Issue 7

This article contains information that may not apply to the current version of City of Heroes Freedom. It is provided for historical purposes.

Overview

350px

Issue 7, titled Destiny Manifest, was a major revision to City of Heroes and City of Villains released on Tuesday, June 6, 2006. Some of the major features released in this issue were raising the villain level cap to 50, including a new villain zone, a new PVP zone, Patron Power Pools, Mayhem Missions, and more. Supergroup bases got some new items, among other additions.

Release Notes

NOTE: These describe the changes as they existed at the time of the issue's release. Features may have been changed significantly by later updates.

Combined (CoH and CoV)

Known Issues

1. Some base configurations that were valid in Issue 6 are no longer allowed in Issue 7. If your base is invalid, you will be able to delete or move objects to make it fit the new rules.
2. Recluse's Victory signature heroes and villains give debt when they defeat characters. This has been acting to discourage characters under level 50 from fighting them. Receiving debt from these circumstances will no longer occur in a future patch, and the Temporal Point reward for defeating them will be increased.
3. There is a rare client crash that may occur if you minimize/restore the game.
4. Mastermind pets are not keeping names when defeated and re-summoned.
5. Gladiator arena matches end as soon as your pets spawn.
6. Mission "Destroy Chasers" from Black Scorpion cannot be completed
7. Ageia PhysX Hardware support is currently still in Beta. Because of this fact, players may experience less than optimal performance. We are working very closely with Ageia to provide our players the best experience possible.

New PvP Zone - Recluse's Victory

• A new high level PvP zone set in an alternate version of Atlas Park and open to players of Level 40+.
• Alternative 'sally port' exits are available in both Hero and Villain bases, to help alleviate front door camping. Each base has two doors near the temporal portal on the ground floor - in the Hero base they appear as manholes, in the Villain base they appear as sewer entrances. These are connected to 5 doors inside the zone, which will be randomly chosen each time a door is used. The outside doors are not guarded, so players use them their own risk.

PvP Zones

• In PvP zones, if a character is revived at the Hospital, they will respawn with 1 hit point and 1 endurance. This is to enforce a short delay on all characters before they can get back into battle.
• Being defeated in a PvP zone will carry debt if any of the damage to you was caused by NPCs. The amount of debt is directly proportional to the amount of damage you took from NPCs vs. how much was done by opposing Player Characters. The more damage dealt to you by NPCs means more debt when you are defeated.
  • This means that you can no longer "escape debt" by being defeated by a PC after taking massive damage from NPCs, nor will you be penalized with a massive amount of debt if you are defeated by an NPC after taking a huge amount of damage from a PC.

