SupaFreak

The following is a bit of a gimmicky idea I've had for a while that provides a possibility on how to add a massively diverse Signature Power options to all characters without (I hope) overpowering characters that stands apart from all other Powers, in that it is connected heavily to Inspirations. I envision Signature Powers to be relatively mid-strength (Tier 4 Primary) but can be pretty powerful (Tier 8 primary) if used in conjunction with Inspirations related to them. The system I describe below will hopefully be easy for new players to comprehend yet complex enough that veterans will enjoy thoroughly. New Inherent: Signature Power Provided at Level 1 upon player creation and share no relevance to your Origin or Archetype choices. All players are given the same default Signature Power: Self-Preservation to start (power example given below). You may visit a special new Signature Trainer located near a S.T.A.R.T. vendor to change your Signature Power at any time for free. The golden power icon for Signature Power is the same for any Signature Power you choose. Your Signature Power is unaffected by any other sources, be they Buffs, DeBuffs, Set Bonuses, etc. Signature Enhancements New Enhancement Set Category: (Signature Power) Inherent: Signature Power comes with a default of 6 slots that are inherently locked and cannot be reduced or used elsewhere through Respec. Signature Enhancements only provide Set Bonuses to your other powers and do not modify the abilities of your Signature Power. Unlike normal Enhancement Sets, you are able to choose from 63 Signature Enhancements for your 6 slots in Signature Power. You are not required to put any Signature Enhancements into your Signature Power if you wish not to. Set Bonuses start at 1 Signature Enhancement slotted instead of the normal 2 required. Signature Enhancement Recipe (x63) Options Beginning at level 7, Uncommon Recipe drops from enemies that sell to vendors for 1,000 Influence. Always present option at Crafting Tables. Signature Enhancement Categories There are 3 categories of Enhancements: Signature: Tenacity encompasses your physical form. Signature: Vitality encompasses your well-being. Signature: Focus encompasses your mental acuity. Signature Enhancement Rankings Each category has rankings of I, II, and III from which Unique enhancements can be crafted. You may only slot one Enhancement from Tenacity I, one from Tenacity II, one from Tenacity III, etc. *Creator's Note: I feel going the route of giving roman numeral rankings vs unique names is easier to comprehend and makes this Signature system suggestion as a whole much easier to follow and understand. Signature Enhancement Crafting Signature Power Enhancements require Inspirations of various types and level to craft based on their Ranking. Rank I requires 3 Small Inspirations to craft and may be slotted starting at level 10. Rank II requires 3 Medium Inspirations to craft and may be slotted starting at level 25. Rank III requires 3 Large Inspirations to craft and may be slotted starting at level 40. *Creator's Note: The level requirements listed above coincide with when Inspiration trays expand in size. *Creator's Note: I'm indifferent to adding INF cost to crafting. Could care less if added to it as long as it's in close proximity of cost to similar Set Enhancement crafting costs. Signature Enhancement Altering Signature Enhancements cannot be combined with Enhancement Catalysts or Enhancement Boosters. You may use Enhancement Converters on Signature Enhancements to randomize the Set Bonus you receive. Set Bonus Display Order No matter what order you slot the Signature Enhancements into Signature Power, the following order will be how the Set Bonus is displayed. (Top) Tenacity I - Vitality I - Focus I - Tenacity II -Vitality II -Focus II - Tenacity III - Vitality III - Focus III (Bottom) Signature Enhancement List You have 9 categories to choose from below but as stated above, you may only slot 1 from any given column in a category. There is no penalty for mixing and matching Signature Enhancements for your character's build. Choosing all 3 of a row in the same category will grant the equivalent of a single Very Rare Enhancement Set Bonus. Signature Enhancements are tradable on Auction House. Vendors will purchase Signature Enhancements for 500 Influence, no matter what ranking. (optional) You should find the Set Bonuses 100% on par with existing Set Bonuses provided in-game. Signature Tenacity Enhancements (21) Enhancement Icon (Gold) Tenacity I (10) UNIQUE Luck x1 Sturdy x1 Shielded x1 Tenacity II (25) UNIQUE Good Luck x1 Rugged x1 Guarded x1 Tenacity III (40) UNIQUE Phenomenal Luck x1 Robust x1 Protected x1 Resist 1.5% Resist (Smashing, Lethal) 2.5% Mez Resist (All) 2.25% Resist (Smashing, Lethal) 3.75% Mez Resist (All) 3% Resist (Smashing, Lethal) 5% Mez Resist (All) Resist 1.5% Resist (Fire, Cold) 2.5% Mez Resist (All) 2.25% Resist (Fire, Cold) 3.75% Mez Resist (All) 3% Resist (Fire, Cold) 5% Mez Resist (All) Resist 1.5% Resist (Energy, Negative) 2.5% Mez Resist (All) 2.25% Resist Energy, Negative) 3.75% Mez Resist (All) 3% Resist (Energy, Negative) 5% Mez Resist (All) Resist 1.5% Resist (Toxic, Psionic) 2.5% Mez Resist (All) 2.25% Resist (Toxic, Psionic) 3.75% Mez Resist (All) 3% Resist (Toxic, Psionic) 5% Mez Resist (All) ************************************* *********** *********** *********** Defense 1.88% Defense (Energy, Negative), 0.94% Defense (Ranged) 3.13% Defense (Energy, Negative), 1.56% Defense (Ranged) 5% Defense (Energy, Negative), 2.5% Defense (Ranged) Defense 1.88% Defense (Smashing, Lethal), 0.94% Defense (Melee) 3.13% Defense (Smashing, Lethal), 1.56% Defense (Melee) 5% Defense (Smashing, Lethal), 2.5% Defense (Melee) Defense 1.88% Defense (Fire, Cold), 0.94% Defense (AoE) 3.13% Defense (Fire, Cold), 1.56% Defense (AoE) 5% Defense (Fire, Cold), 2.5% Defense (AoE) Signature Vitality Enhancements (21) Enhancement Icon (Gold) Vitality I (10) UNIQUE Respite x1 Catch a Breath x1 Revitalize x1 Vitality II (25) UNIQUE Dramatic Improvement x1 Take a Breather x1 Rejuvenate x1 Vitality III (40) UNIQUE Resurgence x1 Second Wind x1 Invigorate x1 Health (0.75%) Hit Points (1.12%) Hit Points (1.5%) Hit Points Health 4% Regeneration 6% Regeneration 8% Regeneration ************************************* *********** *********** *********** Endurance Modification 0.9% Max Endurance 1.35% Max Endurance 1.8% Max Endurance Endurance Modification 1.88% Enhancement (Endurance Discount) 2.5% Enhancement (Endurance Discount) 3.75% Enhancement (Endurance Discount) Endurance Modification 1% Recovery 1.5% Recovery 2% Recovery ************************************* *********** *********** *********** Sprint 3% Movement Speed 4.5% Movement Speed 7.5% Movement Speed Sprint 10% ResEffect (Speed Running) 10% ResEffect (Speed Flying) 10% ResEffect (Recharge