Player2

We've had the weapon models from prestige attacks Ghost Slaying Axe and Nemesis Staff added to weapon customization already with the former being given to the Battle Axe powerset and the latter added to both Staff and Titan Weapons. Any chance we could ever see the Blackwand granted to us? I could see it in both War Mace to club people with and Dual Blades. It's not a sword, so why DB? Well, it is pointy so it would work for the stabby attacks... and we could say it's the magical energies that are doing the cutting for the slashing attacks. Plus, it would look really cool with the dark energy trails on it swinging around with a pair of them.

Servers are back up now, right?

How much do I have? Not nearly enough? I always accept donations, though.

Saturday Night Synapse... happens every week. Multiple teams running the Synapse TF simultaneously and timing their release of Babbages, herding them to one spot without hurting them, and once everyone and all of the GMs are assembled, Hell is unleashed and let the Babbages beware.

Well, you could use artificial light... I suppose. You just can't make them work in the dark.

Books don't have batteries. They're solar powered.

Attach that one to the Apocalypse Soon script... because double meaning. There's a bomb in it and the film bombs at the box office if you don't get the good ending.

That sounds like a possible AE mission arc. Recluse just wants to have a cup of coffee, but work and heroes keep interrupting him. Final mission in the arc is a destroy object, and it's a coffee maker... because add insult to injury by intentionally depriving him of the coffee just because.

I imagine a drawer full of the toys, so he can smash whatever's on his desk... brush it away, pull out another and leave it there until the urge to lash out occurs but he doesn't want to walk to the gym because he's too busy with Arachnos administrative paperwork. The training dummies will be for later when work is done or when he needs a bigger aggro vent.

One more... a Wonder Woman pastiche character, for sure. Miracle Maiden Invulnerability / Martial Arts Tanker Finally found a top (pic #3) that lines up pretty well with the Labeaux thong... except it's not a top, it's a chest detail armor piece.

Here are a few more I've been playing around with lately: Close Call Dual Blades / Regeneration Stalker Envy Radiation Melee / Radiation Armor Stalker Moxy Dual Pistols / Regeneration Sentinel

In a city of superheroes, I'm sure they have PR agents and probably licensed their likenesses for toys, T-shirts, and other merch to inspire all the good boys and girls, as well as fans, collectors, and other grown up nerds. Just because superheroes are real in their world doesn't mean kids wouldn't want them in toy form. Hell, it might make the idea more desirable. I'll bet Lord Recluse gets a steady shipment of Freedom Phalanx action figures just so he can smash them on his desk when he's irritated. Everyone needs a hobby.

There are 10 Event badges associated with the Summer Blockbuster. If it were to be broken up into 4 seasonal blockbusters, that could be 30 more badges!!

Hilariously untrue.

A couple more names being released into the wild... Mr. Hot Wings Raw Deal

Costume contests summed up nicely.

Fun fact: Tiger Blood is presently available as a name on every shard except Excelsior.

I define winning by how well someone's character concept looks. Costume creator is one of the most difficult but rewarding mini-games in COH. Coming up with a creative name that fits because you couldn't get the one you really wanted is just gravy. Simple but informative bio to explain it all? S-Tier.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the original devs intent was followed up on here at Homecoming. You should be able to find numerous instances in the patch notes of things like some proc enhancements being made unique, not firing multiple times, fixing things that didn't fire off when they should have or firing off wrong, and other refinements... so further work has definitely been done.

Summer Blockbuster could be renamed as Seasonal Blockbuster. Summer stays the same. Fall can include the Stay Alive! and Ghost Pirate Treasure Isle movie I described above. Both are perfect Halloween season themes. Winter could be Armageddon Soon and Okayfellas movies... in Armageddon Soon, have talk about the coming nuclear winter come up in the dialogue. Keep the mob theme in Okayfellas, but throw a holiday spin on it and the loot you're trying to find and return to the authorities is a Christmas present glowie... and there are several scattered about, so you have to search them all to find the right one while spoiling the surprise on various kids' gifts by unwrapping them early. All the wrong presents have cool Freedom Phalanx action figures, some less than exciting one can include things like an autographed photo of Flambeaux, Icon brand socks & underwear, Sally and Lusca plushies, the new Fusionette-endorsed battery charger, assorted Crey products, etc. and Spring could be Jailbreak and Love and Ninjas. Jailbreak is a good analogy for breaking out of those winter blues with the protagonists trying to win their freedom. Hooray springtime! Love and Ninjas is your February romance movie... but with ninjas.

