DrMike2000

These pages are really handy for planning out a build, Knightslayer. Set bonuses for typed defences are all paired up now, so Smashing Defence and Lethal Defence go hand in hand, as do Energy-Negative and Fire-Cold.

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category...ashing_Defense
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category...Energy_Defense
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category...e_Fire_Defense


Kinetic Combat and Aegis cover your bases for S/L and F/C very well. Energy/Neg is a bit trickier as already pointed out.

And this may be of interest too:

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category...sionic_Defense

With Vet Sands of Mu and the Invention system providing global accuracy bonuses, theres no need to take Flurry ever.

I had a group of speedster mutant characters at one point, and they all used Sands of Mu and it worked brilliantly, doing around three times the damage (much of it exotic) that a power I had to buy would do. One did had Flurry to begiun with - I eventually repsecced out of it after realising how it sat in my bar on the awkward ALT-9 slot without ever getting used.

I would love to trade the Sands of Mu look for Flurry's brighter zingier effects though.

Flurry's also up against Hasten for a pick, one of the best powers in the game. That really doesn't help it.

I find the two sets go together very nicely once they've developed.

Kinetics bolsters Elec's low damage.
Electrical Blast provides safety via End Drain and Tesla Cage that a Kineticist needs

The downside is it doesnt come together until the late 20s - early 30s.

Transference -26
Tesla Cage -28
FulcrumShift - 32

Before this you're a low damage Defender with a wonky heal that works in melee range and jousting using Siphon Speed as your best defences.

Trick Pistol animations for TA/A with a Boxing Glove Bullet for Stunning Shot.

Please.

Thank you!

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I find it nothing less than astounding that a little more than a half century after Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first powered flight of 120 feet, we managed to fly people a quarter of a million miles from our home and back again.

I find it absolutely amazing that the first footsteps on a surface that was not our Earth were made by a man born in a place as humble and unassuming as Ohio.

Most of all, however, I find it profoundly disappointing that we haven't sent more to follow in his footsteps.

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((Amen.))

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I concur wholeheartedly.. Amen..

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We dont need another moon landing. It was a great demonstration of engineering prowess, but that was it.
A good magician doesn't repeat his tricks.

We've been busy doing other cool stuff since then. Eradicating smallpox in 1979, making artifical limbs, constructing a global internet from the 90s onwards, building Super Hadron Colliders more recently.
I'd say we're still pretty amazing as a species, and havent been in the least bit disappointing since 1969.

What do Force Fields and Sonics get, Doc? They already have mez protection.

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I like it being a little overpowered. You look at the comics and you see the toughest most powerful charcters are almost always the super strength characters. While other powers can be just as powerful when used with skill, someone with super strength can be a complete idiot and still smash you with a car or put thier fist thru your head.

My first 50 was a super strength/Invuln brute, and it was a great choice for my first because it was easy and aloud for a learning curve. I'm sure folks that don't like other people to farm, folks who PvP don't like it....but it doesn't bother me at all. Super Strength should be the strongest and easiest set in the game.

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One problem I have with that is that Superstrength characters are naturally very accurate in this game due to the constant +to Hit from Rage. (Add in Invincibility if you're invulnerable and its even worse)

Which comic character can I see most easily swiping at a Rikti drone and missing as it zips around him? The Thing! An SS/Inv Tanker.

Now I think about it, taking the To hit out of Rage would be a very nice balance. You're strong and get a perma damage buff, but no To Hit debuffs, unlike the skilled weapon wielders who have Build Up.

And you can't really make one power better than all the others in a game, no matter what the logic. Thats just bad design , especially for a multiplayer game.

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yeah but it's not really overpowered, it's just easy. A skilled player can take any set and make it just as good as SS. I outplay SS brutes on most teams I join with a DB brute. I also kill alot of SS brutes/tanks in PvP. If it was really overpowered, I couldn't do that. I think the set just takes very little thought to be effective and is great for farming even without an IO'd build. That's why so many folks are drawn to it.