Time) 15% ResEffect (Speed Running) 15% ResEffect (Speed Flying) 15% ResEffect (Recharge Time) 20% ResEffect (Speed Running) 20% ResEffect (Speed Flying) 20% ResEffect (Recharge Time) Signature Focus Enhancements (21) Enhancement Icon (Gold) Focus I (10) UNIQUE Insight x1 Enrage x1 Keen x1 Focus II (25) UNIQUE Keen Insight x1 Focused Rage x1 Tactical x1 Focus III (40) UNIQUE Uncanny Insight x1 Righteous Rage x1 Precise x1 Accuracy +3% Enhancement (Accuracy) +5% Enhancement (Accuracy) +7% Enhancement (Accuracy) Damage 1% Damage Buff (All) 1.5% Damage Buff (All) 2% Damage Buff (All) Recharge 2.5% Enhancement (Recharge Time) 3.75% Enhancement (Recharge Time) 5% Enhancement (Recharge Time) Range 2% Enhancement (Range) 3% Enhancement (Range) 5% Enhancement (Range) ************************************* *********** *********** *********** Accurate Healing 2% Enhancement (Heal) 3% Enhancement (Heal) 4% Enhancement (Heal) Accurate Defense Debuff Knockback Protection (Mag 2) Knockback Protection (Mag 3) Knockback Protection (Mag 4) ToHit Buff Perception +20% (100 ft) Stealth +30 feet +3% To Hit Bonus Signature Powers Signature Powers and Inspirations Some Signature Powers benefit from usage of certain Inspiration types while active. Some Signature Powers benefit from absence of certain Inspiration types in your tray. Some Signature Powers benefit from both methods listed above. Example 1 Self-Preservation (default) Effect: +25% Heal on Self (Special) Cast Time: 0.73 seconds Endurance Cost: 14.56 Duration: 120 seconds (2 minutes) Special: While active, all healing received is increased by 5% Recharge: 600 seconds (10 minutes) *ACTIVE VISUAL: Gold Aura (customizable) Focus (2) +33% Heal on Self (Special) Special: -2% Heal strength for each rank of Health Inspiration present in tray to a minimum of 25%. Special: While active, all healing received is increased by 10% Focus (4) +50% Heal on Self (Special) Special: -4% Heal strength for each rank of Health Inspiration present in tray to a minimum of 25%. While active, all healing received is increased by 15% Focus (6) +100% Heal on Self (Special) Special: -8% Heal strength for each rank of Health Inspiration present in tray to a minimum of 25%. While active, all healing received is increased by 20% For reference only - not in power description - same formula used for other Inspiration strengths Health Inspiration Rank Rank 1: Revitalize & Rejuvenating Imbuement Rank 2: Respite & Rejuvenate & Health Imbuement Rank 3: Dramatic Improvement & Greater Health Imbuement Rank 4: Invigorate & Refreshing Imbuement Rank 6: Resurgence & Superior Health Imbuement Rank 8: Refresh Rank 10: Perfect Health In Example 1 above, having a single Perfect Health (Super) in your tray will 100% kill your Heal and reduce it to minimum strength no matter what rank of Focus, while a single Invigorate at Focus (6) will reduce your Heal from 100% to 68%. You will only receive the full benefit of the power if you are completely out of Health Inspirations. The healing you receive from other sources is unaffected by the penalty though. including using Health Inspirations for yourself for the duration of the power's buff. Combat Example: Blaster (50) with 1558.7 HPs Activate Signature Power: Self-Preservation (1 Dramatic Improvement active in Tray) Instant Heal for 68% of total HPs -> 1059.92 2 minute duration Healing Received bonus. Dramatic Improvement usage should go from 33% (514.37 HPs) to 39.6% (617.25 HPs) ---> (20% of 33 = 6.6 ---> 33+6.6 = 39.6%) in that timeframe. Example 2 Center of Attention Effect: +4 Threat to enemies in 15 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, -2 Threat to Allies within 40 foot radius for each Defense or Resist Inspiration rank used. Cast Time: 1.67 seconds Duration: 120 seconds (2 minutes) Recharge: 600 seconds (10 minutes) *ACTIVE VISUAL: Gold Aura +Buff Gold Glow (others) - (customizable) Tenacity (2) Effect: +4 Threat to enemies in 20 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, -2 Threat to Allies within 60 foot radius for each Defense or Resist Inspiration rank used. Tenacity (5) Effect: +4 Threat to enemies in 25 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, -2 Threat to Allies within 80 foot radius for each Defense or Resist Inspiration rank used. Tenacity (6) Effect: +4 Threat to enemies in 30 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, -2 Threat to Allies within 100 foot radius for each Defense or Resist Inspiration rank used. Example 3 Surge of Persistence Effect: +12.5% Endurance to self and Allies within 50 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, all affected receive +3% bonus to all Resist inspirations. Cast Time: 1.67 seconds Duration: 120 seconds (2 minutes) Recharge: 600 seconds (10 minutes) *ACTIVE VISUAL: Gold Aura +Buff Gold Glow (others) - (customizable) Vitality (2) +Tenacity (1) Effect: +18.75% Endurance on self and Allies within 50 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, all affected receive +5% bonus to all Resist inspirations. Vitality (4) +Tenacity (2) Effect: +25% Endurance on self and Allies within 50 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, all affected receive +7% bonus to all Resist inspirations. Vitality (6) +Tenacity (3) Effect: +25% Endurance on self and Allies within 50 foot radius. (Special) Special: While active, all affected receive +10% bonus to all Resist inspirations. Example 4 Chest Beam Damage: 56.22 (Energy) Type: Ranged AoE Arc: 50 degrees Max Targets: 8 Accuracy: 86.6% Range: 70 feet Endurance Cost: 8.53 Cast Time: 1.17 seconds Recharge: 600 seconds (10 minutes) Special: 50% chance for 18.36 Fire damage on affected targets. *ACTIVE VISUAL: Gold beam emitted from center of chest - (customizable) Focus (2) Damage: 85.73 Max Targets: 16 Special: -2 Damage for each rank of Damage Inspiration present in tray to a minimum of 70.97. Special: +5% chance for Special + 3 ticks of additional 6.05 Fire damage on affected targets for each rank of Accuracy inspiration active. Focus (4) Damage: 109.6 Max Targets: 20 Special: -4 Damage for each rank of Damage Inspiration present in tray to a minimum of 70.97. Special: +5% chance for Special + 6 ticks of additional 6.05 Fire damage on affected targets for each rank of Accuracy inspiration active. Focus (6) Damage: 133.48 Max Targets: 30 Effect: -8 Damage for each rank of Damage Inspiration present in tray to a minimum of 70.97. Special: +5% chance for Special + 10 ticks of additional 6.05 Fire damage on affected targets for each rank of Accuracy inspiration active. I could go on and probably list 50 or more Power Examples, but... I've already put too much time into this presentation as is if it's a horrible idea, so going to leave it at this in hopes you get the jist of it. Any feedback and/or additional suggestions are welcome. Happy Hunting, Heroes and Villains!

