Champions Online - No witty title as of yet

[Thanatos 51-50]

So, champions online just launche and...
Well, right now the servers are pretty borked. I was online when there was apparantly a massive server crash. I may or may not have lost my character, I won't know until the servers are back up.

So - shall we discuss?

[Dogmantra]

I was in the open beta. Not sure if I'd pay £8.99 a month for it. I'll wait 'til it's released on Xbox and see if my friend gets it too.

For what it's worth, Telekenesis was my favourite framework of the ones I tried.

[Penguinizer]

I'm curious as to whether it's fun. Based on what I read on the steam page, it does not seem very good.

[Dogmantra]

What is fun is making a character, if you're into that sort of thing. I was amazed at the customisation, and this was before I found the drop down menu that changed the "theme" of your head, which added loads more options.

[Athaniar]

This game has interested me for quite some time, so now that it's out I'm interested to know what the world (i.e. Playground) thinks, so I can decide if I'm going to buy it or not. Is it essentially a better City of Heroes? How about the customization, is it as good as the hype claims? Are the power sets varied enough?

[potatocubed]

The game is... flawed. I'm going to play for my full month and see how things are then, but right now the UI is buggy (and incomplete), the game balance is all over the place, the documentation is nonexistent, there aren't enough missions to support high-level play and Cryptic are making pretty much every mistake they ever made with CoX all at once.

The thing is, underneath all that is something with a hell of a lot of potential. Character customisation is amazing and there are some really sweet ideas going on behind the scenes (the power design in particular has some really clever bits and pieces).

Whether it'll live up to its potential or not? Who knows?

Oh, and the 'general gameplay' forum is downright toxic. Avoid, unless you feel like some easy trolling. The other forums are pretty helpful.

All that said, I'm going to be playing out my month (at least) so feel free to look up potatocubed in game. (Currently playing about with Phantom Stranger, Discobot, Clownferno, Quizmaster and Magic Trixie. Yes, I have altitis. It's a curse.)

EDIT: ^ It has plentiful character customisation. The power sets are varied and interesting and fun to mix, but due to lack of documentation it can get a bit overwhelming and you can find yourself with totally the wrong powers. The official builds/roles forum can help you with that.

[Dogmantra]

The customisation is not quite as the hype claims, but the hype does claim that you can make anything you can imagine. There is enough to never see someone the same as you, and you'll probably spend an hour or so exploring the creator.

At lower levels, the power sets are quite similar, you have your energy builder (basic attack) and your other one, which is usually just more damage. Later, they do get more varied, and start to branch out (like Telekenisis starts getting status effects, Supernatural starts getting crowd control, that sort of thing)

EDIT: Oh, and the travel powers are great fun.

[KBF]

I was in closed beta for most of this year. I found it very, very fun. But I only have one $50s to spend and I'm torn between a few games.

I love the action element. I love how you can mix and match powersets at will, but specializing early on will get you higher level powers earlier. I love how most powers don't get outdated as you reach 40. I love how you can easily retcon your last 10 choices, albeit for money, and you can try out your choice before committing to it. I love how you can customize the color of your powers, making them feel like your powers. But..

But Canada was nearly fixed right before open beta. It was doing fine.. How did it get screwed up so bad in open?

But PvP gets way, way too frantic.

But I can't afford it. That's the biggest one. That goes for all MMOs though. :smalltongue:

[Tengu_temp]

I played in the open beta, and liked it enough to buy lifetime subscription - which means I got a head start and am playing the actual game almost for a week now. I find it better than WoW, and since WoW was my favorite MMO, thta is saying something. My only complaints are mediocre pvp and not much group content, although I am not sure how these look at higher levels - you mostly do these things once you hit max level in WoW too, after all.

I second the "stay away from the forums" notion. They are extremely whiny, use them only to read developed announcements and look for supergroups. Seriously, the amount of whining is so bad that Tim Buckley actually can make a funny joke about it. (http://ctrlaltdel-online.com/sillies.php?d=20090902)

I'm playing a Power Armor character. These powers are mostly intended to make Iron Man-like characters, but combine the suspicious amount of Gundamish parts available with my fondness for mecha musume, and you get this (large images):
http://ffrpg.republika.pl/gundame1.jpg
http://ffrpg.republika.pl/gundame2.jpg
http://ffrpg.republika.pl/gundame3.jpg

[Thanatos 51-50]

Well, I finally got some playtime in, and I like how everything is working so far, personally.
Finally hit level eight, so I need to take a jaunt over to the trainers when I get home assuming the servers are up.

I do have a complaint about the rocket boots being too hard to control, but I guess that's something I'll have to get used to.

[potatocubed]

Well, the jet boots are flagged as the least manoeuvrable form of flight...

But still. Jet boots!

[Thanatos 51-50]

Well, the jet boots are flagged as the least manoeuvrable form of flight...

But still. Jet boots!

Jet boots work better with badass cyorg gunslinger than unaided flight or weird hover disc thing.
Also: They're Jet Boots (And the fastest form of flight)

[potatocubed]

Don't get me wrong, I love the jet boots - I have a power armour dude who uses them (Crimson Comet). I was just saying that, yeah, they're going to be tricky to control.

I'm seeing a lot of gunslingers on grav discs, oddly. I think those are the non-cyborg kind though.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Heh. I'm actually planning on putting my archer on a grav disc because it'll fit better for him thematically to basically use it as a portable "high ground".
(Loopy and I are planning on making a couple characters that run around as a team he's going to be Charm, I'm going to be Wit.
Wit is an archer - we're thinking of making Charm a telepath.
It'll be a blast.)

Has anyone gotten to the levels where in you get to interact with the Nemesis system? Hows that thing work?

Also: a GitP Supergroup? Yay/Nay?

EDIT: Yeah, gunslingers are cool, but I feel too many people use the cowboy or Frank Castle styles of gunslinger.
Part of me wants to see one encased in life-sustaining power armour or a wolf-man packing dual berettas. Therefore: I brought a cyborg to the table.

[potatocubed]

Yeah, I figure a system like the Champions system is just crying out for genre collisions. I tried making an angel with cybernetic enhancements, but I couldn't get the feel I wanted so she's been shelved. I already have a gunslinger character (Phantom Stranger, styled on The Shadow and other pulp heroes) but the idea of maybe a twin-sword ninja werewolf... now that's something I haven't explored.

I'm all in favour of a GitP supergroup if we can round up five of us at the appropriate level (10+ I think). I was thinking of calling it New Millenium Floor Huggers, in honour of the group that Bor started over in CoX, but maybe something else would fit.

[Thanatos 51-50]

It's 8 to start a supergroup, but my main is still stuck in Canada and I can't get to Millenium City, yet - I think. Ish?

New Millenium Floor Huggers would be an AWESOME SG name.
Other name ideas:
Champions of the Playground
Legion of Superpwered Playgrounders
We Definatly did not Sell our Souls to Outisdes from Planes in the Ventral Position.

EDIT: Honestly, New Millenium Floor Huggers is the best name I can think of, now.

[Lost Demiurge]

I'm liking it so far! Had some frustration early on, but that came from unfamiliarity with the interface and some of the gameplay ideas. (Switching your build to avenger and leaving it there against things your level? BAD IDEA.)

I suffer from alt-itis, and have made some alts. Loving each of them so far. Will probably make more, if only to nail down the names I want before they get taken...

American Flagg - What if Captain America hadn't been frozen for decades? What if he'd gone grim and nuts during Vietnam? This brightly colored "take no prisoners" superpatriot is a superspeedster and a munitions expert. He's kind of a glass cannon, and the munitions set is shorter ranged than I thought. Nonetheless, he'll probably get easier to play once I get him some defensive powers. He's one of my highest, currently at level 9.

El Diablo Rojo - This red-and-black dragon man is the sworn foe of luchadores everywhere. He is actually a DRAGON, not a DEVIL, but most of the luchadores he fights don't really know the difference. Nor does he, really. El Diablo is mighty, but not so smart. He's a custom power set... He's going to be a blend of fire and might, with a few dips into supernatural down the road. I'm thinking superleaping to start with, for a travel power...

Micro - I'm damn surprised I got this name. She's a gadgeteer, who got hit with a malfunctioning shrink ray. She's not THAT short, really... Gonna go full gadgeteer with her, pets galore and weird rays. Flying disc for travel.

S.K.U.L.D. - A daughter of a famous roboticist, who was killed by a supervillain wanting his secrets. She took the power suit that daddy designed, and went to go avenge his death. Think vaguely-angelic looking power armor, with a big damn laser sword and enough defensive power to outlast most foes. She's at about level 8, and I think I'll keep her around.

[potatocubed]

Micro - I'm damn surprised I got this name.

Actually, I was under the impression that names were attached to accounts - in-game all my characters in chat appear as "Phantom Stranger@potatocubed" or whatever, so it could be that Cryptic have circumvented the naming problem. Or maybe I've just got lucky so far. =/

EDIT: Yup, names are attached to accounts. So you never need to worry about a superhero name being taken. :smallsmile:

[Lost Demiurge]

Actually, I was under the impression that names were attached to accounts - in-game all my characters in chat appear as "Phantom Stranger@potatocubed" or whatever, so it could be that Cryptic have circumvented the naming problem. Or maybe I've just got lucky so far. =/

EDIT: Yup, names are attached to accounts. So you never need to worry about a superhero name being taken. :smallsmile:

Yeah? WOOHOO! What a good idea... Thanks for the good news, now I don't have to make placeholders...

[Thanatos 51-50]

Yes, character names are linked by account, so your little Micro could theoretically run into another Micro. This is something I wholehearterdly approve of.

Yeah - if you want to send me any friends request, I have a level eight character who is currently pure munitions but will probably dip into Gadgeteer or Power Armour later. His name is Cyberphage, and I ran out of room whilst writing his abbreviated bio.
Rocket Boots for travel.

I also have a guy running around in the Tutorial zone right now who is going to be a very tech-based character and currently named Wit. I'm going to buff his intelligence and then hsi intelligence some mroe and probably nab more tecchy powers later down the line.
Going to go with the anti-grav disc for travel.

All of these characters are @Cyberphage.

[Athaniar]

Character names linked to account? That's a big + in my opinion. Just one more thing: to how much detail can you customize physical, especially facial, features? CoH-level or more?

[Rutskarn]

One question: is there a trial? I don't think I'd actually buy it, but I might screw around with the 14-day version.

