Andreah
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Posts posted by Andreah
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If it's not listed on the "Other" tab of the Costume Creator under "Prestige Costumes", then it can't be recolored. If that's the case, it's probably because it's a full costume transmog and not just a visual effect over your normal costume.
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6 hours ago, Snarky said:
Well, I have had exactly one college science course (Intro to Sci for Sci majors, netted a B) but I will offer an opinion (of course!) Without reading anything on the subject but the bumper sticker "we are in a black hole":
If we are living in a Black Hole. Then that explains the "Big Bang" where all the material came from. And all the energy to propel it across our universe to the far reaches of many galaxies.
Yes, Black Hole, while previously useful for grabbing glowies and very rare team saves, is now MUST SKIP
Appreciate you taking the time to unstick me!
I've had quite a few more, including grad-level general relativity, and I also think it's bad science, or at least not very interesting science. @Jacke's post was on-target.
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43 minutes ago, golstat2003 said:
Seeing as how some have said they feel the EXISTING incarnate powers need a nerf, I don't think anyone can justify even stronger incarnate powers.
Adding more variants sure, but higher tiers, no.
Much as I'd love to see them added, too much power would come from it. IMO, they'd have to be useable inside specific new incarnate content designed for them and I don't like that idea even more. I already think we limit too many things to special circumstances and it makes little sense to me, other than as a mechanical haks in-place because we couldn't fix the underlaying design problem.
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4 minutes ago, Ukase said:
Um...no thanks. One of the biggest strengths CoH has is the ability to alt and alt some more. For a while, I'd had my XP turned off on my "main", because there was no motivation to go beyond 99, and at the time, if you had xp turned off, you got 2x inf.
We'd just do a one-time reset of everyone back to vet level 99 when this would go in. That'd be popular, too! :D
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On 7/8/2025 at 10:53 AM, Ukase said:
As much as I'd like it...I wouldn't like it. And I'll tell you why. I've got a ton of alts. I barely have the desire to get the 4 passive accolades on each character I make. Now, what might be interesting is different pathways to the same stats. Like instead of doing the katie hannon TF and the defeat requirements for geas accolade - just complete all 4 arcs and the tf.
Or, if on red-side (and I have no idea why Croatoa isn't co-op) set up something like do all of X and Y's story arcs, and get an accolade. The whole Defeat X and grab these plaques gets pretty dull after a few hundred alts.I've been cooking the idea for these new stat accolades in the back of my mind as a form of horizontal progression for a long time.
I get that some people have a lot of alts they feel are "complete" or "need to have complete", but to me, full horizontal progression is something we do for mains, or at least main-badgers. It sucks if one is a obsessive completionist, but that's how the world would work with new, extensive, horizontal progression of any kind.
However, my idea is itself limited to nine or so new accolades. These would grant the individual stat bonuses which today can be purchased from START via the three kinds of temporary amplifiers. These are desirable, yet limited, and have been in the game since Live. However, the stats gained from these new accolades would be fully permanent and set-up to not stack with the existing amplifiers. So, for example, if you got a +to-hit stat bonus from a new horizontal progression badge, the to-hit from the Offense Amplifier badge wouldn't apply to you. These new badges would be arranged roughly in order of the desirability of these stats, and require a veteran badge suitably far along with a variety of other game-content related badges to earn it. The intent is that, once one has been granted all of these badges, it would be from having done a considerable variety and breadth of the content of the game.
We could even break some of these granted stats from the amplifiers up into pieces to create more, but more incremental, stat badges. We could also create new veteran level badges (e.g., at levels 150, 200, 300, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, and 1000), and use these as the veteran badge requirements for these new stat accolades. Those levels are achievable without farming for players dedicated to their characters as mains.
We'd have to confront the real issue with any new horizontal progression -- it'll introduce power creep. I've largely dealt with that here by making this a way to acquire bonuses that are already in the game, but which are expensive and temporary. Still, it would be wise to have a more general way to counter player power-creep from wide horizontal progression with NPC power creep, too. Maybe look at new "enemies buffed" challenge settings (with , or situational combat AI improvements, special ambush spawns, and so forth. That's a subject for another thread though.
