ClawsandEffect

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  1. Dead scrappers deal no damage. If the bonuses you're getting are helping keep you alive to deal damage it is very much worth the trade.

    You could have the best enhanced attacks in the world, but if you spend a lot of time on the floor all that enhancement does no good at all.
  2. The character you're trying it on IS level 50, right? Because non-50s can't use the armor.
  3. ClawsandEffect

    Weapon switching

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pesky View Post
    It'd be so nice if using our sub-powers didn't force us to put away the weapons related to our main powers. It just doesn't feel right that my Blaster puts her pistols away every time she uses Mental Assault powers.

    I'm sure there are Assault Rifle, Sword, Twin Blade, Katana, Axe, and Mace users who feel the same way.
    Yep, it's been this way forever.

    The former lead animator almost figured out a way to get rid of redraw, but it broke Shield Defense in bad ways.

    It's not as simple as just adding an animation. It has to do with the fact that each weapon set is in a different combat stance than the other powers you are using.

    The reason it is so difficult and time-consuming is you can't just add one "weapon out" animation to the powers you want to remove redraw from, you have to add one for each combat stance. So, if you want to remove redraw from Regeneration powers, you have to add a separate animation for Katana/Reconstruction, Broadsword/Reconstruction, Dual Blades/Reconstruction, Claws/Reconstruction, and Spines/Reconstruction. And that's just ONE power. They would have to do the same thing for every other power in the game, just to remove redraw from one set.

    Same goes for your blaster. They would have to add a new animation for each power NOT in Dual Pistols. That means new animations for every secondary set AND every pool power.

    Then you have to do the same for every other weapon using set in the game.

    It is not a small task. The devs told us a while back that the most complicated power in the game in terms of animation is actually Brawl, just because there is so many different versions of it.
  4. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Super Flu View Post
    3. Lightning Rod and Shield Charge are psuedo pets and are capped at 400% and that includes 100% base and enhancements.
    Note about this one here:

    These two powers, while being capped at 400% for all ATs that have them, also use that AT's damage modifier. That means a scrapper using them will deal more damage than a brute using them.
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Beef_Cake View Post

    And I would recommend soft capped defense to all typed damage, not just S/L
    I actually consider defense to E/N/F/C to be MORE important for an Invuln tank. Your S/L resistance will be capped almost by accident, but you don't resist exotic types nearly as well. It really sucks to be running Invuln and run into a bunch of pure energy damage before your defenses are solid.
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tenzhi View Post
    Absolutely. One of the best things about the Vet reward that allows one to grab travel powers at level 6 is that it let's you bypass the worthless required power picks. The level requirements and the fact that you're limited to 4 power pools are limitation enough.
    Yeah, you're right, no one ever has ANY use for Hasten, Combat Jumping, Hover or Recall Friend.

    If only we didn't have to take such completely USELESS powers.
  7. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Supernumiphone View Post
    You'll probably get some resistance on this one. For one thing it's handy to suppress enemy-affecting toggles while stealthing without having to re-toggle those powers.
    I used it somewhat differently on my Fire/Fire blaster all the time. Running Blazing Aura and Hot Feet I'd sneak into a crowd with Invisibility on and get myself situated. Then I'd drop the Invisibility and start spamming AoEs while the crowd starts scattering due to Hot Feet's avoid effect.

    Helped greatly with survivability, because things aren't attacking while they're running away, and I had just enough time to fire off all my AoEs before it all got out of range.
  8. Just thought I'd throw this out there too:

    Don't be discouraged by us saying healing isn't very useful in the high level game. If my guess is correct and you're playing an Empathy defender, then later on you will get some VERY powerful buffs, which will make you quite useful to just about any team.

    You'll find as you level higher that you'll start using your buffs more often and your heals less. High level Empaths morph from being healers to being buffers.

