Evilmeister

With the way IO set bonuses work there's a very oddly shaped supply/demand curve across level ranges for several recipes and inventions. Many players who slot inventions build to work at a specific level (often around the 30's) which leads to a shortage of supply at that level bracket, while slightly higher recipes can be almost unwanted since they won't provide set bonuses at the desired level.

Adding a feature to the crafting procedure where players can choose to "Inhibit" the power added from the recipe while crafting would be a way to make it easier for players to finalize builds as well as make recipes more desirable through their whole level range. This system would of course have a fee attached to it and only work to reduce the power level.

Example: Player A is in possession of a level 46 Doctored wounds: End/Rech recipe but wants to keep the set bonuses when exemplaring down to 29 for Ouroboros arcs. The player decides that the crafted invention should be level 30, to match the rest of the set that's already slotted. Paying an "Inhibition fee" to downgrade the finalized IO on top of the crafting fee and using up the salvage cuts the End cost reduction/Recharge reduction from 25.56%/25.56% (level 46 values) to 21.75%/21.75% (level 30 values), also assigning the invention level 30.

This would only work one way, so the inventions with higher values can be downgraded but not vice versa.

Mostly been working for AE-tickets to finance the build, actually - containerdiving with Freezing Rain/Ice storm/Lightning storm/Tornado chews through the +2/x8 spawns pretty fast. As long as there's just something to contain the mayhem, the knockback isn't an issue at all. I'm expecting it to trigger for sure at drop and after 10 seconds, which should be often enough to get the damage I'd like to see out of it.

Thanks for the replies - I was expecting it to work like a damage aura, now I just need to figure out how to make it efficient. Just bought the recipe, so now the build is almost done with +49,3% damage bonus when Assault is running. Have to love those damage bonuses making up for lack of defender damage output.

Kinetics has -Regeneration in Transfusion too, something Sonic doesn't provide for a team. Factoring that out, it'd be interesting to see what meant the most.

So, I finally decided a build for my Storm summoning defender, going for lots of damage bonuses just because always slotting +Recharge gets dull. While checking out my slotting options, I was tempted to use the Soulbound allegiance: Chance for build up in Tornado just for the heck of it, since I wanted four slots for those +4% global damage. However, I wasn't sure how it'd work. Has anyone tried this? I'm assuming one of the following would happen:

- The damage dealt by Tornado is applied as a damage aura, as such it'd check every ten seconds (with it being an pet damage set IO it makes sense it'd be coupled to damage, and Gaussian's Chance for build up works similarly for ToHit toggles like Tactics)

- The damage dealt by Tornado runs a separate ToHit check for each target that on it's own can trigger the Chance for Build up (not likely, although Voltaic sentinel works like this - but that's a single-target pet!)

- The Chance for Build up is assigned to another of Tornado's aspects, like stun or knockback and checks when that ToHit lands

I'm expecting the first of the three to be the case, but it'd help shed light on things if anyone else has tried this. The more it triggers, the more interesting it'd be for AV fights, of course. Anyone?

...you're doing it wrong. :P

Well, at least in this forum game.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...=189897&page=3

Interesting graphics, but no way of telling how accurate it actually describes anything. Pretending for a moment the shape of the curve itself is not that far off from reality, I'd place your point 2 far into PvE-land, somewhere around 2 on the x-axis. Point 3 would perhaps represent semi-regular PvP'ers but hardly represent the proportional share of the playerbase they constitute. The vast majority of players in this game do PvE, almost exclusively. The "hardcore" genre (silly name, but lets pretend its hardcore to sit inside all day and play games) is prevalent for PvP and a pretty much a requirement.

That said your conclusions aren't that different from my experience. PvP here hasn't caught much general player interest. Any general statement about what other people like and why is guesswork at best, so I'll refrain from this.

Consider however, that there does exist strict PvP-games (in my mind: FPS, online RTS) where there still are casual players that can enter the playfield and have fun without even winning. A mixed game such as Warhammer where a player can choose to go either straight PvE or PvP to level-cap also have plenty of casual players that venture into PvP-zones without caring much about min/maxing equipment, stats in general or winning - and they seem to be having fun.

