CrudeVileTerror

Marriage? I may not know @Hexquisite well enough to say for sure, but I'm fairly confident that @EmmySky isn't looking to tie any more knots right now. There's too much living to get done!

(I'm honestly not happy with how this turned out, but I worked on it to the point of frustration. However, I have a bad habit of not sharing projects, which I'm trying to break myself of. So, here it is for all the world to see.)

We're going to need photos to be sure, @Grindingsucks. Provide the images, and We have ways of ascertaining your kitty's allegiances.

Previous years have always felt like I got more Naughty results than Nice, although I imagine that was probably just my perception bias. This year, however, definitely feels like more Nices. Like I've got WAY too many Present Inspirations already and wouldn't mind some snow monsters just so my pockets stop getting filled.

Do we not have wardrobes too? I coulda sworn we had wardrobes.

Another identity is likely the the simplest solution. Facemakers do some excellent work, after all!

Wait . . . What?

Given the speed at which Homecoming Development moves due to the desire to thoroughly test things and not rock too many boats, I believe making a new Archetype which is essentially a Frankenstein's monster of four existing Sets will be a non-starter for feasibility. It's another reason I propose the Support/Melee; lower overhead for development. Balancing around a few changes will be an easier and less time consuming process than having to iterate the design of entirely new Sets.

Alright. Fine. Trick Arrow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ok, so Thermal Radiation isn't the "only ranged" Set, and maybe Sonic Resonance and Force Fields have someone else to look down on as far as melee-friendly Sets are concerned. But hear me out . . . Trick Arrow, see? Trick Arrow got buffed recently. And while the animation times would be a pain in the rear for melee, there's something to be said about softening up your enemies at range with a barrage of various arrows, and then running in and bashing 'em with your Broad Sword or Staff! See? A Support/Melee doesn't -need- to always BE in melee. They get the flexibility to position themselves in and out! And to that end, that's probably how we want to enhance the PBAoE Placate Power: Grants 5 seconds of Control Protection, a Movement Speed Buff, and Extreme Resistance to Slows for about 10 seconds. Name it: "FLEE!" Suddenly you have an Archetype who's all about moving around the battlefield, providing Support where necessary, and then getting in to the thick of things to lay down the smacks when the time is right! The Archetype basically writes itself! We don't need massive rewrites of the Support Powers. We don't need rewrites for the Melee Powers. We just need a few little tweaks, a solid Inherent, a bitchin' Placate Power, and we are good to go!

