The News Thread

[stray]

You should name yourself Wah-Wah Man.

Bet ya it's taken.  :-(

[edit] Btw, grats to Llava. He may be the first person at f13 who has started a thread that went over 5 pages that hasn't devolved into complete chaos. Good thread, man.

[Signe]

It's probably because this subject  doesn't inspire passion.  Now if he had started a thread about shoes, we'd be at each other's throats. 

I loves gurlie shoes!



They go all the way to the knee in CoH.  That's just wrong.

[stray]

I've got more shoes than any other guy I know.

[Nevermore]

It's probably because this subject  doesn't inspire passion.  Now if he had started a thread about shoes, we'd be at each other's throats. 

I loves gurlie shoes!



They go all the way to the knee in CoH.  That's just wrong.

I really, really wish there was a pattern like that for the socks in the game. 

[Signe]

They have absolutely neglected shoes and socks in CoH/Cov.  Boots galore... gloves up the watuzzi... where's the sock love?  How about us shoe fetish people?

[Llava]

Of course, you wouldn't want to use the name Eldritch, right? I mean really, would I use the name Yggdrasil? No, I don't think so. Just sayin'.

Huh?

Why wouldn't I want to use it?

el·dritch
adj.

    Strange or unearthly; eerie.

How is that not a great name?



Also I think talking about socks just ruined this thread's position of "not devolving into chaos".

[Big Gulp]

Just so you guys know, I have a slew of good names that should become available on Freedom shortly, if they're going ahead with this.  Give these a try:

Captain Pansy
Floodlight
Mech Mantis
Joy Buzzer
Think Tank
Ma Deuce
Harlotquinn

[Signe]

Harlotquinn?   

[stray]

Heh..Floodlight is pretty cool.

For some reason, it sounds kinda Transformer-ish to me..

[Big Gulp]

Harlotquinn?   

She's the clown illusionist controller I set up, and seeing how I lacked suitable jester clothing (pointed shoes, etc), I went for full out hooker mode.  Knee high boots, miniskirt, etc.  Hence, Harlotquinn.

[Llava]

Harlotquinn?   

She's the clown illusionist controller I set up, and seeing how I lacked suitable jester clothing (pointed shoes, etc), I went for full out hooker mode.  Knee high boots, miniskirt, etc.  Hence, Harlotquinn.

Jester clothing inc w/ CoV

[Big Gulp]

Jester clothing inc w/ CoV

Too little, too too too too late.

[Llava]

Jester clothing inc w/ CoV

Too little, too too too too late.

Just sayin'

Also, just posted:

I've alluded to this in a couple of places, but I wanted to describe something we'll be doing for Super Reflexes quite soon...

Super Reflexes Auto powers (Agile, Dodge, and Lucky) now add some minor damage resistance. This Damage resistance starts at 0%, but improves as the caster loses HP. The Resistance kicks in at 60% HP (when HP bar first changes color) and markedly increases at 40% and 20% (again, when the bar changes color). We have not yet determined the exact values.

This change is in addition to the recent modification that gave most Defense Primary and Secondary powers resistance to Defense Debuffs (self Defense powers).

And:

I apologize if people thought I was misleading them by saying "no more big power changes." In my mind, powers and Enhancements are two different systems (they really are in terms of data). It certainly wasn't my intent.

Secondly, we didn't put out info about Enhancement Diversification out earlier because 1) we hadn't nailed down the exact system and 2) we didn't want to announce changes until they were on the Training Room. Until something can be tested, it isn't "real" yet - I'd hate to say something is coming when it isn't. Skills is a good example of this; we designed it. It seemed ready, but it ended up not being ready.

Thirdly, I CAN say unequivocally that we have NO other major changes planned. A few posts have asked that specifically.

You might think having one's words scrutinized so closely for so long might make one more cautious about how he phrases things.  You would, apparently, be wrong.  But whatever, I believe him.  I still think it was a stupid mistake and I'm surprised he made it, but I believe him.

