CoH/V I12: Comic Showing Updated Features

[UnSub]

I'm not putting this one in the graveyard or else only the converted will read it.

Along with I12 comes an officially sanctioned fan-made comic that lists all the content updates. Click the cover below to take a look or click the ftp link below into your browser to go straight to the comic.



ftp://ftp.cityofheroes.com/comics/i12comic-final.pdf

[Big Gulp]

Until they reveal how our intrepid heroes have forever banished the suck, I'm not interested.

Besides, I work for Crom now.

[Glazius]

Until they reveal how our intrepid heroes have forever banished the suck, I'm not interested

That was all the way back in the entirely unheralded Issue 11.5. 13-20 XP boost by 30%. 25+ by about 50%. Lieutenants worth 50% more, bosses worth at least 100% more.

Issue 12 just brought in Beginner's Luck, where your base accuracy starts at 90% and scales down to 75% at level 25 when you can actually slot large amounts of accuracy.

Also the UI improvements in the last part of that comic. Including more Real Numbers than you know what to do with.

[Reg]

The massive global nerfs of the past have pretty much guaranteed my lack of interest in any game they produce.

[Brogarn]

Besides, I work for Crom now.

Just reading that makes me want to run home, log on, and bash some heads. Stupid server outages this morning. 

[Murgos]

Issue 12 just brought in Beginner's Luck, where your base accuracy starts at 90% and scales down to 75% at level 25 when you can actually slot large amounts of accuracy.

Does that just scream, "HEY THIS IS BROKEN!!!" to anyone else?

So, as usual in MMO land, you become less effective the higher you level.  Yeah, I loved CoH when it was new, and you could be sort of super-heroish, but this kind of stuff just shows that they have been drinking the kool-aid by the gallon.

[tazelbain]

The massive global nerfs of the past have pretty much guaranteed my lack of interest in any game they produce.

People get so upset when you take their godhood away.

[Trippy]

Does that just scream, "HEY THIS IS BROKEN!!!" to anyone else?

No it doesn't. As Glazius said at later levels you can slot SOs or their equivalent or better IOs, get Accuracy set bonuses, get Accuracy/ToHit boosting powers, and so on. The "problem" (if you can really call it that) is that some experienced players find it annoying to level up low levels alts cause they miss a lot more than their higher level characters with all their Accuracy/Tohit bonuses. It's not that you actually miss all that much even when just starting out, it's really just a perception thing but people found it annoying. This change also lets you up the difficulty sooner which can make for faster leveling. Also 75% is the base tohit percentage for most powers so it's not like this change makes you weaker at higher levels than you were before this change. I.e. there's no nerfing involved with this change.

[rattran]

The massive global nerfs of the past have pretty much guaranteed my lack of interest in any game they produce.

People get so upset when you take their godhood away.

When people are playing BECAUSE it's a mmo where you have godlike power, and can take on hordes of enemies with fun combat, yes they do get upset. Not like it was from godlike to balanced, it was godlike to 'I'm getting fucked by 2 even level Council minions!'
Making it so I couldn't beat up nazis AND nerfing both my toons? There's other shiny.

[Nevermore]

The massive global nerfs of the past have pretty much guaranteed my lack of interest in any game they produce.

People get so upset when you take their godhood away.

When people are playing BECAUSE it's a mmo where you have godlike power, and can take on hordes of enemies with fun combat, yes they do get upset. Not like it was from godlike to balanced, it was godlike to 'I'm getting fucked by 2 even level Council minions!'
Making it so I couldn't beat up nazis AND nerfing both my toons? There's other shiny.

If you're getting fucked by 2 even level Council minions then the problem is you.

[tazelbain]

I fought the Nazis last night.

Anyway, some mechanics made combat trival.  It was either fix it or make combat trival for everyone.  

[Reg]

And yet even with combat that was "trivial" leveling up in my 30s was an unbearable grind. No thanks. When I play a superhero game I want to feel super.

[Glazius]

And yet even with combat that was "trivial" leveling up in my 30s was an unbearable grind. No thanks. When I play a superhero game I want to feel super.

That's why they boosted XP by about 30% when they made combat non-trivial.

Now it's up 50% more, with higher bonuses for non-minions.

[Big Gulp]

That's why they boosted XP by about 30% when they made combat non-trivial.

Now it's up 50% more, with higher bonuses for non-minions.

It's not about the numbers, it's about whooping down hordes of bad guys.  See, as a tanker, that's what made me feel super.  With that gone, what's the fucking point?  All you're left with is Diablo in tights and mind numbingly boring repeated environments.

