He took HOW many cakes? That's terrible. Let's Play City of Villains!

Boilin' Bobby
Searing Sam(antha)
Lightwave Leroy

Oooh, I like this character already.

Good minion names aren't as easy for me to come up with compared to character names, but here's my offering for the three robots:

Spiteborg Mauler
Death 999
Bob

I'll jump in here; if PL would prefer to do this I'll keep out, but I like talkin' about the game. ;P

The visor is a costume piece (most costume pieces are unlocked by default, by levelling up, or by completing certain in-game requirements; a few, like the visor and I think those boots, are the equivalent of micropay DLC).

The gun is part of the Robots powerset; each primary powerset for Masterminds is mostly focused around your minions, but also includes a couple of theme-appropriate weapon attacks. Your laser's appearance can be selected from a set number of models some at character generation (this was NOT in at launch, in fact it's a relatively recent addition) and some more can be unlocked later.

The staff is a veteran reward; keep your account going for 3-month multiples, get unlocks. Sometimes it's costume, sometimes it's a minor power. In this case, it's a Nemesis Staff, which throws a force bolt that can knock enemies back and do damage. The whole veterans-rewards is somewhat controversial, because they'll add some pretty good stuff that basically no one has any chance of having (especially now, since the playerbase is so small).

The jetpack is either a veteran reward or a pack-in bonus with some editions of the game, I forget which. In this case it's not actually flight but a super jump. Works for 60 seconds at a stretch, then has a 5 minute cooldown, I think. Been awhile. It's fantastically useful because you can only take a weak-version travel power at level 6, and a full-blown travel power at level 14. Having a way to get around (and UP) the city right from go is such a godsend.

So anyway! Whenever he's talking about taking scrap from the world and making little gadgets, the game doesn't actually support that; he's just fleshing things out, bit of roleplay/creative license/whatever.

The jetpack came with the version of the game I got way back when. I used it to induce falling-related death for the most part.

I like the images at the current size because you can make out so much detail. Some of the shots don't need that kind of detail but for a good number it was nice to have.

Man, I looked up some of the veteran rewards, and that's kind of messed up that they blocked off a bunch of cool costume pieces. It's made even worse that they unlock when your played time reaches that amount, rather than your account being active for that long. At least the trench coat is only 3 months, so if I decide to subscribe I could just leave my character logged in game while I'm at work to make it go by faster.

Also, like nunix said, being able to change your weapons model was not in at launch. Everyone had the same katanas, claws, broadswords, or goofy looking assault rifle. I really like this change, as I was always disappointed that I couldn't give my mafia style AR/Traps Blaster a tommy gun. I saw on a wiki page that they added it in, but they disappointed me again by making it an unlockable from killing 100 of the mafia bosses. Some of those unlockables are a real pain in the ass.

Veteran Rewards are done by account paid time not ingame time. IE. Paid for 3 months then quit for 9 you would have the 3 month veteran not the 9 month. Regardless if you played even an hour during the 3 months time.

Actually the salvage system that is in game now allows you to create new costume pieces. In addition to really nice Enhancements. Also the Villian side has some early missions that grant you jump/flight packs with something like 12 hours of actual flight time. My Mastermind has his still even though he's in his late 30s.

Ooooooooh. I guess I misread the wiki article on it, when it said that Veteran Rewards are for "time played, not time paid". Now that I went back and re-read it, they meant it that the rewards are given after your account reaches that age. Like if you paid for 3 months, you would have to wait until the end of those 3 months for your trenchcoat, rather that getting it immediately.

See, I almost mentioned this, but didn't want to over-complicate things.

PL is specifically saying things like, "I'll take a piece of this vault (a model in a level) and use that to make a thing!" Which the game doesn't support, which is what the original question is. It'd be GREAT if it did, but it don't.

Salvage (which I think is a fucking stupid idea; way to go, Cryptic, adding an inventory and grind to a game that didn't need it!) from enemies is a completely different thing.

Also, I forgot to add that I'm just a little disappointed that they haven't added various guns to use for the different Blaster/Corruptor powersets. I was hoping to be able to use a freeze ray (or flamethrower if I went fire), but I'll just settle for big robot hands as my reasons for shooting ice shards. It's not that big of a deal, but it just seems like something that would have been easy to add in.

I have a few questions for you veteran types, can you recommend some good resources for information or guides on an Ice/Cold Corruptor and a Super Strength/Shield Defense Brute? I looked a bit on the CoH forums, and the only guide I found for Ice/Cold was from 2005, and I'm sure the games changed a lot since then. Are jet packs an actual costume option? I saw a few different temporary ones on the wiki, (and rocket boots!) but nothing about one as a permanent costume accessory.

