Messages

76

Patch Notes / PTS (Test Server) Feb 20, 2022 - Ri3

« on: February 20, 2022, 09:35:02 pm »

ARCHITECT ENTERTAINMENT
- Added bulk option for common salvage rolls equal to 5 rolls of salvage
- Raised held Ticket Cap to 99,999
- Raised per mission ticket cap to 2039
- Hall of Fame Developer's Choice missions should now grant the Critic badge

BUG FIXES
Powers
- Corrected oversight on Mastermind Cold Domination not having boostsets. They should now properly take sets.
- Fixed Guardian Spring Attack incorrectly dealing no damage, it now does damage as normal.
- Mastermind pets can once again slot Recharge Intensive Pet invention sets.
- Controller Darkness Affinity's Fade is no longer affected by power boost effects; this should never have been possible as it leads to a bug with the resistance values.
- Dominator Psionic Mastery's Link Minds can now correctly be affected by power boost effects.
- The resistance buff in Nature Affinity's Wild Growth is no longer resistible. (This bug did not affect the Guardian version.)
- Guardian Hellfire Assault's Lash and Crack Whip now correctly use the melee damage table instead of ranged.

Costumes
- The Tech Knight mace and staff now have the energy ball correctly positioned at the end of the weapon instead of being stuck to the character's hand.

Misc
 - Overt 500 grahmathical grammatical and! spelling errors have been andresed adresed fixed.
 - Alignment Merits should no longer wipe on alignment transition

ALIGNMENT VENDORS
- Adds Team Transport to Hero and Villain Alignment vendors.
   - You must be a Reaffirmed Hero or Villain to purchase for 1 alignment merit and 25 million inf.
   - These powers will work in any Hero or Villain zone respectively. These have 4 charges. Using them outside of these zones causes the power to do nothing.

77

Stalker / Re: Don't sweat the Technique - Stalker in the modern age

« on: February 11, 2022, 01:20:38 am »

Upon further testing of Placate I was able to achieve these results on a dummy

Code: [Select]

Your Assassin's Slash impales Practice Dummy for 433.16 points of lethal damage!
You land a critical hit with your Blade for an extra 779.7 points of lethal damage!
You swing at Practice Dummy with your mighty Head Splitter for 524.24 points of lethal damage and reduce his Defense!
You land a critical hit with your Head Splitter for an extra 524.24 points of lethal damage!
You blast Practice Dummy for 89.54 points of bonus energy damage!
 - Your Assassin's Slash impales Practice Dummy for 385.89 points of lethal damage!
You land a critical hit with your Blade for an extra 694.61 points of lethal damage!
---- Double Assassin's Strike 3431.38  15.15s

Your Assassin's Slash impales Practice Dummy for 433.16 points of lethal damage!
You land a critical hit with your Blade for an extra 779.7 points of lethal damage!
You swing at Practice Dummy with your mighty Head Splitter for 524.24 points of lethal damage and reduce his Defense!
You land a critical hit with your Head Splitter for an extra 524.24 points of lethal damage!
You blast Practice Dummy for 89.54 points of bonus energy damage!
- You Slash Practice Dummy with your Broad Sword for 158.09 points of lethal damage and reduce his Defense!
You hit Practice Dummy for 89.54 points of bonus Lethal damage!
You blast Practice Dummy for 89.54 points of bonus negative energy damage!
You blast Practice Dummy for 89.54 points of bonus negative energy damage!
You strike Practice Dummy for 260.76 points of lethal damage and reduce his Defense!
You knocked Practice Dummy from their feet with your Disembowel attack!
Your Assassin's Slash impales Practice Dummy for 426.03 points of lethal damage!
You critically hit Practice Dummy with your Assassin's Slash for 426.03 points of Lethal damage!
---- Assassin's Focus 3890.41 15.30s
Thus I am forced to conclude that, as a Setup tool for damage, Placate has been usurped by Focus. It still maintains it's role as a disengagement tool however.

78

Stalker / Don't sweat the Technique - Stalker in the modern age

« on: February 07, 2022, 06:13:22 pm »

Stalkers have had a rough history. All the way leading up to issue 22, their position as a skirmisher could be seen as dubious due to how unwieldy they could be. They required a lot of prepositioning. Their signature attack, the Assassin's Strike (AS), had a long wind up and wasn't adviced to be used outside of hide.
Then issue 22 dropped. This issue added Assassin's Focus to the game and let AS be instantly cast with no interruptable period outside of stealth.
This guide will go over Focus, what it is, how to use it, and the Hide ATO with its plethora of new options added. We will also briefly cover placate.
This guide will not cover any powersets, nor any major builds. This guide is about the techniques you can use as a Stalker in the modern age with the tools most any Stalker can achieve.

Focus
Assassin's Focus is a stacking critical chance buff that is granted to the Stalker after every non-AS attack. Each stack is 33 percent chance. Allowing you to achieve a good chance of critical at 2 stacks and guaranteeing a critical hit at 3 stacks. The icon will be highlighted in Orange once you have 3 stacks of focus.

With this tool, surely you should be dropping it on your target all the time, right? Perhaps. Boss hunting is the prime directive of a Stalker in a team with good AoE. The fast nature of AS with Focus allows for another thing to be done. Deleting minions.

