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coh.galatekinc.com Archive

This is the archive for http://coh.galatekinc.com/ - it will be a list of all of the posts in comments in order from newest to oldest; so the page will take quite a while to load.

I want to say thank you to those people who have been readers of my Blog while I was playing City of Heroes/Villains; I am glad that I was able to provide some good fluff to the everday experience. I am the manager of the galatekinc.com site so you can join here and keep in touch, but my CoH days are over until I get stable again.

26 Views June 29th, 2007 at 9:36 am

Memories of Beginnings

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

As I look back over the year plus I have been with the game, I think about how it all started and how I became a Hero of Paragon City.

I found the game on Direct2Drive while looking for something to buy myself as an early Birthday present in April of 2006, I read up on some reviews of the game and checked out the forums. A little light sorta clicked in my head as I thought about being a super hero.. a childhood dream of many I know. I took the chance and purchased the game - my adventures as a Hero, and my love for Paragon started then.

Have you ever thought back to your first experience in the game? With me it was the music on the login screen, everything seemed so.. I don’t know.. crisp and fresh. Do you know what I mean? Anyhow I logged in for the first time and looked at this long list of servers. “Ok, where to start” I thought.. I picked Freedom because it fit in with being a Super Hero - and because it is an ideal I believe in dearly. Hitting the Character Creation screen I was blown away by the options (this was still Issue 6 mind you) - I quickly came up with a (to me) nice costume (I actually picked pink for my hair color because my eyes don’t see certain shades that well) and went to the next section. Here I was presented with an ID card where I needed to enter a name and biography.. I was stumped. What could my hero be called? At random I picked Clorius - I have no idea why, but that name stuck with me; my bio was short and sweet ‘Nobody knows’ I wrote - I thought to maybe build a mysterious background or something.

I entered Paragon City through a sectioned off area, there seemed to be some sort of epidemic going around! My first Heroic task! I have to admit, I only briefly scanned the information regarding enhancements - I picked most of it up pretty easy. Fighting the Infected was pure icing for me, the glowy eyes and shambling walk… wow I thought, and this is just the tutorial!

I finished up my tasks in the tutorial and then was presented with a choice of where to go, should I choose Galaxy City or Atlas Park? I had no idea of the stigmas behind either when I first started, so I picked on gut instinct and ‘Heroic Appeal’.. Galaxy City won out. When I zoned in to Galaxy the music sorta took me, I trained up and gleefully chose a new power then ran to get my first mission. I had to ‘arrest’ some thugs in an office building not too far away, after figuring out my controls a bit more I headed out - I saw some thugs stealing a purse and I just had to jump in and stop them! I took on more than I could handle (not very good at this thing called ‘aggro’ then) and wound up in the Hospital. Not daunted I did it again, and the journey truly began.

I look back on it all and remember how awesome everything was (and is.. though time has made everything.. normal to me now :(). I remember my first trip to the Hollows (I didn’t know you could skip it.. and still like it to date) and the terror of finding myself in the Gulch. I remember fighting the rock creatures and thinking ‘Wow’. Circle of Thorns, Lost, Hellions.. all sorts of enemies with rich backstories. I was in Nirvana. I remember taking down my first GM (Lusca) and the feeling of being truly Heroic! I remember fighting against the Mafia and the nefarious Council; I remember teaming up with some guys in Red & White who ended up becoming my SG - The Royal Guardians; we clicked right away and I became an RG without hesitation. I worked my way up by being an active member and ended up a Leader of one of the groups. The RG’s were a huge highlight of my game time, one of the best groups of people I had met online; Sadly life creeps everywhere and some RG’s I had grown close to drifted away, new ones came in but it was a tad different. My life started getting kind of haywire too and I was putting less time into the game and into the SG - I truly regret not finding more time for them.

I realized lately, that I had started to become a tad jaded with everything - mainly because I spent too much time actually thinking about things like ‘aggro’ and ‘dps’ and ’slotting’; I stopped focusing on what the point of the game was - to relax and have fun. I think this happens to everyone at some point, there comes a time when you learn too much about the mechanics of the game - and stop getting into the game itself.

This year and more has passed by with many good memories, a few bad, and great fun. Sadly, Life has intervened its ugly little head and I find myself having to end my travels in Paragon for the time being. I don’t want to go.. in fact I find it very hard to think about leaving, but bills have to be paid and games don’t rate high on the priority list. I have actually spent some sleepless nights thinking about how to juggle my bills to stayin Paragon and stay with the friends I have made and Friends I might make in the future. In a way, this isn’t a farwell post at all - because I will be back. This post is a reflection on my time here in Paragon, the atmosphere that drew me in.. and the people who broadened the game horizons for me.

Farewell for now Paragon, Clorius must travel to a distant land and leave you in the competent hands of your other Heroes for now. I will return, and hopefully be around to help defeat the oncoming hordes of Rikti.

For some of special note: Prince Char, ORIGINAL GLADIATOR, Lemur Lad, Lady_Athyna, Prydeheart, Steve M and many others I have met and come to be friends with or admire in one way or another - keep up the fight. To our Overlords at Cryptic & NCSoft - keep up the good work, I will be keeping an eye on you!

–Clorius, 45 Katana/Regen Scrapper, Freedom

Comments

1

seth moldow Said: @9:44 am |Edit This
great adjectives: login screen,crisp & fresh
–what an excellent description/dipiction of the experience that is COH.
having ended my account almost 1 yr ago, your website has been a great source of nostalgia and reflection.

thank you

41 Views June 14th, 2007 at 8:36 am

Issue 10 enters Closed Testing

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

As posted by Lighthouse in the News & Events Forum:

We want to announce that Issue 10 will be entering into closed beta testing today, June 13th. This means the Training Room Test Server will be closed to normal access while we conduct this phase of the beta test. Our experience with the closed beta testing of Issue 9 earlier this year showed that such a process pays big dividends in the end quality of the release version. We are driving toward similar results with Issue 10!
We know that this closed testing will impact those looking to use the Training Room for other activities. Whether to test out character respecs via the test character copy tool or people looking to meet for global PvP, we hope those affected can understand our reasons and support us while we work toward a fun and bug free Issue 10!
As to the exact timing of how long the Training Room will be in closed beta testing, I can only say that it will be multiple weeks. The actual timing will depend on how testing proceeds. Our aim is to conduct the closed testing as quickly as possible to deliver a robust version for everyone to check out in an open beta test. Everyone who wants to play Issue 10 and provide feedback before it goes live will have the chance to do that in the open beta test.
We are excited by everyone’s enthusiasm for Issue 10 and looking forward to bringing this next free expansion to you!

(http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=newsdiscuss&Number=8474847&page=0&fpart=1)

That was kinda quick eh? Issue 10 looks pretty cool from what they posted so far though.

The skies over Paragon City are filled with dark grey thunderheads. It is the same in the Rogue Isles, Europe, and across the globe. Small ships dart through the heavy weather … and there are so very many of them.

The Rikti have returned.

(ttp://www.cityofheroes.com/game_update10.html)

Rikti Have Returned! Plus there is a new Co-Op zone where the Villains & Heroes combine powers to fight off the marauding Rikti. It will also include a World Event from the looks of it (I am guessing like what they did way back when during Beta).

That is some pretty big news!

(Yah, I am still alive - no luck on the job search though. I have 15 days to figure out if I can keep my subscription going or not :()

Comments

seth moldow Said: @10:22 am |Edit This
wow, thanks for the update! 14 days and counting. Are you living off Raman noodles?good luck.Broadsides (lvl 50 ma/ref scrppr)
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Clorius Said: @11:17 am |Edit This
Aye, basically living off the dwindling remains of stuff I have in the freezer & cabinet. This means alot of chicken lately, as well as ramen :/

Job outlook is looking bleaker every day. Thanks for the words.

I hope I can stick around and see I10, but if not then I will look at the forums from afar to see how things are going.

92 Views May 4th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

Feedback on Comic Book Cover

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

Since I lately have so much time on my hands, I have decided to test my hand at creating a comic book in Adobe Photoshop. I have a little skill with it (not a whole lot, but I get by) and I really don’t want to use a third party application like Comic Book Creator [last time I had the trial installed it never finished the installation and kept running the install routine after every boot - so I got rid of it]. I have created the cover of a small run that I am doing to get myself used to the whole thing, my plans are eventually to showcase my main and do a multi-part story that will have him deep into the story arcs (level 45+) and then his ultimate defeat (level 50) and rebirth (Kheldian merge).

Without further ado, here is the cover (2 versions) I have come up with for a starter comic [this is as far as I have gotten so far] - I asked for some feedback on the CoH forums but only got one reply [which I used to make version 2].


Cover 01 - Original	Cover 02 - Added more filters

(Click the photos to open the full size in a new window)

Please feel free to tell me what you think, I am not that good of an artist and my graphical eye is kind of off (another reason I am doing this, I want to be able to do more graphic type design on the side).

Thank you in advance.

Comments

1

seth moldow Said: @12:08 pm |Edit This
use a different message window and a different, bolder, italicized font in the right corner message window.

maybe the hero should have flashier colors? he seems to get drawn into the background?

hope all is well

79 Views May 1st, 2007 at 12:03 pm

Issue 9: Breakthrough - Live

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsYup, apparently the servers just came up (short of their extended maintenance window) and I9 appears to be Live.

So jump on and play! Lots of new goodies to play around with, some QoL improvements, and much more.

79 Views April 27th, 2007 at 6:10 pm

Issue 9 Going Live soon

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

Yep, according to a post on the Test Forums we are in the final push to get I9 live. It seems that very few changes will be made between now and then, so I am expecting release to be early next week (probably Tuesday to coincide with the Maintenance).

Here is the quote from Lighthouse himself (Thread Here):

Ok folks, it is no secret that we are getting close to taking Issue 9 LIVE.
TESTING CONSIGNMENTS:
We have finished the stress testing of the Auction Server behind the Consignment Markets, so if you see ANY funkiness or problems with how they function, please let us know.
EXPLOITS / DUPES / BIG BAD STUFF
Find one of these and you may well be sporting a nifty Bug Hunter Badge!
We do have a number of minor fixes that the development team has made, but rolling them out into another build is problematic. Likely, we would introduce new problems by doing such that would overly delay Issue 9. All that is to say, Issue 9 will have some minor known issues when going live. At this point, we want to get it out there!

Maybe I will get over some of this funk I have been in due to losing my job and venture forth into the City of Heroes once again. Until then - be safe.

89 Views April 24th, 2007 at 7:09 am

Got Fired

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

Yah, so yesterday I got fired. It sucks - the day started out as normal, but the boss called me in at 9:30 and said he didn’t see where my position fit in at the company. He has decided to outsource the computer work and the website work. All that work I put into bringing his damned website up to W3C standards and making it search engine friendly.. down the tubes.

Oh well. Now I have to start looking for a new job - I filed the first part of my unemployment, but have to wait until Wedensday to complete it because they put down ‘Other: Restructuring’ as the reason for termination. Bloody bastards.

