Hitback

Can we get an option to turn sleep and fear powers into stuns or holds? Can we also change the damage mechanic so that it works similar to Mystic Arcana? It was already bad joining a team for some mishes and getting hit by a random 20min duration buff, but receiving damage, too? An option window that lets as deny all incoming damage should have been implemented from the start. I hope this issue will be resolves asap.

Edit: And maybe add a DDR buff to Hasten?

Is there a +regen cap? Because stacking 2x Spirit Tree and 2x Triage Beacon (or even one of each) sounds, well, interesting.

I play both rad and traps and honestly I find myself contributing more to the team as a trapper. The setup time is not as long as you may think (it takes a bit more than 6 seconds), although you do have to adjust your playstyle to the needs of the set. The trick is to run first to the next mob seconds before the team defeats the previous one, hit it with Seeker Drones (by far my favourite trap both solo and in teams) and immediately run and toe-bomb them with Poison Trap and Acid Mortar (SS+Stealth proc are good to have as a trapper) as your Drones absorb the alpha. Your work is then done and you can enjoy some blasting behind your soft-capped defenses and mez protection. At the very least, even if you play on a steamrolling team or you're too bored to debuff for some reason and would like to blast some foes, your FFG is still contributing to your teams defense.

Rad is arguably a bad set for a PUG (for me at least), since after I spent 6 or so seconds throwing anchor toggles and debuffs, the rest of the team kills the boss first (especially at lower levels when aoe's are scarce) and I have to start all over again. Also, you feel like you're doing nothing on a steamrolling team (except perhaps heal some light wounds or throw a rez or something).

I say try both, they're both excellent sets, solo friendly (although I would go with traps for a solo toon), and the top two sets for me.

I'm really surprised at the amount of posts rejected the set for not being realistic enough -- in a super-hero game >_>

How does anything else ingame makes more sense than huge weapons and why would anyone have to be the Hulk to wield one? Let's take the new Time Manipulation set for example. If there is a power that freezes time, I expect the screen to go black and your character to die 2 minutes later since, if you freeze everything around you, doesn't that include all photons and oxygen molecules, too? And if photons and oxygen freeze in place, you can't see anything or breathe, can you?

Personally, I'm super excited for this new set. I'm gonna both reroll existing toons and make some new ones (I think I'' make a modern troll, with a lamppost instead of a wooden club).

I'm not gonna lie, the buff combo system seems kinda weak.

I would really like a toggle bubble power named Temporal Field with a big endurance cost and a bunch of other bubble toggles with no end cost or a really small cost that add new layers to the time bubble and give it new secondary effects. Like a layer that adds mez resis, another layer that adds regen, etc. It would allow an interesting playstyle, turning the user into a walking buff area.

Yeah, I don't like the combo system, but I'll just wait till the release before screaming DOOOOM!!

Based on information revealed, TM will have some sort of combo system that requires you to apply a buff to your single-target buff to your teammates and a single-target debuff to your foes so that all subsequent buffs/debuffs become stronger. If these basic buffs/debuffs don't receive the aoe treatment and there is a DB-style combo timer, it sounds like a weak gimmick.

Finally!! I can haz WM/DA Stun-Fun(tm) now?!

Thnx for the reply. The reason I'm considering Jump Kick for my Bot/Trap MM is to slot a FF +rech proc in it since after throwing my traps I have enough free time for a kick or two and more importantly because it fits thematically (he is a cyborg rabbit).

If only my ProtBots' bubbles received the same AoE treatment or at least had their RIDICULOUS 8s recharge time reduced. >_>

Thanks everyone for the awesome advice!!

I rolled a SS/DA and a SS/ElA brute, both at lv20 right now and leveling a KM/ElA right now. I decided not to roll a Katana yet and wait for Titan Weapons. Anyway, I'm having fun with all 3 combos.

It's 2,8s in Mids, too. My mistake.

I guess you're right about how long it takes for the attack to deliver the damage. It gives the impression of a longer animation, which was the case with KM, too, spreading the rumour of a slow animating set.

Ok, I keep hearing that Jump Kick is pure crap and has a long animation and thus never picked it with any of my toons. Yet, Mid's shows that both Jump Kick and Air Sup have the same animation time (1,5s) the same damage and Jump Kick recharges at 2,6s instead of 4. Is this a mistake?

Thnx guys for all the suggestions. So, I came up with some combos I'm interested in trying. What I'm looking for is a Scrapper/Brute with decent damage output and top survivability. Which do you think will fit my needs better?

DB/DA, SS/DA, SS/FA, Kat/DA, Kat/WP, SS/ElA, SS/SD, something else?

Hi everyone! I'm one of those players/weirdos that mostly prefer playing support characters, sitting in the backrow, buffing and debuffing.

However, I recently decided to roll a melee toon but haven't yet managed to find the right one, the combo that "clicks" and offers a playstyle I can enjoy. So, I decided to make a list with things I expect from my melee toon and hope you experts can help me:

1) Survivability: I'm not looking for a toon that can run back to back RWZ challenges or anything (although I guess that more about slotting than choice of powersets), yet I expect my toon to stand up and fight his battles and leave the floor inspection to the trained professionals. So, a reliable secondary with no glaring holes.