A critical AS derived from Focus deals a great amount of damage to whatever you use it on and is such a fast animating attack that it might be better used to simply target a healthy minion and.. erase them.  It's quick speed also allows it to potentially be used on the move. Good for repositioning in a fight. This attribute comes into play with another tool added to your arsenal should you come across one.

Stalker's Guile - Chance to Hide
This ATO, when slotted into an attack, gives the attack a chance to put you into a Hidden state. This state guarantees a critical hit on your next Single Target attack or a 50 percent chance on all AoE targets. It is advised this live in your AS to maintain a fast flow of combat once the scrapping starts, offers a strong burst on your opener, and the quick animation speed of the fast AS allows one to utilize a few techniques.

I call these techniques
Cut Twice
Cut Wide
and Cut and Run
These all refer to things you can do with the Hidden state achieved from using AS both as a full AS and as a critical AS with Focus. I'll explain

Cut Twice refers to using AS then using your strongest available attack on either your current target or on a healthy minion for colatteral. If you're scrapping with a boss, this is what you'll probably use to down them or to keep yourself free of nuisances while you fight them.

Cut Wide refers to using the hidden state's 50 percent chance to critical hit with AoE to use an AoE move. This is to help assist your team or yourselves with dealing with groups of mobs should you lack AoE firepower. Coupled with being able to delete minions with quick AS with focus stacks, you can become a decent minion cleaner in your own regard.

Cut and Run refers to using the Hidden state achieved from a Quick AS with or without Focus to quickly position in the next group for a Full AS. This technique assumes you're in a team and can leave them to clean up the last one or two minions or LTs. The best way I've found to cut and run is to use your strike on the healtiest minion or LT you can find as you are running past them into the next room. Be sure to check if the Hide proc actually procced. Done correctly, you will already be Hidden and ready to move into the next group. This can significantly reduce the wait time between groups as you wait for Hidden to reapply.

Placate's place in the modern age is the same as it was during live. Placate allows* one to completely reset their states and perform a full AS. If one has the Stalker's Guile ATO, this also means a potential followup application of an attack of your choice. This allows you to unleash a devastating burst if you are able to be unmoved for 4 seconds. Usually, you will just cut an AV with this as there are few mobs that may be fought long enough for this technique to considered.

*There is a catch however. At time of writing, Placate has an issue in which it's hidden state will not apply when used against mobs significantly higher level than you. This includes level shifts. It still retains its use as a disengagement tool however.

These techniques should allow a stalker that is able to see past the red haze of scrapperlock to be flexible with how they can apply damage to things.

79

Player Help/Guides / Hastily put together Gold Medal Slope tutorial

« on: December 15, 2021, 01:51:45 am »

I slapped this together in about 3 hours to try to explain good ways to get gold on the slopes.

80

Patch Notes / PTS (Test Server) Dec 5th, 2021 - Ri2e3

« on: December 05, 2021, 09:52:46 pm »

Ice set updates:

Ice Melee and Ice Armor have been ported to scrappers and stalkers.

Ice Melee and Ice Armor power balance tweaks:
- Frozen Fists activation time reduced from 1.33s to 0.83s
- Frozen Fists damage increased from scale 0.84 to 1.0, recharge time increased from 3s to 4s, endurance cost increased from 4.37 to 5.2
- Greater Ice Sword activation time reduced from 2.33s to 1.83s
- Frozen Armor and Glacial Armor defense increased from scale 1.8 to scale 2.0
- Wet Ice unenhanceable scale 0.1 defense removed

Blaster Frozen Aura now deals damage, like the Ice Melee version

Ice Melee powers now have a full set of both sword and non-sword animation and FX options:
- Frozen Fists now uses the shorter single-punch animation
- Frozen Fists now has an alternate ice sword animation (with greater ice sword option)
- Ice Sword now has an alternate overhand swing animation
- Ice Sword now has an alternate non-sword ice fist smash animation (with greater ice sword option)
- Greater Ice Sword animation sped up
- Greater Ice Sword now has an alternate uppercut swing animation (with regular ice sword option)
- Greater Ice Sword now has an alternate non-sword ice fist clobber animation
- Freezing Touch now has an alternate ice sword stab animation (with greater ice sword option)
- Frozen Aura now has an alternate ground punch animation
- All-new Assassin's Icicle power FX for Stalker Ice Melee, with both icicle stab and ice sword variations (with greater ice sword option)
-----
Ice Armor style powers now have four new, less obtrusive power themes so your character no longer has to be covered in ice cubes! This affects Ice Armor's Frozen Armor, Wet Ice, Glacial Armor, and Energy Absorption (only has Frost theme for now), Cold Domination's Ice Shield and Glacial Shield, and all versions of Frozen Armor in ancillary/patron pools.
- Icy Coating theme: A shifting layer of thin icy chips fitting closer to your character's body
- Frost Armor theme: A subtle layer of translucent frost on your character
- Chill Armor theme: A cloud of cold mist around your character
- No Covering theme: A minimal FX style theme with no obscuring graphics
-----
Winter Storm Accuary/Endurance is now Recharge/Endurance.