Powers - Players

• Modified PvE critter accuracy. Defense powers will now work equally well against critters, regardless if they have higher accuracy. For instance, your defense powers will work equally well against a Boss or any critter up to 5 levels higher than you, as it does for an equal level minion. Previously, a more accurate critter could circumvent much of your defense, but this will no longer happen.
  • This change is designed to alleviate the disparity between Defense and Damage resistance powers (for instance, a player with super reflexes will now be more effective than before against a high level critters, a boss or Arch villain).
  • This change has no effect on a player who does not have any Defense.
  • More accurate critters may have a greater chance at the extreme low end of the To Hit scale than previously due to this change. For instance, an Archvillain's To Hit could previously be reduced (with enough Debuffs) to 5%, but will now have a 7.5% minimum.
  • This change does not affect PvP.
  • Further Details and Math - Click Here.
• If a character is at 100% health, they cannot be reduced to 0 HP by a single application of damage. (For example, if an uninjured character with 1000 Hit Points was hit by a Blazing Bolt for 1500 Damage, the character would be dropped to 1 HP. As soon as the DoT portion of the Blazing Bolt ticked (a second later), the character would drop to 0 and be defeated. If the character was down even 1 Hit Point below maximum when the Blazing Bolt hit them, they would immediately be dropped to 0 and be defeated.)
• All powers which have an Endurance Drain component will now drain a percentage of a PvE target's Endurance, rather than a set number of Endurance Points. This fixes the issues created when enemies' Endurance Pools were increased.
• Origin Specific powers will no longer be lost after level 10. Characters who already lost these powers (or who never had these powers) will be granted these powers.
• All Temporary Powers will now show duration or charges in their info.
• Powers that put you into a self-contained state (Rest, Phase Shift, PFF, Invisibility, etc) now display "Only Affecting Self" in the mez state text below the buff bar.
• All Melee powers are now exempt from Range Debuffs.
• Removed Melee ATs' exemption from Hurricane's -Range debuff.
• Many Location based powers (Such as Rain of Fire and Blizzard) can now be affected by the casters Buffs (for example, using Build Up will now increase the damage of Blizzard).
• Stealth and Phase Shift Powers will suppress (for self buffs or toggles) or cancel (for external buffs) when a player interacts with Interactive Objects, such as Plaques or Mission Objective Objects. Suppression of this type has a duration of 10 seconds.
• The Claws Power sets for both Scrappers and Stalkers have new animations for the powers Swipe and Strike. The animation for Slash has been replaced with the old Strike animation in order to better match the activation, recharge and damage values.
• Reduced End costs on Claws high level powers.
• Reduced the effectiveness of Super Reflexes AoE Defense powers (Stalker and Scrapper). (In Issue #6, Super Reflexes was given a bonus to AoE Defence in order to make it more effective against bosses and Arch Villains, since they typically use AoE powers. With the new To Hit calculations, this is no longer necessary.)
• Several changes have been made to the Defender, Controller and Mastermind Trick Arrow sets:
  • Added 0.1 Slow effect to Entangling Arrow.
  • Changed Flash Arrow to Auto Hit in PvE. In PvP, a to hit check is still required.
  • Glue Arrow recharge time cut by 50% to 60 seconds.
  • Glue Arrow now has a -Fly component.
  • Disruption Arrow recharge time cut by 50% to 60 seconds.
• Fixed an issue where Entangling arrow could be escaped, despite its -Fly component, by jumping/flying out of it.
• Oil Slick Arrow should no longer have the odd failure to ignite condition.
• The Oil Slick Target should be easier to hit now.
• Fixed a bug with Oil Slick Arrow - it was erroneously showing a -SPD debuff on the caster.
• Fixed some issues with Poison Gas Arrow (Mastermind, Defender and Controller). All versions will now choke the targets more often, will play the proper visual f/x and will affect the proper area. The PvP aspect of the Controller version has been fixed (it was not working against players at all.)
• Rain of Arrows, Fistful of Arrows and Ranged Shot animations shortened.
• Reduced Activation/Interrupt Time on Ranged Shot
• Corrected End cost for Archery Snap Shot, Aimed Shot, Fistful of Arrows and Blazing Arrow. The Snap Shot, Aimed Shot and Fistful of Arrows changes apply to Mastermind Ninja Power Set as well.
• Fiery Aura/Healing Flames activation time reduced.
• Improved the effectiveness of Kinetics/Increase Density. It should now be about 50% more effective at protecting from Knockback/Knockup and Repel.
• Energy and Ranged Defense will now apply to Pool/Teleportation/Teleport Foe.
• Negative Energy and Ranged Defense will now apply to Warshade/Starless Step.
• Resistance Inspirations (the Sturdy Line) now offer 100% resistance to Teleport. This will not prevent a player from teleporting themselves, it only applies to Teleport Foe, Wormhole and related powers.
• Smashing Defense will now apply to Earth Control/Fossilize (Ranged Defense still applies).
• Fire Sword Circle has had the delay after animation removed.
• Greater Fire Sword has had the delay after animation removed.
• Confuse has had the delay after animation removed.
• Rebalanced Hurricane's PvE repel effect. Its effectiveness should be equal to what it was before the last change.
• Pets should no longer attack Dampening Fields associated with Reinforced Doors.
• Pets should no longer attack Whirlpools.
• The Phase Flight temporary power has had its endurance cost increased to more match a similar power in the Peacebringers set.
• The Hyper Phase temporary power now has the same 30 second time-out that the Phase Shift power has, correcting an oversight in the original power design.
• Modified sprint fx to only play while running. Not Flying. Not swimming. Not jumping. Just running on the ground.
• Modified Gravity Control Hold, Immobilize and Slow visual f/x so they more accurately reflect the control f/x.
• Fixed fx for Dark Regeneration power.
• Fixed fx for Unyielding Stance power.
• Fixed a bug with Black Hole and Dimension Shift that was causing the translucency effect to play even though the target was not affected by the power.

Powers - PvP

• All player powers with 'Toggle Drop' effects have lower chances for those effects to occur. The need for these effects is greatly reduced with the advent of Enhancement Diversification. No player power has a 100% chance of dropping toggles following this change.

  The following is a complete list of all powers which have DropToggles associated with them and the percentage chance of it taking place. In the case of powers which have a chance of dropping 2 toggles, the chance for this to happen has been calculated and included in the list.

  Note: Blaster, Corruptor and Mastermind Trip Mines have drastically different percentages. This is likely to be a bug, and may be changed.