I was all set to write some good posts here, a reflection on being a newbie in CoH and a comparison of other games but now I really don’t have the motivation. If I stay unemployed too long then I will have to cancel my CoH account - I just won’t have the money to pay for it.

I don’t know why I am posting this here, but I guess I just feel that the few people who read this deserve to know why I might disappear from the internet for a while. Hopefully it won’t go that long and I won’t have to disappear, but things happen.

Comments

seth moldow Said: @8:45 am |Edit This
dude. take a few days and block some time for complete geek out. I mean this with the best of intentions: indulge your depression, just for a few hours each day. You are obviously talented, so indulge a portion of your day to some kind of work and job search. Just use your geek time in this little fragment of time before you actually have to cancel your account. In that cycle of time you will either be collecting some unemployment or have found a job and won’t need to cancel anything.REMEMBER, When you are not in paragon that is when the evil scourges are acting out their nefarious plots’ against you.
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Clorius Said: @10:12 am |Edit This
Yah, I should do that. I have been taking some time and working on my personal website (I plan on trying to do more freelance web design - maybe I can actually start making some money with it). In between being ticked off at my old job, being stir crazy & bored from not working, and trying to keep my mind clear of worrying about bills and stuff I have gotten pretty far on a site update.

I haven’t done much game wise though, but maybe I should. Getting in game and bashing some NPC’s heads in might help me out a lot.. reconnecting with my SG would be a good thing too [I miss those guys and gals, and I truly wish I had been able to find more time for them].

I will start getting unemployment next week I believe - but it is about half of what I normally make so I will just have enough cash to pay my rent, electric, and cable bill (with some food thrown in for good measure).. I just don’t know if there will be enough to renew CoH when my current 6 month subscription runs out and goes to auto-renew.

Thanks for the compliment by the way - I hope I have some sort of talent a company could use, but so many want you to have a college degree and I spent my Navy time seeing the world rather than getting one. I still have my GI bill but in order to use it I have to pony up the course fees first and then get repaid by the government, which is not an option right now (and hasn’t been for a while).
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seth moldow Said: @1:46 pm |Edit This
urrrgh, another victim of outsourcing. Heck IBM has now branded the outsourcing they have in India as their Asian “division.”

this is just a joke but Aim High

102 Views April 3rd, 2007 at 11:30 am

Test is open for I9 Testing!

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsThats right folks, you heard it here! Test Server is now open for the testing of Issue 9: Breakthrough!

I guess I can tell you what one of my NDA’s was about now eh

Comments

RG RULER - Founder of RG Said: @1:50 pm |Edit This
That’s great news!!!!Prince Char-
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Clorius Said: @7:56 pm |Edit This
I9 is shaping up to be something pretty cool, a nice change - it will take some getting used to, and some adjustment but overall things are nice.
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seth moldow Said: @8:50 am |Edit This
so tell me… its 4/20/07 how is i9? i’m a COH vet of 2 years (Broadsides-lvl50 scrpr MA/reflexes-is reflexes the pwr set with fighter instincts, dodge, agility?-this is so sad, i cancelled my account 4 months ago and i am totally jonesing to play again-titan quest just is not cutting it-sorry clorius, your page is turning into my blog-

so please tell me all about i9
4

Clorius Said: @10:08 am |Edit This
No problem seth You can post comments anytime you wish.

I think you mean /SR (Super Reflexes) - that is the one with dodge and all of those nifty goodies [they can get even niftier with some of the new IO sets].

My opinion on I9? I think it is a good thing. It brings a whole new dynamic to the game that is optional; of course, certain things were changed to the game that have people up in arms (You will no longer get TO’s / DO’s when you leave the level range for them (i.e. when you get to a level to use the next tier TO -> DO -> SO). This means no more useless level 50 TO drops, but it also means that you won’t get vendor junk. Most of the people complaining don’t take in that you can sell the Invention system drops for some good influence. The current build of I9 seems pretty stable (I haven’t played in a while - but the boards seem to say that) minus a few tweaks needed to the Consignment House.

The new dynamic I think will breath a new life into the game, allowing for greater customization of characters and more interesting build varieties (I Mean, who wouldn’t want a chance to do psionic damage on non psi powers? Or Psionic resistance in certain sets? [Psi resistance is one of the least represented resistances in the game])

They probably will have a weekend reactivation of old accounts when I9 goes live, so you should keep an eye out for that email and check it out to see if it is enough to bring ya back.
5

seth moldow Said: @9:49 am |Edit This
i hear you mention ” boards ” message boards, which do you consult? warcty’s?

129 Views March 6th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

One NDA gone, another looms

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsSo, the NDA for LotR:O was lifted and I was able to let the world know I was a tester :); I figured that my spurt of luck with any sort of Beta had ended.. I guess I was wrong. I just agreed to another NDA for something completely different (No, not the CoH I9 Closed Test :() and am a bit excited to be in it! I really wish I could say something more, but I take these things seriously!

In other news, Test is officially closed CoH/CoV side for I9 closed testing. From a post made by Bridger on the UK forums, it is more of a ‘family’ test group than a random pick of people. Probably people with associations to Cryptic/NCSoft or people that have a history of testing things for them. It might include some big names from the forums, but they are all bound by an NDA so we may never know. I am looking forward to I9 - but I can wait until they open up test for everyone (another 2+ weeks from now)

Comments

Steve M Said: @6:10 pm |Edit This
So I got a trial disk for LOTR online with my game magazine. I’m going to give it a try on your recommendation. On another note, I can’t wait until I9!
2

Clorius Said: @7:15 am |Edit This
I hope you will like LOTR - I am loving it to be honest, and am going to be a pre-order Founder. With the Founder monthly fee of 9.99 a month, it is too good to pass up (I don’t have the extra cash for a $200.00 lifetime). It isn’t for everyone, of course, but it has many things that just speak ‘Tolkien’. Hit me up on the Elendilmir server - my main’s name is Branadoc.

I can’t wait until I9 either, I am hoping it will hit Open Testing sometime soon - as long as no huge bugs have come up.

191 Views March 5th, 2007 at 5:01 pm

City of Heroes/Villains Issue 9 Closed Beta Test Announced

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsThat is correct, you read the title right. Issue 9 is going to hit the players in the beginning as a Closed Beta Test. Usually new issues are open to all players who want to run on over to the Public Test Server (Training Room) and test out the new content. This time around they are apparently taking the more cautious approach:

Quoted from Lighthouse on City of Heroes Forums [Link Here]:

In the recent MMORPG.com Developer Diary article by Lead Designer Matt Miller, we announced a closed beta testing stage as part of the process to bring Issue 9: Breakthrough! to the Live servers.

Issue 9 and the Invention System is not a small undertaking. The craftable Enhancements alone consist of thousands of additions to the game. Given this, we are doing everything possible to deliver it to our customers in the best condition possible. This closed beta test is one aspect of that commitment.

Access to the closed beta test will be by invitation only. All participants in this phase of testing will be asked to not disclose the specifics of the test. By controlling just how many are in the beta test, we can better focus and manage testing to get the most out of it. The aim is to deliver a more robust version when entering our open testing phase.

The closed beta is anticipated to last at least two weeks and possibly more. After closed beta, we will be opening up Issue 9 to all players via the Training Room Test Server for a period of at least several weeks.

While we have our internal schedule, I’m being deliberately vague on timeline because it will be impacted by how the testing process proceeds. The bottom line is that we are taking the necessary steps to insure Issue 9 is the best it can be! Our thanks for your understanding and continued support.

Quoted from MMORPG.com interview with Matt Miller (Lead Designer) [Link Here]:

New Test Method

We first need to make sure that the system is ready for prime-time, and we determined that the best way to accomplish this is with a closed environment server. This means that we will be closing the North American Training Room shortly and using it to test Issue 9 in a more private capacity. Once we get enough feedback and incorporate the necessary changes so that we feel it’s ready for public, we’ll open the Training Room for all, and the full on testing can begin. We are proud of this new system and not only do we hope that our existing players will love it, but we also think this is a compelling reason for new players to get in and check it out!

- Matt Miller
Lead Designer, City of Heroes / Villains

I guess I can understand why they want to do this - it allows them to have a more controlled testing environment, as well as allowing them to give out ‘recipes’ and such to give a wider range of testing options. The boards started blowing up about it as soon as the MMORPG.com interview was out, now with the post by Lighthouse we shall see some interesting viewpoints (heck, one person even said people would quit if they weren’t allowed to test the game on the Test server).

I was looking forward to testing I9 as soon as it hit Test, but I probably won’t rate a testing spot so I will have to wait. No biggie, there is still plenty on Live to keep things going.

Any thoughts out there about this?

Comments

Bill E Said: @5:30 pm |Edit This
Threatening to quit? That’s crazy. The developers are trying to be responsible here and they’re getting pummelled by powergamers.The thing is: Inventions stand to unbalance EVERYTHING in the game. It’s a totally new way to spec out your powers and they have to balanced for PvP and PvE or else. Or else what, you ask? Well, if they make them to powerful, everyone will use them to the Nth degree and the game will become too easy. If they make them too weak or hard to do, nobody will touch them and it will become feature that nobody cares about. And all the time spent on them will be wasted.The developers know that one thing we players hate above all else is when they nerf powers. So what happens if Inventions are too powerful? They’ll get nerfed and everyone will complain at the tops of their lungs… again. LOL. Maybe the developers are just getting the complaining stage out of the way!
2

Steve M Said: @7:16 pm |Edit This
I for one cannot wait until I9, and hell, I don’t care how they test! It will come to us eventually.
Now, let’s head toward issue 11, my mastermind wants new pets…and is 7 levels from 50, so I want my Nictus!
3

Clorius Said: @8:39 pm |Edit This
I am really looking forward to the new options that will come with I9 - of course, this means that Clorius won’t hit 50 for even longer because I will be fiddling around with other things :p

167 Views February 27th, 2007 at 3:20 pm

Was gonna write about I9 stuff…

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI was going to delve into I9 speculation and discussions this week on the blog, but I decided to do something else instead that sorta has me confubulated. I decided to start cutting down and eventually quitting smoking starting this week.

A lofty goal indeed, but I haven’t been smoking for overly long (really only since I heard a buddy got killed when the terrorists hit the USS Cole) so I figure it won’t be awful bad… well Not sure about that part actually. I already am noticing some of the ’side effects’ and I haven’t gone completely cold turkey; I set a goal to no longer smoke during the work day or an hour before / after at least (so from 8am to around 6 or 7pm). Yesterday was the first day of this experiement, and I didn’t do too badly [I didn’t bring any cigarettes to work so I didn’t have that temptation sitting there.. unfortunately I didn’t bring nibble snacks [carrot sticks, pretzels, etc] either so I was feeling a bit wonky by the time I got home].

Once I start feeling more like myself [well, I am sorta feeling like myself, just weird things and lack of concentration due to nicotine missing] I will write about my I9 thoughts. Hopefully I can get to the point of quitting completely without going completely and utterly insane [I am sure I could do Cold Turkey, but I have heard that many people who do that end up going right back to it because they didn’t allow their body to get used to less and less nicotine before cutting it off].