Winter Storm End/Rech/Slow is now End/Dam/Slow

Winter's Gift now correctly displays it's UNIQUE status.
Fixed an issue with the Winter Storm proc not acting unique.

Werewolf scarfs now fit bit and so do their earmuffs.

Added New Winter Storm Icon

Corrected the Winter's Gift proc text on its Super Pack card.
Fixed a broken Super Pack card not appearing.  The card was the Winter Storm: Endurance/Recharge/Slow.
Fixed the description of the Very Rare Recipes rewards choice from Incarnate Trials.

Centered the Guardian's Gift icon.

Added the correct background to the Guardian ATO Super Pack icons.
Fixed missing description on the (Corruptor) Scorching Blast proc Super Pack card.
------
Known issues/incomplete aspects for ice sets:
- Scrapper ice melee still has Taunt instead of Confront
- Assassin's Icicle has placeholder name, description, and combat log text strings
- Power icons for Assassin's Icicle, stalker ice melee Placate, and scrapper ice melee Confront are still placeholders

81

General Suggestions and Feedback / Re: Gender Diversification

« on: October 22, 2021, 08:50:25 pm »

Project is one that may be undertaken at some point. It is a low priority however. It adds some minor variety, but doesn't benefit gameplay that much for the amount of work needed. Especially depending on how deep we may want to go with it. I won't entirely say "No." instead I'll say "Not at this time."

82

Tech Issues / Re: Sunrise Launcher issue

« on: October 17, 2021, 09:51:34 pm »

I've got to ask a few questions as well

What manifest are you using to try to connect?
It should read
https://join.cityofheroesrebirth.com/Manifests/Rebirth.xml

83

AE/Mission Architect / Re: Want Dev's choice for your AE?

« on: October 17, 2021, 12:58:41 am »

Back in May of this year, I had searched for more arcs to spotlight. Of the three I found I have awarded arc 797 - The Search for Dillo Developer's Choice.

Here are my reviews
774 - The May Lives of Lord Recluse

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Premise - 7/10
Is the premise interesting or well thought out? Is it super basic?
City of Heroes is no stranger to interdimensional shinanigans. This is one such story exploring many versions of Lord Recluse.

Contact Writing - 14/20
Does the contact have details? How well does the contact explain what's going on?
Contact acts similarly to how a portal corp tech would. They deliver a lot of exposition. I felt, however, that the information could have been presented better by reformatting paragraphs and adding more line breaks.

Enemy Design - 16/20
Does it use existing assets in an interesting way or does it have its own? Do those have descriptions? How are those written to explain who they are?
A mix of Custom and Normal content exploring various kinds of crazy dimensions. One of the missions mob choice was not able to scale to level 50.

Mission Details - 20/20
Are the missions explained well? Are the missions fun to play?
These are quick missions with optional EB/GM. They can be as arduous as you want them to be.

Show vs Tell - 15/20
How does the arc convey it's story? Is it all in clues? Do the NPCs exposit in NPC dialogue? Is there any exposition at all?
There is a lot of exposition delivered from the contact. Some of the clues directly tell you something is supposed to convey something without describing it.

Overall Quality - 8/10
How do I personally feel about the arc?
Arc was pretty solid, if a bit long winded.

Final Score 80/100
Barely scraping a 5 star rating. Its interesting premise and plot is held back by simple presentation.

790 - Style over Substance

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Premise - 9/10
Is the premise interesting or well thought out? Is it super basic?
Hiring help to help manage your social media presense and the highjinks that ensue? That's a good premise for an episode of a sitcom.

Contact Writing - 18/20
Does the contact have details? How well does the contact explain what's going on?
The contact has details that describe the career of a moderately successful PR person for a company "Liberty Search and Rescue" rather well. I had quite a few laughs at how hard it goes into the social media theme.

Enemy Design - 16/20
Does it use existing assets in an interesting way or does it have its own? Do those have descriptions? How are those written to explain who they are?
The descriptions of the custom enemies were pretty short, but still did the job. The costumes used by them were fantastic! Some were missing descriptions though. The final mission features Villains of other players too!

Mission Details - 16/20
Are the missions explained well? Are the missions fun to play?
Missions were realitively short with a decent enough mixture of objectives. The reasons you are doing the objectives is the main fun of it.

Show vs Tell - 17/20
How does the arc convey it's story? Is it all in clues? Do the NPCs exposit in NPC dialogue? Is there any exposition at all?
The premise doesn't really lend itself to a heavy storyline. It missed one opportunity for a joke in the first mission, but otherwise its presentation was great for a comedy arc.

Overall Quality - 8/10
How do I personally feel about the arc?
Pretty well written. A good take on social media and all the antics therein. To quote the game, It #slayed.

Final Score 84/100
I had quite a few laughs at this arc. It has minor issues, but those do not get in the way of the enjoyment by anyone not going over it with a fine tooth comb. I did take mild umbrage with one of the joke mobs in the zombie mission however. I recognize it's a looney tooney kind of joke however.

797 - The Search for Dillo Awarded Developer's Choice

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Premise - 8/10
Is the premise interesting or well thought out? Is it super basic?
Following up on an existing series of arcs is a good jumping point for a story.

