To keep everything easily accessible, I'm including the links to all the post 50 ideas here. This post will be available from the link on the side.
8-14 Idea for post 50 - Orleans
8-22 Bulding on post 50 ideas - Garthamatic
8-24 Yet more post 50 suggestions - Garthamatic
8-27 The Charged Crusader vs The Galvanic Guardian - Garthamatic
9-1 Scrapper Summaries for Rob - Garthamatic
9-05 More Silver Age... - Orleans
9-15 Mr. Eclipse Costumes - Orleans
9-19 Maybe we should hold off - Orleans
We can put all of our new comments in this thread. If you need an entire post to go over another idea, just put a link to it in this one.
I've also included the full text of the first three posts in the comments section. If this makes everything too big and unwieldy, let me know and we can take them out.
15 comments:
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Idea for post 50
Orleans
Just an idea:
Start over with 3 new toons at level 1.
Only play those toons when the three of us are together.
Create an entirely new Supergroup - new base, everything.
Focus on story and content (lots of missions, not so much hunting)
See how long it takes us (in hours played) to make 50.
We should all start over with archetypes we are unfamiliar with: Greg shouldn't be a Tank or Scrapper, I shouldn't be a Tank or Blaster, etc. Contollers and Defenders have myriad configurations and tactics, so I guess Rob could be a Defender, but a different one. Remember we'll have the option of Peacebringers and Warshades, as well. We can all have a different origin so as to reduce duplication of missions at the beginning and coordinate contacts so we don't do the same things over and over. If we could get firm commitments from our wayward SGmates (Boots, Troy, Matt) we could have them along, too.
When the entire group couldn't get together, we would always have villains or alts.
The idea behind all of this: So much has changed since we've started playing, I think that starting a group from scratch would be an entirely different experience than the one we are about to finish.
Not that I want to abandon Apotheosis. I know we have Villains to play and Recluse's Victory, taskforces, accolades, etc. to do. It's just an idea for the future.
OK - discuss!
Posted by Orleans at 2:26 PM
13 comments:
Garthamatic said...
Well, for me I have several Alts that I would have no problem sending off to digital oblivion.
Omega Response is #1 on the list. As an Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster, he's kinda "meh". He deals nothing but smashing/lethal damage, has some endurance problems, and I'm not digging the progression into the Devices secondary... Too much waiting around to plant trip mines, etc. for my tastes.
I love the character concept for Dokkalfar Exile, so he stays.
Reptilor could be chopped. He's a good concept character with a nice costume, but the Spines set has not been tickling me that much. For AoE potential I prefer a /Fire Tank since their survivability is so much higher with equivalent damage potential.
Terminal Exposure is also kinda "meh". I'd consider a respec before ditching him though. Since IOs came out, he could be a real diamond in the rough.
I'm eager to see the post-50 idea though... Count me in for whatever.
8/14/2007 04:30:00 PM
Orleans said...
I think Terminal Exposure is pretty cool, but we haven't done Villains in so long...
8/15/2007 06:05:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
Yeah, I agree. The character concept and costume is pisser. Since most of his primary and secondaries involve debuffs, set IOs for him will be dirt cheap. Those sets are generally the less desired ones and hence are often sold for a song on the Black Market.
So don't keep me in suspense... What's the Uber idea? Inquiring minds want to know.
8/15/2007 06:21:00 PM
Orleans said...
It's up now. Not so uber, really.
8/15/2007 06:25:00 PM
Orleans said...
Deleting an existing toon and re-creating him would be another option, and less taxing on already strained creative time.
8/15/2007 06:41:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
And of course, I'm commenting while you're modifying the post... Doah!
To be honest, I love the idea. Playing (new) characters is very attractive. Particularly since post Tier-9 powers, our primary characters have been much more static. You get a level and a couple slots or a new power, but the big hitters are all behind you. The AVs and story content at higher levels is nice, but almost nobody teams except to farm/bridge/PL. None of those I find the slightest bit interested in. Yes I like to hunt in Hazard Zones with Flambeau, but that's not running the same mission over, and over, and over, ad nauseum... And Rob ran into the big issue right in front of us.
"LEVEL 50! Yesss! Hmmm. No more XP. Huh. Ummm. Yeah. Ummm. What now...?"
