Kane1

I've got a Fire/Psy Dom whose life I'm willing to throw away over and over again, but with very few exceptions I'm always at work until 11PM EST. =\

Congrats!

Thank you, to the two people who actually tried to answer main question of my post.

To the guy who wrote a five-paragraph essay in response to a Post-Script on my post:
The Buddhist would say that you are phrasing the question wrongly. The question is not, "How much wealth can my Villains accumulate?" The question is, "How satisfied are my Villains with the utility of their market, as opposed to the Heroes' satisfaction with their market?" I've never met someone who honestly thinks the Villain market is better without deliberately providing a very narrow-minded definition of "better."

To everyone else: I apologize for inadvertently dragging the horse's corpse back out for some idiot to flog.

Coming back from about a year's hiatus, and the Market is completely different from what I remember.

Actually, no, that's false; all the basic lessons I learned about the market at its launch still serve me admirably. (I earned ~50mil on two characters over the course of two weekends with nothing but some Croatoa farming and a couple recipe memorization badges.)

But I can't really tell what Merits did to the market, and, by extension, AE tickets. Any general advice there? Any guides available? If not, I'm not afraid to do the research on my own, I'd just like to know if there were some rules of thumb I should be aware of first.


P.S: It saddens me that the Hero and Villain markets have yet to be merged. I seriously don't understand this at all; all of my villains would be richer by a factor of 10 within a week if they'd merge the damn things. (Except for the one who's already a multi-millionaire.) Plus, y'know, it'd be worth selling non-rare salvage to someone other than the NPC vendors. I mean, can't we just chalk that one up in the "win" column and move on with our day?

Regenerative Tissue: +Regeneration Unique IO lists itself as +25% Regen, but the Combat Attribute Window lists that bonus as granting .20% Hp/Second. (A 48% Regen buff.)

Don't know if this is actually a bug with the Combat Attribute window, or if the IO lists the wrong value. Gonna try to test this to see which.

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soon(tm)

you bad builder.

[/ QUOTE ]Congratulations. You are now the second person on my ignore list.

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(I'm not mentioning Obliteration in PSW, because we all know anyone with that power has a full set or Armageddon to go in it.)

[/ QUOTE ]I don't. I believe I'll be purchasing some of this new sexiness for PSW, if it's as good as all that.

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I don't think you understand the new system. Once every 24 hours, so if you do the tf anytime during that 24 hours then the second reward of merits will be based on punishment of returns.

[/ QUOTE ]Then you shouldn't have used the word "consecutive" there. (Yes, I realize I'm nitpicking.)

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Yes consecutive in a 24 hour period. It seems the 3 hour system was not punishment enough, now they have you on punishment for 24 hours. Brilliant!

[/ QUOTE ]"Consecutive" is the magic word, there. Now optimal farming behavior is to find two very-well rewarding tasks and alternate between them. If you can find two tasks which take less than 3 hours to complete back-to-back, this actually makes life easier on the farmers in terms of how quickly they can get their rewards in real-time.

Question (sorry if it's been answered; I only have time to skim, not read as fully as I'd like):

When you run a Respec Trial, do you still get a window with options? If so, what are the options there? Random Roll, Respec, Merits? Just Respec, Merits? Or do you automagically get the respec and merits?

-smirks-
Was just running my Mind/Energy through a flashback arc and noticed that this:[ QUOTE ]
Whirling Hands will cause a visual glitch if activated by a non-moving character in flight. The glitch happens a couple of seconds after the animation.


[/ QUOTE ]was removed in the latest patch.

Actually, what's interesting is that it doesn't seem like the glitch itself was fixed. They just made a work-around so that it doesn't trigger anymore. Specifically, if you're flying and activate a power, you exit the in-flight combat stance about a second after the animation finishes, and then re-enter the combat stance. (This means your character has moved, so the glitch doesn't trigger.)

I'm a little wary of the fact that the devs basically used a kludge to fix it, but since it doesn't seem to be indicative of anything more sinister it doesn't specifically worry me. Anyway, you can remove it from the list. (Wonder if the devs found it on their own, or if they really check this list that often. )

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but its an APP and I expect APPs to be much better than anything in any normal primary/secondary.

[/ QUOTE ]I'm sorry, that sentence blows my mind. With very few exceptions, Epic powers are worse than analogs in Primary/Secondary sets. Focused Accuracy is the exception, not the rule.

