incarnate-system
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City of Heroes launches Issue 22, and it's going to be a killer
If you've been looking forward to Issue 22 of City of Heroes, your wait is finally over. The new issue, Death Incarnate, hit the live servers just this afternoon. That means the inclusion of new powersets for Controllers and Dominators, a newly revamped experience in Dark Astoria for solo Incarnates, buffs for Stalkers and Gravity Control, and new content for low-to-mid-level characters. In other words, no matter how you want to play, you're likely to find something in the latest patch to get excited about. Need a little more convincing? Well, there's a lovely new trailer for the update to help get everyone ready to charge into the newfound circus of death. There's also a new developer diary discussing the fine points of Darkness Control, the new powerset included for free for all VIP subscribers. All told, it's a good collection of toys for City of Heroes players, even if it might behoove said players to fear the reaper just a little bit more.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The obligations to the useless
I'm going to let all of you in on a secret. Actually, it might not be a secret; everyone might have figured this out by now independent of any admission on my part. But here it is, just the same. I'm not actually a very good City of Heroes player. I mean, I'm "good" in the sense that I play the game, enjoy it, think about it, try to improve my character appropriately... but I'm not actually very skilled at the game. My rotations look awkward, my slotting is usually sub-optimal, and my ability to recall important data is pretty paltry. I understand the mechanics just fine, but when it comes time to log into the game, somehow I wind up as the guy who just subtly makes the entire team worse. I'm not terribly skilled. And for all that I'm going to be playing the game for some time to come, I don't think that I'm ever going to reach the point that I say I'm really any good.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Issue 22 is all juiced out
On Christmas, Ms. Lady and I received a power juicer. This wasn't a bad present by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a present that left us momentarily baffled. We hadn't asked for a power juicer, we didn't feel a great need for a power juicer, and we weren't even sure exactly what to do with a power juicer. (Make juice, obviously, but beyond that?) It was a great present but one that struck us as so far out of left field that we really weren't quite sure how to use it at first, much less what it would offer us. Issue 22 of City of Heroes strikes me in much the same way. It's not that the update is bad or unwanted or unnecessary; it's that the entire thing is essentially aimed in a direction away from my own playstyle. I imagine a lot of free players are going to run into the same issue because even though it's being touted as the game's newest free update, there's precious little in there that's actually changed on the free side.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The Incarnate divide
The other week, our regular feature Global Chat featured an interesting comment by Blackcat7k regarding the City of Heroes Incarnate system. I'm not going to duplicate the entire comment here, but I'd encourage you to go read it so that we're all on the same page. In case you're in too much of a hurry to read, however, let me sum up: It's essentially lamenting that the Incarnate system has fundamentally broken the game's leveling and endgame structure, forcing players down a very narrow path in order to participate in most of the recent content additions. Long-time readers and perpetual archive trawlers will remember that I did an article about precisely what could happen when the Incarnate system went live about a year ago. Well, we've had quite some time to see the system in action and find out what works, what doesn't, and so forth. And the thing is, the comment was right. The bad outcome has come to pass, in many ways. The endgame is the Incarnate rush, and if you're not a part of it, you're on the sidelines. Of course, I'm not entirely convinced this isn't the best that could be hoped for.
City of Heroes' newest Intrepid Informer discusses Incarnate additions
City of Heroes was once known as a game without much of an endgame, but the Incarnate system, which launched about a year ago, changed all that. In today's Intrepid Informer, Jeff "Arbiter Hawk" Hamilton discusses the upgrades to the Incarnate system that are rolling out as part of Issue 21's special Media Blitz update. The original Incarnate ability slots will each see new power options, including a self-targeted cone for Judgement, a mass-teleport skill for Destiny, multi-proc'ing debuffs for Interface, and a variety of control, support, and tanking boosts for Alpha. According to Jeff: The biggest challenge in making new abilities in the existing Incarnate slots is that they have to be desirable in order to be worth creating, but they can't completely supplant the existing abilities. If they were numerically superior to the original powers in the slot, we'd just be shoehorning players into taking the new powers, when our true objective is to increase the number of choices a player can make in building their character. The Incarnate system is available only to VIP players with level 50 characters. The official City of Heroes website has the full Intrepid Informer with all the details on the upcoming additions.
