Revisit some of the older low/mid level enemy groups

[Cyclone Jack]

 

I like what Page 7 did for Council and Circle, raising their L50 game, but it would be nice to take a look at some of the lower and mid-level enemies as well, especially as new powers have been added to the game.  For example, Coralax and Hydra could probably benefit with some Water Blast attacks (even just replacing attacks for better effects could be an improvement), and Minions of Igneous could perhaps use some Seismic Blast or Earth Manipulation.  Perhaps giving some select Clockwork some Electrical Affinity like Shock or Revuj Circuit.

[Cyclone Jack]

For some mid-range enemies, The Cabal could maybe use a little Storm Blast or Electrical Affinity like Chain Lightning and Shock/Discharge; maybe even a self-Amp Up for some special encounters.  Once Arsenal Control gets some game time, I could see enhancing SWAT mobs with one or two of those abilities.  Wailers could utilize some Symphony Control such as Aria of Stasis and/or Dreadful Discord.

 

For the newer, upper-level Vahzilok (25-34), you might look into giving Reapers/Mortificatiors the new Tranquilizer from Arsenal Control, or adding Sleep to their Dart Gun attack.  Perhaps look into adding some Poison to the Cadavers (Envenom/Weaken) and Abominations (Nerotoxic Breath/Venomous Gas).  Now, to really ramp things up, perhaps for a TF Challenge Mode, you could even have the Embalmed drop a Poison Trap on defeat.  I also wonder what a Luminous Eidolon could do with Accelerate Metabolism. 😉 OK, some of this might be a bit *too* much for those levels, as Vahzilok can already be somewhat challenging, but something to think about.

[Glacier Peak]

I appreciate that Hydra have Toxic attacks at that specific level range. It taught me to pay attention to typed damage when I first started playing. I don't mind updating visuals and adding in a few surprises to these enemy groups, but I'm also a big fan of how they were introduced to players. 

Edited March 2 by Glacier Peak

[Cyclone Jack]

1 hour ago, Glacier Peak said:

I appreciate that Hydra have Toxic attacks at that specific level range. It taught me to pay attention to typed damage when I first started playing. I don't mind updating visuals and adding in a few surprises to these enemy groups, but I'm also a big fan of how they were introduced to players. 

Yeah, I'm thinking maybe just a tinted version of Aqua Bolt for the Lieutenants and maybe Hydro Blast for the Bosses, but only if they can use their spit attack animation; I don't think it would be fitting for them to swirl a ball of poisoned water and hurl it at the player, but the big orb projectile coupled with the large splash would be a pretty nice visual flair.  I don't think a big overhaul is necessary, since these are a very low-level group, but even adding the improved "water splash" as the On Hit effect for Spit would be a nice visual improvement.

[ThatGuyCDude]

I've been thinking about this thread as I've been working through low level areas, and I agree it'd be nice to spice up the middling enemies with newer powers.  A LOT of enemies use Super Strength when there are other pools that would fit more thematically and make the fights more interesting.

Like War Wolves of the Council and 5th Column: they could use Savage Melee instead of Super Strength.  Replace Hurl with Savage Leap, and you've got players trying to flee or fight from range only to have their pursuer teleport back into melee.  The stacking recharge buffs from the attacks would additionally make them more dangerous the longer you fight them, encouraging you to end the encounter quickly with one big hit (which makes the surprise more surprising when a Council boss turns INTO one of these guys!).

The Family could cycle in some Street Justice attacks.  Instead of the stock Jab/Punch/Haymaker, they could throw disorients with Initial Strike/Sweeping Cross, and the stronger ones could capitalize on the combo system with Spinning Strike or Crushing Uppercut.

Doesn't even have to be *new* Power Sets for some of them.  For instance, the Devouring Earth lieutenants and bosses: they could get some attacks from Spines to double down on their toxic theme.

[Cyclone Jack]

Oh yeah! I didn't even think of going Savage Melee on War Wolves.  That would be great!  And mixing in some Street Justice to replace the standard Super Strength melee attacks given to low level mobs as well would really mix things up a bit.  Great ideas!