What is the difference between those who do PvP in CoX, and those who don't, then? Skipping the general explanation about how different people get kicks from different stimuli; the numbers game behind everything seems to be what keeps the PvP-population low. Someone playing 15 hours per week probably doesn't have the interest to get down and gritty with numbers and if they don't, the chances of getting a match out of someone who's crunching numbers 15 hours per week offline is slim to none. Note I say getting, not winning. With the current system, the casual guy will be three clicks from a defeat.

So why can other PvP games keep the ever-losing players in their playerbase? Where do those players find their natural-highs? Most importantly for a long-term establishment of a solid PvP playerbase; how can this game provide it?

As I perceive it, this is a pretty much unreachable goal within the City of...-games, which I find a pity. The many ways to customize your own character leads to a very high variation in performance in the hostile environment that PvP is. With casuality comes "just for fun"-powers. Slotting a little bit off the bat when something seems to be missing. Bringing this into an environment of specialized players with a high interest in in-game mechanics will inevitably lead to defeat.

That is also one (if not the) of the greatest weaknesses in this game; any character built without specific competition in mind will have lost as soon as they zone into the PvP-environment. The player behind the character realizes this, in whatever words they may choose or whereever they put the blame and leave, often forever. Why waste the few hours of play they get on something that isn't fun to them? This is something that the attacking camp often can't or won't admit; those who leave at that point wanted to PvP for fun, not to be an endorphine-junkie looking for the next kick.

A guess would be that demography in the playerbase has had impact on PvP in general as well; there aren't many players (proportionally) who belong to the stereotype for PvP here compared to other games. If there were, the PvP zone populations would most likely be higher.

Changes in I13 was probably meant as an attempt to attack this omnipresent problem; a way to try to reduce the gaps. It did pretty much the opposite, enforcing another numbers game on top on the existing without changing any outcomes. Those interested enough kept spending a lot of their free time building, testing, training. Those who weren't still have builds for what they perceive as fun, still paying and playing the hours per week they did before.

Other games that do succeed in the more forgiving attitude towards gear, style of play and thought put into choices of powers have a couple of things in common. All enemy players pose a real threat; you have some random mechanism in the damage dealt and your character isn't unique. The forced control on the way powers/skills/weaponry/tanks/etc work does much to narrow the gap between extreme outliers in time spent PvP'ing without leaving everyone with Brawl. Doing so in this game would kill part of its huge appeal (opinion, but customizing seems popular among the ones I play with), so anything aiming for such an effect is a very bad idea - which I13 proved.

So, just realized this "quick reply" to the questionable diagram (assuming the underlying area would represent the entire playerbase which seemed to be the case) got into a long rant. I really would like to like PvP here; I play plenty of other games with it where the pace is high and you get oneshotted by enemy artillery without a chance to respond. For the longevity of the game, it would be good but hardly crucial with a healthy PvP-system. It's a bit sad that a game like Battlefield: Heroes (free FPS) give the players more of a superhero feel to it, handles stealth better and is way more accepting towards new players. I miss the one-shotting in there, though.

And not English, so please complain on grammar elsewhere.

For each hit target, you'd end up with a 0.8^6 chance that the procs will all fail to hit. That's 26.21% chance that none of them will trigger - roughly a fourth of your targets will be unaffected by all those procs. With no slots for end cost reduction or recharge, it seems like a bit of a gamble whether it'll be worth it or not.

Number 204 (unlocked by the Toxic Tarantulas) is 40-44. Personally I enjoyed having to do the contact a "favour" for it to trust me enough to handle delicate tasks so I'd like to see these requirements stay. The numbers can be a bit high though if you try to do it within "the correct" level bracket.

Your power choices seem pretty ok aside from skipping EMP. Here are some quick thoughts:

Electron Haze is very good damage, but the animation is very slow. It's also a cone which require repositioning from the PBAoE-place a radiation defender thrives in. On top of that issue it has unreliable knockback, you never know who of your targets will fly out of the debuff cloud - so skipping that is a good idea.

Fallout has fun-factor, but very low utility.

Mutation has just at little utility, i.e. you need a dead target, and doesn't even have a fun-factor! However, it can come in handy at times - if you like it, keep it.

