Prelude

All I want to know is why we spent all that time Friday night hunting down Paragon Protectors in Crey’s Folly, in order to get the Infiltrator badge (thus the Conspiracy Theorist accolade) when …
… well, last night, we ended up slogging against endless PPs on various missions against the Crey. Except these were all purples. Psi-clone and Amorpha, joined by Dubh Bas and Toy Maker. We did pretty well — no TPKs, but close, and everyone died at least once (DB and A managed multiple times) — and still everyone managed to level, a tribute both to the huge amount of XP we were getting plus the new “half debt in mission” rules.
So PC/A both hit 37. Hurrah! Now to figure out how to deal with all those yellow SOs without outright replacing all them with 40s. (Yes, I know how to do it, it’s just annoying.)

Accoladia

Ran around last night trying to finish up the Conspiracy Theorist accolade for Psi-clone and Amorpha — ran the mission (The Doctor’s Ally badge) and took about two hours to get our Infiltrator badges (take down 100 Paragon Protectors — not Crey Protectors, mind you, but Paragon Protectors).
Only nearly died twice, both times because the Invis dropped before we were ready for alpha strike.
The rest is just a bunch of search badges, most of which we have. Crey Pistol, here we come …
UPDATE: Wrapped it up for both of us this afternoon. Not something to frequently use, to be sure, but against Bosses, etc., it should come in handy.

PUG-not-so-ugly

Rather than any number of useful errands I could have been running, I played with Amethyst Crown. Now that she has Parry, she has a pretty decent attack chain without Brawl (Parry – Hack – Parry – Slash …).
So I ran a mish on my own, which was okay, then decided to head over to the Hollows. Level 8 should be just right, right? And I was confident enough of her survivability to be willing to risk a bad PUG.
Well, it actually worked out okay — I was at 8 and a large group of mostly lvl 10 or so pulled me in for what turned into two consecutive Frostfire mishes. During which time I dinged up three times, ending up at 11. Yay. Only died once (after I hit 10, of course), and felt pretty good about her performance.
Good times.
Have decided against Hasten at this point (since there’s not a lot I’m dropping recharges into, and, as I said, she has an attack chain that’s good and will only get better). That freed me up to take Swift as her one power on the even level, which, with Sprint, is almost as good as a travel power until 14.

The Great Leap Forward

Huzzah and hey-nonny-nonny — Fazenda and Araware both dinged up to 14, which means …
Travel Power!
There’s something fabulously liberating about a Travel Power. The worst part of the early levels is, frankly, trotting from one end of one zone to another. Even if you avoid awfuls like the Hollows, just jogging around Kings Row gets to be a boring PitA — and maneuvering around new zones like Steel and Skyway become seriously risky.
Travel Powers suddenly let you treat zones much more point-to-point, with minimal time going from A to B. Nice.
For Aware it was Super Jump, a very fine power that I use on most of my characters (PC being the obvious exception). For Fazenda, though, it’s something different — Teleport. C’mon, she’s a stage magician — what else would she take?
Already seeing/experiencing the various problems — high endurance cost, vulnerability where you arrive, etc. I need to do some fancy macro work to make the whole process easier (and add a “tag line” to the effort).
I dunno. SJ is probably my favorite so far, just for general utility. Fly is great for PC because he can chat while he does so. TP is going to be good “color” — let’s see how effective it actually is.
Still working on her voice — doing the Irish thing without either overdoing it or crossing over into Scottish — and on her “busines” — card tricks, coin tricks, pulling a lit cigarette out of places, etc.
Interestingly, even as Fazenda works on her voice, Araware is turning out to be quite the chatterbox on the comms, relatively speaking. Margie tends to play quieter characters, so hearing Araware waxing lyrical on metaphysics is pretty fun.
Ran last night with another Storm Knight for an adventure, which gave a little variation. He complemented us on how good of a team we were, which we are (all of our current duos are pretty kick-ass, with the possible exception of Velvet/P-Siren, who are good but not great, at least in terms of DPS).
In between mishes, we managed to get hooked up with a Troll Rave in Skyway, a good first test of our travel powers. Which was fine, except (a) we got teamed up with Sword of Asgard, (b) we didn’t SK, so (c) we were both very squishy (and both died at least once) and got hardly any XP. Still, worth it for the exposure. Fazenda’s definitely about the publicity.
We have a Storm Knights Meet-n-Beat on Monday, so we’ll see how the characters stack up at that point. At the very least, we’ll see if I can avoid addressing them as “Consortium” like I did on the SG comms last night.