  • Inherent: Brawl: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Devices: Trip Mine: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Devices: Time Bomb: 19% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Electrical Manipulation: Charged Brawl: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Electrical Manipulation: Havok Punch: 22% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Energy Manipulation: Bone Smasher: 22% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Energy Manipulation: Energy Punch: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Fire Manipulation: Fire Sword: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Fire Manipulation: Fire Sword Circle: 22% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Ice Manipulation: Frozen Fists: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Blaster: Ice Manipulation: Ice Sword: 22% for 1 Toggle
  • Defender Force Field: Force Bolt: 8% and 2% for 1 Toggle; 0.16% chance of 2 Toggles
  • Controller Force Field: Force Bolt: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Mastermind Force Field: Force Bolt: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Defender Force Field: Repulsion Bomb: 27% and 5% for 1 Toggle; 1.35% chance of 2 Toggles
  • Controller Force Field: Repulsion Bomb: 19% for 1 Toggle
  • Mastermind Force Field: Repulsion Bomb:19% for 1 Toggle
  • Defender Force Field: Repulsion Field: 5% and 2% chance for 1 Toggle per 1/2 second; 0.1% chance for 2 Toggles per 1/2 second
  • Controller Force Field: Repulsion Field: 3% for 1 Toggle per 1/2 second
  • Mastermind Force Field: Repulsion Field: 3% for 1 Toggle per 1/2 second
  • Defender: Kinetics: Repel: 5% and 2% chance for 1 Toggle per 1/2 second; 0.1% chance for 2 Toggles per 1/2 second
  • Controller: Kinetics: Repel: 3% for 1 Toggle per 1/2 second
  • Corruptor: Kinetics: Repel: 3% for 1 Toggle per 1/2 second
  • Peacebringer: White Dwarf Strike: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Defender Storm Summoning: Lightning Storm: 20% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.8% chance of 2 Toggles
  • Controller Storm Summoning: Lightning Storm: 17% for 1 Toggle
  • Defender Storm Summoning: Thunder Clap: 12% and 2% for 1 Toggle; 0.4% chance of 2 Toggles
  • Controller Storm Summoning: Thunder Clap: 8% for 1 Toggle
  • Warshade: Black Dwarf Strike: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Stalker: Assassin's Claw: 22% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.88% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Stalker: Assassin's Strike: 22% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.88% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Stalker: Assassin's Blow: 22% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.88% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Stalker: Assassin's Blade: 22% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.88% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Stalker: Assassin's Impaler: 22% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.88% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Stalker: Assassin's Eclipse: 22% and 4% for 1 Toggle; 0.88% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Dominator: Bone Smasher: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Total Focus: 64% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Incinerate: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Blaze: 64% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Ice Sword: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Greater Ice Sword: 64% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Mind Probe: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Psychic Shockwave: 64% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Skewer: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Dominator: Ripper: 64% for 1 Toggle
  • Mastermind: Assault Bot Smash: 5% for 1 Toggle
  • Corruptor: Traps: Time Bomb: 19% for 1 Toggle
  • Corruptor: Traps: Trip Mine: 75% and 37% for 1 Toggle; 27.75% chance for 2 Toggles
  • Mastermind: Traps: Trip Mine: 75% and 37% for 1 Toggle; 27.75% chance for 2 Toggles
• Defense (Ranged, or AoE, as appropriate) will now apply to all Taunt powers in Player versus Player combat. This replaces the previous 50% chance for Taunt powers to affect a target in PvP.
• Increased accuracy of Pool/Presence/Challenge in PvP.
• Tanker, Scrapper and Brute Taunt powers will now accept Accuracy Enhancements. Note that these enhancements will have no effect in PvE, as the powers automatically hit PvE targets. The change is made strictly for PvP purposes.
• Origin Specific powers with Status Effects have had the magnitude of the effect lowered in PvP. These powers will no longer be strong enough to affect other players by themselves, although they will continue to add their strength for stacking purposes.
• Removed legacy Target and Self holds from some Buff powers. This means that when you use Twilight Grasp, Howling Twilight, Transference or Transfusion, you will not set up a condition on yourself that allows Containment to have its damage modifier apply.
• Fixed the continuing visual f/x for Entangling Arrow in PvP - the f/x would never show up on a player target.

Powers - Critters

• Arch Villains/Heroes and Giant Monsters have been significantly boosted. They should now require more people in order for them to be defeated, especially at higher levels.
• AVs/Heroes and Giant Monsters now ignore threat level damage multipliers for different Archetypes. They are still affected by Taunt as before.
• Fixed a bug that could potentially have a critter create a pet that was much higher level than it.
• Fixed bug that made Police Drones sometimes paralyze targets rather than defeating them.
• Freakshow Noise Tanks had incorrect level ranges assigned. They now exist in the 40-45 range.

Powers - Bases

• Arcane Elite Turrets will now accept the same number of Auxiliary items as Tech Elite Turrets.
• Base Field Defenses will now affect all enemies within the field. In other words, Field powers are Auto Hit.
• Added the ability to attack Phase Shifted targets to certain base items.
• Base Defenses and Traps no longer give debt to a defeated player.

Bases

• Several new Storage items are available that allow you to store various items in your base:
  • Inspiration Receptacle: This item allows all members of the Supergroup to store Inspirations that they may not be using, but other members can use to greater benefit. A permission set in the SG Permissions allows a character to withdraw Inspirations from the Receptacle.
  • Enhancement Container: This item allows all members of the Supergroup to store Enhancements in the Supergroup's base. Members with the proper SG Permission will be able to withdraw Enhancements from the Container.
  • Salvage Bin: This item allows all members of the Supergroup to store salvage in the Supergroup's base. Members with the proper SG Permission will be able to withdraw Salvage (and just 'see' it from the base's worktables as well).
• Empowerment Stations: These are base items that allow players to convert basic salvage into Tier 2 salvage and cash Tier 2 salvage in for special buffs. Players can choose the buff applied from the recipes available at that Station, determined by the station rank.
• SG Logo Items: Numerous items can now be placed in your base that will display your Super Group's logo, including banners, stands, floor plates and more.

• Many decorative base items that previously counted as blocking doors and important items will no longer do so. Specifically, stairs, ramps, and small wall items will no longer count as blocking.

City Zones

• Fixed phone booths to prevent players from getting stuck inside

Tasks

• Changed the parameters for when an AV/Hero will spawn in a mission:

  Reputation/Notoriety Level 1: AV/Hero will spawn at team size 6 or greater.

  Reputation/Notoriety Level 2: AV/Hero will spawn at team size 5 or greater.

  Reputation/Notoriety Level 3: AV/Hero will spawn at team size 4 or greater.

  Reputation/Notoriety Level 4: AV/Hero will spawn at team size 3 or greater.

  Reputation/Notoriety Level 5: AV/Hero will spawn at team size 1 or greater.

• AV/Heroes will spawn at Elite Boss level if it is below the threshold needed to spawn them.
• Characters in a Task Force or Strike Force group can no longer enter Arena events.

Tailor

• Players with combined City of Heroes and City of Villains accounts now have access to all costume pieces (Hero and Villain) for their characters.
• New costume pieces added.
• Several costume pieces revamped and updated.
• Fixed many geometry and clipping issues with various costume pieces
• Fixed bug that sometimes made characters invisible in the Tailor screen.