Yeah, power customisation was always wanted and never given. You can make everything work within the CoX universe, but they didn't think about the fact that with a superhero game, people are going to want to get pretty creative (even if they shouldn't, because they have terrible and stupid ideas)


Re: guides: post on the subforums, someone might link something appropriate.

There are no backpack costume options (have to wait for Champions Online for that) of any kind. You can get a cape at level 20, and wings as a vet reward, but that's it.

That's a shame that there's no permanent jet packs, but I think I can make do with the rocket boots and maybe the tech wings too, but I'll have to get the recipes and ingredients for them. Hopefully that isn't too difficult.

I still think you should use the names of actual spambots from this forum.

The protector bots he can get at level 12 WILL be named Philliam and Dizzy.

Tom Servbot?

Man, damn you all for making me want to renew my subscription. The upcoming Mission creator is already tempting enough!

I admit, I'm kind of disappointed that taking apart random bits of the level and making them into cool gadgets isn't really in the game.

On the other hand, I don't own the game, I'm just reading the LP. So I can pretend they're real, and the flavor text is awesome! Carry on, then.

So, if Dr. Spite had a partner-in-crime/lackey, who would it be? What archetype and powerset, et cetera? Just another robot mastermind, or something else?

The Harsher*, a Brute. Maybe Stone Melee, so you get the hammer. And Fiery Aura for the resistance to flames.


*I assume anyone named "The Tard Harsher" would be forced to change it

The Flaming Maragos?

A Fire/Fire brute, made up to look like a giant robot. His name would be "Explodin' Effrim the Retarded Robot"

Dr. Spite would harsh him mercilessly, of course.

Oh! You could be The Talking Tyrant, another Mastermind. Maybe Robotics again?

Sounds like a Rival! But of course they sometimes team up for the greater evil, because that's what the love between rivals is.

Update hopefully tomorrow, sorry for the wait, being out of town for a week and some results in a bit of a real life backlog.

Like Nunix said, most of this stuff is just me having fun with the chargen. The "scan visor" is actually just a costume piece and a special aura that I'm RPing into a way to detail some of the game's lore while RPing it up.

The Staff is a special reward for being subscribed to the game for some ungodly number of months, it's a nifty ranged attack that is really handy at the low levels before you have a few "normal" attacks available.

Salvage and actually crafting things IS in the game, and whenever I actually make use of it I'll note it. For now, I'm just makin' believe when I "invent" things.

See you tomorrow!

Welp I'm back! Sorry for the delay. Somedays all it takes is something shiny, y'know?

Let's Play!

When last we left our sinister Spite, we were on our way to meet Dr. Creed, who works with the homeless. I'm very excited, this is the first real contact since I left My Own Prison.

Ah, you must be Doctor Spite! I am the infamous Doctor Creed! You may have heard of my genius... I was once part of the illustrious brain trust at SERAPH until I learned what fools my so-called peers were! They tossed around words like 'ethics' and 'morals'... bah! Such things are minor obstacles on the path leading to true breakthroughs in SCIENCE!

I've been studying the Infected on Mercy Island for a while, researching these living zombie-men who have become nothing more than pathetic rejects of humanity. They believe they can gain power by subsisting on the toxic cesspool waters of Mercy Island—and you've seen the results of that! However, I believe at the root of their madness lies a grain of truth, the ability for an Infected to become a true super-powered being! If there is power to be gained through experimentation on these Infected, then the genius of Doctor Creed will find it!

Really. You "think" there might be a "grain" of truth in this. Hi, phone for you, it's the Toxic Avenger. And the Flash. And Daredevil. And Blight. And the Griffins.

Shut up.
I have discovered a rare occurrence! Amongst the dregs of the Infected an individual with actual super-powers has emerged! He has manifested the ability to project bio-generated electricty from his body and adopted the hero-name of Biopulse. This is the perfect opportunity to obtain a live specimen for experimentation! Muhahaha!

We must move quickly though; already Biopulse has set up a clandestine meeting with Longbow in the sewers beneath Mercy, hoping to gain support and champion the cause of the Infected. Stop Biopulse from joining Longbow!

Once you have defeated that do-gooder wannabe, I'll have him shipped to my lab for dissection!


And we're off into the Rogue Isle's absurdly spacious sewer system!
First thing of note: the Homeless. Scan Visor, get the fuck out here!

The Infected: Homeless people who were mutated by toxic waste just enough that shooting them doesn't trigger an "M" rating.
Well then! T Ratings away!


And what would a mission be without God. Damn. Longbow.


Fortunately the boss is nearby, and being a homeless mutant doesn't save him from lasers and robot punch, leaving him no doubt to wonder What's This Life For.

NEXT!

