Rodion
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Posts
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I was seeing bosses when running solo even before the new difficulty settings when I was running on Challenge level 2 and 4. So I don't think this change is due to something in I16.
The change occurred some time before I16, but I think it's a relatively recent change (like in the last 6-12 months). -
Quote:I have noticed this happening occasionally for as long as I've been playing (five years). I've always assumed that the animation command from the server was dropped, like so many things on the Internet. It's pretty rare, and seems to happen on any character regardless of build.Originally Posted by Arbiter Kim
Is this is a specific build? Are all your alts exhibiting common behavior like this? Is it just in huge fights or does it show up in smaller battles as well?
-AK
If people are seeing this a lot they should do /netgraph 1 and see if there's a correlation between the missing animations and network transmission errors. -
I found Thunderstrike to be underwhelming on my Storm/Electrical defender. It's slow to activate and doesn't do all that much damage.
I've got Power Build Up on my TA/A defender, and use it every time I use EMP Arrow. In addition to increasing the duration of effects, it gives an 80% damage buff. It lasts longer and has 30% more damage buff than Aim. It's really pretty fabulous.
So I'd second the motion to use Power Mastery. Conserve Power is probably all you'd need; my character isn't really end-heavy, though I don't have the Leadership toggles. TA/A isn't a really fast set so you tend not to burn a lot of end.
You might also consider slotting uncommon IOs that are available cheaply. You really get a much better character when you use sets, because they pack two or three bonuses into each enhancement, and when you add them all up you can get more than 7 slots worth of enhancement in 5 slots. They're also cheaper in the long run and more convenient because they never run out. Slot them at level 30-35 and you'll never need to buy another enhancement for that power. For example, a level 35 Ruin set (which is really cheap) gives 59% acc, 85% damage, 41% end, 59% recharge.
If you don't care about set bonuses, you can "Frankenslot" (mix and match from different sets to maximize power level) using whatever recipes you find cheaply on the market.
For example, you can swap in a Maelstrom's Fury: Acc/Dam into the Ruin set above, and get 64% acc, 96% dam, 22% end red and 41% recharge. And that will cost you less than 100K per enhancement to buy and craft. Considering that you will spend 200K to replace your accuracy SOs from level 35 to 50, it's a great deal. And your enhancements will never go red in the middle of a mission. -
Putting a Field Analyst/Fateweaver in Ouroboros would be a great help. It's an extremely popular transfer point.
Additional contacts should be placed in all zones near the transportation nexus, or other popular location (the contacts in Atlas, PI and IP are well-positioned, for example). Why would the Talos contact hide out in the middle of the bay under a statue, rather than by the train station? -
Quote:The reason is novelty. Many people play multiple alts simultaneously, not really caring how fast each character levels, because they don't feel like doing exactly the same thing each time they play. When you play that way you get something new and different most every time you play.Originally Posted by macskull
(although I could reverse that point of view - I don't know why someone would spend that kind of time leveling a character and then only dig them out once in a blue moon while they're leveling something else).
I agree about non-IOed characters feeling slow and clunky. That's why I start using IOs at level 7 or 12, and never bother with DOs and SOs. It's actually cheaper to add permanent common IOs as you level than re-outfitting with temporary enhancements every five levels.
I also start using IO sets when the main bonus starts to cap out due to ED. That's usually in the late 20s and early 30s. I don't mind that they don't have the maximum possible bonuses because the sets have 55-60% accuracy and 95% damage (or other main effect), which when combined with the accuracy and recharge bonuses I usually get with the sets I choose make the character very snappy and responsive.
Because my characters are fun to play pretty much the whole time I'm playing them, I really feel no need to PL. Most characters built this way can easily solo at +1/x5 or +2/x4, or team with another character or two at +2/x8. That combined with maxed-out Patrol XP (from playing so many alts) means you're basically PLing yourself whenever you play.
The other benefit of using IO sets early is that when you're exemped down, you retain the bonuses you had at that level.
Finally, the most tedious levels (1-stamina) now go by in just a few hours. I can see why people want to PL through that (always having to rest, never enough attacks), but the devs have cranked up the XP so much for 1-20 that it's barely enough playing time to get to know how the powers work together.
