Free Server Transfers!

When I first heard about this Christmas present from the devs, I was excited. Then a little bummed 'cause I paid to transfer Ken (Sleetsquall, ice control/kinetics controller). Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that nearly all my alts on other servers are single-digits levels or barely over 10 at most. Easily just re-created rather than transferred. We'll see, but for now, I'm thinking of 2 transfers:

Ryu Tatsu (ninja/trick arrow mastermind)
Guardian --> Virtue

Butcher of the Pit (dual blades/fiery aura brute)
Triumph --> Virtue

Of course, that means I'll need to either axe a couple characters... or go ahead, break down, and buy another pack of slots for Virtue. Since I already have plans for 3 new characters when Going Rogue is live, I think I'll just buy another 5 slots for Virtue.

...oh, you want to know what the 3 new characters are? Sure: Praetorian EVAC, a Vagz to visit Praetoria with, and Praetorian Will. I'm not deciding on powersets yet 'cause I'm thinking we'll see more proliferation, but E and Will will probably be corruptors (Will might be dual pistols). For Vagz, I'll have to decide between corruptor and dominator, but there will likely be fire and/or electricity in the powersets.

Guest Authors in the Architect - a review

Fyre, Keen, and I took a crack at the guest author AE arcs yesterday. We teamed up Eve Noir (spines/dark scrapper), Keen Stronghold (FF/energy defender), and Vagabond Mage (fire/elec blaster). As an overall comment, this was an awesome trio. We mowed through mobs with very little difficulty. We were laying out a lot of damage and taking relatively little.

OMG its the LOLBAT (4/5)
First of all, I spent most the time wondering if there was an inside joke I wasn't getting. It was obviously a rip on Batman and his rogue's gallery as well as LOLspeak and similar internet memes. That part was funny enough. But I just kept having the nagging feeling there was something I wasn't getting. Still, it was kind of fun, had some silly moments, and the custom mobs and villains were pretty creative. And [SPOILER ALERT] it was very satisfying to beat the daylights out of LOLBAT.[/SPOILER] Total time: just over an hour.

Quest for Magic (3.5/5)
Of the four, this was the only "serious" story arc. Interesting villains and characters. A mix of "enh" and really nice custom villains (the first group was not impressive, but I liked the second one a lot). My biggest complaint about the arc was the feeling of being railroaded. There was stuff going on that I felt Vagz would've caught onto and stuff he would not have done. I don't like when canon arcs do that, and I like it even less when a custom-written arc is like that. Also, the author inserted Statesman into the story which always (to me) just screams "Ooh! Lookit me! My villain is so tough he defeated Statesman!" Those complaints aside, though: very good use of custom maps, characters with some depth, and a fairly enjoyable series of missions. Total time: 1:15.

Mission: Awesome (2.5/5)
Am I the only one who found those Captain Awesome commercials offensive and insulting? Yeah. We get it. He wants the glory and the billboards and the breakfast cereal without having to do all that tedious hero work. Ha-freakin-ha. That said, the missions had a couple of chuckle-worthy moments and the character and contact were given the perfect characterizations for what they were supposed to be. The contact especially was done beautifully (i.e. I really did want to punch his face in). I'd really like to know how the author managed to make Captain Awesome's AI exactly as lazy as he was supposed to be. He powered up his toggles very slowly and attacked one enemy in about every third group. Still, I couldn't get the taste of "awesome" out of my mouth. Ick.

I Am Not Sly

Okay, so... Dragonsmoke has a secret. I thought both he and I were keeping it pretty well, especially since no one tried to talk to him really.

But Fyre guessed it already. Geez.

Double XP - Aftermath

The Melodist (energy/sonic corruptor) 4 --> 17
Jack Royale (gravity/storm controller) 40 --> 41
'Ware Wolf (martial arts/energy aura stalker) 37 --> 38
Dragonsmoke (claws/super reflexes scrapper) 1 --> 20

All told, about 34 levels in a weekend. Not too shabby. And it was nice to get a level on Jack and the Wolf, neither of which have seen a trainer for a while. Jack's going to get his epic. Based on the RP of how his power works, I'm going with earth mastery. Should be fun. :)

And a new mid-level scrapper to play with. :)

Double XP Weekend

Ah, yes. It's that time again. Friday through Sunday. Love it!

I've got a baby corruptor (energy/sonic) I'd like to get some levels on. I may delete and make a new one instead, though, since he's only level 4. I really want to get a corruptor of some sort up to a decent level. 20 and Stamina would be nice.

Jack Royale (grav/storm controller) and Sleetsquall (ice/kinetics controller) haven't leveled in a while. In fact, I literally can't remember the last time Jack gained a level. He's been 40 as long as I can remember.

