Double XP Weekend of June 15th!

Double XP Weekend of June 15th!

Apologies to team

I got word that the team I run with couldn't win it this morning. I couldn't be there because of Real Life constraints (ah the joys of work).



I WILL be back on on Saturday.

I crack myself up

Been busy, haven't been able to do much posting.

I leave you with this.

Captain Mako

Sunday set a new record for us at 1 hour and 35 minutes for the STF. Forgot to grab a screenshot, so I don't remember everyone who was on it. You know who you are though: GREAT WORK!

I was chatting with someone yesterday in the Steel Canyon University and realized something that I found a bit surprising. For many teams running the STF, Ghost Widow is not the problem, Captain Mako is. While we’ve found him difficult, I don’t think he’s ever stopped us. Today, I am going to talk about how to take down Mako.

The reason Mako is a pain is because when he hits 25% health, he does a “Dreadful Wail” (sonic blast nuke) followed by "Elude" which doesn’t seem to ever drop. For those who don’t know, Elude is the Tier 9 Super Reflexes power. Fully slotted, it will cap your defense so that you take almost no damage because nothing hits you. It makes it seem that his regeneration rate goes into overdrive, but in actuality, it’s just regular AV regeneration that is coupled with not taking damage. If you can maintain DPS, it’s not impossible.

So, how do you keep hitting something that has a capped defense? (not resist like we are used to, but defense).

Here are the things you can use to get rid of that last 25% (you don’t need all of them, but you certainly need a few of them).

• Accuracy Inspirations – when you go through this TF, save them. When Mako pops Elude, burn them.
• Tactics – the second tier Leadership power. The fastest I’ve ever seen Mako go down was on a team where 6 sets of Tactics were running. Remember, powers STACK by different casters. EVERY Archetype in City of Heroes can use this.
• Geas of the Kind Ones – this is the badge you get from getting all of the Croatoa related badges. It’s easy to get and when you use it, it provides an excellent To-Hit Buff coupled with a recharge reduction.
• Fortitude – Not just a defense buff, but a to-hit buff in this power as well. Slot it for recharge and accuracy first if you consistently have problems with Mako. Throw it on your high damage team members.
• Radiation Infection – Yes, the Radiation Emission powerset isn’t just good for reducing AV regeneration. This power does a defense debuff. The Radiation blasts are also nice for a debuff, but you have to hit for them to work. This is a toggle with a zero percent miss chance.
• Rage – That Superstrength tank holding that aggro may not realize that HUGE To-Hit buff this power provides. This brings up one side point: If you are running the Statesman Task Force and you are just standing there, you are not helping. You need to be attacking.
• Focused Accuracy – Both Scrappers and Tankers have access to this Accuracy Buff. It has a HUGE base and so even without slotting for accuracy, it’s useful.
• Build-up – Your Blasters and Scrappers had better know about this. The almost all have it.
• Peacebringers – SLOT YOUR POWERS FOR DEFENSE DEBUFF – it’s worth it!

I’ll let South talk about how to handle –Regen at another time :)

WHAM!

Sometimes you run a team and it's just "magical". That was today's STF. Our lineup included.

• Me
• Red Tomax
• St.Dominatrix
• Xian Xe
• South Freedom
• DJ Trizz
• Juke Joint Jezebel
  
• Br0k3n

I'd never teamed with JJJ nor Br0k3n before, but I knew of them. I'll simply say, having two people who control the power of Kinetics on a team, is just....lovely. And these two REALLY performed well. Furthermore, the team did enough damage that I was able to hold Ghost Widow's attention remotely while the rest of the team entered melee. I don't normally play it this way, because usually we don't do enough damage nor have enough recharge for me to hold her attention to prevent her from using her PBAoE heal. Today, we did. Two speed Boosts, and me being able to run without Granite, AND people who knew to boost their defense before attacking meant that she was almost trivial to defeat. Two tactics and a few radiation blasts meant that Mako wasn't too bad either.