    Also, as you get higher in level, you'll find that as you're using your buffs, you'll find that you have more time to blast as well, so start slotting your attacks up too.
  9. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Supernumiphone View Post
    None of us know anyone else's experiences or reasons for making their decisions unless they clearly state them for us. To automatically attribute the worst possible motivation to someone absent that knowledge reflects poorly on the commenter.
    You must have missed when I said this:

    Quote:
    Granted, I understand that some people may be doing it to consolidate a multi-server SG, or to play with friends who have their main on another server. But, I really have to wonder how many people are wanting to do it just to not be bothered by the free players.
    That's from the very first post in the thread. I wasn't automatically attributing anything to anyone. I even acknowledged in my OP that people can and do have other reasons for wanting to play on the VIP server.

    When I referred to people wanting to avoid free players as their main reason, I was referring to those posts I've seen where the poster explicitly SAID that's why they were going to play there. I was simply wondering how many more people there are doing so for the same reason and just not saying so.

    I don't recall having said in any of my posts in the last few days anything along the lines of "The only reason people want to play there is to avoid free players" or "Everyone who plays there is trying to avoid free players" - which seems to be what you are trying to imply I said.
  10. Quote:
    Originally Posted by MajorDecoy View Post
    Yes, both Shield Defense/Super Strength, and Super Strength/Shield Defense will hit the soft cap, but Shield Defense/Super Strength will have more Defense Debuff Resistance, more hit points, will see more bonus from Aid Self, and have higher resists.

    Also, Tanker Grant Cover provides almost 3% more defense at base.

    There's more to survivability than the soft cap.
    Brutes also have to devote a LOT more of their IO slotting to hitting softcap than a tank does.

    A Shield tank can hit softcap with Weave, Maneuvers, Combat Jumping and ONE IO (Steadfast Res/Def). The tank is then free to focus slotting on things like recharge, regen and max HP, while the brute is still chasing the softcap.
  11. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lemur Lad View Post
    Or, instead of making assumptions, the devs are doing exactly like they said. They looked at other games that went f2p and made choices to avoid some common pitfalls. In addition, they said they wanted to add more value to our present subscription. Having another server to play on is added potential value.

    You're right that just because it happened in other games it will automatically happen here. But why not have something in place just in case, and let people know months ahead of time so they don't get bothered and quit because they feel like they're not being considered.

    It's an easy way to alleviate some of the tension over the change, and show they're really making an effort to give us more choices for our money.
    I think you're misunderstanding what I meant.

    I wasn't talking about the devs' decision to go free to play. Or their decision to add a VIP only server.

    I was talking about some of the players' decisions to move to the VIP server to avoid playing with the free to play people, in the assumption that they will all be rude little trolls and in general ruin the game for them.

    THAT'S what I meant about making assumptions on people's behavior before they're here to behave in any way at all. What I was talking about had nothing to do with the devs' business decisions in any way.

    Edit: It's not just moving to the VIP server. I think the assumption that you will dislike someone before you've ever met them is a stupid reason to do anything.
  12. Quote:
    Originally Posted by PatrickAT View Post
    I know that eventually "Captain America" will air on free TV, but that doesn't mean I won't hand over ten bucks to see it at a theater without feeling the least bit "cheated." Ther's always a cost associated with "now" vs "later."
    Would you feel a little cheated if you plunked down your ten bucks to see the movie in the theater, then they said anyone who wants to see it can walk into the theater for free a few weeks later? Because that's a little closer to how I feel about it.

    I'm less annoyed now that I understand better how it works. Namely, the fact that if you paid for GR you keep access to it if you drop to being a Premium member, but f you got it free with your subscription you don't keep access to it. (at least that's the gist of it I got, if I'm mistaken please mention it).

    The couple extra character slots are nice as well.

    I'm still mildly annoyed about it, but it's nothing that's going to have me calling for anyone's head or anything. In other words, not a deal breaker for me.
  13. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but here's what I threw together for ya.

    The recharge is a little lacking, but the extra defense should mean you won't need Healing Flames quite so often. I worked on S/L and E/N defenses, since you resist 90% of Fire damage and Cold damage is actually fairly rare (it's gonna suck during the winter event though )

    It's my pretty standard melee character template, you can use the same basic outline on just about any resistance based melee character and it will turn out roughly the same.

