VKhaun

This is my proposal for Skirmish Fighting.

Skirmish Fighting is a dominator secondary set pushing mediocre lethal damage with the option of a solid toxic damage addition to make it fall in line with other sets damage if played in a standard way, and other options to use secondary effects to reach the same goal, or exceed it in the case of supporting a team but only if the user pushes into dangerous melee range. Simple set to play with and get damage from, with room for depth and risk vs reward.

As an addition to the AT it gives us access to numerous weapons in one set, and as an addition to the game it gives us more toxic damage and a new style character which currently is absent from the weapon options. Right hand melee, left hand pistol. Witch Hunters, Bounty Hunters, Musketeers, CQC specialists, etc.




Note:
1) Dominators have no actual weapons available to them
2) Numerous melee weapons exist for the main hand. Every broadsword, katana, dual blade, Mace, and Axe is available right handed. It's a lethal set so maces are probably out, but all your other melee weapons are in.
3) Every pistol is available LEFT handed.

Observe:
Enemies often use pistol/melee mixes, or single pistols. Many dual pistol animations are firing only one pistol, (executioner's shot <3).

Disclaimer:
Obviously, this would need a new weapon draw animation and we would like it to be LIGHTNING fast. Probably some kind of crossed arm weapon draw from the belt.

1) Pistols (Lethal ranged)
2) Hack (Lethal/Special melee)
3) Slice (Lethal/Special melee cone)
4) Prepare Blade (Like Swap Ammo for the melee moves only)
5) Power Boost
6) Piercing Rounds (Narrow cone piercing shot -RES)
7) Gash (Lethal/Special melee +KD)
8) Whirling Melee (Lethal/Special melee PBAoE)
9) Executioner's Shot (+KB)


1,2, 3) Set begins as a fast fun set for early levels playing with your favorite weapon models with a pair of 8sec melee moves and a 4sec single target attack. Great for DFB and early missions with small groups of enemies, but low on range for a dom set.



4) Then it gives you the Choice of blade mods to make things fun and give you your basic setup as early as lv10, where the player can start experimenting with applying the blade mod in a small AE. Note: Unlike Swap Ammo the damage varies from mod to mod. One gains damage from default and the other two mods actually give up some damage. This is a trade off for stronger secondary effects that better suits the AT.

Choice of blade mods from Prepare Blade:
Raw Steel: 100% lethal damage self +Melee DEF (Think mini Parry for solo)
Deadly Poison: 100% lethal/30% toxic, + toxic DoT (General damage mod)
Corrosive Gel: 80% lethal damage Foe -RES/-DEF (Defense debuff)
Neurotoxin: 90% lethal damage Foe immobilize, -rech, -fly, -dmg. (Offense debuff)

Please don't nitpick my numbers.
Final decisions would obviously be made by the devs and could be tweaked accordingly.

The real trick here, is that it has to be worth the application on the AE powers to justify the loss in damage. While the numbers don't have to be too terribly high on the debuffs, I do think they need to have longer DURATIONS than we might be used to on weapon effects because they're not going to pay for themselves in offensive or defensive gain unless they are still up when you go to attack again. That could bring up stacking issues... Again, up to the devs to tweak.



5) Power Boost in the usual place, and I choose power boost over BU and other options because the set, while full of buffing/debuffing possibilities, is low on actual control compared to other dom secondaries.

6) Piercing Rounds is next (and late for a second ranged move in a Dom set). I'm a bit iffy on the animation... I'm not at home so I can't check to be sure if that power's animation is left or right handed, or has both and alternates. Might need a new lefty animation made if there isn't one. If I had my way entirely I might ask that they make the cone a bit bigger with a one handed animation spraying a few rounds, and it would be KD rather than -res.

7) Gash gives you that later game damage boost, and is KD rather than KB so you don't mess up your own melee.

8) Whirling sword style attack opens up a host of new team moves using the blade venoms to more reliably hit 16 targets. Your trade offs to get debuffs are much more worthwhile from this point on.

9) Executioner's Shot finishes up the set with some much welcomed single target ranged burst a la bitter ice blast, and it gives a nice finishing touch because your burst combo of Gash and Executioner's Shot are both KD's.



Adjust damage / recharge and season to taste.

Why just enemies?

Centaur leg option in character creator, you noobs!
Obvious fantasy options like horse/lion/Gryphon legs.

