Hatrack Heroes is up and running NOW. I'll be online for about 20 min longer today, and then again around 11pm central tonight to invite people. I'll probably be on most of Friday, also, but may be running other characters. Join the Hatrack channel or /t @ReactorRod and I'll switch over to Protector to invite you. (You don't need to be level 10 to join, that was just to start it.)
Xavier, there's some great guides on the CoH Forums for pretty much every powerset, though not all of them may be updated for the changes in I4.
Controllers do need Stamina. I recommend swift at somewhere 6-12/health at 16/stamina at 20. Hasten is also good, but not as big a deal until you get some of your slow-recharge powers like Gravity Distortion Field.
Propel used to suck because of the very slow recharge time. Apparently they've upped the damage to make up for that, but I don't know if it's enough to be worth it. It does, however, have the funniest annimation in the game. Propel and Crush are both mostly if you want to solo. Crushing Field is a decent area-effect damage, but only if you slot some damage into it, and you probably have more important places to use those slots. I've never played Force Fields myself, but I hear that Force Bolt is mainly for knocking runners back into the tanker/AoE killzone.
--Enigmatic (will blather about game details until someone stops him)
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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8 - PP Swift 10 - FF Insulation Field 12 - ? 14 - PP Fly 16 - PP Health 18 - G Gravity Distortion 20 - FF Disbursement Bubble 22 - PP Stamina 24 - ? 26 - G Singularity
Obviously I'm more concerned about the 12 gap than the 24 one . While we are discussing this, what do you guys think?
At level 12 I will get dimension shift open to me. Any good? It looks like I am using a ton of power pool powers, which sort of stinks for my role playing, but I can get those later I guess. With that in mind, I'd like to throw a gravity power in there, between crush, crushing field, dimension shift or propel. We have lots of time to pick which one though .
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Singularity is a level 32 power, the level 26 one is Wormhole.
I'd take either crushing field or Dimension Shift. You'll get a lot more use out of crushing field but dimension shift is a great "Oh Crap!" power if your group bites off way more than you can chew. It's annoying in that it isn't a toggle so you can find yourself sitting around waiting for mobs to reappear which makes people irritated with you if you use it when you don't need to. Again, it's a question of do you want something you'll probably use every fight or once or twice a level?
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
If you plan on mainly using this character when a bunch of us are teamed up, I would say crushing field. At low to mid levels AoE attacks can be kind of dangerous because they draw a lot of aggro to you, but teamed up with other people who have AoE as well (Me, BtL) they all stack up to drop large groups quick. As others have mentioned, crushing field also keeps mobs close together, so the Radiation debuffs and everyone's AoEs will be hitting everyone.
But again, whatever you take will have some uses. Some powers you just have to get more creative for them to be really effective.
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote: Singularity is a level 32 power, the level 26 one is Wormhole.
You sure about that Dan?
Both warcry and vault sites list Singularity above wormhole, and a guide I read has wormhole coming last as well.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Quite sure. Singularities are your pets, they're always last. I even just logged into the game to be sure Grav has had their powers adjusted several times since the game came out, it's not surprising that some sites would be out of date.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
I can confirm Singularity as well, though that's because I have a level 32 Gravity controller. heh. Some of the last few grav powers were switched around fairly early in the game, because they changed some of them. Pets aren't always last though. Illusion gets them pretty early, iirc. Singularity is last because its arguably the strongest pet in the game. They don't do as much damage as some, but each one is a controller in its own right, and they're very, very durable.
I love Singularities. If you want to see what they're like, make a hero on Liberty and I'll show you them in action.
posted
I just wanted to add that the Fitness pool is reccomended for ANY hero. Some can live without it, like regen scrappers, but it will make any build's life easier. I am going to make a char on protector sometime in the next week. I will join the channel, and just so you know me i'm @Rancorr
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On Fitness: When my friend Troll was showing me the game for the first time, part of the conversation went like this. Troll: "And I just got Stamina the other day, which is the greatest power ever." Me: "Why's that?" Troll: "Because it makes that blue bar there go up faster." Me: "Well, I'm definitely in favor of that."
He did later explain what the blue bar was actually FOR, not that it really mattered. I was already convinced.
posted
So I've been playing for a while, but no hatracks. Got up to level 8 though.
Post here, or IM me (XavierM01) if you wanna get together (though sometimes it takes me a while to see my AIM).
