DrGemini
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Posts
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Quote:The problem with your statements is a pure lack of willingness on some people's part to accept the fact that, while there is amazing flexibility, each AT was designed with a role in mind.Originally Posted by Ironblade
Assuming that their "role" is a rigid definition set up by whom? The devs? You?
If someone creates a tank for soloing, do they need taunt?
If someone normally teams with another tank and is designed to be the secondary tank, do they need taunt?
Maybe they're a little more into flexibility than you and a little less into rigid definitions of each AT's "role".
A tanker was designed to be the "meat shield" of the team. And, they were given Taunt as the means by which they can fill their role quite easily without having to sacrifice in other areas. And, on top of that, tankers were given Gauntlet so they can be right in there doing all the damage they want to do, claim all the aggro, and survive it. Taunt allows you to bring enemies into your "world of influence" without having to do a lot of excessive chasing. Thus, Taunt (a power that does quite well without any slotting) allows a Tanker to fulfill that role better.
Now, I am not against people playing the way they want to. However, when you consider how much of the game depends on the need for teaming with all the Task Forces, Trials, and other group content... You can enjoy soloing all you want, but the fact remains that you will have to engage in team play at some point if you want that character to be anything more than just a fun little side show.
In light of how much group content exists in the game, would it not be wise to make sure you have all the bases covered so that you can solo or team and have no trouble?
But, really, in all your choices, Taunt takes up 1 power choice and requires no additional slotting to be useful and ready when it is needed. Feel free to invest the rest of your build in entirely selfish pursuits, but have that 1 little Taunt power there to cover you role when it is time to join in a team. -
IMHO, I do not view tauntless tankers as being tankers. I look at them as someone who is playing a character with better defenses than a brute, but with worse damage output than other melee characters.
Now, while this game does offer tremendous flexibility in building characters, I don't think it is unreasonable to "want" a character to be able to fulfill its role. To me, that means a Tanker should want to have Taunt (the power) in the build and your defenses are adequate. I would think the vast majority of people would be able to look at it, say "ok we're good", and not have any reservations about that character.
Again, to me, I am one who enjoys the flexibility, but I also highly value not deviating too far from the central aspects of what my character is generally designed to do. -
Most pets I think do get "Super Leap" so I would at least invest in a power that lets you travel vertically.
I would recommend flight simply because it is an all-around good set. If you don't need to be directly on the ground, Hover lets you position such that all those little annoying obstacles that interfere with "line of sight" are not an issue. -
Good morning everyone and Happy New Year!
We, the staff of Freedom Hami Raids - the people that regularly host them for all of you - want to extend our gratitude to all who came out for raids over the past year! There are no raids without good leaders and people willing to come out to join in the synchronized jello diving!
I wanted to bring to everyone's attention some things that will be some changes to the raids in the new year.
First, Freedom Hami Raids global channel is 100% public to join. We want to encourage everyone who wants to be part of the normal raiding crowd to join the channel. Our channel is populated with some truly great people who are knowledgeable about Hami raids and are also a good resource of knowledge about all aspects of the game. We will even use the channel to help pull together other events because we know the channel population will step up and help out.
Second, Villain side raids are in the works! There have been rumblings about using The Abyss and giving those who prefer to only run on villains to participate in some raiding. We are still working out the logistics of this. But, do stay tuned! Volunteers to help organize raids for that side are encouraged to step up if they feel willing.
On a side note, it only takes being a Rogue/Vigilante to allow you to cross over and participate in raids run on either side. If people are willing to make their "raiding" toons R/V that would certainly help us be able to run them on both sides!
Third, More raid leaders and team leaders are being sought! Earlier last year, a few of our raid leaders decided to retire from hosting them. This left us with a smaller pool of people who are willing hosts. So, we are seeking additional people who are willing to help organize raids that way we can rotate leaders more frequently so the leadership doesn't burn out. If you think you are confident in your leadership abilities and would like to host/lead some raids, please contact me @Dr Gemini. (Do not be afraid! You will have plenty of help getting set up!)
