They never added any new zones after the grindy new orleans zone, and they have never gone back and updated or polished any of the original group content, the old five man lairs.
The issue with CO has always been that they kept abandoning existing projects in states of unrealized potential to run off working on the next thing that they never planned to finish.
Then finally they got stuck in the cash shop lock box online gambling hell cycle and that's that. There hasn't been any substantial content added that didn't involve gambling boxes since the patch that added alerts into the game.
I still miss my toons but damned if I'm going to pay a sub fee to play them when the only developer time is spent on shit in pay to win boxes with .001% winning odds.
Are you subbing, Ender? You can mix and match powers from different sets as a subscriber. It's really what made the combat and character creation more interesting than CoX for me at least.
My friend recently played this again for a bit. I was thinking about it too but I was a bit turned off by the accusation that they've done comparatively little in terms of development over the last few years. Having taken a break from this for what feels like 4 years or so now, it looks like very little has been added to the game over that time. Am I wrong?
I haven't subbed yet. I might sub when I get paid at the end of the month, but.... I dunno. I don't like buying into F2P titles that look like they might be dying or if they have an exploitative business model and this game kinda has both of those problems. I'm totally fine with the way they gate-off parts of the costume content & freeform superhero creation, and I'd totally pay for that stuff... but gambling boxes? That even subs have to deal with? 'Premium' content that's gated behind another paywall, even if you sub? No monthly Zen stipend or anything? That's kinda bullshit (any one of those things wouldn't be so bad, but all of them together just scream 'short term cash grab' to me). I also don't appreciate a strictly inflationary free market approach to grind currency; they should have a Questionite price on all of the cash shop stuff instead of a Zen auction house.
The player base seems really small on top of that. There's hardly ever any activity in the chat, no pick-up groups to play with (only team play I've had so far was queuing up for Alerts - which is fun, but not as much fun as mission running with a group, in my opinion), nobody throwing costume contests at the main hub area (in fact, there's hardly ever more than a dozen people total hanging around the hub, most just sitting at a tailor) and few people running around cleaning-up mobs (which makes the 'Public Quests', which I think are a cool idea, more or less pointless).
afaik subbed players in all the cryptic games get monthly zen, with the only caveat being that your monthly allowance is put directly into that game, and not into your perfect world wallet. Meaning I can't sub to CO and spend my stipend in STO.
afaik subbed players in all the cryptic games get monthly zen, with the only caveat being that your monthly allowance is put directly into that game, and not into your perfect world wallet. Meaning I can't sub to CO and spend my stipend in STO.
500 per month. It is listed on this page but it's obscure, down at the very bottom is says "Stipend: Free" for gold players and you have to click the "?" to see it's 500 per.
Re-installed this game because I am seriously jonesing for some superhero games, and DCUO just doesn't...grab me
Reincarnated my favorite character from City of Heros: Riot Ape, a cybernetic gorilla who is also a policeman.
Think Robocop mixed with magilla gorilla
building him as a might/power armor tanky dude and it seems to be going well. I was sad that there weren't any "sonic" powers at first, because the original Riot Ape was a sonic/energy blaster in City of Heroes, but then I found that there are quite a few "shout" powers, so now I am a bit more excited.
Plus also sonic device + demolish is literally the theme of Riot Ape from City of Heroes. His whole deal was that he used non-lethal military sonic technology to subdue villains, and also used sonic vibrations to increase his punching strength.
Sonic device is literally "sonic vibrations that increase your punching strength"
So, I guess this game just got updated with some mega hard rampage alerts and uber gear (which you must far the rampage alerts to get). I guess it's better than playing Lockbox Roulette for Legion gear.
If you install ARC you can get 2 free hideouts. Code: uwAzrxZy (Arc->redeem key+Ingame C-Store bonus tab)
Druidic Sanctum
&
Hi-Tech Cave
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited February 2014
Do you have to be subscribed?
EDIT: Just checked. No, you do not.
EDIT 2: Also, you can get some free costume sets and titles from ARC with the code PtXM9Vn1. The costumes are the Halloween Webs, Redeemed Villain, and Hats and Heads sets. The titles are The, Dr, Sir, Lady, and Lord.