Contact Writing - 18/20
Does the contact have details? How well does the contact explain what's going on?
Twinshots speech was captured really well. As was the speech of other characters during the arc. Especially Dillo's

Enemy Design - 17/20
Does it use existing assets in an interesting way or does it have its own? Do those have descriptions? How are those written to explain who they are?
This used entirely existing assets but in clever ways that called back to the other arcs as well.

Mission Details - 15/20
Are the missions explained well? Are the missions fun to play?
The missions were great to play. Had quite a few twists during it.

Show vs Tell - 18/20
How does the arc convey it's story? Is it all in clues? Do the NPCs exposit in NPC dialogue? Is there any exposition at all?
The NPCs are super well written in this one. They react to clues you find and exposit in dialogue.

Overall Quality - 10/10
How do I personally feel about the arc?
The arc was extremely well produced. The characters are written well and the missions are designed well.

Final Score 86/100
This arc is a perfect example of one that is short and to the point. Though the premise of it being a mystery does cause the quick pace of the arc to be a slight detriment, The arc is still fantastically written and designed.


I hope to be able to make time to continue my delve into the architect and find more gems to award Developer's Choice. Until such time, thank you for your patience.

84

General / Re: Ranged

« on: October 06, 2021, 11:23:01 pm »

This power goes down in damage as you continue to level. Once you hit around.. 8 or so? It is outpaced by having your other powers on top of it's damage bonus being reduced significantly. It is literally there so you can have more than your one attack very early.

85

AE/Mission Architect / Re: Want Dev's choice for your AE?

« on: October 06, 2021, 07:33:53 pm »

I just wanted to lay out what's been going on with the effort to highlight more story driven arcs and why nothing has happened even before Ri2. To put the story short, I'm the one who's handling the matter and I've been *ultra* busy in the past few months.

I do have a small batch I played through recently and will probably highlight one of these next week as a Dev's Choice. But due to mitigating circumstances in my non-CoH life, I might not get to that task on this schedule. I can only hope for your understanding and patience especially given the frustrations of taking down the fire farm's Developer's Choices.

Once again we on the Rebirth Staff apologize for any delays and thank you for your patience.

86

Patch Notes / PTS (Test Server) Sep 22, 2021 - Ri2e2

« on: September 22, 2021, 07:25:08 pm »

PTS (Test Server) Patch Notes - Spoilers Ahead

Halloween 2021 Update

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A new Super Pack has arrived: All Hallow's Eve.  In it, you'll find all kinds of goodies!

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The All Hallow's Eve Super Pack includes five new Halloween Enhancement IO Sets, each with unique abilities/procs:
-Vampire's Bite (Melee) - Unique Proc: Chance for Self Heal
-Endless Nightmare (Sleep) - Unique Proc: Chance for Fear, Psionic damage if woke early from the nightmare
-The Haunting (Fear) - Unique Proc: Chance to summon Ghosts
-Witchcraft (First-ever: Universal Debuff Set) - Unique Proc: Chance for -Res(all)
-Return From The Grave (First-ever: Rez IO Set) - Unique 6-slot set bonus, (Rez Bonus) Mass Rising: When the Rez power is used, fallen allies near the caster will receive a basic Rez effect as well.

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We are introducing not one but two, first-ever of their kind, new Attuned IO Enhancement set categories. Both Witchcraft and Return From The Grave pioneer these new categories, allowing players to create unique builds and take their gameplay to a new level of customization.

Witchcraft, being the first Universal Debuff set can be slotted into any power that can accept To Hit Debuff, Defense Debuff, Accurate To Hit Debuff, or Accurate Defense Debuff.

Return From The Grave brings Rez powers to the front and center.  This Attuned IO Enhancement set can be slotted in any self rez or ally rez power.  Its signature Rez Effects enhancement type allows it simultaneously enhance any ability that the rez power it's slotted into has!  Additionally, anyone willing to invest in slotting the full 6-piece enhancement set will be granted the special ability, Mass Rising.  Mass Rising releases a PbAoE ally rez around the cast whenever they use the rez power that is fully slotted with Return From The Grave.

Additionally, look forward to collecting all of the new rewards in

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the All Hallow's Eve Super Pack:
-The Rock (Temporary Power)
-Halloween salvage items (Statesman Halloween Mask, Lord Recluse Halloween Mask, Back Ally Brawler Halloween Gloves, and Hamidon Halloween Costume)
-Free Costume Change Token (aka Free Tailor Tokens)
-Character Respec Token
-Account-wide unlock of Costume Slot #7 (still under development)
-33 Permanent Halloween Costume Powers (Check your progress in the badge/collection menu)

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You can claim All Hallow's Eve Super Packs in either Croatoa, Nerva Archipelago, or Imperial City by talking to Annah, Granny Beldam, or Acantha (the Halloween costume unlock contacts).

You can also claim an All Hallow's Eve Super Pack by completing the Deadly Apocalypse Zone Event once every 18 hours. (Reward Re-claim timer subject to change.)

QoL:
-The maximum number of Rocks has been increased from 10 to 25.