[Thanatos 51-50]

There is a huge amount of character customization. More than CoH, including the facial features. I haven't mucked around with the face/body beyond the default sets yet, though.
And I don't think it'll be possible to recreate your CoH toon on CO.

Ruts: Supposedly: The STEAM version comes with a 30-day trial, but the registration process still demanded my credit card number/pre-paid card info.

And a selling point that I'm currently salivating over a wee bit is the nemesis system, which I'm hoping to get to lvl 25 really quick for just so I can unlock it and Cyberphage and Viromancer can finally do battle.:smallbiggrin:

I hope that the game comes out with a "redside" (Villian's) campaign eventually, though.

[Tengu_temp]

Has anyone gotten to the levels where in you get to interact with the Nemesis system? Hows that thing work?

You design your nemesis - not only its appearance and power set (although you have less control over the latter than in case of your character, for obvious reasons) and other stuff you do for your character, but also its personality and how its minions look like. And then you get quests where you fight your nemesis and foil its plans - I only had one such quest so far, but it was a very good one, albeit a bit difficult (stupid ally AIs like to pull adds).

[Thanatos 51-50]

Heh. Is there a "I got jealous of your newly acquired power and utilised a mix of your techonology and mysticism to become more powerful than you and it drove me mad!" personality? 'Cause the would be sweet.

[Dogmantra]

I like where you can write backstories. I come up with the best ones ever!

Question: are lifetime subscriptions still available, and will they be by the time it comes out for xbox? I'd probably get one of them if my friend gets it.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I'll probably buy a lifetime subscription if it's still available when pay dya rolls around next and the game doesn't wear too thin in that time period.
Especially since I downloade dit off STEAM and will therefore be never lost.
/naivestatement

EDIT:
Also, I just sent Bor a PM about the tenativly-named New Millenium City Floor Huggers (NMCFH).
I also said - and I firmly meant this: That if he ever decides to play CO that he'll always have a position as Group Leader if I have say about it.

[Tengu_temp]

Heh. Is there a "I got jealous of your newly acquired power and utilised a mix of your techonology and mysticism to become more powerful than you and it drove me mad!" personality? 'Cause the would be sweet.

There are only three personalities to choose from - Mastermind, Brute, and a quirky villain aka Foxbat. It only affects the lines your nemesis have, to my knowledge.

As for lifetime subscriptions, they were available only before launch.

[Hzurr]

I used to play CoH, and am definitely interested in trying this game. A few questions:

1) How grind-heavy is it?
2) What's the general attitude of players? (Because honestly, having to deal with other people is the worst part of MMOs). Are they douche-bags, or fairly friendly people?
3) Do you have to have a group for everything, or is there a decent amount of solo content?

[Tengu_temp]

1) Very little grinding. The grand majority of your experience comes from quests.
2) Seems to be around the level of friendlier WoW servers, but I'm not paying much attention to global chat, to be honest. I found a pretty nice supergroup and channel easily (although the former is not very active, so I'm thinking about changing). The forums are, as expected from an MMO, a whinefest.
3) Almost the whole content is soloable. Only the optional open missions really require a group.

[Hzurr]

Damn it Tengu_temp! Answers like that are going to make me buy this game! Are you trying to make me spend money?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Tengu may or may not be on some sort of secret invisible contract to draw Playgrounders into the game.
/glare

I really doubt it, though, because I did start the thread.
Unless I'm working with him!?
Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!

[Athaniar]

Any screenshots of the character creation process?

[Myatar_Panwar]

I played in the open beta, then pre-ordered. Unfortunately I had to cancel the pre-order, mostly due to monetary issues.

Heres the dude I was using, The Meteor (Might/Fire character):
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8884/themeteor.jpg

[Cubey]

Damn it Tengu_temp! Answers like that are going to make me buy this game! Are you trying to make me spend money?

To be truthful, that's how it is on lower levels. I doubt the community gets unfriendlier (it's a word now), but there might be quests that require you to create groups on higher levels. And technically there are "group" quests even before that, but if you're a decent player then you can probably solo them without problems.

As for grinding, I did hear someone complain that at level 31 they were left with no quests except for an area they had no access to yet, but until I experience that myself I'm just going to assume that person was ignorant and doing something wrong. Remember kids! When in doubt, use the Crime Computer*!

* An option in the mission log. It shows you locations of possible quest givers for your level you might have missed. It's great.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Any screenshots of the character creation process?

I don't have one, yet.

[KBF]

One of the games main complaints? Honestly, it's number 1 complaint?

The game is solo-able. I didn't get it either.

Lifetime subscription was for up until the end of August. Sorry.

I'll pick up this game when I have the money for it, I'll join the GitP supergroup. I've found though the game can be gone through easily solo, it's much faster and more fun with a small team. And if you actually know what the other guys are going to do? I have no idea, I've never been able to do that in the short few months I've played. I'm looking forward to it! I wonder if anyone will have called dibs on being group tank by then.


EDIT:
Remember kids! When in doubt, use the Crime Computer*!

* An option in the mission log. It shows you locations of possible quest givers for your level you might have missed. It's great.

Remember this. I had to repeat "check your crime computer" into global chat hundreds, nay, thousands of times in closed beta. Usually I was the only one to say it after 4-5 responses. Seriously, take it to heart.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Giant Bomb did a quick look of the game, in which they explore character creation. Watch it here (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-champions-online/17-1264/)

Also, I find that its soloability is fine, in that most of its quests are interesting, and the combat is very enjoyable. I like to think of it as more like an action RPG wherein you are just surrounded by a bunch of dudes.

[Cubey]

One of the games main complaints? Honestly, it's number 1 complaint?

The game is solo-able. I didn't get it either.

I guess some people got used to the Final Fantasy XI model, where you can't do ANYTHING without a group. It apparently helps build a sense of community or something like that. Because nothing builds community like wasting time to find teammates and ultimately group up with a bunch of jerks and newbs!

Also, like we all know, super heroes cannot do ANYTHING solo. No siree, they need a group for anything. It's not that Justice League or the X-Men exist to have better organisation, it's because Superman or Wolverine are too weak to take on their enemies all by theirselves. Logic!

And finally, people complained that they make the game too difficult, now they complain it's too easy? Huh buh whut?

This game is great but its forums suck. Typical of an MMO, really.

EDIT: If I know that every MMO will have whining, why am I getting so excited over this? It's a mystery.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Cubey, I don't think he was saying that he wants everything to need a group. More like it would be nice if there were some group instances and such.

Yes, it would be nice.

[Cubey]

I'm not getting worked up over KBF's post or his views. We both share the view here. I was getting worked up over people who complained that the game is soloable. Which both of us (me and KBF) find weird as a thing to complain about.

And group instances aren't really necessary until lategame, which doesn't really exist yet. But there are repeatable group "joined efforts", similar to WAR's.

[Myatar_Panwar]

How is that a weird complaint? As far as I know, the game lacks any group required content, like WoW instances and such. Which are fun.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[AgentPaper]

1) Very little grinding. The grand majority of your experience comes from quests.

Not that I know anything about the game, but that doesn't really answer the question. Just because a quest tells you to go out and kill X of mob Y doesn't mean it isn't a grind-fest. WoW, especially old-world, is very much like this and a grind-fest despite the fact that you're always doing quests.

So, do quests regularly have you doing interesting things, or can most of them be boiled down to "go here, kill stuff"?

As for the solo/group stuff, much of the game should be feasible on your own, but there should always be harder stuff that you need to group for, though it should never keep you from progressing. I like the balance that WoW has so far, where most quests can be done solo, but there's also harder group quests that give out cool rewards, but can be ignored if you want.

[Cubey]

See, while the complaint COULD be interpreted that there's no group content (which isn't true as there are Open Missions, I didn't see any group-required instances yet but as I said, I can live without them until we reach endgame), I take it at face value - people complained that the game can be soloed.

[Hzurr]

I like to think of it as more like an action RPG wherein you are just surrounded by a bunch of dudes.


That's...pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. *Sigh* I'll purchase it when I get home from work.

[AgentPaper]

See, while the complaint COULD be interpreted that there's no group content (which isn't true as there are Open Missions, I didn't see any group-required instances yet but as I said, I can live without them until we reach endgame), I take it at face value - people complained that the game can be soloed.

(Just a tip, taking things at face value can be a good way to get into pointless arguments... :smallwink:)

[KBF]

How is that a weird complaint? As far as I know, the game lacks any group required content, like WoW instances and such. Which are fun.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

There are a few quests that require (2) or (3) people as you get around 15-20, and I got to about 30 in closed beta and there was only one or two real group quests by then. But they were fun and interesting, and one had a group minigame type thing. It was actually a group experience, as opposed to "team up and DPS the crap out of this boss." That was after the puzzle, a cutscene, and a plot twist. And it was a giant robot. It was the Dr. Destroyer quest line over at the museum. Good times.

The plot twist was Mr. Zombie kills Kinetic.

EDIT: I post so slow.

Half the missions are grindfests, but they tend to be sandwiched, both start of quest and end, by delicious fluff.

[Cubey]

Well, I'm not really trying to get into an argument here.

Anyway, on quests: there are others, but nevertheless many of them fit the typical MMO mold of kill X mobs/collect Y items that drop from mobs. But they're much more hassle-free than in WoW. Enemies are significantly weaker than you, and make up for it in numbers, so "kill 20 dudes" is a less troublesome quest in CO than in WoW. And fights are actually exciting, being surrounded by several easily dispatched mooks and their stronger leader really makes you feel like a superhero. Getting somewhere is no problem either, as travel powers mean that moving around is not only fast, but also fun.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Yeah that was one thing I really liked. Getting your mount equivalent at level 4 is amazingly awesome.

[Grey Paladin]

Acursed lack of a trial . . .

[Driderman]

Ahh, decisions decisions.
I was thinking of getting this, but I believe I'll hold out for Aion Online and see how that works for me first.

[potatocubed]

I have no screens of chargen (ask again tomorrow) but I'd just like to present my current main: DISCOBOT.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/potatocubed/discobot.jpg

For non-players of the game, that flying disc is his travel power.

[Cubey]

Yeah that was one thing I really liked. Getting your mount equivalent at level 4 is amazingly awesome.

It's more fun than a mount. Vanilla flying powers are probably the most boring, but they let you go really fast if you speed up, and that's convenient AND cool. Others are even better than that.

Also, Discobot = awesome.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Great, now I need to find a way to customise Wit's Disc.

