Cyber_naut

Thanks Iggs, don't worry, I've never copied a build, I always need to have my own weird stuff in my own builds, which ends up making me miss the top end mark, lol.

With the way I spend cash as soon as I get it, and with all the toons I like to IO up, I doubt I'll ever see one of those pvp plus def io's...

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I would think that since scrappers are pretty much universally less survivable than brutes, then they should pretty much universally deal more damage, and that sure doesn't seem to be the case.

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I'll agree with your conclusion based on what I've heard so far (haven't done any math myself). However, sustained single target DPS at 250% recharge and without procs isn't representative of the game as a whole. These DPS numbers aren't anything the devs should be balancing around.

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True, and as I've stated many times, I'm not the mathematician many of you guys seem to be, lol. But from playing many brutes and scrappers, I've felt like I was doing a lot more damage overall on my brutes than on my scrappers, while being more survivable, while leveling up on just IO's. And I've seen lots of evidence in these forums beyond this post that seem to support this.

And I keep hearing about the damage bonus advantage scrappers have, shouldn't that show up in the DM comparison when SD is charged with 10 targets. I guess gloom is messing up that comparison, maybe bill can fire up the brain for one more comparison and figure out the next best brute chain without gloom, and we can see better what the dmg mod advantage is.

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I was also surprised to see so much Brutin on the top half of the list. Apparently Gloom is REALLY good.

I was even more surprised to see claws so close to the bottom. OTOH, claws is capable of some mighty fine AoE damage output, so that may make some sense.

The last surprise for me was energy melee. I'm going to have to respec my em/fa now base on this information.

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"respec" it into a SM/Fire, thats much more fun now. I spent so long on my EM/Fire, got all the accolades I could under lvl 30, great build, tons of fun right up untill ET animation made it flow like treacle. Now its just a shell, stripped of its IOs

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I'm with you man, lol. I actually like the new ET animation, but the set overall is so slow that it's just agonizing to play. Especially when you fire off an ET on a team and your teamates constantly kill your target before you can hit it, so you waste your 3 second attack, but as a bonus, you still get to eat the self damage...

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that SS is too good for scrappers is complete BS

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Yup.

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Actually, that doesn't really hold. The reason that Brutes are capable of doing so much damage is because they're capable of generating a large amount of +dam thanks to native benefits (Fury) which counteracts their lower +dam modifier and scalar. Rage means less to a Brute because, adding an extra 160% +dam means less when you're already packing 95% from enhancements and 180% from Fury. SS for Scrappers would be utterly borked because, rather than having an increase from 275% to 435%, it would have an increase of 95% exclusively from enhancements to 295% from Rage plus enhancements.

Brutes != Scrappers

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Doesn't a 10 target charged SD work pretty similar to the rage buff? Yet, brute DM is pretty far ahead of scrapper DM. Is gloom that good? Take out gloom and where do we stand? The scrapper does a bit more dmg? Isn't that how it should be?

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I was also surprised to see so much Brutin on the top half of the list. Apparently Gloom is REALLY good.

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Sadly enough, I'm not surprised in the least. The devs love Brutes.

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This has more to do with the fact that global +damage buffs and secondary buffs aren't taken into consideration, such as Shield's AAO. When those are included scrappers will bypass most of the brute numbers because of their higher base damage.

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Maybe, but that's only if the secondary is shields, lol. What other secondary will provide scrappers with the damage advantage they should have in most cases over brutes? Don't brutes always have the survivability edge?

And I'm thinking this damage mod advantage is being overblown. Wasn't that supposed to apply to DM because of SD? Yet brute DM seems to obliterate scrapper DM. Yes, I realize brutes are using the godly gloom... but even in a shared set where gloom does not come into play, DB, the numbers are almost identical. I would think that since scrappers are pretty much universally less survivable than brutes, then they should pretty much universally deal more damage, and that sure doesn't seem to be the case.

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I'm thinking I should dust off my old soft-capped Super Reflexes DPS template build, bring it up to I14, and then plug in some of these chains with real world slotting including procs. I'm betting I'll see some similarities, but also some significant differences.

One of many projects I'll probably abandon before it gets very far. I can't seem to stop playing the game long enough to get some serious spreadsheeting in. *sigh*

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Very true - I'm thinking some sets proc better than others. Claws is near the bottom of the list here, but we've seen some proc'd up claws pull some top tier AV/pylon times.

