Tell me about your "main"

[TheOtherTed]

My current "main" (who is really more my "go-to" character) is a MA/Ninjitsu (sp) scrapper wearing a long, dark blue coat (Cybertech Long jacket - which, by the way, got messed up with the latest update) over black clothes and sporting dark blue shades (Slick, black and blue).

 

She's unstoppable.  Smoothest attack rotation I've seen in this or any other game, with plenty of ninja tricks to keep her going.  I've never settled on a firm backstory, but probably a former enforcer for some organized crime syndicate on the western side of the Pacific Rim.  Likely a government-sanctioned agent before that.  Quick, elegant, survivable - I honestly can't imagine playing a MA anything now without some kind of buttcape to emphasize the character's movements.

 

She's also a bit of a troll.  Her current badge title is "Unwelcome Guest" for a reason.  She's infiltrated the hero side of things, and occasionally pokes fun at the good guys or otherwise makes snide comments in General chat.  She hasn't teamed yet, but if she does, she'll likely ruin someone's day with her egregious use of Crane Kick.

[BlackSpectre]

My main is... Black Spectre (see avatar <--). He's a dark/dark defender from way back in my Champions pen and paper RPG days. My First hero.

Extremely versatile with an enormous amount of tools he can draw upon and can adjust to every situation, including good DPS. A true Jack of All Trades. His toolkit includes:

-To Hit (AOE), -Res (AOE), -Regen, -Dam (AOE), -Speed (AOE), -Fly (AOE), -Recharge, +Def, +Res, +Mez, +Dam, +Acc, +End

AOE Stealth, Invisibility, Intangibility, Hold, AOE Immobilize, AOE Fear, AOE Rez, AOE Heal, Flight, Teleport Target, Snipe

 

His build has undergone MANY revisions, before settling on his current build. Looking back at my Dark/Dark defender guide from 2007 always brings a chuckle (see link below). I had no idea what I was doing, and yet I wrote a guide! OH, it's embarrassing! LOL Well, chalk it up to my love for the character.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bill Z Bubba]

20 minutes ago, BlackSpectre said:

from way back in my Champions pen and paper RPG days.

 

Wonder how many of us ended up here because of that.

[Coyotedancer]

She's a legacy Midnighter, a Paragon University student and an Oranbegan death mage's mortal apprentice.

 

See that "Kai's Diary" link in my sig?

Yeah... That's hers. 😆 

 

I *also* have a revised version of my old main from the Liberty days here on Homecoming... This Grey Kestrel is a scrapper rather than a stalker, but otherwise is the same old Kes. Ridiculously loyal to Scir. Has a perma-summoned Adept partner. Very snarky, prone to solving problems with her swords and generally your typical Rogue-who's-better-at-heart-than-she'll-ever-admit. 

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by Coyotedancer

[Amaterasu]

14 hours ago, EmperorSteele said:

*points at his avatar*

 

Way back when i first started playing,  I wasn't too enthused. I had tried an empathy defender, and I think a katana/dark scrapper, and neither of them impressed me too much.

 

But one day I join a team, and I keep seeing dudes getting THROWN INTO THE AIR and I'm like "woah, what powerset is that?!" and the person said "Mind Control!" and I was all "oh damn, I gots to roll me one of those!"

 

And so I did.

 

What got me hooked is that I didn't have a backstory for her at first. I knew she was psychic, so I made sure her name, Patty-Sue Ivanova, accronym'd to "PSI" because I'm effin' clever like that =P

 

So I decided that SHE didn't know her backstory either, just her name. And as I played through the game, I carefully read all the mission text and clues to see which character or enemy group she would most likely be tied to.

 

The Skulls, Hellions or CoT? Nah, she wasn't magical. Outcasts? They were mutants (what I had put her origin as), but they were all elementalists, not, er, mentalists. Council? They had some good tech, buuut they seemed too focused on turning people into werewolves and vampires, not making them psychic.

