Memphis_Bill

Seconding the "Check the wiki" as well as "Don't try."

That and this is such a general question that it's hard to really start. How do you mean you don't understand the powers and what they do? Are we looking at specific powers? Are you coming from another MMO that's confusing you by working differently?

Also, yeah, don't worry about "optimizing" a character. You don't have to be perfect, or near-perfect, to be quite effective in the game. And if you take "optimizing" as some do (must have the ultimate in DPS, capped everything, etc.) you're looking at more in-game expense and complexity than you probably want to when you're initially learning the game.

Other than that, a little more detail on what you're asking would help us answer.

There's "I dislike some things," and then there's your history of posting where it seems absolutely nothing is right about the game, to the point where, yes, I have to wonder why you're still around.

And there are those who want things that would be decidedly harmful to the game - to the point where they hear what the devs have said specifically they will not do and still reject that as "wrong." Or who want to go back to the brokenness of the early issues, where all you needed was a tank, a blaster and six fillers to clear a map - and the blaster didn't even have to move, since the tank would round the floor up to one point so they could nuke it. I played then. It was broken. It was not a recipe for long term survivability.

However, it's being used to refute your "wouldn't be available for heroes" and "Super tech" arguments, which again you dodge. Your character is either a registered hero (in which case you're closer to the military than police as far as the tech you'd potentially have access to, yes, even as a "natural") or villain (in which case, what do you care if they'd "let" you use what you just stole?)
Please show any other example in game where this is done.
I dub thee "KittyKrusader the Second." That individual also "did some mod for NWN" and thus felt they knew everything they'd ever need to know for just HOW COH worked. They were, of course, WAY off.

3d animation: I can set scenes exactly how I want, have them render and work.

MMO: I have a wide range of model sizes of which I don't control, three body types, and thousands of animations (including those requiring the lower body to move and/or be in direct contact with the ground) to deal with - *just for starters.*

/this.

Syndicate: one of the new villain groups in GR.

Controllers and Corruptors.

Yes, it's fun attacking enemies with a dead teammate.

So you're fine with using jetpacks now in that case? Since you decided to completely dodge that.

Yes.

You can have three earned respecs (the trials) and a freespec - see wiki link.

And yet in working regular reality you jog faster than cars without getting tired? You can get shot, burned, drop from the top of a skyscraper, hit with radiation, etc. and barely notice it? Heal from near-death in seconds?

Also, who cares if it's "a tech power?" Does that stop your natural character from using bows (technology) or guns (definitely technology?) Origin is the primary source of your powers. Using a gun does not change you from natural to tech. Punching someone does not make you go from science to natural.

One last bit: We've had jetpacks/rocket packs in one form or another developed since the 50s. You may be able to find footage of someone at the super bowl using one during half time from - oh, think it was the 80s. Not to mention powered "winged" backpacks - basically the ultimate ultralight - people are using now as a form of "extreme skydiving," most often. This isn't much of a stretch. Or all that "super tech." Had we had continual development instead of fits and starts? Not a stretch at all.

Yeah, just saying it was possible soon(tm).
I've wanted to see both for a while. AFAIC, villainside needs some favoring anyway. I hate hearing "parity" as a reason, like we were given as to why VEATs were set to unlock at 50. Just a lousy reason IMHO in many instances.

If "Vehicles" are OK for your natural (as in "all human," not "game origin definition" natrual) character, why isn't buying and strapping on a jetpack? (Or the previously mentioned piston shoes or jet boot costume pieces.) It would be just as much a "vehicle," in this instance, as a car or motorcycle.

No, it doesn't.

Origin = the primary source of your powers. Not "every single damn thing has to be ONLY this EXACTLY." A natural hero could still drive a car. Or take the train (technology) in game. Or buy a jetpack - very readily available in-game. Nobody in their right mind is going to gripe that "ZOMG that makes you tech!"

