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Mitsarugi_Katsu

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  1. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Hello all, helping a friend of mine with his Fire/Ice blaster. Primarily, he want's to be an AOE soloing machine (not really a farmer, though) that can do so safely, and he's had his Fire/Ice blaster for a long time before coming back into the game and want's to spruce him up with IOs and such.

    Goals were to get a build with a decent amount of money to achieve near-perma Hasten, Soft capped S/L defense, decent defenses aside from that, and just being able to lockdown a large group of enemies so he can throw AOE's a plenty, all while not getting mezzed too much himself. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.953
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Freezer - Burn: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
    Primary Power Set: Fire Blast
    Secondary Power Set: Ice Manipulation
    Power Pool: Speed
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Concealment
    Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Fire Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
    Level 1: Chilblain -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(7), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(7), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(9)
    Level 2: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Posi-Dam%(11), Posi-Acc/Dmg(13), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(13), EndRdx-I(31)
    Level 4: Ice Sword -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(15), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(15), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
    Level 6: Rain of Fire -- Posi-Dmg/Rng(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(23), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(25), Posi-Dam%(25), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), EndRdx-I(43)
    Level 8: Fire Breath -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(21), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), Posi-Dam%(43), EndRdx-I(46)
    Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11)
    Level 12: Chilling Embrace -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(27)
    Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(17), Ksmt-Def/EndRdx(29), DefBuff-I(29)
    Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), Rec'dRet-Pcptn(48), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(50)
    Level 18: Blaze -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(31), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33)
    Level 20: Ice Patch -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 22: Aim -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(23), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(39), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(40), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(40), GSFC-Build%(43)
    Level 24: Kick -- Empty(A)
    Level 26: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(33), RctvArm-ResDam(34), RctvArm-EndRdx(34), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
    Level 28: Shiver -- CtlSpd-Acc/EndRdx(A), CtlSpd-Rng/Slow(36), CtlSpd-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(36), CtlSpd-Acc/Slow(36)
    Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
    Level 32: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(46), DefBuff-I(48), EndRdx-I(50)
    Level 35: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 38: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
    Level 41: Frozen Armor -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), EndRdx-I(50)
    Level 44: Hoarfrost -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Heal(45), Dct'dW-Rchg(45), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(45), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
    Level 47: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(48)
    Level 49: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I(A)
    Level 50: Spiritual Boost
    Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
    Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
    ------------
    Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(37)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
    Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(37), EndMod-I(37)
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Defiance
    Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 4: Ninja Run



    Code: 
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    The idea for soloing: Pull group to corner, lay down Ice Patch, Use shiver, get close enough for Chilling Embrace, and then go to town with AOEs with blaze+ice sword in between cooldowns. Single target rotation would probably consist of Fireblast/Flares+Blaze+Fireblast/Flares+Ice sword+repeat. I am still unsure if the technically great damage from Flares makes it better than fire blast, which has more upfront damage. I don't want to take both, as with that much CDR...the blaster wouldn't need both, and he's designed to be pretty tough anyway, so going in and getting a tiny bit of melee aggro isn't even a problem anyway, even on most teams. I also used two generic IOs at the end of Stealth because I was already maxed on the two set bonuses the extra two LoTG enhancements would have provided.

    Thoughts?
  2. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by houtex View Post
    Two Phalanx members dead, one who's gonna be real screwed up, the rest looking to the geek for leadership, and the Vindicators lead by a pissed off Ms. Liberty.

    And all incomparable to ME. As I'm the one that's gonna take Wade down, because I'm the only one he's really scared about.

    (Others say "no, *I* am. Says so right here!" Yeah yeah, I know...)

    Yep. Shapin' up to be an interesting year in Paragon.

    --

    I am really, REALLY looking foward to seeing this get wrapped up, but...

    I am NOT a fan of Psyche's death. Nosir. Not at all. Not that I was a fan of Statesman's either, but really... this one was... horrible to watch.

    /Placing bets on whether Manticore is going to be dead next.
    //Also placing bets on if that happens to pass on whether it'll be Gladiator style "gonna kill you first and watch you die... THEN I'll die, happier and sated."
    That "Geek," being one of the most powerful minds AND heroes in the world? Him being a scientist and creating gadgets makes him a "Geek," what does that mean exactly? Does a label alone make him discredited for the job, despite getting the Phalanx together back in the 80s in the games lore? >.> Seems like an odd statement. I guess you preferred even more Mary Sue generic moron-tough guy Statesman? As long as it's not the geek, rite? Get BAB in there then, he seems right up your alley.

    Sister psyche (not that she's around anymore), Numina, Synapse, and Siege are all their own sorts of "Geeks," too, but hey whatever :P Seems like an odd thing to point out, is all. Only reason they aren't considered "More," geeks is because some of them are either ho (Numina and Psyche) or they don't "Act," geeky enough (Synapse) or are just too badass/a robot (Siege). Except Posi has had some pretty badass moments too o.o
  3. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect View Post
    I wouldn't skip it personally. The only reason I can think of is people trying to maximize the Single target DPS potential of the set.



    I'd try to get a good amount of Melee/Ranged defense going with at least 600% passive regen and enough recharge to run a good attack chain and have perma-DP potential.
    Thanks I basically achieved that with my build posted above, though I'm not sure how "Good" good is when you say it, I also personally love Flashing steel but see most builds not taking it, so I guess I could switch something out for it. Need me to post specific totals from my build if you can't access Mids for some reason?
  4. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    No one? Nothing? Is my post that drawn out, or? :P
  5. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Here is a build I tried to throw together, no particular goals other than getting Shadow Meld CD as low as possible for as cheap as possible. Achieved 24.75 second cooldown on Shadow Meld, 123 CD on hasten (near perma), and way over the top recharge for Dul pain at 98 second CD. IH has 178 second CD (Which means that's pretty much exactly 90 seconds on, 90 seconds off), and I'll basically be able to chain Gamblers cut+Golden Dragonfly+Gambler's Cut+Soaring Dragon+repeat with no delays at all (of course I'd squeeze the DA's in there for the defenses), and then some. Is this too much recharge? What should I fill in instead, and which sets specifically? I really do like the idea of a mere 10 second downtime on Shadow meld.

    Soft capped Melee positional and meh kinda decent on AOE and Ranged at about 25% or so...not sure how to add more in without losing dps and/or recharge, and would only do a lot of that if there was a huge amount of defense to be gained. Lethal Defense almost softcapped at 40%. I'm obviously mostly relying on Shadow Meld/MoG/Shadowmeld/10sec/Shadowmeld/etc in this build, though for soloing AVs, that might not be enough.

