Shocktacular

April 28

Why wasn't an Echo: Mercy Island zone added to Ouroboros after Mercy Island was re-done? An Echo: Atlas Park was added and the new version isn't as different from the old as with Mercy Island. Red-side deserves some love, too!

April 23

I recommend trying Street Justice on a Stalker; between Assassin's Focus and the set's combo building mechanic, you can unleash boosted attacks a good chunk of the time. My StJ/Energy stalker has given me the highest damage I've ever seen against even-con enemies -- over1400 damage on a single target. Admittedly, I achieved this with Assassin's Strike boosted by Build Up with the Gaussian's Chance for Buildup proc in it, but it's still one of the biggest orange numbers I've ever made on any character ever (it was in one of the Dark Astoria Incarnate missions, too, so the enemies had better defenses and resistances than most).

April 6

Hello AE people!

I like Praetoria a lot. The stories there are really really good. However, I'm a bit frustrated that they only go up to level 39 (in Night Ward). I know that you can do Trilogy's repeatable missions at higher levels, but they get pretty boring after a while, so I decided to make my own "zone" for Praetoria for level 40+ and some new story arcs for it. I've already run through these with my friends, so I think I'm ready to advertise them to a wider audience. I've put the basic "zone" info in a spoiler box below in case you want to go in completely blind (though I recommend looking at the info; I'm trying to make this work like an actual zone as much as possible and all of the info in the spoiler box would be included in a zone intro mini-arc, like the one that you get in First Ward to get to Night Ward). I've put the map mockups I've made and more detailed info in a spoiler box within the spoiler box in case you only want the intro stuff.

Spoiler

Overrun: Praetoria level 40+ zone

Deep in Hamidon territory around an old lab/science complex near a nuclear bomb crater from the Hamidon Wars is an area that Hamidon seems to have left mostly untouched. With Hamidon's aggression increasing due to the interference of Primals, Praetorians are desperate to discover what has kept Hamidon from conquering this region, hoping they can use whatever it is to protect Praetoria itself from Hamidon's grasp.

Spoiler

Overrun map:

The IDF have set up a base of operations, called "Outpost", at the central lab complex, outlined in green on the map. This is the standard player "safe zone" with a trainer, enhancement seller, hospital, base portal, etc.

The area around Outpost consists of run-down and decrepit buildings and streets, similar to First Ward. This area is called "The Ruins" and is outlined in yellow (indicating enemies levels 40 to 43). Hamidon has not yet infiltrated this area, although some of his creatures still roam around, along with other new enemy groups. Occasionally, there will be small groups of IDF fighting these creatures. At the edges of Outpost, the IDF will be friendly, but further away they will have a yellow reticle box so that they can be attacked if you wish but won't attack you unprovoked.

There are two "lobes" bordered in yellow extending outward from The Ruins towards the bomb crater. The upper lobe is the remains of the Mendel Research Station, while the lower lobe is the remains of the Pasteur Research Station. Both have some above-ground buildings, but they're more broken down than those in The Ruins and have more vegetation growing in them, like the lower level areas of Eden.

Most of the zone, outlined in orange (enemies level 43 to 47), is "The Wild" which has been partly taken over by Hamidon. Many of his creatures roam the area, along with other enemies. The area includes some forest paths (similar to Perez Park's interior) with frequent clearings. Hamidon creatures are more likely to be found in the forest while other enemy groups are more likely to be in the clearings.

The elliptical area outlined in red (enemies level 47 to 50) is "Fallout", where the land is mostly sterilized as a result of the bomb, even so many years later. The areas bordering this region have burning trees, like that one mission map. Hamidon's creatures don't go much past this edge. Further in, there are scrapmetal structures, like the Freakshow build in Crey's Folly and Sharkhead, so someone is probably living there in spite of all the radiation.

The circular area outlined in dark red (enemies level 50+) is "The Crater" where the bomb dropped. It also has some ramshackle structures built in it, though not as many.

The purple dots on the map indicate entrances to underground tunnels, the extent of which are shown here:

The purple squares denote old underground lab rooms, now mostly in ruins like the ones in Faultline inhabited by Arachnos. However, there also seems to be some new construction going on as well.

