TrelNargil

Good morning, and thank you very much for posting this update @GM Kal. As a person who grew up in a home with a Dad who was a communications' officer & naval war hero during WW2 (he was very much involved in the battle of midway btw, and the development of radar too btw), he always stressed the importance of communication in everything we do (his favorite quote was, "A lack of communication can get people killed."). So any form of it about this ongoing issue would/will (especially detailed one's) go a long way in easing troubled minds so to speak, and I for one appreciate the effort; maybe have such a update once a week or so (either here or in the other post), that could potentially head off such posts as this. Just a suggestion... 😄 In either case, thanks again for the reply @GM Kal; you all rock, so keep up the great work! 👍 Peace (and coffee... Hmmmmm... yum...)...

Thank you for the correction @srmalloy; yeah I have lower ping, not higher. Just my addled brain making a tech term error is all lol, so thanks again for the correction... 👍 That was not the impression on what @Arc-Mage was saying there @Krimson as "Demand" is a very extreme term here I would think. However, for the sake of those who do not know where to find such info, nor that it even exists, a "Request" is not out of the order I would think, even if it's just a link to said web page (and thank you for posting it too @Arc-Mage). Understanding & empathy, on all sides of the isle here, is and would be good here I think... as well as COFFEE at this hour of the morning <em raises cup to you all in greetings>... Cheers! 🙂 Peace...

Oh ok, cools. As I don't use Discord, I did not know about the Hardware not being the case... supposedly. The only reason though that I still have my "semi" doubts, is because the issue is NOT confined to just Excelsior as others I have seen talking in chat have experienced the same issues. The problem may not be to the extent that it is on Excelsior (most likely) due to the population differences, but it is still happening. And as they say, where there is smoke, there is fire, so something is going wrong; it's just not clear what exactly it may be (or even several things at once even as has been said already... like the Hami raids for example... thanks for that connection @Apparition). I just wish we could help in some way "technically speaking" ya know? Seeing as the GM's have done so much for us and all in this great game of our's (let alone provide it to us again). I am sure someone here would have a few ideas' in their back pockets "if" they knew what was going on behind the curtain so to speak. Thanks again everyone for your input... 🙂 Peace...

Ok, as most of you on Excelsior know, the server went down yet again, with only 681 people on it, and a total of 1363 people in the game at the time period. And while we are all blessed that this game we love is here and (semi) running by these selfless GM's who are generally pretty amazing and all, I find it the pinnacle of irony that on a day of server maintenance, this major mapserver issue is not only still not resolved, but might be in fact getting worse (at least for Excelsior). And just to let you know, I upgraded my internet and PC speed, giving me higher ping and internet speeds/connectivity, so it is most assuredly NOT client side that is the issue, but server side. As a friend of mine suggested recently, maybe it's time for the GM"s to have another "emergency fund raiser drive" so they can get enough money together so they can upgrade their hardware to be able to handle running things, because as it stands now, it's not looking all that good. Or maybe, just maybe, have a GM or two contact some of the great people here with experience and technical knowhow to be able to help fix things, because again, it's not getting better as today's issues clearly show (especially on a maintenance day). It only takes one person with a good idea to maybe see what the problem is, and maybe, just maybe, its someone here. 🙂 But just sitting around and waiting for things to get fixed, when it's clearly not, and with even less communication by the GM's on the matter, isn't good either. However, there is definitely one positive thing that has come out of this can of worms, and it is this... it has sorta quieted down all the "talk" (arguments) about the server's being joined, because after all, if the hardware can't even handle the load that we have now, how is it gonna handle the load when there is only one or two servers? 🙂 So at least that's is one way to make lemonade out of lemons lol... Peace...

Omg...! Thank you for showing that picture! lol As a kid, I actually bought one of these sets when I saw it in one of my Marvel Comics, and let me tell you it was a blast when I finally got it. Of course, my dad never saw the point of it, but he wasn't a kid at the time and totally forgot what being a silly one was lol. Great memories, so thanks! 😄 Peace...