Solo, sniping doesn't happen much for my toggle defenders, since I rather unleash the clouds of death than notify every mezzer around that you want their attention soon. Good idea to lose that too.

Atomic blast, do you use it much? It's a toggle-dropper which can get you killed, and defender nukes are weak. For control aspect, EMP is way, way better.

Aim is a decent damage buff for ten seconds, I'd suggest keeping it and using it when the toggles have been started for a hard first burst of AoE from Irradiate and Neutron bomb into your debuff-herd. It also helps Choking cloud hit - and since that only has base acc, any help it gets it great. Radiation infection usually does the aiming for me with it. Also, Aim -> EMP/Choking cloud pretty much means shutting down 16 enemies, including bosses.

This is just my opinion, of course. I know Radiation emission way better than Radiation blast, but I have played both extensively.

EMP is probably the best hold in the game - some argue EMP arrow is better since it can be fired from range, but its area is smaller. Huge area, long-lasting hold and can "crit" an extra mag allowing you to have chance to hold bosses. Notice that it's only -Recovery, no -Endurance, so you won't empty your blue bar the way Atomic blast does. That's the only thing that struck me at first - will take a closer look later.

I very much notice the lockdown proc, of course mostly when debuff-herding large groups. When you have the max targets near you the stacking is very noticable and favourable.

I currently use this frankenslotting; with this setup, even changing a proc to straight end cost reduction would only net 0,03 end/sec cost reduction. Not focusing on set bonuses since I prefer using the power as a PBAoE damage aura with control thrown in there. I like the idea of Choking cloud causing brain hemorrage, so I have psi damage instead of the Unbreakable constraint smashing damage, just for fun.

Unbreakable constraint: End/Hold
Essence of Curare: End/Hold
Ghost Widow's Embrace: End/Hold
Ghost Widow's Embrace: Chance for Psi damage
Neuronic Shutdown: Chance for Psi damage
Lockdown: Chance for Mag 2 hold

That also leaves me with the option of five-slotting EMP with the rest of Unbreakable Constraint, giving me smaller mileage out of the damage proc there but a very nice recharge for EMP as well as leaving the 10% recharge bonus available.

Radiation emission/Electrical blast (Main, first rolled in beta)
Dark miasma/Sonic blast
Storm summoning/Ice blast
Trick Arrow/Archery
Sonic resonance/Psychic blast
Cold domination/Radiation blast
Empathy/Dark blast

50's, various others at lower level. Kinetics at 33 so only primary really missing is Force fields. Having done that on a mastermind in large teams to 50, I'm kind of bubbled out though. 26 to 28 bubbles to toss out (if the lich was up) and the single target buffs for pets at the time makes it a bad, bad memory of Force fields.

I like the see-through shark hold myself, always fun to use on a ramp where you can see the tail wiggling underneath.

I seem to remember slotting lots of damage procs in it, and they tick in for the whole duration - not only the first pulse. Need to check what's exactly in it besides straight up recharge.

I consider defender nukes (defined as end drainers with secondary effects) as noveltys more than defining; great for concept builds, no big game-changer if you use it. Damage is just too low. If you want to see your character throw out multiple mushroom clouds, go Radiation/Radiation and EMP/Atomic blast away. If you feel like having a character who makes a pink screamy-bubble stunning people, go nuts. Just don't expect it to have much impact on hit points compared to the nukes from other AT's with shared secondaries.

However, Blizzard is just awesome with the damage scalar on it. Rain of Arrows is very handy as well. Full auto will be attractive for the same reason as Rain of Arrows. If you can choose either of those, pick it up. The rest are just for gits and shiggles, or concept.

SSTingray, your first and second build look very different, I believe the first build somewhat odd power choices is why Bubblegum reacted.

OP: For Radiation emission/Electrical blast, it really helps to know what you're looking to do when making a build. I'm running mine in melee and have done for a long time. Taking that route, early slotting of Choking cloud and Short circuit is adviced - I prefer damage over end reduction in Short circuit , since draining hit points makes them drop faster and a couple of applications will make them dry if they last that long.

For a ranged-oriented build, a couple of slows in Lingering Radiation may be handy to make that effect more apparent against higher level enemies.

