twelfth

And me too!

Assertion failed

Program: C:\...\City of Heroes\CityOfHeroes.exe
Time: Sat Mar 06 11:03:49 PM
Process ID: 3736
File: c:\src\utilitieslib\utils\superassert.c
Line: 1857
Expression: 0

Error Message: CRT abort() called

ERROR: swDumpStackToBuffer - timeout (258) waiting for dumpHeap is NOT corrupted
Last windows SYSTEM error: Not enough storage is available to process this command.

Gratz to the winners!

Might not have won, but at least I have designs for the Cimeroran FP for any AE mishes I might do in the future

Huh. I thought the mushrooms on that pizza were a little off.

If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

Hey folks. Long time player, first time brute. I've made a Claw/WP version of my claw/WP stalker 'cause I really love the stabacadabra and I figure with fury I'll pretty much be a walking meatgrinder. So far, by and large, I've been pleased.

I'm at 30 and starting to question what is going to be preferable in a Brute for the Mid-to-End game. I do PVE, solo a tiny bit more than team (but my teams tend to be large), not looking for Master of whatevers.

Right now I've grabbed all the attacks I'm going to take (I like shockwave on my stalker, but it doesn't make sense on the brute), so I'm looking at the secondary and pools.

Questions:

1. Taunt - There's a lot of debate on this. Good idea to get it now before I get into Patrons or save it for later? Or drop it entirely? My thought here is that for a single-target ranged taunt, I have Focus.

2. Fighting Pool - No clue what to do with this. Not sure when to take it, how much to take it, whether WP offsets the need for it, whatever.

3. Any other necessities? Right now I've mostly focused on primary/secondary (with travel and fitness).

I'm sure some guides out there might help, but I don't know if they would be up to date on the state of the game at present. Sorry for the newb questions.

Hey folks. Question on KB protect Global IOs.

I've got a few blasters and corruptors who could seriously use some KB protection. I've been lucky enough to get a Blessing/Zephyr recipe to drop once and the difference on my main blaster was VERY noticeable when I was running my last LGTF. I'd like to carry that advantage over into my beloved redsider squishies, but I'm curious if there any inherent advantage/disadvantage to any of the versions.

Anyway, I noticed that the market has some relatively cheap KB protect IOs (Steadfast Protection), but is usually flat out of any further BoZ's or Karma. I was just curious if there was an advantage to one kind vs. another.

Considerations:

1. Being not an ebil marketeer or someone who does a lot of farming for inf, I am relatively cash-poor (richest redside is about 100M; 80M on blueside; not shabby but I need to budget when IO'ing).

2. I'm not softcapped or building toward softcap anything, so having mule-slots might require a respec or an expensive 2nd build (and see point one for my trepidation with that).

I had the pet theory that maybe it could be modified by which contact you took after HT in the tutorial. Probably not the case though.

As I said elsewhere, I don't think I have a chance for winning, but it has been a good flexing of my costume design skills. Good luck to all!

I second the suggestion to start off by going to www.thecaperadio.com

It's the player-run radio station centered on Virtue. Not only will you get some pretty good tunes, joining the global channel will put you in touch with lots of good people for teaming, RP, OOC discussion, in-game events and contests, and general mayhem.

The radio station is a cornerstone of the server community, so once you get on virtue (or even if you're not on virtue), check it out and see what you have waiting for you.

Hey Fury: Any chance I can resubmit my Cimeroran FP once I get the last two finished? Can I update my original post or can I add it in on another post but have it count as the same "entry"? I ask since there's only two left, it wouldn't be eligible as a full entry.

Throwing these in before I run to work 'cause I want to beat the deadline. Wish I could have made more of these, but my weekend did not turn out the way I meant it to.

Anyway, More Cimeroran versions of the FP!

