User:Blondeshell/Villain Trainer Tips

Overview

These are the game tips that are available from villain trainers.

Advancing to Next Level

You're doing well, Character!

You will need to gain X more experience before you're ready for Threat Level X.

Go out there and do some villainy!

Lackeys & Malefactors (old version)

Lackeys are lower-level villains who have their abilities artificially raised to that of a higher level villain. This system is called "Lackeying"

Lackeying is in place so lower level villains can still adventure with higher level allies.

Lackeying involves two characters. The higher level one is known as the Boss, and the lower level one is called the Lackey. The Boss must be Threat Level 10 or higher. Bosses may then ask a lower level character to become their Lackey by either right clicking on them and selecting "Invite to Lackey" or by using the slash command /lackey (character name). The character you are asking to be your Lackey must be 3 or more levels below your Threat Level.

When a character becomes a Lackey, they now fight at a combat level of one less than that of the Boss. They do not gain additional powers, but the powers they do have are more effective, and they can have a better chance of hitting higher level foes. They also gain the appropriate amount of Hit Points.

The benefits of being a Lackey only apply if the Lackey and Boss stay within 200 feet of one another. As they approach the limit of the Lackey range they will see a message pop up indicating this. They will also be notified when they have exceeded Lackey range and are no longer seeing the benefit.

When you receive XP as a Lackey, you will receive an amount appropriate to your original level.

Higher level villains can artificially lower their Combat level, in order to adventure with their lower level allies as well. This process is called Malefactoring. The lower level villain in this case is called the Minion and the higher level villain is the Malefactor. The Minion asks a higher level villain to become his Malefactor by right clicking on them and selecting "Invite to Malefactor" or by using the command /Malefactor (character name). There is no level restriction on Malefactoring.

When you become an Malefactor you will have the following things happen to you: you will fight at the Combat Level of the Minion, and lose access to any power you chose after the level of the Minion. So if you Malefactor down to level 15 (the level of the Minion) you will not be able to access any power you chose at level 16 or higher. You will still have all the Enhancement Slots in your powers however, the strength of those Enhancements will be artificially reduced to the strength of Enhancements you would have at your new Combat Level.

When you receive XP as an Malefactor, you will receive an amount appropriate to your original level, however 100% of this XP goes towards paying off XP Debt. If your character has no XP Debt left to pay off, then the XP is transformed into Influence on a 1 for 1 basis.

Lackeys & Malefactors (new version)

Lackeys are lower-level heroes who have their abilities artificially raised to that of a higher level hero. The process for this is known as "Lackeying".

This system is in place so that lower level heroes can still adventure with their higher level friends.

Lackeying happens automatically when characters form a group. The Boss of the group is the owner of the group's currently selected mission. If the group's leader has not selected a mission, then the group leader serves as the Boss.

The Lackey's effective level is boosted to one level beneath the Boss's level.

A Lackey's damage, Hit Points, defense, and accuracy are all boosted to this new level. His Enhancements continue to provide the same benefits they gave him before he became a Lackey.

A Lackey may not enter certain Trial Zones that his real level would not allow. These restricted zones are Cimerora, the Hive, Monster Island, and the Abyss; some places are too dangerous for Lackeys ! Lackeys also may not enter PVP Zones until they reach the appropriate level for those zones.

Lackeys gain Experience Points as if they were still fighting foes near their actual level. If a Lackey takes on a villain 1 level above his boosted level, he'll gain the same XP he would normally gain by defeating a villain 1 level above his actual level.

The Boss or Lackey can terminate the relationship by leaving the group.

A character will receive a dialog box warning them their level is about to change when they will be Lackeyed. Players can control the circumstances of when this dialog box will appear in the Options/General menu.

When a character becomes a Lackey, they now fight at a combat level of one less than that of the Boss. They do not gain additional powers, but the powers they do have are more effective, and they can have a better chance of hitting higher level foes.

Higher level heroes can artificially lower their Combat level, in order to adventure with their lower level friends as well. This process is called Malefactoring, and it also happens automatically upon joining a group lead by a lower-level character (the Minion) or that has a mission belonging to a lower-level character selected.

When you become an Malefactor you will have the following things happen to you: you will fight at the Combat Level of the Minion, and lose access to any power you chose after the level of the Minion +5. So if you Malefactor down to level 15 (the level of the Minion) you will not be able to access any power you chose at level 21 or higher. You will still have all the Enhancement Slots in your powers however, the strength of those Enhancements will be artificially reduced to the strength of Enhancements you would have at your new Combat Level.

You will receive XP as an Malefactor as if you were fighting opponents of your level.

Strike Forces

Strike Forces are special content made for groups of villains to tackle. These usually involve a major investment of time, and have a minimum limit on the number of villains required to start it.

A typical Strike Force requires 3 or more villains on a team (and all within the appropriate level range). The leader of the team then talks to one of the special Strike Force contacts throughout the Rogue Isles.

Strike Forces can take a large amount of time to complete. Characters can expect to be on a Strike Force from a mere two hours to upwards of ten hours. Characters can leave a Strike Force at any time, but they can not join one once it has started. When everyone has left a Strike Force, the leader can "Abandon Strike Force" and dissolve it. In addition, characters on a Strike Force can log off, and when they log back in will still be on the Strike Force as long as it has not been dissolved. This allows a more casual player opportunity to complete the longer Strike Forces by finding like-minded players and scheduling times to run the Strike Force (such as "every night this week from 8pm to 10pm" or "every Friday night until midnight").

While you are on a Strike Force you will not have access to your normal Contacts, and only the Team leader can talk to the Strike Force contact to get the next mission in the Strike Force. If the Team leader leaves the Strike Force a new Team leader will be chosen randomly.

