Hell_O_Ween

I have set up my own list of arcs I am playing to review.
Currently the list is:

3962/4804, 45503, 55098, 8928

I will cap my list at 10 arcs and other than obvious 2 parters I will only have one arc by a single author at a time.
Now if anyone dosn't want me to review your arc let me know. I understand I am relativly unknown around here so you won't hurt my feelings.

I really think this thread is a good idea and would only be better with multiple reviewers including counterpoint reviewers, as long as they don't become combative.

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Ok, I gave the guardian paws super strength instead, and toned down the kungfu kitty's assortment of bone crushing kicks. You think the crowd pleasers should be bumped up to Lt? Maybe switch them with the guardian paws, that would make sense. I'll do that.


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Kitty wasn't a problem...was suprised at the speed it took me down the first time i saw one is all.
The Guardian Paws with Ss could work...its a S/L set making it more in line with low levels....similar to mooks now in power level.
The MM's as Lt is a bit better, makes them spawn less.
As far as the briefcase...I am not sure. I havn't looked over the destructable items closely. There are crates I know that....maybe one of those. Maybe just toss that goal out and make it a fight to the boss in the bank, with ambushes set along the way.
It's the last mission that needs the most work IMO...way too many goals on a too large map.

Edited to include:
Forgot to reply to this part.
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One thing I was wondering when you were reviewing, did you check anything's info? I set info on all those custom mobs. Also, with the bank, what should I have done besides the briefcase? Ideas are welcome!

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When I review an arc I read everything I can. Thats not to say I don't lose focus for a minute and forget something (missed the info on Enigma Silver 6-3 in Ventures arc...playing again to read it.)
I commented on them very briefly with the TL-DR saying they were uninteresting. Sorry.

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Well dang, didn't realise I had mis set the police patrols, fixed.


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I figured thats what happened.

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Many of the jokes are ribs on the furry community, so if you didn't get them... you are probably better off for it! I've played through the entire arc on level 2, and in a six man group, and we managed ok, though it helps to remember to focus on the masterminds rather than their pets. Is it really overly hard? Might consider changing the Guardian Paw off of devices, as the webnade fury can get annoying after a while.

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The only times it became overly hard was when multiples of the MM minions showed up. On the first mission an ambush caused this to happen. Last mission while fighting your Kitten a patrol walked in with 2 of them...
I find that MM sets in the hands of minions can and does create a situation of too much at once. Look at other minion/luet level foes who summon. The rikti, skyraiders, malta....when they summon there is a way to stop it. The only foes I know of who can summon while being hit are AV/EB and one groups Bosses (carnies). The MA summons happen right away and uninterruptable.
The web nade thing, well I include it with the minion level MM, blast sets attacking while mezzed and Melee/Nin authors use in the MA. Its frustrating and unfun. At least to me.

Edited to include:
Your arc is a niche arc...meaning it appeals or only relates to a certain section of the playerbase. Now there is nothing wrong with this at all but it does affect ratings becuase only that section will find the jokes or plot interesting/funny.
To me the arc did not hold my attention at all. I am sure it will others. Don't give up on it.

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Extensive use of custom mobs says, to me, that the author is covering up for a weak or nonexistent theme with eye candy, that the mission is "just a bunch of stuff that happened". I'd much rather see a good story told within the canon than a mediocre action movie told with custom mobs.


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While I can agree some use custom foes to spice up a weak story is annoying using the same foes I have spent hundreds of levels fighting can be boring.

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(I'm only going to discuss some technical points in the review of my arc.) I didn't have a problem with Bluehawk's AI when I fought her with either my Scrappers, Mastermind (Bots/Storm) or Peacebringer. She did malfunction as described in Act III as an ally. I'm aware of the problems with Devices but it is the best fit for the character, a basic Action Girl. Ninjitsu would be nice but a) it's bugged to hell and back (you do NOT want to fight an EB with it unless you like getting Crane Kicked for about 3500-4000) and b) the +Defense and heal would make her a lot tougher. I expect the devs will fix the AI issues with Devices in another patch or three. If not I'll think about what else I could give her. MA/AR might be interesting.


