Category: Resources & Rules

Patch Notes Here.
Most of the stuff was already previously commented on (when it went to test). The items that caught my eye this time:

The maximum mission reward that a character can receive is now character level +3. Example: A level 10 character (not sidekicked) in a group running a level 20 mission will receive the equivalent reward of a level 13 mission upon completion.

Guess that will end the “you wanna bridge for us?” thang, if I understand it correctly.
Positron later noted:

Just so you all understand… The change is ONLY for the “end of mission” rewards, not the individual defeats of enemies. +3 levels was chosen simply because the level range for fair XP sharing during missions is around +3, that and when you are running at the highest difficulty level, +3 enemies will tend to show up.

Moving right along …

* Help Channel: New players will receive a new tab called “help” which defaults to a new server-wide help channel. We encourage experienced players to share their wisdom.
* Chat spam limiter: You are now allowed one message per second, You are allowed to break the rule 5 times. Every second you don’t chat one rule break is forgotten. If you break the rule more than 5 times you will be banned from chat for 2 minutes. If you continue to try to spam while chat banned, you will continually reset your 2 minute timer.

Cool. Previously said it, but cool.
Costume tokens were also handed out, finally.

On the I7 hit parade:

1. Freespec!
2. Am I goofy for saying I don’t see significant graphics differences between these pre-I7 vs. I7 screen shots? Not enough to warrent, at least, the no-doubt ruinous added burden on my graphics card.
3. UI changes in I7:
   

   [T]he protectors of Paragon will also have access to Global Chat upgrades such as an improved ability to switch between chat channels, default channels, and a channel search feature.
   Their new User Interface will allow heroes to fine tune control of their powers with buff icons that blink right before they go away, toggling of buff powers in the icon list, and the ability to access character and power information through the r-click menu.

   The Global Chat stuff doesn’t sound that exciting (it may make more sense once it comes out). The idea of having buff icons blink before they wear off is a nice one … though, now that I think of it, I think they mean the little personal “this power is up” icons under the health meter, which I don’t reference all that often. Adding some right-click context menu stuff would be helpful, too.
   Still, not all that thrilling.

Stateman explains how mob base THs and Accuracies are changing in I7 to make things more scalable, and how this ties in with To Hit Debuff changes and other stuff that makes my head hurt.

Now Testing in the Training Room – 3/31/06 – 11am CST. Not all that faboo, but a couple of interesting things.

