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Patch Notes: Issue 27, Page 6 What's New in Issue 27, Page 6? Marquee Features New Mission Content: John Houston & Dr. Stribbling - Two brand new story arcs! New Power Set! Storm Blast! Powers & Gameplay Adjustments Redraw Revamp - All Weapon Power Sets Various Adjustments, Improvements & Fixes Aether Rewards - Wave 3 Base Item & Costume Part additions! ...and much more! Marquee Features New Mission Content: John Houston New Story Arc: <Noble Intentions> [John Houston] - Rogue, Levels 40-44 John Houston, WSPDR's new star reporter, is following a lead that has taken him all the way to Independence Port where he was supposed to meet up with a source to get hold of some juicy information. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, his source was kidnapped and now he is in desperate need of some morally dubious help. Players will get a chance to influence the politics of Paragon City for years to come while checking in on old friends, and making powerful enemies. It's all in a day's work for the free-wheeling entrepreneurial type. Story Arc Contact: John Houston, Independence Port Located near the Smuggler's Ship icon on the map in Independence Port. /thumbtack -872.5 0.3 -3852.8 will place a map waypoint near John Houston while in Independence Port. The leader of the team must be of the Rogue alignment to take on these missions. New Mission Content: Dr. Stribbling New Story Arc: <Troubled Times> [Dr. Stribbling] - Vigilante, Levels 30-34 Those who toe the line of legality in Paragon City will have the chance to answer the call of Dr. Stribbling, a multidisciplinary scientist better known for his theory than his results. He's run into a bit of a problem: Someone broke into his lab and he does not want information on his experiments to leak to the public. Players who are willing to get their hands a little dirty will find themselves drawn into a web of moral quandaries that will have them wondering, "Did I make the right call?" Story Arc Contact: Dr. Stribbling, Brickstown Located NW of the basketball courts in the Crescent neighborhood of Brickstown. /thumbtack -1143.7 16.0 -1623.5 will place a map waypoint near Dr. Stribbling while in Brickstown. The leader of the team must be of the Vigilante alignment to take on these missions. New Power Set - Storm Blast New primary for Blasters, Corruptors, and Sentinels. New secondary for Defenders. Storm Blast conjures violent weather to attack your foes. The use of your storm attacks will empower your created storm cells. Powers: Gust Ranged, DMG(Smash), Foe -Fly You create a chaotic change in atmospheric pressure, causing a sudden gust of wind to deliver a small amount of Smashing damage and knock foes out of the sky. While in a Storm Cell, targets experience additional Smashing damage over time. Hailstones Ranged, DMG(Cold), Chance for KD You cause the air around the foe to rapidly condense, causing hailstones to crash down, dealing Cold damage. There is a chance that an especially large chunk of hail will form, knocking the target down. While in a Storm Cell, targets are much more likely to get knocked down by large chunks of hail. Jet Stream Ranged Cone, DMG(Smashing), Foe Repel or Knockdown You call forth a cone of rapidly moving air that repels enemies, causing Smashing damage. Enemies who are within a Storm Cell will not be repelled, but instead will be knocked down. Storm Cell Ranged Location AoE, Foe -Recharge, -SPD, Special You conjure a storm in the area that defines the boundaries of your stormy powers. Rain from this power will slightly lower a foe's movement and chance to hit. The use of your Storm Blast attacks may create high winds and lightning within the storm cell, delivering stronger debuffs and causing damage. Additionally, Storm Blast attacks will be enhanced when used against foes victimized by Storm Cell. Intensify Self +To Hit, +DMG, +Special Greatly increases the chance to hit of your attacks for a few seconds. Slightly increases damage and your storm strength. Direct Strike (non-Sentinel) Sniper, DMG(Energy), Foe -End, Special You channel your storm powers into a direct hit, jolting the enemy with a bolt of lightning that deals Energy damage and saps some endurance. If fired outside of combat, it can be interrupted by enemies, but will do bonus damage. If you are engaged in battle, this attack becomes instant-cast. While in a Storm Cell, targets have a chance to be stunned. Lightning Strike (Sentinel only), Ranged, DMG(Energy), Foe -End, Special You channel your storm powers into a lightning strike, jolting the enemy with Energy damage and sapping some endurance. While in a Storm Cell, the target has a chance to be stunned. Chain Lightning Ranged Chain, DMG(Energy), Foe -End Calls a bolt of lightning from the clouds to strike your target, which then chains outward to additional enemies. Creatures unfortunate enough to be struck will be dealt Energy damage and be sapped of some endurance. While in a Storm Cell, the main target of Chain Lightning will experience additional endurance drain over time. Cloudburst Ranged, DoT(Cold), Special Unleashes a cloud that drops a torrent of freezing rain on your target, causing Cold damage. While in a Storm Cell, targets experience Recharge, ToHit, and Movement Speed debuffs. Category Five Ranged (Location AoE), DoT(Energy) Foe Knock Summons a severe storm that begins light, but that grows in power until it becomes a raging engine of destruction. Left on its own, the Category Five storm is capable of delivering moderate damage over time, and as it grows in power, will eventually begin to fling foes through the air. In addition, each use of your Storm Blast powers builds its electrical power, rendering it capable of delivering lightning attacks that deal Energy damage. "Pow! Wind, rain, AND lightning!" Redraw Revamp Summary Weapon powers now play a draw animation the first time you use a weapon after your character is has been in an idle / non-combat animation. With typical mission pacing, this should mean each weapon will only play its draw animation the first time you use it in combat on a mission map, unless you idle somewhere on the map for long enough for your character to return to the idle state. Power Sets Impacted: Beam Rifle Dual Pistols Dual Blades Battle Axe War Mace Broadsword Staff Fighting Arachnos Soldiers Arachnos Widows Archery / Trick Arrow / Tactical Arrow Claws Spines Thorny Assault Plant Manipulation Experimentation > Experimental Injection Assault Rifle Mastermind Pets The /sheathe command has been added - it immediately puts away all weapons. This command forces the draw animation to be played the next time they're used and can be used to intentionally draw weapons for RP or other purposes. Powers & Gameplay Adjustments Blast Power Set Updates Assault Rifle Slug Cast time lowered from 1.67s to 1.4s. Beanbag Lowered cooldown to 10s. Increased damage to scale 0.98. Added PvP Damage (1.43 scale). Sniper Rifle (Quick) Cast time lowered from 1.67s to 1.17s. Ignite Incinerator replaced with Ignite for Sentinels Lowered cooldown to 14s. Now does DoT over 5.5 seconds to a single target, for a total of 3.146 scale damage. Partially front-loaded. If target is on the ground, Ignite leaves a fire patch at the target's feet. Other foes standing on the patch take fire damage and will try to flee. Can target flying enemies. Flamethrower DoT now is applied over 4.7s, down from 7.1s (same damage). Full Auto Arc increased from 20 to 90 degrees. Dark Blast Gloom Cast time reduced from 1.67s to 1.1s. (Blasters only). Abyssal Gaze Cooldown lowered from 20s to 11s. Damage increased from scale 0.472 to scale 0.707. Hold Duration reduced from scale 8 to scale 4.4. Dual Pistols Suppressive Fire Cast time reduced from 1.67s to 1.5s. Recharge reduced from 20s to 8s for non-standard ammo. Incendiary: Scale 2 duration Mag 3 hold (stacks). Damage increased to 1.64 scale. Cryo: Scale 4 duration Mag 4 hold (replace). Damage increased to 1.64 scale. Chemical: Scale 8 duration Mag 3 hold (stacks). Damage increased to 0.87 scale. Standard: No change from Live. Still 20s cooldown. Piercing Rounds Resistance debuff now is applied while using any round type, stacking changed to replace. Duration of debuff increased to 15s. A ring icon now pops up to indicate the last use of Piercing Rounds was over 13s ago. This QoL change helps optimize reapplications of the debuff on a single target. Fire Blast (Blaster and Sentinels only) Fire Blast Cast time lowered from 1.67s to 1.2s to match Defender/Corruptor version. Psychic Blast Will Domination (Blaster Only) Renamed to Dominate Will. Recharge lowered from 20s to 4s. Cast time lowered from 1.1 seconds to 1 second. Damage lowered from 1.24 scale to 1.0 scale. Sleep duration reduced to scale 8. Moved to T1. Will Domination (Defender/Corruptor) Recharge lowered from 14s to 10s (Damage unchanged). Moved from T6 to T5. Psionic Lance (Defender/Corruptor) Moved from T3 to T6. Psionic Dart (Blaster Only) Renamed to Psionic Darts. This power is now a 10 target cone (60', 30 degrees). Recharge increased to 12s. Damage lowered from 1.0 scale to 0.8321 scale. Moved to T4 Telekinetic Blast (Defender/Corruptor) Moved from T5 to T3. Mental Blast (Defender/Corruptor) Recharged increased from 4s to 6s. Damage increased from scale 1.0 to scale 1.32. Subdue (Defender/Corruptor) Cast time reduced from 1.67s to 1s. Recharged lowered from 6s to 4s. Damage