Looking back on busy times for City of Heroes with the development staff
There's been so much going on with City of Heroes over the past few months -- we've seen a new spin on older content and the anniversary and the new endgame system engaging the game's players in new content. It's a lot to take in all at once, and it's easier to process when you have the chance to talk it over with some of the development staff. During a special NCsoft event, our own Bree Royce had just such a chance to get some questions answered directly by the development team about Issue 20, the Incarnate system, and the state of the game both at present and going forward. Matt Miller and Nate Birkholz shared reflections on what has worked and what has gone a bit awry in the development, something that should be of interest to every City of Heroes player. Sadly, the discussion does not include any zombie catgirls -- just the parts that worked and the parts that wound up being problems.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Seven years in the city, part two
Welcome back to the second part of our look back through the past year of City of Heroes. The last installment, in case you missed it, discussed the first two issues that went live over the past year, Issue 17 and Issue 18. And here's a quick recap: They were pretty awesome, but they were lacking much for the high-end portion of the game. This time we're turning our gaze forward to the later two issues, the good and the bad. And there was some bad that came with these updates, a certain level of unavoidable badness. I called this part of the game's history the fall of the unleveled empire, and while I don't think we've quite obtained empire status, there are those among us -- including me -- who either believed that leveling past a certain point would always be an option or believed at least that level-locking was something that happened to other games. Enough meandering about it -- let's finish up our look at City of Heroes in its seventh year of operation.
City of Heroes producer's letter talks story and solo-friendliness
City of Heroes is the latest MMORPG to feature story in its marketing materials, as producer Nate "Second Measure" Birkholz outlines a number of narrative-based initiatives in store for the seven-year old superhero title. "We view City of Heroes as a storytelling medium. We have a lot of long-term plans for the main story, and all of these plans are intended to provide a backdrop for the stories you tell with your characters every day," Birkholz explains. He also spends a bit of time reflecting on the massive changes that CoX has experienced during its live cycle, noting that the game is much more casual-friendly than it once was. More changes are coming too, among them a new zone in Issue 21 and "alternative ways to experience the Incarnate System, especially options that are more accessible to solo players and small groups." You can read the full text at the official CoX website.
City of Heroes interviews discuss content development and Incarnate raids
At the start of the month, City of Heroes released the massive and potentially game-changing Issue 20 update. Codenamed Incarnates, the update introduced a series of large raids designed to continue the story established in Going Rogue in a new way. In an interview with PC Gamer, lead producer Nate Birkholz discussed how the new group instances have been received. Issues touched on include difficulty scaling, the new Incarnate powers that can be earned and lessons learned from developing the new system. In a contrasting interview over at Gaming Angels, lead designer Melissa Bianco discussed content development and her career at Paragon Studios. The interview covers some important issues, asking why City of Heroes has enjoyed the ongoing success it has and what exactly goes into zone and instance design. Melissa also has some tips for anyone looking for a job in the games industry and provides a little insight into the development process.
Exclusive Dev Diary: Designing the task forces for City of Heroes Issue 20
City of Heroes traditionally packs quite a lot into its large content patches, and Issue 20 looks to be no exception. Aside from the two new Incarnate Trials meant for endgame players, the update is going to see two new mid-level task forces added for players between levels 20-40. With one force for heroes and another for villains, everyone will have a chance to enjoy some new storytelling about the war against Praetoria outside of the earliest invasions. But of course, new task forces don't just materialize out of thin air. It takes some hard work and a solid set of design principles to make them rewarding, something that Paragon Studios has been steadily improving since launch. John Hegner, Lead Mission Designer for City of Heroes, took the time to share with us what went into the construction of these new task forces and what they should mean for the player, so click on past the break for our exclusive developer diary on the design of the new content.
