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Issue 10: Invasion!

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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:26 pm    Post subject: Issue 10: Invasion!   Quote: In the year 2002, we learned that we were not alone. On May 23, 2002 – a day that will be forever remembered for its wicked barbarity – the world was suddenly and deliberately attacked. A thousand points of light lit up the sky across America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. And each light was a gateway into hell. The Rikti declared war on all of us. The Rikti attack was well-coordinated and clearly planned out months or years in advance. Tens of thousands of alien invaders poured into our world, bent on our destruction. Only the heroes of the world banding together in a desperate effort finally turned the tide. The cost to Earth and her heroes was immense, but finally the back of the Rikti army was broken by Hero 1 and Omega Team’s sacrifice. Cut off from their homeworld, the Rikti cells that remained retreated to the shadows, fighting a guerilla war for their continued existence. The rebuilding began, and veterans spoke of the Rikti War as a thing of the past. Then the signs began again, but we did not see them. Strange anomalies and seismic activity on the moon caused catastrophic tidal surges on Earth, causing the Overbrook Dam to burst and flood sections of Faultline in Paragon City. Satellites transmissions were interrupted by ‘space static’. Contact with the moon base and space station became spotty, and then silent. There were warnings from Vanguard, but we did not listen. Once the United Nation Security Council’s elite super-powered hero force, Vanguard has struggled to rebuild and rearm. The survivors made up a skeleton force and their dire warnings were ignored in the joyful days after the war, written off as scaremongering and paranoia. Today the skies over Paragon City are filled with dark grey thunderheads. It is the same in the Rogue Isles, Europe, and across the globe. Small ships dart through the heavy weather… And there are so very many of them. The Rikti have returned. Rikti World InvasionIssue #10 will begin with a World Event that spans numerous zones in both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, as the Rikti return in devastating waves. They are armed with new, brutal weapons and seek to establish a beachhead on Earth, presumably to save their lost brethren and to finish what they started the first time… The destruction of Earth! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rikti War Zone (Levels 35 – 50)The site of the crashed Rikti mother ship has become a War Zone. Pylons of unknown purpose have appeared around the mother ship, and Rikti presence is extremely heavy. In an attempt to contain the Rikti from breaking out of the area or launching their ship, the government has quarantined the zone, allowing only select agents access. Government officials have turned the region over to Vanguard, and given them the authority to recruit forces from across the world. This zone is open to both Heroes and Villains, in their combined, desperate struggle to hold the front lines against the second Rikti Invasion. New ThreatsRikti Pylons are multi-purpose warning and attack devices that surround the crashed mother ship. It takes a concerted effort to take one of these pylons down, but once enough of these are destroyed, access to the ship may be granted. UXBs (unexploded bombs that arm, power up, and detonate if not stopped in time), provide a constant threat. Rikti destroyers zip through zones dropping troops, UXBs, and Rikti Assault Suits. New InventionsThe Vanguard base contains a special Vanguard Workbench that will allow for unique costume pieces (tied to Rikti War Zone recipes). Vanguard Support Machines can be requisitioned using Special Salvage (unique to the War Zone). These ‘Heavies’ function as powerful pets. New MissionsThe first missions in the Rikti War Zone are for characters level 35+. The characters meet a new contact, Levantera, who introduces them to the UN security force, Vanguard. They’ll also meet Borea, who sends them on several repeatable missions in the zone. From there, characters meet contact Serpent Drummer, Gaussian, and also talk to the Dark Watcher and learn one of the darkest secrets of Paragon City. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rikti Co-op Task ForceThe Rikti Co-Op Task Force is available for both Heroes and Villains. It is for 6 to 8 players, level 45 – 50. The mission is given out by Lady Grey, leader of the Vanguard. Co-operative missions create a new layer of depth and story as heroes and villains work toward a common goal. _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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Tropic Site Admin Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 300 Location: Florida	Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:13 pm    Post subject:   This looks sweet. At last a hero/villain zone thats not pvp. If only the U.N. weren't involved. I'm sure they'll be happy to let America pay for it all then find some way to blame us for everything. Trop
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RoboZon Man of Steel Joined: 28 Apr 2006 Posts: 276 Location: cloud 10 (forget cloud 9 it sucks)	Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:52 pm    Post subject:   dude... this is gonna make some GREAT stories _________________ "Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can." -bruce lee Eli J. Litzelman aka RoboZon
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Riotmech Class 100 Hero Joined: 27 Aug 2006 Posts: 148 Location: Home, staring at a blank screen	Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:00 pm    Post subject:   And us talking about Sky Falling. . .now! we get some real experiences for our heroes! _________________ -[ ]- Your so sad, maybe you should buy a Happy Meal -[]-
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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:37 pm    Post subject:   Quote: We want to announce that Issue 10 will be entering into closed beta testing today, June 13th. I just got to say... DAAAAMMMNNNN!!! _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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Spectreblade Class 100 Hero Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 120 Location: Philadelphia, PA	Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:32 pm    Post subject:   Yeah, that was really on short notice that they're going into closed beta. Anyway, I look forward to helping to stop the second Rikti invasion. I had a habit of missing out on a lot of the storyline events in the early days of the game, before my addiction took full hold. It's good to see them making a comeback. _________________ It is a mistake to fancy that horror is associated inextricably with darkness, silence, and solitude. I found it in the glare of midafternoon, in the clangour of a metropolis...