reduced from scale 1.32 to scale 1.0. Psychic Scream (Defender/Corruptor/Sentinel) Cast time lowered from 2.67s to 1.87s. Psionic Tornado (Blaster/Defender/Corruptor) Cast time lowered from 2.37s to 1.83s. (Applies to Sentinels as well) Radius reduced from 20 feet to 15 feet. Damage increased from scale 0.89 to scale 1.1. Scramble Thoughts (Blaster/Defender/Corruptor) Renamed to Scramble Minds. Now a chain. Cast time lowered from 3s to 2s. Main target will be stunned, additional targets might get hit with a randomized status effect of either Sleep, Immobilize, Placate, Terrorize, or Hold. Damage increased from 0.25 scale to 1.0 scale. Seismic Blast Timing adjustments in Seismic Stress buildup, players should be able to more quickly notice orange rings and decide what power to use next based on this visual information. Water Blast Powers should build up Tidal Force stacks even if they miss. Enhanced Water Jet This power no longer has a lockout window. Tidal Forces Tidal Forces should clear all existing stacks of Tidal Power before applying 3 stacks. Accolades Vanguard MDC The Vanguard MDC can no longer be summoned inside of missions or in Pocket D. This is now mentioned in the accolade's power description. PvP Changes Various AoE powers now use Single-Target damage on the main target only. Fighting/Cross Punch Archery/Explosive Arrow Assault Rifle/M30 Grenade Beam Rifle/Piercing Beam (now uses ST damage on all foes) Dark Blast/Tenebrous Tentacles (also, AoE damage was undertuned. Now uses proper AoE damage scale for secondary targets) Dual Pistols/Bullet Rain Energy Blast/Explosive Blast (also, AoE damage was undertuned. Now uses proper AoE damage scale for secondary targets) Fire Blast/Fire Breath Ice Blast/Frost Breath Psychic Blast/Scramble Minds Radiation Blast/Electron Haze (also, AoE damage was undertuned. Now uses proper AoE damage scale for secondary targets) Seismic Blast/Upthrust Sonic Attack/Howl Storm Blast/Chain Lightning Water Blast/Steam Spray (also, AoE damage was overtuned. Now uses proper AoE damage scale for secondary targets) Power Bug Fixes Mace Mastery/Summon Tarantula (Controller/Dominator): Added ability to slot Slow Sets. Soul Mastery/Summon Widow (Brute/Tanker): Can no longer slot ToHit Debuff Sets. Symphony Control/Impassioned Serenade: Removed Line-of-Sight (LoS) check on the executed confuse power. The power already checked LoS on cast, the double check caused loss of the effect if player or target moved outside of LoS during the delay in execution. Brute/Radiation Melee/Taunt: Now hits 5 targets (was set to 10 before). Scrapper/Fiery Melee/Confront: Scale duration on Taunt effect corrected. Sentinels/Inherent/Vulnerability: Updated description to state the effects of Vulnerability to not stack with other Sentinels. Hero Epic AT/Inherent/Dark Sustenance and Cosmic Balance: Updated description to include Sentinel's contribution. Stone Armor/Brimstone Armor/Brimstone Proc: Fixed bug where the damage proc would not turn off when in Granite Armor. Experimentation/Corrosive Vial: Fixed defense debuff effect applied from pseudopet. Duration now set to 5s. Pools > Speed > Speed Phase: Speed Phase's continuing sound fx radius has been reduced from 80ft to 5ft and will fade away 5s later. Traps > Acid Mortar: Mortar base will now follow the mortar in the event the mortar moves (e.g. exiting a mission door while it is still active, teleport and GM commands to move entities) Radiation Armor > Radiation Therapy: Fixed "Bright" palette erroneously using "Dark" palette Atomic Manipulation > Positron Cell: Fixed "Dark" palette erroneously using "Bright" palette Radiation Melee > Atom Smasher: Fixed "Dark" palette erroneously using "Bright" palette Radiation Melee > Irradiated Ground Pet: Fixed "Dark" palette erroneously using "Bright" palette Radiation Melee > Radiation Siphon: Fixed "Bright" palette erroneously using "Dark" palette Character Customization Improvements Costumes New Costume Parts All: All Categories > Metallic 3 (cleaner version of Metallic 2) Half & Full Helmet Detail(s) > Bot Shield 2 (Glow version) Half & Full Helmet Detail(s) > Bunker Shield 2 (Glow version) Half & Full Helmet Detail(s) > Tek Shield 2 (Glow version) Detail(s) > Blast Goggles 2 (Glow version) Detail 1 > 3-D Glasses (Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Sporty 1 (Transparent: Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Sporty 1S (Solid: Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Sporty 2 (Transparent: Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Sporty 2S (Solid: Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Shield 1 (Transparent: Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Shield 1S (Solid: Standard, Low, High) Auras > Mycelium > Mushrooms Auras > Mycelium > Mushrooms Tintable Auras > Mycelium > Original Min Fx Auras > Mycelium > Tintable Min Fx Auras > Mycelium > Mushrooms - Combat Auras > Mycelium > Mushrooms Tintable - Combat Auras > Mycelium > Original Min Fx - Combat Auras > Mycelium > Tintable Min Fx - Combat Patterns > Chest, Gloves, Hips, Boots > Diamond Cut (by @Marbing) VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Gloves > Custom Alt" VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Gloves > Custom Long Alt" VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Gloves > Custom Short Alt" VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Pants > Custom Alt" VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Boots > Custom Alt" Male, Huge: VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Pants > Custom Armored Alt" (Females will receive these at a later date) Female, Huge: All Categories > Metallic 2 (Female & Huge were missing them) Female, Male: VEAT: "Bane/Crab > Chest > Custom Alt" (Huge does not have the tricep spikes that utilize the swapped secondary color.) Female: Detail 1 > Sweetheart 1 (Transparent: Standard, Low, High) Detail 1 > Sweetheart 1S (Solid: Standard, Low, High) Costume Bug Fixes: All: Fixed "Asymmetric Shoulder Pads > Ascension Armor" 2 missing FX options. Fixed "Full Helmets > Detail 2 > Tech Knight Faceplate" receiving incorrect ambient lighting. Fixed "Lower Body > Boots > Piston" option not loading from saved .costume files. Fixed "Lower Body > Boots > Rocket" option not loading from saved .costume files. Fixed "Lower Body > Boots > Winged" option not loading from saved .costume files. Fixed "Auras > Wealthy > Effect > Trail" aura not loading from saved .costume files. Fixed "Auras > Wealthy > Effect > Trail" aura duplicate of "Body". It should now load properly and only leave behind a trail when moving. Male: Fixed "Male > Sleeveless Jackets > Chest > Tanker" missing costume option. Fixed "Male > Lower Body > Boots > Victorian Steampunk" missing tint option. Female: Fixed "Female > Boots > Stilettos >" resetting to "Roman Sandal" upon entering "Lower Body" after loading a costume with Bio-Organic, Stone or Chiton patterns and masks. Fixed "Female > Lower Body > Bottom > Omega" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Female > Upper Body > Shirts > Student Shirt" bad tangent vectors across the front. Fixed "Female > Upper Body > Robotic Arm" compatibility with chest details when chest slider is set to max. Fixed "Female > Upper Body > Chest Details > Talons" missing costume part names and categories (now known as Etched and Clean). Fixed "Female > Upper Body > Sleeves > Retro" hole with no skin. Alpha sorting re-enabled on "Female > Gunslinger Bow". *Report any obvious flickering and background windowing when out in the world, particularly when NPCs are obscured by the veil or bow's transparent layers. QC Fix: Updated compression quality on base female skin. Fixed "Female > Upper Body > Gloves > Tights Sleek" missing from some asymmetric categories. Fixed "Female > Upper Body > Gloves > Defense" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Female > Lower Body > Bottoms > Defense" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Female > Lower Body > Boots > Defense" being reset after loading a costume file. Huge: Fixed "Huge > Shoulders > Overguard" appearing twice with bulky tops. Fixed "Huge > Upper Body > Chest > Omega" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Huge > Lower Body > Bottom > Omega" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Huge > Lower Body > Boots > Victorian Steampunk" missing tint option. Fixed "Huge > Upper Body > Gloves > Tights Sleek" missing from some asymmetric categories. Fixed "Huge > Upper Body > Gloves > Defense" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Huge > Lower Body > Bottoms > Defense" being reset after loading a costume file. Fixed "Huge > Lower Body > Boots > Defense" being reset after loading a costume file. These changes were supposed to be released previously but mistakenly were not at the time on 2020-12-03: Fixed Huge : "Kitten" & "Panda" left/right alignment in Legacy & Asymmetry mode. Fixed Huge : "Celestial Armor" left shoulder pad in Legacy & Asymmetry mode. Fixed Huge : "Cyborg Shield" left shoulder pad in Asymmetry mode. Custom Weapons: New Custom Weapons Arachnos Mace: 'Scepter of Stheno' option added to custom weapon selection. Mace's eye glow FX are tintable. Broadsword: 'Fang of Stheno' option added to custom weapon selection. Dual Blades: 'Fang of Stheno' option added to custom weapon selection. Staff Fighting: 'Staff of Stheno' option added to custom weapon selection. Staff's eye glow FX are tintable. War Mace: 