jwbullfrog

Yes, I know, but lets have some fun with it.

Off and on we've had a few threads about what level comic heroes would be in game. But what about the other regular characters?

Here's the thought behind it. Over the many, many years that Lois has been associated with a certain superhero, she has tagged along/ been part of/ kidnapped into several adventures. Over all that time she has been shown to pick up a few skills and abilities along the way. She's even had her own comic book...

So, question 1: What level would she have achieved by this point in her history.

and, Question 2: are there other regular characters that might have 'leveled up' by association?

Just another random thought before heading out to work for the day.

Now I'm depressed.

Still, we have her books and her stories so she'll be with us for quite some time.

I'd like to propose a different way of ending the Lol Stalkers arguement. It involves a rethink of what a stalkers greatest ability is.

The greatest ability of Stalkers is not AS but their Hide. Hide lets a Stalker go almost anywhere at will. You can stand behind (or under) something as tough as a GM and they'll never see you until you do something offensive. You can decide what fights you want to get into and (combined with placate) the speed of the engagement.

As part of a group, Stalkers are not just 'gimped scrappers'. They should not be in the center of the fight but working around the edges picking off the weak and wounded. If a stalker has to hold the line in place of a scrapper or tank, you can (and I've seen it done brilliantly in the past) but you might want to suggest a more 'hit and run' style for your group.

I dont think Stalkers need big changes, just people need to rethink how they are meant to be used.

I have always considered the difference between Controllers and Dominators as the difference between a python and a cobra.

Dominators are a bit more offense oriented. Once they get a target held, they can rip it up with attacks. Controllers are more of a slow suffocation style of death.

Almost any Controller combo will work well with an energy blaster but I'm fond of two particular pairs.

1. Mind/Empathy. -- Mind has a lockdown for all occasions and can set up mobs for some of the nastier AoE effects like rain of fire. Empathy adds the buffing bonuses and (oh, yeah) you can heal as well.

2. Illusion/ Radiation. -- This is a classic combo. The radiation debuffs can take almost any target out of the fight. Illusion starts off a little slow, but becomes a killing machine once you start getting the pets.

There really isn't a bad controller combo. But, they can be a bit tricky to get used to.

Assume they are down until you can actually sign in. The status window is correct most of the time but, thats only MOST of the time.

Not sure there is enough snark in the world to respond to this.

Ok I was not aware they had defined the Speed Force quite so thoroughly.

Any other suggestions that aren't variations on that same theme?

While spending time with my favorite Kin/ Defender the other day, it occurred to me that the Kinetics powerset might be unique to the CoH universe.

I cannot recall seeing anything quite like it out on the newsstands in the last 20 years or so. Now I will admit that I have not read every book from every publisher but, it just doesn't seem like something that shows up often (if ever.)

The closest I get is a minor character from the 12 issue Squadron Supreme series from the mid 80's, named Inertia.

As a point of comparison we have several energy blast types, weather controllers, fire and ice throwers, a small military's worth of gun slingers, and more people who just hit, slash, or otherwise get up close and personal, than we know what to do with.

Have you seen this powerset in comics, or perhaps something similar. If so, where?

Nothing serious here gang, just a thought.

I can get behind this idea.

I have been here for a while (just after CoV went live, for those of you old enough to remember such things) and I'm pretty familiar with what can get earned in game. But sometimes, I get absent minded (age, you know). More importantly, there are quite a few new players out there who might not have my ancient wisdom...

It doesn't have to be much, just an icon or something similar. It doesn't have to tell you how to earn it in game, just that it can be.

hm, premade, predecorated bases that you can purchase.....

seems like I've heard that somewhere before...


Sorry, our current base system may be clunky and needing some love and care but I still prefer it to that idea.

I'll count this as acceptable simply because I don't see it as having a 'pay to win' effect on the game.

Now, I happen to like temporary pet powers. I usually keep a giant snowbeast or a backup radio or something similar in a pocket for those fights when I need a little extra kick but, as has been already been pointed out, they're a bit stupid and they cannot carry a fight on their own. I see them a bit like a Blackwand or Nemesis staff. Nice to have but not gamebreaking.

If folks want to spend their money on this, why not? I might not, particularly since I have access to flashbacks to recharge my Loa bone or wolf whistle... but thats just me.