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Myths n' Wraiths Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 831 Location: I give a crap too ;) .	Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:56 pm    Post subject:   Hehe... he, heh... hehehehehhehe They got no idear what they are in for. Bring it on. This looks to cool. and ohh yes, this will make some execellent story oportunities. Especialy if they take this time to expound on the first Rikti War. Which there is suprisingly little about (officially) considering its import. _________________ Murphey's Laws of Combat "A sucking chest wound is natures way of telling you to slow down."
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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:35 am    Post subject:   Another series, Falling Sky 2. _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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RoboZon Man of Steel Joined: 28 Apr 2006 Posts: 276 Location: cloud 10 (forget cloud 9 it sucks)	Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:01 pm    Post subject:   hmm.... just through it out there... but i thought instead of Falling Sky 2.... something like "Returning Sky" or something like that just a suggestion _________________ "Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can." -bruce lee Eli J. Litzelman aka RoboZon
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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 1:07 pm    Post subject:   Darkening Skies Dark Sky Dark Skies The Rikti Strike Back Returning Skies Goodbye Blue Skies _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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Riotmech Class 100 Hero Joined: 27 Aug 2006 Posts: 148 Location: Home, staring at a blank screen	Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:47 pm    Post subject:   "The Rikti Strike Back" sounds almost like a Star Wars Spin-Off! How about: The Return of the menacingly looking strange Red dots that pop here and there, that will rain down our doom sooner or later" whad'ya think? _________________ -[ ]- Your so sad, maybe you should buy a Happy Meal -[]-
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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:05 pm    Post subject:   Quote: On Wednesday, June 27th, the City of Heroes Training Room will be available for customers interested in joining the beta test effort of Issue 10: Invasion, as the Development Team applies polish to our next free expansion! This testing phase is open early to obtain better stress testing with additional numbers of testers. Issue 10: Invasion introduces a host of new content and challenges as it unfolds the storyline of the return of the Rikti invasion force who are bent on destroying Earth! Click for details on Issue 10: Invasion Click for instructions to access the Training Room Test Server Yay! Not much longer. _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:25 pm    Post subject:   Quote: GUIDE: Rikti Invasion Zone Events #8537037 - 06/21/07 07:25 PM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply OBSERVATIONS AND A PROTO-GUIDE [Edited to include observations added to the thread.] Stage One: Drop Ship Carpet Bombing. Drop Ships: When you see the big red letters from Admin warning of a Rikti attack on a zone, that means that zone is about to be attacked. The next Admin warning let's you know the attack has begun! The first thing that happens in an attack is that a series of Rikti Drop Ships appear following each other and creating a swath of carpet bombing death. I often saw two lines in the sky in one zone. Sometimes their path is meandering, but they all follow each other in that meandering path. The bombs have a very high AoE damage blast. With high enough Defense from purple inspirations, I was able to ignore the bombs. That is, until just one got through the Defense, and then, bam! Insta-death. For the Drop Ships, Defense doesn't work that well. With six purple Defense inspiratiosn, I'm still hit every time. With five orange Resist inspirations it still 'one-shotted' me with two ticks of 700 damage each (yes, that's enough to kill a MM without his pets). Without those orange inspirations, the damage would have been significantly higher. With 8 orange Resists, I was able to take the hits from the ship. In Sharkshead, I saw a lone Drop Ship make a swing over the hospital even after the other two strafing lines of ships had left. I think that may have been a ship with an AI programmed to seek out players and not just take a predetermined course. Keep an eye out