Just wanted to show screenshots of my weakest DPS Mastermind acquiring the 5 Tip & 25 Tip Badge count today for any doubters. That's 45 minutes for 21 Alignment + 2 Morality. Probably another 6 minutes to get the 4 leading up to Uncommitted.

Okay, so I've been seeking to get the 3 new Badges in Issue 28 primarily because I'm seeking the "Between Realities" Accolade Power with many characters. At first, I just turned down the settings to +0 / x1 for speed and joined or ran some Tip teams. Unfortunately, I still found this to be massively time consuming and brainstormed on how I could reduce it from a 3+ hour endeavor per character. Then it hit me... Supergroup Base has Mission Computer and Oracle where we can purchase Tips for 1 Reward Merit. So, what if I found the quickest ones for each Morality and just did those over and over? Granted, it would cost me 27 Reward Merits (+2 for Morality) to get the badges, but I would make 80 back. So, I did the legwork on each Morality to find the fastest solution to my problem. RESULTS (level 50 Tips) It appears each Tip has 4-5 valid doors. Heroes/Vigilantes get more freedom because they can "Investigate" their Tips with a majority of them being in the zone they "Investigate" them from. It appears Villains/Rogues are forced to Port Oakes and Grandville. Not a good case to play Red-side there, developers that did that. HEROES & VIGILANTES So, playing it smart... Hero/Vigilante Tips were "Investigated" in an easy zone to navigate: Atlas Park. Both Hero & Vigilante door locations are same randomization with only 1 being a great distance away. Abandon Mission and "Investigate" until you get a door closer when that door appears if desired (could end up being more time consuming than just traveling there and doing it). HERO (2 Tips - @1.5 mins each) - both share some similar doors. "A Biting Wind" is always on a small cave map with both objectives in the same room. Defeat Boss Group + Destroy Object "Miss Thystle's Plea" is always on a small cave map but objectives may be spread out. Defeat Boss Group + Free Hostage (Frostfire) Morality Mission Choice - "The Usual Suspect" - Atlas Park - @2 mins Rescue Hostage (Front) - Defeat Boss (Ambush) - Defeat Boss (Ambush) 27 missions in around 45 minutes with proper SG TP power access, faster if duo+ with Collaborative Missions off. Most doors not too far from SG portal in Atlas Park. VIGILANTE (1 Tip - @1.5 mins) "A Biting Wind" is always on small cave map with both objectives in the same room. Defeat Boss Group + Destroy Object Morality Mission Choice - "The End Justifies the Means" - Atlas Park - @2 mins Rescue Hostage (Front) - Defeat Boss (Back) - Glowie (Back) 27 missions in around 45 minutes with proper SG TP power access, faster if duo+ with Collaborative Missions off. Most doors not too far from SG portal in Atlas Park. VILLAINS & ROGUES No choice in which zone you want to "Investigate" here, BUT... there fortunately is a blessing for Red-side here. All Tip and Moralities suggested below are in Grandville and in very close proximity to each other. No doors super close to SG portal, so utilize 4 SG TP powers or as mentioned, duo+ if you can. VILLAIN (1 Tip - @2 mins) - Alignment Doors appear to always be within 100 yds of the last. "Two Too Many Flamebeauxs" is always the same small Freakshow map with nothing spawning in back. - Defeat Boss x2 + Destroy Object x3 Morality Mission Choice - "My Other Selves" - Grandville - @3 mins Capture Hostage x2 (?) - Defeat Boss x3 - Talk To x3 27 missions in around 55 minutes with proper SG TP power access, faster if duo+ with Collaborative Missions off. ROGUE (2 Tip - @1.5 mins each) - Alignment Doors appear to always be within 100 yds of the last. Shared doors. "Two Too Many Flamebeauxs" is always the same small Freakshow map with nothing spawning in back. - Rescue x2 "Extremely Annoying Ring Tone" Med-Lg Map filled with Allies until Glowie clicked - Talk to (Front *sometimes tricky*) - Glowie - Defeat Boss (Ambush) Morality Mission Choice - "One Rogue's Work, Another Rogue's Pay" - Grandville - @3 mins Always same map - Glowie (Front) - Free Hostage x3 - Defeat Boss x2 27 missions in around 45 minutes with proper SG TP power access, faster if duo+ with Collaborative Missions off. CONCLUSION At this point, you're probably saying why isn't this posted with Guides or something? Why here in Suggestions/Feedback? Short Answer: this is the feedback. The HC team decided 25 Tip Missions is what they wanted to tie to getting the Badges / Accolade Power. Playing through 25 normally is extremely time consuming and not really a lot of fun (for me) if that's the focus. I found it quite tedious as well since you're not guaranteed a Tip drop upon completing a Tip Mission. Which means another team member or you've got to go out and farm some level 20+ mobs until you do get another Tip Mission. Alternatives that would make this more enjoyable to acquire through normal gameplay (for me): 1) Similar to Exploration Badges, award a Tip Mission upon completing a Tip Mission. Or at least @75% chance for Tip Mission to be awarded. Remember, our time is valuable too! 2) Reduce from 25 Alignment Tips to 20 Alignment Tips or increase to 30 if below Suggestions considered. Doing 25 often puts you midway through to next Morality. 20 would make more sense as far as feeling you've fully accomplished a task and not be left midway through doing another. Accolade Powers generally do require some time commitment; be it Task Forces, Strike Forces or Story Arcs and this Badge requirement is that for "Between Realities". Therefore, I have no issue with an hour+ of work/gameplay to acquire. 3) Award more credit to longer Alignment Tips. You know how you have those Defeat Badges that award more points for Lieutenants and Bosses? Yea, same thing here. If you're going to force me on a Large Map or make me Escort back to entrance with fights along the way, then reward me accordingly for not taking the easy Tip. This means award up to 3 counts for those Alignment missions on maps and scenarios mentioned above, 2 for ones not too small and not too large, and 1 for missions similar to the ones mentioned in my "feedback / guide" section. Yes, I'm aware this would make acquiring those 40 Reward Merits become much faster but not at a rate of greater than 80/hour. If you think that's too high, see my Feedback post here regarding Reward Merit Distribution through Story Arcs for pathways to acquiring more than that. 4) Possibly change wording from Tips to Points and allow Story Arc Alignment Points to award credit for Badge. HC team has put out some arcs that award Alignment Points. Maybe let those give credit towards this Badge line as well. In closing, I seriously want to thank the Homecoming Team for their efforts in keeping this community together and keeping us entertained with their massive improvements to the game that oh, so many of us love. That being said, I have to speak out about what I see as massive imbalances in the reward systems in the game. Leaving them be just bottlenecks us min/maxxers into playing certain content instead of being more flexible in our Reward-seeking endeavors. Reward Imbalances are basically just like children.... won't somebody please think of the children? 🤐