Badges

• Added many new badges to the game, Villains now have access to their very own Accolade badges as well, with equivalent powers to the Hero Accolades.
• Defeat Badges now require that you or your team do 10% or more damage to the entity to receive credit for the badge. (The former system required that you deal 25% or more damage to get credit).
• All exploration badges now give a small amount of XP when you find them (based on your level).
• Fort Knox badge text error fixed.
• Only heroes should now receive the Fire Thorn Caster gladiator.
• Blue Shield badge text error fixed.
• Demon Slayer badge is now given for both CoH and CoV versions of Baphomet.
• Only heroes should now receive the Button Man Gunner gladiator.
• Villains will now receive the TacOps gladiator upon reaching level 20.
• Only heroes should now receive the Nebula Buckshot gladiator.
• Villains will now receive the Wolf Spider gladiator upon reaching level 10.
• Smasher Elite badge should now award correctly.
• Troll Task Force badge is now given out for spending time in The Hollows.
• The Rocketman Badge isnow awarded for launching the Warburg rocket 10 times.

Hardware

• The game is now compatible with Ageia physics cards using the latest drivers.

Graphics

• Ageia PhysX Hardware support is currently still in Beta. Because of this fact, players may experience less than optimal performance. We are working very closely with Ageia to provide our players the best experience possible.
• Default graphic settings have changed slightly. Will not affect existing settings or the advanced graphics settings options.
• Changed the way the texture quality slider is interpreted:
  • Very High: all textures at full resolution.
  • High: texture dimensions capped at 256x256.
  • Medium: texture dimensions capped at 128x128, all textures reduced by one mip level.
  • Low: texture dimensions capped at 128x128, all textures reduced by two mip levels.
  • Texture quality is now treated the same in CoH and CoV.
• Added new lower Shader Detail options to disable bumpmaps.
• Added new "recommended low-end" or "performance" option on the Graphics Quality slider that should set graphics detail levels to approximately CoH-launch values.
• The camera has been changed to be smoother and avoid 'popping' for small items - for example, a light pole between yourself and the camera should not jerk the camera forward now.

Game

• Fixed crash caused by using Awaken inspirations in rapid succession.
• Players will no longer be notified repeatedly that they have earned certain costume pieces whenever they login or zone.

Quality of Life

• Several new options have been added to the display of Buff/Debuff icons in the Status Window (beneath the HP/END/XP bars), the Group Window and the Pet Window. The options for the different windows can be accessed either by right-clicking on an icon in the appropriate window, or from the 'General' tab of the in-game Options:
  • Hide Auto Powers: The icons for 'automatic' powers (those that are always on) can be set to be displayed as usual or hidden.
  • Disable Blinking: Set whether the icons for powers that are near the end of their duration should start blinking or not.
  • Icon Stacking: Icons for multiple versions of the same power can be set to stack on top of other, to display a single icon with a number showing how many versions of the power are affecting you, or not to stack.
• In combat, attacks avoided due to Defense powers will now show text messages such as "Avoid!" or "Eluded!" instead of simple "Miss!"
• A 'Do Not Allow Invites' option has been added to the Looking For Group flags.
• There is a new window that allows the searching of Global Chat channels. To access this window, right click the chat window and select "Channel Search". You can search for channels with a certain name, the most active channels, or all channels you are a member of. From this window you can also set the channel description and MOTD.
• Several new emotes have been added to the game.
• If you receive a tell while AFK, an automatic reply will be sent to the tell sender with your AFK message.

UI

• In PvP zones, if a player views the Info window of another player's character, the Powers tab will not be available.
• Added Recluse's Victory and Pocket D to map search list.
• Fixed bug where low level characters could not combine enhancements.
• Fixed bug where some options were enabled/disabled simultaneously.

City of Heroes

Powers - Players

• The Slow Tables for Controllers and Defenders were reversed, with Defenders having a lower modifier than intended. Rather than correct this by switching the values, we've opted to increase Defenders Slow modifier by 25% to 125% value. This puts them on equal footing with Controllers when using Slow powers.
• Illusion Control/Deceive has had the long pause after cast removed.
• Fixed Electricity Blaster power Zapp so it now has a windup f/x and sound.
• Fixed Long Help Description for Blaster Charged Brawl. It described the power as 'Minor' damage, when it should have been 'Moderate'.

Powers - PvP

• Tanker's Inherent Power, Gauntlet, now works in PvP. Single target powers have a chance of Taunting the target hit, while Area of Effect powers have a much smaller chance of Taunting all targets in the radius.

Powers - Critters

• The Hamidon has been increased in difficulty. It is now capable of using one of its attack powers even when Held, Slept, or Stunned.

City Zones

• Spawns updated and adjusted in several city zones. Street encounters in lower level zones have more variety.
• Fixed delay when you click on helicopter pilot to zone from Kings Row to Warburg and back or Bloody Bay to Skyway and back.

Tasks

• Mary Macomber (on the Katie Hannon Task Force) no longer offers a Single Origin Enhancement with each defeat. She now provides the SO after her 10th defeat.

Badges

• The Task Force Commander badge is a new Accolade added for Heroes.

Graphics

• Updated and improved many textures and visual effects throughout the game.

City of Villains

Level Cap Increased

• Levels 41-50 are now open to Villains
• New missions, story arcs and enemies added for high level villains.

New Zone - Grandville

• The black heart of the Rogue Isles is a dangerous place for even the strongest villains to venture into.

New Strike Force - The Future of Freedom

• In order to truly prove yourself the greatest of villains you must take on the greatest of heroes; Statesman!
• Villains who think they are up to the ultimate challenge should contact Lord Recluse directly in Grandville.
• Be warned - many have tried to challenge Statesman, and most failed without even getting close to him. Until now, none have succeeded. Only a group of the very strongest villains should attempt this.

