Redlynne
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Posts
1942 -
Joined
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Did better than PM ... I talked personally to Arbiter Hawk and to Black Scorpion a little bit about Masterminds. With Arbiter Hawk, it was about the UNsurvivability of Ninjas and the like, and some ideas to change the status quo about that. Surprisingly enough, he said that someone in the office had suggested to him that Ninja Pets should have a zero recharge time, be dirt cheap to summon and be paper thin on HP ... so that you can spam them as summons (unlike everything else). That way, Ninjas literally are disposable minions and you just summon them by the HORDE.
We joked that doing something like that would be very thematic/cinematic, but in the context of the game not exactly practical (except maybe for Genin).
I also mentioned the "Nemesis LT Vengeance Buff" as a way to introduce an Inverse Ninja Law to Ninja Pets, but his response to such a thing was not favorable. That's something that works out better in cinema (hence the trope) than it does in gameplay.
Arbiter Hawk also is very aware of just how far behind the curve the Mercs primary is, and is actually keen on doing something about that (although he did not divulge specifics, nor did I press him for any). Since there are A LOT OF THINGS that Arbiter Hawk cannot talk about, I wasn't about to pressure him or try to trick him into divulging information on this.
I also asked Arbiter Hawk about the prospect of folding the Recharge Intensive Pets into the Pet Damage Sets grouping (and eliminating the RIP IO grouping altogether) so as to allow multiple underperforming MM primaries (Mercs, Ninjas, etc.) to access the RIP uniques without being forced to resort to "picking the RIGHT secondary" to have access to these game changing survival auras. I'm not *entirely* sure he understood the direction and purpose of the argument, since he was giving me a little bit of pushback on doing that (which makes sense, since you want to analyze things carefully before making changes like that), but I'd like to think that he appreciated where I was coming from in advocating for this change.
And amazingly enough ... *DURING* dinner, Arbiter Hawk pulled out his cell phone and was reading the forums to stay on top of things!
I asked Black Scorpion about the Pet AI and possibly trying to get at some improvements to its responsiveness to Player Inputs. This led into a very convoluted explanation of just how ... weird ... the coding that controls this part of the game is, which went a bit over my head (I'm sorry to say). The key takeaway though is that doing anything about the Pet AI is **nowhere NEAR simple** in either its implementation, nor in its implications, given the interconnectedness of the game code at this point (which can have absurdly far reaching effects that are total head scratchers).
Best example Black Scorpion gave of a "I broke WHAT?!?" modification to the game code was a fix done to Poison Gas Arrow for Trick Arrow for Players. Somehow, this fix created a *BUG* when the exact same power got used by Manticore ... in that it resulted in a (functionally speaking) infinite duration Sleep. It was basically a "side effect" of how powers don't work the same for NPCs as they do for PCs, and somehow Manticore had gotten programmed to originally use the PC Poison Gas Arrow instead of his own "copy version" of the same power back when he got created. So a fix for Players of this power gave Manticore an extremely BROKEN version of the same power, in a way that you'd never anticipate that kind of linkage going into the spreadsheet/database unless you KNEW it was there ahead of time. Yes, the bug got fixed ... but it was a total Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment when the Powers Team realized what was happening (and why). It basically came down to somebody taking a shortcut many years ago in order to make a deadline which left behind a landmine waiting to blow up in the face of anyone who wandered near this piece of the game.
Suffice to say, Black Scorpion is "interested" in doing something about the Pet AI ... but he didn't say that working on it is on the schedule (nor, honestly, would I expect him to say that, so moderate those expectations kids). My takeaway is that Black Scorpion is ... aware ... that the Pet AI has "room for improvement" but that doing something about it is going to amount to the programming equivalent of Dumpster Diving, and that there probably isn't anyone else who is really up to the task of getting that "entangled" into the code without injuring themselves in the process (and breaking large swaths of the game while they're at it). So upgrades to Pet AI are very definitely in the "wait and see" category ... but the Devs are certainly aware of the less than optimal condition of the status quo. -
I talked to Neon Walker (Tech Lead), Dark Watcher (Programmer) and Andy (not Zwillinger, Programmer, does not have Redname) about the prospect of "starting over" with a new SG Base Editor ... what would it involve, what would they like to do with it, multi-purpose usage for both players and developers ... that sort of thing.
All of them had basically the same reaction when the question was posed.
They all laughed in that "you must be high!" sort of way that people tend to do if you ask them if they'd like to try on the collar of a guillotine, just to see if it "fits" or not.
Can't honestly say I blame them ...
