Psion1

Well, if we're talking AOE kings alone, Fire Blasters have to be entered into the conversation as the favorite- not Fire tanks... perhaps thats who cosmic is referring to?

Only thing is, Blaster Defense comes nowhere near Scrapper defense, and being that a Spines/DA is ALMOST a Melee-Blaster with all the AOE and lawnmower capabilities, Id choose a Spines/DA over a Blaster any day of the week, and is why Im currently leveling one now.

Cosmic, I would like you to reference specific sets that you think 'out-perform' Spines/DA, especially since folks are starting to even farm/PL with them now.

Heard someone mention in one of the other forums that +800% Regen was the best possible IO build out there for Spines/Regen - which to me seemed like a crazy number. So Im gonna try to play with the sets to see if I can figure out how he's acheiving that number.

Im still an IO newb Geck, so excuse me if this is a dumb question-

On my Spines/Regen toon, I could use IO sets like Devastation on Impale and Scirocco's Dervish on Spine Burst & Quills -which both have a +Regen set bonus to them -and get even higher regen rates than what you're getting there as long as I slot all my secondaries like you have?

Seems to me that would just be a sick amount of Regen Bonus...which is obviously a good thing - Im just trying to grasp if that is possible....?

Im glad folks are finally starting to come around and see the truth of the matter.

Ive been preaching this for years amidst a sea of carebears and PvE nuts that think PvE is the way to keep a playerbase around....thats simply is not true, because content is pretty much blasted through in days...

Now, I will say this- PvP in CoX has really not come close to its potential....Why? Because the things the Devs implemented to help people have meaningful PvP have been bugged and sat on...

For example- take the items of power- a brilliant idea! Items that could potentially give your SG specific XP bonuses, DMG bonuses, Defense bonuses (both in PvE and PvP) have been put ont he back shelf while they work on other things....this to me is why you see alot of empty PvP zones...

I garauntee, if you implement Items of Power once again and give them awesome bonuses like an added 10% XP Bonus per kill or 3-5% DMG boost on attacks, you would see a lot more activity in PvP zones...Also-another part of the problem is that they gave IoP out as a reward for completing a task force...

Why do that when you have the ability to implement a capture-the-flag type of PvP Villain vs. Hero zone where you have two fortresses on opposites of the zone, and players can infiltrate those fortresses and capture items similar to items of power for your SG (or side of the war) that give your SG teammates or fellow heroes bonuses to XP, DMG, prestige, etc? - All while the villain players try to stop you from doing it...

Those type of fun PvP exercises are missing from CoX....Recluses Victory, while on the right track, is just not groundbreaking or rewarding enough to take part in...Why have timed Dimensional reversion? Why not have it where if one side of the war takes over the zone, then that side (be it hero or villain) get a static XP, influence, or prestige bonus both in PvE and PvP until the other side reverts it back?

That way theres a reason why players want to go in there and take over the zone..otherwise its just more badge hunting....

You have to give players a reason to PvP, otherwise they get bored, and even folks like myself that love killing will go find something else to do out of boredom instead of chasing stalkers around everyday.

The risk in PvP often enough has not equalled the reward...you're risking getting your [censored] handed to you just for the thrill of the fight- ther eis no meaning to it....

Devs: Give your PvP meaning, and the zones will not be empty anymore....

Thats a goo idea Dr., but in the case of melee Masterminds, youll need to get right next to the person or send your pets into melee range for that alpha before you switch stances. Who in their right mind stands still while a MM and 6 pets runs right up next tot hem besides tanks/brutes? No one in PvP. The run and kite like hell...

Lets say even if you do get off a melee alpha strike with all of your minions, run in beside them, then switch to defensive mode real quick- you do get your bodyguard ability turned on, but if that player does not retaliate, your pets are now on defensive follow, and chances are they are not going to attack that player if they do not attack you or another one of your pets. A player would just need to use common sense and not attack back, and just super leap/fly/super speed out of melee range, heal up or not, and just start the kiting process. once the kiting starts, our pets are now in ranged mode and firing their puny darts and shurikens chasing the player to hell and back going in and out of our supremacy range....thats no way for a power to work....its a big cluster----.

The only tactic I think might be effective is if I rush in with my pets (already a huge risk because of my low HP in PvP) have them beat on a guy in melee range while I try to slow/root them, then when his friends come or he starts blasting away, put my pets on defensive follow while hes spamming attacks so they suck in damage...maybe if he gets low on endurance or something then send them into melee range again and engage...But theres still problems with this..the pets are always going back and forth, in and out of supremacy range, in and out of twilight grasp range, I still wont be doing enough damage because any sane blaster will be super leaping/super speeding/flyingaround causing my pets to STILL use their puny [censored] attacks....Theres just no real benefit in PvP to this power unless you use your mastermind as nothing else than a stationary debuffing character with good defense.