Take care all - I have to get back to working and try to concentrate.

170 Views January 25th, 2007 at 7:36 am

Torn

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsWell this weekend is going to be a big deal on CoH/CoV - Double Experience Weekend! Yup, double XP/Influence[Infamy]/Prestige. A great chance for getting people together and playing I guess - now why am I torn? Well a game I am beta testing is having a huge stress test this weekend and I feel sort of obliged to be there and help out; I also want to be on CoH and play with my SG and have a good time there :). I will probably end up splitting up my time between the two (and RL of course) but I don’t really want to spend too much time away from CoH (then again, I want to stress test as much as possible to help out and to possibly win some good prizes).

Well, heres to hoping I can work it out

Hope everyone has fun this Double XP weekend! (Those that can make it at least)

Comments

Steve M Said: @3:07 pm |Edit This
so can you say what you are beta testing yet?
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Clorius Said: @3:09 pm |Edit This
Yup - Lord of the Rings Online(tm) - Shadows of Angmar(tm)

The NDA just recently got lifted (though I didn’t realize it until a day or so ago when I got back online after moving).
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Steve M Said: @12:45 pm |Edit This
Awesome! How is it? Any good?
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Clorius Said: @1:03 pm |Edit This
For me? Its awesome

I have loved Middle Earth and Tolkien’s writing since I was knee high to a grasshopper so just to be able to adventure in Middle Earth with my own character (and not pretend I am one of the key characters like other ME based games make you do) is just beyond belief. I am not an ‘expert’ on MMO’s though, and some people won’t find this game to their liking. I find it to be just right for me though.

There is an Open Beta coming up in April (or the end of March if you take the plunge and Pre-Order) so you should check it out if you think you might be interested. I want to buy it and confirm my pre-order, but I just can’t free up the cash just now :(.

Gameplay is pretty great to me, it is a basic Quest Based MMO I guess; but the fact that the quests are in Tolkiens world (the book version, not the movie) and that you can make Hobbit’s with connections to the Shire just sells me. The crafting system is pretty good I guess, I don’t have experience with other game’s crafting systems so I cannot really compare (I9 might change that for CoH though). The combat system isn’t as fun as CoH but I guess it is standard for just about every MMO out there - I find it nifty because of how the skills are done. Character customization is far behind CoH of course, it is better than some other MMO’s to start with though (you start with real clothes at least, not skivvies :p).

I just like how everything ties into the main story behind the Lord of the Rings; you get to encounter legendary characters in your journeys (Aragorn, Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, Tom Bombadil, etc) and feel like you are part of the world. The system requirements seem to be on the higher side, but that makes sense considering it is a ‘modern’ MMO (2+ GB initial download for the client). Stability is amazing for a Beta to be honest, we crash the servers rarely (and enjoy it each time we do - thats what we are there for right? :)).

I would love to give a great review and all, but I don’t think that it would be in the best interest of the game until the final build goes live - lots of things can change in a few months time [not that there is much, in my mind, that needs urgent fixing - just a few QoL things].

I would suggest trying it out when the Open Beta comes around. It starts April 6th for non-preorder customers [to be honest, the only people that have a real reason to pre-order right now are the people who have been testing it - others might want to wait until they get a chance to play it before making a decision. It isn’t everyones ‘cup of tea’, good thing is that pre-order gives you amazing subscription rate plan options as well as some in game items.)

I really have to get back into CoH though, Clorius is lingering at 44 and I really want a 50 before my first year mark hits (May).

362 Views January 19th, 2007 at 8:13 pm

Another redname leaving the CoH boards

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsCricket just announced today that she is leaving the position of Community Manager for the City of Heroes/Villains boards. She is going to be working on a few other titles (AA, Exteel, Dungeon Runners) for NCSoft instead.

So a few months after CuppaJo leaves we have to get used to yet another new red name (no one has filled the position as of yet I guess). Not really important for the most part, but the red names are the ones you go to for answers, with problems, or whatnot.

Such is an MMO though. Honestly Cricket was someone I could approach about things (game or boardwise - even about the Veterans Day debacle) and knew she would at least take the time to answer me.

Oh well.

207 Views January 19th, 2007 at 9:23 am

Haven’t written in a while

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsYah, I haven’t posted anything on this blog in a while. I haven’t actually had much game time recently, between work and trying to find a new place to live (my lease is up in less than a month and I need to find a cheaper place to live) I haven’t had much time that I wanted to put into any game really.

I did log on shortly over the weekend and found that things seemed… ‘fresh’ to me. It was actually a nice feeling to feel newer to the game, ya know? Maybe I was getting a little burned out with the game and didn’t notice it, but the little time I played over the weekend (about an hour total I think) I found myself enjoying it much more.

I hope to be on more this weekend, but I still haven’t found a new place so I don’t know. I will be on tonight because of an SG meeting but I don’t know how long.

In other news: We finally got our first winter weather this past week, a freak snow sqall last friday and this last week low temperatures. Last night and this morning have given us our first appreciable snow accumulation (I hate snow to be honest). Might make finding a new place a little more difficult.

Well, I gotta get to work soon - and after work I seriously should get off my butt and start packing up (pre-emptively) and cleaning up so that when I find a place I can get out of here quick and painless like [computer and internet will the the last things to go :D].

I hope all of you have had a good New Year so far, mine has been off and on [damn bills - at least my tax refund will help pay for a deposit on a new place… but I can’t get my state tax forms until the 24th because of some last minute changes to them].

Take care all and have fun

176 Views December 25th, 2006 at 12:18 pm

Merry Christmas

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

211 Views December 20th, 2006 at 9:49 pm

Been away

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsUPDATE 12/24:

Our SG founder finally let us know he is gone for good. He didn’t give us a reason, just that he ‘had’ to. Needless to say I am a bit on the outs with it. Things happen though.

I was sick most of last week so I wasn’t online much at all; I have been playing ‘catch up’ ever since. So heres some updates on what has been going on:

I got accepted into a Beta program for an MMO that might be able to tear some of my attention from CoH - not much attention, but some :D. I can’t say the name because the NDA will be in effect for a while to come yet, but I can say that so far it is a very good game [well, from the limited time I have been able to log on and test between work and all].

CoH wise things are getting worse with the SG situation - the founder of the SG disappeared.. plain gone. All of his characters are gone, deleted [emails to them come up with an error that ‘No such user’ exists]. His forum account on our SG website is gone. His global is still in our global friends lists but he hasn’t responded to any global tells, and no one has heard a damn thing from him since almost 2 weeks ago. He isn’t the type of guy to just up and leave like this, he had lots of plans still for the SG’s and was very active in getting people participating.

I just don’t know what happened and, to be honest and ’sappy’ if you will, I am worried. I should know better than to make friends in an MMO - but sometimes you can’t help it. I learned about friendship during Operation Enduring Freedom & Iraqui Freedom where I lost some buddies - good buddies; that type of hurt never goes away - this is different but still I am worried that somethin is going on.

I have a feeling the SG will just go kaput, so few of the original members are active anymore (due to RL reasons and many just leaving the game) - it is like a ghost town when I log into the game now.

Well, enough on this update post - hope everyone out there is doing well. I would like to thank my few regular readers :D, you make writing this blog something other than just a rant to empty air.

276 Views December 3rd, 2006 at 3:08 am

Ever get that feeling…

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs, CoH Journal..That your SG doesn’t want you anymore?

I am a leader of one of the Royal Guardian SG’s on Freedom. Our second group is in the running for getting into the Top 100 SG’s on the server so we are doin pretty good. I was promoted to leader a while ago because of my committment to the RG’s and my work to get people more involved - lately work and other RL things have been taking away from playtime so I haven’t gotten online much. I log in tonight for the first appreciable amount of time in a while and find that there was apparently an SG meeting last night at like 1am [EST] and they decided to change the SG colors and the logo.

I am a little miffed ya know? I mean I wasn’t even told there was a meeting, a Leader of an SG not told about a meeting for the SG members. I also have a dedicated slot for an SG costume [because the SG Settings tab messes up my non-SG costume when in SG mode] - so I have to go and change my costume - at my cost [thank the devs for the vet costume tokens]; It wouldn’t be so bad but we just changed colors a few weeks ago - now I am being told it was ‘temporary’. Am I wrong to feel a little angry and slighted?

I talked to the founder of the SG [the overall leader] and voiced my concerns - the response was basically ‘oh yah, I forgot to change the settings on that side’ and ‘yah we had a meeting and changed the colors’. This was followed by ‘you aren’t on as much as you used to be’(?!)

I don’t know what to feel… I am feeling a little angry and a little ‘hurt’. I really have enjoyed this SG - and it is one of the reasons I even bother making time to go online in CoH as often as I do. I just feel unwanted in the SG; Why am I a leader if I have no say in anything? Why am I a leader if I am not TOLD anything? I don’t want to leave my SG… but I may not have a choice - I don’t want them to have someone in a position of power that they don’t want there. Since you can’t demote a leader I would have to quit the SG … and if I did I wouldn’t join back because all the hard work I have put into this SG is basically, at that point, nothing.

This is a very disenheartening experience. Community is the biggest plus in this game, I found a group of friends (I had hoped at least). I don’t know what to do.*sigh* I guess I am just ranting at this point.. but it hurts kinda - ya know? I have to make a decision I think - a tough one.

The only bright note was an SG mate that said they would quit if I was ‘let go’ or if I left the group - cause they liked me as a leader. 1 out of over 100 total [3 groups].

Ya don’t have to sympathize with me - this is my place to vent and that is what I am doing. I am not asking for pity - just wondering if anyone has run into anything similar.

And if any of my SG Mates are reading - well things happen guys and gals; y’all made your choice and want to have fun that way - if I don’t fit in then I don’t fit in.

Comments

Steve M Said: @12:18 am |Edit This
That sucks. I started a VG over in the Rogue Isles, which was going pretty good for a couple of months, then, well, it’s dying. i don’t have the heart to kick out members or disband the group, since im over 300000 Prestige, but I’ve resigned myself to having just a couple of members surrounded by dead villains. :/
2

Clorius Said: @6:56 am |Edit This
Yah that sucks too, I have had my villains in a few upstart VG’s (Freedom at least) and it never worked out. I decided to not deal with it anymore and, using a free trial of CoH to create a ‘dummy’ account, I created a VG and invited all of my villains on the Freedom server to it [I only used the free trial to create one character to act as a go between to invite all of my villains - I didn’t ‘pad’ my SG member list just for the prestige bonus]. At least then I know that all those inactive names are my own alts (the only problem is that I might end up deleting one or two, thus leaving me with the loss of that prestige and with no way to invite new ones in).

It sucks when the community you grow to enjoy teaming with just grows apart from you.
3

Prydeheart Said: @9:39 am |Edit This
This is one of the hardest lesson a lot of SG/VG have to learn about. As time, gameplay and membership changes and grows, you need to make sure that communication is always there at ALL LEVELS.

