Oedipus_Tex

Based on the description of the new two hander set, I almost wonder if what Time Manipulation doesn't also affect is animation speed (as opposed to Recharge). Now that would be a total game changer.

A particular power I always wanted to see (but on Controllers) in a time or planar manipulation set would be something like this: you teleport away from your current location to a new spot faster than enemies can react, and they continue attacking where you were for a while after.

Mechanically it works like a Teleport that summons a pet with a powerful Taunt aura in the location you teleported from.

The playstyle of the set would basically be to keep porting all over the place to keep enemies guessing as to your location. This set could also rely heavily on PBAoEs which can port in pop off, then port out safely.

The glaring issue with Traps is Illusion Control. Why? Because Traps offers both Containment and a huge -Regen debuff in the same package. So picture all those Illusion/Cold trollers except doing double damage all of the time. And soft capped to every position. With perma mezz protection from Hold, Stun, and Immob. And. Yeah.

The only real glimmer of hope may be the fact that the trial AVs are basically immune to controls. Or maybe the devs are smoking crack.

If I had to pick a "most likely" set for prolif it would be Pain Domination. It's just the easiest choice by far.

Dark Miasma is also possibility if they somehow handle the overpoweredness of the Fear cone stacking with Mind and Illusion control powers. In the past I've suggested switching the cone out for a 12ft radius version of Cloak of Fear instead, which would offer synergies with many more sets if they choose to take advantage of it.

Interestingly enough I see several ways now your build is superior to mine. I actually prefer your slotting in a lot of powers to mine in a lot of ways. The main thing lingering for me is the 2 slotted Practiced Brawler--just seems like there are better ways to expend that slot. The 5 slotted Hasten I guess could just be because you don't like the speed up slow down effect that rolling Hasten sometimes creates.

PS was this the "help" channel? God help you if so.

I'm not one of the appointed players so I'm not sure if you're looking for general feedback or help. The build is not bad but I have to inquire about 5-slotted Hasten and Practiced Brawler with so many slots. If you moved some of those slots to Combat Jumping so it can be slotted for Defense you could then take some pressure off in other places and make the Recharge back up with set bonuses.

It's also not clear to me which Alpha this build is using. If it's Spiritual, you don't need to work so hard for the Recharge. If it's Cardiac, you don't need to work so hard for the Endurance. Is it Musclature?

I also assume exceeding the soft cap is intentional for handling mild defense debuffs.

In any case, here's an example using the same power picks and just a few slots moved around. Note I took out the Obliteration set; great set in general but extremely expensive. I recommend selling or transfering it to another toon unless you plan to use it to super-kit out the character up to the iTrial soft cap because that 5% Recharge bonus can be gotten from Red Fortunes instead, capping you at x5 of that kind of bonus much cheaper and allowing you to slot Fire Sword Circle with better actual enhancements.


Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.942
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Dragon Disciple: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Teleportation
Ancillary Pool: Blaze Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Sword -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dam%(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(3), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(7), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(7), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(11), RedFtn-Def(19), RedFtn-EndRdx(21), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21)
Level 2: Cremate -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15)
Level 4: Focused Senses -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(9), LkGmblr-Def(9), LkGmblr-Rchg+(23)
Level 6: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-Build%(11), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(25), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(25), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(40), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(40)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Agile -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(39)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(A), Zephyr-ResKB(37)
Level 16: Dodge -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(39)
Level 18: Fire Sword Circle -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(23), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(40), EndRdx-I(43), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 20: Quickness -- Run-I(A)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 24: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), Aegis-ResDam(37), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(43)
Level 26: Incinerate -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(27), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 28: Lucky -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(39)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(31), RedFtn-Def(31), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(31), RedFtn-EndRdx(37), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 32: Greater Fire Sword -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Evasion -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(36), LkGmblr-Def(36), LkGmblr-Rchg+(36)
Level 38: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), DefBuff-I(46), DefBuff-I(50)
Level 41: Char -- UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(A), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(42), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(42), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(42), UbrkCons-Dam%(43)
Level 44: Fire Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Recall Friend -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(17), EndMod-I(17)

This moment of silence has been interupted by 45 sets of Hasten hands firing back to back.

Are we talking about on a squishy? Then IMO it's more complex than just s/l vs ranged. You have to consider Toughness and the APP armor (that is, the possible addition of Slash/Lethal resistance).