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Powers
• Leadership/Vengeance will no longer stack from multiple casters. In other words, only one application of Vengeance buffs can enhance a group at a time. [Pity, that, but not a huge issue to me.]
• Fixed combat Spam for IR Goggles. They no longer report that they increase your resistances.
• Changed To Hit Debuffs to use the 5/10/20 Enhancement progression. These were causing problems with Dual Enhancements (such as Hamidon Enzyme Exposure) [there’s more on this here and here.]
• Hurricane’s Repel effect is now slightly less abusive in PvP situations. It will still Interrupt Assassin Strikes, unless the Stalker has Repel Resistance, but it should no longer be possible to pin a player in a corner during Base Raids.
• PvPTaunt changes: When a player is being taunted, the effect can now be broken by running a good distance away. Additionally, hiding out of LOS of the taunter will cause the effect to expire sooner.
• You can now string multiple teleports in a row w/out delay of actual teleport function (does not wait for animation to finish). This fixes a bug that would sometimes cause skips in animation when stringing together multiple teleports. [Um … okay, I have to actually try that to see what they’re talking about.]
Badges
• Spider Smasher badge is now granted properly.
• Fortunata Seer badge is now granted properly
• Not all Ancestor Spirits were counting toeards the Swift Steel badge. This has been fixed.
• Longbow Tanker gladiator is now properly unlocked when the Politician badge is granted.
• Female Paragon Protectors defeated now count towards the 7th Generation Paragon Protector gladiator badge.
• All Madness Mages now count towards the Soul Binder badge.
Bases
• Characters in base raids are now set to an effective level of 50 rather than 40. (Preparation for 41-50 villain content)
• All Base Items are now level 50. This should make them more sturdy, and in the case of Base Defenses, more effective.
Tailor
• Fixed bug with sleeveless jackets that caused sleeves to be changed by default when players begin a Tailor session.
Chat
• Help Channel: New players will receive a new tab called “help” which defaults to a new server-wide help channel. We encourage experienced players to share their wisdom.
Existing players will not get this chat tab, and will have to add this channel to existing or new tabs. [Ooooh. I like. Now, if people will just use it as directed …]
• Chat spam limiter: You are now allowed one message per second, You are allowed to break the rule 5 times. Every second you don’t chat one rule break is forgotten. If you break the rule more than 5 times you will be banned from chat for 2 minutes. If you continue to try to spam while chat banned, you will continually reset your 2 minute timer. [Oh, yeah, baby! The Dash likes!]
CITY OF HEROES
City Zones
• Shadow Shard: Rebalanced the Kora Fruit award. Harvested fruit are now medium-sized inspirations rather than large-sized. [Not all that iimpressed with Kora Fruit anyway. Ho-hum.]
Badges
• Heroes can earn a badge by defeating Mu Guardians.
CITY OF VILLAINS
Powers
• Fixed a bug that was causing Longbow Wardens with the Gravity Distortion power to do too much damage.
• Void Hunter Rifle no longer does extra damage to Kheldians. The Stun and Knockback effect against Kheldians has also been removed.
• The Longbow Boss, Romulus, has had his resistances increased.
• Stalkers’ Placate ability no longer grants the same strength Stealth in PvP as Hide. It is now roughly 75\p of that value. This should reduce the ability of Stalkers to fade out of view of an entire group of players after attacking.
• Fixed Lethal portion of Dominator Plant Control Roots — it was doing unresistable damage and should not have been. Also, the lethal damage will no longer report as smashing in the combat log.
• Corruptor Heat Loss power was not modified for PvP, allowing it to drain 4 times as much endurance from players as intended. This has been corrected.
Missions
• Changed Psimon Omega missions to span 30-35 (to match contact level range).
• Changed re-spec trials so that they go 24-33 and 34-40 (Preparation for 41-50 villain content)
• Now Arbiter Leery will always be willing to talk to you after you’ve done the respec trial.
• Completing Mongoose’s mission arc once again grants a souvenir.
• Completing Billy Heck’s mission arc grants a souvenir.
City Zones
• Bloody Bay: Patrol missions now correctly award experience upon completion.
Installation
• Fixed issue when launching City of Villains for the first time (from a fresh install) in 98/ME. An error message appeared stating that 1024×768 is not supported in fullscreen mode and that the resolution is being switched to 800×600. 1024×768 resolution was and is supported.

Mechanics and specifics of the new CoV high-level “Patron Powers” — the equivalent (with various game material overlaid) of the Epic Power Pools in CoH. Cool. I doubt I’ll get a character that high — but stranger things have happened.
The info will also be available in game before you choose.

Okay, went back and actually read the only thing I could find on the subject, back here. Statesman said:

AND now…we’re changing the way Archvillains spawn. A ton of forum goers disliked adding so many AV’s into missions a while back…so we’ve come up with a solution. If the team size and mission difficulty are ABOVE a certain level, an Archvillain spawns. Below that, players will face only an Elite Boss. If the mission is set on the first two levels of difficulty, it takes 4 heroes or more to spawn an Arch Villain. On the third level, 3 heroes or more. On the fourth level, 2 heroes. On the highest (Invincible), a solo hero will spawn an AV.

So, for PC/A, we should be able to still get Elite Bosses at the 3rd level of Reputation — which should get us better (tougher) spawns, but still keep it in the duoable Elite Boss range.
We’ll have to give that a try.

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Good guide to reputation here.
The third level is:

Rugged/Vicious – Mission spawns at +1 level to your level (i.e. +0 to +2 mobs, but usually mostly +1 with some +2). Spawn sizes are normal. AVs become Elite Bosses when team-size is two or less.