'Scepter of Stheno' option added to custom weapon selection. Mace's eye glow FX are tintable. Custom Weapons Fixes Arachnos / Assault / Munitions Rifles: Fixed an issue that was causing the DUST, Resistance, and Runesoldier rifles to render upside down. Bows: Fixed an issue with legacy bow model's bowstrings that was causing them to not take transparency properly with certain attacks. Dual Blades: Fixed an issue that was causing the left-handed Vanguard Katana to render backwards on Female/Huge characters when sheathing was enabled. Katana / Ninja Blade: Fixed "Katana > Custom Weapon > Rularuu Blade" left eyeball not animating in combat stance. Various Additions, Enhancements, & Fixes Badges New Badges - 'Unforgettable': Log-in during the month of City of Heroes' 19th anniversary. - 'Pollster': Complete the Hero-alignment ending of the John Houston story arc, 'Noble Intentions'. - 'Underdog': Complete the Rogue-alignment ending of the John Houston story arc, 'Noble Intentions'. - 'Loop Hero': Reach and complete the conclusion of the Dr. Stribbling story arc, 'Troubled Times'. Aether Rewards - Wave 3 Tier 3 Reward Additions New cosmetic effects added to the Tier 3 Aether reward vendor offerings: Effect: Flames Effect: Chill Effect: Earthen Effect: Shocking Effect: Psionic Effect: Photosynthesis These new Wave 3 Tier 3 cosmetic effects cannot be used in PvP, older Tier 3 rewards are unchanged. Tier 4 Reward Expansion Undefined Mode and Undefined Mini Mode now have two additional customization options available: Undefined Silver Undefined Evil Aether Reward Fixes Fixed missing halo aura on Legacy Ruin Mage costume. Fixed a few broken pointers in the meta costume accolade menu. Supergroup Bases New Supergroup Base Themes Open Sky (Passthrough) New Supergroup Base Items Editor Helpers: Collision Wall 8x8 Collision Wall 32x32 Collision Wall 64x64 Collision Wall 16x16 Collision Wall 128x128 Collision Wall 512x512 Collision Wall 1024x1024 Axis Gizmo Axis Gizmo (Z Up) Surface Aligner Axis Aligner Surface Tower Surface Tile 32x32 Surface Tile 64x64 Surface Tile 128x128 Surface Tile 512x512 Surface Tower (Collision) Surface Tile 32x32 (Collision) Surface Tile 64x64 (Collision) Surface Tile 128x128 (Collision) Surface Tile 512x512 (Collision) Fit Gizmo Collision Gizmo Smooth Water Fill Smooth Water Fill (No Sound) Rough Water Fill Rough Water Fill (No Sound) Alphabet: Paragon City Alphabet (Tiny, Small, Medium versions of 68 standard US keyboard characters. No lowercase.) Motiva Sans Bold Alphabet (Tiny, Small, Medium versions of 94 standard US keyboard characters.) Bath & Kitchen: Coffee Mug (Arachnos) Coffee Mug (Paragon) Coffee Mug (Winter) Coffee Mug (Winter Filled) Coffee Mug (Tintable) Coffee Mug (SG Logo 1) Coffee Mug (SG Logo 2) Mug Shelf 1 Mug Shelf 2 Mug Shelf 3 Gigantic Sign Restroom Sign Universal Sign Casino: Cue Ball Lighting: White Bunker Light Slums & Wastes: Junk Burnt Mattress 2 Tech: Praetorian WarWorks (Tintable) Wall Details: Tech Console 1 Arcane Console 1 Skies: Sky: Dimensional Ripple Supergroup Base Item Notes: Collision walls: Construction of a perfect cube corner or seam will still allow a determined player's camera to slip through (as it can and does anywhere else in the game). While this follows teleport rules (teleport check will work as intended), glitches and updates to teleport that may break this behavior are always a possibility and you should never rely on these to protect your base items (that's what item permissions are for) or to prevent determined individuals from viewing behind the "curtain" of your base. They are merely to deter visitors from traveling to off limit areas, such as outside the plot of a vertical building or behind a bank vault desk. Supergroup Base Item Bug Fixes: Fixed incorrect texture on "Short Ceiling Walls" > Industrial" for Supergroup Base themes Fixed FX sticking on "Praetorian Reactor 3" "Rock 7 (Tintable)" is now actually tintable. Iron Gate Frame: Should now be more easily selectable. Roman Sailboat: Should no longer leave behind its FX after moving or deleting the object. Wet Floor Sign: Small and large should now be level with the floor. Renamed "5th Door Bulb" to "Red Bunker Light" QoL: The click volume of inspiration containers was lowered by -2 feet, making it clickable through the floor when turned upside down. "Glass Wall (Tintable)" has had its alpha sorting adjusted once again. *Report any major breakage in existing bases as its use is widespread. As a reminder, alpha sorting between objects is always a compromise. Corrected texture settings for 289 SG emblems. The windowing effect of the alpha should be fixed across those that had the issues, such as "Guns Crossed" or "Bar Code". Fixed a number of typos in item names and descriptions. Emotes New Emotes: Added /e watermelon emote. Added /e arachnosmug emote. Added /e paragonmug emote. Added /e wintermug emote. Emote Bug Fixes: /e drink: Females should no longer slide their legs across the ground when sipping. /e hamburger: Flying while eating hamburgers will now properly cycle instead of constantly chowing down. Tasks Task Adjustments & Fixes Doc Buzzsaw - "The Freakish Lab of Dr. Vahzilok": Arc split into two parts: Arc 1 - Up to Lab Arc 2 - Post-Lab to Prison Stasis Tubes behave properly, not trapping subjects within. Dr. Vahzilok's desk protected from bees and other mean things in the lab. Souvenirs split across arcs as well. Dr. Aeon - "Dr. Aeon's Strike Force": Adjustments to prevent some reported exploits. Adjusted the Cap Au Diable Aeon Portal's dimensional crystal to be pulsing blue. Mission 5: The Vanguard leadership now require Apex to be defeated in order to spawn. Added waypoints on the minimap for the third ripple in Mission 5 to help the Portal Corp section be more navigable. Mission 7: The Gold Bricker blockade lines for the first objective now scale with team size on default difficulty, instead of always spawning at maximum size. Adjusted the D-Rifter's dimensional crystal to be pulsing blue. Imperious - Advanced Difficulty: "Imperious Task Force": Mission 4: Fixed Chamber of the Emperor name pop-up and music not triggering properly when entering the finale room. Ms. Liberty - "Ms. Liberty's Task Force": Mission 1: Arbiter Sands now drinks his cutscene coffee from an Arachnos mug instead of a generic white cup. Leonard - "Good Villains Never Die": Rampager has been restored to his rampagey nature and once again cons hostile. He can't help himself! Mayhem Missions: Arson completes in Mayhem Missions now give everyone in the group badge credit upon completion. Spring Fling 2006 Event: Scratch/Ganymede: These two contacts will no longer introduce any other contacts, including DJ Zero, who is now unlocked automatically by earning the required Handsome/Beautiful badge from completing the final mission of both contacts. DJ Zero: If a player owns the Handsome/Beautiful badge for completing both Scratch & Ganymede's final missions, DJ Zero will now automatically be unlocked and added to the player's contact bar with a pop-up, no longer requiring an introduction from anybody else, and no longer potentially locking players out who qualified but didn't talk to Scratch or Ganymede before the Spring Fling event ended. LFG / Weekly Strike Target: The tool-tip info for the Weekly Strike Target in the LFG tab now mentions the Prismatic Aether currency reward for 50's who complete the Weekly Strike Target, as well as the amount being 1-2 depending on the length of the content you chose and completed for that week. Adjusted LFG tab's summary to proper mention that Dr. Quaterfield is now 40-45 instead of 40-44. NPC Enemies & Factions Enemy Adjustments Cimeroran Traitors: Added a couple spoken dialog lines to some attacks used by Romulus in the Advanced Difficulty Imperious Task Force: Nictus Romulus Augustus' Barrier Nova Summon Nictus Romulus Augustus' Shadow Slip Nictus Romulus Augustus' Void Judgement Emperor Romulus Augustus' Greater Lore Summon Freedom Phalanx: Manticore has been given a quiver and now holsters his bow on his back when not in-use. Gold Brickers: Added a couple spoken dialog lines to some attacks used by Gold Brickers: Golden Brickernaut's Self Destruction Princess Zoe's Burning Shatter Princess Zoe's Absolute-Zero Cannon The Family: Fixed an incorrect weapon bit that was causing certain Tommy Gun attacks to not display the weapon model. Freaklok: Adjusted the boss-class Eidolons to not have an eternal menu of powers to choose from: Females have Luminous powers, not Mire and Murk Males have Murk powers, not Mire or Luminous. Praetorians: Chimera has been given a quiver and now holsters his bow on this back when not in-use. Chimera now uses a Ninja Blade which is more appropriate thematically, which sheathes to his back when not in-use. Tsoo: Added four new generic Tsoo bosses to the level 35-54 range. Fixed weapon bit issue that was causing Ninja Blades to not display on a number of Tsoo enemies. Vanguard: Added a couple spoken dialog lines to some attacks used by Vanguard heroes: Incandescent's Lambent Flame Hero 1's Cry of Despair Hero 1's Rune of Protection Enemy Fixes Certain enemy AnimList behaviors that utilized custom rifles have been fixed those set custom rifles should now display during the animations when set with those specific AnimList behaviors. Arachnos: Fixed a definition typo that was preventing certain non-combat models from appearing in specific Arachnos spawndefs. Cimeroran Traitors: