Biospark
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Those are the reasons why I felt that you should only be allowed SO-type enhancers on these avatars. You would get a "taste" of what this character would be like. In order to actually get an IO-ed version, you would have to go out into the "real" world of Paragon and build/play the toon.
I too suffer "terribly" from altism. My problem is that once I get a character into the 20s, if it has not become what I expected by then, it can often get "re-created" as another combination before pushing on into the late-game. As a result, I could have missed out on what that combination really had to offer. For example, I have never succeeded in getting SR past level 30. Yet that was the very first melee defense set I wanted to play back in 2004. 6+ years later, I still do not know how it feels to play Super Reflexes once it blooms. (Well sorta, I have a level 30+ Shield Tanker that is totally awesome). -
Quote:Actually I was only suggesting that you could make characters using ATs and powerset combinations already allowed. Nothing like Nrg/Ma, which we can already make for our custom critters in the AE.Originally Posted by Rowdy
So are you saying that we'd be able to make a NRG Blaster with MA secondary? In terms of fun, that'd be one hell of a good time. And as for the whole people exploiting AE to farm tickets, they already do anyway. And without set bonuses on said avatar, it'd just be much tougher to do it. Anyways I like the idea, but like you said the chances of them implementing it, not so likely; especially when the Test Server still exists. -
Quote:Hehe, the last game I played had me perma-stuck at 50 gold per respec. I could never get the cost to go down because I was constantly tweaking my talents. Heck even in this game, I have spent quite a bit of real money on respecs. It is definitely something that I would like a way around. Spending some in-game time "experimenting" prior to "commiting" to a build or character would really make me happy.Originally Posted by seebs
I would love to be able to do a story where you play Someone Else. But there would be serious foundational and design problems. But I'd love it.
And yes, I would kill for a way to Test Builds. I would love this because I came from a game where respecs were plentiful and cheap and I'm used to trying a couple out in a day if I feel like it. -
Quote:I really like Energy/Energy and Energy/Electric for single target destruction personally, so I would say you are on the right track.Originally Posted by ChiosuBlues
I've been having thoughts of a blaster with the sole purpose of single target damage. What combination of sets would be the most effective in this? Right now, EN/Elec, is looking fairly boss.
However, Dante's suggestion of Sonic/Energy sounds just "tasty". Your damage would take time to build up but with the -res and the added controls of sonic, it seems like a very "interesting" combination.
I like Adeon's suggestion too, but for me Ice just doesn't have enough BLAST in it. I admit it, I am an Energy Blast "junkie". Sorry -
Great feedback so far. Thanks Guys
For what it is worth, I had thought about the tickets only usable by the avatar to purchase and upgrade their build with AE-IOs, but I decided that the actual player should get some reward for their time spent in AE. Not to mention that these avatars would be restricted to AE-only enhancements which would not necessarily include anything like Hami's or Set IOs. Just SO-strength enhancements. This would limit the ability of folks to create Farming monsters somewhat. Also, if I did not mention it, you could not create an avatar higher level than your character that was visiting the AE at the time, so unless you actually have a level 50 character, you will not be making level 50 "aspects" to farm with. -
The following is an idea that would be an interesting way to breath something new into AE.
Keep in mind that I do not expect this type of thing to ever happen, but what if ? :
The AE missions could be accessed and utilized exactly as they currently do but a new feature added which allowed you to create an alternate avatar of any powerset combination and level.
You would build this avatar through a new interface that let you set up essentially an AE only character. Then you would slot up his powers using a special AE-only set of enhancers. This avatar would be given a name such as: "Aspect of Biospark" (using my name as an example). It would be unable to leave the AE building, and while you were driving this avatar, your character would be "locked" into the AE computer.
There could be other limitations on what types and levels of avatars you could build to explore the AE missions, but the idea is to give players a tool which could help them try powerset combinations AND explore unique AE missions at the same time.
