Zombie Invasion Broken

[PeregrineFalcon]

About an hour ago I was on Torchbearer server in Port Oakes when I saw the sky change color and then saw the event announcement "Zombie Invasion in Port Oakes." My teammate and I waited for about 15 minutes but the zombies never showed up.

 

A few points:

1) No, there were no other instances of Port Oakes, at least not according to the Rogue Isles Ferry (I checked).

2) Yes, we were on the ground.

3) No, we were not under anything.

4) We were out in the middle of a street well away from any arbiter drones or any other NPCs.

5) We did not have any active stealth powers.

6) Also, other people in the zone also were not seeing any zombies.

7) After waiting a long time I flew around the zone for a bit and saw the normal NPCs were still standing around, but no zombies anywhere.

 

[Jaguaratron]

It may have a minimum amount of people in a area requirement

[PeregrineFalcon]

Do you know that's the case or are you just guessing?

[Jaguaratron]

Do you know that's the case or are you just guessing?

 

Its what I have seen from play, running through solo, never see a zombie, find a group of people = zombies galore.

[Trickshooter]

I remember a Patch Note from Issue 25 saying that invasions won't spawn enemies for characters below level 25.

[justicebeliever]

I remember a Patch Note from Issue 25 saying that invasions won't spawn enemies for characters below level 25.

 

I knew I had heard something to, but couldn't put my finger on it...+1 Inf Trickshooter

 

From the i25 patch notes - https://docs.google.com/document/d/11cLJiSYlfueJheOumRywG8Evip2Mjmu_30Y6ePaetqY

 

Rikti, Zombie and Nemesis Invasions won't spawn critters on characters with a combat level of 25 or lower.

[Erydanus]

Upon reflection ... why??? The enemies scale to the level of the person fighting them. It's not like a level 50 Zombie EB is going to jump a lone person in Atlas Park.  This does explain why a bunch of us at-level in Cap Au Diable got a complete wash of an invasion one time. I was looking forward to getting a badge and some random drops as a break from regular leveling.

 

Having a hard time wrapping my head around this particular change.

[PeregrineFalcon]

Thanks for the info all, much appreciated!

 

Yes, we were definitely under level 25, so I'm sure that's what happened instead of it being a bug. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[Clave Dark 5]

I didn't even know these things were ever happening, I have still seen not one of any of them.  And I am disappointed!

[Bleak Sun]

Upon reflection ... why??? The enemies scale to the level of the person fighting them. It's not like a level 50 Zombie EB is going to jump a lone person in Atlas Park.  This does explain why a bunch of us at-level in Cap Au Diable got a complete wash of an invasion one time. I was looking forward to getting a badge and some random drops as a break from regular leveling.

 

Having a hard time wrapping my head around this particular change.

It also means that Port Oakes will never see a successful zombie invasion simply because the zone is low level. So why bother having them there? The level 25 restriction, as Erydanus said, makes no sense. Temporary scalable content should scale. If you want an event to proc only above a certain zone population level, then fine, but that's not the way it used to be done in CoX either.

 

"Back in the day" before NCSOFT execs turned en masse to the dark side, my main was one of only a handful of toons trapped in Brickstown during a zombie invasion. The event began anyway, and my character held off dozens solo, unable to get to the others to team. The event failed (no event rewards) because there weren't enough of us to make a dent in the zombie numbers before the timer ran out.

 

It didn't fail to begin, however.

 

A desperate struggle against an opponent that outnumbers you by hundreds is one of the things that being a hero is all about. If you think such a struggle has no place in this game, then you aren't in tune with the theme. Zombie invasions and Rikti raids should be implemented as significant threats, not something that suffers ED just because a small number of lowbies happened to be the only ones in the area to resist it.

[Legree]

Upon reflection ... why??? The enemies scale to the level of the person fighting them. It's not like a level 50 Zombie EB is going to jump a lone person in Atlas Park.  This does explain why a bunch of us at-level in Cap Au Diable got a complete wash of an invasion one time. I was looking forward to getting a badge and some random drops as a break from regular leveling.