1) Lady Grey TF (regular) - allows everyone to go free Penny and for you to "Recall" back and Assemble the Team at the front door you "Mark"ed. 2) Moonfire TF - allows everyone to go free Dr. Todd and for you to "Recall" back and Assemble the Team at the front door you "Mark"ed. 3) Maps with elevators x3 - "Recall" right back to the center point if you used "Mark" 4) Maps such as Imperious TF (regular) on mission 2 that may have long branching paths to get you back to crossroads of the cave. 5) Useful for pulling mobs to a chokepoint in large rooms. 6) "Get out of Trouble - free" card when solo. (example: MM pets get wiped = go back and resummon / try again) 7) Miss Liberty TF - mission 2. "Mark" the entrance and "Recall" back after the AVs defeated while team Oroborus, etc. out 8 ) Dr. Kahn TF - mission 2. "Mark" entrance, go defeat some portals and "Recall" back to final portal + Invincible Reichsman 9) Numina TF - Boomtown - "Mark" by SG portal, go defeat the Council and "Recall" back to SG Portal.

Finally got around to running this arc a few times with my Stalker and found my personal average time after several runs to be 8 minutes. (This is not using MT or TT) Want to thank you again for bringing up that fact that I did not even have this arc listed or tested prior to your reply.

Thank you for taking the testers' feedback into consideration. Truly appreciate all you do at Homecoming!

Much appreciated. Gonna look into that shortly.

Feedback: Sheer Willpower (unlock) I personally don't understand the reasoning for why the requirements for Sheer Willpower for Heroes is vastly more time consuming than Stonehearted for Invader is for Villains. Anyone with Lord Schweinzer unlocked can unlock Invader for players in less than 30 mins. If the requirements for Sheer Willpower were just Force of Justice Accolade only, that's still way more time consuming but at least closer to balance on time investment. I'm guessing the goal here with the heavy Hero requirements is to get any Hero chasing the Accolade power to do the Strike Forces instead and switch back? That's what any character I'd want it on would do, but... It's not an Accolade power I'll be chasing with any character, so this is all irrelevant for me. Just feels like a strong-arm tactic for us to do more red-side content and it's really not enticing enough for me. Again, just my feedback. Added: However, if this were an Auto-Power instead of a Click Power that was an inherent boost to Mez Resist.... that's a different story. Feedback: Mark & Recall (unlock) I second the motion that badge requirements for this be strictly Gold-side. Added: This will be an Accolade Power I will be chasing with many characters, if not all.

Updated to include Issue 28's new arc for Heroes 40-49. Pending no changes in structure or rewards, will not be updating when Live.

As stated in my testing of Striga arcs for villains last update, this is strictly feedback from speed runs from an "action junkie". Feedback on story details not my forte. Seek elsewhere. Disclaimer: While I may not read the text contents of the mission, I greatly appreciate the time and effort put into these arcs by the author(s) for those that do enjoy that. Mission 1: Gotta agree with the feedback from others on this one. "Leave no witnesses" is slightly confusing combined with a Defeat Boss objective plus it clutters the Nav mission details more than needed. "Leave no witnesses" also sounds way more Vigilante than Hero. Suggest removing the Defeat Boss object and rewording to "Interrogate Crey Staff" or something along those lines. Optional (Sabotage) also not very Heroic sounding. Right off the bat, the arc with this wording feels very Vigilante. My feedback = change wording or make the arc Vigilante. Mission 2: Nothing special Mission 3: If it were me, I'd reword the Nav to read "Confront Trolls in Boomtown" or something along those lines. Upon receiving mission, I just hit LRT for Skyway thinking it could be anywhere... then I questioned what "local" may mean since no Trolls there went towards the count. Mission 4 - 5: Nothing special Return to Contact / Talk to NPC Mission 6: Very cool reskinning of existing map. Not a fan of the overly long "wait for NPC chat" delays before clicking glowies over the span of 3 floors then waiting for chatter again. But hey, I guess it's someone's bag out there... Mission 7: Yea, the wordplay of "Recover Heroes" when they're enemies is fine in my book. Fool me once, good for you.... fool me twice, duh is me. Mission 8: Nothing special. Cutscene and Talk to NPC Bleh ending. Conclusion: Not really a fun "action" arc at all. Story-wise, I have no idea. Has 1 cool map to look at if you have a "map touring" fetish. You also get a Badge if you have a *badge collecting* fetish. Again with the default 20 Merits for arc, no matter how long it takes ( yea, I'm your worst critic on that approach ). Did 2 runs so I could speed it a second time and clocked in at 24 mins... so not very rewarding compared to a good chunk of other arcs out there. Replay value for me... extremely low. I have a "reward to time spent ratio" fetish.

