FC.31.20130824.7 PTS Update

[Brou]

Source

This build is scheduled to hit PTS at 6:00pm PST, 9/17/2013

Greetings!

This is part one of our bug-fix drive. It contains the following changes:

Release Notes:

Powers/Items:

• Telekinesis can no longer pick up and throw objects at other objects. This prevents a strange case where non-throwable mission objects could be thrown at themselves and destroyed without giving credit.
• Dark Aura is no longer disabled when you are held or knocked down.
• Imperator Gladiator and Samurai Robot become devices are no longer bound. If you have one of these devices, it will be unbound when you log in.
• We have un-bound all of your existing Legacy devices so that you can trade away spares. Any that were equipped have been moved to your inventory/overflow. They have also been removed from your builds. The items are still bind on equip.

Missions:

• Vibora Bay: the hedge maze now suppresses travel powers while you are inside it. Additionally, you can no longer enter or leave the maze by going over the walls.
• Gravitar: the portal to the fight now does not appear until 10 players are on the map or 60 seconds have passed. This makes gravitar's map behave like other queues and Alerts.
• Grab Alerts: Kevin Poe is not Mindslayer. He now has the correct voiceover.
• Westside mission "Fight Club": the Underground Boxing Ring no longer has a hole in the wall allowing you to fly outside the map.
• Westside Intrigue Culmination: fixed holes in the boss room geometry.
• Whiteout: The front doors inside Ice Station Alpaca were misaligned with the walls. Now they are not.

FX:

• Travel powers that use Roll Mode (e.g. hyper ball, snowball roll) will no longer make your weapons invisible.
• Exocets and VTOL rotors now cloak properly when Holographic Field is used.

Costumes:

• The following costume pieces have had inappropriate categories removed:    Nighthawk Chest, Nighthawk Head, Dragon Armor Chest, Gravitar Legs
• Bird People Skirt is now on the Hips Layer
• Warlord Bracer Right (male) now has categories matching the left version.
• Wolf Bubble 02 is available again.
• The following costume pieces now have additional material options: Steampunk Electro Gauntlet; Mechanical Tail (Female); Armor Patch Plate Boots, Bracers & Leg Accessories (Male and Female); Cybernetic: Top Accessory, Chest (both variants), Shoulders (both variants), Jaw (both variants), Arm Accessories (both variants), Hands (Both Variants), Leg Attachment, Boots, Hips.
• The following costume materials now require a pattern by default: Dual Claw (Leather, Metal), Spartan Lions (Leather, Metal), Armor Chiton (Metal), Cybernetic plugs (Metal), Armor pointed (Metal), Nephilim Large (Metal), Spartan Lion helmet (Metal), Zombie partial mask (Leather), Long Glove Zombie (Leather), Mandibles gigantic (Leather), Pulp Aviator pants (Metal Leather), Nephilim Large (Leather), Ninja Headband (Leather, Metal), Steampunk Mustache (Pointy), (Leather, Metal), Steampunk Mustache (Bushy), (Leather, Metal), Armor Nephilim male (Metal), Heavy Mecha Shoulders (Leather), Alien Organic 2 (Leather, Metal), Armor Cybernetic (Cloth), Skirt Webbed (Metal), Small Demon Wings (Metal), Alien Organic Tall (Leather), Chiton Crests (Metal), Armor Blaster (Cloth, Metal), Cape Webbed (Metal), Armor Nephilim Blade left (Cloth), Armor Nephilim Blade right (Leather, Metal), Elbow Disk right (Metal), Steampunk Goggles (Leather, Metal), Steampunk Goggles 2 (Leather, Metal, Cloth), Small Wings (Leather), Square Plate (Leather, Metal), Armor Patched Plate (Cloth), Steampunk Electro Gauntlet (Leather), Prong 01 (Leather), Long Boot Fur Lined (Leather), Armor Blaster (Leather, Metal Spartan Sandal left (Metal, Leather)

Please format any bugs you find in the following format:
Bug
Where it happens
What happens

[Xev]

[PSI-on]

I'd rather they unbind the 8 or 9 Bleak AF's I got during that event so I can share them and stop plugging up my bank

...Thanks?

[Xev]

I thought maybe the device nerf happened already.

[Brou]

It's being held on PTS to be sure that the patch gets all the testing it needs before a push to live.

[PSI-on]

Wow, that's a first for Cryptic. This must be a very big, important deal to them. I couldn't get anyone in MC to explain to me what this "nerf" will be, anyone know?

It's being held on PTS to be sure that the patch gets all the testing it needs before a push to live.

[Brou]

They are changing the devices to still do what they say on their tooltips, but not be stackable or possible to get 5 of the same one on your device tray at once. They are also unbinding them just in case you want to sell your extras.

These devices were once clickable primary upgrades with a balancing factor in place that you would only have one at a time anyway. On Alert making them actual devices caused combinations that completely obliterated the meta game, like immunity to all harm with Eruption x5 and such.

[PSI-on]

I guess this only applys to some devices? I mean I have many Golem summon things and can slot more than one, but using one and then using the other just despawns the first.

They are changing the devices to still do what they say on their tooltips, but not be stackable or possible to get 5 of the same one on your device tray at once. They are also unbinding them just in case you want to sell your extras.

These devices were once clickable primary upgrades with a balancing factor in place that you would only have one at a time anyway. On Alert making them actual devices caused combinations that completely obliterated the meta game, like immunity to all harm with Eruption x5 and such.

[Brou]

I guess this only applys to some devices? I mean I have many Golem summon things and can slot more than one, but using one and then using the other just despawns the first.

This applies to Legacy devices obtained from the Drifter Store.

[PSI-on]

Ty very much.

This applies to Legacy devices obtained from the Drifter Store.