    Again, this is pretty much for most end game content (but not the highest tier stuff), running missions alone with the difficulty settings not in the toilet, while on a bit of a budget, hence no purples.

    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.953
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Mitsarugi Katsu: Level 50 Natural Scrapper
    Primary Power Set: Katana
    Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Leadership
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Speed
    Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Achilles-ResDeb%(9)
    Level 1: Fast Healing -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(29)
    Level 2: Reconstruction -- Panac-Heal(A), Panac-Heal/EndRedux(5), Panac-EndRdx/Rchg(48), Panac-Heal/Rchg(50), Panac-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(50)
    Level 4: Quick Recovery -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-End%(5), EndMod-I(11)
    Level 6: Combat Jumping -- SW-ResDam/Re TP(A), SW-Def/EndRdx(7), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(11), LkGmblr-Rchg+(15)
    Level 8: Divine Avalanche -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(17), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
    Level 10: Dull Pain -- Panac-Heal(A), Panac-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(19), Panac-Heal/Rchg(19), Panac-EndRdx/Rchg(21), Panac-Heal/EndRedux(21)
    Level 12: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)
    Level 14: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Cyto(23)
    Level 16: Integration -- Panac-Heal/EndRedux(A), Panac-Heal(23), Panac-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(25), Panac-EndRdx/Rchg(27), Panac-Heal/Rchg(27)
    Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Oblit-%Dam(33)
    Level 20: Resilience -- GA-3defTpProc(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(25)
    Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A)
    Level 24: Tough -- Aegis-Psi/Status(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(34), Aegis-ResDam(34), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(34), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
    Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
    Level 28: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Cyto(29), HO:Cyto(31)
    Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
    Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(39), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Oblit-%Dam(40)
    Level 35: Dark Blast -- Cloud-ToHitDeb(A), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(42), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(42), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Cloud-%Dam(43)
    Level 38: Moment of Glory -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(43)
    Level 41: Shadow Meld -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45), LkGmblr-Rchg+(45)
    Level 44: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(45), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(46), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(46), GSFC-Build%(46), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(48)
    Level 47: Instant Healing -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48)
    Level 49: Super Jump -- Empty(A)
    Level 50: Spiritual Boost
    Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
    Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
    Level 0: Task Force Commander
    Level 0: Portal Jockey
    ------------
    Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A)
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Critical Hit
    Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    ------------
    Set Bonus Totals:
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
    • 8.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
    • 11% Defense(Smashing)
    • 11% Defense(Lethal)
    • 11.94% Defense(Fire)
    • 11.94% Defense(Cold)
    • 9.13% Defense(Energy)
    • 9.13% Defense(Negative)
    • 6% Defense(Psionic)
    • 16% Defense(Melee)
    • 12.25% Defense(Ranged)
    • 13.19% Defense(AoE)
    • 2.25% Max End
    • 39% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 91.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    • 15% FlySpeed
    • 130.5 HP (9.75%) HitPoints
    • 15% JumpHeight
    • 15% JumpSpeed
    • MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
    • MezResist(Held) 2.5%
    • MezResist(Immobilize) 9.1%
    • MezResist(Sleep) 2.5%
    • MezResist(Stun) 6.9%
    • MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
    • 10% (0.17 End/sec) Recovery
    • 62% (3.46 HP/sec) Regeneration
    • 3% Resistance(Smashing)
    • 3% Resistance(Fire)
    • 3% Resistance(Cold)
    • 3% Resistance(Energy)
    • 3% Resistance(Negative)
    • 3% Resistance(Toxic)
    • 6% Resistance(Psionic)
    • 3% Resistance(Lethal)
    • 20% RunSpeed
    • 2.5% XPDebtProtection

    http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/downl...5A9F015C53FCC8
  6. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Hello there, I have my main/badger as a Katana/Regen and just recently resubscribed to VIP, and have a few simple questions on the set that may be better answered, since some other threads I've looked at seem confusing.

    From what I've seen, Cut of the Gambler>Sting of the Wasp mathematically, Soul mastery as your epic pool for semi chaining Shadow Meld+MoG+Etc. On anyone with the ability, Dull pain should obviously always be Perma, with enough recharge to facilitate that. The Lotus drops as only AOE from Katana because 1) It's a good AOE and 2) it's a great 6 slots for a few sets that fill in gaps in Regen very nicely. Divine avalanche helps get to that Melee softcap easily, so some slotting for that is pretty necessary, or you're wasting that potential.

    Now to mention my experience...I started my character way back in the days of Toggle IH, and Katana seemed a bit weak to me back then, but I loved the concept, and Regen was great, and it was the closest thing to willpower that existed at the time. I took Sting of the Wasp just because I liked the animation itself better (now I've obviously switched to gambler's cut, the unrealistic and weak seeming animation not really mattering compared to the numbers). I was never too serious with this toon, but he was my main the sense that I spent the most time on him. I got 3 other characters through actually intelligent leveling to 50 before I ever got him, because I played him just to relax and slash some enemies.

    Through various ways, those 50's aren't available to me/I don't care about them, and want to make him shine. I have a modest budget, and have recently gotten a farmer leveled up to 50 and I've gotten him IOed out for that task (Along with getting Spiritual for said farming). Money is a bit of an issue in regards to purples, and I don't have the most time for getting all the highest tiers of Incarnate abilities, so he'll only be moderately powerful. So, what do I do?

    I've seen all sorts of different slottings, and a lot of different opinions in general. There's the "Regen is near one of the weakest defensive melee sets," and "It can be a near God if you click right, and you're skilled." I really don't know if I want to continue with this character, because all my other characters seem to out class him if they are slotted with SOs compared to him slotted with SOs. Of course, inventions in this game can make the man, so he may have the potential to outclass them with a few hundred million influence thrown at him and them equally, but I just don't know.

    Also, is there any reason that Flashing Steel is generally not taken? I leveled with it, and love the AOE capability of it, and on teams, I prefer it vastly over the recharge infused 4 ability rotation, I just don't feel like I'm doing much without my AOEs, though, general trash mob teaming wouldn't be where Katana shines: I think I outdamaged fully IO slotted other melee classes in the last TF with my character despite only being in SOs...which is part of why I built him anyway, as a solo toon who could take down tough enemies on his own, but despite that, I never got to the point I could solo AVs with just SOs. Now I can with IOs, but again, I just want to do that right, and despite all the research, I'm a bit lost on the current state of Katana/regen with Incarnate abilities...

