OttoParts

Does the Weapon Customization include the ability to change the color of some of the non-weapon effects, or is this purely for the scrapper/tanker/AR folks out there?

Lord knows I'd love to ditch the pink pom-poms of death for something a little more... blue.

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It's interesting to me that so many people perceive "getting to 50" as the only true and valid goal of the game. Where does this idea come from?

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So tell me again: what is the point in grinding it out to finally get to 50?



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QFE

Been playing since release and my highest toon is level 35

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Hi, my name is SouthernBlaze (at least right now it is), and I'm a relapsing Altaholic. I've been playing for about 2 years, and other than one toon I recently got up to level 40 (once I was on a 'plan'), I have only one at level 32, and then a small army in the 20 & late teens.

One thing that me, and others like me, are missing is the more interesting and challenging higher level content. Sure, if you've followed a build guide to the letter, you can probably run everything on Invincible and have no worries. But I'd imagine most of us create a good number of these alts to test out a concept, a theory.

Sure, you can clear out packs of level 25 Council, and you can cross the Gulch blindfolded with a level 5 blaster, but what about the Carnies? Carnies you ask? Yep, Carnies. Didn't even know about them myself until a few months ago. Paragon Protectors? Certainly gave me a new appreciation for MoG. There really is some interesting stuff up there that's worth checking out, and it can be a good test for your theory builds.

I think there are two reasons people, like myself, tend to stop in the low 30s. One, leveling can get pretty darn slow at that point. Two, you only get to pick new powers every two levels. For those of us that like to get a new toy now and then, this is a pretty painful combination.

Not sure I'm going to follow this guide to the letter, but it does have some really good suggestions in it. Pick a couple of toons to focus on, preferably on the same server. Clear out any lower level toon that you haven't played in a few months. Find yourself a good SG/Coalition (ironically, I'm loving Monkey's Repeat Offenders).

Then, just like me, you'll be back to creating alts again in no time

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Pay more attention to PVP please, thanks.

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+1

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5) Queen -- Fat Bottom Girls

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You make the rockin' world go round!

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talk about bun-cakes....

(finish this line for pie)

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Big bottom, big bottom, my baby's gottem!

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"Can we give him credit for that one? Ok, you win Quason!!!!

Talk about bun cakes my girl's got 'em.

How can I leave this behind?

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5) Queen -- Fat Bottom Girls

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You make the rockin' world go round!

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talk about bun-cakes....

(finish this line for pie)

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You can do some distressing things with /Devices blasters (which also gives you sneakiness, perception, and the side benefit of being able to stick people in place). Anyone who's been TP Foe'd onto a stack of Caltrops + Trip Mines can attest to that.


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Heh, how did you know? My eng/dev is by far and away my favorite toon for PvP. She is my ghetto Stalker, and I do screw with people all the time. Is she as strong of a build as a Stalker? I personally dont think so.

Her main weakness is no status protection. Any villain that is smart enough to stop trying to run out of the caltrops and put a status effect on me will at least get away if not whoop my butt.

Oh, and that perception bonus? Does nothing against well built stalkers (which are the ones I'm really worried about). They seem to hunt me down all the time.

A Brute will laugh off my damage, stun me, then beat me to a pulp. I can't find hide+stealth Stalkers, they just wait for that moment when I'm not moving to drop me.

Dominators will lock me down then either run away or take me out (unless I can stun them first). Corruptures and non-Personal Force Field Masterminds are usualy my pray, but well played responses to my opening strike can turn the tables pretty quickly.

That's what it really all comes down to. People want to at least have the chance to respond to an opening strike. It isn't fun otherwise. Yet that's exactly what the Stalker was built to do, drop people in 1 (or 2) shots.

How exactly you make those two things work together, I have no idea.

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There are lots of builds that seem pretty uber to me in PvP. I wouldn't even put stalkers at the top.

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I'm game, like what?

I've got a couple blasters that can't beat brutes either (I get lucky on occasion, but most of the time they get me), Fortunately, since they dont do a whole lot of damage, I can usually get away from them w/o much trouble. If a brute kills me 1v1 its because I started it and didn't run away when I should have.

I think one of the problems the game is running into is that, by design, Stalkers have IMO the best PvP trifecta going: Stealth, Massive Damage, Status Protection. In exchange for all of that, they just have to be patient

Stealth alone kicks butt in PvP. Being able to get the first shot off, be it hold/damage/slow/whatever gives that player a distinct advantage. Personally, I cant imagine taking a toon into the PvP zones with out it. Except maybe a tank, and I dont like tanks.

Since it seems no one really wants to stick around for a fight they didn't start, quick damage is also key in PvP. By the time you get more than 2 or 3 shots off in a battle, your target has probably started to run away. Unless you have a way to hold them down...

Then you get the stalker's status protection powers. Granted, everyone can nullify these effects just by clicking on an insp right after they have been attacked, but Stalkers dont even get stopped for a second (important for getting away). That's why status protection is more powerful than being able to hold someone. Unless the stalker gets spotted by 2 or more players with hold powers, he's going to get away (especially with placate).

