I kinda like defiance as it is. If I had to change it, I would go for...
Gain defiance while seriously wounded, and it stays until you use it. Each power you use drains a bit of defiance, which is linked to the powers base damage. The damage boost defiance grants stays roughly as is.
Rather than a random death-or-glory power (and defiance is fairly random), you end up with something that is more like vengeance. That last mob nearly finished you? The next one is gonna pay.
Mentioning here that I like defiance as it is. It has saved me on plenty occasions, emphasis on the word 'saved' - I don't try to get defiance going deliberately.
I don't see much wrong with the idea behind Defiance, the problem seems to be that for most people the Risk (low HP) does not match the Reward (increased damage). Two suggestions:
i) Make it scale more smoothly so that it's more noticable earlier. You'ld probably have to accept a slight lowering of the top-end damage to compensate but it probably wouldn't take much of a tweak to swing the Risk/Reward balance.
or (my preference):
ii) Give it a percentage chance like Scourge but still based on your HP. At the deep-red end of the health bar it could be virtually unchanged but it could start with a (very) low chance to do double damage as soon as you take a hit and scale up. That way everybody gets a chance to see a noticable effect.
"If there's anything worse than being sacrificed, it's being sacrificed incompetantly."
[ QUOTE ]
Or another idea! (I have them sometimes), make defiance link in to your teams health..So when a team mate is getting maimed your defiance is increased as a result.
Not as good in solo but it would reinforce the role of blasters in teams.
[/ QUOTE ]
I like this one. As a blaster I've always wanted Vigilance (def inherant) instead of defiance. Or rather a variant. Our dam and/or ACC goes up instead of the defs getting an End reduc.
It would make Blasters more heroic since they could step up and save the day whenever their team risked face planting.
It would also mean you could keep defiance as it works now for soloing. (Solo= you the team = low health for team = current definace)
It would give blasters an inherrant that's actully useful except as a last measure fluke and it would remove the unfairness of blasters being the only AT who have to risk a face plant for their inherant power to work.
Best of all, the code should already exist for it in the game since they just need to combine Defiance with Vigilance.
Not that it'll ever happen but it would be cool to be the team savior for once.
(For the record defiance have only saved me ONCE!)
I like it as it is, only boost that stupid scaling a bit. It is more like a 'going out with a bang' power, then that it is actualy life-safing stuff for a blaster. Compared to a Brute (the damage dealer imho), a bit up-scaling would be nice.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
trouble is you don't go out with a bang most of the times because despite defiance you either miss or don't do enough damage to kill your foe but you still face plant
trouble is you don't go out with a bang most of the times because despite defiance you either miss or don't do enough damage to kill your foe but you still face plant
EDIT: Soz for the double post, the forum went silly
Ok do have to agree on that. When i drop down to a 5% hp and i launch my Total focus (hellooooo dmg), halfway midsky flying down i get hit to a faceplant, the power wont execute anymore.
And so far i know, blizzard wont get boosted by defiance.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
Meh, blasters are always going to be taking damage to an unbelievable extent. I was thinking a bar that increases with the amount of mobs you've pulled onto yourself (17, same with Tanks, which would be a life saver) but that seems a little biased, or one that scales a bit better to your health diminishing.
But what I really really really want:
Domination style light show when it does go to Defiance.
Give us some sort of visual cue when we hit 100hp or below please.
I forgot what the total hp of a blaster is at (example) lvl32, but i dont think 100hp is 5% of his health. As quite a few mobs can blow 40-60% hp instant off a blaster, i rather see myself fullhealth all the time making defiance totaly obsolete.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
A light show would be nice indeed.
I do think Defiance needs looking at and brought up to the risk/reward or just plain usefulness of most other inherents - which i've probably already said somewhere in this post but like repeating myself and it was a while since i posted them! 
[ QUOTE ]
I forgot what the total hp of a blaster is at (example) lvl32, but i dont think 100hp is 5% of his health. As quite a few mobs can blow 40-60% hp instant off a blaster, i rather see myself fullhealth all the time making defiance totaly obsolete.
[/ QUOTE ]
100 hp is probably a bit high, not sure where I grabbed the figure from...possibly...made up... 
Other inherents you don't have to worry about, they just work along with your ATs role, the problem with Defiance is that it is requires dying all the time to be effective, or severely pushing yourself or asking the defender not to heal you...it's too fast paced for that. I have recently at 35+ been continuing to fight more when my health drops enough and it has worked a few times, but would be nice to know when to time an attack like thunderstrike or total focus.
[quote
Other inherents you don't have to worry about, they just work along with your ATs role, the problem with Defiance is that it is requires dying all the time to be effective, or severely pushing yourself or asking the defender not to heal you...it's too fast paced for that. I have recently at 35+ been continuing to fight more when my health drops enough and it has worked a few times, but would be nice to know when to time an attack like thunderstrike or total focus.
[/ QUOTE ]
This is basicly the trouble with defiance. Not how it works but that for it TO work you need to risk dying. No other ATs inherants demand not only that you get low health but also that you stay hurt for it to work. Fury is decieded on the amount of attacks your recive and dish out so it similar but unlike defiance it doesn't go away when you get healed.
The idea behind defiance is that when a blaster take punishment he face his foes and achive victory against the odds but as defiance works now the blaster has to machositically seek out punishment.
A light show would be nice but as things are now it would work best as a warning sign. Sort of, "I'm flashing, no health, better pop a greeny"
[ QUOTE ]
Ok do have to agree on that. When i drop down to a 5% hp and i launch my Total focus (hellooooo dmg), halfway midsky flying down i get hit to a faceplant, the power wont execute anymore.And so far i know, blizzard wont get boosted by defiance.
