Schismatrix

And there you have it. Hmmm, so adding "unaffected by buffs or enhancements" to the max speed debuff portion should correct it?

Debuffing focused Defenders do have the advantage of soloing far better, but buffing-focused defenders can do more in general to assist their teammates, since there are situations where debuffs are less effective than buffs. Buffing-focused powersets are by nature more reliant on teams since most buffs only affect allies.

As for why Defender damage is so low: The thing is, many debuffers can use some of their debuffs to enhance their own damage. For example, using -res debuffs from their primary and the -res debuffs in Sonic Blast many Defenders can approach Blaster base damage. This has been the reasoning behind not boosting Defender damage for some time. The only flaw i see in it is that Blaster base damage has been increased since then, and the Blaster inherent boosts their damage even more, and any Blaster teamed with a Defender who is debuffing resistance benefits just as much from the debuffs, and therefore still does far more damage. Currently i don't think that raising Defender base damage some would put them in any danger of outperforming Blasters solo or on teams, and even less so for buffing sets, but there you have it.

Regardless, Solo Defenders are nowhere near as fast as Scrappers, Brutes or Masterminds, but played well a debuffing Defender can solo very safely and effectively. Seriously, read some of the guides for debuffing sets and think about it. i frequently solo on most of my Defenders since i play quite a few of them and usually like to solo a bit before getting a team, and haven't found a debuffing set (TA aside) that didn't solo fairly easily.

Well, in this post BAB says that he thinks that Dispari may have pinpointed the cause. IO set debuffs to runspeed may be affecting Walk when it's first toggled on. How long does the speed reduction persist? Indefinitely or about 10 seconds?

To me those all sound like reasons to taunt Happy-Fun Red Name.

*Saunters out*

Don't worry about it, he really just wants us all to get off his lawn, but is too polite to say it. *shakes walker menacingly*



So, how about those exoskeletons being developed to assist the elderly in Japan? Damn, when i get to the point that i have difficulty walking on my own i want one! (Of course it will not remain unmodified. i almost never leave anything unmodified. Hell, i'm even overclocking my graphics card.)

i like you, you're silly.

1) So, at level 1, run to the Atlas/Galaxy tram station.
2) Take tram to Kings Row, then run to Pocket D entrance. (Which frequently has +5 NPC's near it.)
3) Enter Pocket D, then go to Founders' Falls exit.
4) In Founders' Falls run in water until you reach the Icon tailor in the far corner of the map. (Which frequently has +36 snipers on rooftops near it.)

i'd never considered that route, but then i usually ran through KR to the IP gate and went to the IP tailor. Much shorter run, and about the same number of mobs to look out for on the way.

Of course i could've just gone to the tailor in the D, but most of my runs were before she was added, and i like the sights in IP more.

Still, going to the Vanguard base is hella shorter and safer than either.




(Hey, i just noticed that the original smileys are back. *huh* That was some board maintenance.)

Besides, the sprint icon looks like you're sprinting. We need a more saunter-ish looking icon for walk.

Also, i was fiddling with walk and plunging into water. Dropping off a ledge or pier results in walking along in the water. Toggling it on from TP/Hover results in doing the swimming animation while moving at walking speeds.

So drooling and babbling incoherently while you do it all strung out on drugs and cheap booze?

Rebels with a CAWS get there at whatever damn speed they want.

Sounds reasonable.
Although there is absolutely no connection between travel suppression and the addition of a walking animation toggle.

....hmm, i can make similarly relevant pairings as well.
"Now that we have fudge ripple ice cream, can we do away with the additives that give natural gas a distinctive bad odor? Or at least make it mintier?"

Your first part sounds reasonable (sort of), but only if this sentence is intended as a general complaint with no relation to the previous request. Otherwise you're really not getting it.



Out of curiosity, when power customization was announced, did you post, How about when IO's were first added?

Issue 17: I Walk the Line (Between Good and Evil)

That could be fun, but it could lead to much confusion and frustration when players accidentally leave the alternate run toggle on and try to fight. Not to mention all the complaints and screams from players demanding that they be able to use powers with the new run animations since they can use them with the old run animations. And you know many won't listen or understand when the Devs try to explain why they don't want to code new animations for each body type and attack to work with the new animations.

i suspect it's a combination of never being a priority compared to all the other stuff that's been worked on, and the new power effects and animations system may have inspired someone to code the walk power in their spare time using the new resources. Another possibility is that it's sort of like Earth Assault and one of the new hires worked on it while getting acquainted with the City of Heroes systems. Or all of the above, and maybe none of the above.

Still, fun new feature to have.

