Issue 11 launches Wednesday, Nov 28

[Hutch]

http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/archives/2007/11/issue_11_launch.html

[geldonyetich2]

I'm... I'm meaningfully involved with Tabula Rasa because it has... it has... potential...

 

Okay, fine, you twisted my arm.

[geldonyetich2]

If you're looking for the actual features of Issue 11, they're right here.

I actually have already played it, I was in on the closed beta.  Currently it's in open beta, any subscribed player can boot up the Test Server and give it a spin, so the really isn't there. 

The main changes are:
.

• The addition of two power sets: Dual Blades and Willpower.  Dual Blades is cool, it's slick and has combos built in, there's essentially no reason to play any other melee power set.  Willpower is basically a mix between Invulnerability and Regeneration.  Scrappers, Tankers, Stalkers, and Brutes get access to both sets.
• A few new mission chains scattered between 25 and 50 that center around time travel.
• "Flashback" system: The ability to go back and do any mission you're sufficient level for, regardless of if you ever had the contact, thereby earning badges and accolades you missed the first time.  Oh, BTW, you're mentored down to the appropriate level so you make zero experience doing this.  Novel if you're already level 50.
• New inventions (CoH's version of crafting) including "extra rare" ones and the ability to craft a power respec.
• The grind has been cut to 25% of the original experience values.

.
Okay, that last one was a lie, but it's what it'd take for most players here to be interested in it.  As for me, I've already put 800 hours in the game.  What's another 800 hours?  For some reason, this is the only MMORPG that has achieved lasting amusement for me.

[geldonyetich2]

Oh yeah, and if you have some kind of prop weapon (like guns or swords or axes) you can now customize that weapon's appearance, including different models.

[Shrike]

Wheee! Purple IO sets!

I logged in last night on my 50 electric brute to farm up a mess'o'inf for the inevitble scramble for said rare IO sets. After about two hours I had about 5mil more than the wad I already had and a real headache. Partly, I think it was the Smithwick ale I was drinking, but some of it was just boredom. I was looking forward to this but after last night, I"m not so sure anymore. Must be burnout.

I find myself longing for more Mass Effect.

[geldonyetich2]

City of Heroes might be my poison of choice, but even I wouldn't dare compare it to Mass Effect.  That stuff's dynamite.

[Shrike]

The post-I11 launch hangover. Actually, I was sober last night, so things went a bit better. Mass Effect still is applying a singularity-grade gravitational pull on my attention, but I manage to restrain myself and committed to a night of heroic gaming.

I managed to contain my enthusiasm <yawn> for farming and started my WP/DB tanker. Wow. This thing...doesn't play like a tank. And that's a GOOD thing! Low level tanks usually suck and suck bigtime, but I had a blast with my new one last night. I even farmed up the Isolator badge and it was, like, painless and stuff (well, almost). Had to tear myself away to get some sleep. I guess I"m back in the CoH saddle again.

Still, this Friday night belongs to Mass Effect. Well, that part not spent at work...

[geldonyetich2]

Well, I'm having fun.  Honestly, I'm fairly repressing my orgasms over here.   

It's mostly my Dual Blades/Super Reflex/Stamina combination at work, which basically jacks up the game to 2x the normal speed.  I timed myself this morning: I'm tearing through even-level Faultline door missions in around 5 minutes.

[Nebu]

What does "even level" even mean?  Are you running missions on the third difficulty? 

I find that the game is trivial on my DM/SR scrapper at level 4 and moderately fun on level 5.  Scrappers are so stupidly overpowered that the repetition grind gets old after you get your top tier SR power... which when slotted properly is like a constantly up IWIN button.  Is this the first time you've played a SR scrapper?  If you've been someone that hopped on the regen bandwagon in the past, you'll find that SR is a pretty powerful secondary.  It just takes some time to mature.  As powerful as you're feeling at 22, it gets even better by 38 or so.

[Shrike]

I've done the scrapper thing in times past and have a hard time getting enthusiastic about them again. My BS/invul is perma-stuck at 48. I'd rather play a brute than a scrapper.