Milestone 6 - All Story Arcs and Special Arcs are now Completed / Tracked Gave my Stalker a few months off, but decided to get this project wrapped up this weekend. Will update if new Arcs get added or Reward Merit distribution ever changes. PEACE!

As a somewhat regular on Anyad's iMSRs, I gotta agree that the initial implementation of 35+ and Member of Vanguard was an overall better experience than what I experienced tonight on the new format. I'd personally prefer there be a "normal" and "advanced" versions of the instanced MSR - with the advanced being what it once was. My 3 cents... because I found an extra one on the way to this reply. PEACE!

Pretty simple request for Chapter Tags on the Pillar of Ice and Flame for Flashbacks. Simple tag for the RWZ would probably be Vanguard (?). Thanx in advance.

Been happening to me on certain missions since HC went Live but I just deal with it. Always happens on the Apex & Tin Mage TFs, that's for sure. Can't recall offhand what other missions or instances.

Note the totals below do not include Special (Who Will Die / Pandora's Box) or Archived Arcs Level 50 Hero Villain Either Total Arcs 14 39 7 Total Merits 330 423 134 (+20) Avg. Merits per Arc 24 11 19 Approximate Minutes 376 604 112 Avg. Minutes per Arc 27 15 16 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.8 / 48 0.7 / 42 1.1 / 66 Total Door Missions 91 173 35 Avg. Doors per Arc 6.5 4.4 5 Avg. Merits per Door 3.6 2.4 3.8 Levels 1-50 Totals Hero Villain Praetor Either Total Arcs 99 153 65 8 Total Merits 1974 (+140) 1702 (+40) 441 151 (+20) Avg. Merits per Arc 20 11 7 19 Approximate Minutes 2110 2083 831 128 Avg. Minutes per Arc 21 14 13 16 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.9 / 54 0.8 / 48 0.5 / 30 1.1 / 66 Total Door Missions 481 558 240 39 Avg. Doors per Arc 4.9 3.6 3.7 4.9 Avg. Merits per Door 4.1 3.1 1.8 3.8

Milestone 5 - 300 Story Arcs Completed / Tracked Actually hit the milestone last night but failed to realize it until this morning when I counted that I was at 303. Down to the final 66 which I'm sure will be complete by the end of the weekend at the rate I'm going. There's a lot of upcoming Villain Arcs I've never done before so looking forward to those. Other than that, I'll just say there's a lot of newer arcs I recently played that would awesome to do in a team setting but no way I'll be forming for them because of the dismal Merit count. Anyways, will post a final chart for 50 and Grand Total when complete. PEACE!

Began tracking Hero arcs for level 50. Note that I will NOT be tracking Dark Astoria arcs because they do not award Merits and instead have an Incarnate Reward Table. Also note that I will not be tracking Personal Stories for they only award Badges which is not the focus of this endeavor. Unless Villains have outdated Arcs on Flashback, I believe I'm done with the Archived Arcs for now. If you're sure of a listed Arc that is no longer offered by contacts and needs moved to Archive category, please let me know. Thanks!

