Panzerwaffen

Well, we certainly have gotten extremely sidetracked from the original topic here, haven't we? Sure, I agree with you that it is discourteous to send a team request tell to someone who is flagged as "not accepting invites" with a comment that also indicates this. I simply question the reasoning behind using the big red "not accepting invites" vs. using the Hide tool.

Seems to me there can only be 2 logical explanations.

1: Player does not know about the Hide ability or how it functions.

or

2: Player wants to let everyone know that they don't want to team.

So, let me ask you, since you seem to indicate you would rather set your flag and put a search comment up when you don't wish to team: What does that do for you that using the Hide tools will not also accomplish, while also completely avoiding any possibility of getting that annoying tell in the first place?

Using Hide does not force a player to "hide under a rock" as you put it. (Didn't you say something earlier about hyperbole?) A player can select to Hide from any of the following in any combination: Search, Supergroup, Server Friends, Global Friends, Global Chat, Tells, or simply to block all Invites.

I just don't understand the logic here.

Which is why they would be much better off placing themselves on hide. And for the record, "Not seeking" is not nearly the same status as "Do not accept invites". The majority of players I recruit for teams are from tells sent to those people who are "not seeking", which is the default setting for players that don't use or know about the team search flags. Any player that considers it rude to receive a tell when their team search is set to the default of "not seeking" is being overly sensitive.

Sounds like someone is getting all worked up here...

Here we go... This kind of attitude simply reinforces my opinion that some people go out of their way looking for something to be offended about so they can get all self-righteous over the perceived slight.

"People like that" is not an insult. It is not derogatory. It was simply referring to other players that don't want to be bothered while solo or performing some other type of activity. I have been known to be one of those "people like that" myself. Which is why I use the hide function when I don't want to be bothered.

Perfect example of this kind of behavior. The only player online right now on my server set to "not accepting invites" also feels it necessary to have "LEAVE ME ALONE" in all caps as his or her search comment. That serves no purpose, other than to advertise to all out there, the player's "special" status. Now, maybe that person simply does not know about the Hide function. Perhaps that is the case for many of these players. I think I might begin sending them polite tells asking them if they are aware of the hide function from now on.

I suspect a smaller number than the audience of Navy NCIS.

Sure, but something like that is so obvious it's not even worth mentioning, in my opinion. People like that would be much better off by placing themselves on hide, rather than getting themselves all worked up over receiving a tell in the first place.

But isn't that kind of the point of the AT? Every AT is going to encounter situations where they do not perform at peak efficiency. Solo is going to be one of those for Blasters and Defenders, in many cases. The flip side of the coin, is that Scrappers while performing well solo, will bring less to a team than a Defender or Blaster in almost all cases. I don't see why it seems to be so hard for some people to grasp this concept. (That's just a general statement and not directed at you specifically.) All AT's are not meant to perform at equal levels in all situations. That would make for an immensely boring game.

All AT's can solo content on Heroic/Villainous. That's all that is needed. Blasters can handle EB's solo if played competently. Heck, a properly built Blaster can solo AV's as well. Once a Blaster's survivability issues have been taken care, either by a team or through other means, they will in general, be able to defeat larger groups and defeat them at a faster pace than Scrappers.

Feel free to bring a Spines scrapper to the wall in Cimerora and try to keep up with my AR blaster. You'll see what laughable really means then...

Just an FYI, Range enhancements do not affect the radius of AOE powers. They usually cannot be slotted in anything other than Targeted AOE powers, like Fireball, and then they only affect the actual range the power can be fired at, not the size of the AOE. When used in cone powers, they do make the cone "larger" simply by increasing its length however.

Might be better off slotting IO sets for ranged defense bonus. Blessing of the Zephyr sets are fairly easy to add to any build, and Thunderstrike sets can be added to any ranged single target attack. Tough does not really add much resistance, and it only resists Smashing & Lethal damage.

It is usually a waste to try and keep CM up at all times unless facing unusually mez heavy opponents. I would use it reactively most of the time, and try to keep it up on any other Defenders or Controllers as much as possible. Also, don't forget that Scrappers and Tankers have inherent mez protection and CM is pretty much a waste of time on them.

Welcome!

There is nothing rude about sending people tells. I do it often and other than those that don't even bother to respond, I have never gotten a rude response. Of course, I also send tells that contain proper spelling and grammar rather than "u wnt team?" And to be honest, the type of player that is going to add me to ignore simply because I sent them a polite tell, is not the type of player I would ever want to team with anyway, so no loss there.

It's better than running around randomly shouting LFT in broadcast. However, as I mentioned above, for me most teams are through global chat or global friends. I have used the team search flag in the past though with success, and if I am forming a team I always go first to those with LFT set.

No, they are not.

• Join an active SG.
• Use your server's global channels; every server has them.
• When you find other players that have compatible playing styles, add them to global friends.
• Use the existing team search tool to set your flag to LFT.
• Using the same tool, send tells to players of similar level that are already on a team and ask if they have room for you.
• Check your server section on the forum here for events.

I would say I get 90%+ of teams through either global channels or global friends.
Look in your server's section here on the forum. There should be a stickied thread with a list of SG's in it.

Disagree as well. Currently, on my AR/EM blaster I have 5 primary powers and 8 secondary powers.