Tech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww
And by association a steam punk version.







inb4 this becomes a pony thread

Afterthought:
Isn't it time 'eye auras' were their own thing in the list for head options?
Right above Detail 1 in the list IMHO.

Claws:
Chunk of rock (Stone melee style, one color) with shards of glassy plates coming out like spines has (2nd color).

Assault Rifle:
Standard pump shotgun. Blasters and corruptors can skip burst and go straight to two shotgun shots, and grenades/beanbags in shotgun shells are not unheard of (see: AA12 for justification and another model that would be more than welcome!)

Titan Weapons:
Standard farm scythe. this should have been obvious. I assume it's already been made and is being saved for Halloween.
A motorcycle, because LOL
A telephone pole, because lol.

Broadsword
Moped, pogo stick, segway, etc, because lol.

If wings are any indication the game has a clear idea of who is hovering/flying and who is not. Could you take existing elemental effects and form flying auras for characters bottom halves? Ideally the legs would disappear for this, but if that's not reasonable you could just make the effects really big!


1) Little or no costume designer people
Simple 'when flying' auras that cover the legs and waist. Fire ball and trail over the legs completely obscuring them, large stormy cloud that's very wide at the waist and tapers down like you're sitting in it or it is your bottom half, with a trail of falling water, lighter clouds with falling snow and icicles. A super fast moving swarm of flies, bees, bats, tarot cards, rocks and earth, etc.



2) + Costume Designer People LIGHT
Step carefully around their toes and create additional auras for the BACK ITEM slot which go around the waste, just under the belt line. Again, using existing effects, form simple disks/thin cylinders that begin at the core of the model and go outward (one size fits all, clipping is fine for FX right!?) placed around the waste line just below the belt. Spinning tarot cards or bats, fire, darkness, electricity, storm cloud. etc etc etc. (Option on each: on all the time or only when flying.)

Having this along with #1 above, would let people fit builds with combinations of the aura and back item slots. A smokey colored storm cloud with fire above it, a mass of bats swirling around, with a darkness waste line would look like you were turning into bats. A wash of tarot cards moving you through the air with a border of magically purple electricity.

Mix and match ftw!



3) + Costume Designer People HEAVY
Legs (or lack there of) option where you have:

A) some choice of a 'lower body' option A jet engine looking tech lower body, a long flowing robe that is empty within, a steampunky series of spinning blades giving a helicopter type effect or just a long metal/matte colored pole with a ball on the end w/ or w/out rings (like a big sci-fi set widget).

B) A choice of effect. Have your steampunky copter bottom covered in light fluffy clouds, billowing with smoke, emitting radiation, or on fire and very likely to crash! Your jet engine holds up your weight by blowing jets of air, fire, or even water? Or you are lifted and propelled by that sci-fi looking apparatus crackling with electricity, or swirling with insects.















Granted #3 leaves behind requiring flight, but they would also look fine just hovering.
... too much?

That reminds me, I really liked the flaming whip attacks from demon summoning. I tried to make a DFB toon with just those three but they DESTROYED her endurance just chaining them and doing PBAoE heals, even with the hydra recovery temp power reward. The separation of custom colors was well done IMO, and you can pull off some neat looks with them.

With the Ghost Rider movie coming out it wouldn't surprise me in the least to hear about a full set of those, but given the ranged/melee mix I would suspect a dominator line first.

Does the Commando pet from soldiers still blow out it's endurance? I haven't played or followed MM's much but I remember that being a complaint before I left for a while.

Fri/Sat/Sun nights, doing 12hr shifts.
I'll probably not participate a great deal. :/

I'll look at the GR enhancements vs 5++ SO's when I get them (next month I think) but with Siphon Power I don't think the proc will be worth it vs a % increase to base damage unless it does some crazy damage.

Villain side tends to be all spiders and widows, so I think I'll go healer there. If I remember correctly heals are based on your own HP, right? Even if I was brought down from 50, my +health and +healing sets would probably do just fine. Not that healing needs to be terribly maximized for DFB. So I guess I will roll just one red character and pick the early game powers carefully for DFB. I think I've read that the major hole for SoA's is knock back though... I can't think of anything that can help an ally with knockback except increase density and I don't really want a high level kinetic. I know it's a good set but it monopolizes your time pretty hard and I like free time to attack, and I like being able to rez.

