Character concept motivates my selection of travel powers not AT.
I have a Roman/Greek character that gets his SS from his magic winged shoes given to him by Mercury/Hermes.
I have an Ork who's SS comes from the red paint he put on his boots. (Any good Ork will confirm that thing go fasta when painted red)
Another character uses SS in conjunction with Powerslide and "surf's" instead of running.
Like Forbin, concept also drives my travel power selections. I've got two guys named after motorcycles, and knew they'd have to have SS no matter what.
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Character concept motivates my selection of travel powers not AT.
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See, I sorta assumed the OP was talking about concept. I mean, 'speedster' to me refers not to the travel power but to the whole package. Guys like The Flash, Quicksilver, Johnny Quick, Speed Demon, Northstar...
...or if we're talking a signature character example, Synapse.
I figure the OP's asking - given THAT kind of character concept, how do you represent such a thing in CoH?
My oldest CoH character is a Dark Melee/Regen Scrapper. Regen on the basis that her speed's based on accelerated biology - she moves fast and heals fast. She uses Shadow Punch, Smite, Shadow Maul and Boxing as attacks; I can handwave the black clouds away as motion blur.
Obviously my original choice was motivated by Shadow Maul - but it works okay
More recently, I made a Soviet supersoldier speedster who was an Energy Melee/Energy Aura brute. I think Energy Aura looks pretty damn good alongside the superspeed travel glow, and especially awesome with the prestige power sprint that gives golden lines.
Energy Melee works...enh, reasonably well. However, Energy Transfer and Total Focus are kinda deal-breakers for me on a speedster. They're long and slow attacks - they have your character standing there and winding up for a single big blow.
I realise that Shadow Maul has comparable root time in terms of game mechanics, but visually speaking Shadow Maul is KAPOW-KAPOW-KAPOW-KAPOW-KAPOW.
Energy Transfer and Total Focus are like...okay, well, I'm gonna stand here for a bit...maybe a bit longer...hm, I wonder what's on TV...hey, maybe I should check the news...where was I...oh yeah...POW.
I don't think they're very speedstery.
Kinetics...works pretty good, actually, for speedster-type stuff. But then you need to figure out what other powerset you'll pair it with - gonna need to be a blast or control set, and that's kinda tricky. Pure comic book speedsters usually punch or ram into their targets - thus a melee AT fits better than a ranged one for simulating that, I think.
I have a Kin/Sonic defender - I see the Sonic blasts as controlled shockwave attacks and stuff like that.
@Acyl
VIRTUE
Blue: Realpolitik, Leading Lady, Glass Lass, Superball, Alec Kazam
Red: Battery Acid, Obsolete, Bugfix
(repeat post deleted)
@Acyl
VIRTUE
Blue: Realpolitik, Leading Lady, Glass Lass, Superball, Alec Kazam
Red: Battery Acid, Obsolete, Bugfix
For my classic "Flash style" speedster I chose a Martial Arts/Super Reflexes Scrapper.
I chose to pick up both Flurry and Hasten (because I simply like the way Flurry looks and it's an extra attack that doesn't use my feet) on my way to Super Speed. I also picked up Air Superiority (another hand attack and flier control) Combat Jumping and the entire Fitness set. Toss in the Vet Power Sands of Mu to complete the attack chain and voila! Classic speedster.
Works for me.
As the others stated above, Super Speed can be worked into many other concepts depending on how you want to write them so don't feel limited to certain ATs for particular concepts unless it just feels right to you.
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Character concept motivates my selection of travel powers not AT.
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See, I sorta assumed the OP was talking about concept. I mean, 'speedster' to me refers not to the travel power but to the whole package. Guys like The Flash, Quicksilver, Johnny Quick, Speed Demon, Northstar...
...or if we're talking a signature character example, Synapse.
I figure the OP's asking - given THAT kind of character concept, how do you represent such a thing in CoH?
My oldest CoH character is a Dark Melee/Regen Scrapper. Regen on the basis that her speed's based on accelerated biology - she moves fast and heals fast. She uses Shadow Punch, Smite, Shadow Maul and Boxing as attacks; I can handwave the black clouds away as motion blur.