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I gave her a third go and again she spent most of the fight tossing nades and caltdrops. Sure she threw a kick or two but no where near enough to make it interesting. I do agree any Armor set (especially Nin) would make her more difficult than you want her to be. Still as it stands right now.../Devices is a problem just as MM minions or /Nin anything.

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What, complain about someone reviewing my arc? Of course not! Go ahead.

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Remember you said that.

Arc #34398
Furry Menace
Length:3 Missions
Foes: Custom, PPD Detectives
Contact: Officer Paul (custom)
My rating:1 Star

TL-DR
Pros: Can be played by any levels.
Cons:Lacking story, typos, disjointed uninteresting custom foes, last mission takes forever

Full Review:

Mission 1: You are told by Officer Paul that the Furries are robbing a bank and that you shouldn't laugh. Now it took me a minute to figure out what was meant by Furries (as I understand it they are people who dress in animal costumes for fun). The mission intro dosn't tell you this you have to figure it out on your own.
So you jump into the bank to find the oddest collection of foes(not in a good way). Two of which are problematic.
Crowd Pleasers are Soldier/Ar (I think) as a minion these can be plentiful on large teams and end up being too difficult.
Guardian Paws are /Devices. As i said before right now /Devices are not working well in the MA resulting in alot of webnades and caltdrops and nothing else. They were luets so they don't appear as often but still problematic.
Anyway you head to the vault and protect a briefcase? I know the MA has limits as to what you can put in as protection items but this hurt immersion alot.
Once you defeat the group surrounding it ambushes come...mine had 3 of the Crowd Pleasers which meant I was fighting 6 foes instead of 3. Little too much at level 9.
Once you clear the ambushes a boss appears behind you.
Robot Rodent, a...you guessed it...Bot/Devices Boss. This worked better...sorta. The bots attacked you while the boss dropped nade after nade, made the fight tuff but managable.
You go back to Officer Paul and NOW he tells you what the Furries are. Sadly its not interesting.

Mission 2: Officer Paul tells you the Furries are attacking a Furry convention in a casino (the Tiki Room). He said you will need back up so he will be there before you.
Its a defeat all in a small map. It takes no time at all but included a clue with some odd animal noise code.
Officer Paul take the code to be broken and its off to...

Mission 3: Paul says the Furries have poisoned the water supply turning every one in the area into Furries. You have to go in and clean it up. He will join you again.
This mission was a grueling time waster of a mission. Your goals are:
6 Barrels of infection
6 Police to hook up with (authors wording not mine)
6 Rescues
4 Recruiting sermons to disrupt
and 2 Internet rallies to break up

All on a large Kings Row outdoor map. I almost quit but figured this is a review tuff it out. Turns out not all of those are actually required but which are and which are not I have no idea.
Now this mission is where I get the feeling the author a:didn't test or b:assumed we as players knew something.
As I ran around...and around...and around...I ran into a new foe called Kungfu Kitty. First thing she does is hit BU then procede to beat me into paste...quick trip to the hospital, grab some insp, she goes down. Seems each Internet Rally has one of these.
You run into PPD detectives on patrol who procede to attack you (why is that, didn't Officer Paul tell them I was coming, didn't they see Officer Paul standing right next to me?).
Then you find the police you are to hook up with have been turned into Furries and they tag along helping...sorta.
After using the Safeguard jetpack I find the rest of the goals and exit.
Paul lets me know that most but not all of the Furries are back to normal hinting we could see them again.