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I was also surprised to see so much Brutin on the top half of the list. Apparently Gloom is REALLY good.

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Sadly enough, I'm not surprised in the least. The devs love Brutes.

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I was arguing that brutes do similar damage to scrappers while being more survivable in another thread, this info seems to support that idea.

One thing I find odd is that brute dark and fire do more dmg than the scrapper version, but scrapper db does more than brute db, anybody guess why that is?

And if this info is correct in showing that brutes and scrappers are very close in high-end damage output (actually they appear to be superior according to this info), then the age-old argument (a very flawed one, imo) that SS is too good for scrappers is complete BS.

Are you softcapped on everything mojo? What numbers did you end up with def-wise on each attack type?

I'm working on a kat/wp, and the closest I can cap some of my defenses is about 40-41% without [censored] my attacks. Anybody have some builds I can look at for ideas? And yeah, I tried the search but my search power is apparently unslotted...

Fighting one opponent, taking melee def as an example, unslotted, sr gets 19.5% and SD gets 15%. SR gets better def debuff resistance too. I think mids screws up phalanx fighting.

One thing that's really disappointing me about the game recently is the cost and availability of IO's. My favorite thing about this game is building toons - I've got a lot of alts and would like to IO out most of them up.

I have a few fully tricked out, but it took forever, and atm it looks like its getting harder and harder. First, market availability seems to be dwindling, and what is available is insanely expensive. And with AE out now, it's much harder to find a team running task forces for merits, and now AE is nerfed.

How does nerfing rewards and making it so difficult to use IO's, which are a really fun part of the game, help the game? It doesn't. It forces people to 'play' the market or farm, which are two things I, and many other players, despise. Odd that the devs nerf the rewards to stop farming, but by nerfing the rewards, they make farming the only way to IO out toons and take advantage of one of the games most enjoyable aspects for many.

You want to stop farming? Make regular game play more rewarding, then there would be no need to farm. But logic doesn't seem to apply here. Hey look guys, shiny new PVP IO's to get people to pvp more! But we're gonna reduce the effectiveness of IO's, but only in pvp. And you have to get a few thousand kills just for a chance at one. Or you can buy one on the market for 500 million. Maybe I'll start farming so I can afford to try one of them out.

I predict no, the regen is just way too high. I know an ill/rad cont who beat some a while back, but you need something to kill that regen. Scrappers are only SUPPOSED to be the best soloist, lol.

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just post in here if you would like to see i12 pvp back into the game im curious to see how many people would cause i am one of them

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LOL

ROFLMAO

uh, NO

PvP is fine the way it is thank you very much.

I remember I-12: holds that lasted forever, unresistable noob, er, assassin strike, OPed Widows, and low talent players taking out skilled players with ease. Good riddance to I-12 PvP - it was terrible. Once all the ATs are available to both side...balance.

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That's why the idea of a zone that offers I12 is the best idea.
Or alternate Siren's Calls and Recluse's Victorys that offer the old PvP.

"PvP is fine the way it is thank you very much."

/facepalm

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Make two instances of each PVP zone, one with pre I13, the other with I13. Then everybody is happy.

The devs like to data-mine, this would give them very accurate numbers as to which version of pvp is preferred by their players - but maybe they don't want to see the disparity in zone play this situation would create, and show them the truth of how horribly this new version of PVP has been received by their customers.

This would not be impossible to do, but my guess is the developers pride is in the way, and they don't want to admit they made a mistake with their pvp revamp. What a shame, because it is hurting the game at a time it can least afford negative changes.

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doing it on average of 9:15 on my current Claws/SR
Attack chain of Follow Up->Slash->Focus->Swipe
So that's 197.65 dps

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I'll hit it again tonight, but I'm pretty sure that my last run using the same chain with my claws/sr was 13mins for a DPS of 177.

EDIT: Why, yes, I am thinking about having Bill's wings ripped out of his back so that he can get hasten.

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Clawing off your wings to become a more efficient killer... sounds pretty scrapperish, lol.

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You really only take a hard end hit when you use the dmg aura, cloak of fear and/or when you used dark reg poorly. Dump the dmg aura, use OG instead of CoF and only fire off dark regen when you're almost dead (and properly slot it with IO's) and the end use isn't very bad at all.