Since the recent License Agreement with NC Soft announcement, I've found myself trying to look at City of Heroes from a new player's perspective and not so much as a 13-year veteran of the game. I find myself evaluating the existing core systems of the game and where the glaring flaws are that the Homecoming team inherited and have yet to address. I ask myself what is going to get newcomers here and wanting to stay and what can be done on the development side with minimum effort for maximum results. And that's what has led me to this suggestion that's been on my mind since Live... Suggestion: Reward Merit Re-Evaluation Some of you had to know something along these lines was coming from me since I've been posting the data on my current "W.I.P. Feedback on Merit Distribution through Flashback" thread. Giant Monsters post 27 page 7 I feel the changes made were a great step in the right direction here. Lusca got the proper treatment for time invested and the overall experience for Monster Hunting teams just got the boost it needed to be a viable option for something rewarding to do from time to time. Part 1: Set Clear Standard Guidelines for Base Reward Merits The following would result in Reward Merits for some existing Story Arcs to go down, others up. This part of the Suggestion I hope most would agree would be for the betterment of the game. The Perceived Current Problem Right now there are arcs we can speed run and earn over 90 Merits an hour on, while there are others we can't earn a single Merit on. My speculation of what the Paragon Studios originally had in mind during Issue 13 when Reward Merits were introduced vs where they ended up at Sunset appear to be spot on. They got lazy and players experiencing Praetoria got hit the worst by the flat "9 Merits per Arc no matter how long they take to complete" approach. And honestly as much as I'm proud of the Homecoming team, I am concerned the flat "20 Merits per Arc no matter how long they take to complete" is a band-aid to a problem that I perceive as long overdue for re-evaluation. It's in my belief based on research of numbers that the original design goal was based on solo Speed+Stealth+Damage characters to top out at "60 Merits per Hour" for speed runs of any given Story Arc. A simple max value of 1 Merit per Minute. There's a handful right now that would need the Reward Merit nerf hammer brought down on them. However, there's actually more that would have the nerf air compressor *clap clap* pump them up! 1-A) Possible Guidelines - Data Mined for fastest runs if possible. Story Arcs -------> 1 Merit per Minute ( based on solo play ) <--- what it appears they were originally designed to be. TFs / SFs --------> 1.5 Merits per Minute ( based on teams of 4+ ) <--- what most approximately are currently. Incarnate TFs ---> 2.5 Merits per Minute ( based on teams of 4+ ) <--- what they currently are (Apex / Tin Mage). 1-B) End Results Possibilities & Examples: Low Level Arcs -----> A good chunk would go up 4 or more Reward Merits per Arc. Praetorian Arcs -----> A good chunk would go up 5 or more Reward Merits per Arc. Hero Arcs -----------> Some would reduce Reward Merits, some would increase. Villain Arcs ----------> Few would reduce Reward Merits, most would increase. 1-C) ***** Low Levels vs High Levels ***** In my opinion, with this game's ability to Exemplar down on Task/Strike Forces, Story Arcs, etc. there's no reason why a level 45+ (non-Incarnate) Miss Liberty TF should be more Reward Merit attractive than a level 8+ Positron TF. Same sentiment goes for Story Arcs. Level is just a number.... plus powers. Part 2: Consider Adding Reward Merit Distribution to Pick-Up Groups doing Certain Content. Note this suggestion may seem a bit radical at first, but please evaluate what the end result might be before passing harsh judgment. The Perceived Current Problem This is an MMO and aside from Badges for those who pursue those, there's little to no current in-game method to incentivize players into joining a player leveling up on their story arcs, doing Alignment Tip Missions or Safeguard/Mayhem Missions. In my opinion, there should be a way to cater to the casual / non-speed crowd in some capacity that can't be exploited and/or abused by power gamers. Merits have become a core and essential part of many players building their arsenal of characters and I'm simply trying to come up with alternatives for newcomers and veterans alike in leveling up their characters to acquire those sought after Reward Merits. As it stands right now, the mission holder gets the Merits - everyone else on the team gets squat as far as Merits. Not a great design from where I'm sitting. As it stands, I can see how newcomers might feel strong-armed and bottle-necked into having to do TFs/SFs to get the most bang for their buck or they can succumb to the seductive lure of A/E farms to fund their builds. Then they soon get burnt out and disheartened by the lack of a plethora of options to cleanse their reward-seeking palettes and move on to other ventures not titled 'City of Heroes'. Story Arcs (non-Flashback) Remove Reward Merits awarded at the end for the mission holder, keep that strictly for dedicated soloists or teams doing Flashbacks. So, yea... this means 2 versions of each arc in a sense - or at least a toggle for the system to determine if Flashback is on or off. Would that be complicated to do? *shrug* If it's easy enough, I truly believe this would help newcomers a massive amount. (see 2-B & 2-C below) Alignment/Morality Missions Remove the 40 Reward Merits upon completion of 10 Alignment + 1 Morality mission. Replace with 7 Reward Merits. (see 2-B & 2-D below) Safeguard/Mayhem Missions A tad complicated but would grant the ability to earn between 3-5 Reward Merits per low-level banks up to 8 per high level banks. (see 2-B & 2-E below) 2-A) Possible Guideline - not designed for nor based on speed - encourage casual play. Door / Tip / Bank Missions -----> 0.75 Merit per Minute Keep in mind - players can join and drop out as they wish at any time on these and are not committed long-term as they are in Part 1. 2-B) How it could work for Door Missions for each player on the team via System Check: System Check Requirement: Flashback or Task/Strike Force ( includes A/E ) = False System Check Requirement: Repeatable Mission ( Newspaper, Radio, Dark Astoria, etc ) = False Eligibility for Reward Merit upon Completion = True How team members are awarded upon door Mission Complete: If player present 180 seconds or more = True, award 3 Reward Merits / if False, go to next check (3 minutes or greater) If player present 90 to 179 seconds = True, award 2 Reward Merits / if False, go to next check (1.5 minutes to 3 minutes) If player present 30 to 89 seconds = True, award 1 Reward Merit / If False, award 0 Reward Merits. (0.5 to 1.5 minutes) 2-C) ***** Story Arcs ***** I've already checked the results against 278 Arcs (all pre-50) and if those are properly balanced for time and Reward Merits, then this method would never match doing the flashback version. Flashback version factors in travel time, cut-scenes, "fed-ex"s, zone hunts, etc. This only factors in Door Missions. The only cases where it can surpass Flashback is if you slow-play a single badge mission arc. If you want to take 3 minutes to get 3 Merits on something that can be sped for 2 Merits in under 2 minutes... go for it. It's still 1 Merit per Minute either way. However, Flashbacks can be repeated, your contact only offers it to you once. As mentioned earlier - there would be no Merits awarded for completing Hunts, Talk to NPCs, Zone Clicks/Glowies or anything non-door (instance) related. If need be, I believe a system similar to Astral vs Empyrean for Reward Merits would be have to be implemented and don't want to dabble in that Suggestion at this time because it's either a new "currency" or rebranding one currently underused. ( Jeez, that's vague *cough* Brainstorm and you'll figure it out. *cough* ) 2-D) ***** Alignment/Morality Tip Missions ***** Currently you need to do 10 Alignment + 1 Morality to get the 40 Reward Merits. In this scenario, if you casually play the 10, you will get 30 Merits max. Casually do the Morality and get another 3 Merits + the completion bonus of 7 Bonus Merits and your journey of 11 door missions grants you the same 40 as before. Speed through them, you'll get less. As a plus, this method would allow a Vigilante (for example) to join a Hero or Villain on their Tips and still be rewarded without being committed to changing their Morality. Casual Play Example: Vigilante casually does 10 tips at 3 minutes apiece per door for a total of 30 minutes. They still burn up an additional 10 minutes traveling door to door and investigating their tips for a total of 40 minutes for 30 Merits. That's 0.75 Merits/Minute casually playing... in theory. Speed Play Example: Vigilante speeds 10 tips at 1 minute apiece per door for a total of 10 minutes. They still burn up an additional 10 minutes traveling door to door and investigating their tips for a total of 20 minutes for 10 Merits. That's 0.5 Merits/Minute speed playing... in theory. 