You could save these avatars just like we currently save costumes, and you would get the full range of costume/power customizations, you just could never take these avatars out of the AE building. In fact, if you actually left the building, you would find yourself back inside your regular character that walked into the AE building in the first place.
These avatar creations would not earn experience or influence, but could earn tickets. The tickets would be awarded to the character that is in suspended animation once you ended the avatar session. One limit that could be imposed is that you cannot make or drive an avatar that is higher level than the character you entered the AE building with. This last part is something that I am not certain whether it is necessary, but it seems to me rather unbalanced for a player with no experience being able to make and drive level 50 FotM builds in AE and generating thousands of tickets before ever playing a character to 50 first.
Why would this be nice ?
I like the whole AE concept of making custom missions and playing custom missions, but... I don't like the AE rewards system AT ALL !
If you could use it to try out new character concepts and earn tickets as a side effect then it would be pretty sweet.
any thoughts or suggestions ? -
We already have a SideKick AT. They are called Empaths.
Seriously though, I would like to see more ATs, but would rather see something else than a another Pet-user. -
Quote:There are choices that are certainly lacking in one area. That is not to say they dont have AoE or ST attacks, just that they are nowhere near as good.Originally Posted by Nicro
Maybe I've been playing differently than the OP, but why are people choosing one or the other? Doesn't everyone go for both?
My "range-oriented" Energy Blaster, even after taking Static Discharge from the epics was pretty meh on AoE. (BU+Static+ET+EB). Taking out EBs in his 20s with ease was a pretty cool surpise though.
Same goes for my Martial Arts scrapper. Dragon's Tail is more of a damage mitigator that also happens to do damage, but an MA attack chain (especially after the cobra strike change) is simply wonderful.
I could go on about other powersets that I have tried, but hopefully that made sense.
The question, as I understand it is; "why would you deliberately choose a powerset or combination that is less AoE capable ?" -
To the OP; The advantage to good Single Target damage is SOLO against "Hard" targets. This has been mentioned already, but thought I would re-emphasize this.
When you actually make a large number of characters you will start to see some of the "balance" paradigm that the developers must use for powersets, and to elaborate I will give a couple of my observations;
In general, sets with very good single target damage are "lacking" in AoE damage
The reverse is generally true, sets which have good AoE damage, your single target attacks are noticeably lacking. Someone has already mentioned one set that "seems" to have both (Fire Melee), but you will find that set lacking in another area, which is "hard/soft" controls.
If you look at other ATs besides melee characters you will find alot of similar trade-offs. Controllers, for instance, seem to trade overall control for damage in their primaries (ex: Illusion, Gravity). Mind control would seem to be like Fire melee in that it has excellent control and some damage, but it is lacking in two areas that controllers of other persuasions can better leverage ; setting up containment, and immobilization
Bottom line is that as a player, you need to decide what you plan on doing with the character mostly.
Is he a "farmer", "team player", "PvP specialist, "Badger Hunter" etc...
Once you decide, its much easier to find the right choice that will satisfy you in the majority of your playing experience.
As an aside, that is easier said than done. I struggle constantly with finding the right "match" because my needs are to have a supportive team player that can solo fairly well too. Controllers seem to be the closest to what I like, but I HATE PETS. See the problem ?
Good Luck, but dont give up. Just keep trying different character concepts and something is bound to be exactly what you want, regardless of AoE or ST capabilities. -
Actually, Having had similar discussions about ATs with my guildmates, I have a completely different way of seeing this breakdown.
First of all, Controllers being Control/Buff is counter-intuitive. Controls are quite active and enemy targeted, and buffs are much more active than debuffs and are Ally-oriented.
This setup would make controllers ridiculously hard to play for a new player. Think of combinations like Mind-Kinetics, or Fire-Thermal. The best "vision" of a Controller so far is the Dominator. Anyone that has tried to solo a controller pre-containment knows exactly what I mean.
Buff versus Debuff is a very good division "Thematically", but one which I would have preferred as the distinction between Defenders and Corruptors. Defenders would have made a lot of sense as the "buffing" AT while Corruptors thematically fit the role of de-buffers very well.