[Fredthefighter]

I'm thinking of getting this, but I don't know. Fortunately, I have a bit of experience with MMOs.

MMOs I've played:
World of Warcraft (trial) - While being graphically brilliant, the game felt quite slow, even in the first ten levels.
City of Heroes (trial) - This was actually pretty good, but it seemed very team based after the first mission outside of the training zone was completed.
Anarchy Online (8 months) - Wow. Lot of variety with classes but once you pick a class you find that you'll just use one or two abilities to nuke everything, despite an overwhelming variety of abilities and gear.

Basically, what I'm looking for is an MMO that I can play and put down when I want to, rather than having something I've got to play constantly if I want to get anywhere (so in other words, an MMO that isn't full of mind-crushing grind). This game looks promising, the depth of character customisation intrigues me and the gameplay itself looks quite good from what I've seen in reviews.

So, is this the game for me, or do I need to keep looking?

[Tengu_temp]

CO is very casual-friendly, fast-paced (for an MMO at least) and full of solo content, so I think you could give it a try. Although I would personally wait until free trials are available - you don't lose money that way if you don't like the game after all.

By the way, the customization this game offers is not limited to your character's appearance - you have a lot to choose from in terms of powers, too. Basically, sooner or later you get access to all powers and can freely cherry-pick the ones you like. Some of them work better with each other than the rest, of course.

[Fredthefighter]

CO is very casual-friendly, fast-paced (for an MMO at least) and full of solo content, so I think you could give it a try. Although I would personally wait until free trials are available - you don't lose money that way if you don't like the game after all.

By the way, the customization this game offers is not limited to your character's appearance - you have a lot to choose from in terms of powers, too. Basically, sooner or later you get access to all powers and can freely cherry-pick the ones you like. Some of them work better with each other than the rest, of course.

Sounds good. I'll definitely have to try and get it.

What's the monthly fee for CO anyway? Because I couldn't find any details about it on the website.

Fred's current list of games to get:
Prototype (PS3)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)
Champions Online (PC)

[potatocubed]

The monthly fee is something like £8-9 per month, if I remember rightly.

[Fredthefighter]

The monthly fee is something like £8-9 per month, if I remember rightly.

That's not too bad. A bit less than WoW. Warcraft is about £12 a month I think.

I reckon if I got a small saturday job I could fund it myself quite easily.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Sounds good. I'll definitely have to try and get it.

What's the monthly fee for CO anyway? Because I couldn't find any details about it on the website.

Fred's current list of games to get:
Champions Online (PC)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (360/PS3)
Prototype (360/PS3)


Fix'd to put it in the right order for you and putting the better console first. :smalltongue:
Lots of people are complaining that soloing is difficult, and I've had a few problems, personally, but not to the extent that folks on the forums seem to be complaining about.


On a side-note:
I'm enjoying some of the advantage names under the munitions skills.
"Not without incident" on Bullet Ballet which makes it kick more butt when you're enraged, which is a clear shout-out to the movie Equilibrium. (One can gain a stack of Enraged by fully sustaining Two-gun mojo)
Under the Gatling Gun skill, they have an advantage called "Listen to Reason" which has a chance of inflicting fear on targets - again an obvious shout out, this time to Snow Crash - which I have recently finished reading.

This is enjoyable.
The Cyberpunk fan in me is very, very happy.
^.^

[Tengu_temp]

Wikipedia has the prices. The monthly subscription cost is $14.99 USD ($16.49 CAN, €12.99 EUR, £8.99 GBP).

And yeah, this game is full of shout-outs to everything, from Dark Tower (a ghost gunslinger named Eddie Dean) to Avatar (a wind-related item created by Aang) to internet memes (there's an achievement called Ceiling Cat). It doesn't take itself very seriously - everything is silly and tongue-in-the-cheek, or hammy and overblown. As it should be.

[Fredthefighter]

Fix'd to put it in the right order for you and putting the better console first. :smalltongue:
Lots of people are complaining that soloing is difficult, and I've had a few problems, personally, but not to the extent that folks on the forums seem to be complaining about.


On a side-note:
I'm enjoying some of the advantage names under the munitions skills.
"Not without incident" on Bullet Ballet which makes it kick more butt when you're enraged, which is a clear shout-out to the movie Equilibrium. (One can gain a stack of Enraged by fully sustaining Two-gun mojo)
Under the Gatling Gun skill, they have an advantage called "Listen to Reason" which has a chance of inflicting fear on targets - again an obvious shout out, this time to Snow Crash - which I have recently finished reading.

This is enjoyable.
The Cyberpunk fan in me is very, very happy.
^.^

I already have a PS3, so the console thing doesn't matter. And those games (because Fred is a tightwad and a budding young con-artist) are most likely going to be Christmas presents. Which means I'll most likely bundle a few months or so of subscritpion as part of the Christmas present. :smallbiggrin:

[Thanatos 51-50]

I did put the :smalltongue: up, right?
/checks

Yes, yes I did. I was teasing, man.

Heh.
I can just imagine Cyberphage talking to Justicar and Justicar's all "Oh no! The Hunter-Patriots are being jerks again!" again 'Phage is sitting there with his gatling gun and saying "I'm sure they'll listen to Reason."

Now if only the recoil blew him backwards whilst on flying. :smallamused:

In case you're wondering, his pistols are named Peacebringer and Painmaker.

[Fredthefighter]

I did put the :smalltongue: up, right?
/checks

Yes, yes I did. I was teasing, man.

Heh.
I can just imagine Cyberphage talking to Justicar and Justicar's all "Oh no! The Hunter-Patriots ar ebeing jerks again!" again 'Phage is sitting there with his gatling gun and saying "I'm sure they'll listen to Reason."

Now if only the recoil blew him backwards whilst on flying. :smallamused:

I know. Just saying.

And your character sounds cool. Oh so cool.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I know. Just saying.

And your character sounds cool. Oh so cool.

If I could only make a comic book of my own...

[loopy]

I've got a Cowboy avatar of Justice called Lawbringer (Lawbringer@theloopy, I think). Fun so far, though I think I may have cripplingly overspecialised my character. :smallbiggrin:

He's a glass cannon in every sense.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I've got a Cowboy avatar of Justice called Lawbringer (Lawbringer@theloopy, I think). Fun so far, though I think I may have cripplingly overspecialised my character. :smallbiggrin:

He's a glass cannon in every sense.

Hurry up and make Charm. Wit is out of the Tutorial Zone and waiting in the desert.

[Athaniar]

One more question (for now): are the blade power sets sword-only, or are there axes? What about daggers? Single blade has a sneak power.

[Myatar_Panwar]

One more question (for now): are the blade power sets sword-only, or are there axes? What about daggers? Single blade has a sneak power.

Unfortunately they are only swords. And they only swing like katanas. I think you can get different models for your swords, but they will always swing like a katana.

Though, in desert post-crisis, there was a quest which awarded an item for dual blade-ers, which the game described as morning stars. My character doesn't use blades though, so didn't bother checking out the model.

[Thanatos 51-50]

One more question (for now): are the blade power sets sword-only, or are there axes? What about daggers? Single blade has a sneak power.

I believe the default is a single katana. I know it's possible to get extra costueme pieces, though, one of which is an axe.

[potatocubed]

Yeah, I'm pretty certain I heard someone talking about their character with a hammer, so I think you can unlock new kinds of weapons. You'll be sword-waving for at least a while, though.

In slightly less fun news, a GM informed me that Phantom Stranger is someone's IP and I had to change his name to Viridian Phantom instead. Boo. :smallannoyed:

It's especially annoying when you consider the overwhelming number of blatant clones flying about the place - I've seen enough Iron Men that you could form an entire supergroup of just them - and I get picked up for 'copying' a guy I'd never heard of. Oh well.

[Cubey]

Forget Iron Man, I saw SUPERMAN. Yes, he was even named Superman. Apparently originality is the only power he doesn't have.

And yes, you can find items that will unlock more costume pieces, most of them being new weapons. My favorite has to be a pair of electric axes that originally were just stage props for a metal band, but got charged with real power when an annoyed mage turned the band's main lead into an ogre. Don't ask me how that's supposed to make any sense, but it sure is AWESOME.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Yeah, I'm pretty certain I heard someone talking about their character with a hammer, so I think you can unlock new kinds of weapons. You'll be sword-waving for at least a while, though.

In slightly less fun news, a GM informed me that Phantom Stranger is someone's IP and I had to change his name to Viridian Phantom instead. Boo. :smallannoyed:

It's especially annoying when you consider the overwhelming number of blatant clones flying about the place - I've seen enough Iron Men that you could form an entire supergroup of just them - and I get picked up for 'copying' a guy I'd never heard of. Oh well.

Did you unintentionally copy his costume, to, or is the name "Phantom Stranger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Stranger)" in and of itself IP?
Either way, that sucks.

I try to report clones whenever I see them, I've only run into two so far, though, none of which I reported. Admittedly, I let The clown Prince of Crime (Joker clone) slide. The Yoda clone ("Yoda") was too small and fast to actually click on.

So: Who wants to gather in the Champions building in a few hours so we can make that GitP SuperGroup?

[Cubey]

The Yoda clone ("Yoda") was too small and fast to actually click on.


Just like real Yoda then.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Just like real Yoda then.

Indeed.
GitP Supergroup Talk:
Suggest:
Name: League of Playground Champions
Champions in the Playground
or
New Millenium City Floor Huggers

Colours: Brown/Tan as per the website

Symbol: Well, I didn't see a footprint on the list, but maybe a globe or something would work, I guess?

[Ikialev]

Won't play anything with *subscription. Anyway, it'll probably suck.

thanks.

[Cubey]

Won't play anything with abonament. Anyway, it'll probably suck.

The term you wanted to use is "monthly subscription". Anyway, why do you think it's going to suck?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Won't play anything with abonament. Anyway, it'll probably suck.

Sorry, huh? I don't comprehend.

[Mando Knight]

EDIT: Yup, names are attached to accounts. So you never need to worry about a superhero name being taken. :smallsmile:

IIRC, their explanation for allowing this in-universe was that a lot of comic book heroes have two or three (or more!) alternate interpretations and identities, such as the Human Torch or the Flash...

...Blast. I wish I had sufficient moneys for this...

[loopy]

Forget Iron Man, I saw SUPERMAN. Yes, he was even named Superman. Apparently originality is the only power he doesn't have.

