GuyPerfect

So what was 5th grade, polar transformations? *Snicker*

9/18 and 2/18 for the numbers given, but that's beside the point. We're just talking about the denominator.

I'm glad to see you understand fractions, though, even if you doing math isn't exactly on the topic of the thread.

In the advanced world of abstract mathematics, we have these confusing things called "fractions." These daunting constructs represent something called "division," where the doohickey on the bottom is called the "denominator" (which, I should probably point out, is not one of the Villain Archetypes). In cases where you need to, let's say, add two fractions with different denominators, the initial reflex may be to hyperventilate in a panicked frenzy. But! They can be solved if the fractions themselves are converted such that they're represented in terms of the same "divisor."

To put it another way, when you have big thingies broken into smaller thingies of different sizes, you can still know how many total thingies you have if the pieces are the same size.


The phrase "lowest common denominator," when used outside of the context of mathematics, usually refers to perceived mental capacity: it's used to describe the bare minimum threshold required to accomplish a task--or, in this case, understand a story arc--in the same way the lowest common denominator (also called the "least common multiple") is used to express fractions in like terms. If redside players are 1/2 and blueside 1/9, you'd have to dip down to 1/18 to compensate (since 18 is the smallest multiple that 2 and 9 have in common).

I don't want to give the impression that I believe players on either side to be inherently smarter or stupider. The joke was that the mental capacity of blueside players forced the quality of the Rikti War Zone arcs down to 1/18 so they would be on the same terms.

We redsiders simply need to acknowledge that the co-op arcs need to be understood by the lowest common denominator.

That said, I'd LOVE to see Heroes have to do something eeevil for the good of mankind.

I did mean "droll," in the context of "look at the silly slobberers running around pretending people spell words wrong." Had I realized at the time how similar it is to "drool," I would have set up the flame bait most spectacularly rather than react to a happy accident.

And had I realized this thread would get so many posts, I'd have checked it yesterday so as to not make this reply so late in the game. D-:

Where blue gets droll and slobber, red gets people who know how to play the game.

Multiply that by the relative populations and holy cow that's a lot of slobber.

Expanding on this, Lord Winter is the same class as the Reichsman, which can take several seconds to bring down even with 30+ people spanking it.

You'll also see many NPC allies con as "Hero" despite being closer to Pet in terms of combat attributes. Like Mender Lazarus. He's NEVER been a Hero.

The devs have been shown to make a push for participation in the Incarnate Trials and have set up a reward system that won't right-out grant the good stuff to the hardcore guys for being hardcore. Now, I disagree with their approach to "all Incarnate Trials all the time," but for what it's worth, keeping the exact details of the rewards system will keep people from bossing others around saying things like "If you go stand over there for 12 seconds, I have a better chance at a good reward so BUG OFF."

Knowing how the powers work is an advantage from a strictly analytical standpoint, and the in-game "real numbers" interface is pretty good for finding out what powers do, but it's not comprehensive. It will not, for instance, indicate if a specific effect will stack, and entities summoned as "static objects" instead of pets (such as Sleet patches, Oil Slick, what-have-you) will actually have all of their powers homogenized into on big list of effects over a theoretical duration that matches the lifespan of the entity itself.

Learning more about the powers we have is something the devs encourage, so you can get some pretty comprehensive resources like Mids or City of Data that don't so much break anything. However, revealing information of stuff found in the powers data before it's actually out there for people to see, well, that falls in the "leaks and sabotage" category.

For example, recently, someone (I won't say who due to privacy considerations) released a video showcasing the animations of an unannounced powerset (which I also won't mention because NCsoft doesn't want it announced yet). I don't know what happened with that exactly, but that video's gone now as well as the other information that came with it.

So knowing about powers, no, that's not a problem. Revealing information about unannounced game features? Yeah, that is.

Toxic Resistance got added on top of other defensive powers at that time, too. It was usually granted by self heals for a few seconds after the heal itself was cast, but since Dark Armor's heal is so eccentric, they just plugged it into Dark Embrace instead.

To this day, there is no attack type for Toxic, so if you want to avoid things like Bile Spray or Poisonous Ray, you need positional Defense.

Toxic Resistance in the game is minimal, for the most part. The sets that resist it don't resist it a whole lot (save for the oddball ally shields in Poison), and protection from IOs for Toxic is harder to come by than Psionic. Electric Armor doesn't resist it at all. In fact, the only self shield with dedicated protection to Toxic damage is Scorpion Shield, and that's about as unusual as it gets.

While I'll admit I've never made a catgirl, I have made a flying robot ninja pirate.


Unless, of course, you've gimped yourself into not taking and slotting your attacks. The guys over on the Defender boards call such a gimp a "healer" even if the primary isn't a healing set.

A true Defender uses attacks. A Defender with no attacks is, like my avatar, just as slapstick as a Mastermind with no pets.



Additionally, feel free to leave Shadow Fall off all the time, and never ever summon any demons.

Save for the part about Resistance resisting Resistance debuffs (which I'll still have to check for myself before I go spreading further misinformation), what I said certainly was right; I just used different function names (which you're calling apsects). Did you get those from you-know-who or did he get them from you?

From a strictly mechanical standpoint, it makes more sense (to me) to say "In regards to Smashing Damage (effect type), modify Hit Points (function) by 85.83 (value)." That's how it's organized by the powers engine. Mechanically, the function that modifies HP also modifies Endurance, the brown bar for Domination/Fury, and it's been seen to grant Inf and XP during a certain closed beta. For that reason, I refer to it as Inflict.

In any case, Heal is a damage type (in the context of Modify HP via Heal), resistance debuffs themselves can't be buffed (but can apparently be indirectly resisted), and Hamidon Enhancements can be used in exploit to buff the wrong attributes of a power (since they're effectively the opposing sides of the same coin).

Specifically for the Hami-Os, it looks like this... Enhancement says "Enhances Damage," or "Smashing Damage (effect type), buff (function), 33% (value)." Slot into a click shield like the ones in Sonic or Thermal, and you're boosting a power by saying "Smashing Damage (effect type), resist (function), 33% (value)" instead of the normal 20% reserved for Resist Damage Enhancements. All the Enhancement looks at is effect type and value, function notwithstanding.

EDIT:
I suppose in the spirit of being hyper-technical, I should clarify that slotting a Damage Enhancement into a power actually boosts that power as a whole and any effects it has that pertain to damage types (the 8 standard types; including those of any summoned entities). On top of that, a power may Inflict damage or Resist it (among other things), in which case its base value is multiplied by whatever boost the Enhancement gave it.

Under normal circumstances, powers that grant Damage Resistance do not accept Damage Enhancements and vice-versa. This is what, say, the Alpha Incarnate Abilities checks to determine whether to apply its "buff to Damage attribtues": Musculature only works on Damage and Cardiac only works on Resist Damage. The Hamidon Enhancements, on the other hand, can be slotted into any power that accepts any of the individual attributes that they Enhance, meaning any other boosts come along for the ride and can do weird things like grant a Damage boost to a power that grants Damage Resistance.

Because everyone shares the same opinion?

Not because we're all vampires? Maaaaaan.

The same reflection method was used in the Chantry and Storm Palace, as I recall. Could be wishful thinking, though.

Yeah, you have to issue a five-minute warning for emergency maintenance and bring it down again for hours.

*Zing!*

Electric buff set amirite?