And, no, my Imps don't really die that often. That may have something to do with the fact that I have Aid Other, and it may have something to do with the fact that I have Drain Psyche and therefore enjoy playing Aggro Magnet, but it usually takes multi-boss spawns to kill them.

Our Patron pets are on the same recharge scale as all Villain Patron Pets. No imbalance there, aside from the fact that Corrs get more use out of them, but there's not much to be done about that.

The recharge on Imps, Jack, Singy, and Audrey is fine where it is. I rarely lose even one Imp unless I'm on a large team and end up having to use them to soak aggro. (Which doesn't happen all that often.) I doubt that Jack and Audrey are so easy to kill, and I know Singy's a good bit tougher than they. Moreover, the pets can be slotted for recharge; if you feel you need them up more often, then add more slots to the power.

Concerning Power Boost:
this bit right here[ QUOTE ]
Controllers also, don't get as high of a power boost magnitude ...

[/ QUOTE ]is just plain wrong. Controller Power Boost is 186% buffs where ours is 149%. They get a better power, with the same recharge, which affects more of their (in many cases, already better) powers, and they can take it with any given primary or secondary. Ours is limited to two secondaries. How can you seriously say that's balanced?

Isn't Energy Blast blue for Corruptors, anyway? Maybe that's why they missed it?

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... I pm'd that along with Focus, and Vengeful Slice to Castle if it was intended for Impale to be 5.2 endurance and for Vengeful Slice to do the same damage as Focus and Impale despite being AoE AND a DoT (The DoT length is approximately the same duration as Burst from Assault Rifle, and yet Burst has a 9% damage bonus or so for being a DoT). He didn't reply back to me at all.

[/ QUOTE ]He's busy, right now. Give him a couple days.

Heh. Now here's something that'll really fry your brain:
I'm pretty sure Trow Spinez is actually overperforming. Take a gander at Shockwave from the Claws set. Its recharge is longer (from a set whose "bonus" is reduced Recharge and End costs) for less damage. Range and arc are the same for each power. What's really weird about all this is that the "proper" end cost for Shockwave would have been 13 End in the first place, which is what we've got for Fling Thorns.

(Also, if you care to notice, Scrapper Impale apparently costs a mere 5.2 End, which is absurd because it's a higher scalar attack than ours, and ours costs 6.86 End.)

So... ok, where are we left in all this madness, then? Well, as it was revealed by Iakona some time before he left (and unfortunately, this post has since been purged... T_T), the devs' normal balance procedure for AoE attacks was to prorate them as if they always hit a certain number of targets based upon their area of effect. In other words: larger area attacks that did comparable damage to other powers were given higher costs.

Psi Scream (the other 12s recharge cone) has an effective area of 942 sqft. Fling Thorns has an effective area of 706 sqft. So unless the devs really did intend for the Toxic DoT to count as part of the "main" damage of the attack, Psi Scream should actually be the power that has the higher End cost, not Fling Thorns.

At the least the End cost should be reduced. IMO, /Thorns has its AoE spread out enough that increasing the damage to Fling Thorns would help the set out quite a bit.

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All other attacks with Lethal damage have a -Def component why doesn't Plant Control.

[/ QUOTE ]Spines (like, the Stalker/Scrapper set) doesn't. Most of Dual Blades doesn't. Battle Axe doesn't. Most of Claws doesn't. Archery doesn't. Thugs don't.

Plant Control isn't the exception, here. It's a little disappointing that it's limited to on-the-ground targets and it doesn't get a secondary effect for that, but it gets some other tools that make up for it, I think.

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tell that to controllers that can't debuff.

[/ QUOTE ]What, all two of 'em? Ok.

Dear Empathy Controllers,

I am sorry that you have to eat the full accuracy penalty on all of your AoE controls. I'm sure that makes your early life very difficult, given that all you have to contribute at those levels are these tools us poor saps the Dominators make do with plus the hands-down most-valued Buff set in the game. With two heals in the early levels where they're incredibly visible, it must be a harsh burden to bear, occasionally being the difference between a successful Sewer team and an unsuccessful one. I'm sorry that it's so easy for you to get teams in the early levels because low-level players put so much more emphasis on Heals than they do on anything else. It must make that decision between Fortitude and Stamina at level 20 just that much harder.