That said ... the few times I did try to talk to various people about doing "something" about Bases (besides urban renewal styled efforts), this dismay at dealing with what we've currently got was just as obvious. I think it was Viridian who said that doing ANYTHING with the SG Base Editor was like "working on a house of cards that is already broken" and that it is so absurdly "fragile" as a system that developing for it is just about more trouble than it's worth (which I can easily believe to be true!). I tried to point out that the current system is essentially in a place of "Do Not Back Up, Severe Tire Damage" in practically every direction, leaving no place to "go" with it ... which everyone agreed was basically the case (even if they didn't say so in so many words).
I got the sense that the Devs are incredibly sensitive to the "Sunk Costs" issue of the number of man-hours that various players and SGs have put into their bases at this point, and that getting around that problem is something they simply may not be able to do. I tried to point out the possibility of "dual tracking" SG Bases where you keep the old while migrating to the new ... but there really wasn't any enthusiasm for that idea (since it would involve maintaining two code bases, among other logistical nightmares).
So it looks like the SG Base Editor prospects aren't so much "stuck in a rut" as much as they are lying at the bottom of a very deep, dark hole ... with no real way to climb out (short of a CoH2). -
Progress Quest is the ULTIMATE zero player game!
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Surprisingly enough, the costume piece I find myself appreciating more and more as time goes on is ...
Female --> Gloves --> Sleeves
This is quite ironic since it is an incredibly *ancient* costume part that probably dates all the way back to Beta (if not earlier). It's a low polygon count, no meaningful texture, dirt simple costume piece that's basically "bell bottoms for forearms" ... and it works(!). One of my bigger challenges is trying to figure out what to do for Gloves with Chest pieces like Witch Lace and Imperial Dynasty and some others, where it is just really "inconvenient" to have the Chest costume part abruptly end at the elbow with nothing there to carry it forward down to the hand. Amazingly enough, in a lot of cases, the use of Sleeves solves a lot of these problems, and looks like something that "makes sense" for characters who use guns. -
Personally, I'd *LOVE* to see the "pick 1 of 2 choices" system applied to Peacebringer powers that do Knockback. You can either choose the KnockBACK power, or the KnockDOWN power ... but not both versions of the same power. That means that legacy Peacebringer builds are "grandfathered" in as all using the KnockBACK versions of their powers, but upon respec can avail themselves of KnockDOWN versions of those powers instead.
Needless to say, the datamining available from making that sort of player choice available would make it pretty clear which way the winds are blowing as far as Conventional Wisdom is concerned with respect to Peacebringers and KnockABOUT in every meaningful power they have. -
Ninja/Time/Mace is the way to go (for Power Boost). You get Survivability Plus More with Time, which is the critical consideration in endgame content, in that you bring MORE to the team/league than just a collection of uber-Pets.
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This is not what I wanted in a Flux Capacitor ...
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Quote:Peacebringers get a version with no Pre-reqs ...Originally Posted by Angelxman81
People really do use Group fly?
Of course, hardly anyone plays Peacebringers, so that's not exactly common knowledge ...
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Quote:This is *NOT* a small Quality of Life item by any stretch. Loading the ENTIRE MARKET into Instances would be an absolutely prohibitive drain on server resources and architecture.Originally Posted by Smurch
Make /auctionhouse work inside the base.
I'm in my base, at my worktable, I have my vault nearby (and /vault)... but I can't /auctionhouse. This is a small QoL thing, sure, but it'd really make things easier especially when crafting base items.
From a PLAYER perspective, it's a small thing ... but then so is being able to throw a baseball into orbit ... by hand ... (it's just 11 km/s, what's your problem?). -
1. Add -Fly to Gleaming Blast, Luminous Detonation, Radiant Strike, Incandescent Strike, Solar Flare, Dawn Strike, Bright Nova Blast and Bright Nova Detonation.
2. Add Mag 1 Stun to each Human Form Attack Power that does Damage when the Inner Light buff is active. This gives Peacebringers something (anything!) to synergize with Pulsar. Set the Stun duration to exactly match the Defense Debuff duration on all of those powers.
3. Edit Cosmic Balance to be 3/4 self buff and 1/4 team within 60 ft PBAoE buff. The net result will still be the same as far as Peacebringers are concerned (because you're always on your "own" team), but they'll "share" some of their buff(s) from Cosmic Balance with the team they're on rather than keeping everything *just* to themselves. Note that the same revamp could be done for Warshades as well, to everyone's benefit (not just the Kheldians!). -
Dusting off one of my old costume submissions for Valkyrie (which Noble Savage is well acquainted with), here's what happens if you give Valkyrie Staff Fighting. I used the Tech Staff as a stand-in for her signature spear.
