MallardDuck
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:With a scrapper without any taunt component everything still runs from the burn patch.Originally Posted by Rylas
Uhm, been away for a while? They've redone Burn to no longer cause fear. It's also front loaded for damage now. -
I would vote for Shield Charge over Burn simply because Burn has everyone running away from you. And as a scrapper I hate chasing guys down. Burn may recharge faster but that's not much help if no one stays in range of the attack. But that's just my preference.
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I would second either Claws/Invul or MA/Shield. Both are very hardy with a nice variety of attacks. Good defense, good AOE attacks, good ST attacks and very fun.
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Quote:Excellent and thoughtful post. Tying something like powerset respecs to the incarnate system is a very clever idea.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
It tells me some devs think there might be some positive aspects to allowing it, but most probably think its not currently a good idea.
Pro-tip: if the devs say they are discussing it, the one thing you can be absolutely certain about is that they are not actually contemplating doing it yet. Because the moment they start seriously investigating the details of hypothetically doing it, whether they've made the final decision or not, they immediately shut up about it. My guess is that its more of a water cooler topic than a serious investigation yet. But that is a guess.
There's been a lot of turn over and shuffling in the last two years: War Witch is now the head honcho on overall design, Positron is more active in specific design, Castle is gone and Black Scorpion is now in charge of powers, critters, and lots of other stuff. Ideas like powerset respec would almost certainly get kicked around every time new people have input or decision making authority over the process. With every shuffling, the odds change as to whether they might consider doing it. I still don't think its likely at this point. Its also worth noting that of the three people that the article said was on the panel, only Nate Birkholz would really likely be in a position to know how seriously the devs were contemplating such a move, and none of them would be actually involved with the details of such a change. If Tim or Matt or Melissa were there and acknowledged it strongly, I might be inclined to think differently.
There's only one thing that has happened to change my opinion on how likely something like powerset respec is likely to occur under any circumstances in the last few years, and that is the Incarnate system. I used to think that if it were to happen at all, it would be something that would be earned like at leevl 15-20, and you would have to execute it before some maximum level, around 20ish. You wouldn't be allowed to level to 50 and then switch to a whole new 50. But I now believe that the other possibility is to make powerset respec (within an archetype) a potential future reward of the Incarnate system. Basically, if you get to the point where your character is a full Incarnate and has most of the Incarnate slots unlocked, a significant fraction of that character's net ability will be in the Incarnate powers. Changing primary or secondary might not be the same thing for such a character as changing powersets would be for a leveling character or even a level 50 character, because the net change in the character is lower.
You could even argue, to a limited degree, that when you become an Incarnate its really the Incarnate tree that becomes your "primary" and your original primary becomes more of a secondary set that might be more acceptable to respec. That analogy only goes so far, but it might go far enough to create the design cover to allow the change.
I'd still say that the odds are less than 10% of that sort of thing happening at the moment. But if I were Positron, I might be contemplating whether whatever plans I had for Omega might not include unlocking an alternate primary or secondary. Most players assume that Omega has to be one hellaciously powerful power. But there's lots of things Incarnates could be allowed to do that aren't just generating big floating numbers. Limited switching of powersets could conceivably be one of them. Its not *exactly* powerset respec, though: its a related concept. -
Quote:So if the developers say they are against powerset respecs - we should believe that? And when they say they are considering the issue - we should not believe that?Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Which part? This?
Or are you trying to make a big deal out of the standard
Which is a polite way to mollify people to keep them from nerdraging in a public forum.
One of the main arguments on the table here is that the developers are dead set against this. And yet 3 days ago they say it is an issue being discussed.
Regarding Arcanaville's assertion that powerset respecs will be a slippery slope downstream to some unknown catastrophe in complete opposition to the direction the developers are taking the game - I can only respond with a polite chuckle. In the last couple of years the developers have given my hero duck new incarnate powers, inherent fitness and three new powers to choose from, a crazy number of very good temporary powers, access to villain powers, the ability to become a villain, the ability to change my duck's body size, the ability to change my duck's gender, the ability to change power colors and so on. So that now my hero can summon up a Mu Adept or maybe some Arachnos Spiderlings, he can become a woman, he can become very tiny, he can become evil, he can summon a giant snowman, he can glow purple. And I love it. And most everyone else seems to love it. But I can't change from Broad Sword to Dual Blades? Because that will somehow undermine the integrity of my creation and perhaps even the integrity of the game? That seems silly.
It has been stated that the essence of the game is creating alts. I would argue that the true essence of the game is creating a character or characters that is completely unique. A character that you love playing and that is completely yours. This is what makes CoX special. And this is what the developers have worked tirelessly to achieve in my opinion. Giving folks such an amazing range of possibilities. Not just an elf like everyone else's elf.