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posted
Today is my day off, so... While I won't actually be playing CoH all day, I will be making an effort to be logged in and keep an eye on my /tells. So if anybody needs an invite to Hatrack Heroes, it's /t @ReactorRod
posted
Okay, on Protector right now, CirriForm, Storm/Electric Defender (crazy me), My handle is @Bokonon
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xavier, did you join the channel? I will get online this weekend, and start my hatrack char...btw how is everyone enjoying I4?
Posts: 31 | Registered: Apr 2005
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It was fun again tonight. I think a bunch of guys are going to be on tomorrow night, so if you can make it we will see you there (although I won;t be on until later).
posted
Wow, do I notice a big diff when hatrackers are playing and when they aren't.
I got 3 levels of XP with them in about 2-2.5 hours. Then they leave, and an hour later I have 2 more bars. Teams sort of stink don't they. Hatrack teams are spoiling me. Perhaps I will have an alt who can solo for the downtime.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
I think I got a total of 4 levels today. 3 of which were with super awesome Hatrack efficiency. I hope to play tomorrow quite a bit (Saturday). Sunday is my b-day so I don't know how available I'll be. Having my global handle as Galidh is confusing me. It's my brother's toon name, so I'll most likely be changing it to Liaison. You can do that right? ...was just thinking, I'm not the only female Hatracker who's playing CoH am I? Anyways, see y'all soon.
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I want to. So badly. Maybe if the price point goes down a little. But will my computer even be able to run it? Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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What are the stats on your computer, Ryuko?
You can change teh global chat handle once, but only once....I just changed mine to Kwea two nights ago.
I leveled 3 times with my Tank, Kwea ( ) last night, but those were all early levels too, as he was only level 2 when we started. I DO find that we level much faster as a group playing together, but there is also the act that we were leveling lower level charcters then as well, and they level faster at those levels than in later levels.
I am logging on now...turns out I had the weekends mixed up, and DIDN'T have to work this morning.
Even thoug I got up at 7, showered, and put a suit on...then drove in to work for 8. I haven't made that mistake in about 10 years....
quote: I leveled 3 times with my Tank, Kwea ( [Smile] ) last night, but those were all early levels too, as he was only level 2 when we started. I DO find that we level much faster as a group playing together, but there is also the act that we were leveling lower level charcters then as well, and they level faster at those levels than in later levels.
The three levels I was referring to were 8-11 with my controller . I did also go from 4-5.5 with my tanker when we were leveling Bok.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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If you don't care about the geekery behind XP and grouping, skip this post.
There are two reasons we leveled faster in the group (three if you count "We're just so good!"). First is there's actually an XP bonus for teaming. I don't know the exact percentages, partially because they've changed them. But let's say an enemy's worth 100 xp and 4 of us fight him. It's split 4 ways = 25 xp, but there's a bonus, so each of us will actually get 30 xp or so. The other reason is more obvious, simply that 4 people with complimentary powers working together will defeat more in 1 hour than the if they'd split up and were fighting individually.
My favorite trick for fast leveling (NOT powerleveling) is sometimes called double-dipping. When you get hunt missions (Defeat X SomeVillainGroups) try to stack them. If the hunt mission doesn't have to be in a particular zone you can even do this with door missions. ("defeat 10 clockwork" and "defeat all clockwork in building") This way you get 2 or 3 chunks of mission-bonus XP for the same group of enemies.
For missions, doing the missions for the highest-level person in the group means the most XP, even the mission-bonus XP scales up if it's higher than your level. You can also talk to certain contacts to increase your mission difficulty, which has the same effect.
Enough overanalyzation, time for me to go play. --Enigmatic
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I know why nobody's posted in this thread today: Every other hatracker who plays city of heroes didn't have to go to work today so you're all playing instead of posting! Grrrrrr...
(or spending time with your moms, whichever.)
Anyway, I suggest we try to do the first Task Force next weekend! Level range is 10-16, though I highly recommend 14-16, partly because of travel powers partly because TFs are hard. TFs take a couple of hours, are super fun, tons of XP and an SO enhancement and a badge at the end. For best speed 4-5 heroes is ideal, but if we have more hatrackers on by then, great!
--Enigmatic
PS: for those of you not playing City of Heroes, START!
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Hey Enig! (Or would you prefer Brian? I call Bob the Lawyer Dan, so that would make sense. Of course I don't know what Liason or Kwea's real names are...)
I tried to post this right before the forum crash on sunday. I wanted to tell you that I thought the task force would be awesome, from what I hear of them anyway.
Genesis Blue is now level 16 and a half. Would she still be viable for the TF? Kwea, from last I saw, was around 10-11, Dan 13, and Liason 14 (if I remember correctly).