[rk47]

I sort of agree with the 'non heroic' feel of it. But at least they improved everything else like having a better idea of what a power does (exact numbers!) and how does % enhancers help.

I'm on my 14 week trial now, I havent played in a year, new costume pieces look spiffy and Fire/Fire scrapper is about time.
Definitely worth a re-look if you haven't got better things to do. MMORPG.com gives free trial keys right now.

[Glazius]

That's why they boosted XP by about 30% when they made combat non-trivial.

Now it's up 50% more, with higher bonuses for non-minions.

It's not about the numbers, it's about whooping down hordes of bad guys.  See, as a tanker, that's what made me feel super.  With that gone, what's the fucking point?  All you're left with is Diablo in tights and mind numbingly boring repeated environments.

Tankers can still handle hordes, just not herd the whole map. Playing through the massive hordes that rush you in the new TF, I could pretty easily hold off an entire rush complete with elite bosses on my fire tanker. My stone tank I can slap on granite form and handle giant mothership waves of Rikti.

When I try and remember what it was like before, all I can really remember is that said fire tank couldn't get any status protection so I'd get wrecked with amazing regularity. And the first attempt at status protection wore off when you reapplied the clicks so you couldn't refresh them without detoggling.

[UnSub]

With that gone, what's the fucking point?  All you're left with is Diablo in tights and mind numbingly boring repeated environments.

We'll see you back here when the shiny wears off AoC then.

[WindupAtheist]

Are there patch notes, or do the only slightly-interested have to slog through that shitty screenshot comic?

[Trippy]

There are patch notes:

http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/patch_notes.html

but for those who have only been casually following the game it probably makes more sense to read the Issue updates:

http://www.cityofheroes.com/game_update12.html

[rk47]

ah well i really wish they cut the endurance management side of the game some slack, I'm still forced to watch my blue bars while playing my Fire/Fire scrapper, that's not right at all. This makes taking those passive powers (Swift/Hurdle > Health > Stamina) a must, turning it into the all familiar levelling speed-bump. Aside from that, it's still a blast to play.

[Glazius]

ah well i really wish they cut the endurance management side of the game some slack, I'm still forced to watch my blue bars while playing my Fire/Fire scrapper, that's not right at all. This makes taking those passive powers (Swift/Hurdle > Health > Stamina) a must, turning it into the all familiar levelling speed-bump. Aside from that, it's still a blast to play.

Consume comes at what, 16? I wish it had a more reasonable recharge on it like Energy Absorption or Power Sink.

Still that's probably why they ramped up XP from 13-20.

I'm not sure with IOs and the set bonuses and partial endurance discounts that everybody needs Stamina. I've got a blaster who basically only uses Power Sink to recover from an Inferno.

[Register]

Logged to take advantage of the free weekend....

First impressions - the increased base accuracy up to 90% is noticeable, I remember back then the first few levels were hell - you already have limited powers to form an attack chain, a string of misses is just a recipe for misery. Defender damage is up, Blaster defiance changed - they have their first 2 primary powers available even when mezzed/held, and continuous blasting now gets a stacking damage buff. With the Will Power powerset, Tanks can get blue bar regen as early as 12.

XP gains were increased, and much more so for lieut and bosses. Soloing a 38 boss at 35 nets me 14k xp a pop, while its minion only gets me 600-700. But the last time I leveled a COH char up was pre-WOW. Going back now, it still feels so slow - especially since Wow had a huge number of quests to speed up leveling, while COH mission rewards are lackluster... which brings me to the topic of missions.

Much of the missions which turn me off is still there - missions to find x missing persons, or x mysterious boxes in a large building with multiple floors and the subsequent hunt for the last missing person or box that is particularly hard to find thanks to a not so visible doorway hidden from sight. It's not just that I can level much faster by simply killing mobs - the way some missions are constructed; I feel that I am being punished when I run through the missions.

I took the portal to the new content where you have some time travel missions - there was this mission where u get 'de-leveled' to level 1 and get send back to the zone in the beginner's tutorial. It's conceptually cool but an exercise in frustration in its implementation - after being used to a continuous attack chain I am now reduced to a single attack power. Being a controller that means I mez, wait for mez to recharge in 6 seconds to remez for containment damage.

But that’s not the most frustrating part - the mission requires me to rescue 6 persons, in a zone that’s almost the size of Perez Park, and many areas have mob masses of the density of a hazard zone. And so I got stuck on having to find the last person to rescue, but I ran around and around the entire zone constantly being chased but I cant find the last bugger. Technically I could try killing all the mobs to make the search easier, but with a single weakened attack power that could take me 2 hours given that there are definitely more than 100 mobs - best of all I was under the impression that while deleveled I am getting ZERO xp for all my efforts.