Doing the social thang

Went out with Velvet and P-Siren to Capt. Atomyc’s weekly Freedom Phalanx exercise meeting. Took for-evah to actually get going, between PS being delayed in joining and then uncertainty as to where we were going and then (most especially) delays in how to actually make a team of 9 work.
In the end, had a group of 7 up against Infernal. Velvet was the point person, natch, as the only tank on the team. Mostly consisted of going through portals, finding a group of a dozen or so demons, standing in the middle and taunting them, then letting the controllers lock them down and the blasters take them down. I was SKed to the highest person in the group, I think, so between that and bubbles (Margie’s mostly, though Puck was tossing them off, too), I was immune to pretty much anything thrown at me.
In the final battle — no prob. I locked down Infernal, the others took out the portal and the peripherals, and then we took him down proper. One death only (and I don’t think that was from Infernal). A kinetic on the team kept my endurance up, and it was just a matter of hitting him enough times.
Got some decent XP for Infernal and the mish, but my high SK kept the overall XP-per-demon pretty low. A fair trade-off for immunity, I suppose.
(As a complete side note — Margie has sometimes joked about replacing the FF on P-Siren with Sonics — and it just occured to me that, with a name like that, Sonics would make a lot more sense now. Not that I’m suggesting she reroll a level 29 character!)
After that, we switched over to Fazenda and Araware. We have a Storm Knights meet-n-beat on Monday we want to attend, and it would be nice if we had our travel powers by then. We’re 13, so it’s just, oh, several pips away. Should be more than doable.
One thing I’ve noticed the last few times out is that the SG channels on other groups tend to be a lot more chattery than the CoJ. Sometimes there’s more SG chat going on than CC (and, to be honest, I tend to swing that way when on those channels, too). F/A had a nice, lengthy, IC/RP chat with someone last night, all on SG. Earlier in the evening, we were using the FP channel for all our organizational discussion around the mission.
As to the difference from the CoJ? Well, four of the several regular players in the group are in duos (Margie/me in our various CoJ instances, mostly PC and A; and, of course, Hype and Syn). Duos tend to talk mostly to each other. There are other individuals in the CoJ, certainly, and they do pipe up, but it tends to mostly be in CC.
Interesting. Question is, is that a problem?

Heroes and Villains

New NCSoft licensing stuff re CoH and CoV:
First off, there will be just a single $15/mo. subscription fee. Whether you buy CoH, CoV, or both, the ongoing subscription cost will be the same.
More interestingly (bolding mine):

Along with the value of being able to play the two games for $14.99, players will receive four additional character slots per game server, and access to crossover areas from both games such as player-versus-player zones in City of Villains. Additionally, City of Heroes’ players who subscribe to both games will have access to the base building and base raids featured in City of Villains.
Okay, would I pay the whatever-X dollars to buy the CoV discs and install them, just so that I could have four additional character slots on Champion?
Little ol’ alt-o-holic me?
Hell, yeah.
PvP zones? Not so much interested (any more than I’ve ever entered an arena match). What the “access to the base building” means is a bit more intriguing. Does this mean hero bases will be available? Or that raids on villain bases will be allowed? Stay tuned.
(via Mal)

