Emberly

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Mmm, entitlement. Delicious!

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Kismet

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I didn't even know this existed. Thanks, forum friends!

Yep, that was pointed out. Sorry 'bout that. You'll recover, I trust?

Oh god! Fancy! I love the jacket! I love the welding goggles >.>

I must admit defeat; I have been outsmirked.

Tell you what. I will do my level best, for real, super cereal not to SB/FF/whatever anyone who asks not to be, for whatever reason. I won't try to guess whether their reason is good enough for me. In return, please don't [censored] me out when I do it accidentally. Deal?

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It's a mystery to me how people can play this game, with its flashing lights and bright colours everywhere, and be fine, but as soon as one little bubble/speedboost/ice armor shows up, it's migraine city and oh noes. Considering how hectic and chaotic the graphics are in a typical team battle, it's a wonder those folks don't die on the spot when someone fulcrum shifts.

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... so I guess all those people who used to get migraines from Sonic Res were faking it and the Devs changed the set because they decided one night that orange was an awesome color?

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Maybe you could bold the part of my post where I claimed that? Go ahead, I'll wait.

It's a mystery to me how people can play this game, with its flashing lights and bright colours everywhere, and be fine, but as soon as one little bubble/speedboost/ice armor shows up, it's migraine city and oh noes. Considering how hectic and chaotic the graphics are in a typical team battle, it's a wonder those folks don't die on the spot when someone fulcrum shifts.

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LMAO @ "malicious buffer"

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I wonder if the name "Malicious Buffer" is taken. Great name.

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It is now. I was looking for a reason to run a cold defender through the ranks, and I have it Woulda been Kin, but I've played too many levels of that.

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LMAO @ "malicious buffer"

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Me too. You know you have a problem when you decide that someone, somewhere, pressing a button to keep your character from dying is somehow malicious. Honestly, TwilightPhoenix, take one step backward and look at how stupid that sounds. Someone is maliciously improving your character's combat attributes? That only works if you don't know what malicious means.

Had a great time pulling together and running an all-scrap ITF a couple weeks ago, and my wife was one of the scrappers in Infatum's Sara Moore TF last night. During both, the sounds of rejoicing were epic, and a great time was had by all.

I have never had a problem getting in on whatever I want on whatever character I want. The big secret is when they say some crap like "well, we'd RATHER have another troller. . . " you say "welp, all I have is my <AT you want to play>." Works every time.

When I form up a TF? I don't care who comes. Never put together an STF but I am sure even that can be worked around. Some team makeups might be more or less timely, but I would feel like a dink telling someone that they can't bring their X because I think we need a Y. This goes double when there are three open spots in the TF; "holding out" for a whatever sucks. This had led to some fun Freedom Phalanx TFs when I realize half the team is warshades and the other half is controllers who barely make the minimum level, but that just adds some flavour to something that I and everyone else has done dozens of times.

edit: Regarding the STF: Heavy tanks are not needed. Heck, tanks are not needed. Scrappers masquerading as tanks are not needed. Without breaking rules 1 and 2 of fight club, you'd be amazed at what can tank Lord Recluse, even with all the towers up.

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I used to have to ask not to be bubbled because my graphics card turned the bubbles inward and made it look like my char was getting impaled by lots of little light blue spears.

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I'd like this to be how everyone sees the power!

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/t <playername>, Inf only 1000 quatloos at kirksellsinf.com


Repeat many times with a automated bot

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This is why I will never support the ability for trials to talk in broadcast or in tells.

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y'know what I like to do when ppl buff me? Keep my F-ing mouth shut, lol.

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Yep. That or say thanks.

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"Baseline survivability" for a defender is relative, depending on the power sets you pick. Some are pretty darn fast and effective, and others can't solo at all.

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Lack of solo ability for defenders is generally a PEBKAC problem, not a powerset problem.

edit: by this I mean that any powerset combo can solo, assuming a modicum of player skill, adaptability and reasonable expectations (not comparing a TO'd emp/arch with a three billion inf scrapper, for example). Someone else soloing given content faster does not mean that I don't solo well.