I'm not interested in getting lots of purples because of the time and expense involved, and, frankly, they don't have a lot of the bonuses that I want. Most of the purple sets have the same bonuses (recovery, regen, recharge, accuracy, toxic resist). While these are great bonuses you can get 50-75% of many of those effects with rares and certain commons. Some of the bonuses don't really offer much for most characters: they can't get enough regen to make a difference with burst damage, characters with IO sets rarely have end problems, and your to-hit caps at 95%, so global accuracy bonuses greater than 30-40% are overkill. The only generally useful bonus is the 10% recharge. If I really need that much recharge I'll take Hasten.
The bonus from IO sets that many people are looking for these days are the Defense bonuses, and only one purple set gives any defense bonus. There is a certain degree of "I must have it because it's the best" mentality with purples. Having six sets of them doesn't really do much for you unless you happen to need the bonuses they give, and most characters can get what they need much more easily elsewhere. -
Quote:I'm not recommending that you make a single-target healer. I'm just saying that there aren't enough powers to do nothing but heal. With Empathy there's a maximum of three heals, one of which I'd never take (Absorb Pain, because it's better to crank up recharge on your other heals).Originally Posted by DocDominion
Sorry, I should have clarified.
Yes, I want one of my builds to do nothing but heal, and to be able to keep my group alive, regardless of how the tank is doing. A single target healer is an okay alternative if Grav/Emp is no good at AoE heals, and that's fine, I just want to put extra emphasis on my one AoE ability.
So for a single target healer, anybody have any suggested builds?
Doing nothing but healing is akin to driving a car only on two of its four wheels. Yes, you can do it by tilting the car up on one side and going real fast. But you're going to fall over very soon and it won't be pretty when you do.
I find it works best to use the single target heal for the melee characters at range and the area heal for the squishies who stand near you. That way you keep yourself and the other squishies together out of stun and AoE range by the tanker.
I don't have a build, but can make some general recommendations:
Basically, to heal and buff well with Empathy you want to maximize global recharge and recharge on your heals and buffs. The Doctored Wounds set is one of the best for Healing Aura and Heal Other because it includes a 5% +Recharge bonus. Six-slotting DW on those powers gives 95% Heal and Recharge and 64% end reduction at level 35.
You also want to maximize recharge on Fortitude, Adrenalin Boost and Regeneration Aura. Pick sets that give you recharge bonuses (six-slot Doctored Wounds and five-slot Red Fortune with one Recharge in Fortitude). You should be able to keep Fortitude on three or four people if you're diligent about it. Remember that you can only make use of five of each particular named percentage of the recharge bonus -- if you have five DW and one Red Fortune you'll only get 25% recharge bonus from those six sets.
You'll probably want to take Hasten.
If you're focusing on healing, you'll want to avoid powers that generate massive aggro, which means AoEs. That means skipping Crushing Field. You should still take your AoE hold. Unfortunately, it may also mean skipping Wormhole, which has a pretty big delay between the time you fire it off and it actually takes effect (Mids says 2.7 seconds). I've been attacked by the mob I'm using it on before the mob is actually teleported away. This is a good one to do around the corner out of line-of-sight so you don't get creamed. -
Quote:I think this basic concept is flawed. Maxed out you can only do about 23.2% of your hit points in an area heal, which has a radius of 25 feet.Originally Posted by DocDominion
I want to make him more of an AoE healer as opposed to a single target healer.
A level 50 tank has 1874 base hit points, while a controller has 1017. That means, maxed out, your heal is going to do 236 hp, or 13% of the tank's hit points. Many tanks also have lots of hit point bonuses, so you may not be able to heal even 10% of the tank's hits with an area heal. Your single target heal does twice as much healing.
Also, if you're close enough to area heal the tank all the time, you're going to be in the middle of battle, which means you're going to get stunned a lot and hit by AoEs. You will get creamed when you start running into Nemesis troops and Malta.
I find the single target heal to be much more useful than the area. It heals twice as much, recharges twice as fast and has an 80 foot range. If you skimp on Heal Other you will be a terrible healer.
As others mentioned, there's a lot more to playing an empath than healing. Knowing the best team members to receive Fortitude, Adrenalin Boost and Clear Mind (and when they need it) is much more important than spamming Healing Aura. -
Quote:That was my first controller, and it works well.Originally Posted by Psiphon
Probably the best healer combo is Illusion/Emp.