Starting over with new and different characters is a great way to revisit some of those fun times we had with less powerful heroes.
I'd like to suggest we try to play complimentary characters that are DIFFERENT for each of us. Ideas would be for Eric to play a Defender/Controller/Peacebringer, Rob to play a Tank/Warshade, and for me to play a Blaster/Defender/Controller.
I've never played a Controller. Also, Blasters are foreign to me, being predisposed to melee characters...
I'm really game for anything though. I guess this means I need to get Mantlet to 50 though. :)
Great ideas Eric. Discuss!
8/15/2007 06:46:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
Eric, have you ever played a Scrapper?
8/16/2007 08:49:00 AM
Orleans said...
Yes, I've played a scrapper and I never really liked it. I should probably try again. On a team of people I can trust and learn with it should be more enjoyable than PUGs or solo.
8/16/2007 10:54:00 AM
Orleans said...
Trying this out on another server is also an idea.
8/16/2007 03:06:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
If we decide to do that, here's some info:
West Coast Servers:
-------------------
Justice
Virtue
Guardian
Protector
Champion
Training Room
East Coast Servers:
-------------------
Freedom
Pinnacle
Liberty
Infinity
Victory
Triumph
Taken from this thread:
Here
8/16/2007 04:12:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
I've been contemplating a Dark/Dark Defender lately for a build-from scratch new team. Good debuffs, heal/rez capability, and some control elements in there as well.
But, that's open to discussion. It's hard to mess with the Tank/Defender/Blaster or Scrapper combo for a small team. Tank holds aggro, Defender mitigates incoming damage, and the Scrapper flips out and kills shit... What's not to like :)
I'd actually be 100% OK with playing another Tank, too. I love the AT and it is by far my favorite to play (I'm hesitant to psychoanalyze why that is...).
As a matter of fact, I'm cool with whatever tickles you guys. I definitely agree that the scenery on the way is the best part of the game, not the destination at the end. Let me know and I'll hop in line. Cheers!
8/16/2007 04:18:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
You know, an Trick Arrow/Archery Defender would also be a Hoot. Very old-school Hawkeye/Green Arrow kind of vibe to it.
8/16/2007 05:09:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
In retrospec, maybe a Rad/Dark Defender... Looking at the sets, the stacking debuffs and immobilize powers appear to be very complimentary.
8/17/2007 02:39:00 PM
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Building on the post-50 ideas...
Garthamatic
Eric has some great ideas in his previous post on the topic. Kudos for the suggestions. I had a few other refinements/thoughts (see below)...
I was thinking about it, and I believe there is a possibility that we can choose a flexible option for the "new character/new supergroup" concept. If our characters stay on the Freedom server, we can create new characters, make a new supergroup and proceed as planned/suggested. BUT, we could also form a coalition with Apotheosis. That would allow us to have access to it as needed (and only if we choose to) but would still allow the challenge of building the new base from the ground up (so to speak). A coalition would also allow cross-SG chat between all characters. This might be an exciting option for Boots or Matt to get sucked back in.
If we wanted to pursue a different server, they are beginning Cross Server Transfers to spread out the population and allow people to play with their friends. That may be an option to keep an eye on, as if we ever have need to shunt characters back and forth, that would be the way to do it (potentially to keep little-used ALTs without deleting them, such as Villains). Since the Consignment Markets are all cross-server, there would be little impact that way and it would offer a method (if cleverly used) to transfer influence cross-server.
Picking a theme might be another option (Greek myth, sci-fi, pop culture, catholic school girls gone bad... well... maybe not that last one). We could name our characters and have costumes that echo the theme and carry it over into the super-group base, as well.
I'm on the fence about picking ATs. Since we are going to be playing together, they should complement each other (i.e. 3 Defenders might be bad). But with a Tank to hold aggo, almost any mix will work (or at least a Tank makes things easier). I'd like some suggestions from you two on this, as I'm really open to whatever makes you happy/interested. A fresh start should be fun for everyone.
Posted by Garthamatic at 5:49 PM
2 comments:
Orleans said...
Some reasons I suggested another server:
Freedom too crowded.
Totally new experience, new player environment, etc.
No temptation to move influence, items from older characters.
8/23/2007 12:33:00 PM
Garthamatic said...
I'm OK with that.
