ryu_planeswalker

Originally Posted by Dr_Darkspeed

Wonder why WoW isn't on the list.

Originally Posted by FinalDestiny

For those who are into the Mecha Genre, I found After War Gundam X to be the most entertaining series to watch. The series is very...realistic, for lack of a better word. Suits take damage, regardless of the armor. Characters are well developed and followable. All in all, it seems very believable.

Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper

Send in all the Defenders. A million Scrappers and a Defender may be a world-sized Cuisinart, but a million Defenders is like nuking each one from orbit, just to be sure.

Not all of them from orbit. Each one from orbit. The former implies just one nuke. The latter...

Originally Posted by Satanic_Hamster

You remember that thing we had about seven years ago called the Rikti War? And how we failed to achieve victory? How come we didn't cross 5th Dimension and push those algae-eaters back to the Great Wall of Kun'Ger Ke'ee? Then take that wall apart brick by brick and nuke them back into the stone age forever? Tell me why! How come? SAY IT! SAY IT!

__________________
Currently listening to R.E.M.'s Dead Letter Office

Originally Posted by Leandro

Running my level 19 defender around Steel Canyon, I call my contact and he tells me:



I take two steps, and I see a group of Council being decimated by 5th Column forces.

Hey, Cho? They don't look so consumed to me...

Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight

All of these things were brought up in the closed beta for shields. Just prior to going to Open Beta the base resists in Deflection and True Grit were tripled and the debuff resistances were added to Grant Cover.

The reasons that the resistances were added was because Castle had made a math error at the beginning on total mitigation.

The reason that the debuff resistances were added to Grant Cover was because the set needed them and because Castle wanted people to take and run Grant Cover. Paraphrasing Castle, "No power should be easily skippable."

In closed beta Grant Cover was almost universally skipped by the majority of the testers because it gave no personal benefit and team benefit was dubious due to short radius. Castle's (or at least the development team's) vision for shields was 3/4 melee and 1/4 buff. No one was taking the buff powers. The needed resistances were added here, instead of a more thematic place, specfically to force players to take the power. Many of us in closed saw it as a punative move.

It's another case of the dev's vision having a collision with player vision and intention. We weren't playing it as they intended so, rather than make it fit in with what we wanted to do playing it, they bent it to force us to play it as they envisioned it.

Kind of like Dominators. In 3 years or so, after they've gathered a bunch of data they'll look at it and say, "hmmmm no one is playing this the way we designed it." Maybe at that time they'll make the appropriate changes to the set so that it can work smoothly the way we want it instead of the rigid and non-thematic way it was designed.

Originally Posted by SkylineGTR

Nearly level 45 on my Claws/Invul.. I've got 70% S/L resistance and about 30% S/L defense with a full mob. I'm really not that tough next to a few WPs I've been running with. Same levels and all of us using common IOs. I'm wondering if I should have gone /WP.

Originally Posted by Sapphire7

First allow me to say that I do not think anything I could write can adequately convey just how thankful I am not only for this game, but also for you, the Developers, and your openness and dedication to the City of Heroes/Villains franchise. I wanted to send you goodies, but I understand you have discouraged that behavior, and so I am relegated to this: mere words.

I appreciate how much you guys listen. You spend a lot of time here on the forums, and endure a lot of abuse from people who have no idea what they're talking about, all in an effort to hear what we are saying. And while we all know how fruitless it is to try to please everybody, it is quite apparent that you do care what we think – which seems common sense as we are your paying customers, but I have infrequently experienced this from other vendors. Not only do you solicit player feedback, you act upon it. You guys have implemented changes based on player input, you try to keep us in the loop as much as possible regarding the thought processes behind the end results, you make yourselves available to the player-base on a scale I have never observed elsewhere. Of course I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but I want to let it be known just how much your herculean effort is appreciated.

I truly love this game. I've spent hundreds, or perhaps thousands of hours logged in, and when I was (for whatever reason) unable to log in, I've spent additional hours with City-related activities: build planning, forum-reading, art. There are so many reasons I love City; it appeals to many distinct sides of my personality. And that in and of itself is a reason to love this game: There are innumerable ways to have fun, different goals to strive for, distractions to amuse. I feel like the game is a Tweaker's Paradise, though I must admit I may simply be biased. In any case, you have given as much control of as many aspects as possible to the players, and you continue to invent new ways to give us more choices, whether with customization, proliferation, content, or features.