Yikes! That IS harsh. You're basically playing unslotted later.

Well, if I'm going to lock at 5 I need to change primaries and get some AE damage in there. Doms are out. Since -recharge will work I want the heavy starter attack not the light one so Defenders are out and Corruptors are in.

Still think Kinetics is the way to go. You get a lot for those two moves Transfusion and Siphon Power.

The good cones all require weapon draw, and that doesn't sound good and certainly not fun paired with kinetics. The AE's don't look that great either with 16sec recharges, few slots, and only four powers. I think I'd say Ice wins. Excellent damage and higher base accuracy than the other early AE powers which means I can slot recharge instead of accuracy. Plus ice is strong vs the Hellions where my enhancements are weakest.

Transfusion Recharge/Heal
Ice Blast Recharge/Damage
Frost Breath Recharge/Damage
Siphon Power Recharge/Recharge

I'm looking at Mids and a few powers won't take sets at all, like Active Defense in shield. Is this an error or is there a reason those powers won't take set enhancements?

Hello again C&E,

How does this interact with the old wisdom of stopping at two or three enhancements on a single stat due to diminishing returns? Say I put two SO's with +33% damage in something, and six IO's with +11% damage in them. Both would be 66% damage but the SO's would be fewer sources. Would the SO's do more damage due to not paying for diminishing returns?


EDIT--
NM... playing with mids is answering questions faster than I can type them. I see the enhancement set tab and it has plenty of sets in there to keep me busy for the rest of the day (which is when I'm supposed to sleep.)

Returning player, I know nothing of the sets and incarnates and all that yet.

Finally decided on a main character for the first time since before CoVillains came out. A Dark/Shield scrapper. I have no idea if that build is good or bad or makes any sense... I've never been a number cruncher type. I just liked both sets on paper for a long time and the other night it dawned on me that there's a specific dark shield under elemental shields that looks like a wicked awesome magic gauntlet. Viola, my character.

Now... I come to the forum lords seeking their wisdom in the ways of the end-game. I would like to pack it full of endurance regen and -recharge set bonuses on top of perma hasten so my two PBAoE's in dark are available often.

I'm also very curious what to do with Siphon Life... what kind of enhancements would get the most damage/healing and a decent amount of accuracy out of that power? I like Shadow Maul but the animation time makes me think I should skip it for an end-game chain and Siphon Life will have to be maximized (or close) as an attack, but I still want as much healing as possible.

Any input welcome.
A quick run down of the new enhancement types and terms would be awesome.

Good point about 10/11 targets, Doctor Roswell but I still think Tenebrous Tentacles is the better pick. I've been using various cone powers on DFB of different sizes and I don't have any difficulty hitting most or all of the enemies. Fire breath for example is a smaller cone that I can regularly hit 8-10 with and I won't need to worry about extra recharge help. If I put ACC ACC and the four damage proc GR's in it, it will probably be fast enough to use twice per fight.

I'm aware of a lot of tricks for DFB like you mention, Dragon_King. It's just like you say though... they are a waste of time if you don't have a really great group (and by REALLY GREAT I mean seven other people with the attention span of a gnat). I tend not to bother with those things vs just crushing the trial as fast as possible. If I've got a full eight that stay for two runs straight then I'll push for the double AV thing.

I decided to take Dark Blast with Gloom. I had forgotten just how slow gloom/transfusion were. Dark Blast makes it flow better. Once I have a recharge SO in gloom and three of them in Siphon Power I think I'll be good to go. Might respec out of Dark Blast later once I have Tenebrous Tentacles slotted up, so I took it late at 6. Easily replaced with any other option. Maybe Combat Jumping. Vahz bosses like me and I don't want to be an immobile kinetics.

I think I'm going to roll a dark/kinetics Corruptor and play test that. Has a cone immobilize, -to hit and -regen, Top three powers will keep me busy and doing solid single target damage. Thematically consistent with throwing out Blackwand and/or Sands of Mu if I don't need to be healing. Probably stop him at 14 or 15 to snag an advanced travel for zipping around Atlas Park.

Not sure what to take at 6. I originally was looking at Dark Pit, but the 1min recharge and max targets of only 10 is turning me off. Maybe just repel for lulz.