I've got a parry-free, ancillary-free build that I run on my bs/sd scrapper. It works really well and has zero end problems. I beat the [censored] out of everything I see and only rarely get the [censored] beat out of me in return Just offering it up as a different sort of idea from the FA/parry type builds. As noted above, remember to add the 3.75% def for running Phalanx Fighting with nobody in range of it. I didn't level with this build; levelling used a lot of Parry.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Murdermachine: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Broad Sword
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Slash -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(5), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Mako-Dam%(17)
Level 1: Deflection -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(11), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(19), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), RedFtn-Def(45), RedFtn-EndRdx(45)
Level 2: Slice -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(3), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(5), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Oblit-%Dam(23)
Level 4: Battle Agility -- RedFtn-Def(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(19), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(23), RedFtn-EndRdx(40), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(45), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 8: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11)
Level 12: Hack -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(13), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(13), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), T'Death-Dam%(17)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(48), Numna-Heal/Rchg(48), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(50), Numna-Heal(50), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), P'Shift-End%(21)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 24: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(25), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(25), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(29), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(29), GSFC-Build%(37)
Level 26: Disembowel -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(27), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 28: Tough -- ResDam-I(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(39), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(48)
Level 30: Whirling Sword -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(31), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(31), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Sciroc-Dam%(37)
Level 32: Head Splitter -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(36), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(36), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(36), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 38: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(46), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(46)
Level 41: True Grit -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(42), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Aegis-ResDam(43), Aegis-Psi/Status(43)
Level 44: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 47: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A)
Level 49: Confront -- Taunt-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit

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Cold. FF is boring, bad/old graphics and late-game, people tend to just steamroll stuff, where a skilled Cold keeps that fast pace going. It's also invaluable against AV's.

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How anyone can prefer Cold and cite a graphical preference as a reason is beyond me. Cold is the go-to set for making everyone look [censored]-ugly.

I'm an FF man, myself. Lots of tricks, and it's the best there is at what it does. Even endgame it's good stuff. My FF fender has been the sole support on an ITF, on a Doc Q, and on every single FPTF, with no issues. Not to say that Cold isn't great, or can't handle the same challenges, I just prefer FF and its elegance.

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Stuff about Greater Fire Sword

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Fair enough. I've never thought about dropping it, but if it isn't needed for a decent string of attacks then I was wrong and the OP can discard it. My mistake, and now off to try a respec without GFS

Go ahead and ditch FS. However, if you don't take FSC and GFS you will be gimping yourself, and every time you team your teammates will be silently mocking you for not taking them, just like if you don't take your status protection.

For secondary, take whatever, they are all good. Some are clickier than others (Regen, Fire and Dark) and some are fire and forget (WP, SR and Shield) and some are a mixed bag (Inv). Every one is fine to level up, but some might mature later than others. Also, some have holes in their status protection, which can be easily filled with power pools or IOs.

I spend all my tickets on Deific Weapons.

Then I throw them away.

I'm with you. I want a set that uses a sword that is made of fire, and a completely separate set that uses fire in other ways. I would settle for a clone of broadsword that does fire/lethal damage and has, well, a fiery sword.

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Anyone who doesn't think common sense and logical thinking are skills is probably lacking in both.

CoX is a game of skill. It's also a game of chance. If you don't think skill plays into it, go team with your average energy blaster or storm defender. If you don't think chance plays into it, go play an SR scrapper.

As far as I am concerned, it's a game primarily of skill simply because bad decisions can and often do cause things to screw up. It's not nearly as much of a twitch game, but those skills represent one tiny portion of the variety of skills involved in gaming.

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Slow day or something? Complaining about how a business chooses to spend its income? I like it! I only play Defenders and Scrappers; I demand that NCSoft use my monthly payments to develop only those archetypes!

Wait, that sounds stupid. Tell you what, NCSoft/Paragon Studios. You know this game and the business better than me; spend my money how you like. If things start to suck, I will stop spending my money on your game. I don't see that happening anytime soon. If developing other games helps keep you in business and thus keep CoH running, then you do that. Just make sure to give JLove a raise.