 

Just as I started to doubt I'd be able to tie PSI's origins to anything in the game, I started running the Crey arcs. And HO-LE crapoli, it all fell together! Brainwashing? Cloning supers? Their BOSS was a pale-skinned, dark-haired woman with Psychic powers?!?!

 

It was PERFECT! i "discovered" that it would totally fit that PSI could be, not just another Crey project, but a clone of the countess herself! Like a body-double, in case anything ever happened to CC herself, and she needed a new body to put her mind into (like what Prof X wound up doing in both the comics and the movies, to a degree).

 

I never quite figured out how Crey would have let this project slip through their fingers (it mostly revolves around the body double gaining sentience and murdering her way out of the lab), but I've gotten some good mileage out of the concept. And so even though she isn't my most fun or powerful character (devs plz buff MC k thnx), she still remains my favorite!

 

That is actually how all of Crey's experiments/projects/secrets escape. Murdering their way out.

 

It's like Cerberus in Mass Effect, every time they experiment that experiment goes homicidal and takes over the base.  EVERY TIME.

 

But as a main, I don't really have -one- per say.

 

Acrogirl was my main back on old live, she's here too but I lost interest.

I rp Dread-Childe on Everlasting, she's a rad/dark brute

I have way too many characters to even think about 'main-ing'.

 

Altitis isn't a disease for me, it's  a constant state of existence.

Edited September 25, 2022 by Amaterasu

[Coyotedancer]

40 minutes ago, Amaterasu said:

 

That is actually how all of Crey's experiments/projects/secrets escape. Murdering their way out.

 

Grey Kestrel nods and says, "Damn straight. There's a *reason* the Revenant Guardian project doesn't show up as a line-item in the R&D budget anymore... 'Pretty hard to finance a clandestine research facility when the place is a burned-out ruin and the staff are all feeding the Natterlings. 'Wonder how THAT happened..."      

[MistressOhm]

What is this 'main' you speak of?  LOL!

 

My highest level is Storm Kachina, a member of the Hopi tribe who was born with vestigal winglets and a penchant for messing with the weather.  She's grown into a Shaman in her own right, taught the various Blessing Ways... but when the Rikti attacked (again!) she was -sent- to Paragon.  

 

 

(this is as close as I could get the costume designer to a traditional Kachina Dancer costume, the Clown.)

 

Which probably has a lot more to do with her choice of activism as a teen and young adult.  She is an AIM member, and a covert 'monkeywrencher' - for those who haven't read much Edward Abbey, this means she finds industrial operations on (or near) Native lands and sabotages the equipment so as to slow down the progress and/or cut into the profits.  She's run up damages in the billions (trashing a bucket-wheel excavator at a copper strip mine was a several hundred million dollar price tag - who knew running a lightning strike through the controls would do that much damage?).   So her relocation to the East Coast was probably less altruism and more "get her away from here before the Federal cops come and make life harder for everybody".

Edited September 28, 2022 by MistressOhm

[DoctorDitko]

3 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

Wonder how many of us ended up here because of that.

Lol! Almost every character of mine except Ditko is a refugee from PNP Champions!

Great game that cried out for a computerized version, then was betrayed by what it got!

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by DoctorDitko
'splaining

[MrAxe]

The TK Cavalier, Shield/Psi Melee Tank. Shield is just so great all round. Positional defense, DDR, best mez protection, resistance, cool attack etc, etc. Makes an easy to work with base for a set build and adds something to your costume, too.

 

Psi Melee includes telekinesis, my favourite super power. Also the variety in secondary effects and animations is nice.

[Greycat]

16 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

Wonder how many of us ended up here because of that.

 

I mentioned this back on live... probably from a naming question thread.

 

The "root" of my first main/forum namesake/etc (Memphis Bill) was back in Marvel's New Universe days - Dennis Cuzinski, part of D.P.7, aka "Scuzz." Some friends of mine were starting - not Champions, but Tristat Silver Age Sentinels. I wanted to make something more interesting than just the "tough guy," and my mind went to that character. So, I had a pretty decent tank - without the original's attitude - whose skin just constantly oozed acid. Played hell with the clothing budget, but had some interesting side effects (copying the "spitball," basically... but when I used it in a sort of entrance exam IC, I needed two handfulls of dice to deal with the various effects - yay tristat - and managed to make a bunker into rubble. Also had an AoE effect he discovered where he just described himself as "smelling real bad" - but the acid could disperse into the air around him and knock out most minions and such.)

