Champions Online F2P: Reloaded

[Vaarna_Aarne]

No need to bug anyone. I'll get a jump on this months ask Cryptic.
Disclaimer: The following is in development and subject to change

Powers:
Earth framework (Brick) this year -December. Potentially Wind as well.
Earth AT (potentially Wind as well)
Unarmed review (Seriously the anims so far are crazy A-MAZE-ING!)
Unarmed AT's (potentially a Tank and DPS)
Infernal Review and AT
Continued bug fixes and improvements

Zone: (Very preliminary, very early)
Planning now, designing next then building (Nick needs to finish Alerts and Events before he can start blocking the new zone)
Considerations-
-Size and scope
-Types of content
-Potential for Increased level cap
-Location (leaning towards city but we are discussing)

We are really excited about what we have planned for this year and next. More info as there are updates to share. Remember.. just because I dont mention a power set in an ask cryptic or SotG doesn't mean it is not happening. The earth set has not started yet so there are no real updates. Hope this info helps...

Thanks a ton!

With Cryptic also planning on releasing a new power set this December as well (Earth, part of the Brick framework) which means December is going to be a busy month, what with the likely conclusion of the comic series content starting in November. Not to mention the new Unarmed powers released when the power set is reviewed and rebalanced, though that's probably in October.

Though raising the level cap would lead to more than a little inanity, unless all you get is better items and more advantage points, since there really isn't much room for additional powers in the tab, though I guess it'd make the Build function worth something. Though I'd be pretty pissed if all my hard-earned Nemesis gear is going to need replacing.

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?p=1938200#post1938200

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

The latest Ask Cryptic is out, and it confirms that there's going to be a new Zone for Champions. Current concept seems to be for a high level content city zone with 3-4 neighbourhoods, which at least sounds that it will be around the size of Vibora Bay. The style they said they were going for is "a little darker than Millenium City, not as dark and gritty as Hudson" (for people familiar with the IP, Hudson City is essentially a giant ghetto).

Similarly, the plans for increasing the level cap are detailed a bit, with the new cap being planned at 45 (which for Gold characters would most likely mean two more powers) with new Talents planned for those levels along with possibly new advantages.

Cryptic also got moar moniez from their new Chinese overlords at Perfect World, which lead to expansion of the CO team, which in turns in immediate terms means that the next Comic Series content after this November's is planned to come out six weeks after the previous one concludes.

New Unarmed powers are confirmed, and there's a Wind archetype coming too. Whether or not it's a combo archetype or an AT for an all-new power set remains to be seen.

Earth power set is melee + mid-ranged power set and will use Defiance as its passive.

More details on the upcoming Alert system. Seems that it's a procedural quest generation of some sort that is designed for 5-player teams and can use Nemesises.

Nemesis content to be updated, but no new mission arcs are planned.

Team duels will go live on private test server in October, if things go well team duels will be implemented in the game in late October.

Implementing The Foundry is currently not being looked into.


If you want to read through the whole thing, you can go to the CO website. http://www.champions-online.com/node/595506

EDIT: Oh yea, they just released the new PVP gear (marginally better than Nemesis gear and Serpent Lantern Elite Blues, but playing Unrestricted PVP is ass) and the Golden Age premium costume set:

http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/uploads/Goldenage_01.jpg

http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/uploads/Goldenage_02.jpg

http://www.champions-online.com/dyncontent/fightclub/uploads/Goldenage_03.jpg

The next costume set is most likely the Pulp set, and they're apparently working on an Iron Age (= 90's and 00's comics style) set.

 

[Ermm]

Don't advertise shit MMORPG's here. We already have our village spambot deadplayer.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Definately not shit though, permadeath isn't necessary for a good MMO.

 

[SuicideBunny]

cryptic is dying. co will be shit soon enough.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

What gives you that idea? Cryptic is actually doing better than ever right now, especially with Champions. Following CO going F2P the profits from CO hit 1000% increase within a few months and the Steam launch caused another spike. And of course, currently Cryptic is expanding the CO team. In fact, you should bear in mind that following F2P launch Champions has had content updates at a far faster pace than ever before.


Anyway, Executive Producer Robobo gave a list of stuff going on yesterday in UNTIL Field Report:

Heroes!
Here is the the first of many UNTIL Field Reports. I hope you enjoy this first glimpse into what the Champs team is currently working on and working towards. There is a lot of info here and we are excited about all of them!

...Enjoy!

In Test
Items "In test" are being looked at and testing internally and on PTS. These are issues, features and fixes that are the closest to release as you can get. Occasionally there will be some items that are in test that are part of a larger release.

PvE Queues: Each Lair added to the PvE queue list
Character Conversion
KotH updates
Crafting stations in MON/LEM
Jet destination update: Mon/Des/VIB
Tab targeting fails to target closest enemy.
Player is unable to convert between silver and gold even though they are keeping the same archetype.