Also, we can always use willing team leaders. These are the people to whom various responsibilities are delegated. They help ensure people are targeting the right things and see that newer raiders are taught the ropes. The team leaders are really a great help to the raid leader by helping to shoulder the burden! If you are willing to volunteer as a *team* leader on a regular basis, feel free to step up. During a raid, we need people to lead the: Melee team (yellow attack team), Green Team (Controllers/Dominators), Misfits (usually extra melee/range mix), Yellow Taunters (Tanks/Brutes with taunt), and of course the Hami Taunt team (1 Tank with taunt and a handful of Empathy buffers).
Fourth, Cathedral of Pain trials may be added to our channel's use. I know that people do enjoy doing these trials for the good temp powers you can get from them. And, the CoP does reward you with some nice other rewards. I am certainly willing to open up FHR to being used to help organize them.
Well, I think that about covers all of the upcoming changes or things to know for 2012. Please feel free to contact me if there are any questions. Thanks! -
Just wanted to pass along that I will not be hosting any raids this weekend. Between scheduling conflicts and a problem with my computer it just doesn't look like it will work out.
If someone else feels like they want to step up and run the raids, that is fine. I just can't do it this weekend. -
While I (and many others) certainly encourage people to do whatever they want...
The idea of a pet-less Mastermind may be fun. But, in this case, I would strongly encourage you to re-think this concept for a very important reason...
Namely, Masterminds are completely designed around having the henchmen (not pets because pets can't be controlled). Without those henchmen, you are disrupting the lynchpin of what a Mastermind can do.
Without your henchmen, you can still do some good stuff. But, without them you...
1. Lose the protection of Bodyguard. Masterminds have the lowest base health in the game. Bodyguard compensates for this in ways people who don't play masterminds cannot fathom. Bodyguard is the sole reason a Mastermind can wade right into most mobs without fear of being 1-shotted like other squishier classes would be.
2. Lose out on your best damage. Yes, Masterminds do get 3 attacks. But, your damage numbers are pitiful compared with everyone else. Your henchmen hold all of the DPS that makes it possible to steamroll through threats that others can't either because they are too squishy or lack sufficient damage.
3. Become a weaker defender. Yes, your secondaries are good. But, again, without the benefit of your henchmen, you lose out on what Masterminds contribute to teams.
So, yes! Certainly try out whatever your concept is. This game is great at letting people have a lot of flexibility without much in the way of negative results. But, do keep in mind the design of Masterminds. You may find that the concept is far less effective than you think. -
Quote:For those who missed it, we ended up having an impromptu raid. Seemed like the people who were around wanted something to do. So, I kind of put out the question and the raid happened.Originally Posted by LSK
Just a reminder that Tonight's raid has been called off so everyone can enjoy there Christmas, as well as the MSR I usually do after. Thanks to all that showed up last night for my double header Hami/MSR.
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The top channels I am aware of would be these (in no particular order):
Freedom TF (if you can get in usually full)
Freedom
Freedom Events
Freedom TFs and Raids
Freedom Hami Raids (we will sometimes use it to recruit for TFs though it is more geared towards Hami raiding)
For the iTrials, simply hang around Pocket D. That is the place Freedom has chosen for organizing those. -
Quote:Most people do not react well to the kind of condescension that is present in the original post. Most people do not react well to the kind of person who comes in and tries to be the "know it all" attitude represented.Originally Posted by Eldagore
Thank you for proving this is indeed a video game forum.
The amount of snark and condescension in this thread is rather disturbing. Way to show how good the community of this game is gang.