Transfusion +HEAL +HEAL(3) +HEAL(3)
Gloom +ACC -RECH(5) +DMG(5) +DMG(7) +DMG(7)
Siphon Power +ACC -RECH(9) -RECH(9) -RECH(11)
Assault -END -END(11)
???

+Tenebrous Tentacles +ACC +GR(13) +GR9(13) +GR(15) +GR(15)
+Siphon Speed +ACC

Good info. Thanks Young_Tutor.

And yeah, brain fart, I remember the DFB passive temp power rewards now...

I recently did a spider just to 24 just to try it out. I burned all my vet respecs testing the basic crab moves and I was really surprised at how slow the backpack was for ranged attacks.

The backpack grenades have an especially long animation. I would definitely run both of those out of the gun. Draw-pop-pop from the rifle to fire both grenades seems much faster than firing both from the backpack

I'm a returning player who hasn't done a lot of the end game stuff yet but DA is a favorite set of mine so I wanted to put my 2¢ in.

I think the keystone power is the heal, knock back is not your friend, and I often found myself wanting a hold power for things like Tsoo Sorcerers that kite you. Alternating between chasing and grouping enemies for the heals is annoying and inefficient.

Dark/Dark seems to stand out as having endurance help, multiple CC powers, and another heal. -acc can also be thought of as +defense. I haven't actually done a dark/dark though.

1) Follow the group leader
Eliminates or simplifies ALL arguments about team play.
WHY WASN'T I HEALED? - Healer is standing next to the group leader, where are you?
WHERE IS MY BACKUP? - We're fighting the other group over here with the leader, where are you?
WHY DON'T I HAVE ANY LOOT? - That guys is not following the leader, he always gets there first.

2) The power of '...'.
Ever since I discovered it in my first online game, I have been amazed by how many problems go away when you say nothing. In real life when I was very little stupid people would tell me to 'ignore' people who bothered me and they would go away. Of course this doesn't work on the ADD eleven year old behind you with a bag of school supplies like glue and scissors, but it does work brilliantly against adults in MMO's. You don't need ignore, you don't need to go anywhere. Just have the patience and dignity to just NOT REPLY. If someone questions that you're listening just say '...' or 'I hear you.'.

3) Kick them.
If someone is not compatable with your group, not playing or not contributing, or is causing problems then get rid of them. Not in a malicious sense, but in a matter of fact one. They're not eight player online games, they're MASSIVELY multiplayer. It's easy for both parties to find someone new to group with. If it's not, thats an issue to take up with the devs.


...
May edit later.

I didn't say fail, I said go smoothly and make sure we had the dps to go quickly. I haven't seen one 'fail' but I have seen lots of them take way longer than they needed to.

Nevermind I guess.



P.S.
Rez was more about people than about DFB. Two or three members always die on the Hydra Heads and then don't go to the hospital. They just lay there spamming for an awaken or rez, or they just wait until it's dead. I like being able to pick people up.

Since returning I've had a lot of fun running DFB. For my main characters it's a nice stepping stone to SO territory, but not only is it fun to do it's also always in demand even in the early AM when I'm often online. I'd like to make a character to always be ready to run DFB groups even after my main characters are beyond that point.

Please discuss the best builds to make sure a DFB goes smoothly.

If I remember correctly...
Hellions = lv6 (2 starter powers + 3 picks)
First four powers from your primary set, and the top three in your secondary set.

Vahzilok and Lost = Lv8 (+1 pick)
Opens up the fifth power in your primary set.

Hydra = Lv10 (+1 pick)
Opens up the fourth power in your secondary set.



So far my DFB groups usually bottleneck at a lack of sufficient heals/rez (mostly an issue red side where 5 or 6 of your team will be lowbie widows and spiders :P) Surprisingly I also often see a lack of DPS. With the limited power selection many people end up with most of their attacks greyed out. High and low level players alike tend to pick their key stuff early over attacks so that they can start putting slots in them. I've run quite a few groups now where we have had a real issue with kill speed through the Vahzilok section where low DPS was compounded by the -recharge attacks.

To me that says Corruptor. More attack choices, lots of options to get basic healing.

Archery/Pain Corruptor

Aimed Shot
Nullify Pain
Fistfull of Arrows
Soothe
Blazing Arrow

+Share Pain for Vahz/Lost
+Rez for Hydra Boss




What do you think?
Maybe change Share Pain for Hasten if my endurance is doing okay and I don't use the emergency heal too often.