I’m sorry to hear of your issues, Clorius.
But, and just humor the ‘jarhead’ here a moment, if you ever come to point where you are seriously deciding to leave it…come talk to me.
Worse case scenario…I’ll invite you to my small SG…
*laugh*
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Clorius Said: @5:41 pm |Edit This
Thanks for the support Prydeheart - and they say squids and jarheads can’t get along :). I, on my end, have tried to keep communications open by posting on the SG boards alot - but no one goes to the SG website anymore it seems (heck, no one bothers scheduling events anymore).

I will give ya a shout if I decide I can’t take it with these people, SG size means nothing to me - it is the people that makes it go. I see you as one of the ‘good people’ people (if that makes sense) - I might be biased knowing you are a jarhead and being a navy vet, but still it stands.
5

Steve M Said: @1:09 pm |Edit This
Heh..go Air Force.
6

Steve M Said: @8:06 pm |Edit This
So, have you visited dear old Father Time yet?
7

Clorius Said: @9:40 pm |Edit This
Hey all, long time no post. I was sick most of last week and have spent the time since playing catch up at work :(. To reply to the last two comments

AF - Good people! I trained with the PJ’s for PT at Medina Facility, Lackland AFB, San Antonio

Father Time - Yep, did it on my AR/Dev once and got the rings temp power (Very nice, one shot hold on a boss! only like a second but still). I like the skiing in the Chalet too.
8

RG RULER - Founder of RG Said: @1:43 pm |Edit This
I’m sorry to read all of this and yet not know your concern. Come talk to me….

Thanks,
Prince Char
9

Clorius Said: @7:52 pm |Edit This
Hey Kev - I know I shoulda brought this up directly to you; but things were so.. different. I would log in and no one would be on, then you had to leave (I know why now, but when you left I had no idea). RL Has kept me out of the game alot, then Beta testing Lord of the Rings:Online (my first real Beta acceptance), and then again Beta testing for I9 [I was one of those ‘covert’ closed testers for a bit]. I love the RG’s, I like to think me and you are friends - I just have had this odd feeling sometimes that I might just have been the ‘odd man out’ with decisions and the like. I will get in game and have a chat with you when I get some time.

1,045 Views December 1st, 2006 at 11:14 am

I think the other shoe just fell…

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsThere is a riot in process on the CoH boards - not a very big riot, and only confined to the Testing forum but a riot nonetheless. Why a riot? Well a new patch is in the pipeline with some power ‘adjustments’. I have included the info from the patch notes in this post; What do I think about the changes? Well, some are pretty good in my opinion [a tiny buff to /devices for example] others uneeded [fire imps reduced in level by 1], and others I am murky on. I do think, however, that much of the player base [or at least the ones currently frothing at the mouth] are taking these changes a little too close to the heart. People are getting upset over some changes that are being made to balance out the Controller AT [reducing containment in PvP from 3x to 2x] and bemoaning the lack of changes to their AT of choice. It is actually a headache causing issue I think - I don’t know why people get so crazy over something so trivial [this is my opinion, and I do believe that some of the changes were not needed].

What do you all think?

( Patch Notes Removed For Space & Relevancy Consideration )

Comments

Steve M Said: @11:24 am |Edit This
I really don’t mind the changes, since playing a controller doesn’t really interest me anyway. I don’t see it as all that big a deal, but I am probably a minority in that view.
2

Clorius Said: @3:09 am |Edit This
I don’t see it as much of a big deal either - I have one controller and a few blasters [AR/Dev x 2 :)] so it will effect me; but it won’t ruin the game. So far it looks like a bunch of the same people being the most vocal.

168 Views November 28th, 2006 at 1:30 pm

Well - it is done…

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

Yup - I8 is officially live. Let the cheering commence…

Ok you can stop now. I am sure within an hour we will see posts complaining of bugs and problems, until then I8 is there.

Per Cricket:

All servers are back online. Issue 8: To Protect and Serve is now LIVE. Make sure you check out patch notes.

ENJOY!

04 Views November 27th, 2006 at 4:59 pm

Hmm.. time for the ZOMG!! ?

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI am thinking it might be time for the ZOMG! posts on the CoH forums. Why? Well Take a looky at this post by Cricket:

On 11/28/06 our regular server maintenance window will be extended to prepare for the launch of Issue 8: To Protect and Serve. Normally our downtime is reserved from 8AM CST to 10AM CST. Although we will restore the servers as soon as possible please note that this maintenance could take an additional two hours to complete. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

What do yall think that means? Sounds like I8 is hitting Live tomorrow. Very interesting and hopefully true, the boards are a little crazy already [tons of random posts, dev bashing, and speculation - as well as a post with information from the “future” (the UK site)] so I expect that between now and tomorrow they will go a bit more nuts.

Comments

Steve M Said: @8:36 pm |Edit This
imagine the rage if it doesn’t drop Tuesday!
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Clorius Said: @9:21 pm |Edit This
Heh - I posted a thought to that extent on the boards and got told that the announcement was ‘nonambiguous’ and was pointing to a release of I8 for tomorrow [Tuesday]. We shall know around 1pm EST [if the extra 2 hours are used] when the boards flood with either ‘WTH!?! WHERES I8??!’ posts or ‘ZOMG! I8 IS FINALLY HERE!’posts.
3

Steve M Said: @12:28 am |Edit This
Sucks. I teach until 5, then I gotta work a research project until 10. Dangit!
4

Clorius Said: @6:54 am |Edit This
Heh - I gotta work till at least 6 and then I have some errands to run, if it is I8 then it will be here for the weekend at least

189 Views November 23rd, 2006 at 8:11 am

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs

Happy Turkey Day

181 Views November 22nd, 2006 at 1:41 pm

Just can’t win

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs, RantsI just found out that I have to work on Friday; Most people are getting a 4 day holiday for Thanksgiving - I am getting an interrupted work week for no benefit. I get tomorrow off and will have to spend it with family that I don’t get along with - that will be at least 8 hours of my life I won’t get back - so having a day off doesn’t even make sense if I have to go back to work the day after and then have the weekend off. The cheapskate in charge doesn’t want to give us paid holiday for Friday because he isn’t required by law to do so - bloody hell.

Now I have a frakked up day to look forward to tomorrow, and work to look forward to Friday so I can’t even catch up on sleep or anything. What a frakking waste. Heck I’d rather work on Thanksgiving at this point, at least then I could get paid for a 9 hour work day rather than an 8 hour holiday.
I hope everyone who gets their 4 day weekend has a nice relaxing time.

218 Views November 21st, 2006 at 2:55 pm

I8 Delayed till after Thanksgiving Holiday

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsAccording to Lighthouse’s Announcement on the CoH Boards:

Excerpt

=============================================== We want to thank everyone for their continued testing efforts on the Training Room server.

Issue 8 is in it’s final stages of testing. We’ve recently made a couple tweaks which we feel has properly prepared Issue 8 for a post-Thanksgiving Launch. We really appreciate everyone’s patience with the testing process as we work to ensure a smooth release.

Read the latest patch notes of Issue 8 on the Training Room test server.

Discuss this announcement with your fellow players on the Training Room Forum

——————–
Lighthouse
Online Community Manager

==================================================

End Excerpt

At least we have confirmation now eh? There are some unhappy campers of course, but we have what we have been asking for - an update. Right now, reading this announcement, it looks like we can expect I8 to come the week following Thanksgiving - probably around Tuesday the 28th.

Better late than never? Or release it now? Varying viewpoints abound.

Steve M Said: @10:55 pm |Edit This
Late! Rather have it late than buggy!
2

Clorius Said: @5:05 pm |Edit This
I would rather it come bug free too; I haven’t had much chance to test for bugs but what little testing I did seemed pretty smooth. It could be backend issues that caused delay, or exploits that were found [like that Pocket D PvP bug]. Servers going down for extended maintenance tomorrow to ‘prepare’ for I8 so we shall see.

170 Views November 17th, 2006 at 6:27 am

I8 Delayed

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsWell the developers apparently found a bunch of pretty bad bugs that the users didn’t notice (and some they did) and have been releasing more patches to the Test server rather than releasing I8 to Live. Scuttlebut is that Lighthouse replied to a PM about the possibiity of seeing I8 before Thanksiving with “Well have to wait a little longer”. This means I8 will probably not see the light of day until the end of November / December.

I am a little dissappointed, mainly because the testing I had done seemed pretty good. I8 was more stable and bug free on Test than I7 was when released to Live. I had made a prediction that they could get I8 to live by this week because of the relative lack of bugs, but I was definitely wrong. I don’t mind, they have to work out the bugs and all but this means a longer wait for content and us being unable to play with it during the extended Thanksgiving weekend.

The board are going to explode I think, the moderators are going to have their hands full - that is a guarantee. People are already starting to post ‘unsatisfied’ threads. When it comes it will be great, but that means I9 will be delayed too.

The Cerulean Sentinel Said: @8:47 pm |Edit This
They need to release this thing. No really. They have a stable wonderful issue. They need to just drop this thing. Honestly making me start to wonder…
2

Clorius Said: @9:50 pm |Edit This
I would love for them to release it, it will give me something to do over the holiday weekend (other that suffering through about 6 hours of famliy time which will be very stressing). I would at least like the developers or community people give us a timeline (better than so far) or let us know _what_ exactly happened during their final QA.

I haven’t experienced many bugs at all during my testing; compared to I7 this is a golden issue.. but I guess they wanna be safe rather than sorry. Heres to Hoping for a release soon(tm)
3

Steve M Said: @12:50 pm |Edit This
The trouble is if they release it and people find bugs, the boards fill up and people whine. If they wait until it is perfect, the boards fill up and people whine. Rock, meet hard place. personally, I’m all for releasing it now. The folks on Test seemed to find it acceptable, and arent they usually the loudest ones?
4

Clorius Said: @2:28 pm |Edit This
Yeah the Developers lose out either way

The testers are the ones that end up saying ‘i told you so’ the most if a bug makes it to Live, but 99% of them are pushing for it to go. I think that the devs might have found a serious issue on their end that we don’t notice, and that could effect gameplay for the entire user base; I don’t see any other reason why it wouldn’t be on live now to work out whatever bugs remain (or crop up) before thanksgiving.
5

Twisted Hero Said: @2:36 pm |Edit This
Someone needs to tell the developers “guess what…ambiguity does not build excitement…only resentment”. Really, it’s almost like rule one of community management.

This reluctance to make commitments is entirely amateurish and would go over like a fart in church in any other organization/corporation. Even your freaking mechanic tells you when your car should be ready…and guess what? If your car ain’t ready…then you get to give @&#$ to your mechanic. Imagine…dropping your car off to get fixed and having your mechanic say…”well…come by some time next week…maybe”. Or, maybe you ordered some new furniture to have delivered…imagine they say..”well…as soon as we can get it to you…I don’t know when…but we’ll get it to you sometime….” Or, “Your house will close…sometime in…the next month”.

