MistressOhm

As I see it, it depends on the powerset and the playstyle. As stated, some archetypes get more out of Leadership than others, so it makes sense for them to devote power picks to the pool. As I often run Defenders, I find Leadership works decently well as a solo player, but really shines as a team player. Not only are you actively buffing/debuffing/healing, you're passively buffing just by being there. Not sure how it works with VEAT's (they all get variants of the Leadership pool in their secondaries as either passives or toggles) but that's because I rarely team on my VEAT characters. I suspect (?) it'd be significant, otherwise why put these things into the actual powersets right? As a Kinetic, I'm used to being in the dust cloud, along with all of the melee'ers. That's where I'm effective, that's where I can rejuice and repair easily. So Leadership's effective range is not an issue (until some sap of a scrapper goes charging off to another room because SCRAPPERLOCK! sorry bub, you get out of range, you're on your own.) Is running Maneuvers as an on-demand toggle just as effective as everyone slotting for Defense and/or packing a box full of Luck candy? Cool. Glad I could help. If not, then yeah, perhaps it's not as crucial a build element.

If someone's advertising for a GM team/league and I'm on the wrong alt, I say so, "Alting, BRT!" and then as soon as I've switched I hightail it to where the GM is and pop up on broadcast so I can get the invite. If the fight is in progress? Ok, that's fine too. But never is there an expectation to hold a team spot open, I'm just making sure to communicate.

And yes Muxley is a ref to Dastardly's dog Muttley (he of the wheezy laugh)

The Iliad is very much a 'war movie' wherein the exploits of Odysseus were documented, along with those of all the other heroes of the time. But the Odyssey is very much a "pissed off a god, now I'm paying for it" journey epic... not to mention the soap opera going on at home, wherein his wife is basically forced to open her home to a bunch of layabout suitors (who plot to kill Odysseus as soon as he appears) and it turns into a "does he get home in time or doesn't he?" drama. Penelope's test to him about "moving his marital bed" is always good for a chuckle - he made the headboard out of a living tree that the house was built around, so in order to move the bed, the entire house would need to be destroyed and the tree uprooted. THAT's someone who's committed to his marriage. A lot of the Greek tragedies are based on someone's ego (hubris, yes!) getting too big to be properly contained, and then the Gods arrange for 'correction'. As a society, they had a lot of great ideas, but their concept of just retribution for pissing off someone much more powerful than you? Chilling what could happen. 🙂

I'd think a floating power bar coupled with the "powexec_tray" method would be best. Either as a macro or as a keybind. Put the power bar off to one side, and use it as a dash display for recharge times, no need to click. if the powers change, then yeah, there's going to need to be some 'maintenance' keeping that tray updated. But that's not a big deal. If you want to see crazy macro/power tray manipulation, run a Warshade. Set up power trays for each form, and macros for form changes that both rotate the active trays AND load a bind file to change the keybinds to match the form's powers (attacks and travel forms). Done wrong, it's a mess... but done right, you can flip forms constantly and never worry about your trays being unsync'd or your binds being broken.

About all I can say (based mostly on recollection but also going up against other mob factions with similar status effects/debuffs) is kite from range, apply your own holds/debuffs before getting any -toHit on yourself, or recruit a Defender/Corruptor/Controller that can either help clear the effects off yourself, OR lock the spawns down so they don't hurt people. I am VERY glad that as a Claws/SR scrapper, I ran the 40's as a Scrap/Def duo. Having an Empath at my elbow was a godsend (Or in her case a goddess-send!)

I find it highly amusing that a change to the game to manage server load and instancing more efficiently is being perceived as an act of war.

This is the metric people should be using. If the servers are being kept running by the generosity of fellow humans regardless of whether they actually play, then the venture is a success.