Personal Thoughts: Sadly there is only one thing I can say good about this mission, and thats how it is open to all levels. I can't even say its acceptable at all levels because some ambushes or spawns can prove way overpowered with the MM set in them.
The costumes were just so mishmash to me. I know the author was trying for this look but instead of making the Furries feel like genetic accidents they feel more like a colorblind 2 fingered tailor designed them.
The powersets the Furries had didn't always make sense either.
The story has nothing original in it.
But worst of all was the mistake (that I find very common) to load up a mission with massive amounts of goals.
It seems the author was going for humor but any jokes fell flat to me anyway. Fursecution? He also dropped a hint which went nowhere (that I could find) when Officer Paul let the word 'Valentes" slip.
As for improving the arc...I dunno man...so much I disliked...redesign the foes, give the plot meaning and ...a plot, scrap the last mission for something better like stopping them before the poisoning in a small sewer map. If the author can redesign things I would be willing to give it another go and re-rate.

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For public consideration:

Furry Menance
Id: 34398
Faction: Heroic
Global: @Valente
Level: 1-54, soloable, but should scale nicely to larger teams
Basic: What happens when a mad doctor tries to create manimals out of actual furries? They go wild, of course! There is story and action to be had and an all custom(But balanced, I think! I could beat it at level 2!) super group to face.

I'd love feedback from anyone on it, it's been a lot of work for me, fun kind of work!

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I got this one if its ok with you?

If you wish to know what I base my ratings on you can PM me
Arc #4643
Blowback
Length: 5 Missions
Foes: Malta, Rikti and some custom
Contact: Crimson
My Rating: 4 Stars

TL-DR
Pros: Very well written, Follows cannon in both dialogue and story, Nice degree of challenge (not too hard or easy).
Cons: Suprise EB, Annoying custom foe/ally, A map slows the flow of the story.

Full Review:

Mission 1: Crimson has some intel on the malta (of course) and he needs someone to check out a base while he checks another. I can't quite place my fingure on the mission intro but the way it is written seems off to me.Like you enter in the middle of a conversation you were already part of. Not a big deal.
Anyway, you enter the mission and you need to hack a computer for info as well as 'confiscate' 4 peices of equipment. How did we know there was equipment to find...wasn't mentioned before. Ah well. There are a few patrol just randomly saying things but one alludes to something 'going off' and that its not safe to be near when it does. Hmmm...the malta ARE up to something.
The equipment you take has been used recently to break dimensional walls and the computer hack turns up an email from Enigma Silver 6-3 mentioning invitations.
You can even bring down a Titan if you want.
When you leave Crimson tells you he found the same info in the other base.
It was a nice simple infiltration mission that sets up the story well.

Mission 2: Turns out that meeting is happening now...and, in what is a very well written mission intro, its a rikti raid. You have to go in and find hostages (no escort), defeat a rikti boss named Ja'Dar and a suprise EB named Bluehawk Avenger (MA/Devices with flight).
The mission is fairly simple. there are alot of patrols of both Vanguard and Rikti who when they meet fight it out. I liked the use of this over battles because it allows them to happen at anytime...not just when you get close.
It may take a bit of time to find each of the 5 hostages but I found this to be keeping with the mission idea...its an invasion senario so it shouldn't just end immediatly.
This mission had a suprise EB in it named Bluehawk Avenger (her backstory is decent check it out). Normally this would be a big deal but the suprise is there for a reason. I do have to say here that she will either be a complete chump to fight or one of the most annoying time wasters ever. Right now the MA seems to have a problem with /Devices on custom foes. They tend to stand there doing nothing but use web nades and caltdrops. This means she slows you to a crawl, makes it so you can't fly or really move but never lays a finger on you.
When you exit Crimson gives you the skinny on Bluehawk. Nice to know. Makes the character more interesting.

