Turbo_Ski

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Perhaps the arcs aren't exactly "gripping", but I like them nonetheless. Worth the time, IMO.

People are in too much of a hurry to hit 50 these days. CoX isn't like other games. The journey eclipses the destination.

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Meh, the Kheld arcs don't really feel all that great compared to CoV content and everything that followed. Although the VEAT arcs aren't that fantastic either.

awesome!

Thanks guys!

The last half of it is. The first half is pretty boring.

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Here's an important detail to know about soft-capped defenses: it's not full-proof. There is still at least a one in twenty chance for you to get hit. And twenty chances is not a whole lot when you consider the number of mobs and the number of their attacks on big teams. And then you add in defense debuffs, and the each single hit just makes you more vulnerable to more hits, a "cascading failure" of defense. /SR is the only set that has significant Defense Debuff Resistance (DDR) to avoid cascading failure. Other positional defense sets, like Shields and the VEAT secondaries, also have some DDR but can still be susceptible to cascading failure for a short time.

The other thing to consider is that there are some mobs that have high Accuracy, To-Hit, or both. Rulaaru Watchers, Malta Gunslingers, and stacked-Vengeance Nemesis, and higher-level conning mobs can get a significant chance to hit through the soft-cap, and possibly even debuff that defense, which could lead to further problems. And let' not forget some of the mobs that have attacks with no positional tags!

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Most of the -Def attacks that cascade easily are energy based which is covered by the resists in Arctic Fog. Additionally slows halt -Def cascading in it's tracks, assuming it even gets started off. The lethal -Def attacks that cascade are all melee which is easily avoided using slows again. As I've said time and time again, +Def and -Recharge is an amazing defensive combo.

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Possibly. But I agree the radius would need to be reduced for it to be used in anything approaching a tactical manner.

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Well I feel it even too large for it's current version. A repel with that large of a radius is too unwieldy for most maps in this game.

Seriously super-powered killer ants please on Office to Cave maps now!

Lovely, has a nice calm feeling to the colors.

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I've been arguing for a -res effect to be added to a FF power since about I4 or so. Good luck with that one.

Personally, I'd love to see it added to Force Bubble.

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I can't see it functioning well in Force Bubble. Repulsion Bomb however goes in rather seamlessly. It would also be nice if they added a -Def component to Force Bolt or just upped the damage of on that some.

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Well, to explain further, I thought Force Bubble could be changed to a PBAoE with a slow, -rech, and -res effect. I always thought that would be a fun power.

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Wouldn't reducing the repel do the same thing as slow in a way without drastically changing the power? Although I do think the radius needs to be reduced on the current version.

I loled.

I always enjoy these.

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The fact that you even use snowstorm in late game on part of these "uber" builds/teams you play with is pretty telling. But that is neither here nor there.

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I think it says a lot when you think a -50% recharge AoE is useless in the end game.

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IMO Force Bolt is the power that holds the set back the most. I know the PvPers love it, but with force bubble and repulsion field, in most any team its pretty much useless. Or its "useful" for those people who don't realize that its not really needed for anything. If it were at least given moderate damage and turned into knockdown perhaps might give it some decent use.

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I actually like the power the way it is. I am able to keep atleast 2-3 bosses on their butts when the rest of the team works on the Mob. I look at it as also being a surgical scalpel when it comes down to placement or 'thinning the herd' by knocking things off ledges to buy the team time to take out the adds or what not

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Which is why adding more damage and/or -res/-def component to it wouldn't hurt it's current function but would make the set a lot more offensive.

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My two cents on Liquefy:

1. Make the power do yet another resistance debuff. This is auto; no accuracy check needed for this to happen.

2. Hold, include the acc check for this effect.

3. Moderate DoT damage, accuracy check for this as well.

Keep the recharge as is, but include the above. That way we can justify the long recharge time.

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Meh, I'd much rather have Liquefy be something that can be used every fight or nearly other fight rather simply making it more powerful. It's useful as it is, it just needs to be useful more frequently.

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Liquefy for defenders is already radically more powerful than the corruptor/controller version. On average a power is going to be 20% to 25% stronger for defenders than corruptors but it's 30% stronger in this rare case.

Here is how I would shift the power:
Defenders values 35.7% base -> 30% base (20% bonus over corr values)
Recharge 300 seconds -> 180 seconds (same as oil slick arrow)

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So first you blanket apply uber builds when discussing +hp, but then you ignore uber builds when discussing things like +def.

I see FAR more softcapped characters roaming around than one's anywhere near their hp cap. By your faulty logic we could just as easily say that the cold shields are situational, or that the positional only def of arc fog is situational, or that fortitude is situational.

[/ QUOTE ] Oh please go on about these many builds with 45+% Ranged/Melee/AoE perma-defense solo that are running around. Unless a player has all 3 of those capped while solo then Ice/Glacial shield isn't situational and neither is Fortitude which also gives +dmg and +Tohit.

