Black Talon

Very small point, and this is exacerbated by the fact that I never engaged in it to begin with, but PvP has, from my standpoint, gone the way of the trilobite. I recall, Back In The Day, being in the PvP zones on the way to missions (no, I wasn't a huge fan of it, and got in/out as quickly as humanly possible) and getting sniped/ambushed with no announcement or challenge whatsoever - why the Devs didn't institute a WoW-style set-up, right from the beginning, escapes me completely. Since Homecoming's institutionalization, this seems to have become even more strongly the case. I stop off in the PI Arena every once in a while, just to see what's (or what's not) happening; I don't recall ever seeing another PC alt there, and the active Arena itself has been nothing but silent. Certainly don't have any qualms about this, as I'm perfectly happy to raise the fists in PvE circumstances for as long as this game is running, but I do wonder occasionally what would have happened if there hadn't been such self-declared push to do the "Harrison Bergeron"-number, back in '06 or thereabouts, on what could have been a diverting element for the game.

While I certainly have no difficulty doing either one-shots or arcs, I make it a point to complete every arc possible; sometimes this is just because the story progression and/or bad guys are interesting, and I enjoy reading over the text pre- and post-mission; other times it's because the arcs are part of an interconnecting narrative that ultimately builds to an AV takedown mission. Typical examples of the latter are the Hollows multi-contact progression, Striga Isle's buildup to a James Bond-style villain-in-his-stronghold finale, and Faultline's quadrology of contacts that lead to repeated EB/AV scraps. Of course, the Hollows, Striga and Faultline all have conclusions that allows the player to know that, "I saved lives today. Yes, they were only virtual; no, they're not going to have any impact on real-world events and it's nothing I can brag about to anyone who ain't into this game...but I still saved lives and it makes me feel good." Of the arcs that stand out, disconnected from any grand zone-level scheme, the Countess Crey 42-45 arc is by far the most gripping of the bunch. First time I ever played it, back in...oh, must have been in '05 or thereabouts...I sent a congratulatory e-mail to the Devs, thanking them for putting a story together that, pre-set ending or not, still enthuses me to this day. The story about how Julianne Thompson became a capitalist, identity-thieving, faux-libertarian monster strikes a chord with comparison to real-world figures that's just a little too close to be funny. Further point is that those arcs lead to Reward Merits, and I don't believe I have to tell anyone what those little treasures are good for.

Adding my (virtual) voice to a very well-deserved chorus. This Halloween - the entire month of October - has been an unending fest of innovation, and the Devs utilizing every digital, game engine tool available to them to make this year something to celebrate and remember for good and always. Our eternal and ongoing thanks for the efforts that were taken, the imagination indulged, and the depth of spirit and commitment that's been demonstrated. Now, if only something like this can be put together for Christmas...maybe an evil elf faction (Redkaps! Redkaps!) who are set on turning Santa's toy factory into a for-profit weapons production facility...

All thanks to dtjunkie for introducing the topic, and it is something I have done internal debates about on a couple of occasions. For the most part, I would agree with the OP thesis: the EBs can be handled with hitting Hasten, a few small insps and making sure a heal insp or two is available. As an example, I've had multiple alts take out Maestro (Long Jack arc finale in Striga) with relatively little difficulty, specific AT not being a consideration. The sole exceptions to this rule, as several others have suggested, are Nosferatu and Praetorian Marauder; the latter of which, actually, has been out-of-reach for all but one of my alts - Black Talon, as it turned out - and that guy had to use every insp in the book to come out on top. So, again, agreement with what seems to be a majority opinion here. I would like EBs to be something really notable to scrap against - not in the, "I'll-need-a-team-to-finish-this-one" category, but certainly something where every power, at that level, is called up for use, and the insp tray should be empty when the scrap is over. Not sure what might have to be altered/adjusted in order to put this to work - and I'd imagine there'd be a number of Beta-level iterations that would go through trial-testing before it gets put on live - but it is something that would make the mission arc-finale scraps something to really have as a treasured and tales-around-the-campfire memory.