Maybe sometime I'll get an AI to sketch out a complete plan for new accolades to get an idea of what it might look like, but I doubt there'd be enough support or dev interest to actually do this -- in fact, I expect more than a few of you to hate it. :D
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"My name is K4Z-0, you killed my father, prepare to die."
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13 minutes ago, ParagonKid said:
A set that carries extra penalties for being merely middle of the road is NOT okay.
Especially, imo, one that is THE ICONIC superhero powerset.
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I'd like to see a bunch more accolades with small, permanent stat boosts on them. Tie them into substantial sets of badges you get along the way and at end-game, especially those that encourage running content.
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7 hours ago, Snarky said:
99% time you do not die to the crash. you stop having fun. every two minutes. school crossing guard comes out, train track arms come down, someone pours ice water on you.
then you are fine again. go ahead, have fun. you have two minutes.
Unless you have so much recharge you are stacking Rage, and stacking it multiple times over. Then it's just constant crashes. The better it is, the worse it is. Stop the madness!
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I just want the rage crash to be removed and rage balanced so that the overall DPS of the set is about the same. The thematics and feel of the crash are so bad I can't stand to play the set, even though I dearly want to.
Ideally, give me a self-buffing toggle power which is exclusive to rage -- you can take one or the other, but not both.
OR, we could even remove Rage from the powerset and put it into a new Epic pool -- call it "Personality Defects", or something. Here's a few new powers I'd fill that pool out with:
Personality Defects Epic Power Pool
1. Rage (Existing): Concept: The quintessential "explosively bad temper."Mechanics: Functions largely as it currently does in Super Strength: a potent temporary damage and To-Hit buff followed by a significant self-debuff (reduced Defense, drained Endurance, weakened attacks).
Thematic Fit: Perfectly embodies a personality defect that, while powerful, comes with considerable drawbacks. Its "crash" is its defining feature, making it a high-risk, high-reward choice for players willing to manage its downsides.
2. Obsessive Focus: Concept: A character's inability to let go of a task until it's perfectly done, leading to enhanced precision and efficiency.
Mechanics: Toggle power. While active, grants a moderate Accuracy bonus and a small Recharge Speed bonus to all powers. However, it applies a minor debuff to Run Speed and Perception (representing being "lost in thought").
Thematic Fit: A common "defect" that can be highly beneficial in specific situations. It allows for focused burst damage or faster cooldowns, but at the cost of mobility and situational awareness, requiring strategic activation.
3. Unshakeable Confidence: Concept: An almost delusional self-belief that makes the character impervious to doubt and psychological manipulation.
Mechanics: Click power, moderate cooldown. Grants a substantial, but temporary, Status Effect Resistance bonus (especially against Fear, Confuse, Hold, Sleep) and a small bonus to Damage Resistance (Psychic/Negative Energy).
Thematic Fit: Represents arrogance or an inability to be swayed, translating into powerful mental fortitude. This would be invaluable against control-heavy enemies or specific boss mechanics.
4. Compulsive Hoarder: Concept: A character's irresistible urge to collect and protect valuable items, even in the heat of battle.
Mechanics: Auto-power. Every X seconds (e.g., 20-30 seconds), grants a small amount of Endurance and a minor Defense (All) bonus, which stacks up to Y times (e.g., 3-5 stacks), lasting Z seconds. If the character takes a substantial hit, all stacks are temporarily lost.
Thematic Fit: A "defect" that passively benefits the character over time by "collecting" personal resources. The loss on critical hit adds a layer of vulnerability and highlights the compulsive nature--a moment of shock interrupting their careful accumulation.
5. Some fifth power I can't think of right now. My imagination already hurts.
And of course, we'd need a replacement for rage to fit into the Super Strength powerset:
Titan's Smash: Concept: A display of overwhelming physical power, allowing the user to forcefully control the battlefield with sheer strength.
Mechanics:
Type: PBAoE Stun/Taunt.
Description: The character strikes the ground with incredible force, generating a localized shockwave that disorients nearby foes and taunts them to attack the hero.
