Another_Fan
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Posts
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Quote:Working at paragon studios must be a programmer's dream job. They don't have to fix things, they just break them in new and different ways, then laughOriginally Posted by Tokyo
Considering whether I should renew my sub. Have they repaired what they did to the game with i13 yet? -
Quote:IOs are part of the game and have been since I9.Originally Posted by Arbegla
In solo situations, with IOs maybe. But Ya know, my fire/fire blaster can deal more damage quicker on SOs then my fire/fire dom can on those same SOs. While i have to hold and control things with my dom before i can nuke freely, my blaster can just blaze/fire sword mobs and literally cut them to pieces.How would you formulate or weight an overall comparison ? Every combination of primary secondary and epic each one equally weighted ? Weighted by number created ? by time/combination played ?Quote:
The best comparison is overall. Are blasters being out performed in damage, overall. Yes there are specific powerset of other ATs combinations that can out perform other specific combinations of blaster ATs, but lets see a elec/shield solo a GM without temp powers. a fire/mental blaster can.... funny I looked at the pylon thread a little bit ago and saw a crab had managed to go over the 1200 dps markQuote:I really don't think blasters have anything to worry about in the damage department overall. -
Well I finally had the opportunity to compare the theory to the reality this weekend. YMMV but from what I saw getting off non crashing nukes while there are still enemies still standing is at best problematic. Crashing nukes near impossible. Even aim and build up were difficult and had to be fired off while running from spawn to spawn cutting into the time they were available.
Quote:Even with just SOs blasters had problems. Castle pulled one his as little as possible adjustments instead of adjusting to the correct amount in fixing the balance issues. Its really odd seeing he was perfectly willing to wail on brutes, BotZ, while leaving things like /Shield alone or his "fixes" to /fire.While true to some degree, in a game balanced for SOs, this isn't really the case. IO's have largely enabled all ATs to shine with copious amounts of +rech or +def, for example, which have served to close a lot of gaps between players builds. Playing solo without IO's, there is no way I'm alternating lightning rod/shield charge every 11ish seconds, while running around at the defense soft cap.
Comparing best of the best in sustained damage. Yes it is cherry picking but if I want to build a toon that does single target damage well that is exactly what anyone will do pick the best they can.Quote:This is a bit misleading, as you're cherry picking specific power sets from an AT. My Earth/Ta or Electric/Sonic troller's, for example, will largely fall behind most blaster power sets, by comparison, and will most definitely fall behind my Fire/EM or DP/FM blasters in a head-to-head measure of damage in burst or DPS (with or without IOs). -
Quote:Originally Posted by Santorican
Glass cannon comes to mind. I think my blasters are offensive juggernauts. They're capable of destroying spawns before my or any scrapper or brute can.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion but I have scrappers that will destroy entire spawns one after the other much faster than a blaster will, I also have controllers and dominators that can keep up and do so with greater safety. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
Except (a) the content's starting to get geared toward them, (b) they're designed FOR teams of 12-48 and (c) the very problems mentioned occur with them. You can't skip someone in range who - as mentioned before - has a problem with the buff graphics (or other reason.) You can't skip around a buff order. One shot and you have to wait for it to recharge (and hope you get everyone you meant to the next time.)
And "Except to give teams a reason to dislike the buffers?" Weekly task force is that supposed to mean, exactly?
A) We are talking about a change in mechanics of casting a power not a change in the power.
B) How does that impact anything ? Especially when you consider that a team with 8 tier 3 destinies really isn't going to gain all that much from buffers with possible exception of kins ?
C) Goes right to your next question "And "Except to give teams a reason to dislike the buffers?" Weekly task force is that supposed to mean, exactly" People get upset with buffers for missing them not missing giving them the wrong buffs etc.
The buffer can announce they are buffing. It then becomes the responsibility of the people that want or don't want the buff to take the appropriate action.Quote:You can't skip someone in range who - as mentioned before - has a problem with the buff graphics (or other reason.) You can't skip around a buff order. -
Quote:Single target the best theoretical claim was 350 dps for a fire/elecOriginally Posted by Arbegla
When compared to the other HERO ATs, it is. Once you start factoring in villains ATs, and Veats, and blasters start getting lower on the damage list. And for pure AOE carnage, nothing can out damage a blaster. Even if blasters have more attacks then they need, that just means they have more options when stuff hits the fan. while -rech can cripple other builds, blasters just keep on blasting due to have so many options.
Plus it really does depend on the player behind the AT. A swiss army knife may not be too dangerous in my hands, but if you give them to a trained operative, and you've given them multiple different ways to kill someone in addition to other things they could do with it.
Frosticus with his illusion controller had 400+ dps realized
And the best scrapper dps was around 300 realized
That is single target of course.