Frostworks only buffs Toxic resist (which is a fluff effect since it's an incredibly rare damage type) and +HP. If HP is capped it offers essentially nothing else and the biggest problem is HP doesn't even need to be capped to make the effects almost pointless. It does this naturally when cast on blasters and stalkers since 401.59 is the max benefit it can provide, assuming the stalker and blaster has zero hp buffs. Any HP buffs to themselves of course negate the Frostworks benefit and make it even more pointless, since it only takes 34% to cap them and 30% can be easily obtained through accolades and IOs alone.

It's like if they put a Defense cap of 10% on blasters and stalkers, and a 20% defense cap for defenders, controllers, corruptors, and dominators. Then they left tankers and scrappers at 40% and left every remaining AT capless. Under those circumstances would you still consider Ice/Glacial shield good powers? It's the exact same situation frostworks is in now and why it's such a poorly designed power.

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The "situations" where FW is of poor value are exceedingly rare. You have to actively look to find them.

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Oh like when used on half the ATs in the game? Are blasters, Stalkers, Corruptors, Defenders, Dominators, and controllers all "Exceedingly Rare" now?

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I will say that one great thing about taking FW on a FIRE/cold is that it makes your allies "feel" much sturdier (because they are MUCH sturdier). So they will just dive right in with no hesitation. That is very important because if you play with timid people the agro a fire/cold will gather is (ime) unparalleled.

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The initial aggro and following aggro for both fire/cold and ice/cold are essentially the same since Sleet + Snow Storm vs Sleet + Snow Storm + Ice Storm is only a 10% -recharge total difference. The amount of aggro you obtain is identical, and I've certainly never had a problem on either my cold/ice or ice/cold with surviving such aggro. Also since no one is dying using the other 8 powers in Cold, there really is no need for such a crappy buff like Frostworks.

The +HP wasn't well thought out when they made the power, since they should have made it static percent increase targeting the recipient's base hp not the caster's and make it a secondary effect to something else like +Dmg/+Tohit. Instead they decided to set it up like a Ally heal which makes it functions terribly with the current hp caps.

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I've been arguing for a -res effect to be added to a FF power since about I4 or so. Good luck with that one.


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That would step on Sonic's toes. So, I'm not surprised it's not in there.

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no, it would not. Sonic is another set that needs it's powers buffed up, specifically the ally toggle powers, Disruption Field and Sonic Repulsion. All Repulsion style powers really need to have either a damage or a lingering debuff component to them, something like maybe -range.

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/e stands ashamed in corner.

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at least your avatar isn't horrifying.

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Firstly, sure, no single hit is only to drop you from base HP, even with some defense from Cold's shields. However, that single hit is probably going to be accompanied by several others, which could cause a significant loss of HP in short amount of time, possibly even dropping a toon. Yes, this is what's called the alpha strike, and that can and will drop most toons except for the sturdiest bunch (like Brutes and Tanks). And sometimes, there is a secondary beta strike that can be dangerous but not as heavy as the alpha. That can happen to anyone, regardless of AT or TF/SF. Sure, Tankers and Brutes might expect to get hit like that, but unless that toon has excellent aggro management, a good amount of mob hate is going toward that Fire/Cold as soon as it starts throwing out its blasts.

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I really don't know why you're talking about Frostworks saving the Fire/Cold dying from aggro since the two have nothing to do with each other. Also I can't possibly see a scenario against non-EB non-AV mobs where any AT is going to face plant from an alpha strike with Sleet+Ice Shield+Glacial Shield+Arctic Fog all mitigating right off the bat and Snow Storm + Sleet significantly hurting the attack chain afterward.

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Okay, I've actually done the research, and considerable +HP bonus are not that common, even with IO sets. Yes, with the accolades, you can get up to +20%, but that's still less than half of what's possible to max out (exception Stalkers, because they're not one of the cool kids). You can get +3% from IO sets, but only from Purple sets, so at best you can two of those bonuses. The next amount is at +2.25%, and even maxed out with five sets, would get +11.25%. That's sizeable, but unless you are a brute, most ATs would be building for +def or +recharge rather than +HP. Yes, the IO sets are optional, but if you are going out of your way to max up HP, most ATs get more out of IO min/maxing from getting bonuses other than +HP bonuses.

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+HP is a set bonus that is paired frequently with +Recharge bonuses in non-purple sets. Now tell me how many builds do you think aren't going for +recharge at all? You commonly get around 9 to 11% hp bonus from stacking non-purple sets that have +Recharge.

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Outside of getting all the accolades, there are only a handful of powers that can personally buff max HP, and most of them belong to Brutes and Tankers, who can always use more HP to get to the cap. You can nickel and dime it with IO sets, but non-melee ATs get better returns for other bonuses, and melee ATs usually need far more HP to hit the cap. And with the VEATs, their max HP caps out at +125%! Even with the accolades, secondary powers, and IO bonuses, they can still appreciate additional max HP buffs.