2-E) ***** Bank Missions ***** Safeguard & Mayhem Bank Completion = 1 Reward Merit Safeguards - 1 Merit Objectives Prevent Jailbreak / Prevent Break-In / Prevent Arms Deal Safeguards - 2 Merit Objectives Prevent Bombing / Prevent Arson Mayhems - 1 Merit Objectives Break-Out / Raid / Smash & Grab: Vault Mayhems - 2 Merit Objectives Kidnapping / Arson I ran a few level 50 Bank Missions on standard settings and timed myself with my phone's stopwatch. I'd venture to say even the best builds would be super hard-pressed to do Bank + 5 Side Missions in under 8 minutes. Fastest I got was 8:10 in multiple runs with my Incarnate Stalker fully IO'd. Keep in mind - you can't speed up the Glowie timer and you can't Kidnap faster than the NPC can run. Note: I am aware of the Contacts that give repeatable Bank Missions using the same door once Badge is acquired - so the argument could be made that travel time between missions doing this over and over seems very exploitable, right? Well, there's a little Arc in Ouroboros called "The 5th Column Overthrow" (Level 39) I can already easily do the same thing with where the "Mission Door" is the same one 4x in a row. 16-17 minutes for 17 Merits as it stands right now... so not really all that different. But it gets old doing that after a while IMO. 2-F) ***** Why not allow Repeatable Missions? ***** Peregrine Island level 54 radio teams is the short and simple answer. Dark Astoria and the Cimerora are others. The ability to never have to change zones and plow through simple small map missions with no complex mechanics over and over have their purpose -> XP with minimal downtime. Part of the goal of this Suggestion is to reward casual players for playing through the regular progression of the game, not give more incentive to ignore them. I originally debated leaving Tip Missions out of this and keeping it confined to Story Arcs, but figured they already have Reward Merits tied to them plus you have to wait for a Tip to drop. Not only that but a handful of them have advanced mechanics which cannot easily be sped through and they're not all guaranteed to be in the same zone you investigate them in. So, I left them in the suggestion. And I personally love Safeguards & Mayhems and wish people ran them on LFG... like... EVER. There's simply no incentive to once you get the badges and that makes me Supa sad. *frowny face with fake tears* The time someone put into creating those only to be reduced to oblivion. *sniff* They were all the rage once upon a time. Part 3: Consider Allowing Reward Merits to Purchase Unique Temporary Powers at ATM (aka Merit Sinks) If Parts 1 & 2 of this Suggestion ever come into fruition, it's in my strong belief that we need something desirable and repeatable to spend them on. Heck, we probably need that right now regardless. The Perceived Current Problem As someone with a stable of 50+3s I enjoy playing over and over with no desire to earn more INF through purchasing items and placing them on Auction House or building yet another 50 that I'll rarely play - there's little to nothing the ATM offers me that I desire in exchange for the multitude of Merits I've accumulated over the 5 years. 3-A) ***** Possible Temporary Power Ideas ***** Charges of (Echo) versions of Bank Mission Completion Temporary Powers. Maybe 60 Merits for 60 minutes of Game Time each for example. I really hate the inability to re-acquire these in some way, shape or form. Charges of Experienced. 100 Merits for 5 Charges. ( Hey, I voted to allow Patrol XP to be disabled in the poll but damnit I love Patrol XP ) See Fact List below and I'd willingly pay 20 Merits (@4,000,000 AH value) for 1 charge of Experienced - which I've found to be the average of 2.5 per 10 packs of Super Packs on AH after purchasing about 500 packs. I broke even on INF after sales, so not really an INF sink as much as it is a time sink. New Fast Travel Power - Direct Contact - Teleports you directly to the zone location of the NPC on your active mission list - 5 Merits for 10 charges (max 50 charges?) New Fast Travel Power - Mission Portal - Any Teammate can use - Click and get Transit pop-up with only the Active Mission on the list. Customizable Magic or Tech theme - 100 Merits for 10 Charges (max 50 charges?) Yea, I'll give AH value of 2,000,000 for 1 charge for instances on TF/SF runs where no one has TT recharged. Time is valuable... for me AND the team! You can click Back on browser to get rid of me. These people are stuck with me for the duration of the Task Force! Have mercy on them! Won't someone please think of the Teammates?! Summon Random Paragon Hero (Overdrive, Flamebeaux, etc) for Heroes/Vigilantes or Random Rogue Isle Villains (Double Tap, Shock Treatment, etc) for Villains/Rogues - Ally Boss for 5 minutes (or so). 40 Merits for 10 Charges (max 50 charges) - Not something I'm crazy about, but hey - it's an option between Back-Up Radio and Signature Summon, right? And it's something for the pet-less Support characters to use their buffs and heals on. Balanced Ideas I have yet to think of that offer nothing game-breaking. Part 4: Arguing with Replies on Why This Is A Horrible Idea Come on... it's inevitable. The Perceived Current Problem I think my ideas are good and you don't. Try and understand... in my mind... I'm right... this time... I think... maybe... I'm not sure... wait... yea I am... right? Fact List 1,000,000 INF converts to 1 Reward Merit at ATM Current Auction House Value of Reward Merit = 200,000 - 220,000 INF ( based on Boosters, Unslotters and Winter Event IOs ) I can do a YouTube search for A/E farms for multiple videos proving players can earn 1,000,000 INF a minute on Homecoming. Those YouTubers can go to Fact 1 of this list and get 1 Reward Merit for 1 Minute of their gameplay at reduced risk and travel time. Possible Argument List This Suggestion would break the economy. See #3 on Fact List. Break what again? Everything is fine the way it is with Merits. Says you. If I agreed, I wouldn't be posting this. This Suggestion won't keep newcomers from leaving. Talking with players who have come and gone, I'll plead the FAFO amendment. Your Suggestions hurt my brain. Yea... brains, like feelings, are injured easily these days. Possible Agreement List I like Part 1, Praetoria could really use the love as far as Merits go. Indeed. They're quite a few sandwiches short of a Merit picnic. I like Part 2, more incentives for PUGs would be great. Yea, I'd actually do non-TF teams more if they rewarded other than INF to do so. I thought you were going to suggest something plumbing related with Merit Sinks, but I actually like Part 3. Well, it is technically Drain-O... but for Merits, so you weren't totally wrong. You had me at Hello. Uhhh, I never said Hello... oh crap, now I have.