And yes, you can find items that will unlock more costume pieces, most of them being new weapons. My favorite has to be a pair of electric axes that originally were just stage props for a metal band, but got charged with real power when an annoyed mage turned the band's main lead into an ogre. Don't ask me how that's supposed to make any sense, but it sure is AWESOME.

I've already seen Batman, but my very favorite was named something like "Fluffy Von Catterington III Esquire". its a humanoid car in tux and tophat.

Btw, Thanatos, I've created Charm. She somehow ended up turning into a scene girl. Eh. I've a weakness for them. :smallbiggrin:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Btw, Thanatos, I've created Charm. She somehow ended up turning into a scene girl. Eh. I've a weakness for them. :smallbiggrin:

That's going to be... Interesting.
Now get her to Project Greenskin so she can distract people whilst Wit shoots them.
:smalltongue:
I'll be off work in a scant few hours.

[Nano]

Grumblemumble... bought it. Right now I'm playing a lass called Shellshock, but I'll probably change again soon.

[Athaniar]

I've already seen Batman, but my very favorite was named something like "Fluffy Von Catterington III Esquire". its a humanoid car in tux and tophat.
Car or cat?

Also, if you unlock a costume piece, can you use it when you create new characters?

[loopy]

That's going to be... Interesting.
Now get her to Project Greenskin so she can distract people whilst Wit shoots them.
:smalltongue:
I'll be off work in a scant few hours.

*cough* I went to Canada.


...Variety, you know. Though Lawbringer is in Project Greenskin, so they can group together until after we finish that zone?

[Thanatos 51-50]

*cough* I went to Canada.


...Variety, you know. Though Lawbringer is in Project Greenskin, so they can group together until after we finish that zone?

You can change which Crisis Zone you go to.
.. I'll move Wit over to Canada when I get off work. Cyberphage is currently romping around in Post-Crisis Canada.

[Cubey]

Also, if you unlock a costume piece, can you use it when you create new characters?
That's the general idea behind unlockable pieces, so yes.

[Tengu_temp]

Incorrect. If you unlock a piece on a character, you can use it only on that character.

[potatocubed]

Did you unintentionally copy his costume, to, or is the name "Phantom Stranger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Stranger)" in and of itself IP?

I got kinda close to his costume by accident, although VP looks more like a green version of The Shadow. As part of the terms of service, you're not allowed to create anyone who infringes upon someone's IP - this is because Marvel got really pissy about it in CoH and I don't think Cryptic want to go through that again. If it even might possibly be a problem, it gets dakked.

[Nano]

There isn't a way to skip the tutorial area, is there?

[potatocubed]

No. But you don't actually need to do most of the quests - your XP is set to values at the end of each one rather than earning XP and levelling up normally.

I'm actually about to experiment with a new character to see if I can skip right to the end, so I'll report back with my findings.

EDIT: You have to be level 3 before the Silverback hologram will give you the tutorial-ending mission. How you get to level 3 is irrelevant.

[Dragor]

I've been hunting around, and while the opinion on the character creator is a unanimous 'hell yes', there's been lots of cons mentioned- a poor UI, overly long tutorial and a lack of much differentiation amongst the powers.

All these aside, though, I'm still very tempted by giving it a go, at least when the trial becomes available. It all seems to be very up my alley.

[Thanatos 51-50]

User Interface isn't that bad, actually - I fail to see the problem with it, personally.

I feel like posting what I have as a build so far:

Currently level 12:
Default Munitions Framework
Energy Builder - Gunslinger
Two-Gun Mojo (Now Level 2)

Other Powers:
Gatling Gun (Listen to Reason)
Bullet Ballet
Energy Sheild (Block Enhancer)
Killer Instinct (Innate Passive - returns energy on a critical hit)

Travel Power:
Rocket Boots

Talents:
Quick Trigger
Super Dexterity
SpecOps Training
Indominable
The one that gives +8 to recovery

Fun notes:
I have something like a 23% critical chance and a 56% Critical intensity.
Fun stuff. :smallbiggrin:

[Cubey]

The interface is a bit clunkier than WoW, and less informative either - I have yet to see where can I check how many stacks of Defiant I have at the moment. The icon appears if I have more than one, but doesn't explain how many I have. Not to mention that I had to dig through power descriptions to actually find what EXACTLY does that buff do, like if they couldn't write it in the main power's description. Yes, I know it reduces damage - HOW MUCH?

In other words, the interface's rough but I expect it to get better in time.

I found the tutorial quite fun, so I don't mind if it's long or short. And if you don't want to do side missions, it is quite short indeed. Of course, it means you miss the perk for completing all the tutorial missions, some of which are semi-hidden.

I really don't get it why people complain about power differentiation. Powers work different enough for each framework. Perhaps what they mean is that there are "winning" power combinations that make other powers redundant?

[potatocubed]

It's a lot like D&D actually: You can build your character in any one of a million ways, some builds are better than others, but you don't need to use the best possible build in order to have fun both solo and in a group.

Of course, also like D&D, because you have such freedom it is very possible to accidentally screw your character up beyond redemption. This is the real problem, and while you can retcon (respec) your character at any trainer, it costs way too much to be feasible more than one or two levels back.

Oh, and if you want to solo a lot, defensive passive powers are way better than offensive passives.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Two muntions heros working together are killer
We would have been better had Loopy not kept throwing grenades which ruined my shots with the gatling gun, but still pretty hardcore.

[Nano]

Bah. I'm not sure why, but I can't focus on playing this game. The character creator is swell, it's just that when I'm actually in game I can't get interested.

[nosignal]

This thread needs more pics. Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase?

[Athaniar]

As with CoH, what I would really enjoy is a free (or at least cheap) Character Creator, without the game itself, to be released. Spore made it work.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Can I please get the @names of everyone who wants to make the GitP Super Group? I have the following names:

@Cyberphage (me)
@potatocubed
@theloopy

Remember: We need at least a ful team of Five heroes to start.

Also: Pictures:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/COCyberphage.jpg
Cyberphage's Original look.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/COCyberphage2.jpg
His look now
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/Generico.jpg
Generico! In the vein of the "Classic" superheroes - meaning hes a Superman expy.

[potatocubed]

Pictures? Well, here's a couple from the character selection screen:

T-71, who is not even a bit like Iron Man.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/potatocubed/T71.jpg

Masked Reptile, my latest.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/potatocubed/maskedreptile1.jpg

And one 'action shot' of Clownferno - you can't quite see it under the flames, but note that his default expression is a sort of one-eyebrow-raised-smirk. The other defaults are kind of 'grim', 'angry', and 'bizarre contortion', but I love the eyebrow. Magic Trixie has the same expression.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/potatocubed/clownferno1.jpg

[TedEBearNC]

I thought I'd take the time and try to give my honest opinion and answer some of the questions asked here (not to imply anyone above was being dishonest in theirs!)

I picked up CO in open beta and liked it so much I bought a lifetime membeship and have been playing since the headstart. Here's how I see it:

The Good:
1. The character creator is very good and allows for a lot of variety.
2. Lots of power options to choose from and mix and match to make a unique character.
3. You can test powers in the Powerhouse before committing to them.
4. It's fun to play.
5. You can solo for the most part.
6. Most missions are interesting and fun.
7. Millenium City looks and feels more like a real city than any zone in CoX ever has.

The Bad:
1. The character creator could be better. There is only one face per gender. There are sliders to alter the look of the one face to a degree but there are some sliders missing that should be included.. ie: eye distance apart. Some sliders, like jaw are missing on the female model but included on the male. The default female face is UGLY and no matter how you manipulate the sliders it's hard to get a decent looking female face. The best option is to cover it up... seriously!
Some costume options are only available to one gender or the other as opposed to both as they should be. After working flawlessly (smoothly) for days all of a suddent the face/body sliders started causing lag. I have no idea as to why. I created one toon in the morning, played it a while then logged out to create another and it became laggy. It remained so after game exit/restart and a system reboot. There was no patch so no reasonable explanation for it.

2. There is NO documentation so if you're not careful and do a little forum research beforehand you may pick an inadequate or broken power (and there are some broken ones.. ie don't work at all, broken) or choose a power and/or stats that don't support each other.

3. While you can test powers in the Powerhouse before committing to them, some powers require certain conditions for them to function that you cannot get in the Powerhouse.. ie: getting attacked, unless you choose to duel someone to test. So try to test if you can before you leave and lock the power in only to find out it doesn't work like you thought.

4. You can retcon the last 10 points you spent on powers, talents, etc but at this time retcon pricing is way out of line with your income so retconning more than a power or two is nigh impossible due to being unable to afford the high costs. And the pricing only gets worse as you level. Supposedly, they are "working on it".

5. At times play can be frustrating and soloing difficult. This was particularly more noticeable after the launch day defense nerf/mob damage buff. The areas immediately after the tutorial (both crisis and after crisis versions) can be a frustrating experience with the mob's insane range and damage (I'm looking at you Irradiates!) One of my toons had real trouble with mobs -2 in level in the desert zone at level 12 but once I got him to Millenium City he had no problem with even level and +1 mobs. I think those zones' difficulty needs to be adjusted a bit.

6. Missions difficulty seems to vary widely. Last night I was on a team of 4, all level 14 except myself who had just hit 15. One of the members got a level 14 civilian mission, which is timed. The mobs consisted of large groups with Henchman, Villains and Super-Villains or Master Villains.. whichever is next in line.. all level 14. Group size was about 8 to 10. All of these mobs were labeled (Tough) which means they are harder than normal. We got our butts handed to us.. repeatedly. We ran out of time and finally gave up because we could not defeat them before dying. It was NOT fun. They were too overpowered even though we had some crowd control. Things like this need to be looked at and toned down just a bit or people are just going to be frustrated instead of enjoying themselves.

That's about it. I know it's new and needs some work and I believe it will get better, given time. I have a lifetime membership so I'm not going anywhere. LOL For the most part, I am enjoying myself, overall.

I'd love to join a GitP SG! My vote for a name would go to "Champions in the Playground".

You can look me up by @SuperBear

Toons are:
Arcanum - 15, Sorcery (typical mage)
Brain Power - 14, Telepathy (alien superhero)
Sudden Impact - 12ish (I forget of the top of my head), Force (costume based on a crash test dummy)
Lightning Bug - 8, Electricity (name says it all :D )

Have plans for more when I think of good names and costumes. :)

[Tengu_temp]

The default female face is UGLY and no matter how you manipulate the sliders it's hard to get a decent looking female face. The best option is to cover it up... seriously!

