Dr_English

The double mire bind was working great yesterday, but today It just dwarf mires then downshifts to human. The autofire circle toggles on sunless mire, but it never fires. In fact...testing this as I type, the autofire feature no longer appears to work at all on any power in any way. Tried setting hasten in human, dwarf mire, stygian, my attacks, everything. Autofire appears to be broken.

If you're in human form all or most of the time you may as well put that endurance fountain to good use. Endless endurance isn't much use if it's not being consumed by powers after all. I can see OD being noticeable sideline damage if you don't jump forms a lot.

Here's another vote for going kheld or blaster. Fire/em on the blaster side for early build up and aoes. Honestly the kheld would probably be even more effective. Squids, even with only the one enhancement slot per blast you'd have at 10, are just nastily overpowered when they first come into play. You get a pretty robust native damage, accuracy, and end recovery bonus just from squid alone. You'll be flying while doing this, thus avoiding all the nasty melee attacks. Most low level mobs simply don't have very powerful ranged attacks, so you could very easily hoverblast hazard zone spawns to your heart's content, or flit about whatever equivalent AE content.

Exactly. I wouldn't feel too beat up about it. The GM I dealt with was very polite and as helpful as he was able to be. Any evidence we might provide from our end could well have been tampered with, and it is true that the souvenir can be had if you are not present at mob kill, but come back before the TF is turned in. Of course we all were present and it stinks that we lost credit for whatever reason, but c'est la vie.

Tremor does roughly 20% less damage than Footstomp with a recharge time 30% faster. Your AOE potential will balance closer to footstomp over time than you might think, though of course footstomp will probably stay ahead due to rage. The faster recharge also means you are applying the knockdown more often, benefiting from the mitigation. Tremor shares the same enormous PBAOE range as footstomp.

Unless you plan on always fighting fewer than three enemies, or just think it's the ugliest most nonthematic power in the world, I would really think six times before skipping your most substantial AOE.

I'm assuming you were my team leader there. (tinkertanker here). I don't think there's really any hope. It seems like they have specific standards to log the events that, even if other valid proof is presented, do not allow them to grant the rewards in our case. Very frustrating of course. My support topic is still open but I think he's tired of talking to me after 7 back and forth replies. If it helps I don't see this as a common pattern with support here. Every other time my issue has been promptly and easily resolved.

Apparently whatever caused us to disconnect after the fight also erased the logs on their side, though they are still present client-side, effectively throwing us back in time a few minutes. We also lost the experience gained during the fight. I noticed this because I leveled from the mob kill on Burkholder and I no longer had the level upon return. The root of the problem (the loss of logs and rollback of our xp/merits/badge) is the very reason they can't validate the issue. Look at my earlier topic "Going back in Time" here for more information on what they told me here. Let me know if you make any headway there. I've pretty much given up.

Maybe we'll run it again come I16!

I believe I have maintained a polite, purely factual conversation with the GM, though I am up to 6 back and forth replies with no headway. Apparently the souvenir alone is insufficient because one could DC while the team completes the task, then you come back before they return to contact and get the souvenir. Of course this was not the case in our situation, but this is the current standard of evidence.

On the main subject though, I have heard of people not receiving merits, xp, badges, or other incidental rewards, but never have I seen those things rewarded and then disappear upon reconnect. Has anyone seen such "back in time" behavior before? If so, was it accompanied by a mapserve? Was it in the same Hess TF?

I am still conversing with the GM in that vein of logic. I'm mostly curious as to whether anyone else has ever had a similar experience in game. I've had bugs and non-awarded badges before, but the game has never turned the clock back on my xp and everything else.

My team and I had a really strange bug/issue/whatever while running the Ernesto Hess TF the other night. We went through the final mish and killed Archon Burkholder. Boom, bonus xp, merits, badge, everyone was happy. As we raced to exit the volcano we all mapserved at the same time. The mapserve forced a disconnect, and when we came back we had lost all the xp from the AV defeat and mission bonus, had no merits, and had no badge, but the mission text for the TF told us to go talk to Ernesto Hess as if we had done a normal complete. It was as if we went back in time to the second BEFORE we had killed Archon Burkholder. I then turned in the mission and received the completion souvenir as normal.

Has anyone else encountered this behavior in this mission? I'm a bit leery of running this TF for a second time in the meanwhile, because customer support is claiming no record of defeat and thus not granting us the missing merits/badges.

Starting up on a new server with friends and an empty wallet is always a good feeling. The first time I pursued all the crafting badges on a character was on a new server with no rich uncle. Simple patience in my bidding and making sure all my market slots were productive got me every crafting badge (save fabricator), a good 100 million, as well as me and my two private SG mates fully up to date IO's, all before level 30.