Mayhem Missions

• Mayhem missions allow villains to enter a large instanced outdoor mission map and create chaos. The eventual goal is to rob a bank - but there are lots of other things going on, too. Mayhem missions are set up for single players and teams. Extra mission time is awarded for destroying property and defeating police. Side missions that appear within the mission map award more extra time and other rewards.
• The old Heists (Bank and Casino) are now available as normal Newspaper missions.

New Power Sets

• Mastermind Primary - Thugs
• Brute Primary - Electric Melee
• Brute Secondary - Electric Shields
• Stalker Primary - Dark Melee
• Stalker Secondary - Dark Armor

Patron Powers

• High level villains may complete a series of missions to gain favour with one of the faction leaders of Arachnos, gaining access to a new power pool. A villain may only have one patron during their career, so choose carefully.
• Level 40+ villains should talk to Arbiter Rein in Grandville to learn about and unlock Patron Powers.

Ghost Widow - Soul Mastery

Ghost Widow will teach you how to corrupt and utilize souls of the dead to damage and hinder your enemies.

• Brute
  • Gloom- Slowly drains a target of life, while reducing his Accuracy. Slower than Dark Blast, but deals more damage over time.
  • Soul Tentacles- You can create a cone-shaped rift to the Netherworld that allows the souls of the damned to slip into our reality. These Soul Tentacles will snare all foes within range, Immobilizing them while they drain their life.
  • Dark Obliteration- You hurl a large blast of negative energy that violently explodes on impact, exposing the dark power of the Netherworld to all foes near the target. Dark Obliteration can reduce the Accuracy of all affected targets. You must have one other Soul Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Widow- Ghost Widow will assign a beautiful but deadly Night Widow assassin for you to command. Her weapons of choice include wrist retractable mounted razors and Psychic blasts.
• Stalker
  • Dark Blast- A long range blast of dark energy. Deals moderate Negative Energy damage and reduces the target's Accuracy.
  • Moonbeam- An extremely long range and accurate beam of Negative Energy that deals tremendous damage and reduces the target's Accuracy. This is a sniper attack, and like most sniper attacks, is best fired from a distance as it can be interrupted.
  • Soul Storm- Like Ghost Widow, you will be able to summon the souls of your victims to do your bidding. Soul Storm enraptures a single target, holding them while their life-force is drained from their body. You must have one other Soul Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Widow- Ghost Widow will assign a beautiful but deadly Blood Widow assassin for you to command. Her weapons of choice include wrist retractable mounted razors and darts, all tipped in deadly poison.
• Corruptor
  • Soul Drain- Using this power, you can drain the essence of all nearby foes' souls, thus increasing your own strength. Each affected foe will lose some Hit Points and add to your Damage and Accuracy.
  • Dark Embrace- You tap into the energy of the Netherworld to protect yourself from damage. This Dark Embrace shrouds you and grants resistance to Lethal, Smashing, Negative Energy, and Toxic damage.
  • Soul Storm- Like Ghost Widow, you will be able to summon the souls of your victims to do your bidding. Soul Storm enraptures a single target, Holding them while their life-force is drained from their body. You must have one other Soul Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Mistress- Ghost Widow will assign a Fortunata Mistress for you to command. Arguably, the most powerful of the Fortunatas, these rare few have mastered numerous psychic abilities and have risen to the top of Lord Recluse's beautiful Black Widows.
• Dominator
  • Dark Consumption- The dark power of the Netherworld allows you to tap the essence of your foe's soul and transfer it to yourself. This will drain Hit Points of your enemy and add to your Endurance.
  • Dark Embrace- You tap into the energy of the Netherworld to protect yourself from damage. This Dark Embrace shrouds you and grants resistance to Lethal, Smashing, Negative Energy and Toxic damage.
  • Dark Obliteration- You hurl a large blast of Negative Energy that violently explodes on impact, exposing the dark power of the Netherworld to all foes near the target. Dark Obliteration can reduce the Accuracy of all affected targets. You must have one other Soul Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Seer- Ghost Widow will assign a Fortunata Seer for you to command. Fortunata Seers can glimpse moments into the future. They use this ability to increase the Perception of their teammate.
• Mastermind
  • Night Fall- Unleashes a cone-shaped burst of particles from the Netherworld. All targets within the modest range of this power take Negative Energy damage and have a reduced Accuracy.
  • Dark Embrace- You tap into the energy of the Netherworld to protect yourself from damage. This Dark Embrace shrouds you and grants resistance to Lethal, Smashing, Negative Energy, and Toxic damage.
  • Soul Tentacles- You can create a cone-shaped rift to the Netherworld that allows the souls of the damned to slip into our reality. These Soul Tentacles will snare all foes within range, Immobilizing them while their drain their life. You must have one other Soul Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Soul Storm- Like Ghost Widow, you will be able to summon the souls of your victims to do your bidding. Soul Storm enraptures a single target, Holding them while their life-force is drained from their body. You must have two other Soul Mastery powers before selecting this power.

Black Scorpion - Mace Mastery

Black Scorpion will give you access to an Arachnos Mace, and teach you how to use it in battle.

