so how about those claw fixes, eh? 
what kinda cookies do ya like?
Level 50 is a journey, not a destination.
▲Scrapper Issues List - Going Rogue Edition▲
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so how about those claw fixes, eh?
what kinda cookies do ya like?
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As I said...Claws changes are in early planning stages. Might not be for a while, so...be patient! (Yeah, I know...I always hated hearing that around Christmas as a kid!)
I noticed that you did not mention the Placate issue from the other thread that a lot of us explained (not about being hit by ANOTHER guy, but by the guy we placate). Any news on your testing of this?
- Ping (@iltat, @Pinghole)
Don't take it personally if you think I was mean to you. I'm an ******* to everyone.
It's a penguin thing. Pingu FTW.
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Scrapper Mez protection abilities were reduced somewhat by intent. I was not involved in the change, so I don't know the specific reasons behind it, so I won't comment further at this time.
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Please have someone (if not you) come back to us on this.
We (Scrappers) already suffered significant survivability decrease in the form of reduced global "defense" (in the generic sense of things that keep us alive, not just SR-style +DEF). We also suffered a decrease in peak enhancibility of those defenses and the offenses that are used to counter attacking foes. And finally, where appropriate, we suffered reduction in the effects of AoEs.
All of the above things (which of course have affected all ATs varously) already represent a significant reduction in any Scrapper's ability to, say, stand in the midst of "many" foes or in the face of a single powerful foe such as a boss. Scrappers, like all melee ATs, face the danger of the game's most damaging attacks - melee is, as a rule, vastly more damaging than ranged attacks.
So can someone please explain why, on top of all of this, it is deemed neccessary to expose us to increased risk such that things that are already now vastly more dangerous than before should now have an increased chance for an almost certain kill against us? (If it's not clear I'm talking about jumping in the middle of 3-5 minions who have stunning melee attacks, or - and this is very common - facing a boss that whips off multiple holds/sleeps/stuns.) I don't wish reduced mez resistance on any AT and feel incredibly strongly that of them all, the melee ATs need it the most because melee deals out the most mezzes.
In complete bluntness (directed to the powers that be, not you, Castle), mezzing is an absolutely crap balance tool. There is nothing that is not a bug, and I mean nothing, in this game less entertaining and more frustrating than being mezzed.
Being mezzed means you don't play the game. You watch all your toggles go away and get to watch as you die. So why this change? I really, really want to know.
If this is a PvP change then fine. Please keep in in PvP only.
Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA
While you're looking at Claws, maybe the Spines graphics can get a badly needed update into somethign more aesthetically pleasing? Ever since COH Beta, there have been on-again, off-again spurts of players bringing up how dissatisfied with the graphics for Spines they are. Let's face it, the set is hideous. The spines look like tree branches with the bark stripped off. They are so huge that they're actually bigger than the character in some cases, I mean they actually clip off of the hands of the character when they're extended. Additionally, the set is really bad for female characters; some of the spines on the upper torso are just... shall we say, uncomfortably situated.
Thorny Assault is similar but vastly improved. No clipping issues, slimmer and sharper spines, and no uncomfortably placed spines for females.
You have the graphical capability. At the very least, change them to something similar to the long shoulder spikes in the Shoulders costume creator menu.
I've got a character concept for a slim, trim young female Spines Stalker. I like the Spines powers, but I just can't stomach the graphics. After more than a year and a half, it's really high time they were fixed.
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."
"Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man."
- Thomas Jefferson
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No Patch note is an oversight, nothing more.
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Amazing how often you see this exact same thing posted. Over and Over and Over.
You guys need to change your patch note system seriously. How are we supposed to make educated decisions about powers? We get respecs for free everytime you guys go on a nerfing spree but this does not cover the things that happen after the fact during mid issue. I should not have to get a team together to risk tons of debt just for a respec trial. I know it is the nature of the game to change too but seriously your system needs to be reworked, there is almost no excuss for all of the issue 5 stealth nerfs as well as the stuff we are getting now. Even the stuff we find out after the fact I think you should at least post it. It is only right that you can do even if it is a stealth nerf. When you dont post anything it makes it look like you guys are lying to us again, and again, and again and that you dont know what you are doing. That why I think we need to have a thread or a guide that has posted ever undocumented change in since issue 1. I think if you all dont know what you have nerfed, whoes to say that we are balanced right? Possible some of those changes might have been overlooked on the developers part when really the hero or villian powerset might not have been over powered to start with. My frustrations are not directed towards you directly it is just we are getting a little overwhelmed with all these unneccessary changes. To make this right with us for the stealth nerfs I think you should go back and not re do the patch notes but just post a patch note that tells all the undocumented changes and the date in which this happen. This will give players are better view of what to pick. The we can understand why somethings just were not adding up.