One of the things I wish people would keep in mind about this TF, you need to be ACTIVELY doing something. Even if you just have ONE attack, USE it. It will make an incredible difference. On this team, EVERYONE was pushing 90 mph.

Thank you team! This made up for not being able to do this for the past two days.

Nothing Doing

So I sit down to run this morning

We will be updating the Live servers to version 14.20070508.2T on the morning of Thursday, May 24th starting at 2 AM Pacific (4 AM Central / 5 AM Eastern). Estimated downtime is 2 hours.

No CoH today for me. So instead, we bring you an old episode of "THE RACHAEL STORM SHOW!"


*Pan into a Television Studio. Rachael Storm comes out waving to applause *

Hiya everyone! In the tradition of Dear Abby, Anne Landers, and The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy, I've decided to help make the world a better place by sharing my knowledge and wisdom. Plus, I decided that if BC in GTR gets an "Ask BC" forum all to herself, I should at least get a lousy thread!

So, got a question? Need some advice?

Ask away!

Our question today is from Alisson

How do I get Alisson to 51, even though she's always in debt?

Alisson,
This was something that occurred to me when I was promoted to Security Level 50, thereby becoming Hero of the City! It seemed that no matter how much I tried I just couldn't get recognized for my efforts.

So, I decided to spend sometime meditating on the subject, hoping to obtain the inner wisdom necessary to accomplish this task. Below are some excerpts from my journal detailing my journey.

Day 1

Drank 3 Killer Shrews.

The Satellite of Love telling how to mix a Killer Shrew

• Chocolate Ice Cream
• Cap'n Crunch with crunch berries
• Peanut M&M's
• Mrs. Butterworth's
• Circus Peanuts
• Mr. Pibb
• Marshmallow Peeps. Lots of marshmallow peeps
• Sweet Tarts
• Vanilla Frosting
• Good-N-Plenty

Pour it into giant plastic tulip glass and garnish with a wind-up shrew

and watched David Lynch Film Festival

• Eraserhead
• Blue Velvet
• Wild at Heart

Day 3
Finally stopped screeming. Still no answer to THE question. Must take more drastic measures.

• Consume 4 pounds of Ginseng
• 3 pots of coffee
• in addition to items on day 1

Day 5
Is it warm in here? Ned to find answer to queshuns.

• Take a bath in ice water
• eat a whole box of cough drops
• in addition to times on day 3 and day 1
  

Day 6
Walls won't stop talking to meh. Still no solushun to porblems repssented

• do all that stuff again, but this time attach battery cables to ears

This has goitta work

Day 9
Plolice brung meh home. The were very nise. But I stil don have teh anser to teh kweschun. M
4, OK uhm..like...Day 6 stuff...(battery cables fun) so u do that and then take aspirin.

Day 12
meep meep meep

Paragon Psychiatric Ward Records
Patient: Rachael Storm
Status: Getting Better
Description: Patient was found running through Siren's Call naked and screaming "Ur t3h n00b. I kil U! Im t3h ub3r." Was finally brought down by a team of Longbow. I'm confident that she will make a full recovery.

Well Alisson, I hope that you can learn from my experiences.

Now...where are those battery cables?

Rachael Storm


Got a question? Post it here!

HOODY HOO!

Needless to say, today's STF Rocked!!!!!!!

Our AVs weren't defeated as fast as I would have liked, but we got it done. South was unable to participate today, and the lack of regeneration debuff showed. However, I got the above reward. For you non-CoH playing reader, this is a VERY good reward.

One other thing of note, I forgot to mention yesterday. On Sunday night, Demon Hunter Yurei ran a Statesman Task Force with Paragon University Archaeology Department. We blew through it very fast and with minimal effort. Even my friend, Dr. Opie, was able to participate. However, the REAL surprise came when she exited the mission.