I have no desire to change the primary or secondary powers on most of my toons. I really like most of my toons. But I don't like a few of them and would be thrilled to have a means to re-work them. To this end I think powerset respecs are not inconsistent with the philosophy of the development team. I do think the development team has concerns about how to implement such an option. It obviously can't be something that is easy to do. But this development team seems all about giving people more control, more choices and more freedom. I no longer have to roll a new toon to change gender or to have access to villain content. Why not extend that flexibility to primary and secondary power choices within a given AT? -
Quote:Enjoyed the lame duck jab.Originally Posted by Sharker Quint 1
Bottom line: you do realize that some power sets in the AT's play completely differently? This is something the devs have been against since the beginning. It goes against the core of the game, creating alts. It really isn't all that hard to get the accolades and badges. Another lame duck example of why people want this.
Of course I realize sets play differently. Trying something different is the whole point. I just don't think allowing a person to change from katana to martial arts is that big of a deal. You can already change a toon's play style in a crazy number of different ways. A claws scrapper that hovers and uses caltrops is very different from a claws scrapper that uses super speed and waterspout. Even a claws scrapper that uses shockwave plays quite differently from a claws scrapper that doesn't use shockwave. And so on. And it takes some time to learn any change. So to argue that a power respec is a bad idea because it can dramatically alter a toon's play style seems puzzling to me.
If the heart of the game is creating alts - allowing me to re-invent one of my scrappers certainly isn't going to keep me from rolling a new corruptor. It's difficult to believe the game would be damaged by giving people a bit more choice and freedom to experiment in this regard.
Some people like rolling new toons. Others like re-working existing toons. For the people who like rolling new toons the answer is always to just roll a new toon. But re-inventing a toon you no longer play seems just as good to me. Finding the "right" mix of powers with as many toons as possible seems the ideal. How you get to that happy mix seems less important in my opinion. But I recognize I'm probably in the minority on this issue. -
There have been a number of issues that have been discussed at length across multiple threads. I see nothing wrong with starting a new thread on an old topic. Ideas have also been tagged as hopeless only to be implemented (i.e. market merge, inherent fitness, etc.) Developers change their minds. People have new insights. That's kind of the point of a forum.
I also would like to see a power respec offered within certain parameters. I don't think a scrapper should be able to change into a defender but altering a scrapper's primary or secondary is appealing. A 4th mutant build perhaps that only unlocks at level 50 after 100 mutant tip missions or something. I think folks greatly enjoyed redesigning and re-thinking their toons after inherent fitness and going rogue opened up new possibilities. It's fun to revamp an old toon. And it is hardly the end of the world.
The arguments against such a change don't seem that compelling to me.
1. Changing the powersets somehow severs a player's psychological link to a toon. I can change a toon's appearance and name, I can change from hero to villain, I can suddenly learn to fly, turn invisible, summon spiderlings, hurl a fireball, create a waterspout and so on. But changing from a martial arts/invulnerability scrapper to a katana/invulnerabilty scrapper is too much change? Really?
2. Changing the powersets is too hard to handle without months of practice. Losing a job and starting a new career, having a child, moving to a new city - these life changes take time to adjust to. But I think most people can understand fairly quickly how spine attacks are different from claw attacks. It's not that big of a deal.
3. Too hard to implement. Possibly. But hard to think it would be trickier than allowing a toon to switch from hero to villain.
4. It can be exploited. Not sure why it would matter once you hit level 50. I suppose some scrapper powersets, for example, are easier to get to 50 than others. But it seems as if all scrapper primaries should be roughly similar. At least similar enough that the time spent leveling to 50 should not vary enough to be an issue.
Bottom line - it is a decent amount of work to get accolade powers and shards and badges and such. Rolling a new toon just to switch from katana/willpower to dual blades/willpower seems a bit silly to me. But I would certainly love to re-invent a couple of toons given the opportunity. -
Like Werner - my favorite part of this game is the near infinite complexity of the builds and the challenge of fitting together all the puzzle pieces into something special. I think this change is actually quite excellent. Stamina is a necessity for nearly every build. And with it health and swift/hurdle. It's a much simpler puzzle if you already know 3 of the 24 pieces. This change now makes it harder to be completely satisfied with a build - which I think is fabulous. And add to that all the possible villain powers. I'll be spending as much time thinking about builds as playing the game.
Hats off to the developers!
I also agree that it is odd to speak of any change like this making the game "easier". This game can be scaled to be as hard as you wish it to be. But it's a much better game experience for me at any level of difficulty if my hero duck has flight and waterspout instead of health and stamina. -
Ironblade - you saved the day. Thank you. That worked perfectly! I owe you!
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Ironblade
Yes - it is all forms of chat. I can't even say "hi" locally. No broadcast. No team messages. No private messages. General announcements still show up in the chat box however. If I click on an emote the toon moves but no dialogue bubble appears. Happened immediately after using a terra volta respec. I've tried reloading the default file, logging off, verifying all files, etc. Nothing seems to work. It's actually amazing how limiting it is to suddenly be deaf and mute.
