Issue 11: A Stitch In Time

HEADLINES:

• Ouroboros System: Gain the ability to "Flashback" and travel through time and relive major events from the history of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.
  
• Dual Blades and Willpower Power Sets: Tankers, Brutes, Stalkers and Scrappers have access to two new power sets: the offensive set Dual Blades and the defensive set Willpower.
  
• Weapon Customization: Players can now change their weapons in the same way that they change their costume parts!
  
• New Inventions: Introducing "Very Rare" Purple invention sets, as well as brand new invention sets for Taunt, Buff and Debuff powers, among others.
  
• Respec Recipes: There are now recipes in the game that allow you to respecify your character.
  
• Supergroup Size Increase: The maximum number of members in a single supergroup has been increased from 75 to 150.
  
• New Hair Styles: There are now a number of new hair styles available for all body types.

OUROBOROS
Mender Silos leads the mysterious Ouroboros. He and his fellow Menders have come from the future to help mend the timestream and prevent a great calamity.

Characters that have previously been exposed to Time Travel (via such things as Recluse's Victory, the Ubelmann arc, the second Arachnos Patron arcs, etc.) are granted the "Entrusted with the Secret" badge. This badge gives them access to the Ouroboros Portal power. This is a targeted, close range power that will summon forth a portal that will take anyone who clicks on it (who is over level 25) to the Ouroboros Enclave.

You can use an Ouroboros Portal cast by someone else. Completing any mission gained in the Ouroboros area will also grant you the "Entrusted with the Secret" badge and the Portal power. This includes the historical missions available there and the missions from the Pillar of Ice and Flame. Thus characters who have yet to be exposed to Time Travel normally need only use a portal cast by someone who already has it to gain access to the Enclave and earn their own portal.

Once you have arrived in the Ouroboros Enclave we encourage you to talk to The Pilgrim, as he can give you a tutorial on how time travel within the Ouroboros Enclave works.


FLASHBACK!
Characters can use the “Aspect of the Pillar” in the Ouroboros Enclave to re-visit (or visit for the first time) any Story Arc that has a Max-Level lower than their Stature level. Stature level are incremental ranges of 5 levels after the first Level 1-15 Stature level band (i.e. 1-15, 16-20, 21-25, etc). You can also choose to flashback to missions where a badge is rewarded at the end.

When using the Aspect of the Pillar, the character and the rest of his group will be put into Task Force (or Strike Force) mode for the remainder of the Story Arc. Characters may log off and log back on and will still be on the team, but characters that leave the team may not re-join, and new characters may not join the team once the Story Arc has begun.

When selecting a Mission at the Aspect of the Pillar, the interface is separated into ranged level increments called Stature Levels. These are named appropriately for easy reference. The Story Arcs are all named according to the name given in the final Souvenir Clue for that Story Arc. Any Story Arcs your character has completed are marked with a star. You may select to activate several Mission Parameters when starting the Story Arc. Selecting these, and finishing the Story Arc, will award badges for that Stature Level and those Parameters at which you succeed.

After you choose the mission and select parameters you will be given a waypoint to the Aspect of the Pillar. Clicking on this will transport you to a Contact in the world that will be the Contact that gives out the rest of the missions in the Story Arc. This Contact acts as a Task/Strike Force contact, and is not permanently added to your Contact List.


NEW POWER SETS!

Dual Blades
Scrappers/Tankers/Brutes/Stalkers now have access to the new Dual Blades offensive powerset. This is a Primary powerset for Scrappers, Brutes, and Stalkers, and a Secondary set for Tankers.
Dual Blades powers have a special Combo system inherent to them. These are executions of three different powers in a row that will give your character an advantage (either a self buff or a debuff on your enemies). Read the power descriptions to see if a power starts, continues, or ends a combo.

The interface will put an orange circle around the next power in the combo that needs to be executed within a short amount of time. If you fail to execute the power, then the combo is lost and you must start over. If any of your attacks miss, the combo will fail and you must start over.

Willpower
Scrappers/Tankers/Brutes/Stalkers now have access to the new Willpower defensive powerset. This is a Secondary powerset for Scrappers, Brutes, and Stalkers, and a Primary set for Tankers.

These powers bring with them a combination of Resistance, Defense and Regeneration effects.


WEAPON CUSTOMIZATION
All "Weapon" based Primary and Secondary powersets, as well as the powersets for Masterminds that include drawn weapons, can now take advantage of Weapon Customization.

Simply visit any tailor (Hero side) or facemaker (Villain side) and you will notice that there is now a "Weapon" category in the costume creator. Here you can select from a variety of different looks for your weapon(s).

These changes are purely cosmetic. They do not alter the actual powers in any way. They all use the same animations, sounds, and have the same power effects. There is no change to the type of damage that a power does, no matter what the weapon looks like.

Weapon models are restricted to those that look good with the animations of that powerset. If a set's animations are stabby, then the weapons will be stabby-types. If a set's animations are slicey, then the weapons will be slicey-types.