    I'll probably just throw out a build later for you guys to rip apart, because I know I'll probably get some stuff wrong :P And which is more important..passive regen, capping or S/L + melee defense, or trying to cap out positional defenses? I've seen all 3 attempted in the builds I've researched.
  7. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    What I find wrong with the Hollows, Striga and Croatoa is that they have no real plot. They have a setting, but no structure to the story. David Wincott has a few unconnected missions before he kicks you off to Flux, who has a few unconnected missions until he up and tells you where to find Frostfire, then kicks you off to Julius who's just giving you random assignments until he runs out of esoteric stuff he needs done and then passes you on to Talshak. It isn't until Talshak that an actual story starts to develop where one mission leads into the next and where all the missions can't just be done in any order. Talshak is the first to have a story, and his story ends up in a timed, difficult 8-man Trial in a level range that people spend barely any time in.

    Striga and Croatoa are not much different, where only really Lars Hansen and that fat guy near a tree having an actual story. Yes, the zones have a pretty comprehensive setting and yes, the various random missions do play into that setting, but I still vastly prefer actual story arcs that have a cohesive narrative and at least a roughly set sequence of events. Even something as relatively simple as BoneFire still has enough structure to be called a story, but I really can't say the same about the Hollows, Striga or Croatoa. Or about the Shadow Shard, for that matter.

    Mind you, I agree with both of you. I find that the more specific a story gets, the less desire I have to play it a second time...

    Thing is, that's a bit of a contradiction. There was an overarching story that was loose in the first 5-10 levels of The Hollows: The area has been destroyed and devastated, and now gang members are taking advantage of the situation and moving in to have an extension of their gang war. There are materials to take and use (like the weapon caches) and various objectives to use and take advantage of.

    Thing is, I don't have to remotely reach for these conclusions, it's basically and literally spelled out simply multiple times why you're doing these things, and they would be (mostly) realistic real world responses if it actually happened, assuming we lived in Paragon, anyway :P . It's a devastated zone that just recently was destroyed, and this is the chaotic fallout in a city filled with semi-powerful criminals. Why aren't there better and more powerful villains there? Well, because the artifacts and items available in the aftermath aren't very good (for the most part, the Circle knows a bit better though :P), so most mid level and higher villains passed it up for better pastures, so the low-mid level villain groups have the best chance of benefiting from the event, scrounging the rubble and establishing bases away from the long (yet sickly) arm of the Paragon Police and the city's heroes.

    Your heroes role there is essentially helping be damage control, therefore, and that's kind of the point of a hero anyway :P The story arc involving Frostfire was a bit weak, but again, that's leaving it open to imagination and did lead up to one of the few members of the "Rogue gallery," that I enjoyed, because I had actually seen this character when he was he was a two-bit elemental villain.

    It really has everything you listed in it, I just don't know where the disconnect is :P There's lots of actually realistic and practical reasons for the zone to be the way it is, the missions to be constructed the way they are, and also why heroes would be there helping out. And at the end of the zone, you dofind out a few things if you went all the way through, and being around when the zone was first released, I did do that. The drawn out trial was a bit excessive, but if they mere toned that down, the zone would stay a pretty darn decent early game zone, one of the few. Far more engaging than kings row, or skyway city. And that's kind of the point of these zones...the whole area contains a plot or a story at it's core, with anything else branching down from that.

    It's essentially a very extended story arc with missions in the middle that do come together to form a realistic narrative.

    Striga isn't as strong in this regard, but it is nonetheless, in the spirit and most of the implementation of the Hollows. Again, I don;t think Croatoa was like that at all, and it feels like an odd mish-mash (For the most part) from both a narrative mission perspective and villain perspective. It felt like since the Hollows that they were trying harder and harder to recreate a good experience they did in that first story zone, and while Striga was passable and decent, Croatoa definitely flopped. I have yet to play through Cimerora...but I'm not exactly excited to do so, either, so I can't comment on that. It just feels like they were stepping away from a story-zone-arc into the wannabe cinematic experience you mentioned with the midnight squad and Cimerora, so I haven't been motivated to explore it.
  8. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Slaunyeh View Post
    Honestly, I didn't even think of it as derailment. For me, writing and content are all but synonymous in this context.

    I think, overall, there are several levels of writing. There's the actual dialogue in individual missions. There is the writing that ties a story arc together, the writing that ties together the overall story of a themed zone and the overall meta-plot behind the scenes, with breadcrumbs scattered across the levels that you may or may not pick up on.

    I really liked the writing, and presentation, of that meta-plot, and I feel it is being sacrificed for these new (-ish! The Hollows is still new, dangit! ) themed zones.

    If I was a new player today, I think I would either be really confused about the backstory of the game, or I'd ignore that there even is a backstory, which honestly I feel is what is currently being encouraged.

    And I think that's a shame, because the backstory (and the way it was being presented) is what drew me to the game in the first place.


    ...and as a villain, I'm a little tired of saving the world, but that's a discussion for a different thread.
    Sort of, I did start the thread, and was mostly and precisely talking about the specific writing quality and story itself, and not content. If I was talking about content, I would have been a LOT more critical of the story concerning SSAs. The way they integrated content to that "Story..." Ugh. I don't like my character being a mannequin, especially with it going to utter crap in SSA #6 :P

    But anyway, what exactly is wrong with the Hollows as a zone with story? They dialogue (unless they changed it recently) isn't really overdone, and it's a lot of missions that are pretty near similar in a row that do come to a head near the end of their respective arcs, usually culminating into something interesting for the lore (usually about the Hollows as a zone itself). Again, I see zones like the Hollows being a decently good middle ground for the old style of "Do these generic and near random missions which are semi rewards to give you pieces of interesting lore," and "We are going to oooh and awe you with semi fancy whatevers at the price of any depth in the story." It met both pretty well and especially considering that you can get travel powers at level 4, the Hollows doesn't take too long to get through at all anymore.