Anyway, my tanker is cruising along towards 20 rather effortlessly, which is quite a novelty for this AT. Quick recovery at lvl12 is the shiz. The only real issue is I've put off the res/def toggles until after QR, so I was a bit squishy for my first teaming outings. Still, being a tank with HPT means I have a ton of hit points, even relative to other tanks. It's interesting and I think WP has some very real potential later on. That's why I chose a tank: to see just how effective WP really is.

Dual blades I'm not quite so enthusiastic about. It's competent, but having it as a secondary means slow progression. No combos yet. That should change in a couple of levels. Still, it's fun to watch and gets the job done. The DB scrappers I've grouped with seem to be tearing it up quite well. I suspect a DB brute would be ugly. I would not have considered a drawn-in weapon set to be good for a brute, but DB is so quick I suspect a DB brute would be just sick.

I haven't even begun to screw around with the Ouroboros stuff or purple sets. Too much low level fun and Mass Effect to fiddle with to draw me into that just yet.

[Nebu]

The thing that turned me off to the new power sets was that they were all lethal damage.  You know... the damage type almost everything at the endgame is resistant to?!?  I hope that they create some more interesting power sets not based on crushing/lethal and more importantly, introduce some new and inventive areas to explore.

[geldonyetich2]

My "even-level" I meant white-con stuff, so "heroic" difficulty missions.  Once I was able to slot up with Single Origin enhancements I went ahead and jacked that up a bit.  The "Weaken" combo works well with Super Reflexes as it applies an AOE %10 ToHit debuff.

What I like about Dual Blade is the sheer speed and the combos.  I've literally played all kinds of Scrappers (my highest is a 36 Spines/Dark Armor) but what bothered me was that any given Scrapper was either not very deep or not quite visceral enough.  The combos add a nice layer of depth while the while Dual Blade/Super Reflexes build runs very fast.  Normally I wouldn't like a Super Reflex Scrapper because it's completely fire and forget and I like more depth, but Dual Blade is interesting enough in itself that I welcome that.

[geldonyetich2]

New Patch Today introduces, amongst other twos, two entirely new outfits and a revamped Blaster Defiance that actually works by stacks the damage from your previous attacks over the past 7.5 seconds (oh, and you can use your first few attacks even when under crowd control effects).

[Trippy]

Defiance Replaced:

Blasters’ earliest abilities come so naturally to them, that they are accessible even in states that normally prevent them from using powers, such as being Held, Slept or Stunned.

Additionally, each time the Blaster attacks with a primary or secondary power, they gain a stacking damage bonus for the next several seconds. The amount of the damage bonus and its duration is dependent on the exact power used, with single target abilities generally giving the largest bonus.

Wow that's amazing. The acquisition is already paying dividends (yes I know it's the same people working on the game but players have been asking for this to be changed since they were first introduced). Now they just need to fix the Defender inherent.

[UnSub]

Castle let it slip that they are indeed looking at Vigilance (the Defender inherent).

[Jimbo]

The costumes are nice (I still can't figure out what happened to the Spartan costume), dual blades looks fun (not sure if it will be more fun than my Spine/Regen Scrapper), willpower will be my new tank power.

Vigilance is nice when I have a full team, it makes Trick Arrow/Archery cost about zero and lets me run some extra toggles, but it sucks the rest of the time.  Plus Vigilance doesn't fit with TA.  Trick Arrow is set up to be the oposite from Empathy, where TA does stuff only to the mobs and Emp does stuff only to the team.  I'm not sure what to change Vigilance to, I mean it would be nice to have a natural buff that lets me and the team allways regenerate healt/endurance or def/res, but that would not fit in with TA's mold.  But then again I'm not so set in stone on the concept thing, hell make it so it is something the trick arrow learns to teach his teammates how to heal/rest better.

[Signe]

Is there xmas stuff in yet?  If so, I'll play for a bit.  I'm just doing games with xmas stuff, mostly, until after the new year.  It'll be fun. Sorta.

[Llava]

You are too weird for words, lady.

[tazelbain]

EQ2 xmas stuff went in yesterday.

[Signe]

Yay! 

[geldonyetich2]

There will eventually be City of Heroes X-Mas stuff.  They tend to have invasions of yetis and snowball power attacks.

