Thursday 15 April 2004

Pic of the day: During one of the mini events in the game, a couple high level plants (!) invaded the starter area in Atlas Park. The local heroes banded together spontaneously to eradicate the pests. The heroine with the cute butt is Rainbow Girl, whom we have seen before (also from behind). The guy on top all in green was called Green Beta(?) and did the most damage, although he did not look spectacular in his attacks. To the left I believe you can see Mon-El, alias M'Onel, alias Valor of Legion fame. Not quite sure but I saw him occasionally. After the end of the beta you will not be allowed to use trademarked characters though.

CoH review 4

This time I will write about teaming up, about how the villains team up, about supergroups and villain groups.

Many players in City of Heroes want to solo, or so it seems from the boards. They are wary that they may be forced to team up, like they say has happened in other online games they have played.

My experience is that it is mostly easy to play alone. There are some missions that are really hard because the boss at the end of the mission is so strong, you have to level up once to have a chance to take him out, and level up another time to be sure. In such a case, you can get the mission done by inviting someone else, or perhaps two or more, to help you. It is kinda humiliating though. When the game comes out, I think I want to be a big brother for people like that, helping them get rid of that pesky boss without having to stay together afterwards. That would be doing unto others what I wished they would do to me, after all.

But for some characters, staying together with others is obviously the best choice. If you are very specialized, you may be helpful in a team but not very good alone. A specialized healer for instance will use a long time to overcome any foe, while he could keep alive and healthy a whole team taking down lots and lots of villains in the same time.

I cannot say there is any one archetype that cannot benefit from a decent team. Of course, a team full of impulsive and dumb people is another matter. And you don't really know what you get till you get it. Eventually some people find friends who they know they can play together with, and better than alone.

After all, there is no Superman in this game. You don't have all kinds of powers, only a limited number of power sets. You cannot be strong at ranged attacks and also stand up to a lot of beating at close range. You can possibly fly and run at super speed both, but not without giving up some useful combat power. And so on. That's why a team is better than the sum of its parts. And a good team is so good, you want it to be permanent. That's what supergroups are for.

Supergroups are the game's equivalent of guilds. Anyone from level 10 upward can start such a group and invite others to it, but of course it would not make sense if everyone actually did that! But when a bunch of players find out that they work well together, it makes sense to form such a group. Then they can easily contact one another later. (There is also a friends feature, complete with a chat channel, but it has less features.) A supergroup can even have a common uniform, with two group colors and a chest emblem. Each player can adopt all or part of that uniform, and in a moment change from his regular outfit to the supergroup uniform. There is also rumor of a defense bonus to members of supergroups, but I never got that verified.

***

Not to be outdone, villains have similar organizations. They sometimes appear alone as well, especially lieutenants it seems, but more often they are found in teams. In some areas the teams are small, but in a hazard zone such as Perez Park the gangs can be so large that it is hard to count them. In these areas, the gang is usually led by a boss as well, sometimes two, and these are a lot harder than the rest of the gang.

Each of these gangs is part of a larger criminal organization. Each organization has its own uniform, its own tactics, and its own preferred powers. (At lower levels, they only have conventional weapons, but eventually superpowers begin to make themselves felt.) Here are some of the villain groups I have fought (well, all I can remember at midnight):

Hellions: Common thugs who dabble in magic. Bosses, except at the very start, have some firepower (literally), they can set people on fire. They are also quite strong and resilient. The common grunts, however, are just thugs with handguns, knives, baseball bats and sledge hammers. (The sledge hammers are the worst in my experience.) Lieutenants have some pretty decent rifles but are not really a big deal. These wannabe mobsters are the meat and potatoes of fledgling heroes and can be found all over the starting zones.