• Brute
  • Mace Blast- The Executioner's Mace is capable of firing a powerful bolt of kinetic energy. The blast is powerful enough that it may knock down some foes. Arachnos Bane Spider Troopers call this the Mace Blast. The Arbiters who invented it scoff at this simple term.
  • Web Envelope- The Executioner's Mace can lob a modified Web Grenade. Upon impact, the Web Grenade expels a strong, tenuous, and very sticky substance that can Immobilize most targets in a wide area. This non-lethal device deals no damage and does not prevent targets from attacking, although their attack rate is Slowed. The Web can bring down flying entities and halts jumping.
  • Disruptor Blast- Fires a tremendous charge of kinetic energy from your Executioner's Mace. This charge is so powerful it will explode on impact, blasting all nearby foes. Some affected foes may be knocked down by the force of the blast. You must have one other Mace Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Blaster- Black Scorpion will grant you an Arachnobot Blaster to command. Arachnobot Blasters were created by Arachnos Orb Weavers to take down particularly powerful super-powered threats.
• Stalker
  • Mace Blast- The Bane Mace is capable of firing a bolt of kinetic energy. The blast is powerful enough that it may knock down some foes. Arachnos Bane Spider Troopers call this the Mace Blast. The Arbiters who invented it scoff at this simple term.
  • Mace Beam- Fires an extremely long range and accurate beam of kinetic energy from the Bane Mace that deals tremendous damage and knocks back the target. This is a sniper attack, and like most sniper attacks, is best fired from a distance as it can be interrupted.
  • Web Cocoon- The Bane Mace can fire a more powerful version of the common web grenade. The sinewy fibers of this grenade are strong enough to completely Hold one target. Targets able to resist the Hold are still likely to have their attack and movement speed dramatically Slowed. Web Cocoon can also bring down flying targets and prevent foes from jumping. You must have one other Mace Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Spiderlings- Black Scorpion will grant you access to a small squadron of Arachnobot Spiderlings. Three Spiderlings that are one level less than you will show up when summoned.
• Corruptor
  • Web Envelope- The Executioner's Mace can lob a modified Web Grenade. Upon impact, the Web Grenade expels a strong, tenuous, and very sticky substance that can Immobilize most targets in a wide area. This non-lethal device deals no damage and does not prevent targets from attacking, although their attack rate is Slowed. The Web can bring down flying entities and halts jumping.
  • Scorpion Shield- Black Scorpion's technologies are impressive indeed. This energy shield grants you Defense to Lethal, Smashing and Energy attacks, as well as improves your Damage Resistance to Toxic damage.
  • Web Cocoon- The Bane Mace can fire a more powerful version of the common web grenade. The sinewy fibers of this grenade are strong enough to completely Hold one target. Targets able to resist the Hold are still likely to have their attack and movement speed dramatically Slowed. Web Cocoon can also bring down flying targets and prevent foes from jumping. You must have one other Mace Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Disruptor- Black Scorpion will grant you an Arachnobot Disruptor to command. Arachnobots were created by Arachnos Orb Weavers to take down particularly powerful super-powered threats.
• Dominator
  • Poisonous Ray- The Bane Mace can fire a nasty Poison Ray. This toxin is suspended in a polarized plasma field and delivered like an energy blast. Upon impact, the toxin directly attacks the immune system, reducing the affected target's Defense and Damage Resistance as it deals Toxic damage.
  • Scorpion Shield- Black Scorpion's technologies are impressive indeed. This energy shield grants you Defense to Lethal, Smashing and Energy attacks, as well as improves your Damage Resistance to Toxic damage.
  • Disruptor Blast- Fires a tremendous charge of kinetic energy from your Bane Mace. This charge is so powerful it will explode on impact, blasting all nearby foes. Some affected foes may be knocked down by the force of the blast. You must have one other Mace Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Tarantula- Black Scorpion will grant you a Toxic Tarantula to command. Weaver One developed the Tarantula Exoskeleton Armor, which so radically transforms an Arachnos troop that hardly anything human is recognizable.
• Mastermind
  • Web Envelope- The Nullifier Mace can lob a modified Web Grenade. Upon impact, the Web Grenade expels a strong, tenuous, and very sticky substance that can Immobilize most targets in a wide area. This non-lethal device deals no damage and does not prevent targets from attacking, although their attack rate is Slowed. The Web can bring down flying entities and halts jumping.
  • Scorpion Shield- Black Scorpion's technologies are impressive indeed. This energy shield grants you Defense to Lethal, Smashing and Energy attacks, as well as improves your Damage Resistance to Toxic damage.
  • Mace Beam Volley- Fires a volley of multiple kinetic energy blasts from your Nullifier Mace. These blasts spread out in a wide cone and are powerful enough to knock down some foes. You must have one other Mace Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Web Cocoon- The Bane Mace can fire a more powerful version of the common web grenade. The sinewy fibers of this grenade are strong enough to completely Hold one target. Targets able to resist the Hold are still likely to have their attack and movement speed dramatically Slowed. Web Cocoon can also bring down flying targets and prevent foes from jumping. You must have one other Mace Mastery power before selecting this power.

Captain Mako - Leviathan Mastery

Captain Mako will embolden you with the knowledge of the Coralax and their mysterious powers over the seas.

