I will add my opinion for the devs to consider if they have not already decided to disregard the entire thread due to it's length and somewhat hostile nature.
I do not believe that locking a player into a patron power set is a good idea because as we all know, powers change in MMOs.
Even if there are 4 patrons, each with 9 powers, and we could respec inside the patron powers, it would be too limiting for character development.
You can re-roll a character who is level 15 simply because you didn't like the primary, secondary, or even the AT. But after you've played a character for 40 levels, chances are pretty good that you are happy with your primary, secondary, and AT choices.
But now you have to be extremely careful and pick the set you *think* will be the most stable and align itself best with your play style. Even if you do that, it's still a game of chance because the Devs may do some data mining and decide that a power or two in a patron set are too powerful and 'tweak' them to the point where you feel you would be better off with a different patron.
Again, this is just my opinion and I hope the Devs at least read it.
Make a man a fire and keep him warm for the day, SET a man on fire and keep him warm for the rest of his life.
Incarnates: K'lir(Fire/Dark Corr):Hot-House Flower(Plant/Fire Dom):Kinrad X(Kin/Rad Def):Itsy-Bitsy Spider(Crab):Two Ton Tony(Mace/WP Broot):Teeny Weeny Widow(Fortunata/Widow) : Zeroth Law (Ice/Fire Tank)
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The thing is... Let's face it, the level 40 power pools aren't make or break powers. They're fluff, candy. They don't change the core of your character.
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Whenever an exemplar takes me below the level of Power Build Up, I want to weep. WEEP. Not to mention armors.
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The thing is... Let's face it, the level 40 power pools aren't make or break powers. They're fluff, candy. They don't change the core of your character.
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Primal Forces had a great set of additional powers for my controller that changed the way he played very much for the better. Power Blast, Conserve Power, etc did become core staples in the +40 CoH game for him.
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Maybe if you weren't feeling so powerless and confined in real life then such in-game consequences wouldn't weigh so heavily on you? Well, that's my take on things anyway.
I think someone needs a nap.
*plonk*
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Careful there. You might just be affirming my existence. Can't have that happening now, can we? Everyone else seems to feel comfortable with denying my existence. You don't want to go against the current now, do we? 
At level 1 in Breakout you're given the option to go with Kalinda or a contact outside the Arachnos organization. At level 41 though, you're forced to choose an Arachnos Allegiance or go without highly advantageous powers most others will accept? Permanency doesn't bother me much. I'm locked into DM/DA Brute, may as well be locked into Patron Powers as well, and I play more than one character anyway so I'll probably see a few of the Patron Powers first hand. The Arachnos Allegiance, however, is kind of disappointing, and saying you don't HAVE to take a patron powerset is kind of like saying you don't NEED a drivers license. Yes I will continue to exist without a car, but I have a pretty slim chance of getting anywhere without one.
NOBODY'S FORCING YOU TO...
If you ever see yourself type this phrase on this board, stop, take a deep breath, press Backspace, and re-read what you're replying to.
"Nobody's forcing you" is a straw man fallacy. It's a cheap and easy refutation of the extreme position "I'm being forced to...." Cheap and easy because nobody's forcing us to play this game at all.
In actuality, the argument that needs to be refuted is more nuanced: "The game disadvantages incurred by choosing not to ... are unfair because ...." That's what your response needs to address.
DOOOOM!
Premature. I'm deeply wary of this proposed implementation of epic powers; it conflicts, on both the game level and the concept level, with what I enjoy in an MMO. Still, I need to wait and see the implementation. Consider this extreme: if epic powers are just graphic-tweaked versions of Sprint, Brawl, and Rest that don't take up power slots; their effect on the game, for good or for ill, is greatly limited.
IMMERSION
As a roleplayer, I'm most sensitive to the potential immersion effects of this implementation.
Someone early in the thread mentioned that this makes CoV less and less of a comic book and more and more of a bad MMO. I'm inclined to agree; replace Lord Recluse with Lord British, and a permanent, patron-based implementation of epic powers suddenly makes perfect sense to me.
Still, it's too early to see how this change will impact immersion and roleplay; I'd like to wait and see before I get really negative about the change. One thing in particular I'll be watching for: does the implementation reinforce the notion that the NPCs the devs design are special, and the characters that I design are not? 'Twould be a grave offense to my art. 
Jesus, could you rephrase in english please?
Please, it was in English and was perfectly understandable.
This topic gets people wound up enough on just the subject matter alone. No need for cheap shots too.
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I'm sorry, but your outlook really bugs me as immensely selfish. "I get what you want, so tough for you." Nor do I think my own perspective is just the same selfishness from the other side. Your preference actively removes choice from my character process, while my preference removes a story-based restriction from yours. It may be a canon-based restriction you feel is appropriate, but I can't see your "loss" if you didn't get this as equivalent to my own. After all, you could always imagine this was the backstory for your power choices. I, on the other hand, am disallowed from imagining anything else.