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The damage aura is a big reason to use the set though. I like Cloak of Fear but once you really pimp out with IOs it can absolutely be discarded.

I personally don't like OG. When I finally got it on my MA/Dark it really didn't seem to increase my survivability as much as I though it might and I really hated the BIG RED EGG.

YMMV

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Having played all the secondaries, however, I do think DA could use some tweaks. One, I'd rework CoF, it costs WAY too much end for what it does, either reduce the end cost or improve/change the effects of the power. And I think the tier nine could use improvement, like making it usable while still alive - when used alive it would deliver a low mag stun and drain end from targets and return it to user.


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I absolutely agree that the Endurance cost and Acc penalty on Cloak of Fear are too big. (I would suggest a hefty end reduction.) However I'd like to point out that the big win on Cloak of Fear isn't the fear, it's the hefty ToHit debuff.

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And for the love of god, please don't make CoD turn the user completely invisible, or at least make it user's choice somehow.


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This.

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I wouldn't say the dmg aura is a 'big' reason to take DA, it's a plus, but as with any plus you pay a penalty, in this case endurance usage. If you want to argue that the endurance usage is too high for what you get, especially when you factor in the ridiculous end costs of CoF and the lack of KB resistance and a rez for a tier 9, then I agree with you, which is why I suggested 'tweaks' to the set.

And talking about the graphic effects of the set, I think a lot of the effects turn some people off which makes the set less attractive. Maybe they could all be toned down, and if players still want them, or want them amped up, maybe they could do it in the costume shops rather than forcing them on everyone. I never used to use CoD, but with my new def build, it's pretty much a necessity, and I hate playing a toon that I can't see, never mind the fact the power is cloak of darkness, and the power provides stealth, not invisibility. I know some people like the generic cloud person effect, and that's fine, but wouldn't it be better to have translucency as an aura option in the costume shops than forcing it on everyone?

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Dark Armor sacrifices your blue bar on the altar of survivability. But it gives you the survivability.

Admittedly, I played Spine/Dark... I'd love to play Kat/Dark but I already have like 30 unfinished characters. (including a dark/energy tank around 36.)

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You really only take a hard end hit when you use the dmg aura, cloak of fear and/or when you used dark reg poorly. Dump the dmg aura, use OG instead of CoF and only fire off dark regen when you're almost dead (and properly slot it with IO's) and the end use isn't very bad at all.

Having played all the secondaries, however, I do think DA could use some tweaks. One, I'd rework CoF, it costs WAY too much end for what it does, either reduce the end cost or improve/change the effects of the power. And I think the tier nine could use improvement, like making it usable while still alive - when used alive it would deliver a low mag stun and drain end from targets and return it to user.

And for the love of god, please don't make CoD turn the user completely invisible, or at least make it user's choice somehow.

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Dark Armor sacrifices your blue bar on the altar of survivability. But it gives you the survivability.


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This is my biggest problem with the set. The set has the potential to be a monster when coupled with Katana or BS, but I can't bring it to it's survival limits and have the endurance usage needed for long fights like AVs and such.

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I've got a kat/da that can solo av's and attack indefinitely, so it is absolutely possible. And this is a pre i-13 build, i'm pretty sure with the def changes since then with io's it can be even better now.

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but no secondary grants burst damage

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Shield Charge.

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Sorry, I haven't played shields yet, I keep forgetting about that.

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If you get shield charge, you won't forget it, lol.

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Why in the HELL are maps being removed? People put all this time and effort into making arcs, then the devs come along and arbitrarily start pulling things out which breaks what they've created. Seems like a really bad move if you are at all concerned about customer satisfaction.

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Because the maps are bugged and need to be fixed, and rather than leave the broken versions up while they fix them, they pull them off so people don't keep on running the arcs and downvoting / reporting arcs.

Like I posted a few pages back, Burning Forest would sometimes fail to spawn some destructable objects, or spawn collection items inside a tree. This made the arc uncompletable, which earned me several bad ratings and complaints. It should not have been released live on that broken state. I assume the other "missing" maps suffered from similar bugs.

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First of all, if correct, this would be excellent information to include in the patch notes, right?

