Ukase

This is a fantastic idea.

There is one issue I have with this challenge. Blasters have been buffed far beyond what they were in live. Higher HP, a regen/recovery aura, and who knows what else. Tankers have been changed recently with higher damage cap and target caps - but no dumpster herding like back in live. No multiple sets of imps or PA for controllers. And of course - should I dare mention regen? lol So many things have changed that at least some powerset/AT combos would not equate to the old days, no matter what you did. I suppose a blaster could skip the aura...<shudder> All in all, a very fun idea that I will try..soon.

@Yomo Kimyata said thing so much better than I ever could. I vaguely recall the term fungibility from an econ class a zillion years ago, but I doubt I could use it properly in a sentence, despite my knowing at a gut level how to make inf in this game easily. I would suggest something as mundane as a badge for an inf sink. Philanthropist -- You have given and it doesn't hurt. Give 1 million inf away to 50 different global accounts. Altruist - You have given until it did hurt. Give 1 Billion away to 50 different global accounts. (this one could be classified maybe like bug hunter and not count towards badge totals.) Unfortunately (or not) - SG leaders that host costume contests would likely be the primary winners in this category, despite the inf potentially coming from the entire SG. Still, I believe some of the more wealthier folks are avid badgers as well. Perhaps reducing AH slots would be a way to go, with a way to buy them back at some ludicrous price. 50 Million per slot. Of all that Yomo states, he's right about at least one thing. The enhancement converter is out of control.

I enjoy the market. I do not enjoy Roleplay. I say that to say that HC's version of City of Heroes is genuinely a City of Options. I am grateful for these options. And it's not lost on me that more than a few folks don't want to spend their time farming, crafting, converting to subsidize their alts. I belong to a fairly large SG. Within that SG I frequently notice that people are farming. A lot. Players that you wouldn't think would bother with farming because they seem to enjoy teaming so much. But they farm. Why? Because they have alts, of course. A few may actually enjoy it. I do not, except every now and then. I do it for the inf. Mainly the inf I can make from the market with the drops I get. All because of the converter. Even though it would pain my characters a bit - and many other players as well, I think converters are making the accumulation of influence too easy. They help create a greater separation of earning between the marketer and the non-marketer. And the range of difference isn't going to get any smaller. My billions will eventually parlay into a trillion. It may take me a year, but I will get there if things are left unchecked. I could almost make the case I'd be there already if I didn't give so much away. So why is this difference relevant? Because if people in similar positions as mine were to choose to, we could literally buy every defensive IO recipe and crafted IO, attuned IO to drive up prices. If I chose to, I could literally buy every converter on the market. I might have to pay more than I'd like, but I could do it. 50,000 converters x 100,000 inf = 5 billion. (roughly) Easy, no sweat. Even at 2x that, I could do it. And then - place bids to keep buying them. I can stash ..10k on each character, right? It's not like I wouldn't eventually use them. Granted, with winter packs being on sale, more folks would drop converters on the AH, but I could easily bid on them and gobble those up as well. Obviously - I think this would be a jerk move, so I'm not going to do it. I just would like there to be some fair way to prevent this ability. I just don't know that way. (and no, I'm not going to mindlessly give away all my influence)

Not through the chalet. But you can definitely reach them.