Ill gladly grant you that blaster have the largest number of AoE attacks but its like having the fastest car in the Lincoln tunnel at rush hour. Once you have enough AoE to kill the small stuff in a spawn the rest is well just wasted. -
This is from the website
http://www.cityofheroes.com/game_inf...rchetypes.html
Quote:By far the most damaging ? Not hardly.The Blaster is an offensive juggernaut. Whether up close or afar, he can deal out tremendous amounts of damage.
In comparison to the other Archetypes, the Blaster is by far the most damaging to the enemy. But the Blaster is quite fragile; this Archetype has relatively few hit points.
Blaster heroes must be on their guard before getting into combat; while their immense power can overcome most foes, alone they are quite vulnerable. The Blaster can turn the tide of a conflict, but they need their friends to help them succeed.
Does anyone really think blasters are offensive juggernauts ? Having more attacks than you actually need hardly qualifies you as an offensive juggernaut. Its like saying a swiss army knife is a weapon of mass destruction because it has all those blades. -
Quote:Originally Posted by PumBumbler
The whole LFG system being introduced without any instructions are a big cockup in itself.
The entire LFG system needs work. It has way too much hurry up and wait. -
Quote:The simplest argument that this wouldn't be game breaking is all the destiny incarnate powers are exactly what is proposed. AoE mez protection, AoE recovery buff+recharge, AoE defense power, or Clarion, Ageless, barrier. There was never any good reason for these to be cast one at a time on the team except to give teams a reason to dislike the buffers.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
The way I see it repeatedly casting single target buffs on fellow players is not good gameplay, it's make-work. As for balance, the buffs are designed to be cast continuously on an entire team, making that easier to do is not going to break the balance. The powers are not (or at least should not be) balanced around being hard to use.
Of the 100% uptime ST buffs powers there are basically 3 categories:
1. Shields on 4 minute durations
2. Mez protection buffs on 60 or 90 second durations
3. Speed Boost
The shields I think should be changed to buff the team with a single cast, no question about it. The sets they are in are pretty much designed around having that buff up 100% of the time so make it easier to do.
Mez protection buffs I think are fine as is. I wouldn't object to them being easier to use but I also don't think it is necessary. Doing an occasional cast either preemptively or in response to mezzing seems reasonable for them.
Speed Boost I think needs nerfing. I would like to see it made easier to use as well but I think it needs nerfing even in it's current form. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
Why are people defending the farming of two trials, but staged an uproar over the farming of AE arcs?@Gemini yep you can see the gap pretty clearly.Quote:Originally Posted by Schismatrix
If you've read the other threads and you really don't understand the distinctions involved then there's no point in conversing with you.
Seriously. -
You can do it but its really painful.
Lets look at the easy stuff
6 points Steadfast,Gladiators armor
11 points from Combat jumping, Maneuvers, Weave
So on the relatively easy and big stuff you have
6 from uniques
11 from pool powers
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17 points of defense
You now need 28 points of ranged defense on top of that
Mako's bite and Thunderstrike will give around 3.75 per set. If you want to go that route get ready to devote 48 slots to it and 8 power picks.
Blessing of the Zephyr used to be a good option when it gave 3 points of defense as it stands now you need 5 power picks and 10 slots to get 6.25% ranged defense. This was always one of those what were they thinking changes. The melee classes always had options that to layer on defense without compromising their builds, using Zephyr on a squishy was certainly a compromise but a livable one.
Anyway if you go for ranged defense you are going to have to significantly slant your build to melee and give up a fair chunk of recharge you could of had. Not really a good trade off in general, it might help you take down a pylon if that is your goal. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
Why are people defending the farming of two trials, but staged an uproar over the farming of AE arcs?
AE arcs were players beating the system, this is the system beating the players.
Edit: And the usual people that lack any sense of irritability over developer actions but enjoy irritating the already discomfited are in their regular spots. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Hy-Beams
Okay because I am confused, let me ask this:
I have a character that has the Alpha slot unlocked but to date I haven't yet made use of it at all (I haven't yet gotten the shards and salvage I needed to create the Boost I wanted). I played in a Lamda Raid this weekend and now have a bunch of threads and some of the non alpha incarnate salvage that I earned from the raid. Right not I only have three shards. This thread seems to indicate the Incarnate XP and threads I earned are an alternate way to progress through the alpha slot. Is that true?
You can use threads to create alpha components but it is a really really bad deal. -
Lots of pluses and minuses in this issue.
Minuses.
Increased the amount of grind in the by an insane amount. As long as you can't trade shards/merits/Hero Villain merits/Astral merits/Empyrean Merits/Threads at all, I can't see indulging my altitis further. Buying new slots just no longer seems sensible. I am going to have to narrow my focus from the 60 or so active characters I have to maybe 5 or 6, and go from playing on 6 servers to likely just one. Upside for me, is I won't be buying more character slots for a long while.