Information presented in the post almost always gets overlooked (even ignored) when the OP has that attitude. -
Quote:While Hasten is not a necessary power for every build, most people invest in it because Hasten does add a lot of global recharge. The only other power in the game that offers more recharge (by itself) is Adrenaline Boost. The next best recharge besides Hasten is going to come from AM, SB, Chronoshift and other powers that still don't reach the 70% recharge that Hasten provides. And, Hasten is the only bonus recharge power that every character has access to without needing to take a per-requisite power.Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
Deus or anyone else, would you please explain the situation where an extra two to five seconds of hasten will make a substantial difference in a build? I have never seen anyone post a build where it mattered a whit since the old days when it was actually a challenge to make domination permanent, and even then obviously only dominators needed apply.
Take the claim that several extra seconds of hasten could make the difference between permanent dull pain or not. This is laughable on several levels. It takes something like 102% global recharge plus ED capped slotting to make hasten permanent. It takes 55% global recharge plus ED capped slotting to make dull pain permanent if you don't even have hasten. DP is incredibly easy to make permanent, hasten is in an entirely different league. If you have perma hasten or hasten close to perma, you would have to leave DP completely unslotted for recharge to get it close to not being permanent, and you'd fail. If you have low global recharge and slot hasten and dull pain adequately by themselves, you would have to tune your build exquisitely tightly for the express purpose of making DP fall just short of being perma.
In general, the OP is correct. The third slot is wasteful if your build is tight. If your build isn't tight, do whatever you want, it hardly matters.
For just about everyone who plays games like this, being able to reach the min/max stuff is what they aim for. Now, that doesn't mean you will invest tons of money/time into every character. But, most people tend to want to make their character "decent" enough to enjoy playing and will gravitate toward making generally accepted choices. For many, that means making certain powers "permanent" or getting better performance out of a power.
To that end, people tend to figure out what the "necessary" slotting for a power is (in addition to other factors) to reach their goals. Therefore, investing 3 slots into Hasten has become the De-fact o way to go to get Hasten permanent with the assistance of other global recharge. And the same goes for other powers.
However, there is always the disclaimer: "Your Mileage May Vary." I.E. You may find that you don't need to follow the "standard" to achieve your goals. There are people who slot Hasten less and some who don't take it at all. There are even people who might go above the standard.
But, the tone of the original post (and yours) does nothing to really convince other people that your way may be better. You have come across as nothing more than a "n00b" who claims to "know all these amazing secrets but doesn't." -
The tone of the original post seems to suggest that there is a good bit of "attitude" beneath the mask.
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Quote:I wouldn't stop at just wanting female-gender MMs to have female henchmen. All throughout the Comics and other "lore", there is a variety of male and female characters who are both superior and subordinate.Originally Posted by Berzerker_NA
Another possibility: what if only female MM's could have female pets? Are they also afraid of lesbian orgies?
In fact, even in real life, there are examples of this: Momar Qadafi (sp?) had female bodyguards which could easily be related to the Malta/Knives relationship. There are female presidents (or prime ministers) who are, no doubt, surrounded by male "secret service."
Honestly, if the devs are soooo concerned over what we might do, then why the heck do they allow us to create characters with the option of little clothing? Why do they give us an entire cut-scene that centers on Mother Mayhem and her very obviously large breast?!?!?
Seriously, if any devs or moderators happen to read this, just put aside the politically correct BS and let your masterminds have a decent amount of customization for the henchmen. It doesn't have to be as ellaborate as allowing us to go in and create a custom costume for each one (though that would certainly be awesome and make masterminds way more popular!). Why not give us a choice of options like you do with weapons? Certainly, there are models you could borrow that are already in the game.
Or, maybe you could open up a contest. Allow the player base to use the current costume creator and create designs. I am sure the players could make up some good looking henchmen. -
I don't see why the devs can't give us options similar to the weapon customization. Let us have a choice of looks appropriate to the mastermind primary.
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I am not really big on getting all the badges like others, but I am always willing to help out if I am around.
Been on a couple of the new trials this weekend and am enjoying some success. -
They seem to like dropping new stuff on us without a lot of warning. Oh well, it will make "farming" those merits easier with 4 trials that give 2 merits daily.