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Yeah I get what you're saying. I'd agree with that.

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I like it being a little overpowered. You look at the comics and you see the toughest most powerful charcters are almost always the super strength characters. While other powers can be just as powerful when used with skill, someone with super strength can be a complete idiot and still smash you with a car or put thier fist thru your head.

My first 50 was a super strength/Invuln brute, and it was a great choice for my first because it was easy and aloud for a learning curve. I'm sure folks that don't like other people to farm, folks who PvP don't like it....but it doesn't bother me at all. Super Strength should be the strongest and easiest set in the game.

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One problem I have with that is that Superstrength characters are naturally very accurate in this game due to the constant +to Hit from Rage. (Add in Invincibility if you're invulnerable and its even worse)

Which comic character can I see most easily swiping at a Rikti drone and missing as it zips around him? The Thing! An SS/Inv Tanker.

Now I think about it, taking the To hit out of Rage would be a very nice balance. You're strong and get a perma damage buff, but no To Hit debuffs, unlike the skilled weapon wielders who have Build Up.

And you can't really make one power better than all the others in a game, no matter what the logic. Thats just bad design , especially for a multiplayer game.

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Two minutes of build-up for ten seconds of debuff? Yes please.

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Personally I would rather have a -1000% recovery and -160% damage debuff for 10 seconds. Feels like a cop out to do such an extreme damage debuff value.

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*cough*Sands of Mu vet power unenhanceable damage*cough*

I'd always thought that the SS attacks did less damage than equivalent recharge attacks in sets like Axe and War Mace, and that this balanced against Rage. Looking at red Tomax I see that I was wrong.

SS does have smaller faster attacks than these two weapon sets, and so less burst damage (until we get to KO Blow *cough*) so maybe that was the original idea?

Axe (for example) is burst damage, SS is DPS?

Good post, Peacemoon. On the whole I think you're right, Defenders are stuck in a bit of a hard place. The analysis of the basic attack values is pretty telling.

A couple of points I feel you missed:

1) Defenders do get better AoE damage. Controllers get Hot Feet, Terrify and AoE immobilises. And Carrion Creepers, sort of. But nothing in the same league as spamming Nightfall and Tentacles, or dropping a Blaster level Ice Storm.
I find this is noticeable playing a pair of Defenders rather than two Controllers, even Fire Controllers.
Indication that the devs wish to keep it this way: Repulsion Bomb did not get containment damage for Controllers (and Hot Feet only gets 75% extra instead of 100%).
[Edit: sorry, you DID cover this, but I think really glossed over the recharge issues. Controllers typically have 30s + recharge on any AoE. Dark Blast has two 10s AoEs. Most Defender sets have 2 under 20s]


2) Some Buff/debuff sets are better reduced than others when going from primary to Secondary.
Force Fields and Sonic Resonance have got the balance right - giving your team 58% Res (Def vales) vs 42% (Controller values) is noticable, as is 40% Defence vs 30% Defence.
Empathy on the other hand, is primarily a recharge-limited set and so is almost completely unaffected by being a secondary. If Controller Regen Aura took 650 seconds instead of 500 to recharge, or Controller Fort took 90 seconds, you'd notice.
Ideally each set/power should get looked at as to how to restrict it. Long recharge powers should take longer on Controllers. Def buffs and Res buffs/debuffs work well already.

Finally, I'd make Containment a +100% damage buff instead of a special 2x multiplier it is now.

Dark's good. Very good in fact.

I'd recommend Storm above Cold - they're very similar sets with Storm being more solo friendly, Cold more team friendly.

I'd say Storm/Ice - I've got one in the 40s and he's very versatile and fun to play.

Storm/Ice also was the most consistent winner in the "King of the Defenders" thread earlier this year, by the way

Ive already had redraw craziness on a Fire/Archery Blaster switching between sword and bow - so I doubt TA/AR will get blocked for that reason.