Will edit for text when I get into work. *is late rite nao*

ICARUS - aka Synapse


ORION - aka Manticore


TALUS, Man of Bronze - Aka Citadel


EDIT:

So far, we've seen Imperious (Statesman), Daedalus (Positron), and Sister Solaris (Sister Psyche). So, I wanted to build out the rest of the Cimeroran versions of the Freedom Phalanx. Unfortunately, since we're almost at the end of the eligibility period, I had to squeeze what I had finished into the contest. Anyway, here's what I've got:

ICARUS (Synapse): Daedalus rescued this unnamed commoner from the dungeons of a cruel witch masquerading as a noblewoman. While the witch ultimately escaped, Daedalus found a worthy ally in this youth blessed with the speed of Mercury and the thunderbolts of Jupiter himself! Grateful to the inventor, the youth adopted the name of Daedalus' lost son in the hopes of bringing honor and acclaim to his memory. Daedalus gifted Icarus with a special helm and a pair of specialized wings, and boots to help him control his dizzying speed.

-- Design: I tried to keep most of Synapse's colors here, but felt like he needed helmet that was more aerodynamic than the standard roman design. In certain classical traditions, wings are less a symbol of flight than speed (which is why they end up on boots). I also felt like the wings would harken back to the original myth, but also reflecting on Daedalus having learned from his prior mistakes and recognizing the impetuousness of youth. All in all, I tried to keep the design lightweight.

ORION the HUNTER (Manticore): The hunter of legend, possibly one of the greatest in all the lands, Orion has tracked mythical beast and bested them time and again. With the coming of Romulus however, Orion has returned to the isles and wilderness that birthed him to track new prey. Rumors of "dark beasts" and mythic monsters have circulated through the countryside. Orion cannot pass up the chance to test his mettle against these creatures summoned from the darkest pits of Tartarus itself!

-- Design: Again, trying to keep the original colors here, but demonstrate a bit of the hunter-aspect of Manti's lore. It's sorta difficult to see in the pictures but I kept Manticore's 4 pointed "arrows" on Orion's cape (and technically as a skin-pattern, you can see it on his shoulders). I wanted someone a little wilder than Manticore, but someone you could believe could strike a little terror those he was hunting. I tried to make his mask look more like a bandana than an actual cowl, and the beard is just a nod to classical fashion. Oh and of course, he had to have a large belt (really a girdle).

TALUS, MAN of BRONZE (Citadel): An artifact of centuries begone even by the time of the Cimeroran Rebellion, Talus was discovered by Imperious and Daedalus on during a quest that took them to the ruins of the Fortress of King Minos. Although the artificial man originally battled the two heroes, Daedalus was able to reverse the sorcery that inhibited the Bronze Man's rational mind. Once freed, Talus swore never to return to the acts of villany and oppression he had once been used to enforce.

-- Design: First off, I know that CoH already has a "Talos" hero in its lore, but the original mythology is pretty confused on which is more "accurate" a giant bull-creature (Talos), or the giant bronze man. I couldn't think of a more apt classical analog to Citadel, so I just opted to use the latin version of Talos' name. I tried to make a version of a part-human, part-armored man that would have been cast/sculpted by its designer (rather than something that looked like a robot). The beard is sculpted or cast as part of his head, it wouldn't be hair. Also went with another "girdle" design with his belt. I didn't seem much in the way of need for any "clothes" since he's really just a walking statue, but I liked the "Fade Line" pattern to suggest someone who was "sturdy and stacked" (plus it looks like a Phalanx formation too).

Yes, I had ideas for Numina and BABs, but didn't have time to design them just yet.

FINAL EDIT:
(no changes to the prior designs, just adding these for completeness)

And here's the remaining two heroes:

COLOSSEUM COLOSSUS (don't call him CoCo) - aka Back Alley Brawler



GNOSIS - aka Numina


No time to put in background on 'em, maybe later.

Okay here they are, these aren't necessarily the best, but I did have ideas behind them and they are getting my foot in the door.