Have over a half-dozen 50s on Torchbearer at current, and am working toward getting my one Excelsior guy through the 40s, slowly but surely. I honestly have no difficulty in taking My Boys, who have officially reached retirement age, out and working on a selection of police scanner/paper missions, even though I've done pretty much all of them several dozen times over. The question of why? occurs...and it's largely because of the visual/audio aspect. I am never going to get tired of my Storm Summoner/Electric Blaster calling up Lightning Storm and turning Council Boss X into a convulsing worm, praying for a quick death, or my Martial Arts/Super Reflexes guy pulling off the mega-windup Eagle Claw (no, there's no way in the name of God and all His little angels I'd ever attempt something like that in real life, but still) on Council Boss Y, scoring a critical and turning his head into a pumpkin dropped from the top of the Sears Tower. I've stated it before, and will state it again: the Devs and CGI/audio artists outdid themselves with this game, especially considering the limitations of the time. Looking forward to my not-so-defensive Defender once more hitting Gale, throwing that Circle of Thorns mage into the wall, calling up Freezing Rain and then zapping him till I just can't zap no more.

While I certainly won't claim to have any insight on the pure numbers aspect - what percentage is a foe's to-hit diminished when using a Concealment power, what distance can they "see" you, and so forth, I will state that Mezmera's opinion is one I share entirely. While various "tweaking" over the years may have diminished its effectiveness - at least pre-Shutdown - and I have no idea whether or not that's true, I have always found that Stealth and Super-Speed, combined, is effectively equivalent to Invisibility. While the concealment and travel power are both on, I've been able to stand nose-to-nose with bosses and never so much as disturbed a hair. With this, the alt takes on a very effective form of the classical ninja: able to run through the place, unseen, and reconnoiter without disturbance. This is no matter whether one's simply scouting out territory, or finding the best way to back-stab/alpha-strike Arachnos Elite-Boss X. This, at least, has been the text of my past and current experience, and I suspect will remain so, until if and when the HC Devs decide to perform another surgical nerfing. As a final point, I agree entirely as well with Troo's summation of the Stealth/Infiltration differences; Stealth is by far the more dependable of the two, and there are pretty much uncounted points when a villain happened to pick up on one of My Boys sneaking around when using Infiltration, and promptly ruined whatever effort I'd made to move around without disturbance. Infiltration does have the pseudo-travel power advantages, but I'd still far prefer to get around without any real risk of discovery (at least when not using the Stealth/Super-Speed combo), and allow the group tacticians to start planning gang assaults. Stealth remains the number one Concealment pick, and I wish you all best when fulfilling this particular alt.

I so damn rarely get the opportunity to make a commentary on something like this, outside of class: I teach high school English and Social Sciences as a career, and the desire of a significant demographic (student and teacher, for the record) to simply, "Let the machine make the decision," and then call it correct because, hey, computers don't make mistakes causes a grating that scores me down to the split infinitive. I appreciate Six-Six's logic on the matter your big one-ten: the only reason I would, personally, choose Number 4 is because of the specification of exactly who is instituting said nerfing. Otherwise, I as well would be perfectly happy with choice Number 1, and have the exact same, "Yeah!" (think the guy in the jail cell with Eddie Murphy during the "chain belt" scene in Trading Places) reaction to his points on Numbers 2 and 3. Similar questions are equally welcome, and ones that I don't have any clue about...? Bring 'em on. Nothing I'd like better than to have my head twisted around in the correct direction and given an insight I've been ignorant about previously.

Agreed with the notation about map designs with character; this was part of the reason that, pre-Shutdown, I wasn't really too ticked off about having to wait till 14 to pick up a travel power, as I loved working through the various single-digit zones, taking in the ambiance and the architecture. I still find Perez Park to be enormously intimidating and almost spooky as the sun is going down, and I love working through Kings Row's block upon block of low-rise, lower-middle class housing, again, especially at sundown and after dark. This remains part of the reason that, now, on HC,, I don't pick up a travel power for my alts until level 12; gives me time to run around (sometimes at an uncomfortably slow pace, true), getting the feel for an area and appreciating the sheer depth of imagination that went into this game's environment; even if we get only the most superficial aspects while flying/jumping/teleporting above.