As a scientist, one must always have contingency plans in place in case something goes wrong. What's the point in creating an army of super-powered zombie-men when they can turn on you at any moment and rend you limb from limb? It's extremely counter-productive to any long-term goals of world domination!

Safewords are for wussies.

Here's a safe word: shut up. As a part of risk mitigation I have developed a new Infected 'anti-serum' which causes the chemical equivalent of a chain reaction in weaker Infected, with some rather spectacular results! The least of the Infected are called the Stricken - they have the right bio-chemical balance to trigger the effect we're looking for. Go out and test the anti serum on the Stricken!

A pack of these Infected have broken into a local warehouse. I should be a good testing ground for the anti-serum. As an added bonus, I can later use it as a testing ground for my experiments! Ha ha! Two birds with one stone!

So, a vial of unknown chemicals. Let's see what they do.




...

....

MAHAHAHAHAUAAUHAHAUAHAUAHAHAHAHA

WHOOOHOOOHOOOO

EEEEEHEHEEEEEEE

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE


I take it the anti-serum is working effectively? Good!

MAKE A LONGBOW VERSION BEFORE I FEED YOU TO MY ROBOT.

B...but I only work with the homeless!

I made his teeth out of lasers.

H..how is that even...oh wait! There was some guy the homeless ate, how about I give you his old robot instead!


Done.

While you were off testing the Infected anti-serum I was contacted by a member of Arachnos who says he has more information on the source of the contaminant in the water which produces the Infected. Unfortunately, the idiot got himself captured by Longbow before he was able to deliver me the information! Fortunately, I managed to find the warehouse where they took him for interrogation. Break into the warehouse and capture the Arachnos informant from Longbow!

Bring me back the Arachnos informant intact! He's useless to me unconscious!


Longboooooow! Why'd I take the robot. I should have insisted on Longbow explodydrugs. Thankfully robots are naturally explodey.


Also thankfully the Longbow are stuuupid and let their hostage keep his weapon, so he helps me fight to safety, leaving me to deliver his message to Doctor Creed.

I thank him on the way out. I'm so happy he was here to help. Ours is a forbidden love.

How'd it go?

Pretty well. I'm supposed to tell you something about a doctor....ghost? Ghast? Ghastly?

WHAT? Doctor Geist was once a colleague of mine who stole my mutation theories for himself! Arachnos is letting one of my greatest rivals run medical experiments in their labs? And the waste from these experiments is what is causing the Infected? I must know what he is up to!

So my old rival Doctor Geist sold out to Arachnos and is doing medical experiments for them, eh? And the waste from those experiments is ending up in the cesspools of Mercy and causing the Infected to come about? I must know more about those experiments! Break into Fort Cerberus and get the information out of Doctor Geist!

Make Doctor Geist pay for his treachery! Find what he knows so I may seize the knowledge for myself!


The fools! They said that I, the ingenious Dr. Geist, would never make anything of myself! Now here I am, working for Lord Recluse, unlocking the secrets of these Arachnoids! Soon, I will work my way up the Arachnos hierarchy and get the resources I need to create my ULTIMATE SECRET WEAPON! Then, I shall rule the WORLD! Mwuhahahahahaha!


GEIST! Get back to work or we'll cut off more than your funding!
I hate mad scientists.

Ha! You think you hate them now, Geist didn't even bother to invent a laser robot!


Geist doesn't seem the type to back up his files. Nor does he seem the type to back up his FACE.


And with Geist and his lackey/tormentor down, Creed should be satisfied. I return with Arms Wide Open.

You defeated Doctor Geist? AND you discovered what he was up to? Excellent! most excellent! With this information I will rule the WORLD! Muhahaha!

I am working on deriving a serum from the blood of the Infected. However, I need a number of subjects to test the serum on! This is where you come in!

Huh? No, no, I don't mean to test it on you (although it's not a BAD idea). No, I need you to gather up some test subjects! You know, the dregs of humanity, people who won't be missed. I know of a warehouse where a bunch of those wretches live their pathetic lives; I have a truck waiting nearby which will take you there. Kidnap a couple of these homeless people and load them onto the truck. My driver will take them to my lab so I can commence experimentation!

The warehouse is also used by the Hellions, so you can expect to run into a bunch of those uncouth punks in there as well. They'll likely be guarding the entrance to the warehouse.

More homeless people serums? Well, I suppose when you have something that works it's best to stick with it.
For example, lasers.


A few hobos later, I'm in the warehouse, fighting Hellions!