Other less-played characters would be candidates for getting a little love this weekend. Sounds of Silence (Night Widow), Derick Darklight (Warshade), Lt. Santarelli (willpower/super strength tank), and Sable Sorcerer (aka BC2: dark/dark defender) all fall into this category.

Not so much a "to do" list as which characters I'd like to put some more levels on. :) Naturally, I don't expect to be able to visit all of these. It's only one weekend, after all.

Out of Town

The Dauntless Reverie is having their third annual DauntCon this coming weekend. I will be out of town (and away from CoX) for almost a week. I fly up to Calgary, AB, Canada on Thursday, June 11th, and I'll be back Monday, June 15th, although I may not be in game Monday night. We'll see how I feel.

Have fun!

Euonymus alata

Burning Bush

(aka Winged Euonymus or Spindle Tree)

Euonymus alata "Compactus"

(original article)

Mature Height: 6-10 ft. for 'Compactus' (other varieties can get much larger)

Growth Rate: Moderate

Soil: Average, well-drained

Light Requirements: Sun/partial shade

Foliage: Medium green 1" to 3" in. long leaves, turning to vibrant red in the fall

Flower/Fruit: Small orange-red seeds in the fall

Pruning: No pruning is necessary! The most attractive shrubs are those that have not been pruned or sheared. except for cutting out older branches immediately following blooms. It can be cut to the ground following bloom time if you feel that it needs renewal.

Hardy to Zone 4

This shrub is one of the great beauties of the autumn season. It is distinguished by vibrant scarlet foliage and small red-orange fruit in the fall as well as unusual corky "wings" which flare out along its branches. It is effective used in mass plantings, in a shrub border, as an accent plant or as a neat attractive hedge. You should be aware that the species can grow to be 15+ feet.

However, "Compactus" (shown here) grows to only 6-10 feet and an even smaller variety, "Rudy Haag" grows to only 5 feet high and wide. This is a shrub that is best left unpruned although it can be pruned if you have space issues. It is not fussy about soil requirements (except for excessive wet areas) and there are no significant pest problems. It also transplants very easily. It is truly a maintenance free shrub.

Mission Architect - Story #2

I have finally published my second arc. Originally, I just wanted to use it for Blood Crucible's plot. I'd planned to run him and Jez Cavell through it (and Keen if possible) purely for RP and to advance the character's story.

As I was working on it, though, I realized two things: 1. this was going to include my first custom villain group and 2. I get 3 publication slots and am only using 1 so far. So I decided to try and make it so that anyone could jump in and give it a shot. That involved a lot more exposition as well as taking out some of the stuff that assumed BC and Jez would be there. Some of that stuff I just generalized. Some of it I just had BC himself fill in.

I'm very happy with it except that I accidentally made the final AV a lot tougher than I'd intended. Thank you, Fyre and Keen, for shuffling characters around to make that defeat possible. I'll cut him down a bit and we can replay it if you two want.

I'm happy with the way the arc turned out overall, and feel satisfied with the story (most important!). Now I need to figure out if #3 will be something self-indulgent (Styrm) or something more accessible (like the "rescue people from a burning building" idea I had).

P.S. Fyre and/or Keen: did either of you catch the explanation of BC's superhero name in all that plot exposition? :)

Mission Architect - I'm Published!

I have published ArcID #48262, "The Unmaking". It is an Ouroboros-style story arc suitable for levels 40+. Three missions, and the final "boss" is a fairly hard-hitting AV unless you're playing on "Heroic". Comments, suggestions, etc. welcome and greatly appreciated.

The story is based on RP events that took place on Virtue in 2005. The vagabond himself (as Vagabond Wizard [cold/elec defender]) related the tale to Lunatrix, and I posted the transcript here.

Yes, I LOL'ed

From the CoH Forums:

Megumi_Yamato wrote:

You/I: Love. Familiarity: Lacking. False.

Possession: Yours. Knowledge: Rules. Self: Co-Possessor.

Saturated: Commitment. Internal Monologue: Self

Other: Male Rikti. Extension: This Accord: Unlikely.

Desire: Expression of: Feelings.

Desire: Explanation of: My Cryptic Lyrics

Occurrence Chance: 0%. Following Actions: Give You Up: Let You Down: Run Around: Desert You

Furthermore: Make You Cry: Say Goodbye: Tell Lie: Hurt You


Attention: Justice Server

Target: Your Hindquarters. Subject of: Rikti Roll

R'ck Ast'Ley: Expresses Delight

Ha: Ha: Ha!


