Aett_Thorn

I gotta say, I'm not a fan of double XP weekends being on holidays. Holidays already tend to have more people playing. Double XP weekends are supposed to be for the lulls between issues and other events. Having a double XP weekend during a time where the population is already up doesn't make much sense to me.

So, it won't let me log into the game. I'm not seeing an announcement that covers this for today, and obviously my internet is working. Anyone else having this problem?

Actually, Claws, the best definition of the Cottage Rule I've seen was posted by Arcanaville. Basically, the "Cottage Rule" says that: Barring a significant balance reason, the Devs will not change a power's basic function.

Again, the Devs won't change the basic function of a power unless there is a significant balance reason for doing so. In this way, they can completely change a power and not break the cottage rule. There just needs to be a good balance reason why.

They won't change FF to resistance just because they feel like it. If there were significant balance reasons as to why a change like that were necessary, the Devs could still do it, and not break the Cottage Rule. If there was a significant balance reason, the Devs could change Energy Aura into a regen set, and not break the Cottage Rule.

Basically, all the rule keeps them from doing is changing powers without thinking them through fully first.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but warp drives being dependent on Dilithium seems like it could be very reminiscent of our struggles with oil supply now. As more and more planets develop warp technology, dilithium could become a scarce resource. Space-faring cultures and civilizations like the Federation would become entangled in wars over these resources, but using up the resource as they go. Eventually, there's not enough, and these civilizations can't keep up with warp travel on a large scale. Civilizations become protectionist, holding onto a few systems at most.

Fast forward a few generations, and the Federation finds a new way to travel at high warp speeds. They go back out into the galaxy to find it drastically changed. The Bajorans, with their solar sail technologies, now rule large portions of the galaxy, while the Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians, etc., are struggling to survive. Other new cultures have taken over whole sectors of space and function much like the Federation once did. How would the Federation handle these new cultures? Would the Federation share their technology with old enemies if it meant protecting themselves against the new? How have technologies advanced outside of the Federation "bubble?"

Sure, you might get into some trouble since you'd still have the Borg around, who can travel in other ways, but if they are in a similar position, they might focus on species who have acquired other means of transportation and assimilate them, or something like that.


But, I figure this would allow for some new ship designs, new cultural interconnections and conflicts, as well as give us a series where the Federation is only a minor player in the galaxy.

I, too, wish that the Devs were clairvoyant. It would make my life a lot easier.

Welcome back, Ultimus!

A Fire/Time Controller is a good pairing. The proclivity towards being in melee range to take advantage of Hot Feet will be good, since /Time has a decent amount of PBAoE powers. The Holds will stack, allowing you to hold bosses quickly, and huge swarms of minions and lieuts, and take advantage of the double damage of containment easily.

I would say, after that, that Defenders are the best to pair with Time, after other melee-based Controller sets. MMs will be good with the set, but the pets can't take advantage of the +Recharge from some of the powers. Corruptors might actually be the worst paired with it, but will still be good. The tendency to take advantage of Scourge, combined with a very active secondary set like /Time will mean that you're having to click a lot, and having to switch between primary damaging powers and secondary buffs/debuffs means less overall DPS.

Here's my rankings of Time based on my experiences so far:

1) Melee-Based Controllers
2) Defenders
3) MMs and Corrs
4) Other Controller sets

I'm sure that others will differ.

There are a couple of potential reasons:

1) It's used in a lot of high-demand recipes, and therefore is a piece of salvage that is in high demand.

2) It's used in a lot of common recipes that are used a lot in a build, making people need more of them than other common arcane salvage in that range.

3) Someone is flipping them for short-term gain.

I'll admit, I don't think I've ever seen this request before. A Tanker/Stalker combo is an odd one, and one that will likely put the two of you at cross-purposes for a couple of reasons.

1) Group Aggro. If your Stalker friend is waiting right by the boss, and you come charging in, as the mob sees you, but before you can grab real aggro, the entire spawn aggros on the team. This can mean that your little Stalker buddy might be attacked before you even get to grab aggro.

2) AoE versus Single-Target focus. While your friend is a Spines/ Stalker, and therefore gets a bit more AoE damage than some Stalker sets, he's likely going to be the guy you want bringing down the big target. However, you'll need to keep the aggro on the target, so you'll want to be attacking him to. This can mean that you'll both be focusing on the same hard target, instead of the rest of the spawn.


Now, both of those things can be worked out, but I just wanted to warn you that it's an odd combination, and you may need to overcome a learning curve before you can get the timing worked out.


That being said, I think that a Shield/ Tanker could help with problem number 1, since it will allow you to basically TP right into the group and gain aggro before they attack the Stalker. As I think about it, a Shield/Elec Tank might be a good choice, allowing you two Teleport attacks to alternate between while your Stalker friend gets set up. It would be more of a focus on AoE attacks, while still having some ST attacks to get the boss's attention.


Just out of curiosity, what kinds of support sets where you playing with him? I would think that a Support/Stalker duo should be able to do okay.

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