 

Tried to remake him in Freedom Force, but ... never really got too far into that game.

 

Then COH came out, I figured my first runthrough should be with something resiliant. I thought of that character, and the closest thing I could get to it was a fire/ss tanker at the time. So I rilled with it.

[Snarky]

26 minutes ago, Greycat said:

 

I mentioned this back on live... probably from a naming question thread.

 

The "root" of my first main/forum namesake/etc (Memphis Bill) was back in Marvel's New Universe days - Dennis Cuzinski, part of D.P.7, aka "Scuzz." Some friends of mine were starting - not Champions, but Tristat Silver Age Sentinels. I wanted to make something more interesting than just the "tough guy," and my mind went to that character. So, I had a pretty decent tank - without the original's attitude - whose skin just constantly oozed acid. Played hell with the clothing budget, but had some interesting side effects (copying the "spitball," basically... but when I used it in a sort of entrance exam IC, I needed two handfulls of dice to deal with the various effects - yay tristat - and managed to make a bunker into rubble. Also had an AoE effect he discovered where he just described himself as "smelling real bad" - but the acid could disperse into the air around him and knock out most minions and such.)

 

Tried to remake him in Freedom Force, but ... never really got too far into that game.

 

Then COH came out, I figured my first runthrough should be with something resiliant. I thought of that character, and the closest thing I could get to it was a fire/ss tanker at the time. So I rilled with it.

Is Bio Armor good for the concept now?

[starro]

Saturnyne - blue 7 foot space woman exiled to earth. Super simple blue costume with invulnerable and super strength.  She has always been fun and often the last hero standing when the team gets wiped.   Made her in pilot and now a third time on homecoming 

[Greycat]

47 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Is Bio Armor good for the concept now?

 

Well, the concept's part one of others not wanting to be around, part "sandpaper" thanks to the acid - haven't run as bio, but dark/SS fit quite well when that got released to tanks on live.

[High_Beam]

My main on HC is not my main from Retail.  Retail it was High Beam, based on the character Thunderball I created from the old P&P days playing Champions and MSH with my brother and I drawing really bad comics telling the story of the adventure we just ran.  But when I discovered HC I tried to recreate her but the name was taken and even though I created a copy with an OG name in front, that coupled with the fact that I actually got sad when I played her forced me to stop and move on.  I have in fact avoided recreating any of my characters from those days (Highland Hammer, Eternal Amazon, Snap-Shot, ParaMedic, Siberian Shield . . . if those names are available, take them and have fun!).  If I could get High Beam (No underscores or X’s or any of that junk), I would run her back up but yeah, it hurts.  I guess the old saying you can never go back applies.

Here on HC its Di Di Guns, a DP/MC Blapper whose name is a tribute to an old SG mate from Retail (though the original DiDi was an AR Blaster so mine is her daughter).  Or Runeslinger who is climbing the ranks of regular go to and my Nukems of course (at least two of them).

[UltraAlt]

On 9/24/2022 at 8:09 PM, Cheddacheese said:

I was wondering if you guys could share your stories about your main character(s)?

 

What's a main character?

 

I only have a "main" character then a game, friends, or online gaming group forces me into it.

 

Any kind of "main" in City of Heroes are ones that more or less have a leveling-pact with a friend's or friends' character(s) that we make based on some plan and then generally play them up into the 40's or up to 50. I don't play those characters when the other player(s) aren't online. So really those aren't mains either ... and I don't think you can have multiple mains or mains that you stop playing once you are done main-ing them - if what I'm doing can even be considered main-ing them, when I spend more time playing other multiple characters per week more than those that I'm maining (if that is main-ing) - but maybe that is the main thing in a microcosm of the game.

 

I'm too busy alting to have a main.