Bump and Grind Bane/SoA
Kenja No Ishi Earth/Empathy Controller
Legendary Sannin Ninja/Pain Mastermind
Entoxicated Ninja/PSN Mastermind
Ninja Ryukenden Kat/WP Scrapper
Hellish Thoughts Fire/PSI Dominator
Thank You Devs for Merits!!!!
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Accuracy: Base accuracy for Hero v. Hero in Warburg seems to be floating around 50%. Due to the nature of the equation, this is a serious defense against anyone who does not have +to-hit buffs, and a minimal defense against those who do have such buffs. This does not trouble me, as the resist based sets offer little-to-no mitigation in many cases now, so balance is not implicated. But is that 50% number an 'intended condition', that we can expect to see propigating throughout PvP? Or is it a bug?
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We've reduced base To Hit from 75% to 50% for PvP purposes. This change was made to give Defense sets more effectiveness. With the ED changes, coupled with the prevalence of +To Hit buffs it was necessary.
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Anyone know if this affects PvE as well?
My deviantART gallery and commission info.
"What?! What "Hmmm?" Those are not "Hmmm" odds!" - Zeke, CAD
"Not only will a loss seal your fate, but also the fate of the one you are protecting as well." � Himura Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin
No, it is PvP only. It should have no effect at all on PvE.
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No Patch note is an oversight, nothing more.
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Amazing how often you see this exact same thing posted. Over and Over and Over.
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*placate*
These are not the patch notes you are looking for.
Kinetic Fusion - lvl 50 EM/EA Brute
Galvanized - lvl 50 Bots/Dark Mastermind
Umetrus - lvl 50 Fire/Kin Corruptor
Psychotropic Pstud - lvl 50 Mind/Psi Dom
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Accuracy: Base accuracy for Hero v. Hero in Warburg seems to be floating around 50%. Due to the nature of the equation, this is a serious defense against anyone who does not have +to-hit buffs, and a minimal defense against those who do have such buffs. This does not trouble me, as the resist based sets offer little-to-no mitigation in many cases now, so balance is not implicated. But is that 50% number an 'intended condition', that we can expect to see propigating throughout PvP? Or is it a bug?
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We've reduced base To Hit from 75% to 50% for PvP purposes. This change was made to give Defense sets more effectiveness. With the ED changes, coupled with the prevalence of +To Hit buffs it was necessary.
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Anyone know if this affects PvE as well?
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It does not. I've tested it. Not extensively, but there is no way we're anywhere near 50%. I come up with an average of 73% after three short tests (100 brawls) so I have no reason to believe it's less.
EDIT: _Castle_ you rock. Can we assume you're the Scrapper rep? If not, will you be? We need someone like you. We're an unruly lot.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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EDIT: _Castle_ you rock. Can we assume you're the Scrapper rep? If not, will you be? We need someone like you. We're an unruly lot.
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I hardly ever do this, but... Quoted For Truth.
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."
"Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man."
- Thomas Jefferson
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_Castle_ you rock. Can we assume you're the Scrapper rep? If not, will you be? We need someone like you. We're an unruly lot.
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I was a fan long before I started working here, so I like being able to participate with the community in a meaningful manner. I was on the boards as a fan within days after they went up a few years back and got used to posting on ocassion.
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so how about those claw fixes, eh?
what kinda cookies do ya like?
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As I said...Claws changes are in early planning stages. Might not be for a while, so...be patient! (Yeah, I know...I always hated hearing that around Christmas as a kid!)
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so your saying we will get changes near christmas? .
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_Castle_ you rock. Can we assume you're the Scrapper rep? If not, will you be? We need someone like you. We're an unruly lot.