Ya know...


using a few of those temp powers might help clear that up a bit.


Still, there might be a better way to organize things. There might not, but its worth a look.

SOMEWHERE ON THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM...


...Oh, yes. Yes, someday they'll regret this. They'll regret the day the kicked me out of the planet club. They are fools for ignoring me. I'll collect my Oort cloud minions and then one day, ONE DAY, I'll return and show them the folly of their ways. For I. AM. PLUTO! And I shall not be denied!


ha. ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

Ah, a film reference from my generation...

Not only am I here until the servers shut down, I'm volunteering to give place a final sweep, take out the trash, and switch off the lights before locking the door.

I am not a fan of the new tutorial. And for many of the same reasons that have already been mentioned.

1. You aren't really taught much. Sure, the old tutorials were a bit slow and texty but, by the time you got clear of them, you had a fairly solid grounding in the basic mechanics of the game. The new version has little to no explanation of HOW to do any of the things you're being asked to do.

2. Why am I here again? The implication in the comic story is that I was a normal, average person who just happened to be in a building that collapsed and SUDDENLY I now have superpowers. Um, what? That almost feels like having a backstory arbitrarily imposed on a character. I know it isn't but there is that impression. Why don't I just get up and walk away from the whole thing and let those (very obviously) competant superheroes clean up the mess? In the old tutorials you got the impression that you had already made the choice of good or evil and this is where the real adventure begins.

3. The voiceover is not necessary. Mainly because it really doesn't tell you anything useful. Its just there the tell you to hurry up. Now, as an example of using a voiceover well, look at STO. In that tutorial, the voiceover is actually telling you HOW to do what it wants you to do, i.e. "press this button to make that happen" or "try this to see that."

4. It needs to cover more space. You have the entirety of a destroyed Galaxy City at your disposal... use it! Right now, the tutorial is little more than a 3 room mission map with a straight line path out. True the old tutorials weren't huge maps but you could explore them a bit and get a feel for running around before you actually had to DO anything.

I think I would prefer something of a hybrid between the new and the old. Keep with the new storyline in that you were in Galaxy city when it all went wrong, not as a victim, but for a reason all your own. Place the morality choice early on, something like a) try to assist the injured civilian on the ground or b)take his wallet and his valuables and leave him to his fate.
From that choice you get directed to a contact, say Coyote or Kalinda, who then gives you a short series of missions travelling about Galaxy completing objectives (and teaching the mechanics.) At the end of those you're given your level up and maybe a second morality choice (i.e. are you sure this is the life you want?)

From that point you're given the new mission contacts we have now in Atlas and Mercy and things progress from there.

The point of it all is to make sure the new player understands how to move, shoot, use inspirations and enhancements, find contacts and find missions. At this point, I do not think the tutorial does that well enough.

A short list of NPC's that I would like the 'punch in the face' option for..

Aaron Thiery (yah, he deserves it)

Phipps (actually more of a dangle upside down off of the top of the tallest tower in Grandville)

Peter Themari (at least he admits he's an SOB...still...)

Kelly Uqua (she's had it coming for a long time)

...Just about EVERYBODY in Praetoria...

Well, I'll be in my usual place...well, close to my usual place since they took away my fountain... but, I'll be there saying hello and answering questions.

Because people get hiss-terical.

One thing I would like to see (other than a way to switch off those accursed coins over people's heads) is an option to do EITHER Kuzmin's missions or the 'classic' Kalinda/ Burke/ Mongoose/ Creed missions.

Other than that, I'm generally comfortable with all the new features.

I guess that my first question would be...what were their secondries? I've run with multiple defender teams and I've watched them steamroll through missions without breaking a virtual sweat.

In situations like that I usually try to say something before leaving a team. Even if its just a simple 'this isn't working for me.'

I will give an odd bit of advice though... Don't be afraid to try pick up teams. Sometimes you find really good players that way. Just be warned that its a bit like mining for gold, the rewards come from having patience.

I'm having some nice success with BR/traps as a Corruptor (yes, I know, blaster thread but, still...)

BR almost seems to need something to slow/hold targets to give you the time you need for Disintegrate to really do its work. Also, it seems to ...shoot slower?... than other attack sets. The slow/hold gives you more time for that as well.

Devices seems to be the best of the bunch for that but anything that will let you control the speed of the fight should do you well.