I still contend that if you do it as Support Primary and Melee Secondary that it will take minimal changes to either type of Set to make the Archetype work. An AoE Placate is definitely a solid choice to replace the likes of Confront/Taunt/Placate, which procs some kind of bonus. It comes down to the Inherent, and making sure it delivers on compelling the player to get the most rewarding gameplay. Honestly, a Support/Melee would have been the better candidate for Defender's Vigilance, but I think we can extrapolate from there to get some ideas flowing. But let's take a quick review of all the Support Primaries, and see how they'd behave with Support/Melee. Traps - Web Grenade needs looking at regardless, if the opinions of forumites are to be believed. Maybe if it reduced To-Hit on the affected target? In any event, Caltrops makes a good starter, offering a means to either deal damage or create area denial. Very helpful for a character like this. And with Acid Mortar, Poison Trap, Triage Beacon, Time Bomb, and Trip Mine, the Traps Set is already well primed toward melee gameplay. Poison - Alkaloid, like Traps' Web Grenade, is problematic regardless of being in melee or at range. And like Web Grenade, isn't an argument against Support/Melee. Envenom is damned solid now that it's got the minor AoE effect to it. Poison Trap and Venomous Gas are already predisposed to melee gameplay, and nothing else becoming invalid by using it in melee, although Noxious Breath could use a little tweak to its Cone to make it more melee-friendly. Empathy - Healing Aura is PBAoE and affects the caster, so it's in a decent position to start. Aid Other is a valid choice for helping a teammate, but doesn't offer anything to a melee character. But it doesn't offer anything to a ranged character either, so that's a wash. With the two Aura Powers also being PBAoE, Empathy may not be ideal, but it's not completely helpless in melee. Kinetics - The ideal Set, it's already very melee-friendly. Transfusion and Siphon Power are both solid Tier starters. Repel would probably benefit from being tweaked in to a no Damage PBAoE Knockdown Click with a moderate cooldown; a "whoops, too much aggro" escape Power. Everything else is either functional as-is or already a solid benefit to playing in melee. Dark Miasma - Twilight Grasp is a damned excellent Heal, and Tar Patch would be a big benefit to anyone. In addition to that, Shadow Fall is super and would probably make for a strong "signature" for the Set in melee. The rest of the Set doesn't really play differently in melee, with the exclusion of Fearsome Stare. But then we might take the Darkness Affinity route and work with that. Force Field - This is probably the most tricky Set to just pick up and drop off in the new Archetype, but it's also showing its age in conventional ranged support play as it is. So we can either take the Personal Force Field route or the Force Bolt route here. Personal Force Field might be too powerful to offer the Archetype as a Tier 1 pick, unless we put it on an auto-shut off timer maybe. Force Bolt (and all the Knockback Powers) would benefit from being changed to Knockdown. Beyond that, Force Bubble's Repel effect would also be deeply problematic, so I'd opt to just remove that aspect of the Power, or replace it entirely with something more melee-flavoured. The PBAoE nature of Dispersion Bubble is a solid melee-friendly Power, but that's about all we can really write home about here. Cold Domination - Like Poison, Cold Domination starts with an ally-only Power in Ice Shield, and an enemy-debuff Power in Infrigidate. I might suggest giving Infrigidate the AoE treatment which Envenom received to improve viability. Like Dark Miasma, Cold Domination has a PBAoE stealth/Defense Toggle in the form of Arctic Fog. Beyond that, we're looking at some really solid Debuff Powers that help solidify the Support/Melee gameplay. Pain Domination - The Better-Empathy-Than-Empathy is even BETTER as the Melee-Empathy. While Nullify Pain and Soothe aren't really any different, we do see more benefits later on in the Set. Share Pain grants the Support a Damage Buff; handy! World of Pain and Anguishing Cry are primed for melee already. Soothing Aura is quite solid as well. Sonic Resonance - Sonic Siphon needs . . . something, but that's regardless of being cast at range or in melee. And like Cold Domination and Force Field before it, Sonic Resonance's Sonic Barrier falls in to the "ally shield" category. Much like Force Field, Sonic Resonance runs in to some trouble with the Knockback component of Sonic Repulsion . . . but then how much play does that Power see for ranged Supports to begin with? On the flipside, Disruption Field and Liquefy would make great additions to a meleeist. Storm Summoning - Ok. Forget about Force Field. THIS is the most tricky Set to make melee-friendly . . . but it's also SO FLAVOURFUL that it's worth it, as far as I'm concerned. O2 Boost is another ally-only Power, and Gale just isn't melee-friendly at all. Maybe if it were Knockdown? But then we've got Powers like Snow Storm, Steamy Mist, Freezing Rain, Thunder Clap, and Lightning Storm: All of these are ideal for melee! We'd just need to remove the Repel from Hurricane and probably tone down the -To-Hit Debuff in it. But I think it's worth it to make this Set work. Imagine the gameplay and the character concepts! Much worth! Nature Affinity - I admit, I've not played this set much. We might need to make Regrowth a PBAoE for the meleeist, but Corrosive Enzymes seems pretty solid as-is. With Wild Growth, Wild Bastion, Entangling Aura, and Overgrowth, we're again looking at a solid melee Set. Time Manipulation - Starting with a PBAoE Heal-Over-Time and a specialized enemy-debuff Power, this Set is sitting in the same "works fine" territory as most of the Support Sets. Time's Junction elevates us in the melee department early on, and Farsight and Chrono Shift maintain things later on. As usual, nothing in this Set is particularly detrimental to melee play. Thermal Radiation - A PBAoE Heal and an ally-shield? Doesn't sound too far off from the majority of the other Sets. Something to help yourself and any nearby teammates, and something to help only your teammates. It's a typical pattern. This Set, however, is pretty much an all-ranged Support Set. It's probably the only one, though, isn't it? And really, just because a Power works at range doesn't mean that it's invalid in melee. Honestly, the Set could use something to make it a little more interesting in melee, sure . . . but it's not necessary. Radiation Emission - PBAoE Heal and an AoE Toggle Debuff. Sounds like a good, winning combination for starter Powers for melee to me! And then we get Accelerate Metabolism, Choking Cloud, Fallout, and EM Pulse. This is another Set that's already primed for melee! Electrical Affinity - Our newest addition to the Homecoming Support Set roster, this Set gives us a chaining (AoE) Heal, and a single-target enemy-debuff. We've been through this song and dance before; they're good enough in melee! Faraday Cage is a big boon early on, and nothing else in the Set is particularly problematic for melee. We might want to do something with the Sentinel, but I'm not sure what off the top of my head. . . . what? I'm forgetting a Set? Naaaaah . . .