The real reason that we cannot have these improvements in "thematical" roles is that the game originally came along with only 5 choices, and from what I understand, there were originally only 4. Controllers were added last of the original 5. Presumably because Blasters with Ranged primary and Debuff/Control secondary were too powerful.
My hopes will rest on COH2 with regards to improving the "thematics" and "effectiveness" of buffing ATs such that they become viable in more aspects of the game. Truth be told, I have many, many ideas regarding this and would be really excited to see Paragon devote resources to making a new game. This game has a lot of long-time veterans that would really enjoy the "newness" of a re-designed game to jump into. -
I kinda feel that way about Willpower as a set for melee type characters.
Every Melee character that I have played always seems (to me) that pairing it with Willpower would make it better to play. I LOVE the way Willpower is so "hands off" and you can focus on just beating stuff up. My two highest melee toons are both Willpower, and I could easily see myself making a WP/** or **/WP of every melee set at some point.
As a side note, when I first started playing this game back in 2004, I could have adopted this same feeling about regen, but quickly lost "faith" in regen due to all the changes forced onto it. Willpower IS what Regeneration SHOULD have been (and vice versa). -
Rad / Fire is just insane. IIRC you can have 4 AoE powers by level 10. Work on endurance issues, but with Inherent Stamina this power combo is just totally Rad ! :/ sorry.
Also I colored my Radiation powers Orange/Gold to closer match the Fire colors and it looks so good that way that I may use that color scheme on all my Rads ! -
Quote:Wouldn't it be easier for the game to check every so often and just have a flat chance to re-hide based on each team-mate in range.Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
I agree, it is probably easier to just put you back in Hide than to change a timer on a single power.
OTOH, the suppression effect on Hide is probably pretty complicated as it is. It may be separate from Hide itself. And it can be altered, it is different from the suppression time on Stealth. So maybe that rehide time can be coded to take into account team size instead of just being a constant. That's a lot of assumptions, though.
If you have a 30% chance of rehide every second, though, that's 30% within the first second, 51% the second second, 65.7% the third second, 75.99% the fourth second, 83.193% the fifth second, and 88.2351% the sixth second. That's just over a 3/4 chance at four seconds. That should be enough to, if not duplicate Shadestorm's suggestion, at least come somewhat close to it.
(Assuming my calculations are correct, of course)
Also, it occurs to me that every time you are hit, the Hide is broken, and so the "chain" of rehide checks starts over again at 30%. So while it might be possible to build up to a 65% chance of rehide during a very long attack, it's more likely you'll have a 30% or less chance.
Honestly, I think it will come out very close to the percentages we have right now. With the potential for alteration of the range to allies, of course.
For instance; every 2 seconds the game checks for teammates in range and rolls a 25% chance per teammate to re-hide the stalker. On an 8-man team that would put you at around 87% chance to re-hide each 2-second check (if you roll the chance per teammate). I honestly don't know what would be easier for the game engine, but my instinct tells me that forcing a re-hide based on team-mates within 30ft would be easier than trying to force a recharge enhancement of going back into hiding.
Thoughts ? -
Quote:Just went back thru the thread because I seemed to remember someone else's idea for a recharge boost (which is most likely where my idea came from) and found Shadestorm had suggested a reduction in the rehide timer based on number of teammates. With a 1 second per team-mate buff, you would practically be hidden full-time on an 8-man team. I like his idea even more, but I suspect that a team-mate in range buff that targets only one power might not be possible. But I would gladly be wrong about that.Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
Well, I'm assuming that's kind of what the random critical is supposed to do. Instead of relying on the ability to misdirect the foe at will, the Stalker takes advantage of distractions.
I wouldn't necessarily want to have Placate up more often because a) there would reach a point where further recharge would just be wasted and b) you still have to animate Placate, whereas the random Criticals don't cost any extra animation time.
