Jacke

|| Character Creation Guidance || Origin selection guidance text updated to clarify that it's primarily a narrative choice with minimal gameplay significance. Perhaps also note that the Origin, the Archetype, and the Primary and Secondary Powerset choices are fixed for this particular character. (I have rerolled a toon just to change their Origin. Also to change the other 3, but they have more impact on the toon's play. But yes, that Origin mattered enough that wanting it to be different, I had to change it and thus reroll.) || Access to Travel || New characters are given 30 minutes of the LKT-1700 Rocket Pack when training to level 2. The description informs players how to get more. || Swapped from Sky Raiders Jet Pack to LKT-1700 Rocket Pack. Damn. With all those LKT-1700's runnin', going to sound like a flight of Hueys right out of Vietnam. 😺

User Interface Improvements The power recharge timer now defaults to on (Center). When centered, the recharge timer slightly increases in size as it approaches 0, and has an extra animation when the power is recharged. Icons of recharging powers no longer shrink when the recharge timer is enabled, to make them easier to see behind the number. New settings added to control power tray animations and add more customization options (format options, color coding, opacity) for the recharge timer. Kudos to whoever thought of these changes. I just popped onto Brainstorm to check these new settings out. Located under Menu > Options > Options window > Windows tab > Powers section about midway down Having the recharging powers icons no longer shrink but just grey-out is a good change. I still think "Top" is better than "Center" or "Bottom". Out of the way of the tray slot numbers and above the centre of the icon, making the icons of recharging powers easier to make out. I prefer these settings: Power Tray Animations Enabled Power Recharge Timer Top Recharge Timer Format Minutes & Seconds w/ fractions Recharge Timer Color Enabled Recharge Timer Opacity 100%

Power Bug Fixes .... Miscellaneous .... Radiation Emission - Enervating Field power icon exchanged with Radiation Infection's OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG Someone inform the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Age of Miracles has returned. A bug since launch. Now finally fixed. 😺 (I noticed it on the RC1 patch notes just as RC2 was being rolled out.) Confirmed on my Rad/Rad Defender on Brainstorm.

I'm not a dev nor a member of the support staff. I'm a player of City. But I'd like to speak up for the devs and support staff at this time. I've done jobs very similar to theirs. I understand a lot of the issues they face. It's good that when you noticed things were wrong, you submitted a support ticket. That's one of the ways we as users of this game, players in our City, help contribute to helping the devs and support staff find the problems and fix things now and in the future. First, a safety note: While playing in City, when you change something on your toon and have finished changing it, change ZONES. That makes a backup. Change your Supergroup Base, leave it and let it be unloaded and backed up. These backups can help solve many issues. Now, back to our City. Our City is what's called a legacy system. That means it's large, complex, and has been around for a long time. It's not so much jury-rigged as adapted several times to changing circumstances and hardware. It bears the imprint of every dev, full-time, part-time, and contract, that ever worked on it. And as I learned in my working past, many times the work that was done before now, further in the past, it wasn't necessarily the best work or the most appropriate. Often those working back then were working to deadlines. And when things were seen to be complete, tested to be good enough, well, that was it. Release it and let the players benefit. Most times that was good enough. But there's also a long history of some parts that aren't as good as they should be. The devs and support staff we have now are a much better group of computer craft workers than are usually seen. All of them are volunteers that are doing what they do out of love for our City. They've got a lot of legacy system to maintain and keep running. Not just the game as players see it. All those admin tasks the support staff do. All the work on the plumbing underneath that the devs do. That plumbing that makes the game go and makes work all the pretty possibilities we can play with. Identifying what to review in that plumbing, how to change it, when to change it, and finally go about changing it, all by that crew of volunteer devs backed up by a crew of volunteer support staff. Even with enough warm bodies supporting a legacy system , changing it for the better can only be done so fast. Our City we play in is that legacy system. Anything persistent is stored in a database. There are many databases in City. Anytime something changes, or things interact, there's code pulling items out of those databases into memory, working with them, transforming them, then storing them back into the databases. And at times, backups are made of things in the databases. It's all part of the design of that legacy system that is our City. What happened on Monday is that for some reasons, internal and not really useful to those who don't have to work on the plumbing, the workings of City that had to change some of those items from the databases, then store them back into those databases, for those reasons, they mangled some of the items. That was identified in good time, then the emergency maintenance done to stop the things going wrong and resolve those reasons for things going wrong. There still seems to be some issues, but that can come from using items mangled earlier that are still in the databases. It's up to us as users to report when things aren't right. When reported, those issues can be resolved, from a backup or in some cases carefully fixing what's broken. I have full confidence in the devs and support staff running our City. Fixing the problems and making our gaming home how it should be. 😺