[Signe]

I know.  I was subbed to CoH/V since the beginning and only recently canceled.  I forgot that I deleted it this time.  I forget why I did that.  Now I have to wait to play Xmas.  I'll fiddle with EQ2 Xmas for a bit and then switch after I dl CoH again.  I'm even waiting for WoW Xmas stuff.  Geez... what happens after that?  I do wish all of them would change the holiday content more often. 

[UnSub]

I know.  I was subbed to CoH/V since the beginning and only recently canceled.  I forgot that I deleted it this time.  I forget why I did that.  Now I have to wait to play Xmas.  I'll fiddle with EQ2 Xmas for a bit and then switch after I dl CoH again.  I'm even waiting for WoW Xmas stuff.  Geez... what happens after that?  I do wish all of them would change the holiday content more often. 

Xmas starts December 17. This year there are candy canes.

[geldonyetich2]

Indeed, the seasonal content was rolled onto the servers as planned.

Despite having dumped an obscene amount of time in this game, this is the first Christmas I've been subscribed to City of Heroes.  I can't say I was expecting a trans-dimensional ski resort.

[Nevermore]

The skiing mini-game is way too much fun.

[Strazos]

What does "even level" even mean?  Are you running missions on the third difficulty? 

I find that the game is trivial on my DM/SR scrapper at level 4 and moderately fun on level 5.  Scrappers are so stupidly overpowered that the repetition grind gets old after you get your top tier SR power... which when slotted properly is like a constantly up IWIN button.  Is this the first time you've played a SR scrapper?  If you've been someone that hopped on the regen bandwagon in the past, you'll find that SR is a pretty powerful secondary.  It just takes some time to mature.  As powerful as you're feeling at 22, it gets even better by 38 or so.

How do you slot that for the power of awesome? I have a SR guy, but I don't think I've gotten high enough....

You know, just so I know for when I next sub...

[geldonyetich2]

If by "power of awesome" you mean the "top tier SR power", Elude, then I hear you slot it up with recharge reduction because you hit your defense soft cap even at the base level.  (I'm not sure how true that "50% defense soft cap" stuff is, the COH board has a reliable supply of number-crunching douches but they're a bit over-certain about a few things.  It makes sense insofar that most NPCs you're up against start at 50% accuracy and you can't reduce them below a 5% chance to hit.)

If by "power of awesome" you mean the entire SR set, the important thing to remember is that the only skippable powers are Quickness and Elude.  All the +DEF buffing passives and toggles need to be taken, and the toggles need 100% enhancement (or at close as you'd reasonably get to it with Enhancement Diversification) with the passive DEF enhancement being a definite bonus.  The main reason is because each passive now carry a stacking resistance buff that scales with how injured your Scrapper is, you need all three to really reap the whirlwind.

With Issue 9's set enhanements, stacking set bonuses that grant DEF to AOE, Melee, and Range on top of the Super Reflex Scrapper's already high DEF to those three categories allows you to run around at the "soft cap" even without Elude, which is what makes it skippable in many people's book.

Son of a bit, I know too much about COH. 

[Trippy]

You can't get the temp power rewards if you got them last year.

[Llava]

I was under the impression that you could no longer have perma-elude since ED came out.

Or, at least, I couldn't.  Did it get changed back?  If so, why?  I was keeping a list of archvillains I'd soloed.

[geldonyetich2]

I wasn't saying you could have perma-elude.   I was saying that you could enhance your toggle and passive +DEF with set enhancements that grant addition +DEF to the point where you hit the soft-cap without.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could employ a similar method for perma-elude, given that there is a plethora or +recharge boosting set enhancements.

[DaZog]

I was under the impression that you could no longer have perma-elude since ED came out.

Or, at least, I couldn't.  Did it get changed back?  If so, why?  I was keeping a list of archvillains I'd soloed.

I think if you take enough IO sets that grant +recharge bonuses, as well as hasten, you can get close. I'm not
sure if the purple IO's push it over of not- I'm going to have to play with the Hero Planner 

I know Dominators can reach perma-dom.


Also: I got my hands on one of those 'Chance for Build Up' To-Hit IOs and plunked it in my brute's Invincibility. Free build up
every time I jump into a group of mobs is yummy. 

[Llava]

Getting close isn't good enough with that.  The whole idea is that elude refreshes before it wears off, otherwise that endurance crash hits you and you're as good as dead.