87

Roleplaying / A treatise on melitt history, evolution, biology and society (IC)

« on: September 22, 2021, 06:19:48 pm »

Thousands of years of self created isolation has been broken of recent. The devastation of the Devourer and their hordes wreaking havoc upon my fellows within the Topaz and Quartz sectors has brought an end to it. Much was lost and there is much more to cover than I can broach in this. Until such time that the Devourer is rid of this land, this will have to suffice. As I write this cover sheet, Vanguard is assisting myself, my family, and the rest of the melitt to a new location within the continent of South America. Though the danger of total extinction is past, the threat of lost knowledge holds still. Thus do I put to text that which I can recall of the history and evolution of my people. I do this to aid the understanding of humanity so we might aid one another against the many threats aligned against the world we inhabit. May the sovereign spirits guide us all in the trying days to come.

- Lantana of Topaz

Pre and Ancient History

Much of our ancient history has been lost both to time and to the Devourer’s assaults. What is known is our evolution began around 4 million years ago, much the same as the ‘homo sapien’ did we ‘apiono sapiens’ rise. Where humanity rose from apes we rose from various kinds of insects in the hymenoptera order. As humanity walked the earth of Africa and the Europes, we flew the skies of northern America. Or so I have been told by the few of our number old enough to remember the tales. One thing was certain, our species never spread wide. This is presumed to be because of conflicts with humanity in the past. This theory lead to the isolation doctrine that we held until recent. Any specific details, including the degree of how true the above is, eludes me however. Evidence of any of the above is largely left buried within ‘The Hive’.

One thing is certain however; it was in this isolation that we thrived. Partially out of paranoia of conflict and mostly due to the lack of expansion. This was easy to carry out until colonization efforts in the 1800s and the rapid expansion of human civilization within the past thousand years. Save for some interactions during the Era of Magic that lead us to cultivate a magic discipline of our own.

Magic and Technology

Our technology greatly leapt forward during some mysterious events in the 1400s. This period of time is called The Awakening. In the 1900s our technology rivaled that of the technology of today.

The bulk of our technology utilized crystal focuses of varieties. The area being devoid of rich veins of metal made us get creative with our resources. We had beam rifles of great strength, focuses to allow one to tap their greatest magics, and armor of diamonds. Most of these are lost to the Devourer. One secret I kept and have hence forwarded on is the secret of pure steel. The process involves weaving diamond dust, a pure carbon solution, into iron to create something far stronger. Not as strong as Impervium, but within a distance of it.

Our magics utilize one's spiritual power through crystal focuses. These focuses could take many forms, though the most popular were either small, convenient forms (amulets, rings, etc) or large forms for combat against the Devourer (Gauntlets being the most popular choice of such). It is unclear if Tieliekku or the Circle had anything to do with our awakening. Evidence points to a potential time travel event muddying the timeline and obscuring any information of the awakening. This enigma is another question we will need to answer once the Devourer is defeated.

Society

We were housed in Apocrita: A massive sprawling underground complex of enormous scale. Apocrita was split into four sectors: The Amber sector responsible for feeding the city and known for its great gardens. The Topaz sector (the descent of yours truly) for the sciences and arcane studies. The Quartz Sector responsible for both the defense of the city and home to the finest crafters. Finally, the Opal Sector was home to the diarchies, the church of the sovereign spirits and of the arts. We were ruled by a king and queen of each of the sectors called the Diarchies. They were elected by those who worked in those sectors.

Our names come from where we are born, so we will always remember our roots no matter what sector of life you find yourself in. I, Lantana of Topaz, found myself as much at home in the Quartz sectors as I did in the Topaz studying how to manipulate magics. Where you were born never dictated your position in life however. Case in point: Zinnias of Amber once being a sugar cane farmer.

Our population paled in comparison to humanity, being at most 150,000 housed in Apocrita during the awakening.

Biology

This section will be harder for me to elaborate as this falls outside of my fields of study. To put it in the words of one of my instructors, Apiono Sapiens are bipedal insectoids that exhibit great strength, an endo and exo skeletal structure, flight through wings, have a minor psionic link to each other, can age up to hundreds of years, and are largely omnivorous due to meats containing more proteins than can be extrapolated easily from fauna.

It is believed that each one holds their psionic energy and can pass it down in the event of ones death. This is the theory of the sovereign spirit: that each melitt can channel the power of all of the melitt of the past. The smallest nymphs to the very diarchs themselves lend their strength to those in the future. This theory has never been confirmed since its establishment in the 1400s but is held as a superstition regardless.

Recent History and The Devourer

Sometime within the past 7 years, the being we know as the Devourer and humanity knows as Hamidon started a crusade to destroy us. The Devourer’s hatred of technology and desire to see a pure world without humanity caused them to view us as an obstacle and potential enemy. Apocrita was built underground in the place called by Paragon City as ‘The Hive’. Right under one of their forms. The Devourer discovered it and proceeded to wage war against us. Our technology, links, and magics allowed us to survive for as long as we did. A barrier constructed held out for the first two years.

Once that fell, members of the Quartz and Topaz would skirmish with the Horde. Through arms and intellect we held. This was until 7 months ago. The Crystal Titan lead a massive horde to assault Apocrita. We possessed no Ambrosia and thus had no way to withstand the oppressive beams of pure light. The titan destroyed the Quartz sector, greatly damaged the Topaz and Opal sectors, killed the kings of Topaz, the diarchy of Quartz, and the queens of Opal and Amber. They were pushed back at great loss but our defenses were greatly diminished.