for it. I saw ships go *through* the war wall force field. I did not see any of the force fields down as some have claimed. UXB: The unexploded bomb. I only saw two of these the whole event the first time. In the second event, I found some zones had a lot of UXBs and some none and some zones had UXBs that self-exploded moments after they landed. I think this is probably a bit buggy and hope it gets fixed. Stage Two: Enemies Porting In. As explained by a Dev, the Rikti will teleport to where you are. If you're in the zone, and you're not in a building or under cover (like under an overpass), you will get a spawn that will port in right next to you. When I was all by myself, I'd get lieutenant and minion pairs. With two people, the same, but a few extras. Where there were large numbers of players, the spawns were larger and included higher rank Rikti, especially the Elite Bosses. My toons were set to easiest level. I wondered if players running around on Invincible or Relentless caused the large number of EBs to spawn? So, I reset my difficulty to the highest level and it had no effect on my solo spawns. My conclusion is that the sole variable that causes large spawns of Rikti including high ranking Rikti, especially the EBs, is having a large number of players together in one locale. Also, spawns seem to come at a certain interval (though I'll have to time this to be sure). If you haven't finished the previous spawn, a new, additional spawn will come anyway and they'll start adding up until you are overwhelmed. When the Admin says that the Alert is Canceled, all the Rikti tp away. Gaming Aspects: To Play or Not to Play: If you do nothing, the Rikti will come and go. You don't have to participate. Stay indoors. Move to a zone not being attacked. Go into a mission. So why bother? You're protecting Earth you role-players! You're keeping the aliens from muscling in on your racket, Villains! Or, you can look at all the loot they'll bring you: Inf., badges, recipes, salvage, Merits. It's unlike any other gaming mechanic and you might find it to be fun. How Hard the Battle? Note that the Rikti use the 'Giant Monster' scaling code that allows people of all levels to participate at once. Lieutenants and minions con as grey, but they do give all the regular inf. and drops as the 'colored' foes do. EBs con as Orange. (What do bosses con as?) Because of the scaling code, the Rikti register as enemies to the home-zone spawns and vice versa. Stand among the Supa Trolls of Skyway while stealthed. The Rikti drops in and attacks the Supa Trolls and they attack back. Fun! Drop Ships con as OMGINSTADETH!! Or something like that. They *can* be hit and damaged and don't have infinite influence. However, they move at a fast clip. And there's another twenty coming behind. And they hit with insanely huge damage and have insanely high ACC. If a drop ship were ever going to be destroyed, it would take a huge number of players charging it all at once. If you think you can tank it solo, think again. Think of it as a flying Hamidon Nucleus to get an idea of it's level and power. Merits: Unlike the mini-game of the Rikti War Zone, the Rikti of the Invasion Zone Events don't drop Merits one per defeat. They fall at the same drop rate as any other Rikti defeat (and presumably, you need to do Levantera's arc in the RWZ in order to get Merits to start falling, so, no Merits yet for anyone under level 35). Stratagems Drop Ships: Don't stand under them. Even if you avoid or withstand a bomb blast, the ship itself has incredibly long range and will zap you dead. I have no idea right now how to *reliably* find an UXB (unexploded bomb) if you're going for the UXB badge. I tried running along the flight path of the drop ships and had very little luck. This bind might help: /bind [bindkey] "targetcustomnext bomb" The Hospitram Effect: When we're in Stage Two, the enemy AI is looking for players to spawn on top of. When you enter the zone and you are in the tram, it can't spawn on top of you, because, you're under cover. Once you step outside the tram... SPAWN! This happens for each person who enters the zone. If you stop to fight, the Rikti will keep on spawning there. Other players show up and join the fight, more spawns. Larger number of players means higher ranked Rikti show up (EBs). Higher ranks, longer to kill. Longer to kill, more spawns on top of old spawns. Thus, we get a huge build up of Rikti at the trams. This also happens at the hospitals. You step out of the hospital... SPAWN. And the same dynamic as the tram. Do the other players a favor... Never fight in front of a hospital. Yes