You get an invisability power that allows you to heal without pulling aggro, also its a relatively passive primary; drop the pets then get on with the healing and buffing.
However, there is another "healer" powerset for controllers: Thermal Radiation. Originally the "villain" version of healing, it has a mixture of ally heals and buffs and enemy debuffs.
The heals for Thermal are the same basic numbers as Healing Aura and Heal Other. The big difference is that there's nothing to buff defense, regeneration and recovery, but the to-hit and damage buff is greater and there are damage resistance buffs. The status protection is similar, but Thermal also has cold damage resistance, run/recharge debuff resistance, but lacks a perception buff.
Depending on how you like to play, Thermal has certain advantages: there are no PBAoE buffs, so you don't have to summon everyone to you for RAs. On the other hand, you have to buff each individual singly, so if you don't like being a "buff-bot" this set is not for you.
However, that is partially made up for by the massive Damage, Recovery and Regeneration debuffs on Heat Exhaustion, and the Defense and Damage Resistance debuffs on Melt Armor. -
It really depends on how you play. If you run a single character exclusively and rack up the levels as fast as possible, whipping through levels 1-30 in a few days, then you won't want to bother with IOs till you can start slotting 30s. If you continue that headlong pace to 50, then you may not want to bother with IOs at all.
But considering that level 30 IOs are better than +2 SOs, if you slot level 30 IOs you never need to replace them. It's cheaper to craft a set of 30s than to buy the 5 SOs you'd need to buy on the way to 50). In fact, level 25 IOs are just a little shy of even-con IOs in terms of bonuses, and you might be satisfied with those.
On the other hand, if you play a lot of alts and you have weeks or months to develop the character, you can usually get level 10 IOs on the market for 1-2K (if you wait), and usually level 15 and 20 IOs for the price of DOs. You need to place your bids and then wait a day or two, and they're usually filled. I bid several levels ahead to make sure I have what I need on hand when I level up.
IOs are much better than DOs of the equivalent level, and they never wear out. I don't slot 10s unless I happen to get them on the market cheap, and start slotting 15s at level 12 (which I start buying at level 7 or 8, after I've found something that sells for a lot on the market). As I add slots, I add IOs of the maximum level possible. That means at level 20 I have a mix of level 15 and 20 IOs, which give pretty good bonuses (much better than DOs).
I continue to add common IOs as I add powers, replacing the 10s and 15s when I get 20s and 25s.
If you can't get IOs on the market, you can usually craft them yourself by saving the salvage needed for the recipes. Mostly people need accuracy and damage, so be sure to save the salvage that's required for those. Because of the massive inflation in the game, even starting characters usually have millions after just one fortunate drop. That means you can buy the recipes on the market if they're available, and off the invention tables if they're not. But usually you can get the most popular common recipes for a few hundred inf at level 25 or less.
The reason that there are good deals on IOs has to do with players getting the crafting accolade. This accolade requires that the badger make hundreds of IOs, far more than they can possibly use or typically store in their bases. You have to make so many that you just don't have enough market slots to sell all the IOs you need to make at a decent price (if you're in a hurry to sell), so the prices are often low. If you want to get an IO quickly, bid the crafting price -- it lets the crafter more or less break even, and it's not all that expensive for IOs less than level 30.
I start outfitting my characters with IO sets when I can start slotting level 30s. These typically have maxed-out damage (or other primary effect) due to ED, and you really don't need more than 60% accuracy (roughly equivalent to two acc SOs), especially if you're slotting sets that give acc set bonuses. Doing this also lets you retain the IO set bonuses when you're exemped down to the 30s. For powers obtained after level 30 I use IO sets appropriate to the level of the power (I use 50s on the level 47 power, for example).
This slow and steady development isn't for everybody. You don't really need a lot of influence to do it; if you take your time and purposely do missions with mobs that drop the salvage you need, you can get more than enough of what you need. But most people don't have this kind of patience or planning.
Final note: be sure to get the Mids character creator (you can search for it on the forums here). It's really great, especially for putting together characters with IO sets. -
Quote:Testing on the training room with a level 50 in an MA mission gives the same amount of influence no matter what the Disable Earning XP and XP While Exemplared settings are. This is as it should be, but it is not what the patch notes claim.Originally Posted by IanTheM1
Seems like it should default for level 50s no matter what, but otherwise that's how exemplaring has always worked, AFAIK.