OTOH, I was thinking that if it is too difficult to code a higher radius in the random Crit effect (I suspect it's not how much time it takes, but how much it would DELAY each attack) there could be an Inherent power running in the background that would, every second or so, determine a chance based on number of allies in range and automatically put the Stalker into Hide. His next attack would then Crit, but that wouldn't have to be calculated per attack.
The chance of this happening may have to be adjusted a bit, most attacks take more than a second to cast and thus would get multiple checks during their animation time, but it might be effective at increasing the range of the check. My original thought was to count the number of allies in range with this Inherent power and use that number when attacking, but this method would not require creating and accessing a variable to store that. The Hide mechanic already exists and can be set directly.
There would also be a chance, after the battle is over, that the Stalker will go back into Hide sooner than the expected 8 seconds. I don't think this would have too big an effect, but would be an occasional advantage. -
What if Placate received a reduction in its recharge based on the number of teammates you have. The concept being that the more people around the easier for the Stalker to distract enemies and go back into hiding. I am not sure how much of a cooldown reduction a full team would need to bring, but would this improve a stalker's team contribution despite the "shared aggro" concerns ?
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Quote:He did START this thread afterall. You can take two ideas from that post, or just one.Originally Posted by Zem
Why would he have said they think Stalkers are as strong as they want to make them if their changes weren't working as well as they expected? Systemic means a problem "with the system". In that context I assume it means "as opposed to the Stalker itself". So the example of Shared Aggro being directly addressed would mean changing the way aggro is distributed on a team, NOT changing Stalkers again to compensate them for it.
..... I am reading what he wrote and attempting to understand it. After all, these are the folks who decide what gets done and what doesn't. Armchair developing by the players can be a fun mental exercise but in this case it's all just theoretical if it has no chance of actually being implemented because the devs are against further changes to Stalkers themselves. And it sounds like they are.
The One that you are subscribing to is that they have identified the ONE problem they feel exists for stalkers and will only be looking at fixing that. So sorry Stalkers, sucks being you.
OR...
They feel that stalkers really have only this ONE systemic problem that should be addressed, but lets hear some thoughts anyway.
I chose the later viewpoint, and even if I am wrong, having a discussion about possible solutions to Stalker concerns should be perfectly fine and friendly.
For what its worth ZEM, I can see your point. Perhaps they will eventually address this from a game engine point of view and we will see Stalkers doing some very interesting things on teams. My viewpoint is pretty simple; If the Devs have identified the problem, then they should just FIX IT ! Otherwise, you have a segment of your player base being very unhappy with their team contributions. In light of Incarnates and how "team-centric" this could be, leaving Stalkers behind would really suck ! -
Quote:In order to do what you suggest, they just need to move the effect to spawn off the Stalker instead of the critter being attacked, OR... make it occur like a pseudo-pet regardless of whether the target dies or not.Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
Doing the majority of the damage to a Boss is not the same thing as doing the final attack to a Boss.
All things equal, if you have four players in combat with a Boss, and his HP is low enough that any attack by any of them will kill him, and all four trigger an attack at the same time, then the chance of any one of them striking the killing blow is 25%. At the very least, whoever hits the button first is going to win. At the worst, lag will determine the winner.
I think it is a much more reasonable suggestion that ANY Assassin Strike has a chance to trigger a demoralize, whether it is a one shot kill or not. That way you can be assured that the Assassin Strike attack, not whether or not it kills the target, will be the producer of the demoralize.
Putting it another way, if it is the death of the foe that triggers the demoralize, then you shouldn't need to Assassin Strike. You can just trigger it every time the Stalker kills someone.
The good thing is, if you get a demoralize effect no matter who you attack, whether you kill them or not, then there's no reason to be choosy about whether you attack Bosses over Minions. You can just attack whoever needs to be attacked, and the Assassin Strike will work the same either way. Although you would still probably want to save it for Bosses since Minions will tend to die while you are still animating.