Mission 3: Again well written intro text. The author (Venture) has Crimson down very well. This mission has you go after Bluehawk Avenger in a cave to rikti map. First you have to find Bluehawk then rescue 5 hostages (again no escort).
The flow stalled a bit here for me. From the intro text I got the feel that events had picked up speed, but the map choice and the rescues took longer than I liked. Far too many places for those hostages to hide in that map....
Also, you get Bluehawk as an ally. She proved to be an infuriating and quite honestly useless ally. Due to the /Devices issue I mentioned earlier she spent the entire time just throwing smoke/web nades and caltdrops.... After a while I ditched her.
When you return Crimson tells you about Bluehawks fate and a bit of story to the Malta

Mission 4: Crimson sends you into another Malta base, this time to find some low level supers the Malta have captured. The writing on this intro is the best so far as you get a feel of almost reserved desperation tinged with resignation of the events. Very well done Venture.
You enter to find there are two Titan bosses to fight, evidence to find and 10 bodies to search. I really wish you had said 10 captives to find as it would have made the fact that they were dead more interesting. I know the intro text alludes to this but still.
The evidence you find shows that Enigma Silver 6-3 is defecting....well not defecting more quitting the Malta Organization.
When you return to Crimson he almost seems apologetic you had to find the bodies as he expected it. Again, this would have had more impact if the nav bar said captive not bodies.
Great pacing on this mission with the bosses making subtle hints to a more horrible fate of the captives (I am assuming perhaps I missed something Venture could fill me in on)

Mission 5: Crimson tells you all hell is breaking loose, Enigma Silver 2-0 is hunting Enigma Silver 6-3 (who has taking some Malta troops with him) and the Rikti think they have been double crossed so Ja'Dar has suited up to kick bum.
The map is the expected but still nicely used Malta Robot Factory map. You have to defeat Enigma Silver 6-3, Enigma Silver 2-0, Ja'Dar as well as 4 Rikti portal equipment.
Multiple patrols and battles give you the feeling of a battle taking place but sadly due to the way they work in the MA you don't feel a part of the battle. No fault of the author but maybe some ambushes tied to a few non-required boss battles will immerse you more.
Anyway, Enigma Silver 2-0 is a standard Gunslinger boss. Ja'Dar is now an AV/EB (I cannot for the life of me remember what the actual renamed model Venture is called and to lazy to look it up)
Enigma Silver 6-3 is a custom foe. His costume seemed slightly out of place as did his power choices. Bots/Sonic Shields? I missed his info text as the battle was very fun and I forgot to check. He was an EB for me on my run so I am not sure if he is an AV on higer difficulties.
A special note goes to the clue dropped when you defeat Enigma Silver 2-0. It really gives you the feeling of the Malta Group in that little paragraph.
When you return Crimson give you info on Enigma Silver 6-3 and thanks you.

Personal thoughts: I don't like the Malta at all. The story behind them isn't really that interesting to me and the foe make-up of the group can either be frustrating or pushovers, there is no inbetween IMO. That being said, I loved this arc. It is probably the best Arc I have seen to include a foe I hate.
Now my rating of the Arc is not affected by my hatred for this group. The two things that keep this from being a five star is the annoying EB/Ally Bluehawk and the serious stutter in mission 3. I would be more than happy to re-rate this arc if Venture fixes those two things (and maybe the nav text in mission 4 but thats not as important).

If anyone else want me to review an Arc let me know.

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(My current projects are 4643 and 4829, in case anyone wants revenge. )

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I got 4643 review coming up...

QR

Would love to have someone review my arc #27136 "Hell O Ween's Halloween Nightmare'
Simple 3 mission arc.

Anyone else notice that the main bad guy looks like Stan Lee?

There is an old boxing story...

Boxers were asked by the ref the day of the week to see if they were ok to continue, as a result boxers would drill the day into their heads so when asked they would answer right even if they were a bit punch drunk.

Well a boxer whose name is lost to legend (more I cannot remember who) had taken a bad beating and the ref tripped him up by asking him how many fingers he was holding up. To which the boxer replied 'thursday'.

All I have to say to this issue is...

Thursday

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No, PB does not affect perception buffs or debuffs, thanks for the catch.

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Thanks for the guide.

I am curious, +perception is not mentioned at all. Does PB affect perception?

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And to Daemongelous, when the group said "nice heals" did you take the time to explain that you did'nt heal them, but rather protected them. At least they noticed something was going on.

