Ukase

I remember a time when @ST1TcH or some variation of that, would tell me that he would do a lot more positron tfs, and synapse tfs too, if he could run them at 50. For whatever reason, probably having something to do with some mobs just not being available at level 50 being the reason this hasn't been done already. That and resources and interest by the ones that would have to do the work. It's a great thing to be able to exemp and go through content that you missed, or just run through it again. But it would be greater still if exemplaring would be unnecessary, and we could just run content at 50. Now, I say that, having not thought one bit about how that would impact the market, the xp earning curve by lower level characters and stuff like that. I can't say for sure, but I think there's a CoH server out there that does allow a 50 to do positron at 50. No idea who they are, nor do I care to find out. And it could be that is reason alone why HC doesn't do it. No idea. The shortening of Synapse is long overdue. I think it's just a question of dev time and interest, really. Myself, I'd rather see new stuff come out than old stuff re-worked, if it comes down to a choice.

You likely know this - it's not a badge. I don't know that it has any utility since I don't have it.

Don't forget Kahn, @Snarky. The first mission has the team running up those same steps in to Atlas City Hall. Barracuda SF does as well. My mind is boggled that someone died in transit courtesy of a pylon. Nobody thought to mention that possibility at the beginning? My guess is it was mentioned, and the person that died must have thought just as I do, that the odds of a pylon targeting you and hitting you and killing you are pretty rare...until you're targeted, struck and defeated. I've only ever tried MoLGTF 6 times, and lost once during the hami phase because a Dominator was too slow to get out of the goo. In fact, as useful as dominators are, a dominator cost me an MoLRSF, too, via the Flyer. Most of my success in Master runs were with Cosmic Council, where Master runs were treated just like a speed run. The change to no longer allowing incarnates made it more challenging, but to me, it was a stupid change. I haven't (and won't) do a master run, I don't think, until I find a competent group to run them with. Maybe not even then. I need more motivation than a badge.

As it should. RotP is a source of dps, sure. But it's not a smart one. There are better ways to get the job done than killing your self and re-toggling all your powers.

Thank you!

I do know this. 🙂 I am in the lab daily. Got 6 vet levels today, and would have gotten more if I'd bothered to use Experienced temp powers.

I can't believe I'm in a different camp here. I've played my ice/ice blaster just...well, a lot. Like a bunch. Not 1000's of vet levels, but if retail had tracked that, maybe. This is my take on those powers: Ice patch is useful, but more on teams than when solo. Defender gets in over their head with some aggro, drop the patch at their feet, and mobs that are bothering them start bouncing. My blaster doesn't need it, because if I can't kill them in one shot, I bounce away, take a shot, and then kill them. It just depends. But it's a situational power, and I don't find myself in those situations that often. Frozen Aura and Shiver...I have FA, it's proc'd, but in battle, I just never use it. I'm rarely in a situation to use it. I don't mind being in melee, but melee tends to come to me, I don't go looking for it. Blizzard and ice storm handle whatever BiB and Freeze Ray don't. I wouldn't spend a lot of slots on them. Certainly just the slot that comes with ice patch. If forced to get shiver, which does nothing but slow npcs, and the ones you want to slow it doesn't slow that much, I wouldn't dedicate more than a slot to it. And FA..for me - can't speak for the rest of you, it's entirely situational. For me, it's more of a panic button because I tend to respec out of ice patch once I get an epic armor, so it's kind of the only panic button I have when multiple npcs are trying to eat my lunch. We read things about maximizing dps and such - and I love that thought - but I also like playing free, doing things that are intuitive. And FA isn't intuitive for me. And you can say I have flawed perception bias, which certainly may be true, but I find my blasts miss more often in melee than at range. I'm sure it's because of the internal panic I feel that my pixels might become dirt-napping pixels, and I'll have to rez and retoggle which I find loathsome and unsavory. But the impression is still there. So, um, I don't see the value in these powers that others do.

Outside of purples, as those are level 50 IOs anyway, and a number of HOs, all the other enhancements are in this range. I know some folks think the pvp uniques are expensive, (seemingly moreso since Halloween), but if you're patient, you can get the recipes within this budget. It might take a week, but you can.

