Neither WAR nor WoW

[Zehava]

Originally Posted by wei yau

Them Malta group bastards are tough. Although I do love the two-gun wielding Gunslingers. Too bad, there's no option for creating a character with two-guns.

CoV, Mastermind archetype with Thugs powerset. All kinds of awesome.

[wei yau]

The Thugs wield the two guns, right? Not the Mastermind, hisself?

Not to take away anything from the awesomeness, just asking for clarification.

[Zehava]

Originally Posted by wei yau

The Thugs wield the two guns, right? Not the Mastermind, hisself?

Not to take away anything from the awesomeness, just asking for clarification.

Mastermind gets a pistol, but one power -- Dual Wield I think (been a while) is, obviously, two pistols. Thugs/Dark was my favorite Mastermind build, though necromancy/poison was not without its' charms.

Originally Posted by wei yau

I admit that Defenders and Controllers are very hard to solo, but I want to build them up so that I'm more useful on a team.

I never really had a problem soloing with my Defender until about level 30, even then it's possible just much slower. Controller on the other hand gets horribly slow starting in the mid teens as it takes forever to kill anything. Illusion is a bit better as you get your first "pet" at 18, but all the other controller powersets have to wait until 32.

That being said I did so very much enjoy my gravity/kinetics controller, but not as much as my radiation/energy defender.

[BrotherMan]

Originally Posted by wei yau

I find that while in the middle of a mission, it's difficult for me to RP. I simply can't chat and fight at the same time, very effectively.

My favoritest thing of favorites about City of; the speed of combat. I don’t know how other people keep up with several chats at once and still seem effective in missions (especially task forces). I hated being on a task force and watching a global chat (usually about comics) scroll by and there’s not a damn thing I can do except hate the world and go beat down on the next mob. Curse my work ethic!

I see plenty of broadcast invites for supergroups. Some are RP-friendly, others are not. I think I would rather join a team you're already a member of; sure sometimes I feel like a tagalong puppy, but it's a comfort zone thing. Besides, your characters are hot.

There are a lot of good folks across Virtue. I can’t say for certain this group is better than that group, or conversely, conversely, worse. Like with other MMOs, I’m sure it’s a mixed bag. I fell bass ackwards into the various groups I’m in.

Any of your characters are welcome in the Paragons – a canon oriented supergroup with a golden/silver age feel. I have one ‘modern’ themed character here and one canon-linked character. There is no interview or official induction type thing to join.

The Paragons are affiliated with Guardians of the Golden Age – a, well, golden age themed group. Last Friday you were teamed with a mix of these two. Good, fun group of folks. Medium to heavy role play. There is an application and interview process to join.

The Dauntless Reverie (and the evil sister villain group Anathema) is a magic themed group. As it is explained at the site, you don’t have to claim a magic origin, but having some aspect of magic, magery, mysticism or whatever is required. I’ve known a couple of people in this group since almost day 1 and I used to associate serious role play business with the name. I’ve only recently broken in with this crowd and my “intimidation” was unfounded. They are, however, more serious than others (but not strictly draconian) about being in character. The Daunt- or Athem- nights can be all rp or teaming and sometimes both.

Their open recruitment drive is ended but I’m on the ins with them. There is an application and interview process to join. I’ll check to see if they’re accepting applications if you’re interested.

The Phoenix Force is a zero to medium rp group. No application or interview process. Only a few active members. The best thing(s) here are access to a fully functional base and the founder will craft IOs for free and no other character requirement.

And what do you mean by "super group camaraderie"?

Time set aside to interact with others in the super group.

Them Malta group bastards are tough. Although I do love the two-gun wielding Gunslingers. Too bad, there's no option for creating a character with two-guns.

As Zehava pointed out, a Thugs Mastermind has access to dual wielded pistols. You can’t use them to great effect but you have them. Your minions get to dual wield as well with an upgrade power you supply to them.

Both the Knives of Artemis and especially The Carnival of Shadows scare me. I probably won't meet them on solo missions for a while, so I can at least train-up to prepare for them.

You don’t meet Malta, KoA or Carnies until you are in your 40s blueside. You get to meet Carnies a little earlier redside though.

