Click Click Boom” by Saliva)

On those lonely days
Strung out on C.O.H.
Yo, I was up in my room in a Forum Haze!
Feelin’ raided
So jaded
Just a jerk with a beef and time and a need for some complainin’
All this
I rant
I rage
I vent it all on the page
Make it
Break it
Take it
Until I’m not frustrated

Post Post Doom
Watch me drop another forum post
Sayin’ what I hate the most
Post Post Doom
I’m comin’ down with the big blame
And I know it’ll break game!
Post Post Doom
I’m a troll sensation; Screamin’ round the nation
My endless vituperation!

I can see it in my head
As I start a brand new thread
The Dev’s have made a big mistake
And soon the game it will be DEAD
Post Post Doom

What the hell is wrong with me?
My argument ain’t perfect
But still you will hear much cryin’ [censored] bitchin’ from me
Cause it seems to be my big destiny
So just sit back and relax and be my brand new forum minion
Your disbelief will be forgiven
I’ll give you your new opinion!
Oh Yeah!

Post Post Doom
Watch me drop another forum post
Sayin’ what I hate the most
Post Post Doom
I’m comin’ down with the big blame
And I know it’ll break game!
Post Post Doom
I’m a troll sensation; Screamin’ round the nation
Givin’ you new education!

Why have I succumbed to rage?
Why’m I typin’ out this page?
And will I make them change their minds?
Or just look like a big behiiiiiiiiiind?
Post Post Doom

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I call myself an altaholic because I have a short attention span... Oh Look! A Bunny!

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Fixed that for ya.

An altoholic is a creature who is slave to their inspiration.

No, not the skittle kind of Inspirations, I mean they are a slave to their own creativity and sense of "oooh.. now THAT would be cool!"

An altoholic is not content to run a single character from start to finish simply because at some point during the advancement process they start thinking "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I ran a mutant plumber with a magically powered pipe wrench? Oh! And a manhole cover for a shield!"

It's not that they don't love the other characters they created; it's that the act of creation itself holds more alure to them than the feeling of accomplishment getting a character to 50th level. If anything, altism is a form of gamer's polygamy. We altoholics just can't bring ourselves to a monogamous relationship with a single character.

Any good bible really needs an appendix or two.. just to round it out.. so here's a few more for the road...

Dominator Buff?? Doomination DOOOOOOOOM!! Dominators are already the closest thing to a jack-of-all-trades archetype we have in this game. They hold AND they blast. I mean come ON! What next? Hey, let's have them be the first AT to have a third-ary power set! Or better still; let's allow all their pool powers to draw from existing power sets. At 6th level they can draw from the scrapper offensive set. At 14th level they can use those neat-o defender primaries. And by-gawd let's give 'em tank defense at level 20!!!!

Demon Pets for Masterminds?! By the Power of Darkness I Summon the Demon DOOOOOOOOOOOM!! Demons as pets?! How bad of an idea is this?! Just trying to housebreak my new puppy ended up with me having to replace most of the carpetting in the first floor of my house! What the heck sort of damage is an un-housebroken DEMON going to do? After the first week the fire department will stop taking my calls!! And where will the new Mastermind Pet Madness stop?! Pirate pets? Civil War Re-enactor pets?! CH-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pets?!

Dual Pistols as a Power Set?! Two Fisted DOOOOOOOOM!! What is it with using two hands to do everything? Wasn't broadsword and assault rifle good enough for you people?! Noooo... We need a sword in EACH HAND! What's next? Dual Maces? Dual Battle Axes? And it won't stop there. Some genius will create a Chimpanzee hero who can balance on one foot while holding a sword in the other!! That's right folks.... TRI-BLADE POWER SET!! You think that will end it? OH HECK NO!! Those *%&$* Kheldians will say "Hey... I have at least half a dozen tentacles here... why can't I have a sword or six?!"

I.... I need to go take my meds... I... maybe I'll be back later...

During my years here at the City of Forums I have read a great many doom threads, but I have never joined in the fun. Doom crying has never been my thing since it is so hard to laugh and convince people of the end of the world at the same time.

However, I must admit, I have felt left out. Who am I to say that doom crying is not fun? It must have some appeal since so many people do it. So, I am finally giving in to peer pressure.

Welcome to my Doom thread.