Obviously my original choice was motivated by Shadow Maul - but it works okay
More recently, I made a Soviet supersoldier speedster who was an Energy Melee/Energy Aura brute. I think Energy Aura looks pretty damn good alongside the superspeed travel glow, and especially awesome with the prestige power sprint that gives golden lines.
Energy Melee works...enh, reasonably well. However, Energy Transfer and Total Focus are kinda deal-breakers for me on a speedster. They're long and slow attacks - they have your character standing there and winding up for a single big blow.
I realise that Shadow Maul has comparable root time in terms of game mechanics, but visually speaking Shadow Maul is KAPOW-KAPOW-KAPOW-KAPOW-KAPOW.
Energy Transfer and Total Focus are like...okay, well, I'm gonna stand here for a bit...maybe a bit longer...hm, I wonder what's on TV...hey, maybe I should check the news...where was I...oh yeah...POW.
I don't think they're very speedstery.
Kinetics...works pretty good, actually, for speedster-type stuff. But then you need to figure out what other powerset you'll pair it with - gonna need to be a blast or control set, and that's kinda tricky. Pure comic book speedsters usually punch or ram into their targets - thus a melee AT fits better than a ranged one for simulating that, I think.
I have a Kin/Sonic defender - I see the Sonic blasts as controlled shockwave attacks and stuff like that.
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He's right I meant as a concept not as a travel power. I'm curious about concepts relating super-fast Heroes and villains... an THEN explain to me what powers you put in place to support it. Mine is most likely going to be related to ultra-fast gamma rays, but I want to see what others came up with and what powers you mixed in.
Also as a general concept, what powers available suit a Speedster concept character.
the most speed oriented attack to me is shield charge. if you can stand having to hold a shield. not sure if you can do martial arts with shield or not. never looked at that combo to be honest. but what could be more speed oriented than kicking one guy and immediately crossing 30 feet with a shield charge almost instantly.
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the most speed oriented attack to me is shield charge. if you can stand having to hold a shield. not sure if you can do martial arts with shield or not. never looked at that combo to be honest. but what could be more speed oriented than kicking one guy and immediately crossing 30 feet with a shield charge almost instantly.
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Do you realize you can do that with Super Speed and any attack already?
If you turn Super Speed off during a battle and then click it on right after pounding one enemy you can use it to speed across the room to kick another with no suppression.
It's not automated like Shield Charge and it takes practice to do it well but it is possible.
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the most speed oriented attack to me is shield charge. if you can stand having to hold a shield. not sure if you can do martial arts with shield or not. never looked at that combo to be honest. but what could be more speed oriented than kicking one guy and immediately crossing 30 feet with a shield charge almost instantly.
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Yeah, you can do Martial Arts/Shield scrappers. That's a good point.
Hell, you can do an Elec Melee/Shield Brute - that gives you two damage teleport powers - you can REALLY zip around and sow havoc that way. The elemental electric shield or energy shield effects go well with zappy attacks as well... and hell, Electric Melee has a lot of quick punches and stuff.
Plus electricity and lightning meshes well with speedster concepts - look at Synapse. The Flash often is depicted with thunderbolt-like effects as well.
@Acyl
VIRTUE
Blue: Realpolitik, Leading Lady, Glass Lass, Superball, Alec Kazam
Red: Battery Acid, Obsolete, Bugfix
My only current speedster is an AR/kin corruptor. His premise is that he's a black-market pharmacologist and chemist, and he's enhanced his own speed with a less potent and less addictive version of his popular "Speed Boost" drug.
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Do you realize you can do that with Super Speed and any attack already?
If you turn Super Speed off during a battle and then click it on right after pounding one enemy you can use it to speed across the room to kick another with no suppression.
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The suppression is there, but the animation time of some attacks (like Total Focus) might take up some of the suppression time and makes it seem like there is no suppression. Suppression initiates at the beginning of the animation.
| Issue 9 Fly poses | IO's and ED
| Cycling the Combat Monitor | Load Macros from a Text File |
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Do you realize you can do that with Super Speed and any attack already?
If you turn Super Speed off during a battle and then click it on right after pounding one enemy you can use it to speed across the room to kick another with no suppression.