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With no IO bonus or accolades and only using Dull Pain:
Tankers: 12.43% from hp cap
Scrappers: 21% from hp cap
Brutes: 55.29% from hp cap
Crabs: 66% from hp cap
If they have all their accolades and IOs the hp bonus is going to be about 30% +/- 2%. However even if we leave that out Brutes and Crabs are the only ones that aren't going to hit their cap without 2 Heal SOs slotted into frostworks. Scrappers and Tankers cap out at zero Heal SOs slotted.

Let's also observe that the ATs that receive the greatest benefits are those with access to lots of self-mitigation to start with and those that receive the least have almost nothing in self-mitigation coupled with lower base hp and a lower hp cap.

Here in lies the problem, Frostworks is the only buff in the game you could possibly call situational. Fort, shields, SB, etc. all are useful no matter what AT they are cast on, but a especially useful for those that need the attribute the most. Frostworks however limits itself to only being real useful to Brutes/Scrappers/Tankers/EATs that have awful mitigation.

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Now in most games, just getting more HP just means more HP to be knocked off before dropping, but in the CoX game, additional HP is not considered within a vacuum. It has been said before that more max HP also means better numbers for the same regen rate. You can't ignore that even passive regen can definitely help with an additional level of survivability.

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because +61.26% regen is just so great for a willpower brute when it takes 3 Heal SOs to do so, and those slots are completely wasted on 8 out of 12 ATs and a good majority of specific sets on the other 4 out of 12 ATs. By the way, we're talking about an ally only buff that has a recharge and duration comparable to Fortitude but costs 4 endurance more and buffs for significantly less.

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I've been arguing for a -res effect to be added to a FF power since about I4 or so. Good luck with that one.

Personally, I'd love to see it added to Force Bubble.

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I can't see it functioning well in Force Bubble. Repulsion Bomb however goes in rather seamlessly. It would also be nice if they added a -Def component to Force Bolt or just upped the damage of on that some.

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A pity, I was working for gold over there... but at least my next piece will satisfy my Fantasy cravings.

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I tend to have lots of excess gold and honor because of grinding out 100 mounts which I finally achieved tonight and got my blue Dragonhawk mount. I think I have around 7000g just lying around doing nothing lol. Probably will eventually blow it on a super expensive fluff item like Traveler's Tundra Mammoth or the Engineer's Chopper (motorcycle).

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I played WoW for a while but the art community wasn't as open as this one... or perhaps I didn't advertise enough there.

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well the official WoW forums always felt too broad of an audience and the lack of customizable avatars kind of makes everyone seem way too anonymous for a board.

for some reason (probably because I play WoW), I immediately thought of the title was about the dreaded "Barrens chat" effect that plagues automatically joined global general channels in MMOs.

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Either power can allow a team member to take probably another hit or two before dropping. Aid Other, however, can be spammed multiple times within the same fight to mitigate additional incoming damage. But, if you are spamming Aid Other just to keep the team alive, then there is probably something wrong with the team's strategy or toon builds that is making the fight difficult; Frostwork won't necessarily improve survivability for such a team either, unless it had some /WP brutes in it.

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except you don't have to spam it at all to be more numerically useful than Frostworks, only 2 to 3 times within 190 seconds, which is basically in between fights which makes the cast time and interrupt time irrelevant anyway or the need for either power.

No one is going to take a burst hit above their base hp with Cold's Def shields in normal missions anyway unless they are deliberately trying to get themselves killed. For STF and RSF the only person getting hit like that is the tanker or brute and they will HP capped or already close to it by that point anyway. What very little benefit it brings is negated by common IOs, armor powersets, and accolades at the only place it's even remotely needed, at the end game.

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Anyway, I never pick up Frostworks or Aid Other because if you picked up everything else in Cold you will NEVER need either those powers. This is coming from someone who regularly runs MoSTFs and MoRSFs on my colds.

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As the sole buffer/debuffer, on a pick-up group (which means eight random people who don't know each other ), with a 100% success rate ? Unless you can answer "yes" to that question, I don't think you can claim a Cold will never need FW or Aid Other (the latter being a terribly unefficient pick in my opinion, but to each his own).

In a STF or RSF team, there's usually eight folks. Running with friends or with cookiecutter buff/debuff teams doesn't say anything about the performance of any single powerset in that team.

I mean, you could take a level 45 scrapper with nothing but flurry and jump kick and run a MSTF with 7 controller friends. Just because you complete it doesn't mean you'll never need these powers - it meant your team make up and/or your buddies were good enough to make up for your build deficiencies.

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Sorry but you can't convince me that 400-600 hp is going to save an idiot PuG teammate or that Aid Other isn't superior to Frostworks in a set that is very heavy in +Def and -recharge allowing plenty of time to get reactive heals off easily.

Would have been a better idea to just make AE unaccessable for any character below level 10...