I believe I've found a misplaced line and some typos in the Open Beta RC1 Patch notes for Mind Control Telekinesis and Levitate, copied below. I think this line should be under Telekinesis. "Endurance cost reduced from 3.12 per second to 1.04 per second." Two instances of Levitate and two of Telekinesis not spelled with an initial capital in the line starting with: "When your Telekinesis is active...." Lines in the patch notes sometimes end with periods, sometimes don't. Way too many to edit them all now. But perhaps at least remove the periods from the 3 lines originally under Levitate so they match those under Telekinesis. Mind Control/Telekinesis: No longer holds Now Immobilizes Target cap increased to 16 Radius increased to 20' Recharge increased from 60s to 120s Will now keep the targets between 40 and 60 feet from the player Will group enemies close to the main target (i.e. "reverse repel" or "pull towards"). Toggle now lasts a max of 30s before auto-shutdown Mind Control/Levitate: When your Telekinesis is active, your use of levitate on a telekinesis-anchored foe will cause your levitate to hit in an AoE and your telekinesis power will be deactivated. Endurance cost reduced from 3.12 per second to 1.04 per second. Power can now be used on the primary target of Telekinesis regardless if the target is dead or alive.

Posted these Patron Pool changes typos in the Open Beta RC 1 topic. Copying here so they don't get missed.

Not a dev, but I have a certain...gravitas. That's the Attributes Monitor window. It's just a set of...references into the mass of values currently available in the larger Combat Attributes window. Which is only some of the many values in the game that we're aware of. I don't know what is the internal implementation of how the Attributes Monitor window references the particular values it shows from the larger Combat Attributes window. There are a few possibilities, heavily dependent on how all that data is organized and squirrelled away. This article has some information, but it may not be up-to-date on the current state of the Combat Attributes window. https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Combat_Attributes_Window Every now and then, there are major changes in the plumbing that affects the Attributes Monitor window. What used to be up to 10 Attributes values it previously monitored can now be a mixed list of a bunch of blank lines, some Attributes values (but not the ones the player previously selected), and strange unknown items. Like "Gravity". Happens more often on the test servers. When certain changes to the plumbing get released live, the same thing can happen on the live Shards. Just need to fix the lines in the Attributes Monitor window. What I do: If I can't recall what they were for a toon: Go to my config notes and the section on Attributes Monitor window, as most of the lines are common to all my toons. Or the screenshots I have of toons' tray layouts, which will also have the Attributes Monitor window. Open the larger Combat Attributes window. Stop displaying all in the Monitor window. Without any monitoring set, it will disappear. In the Combat Attributes window, select the values to monitor. Starting with: Base > Last Hit Chance And so on.

Ouch! Not a dev, but that sounds like your toon's last save was mangled. Be sure you put in a Support ticket ASAP reporting that so it can be resolved. It's a bit of a pain, but here's how to do it on Windows (other OSs use similar steps): Have a graphics program like Irfanview 64 running with no image (in Irfanview, press the D key to delete anything present). Alt-Tab to display the City client showing your Enhancement screen. Scroll to the top on the right pane to show all the powers at top of that long listing. Type Alt+PrtScr to get a screencapture of the active window. Alt-Tab to display the graphics program. Type Ctrl+V to paste the screencapture into the graphics program. In the graphics program, save the current screencapture to a new filename. Delete the current image to be ready for the next screencapture (in Irfanview, press the D key to delete anything present). If still have powers in the right pane to screencapture Alt-Tab back to the City client. Scroll down the right pane to display the next set of powers Then go back and do again steps #3 to #8 Remembering to save the next screencapture to a new file name. Likely with "1", "2", etc,. in the filename for each successive screenshot. If all the screencaptures are complete, you're done.