    You could probably lose Maneuvers to fit in Consume if you like, but in my experience with Fiery Aura it's never up when I really need it to be, so I left it out.

    I might try to fit Combustion in as well, it's a DoT power, which means it is an excellent agro getter/holder (funny how things don't like being set on fire). The DoT doesn't make the taunt effect last any longer (at least I don't think it does ), but the fact that you are still damaging them keeps you at the top of their threat meter.

    Here's the build, it will probably be a little on the expensive side, but everything in it is obtainable with Hero Merits, except the Hami Os.

    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.94
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Level 50 Technology Tanker
    Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
    Secondary Power Set: Fiery Melee
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leadership
    Power Pool: Speed
    Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Fire Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(3), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(11), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(15)
    Level 1: Scorch -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), HO:Nucle(34)
    Level 2: Healing Flames -- Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal(34), Dct'dW-Rchg(37)
    Level 4: Fire Sword -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(17), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), HO:Nucle(34)
    Level 6: Blazing Aura -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(7), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(40)
    Level 8: Temperature Protection -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(9)
    Level 10: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(46), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(46), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(46)
    Level 12: Plasma Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(13), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(17)
    Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Krma-ResKB(43), Zephyr-ResKB(45)
    Level 16: Boxing -- Empty(A)
    Level 18: Burn -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(19), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(19), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
    Level 20: Build Up -- Rec'dRet-ToHit(A), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(21), RechRdx-I(21)
    Level 22: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(23), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(23), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
    Level 24: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(25), LkGmblr-Def(25)
    Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(27)
    Level 28: Fire Sword Circle -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Erad-Acc/Rchg(29), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(42), HO:Nucle(43)
    Level 30: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(31)
    Level 32: Rise of the Phoenix -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33)
    Level 35: Incinerate -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(36), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(36), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), HO:Nucle(37)
    Level 38: Greater Fire Sword -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(39), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(39), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), HO:Nucle(40)
    Level 41: Char -- BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Hold(42)
    Level 44: Fire Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45)
    Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
    Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Gauntlet
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod(15), P'Shift-End%(31)
    Level 4: Ninja Run



    Code:
    | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by MechaCrash View Post
    I will echo what everyone else is saying about "don't be a healer because you're grossly shortchanging yourself." I'll be blunt: "healer" is kind of a hotbutton word. Most people who know what they're doing shun "healers," and the people who actively ask for "healers" do so because they have no idea what they're doing.

    This ties in to why you can't solo for beans. You have a secondary that's full of attacks; take and use them.
    Largely this.

    I'll sum it up for you (I'm not trying to be mean, just blunt):

    When the team needs to be healed, like in a fight that is a little above their ability, you are an asset by just being a healer. As you get higher in level the times this is true will start getting fewer and fewer, as the rest of the team is getting more powerful and more capable of taking care of themselves.

    However, when the team does NOT need to be healed, like in a fight that is well within their ability, if ALL you have to offer is healing ability....well, you're kinda just taking up space that could be filled by someone who contributes more.

    It will REALLY help us if you could tell us exactly what powersets you have so we can offer some more specific advice.

    One bit of advice that holds true though is:Do not ignore your secondary!

    If nothing else, there will come times that you must defend yourself because the rest of the team is too busy to help you. If all you have is a single unslotted attack you aren't going to be very effective at defending yourself. It also helps if you can contribute some damage when you aren't needed in your primary function.
  15. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ssyrie View Post
    I think who people are putting down are those players who are screaming that they need 200 character slots and the ability to move all their SG's over to the VIP server. I can understand if you have a lone 50 on a low pop server and want to transfer him/her over. But it's the people who want to move EVERYTHING to the VIP server that are making themselves such easy targets for the less DOOM and gloom crowd.
    Those are the people I was concerned about in the first place. Since I expressed those concerns I have been reassured that it is a small percentage of the population that feels that way, not a significant portion like I was led to believe by the few threads I had read prior to me posting this.

    I was just concerned that a large chunk of the veteran players were going to jump ship to the VIP server and leave the free players to fend for themselves. Fortunately, that seems not to be the case. I'm sure there will still be a certain amount of elitism present, but probably not much more than we have already from some people.

