Most visually amazing power pair...
By
Aisynia,
Posted on: 2009-06-08 18:38 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
Well I don't know how much I'll actually contribute, but power visual customization is something that is LONG awaited and may be coming with the soon-to-be-released expansion Going Rogue. Other than that I feel ya bro, I wish it wasn't the same thing over and over, but I guess you get used to it.
Hmmmm....
"Fun to watch" tends (for me) to go to Superstrength and Dual Blades. Dual blades... is practically ballet at times. As well as nukes. Martial Arts has a bit of variety in there, too.
Stuff to avoid going JUST on visuals... Gravity (since... well, you don't see much) and Mind (since you don't see much.) Those also tend to be favourite sets of mine, at least Mind. Mind/Fire is just nuts.
Control sets are generally going to give some variation in graphics, from earthquakes and cages to ice slicks, blocks of ice, vines popping up and pets.
Just off the top of my head. I'm sure others will land there as well.
Martial Arts with Super Reflexes or Willpower.
MA has the awesome level 32 jump in the air - spin - spin - BOOT TO THE HEAD! move, some nice kicks as well.
SR has a lot of 'steadying yourself' animations and the 'slide kick' of Practiced Brawler (unless I'm thinking of something else).
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
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Most eye candy - illusion / storm controller. Great solo at high lvls, but an endurance hog and can be tough to team. All the knockback can drive melee team mates crazy. But, a well played ill/storm is very effective and impressive to watch 
I'd probably go with Storm Summoning.
For something to pair it with maybe Psychic Blast as a Defender or Fire Control as a Controller?
The only problem with the set is that it is a notable endurance hog at lower levels, which necessitates a bit of down-time, but once it gets going you can go pretty much as fast as you want.
You know, I've found a lot of how cool the powers look depends on the cotume. No lie! I have a Rad/Dark Corruptor whose powers are a constant visual treat, and hooves on a character with Martial Arts is just... painful. In a good way. :P
My vote for visually best primary in each AT:
Blaster: Energy Blast
Controller: Gravity (personal fave, not necessarily recommended)
Defender: Storm
Scrapper: Martial Arts
Tanker: Shield (and go /Mace for the most fun costume options)
Brute: Dual Blades (it will seem very different from any other Brute, a whirling dervish rather than something more... hulk-esque)
Stalker: Electrical Melee (Lightning Rod is a contender for coolest power ever)
Corruptor: Radiation (full disclosure: not a big fan of the red lightning and energy blasts compared to the blue)
Mastermind: Robots (protip: get group fly for bonus visual coolness)
Dominator: Plant
Thanks so much for the quick responses, everyone.
I'd read the Martial Arts / Super Reflexes, and had been tempted to try it, actually, though I was worried, being a beginner, that there would be certain concepts I wouldn't be able to grasp easily. I wasn't sure if Martial Arts was actually visually impressive or whether it was simply a different animation (i.e. kicking instead of punching) done to death.
I might try Illusion/Storm (Or possibly Fire/Storm or Storm/Psychic). >.>; It seems Storm is the definite champion of the Awesome Visuals award.
Time to mess around with the character creation for a bit and read a few guides.
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Stuff to avoid going JUST on visuals... Gravity (since... well, you don't see much) and Mind (since you don't see much.) Those also tend to be favourite sets of mine, at least Mind. Mind/Fire is just nuts.
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Mind Control may not have much effects-wise, but Confuse and Mass Confusion can be hilarious to watch (like a Storm Shaman getting zapped across the room by his own Lightning Storm.)
Defense powersets are never flashy IMO.
With a decent graphics card Storm/Electric defenders are visually pleasing.
Elec/Cold Troller AV/Pylon/GM/TF/SF Soloing Antics
everytime...he gets me everytime.... DAMN U BOOMIE
-- _Ilr_
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Storm is always good for a ton of cool visuals... lightning, snow, wind, tornadoes... it has it all. One thing about this game is that there is no "gear" in the normal sense, so there is no variation in attacks. Each attack power has one animation that never changes... you can't get a cool new sword and see a different weapon when you attack like in fantasy MMOs. There is one exception to that: Propel from Gravity Control tosses a random object at the target, and there's a large pool of objects for it to pick from.
Power sets that I consider visually exciting:
Storm Summoning
Fire Blast
Electric Blast
Plant Control (though it's a matter of taste)
Super Strength (it just feels really "super")
Dual Blades (by far my favorite melee set aesthetically)
any Mastermind primary (you have a whole squad attacking!)
I'd suggest a Dual Blades/Super Reflexes (or Willpower) Scrapper or Brute if you want a really fun and visually exciting melee character. But if you want truly stunning visuals and don't mind being a bad guy then make a Robotics / Storm Mastermind. Massive laser barrages, explosions and incindiary missiles, hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, snow... you can't get a better show!
If you want to stick to the good guys, Illusion/Storm is also very impressive. I believe Phantom Army has a bit of random variety in the pets it summons, and the Phantasm's energy attacks look good. Plant / Storm is also good if you like the plant graphics... some do and some don't. Fire / Storm might be something to try, though I personally think Fire Control's visuals get kind of repetitive. That's true of all the control sets though...
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
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Another vote for Illusion/Storm. I've got one at lv50, and it's a blast to play and to watch.