It was then that the isolation doctrines were called into question and a select member of the now destroyed Quartz sector was sent to find help. Kacob of Quartz was chosen. He quickly discovered Paragon City and proceeded to garner support, knowledge, and strength. He became known as the Quartz Hornet to people of the city. They presumed him to be some form of mutant seen commonly among the cities superhero population. With assistance from a task force of heroes, the Crystal Titan was laid low. Kacob of Quartz, slayer of titans returned to Apocrita with knowledge of the outside world. Tales of his deeds outside Aprocrita were sung by minstrels in the remnants of the Opal sector.

Much discussion and debate was had at this point between the remaining diarchies and leaders of aspects of the remaining sectors. It was decided that two more must leave Apocrita to garner support and strength. Volunteers were called for. I stepped up as did Zinnias of Amber. I had a major talent with magics of healing and ice. Zinnias had a determination to rise above the fears set into our hearts by the Devourer. Our respective sectors diarchies gave us their blessing and we set off. My travels were limited as I spent more time in study than blasting thieves and crooks in the streets. I kept an eye on any reports and witnessed Zinnias undergo a transformation. When we had left, she was meek, easily frightened but possessed a fire within her. I cannot say for certain if it proves the theory of the sovereign spirit as I have seen this same zeal aid humanity as well. I digress however.

With strength and experience garnered from Paragon’s finest heroes and deadliest villains, assistance from Vanguard, and the retreat of the Devourer’s hordes we have finally had a moment to regroup. Zinnias has chosen to continue assisting humanity after having seen what other threats exist on this planet of ours. Kacob and myself have stayed within Apocrita until recently. Vanguard has found a suitable refuge for us within an island off the shore of south america and has already begun the logistical process of aiding us in moving to said location. All they wish for in exchange is all of our information on the Devourer we possess, samples and formulas of our pure steel, and crystal focuses for their battle with the Rikti. I have also personally elected to assist them in operations against the Rikti when I am able to.

Closing

Thus do we find ourselves here and now. The greatest mystery we hold at present is the question of outside influence during the awakening. Evidence suggests interactions with a faction during the era of magic and potential time travel interference during the awakening. Many questions lay unanswered and demand they be answered on the corpses of the Devourer and his horde. Until this day comes this is our story. For as many holes in our understanding as we have, it is still ours.

As melitt move to New Apocrita we place our hopes and strength on one Zinnias of Amber. Having seen them in the latest news reports I know our faith is placed well.

88

Announcements and Important News / SCHEDULED RELEASE OF RI2

« on: September 08, 2021, 12:32:48 am »

Here is an overview of our future plans.

First is the scheduled release of issue 2 "Paths to Power".  Included in the update is more costume options, tanker and power adjustments, an economy rework and more. It it scheduled to release on September 12th.



With the release of Rebirth Issue 2, we will be removing developer's choice from the fire farm activities listed in AE.  This was a stop gap measure to help boost the economy. With upcoming changes to the overall method of acquiring enhancements and recipes we feel it is no longer necessary. Please understand that we are not removing these arcs and are merely removing the additional rewards on them.
WE ARE NOT BANNING FARMING OR TAKING ANY MOVE TO MAKE IT HARDER. You will still get XP.

Summer Blockbuster is currently planned to end on the 19th of September.

89

Announcements and Important News / PTS TRIALS SCHEDULED FOR 8/31/2021

« on: August 31, 2021, 12:11:49 am »

Incarnate Trials will be held on the PTS tomorrow (Tuesday 8/31/2021) at 9 EST, 8 CST, 6 PST.
This set of iTrials is an important test of our new reward drop changes. We will be asking everyone to track drops, including recipes received.

IMPORTANT: In order to claim any rewards for participation on your Live account, we NEED you to fill out a form.

You will be given links to the form at the start AND end of iTrials. You will need to fill out ONE form for each character that participates. (So if you switch characters between trials, we will need you to fill out an additional form.)

If you bring a new character with one of the new powersets to test at incarnate level (which we encourage), there a section of the form to indicate which of your characters on Live you would like your rewards to go to. Otherwise, your rewards will go to the Live version of the character you bring.

The rewards will be a 1:1 delivery of all Astral and Empyrean merits earned with an additional Empyrean merit for participating in each trial. For a total of 4 bonus merits. We will **not** be transferring badges. ~~Now is your time to swim in green stuff.~~

To claim the above rewards, you must fill out the form. Character information, a tally of recipes dropped, and optional sections for opinions.

We thank you all for your input and hope to put the data to good use.

- El Bee~

90

Patch Notes / PTS (Test Server) Aug 26, 2021 - Ri2

« on: August 26, 2021, 11:22:34 pm »

INCARNATE
- Created Shard Recipes for Tier 1 Incarnate abilities of Destiny, Lore, Interface, Incarnate, and Hybrid
- Fixed issue in which being a Team Member during a Dark Astoria Arc would not grant progress on the weekly reward
     * This applies to Flashbacks as well
- Gabriel now rewards a Rare or Very Rare incarnate material in addition to Empyrean merits

POWERS
Martial Mastery
- Stalkers may now slot War Cry with Accuracy

DROP CHANCES
Adjusted Very Rare recipe drop changes as follows:
-Non-incarnate drop chances reduced from 3% to 2.5%.
-Loot Booster Non-incarnate drop chances reduced from 6% to 5%.
-Incarnate drop chances reduced from 6% to 5%
-Loot Booster Incarnate drop chances reduced from 12% to 10%

Reduced Team Inspiration drop chances.