A level 50 should be getting slightly more than double the amount of influence that a level 49 character gets while getting XP. I don't have a level 49 character to test that with. Anyone have a level 49 that they can try this out with? -
Quote:There seem to be a couple of problems with this.Originally Posted by Niviene
[B]Release Notes for 1600.20090930.3T2
Rewards
- Fixed an issue where Level 50 (level capped) characters did not receive double influence when they exemplared down (with that option selected).
Ran a level 41 character through a level 35 mission in AE (forced with min/max mission level 35). Using Nemesis group running at +1 (x1), no bosses, so Fakes spawn as LTs. Arc #226325.
With XP While Exemplared set to Earn XP I got the following:
With XP While Exemplared set to Double Influence, No XP I got:Code:You have defeated Carabineir You gain 974 experience and 681 influence. You have defeated Fake You gain 2,597 experience and 3,116 influence.
The influence awarded for the second set of defeats is not double influence. It is equal to the XP plus the Influence. At one point I believe XP equaled influence and that wording might have been correct, but with changes to the rewards structure it hasn't been for some time.Code:You have defeated Armiger You gain 1,655 influence. You have defeated Fake You gain 5,713 influence.
The intent seems to be that turning off XP while exemped is to reward XP as Influence. If that is the case, the text for the selected option should be "Reward XP as Infuence" instead of "Double Influence, No XP".
If, in fact, the intention is to actually double Influence, there is a more serious bug. I should get 6232 influence for the Fake instead of 5713. -
Quote:Playing against a powerset is very instructive in how it is effective.Originally Posted by EricHough
I am using redtomax as a reference here and he could be wrong but usually he is not - according to tomax spooky has 2 attacks, an AE fear that does a -15% to hit debuff and a single target fear that also does a -15% to hit debuff. So spooky can stack up as much as -30% to hit debuff on a single target and as it fires off its single target attack every 6 seconds so it can hit multiple targets. This is also the reason that bosses can be easily feared as the two attacks allow spooky to stack fears.
I always liked Spectral Terror, but I didn't realize how good the to-hit debuff is until I wrote an AE arc with an Illusion/WP Boss. When my Brute wasn't feared, I couldn't hit anything. To beat the boss down you have to get away away from ST, and the recharge on Spectral Terror is so short the boss quickly summons it again and you have to move.
But with Illusion/Storm the OP may have a point, depending on playstyle. Hurricane's to-hit debuff is -30, twice that of ST. However, Hurricane doesn't work well with Freezing Rain, which is any Stormie's mainstay for maximizing damage. On the other hand, Phantasm and Phantom Army have lots of KB, which means your pets are already knocking things out of FR.
Really, it all boils down to what you like. Both Illusion and Storm are decent and none of the powers is out and out bad (well, you don't have any choice about Gale). Tornado is probably the least useful, but it can be great fun. Thunder Clap is probably the one I'd skip because it's another PBAoE like Flash, which I'm not particularly fond of. -
This build gives 44.6% ranged defense not hovering, 47% hovering. Major differences include the Fighting pool and Maneuvers instead of World of Confusion and Drain Psyche. The latter two powers require you to close within 8-10 feet, which means you will be in melee range and your ranged defense won't help as much.
If you are a hover blaster this will be pretty good. Since Psychic Shockwave is a 15-foot radius PBAoE you can afford to use it as a finishing move on a group.
I also six-slotted Subdual to take advantage of the 2.5% RD in Thunderstrike, and because it's one of the powers you can use while mezzed. With Power Bolt, Subdual and Power Blast six-slotted you can attack pretty much non-stop even while held. That can save your life, especially with the KB in the energy blasts and the immobilize in Subdual.