• Brute
  • Spirit Shark- You are empowered with Spirit of the Mako Shark. You can project this spirit to attack and maul your opponent. The Shark Spirit Energy will manifest and attack your foe, quickly dealing heavy Lethal damage over time.
  • School of Sharks- You can call forth a school of vicious Shark Spirits that will swim out in a cone formation and will encircle your foes, draining their spirit energy. The encircling Shark Spirits will immobilize most foes while they deal Negative Energy damage over time. Both you and the target must be near the ground for this power to activate.
  • Bile Spray- Sharks will eat anything, so their stomach acid must be powerful indeed. You can regurgitate this acid and spew a corrosive spray of bile at a foe. Affected foes in the cone will take Toxic damage over time. You must have one other Leviathan Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Guardian- Captain Mako will show you how to summon a Coralax Guardian Sentinel to do your bidding. These creatures are composed of living coral made from the sea-goddess Merulina.
• Stalker
  • Spirit Shark- You are empowered with Spirit of the Mako Shark. You can project this spirit to attack and maul your opponent. The Shark Spirit Energy will manifest and attack your foe, quickly dealing heavy Lethal damage over time.
  • Water Spout- Conjures up a Water Spout at a targeted location. The Water Spout will chase down your foes, tossing them into the air and hurling them great distances. The victims are left Disoriented and with reduced Defense. The Water Spout is a menacing sight, and can even cause panic among your foes.
  • Spirit Shark Jaws- You can summon a massive Spirit Shark that will attack your foe from below. The Shark will grip your foe with its massive jaws and attempt to Hold the target while he mauls it, dealing Lethal damage over time. Flying targets will likely be pulled to the ground. You must have one other Leviathan Master power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Guardian- Captain Mako will show you how to summon a Coralax Guardian Sentinel to do your bidding. These creatures are composed of living coral made from the sea-goddess Merulina.
• Corruptor
  • School of Sharks- You can call forth a school of vicious Shark Spirits that will swim out in a cone formation and will encircle your foes, draining their spirit energy. The encircling Shark Spirits will immobilize most foes while they deal Negative Energy damage over time. Both you and the target must be near the ground for this power to activate.
  • Shark Skin- The power of the Leviathan Mako has shown you seems to have no end. Shark Skin improves your Damage Resistance to Lethal, Smashing and Cold damage.
  • Spirit Shark Jaws- You can summon a massive Spirit Shark that will attack your foe from below. The Shark will grip your foe with its massive jaws and attempt to Hold the target while he mauls it, dealing Lethal damage over time. Flying targets will likely be pulled to the ground. You must have one other Leviathan Master power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Coralax- Captain Mako will show you how to summon a Coralax Red Hybrid to do your bidding. The Coralax are humans who have been infected with living coral.
• Dominator
  • Water Spout- Conjures up a Water Spout at a targeted location. The Water Spout will chase down your foes, tossing them into the air and hurling them great distances. The victims are left Disoriented and with reduced Defense. The Water Spout is a menacing sight, and can even cause panic among your foes.
  • Bile Spray- Sharks will eat anything, so their stomach acid must be powerful indeed. You can regurgitate this acid and spew a corrosive spray of bile at a foe. Affected foes in the cone will take Toxic damage over time. You must have one other Leviathan Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Shark Skin- The power of the Leviathan Mako has shown you seems to have no end. Shark Skin improves your Damage Resistance to Lethal, Smashing and Cold damage.
  • Summon Coralax- Captain Mako will show you how to summon a Coralax Blue Hybrid to do your bidding. The Coralax are humans who have been infected with living coral.
• Mastermind
  • School of Sharks- You can call forth a school of vicious Shark Spirits that will swim out in a cone formation and will encircle your foes, draining their spirit energy. The encircling Shark Spirits will immobilize most foes while they deal Negative Energy damage over time. Both you and the target must be near the ground for this power to activate.
  • Bile Spray- Sharks will eat anything, so their stomach acid must be powerful indeed. You can regurgitate this acid and spew a corrosive spray of bile at a foe. Affected foes in the cone will take Toxic damage over time. You must have one other Leviathan Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Shark Skin- The power of the Leviathan Mako has shown you seems to have no end. Shark Skin improves your Damage Resistance to Lethal, Smashing and Cold damage.
  • Spirit Shark Jaws- You can summon a massive Spirit Shark that will attack your foe from below. The Shark will grip your foe with its massive jaws and attempt to Hold the target while he mauls it, dealing Lethal damage over time. Flying targets will likely be pulled to the ground. You must have one other Leviathan Master power before selecting this power.

Scirocco - Mu Mastery

Scirocco will instruct you on the Way of Mu, ancient techniques that give access to the lightning-based powers of the ancient race.