Fixed a bug that was causing the Emperor Romulus Augustus' Crushing Gravity -Fly to apply to himself rather than his opponents in the finale room on Advanced Difficulty. The Destroyers: Fixed an issue that was causing Crusher enemies' Overhead Slam attacks to not render their bat weapon. Fir Bolg: The infinitely summoned enemies created by Eochai (both Croatoa and Halloween versions) no longer drop rewards, matching the standard for all infinitely summoned enemies. Gold Brickers: Removed unintentionally duplicated hold proc on the Bombardier's Ripple Resonator power. Fixed an attribute error that was causing King Midas's damage siphoning Ripple Kinetic Melee attacks to not trigger and calculate properly. Players should now notice him properly stealing 7.5% +DMG buff on himself per hit he lands and inflicting a 7.5% -DMG debuff on the hit players for 10 seconds. Longbow: Longbow enemies who were using the base Assault Rifle model should no longer see their weapon go missing during combat. Praetorians: Shadow Hunter has been talked out of committing seppuku due to his dishonor at failing Tyrant and he now handles his weapon properly again, sheathing it to his back when not in-use instead of inside of his ribcage. Fixed an issue that would cause Chimera's sword to not render if he drew his bow too recently. Fixed a texture error on the legacy Chimera enemies' back katanas. Praetorian Resistance: Fixed an issue that was causing the Heavy Barrel enemies to not animate their cannon attacks properly. Tuatha de Dannan: Fixed a typo with the enemy group's name incorrectly displaying as 'Tuatha de Dannon' in various instances. Vanguard: Fixed a scaling issue with Hero 1's class that was causing his Rune of Protection to grant more resistance than was intended. Zones Zone Adjustments Croatoa: All enemy mobs who spawn with the GMs Eochai and Jack In Irons (normal spawns and Vale War), are now set to ignore combat mods, making them level-less and easier to identify which mobs must be defeated to progress or clear these events. Eochai and Jack In Iron's solo spawn events now have a Zone Event message that will broadcast when they spawn by themselves. Striga Island: Vigilantes & Rogues are now able to access the Striga Isle hazard zone via the Smuggler's Submarine network. Zone Fixes Cimerora: Fixed a missing geometry tile on the beach near Castellum Quarter. Echo Plaza, SE2012 Arena Coliseum: Lots of geometry and texture fixes to the Summer Event 2012 coliseum and Echo Plaza coliseum models. Imperial City: Properly found and removed the correct invisible power suppression mooks from the Imperial City Trade House. All alignments should now be able to activate powers while inside the building. St. Martial: Added custom geometry and restored the ghost of "Dead Man's Tree" in St. Martial. (Visuals may change in the future, also still based on /visscale 1.0 for the time being) Mission Maps: Spawnpoint issue fixed with map P_Tech_45_Layout_07_01 which was causing a Praetorian mission from Warrant's "Guns and Money" story arc to not be able to spawn all objectives and become soft-locked. World Geometry: Corrected positions of all ceiling mounted exit signs. QC Fix on vet_techconsole_01 QC Fix on arcconsole_01 QC Fix on _P_CBlock_IMP_L_07_LOD (Missing Neutropolis and Imperial City LOD) QC Fix on _OT_shotgun_roof_01_LOD01 (Missing Neutropolis LOD) QC Fix on GEO_Hair_Mimee_01 (zero tangent/normals) Miscellaneous Candy Cane Vendor: Fixed a display issue that was causing the Snow Beast costume in the Candy Cane vendor's shop to show the Fir Bolg costume text. Graphics: Added a hint for AMD & NVIDIA drivers to prefer the high-performance GPU on systems that have multiple GPUs. Architect Entertainment: Fixed an issue where cosmic background radiation flux could disrupt the appearance of Architect Contact Holograms. Sound System: Added /loudstacking slash command to optionally enable old eardrum-busting sound stacking.

Bug Fixes Lanaru the Mad: Vacation is over. Lanaru has returned. Power Bug Fixes Blaster > Atomic Manipulation > Beta Decay: This power no longer roots. Blaster > Tactical Arrow > Eagle Eye: This power no longer accepts Endurance Reduction enhancements as the power cost no endurance. Mastermind > Traps > Web Grenade: This power was accepting Slow SO enhancements. but not IO sets, that has been fixed. Sentinel > Fiery Aura > Molten Embrace: The proc from this power should no longer proc on pets. Enhancements > Invention Origin > Aegis: The mez resistance in this set should now always be active regardless where it is slotted. Brute > Melee: Fixed a sorting mistake in with the Spines powerset listing in the character creator. Brute > Fiery Aura > Burn: Fixed a bug while using Fiery Embrace that unintentionally created additional patches. Tanker > Battle Axe > Cleave: Fixed Fiery Embrace damage, was unintentionally set too high. Masterminds > Necromancy > Life Drain: This power should now accept Accurate To-Hit Debuff enhancements. Dominator > Illusion Control > Phantom Army: Fixed various powers tooltip errors. Temporary Powers > Build Snow Beast: It is no longer possible to summon infinite Snow Beasts by claiming one copy of the power at a time from Character Items to skip the recharge timer and spamming one summon after another. Stealth Toggles: All primary/secondary stealth toggles have had their PvE Stealth Radius increased by 0.5', and their PvP Stealth Radius increased by 1.0'. This is an effort to de-conflict with pool stealth toggles that was causing momentary stealth drops when same-radius stealth toggles were on at the same time. Prestige Costumes Fixed the texture mapping incorrectly on the female Dominatrix Servant costume's head. Costume: Undefined Mode & Costume: Undefined Mini Mode The aura effect on these powers can now be disabled in the Power Customization menu. Minor adjustment on the aura offsets so that it properly encapsulates the body on Male & Huge costumes. The leg geometry on Male & Huge costumes should no longer clip with kilts/skirts.

Patch Notes: Issue 27, Page 5 What's New in Issue 27, Page 5? Marquee Features Sentinel Archetype Revamp Sentinel Proliferation: Seismic Blast & Stone Armor Dominator Proliferation: Illusion Control PvP in Supergroup Bases Powers & Gameplay Adjustments Powerset Revamps: Masterminds: Mercenaries, Necromancy, Ninjas, and Robotics. Melee: Battle Axe and Fiery Melee Armor: Fiery Aura Support: Force Fields Quality of Life Changes: Level Availability Changes Stealth Toggle Exclusivity Removal Character Customization Improvements Holstered Weapon System (Arachnos, Assault, Munition, Mercenary Mastermind Rifles) Wave 2 Aether Prestige Rewards: Tier 1 - Standard Costume Selection Expanded Tier 2 - Legacy Costumes Enabled + Selection Expanded Tier 3 - Premium Costumes Enabled + 'Effect' Reward Additions Tier 4 - Deluxe Costumes Added Pet Functionality added to Aether accolade macro Various Additions & Enhancements New Mini Signature vanity pet additions ...and much more! Marquee Features Sentinel Archetype Revamp Changes to Sentinel Attributes: Ranged and Melee Damage Modifiers increased from 0.95 to 1.10 (15.8% base damage increase to all attacks). Fixed PvP Ranged Damage Modifier (50% stronger). Adjusted any damage scales that were set 50% too high to compensate. Base Perception increased from 500' to 550' (10% base perception increase, all other ATs are 500'). Max Perception increased from 1153' to 1268.3' (10% max perception increase, matches Soldiers of Arachnos). Changes to Sentinel Inherent: Sentinels have an inherent resistance to Perception and ToHit debuffs (10%). Opportunity builds automatically at a rate of 100% per minute. Sentinels now have an inherent power called Vulnerability: Vulnerability consumes 50% of your Opportunity to debuff a single target for 15 seconds. Vulnerability is Auto-Hit and ignores level differences. Vulnerability debuffs the following: Damage Resistance Defense Mez Resistance Stealth Resistance to Endurance, Endurance Discount, Recovery, Regeneration, ToHit, and Recharge Removed old Opportunity Debuff Effects/Modes from T1/T2 powers. Removed old Inherent Proc. Removed old Offensive/Defensive Opportunity Modes. Other changes: Consistency pass completed on powers not following Sentinel design rules. Opportunity Strikes proc now ignores combat mods (purple patch). To normalize the changes made to the Sentinel inherent, Opportunity Strikes proc now grants 7.5 opportunity for Regular and 10.0 opportunity for Superior. Sentinel Proliferation: Seismic Blast New primary for Sentinels. This version does not have the Tombstone power. Instead it is replaced with Gravestone. You can manipulate earth and stone to defeat your foes. The crushing force of many Earth Powers can reduce a target's Defense. Being of the Earth, you are the most powerful while on the ground. While grounded, your attacks increase Seismic Pressure. As your Seismic Pressure increases, the cooldown of other Seismic Blast attacks is reduced and your chances of triggering Seismic Shockwaves around you also increase. These Seismic Shockwaves will have a chance of knocking back foes and, while standing on the ground, empower some of your attacks. Rock Shards will have its area and damage increased. Seismic Force will decrease the cooldown of all recharging Seismic Blast attacks by a moderate amount. Stalagmite will deal a large amount of damage. Powers: Encase Ranged, DMG(Smash), Foe -Jump, -Fly, -DEF