I suppose that would make me a badger and slightly less ebil for it by this strange measure. I can see how a brand new player could be intimidated by the market and not squeeze every opportunity out of it, but certainly any player that grows to understand their own needs and desires can find a way to capitalize on those same areas in others on the market.

Whirling hands is a decent attack. Whirling hands is your only primary choice for aoe on em/. Whirling hands is not in the top tier of brute AOE's, but it would be a real waste to pass up on the opportunity to put out some AOE pain. It is much more end efficient than smashing everything single target if you have a decent crowd. Again, the damage is merely average, not bad. I haven't found stun wandering to be a real issue, but I use FA on my EM character.

I'm fairly certain you'll get a better average return off of lower level bronze rolls. I like to hit the low 30's so I get a chance at the various -KB's, but still have good crossover in some of the solid mid-level recipes.

If you have that many tickets though, it would be a bit of an annoyance to sift through and delete the bad rolls as you go. I would consider gold rolls just for the sake of practicality.

I'm sure there are more informed opinions on this, but I believe bronze rolls seem to be the general consensus for best value.

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scrappers!

BAH!

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Also, I'm on your side here: Hurricane doesn't need to be nerfed.

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I don't think Hurricane needs a direct nerf, however, Repel needs suppression. If I can't Perma-Hold/Perma-KB/Perma-Fear someone, then I shouldn't be able to perma Repel someone into a corner with zero chance for escape either.
If Knockback warrants suppression, so does Repel. It's only fair.

Confusion and Phase control powers don't have suppression either, but they should be tossed into the chamber as well IMO.

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It's possible that repel doesn't currently suppress due to the non binary nature of this particular control. A knockback is a single effect. The power knocks you back, suppression begins. A hold hits you, suppression time again. Repel is a constant state of being slightly pushed away. If you suppressed repel, it would effectively do nothing. It would basically turn all repel powers into very very weak knockback powers that don't actually put you on your rear end. I do agree that there should be some kind of suppression, but it would have to be based on your extended exposure to a continuing repel effect, and I think that might prove to be a problem in implementation.

I think that anyone should be able to wade their way through my hurricane given enough time, but that the repel should be providing me a useful amount of continued melee protection.

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My point exactly. It's all you can use against melee scrappers. So what are they supposed to use against you if they can't get close to you? Rocks? I used them all long ago! IH was Regen's defense. I get ganked constantly in PvP. Int gets dropped and I drop like a fly. From melee and from ranged attacked I can be killed. Things need to be equally fair for all in PvP. Everyone should be able to kill each other equally as much. At least that's what's balance is supposed to be like. This would include taking away the most effective bread and butter powers everyone has from being perma. Took away IH and MoG. They kept Regen's alive. Now what we have to do is spend more time micro managing our toggle and multiple clicks to stay alive. I really think Hurricane shoule be a click, bubbles, etc. Being constantly pushed away by Hurricanes I guess is as much fun as you having perma MoG get through your defenses. If I can't touch you, then it's not fair. Just like I guess it wasn't fair when I could touch you says the Stormies who complained about MoG. Clickies for all in PvP only!

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The key phrase here is "pvp only." There is no such thing as "pvp only" for such a drastic change as toggle to clicky. It would either be one way or the other. As bizarre as it would feel not to have constant access to my cane, I wouldn't be weeping at night if hurricane changed to a clicky only in pvp.

But there again, I haven't done a lot of pvp. I also don't like the idea of balancing everything for an "any AT/primary can defeat any other AT/primary" universe. Some powers and power combinations benefit the solo player more than others. Many times to a harsh degree, such as the case when you can't penetrate the hurricane. Guess what? I can't do squat against that solo controller over there! He just slapped a hold on my completely non mezz resistant defender face.

My beautiful non mezz resistant defender face.

Seriously I can understand the frustration of a foe seemingly crafted to defeat you. I haven't been on the scrapper side of that hurricane. Maybe it will seem like less of an inanity once they fix the 20 hit checks for the KB.

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That was my same argument when they nerfed my Regen scrapper. Everyone cried how they couldn't do this or that to me because they had no strategy to take us out. They just wanted to be able to. Turning Hurricane into a clicky with a 2 1/2 minute run time and a long recharge would equal what they'be done to the bread and butter powers of other ATs. Storm people cried about perma MoG. I cry about perma hurricane.

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Are you seriously comparing perma-MOG, where the user was nigh untouchable and unmezzable for as long as they pleased to hurricane, the one quintissential stormy front line team defense power? Hurricane keeps scrappers from walking right up to me and slapping me across the face without thinking twice. It does NOT turn me into a invulnerable juggernaut of unstoppable, end regenerating destruction. Please keep in mind that both instant healing and MOG were powers originally balanced with both recharge and heavy end usage to not be usable all the time (though we got around that with heavy slotting and power choice - something they fixed with later "tweaking"). Hurricane has always been an always on first option defense for stormies.