In practice, usually you end up with one of these 3 possibilities:

1) s/l defense with very little s/l resistance (APP with defense armor)

2) ranged defense with moderate/high s/l resistance (APP with resistance armor)

3) s/l defense with moderate/high s/l resistance (APP with resistance armor)

The difficulty and expense of achieving 1 is lowest and 3 is highest. For some characters 3 may not be achievable at all. Also, the harder you're forced to work for defense, the more difficult it is to grab other buffs, like Recharge. This can limit some classes, like Dominators and Controllers.

Making it even more complex, you have to somehow have the endurance to pay for the extra toggles that step-stone you to high defense. For a lot of characters this means taking Cardiac Alphas. Cardiac Alphas also boost Resistance, so a route that's high in resistance is often desirable.

Anyway the main point is that no matter what your defense is you are still going to get hit eventually. Without any Resistance you will still drop like a rock due to your low HP. And Resistance can't be as easily overcome by -Defense or -ToHit from annoying enemies like Devouring Earth.

The only potential issue with a level shift is that it scales really drastically. Level shifting a +1 to 0 is a fairly minor change. Level shifting a +5 to a +4 is a huge debuff. It could be sort of balanced by the duration being shorter on higher level enemies. But unlike any other debuff, it would basically do the opposite of what Purple Patch suggests: high level enemies get hit harder instead of softer.

In any case, a long-ish lasting level shift would be the equivalent of + and - to literally everything--damage dealt, damage taken, mezz resistance, debuff resistance, etc, so I don't know if they would actually go that far. But the existence of the inspirations does kind of suggest it as a possibility.

I wrote an extremely long, fairly even minded post on this subject, followed by a few embaressing outbursts. After thinking on it I decided the most mature path was to sign up for a new MMO. When I learned about the "Freedom" edition it was a bit of a surprise because I had mainly come here to temporarily freeze my account until this system shakes itself out.

To paraphrase what I've said before in my more lucid moments: the trials themselves are well designed but I dislike the reward structure immensely. Some people said it's only a grind if you make it one. I agree to an extent. And that's why I'm no longer playing them. While I can still play the old content, I had my hat hung on the new stuff. Despite what some people have suggested, there is no moral failing in leaving a game that frustrates you. Thankfully the Freedom change will mean some friends of mine who have long had their eye on this game will finally be willing to play.

I will also repeat that I take a dim view of people suggesting that anyone who dislikes repeating the same content over and over is just greedy. Desiring a path to rewards that is fun and engaging is not the same as greed. The more personally offensive argument about people just "not understanding the math of randomness" has thankfully not reared its head in this discussion. Regardless, I will throw it in there that "randomness" in a system that disallows trade is the same as "intentional unfairness" and shouldn't be a surprise that some people dislike it.

Only odd thing about the pets are that Dominators aren't restricted.

Selfishily, I can't say I'm too upset about this particular limitation. Anything that lowers the number of Masterminds I have to team with the better. I like being able to see what I am fighting occasionally.

If I had to guess, I'd conjecture that it's a half step between Kinetics and being its own thing. Kinetics has always been very "out there" as a powerset compared to the other buff sets.

But there's really no way to tell for sure until we see it; could anyone have predicted Electric Control's non-notifying AoE Confusion?

How about a Kinetic Melee/Shield Brute? Use auras to add a snow effect (FYI the new Pixie Dust aura looks fantastic colored light blue) and the "chunk of ice" shield.

You can also recolor Stone Melee to look rather convincingly icy if it is colored blue. That set may have some of the same damage issues as Ice Melee though.

I think there are a lot of considerations but I have two main ones.

The first is money. Building an MMO takes lots and lots of it. In this respect building an MMO is similar to financing a movie. You have to build something that will be financially successful. Financial solvency is simply a reality.

The second factor is risk. Basically, it is my belief that for every positive change that could make your game more fun, there are 3 more that could make it suck. When developers stick with classic game models it is usually not because they are perfect but because they have been shown to be less risky than other approaches. Significantly included in the second consideration are such factors as how quests/missions are designed, how complex powers are, etc. An extremely complex quest system sounds great... unless it means your staff can only deliver 1/10th as many quests as needed, or they constantly break, or they are too complex to ever be changed. Complex powers are also lots of fun... until you have to teach the AI to use them.

[That gorilla game, by the way, should not be credited with inventing Auction Houses as a means of trade. Auction Houses have been a staple of MUDs for decades. Some of them even let you participate in auctions while still adventuring by eliminating the "house" part and just having it all tied to typed commands.]