In the end, I would be happy with that change, but it doesn't become very much of an improvement for teaming or solo. Also, it could cause some stalkers (bad ones) to go after easy pickings like minions. And finally, you are not seeing the effect over time of my suggestion, which is making stalkers generate continual Panic during an extended battle. The current demoralize lasts only 8 seconds and even with high recharge, I cannot see this being a continual effect. What I envision is that a Stalker who is "just doing his thing" will continually generate the fear effect as long as they continue "defeating" enemies and if they are particular in their targets (like Bosses and Lts) they can completely demoralize Minions without even looking at them. Perhaps even Lts and Bosses would be shaking in fear if the Stalker was doing it right.
The bottom line was just to give another way of looking at the Stalker concerns. More Damage seems like the wrong way to deal with the concerns of stalkers. I Watch my son regularly take on EBs with his 30-something stalker with ease (Solo). More damage would just be sickening. More Fear would not. -
Quote:Exactly Leo !Originally Posted by Leo_G
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The reason there’s no clear solution is because of how people view Stalkers. This skews the issues. What’s more important? Your own little battle vs that boss? Your total contributions to the team? Overall utility for broader choice in battle? Relative AT balance? Since a choice has been made, and Stalkers won’t be getting any more damage, I’m more inclined to favor utility of tactics for more choice.
Castle has stated that they believe damage is fine....so... that really only leaves us with utility. And generating AoE FEAR does both Utility and Defense in one action.
The argument that someone presented about not being able to deliver the killing blow before the Fear Aura would provide any benefit. Seriously ??? We are talking about Stalkers here right. Last time I checked, my stalker was 2-shotting Bosses (AS being the first shot). -
Quote:This is the very reason I mentioned having the "magnitude" based off the level of the defeated critter. Yes, you could go after minions, but at Mag 1 effect, you would have to defeat 2 minions within 8 seconds in order to have a stacking effect that would fear other minions for only 8 seconds. I think the vast majority of Stalkers would pounce on Bosses for two reasons;Originally Posted by Zem
It would encourage Stalkers to go after weak minions instead of bosses first. No thank you to this and pretty much ANY on-kill buff/debuff for the same reason.
1) They can leverage their AS more effectively anyways, making Boss defeats more important than they are now.
2) Generating a Mag 3 Fear off the Boss defeat would fear anything not of boss level, which is a much more efficient way to get an AoE Fear effect.
There is also the fact that the stalker may not be the one that delivers the death blow, which makes the effect more balanced in team play than it might initially seem. Solo Play would be improved greatly, which is something worth doing all in itself, if you ask me. -
What if ???
The demoralize effect was changed to be an Inherent power that triggered ANYTIME the Stalker defeated (dealt the killing blow) to any critter, AND it was changed to activate off of the stalker instead of the target being defeated ?
Too much Scrapp-trolling ?
Would it impact Team performance properly without being too powerful for PvP or Soloing ?
Seems like it would justify Stalkers having such low hps as well, by giving them a Pseudo-defense in the form of PANIC !!!
Muahuahuah !!
P.S. : Of course I understand that such a change would require the effect to be modified. Magnitude, stacking concerns and duration all would have to be analyzed. My vision was that you would generate "fear-over-time" so that the more you defeat, the more likely that your enemies are "quaking in their boots". Perhaps the AoE should have a magnitude comparable to the target defeated. Mag 1 for Minions, Mag 2 for Lts, and Mag 3 for Bosses. -
Quote:I hear you Psylenz, Dominators are so darn fun to play. Just wish I could decide which one to take to 50. Mind-something most likely, but dang, so hard to decide, since every assault set is too cool.Originally Posted by Psylenz
I have become enamored lately with dominators again. I haven't tried it, but buzzing around in my altitis inflicted brain was an EC/earth assault. It just seems... different. On my list of sets to try.
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Quote:Well...Originally Posted by The_Overlord
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What unusual powerset combinations for any AT would you suggest to me that are capable enough in solo play and can be fun despite being typically 'unusual' or 'undesired' even?