Who am I kidding!?!

 

Don't take off your mask.

[UltraAlt]

15 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

PNP Champions!

 

I know you are trying to keep up with youngin's with "PnP".

I think the current lingo is "tabletop", old timer.

 

People alway trying to rewrite the language and seize terms.

 

Champions is/was an RPG. Role Playing Game. It says it on the cover.

 

 

 

 

[Snarky]

11 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

 

I know you are trying to keep up with youngin's with "PnP".

I think the current lingo is "tabletop", old timer.

 

People alway trying to rewrite the language and seize terms.

 

Champions is/was an RPG. Role Playing Game. It says it on the cover.

 

 

 

 

I have this game system on my bookshelf with lots of the supplements.   It is very clunky due to the slowness of combat system.   Accurate possibly but it bogs the play bad.  Have run a few campaigns in it.  My favorite GM likes a White Wolf type system where the dice are quick and the plot drives the action way more

 

My favorite creation as a GM was inspired by the old Batman TV show and used the pre written villain group for Champions.  The heroes were led to the villain lair which was disguised as a toy manufacturer called “Fun with Snakes”.  Death traps galore

Edited September 26, 2022 by Snarky

[roleki]

20 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

My current "main" (who is really more my "go-to" character) is a MA/Ninjitsu (sp) scrapper wearing a long, dark blue coat (Cybertech Long jacket - which, by the way, got messed up with the latest update) over black clothes and sporting dark blue shades (Slick, black and blue).

 

She's unstoppable.  Smoothest attack rotation I've seen in this or any other game, with plenty of ninja tricks to keep her going.

 

I had to retire my MA/WP (RIP Vladimir Bootin') and replaced him with a MA/Nin;  I'm glad I had to because those two sets just go together so well, just an endless flurry of limbs.  Love that combo.

 

My main, if there is such a thing, would be Burner Account or Tootboy; they're identical Fire/FF controllers that leverage high Def and KD to survive, while melting everything around them to nubbins with their AoEs and immortal Imps.  They're just beautiful contraptions.

 

[Ukase]

Main probably means different things to different folks. 

Back on live, "Main" meant the character you played more often than any other. For me, it was basically the character I used to get all the badges, or on live, as many as I could get, having missed out on the first couple of anniversary badges. 

Now, for me, main is all but meaningless. I don't just play one, nor do I play one more than most. But the character that I will always consider to be the best is my ice/ice blaster. Numbers suggest fire/fire is better, but numbers can lie, as it all depends on the build and more importantly, the player behind the character. Given that on live, I played the ice blaster far more than any other character, and I'm still using the same key binds, I have my strategies and tactics down to reflex mostly. The only time I need to think about things is when encountering new mechanics from some of the more recent content. So, for me, ice IS better than fire. By a noticeable margin. Obviously, other players will do better with fire than I will do with fire, but I'm going to do as well with ice as just about anyone I can think of. 

The reason(s) that drew me into the ice blaster were partially due to @olepi's guide to ice/ice back on the live forums after I had leveled a fire/stone tank to 50. I used that tank to do quite a bit of farming, not realizing that fire/fire would have been a better way to go, as far as efficiency goes. But I did enjoy that Seismic Smash! Still, I wanted something different. Olepi made an informative guide and sold me on the versatility and power of the ice blaster. Freeze Ray, a hold that does very good damage with a very fast animation and a distinct in-game sound, coupled with blizzard, a welcome nuke that didn't require me to be in the midst of the chaos that is melee was icing on the cake. 

All the attacks in ice primary, except for Bitter Freeze Ray, have crisp, clean, fast animations. Even though the mag of a blasters hold is lower than that of a controller, with fast recharge, there's no reason I couldn't contribute on the green mitos on hami raids either, simply because of the fast recharge of freeze ray. 

And probably the biggest thing for me then was ice patch. Now, I don't really find much use for it, but when leveling, ice patch was an excellent "oh shit" button. If my holds missed, or I got over-run, the ice patch would always save me, except against the likes of Nesferatu who didn't slip like most other bosses. Always had to try and stay at range with him, and would often kite him as best I could just to get past him. Of course, this was all before inventions sets, so I had no defense. Never occurred to me then to take fighting pool or leadership. 
I was so ignorant, I didn't even know that I was ignorant. 