Costumes

A villain's identity is tied to their costume almost as much as their name. A special store is located in Cap Au Diable and St. Martial for villains to change their look. This store is called 'Face' named after the strange owner known of the franchise known as 'The Facemaker'. The strange nurses there modify villains and their costumes.

You can visit Face at any time in your career for a makeover. They can change anything about the look of your character except the Body Type and Height you chose when you first created your character. Fees are scaled by level, so a lower level villain pays less than a higher level one for the same amount of changes.

A flat fee is charged for simply accessing the Tailor. This fee covers any and all "color alterations" you want to make for your character. You can also change various parts of your costume for additional fees.

At levels 20, 30, and 40 characters can run missions for the head tailors in each of the Face shops. These missions, when successful, will unlock additional Costume Slots, allowing you to have multiple looks at your disposal. Simply select the Slot you want to change the next time you access the Tailor once you have unlocked an additional slot. You can change your costume using the Menu or using the slash command of /costume_change X (where X is the number of the slot, 0 to 3). /cc X will also work.

Titles

At level 15, and again at level 25, characters are given the option of choosing a Title for their character. These Titles are shown to all other players above the name of your villain on your avatar.

Upon reaching level 15 (or 25) you can select your title from any Trainer in the game (the contacts used to Level Up).

You can optionally put a "The" in front of you title if you wish. The first set of titles are static. All characters will have the same choices. The second set of titles, received at level 25, are flavored towards your Origin. You can choose to have both titles active once you reach level 25.

Respecs

At three points in your career there is an opportunity for you to re-choose any power choices and enhancement slot choices you made up to that point. This process is called Respecification, or Respec for short.

At levels 24, 34, and 44 you can attempt the Terra Volta Trial, which is a Task Force for four or more characters of the appropriate levels. Successful completion of the Trial will grant your character the ability to Respec once, and each iteration of the trial (the 24, 34, or 44 one) will only ever give you one Respec.

When you Respec you completely rebuild your character. You will re-pick every power from level 1 up to your current level. After you have done that you will re-pick all of your Enhancement slots (but you will only be able to slot powers you have chosen before the level you would have received the slots). In other words, a Respec character won't have any advantages over a non-Respec'ed one.

After you have chosen powers and slots, you will then re-slot all of your Enhancements to your characters powers. Any Enhancements left over after re-slotting can be refunded for the full purchase price.

Remember that the level you choose powers determines what powers you have available if you Malefactor down to a specific level.

Inventions

At level 4 enemies will start dropping salvage and recipes when defeated. There are two types of invention salvage dropped: base salvage and invention salvage. Base salvage is used to create base items that will be placed within your Supergroups' base. The invention salvage will be used to craft enhancements. These come in two different origins: Tech and Magic. The origin of the salvage will determine what enhancements you can invent. Another place to pick up invention salvage, recipes and complete enhancements is the Black Market. The two places you will be able to invent enhancements are crafting tables located in the universities and your Supergroups' base crafting table.

There are different rarities of invention salvage dropped: common, uncommon and rare. The common invention salvage will be used mostly at the universities and Supergroups' bases. These tables provide the most common recipes and can be used as many times as needed. When inventing the stronger enhancements, the uncommon and rare salvage will be used along with recipes. These recipes can be used only once, and will disappear after crafting that particular enhancement.

You can create invented enhancements up to a maximum of three levels higher than your current level. Your origin is completely irrelevant. You can always slot your invented enhancements up to three levels higher than your current level, but you won't receive any more of a bonus than you normally would. Don't worry about out-leveling your invented enhancements because it will always give you the bonus it was created at. However, there must be room in your enhancement tray or you won't be allowed to craft any enhancements.

When finding the more uncommon recipes and invention salvage, keep an eye out for sets starting with the same name. These power sets can use as little as two enhancements and up to six. These enhancements can only be combined with other enhancements that the set was designed for. Adding more invented enhancements to the set will add better bonuses for your character. Another nice thing about these particular sets is that as soon as the enhancements are slotted the powers don't have to be used for the sets to be active. The set bonuses can give you a powerful advantage when used correctly. When these enhancement sets are slotted in the same power, they create a bonus that will always be active. You can have as many enhancement sets as you have available powers.

The Black Market

The Black Market is the best way to buy and sell in the Rogue Isles. They're discreetly located via the back of a semi truck in Mercy Island, Cap au Diable, Sharkhead Isle, and St. Martial. If you're not sure what to do, talk to the guy near the truck who looks like he knows something.

The Black Market business uses a 'secret bid' auction. You set the price for your item, but the Buyer does not see it. The Buyer bids what he wishes to pay and if he meets, or exceeds, your requested price he will receive the item. You may even receive more than you asked for. In order to help the Buyer with a bid, there is a history of how much that item has sold for in the past.

You have a limited number of Transaction Slots so whether you are selling or buying, you may only participate in a few transactions at any given time. In the beginning, you have a small number of Transaction Slots; however, you will gain more through experience or rewards. The amount of slots you have is based on your Threat Level.

You may sell (or buy) Salvage, all Enhancements, Recipes, and Inspirations.

The Black Market has two types of fees. There is a Listing Fee, which is 5% of the price you list your item for. The minimum listing fee is 5 Infamy. You get this fee back if you sell your item. There is also a Transaction Fee of 10% of the final sale price, which is deducted at the time of purchase. The 5% you paid when you listed the item is subtracted from the Transaction Fee. You will use your Infamy to pay for these transactions.

Please be aware that you will lose your listing fee if your item does not sell. Also, you may put up a 'looking to buy' order indefinitely. If your account becomes inactive for 60 days, the order is cancelled.