For instance, I usually would not even consider playing with Storm Summoning, but have actually considered it as an option for this due to how much mindless fun may be derived solo just throwing things around. Basically, I want something that can be enjoyed for its own sake. Potentially effective? Just the icing on the cake.
Many thanks!
Since you have stated a desire to not play melee, then that leaves two (possibly 3 options) open to you : Blasting or Control (With Pets being the possible third option).
If you like Storm as a possible set, then start there. It certainly is a VERY visually appealing set to play, and if you concentrate on solo play, you will not have to put up with the "Oh-Noes, its a KB-Stormie ! Me Hatz KB " crowd.
For Blasting, consider a Corruptor
The following are more geared towards ranged blasting;
Ice-Storm
Fire-Storm
Energy-Storm
etc...
For Controlling, choose a Controller if you prefer to avoid a melee character
Some primaries that are more Ranged are;
Illusion-Storm
Mind-Storm
Grav-Storm
etc..
Or if you would like to have alot of Pets, go with a Mastermind
or... Illusion-Storm thought I would throw this one in twice since I have played one and it's just a ridiculous combination (If you like pets).
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Quote:Yeah, I like it. It probably would still be worth looking at the Powers of Instant Healing and Moment of Glory.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
..... So, lose the defense, lose the S/L resistance on Reconstruction. Keep the debuff resistance, and maybe the addition of the other damage types to Resilience (without increasing the amount). That sound better?
Something that I thought of is to have some kind of scaling regen based on your HPs, much as SR has resistance based on health.
What do you think of Instant Healing as a passive that starts out around 100% regen and scales up as your health goes down ?
Moment of Glory would be better (for me) if the Defense/Resist were a little less and the recharge ALOT less. As it stands now, my WP scrapper, and probably any other low-defense scrapper I ever make, will go to the patrons and get shadowmeld as a sorta "OH-CRAP" button. -
Quote:Confuse (and later Mass Confusion) are the first powers I use while solo.Originally Posted by Black Baron
No. You are really helpful Thank you.
No I use confuse rarely. I heard it was bad style, and Masshypnosis seems like it has only a very short duration ( and seems to miss often),
Terrify is next on my to learn list. (But I still consider TP-Friend)
It looks like I must assign more slots to the Group Attacks...
On teams, I tend to use them less because they are less needed, but when some "big-ugly" decides to come over and mess with me, confuse is the first thing I click, because it will one shot "de-rail" a Boss, which is something my Hold will not do.
Mass Hypnosis is one of those powers that take some practice to get good with on a team, but once you know WHEN to use it, you should not hesitate to use it. Same goes for mass confusion. On teams, I actually alternate Mass Domination and Mass Confusion on spawns when I am not taking lead role, due to their very long recharges. If I am on a more cautious team and can get on a spawn before anyone charges into attack, I will fire off Mass Hypnosis followed immediately with Terrify to hold the majority of a spawn. These two powers can be made to recharge fast enough so that you can use them on every spawn.
Mind Control is, by far, my favorite control set, due to the shear amount of control it has. Add to this fact that it does NOT lack a pet. Confusion means EVERYTHING is my pet. That annoying Tsoo Sorcerer that makes everyone else's life difficult is now healing ME. That FF generator is lending defense to ME, etc.... Who Needs a PET?! Muahuahuah !
PS: Mass Hypnosis followed by Terrify works really well solo too, because Sleep can set containment and thereby double your terrify damage. -
Quote:Are you using Confuse like a Hold? My standard solo tactic is to Confuse the toughest (or most annoying member of a spawn and then hold the next (most annoying), and finally begin my single target routine of attacks to defeat each target in order. Once you have terrify, you should still open with either a Confuse or AoE sleep, then Terrify the whole group, and THEN start a single target attack routine.Originally Posted by Black Baron
Its what I usually do but there are some I seem to have trouble putting to sleep/hold. Some Robots and Tank/Brutes (I guess thats what the Bronze Strongmen are) seem barely affected.
I apologize if this is not new info to you, since your tactics are known only to you at this time.