They aren’t commiting because…they don’t respect you as a customer. We’re gamerz…not customers.
6

Clorius Said: @3:04 pm |Edit This
I believe that the developers _wanted_ to get it released by Thanksgiving and that is why they did not provide NCSoft (Lighthouse & Cricket) with a yes/no to go ahead and give an announcement. The bugs that popped up were serious enough for them to delay it (to Post-Thanksgiving now).

I admit that I would have liked to hear something much earlier about what was going on, I can understand their side of it too though. Anytime they give a timeframe some people take it as a promise written in stone, some people read what they want to read and not what is written.

I don’t agree that they ‘dont respect’ me as a customer, but that is my opinion :).

188 Views November 10th, 2006 at 6:55 pm

Remember your Veterans

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs, RantsThis is part rant and part message. The first part is the message:

I would like to send my thanks out to all those I served with and all those currently serving and those who have served in the past.

I would also like for everyone, no matter what nationality or belief structure, to take a moment out this saturday and either thank a veteran or give a thought to those who serve their respective countries. Veterans day may only be a US & Canada holiday, but it is a concept that is world wide and as ancient as the beginning of recorded history. So take a moment and just give thanks for those who put their lives in jeapordy so you don’t have to; those who serve their countries to help maintain the ideals that are key to your nation.

I personally am sending a ‘prayer’ to one of my fallen shipmats this Veterans day - MS3 “Smiley” Johnson, USS Cole. She died when the terrorists did that little boat bomb before Afghanistan; I went to Navy tech school with her and she always had a smile for everyone.

Thank you one and all Veterans, Active Duty, and Civil members.

Remember our Veterans and the sacrifices they have made and continue to make.

The rant was removed by me in the original post, and shall stay removed.

Prydeheart Said: @10:28 am |Edit This
Semper Fi to all those servicemen and women; past, present and future.Come home safely.
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Clorius Said: @9:47 pm |Edit This
Hooya

168 Views November 8th, 2006 at 11:15 am

Vet Rewards have hit Test Server

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsYup, they finally released the Veteran Rewards to the Test Server - they have also added boxes to the PlayNC Account Management screen to show what rewards you qualify for and how many Vet Reward months you have (I currently stand at a whopping 6 months). The reaction the veteran rewards has ranged from outright glee to amusing and utterly crazy rants and moans. Some of the complaints have merit; You cannot change the inner color of the trenchcoat (like you can with capes), clipping issues, costume pieces not being available with others, confusion finding costume pieces, respecs not ’stacking’ if you claim more than one at a time, etc.

I look forward to testing these out when I get a chance, but they really aren’t that important to my playing value. I find it quite interesting to see a plethora of posts both lauding and denouncing the veteran rewards within the span of minutes usually. People will never be happy I guess.

What are your opinions (those who read this blog) on the Veteran Rewards that are available right now? I will post a list of bugs (real bugs) and other things when I get the chance. I hope to get online this weekend (finally, been too damn busy with work the past 2 weeks to do much playing) and test some stuff out and post some screenshots.

You all know, of course, this not only means ‘Dooooooooom’ but it means that I8 should be released to Live servers within a week or so. That is very good news, as I have some concept characters that will take full advantage of the trench coats and some other characters who will truly enjoy the new faultline and the police scanner missions (not to mention getting that Jet pack in the first safeguard to get over the annoyance of traveling in the Hollows).

Radiant Blaze Said: @9:39 am |Edit This
As far as Veteran Rewards go I feel like Christmas is coming early this year. I’m trying very hard to get my first toon to 50 just so I can explore all the alts I have wandering around in my head without feeling guilty for neglecting my main. Of course then I’ll have a Kheldian available too but that’s another can of worms entirely. Yep, lots of wonderful things to look forward to here but I was always the type of kid who didn’t sleep a wink on Christmas Eve.
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Clorius Said: @11:47 am |Edit This
I am still trying to get my main to 50 as well (as you could tell from many posts here ); I have so many alt ideas and I keep breaking down and creating them - I try to stick to my main but I get distracted easily. The whole Kheldian thing is going to throw my alt-itis into another realm I think. When I was a kid I couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve either - just wondering what sort of goodies I would get in the morning.

171 Views October 15th, 2006 at 2:55 am

PvP

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs, CoH Journal(Yay I’m back online!)

Now to the subject: What is it with ‘vocal’ griefers? You know the ones, they dont do normal ’smack talk’ but they hurl insults out while sitting behind the drones? I don’t mind PvP [I don’t do much PvP personally, but it is a nice change now and then] but I do mind the idiots who, while not participating in PvP, constantly throw random insults around calling people various names because it makes them feel ‘powerful’ or something. Smack talk is expected - but participating also is if you are going to do the smack talking. The PvP crowd wants more Dev love for PvP, PvP will not get much ‘love’ unless more people use it, more people will not use it until idiots like those above are squashed - see the problem here? I don’t mind getting defeated in PvP (even if I am there on PvE errands) because it is going to happen - Ganking [gang killing] I don’t mind as long as they don’t proclaim their ‘uberness’ over ‘pwning’ me 5 to 1. I hate stalkers with a passion, but I don’t call for them to be ‘nerfed’ because they are playing to their strengths when they AS me. I don’t mind getting TP Foed into a bunch of villains [or traps/MM pets], but I think that ‘droning’ (TP Foeing someone into a Police/Arachnos drone) is cheap and just stupid. The problem with PvP is that too many ‘kiddies’ want to proclaim their ‘l33tness’ over those not as skilled - it takes no skill to drone someone. Bleh.

The reason I bring this up is due to some events in Sirens Call tonight - it started out all fun and games, smack talk on both sides and good natured fighting; it devolved to the point where 2 people were hiding in the Villain base talking crap (not good natured smack talk, but personal insults and the like) while not actually PvPing; One was TPing heroes into drones and laughing about it, the other was saying they wouldn’t PvP because they didn’t want to be ‘ganked’ by the heroes; Yet those same people would be the ones camping the Hero hospital and ‘ganking’ lone heroes…. What is with these type of people? I am not angry just a little amused and irritated. People like that make me avoid PvP zones - which is sad, lots of fun can be had there between heroes and villains.

Oh Well

In another PvP related note: There seems to be a bug (linked to an emote or the Arena terminals) in Pocket D on Test (where Issue 8 is being teste) that turns the whole of Pocket D into a fight zone - villains/heroes who use this exploit enable their PvP flag and con red to the opposing faction; Apparently they can also attack any faction at will once this is enabled - some people used it to grief, and instead of not using it and just reporting it, people are constantly using it.

Well, enough tonight - I will maybe be on tomorrow.

168 Views October 13th, 2006 at 11:26 am

So I8 has hit the Test server

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsYup, apparently it hit test sometime last night and the boards have exploded. The Training Room (Test Server) forum is overwhelmed with threads talking about/whining about various features and updates. Lots of interesting stuff from the patch test notes, the Dominator buff isn’t much appreciated and some other things are being bitched about already.

The plethora of posts about this has shown me that my ‘lurker’ status is a good thing, I could not get a word in edgewise at this point and the trolls are gleefully jumping into posts. I am so bloody tired today - my net still isn’t up at home, but even if it was I think that I would forgo logging in tonight - it just isn’t in me seeing the way people have been acting on the forums. I seriously feel sorry for brand new forum posters who see some of the stuff that is posted there.

Well, enough for now - my net might be back up tonight so maybe I will try out the I8 patch on Test, or not.

Happy Hunting

Comments

RadiantBlaze Said: @3:10 am |Edit This
On a lark I followed the signature link on one of your posts and discovered your blog. It’s very interesting to see a lot of my own thoughts reflected in another person’s writing. I too am a fellow lurker and have been for some time. Next month I’ll hit the one year mark on my account and I have a grand total of ONE post. Although I avidly follow several different folders I’ve just never felt the urge to contribute. Of course that might change once I become a hardened veteran with a server full of level 50’s and a wealth of game info overflowing from my ears.There are a few posters that display an overwhelming amount of negativity and overinflated senses of entitlement but that’s not why I keep coming back. It’s the posters (like yourself) that are honestly trying to make a difference and be helpful that keep me reading. It would be a crying shame to let all the negativity and bad attitudes become the majority. I can undertand your reasons for stepping back from the chaos but I hope you realize there is at least one person out there that is gleaning something positive from what you have to contribute. Even if that means slogging through a lot of sludge in the process, I’m willing (and stubborn) enough to keep trying.As far as Issue 8 goes, I’m excited and optomistic. I’ve been on Test and it’s like getting a sneak peek of what’s going to be under the tree on Christmas day. I’m already picturing what those new flying poses are going to look like when I get my wings. Whee!
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Clorius Said: @1:51 pm |Edit This
Thanks for the kind words - I want to post helpful things but they usually get swallowed up quickly; Maybe when the furor over I8 dies down a little bit [after it hits live probably] I will post more often again. I am glad that I might have written a few posts that you found useful.

I took myself to test and I love the new Faultline changes [and the new exit in Pocket D to Faultline]. I won’t qualify for wings for a while yet, but will get at least Trench Coats & Greek Letters (and costume tokens of course). I really can’t wait for this to hit live - the new story book markers that show which contacts have story arcs is awesome!

Thanks again for your comments, and I am glad you like the blog.

145 Views October 11th, 2006 at 11:19 am

Been thinking lately

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI have been thinking about different things alot lately, not really CoH related but still. I still love the game and will keep playing as long as it is in existance, but I have been thinking outside the ‘gaming box’ lately and looking at things in perspective. I seem to have had horrible luck with job choices since leaving the US Navy 3 years ago - every job I have had since the Navy (only 2 counting my current job) have been dead-end go nowhere jobs. It isn’t even the idea of no possible advancement, it is that the companies themselves seem to short-circuit. Each of the jobs since the Navy started out great with great potential (or so I was lead to believe), but I have found that things are always much worse off and I have to start worrying about my paycheck. I know the job situation sucks all around lately, but I just want to live my life without worrying whether or not I will have a roof over my head one month to the next. With my previous job (the one I took right after leaving the Navy) I ended up having paychecks start bouncing on me - so I found something that seemed more stable, and started out being stable, that is now starting towards the same sort of decline. I do my job the best I can but it seems like things just can’t go right lately.

So I have been pondering what to do, my personal business hasn’t even taken off the ground so I am going to shut it down; I have been thinking strongly of entering the US Navy again - I was able to get a sense of doing something when I was in before, and I at least was happy doing my job (scarily enough). It isn’t the fact that I had a modicum of power (as an E-4 in charge of my own space I had people reporting to me, and I influenced quarterly reviews), it is that I felt that I belonged there. I don’t know anymore - but I think the Navy might be the best bet for me again. I will have to get myself back into ‘fighting trim’ shape, but it might be the best bet for my sanity and future well being.