Pretty kitty, @Spider. My sister got me custom socks which have the face of Moe ( https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/14080-show-off-your-pets/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-229208 ) on them as a gift last Friday. Gave my spouse some socks with a picture of her departed dog as well. I'm not sure I'll be able to wear them, though. Feels kind of wrong walking all over the face of a cherished late pet . . . but the gift was quite thoughtful regardless.

A Portable Tailor Prestige Power, which summons a wardrobe or a phone booth, would be stellar, I think.

Welcome Home, @Bandanu! https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/3651-abbreviation-list might be helpful for you. (and as one of the first links in that thread, you may want to skip straight to: https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category:Definition ) If you have some specific abbreviations you would like to ask about, please do so by all means!

Clockwork have insanely long aggro ranges, so your memory might not be too far off the mark.

Considering I've seen Range, Stun, Immobilize, and Sleep Enhancements go for 1 Inf on the market, level 35 and even 50 included . . . nah. I don't think the problem is with Confuse specifically.

My spouse is working with the regular Super Packs right now, and making an absolute killing! Seems with so many people migrating to the Winter Packs during the sale that the regular Packs have been left relatively "unguarded." Don't mind spoiling it now since there's only about a week left.

I'm one for full transparency, @Ukase. Always. However, in this instance (and some other situation(s) related to the T.o.U.) I give the Homecoming the benefit of the doubt here. I've been on the receiving end of N.D.A.s (and can not confirm if that's still the case), so I know how absolutely draconian and irrational some of the clauses can appear (or straight-up BE). We do not have any proof. We have reasonable extrapolation from what has been said and what the Homecoming Team have made a point of specifically not replying to. Could the HC Team be taking us all for a ride? Absolutely. I won't deny that possibility. But in all the things they've done or not done, this one seems to be the most "above board" of any of the otherwise questionable decisions.