I disagree. This is the first game with high character customization I played where you don't have to spend hours to create a female face that doesn't look like a neandhertal or a rather ugly guy. I'm looking at you, Oblivion and Fallout 3.

[potatocubed]

Although I second the frustration of having some parts available to one gender but not the other. First of all, my dreams of Drag Queen (super-speedster robot in a dress) have been thwarted, and secondly I want to use the 'Huge' posture for a catgirl in a massive suit of powered armour, but for women it's been replaced with 'Vixen'. Boo.

[Thanatos 51-50]

And heres another shot of Cyberphage, because I can get cool ones with the Lead Tempest power.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/COCyberphageGunKata.jpg

[Weiser_Cain]

I have the lifetime sub. Of course I didn't know I needed the retail so now I'm waiting for the game in the mail and I have some down time to come up with new characters.
Question. What stats affect the amount of damage done with dark magic?

[Tengu_temp]

The ones you choose as your super stats - and that is true for all powers. Strength is supposed to increase all damage done with melee powers on top of that, but it doesn't.

[Weiser_Cain]

The ones you choose as your super stats - and that is true for all powers. Strength is supposed to increase all damage done with melee powers on top of that, but it doesn't.
Which is?
A side note, always get expedited shipping, you always regret standard.

[KBF]

Which is?
A side note, always get expedited shipping, you always regret standard.

Ahem.

You get to pick the two stats that directly increase you're damage. These stats are also given a large boost and named your Superstats.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Ahem.

You get to pick the two stats that directly increase you're damage. These stats are also given a large boost and named your Superstats.

The superstat bonus also gets bigger as you level up.

And again, you choose them. The "Recommended" stats for each framework let you play into the dev's idea, so your Munitions framework by definition is supposed to be a critical hit machine. However, you can choose to pump, say, INT and REC instead and have absolutely huge amounts of energy and a high recovery point, but you won't crit nearly as often.
Also, some of the powers - usually passive ones - scale with the reccomended stats of the framework. For example, Invulnerability scales with Strength, one of the two power armour frameworks. The easy workaround is to instead choose powers that scale with your selected superstat.
Be sure to drop your @name for good ol' Playground group fun! (We still need one more name!)

Also: A screenshot of some good ol' Cyberphage laying down the dakka.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/COCyberphageDakka.jpg
"More lead downrange."
Some of the UI was let in the cropping this time. The bar on the bottom is how much longer he can sustain the pain for you non-players.

[loopy]

My hero, Lawbringer:

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9331_136724346670_726881670_3064498_4338747_n.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9331_136724351670_726881670_3064499_8305741_n.jpg
Badass.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Man, I really want to give this game a whirl. But I don't like paying for a game without trying it out... Maybe there will some kind of trial offer after Christmas.

[potatocubed]

More pic:

Asura, my demon archer. Winged flight in CO is nine kinds of awesome.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/potatocubed/asurainflight.jpg

[nosignal]

Those look great. Are you allowed to have different body sizes/types for your characters? A morbidly obese hand-to-hand fighter perhaps?

[Cubey]

Yes, you can modify body shape in a lot of ways. If you want your character to look in any particular way, high chances are the editor will let you do just that.

[Weiser_Cain]

I think the patch slowed things down, then again maybe it's the servers or the fact I should have gone to bed 7 hours ago.

[Athaniar]

Aww, I so want to experiment with the character creator, but I don't want to waste money on something that I don't know if I'll keep on playing...

Please, release a tutorial already!

[potatocubed]

It's only been out 10 days. If you give it a few months you'll probably be able to pick up a free trial.

Alternatively, have you considered finding a nearby friend with a copy and blagging a slot on their account?

[Hzurr]

So I'm interested in the GitP Supergroup. Name is @Hzurr

Currently have 2 characters (with pictures to come at some point, once I'm on my home pc).

Dr. Billy - lvl 12 Mystic. Eldritch Blast, Eldritch Bolts, and a spiffy thing that makes a bunch of sigils around me that blow up on contact with people. Flys around on a disk, and looks like a surgeon (scrubs, gloves, a stethoscope, a doctor headband) with an eyepatch

T-423 - Lvl 11 Might. I'M AN AWESOME ROBOT THAT PUNCHES THINGS AND HAS ROCKET BOOTS! (This character is so much fun to play. I don't remember any of my power names at the moment).

On a side question, how do I increase the default level that my energy goes to? It seems like early on, I practically recharged to full, but now it's at about 1/3 - 1/2 of my total energy.

[potatocubed]

You have two stats that govern energy. Endurance (END) covers your maximum. Your equilibrium (the default level) is set by your Recovery (REC). If you want to raise the equilibrium, pump your REC.

[TedEBearNC]

Anyone else have lag issues with the sliders in the character creator/tailor?

During the open beta and the head start everything worked smoothly. This past Saturday I made a new character, played it for a while and even adjusted the costume at the tailor with no issues adjusting the sliders. Then I logged out and back in to create a new character and when I went to make some adjustments with the sliders in the CC it begian to lag as soon as I clicked on them and stopped when I released the click. The same thing happens on the tailor screen. It has behaved this way ever since.

I don't understand why it worked smoothly before and developed lag all of a sudden. I didn't change any settings and there was no patch .. I just logged out and right back in. I tried exiting the game completey and when that didn't fix it I rebooted my system completely which didn't help either.

It's rather annoying and makes it hard to adjust your look.

I just wondered if anyone else had this issue?

[Lost Demiurge]

I, too, am interested in a GitP supergroup. Name is @American_Flagg

Current main character is "The God of War". Originally I was just going to make a joke duplicate of Kratos from the God of War video games, but damn me if he didn't turn out to be fun to play... Ah well, if they make me change my name at some point hopefully I'll have some input into alternatives.

Guy's a dual-sword user, with a strong dash of supernatural. (Chain-type attacks, natch.) Originally I thought he was going to be a damage-focused type, but he seems to be going tanker, with a dash of controller. (Single targets mostly... There's chain powers and talents that let you push, pull, and bind.) I went Strength and Constitution for his super-attributes, and he can take stupid amounts of damage... Defiance helps moderate incoming hurt, and the supernatural power "Drain Essence" lets him recharge mid-battle, and isn't TOO far from the character concept. Travel power is swinging, naturally.

He's level 17ish as I type this, and I'm already thinking of future powers. Once I exhaust all the chain options, maybe 1-2 more dual sword tricks, a few dashes of supernatural buffs, and a dip into the Might tree to do stuff like hurling boulders. Or maybe a bow attack, or something to call supernatural critters... His base core and specialty is already taken care of, now to expand a bit...

Other characters left on the roster: (Updated from last time)

S.K.U.L.D, a straight battlearmor build with an angelic design aesthetic.
Sigil, a gothy mystic with tons of sorcery and a small dip into the darkness tree.
El Diablo Rojo, dragon man who is MIGHTY and breathes FIRE.
Captain Vermillion, a space pirate from a heavy gravity world... Good blend of Single Blade combat and Gadgeteering tricks.
Professor Phlogiston, an Electricity/Gadgeteering inventor.

[potatocubed]

Introducing my newest latest creation:

Nick Furry, Agent of W.T.F.B.B.Q.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/potatocubed/nickfurry.jpg

My current lineup includes him, Viridian Phantom (guns 'n' spells), Clownferno (a clown who is also on fire), Discobot (disco robot), Asura (demon huntress), T-71 (Soviet power armour) and Masked Reptile (fighting claws and darkness powers).

One day I will stop making alts long enough to hit level 20!

[Hunter Noventa]

I'm playing this game as well, I'm liking it okay so far. Some of my characters are expies of SRW characters, which Tengu should find amusing if nothing else.

My account is @Hunter4242 for those interested in saying hi.

Characters!

Leona showing off her "Totally not cribbed from Bolt Pistols, Honest" Pistols
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh47/Hunter4242/misc%20mk2/PistolLeona.jpg
Leona Showing off the "Chainsaw Good" Trope in action
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh47/Hunter4242/misc%20mk2/ChainsawLeona.jpg
Lamia Loveless, Archery + TK Blades, no action shots sadly.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh47/Hunter4242/misc%20mk2/LamiaLoveless.jpg
SHUT UP! AND LISTEN! MAKING MALE FACES NOT SUCK IS HARD! SO HERE'S SANGER ZONVOLT!
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh47/Hunter4242/misc%20mk2/SangerZonvolt.jpg
Weissritter. Failed Proverbs not included.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh47/Hunter4242/misc%20mk2/Weissritter.jpg
I'm really happy with Sanae's look actually. Gadgets + Lightning.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh47/Hunter4242/misc%20mk2/Sanae.jpg

[Thanatos 51-50]

Okay! We have enough people who have expressly expressed interest!
Assuming you all have access to Millenium City on the toon you want in, please feel free to PM me - either here or in game - as to what times are good for you to all congregate in the Champions Building.
From there, we arrange a time and make the group.

Any objections to the following:
Name: Champions from the Playground
Colours: Brown and tan
Symbol: Globe Shield

[Tengu_temp]

I'm playing this game as well, I'm liking it okay so far. Some of my characters are expies of SRW characters, which Tengu should find amusing if nothing else.


Tengu finds it amusing. I wanted to make Sanger too, but yeah - it was very hard. Giving him a helmet was probably the best idea. Elzam should be easier.

I like alternate costumes. My character can be different Gundams that way:
http://ffrpg.republika.pl/comparison.png
Left - Zeta Gundam. Right - Gundam X.

[Hunter Noventa]

Tengu finds it amusing. I wanted to make Sanger too, but yeah - it was very hard. Giving him a helmet was probably the best idea. Elzam should be easier.

I like alternate costumes. My character can be different Gundams that way:
http://ffrpg.republika.pl/comparison.png
Left - Zeta Gundam. Right - Gundam X.

A friend of mine made Elzam. Heck, it's his account name. I would have made Kai, but the martial arts energy builder makes look like you're having some sort of dance seizure. it's not appealing.

[potatocubed]

I would have made Kai, but the martial arts energy builder makes look like you're having some sort of dance seizure. it's not appealing.

Unless your MA character is a disco robot!

Once I get a dance emote that doesn't suck, Discobot will be pretty much perfect.

EDIT: Nick Furry lasted less than 12 hours before getting slapped with the generic hero bat. His appearance has been randomed, too. Oh well, it's not like I expected anything else. :smalltongue:

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Tengu finds it amusing. I wanted to make Sanger too, but yeah - it was very hard. Giving him a helmet was probably the best idea. Elzam should be easier.