    Striga was in line with this as well, but I don't feel much that way for Croatoa. That zone has always felt like an overly puke-green foggy landmass of butchered mythical references mixed in a blender at a frat party. Only select parts of those missions really seemed good from a writing OR content perspective in my book.
  9. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by firespray View Post
    Hopefully no one will. WE as players should be the main protagonists of the game. WE should be doing the great deeds and leading the charge against the forces of evil. We shouldn't be outshined by overpowered Mary-Sue NPCs.
    I always called him Statesman-Sue :P He really never had any significant personality to speak of, even in the well done Dark Horse comics, while every other "Signature," Hero at least had half of a contrived personality or background thrown at them.

    A way that Statesman always fell short of the other two signature Patriotic heros (superman and Cpt America) was that they had more motivating them other then "Protect da innocentz cause I guud."

    For Superman, it was not only about protecting his surrogate homeworld after his own was destroyed, but in a way, the earth represented his own unique humanity that no other Kryptonian (Full blooded, anyway..) had. There was a lot more than just "I needz to be guud," for him.

    Captain America mostly started out just as shallow as Statesmen is and always has been, but he quickly became a symbol of hope against oppression, and eventually, the compassionate underdog being given a chance to really fight back against the evil that plagued his people and country. His sense of nobility and integrity came from his legitimately honest and genuine heart that he maintained despite being given a body far beyond those of a normal person. He also, despite being granted this body that made him quite a bit better than those around him, grew disciplined and adept at using that body, while Statesmen never seemed to care about any legitimate training, and has even been selfish about his granted and gifted powers to the point he tries to discourage anyone else from gaining them as well. He was basically just OP and loved being made so when he wasn't anything particularly special.

    Superman did train some eventually, but the point above is that once given something the weaker men didn't have before, Captain America tried to make maximum use of this potential while Statesman was in a way, lazy with his power. Superman always had his power, and was tempering any excessive or uncontrolled use his whole life anyway.

    The two from the establish comic franchises seem more legitimately Noble, better role models for who we want to be. If we had that strong of a mascot in our game, I'd be darn fine with him/her being the face of it. As it stands, however, this cheap hybrid of the two in concept in the form of Statesman just never really measured up, and I didn't really care that he died while playing through the SSA. I was just hoping that the moron running into the obvious trap for the who-knows-now-how-many-times he did that would stay put down.

    Replacing Statesman-Sue with Mary Liberty wouldn't really be a step up, either, in my book :P She's honestly one of the other few horrendously flat signature heroes.
  10. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Slaunyeh View Post
    I liked the original content we had. Otherwise I wouldn't have been around for as long as I have.

    I also like some of the new content in moderation. The "modern" and "advanced" mission layout takes a lot of development resources though, and the more of it we have, the more we expect it. Plus, honestly, the more "special" it becomes, the less replay value it has (to me, anyway).

    I really like the revamed Faultline zone, but I don't want every zone to turn into Faultline. I like the new Atlas Park, but I got tired of playing through it after just one or two playthroughs, and it's just easier to streetsweep (or DfB) out of it, than run those exact same arcs again.

    Basically, the more specific the story gets, the less freedom you have for making up your own reason for helping out and that, at least for me, takes away some of the fun of playing through it. That doesn't mean I don't want to see zone revamps, I'd just prefer a happy mix of the two story styles.

    Tip and newspaper missions actually are fairly close to our original mission layout... except they don't progress the overall metaplot, or really take you on a tour through the background story of the city (which, to me, means that only running newspaper missions is out of the question. Gets boring!).

    Anyway. I'm rambling. To sum up: I like new content (at least new content that isn't specifically designed to suck for stalkers. *cough*firstward*cough*). But I also like old content, and I don't like to see old content sacrificed for new content because it makes the overall meta story of City of Heroes really weirdly fragmented when you just yank out an entire zone worth of old story clues.
    It's interesting to see how a discussion on the actual writing of the game turned into a content discussion with a light emphasis on writing :P Nonetheless, this shameless tangent is of the highest quality! :P I personally love "Derailments," like this, so by all means, continue.

    There was an odd charm to missions that don't exist now, even if I enjoy the higher quality level writing itself now more often, the overarching back-drop of missions doesn't exist as strongly in the new content as it does the old.

    My original main being a Katana/Regen, I basically built him to be a soloing machine that never really needed much help from anyone, only that help would be nice. This didn't happen very much until I was about level 30, but the character did achieve that nonetheless. Most of his leveling has been with classic content. There's quite a few story arcs that I loved going through because, despite the fact each mission was decently boring and very repetitive, I was interested in the developing plot. The higher level my character became, the better a plot he'd end up getting pulled into, and by the end, I'd know something very interesting about some villain group or a hidden secret about some signature villain that I didn't know before.

    See, this was a bigger issue when Paragonwiki didn't exist, or anything like it. There wasn't an easy index for some juicy details on the Rikti, or how the Lost became how they were, or etc. In a way, the missions were merely a tool to unlock background lore that would be fun to think about. That intrigued someone like me, as I am a bit of a history geek and love finding out little facts and unknowns about our world that most people don't see, and I'm equally that way in a complex fictional setting.

    Unfortunately, this only sustains you for so long. While those tidbits of information were interesting...the missions themselves weren't exactly..engaging. This is a big reason I loved the Hollows and Striga island: They seemed like interesting compromises between the two implementations within the game for plot.

    While I do enjoy a lot of the writing in the Tip missions, I have to admit...it's a sort of feigned "Overarching," story that, like some have pointed out, you have to make full rounds across the whole alignment system to even start to figure out. The "Plot," is, at best, loose, once you lay out all the missions and try to figure out some sort of start or finish. I think this may be the bigger problem with stories now and their structure, compared to before. The plots themselves have shifted into the other extreme, from background lore facts to in your face dialogue chains of shallow boredom, when most the time, there's absolutely no reason for those chains to be that long. The story team got on well enough with less text, and just as much meaning.

    I would prefer a shift with the current level of engaging writing (I think before it wasn't the writing as much as it was the story design, way back in the day, that kept me going and wanting to do more story arcs), with a formula of missions with a bit of diversity along with plot that keeps you guessing a bit and more tempted to play the mission out until the end to figure out what happens instead of you rushing through it to the end and then just reading the synopsis on paragon wiki.

    This isn't even bringing up continuity, which is another area they kind of dropped the ball..though, that would imply they ever had a good handle on said sphere in the first place >.>

    So, I would just prefer a good balance of what they get right now with what they used to get right in the past, and to throw away the fat. Long AND short story arcs TTYM, but make the long ones with better conclusions than the short ones, and make the tinier arcs have a point, instead of feeling like 3 random missions slapped really hard together that happen to have the same enemy groups (sometimes...), with no real plot or story development that's deep to speak of. I personally got that vibe way too hard from the Rogue Isle missions, especially non-Grandville ones. I gladly level up my heroes to 50 before making them villains if I intend for them to be such in the end.
  11. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Black_Assassin View Post
    Wall of text put me off reading so ill just say what i usually say.