And this worked great — we did a (non-AV/EB) mish and, carving through orange and reds, the XP was faboo — about 14-15K/minute. Keep that up, and we could be at 50 in 3 hours or less.
As Margie noted, we need to consider what we want our Big Mish to be.

According to Statesman, did you know …

-that Dr. Vahzilok is named after George Vasilakos, owner of Eden Studios (for whom I co-wrote several RPG books).
-that the name Rikti came from a conversation where I said “Rikki Tikki Tavi is a cool name. How can we get that into the game?”
-that the name “Cryptic Studios” was inspired in part by the first RPG book I co-authored, “Cryptozoology.”
-that Shane Hensely, a current designer, created Deadlands.
-that Thomas Foss created a minis game Pirates!
-that Statesman was a character created in several pen and paper super hero RPG’s over a decade ago. Many former character names have found their way into the game.

The overall thread is full of all sorts of intersting CoH trivia. Some of which (“do you remember when?”) I actually, appallingly, remember.

Big article on I7. Coolest bit is the picture at the right, showing how Recluse’s Victory (Atlas Park, other-dimensioned) changes dynamically as the balance between Hero and Villain victories changes. Fun.

Recluse’s Victory, or what the Heroes know as Atlas Park, is the first PvP zone for the series. Heroes and Villains will vie for 7 strongpoints, called “pillboxes” places around the map. Waypoints to these pillboxes are always one click away (no fullscreen map fiddle-faddling needed) and have 4 heavy turrets a piece, which must be destroyed before the pillbox can be captured (and don’t forget that you’ll have to deal with PvP aggression in the meantime!). And when the pillbox is captured… I hope you’re sitting down for this…. a “temporal anchor” is placed, and the buildings around you dynamically re-skin to fit the faction’s vision- reskin not just for you, but for everyone in the zone! In Villain areas, drabness, dead trees, proganda posters, and other signs of Recluse’s influence is everywhere to be seen. Even the large Atlas statue turns to, you guessed it, Lord Recluse with arachnid legs wrapped tightly around the world. In Hero areas, it’s goody two-shoes cheerful cleanliness, flora and fauna, and Justice League banners. When one side captures all the pillboxes, they get five minutes of victory time to try to gain 1,000 PvP points as everyone jockeys for postion. Doing so yields you temporal enhancements that you can take out of the instance, such as a robotic tank. But the real show stopped is this zone-wide dynamic reskinning. It’s never been done before in any MMO, and it’s at least as cool as it sounds.

And also:

Finally, one of my original, comparatively meager complaints against City of Villains was the lack of truly villainous content. All that changes with Mayhem Missions. Whereas you used to get a bank or casino heist mission after completing five newspaper (randomly generated) missions. These special missions will go into the regular rotation, and Mayhem Missions will take their place. Basically, you grab a team of villains, enter a special instance, and wreak as much havoc as you can within a given timeframe. Commit federal no-nos like destroying mailboxes, municipal no-nos like fire hydrant destruction, and those innocent civilians wandering around… heh. It ain’t GTA, and you can’t defeat them, but you can sure make them run scared. Discrete thresholds based on how much damage you do award bonus time. Just about everything is destructible, including buildings! Set them on fire through setting bombs in side missions, or (in another side mission) raid a local shop for the phat loot. Sneak past roving cameras (which, when activated, spawn waves of the newly formed local police force) and break into vaults and secure areas. The rewards and loot you earn are considerable for the minimal time investment (20-30 min, though features like this are still being fine-tunes), and you’ll want friends to gang up for your raids so you’ll be invited to their Mayhem Missions.

Aside from Recluse’s Victory, there’s still (as earlier noted) no glitzy joy for CoH.