New taskforces still seem to be very much in the punish squishies mode. They aren't a walk in the park for armored characters but they are exceptionally nasty for unarmored characters. On the plus side at least no mobs with extreme amounts of mezzing attacks were included in either Lambda or BAF. Endless spawns of Malta in Tin Mage were very unwelcome. Lambda seems very tilted towards teams of well armored characters. The need to get the temp powers quickly and gain time doing so really favors teams that can split up as much as possible.
The size requirements of the new trials seems very problematic. So far the primary determinant of success or failure for these looks like weather you can put together a full team of reasonably competent people. If you can get the max number for the trials you have a reasonable chance at success. If you are short your chances decrease significantly. I play mostly on the smaller servers and I can't see this being good after the initial rush. On the smaller servers I can't recall the last time I saw a C.o.P. advertised and things like Hamidon raids are events well scheduled in advance. Once the bugs are worked out the league/turnstile/teleporter system should help but how much ?
Pluses.
The new task force and strike force are fun and inclusive. The 20-40 range will make putting together teams easy and the content seems well put together. The unlock mechanic for Mortimer is a nice change of pace. the rewards are a little unbalanced to the favor of the villains but that is minor seeing as the rewards for almost all the villain content is too low compared to hero content.
The league system really shows promise, but it still seems too buggy to judge. -
Quote:Stop, Drop and Roll ?Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
. Think about it, what would you do if someone set YOU on fire?
Anyway blasters are very very dependent on active defense. They have to preempt, suppress or otherwise counter incoming attacks because their SO level builds just can't deal with the damage. In the case of fire/fire your best bet is killing things quickly and making certain you aren't dealing with more than you can kill fast enough to stay alive. -
Its not a bad combo, but the tank is overkill when playing with the kin. A scrapper or brute will be better able to take advantage of the kin's damage boosting powers
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Quote:You aren't talking about more different, you are talking about more of the same that only applies to MMOs where the object is to see who has the worst case of OCD. In this games case it may be all that is left with the competitive aspects always being marginalized.Originally Posted by Ironblade
No, if they made the rare stuff easier to get, it would lead to people quitting the game sooner because they feel they are done. This is basic to all MMO's. There needs to always be more to do.
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Quote:I can't speak on that except for myself, and that would be in the affirmative. Thats for the overall rewards system Merit and Hero Villain Merit costs are way down my list. Not being able to trade merits or roll at the levels I want things at is far more likely to make me ball up my fist and ask "Who came up with this f'ed ip chickens**t system"Originally Posted by Myrmydon
I bet there would be more joy if they made the system better than what we have now.
If you don't like what something costs don't buy with merits. -
Quote:You can just buy the less valuable ones with inf. There are plenty available and the people who have them, have no trouble parting with them. Anyway the system looks deliberately screwed up so players can have the joy of beating it.Originally Posted by Myrmydon
Does anyone know who's idea it was to make PvP IOs cost up to 15 times more Merits than they are actually worth?
Does anyone know who came up with the numbers?
No? Then, I'll settle for their loved ones... -
Quote:If you think about it, all the incarnate abilities should be flavored by the AT you are playing. A blaster's incarnate nuke should be exceptional in the extreme. A defenders incarnate debuffs should be extreme, A masterminds incarnate pets should be tougher and more controllable etc,etc.Originally Posted by dave_p
And once again, my very simple "fix" is to allow blasters' defiance to affect Judgement. Applying the full damage scalar might also be an answer though I fear that maybe a bit too unbalancing, favoring blasters & scrappers.
The incarnate system shouldn't remove the flavor from your character.
Edit: Thinking about it
I would want my blaster to be the incarnate of BLAST !!
Not the incarnate of average -
Quote:Really not comparable.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
First of all, the notion that the end game is fundamentally antithetical to alts is unoriginal. The same charge was made against the invention system, which was the previous "thing for 50s to do." People complained that in effect the invention system was *the* singular way for level 50 characters to develop, but the time and energy necessary to make the perfect optimal invention build was too high to be able to do it for the X number of alts they had. The invention system "fundamentally changed" the notion that when you hit 50, you were "done."
Before that, the fundamental change was Hamidon, and Hamidon enhancements - once the pioneers spent all that time and energy figuring out how to do Hamidon in a way that was reproducible in open raids. Level 50 progress was doing that one raid over and over again until you had a character with 80 HOs. And that was grindy and time consuming and required doing things not everyone wanted to do. It was a "fundamental change" to the way players managed alts and level 50s.
With both the invention system and Hamidon, you could trade for and or specialize your alts to deal with the system. If you enjoy taunting the yellows you can have your tank do that when you raid and distribute the benefits how you see fit amongst your alts.