Also a heartfelt “Thanks!” to everyone else who keeps the game running smoothly (or our reasonable approximation thereof). Moderators, customer service, even the admins and office workers (if Paragon Studios has such), everyone involved in keeping the whole thing going. And to all of the subscribers, whether we agree on The Issues or not, because it is our combined support that keeps the servers on; I couldn't do it alone. (Though I'd try!)

Thank you for this game.

Most Sincerely,
Kelly L Creighton, aka @kwsapphire

Originally Posted by PsychoPez

I just bought an XBox a month or so ago. Today's mega blockbuster games are mind-numbingly easy. I could've beaten Mass Effect with my eyes closed. Now granted, I'm playing my 3rd playthrough just to get all the achievements, and it's more grinding than challenging, but still.

Gears of War - mostly easy.
Mass Effect - mostly easy.
Left 4 Dead - mostly easy.

Originally Posted by Eisenzahn

Eh. There's a lot of really neat new toys, things I'm definitely excited about. But until we get some new story content, I'm going to have a hard time talking myself into playing with any of it. I see myself unsubscribing until Going Rogue hits, even though I'm very grateful that I'll have all these new options available when I get to GR's content.

Originally Posted by Catwhoorg

Why invite a controller (who outside of a few edge case do sub-par damage to defenders) when you can have stronger buff/debuff and damage ?

<edit>

Take a Ice troller - unenhanced numbers

Chillblain 30.6 Damage (ST)
Block of ice 30.6 damage
Frostbite 9.18 AOE
Flash Freeze 6.12 AOE

Now containment can leverage that 30.6 to 61.2 if you have the target mezzed

Take a /Ice Defender
Ice Bolt 36.1
Ice Blast 59.3
Ice Breath 50.6 (Cone)
Freeze Ray 3.61
Ice Storm 116.8 (AOE)
Bitter Ice Blast 82.4
Bitter Freeze Ray 47.7

Ice blast (the 2nd power) is about equivalent to the best damage output you can expect from an ice troller, and thats assuming you slot the hold for damage rather than control.

/Ice blast has far superior AOE damage (yay for teaming) and even has decent control (2 holds plus slows)

Originally Posted by Bloodspeaker

Or conversely, what has the Phalanx done to deter people (supervillain or otherwise) from exploiting said public knowledge?

Originally Posted by PeterAlmighty

Rather than posting this where it will get lost in the bowels of the "What the hell, let's buff Defenders" thread, I'm hoping to get more exposure here in the open. While pondering ways to fix Vigilance, I came across a slight revelation:

Almost all other inherent powers affect an AT's playstyle, and can be taken advantage of with the right strategy and finesse.

Blaster - Players need to put a lot of thought into their attack chain to maximize the usefulness of the Defiance damage buffs.
Controller - A good bit of strategy goes into setting up and maintaining Containment to maximize damage output while remaining safe.
Defender - The flaws and faults of Negligence are well documented...
Scrapper - Scrappers can focus bosses and lieutenants to maximize their Critical Hits.
Tanker - Punchvoking with Gauntlet is important for holding aggro and saving allies.
Brute - A good bit of strategy goes into maximizing Fury's usefulness, including: end usage, power picks, slotting, and situational power usage. Example: only using Shadow Maul when your fury bar is high.
Corruptor - By carefully picking off low-HP enemies, Scourge can be used to great effect, especially on higher HP foes like lieutenants and bosses.
Dominator - Players can maximize the effectiveness of Domination by carefully timing it when needed, be it for endurance, mez protection, or high magnitude mezzes.
Mastermind - Supremacy is a lot less playstyle-affecting than the other inherents, but encourages Masterminds to stay near and support their pets, and to use Defensive stance when appropriate.
Stalker - Proper utilization of "Stalker powers" (Hide, Assassin's Strike, Placate) is an important strategy consideration closely tied to the Assassination inherent power.

I believe that the best fixes to Vigilance will keep these mostly successful and beloved inherents in mind. Although an improved version of Vigilance should not completely change Defender playstyle, players should be able to maximize its usefulness with the right strategy and finesse! I know I'm not actually suggesting a fix, I'm just trying to help get the creative juices flowing in the community. Let me know what you guys think, and if anyone has ideas that fit this "model," feel free to post them here.

Peter

P.S. I also think it's very important to keep in mind that there is a LOT of variance between the different defender primaries, i.e. buff sets (FF), debuff sets (TA), and mixed sets (rad). As such, an inherent that relies on primary powers (like the previously suggested damage buffs when you use your primary powers) must be carefully balanced to affect all defenders relatively equally.

Originally Posted by Ahmon

There are plenty of primaries that slow fury generation currently. It's a pretty silly argument that Ice will be much worse.

Originally Posted by Positron

You bet!