[NPC] Desperate Guy: You've made me so nervous that I've totally forgotten my standard pick-up line. [NPC] Turndown Girl: That one MUST have hurt coming out of your mouth. On a character whose ID states they are basically an android: [NPC] Homeless Citizen: I swear I see robots everywhere. The "personal mission" from Eagle Eye has some great exposition and dialogue, but it's kind of an Easter egg. [Caption] Eagle Eye: Security tapes confirm that Deadlock slipped in through the submarine bay... [Caption] Deadlock: I'm gettin' too old fer this... [Caption] Eagle Eye: Somehow he didn't trip the alarms, he must have been cloaked from them somehow... If you go from the sub back toward the 'exit' you get this: [Caption] Eagle Eye: Deadlock wandered around for a bit, maybe he was disoriented or checking for other exits... [Caption] Deadlock: Where's the crapper in this joint anyway? And then you run across the Longbow 'guards'... [NPC] Longbow Flamethrower: I feel kinda worthless guarding Fort Trident. I mean, who would try to attack this place? [NPC] Longbow Flamethrower: Shut it, you're gonna jinx it, man. Cue Deadlock, stage center. Violence ensues! PC uses Athletic Run and Speed Siphon to run over the wall between Wentworths and the SC campus of Paragon U, landing on the roof of one of the buildings: [NPC] Campus Security: Don't think I won't ticket you for super leaping over the campus building because I will! Damn rent-a-cops... Also, Nemesis is indeed a villainous megalomaniac, but at least he has a sense of panache.

NCSoft needed the server hardware for Blade and Soul and didn't feel like ponying up the expense of building out a new datacenter. Plus I believe they didn't take the formation of Paragon Studios (out of NCSoft West) well. CoX was making a steady profit, both on cash shop microtransactions and subscriptions (Freedom 'unlocked' the ability to play for free, but you could still subscribe). It wasn't the new shiny, and it wasn't a runaway hit like WoW, but it was steady. Couple that with the fact that the parent company never really understood the Western design/play philosophy as evidenced by how badly "City of Hero" went over in Korea (this is where the trainer NPC's Foreshadow and Mirror Spirit came from), and it was summarily shuttered for something more in line with the Korean game market. It isn't the first time NCSoft yanked the game out from under the devs or the players. Auto Assault was closed down within a year of release, and Tabula Rasa similarly shut down. While fun to play, neither of them saw the success that City did. Also, considering that Homecoming (along with other SCORE iterations of the game) is run completely free to play, the idea that 'one does not piss off the farmers' is hogwash. No One Is Paying To Play This. In fact, one could posit that LESS players would mean less of a server load (less instances to be spawned for game zones) so getting the farmers to bail would help considerably. This IS why the AE buildings in Mercy and Atlas were blown up/repurposed, so that the game didn't have to spawn multiple instances of those game zones to accommodate all the players who showed up for AE only. Pocket D, being a much smaller zone, can be instanced with less computational impact. So while you have a preference on how to play, you're not the demographic keeping the lights on, and thus, your wishes on what is prioritized and balanced do not have the leverage you think they do.

Keep in mind that 'speed runs' that get padded with "non-essential personnel" (that'd be you in the example given) are basically a way for the speedrunning brute to add to the mob count but not the difficulty. It's a powerleveling tactic. The idea is that they get to whomp on more mobs, potentially get more drops, and you get the badge for completing the TF along with any XP/incarnate threads/whatever else drops for you. It's not supposed to be a challenge, all they need is an audience, to put it bluntly. But yes, the good part is, if the game seems 'too easy' there are many ways to crank up the difficulty.

Widow Umbra Name: REDACTED Age: Mid-30's Orientation: NOT DETERMINED Powers: Minor Psionic abilities Training: Arachnos Night Widow Identity: Arachnos Operative/Civilian Details Redacted or Not Known DESCRIPTION: Toned, but not overly muscled, dark skin, dark hair cut in a bob. Wears glasses or sunglasses. OBSERVED PERSONALITY: Hedonistic, amoral. Takes her job seriously, parties hard when not working. (( OOC: If she's not in a Widow uniform, she's either 'blending in' or off the clock. Make no assumptions as to which is which. )) Soundtrack: https://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/secretagent

Yep this is still a thing. Looks like the "looping" portion of the emote is right as you 'pop' more cards in a fountain, rather than right after.

But but then they'd have to have a Weapon customization option! (I'd say render it as an effect outline, rather than as an actual object.) But yes, some effects call for a quick strum, others a neck-tight hammer-on solo riff.

You're Kinetics, right? Get in there!!

This is an awesome mod set! Question: does anyone have the file names/locations for the music in the Monkey Fight Club and the Tiki Bar?