Post ghosties

I’ve been making more of an effort to keep up on game journals for my CoH characters as I do them. I’ve realized I can’t (timewise, at least) do big, grand, RP novels like some folk do. But I can, at the very least, do little journal entry sorts of things for each character when I pull them out to play. It helps find the voice, it helps maintain interest, and it makes me feel like I’m doing more than just running around with an accent.
Haven’t done this with everyone, but I need to get into that habit. At the very least, Torchielle and Psi-clone have been getting some posts under their respective belts. And it’s been noticed.
Actually, it’s kind of funny — I have a metaplot for PC, and have since Day 1. I’ve run hot and cold on it, and it tends to morph a bit depending on the mood I’m in when I’m playing — but that actually works well with it, too. And for what it’s worth, the questions asked in Doyce’s post are pretty good ones, though not the only good ones that could be asked …
It will be an interesting balancing act to give out enough info to keep it interesting, to not reveal stuff too quickly, but to reveal it quickly enough. Where the story will eventually go, I don’t know. I’m not sure where I want it to go — I’m certainly not interested in a massive Alliance-wide thang, but there are aspects of it that could be blown up that broadly (or should, if played the way they ought to be).
In the meantime … fun.
(There’s also a lengthy Honey post out there waiting for Margie to look at it and go ooh and aah and Kazima doesn’t talk that way before I put it up.)

A few snatched hours

I’m not sure my situation is directly analogous to using video games for pain management, but I was very happy to have a few minutes to grab in Paragon last night.
First, a brief SK for Amethyst Crown in Kings Row with a level 19 Ice Controller fighting Abominations and other mid-range Vahz. Given how sketchy AC’s attack chain is (Hack. Slice. Punch. Punch. Punch. Punch.) it was both alarming and gratifying to be thanked by him for contributing my “higher DPS.”
Then a quick adventure with Fazenda and Araware wherein we discovered that running at Rugged wasn’t all that bad, even if there was a distinct orange cast to all those Skulls …
Fought a fire, briefly, just by the Steel Canyon Yellow Line. Discovered (a) hey, those Outcasts Hellions try to keep you from it! (b) unslotted Hover is sooooooo slooooooooooow, and (c) I dunno what happened, but no badge or award or anything.
Oh, and (d) squirting Skulls in a later mission with your still-present fire extinguisher pack doesn’t really do anything to them.
Nothing special, but needed fun nonetheless.

Dev updates

Updates from the dev list over the weekend:

  1. The sonic power graphics change is on Test. Go look and see if it still makes you queasy. Reviews, so far, are mixed. Some folks see no difference, some see major differences, still others say it’s better but nothing they could run a TF with. (UPDATE: This will go in as a partial fix, with something better rolling out next.)
  2. How Defense stacking works with different powers. It two of the same positions (melee, ranged, area) or type (cold, energy, smashing, lethal, etc.) of Defense apply, then they stack. If not, then it’s just the highest that applies. Folks seem to think this is broken. I just find the descriptions confusing.
  3. An explanation of Vigilence, and of how the whole inherent powers thing came about.