Encase a foe in stone for a short moment, dealing damage and lowering their defense. They will also become heavy, limiting their ability to jump and fly for a short time. Encase grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Shatter Ranged, DMG(Smash), Foe -Jump, -Fly, -DEF Cover a foe in stone shards and shatter them, inflicting light damage and lowering their defense. They will also become heavy, limiting their ability to jump and fly for a short time. Shatter grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Rock Shards Ranged Cone, DMG(Lethal), -Defense, Special You launch a volley of stone shards at your target in a sweeping cone. These shards stab into the target, causing lethal damage. They will also continue to suffer additional lethal damage over time. If affected by Seismic Shockwaves, this power will halt the shockwaves, the up front damage will be increased and damage over time accelerated, foes will be knocked down, range will be increased to 60ft and arc to 40 degrees. Rock Shards grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Entomb Ranged, DMG(Smash), Foe -Jump, -Fly, -DEF Entomb foes in a big boulder, dealing high damage and lowering their defense. They will also become heavy, limiting their ability to jump and fly for a short time. Entomb grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Seismic Force Self +To Hit, +DMG, +Range, +Special Greatly increases the chance to hit of your attacks for a few seconds. Slightly increases damage and range. If affected by Seismic Shockwaves, this power will halt the shockwaves and will decrease the cooldown of all recharging Seismic Blast attacks by a moderate amount. Upthrust Targeted AoE, DMG(Smashing), -Fly, -Defense, Chance to Knockdown You channel seismic energy into the earth, causing a micro-fault to erupt under your target. This causes a shard of rock to thrust upward out of the ground, dealing smashing damage and lowering their defense. Affected foes will become heavy, limiting their ability to jump and fly for a short time. The force of the eruption can knockback enemies. Upthrust grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Gravestone Ranged, DMG(Smash), Foe -Jump, -Fly Create a giant pillar of stone, creating a Gravestone around your target dealing extreme damage and limiting their ability to jump and fly for a short time. Gravestone grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Stalagmite Ranged, DMG(Smash), Foe Disorient, Special You can cause a Stalagmite to erupt under an enemy dealing minimal Lethal damage and Disorienting them for a good while. You must be on the ground to activate this power. If affected by Seismic Shockwaves, this power will halt the shockwaves and deal extreme damage. Stalagmite grants two stacks of Seismic Pressure. Meteor Ranged (Location AoE), DMG(Smashing) Foe Knockback You call down a meteor strike from the sky at a specified location. All targets within 30' are caught in the blast radius, taking extreme damage and being knocked back. Note: This power uses the knock vector system. You'll notice the foes will be knocked up and back. Sentinel Proliferation: Stone Armor New secondary for Sentinels. This version of the set does not get access to Mud Pots. Instead, it has a new power called Terra Firma. You can transform your skin into various forms of rock and stone. Stone Armor is one of the few Sentinel Defensive Power Sets that offers defense to Psionics. Powers: Rock Armor Toggle: Self +DEF(Lethal, Smashing), Res(DeBuff DEF) Your skin becomes stone while this power is active. Stone Armor protects you from Smashing and Lethal attacks. They are less likely to land and affect you. Stone Armor also grants you resistance to Defense DeBuffs. Stone Skin Auto: Self +Res(All but Psionics), +DEF(All but Psionics) Your tough skin is naturally resistant to most types of damage. This power is always on and costs no Endurance. Earth's Embrace Self +HP, Res(Toxic) You are so connected to the Earth, you can draw upon its power to add to your health. Activating this power increases your maximum Hit Points, and grants you resistance to Toxic Damage. Terra Firma Auto: Self + To Hit, +ACC, +Range, Res(ToHit) Being on solid ground allows you to more carefully aim your attack for optimal range. This power increases your chance to hit, accuracy, and range of your attacks and makes you more resistant to To-Hit debuffs, but only applies when you are near the ground. Rooted Toggle: Self +Res(Knockback, Sleep, Disorient, Hold, End Drain, DeBuff DEF), +Regeneration While this power is active, you merge with the Earth and draw forth its power to become resistant to Knockback, Sleep, Hold, Disorient and Endurance Drain effects, and increase your Hit Point Regeneration rate. Rooted also grants you resistance to Defense DeBuffs. Crystal Armor Toggle: Self +Recovery, +DEF(Energy, Negative), Res(DeBuff DEF) While this power is active, your skin becomes encrusted in various quartz crystals. Crystal Armor makes Energy and Negative Energy attacks less likely to hit. This power also grants you an Endurance recovery buff and resistance to Defense DeBuffs. Crystal Armor also adds an Elusivity defense bonus to Energy and Negative Energy Attacks in PVP zones. Minerals Toggle: Self +Recharge, +DEF(Psionic), Res(Confuse), +Perception Activating this power summons several rare earth rock Minerals to orbit around you. These Minerals can disperse thought patterns and make Psionic attacks less likely to hit. They also bring clarity of the mind increasing the recharge time of your powers, increasing your perception, and making you resistant to Confusion. Brimstone Armor Toggle: Self +Res(Fire, Cold, Toxic), +Special While this power is active, your skin becomes encrusted in cracked magma. Brimstone Armor makes you highly resistant to Fire, Cold and Toxic damage, and helps your attacks set enemies on fire, delivering damage over time. Notes on the damage over time from Brimstone Proc: The DoT damage uses AT modifiers: Ranged_Damage for attacks with base ranges > 20 ft and Melee_Damage otherwise. The DoT damage is scaled based on the attack's cast time (scales between 0 and 3 seconds). This mostly ensures a constant DPS increase despite the speed of one's attacks. Geode Toggle: Self +Regeneration, +Recovery, Invulnerable; Self Hold When you activate this power, you encase yourself in various protective mineral layers that can absorb incoming damage while you heal and recover endurance at an incredible rate. You can emerge at will by deactivating the power, but you cannot stay in this Geode for more than 30 seconds. If enemies inflict enough damage, they might break you out of this effect. If Brimstone Armor is owned, this power will also grant Geothermal Power every 2 seconds, increasing the damage inflicted by Brimstone's Fire by 8% per stack. Note: The Geothermal Powers should last for 60s and can stack up to 15 times. This gives the Brimstone Proc damage a 2.2x boost at max strength. Dominator Proliferation: Illusion Control New primary for Dominators. This version of the set does not get access to Spectral Wounds nor Group Invisibility. Instead, it has new powers called Spectral Wall and Gleam. Also, Dominator's version of Phantom Army has its pets not taunt, but rather have attacks utilizing mez and soft control effects. You can manipulate light and sound to manifest all sorts of Illusions, aiding your allies as well as deceiving your foes. Powers: Blind Ranged (Targeted AoE), DMG(Psionic), Foe Hold/Sleep Painfully Blinds a single targeted foe so severely that they are rendered helpless. Blind is so bright that additional foes may also be blinded, though they will not take any damage, and attacking them will free them from the effects. Spectral Wall Ranged, DoT (Psionic), Foe Immobilize, -ToHit Creates an illusionary wall of specters that prevents enemies from moving. As the foe is surrounded, they take psionic damage over time. Deceive Ranged, Foe Confuse You can Deceive an enemy into believing their friends are not who they appear to be. If successful, the enemy will ignore you and attack their own allies. If you Deceive someone before they have noticed you, your presence will continue to be masked. You will not receive any Experience Points for foes defeated by a Deceived enemy. Spectral Terror Summon Terror: Ranged Fear, -ToHit You can create an illusion of unspeakable Terror. The manifestation is so horrible that it caused most foes to tremble helplessly in terror. The Spectral Terror may also Terrify individual foes, causing them to run away in panic. Superior Invisibility Toggle: Self Stealth, +DEF(All) You can bend light around yourself to become completely Invisible. While this power is active, you are all but impossible to detect, and have an extremely high Defense bonus to all attacks. Superior Invisibility is the only toggle invisibility power that allows you to attack while it is active, although you will lose some of your defense bonus if you do so. Gleam Ranged (Targeted AoE), DMG(Psionic), Foe Disorient Multiple flashing lights go off around enemies, disorienting and damaging them. Gleam deals minimal Psionic damage, and can Disorient all affected targets for a good while. Phantom Army Summon Decoys: Ranged DMG(Psionic) You can fabricate 3 Phantom heroes around a targeted foe. These Phantoms are not real, and are indestructible. Though they deal damage, it is illusory and will heal if the victim survives long