Quality of Life Features: (Hereos and Villains)
New Global Chat and UI features improve the overall ‘City of’ experience.
CoH Art Upgrades (Heroes)
City of Heroes gains reflective windows, added bump and specular mapping, a variety of higher resolution textures, and full screen depth of field effects.
New Costume Items

I just hope the Global Chat/UI features (of which I’ve heard zilcho details) make up for what will no doubt be further lagging graphic “enhancements.”

I’ve had an issue over the past few weeks of odd keyboard buffering — most often manifesting with “Hey, I let go of the [w] key but I’m still running forward toward that very unfriendly group of purple mobs!” Well, I thought I was actually wearing out my keyboard, but now I’m thinking that’s not the case.
Last night, the same thing happened a couple of times dodging to the side (and running uncontrollably against the wall for a few moments).
And I’ve realized I’ve had a coincident problem with typing, where suddenly my typing in the chat window will queue up for multiple moments, with nothing coming out for a second or two, then the keyboard buffer slowly emptying. Which is, I’m thinking, the same problem (e.g., the [w] gets queued up while pressed and continues to then execute even after I let off the key).
Question is — WTF? And how to do I fix it?
Need to go to the boards, when I get a chance …

The /cov patch will be going live with “tomorrow morning’s update,” so …
… since they’ll be giving out free costume tokens for each costume slot …
… if you have a toon that could open up a new slot, tonight would be the time to open it (even if you don’t actually fill it with anything).
So PC/A, who took their Founders Falls Icon mission last night, will be finishing their Nemmie hunt tonight so they can get the extra slot (and, thus, an extra free costume build). Give the cost of costuming, that’s a pretty nice deal.

I’m pretty certain I have this already on an alt (Velvet?), but just a note for future playing with: auto-Jump bind:

/bing J "powexec_toggleon Super Jump$$++autorun$$++up"

Actually, from what I recall, the main problem with this is that Paragon is full of annoying things to jump into and under, and Murphy’s Law of Super Jump states that given a choice, a toon will always be a few inches short of the rooftop, or will land in a fire-escape-thicketed alley, or just under a dockside.
Still, even though you have to watch and steer, it means less holding down of keys.

Click on the “thumbnail” for a full-sized photo of some unpleasant customers:

From left to right, front row:
– Mantid (player character, just under six feet) [and the person who put this together]
– Adamastor (found in Dark Astoria. Keeper Of Secrets badge.)
– Kraken (found in Perez Park. Unleasher badge.)
– Clockwork Paladin (found in Kings Row. Knight Errant badge obtained for preventing him from being built)
– Babbage (found wild in Boomtown and as an ambush in the Synapse TF. Clockstopper badge, awarded always for the wild version and only sometimes for the Synapse version.)
– Jack-in-Irons (found in Croatoa with hordes of redcaps. Giant Killer badge.)
– Jurassik (found wild in Crey’s Folly, and as the final boss in the Numina TF. The Solution badge, awarded always for the wild version and very rarely for the Numina version.)
– Head of the Hydra (found at the end of the Sewer Trial. Head of the Hydra exploration badge sitting underneath it.)
– Winter Lord (2005 Winter Holiday event only thus far. Frozen Fury badge.)
– Lanaru (found at the end of the last Shadow Shard TF. All three Aspects of Rularuu (Ruladak, Faathim, Lanaru) are the same size. No badge per se.)
– Eochai (found in Croatoa with hordes of Fir Bolg. Pumpkin King badge.)
– Kronos Titan (ambush in a 45-50 Malta story arc. Master of Olympus badge.)
– Lusca (found in Independence Port, along with eight tentacles. Devilfish badge.)
– Crystal Titan (found at the end of the Eden Trial. No badge per se.)
Back row:
– Hamidon (found in the middle of The Hive. Hamidon himself is the big round thing in the middle, while lots of other smaller round things surround him in the goo. Heart of the Hamidon exploration badge almost directly underneath it.)
– Rularuu the Ravager (not in game yet.)