I like alternate costumes. My character can be different Gundams that way:
http://ffrpg.republika.pl/comparison.png
Left - Zeta Gundam. Right - Gundam X.

What. Is. Wrong. With. Her. Spine.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Nick Furry was good. It was a referance to a major comic book character, it was a parody of all the stupid clones running around, it was a good, legal character that could not have gotten anybody sued over it.
And yet, I'd consider it a small price to pay if we could get all the actual clones like all those Spider Mans and Super Mans and Iron Mans taken care of.
As that is not happening, I mourn for Nick Furry.

Also: /em dance 02 is a breakdance.
Also also: The Lead Tempest power looks really neat and doesn't require a target.

[TedEBearNC]

What. Is. Wrong. With. Her. Spine.

That's the "Vixen" pose, I believe. One of several stances you can set your character to. It's supposed to look sexy but looks more like she might have Scoliosis. :smallbiggrin:

The character creator issue I had seems to have gone away with yesterday's patch. Now I'm one of the ones that character/npc names does not show. :annoyed:

[Tengu_temp]

That's the "Vixen" pose, I believe. One of several stances you can set your character to. It's supposed to look sexy but looks more like she might have Scoliosis. :smallbiggrin:


Yeah. Although it looks better in actual gameplay, just not at the shot I took the pictures at.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I actually set my female character to the "beast" stance because the standing still looks cool, didn't like the whole running animation, though, so I changed it to "Heroic".

[Guancyto]

I thought women with broken spines were a mark of the genre!

How is the learning curve on this, by the way? Is it one of those where you can pick things that look neat and be relatively effective, or is it one where you have to research for a couple of hours first before starting a powerset?

[potatocubed]

At the moment, unfortunately, it's the latter. The price you pay for a flexible character generation system is that it's entirely possible to leave yourself floundering after about level 10.

The compounding problem is that retcons are stupidly expensive at the moment, so you can't just fix your character if you get it wrong.

As a general rule of thumb, take one of the following powers on your first character: Invulnerability, Regeneration, or Personal Force Field. If you do that you probably won't go far off-course.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Unless you're Thanatos, who is capable of soloing a level 20 Supervillian and two henchmen AT level 20 with Zero (Read, I'm getting negetives to my combat abilities) Hero Points.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Cyberphage is that awesome.

EDIT:
Link to his profile for those interested in his build:
http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/323377/view

[Tengu_temp]

As a general rule of thumb, take one of the following powers on your first character: Invulnerability, Regeneration, or Personal Force Field. If you do that you probably won't go far off-course.

Or Defiance. Which means that it all basically boils down to "take a passive defense".

[Thanatos 51-50]

I don't have a passive defense! I'm proud to break the mold!
Wheeeee!:smallbiggrin:

[Hzurr]

At the moment, unfortunately, it's the latter. The price you pay for a flexible character generation system is that it's entirely possible to leave yourself floundering after about level 10.


Is that why I suddenly started sucking? Both of my characters were awesome, and I was doing great, but at around level 10-12, things suddenly started getting wickedly hard. Now I don't feel like such a moron.

[Athaniar]

Question: is there any gear restriction to Power Armor, or can you create a Power Armor character in normal clothing?

[Tengu_temp]

Powers don't have appearance prerequesites.

[Athaniar]

Kinda weird in the case of Power Armor, then.

[potatocubed]

Or Defiance. Which means that it all basically boils down to "take a passive defense".

Well, yes, but Lightning Reflexes and Defiance aren't quite as good as the other three. When I'm giving noob advice I like to stick to 'the big three' to keep things simple.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Simple handwave: Character is a robot.

Honestly, though? I'm glad because there are no appearace restrictions. That would be pretty horrible.

[Lost Demiurge]

Kinda weird in the case of Power Armor, then.

Not really. You could justify power armor as a cloud of nanites, or a suit that's camoflaged as regular clothing, or something similar.

Or figure that you're actually a little tiny alien driving a humanoid shaped mecha... :)

[Tengu_temp]

Well, yes, but Lightning Reflexes and Defiance aren't quite as good as the other three. When I'm giving noob advice I like to stick to 'the big three' to keep things simple.

Fair enough.


Kinda weird in the case of Power Armor, then.

Well, I can see many of the PA powers working without any armor, mostly the energy-based ones - it is the powerset with laser sword and eyebeams, after all.

[loopy]

Lawbringer the cowboy has found a lasoo. His heroic journey is complete. :smallbiggrin:

[Thanatos 51-50]

I broke. I used the Freespec.
Cyberphage now has lightning reflexes.
He's even more powerful now.
Run for your lives.

[Weiser_Cain]

I kind of wrecked my character with the respect. Crates aren't that great a judge of combat readiness.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Ouch. I just removed Breakaway shot (Which I never used) and replaced it with a thematically-appropriate passive defense which fed off one of my superstats. And then, I juggled my Advantage points. Somehow I ended up keeping Listen to Reason and a Rank 3 Two-gun mojo and boosted my shield to level three and nabbed level 2 LR...
Hrm...

[loopy]

Ouch. I just removed Breakaway shot (Which I never used) and replaced it with a thematically-appropriate passive defense which fed off one of my superstats. And then, I juggled my Advantage points. Somehow I ended up keeping Listen to Reason and a Rank 3 Two-gun mojo and boosted my shield to level three and nabbed level 2 LR...
Hrm...

Breakaway shot is quite useful in PvP, escaping from roots and such. Basically the only thing I use it for.

Lawbringer respec'd and now does twice the damage he used to.

(also apparently holdout shot heals you if you put the right points in it)

[Athaniar]

I might just buy this game. I like customization, and this seems to be like customization paradise. Just a question: it does come with a free month, right?

And yet another question: can you create lizardmen? Like, with lizardish heads and tails and such?

[potatocubed]

Yup. One free month, and three different kinds of reptile head: 'horned serpent', 'serpent', and 'serpent, smooth'. Horned serpent looks pretty lizardy right out of the box, and the other two can be lizardified with the right extras.

EDIT: Actually, I tell a lie. Experiments show that the lizard heads are actually kind of static, with minimal customisation. Horned serpent still looks lizardy, though.

[Tengu_temp]

By the way - I don't know how exactly it works, but by participating in this contest (http://championsonline.ign.com/) you can download the character creator. Maybe it will work on its own, without having to do anything but registering on Cryptic's website.

[Dragor]

By the way - I don't know how exactly it works, but by participating in this contest (http://championsonline.ign.com/) you can download the character creator. Maybe it will work on its own, without having to do anything but registering on Cryptic's website.

Apparently the account service is down at the moment (19:52 GMT).

[ghost_warlock]

Just picked this up tonight, haven't even had a chance to install it yet. :smalltongue:

However, I've been doing some research for what kind of characters I want to play and came across a couple handy sites. I'm primarily interested in the power frameworks/builds (as opposed to cosmetics) so I found these to be helpful in working out some details:

Quick reference guide (http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=30182)
Downloadable character planner (http://champions.zarzu.ch/index.html) :smalltongue:

[SandroTheMaster]

For those already experimenting with the game, visit the Champions Heroes thread to share your heroic creations at:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125156

[Athaniar]

Can I have confirmation that you can actually download the Character Creator for free?

[Weiser_Cain]

Can I have confirmation that you can actually download the Character Creator for free?

http://championsonline.ign.com/

[Alex Knight]

Well, I created the S.S.God of War today. twin blades, 4 foot 6, bald, bare feet.....

account is @Alex_Knight

[Athaniar]

This character creator is awesome. I have no need to buy the game now, this was all I needed.

Behold, the Huntmaster:

http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq108/GitPLordXavius/Huntmaster.png

This character is really intended to star in a new D&D campaign setting I'm developing.

EDIT: There's a separate thread for this now? I'll be there, then.

[Hunter Noventa]

For those of you still wanting friends, my new global is @Valsione because my old one was bleh sounding mostly.

[Lost Demiurge]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Account name is @American_Flagg

I reserve the right to ignore requests and messages that don't mention GitP affiliation. :)

[Pie Guy]

I might have to get this.

[Weiser_Cain]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Account name is @American_Flagg

I reserve the right to ignore requests and messages that don't mention GitP affiliation. :)
Wow you sound friendly...


I might have to get this.

Ok, but it's really just city of heroes with better graphics.

[Athaniar]

And a better character creator.

[Lost Demiurge]

Wow you sound friendly...


In most situations, I am the soul of honor, kindness, mercy, and goodness. Trust me in all things. :D (Points if you guess the author of this quote without googling.)

After a year or two of getting pestered by goldsellers on WoW? My tolerance has gone down a bit.

[ghost_warlock]

Finished 2 more characters in the last couple days. Only had the time to get one through the training missions, though.

Current characters & locations:
Ame: 6th-level Might/Telepathy; desert.
Pickman: 7th-level Supernatural/Unarmed; Canada.
Sivilius: 2nd-level Single Blade/Darkness; training missions.
Oathbreaker: 6th-level Darkness; desert.

@waerloga :smallsmile:

[Thanatos 51-50]

I've now thought up two seperate nemesi for Cyberphage:

Viromancer:
The surgeon who originally implanted Elizah with the implants that made him Cyberphage. He became jealous of the power Elizah obtained and began working to subvert him, eventually deluding himsel into thinking that Elizah has been corrupted and taken over by the virus. He has constructed himself a suit of battle armour and projectors which dig into the superntural realms to project Dark Energies.
Viromancer comes from him believing he can control and therefore destroy the Virus - Elizah, himself. Uses Robot minions.

Logan MacFae:
The high-powered head of Cybernetics Applications Division or TechNox Enterprises - Elizah Smith's former employer. He'd been involved in shady deals for years and was directly responsible for Elizah's capture by the terrorist group which gave rise to Cyberphage. Cyberphage's early carrear was spotted with attacks agains tthe corrupt corperaration of TechNox Enterprises.
Logan soon injected himself with a home-brewed mutagen to make him a more capable warrior in single combat and a trained, efficent, cognizant killer, and vowed revenge against Cyberphage.
Uses Martial Arts powers (Unarmed/Claws). Has Soldier Minions.