Oh and the reason I don't feel bad about getting a bit ahead of you guys is cause I won't have nearly as much time to play now that Niki is back. Probably mostly monday and wednesday nights, with weekends perhaps? And if I play much more than that, I have a tanker alt that I like playing with as well.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Yes, you can do the first TF as long as you're 16 when we start it. You can (and probably will) level up during the course of the TF. It will take a couple of hours to complete, so we should probably plan on a friday afternoon or sometime saturday. Whatever works for everyone.
Oh, and I don't particularly care what you call me, as long as I can recognize that I'm the one you're talking to.
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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That wouldn't be too hard, but is this a sure thing you think?
I probably won't be playing much tonight, but if I am going to be saving her for a task force, I would like to know she is going to do one .
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Well, I can't speak for everyone else. But I love doing TFs. This first one only needs 3 people to start it, and since there's no ArchVillain, can actually be finished with just one or two. So tell ya what: Even if nobody else wants to do it, I'll duo the whole bloody thing with you.
posted
I really like Crushing Field, at least when a teammate has it..it works wonders when properly slotted. As Bob said, it helps keep everything grouped nice, which can be important.
I am enjoying playing a tank now, since my main is a blaster, but I want to play around with some builds I never got to try before. I want to play a Controller, and I probably will start a scrapper as well, and maybe even another type of blater eventually.
posted
I can, as long as you let me know when...although I will be working this Thursday and Friday nights, though. I do have every Monday night open, and most othrs most weeks, this week is just a weird one as people at work too vacations.
I would like to do a TF....the good thing about TF's is that you can log out and come back to it at a later date, as long as you don't quit the TF when logging. You can't do any misions in th meantime, although you can still hunt solo or with other TF members, but if we can only arrange the TF for Monda nights, we can meet every Monday until it is done....or whatever, you get the point.
We all have alts, so doing this shouldn't screw anyone up much....
posted
I think Saturday afternoonish would probably be best. By the time I get home on weeknights most other people are about ready to log off, or pretty close. I'm not too big on the idea of trying to do it once a week in chunks, as that could easily winding up tying up those characters for a month.
My suggestion: Everyone try to get one alt to at least 14 and take a travel power by the weekend. That way we'd have a realistic shot at finishing the TF in 3-4 hours, especially if 4 or 5 of us are on.
quote:Originally posted by Kwea: What are the stats on your computer, Ryuko?
Copying from my properties: Toshiba Satellite, Celeron Processor 1.50GHz, 512 MB of RAM.
I haven't added anything, since it's a laptop, so it comes with two years ago's video card and whatnot. :/ Do you think I could be able to play it?
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I think so, Ryuko. My current video card is more than 2 years old. Your other stats should be fine. MMORPGs aren't as ridiculous on the graphics as FPSs, and you can disable options like shadows and whatnot if the video isn't quite up to snuff.
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Liaison is currently 15. I'll be available Thursday through Sunday afternoon, so my schedule is pretty wide open. I have finals on Monday and Tuesday and then I get to be a slacker for a while. And Xavier...Kwea has been calling me Lia in game, which works well for quickness. L works too, but Allie is my real name, so feel free to take your pick. Posts: 81 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I am busy tonight (going out to dinner) until like 9-10PM (all times in Central Time). I might be playing after that, hard to say.
Tomorrow I am free all day until like 5:30-6PM. Saturday would be best for me I would say.
Sunday I will be busy until at least 6:30PM, but free until like 10PM that night.
Think we can work this out?
I kept Genesis Blue at 16 (which I think Lia now is) she has fly, so getting around a board is pretty easy. Her enhancements kinda stink, cause I have been waiting till level 17 to get some level 20 DOs. Currently I have both Insulation Shield and Deflection Shield six-slotted with +Defense Buffs, but I was thinking I would throw an endurance reduction in both powers. When a team of 8 loses its bubbles, it takes me my entire endurance bar to get them all back up (though I am pretty quick about it). I give everyone both bubbles at all times, but perhaps I should do it more situation based. Like only deflection if noone seems to be doing any elemental or energy attacks. The problem is I am still kinda noobish about which enemies do what. Regardless, any team she is in doesn't die very often .
I have been playing with my alt in the meantime, and he is up to level 12. He has all level 15 DOs, because some dude gave me 100,000 influence for no apparent reason. I spent like 35,000 of it on the DOs . Heh, I even got a damage one slotted for brawl, which I regret, since its a waste of my endurance anyway.