And the obligatory contrasts with Battle Maiden ... since Valkyrie herself stands over 7 ft tall at the top of her hair (never mind those wings on her head).
Nowadays I envision Valkyrie as being a Tech Origin Staff/Willpower Scrapper ... and Battle Maiden as a Tech Origin Titan Weapons/Invulnerable Brute ... since both of them are "powered" by nanotechnology (with Battle Maiden's nanites being the origin point for both of their power sets).
Costume Code Info:
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Geometry V_fem_Head.GEO/GEO_Head_V_Asym_Standard Texture1 !v_sf_face_skin_head_10 Texture2 none DisplayName P687117166 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 253, 0 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_FEM_GLOVE.GEO/GEO_Larm*_Justice01 Texture1 !x_male_glove_eagle_armor_mask Texture2 !glove_eaglearmor_01_dual DisplayName P3937616722 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Tight Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 241, 238, 126 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_FEM_BOOT.GEO/GEO_Lleg*_Justice_02 Texture1 !x_male_boot_eagle_armor_mask Texture2 !boot_eaglearmor_01_dual DisplayName P2104750136 RegionName "Lower Body" BodySetName Tight Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 241, 238, 126 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_FEM_BELT.GEO/GEO_Belt_Valkyrie_01 Texture1 !X_Valkyrie_Belt_01 Texture2 !belt_V_Valkyrie_01_Mask DisplayName P177456852 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Tight Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 241, 238, 126 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Long_04 Texture1 Long_01a Texture2 Long_01b DisplayName P2681220175 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 61, 61, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Wings_02 Texture1 Wing_01a Texture2 Wing_01b DisplayName P2793026233 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_FEM_EMBLEM.GEO/GEO_Emblem_Enforcer_02 Texture1 !X_Enforcer_Emblem Texture2 !Emblem_v_Enforcer_01_Mask DisplayName P2281134661 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Tight Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 241, 238, 126 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_FEM_SPADR.GEO/GEO_SpadR_Justice01 Texture1 !x_male_spadr_eagle_armor_mask Texture2 !spadr_v_eagle01_dual DisplayName P772741860 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Tight Color1 255, 190, 63 Color2 241, 238, 126 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none DisplayName P2371314042 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 253, 0 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none DisplayName P1848153390 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 253, 0 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx WEAPONS/Custom_LongStaff/Fem_LongStaff_Tech_01.fx Geometry none Texture1 !X_Tech Texture2 none DisplayName P1562119090 RegionName Weapons BodySetName Weapons Color1 255, 255, 255 Color2 255, 169, 0 Color3 31, 31, 31 Color4 227, 227, 227 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx none Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry none Texture1 none Texture2 none DisplayName P546439883 RegionName "Lower Body" BodySetName Tight Color1 255, 253, 0 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } } -
Hover is best for short range/TACTICAL movements. If you're getting Teleport, you can use that for longer(ish)ranged/strategic movements. If it really bothers you ... drop the teleport pool entirely and just go for Fly+Afterburner (leaving you with an extra power pick for something else, which could be Teleport Foe ... but why?).
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When you brawl with the Trick Arrow/Archery Bow out, you do a Kick animation which doesn't put away the weapon. Why that can't be ported over into the actual Kick Pool Power is something of a mystery ...
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Sounds like a programming oversight leading to a reproduceable bug.
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Blizzard has also always been good about releasing Mac clients for their games.
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Trick Questions
Is Dimension Shift useful against Towers in the (soon to no longer be) Statesman Task Force for denying Lord Recluse the buffs of the Towers?
Is Dimension Shift useful against the Regenerating War Walking in the Underground Trial for denying it access to Regenerating Fungus?
Is Dimension Shift useful for a Hamidon Taunter who needs an "escape hatch" to avoid incoming blasts so as to survive a few more seconds?
Is Dimension Shift useful for isolating Trapdoor from his Bifurcations so they can't boost his Regeneration?
Is Dimension Shift useful on Rikti Mothership Raids for "containing" Bomb Blast Damage?
Is Dimension Shift useful in the Barracuda Strike Force when fighting against Reichsman as a means to moderate the additional damage of the endless waves of ambush spawns? -
Quote:I filed a ticket with Customer Service over a month ago (reference number 120316-000266) and specifically mentioned the problem with my VIP Rewards. There was literally NO RESPONSE given for that issue (VIP Rewards) in my ticket. *NONE* ... AT ALL ...Originally Posted by Black Pebble
I have an update regarding inconsistent dates for when your Paragon Point stipends are being awarded.