Hope "cut and paste" works, otherwise I'll just have to re-type the bio text.

Yes, thank the Maker, it works. I recommend using Notepad to prevent quirky characters from screwing things up.

I'd like to create a supergroup, though I'm not sure how useful it would be. But, what do you mean by getting all my characters together? Like loan them out so that they can join my Zodiac Guardsmen super-group?

I mean, use one of your characters to start the supergroup. Invite another trusted person, giving them invite powers. You then spend the tedious minutes logging into your other characters so that trusted other person can invite them. And, yes, there are people who have done just that.

And I'm a greedy bastard, the preview blurb for Issue 14: Architect seems awfully cool.

You and about 100,000 other people.

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by wei yau

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Just finished the first story arc and I effin' loved it.

These comics are great. I'm totally geeking out recognizing the game references. Not just the villain group names, but the use of certain powers (I can actually identify some by name!) and the self-referential stuff like Back Alley Brawler's complaint about standing around handing out training tips.

Thank you, again.

Finished the first volume with Apex, War Witch and Horus. Paragon Wiki showed me that War Witch actually appears in the game as a Contact.

Too cool.

Starting the next series, featuring the Freedom Phalanx. Not enjoying it as much, it seems that this highly-esteemed team takes bickering to way beyond X-Men levels. Buncha whiners, really.

But, I just finished the "Circle of Thorns" story arc and in an incredibly cool act of kismet, that story ends with the dedication of the Cyrus Oliver Thompson memorial...which I just happened to have read just last night in-game.

Again, way too cool.

[BrotherMan]

Yeah, the Blue King run of the comics is mostly superior to the Top Cow stuff. The Cyrus Thompson Memorial was only recently placed in the game, it's a welcome touch to be sure. At some point should you level high enough your character gets to play a part in that whole ordeal. (It's lol sekrit though.)

War Witch is in two places in game: She's a trainer in Croatoa and she's a fixture in the Pocket D. Her real world person, Melissa Bianca, is responsible for a lot of the content and dialog redside. She was also the force behind the revamping of the Hollows.

[wei yau]

So, has anyone tried Issue 13 yet? I was on it briefly last night, after the emergency server downtime. Didn't get to really do anything as either there were too many people on the server or Issue 13 has some stuff that needs to be worked out.

Just trying to run around on Mercy Island was a chore, as my character kept repeating steps or walking in circles.

I did re-vamp Tian Shang Lung's costume at Facemaker. It seems that every character gets a free Tailor token and a Freespec, but I chose not to exercise any of them yet. Paid for the Tailor out of my own Infamy pocket.

There were two new Contacts at Fort Darwin. One for Merits and the other for Day Jobs. Also, there seems to be Automatic Contacts who contacted me directly without me having to be introduced to them.

[BrotherMan]

Feh. This release was a bit buggier than I expected. I had a near rage inducing incident with the mapserver. I was merrily enjoying some new Cimerora content when I was tasked with defeating Ghost Widow to get back a macguffin. Fortunately for me I was set to heroic and I wasn't kicked out of the game.

I still want to check out the new villain content for Cimerora. Finally, something different in a co-op zone!

Miss Danger has already earned a day job badge - pretty much for just being logged out for x amount of time. Now I just need to not play her to get a specific badge and she's all set.

Oh, this Saturday at 7 EST, one of the Dauntless is going to try the Synapse Task Force (levels 15 and up, autoexemp for those above 21 to level 20). A task force is a series of missions designed for teams. There will be a Giant Monster spawned and an Arch Villain to defeat at the end. A hunk of game lore is intertwined - oh, and members of the team can only work on a given task force's missions until the completion of the task force or the member quits the TF.

Some TFs are egregiously strenuous and tedious, only a few are short and "easy". Synapse's is medium difficulty (though it varies depending on difficulty setting) and medium length (less than 5 hours). If you can commit to the time I can try and reserve a spot for you; though caveats abound, spots are held for members first. With a group that knows one another TFs are more fun than not even despite the time factor(s) and with the Daunts, RP is assured.