 

Technically they scale, but I dimly recall someone once said that they do have a base level of 15, so they are in effect scaled up or scaled down level 15 mobs, and are weaker or tougher than an actual level 15 in the same way that exemped characters are depending on their true level.  So my lowbies in Kings Row or Mercy would have epic battles against 1 Rikti ltnt mob, while my mid-30s MM in St. Martial would massacre anything in range without stepping out of /em boombox.

 

Anyway, I really wish they'd reverse this change.  My first Rikti invasion event was the most memorable experience of my original trial period of CoH, and I miss them, even if it does take me minutes to beat down one Rikti.

[Erydanus]

Rikti invasion mobs have an internal level of 30. The scaling happens between the player and the mob up and down.

 

If a low level character ran into difficulty with zombie or Rikti invasion mobs, I don't think it's an issue of the internal level being so high as much as they're fairly strong foes. If your character is not set up to solo and you get jumped by a couple it can be quite hard. But to me that's more of the same thing you encounter any day you're running through a zone like King's Row to your door mission having clockwork taking pot shots at you.  At least with invasions, if you have sprint on and are moving; or you're under cover of a building overhang; you shouldn't be targeted so it's quite easy to ignore them. I think with the free former veteran reward attacks and the self buff powers and the prestige jumping powers it shouldn't be a problem dealing with attracting a couple.

 

I did actually post in the suggestion thread to revert this change but someone came in with incorrect information and I got a little irate so I'm going to not re-engage over there. But it's over in the suggestion subforum if anyone wants to chime in.

[Legree]

I did actually post in the suggestion thread to revert this change but someone came in with incorrect information and I got a little irate so I'm going to not re-engage over there. But it's over in the suggestion subforum if anyone wants to chime in.

 

Consider it done.

[Solvernia]

A desperate struggle against an opponent that outnumbers you by hundreds is one of the things that being a hero is all about. If you think such a struggle has no place in this game, then you aren't in tune with the theme. Zombie invasions and Rikti raids should be implemented as significant threats, not something that suffers ED just because a small number of lowbies happened to be the only ones in the area to resist it.

 

This would make sense if they 1. weren't so common, and 2. didn't spawn only like, one mob at a time if you're solo.

[UltraAlt]

Very weird to day.

Was playing on a level 23 team. 

We travelled to two zone with a zombie invasion going on - red sky and all that. No zombies spawning out of the grond.

Move to a third zone zone (all of these were separate times that the events happened), running around and a level 50 comes over to the area ... the zombies spawnned.

 

Are zombies only getting spawned to attack people at a certain level at this point?

[DoctorDitko]

Yea, it looks like issue 25 made the minimum level to spawn either zuvimbies or BEMs 25.

 

Thanks for tracking that down, JusticeBeliever! I completely missed that item in the notes. All the other ish 25 stuff dazzled my eyes.

 

I wonder if they could set it to be based on the level of the zone, instead? To the suggestion thread, citizens!

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by DoctorDitko
Call to action

[UltraAlt]

8 minutes ago, DoctorDitko said:

Yea, it looks like issue 25 made the minimum level to spawn either zuvimbies or BEMs 25.

 

Thanks for tracking that down, JusticeBeliever! I completely missed that item in the notes. All the other ish 25 stuff dazzled my eyes.

 

I wonder if they could set it to be based on the level of the zone, instead? To the suggestion thread, citizens!

 

Must have been in the some old patch notes, because I'm not see it in the patch notes from yesterday.

Not listed on the https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Zombie_Apocalypse as far as I can see.

 

Why have Zombie Event in Talos or Steel ... or even Perez?! If there has to be someone at least level 25 for the zombies to spawn?!

Sounds like a Bug to me. Either on level equivalency for zone or having the events go off at all in zones that are too low for active zone characters to spawn them.

At the very least no reason for Zombie events to go off in Altas, Kings Row ,The Hollows, Perez Park, or Steel Canyon.

I don't think that they go off in Altas, Kings Row or the Hollows at this point ... and, if there is a level lock for spawning, that was probably one of the reasons. If the level was increased then Perez and  Steel Canyons shouldn't be spawning the events either.