With a Defender, you benefit the team. You're their force-multiplier. Yes you get some benefit from the team, besides more firepower - some powersets turn Godlike when you've a big spawn and a big team. But the primary may have a lot of powers that you can't directly use, so a soloist Defender is a bit ... gimped. With a Corruptor, the team benefits you. They are your force multiplier. Everything in your secondary toolkit can be used solo (except for Speed Boost), but having teammates makes those tools work better. Also, getting things to half health (where Scourge kicks in) is a lot easier with a bunch of helpers.

I'm not really sure, but I would think that any "Healing" procs would affect anyone who stands in the aura. Any debuff procs (-end, -regen) will affect the target since that's what it does. Worst case: slot it, see how it works, use an unslotter if it's not to your liking.

Link a Combat Aura to them (dual color?) that would turn them on and off. Kind of like this guy (only smaller!)

Here's a suggestion: Add "Soundtrack" objects to maps, or be able to change the soundtrack. I'm thinking of the Rave maps (Carnival and PDP) where it'd be cool to switch out to, say, the Studio 55 music instead. Additionally, there's sometimes "epic fight" or "run away now" music in some of the game missions, but we can't cue those in AE.

Storm Kachina Name: Isabella Yazzie Age: 28 - Gender: Female Orientation: Lesbian Classification: Controller Powers: Localized Weather Control, Electrical Control/Projection, Flight Source: Mutation Superhero Identity: PUBLIC History: Isabella Yazzie was born with her wings as fledgeling bone structure, but they didn't develop into full wings until she was in her early teens. Her powers manifested as a pre-teen, where the local weather often mirrored her moods. Her tribe is fully aware of her powers, and considers her an honorary Shaman of the Hopis. She has participated in many ritual dances to appease the Kachina Gods of the tribe, both as a Kachina (costume below) and as a young woman. As her powers grew in intensity, she was sent east to Paragon both to train, and to perform "civil service" under court order. RP Hooks: Very much a vigilante. Has no love for corporations in general, and holds certain Northern Arizona energy conglomerates in particular ill regard. Known Native Rights (AIM) activist and "monkeywrencher". Juvenile arrest records from her teen years are sealed. OOC Notes: RP is para/mature in scope. Art: https://imgur.com/a/TZW0s5H (NSFW) Music: "Ly O Lay Ale Loya"

La Madame Rouge Name: Jean-Marie Gautier Age: 41 - Gender: Female Orientation: Not Specified Classification: Controller Powers: Illusion Projection, Biochemical Synthesis Source: Magical Enchantment Superhero Identity: PUBLIC History: Mlle. Gautier first appeared on the mentalist circuit, her 'tricks' thought to be standard stagecraft. When she projected a parking lot full of armed RCMP in response to a robbery, the Canadian government sent her to Paragon R.I. to help stabilize things after the Shivan attacks. Demeanor: Snobby but kind. Roleplay Hooks: Former stage mentalist. Prefers the color red, both with wardrobe and her choice of wines. Has a Vaudeville-inspired fashion sense that barely skirts "public decency" laws. Gender preferences are unknown (she says TMZ's claim she is lesbian is "beneath her notice"). Originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Speaks French and English (player's French is weak but passable!) OOC: Yet another adult-ish character, but as always, fade to black on the intimate details.

La Fuega Name: Mariazinha (Mari) da Costa Age: 27 - Gender: MtF Transgender Orientation: Not Specified Classification: BRUTE Powers: Touch Pyrokinesis - Skills: Boxing/Mixed Martial Arts Source: Mutation Superhero Identity: PUBLIC History: Mari was a Brazilian PMMA (Powered Mixed Martial Arts) prizefighter until she was outed as transgender in the press, stripped of titles and disgraced. Demeanor: Spirited, cocky Roleplay Hooks: Mari is known to be a bit of a party girl and a "hothead". She has trouble controlling her powers when upset or angry. She has never quite gotten over getting booted from the PMMA circuit, and her activity as a Heroine is her attempt to try to regain recognition. OOC: As above, there's a lot of mature stuff to unpack, but again, please fade to black on the explicit bits. This is my "fire farm" character altho' I rarely farm!