05-20-2007 20:03:21 Neutro Lad has defeated Bane Spider Executioner
05-20-2007 20:03:21 D-Shift has defeated Bane Spider Executioner
05-20-2007 20:03:21 Charisma has defeated Lord Recluse
05-20-2007 20:03:21 [NPC]Lord Recluse: This...
05-20-2007 20:03:23 [NPC]Lord Recluse: Is...
05-20-2007 20:03:25 [NPC]Lord Recluse: Impossible. . .
05-20-2007 20:03:48 [Team]Dr. Opie: yes.
05-20-2007 20:03:48 [Team]Neutro Lad: gj all
05-20-2007 20:03:54 [Team]Charisma: Nice work, team
05-20-2007 20:04:04 [Team]D-Shift: Excellent!
05-20-2007 20:04:18 [Team]Charisma: I got Positron's Blast Dam/Acc/End - anyone looking for it?
05-20-2007 20:04:19 Entering Bell Point.
05-20-2007 20:04:34 [PUAD] Rachael Storm: [50:Demon Hunter Yurei] Bolt, I award you the title - Honorary Stone Tank
05-20-2007 20:04:44 Team task completed.
05-20-2007 20:04:49 [Team]Dr. Opie: thanks for having me along
05-20-2007 20:04:52 [Local]Rei Ki: Demon Hunter Yurei...
05-20-2007 20:04:55 [Team]Neutro Lad: later all
05-20-2007 20:05:01 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: yes?
05-20-2007 20:05:03 [Team]Charisma: thanks for coming, Opie and Neutro
05-20-2007 20:05:16 [Team]Neutro Lad: np thx for having me take care
05-20-2007 20:05:17 [Local]Rei Ki: When you've finished you TF...PCSAR would like a word. :)
05-20-2007 20:05:24 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: that would be now
05-20-2007 20:05:32 [Local]House Call: He told you!
05-20-2007 20:05:48 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: told me?
05-20-2007 20:05:48 [Local]Gear Lock:What do you want?
05-20-2007 20:05:59 [Local]House Call: No, told Rei
05-20-2007 20:06:09 [Local]Rei Ki: You're amazing patience in sheparding our members through said TF has not gone unnoticed. :)
05-20-2007 20:06:20 [Local]Mr. Strong: OMG whats skrong wearing?!
05-20-2007 20:06:35 [Local]House Call: Strong, please scoot a bit, good sir
05-20-2007 20:06:44 [Local]House Call: Thankee. ;)
05-20-2007 20:06:47 [Local]Rei Ki: Would you consent to join PCSAR, Demon Hunter Yurei?
05-20-2007 20:06:49 [Local]Mr. Strong: :-P np bro
05-20-2007 20:06:52 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: I would
05-20-2007 20:06:56 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: :)
05-20-2007 20:07:10 Neutro Lad has quit the team
05-20-2007 20:07:16 You have quit your team
05-20-2007 20:08:00 Demon Hunter Yurei is now a member of Paragon City Search and Rescue!
05-20-2007 20:08:06 [SuperGroup]Demon Hunter Yurei: YIPPY SKIPPY!
05-20-2007 20:08:07 [Local]House Call: Woohoo!
05-20-2007 20:08:10 [Local]Charisma: WOO HOO! Congrats, Yurei!
05-20-2007 20:08:15 [Local]Bolt Crank: hey house call
05-20-2007 20:08:20 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: thank you!
05-20-2007 20:08:25 [Tell]Dr. Opie: there ya go!
05-20-2007 20:08:32 [Broadcast]Rei Ki: Paragon City Search and Rescue is proud to welcome it's newest member, Demon Hunter Yurei!
05-20-2007 20:08:43 [Local]Panthro: I'm touched
05-20-2007 20:09:01 [Broadcast]Demon Hunter Yurei: *swoon*
05-20-2007 20:09:04 [Local]Bolt Crank: Aha! not you have to be an EMT!
05-20-2007 20:09:06 [Local]Rei Ki: Well, shoot, we all know that Panthro :)
05-20-2007 20:09:09 [Local]Bolt Crank: And see peoples guts and stuff
05-20-2007 20:09:12 [Local]House Call: Wow ... all the big Profs running the TF with ya tonight!
05-20-2007 20:09:13 [Local]Bolt Crank: and save peoples lives
05-20-2007 20:09:19 House Call lowdrum
05-20-2007 20:09:49 Demon Hunter Yurei has joined the team
05-20-2007 20:09:50 [Local]Bolt Crank: Yup!
05-20-2007 20:09:53 [Team]Demon Hunter Yurei: HI!
05-20-2007 20:10:03 [Team]Archon of Hope: Welcome! :)