The boundary of the zone is an impenetrable forest with the standard "blue barrier wall" extending upward indefinitely to keep people with Fly from going out-of-bounds.

I have three arcs so far, with the title and ID numbers given below:

First Arc: "New Earth Rising" ID# 58322

Second Arc: "Digging Deeper" ID# 59736

Third Arc: "Operation Illuminate" ID# 61135

A number of the maps have stuff that's exclusive to Primal Earth (Arachnos flyer, Council banners, etc.) which is only still there because I can't erase it. Please ignore it. These arcs are supposed to be set in Praetoria.

I'm nervous about posting these, since they're the first serious arcs I've submitted to this forum for review. Please let me know what you think of them, and I hope you have fun!

April 6

Depending on the type of insect, maybe Poison would work (personally I've never liked Poison much, though, so I'm not sure how well such a character would play). Sonic could work, too, for similar reasons (maybe he was a cricket or a cicada or something).

... IDK if you have a more detailed character concept in mind, but now I'm getting one: a cicada who spent its juvenile life underground in a cemetery frequented by the Circle of Thorns and/or Banished Pantheon and was affected by their magic. If you want to go the magic route, that is. Or maybe, if you're looking for a science origin, the Vahzilok spilled some experimental chemicals while they were out grave robbing and the insect got affected that way. Feel free to use any of this if you like it. 🙂

April 4

5 hours ago, elxicdegris said:

Hi everyone!

I was in doubt between Dominator Dark/Dark or Controller Dark/Dark (but don't like melee powers in the dominator powerset, so the Controller won).

Hexscarlet Witch:

Nicely done, but it also looks like it could get you generic'd, especially with that name.

March 31

From a purely conceptual standpoint (based only on the name), I'd think that Dark Armor / Elec Melee would be a better fit; you'd look like a fearsome cloud of shadows containing a lightning storm that occasionally lashes out. In terms of mechanics and set synergy... IDK. I haven't messed with Dark Armor or Dark Melee enough to have an informed opinion on them.

March 24

1 hour ago, Player2 said:

Looks great, but could use a bit more chaos in its design. Have you considered using asymmetrical options for different color (and/or possibly piece selections) for gloves, boots, and shoulders? Maybe try it as a secondary costume and see how it comes out.

Yeah, I'm not entirely set on the name, but I like the costume.

March 24

Here's my arsenal/traps controller, Chaotech. I actually had this costume sitting around for a while and just hadn't found a use for it until recently.

March 23

Or find some teammates to help. Or grab a whole bunch of inspirations before you fight him. Or both of these.

There are a number of story arcs that include Elite Bosses, usually at the end. The contact usually recommends that you bring teammates, but it is possible to solo them on some characters.

March 23

On 3/7/2024 at 5:58 AM, SuperJoe said:

HI COH community! I need some costume ideas for my Empath Defender, Madame Mercy. Her current costume's ok, but I think it could use some tuning up, and I'm having trouble with coming up ideas. She's magic origin, powersets are Emp/Erg blast. I envision her as being a modern day cleric, if that helps with costume ideas. Thanks in advance for any assistence.

I already like this costume, so I mostly just tweaked it a little. I switched some colors around, added the starshot pattern to the pants, gave her a mask, and added shoulder pieces (I wasn't sure whether to use white and gold or blue and gold, but ended up going with blue). I considered doing the sleeves with white gloves, but ultimately decided against it.
I hope you like it!

March 23

Does it work now? you replied in the middle of my edit

March 23

Okay, I've made an Imgur account and uploaded some stuff... now let me see.... copy the BBCode...

There! It works! That's my namesake character, Shocktacular, in her most dapper outfit.

Thanks for the help, and expect to see more from me in the future! 😄

March 22

25 minutes ago, Frozen Burn said:

And now, I have to ask... you all host your pics on another site? I just copy and paste them into the post.

I used to do this, too, but apparently there's a maximum amount of data you can post and my remaining amount is too small to post pics anymore. 😞 How do you guys keep posting so many?