And now that I think about it, Red Tomax's site is another handy one to have around. He's completed most content in the game, nearly 100% blue side and quite a bit red side. Spoilers abound, but it's one heck of a resource. Especially red side where there are hidden, or unlockable, contacts based on certain defeat counters. (Which now you can see progress on!)

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by BrotherMan

Oh, this Saturday at 7 EST, one of the Dauntless is going to try the Synapse Task Force (levels 15 and up, autoexemp for those above 21 to level 20).

...

If you can commit to the time I can try and reserve a spot for you; though caveats abound, spots are held for members first. With a group that knows one another TFs are more fun than not even despite the time factor(s) and with the Daunts, RP is assured.

Thanks for the offer and it's very tempting. But, I won't be able to commit to that timeframe.

You know, if I was playing an MMORPG about seven years ago, I might not have ever become a father.

Which, of course, would mean I would have the time to join this TF.

damnit.

[wei yau]

Oooh, you're going against Clockwork? My Level 10 Blaster has Electricity-based attacks. Supposed to play merry hell against Clockwork. I bet I could level him up to at least 15 by Saturday.


damnitall.

[BrotherMan]

The original developer's intent for Task Forces and Trials was to allow super groups to schedule togetherness times. One does not necessarily have to dedicate time to complete a whole TF or Trial all at once. The code is such that each member can log out (or, should fate deem it, get booted from the game) and pick up the activity at a later time - (so long as no one completes the TF, which is exceedingly difficult). So much for what they intended.

Your gaming experience isn't necessarily lessened by not doing them, but they can be a lot of fun and do hold a lot of the game lore. Though at the pace most groups run through the missions good luck knowing what's going on unless someone tells you. My experience, even with role players, is less than 50% knowing what's what at any given moment.

Your highest hero is 15, right? I heartily recommend the Faultline content (though you will be facing some very tough Elite Bosses solo). There should be ample opportunity to team, but if not I'm more than willing to follow you through it!

Edit to note:

Yes, Synapse task force is all about Clockwork. This is where you learn what they are and where they come from, specifically. There is a normal contact story arc that deals with the Clockroaches but the TF is where the info is at.

I'll just say this: Electricity isn't their biggest weakness. That's all I'm saying.

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by BrotherMan

The original developer's intent for Task Forces and Trials was to allow super groups to schedule togetherness times. One does not necessarily have to dedicate time to complete a whole TF or Trial all at once. The code is such that each member can log out (or, should fate deem it, get booted from the game) and pick up the activity at a later time - (so long as no one completes the TF, which is exceedingly difficult). So much for what they intended.

So, would it proper etiquette to drop from the TF, if I couldn't continue during a given session? And if so, then if the TF hadn't been completed yet, is it possible to rejoin the TF?

Your gaming experience isn't necessarily lessened by not doing them, but they can be a lot of fun and do hold a lot of the game lore. Though at the pace most groups run through the missions good luck knowing what's going on unless someone tells you. My experience, even with role players, is less than 50% knowing what's what at any given moment.

I'd love to join a TF, but this weekend won't be good. Definitely at a later date, though I suppose I'd have to make more friends in-game.

I feel like a bit of a leech, always taking your help.

Your highest hero is 15, right? I heartily recommend the Faultline content (though you will be facing some very tough Elite Bosses solo). There should be ample opportunity to team, but if not I'm more than willing to follow you through it!

Ti Gou, my Magic Scrapper is at Level 17 and just made Contacts in Faultline (he jumped like two whole levels during the super-group battle I joined with you).

And I'll definitely be using my Jimmy Olsen signal watch to summon aid from the venerable Miss Danger or Maiden Justice.

I'll just say this: Electricity isn't their biggest weakness. That's all I'm saying.

It's pie, isn't it. I bet it's pie.

[BrotherMan]

So, would it proper etiquette to drop from the TF, if I couldn't continue during a given session? And if so, then if the TF hadn't been completed yet, is it possible to rejoin the TF?

This would have to be something that is planned. The original intent of the developers is not what is happening with regularity at all.

I'd love to join a TF, but this weekend won't be good. Definitely at a later date, though I suppose I'd have to make more friends in-game.

