Wanted to Introduce Myself....and ask questions

[Techwright]

Welcome!

 

I see a lot of comments about the Intellectual Property concern, but it's not all gloom.  Consider than limitation paradoxically allows for creativity.  I've a few "homage" characters that people know were influenced by a licensed character but there's enough differences that they are their own entity.  I rather like that, as I'm not living off someone else's fantasy, but making one of my own off their foundational work.  Here's one for example.

 

As to the Auction House, there's ways to make money, some of which I've read about but never tapped myself.  One that I use I learned from this video by gregg29407 all the way back in 2019.  I may not be the richest player (by far) but after a patient build up of wealth by this method in the video, I'm able to fund any new character right up to his endgame, while still maintaining a sizeable nest egg.

 

 

[Techwright]

6 hours ago, Oubliette_Red said:

Also @Techwright posted a pretty concise list of acronyms here:

 

There is one on the wiki that hast nearly everything, but @Techwright points out the ones you will come across the most.

 

 

Nice to see this is still helping people.  I'll note that if one looks down that thread I made 2 more posts with additional acronyms.  I really should review this at some point to see if there's any more a new player is likely to encounter early on.  There may even be some that have been added to the game in the last 4 years (has it been so long since I wrote that?).

[Oubliette_Red]

21 minutes ago, Techwright said:

 

Nice to see this is still helping people.  I'll note that if one looks down that thread I made 2 more posts with additional acronyms.  I really should review this at some point to see if there's any more a new player is likely to encounter early on.  There may even be some that have been added to the game in the last 4 years (has it been so long since I wrote that?).

 

I included a couple myself on that thread. I would have pointed to the wiki, but it's just an alphabetical list with links to individual pages for each acronym. I think your list his much easier to digest. :)

 

[GM Crumpet]

2 hours ago, Oubliette_Red said:

@GM Crumpet I would have to disagree slightly regarding white salvage/recipes. There are always people working on their Crafting Badges, so there are always people looking for these on the AH. Is it a huge return? Not really, but it also gains you progress towards AH badges, for those of us who care. Otherwise yeah, they are pretty much trash.

 

Oh I agree, and as a long time player who has more inf than I can spend it's not a problem. I'll drag everything into the AH. For a new player trying to get a boost up on their inf levels it's better to sell for the best price though.

[UltraAlt]

16 hours ago, WuTang said:

I'm still in the new-boy phase where I'm just cloning my favorite super heroes from the comics so haven't gotten too exotic or original yet, though I did just create a "magic" Hulk as a Brute with dark melee and willpower armor. I did an original science super strength and invulnerability brute Hulk but it felt like I pigeonholed the toon, though I fully intend on leveling him out at some point. Oh I lied...did create an original Brute with energy/radiation fun combo so far. Also wanted to say....some of y'all have some incredible imaginations when it came to character creation. 

 

10 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

• Copy the color scheme
• Clone the costume
• Approximate the name

 

I would change that and order to

1) same or very similar name

2) clone the costume or very close to it - including color scheme

 

If caught for 1, you will get your name generic-ed by the GMs. If you keep trying to cheat on the offending name, your account is likely to be banned.

If caught for 2, your costume will changed by the GMs. If you keep trying to look like an IP and get caught, you're going to get your account banned as well.

 

If your characters are either of the above, I would change them before a GM has to.

It's to protect Homecoming. If you read the Code of Conduct and Terms of Service and understand them, then I'm sure that you did neither of these.

 

It is easy enough to make a homage character with the same feel of a character without making them a duplicate/clone to the level that it would be IP infringing.

If you do it well, people will even know who you are "trying to be" without having the same name or exactly the same costume.

 

Really this game is about being creative, so I would suggest making your own character conceptions even if they are within a known comic book/fantasy/sci-fi/etc environment - as long as you don't directly reference the environment in your bio, then you are usually good to go (don't say you are member of the Avengers, X-men, Jedi, JLA, JSA, etc, or a Hobbit, Vulcan, Wookie, etc.)