Article from GameSpot, which gives more detail on (among other things) how the Recluse’s Victory PvP zone will work.
Sounds like it will be fun to watch.
(via CoH LJ)

CuppaJo on the resolution to the CoV costume thang:

1. The /cov command is being removed on Test today, Live tomorrow. More warnings about how it could screw your toon up to use it (though the Dev response was low-key enough that the risk seems small).
2. Until I7:
   

   For heroes that have a villain costume part OR villains that have a hero part: Those “rogue” costume parts will remain on your character until you visit the tailor again.
   When you visit the tailor your rogue costume parts will be replaced with “generic” costume items. You can then change them for a fee to normal costume items OR cancel out and leave your rogue costume items in place. Note – this means that if you want to keep your rogue costume items you cannot change anything on your costume. However – you can change other costumes that do not contain rogue items.

   Fair enough.

3. For I7 and beyond:
   

   In Issue 7 the costume creator and tailors will work like they do now if you own just CoV or just CoH – however, if you own BOTH you will have access to both sets of costumes for all of your characters. NOTE: You must have upgraded to a combined account to get access to this option.
   If you have a combined account and choose to wait until issue 7 to change your rogue costume – your rogue items will not be made generic.

   So … and I don’t recall this being spelled out before … you’ll have access to CoV costume parts in CoH only if you have accounts in both games. Interesting. Though somewhat controversial, since the CoV players already have access to nearly all CoH costume parts, but not vice-versa.

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UPDATE: Patch isn’t going in tonight. Extra costume tokens will also be going out (tacit recognition that folks may have screwed themselves up because of a screw-up by the devs). Nice.
Fazenda still looks good.

Positron chats on I7 and beyond. Some highlights …

… When we add newspaper-style missions for CoH, they will get their own versions of Mayhem Missions … “Going Rogue” is a huge undertaking on our part. Making sure Masterminds work in CoH, Defenders don’t “break” CoV, etc. We have a few other systems we want to get out of the way first before we tackle this can of worms [after I7], but we have been laying the groundwork for it for a while. … Masterminds are getting a “Thugs” set in Issue 7, as this was one of the most requested type of Henchmen. Thugs get dual weapons, shotguns, and the ability to call out a “Gang War” on your enemies. We did a lot of things with Thugs that set the groundwork for future stuff, like dual sidearms and trench coats. … Future updates will have more Epic Archetypes for both Heroes and Villains. Epic Archetypes add a lot to the game, so we don’t want to just slap some powers together and call it an EAT. We have big, big plans for Epic Archetypes in upcoming issues. … [Regarding Recluse’s Victory] Giant robots with Mastermind-style controls. I will leave you with that.

BD suggested I actually post this as an actual post, rather than buried in a comment. Regarding the “/cov” undocumented command for enabling CoV costume parts in CoH, CuppaJo warns:

We will be fixing this issue very soon with a patch. This command was never meant to be used and thus has never been through the QA process. Using this command could cause your character to become corrupt and thus the devs advise that you do NOT use this command or encourage others to do so.

Fazenda still exists, though it did cause me to crash during parts browing. You’ve been warned (and I’m going to eschew further use of it).
And, further:

This command was created for use by Devs/QA only during CoV beta. It just so happens that this command was set to be available to everyone instead of just Devs/QA on accident at some point. Thus – it was never tested by QA in the same way they test commands intended for players.
The command changes more than just your costume options – as people have noted it also changes your ID screen among other things. Also – there are problems when you access CoV costumes this way – some faces are messed up – some costumes are not there. It was never intended for player use – it’s not a “controlled leak” or anything like that.
At this time we advise changing your costume to a complete hero costume. You can do this by zoning to another zone. When you return to icon your tailor screen should be back to normal and you should be able to change your costume back to what it was. I have no info on whether or not we will offer free tailor sessions to compensate for this. I wouldn’t count on it.
We are working on a fix – but spending extra time testing to make sure it is done right. All I know about the fix for sure is that it will remove this slash command from the game for players. As of yet I do NOT know if the fix will remove any CoV costumes on heroes or anything else. We are still investigating the best solution.