Even if they are spawning around a 50, they still con to a level below 25. So it doesn't appear to be related to how difficult it is to defeat the zombies.

 

Seen banners appear and they critters spawn when those below level 25 are near them!

Just saying.

 

[UltraAlt]

Ah, I see the post from Posted June 18, 2019 ... referring to i25 that Homcoming dropped in 2013

(https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Issue_25#:~:text=Issue 25 launched in May,patchers%2C Tequila and Island Rum.) 

... City of Heroes sunset August 31, 2012.

Kind of hard to read those patch notes....unless you do a search for issue 25 because patch notes on the current forums only go back to May 2019.

 

Didn't notice it last year. Must not have been playing a charter under level 25 outside of a League in Peregrine island.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by UltraAlt

[UltraAlt]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11cLJiSYlfueJheOumRywG8Evip2Mjmu_30Y6ePaetqY/edit# ::

 

"Events:

 

Halloween:

A new vanity pet is available in P2W: a Tarantula Spider.

The Halloween Salvage traders now have additional rewards: the Tarantula Spider, a Respec Recipe, and all the NPC costume change powers (non-permanent, 2 week duration).

Tailors are preparing for Halloween with the following new pieces:

Mummified tights pattern: available for face, chest, gloves, pants, and boots (under Flat).

Mummified capes.

Floating head category. Includes the following options with or without a metal base:

Headless

Sphere (glass or metal)

Human Skull (multiple eyeball and jaw options)

Human Skull face detail option

Jawbones face detail options

Tombstone backpack, with optional chains

Wicker Basket backpack

 

Low-level zones now have a 1/9 chance to spawn Jack in Irons instead of Eochai; high-level zones now have a 1/3 chance, up from 1/9."

 

Not seeing anywhere in here that the there is a level trigger for zombie spawns.

[Shenanigunner]

I hate zombie invasions more than any other zone event. It's a huge PITA not to be able to even park in a quiet corner to chat or do alt tweaking or even grab a soda. Even on roofs, in water and other ridiculous places for zombies to manifest.

 

However... nothing amuses me more than parking on some high point and watching while zombies continually materialize in thin air and fall to their second deaths. I can just crunch popcorn and giggle for the whole event.

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Shenanigunner

[Greycat]

I don't recall right offhand if this was supposed to work with all invasions or just the rikti ones, but doesn't being under "cover" work? (overhangs, under bridges, etc?) Inside buildings should be fine, too. 

 

As far as the midair thing... yeah. They've done that. It's ... yeah. 

[Wavicle]

1 hour ago, Shenanigunner said:

I hate zombie invasions more than any other zone event. It's a huge PITA not to be able to even park in a quiet corner to chat or do alt tweaking or even grab a soda. Even on roofs, in water and other ridiculous places for zombies to manifest.

 

However... nothing amuses me more than parking on some high point and watching while zombies continually materialize in thin air and fall to their second deaths. I can just crunch popcorn and giggle for the whole event.

 

 

I'm pretty sure you'll be safe if you park under something. Just like with Rikti. Am I wrong?

[Shenanigunner]

3 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

I'm pretty sure you'll be safe if you park under something. Just like with Rikti. Am I wrong?

 

Zombies seem to pop up no matter where you are. When they even pop out of thin air while you're on rooftops and even smokestacks, I don't think standing under a bridge or whatever will stop them. 🙂

[Wavicle]

Just now, Shenanigunner said:

 

Zombies seem to pop up no matter where you are. When they even pop out of thin air while you're on rooftops and even smokestacks, I don't think standing under a bridge or whatever will stop them. 🙂

 

Have you verified this? My understanding was always that they won't spawn inside buildins or under cover. Will check later myself.

[Shenanigunner]

41 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

Have you verified this? My understanding was always that they won't spawn inside buildins or under cover. Will check later myself.

 

Inside buildings, no, but there isn't always a Hospital or Store nearby. I am pretty sure I've tried every outdoor location and been Deadite-ed there. Will experiment a little more tonight.

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Shenanigunner