05-20-2007 20:10:05 [Team]Slick Zero: hey hey
05-20-2007 20:10:09 [Team]House Call: Heya!
05-20-2007 20:10:15 [Local]Rei Ki: Wow..some seriously famous names here :)
05-20-2007 20:10:17 [Local]Panthro: sooo, where is the doughnuts
05-20-2007 20:10:18 [Local]D-Shift: Congtratulations Yurei, well done.
05-20-2007 20:10:20 [Local]Bolt Crank: I live in shame
05-20-2007 20:10:33 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: yes, bolt, But Rachael still awards you the title of Honorary Stone Tank
05-20-2007 20:10:34 [Local]Dr. Opie: it was all DHY's fault ...
05-20-2007 20:10:34 [Local]Bolt Crank: Well one time it was for the good of vengence..
05-20-2007 20:10:36 [Local]Panthro: yeah, congrats, fine group PCSAR is
05-20-2007 20:10:47 [Local]House Call: I know! PUAD leadership, DD leadership ... it's the best of the best STF group!
05-20-2007 20:11:00 [Local]House Call: Oops! SotSM over there, too!
05-20-2007 20:11:01 [Local]Bolt Crank: Yeah it was really nasty
05-20-2007 20:11:05 [Local]Panthro: i can't take any credit, i just logged on
05-20-2007 20:11:06 [Local]Dr. Opie: yep
05-20-2007 20:11:06 [Local]Bolt Crank: We kicked some serious tail
05-20-2007 20:11:14 [Local]Rei Ki: I got to finish it with Rachael yesterday morning :) On one of her 3 runs.
05-20-2007 20:11:44 [Local]Bolt Crank: Bolt Crank and Gear Lock... we look sexy together
05-20-2007 20:11:52 [Local]Bolt Crank: Golem POWER!
05-20-2007 20:12:02 [Team]Demon Hunter Yurei: Excellent!
05-20-2007 20:12:16 [Local]Slick Zero: Welcome Demon Hunter Yurei....Now go heal sump'n
05-20-2007 20:12:17 [Local]House Call: Statesman is so smug over there, like he doesnt even know we're having a grand ole time behind him
05-20-2007 20:12:30 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: fixed.
05-20-2007 20:12:31 [Local]Bolt Crank: Yeah he doesn't get it.. all he does is get captured by himself
05-20-2007 20:12:32 [Local]Rei Ki: meh, he's a killjoy anyway
05-20-2007 20:12:38 [Local]Bolt Crank: We do all the hero work in this town ;)
05-20-2007 20:12:45 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: there you go
05-20-2007 20:12:46 [Local]D-Shift: He is too old for fun apparantly...I guess it runs out after 80 years.
05-20-2007 20:12:47 [Local]Bayushi Hiroshi: i do half the villain work!
05-20-2007 20:12:48 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: go take damage
05-20-2007 20:12:50 [Local]Slick Zero: :)
05-20-2007 20:13:07 [Local]D-Shift: Hey there Bayushi
05-20-2007 20:13:09 [Local]Bayushi Hiroshi: hah!
05-20-2007 20:13:18 [Local]Demon Hunter Yurei: there..should be room
05-20-2007 20:13:18 [Local]Bayushi Hiroshi: thanks. only two more to go now.
05-20-2007 20:13:18 [Local]Gear Lock: Alright Bolt, D, see you in class.
05-20-2007 20:13:21 [Local]Bolt Crank: Alright, time to go play Cthulu
05-20-2007 20:13:23 [Local]Bayushi Hiroshi: hola d.
05-20-2007 20:13:30 [Local]Bayushi Hiroshi: yep, zachary is picking me up.
05-20-2007 20:13:31 [Local]Bolt Crank: CTHULU FA'THAGAN!
05-20-2007 20:13:33 [Local]House Call: DANG IT
05-20-2007 20:13:33 [Local]D-Shift: Just checking....Black Scorpion isn't um....*wearing black pajamas* under his armor?
05-20-2007 20:13:36 [Local]Charisma: have fun, Bolt! Thanks for a fun run again
05-20-2007 20:13:37 [Local]House Call: I died off the boat. lol
05-20-2007 20:13:45 [Local]Rei Ki: Ah geez...House is dead again
05-20-2007 20:13:47 [Local]House Call: Im such an idjit
05-20-2007 20:13:47 [Local]Charisma: see ya, all!
05-20-2007 20:14:01 [Local]House Call: Yay!
05-20-2007 20:14:04 [Local]Dr. Opie: yeah, bolt ... anytime you need a blaster, just look me up. fine leading


