Paragon City

City of Heroes has only been dead for over a month now and I still miss it. I've been giving the Star Wars The Old Republic MMO a try and it has been very entertaining so far. I'll have to see how group play goes with some of my friends.

In any case, last weekend I was working on all sorts of maps and compiling data for numerous table-top games I'm involved in and I got distracted by a question: Where the heck in Rhode Island is City of Heroes Paragon City? No scale on the map that came with the game, and the zones don't always measure up in game to match the map as well as I'd like. Finally, using Independence Port as a basis I determined the size of Paragon City. Next was finding a place in Rhode Island that would fit its unique geographic features.

Finally I took a thumbnail of the Paragon City Map, made a few minor adjustments to it and then merged it to a random map of Rhode Island I found on the web - the first one I found that had a scale. I got the city scale to match the state map scale and combined the two. Here is the result:

I did have to make some minor alterations to the coastline to get Paragon City to fit. The biggest change was to connect Conanicut Island to the mainland. Worked out pretty good.

Did you ever play City of Heroes? What game do you replace it with these days?

COH Profile - Atomic Cow

Work has been busy the last couple weeks. Big deadlines on the 15th and 20th are now over. Time to start blogging again. Here is my newest character for City of Heroes; and also one who has advanced more rapidly than any other I've played. THE ATOMIC COW!

DESCRIPTION
Bessie is a gentically engineered cow from an factory farm. Humand DNA was combined with a cow's in hopes of making better milk. Bessie's intelligence was beyond anything that could have been imagined and she rose up against her captors. After escaping she managed to find her way to Paragon City and used her vast intellect to create her Atomic Hammer, a swarm of nanites that produce stone armor for her and allow her to teleport.

POWERS
Titan Weapons: Crushing Blow, Titan Sweep, Defensive Sweep, Follow Through, Rend Armor, Whirling Smash, Arc of Destruction

Stone Armor: Rock Armor, Stone Skin, Earth's Embrace, Brimstone Armor, Mud Pots, Rooted, Crystal Armor

Teleportation: Teleport, Recall Friend, Long Range Teleport

Speed: Hasten

Energy Mastery: Focused Accuracy

Set Bonus: Large Improved Regeneration Bonus x 3, Large Accuracy Bonus x 2, Large Increased Negative Energy Res Bonus x 2, Gift of the Ancients: Run Speed, Huge Increased Damage Bonus, Large Fear Resistance Bonus, Moderate Hold Resistance Bonus, Moderate Improved Recovery Bonus, Moderate Increased Endurance Bonus, Moderate Increased Fire Res Bonus, Moderate Increased Psionic Res Bonus, Moderate Stun Duration Bonus, Moderate Stun Resistance Bonus, Small Fire and Cold Resist Bonus, Small Improved Regeneration Bonus

OTHER DATA
Science - Brute
#Badges = 111
Alignment = Heroic
Current Level = 36


I've learned a few things playing with Titan Weapons. First is to up your difficulty as quickly as possible. There are some great area effect attacks, its nice to have a huge group around to take advantage. Before I reached 20th level I set my self at -1 level x8 players. Huge groups of enemies, a little weaker than normal so they don't overpower my defenses too quickly. That and going through inspirations like water help greatly. Also, being a Brute the large groups quickly drive my rage bar near maximum and greatly magnify my damage. Heck, even mud pots becomes effective at that point.

Like so many of my characters I have to also take advantage of the invention system and create plenty of Recovery Serum to make up for the large amount of energy I burn.

Making good use of Atomic Blast in COH

I've had some luck advancing Technobabe in City of Heroes. A few months ago I picked up the Atomic Blast power from Radiation Blast. I wasn't impressed with it. The endurance drain and reduced endurance recovery made it less than useful for me. Many times minions would still be standing after the blast, admittedly in rough shape, but it didn't seem like a great power for a Defender.

Now it is one of my favorite attack powers. I just learned how to make up for the endurance drain with the use of inspirations and then activating Accelerate Metabolism or Power Sink to recover additional endurance. I can be back on the attack (or healing myself and teammates) before survivors of the Atomic Blast can recover. I had a friend a couple weeks ago notice how using Atomic Blast didn't seem to phase me.

Now as an added bonus I have the Burnout power from the Speed group. When activated this power recharges all the powers in my primary and secondary power sets.... including Atomic Blast.

I can now set off two Atomic Blasts in short order with minimal drawbacks to myself except using about a third of my inspirations and having a couple toggle powers turn off on me. Few things can survive the dual blasts.