Going Rogue? DOOOOM! Villains will be turning heroes to hide their true villainy. Heroes will become villains and be turned to the dark side! Soon no one will know what anyone else is! You'll forget who your allies are and the entire City of Universe will become one big co-op zone! Dogs and cats living together! Mass Hysteria!

Starting out a character in the Praetorian world? Extra-planar DOOOOOOM!! The whole concept of Praetoria is it's a mirror opposite of our world. If you create a hero there then, by definition, a villain version has to be created in this world. You create a villain and POP! there'll be a hero version in Pargaon. I don't have time to run x2 as many characters as I have now! And what about my existing characters?! Dear lord, I have alt-itis!! We'll all spend so much time playing these duplicates that we'll all not have time to work, eat or sleep! The player base will all die of starvation and the game will end as we know it!

Mission Architect? Player Created DOOOOOOOM!! Tickets and Badges and Farms, oh my! Tickets and Badges and Farms, oh my!! Too much doom for one paragraph! I need to divide and conquer!

MA Tickets? Skee-Ball DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! How many tickets do we need?! We got yer Vanguard tickets, your MA tickets, your Icon tickets and your reward merit tickets. When will it end? Movie tickets to get into the theaters finally? Arena tickets? PVP tickets? Soon they'll replace all music in the game with the Carnival calliope sound track because every zone will be one big Chuck-E-Cheese sponsored carnival game zone!

MA Badges? Deletion DOOOOOM!! Taking away my badges that I farmed fair and square?! Oh sure, they make it SOUND logical, but first they'll take our MA badges, next it will be our Accolades, then eventually they'll take away our exploration badges! One day, I will open up my childhood scrap book and find all my boy-scout merit badges missing... only a note will be between the pages reading "Sorry, but we had to nerf these... Synapse."

MA Farms? Post-Mortem DOOOOOOOM!! I want to play the game how I want to play it and since I want to play it that way no one else should be allowed to play it any other way so I'm going to sit here in the corner and hold my breath and stomp my feet until someone changes things so that everyone has to play my way. What? They nerfed farming?! How DARE the developers try to tell me how to play their game?!

Merging the Markets? Unrealistic DOOOOOOOooooooOOOOM! A fine upstanding organization such as Wentworths deign to do business with an underhanded group like the Black Market? How dare you even suggest such a thing! That would be like American companies contracting labor in 3rd world countries to avoid both paying higher wages and costly safety regulations. That would be like CEOs of dying corporations giving themselves millions in bonuses even when it means bleeding the company dry! Wentworth's is based in Rhode Island, USA PAL! An American company do anything illegal?! Why not only is suggesting such a thing unrealistic... it's downright unpatriotic!

Ponies? Doom with hooves.

Epic Archetypes? Uber-Powahed DooOOooOOooOOm!! It's a slippery slope of the worst kind! First they let us have Kheldians, then it's Soldiers of Arachnos. Next we get to have characters who have sipped from the Well of Furies. A little more begging and we get Ultra Archetypes with Superman-like powers. Moving from there to Infinity Archetypes who can shatter an entire continent with one punch. One missed foot stomp and we don't have anything left to stand on. Just sayin'... don't come crying to me.

Power Customization? Custom Made DOOOOOOOOM!! First we can make each power have its own color pallete. After that we will be able to change the appearance of it. Then Thunderkick can be made into Thunderpunch or Thunderheadbutt. Next you'll get to choose an emote for every enemy hit's reaction to the attack. Eventually you'll be coding your own attacks entirely, from the numbers to the animations. You'll spend so much time creating your characters you'll have to pass on the plans to your next-of-kin to complete it in case you don't live long enough!!

More Costume Pieces? You Look Fabulous in DOOOOOOOM!! You'll get more ability to customize your appearance than ever before! You'll get to actually place and style individual strands of hair! You'll be able to map out a character's pores and blemishes! Then, when you finally get the character exactly like you want it... You'll take them to the world and find out they look exactly like they did before because your graphics card can't handle that level of DETAIL!!