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I was a fan long before I started working here, so I like being able to participate with the community in a meaningful manner. I was on the boards as a fan within days after they went up a few years back and got used to posting on ocassion.
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I've told Statesman this, but communication like this makes nerfs go down a lot easier. Like the Mez protection change. Just knowing that it was intentional calms a lot of people.
Now, of course, since we don't know WHY, we shall all speculate that it's for PvP and even when you guys tell us it's not we'll continue to say it is and fight about it for weeks. I think your posts have really quelled a lot of issues in advance before they become major flame wars.
The reason for this post is that while we get mad at you guys (ZOMG, you nerfed REGEN again I h4t3 you DEVS!!) we really enjoy your posts a lot even the bad news.
So thanks a lot, and keep on posting! 
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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_Castle_ you rock. Can we assume you're the Scrapper rep? If not, will you be? We need someone like you. We're an unruly lot.
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I was a fan long before I started working here, so I like being able to participate with the community in a meaningful manner. I was on the boards as a fan within days after they went up a few years back and got used to posting on ocassion.
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That settles it then. You are now the adopted scrapper rep.
Here is some cookies...
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I noticed that you did not mention the Placate issue from the other thread that a lot of us explained (not about being hit by ANOTHER guy, but by the guy we placate). Any news on your testing of this?
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Unfortunately, it looks like he did mention this:
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That is by design. Placate gives a Hide attribute, very similar to the Hide power. That similarity extends to damage breaking Hide, whether that damage comes from a DoT, Damage Aura, the placated entity finishing an attack it already started, or another critter successfully attacking you. Learning how and when to use Placate is an important skill for Stalkers.
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So... placate can be overcome by a quick jab at the right moment. Is this the idea? Whether it's in PvP or PvE? If I'm fighting a foe, and I go to placate him/her, if the foe starts an attack after my placate animation starts but before my placate animation ends, I'm screwed? Do I not have any protection from this?
I can see in PvP this might make for interesting strategy (someone else somewhere called it an exploit, and I at the time agreed, but I think I withdraw that). Since placate is so powerful for a stalker, since you get another chance at criticals, or even better AS, it's a nice idea that someone with good timing can keep you from getting to it.
But in PvE, this is just annoying. You click off the placate, you sometimes start the placate animation, then the foe starts to, say, do a quick punch, and your placate doesn't leave you hidden. It's not that the mob fooled you. They didn't punch you because they saw your placate going and decided to stop you. The just happened to punch at about that time. Even if you get good at waiting to use placate until you think an attack isn't coming (and trust me, I'm definitely starting to get good at this), there are a lot of times when a mob can throw off a power, especially brawl-like punches, that are almost imperceptible until you are hit, and it's a feeling of "I had no idea that was coming". It's frustrating to play with, honestly. It makes sense for it to happen in the system of stealth and agro that you have defined, but it doesn't feel good.
Have you ever stepped back and looked at maybe redefining the stealth/agro system a little bit? It seems like it wasn't designed to handle a character like a stalker, and as stalkers are being shoved into this system, there are things like this that keep coming up that can be thought of to be working "as designed" that just don't feel right in the spirit of stalking.
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No Patch note is an oversight, nothing more.
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Amazing how often you see this exact same thing posted. Over and Over and Over.
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Maybe because it's the truth?
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
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I noticed that you did not mention the Placate issue from the other thread that a lot of us explained (not about being hit by ANOTHER guy, but by the guy we placate). Any news on your testing of this?
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Unfortunately, it looks like he did mention this:
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That is by design. Placate gives a Hide attribute, very similar to the Hide power. That similarity extends to damage breaking Hide, whether that damage comes from a DoT, Damage Aura, the placated entity finishing an attack it already started, or another critter successfully attacking you. Learning how and when to use Placate is an important skill for Stalkers.
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So... placate can be overcome by a quick jab at the right moment. Is this the idea? Whether it's in PvP or PvE? If I'm fighting a foe, and I go to placate him/her, if the foe starts an attack after my placate animation starts but before my placate animation ends, I'm screwed? Do I not have any protection from this?
I can see in PvP this might make for interesting strategy (someone else somewhere called it an exploit, and I at the time agreed, but I think I withdraw that). Since placate is so powerful for a stalker, since you get another chance at criticals, or even better AS, it's a nice idea that someone with good timing can keep you from getting to it.