A closer look (On Deck)
These are hot topic issues in the Player Community, QA and CS. This list does not represent all the issues we are taking a closer look at, but are issues at the top of our list.

Character Conversion
Targeting
Duel whitelists
Camera Zoom when zoning
Zone balancing
Archery: Strafe: While using the power, the model in the characters hand turns into a sword.
Zoning or changing instance causes the slow fall for teleport to fail.
Female Average Walk: Arm swing and lower body leg steps are out of sync.
Remote Access: After interacting with the robot, it does not begin moving, preventing completion of the mission.
Escort missions
Malevolent Manifestation: Hold resistance not applied to target every time the hold duration refreshes.
From Bad to Worse perk
BoP bags in loot tables.
PVP Acclaim and XP rewards
Event items are appearing randomly when events are not running
Tailor: Costume selection does not indicate which costume is being edited after a player completes editing.
Sea Slug becomes stuck after the first wave of critters.



Up Next!
In Development
These are features we are working on right now. They have made it through the design phase and are being implemented. Items in this section will move to "In Test" once complete.

Comic Series 2: Whiteout
Alerts: Repeatable instanced missions that offer a variety of encounter and reward types set in various locations
Vibora Mini Arc (level 22): A new mini arc that starts in Canada and takes you to a pre-Crisis Vibora Bay. A place that is just seeing the arrival of the darker elements found later on.
LVL 40 PVP Gear Review: An adjustment to the Hero Games acclaim. This review looks to reduce the prices, increase the usability and remove previous bind restrictions.
Unarmed review: A review that will see, when complete, 2 new AT's (one Tank and one MDPS), new animations and several new powers.
MOAR tights: In addition to our regular costume updates we will offer more tights with options for non normal maps and skin.


On the schedule
These are updates that are next on the list to implement. Some features have a longer development time than others but these are what the team will be looking to move on to soon.

Bloodmoon Updates: Several updates to the Bloodmoon Event including a fight with Takofanes
Neighborhood Events: Small open missions focused on Heroic encounters
New Zone Events: Large scale, multistage, zone events that offer new encounter opportunities and large group gameplay.
Infernal review: A review of the Infernal framework that will include new powers and additional AT's
Team Duels: Team leaders will be able to challenge a member of another team to a duel.
Auto Teaming, temp teams: Auto teams for open missions (if solo) and optional for groups. These are temp teams that overlay your existing team.
Earth Framework: Very earthy stuff! This is a Brick framework.
Wind Framework: Very windy! This is an Energy framework.



In Design Discussion!
These items in design discussion are for features that are being considered for an upcoming update. The next step for these topics is to have them added to the schedule. Some of these are smaller, quicker tasks while others are a lot larger and require more to design and implement.

Lair Boss reviews: Improvements to the Lair Bosses.
Events Calendar: A system that will allow you to see what there is to do in champs at any time and get right to the action.
Nemesis Updates: Any and everything we can do to get you more time with your Nemesis. This includes more frequent encounters and opportunities to fight your nemesis with your fellow heroes. Additionally we are looking to add more minion types and options.
Crafting improvements
Mini Arc level 32: This may fall in the area of Wells Pass and offer a break from Viper and Manamals
Xp Gifting: Gift some of your experience to your alts or friends.
C-Store Coupons: Items that give you a discount in the c-store.
New RenCen Powerhouse: Costume stage w/tailor, dueling area, revamped powers testing area.
KotH Perks
Comic Series 3



The Future
These are features that we are working towards. Items listed in this section need the most discussion and are subject to the largest change. This list does not represent all the things we want or are planning to do but they are some of the larger things we are planning and working towards.

New Zone (3-4 Neighborhoods)
Level cap to 45
Itemization
More Comic Series
More Events both small and large
Super group Bases
Guild Improvements (Leveling, Duels)
New Zone (Moon is being discussed)
Level Cap to 50
End Game (Currently looking at Star Guards)
And so much more!!

 

[SuicideBunny]

check what's happening with sto.

 

[Mangoose]

Play City of Heroes when it goes f2p soon. The Going Rogue storyline is pro, has branching factional paths, and lasts quite a while.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Maybe maybe, I'll see what they have to bring to the table. But I'll say that on the other hand the Vibora Bay Apocalypse Crisis is pretty pro too, albeit linear. As are the Demonflame and Resistance adventure packs.

check what's happening with sto.

You mean it going F2P, or something else? Since going F2P no longer means a game is doing bad, since LotRO and CO proved it can bring in tons of cash.

 

[SuicideBunny]

no, it going f2p, the main driving force behind the steady incline of the game quitting and perfect world revemping it to completely fucked up "unlock klingon play when you reach level 25" shit.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Righto, though things are looking generally good for CO.

EDIT: Obviously, as you can guess, I don't know much about STO.