It's gotten to the point now where I use a handful of defensive inspirations to buy me the time to draw multiple mobs together to really nuke the heck out of them all. Technobabe is turning into a real combat character; I have no trouble soloing with her like I did back in the day.

I'm just glad I stuck with Atomic Blast. As I've mentioned it did not impress me much when I first used it, but now it is awesome. I've got it slotted for six enhancements and in a few more levels I'll be ready to find just the right set of invention enhancements to make it even more deadly.

If you play City of Heroes I hope this helps you out some. Are there any other tricks anyone has picked up using this power?

That time of year again!

It's that time of year again! Time for the Halloween Event on City of Heroes. All of the cool stuff from previous years is still around plus great new content for 2011.

Over the last few days Underpants Lad, Technobabe, and a number of my other characters have been trick or treating, fighting zombie hordes, and defeating supernatural invasions of Paragon City. Tonight I hope to make my way to Dr. Kane's House of Horror.

I've also been collecting the Halloween salvage and spreading it out across all of my characters so that they can all eventually unlock their extra costume slots. Much of that salvage is very cheap at Wentworth's in game, now just costing a few hundred influence instead of 50,000 or more. A good example of how supply affects prices.

Just wanted to remind people this event was going on now, ending around November 2nd or so. Now that City of Heroes is free to play it might be a good time to check it out.

COH Profile - Technobabe

COH Profile – Technobabe

Last time I introduced my highest level character on City of Heroes, a character named Underpants Lad. This time I've go my second highest level character from the last seven years on the game:

TECHNOBABE

Level 30 Technology Defender

Technobabe gained her powers from collecting and modifying alien technologies. Now she carries these gadgets to fight for justice and against bad things across Paragon City. These devices, and her own tactical genius have helped lead to the success of her supergroup, the Thursday Night Avengers (her teammates helped too).

SOLO BUILD
Radiation Emission: Radiant Aura, Accelerate Metabolism, Radiation Infection, Mutation, Enervating Field, Lingering Radiation, Choking Cloud, Fallout

Radiation Blast: Neutrino Bolt, X-Ray Beam, Proton Volley, Cosmic Burst

Speed: Hasten, Super Speed, Whirlwind

Concealment: Stealth, Invisibility

TEAM BUILD
Radiation Emission: Radiant Aura, Accelerate Metabolism, Mutation, Choking Cloud, Fallout

Radiation Blast: Neutrino Bolt, Irradiate, Aim

Leadership: Maneuvers, Assault, Tactics, Vengeance

Teleportation: Recall Friend, Teleport Foe

Leaping: Combat Jumping, Super Jump, Acrobatics

OTHER POWERS
Day Job Powers: Day Trader Teleporter, Enhanced Day Trader Teleporter, Revive Ally, Midnighter

Temporary Powers: Stealth Suit, Extinguisher, Taser Dart, Holiday Cheer, Mystery Gift, Build Snowbeast (x3), Ouroboros Portal, Holiday Spirit, Revolver, Call to Justice, Stun Grenade, Gabriel's Hammer, St. Louis Slammer, Hand Grenade, Summon Teammastes, Plasmatic Taser

Inherent Powers: Brawl, Surge, Dash, Quick, Rush, Jump Pack, Pocket D VIP Pass, Base Transporter, Ghost Slaying Axe, Nemesis Staff, Clockwork Pet, Walk, Shadowy Presence, Sprint, Rest, Vigilance

Inherent Fitness: Swift, Hurdle, Health, Stamina

NUMBER OF BADGES: 144

COSTUMES
Technobabe has had two primary costumes. The first one had different color variations over the years as she moved around to different supergroups.

Here is her original costume when she formed the Thursday Night Avengers in 2004:

Here is her current favorite costume:

CLOSING
She has been a difficult one to play in the past after the Thursday Night Avengers temporarily disbanded. It was nearly impossible to solo missions and team-ups with random people sometimes don't work well, especially if they have a preconceived idea about how a certain archetype should be played. For the most part she is a support character which did not lend itself well to soloing.

Now that the game has introduced alternate builds I was able to create a build specifically for solo play while keeping one optimized for team play. The change in the way difficulty settings work allowed me to tone down the danger of my own missions so I could have a better chance to be successful.

With all of that she is actually fun to play now, and since Underpants Lad is pretty much maxed out now she is one of my primary characters right now. The two others I play on a regular basis are villains. One is an Arachnos Spider while the other one I think I'll introduce next time – Doctor Dastardly!