Skulls: The arch rivals of the Hellions, they use basically the same weapons and powers. They show up in Kings Row, a somewhat tougher zone, and generally start at levels above 5. Their bosses, generally titled Bone Daddy (although some have names as well) can actually add dark power / negative energy to their hand to hand attacks, and even cast a destructive spell at a distance, that does damage over time and makes you less likely to hit them. For most supers, bone daddies are the worst enemy they can meet at their level. Some heroes who have a "dark" background themselves are partially resistant to their powers, though.

Fifth Column: Unreformed Nazis, they are organized in military fashion. They have some more advanced minions, wielding grenades, flame throwers, and even some martial arts specialists. Their lieutenants are simply tougher than the rest, not special in any way. I have never met their bosses. Unlike most of the rest, they seem to avoid Perez Park. Some can be found on the streets in Steel Canyon, but mostly these people are indoors. They will however take to the streets to ambush you if you disturb them.

The Lost: Also known as scroungers, they have some connection to the alien Rikti who invaded Earth and especially Paragon City a couple years ago. Their bosses have mind powers, which many heroes are defenseless against. The rest of them are no worse than others of their experience level. They recruit from the homeless and can be found preaching on the streets of Kings Row, adding to their numbers.

Circle of Thorns: Magic wielders, they are elusive at the best of times. They are rarely found in daylight, but in the night they may appear on rooftops and under bridges or in parks, in Kings Row and more frequently in Perez Park. They tend to congregate around a large green magic bonfire by which they can be spotted. They use negative energy, and their bosses and lieutenants are perfectly willing to explode in order to inflict massive damage. After all, they can get new bodies from unwilling victims. Bosses also have mental powers.

Vahzilok: Now for something rather different. These guys are zombies, made by a certain Dr Vahzilok, although they now have the expertise to make new zombies. Their victims are generally not very happy about this and it is up to you to save them. They differ from the rest in that the minions are basically every bit as dangerous as the lieutenants. Zombies will puke large quantities of acid on you, against which there is no defense at the early levels of the game at least. Luckily they are slow, but since they often appear in groups of some size, and the attack is ranged, they are hated and feared by most heroes. They are rare in Atlas Park but can be found in the outskirts of Galaxy City and are common in Kings Row. They also infest the tunnels, as do the Lost. They have several types of bosses, some of which have the power to trap a hero and leech his life energy. They are not too hard in close combat though.

Clockworks: And now for something really different. These critters are robots, not very humanoid looking but rather functional. They like to steal metals and electric components, and sometimes the random minions (sprockets in particular) will ignore you in order to concentrate on their scavenging. They have electric attacks at a range, and blasters in particular dislike these guys since you cannot use your range to inflict damage without getting hit yourself. Also for a close quarter fighter there is the problem that if the fight goes badly, you cannot run away. They will continue to hit you while you run, so if you want to get away you better start while you still have quite a bit of your health left.

Trolls: Occasionally found in the toughest part of Kings Row, their home turf is Skyway. The drug that gives them their immense strength also colors their skin green and gives them brutish traits, which may explain the name. I have never reached the level to fight them except for stragglers. Their bosses are extremely tough and I think they may regenerate health during fights.

Outcasts: These are the common street thugs of Steel Canyon. They start around level 10. The lieutenants can hover and have a ranged electric attack which is pretty tough, and they can also disorient with their power punch. These "shockers" are quite a lot more dangerous than their minions, and the ranged attacks means you cannot just peel off the minions and hope to get away safely. I am not sure I have ever seen a boss, and I don't look forward to it either. Perhaps the "bricks" are their bosses? Bricks are tanks who are almost invulnerable, found in Steel Canyon.

Tsoo: These are kinda the borderline of how far I have come. They seem to be some kind of Asian criminal syndicate. Their sorcerers can teleport and, I believe, revive fallen comrades. I have not survived long enough to learn much about them.

There are several higher level criminal organizations, and there are certain connections between the various groups. Finding out this is one of the fun and interesting things in the game. Let us just say, there are hints of a master plan which the low level hobby thugs have no idea of.