enough. Phantoms are short lived and cannot be buffed or healed. Flash PBAoE, Foe Hold Generates a brilliant flash of light around you that blinds nearby foes. Flashed foes are rendered helpless and unable to defend themselves. Phantasm Summon Phantasm: Ranged, DMG(Smash/Energy/Psionic) You can construct a powerful entity composed of pure light. Although made of light, the Phantasm is tangible and has powerful Energy attacks. The Phantasm can also fly and summon duplicates of itself. The duplicates are intangible, and cannot be harmed. The duplicates' attacks deal illusory damage similar to that dealt by Spectral Wounds. Only the original Phantasm can be healed and buffed. Type ''/release_pets'' in the chat window to release all your pets. PvP in Supergroup Bases ( Big thanks to @CR Americas Angel for the guide / write-up! ) PvP raid functionality has been added to supergroup bases. This is not the same legacy base raiding that existed briefly back in Issue 6, but rather the ability to initiate PvP activities within supergroup bases. Below is a how-to guide for setting it up: To activate them you need to make a supergroup and make a base. Make sure you have "Begin Raid" enabled in the supergroup member permissions: Once you've done that, load into your base and press the raid button: Once you've done that, you can select from the following options: First pick the type of raid: Team Deathmatch = Win points by defeating players. Capture The Flag = Not currently active. Control Points = Not currently active. Then pick the settings: Free-For-All (FFA) = FFA, but you can team up with other players and they will con friendly. (Functions the same way the Warburg PVP zone works.) Defenders vs. Attackers = Supergroup members (and people they are teamed with) vs everyone else. Once you click "Begin Raid" a 30s countdown will begin: You can start hitting people from the 10 min mark. The timer box thing will also have a dynamic scorecard that updates as you play. The number of kills each player has scored is on the left hand side, and the highest possible score on the right hand side. (Set by whoever is currently leading the kill-count.) For Free-For-All: For Attackers vs. Defenders: After the raid is over, you'll get a scorecard that shows how many times you killed someone, how many times were killed, and the all-important kill/death ratio: Building for PvP in Bases Two new revive rings have been added to the base editor under Arcane Medical and Tech Medical settings: They allow you to set respawn points: Revive Rings (Raid) = Attackers in Attackers vs Defenders Revive Rings (Regular) = Defenders in Attackers vs. Defenders or Everyone in regular Free-For-All If no revive rings are placed, players will respawn at the base portal. Heroes and villains can now team in bases. When PvP is active in a base, the following commands are disabled: /stuck /enterbasefrompasscode /editbase /arenalist, using the LFG queue, and using the "teleport to contact" feature have not been disabled. (As these all still work in Arena/PvP zones just fine.) NPCs that sell inspirations should be disabled. (As in, you cannot have the store open during a raid.) All storage (enhancement bins, salvage bins, etc) except the Vault has been disabled. (As they allow players to force a mapserver in high item bases.) The Dimensional Shard and Base Portal have been tweaked a little to stop them from interfering with revive rings. I'd advise base builders to check that these items aren't misbehaving. (They seemed to work fine from all my testing.) Items that can be destroyed (turrets, etc) respawn when the base resets. A "base reset" is when the base has been empty for 15 minutes and the zone unloads. Vandalism to bases is not possible. Placed NPCs can be hit, but they are indestructible. This is working as intended. Powers & Gameplay Adjustments Powerset Revamps Mercenaries Burst, Slug, and M30 Grenade Each of these attacks applies a Focused Fire tag on the target for 30s. Each power's tag will increase Mercenary ranged damage by 3.33%, up to a maximum of 10%. Equip Mercenary Henchmen passive resistances have been moved to this upgrade. Equip Mercenary now accepts Resistance sets and enhancements. By slotting this power with resistance enhancements, players will be able to improve the henchmen's passive resistances. Tactical Upgrade This power now grants henchmen passive Ranged and AoE defenses. Now accepts Defense sets and enhancements, will boost henchmen defenses. By slotting this power with defense enhancements, players will be able to improve the henchmen's passive defenses. Serum Power can now only be activated when targeting a mercenary, can no longer be accidentally wasted by targeting a different pet like Dark Servant Power now buffs all henchmen (animation only plays on main target). Recharge reduced from 1000 seconds to 250 seconds. Power no longer has a crash. The power now grants strong defensive and offensive buffs that slowly decay over a one minute window. Henchmen Their entire power repertoire revamped. Powers have been added, adjusted, and replaced. Necromancy Dark Blast, Gloom, Life Drain These powers now have a 70% chance to summon a Spectral Minion to your side! These Specters are temporary, lasting a maximum of 90 seconds as their health fades away by the second. These Specters cannot be healed or regenerate, but have decent resistance to all damage and defense against AoE attacks. These Specters cannot be commanded or upgraded, but slotting your personal attacks will improve their attack stats. Each attack can only summon one Specter, for a maximum of 3 if all attacks are used. Henchmen (general) Powers have been adjusted for area and duration. Zombie Horde Can no longer be slotted with heal enhancements or sets. Grave Knights Can no longer be slotted with heal enhancements or sets. Lich Can no longer be slotted with heal enhancements or sets. Enchant Undead Henchmen passive resistances have been moved to this upgrade. Enhant Undead now accepts Resistance sets and enhancements. Lich's Petrifying Gaze has been moved to this upgrade, no longer grants Life Drain to the Lich. Resistances now grant mag 1 Hold and Immobilize protection, as well as 50% resistance to Stun/Hold/Immobilize. Dark Empowerment Now accepts Healing sets and enhancements. Lich's Life Drain have been moved to this upgrade, no longer grants Petrifying Gaze to the Lich. Slotting this power with heal enhancements will enhance Life Drain's heal. Dark Empowerment range increased from 30' to 50'. Grants a 15% max HP (half enhanceable) to all henchmen. Soul Extraction Recharge lowered form 600s to 150s. End cost lowered from 30 to 15. Only works on active Henchmen, not Specters. Will extract the soul from each Henchman for 30s before the Souls vanish. The extracted souls are still linked to their bodily hosts, if the host of a soul is defeated, the soul will also be defeated. Extracted Souls No longer use Phase Shift Now have 13% positional defenses, not enhanceable. Ninja Snap Shot, Aimed Shot, and Fistful of Arrows Each of these attacks now grants a 3% chance for henchmen to crit for 30s. The chance does not stack from the same power but each power can stack together, for up to +9% chance if all powers are used. Smoke Flash Recharge increased to 90s from 20s Duration lowered from 10s to 3s No longer requires a target Now hides all Ninja Henchmen, providing 100% chance to crit to the squad for 3s. Kuji-In Zen (now Kuji-In Sha) This power now grants Kuji-In Sha (self heal) to all ninjas. This power can be slotted with heal sets and enhancements, those will enhance your ninja's passives. This power increases ninjas chance to crit by an additional 3% at all times. Train Ninjas This power now grants +defense passives to ninjas. This power can now be slotted with defense sets and enhancements, those will enhance your ninja's passives. This power increases ninja's chance to crit by an additional 3% at all times. Henchmen All ninjas now have a chance to crit at all times This chance starts at 0% but can be increased via upgrades and personal attacks Maximum crit chance outside of smoke flash is 15% Robotics Pulse Rifle Blast, Pulse Rifle Burst, and Photon Grenade These powers all now apply a -200% regeneration debuff Pulse Rifle Blast cast time lowered from 1.87s to 1s Pulse Rifle Burst cast time lowered from 1.87s to 1.1s Repair (now Maintenance Drone) Power has been replaced by Maintenance Drone. Maintenance Drone will use its own health to heal your other robots. It can't be healed and does not regenerate HP. Once it depletes its health, it will self destruct dealing minor damage. This power no longer accepts Endurance Modification enhancements or sets. Equip Robot Now grants passive resistances to henchmen. Can be enhanced by slotting the power with resistance sets and enhancements. Upgrade Robot Now grants Repair to Protector Bots Can be enhanced by slotting the power with Healing sets and enhancements. Henchmen Cast Times trimmed across the board (including personal attacks) Assault Bot no longer applies -regen, this effect is now applied by the Mastermind personal attacks. Henchmen have had their list of powers revamped, adding a few new powers to improve overall damage. Protector Bots summon power no longer accept heal enhancements. Henchmen no longer have resistances out of the box, Equip Robot is needed to get them. Battle Axe Power Order Brutes/Scrappers: Beheader, Chop, Gash, Build