COH Profile - Underpants Lad

I've played City of Heroes since the first months it came out over seven years ago. There have been large gaps in my play time due to limited finances or having a computer that could no longer handle the game well.

Over those seven years I've made many characters but only a small group of them advanced beyond 10th level. Only a limited few made it to 20th or beyond. I was determined to get at least one character to 50th level - that ended up being Underpants Lad.

A friend of mine created a character called Cptn Underpants. I decided to mimic the appearance of his character, except make him much, much shorter. I made him to be the kid sidekick, thus Underpants Lad was born. I did choose a different power set than the Captain. Lucky for me too. Dark Melee and Regeneration work wonderfully together.

Despite that it was a lot of trouble getting up to 50th level. I accomplished that feat about a year ago. Now I have played around with much of the current Incarnate system and have spent a huge amount of influence to slot enhancements that give me all sorts of additional bonuses. On top of that he has a huge collection of temporary powers.

Now I am able to focus on another character. Underpants Lad is going into semi-retirement. Here is where he stands right now:


Underpants Lad (Level 50 Mutation Scrapper)

Description: Little Billy Johnson was Cptn Underpant's greatest fan. After months of hero worship ( and collecting all of the various Cptn Underpants merchandise), Billy's latent mutant gene activated, creating a miniature version of his favorite superhero! As Billy grows in power, he is mutating even further.

POWERS
Dark Melee: Smite, Shadow Maul, Siphon Life, Touch of Fear, Dark Consumption, Soul Drain, Midnight Grasp

Regeneration: Fast Healing, Quick Recovery, Dull Pain, Integration, Reconstruction, Instant Healing, Revive, Moment of Glory

Leaping: Combat Jumping, Super Jump

Concealment: Stealth, Invisibility, Phase Shift

Body Mastery: Conserve Power, Physical Perfection, Focused Accuracy, Energy Torrent

Accolades: The Atlas Medallion, Crey CBX-9 Pistol, Portable Workbench, Portal Jockey

Set Bonus: Large Improved Recovery Bonus x 4, Moderate Improved Recharge Time Bonus x 4, Huge Improved Regeneration Bonus x 3, Large Accuracy Bonus x 3, Large Improved Regeneration Bonus x 3, Large Increased Health Bonus x 3, Moderate Increased Damage Bonus x 3, Moderate Increased Health Bonus x 3, Huge Increased Psionic Res Bonus x 2, Large Increased Endurance Bonus x 2, Small Improved Recovery Bonus x 2, Small Increased Health Bonus x 2, Huge Increased Negative Energy Res Bonus, Impervium Armor, Large Fear Duration Bonus, Large Improved Heal Bonus, Large Improved Recharge Time Bonus, Large Increased AoE/Fire/Cold Def Bonus, Large Increased Damage Bonus, Large Increased Negative Energy Res Bonus, Large Increased Psionic Def Bonus, Large Increased Psionic Res Bonus, Luck of the Gambler: Recharge Speed, Moderate Accuracy Bonus, Moderate Energy and Neg Energy Res Bonus, Moderate Immobilize Resistance Bonus, Moderate Improved Jumping Bonus, Moderate Increased Psionic Res Bonus, Small Increased Psionic Def Bonus, Tiny Improved Knockback Bonus, Tiny Increased Health Bonus, Tiny Smashing and Lethal Resist Bonus

Temporary & Other Powers: Day Trader Teleporter, Enhanced Day Trader, Resonance Disrupter, Confiscated Beanbag, Wedding Band, Holy Shotgun Shells, Warwofl Whistle, Electomagnetic Grenade, Raptor Pack, Stealth Suit, Stun Grenade, Web Grenade, Low-G Pack, Jaunt Initializer, Raptor Pack, Web Grenade, EMP Glove, Stun Grenade, Mutagen, Extinguisher, Shivan Shard, Holiday Spirit, Holiday Cheer, Build Snowbeast, Raid Deploy Pylon, Mystery Gift, Plasmatic Taser, Drop of Power, Drop of Resistance, Drop of Vitality, Electromagnetic Grenade, Shotgun, Ouroboros Portal, Cryonite Armor, Rock, Seduction, IR Goggles, Fiendish Glare, Rock, Med Kit, Rock, Stealth Suit, Nectanebo's Curse B, Vanguard Psi-Bomb, Gabriel's Hammer, Envenomed Dagger, Hand Grenade, Recovery Serum, St. Louis Slammer, Clockwork Connection, Molotov Cocktail, Revolver, Plasmatic Taser, Pwer Analyzer mk III, Fear Incarnate, Jet Pack, Kinetic Shield, Brawl, Surge, Dash, Quick, Rush, Jump Pack, Pocket D VIP Pass, Base Transporter, Ghost Slaying Axe, Blackwand, Rikti Pet, Assemble the Team, Walk, Shadowy Presence, Sprint, Rest, Critical Hit, Swift, Hurdle, Health, Stamina

