I play mainly brutes, but I also have 2 30+ stalkers and play a couple different corruptors so I thought I give my perspective on this.
First off, most villians agree that the patron powers are garbage overall and not nearly as good the hero powers. Why is it we can see this, but you can't? Besides stalker's patron powers all the other's are lamo. What does my brute need a pet for? A ranged attack? BAH. Unless these pets have a 100% rate of buffing us with something useful, are somewhat tough and have a decent recharge timer for when they inevitably get killed fast then they completely suck buns and are more a hassle than anything.
Dominators get royally shafted again.
Corruptors? Sure don't get as good of powers as the closest equivalent of a blaster.
Everyone carries BF's in pvp, and if they don't then that's their problem. I think all the BF talk is mute. My friggin brute carries a half tray of BF's because blasters come and 1-2 shot my toggles off and stun me in about the span of 1-2 seconds leaving me in big trouble. 1-2 controllers drop my toggles in a couple seconds etc. Only way I can beat a blaster in melee is if I have BF's on hand. If said blaster wises up and uses a few ranged attacks first or after initial melee attack they can still beat me even with my BF's used.
I've been killed by blasters with all ranged attacks. Sure, it wasn't almost instant death, but they can do it.
As for stalkers, well I believe hide is being dropped to 75% strength or perhaps its placate's strength. Either way it will take less perception to se a stalker so far as I know, at least after initial attack and placate.
Stalkers can drop anyone 1 vs 1. Yes, they are easy to kill others with 1 vs 1, BUT, they're very hard to play against any effective team. I can't count how many times I've gone agaisnt a team of heroes or villians stackign +perception powers and been totally ineffective. So these points you make about not seeing stalkers is kinda mute in a team setting. And if you think you should be able to kill stalkers out of a team setting, my argument is who can and why should you be able to? Stalkers against teams are almost totally worthless. 1 vs 1, well that's the risk you take being the AT you are. My brute at least once or twice a night gets 2-3 shotted in war. I deal with it.
How many times do you see 8 man stalkers teams running around? I have never seen more than 3-4 together and these were players that knew each otehr well. It's not a team oriented AT.
Based off what I see, so long as both heroes and villians keep BF's handy in the 40+ zones then heroes overall have the decided advantage in a big way. My /EA brute will be cannon fodder to scrappers with FA. Blasters get FoN and Temp Invulnerability and PFF if I remember right?
Take an honest look at the villian APP's and tell me in a completely honest way that our powers are as good as the heroes. The real answer is you can't because they aren't.
With alot of your hero powers they work regardless of BF's at helping you. Look at the villian APP's closely.
I'll take my brute for example. Ranged attack, big deal, without full fury probably does medium damage meaning not much.
AoE Immobilize, that's kinda cool, BF's will negate that power. You can;t negate FA with a BF. OR CP for that matter, of FoN, or Temp INV etc etc etc.
3rd power in anything other than pve setting, big deal
Pets. Unless they are like what I previously stated they will be trivial and not worth using most of the time and certainly not what my brute or most any other villian AT needs. Who knows. Maybe they will be fairly tough, do decent damage and 100% buff us with something useful. MY opinion? I seriously doubt it.
Compare scrapper epic to brute APP. Scrapper>
blaster to corruptor. Blaster>
Controller to dominator. Controller>
any Coh to MM. >
I would take FA, CP or other powers over what we are getting any day of the rest of time as we know it. Or FoN, PFF on corruptors/dominators for that matter.