• Brute
  • Mu Lightning- You can send a large blast of Mu energy at a foe, dealing heavy damage and draining some Endurance. Some of this Endurance may transfer back to you.
  • Electrifying Fences- Electrifying Fences attempts to Immobilize a group of foes in an area. This power deals some Energy damage over time as it slowly drains some Endurance.
  • Ball Lightning- Hurls a highly charged ball of Mu lightning that explodes on contact. Ball Lightning deals good damage in an area of effect, and drains some Endurance from each target it hits. You must have one other Mu Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Striker- Scirocco will show you how to call upon a mystical Mu Striker to assist you. The Mu pulse with the blood of their slaughtered ancestors in their veins, and are well practiced in the dark arts.
• Stalker
  • Mu Bolts- You can quickly hurl small bolts of Mu electricity at foes, dealing some damage and draining some Endurance. Some of this Endurance may transfer back to you. Mu Bolts deals light damage, but recharges quickly.
  • Zapp- A focused blast of Mu electrical energy that can travel great distances with high Accuracy. Zapp drains Endurance, and is best fired from a distance as it can be interrupted. Some of the Endurance you drain may transfer back to you.
  • Electric Shackles- Electric Shackles binds a foe's limbs, leaving the target Held and helpless. The target is drained of some Endurance and some of that Endurance may be transferred back to you. You must have one other Mu Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Adept- Scirocco will show you how to call upon a mystical Mu Adept to assist you. The Mu pulse with the blood of their slaughtered ancestors in their veins, and are well practiced in the dark arts.
• Corruptor
  • Power Sink- Power Sink leeches Energy directly from the bodies of all nearby foes, draining their Endurance. Each foe you draw energy from increases your Endurance. If there are no foes within range, you will not gain Endurance.
  • Charged Armor- When you toggle on this power, you are surrounded by a charged field that makes you highly resistant to Smashing, Lethal, and Energy damage.
  • Electric Shackles- Electric Shackles binds a foe's limbs, leaving the target Held and helpless. The target is drained of some Endurance and some of that Endurance may be transferred back to you. You must have one other Mu Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Adept- Scirocco will show you how to call upon a mystical Mu Adept to assist you. The Mu pulse with the blood of their slaughtered ancestors in their veins, and are well practiced in the dark arts.
• Dominator
  • Power Sink- Power Sink leeches Energy directly from the bodies of all nearby foes, draining their Endurance. Each foe you draw energy from increases your Endurance. If there are no foes within range, you will not gain Endurance.
  • Charged Armor- When you toggle on this power, you are surrounded by a charged field that makes you highly resistant to Smashing, Lethal, and Energy damage.
  • Ball Lightning- Hurls a highly charged ball of Mu lightning that explodes on contact. Ball Lightning deals good damage in an area of effect, and drains some Endurance from each target it hits. You must have one other Mu Mastery power before selecting this power.
  • Summon Guardian- Scirocco will show you how to call upon a mystical Mu Guardian to assist you. The Mu pulse with the blood of their slaughtered ancestors in their veins, and are well practiced in the dark arts.
• Mastermind
  • Static Discharge- Hurls multiple bolts of Mu electricity in an arc that deals damage and drains Endurance from all affected foes in the area.
  • Charged Armor- When you toggle on this power, you are surrounded by a charged field that makes you highly resistant to Smashing, Lethal, and Energy damage.
  • Electrifying Fences- Electrifying Fences attempts to Immobilize a group of foes in an area. This power deals some Energy damage over time as it slowly drains some Endurance.
  • Electric Shackles- Electric Shackles binds a foe's limbs, leaving the target Held and helpless. The target is drained of some Endurance and some of that Endurance may be transferred back to you. You must have one other Mu Mastery power before selecting this power.

Powers - Players

• Mastermind Bodyguards: You can set any Mastermind pet to Bodyguard by selecting the Defensive Stance and the Follow Orders. Your pets must be within Supremacy range for this function to work.
• Bodyguard Damage Mitigation: When set to Bodyguard mode, the Mastermind and his pets share damage from any attack that the Mastermind takes damage from. Each pet takes one 'share' of the damage, and the Mastermind himself takes two 'shares'. This is in addition to any damage that the pets themselves might incur from Area attacks.
  • Example: If a Mastermind has 3 pets set to Def/Fol, and he gets hit with a 100 point attack, each pet will take 20 points of the damage, and he himself will take 40 points.
  • Example 2: If a Mastermind has 3 pets set to Def/Fol, and he gets hit with an Area Effect attack for 10 points of damage, then each pet will take 2 points of damage, and he himself will take 4 points. Pets that were also in the Area of Effect will take an additional 10 points each, as normal.
• Decreased the recharge time for Mastermind Minion Henchmen summon powers.
• Increased the recharge time for Mastermind Boss Henchmen summon powers.
• Dramatically decreased the recharge time for Mastermind Second Tier Upgrade powers.
• Masterminds will no longer be able to issue commands to their henchmen while under effects that only allow them to affect themselves - Personal Force Field, Phase Shift, and so on.
• Mastermind Pets have had their movement rates increased.
• Fixed bug where a Mastermind's pets would sometimes end up under the control of another Mastermind.
• Reduced the Recharge of Dominator's Inherent Power, Domination, from 300 to 200.
• Increased Dominator Melee damage modifier to 0.75 - this increases their melee damage by 7.1%
• Dominator Psionic Assault Drain Psyche now accepts Accuracy enhancements. The power was intended to accept them originally, but they were left out by mistake.
• Assassin Attacks are no longer interrupted by Debuffs. Damage and movement are the only interrupt mechanisms that apply.
• Stalker/Claws/Placate no longer costs Endurance to activate, bringing it in line with the placate power in other Stalker Power Sets.
• Visual f/x for Brute Invulnerability powers changed. They are now darker and more villainous.
• Player Pets should no longer attack the lava in the Batzul mission.
• Corruptor Cold Domination/Ice Shield gives defense against all melee attacks in addition to defense against smashing and lethal.
• Corruptor Cold Domiantion/Glacial Shield gives defense against all AoE and ranged attacks in addition to defense against energy and negative energy.

Powers - PvP

• Dominators Domination inherent ability will charge much more quickly when fighting PvP targets. Each successful attack from the Assault secondary power sets adds a bonus of 8 points toward filling the Domination bar over the normal value.

Powers - Critters

• Circle of Thorns Vines are now immune to teleportation effects.
• Coralax summoned by Calystix no longer give XP.

City Zones

• Nerva: Fixed several graphics bugs in the zone.
• St. Martial: Fixed several graphics bugs in the zone.

Tasks

• Fixed many typos and grammar errors in missions.
• Fix for inaccessible elevators on some Arachnos maps.
• Changed Naylor's 'Mini-Arc' of Shadow Shard missions to prevent them from becoming impossible to complete - made the two hostages in Mission 2 optional, added a Boss battle that is required.

Tailor

• Many new costume pieces are available.

See Also

• Issue 7 Badges

External Links

• Issue 7 update information at the official City of Heroes site
• Overview information at the official City of Heroes site
• Description of base features at the official City of Heroes site

Template:Issue Releases