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Quote:See, I am not here to argue for more damage for Tankers. I run an Ice/Axe tank, and, although the damage is sub par to others, I do find the damage to be adequate most of the time. What I am arguing is for Tankers to be elevated to perform in the role they are clearly designed for.Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
You are NOT competing with your melee teammates for aggro. They are meant to share it with you.
This is the entire problem with the mindset of people crying for more aggro/threat generation.
Scrappers and Brutes were given taunt powers in their secondary sets. Brutes effectiveness depends in part on them being attacked. Brutes have Poke-voke. Brutes are LISTED IN THE TANK CATEGORY at AT creation. Get the message?
They are fully intended to share part of the aggro. As Tanker, you are not the sole focus. The spot light is not on you. The other melee ATs were intended to shoulder some of the burden. How much ultimately doesn't matter as long as they can. If they can't, they will face plant and then you get to grab up whatever you want.
You shouldn't care if an enemy is not attacking the squishies because he's trained on you or because he's attacking the Brute next to you. If they are Taunting enemies onto themselves, that's their prerogative. Stop being a control freak.
If you must have the final say in everyone attacking you, roll a Brute if they're trumping Tankers.
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If you think about it, why would someone who plays ICE ARMOR be arguing for the things I think (IMHO) that need improvement?
Well, I can generate enough aggro to clearly outclass many others. I can even, literally, get Siege to jump over 23 other people (and their pets) to get to me. So, in a sense, being able to generate more "threat" than others is not as much of an issue for my particular character. However...
I still would like to see the aggro cap increased (for Tankers only). I would like to see my survivability increased so that I can, completely, fill the role my Tanker should be able to fill.
And, I am one of those who, yes, does want to have my Tanker be better than a Brute. I do not look at Brutes as being created for the purpose of aggro management. Sure, back when CoV and CoH were separate Brutes were designed to be similar to Tankers. Still, Brutes were considered inferior in the role of actually being a Tanker.
If what I seek puts me at odds with those who disagree, that's fine. That is the purpose of this forum (I would think): to discuss and debate. So, I have stated the things I think could be done. Take it. Leave it. -
Quote:Earth to Johnny, there is nothing wrong with having a "best" person to fill a job. It is how things work. Defenders get the best debuff/buff numbers. Blasters get the best damage numbers. There is supposed to be a "class" that does their "job" "better" than everyone else. Yes, it is VERY freeing that a Brute or Scrapper can step in and do a similar job. But, Tankers should be the cream of the aggro management and have the tools to survive it *better* than everyone else.Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
So you want to force the AT further into that corner of the trinity?
That's hypocritical..
As it stands, Tankers don't have much more value to a team than a Brute or Scrapper. Yes, Tankers can generate threat easier and have better defenses. But, in a game which seems to be pushing more and more toward content which needs some solid tanking, this is the prime time to give Tankers boosts to separate them from their (good but) sub-par cousins.
It is not at all hypocritical to ask the devs to give Tankers the title of "best" when it comes to what *we* generally expect. Tankers should be the "go to" class for that role. That doesn't mean that a good Brute can't still do the job. In fact, I still want the flexibility to not *need* a Tank. But, there should be a very significant impact on the team when a Tanker is present such that people seek them out when they can.
I disagree with you. As of right now, the only thing that separates a Tanker from others is that Taunt is part of some attacks. Even then, you run up against the aggro cap. Or, you run up against however many other Brutes (even Scrappers) all competing for your aggro.Quote:They already are. They have the best survivability of all the ATs, no matter how close the second place is, and they already pull and hold aggro better than anyone by far.
A Tanker should have no real competition for aggro. Period.