Mistress Ohm Name: Beatrice McAllister Age: 39 - Gender: Female Orientation: Lesbian Classification: BLASTER Powers: Electrical Control/Projection Source: Magical Augmentation/Enchantment Superhero Identity: PUBLIC History: Formerly a "performance domme" at various adult venues around Paragon City, Ms. McAllister fell prey to the Carnival of Shadows at a high-society party. For motivations unknown, she was enchanted by the CoS to make her stage electrical effects an actual magically-fueled powerset. Donning the mantle "Mistress Ohm", she turned her newfound powers to the cause of justice. Personality: Haughty, domineering, but has an empathic streak. Roleplay hooks: May be a Carnival of Shadows 'operative'. Afraid of her powers getting out of control. 🔞 Known to many in Paragon as a former adult performance artist, has been written about in the tabloids both before and after her Heroine debut. 🔞 Has a criminal record (arrested for "lewd behavior" when a venue she was performing at was raided, bonded out, charges dropped.) OOC notes: While there's a lot of potential ERP hooks in the above, I prefer to 'fade to black' on anything explicitly sexual.

First off, thank you for providing a space to not only list the characters, but also flesh them out considerably. All of my characters are role-playable, some perhaps more than others but they all have a concept of where they come from, who they are (in costume and out), and what their motivations are. In this thread I hope to provide some background into each character brought to Homecoming. Some are carryovers from Live, others were created here. ✳️ - Live character | 🔞 - Adult-Oriented RP (not ERP per se, but expect some mature themes) | ♿- Character Has Disability | 🟥 - Villain | 🟩 - Hero EVERLASTING: 🟩 - Mistress Ohm - Elec/Elec Blaster ✳️🔞 (this is my "Global" character also) 🟩 - Storm Kachina - Storm Summoning/Electric Defender ✳️ 🟩 - La Madame Rouge - Illusions/Poison Controller 🟩 - La Fuega - Fire/Fire Brute 🔞 🟥 - Widow Umbra - Arachnos Night Widow 🟩 - Dame Demolition - Robots/Traps Mastermind ✳️🔞 🟩 - Auntie Freeze - Ice/Cold Dominator 🟩 - Operative Ramirez - AR/Energy Sentinel 🟩 - Stick Figure - Staff/Super Reflexes Stalker 🔞♿ 🟩 - Annular Eclipse - Warshade ✳️ 🟥 - Operative Davi - Arachnos Soldier 🟩 - Guardian Centerfold - Shield/Mace Tanker 🟩- EMISSARY-1 - Gravity/Energy Dominator 🟩- Storm Sufi - Darkness/Storm Summoning Controller 🟥- Major Gunnz - Merc/Radiation Mastermind 🟩- Power Jeannie - Radiation/Kinetics Corruptor 🟩- DynamoDiva - Kinetics/Energy Defender ✳️🔞 (known on Live servers as Soul Train) 🟩- Dharma Diva - Energy/Energy Scrapper 🟥- Daisy Chain - Martial Arts/Ninjitsu Stalker ✳️🔞 🟩- Acid Jazz - Symphony/Sonic Controller 🟩- Highside - Dark/Dark Brute 🟥- Gravid - Psychic/Pain Domination Corruptor 🔞 🟩- Storm Lotus - Dual Blades/Ninjutsu Stalker 🟩 - Torch Juggler - Fire/Super Reflexes Sentinel ✳️ 🟥- Baronessa Samedi - Dark/Dark Corruptor ✳️🔞 🟩 - Bacchantia - Plant Control / Poison Controller ✳️ 🟩- Nephale - Peacebringer 🟩- La Tigresse Sauvage - Claws/Super Reflexes Scrapper ✳️ (known on Live as "Feral Tigress") 🟩- Ms. Leverage - Dual Pistols/Ninjitsu Sentinel 🟩- Diablesse Oblige - Mind/Psychic Dominator ✳️🔞(on Live as La Diablesse ) 🟩- Shock Doctrine - Elec/Elec Defender 🟥- Seneschal of Flame - Fire/Fire Dominator 🟩- Thick Blue Line - Dual Pistols/Willpower Sentinel 🟩- Piezoelectric Patty - Elec/Elec Tanker 🟥- Black Beretta - Dual Pistols/Traps Corruptor 🟩 - Gammatronic - Rad/Rad Defender 🟥- Fate Widow - Arachnos Blood Widow/Fortunata In Training 🟩- Catalys - Mercenaries/Pain Domination Mastermind 🔞 INDOMITABLE: 🟩 - Willforge - Psionic/Electric Scrapper