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anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
I've always wanted to get into this game, but the fact that it's all but abandoned by the developer keeps me from doing this.
By the way, what's ARC?
Steam: offday
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited February 2014
ARC is Perfect World's version of Steam. (Champions can already play through Steam, but that didn't stop EA, so why should it stop PW? They also have a lot of other games they can make it work with, too.)
The advantage of trying it out is that it's one of the more complete Free to Play games out there. The main limitation is that you start with only two character slots.
It's not exactly abandoned, either. Certainly it's seen better days, but it's also been more active in the last six months than in the year or so before that.
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anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
It's not exactly abandoned, either. Certainly it's seen better days, but it's also been more active in the last six months than in the year or so before that.
Why do you think that is?
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Steam: offday
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
It's not exactly abandoned, either. Certainly it's seen better days, but it's also been more active in the last six months than in the year or so before that.
Why do you think that is?
I think Cryptic North was assigned to the game at that point.
Also my personal favorite thing about the game is the fact that it's basically a free superhero CAD program, with options to expand if you grind or spend money...and I think that's a fairly common attitude among fans, and I think the developers know that. Before last October, the game went almost a year without a new costume in the shop. Since last October they've added, on average, one per month.
It's not exactly abandoned, either. Certainly it's seen better days, but it's also been more active in the last six months than in the year or so before that.
Why do you think that is?
Well, at last the have now "a few" people from cryptic north working on it but yeah updates are slow this days.....
BTW if you want more then the 2 char slots you could still buy a Champions Online Box if the still honor the codes. Not sure about it but in case it still works, e.g. amazon list one CO Box for 3.99$ worth one month of gold status plus 5$ ingame cash and if you go F2P after the fist month you still have access to all the extra stuff like char slots.
Doesn't stack so don't add more then one Retail Box standard code.
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
That's why I think it might be worth the risk, because they're still honoring this old code, or were the last time I checked.
Well, if you visit the old Champions Online Webpage: co.perfectworld.com/redeemkey with javascript off (e.g. noscript) the write
What is a Key?
A key is a unique 25 character alpha-numeric code which may be used to redeem a promotional item, subscription, C-Store Points, or to activate a retail copy of Champions Online. Where would I find one?
Please note that Champions Online is now free-to-play and is therefore no longer available for retail purchase. If you purchased a box product while the retail version was still available, the product key is located on the inside cover of your game manual (and entitles you to 30-days of Gold Membership if you have not already redeemed it). If you purchased digitally, you should have received your product key via e-mail. If you didn't get one, please contact the digital vendor that you purchased the key from for assistance. A Promo or Product Key may also be acquired via a virtual C-Store points card, as well as by other means.
If you have javascipt on the redirect you to the new ARC-CO page.....
Hey hey, it's been like a year since CO's had a questing update but Cryptic's finally putting some new stuff out in the form of Steel Crusade, a two-part update coming out on September 4th which will involve a world boss fight in time for the game's anniversary and a brand new AT said to be a lot like CoH's Epic ATs in the form of the Reawakened Automaton.
Like the Epic Archetypes of City of Heroes, the Reawakened Automaton is available to players who have already hit the maximum level on a character. Like other archetypes, it trades the increased flexibility of freeform character building for a more focused development path. Unlike other archetypes, it also has powers that you can't use on other freeform characters until you first hit the level cap on your Reawakened Automaton, including the celebrated Rocket Punch. Players who want all their character slots to contain freeform characters can take heart, as the unlocks earned while on the archetype are permanent even if you reach the level cap and then delete or remake the character.
We had a chance to speak briefly with the developers regarding the update, and they revealed that the new story arc should take between 4-5 hours to play through the first time. It also includes daily repeatable content that leads players to unlocking other costume rewards and the like; a single clear of the arc won't reward everything that's available.
Any mention of whether or not the new AT will be available to free players (for free)? I'm skeptical, since they seem to consider ATs their chief Gold carrot, but a man can dream.
Any mention of whether or not the new AT will be available to free players (for free)? I'm skeptical, since they seem to consider ATs their chief Gold carrot, but a man can dream.