I am honored and humbled to join such a well respected organization.

GATHER FOR RAs!

Ghost Widow pwns

Well, today Ghost Widow was tricky, but we got her. Go team.

• Me
• South Freedom
• Noxheraldis
• Xian Xe
  
• Solar Knight
• St. Black Swan
• Queen of Flame
• Tanaka Hiromoto - His first STF!

I'm of two minds on Ghost Widow.

Firstly, she is the hardest AV in City of Heroes/Villains. On top of her insanely high regeneration rate, she has 2 to 3 heals - the worst of which is a heal that targets everything in melee. One bad player, can make that encounter completely impossible. The team needs to have a coherent and consistent plan to taker her down. We have a good track record of defeating her, but still...

Dressing up in a costume takes a very extreme personality, and the chances of eight such personalities getting along were about seventy-eleven million to one against.

- Alan Moore, The Watchmen

This is, of course, true here. In fact, at level 54, she is probably over powered for any encounter simply because of the amount of coordination it takes to deal with her coupled with the focus to do your job to the best of your abilities.

HOWEVER, I think that there is a place for this encounter, mainly for the reasons I just mentioned. It teaches teamwork and forces people to use a strategy rather than just "bull rush and hope for the best".

On Sunday morning, we ran the Statesman Task Force. That is, we TRIED to. When Ghost Widow hit 25% of her health, she started healing herself. At this point, the blaster we had on our team (someone we'd never met) decided to jump in an melee her. This permitted her to heal back up to full health. I told him repeatedly to back off and attempted to teleport him away. His response, "Go Away". I've decided, if I ever get a team member like that again, I'm simply going to kick him from the team.

We ended up stalemating when I called "Run Away".

So, the big lesson for this, TEAMWORK; or as my significant other says, "There is no "I" in SHUT THE **** UP!"

The Adventures of Stan and Lou

First of all, grats to the team that stomped the STF today.

Me - Rachael Storm (Stone/Superstrength Tank)
South Freedom (Dark/Dark Defender)
Auburn Angel (Energy/Energy Blaster)
Solar Knight (Invulnerability/Fire Tank)
Noxheraldis (Energy/Fire blaster)
Quantum Plumber (Kinetics/Radiation Defender)
Amber De'Ville (Fire/Ice Tank) <-- Newbie to the STF
Brent Hamer (Illusion/Kinetics Controller) <-- Said he was always picked last and often passed over on team invites.