At the very least MOG and IH allow you to overcome very nasty situations and keep on pounding through. Hurricane as a clicky would allow me to go "Oh, here, I get to actually do my job as a defender for a couple minutes!"

How would you feel if you could only use your primary attacks for two minutes out of every six?

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i just wanted feed back, so thx.

i just remember getting held in a corner (starting with tp foe) for 4 mins.

i feel hurricane is pretty much an def armor(-to hit) with kb and anti-range.

Now to compare darkest night and the rad inf is kinda wrong. it's better to compare the power to Artic Air and Choking Cloud (and maybe Hot Feet with the cons). but all those have heavy to-hits place to them for their effects to take place.

would you suggest hurricane be even'd up to the other PBAOE toggles or keep the auto hits and be a click?

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I think my comparison to RI and DN was a fair one. The primary purpose of the power has little to do with whether it is a PBAOE or a ranged toggle. Hurricane fulfills the same function on teams as RI and DN: that of heavy accuracy debuffing. To compare it to arctic air or hot feet is like comparing deceive and blazing arrow. They're both ranged attacks. That's pretty much where the similarity ends.

As you stated, the primary purpose of Hurricane is -tohit, and the other defender powers which provide comparable tohit debuffs are also autohit toggles.

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It just takes skill to use KB in such a way that it sometimes benefits an AOE focused team, while it is extremely easy to use it in such a way as to completely cheese off your teammates.

[/ QUOTE ] Exactly. I have Shockwave on my Claws. I love the power...but I don't use it very often. Very situtional..but can be very useful. However, the fundamental difference between SW and EA is that SW is a LOT more reliable at knockback.

KB is generally much better for a soloer IME.

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I will agree with you on the count that EA is not a reliable form of knockback and thus not as useful as say Torrent or Shockwave for that particular situational benefit. However, it is one of my best sources of aoe damage as a /arrow defender, and thus I learn to make positive use of the incedental knockback as often as possible, while primarily using it as a damage power. Now if the situation would obviously be disrupted by any knockback created by EA, I will withold the power for that particular battle. To be honest, this is rarely the case. It is a rare occasion that I can't find some useful way to position EA so as not to disrupt my team. I don't know how much of this is mitigated by the fact that I am a storm defender, and knockback is something that is usually part of my overall battle strategy anyhow, and I have the placement tools necessary to put everything back where it needs to be if a disruption does occur.

What I'm saying is that EA is not a situational power. It is a damage power that you must use with a greater awareness of the battle, but not one that you should save for that special moment you need everyone OVER THERE NOW.

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Oh come on, it's not like this exact strategy is not constantly proposed and occasionally executed at scrappers and tankers. Why stop now?

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You're right. The train is too beautiful and too full of delicious iron to stop now.

As Concern stated earlier, the KB on hurricane is currently wacky crazy in Pvp. This is not intended, and is supposedly going to be fixed. When I run it in pve, I KB maybe a single mob every five seconds if I'm trying to corral a group of five. The unreliable and spaced out nature of the KB in pve is actually a source of mild frustration for me.

As for the few silly people suggesting making hurricane a clicky, please for the love of god go make a stormie now. The entire strategy of pve hurricaning (and thus the vast majority of a stormie's team defense) would be utterly ruined by such a change. I get enough grief from people who automatically glare at me for turning it on. Why don't we just make radiation infection and darkest night clickies while we're at it?

Seriously, I haven't pvp'd much at all with my storm, but I don't want my pve defenses to be destroyed because someone couldn't think of a sensible solution to a problem I'm not even sure is much of an issue.

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The KB does go directly away from you

[/ QUOTE ] is it the same trajectory as Energy Torrent? My memory was that it was more like a footstomp knockback. But as I said...I've seen this power used all of one mission...and every time it got fired I'm like "Who keeps doing that?!!?!!"

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Indeed it is the same trajectory as Energy Torrent, though the chance for KB is a little less than ET.

Heh. Phone home.

Yeah.

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Have you missed the giant expanding fireball when it explodes?

[/ QUOTE ] I skipped this power. I generally hate AoE knockback. Especially AoE knockback with radial vectors. I've teamed with all of one E-Arrow using toon. I do recall fire graphics...I also recall wanting to choke the guy for using that attack.

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Stop the hate! Don't choke us for using this lovely power. The KB does go directly away from you, so you can easily accomodate for it with just a little positioning. Better yet, use the old hover above/KD instead of KB tactic. It's really not a bad power. Same damage as fistfull, much longer range, wider aoe with more max targets...what's not to like?

That said, I'd be ecstatic if they changed the smashing component to fire.