Man, how do I put this... For one, thanks for explaining this MMO mindset. I can't imagine it. It doesn't make sense to me. But - I'll trust that it's at least somewhat representing reality. I've known in-game friends that have gone and returned. The thing is - if they are so whimsical to only feel like jumping in every 2-3-4 years, then clearly, the game isn't that important to them. Seriously. We all have words. But actions speak louder. They show they don't care that much by not playing. So why should those that do care be cut off from what they think will be a great thematic concept? In truth, now that I think about it, it makes sense. Going from new content to new content, keeping things interesting, fun, etc...I suppose it is more understandable after I think about it. Still, 2-3-4 years? If the only thing that's keeping them from logging in is the lure of another game or two, or three or 20... You bring up an interesting point about reputation around a character's name. I notice a large number of players use a "naming convention". A word used in each character name, like Shadow Reaper, Sun Reaper, Snow Reaper, that kind of thing. Most every character would have the name Reaper in it, making it mostly clear that Shadow Reaper is the same person behind the avatar as Sun Reaper. And if they are inclined to lead various trials and tfs, and are competent at it, if someone else comes along with a Reaper variation, it can be confusing to the other players. Unfortunately, I don't see any way to resolve that other than to suggest people use more obscure terms to identify themselves with for their global. I wish I had a solution. I don't. But I did appreciate your perspective. For me, though - and only me - I think if you log off HC CoH and don't return routinely, you should have no expectations. Routinely is vague, defined differently by many. I think once a month would be reasonable, but to be more inclusive, 4 years would be as wide as I could go, given I have no idea how deployments and other types of service would impact access to opportunities to play. If I were to discount military service, I'd say 3 months at the most. But that's just me thinking about me. I'm glad I'm not the one to make the decision.

A fair point. My military experience was 88-92. I assure you - while computers did exist, there were no internet cafes around - so I've literally no idea how easy/hard it would be for military to do something like that. I do like the notion of an email keeping things going for them, but I would wonder how many folks might just use that if they weren't in the service. I can't see HC folks asking for documentation to prove such a thing. For 98% of our player base, I think the honor system is sufficient. Just wonder how many names the 2% are sitting on, lol.

Nice recap from @rathstar. I'm also in the account basis, as opposed to character basis. How long is the right time, though? 5 years? 5 months? somewhere in between? In the US, a standard military enlistment is 4 years. Other than military service, during which you get 30 paid leave days per year, I can't fathom why anyone would not log in at least once during those 4 years. But hey, you also only have 30 days. I suspect wife and family might take issue with you logging on for a session when they haven't seen you in quite some time. So, I suggest the very long time frame of 48 months. The way I see it, if you've gone without your CoH fix for 48 months, you're not really jonesin' for it anyway.

Can't believe I'm just seeing this. You're saying a GM told you the AH is shared between ONLY Reunion and Everlasting? My understanding is the same AH is shared across all 4 servers.

Just my two cents, or inf, as it were: I think if you enjoy grinding through malta missions - that's fine. For me - even running at 0/8, I just didn't get that many sappers per mission. Even ignoring all the mobs, zipping through and using a target macro for sappers, the time lost on resetting, etc...for me it just wasn't that much fun, nor did it feel efficient. I found that being solo, zipping through RWZ in the Little Round Top Neighborhood, and heading North, with a focus on the West side where there are cliff walls, I was getting about 7-8 every couple of minutes. I think it wouldn't work with a team of 8, or even a team of 3, as they would be slow to respawn with folks camping in the spawn points. But if you're solo, I think it's easier, faster and more efficient. Not only that, if you need Zeus Titans, you'll see a few every few "laps" through the area.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I have done this before, and it really doesn't matter which AT/powersets you pick. It's kind of like a rock/paper/scissors thing, in my opinion. You go with rock, you find a lot of scissors, but a little paper here and there. Go with Paper...there's a lot of scissors, but more than a few rocks. As for me, ice/ice blaster is just about as old school, but as balanced as I can find. No snipe, but the ability to hold most targets by level 8 with a nice AoE which either gets 'em running or bouncing is fairly nice. Ice is mostly single target, which is fine because they are usually spread out. Hmm...come to think of it, ice/ice blast is my answer for just about any question on AT/power set choice.