[ghost_warlock]

Current characters & locations:
Oathbreaker (http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/992207/view): 15th-level Darkness; Millenium City *main*

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq339/ghost_warlock/Oathbreaker.jpg http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/gic/headshot/9922073bebd79d36e16c1d20ab5daa12b31c26.jpg
Sivilius (http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/923211/view): 10th-level Single Blade/Darkness; Canada
http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/gic/headshot/92321100e85cf63601c7fd93896a41846f81cc.jpg
Pickman (http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/933044/view): 10th-level Supernatural; Canada
http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/gic/headshot/933044839cd4f2c9d7bbb74f1188128efaf4ff.jpg
The Vulture (http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/1065436/view): 10th-level Supernatural/Unarmed/Might, desert
http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/gic/headshot/1065436e38e3922f5475db40bba888f1f952996.jpg
Forty-Six (http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/1069792/view): 6th-level Force/Telepathy, desert
http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/gic/headshot/106979231c4a4afcb74d30c3cac87ae7b3a9dc2.jpg
Lord Bowler (http://www.champions-online.com/character_profiles/1104673): 6th-level Munitions, desert
http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/gic/headshot/1104673d3c1770cb3de041d9b20c3acd3f2eb3f.jpg

[Thanatos 51-50]

I changed Cyberphage's alternate costume again, and am curretnyl running around in it:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/COGunkata4.jpg
You can't see it, but that's the Viper logo on his cape. 5000 Dead Vipers and I can buy a helmet!

[ghost_warlock]

I'm kinda annoyed with the costume unlocks and power replacement items. All I've been getting are the UNTIL cape (lame) and single blade/dual blade/munitions items. Only my low-level alts use single blade/munitions and none of my characters use dual blades. :smallmad: Where's my Darkness/Supernatural items?

Edit: I guess I did get an 'add a darkness effect to Ice powers' substitution, but none of my characters use ice, either. :smallfrown:

[Thanatos 51-50]

I'm kinda annoyed with the costume unlocks and power replacement items. All I've been getting are the UNTIL cape (lame) and single blade/dual blade/munitions items. Only my low-level alts use single blade/munitions and none of my characters use dual blades. :smallmad: Where's my Darkness/Supernatural items?

Edit: I guess I did get an 'add a darkness effect to Ice powers' substitution, but none of my characters use ice, either. :smallfrown:

How would a darkness costume unlock even work? At least the munitions/blades/claws/bows cause visible differences.

[ghost_warlock]

Darkness unlocks would be things like helmets, horns, spikes, demonic armor, serrated weaponry, large demonic wings (costume creator only has small demon wings, the large leathery wings are "dragon" wings), and that sort of thing. Also, I noticed a couple pieces of Archlich equipment in the creator, the other pieces of an archlich 'set' might be unlocks...like perhaps those animal skull helms some of the necromancer villains in Canada wear (although maybe that's more of a Sorcery unlock, considering).

I don't see any reason why the only characters to benefit from costume unlocks should be swords/knife/claw/gun users. That's, what, four (five counting gadgeteering) frameworks out of the existing 18?

Otherwise, there's a power replacer for ice that adds a darkness effect to an ice power. I'd think there should be darkness replacers out there that add ice, fire, toxic, and other effects to darkness powers. Dimensional damage is cool, but it's nice to have some alternatives for possible resistant foes and it'd be interesting to create a darkness/fire toon that could use power replacement items to get the most out of spirit/thermal reverberation by adding fear to fire powers and/or clinging flames to darkness powers. Same for cross-builds with ice, etc. Maybe something to add fear to a claw/bite attack to fuel supernatural power and spirit reverberation. Having more energy available is never a bad thing...

[Athaniar]

I think you should be able to choose weapons and such at character creation. What if I want a hammer-wielding dwarf or an axe-wielding berserker? Then I must use a sword until I find some good weapon in-game. CoH/V's chracter creator was better in that respect.

[Thanatos 51-50]

The weapon other than a katana at creation is a go, now.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Champions of the Playground is now up!
Send a message to @Cyberphage

Also: Take note of the following:
These are the "Regulations" right now.
Non-playgrounders that want to join are fine, they are not to be promoted above Pixie (To lowest rank).
Anyone on the forums that is a Pixie is also to not be promoted above Pixie.
These are both to prevent people coming in and totally robbing us blind. Pixies cannot withdraw items from the SG bank.
Any other playergrounders will be promoted to Playgrounder.
As of right now, the following people's main accounts are Titans: Ghost Warlock (Oathbreaker) and Loopy (Lawbringer). Looking for other main accounts to throw up as Titans (Second highest rank).
So far, I'm the only guy holding on to Giant. A seat will be reserved for Bor if he ever decides to play CO. As will one for Rich, even though I doubt he'll tell us.
Other than that, I haven't the foggiest idea what criteria I'm going to use to promote people to Giant.
Playgrounders and above can invite and promote people to their own rank.

That is all for now.

[ghost_warlock]

Back when I was GM for my guild on WoW, we did promotions based primarily on character level. People could have multiple characters all at different ranks. We enforced a 2-week trial membership at the lowest rank (could view items in bank but make no withdrawls) for new members but promoted them to level afterwards. It was a bit more bookkeeping, but we didn't really have too many issues. The idea was that we could keep people from robbing us immediately after joining but still be enticed to stick around and help with quests, instances, and such as we were trying to draw new membership.

For the most part, we went with a policy that if you put something in the guild bank, you didn't really care who took it or what they did with it, although the assumption was that items would be used to gear-up or advance crafting skills. Some people auctioned stuff, which we discouraged but couldn't really do anything much about.

We had a memeber who'd auction stuff that had been in there for a long time and dump the proceeds from the auctions into the guild bank - which would then be used, when we'd saved enough, to buy more storage space. She was technically permitted a cut from the profits for providing this service, but because she was already the richest member and really didn't have anything better to do with her max-level character, it didn't seem like she really took advantage of that much. When they rolled out achievements, however, she dove head-first into that and pretty much stopped auctioning stuff, though.

Anyway, take this for what you will; just my 2 cents. :smalltongue:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Eh. It's a just-for-now thing, anyway. Thanks for the recommendations.

To be completely off-topic: Here is Cyberphage's Nemesis: Viromancer.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b338/thanatos5150/Viromancdr.jpg
He has robot minions and a darkness power set. Battles are fun.

[ghost_warlock]

Ooo, spiffy. :smallsmile: Darkness is my favorite framework.

I'm thinking that, by the time my character gets to 25th, they'll hopefully have the Celestial power set rolled out. :smallwink: If that's not too cliche... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redeemer_(Image_Comics))

[Thanatos 51-50]

So - as a Darkness guy, how often do you use Life Tap?
I've noticed alot of Darkness enemies I go up against use it when I get them hurt pretty bad and almost end up completely healing themselves. If I have a fresh stack of Enraged, I can almost halt their HP gain, and by the time waht they're doing registers and the block gets thrown up, I barely mitigate any damage. Plus, it's not telegrapghed by anything other than that "Your soul is mine!" Speech bubble I mistook as a random battle taunt the first few times.
My nemesis Life Tapping me is the single factor by which he does or almost does beat me. Without that power, he'd be a nullet-ridden corpse just about as quickly as any given equal-level Supervillian or Master Villian (And I take on guys three-four levels above me and emerge victorious).

I have three "Kryptonites" in this game.
One is that "invulabubble" 15-second Force power that I still haven't thought of a counter for.
The second is the Darkness powerset with all their FEAR debuffs (-Damage output) and Life Tap. I counter this by full sustaining Two-Gun alot. Killer Instict makes Energy a non-issue.
The third is those little tiny DEMON minions that are under my gatling gun's area of effect when aiming at a human-sized foe. I counter this with Submachine Gun or Lead Tempest.

[Tengu_temp]

Life Tap is countered by blocking. It does nothing then.

[ghost_warlock]

So - as a Darkness guy, how often do you use Life Tap?
I've noticed alot of Darkness enemies I go up against use it when I get them hurt pretty bad and almost end up completely healing themselves. If I have a fresh stack of Enraged, I can almost halt their HP gain, and by the time waht they're doing registers and the block gets thrown up, I barely mitigate any damage. Plus, it's not telegrapghed by anything other than that "Your soul is mine!" Speech bubble I mistook as a random battle taunt the first few times.
My nemesis Life Tapping me is the single factor by which he does or almost does beat me. Without that power, he'd be a nullet-ridden corpse just about as quickly as any given equal-level Supervillian or Master Villian (And I take on guys three-four levels above me and emerge victorious).

I have three "Kryptonites" in this game.
One is that "invulabubble" 15-second Force power that I still haven't thought of a counter for.
The second is the Darkness powerset with all their FEAR debuffs (-Damage output) and Life Tap. I counter this by full sustaining Two-Gun alot. Killer Instict makes Energy a non-issue.
The third is those little tiny DEMON minions that are under my gatling gun's area of effect when aiming at a human-sized foe. I counter this with Submachine Gun or Lead Tempest.

Well, I don't *have* Life Tap - I have Life Drain. I think there's different mechanics for villain abilities vs. character abilities.

In any case, it's saved my bacon in a few instances; that boss fight in the post-crisis desert mine agaist that female boss is a good example. We exchanged a lot of firepower and the fight seemed to last forever. if not for Life Drain I would've been toast. But I've ranked mine up to rank 2 and it hardly comes anywhere near a full heal, maybe 25% if I'm not getting injured in the meantime. But Con is one of my super stats, so maybe it's just because I've got a huge health pool.

For characters, the amount of healing sustained by Life Drain (and pretty much any heal) is mitigated by Presence (although it doesn't always state this in the power description). I've tried to boost my Presence to get the most benefit out of Life Drain as it's my only heal power at the present. So, itemization for me is something like Con/End > Pre > Rec (for equilibrium, and I really need to work more on this) > Int > Dex > Ego > Str.

As for my kryptonite...robots, zombies, anything I can't Life Drain, as it means I can't heal. Immune to knockdown foes are maybe a distant second, though, as I typically try to simply interrupt villains when they do their charge attacks via the Fatal Allure advantage on my Shadow Embrace power. Nothing seems to mitigate damage so much as knocking my foes on their face at my feet. :smallwink: I haven't encountered any foes with a force field, yet.

Edit: egad, the grammar there's terrible!

[Pie Guy]

Well, I broke down and got the game. Fun!
Just killed Ferd, I'm a munitions guy with no defense. Glass cannon, I'll fix that when I level up.

Edit: My damage is great though, I already do about 300 damage per two gun attack. But when there is more than one enemy, I have to fly away after.

[ghost_warlock]

Well, I broke down and got the game. Fun!
Just killed Ferd, I'm a munitions guy with no defense. Glass cannon, I'll fix that when I level up.

