JuliusSeizure

This game has several problems that differentiate it from other MMOs. First, the targeting geometry for most attacks is far too large. Second, the target caps are still too high relative to the tier in which they are recieved. Third, the recharge on AoE attacks is too low across the board and there is no cross-skill cooldown for AoEs.

A skill like Rain of Fire is many other MMOs would have more than a 1 minute cooldown, and would often lock out other AoE skills for an extended period once it was clicked. This doesn't happen in CoH, and players can throw a chain of RoF-Fireball-Fire Breath in 6 seconds and pretty much decimate a spawn.

Could the developers implement positional resistance to somehow address this? Player's skills wouldn't have to be directly nerfed, but the enemies could certainly be tougher. Maybe bosses could be given an aura that grants hypothetical AoE resistance or defense, which would make nuking minions and Lt.s a bit tougher than it currently is as long as they have a leader.

Well, I can at least hope that Fire Armor will get some type of attention after this debate. My Shield Brute and Scrapper always felt silly overpowered with Shield Charge (particularly the Scrapper), so I expected this to come (a while ago).

Soft capping to all three positions is different from soft capping to ranged and using hover, or soft capping to just Smashing/Lethal, which is what melee toons shoot for.

There is also something to be said about soft capping without having to nerf your build. Builds that soft cap Smashing/Lethal or Ranged/AoE are making some form of sacrifice that is always overlooked. Super Reflexes doesn't have to do this.

That said, I feel that no build should be able to soft cap 100% of the time. There should be a cap at 40% or 42.5% that can only be exceeded through tier 9s (Elude, Kuji, Overload) or purple pills. Super Reflexes is already broken as is, and so is soft capping for other builds.

That's what the Kin is for. Massive recharge and recovery is basically what you'd get fully purpled out.

I totally agree with this thought process.

Here's the deal. SS has shorter recharge times, and thus lower corresponding Damage Scales on its attacks. Rage basically compensates for this by granting near-perma-buildup, effectively increasing the lower Damage Scale of its attacks through a single massive buff that is active 12/13ths of the time. This buff isn't an issue when isolated to the set, but does some silly things with APPs/PPPs, Pool Powers, Damage Auras, and Shield Charge. Rage indiscriminately over-buffs the effective DS of these attacks just as well as it compensates for the lower Damage Scales built into the set.

The ToHit buff is an issue as well. The only thing it can be compared to is Targeting Drone, which only grants ToHit. This value should most certainly be lowered. Then there is the issue of stacking, which does have a harsh penalty but becomes broken when Temp Powers and Vet Powers still do full damage while having up to 62% ToHit buff. Stacking also overclocks APPs and PPPs to an extreme level.

So how does one account for Rage operating well within the set, but becoming broken when external abilities are considered? We'd first need to alter the performance of some of its skills.

• Jab: Increase recharge from 2 to 3 seconds. Increase damage scale from 0.68 to 0.84. Endurance increases as well.
• Punch: Increase recharge from 4 to 6 seconds. Increase damage scale from 1 to 1.32. Endurance increases as well.
• Haymaker: Stays the same.
• Hurl: Increase recharge from 8 to 10 seconds. Increase damage scale from 1.64 to 1.96. Endurance increases as well.
• KO Blow: Recharge is reduced to 20 seconds.
• Foot Stomp: Stays the same.

This would bring Super Strength closer to the progression of other sets in Damage Scales, but would also necessitate a change to Rage. Rage would need to have its damage decreased, but would also need to have its crash lightened. I would change the dynamic of this skill completely, while trying to retain the "feel" of Rage. The numbers below are listed at Tanker/Brute values.

• 1: Rage would grant 120 seconds of a 35% damage buff tagged so that the effect does not stack from the same caster. It would also grant 120 second of 5% ToHit buff tagged so that the effect dos not stack from the same caster.
• 2: Rage would also grant 10 seconds of 25% enhanced damage and 20 seconds of 10% enhanced damage, as well as 10 seconds of 10% ToHit Buff and 20 seconds of 5% ToHit Buff.

The end result is that Rage would grant 10 seconds of 70% enhanced damage and 20% ToHit, followed by 10 seconds of 45% enhanced damage and 10% ToHit, and lastly having 100 Seconds of 35% enhanced damage and 5% ToHit.