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Uh....that was the doc not me. I was the one who said this was a helpful post.

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See more "people are morons" and we are so smart comments. Even "IF" it's true, what good is it to post it? Only the really "SMART" people are gonna read it right? To post these here are useless because the group that might need the info will not be reading it and the ones that read it don't need it. Does it just make you feel better about yourselves? It all goes back to trying to fix the problems instead of complaing about them.

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I really really do not get where this is coming from. The OP and Cuppa_Fire_Brick do not sound 'we are smarter than you'. And I am baffled by the idea that 'no one who needs it won't read it'. When I started playing I read things on the forums to help. Then I dunno 2 years later maybe I started posting. It's entertaining and informative posts like this that helped me the most, I just wish I had told the OP's at the time.

I do have a couple questions for you tho:

How do you know that the OP isnt trying to help the situation in the game as well?

How exactly does this harm anyone or anything even if it dosnt help anyone?

EDIT (last statement is very we are the world so feel free to not read it)

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Its not just this thread, she has some comments in the defenders section also...same type of material but different poster. She also has a problem with Scrappers and Tanks. So i saw no value to this post. I have a kin/rad and a d/d and if someone asks if i'm a healer, i say "i do that too".

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Those posts in the other forums are pretty much along the same lines as this one. Tongue firmly in cheek.

Instead of tossing hostility towards the ruh3l4r crowd and inciting angry replies (well mostly), she used humor to get people to read a very long post that boils down to:

Defenders/controllers/corruptors/ect do more than heal.

The best teachers use a form of non-repetative repitition to teach a subject. Which is what she was doing.

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I have a sense of humor but I always pick up the I'm so much better/smarter vibe in these kinda posts that it gets to me sometimes. But alas why help fix a problem while its so much easier to just post about it.

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I don't understand why you think this. I found all the 'Listen to me cause I am the boss' type of statements to be used for humor, not intent. I suppose she could have prostrated herself at every turn saying things along the lines of 'IMO' or 'This is how i think you are free to think how you want and I do so appologize for taking up your time when you could be reading something else'. (Horrible exageration used for comedic effect..... ok...for attempted comedic effect)

Attempts to calm someone before making a statement in these forums are tiresome (still think they should be attempted normally). But in this case the attitude was used as a parallel to what she was saying.

As for her just posting instead of fixing the problem.....?.....
Isn't that what she was doing? Using a diffrent approach to getting people to see the game in a diffrent light....Yes her light and no you don't have to listen.

Going back to the idea of a teacher. The more sides we see to an issue, even if we don't agree, helps us understand more about the world (game) we play in.

/signed

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What don't you get? How can I clear it up for you?
(With TWO smilies to make it clear I don't mean to be rude!!)

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LOL!! I meant I didn't get the same thing you did from the OP's comments. Not that I didn't get you.

And I think I just got that...you know what I meant...your just having fun with me now. (three smiles means I win...LOL oh and not being rude...just having fun back)

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In the OP, there were comments about not playing with corruptors who wouldn't heal/buff. There were comments about the types of players and the types of AT you should take. MMs were the ONLY AT singled out with their own sub-heading for a discussion of incompetance. So... some of us are a little more sensitive about it than others. Myself, I've played with some seriously bad MMs... and here is what I've decided: Everyone can, and does, screw up. However, when a mastermind screws up it is terribly obvious, and, likely to have very very serious consequences. ... sorry, getting off topic. Let me step off the soapbox... All I have ever asked is that you not blame the entire AT just bc you've met an incompetant player, and, that seems to be what the OP did. Thanks.

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I didn't get that at all. But like Shakespear says...'nothing is but think makes so'

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What other thread? He used "Incompetent Masterminds" as a topic heading (not thread title) in the original post of this thread. You did read the original post of this thread, no?

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I see what you mean now. One of the SUB-headings in his original post.
I apologize for the mistake.