    Farming is all about recharge, recharge, and more recharge.

    32.5% def = not maxed recharge

    20% def = maxed recharge

    Vengeance is used to take you from 20% to 45% and allows for more recharge = more AoE

    2 purples to softcap isnt that much harder to get solo since mobs will melt more because of your higher recharge.
    First off, wall of text=usually refers to a huge "Wall," of usually unformatted and unbroken text. I didn't do that. Some people stretch the meaning a bit, like you did, but I don't really see the point of a discussion forum if you aren't going to, well..discuss. Sometimes, you need to say less, and sometimes more. Most my posts aren't nearly this long in any forum, but when I'm going in depth, It's going to be longer.

    "A piece of writing that does not use proper grammar and generally looks like a giant essay with 20 to 400 sentences without using paragraphs or any bit of spacing at all." - Urban Dictionary, "Wall of text."

    TL;DR: Going Leadership under any route doesn't make sense for pure Recharge, because you'd be skipping either concealment, or fighting. Concealment gives 3 slots of LoTG, while Fighting gives 1, and the last is covered by combat jumping. You also get an ability (Tough) to either slot an Aegis or Impervious Skin set into, both of which will work without the ability being on. Boxing/kick is the throwaway skill, yes, but so is tactics in leadership(with the accuracy from set bonuses and sets themselves, it isn't needed at all). Yes, you can slot two LoTG's into the leadership pool total, but you [i] don't need to do that[i] with concealment/combat jumping. I don't need to slot any concealment power or combat jumping or weave, all 5 of my LoTG abilities, so I can use the slots elsewhere for more set bonuses, so I don't need someone with me during farm to ram past the cap on a farm. This would be the ideal setup if I was going for max recharge anyway because I'd put a basilisk into KO blow instead of it's current CB set, and impervious skin in tough, which I can't do with Leadership..so...

    No matter how you slice it, I don't see a reason for taking leadership. It doesn't give you max recharge, concealment/fighting/combat jumping does, with no loss for damage (unless you took assault, and you therefore couldn't slot an LoTG in there anyway, which goes against your recharge argument).

    A bit more in depth:

    With spiritual(since I'm assuming this is the best Alpha slot for the farming job) +recharge bonuses in their current form, I'm going to basically be constantly able to press some button, whether that's refreshing rage or hasten (if they already aren't dead), or using any of the four AOEs I have, or just repositioning myself. I also get to shove one more LoTG into another defense ability because of the concealment pool, while a lot of Fire-farm builds take Vengeance through leadership and miss one. Isn't that defeating the purpose of recharge, like you said? Especially if you only need two purples to reach the softcap?

    And, where exactly would I switch out for more recharge? The only conceivable difference I could make is to switch out the Crushing blow from KO blow, and but the Basilisks back in (bring me from 5-> 6.25% on this ability) and slot one of the resistance abilities (like though, which won't be on for farming) with an impervious skin set, which would give me that last 5% back for a total increase of 6.25%, while making tough significantly weaker for the purposes of teaming, and losing that aforementioned fire defense.

    When I'm already at 166.3% recharge before spiritual (Which I'm about to slot into my character), is that 6.25% worth it? Especially considering if I go with your Vengeance advice and sacrifice the concealment set, losing a home for one of the LoTG recharge globals, which would actually have me 1.25% in the red from where I am now.

    I guess if recharge really was God like you said, then I should keep concealment to keep all 5 LoTG while also trading out an Aegis for an Impervious skin set, and making KO blow useless for actual damage in comparison to what it is now. Which would only increase my overall cooldown, again, by 6.25% from where it is now.

    Aside from that, adding another impervious set wouldn't do anything because of the Rule of 5 (I have 3 obliteration sets+one Doctored wounds) and then literally everything else that has any significant number of slots has a set that gives 5-7.5% recharge in it.

    So, I'm already one set away from reaching the possibly highest amount of recharge possible with my current money setup and power choices, with the exception of one set which would only give me a meager 6.25% over what I have now, which would hurt the teaming and grouping I'm going to be asked to do. Could you give any other specific suggestions that actually takes the power and enhancement choices into consideration?
  12. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Morrigana View Post
    Well this won't really help you in terms of critique of your build, but your "over-analyzing" really gave me some good things to think about in terms of what I want to get out of my SS/FA brute that is a few levels shy of 50. I like the idea of using Invisibility and SJ for utility as well as slots, so when I play around with mids I might have to try to fit those in as well. Thanks
    Uhh, well, No problem xD I see a lot of builds forego concealment for Leadership and SJ for...more abilities :P Thing is, that kind of always contradicted itself, from my point of view. Why have leadership if this is primarily a soloing/duoing farmer in AE or a mission? You're obviously skipping a travel power because of the availability of temporary ones if they are really needed, but they do help to get to missions if you want to run them. And getting leadership for capped defense with vengeance seemed odd when I easily softcap fire defense+one purple, and you need someone in the mission with you, and I don't always want someone there, which also includes getting a useless toggle that is also team oriented...just seems a bit odd :P I'd rather go for the extra LoTG slot with concealment while having better KB protection if I'm teaming, and having leadership toggles on top of my present ones...yeah, give my grant invisibility any day on this build :P
  13. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    No advice or suggestions eh? I doubt I got everything right :P
  14. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Hey all, after coming back to the game and seeing all of the new toys available, I decided to do the creative thing (Hah) and create my first farming character, after avoiding one for the two years I'd been subscribed previously. After "Painstakingly," getting my shiny new Brute to 50 (in just about a week, the hardes phase was getting to burn and getting access to more inspiration slots, and this was only about 2-3 hours a day max average in AE after making my own exclusive Firefarm as most weren't friendly for a leveling SS/Fire), equipping him with various kinds of low-mid level set enhancements after coming into a bit of cash in-game (yay random purple drop I got to sell for half a billion influence), I just finally unlocked the patron pools.