(Special Thanks to Mekkanos for all of his help with ideas, lyrics, and appreciation, and to Plasma Warrior for his kind words and encouragement)

Mission Architect

Plans. I has dem.

* Blood Crucible's father as an AV. This is exactly what I've been waiting for to advance BC's story again. It's a bit of a wait, but it'll be worth it.
* Jefallen as an AV. I've wanted to bring back Vagz' arch-enemy for a long time, but have never really managed to make it happen. Now I can. And with whatever random brain-washed minions I want, too.
* Nemesis in Cimerora. Current story element for Will.
* Rikti in Cimerora. ...nah, that'd just be mean. :)
* Styrm as an AV. This'd mostly be just for me since E's story is pretty much at a stand-still. Anyone who wants to pummel the guy would be invited, of course.

Double XP - Aftermath

Vagabond Magus (Fire/FF Controller): 40 --> 41
Vagabond Knight (Shield/Fire Tank): 36 --> 40
Captain Peterson (AR/Energy Blaster): 37 --> 39
Retrieval (Radiation/Pain Corruptor): 14 --> 18
Capt. Peterson (Shield/Energy Tank): 2 --> 21

That's right, folks. I got 30 levels out of Double XP Weekend this time around. Granted, most of them were low levels, but still: I'm pretty impressed and very happy. Especially since that puts every version of Vagz at 40+, 3 in the low 40s and 2 at 50. I'm also very happy to have basically skipped the low levels with TankWill. Low level tanks are very frustrating. Having Stamina makes things much easier.

A huge thank you to Fyre, especially for helping with TankWill. It was a fun weekend all around, though, and Fyre was an important part of what made it fun. :)

EVAC vs. the Night Widow

Sometimes, certain moments in-game will speak to me, and story will write itself in my head. This is one of those moments.

To set the stage: E.VAC (illusion control/radiation emission controller) is on a Statesman Task Force. The mission is to defeat the real security chief in order to gain access to Dr. Aeon's lab. There are a lot of Arachnos forces along the way.

As far as the game was concerned, E was trading mental blows with a Night Widow. He was using Blind, Spectral Wounds, and Power Blast. She was using her smoke grenade and mind blasts. Then E's Phantom Army, finished with their previous target, came over and finished her off.

E gritted his teeth, sending darts of mind-numbing pain into the Widow's head. She sent back psionic bolts of her own, sending twitches and convulsions through the hero's body with each blast. E fired his gauntlet blasters in an attempt to knock her off balance. She lobbed another smoke grenade, trying to distract him, thinking the hero would lose concentration if he couldn't see.

"You know," she suddenly said, flicking the pin out of another grenade, "it doesn't have to be like this."

"Like what?" he growled, sending out another wave of pain, fueled by his own wounds.

"We don't have to fight," she tried to say between grunts of effort. "Arachnos could use someone like you. We're not so different. And Widows aren't exclusively women any more." She looked him up and down beneath the concealing helmet. "We could use... a man like you."

EVAC laughed hollowly as he squeezed off another shot from his wrists. "Sorry, lady," he said dryly, "but there's one big difference between me and you. Between me and the kinda psychics you guys recruit."

She raised an eyebrow, thinking she knew exactly what he was going to say. "Oh, yeah? What's that?" Heroes always say the same thing.

E chuckled and stood up straight, jerking a thumb back over his shoulder. "These guys," he said simply.

Her eyes widened in horror as four phantoms swarmed over her and tore her mind apart.

The Shield Team (Vagabond Knight, Tresa M'Orrigan, Pas d'Armes, and Li-Hwan), trapped in an alternate dimension where opening chests destroys the world, receive some timely help from Mender Silos (aka GM_Sven)

Tyrant!

Jez Cavell: about to clean Dominatrix' clock. Or just stick a knife in it.

Blood Crucible trying to keep his eyes from popping out of his head at Jez's "undercover" outfit (insert ribald joke here).

I Do Not Hate Merits

I know I am distinctly in the minority, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. Story arcs and task/strike forces will earn me merits which I can eventually spend to get the IOs that everyone wants. IOs that for me I have to either level to 50 without spending influence/infamy in order to afford, or I have to get really damn lucky.

People keep saying merits will destroy the economy of the game. As one of those that is constantly shafted by that "economy", I have to say: let the destruction come. I want to be able to get that last Luck of the Gambler for Will, pick up that Numina proc and Performance Shifter for TankVagz, and not have to pool all of my characters' money to do so.

Sorry, guys. *shrug*

I13 So Far

The night I13 dropped, I was all fired up to make Vagabond Knight (Shield Defense/Fiery Melee Tank). But the patch server wouldn't even let me in. I eventually gave up on it (about my normal bedtime) and just left my computer on so it'd eventually finish downloading without me. It did.