2) Soloability: While I enjoy teaming alot, I also play on odd hours and finding a team is not always possible. So, I want a toon I can grab and finish a few missions, without having to set the difficulty to -4. Also, being able to do many different things (ITFs, trials, some farming) would be awesome.

3) Decent damage: Doesn't have to be a top Pylon performer, but I hate feeling like I do the least damage in a team.

4) Well, I don't know how to call this, so let me offer an example. My main toon is a Bots/Trap. Now before you start screaming "OP!HAX!", the reason I enjoy that toon is not the softcapped defences, but the swiss-army-knife vibe the toon has, having access to defence buffs, aoe attacks, alpha absorbers and stuff like that. I realise I can't find these in a melee toon, but I like DA for example, with the fear and stun auras and the mega heal and the self-rez. Actually, knowing me, DA looks like it could be my favourite set, but after trying it out a bit I found myself gasping for blue stuff (pre-lv2stamina). So, if end drain is more manageable now I will definitely try DA again. I also like FA.

If I have overwhelming expectations from a melee toon (I haven't played one past lv12), then just post the combo you enjoy the most and find yourself going back to more often after all the purple farming or pylon soloing.

One final thing, I was told in-game that a SS/FA brute can fit most of my criteria and is an enjoyable toon. Do you think that's the case? Isn't FA a bit squishy?

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Loki made the movie for me. Tom's performance was awesome, and it was really refreshing to see Loki portrayed as a damaged and lost child who competes for his father's love and acceptance, rather than your average, cookie-cutter "I-am-going-to-destroy-the-world" supervillain.

How do you manage to avoid being kicked out by the server? I heard that if you are in respec mode you're safe, is this correct? As for the CoT Guards, do you just play a radio/paper mish with CoT at +4 difficulty?

What is the best way to get the Immortal Badge with my Bot/Trap MM??

WOW!! This is impressive! I wonder if a Mind/Nrg dom can accomplice this, too.

Ok, how about this:

1) [Stealth]: loses the speed debuff and is able to stack with other Stealth powers. The first is just an annoyance and has no balancing value whatsoever and the second is just stupid when SS is not given the same treatment, too.

2) [Grant Invisibility]: fine as it is

3) [Invisibility]: Change how this power works so that it gives two different stealth buffs and only one is suppressed. So when being attacked or clicking a glowie, it switches to stealth, similar to how fly switches to hover.

4)[Phase Shift]: It's exactly similar to the temp power which I have in all my characters and still requires 2 other powers from the concealment pool. Now, what about turning it back to a normal toggle with unlimited duration and instant intangibility with no delay, but with a 2end/s cost and a -regen penalty like -1000 or something? This way, it's still an awesome panic button, but you know that when you choose to exit Phase Shift, you health and endurance will still be low and you're in no condition to fight. It offers you complete safety as long as you need it, but doesn't let you recover from your wounds. This way it's a decent alternative to Hibernate, which doesn't last long and doesn't let you escape, but heals you back to full health and end and Personal Force Field , which has an unlimited duration, let's you escape and recover, but you might still take some damage and die if you're too low on health.

As for the other Stealth powers, area stealths work just fine and self Stealths like Cloaking Device and Cloak of Darkness can be given a small defense debuff resistance and smaller end cost.

What do you think?

Like Lightslinger and BrandX said:

1) removing [Stealth]'s speed debuff and
2) allowing it to stack with Shadow Fall/Steamy Mist/Arctic Fog/etc.
would make Concealment a much more attractive pool.

Even if we take IOs out of the mix, pools give access to two Stealth powers: [Stealth] and [Super Speed]. Now, [Super Speed] is sort of treated as an "unofficial" Stealth power by devs and can stack with other Stealth powers. Also, it brings you close to the run cap, while [Stealth] actually debuffs you. Stealths strong point is the def buff and the earlier access. Finally, SS can actually turn into an Invisibility power, but like I said let's forget about IOs.

What I can't see is how is [Stealth] supposed to be balanced around that speed debuff and its inability to stack with other powers, when any AT with a stealth power in their main pools can get SS to do the same thing and better as they also get a hefty travel power and then choose either CJ or Hover if the want more defense. Also, reducing its Speed does nothing to balance the power, as you will get to your destination eventually, it just annoys the player enough to turn them away from the power.

I have [Stealth] in my build and I don't plan to respec out of it any time soon. I just keep getting the feeling that those limitations were added at a much earlier phase of the game and were never fixed as the game progressed. Most, if not all, pools need some makeover, however, since now that Fitness is inherent, there is only one useful Tier4 power left and even if some others are somewhat interesting, having to take 2 other powers before getting to them makes them horrible. How come Whirlwind requires 2 power choices while I can get Hasten at lv6? IMO allowing all Tier4 powers, except maybe Weave, to be available with only one prerequisite, like Tier3's, but stay locked until lv20 would be optimal.