Actually, you are wrong here. When most people run a group, they want someone who can champion the aggro. They want an "aggro clown" who can, without question, redirect all of the enemy aggro away from the squishier folks who are the ones with the damage and buffs/debuffs.Quote:Nobody wants the 'aggro crown'. Nobody takes the Presence pool for any reason other than the Fear powers. They already ARE the best person to do the job and nobody else even WANTS the job. The hours suck, the pay is poor and Scrappers and Brutes keep stealing your food out of the break room fridge.
Getting aggro and surviving is already dead easy. I find it ironic that for all the people accusing me of wanting an 'I Win' button over the years, I'm not the one asking to be more unkillable than Tankers already are (people already AFK in combat with them) and making aggro management even easier than Gauntlet and Taunt already make it.
If they're that terrible at staying alive and keeping attention on themselves, perhaps Tankers aren't the AT they're suited for.
The bottom line is I want the AT to have the opportunity to do something it doesn't do very well a little better and other people want the AT to do something it already does better than anyone else by far better still.
Why? Maybe they're control freaks who can't tolerate a Brute or Scrapper pulling any aggro (despite the fact they were designed to do so)?
There is absolutely no reason why a TANKER, who's primary function is to be the defensive line, should have to worry about competing with any Brute or Scrapper. And, they should not need to be forced to dip into all sorts of other tricks to separate themselves from their cousins. -
Updated the initial post and bumping the thread to the first page.
Our raids are fun and we welcome anyone to join us! -
Quote:Not true. The only 2 that are definitely "male" in appearance are Thugs and Mercs. All of the others could easily be anything. Robots make gender a bit irrelevant. Except for the Oni, the Ninjas are covered up with generic clothing (they use the male model but could really be anything). Demons are clearly not even remotely human. The necros are dead people so they could have been any gender (the Lich could be female under all those robes).Originally Posted by Scythus
I demand that this happens. MMs are such a sausage-fest.
But, I wholeheartedly support as much customization as the devs can give us. NOW! -
I think some have hit the nail on the head with the areas that tankers, in general, could use improvements:
1. Since Tankers are meant for survivability over damage, that survivability needs to be increased in a way that other ATs can't reach no matter how many buffs or debuffs are being used.
-- Maybe increase HP and Resist/Defense numbers for tankers that allow them to reach a higher cap. With all of the incarnate content requiring better defenses, this would be a way to give tankers an edge. Also, give Tankers an inherent, moderate, "defense" against things like Hamidon which typically ignore such things. This inherent defense would not be anything amazing to the point of making EoE useless, but it would help the Tanker survive better against situations where "classic" defenses are less effective.
-- Make it harder for them to be affected by Mezzes and other negative effects. I would even make the case that the big "holds" used by enemies such as Siege and Nightstar should be less effective against a Tanker. Perhaps make it such that to be sequestered a Tanker needs to be hit twice. Or, conversely, make it such that the Tanker's taunt/threat makes it such that only the Tank gets hit with the sequester (a mob that is taunted has all of it's AoEs reduced in effectiveness).
2. Allow Tankers to generate threat more easily. This can be done by increasing duration and/or adding the taunt as a secondary effect to more of their powers (maybe spread it to more of their shields). And, increase the number of targets that can be hit by the "Taunt" power in their secondary. If most other AoEs have a "cap" of 16 (or whatever it is), then Taunt should be able to hit more than 5 at a time.
3. As part of #2, I think Tankers should be exempt from the "aggro cap". Or, increase the aggro cap by a significant amount. This would make a Tanker more valuable to teams as the true means of aggro management and make it clear that Tankers are the "kings and queens" of the battlefield.
In my opinion, if all of those things were improved (significantly), you would give Tankers an edge over everyone else for their role on teams. No, you should not feel like you "need" to have a Tanker for everything. That is one of the great parts of the game: being able to deviate from the "trinity" mentality. But, those who play Tankers should be able to claim ownership to being the best person to do the job. -
Quote:I read over some of the other posts briefly and have to laugh. Far too many people seem to fail to understand what a Tanker is. Describing a Tanker as the prime meat shield doesn't even come close to the value a well-build and well-played Tanker has.Originally Posted by Ultimus
I asked if he's ever looked into it and he said he has not but he is willing to consider it. I thought I'd stop by before sending off a reply at what he needs to look at. Tankers don't have an egregious level of underperformance but there is room for improvement. With that being said, here's my questions:
What problems do you feel Tankers have?
