Scarlet Shocker

I read the title of this thread and was expecting "When pit crews get bolshy" I has disappoint. I think some mechanics are good, some less so. A lot depends on the imaginations of the dev/writers responsible. Like any mechanic, it can be over-used and often under use is the real trick. But when trying to influence almost 50 players to acct in coordination ther are few better tools

There are questions we can get hung up on that actually don't mean a great deal to game play or mechanics. As one man once said "Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law" but I doubt he'd ever thought of City of Heroes when he said it. But it's applicable in the sense that it would be more damaging to deny a character because "the origin didn't fit the concept." Origin is a tool, a guide, a way to give your character flavour and resonance. Take for example a mercenaries MM: Are those NPC mercenaries followers who love their leader and will serve through thick and thin? Are they somehow enchanted, and compelled to serve via magic bindings. Perhaps they've been hard wired with neural nets that force them to do their master's bidding or injected with explosive nanites that the MM can use to dominate them. It's your story, it's how you want to play it and it shouldn't make a blind bit of difference what anyone else might think of your character. It's on you. Enjoy your own story and the devil take the naysayers.

Fun fact: For about 236 years, @Snarkywas Mother Theresa's understudy. that's right folks, he was second to nun! #tydydk

So should we refer to players on this shard as "Victorians", and will there be sponge cake?

I have two very important takeaways from this: Only just over half a million toons created in an entire year, and @Snarky was 2nd highest poster on the forums. The only conclusion I can draw from those two facts is that the game is doomed.

So it could just as easily be spelled Ptsoo

Then how do they hold their beer?

bitch! I didn't ever tell you to blow did I? #Fangsforthememory

Vampire car in reverse! Are you unalive now?

A very excellent pairing. I have a couple of them too I think a lot can be learned playing the same powers across ATs and also with different pools, and slotting. It's potentially a lot of fun but for me the power sets have to be ones I really enjoy regardless.

Inflatable vampires? There's bound to be a market for that... somewhere.

As the song says: "Jingle bell jingle bell, jingle bell rock Jingle bell swing and STFU" Whatever the OP's creative hobby is I can say fairly certainly it's not creative writing.

is it sideways?

I would love to see Marcus Cole, formerly Statesman come back but a powerless version. A city leader, a representative of Paragon, a diplomat, a statesman if you will. His years of experience would be invaluable, even without his powers. Perhaps the Well of the Furies, realising he was no longer alive took its power back from him leaving him with minimal powers but he would still be a titular figure to guide and mentor younger (player) characters - and occasionally need rescuing.

2nd Star to the left and straight on til morning, usually accessed from Platform 9 3/4s

Nobody ever really dies in comicbook universes! Even Warlock came back!

It's important to remember, and give credit, that NCSoft effectively rescued CoH previously, when Cryptic signed up to develop a Marvel MMO (which then became Champions I believe) They invested a lot in creating the NCSoft West studio with almost all the dev team intact (sans Jack IIRC) so bringing the whole game in house. I've no clue as to the numbers but that can't have been a cheap exercise and it's possible that they didn't consider the ROI to be good enough long term. Any memoirs or recall we get now from those involved will likely be tainted by false memories, rose tints, exculpations and ass-covering so I would take a lot of it with large grains of salt, unless accompanied by a paper trail. Either way, it's ancient history now and our beloved game is back.

I don't have a generic answer, since all my characters* have a different "persona" - usually something that just makes them a bit more individual. I can see a 4/3 combo working well or a 6/1 in the old days, I might have said use the 7th to slot Interrupt in a Snipe but that's superfluous now so I guess play it by ear. *those worth playing more than once post-50

Don't get in a flap! I'd like to see something like a parasail where the PC can glide around suspended from a huge kite above their head.

Aquatic beings known as "Sea men" no doubt. I love the silver age because I remember, as I got into comics in the early 70s, there were lots of people in my real life who were even weirder than that. Some of the strangest seem to have become elevated to high office.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification. I always thought those two groups were connected.

I think in terms of game mechanics, rather than specific lore, this was a sop to those who didn't know about/forgot to get the Isolator badge. It was possible to get it from Recluse's Victory but that was long and tedious and you had to be very high level IF I'm correct, these were added to make that badge achieveable - but it's mostly redundant now since you can get it in a Flashback mission via Ouro when you join the Menders

On blueside, Paragon Transport Authority seems to run most public transportation, and there are even a couple of missions where we have to save the PTA from nefarious evil doers. But I don't think I've ever seen anything relating to who runs the Rogue Isles Ferries - either management or operation, and it seems to me this would be a strategically vulnerable part of the Isles transportation network, vulnerable to rogue (small r) actors, unaligned villain groups - Skyraiders spring to mind - and indeed Longbow. Destroying a ferry link would be likely quite difficult for Arachnos and villains generally especially at lower levels before gaining access to flyers and teleporters and Lord Recluse's good graces. It seems there's the potential possibility of a few interesting story arcs/TFs/SFs there but I don't know if there's any actual documentation regarding overall responsibility for their maintenance, management and general safety. Anyone have any info?

Actually there wasn't. You simply imagined it! Your offence is unnecessary