 

16 hours ago, WuTang said:

The AH, man that is dog eat dog... You vets show no mercy, all good though. But I'm getting the hang of it...somewhat. I'm not raking in 100s of mil but I've socked away a few mil....nothing to brag about but it keeps the lights on.

 

The /AH is the greatest and most played PVP in City of Heroes.

 

16 hours ago, WuTang said:

Enhancements, what are "SO" etc? IOs are the sets, right?

 

There are TOs (Training Enhancement - generic), DO's (Dual Origin enhancements - can slot it if your character is one of the two Origins), and SO's (Single Origin enacements - can only slot if your character has the same origin). Enemy groups drop DO's and SO's based on their origin. So, back-in-the-day, you would try to fight against enemies that were the same origin as your character to insure you could get drops that you could slot.

IOs are Invention enhancements. They can be sets or they can be the generic version of the SO's.

 

There are some main difference between the TO/DO/SO's and the IO's. TO/DO/SO's expire after 5 levels, but they can be automatically upgraded to max level (2 levels above your character) using the upgrade button on the manage screen. Generic IO's always stay the same level of benefit regardless of level.

As indicated by others, always buy attuned IO sets - as those level with your character - up or down - as you sidekick, level, or mentor. You can attune unattuned IO set enhancements with catalyst in the management interface screen by 1) clicking on the enhancement, 2) if you have catalyst, it will show up on the upper left, and 3) by clicking on the catalyst and confirming that you want to use the catalyst to attune the enhancement. 

 

Then there are also other types for things like defeating the Hamidon and some other TF missions that are more powerful than that same level of SO or generic IO.

Also, there are 2 sets of ATOs (Archetype enhancements) per Archetype. These can be purchased through the Auction House, a Merit vendor, or https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Super_Pack. There are no recipes of ATOs.

And there is the Event Sets, There several in the https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Super_Pack/Lords_of_Winter for power catagories like holds, melee attacks, ranged attacks, ranged AoE's, etc. And there is the Summer Blockbuster Event grants you an enhancement from the https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Overwhelming_Force set. All of these are usually on-sale on the Auction House and can be bought through a Merit vendor as well. Like the ATO's there are no recipes for them.

 

17 hours ago, WuTang said:

P.S. great community btw!

 

Have fun!

[WuTang]

13 hours ago, Techwright said:

I've a few "homage" characters that people know were influenced by a licensed character but there's enough differences that they are their own entity. 

Well when you have an 8ft tall toon with unnatural skin coloring but otherwise looks human... I think it's sort of obvious who is being paid homage too. But really after making a classic hulk-like toon and trying to stay true to the powerset, with the game mechanics being what they are, it's really too limiting. That's why I just made a giant magic dude. Similar look but with a more flexible playstyle, and as you implied, he's more fun.

[WuTang]

Another question.....

XP modifier buffs, pros and cons?

 

Cons

It seems the only con is no inf drops, but that as of lvl 36 seems superfluous to what I get from vendoring drops and the occasional lucky sale on the AH. One other small con...I am leveling out of areas and haven't quite figured out how to find contacts out of story. So I do radio missions...alot. Though to me those are not boring until I have to do a bank heist. The stories still work as long as they are mostly instances, but as soon as they change to "go kill X number of these bad dudes" the XP drops...though I don't miss as much so the fights are quick and savage.

 

Pros

The biggest pro is leveling out and getting those new shiny and oh so tasty powers. I need that fix sometimes. Seriously, I know I'm new but the combination of powers in CoH still blows my mind, just adds so much uniqueness and flavor.

 

That's it really the only pros and cons I currently see. So is XP boost mostly good or do I just not see the bad cause I'm power-blind?

 

Oh and so far I've only kept one toon on boost to just get a lvl 50 under my belt. As my game time is limited and I do love me some alt-sugar, it can take me a long time to max out.

 

As always, thanks in advance!