[stray]

Yeah, my main is SR....The change is nice.

But it's also stupid. Just goes to show how broken of a concept Defense is in general. Wtf? Now I get dmg resistance? Why?

[Llava]

My 50 is SR as well.  I like it.  It does fit with the concept, as it's easy to imagine "rolling with a punch" as resistance instead of defense.  Defense could work on its own to protect a character, except there are too many ways around it- particularly, important in-game mechanics like the streak breaker code and the to-hit floor of 5%.

[Hoax]

Welp this thread has killed my will to even think about picking up CoV... 

Mostly the part where Gulp said its just the same stupid grind and the part where everyone says that the pvp is stupid in this game.

[Llava]

Well, not to be a fanboy or anything, but I rather enjoy the PvP in CoH.  It lends itself more to 2v2 or 3v3 though.  1v1 is too unbalanced, and 8v8 just gets to be too chaotic.

[Signe]

I didn't much care for the CoH arena PvP.  I have no idea what the PvP is like in CoV because I've never done any.  I suppose I'll let Llava kill me if he's nice.

[Rodent]

If anyone's still on Virtue I promise to put up a heroic fight to the death... It can't be worse then being ganked with a viking sword of vanq.

[stray]

I haven't played much, but I think the ideas lend to much better PvP than what WoW has at least.

That being said: Yeah, same stupid grind.

[Llava]

So I can't quit now.

My SG decided on a server for our CoV characters, and I went over there to see what kind of names I could get.

I managed to get "Horde".  It's a beautiful name.  It's very comic book-y.  I'm going to use it for a Mastermind.

Imagine.  My battlecry can be "For me!"  And I can make my minions yell "Yeah, for him!"

Course, I'm sure all my friends will point out that it's similar in sound to "whore", but I know they'll all be stewing in their own jealousy as they get stuck with crap names like "Mister Mynd".

[CmdrSlack]

I'd like to point out that I predicted that enhancements != powers spin.

Cryptic needs to give me a job.

[Llava]

Regarding problems with the 90 days of account inactivity:

Ok - let's relax.

First off - Katrina victims had their accounts comped - so no issues there.

Second - we are working on a way for people to be able to hold on to a name if they are going on an extended, goverment funded desert holiday. Stay tuned.

[Llava]

CoV NDA Lifted.

Hello all --

We have met internal milestones and are pleased to announce today that the City of Villains Non-Disclosure Agreement has officially been lifted. This means that you are free to talk about the game with others (in person, in chats, on message boards, etc) and also to share screenshots. These activities are now allowed.

Keep in mind that our EULA and rules of conduct still apply.

PLEASE NOTE: While the NDA has been lifted, it is important to remember that even though you can now talk about the game anywhere, as a beta tester, it should still be your first priority to play the game and provide feedback on the Beta Message Board. Just as a reminder, the beta board is located here:

http://boards.cityofvillains.com

Any questions or comments that are posted on the City of Heroes message board, that are obviously meant for a beta audience, will be removed from that board. For example: “Why is the CoV beta server down?” or “How come my mastermind zombies don’t do x?” These are questions for the beta board, not the public board, and if posted on the public board will be removed.

Thank you very much for your time and participation.

-The City of Villains Team

So.  Anyone wanna know anything?

First things first, Claws have a new look:

[Signe]

They should just make the beta boards visible to anyone who wants to look.  That way we could all stfu.

[Cheddar]

PLEASE NOTE: While the NDA has been lifted, it is important to remember that even though you can now talk about the game anywhere, as a beta tester, it should still be your first priority to play the game and provide feedback on the Beta Message Board.

What a dumb broad.  Like anyone plays Betas these days to test the game.  It is a blatant method of pimping a game in these enlightened days ("Beta").

[Alkiera]

Funniest thing I've seen in beta...