If we go into a fight knowing that we wont be damaging the enemies and just going to be debuffing, maybe we wouldnt be so dissapointed and can know what to expect. I just think its crap that we lose our ability to damage an enemy (as Melee MM's) if we take advantage of this ability.

Ive thought about it for a bit, and I think whats making this suck the most is having to have your pets on the defensive stance. If my pets are close to me, then this ability should still kick in.

Im just thinking that in its current state, I could have a player right in front of my face 1 foot away from me, and if I tell my pets to engage him in melee combat -EVEN IF THEY ARE ALL RIGHT BESIDE ME - I lose the bodyguard defensive ability, eve though my pets are still right there by me. I shouldn't have to lose the bodyguard ability just by telling my henchmen to attack something thats 1 foot away from all of us, it makes no sense.

So in essence, i think if they change this power to where it is in effect as long as I have any pets near me, that would make it fair to melee masterminds as well, because all i would have to do is just follow my pets into melee range and make sure I stay close by when they are going to attack something. Id get the same benefit ranged Masterminds are getting while not being penalized because Im a melee based MM.

How does that sound?

Exactly. Bot Masterminds can lay down and go prone with this ability and not worry much about taking too much damage, because while in defensive mode, their bots stand still and just fire away. Ninja and Zombies run all over the frackin place trying to get into melee range.

So its damn if you do damn if you dont. Send all your pets in to attack,and you give up this wonderful defensive ability. Keep your pets in, and your biggest strength as a mastermind- your pet damage- it totally negated, and you are turned into a player that has good defensive capabilities with a few support abilities with no damage whatsoever except a few ridiculous arrows and darts.

If I wanted to role a Dark Defender I wouldve stuck with CoH. But I like my pets, and want them to be fairly utilized in comparison with other MM's - and that means they should be able to benefit from this ability but do damage in comparison to the ranged MM sets.

Melee Masterminds gain better defense with this ability, but lose the benefit (if they utilize this defensive ability) of being able to damage players to the point of killing.

Orochi hit the nail right on the head..for ranged oriented masterminds, this is great..But Im a Ninja mastermind, and my henchmen rely on melee prowess to kill. In PvP, all of my henchmen need to follow and close within melee range to do any serious damage.

Now I already know what you folks are going to say:

"Send your high dmg henchmen in and let the peons act as bodyguards!"

Well its not that easy....To do damage that will put player lives in jeopardy, I need more damage than what my two jounin will dish out if I send them into melee range. I will never kill any squishy with just two jounin. I need higher DPS to kill heroes or villains before they can fly or get away, and Im sorry, but that doesnt happen with two jounin- I need ALL of my guys rushing into melee range and hitting for the disorients and damage.

So that leaves me with no bodyguards to protect me from a blaster kiting me if my minions are trying to get to him. The only thing I can hope for is Tp foe, and usually, I just dont like using TP foe because I think its cowardly...but maybe Ill have to respec into it because Im being forced by the devs into that playstyle in order to maximize this 'fantastic' new ability the devs have given us.

Dont get me wrong Positron/Castle, I think you guys were very creative here, and this is definetely a good idea in principal, but Id like to know how you guys think a melee Mastermind should take advantage of this ability without using TP foe so our minions can actually hit something and do a respectable amount of damage.

Orochi was right for a second time when he mentioned PvP is all about speed and mobility. This seems like an ability that encourages us to stand still and wait to be hit, and in PvP, staying still, and especially waiting to be hit first is asking to get faceplanted.

Im thinking that even when I keep ALL my minions in for defense, their feeble arrows and shurikens will not dent a blaster unless all 6 of my guys pump two rounds into them, and usually by that time, the blaster can fly away and avoid my minions.

I just dont know..I want to like this power, but Im struggling to see how it benefits melee masterminds. There is no way we are going to benefit from this as good as the ranged Masterminds will, and I think that something needs to be done about that. I wish I knew the answer, but this concept is still new to me, and I need some time to think it over.

If theres any players out there that can provide other suggestions, please dont hesitate to chime in and throw a few suggestions in the open. I'd even like to hear from a dev about this.

Thanks everyone.

Dont know what you did Blue, but it worked on the lCtrl key..thanks a ton.....

Ill try using those strings in my text files to see if it will work....i should be back soon and let you know the progress...

I've already gotten both aim and build up to work with this key, and I have it binded for some commands my Mastermind uses in beta for CoV.....the problem is getting them to string....they specified key isnt the problem.