Course, you could just watch for the buff to start falling off and, since it gives you super speed, gtfo before that happens.

[DaZog]

Well, messing with the builder real quick got me this:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php

Perma Elude Test: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dual Blades
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Weapon Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Nimble Slash -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(15)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- RedFtn-Def:50(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(15), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(25), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(40)
Level 2: Ablating Strike -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13)
Level 4: Focused Senses -- RedFtn-Def:50(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(17), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(25), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(40)
Level 6: Typhoon's Edge -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(7), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(7), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(13)
Level 8: Blinding Feint -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(11), GSFC-Build%:50(17)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- Ksmt-Def/EndRdx:30(A), Ksmt-Def/Rchg:30(34), Ksmt-EndRdx/Rchg:30(39), Ksmt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:30(43), Ksmt-ToHit+:30(45), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 16: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Numna-Heal:40(31), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(43)
Level 18: Vengful Slice -- Hectmb-Dmg:50(A), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg:50(19), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(19), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg:50(23), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx:50(23), FrcFbk-Rechg%:50(40)
Level 20: Stamina -- Efficacy-EndMod:50(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc:50(21), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx:50(21)
Level 22: Quickness -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 24: Dodge -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(31), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(36)
Level 26: Sweeping Strike -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(27), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(29), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(29)
Level 28: Lucky -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(31), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(37)
Level 30: Super Jump -- SprngFt-Jump:50(A), SprngFt-EndRdx/Jump:50(50)
Level 32: One Thousand Cuts -- Armgdn-Dmg:50(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg:50(33), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), FrcFbk-Rechg%:50(34)
Level 35: Evasion -- RedFtn-Def:50(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(36), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(36), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(43)
Level 38: Elude -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(39)
Level 41: Agile -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(42), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(42)
Level 44: Caltrops -- Ragnrk-Dmg:50(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg:50(46), Ragnrk-Knock%:50(46)
Level 47: Shuriken -- Apoc-Dmg:50(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Apoc-Acc/Rchg:50(48), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(50)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- GftotA-Run+:40(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• +10% DamageBuff
• +6.25% Defense(AoE)
• +77% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• +106.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• +115.5 (8.63%) HitPoints
• +2% JumpSpeed
• +MezResist(Confused) (Mag 1.65%)
• +MezResist(Immobilize) (Mag 14.3%)
• +15% Recovery
• +78% Regeneration
• +11.3% Resistance(Fire)
• +11.3% Resistance(Cold)
• +6.25% Resistance(Negative)
• +7.5% RunSpeed
• +1.5% Debt Protection

Code:

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Granted, that is very much top-of-the-line as far as IOs go (four purple sets? lolz) but I got within 10 seconds. If the Force Feedbacks proc, it'll push it over, for sure.

*ninja edit* Could bump Hasten in there and it'd be perma for sure. Both of them 

*pirate edit* Yeah, replacing Maneuvers with Hasten drops Elude recharge to 170.1, and Hasten is 78.7

[geldonyetich2]

Never thought I'd see a Mid's Hero Designer readout posted outside of the official City of Heroes message board.

Well, mission accomplished, I guess.  Maybe... I'm a little lazy to really poke through it right now, but you'll want to make sure that none of those recharge reduction set bonuses you're slotting are applying the same number of recharge reduction more than four times, because that's the maximum number of times you can apply the same recharge reduction set bonus.

In other words, you can apply four 7.5% recharge reduction and three 2.5% recharge reduction and they'll stack, but you can't apply five of either and have all five count - it stops after the four of the same number.  I'm betting Mid's Hero Designer just adds them all up regardless, but it doesn't work that way in the game.

Other critiques that the Leadership pool is a waste on a Scrapper and that you're better off sticking with stacking Swift, Quickness, and Sprint for a travel power than blowing two slots on Super Jump, and that I prefer to have access to all four combos of Dual Blades.  But those are mostly matters of opinion - the build would work.

[DaZog]

Well, I found Sweep to be the weakest of the four combos, in my order of preference.

Is it four? All sources I've heard from say it's five. Hum.

Also, that only same bonuses apply, so five 5%, five 7.5% etc..