Still, just the memories of playing the character, even in pvp before travel suppression was a thing, I had a lot of fun with my ice blaster. The only thing that comes close to that fun now is my ss/fire brute, my shield/mace tank and my fire/fire blaster. But ice will always be the best if anyone asks, prefaced with the caveat of "There is no best", just "best for me". 

[Zhym]

He's Vet Level 215 and my badger (and my profile image on the forums), so I guess that means he's my "main":

 

I ran him through almost all the blueside and redside as he leveled, pausing XP along the way and using tip missions to do the alignment changes.  I've played this toon a lot (Madeleine in Atlas Park tells me I've played him for a total of 1,047 hours, though some of that was AFK farming for a damage taken badge). 

 

As for why I've played this toon so much, I think it's because the toon hits the magic combo of theme and being fun to play.  "70s Man" is a concept I can run with in RP when I feel like it, and DP/MC is an absolute hoot to play.  

Edited September 26, 2022 by Zhym

[Frostbiter]

My main is a 4" HDPE connected to the cities water meter.

[Ringo]

My main on live was Robo the Clown - an Illusion/FF controller.  Played him from Issue 1 through Shutdown.  I loved him, but swore I would never run FF again.  His HC replacement was a Praetorian Illusion/Traps.    But one of my most fun characters on live was a Plant/Storm Controller named Gaia's Fury, and when Homecoming became a thing one of my first characters was another Plant/Storm:  Jenny Chaos

 

She has no backstory besides the name and my usual playstyle (Do as Jenny Says, Not as she Does is the SG's motto), but she's a ton of fun and I still play her regularly.  She's probably my only fully t4 Incarnate on HC.  And while Jenny has no real backstory, she has declared that she LIVES ON THE EDGE and HAILS FROM THE CHAOS ZONE often enough that I have another dozen or so characters who actually have backstories linked to the "Chaos Zone".  Jenny, however, remains a mystery.  As does her Praetorian counterpart Nrg/Plant Blaster Genevieve Chaos

[Sir Myshkin]

1 hour ago, Ringo said:

And while Jenny has no real backstory, she has declared that she LIVES ON THE EDGE and HAILS FROM THE CHAOS ZONE often enough that I have another dozen or so characters who actually have backstories linked to the "Chaos Zone". 

 

[Nostromo21]

My current main is Pen Umbra, my Ill/Dark troller. She flies faster than Supes, hides better than The Invisible Woman, and has some super-nasty debuffs & pets that just chew up the bad guys! 🙂 Ok, I'm only just hitting 39 and also have severe alt-o-holism, but she is my best and easiest toon to solo bar none so far.

 

I also love(d) my PB Elektra Luxx, must play more of her as she's 22 and just got her Dwarf form recently. Must get proper IOs for her to see how she can really perform.

Also, I did get my Beast/Nature MM Felicity Fenris to mid 20s - must play her some more as I do love them puppies & kitties he he.

I usually love stealth gameplay & tried a Rad/Rad Stalker "Roentgen" is her name - a little underwhelming, so I've rolled another Elec/Energy one called "Elektralight", so sue me :).

Any suggestions on easiest to solo stalkers much appreciated, although I might miss the safety of flying+ranged+stealth+pets with my Pen eh.

[MistressOhm]

1 hour ago, Nostromo21 said:

Any suggestions on easiest to solo stalkers much appreciated

 

MA/Nin or Staff Fighting/Nin flow very well as stalkers go.  Both take a bit for the rotations to 'bloom' but once you get into the 20's you'll have enough attacks to get a nice rhythm going.   Staff's animations are kind of goofy though, altho' there's one where you whirl it to where you grip the end, not the middle, and then thrust it like a spear... that one's actually a 'thrown' attack (ranged) and is useful for taking down anything that decides to run or fly away.