Champions Online and DCU? Competitive Market DOOOOOOM!! First one will offer Arch-Nemesis. Then one will raise with Power Customization. Then one will come out with complete character creation details. One will offer a free figurine of your first created hero. Another will counter with a free sized cosplay costume of your first. Finally they will all create a machine that will actually GIVE you super powers so you can live the game for real! Anarchy will sweep the streets as the three companies create massive super-powered armies and wage war against one another! The world governments will send out nuclear missiles in an effort to maintain order only to irradiate the entire planet, creating mutant zombies who feast on the living.... we all die in horrific cataclysm and the cockroaches inherit the earth!!!

>Gasp gasp gasp gasp<

Ahem... thank you for reading my Doom thread. I'll try not to be so serious next time around.

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Note to self, when you see Steelclaw's name, do not drink anything.

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Funny... All my ex-girlfriends had the exact opposite philosophy.

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Always thought you are a girl >.>
Still do.

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If that's the case then I strongly suggest everyone invest in the stocks of the company that produces Nair. They're about to sell a WHOOOOOOOOOLE lotta product.

On a related note... does that mean that "Burning GR questions" now means "Burning Gender Related questions"?

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Note to self, when you see Steelclaw's name, do not drink anything.

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Funny... All my ex-girlfriends had the exact opposite philosophy.

Pepsi... It's the only liquid I imbibe other than accidental water when showering/swimming/talking while it's raining. It makes my Frosted Flakes fizz like crazy too.

As I have been spending a lot of time hanging out in the various trash cans and recycle bins at NorCal, I feel I am more than qualified in answering these questions. With regards to the accuracy of my answers, I feel it only fair to warn you I am under heavy Accuracy and To Hit debuffs at the moment brought on by sleep deprivation, sugar binging and caffeine withdrawal.
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<ul type="square">[*]SG/VG Membership - is a character auto booted when they go rogue? are we given some sort of confirmation window or warning that we are close to getting booted from our group? Conversely, can we stay as "double agents" or whatever in our current groups if we cross over? Will there be an SG setting, like a moral tolerance level we can set within our groups?

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When you go rogue you will NOT be automatically kicked out of the super group. Instead every member in the group will be sent a secret ballot form. On the form they will be given the following options:

1) I want to kick X out of the group.
2) I want to change sides with X and force the group to change sides too.
3) I want to keep X in the group as a side-swapper and full-time whipping boy.
4) I like pie.

Majority rules. If option 2 is voted in then everyone in the group will switch sides whether they want to or not. That's what you get for living in a democratic society; suckers!

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[*]Neutral SG/VG's - On a related note, will it be possible to have neutral groups, comprised of neither heroes nor villains but mercenery types that ride that moral edge, doing both heroic and villainous content with access to both meta zones?

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Neutral groups will absolutely be possible! There will be three basic types:

1) Money Neutral: You do it all for the cash Boo-boo. Save the Mayor and his family from the Malta one day and kidnap him FOR the Malta the next. Whoever pays the bills owns your morality.

2) True Neutrals - This group of people believe in balance as the true path to enlightenment. They don't fight evil nor do they promote it; rather they fight whichever side seems to be stronger at any given time. So if the Villains have 55% of the power and the heroes only 45%, your team goes out to fight villains. If the heroes are ahead then you go after them. There is a very complex and involved mathematical equation for calculating who is leading. In order to join this group you need a bachelor's degree in accounting.

3) Apathy Neutrals - Who cares who's a villain and who's a hero? You're only in it to roleplay in Pocket D and occassionally participate in a Costume Contest or three anyway.

[ QUOTE ][*]Power Sets - Should we expect JUST Pistols and Demon Summoning in this expansion? Or are there several other powersets or some power proliferation coming with this expansion? I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Two entirely new sets is big for a free issue release. But then again, CoV brought about over a dozen new powersets upon its release.

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Okay, first of all "Going Rogue" is not going to be a free release. It's going to be an expansion; which typically means you pay for the privelege.

The good news is you will definitely be getting several new powersets with the upcoming expansion. I can't reveal them all, but you can expect such lovely additions as "Super Soaker" which will finally give water attacks to Blasters. "Shape Shifting" will be available to Scrappers and Brutes but it's still bugged as the first form "Bunny" is so weak it can't generate xp to advance past 2nd level. And popular rumor has it that "Omnipotence" will finally be available to Defenders.