Secondly, those bugs seem to be something an AE designer can work around until the devs fix the map. Clearly you were aware of the bugs - so remove the collectable objects until the map is fixed or change the map. The map might work fine for 80%, 60%, 50% of people who are using it in their mission. When the devs pull the map, it ruins the map for everyone, even those it was working for.

Why in the HELL are maps being removed? People put all this time and effort into making arcs, then the devs come along and arbitrarily start pulling things out which breaks what they've created. Seems like a really bad move if you are at all concerned about customer satisfaction. Using unique maps makes missions a bit more entertaining rather than going through one of the standard ones for the 10,000th time. We need MORE unique maps, not less.

In regards to farming, I don't do it, it just doesn't float my boat. But a lot of my friends do, because they do enjoy it. So why focus on stopping farming so much when such a large part of your playerbase enjoys it? Again, seems like a great way to lose customers, especially with a boatload of competition just about to hit the streets. Farmers are not 'ruining' the game, other people crying about farming are ruining it. They're the ones who inspire all the nerfs, piss people off to the point of quitting, reduce the playerbase, reduce the market and take untold amounts of time away from the devs that SHOULD be used to create new content, fix bugs, add powersets, etc - you know things that would actually make the game better. Stopping the farmers would not make the game better. If you removed the farmers from this game, it would be a damn ghost town, and it would probably take a decade to IO out your toon. Let people enjoy the game the way they want to and you play the game the way you want to.

And finally, the thing that pissed me off the most was posi threatening people who pay to play his game. Again, I have not used any of these 'exploits' - pl'ing and farming bores the crap out of me. But these 'exploits' are the result of the devs work. Don't blame people who play your broken mechanics, blame your workers for making broken mechanics - and fix them if they're broken.

I love this game, but I gotta say, the way the devs have been doing things lately, has me pretty ticked off. The long lag between releases, demolishing pvp, and now this ridiculous reaction to farming and ripping apart AE while people are using and enjoying it. I sincerely hope you guys wake up before you destroy this game that we all love.

Grats on 4 pingers!

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Subjective: Custom Critter power bundles by difficulty need to be reworked.

Powers that blind characters ie. Flash arrow, Smoke grenade, and Smoke (or is it Cinders) are available at too low a setting.

This either makes Custom Critters too powerful (with the Bundle that includes Blind) or too weak (without the other powers that are bundled in with the Blinds)

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Agree. Blinding powers in general are 'i-win' powers if your toon doesn't have yellows or plus perception. I would suggest lowered duration and/or increased rech to avoid perma-blind situations. Preferably, just apply a to-hit debuff rather than rendering the target unable to attack whatsoever. If I toss blinding powder into your face and stand next to you throwing attacks, even if you are blind you should have the ability to at least attemp attacks against me.

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RttC on EB/AV is not the same power the players use in game. I could not damage with a Katana or Fire scrapper an EB with RttC on. His regen was greater than my damage.
Something to look at.

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Yeah, anything wp is ridicu-broken. Made an av with wp and a team with a lvl 50 rad and kin and several solid dmg dealers couldn't even dent his damn health. Obviously, regen powers become ridiculous when applied to the bag of health points that av's and eb's are as opposed to regular toons with dramatically less health point. Frankly, I'm surprised the devs didn't adjust these powers into the realm of reason in regards to what is an obviously different application.

I've noticed a remarkable lack of interest in pvp, even from friends who would pvp more than pve, and even after you've added the new IO drops. I'm pretty sure it's due to the almost universally despised mechanics changes. Any chance you devs will notice?

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Simple solution: Don't have so many custom enemies.

The one custom group I've made so far took up about 40KB at 6 different members. So if every 20 KB are good for 3 custom characters, well, you do the math. That's 13-14 custom characters max you'll have in your arc overall. Nothing else really takes up space.

If you absolutely can't hack it with 14 custom characters, you have two options: One, split your arc into several. Two, find existing replacements for your current custom characters.

For most missions, the 100 KB are more than enough.

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100k per mission would be fine. For a 5 mission arc, not so much.

If the solution to the problem is for players to limit their creativity, then the devs need to eliminate the problem. We waited an extra four months so we could have more creativity, and due to this ridiculously low space allotment, that creativity is being severely limited.