To those who say that "Illusion/Kinetics" is bad for the STF, I say you don't know what you are talking about. The fact is, what you need is a balanced team of people who follow instructions. In that case, almost any team will be able to face this if they are prepared. You don't need a "Perfect Team Build". You just need a balanced team of heroes who pay attention.

Now, today's entertainment is The Adventures of Stan and Lou a fun bit of City of Heroes humour.

STF Forming - PST for Invite.

This morning, we laid smackdown upon Lord Recluse again. The end part was quite easy this time.

Our team was:

• Me (Stone/SS Tank)
• South Freedom (Dark/Dark/Dark Defender)
• Queen of Flame (Fire/Rad Controller)
• St.Black Swan (Fire/Kin Controller)
• Asymptot (Inv/SS Tank)
• Xian Xi (MA/SR Scrapper)
• DJTrizz (Electric/Energy Blaster)
• Targo Faile (Ma/SR Scrapper)

GO TEAM!

I'm sure however, Recluse will again try to take over the world.

We soundly defeated Ghost Widow. Her heal could not hit Xian nor Targo.

When we tried to attack Scirraco, all the villains came at us. I managed to keep Black Scorpion and Captain Mako occupied until everyone manage to take Scirraco down.

All and all it was a good run.

I did note - Black Scorpion has TAUNT. We've never seen him use it before, but he used it today.

(Moving out of Character)

As it is well known, every morning I run the Statesman TF (4:30 am to 8:00 am Central Time - Infinity Server). This is a Task Force that is reviled as much as it is liked. So, presumably, the question of "Why does Rachael like it?" come up.

To be honest, a big part is that I like high level teaming. I got to Security Level 50 because I LIKE being the Big Bad Boulder Babe. THIS gives me a reason to. I never got into Hamidon Raids because of when they occurred (usually spending evenings with the family). So, I never got to be the uber powered, HOed character that most of my teammates are. The STF offers either an HO (although that is currently bugged) or a Rare Recipe (go go crafting). So, the idea is (if they hurry up and fix the HO bug), I have something that I can do that will give me the high end reward.

That was my initial reason.

Now, honestly, I do it for fun. I find it a nice challenging TF. I pushes me to my limit and requires real tactics and coordination. It gives me a daily 8-person team outlet. I LOVE it.

The reward is high enough to get people interested in doing this - especially the high end players.

If other people don't like it, that is fine. I'm not asking people to like it as much as I do. However, don't deny me my level 50 team.

A Librarian in Grandville

A big round of applause goes to the team I was on this morning.

• South Freedom - Dark/Dark Defender
• Psi Force - Radiation/Psionic Defender
• Noxheraldis - Energy/Fire Blaster
• InvincibleFlame - Fire/Fire Tank
• Bleak Forecast - Ice/Storm Controller
• CHIKAE - Katana/Regeneration Scrapper
• Flame-Huntress - Fire/Fire Blaster

In Independance Port, Statesman had given us a major task: To uncover Lord Recluse's plans and defeat him. If possible, I try to run this Task Force every day. It is a fun task force, and it is a reason to play my level 50 (I played 50 levels of the char, I *must* enjoy it).

Before I go any further I'll say this - I think any build AT is useful on this thing. I was merely outlining the strategies I've found running a stone tank. I know there are invulns who have successfully tanked Recluse - I just don't know their strategies.

I usually start the STF with NO inspirations. However, as I go through and I collect them I slowly weed through them.

Ideally by the time we hit Grandville, I have 12 Healing Inspirations and 8 Accuracy Inspirations. If I cannot manage to collect that I try to fill the gap with Defense Inspirations. In other words, if you get any insp other than Green, Yellow or Purple - burn it. When you are full on insps, don't let yourself get more than 8 Accuracies. Today I managed to have the full 20 healing inspirations by the time we got to Grandville. I ended up using every last one of them and needed more (which the team was able to provide).