A Pugilist attack style called Rock 'Em Sock 'Em is going to be available as well, but ONLY to Robot pets of Masterminds. The most interesting thing about this one is that if an enemy gets in a good shot, the robot's head will pop upwards on a ratchet pole of a neck. The robot will then be immobile until the MasterMind slams the head back into position once more.

[ QUOTE ][*]Back Items - So many people have asked for these. Each issue I get a little bit excited hoping this is the Christmas I get a real live jetpack Pony. I'm starting to lose hope that we'll ever get a full range of back details. But I could see this being a selling point for the expansion. Has it been included?

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Back items has been seriously considered for the upcoming expansion and you should expect to see a few added to the mix. Including the following:

1) Back Hair
2) Back Acne
3) Misspelled Tattoos
4) Hunchback
5) Towel Cape
6) Torn College Backpack w/ Too Many Books
7) Small Green Jedi Alien in Carry Pack

On a side note; the Jetpack Pony was tested but eventually discarded. Ponies don't steer jetpacks very well and it kept running into buildings.
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[*]Starting Neutral - Will we be able, as the mythical survey hinted, start in Praetoria as a neutrally aligned AT, neither hero nor villain? Will this allow us to rapidly take a low level Brute blueside or conversely low level 'Troller redside, all before level 10?[/list]
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Absolutely! You will definitely be able to start as neutral in any of the three types I mentioned above. Each neutrality type has it's own unique Tutorial.

1) Money Neutrals - Training in a Mercenary camp. You are taught all the basics of the usual CoX tutorials; combat, missions, etc. You are also trained extensively in Price Quotes, How to Get Your Pay From Reluctant Customers, How To Get Paid By Two Different People For The Same Job and the ever popular How to Money Launder Influence into Infamy and Back Again.

2) True Neutrals - This takes place at a serene temple high in the mountains. This is possibly the most boring tutorial ever devised as each lesson is followed immediately by two hours of silent contemplation and meditation. If nothing else you'll have the /e lotus down pat by the time you finish.

3) Apathy Neutrals - You start out in your parents' basement playing video games. You don't actually do the tutorial yourself, instead you learn what you need to know by playing the video game. During play your mother shows up to scream at you to clean up this pig sty and your father follows that up with "get a JOB!" After this you leave because they're such drags. Is any of this sounding familiar to some of you?

Hope that helps.

Now I have to sneak back into Positron's wastebasket. Today is his day to bring the donuts into work. I hope he skips the Jelly this time... I HATE jelly.

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Disney's The Little Coralax


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Damn you, I laughed.

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That'll be $1.95 please.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Glowie

Sleepy Hollows with Ichabod Wincott

Charlie and the Gold Brick Factory

007 James Bond: Gold Bricker

The Lost Boys (Young homeless mutants meet Council Vampyri; starring Cory Feldman)

Disney's The Little Coralax

Disney's Beauty and the Beast (starring Ghost Widow and Wretch)

(THERE'S a video challenge for you! I challenge someone to make a video of Wretch and Ghost Widow set to the "Beauty and the Beast" song from the movie soundtrack.. heh)

Enemy of the Statesman

Give me Miss Liberty or Give Me Death!

Dirty Dance Emoting

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Thorns

The Breakfast PUG (Jock as Tank, Brain as Defender, Beauty Queen as Blaster, Thug as Scrapper and Freak as Controller, guest starring Lord Recluse as the Principal)

So I was on my way to King's Row PD to get my Atlas Park safeguard with my newest character today and took the time to peruse the marquis at the movie theater. Council: Broken Column.

Heh, cute. Too bad they never change them, I thought. Then I got to wondering how hard it would be to get a program to change the marquis every week like the ones do in the real world.

Then I wondered: What if the developers of City of Heroes were foolish enough to let Steelclaw provide the list of movies...

1) Never Ending Story: The Positron Task Force

2) An Orange Clockwork

3) Hellion Raiser

4) Jurassik Lark: A Giant Monster Holiday

5) Indiana Jones and a Skull Named Crystal

6) Circle of Thornbirds

7) The Clockwork King and I: Penelope's Tale

8) Devouring Earth Tragedy: Taken for Granite

9) Space Wars: Use the Force Mage

10) Blues Brothers: The Endurance Come Back Tour

11) Land of the Lost (no plot; just 2 hours of the Lost beating the tar out of Will Ferrel)

12) City of Heroes Origins: Generic

13) Terminator: Menders' Migrane

14) Harry Potter and Azuria's Vault

15) Four Weddings and a Hospital Port

16) Finding Nemo-sis

17) Twilight: The Sparkle Aura

18) Young Freddy Krueger: Croatoa College Days

19) Sex in the City of Heroes (Rated PG-13)

20) Sex in the City of Villains (Rated NC-17)

21) Synapse and His Lover: The Fast and the Furious

Feel free to add your own!

