Venture

It was a level 28 character on a level 35 arc. Since the system autolevels you the only real loss was a few slots and three powers (two of which, in this character's planned build, were pretty much filler). I had already taken the character in question through several of my own 41+ arcs (I don't think I sent her through "Chains of Blood".) She also downed the AV/EB at the end of "Two Households Alike" which is the only mob I've created (outside of the deliberately abusive ones in "Psychophage") anyone's ever complained about.

The precise complaint (in a 4-star review, I should mention) was that the arc used the high-level Consigliere, which comes with a Singularity pet and is thus problematic for anything that doesn't have status protection. You get spammed with status effects from two casters for the price of one. Yes, if you have stacking holds of your own you might lock it down before it summons the pet. Lots of squishies don't have that option. Using this mob is not exactly a hell-worthy trespass but an architect keeping an eye on difficulty might have considered using a custom Boss instead.

His problem wasn't being able to hit. It was being allowed to try in the first place. Boss-level Ascendants cast Detention Field and a PFF variant. He was likely spending most of his time either caged or unable to deal damage by any means. Fighting these mobs, even in canon content, is slightly less exciting than watching paint dry. (It's particularly fun to deal with the one that usually appears in the Founders' Falls Safeguard's arson mission...oh wait, it's not.) N.B. that this problem would obtain any time team size starts causing Bosses to appear frequently in regular spawns. The complainant could thus have avoided the issue for himself by lowering difficulty but the problem remains for any team reaching five members or so. Again, not time to break out the pitchforks and torches but architects shouldn't assume that stock mobs can be used with impunity.

As I've said before, I wouldn't change my difficult settings to play my mother's arc.

If the devs finally wise up, do away with the stupid "difficulty slider" NPCs and let us change diffiuclty any time outside of an instance (like The Other Game is about to) then I'd consider it. But travel (usually) halfway across a zone and back just because some twit thought spiking his arc's difficulty was cool? Not happening.

No, because we already know the Praetorian version of Woodsman is Shadowhunter.

The comic (Top Cow run) came as close as it possibly could to saying that their relationship was more than filial.

I reviewed this about a year ago (4 stars) and while I did have some issues with the portrayal of the Lost it didn't have the "RandomBoss" problem. I wonder what broke it.

I saw it, didn't keep a copy, didn't see any point to keeping one. There's really nothing of substance in it.

Yes, we got that. The problem is that steam power has rather a great many limitations, chief among them what you're going to do with the rather copious amounts of excess heat.

There are infinitely many parallel worlds in which Recluse wins.

There are infinitely many where Recluse loses.

There are infinitely many where Recluse doesn't even exist.

This is why alternate worlds don't count.

There isn't anyone else. You are the Destined One, that's why you're able to use the Destiny Portal in the first place.

Remember, the story is only read once. Once Project Destiny ends with "Time After Time", it is over.

Who's this "we", earthling?

I thought it was a cheap attempt at an emotional reaction, the maudlin equivalent of throwing a cat at the screen in a bad horror movie.

I read those issues of Titans and I completely forgot about that character. She's at best a footnote from a forgotten era.

Just about every name you can think of has been used for some minor or failed character somewhere in the annals of comic history. "Venture" was the name of an Image Comics super whose book lasted about six issues, IIRC. I'm not expecting to be asked to change my main's handle any time soon.

Oh, and "Mother Mayhem" has been a character in this game since Issue 1. You are rather more than a bit late to the party if you have a problem with the name.

I'm just repeating what's been said before by devs (particularly Manticore, if you want to try your search-fu the posts might still be around). Yes, it doesn't make sense that the Zig raid drew no real response (other than perhaps Longbow's "interest" in the Isles), but nothing else makes sense around here either.

I suppose the fanwank explanation is that Recluse denied any "official" Arachnos involvement in the raid and blamed it all on the "rogue" faction operating out of Warburg.

Fixed. Oh, wait.

The Isles and Recluse's "administration" have been legally recognized by several other nations and the UN. As a result the US can't just go in swinging without causing an international crisis at best and a war at worst.