Let me restate the OP's position, as I understand it.

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I just got utterly, completely and thoroughly tooled by a psi blaster.

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You know, dealing damage and personal mitigation is the defender forté. Debuffing defence and resistance = increased damage. Debuffing accuracy and damage output = personal mitigation. Even Empathy, arguably the "worst" solo set, has a fast-recharging heal as well as a couple of massive regen and recovery buffs. Inspirations to cover any ****** in the armor and maybe sharpen up the sword a little, and voilà! Instant soloist.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Cold Domination: 6/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Dark Miasma: 9/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Empathy: 3/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Force Field: 7/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Kinetics: 7/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Radiation Emission: 7/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Sonic Resonance: 4/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
Storm Summoning: 8/9 powers benefit the mighty solo defender.
Trick Arrow: 9/9 powers benefit the solo defender.
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Taken as a whole, 60/81 powers benefit the solo defender, and only two primaries have less than half their powers available to the solo defender. I submit that the challenge is to build the defender that cannot benefit from his or her primary when solo, rather than building one that can. Force multiplier? Hell yeah. Most defenders are pretty offensive by default The ones that aren't, such as my emp/arch, have a second build for soloing that takes fewer of the team-only powers in favour of other, more useful ones.

Not to call anyone on their playing skill, but an anecdotal inability to survive solo doesn't indicate anything other than the need for more experience or a willingness to play in other styles. However, if one is unwilling to play an AT for whatever reason, that's fine! Hell, I won't play controllers, dominators, or stalkers, because I don't like the playstyle. However, that's not evidence that there is anything wrong with those ATs.

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I have to say, and this is to everyone who has suggested it so far, the notion that Defenders should be left alone because Rad/Sonic Defenders would be overpowered is... *ludicrous*.

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I agree. I also think that the notion that defenders need a damage buff because some defenders are outdamaged by some controllers is equally ludicrous, if not more so.

This is a pretty good discussion in a lot of ways, but there's some real communication issues. A lot of things are not clear to me. I would like someone to explain to me the following:

1. Why do defenders need a damage buff?

2. How would nerfing controllers improve defenders?

I hold the position that defenders are just fine. I play an emp/arch and have no trouble soloing. Just because I am outdamaged by a fire/kin controller doesn't mean my defender needs a buff. It doesn't mean that defenders in general need a buff. It also doesn't mean the fire/kin controller needs a nerf, and certainly doesn't mean that all controllers need a nerf.

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A) Change containment so instead of a dual-strike it was more of a +100% damage buff which is effected by damage caps. Doing this would mean it would not play outside of the rules. I would also specifically state that Controllers ability to "overpower" is part of their inherent as well and not just another freebie.

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See above. What does this do for defenders? What problem, real or perceived, does this address? How does controller damage affect defender damage? Would you ask the same for scrappers, who have a similar mechanic in their crits? What about Scourge?

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B) Change the Defender inherent to work while solo and also increase their damage. Doing this would hopefully give defenders a fun mechanic in order to cleverly make use of both their secondary and primary for mutual use. Perhaps a system like blasters inherent, whenever you use a primary power you increase your damage, whenever you use a secondary power you increase your buff effectiveness.

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Agreed in full, and then some. The defender inherent is utter [censored]. It's garbage. There's not enough words for how worthless it is. Your suggestion is far from the worst and I would support it fully.

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C) Increase Defender damage overall so that they can really contribute to a teams performance - even if it means reducing Sonics effectiveness a little.

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My emp/arch and ff/rad contribute to team performance in amazing ways. They also do damage, and while it might not be "wow the crowd/one-shot the boss" damage, it helps significantly. The idea that team performance and contribution is weighed solely in the damage done by the player belongs in the trash beside the idea that defenders are healers.

I'm not trying to be an [censored], so if something I type can be read multiple ways, and one of those ways makes you angry or hurt, I meant one of the other ways