This is a normal NPC of the type that normally walks up and down the streets...  except he's hopping slowly down the street, as his feet are cemented into a bucket.  I'm guessing the idea is that The Family plans him to take a long leap off a short pier.

Alkiera

[Llava]

So I'll write up some more detailed info about how the new ATs play, for those who don't already know.

Stalkers:

A Stalker is an assassin.  Primary sets include:
Energy Melee
Ninja Sword (Basically Katana)
Claws
Spines
Martial Arts

Secondary Sets include:
Super Reflexes
Regeneration
Energy Aura (New set)
Ninjutsu (New set)

All secondary sets have "Hide" as the first power.  Hide is a toggle, and is invisibility/defense buff.  When you are hidden, your next attack is guaranteed to be a critical hit (assuming you don't miss).  When you attack or take damage, Hide is suppressed for 10 seconds.

In each of the primary sets there is a new power: Assassin's Strike.  It is a moderate damage, interruptable attack.  However, if you are hidden when you attempt an Assassin's Strike, it will hit for somewhere in the area of 7 times as much damage.  This is enough to one-shot most lieutenants at lower levels.  This becomes available at level 6.  With Build Up, you can almost one-shot a boss.

There is also a new power called Placate in all primaries.  Think of this as a Jedi Mind Trick.  In fact, that's exactly what it looked like when I used it on my Ninja Blade Stalker.  It's single target, and it makes the target stop attacking you, and you are now Hidden again.  Now keep in mind- other enemies can still attack you if they want.  If they hit, it will break your Hide.  That means you want to use this carefully for maximum effect.

Stalkers lend themselves best to a hit-and-run style of play, in my experience.  Let the Masterminds send in the pets to take the alpha strike (don't worry, there will be plenty of Masterminds) but before they do that make sure you're already in position standing right next to the biggest, meanest badguy in the group.  Just after they launch the opening volley, assassinate that guy (chances are it'll just require the assassin strike, then one or two more attacks if it's a boss) and get the hell out of Dodge.

The primary sets had area effect attacks removed and replaced with the Assassin Strike.  Stalkers also deal less damage hit-for-hit than Scrappers.  They are meant entirely as alpha-strike, single target attackers.  If you're fighting big groups of minions, you'll feel you're going to waste.  On the other hand, if your group is going up against an Elite Boss you will own him before he gets a chance to do anything nasty.

The defense buff from Hide is minimal, except for AE effects.  When the Hide isn't suppressed, it gives more than 30% protection from AE attacks.  So you have a pretty good shot at getting close to something using PBAE auras or whatever, especially if you slot this.  All of the secondary sets except for Regeneration focus on Defense, which is better for a Stalker than Resistance because a Stalker wants to avoid being hit at all so as to complete an Assassin's Strike and not have Hide broken.

Ninjutsu is one of those new sets that's like a combination of existing sets.  It's part super reflexes (defense toggles), part regeneration (self heal), and part utility (it gets Caltrops, for instance... works nice for the hit-and-run strategy when solo).

Energy Aura is interesting.  It's sort of like Ice Armor, minus the slowing effects.  It has some endurance help (I believe it gets both Conserve Energy and a PBAE endurance drain), but I didn't play this set so I don't know it all that well.

[Trippy]

In each of the primary sets there is a new power: Assassin's Strike.  It is a moderate damage, interruptable attack.  However, if you are hidden when you attempt an Assassin's Strike, it will hit for somewhere in the area of 7 times as much damage.  This is enough to one-shot most lieutenants at lower levels.  This becomes available at level 6.  With Build Up, you can almost one-shot a boss.

Um...okay...how is that not totally broken in PvP? What's the recharge time on the Assassin's Strike power?

[Llava]

I wanted to get some facts about Brutes down before I forget them, but I didn't really play this AT so anyone who did feel free to jump in here and cover this more in-depth:

Primaries:
Super Strength
Fire Melee
Dark Melee
Energy Melee
Stone Melee
People have been begging for Axe, Mace, or Broadsword all through beta. I don't know why they're not in.