Logged and called it a day - to be fair it's not that COH sucks but rather it lacked sufficient appeal for me to be enticed to resub. When I make a new char, I am still stuck with having to stand there waiting for powers to slowly recycle before spamming the same button again. Many classes need to reach 10-16 for a semi complete attack chain - then its waiting for the blue bar to grow back, or level 20 when you can finally get Stamina. There is still no direct method to transfer money short of trusting strangers (friends long gone from COH) - the game is still not very Alt friendly. Leveling up still takes substantially longer than the pace I am now used to (i.e. WOW)

I guess its back to choosing between WOW and AOC.

[rk47]

Heh can't even get my friend to go past 2nd day, he said 'There's no loot, I have no motivation'
There's enhancers, but it's not 'bling' enough. And he complained about the UI being alien and rather level up his pally in WoW. I don't understand the problem, not enough carrots? Really? Too bad I'm having a blast in big teams with my L20 Fire/Fire scrapper to give a shit about the latest 'daily WoW gold give aways' he boasted about. Fuckin 'hardcore' casuals and their loot-whoring.

"You should resub and play with me in WoW." /sadf

[Trippy]

I took the portal to the new content where you have some time travel missions - there was this mission where u get 'de-leveled' to level 1 and get send back to the zone in the beginner's tutorial. It's conceptually cool but an exercise in frustration in its implementation - after being used to a continuous attack chain I am now reduced to a single attack power. Being a controller that means I mez, wait for mez to recharge in 6 seconds to remez for containment damage.

Haha you gimped yourself at level 1! J/K. Next time take your single-target root instead. But seriously, you have Brawl and your origin power and if you've been a subscriber for at least a year you have Sands of Mu or the Ghost Slaying Axe. Or find somebody to do it with. Also make sure you are running that one on Heroic. Anything more than that and that mission is

But that’s not the most frustrating part - the mission requires me to rescue 6 persons, in a zone that’s almost the size of Perez Park, and many areas have mob masses of the density of a hazard zone. And so I got stuck on having to find the last person to rescue, but I ran around and around the entire zone constantly being chased but I cant find the last bugger. Technically I could try killing all the mobs to make the search easier, but with a single weakened attack power that could take me 2 hours given that there are definitely more than 100 mobs - best of all I was under the impression that while deleveled I am getting ZERO xp for all my efforts.

The zone is not that big. Also if you follow the waypoint it'll lead you to the last hostage (he's inside the building). That mission is a bit disorienting if you haven't run the Tutorial/Outbreak mission in a while but it basically follows the same setup as the Tutorial with hostages at some of the places where you talked to people during the Tutorial with the exception that there's a regular hostage inside the building rather than meeting up with Flower Knight again.

[Register]

Haha you gimped yourself at level 1! J/K. Next time take your single-target root instead. But seriously, you have Brawl and your origin power and if you've been a subscriber for at least a year you have Sands of Mu or the Ghost Slaying Axe. Or find somebody to do it with. Also make sure you are running that one on Heroic. Anything more than that and that mission is

Erm I don't think i get to choose the power - it auto selects my single target mez and greys out the rest. And I am mind control - no roots for me.

Yea I did remember hearing about the sands of mu stuff, but I think it was offered during a period where I unsubbed. Have been going on and off COH when taking breaks from other MMOs...

I ran the mission on Invincible...  anyway the mobs were tedious but killable. With my mez and my heal from radiation emission power set the mobs can't kill me unless I intentionally train them onto me and stood still.

The zone is not that big. Also if you follow the waypoint it'll lead you to the last hostage (he's inside the building). That mission is a bit disorienting if you haven't run the Tutorial/Outbreak mission in a while but it basically follows the same setup as the Tutorial with hostages at some of the places where you talked to people during the Tutorial with the exception that there's a regular hostage inside the building rather than meeting up with Flower Knight again.

The zone is actually quite big - if you explore the borders to how far you can run. My belief is that there's a bug somewhere - the first 4 hostages were close to each other along the way to the building marked for the item you have to recover. I found  a hostage in the building too. But then I am still missing one.

And in trying to find the last hostage I ran circles and all around the borders of how far the zone stretch - you'll be surprised that its actually quite large - especially for a character with its travel powers disabled.