It just seems like Stalkers have the best built-in single player plan of attack for PvP. Throw in a little +perception power of your own and it's just a beast. I understand they have to really work for it (scouting, waiting, positioning, etc), but it still seems pretty darn uber compared to every other archetype (for 1 on 1 fights). Even toons with PBAoE powers, eventually they are going to run low on endurance and turn it off for a second. It's the moment the stalker waits for.

If someone can show me another build/plan of attack in this game that can defeat damn near any other toon as well as the stalker can, I will shut my mouth.

Sorry Light, not trying to be insulting. Other stalkers are stacking Stealth along with Hide to be even more well hidden. That's why we (I) can see through your hide. That's all I was saying.

Also, TD was stacked with the IR Goggles I picked up.

Not taking the flamebait, save the trashtalk for in-game.

Skill has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn't see or target the stalkers even with 2 +perception devices running.

Honestly, the guys I was going against were really friggin good. On top of that, they weren't smack talking which was helpful.

Here's what I think was happening. They had Hide + Stealth + SS (which also gives a little stealth bonus). One of the Stalkers also told me that he uses Hover as a way to setup for AS w/o getting nailed by the caltrops. Very slick!

Also, it was late at night and there weren't a whole lot of people on. That kind of environment is stalker heaven.

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I wouldn't say the majority of players have +perception, but probably at least a third of the ones I encounter have no problem seeing through Hide

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Then you aren't setup very well as a Stalker. I was running around SC last night with Targetting Drone AND IR Goggles yet only got quick glimses of the Stalkers and could not target them for any period of time

I was moving constantly or setting up caltrops whenever I stopped to attack, and was still getting dropped by Stalkers repeatedly.

Oh, did I meantion that I had my Cloaking Device running, yet somehow they still managed to track me without much trouble.

Trying to be reasonable, but that just blew. They can hide through 2 perception devices AND see people that are hidden? Balanced what?

Seriously, what does one person need to have running in order to see a well built stalker? Don't give me this "team up" line either, for every single toon there should be a single counter somewhere in the game that can defeat them... what is it for Stalkers? Not just "wont get killed by a stalker" like a Stormy or something, but a toon that can actually get a leg up on them and take a stalker out.

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Correction here. The 1hp threshhold is only one of the ideas being considered. We've still not determined exactly how we are going to deal with 'One Shot Kills' (and the final decision will almost certainly apply to both PVE and PVP -- so no more AV insta-kills.)

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Oh please, it's not the archtype, it's the inspirations. NERF INSPIRATIONS, NOT THE TOONS

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Why don't Stalkers get the Full Build Up?

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Now, as to "Why?" the answer is "Because it would be too effective otherwise." The boards are full of anecdotal evidence that Build Up + Assassin Strike is strong enough to nearly one shot kill bosses who are not resistant to your damage type, as well as doing substantial damage in PvP. Now, I'm not saying this will not change, nor am I saying "Sorry, this is the way it is, we aren't going to change it." Stalkers are my bailiwick, and I'm keeping an eye on things to see that they are as balanced as we can make them. Right now, I don't see a need to change the Stalkers multiple, but datamining may show me that it needs to be improved.

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As a blaster with targeting drone who still cant see some stalkers in Siren's Call and gets one-shotted by the Build Up + Assassin Strike combo, for the love of God please dont up this value.

Yes, I know, I know, keep moving. But this is an MMORPG... can I at least type sometimes?

Not asking for a nerf, but please don't make this combo any more deadly.

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Then please, I must know this:

1> Why is it when I look on Protector and Justice for teams, I seldom see over 1200 at peak times, where Protector last year was going yellow, with 2-3 clones of the zones? Have the peak hours changed?
2> Why did I hear (just recently) people moving to *gasp* World of Warcraft from CoH, and CoV was just sitting on the shelves, with dust starting to settle? This was at several EB and Gamestop affiliates.
3> Why is CoH $19.99 at the most where WoW & Guild Wars are $49.99, and even Lineage is $29.99? Is it cause the stores are ordering more, or is it cause they aren't selling?
4> Are the concerns voiced even being looked at? What are they?

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Gee, I just dont know whom to believe here. The guy making weird assumptions based on personal experiences and rumors, or the guy who probably has all the exact numbers sitting on his desk and a custom app to see this information in realtime?

/e sarcasm

DONT BE LEROY JENKINS
Dont care if you are a blapper, blastroller, or whatever the heck you think you are. Under no circumstances should you charge into a group first. In fact, unless you have some sort of stealth up, you should *never* be in the front of your group. There is no way to make a blastanker.

BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE
That being said, you can make your blaster however you like. Blasters are pretty much the only archtype that has this luxury. No power is worthless with the correct synergy, and if you have a special build you want to use, go for it. Of course, don't yell at your defender if you took all the hand-to-hand powers and didn't bother to pick up any defense.