But in PvE, this is just annoying. You click off the placate, you sometimes start the placate animation, then the foe starts to, say, do a quick punch, and your placate doesn't leave you hidden. It's not that the mob fooled you. They didn't punch you because they saw your placate going and decided to stop you. The just happened to punch at about that time. Even if you get good at waiting to use placate until you think an attack isn't coming (and trust me, I'm definitely starting to get good at this), there are a lot of times when a mob can throw off a power, especially brawl-like punches, that are almost imperceptible until you are hit, and it's a feeling of "I had no idea that was coming". It's frustrating to play with, honestly. It makes sense for it to happen in the system of stealth and agro that you have defined, but it doesn't feel good.
Have you ever stepped back and looked at maybe redefining the stealth/agro system a little bit? It seems like it wasn't designed to handle a character like a stalker, and as stalkers are being shoved into this system, there are things like this that keep coming up that can be thought of to be working "as designed" that just don't feel right in the spirit of stalking.
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oops, missed that. Learning the timing is cool, and that's fine regarding the attacks that have already started. How about attacks that start during the animation? This is where it can be exploited during PvP just by having a quick attack and paying attention.
- Ping (@iltat, @Pinghole)
Don't take it personally if you think I was mean to you. I'm an ******* to everyone.
It's a penguin thing. Pingu FTW.
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After checking out all of the stalker secondary sets I noticed that Hide from the energy aura set is the only one that doesn't have Psi defense. Any reason for this? Shouldn't all the hide abilities have the same defense values?
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Not entirely correct. It has no specific +Def vs. Psionic, however the +Def to Melee, Ranged and AoE in Hide cover the hole nicely. The set simply has no other powers that specifically stack with Hide for additional protection. This is by design. I'll talk to geko and verify that Energy Aura is as effective as we want.
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Hide from the EA sets shows that it provides +Def to all but Psionic. Every other hide ability shows +Def to Melee, Ranged and AoE.
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I hope that helps you all understand why 'Stealth Nerfs' happen. To the best of my knowledge, we have never intentionally not given Patch Notes on a change.
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The problem is that this is happening more and more with each release, despite repeated assurances that the problem was going to get better. And coupled with the fact that most of the 'stealth changes' are nerfs, it can make you wonder if their is intent to leave them out. I don't personally believe it, but I do think that LOTS more attention needs to be given to the patch notes.
For example:
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We've reduced base To Hit from 75% to 50% for PvP purposes. This change was made to give Defense sets more effectiveness. With the ED changes, coupled with the prevalence of +To Hit buffs it was necessary.
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That's a pretty darn big change. I'm not saying I disagree with it, but its hard from a consumer standpoint to understand how something this major misses the patch notes. Patch notes need to be confirmed and released by someone who has the big picture. There's nothing more frustrating than finding a problem and trying to guess if its a bug or an intended change.
Unfortunately, communication since about I3 has been relatively poor overall. Especially sad considering how great it was last summer (2004). Don't get me wrong, it seems par for the course for MMOs to be that way, and Cryptic is still better than most (mostly due to herculean effort on CuppaJo's part), but I long for the days when it was my top praise for the game.
And, just not to be all negative, I think AT reps such as Castle here have helped move us back toward that direction, but its a long road to build back trust and confidence, and continual problems with patch notes are one of the big obstacles that need to be overcome.
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I like being able to participate with the community in a meaningful manner. I was on the boards as a fan within days after they went up a few years back and got used to posting on ocassion.
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ZMOG! _Castle_ was Puffy Shirt?!?
/e falls over
personally i dont have any problems with placate i placate a target then i run and wait for hide to come back on the description for placate it says its not an actual hide ability it just a substitute till you can actually hide again thats why it says not to att the placated target or youll null the placate
Thank you. I appreciate very much the answers recieved. For the ones you cannot.. I am somewhat comforted in believing that if you could, you would.
Am I to assume that the similar changes reported in Tank mezz prot have the same reason for them as the scrapper ones?
And is there a chance we could get numbers on the Tank values?