Presently one member of Dauntless is wanting to accomplish one Task Force per week and currently scheduling them on Saturdays. That's the only time I know when one is being planned. There are usually several being advertised in broadcast. Those teams are not guaranteed to be awesome. You could be lucky and join an awesome group or you could join the TF from HELL.

Most of the time I'll join a TF that's advertised in one of my global channels, and those turn out pretty good - but are usually spur of the day or rarely planned more than a couple of days in advance. (Join any of the super groups I linked to above and you'll be invited to their global channel which you can read from any character on any server you happen to be playing.)

Ah, speaking of, a great virtual networking utility are public global channels. Find info, teams, task forces, trials, badge hunting, gm hunting - anything your heart desires. For Virtue specific channels listed here.

I feel like a bit of a leech, always taking your help.

Please. This is an established, lore filled, somewhat complicated game with cliquish role players. You need my help. (You want answers!? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!)

Ti Gou, my Magic Scrapper is at Level 17 and just made Contacts in Faultline (he jumped like two whole levels during the super-group battle I joined with you).

Ti Gou! So polite! So large!

And I'll definitely be using my Jimmy Olsen signal watch to summon aid from the venerable Miss Danger or Maiden Justice.

The crazy thing is you'll never know who I'm bringing to the party.

It's pie, isn't it. I bet it's pie.

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by BrotherMan

Ah, speaking of, a great virtual networking utility are public global channels. Find info, teams, task forces, trials, badge hunting, gm hunting - anything your heart desires. For Virtue specific channels listed here.

I think I'll need a stable of characters in the 25ish range before I am comfortable with joining a group.

Please. This is an established, lore filled, somewhat complicated game with cliquish role players. You need my help. (You want answers!? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!)

I do, I do. I need it so bad!

Ti Gou! So polite! So large!

Aw man, now I need a blushing Ti Gou smiley.

:tigoublush:

The crazy thing is you'll never know who I'm bringing to the party.

Whoa, those are awesome. Thanks for the reading material.


I totally need to start Virtue Verse pages for my characters. I was reading the Guide to the Unofficial Handbook thread in the Virtue forum. Now, I gotta do it.

[wei yau]

Ladies and Gentlemen....well, the two of you who actually follow this thread..I give you

The Zodiac Guardsmen

[BrotherMan]

[wei yau]

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you, very much.

Once a little research made me realize that there could over 8000 different permutations for the Chinese Zodiac, I realized I really could create an actual Super Group, if I wanted to.

The only requirement would be some connection to a Patron Animal. And it'd work as either a SG or a VG.

And even if I don't do that, I could create a multitude of characters all based on the Zodiac.

Of course, I probably have to put them all on Virtue. I've got twelve now and can redeem 2 more slots. I've got to research to see how I can open more slots on the same server.

[BrotherMan]

You have to buy them. Once you redeem freeslots, you'll be prompted to purchase new ones. It's all done via the character selection interface and it will charge whatever you use to pay the subscription. You can rename a character (for pay) or transfer a character to another server (for pay).

Also available through the PlayNC store are "booster packs" which give you access to exclusive costume pieces and emotes. Right now I think there's just the Wedding pack and the Cyborg pack.

This, my friends, is the wave of the future; "microtransactions" they call them.

[BrotherMan]

unintended dobble poast

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by wei yau

Ladies and Gentlemen....well, the two of you who actually follow this thread..I give you

The Zodiac Guardsmen

Well, with all the FF server problems, I've still been busy.

[BrotherMan]

Envious. I shall now list you among my favorite creators.

After a moment of browsing, it seems only one of them has a presence on the VV.

[BrotherMan]

To give you something to read.

SERV'D!

The VV of the host.

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by BrotherMan

Envious. I shall now list you among my favorite creators.

After a moment of browsing, it seems only one of them has a presence on the VV.

Adding SusieBot to my list of favorite creators now.

OMG! I am loving the Ninja Lawyer.

It just keeps getting better Cthu Lou

[wei yau]

The ever-enchanting Metajoule is in snapshot in Tian Shang Lung's scrapbook.

Hope you don't mind.