So last night, I got in, loaded up Vagabond Mage (Fire Blast/Electricity Manipulation Blaster) and saved his base costume. Then I went back to the login and deleted my place-holder Vagabond Knight and started a new character. I still had to choose the body type and sliders. Okay, I've got those saved, and I think I can get the height right this time. I get to the costuming screen and click Load.

It won't let me load the costume because options that BlasterVagz has open, TankVagz does not. Bastards. Why couldn't it load up the costume parts that aren't the cape and aura? *grumble*

Okay, so I re-make the costume from scratch. Not that hard.

I'm enjoying my new tank so far. Got to level 6. But I realize I lack experience with the AT and both powersets. So I'm probably going to need to plan ahead so I can figure out what powers I can and need to skip. On top of primary and secondary, I need to fit in 3 Fitness pool powers (Swift, Health, Stamina) and 2 Teleportation (most likely Teleport Foe and Teleport). It'd be nice to fit in Hover, too, but I'll skip it if I have to. I won't be hover-tanking, after all. Just using it to be lazy and magey. :)

Recommendations welcome!

Super Booster II

From Joystiq interview (with Positron):

You've said before that the team has more microtransactional content planned already. Do you have any details to offer on any of these future 'Super Booster' packs?

Super Booster II will be a magic-themed pack that will sit alongside the Cyborg pack very well. It will have costume pieces and other goodies that are themed for both stage magicians as well as your more traditional fantasy mages.



Woot!

I Can Has Sheelds?

Is I13 ready yet?

How about now?

Is it live now?

What about now?

Now?

Since I Couldn't Sleep...

I've been having some trouble with insomnia again lately. Waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Since I was awake again last night, I fired up the computer and dove into Test's costume creator.

The Brawler was not exaggerating. There are an enormous number of shield options, and they all look fantastic. I tried really hard not to let them inspire character ideas since I'm already contemplating 2-3 shield characters. The real reason I was in there was to see the options and to pick a shield for Vagabond Knight.

Now, I've been playing the character of the Vagabond since 1990. I have a good idea of what he and his stuff looks like in my head. Often, it's hard to make that come out on paper or in a video game, and I end up settling in one way or another. Sometimes it comes out good anyway. Sometimes, not so much.

The shield options are fantastic. Shapes and sizes, colors and textures, patterns and emblems... even if I13 creates City of Shields, there is so much variety that everyone's will look different. And they had the perfect shield for Vagz. Right size, right shape, coloration... it's not perfect to what I've always pictured in my head, but it's damn close. And it looked fantastic in the creator. I'm betting it'll look good in the game, too.

No screenshot. You'll just have to wait to see what it looks like. :)

I13 Plans

Yes, I already have characters created in my head. These are ranked from "absolutely creating the second I13 drops" down to "will create if I have time/interest".

Vagabond Knight (Shield/Fire tank)
* I already have the name reserved because I worried with shields coming, others might make a grab for it. Fyre and I have spotted other "Vagabond" characters running around... I would've made him shield/broadsword, but two things: they're not proliferating broadsword to tanks (yet), and I've already done broadsword. I contemplated Axe and Mace, but the sword is really Vagz' preferred weapon, and I kinda like that Fire includes a sword (sorta). And this way, I get a tank and two powersets I haven't played yet.

Unnamed E-VAC version (Psionic or Radiation/Pain corrupter)
*Oh, yes. E is coming back. "Pain Domination" is just too perfect for him. I'm having trouble coming up with the right name, though, mostly 'cause I'm not sure he'll go by a variation on "EVAC" with the story I've got cooking. Now what could make him go bad? Hmm...

Unnamed Will version (Shield/Mace tank)
* Yeah, you weren't the only one thinking this, Keen. :) Will's supposed to have been a SWAT officer from way back, so a riot shield and baton? All over this. Srsly. I had my fingers crossed for a riot shield, but was thinking tech mace or Energy Melee (from the power gauntlets) until I heard about the riot baton. We'll see, though. HeroWill hasn't seen a lot of play and the original Will has seen pretty much none. Plus, starting up two tanks when I've had a hard time playing tanks before might not be a good idea. My highest-level tank to date reached 16 before he was deleted.

Unnamed Blood Crucible version (Broadsword or Katana/Dark Armor or Shield or Super Reflexes or Willpower scrapper)
* Just a thought I'm toying with. As you can probably tell, it's not even close to formed yet. I enjoy the character and don't want to stop playing him once he hits 50. :) My only hesitation is playing him as just another flavor of scrapper. Dunno. We'll see.