Seeing how Superstrength and Martial Arts are getting alternate animations, and Defenders are getting Assault Rifle, I'd love to see a set of Trick Arrow alternate animations that use a gun instead of a bow.
It would be really nice for TA/AR Defenders.

Could any other weapon combos work?
Assault Rifle with a bow? Full Auto would be pretty cool! Ignite would look a bit odd.

Archery with a Gun? Rain of Arrows would just look kind of stupid if you fired your gun up in the air. :P

But yeah, Trick Shooting for Trick Arrows! I'd like that!

An old idea I've had kicking around for some time.

Is it possible to make a card game of any kind of interest or complexity using just the scroe1 to score10 emotes? (where you hold up a scorecard showing 1 to 10)

Both or all players need to "draw" at the same time, ie play their card.

Can this ever be anything beyond a glorified rock/paper/scissors, since you cant hold a hand of cards?

Furthermore, could you play a game using enhancements, since this acts like a deck of cards a bit - you have a hand which only you can see? eg like Rummy, where you pass them on to the player on your left, and you get points for three of a kind, which you can prove using the trading screen...

Can you combine the two somehow? Use your enhancements as a hand of cards, and show one using the scroe emotes. Other players can call your bluff and you have to show them the enhancement...
Make enhancements count according to their last digit, eg a level 33 one is a 3.

I'm off for a think....

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your suggestions may not work for everyone. for reasons that are to numerous to mention.


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I realise I've suggested buying extra hardware there. But last time I needed a second monitor I picked up an old CRT from cash Converters for $4 Australian. Most graphics cards have dual output, so for many people it would be that cheap to set up.
If your PC is old enough for that not to be an option, then you're in the same boat for many other features such as Rikti Invasions. My second PC has a lot of issues with them, I know that


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why can't a dev team do lots of things well?


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Time and money. A dev team is on a budget. WoW has lots of these minigames from what I've heard, because it has a huge subscriber base. We don't.
If you were producer for I16, for example, which features would you pull in order to include minigames?

Power customisation?
Power proliferation?
The new improved difficulty slider?
Improved character creation screens?

I think you're dead right that for the game to be as successful as it can be, these extra frills are very important. All I'm saying is that they need to be prioritised, and if something can be done outside the game already, then that lowers its priority.

Get a second monitor (or second PC even) or play in windowed mode.

Go to St Martial or the D and then play web games on the second monitor.

This could be done socially with friends too - all take your characters to the D, sit around a table and play poker using an existing online poker app.

Not only would it be incredibly similar to having a popup window in CoH, but it would actually be better due to the much wider selection of games available.

This isn't a million miles form the way people extend their in game expereience out of the game already - making web pages or doing offline RP on supergroup forums and so on.

Best of all, no dev time is involved.

As a games programmer, I'm really adamant about the rule that a game should do one or two things well rather than many things poorly. I'd rather precious dev time was spent on things that only they can give us, like bodytype changing, power colourisation, power proliferation, custom difficulty levels and switchign alignments.

Minigames can be outsourced to the rest of the world effectively.

That is way cool! Imagine if you'd unlocked Nova form during the invasion!

It doesnt really depart from Super Reflexes or Willpower or most other sets until Shield Charge at level 35. That is fun.
Before then you have the extra fun of choosing a shield at the tailors.

Turn on your toggles, take less damage and go use your primary.

Dark/Energy with the Fighting pool works really nicely for me solo and on small teams.

I think the end woes of dark Armour are a bit overrated, and only really manifest seriously if you rely on Dark Regeneration a lot. I find between the extra Resistance from Tough and stunning most nasty targets pre-emptively, I can go for several spawns without needing Dark Regen - its more a panic button than a way of life.

I'd say go for Recovery, Recharge and Accuracy in set bonuses for a teaming Sonic Defender. Looks like youve got those bases covered.