Typos in the follow Patron Pool Powers changes. I think "degrees" should be "feet". Patron > Soul Mastery > Darkest Night (Sentinel) - Recharge increased to 20s, Radius decreased from 25 to 15 degrees, Target cap lowered from 16 to 10 Patron > Soul Mastery > Darkest Night (VEAT) - Recharge increased to 20s, Radius decreased from 25 to 15 degrees, Target cap lowered from 16 to 10

What are all these "red flags" people are talking about. Vaguely get it, but thought I should ask. 😺

Welo, Burst, Slug, and M30 Grenade each set a Focus Fire Mode on the target (FocusFire_Burst, FocusFire_Slug, FocusFire_M30 which only affects main target), each of which buffs all Mercs damage by +3.3% for 30s. Shots from different Mercs MM don't stack the Modes but extends the duraction back to 30s. It's not much, but like -Resist, it's extra damage that expands the base damage of the Mercs attacks. Mastermind Assault adds 11.25% Damage enhancement to all affected allies attacks. As for one or the other, why not both?

Unlikely unless....

Already available. For the Melee powerset with a sword and fantasy medieval theme, there's Broadsword, Dual Blades, Katana, Staff Fighting, and Titan Weapons. For the Protection powerset with self-healing/regen/absorb, besides Regen there's also Willpower (set and forget) and Bio Armor (the best heal/regen/absorb powerset). To heal others, add in the Medicine Pool with Stimulant and Aid Other. Broadsword, Katana, and Staff Fighting all have a power that provides +ML Def, which helps with Bio Armor's SL Def hole (has strong SL Resists). Staff Fighting and Bio Armor both have a 3-state control to vary what they focus on. Staff/Bio might have too much selection, but I eventually will try a Bio/Staff Tanker. Select a Tanker for maximum survivability, a Scrapper for instant strong attacks, and a Brute for something in between that needs to keep attacking (and being attacked) to keep Rage up and attacks powerful! Check them out! I'm sure you'll be able to find the right combination for your toon concept. 😺

When recreating a long ago Ice/Poison Corruptor, I went with Poison/Water Defender. It looks like a great combo. I would imagine a Water/Poison Corruptor would work too. Also all the other (de)buff powersets @Snarky and @Psyonico mentioned, which don't have heals and thus makes Water's Dehydrate a good substitute. There's also Storm: - Cold, Force Field, Poison, Storm, Sonic, Trick Arrow And if you want to go with a (de)buff powerset with a heal, possibly dropping Dehydrate, there's these that aren't too busy (I think): - Dark, Nature, Pain, Rad, Thermal, Time Each (de)buff set has their own nuances. Skim them all in the HC Wiki and MRB and decide which one you think fits the toon best.

I know the internal powerset names include "Defense", but I would like to avoid overloading that term any more than it is now. I always refer to the Primary powerset of Tankers and the Secondary of Scrappers, Brutes, Stalkers, and Sentinels as Protection.

On my weird old laptop (from about 2012), the volumes usually stay at 3%. Sometimes when I want it quieter, they get set to 2%. Sometimes when I need to find a glowie, Sound Effects gets turned up to 5% or 6%. The only time in the longest I remember it being different was for a few days in January, as I related below. Not sure why it happened. But it only lasted 2 days or so. And the volumes are all back at 3%.

I noted something similar back in January, maybe after testing on Breakout Shard (but unsure). But somehow it affected all Shards. Normally my 3 volumes are at 3%. Sometimes turn up Sound Effects to find a glowie. Sometime turn them down to 2% when I need the game to be quieter. Then in January, had to turn them all up to about 25%. Held on multiple Shards. Later that day, had to turn it down to 15%. Then the next day to 10%, then 5%. Then I was back at 3%. It's weird and I don't know what caused it.

Before choosing or skipping a power, you should always look at the information to judge them. "/linkinfo <powername>" in-game. City of Data 2. Even Mids Reborn (damage numbers are fairly accurate). See how fast is the cast Arcanatime, how much damage they do, even if they they have a mez, other details. One of the common changes over the years is to take mez-only powers in Range and Melee powersets and rebalance them with decent damage. Example: Dark Melee's Siphon Life used to do little damage and Touch of Fear did none (but was often in builds to help Dark Melee Scrappers take on tough enemies by putting the fear of death iinto them...and fulfilling it. 😺) Now they're both major damage dealers.