-WT

Edited February 2 by WuTang

[TheOtherTed]

Just now, WuTang said:

I am leveling out of areas and haven't quite figured out how to find contacts out of story.

In the in-game options menu, you can turn off XP to keep from outleveling contacts.  I use it often when running favorite or interesting arcs, or when I do "side missions" (especially alignment missions, but sometimes radio/newspaper missions as well).

 

Just now, WuTang said:

The biggest pro is leveling out and getting those new shiny and oh so tasty powers.

It's been said that CoH, unlike many other MMOs, is at least as much about the journey as the destination.  Leveling one character up to 50 is fine, but be sure to stop and smell the roses with some of your other characters.  There's a lot to explore, not only story-wise, but in terms of archetypes, powersets, etc.

 

Disclaimer:  I personally despise XP boosters and all they represent, but I get that people (especially vets) would want to bypass the early missions as quickly as possible.

[DukeGude]

On 1/31/2024 at 7:37 PM, Oubliette_Red said:

@GM Crumpet I would have to disagree slightly regarding white salvage/recipes. There are always people working on their Crafting Badges, so there are always people looking for these on the AH. Is it a huge return? Not really, but it also gains you progress towards AH badges, for those of us who care. Otherwise yeah, they are pretty much trash.

 

I agree, even if the going price/highest bid is slightly less than the "garbage dump" (i.e. NPC shop) value, I still list it hoping that someone who needs it will be able to snatch it off and craft something good for themselves. It is true though that I have been on the other side to buy up cheap recipes and chuck it to the hungry quartermaster near me... 

 

  

15 minutes ago, TheOtherTed said:

In the in-game options menu, you can turn off XP to keep from outleveling contacts.  I use it often when running favorite or interesting arcs, or when I do "side missions" (especially alignment missions, but sometimes radio/newspaper missions as well).

 

It's been said that CoH, unlike many other MMOs, is at least as much about the journey as the destination.  Leveling one character up to 50 is fine, but be sure to stop and smell the roses with some of your other characters.  There's a lot to explore, not only story-wise, but in terms of archetypes, powersets, etc.

 

Disclaimer:  I personally despise XP boosters and all they represent, but I get that people (especially vets) would want to bypass the early missions as quickly as possible.

And part of the journey is certainly doing it all over again i.e. altitis

Edited February 2 by DukeGude

[WuTang]

One more for the day then work..........

My in game email is not @wutang but the name of the first toon I created. Why is that? Also, if I rename or delete that toon do I still keep the same email?

[TygerDarkstorm]

7 minutes ago, WuTang said:

One more for the day then work..........

My in game email is not @wutang but the name of the first toon I created. Why is that? Also, if I rename or delete that toon do I still keep the same email?

I don't have an answer for why it does that, but yes to keeping the same global even if you delete the toon, and you can also choose to change your global name.

[Skyhawke]

23 hours ago, WuTang said:

That's why I just made a giant magic dude. 

 

Giant Magic Dude is such a great name. Snag it! Fast!

[TrixieChrome]

3 hours ago, WuTang said:

Another question.....

XP modifier buffs, pros and cons?

 

Cons

It seems the only con is no inf drops, but that as of lvl 36 seems superfluous to what I get from vendoring drops and the occasional lucky sale on the AH. One other small con...I am leveling out of areas and haven't quite figured out how to find contacts out of story. So I do radio missions...alot. Though to me those are not boring until I have to do a bank heist. The stories still work as long as they are mostly instances, but as soon as they change to "go kill X number of these bad dudes" the XP drops...though I don't miss as much so the fights are quick and savage.

 

Pros

The biggest pro is leveling out and getting those new shiny and oh so tasty powers. I need that fix sometimes. Seriously, I know I'm new but the combination of powers in CoH still blows my mind, just adds so much uniqueness and flavor.

 

That's it really the only pros and cons I currently see. So is XP boost mostly good or do I just not see the bad cause I'm power-blind?