If we are looking for segregation in a brand new land, I'm down for that.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Yet more post-50 suggestions...
Garthamatic
First of all, congratulations to everyone for hitting Level 50 (finally). Only took us about 2 years… : )
See the full post below for the new ideas I'm floating out.
It's been a long, fun road and I had a great time. That's not to say that there isn't more to do, but now there's no pressure to level, etc. We can just indulge in whatever we desire with those characters.
Some ideas:
* All the Task Forces/Trials we missed (no XP = No impact for being defeated)
* Badge hunting in earnest (nice way to tour the zones)
* Pylon/Mothership raids in the RWZ
* Finish the mission arcs in the RWZ to see that end-game content
* Giant Monsters
* PvP zones
* Statesman's Task Force (really freaking hard from what I hear, AVs everywhere)
In other related information, I logged onto Triumph and started a couple Blasters (potential throw-aways) to try and get a feel for the AT. I discovered that going to a less populated server means that a whole bunch of Character names are available. More so than Freedom. One was a Fire/Energy Blaster named Incineratus (I think) and a Fire/Fire Blaster called Pyre8. He's the gem. A Tech origin robotic pirate scavenged from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney and given self-determination and fire powers by the mysterious Toy Man. Get it? Pyre-8? (I know, it's low even for me).
Anyway, sever appears less busy than Freedom, but not vacant. Should be fine for our needs.
So, new SG: Themes!
Some ideas:
* Gold/Silver age heroes. Tights, classic costume elements, themed names.
* Scottish themed. Kilts, rough-and ready costumes, beards, etc.
* Nordic themed, Norse mythology maybe. Ice powered characters, axes, broadswords, etc. Helmets with horns
* All-Monster SG. I saw one of these once on Freedom and it was a riot. Names like "Blue Monster", "Red Monster", "Yellow Monster", all monstrous costume elements with color combos echoing the name of the character
* An all-reformed villain SG. Some great costume options and RP elements here. Ex-Brute Tanks, Ex-Stalker Scrappers, etc.
* Sci-Fi themed SG: Robots, space costumes, etc. No magic origin characters.
* Clown SG: Crazy costumes, crazy hair, etc. Good RP elements here, but may wear thin over time.
* Alternate Universe Apotheosis: Alternate dimension versions of our existing heroes. Such as Cacaphony as a Scrapper, Mantlet as a Defender, etc. Have to work out some back-story for this one. Think the original Star Trek mirror universe episode.
Whatever is fine. My creative juices are pumping so I figured I'd send a note while they were fresh (I've been trapped with my laptop in an absurdly boring meeting).
Posted by Garthamatic at 2:27 PM
1 comments:
Garthamatic said...
SG Group Name ideas:
-----------------------------
"World's Finest Heroes"
"Defenders of Freedom"
"Savior's Guard"
"Justice Force" (my favorite)
"The Incredible Squad"
"Shield of Victory"
"Avatars of Justice"
8/24/2007 03:06:00 PM
I put this in an email, but wanted to reiterate it here:
-Gold/Silver age heroes. Tights, classic costume elements, themed names.
I REALLY like this idea. Will require a lot of research and debate and reading comic books. :) And we'd need an ostentatious sg name. Like Defenders of the Universe or something.
-Alternate Universe Apotheosis:
This one I like, too, but I'd want to do it as Villains. Orleans the enrgy/energy brute, Mantlet the thug mastermind. I was talking about this with Troy and it sounds like a great idea. I'm really kind of excited about it.
Oh - and no way should we be viewing this as either/or. I would love to have a startup SG and VG on a new server.
So... We need to get a handle on what characters we are rolling for Triumph.
I'm down with a Blaster. I've toyed/rolled with a Fire/Fire, Fire/Energy, and an Electric/Electric for the trio.
The Electric^2 has a good utility set including some nice soft control in terms of holds and endurance drain in almost all attacks (I have one PBAoE that unslotted drains 50% endurance if it hits). It's an all-around solid choice, but is somewhat "meh" on damage.
Fire, on the other hand, has some sick damage output, but almost no control elements. It also grabs aggro like a magnet with all the AoEs in the set. I'm concerned that if we run without a Tank, this is not going to be viable.
So, we need to agree on AT's before we lock down and make new characters. Let me know.