BUGFIXES
-Corrected issue with Kinetic Assault unlock levels on Guardians



Asymmetric torso revamp for females:

This systems renovation brings full asymmetric integration to female hips and torsos
along with numerous new features and options.

All relevant chest and hip geometries have been modified to now accept asymmetric base
textures and tinting patterns. The intent is that asym chests and hips blend seamlessly
with the core costume library we have all come to know and love. No existing option already
available on Rebirth has been sacrificed.

For beta testing purposes, original symmetric categories have been left turned on temporarily
to allow QA testing to ensure that no existing options were forgotton. All new menu bonesets
have been appended with "Asym" to allow easy identification of new categories. This is true even
for new boneset categories without a corresponding legacy version, such as "Single Panel Tights"
and "Jodhpurs."

Later in the testing process, the legacy menus will be switched off and the "Asym" notation will
be removed. For testing purposes, the Valentines event unlockable toga category has been
temporarily unlocked. Before live release, this category will be returned to its conditional state
requiring Valentines event participation to unlock the boneset.

Currently, for testing purposes, most new pattern options are at the bottom of the library.
Before release to Rebirth Live, the patterns that pass our quality standards either as is or
revision, will be canonized. This means they will be folded into the larger alphabetic listing.
The Rebirth dev team reserves the option to hold back any patterns that do not meet our
quality standards at release time. Feedback for how to improve problematic patterns is
welcome during testing.

Patch details below are broken into listings to better help you orient yourself
to the new additions.

### Notation key: (S)-symmetric design, (L)-left hand design, (R)-right hand design


New For Chests:


- New Chest Tights Patterns:

  - Abstract 1 (L, R) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Abstract 2 (L, R) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Abstract 3 (S) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Angled Blend (L, R)
  - Arrows (L, R)
  - Back Blend (S)
  - Battery Powered (L, R)
  - Big Bolt (L, R)
  - Bustier (S)
  - Centurion (L, R)
  - Criss Cross (L, R)
  - Detonation (L, R)
  - Diagonal (L, R)
  - Diamonds 1 (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Diamonds 2 (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Dot Universe (L, R)
  - Fat Bolt (L, R)
  - Framed (L, R)
  - Freeem (L, R)
  - Half Angle (L, R)
  - Halter Top (S)
  - High Waistline (S)
  - High Waisted Split (S)
  - Lace Full (S)
  - Lace Sleeves (S)
  - Lace Torso (S)
  - Offset Intersection (L, R)
  - Off the Shoulder (L, R)
  - Pixelated (L, R)
  - Quadrants (L, R)
  - Racing Stripe (L, R)
  - Razor (L, R) (Rework of Derek Brown pattern)
  - Scattered Stars (L, R)
  - Sharp Shot (L, R)
  - Side Flar (L, R)
  - Sinister (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Snake Skin (L, R)
  - Space Station (L, R)
  - Split (S)
  - Stars & Stripes (L, R)
  - Starshot (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Stripe (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Sunset (S, L, R)
  - Sunshine (L, R)
  - Swirl (L, R)
  - Swoop (L, R)
  - Triangle (L, R)
  - Tricolore (L, R) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Tribal Teeth (S, L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 (L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 Bikini (L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 Sheer (L, R)
  - Even Mix (50% blend of Color1 & Color2 for use with quasi 3-color patterns)


- New Chest Skin Options:

  - Labeaux (S) (legacy option unlocked)
  - Yakuza 1 (S) (legacy option unlocked)
  - Yakuza 2 (S) (legacy option unlocked)
  - Camille (S) (legacy option unlocked)
  - Bare Arm 1 (L, R)
  - Bare Arm 2 (L, R)
  - Bare Arm 3 (L, R)
  - Bustier (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Bustier Sleek (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Halter (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Halter Sleek (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Lace Arms (S, L, R)
  - Lace Full (S)
  - Lace Sleeves (S)
  - Lace Torso (S)
  - Side Keyholes (L, R)
  - Offset Bandeau (L, R)
  - Off The Shoulder (L, R)
  - One Arm Belly Tee (L, R)
  - One Arm Mesh (L, R)
  - Rifts (L, R)
  - Single Shoulder Halter (L, R) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Single Shoulder Halter Sleek (L, R) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)


- New Chest Boneset and Basic Geometry:

    Single Panel Tights. A more modest classic look for female characters
    with a gathered bust.

  - Features:

      - Full set of custom base textures corresponding to many classic favorites,
        carefully color and sheen matched to permit as much cross compatability
        as possible with wider costume library
      - Conforming graphic chest symbols
      - Full set of conforming 3d chest details


- Integrated Chest Tights:

    A new subsystem that takes advantage of compound textures. Similar to Issue 1's
    glove diversification, Integrated Tights opens a diversity of new mix and match
    options.