[Xev]

Regardless of what side of the fence you are on - the timing was awful on this major nerf. At the time the news broke in Zone it just killed any anniversary party atmosphere, to say the least.

[PSI-on]

I'm afraid I'm too new to really know how to feel about it. I've seen people upset in Zone MC, but not sure why. Do that many people run set ups with multiple copies of the dinosaur thing or something, or is it like you couldn't use that AND a shield devices, and ect even if they were different things?

Regardless of what side of the fence you are on - the timing was awful on this major nerf. At the time the news broke in Zone it just killed any anniversary party atmosphere, to say the least.

[Xev]

Point is, ya don't make the largest nerf to hit the game since I dunno when at the same time you are celebrating.

It doesn't affect everyone, but, the nerf Does affect more than a few players who have put in a *lot* of time and effort into the game to obtain their goal.

If you don't get what the nerf is doing then it doesn't affect you, don't sweat it  : )

I try not to even use vendor bought Heal devices when playing but I likes my non-duplicate toys and I understand the mood & situation and at the very least would have said "lets wait until after the party to do this", if I had a say.

[LaughingAlex]

I'd also see alot of people spam 5 teleosaurus pharamones and obliberate legendary enemies in alerts at lightning speeds.  I kept saying the device needed to be nerfed, I'm glad it is.  No more cheating, essentially, by using legacy devices in this way.

[JRVthatsME]

I have to say it's nice to see things starting to get done with Champions Online. It has been some time coming. Who know, maybe when the bugs are all sorted we might start seeing the introduction of content for long term gameplay like supergroup bases.

[LaughingAlex]

I am hoping for a foundary though trail turtle certainly didn't say anything positive on that.  The game seriously needs long term content thats actually solid, badly.

What i'd like to see though is better support mechanics that support teamplay better then just heal spam that we see today.  God damnit I miss damage mitigation that city of heroes had and I miss being able to have a successful team without a dedicated healer(and I hate even more how people, often those playing the dedicated healer role, demand changes to roll everything back just so they can be useful in a team at everyone's expense, because yeah they would be obsolete, they can sink or swim all I care if they are demanding everything be so shallow and demanding the AI be dumber then stumps just so they can sit around doing nothing but spamming heals on one tank without actually using their heads and coming up with any strategy).

Note: Before anyone here of all places says the holy trinity is a strategy, I will argue that doing the same exact thing in every single encounter is no longer a strategy, it's just a routine and not even a game anymore.  Holy trinities a stagnant and boring, and the holy trinity has to go for MMO's to move forward.  City of heroes had a variety of teams, CO really needs improvement to see the truer variety that CoH had and I'd like to see that happen.

[JaguarX]

yeah, the yare making some improvements. Although I never been on a team that demanded a healer. Just did that Thekial lair thing Sunday and only thing said about a healer was, "Do we have a healer?" No. And we went on and smashed that lair with no issues. Besides me fumbling trying to figure out how to get past the bubble things and how they work and working the mirrors to destroy the statues. We had an AT behemoth tank and he did good job.

There is variety, people just have to use it. COX was no different. Many teams demanded a tank, a controller, healer and blaster and a few fillers or else they felt no point in trying to complete the TF. Seen many teams forming fall apart because of people said they need a healer.

The difference is that CO really don't nudge hard enough to get a person to do variety. If one want to spam one attack all day, they can, with nothing standing in their way. But at the same time, there is nothing standing in their way of using variety of powers. It's up to the player. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which side, people tend to go what is familiar and what many veterans insist is the right way and thus assumed is the only way. The holy trinity.

I don't think there is anything getting in the way of forming say an all AT tank team. Or all melee weapon only teams(Even without healer we steamrolled everything.) Me personally I think I been on one alert team that had a healer. That was the only time I ever seen a healer on a team that I was on.


Want successful team without worrying about a dedicated healer? Have you tried CORP channel? The names says RP but it's open to anybody and usually most team formers there seem to know what they are doing and go and succeed with who ever volunteers. healer or not.

[LaughingAlex]

yeah, the yare making some improvements. Although I never been on a team that demanded a healer. Just did that Thekial lair thing Sunday and only thing said about a healer was, "Do we have a healer?" No. And we went on and smashed that lair with no issues. Besides me fumbling trying to figure out how to get past the bubble things and how they work and working the mirrors to destroy the statues. We had an AT behemoth tank and he did good job.

There is variety, people just have to use it. COX was no different. Many teams demanded a tank, a controller, healer and blaster and a few fillers or else they felt no point in trying to complete the TF. Seen many teams forming fall apart because of people said they need a healer.

The difference is that CO really don't nudge hard enough to get a person to do variety. If one want to spam one attack all day, they can, with nothing standing in their way. But at the same time, there is nothing standing in their way of using variety of powers. It's up to the player. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which side, people tend to go what is familiar and what many veterans insist is the right way and thus assumed is the only way. The holy trinity.

I don't think there is anything getting in the way of forming say an all AT tank team. Or all melee weapon only teams(Even without healer we steamrolled everything.) Me personally I think I been on one alert team that had a healer. That was the only time I ever seen a healer on a team that I was on.


Want successful team without worrying about a dedicated healer? Have you tried CORP channel? The names says RP but it's open to anybody and usually most team formers there seem to know what they are doing and go and succeed with who ever volunteers. healer or not.

I left corp remember?  Go figure though, I'm already proving there is variety indirectly now with a new personal force field tank, which is funny since many quickly ask "shouldn't you use something with damage mitigation?".  My reply is my mitigation is in my active defenses, which I have recharging as fast as possible .  My SG is active enough that i'm able to get things moving, and people are noticing my tanky abilities, one even commented "all of your characters are real power houses.".