😲 Holy Crap-Balls_batman! The Shard has a... Queue. Wow! How is that even possible, considering that it's the... Shard? I didn't hear of anything going on today/tonight in there. Maybe it just means that the Shard dimension is about to explode into the "normal" CoX one, and another invasion is about to begin lol (wouldn't THAT be fun!). However, please educate me on something here, as I have very little knowledge on how the mechanics of how AE is run; how would anything involving it, affect the server at all if even the population on the entire server didn't? And how would it affect other servers as well, considering that people from others have also expressed problems as well (though not as severe as Excelsior of course)? And thank you very, very much for posting that @Troo (It was a interesting read and look "under the hood" so to speak; and I can't help but respect that the GM's are so above board with the finances and showing us where things go, not to mention how much. Very cool! 👍 However when you say "player actions + internet shenanigans, most likely", could you please specify what player actions & internet shenanigans you mean by giving a few examples? I only ask because if the server was as stable and functioning right server side as it is supposed to be, little on what we could do on our end in CoX could cause the many issues we have been having (unlike some other games I could mention). I only ask because I am very curious about this whole process, and what could throw such a monkey wrench into its works. 🙂 Thanks... Peace...

More and more I am suspecting that this is a server side issue, more then a client side one. I mean really; we all can't be having internet issues all at the same time, can we (unless the Gremlins have invade all our PC's of course lol). However, being the fairly suspicious person that I am, I also can't help but wonder if the GM's (or whomever actually has the physical server in RL) didn't downgrade to a "lower spec one", for cost reasons. I mean, the awesome GM's are not making any money running this great game of ours, and someone has to be fronting the bill for it. So maybe its just getting a bit too expensive to run the game now day in and day out? I don't know, as I haven't a clue on server make-up's, specs, or what it costs to run one, but one thing is certain... something fishy is going on here, and it is not us. I haven't had this many issues mapserving ever, but now its at least 2-3 times a day, with a complete server "down" message at least once a week. So it ain't us, and it more then likely ain't totally a "program" issue either; that's why I am thinking "hardware" now. But of course, everything could be just fine; it's just as the population increases, the GM's do not have the equipment to handle such a grown market situation. Me? I'm looking at Gremlins now as the cause until further notice... And of course playing another game for now (Sifu anyone? 😄 )... Peace...

Greetings all... 🙂 Well as the title says, I built another theme character named Helliona who is a Thugs/Thermal Mastermind, and at lvl 39 she is really fun to play. However there are two things that I am looking into here, and I was wondering if any of you could help me. The first is this... 1) Is it possible to get perma Gang War without using "Time", Purple IO's, Incarnates, or a truly expensive build? Atm I have these Power Pools: Speed (for hasten), Leadership (for Maneuvers), Flight (for Hover & Evasive Maneuvers), and Fighting (for Weave), which are all slotted with LotG and using these, as well as the Increased Attack Speed temp power from the SG base, & the Offensive Amplifier from the P2W vender, I have a total of 147.50% recharge time, with hasten itself being down for only like 12 seconds, and Gang War 70 seconds or so. However, I would like to not to have to rely on these two temp powers if I can avoid it if possible (of course). And... 2) Would anyone have a good build for a Thug's/Thermal MM that focuses on Perma Gang War (without having to use Purple IO's, or Incarnates), not to mention survivability and nice damage. As the character is only 39th lvl atm, a build which takes this into account, as well as me not being rich and all, would also be very much appreciated too, not to mention being able to have Perma Gang War available at this lvl as well (I am not even sure this is possible lol). Anywho, there ya go folks. I very much am interested in hearing your thoughts, ideas, and build's on the subject, and appreciate any you might have to share as I am sorta stuck atm on how to proceed. Thanks again, and as always... Peace...

Oooo, nice combo... 😁 And Snarky, unless you actually SING that cool song, and POST it here for all of us to hear... it didn't happen... 😛 Peace...

Ok, old Dark Melee player here from live (and now of course), and I too wouldn't scratch this off the list either. During live, I would out DPS a claws scrapper most times, and with all the sets now, its even better then ever (though to be fair, claws would be too). A Dm/Wp Scrapper would actually be quite good (I haven't gotten one to 50 yet) as its DPS potential, damage backed with sets & Proc's, combined with a most excellent heal (with Willpowers own), AND the -to hit buffs associated with most of Dark's attacks, make it a surprisingly excellent combo to play I am thinking. And while no where near a AoE king, or ST damaging set like Energy Melee is, most enemies will fall fast enough for you to even care, even as you dance over their fallen bodies. 😄 Peace...

Lots of great ideas here, but the more I read, the more I'm thinking this is not gonna be a "fair" fight; more like... Peace...

