Biospark

Thanks for the feedback folks. It certainly is an interesting idea and why I posted.

One of the balance factors with the single target buffs is that while other sets have debuffs, mostly they are AoE debuffs, so allowing one good ST debuff for a Buff set would not offset the parity of a primarily debuff set like Radiation, for instance.

And here is another thought. Since we are talking about making Sonic's Ally targeted Debuffs dual-action (enemy OR ally), who is to say that Radiation Infection or Darkest Night could not get the same treatment. I love radiation as a set, but the main reason I dont play one is that enemy targeted toggles really suck when you are on a team. Its hard to maintain your "support" tactics of choice when your anchors get wiped out 2 seconds after the long activation.

Call me slow, but I just realized that some new tech has been added which could potentially fix the parity concerns that I(we) have been talking about for years. The new medicine power "Injection" will have dual effects, one effect when targeting an ally and another effect when targeting an enemy. Hmmmm...

So let me offer some food for thought. One of the biggest problems with some defender primaries is that some powers are useless solo. What If....

slow recharging Ally Buff powers like Frostwork, Fortitude, Adrenaline Boost, Forge, and Painbringer would debuff an enemy with a similar strength but opposite debuff. (Ex: Fortitude would lower Acc, Dmg and Def).

ally Rez powers could give a signature buff to the caster if targeting a defeated enemy.
Ex: Fortitude-like buff for Empathy, Forge-like buff for Thermal, etc...

Clarity type powers would have a short duration mezz effect. Confusion for Clear Mind, Domination for Clarity, Fear for Enforced Morale, etc...

Now for the special ones:

Disruption Field and Sonic Repulsion (same effect, just able to target friend OR foe)

Mutation : PBAoE mag 2 Stun
Fallout : Same Effect on enemy corpse and on friend

There is SOO Much that can be done with this.
The only powers that probably cannot get this kind of treatment are A) ally heals and B) Shield Buffs (Sonic Barrier, Ice Shield, Insulation Shield, etc...) Although in theory they could get a dual effect, the problem is the recharge on these powers is too short.

Hawk, Synapse, please tell me you already have done this.

Hello Neogumbercules,

I like the second thought regarding AIM. That could work. However, both suffer from the same issue of making each power become more mandatory. I would prefer that VS be an optional power, but that is just me.

Decided to join in the "Endurance Drain" debate.

Although I like the general idea of Arcana's proposed 'MaxEnd' and 'ENDdiscount' debuffs, there is a HUGE darkside to that solution. What is to stop the Devs from giving this to in-game enemy groups ? :::shiver::: I think that I will pass.

Instead, I would rather see this (not my idea, was suggested long ago for Electric) ; Add -end Recovery to ALL Electrics attacks. Here is the deal, getting a mob to zero endurance is not that hard, as long as you build for it and actually attempt it. As StratoNexus pointed out, 10-14 seconds is not a long time. The payoff is huge, if you can pull it off. Myself personally, would not want that "payoff" changed (read 'broken') in order to get some 'soft-control' of some kind. But KEEPING enemies at Zero End once I get them there, THAT is what I want.

Making drain work is not hard. Making drain work without building for it, or as a side-effect, is not possible. Trying to make it work in both situations is not what we should do, because of its nature. You will just 'break' one person's style to satisfy another's.

Great Thread ! Here are my powersets that should be reviewed;

SONIC RESONANCE : Needs major help. Lots of ideas have been discussed on this one (here and elsewhere). The following powers should ALL be reviewed and improved ; Sonic Siphon, Disruption Field, Sonic repulsion, Clarify, and Liquefy.

FORCEFIELDS : Needs a modernization. Back in the day, being a one-trick pony was.... ah heck, it has never been a good thing. The same still holds true. I would like some kind of de-buff added and/or additional damage. The following powers should ALL be reviewed; Forcebolt, Force Bubble, Repulsion bomb.

EMPATHY : Needs something to help with Solo-ing. Too many ideas have been discussed on this one so I will just say that Empathy suffers the most because ONLY 3 powers are helpful solo. Without breaking the Cottage rule, this cannot be changed. But something SHOULD be done to update this powerset.

THERMAL RADIATION : So if Empathy needs help AND both Sonic and Forcefields need help, then it stands to reason that this set would need major help. Not having played this set very much, I cannot offer suggestions. The extensive amount of Empathy, Sonic and FF experience that I have, makes it true that I will NEVER play this set unless it gets some help.

ELECTRIC BLAST : Like many folks in this thread, I would like to see Electric Blast get a look-over. Kind of hesitant for that to happen at the same time since I build my Electric characters to "sap", so any re-vamp could likely "break" this in order to "fix" something else. In the end it is worth the risk, because Electric is simply not as good as other blast sets. The powers that should be looked at are ; Short Circuit, Tesla Cage, Voltaic Sentinel.

MIND CONTROL : I don't understand why this powerset seems so good, but then as you get towards the high-end of the levels 35+ it starts to really "under perform". Love this set, but cannot get into the 40s with it on any combination that I have tried. One major change that could really turn this set around though would be a fix for Telekinesis. Here is an idea ; what if TK was a chain hold (ala Synaptic Overload). Have it target one enemy and the cost increase for each enemy held, and each tick would check for "un-held" targets in the area of effect. In general, I also believe that controllers 4-min recharge holds need to be re-vamped. ED is still haunting many powers, but none more-so than these. I would change them all from 240sec to no more than 180sec.

Congrats, You found Soul Mastery.

I was going to suggest a Tanker or Brute with Soul Mastery.
Dont forget to take the incarnate Interface that debuffs ACC like I did with my tanker.

The amount of -to-hit you can pile up for this is pretty awesome indeed.

FUN : Solo-ing anything in the game with a character I have worked hard to make better.
Not-So-FUN : Solo-ing anything in the game prior to Single Origin level enhancements.

FUN : Teaming with 7 other good players on a task force or fun story arc.
Not-So-FUN : Teaming with any number of players on a Trial or Multi-team event of any kind, especially when it is a required part of some in-game reward.

FUN : Discovering thru my Alt-itus some incredibly new and fun combination of powersets, and promptly building a character concept and costume around it.
Not-So-FUN : Trying a new combination of powersets with high hopes only to realize after 25 levels that it does not get any better. RE-ROLL

FUN : Meeting new players in game that are fun to group with, who share similar game interests and who show off some amazingly creative costumes. *Yes, I too have borrowed some of those awesome costume ideas* Well... in spirit, not complete copies.
Not-So-FUN : Trying to get a new character name that meets with my personal standards for an actual superhero name. Years of my life seem to have disappeared into the character generator screen.