Certain weapons can be unlocked via earning a badge. These are weapons that are signature to certain enemy groups like Rikti swords or Family tommy-guns. Earning badges appropriate to those groups will unlock those weapons, provided you are of the appropriate Powerset to use the rewarded weapon.

Vanguard has made some of their signature weapons available to their members. Be sure to visit the Vanguard Merit redemption machine to see what is available.


INVENTIONS
Several of the power effects left out of the initial round of Inventions have been given Invention Origin Sets, including one Rare set. These recipes have been added to the drop tables where appropriate.

• Taunt
• Knockback
• Endurance Modification
• To Hit Buff
• To Hit Debuff
• Defense Debuff

We have now included Very Rare recipes to the rewards given by defeating foes. These are hard to come by (only dropping from level 50 foes), but carry with them exceptional rewards. The bonuses they give are higher than the normal Invention bonus for a level 50 IO.

Each one of these Very Rare Inventions is unique. You can only slot 1 of each Very Rare per character.

• Melee Damage
• PBAoE Damage
• Ranged Damage
• Targeted AoE Damage
• Pet Damage
• Confuse
• Sleep
• Immobilize
• Hold
• Stun

Other Invention Changes:

• You can no longer build a costume piece recipe if you already have that costume piece on that character.
• Added rare Respec Recipes that grant characters the ability to respecialize (respec) their characters at any time. When this recipe is crafted the character gains an additional respec token.

Powers:

• Added “Assemble the Team”, the 42 month veteran reward power. This power works like Recall Friend, but affects the entire group at once and has a 30 minute cooldown.
• Adjusted Cast Times on Assault Rifle Burst/Slug for Blasters for Corruptors.
• Reduced the cast time on Phase Shift
• Changes to some Archery/Trick Arrow animation lengths and attack times (Most of the powers are now slightly quicker)
• Fixed many issues related to reduced archery animation times while flying.
• Adjusted Cast Times on Archery Snap Shot. It’s about 2/3rds of its previous value.
• Standardized cast time for powers using the Greater ____ Sword animation, including War Mace Shatter. Note that several critters will be attacking slightly faster with this power now.
• Corrected the combat message for Trick Arrow Disruption Arrow. It no longer incorrectly refers to the caster as being debuffed.
• Corrected Long Help Text on Blinding Flash. It no longer refers to itself as doing Moderate Damage in one place, and Light damage in another.
• Corrected short help text for the pool power Jump Kick.
• Telekinetic blast is now known as Telekinetic Blast.
• Fixed a typo in the text of the Galvanized effect.
• Build Up procs stack with the Build Up power
• IO’s which grant Knockback Protection stack with one another
• Signature Level ‘pets’ (friendly NPCs in missions) health and damage increased, and should all correctly display their Class now.

Supergroups:

• The Maximum membership of a supergroup has been increased from 75 to 150.
• It is once again possible to create a supergroup starting with “The”.

Graphic Effects:

• Wings, Weapons, and Costume Auras will now always show up with the option to suppress FX when close to the camera turned on.
• Energy Blast - Explosive Blast changed to better sync hit effects with projectile speed and impact time
• Burned and Fairy wing costume pieces are now available with and without additional effects.
• Effects changes to the following powers to address performance concerns: Earth Control/Earthquake, Ice Control/ Chillblain, Ice Control Glacier
• Graphical Effects used by many Temporary powers (mainly weapons) should never be suppressed by being close to the camera.
• Jump Jet Pack (From GvE Edition) will now inherit the alpha value from the player’s character model.
• Graphical Effects for Dark Blast/Blackstar should play properly now.

Game:

• Re-enabled renderthread by default on multi-cpu systems
• Modified size for trade window to allow 999,999,999 influence/infamy to be traded.
• Changed tray power highlighting to show the highlight under other rings (e.g. the queued power dashed, red ring).
• For Windows Vista users: Compatible cursors has been enabled by default
• Corrected an issue that could cause the mouse-over information to flicker when mousing over Enhancements
• Corrected a client crash for a situation that could arise when using the Consignment Market interface.
• Check Name function on the Character Selection Screen: Corrected an issue where the Check Name feature would not find names that contain an apostrophe

Zones:

• Isaac the Bartender in Pocket D now correctly introduces himself as "Isaac"
• Fixed a hole in Bloody Bay geometry
• Arena Map: Corrected a graphical issue with an Arena map where a floor type texture was sticking up into the sky.