 

[anus_pounder]

I know I'm late to the party, but -

I fucking love Vibora Bay. Just finished the end of the world stage and started the 2nd hub stage. I'm loving this shit.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Oh you're gonna love the finale of Resistance.


Anyway bros, this Halloween they're releasing a revamped Blood Moon which will include the chance to fight the arch-lich Takofanes whose only appeared in previous Blood Moon events. No idea if he's a hub Cosmic, or an instanced Legendary.

EDIT: Though a word of advice: Vibora Bay isn't a fast place to level at. The missions there are generally longer than anywhere else and there are several where you go into huge dungeons. If you want to speed to level 40, Lemuria is the place to go to, followed by Canada (though it doesn't go all the way to 40, but the Big Foot and Kigatilik's mountain mission lines can be done fast) and then Monster Island.

EDIT2: If you're having trouble finding Stingray in Lemuria, type in /target Stingray into the chat. If Stingray is anywhere on your screen or in the vicinity, you'll get a lock on and can follow that.

 

[RK47]

I spotted a warhammer online & star trek online bundle for $9,90 today. I was pondering whether I should check it out. WAR is dead, I know. I suffered 2 months through it...but Star Trek...hmmm?

But since I've already got my hands full with Battlefield 3, I decided to skip it. I played a trial in STO before and it didn't grab me at all.

 

[anus_pounder]

Just finished an adventure with a group-mate. I can't say I was pleased with the XP I got out of it, but the finale was good stuff and the alternate world story was pretty sweet. I'll stick to farming Aftershock and quests till lv.40 before I do any more adventures, though. In any case, I think adventures may be for items (and story) rather than XP. Then again, I've only played Aftershock and Resistance.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Actually with items there are generally two things you'll want when you're level 40:

Nemesis Gear primary items, and Elite Blue secondaries. Nemesis primaries are still relatively easy to get, compared to stuff like UNITY items or PvP items, and they're great stuff too (I prefer them to the new PvP items, since they have more stat points overall and more variety to choose from), to get them you just do your Nemesis missions (six hour IRL cooldown between them), which you can get easily by going to the place where James Harmon is making his speech and murderizing the chairs there until a power-up drops (when you pick up a power-up, Nemesis minions spawn). Then it's just a matter of doing Nemesis missions until you've gotten 3,000 tokens total (you get around 400 from the last mission, and 200 from real missions).

Elite Blues are stuff that drops on Elite difficulty that's on Blue quality. On Elite, item drops are more powers (~1.5X more stats), and give the highest reasonably obtainable stat profile for secondary items (Nemesis and UNITY stuff actually have worse stat profiles). Generally farmed on Serpent Lantern adventure. But no need to do that yourself, you can get them very cheaply on Auction House (5G-20G most of the time).

 

[anus_pounder]

I'll have to check out the Auction House, it seems. I'm still using gear several levels (I think one is around 10 levels less) below my own. The defense stat of new items are better, but the stat boosts are horrendous.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Well, you should only get the Elite Blue stuff at level 40. Getting them before that (or lower level items) would just be a waste of resources.

 

[anus_pounder]

Going to hit Lv.40 in a few days. Still plenty of stuff to do, I'm particularly looking forward to Nemcon. But I must admit that I'm starting to feel a bit fatigued with my archetype. I'm very interested in trying out something ranged, either the soldier or the grimoire.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Grimoire isn't exactly a fully ranged archetype, as they have a few offensive powers and use buffs, heals and debuffs instead (same with The Mind). Soldier, Marksman and Glacier are the ranged combat ones.

 

[anus_pounder]

Grimoire looks pretty kewl and fun though. Glacier...ehhh, not a fan of water or ice elements. Is the soldier any good ? I've heard people moan on zone chat about how its one of the weakest archetypes at high levels.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Well, it is. It's got very little in the way of being able to defend itself, it's passive is shitty (IMO at least) and it completely lacks the ability to really damage spike.

 

[Mystary!]

Some of my heroes. Space Thing, Iron Mole and the Tortoise. But cant play em without paying now, such a shame.
Post yours?

 

[anus_pounder]

<-hero nemesis->

The Reichsmarschall and Major Zory Kuznetsov (yes, I google'd 'russian names' and choose whatever)

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Finally an excuse to post some chosen picks from my vast array of screenshots.

My main, Overman (actually he's a Supreme homage character) beating his main Nemesis, Darius Dax (I also have Dax as a character, no pics of his current design though).

My secondary, Kapteeni Karjala, a Finnish-mythology themed fellow.

My ranged DPS, Nightsider, in action.

My funky black man, Manhattan Transfer.

My dedicated healer, Professor Congo.

My latest lv 40, Magneteer, making a cool walk post-adventure with two others from our group, the snake in red tights being Faggot's main, Snake British.

And my current leveling project, the time-traveling spirit cowboy Thunder Jackson.