Secondaries:
Invulnerability
Fiery Aura
Dark Armor
Stone Armor

This AT used to have Ice Melee and Ice Armor, but it was removed.  The reason behind that is because Ice effects slow down enemy attack rates, and Brutes directly benefit from attacking and being attacked as often as possible.  Thus, Ice=gimpy Brutes.  Energy Aura was the replacement secondary, initially that was only open to Stalkers.

So we've all heard about Fury, but how does it work and what does it do?

Every time you attack, you gain some Fury.  Every time you are attacked, whether or not you actually get hit, you gain Fury.  Fury decays over time.  So it's in your interest to move as quickly as you can from one fight to the next.  Fury raises your damage.  Significantly.  With a full bar of Fury, you will do 300% of your usual damage.  That means you will easily outdamage Scrappers as long as you can keep the Fury going.  Naturally at almost no Fury you deal less damage than a Scrapper.  But there's an important point in there- Brutes are not Tankers in spirit.  They are much, much closer to Scrappers.  Brutes are significantly more fragile than a Tanker.  The damage more than makes up for that.  If you wanted to be the Hulk, this is your archetype.

"But if Brutes aren't the tanks, who's taking the damage?"

Masterminds.  Mastermind pets aren't the best at holding aggro, but they're good at soaking up the damage.  Since Masterminds usually have abilities to heal their own pets, it works out nicely.  Masterminds will end up with 6 pets eventually.  You start out with 1 minion, or 1 Tier 1.  At level 6 you'll get your second Tier 2, so 2 Tier 1s.  However, once you get this one they'll both drop a level.  So 2 -1 Tier 1s.  Then as you get your third, it'll be 3 -2 Tier 1s.  And you'll get some Lieutenants, the first will be your level, the second will cause them both to drop one below your level.  Lastly, you'll get a boss, and he will be equal to your level.  So at the end you'll have 3 -2 Tier 1s, 2 -1 Tier 2s, and 1 +0 Tier 3.  You can rename pets as you like, and the names will stick (name one Zombie Bob and another Jim, desummon them, summon them again, they'll be Bob and Jim.  If Jim dies and Bob doesn't, summon again and you'll just resummon Jim.)  You can set macros through them to make them emote or say things.  There are all kinds of opportunities for comedy. 

Primaries include:
Ninjas (new set, combined with Archery)
Robots (new set, combined with Assault Rifle... uh, kinda.)
Zombies (new set, combined with Dark Blast)
Mercenaries (new set, combined with Assault Rifle more obviously)

Secondaries include:
Force Fields
Dark Miasma
Poison (new set)
Trick Arrow
Traps (new set)
Maybe some others I can't remember

Zombies are summoned and appear from a dark pool on the ground.  Mercenaries are called in via radio (from what I've heard, the first tier just runs in, the second tier rappels in from above, the third actually parachutes in).  Ninjas are... uh, called I guess- I've only seen the first tier of them, and they jump down from above (plus when dismissed they say "Without a trace..." throw a smoke bomb on the ground and vanish which is totally sweet.)  Robots are dropped from some orbital station that apparently all Robot Masterminds own.  A large metal crate hits the ground and unfolds, revealing the robot.

Herding isn't likely to be much of a possibility in CoV.  Fights will be chaotic.  Lots of damage is going to be hurled around.  It will play similar to City of Heroes, in that the combat systems and a lot of powers are the same, but I believe the ATs are different enough that the game will provide a significantly different game experience.  So if you just plain didn't like CoH, this game, like any expansion, isn't likely to fix it for you.  If you did like CoH but just couldn't find the right playstyle with the ATs given, CoV may fix that.  If you've played CoH for a long time and want to try out something different, you have about a 75/25 chance of liking CoV.  If you wanted new powers, you'll probably be disappointed.  If you wanted a rebalanced game, this delivers.

