Grey Pilgrim

You don't necessarily need to softcap, either. Getting to the low 30s lets you cap yourself when you need it (using an inspiration) and gives you room to work in another defense type, more recharge, etc. Though the softcap is nice, too.

Orrrr he honestly thinks it might be a good secondary, because he's thinking about what would be cool from movies, etc., he's seen... not what would really work in our game.

To the OP, you're probably not going to see a Dual Pistols secondary: those are usually more focused on melee attacks and mitigation... I think a DP secondary would almost be on par with BAB's joking reference to a Dual Bows defense secondary. A lot of your powers are like what would go in a primary, or match up with what some secondaries can do already.

Personally, Blasters are due for a Secondary, and I hope it will be using Martial Arts powers (among some new things to make it work). Especially because Maelstrom the NPC is a DP/MA Blaster. That would work, as it would have melee attacks and mitigation powers if set up right.

Okay... paragraph one. I can't tell if you're honestly serious with that. You can play through the game through with SOs. You don't need to pay out a lot to be okay, and it's not just 2-3 powerset combos that can do it, either.

And there are a lot of decent IO sets out there that aren't all that expensive, either. I'm a big champion for reasonable builds, too, so it's not like I have unreal expectations that every player should make millions in seconds off the market and then IO to their heart's content.

For the second paragraph, yes, sometimes there is too much of a gap between changes from the developers. They do, however, have to prioritize. I think Burn was nerfed for far too long and posted frequently about how there was no need for it to be where it was at, especially after Shields came on the scene. That said, Fiery Aura was still okay (I've been tanking with it fine since before and after the nerf, and after its recent buff): a lot of things were done in the meantime that warranted more attention.

I would say that it should have been set to a more realistic level back when they nerfed it. The fear effect was a knee-jerk reaction to the farming that was going on at the time, rather than a solid plan to make the power usable but not overpowered. So while the developers are not perfect, they still have a game that is set up quite well, which why I keep coming back to it.

I figure that's probably the best approach for Executioner's Shot. It's a nice solid ST attack right now, but I do know the length of the animation holds it back a little bit. After all the animation discussion when it was in beta, increasing the damage, recharge, and endurance would probably be the best solution.

I also hope they make Snipes be worthwhile. I enjoy using them still, but they do have a fair amount stacked against them.

If this is global recharge... wow. *coughs* You don't want to play my characters, as they all make do with less, even the few with Hasten. Going for more just gets too expensive for me, or makes me not pick up some other things I would like.

Well, I don't know if I would go that far. I think you can logically argue for a few more slots with inherent stamina without being a whiner. However, some people are acting like inherent fitness is a nerf or something, and extra slots is the only way for the devs to rectify their mistake.

Such logic baffles me. I wish I had inherent Fitness now for all my characters under twenty. And I want it now on my higher level characters, as I think about the powers I could have now if I wasn't wasting three picks on Fitness. Fitness as an inherent is a buff, so if anyone is going to argue for more slots, they need to do so logically... not in hurt tones or with Bill Murray at his most annoying as Bob. Heh.

Already said that I think we aren't getting any more slots earlier, but I'll say it again. We're still getting three extra power picks and the incarnate system is coming. With that bonus and a new system coming down the pike to buff our toons further, looking for yet another buff seems... iffy to me. I'll love it if it happens, mind, but I doubt it.

One other thing on slotting... depending on your build, you may be picking up extra slots with inherent fitness. I'm planning on picking up Teleport Friend on my Fire/Fire build, which means one slot I was using for a Winter's Gift Slow Resist will be put there, and I have a slot to put somewhere else! Might not seem like much, but this build is extremely tight, and I keep having fun debating where I should put the slot. Scorch? My ancillary hold that sadly has one slot? A different ancillary power I can pick up? It really does feel nice to have another slot to put somewhere.

Yeah, I think any adjustments needed for Stalkers should maintain their flavor. So upping the chance of debuffs from AS would be nice, making the crit chance from teammates work better, etc., would help do that. Not sure what else could be thrown their way to help out than that, but those sound good already.

Well, I think some adjustments could be made to make build up better for Stalkers, and maybe up the radius on the Crit boost they get from teammates as well (and get a corresponding increase to their HP cap that they got to their base back in... I12, wasn't it? I13?). But Single-shotting a boss, even though it requires Build Up? Not sure if that's going to fly. As it is, it already does a good chunk off a boss, and you can drop a lieutenant with it as well.

I do agree that Stalkers should stand out a little more offensively, as their tradeoff in the melee AT wars. I think increasing the boost from Build up and making the crit boost from teammates more reliable would be the best ways to do this (that don't seem potentially unbalancing).

Eh, neither of the Wonkas are exactly true to the book, but Wilder's is much better, in my opinion. Depp's was unfunny and had the air of a child molester. Wilder's was nutty, but usually in a way that you could like/relate to.

Overall, it's a better film as well. I have no clue why Wonka's father was included with the Depp film, and Wilder's character is better enough that I think he makes the movie.

I do recall seeing a cable special where the director or producer of the earlier film mentioned that the script Dahl gave them just didn't work for a movie (he even added that he though Dahl was a very good book writer, just not a good script write), and so they changed it. I've always been curious to see if that evaluation was correct or not. Still, I would have to say that the earlier movie still feels more like the book than the newer one, even if both made deviations from it.

You don't really need to lay down a field of trip mines, though. At least, I can't imagine facing anything so bad solo that you would have to (though I suppose you have the option if you really, really need it). Instead, you can toss out a quick patch of cal trops or one trip mine to protect the space in front of you, then unload on the mob. Any that somehow make their way toward you are going to be slowed by the cal trops or defeated by the trip mine (or kb'd, or hurt enough that you can drop them quickly).

Devices also has a fair amount of fire and forget powers, or powers that are used best at the start of a fight. You can use Cloaking Device or Targeting Drone all the time if it benefits you, use the above powers before the fight starts, etc. You have a lot of options available to you.

I do think Devices could use a little more help to be more viable, but there are still some great things you can use it for solo, and those things will keep you pretty safe/provide a different route than other secondaries do.

Dragonkat, I had forgot that Power Boost would boost Aid Self. May want to fit that in on my Energy/Energy now. Hmmmm.