    I'll probably be moving a character or two there myself, and will definitely be rolling a new version of my main, because the name is taken on every server other than my home server (and I'm pretty sure I can jump on it fairly soon after the server is up and running). So, it's not like I'm saying that anyone who plays on the VIP server at all is an elitist snob, just those people who want to move everything they have there so the filthy F2Pers can't get their nice clothes dirty by brushing past them in the street.

    I was against the game going to a F2P model precisely because of my concerns about behavior, both from the free players and the veterans. Since it's happening whether I like it or not, I'm just accepting it and trying to stay open-minded about the possibilities it presents. So far, my concerns about the behavior of the veterans have been more or less eased. The behavior of the new free players remains to be seen, but I'm not going to make any assumptions about people I've never met.
  16. They could always offer influence for sale via Paragon Points.

    Pull the rug out from under the RMTers by offering the same thing they're selling securely and in the game itself, and you might find they will start seeking greener pastures.

    They won't stick around if they can't make any money.

    Unfortunately, it would solve one problem while creating another: Your performance in the game would be greatly enhanced by how much disposable cash you have to spend on buying influence. (That's almost always a bad thing where online games are concerned)
  17. So, you're suggesting a powerset in which virtually every power in it will knock your enemy away from you?

    That'd work great with secondaries like Willpower, Invuln, and Shield. Every attack you make actually makes you weaker by removing enemies from the range of your beneficial powers.
  18. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lemur Lad View Post
    I need to ask, why do you care why people do things?
    Why do you think it's a binary proposition, in that people will either play on the VIP server or they won't?
    I don't especially care why they're doing it. But, in my opinion, deciding to do something based on an assumption of people's behavior, when those people aren't even here yet to behave any way at all, is, well, pretty silly. If you've never seen, met, or interacted with any of the free players, how the hell can you possibly know how they will behave once they're playing?

    People can do what they want for any reason they want, and it doesn't really affect me. I have every right to think that assuming people who don't even play the game yet will behave obnoxiously is a stupid reason to do something. I don't have any right to tell people they can't do something for that reason, and I never thought I did. Still think it's a dumb reason though.

    I already said a few posts back that the responses I'd gotten had alleviated a lot of my concerns about the issue. And then someone posted demonstrating the exact kind of attitude that caused my concerns in the first place.
  19. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Supernumiphone View Post
    My point, which I started with, was that I think a person can have valid reasons for wanting to move that don't justify insults.
    Your point is also ridiculous. Because it revolves around being judgmental of a group of people that don't even exist yet.

    Free players in other games behaving a certain way does not automatically mean they will behave that way in THIS game. If they do turn out to behave that way, you can choose to avoid them then if you like. Assuming you already know for a fact how an entire group of people will behave in a game they aren't playing yet is both shortsighted and more than a little judgmental.

    Would YOU like being lumped in with a group of people because you happen to share one characteristic with them (in this case, playing a game for free), and having other people make all kinds of assumptions about what kind of person you are because of that characteristic?

    Saying "Oh, I've seen Group X before, I know all about Group X. Group X is nothing but a bunch of potty-mouthed children. I don't blame anyone for wanting to avoid them." is a prime example of the kind of elitist attitude I was expressing concern about in my OP of this thread.

    I do have concerns about free players behaving badly, but I am NOT going to lump them all in the same group and assume they are ALL going to act that way. Especially not before I've even MET any of them.
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bubbawheat View Post
    If you opted out of the VIP service for whatever reason, how would you pick your 2 characters? I know for some people, it would be pretty easy, but for many of us alt-o-holics, it would be quite difficult.
    I wouldn't have to worry about picking just two.

    I bought and earned enough character slots that I will have at least 20 characters available on Pinnacle.

    That's the thing about becoming a Premium player as opposed to being a brand new free player: You get to keep access to the things you paid money for in the past, and things earned through Vet Rewards. Since I bought and earned additional slots, I will never have to choose just 2 characters.

    The characters going inactive will most likely be whichever characters I play the least.