You could also put one more slot in Maneuvers and use something other than Thunderstrike in one of the ranged attacks, without changing Ranged Defense.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Science Blaster
Primary Power Set: Energy Blast
Secondary Power Set: Mental Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Power Bolt -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7)
Level 1: Subdual -- Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(13), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(17)
Level 2: Power Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(7), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(11)
Level 4: Energy Torrent -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(43), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(46)
Level 6: Mind Probe -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(21), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(23), Mako-Dam%:50(23)
Level 8: Hover -- Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(17)
Level 10: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 12: Aim -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(46), RechRdx-I:50(50)
Level 14: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(A), Zephyr-Travel:50(19)
Level 16: Health -- Heal-I:50(A)
Level 18: Power Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(42), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(25), EndMod-I:50(25)
Level 22: Psychic Scream -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(34), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(34), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34)
Level 24: Boxing -- Stpfy-KB%:50(A)
Level 26: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam:40(27), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(27), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(33), S'fstPrt-ResKB:30(33)
Level 28: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(29), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), RedFtn-Def:50(31), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(31)
Level 30: Concentration -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(46), RechRdx-I:50(50)
Level 32: Nova -- Erad-Dmg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(36), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(36), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:50(36), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:50(37)
Level 35: Power Push -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 38: Psychic Shockwave -- Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(39), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(39), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:50(40), C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:50(40)
Level 41: Personal Force Field -- DefBuff-I:50(A)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(45), RctvArm-ResDam:40(45), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(45)
Level 47: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(48), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(48), RedFtn-Def:50(48), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50)
Level 49: Force of Nature -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
------------
Set Bonus Totals:- 7% DamageBuff(Smashing)
- 7% DamageBuff(Lethal)
- 7% DamageBuff(Fire)
- 7% DamageBuff(Cold)
- 7% DamageBuff(Energy)
- 7% DamageBuff(Negative)
- 7% DamageBuff(Toxic)
- 7% DamageBuff(Psionic)
- 4.25% Defense(Smashing)
- 4.25% Defense(Lethal)
- 3% Defense(Fire)
- 3% Defense(Cold)
- 35.5% Defense(Energy)
- 35.5% Defense(Negative)
- 3% Defense(Psionic)
- 3.63% Defense(Melee)
- 36.1% Defense(Ranged)
- 3% Defense(AoE)
- 3.6% Max End
- 22.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
- 46% Enhancement(Accuracy)
- 16% FlySpeed
- 18.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
- 16% JumpHeight
- 16% JumpSpeed
- Knockback (Mag -4)
- Knockup (Mag -4)
- MezResist(Held) 3.3%
- MezResist(Immobilize) 9.9%
- 16.5% (0.28 End/sec) Recovery
- 5.67% Resistance(Fire)
- 5.67% Resistance(Cold)
- 16% RunSpeed
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Quote:I'm a firm believer in the proper use of knockback, but I have to admit it's not complete tripe when certain kinds of tankers complain about KB causing them problems.Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
We get everything from 'Oh, they spread the spawns out', to 'Oh, I cant tank when people KB the mobs.' Both of which are tripe. If the spawn gets spread out, it's hardly hard to move forward a bit and chase down the flying mobs. And, as a tanker myself, I've never found KB to be much of a problem when tanking. The mobs are so firmly aggroed that they just run straight back to me, and into a well overdue pounding.
Invulnerability and Willpower tankers need to be in the vicinity of mobs for their defense and regeneration. Under certain circumstances (the tank surrounded by melee mobs while also under fire from another group of ranged mobs), knocking the mobs around the tank away can result in the tank losing a substantial amount of mitigation.
And pretty much every Tanker primary has some kind of damage aura or other effect that requires the presence of mobs (Consume, Energy Absorption, Oppressive Gloom, Power Sink, Ice Patch, Chilling Embrace, etc.). An Ice tanker about to use Energy Absorption could find himself denuded of mobs by knockback, and thereby lose critically needed defense.
Of course, those mobs are not doing anything while they're knocked back, so it's not usually very dangerous when this happens -- it's just an annoyance. But for something like Ice Melee, the Ice Patch often forms a significant part of the tanker's mitigation, and knocking all the mobs off it can be bad if the mobs have ranged attacks and feel no need to rush back to you (like certain Rikti).
So, people should know better than to use area KB attacks on most tankers, and should desist when a tanker asks them to stop. And tankers should give others fair warning when KB is harming/annoying them. And if they can't work it out, then they shouldn't be teaming together. -
Quote:It's easy to justify the change to pet powers because pets don't have the same level of intelligence that players do in the proper use of powers. In many cases (not all, admittedly), taking a step or two is all that you need to turn the "disadvantage" of of the knockback into an advantage. To wit, knocking the mobs into a corner or a wall to collect them for other area/cone powers such as Spin and Eviscerate.Originally Posted by Moghedien_EU
Recently the aoe knockback of the mastermind lich and mastermind bruiser were changed to knockdown due to balance and performance issues.....
