The gates were opened and the hordes descended upon the Test Server last night. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen more than a single instance of Mercy Island, but the population forced two more instances to keep up with the load. Upon logging in, there was a swarm of freshly minted Spiders and Widows running amok, looking for teams, spamming broadcast, and generally having a good time. So, here’s how the three hours I spent on test unfolded.

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Monday was the 4th anniversary of City of Heroes. Interesting to see how things have come along during that time. Much has changed in the game and as Issue 12 looms ahead, things appear to be getting better. Positron made an announcement for the 4th Anniversary and mentioned something very interesting: Player Generated Content. Players would be able to generate missions, select the map, villain group, objective, etc then get it “published” for general play and rating. Saga of Ryzom did something similar by giving players the tools to create content. They were then reviewed and hosted for a small fee. A novel approach to the MMO genre, sadly Ryzom is on its last gasp and appears destined to be shutdown. Below is the link to Positron’s statement.

http://www.coh.com/news/archives/2008/04/a_message_from.html

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The Hollows are getting a revamp. Music to ears of many players that would rather do street sweeps in Perez than venture into the Hollows. First put out in Issue Two along with the Shadow Shard, it has offered some of the most frustrating game play. All players are directed to the Hollows. Every. Single. One. Once you hit level 5, your contact sends you off to talk to David Wincott. On the upside, you don’t have to take his missions, but you must talk to him. That bit is probably not going to change. But now you don’t have to run away screaming when he offers you the first street hunt and you realize that the smallest spawn Outcasts and Trolls is around 6-7 and may include a boss or two.

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Here’s Part II of the Issue 12 Preview.

The Midnight Squad are part of the CoX backstory, being one of the first groups to confront the Circle of Thorns. They were more of the Mystery Men types of Heroes rather than the 4-color ones of today. Still recovering from the First Rikti Invasion, they are now acting as patrons / contacts for other Heroes. This is going to be Hero only content for lower level characters, but with the help of Ouroboros, more experienced Heroes can go back and do the missions. I’m always a sucker for new content and rarely has there an issue that doesn’t give something new, making me a happy player. Since it appears to be involved with Time Travel, I’m curious how it ties back to the Ouroboros and the little secrets you found doing those Strike Force/Task Force missions.

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Here we go again; it’s a time of love and happiness in Paragon City and Rogue Islands where the heroes and villains get along to live in peace and mutual understanding. Not bloody likely to last, but it’s the annual Valentine’s event. Snaptooth is back to being a royal pain and DJ Zero needs your help. But first, Ganymede, lackey of Eros, has work for you to do, including stealing a girdle and destroying a cauldron. For which you need a combined team of heroes and villains. Not a bad thing and makes for some interesting commentary during missions as the heroes and villains trade quips.

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Chronicles of a Brute II

Double XP weekend is over and it was quite a ride. My goal was to hit 45, but that didn’t happen. I did manage to reach 43 and half way to 44, plus completed my Patron Arc for Scirocco. Aurvandil new has Mu Lighting and will be picking up Ball Lightning at 45 for the ranged AOE. I didn’t get as much game time as I wished, but not at all displeased at the progress. Other highlights was being able to tank Countess Crey twice, plus kicking around Manticore for giggles. The map for that mission is a Longbow freighter complete with turrets and Longbow Chasers. Nice assault challenge since we made it our goal to clear the deck before heading down. The Chasers were the biggest pain since most of the group was Brutes and the range was lacking. Luckily we had two Corruptors that could bring them down into pummeling range.

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Word reached me through the grapevine that an Arachnos Fortunata Seer was looking for a freelancer to handle a job for her. Word on the street is that Ghost Widow and the Wretch might be involved somehow, so that will likely cut down on the number of respondents. It was intriguing, so I went to find Seer Pia Marino at Fort Cerebus on Mercy Island.

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“All right, Marida, listen up. You're not going to like me, and I seriously doubt I'm going to like you. But if you do exactly as I say, we can have a lot of fun together, and maybe make some quick cash. Just remember, it's a partnership, not a friendship. Got it?”

Such was my introduction to Peter Themari. Some say he's a demon in human form. I seriously doubt that, having met several true demons in my time, and being acquainted with Ilbis personally, the djinn that you in the West call Satan. Still, most of the people who admit to knowing him are villains, and he apparently treats the Rogue Isles, full of reprobates, as his personal hunting grounds. The isles are lawless enough to allow him to indulge his every depredation, and he passionately hates anyone who would dare bring justice to them.

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