Hmmmmm.

Hildy and Torchy were at Icon tonight, getting their capes.
As I was exiting, I noticed someone with a local tell, “Type /cov 1 for cov costume parts.”
And Margie went back in, typed that command (“/cov 1”), clicked on Icon … and had access to villainous costume parts.
Interesting …
(There are, we note, some very cool Villain capes. Including “Feathers,” which Avo should very much look into.)

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UPDATE: Why, yes, that is Fazenda with real fishnet stockings. And a top hat. Yay!

Issue 7 will include various and sundry base enhancements.
I’d be much more excited if I were more excited about bases. I mean, it seems to be de rigeur for SGs these days, but I’m not feeling the Huge Need for Base Goodness.
Still, it will be nice to have some storage lockers for Salvage, Enhancements, and Inspriations. And it will be pretty to be able to put super=logos on “banners, tables, holograms, and other items.”
Actually, rewind there a second.

Tired of not being able to store those special Inspirations you’ve been lugging around for months? Do you wish you could leave your Salvage and Enhancements in your cozy citadel for you and your compatriots to use later? With the new Storage Items you will be able to create Inspiration receptacles, Enhancements containers, and bins to keep all your Salvage in a convenient spot for all to share!

Really? Okay, that’s pretty keen. Heck, it would be nice to be able to stash away some Enhancements that I can’t use … yet … for when I can.

Dev Castle seems insistent on providing (gasp) actual numbers behind powers. Doesn’t he realize That’s Not Fun?!

base accuracy (for most powers, there is variation within the set)
Broadsword 1.05
Claws 1.00
Dark Melee 1.00
Katana 1.05
Martial Arts 1.05
Spines 1.00

I.e., Katana, Broadsword, and Martial Arts have an intrinsically slightly higher chance to hit. (Balanced, ostensibly, by other things.)
(And, of course, I’m kidding about it Not Being Fun. As long as there’s a measure of balance, seeing numbers doesn’t spoil things, at least for me. If it were just numbers? That would be unfun. But having the numbers available to provide the feedback that RL experience would provide in a way that gameplay experience doesn’t? That’s just fine by me.)

The devs are soliciting player opinions about upcoming zones.

The City of Heroes and City of Villains universe is expanding and we want to hear from you about it! As we contemplate where your heroes and villains might venture next, we want to know what excites you the most.
Below is a list of 11 themes we are currently looking at! Tell us what you think by selecting your top 2 choices.
Let your imagination run wild and picture how these themes might fit into the existing CoH and CoV world.

Hmmm. The choices are:

1. The Moon – Blasted landscapes and futuristic moonbases. Sounds like wandering through Boomtown. On the other hand, imagine 1/6 gravity (leaping! knockback!) and vacuum issues.
2. Mars – Lower gravity and atmo problems, too, but some cool alien landscapes and hidden civilizations could be cool.
3. Space Station – Sort of like the Moon crossed with the Shadow Shard. Hrm. Never mind.
4. Rikti Home World – City of Rikti! Has possibilities (especially if we expand the number of types of Rikti we see). I want to see Rikti civilians and cops running around in fear at heroic presences.
5. Arctic – Not that interesting per se; it would depend on what’s hiding out there in the ice and snow. Though the extreme weather bits could be interesting (slow reduction in endurance, health, speed, except for folks with cold resistance).
6. Desert – As the Arctic.
7. Underwater – Slowed movement, breathing issues, and “flight” for all. Could be fun.
8. Post-apocalyptic – I can visit there via Portal Corp any time.
9. Jungle – Oh, boy! Perez Park II. Bleah.
10. Circus/Carnival – City of Carnies. Oooookay. Whatever. I guess it could be pretty.
11. Gothic Horror – As opposed to Dark Astoria? Again, could be pretty.

So a fair number of interesting possibilities, but aside from the environmental threats and prettiness, the key will be what sort of story, critters, threats, and backstory is going on there.
That said, I think I’ll vote for the Moon and Underwater.