The Statesman Task Force is rather straightforward until you get to the last mission. In this last one, you need to defeat: Ghost Widow, Scirraco, Captain Mako, and Black Scorpion. After that we tend to Lord Recluse himself. Usually, when we run with Noxheraldis, he pulls each of the four minion AVs in turn so we take them one at a time. If more than one AV comes, I tank the other AV and we take them down in the order I mention above.

Ghost Widow: I think she is the hardest AV of the bunch. She has a mez that is so powerful that it can drop me out of Rooted+Granite if it hits. It detoggles you and does about 400 points of negative energy damage per second for about 10 seconds. Even with my 2326.2 hitpoints, that is enough to drop me. However, having just that is too easy. She also has a self-heal that heals her for between 400 and 800 points for every person who is in melee with her that she can hit. This includes all pets except for "Phantom Army". On top of all of this, she has the insane AV regen. Here are the tactics we normally use to deal with her.

1. South Freedom runs Shadow Fall. If you are within Shadow Fall when she hits with the hold, the damage is almost entirely mitigated. You will likely survive.
2. Bleak Forecast's Hurricane debuffs her accuracy so she can't hit with the self heal.
3. We only allow people in melee if they can cap their defense, again so she can't hit with the self heal.
4. South Freedom uses Howling Twilight. While this is a resurrection power, it also provides a debuff to Ghost Widows regeneration rate so she cannot heal as fast. From City of Data:
   "-500% Regeneration to Target for 30 seconds if (target = critter) [Ignores Enhancements & Buffs]"
   
5. If I tank Ghost Widow, I do it from range. I stand next to South Freedom so I can take advantage of her heals. I run through the attack chain: Taunt, Hurl, Nemesis Staff.

Next up is Scirraco. While he is MUCH easier than Ghost Widow, he has his own problems to overcome. He does endurance sapping, Knockback, and a -Perception whirlwind attack that causes you to lose target.

1. Granite only is not sufficient to resist his knockback. I need to run Granite + Rooted. Of course, if you have Acrobatics, you are completely immune to knockback (check out City of Data on Red Tomax's Site for proof).
2. That -Perception is nicely countered with Focused Accuracy.
3. Rooted and Storm's O2 Boost counter sapping attacks.

Black Scorpion is a pussycat. He is a standard "Hit hard and soak damage" AV.

Finally, Captain Mako needs his butt kicked. However, he has the wrinkle of popping "perma elude" when he hits 25% health. This is often accompanied with a nuke.

1. Throughout the TF, collect Accuracy Inspirations. Burn them when you get to him.
2. If you have Geas of the Kind Ones, burn it at that time.
3. I use both Focused Accuracy and Rage to further increase my to-hit buff.

After this, you get a cut scene where the big bad Lord Recluse himself tells you that you are to late. Thankfully you aren't REALLY too late. However, this encounter is rather annoying. There are four towers that heavily buff him that must be destroyed if you are to complete the TF. They will need to be defeated in the following order: Red, Yellow, Green, and finally Blue.

• Red provides an incredible Damage Buff
• Yellow provides an accuracy buff.
• Green provides a +3000 HP heal ever 10 seconds (and has an annoying noise)
• Blue does some sort of Endurance buff. It probably isn't necessary to drop it, but we do anyway.

On top of all of this you have the "Arachnos Flier" patrolling the map. If possible, ignore it. It will respawn after defeat. South and I have seen it respawn within 10 seconds of being defeated. However, it will terrorize the team hitting the towers. It was very troublesome this morning.

So, to set up, I charge in and Taunt Lord Recluse. Then I run to the far NE corner of the map. This means I am not near the Arachnos Flier if it comes near. It also means that for that first tower (that gives Recluse a fearsome damage bonus) I'm very close to the team for the buffs as necessary.

When tanking Recluse, run Rooted, Granite, and Mudpots. I know that seems obvious, but it bears mentioning.