A fix was recently implemented so that for most VIP customers, Paragon Points should now be consistently awarded on your billing date. However, this fix may not apply in all cases, particularly if you were experiencing issues early on during the Freedom launch.
If you're still finding that the day you receive your stipend seems to be changing, please contact customer service, as they should now be able to permanently correct it for you.
My billing date is the 15th of the month.
My reward token for the month has not arrived yet (and today is, well ... the 19th).
My stipend of Paragon Points for the month ... no idea when that is going to arrive, since the date of the award has been slipping in the wrong direction ever since Freedom launched. It's almost like my 400 point stipend is on a 32-33 day award cycle or something completely whacked. -
I've got a Kinetic Melee/Energy Aura Stalker that I named Golden Blond whose powers are catalyzed by ... Gold. Amazingly enough, I had to do basically nothing to the power customizations to make everything about her "golden" in appearance. If you want to go Stalker, for the real "I don't need friends!" approach, I'd recommend KM/EA.
If you want to go with Electric Melee/Willpower/Soul Mastery (which sounds like a wicked combination) you can go either Scrapper or Stalker ... although I'd point out that Willpower won't "work" quite as well on a Stalker as it does on a Scrapper, due to the lower HP impacting Regeneration yield. Still, with EM/WP/Soul as a Stalker, you'd be able to open with Spring Attack, Lightning Rod and then use Assassin Strike from Hidden (which is just plain RUDE as an opening move chain). Taking Storm Elementals as your Lore Pet would then just play into all of that. -
I had Witty on my Manticore WST team, and amusingly enough ... Witty couldn't manage to die. As I said during the run, it's kinda hard to die when you can't grab aggro.
Also amusingly enough, we had two tankers who insisted on "Pulling a Witty" in the very last mission of the TF, and they had the unmitigated gall to do it BEFORE reaching the AV at the end of the mission. What made that even more amusing is that the entire TF had been Debt Free until that last mission. Still can't believe you guys let yourselves get clobbered by MOBS rather than waiting for the AV to assign you the job of Floor Sniffer.
Shirayukihime inhaled aggro like a wind tunnel ... just like she always does ... for the entire TF run. Amazingly enough, she wasn't the only Ice Tanker on this run! -
Quote:Request Clarification:Originally Posted by Zwillinger
They have a chance to drop off of any Incarnate level mob. That would mean anything in DA/DA Missions (or future Incarnate Missions) and in any iTrial. No one spot is better than any other.
Do "Incarnate Level Mobs" include Level 54 Rikti on Mothership Raids ...?
/em significant look
/em eyebrows -
Quote:I "may not pass" the Grey Pilgrim ... but I can at least give him some amusement.Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
I chuckled when I read Redlynne's comment
Mission Accomplished.
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The only way this could happen is if the "dangly parts" stopped above the knee (like the Pencil Skirt does). If you look carefully at the Carnival of Light Sash, you'll see this "not beyond the knee" dynamic in action.
The real problem though is getting something that could "flutter" around the way a light cloth would when jumping. Doing that for the coat tails of the Wedding Tux is one thing ... but doing it for something like this would be something else again ... -
Trick Arrow/Beam Rifle Defender with a Tech Origin.
Yeah ... that's the (split) ticket ...
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Peacebringers need "work" on their powers synergies, because their powers don't stack all that well with each other to produce advantageous effects (and more than one has counterproductive effects).
Warshades don't need any help.
Masterminds (as an AT) need an AI update, more than anything else ... although Ninjas and Mercs are severely Gimptacular and in need of *serious* help.
Scrappers, as an AT, need to get over their inferiority complex and realize that "flip out and kill things" is STILL their AT advantage. -
Quote:Ninja damage output IS FINE.Originally Posted by Jibikao
Are you leaning towards giving them more survival or more offense?
Ninja survival is OUT TO LUNCH.
The problem with Ninjas is that they DON'T LIVE when breathed on. They can't take a hit, and they can't DODGE a hit! They take full damage from EVERYTHING thrown at them and they fold like pre-creased origami rice paper. The only way to give them any survivability whatsoever is to either go Full Tankermind (and keep ALL aggro away from them!) or to pair Ninja/* with a Secondary that can completely cover their almost total lack of any self-protection measures whatsoever.
Ninjas have almost no survivability whatsoever built into them. *THAT* is the problem ... not a lack of damage throughput (although their AI for powers selection could use some work too, to make them "smarter" than ADHD children).