    The seven sub-selections of each Integrated Tights Option allows you to pick the
    sheen of and coloration of both the over garment and the undertights. You also select
    whether the over garment or undertights receive the pattern mask.

    The following Integrated Tights are found wherever you can customize your chest
    settings unless otherwise noted:

      - Bustier (S) (not available for Single Panel Tights)
      - Halter Top (S)
      - High Waistline (S) (no "with skin" option available)
      - Single Shoulder Halter Top (L, R)


### End New Chest Options ###


New For Hips:


- New Hip Patterns, General:

  - Abstract 1 (S, L, R) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Abstract 2 (L, R) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Abstract 3 (S) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Back Blend (S)
  - Battery Powered (L, R)
  - Big Bolt (L, R)
  - Centurion (L, R)
  - Diagonal (L, R)
  - Diagonal Treads (L, R)
  - Freeem (L, R)
  - Half Angle (L, R)
  - Leotard Briefs (S)
  - Quadrants (L, R)
  - Racing Stripe (L, R)
  - Retro Briefs (S)
  - Ribbons (S, L, R)
  - Scattered Stars (L, R)
  - Sharp Shot (L, R)
  - Sinister (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Split (S)
  - Stars & Stipes (L, R)
  - Stripe (L, R) (Rework of legacy pattern)
  - Sunset (L, R)
  - Sunshine (L, R)
  - Swirl (L, R)
  - Swoop (L, R)
  - Triangle (L, R)
  - Tricolore (L, R) (quasi 3-color pattern)
  - Spiderweb 2 (L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 Brief (L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 Sheer (L, R)
  - Torn Fishnest (L, R)
  - Even Mix (50% blend of Color1 & Color2 for use with quasi 3-color patterns)


- New Hip Patterns, Pants & Fabric Specific

  - Floral 1 (L) (quasi multi-color pattern)
  - Floral 2 (L)
  - Groovy (L) (quasi multi-color pattern)


- New Hip Skin Options:

  - Labeaux (S) (legacy option unlocked)
  - Labeaux Thong (S) (legacy option unlocked)
  - Fishnets Torn (L, R)
  - Bare Leg (L, R)
  - Diagonal Treads (L, R)
  - Lace (S, L, R)
  - Leotard Briefs (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Leotard Briefs Sleek (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Retro Briefs (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Retro Briefs Sleek (S) (Integrated, allows patterns on skin)
  - Ribbons (S, L, R)
  - Sheer Angles (S, L, R)
  - Side Keyholes (L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 (L, R)
  - Spiderweb 2 Sheer (L, R)


- New Tights Base Option:

  - Metallic Pants (matches and blends into clubwear top)


- New Pants Options:

    The Pants boneset has been reworked with the following additional options,
    with particular attention given to the creation of full body catsuits via
    matching top and bottom materials:

  - New geometry: Bell Bottoms
  - Expanded library of base textures for Basic Pants, Tight Pants, Flared,
    Bell Bottoms, and Baggy. Includes:
      - Business (L) (converted from legacy Slacks category)
      - Pin Stripe (L) (converted from legacy Slacks category)
      - Tights (S) (matches legacy counterparts)
      - Tights Sleek (S) (matches legacy counterparts)
      - Defense (S) (matches legacy counterparts)
      - Bodysuit Leather (S) (matches legacy counterparts)
      - Patent Leather (S) (matches legacy counterparts)
      - Metallic Pants (S) (matches legacy counterparts)


- New Tucked In Options:

    The following new base textures from Jodhpurs have been applied to the Resistance
    geometry found in the Tucked In boneset:

      - Houndstooth (L, R)
      - Tight Military Style (S)
      - Tight Aeronaut (S)


- New Hip Boneset and Basic Geometry:

    Jodhpurs. A classic profile associated with golden age and pulp era
    characters.

  - Boneset includes:

      - Three all new base textures:
          - Aeronaut (S)
          - Military (S)
          - Houndstooth (L, R)
      - Metallic pants base
      - Currently 34 other legacy bases for possible inclusion with release
        to Rebirth Live


- Integrated Hip Tights:

    A new subsystem that takes advantage of compound textures. Similar to Issue 1's
    glove diversification, Integrated Tights opens a diversity of new mix and match
    options.

    The seven sub-selections of each Integrated Tights Option allows you to pick the
    sheen of and coloration of both the over garment and the undertights. You also select
    whether the over garment or undertights receive the pattern mask.

    The following Integrated Tights are found in Bottoms, Bottoms with Skin,
    and Skirts / Shorts bonesets:

      - Leotard Briefs (S)
      - Retro Briefs (S)


### End New Chest Options ###


General Patch Notes:

  - Unlocked Dirty Clockwork option in chests, hips, and robotic arms

  - Fixed several instances where H2 Mummy base for hips or chest was not
    available in certain bonesets

  - Canonized several pattern masks.

    This means they will no longer be found at the end of the menu but instead
    can be found in their appropriate alphabetical spot in the main pattern
    listing for chest and hip parts.

    The following Derek Brown post-revival patterns have been canonized:

      - Chisel
      - Crosshair
      - Grid
      - Tech Shield
      - Trident
      - Widget

### End Female Asym Rollout Patchnotes ###