[biostem]

On 3/1/2024 at 2:08 AM, Cyclone Jack said:

I like what Page 7 did for Council and Circle, raising their L50 game, but it would be nice to take a look at some of the lower and mid-level enemies as well, especially as new powers have been added to the game.  For example, Coralax and Hydra could probably benefit with some Water Blast attacks (even just replacing attacks for better effects could be an improvement), and Minions of Igneous could perhaps use some Seismic Blast or Earth Manipulation.  Perhaps giving some select Clockwork some Electrical Affinity like Shock or Revuj Circuit.

What I find interesting is how, if you do a circuit of Perez Park, you'll run into some enemies that you don't generally see elsewhere, (Girlfriends from Hell, Death Dolls, Death Walkers, etc).  To your point, though, groups like The Outcasts would be perfect to receive varied updates.  I don't recall if they rolled them out yet, but didn't they want to update The Warriors with some shield and titan weapons powers as well?  I could also see The Trolls getting some street justice powers and maybe titan weapons as well.  Maybe Warwolves could get savage melee and so on...

[Greycat]

35 minutes ago, biostem said:

  I don't recall if they rolled them out yet, but didn't they want to update The Warriors with some shield and titan weapons powers as well?

 

Don't think they've been updated, I do remember some vague mention of it as well.

[Ruin Mage]

Warrior update is probably being saved for the eventual Wharf Update(s)

[temnix]

How about revisiting them to actually write up a story behind them? I was very interested in the Lost and recently decided to read up on their background in the wiki, because it looked like I had outleveled their missions. I was prepared to regret being spoiled for it, but I wanted to know. It turned out the Lost had no story at all! None!

[Rudra]

26 minutes ago, temnix said:

How about revisiting them to actually write up a story behind them? I was very interested in the Lost and recently decided to read up on their background in the wiki, because it looked like I had outleveled their missions. I was prepared to regret being spoiled for it, but I wanted to know. It turned out the Lost had no story at all! None!

Sure you did. That's how you know nothing about the Lost. Here is the link to the wiki page: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/The_Lost

 

Here is their background copied directly from the wiki:

Overview

The Lost are an insidious villain group hidden between the ranks of the poor and the homeless. With all the misery caused with the Rikti Invasion, the group has no lack of hideouts nor potential recruits. Beware: despite their weak, harmless appearance, the group has powerful connections, access to untold weapons and, more importantly, a perfectly drawn goal. This group can be fought in City of Heroes between levels 5 to 30 and is present in City of Villains as well.

Background

Lost official info ( Copied from the City of Heroes official website [1]😞

The city's heroes did not overlook the rising jobless and homeless rates. Hero organizations opened their doors and turned their training halls into soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Heroes accustomed to using their strength and speed to smash villainy found their powers equally valuable when it came to building new, affordable housing. Tens of thousands who would otherwise have spent hungry nights sleeping on park benches made it through the crisis and eventually found work, thanks to the efforts of Paragon City's heroes.

Unfortunately, it proved impossible for even the combined efforts of heroes, city government, and local community charities to provide succor to everyone who needed it. Even more unfortunately, there were other, less civic-minded groups out there waiting to capitalize on the situation. A variety of evil-minded organizations took advantage of those in desperate straits, a fact that explains the sudden swelling in membership of villain groups like the Freakshow and the Fifth Column, as well as the steady supply of experimental subjects rumored to have disappeared behind the walls of Crey Industries research facilities. And then there were those poor souls who just got lost.

Paragon City's ancient labyrinthine subway and sewer systems had long been a refuge for those with nowhere else to go. During the invasion "those with nowhere else to go" also included the Rikti. The extra-dimensional invaders made their staging areas beneath the city, carving out caves or using the existing sewer and subway tunnels for their own purposes. Much of the war was fought in these underground chambers, and to this day Rikti still lurk in the dark depths. Naturally enough, the city has sealed off the old subway tunnels entirely and embarked on a constant battle to keep the sewer lines working. Although well marked as incredibly dangerous, numerous homeless people have returned to the underground in spite of the danger. For those who have nothing left in the surface world to comfort them, it sometimes proves difficult to abandon the safe places of old.

There is no accurate way of counting how many of those who went underground were lost to the horrors below and how many just wanted to disappear of their own accord. Most of what's publicly known about this chthonic world comes from the reportage of a single, intrepid social worker named Shannon Price. Ms. Price was once a minor hero known as Starlight, and she had fought with distinction during the war. A long time advocate for the homeless, Price hung up her tights for good once peace had returned and focused all of her energies on trying to make Paragon City a safer, healthier place for its poorest citizens.