Up, Pendulum, Taunt/Confront, Swoop, Axe Cyclone, Cleave. Tankers: Beheader, Chop, Gash, Taunt, Build Up, Pendulum, Swoop, Axe Cyclone, Cleave. Beheader Now have a chance to apply a defense debuff, chance is tied to the chance to knockdown. Cast Time lowered from 1.33 seconds to 1.0 seconds. Chop Now have a chance to apply a defense debuff, chance is tied to the chance to knockdown. Cast Time lowered from 1.33 seconds to 1.2 seconds. Gash Cast Time lowered from 1.5 seconds to 1.27 seconds. Swoop Cast Time lowered from 1.83 seconds to 1.23 seconds. Whirling Axe (now Axe Cyclone) Renamed Axe Cyclone. New visual FX. Now has a tractor effect that pulls enemies into melee range. Cooldown increased to 18 seconds. (Damage remains unchanged) Radius is 15ft for all ATs. Cast Time lowered from 2.67 seconds to 1.76 seconds. Pendulum Changed from a cone to a targeted AoE sphere attack with a 7ft radius. Cleave Changed from a cone to a targeted AoE sphere attack with a 3ft radius. Range increased to 40ft (not enhanceable). Fire Manipulation Burn This power should no longer summon multiple burn patches. This power should now hit 5 enemies instead of 4. Procs should no longer trigger multiple times per target when using this power. Burn Flames should now inherit the power Accuracy enhancements. Burn Flames now inherit AT classes, caps, and modifiers. Upfront damage now match all other versions. Combustion Cast Time lowered from 3 seconds to 2.4 seconds. Fire Sword Now does pure fire damage. Now grants a small defense debuff. Now accepts accurate defense debuff and defense debuff enhancements and sets. Fiery Melee Combustion Cast Time lowered from 3 seconds to 2.4 seconds. Cremate Now can knockdown foes. Now can be slotted with knockback enhancements and sets. Fire Sword Now does pure fire damage. Now grants a small defense debuff. Now accepts accurate defense debuff and defense debuff enhancements and sets. Greater Fire Sword Cast Time lowered from 2.33 seconds to 1.37 seconds. Now does pure fire damage. Now grants a small defense debuff. Now accepts accurate defense debuff and defense debuff enhancements and sets. Fire Sword Circle Now does pure fire damage. Now grants a small defense debuff. Now accepts accurate defense debuff and defense debuff enhancements and sets. Fiery Aura Rise of the Phoenix (now Phoenix Rising) Renamed Phoenix Rising. This power can now be used when alive. The effects of this power (damage, healing, endurance) will be stronger the closer the user is to death. The player power can't be used if the player has more than 75% health. The power will only make the player invulnerable and grant XP protection if the power is used after death. Damage increased when used while dead, relative to Live. Burn This power should no longer summon multiple burn patches. This power should now hit 5 enemies instead of 4. Procs should no longer trigger multiple times per target when using this power. Burn Flames should now inherit the power Accuracy enhancements. Burn Flames now inherit AT classes, caps, and modifiers. While under the effect of Fiery Embrace, Burn will spawn a second burn patch for 4.5 seconds Consume Power now grants a small Max HP buff even if no targets are available or hit. Power no longer needs a target to grant End Drain protection. (+End still requires targets) Power is now auto-hit. Damage still requires a to-hit check. This power now takes Healing sets and enhancements. Temperature Protection This power now grants Mag 1 Knock protection in PvE. (This is strong enough to prevent most knockdowns and some weak knockback). This power now grants unenhanceable +regeneration. Healing Flames Cast Time lowered from 1.5 seconds to 0.73 seconds. Force Fields Force Bolt (now Repulsion Bolt) Now applies -20% (Defender Values) Resistance to all damage for 30s. Dispersion Bubble Dispersion buff lasts for 15s, allowing it to apply if you leave its radius or the toggle drops briefly. Repulsion Field Combined with Force Bubble, now includes a 25ft radius Repel aura alongside a 9ft radius Knockback aura. The larger repel area acts just as Force Bubble does. No longer drains endurance per target hit in PvE. If slotted for KB2KD, the repel is also disabled. Repulsion Bomb (now Force Bomb) Activation time lowered to 1.67s from 3.07s. Damage lowered to Scale 0.6 from Scale 1. Stun chance lowered to 10% from 40% Now uses Vectored Knockdown Now applies -15% (Defender Values) Resistance to all damage for 30s. Force Bubble (now Damping Bubble) Now a Click power with 90s rech, and 5.2 Endurance cost. Summons a Pseudopet at your location that casts a 55ft radius Dampening Bubble for 45s. Applies +Special Resistance to yourself and allies (Defender Values): 43.25% res to ToHit, Accuracy, Perception, Slow, Recharge, and Regeneration debuffs 21.63% res to Defense Debuffs. This is enhanceable with Defense enhancements. Applies -Special to a max of 16 enemies inside the field: -43.25% ToHit, Slow, Perception, Regeneration -23.63% Defense The Damping Bubble will move to your location if summoned again during it's duration. Quality of Life Changes Level Availability Changes Primary Sets (non-Epic ATs) Tier 8 powers moved from level 26 to level 22 Tier 9 powers moved from level 32 to level 26 Secondary Sets (non-Epic ATs) Tier 2 powers moved from level 2 to level 1 (character creation) Tier 7 powers moved from level 28 to level 24 Tier 8 powers moved from level 35 to level 28 Tier 9 powers moved from level 38 to level 30 Epic Pools Tier 3 powers moved from level 41 to level 38 Hero Epic ATs Nova moved from level 6 to level 4 Inner Light and Sunless Mire moved from level 12 to level 10 Incandescent Strike and Gravity Well moved from level 18 to level 16 Glowing Touch and Gravitic Emanation moved from level 26 to level 20 Solar Flare and Unchain Essence moved from level 26 to level 22 Photon Seekers and Dark Extraction moved from level 32 to level 24 Dawn Strike and Quasar moved from level 32 to level 26 Shining Shield and Gravity Shield moved from level 2 to level 1 (character creation) Quantum Acceleration and Shadow Slip moved from level 24 to level 26 Restore Essence and Stygian Return moved from level 25 to level 30 Light Form and Eclipse moved from level 38 to level 32 Arachnos Soldiers Placate and Frenzy moved from level 26 to level 22 Crowd Control and Omega Maneuver moved from level 32 to level 26 Call Reinforcements moved from level 38 to level 30 Surveillance and Serum moved from level 28 to level 24 Web Cocoon and Summon Spiderlings moved from level 35 to level 28 Arachnos Widows Eviscerate moved from level 26 to level 22 Placate and Confuse moved from level 28 to level 24 Psychic Scream moved from level 32 to level 24 Psychic Wail moved from level 32 to level 28 Vengeance moved from level 35 to level 28 Aura of Confusion and Elude moved from level 38 to level 30 Stealth Toggle Exclusivity Removal Player Stealth Toggles, with the exception of temporary powers, are no longer exclusive. Players can now use multiple stealth toggle powers at the same time, however the stealth radius, defense, and threat level of these powers will not stack. Instead, the strongest effect from these powers will be used (much like how travel power stacking currently works). The powers that fall within these stealth toggle rules are listed below. List of Stealth Toggles Arctic Fog Cloak of Darkness Cloaking Device Energy Cloak Field Operative Infiltration Mask Presence Shadow Fall Shinobi Shinobi-Iri Stealth Steamy Mist Super Speed Superior Invisibility Various Power Changes All/Radiation Melee/Irradiated Ground: This power can now only proc once every 10 seconds. Can now accept ATOs. Call to Arms: No longer grants base defense. Now it grants defense to all types. Edict of the Master: Now grants toxic defense. Sentinel/Bio Armor: Updated descriptions of powers to better reflect what they do. Sentinel/Shinobi-Iri: Updated description Power Bug Fixes Controller/Symphony Control/Impassioned Serenade: Removed an extra 0.25s delay from its confuse effect. Dominator/Sonic Assault/Shriek: Can no longer be used while mezzed. Dominator/Sonic Assault/Scream: Can no longer be used while mezzed. Earth Control/Stalagmites: Endurance cost fixed. Now costs 15.6 endurance. Enhancement/Coercive Persuasion/Contagious Confusion: Added a 0.5s delay to confuse proc. This should allow some time for confuse effects from the slotted power to apply prior to checking for the spreading confusion proc. Prestige Utility/Renewal of Light and Return to Battle: These powers now share a Recharge Group and should no longer cause doubly long cooldowns when used. Procs from Bombardment, Sudden Acceleration, and Power Transfer: No longer boostable. Munitions Mastery/Freeze Ray: Tintable version FX now always fires from the correct point of the rifle. Mastermind/Traps/Web Grenade: This power should now accept slow enhancements Sentinel/Bio Armor/Rebuild DNA: Offensive Adaptation now grants +perception and +res(perception). Efficient Adaptation now grants additional endurance. Temporary Powers/Nullifier (all versions): Now disabled in PvP Arena Character Customization Improvements Holstered Weapon System Holstered Custom Weapons (Arachnos/Assault/Munition/Mercenary Mastermind Rifles) Characters with Arachnos, Assault, Munitions, or Mercenary Mastermind custom rifles now have access to the option to display their character's rifle model on their costume. This is controlled via a toggle button next to the weapon