Why do you feel this is a problem?
What would you do to Tankers to improve them? Why?
And what quantifiable data would you use to justify such a change?
If you want to see how good a tanker has to be, go role an Ice tank.
That being said, my biggest "beef" right now is that I believe Ice Armor is due for a buff to its numbers. Not necessarily a big boost. But something to help us keep up with the incarnate content. -
For a long time, I have been an advocate for Masterminds having greater customization for their pets. We should be able to create individual costumes for our pets, or at least have a choice from several options like weapon-based characters do. Or, at the very least be able to change the colors of their costumes.
But, all we ever hear are excuses why it can't be done or why it hasn't been done yet.
Enough of the politically correct BS and let us have some choices. Just because some people *might* abuse something does not mean that there isn't a way to make it work. Come to think of it, doesn't the player base already do a decent job of reporting copyright infringement and other stuff that is an obvious violation of the EULA? I am sure that the players could manage sending off petitions for people who abuse their pets too much. -
I'll have to disagree here. I like big pets especially when the big ones are the ones that make mobs cry.
I understand that allowing customized costumes for our pets would be tough but why can't we at least be allowed to change their colors. Controllers can change the colors of their pets. Why can't we? -
Quote:I suppose to be fair that it would be more prominent and irritating with bots considering they are primarily ranged. Ninjas, on the other hand, seem to be good at a variety of attacks.Originally Posted by Scene_EU
With regards to Bots, all 6 of them do this randomly, adapting to it is basically spamming "goto defensive" every 15 seconds, which gets really irritating if you're in long fights. If it wasn't for the fact that you have to target the location, I'd have had it on auto fire.
My alternative way of adapting to it has been to play another non-MM character, so that I can keep my sanity. -
Quote:Pets entering melee when they are designed to be ranged is not exactly exclusive to pets. Just think about all the other types of ranged mobs that will stupidly run into melee when they have little (if any) melee attacks. The Cimeroran healers do it. Those Malta Sappers do it.Originally Posted by Price_NA
Um I dont care if my Arsonist has father abandonment issues, I just want him to stop running into melee range and hugging the creature, as he brawls them to death. The main issues to do with Pets are because im not understanding them emotionally?
0.o o.0 0.0 o.o
Really?
Wow, no im gonna go with programming issues for the win, Alex!
Of course there's always l2play issues, but the run in bug and the zoning issues (which is what we are focusing on here) are the main issues. These have been repeated alot in many threads through out the years but we are still being ignored. We understand that they are powerful and thats the main reason we catch so much flak from the community at large, and possibly why nothing has been fixed as of yet. We have suffered for being so strong for the properly alotted amount of time, and even have tolerated Buying our set back from the market now that its a VIP or Purchased set.
But enough is enough. The issues (emotional pets not withstanding) have been clearly stated and need to be fixed.
Therefore, solving this "problem" would require a much broader fix than people realize. I'd be willing to bet that this "problem" wouldn't be such an issue if people just learned to adapt to those pets that have a tendency to run into melee.
Also, by personality, I don't literally mean that they have abandonment issues, though you are certainly able to develop your own interpretations. I mean that (to me) the way the AI runs them there seems to be a variety of stupid and/or smart things I have seen my henchmen do. I know that a lot of it is just a result of coincidence, but I can't help but laugh when they do wacky things.
Anyways, I'd be willing to bet that, now that Masterminds have become more popular for raiding and large groups, we will probably see the devs start to see all of the pet-related bugs become more prominent and fix them.