Peace...

Exactly! Wise words... Peace...

True, and I did not even think of the models themselves. Maybe have a variety of ones available, from energy based ones, to the more physical type ones that Indiana uses (as there are actually a variety of real life whips available - far more then I knew existed). But of course, creating such models would take a very long time to do, not even including the "new" animations the HC team might want to add. In either case, while a great idea and wish list as I said before, I don't see it ever being created & implemented as there are other more pressing priorities in the game I am sure. Too bad though, just the same (especially about pet customization)... Peace... P.S: And thank you @El D for taking the time to check out the set and telling the name of it as well; I totally spaced on it, though it is a very cool whip set to play. 🙂

Ok, I was going to just let this slide and not respond to this thread at all, but I am afraid that you are actually wrong about this. I know of one specific shard (yes, I said SHARD, not server) that already has a Whip power set created, and it not only works great, but is fun as hell. I will not name the shard in question as that might be a bit bad taste (if you want to know, just send me a IM asking me), but I will tell you that this Whip set is called (I believe) - Psi Whip (or blade). The whips ALL animate smoothly, have different effects, and get this... some even create short lasting Psi Blade "pets" that will attack any nearby foe. However as it is all psi based, with a smattering of fire damage thrown in (if I remember correctly), I am not sure how effective it would be in the late game. But the point is, a Whip set can be created, as it has already been done so before, and worked out just fine without any creator ripping his/her hair out in frustration lol. Of course, as this cool power set has already been created on another shard, and we all know that the Homecomming team sorta dislikes "duplicating" other shard's work, I wouldn't hold my breath in any such power set ever coming here (including pet customization too, but that is a whole another topic lol). So sorry guys, great idea & wish; just not gonna happen is all... Peace...

Good question, and good answer's all around too I must say. So nice to reminisce about the good old Hami-O days I gotta say, but this got me wondering. "If" Hami-O's could be improved upon enough to make them as equally sought after as Enhancement sets, how would one go about doing so while still keeping balance between the two? Or has the game evolved so much now that this is totally inconceivable (I do not think this means what you think it means lol)? Sorry if this was off topic, as you did ask a good question @Nayland1971; it just got me wondering is all. 😁 Peace...

Sorry, but no... 😛 It may upset Captain Canada? on Excelsior, and I for one certanly wouldn't want that at all, as he is a very good egg... 🙂 Blame the Romulans instead lol... Peace...

I myself would recommend a Rad/Sonic Defender if your going for range as @The_Warpact suggested, as it will debuff him to the max while at the same time causing good damage as well. However, if you are really looking for a one on one slugfest, might I suggest a Dark Melee/Invulnerability Scrapper. Dark Melee deals very good DPS, has a nice heal in a attack (Siphon Life), and causes some sweet -to hit debuffs, while Invulnerability is great at resisting S/L damage, which Super Strength is all it deals. Add in Maneuvers, Tough, Weave, Combat Jumping, and maybe even Stealth, and you got someone who could easily take his Brute down before he even gets you to 1/2 health. I myself played one during live (and even now), and in RV I was able to take down 2 Blasters, 2 Stalkers, and 1 Tank, all at the same time in a fight (they all really regretted jumping me that day lol). Built right (which can be quite expensive I have to say), a Dm/Inv Scrapper can be almost as durable against a Tank, while dealing almost as much dps as a well tricked out Blaster. However, that was during live, and as I have no real experience with PvP these days, I am not sure if this would still hold true or not, but it is a option IF you really want to go toe to toe with him in a fight (like the Hulk Vs the Juggernaut). Also, I do have a question... would he by chance also be reading the forums like you? I ask because if he is, and sees this post, he might also make adjustments to his build to account for what you finally decide to use. So might I suggest, if that is the case, that you do NOT tell us what you are going to use until after the fight is over, and if you have any specific questions about what you decide to use, that you IM the people either here or in the game, just to make sure you catch your hubby by surprise. 🙂 In either case, when this epic battle finally takes place, please have someone else take pictures and post them here too as I am sure some of us would love to see it go down. 😁 Peace...

If you are going for solo play, might I also suggest a Force Field/Archery Defender. 🙂 While fun to play, your not going to be doing a ton of damage, and its going to be along ride to lvl 50. I should know... I made one 😄 ... Peace...