Sincerely,
- Kane


-fumbles around his desk for a minute. gets another sheet of paper and a better pen.-


Dear Force Field Controllers,

I'm sorry you picked Force Field as your secondary. No, seriously, I feel for you from the bottom of my heart. It must burn that the only three powers in your secondary which are demonstrably superior to the Mastermind versions are also simultaneously the weakest and most useless powers in your secondary. I know if that happened to me, I'd lose sleep over it almost every night. But, look on the bright side: if you chose Fire or Earth control as your primary, you have a second ranged AoE stun to stack on top of the one in your primary. In fact, as I understand it, you can actually make your version of it perma against even-cons — go you! That may be only a small comfort if you happen to know that Storm Summoning has a PBAoE power which does the same thing without the requisite knockback, but it's best not to dwell on these things. And, hey, at least you can "stealth" missions with relative ease, thanks to that forced pick of Personal Force Field. And seriously — I really do feel for you guys. Maybe your next Controller won't suck as much.

Sincerely,
- Kane

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As I've argued, there's nothing wrong with the power other than its use requires sound tactics. If that's an issue, then you could probably double the size of the list as there are plenty of powers that will get you killed if you use them improperly or in an untimely fashion.

Last point I'll make. AoE immobs have gained in recognition for their ability to slot procs, their use in gaining recharge IO bonuses, and for their potential in multiple AV encounters. All of those areas argue for these powers to actually be useful in many builds. These new uses were not available at the time of the original list and warrant a fresh look at the immobs.

'Evolution or extinction' is a proverb I'm found of and fits the bill here.

[/ QUOTE ]I'd be willing to argue that the Immobilizes warrant attention because they're powers available at level 2 which do not serve a strong purpose until they are well-slotted. In that regard, they are unique, and not just to Dominators but to any class. They're very costly endurance-wise, they suffer from an accuracy penalty (as opposed to the accuracy bonus granted to the single target immobilize and single target hold a new player would have had experience with to that point), and only Roots does any damage to speak of absent of damage procs. The first two points are things which would be difficult to argue against given that they're also points relevant to Controllers*, but thanks to Containment that third point hits home rather soundly, and the fact that Roots (the only AoE immob that Controllers don't have) deals more damage and costs less End, it seems that the devs anticipated it.

Now, me, I'm prepared to argue that if the devs are unwilling to change the AoE Immobilizes directly, then at the very least our powersets should be re-ordered so that a player new to Doms would be less likely to take them early to disastrous results as we see so often now. The powers may be fine now; that's a matter of opinion as I see it. But the best I'd be willing to say about them is that they become useful later in the game, around the time a Dom can afford to start slotting their AoE Hold. (Say, late 20's, early 30's, depending on your priorities.) I can't think of any other level 2 power which that's the best thing you can say about it.


*: Actually, if you gave me enough time, I could probably mount a good argument concerning the Buff/Debuff nature of Controllers and, through that, their inherent ability to offset the Accuracy penalty in the AoE immobilizes. Most notably in the cases of Earth Control or Radiation Emission, both of which get sizable -Def at (you guessed it) level 2.

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I searched the thread and didn't see this:

Ice Control

Arctic Air's confusion is not boosted by Domination.

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Just tried this out, looks like you're right. Also, the purple bubbles don't appear on enemies confused in Arctic Air.

[/ QUOTE ]The lack of pink bubbles is a little annoying, but I think Domination not boosting the confusion duration of AA is a non-issue. You're talking about a 3 second confuse. Even if you had it 3-slotted for Confusion duration and used Power Boost, Domination would still only be a 5s difference, and that'd really only matter for things that wandered out of the radius of the power.

Moreover, I'm 90% sure that the reason Domination doesn't affect AA's Confuse duration is because implementing it that way would make AA get two chances at confusing any individual mob in the cloud while Domination was up. I.e: instead of a simple duration boost, you'd get a duration boost and nearly twice the odds of confusing anything that's in your field of chilly death. It'd be massive disparity between Domination Up/Domination Down.

I dunno. Maybe no one would see anything wrong with that. But that's my 2 infamy.

Minor issue, but it's a bug I've been able to duplicate:

If you're in flight and not moving (that part's important), then if you fire Whirling Hands, the character glitches out after the animation. You'll spasm every second or two with your arms out. It goes away once the pink pom-poms fade on their own, or if you move at all (or your character plays any other animation for any reason, including the "dodge/weave" movement when an enemy attacks you).

I dunno, my Plant/Fire doesn't feel like she's got a good attack yet at level 10, and I doubt Combustion or Blazing Bolt are going to fit that bill, either. Then again, maybe Fire Blast/Fire Breath will qualify once I've got Fiery Embrace. -shrug-