[/ QUOTE ]
Useing TF which has a 3/4 sec act. time while at 5% health is just asking to be face planted. Better to fire of BIB(the slow would help) or bone smasher. both would even be quicker than TF.
I like defiance just the way it is. Blasters are damage dealers. It lets you deal extra damage. Sounds about right to me 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Ok do have to agree on that. When i drop down to a 5% hp and i launch my Total focus (hellooooo dmg), halfway midsky flying down i get hit to a faceplant, the power wont execute anymore.And so far i know, blizzard wont get boosted by defiance.
[/ QUOTE ]
Useing TF which has a 3/4 sec act. time while at 5% health is just asking to be face planted. Better to fire of BIB(the slow would help) or bone smasher. both would even be quicker than TF.
I like defiance just the way it is. Blasters are damage dealers. It lets you deal extra damage. Sounds about right to me
[/ QUOTE ]
Best solution is to use your knock back (power thrust), or your hold. It gives you time to launch big hitters like total focus and bonesmasher.
A Paragon Defender
Especially with increased KB and ragdoll. Powers like Hand-Clap, Repulse etc. are really starting to be useful.
i dont see this as an Xploit. Bringing your life to near death is more a gambit, a fun and dangerous one ,than a simple xploit.
And as we blasters are easily one shooted by some killers, being lowlife before fight is not stupid idea
If we look at current CoV inhereted.. whatever it was called.. powers, imho those should have been what blaster should have from the start. Like a corrupter 'scourge' power, or a brute increasing damage.
Blasters blast, blasters do damage, only damage and not but damage. Now to even use it (every other AT can USE the power), we have to risk orange/red colored health bar, while other AT's can totaly use their inhere... whatever power totaly 100% safe.
I rather would see a Dominator-style for blasters. The more damage output you give, you build a u 'blastirous blasting blapper mode' bar wich, once full, will boost your damage like 100/200% for a 30 seconds or so.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
or a frenzy one . The more mobs u re aggro, the more mobs u fight the more u get in precision and dmg output.
" come ! come bastards ! and bring your friends with you ! i feel no fear ! bring them all !"
Past about level 20-30 desperation is a faceplant waiting to happen. At no point have I seen the desperation bar go past about 25%. Mainly due to the fact that when it starts to move I am usually either perma-mezz or running for my life. When I face enemies that can stun and take 70%+ hp in one blow I am not hanging around on the off chance that a piffling extra amount of damage might save me. Desperation reaks of "blasters need an inherant, give them anything". It is usless to me solo and in a team the enemy doesn't tend to be directing attacks at me so my health doesn't drop. The attacks that are directed at me are either faceplanters or healed very quickly. So desperation stays at 0.0 and I get no boost from it.
As for a replacement for it how about as your health goes down your resistance goes up. If you are going to get slapped around for an inherant to work. You may as well get something worth it. Real defiance instead of desperately trying to take them with you.
So far i see, its also 1 of the only anti-teaming inhereted powers.
Mobs need to attack you (sorry tanker), thus not be mezzed (sorry controller), you must NOT be healed (sorry defender) and need a mob where its usefull to do 400% dmg against (sorry scrapper). Aka.. go solo again.
Only good trick i found so far, die and use a rez-insp. Get a clearmind (breakfree works too?) to clear disorient and pop a few caps. Blow your nova (screw blizzard 10000 times) and enjoy your little moment of high damage (10% hp seems about 100-150% extra damage only).
So ya, a aggro-bar, resist-bar or dmg-outputbar would be way more usefull, but i dont think it will ever change.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
After playing a blaster a few levels now, I'm coming around to Defiance... The Concept.
I still don't like it much, but it is actually quite nice to see it shoot up and you yell 'DEFIANCE' and manage to shoot a minion before falling over. The numbers that go up are nice to see, and almost make up for being planted. Till you realise how everyone else gets inherents that are more useful a lot more of the time.
I think they could tune it more. Maybe have Defiance kick in quite well at around 50%, and then max out at 10%... At least you have a chance to achieve something.
Though I'm still not sure about the Blaster AT.. I don't know any other AT with a secondary anywhere near as overpowered as a blaster. How is hitting something with super-energized/flaming/etc fists considered blasting?
Shrug.
[ QUOTE ]
I think they could tune it more. Maybe have Defiance kick in quite well at around 50%, and then max out at 10%... At least you have a chance to achieve something.
[/ QUOTE ]
This for me would be the ideal way, and probably the easiest to implement for the devs...a re-tuning so to speak.
[ QUOTE ]
Though I'm still not sure about the Blaster AT.. I don't know any other AT with a secondary anywhere near as overpowered as a blaster. How is hitting something with super-energized/flaming/etc fists considered blasting?
[/ QUOTE ]
I was thinking about this earlier in regards to toggle dropping - why should the melee damage be the best - because of the risk - but why should we have melee damage at all - only thing i can think of as an explanation is that you're actually using blasts close up, putting all the power into the fists instead of expending energy to give it velocity - hence the damage is better.
Shrug.
[/ QUOTE ]
Defiance rox!!!please omg dont remove it!!!And defiance doesnt require you to get attacked.Use fly and pump defiance then use ranged attacks to blast everything to hell and back with 500% cap....
[ QUOTE ]
ive got an idea of how defiance could help a bit more. how about as the bar goes up, your defence and resistence goes up aswell? once the defiance bar is full up you will have 75% defence buff and resistence buff along with the damage buff? so the worst you are the less damage they do to you and the more damage you do to them? but i agree, it really needs to go up faster, i can get to 50 health and the defiance bar only goes up by 2 points which is didly squat to my damage
[/ QUOTE ]
A 75% defense bonus just for dying? That's a bit much... you would hardly ever die then!