Like the Epic Archetypes of City of Heroes, the Reawakened Automaton is available to players who have already hit the maximum level on a character.
If the did not change it over the last few month, you can lvl a new char from 10 to 40 in a few hours (if you don't play missions.....)
Yeah, but there are plenty of ATs that are available to new players... that you need to pay for without a Gold sub. My question is, can a free account with a level 40 play this new AT without subbing or paying an unlock fee?
Any mention of whether or not the new AT will be available to free players (for free)? I'm skeptical, since they seem to consider ATs their chief Gold carrot, but a man can dream.
Like the Epic Archetypes of City of Heroes, the Reawakened Automaton is available to players who have already hit the maximum level on a character.
If the did not change it over the last few month, you can lvl a new char from 10 to 40 in a few hours (if you don't play missions.....)
Really. I'm curious about this, how do you do that?
Any mention of whether or not the new AT will be available to free players (for free)? I'm skeptical, since they seem to consider ATs their chief Gold carrot, but a man can dream.
Like the Epic Archetypes of City of Heroes, the Reawakened Automaton is available to players who have already hit the maximum level on a character.
If the did not change it over the last few month, you can lvl a new char from 10 to 40 in a few hours (if you don't play missions.....)
Really. I'm curious about this, how do you do that?
You used to be able to run Smash Alerts and go 10-40 in just a couple hours, but they changed it so that it's Grab Alerts that give bonus xp (and Grab alerts take way longer). I haven't leveled a new character since they made that change.
So, just getting this straight, anyone with a max level toon will have automatic access to the exclusive new powers?
No, you have to have a max level toon to get access to the archetype (which I'm assuming you'll also have to pay real money for, or have a sub). You have to have a max level toon of the new archetype before you can use that archetype's powers on freeform characters.
So, just getting this straight, anyone with a max level toon will have automatic access to the exclusive new powers?
No, you have to have a max level toon to get access to the archetype (which I'm assuming you'll also have to pay real money for, or have a sub). You have to have a max level toon of the new archetype before you can use that archetype's powers on freeform characters.
I doub't we need to pay $ for it, the have not said a word about it. ATM it's on the test-server.
Please give us your feedback on the Reawakened Automaton archetype!
To enable the Reawakened Automaton on PTS:
Log in with a level 40 character. If you don't have one, take any character to the Debugger to get leveled to 40.
The Reawakened Automaton AT is now unlocked!
To unlock the AT's power for Freeform, take a character that uses the Reawakened Automaton AT to the Debugger and level it to 40.
I am disappointed so far, only 2 new powers one a passive, maybe I should not expect something in the line of the CoX Epic Archetypes. . The powers are all over the place, some use the PA toggle, some not, no shoulder slot item, engery gain soso.
1. The Scourge
1. Sonic Blaster
1. Power Gauntlet
6. PSS - Ego
6. Rocket Punch (see below)
8. Targeting Computer
10. SSS - Recovery
11. Grapple Gun Pull or Chest Beam
14. Aspect of the Machine (see below)
15. SSS - Constitution
17. Gauntlet Chainsaw
21. Reconstructive Circuits
25. Overdrive
30. Lock N Load or Ego Form (per radioscience, Ego Form is supposed to be Ego Surge)
35. Orbital Cannon or Energy Wave
40. Implosion Engine
Spec Trees:
Ego
Overseer
Vindicator
New Powers:
6. Rocket Punch
Deals 152-604 crushing damage to targets in a line in front of you.
Tap - Deals crushing damage to targets in a line in front of you.
+ Hand Slot
Charge - Increases the damage and energy cost of the tap action
Advantages:
Rank 2 - 2 points - 182-725 crushing
Rank 3 - 2 points - 218-870 crushing
Acclerated Metabolism - 1 point - +11 energy
Blast Wave - 1 point - Rocket Punch now knocks targets back when charged at least half way
14. Aspect of the Machine
Each stack of Frenzy increases your ranged damage by 3.9% and your melee damage by 3.9%.
Power Armor, targets self
21+ 21 energy/20 seconds
1-3.5 seconds
Requires 1 power from Power Armor or 2 non-energy-building powers from any framework
Buff - Form
Awaken the machine inside you and lay waste to your foes.