What does this have to do with CoH? Well, not much really - but I have made friends in this game and I don’t know how long I would be out of contact; I truly enjoy my time in the game, and learning new things about different powers keeps me coming back - but the Navy might break these friendships up due to long absenses. It is quite a dilemma - not that I would consider altering RL for a game, but still; I lost so many friends when I joined the Navy the first time because they moved on with their lives while I was serving my country, and they just forgot I existed. Heck, even my family didn’t think much about me until I returned from overseas - bleh.

Alot for me to ponder, I don’t know why I am bothering my readers with it but I just thought I would share a blurb.

Anyone know a good IT type company that could use someone without a college degree? Just kidding.

Hopefully my internet will be up again soon so I can get back in the game - I still have a tough decision to make though.

Happy Hunting

179 Views October 6th, 2006 at 3:39 pm

Wow - a Red name compliment

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsSo I was lurking in the CoH General Forum and noticed the little mail thingy for a PM, thinking it was Cricket responding to a message from last night - I open up my mail and find it is from the main Web Content guy over at NCSoft complimenting me on the content of my posts recently. I was, needless to say, suprised as heck. I still am going to refrain from posting on the boards for a while there, but it is nice to know that the nice things I have tried to post have eben noticed and appreciated. Most of the trolls just gloss over what they do not want to read and jump on parts they don’t want to agree with.

Just a tiny little bit of goodness in a, so far, very crappy day.

142 Views October 6th, 2006 at 12:00 pm

Net access gone at home again

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsYup, I have no internet access at home again for some bloody reason. There go my plans to get to at least 42 this weekend [I hit 40 last weekend Saturday night]. I guess I will get other stuff done but meh.

In other news - I think I am going to turn into a lurker on the CoH forums; The trolls are out in strength and the mods have an odd way of keeping them in line. I have tried posting constructive replies, advice, etc - only to be lambasted at times by the trolls, or to be removed with a modsmack. I tried a humorous thread last night and that disappeared [though other threads that violate the rules are still running strong] - I am not mad at the moderators or anyting, they have a hard job right now keeping the forums in line, but I do not see anything worth contributing there anymore; relevant threads get knocked to the ether of forum obscurity whenever 200 threads on the same item show up, relevant replies get lost when a single flamer is modded, I dont even want to ask any questions of my own on those bloody forums anymore. Bah!

Well, back to work for another 6 hours - then home to figure out what the heck to do for the rest of the night [gonna get bloody cold again tonight]

348 Views October 4th, 2006 at 1:36 pm

Year 2 of Vet Rewards Posted

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsWell, they have posted the second year of Veteran rewards on the CoH site. Not as much hue and cry, but still some naysayers [of course]. I am not too excited, I have a very long way to go before hitting that milestone :). Heres what they put up in case you cannot view it:

15 Months: Zealous

Zealous badge
Costume Piece: Angelic Wings, Demon Wings
Costume Change Token given to all characters on account

This reward level brings players wings! Feathered and Demon style wings are available for new and existing characters on each eligible account. In addition, a Costume Change token is given to each character, so they can modify one of their costumes free of charge to add this costume piece to it.

Wings are a “Back Slot” option, and thus do not combine with other Back items like capes and trenchcoats. They animate when flying or falling, and can be tinted with two colors to match the rest of the costume. They are available to all characters on a qualifying account, regardless of their actual level. Yes, players can make a level 1 character with wings.

18 Months: Unwavering

Unwavering badge
Costume Piece: Samurai Armor
Costume Change Token given to all characters on account

A year and a half, good work!

The eighteen month reward is a full costume “set” of Samurai style armor. This includes the helm, shoulder, chest, arms, gloves, legs, and boots, all done in classic Samurai fashion. Characters can add a single piece, a couple pieces, or all the Samurai pieces to their characters with a free Costume Change token that is also given at this reward level.

21 Months: Steadfast

Steadfast badge
Costume Piece: Shoulder Cape
Respec given to all characters on account
Costume Change Token given to all characters on account

Twenty-one months in and everything just keeps getting better.

Another respec is available at this level. Like the 9 month respec, players can claim this from the Veteran Reward menu at any time. This respec stacks with the In-Game and “Freespec” respecs given out during special events.

We also bring to characters the Shoulder Cape. Like all capes, the ability to add this is unlocked at level 20 by successfully completing the “Cape Mission”. The Shoulder Cape is a unique look suitable for many characters. Again, a Costume Change token is available as well, so players can alter a costume free of charge to add this stylish cape to it.

24 Months: Devoted

Devoted badge
Prestige Power: Emergency Base Teleporter (long recharge item that teleports you to your Base)
Base Item: Posters of the City of Heroes Comic Covers
Veteran’s Titles for Level 15 characters

Two solid years of experience. Way to go!

More items for Bases are available at this level. Now players get a selection of the City of Heroes comic-book covers that they can add to their base as small and large posters. Players can select this reward an unlimited number of times.

A new power is also granted at this reward level: The Emergency Base Teleporter. Now players can access their Supergroup’s base from anywhere in the world. This power has a long, interruptible cast time so players won’t be pulling it off in combat, but makes up for this by granting extremely convenient access to the base.

Level 15 characters will also have a whole new set of titles that they can add to their character name. Simply visit any Trainer and check out the new titles that are available.

Not bad stuff all in all.

196 Views September 30th, 2006 at 11:00 pm

Dinged 39

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalI dinged 39 on Clorius today! Woohoo! I did it on an AWESOME pick up group. Oddly, it started with a Blind-Invite [which lately has lead to disaster for me], but it ended up being one of the best teams I have been on in a while. We started doing door missions around 12:30pm and the team finally dissolved at almost 5pm. Things just worked beautifully, the teammates meshed well and we tore through everything with few deaths - and enough oncoming XP to make up for any debt. While on this PuG I fought the Psychic Clockwork King [and got the shiny badge :-p]. I gotta say - I HATE PSYCHIC CLOCKWORK! They are much worse than normal clockwork because Clorius has /regen for endurance; But he has absolutely no protection against psychic attacks [Rikti Mesmerists & Carnies also tear him up]. I was very glad to focus on my main today, and got good results out of it. I plan on playing him some more tonight and maybe, just maybe, inching my way to 40.

155 Views September 28th, 2006 at 12:23 pm

I started to concentrate on my main

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs, CoH Journal… finally :-). I played for a few hours last night on my main and had a very good time. I got on a PuG [that started with a good tell first] that was a great combination of players. We were doing missions in the ‘Envoy of Shadows’ arc - multiple stacked Tactics + Assault with SB & ID made the missions [for the most part] go by quick. The first mission I did with the group took us like 3 minutes.. thats it. It was over before I could register really [against Purples & Reds to me]. The next mission was the first encounter with Envoy - we wiped at least 3 times [blasters were blapping a little too much, but all in good fun] and no one whined about too much debt or anything [I got 42k at one point, all gone by the end of the mission - 3rd debt badge here I come!]. I actually ended up using my self-rez 3 or 4 times in that mission [I like it to be honest :)] - the 5th time around one of our other scrappers quit and we got an empath [great buffs, debuffs & heals] that helped us take down that POS like cake. Once the blasters started using their blasts and immobs more effectively he didn’t take long to take down at all [and he was ranked as an AV]. No rad debuffs at all - the only -regen powers used were Siphon Speed & /spines. I loved that mission.

I really do enjoy my main, I gained 2 bubbles of XP on those 2 missions alone [and at 38 gaining bubbles towards leveling takes a long time]. Very good night at least - lets hope I am that lucky tonight when I go online.

152 Views September 27th, 2006 at 12:23 pm

Well they posted Year 1 of Vet rewards…

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsNCSoft has posted the information on the first years worth of Vet Rewards.. and no wings are in sight. Lots of complaining about that I am sure - here is a brief overview:

3 months: Trustworty

Trustworthy badge
Costume Piece: Trenchcoats
Costume Change Token given to all characters on account

At this first reward level, players unlock the ability to use Trenchcoats on all of their characters, new and existing. We also give them a single Costume Change token to take care of the cost of changing their outfit.

6 months: Faithful

Faithful badge
Costume Piece: Greek Alphabet Chest Emblems
Costume Change Token given to all characters on account

Here players unlock the ability to have Greek Alphabet chest details on all of their characters, new and existing. Again, we give them a Costume Change token to take care of the cost of adding this to their character costume.

9 months: Dependable

Dependable badge
Costume Piece: Belly Shirt for Females, Scottish Kilts for Males
Respec given to all characters on account
Costume Change Token given to all characters on account

At this point players receive the first Respec for all their characters. This respec is separate from the In-Game respecs and the “Freespecs” given out during special events. This respec is given to characters current and new, simply for having an active account for nine months or more.

This reward level also offers Male and Huge models the oft-requested “Scottish Kilt” costume option (complete with sporran). Females receive tight fitting “Belly shirts” to show off their well-toned midriffs in battle. Once again, this includes a Costume Change token to cover the costs of altering characters at the Tailor.

12 months: Loyal

Loyal badge
Temporary Power: CHOICE: Permanent Undead Slaying Axe or Permanent Sands of Mu
Pre-Order Sprints: Rush, Dash, Quick, Surge
Base Item: Wall Mounted Weapon Displays

When City of Heroes launched, there were several “pre-order” bonuses that players could obtain, but each player was limited to one of these “special sprint” powers on their account. Now, with the Veteran Rewards program, we give these bonuses to all players after one year of subscription.

In addition, players are rewarded with several new Base Items including wall and floor mounted racks of weapons that are seen in the game like Arachnos maces and Circle of Thorn swords.

Finally we have the first of our Choice rewards. Each of the characters on player accounts with twelve or more months will receive the option of having a version of the Undead Slaying Axe or the Sands of Mu that does not expire. Each character can pick a different one, but only one is available per character, so make sure to choose wisely!

(Source: http://www.cityofheroes.com/community/veteranrewards.html)

Not too exciting for me really, Trenchcoats I might find a use for - but the rest is alot of just ‘nifty’ stuff really. Wings are looking like the 15 or 18 month reward at this point. The Greek Letter chest emblems make the least amount of sense to me - I will find absolutely no use for these I believe.

Well just thought I would inform the world in general of the information

131 Views September 26th, 2006 at 1:43 pm

Been neglecting my main

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI have been having alot of fun lately playing with alts and rolling up new alts [my character count is now at 17 - Freedom is full, 3 on Virtue, and 1 on Infinity - no 50’s as of yet]. I have been seriously neglecting my Main - Clorius. I think I am going to settle down and hit the hard task of getting up to level 50 - I want at least one level 50 before the end of this year so I can play with Kheldians a bit, and just cause. The problem is that I really enjoy my alts, there isnt enough time in a day to play them all true, but I really enjoy different powers and combinations. My Merc/FF MM is the next highest character I have [Clorius is at 38, my MM is at 23] followed by an AR/Dev at 22. The rest are in the teens or below 10; there is alot of fun [repetative fun at times, especially villain side] but I think I need to focus a little more.

I think starting tonight [or tomorrow if I don’t play tonight] I will focus on Clorius and let the others just sit at their current levels [most will probably sit there till well after I8 hehe]. Just something that crossed my mind today.