Despite the description, bodyguard mode will still work if the pets are in Defensive and given a Go To command as long as the player is still nearby.

And to address the OP's issue, giving an Attack command will take the pets out of Defensive, and therefore bodyguard mode is no longer in effect. Keep in mind than a MM can have some pets in Defensive mode, and still issue attack orders to other pets. For example, keeping Battle Drones in Defensive, while issuing an order for the Assault Bot to attack one target and the Protector Bots to attack yet another target.

Keybinds give the player much better control over their pets than the default commands, and allow greater tactical variation. There are some excellent bind guides here in the forum. Such as this one: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=117256

Already been said, but not all controllers are /kin and not all teams have kins on them. And the paltry damage from a Defender nuke is not even in the same ballpark as the constant +Dmg to an entire team from a single Assault toggle, let alone multiple stacked toggles.

This made me chuckle... I take it you've never played on a team of Controllers, Corruptors or Defenders with stacked Leadership powers.

Funny how I manage to get by without ever going near AE except rarely to solo farm some tickets, yet I never have a problem finding teams to join or forming them myself for normal content. Sounds to me like your team finding skills need a bit of work.

Agreed 100%. Force Mastery is great for increasing Blaster survivability.

Are they both on the same server? If so, what server? I'm sure someone here can help you out with the transfer. I'll be happy to if it's Protector, or if not, I can create a new toon on another server.

Most populated also means more likely to run into ignorant gits at any time..

You make some valid points. I've always felt that Fire's AOE potential was overstated when compared to Archery or AR. I have yet to see a Scrapper that can keep up with my AR/EM Blaster running the wall in Cimerora.

You left out a couple important factors however.

Scrapper melee PbAOE's affect a maximum of 10 targets.
Scrapper melee cones affect a maximum of 5 targets.

Blaster targeted AOE's affect a max of 16 targets. (60% more damage potential).
Blaster cones affect a max of 10 targets (100% more damage potential).

Those factors have a significant effect on damage output when on large teams.

Agreed 100%.

Your original statement was: Force Fields, Sonic Resonance and a power from an APP are not "inherent mez protection", as you stated above.

Primary Sets

Archery
Stun

Assault Rifle
Stun, Knockback

Electrical Blast
Hold

Energy Blast
Knockback

Fire Blast
Who needs control? Everything is dead.

Ice Blast
-Rech, -Speed, and 2 Holds

Psychic Blast
-Rech, Knockback, Sleep, Stun

Sonic Blast
Knockback, Sleep, Stun

Secondary Sets

Electricity Manipulation
Immobilize, Stun, Hold, Knockback

Energy Manipulation
Knockback, 2 Stuns, and to top it off Power Boost.

Devices
Immobilize, -Rech, -Speed, Stun, -to hit

Fire Manipulation
Immobilize, -Speed

Ice Manipulation
-Rech, -Speed, Immobilize, -dmg, Knockdown, Hold, Sleep

Mental Manipulation
Immobilize, -Rech, Knockback, Confuse, Fear

Now, what was it you were saying about lack of mitigation tools?

It also makes your assertion that Scrapper damage is somehow as good or better than Blaster damage look silly. Which, I am confident, is the reason you left it out.

You started off the thread with a lengthy half-baked comparison of damage potential and the patently false statement that "Clearly a Spines Scrapper outdamages an Energy Blaster". Survivability is a separate issue, and pretty irrelevant, since Blasters are, by definition, not supposed to have a lot of defense. In other words, the 'glass cannon' concept.

But, on the issue of survivability, between their damage output and the controls that just about every Blaster set has available to them, survivability is not nearly the problem you make it out to be. Oh & let's not forget the ability to continue attacking even when mezzed that Defiance grants. Dead enemies can't hurt you.

Electricity
Charged Brawl: 131 DPA
Havoc Punch: 96 DPA

Fire
Fire Sword: 98 DPA
Ring of Fire: 82 DPA

Ice
Ice Sword: 82 DPA
Frozen Fists: 68 DPA

Mental
Mind Probe: 78 DPA

Even the 'weakest', most control heavy Blaster secondaries all provide melee attacks that exceed the DPA of the best Spines attack you mentioned, Ripper at 77 DPA. The only exception, being Devices.


Recharge is completely irrelevant once a seamless attack chain is attained. But, since you brought this up, please show me where Scrappers have overall better recharging attacks than Blasters.

Ah. Thank you for pointing this out. Even the most cursory comparison of Blaster and Scrapper sets shows that by a vast margin Blasters have far more AOE potential than Scrappers. In your comparison above, you've taken the Scrapper AOE specialist, Spines, and put it up against a Blaster set known for fairly mediocre AOE ability, Energy Blast, and the Blaster still comes out favorably.

If you want to examine AOE performance, more appropriate comparisons would be Spines vs. Archery, Assault Rifle or Fire. All of which far surpass Spines (or any other Scrapper set) in the sustainable AOE department.

By point being, that generally speaking, most Blaster primary/secondary combos will have BOTH Aim & Build-Up. Most Scrappers will only have a single damage boosting power. There are, of course, obvious exceptions to this, such as AR & Devices on the Blaster side and Fiery Aura & Shields on the Scrapper side.

The Blaster inherent, Defiance, also boosts damage by a not inconsiderable amount.