Granite - Mitigates damage
Rooted - Heals
Mudpots - Holds aggro and keeps Lord Recluse from spawning hundreds of Arachnos Bosses.

At this time Mudpots is adequate to hold Recluse's attention, but I recommend supplementing with Taunt.As I'm tanking Recluse I burn a green every time I get to 50% health if I can't hit Earth's Embrace. Well, Invuln has *another* problem against Recluse.

Through Granite, without buffs or debuffs, Recluse DOES hurt and it takes a lot for me to tank him. Unstoppable is slightly better, *but* note what I say about the mudpots.

The fact is that PBAoE damage is just enough to keep Recluse from summoning minions. When I've seen Invulnerability do it, they end up with about 30 or 40 (not exaggerating) level 54 Bane Spider Executioners swinging. If Rachael drops, the tower mob only has to deal with Recluse. If an invuln drops, the tower mob has to deal with an AV and a TON of level 54 bosses.

Sadly, the smashing resists of Increase Density doesn't help that much compaired to something like the debuff that Darkest Night Provides. Usually South Drops this on LR and I can tank him.

When the team is taking down the towers, Arachnos Repairmen come to fix it. Defeat them, don't just knock them away. On a previous TF, one of the Arachnos Repairmen on the last tower got Knocked away. He landed near the defeated Red Tower. So, he stood up, and turned it back on. Those repairmen repair the tower they are nearest to. Be careful when using Knockback on them.

When the towers are down, we hit Lord Recluse with everything we got. He'll spawn level 54 mobs while you fight him. If you have your Stormie there, you are all set because they can't get to you.

Our record for finsihing this Task Force is 1 hour and 40 minutes. We didn't do that today, but we did finish it in just over 2 hours. Not bad at all.

Salutations!

Hello out there in interwebs land!

For those who don't know me, I'm Rachael Storm, the Avenging Librarian. "Avenging" you say? Yes, I live in Paragon City, Rhode Island: THE CITY OF HEROES! Yes, this blog is a little bit of posting to cover my exploits and answer questions from the community.

OK, breaking the 4th wall for a moment. This is a fansite for the game City of Heroes. It is to cover the exploits of my characters, the news of the day, and general "funness". I will offer advise (but be warned, it's not serious by any means) and observations/experiences on game play. I'll also occasionally be posting bits of fanfic I come up with. Hope you enjoy your stay!

Rachael lives on the Infinity Server of City of Heroes and has since August 2004. My current playtime is between 4:30 am and 8:00 am Central Time. Some of the posts will be in the character of Rachael and some will be "OOC". I'll try to make it clear whenever possible which is which.

Feel free to leave any comments you wish.

Anyway, back to "virtual reality".

Today, I helped save the Paragon City Nuclear Reactor from an attack by the Rikti. The Rikti are a group of aliens who invaded Paragon a few years ago. While we stopped the invasion, there are still some lurking about.

Thankfully, we managed to defeat them. Our team was comprised of myself, Noxheraldis (Energy/Fire Blaster), InvincibleFlame (Fire/Fire Tank), and DJTrizz (Electrical/Energy Blaster). The reactor was saved and a good time was had by all. My friend the "perky goth" South Freedom had hoped to join us, but ran out of sunblock. I don't know why she is so obsessed with that.

Oh well.

For those who don't know, being a superhero is a rather trying experience. You find yourself traveling all over trying to "Save the World" but rarely get thanks for it. ANYWAY, I was doing some work in the Rogue Isle. Yes, it's true, even I venture there from time to time. There is a certain 'gentlemen' there named Hard Case. He's not the most up and up type, but he does mean well. He is a "Demon Hunter" and is currently trying to deal with a group called the "Wailer Demons". They are rather nasty and have a ghostly howl that cuts through even the toughest of armor. I've been trying to track down the head of this group for him in hopes of saving St. Martial. Most recently, I've been tasked with finding the "true name" of their leader, "Silver tongue". Lets hope it all goes well.