Toggle
+ Activating this power grants a stack of the Frenzy buff, increasing your ranged and melee damage equally. This damage buff scales with your Ego or Strength (whichever is higher)
+ While this form is active, you gain additional instances of Frenzy whenever you score a Killing Blow. You can gain up to eight stacks of this buff.
+ At Rank Two, two instances of the Frenzy buff are granted at activation. At Rank Three, you gain three instances on activation.
I like the idea of Rocket Punch, but I don't think it's good enough to replace Plasma Beam for the hand slot on my power armor guy. Aspect of the Machine, though, looks pretty decent.
The Energy Builder has been switched from Sonic Blaster to Wrist Bolter.
Grapple Gun Pull has been replaced by Gauntlet Chainsaw.
Bolas fills the hole at 21 where Gauntlet Chainsaw previously was.
Ego form has been replaced by Ego Surge.
Seriously, Bolas??? I don't get it, the can build dozen of new powers for the NW new class, even steal one from CO/PA set.
STO get new "powers" with the lvl cap increase but for CO the can not even create or reskin some of the npc/devices we
have in the game for a new "EPIC" AT, sigh..........................
The Energy Builder has been switched from Sonic Blaster to Wrist Bolter.
Grapple Gun Pull has been replaced by Gauntlet Chainsaw.
Bolas fills the hole at 21 where Gauntlet Chainsaw previously was.
Ego form has been replaced by Ego Surge.
Seriously, Bolas??? I don't get it, the can build dozen of new powers for the NW new class, even steal one from CO/PA set.
STO get new "powers" with the lvl cap increase but for CO the can not even create or reskin some of the npc/devices we
have in the game for a new "EPIC" AT, sigh..........................
CO is struggling to break free of the maintenance-mode death spiral it's been in since STO's release, if not before. It had shitty sub numbers from the beginning due to being released in a laughably unfinished state, and Cryptic seemed to basically shift all developer effort to STO once that started rolling.
When everything went F2P, CO was stuck in the drain-circling cycle of not having enough people buying stuff to justify new content, and not enough new content to keep people buying stuff. If they can get a bunch of people to show up to play this new AT, there's a good chance we'll see more exciting things in the future. The reason there's only a little bit of new stuff in the pipe right now is because PWE probably doesn't want to spend a lot of resources on CO unless it knows it'll make a bunch of money by doing so.
Also the dev team is new to CO, and it's taken them awhile to get worked up on the software.
So, it's been forever since I played this game, but I had a punching/stomping character built around getting physically bigger and bigger through the use of stacking powers.
Was pretty functional, I don't remember having survival or dps issues, but man, people would be weirded out when suddenly I was (memory fuzzy) 5 or 6 times my normal size.
Fun times.
Like you said, I wish the game had been more polished, so much possibility. Same for CoX and DCUO.
So, it's been forever since I played this game, but I had a punching/stomping character built around getting physically bigger and bigger through the use of stacking powers.
Was pretty functional, I don't remember having survival or dps issues, but man, people would be weirded out when suddenly I was (memory fuzzy) 5 or 6 times my normal size.
Fun times.
Like you said, I wish the game had been more polished, so much possibility. Same for CoX and DCUO.
The emotion I am feeling right now can only be described as "confused anger, mixed with a lot of sadness"
| Zinnar on most things | Avatar by Blameless Cleric
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
Came into some money recently, and I actually considered throwing some money Perfect World's way today, possibly even a lifetime sub, to account for the two years solid I played Champions Online while only paying $5 of real money. I wasn't even planning on playing it for very long, if at all; I just wanted to show my appreciation for the ability to keep my eyeballs glued to my monitor for, literally, over two thousand hours.
Then even once I'd navigated through their new site to the right page, they seemed to be actively engaged in preventing people from subscribing.
So nope! Maybe if I actually want to play it sometime in the future, I'll look into it, but not until then.
So, the automaton came out today. I rolled one up. Rocket punch has a neat animation, but the class is "ranged" and thus very squishy, even at early levels.