If you slot radiation infection properly, radiant aura can be postponed until the 20's. That's how my main is currently built, Radiant Aura at 26 and lots of damage and control before that. There are few things that early hitting hard enough for you to actually *need* it, just between Radiation infection's -Tohit and the -Damage from Enervating field provided enemies aren't drained, slowed and held.

Please elaborate on your preferred playstyle and overall aim with the character, concept for travel power and so on. Makes it easier to put a build suggestion together. SStingray is very much correct on the benefits on Hasten with Accelerate Metabolism (Well, Radiation emission as a whole set since several powers have slow recharge timers). However, I went without it for my concept build and it's very much viable without that particular power.

Hey everyone,
working on my Fortunata build. Focusing on the fast-animating attacks and trying to get to softcap for melee/range. This is what I've come up with so far, and I've got some of the set bonuses together. With the build half-done the only issue seems to be endurance cost for attacks, since I haven't got all those sets quite yet. Fighting eight +2 (easy) bosses drained me, but the defences seemed to hold up.

Any advice on things to change/take into consideration would be great.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1,401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

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

Easymode: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Widow
Primary Power Set: Fortunata Training
Secondary Power Set: Fortunata Teamwork
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Telekinetic Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:33(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:33(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:33(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:33(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:33(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:33(7)
Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:33(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:33(7), LkGmblr-Def:33(9), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:33(9), Ksmt-ToHit+:30(50)
Level 2: Strike -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:33(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:33(15), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:33(17), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:33(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19)
Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:33(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:33(11), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:33(11), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:33(13), RedFtn-Def:33(13), RedFtn-EndRdx:33(15)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:33(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:33(21), LkGmblr-Def:33(21), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:33(23)
Level 8: Follow Up -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:33(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:33(23), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:33(25), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:33(25), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(27), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(27)
Level 10: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(29), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(29)
Level 12: Aim -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(31)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 16: Dominate -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:33(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:33(31), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:33(31), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:33(33), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:33(33), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:33(33)
Level 18: Lunge -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:33(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:33(34), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:33(34), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:33(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36)
Level 20: Health -- Heal-I:50(A)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(34)
Level 24: Foresight -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:33(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:33(37), LkGmblr-Def:33(37), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:33(37)
Level 26: Mind Link -- HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(39)
Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(39)
Level 30: Super Speed -- Zephyr-Travel:33(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:33(39), Zephyr-ResKB:33(40)
Level 32: Mask Presence -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:33(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:33(40), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:33(40), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:33(43), RedFtn-Def:33(45), RedFtn-EndRdx:33(45)
Level 35: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(45)
Level 38: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GSFC-ToHit:33(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:33(46), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:33(46), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:33(46), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:33(48), GSFC-Build%:33(48)
Level 41: Confuse -- CoPers-Conf:50(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg:50(42), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg:50(42), CoPers-Acc/Rchg:50(42), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx:50(43), CoPers-Conf%:50(43)
Level 44: Tactical Training: Vengeance -- HO:Membr(A)
Level 47: Gloom -- Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb:30(A), Cloud-Acc/Rchg:30(48), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg:30(50), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:30(50)
Level 49: Super Jump -- HO:Micro(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
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[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]10,5% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]15,5% Defense(Smashing)[*]15,5% Defense(Lethal)[*]5,81% Defense(Fire)[*]5,81% Defense(Cold)[*]14,6% Defense(Energy)[*]14,6% Defense(Negative)[*]3% Defense(Psionic)[*]11,1% Defense(Melee)[*]22,4% Defense(Ranged)[*]8,63% Defense(AoE)[*]4,5% Max End[*]32,5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]4% Enhancement(Confused)[*]34% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]9% FlySpeed[*]116,5 HP (10,9%) HitPoints[*]9% JumpHeight[*]9% JumpSpeed[*]Knockback (Mag -4)[*]Knockup (Mag -4)[*]MezResist(Confused) 2,5%[*]MezResist(Held) 2,5%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 24,5%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 2,5%[*]MezResist(Stun) 2,5%[*]MezResist(Terrorized) 2,5%[*]8,5% (0,15 End/sec) Recovery[*]30% (1,61 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]2,52% Resistance(Fire)[*]2,52% Resistance(Cold)[*]9% RunSpeed[/list]