Look up the word "propaganda". Recluse affects and espouses a "survival of the fittest" ideology but it is clear that he doesn't really believe it, even if he thinks he does himself. He wouldn't exactly be the first "evil overlord" who ran around professing a belief in philosophies he didn't really understand, let alone actually practice. Westin Phipps and Recluse's willingness to let other gangs do as they please as long as they pay him off are the big signs that Recluse's avowed Darwinism does not bear close examination.

The entire point of "Time After Time" is the aversion of the predicted future.

As one of my best friend's mentors puts it, "you can glue feathers on a rat but that won't make it a swan". Saying that Recluse rules the Isles does not make it so. He is the ruler in the (mostly useless) sense that other nations have agreed to deal with him as the Isles front man, and that he is (again) the toughest guy with the biggest gang so people are likely to do what he says. He has no real political power or constituency.

Yes, you do, again, this is explicitly stated in "Time After Time". The entire point of the exercise is to defeat him in the future at his strongest so the present-time one will see that challenging you is futile.

Comic-book physics at work; a character's strength is directly proporotional to the strength of whomever he's fighting and/or the needs of the plot. Yes, I agree that kind of lameness is complete Bovine Stuff that has no place in any game, but I'm a simulationist so what do I know.

Fixed.

Denial is not a river in Egypt.

...which are not ours. Thanks for playing.

Recluse's Victory is an alternate dimension, not a timeline. It's easy to miss that but it's stated in the various intros. N.B. that RV is yet another example of Recluse's Anti Sue nature: a guy with AN ARMY OF TELEPATHS who can SEE THE FUTURE could not prevent his captured researchers from sabotaging the Macguffinizers responsible for RV.

That would be an insult to Saturday-morning cartoon villains everywhere. Really, Skeletor would be an improvement.

They all portray the same future: everyone is dead.

That dog won't hunt -- the first invasion was years ago, and the second was much less severe. Not only should the military be rebuilt by now, it should be rebuilt with improved technology.

The Rogue Isles has neither the population nor the infrastructure to support a military force of any real size. I wouldn't count on the superhumans to be of much use either. Not only is it established that superhumans in the City world aren't much use on battlefields (check the WWII historical entries) but you know the vast majority of them would bolt as soon as the balloon went up.

Recluse does not have a "survival of the fittest" philosophy. That's just a rationalization, though Recluse might be deep enough in denial to believe it himself. The only philosophy Recluse believes is that Recluse should rule.

Alternate futures don't count. To swipe a line from normalman, "two almosts almost make one!"

He doesn't "rule" anything. He's the toughest guy around in the local pirate's den. That's it. The only reason he's even that is his underlings are too much in each other's way for any of them to take him out. The only reason the whole pirate's den even exists is because other nations have given it recognition for their own purposes -- I'd give the Rogue Isles about twelve hours in an open war with the US. 24 if we're having a bad day.

In fact, since the point of "Time After Time" is that you deter Recluse by beating him at his strongest, the real reason Recluse "rules" anything is because you let him.

Recluse hasn't succeeded in his plans, never will, and his lackeys aren't loyal to him.

"Future Recluse" is killed -- the battle is said to be "without honor, mercy or pity" -- but it's irrelevant because he doesn't even exist after you return. That timeline never comes to pass.

N.B. that the whole "Time After Time" arc is just more Anti Sue trash anyway. It's claimed that a factional conflict in Arachnos would have such far-reaching repercussions as to bring about the end of the world (which is the handwave reason why you don't just whack Recluse in the present). Arachnos is nothing but a yet another bunch of thugs in bad uniforms that can't even make any progress in Paragon City, but somehow it's so important its political infighting can determine the fate of the world.

Something Recluse does not do. He allows anyone to do whatever they want so long as they pay their "taxes" and don't directly act against his interests. This is why he's no ruler. Ultimately he's weak, useless and worthless -- like any other common bully. The only reason he's at the top of the heap is because it's written that it's so, which makes him an Anti Sue.