I don't know why I find earning incarnate materials to be repetitive. But I'm liking the 3xp because it makes the vet levels accumulate faster, which means when I do get to 50, I can +3 it sooner than later. I'm just weary of Dark Astoria and the iTrials. I don't mind just burning through emps to get what I need, even though it's horribly inefficient. So, I'll earn these vet levels with the emp drops happily while I do something else on a lowbie. (different shards, don't panic)

Given the way the Excelsior server has been behaving as of late, this is my best guess.

I know, it's why I tend to not play them. After playing a dom, I've gotten used to not having hasten on auto fire, but to me, Energy is quite clicky, as there are several powers worth taking - but they won't fit on the bottom tray, so I have to find a bind key. I already use several keys for the same power across a number of alts. But none of my alts have these (yet) so it's being problematic. So, for now, it's just too many clicks, and interrupts my flow of dps. And binding a key to movement, I've done that before, and I'm not a fan. I'll figure it out - but I still think boost range should be a toggle or something. Not a click.

I chalk it up to some kind of glitch. I got it done, it was just odd. Because the odds of someone taking one of my strange names at that specific time is pretty darn slim.

This is not a post about the dps. Power Thrust - I see the utility at low levels, but with Halloween and 2xp, didn't see the need to take it. No feedback to offer. Energy Punch - fast, effective. May stun. (mag 2) Stun ability aside, it's good. Build Up - no feedback necessary. Almost everyone will take build up, everyone will love the extra damage, and everyone wishes it were permanent but it never will be because we can't have characters being TOO good. Bone Smasher - Eh, a little slow, but does nice damage. Better odds of stunning than Energy Punch. Better damage, too. Not surprising. I'd love the activation to come down to 1 second instead of 1.5, but as it is, it's fair enough. Energize - available at level 16 instead of level 20 for blasters. I found this nice! But..in a hurry, I pick it without reading the fine print. It doesn't take end mod sets, only healing sets. And it doesn't increase recovery, it decreases end use. Fine. But a click? Not a toggle. Why? Because it's an endurance discount, not an increase in recovery. The click is a problem, though. This is likely more of a me problem than a problem with the power itself. CoH is great in that it allows for the use of many macros, and many binds. Again, this may be just me - but after a while, you make and play a number of characters - there comes a time when there's a power that you could use a certain key to bind it to, but that key is in use for a different power across many other characters. And, ideally, whatever key I'd bind this to, it would be convenient for one of my fingers to reach it. UI set up is likely unique for most players who've played this game a while. And having only played this MMO, and never having really played another, other than Champions for a week or so during the shut down, my set up is likely completely different than most - to my detriment. But, I use fingers on the number row at the top of most keyboards to execute powers. Targeted AoEs...I use a macro for those, but the macro icon also goes in that first row. I did bind energize to the E key, because the E key serves no other purpose for me. I'm sure it does something else for others, but for me, on this character, that's what it does. Fine. But then I get to Boost Range. Stun - eh, this is a blaster, not a corruptor or defender. The npcs that aren't killable with an attack or two don't get stunned easily. I'd have to lean into the stuns to make use of this power, and that really seems counter-intuitive. True, a stunned npc isn't killing me. Stuns are great when the stuns are the byproduct of damage. This deals some damage, and it's a fair candidate for procs, but the premise is flawed for blasters. I get no joy out of watching a werewolf walk around looking like it got into the moonshine. I am a blaster. I want to kill it, not stun it. I also recognize, this is just me. Some folks love this kind of thing - so don't change it for me (not that you would, lol) The activation for this power is too long at 1.8 seconds. Knock it down to 1 second, and the utility would be much better. I took this power to try it out, but I will respec out of it because when fighting those EBs this halloween, the attack takes too long...it's too late. Now I'm terrorized and left to use the low damage t-1 and t-2. Better or smarter players will likely have better results using this power. Boost range is a click. This is made permanent easily. And yet, it's a click. As if there were ever a time when we would not want to have longer range. This should be auto. No idea why this isn't an auto power. But it's not, and I don't have a key to use to bind it to. And, I shouldn't have to because, as I said, it should be auto. Power Boost - no real problem with this, as is. It's a totally odd power though, because some primaries can make really good use of it, so it's hit or miss on whether any given character should choose it. But that's fine. Not every power needs to be for every character. Total Focus - 2.53 second activation time. Really? Now, proc'd - this attack is going to be really nice. In context however - middle of the road, proc'd or not. In the spoiler, if we can trust mids, is a power comparison. One looking at damage, the other damage per activation. So, if you bothered to look, you see it's a nice enough attack, but seeing a large orange number for a blaster isn't that exciting. It's being able to execute it and quickly move on. The attack is slow, and as a result, it's situational. I certainly would be very cautious using this against Battle Maiden in Apex TF and Tyrant in Magisterium. Still, it's fair. That is my feedback on this set. Certainly blasters don't really need much love right now, but maybe dog-ear this, and unless there's some reason to not make boost range auto, make it auto at some time in the future. The primary reason is because there are 10 slots in tray one for powers. There is no space for this one. I have to come up with a suitable bind key, and I can't seem to find one that my fingers can easily reach that don't have another purpose. It's crazy details like these that cause me to park a character and not play them often. Again, that's a me problem, but still, Range boost should be auto.