Hellions. Adorable non-denominational-satan worshipping pyromaniacs. The gang’s colors tend towards red and orange, and their trappings include demonic symbols. Most members have devils, demons, or pentagrams tattooed somewhere on their body, along with the term Blood Brothers, for that is what all members are called once they have passed their initiation. Indoctrination to the gang first involves an act of violence (spilling another’s blood), and then a ritual scarring where a recruit ceremonially cuts himself. This is said to unleash a Hellion’s inner potential and to demonstrate his mastery over pain and flesh. Also his mastery over an embarrasingly large collection of Clive Barker books.


Turns out non-denominational satan should have invested his minions with magnetism powers.


With the hobastages in hand, I'm out!

CRAP! It's the fuzz!
The Rogue Island Police, or RIP. Non-superpowered, very ordinary, average humans with no special training entrusted with guarding the Rogue Isles from giant robots, mystical demons, psychopaths, evil clowns, and longbow with nothing more than pistols. Seriously.

And it was over so quickly I even forgot to get a picture.

My experiments on the Infected are going well, but I am lacking certain rare and expensive medical supplies. Fortunately I have located a cargo shipment of said supplies on its way to Paragon City! Intercept the cargo shipment, defeat their guards, and steal the medical supplies!

Many of the ships which travel past the Rogue Isles hire mercenaries to protect the cargo. Expect some resistance!

Viva la resistance! Wait no, MUERTE la resistance!
Let's see what kind of resistance we're up against.


Wyvern. According to public record, Wyvern is a private security agency hired by Paragon’s wealthiest families. Yet the public face, upheld by owner Delia Huntley, masks the true nature of this dangerous strike force: arrow fetishists.

Behind the facade, Wyvern is in fact the dark arm of Manticore’s crusade for justice. Justin Sinclair, aka Manticore, was increasingly frustrated by the limitations placed upon the heroes of Paragon City, and so he created Wyvern to carry out those ambiguous tasks that the Freedom Corps is unwilling to perform. Firm believers in the notion that the ends justify the means, Wyvern agents walk the line between hero and mercenary. Given that their primary weapons are bows and arrows they also walk the line between unconscious and dead.


Did...did you really just pull a knife on the guy with the METAL robots? Really? Look I understand that arrows aren't the BEST tool for fighting evil but let's be serious for at least a minute. At least they're ranged.


A boot? Really? With your foot? Ok then never mind. Here's hoping Manticore offers solid health benefits, since he sure as hell doesn't believe in quality on-the-job training.

Ah, these medical supplies will do nicely! Excellent bit of thieving, you! This will keep me busy for some time! Muahah!


I hate to tell him that the supplies were acne cream and Geritol. He just seems so happy, y'know?


Well, Mercy Island is feeling a bit small timey. With a heavy heart, I realize it's time I moved Higher in the world. Seems Port Oakes is the receptionist to Mercy Island's mail boy, so let's see what kind of havoc we can wreak!


Port Oakes. Recommended for villains of levels 7-15, Port Oakes has a history steeped in piracy, massacres, ghosts and totalitarian rule, among other totally awesome things. The governorship of the island is currently in dispute between the heads of two separate mafia families after the previous governor was arrested by Super Interpol. Lord Recluse is on record as allowing this feud to continue as "It makes me giggle, those silly little men. They're charming, really."

Well, what is there to do in the big city these days?


The newspaper in each zone (except Mercy Island) is full of interesting tidbits about expensive shipments coming into the area, important people to kidnap, and local thugs trying to play tough guy. Plenty of things to do for an adventurous lad and his robot friends, like shooting more non-denominational satanists!


It's good to know you're with me in spirit guys. Also you're with me in the body of a tiny little steampunk monster who likes to speak directly into my brain.


Hellions!


Hellions with temp jobs in accounting!


New guys! Mooks? Tell me more, tell me more!
Mooks. They are mooks.

Thanks Scan Visor!

My hard work paid off! I'm starting to make a name for myself. Some chump names "Mikey the Ear" left a coded message in the paper telling me to swing by for something big (actual message: The cops in this town are stupid and I am hungover come talk to me for something big -Mikey the Ear).

Ready to cause some mayhem in Paragon City? Go to Atlas Park and hit one of the banks there. Once you hit Atlas you'll have 15 minutes to rob the bank and escape.

HECKS YEAH.



NEXT TIME ON CITY OF VILLAINS

Bank robberies? New contacts? G...ghooooosts? Will our insidious inventor prove up to these inspired iniquities? Tune in next time!

HEY TALKING TIME. Pick my next contact!


Will it be Angelo Vendetti, who has a vendetta against the villains who ousted his family from the mafia?


Or perhaps Billie Heck, a small timer who works for one of the crime families in town?


Or maybe you'll shun the mob altogether and go for the crazy voodoo loving Mr. Bocor and his FANTASTIC hat!

Vote now!

MR. BOCOR.

Vodoo man!