Rage WOULD be able to stack in this situation. Stacking it would layer the buffs on a shorter timer but would not stack the buffs that are on a 120 second duration. This would allow builds that run high recharge to effectively click Rage before it has expired to function as a mini-build up, or allow them to increase their ToHit Buff to cut through enemy defenses and debuffs.

The crash would be lessened as well. Endurance should be brought down to about 45% of what it currently is, and the -damage component would also be layered as -9881% enhanced damage for 3 seconds, and -118% enhanced damage for 10 seconds. This would grant 3 second of -9999% enhanced damage followed by 7 seconds of -118% damage (causing you to do no nearly no damage for 3 seconds and roughly 50% damage for 7 seconds with stacked rage). There would be no other penalties to Rage.

These changes would allow SS sets with high global recharge to increase their effectiveness by stacking Rage. A Perma-double stack of Rage would still have less of a penalty than a single stack of Rage does currently, but it would also offer less total benefit. The increased DS to Jab, Punch and Hurl, as well as the 5 second reduction to KO Blow, would make up the lost performance in Rage. I also feel that SS should not be penalized for pursuing global recharge, and by layering its buffs like this one can actually encourage stacking Rage when extra ToHit or damage is needed without overpowering the set. (I think.)

For Brutes and Tanks. Blinding Feint and Follow Up have half the ToHit buff of Rage at 10%, but are given just 30% +damage. A triple stack of these skills offers just 10% more damage than a single stack of Rage, which is 80% +damage.

Rage isn't really a problem when isolated to the SS set. It is a problem with PPPs and APPs; it is a problem with Vet/Temp powers; it is a problem with damage auras and Shield Charge; and I have a feeling that it will skew abilities from the upcoming Incarnate system as well.

They are stronger because of the 20% to 31% ToHit buff. Vet Powers and Temp Powers aren't used in the high levels because of their awful accuracy. SS doesn't have this issue thanks to Rage, but can also use them during the crash, fully benefiting from ToHit buffs to provide significant damage despite the -9999% damage penalty.

Vet Powers are significantly better on SS toons.

I completely agree with this. Another issue with Rage is the ToHit buff. Having access to a permanent 20% to 31% ToHit buff makes Super Strength significantly superior to other sets when fighting higher level opponents. Foot Stomp is so good not only for its huge radius, but also because it's running 95% hit chances far more often than other sets are able to, and this buff extends to APPs/PPPs, Pool Powers, damage auras, and Temp Powers/Vet Powers (both of which happen to break the -9999% damage crash, and are more often ignored for their accuracy deficiencies than lack of damage).

SS doesn't have baked-in deficiencies that Rage mollifies. An 8 second recharge attack still does 1.64 DS, just like every other set in the game. Hurl is an exact clone of Hurl Boulder, and if SS were indeed designed around Rage then Hurl's value should be lower without Rage active but higher while buffed. It's not penalized, and neither are the set's other attacks.

As pointed out earlier, the only adjustment that any power has is a 25 second recharge in KO Blow. KO Blow used to do paltry damage, less than jab in fact, and was given extreme damage shortly after the release of City of Heroes. This recharge penalty was seen as a trade off for receiving an extreme attack at 18 rather than 38-- a full 20 levels sooner than most other sets for Tankers. There's also a chance that Rage played a role in having 5 additional seconds of recharge.

Well, they aren't that pricey considering how long it would take you to get one through a random drop. Most prices are set by the earning power of a level 50. It's within reason to earn 75 million at level 50 over the span of ten hours, and that's without farming or investing your time optimally.

Here's the key: things might be expensive to buy, but you also make a ton through selling. Move your items on the market, maybe even start playing the market, and these prices will feel like chump change. Until then, save up for the -Knock Back IO, which can be a game changer.

And as others have said-- the 35 Million is probably a buy-it-now price. Look at all level ranges; find a range that is moving for 6-10 million; place several bids on multiple ranges and wait.

The Dominator AT is one of the best in the game, and plays quite differently from any other AT. They have the most potent control capability, powerful melee attacks, powerful ranged attacks, and solid AoE attacks. I find them great fun to play due to their vast array of capabilities, and they excel in every one of them.

Character concept can range from a witch (mind/Fire-- my main Dominator), to a futuristic cyborg able to manipulate gravity (Gravity/Energy or Grav/Electricity).