just like Sheathed Custom Weapons. The remaining ranged weapon sets will be added to the Holstered Weapon system in a future update. Custom Weapon Adjustments & Fixes Arachnos Rifles renamed from "A", "B", "C" to "Rifle", "SMG", and "Shotgun" to better describe what they look like. Fixed issue where Mercenary Mastermind Rifles were missed for the firing point desync fixes. Wave 2 Aether Prestige Rewards Aether Prestige Costume Additions & Updates The Prestige Costume icons have been simplified and now there are only four, and they correspond to the Tier / Rarity of the costume. Tier 1 / Common / White Tier 2 / Uncommon / Yellow Tier 3 / Rare / Orange Tier 4 / Very Rare / Purple 'Mode' has been dropped from the names of costumes that change based on the body type of the user and they no longer incur a price increase on the BenevoLabs vendor. Costumes that change based on the user's body type have been noted in BenevoLab vendor's offerings and in the costume power's descriptions. Some specific Prestige Costumes have had sheathed/holstered weapon displays enabled on them for specific body types. This means your normal costume's body type must match the costume's in order for the weapon to display. The type that inherits is noted in the description. Costumes that are compatible have been noted in the BenevoLab vendor's offerings and in the costume power's descriptions. Look for these on the vendor if you're interested! Tier 1 - Standard Costumes The two Vanguard costumes are now considered Tier 1 and match all standard specifics of that tier. The missing Wave 1 - Tier 1 costumes that changed based on the body type of the user have been enabled and priced at 10 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage each: 'Costume: Crey Agent' 'Costume: Olympian Guard' 'Costume: Paragon Protector' 'Costume: Praetorian Clockwork' 'Costume: Vahzilok Eidolon' Forty-one new Wave 2 - Tier 1 costumes have been added to the selection on the BenevoLabs costume vendors: NEW WAVE 2 - TIER 1 AETHER COSTUME ADDITIONS: Tier 2 - Legacy Costumes The Tier 2 costumes have been enabled on the BenevoLabs vendors, priced at 100 Prismatic Aether Particles each. These costumes feature discontinued appearances. The initial Wave 1 - Tier 2 costume offerings can be found in the Issue 27, Page 4's patch notes. 'Costume: Legacy Circle Mage' has been renamed to 'Costume: Legacy Circle Ruin Mage'. Five new Wave 2 - Tier 2 Prestige Costumes have been added to the selection on the BenevoLabs costume vendors: NEW WAVE 2 - TIER 2 AETHER COSTUME ADDITIONS: Tier 3 - Premium Costumes & Effects The Tier 3 rewards have been enabled on the BenevoLabs vendors, priced at 250 Prismatic Aether Particles each: This tier features rewards that can change or enhance the looks of your costumes. Tier 3 rewards are advanced customization offerings that are limited for social and/or game performance reasons. Effect powers are their own category of costume enhancement and only one can be active at a time, but they can be used at the same time as a costume power. The pop-menu accolade 'Disable Costumes' option will also disable these Effect powers. As of Issue 27, Page 5's release, there are three Tier 3 rewards featured: 'Costume: Mini Mode' that featured in last Page's notes and makes your costume's model very small. Mini Mode costume cannot be used in PvP. 'Effect: Ghost' which makes makes your model transparent and adds a spectral glow. Tint of the glow can be customized and the transparency turned off in the power customization menu. 'Effect: Shadow' which darkens your model's lighting and adds glowing eyes. Tint of the eyes be customized or the eyes turned off in the power customization menu. WAVE 2 - TIER 3 AETHER OFFERINGS: Tier 4 - Deluxe Costumes The Tier 4 costumes have been added to the BenevoLabs vendors, priced at 1500 Prismatic Aether Particles each: This tier features costumes that have bizarre looks and are oddities you won't see anywhere else. As of Page 5's release, the first offered Tier 4 costumes will be 'Costume: Undefined Mode' which was formerly named 'Mode Costume: Blobby' that featured previously. Another will be made available in a few months. 'Costume: Undefined Mode' automatically also comes with 'Costume: Mini Undefined Mode' for free when purchased! The mini version of this costume cannot be used in PvP. This costume's functionality has been upgraded and it now inherits various elements from your normal costume when used, making it possible to create some interesting and unique looks with it! ---> OR That sure is unusual looking! Seasonal Prestige Costume Additions Seasonal Prestige Costumes are now considered Tier 1 and match all standard specifics of that tier. Two new Halloween Prestige Costume rewards have been added to the various Halloween salvage vendors, priced at 10 Prismatic Aether Particles + 50 of each Halloween salvage type each: 'Costume: Ancient Vampire' 'Costume: Arisen Mummy' Spooky season is always in style! Prestige Costume Fixes Fixed an error with costumes using PlayerBeast's standard movement animations not using the correct set. Fixed Male Eidolon's costume having an extra boot. Fixed missing belt on Nemesis Lieutenant costume. Costumes Costume Additions & Changes All > Special Helmets > Arachnos Helmets: Tintable variants of all the Arachnos helmets have been added. 'Mystic Helm' renamed to 'Mu Mystic Helm' in the editor. Various Additions & Enhancements Badges Badge Changes The 'Womp Womp' badge for defeating Immature Paragon Protectors has been renamed to 'Ankle Biter'. Vanity Pets Vanity Pets Additions & Updates There are three new vanity pets offered by Luna corresponding to the various City of Heroes retail release anniversary months. These pets will be available for purchase each year during these months: May, City of Heroes anniversary: 'Pet: Mini Statesman' vanity pet power for 2004 Reward Merits. November, City of Villains anniversary: 'Pet: Mini Lord Recluse' vanity pet power for 2005 Reward Merits. August, Going Rogue anniversary: 'Pet: Mini Tyrant' vanity pet power for 2010 Reward Merits. They're so iconic! ...and they can be yours! 'Pet: Mini Hero 1' vanity pet power has been added to the Vanguard crafting table offerings under 'Vanity Pets' priced at 10,000 Vanguard Merits. Hero 1 always looks so cool, even when tiny! All older vanity pets have been given the improved movement speed that the newer vanity pets received, which should help them keep up with their owners. The naming scheme for vanity pets has been standardized to 'Pet: Name'. Like Prestige Costumes, Vanity Pets will also now display on a character's info window so players with large collections can show them off. Proliferated Emotes New Emotes Added '/em kneel2'. Added '/em kneel3'. Added '/em kneel4'. Added '/em kneel5'. Arena Options When setting up an arena match, there are now four more options listed under more options: No Passive Resist Bonuses - Allows players to switch on/off the bonus resist everyone gets in PvP. No Incarnates (Alpha Slot Enabled) - Switches on/off all incarnates except alpha. No Incarnates (Alpha Slot Disabled) - Switches on/off all incarnates including alpha. Sudden Death Tiebreaker Phase - Switches on/off the sudden death mechanic at the end of draw games. (Default's to off.) Rated Matches will also now function properly. (I.e. No longer forcing any arena options.) Note: you may need to set up the arena options you want before clicking the "rated" button. Supergroup Bases New Base Items Added Basic Reclaimator (Raid) and Resurrection Circle (Raid) base items which allow for Attackers during supergroup base PvP to revive at those locations rather than at the supergroup entrance portal. Task Updates & Adjustments Removed badge requirements that prevented Praetorians from running arcs from Ambassador Kuhr'Rekt and Johnny Sonata in Ouroboros. Imperious Task Force - Advanced Difficulty Vandal is now using more advanced AI and should be no longer be prone to go on running away sprees. Vandal's ambush now spawns closer to the player team's location meaning he should arrive sooner and be less prone to getting lost on his way there. When Nictus Romulus escapes to the Chamber of the Emperor, he will take any living Barrier Novas with him. Tin Mage's Task Force All of the defeat objectives in Mission 2 must now be cleared in order for the mission to complete. Enemy Group Updates & Adjustments Arachnos Fixed an issue that was causing Lord Recluse to only use Spider Strike when specifically between 50%-25% HP instead of any time below 50%. The eye glow FX on Crab Spider and Bane Spider NPCs has been improved. Devouring Earth Fixed an error with the Dr Aeon's Strike Force's Devoured's tentacles not being tinted the right color. Hero Corps The Major has been given powers and is no longer incapable of defending himself against players. Trolls Skyway City's Supa Troll ravers have paid for Paragon City's finest facial reconstruction plastic surgeons and now their heads do not morph wildly while they are moving. They are free to rave uninhibited (until heroes come to stop them). City Zone Updates & Adjustments Atlas Park Added automatic seasonal map switchover; The October / Halloween variation of Atlas Park should now be active. In November it should automatically transition to the Autumn map variant. In December it should automatically transition to the Winter map variant. In January it should return to the standard non-seasonal map variant.