it's tough if you get mezzed. But if you can, get out of there. Let the drones thin the herd of Rikti so that other players leaving the hospital aren't faced with 20 EBs. The recharge of the drones can't keep up with the numbers of Rikti once a large number of players are there causing an even larger number of spawns. So... scatter! The Solution to Too Many Rikti: RUN! If you're a soloist, run away from the other players and the super sized spawn with the 20 EBs. Find a secluded spot. The Rikti will spawn on top of you again in manageable numbers. If you're on a team, do the same thing: gather away from others. Let me repeat this: You *don't* have to *find* a spawn. The spawns will find you. I suggest you find an area of the zone where the terrain helps you funnel the Rikti into a narrow area for AoE smackdown, or, at least, get your back up against a wall or building so they can't surround you. This way you can farm the Rikti for the inf., badges, loot, and Merits. It's Just Me Against the (Invading) World: A possible problem occurs when you are alone in a zone that is being attacked (welcome to the world of the Rogue Isles at 4 AM on a low population server). Some have reported getting large spawns, but not the Elite Boss kind, but many lieutenants and minions. What is probably happening is that the entire invasion fleet is focusing just on you. And sending you a small spawn, but many times over in rapid succession. Especially if you zone into an empty zone. If that happens... RUN! Then stop and see if any follow up spawns come at a normal pace or not. If they do not come at a normal pace, here is a possible tactical solution: Get under cover, like a bridge, for example. That stops spawns completely. Then do a quick pop out from under the bridge and hop back under. This may cause just one spawn to happen and you can lure them under the bridge to fight fairly. I See Your Spawn With A Spawn of Hellions: As mentioned above, the Rikti of the Invasion Event use the same scaling code as Giant Monsters. Damage of low level characters against the Rikti scale up. The Damage the Rikti does to a low level character scales down. And this is true for the regular zone spawns: Hellions, Clockwork, Circle of Thorn, Malta, etc... The Rikti will agro not only onto any nearby player, but also any nearby combat-able NPC. In fact, you can watch the Drop Ships zap NPCs in its path. But don't get too close else you'll get zapped, too. So, how can you use this against them? Well if a regular zone-spawn of Hellions, for example, con grey to you, stand next to them. They won't attack you, their AI tells them that's suicide. Then when a Rikti spawn drops on you, the Hellions will start shooting at them because, by the rules of the the scaling code, these Rikti are 'their level'. And vice versa, the Rikti will agro onto the Hellions as well as you. Just let the local spawn hit the Rikti first (and they usually will since NPCs and pets 'see and target' the teleporting Rikti before you can). Don't forget to thank the nice Hellions for protecting Mother Earth and taking the alpha. Two Many Elite Bosses! True. Ghost Widow has said that they'll be toning that down and adjusting the strength of spawns based on feedback and what they've witnessed thus far. _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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Myths n' Wraiths Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 831 Location: I give a crap too ;) .	Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:46 am    Post subject:   Quote: Two Many Elite Bosses! True. Ghost Widow has said that they'll be toning that down and adjusting the strength of spawns based on feedback and what they've witnessed thus far. This looks so damn cool it aint funny. But it will be funny... Oh yes, when they start landing it will be hilarious _________________ Murphey's Laws of Combat "A sucking chest wound is natures way of telling you to slow down."
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Ockham Freedom Phalanx Founding Member Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 876 Location: I give a crap!	Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:32 am    Post subject:   I took Occam's Razar into the Rikti Crash Site... er Rikti War Zone just to check it out. They about gutted him in the Alpha Strike. I had to pop Elude before I could even begin. Opening observation with no basis in fact says /SR are in trouble. _________________ Need a break from COH Fan Fiction? Try www.AnthonyHarte.com A Sci-Fi Fantasy Source.
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