I am curious, why was his comments on those who don't play an AT offensive to you?
Please, I really want to know what that is such an issue with you?

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Where were you when "Incompetent Masterminds" was one of his topic headings?

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Never read it. But I don't see how that has anything to do with this topic.
Please excuse me for thinking this, but it seems like you were very upset by this other thread and have brought it to this one. That just isn't a good thing.

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See, that's the thing. If you have 'bad players' no matter what the AT, then they're not helpful in completing a difficult task. So, it's not really about the AT. But the OP kept singling out badly played ATs, excepting the Brute, who seemingly, can do no wrong.

This isn't a guide to the respec, it's a complaint against bad players (except those who play Brutes).

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Look I can understand frustration at someone disliking what you like but when you become hostile and condecending you lose 'discussion currency'. Few will want to deal with you when you rant.

And as the OP says, it isn't a guide a simple guide to respecs, its a guide to forming a respec team. I too get frustrated with bad players...MM's ...Brutes..and any other.

The thing is his complaint was specific. It was not a general argument against MM's. Each character (not just AT but character) has strength and weaknesses. The trick is to minimize the weakness while maximizing the strengths. If that means a corruptor does nothing but heal then so be it. If that means a brute can't maintain fury oh well. And yes, if that means a MM needs to watch his minions like a hawk then that is the price you pay to play.

This is what I read in the OP's post. I may not agree with his examples or have a few of extra of my own but I still see the overall context.

If you go back and read the posts again I think you will find that you were the only one to see insult in the OP's post.

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And let me telling you something else, uberbrute, when I have a foe debuffed and all of my minions attacking it... it goes down faster than a brute can do. That's something a few brutes in PvP have learned the hard way when they thought they could stand toe to toe with a squishie MM while standing in my Tar Patch debuffed with Darkest Night and my self heals. They thought they could ignore the minions. They thought wrong.


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Wow, that was an awful lot of hostility against someone just trying to help others. Even if you don't agree with his advice you don't need to be insulting.

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Would it be completly rediculous to alter existing powersets for this? It really is rediculous that there are no punches in MA, but isn't that just a matter of changing the animation? Afterall, in reality Eagle Claw is a punch in which you shape your hand into a claw, like an eagle's talon. Why in the world did they animate it as a kick?



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Not for not, but other than power pools MA is the only set to have a kick at all. (unless I forget one somewhere). I think MA's focus on kicking was to offer an alternative to the punch heavy attacks sets.

That being said, I would love a power that combined the two, punches and kicks. Streetfighting hopefully will fit the bill. I just hope its not the Jean Claude Van Dam Streetfighting and more the Sonny Chiba Streetfighter. You know the' I am gonna rip your nippels off' kind of street fighting.

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I think the solution you like best depends on what you think the real problem is, but there are more sophisticated solutions than the two you map out.

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I am sorry, I had missed that I didn't include the word 'simple'. It should have read :

The only two simple solutions I can see both have flaws.

I did most of the solutions you offer in your post. I suppose I should have further clarified that while I think many of these solutions are great in theory(i especially like the conning red one), I think that first there are ways around each and I am not a programer, but they must be monumental tasks to undertake for the devs. Yes they are there to provide us with the best game they can, but Iwould rather see more zones, more powers,AT's...hell I would rather see more costumes than a better PvP enviroment.

The fact that one AT has an advantage in PvP does not seem a large concern to me. Much if not all of the advantages one AT or build has can be countered by another AT or build. If PvP is something you are interested in then part of the challenge is to find a way to beat the oneshotters consistantly. If all you wish to do is have a pick up match... maybe give the arena a try...it is much busier these days as people are starting to realize that the PvP enviroment there is much more friendly.

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You don't know anything about Electric Blasters, do you? First of all, for PvP, Endurance Drain suffers a 75% nerf. Were you aware of that?

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No I was not aware of it. But as you are incapable of discussing things without being condesending and arrogant you are not worth the time.