I understand that there is probably a bit of a divide around the office on the 'numbers' policy of the company and the game. I think my voice (and that of most players) would be towards making any and all values public. Informed decisions are good. Maybe the guys in code and the guys in UI could find some way to have the power descriptions give values for powers, and what they do, based directly on the data stored in game for how powers work? That would cut down a long way on confusion and questions. If I log in and see that a power that formerly offered X protection now offers Y, and it says so in the power, I can make informed respecing.
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After checking out all of the stalker secondary sets I noticed that Hide from the energy aura set is the only one that doesn't have Psi defense. Any reason for this? Shouldn't all the hide abilities have the same defense values?
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Not entirely correct. It has no specific +Def vs. Psionic, however the +Def to Melee, Ranged and AoE in Hide cover the hole nicely. The set simply has no other powers that specifically stack with Hide for additional protection. This is by design. I'll talk to geko and verify that Energy Aura is as effective as we want.
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As of I6, Super Reflexes is not giving defense to certain controller sets. Namely, Mind control (Dominate and Levitate), Illusion control (Bind), and Gravity control (Crush seems to have unnaturally high accuracy, Singularities as well).
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I'm looking into the Mind Control issue. The high accuracy of certain Controller powers is intended and unlikely to change.
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Mezz Prot Changes: Many players are reporting a major change in the amount of resistance to Mezz powers provided by anti-mezz toggles (UYS and Integration in my experience). Reports are on the order of a 40-60% reduction in MAG of protection offered.
No patch notes or other information relative to these changes have been observed.
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Scrapper Mez protection abilities were reduced somewhat by intent. I was not involved in the change, so I don't know the specific reasons behind it, so I won't comment further at this time.
No Patch note is an oversight, nothing more. Just a quick note on how this works on the powers team, specifically: Each day, we make anywhere from a dozen to hundreds of changes to the Powers data, whether it is adding new creature and object powers, adjusting things in player powers, fixing bugs (it is amazing how many grammatical errors slip by!) When we put all of the changes into source control, we add comments on each and every change we made. That's the theory. In practice, sometimes we'll be in the midst of a series of things and get interrupted, causing us to forget to write down that particular change. Then, when we check in a batch of changes, we add a tag that tells the Patch note guy whether it is an internal change only or if it needs to go into the Patch Notes. This is where the vast majority of 'Stealth Nerfs' happen -- a change gets tagged Internal that should have been tagged Release. Lastly, sometimes the fellow who generates the Patch Note file just plain misses something.
I hope that helps you all understand why 'Stealth Nerfs' happen. To the best of my knowledge, we have never intentionally not given Patch Notes on a change.
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Accuracy: Base accuracy for Hero v. Hero in Warburg seems to be floating around 50%. Due to the nature of the equation, this is a serious defense against anyone who does not have +to-hit buffs, and a minimal defense against those who do have such buffs. This does not trouble me, as the resist based sets offer little-to-no mitigation in many cases now, so balance is not implicated. But is that 50% number an 'intended condition', that we can expect to see propigating throughout PvP? Or is it a bug?
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We've reduced base To Hit from 75% to 50% for PvP purposes. This change was made to give Defense sets more effectiveness. With the ED changes, coupled with the prevalence of +To Hit buffs it was necessary.
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A combo I like to use is Soaring Dragon, it knocks my oponent in the air, then follow up with a Golden Dragon Fly, but it misses everytime, I have to wait for the target to settle and move directly next to him to land this attack.
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There is a bug with certain Cone powers which cause them to always miss moving targets. We're working on a fix, but have no ETA.
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Other Mobs can break my Placate Hide. I lose all chance to critical if someone else hits me while I'm placate hidden, additionally anyone(including the placated mob) can interrupt my placate if they get off an attack that activates during my placate animation.
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That is by design. Placate gives a Hide attribute, very similar to the Hide power. That similarity extends to damage breaking Hide, whether that damage comes from a DoT, Damage Aura, the placated entity finishing an attack it already started, or another critter successfully attacking you. Learning how and when to use Placate is an important skill for Stalkers.
I misinterpreted your original message as other critters were breaking the Placate effect on the Placated critter.
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My +Heal Enhancements aren't working properly!
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Known bug and fixed internally. Not certain where the fix is in the queue to reach the servers, though.