Incarnate: Desitny – Rebirth Core, Lore – Seers Total Core, Interface – Diamagnetic Core, Judgement – Void Total Radial, Alpha – Spiritual Total Core

Badges: 670 (including the Medic badge I got before 50th level. Not an easy feat for a scrapper. I've since did a respec to swap out healing powers for concealment)

Overall Arena Rating: 1515

Hours on Patrol: 1,048 (over a period of over 7 years.... about 3 hours a week that works out to, not as bad as it sounds.... okay maybe it does sound that bad!)

City of Heroes Underworld

Paragon City can be really strange at times. Mutants, wizards, mad scientists, aliens, and other bizarre types can be found wandering its streets and rooftops. Large walls and force fields protect the city and thousands of heroes hold back the tide of evil. However things are not always as they seem as was learned by the not-so-altruistic hero Captain Cash.

Despite his rather low security clearance level Captain Cash made his way to take a day job at Portal Corp. After three weeks he quit and made his way back to the mainland. Instead of taking the ferry he decided to just swim to Talos Island. At one point during the trip the world gave way and he found himself not on the surface of the water, but instead falling through a blue void.

He landed on a flat blue surface that matched the sky in color. It was a very disorienting experience. Not knowing where the heck he was he began to look around for any sign of the world. Sure enough floating high in the sky were what resembled the protective walls of Talos Island.

Using his rocket pack Captain Cash flew up to examine the strange objects that were floating in the sky. Perhaps they were a link to home. He had to escape this strange realm. As he reached the upper range of his rocket pack he noticed doors on a floating object. He had to discover what those were.

Luckily his cell phone was still getting a signal in this other-worldly nowhere. He called a heroine calling herself Sister Blister to fly up to examine the doors. She arrived and had no trouble reaching the strange sets of doors. Unfortunately they would not open for her and no force could break them.

Investigating further, Sister Blister continued to fly up and hit the upper limit of the seemingly endless blueness. Part of her body passed through the strange barrier. Eventually she is able to make her way through the barrier and back to 'reality.' Captain Cash is still trapped.

His trillions of dollars unable to help him in this strange un-universe, Captain Cash calls out to whatever powers may be able to help him. “/stuck” his calls and his call is answered. He is spirited away, his senses tell him back up, but where he ends up is a place few heroes have returned from. The Captain found himself in a vast circular room filled with doors. A fountain of information spewing out the stuff of artificial life. Captain Cash believed he had found the source of the universe!

After spending a long period of time exploring this strange chamber and its unworkable doors Captain Cash came to a sudden realization. He checked his cell phone's GPS and discovered he was just inside the Talos Island Arena. He now attempting to come up with ways to gain influence with his incredible discovery..... so far other heroes don't seem to care....

----------------------------------------------------------
(interesting glitches in MMOs can sometimes distract me)

City of Heroes Sixth Year Anniversary

I've played City of Heroes on-again-off-again for the last six years. That means that right now my computer must be six-years old as well. With the new updates to the game it is becoming almost impossible for me to play.

The last time I played was for 2009's Halloween event. Right now all I can really do is log in, get the 6th anniversary badges for my characters and move them to a new Day Job location. Looks like I'll have to get a new computer by May 2011.

I've created numerous characters for City of Heroes over the last six years. My highest level hero is Underpants Lad (Finally 50th level after too much work). Below is a picture of him when he started his career in 2004 as the sidekick of Capt. Underpants (Underpants Lad is the little one):

There were some good times back in 'the day' with the game. The Thursday Night Avengers being one of them. These days my friends have moved on to other MMORPGS so I have to question if I'll even come back to COH if I do get a new computer next year.

How many people out there are stilling playing City of Heroes?

I guess I shouldn't worry about next year when I now have some time for computer games right now. I'm not a fan of first person shooter games. The few games I have include Civilization III, The Movies, and Sims 2. Perhaps it is time to play Sims 2 again. Maybe this time I'll start a legacy challenge to make the game a little more interesting.