Exclusive: Designing the expanded Incarnate trees for City of Heroes
It was rumored for a while and confirmed at PAX East -- Issue 20 of City of Heroes will feature four new Incarnate slots for characters to improve their abilities. That means a huge breadth of new power and ability choices for everyone, and it should lead to some very interesting gameplay once the four new slots become more common among players, especially as the Incarnate abilities aren't tied to any specific archetype or power selection. Of course, that means there are all sorts of new issues for the Paragon Studios team to deal with as the powers go through the phases of design. In this exclusive developer diary, Tim Sweeney, system designer on City of Heroes, has given us the lowdown on how the new endgame slots were conceived and designed. Jump on past the cut to see how the four newest slots were put together for the upcoming patch, from concept to balancing issues.
PAX East 2011: Shipping up to Boston with City of Heroes
It's only fitting that PAX East 2011 would see another panel for City of Heroes, as last year's convention was the first time the team from Paragon Studios had been to the east coast. While this year's panel didn't see the many announcements and surprising new reveals of last year, it's good to see the team making the trek out to Boston once again in what fans can only hope will be a regular event. As always, the line to get into the panel was gargantuan, with players lining up an hour before the panel doors opened for a seat in the relatively small theater. Once players had filed in and the room had settled down, it was time for a look at the past year or so for City of Heroes and at what players could expect for the near future, as well as the usual lively question-and-answer session.
Adjust your behavior in City of Heroes
The war between Primal Earth and Praetoria continues in City of Heroes, and the battlefields are expanding. Emperor Cole's Praetorians struck the first blow, but the residents of Primal Earth are fighting back, starting with the Behavioral Adjustment Facility in the Imperial City. That's the site of the new Incarnate Trial previewed today, a trial in which heroes and villains alike are racing to stop the plans of Siege and Nightstar, two searingly intelligent Clockwork overseeing the process known as "Mindwashing." Starting with players attempting to break into the facility, the trial sends players against several facility guards. Successfully cutting down the opposition will start a confrontation with Nightstar and her cadre of Victoria-class Clockwork defenders. Her defeat, unfortunately, signals the release of the Mindwashed prisoners, forcing players to engage in a battle against several control-immune enemies before moving on to fight Siege. But that alone doesn't spell the end of the trial -- there's one more fight in the wings, a battle that should prompt players to think outside the box if they want to emerge victorious. City of Heroes players should take a gander at the full preview and get ready to take the war to Praetoria when Issue 20 goes live.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Stricken pack
It's been a while since the Incarnate system went live, and we've had a little time to get used to the ideas that the Issue 19 Strike Pack brought to the table. Not a full shakedown, mind you, but enough to make it clear what the fairly minor addition actually does for the nascent endgame. Whether or not it brings anything positive to City of Heroes is still up for debate. Depending on whom you're talking to, it either nicely handles a few weaknesses of the current Incarnate design or it's a step in a bad direction. As usual, I don't think the answer is anywhere near that simple. The Strike Pack is a good thing in many ways, and not just because of the addition of the higher tiers of Incarnate abilities. I love giving people more reason to run Task Forces, definitely, but if there's a serious problem introduced by this it goes right back to the same endgame problems that City of Heroes has always had, problems that I'm not completely sure even Issue 20 will fix.
City of Heroes launches the Issue 19 Strike Pack
Have you found yourself acquiring the deific power of the Incarnate system too darn slowly? Or have you found yourself stymied as you train up your Alpha Slot abilities, knowing that new tiers will be available but wishing they were available right now? City of Heroes players with either conundrum can take heart in knowing that the Issue 19 Strike Pack has just gone live, adding in solutions to both of these problems for everyone. Players looking for a chance to earn more Incarnate materials every week will be happy with the new Weekly Strike Target, which grants extra rewards to players for the first run of a chosen Task Force and/or Strike Force and badges for players who repeatedly run the target. It also coincides nicely with the expansion of the Alpha Slot, allowing players access to the highest tier of powers available. It's not a bad thing to have extra motivation to run the Task Forces in City of Heroes, and this update offers two excellent incentives.