I'm really not too sure where, why or how this criticism was instigated, or is relevant to the opinion that was submitted, but I will try to respond in as succinct and non-confrontational a manner as possible. Re point one: It's probably not, and I'm not really interested in addressing any possible differences between level 50 and sub-50 content experiences, because these are so idiosyncratic that there's no reasonable basis of comparison. All I can state is that the current arrangement provides entertainment on my part, and that's all I'm concerned in commenting on. Re point two: My guys, at 25, were quite challenged enough doing +0/+1, depending on the AT. I'm quite frankly not interested in commenting on a hypothetical situation, and whether that is, "more or less of a challenge" than, "running level 50 missions with a level 50 at +4", is a choice that's up to the individual player and the individual alone. Re point three: Yes. I just leave them at 50, run through the police scanner missions, collect Veteran levels, enjoy the fact that I've got another respec granted every 15 Veteran levels, and use the cash to purchase the occasional purple/red recipe, and join up with a pick-up/SG-based team when possible. That's all. Re point four: No. I have never power-leveled a single alt I've ever created, pre- or post-Shutdown. One of the points that keeps me coming back to this game are the arcs, and the enjoyment of pushing through the various stories that the Devs put themselves to creating, back in the day, and the opportunity to establish conflict with, and finally take out, various Elite Bosses/Arch-Villains. My alts have sixty-plus Souvenirs by the time they hit 50, and I'm quite happy to engage in any remaining arcs that contacts might have available. Again, I'm really not quite sure what previous statements might have given any indication about "power-leveling" as a route to 50, but this is a route that, once again, I have never engaged in. I believe I've stated the matter about as clearly as I possibly can. I will refrain from further comment on this matter.

This is a point that's completely irrelevant to the current discussion; just submitting an opinion. My eponymous Claws/Regen Scrapper, after a full outfit with purple/red recipes, can now do +4 police scanner missions solo. However, these expeditions do often represent a real challenge, which is what I want. Running through these things like Darkseid/Thanos tearing apart a kindergarten class, watching the XP bar move up like a thermometer in an oven, is not what I'd refer to as fun. As an example, Black Talon has to be real careful when taking on the Bane Spider Scouts, as (at 54) they label out such damage per-hit that they can (and have) taken him out single-handed. This necessitated some tactical reconsideration on my part: Keep hitting the so-and-so's with Focus to make sure they're on the ground and they'll be hitting back as little as possible, and Reconstruction/Dull Pain in the event said so-and-so's compatriots start inflicting their own serious damage while I'm giving Bud what for. This all means I have to pay attention to the surroundings, incipient and upcoming threats, and personal condition on a continual basis. This, for me, is interesting, and confirms part of the reason why I choose to leave the Incarnate thing to individuals who might be interested in such. This might mean that my alts will be left out of certain team opportunities - as has happened - but I'm quite content to leave those arrangements to individuals who prefer to take that direction.

This thread addresses a point that I've been given a couple of in-game lectures about by my "betters". I have over half a dozen 50s at this point, and still play all of them very regularly; on a daily basis, usually. Although it took a long time, I finally did give in and start outfitting My Boys with a full slate of recipes (including a number of purple sets; was several hundred million bucks, but it seems to have been worth it), and they're now all able to solo level 52-54 police scanner missions, depending on the AT. I have, however, virtually no interest in the whole Incarnate system, and this thread, and its various contributors, have only confirmed what were previously various vaguely-imparted opinons. This has made my beliefs on the subject of a more concrete nature. My Boys have all got a number of different origin types: Magic, Technology, Natural, Scientific, what have you. I've got no urge to start throwing them all into some anonymous pit that strips them of the stories that *I* took the time and effort to create for them and replace it with Hero MCMLXXIV Generic Origin. In The Boys, the super-powered crew finding out their paranormal gifts were not from God, but the work of a rogue Nazi scientist becomes a line of narrative power; it builds to a fricking good story. CoH HC ain't a television show with a single driving story; it's thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people seeking to create their own stories within the confines of a virtual game setting. Please don't force me, or anyone else, to give up that personally beloved story for a numeric advancement of, as many here have confirmed, dubious value. It's my hope that, one day, a sweeping change will remake HC and that the Incarnate system will become something not too much different from the advancements the characters make during their 1-50 run. There might be a couple of specialized missions you have to do on the way to confirming your +1 - not terribly different from the earn-your-cape mission in the pre-Shutdown days - and the resulting awards will, hopefully, be of real benefit. Until that day, I'm going to stick to my regular 50s, spend time inputting those purple/red recipes (I'd rather be out scrapping bad guys, but I'll live with it), and leave the Incarnate system to those who see value in it. Till then, best to all, and will be keeping an eye on Torchbearer for the next TF-building group.