Effects:
Damage: Distance-based damage done to nearby targets starting from extreme damage for the one target closest.
Stun: Very briefly stuns enemies in a moderate radius around the target at high-magnitude, interrupting any attacks in progress.
Taunt: Generates a high amount of threat on all affected targets.
Self-Buff: Grants a few seconds' bonus to Defense (Smashing/Lethal) or a small amount of Temporary Hit Points after activation, representing bracing for the incoming attacks.
Recharge: Moderate.
Thematic Fit: This power perfectly aligns with Super Strength's identity. Instead of a volatile buff, it's a utility/control power that demonstrates brute force. It provides good damage, a bit of crowd control, a lot of threat generation, and a moment of defensive hardening, enhancing the role without relying on a self-detrimental mechanic. It emphasizes physical presence and control, making the player feel like a dangerous, attention-demanding presence on the battlefield, and doesn't excessively overlap either Hand Clap (with space-clearing knockback) or Foot Stomp (with greater damage potential to more targets).
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12 hours ago, Erratic1 said:
We had entered the Crey Lab, cleared that first floor map where there is the large circular equipment bank in the room with multiple groups, a group to the left, and elevators to the right (not important if you don't recognize it), and gone to the next floor where there is a group above, and multiple groups to the right as well as two groups ahead. Note: Everything was +5 to me.
So in the midst of fighting, I noticed we were in fact fighting the entire set of groups in the entry, and I then said, "If we're going to fight everything, you might as well go grab the rest of the base and drag it back."
But I didn't stop there. I added, "I dare you. I double dog dare you."
It was when the next two groups showed up that I knew the challenge had been accepted. We in fact never moved from the spot because groups kept coming. And here I am tossing controls, healing, buffing endurance recovery, debuffing to-hit (Pyro/Dark controller). AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!!
So going into the next mission I suggested the goal was to pull so much we wiped. 😁
You know the person rounding things up tried. And I kept needling, "Still alive."
I have not had so much fun in a long time.
I do this a lot on teams. But I haven't been on much lately, so it wasn't me that time. :D
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It seems to me someone could use two accounts and do some in-game testing on this. Hover both characters in the air and then use teleport macros to move to positions on a three-D grid and test. I think it's fair to assume three-axis symmetry, so one would only need to test one octant.
As an alternative, look at the source code and see how it tests for proximity. My guess is it would sum the squares of coordinate differences between the caster's location and the target's, and compare that to the square of the power's range. That's a Euclidean distance norm which gets you a sphere. I wouldn't discount the possibility it uses a variation on Manhattan Block distance metric -- which would get you a cube or rotated cube.
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On 7/4/2025 at 10:53 AM, Snarky said:
My personal favorite is the Arachnos Reactor room with ramps and elevators that is about 17 stories tall.
There is the layer cake room. The Council pool room. The cave that snakes back around on too of itself in a corkscrew.
Any others?
Post what you think are the worst!
My most disliked top 3:
1. Layer Cake -- rough to navigate, has a lot of group that often have to be cleared, and it's a commonly encountered map.
2. Corkscrew Cave a.k.a., "Klein Bottle Cave" -- There are times I simply cannot find my way through this and abandon the mission.
3. Council Pool Room -- usually have to systematically re-search it for some mob or other whom I missed the first time. And the second time. And maybe the third time, too.
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1 hour ago, Major_Decoy said:
Since 2004 I have wanted an auto-power that increased Super Strength damage, my reasoning being "Major Decoy is just abnormally strong, he doesn't get angry, he's just strong all the time" (though these days he's Major Distraction, Shield/Street Justice, at launch Major Distraction was too long to use as a name)
I'd make a "Feats of Strength" power-pool, and move [Rage] into that, and then offer a mutually exclusive similar power as a toggle in the pool called "[Determination]" that gave a time-averaged damage boost at a level fair to not having Rage's crashes. Then we could put a few other cool things in the pool, too.
What I love about the game: The breadth of the comic-book setting that allows for so many different character concepts AND the synergy of the many powersets that makes almost any random team a formidable group of Superheroes.