Edit: My damage is great though, I already do about 300 damage per two gun attack. But when there is more than one enemy, I have to fly away after.

Shotgun Blast and Submachine Gun are both low-tier area attacks. I'd suggest getting a passive defense or a block enhancement and then snagging one or the other. Shotgun is a "tap" effect (one-click, one blast) with mediocre energy cost. Submachine Gun is maintained. I haven't done much testing, but I think Submachine Gun is more energy efficient if you maintain the power for as close to the full duration/dead baddies as possible.

Bear in mind, my munitions guy is only 6th level, but it's generally good advice for *every* character to have a passive defense/offense ability, a block enhancer, and at least one AoE.

[Pie Guy]

Shotgun Blast and Submachine Gun are both low-tier area attacks. I'd suggest getting a passive defense or a block enhancement and then snagging one or the other. Shotgun is a "tap" effect (one-click, one blast) with mediocre energy cost. Submachine Gun is maintained. I haven't done much testing, but I think Submachine Gun is more energy efficient if you maintain the power for as close to the full duration/dead baddies as possible.

Bear in mind, my munitions guy is only 6th level, but it's generally good advice for *every* character to have a passive defense/offense ability, a block enhancer, and at least one AoE.

Yeah I've got shotgun.

Also, funny thing, but there are no passive defenses for munitions. I'd have to spend lots of points to get one thing.

[Cubey]

Also, funny thing, but there are no passive defenses for munitions. I'd have to spend lots of points to get one thing.

You can buy powers from other sets than the one you choose at the start. They only require you to have bought a certain amount of other powers (not necessarily from the same powerset, just any powers) as a requesite. It's not a lot for most passive defenses, 3 non-energy builder powers I think.

[Pie Guy]

You can buy powers from other sets than the one you choose at the start. They only require you to have bought a certain amount of other powers (not necessarily from the same powerset, just any powers) as a requesite. It's not a lot for most passive defenses, 3 non-energy builder powers I think.

Huh. I misread that. Thanks!

[ghost_warlock]

Teh Rules
Tier 0 - no requirements (you can only have 1 energy-building power, though)
Tier 1 - 1 power from the framework1 or 2 non-energy-building powers from any framework
Tier 2 - 3 powers from the framework or 5 non-energy-building powers from any framework
Tier 3 - 5 powers from the framework or 8 non-energy-building powers from any framework

Assuming you've stuck with Munitions powers up until now, your 8th-level power could be a Tier 1 power from any tree.

Also, assuming Dex is one of your Super Stats, Lightning Reflexes from the Martial Arts trees would be a good passive defense. Regeneration (from Supernatural) is also very good, regardless of scaling off Recovery. Personal Force Field is another I'm hearing a lot about recently. It scales off Endurance and Ego (each for different things).

For blocks, I usually go with either Retaliation or Ebon Void. Retaliation is from Might and gives your first attack after blocking an extra oomph. Ebon Void is from Darkness and I mostly take it for aesthetic/thematic reasons. A popular choice around the forums is one of the blocks that continues to provide a degree of damage resistance for a while when you stop blocking...Energy Shield or Force Shield? I'm not sure which one(s) do that.

I linked it on the previous page, but it's helpful enough (imo) to deserve repeating. This thread (http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=30182) from the Champions forum is an especially handy reference/overview of Champions powers, talents, etc.

1 Extremely noteworty for some builds, as your energy-building power counts for this. So, immediately after finishing the training area, you can go to the Powerhouse and do a retcon to remove your second Tier 0 power and replace it with a Tier 1. For munitions, this could mean replacing Two-Gun Mojo with Submachine Gun (or Shotgun), if you had a mind to do so. (In my experience, Two-Gun Mojo is a fairly decent power in its own right so this may not be the most handy example.) Another example would be from the Darkness tree - replacing Shadow Blast (a vanilla, mediocre charged single-target ranged attack) with Shadow Embrace (a "close" area attack, which actually has enough distance to it that it can be used as a medium-range attack, and is possibly one of the best powers from the tree). It used to be that a retcon immediately after the training area would just about clean you out, cash-wise (cost 2500 or so resources where you usually had something like 3200) but now most of my characters have had 32000 or so resources after finishing the training area so it's a very affordable power-up. :smallsmile:

[loopy]

Munitions lack of a good healing power (holdout shot heals a bit with talents, but still sucks majorly) kind of screws my character, who has so far been sticking carefully to his "Cowboy sheriff avatar of Law" background, and staying within the munitions tree.

[Pie Guy]

Munitions lack of a good healing power (holdout shot heals a bit with talents, but still sucks majorly) kind of screws my character, who has so far been sticking carefully to his "Cowboy sheriff avatar of Law" background, and staying within the munitions tree.

I just fly away very fast. What's your character's name?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Munitions lack of a good healing power (holdout shot heals a bit with talents, but still sucks majorly) kind of screws my character, who has so far been sticking carefully to his "Cowboy sheriff avatar of Law" background, and staying within the munitions tree.

I can finally get a self-heal with Holdout shot? Yus! :smallbiggrin:
I was thinking of blowing my second freespec to ditch the lame power I took for when I go into offense mode.
Then I actually went into Offense mode and remembered how much it sucks. :smallfurious:

[ghost_warlock]

I've never once left balanced stance...been thinking about tinkering with offense but just never have. My passive slot is used by Shadow Form, so it doesn't matter much I suppose if I'm in balanced or offense.

So far as self-heals go, some of your best bets for gunslinger-types would probably be either Regeneration (Supernatural) as a passive defense or Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Martial Arts). Resurgence (Supernatural; note that Resurgence is a completely different ability than Bountiful Chi Resurgence) is also okay, but is an active defense, which means that it can't be activated at the same time as other active defenses, such as Masterful Dodge.

Bountiful Chi is a heal-over-time ability akin to Regeneration, but not costing your passive slot. It's basically meant to be continuously active, based on it's low energy cost, short cooldown, and long duration. In fact, there's nothing stopping a character from running Bountiful Chi while having Regeneration slotted and then popping Resurgence...although that would probably be overkill as far as self-healing goes. If you need that kind of healing you're probably attempting something the designers never intended you to succeed at. :smallwink:


Munitions lack of a good healing power (holdout shot heals a bit with talents, but still sucks majorly) kind of screws my character, who has so far been sticking carefully to his "Cowboy sheriff avatar of Law" background, and staying within the munitions tree.

Yeah, good luck with that... Cryptic has flat-out said (although I can't find the link at present) that characters are assumed to take advantage of the open framework system and take powers outside their primary tree. The game is balanced with that in mind, so the individual trees were never intended to contain the variety of powers characters are assumed to have by the time they reach mid-to-upper levels.

Munitions may not have any self-heals, but there maybe something along those lines in Gadgeteering and/or Powered Armor if you want to stick to a "Badass Normal" or gearhead type character. I think the one from Gadgeteering is called Molecular Self-Assembly. Gadgeteering looks like a fairly interesting tree in any case.

I'm not saying that it's not possible to run a character with powers from only one framework, but it'll be a heck of a lot more difficult with a power framework that lacks healing, a defensive passive, etc. I might be able to get away with an exclusive build with the Darkness tree, except that there simply aren't enough powers in the tree to take me all the way to 38th!

And then, look at it this way, the characters in comic books tend to diversify their power set and learn new tricks as time marches on. New writers come in and suddenly Wolverine's healing factor gets kicked up a notch or he learns how to detect a psychic by scent alone. Or, Deadpool claims a teleportation belt as his "phat lewt" for a mission. :smallwink: The small-town sheriff accidentally stumbles upon one of those ancient Indian burial grounds supposedly all over the 'States and makes a treaty with the spirit of a long-dead Chief that allows him to summon braves, in the form of wolves, to help him in battle. Or maybe he goes on a Spirit Quest, conducted by a shaman, and learns to tap into his innate psychic potential to heal himself when injured.

[Cubey]

Roles other than the balanced one are used for raiding. When you're solo, you want to stay balanced.

[Tengu_temp]

Actually, Munitions has one self-heal - you can buy the Stimpack advantage for Holdout Shot, and it will heal you over time. But I've heard it doesn't heal very much, so if you want heals you will have to take powers from other trees, yes.

As for Resurgence, it's worth noting that it works even if you don't have Regeneration - and it heals a lot. Honestly, there's no reason not to take it, unless you want another active defensive power like Unbreakable, and it fits any concept - your heroic resolve lets you fight longer.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Look what I found! (http://www.primusdatabase.com/index.php?title=Cyberphage)

It's like virtueverse, but for CO.

[Shades of Gray]

Is there a free trial? I'm a ... 21 month veteran of City of Heroes, so I thought I'd check this game out.

[Hunter Noventa]

Is there a free trial? I'm a ... 21 month veteran of City of Heroes, so I thought I'd check this game out.

Not yet. You get the usual free month witht he game but there doesn't seem to be a free trial yet.

[ghost_warlock]

Look what I found! (http://www.primusdatabase.com/index.php?title=Cyberphage)

It's like virtueverse, but for CO.

Spiffy keen, I'll have to get me one of those. Oathbreaker is something of a glory-hound. :smalltongue:

Update: Oathbreaker's profile (http://www.primusdatabase.com/index.php?title=Oathbreaker) is under construction! :smallbiggrin:

Hm. Should we create a page for the Champions of the Playground Supergroup?

[Tengu_temp]

Tell me this isn't cool. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1l8dfqFv1s)

[Hunter Noventa]

Tell me this isn't cool. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1l8dfqFv1s)

That...that was beautiful. Excellent use of JAM Project and Giant Robot Power.

[ghost_warlock]

Tell me this isn't cool. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1l8dfqFv1s)

:smalleek: Holy schneikies!

We need coordinated Champions in the Playground costumes...amirite!?

[NeoVid]

Well, I finally had the chance to download the amazing character generator I've been wanting to try for all this time.

I'm not seeing how to actually get to the generator from what I downloaded, but it said something about one of the services being down, so maybe that's it.

[Shades of Gray]

The character creator contest is sadly, over. And I didn't even get a chance to use it. :smallfrown:

[ghost_warlock]

I couldn't resist. :smalltongue:

Pickman's profile! (http://www.primusdatabase.com/index.php?title=Pickman)

Also, Champions of the Playground (http://www.primusdatabase.com/index.php?title=Champions_of_the_Playground_(Super group)) now has a stub.