Since long prior to the Shutdown, it's been the Striga Isle Ernesto Hess TF. No other TF in the game - and I will come straight-out and admit I haven't done more than a handful of them - moves as quickly, has such definitive start/end points for the individual missions, leading on to the next step (always on the Striga Isles map), and has a total 1960s James Bond climax: The Arch-Villain is in his volcanic mountain lair (because God forbid it be a place where families and kids could relax; REAL MEN build a base that's just as dangerous and threatening as they are...or at least want themselves to be), preparing his Ultimate Weapon for its devastating assault on Earth's democratic forces. The burning lava surroundings will inflict as much damage as the bad guys, and the black rock and industrial metal surroundings hammer in the inhumanity of those behind this plot. And - again, in true '60s James Bond fashion - when the Arch-Villain is finally beaten, the Good Guys crew has thirty seconds to evacuate the base before it blows up...taking the PCs with it if still inside. And if a half-decent crew has been putting their time in on this, the whole thing shouldn't take much more than an hour and a half to two hours. Pretty much the span of most movies. I have run the Striga Isle TF, either as instigator or member, both pre- and post-Homecoming's inception, more times than I can count. Any time someone finishes the Striga Isle contact list, and wants to do the best TF in the game, send out the call; I'll be waiting and champing at the bit to put neo-Nazis and their dangerous-toys robots into the trash-heap.

Very interesting topic choice, FenrisWolf44 - I can see a line of argument I can agree with, to some extent, with every poster's submission thus far. On my part, there are just certain villain groups I tend to avoid overall, such as the Carnies; not for any specific difficulty with the minions or even the lieutenants, but those bosses who do the ghost-shift thing and are summoning up phantasms, fake phantasms, inflicting illusory wounds and so forth. The more real-world (if I may call it such) Carnie bosses are more manageable, but there's pretty much a fifty-fifty chance of having a boss come up that, for a solo character, is going to be essentially out of reach. Clockwork - at the early/mid-levels, at least - also tend to be somewhat problematic, and those stupid Gears showing up to inflict what a friend of mine calls "F-you" damage after the boss has been taken out have actually brought down some of my guys who made it through the main boss scrap damaged, but intact. Otherwise, they're pretty much all welcome to line up and come through the BUTT-KICKING HERE door; the backgrounds for the specific alts (the Hero ones, anyway) have origins tied to specific bad guys, and thus those groups tend to end up getting "first-choice" when going through the police-scanner missions. Nemesis...well, just take out the minions first so that the stupid Vengeance power, when the LT. goes, is ineffective, and with Arachnos I ensure that the boys have got some kind of accuracy-bonus power (Focused Accuracy and the like) to get through the Blinding, Smoke Grenades and so forth with as little difficulty as possible. Again, though, I do get the gang's point with regard to their own likes/dislikes; I just pass on all thanks to the writers and Devs who have put this game together in a fashion that offers real bad guy variety, but still keeps things on a somewhat manageable keel.

Should have done a bit more thinking before I opened my virtual mouth here, but a number of the posters subsequent to my first comment are, in my opinion, dead-on. Any Hero I'm working through the numbers (literally), I make it a point to do both the Faultline quadrology of contacts, as well as the matching fantastic four of Striga Isle. The Ernesto Hess TF is my favourite (really the only one I ever do on a repeated basis) TF in the game, especially with the James Bond The-Bad-Guy's-Base-Blows-Up-After-The-Big-Final-Scrap ending. I make it a point to warn all the TPers, at the start of the final mission, to get ready to mass-teleport everyone to the exit so that we can avoid finishing the TF burdened with stupid debt. Otherwise, has a great, metal-heavy, industrial-themed dramatic setting for the climax, with the only thing missing being the TF members coming into Archon Burkholder's stronghold with him sitting on an oversized, overplush throne-chair, stroking a white cat and explaining how all of our actions have been in vain and have, in fact, helped him move his plans forward. Never get tired of that one, or the Faultline arcs - and all congratulations to the writers and Devs on those. Will probably think of a few more to put in here over the next couple of days.

