Alchemystic

Actually creating an Echo is as simple as moving the map from one access point (Ferry/Submarine) to another (Ouroboros) and putting the words 'Echo:' in front of it. And I think more people would appreciate having a ready-made redside zone ready to fill with more content than having a stale old hazard zone that serves no purpose other than a Task Force being present. Besides, losing a hero zone to the villains is good for narrative, it shows some actual conflict and intrigue between both sides, not this static stalemate that's gone on for years. The plan for Hazard Zones was to entirely re-purpose them, not just remodel them, completely change the nature of them. I think one of them becoming a redside area was entirely in the cards.

I don't know how you jumped to that conclusion but feel free to weigh in with a suggestion sometime.

I have indeed! I was actually basing the attacks off characters such as these, mostly Noob Saibot from the Mortal Kombat series.

Like I said, there's nothing there except TF contacts (and exploration badges). which is why I think moving those contacts somewhere else wouldn't harm the game. It was always Paragon Studios ambition to completely revamp Hazard Zones so they have more content, so too was it their wish to improve red-side so it had more to explore. I don't believe turning Striga into a villain zone is a "terrible idea", since all Hazard Zones seem to be are areas overrun with villains. Transferring Striga's contacts to Boomtown certainly improves upon the new Council narrative, and any mission that takes place in Striga's outdoors can still be played if the mission access point is a vehicle instead of a door. "Old Striga" could still be reached as an Echo just like Galaxy and Astoria, so its not like blue-side actually lose anything in this transaction. All this suggestion does is offer red-side a little more content that wouldn't violate the lore or make any huge changes to the world. In fact, Striga could serve as a really nice playground for fights between the 5th Column and the Council, along with showcasing the newly formed alliance between the Council and Calvin Scott's UPA faction. So I don't think it's a terrible idea at all, and if moving contacts around is so horrifying then I guess we'll just throw everyone who came from Galaxy City back where they came from 😂

Then create an Echo for it like Galaxy and Dark Astoria

It entirely depends on if there is a GM/Dev with interest in running RP events at all. They could certainly promote things on the GMOTD on Everlasting for people willing to run a large scale event themselves.

As a note, thanks to the insight from @Captain Powerhouseover on the Illusion Dominators thread, we now know its at least possible to give pets access to a player's secondary powers. So this concept is looking a lot more viable than I first anticipated 😅 With that being said, I still think it has a long way to go before it is in working condition, I think one of the bigger issues is trying to figure out if the 'blast' powers themselves are viable too. Making new powers from scratch is tough, even just fashioning something from existing FX/Animations. I can't really think of anything else that seems fitting for a 'Duplicator' character though...

not immediately anyway, but I think shifting the contacts from Striga Isle to Boomtown would enhance upon the Council narrative that is already expanding into that area. Striga would then be left open as a good template to work some more villain material into the game, perhaps with the 5th Column reacquiring it from the Council and giving them some much needed presence red-side, opening it to villainous opportunities.

To be fair many of the blue-side hazard zones suffer the same problem, if not worse. So it'd be killing two birds with one stone by re-purposing a hazard zone that's fallen by the wayside into a red-side zone with better content, plus it would require far FAR less work than making an entirely new zone.

I know the 'Doppelganger' enemy group has a means of checking what powers the player has, could any of the code there be reused to accomplish this? Or is it more alike to powersets like Shield Defense that have coding to prevent it from being paired with incompatible sets like Staff and Katana?

I'm glad something like this actually works! My idea for a 'Duplicates' mastermind set pretty much relied on pets being able to use the player's secondary powers 😅

Already made a proposal about that in another thread, there's a link in my last post 😜

Sure! But those contacts could easily be moved to another Council heavy zone, perhaps even Boomtown since it's in dire need of more content, and it lines up nicely with the Council Warworks factory thats already present!

I think Striga Isle would be a good candidate to turn into a villain zone. Besides two TF contacts, there isn't really much going on there, and I don't think it's actually part of Paragon city. It could be pretty easy for villain groups to secure more of a foothold there and blockade access to it from Paragon with a little more effort.

Perhaps instead of the typical powers they have access to, they gain these instead; - Screech - Will Domination - Penumbral Grasp - Time Stop I think these powers work nicely for single target mez abilities the phantoms could have access too, keeping them varied just as before, but also keeping them close to the theme of illusions. Each with reduced damage and magnitude of course. I think this works as a rather nice compromise as it a) provides more Mez for Domination, and b) has less damage that that of the controller version.

To be fair there have been a great many devs. The cryptic studio devs, the paragon studios devs, the SCORE devs, the resurgence devs, the homecoming devs... and during all that time Illusion Doms have been inquired about and each time the answer basically falls to "it isn't optimal in it's current state"

There are several staff weapon skins available to NPCs in Night Ward, belonging to the Animus Arcana, Drudges and Black Knights. I don't know why these models aren't available to the players (I assume because Night Ward was just before closure), but they are there and ready to be used, its just a matter of bringing them over to player costumes to be used.

I wouldn't cite other servers too much in terms of powers/archetypes, they're not exactly seen as the most credible example of how to balance a game.

I think the best place to find that sort of stuff is to look on the Everlasting Server and Roleplay threads here on the forums, that's where most big organised events are posted up. Other than that? I'd consider joining one of the various RP supergroups, they usually run events like that regularly for their members.

just go on Everlasting server, there's always some RP happening somewhere. IC teams, meetups, task forces, custom AE arcs, its all there. 😊 just keep an eye on the LFT tab or make a callout yourself and there's usually people wanting to join in!

Dark or Ice are good candidates. Dark can be played as accelerating someone's ageing, and Ice can be used to freeze people in place or slow them down.

Other than Demons and Beasts, all other sets use recycled animation rigs. Humanoid enemies would be far easier to work with at least since they have the largest amount of animations. I made a post HERE with one of the ideas for a Mastermind primary that could be made using 100% existing technology.

I think going straight Support/Melee has a number plot problems already pointed out a few times in the thread (mostly range and survivability issues), so I think instead of pure melee we make a short range support archetype that can better support melee characters, but retains enough distance to keep alive. So, instead of a Support/Melee set, I propose either (or both) of these two options; PROTECTOR: Powers: Support/Manipulation Ancillary: Armor/Ranged, some Control Inherent: Protection; gain a percentage of all outgoing buffs and heals you apply to teammates as a bonus returned to you (single target powers only). The purpose of this archetype is to provide the intended support in close range, but instead or pure melee, you have a select few control or self-buffing powers to ensure that you have a better chance of surviving the fight. The archetype rewards choosing targets carefully, and using your support powers to aid your allies in taking them out. ARBITER: Powers: Assault/Support Ancillary: Armor/Control, some Ranged Inherent: Strategist; gain endurance discount on melee attacks when above 50% HP, gain endurance discount on ranged attacks when below 50% HP. The purpose of this archetype is to intermingle between ranged and melee, and adapting your position to better suit the situation. The archetype rewards laying down your support first, then joining in close range to sustain melee classes, and retreating back when needed.

Sudden Mob isn't like Gang War, its just a cone attack that makes 'silhouettes' as seen on Dual Pistol animations or the Vorpal incarnate power, just a visual FX, not an entity. Outnumber is like Gang War, but no Henchmen has access to this ability. (but if you really wanna see a ludicrous amount of them take Burnout and use it twice!) I may rename this power 'Surprise Attack' to avoid confusion in the future.

I think there's some difficulty in adding in extra costume categories into the game, so a lot of stuff ended up in Head Detail2, Chest Detail or Shoulders. I'd love to see this changed sometime, perhaps with all the ties and bows being added to it too.