CITADEL:

Seems like everyone is really swerving hard to bring Citadel further toward being a robot. Although he's an android, upgrading him toward looking more human isn't terrible. I went with this design to suggest that he's his own hero now, not necessarily the same Bastion or using the (terrible looking) powersuit handed down by Horatio. I tried putting in an emblem, but it really distracted from the very basic, clean look of the costume.

If I did a Tron-based Freedom Phalanx, this design wouldn't change.




SYNAPSE:

For someone who's supposed to be a hyperkinetic speedster, Synapse doesn't look all that active in portaits. His costume just doesn't come out and grab you. I decided to go with this to highlight the idea of a man brimming over with internal energy, maybe even a coherent mass of living energy. The shock of hair was just for fun. Still have the visor/goggles though. Getting bugs in your eyes cramps your heroic composure. Side panel shows the "streaking star" design I figure takes place of a chest emblem




NUMINA:

As everyone's said, Numina really is one of the better designed NPCs in the game, which makes sense since she was designed by a fan/player. I liked that other people were using the closed-eye supernatural face on her, so I sorta did something similar with the eye-concealing cowl, suggesting that her vision is something that's more than physical. I figure this is a bit more of a Mid-Bronze Age look at Numina, with the extra drapery necessary to indicate a woman of mystery and action.




SISTER PSYCHE:

Full Disclosure: I positively hate the way Sister Psy looks in the game. Especially since she looks really great in the non-game model portraits of her (the loading screen, the COH Main Page, other promo materials). While it's not revolutionary, I really wanted to design a version of Sister Psyche that actually looks like the version we see in these other media. Also, that old hair HAD to go. The other portraits of her suggest that she has her hair out of her face most of time and I love that a full-length shot of her reveals that she wears platform shoes! See, Manti, you're not so short when she's out of uniform. Um... That sounded wrong. I waffled on keeping tights vs. pants, but I think she looks better with the pants, really.




More to come later, I have some themed sets in mind. Just got to struggle with them in the creator and then cox my machine to allow screenshots (grumblevistagrumble).

Okay, I like Meltman's Citadel, if only because his upgrades included hairplugs.

Cool, still room as long as I post some stuff when I get home.
FF, do the pics have to be labeled within the screenpic itself, or can they be labeled in the text of the post?

I remember looking at my /kin and I want to say that having 50 Run IO in SS made it just slightly faster (by like ~2mph) than Siphon speed+NR (right now, I don't remember if I have swift or hurdle from fitness on the /kin).

Fire/rad will make you the Aggro King, but you'll be welcome in teams and on SFs where you can heal, debuff, and turn out the DPS. Solo will be rough, but the combo has some wiggle room to allow for using your power pools to maybe deal with that.

I like elec/ as well and it has some handy stuff in it (easily stackable single target hold, a VERY handy pet) and its resisted slightly less than fire (your debuffs will help with that) but I'm not fond of the T9 and the damage output is kinda low on the scale. Kinda.

Ice might be the best thing for solo, as the slows and holds will make mitigating the /rad debuff aggro easier. You'll be doing a lot of Lingering Rad + Enervating Radiation + ice storm. This is not a bad thing.

Can't help ya much on the concept issue, though. Maybe save "Blacklight" for another toon?

Puts the EW in my Pew Pew Pew

Okay, I'm gonna do a modification and combination of Ransim and Raithnor_Mal's suggestions into what I'm calling Combat Manipulation:

Combat Manipulation is about going into a combat situation and being well prepared to take on what comes your way by manipulating the opponent or the situation to your advantage. It has its basis in martial arts, but adapts minor tool usage, and some street saavy to make the user a force to be reckoned with even if they actually use very little direct force.

1 - Bola Snare: Minor DMG(Smash), Foe Immobilize or Slow, -DEF

2 - Storm Kick: Melee, Moderate DMG (Smash)

4 - Combat Senses: Toggle AOE Debuff/Self Buff(Moderate Foe -To Hit; slight self +Regen)

10 - Knuckle Duster: Melee, High DMG(Smash), Foe KnockUp

16 - Tiger's Eye: Self +DMG, +To-Hit

20 - Blinding- or Sleeping Powder: Ranged (Cone), Foe Confuse or Sleep (not sure on this), -To-Hit, -Perception.