 

Oh and so far I've only kept one toon on boost to just get a lvl 50 under my belt. As my game time is limited and I do love me some alt-sugar, it can take me a long time to max out.

 

As always, thanks in advance!

-WT

 

Hey! Welcome to the game! Glad to have you here. 

Personally I think XP boosters work for those who want to get a 50 and want to experience all the end game stuff. I think if you wanna run through the game and play as the level comes, it's better to not have those XP boosts and to pick up an AE farm every now and again if you are really biting for levels. 

I don't have alt-ists but a lot of my friends do. 😉
I have literally ten toons, six fifties :D. 

Too many toons to keep track of. 

But yeah, when CoH first released, it was really ahead of it's time. The customization of the characters, the archtypes, everything. Now, the Devs are bringing even more to the table. It's great. 

If you ever need help or some influence just send me a message or a global tell to @TrixieChrome - 

Stay happy! 
Kil Skuls! 

[WuTang]

40 minutes ago, TrixieChrome said:

...pick up an AE farm....

 

What is an AE farm?

[TheOtherTed]

3 minutes ago, WuTang said:

What is an AE farm?

...oof.  Here's a link:  https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Architect_Entertainment

 

Long story short, it's a way to level up quickly by teaming up with others to run player-made missions that are designed to yield maximum XP.

[Oubliette_Red]

4 hours ago, WuTang said:

One more for the day then work..........

My in game email is not @wutang but the name of the first toon I created. Why is that? Also, if I rename or delete that toon do I still keep the same email?

 

Your in-game global (@name) will be the first character you created, if memory serves me, you can change your global once, but only once, so choose correctly. Deleting the character will have no effect, your global stays unchanged unless you change it yourself.

 

You can use '/changehandle New Hero Name' to change it, but as I mentioned before you only get one change.

 

Edited February 2 by Oubliette_Red

[Oubliette_Red]

 

On 2/2/2024 at 10:54 AM, TheOtherTed said:

On 2/2/2024 at 10:47 AM, WuTang said:

What is an AE farm?

...oof.  Here's a link:  https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Architect_Entertainment

 

Long story short, it's a way to level up quickly by teaming up with others to run player-made missions that are designed to yield maximum XP.

 

This also bypasses 95% of the game. Which many Legacy players have run countless times already, but for people that are new to the game, there is tons of content between the Tutorial and the iTrials. You will hear more than once that in CoH it's "about the journey, not the destination" and unlike many other MMO's the end-game "raids" are not the only thing people do in the game. Personally I never cared much about the incarnate-level trials, there are still contacts I haven't done even since legacy and have only done a handful of TFs/SFs since Homecoming launched even though I have several 50s's.

 

Also for new players all the content and lore (if you care about that) makes for good training on how your character's powersets work. No use in flash-forwarding to if one doesn't know how to play their character. :)

 

[WuTang]

16 minutes ago, Oubliette_Red said:

 

 

This also bypasses 95% of the game. Which many Legacy players have run countless times already, but for people that are new to the game, there is tons of content between the Tutorial and the iTrials. You will hear more than once that in CoH it's "about the journey, not the destination" and unlike many other MMO's the end-game "raids" are not the only thing people do in the game. Personally I never cared much about the incarnate-level trials, there are still contacts I haven't done even since legacy and have only done a handful of TFs/SFs since Homecoming launched even though I have several 50s's.

 

Also for new players all the content and lore (if you care about that) makes for good training on how your character's powersets work. No use in flash-forwarding to if one doesn't know how to play their character. :)

 

I learn via the elastic band method, I go too far ahead and then backtrack to figure out what I did wrong. My toons are kind of like raising children, my first one ends up all messed up but by the fourth it's smooth sailing.

[Sovera]

  

On 2/5/2024 at 3:44 PM, WuTang said:

I learn via the elastic band method, I go too far ahead and then backtrack to figure out what I did wrong. My toons are kind of like raising children, my first one ends up all messed up but by the fourth it's smooth sailing.