    I have enough money to finish off the rest of my current planned enhancement setup (I have about 60% of the enhancements I need, including 4 LoTG recharge proc slotted from morality missions on my actual main and sending the recipes over to my newly leveled farmer), but now a whole load of questions I've been avoiding must finally be answered. I also unlocked access to the Alpha slot, but I am unsure as to which Alpha Ability I should slot in it. Spiritual seems to be standard, but after scouring the forums, I can't seem to get a straight answer on any other solid choice if you're running a poor-man's build like mine.

    To make things clear: This is primarily intended to be a farming toon, with semi-limited resources. I do plan on doing some exemplaring with some friends and trying to take on some of the harder enemies when I do so, primarily going to end up helping them level while playing content from levels 20+, so I'll eventually also be very good actual damage in addition to being a pretty good tank (two of the friends have great defense/resistance shields), and I've noticed that I don't actually need taunt anyway, so that works out. I also decided to take Mu Mastery, as according to what I've read so far, it's the superior choice for hardcore farming, while Dark is king for an actual SS/fire non-farmer.

    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.953
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Careful Blaze: Level 50 Magic Brute
    Primary Power Set: Super Strength
    Secondary Power Set: Fiery Aura
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Speed
    Power Pool: Concealment
    Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Jab -- Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(3), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(3), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(5), Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(5)
    Level 1: Fire Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(7), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(7), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Aegis-ResDam(9)
    Level 2: Blazing Aura -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-Dmg(11), Oblit-%Dam(11), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(13), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(13), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15)
    Level 4: Healing Flames -- Dct'dW-Heal(A), Dct'dW-Rchg(15), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(17), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(19)
    Level 6: Boxing -- Empty(A)
    Level 8: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 10: Temperature Protection -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(48)
    Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19)
    Level 14: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(21), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(23), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(23)
    Level 16: Plasma Shield -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(25), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(27), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(27)
    Level 18: Rage -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29)
    Level 20: Consume -- Mocking-Rchg(A), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(29), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(31), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(31), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(31), Mocking-Taunt(33)
    Level 22: Haymaker -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(33), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(33), Mocking-Rchg(34), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(34), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(34)
    Level 24: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50)
    Level 26: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50)
    Level 28: Burn -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Oblit-%Dam(37)
    Level 30: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
    Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(37), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), FrcFbk-Rechg%(40)
    Level 35: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
    Level 38: Knockout Blow -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(40), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
    Level 41: Electrifying Fences -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(43), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), Posi-Dam%(50)
    Level 44: Ball Lightning -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(45), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Posi-Dam%(46), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(46)
    Level 47: Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 49: Grant Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    ------------
    Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(48)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(46), P'Shift-End%(48)
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Fury
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    ------------
    Set Bonuses:
    Stupefy
    (Jab)
    • 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
    • 28.11 HP (1.88%) HitPoints
    • 3% Enhancement(Stun)
    • 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Aegis
    (Fire Shield)
    • 5% RunSpeed
    • 3.13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1.56% Defense(AoE)
    • 2.5% XPDebtProtection
    • 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)
    Obliteration
    (Blazing Aura)
    • MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
    • 3% DamageBuff(All)
    • 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    • 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)
    Doctored Wounds
    (Healing Flames)
    • MezResist(Terrorized) 2.2%
    • 1.26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
    • 4% Enhancement(Heal)
    • 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Luck of the Gambler
    (Combat Jumping)
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Steadfast Protection
    (Temperature Protection)
    • 1.5% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery
    • 3% Defense(Melee), 3% Defense(AoE), 3% Defense(Ranged), 3% Defense(Smashing), 3% Defense(Lethal), 3% Defense(Fire), 3% Defense(Cold), 3% Defense(Energy), 3% Defense(Negative), 3% Defense(Psionic)
    • Knockback (Mag -4), Knockup (Mag -4)
    Aegis
    (Tough)
    • 5% RunSpeed
    • 3.13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1.56% Defense(AoE)
    • 2.5% XPDebtProtection
    • 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)
    Aegis
    (Plasma Shield)
    • 5% RunSpeed
    • 3.13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1.56% Defense(AoE)
    • 2.5% XPDebtProtection
    • 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)
    Mocking Beratement
    (Consume)
    • 1.8% Max End
    • MezResist(Held) 2.75%
    • 2.5% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Melee)
    • 3.13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1.56% Defense(AoE)
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Mocking Beratement
    (Haymaker)
    • 1.8% Max End
    • MezResist(Held) 2.75%
    • 2.5% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Melee)
    • 3.13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1.56% Defense(AoE)
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Luck of the Gambler
    (Weave)
    • 10% (0.62 HP/sec) Regeneration
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Luck of the Gambler
    (Stealth)
    • 10% (0.62 HP/sec) Regeneration
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Obliteration
    (Burn)
    • MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
    • 3% DamageBuff(All)
    • 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    • 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)
    Blessing of the Zephyr
    (Super Jump)
    • Knockback (Mag -4), Knockup (Mag -4)
    Obliteration
    (Foot Stomp)
    • MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
    • 3% DamageBuff(All)
    • 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Crushing Impact
    (Knockout Blow)
    • MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%
    • 16.87 HP (1.13%) HitPoints
    • 7% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Positron's Blast
    (Electrifying Fences)
    • 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
    • 1.58% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
    • 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Positron's Blast
    (Ball Lightning)
    • 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
    • 1.58% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
    • 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Luck of the Gambler
    (Invisibility)
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Luck of the Gambler
    (Grant Invisibility)
    • 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    Performance Shifter
    (Stamina)
    • 5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed

    http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/downl...1CFDBF5B57EEE5

    About my decisions:

    I wanted to slot 5 LoTG, and the only way I saw that happening was by either skipping the Fighting Tree completely and going for Leadership, which would sacrifice too many good set bonuses from Tough+Aegis while gaining a mostly useless skill for farming (tactics).

    I also took concealment because of the utility grant invisibility gives to my allies when teaming with them, in addition to the utility granted to myself at max level with Invisibility for running extremely quick missions for tips, doing quests for accolades, etc, and stealth obviously for higher actual defense when farming. With the current build, I get 35.4% fire defense, and popping one purple should get me completely to the softcap, correct? Buying one purple for every run (or just keeping one from the last) should be extremely easy, and this makes the Leadership pool completely unnecessary if this is the case, right? I still don't quite exactly know the purpose of Vengeance other than being a spare slot to put another LoTG into (Which is already taken care of) and to have some poor/lucky soul dying over and over in the farm for you to ram past that fire defense softcap (Which is already easily taken care of).