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So basically you are looking for a feeling of freedom and choice to replace the lack of such you feel in your day to day life? Maybe if you weren't feeling so powerless and confined in real life then such in-game consequences wouldn't weigh so heavily on you? Well, that's my take on things anyway. I'm not saying it's this way with everyone here who doesn't like the situation, but I get a feeling it does apply to at least a few of them.
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Hahahahahah.
*inhale*
Hahaha.
Oh. My. God.
Dude, I'm sorry, but your idiocy is beyond compare. Please, do tell me about my sad, sad life and how I have no choices in it. Please! Explain my terrible life to me.
Give me an excuse to freaking OWN you.
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
I don't have a problem with having to choose a side.
Your character wouldn't take a side? Firstly, Arachnos would destroy you, as they busted you out and suddenly you decide to fly solo. Secondly, look at the Sith. The apprentice will often learn from the master so they can overthrow them and take the power. Is your character not going to learn new abilities from people more powerful? Maybe your character is plotting to overthrow them at the right time, maybe you are doing it in a "I do your dirty work, you show me the power" sort of situation.
Personally, my main isn't a super evil character. He feels he is between a rock and a hard place, where he has to side with Arachnos just to survive. So, why would he choose a side? Because it's safer to have someone with you than be on your own
Firstly, Arachnos would destroy you, as they busted you out and suddenly you decide to fly solo.
First off, they busted our characters out of jail, and then said "you're on your own". Their own people attack our characters on the streets. They can't suddenly turn around and say our characters owe Arachnos anything.
Secondly, there aren't enough hours in the day for Arachnos to even begin hunting down everyone they have a grudge against.
That problem is exacerbated when you realise that if they sent troops after any of our characters, they would lose. As EvilGeko pointed out rather a good bit upthread, our characters have killed thousands of Arachnos personell by level 40. Any troops they sent would come back in boxes. They would have to send real talent, something they're obviously short on or they wouldn't be breaking supers out of jails.
Finally, what would happen if Arachnos did go after the Destined Ones with enough force to pose a real threat? Simple, the Destined Ones would turn to the enemies of Arachnos for protection. Nemesis. The Council. Malta. Even Longbow. All of whom would jump at a chance to get valuable intelligence on Arachnos technology, tactics, bases, troop strengths.... (Though I pity anyone who chose Malta; better to die on your feet than live on your knees.)
Personally, my main isn't a super evil character. He feels he is between a rock and a hard place, where he has to side with Arachnos just to survive.
The only reason you have to side with Arachnos is because they game is being written to not give you a real choice.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Awry needs to release the Patron Power info.. 
Sorry I had to vent that somewhere.
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I'm sorry, but your outlook really bugs me as immensely selfish. "I get what you want, so tough for you." Nor do I think my own perspective is just the same selfishness from the other side. Your preference actively removes choice from my character process, while my preference removes a story-based restriction from yours. It may be a canon-based restriction you feel is appropriate, but I can't see your "loss" if you didn't get this as equivalent to my own. After all, you could always imagine this was the backstory for your power choices. I, on the other hand, am disallowed from imagining anything else.
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So basically you are looking for a feeling of freedom and choice to replace the lack of such you feel in your day to day life? Maybe if you weren't feeling so powerless and confined in real life then such in-game consequences wouldn't weigh so heavily on you? Well, that's my take on things anyway. I'm not saying it's this way with everyone here who doesn't like the situation, but I get a feeling it does apply to at least a few of them.
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Hahahahahah.
*inhale*
Hahaha.
Oh. My. God.
Dude, I'm sorry, but your idiocy is beyond compare. Please, do tell me about my sad, sad life and how I have no choices in it. Please! Explain my terrible life to me.
Give me an excuse to freaking OWN you.
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No kidding... that response was really uncalled for.
Why is it so hard for people to understand that we're on a VIDEO GAME forum... which has but one, and only one, sole purpose: Discussing the damn game!!
Anytime someone makes any sort of comment that contains hints of emotion or strong opinion about the GAME, there's always some ignorant pissant that thinks it's born of personal life trauma.
Please.
Our purpose on this forum is to talk about the friggin' game. Are we supposed to type bland and boring tripe? What would the point be?
Screw it. Here you go: 0011101101011101010101100101011
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Anytime someone makes any sort of comment that contains hints of emotion or strong opinion about the GAME, there's always some ignorant pissant that thinks it's born of personal life trauma.
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Welcome to the real world my friend.
And I don't mean the Real World MTV.
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Finally, what would happen if Arachnos did go after the Destined Ones with enough force to pose a real threat? Simple, the Destined Ones would turn to the enemies of Arachnos for protection. Nemesis. The Council. Malta. Even Longbow. All of whom would jump at a chance to get valuable intelligence on Arachnos technology, tactics, bases, troop strengths.... (Though I pity anyone who chose Malta; better to die on your feet than live on your knees.)
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That's a good narrative idea. 
Can we put you down as a trailblazer for the idea of the alternate PPPs in I9?