I remember the last time I played my cold/ice defender, during a BAF. I was literally chastised in a tell for buffing with one of the cold armors. (see? been so long since I played it, I forgot what it was called!) They told me I NEEDED to go to the tailor and choose minimal FX. So, I have to go and spend inf (it's the principle, not the inf) to appease you - some sensitive jerk in a pug league? Um..no. I loathe the tailor. Even with advanced graphics, I see no difference in a costume. I play with the camera zoomed all the way out so I can see more mobs. Just the way I play. I have a few costumes that all my characters share because it doesn't matter to me what they look like, really, because I can't see them most of the time. As the OP says - Stealthed, buffed, all these armors and effects...all I see on my dark brute is a ball of lint, really. (sort of) So, yeah, I agree with the OP. If we can have a suit of armor without the armor showing, I think that'd be fine. We're already dealing with a suspension of disbelief in that we have powers. There should be an option to get the combat attributes without the physical looks impeding the costumes of those who are willing to invest the time.

In AE, I just happened to see this: [NPC] Architect Patron: I think I saw Mirror Spirit in here earlier. She was in his street clothes, but I could tell! Emphasis added by me. Either there's some sort of story behind this comment I don't know about, or the pronoun is incorrect. Maybe both, lol.

I'd like to be clear. I craft every day. I enjoy it. I have never, ever, needed more room for recipes. I seldom have more than 15-20, because I typically sink 10M in the crafting table at level 1. My reason for suggesting it is it would give a lot of players a place to sink their influence. I know of at least half a dozen players who have 100 Billion or so, despite kitting out their numerous alts. They play a lot, they have merits for days, inf for days and purples for days. I know I do. Seems like the more I give away, the better the RNG treats me. When I read in game that folk are spending a zillion inf on the winter packs, just seems to me we could use more places to sink influence. That's why I make the suggestion. It has nothing to do with me needing more space in my own inventory. Salvage, on the other hand..I don't particularly enjoy MSRs, (VG merits for 10 more salvage) particularly when I know half the people are afk with attacks on auto fire...I'd spend 10M to get more salvage space. I'd spend 100M to stash another 100. Sure easy enough to sell it - but invariably, when I sell it - later, I'll need it. But if I can keep it, I won't have to buy it.

1. Have p2w sell increased salvage storage from whatever it may be on our characters to +10, +20 for some outrageous price, like a million per increase of 1. 2. Same with recipes. 3. For a truly outrageous sum - allow a new bin in the sg bases to stash recipes. Like 20 million to hold 10 recipes, 75 million to hold 50 recipes. 100 Million to hold 100 recipes.

So...here's a few comments/suggestions for dealing with the more ...undesired items in the packs. Candy Canes. I got a bunch of these and used them to purchase badges for my badge characters. But what to do with the rest of them? A few things. Sure, you could just sell them on the AH for a few inf. Or, you could buy the winter gift recipes, craft and convert to Blessing of the Zephyr KB protection that sell for about 2M. Or, you can buy FrostBite, which gives a boost to your dps for an hour. I know a lot of folks who speed run will use these. Every bit helps. We use them on RHW runs, too. The Frosty Aegis, while certainly not desired if you get a slew of them in packs - they are an excellent way to boost defense for challenging content. You have it - you may as well use it without spending Canes on them - but if you don't, it is a use for them. Amplifiers - with all the new sonic blasters running around - why not give them some status protection with the defense amplifiers you got from the packs? The p2w has these, so I often buy 8 hours worth at level 1, because they're cheap at that level. But when you get to 50, the amps are worth 2.5m per hour. You may not be able to recoup your investment, but you can save inf by using them from your email instead of seeing p2w. Experienced - I already mentioned these in my previous post. Tailor tokens - can't trade them, so for me - this is the true trash of the lot. I detest the tailor. As many zillion options there are, there often are still not enough. And my graphics card never seems to do them justice anyway, even at max settings. But, if it's free....go nuts. I won't tell. Respecs - Another trash item because they're not recipes, they're just stashed in your Email. I've never had to use one, but I think maybe across all 100+ characters I might have done 4 respecs ever. But, it gives you the luxury of immediately posting any respec recipe you get for a fair price without worry. Snow Beast - yeah, I have a ton of these. I try to use them with my lowbies. But, I've used them in MSRs before, too. My tanks love them because they add to DPS. My squishies like them because they take aggro that I won't get. I have even used them in Recluse's Victory as a villain trying to solo Positron. (before the latest patch)