    Lastly, on that point about far above about me doing some exemplaring and teaming, especially when said friends actually get to max level: I didn't want to waste Basilisk enhancements in KO blow just for 2.5% more global recharge over Crushing blow, while having significantly less overall damage in literal enhancement values. Though, should I basically just swap out the CB set for the MB set in Haymaker? I want to run two Mocking Beratement for obvious reasons in concerns to farming, while having one crushing blow for the last instance of 5% recharge. The first MB set has a comfy home in Consume, but what about the next power? Should Haymaker or KO blow get the CB, assuming that's even a good choice, considering my mostly farm/slightly casual group orientation?

    I put the one Acc/Rec Ragnarok in Ball Lightning as the Positron set actually quite lacks both in comparison to the Melee sets, I've noticed, and I plan to upgrade past Positron's blast in that Power (And electric fences) to a full Ragnarok Set once I'm not so poor anyway. I certainly didn't need more damage in it.

    I put three slots into stamina mostly because I really love endurance, and with this much recharge in the build for consume+blues that drop, endurance isn't usually too much of a concern, but any little bit helps when you're first starting out in a farm: plus it'll help when I do the occasional casual grouping. Same reasoning for the two proc enhancements in heal: more endurance is good, I'm spoiled by Quick Recovery on my Regen scrapper ;P I also threw in the other enhancement from Performance Shifter because it was going to be the same value as a regular IO anyway, why not get a tiny bit of a speed boost too?

    I had few extra slots I didn't really know what to do with, so I put one each into Weave and Stealth, and just slotted for endurance/defense. It's going to be pretty end heavy even with consume, with combat jumping+weave+plasma shield+fire shield+stealth..yeah, you get the idea :P

    I also take super jump mostly because I just really like the power, and it was an extra slot for KB protection. Since I wasn't going the SS+stealth IO route because of invisibility, I could have my cake and eat it too with my favorite overall travel power on a melee+better KB protection when grouping.

    The build order itself is not set in stone at all, I'm probably going to re arrange it when I am not so tired, to put grant invisibility much lower for that aforementioned grouping with buddies, among a few other things. That's not really important though, the actual power choices themselves matter more at this stage.

    Sorry if I over-explained myself, but I didn't want to appear like a lot of other people kind of tend to and look like I didn't put much thought or research into my build ideas of choices :P I'm open from criticism and suggestions from all though, as I haven't really dived into the invention system much before coming back just a few weeks ago, and this has been my first serious run with it all, so you guys who spend a lot more time and have a lot more experience with it all have my attention I also need to start to piece my second build together, which is actually meant for grouping (And I'll probably take Leadership in that incarnation of my character), but that's a theorycrafting session for another day :P
  15. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    Why does it have to be this way, though? I mean, I get that from a gameplay standpoint, in the sense that you need progression and you need to space things out a bit more, but from a storyline sense, I've seen more heroes go straight to villain and more villains go straight to hero with no middle ground than I've seen either heroes or villains go through an entire arc. Maybe it's my affinity for epiphany therapy colouring my perceptions more than a little, but if anything, at least it seems like a reasonable fall from grace to go from one extreme to the other.

    A bit more realistically speaking, and going off personal experience, it's just as easy for people who are adamantly on one pole of the moral spectrum to shift entirely to the other pole after one event that's strong enough to shift them to begin with. For some heroes, once you start questioning a single part of your heroic alignment, you can't help but question them all, and the answers you get back aren't always pleasant.

    Honestly, when the development team first started talking about changing alignment, I did indeed expect it to go straight from hero all the way over to villain all in one singular event. I expected there to be some form of build-up and points accumulation process, but I didn't expect there to be defined stages to it. That's part of why what a Vigilante turned out to mean surprised me so much. I expected alignment changes to be direct, and thus expected Vigilante and Rogue status to be conceptual choices to depict a broader range of choices. In truth, they aren't, they're more a sort of transitional stage between hero and villain.

    Again, none of that is "bad," strictly speaking, it's just something I'm not a fan of.
    Well, though it didn't seem apparent at the time when they announced it, it's become painfully obvious that all they are meant to be are transitional stages. If you are not Hero or Villain, than you don't have access to alignment merit vendors in addition to being unable to retrieve alignment merit tokens from the signature story arcs, or anywhere at all. This is supposed to be balanced out by "Similar," reward merits, but that just doesn';t end up being the case. Also, like many have already pointed out, the alignment powers for the extreme ends of the spectrum just are overall..better.

    The only benefit to being "In the middle" of the alignment system is being able to access task forces and groups on both sides, which is only really useful on low population servers (I am a part of one, so at least I get something out of my brief stinct as a rogue/vigilante), and most everyone I know who plays this game seems to have at least 2-4 semi regular characters they play, and it's going to be likely they can just hop on their villain if they see a call out for some TF on redside.

    Of course, their is the argument that you can just use another toon who is on one side or the other for those alignment merits, and the signature story arcs also have alternate rewards for the VIP incarnate system crowd. Of course..that argument is inherently flawed compared to what we originally thought the new "Alignments," would be: equal.

    The fact that you have to work around your characters who aren't Champions of Justice or Evil Destroyers just supports the fact they are meant to be played in a transitional way even more. Of course, that isn't really bad, but the role playing benefits of being a rogue/vigilante just don't really make up for the loss of alignment merits, which, coming back after a long time away from the game, I need for building up a new invention set of actually decent enhancements. Playing the market when you come back and your main character only had 20 million influence when you left him isn't exactly easy, and just farming for merits on the side is the better option for power-enhancement for me right now.
  16. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by William_Valence View Post
    I think it's because we tend to think of all four alignments as a part of the same progression, when really they're not. It's two paths Hero->Vig->Vil and Vil->Rogue->Hero. The middle alignments have to bridge the gap by themselves. If you wen't Hero<->Vig<->Rogue<->Vil there'd be more room for nuance, but the Vigilante alignment has to represent a decent to villany, while maintaining the ideal that you're right (I.E your jerkass description)
    I guess because of this and what others said, the only "Real" Vigilantes exist partially in Rogue's and mostly in the Hero alignment. I would have called Vigilante Rogue, honestly. But, whatever the case, if I'm going to have a "Neutral," character, I'm going for Rogue 10x faster than I'd go for Vigilante. I guess it just comes down to a labeling issue on the part of the development team, but anyway...
  17. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    I've had a few... Coarse things to say about Morality and Alignment mission writing in this game, but this is actually based largely around my disagreement on what the various moralities should represent. On a purely technical and even story-telling level, I'd say their writing really is some of the best. Creative and then some, to be sure. I just really find myself disagreeing with what it means to be a villain and a vigilante.
    Oh, I'd agree with that, but hey :P I'm not the one developing the game, and I'll mostly stick to story arcs that align with whatever character I'm playing, but honestly, Hero->Vigilante->Villain fit the development of my SS/fire demonically infused magic brute, becoming slowly more corrupted by his power as he is swayed by the dark energies that fuel him. Thing is, that's kind of selective, which isn't even referencing the fact that i already felt like a villain by another name as a vigilante >.> It fit for my character, but only that one: I'd rather have something that was legitimately more like Rorschach from Watchmen: he was a vigilante. He killed, yes, but people who were legitimate and completely "Villains." It was on the edge of becoming a villain at some points, but...it wasn't as extreme as you have vigilantes being in this game.

