Wow, This Came Out Of The Blue

Remember my previous post discussing Havok? I published it early Friday morning (after having just recruited him and getting him to level 2), and in the afternoon the game developers rolled out a revamp for Havok, along with some other changes including the much-awaited Wolverine upgrade. See the complete list of updates here.

Essentially, disregard what I've previously posted about Havok. He's no longer a specialized protector that preys upon under protectors, and his move list has been heavily modified.

If you're one of those people who felt cheated of their 90 Command Points when they bought Wolverine, you may now rejoice, as your purchase is now markedly better than before. 

From a mere bleeder with regeneration and an immunity that's mostly irrelevant in PVP, he's now a bleeding-counter protector that can cheat death similar to Ghost Rider.

For Magneto owners / commanders / handlers (what's the proper term for a guy who gives an evil genius mutant orders to fight against riffraff on the streets, anyway?), you'll be pleased to know he's received a power-up in the form of a passive that gives the Magnetized status to enemies carrying metal, and allows preemptive strikes against Magnetized enemies.

Cable

Wasp

And if you're already looking forward to the next Spec Ops like me, it's highly likely that we'll need Cable and the newly-released Wasp (total cost of 225 Command Points) unless you want to skip the epic boss tasks with gold. I sincerely hope more chapters come out before the next Spec Ops though - if this trend of requiring 1 90 CP hero and 1 PVP tournament prize hero (assuredly an instant 135 points) continues, I'll probably be forced to skip my way past certain tasks to keep getting Spec Ops heroes, as I don't care for and suck at PVP.

No, This Is The Real Test

About an hour ago...

With plenty of time to spare

Here's what he has to say about joining my merry menagerie.

But wait, there's more!

Family drama at its best.

 

So it's hero babysitting time again, with another low accuracy hero. Thank Dormammu for Dark Sigil. Here's my current babysitting / all-purpose loadout.

Totally not S.H.I.E.L.D. standard-issue

Dark Sigil gurantees a hit for Havok (or any accuracy-impaired hero, for that matter), Spatha provides a counterattack chance with a guaranteed Evasion reduction on a hit, Radian Rifle has good synergy with Dark Sigil and has a chance for a second shot, and finally Signpost to make sure I don't run out of Stamina too quickly while sniping away at the enemy squad's health at the same time.

Now that Havok's joined the crew, it's time for the real Special Operation.

He's not just a Command Point farm anymore.

Cry Havok! Let Loose Special Operations 6!

In case the title didn’t tip you off, Special Operations 6 is underway in the always-in-danger world of Marvel: Avengers Alliance. This time around, the hero that could be yours for the taking is Alex Summers, also known as Havok.

 

The second Summers brother.

Havok is a blaster, the first blaster made available through a Spec Ops event. So far, in order of appearance, we’ve had a generalist (Mockingbird), a tactician (Emma Frost), two scrappers (Magik and Ghost Rider), and a bruiser (Valkyrie). While Valkyrie had to go through some powering up to be made worthy of being a prize (I’ve gotten her when her first two skills were still very underpowered), I can definitely say that when Havok hit the game, he lived up to his name. Why do I say that? Oh, for four reasons.

 

SHATTERING PUNCH

First, his basic attack costs no energy at all, and inflicts the Melt Armor status on the unlucky target for two rounds. That means the poor sap has an effective defense stat of 0 when computing combat damage, meaning he or she is going to take a lot of damage fast.

PLASMA WAVE

Second, his single-target ranged attack, while leaving a lot to be desired in terms of accuracy (it’s less accurate than the player favorite damage-for-accuracy weapon, the Golden Screaming Eagle), inflicts the Burning status on the victim and Removes Buffs if it connects. This includes special defenses (like barriers and shields that aren’t natural to the target) and other boosts, like damage ups and dodge ups. Also, a Burning target loses around 10% of its total defense while on fire, in addition to taking damage over time. All this goodness however comes at a steep cost in stamina - almost half of his maximum.

CHANNEL ENERGY

Third, he gets a free action that not only restores 20% of his stamina, but also buffs him with an effect that makes his attack critical hits for two rounds. Can you say pain for the bad guys? Oh yes, you can! While this does not solve his energy issues in full, it certainly helps with that problem, and critical hits are always welcome, whether you play PVP or just stick to PVE.

 

PLASMA SPHERES

His ultimate (jargon for the ability gained at level 9) is a Catastrophic attack that slows and dizzies all the targets (note the plural) that it hits. As with all Catastrophic attacks, this attack can’t be protected against, and ignores avoidance abilities. It’s an area attack that inflicts two inconvenient status effects on enemies in addition to damage, so what’s not to like? The answer – stamina cost. Similar to his Plasma Wave, Plasma Spheres also drains about half of his stamina bar.

Observant players have commented that causing the Dizzy status effect on all enemies makes a great setup for the much-maligned Nightcrawler and his ultimate, a multi-hit, single-target stealthy attack that also hits all Dizzy enemies. Whether this will affect the upcoming PVP tournament or not remains to be seen.

Havok’s an energy guzzler – no questions about it. Both of his ranged plasma attacks drain roughly half his stamina bar per use. Fortunately, he comes with passives to help him with that stamina problem of his – and by that, I mean his inability to continuously blast away with plasma against his enemies. Mind out of the gutter, you!

So when you see a lot of beam spam and pew-pew flying about, that’s the best time to unleash Havok!

Almost Forgot About This One

Hi everyone! Here’s a rare sight – a last-minute addition to the 10 shows we’ll be following this season!

Source: hanateam.forumcommunity.net 

Amnesia is the title and central element of this show. A girl with no memories must and is the only one who can see and hear a self-proclaimed spirit from another world named Orion. He explains that he’s trapped in her soul, displacing her memories temporarily, and promises his aid in helping her remember all that she’s lost including her name. Orion posits that interacting with people she might have been acquainted with could help bring her memories back, and it seems that four particular handsome young men trigger fragments of her memories. Based on an otome game (in its base form, an interactive novel where the player must help the heroine end up with one of the male love interests) of the same name, the show’s main audience are reverse harem fans of all shapes and sizes, boasting at least four possible handsome young men to pair with our amnesiac beauty.

Speaking as a guy who’s cleared several eroge (where the player controls the lead guy’s actions to end up with one or possibly more females, including sexual situations), I’m willing to bet the game that this anime is based on is one of those that you need to clear all the initially available partners’ routes before the rest of the content unlocks. The anime makes this especially clear, as there’s a recurring character that appears to be helpful toward the heroine, yet there’s something off about him – must be the slasher smile that appears on his face from time to time when he looks at her.

This isn’t the first reverse harem show I’ve seen. I have fond memories of Ouran High School Host Club, and was entertained with La Historia Della Arcana Famiglia. Ouran had a cross-dressing girl surrounded by 6 male members of the eponymous Host Club, while Arcana Famiglia has a friendly neighborhood Mafia princess having to choose from at least 5 of her “family members.” My experiences so far with watching reverse harem anime has been positive, and I do hope Amnesia keeps the trend.