When I play my Claws scrapper I'm bouncing all over the place to get the right angle for Shockwave to put the mobs exactly where I want them. I even use the power to toss mobs into the area of a Tanker's taunt aura. Yeah, I use KB to help a tanker who's trying to herd.
When I started out I didn't really like the KB. But over time I learned to like it and take advantage of it. Since a player was never really in control of the KB->KD power changes on the MM pets, there was no one who had a vested interest in keeping the power that way.
Perhaps a better solution would be to allow people who don't like KB to slot a new kind of -KB IO in the power, or slot Immobilize and Immobilize sets in KB powers. The immobilize would act as a negative enhancement to the KB power. Add enough and the knockback is turned into knockdown. Add too much and the knockdown goes away completely. It would be at a penalty, of course, since you couldn't slot other types of enhancement.
Such a change would be applicable across all powersets that have knockback, and would be welcomed by thousands of players. -
I took the Neil Kendrick arc in Ouroboros with one character and was assigned the AE building in Brickstown for the mission location three times in a row on 10/7. Today I took the same arc on another character and was assigned a location in Steel Canyon. Then I took it on the first character again and was assigned the same location in Steel Canyon as the second character.
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Some 50s I keep coming back to, tweaking when a new IO set comes out that would be cool to add.
My pace with a character slows down at 40 as well; when the march to 50 is limited to powers that I've already got on several other characters the novelty factor is much lower and the drive isn't there.
I've also put a number of second builds on my 50s as experiments with new powers or concepts. I'm not really into getting purples on my 50s (I've got one set on each of three or four characters), but I do like the challenge of making tough characters on a budget.
Then there are the ATs that I just can't get into: Khelds, for example. And the Villain EATs. I just can't seem to get them past level 20 before I get tired of them and need the slot for something else. And AR blasters -- guns are just so mundane, I haven't even started one. -
Quote:2) I've always wanted to know how all the different types of characters play so that I work better on teams. What better way to find out than to actually play them?Originally Posted by Dominicus_Saxon
2) What happens to my lvl 50 at that point and what can he do in-game that will be worth anything since he can't earn xps anymore ?
3) Also, what's this about a 2nd build ? I see trainers offering it but I have no idea how it works.
I've got at least two 50s of every hero AT but Khelds and have tried all the ATs and powersets except AR and Warshades. I've also tried a goodly number of the villain ATs and powersets.
While I don't really care about amassing more XP and influence as an end in themselves, I do like trying out new things. Having alts also keeps me from getting bored. When I grow weary of melee I switch to one of my ranged characters.
3) I often use the second build to get access to powers that I can't fit into my primary build, or to try out a new type of character design without trashing my primary build. For example, I have two builds on my Inv/SS tanker. One has soft-capped Smash/Lethal defense, and the other has a wider variety of attacks.
You do have to buy all new enhancements for the second build, so the second build can be expensive and time consuming if you're using IOs and set bonuses. -
Quote:The amount of memory required for a group is pretty small. If the character is a boss, contact or ally, the group file doesn't even appear to be created.Originally Posted by Ironik
Ah, thanks.
Do you know if making a different group for custom bosses increases the percentage of memory allotted? I suspect it will, but I hope not.
If your group contains only one boss, the spawn will usually have multiple copies of that boss if the team size is greater than one. Probably not what you want.
Right now the only way provided for getting exactly one of the guy you want is an ally objective. The ally can be made to be "Single," in which case he'll be standing alone when you get there.
He won't charge in to save your bacon, but he will follow you around and fight. -
Quote:That requires that you die. If you plan on dying, you probably will.Originally Posted by _Starbird_
APP -> Fire !
Rise of the Phoenix ... nuff said
I went with Force mastery with my Fire/Energy (Force of Nature is pretty dang awesome), and am considering Electrical mastery on my Fire/Fire (EM Pulse is a great power sorely needed in a set that doesn't have much mitigation).
