City of Zerg

Recently some friends and I have gotten together in City of Heroes/Villains and created a team. It's not quite a static team, though it comes close. It is also not really a superteam, though arguably it has the hallmarks.

To elaborate, a superteam is a group of characters in CoH/CoV that are usually comprised of identical or highly complimentary powersets. It goes to such a point where the major level organised superteams even have predesigned builds so they get certain powers (typically Leadership) at certain levels to maximize the twink. Example: Fire/Radiation Controller teams.
A static team, well most of you know but for those that don't; it's a group who will always come together at a set time on a set day and play together. Some run statics that rarely group with anyone else, others roleplay all the time on their static characters but only ever level with the other members.

Anyway we have a team of Masterminds. Specifically five Thugs Masterminds for a simple reason. The same reason that class gets used for superteams. GANG WAR!

We have a

• Thugs/Storm
• Thugs/Pain Domination
• Thugs/Dark Miasma
• Thugs/Forcefields
• Thugs/Traps

So that represents alot of slows, resistance and defense debuffs, accuracy debuffs, healing, defense boosts and stealth powers. A few of us have also started taking the Leadership powers which stack with the Enforcer leadership. Provided there are no cascading defense failures, the team will only get tougher and tougher as time goes on.

This weekend, we'll be tackling the Silver Mantis strikeforce together. If you are on Virtue and over level 20, give me a shout on @Ardua and join in. Just a word of warning, when all the pets are down, at this level we account for 75 characters on screen at once :P

What possible application could you have for pudding flavoured gunpowder?

In this universe? None whatsoever. But in the universe of shrimp it might be useful.

To be honest, the title line was something odd that came up in conversation once (don't ask) and I promised I'd use it. It does however let me launch into a City Of Discussion.

Having had time to settle down from my nerdrage, I think it is time we talk about Going Rogue and Praetorians.

For a long time, since the introduction of Portal Corps, Praetorian Earth has been a fantastic roleplay device. Evil twin? Praetorian! That or a Nemesis plot. Statesman is missing? Praetorians! A well known hero flip you off? Praetorian, or just a bit of a dick (I'm looking at you Manticore).

Going Rogue seems to be promising us access to this parallel world in more than just missions to beat up the Mirror Universe versions of our favourite Heroes. As such, some things you should know.

• Praetorian Earth has previously been depicted as a Crapsack World
• Most groups seem to have an inverse there. The Carnival of Shadows having a good guy version in the Carnival of Light. We've never seen Praetorian Recluse, so expect that one to be interesting (assuming Tyrant aka Emperor Cole didn't just off him)
• Unless they are being literal about their worlds colliding or there is a third path (the theorised Spy AT) that starts in Praetoria and comes to Paragon, expect this to be a high level zone. After all the machines are all based in Peregrine Island, Level 40+.

Fluff linkdump for those who want to get the skinny on all this Portal and Alternate Universe stuff.

This guy did the reseach and founded Portal Corp. This has led to a possible I15 Mcguffinpopping by, the Rikti invading, people accessing the Shadow Shard and of course Praetorians noticing Earth.

Probably all a Nemesis plot, as per the meme and the status quo

Other rumor mill items, some from the Shield of Paragon coalition and official boards include:

• Power Customisation
• Two new AT's (Dual Pistol .... scrapper? Demon summoner Controller or Mastermind)
  Assorted other bits and pieces reported on Massively before (Link redug by Spinks )

I'll certainly be keeping an eye on all this, though I stand by my complaint that it should have been announced in a better and more coherent fashion.

Some end of blog entry bonus Squick.
Miss Liberty is the granddaughter of Statesman. It has always been assumed that Dominatrix is the same to Tyrant, certainly Statesman in one of the CoH comics went to Praetorian Earth (and it looked like crap) to "rescue" her. Make what you will of the last line in her In Game bio.

News according to Ardy

Lo folks. I know I've been a bit quiet as of late.

First a little not MMO news, my girlfriend Shannon is flying home tomorrow for the last time. Come January she's here to stay. So the quietness has been me spending quality time.
Also for those interested, yes, a long distance relationship between Sacramento, California and Dublin, Ireland for five years. Insanity, I has it.

So onto the WARworld (Sorry DC).

Characters and the people that love them.

Over on Werit's blog there's the wee piece on why he can't play female characters. Folks have chimed in with the reasons behind online gender bending (myself included). I hereby encourage everyone to not only try the sex restricted classes/races in WAR, I suggest that everyone have at least one alt of the opposite sex to their own. If nothing else it will be a lovely social experiment. Stropp pointed out that on a male character in WoW he's never recieved random gifts of money.
So folks, go on, play the opposite gender as well as the opposite faction. Use it as a barometer for the maturity of your chosen server.
Oh and as I write this I'm also catching up with the various blogs I normally sta... read often. So Waaagh! has a piece on it as well.

The where and the why of it all.

Obligatory link pimpage. I'm on board with the Casualties of WAR. One day I shall rise to supremacy and eliminate an officer so I may burrow into their fleshy husk and ... right. I need to read the Evil Overlord List more.

Aaaanyway. The question has come up both in the guild and in the blogosphere at large. Where to play? Where oh where indeed?
For myself, there's not really an option. I'm going to play everywhere. You see I, like many of my friends in CoX, suffer from chronic Altitis. It is an incurable disease that causes you to run off and roll yet another version of oneself for whatever reason. More often than not for me, because it made me laugh, or will when someone sees it.