Level Best

Aside from getting Torchielle and Kazima up to 21 over the weekend (with some Friday and Saturday prep, and the Synapse TF wrapping it up), we also dinged Psi-clone and Amorpha to 36. W00T!
Actually considering a Respec on PC. While I like his power set, as I was tossing slots into him I realized that I have a hell of a lot of recharges on various powers (Group Invis, Phantom Army, Recovery Aura, with more to come). Enough that it might be worth sacrificing a power slot to Hasten and perma it, and in return free up another 5-6 slots.
Being able to heal faster could come in handy sometimes, too.
Of course, there is no power I want to give up. Dagnabbit.
Archetype: Controller
Primary Powers – Ranged : Illusion Control
Secondary Powers – Support : Empathy
01 : Healing Aura hel(01) endred(5) hel(13) hel(7) hel(33)
01 : Spectral Wounds dam(01) dam(3) acc(5) dam(11) dam(36)
02 : Deceive cnfdur(02) cnfdur(3) acc(7) rng(11)
04 : Heal Other hel(04) hel(13) hel(15) endred(17) hel(33)
06 : Hover fltspd(06)
08 : Blind hlddur(08) acc(9) endred(9) hlddur(17) acc(34)
10 : Air Superiority acc(10) dam(27)
12 : Group Invisibility recred(12) recred(15) recred(19) recred(19) recred(21) recred(21)
14 : Fly endred(14) endred(36)
16 : Hurdle jmp(16)
18 : Phantom Army recred(18) recred(25) recred(27) recred(31)
20 : Swift runspd(20)
22 : Stamina endrec(22) endrec(23) endrec(23) endrec(25) endrec(29) endrec(29)
24 : Fortitude defbuf(24)
26 : Maneuvers endred(26)
28 : Recovery Aura recred(28) recred(31) recred(34)
30 : Tactics thtbuf(30) endred(31) thtbuf(34)
32 : Phantasm acc(32) dam(33) dam(36)
35 : Resurrect endred(35)
The next two powers — Adrenaline Boost and Conserve Power — end up being recred-heavy as well. Power Boost at 47 is the same. So there’s some real value there.
Problem is, what to give up? PC is such a utility player that he’s got a wide variety of powers in his Primary and Secondary, plus Leadership. All of them are key parts of his strategy.
Rrg. The least important is Rez (already pushed back to this level a while back); I could take it (again) at 37, if I were willing to give up a future power — the ones I’ve mentioned above, plus TI and Vengeance. Again, doable, but then I need to shuffle things a bit (shove Rez off, take Hasten earlier so I can have it perma by now).
I also hate to add the Hasten glowy to myself. Just not me. But …

World of Tiers

The decades of character experience each have their own qualities to them — to the extent, at least, that I’m able to identify them.
1-9: Crude and Unformed
At the beginning levels, it’s all about a few fresh powers and testing character concepts. There’s not a lot to differentiate characters or missions, just the freshness of it all. There’s a lot of initial turnover here, but these levels tend to go so (relatively) fast that it’s pretty easy to survive.
10-19: Make or Break
By this time the difficulty is begining to ratchet up and the time-to-level is increasing. Steel Canyon and Skyway provide new places to live, and die. TFs show up, giving a way to seriously immerse in the character and team with others. Most of the leveling here is taken up with getting a travel power, bumping up Hasten, and struggling for Stamina. DOs and paying for them become an issue.
I find this is the level where (my) characters tend to stall, as their limitations in play and personality become clear. I’ve dropped many more characters in this range (esp. right around 15) than in the first decade.
20-29: Establishing a Rep
Characters come into their own. Basic power sets are in place, the basic supporting powers (travel, stamina) are taken, and now differentiation can occur. Missions move to IP/Talos, and become a lot more interesting. SOs show up. Major story arcs become more visible, and there are a large number of TFs. Respecs and costume changes become available.
More importantly, I’ve found that the heroes who make it to this level start getting a lot more involved in SG events and social chit-chat. They become known, and get to know others. Enough activities take place jumping off of IP/Talos that their survivability there (not to mention being able to travel and having a breadth of powers) lets folks be easily SKed. In short, the social network for heroes solidifies here (though it requires maintenance), and adds a new level of enjoyability to the game.
These levels are long, but rich. In my (limited) experience, my alts who make it into this range are solid.
30-39: Living Large
Glory days. Founders Falls and Crey’s Folly. Rikti and Crey and the return of the Circle of Thorns, not to mention Devouring Earth. Money stops being so much of a problem. Get this far and you are a competent, powerful, hero, as well balanced as the constantly changing landscape of new issues can allow.
Characters at this level seem unlikely to be dropped (after all that investment) but might stall.
40-49: Thousand Yard Stare
This one I can’t speak to from direct experience (just yet). My impression, reading from other people, is that heroes that get here tend to be (a) key SG members who get much involved in group activities, and (b) obsessed with getting to 50 (especially when there are dire warnings about future nerfs). Long levels and long TFs/Trials can make this something of a slog.
50: Top o’ the World, Ma!
Hero of the City. Now what? Either act as elder statesman (so to speak), fostering others activities and playing socially — or else roll up a Kheldian and begin the cycle again.
Any other thoughts?