Tailor:

• New Male/Huge hair styles
  
  • Shark
  • Illogical
  • Cornrow
  • Doofus
  • Princeton
  • Genius
  • Slick
  • Greaser
  • Pomp
  • Fighthawk
  • Deceiver
  • Crew Cut
  • Fauxhawk
  • Swift
  • Hipster
  • Shiver
  • Barbaric
  • Gusto
  • Blowback
• New Female hair styles
  
  • Mimee
  • Exquisite
  • Triptych
  • Posh
  • Sha Do
  • Honey
  • Beau Monde
  • Feisty
  • Divine
  • Strange
  • Beverly Thrills
  • Rapturous
  • Serrated Sugar
  • Supa Foxxy
  • Shimmer
  • Hard Candy

Other Tailor Changes

• “Glittering Fairy” and “Fairy” wing options will look correct for Female and Male player types.
• Watcher glasses added for all body types.
• Vanguard visors will no longer clip with half helmets.
• Male stealth harness reweighed to scale better at smaller physique.
• Baroque with skin added to female legs
• Tech Sleek added Gloves.
• Kitten and panda added to female robotic arms
• Tanker pattern revamped to prevent bleed with armored top
• Single shoulder mantel for males reweighed to prevent clipping

Flashback Tasks
Certain powerful temp powers granted by missions are replaced by weakened versions called “Echoes” in Flashback missions if a player has already received the full strength version once before.

• Affected Powers:
• Nullifier Gun
• War Wolf Whistle
• Infected Anti-Serum
• Creeper Seed
• Vial of Bees

Badges

• When starting a Flashback Story Arc, the player (or team leader) may set Mission Parameters. Selecting these, and finishing the Story Arc successfully, will award badges for that Stature Level and those Parameters at which you succeed.
• Added icon for Entrusted With the Secret badge
• Added Master of Recluse’s Strike Force (Flashback with 0 deaths and no temp powers)
• Added Master of Statesman’s Task Force (Flashback with 0 deaths and no temp power).
• The above strike and task force badges are just for bragging rights and not tied into any temp power access or accolades.

Bases:

• Added a Pillar of Ice and Flame for bases. This can be used by teammates who are not supergroup members.

Reward:

• Bumped up maximum number of souvenirs a character can possess to 250 from 100. Flashback was allowing players to hit the max and stop gaining souvenirs.

Inventions:

• IO Recipe names should all match the Enhancement they create correctly now.
• Corrected Long Help text typo. Eliminated an extra “ from the text on numerous Invention Enhancements.
• Fixed a stacking issue with the Rectified Reticle Increased Perception IO. It now functions as a ‘Set Bonus’ rather than a ‘proc’
• Fixed some recipe name errors, added art to some Set IO recipes.

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CITY OF HEROES

Powers:

• Blasters:
  
  • Blaster Standardization
    
    • We standardized the activation times for all of the first and second tier powers in each Blaster Primary set. For example, in Energy Blast, this would be Power Bolt and Power Blast. All first tier powers now have a 1-second activation time and all second tier powers now have a 1.67-second activation time.
    • Powers shared by Blasters (Defenders, Dominators, Corruptors) were similarly improved. In any case where the change would not be an improvement for those other Archetypes, the change was not made.
  • Increased damage on Blaster Snap Shot and Aimed Shot. Increased recharge time on these powers to 3 seconds and 6 seconds respectively.
• Controllers:
  
  
  
  • Mind Control Mesmerize now accepts Recharge Enhancements
  • Controller Radiant Aura power no longer states it accepts Defense Debuff IO sets (you couldn't slot them; it just *said* you could)
  • Controller Radiation Infection will now accept Defense Debuff IO sets.
• Defenders:
  
  • Corrected a sound issue with the power Sonic Resonance – Sonic Barrier
  • Reduced Cast Time on Charged Bolts, Lightning Bolt and Power Bolt for Defenders
• Tankers:
  
  • Modified Attack times and minor changes to duration of rooted portion of attack animations for War Mace

Zones:

• Hellions in Atlas Park using the walllean emote should now properly aggro and fight back if attacked.
• Corrected holes in the ground that could allow players outside the zone geometry in Faultline and Boomtown.

Tasks:

• Fixed Display name on Tyrant

CITY OF VILLAINS

Powers:

• Masterminds:
  
  • Removed Taunt effect from Masterminds Mace Mastery Web Envelope
  • Fixed a typo in the long help description of Mastermind Thugs Summon Enforcers power.
  • Mastermind Jounins Blinding Powder is no longer irresistible.
  • Masterminds Jounin Blinding Powder ToHit buff value was set too low. It is now considerably more effective.
• Stalkers:
  
  • All versions of Hide no longer cost endurance to use.
  • Ninjitsu Smoke Flash To Hit debuff was set too low, due to a decimal shift. Instead of a base -0.75% To Hit reduction, it should now be a base -7.5%.
  • Ninjutsu Blinding Power is no longer irresistible.
• Dominators:
  
  • Dominator Mind Control Mesmerize now accepts Recharge Enhancements.
  • Corrected combat spam for both Pulse Rifle Blast and Pulse Rifle Burst.
  • Reduced Cast Time on Ice Bolt, Flare and Power Bolt for Dominators.
• Corruptors:
  
  • Reduced Cast Time on Ice Bolt, Flare and Power Bolt for Corruptors.
• Brutes:
  
  • Mind Over Body for Brutes had no endurance cost. This has been corrected

Zones:

• Rooted a floating tree in Cap au Diable
• Fixed a hole in Bloody Bay geometry

Game:

• Pocket D will now show up on Villain Search filter list.

Tasks:

• Stheno Eggs no longer give XP.