Where would I prefer to go? RP
That's where my City Of friends will be. We all come from Virtue which as some may know is the RP server (unofficially) over there and thus well.. we're going to keep up with it. It's fun.

Where will I end up? More than likely Main #2 will be with CoW and my money is on them ending up on a Core server.

What will I do then? Late October, after I've gotten my feet wet I've another friend joining the game. Seph and I are likely going to still play on RP servers, but Im considering examining an Open RvR or Open RP RvR server for the purposes of a small team of stealthy shankers, for when you just want to blow off steam (or someones head in the case of Witch Hunters).

As with the sex locked races and the typed servers and the two factions and on and on and on, I most certainly am going to try see as much of the game as I can.
Sure I may end up always retreating to a certain server much as I do in CoX. I rarely am off Virtue, but that said, it never hurts to see how the other guys live. Even if in the case of Open RvR the answer is "briefly".


UUUNDERDOG!

Regis, our blogging Lord and Commander, has put something up at Wizards & Wenches showing the numbers on the Warhammer Alliance forums for various careers.

My main will be a Runepriest. Guess who is bottom of the list?
My beta main will be an Engineer. Guess who took second last?

Honestly I welcome this. I want to be outnumbered. I want to be rare. I want to be a virtual unknown wild card to most of the opposite realm. Waaaay back in the day when I first started City of Heroes and before I contracted altitis, my main Ortus Sapienta was getting into the 40's.
This is before the Global Defense Nerf and ED. This is before xp changes, mission bonuses or hell before Kheldians (my favourite AT). I played a Forcefield Defender.
The number 1 thing I heard more than anything when getting on teams (after yes the inevitable R U Heelor) was "wow... a bubbler. I haven't seen one in 10 levels. You guys get this high?".

Boatarious said it best about when losing is fun. I am looking forward to being a probably rare and misunderstood class. Not because I want glory and recognition for myself, though that'll be nice. Rather I want to have to make a fight of it, and I want to show people what I or my chosen class/race/other can do before it becomes Flavour of The Month.

There'll be more Chosen than you can shake a stick at. Good thing my stick has runes and will really mess up their day.


The Book got a sequel.

The Book of Grudges recently got a new author. Join me in welcoming Hawley/badjawa on board.
Hey Arb, if ever you need a WAR Correspondant in America, let me know :P

Legion : Transit

>>Audio sensors active.. .. .. .. two users detected.
>>Power plant to 75% >>>Optical offence not installed
>>Set condition: Play

>Directive check

1. Operative mode
2. Transit mode
3. Low power mode

> Directives for Tranist mode loading.. .. .. ..

-Transcript from Sky Raider aquisiton party. 15 Miles off of Striga Isle.-
-Participants: Cpl Steve Jansen. Cpl Larry Cox-
-Whereabouts: Zigursky Penitentary. Reports of crushed ribs and ankles-
"Steve! Over here man, here's all the Crey stuff"
"Anything for Uqua? She's been buyin in all the goods lately I hear"
"Nah.. nothing. We ha.. wait a minute, this one here s'for Lord Recluse"
"You're shittin me!"
"Seriously, says right here. I think I hear something inside"
-Noise of wooden box being prised open-
"irective 2 : Garuntee delivery"
"The hell is thaaaaaAAUGH! OH GO"
-Transmission terminated at source-

Legion : Tracking

Welcome to Red-Ex, where X marks the spot
Login : crtyind
Password : ########

... ... ... login confirmed

Track item : 456821937-d

Item shipped!

Last scan : Independance Port

Destination : Mercy Island



Despite all the tracking systems in the world, regardless of all the positional data available, no matter what information is given, sooner or later, everything shipped enters a Heisenberg state.

You either know exactly where it is, and it isn't moving, or you haven't a clue where your post or parcel has gone, but it's definitely in motion.

Passive sensors were kept running throughout the shipping process, but the package only awoke on the ship after the echoes of the first shot had died away.
Someone was on board the vessel. Someone who was clearly armed and .... may delay delivery!

The Sky Raiders had come across the ship as it passed reasonably close to Striga, and that made it fair game. Rumours of new technologies on board and headed to Arachnos made it irresistable.
They simply made the mistake of delaying the package.

Legion

This simple basement is lit up like a galaxy. Stars twinkle here and there, glowing in the darkness, winking in and out of view. It is no light display however. A gaze that could penetrate the dark would spy squat forms moving here and there. Eyesockets glowing and giving the impression of stars in a field of sky.

This is where the Robo-Buddies sleep, or what passes for sleep in these bizzare creations.

Unit 1 remains active at all times. The prototype, and the central controller. This is the source of all the directives, all the models, all the ranks of supposedly cute robotic companions. In this AI core, information leaps and dances like a thing alive. Only now, there is a blip in the data. An error to correct.

AIcre Unit1-A Cmd Mdl >> Directive update >> All units >> All models
>Etoile Islands now declared viable source of revenue. Mk II unit with stealth function and Staticplay system dispatched as pathfinder.
>>Network intrusion detected from Grandville. Countermeasures employed. . . .
>>>Credit Card registered to Stefan Richter sucessfully debited $799.99. Mk I (v3.2 upgradable programming model) dispatched to Arachnos Shipping & Receiving, Mercy Island.
>>>>Mk I series Unit 63 reports variable density mace toy effective in promotional advertising. Mk I units with Mace sold separately directed to obtain substitute.