    It honestly feels like there's 1 hero alignment and 3 villain alignments in small, medium, and large sizes =/ But even if, again, I disagree with that assessment by the developers and story writers in reference to morality, at least they carry that out well.
  18. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dugfromthearth View Post
    the tip missions show the double sided staff of immersive writing.

    you do make a choice as to which alignment you move towards, and then the mission forces you to make other actions based on that choice.

    it can be a cool story about your characters transformation
    or it can be an annoying "my character wouldn't do/say that"

    the best part about them is the NPC's and your relationship to them and seeing them progress. I want to know how Frostfire and Blast Furnace turn out. Something I never cared about Statesman (and I don't care that he died)
    Thing is, if you have a character who is going to stay a hero/vigilante/whatever, then picking to be something in a direction you classically wouldn't be just to get over to a certain side for certain benefits...yeah, it won't feel right for your character :P

    Like my vigilante choosing a villainous mission. I already made the morality choice for my character to be more evil than before by choosing that villain mission in the first place. I think that's the idea, anyway, for the most part, I try to half form the data around my character based on the decisions I'm forced to make in the game anyway, I don't have too tough of a history for the one I recently did this mission on.

    On another ""Noble warrior," scrapper that I'm taking to villain-side just to get patron power pools..well..I am just essentially ignoring his lore for now :P Since he'd never ever do this sort of thing, but eh, then I can just see it as grinding.

    I never cared that much about Statesman, I just think that considering his power? He fell in an anti climatic way :P I'm glad CaptainAmerica-Superman-Sue is gone honestly, just think they could have done it a bit better
  19. Mitsarugi_Katsu
    I have to say, after coming back to the game after taking a 4 year break, I am mostly pleasantly surprised.

    When the game was first released, most of it's story was pretty darn flat. The portal missions had a bit more flavor in them than most of the game had, but that wasn't exactly saying much, and that was still a bit after it's "beta" release.

    Of course, with new zones like the Hollows and revamped zones like Faultline and the Rikti Warzone, I was happier. The game's story design was going places, and my character actually felt a tiny bit important but alas, life still got in the way, and I had to cancel my subscription, and then I got distracted and didn't feel like I'd be very pleased with the game's lack of development (As I saw it) if I came back anyway.

    I read the Dark Horse comics off and on in the meantime (cheap and easy to get), and I was glad the team got involved with Dark Horse, and I was hoping to see such plot integrated into the actual game.

    Now coming back, renewing my subscription to "VIP status," and playing through 6/6 of the playable arcs, I was left feeling a bit...unsatisfied. It almost hit that sweet spot, but not quite, and I didn't appreciate how easily Statesman fell into Darrin Wade's trap, along with Malaise seemingly just snapping the way he did, with absolutely none of the conditioning of Sister Psyche left in him.

    I could still the great appreciate effort in most of the arc, though. The arc has been a huge step in the right direction, despite it being the millionth time that Manticore had to make a "painstaking" split second arrow shot in any of the lore -.-

    That was better than I had expected from the development team, but I wasn't impressed until I was running an alignment mission on my vigilante in the Rogue Isles. I was "Assisting," Blast furnace who had been trapped by Maelstrom with some Devouring Earth, himstuck in his own battle armor and unable to use his powers. I went and smacked Maelstrom around a bit, before being required to talk with Blast Furnace again. He detailed the crimes that Maelstrom had committed, killing small children to further his goals and causes, and my own character only became more infuriated and encouraged to rip Maelstrom limb from limb.

    Blast Furnace had different ideas, however, and even though he just confessed that I was his role model of a super being, was willing to protect this terrible villain from the clutches of true justice, just to enable a corrupt and overly "Merciful," system. My character, becoming more of a Villain at this point than a Vigilante, proceeded to beat the snot out of him, only the emergency teleporters saving the younger hero.

    Turning to Maelstrom and ready to finish the job i started earlier in the mission, he merely (paraphrased) said we're becoming more alike, and that I'm further down "That road," than he thought, before poofing away to apparent safety.

    All that left was my "Vigilante," alone in a cave, Devouring Earth corpses scattered behind him, the Last Man Standing after defeating both of his foes, regardless of their alignment or intentions. They got in his way, and he couldn't have that.

    As my character left the tunnel, I was prompted with a message reminding me of something else the Rogue said before he left, that Blast Furnace was going to come back for me someday, to stop his corrupted former role model, that image driving him forward to get better.

    And all my character cared about was the fact he'd get to kick Blast Furnaces *** once again.

    ...

    Considering this is an MMO, the way the writing was done, the way interactions were broken done and executed...holy crap. It made me feel something, it made me connect to my game and my character and see things from his eyes as he descends into villainy further every day. Paragon Studios, congratulations. This is the best MMO I've ever played, now and officially. The story telling, even if this level of quality of not necessarily consistent, its peaks strike more emotion out of me than most "Professional," media does. I've always felt the teaming/grouping of this game to be superior and more engaging than most MMOs (I've raided in WoW and been in a relatively experienced position in many MMOs), and the only way it really falls behind now is some aging problems, including the graphics. That's it. The community has always been spectacular, and despite being a bit more elitist than it used to be, it's a far cry better than any other forum or community I've been a part of.

    Thank you everyone for your parts and contributions: developers, staff, and gamers alike. You've all helped craft an incredible game, and considering how much I've spent on the game, I guess I've been a tiny drop of water in this flood of excellence

    Sorry for any typos I missed ^^; in a bit of a rush.