@Yomo - this is what I did for the hero/rogue packs. As a key of sorts - you can see the first line is Unslotters. The number to the right is the number of unslotters I got in the 50 packs. The 100,000 $ you see is what a low post price might be on the AH based on what I saw in the AH when I was opening the packs. I don't normally sell any of those things - so no idea really what they usually go for. The 6,400,000 is obviously the expected return, not accounting for the AH fee. As you can see, being a Rogue barely paid in this situation. It would be simple to set up a similar table in Excel, I would think. (this was done about a month ago - before the winter sale, which is why the prices may not reflect current market conditions.) 50 packs Hero 50 Packs Rogue Unslotters 64 100,000 $ 6,400,000 113 100,000 $ 11,300,000 Catalysts 15 1600000 $ 24,000,000 3 1600000 $ 4,800,000 Boosters 9 1000000 $ 9,000,000 17 1000000 $ 17,000,000 ATOs 58 6500000 $ 377,000,000 50 6500000 $ 325,000,000 Merits 550 210000 $ 115,500,000 450 210000 $ 94,500,000 Experienced 11 11 $ - Converter 80 70000 $ 5,600,000 60 70000 $ 4,200,000 Brain Storm 1040 25000 $ 26,000,000 1120 25000 $ 28,000,000 Amplifier 7 2500000 $ 17,500,000 9 2500000 $ 22,500,000 $ 581,000,000 $ 507,300,000

Fixed that for you.

Over time, I believe the law of averages will work for you. Buy more packs.

So, a friend asked me if I thought the price of converters would go up. She seemed to think so, as she sold 1500 of them at 92k over night. I don't think so. Someone may sell them a little higher..and get lucky, but I think with all these packs being opened, some folks will want to recoup their investment, and converters are fairly quick and easy. So I think the price will drop. But, anything can happen. I'm sure many of us have more than enough winter-Os for our alts to last a year, at least. I wonder when the prices of the winters will go back to "normal".

735 packs: (had to stop. Takes quite some time, especially when you're keeping track) I didn't bother tracking inspirations.) 14080 Brain Storm 7175 Merits 2830 Candy Canes 245 Snow Beast 312 Boosters (Frost bite, Aegis, etc) 93 Catalysts 1323 Converters 542 Unslotters 907 Winter IOs

When friends ask me about winter packs and super packs, I make sure they know that any one pack may be trash, given the amount spent, and they were designed to be an inf sink. It's my opinion that you want to buy 20-100 at a time, let the law of averages work for you, rather than against you. At least it was on sale, and you can get half your inf back just by using the merits and getting converters and selling them for 70k a pop. Also - think carefully about the Experienced. It's like patrol XP, so it essentially is 2xp while you get inf. Looking for a faster vet level? Use that - and consider how much inf you make in those 10 bars of xp at level 50. You can add that to the value of the pack...kind of. In other words, it's not a great pack, but it's not like you got 3 "cards" of inspirations, 3 boosters and a windfall (that pretty much do next to nothing).

It looks as if another badge has found it's way into the game. Snowbound, an Event badge.

I surely planned to - but my internet went down last night early evening, and didn't come back until after the event started. "A cable was cut; we hope to resume service within 24 hours".

So, I was able to open 24 and 2/5 of a pack before the server shut down on me. Would've finished, but I took some notes on the things that were important to me. 540 Brain Storm Ideas (27 rares) 28 Winter-Os 120 candy canes 7 converters 3 boosters 500 reward merits 2 catalysts 3 winter wards/frost bite 7 experienced and a lot of trash like team insps, winter beasts, respecs, tailor tokens. What am I gonna do with 400+ free tailor sessions? I hardly see the tailor after character creation. Wish I could sell 'em or give 'em away. I have no idea how many more packs I'll buy. I love the stuff that's in them - but I tend to use them, not sell them, so I don't often profit. It's more of how much I will save, then how much I'll profit. Hard to gauge how much I'll save, too, because prices are gonna drop on most things. (I think)