Comments

Kid Kadet Said: @8:21 am |Edit This
I think everyone goes through something like this at one point. I know I am right now. I was actually thinking about this last night at work. Yeah, I wasn’t doing anything at all, but it’s work. I do my best to daydream even at night. Anyhow, I think I may do the same. I’m sitting at 45, and I keep wanting to hit 50, but I’m having a lot of fun with my Tank. He’s level 29 right now. Good luck with your endeavor though!Peace out brutha!KK
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Clorius Said: @10:12 am |Edit This
Heh, my job is much the same. I work on code for the company website, monitor eBay auctions, and do PC maintenance [when I can], but it leaves me plenty of time to think about ideas and to wander the CoH boards [maybe too much time]. It is frustrating at times because I will end up having such fun on a new character I forget my main - that is why this game will always have me around I guess. I rolled a tank recently myself [Inv/Axe] and it is different to say the least.

128 Views September 24th, 2006 at 8:28 pm

The LT Debate

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsSo the City of Heroes Forums are alive with complaints and comments on the re-addition of Lieutenant level enemies to solo mobs; some people are against [vehemently], some people enjoy it. I am of the latter group - the LT’s add a bit of strategy to the game; and the XP gain is amazing. On a brand new alt I managed to ding 5 times in 2 hours - now low levels always go quick, but this was phenomenal. I have died more often, true, but it is much more interesting seeing different spawn types [like Freakshow Meat Doctors :p]

I think some people got used to the easy life with no real challenge in the solo missions. I think people need to chill and realize its a game

well, enough odd speulation and rambling. I’ll post more later this week.

142 Views September 23rd, 2006 at 10:19 pm

What is with people lately?

Posted by Clorius in RantsWhat the heck is with people lately? I got on a PuG tonight [a blind invite, so much for going that route] that was going pretty good for one mission. I died a few times but the debt was going away quick. Then we picked up a Carnie train mission - first fight was ok, team wipe but we accidentally aggroed too much; next fight team wipe cause some people were a little too anxious, then people started dropping. First the bloody MISSION OWNER! then one by one the other good players dropped leaving 3 of us…. there was no way we could handle the spawns that had already been created so we had to give up. I ended up with 32,000 debt and nothing but aggravation to show for it; I don’t mind debt but W T F!? Why the heck do people just drop like that? Couldn’t they say “hey, lets do something else?” I am so frikkin irritated right now.

Why the hell do people get like this?? I guess it is my fault for taking a blind invite; but I thought I recognized the person who invited me as a good player - so much for that. The quality of groups on Freedom just keeps getting worse- the good ones last only for a mission or two, the bad ones leave a bad taste in your mouth and make me not want to team with anyone.

I might try villain side later but I don’t know; pretty put off by stupidity so far tonight.

Comments

graham Said: @6:03 am |Edit This
I live in Japan, so I tend to be on when most of the N.America and Europe are off which means if I want to team I have to take what people I can find. *Most* are OK, I’ve have some fine PuG, but I’ve had a couple like you describe. I know I’m at the older end of the bell curve (I’m 33 and first pwn3d my friends in Combat on a 2600) but I too don’t understand why people drop to avoid maybe running or dying and getting some XP. As you say, a good team can burn it off. The only caveat is leadership - if the team leader is a moron and is dragging spawns onto the team, then yes, a quit to desktop is fair enough. I was actually on a team where we ‘fired’ the leader and set ourselves up as another team without that player because he/she wouldn’t let anyone rest, or do anything, and just kept dragging spawns onto already depleted chars.Anyway…rant over…please move along.
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Clorius Said: @8:18 pm |Edit This
Konnichiwa :). I was stationed in Japan at Yokosuka Naval Base on the USS Kitty Hawk for 3 years - I still own my Atari 2600 [Only 27, but I loved Combat. My newest console system is a N64]. I have been on one team where we ‘fired’ the leader, it turned into a great team; but lately its just bad luck. The only time I really seem to get stuck like this is when I accept a blind invite - make me resort to not accepting them.

153 Views September 22nd, 2006 at 9:59 am

Had some fun villain side last night

Posted by Clorius in CoV JournalI logged in last night for a little bit [bout an hour] and played my level 21 [22 now :)] Mercs/FF MasterMind. First thing I did was test out the ‘Drop Mission’ function for a really irritating Kidnap mission [one of Marshal Brass’ missions - ‘Kidnap Workers from Dock’ or something]; I got a tell from a level 30 asking if I would be willing to SK up and help him out with a tough mission, I agreed [I am such a nice person :p] and went to help him out. It was a bloody CoT cave map mission [I hate those with a passion!] - since I was SK’d up I got to have 2 Spec Ops instead of 1 [Yippee - more damage and debuff galore!]; the mission was pretty tough - the level 30 died twice [I tried to keep him alive with bubbles and Aid Other, but it wasn’t quite enough - cause I was trying to keep myself and my pets alive too]. I noticed during the mission that for some odd reason [without touching any game settings] the graphics on the force bubbles looked much more crisp - weird. I also noticed that one of my soldiers decided to take up healing [not the Medic who kept running in and dying]. I thought it was a bug that made the medic switch ‘bodies’ or something, but then he did it again when the Medic was a live [and healing]. Crazy!

I managed to ding 22 on a solo mission after that mission, it was the ‘Find out what is going on with the PTS’ and rescue Amanda Vines mission; The new Lt patch caused alot of Lts to be there [and quite a few bosses - i fought at least 4 bosses in the final room, not counting the Main guy who was a boss, all red conned because I was set at base difficulty +2 [for higher level baddies]]. I almost died once when some Mu bloody guardian aggroed onto me and my pets at the same time as a red conned Arachnos Engineer [bloody arachnos] - thank the skies for PFF and SJ, I managed to turn on PFF and SJ away to a remote corner [right next to amanda vines] and lose the aggro [dumb enemies :D]. I picked up Aid Self as my lvl 22 power [I will be going the Fitness pool next couple of power choices that arent pet related]. I just wish I could have my 2nd Spec Ops - but I don’t remember what level he comes at.

Well that was alot of fun at least

Some info on the Marshal Brass - NoFuture’s info page (click) - Paragon Wiki (click)

Talk to y’all again soon.

Comments

Steve M Said: @12:36 pm |Edit This
I gotta say, I like the Lt change. I’m a level 33 necro/ff MM, and the LT’s make the maps quicker for just about the same xp. My undead minions tear through reds like butter.
Like the blog!
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Clorius Said: @8:13 pm |Edit This
Thanks for the comment :). Yah I enjoy the extra challenge the LT’s represent. People can’t go bum rushing into missions anymore - plus the XP is coming much faster than normal [I can only imagine what the next double XP weekend will be like with this patch]. The only problem I have noticed is that sometimes all of the minions will spawn as lone Lt’s [like in the first Kalinda mission I did on a new MM alt, 5 enemies on the whole map all Lt’s, normally it is 2 LT’s [Burch & Negotiator] and the rest Minions [5-7]. I haven’t been able to get into the Necro/* MM set yet; they seem too slow to me.

153 Views September 21st, 2006 at 10:39 am

Arg - bloody playerbase! :p

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs, RantsThis is sort of a rant, sort of not.
Here is the rant part - players… QUIT BLOODY COMPLAINING WHEN THE DEVS HAND YOU SOMETHING GOOD! Everytime the Devs or GM’s post about a new feature, or add a new feature, players start complaining about it. Case in point: The Veteran Rewards program.. there are so many bloody ‘This isn’t fair’ or ‘I wish it was this’ or whatever. No matter how many times things are explained, they keep asking the SAME BLOODY QUESTIONS! ARRRGHH!

That aside, they have indeed announced veteran rewards (click here to go to site with info) and Wings ( seem to be veteran rewards ). Lots of people are getting hot and bothered about the Wings [some are getting extremely upset that we don’t know yet what tier Vet reward the wings are - once we find out they will complain some more]

Just a word of advice to people who get so emotionally involved - IT IS JUST A GAME!

129 Views September 18th, 2006 at 10:30 am

Something is missing…

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI played CoH this weekend [managed to get Clorius up to 38] and had alot of interesting times.. but something was missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it, I enjoy the game and play as much as ever but I just can’t motivate myself sometimes to login and play. It isn’t the game, I know that much, but it seems like something is completely off for me right now. I don’t want to take a “break” from the game, it isn’t stale for me yet, but I just can’t find it in me to play as much as I would like. My SG is great and all, but it seems dead online lately - maybe it is just me; I am going through some sort of “re-evaluation”.. I can’t call it a “mid-life crisis” because I am not at that point in my life right now.

I will figure it out I suppose; I just hope I can keep playing without losing all interest.

Comments

Gabbos Said: @9:39 am |Edit This
Really like the blog, If you ever come play on infinity hit me up,got a good SG wait’n for ya. @Gabbos
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Clorius Said: @10:17 am |Edit This
Thanks - I love the game and post random thoughts; I seem to have some viewers so I try to put up informative stuff now and then.. and of course rants. What coast is Infinity on? East or West? I might roll up an alt there - can never have enough alts.
3

Gabbos Said: @8:22 am |Edit This
Infinity is on the east coast
4

Clorius Said: @9:44 am |Edit This
Cool - I might jump there to make a new alt this weekend then [I have a few Ideas I am kicking around in my noggin]

138 Views September 15th, 2006 at 6:56 pm

Wow - that was a good PuG!

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalSo I log into one of my alts tonight after getting off work, she is a Katana/SR scrapper [RP character] and I was just planning on soloing a bit until I had dinner [Ramen], Got a tell for a team and accepted - once invited there were only 2 other people, but that soon swelled to 8 and we were off and running - taking on missions at the Rugged level.

2 of the characters were FF Defenders - DOUBLE BUBBLES on my /SR made me almost invincible! We rocked through 3 straight missions with NO deaths whatsoever, no ones life got lower than half way down either! Everyone meshed together almost instantly - we went through the missions almost too fast for me to keep track; I gained a whole level [12 to 13] in about an hour! That was one of the best PuGs I have ever been on - was kinda reluctant to go but the lag was terrible and I was hungry. I know that the chances of me being that lucky again are extremely slim.

72 Views September 15th, 2006 at 10:54 am

I can’t wait to get home today

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI really can’t wait to get home from work today and play some City of Heroes [assuming my home net connection is still up] - work is driving me bloody bonkers [see My Personal Blog for details] and I need to let out some steam - what better way than beating the snot out of a bunch of villains? I can’t wait to log into Clorius again after over a week [well over at this point] of inactivity on CoH and play and have fun.

Back to the bloody work day :/

101 Views September 14th, 2006 at 5:08 pm

I am tired of this I8 discussion…

Posted by Clorius in RantsThe forums in City of Heroes are filled with speculations and guesses on what I8 will bring, when it will be coming, and all sorts of drivel. BLOODY LEAVE OFF PEOPLE! When it comes it comes, your lives don’t depend on it! I am looking forward to it, true, but I am not going to spend endless hours speculating on what will be in it - nor will i spend hours whining about what is not going to be in it - geesh people GET A LIFE!