It does take some skill to keep the KB under control, and is an endurance hog, but it's worth it
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
I made a Martial Arts/ Super Reflexes Scrapper, and so far I'm having a blast. Just the variation between kicks has thusfar been a... kick. O.o
I dunno, simple, but more than just punching something or whacking it with a hammer. I'm down with that.
The Plant/Storm does look amazing. I'd looked at the various controller abilities, and was worried about the effectiveness of Plant later on, since there seemed to be hints that it wasn't effective vs. flying enemies - granted, I'm not sure how much aerial combat takes place in the first place... but still... it pays to think ahead, even if you have no idea what to expect. O.o
Seeing the same sorts of moves over and over again isn't so bad, or at least doesn't seem so bad, as seeing the same exact animation used for all the attacks (Blaster, anyone?). I don't mind seeing my character punch, then roundhouse kick, then snap kick over and over again. It's kind of cool, in fact, to see him "combo".
No matter what I do, there's going to be some repetition. What I'm looking for is a way to make the repetition based on the entire chain of animations, rather than each individual one.
I'll probably make an Illusion/Storm (or maybe just a .../Storm or Storm/...) and see how it looks. I like the idea of controllers, but if all they're going to do is the same boring animation over and over again, I'll grow tired of it.
This game is, graphically, pretty amazing, so if I'm not enjoying that aspect of the game, I feel like I'm well, kinda wasting my time.
The non-weapon ranged animations do tend to all look alike at times. Energy Blast isn't quite so bad since the blasts themselves tend to look different, and Fire Blast is fairly varied, but the ranged control powers in particular all seem to be variations on "flick a wrist" or "wave both hands". At least Plant has a wide variety of very obvious effects.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
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Thanks so much for the quick responses, everyone.
I'd read the Martial Arts / Super Reflexes, and had been tempted to try it, actually, though I was worried, being a beginner, that there would be certain concepts I wouldn't be able to grasp easily. .
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Only one concept you need to grasp with scrappers:
Scrapper+beginner=win. Scrapper+long time player=more efficient win.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
I'd say plant/storm would prolly be my best looking combo. Plant has all kinds of visuals. Storm is a beast. It's easy to play storm and NOT get on people's nerves if you know how to play it.
1) dont run into mobs with hurricane on. hang back to protect defenders and blasters with hurricane. unless theres a dead end room, then use hurricane to push the mob into a corner and have fun. (fire/storm is awesome for this tactic while the imps pounce them) looks awesome.
2) use gale when in corners or deadends and spam it. if the mobs can't stand, they can't attack. same with tornado. (just dont open with these on a team)
good luck with whatever you pick and have fun.
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Stuff to avoid going JUST on visuals... Gravity (since... well, you don't see much)
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I find Propel(Gravity) hilarious, the item you throw is random.
My buddy and I were rolling around with a storm controller (him) and a energy/energy blaster.
It was actually really complimentary and was pretty darn pleasing visually.
Lots of people getting thrown all over.
If you're still around and willing to roll an alt on Pinnacle, I can show you the following animations:
Scrapper:
Martial Arts
Spines
Super Reflexes
Katana
Regeneration
Defender
Storm Summoning
Sonic Blast
Forcefield
Psychic Blast
Blaster
Ice Blast
Energy Manipulation
Assault Rifle
Mental Manipulation
Tanker
Willpower
Energy Melee
Ice Armor
Super Strength
I have those sets at high levels...send me a forum message here by clicking my username, or a global /t @Neuronia and I'll park them all in Atlas Park for your convenience.
That should give you a nice overview of all those sets up to mid/high levels.
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
Gracious me, I love Dual Blades. Graceful and deadly, all at the same time. In addition, you have the option of weapon customization!
Earth Control/Storm Summoning is a nice pair of visual powers, either together or separately.
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Earth/Storm or Plant/Storm Controller(s) are both good...
Electrical Melee (for Brutes or Stalkers) primarily for Lightning Rod...
I've said it before, if we could mix and match powers, I'd so make a toon with Lightning Storm and Lightning Rod! Love those two powers...
Others have already mentioned other good sets as well.
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A Dual Blades / Stone Armour for a ballet dancing stone monster =]
I'm a beginner to the game, and have thusfar tried out a few different characters. I guess I'm somewhat spoiled from my other experiences in mmos, but I'm used to a somewhat fast-paced experience. Primarily, I care more about being able to constantly do something and not have to spend much in the way of down time.
My highest level character so far is a blaster, and while it's very quick and requires minimal downtime (well, right now anyway, but that's all the matters, I guess), the fact that their animations never change (always the same bolt-hurling animation over and over again) makes them kind of tedious to watch.
In other words, I came to realize another aspect of the game that is important to me... visuals.
So here's my question to those with more experience in these matters: Are there any combinations of primary and secondary power pools you can recommend that are a) effective for soloing - since I see myself primarily soloing in my career (this doesn't mean insanely good for soloing or powerleveling, but I've heard defenders have a hard time with soloing in general, for instance...and I'd prefer to avoid that), and b) visually amazing: different animations for attacks, different graphics, not necessarily flashy and seizure-inducing, but something that will be slightly less repetitive than "throw motion, throw motion, dead, run to next target, throw motion, throw motion."
Archetype doesn't really matter, nor does role in the party (I've read some guides about how certain Defenders play more like Controllers, for instance).
I know this is somewhat of a long-winded post, and I hope I didn't ramble too much. I thanks you all for your time and suggestions in the matter.
Thanks.