And hell, since I'm already writing:

Corruptors are like reverse Defenders, or tweaked Blasters... depending on how you play.  Their primary sets are Blast sets.  Their secondary sets are Defense/Buff sets.  Depending on how you build, you can be a damage powerhouse or play team support.  Corruptors' inherent ability is called Scourge, and its mechanics were recently changed.  Initially, if an enemy was below 20% health and you dealt damage to it, that damage would be doubled.  Useless on Minions, okay on Lieutenants, handy on Bosses, awesome on Archvillains/Monsters.  However, because no one likes feeling not-that-useful unless there's an AV around (which isn't that often) it was changed to a gradient.  If an enemy hits 50% health, you now have a chance to deal double damage with Scourge.  The lower the enemy's health, the higher that chance gets.  A Stalker and Corruptor duo can coordinate to be quite powerful- the Stalker taking out a big chunk of the enemy's initial health, the Corruptor finishing him off quickly with Scourge.

Dominators are Controller/Blaster/Scrappers.  Yeah.  Their primaries are Control sets, including the new Plant Domination set.  If you wanted to make Poison Ivy, you're in luck.  Your secondaries are combination Blast/Melee sets called "Assault" sets.  Most of these are built from pieces of other sets (Icy Assault has bits of Ice Blast and Ice Melee, Fiery Assault same deal, etc).  Some of these sets include pretty new power- Psionic Assault, for one, offers Psionic Dart.  If you've ever played a Defender with /psychic blast, you know how laborously slow Mental Blast is.  Psionic Dart is much more like Neutrino Bolt- quick, a little damage, very fast recharge.  Thorny Assault is partially built from the Spines Scrapper set, with a few added ranged powers.  Thorny Assault offers a lot of new art- they didn't just reuse Spines and retexture them, they altered the model itself... suffice it to say, when you're using your Thorny Assault powers, you will look VERY thorny.  You thorny bastard you.  Do I make you thorny baby?  Etc etc, more puns here.  And yes, they do get pets.  Plant Dominators in particular seem to get a ton of pets.  No, they don't get the Containment damage bonus... they would be laughably overpowered if they did.

Weaknesses I've noted:

Stalkers do pretty piddly damage when not taking advantage of their Assassin/Hide/Placate abilities.  You cannot, cannot play this AT as a psuedo-scrapper, or you will suck.  Stalkers are also quite fragile, moreso than Scrappers.

Brutes are very solid, but they're penalized for spending too much time to stop and think.  It's very accurate when you think about it- Brutes don't think about whether or not they can win a fight, they go on a fucking rampage and to hell with the consequences.  So sometimes a Brute will be urging the rest of the team to keep up.  Even a Brute's health and endurance have to give out sometime, though, and the key is knowing when to stop and rest and when you can push yourself further.

Masterminds.... um.  I'm not sure what their weakness is.  They do pretty decent damage, not amazing but decent.  Their pets can take a punch to the jaw and not fold like a card table.  Plus they can provide support for their pets and the team.  They're good solo, they're important in a team.  Where they'll really falter, I'm guessing, is against archvillains and other powerful enemies with AE.  Those will probably take out the Tier 1 and maybe Tier 2 pets really quick with AE.  The boss may last longer.

Dominators' main weakness is their reality fragility and lack of defense/self healing.  You can put out some pretty respectable damage and hold things pretty well, but when you start taking shots there's not much you can do but hope a Corruptor or Mastermind stops doing what they're doing and heals you.  This seems like an AT that will really bloom at later levels with more slots.  However, until the end of the game you will probably never feel like you have enough slots.

Corruptors suffer the weakness of all hybrids- they're not as good at blasting as blasters, and they're not as good at defending as  defenders.  It's up to the player to find a happy medium.  The bad news is that a single Corruptor probably won't keep a team alive like a Defender can.  The good news is that you aren't likely to be turned down for a team because "We already have 2 Corruptors".  Even if the team is solid for defense, extra damage always helps.  Corruptors are in the unique position to offer both.  Plus, they have Masterminds to help pick up some of the slack in the defending arena.