City of Heroes launching the Strike Pack in February
City of Heroes has been firing on all cylinders for this month's announcements, promising a great deal to come in the next few months. One of those promises was an addition to Issue 19's list of feature in a smaller update, and now that's been both dated and expanded upon. The Strike Pack is due out in early February, and it promises to give players both a chance to improve Incarnate abilities even further and more opportunities to gather the all-important materials for same. According to Black Scorpion, starting with the launch of the Strike Pack, a single co-op Task Force (or a Strike Force and a Task Force) will be designated as a Weekly Strike Target, with characters earning double merits and a special Incarnate item for the first completion in a week. The Incarnate item is the key to unlocking the upper tiers of the Alpha Slot, which apply an effective level shift to your character, allowing said character to count as level 51 for purposes of hitting, missing, dodging, and so forth. Special badges are also promised for running the Weekly Strike Target multiple times, which should help keep City of Heroes active for everyone.
Issue 19 goes live in City of Heroes
While World of Warcraft goes through its own world-shattering events, City of Heroes is getting hit hard as well. Issue 19 has just gone live, allowing players to experience the first step of the Praetorian invasion. Luckily, the patch also brings with it the Alpha Slot, empowering players with the first tier of the Incarnate system and allowing characters to stand against the invasion at a heretofore unseen level of power. There's also a surfeit of assorted quality-of-life improvements, not the least of which is the movement of Fitness to a baseline set of powers. Issue 19's features have been getting talked up for some time, so players will likely find many familiar entries among the official patch notes. Most noteworthy is the free respec token that's being given out to all characters, with a second free token being awarded on December 8th for characters who have used the first free token. It's the perfect time for City of Heroes players to log in, get playing, and start fighting back against the Praetorian invaders with all the might they can muster -- and with the new systems, that's quite a lot of might indeed.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Points of great divergence
It's been an interesting few weeks leading up to the launch of the Incarnate system, in no small part because it's all been secret knowledge up until now. Yes, you all saw my writeup on the new task force and a quick interview regarding Issue 19 just a couple of days ago, but it happened before then, and I've been sitting on my hands with some knowledge about just what the next evolution would mean for City of Heroes. As a result, I didn't want to talk about it too much -- speculation was pointless, since I knew what the Alpha Slot actually did, and I wasn't allowed to just say it. So what do I think about the Incarnate system? I'm excited about it, obviously -- I'm excited about anything that really takes a new idea and runs with it, and I have a lot of faith in the team doing the development. But at the same time, I can see more than one future lying ahead for the post-Issue 19 City of Heroes, one good, one bad. Armed with the knowledge of the first slot and a loose overview of what's coming, I think now is a time to look at what I see as the two possible outcomes.
Paragon Studios answers our questions about Issue 19 of City of Heroes
Just three months after the major upheaval of Going Rogue, City of Heroes is getting another big update in the form of Issue 19. Bringing with it new task forces, the first part of the new Incarnate system, the long-awaited baseline Fitness pool, and several other quality-of-life improvements, the issue is packed to bursting with things for players to enjoy. So we naturally had a few questions, even above and beyond our first impressions of both the Incarnate system and the new Apex task force. Of course, this issue isn't the work of just one or two people within Paragon Studios, but the whole team. So it was fitting that we got our questions about the newest update to City of Heroes answered by several members of the team. Melissa Bianco, Matt Miller, Sean McCann, and Tim Sweeney all took the time to answer some quick questions about the substance of the update, so click on past the break to see our questions and their responses.
City of Heroes developer diary: Challenging the gods
Issue 19 brings a big change to characters in City of Heroes. There's always been a line of thought running through comic books that superheroes are essentially modern deities, but when you start stepping into the Incarnate system, the comparison becomes far more straightforward: You are wielding the powers of gods. Just like Statesman and Lord Recluse, player characters will be empowered beyond the ken of mortals and will begin the road toward a new apex of ability. Of course, when you're making such huge changes to the fabric of the game, you need more than just a quick stir in the patcher. A great deal of work went into elevating characters to deification, and that's precisely what the latest City of Heroes developer diary covers. Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney has penned an entry on what went into the design of the Incarnate system, so skip on past the break to see how players go from being mere mortals to Incarnates... within the game, anyhow.
