Ultimo_

I agree, it does do some good things. Having three more power slots, especially at lower level, will be nice. Actually having Stamina at lower level will be nice. It just doesn't fix what I see as the actual problem, and it creates some new ones (albeit rather minor ones...).

Well, I'm back after another hiatus, and I return to find that the Fitness pool is going to be made inherent.

Now, I'm sure my usual detractors will think me delighted with this, but I'm afraid I'm not. I'll explain why.

As I've said elsewhere, Endurance management is far too onerous. It undermines the enjoyment of the game. It's most noticeable at lower level, prior to Stamina, but it doesn't exist ONLY there. Part of the reason for this is that the ATs and Power Sets are not balanced for endurance use. As an example, consider the Defender and Blaster power sets for Energy Blast. The Defender version does less damage, but uses the same endurance. Certain ATs suffer more than others for this (eg. Tankers and Defenders).

However, their method of dealing with the problem is far from ideal.

First, it does nothing for characters that have Stamina anyway. That is, higher level characters that suffer endurance issues despite Stamina will see no difference in their play.

Second, it does nothing to address the disparity between ATs and Power Sets.

Third, it forces Hurdle and Swift on people. Since these are Autopowers, we can't turn them off, even if they're inappropriate to our character concepts.

All this does is help lower level characters with endurance issues. As I say, it's a laudable goal, but it's not the right way to go about it. What they should have done, and it would be a half measure as well, in my estimation, is simply raise the global recovery rate. That is, EVERYONE would recover endurance faster. Those with Stamina at L20 would recover it EVEN FASTER than that, perhaps to the point of not needing to worry about endurance unless faced with sappers or very long fights.

It hasn't gone live yet, but I hope they'll reconsider this.

Ok, I didn't start the thread for this, but it is obviously a contentious issue. There are those that say it is underperforming for DPS, and it is obviously a rather slow moving set. It seems to me, the answer to this is pretty easy.

Increase the speed of the attacks but leave the damage where it is. That will increase DPS and make the set act more quickly. Certain powers, such as Energy Transfer and Total Focus, should remain slow activating, so should have some kind of boost. Precisely what that boost should be is closer to what I started the thread for.

Make Energy Transfer ranged, explosive, or both. Make Total Focus higher damage.

Would this fix everything to everyone's satisfaction?

Boy, I kicked at a hornet's nest, didn't I?

As a Tanker on a team, your job isn't to do damage. Granted, you want to be able to if you need to, but if the team is wiping the floor with your foes so fast that you can't do any damage, then there's nothing wrong. If you want to be doing more damage, team with people who do less damage and the foes will be standing longer.

The point being made is that some powers in all sets take a while to activate. If you're using these long activation powers against foes that the team is defeating faster than they activate, then you're using heavy hitters against weak foes. That's not the game's problem.

Either way, this is drifting off topic again...

No, I'm not saying everything should have ranged attacks, but there ARE Energy sets that have ranged attacks (Energy Assault/Blast), so it's not inconceivable. You may also note that some melee sets DO have ranged attacks, so as I already said, there is a precedent.

I should also say, I don't agree you can't use slow attacks on teams. Does anyone complain about KO Blow? It's a matter of choosing the right power at the right time. Again, if you're using it on a foe that the team defeats in less than 2 seconds, then the problem may lie in your choice of tactics.

I think we're drifting off topic a little. The set has very little AOE, and no ranged attacks. These are what I'm hoping to address. It's kind of slow, yes, but that's a different issue. One hurdle at a time.

I agree, the slow animation is kind of neat. Granted, on teams it can be problematic, but if you're using a big hitter on a foe that the team is killing in less than 2 seconds, your choice of power use is a little suspect.

I just see this power as kind of the centerpiece of the set. I thought a little boost to it might be nifty.

I have to say, I rather like Energy Melee, but Energy Transfer seems to me to be missing something. My original suggestion, that it could use a Knockback effect, was met with the expected resistance (no one seems to like knockback but me), but I have had some other thoughts.

My suggestion that at least the option of knockback be added stands. I mean, the animation thrusts out both arms like you're pushing, but the enemy doesn't go anywhere. Make it knockdown, with the option of making it knockback by slotting appropriately.

Alternatively (or additionally), what about making it an AOE? There has been lots of comment about how little AOE Energy Melee has, and the wussiness of Whirling Hands. Energy Transfer has a big effect, let's make it an AOE and give the set something many have said it needs.

Again alternatively or additionally, what about making it a ranged attack? In the past, I've pushed for all Melee sets to have at least one ranged attack. It's not without precedent, Super Strength has Hurl, for example. It's also not without conceptual merit. There could easily be an Energy Blast of some kind in the Energy Melee set. The problem has been deciding what to remove to add the ranged attack. So, let's not remove anything, lets make the Energy Transfer into a ranged attack. The range doesn't have to be really long or anything, maybe 10 or 15 feet. It could add soemthing nifty to the set, and again would fit the animation.

Of course, you could use any combination of these effects, too (eg. a ranged, explosive attack with knockback). What do you think, could you get behind any of these ideas?

So, there I am, playing my Stalker, doing tip missions. In every one, there are ambush after ambush after ambush, all of whom ignore my Hide power, thereby cutting both offense and defense in half.

I'd heard that there was a bug, or other problem with this, do I gather it wasn't fixed?

I haven't read the whole thing, so pardom me if it's been said, but alternate emanation points for some sets. I'm thinking of Energy Blast, which I'd love to see given an option to have the blasts come from the character's eyes instead of his hands.

I wonder, would swapping out the Fitness pool in favour of Combat Jumping and Manuevers be a good idea? I mean, the set appears to be somewhat more reliant on Defense than Invulnerability...

I depends on my particular mood at any given time, but I think I'd have to pick the Stalwart Star, my Captain America homage. He's almost spot on conceptually, and he's very capable in a fight. A MA/Shield Scrapper, he's tough, hard hitting and a lot of fun.

After that, I'd say my Inv/SS Tanker, the Canadian Shield. Sometimes there's nothing like standing in the middle of withering fire unscathed.

For me, feeling super is what the game is about. There are only a very few ways that can really be achieved here; you can drop a foe with one blow, knock many foes flying like rag dolls (even if the damage is minimal, it feels powerful), or you can shrug off the enemy's best shots, standing unscathed in the eye of the storm.

This latter is what Tanks do, and it just feels more super than anything else in the game.

More that that, I like being the guy the team relies on. I play hockey - I'm a goalie. It just suits my playstyle.


Do I wish I could do more damage? Sometimes, yes. Honestly, though, I think Tankers are pretty decent, balance wise. It's concept-wise that they fall a bit short (which I believe is what Johnny BUtane is talking about).

You could also try using Dark somewhere in there, to represent the smoke and ash.

I wonder, how popular is Stun? It seems rather skippable to me, especially for a Tanker, so what if they replaced it with Explosive Blast?

(I know, they won't do it, I'm just hypothesizing)

Ya, those are nice, but they don't quite do the same thing, and they come very late in the character's life.