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27 minutes ago, baster said:
Wow, I'm thoroughly impressed with the presentation, the time and though process you dedicated to this. 2 big thumbs 👍 👍 up, let's hope the devs notice. And are willing and able, some day somehow to work on this kind of stuff.
Using an AI to help structure and format the results, and even using it as an iterative sounding board for ideas helps quite a lot. I caution against using the AI's too much, because they're not very imaginative or clever on their own. So far.
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2 hours ago, Octogoat said:
Sort of both
1980's style skin-heads could be cool. Good low-level adversaries. Give them a opposite-ideology rival gang of communo-anarchists, and they could do street-fights council v. fifth column style.
I imagine my "Infernal Hellions" could do the same against the Circle of Thorns.
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An extension of the Hellions group; a splinter off-shoot, that scales up into 40-50 and incarnate threats. I drafted an outline of the group and had chatGPT format it and flesh it out. This is a fire heavy group, and as such they need to have secondary damage types and special attacks to not be trivial for maxed fire defense/resist builds.
🔥 Enemy Group Name: The Infernal Hellions
Enemy Type: Magical Cult / Devilkin Hybrid
Level Range: 40–50
Zone Presence: Peregrine Island, Grandville (offshoot), new Hellion Strongholds in Hazard Zones
Special Tags: Magic, Fire, Demonic, Controller-Heavy, Stealth Elements, Group Buffs
🔥 Core Theme:
"We are not possessed. We are perfected. We chose the flame."
The Infernal Hellions are not your old street punks. They are fire-worshipping zealots who embraced a ritual of self-immolation and were reborn as devilish hybrids under the guidance of their dark matriarch, Inferna Regina. Every one of them chose this path—making them terrifyingly devoted.
They blend the reckless chaos of the original Hellions with the structured cruelty of infernal military discipline. Combining Circle of Thorns-style summoning with Hellion-style flame aggression, they aim to transform Earth into a plane of fire and devotion. They literally seek to create Hell on Earth.
🔥 Hierarchy & Structure
👑 Archvillain: Inferna Regina
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Archetype: Fire Control / Dark Blast / Leadership Aura
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Abilities:
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Emberheart Sigil (AoE Confuse/Control)
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Charm of the Flamebound (mass Dominate-style Hold)
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Covenant of Ashes (mass Heal + Rez allies)
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Hellfire Queen Aura (team-wide +ToHit, +DMG aura)
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Tactics: Summons elite flame spirits; buffs all nearby Flamebound; devastating in groups
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Visuals: Volcanic red succubus-derived armor, long horns, glowing infernal runes across her skin, floating,
🔥 Elite Bosses (Inferna Regina's Named Lieutenants – appear rarely)
1. Ash-Blood Rhozan
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Type: Demon Brute
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Power Sets: Fiery Melee / Willpower
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Abilities: Flaming Axe cleaves, AoE Fire Smash, Unyielding Demonic Aura
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Lore: Demon of conquest, bound by infernal pact
2. Cindersong Yvette
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Type: Infernal Pyromancer
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Power Sets: Fire Control / Empathy
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Abilities: Fire traps, Confuse songs, AoE healing flames
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Lore: Former Hellion arsonist turned flamewitch musician
3. Molgrim the Maw
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Type: Demon Tank
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Power Sets: Fire Armor / Super Strength
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Abilities: Cone Devour (drains HP), Fear Roar, Knockback Slam
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Lore: Infernal devourer, bound within a cursed suit of iron
4. Scoria Hex
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Type: Infernal Glyph Blaster
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Power Sets: Fire Blast / Dark Miasma
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Abilities: AoE glyph mines, Fear Blasts, Fire/ToHit debuff zones
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Lore: Graffiti mystic who uses art to channel hell
🔥 Standard Enemy Ranks
🔥 Bosses (5–10% of spawns)
🔸 Flamebound Ascendant
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Power Sets: Fire Melee / Fiery Aura
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Description: Former high-ranking Hellions who survived the Rite of Ash. Heavy fire hitters.