I got halfway through the Kodiak missions before I remembered how boring the game's content is (after having already done it like 7 times) and quit.
Hey, Cryptic's giving away a free UNTIL Shuttle and the Cyborg Beast costume set for folks that log in this weekend to celebrate Steel Crusade's release.
Hey, Cryptic's giving away a free UNTIL Shuttle and the Cyborg Beast costume set for folks that log in this weekend to celebrate Steel Crusade's release.
Yay, free vehicle!
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
Took a look, and gotta admit the new vehicle looks nice, and it's just nice for all my characters to have a vehicle (before, one character had a Hawkwing Interceptor, and that was it). Already had that costume set.
Also like half the new premium costume sets released since I've stopped playing (there's about six) would be appropriate for multiple characters of mine (I have a lot of tech-based heroes), so I'm tempted to start the questionite grind again (Serpent Lantern, all day erry day)...but no.
Posts
The issue with CO has always been that they kept abandoning existing projects in states of unrealized potential to run off working on the next thing that they never planned to finish.
Then finally they got stuck in the cash shop lock box online gambling hell cycle and that's that. There hasn't been any substantial content added that didn't involve gambling boxes since the patch that added alerts into the game.
I still miss my toons but damned if I'm going to pay a sub fee to play them when the only developer time is spent on shit in pay to win boxes with .001% winning odds.
I haven't subbed yet. I might sub when I get paid at the end of the month, but.... I dunno. I don't like buying into F2P titles that look like they might be dying or if they have an exploitative business model and this game kinda has both of those problems. I'm totally fine with the way they gate-off parts of the costume content & freeform superhero creation, and I'd totally pay for that stuff... but gambling boxes? That even subs have to deal with? 'Premium' content that's gated behind another paywall, even if you sub? No monthly Zen stipend or anything? That's kinda bullshit (any one of those things wouldn't be so bad, but all of them together just scream 'short term cash grab' to me). I also don't appreciate a strictly inflationary free market approach to grind currency; they should have a Questionite price on all of the cash shop stuff instead of a Zen auction house.
The player base seems really small on top of that. There's hardly ever any activity in the chat, no pick-up groups to play with (only team play I've had so far was queuing up for Alerts - which is fun, but not as much fun as mission running with a group, in my opinion), nobody throwing costume contests at the main hub area (in fact, there's hardly ever more than a dozen people total hanging around the hub, most just sitting at a tailor) and few people running around cleaning-up mobs (which makes the 'Public Quests', which I think are a cool idea, more or less pointless).
Oh, okay. I didn't see that as a listed perk.
How much Zen is your stipend?
Reincarnated my favorite character from City of Heros: Riot Ape, a cybernetic gorilla who is also a policeman.
Think Robocop mixed with magilla gorilla
building him as a might/power armor tanky dude and it seems to be going well. I was sad that there weren't any "sonic" powers at first, because the original Riot Ape was a sonic/energy blaster in City of Heroes, but then I found that there are quite a few "shout" powers, so now I am a bit more excited.
Plus also sonic device + demolish is literally the theme of Riot Ape from City of Heroes. His whole deal was that he used non-lethal military sonic technology to subdue villains, and also used sonic vibrations to increase his punching strength.
Sonic device is literally "sonic vibrations that increase your punching strength"
Druidic Sanctum
&
Hi-Tech Cave
EDIT: Just checked. No, you do not.
EDIT 2: Also, you can get some free costume sets and titles from ARC with the code PtXM9Vn1. The costumes are the Halloween Webs, Redeemed Villain, and Hats and Heads sets. The titles are The, Dr, Sir, Lady, and Lord.
By the way, what's ARC?
The advantage of trying it out is that it's one of the more complete Free to Play games out there. The main limitation is that you start with only two character slots.
It's not exactly abandoned, either. Certainly it's seen better days, but it's also been more active in the last six months than in the year or so before that.
Why do you think that is?
I think Cryptic North was assigned to the game at that point.
Also my personal favorite thing about the game is the fact that it's basically a free superhero CAD program, with options to expand if you grind or spend money...and I think that's a fairly common attitude among fans, and I think the developers know that. Before last October, the game went almost a year without a new costume in the shop. Since last October they've added, on average, one per month.