I had not thought to try saving settings from another toon to overload on top of this toon's default file. Brilliant suggestion! I will try tonight. Thank you!! -
One of my toons - and it appears to only be one - is suddenly unable to chat. He cannot interact with other toons and no chat bubbles will appear and no text appears in the chat box. Anything I can do to reset the chat so it works again?
Thanks! -
I can't speak to whether Regen needs to be changed. It's a fun and interesting set as is. But it is clear you can't survive very long without set enhancements that provide a lot of recharge and defense.
My question then - would it really work to abandon all my kinetic combat sets in useless powers like brawl and boxing to pick up Shadow Meld? I really kind of hate wasting all those powers and slots but without the S/L defense my Spines toon seems very fragile. But Shadow Meld doesn't look like a slam dunk to me. Looks like it can be on for 15 seconds and then at the minimum off for 13-15 seconds. While on it is incredible. While off I'm going to get hammered pretty hard. Moment of Glory adds another awesome protection that can occasionally fill that 15 second gap. Plus the 3 healing powers. And I suppose I could throw in Phase Shift. All in all I could make the toon essentially untouchable but I'd be toggling Hasten, Moment of Glory, Shadow Meld, Build Up, Instant Healing, Dull Pain, Reconstruction and maybe Phase Shift. Would I even have time to actually attack anyone? Just curious to know people's opinions before I spend the time going villain and respecting a couple of times to salvage the existing sets. Thanks!! -
Sort of amazed by this thread. I've tried a lot of scrapper combos and Invulnerability always seems to end up being the best secondary. At least for PvE. You can cap out S/L defense, nearly cap out S/L resistance, cap out hit points, have a regeneration rate in the mid 30's, have a decent heal every 2 minutes, have a fairly high to hit percentage and if you skip Resist Energies, Resist Elements & Unstoppable have it all with just 6 powers. And it doesn't even take much endurance. I try to cover for the Psionic hole with some Impervium sets. The lack of terror resistance is on a rare occasion an issue. But overall it seems quite incredible. Puzzling why people think it sucks.
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One last point on Phase Shift. I just honestly think unlimited phase shifts are more likely to keep my toon alive than a relatively small amount of extra cold, fire & energy resistance. Particularly as the degree of difficulty ramps up. Soloing a big mob at a high level of difficulty greatly increases the chance of things turning ugly. At that point being able to use phase shift repeatedly is really nice. Incredibly nice actually.
That said - I really like Resist Energies and Resist Elements and am not trying to change your mind about your build. You just asked for feedback and I personally find the stealth set more helpful than the extra resistance. But that's just me.
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No real argument with your choices.
I know Gamblers Cut has better DPS but I'm not really attacking non-stop with either Gamblers or Sting. Usually I'm just throwing in one of those attacks while waiting for Lotus, Dragon or Dragonfly to recharge. So the higher damage on the occasional attack seems more useful than the DPS.
I also agree completely about Combat Jumping. Loved it absolutely before Ninja Run. But now it's sort of a pain to use since I really like to keep Ninja Run up. And Ninja Run seems just as handy as the extra bump in maneuverability from Combat Jumping.
I also used the temp Phase Shift quite a bit - but I have to say it's just better knowing there's no limit. I would hesitate on using the temp power when I got in over my head.
But certainly stealth and Ninja Run use more endurance.
All just a matter of personal preference. Again - thought your build was excellent. -
No clue on the first two questions but I do have a Katana/Invul scrapper of almost the identical build. That I love playing. Only differences - I like Sting of the Wasp a bit better than Gamblers Cut. And I opted for Stealth, Invisibility & Phase Shift over Combat Jumping, Resist Elements & Resist Energies. Combat Jumping is great but it detoggles with Ninja Run and it's just a pain to keep switching back and forth. Resist Elements and Energies are also both good but I've come to really like the Stealth set. Stealth gives some defense. Invisibility is really nice when soloing for strolling through a map unharmed. And Phase Shift is a wonderful "Oh crap" power. Much better than something like Unstoppable. And it recharges fairly fast. Minor differences of course. Your build looks excellent.
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I love the invulnerability set and have tried nearly every combination of powers. The aid self is only useful if you also have phase shift. Then it is very nice. You can phase shift fairly often and heal yourself back to full strength. Otherwise the power is not worth getting. It is very hard to use during combat - even with two slotted interrupts. And it uses a lot of energy which isn't very helpful during combat.
I also don't choose either passive power (resist elements or resist energies). They just don't contribute that much. I would use the two extra powers on pool powers. Hasten, Hurdle/Health/Stamina, Boxing/Tough/Weave and Stealth/Invisibility/Phase Shift are all nice choices. Never thought much of stealth originally but it is wonderful while soloing to be invisible rather than fight through an entire map. And phase shift is a great power to have.
My two cents!!
Scott -
Ok - thank you. So the best plan is to not load up on anything in particular?? Seems odd.
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Am relatively new to CoH and have been searching the posts to understand "DR" and the effect it has on your toon once you enter a PvP zone. But can't seem to find any basic info. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!