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Powers: Fiery melee combo attacks, Burn patch, Fire Resistance Aura
🔸 Hellion Pyrewalker
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Power Sets: Fire Control / Thermal Radiation
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Description: Channelers of flame spirits and keepers of the Emberheart Sigils
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Powers: Flame cages, summon burning spirits, buff allies' damage/resistance
🔥 Lieutenants (20–30% of spawns)
🔹 Ashveiled Stalker
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Power Sets: Claws / Super Reflexes Stalker
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Description: Stealth assassins who burn the shadows they walk through
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Powers: Stealth, Toxic Fire Strike, Quick Strike with -DEF proc
🔹 Infernal Enforcer
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Power Sets: Fire Blast / Dark Armor Sentinels
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Description: Standard ranged specialists; powerful but reckless
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Powers: Fireball, Fear Burst, Shadow Lash (ranged cone with -ToHit)
🔹 Covenant Binder
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Power Sets: Leadership / Thermal Radiation composite of archetypes
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Description: Chanting lieutenants who project infernal blessings
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Powers: Buffs team with +ToHit and +Damage, can Rez 1 fallen ally
🔥 Minions (60–70% of spawns)
🔸 Hellion Emberblade
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Power Sets: Fire Sword / Brawl Scrapper
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Description: Low-level melee units with flaming machetes
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Abilities: Fiery Slash, Ignite Weapon (DoT)
🔸 Flame-Kissed Acolyte
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Power Sets: Fire Blast Blaster
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Description: Basic ranged attackers, often chanting or laughing madly
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Abilities: Fire Bolt, Fire Ball
🔸 Pyre-Blood Zealot
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Power Sets: Dark Melee / Resistance Aura Brute
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Description: Suicide-charging berserkers who glow with unstable fire
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Abilities: Infernal Lash, Deathburst (fire explosion on KO)
🔥 Special Units (Rare Spawns / Boss Events)
🔹 Hellspawn Warbringer (Boss-tier demon summoned mid-battle)
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Large fire demon that appears from Emberheart Gate portals during Inferna Regina or Rhozan fights
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AoE fire damage, stuns, and resists crowd control
🔹 Sigil of Binding (Environmental Object)
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Glowing rune that buffs nearby Infernal Hellions
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Destroying it weakens their regeneration and damage output
🔥 Gameplay Design and Strategy
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Control + Fire Synergy: Expect Fire Cages, Burn patches, AoE fear/confuse from mid-tier units upward
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High Team Buffing: Leadership/Thermal Radiation synergy from lieutenants and named bosses
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Dangerous On Death: Many units explode or debuff on defeat, encouraging tactical engagement
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Summoning Mechanics: Pyrewalkers and Delilah summon flame spirits or lesser demons as support
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Thematic Map Ideas: Infernal temples, subway sanctums turned lava-cathedrals, Emberheart Sepulcher dimension
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19 minutes ago, Lazarillo said:
Any server is this, if you choose to play it this way.
This is the way.
Some streamer did this a while back, and called it "The Iron Man/Woman Challenge", or something like that. It just takes a few self-imposed rules.
Here's the link:
Their rules aren't hard to follow, and though they're designed for streamers, anyone could follow them.
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Streamers often play with viewers, and that can be a lot of fun
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On 6/9/2025 at 11:46 AM, Octogoat said:
Bad harvest?
Harvest of Shame and Tears
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18 hours ago, Forager said:
Ooh +1 because there's already bat assets in the game. That would look badass. Can we customize them as butterflies, though?
"Critter Storm" -- bats, butterflies, locusts, frogs, rats, baby turtles, mosquitos/flies, faeries, cogs, tiny racing cars, mini-drones, roaches, fireflies.
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In lieu of respeccing, one can use an alt-build.
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1 hour ago, Snarky said:
I took Black Hole on my current Dark Dark Corr. Now at 34. The power is near useless.
Both Black Hole and Dimension Shift remain "Please kick me off the team" powers.
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You can also enable chat logging per character, and the saved chatlogs in your homecoming folder will contain all the NPC chatter you overhear in-game.
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Future plans to add to horizontal progression
in General Discussion
Posted
I get what you are saying, but I wouldn't consider new alternatives to be "progression", as they're fundamentally zero-sum.