So there you go.  My opinion of the CoV ATs and why they make the game fun.  In a lot of ways it is like a new game.  But don't fool yourself- if you stopped liking CoH within the first week or so of playing, you'll feel the same about CoV.

This is all assuming that Enhancement Diversification doesn't destroy the game entirely.

You know what? I should've written that better so it could go up as a review on the front page.  Oh well.

[Llava]

In each of the primary sets there is a new power: Assassin's Strike.  It is a moderate damage, interruptable attack.  However, if you are hidden when you attempt an Assassin's Strike, it will hit for somewhere in the area of 7 times as much damage.  This is enough to one-shot most lieutenants at lower levels.  This becomes available at level 6.  With Build Up, you can almost one-shot a boss.

Um...okay...how is that not totally broken in PvP? What's the recharge time on the Assassin's Strike power?

You are unlikely to one-shot a player, particularly with the Enhancement Diversification changes going in.  If you've played much in PvP, you know that players are actually pretty decent at soaking up damage- even Blasters aren't as fragile as you might think.  That being said, if you're a Blaster, Defender or Controller and a Stalker does manage to get a full strength Assassin Strike on you, you are in serious trouble.  Either be an awesome player, know what weaknesses to exploit, or have a good team to fall back on.  As a tip, Ninjutsu Stalkers have no inherent protection to knockback.

But like any assassin/rogue class that can pop out of stealth and deal a shitload of damage, the Stalker will be the focus of many whines.

[Llava]

CITY OF HEROES #6 A FLIP BOOK

After an announcement of a flip book by editor-in-chief Jim Lauchlin at Wizard World Boston, Top Cow Production on Wednesday provided details for its plans for City of Heroes #6.

The issue, in stores on Wednesday, includes a bonus six-page back-up story, "City of Villains." spotlighting the new game from NCsoft and Cryptic Sutdios.

The City of Villains is written by the game's senior designer, Sean Michael Fish, with artwork by James Raiz. It gives the player and the reader a peek at what is in store for them, as City of Villains takes off from some of the most dangerous and feared villains from City of Heroes universe.

Bold mine.  That'd be Manticore.  I'm interested to see how it comes out.  I have the distinct impression that the comic will be much better written with him doing it, since he built the game's story from the inside and out.  Better than a comic writer trying to translate the story into a comic book and failing miserably, anyways.

[stray]

Different mediums and all that (one SHITTY and one not), but I like those newer comics much better than any storytelling in the game (not the ideas and characters mind you, because that'd be contradictory).

It'd be a very telling thing about mmo storytelling in general if this new comic turns out better than the rest.

[Llava]

Okay, rant post.

I just got Issue 5.  This shit is exactly why I don't like these comics for the most part- they have no idea how to fucking write these characters.  Take this little monologue from Citadel, an android:

I think I understand what you mean.  In my own case, I have so few needs.  I don't have to eat... I can't become ill... I think the last time I used currency was when I bought a toothbrush a few years ago... in an attempt to feel more "human"... I actually never used it.  It's still in its package, unopened."

Okay, is it just me or does that sound like a human describing an android?  Were I writing it, it'd be more like this:

I believe I understand.  I do not share the human traits of dependency on food, or a weakness to biological illnesses.

I would've skipped the money bit because it's stupid.  He's an android without a secret identity- what, does the Freedom Phalanx pay him?  How would he get money?  Why would he take it when he knows he doesn't need it?

This is two pages into the comic and I felt I had to post this.

[stray]

Why would he take it when he knows he doesn't need it?

Curiousity?

Hmm, if you're going to rant about that, then I'd like to hear what you have to say about Data from ST:TNG. Hell, almost any android in sci-fi stories for that matter.