Techwright

*Raises eyes from smartphone* Wait, wait...I know this one! He was in that old British band...something with an insect in the name.... Oh, right! The Bugaloos! Yeah, he and that other British guy, the one who guest starred in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, you know...Davy Jones.

Ice Blast / Cold Domination Corruptor Went for a Mr. Freeze-styled look and feel (with jet boots), but decided the suit was more about containment of powers than survival. But now the gloves have come off...

Have you considered participating in a beauty contest? Your speech is perfect.

Getting a bit of an Ascendant vibe from this, which is a good thing.

That was you?! Wow If I'd been there, I would surely have greeted you. (Sounds like you had fun!)

Agreed. With respect, you're talking like a seasoned veteran. We still have new players coming in. In fact, I've been in talks to encourage 3 new starts hopefully soon. As I've given it some consideration on their behalf, I've come to realize just how many details they're going to need to absorb quickly to function at least competently. So a design that eases that transition is worth the effort. I think this is the heart of the matter. We've got a lot of seasoned vets, myself included, who can figure things out and adapt, but the system should be considering just how overwhelming the newbie experience is, and adapt for their needs. This has been one of my major beefs regarding Twinshot. The arc should start with level 1, level 2 at the latest, but even then, if I recall correctly the player is directed towards a trainer to explain how that works, so yeah, level 1, not level 6. (After that's fixed, I'd want to see the NPCs stop doing the jitterbug in every mission, and especially stop clinging to the player avatar.) On live, I ran over 500 Frost Fire missions in a year and a half before I stopped counting. That's not an exaggeration, and the real number might be closer to 750. In homecoming I've run it twice...I think, over the same time period. I usually do not even think of Wincott or the Frost Fire arc. I'm not sure what the best solution would be, especially with powering through the first 20 levels using the PW2 XP bonus gifts, but I do think the game has evolved enough that Matthew Habashy should be offering introductions to several contacts, Wincott included, rather than two. If the player is still below the Hazard zone recommended level, maybe frame the contact's nameplate in the same colors that our NPC opponents rank in: purple, red, orange, yellow, white, green, blue, gray...but still offer the opportunity.

I know I'm kicking a badly bruised horse, but I don't believe there's set with an inherent mechanic for Knock Down. Yeah, you can get Energy Blast to convert to it, but it is not native, and costs an enhancement slot for conversion. As many players testify, Knock Down is functionally different from Knockback, though both leave an opponent on the ground, just in very different spots.

Eh...it's more or less SPAM. SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM...hey, Monty Python! Link found.

I'm trying to recall: is there one where the powers focus on stuns and heavy stuns in the same way that energy blast specializes in knockback or ice focuses on slows?

Hmm... Since they had the wireframes, I am surprised we didn't see more animal types in the game.

How do you know he'll accept cookies? He may be gluten intolerant or on a sugar-free, wheat-free diet. I suggest pollen-free flowers instead, and maybe a good audiobook on investing on a guard's salary.

In a broad sense, I'll agree with some other comments I've read that having some sort of outfit insignia of rank would be appropriate to these guys. Would colored berets be an option? For that matter, do costumes extend so far as to allow them to wear trophies from battles past? Clockwork parts, Circle of Thorn costume bits, etc. It would kind of be the concept of mythological Hercules wearing the Nemean lion's skin. How about adding a dash power to the Warriors? I'm not talking super speed, more like taking the Council warwolves ability to cover ground quickly and modifying it for a brief dash for highly trained warriors. Close ground before opponents are prepared. For that matter, is there an NPC version (or similar) of shield charge? Rather than charge with a shield, charge in with an axe or sword before players might react. Crazy thought: Would Warriors have a deep respect for an animal of power, to the point of occasionally having a trained one in a mob? I know there are NPC opponent canines and big cats out there, though their wire frames might need reskinning. Are there NPC options for something as crazy as a bola attack? I could see throwing the weighted cord as a natural origin immobilization tactic. And speaking of immobilization, can you give the guys using fist fighting a chance on some powers for a targeted nerve hit creating temporary hold or immobilization?

panthers, perfect! Any others?

Covering all sides: blue, red, gold...what animal NPC opponents are out there? I know there's the Ritki monkeys, and I'm trying to remember if there are canines on the NPC side of a fight. How about big cats? Anything else?

Unfortunately, some of what you describe would not be functional in the caves and tight corridors of City of Heroes. Now a "wall crawler" travel power might work towards that parkour concept, even in caves, but that would likely take an exhaustive amount of coding to change surfaces to adhesive ones.

Add enough knockback and those energy melee powers do offer range, "knock ya into next Tuesday" range.

Bless you, Faultline for both of your posts here. I hate to say it, but some of what you said in your first note are things I've never heard from my IT server and IT security teams after 6 years of working with them. (I'm the low guy on the totem pole: "Techwright" as in Desktop Support, hardware repair, and imaging) I could wish to be better informed to better help, however small, because I'm part of an IT division for a network of hospitals, and they've been ramping up security ever since the Wannacry hit British hospitals. I freaked out when I read your Remote Desktop comments because a decade ago I worked for a prominent bank, and was the hands and eyes of the rest of the IT department scattered around the world. It was standard practice to check the status of our site servers, by having the Desktop Support guy use Remote Desktop to log into them. I can only imagine how many bullets we dodged, and don't get me started on the condition of the branch network closets when I came onboard. Ugh. You must have never owned a beagle. We owned several in my youth and my neighbors were constantly letting us know how effective our beagles conversation skills were. 😁

I still crack up at a pair of "Police Squad" jokes:. 1. The "All-night wicker store" 2. Trying to recreate the bank teller murder scene, with the bodies piling higher with each attempt.

Magic Origin for Christopher Robin confirmed.

That would be Lower Back Pain, or LBP, for those of you who never saw first runs of "St. Elsewhere". 😉 I shall now have to make references to previous decades on all my PUGs.

That is a name I've not heard in a long time. I nearly choked yesterday when on a team where I joked about fighting Agent Manning of Crey. "Peyton? This could get rough." "Naw, he's old." 😲

Well, though I realize this isn't where you're going with the topic, there is a thrown weapon in the game: the natural-origin dagger. And you can acquire limited use pistols, so if you're willing to stock up, you can have your shield and pistol, too.

@Cutter Is that your final answer? 😛

I sense deflection... 🙄 😁

It ain't St. Paddy's day until the hospital cafeteria serves corned beef and cabbage. Looking forward to it this week. One of the few "ethnic" meals they get right. Well, except for their version of colcannon. Blech. (And trust me, when "southeast Asian" day comes round, don't ever try their pho. How can one screw up pho, and so badly?)