City of Heroes was my first MMO. I was introduced to City by a good friend in the Summer of 2005. By the Fall, I had my own copies of City of Heroes and City of Villains and my own account. I always maintained its subscription, even when I took breaks from City...except when I tried out City F2P...and soon went back on subscription. Like @Psyonico, it was finding Repeat Offenders about Summer 2006 that solidified my connection to City. Having a cool group of players to team with and discuss all sorts of things make playing in City even better. The less said about the events from 2012 Aug 31st to Nov 30th, the better. Before and after, I'd tried other MMOs, other games. If there was a good friend on a game, I stayed longer. (SWTOR has my record for most returns to a game. Love the idea. Some of those implementation details though....) But none of them were City of Heroes. During this time, I worked to keep things going for Repeat Offenders. Then in 2019 April 24th, City of Heroes returned to the public in the form of Homecoming. I started playing that first day, as did many Repeat Offenders and others I knew. Now in 2024 January 04th, Homecoming is back in the news with the Official Licence Agreement with NCSOFT to provide City of Heroes. Interest in Homecoming has taken off. More Repeat Offenders and others have come back. Many new players are discovering City of Heroes for the first time. It's a grand occasion to spend some time in the City we love. 😺

If only! I keep asking for it. I have my own ideas for it too! <Dust and creaking noises from delving into the archives....> Here! And my proposal for Clown Summoning in reply. Not just a Bots customisation. (Though Clowns showing up in a box that unfolds is interesting.) As it was foretold in the Ancient Tomes: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day#2012 Clown Summoning as a new MM Primary. Just imagine. T1: Throw Pie T2: Call Clowns (Happy, Sad, Angry) T3: Throw Wrench T4: More Comedy (Equip) T5: Encourage Clowns (shoot 1 random Clown, locks out summons for 30s, remaining Clowns +50% Damage 30s buff) T6: Call Mimes (idle animation have them mimic each other) T7: More Drama (a little car rolls up and out pour 10 or so Clowns, similar to Thugs Gang War) T8: Call Killer Clown T9: More Tragedy (Equip)

Not a dev. However, I am a tester.... There will be more changes to Masterminds in the future. At least one major one requires other major changes at least at the same time. Page 7 is huge and there's a lot of focus on getting through the Open Beta dealing with making what's in it as right as possible for release. More updates of a more reasonable size will be coming this year. I'm sure changes to Masterminds will be in them. Changes to some MM Secondaries will come from changes to the similar Powersets for other ATs, like the changes to MM /Traps Detonator in Page 7.

An AoE Immob may not be necessary to make Storm viable. But it would likely make it much better.

Great post, @OverkillEngine. Quite correct. The original effect was Afraid, which made the mobs run away. Around Issue 3, in most powers it was replaced with the effect Fear, which has the mobs perhaps run a short distance, then cower in place. If under Fear and attacked, the mob either does one counter-attack or runs away for 10s, then cowers in place again. Fear is referred to as Terrorize in many places, like in the status display underneath the health bar. Fear powers also include a skull in their icon. I believe most remaining uses of Afraid are in damage/debuff patches to make the mobs want to leave them. Great idea to do something similar with Sleep to better adapt it to more of the game as it is played now. Having the attack that breaks Sleep get an auto-crit or breaking Sleep create a short-term -Resist debuff (including for the attack that breaks the Sleep) would help make Sleep more appealing.

I did look a teeny bit at Arsenal Control. I'd likely take Tranquilizer at L1 as a damage power (to use with more damage from Cryo Freeze Ray for a good mez and solid Containment, as well Arcane Bolt...that's going to look weird...something to figure out later). Kind of disappointing its mez can't be stacked and is so easily broken, really needing Cryo Freeze Ray for that.... Something needs to be done. This is a serious suggestion: Replace Tranquilizer with Toxic Web Beanbag: Toxic poisoning after a short delay causes autohit Sleep. ToHit roll success gives immediate Smashing and Toxic damage, as well 0.5 KB (or vectored KD), after a short delay Immobilize (I think Mag3 and stackable). Yes, it is the all-singing-all-dancing mez power (not so much dancing after getting hit with it...or singing while Slept). But I think it would be fantastic. And can be balanced.

Page 7 Build 2 Patch Notes still missing the rename of Blaster's Munitions Mastery to Arsenal Mastery. It's still Arsenal Mastery on my AR/Dev Blaster on Brainstorm.