Did anyone already provide this transcript? [17:50:18] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Aw, man, what a party last night. Aw, what the? [17:50:18] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Hey! [17:50:20] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Hey [Villain Name]! [17:50:22] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Don't suppose you could give me a jump start or something? [17:50:54] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Ah, that hits the spot. Hey, wanna crack some heads? [17:51:54] Vortex Cor Leonis Force: They've activated the first tank freak! ATTACK! [17:57:39] Button Man Gunner: I think this one ain't working. [17:57:39] Button Man Gunner: It's working! Don't let [Villain Name] activate it! [17:57:39] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 requesting assistance. [17:57:41] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Power is at critical level. [17:57:43] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 status downgraded to: [17:57:45] Prototype Tank Freak 2: 'Kinda funky'. [17:57:54] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 now operating at functional power level. [17:57:56] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 expresses mission imperative to kick tail. [17:58:54] Penumbra Cor Leonis Marksman: They've activated the second tank freak! ATTACK! [17:59:54] Vortex Cor Leonis Marksman: They've activated the second tank freak! ATTACK! [17:58:45] Vortex Cor Leonis Marksman: Can you understand anything this one's saying? [17:58:45] Prototype Tank Freak 3: 0nC3 4 s00p3rF34k... [17:58:45] Ascendant Archon: This one seems to have an N-Fragment in it. Fascinating. [17:58:45] Prototype Tank Freak 3: [Villain Name]! 1 k0nw j0u! [17:58:45] Ascendant Archon: Do not let [Villain Name] restore power to this one! [17:58:47] Prototype Tank Freak 3: Gr4n7 m3 p0w4r, n4d 1 Sh4l1 j01n j0u N b4t7l3! [17:58:53] Prototype Tank Freak 3: d0c bZz4w h4s r3b1lT m3, 4pP4r3nT1y Us1nG 4 n1cTuz Fr4gm3n7. [17:58:55] Prototype Tank Freak 3: 1 m4y n0 10nG3r b3 t3h s00p4rFr34k, bt 1 w1l1 s71l1 f1gH7 b3s1d3 j0u! [17:59:53] Vortex Cor Leonis Marksman: They've activated the third tank freak! ATTACK! [17:00:53] Penumbra Cor Leonis Adjutant: They've activated the third tank freak! ATTACK! [17:01:53] Vortex Cor Leonis Marksman: They've activated the third tank freak! ATTACK! [17:59:19] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Now where did [Villain Name] go? [17:59:21] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Hey, I wonder if I have a GPS in here? [17:59:19] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 unable to attain positional lock on designation: [Villain Name] [17:59:21] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 reports status declining to: [17:59:23] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unloved; [17:59:25] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unwanted. [17:59:19] Prototype Tank Freak 3: [Villain Name]! W3 w1l1 fGh1t b3t7r3 F1 w3 ts4y t0g3t3hR! [17:59:42] Prototype Tank Freak 1: And I'm back in action! Woo! [17:59:42] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 expresses thankful attitude towards [Villain Name]. [17:59:44] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 upgrades evaluation of [Villain Name] from: [17:59:46] Prototype Tank Freak 2: 'Awesome' to: [17:59:48] Prototype Tank Freak 2: 'Totally Radical'. [17:59:42] Prototype Tank Freak 3: t4hnX, [Villain Name]. T3hy 4lm0tS h4d m3! [17:03:03] Prototype Tank Freak 1: Well, it's been fun. I think I need to go break something. You know, express my generic inner rage and stuff. [17:02:54] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 expresses appreciation of assistance provided by designation: [Villain Name]. [17:02:56] Prototype Tank Freak 2: Unit 2 projects offer of a thankful hug would make things awkward at this time. [17:02:55] Prototype Tank Freak 3: j0u Hv4e ym t4hnX, [Villain Name]. [17:02:57] Prototype Tank Freak 3: 1t h4z b33n 4 Pr1v1l3g3 b07h t0 f1hG7 4g41nZt j0u, [17:02:59] Prototype Tank Freak 3: n4d t0 f1hG7 b3s1d3 j0u.

Best wishes to everyone over these next few days! Thank you for your time and support. You deserve the time off.

At a glance, the two of those are really difficult for me to tell apart. Maybe my monitor or my resolution is to blame, or just my poor eyesight, but I can scarcely tell the difference between the two. So, I propose the following: Flip the icon for one of the two horizontally! That would help immensely, and hopefully wouldn't take much effort. Please, and thank you?

My laptop died, so I was looking through the back-ups from my portable harddrive to see about restoring some files for my weekly roleplay campaign(s), and I found this: I was wondering . . . do any of you perhaps have any of the other concept art for City of Heroes, City of Villains, Going Rogue, or any of the Issues? I think it would be great to share it all together in one place.

Some times you just need a coping mechanism to get you through the day. Especially when Nemesis replaced your aunt with an automaton doppelgänger . . . AGAIN.

Clicking on random doors seems a little breaking-and-entering'y . . . So perfect for Villains instead of Heroes!

Honestly, most of the episodes revolving around the Cardassians were pretty solid. Although, in the finale, the battlecry of the Cardassian freedom fighters did feel a extremely rushed in its delivery, and it makes me cringe just thinking about it. But then I remember all the good times, like when Garek's implant started to malfunction, or Dumar stopped drinking so much and decided to get his life sorted, or when Dukat absolutely lost his mind.

Yup!