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The suppression is there, but the animation time of some attacks (like Total Focus) might take up some of the suppression time and makes it seem like there is no suppression. Suppression initiates at the beginning of the animation.
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That's why you toggle on Super Speed after the attack, not during it. That's what I'm saying. You have to be quick with the toggle. You can't just leave Super Speed on or it will suppress.
I have a speedster concept toon and, like a previous poster, use Martial Arts/SR. One of my builds also uses flurry as an attack (martial arts uses primarily kick attacks...unfortunately). SR works great because you have a secondary power Quick AND you can put the +7.5 increased run speed proc in each of your defensive toggles and passives. My guy runs fast even without Super Speed clicked on.
Pinnacle: 8-50s, Current: Reflex Arc (40 BS/Shield) & Lord Amsterdam (33 Arch/Nrg)
Triumph: 4-50s, Current: Grim Wolf (45 Ninja/Traps) & Israeli Avenger (45 Ice/Axe)
Virtue: 5-50s, Current: Dazzling Sunset (40 DB/WP)
Guardian: Current: Maori King (27 WP/DB)
Claws/SR
I think it says something that the game's signature speedster is an Elec/Elec Blaster.
I have a speedster robot called Lubricus who is a DM/SR scrapper. His speed comes from a special lubricant that is really made up of nano-wraiths. Or something like that.
I've another speedster I recently created who is a Shield/Mace tanker called Speed Knight. I haven't nailed down much beyond him being from the future.
Many of my speedster concepts die early, as I often find a speedster without superspeed to be nigh unbearable to play.
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
My speedster is a Kat/SR. He's really just a regular guy with a little Kendo training on his world, where people can see and move in four dimensions, not three.
So when he got here, he found that his ability to move through the fourth dimension (time) let him go a LOT faster than normal people.
3 slotted Swift, Sprint, and Quickness, plus 5 GotA runspeeds and a few +run and +movement set bonuses = 44mph, non supressing movement. He doesn't even have the Speed pool.
@Roderick
Dutch and Lavitae's suggestions are great. If my main scrapper weren't MA already, I'd try it. Though I would probably take the speed pool just to get whirlwind. 
If your thinking Flash-like (or Zoom like) kin can steal speed and grant speed, but I would have trouble explaining the rest of the powerset as easily for a speedster. More Jedi like, IMO.
I'll chime in in agreement with /SR scrapper. My MA/SR is easily my fastest character as it lends itself to easy modifications to base speed, (meaning no extra end usage).
I have done, pretty much, what Lavitae has done with his Kat/SR. Except I rarely turn sprint on. Just not necessary.
-Largo
Founder of A.G.O.N.Y. Supergroup on Victory
Member of Thought Sanctum VG on Victory
Member of St0rm Batallion SG on Guardian
I've also gone the MA/SR route with mine. I considered DM, but the dark effects were too out of concept. I use Thunder Kick/Storm Kick/Flurry as an attack chain. The two kicks are quick animations, and the long animation of flurry covers most of their recharge time. I *highly* recommend Prestige Dash if you have access to it; it gives a great "speed blur" effect when you run.
If you want soemthing other than melee, Grav/Kin can work for a "Speed Force" oriented character.
"Trust me, it worked in the Simpsons." - Calash
I really like Dark Melee as a "generic brawler" set. Whenever I have to rationalize the dark effects, I just consider it a cartoonish manifestation of fury or angst, rather than an actually visible effect. Of course if you want a chipper speedster, DM is not the way to go.
I team with the Repeat Offenders.
On the blue side I went with a DM/SD Scrapper - The Quicksilver Crusader and on the Red, I went with Elec/SD Brute
I chose Wu's so on the blue side I have Shadow maul and Wus so he's blip-blip-blipblip-blip-blipblip-blip-blipblip-blip-blipblip-blip-blip POW with Smite. Looks and works pretty well.
I think I'll pick up flurry and whirlwind as well. Wont be a min-max build but that's not what he's for hehe.
Vet reward sands of wu
I'm curious what power choices and pools you've chosen for your speedster toons. I'm torn and I have a few ideas (energy melee, dark melee, kinetics etc) but I love hearing what others have come up with.