If "natural must be natural human (itself not true by dev provided in game examples, IE Kheldians, though I get your wanting to be 'as human as possible,') no tech, no help of any sort" is so locked in for you that none of that matters, use Walk and/or take Sprint off your tray, since even Sprint has you outdistancing cars without getting tired regardless of the distance.

Why does everyone want to insist they have to IO out characters? And both builds? I have yet to have anyone complain that (for instance) my Dark/Therm Corr's team build is mostly SOs. They're glad to have shields, buffs, and healing on top of extra damage regardless. (The other build is solo and closer to "concept," of course, dipping into Presence for both fears, for instance.)

IO out the "true" character if you want - the concept build, most likely - and SO or "cheap frankenslot" out the other.

Two words.

"Dual builds."

That said, it's pretty much impossible to make an "unplayable" character. As far as "effectiveness," I don't play a numbers game, trying to squeeze every last DPE/DPS/SPE/MIC/KEY/MOUSE out of a character. I play for fun. (Yes, I know that numbers game is fun for some. Not me.)

If anything, I end up stalling on the occasional concept trying to find "what fits best."

And this I'd argue against (respeccing out.) Learning what it does and when to use it is part of any power, and I tend to find Dimension Shift (situationally) useful.

That said, you don't even have to wait for (or burn) a respec to do so. Go to any trainer. After level 10, you'll have the option to create or switch to a second build. You can use it to switch (every 15 minutes) between, say, a solo and team build, or to try out your ideas for a respec before using the actual one, or go for concept vs team or whatever else you want. (They do, of course, use their own enhancements - they're not shared between builds.)

The reason you see "Never going to happen" is because, with much of what you've put out there, that's *precisely* what we've been told.

I've said this elsewhere. There are four reasons the devs tend to give as negatives on an idea:

1. It's not feasable to do with current manpower/budget. This list is getting shorter with the larger staff and more funding from NCSoft. Items like power customization used to be on it. (I think MA used to be, as well, come to think of it.)

2. It's not doable with the current engine. Items like running up walls with superspeed, grappling and stretching sets are here.

3. It would not turn out to the standards we want. This is a newer one on this list, and it's often a mix of #1 and #2. BABs stance on underwater zones, for instance, falls here. (In some ways, so do extensive zone revamps.) This one, like #1, can change as they find techniques that would create it to the standards they set for their end product. Other times, it ends up leading into the next reason:

4. "No." Not "It can't be done," but just flat out "no." "Full respecs" (switch primary/secondary/AT) and all variants thereof are here. The devs don't see this fitting into the game, and in the end, it's their call, even if the idea is technically feasable and easily doable.

So when you're getting told, "Never going to happen," read a bit farther and find out why. You'll usually find one of the above reasons behind it.

... which from their own comments takes as much work as an entire new set. Ignoring what they say doesn't make them wrong.

I'd see dual pistols before whip-anything anywhere else. (And personally hope we never see Illusion ported over to doms. Hate it as a "control" set, and it makes no sense with all the non-domination-building abilities to bring it to dominators without a massive rework.)

Easier to make minor tweaks to DP.

Should anyone want to look at it (free, legitimately,) tis here.

The flip side of that being confusion - "Why does it say held when I'm not?" Yeah, I know, different colors, etc. But everything on you - whether you're actually *held* or not - does show up already. (I'd have to argue "A lot of times those icons don't even indicate a mez," every one I can think of looks like every other standard mez icon.)

Now, in the interest of "I can't pick that out in all those icons" (as well as "I want to monitor buffs," which works for other ATs and powersets, not just the specific issue of Rooted,) having grouping options ("Show all like icons together") that you can also filter with a bit more granularity than we have now, I think would be a bit more universally useful.

Fix't.

What makes you think that this would "cut down slot use" at all?

I have a bunch of alts because I *enjoy* having a bunch of alts. All different characters, their own histories and such. Even if, for whatever reason, this option became available, I wouldn't use it (and can think of many who would feel the same way.)

Roll alts. Try out different servers. You're already suggesting starting at level 1. Why complicate things past that?