28 - Roomsweeper: PBAoE, Moderate DMG(Smash), Foe Knockdown.

35 - Spirit Shout: PBAoE Terrorize, minor DMG (Psi)

38 - Personal Best: Click, +75% EndRdx +75% Regen, +Recharge


My concern with the prior posts is that most of the suggestions have been OMG BLAPPER damage-oriented, when most of the Blaster sets are not geared toward hella tons of damage*. Rather, secondaries are usually best described as alternate strategies to your Primary Blast set. It's about versatility and mitigation, in general (work with me here). So. You have the above.

* Yeah, I know Fire Manip is about damage, and EM feels like it is while in play, but go with me here

Here's the thinking I have behind these:


T1: Ranged Immobilize. Unfortunately it might need a new animation, but 5 of 6 of the secondaries have a Ranged Immobilize. That's really what this should be. Keeps enemies controlled at a distance. I added in a -DEF component for what I imagine is actually a minimal damage effect. Alternatively it could be a respectable slow power with same -DEF. Surprising we haven't seen bolas in the game yet, they're pretty standard Utility-Belt items.

Alternatively, a "Boomerang" stun, which could use a very slight change to the Throwing Knives animation.

T2: Melee Damage. I think Storm Kick is basically on the money here. Maybe rename it to something not obviously a clone of MA (perhaps using MA-Alt animation).

T3: This is basically an inverted Rise to the Challenge. In most sets, this is a Toggle with some utility. In some cases this is Damage, others not. I think RttC is a great power and would be easily placed in here, plus it plays into the idea of this powerset being about "controlling the combat". Inverting the emphasis on -To Hit and +Regen makes it a bit more consistent with Blaster rather than standard melee types.

T4: Damage, with some secondary soft control. Nothing more to say here. Crane Kick is the inspiration here, but since I see this as being a bit more punchy, I think Knock Up is a decent mitigation. Maybe Dial down Damage and crank up Recharge so you're offsetting the fact that Knock Up does not push enemies away.

T5: THIS IS WHERE YOU PUT BUILD UP. All sets except Devices and Energy Manip put it at 16. This is obviously where the devs want BU, don't mess with it. Devices doesn't have BU, and EM's focus is self-buffs rather than enemy debuffs.

T6: More mitigation here. I couldn't decide whether this should be a confuse or a sleep. If its a confuse, it sorta seems odd to make it -ToHit (cause then the mobs couldn't hit each other), but -Perception seems okay on other sides. The -ToHit should synergize with Combat Senses. If this is a sleep, the debuffs should persist even if they are attacked.

T7 - This is just a non-MA specific version of Dragon's Tail. If we were going for new animations, I'd totally go for a Spinning Clothesline effect, but Dragon's Tail is good enough. Alt animation could be that mid-air spin and ground punch thing that I can't remember the name to.

T8 - The T8 is really what I was having a hard time with. What is slotted here varies from secondary to secondary. I decided to go with another moderate control. There's not much resistance to Terrorize, and adding some minor Psi damage seems to make sense in regard to demoralizing enemies. Not sure on the animation here, but between the Howl animation or Psychic Shockwave or something like that, there's something existing that will serve.

T9 - Pulling this from Raithnor Mal's suggestion: "Similar to Energize from Electric Armor without the heal", renamed from "Second Wind" above, add recharge instead of heal to make it a reasonable T9 power. For balance purposes this might end crash or have a hefty recharge. Animation wise I anticipate the MotG/Strength of Will FistPump or something like that.


Anyway. Up for discussion.

Are you a well meaning lover low on funds this Valentine's Day?

Crey Corporation has the solution for you.

Laboratory-engineered gemstones: What Could Go Wrong?


If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

Another excuse to turn off the TV & get my AE ON.