This is my first rant related to the game - and it is aimed to a small number of forum goers who just can’t get a grip.

78 Views September 14th, 2006 at 9:42 am

Back Online…. for now

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsI have internet access again finally, I just hope it lasts for a while. I hope to get on and play some of my characters soon - but time will tell I guess

70 Views September 12th, 2006 at 8:37 pm

Been offline a bit

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsPersonal circumstances have caused me to be offline lately; and I came to realize alot of things - mainly, the community and friends I have made on CoH are a big part of my daily grind. I missed the game, sure, but I missed the people more. I got alot of stuff done that I have been putting off, but no game has come close to CoH for versatility and customization [of characters I mean]. The only games that I might have gotten into on my “net free” weekend won’t run on my PC :(.

I tried out my other “Super Hero” game - Freedom Force - but it did not have the same “oomph” that CoH has. Hopefully my situation is straightened out right now and I will be able to be online - I also need to be online because I have been thinking of expanding my personal web design busines further.

Well, enough for tonight - worked a double shift and need to catch some Z’s… sometimes I wonder why I write here no one reads it… I guess it is theraputic or something.

Doomcon 1 is in progression - I8 is coming soon(tm)

80 Views September 1st, 2006 at 3:59 pm

Goodbye And Thanks CuppaJo!

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsThis is just a big shout out to City of *’s outgoing Community Coordinator: CuppaJoe. Best wishes and good luck to ya Cuppa, maybe I’ll see you in Tabula Rasa!

150 Views August 21st, 2006 at 7:24 am

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalSo I decided to bite the bullet and wander on over to Virtue server to try out a concept character in an RP environment.. so far the experience has been great. There are alot of cool people on Virtue, and getting into character is quite fun. The oddest thing I find is that my new toon seems to be more of a weapon of destruction than my main, the new one is a Katana / Super Reflexes scrapper - my main is a Katana / Regen. With my Kat/SR I can take on purple foes and take em down! It helps that I took build up early, and 2 slotted accuracies early on, but I rarely see the “Miss” messages that I am used to on my 36 Kat/Regen fighting even con mobs. Another benefit of /SR is the lovely dance of “Avoided” and “Dodged” and “Deflected” messages that pop up around my head during a battle - I can also fight down to a lower level of HP and still live [on my /Regen if I get too low I will usually face plant if I have used my self heal already] - I fought 4 white conned hellions once on the /SR and was down to a tiny sliver of HP and Endurance but finished the battle alive!

The courtesy of the people on Virtue [for the most part] has also had me reconsidering my first server home choice - Freedom is great but the amount of griefers and the like is crazy; Virtue seems much more laid back - but meh. My main home will always be Freedom, Virtue is just a nice change of pace and something to do for fun; my main will still be my first 50 [eventually].

145 Views August 13th, 2006 at 5:38 pm

Good PuGs

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsLast night I got on a great Pick up Group [PuG], the type that you never want to leave :), I managed to get from quarter of a bar past 35 all the way to 36 in one night. Mainly we did lots of 39/40 missions [+4/+5 to me usually] and just swiped through em. I died a few times, and racked up tons of debt - but all the debt went away quite quickly. I am close to getting my second debt badge at least

The best part about this PuG is that everyone was having a good time! No one was whining about the debt or team losses, we were just running through missions like cake and having a heck of a time. That is why I like this game, for every bad PuG you get you can find some really cool people to hang out with and do missions with - Makes me forget missing so many cool SG farming missions. And today on Nega - I got on another good PuG that lasted for a while, some decent people [some idiots that came and went too] and we breezed through a decent amount of missions. I wish that there weren’t so many idiots online lately but meh, what ya gonna do right?

I probably will go back to playin heroside tonight, or I will fire up AO and play a little more there.

145 Views August 10th, 2006 at 5:48 pm

So Positron talked about I8

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs…and lots of interesting stuff was discussed! You can find the whole interview on w00tradio.net, but the basics are that base rent is probably gonna be decreased, Villain EATs will be Nictus and evil PBs; There will be Vet rewards and new powersets and stuff. I am looking forward to it but I know it might be a ways away.

In completely non COH related news - I have thought about playing Anarchy Online [well.. they offer free gameplay till Jan next year!] the little I have seen is ok, a little weird but I could probably get used to it faster than Auto Assault [which I just could not really get into in my 14 day trial] — the only real downside I see is that they have an 8 hour downtime window per week… starting at 4 PM EST! [8 UTC]. I like CoH/CoV’s 2 hours a day [if that] much better, mainly because it falls into AM times and rarely influences my play time [unless they release emergency patches on weekends]… I was gonna play around in AO tonight but the servers are not scheduled to be up until after 1am so bleh.

Enough blabbing for now. To the 2 or 3 people who occasionally browse my site are you expecting anything from I8 in CoH/CoV? Are you excited about anything? Let me know [you don’t have to register as a user you can just leave a comment if you want.

149 Views August 9th, 2006 at 7:38 am

So I Hit 35

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalI hit 35 on Clorius last night, and just for giggles chose Build Up as my next power. It doesn’t seem to be that much of a good thing, but I did jump into a Red conned mob of Rikti near the Mutant store in Brickstown and waste them without much danger I love Regen!

I got to 35 on a PuG [I was 1.10 bubles from it when I started the mission] that was fighting +3/+4 rikti in a cave map. It was an unusual night that ended well, I started the 30 Fir Bolg Mission solo with the idea to fail it [which I did], while in the mission I got 2 /tell requests to join teams within 2 minutes of each other. That is highly unusual and a good thing. I had fun on the first PuG - even though it only lasted for that one mission :(, it was good though because I was only planning on being online for a short time. Build Up is supposed to up your damage and accuracy for a few seconds, and I guess it works ok cause I managed to almost 1 shot a +2 Rikti Boss, but it really isn’t much of an advantage in the long run.

Well, I have to get ready for work - I might work on my scrapper some more tonight. I finally got rid of Skipper LeGrange missions, and only have 1 Croatoa arc left to go :). I have 2 new contacts in Brickstown now with more intersting missions that are at my level [Though one seems to be a Story Arc contact, or both are]. When I went to log out last night I got ambushed by 2 even con Council soldiers [even though I hadn’t picked any Story Arc missions?]

More later maybe

137 Views August 4th, 2006 at 7:05 am

Taskforce Mania Tonight

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsWell tonight the SG will be hosting a Task Force Mania our first huge-scale event ever. We are going to get together as many SG mates [and others if possible] that want to do any level Task Force [as long as they meet the minimum level] and get them done between today and tomorrow

This should be a fun event, hopefully we can get alot of interest in it from our SG - and maybe bring in some more active recruits.

121 Views August 3rd, 2006 at 7:05 am

CoH boards down :/

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsWell the CoH/CoV boards are down until 12pm CST [at least] for the software upgrade so I am stuck without something to keep my mind off the duldrum of the day :D. I really dont mind, I just wish they would post some info on the site about the upcoming Issue 8 [supposedly only a month or 2 away] - Lots of people are expecting big things, I am looking forward to a reason to get characters to 50 as well as some new types of content and some reworked zones.

I might actually post here later today with some musings.

148 Views July 22nd, 2006 at 2:48 am

Double XP Day 1

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalWell that was alot of fun, I haven’t ever heard so many level dings during missions before! Took my level 12 blaster out for a spin, he leveled in just about every mission! in each mission we would have just about the entire team level up - some would level up twice for one mission! It was awesome - My blaster is now sitting at level 19 [alot quicker than I got my scrapper there] and I am starting to like him, the later stage powers are much better - though they are endurance hogs.

Well, tomorrow is another day, and I will be back online and leveling up a new toon [probably will also bring my blaster to at least 20+] I still have my MM to work on, and my Brute, as well as my brand new Mind/Rad Controller.

Well, enough for the night - see you online.

116 Views July 21st, 2006 at 7:19 am

Let the insanity begin….

Posted by Clorius in Blurbs….in a few hours.

The Double XP weekend starts in a few hours, so lets get crazy. I have to work but will be on not long after work to start leveling some toons. I probably will work on my main tonight and then low levels during the day tomorrow.

Gotta get ready for work. See you in game!

125 Views July 18th, 2006 at 6:43 am

Double XP

Posted by Clorius in BlurbsWell, it is official - this weekend is going to be double XP weekend on CoH/CoV. I probably will be working on getting my main up to 50 and getting some other characters up to useful levels [especially the ones I am having some issues with, to see if higher levels makes it worthwile - or if I should scrap them]

Well - see yall online for Double XP

Damian Redeye Said: @2:06 pm |Edit This
Yo yo yo Whatsup …. Nice .. so hey .. cna oyu hlep me out iwth Damian while your workin your way up to 50 ?
2

Clorius Said: @7:20 am |Edit This
yah sure, if you catch me online send me a tell and we’ll see what we can do.

150 Views July 15th, 2006 at 10:50 am

And I thought Rikti Sucked…..

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalWell Malta are much worse! Darn Sappers! Did some portal missions with Char last night, 3 of em were Malta. The first one started out fine but I jumped into a group of sappers by accident - before I knew it, my endurance was gone - my toggles dropped - and I was KOd in seconds only 5k debt though, that went away quick.

166 Views July 12th, 2006 at 6:38 am

Level 30 Costume slot & Aura Missions

Posted by Clorius in CoH JournalOk, so last night I took on my Level 30 Aura and 3rd Costume slot missions. A bunch of “Hunt X Enemy”. Heres a break down on success / where to go:

3rd Costume Slot: Given by the tailor in Independence port

This mission is “Hunt 30 Crey” [At least it was for me] - As soon as you exit the tailor you will be ambushed by 1-2 crey at level 30. I was hit by 2 Crey Medics [what a joke!] Knocked em out quick and headed over to Atlas to pick up my aura missions [see below]. The best place to go fight Crey [and get some XP] is in Brickstown - use the tunnel in IP to Brickstown and you will find plenty of Crey just standing around near the exit. There are quite a few of White/Yellow conned enemies so be careful.

Beat on all the Crey you can find and you will be done in no time and able to get your 3rd costume slot.

Aura Mission: Given by the City Representative in Atlas Park

This is a slightly annoying mission - You have to fight 15 Freakshow, then 15 Rikti, then 15 DE. Best bet to find them is as follows:

Freakshow: For freakshow with XP - go to Brickstown again [or at the same time as doing your 3rd costume slot mission] - Freakshow and Crey spawn in basically the same areas. Watch yourself though, there are alot of Freakshow bosses that con red and like to rez themselves [this actually makes getting your 15 pretty easy, as each boss you fight will rez at least once so you get 2 for one heh] - After the last freakshow you have to get is gone you might get ambushed by 2 Rikti [the next enemy on the list] - I got ambushed by a Rikti Drone and a Rikti Soldier - no problems, the drone went down really quick and so did the Soldier.

To find lots of Rikti - go to ‘Creys Folly’. Rikti are everywhere - be careful though, most ene