OneWhoBinds

Wait... was more released about Bio-Armor than the names of the powers? Where?

...what kind of 'Plant Blast' set could you use. Because I, for one, wouldn't want another rehash of Spines/Thorns, but I can't really think of anything else.

Well... first you need to have access to the 'Going Rogue' system (VIP players have it automatically, Premium players will need to buy it.)

Then you need your character to reach at least level 20. (Although if you just want to run the patron arc and then switch back, I'd wait to do this until level 35, when the patron missions open up.)

After level 20, enemies will start occasionally dropping 'Tips.' These are one-shot missions with a little more story to them, and each tip comes with a moral choice (which dictate the particulars of the mission you run.) For a Blue Side to Red Side shift, you are going to want to run Vigilante missions at first. After ten missions of one alignment (please note, you can only do 5 tip missions in a 20 hour period) a special Morality mission will drop (which doesn't seem to count for or against your regular tip mission count.) Completing this mission will change (or affirm) your alignment.

Now that your character is a vigilante, you can go to the Rogue Isles. There you need to start the process over, but you will only get one choice (Villain) of morality drops. 10 more tip missions and a Villain Morality mission will drop. Complete that, and you are now a villain.

So this will take you four days to make the shift. Do note that, if you have any Hero Merits, you should spend them BEFORE you start this process. Otherwise, you will lose them when you switch to Vigilante.

Once you have unlocked the Patron Power Pools, just repeat the process (this time going to Rogue, then returning to Paragon city and moving to Hero) to switch back.

Alas, for our loss...

Oh well, at least we still have "Supernatural Activiy dected in Croatoa" to fill that niche...

Again, may just be me reading between lines that do not exist, but Positron put in his anniversary address:

Couple that with rumors of dealing with more Preatorian Hamidon and Praetorian Devouring Earth (No, I don't know where those rumors began, myself) and I have to suspect that I24 will introduce one final Praetorian zone, with higher-level content.

Exactly.

All Spines attacks also have a 8% Speed and Recharge Debuff... which I at least I noticed on the tougher enemies... even if I never felt it did enough to justify having it.

IIRC, Castle said that changing Spines would likely involve removing those effects... and I say good riddance (Well, I want to keep the Immobilize and -Fly in Impale, but the rest can go.) Just don't touch my Toxic DoT, and maybe speed up the Single Target attacks (I'm also in the camp of 'give Ripper the Fury Swipes animation. And then give Fury Swipes that one-two punch animation used in Energy Melee/Ice Melee/Claws) then refigure the appropriate Damage. I think more people would be pleased with the resulting changes.

The 'Cottage Rule' wasn't broken for any of those. Or for any of the changes to power sets like Energy Aura, which were even larger.

And remember, the 'Cottage Rule' is actually more of a guildline. If the Devs can alter a set so that the powers (and, more specifically, how the powers are slotted) don't change, they can avoid upsetting players by forcing Respecs on them. But they can - and will - throw the 'Cottage Rule' out the window if they can't find a better way.

Path of least resistance, and all of that...

Not official. This is just me reading between the lines. (So I will freely admit I could be seriously off base here.)

But, as I understand it... the Devs pretty much have I24 and I25 planned out. And since, (again, to my understanding,) I24 will include a new (final?) Preatorian zone, and I25 will introduce the Batalion, I doubt they will have the resources to devote to proliferation until after these issues have been released.

Short answer: Yes.

Long Answer: Spines is a mess of trading off damage for pointless secondary effects, and inflicted with excessive animation times and recovery times. Seriously, outside of Impale, I have yet to see an enemy actually get Immobilized (or if they did, it didn't last long enough for me to notice, which alos means it didn't last long enough to matter,) and the slows involved are negligible to the point of uselessness. Spines needs to be rebalanced - the mess of secondary effects cleaned up, the animation times fixed, and probably some animations moved around.

And let me go out on a limb now, and say something I'm sure a lot of people don't want to hear: WHEN Spines gets ported to Brutes and Tankers... I very much doubt Quills will be included.

From my understanding, I doubt we'll see any further proliferation until after I25... and I don't think they will wait that long to release Bio Armor.

Furthermore, Spines is going to be one of those that needs a lot of work. Kinda like Energy Arua, the Devs will need to rework the existing versions as well as proliferate it.

...you suggested adding powers to a completed set, to inlude mechanics like 'foced uncontrollable player motion' in lieu of knockback, while adding a purely non-combat utility mechanic to the set. And you call this 'Mitigating the Knockback Problem?' I call it 'Trying to Fix Something that Isn't Broken by Adding a More Annoying Gimmick.'

Okay, in and of itself, there is nothing wrong with Force Fields. But like... well, all the other sets you mentioned in that passage... it's been showing its age for quite a while. Remember that "What Powersets need Help" thread? I'm sure you do. And gee... Force Fields, Trick Arrow, Sonic Resonance, Electric Blast, and Ice Melee all came up multiple times durring it. There is a reason for that.

Yeah... you have more faith in our fellow players than I. Me? I forsee this reaction:

"Wait! Broadsword now has ten powers? Energy Blast has thirteen? But what about Titan Weapons? What about Super Strength? All sets need alternate powers!"

That's a far more likely scenario. If the devs go for this, they better be ready to expand all current and future power sets to the new model... and I just think it isn't necessary.

First, my opinion is my opinion.

Second, would I LIKE to see some of these changes? SURE! But is it practical? Heck NO! I am pointing out that what you are ultimately suggesting is a complete overhaul of how powersets work in the game. And frankly? I find it more likely that they will work on a CoH2 before tackling such a massive reworking that you are proposing.

Oh, but didn't you realize? The governors of the Etoile Islands authorized their collective Militia to... AID the people of Paragon City in the wake of the Galaxy City disaster. Sure, the Arbiter in charge of the operation was perhaps a bit... rougher than the US Citizens were used to, but they really only meant to help.

At least, that's what the politicians that Arachnos has bought and paid for will say. That's their story, and they are sticking to it.

I never really found it hard to come up with pseudo-legal reasons for groups like Arachnos to operate openly in Paragon City where they do. In Faultline, they 'obviously' are only acting as security/work crew for the 'Rich Investor' from the Rouge Islands that has bought up much of the ruined property in Overbrook.

Honestly, the same holds true for Longbow's presence in Nerva and Mercy. We've already established that Longbow is essentially a PMC, and it is canon that they are part of the larger group called Freedom Corp. In Nerva... Freedom Corp obviously owns that land in Agincourt. And in Mercy, well, they are probably using the same excuse for Arachnos in Faultline - they are providing security for property owned by someone else, and are just doing what they believe is necessary to complete that contract.

Yeah, it's all bald-faced lies, but it provides a legal fiction to prevent all-out war.