Through her volunteer work, Price became quite close with much of the homeless community and was soon tapped in to all their circulated rumors and stories. She heard repeated tales of people going down into the underground and disappearing for weeks or months. This, she knew, was not surprising. She'd fought in those tunnels and knew how dangerous they still were. What was interesting was that these lost folk would then turn up again sometime later, often different than they'd been before. They were brusque and almost business-like, always moving with a purpose and never stopping to chat with old friends. They stuck together in tight cliques, and were rumored to have moved beyond simple foraging to armed robbery and other crimes.

Price decided to investigate further, and calling in a few favors from her Dawn Patrol friends, she managed to wrangle an interview with one of these "mole people" (as other homeless called the underground dwellers) who had been captured during a bank robbery. Although at first silent and defiant, the prisoner became more and more anxious and unsure with each hour he spent separated from his cohorts. He began to babble incoherently of magic mists and green gods. He claimed that he was part of a new underworld order, a troupe of the touched, that he referred to as The Lost. Price could not make much sense of any of this, but when routine blood tests showed that some sort of mutagenic chemical was present in the man's blood, it became obvious that there was more to this problem than met the eye.

Together with a her old friend Quint "The Fist" Velasquez from the Dawn Patrol, Price once again donned her costume and set off into the sewers, looking for some answers. It was three months before she was seen again, this time without Quint at her side. The Dawn Patrol sent several more teams into the sewers to search for the missing heroes, but they found no trace of them or their fate. When Shannon Price appeared once more, it was crawling up through a manhole in the middle of rush hour traffic. She was rushed to the hospital, since she had obviously suffered a great deal of punishment and pain during her absence.

The intrepid social worker never achieved a mental state that one could call sane or even lucid. Lab tests showed that she had the same mysterious mutagen in her blood that investigators had found in captured members of The Lost. When questioned, she readily spouted forth a largely unintelligible tale. Dawn Patrol investigators were able to eke out a few solid facts from the garbled narrative. According to Price, The Lost seems to be a loosely organized confederation of the mentally ill, street people, and anyone else who has become desperate enough to find their way underground.

The group has a transforming effect upon it members, not only by providing leadership and a purpose, but by actually changing their bodies. This was obviously the work of the mutagen found in Price's blood stream, although how exactly it got there is unclear. She spoke of a group of elders, or leaders who bestowed the changes upon the Lost. Price referred to these leaders only as The Lost, implying that perhaps they were the actual "Lost" and that their new followers had taken the name from themselves. Price was at her most deranged when describing these mysterious figures, referring to them alternately as "gods," "demons," and "artifexes." Beyond these rather colorful appellations, she offered no real clue as to The Lost's true nature. Analysis of the mutagen in her blood provided little other valuable insight, except the chemical composition of it defied every effort to pinpoint its origin.

Since Price's doomed expedition, The Lost have begun to make their presence felt in the city. No one knows for sure just who they are or where they came from (other than underground), but everyone agrees that they are a tremendous threat. At first it was just organized bands of seemingly normal homeless individuals. Then, larger, decidedly less human-looking creatures were spotted terrorizing parts of the city. In addition to perpetrating crimes like robbery and murder, the Lost also engage in frequent kidnapping. Apparently they increase their own ranks by snatching poor citizens from the streets and transforming them into monsters. Every time a prisoner is captured he or she claims to be one of The Lost and refuses to speak until, within a few hours, utter madness sinks in and the prisoner becomes totally unintelligible.

Recently, the Dawn Patrol managed to capture one of the more terrifying humanoid creatures that had started showing their faces above ground. This particular hulking beast attacked a Dawn Patrol headquarters, along with a cadre of only slightly less fearsome members of The Lost. The "champion" who seemed to be leading the attack was killed, and his autopsy revealed some shocking information. Although his DNA, dental patterns, and fingerprints had all been mangled by the mutagen, together they provided enough information to identify the beast as having once been Quint Velasquez. The former hero who had accompanied Price on her initial exploration hadn't been as "lucky" as his comrade. She had escaped with her body, if not her mind. He had lost them both.