Certainly. I have taken literally dozens of characters to the PI motel solo, and would knock on doors, and use a macro I got from a sharp player that specifically targets the EBs. I wouldn't kill steal; just tag them. As long as I get a hit in, I'd get the badge credit. Well over 20 characters, nobody said a word to me. Odds are, one player with no pets, they didn't even notice. And with rain of fire or ice storm...it's pretty easy to tag a lot of npcs quickly. And really, when you're level 41, some characters will have a tough time with the EBs. I would click and move away from a door at the motel guilt free and click on another door on the characters I wanted Ostentatious badge on (50 costumes). It's slightly faster to just knock with a league clearing the mobs for you than clearing it yourself. And, in some cases, I might just join that league if they're killing GMs. If not, the end result is the same, except there's likely better xp on the league. But I don't care about XP. That's always around, even the 2xp isn't worth sweating.

Very odd. Repeated exactly what I did this morning, to see if the "wait period" applied...and didn't need to wait, got the name right away. Sometimes, this game is weird.

If they're retroactive, full steam ahead. I'm very outside the norm, I'm sure. I feel like my "badger" is done. Retired. But for one to have all the badges, one needs to keep playing it every so often. And that makes me think I'm doing it wrong.

It's not a secret I have more than one account. I decided to transfer a character with the name in question from Excelsior to another server. The transfer went just fine. I decided to then make/create a new character on a different account on Excelsior with the name of the character I transferred. I could not. Maybe 30 seconds had elapsed, I couldn't name the character the same name, even though that character was now on a different server. I thought, surely someone didn't take this name in that 30 seconds. So, I transferred the first character back to Excelsior, and retained the name. Then I thought..okay, let me rename this character to something else, and see if I can get the name on the other account. I couldn't! What's going on here? Do I need to wait 5 minutes for the servers to catch up with the transfers and the name changes?

A fool may be considered wise if he keeps silent. And yet, when they open their mouth, any doubt is removed. - a horribly botched version of a couple of bible verses. Allow me to confirm my stupidity by opining on this suggestion. The HVAS pet being available via VG merits is wise. It is the only reason I participate. That, and maybe some stale joke Okie is likely to share. And occasionally, I share my own, making players groan, and likely put me on ignore, which kind of makes everything worthwhile. To limit the rewards, how would I get my HVAS then? 250 vg merits is sufficiently high enough to kind of make the msr mandatory to earn them. The problem is - I seem to only use them in msrs, or maybe the labyrinth on a Sunday. (when we go the full hour) I've experienced some msrs when my level 44 would barely get a level, and others where my 46 would get 2 levels. It varies widely, because teammates kill speeds vary widely. (pet peeve of mine is one of the reasons why) What msr really needs is a reason for players to pay more attention so going afk results in league wipes. It's really that simple.

Being selfless, it sounds fine to me. But being self-absorbed, as I am prone to be, I really don't want to hunt these down to get another badge. It's kind of meaningless, like 1600 or so of the current badges are.