The invention system is much the same way. If you have an alt that you have leveled up but don't enjoy playing, instead of deleting it, you can work the invention system with it.
The same holds true all the way back to just SOs where a good earning alt could help provide for all the other alts.
That is mostly gone. Inf is the only thing left that can be moved amongst alts. This would be useful if the inf requirements weren't so large that for most people crafting incarnate pieces will be consuming their available inf for a long while.
XP smoothing completely ruined the game and caused a flood of complaints.Quote:Before *that*, the complaint was that it just plain took too much time to level to 50. If the game encouraged playing alts, why did it take so long for people with lives and kids and jobs to get to 50? Why couldn't someone get to fifty in a reasonable amount of time, like say a couple of weeks of a few hours a week, which is all the time these busy people had? The game was unfriendly to alts for people who could only spend "normal" amounts of time playing it.
Oops wait, it didn't.
The gap is much larger now than it used to be. Level shifted players on tfs and teams are already completely overshadowing their teammates.Quote:Now its "the devs added something, and its something I must pursue, and this will cause me to spend time doing something other than what I was doing before, ergo this is a fundamental shift in the game." forgive me for generalizing, but people who think this is a fundamental shift are quite frankly only noticing the fundamental shift from the changes in the game being about things they liked or didn't care about, to things they just coincidentally happen to. Its happened non-stop throughout the history of the game. It happened with the release of City of Villains, and people saying the red side would detract and distract from the blue side, which was the "real game." It will happen in the future with game additions beyond the end game and the Incarnate system.
All of that has been gone for a couple of issues with the exception of the hive/abyss maybe ? The question is not if we had gated content but if the game is better without it. I would also point out level gated content or content that requires finding an exploration badge or completing a quick arc is hardly comparable to incarnate content.Quote:We've always had level gated content. Even with side-kicking, its very hard to get your level 30 onto an ITF. Even when this game was just two minutes old players were finding out that Perez was level locked and you couldn't enter it to team or even run the missions you had that were inside it until you reached its minimum level. The game throws gates in your face from birth, and they never go away.
Point was assumed throughout the post.Quote:I'm not saying not to voice displeasure when the game does something you don't like. But attempting to characterize the end game system as being so fundamentally unique as to suggest its obviously problematic contradicts the entire history of the game. This is not a fundamental change. What I'm finding personally is that increasingly, I'm prepared to fundamentally disprove that point, which is a step I'm usually not willing to do for emotionally charged issues, but I'm increasingly less concerned about. -
Quote:I believe that's the point. This is something that isn't the bees knees for blasters but when you have most of a team having them it marginalizes the blasters place on teams.Originally Posted by Sprite Fire
If you're concerned about a single AOE shot that does just 450 damage then you're not playing your blaster right. I was concerned Judgement was too weak to bother spending threads on it with my blaster.
Sorry. I already melt mobs in one attack chain with my fire/en, one more aoe, while nice isn't really going to do much more then add a level of overkill to the pwnage. Might be nice to add one more PBAOE on my dp... but really... barely needed or wanted.
What we have gotten from incarnates so far, is content that makes squishies squishier and marginalizes the need for certain types. -
Quote:hunh ? Was just saying that the devs actions show they don't buy the argument. They took action because literally they were worried that scrappers would be eclipsed.Originally Posted by Diggis
So all this is because you were bitter that Brutes got nerfed?
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Quote:I used to agree with the idea that the game was easy enough that it shouldn't be a concern. Then brutes got nerfed because it could be argued they were better than scrappers.Originally Posted by Diggis
I don't really understand this whole 'Arrrgghh, xAT is obsolete by y happening' issue. This is a game that DOESN'T need anything. And most people I play with take the first 7 team mates and go with it.
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Quote:My mistake then. Just for fun I tried to make a couple of ice blaster av soloists it was possible 200+ dps was achievable and survivability was possible as long as the av was tossing out S/L damage without large amounts of mez.Originally Posted by Dragonkat
*laughing like mad* Come on I haven't had my morning coffee yet...But Geez AF you really can't resist any opportunity to troll me can you? Should I feel special? =p Do you see me anywhere in that post saying I'm AV soloing? But fine I'll break down into a context even you can understand since as usual it went right over your head my literally minded friend.
Unless you were really looking closely or had a team that was a little on the low end side, I doubt you would notice it.Quote:The I'll be over here wrecking the AV is summed up as thus, and the same reason why I don't like aoe damage themed builds. It works great till you hit the AV. Then if you have a person on your team spec'ed for single target target damage you'll find a fight will go a lot faster, and let me bold it just to make sure you get it when the entire team is then taking on the AV Since a good ST chain will outdamage aoe powers against one big target any day of the week.