Well, at last the have now "a few" people from cryptic north working on it but yeah updates are slow this days.....
BTW if you want more then the 2 char slots you could still buy a Champions Online Box if the still honor the codes. Not sure about it but in case it still works, e.g. amazon list one CO Box for 3.99$ worth one month of gold status plus 5$ ingame cash and if you go F2P after the fist month you still have access to all the extra stuff like char slots.
Doesn't stack so don't add more then one Retail Box standard code.
Hang on, I just remembered something. You should still be able to get the Viking costume set and unlock the Devastator archetype for free by going here and following the directions: http://na.alienwarearena.com/giveaways/champions-online-ffa-game-bundle-key-giveaway
That's why I think it might be worth the risk, because they're still honoring this old code, or were the last time I checked.
Well, if you visit the old Champions Online Webpage: co.perfectworld.com/redeemkey with javascript off (e.g. noscript) the write
If you have javascipt on the redirect you to the new ARC-CO page.....
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
If the did not change it over the last few month, you can lvl a new char from 10 to 40 in a few hours (if you don't play missions.....)
Really. I'm curious about this, how do you do that?
You used to be able to run Smash Alerts and go 10-40 in just a couple hours, but they changed it so that it's Grab Alerts that give bonus xp (and Grab alerts take way longer). I haven't leveled a new character since they made that change.
No, you have to have a max level toon to get access to the archetype (which I'm assuming you'll also have to pay real money for, or have a sub). You have to have a max level toon of the new archetype before you can use that archetype's powers on freeform characters.
I doub't we need to pay $ for it, the have not said a word about it. ATM it's on the test-server.
I am disappointed so far, only 2 new powers one a passive, maybe I should not expect something in the line of the CoX Epic Archetypes.
Power list from here: co-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=284791
Ego Form is error, it should be Ego Surge (dev confirm it)
I like that the make a more offensive AT of "The Invincible" but it needs work, a lot.........
Meh.
I'll say it again:
Meh
Maybe I will break Riot Ape out of retirement and play a bit more
Seriously, Bolas??? I don't get it, the can build dozen of new powers for the NW new class, even steal one from CO/PA set.
STO get new "powers" with the lvl cap increase but for CO the can not even create or reskin some of the npc/devices we
have in the game for a new "EPIC" AT, sigh..........................
CO is struggling to break free of the maintenance-mode death spiral it's been in since STO's release, if not before. It had shitty sub numbers from the beginning due to being released in a laughably unfinished state, and Cryptic seemed to basically shift all developer effort to STO once that started rolling.
When everything went F2P, CO was stuck in the drain-circling cycle of not having enough people buying stuff to justify new content, and not enough new content to keep people buying stuff. If they can get a bunch of people to show up to play this new AT, there's a good chance we'll see more exciting things in the future. The reason there's only a little bit of new stuff in the pipe right now is because PWE probably doesn't want to spend a lot of resources on CO unless it knows it'll make a bunch of money by doing so.
Also the dev team is new to CO, and it's taken them awhile to get worked up on the software.
Or prove that they can actually read the code involved in nemesis content by fixing just one of the long-standing nemesis mission bugs.
I'm skeptical.
Was pretty functional, I don't remember having survival or dps issues, but man, people would be weirded out when suddenly I was (memory fuzzy) 5 or 6 times my normal size.
Fun times.
Like you said, I wish the game had been more polished, so much possibility. Same for CoX and DCUO.
The emotion I am feeling right now can only be described as "confused anger, mixed with a lot of sadness"
Then even once I'd navigated through their new site to the right page, they seemed to be actively engaged in preventing people from subscribing.
So nope! Maybe if I actually want to play it sometime in the future, I'll look into it, but not until then.
I got halfway through the Kodiak missions before I remembered how boring the game's content is (after having already done it like 7 times) and quit.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Yay, free vehicle!
Also like half the new premium costume sets released since I've stopped playing (there's about six) would be appropriate for multiple characters of mine (I have a lot of tech-based heroes), so I'm tempted to start the questionite grind again (Serpent Lantern, all day erry day)...but no.