I think it will be better to think on this stuff for a little while. With no tank (I'm not playing a tank in the new group), we'll need a hella defender, which I'm pretty sure I can handle. Our DPS will rock, but I see deaths galore. :) So now the question is Empathy or Buff/Debuff?
An Illusions/Emp controller might work out well, too. Illusions to tank, Empathy to heal. I've always wanted to try one of those. Maybe Illusions/Rad. We'll see.
Have we settled on a concept yet? I want to get this settled before I pick a name/costume.
I also want to seriously explore Evil Apotheosis. Does anyone else like/dislike this idea? We haven't really given Villains a chance and I think this may be a way to be a little more invested in it than we were before.
Again, none of this needs to be either/or, though I do think we should establish the villains to a decent level first so we don't lose interest again.
Yeah, but remember that one of the points behind our new Triumph SG was to just play the three of us. I agree with Eric, by the way, as playing a Tank on a large PuG is largely trying to keep stupid people from killing themselves and then blaming the Tank/Defender for not holding aggro/healing them. (no bitterness there)
BUT, large PuGs spawn +5 foes which are meaty enough for a good beating and have high enough damage output to challenge your defenses/resists. Mmmm. Good times.
By the way, my Elect^2 Blaster faceplanted a total of 5 times in one mission with 3 other people. Gotta get outta that Tank mindset... : P
Whatever is fine with me guys, we are all veterans by now, so a more challenging configuration/mix of archetypes is not the end of the world.
Oh, and an Illusions/Rad Controller would be great. Phantom Army and Phantom would greatly offset the need for a Tank. The debuffs and AoE heal in the Rad set make a great support element for the team. With an Electric/Electric Blaster (Blaptroller is the term I hear on the forums) and an Illusion/Rad Controller, Rob could play any variety of Scrapper he wants and we'd have a viable team. We'd struggle a bit early on, but before SO's everyone does... Neat!
Concept: Silver age heroes for sure.
I'll forward a screenshot of "The Charged Crusader" but his costume has gotten a lot of compliments. Very old-school Captain-America-esque vibe to it.
Concept: Silver age heroes for sure.
Second
Eric,
Try the link below for an interesting discussion about the Illusion/Rad Controller from a soloist's perspective.
Here.
So I've pretty much settled on the Illusions/Radiation Controller. I've even got some names saved: Mr. Eclipse, Professor Eclipse, Atom Eclipse, Eclipsed Atom (see where I'm going with this?)
Currently then we have
Greg - Electric/Electric Blaster
Rob - Dark/Dark Scrapper
Eric - Illusions/Radiation Controller
I talked to Matt and he's reading the blog now. He's expressed interest in playing a tank. Troy has shown a remarkable lack of interest now that football is starting, but I'm continuing to work on him.
I'm thinking a start point of September 20th with the new team?
That should give us plenty of time to play with a few alternative builds, come up with a name, etc.
We also need to pick origins and each grab a different one so we all start with a different contact and different missions. While I'm on the subject, we'll need to talk about contacts at some point, as well, so we only have to run through each mission arc (for example, the hollows, striga, etc) once - which should greatly increase our chances of doing them each in their entirety before out-leveling the contacts.
OK, so when are we going to start this new Silver-Age clubhouse?
This week's out (Rob and Eric are occupied). Next week (Thursday) is September 13th. The week after that is the 20th, which I think is what Eric had mentioned for the kick-off.
That being the case, we need to decide on an SG Name, character final names/costumes/origins, and whether or not Troy/Matt/Boots are joining us.
I've got "The Galvanic Guardian" cooling his heels in the Tutorial Zone, Science background. That should work, since Rob talked about having a Magic background and I expect the Controller to have a Mutation background (given the Radiation powers). That's a pretty good spread if my assumptions are accurate.
Let me know what the plan is when it materializes...
Rob had told me on the phone that he might need some more time. I know Greg's really excited about this (and so am I), but I don't want to rush anyone.
Besides, I want to get in on a Rikti Raid, I'm at 300 Vanguard merits and I don't know why they're like crack for me. We can give task forces a pass for the time being, but the mothership raid is something I really want to do.
It's cool. However long Rob needs is fine with me. Better not to rush in and make a hash of it. : )
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