    If I were forced to pick just 2, I'd probably have to go with my BS/DA scrapper and maybe my Rad/Sonic defender or Sonic/Devices blaster.
  21. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Supernumiphone View Post
    I think there are perfectly valid reasons for wanting to avoid F2P players. For someone whose experience in another F2P game has led them to conclude that F2Pers are mostly potty-mouthed children whose fun consists mainly of spouting racist comments, I'd have to raise an eyebrow if they didn't want to avoid such players.

    I'm amused by the people putting down those who want to move to the VIP server. A lot of them seem to be looking down their noses at them while patting themselves on the back for being so enlightened as to willingly rub shoulders with the common man, while using the word "snobs" to describe those moving to the VIP server. To me this smacks of the most delicious irony.

    As for me I'll probably be mostly staying on my main server unless the asshattery gets out of control. I'll probably roll some new toons on the VIP server and see what kind of community develops there, but I expect to spend most of my time on my current server.
    I wasn't looking down on anyone.

    But I think it's highly amusing that you're engaging in the same behavior right now that you are claiming to dislike.

    You're looking down your nose at the people who are looking down their nose at the people moving to the VIP server.

    What was that you were saying about irony?
  22. I've had concerns about the state of the community after the VIP server goes live.

    This thread, and the answers I received in my own thread, have gone a long way toward alleviating those concerns.

    Hopefully everything stays as positive as it is here and we don't get flooded with jacktards who just want to troll the game (fortunately, they'll leave shortly after they figure out their ability to annoy people is limited).

    I'll probably start leading some sewer runs on Pinnacle as time permits, and maybe a couple Positron TFs and such. You're all welcome to join me and show the newbies how we roll in these parts
  23. Well, the responses in this thread are making me feel a little better about my concerns at least.

    Hopefully all your attitudes toward it extend across the rest of the playerbase.

    I've been out ofthe loop since a little bit before the news broke about Freedom, so I've been skimming here and there as I've had time. Unfortunately, it seems my skimming led me to the more negatively toned threads.

    I'll stick around for a while and see how this all pans out. And hey, even if I decide I don't want to give NCSoft my money anymore, at least I'll still be able to log in and kill ****.
  24. Quote:
    Originally Posted by JKCarrier View Post
    Will you be able to tell whether someone is Free, Premium, or VIP just by looking at them?
    Not just by looking at their character.

    But if someone is playing a Mastermind, a Controller, a Kheld, or a VEAT, they aren't a free player.

    Vet badges will give it away as well.

    So will using costume pieces that aren't in the default character creator, at least for the first few weeks while the free players are still deciding if they want to stay.

    High level characters in the first few weeks are also a good indication that the person is at least a Premium player (returning player on a 50 for example), mostly because brand new free players won't have the knowledge or access to things to PL characters up.

    There are a number of ways you can tell who is a free player and who isn't.

    Edit: @Chocolate Bacon: You make a good point. We need more players like you around here.
  25. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison View Post
    You apparently missed my thread from a few days ago. Read this if you get the chance.
    I actually just came back from a short break. I let my sub lapse and saw the Freedom thing when I stopped by to try and keep up with things on the forums. I re-upped myu subscription after reading a little bit of it, because I wanted to weigh in on it.

    It kinda sounds like you have some of the same concerns I do about the VIP server.

    The number of posts I saw wanting to know about transferring entire SGs, including bases, is what has me concerned. Not that SGs mean much to free players, since they can't join them. But transferring a whole SG, en masse, means there are quite a few players that will most likely be making a permanent move.

    Those of us on the forums are the players, generally speaking, most likely to want to help new people out. But we are barely 10% of the game's total population. How many people who don't post on the forums will feel the same way about helping newbies as us?

    Having Vets around is a good thing, and I'm sure there will be a good number remaining. I'm just concerned that enough people will want to avoid the hassle of F2P players that it will give them (the F2Ps) a bad impression of the game's population.

    I hope my concerns turn out to be unfounded, but until I see the results for myself I'm not going to be too optimistic about it yet.