Synapse

2005-09-25_synapse1.jpgHad a great Synapse TF this afternoon — “Task Force Dexterity.” Actually, that’s a misnomer. Very little dexterity. Very much firepower.
Dinged from just over 19 to just over 21 (so no XP in the last few missions, but what the heck). And managed to grab 5 badges: Clockstopper, Gearsmasher, Keeper of the Peace, Synapse’s Cohort, and Tough.
I The team was a lot of blasters — Torchielle, Avocet, Lady Photon, and Toy Maker — along with one Defender (Agent Twelve), one Scrapper (Kazima), and one “Tank” (Peacebringer, actually, Emissary, who organized the soiree).
I had been concerned that we’d be too squishy a group, but it worked out great. Emissary kept the big baddies aggroed, Agent kept us healed, and the Damage-Dealers simply blasted/slashed them into oblivion. No melee lasted too long except when we inadvertenly grabbed more one group.
So, yeah, it’s a boring TF from one aspect (“ALL CLOCKWORK! ALL THE TIME!”), but it was a fun group of personalities, and we were so capable, especially once we got used to each other, that we practically took the final few mishes — including the Clockwork King himself — at a run. Even Babbage was a relative cakewalk (certainly no knockdown-dragout sort of endurance contest — we steadily just carved away at him and took him down with little problem).
Endurance was probably the biggest problem (aside from having to constantly step on Gears …). Early on I was suffering badly. Once I got some slots into Conserve Power and took Stamina, that stopped being a problem until we started running forward between encounters with no rest.
Even so, despite a few close calls, we only ever had one death, Emissary himself (done in by a Void Seeker — one cool thing about having a Kheldian along is the occasional different villain). But that was it.
Fun. And profitable.
Probably the last Kazima/Torchielle hurrah, though. We did a test (SKing) run of Torchy and Hildegard the other evening, and it just simply rocked the house (aggro management, baby)
2005-09-25_synapse2.jpg
2005-09-25_synapse3.jpg
Official post by Emissary, with better pictures, is here.

The visual side of sonics

It’s ironic that the sonic power set is becoming most notorious for its visuals, in particular the sonic shields and their fit-inducing stuff.
Next patch on Test should have the proposed fix, which is primarily removing the flasing/strobing aspects of the power. While some folks might dislike how it still looks (spinning rings, atom-style), I think that’s going to help a lot.
Running over the weekend with Amethyst, the sonic defender in the party was putting these on everyone, and they all strobed differently and it was making even me a little queazy. This is a definite improvement.

A dark and windy night

2005-09-21_lynn.jpgSo I made up for a full day (and I mean a full “Working from home because there’s not a gap to drive to the office, and wiping out a battery’s worth of cell phone time on meetings, plus added meetings beyond that” day) of work, followed by house tidying, followed by a long meeting down at church … by staying up too late playing CoH. Indeed, Margie was headed upstairs at 10 about the time that I was firing things up to begin play.
That all said, and granted that it was 1:30 a.m. or so when I went up, it was both therapeutic and productive. I did the respec on her to the “LC3” build, and that worked pretty well for me against the Clockwork and Council I ran up against. Did some time teaming with Toxin Infection (Rad/Rad Def) from Exodus, which worked out quite nicely; Rad Infection is da bomb for scrapper partners. “It’s like a glowy pet!” we said, herding along one hapless cog from encounter to encounter …
Ultimately (and why I ended up playing so long) I dinged to 16 (Unyielding — and just in time to get a Tsoo assignment as I signed off). I also got the “Tough” badge (100K of damage, I believe), which was both gratifying and and a nice badge to wear IC.
I also took a title. Titles are tough for non-traditional heroes. I skipped over it last level, for just that reason. Lynn isn’t the sort to call herself (or accept being called) “Wonderful” or “Heroic.” I finally chose “The Awesome Lynn Calodo,” because if a teenage girl can’t calll herself “awesome,” who can. Plus she’d get a kick thinking of it as being the same as “Awful.”