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Finally, what would happen if Arachnos did go after the Destined Ones with enough force to pose a real threat? Simple, the Destined Ones would turn to the enemies of Arachnos for protection. Nemesis. The Council. Malta. Even Longbow. All of whom would jump at a chance to get valuable intelligence on Arachnos technology, tactics, bases, troop strengths.... (Though I pity anyone who chose Malta; better to die on your feet than live on your knees.)
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That's a good narrative idea. Can we put you down as a trailblazer for the idea of the alternate PPPs in I9?
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I think we should get to fight the patrons. All of them.
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Anytime someone makes any sort of comment that contains hints of emotion or strong opinion about the GAME, there's always some ignorant pissant that thinks it's born of personal life trauma.
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Welcome to the real world my friend.
And I don't mean the Real World MTV.
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But what we do/say/discuss here isn't the "real" world, it's a message board about a video game... not Dr. Phil.
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Are we allowed to complain yet?
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Now, all relevance to the problems of choice permanence aside...
*) I must say I'm tremendously disappointed by the absence of an equivalent to Power/Body Mastery.
*) IMO Ghost Widow for the win, both for utility and for concept. I can see now that most of my toons who take PPPs will go with her.
*) The other sets all look useful.
*) ZOMG I can't wait to get ranged attacks on my Stalker.
*) ZOMG I can't wait to get defenses on my Corruptors and Dominator.
*) I like the summoned ally 4th tier powers. On a Corrupter I know this will be especially powerful, as they can often protect and heal such allies. And sweet God almighty, my Corruptors would be able summon a Fortunata Mistress?!
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
I would also like to say common sense won out as the way to go with expectations on the PPP mechanics. This is exactly how I expected it to work. One pool per AT per Patron, with four powers in the pool, selectable as per any other 4-power pool.
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
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So...
...you're pretty much forced to join Arachnos if you want an epic power pool, even if it doesn't make sense for your character.
...you're somehow locked into it even if you respec.
...all we get out of this in terms of facts is that you talk to an Arbiter to start.
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...and if you pick Burke as your first contact, Kalinda will tell you that you're "not one of hers" if you try to talk to her, implying that you're not considered one of the "Destined Ones", but apparently get shoehorned into Arachnos anyway...
"But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses."
-- Bruce Leverett, Register Allocation in Optimizing Compilers
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I think how Posi was saying it was that the Patron pools are tied to content thus not making it easy to just switch pools/content. But the content in these pools arent required but they are still tied to the pools in case you did (and I doubt people will just skip arc's because I know the 40-50 arcs will have some memorable things, just like CoH had)
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That's certainly one way to read it. As it stands, we don't know if the patron unlocks a power pool AND optional missions, or if the patron gives missions and the missions unlock the powers, or what.
When Posi said you don't have to do any of the patron content, he was answering a guy who said his character would never, ever take a patron. Not doing the content sounds to me like skipping the whole deal, powers, missions and all. But I could well be wrong.
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There's also the question of whether the patron arcs and patron-specific content is open only to characters who picked that patron -- if not, then you can still 'experience' all the patron content without having picked a patron by grouping with someone who was doing patron-specific missions; if it is restricted, however, then it will be jerking hugely at established play groups, by forcing people to team up only with other flunkies for their patron, essentially gutting one of the reasons for the existence of VGs (unless everyone in the VG picks the same patron, which guts choice in character development). For all that I believe that the devs have made a number of bad decisions about the direction of CoX, I don't think that they'd institute content that prevented you from playing with your friends -- that would be a PR debacle. So I expect that, while you may be locking yourself into patron-specific content for your missions, you're not going to be prevented from participating in someone else's patron-specific content for a different patron.
"But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses."
-- Bruce Leverett, Register Allocation in Optimizing Compilers
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Along with our Patron Powers, comes missions and probably other stuff we have no idea of yet. So respecing wouldn't work. I'm assuming lvl 40-50 missions and story arcs would be mostly (if not all) about our Patron. That's most likely the reason why respeccing isn't allowed at the moment.
If they allowed it the easy way, they'd reset your toon back to 40 so you can choose your Patron again and start THAT arc.
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That would be, in my opinion, the most equitable way to do it. Give the 41-50 respec mission the additional option of allowing you to 'reset' your character, rolling them back to level 40, either keeping the powers/slots up to 40 as they were or doing a full respec topping off with the three slots you get at 40. Picking a different patron at the cost of all your post-40 progress seems to me to be a fair balance between "permanent" and "patron-of-the-month club".
"But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses."
-- Bruce Leverett, Register Allocation in Optimizing Compilers
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Are we allowed to complain yet?
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Nope not yet. As they say, "We have to wait for numbers".
I highly doubt that any of the patron powers will be that different from the aux./epic pools. IE, no WTHBBQOMG powers that people would be "gimped" for not taking.
Chief Hamster of the Fist of Justice / Shadows of Victory
Victory Server: Join Victory Forum for team forming and general game chat and IRC Chat: irc.hashmark.net #victory for offline chatting.
Rock, rock on Hamster.