[Trippy]

Haha you gimped yourself at level 1! J/K. Next time take your single-target root instead. But seriously, you have Brawl and your origin power and if you've been a subscriber for at least a year you have Sands of Mu or the Ghost Slaying Axe. Or find somebody to do it with. Also make sure you are running that one on Heroic. Anything more than that and that mission is

Erm I don't think i get to choose the power - it auto selects my single target mez and greys out the rest. And I am mind control - no roots for me.

Powers that aren't on your trays are kept in the "Powers" window. You'll see Brawl in there and your origin power on the right hand side.

Yea I did remember hearing about the sands of mu stuff, but I think it was offered during a period where I unsubbed. Have been going on and off COH when taking breaks from other MMOs...

The subscription time doesn't have to be consecutive. Under Badges there's a Veteran tab. Go to that and scroll down. If you get to a 12 month section you'll see an entry that allows you to claim your 12 month vet power.

And in trying to find the last hostage I ran circles and all around the borders of how far the zone stretch - you'll be surprised that its actually quite large - especially for a character with its travel powers disabled.

The hostages are all along the main upside down "L" route (plus the one inside the building past Coyote). If you try and shortcut and head straight for the waypoint you will bypass some of the hostages. From memory there's two near the beginning, 3 in that area where the practice drones are/were, one at the end of the road that makes a 90 degree left turn towards Coyote, Coyote, and the one inside the building. If you missed just one it's likely either Coyote or the one at the road bend.

Edit: I think that's too many hostages. It's either 2 near start 2 at practice drones or 1 and 3.

[Register]

Powers that aren't on your trays are kept in the "Powers" window. You'll see Brawl in there and your origin power on the right hand side.

hehe I know where to get brawl, its just that you can't get containment damage with brawl - its still faster for me to wait for mez to recycle for containment than to brawl - I tested when grinding the 20 minimum for that mission.

The subscription time doesn't have to be consecutive. Under Badges there's a Veteran tab. Go to that and scroll down. If you get to a 12 month section you'll see an entry that allows you to claim your 12 month vet power.

Hrm, I'd check that out.... if I resub. I think the free weekend is done, and I am still not inclined to resub at this moment...

The hostages are all along the main upside down "L" route (plus the one inside the building past Coyote). If you try and shortcut and head straight for the waypoint you will bypass some of the hostages. From memory there's two near the beginning, 3 in that area where the practice drones are/were, one at the end of the road that makes a 90 degree left turn towards Coyote, Coyote, and the one inside the building. If you missed just one it's likely either Coyote or the one at the road bend.

Edit: I think that's too many hostages. It's either 2 near start 2 at practice drones or 1 and 3.

I did check the initial areas... either its a bug or I was cock-eyed. Either way its too late - the free period should be over by now.

Part of the reason why I was so peeved was my native hatred for such missions. There were too many missions where I gnawed my fingernails trying to find the last missing X in COH missions. It really gets my goat when I decimated any and all opposition at the highest difficulty level, only to be stopped because I can't find the last XXX.

If only there's a class as overpowered as my mind control/rad in WoW... I'd be soloing instances my level haha.

[Trippy]

I did check the initial areas... either its a bug or I was cock-eyed.

There is no missing hostage bug on that mission.

If only there's a class as overpowered as my mind control/rad in WoW... I'd be soloing instances my level haha.

Rad anything is "Easy Mode" in CoH/CoV.

[Glazius]

One officer at the beginning, one officer halfway down the road, a Crey security guy in the parking lot beside him, another officer where the road bends, Coyote down the slope, and the doctor in the building. They may each need their own waypoints though, it's not spelled out but they're 5 out of 6 the contacts from the tutorial right where they were, with the exception being the doc who you have a waypoint to already.

[Morat20]

Tankers can still handle hordes, just not herd the whole map. Playing through the massive hordes that rush you in the new TF, I could pretty easily hold off an entire rush complete with elite bosses on my fire tanker. My stone tank I can slap on granite form and handle giant mothership waves of Rikti.

When I try and remember what it was like before, all I can really remember is that said fire tank couldn't get any status protection so I'd get wrecked with amazing regularity. And the first attempt at status protection wore off when you reapplied the clicks so you couldn't refresh them without detoggling.

Hee. Try rolling up with four robots, pissing everyone off, then bubbling. :)

8-person Mayham missions are a fucking blast too.

[climbjtree]

8-person Mayham missions are a fucking blast too.

Are those missions after the April ham ones?

Okay, it was a bad joke! Sue me.

[Morat20]

8-person Mayham missions are a fucking blast too.

Are those missions after the April ham ones?

Okay, it was a bad joke! Sue me.

I swear, if you're going to mock my spelling you might as well start a REALLY long thread. :)