 

 

So yeah, sure you read the wiki. Or even any of the Lost mission briefings, debriefings, or comments. (Edit: And around level 23 or if you do the Vanguard arcs, particularly Dark Watcher's, you learn how the Lost and the Rikti are connected.)

Edited March 14 by Rudra

[Saiyajinzoningen]

the lost were one of my favorite groups live.

i dunno why they do have a rich story 

I do like your idea of revisiting older groups

I'd like to add Trolls to the list 

as well as Sky raiders/gold brickers

 

Also I'd like to see more mobs engaging in mundane activities instead of just standing around waiting.

[twozerofoxtrot]

10 minutes ago, Saiyajinzoningen said:

gold brickers

 

These gilded fellows recieved an update with Aeon Strike Force. Now all we need is to see their updated forms seeded into paper missions from 35-50.

[Grouchybeast]

On 3/14/2024 at 5:16 AM, temnix said:

How about revisiting them to actually write up a story behind them? I was very interested in the Lost and recently decided to read up on their background in the wiki, because it looked like I had outleveled their missions. I was prepared to regret being spoiled for it, but I wanted to know. It turned out the Lost had no story at all! None!

 

One of the 'problems' with CoH is that there are so many storylines you're unlikely to see all of them on any one character.  You can, if you pause XP a lot or explore stories you've outlevelled in Ourobouros, but CoH pretty much assumes that you're going to have a lot of alts.  There are a lot of routes through the content.  If you want to follow the story of the Lost, I'd recommend making sure that you play these arcs and make sure you take the time to read the text and especially the clues (an annoying amount of story info during arcs is hidden away in the clues, so make sure to keep checking the tab):

I Lost My Daddy! (15-20) - Penelope Yin in Faultline, introduced by Jim Temblor
Lost and Found (10-50) - Montague Castanella in Steel Canyon
The Strange Case of Benjamin A Decker (35-50) - Levantera in the Rikti War Zone

At That point you've covered the important info, but you might as well follow the rest of the RWZ arc through to the end.  It's once of my favourite storylines in COH, I think it really feels epic and like you're a save-the-world kind of hero.

 

[Saiyajinzoningen]

1 hour ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

 

These gilded fellows recieved an update with Aeon Strike Force. Now all we need is to see their updated forms seeded into paper missions from 35-50.

 

I don't think i've done that SF. thanks for the info

[Rudra]

5 hours ago, Grouchybeast said:

 

One of the 'problems' with CoH is that there are so many storylines you're unlikely to see all of them on any one character.  You can, if you pause XP a lot or explore stories you've outlevelled in Ourobouros, but CoH pretty much assumes that you're going to have a lot of alts.  There are a lot of routes through the content.  If you want to follow the story of the Lost, I'd recommend making sure that you play these arcs and make sure you take the time to read the text and especially the clues (an annoying amount of story info during arcs is hidden away in the clues, so make sure to keep checking the tab):

I Lost My Daddy! (15-20) - Penelope Yin in Faultline, introduced by Jim Temblor
Lost and Found (10-50) - Montague Castanella in Steel Canyon
The Strange Case of Benjamin A Decker (35-50) - Levantera in the Rikti War Zone

At That point you've covered the important info, but you might as well follow the rest of the RWZ arc through to the end.  It's once of my favourite storylines in COH, I think it really feels epic and like you're a save-the-world kind of hero.

 

You can also do a level 22 mission with Lost in it. The level 22 mobs are Lost and the level 23 ones are Rikti. So you see the link early.

[Grouchybeast]

3 minutes ago, Rudra said:

You can also do a level 22 mission with Lost in it. The level 22 mobs are Lost and the level 23 ones are Rikti. So you see the link early.

 

Oh, cool!  I didn't remember that one.

[Techwright]

On 3/1/2024 at 2:08 AM, Cyclone Jack said:

 Perhaps giving some select Clockwork some Electrical Affinity like Shock or Revuj Circuit.

 

I hope I'm not duplicating anyone.  There's a lot to read and I saw this with almost no time left. 

 

If Clockwork were to receive electrical powers, I'd want it to be something along the lines of the Mu's blasts, due to the Clockworks' unique nature and power source.   They're not so much electronic machinery as they are assembled junk held together by duck tape and sheer will.  Literally.

Edited March 16 by Techwright