However, Melt Armor is rather tempting out of Flame Mastery. -
Quote:It appears to, at least when you accept regular rewards instead of tickets. I did the convention arc by Dr. Aeon starting at level 48 and and made 49 after the first mission. I ended up 6 bubbles into 50 on x5/+1. It looks like more than 7 million XP according to the log, with 550,000 xp for the arc bonus alone. I also got 20 recipes and 5 rare salvage for about 700 mobs. Looking at the XP table on ParagonWiki it looks like I got almost two levels in about two hours.Originally Posted by Nericus
Perhaps Dev Choice/Hall of Fame missions have DXP?
I'd forgotten that Double XP was on already and was shocked to see how much XP I got for that arc. I was about ready to bug it when I remembered DXP was starting a day early. -
This is great news. I'm glad to serious how serious Paragon is about making MA better. There's been a rough patch, but problems are steadily getting fixed.
What I'm hoping to see in the future:- A lot more maps to choose from (the ability to use arbitrary sections of the city would be great -- there are all kinds of really cool places in the game).
- More scripting type options where NPCs can conduct "soliloquies" (more kinds of triggered behavior).
- Some kind of decision making in missions (where player choices affect mission outcomes more directly than just killing/not killing something)
- PvP-oriented missions (where two or more teams can enter the same map)
- A "Game Master" feature, where one player "runs" the mission, able to control NPCs the way Masterminds control their pets. It would be like having a computerized tabletop RPG.
The last two features would make CoX the premiere role-playing system out there. Nothing else would come close for making customized missions and allowing players to tell and run their own stories. - A lot more maps to choose from (the ability to use arbitrary sections of the city would be great -- there are all kinds of really cool places in the game).
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I think the complaint that anti-marketeers have is that people who just play the market contribute nothing and simply leech off other players' hard work. It is the same argument that Marx made about speculators.
In the real world markets serve an extremely important purpose, spreading risk and providing capital for the people who provide services. One could argue that the market in the game serves a similar function.
Producers of in-game items (recipes and salvage) have a finite resource (market slots) that they must shepherd carefully. The devs intentionally limited the number of recipes and salvage items that characters can effectively hold to prevent hoarding and make the market possible.
A producer who gets 10 or 20 recipes in a day can often not sell those recipes for what they are worth. In order to get the use of the market slot back an item must often be posted for less than its actual worth, to make the slot free up more quickly. This is the "service" that marketeers who flip recipes serve. They hold items in their market slots that other players have no room for.
Now, there's really no need for marketeers. Every player could simply post their recipes for a reasonable price instead of underpricing it. But that would mean that people would have to stop playing their characters when their recipe inventory fills, or they would have or vendor recipes, or just delete them.
This is also why patience is key for playing the market. If you wait long enough and place enough bids, you can usually get everything you want at the price you want.
I honestly don't understand people who refuse to use the CoX market. It is really one of the most benign markets there is. If you treat it like a store where you put things up for the price you want to sell them for, and bid for things at the price you want to pay for them, it's basically like going to the grocery store for a head of lettuce. Compared to games that have auctions, this is pretty straightforward. Making bids is free, and posting items is cheap and not time-limited.
I find that posting my drops for reasonable prices I often reap huge rewards. But I always get at least what I asked for, so I'm happy. What's not to like? -
Quote:Bingo. I've been advocating for this a long time.Originally Posted by Harkness
I like the idea of them still being squishy and lower on direct damage, but I'd like to see the Inherent switched to some form of mez-protection like Blasters have. The damage bonus wouldn't fit the AT, but a broader mez-protection would. Perhaps so they can still use all of their Primary powers?
The term "Vigilance" is kind of silly for an AT that is constantly held and stunned. The logical change to the inherent is some kind of mez protection, perhaps a clickable that is built up like Dominate as you use your primary powers. It could retain the reduced End Use (because that's pretty minor as is, and it would provide an interesting quandary for Defenders on when to use it -- I'm low on End: should I click it now or save it in case I get mezzed?).
Dominate provides mez protection in addition to increased efficacy with control powers, so this would not be at all overpowered for Defenders.
This would essentially be a rechargeable permanent Break Free. Unlike the current Vigilance it would give something to solo Defenders, and like Dominate, it could be made to recharge more quickly on teams. -
Quote:I've gotten one respec recipe on dozens of characters over five years, and maybe 5-6 purples (don't play a lot of 50s).Originally Posted by EU_Damz
Respec recipes are rarer than purples, how often you see people getting them?
So, you're right: not very often