Cole seems more pragmatic than utilitarian to me, but perhaps i'm misunderstanding things. It certainly seems that he's bent on protecting the people under his rule as well as possible from the many and powerful threats to their well-being. His policies regarding surveillance and metahumans 'management' make a certain sort of sense in a world largely devastated by metahuman powers run wild. After all, Primal Earth DE can infect and subvert normal humans, while the Praetorian DE are far more dangerous, and Cole's own actions against enemy states clearly show how great a threat uncontrolled superpowers could be to his empire, especially if allowed to operate from within.

i have to admit to being a little puzzled by the social Darwinist elements implied in some of the material. By some accounts it sounds as if people advance within their occupations in Cole's empire by defeating their superiors by any means possible, up to and including murder. Yet by other accounts it sounds more like a meritocracy, where demonstrating superior ability allows you to take your superior's place. The popular version of social Darwinism espouses the former, while the more accurate use of the concept would imply the latter.

The two approaches are also somewhat contradictory as being good at sabotaging, murdering and betraying your way to the top when employed in the transit department doesn't necessarily mean you'll be at all competent at managing traffic flow once you become the general manager. Nor does it bode well for the usefulness of the skillsets of those below you if you delegate the responsibility to them. After all, they're advancing the same way you are.

*sigh* That's nice and all (not really*), but i actually find Defenders easier to solo in the lower levels where their debuffs are often more effective out of the box than melee armors and most AT's still have similar levels of durability and damage.

Now i can see where buffing focused sets are harder to solo at lower levels, but to me debuffers tend to solo easier. (TA is a whole different kettle of fish as far as soloing goes, but that's already ongoing in another thread.) Then again i i've never found any AT or powerset combo hard to solo at the lower levels, it's generally in the late teens or on that some become difficult.

i'd suggest Traps as one of the easiest all around soloing sets that's easily on par with Rad, a set which is pretty easy to solo with from 1 to 50. This is assuming that you don't mind using inspirations occasionally. Not by constantly buying them, but just using the ones that drop. Actually, FFG can allow Traps to excel against mez-heavy enemies that can be very annoying on a Rad Defender.

So, which Defender debuffing combos have you tried to soloing on, and what was it that made them difficult?






*Yeah, i know it's your thread to derail if you want, but aren't you already fighting the battle against the rep system in two other threads?

Rad, Dark, Storm, Traps and Cold Defenders can solo very well in my experience. So far my preferred secondaries are Dark, Ice and Archery. i may possibly add AR to that list once a play a Defender with it. Of the primaries i listed Rad, Dark and Traps are currently my favorites in nearly equal amounts.

i'd forgotten about that detail. Very good point. A related point is that even though pets now zone with you, their buffs do not and have to be refreshed every time. MM pet upgrades persist, but all other buffs on pets get wiped when zoning.

i've tried to emulate that bio on occasion. Just to capture that delicious combo of brevity and... uhm... flavor.

i always loved the 'fusion reactor for a heart' concept: Blood reaches heart, blood vaporizes.
...
Abort, retry, ignore, fail?

i don't know... bacon and maple syrup tastes very good. It's a been a very, very long time since i last had real bacon, but i remember that much about it.

This has been my experience as well.

That was my attitude as well. Most of the other powers in traps are effective (or awesome) enough that i really don't miss Time Bomb, and i get to grab another secondary or pool power.

Okay, horrible spelling and writing in general, but i get what you're demanding. (i think. Some of the sentences in the OP parse as gibberish even on multiple passes.)
Not. Going. To. Happen.

First- You don't have to be a 'buff bot' and throw buffs on every valid target in sight. Only you are forcing yourself to do that.

Second- If buff durations were extended the buff values would have to be decreased to compensate. This would put buffers more in line with the long term buffs in many other MMO's. Which is to say far, far weaker. The majority of buffs do not stack from the same caster, so a 3% defense buff that needs to be renewed every hour is less desirable than a 25% defense buff that gets renewed every four minutes.

Third- Since most content can be completed in an hour or less with a skilled team it also enables the previously posted scenario of inviting buffer, getting buffs, then kicking them to get someone more useful. (Especially since you could then stack multiple buffs from all the buffers you invited and kicked.)

Arguments have been made for modestly extending the durations of some buffs in the past, especially some of the 90 second buffs, but an hour is so over the top that i have to wonder if you were at all serious.

There is a suggestions and ideas section of the forums. You should go post this there.

Hang the lot of them!

Or hang out with... whatever's more fun.

Kill all the younglings! (Did i get that right? Never actually watched the whole movie.)

Anyway, i may make Praetorian versions of a few alts from other servers, but it's far more likely i'll create a whole new crop of Praetorian alts.