March 18

1 hour ago, megaericzero said:

We're asking for similar things. Where you're asking for two redundant terms for a single mechanic to be consolidated, I'm asking for two different mechanics that are erroneously sharing one term to be clarified. Especially since mez protection already has its own term; the game just doesn't use it in power effect summaries.

True, they ARE similar, but I'd think that stun/disorient would take less effort to fix (a simple search-and-replace in text). I'm starting with a low bar to see if there's any traction here. However, I DEFINITELY agree that some further clarification of game mechanics would be highly beneficial, especially to new players.

March 18

I'm more talking about a simple text change than can fix this confusion, i.e. replace all of the "disorient" descriptions/names with "stun" (or vise versa). Mez protection vs. resistance and accuracy vs. tohit clarification would require more explanation (although they should still be done) than simply replacing a word in text.

Also, I want more people to vote in the poll, so I'm posting this to bump the thread. 😛

March 17

I've seen a number of newer players getting confused about this in recent times, usually along the lines of "My power says it does disorient but I don't see any disorient enhancements. What do I do?"

I would like to suggest that the in-game text be made uniform to call all of these effects either "stun" or "disorient" in power descriptions, enhancements, and anywhere else it comes up.

Please vote in the poll to let me know what YOU think.

March 13

I usually just point out that staying in the bubble will help protect them every so often and leave it up to them whether they make use of it or not. I try to place it as conveniently as I can, but if people don't want to use it then it's up to them. My bots/elec can usually take care of herself even if everyone else on the team is dead, so it's not that big a deal to me.

... it seems like I should quote some saying about a horse and water... 😛

March 12

9 hours ago, Maelwys said:

your damage resistance buffs and mez protection are tied to a set location (making you slower to move from place to place - on an AT that is already renowned for its slowness on team content!)

With some recharge it's not too bad. I've got mine down to about 4-5 seconds (without hasten), which seems good enough for most teams.

March 12

So is /elec just considered a non-starter for a MM secondary, because I haven't seen it here and I rather like it. Yeah, it's a more active secondary, but I like that on certain MM builds. It's got a heal and an absorb buff, a damage buff, a +resist location AoE with mez protection to keep your pets fighting, and an endurance-gain power to help keep you and your pets going. It has a couple debuffs, but nothing too impressive, so it may not be what you're looking for. I just wanted to throw it out there since no one else has. Since the mez protetion/+resist power is a location AoE, I find that /elec works better with pets that are more ranged or more melee rather than a mix of the two. My bots/elec is pretty fun and is one of my main new-player-helper characters. Demons/elec was an interesting combo, but probably not the best pairing. I've got a necro/elec in the works which is pretty decent, too.

March 12

Congrats on finding something that works for you! I had a similar issue with finding a blaster sturdy enough to play. I finally managed it with DP/martial, which ended up making it to 50 mostly solo. I don't think blasters will ever be my favorite AT or anything, but it's nice to know that I can enjoy one.

Keep on blasting, and I'll see you around the city! 🙂

March 5

On 2/28/2024 at 5:42 AM, vibal said:

Pretty sure you have vengeance ticked for your character stat output.

Yeah, I just checked in Mids and the posted numbers are the "with Vengeance" version.

Without Vengeance, you get defense numbers of:
S/L: 35.26%
Fire/Cold: 33.69%

E/N: 46.19%

Tox/Psi: 29.94%

Melee: 36.82%

Ranged: 43.96%

AoE: 37.44%

These are still pretty dang good, imo, so I'll definitely be looking into this. However, I find myself questioning how well this build can function in sustained combat since it only has a net endurance gain of 1.03/sec. I find that I need at least 1.8 end/sec for a build to be even tolerable.

February 21

thanks!

February 21

My friends and I have managed to find all of them EXCEPT the one in Kallisti Wharf. The clue for that one reads "Paragon Pride: Kallisti Wharf. Chase the rainbow!" which is not very helpful. Can anyone who's found it give us a better hint?

February 17

Does this mean that the issue has been fixed and our e-mails won't go missing anymore?

February 7

4 hours ago, patunya said:

This is it??? Nothing from cold dom, nothing from poison, nothing from traps? RIP arse

I know, right? Controllers can get all of 4 of the powers in this list, and that includes the two temp powers! This just... doesn't really make sense to me.

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