Ok...I've tried to read through every post I can that has info on this, I've tried binding it about 40 different ways, and still no luck..

Im getting utterly frustrated here....

Can someone do me the huge favor of telling me, step by step from the beginning, how to bind Build up and Aim to one button?

For instance, im trying to bind them to my left control button, or lctrl, however you like to use it, and im not having any luck whatsoever...the posts ive seen either have typos in them, fragmented information, etc...

Its hard to tell who knows what the hell theyre talking about on this thread when 50+ people are giving advice and less than half are right....

So please, if someone can give me a CORRECT description of how to /bind build up and aim together with one button from scratch, i would greatly appreciate it.

Sorry guys, but you lost a bit of respect from me on this one, as I cannot fathom who would seriously try to implement a change like this.

So the buff kicks in at 40% health eh? Well, I hate to let you guys in on the global secret of the blaster powerset, but at 40% health, all it takes is one good shot from a boss or a couple of well timed shots from an Lt. or two, and you're toast.

If you're going to implement these changes at 40%, dont waste the time loading it onto the live servers. id rather you spent the time elsewhere fixing some of the other things you have nerfed so badly.

Seriously guys, this is more a joke than a good idea. If you guys truly want to make an impact on blasters, and make it so they are not easy cannon fodder, implement Defiance when we get to 70% health, and make it a permanent buff until we are healed above that point. From there you can implement the buffs in increments of 10, so the buff increases at 60%, then at 50%, 40%, then finally at 30%.

That would be a more logical way to do it, and have it make a true impact into making blasters what they should be- fearsome killing machines. There should not be a scrapper, controller, tanker, or defender that can keep up with the nuking power of a blasters. Period.

Ive yet to see you guys implement this set with the balls they deserve.

The suprise aspect could still have an impact, depending on how close to the raid they let you notify the opposing SG. If you can send a notification 20-30 minutes before the actual raid, that's a pretty good suprise, and you would have the other SG scrambling to ready their defenses.

If it's something like an hour or two, most of you are right- the genuine suprise factor somewhat goes out the window.

Thanks for providing this thread States..

My ideas are rather large scale, and centered upon a team prestige system that combines prestige points and influence for supergroups to take advantage of some great features..

I think its something that any group would love to have, and its somewhat related to what you see in other games..

An SG would acquire these Prestige Points by completing certain SG taskforces, missions, kill tasks, or recovered artifacts from villain bases. WHile this concept has been discussed heavily, Id like to focus more on the rewards or options that prestige points would open up for an SG:

Prestige Points that you can use to upgrade:

-Base defenses like turrets, laser protected entries, time-elapsed traps and hidden trip mines

-Acquire new unique SG items or weapons you can use in battle, like stun guns, heavy freeze rays, healing bombs, etc.

-Acquire new vehicles!!! I've always thought that piloting a mini-dropship that you could haul your SG members around in would be awesome, especially when you unload your members over a hot spot crawling with enemies. I also like the idea of SG limos.

-Supergroup NPC's that wear your team uniform that assist in protecting your base from intruders and enemies. (I think this feature would be a fan favorite, especially if you could pick the powersets of your NPC defenders you put outside and inside your base). If this could be expanded, I would even vote for an SWG-type features that allows you to purchase NPC's to accompany you around the map and on missions. (Compter sidekick, anyone?)

-The ability to buy unique costume options for large amounts of prestige and influence that no one else has access to.
_______________________________________________

Some other features I would like to see would be

-SG information tabs other players can click on in-game to see your SG description, motto, recruiting statement, and leader and contact list, etc.

-Yearly or monthly supergroup server banquets or meetings in a city convention center, museum, or some other elegant public building. I find myself wanting to go inside a lot of the current buildings, and think it would be neat if the devs hosted "mingling" sessions between the supergroups where Statesman, or Back Alley Brawler made appeareances or speeches to the gather heroes, etc. (IMO, this would be very easy to implement and organize, yet there is a suprising absence of interesting things like this in the game-instead we are left with frozen lakes) -Sorry to those who put hard work into it, but I think your efforts could be more appreciated and respected in other areas of the game...

Also, Id like to make a statement about Alliance Chat. I have many friends in a lot of the larger SG's that express their anger all the time about how their SG's do not effectively communicate with their internal members..Keeping this in mind, Im curious to know why everyone is pulling for an alliance chat when the majority of the individuals I know feel like their SG leadership does a poor job already, and, in most cases, barely know some of the individuals in their own SG?

Why not focus on strengthening your forces internally before worrying about what another SG is doing, planning, etc. This chat system will be a lot more feasible after CoV is out, but until then I would want the develoeprs to give more fun features priority.