Merits are the only reason I personally do Flashbacks. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. The wife was suggesting adding to Wiki once complete. Honestly, I wouldn't even know how to go about that. I'm pretty familiar with Map sizes on Architect Entertainment but can't say with 100% certainty that what I call "Large Map" aligns with the category in the A/E Editor. I just hope I'm close to 90% of that part of the data because I really don't want to redo any arcs to see if they are 100% accurate.

Milestone 4 - Only Level 50 Arcs Remain Moved: old Hero Arcs that are no longer active in the game to an Archive category. Moved: both Hero & Villain versions of Who Will Die into Special Arcs category. Reasoning: I don't think it's fair to factor their numbers into the Merit distribution charts below. Note: Numbers in parentheses are one-time (bonus merits) awarded for either completing mission first time or series of arcs and are not factored into the averages. LEVELS 1-9 Hero Villain Total Arcs 6 13 Total Merits 12 (+20) 81 Avg. Merits per Arc 2 6 Approximate Minutes 60 184 Avg. Minutes per Arc 10 14 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.2 / 12 0.43 / 26 Total Door Missions 10 31 Avg. Doors per Arc 1.7 2.4 Avg. Merits per Door 1.2 2.6 LEVELS 10-14 Hero Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 6 13 16 Total Merits 71 (+20) 116 64 Avg. Merits per Arc 12 9 4 Approximate Minutes 92 184 154 Avg. Minutes per Arc 15 14 10 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.8 / 48 0.6 / 36 0.4 / 24 Total Door Missions 16 38 47 Avg. Doors per Arc 2.6 2.9 2.9 Avg. Merits per Door 4.4 3.1 1.4 LEVELS 15-19 Hero Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 10 8 20 Total Merits 168 (+20) 124 (+20) 148 Avg. Merits per Arc 17 16 7 Approximate Minutes 183 156 226 Avg. Minutes per Arc 18 20 11 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.9 / 54 0.8 / 48 0.7 / 42 Total Door Missions 36 34 70 Avg. Doors per Arc 3.6 4.3 3.5 Avg. Merits per Door 4.7 3.6 2.1 LEVELS 20-24 Hero Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 13 16 16 Total Merits 176 (+20) 154 112 Avg. Merits per Arc 14 10 7 Approximate Minutes 164 157 202 Avg. Minutes per Arc 13 10 13 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.9 / 54 1.0 / 60 0.6 / 36 Total Door Missions 48 55 67 Avg. Doors per Arc 3.7 3.4 4.2 Avg. Merits per Door 3.7 2.8 1.7 LEVELS 25-29 Hero Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 20 17 8 Total Merits 345 (+40) 184 (+20) 72 Avg. Merits per Arc 17 11 9 Approximate Minutes 401 238 150 Avg. Minutes per Arc 20 14 19 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.9 / 54 0.8 / 48 0.5 / 30 Total Door Missions 95 72 30 Avg. Doors per Arc 4.8 4.2 3.8 Avg. Merits per Door 3.6 2.6 2.4 LEVELS 30-34 Hero Villain Total Arcs 12 14 Total Merits 306 (+20) 156 Avg. Merits per Arc 26 11 Approximate Minutes 281 190 Avg. Minutes per Arc 23 14 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 1.1 / 66 0.8 / 48 Total Door Missions 58 48 Avg. Doors per Arc 4.8 3.4 Avg. Merits per Door 5.3 3.3 LEVELS 35-39 Hero Villain Either Praetorian Total Arcs 10 16 1 5 Total Merits 233 168 17 45 Avg. Merits per Arc 23 11 17 9 Approximate Minutes 252 193 16 99 Avg. Minutes per Arc 25 12 16 20 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.9 / 54 0.9 / 54 1.0 / 60 0.5 /30 Total Door Missions 50 55 4 26 Avg. Doors per Arc 5 3.4 4 5.2 Avg. Merits per Door 4.7 3.1 4.3 1.7 LEVELS 40-49 Hero Villain Total Arcs 8 17 Total Merits 333 151 Avg. Merits per Arc 42 9 Approximate Minutes 301 177 Avg. Minutes per Arc 38 11 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 1.1 / 55 0.9 / 54 Total Door Missions 77 52 Avg. Doors per Arc 9.6 3.1 Avg. Merits per Door 4.3 2.9 PRE-LEVEL 50 TOTALS Hero Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 85 114 65 Total Merits 1644 (+140) 1279 (+40) 441 Avg. Merits per Arc 19 11 7 Approximate Minutes 1734 1479 831 Avg. Minutes per Arc 20 13 13 Avg. Merits per Minute & Hour 0.9 / 54 0.9 / 54 0.5 / 30 Total Door Missions 390 385 240 Avg. Doors per Arc 4.6 3.3 3.7 Avg. Merits per Door 4.2 3.3 1.8 Factoring in the Special & Archived Arcs - that is a total of 278 Story Arcs & 4,365 minutes (72.75 hours) of playing said Arcs since February 1st when I started this endeavor. That being said, I'm going to be taking a small break before casually continuing on with the massive list of level 50 Arcs to track. PEACE!

Issue 27, Page 7 - Villain Arcs added for 20-24 & 25-29 Note: In-Game Flashback does not include the ( parentheses ) or notify they are part of the whole Striga experience... maybe that'll change.

I'm just recently visiting Redside for the first time since Live and was coming to report 2 instances this happened. Guess it's been a known issue for 3.5+ years now. Don't have these problems Blueside. Problems like this don't help Redside's playability much.

Pulled from Homecoming Wiki ---> Veteran Levels - Unofficial Homecoming Wiki Level Range Merits Granted 3-24 20 27-48 15 51-69 10 72-99 5 Other than that, as stated Heather Townsend's arc is IMO the best way to attain as a Solo Player and build up your Incarnate Abilities

Personal Tracking ===> Total Time (including old TFs) = 2852 minutes / 47.53 hours Levels 25-34 Stats Hero - old Psyche & Scott TFs Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 33 30 8 Total Merits 656 398 72 Total Minutes 667 409 130 Avg Merits per Arc 19.87 13.26 9 Avg Mins per Arc 20.21 13.63 16.25 Avg Merits per Min & Hour 0.98 / 58.8 0.97 / 58.2 0.55 / 33 Levels 1-34 Stats Hero -old TFs Villain Praetorian Total Arcs 69 78 60 Total Merits 1181 868 440 Total Minutes 1112 885 712 Avg Merits per Arc 17.11 11.12 7.33 Avg Mins per Arc 16.11 11.34 11.86 Avg Merits per Min & Hour 1.06 / 63.6 0.98 / 58.8 0.61 / 36.6

Milestone 3 - 200 Story Arcs Completed / Tracked "Lost and Found" marked the 200th Arc I've completed in this task I've taken on, but currently sitting at 204 with hopes of finishing Villain Arcs for 30-34 after work today. Once I do complete the Villain Arcs for that range, I will post another chart for everything up to that point with a chart similar to my previous Milestone update. On the original post at the top is now a chart showcasing the Top 10 Rewarding Arcs up to this point in case anyone is interested in testing my results out against theirs. PEACE!