I've noticed that Genesis Blue (my controller) doesn't get invited to teams very often (once every 20 minutes), even when she has "Seeking Any Team" selected. Code Green (my tanker) gets invited every 2-3 minutes even when I have "Not seeking a team" selected. The funny thing is that I've found Genesis Blue to be a much bigger help to a team. Her bubbles and holds work wonders during a mish. While Code Green absorbs a good deal of aggro and damage, teams still seem to die when they group with me, and they just don't with Genesis. Ah well, the bias against controllers is part of the reason I really like them . I like surprising my teammates.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
I'm about to go out for dinner but will probably be on CoH later tonight. Pretty much any time Saturday would work for me for the TF. Perhaps start around noon (central time)? Then we should be done before 5:30 fairly easily. Anyone else going to make it? I haven't seen BtL on in quite a while.
On controllers: Expect more invites to start in the low-20s. Most controllers pick up aoe holds at 18 and so their contribution is more easily noticed in a group. A lot of people don't really get how much you're helping the team unless they see the green heal numbers above their heads, sadly. If you want invites to pick up just put "Bubbler" in your seeking team blurb.
My highest level heroes are a defender and a controller. People often ask either "can you heal???" Well, sure, but if I need to then I haven't done the other 99% of my job that well.
posted
I really haven't been playing that much lately. My connection is pretty flakey right now and goes down every few minutes, making gaming pretty much a no go. Rogers, of course, swears up and down that it's not on their end.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Well, I am out then, unless you can wait to play until after 5 pm, EST, because I have to work.
I will be logging on in about 10 min tonight, though...perhaps we can start the TF tonight, so if I get out of work early tomorrow I can still join in for part of teh TF....you can start a TF then all log, and when you log on tomorrow it would be still active, as long as you DON'T quit the team before you log.
posted
Dang, sounds like Kwea and Xavier's times for saturday are mutually exclusive. I'll plan on being on saturday if people do want to get it going, otherwise my availability on sunday would be 7:30pm or later, because of work. If people want to do the TF without me, that's cool. (I've done it at least 5 times with other characters, and there's always our next round of alts, too!) I'm basically saying it's up to X, because I think most of the rest of us have done TFs already, but this is not something to miss on your first hero through the game.
posted
Ahhh! Okay...I'll be getting on right now I think. I'll be playing tomorrow too. The Ahhh! part is that my sg on Virtue is having a huge go at the Manticore TF...like 3 teams going at once. It's scheduled for noon pst. Looks like tomorrow's going to be hectic. I'll figure something out...I really don't want to miss doing the TF with you guys.
Posts: 81 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
Tomorrow at noon sounds excellent. Are you and Kwea going to start it tonight? I hope Lia can make it... I got home pretty late tonight (as you can tell), so I'm probably not going to log on. I'm pretty darn tired. I've found that my enjoyment goes down big time when I am tired.
Oh and if we don't finish tomorrow (a definite possibility) wanna finish up sunday night (or Monday even better).
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Everyone who's going to be in the TF has to be on when we start it. Can't add people later on. Though as Kwea explained, once its started we can log off if it's not finished and still be in the TF later. I could finish sunday or monday, though monday would have to be kinda late, like 11pm or so.
Lia: 3 teams doing the same TF at once? They couldn't do anything to affect each other's missions, so I'm not sure I see how that would work. Is it just EVERYONE that wants to do the TF is going to gather and make however many teams it takes to fit them all?
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I wnated everyone to log on tonight...sorry, guess I wasn't clear enough.
Lets try it again:
When you start a TF, every person who wants to be on that TF has to be there to start it, for two reason...most TF missions take a minimum number of people to start...3 is the fewest, for the first one, but some of them require 6 or more....and once you begin a TF, unlike a regular team, you can't add ANYONE at all until the TF is completed.
That is why you can't quit the team when logging...of you quit, there is no way to re-add you to the TF team. You have to finish teh TF mission with the same original crew, or at least some of them, because there is no way to add players to teh team....and you can't do any other missions, except just run around and hunt, until teh TF is done as well.
If you just log off, when you log back on you can just meet up with the others who are still in the TF, and play from there.
posted
Yep, that's how it's going to work Enig. Our sg schedules these only once in a great while, so it's kind of a big deal. I'm on right now. I'll put priority on our TF though so we have enough. Actually...if you guys do it over two days I could join yours, log without quitting, do the TF on Virtue, and rejoin with you guys later when we finish... That's a little complicated though. Hehe.
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. Heh, I even got a damage one slotted for brawl, which I regret, since its a waste of my endurance anyway. 