Very sound advice I would say imo. I personally have never done that TF as of yet, but having just checked myself, there is no way a level 34 character (blaster or otherwise) could have been on that TF, so Snarky is correct in this matter. So what happened then? Not sure, but as far as I play, if I see someone calling for a TF or even just a general mission with a specific level request, then I myself wouldn't even think about joining said mission/TF unless I was at least that lvl. Are you right in feeling that something was up and this was "wrong" here? Sure, absolutely. Could this blaster been at the right lvl, and IO'd out with sets too? Yeah, maybe (though not everyone does until lvl 50 I might add). However, please also try and remember and consider this... This game should and would never exist again if not for these great GM's giving it to us (and the code being released), for free no less. Too often I hear people complain (justifiably or not) that this mission took to long, or that TF took too long, or some such thing. Back during live, well before "official" speed run's on anything, people just played the game for fun's sake first, and prayed someone on the team did not die like a dozen times lol. But it happened, and when it did, generally we moved on and just continued playing. Anyone remember the good old days of the Positron TF by chance? 🙂 It's this mentality of "everything must be done as FAST as possible, no matter the goal, or we are screwed" attitude that has changed the way some people play, and perceive how the game should be played. 10 minutes compared to 40 to finish a TF? As someone who played during live, I am like "so what"? Ever done a TF in the shard before during live? That one could be both very long, time consuming, and painful. But if we had fun doing it, it mattered little. Yes, some people have only a little time to play the game sometimes, and doing a 2hr TF (like in the old days), would kill some folks, but that is just life ya know? What the issue is, is a lvl 34 blaster joining a lvl 40 minimum TF somehow, not that they were all tricked out with the best stuff around, or that the TF took longer to finish because of the "speed mentality"; at least in my opinion. Heck back in the old days, some of us would start having fun with the constant dying of the blaster, make fun of him/her, get him/her to laugh about it too, try and educate them how not to die so often (if possible), and even tea bag him as some mean folks would do cause they thought it was funny. PUG's always run the risk of being messed up in some ways, but again, that's life and gaming life in general. I feel and understand where you are coming from, but at the end of the day, just try and have fun, roll with the punches so to speak, help out when you can (even if it takes a moment out of your game/fighting time to just ask some questions as GM Impervium suggested, and remember... your playing a game that shouldn't even exist, so always be happy for the "food" on your table, because it could always be worse. 🙂 Enjoy whatever life & game life throws at you, and try and maybe even do as the some people who know far better then me do... Improvise, Adapt, overcome... And try to just have fun... 🙂 Peace...

I am surprised that no one has suggested this yet, but I have said, and will always say, that a great event would be if all the giant monsters in the game suddenly started breaking out of the zones they are in only begin to appearing in various random zones all around the city, at random times throughout the event. Each wouldn't give you their badge per say, but another unique one based on the event and the particular monster in question even. Heck, they could even be made to be harder to take down health/resistance wise so that it requires 2-3 times the people to take down, as opposed to how easy it is sometimes to normally do. Can you imagine it? Your flying threw Atlas Park on your way to Miss Liberty to lvl up, when all of a sudden you see both the Kronos Titan and Jack of Irons coming from different directions in the zone and heading towards each other to do battle under the Atlas Statue. 😁 It could even be called the Monster Mash event lol... Now that would be a party... Peace...

Actually, the most ironic thing about this I think is that this particular secret lab under the bar in AP, that the freakshow are using, is located right next to the police station of all places (if I am not mistaken that is lol)! lol Maybe the police there have been taken over by the Pod People, or have been corrupted somehow, or just been bought off by them is all? Or maybe its just a simple case of knowing they are going to be heading back to jail very, very soon, so just made a secret lab as close as possible to the station for conveyance sakes. 😁 In either case, have fun "storming the castle" so to speak and remember, another name for Paragon City is the City of Irony... Peace...

Thank you all very much on your input and build advice. 🙂 I will certainly check things out and see how things go... 👍 Peace...

Yes, it functions with all Dual Blades as well, including any Katana's, Ninja Blades, and Dual Blades that an enemy may wield as well... 🙂 Add in the Star War's blaster sound effects for Dual Blasters, and you'll have an even better Star Wars time of it lol... Peace...

Ohhh, as this may help, this is what I currently have for Damage Resistance, Defense, and Base Statistics... Peace...