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900 month? Exactly how many 80+ year olds do you think are going to be playing?

I can see the BRB messages right now.

*BRB! Teeth popped out!*
*BRB! Just filled my Depends!*
*BRB! Stroke!*

*BRB! A skeleton with a scythe just showed up on my doorstep!*
"Guys! I vote we just go on without him!"


"You were away for three hours!"
"I hadda go to the bathroom!"
"How far away is your bathroom?"
"About 10 feet."
"And it took you three hours?"
"I'm 85!"

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Bwa ha ha haaa... Love it..

As far as who will be around by then... I don't know about you but I'm leaving my account to my son in my will.

Ah... Sadly I am not, at this point, quite veteran enough to come out with a good list, having only been around for 21 months.

However, as I really wanted to participate in this discussion I used my phone to call my future self. These are HIS (and thus my) favorites:

1) 696 Month Reward: Blue Steel Temp Power.. Complete immunity to attack... Enemies don't die but DO start a small cult/religion to worship you... Only lasts 10 seconds... Recharge time is however long it takes you to get a new graphics card &amp; processor since both are melted into slag from pure awesomeness.

2) 213 Month Reward: Custom Death Emote - You can now select an emote specific to your character for dying.. no more boring fall to your knees and face plant.. at first I chose the William Shatner but that took 15 minutes to run through... now I use the John Wayne... which is awesome on my male characters and hilarious on the female ones.

3) 333 Month Reward: New Travel Power - Wheels! Blister the streets going from mission to mission in a variety of options.. I started out with the '79 Corvette but lately I've been going for the Mad Max Semi.. You haven't experienced street sweeping until you try out that baby..

4) 120 Month Reward: Your Own Nemesis Plot - This one at first had me angry... My dog ran away.. My checking account was completely cleaned out.. My house burned down... All my friends turned against me.. Then this huge golden robot appeared at the entrance to my cardboard box wearing a "Hello, my name is Nemesis" sticker.. He started to do battle with me then took off his helmet to reveal it was BaBs. Hilarity ensued as they congratulated me on my veteran reward. Good times... good times...

5) 117 Month Reward: This wasn't a reward per se... but it IS where they start slipping the "Shall not be held liable for damages/penalties incurred due to veteran rewards" clause in the user agreement.

6) 453 Month Reward: Voice of the People- Downloadable system that allows you to say a few key words into your mic and give your characters the chance to speak during battles and cut scenes.. Of course, now all my characters sound like either me or my Lady Love.. one of them sounds like my cat Gizmo.. and all the female ones sound bored and barely tolerant.. but hey, at least they talk!

7) 192 Month Reward: Costume Piece... or rather no costume piece.. they verify your age and give you the ability to finally have an all-nude character.. The reason I didn't rank this one higher is because I discovered the nude character only appears on YOUR computer... On everyone else's monitor you appear in ratty jeans wearing a tee-shirt that reads "My User is a Pervert"...

8) 900 Month Reward: VIP Server- Yep, they created a server that is ONLY accessible for the real veterans of the game.. A few more wander in every month... You'd think the PUGs would have improved more than they have..

9) 462 Month Reward: Mini Me pet - You can now have a miniature member of the Freedom Phalanx, Recluse's crew, or any other signature hero or villain following you around. They have all the powers of the original but at greatly reduced effect. Only two are not available: Nemesis because of the bug where it kept giving you missions to promote the real Nemesis to world domination. And Blue Steel because even scaled down to 1% actual power it was allowing first level characters to take on the Statesman Task Force without dying.

10) 153 Month Reward: Base Decoration Items- Pie, Cake, Cookie, Big Red Ball and Pony.

There were more but I had to cut the call short.. You wouldn't believe what the toll charges are for cross-temporal roaming.