One arc that stuck out Back In The Day - and which I sent congrats to the Devs for - was the Countess Crey origin arc (levels 42-45 or thereabouts). This one came out as a genuine story-telling tragedy, and the gaining the piece-by-piece knowledge that one of the city's (if not the nation's) premier corporate overlords was a couldn't-make-it-big-otherwise murderer, hiding under a victim's pseudonym, fit the villains' narrative so perfectly. The only thing that would have put a bit extra "oomph" into the You're-now-a-defaced-hero-running-from-the-law bit - getting attacked by various villain groups between missions - would have been if they had managed to get actual PCPD special forces to do the attacking. That one bit aside, I really felt that this one started off with a beautifully faux ho-hum pedestrian opening, leading into a a trip down the Crey rabbit-hole. Every time one of my boys gets the chance to do this one, it's a special remembrance point in the memorabilia book, and one I always enjoy looking over. Give this one a shot if you get a chance, but beware: Countess Crey is a total first-rate Arch-Villain, and you will need a full team to pull this one down if you go the full AV route. Hope this helps.

This is a subject that I expect, for most of us, has come to mind on a number of occasions. While many of the more "character"-evident Paragon City locations do have their draws - Kings Row primary among them - I find that the Rogue Isles' 18th-19th Century architecture is simply too great an aesthetic appeal to resist. Mercy Isle would be my preferred spot, or, if the Rogue Isles were taken out of the equation, Croatoa would be the definite fallback. The most (natural) wildlife-friendly setting in the game, and, were Jack-in-Irons sent to a community college to learn ironsmithing, the place would be a beautiful spot to raise a family. I imagine many of The Cabal would start to turn their magic toward more community-assist and entertainment purposes, especially after the village pubs started running bring-your-broomstick-in-and-it's-first-drinks-free night...

Probably totally gratuitous advice and pointers, but just to note - the population on Homecoming is, quite obviously, a fraction of what CoX was during its heyday in '04-'06. Consequently, team-ups are a somewhat more difficult arrangement than previously, though, with time and effort, you can likely put something together. Another point is that mission that are labelled "necessary for multi-players to complete" are now such in name only - i.e., in the mission descriptions, which remain unchanged; recognizing the difficulty of regular, not to mention ad hoc, team-ups, the HC Devs have reconfigured all of these to be complete-capable by a single player. Finally, the HC Devs hold, on Discord at the end of each month, a volunteer drive to raise the funds to keep this community project alive for another thirty days. I still find it a source of amazement - heroic in its own right - that so many people would be willing to contribute so much time, energy and effort just to keep an online game engine alive. I imagine, Captain Blaze, that you have felt - and still do feel - it yourself, along with the rest of the contributors to this thread and this site: Saving lives, purely virtual as they may be, lets us know we can summon up at least that much good will inside ourselves, and maybe - just maybe - bring it out for a moment's view in real life.

This is taking a total sidetrack off CoX, not to mention superhero stuff in general, but - in my opinion - Polonius is, in fact, one of the most tragic characters in Hamlet...without ever knowing (or considering) he is a tragedy. Polonius speaks words of wisdom on a repeated basis in the play...without ever applying such wisdom to himself, because he's already too intelligent to be subject to all that trifle and pettiness. If the guy had ever bothered to turn a moment's worth of wisdom (knowing the world and others) into enlightenment (knowing oneself), the play would quite likely have had a Scooby-Doo type ending, with Claudius saying (as he's taken away by law enforcement), "And I would have gotten away with it, too...if not for those meddling kids!" Ophelia and Hamlet would have been married in the final scene, with Horatio taking over Denmark's national Intelligence network, bonds formed with Fortinbras (because he and Hamlet were essentially the same guy), Polonius given an advisor's rank, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern told to go back to school and learn something. Sorry to have gone on at such length about this, Safehouse, but your statement did lead to a great deal of inspiration over a story I love. Anyway, back to the CoX stuff...I wonder if Lord Recluse has a daughter that ever considered turning the Rogue Isles into a haven of law and order? Almost Shakespearean...