 

Welcome aboard, new internet person!

 

Most of your questions have been answered but to reiterate:

 

- Double XP is good to speed through levels. In the honeymoon phase where you want to test all the shinies and ideas the quickness of getting levels will be perfect. There is no but. You might feel you want to take it slower later, but leave that to then and just enjoy it now. The fact it cancels the mobs from dropping money is inconsequential since at lower levels they drop very little where the bulk of raw money drops is at level 50. What you do to earn money in the low levels is selling your drops and turning your Merits into Converters to sell as are, or dip your toe into crafting. More (lots more) in the newbie guide in my signature.

 

- Getting addicted to Brutes is normal and we all go through that phase when testing new ideas and alts because Brutes hit like trucks under level 20 thanks to their Fury mechanic. Without expensive gear to muddle the waters they are a perfect blend of power and sturdiness. Later, with gear, Tankers are tougher and get closer in damage and others like Scrappers or Stalkers do more damage and increase in toughness.

 

- Brutes and Tankers are pretty close nowadays (much to the chagrin of Brutes who were the undisputed 'better' AT for decades) but as a rule of thumb the Brute is not as tough but does more damage. This is made up by the Tankers having wider AoEs so they can hit more mobs. In practical terms wider AoEs is not particularly useful, but being sturdier than Brutes and having a godly ATO (AKA in this case Tanker only IO set) means that they can reach their defensive caps much more easily than a Brute allowing to allocate more of their slotting to offense which narrows the gap with Brutes who spend more of their budget in shoring their defenses and cannot spare as much for offense. But until all these IOs come into place and particularly under level 20 you will see Brutes being damage monsters. After level 20 this damage difference eases up.

 

 

At the risk of re-re-re-repeating myself take a gander at my newbie guide in the signature for tips. You have probably a couple dozen millions worth in Merits in your different alts assuming you've been doing storylines.

 

Edited February 7 by Sovera

[WuTang]

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

- Double XP is good to speed through levels. In the honeymoon phase where you want to test all the shinies and ideas the quickness of getting levels will be perfect. There is no but. You might feel you want to take it slower later, but leave that to then and just enjoy it now. The fact it cancels the mobs from dropping money is inconsequential since at lower levels they drop very little where the bulk of raw money drops is at level 50. What you do to earn money in the low levels is selling your drops and turning your Merits into Converters to sell as are, or dip your toe into crafting.

 

 

 

This is exactly my thoughts about double xp.

You get so little from mobs in early days.

I've worked the market a little since my first post and I did end up begging a billionaire, but I will forward his kindness ASAP.

 

I've gotten lucky with a few good recipe drops that have netted me some millions. But I'm still a little nervous about using conveters to flip enhancements. I blew 30 the other day and never got anything that would sell for over 1 million, so net lose of a million there. I'm probably still doing something wrong, though I have figured out how they work and have used them to gear myself, just for experimental and learning purposes.

[Sovera]

4 minutes ago, WuTang said:

This is exactly my thoughts about double xp.

You get so little from mobs in early days.

I've worked the market a little since my first post and I did end up begging a billionaire, but I will forward his kindness ASAP.

 

I've gotten lucky with a few good recipe drops that have netted me some millions. But I'm still a little nervous about using conveters to flip enhancements. I blew 30 the other day and never got anything that would sell for over 1 million, so net lose of a million there. I'm probably still doing something wrong, though I have figured out how they work and have used them to gear myself, just for experimental and learning purposes.

 

For now I would sell the raw Converters. It's a solid plan that I did for nearly a year and half of my two years playing the game. Only at the very end did I start messing with the market and while it is very good money it's not really needed.

 

The real trick is starting to buy expensive IOs when you can and slotting those, and then if you pick a new alt you transfer the IOs over and the new alt now has expensive stuff to start their journey instead of starting with nothing.

 

Also, Amplifiers, they are great for that initial leg when you're still at level 1. It's mentioned in the guide.