This very post just makes it clear how different things are for players, depending on where you're sitting. So many new and returning players in the past month. No idea if it's Halloween or something else bringing them in. Of the few I've chatted with, most of them have time limited to the weekends. And, as you might imagine, they don't get to just sit down and play for 14 hours. It's maybe 2. So for those players, maybe they catch a one event or another. But likely not. After all it's just 2 hours a week. Now, the way things are, they can certainly trigger a nem invasion, but anecdotally, I see 4 zones where nem invasions gain traction. PI, Kings Row, Founders, Talos. Maybe Skyway. I'm not saying they don't happen in other zones, but having 4-5 teams, where team leads telling players not to use fire ball against Nemesis, because killing the lieuts gives him vengeance, making him even harder to whittle down seems like a good problem to have (when you think about the times you couldn't 5 people to join you) . A nem event on red side rarely gains traction. And I think that's a relevant detail. People just don't want to go to various zones for these events for their own reasons. A player with limited time, triggers the event, and very few come to help. Now, I get that we can't change the game to revolve around people with limited play time. I don't know the solution, but I do see the varied differences between what the game is now, and what some folks would like it to be, and what other folks want it to be. Three really different game states, just by changing a few things. It's kind of scary, really. Small wonder most of my suggestions get shot down.

I'm oddly fascinated with the economy in the game right now. For the most part, while I still try to make most characters earn their way to a billion, it isn't as easy as it used to be. I've mentioned before that there's a lot of competition. One thing I find very curious right now is the pvp IOs. The panaceas...someone is clearly playing in that area. However they're getting them, they seem determined to price them higher for whatever reasons, if it's not just profit. And candidly, I can't blame them. The recipe competition seems to be heating up. Like 4-5M for these recipes, when the IOs make 8? That's still profit, but there's the salvage and the converters and the opportunity cost of what else you could be doing, and of course the AH fees. But in the panacea listings - for whatever reason, people are willing to spend north of 10M, but stick with 8M on the glad and shield wall uniques. It makes me think maybe someone's trying to do that last 5 trick, where they buy 5 for what they want everyone else to spend. It's interesting.

Pleased to announce Snarky led another successful Really Hard Way run!

Agreed.

No question, I was remiss in saying more, but I didn't want to write a wall of text. The bit about the defender buff - I knew about the 30%, but I didn't realize the defender kept some of it on teams of 2 and 3. I will almost always choose the corruptor because of scourge.

I recently "finished" getting a water/natty corruptor to 50+3. I still need to fill out the judgement and interface slots, but those will come with time as I play. The important stuff, lore, destiny and hybrid are t-3, and I'll get them to t-4 soon enough. And that left me wondering what my next project would be. I opened up mids, and took a look, comparing the defender nature/ice with the corruptor ice/nature. Fun fact: I learned that the defender loses only 10% of the 30% buff when in a duo, and loses 20% of the buff in a trio, and if on a team of 4, loses all of it. Still, nice to see it keeps some of it for the smaller teams. And then, for whatever reason, Mids had the Experimentation pool showing, so I looked at it. I have a vague recollection of taking speed of sound, and then realized it was basically super speed in a different power pool. And then I saw Adrenal Booster. A strong buff, yeah. But 10 minutes? Even with perma-hasten, I figure that's at least every 5 minutes. Corrosive Vial looks nice. I like a good debuff, but this is just a defense debuff. I'd prefer a resist debuff. I generally go with the kismet and tactics, plus a few purple sets, so accuracy isn't often a concern. Does anyone use Adrenal Boost? It seems situational, like I'd use it for the fight with Ukon Gr'ai in an msr, and then maybe against the Minotaur, and later, Achylus....but after that...just avs as I go through MJ's arc, but even then it would be every other AV because of the slow recharge time. And..I generally take hasten, so I think I'll save this for a character that doesn't take the speed pool for hasten. Who uses this, and is it used in the manner I described, or is there some other utility I haven't figured out? It seems very situational, and with a horrible recharge time like that, I can't imagine why anyone would take it. I can use 5 inspirations that will last the same amount of time and provide the same or better returns. (aside from the recharge buff, but I'm forgoing the speed pool to grab this pool, so it's really a net loss) Is this worth making a suggestion to reduce the recharge time to 450 seconds instead of 600, to make this pool more attractive?