PBU seems like a bit of a waste really. Liquefy's hold is very shortlived, and the To Hit debuff is pretty high with slotting, so it wont help you out a great deal here.
It also means no end recovery tool, and makes you choose the armour with only two resistances. This is kind of a waste when you're stacking your epic armour with Sonic Dispersion.

I've chosen the Electric epic on my high level Sonic Defender for a common extra damage type in the armour (energy) and for a great end recovery aid in Power Sink.

For Sonic secondary, Dark Mastery is also hard to pass up because Oppressive Gloom + Screech is a disabled boss. I had that on my FF/Sonic for a while and it was pretty effective.

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I resemble that remark!

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Does this phrase rub anybody else wrong like it does me? Nothing against the poster who wrote it, but I really just find it an odd phrase.

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That's an old, well-worn jeu de mots (a deliberate play on words)... in the same category as "Take my wife... please."

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I thought it was a Groucho quote, just went to check, apparently its from the Three Stooges originally.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...at%20Remark%20

"I could care less" on the other hand.. GRRR! It burns me up!

Power names dont matter.

This mindset has unfortunately had ingame consequences already. The morally neutral ability to boost other peoples powers to new heights and repair damage to them was gutted when it got proliferated to CoV because of its name - Empathy. It wasn't "evil" enough...

For this reason I get kind of ticked off with people getting hung up on the names of powersets or individual powers.

They aren't part of the fictional game world - I dont imagine a hero saying "I'll stop that bank robber using my Cold Domination"

Thats my unsarcastic, heartfelt response to your suggestion.

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ummm...I dont use IO Set bonuses...I feel they set IO's are aimed towards pvp...that's my solution to the "inbalance"

If I am playing an /SR I personally dont need or want anymore defense past my limited 3 IO's for...If I am in PvP then I can see how I want to Set IO myself out so I can out perform other AT's... but in PvE... I dont care bout having 10% extra this or that...it doesnt effect me...

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As it happens, building up some extra def on a SR scrapper will cut down your incoming damage by 3 or 4 times in PVE and do pretty much jack squat in PVP. Other players get To Hit buffs from Aim, Build Up, yellow pills and Tactics, most PvE enemies dont have these.

You're right though - you dont need IOs to play the PVE game and can choose to ignore the system.

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The devs have three choices.

1) Everyone gets to buff themselves heavily with one method
2) Everyone gets to buff themselves heavily with both methods
3) No one gets to buff themselves with either method

We know the devs probably don't want to allow number 2, since that will let characters who can reach both caps be something like 2-5x tougher to kill than they are today.


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Nicely summarised.

To add to this, the reason defence gets favoured (I think) is that it can be countered. Add in some +To Hit or Def debuff and it vanishes rapidly.
I've run into this with Silver Mantis as an EB villain side - four luck pills, 4 damage, run in, dead!! Because the defence bonus I stacked up as part of my EB routine was blown through be her Aim.
Quartz resonantors from the Devouring Earth do the same. So do Earth Thorn Casters.
You can use set bonuses, purple pills etc to drop your incoming damage to 10% of what it was with defence, but an enemy with the right power can make you take 10 times as much damage again very easily.
These powers will at worse make an undefended player take only double damage though, so they levels the playing between the high defence and low defence characters.

Resistance as it is set up in the game has no such magic bullet, because Resistance resists Resistance debuffs. If an enemy packs a hefty resistance debuff it affects everyone equally and makes them take X times more damage. You can't design anenemy who does normal levels of smashing damage to an Invulnerable tank without them also doing 10 times base damage to a Blaster, which is crazily overpowered.

So these decisions all make sense to me now.

The one bad side effect to all this is that characters with Defence debuff resistance get favoured, they can build up defence bonuses without them getting trashed by def debuffs, as txpoodoo pointed out. At least they can still get their defence neutralised by To Hit buffs.