Additional movie ideas: Stay Alive!, a horror movie that uses the Halloween haunted house map. This one should be a panicked survival run through the end with nigh invulnerable ghouls and ghosts chasing you. They either have impossibly high resists or regen or attack from phasing or different monsters with different abilities. Player damage should be all but useless, but the monsters can still be stunned, held, immobilized, and repelled (to give you moments of respite to click glowies). They stop when you get to the cemetery, but then something even more horrifying (a giant monster) appears. The giant monster CAN be defeated but should be almost impossible... unless you pick up tools (four total, one for each player) on your way through the house. Having one or more of these will debuff the giant monster the same way destroying the pylons in that TF with Lord Recluse. If possible, having the giant monster spawned be kind of random like the end of the Halloween Banners Event would add a little more to the suspense because you don't know what's going to be there. Ghost Pirate Treasure Isle... it takes place on an island; just park the ghost ship a little ways off and have waves upon waves of ghost pirates attack while the players defend the treasure chest. The pirates attempt to destroy it (looting it until it's empty). Once the timer runs out and the treasure is successfully defended, the ghosts stop but the Ghost Pirate King EB spawns and you have to find and defeat him. Armageddon Soon is a thriller about mercenaries trying to launch a nuke at Paragon City. Ideally, the heroes would have to fight their way through the missile complex in Warburg... if you could fence off a small area outside it and the whole of inside it. This one could follow the old mainstay of needing the heroes get door keys to get to the heart of the complex. Fun twist, the end of this movie can be preventing the nuke from being launched... and/or the players could decide to launch it themselves. Players are awarded a different badge for whichever ending they choose. Jailbreak, an escape movie where the heroes play the roles of convicts attempting to break out of the Zig. In their escape, they have to fight guards, maybe some other prisoners, a few lesser heroes (put Flambeaux and her friends in, I dare you)... but at the end you have to face off against one of the Freedom Phalanx. Love and Ninjas is a story about trying to facilitate the romance between two NPCs, one is a friend of the heroes and the other his/her true love. Both of them are from rival ninja clans, however, and both clans are upset at trying to unite the two lovebirds. This could be ideally a two-part escort mission as you attempt to get each to a specific location, then defend against one final assault from both clans at once. Okayfellas, an organized crime story featuring Family and Mooks and the protagonists caught in the middle. Lots of gunplay in this one, perhaps some stolen loot that needs to be found and turned in to authorities upon which the rival mob factions have to stop attacking because they'll be under intense legal scrutiny for awhile.

Yes, the 2nd and 3rd ones tread a dangerous line. DC has had a Captain Marvel knockoff called Captain Thunder fight Superman, and he had a chest symbol very similar to this one instead of the normal lightning bolt. The Miles Morales knockoff... I'm going to leave that to GMs to make the call, as it should be... But, honestly, that 1st one is almost a perfect example of what could be considered permissible under the law. Yes, it's very much a Captain America pastiche character, but in name and appearance it would meet the standard of legally distinct. If someone tried to publish this character, Marvel might still want to sue to defend their Trademark, but it's likely they wouldn't be awarded anything or the person who wrote it might have to alter some of the background story details. Super soldiers are a regular thing now, so in concept that passes... and naming it Superior soldier instead of super is another plus. However, the part about being trapped in ice and frozen until modern day might need to be revised because that cuts a little too close to the mark. If helps that it isn't specified how... if he was frozen and floating along the same path Marvel's character did, that would definitely be too far. But for all we know, the specific details of this character being frozen were a cryogenic experiment or a villain's attempt to imprison him.

Close is fine. Gone are the days when the courts can't tell two tights wearing muscle men apart which led to DC suing Fawcett Comics into oblivion over Captain Marvel (Shazam) and then later buying him up to add to their own universe. It's all about being legally distinct. If the costume is similar but different (chest symbol goes a long way in this regard), and the name is different, then you could have on your hands what is called a pastiche character. Marvel has done this repeatedly with their Superman wannabes like Gladiator, Hyperion, and Sentry.

Just a side note, because there are always people who try to bring up parody and "fair use" arguments. And in some cases, they are legitimate... but even still, no one should count on that as a means of copying their favorite character. Parody uses can still be looked at as Trademark infringement and a court gets the final say in whether or not the parody holds up or truly infringes (or damages) the brand of the Trademark holder. And what that means is that if the Trademark holder can be reasonably assumed to be aware of it --and let's assume that NCSoft granting official license to Homecoming for COH is big news and social media streaming videos are permitted, anything is possible-- then they would have to sue the source to protect themselves from potentially losing the Trademark. If they don't, then it could be considered to be abandoned and then someone else could try to register it and cite sources of it being used elsewhere and not getting a C&D or other legal notice as abandonment of the Trademark. So who do they sue? The individual using it? Sure, if that person can be identified. Otherwise, they have to go after the company that enables it. In this case, COH: Homecoming. And, again, the parody may very well be legitimate and could be upheld by a court. But HC would still have to go to court to defend it... and that would cost money. It's much easier to say no to "parody" that isn't so blatant that it would get tossed out. Because some parody can look close to legitimate... like how a TV show that does sketch comedy could make fun of a superhero comic or movie or whatever. You know it's parody because they are doing a bit... but even still, I'm sure they've got lawyers on the ready to defend as needed. But some schmuck makes a Superman clone in this game and says "it's okay because it's parody," then what's the joke and where's the line, and who defends it in court? The game is back and here for you to enjoy. It's not the responsibility of Homecoming to defend anyone's attempt at parody, homage, or whatever else you choose to call your knockoff characters. I am not a lawyer and none of this is legal advice. Your mileage may vary.