A subject like this is neat because we get to have a look at the enormously varied set of opinions/priorities players can have, irrespective of being locked into having the same sandbox to play in - take two players with two identical ATs, identical power sets, identical levels...both may have completely oppositional, yet equally effective, strategies and tactics for giving bad guys what for. For myself, I tend to go the same route as Safehouse and biostem; Malta, the Sappers are always first in line to get a generous helping of whup-ass, followed by the Operation Engineers - I hate those stupid automated kill-pods they activate, which never seem to run out of ammo (although, to be fair, neither do we), and which take forever to destroy (even though, alone, they don't seem to do much damage). With Rikti, again, the Communication Officers are first in the slap-upside-the-back-of-the-head line, followed by Guardians. Council and 5th Column have the Rifles/Marksmen going first, as I (again) hate when they hit with that stupid freezing ray, especially more than one at a time. Similarly, the CoT have the Ice Thorn casters being taken out to avoid immobilization/slowdown (exceptions are usually made when a +2 Behemoth Overlord is getting ready to skewer-fry some Hero butt). The choice of first-to-go per villain group probably gives some hints as to a player's likes/dislikes in the game; nonetheless, it's a very individual issue, and could lead to some productive results if the choices were batted back and forth beforehand on teaming missions.

This sort of thing I can express full support and appreciation for: with a 1,023 character limit for the bios - and that includes spaces/punctuation - it's Shakespeare's, "Brevity is the soul of wit" come to life. Will be submitting a couple, and just hoping that the organizers of this shindig see fit to eventually publish the whole darn bunch of them (creators permitting). I love looking at the backstories of a person's favourite invention.

I watched this video last night (and thank you for the inclusion, LegionAlpha), and while I certainly won't claim to have anything but a journeyman's background in (potential) FTL-hyperspace physics/potentials, I did get some red flags coming up while going through it, all of which have been covered very thoroughly by Luminara. The mere fact that so much of the video was packed with filler Star Trek shots indicated, for me, that this was as much an infotainment piece as it was covering genuine theoretical physics territory. Yeah, there are some interesting points that indicate potential - potential - outcomes, but this is something that, in my opinion, stays on the theoretical back burner until there's actual, peer-reviewed evidence of an experiment pulled off with macroscopic material, and over macroscopic distances.

Simply repeating what's already been stated here x-hundred times before, but my standpoint is that any population, who are getting an MMPOG for fricking free, and see fit to complain about it are invited to take their butts over to the other side of the proverbial fence, where they'll understand that the grass being "greener" was just from a greater proliferation of weeds. The Homecoming crew get no end of thanks and congratulations from this end, and any alterations to the game engine - at least the ones I've experienced - are more of cosmetic/background value than as a serious alteration of the game's central functions. I'm just going to keep remembering the December snowfall in Atlas Park, and how I wish it could have been extended into all other zones (CoV included). Little touches like that are what keep me donating month after month and finding absolutely no reason to complain about it. As long as the game engine ensures that the Vahzilok continue to suffer being carved into cold meat cuts by a generous helping of Claws, I'll be humming the CoH anthem all the way to this Sunday's family dinner....

Cancrusher: These look perfect, but the question remains as to where they hell they're located? Which category can they be found under - Arcane Power, Room Details, whatall? Please indicate as I'd like to have something that looks as damn good as you've done. 🙂

As far as in-game content goes, this is about as trivial as it can get, but this is one thing that, for me, set Manticore's mansion over and above anything that players can establish in their own bases. I really like setting the SG base as something with a genuine "home" feel to it - e.g., Avengers mansion or the Justice League's Earthbound headquarters - and as minor the point may be, having a real (as far as "real" goes in this setting) fireplace would be a really nice touch, I think, in allowing SG bases to serve as more than just singular teleporter banks/med bays. If there already is such an option in the SG base construction program which I've missed, I'd very much appreciate getting a look-this-way indicator as to where it might be. Otherwise, very much hoping the Homecoming team could throw something like this into the mix. Appreciations for the time and attention.

This happened to me once as well, back in the pre-shutdown days. I do have all thanks that the Devs presumably anticipated this moment, and rigged it so that there would be a rez superseding death/defeat; yeah, as best I recall I did have the consequential debt to deal with, but this is a relatively small price to pay in the face of hitting the hosp and/or leaving teammates one fist short in a major big-league scrap. Nice to see that this has happened to someone else over the course of the years. 🙂