What the hell? Let's buff defenders.

While I agree with you that defenders do not need a buff ((nor corruptors)) I take issue with your reason.

While defenders may be slanted more to the support role then damage there should not be a case where a defender only attacks when absolutely needed. I personally would call that a rather lazy defender for not contributing to the teams DPS.

Not the primary role but not the last resort .

Well

I am not going to speak for StratoNexus (I will let him do so if he desires), but nothing that he has ever said contradicts your point that there is anything wrong with defenders. He has made his point many times in this and other threads that Defenders are a support character and this is where they are best utilized. But...

Should a Defender be allowed to contribute more damage in a group ?

Will a Damage/HP boost to a level BELOW Blasters and Scrappers really be such a bad thing?

I personally feel that defenders are a great AT out of the box, but suffer some majors ills when they try and solo. Working as intended you say? Work in progress I say.

Anyway, the argument that Defenders are a support toon and dont need anything else keeps being brought here as the reason to NOT improve the AT. If you are in that camp of defender players that does not solo often, and doesnt use any blasting while teamed, then two things would become apparent to you (if they make this proposed change);

A) the Dps/HP boost will have no negative effect on your character or playstyle

B) you may find yourself enjoying the other half of your powerset (Blasting) a little more

Depends on the time that you're playing and the level range that you're checking. There is variance within the confines, but I stand by saying that Controllers (thanks to Fire/Kins) are more populous than other ATs by a rather large margin. There are, of course, times when the variance places Scrappers above Controllers, but, in all of my experience playing at all of the various times that I do, the Controller populations ends up on top by a substantial margin.

The question is then how far below Blasters and Scrappers is appropriate. Is it a .9 damage modifier and 1204.8 hit points (2409.8 hp cap)? Personally, I'd find that more than a bit overpowered considering all of the other stuff that Defenders already bring to a team. Is it a .7-.75 damage modifier and 1070.9 hit points (1606.4 hp cap)?

Honestly, I still don't see much point behind an AT wide increase to those attributes as a method to improve soloing ability. It would be much better (re: balanced) to simply ask Castle to review the powersets that are specifically underperforming while solo to provide them with a bit more solo capacity. Then you wouldn't get the problems of Rad/Sonic becoming even more powerful while FF/Elec only becomes a tad bit better. Some sets are perfectly fine where they are (Sonic Blast) and an increase to the Defender damage modifier would simply make them overpowered.

I agree to both points Umbral

The dmg mod should be around .75, any less and its not really going to be noticed, any more and it could be too much. As far as HPs go, I have stated a 25% increase as the number that I would like to see.

As far as reviewing each Powerset, I ABSOLUTELY agree. The performance range between defender primaries varies quite a bit, so if a review were to be done, I would expect that the low-end sets would stand out significantly enough to get some kind of boost.

Not just responding to just Greenflame but everyone who has responded to any topic like this one. How many times have you seen a Defender player say anything like:

"I have 1 attack because I'm forced to take it otherwise I wouldn't have any."
"I don't need (want) to attack."
"My attack(s) isn't slotted because ...."
"I had to take another attack because there wasn't any other power available I wanted."
"I am a dedicated healer."
"I am a buff bot."
"My attacks do NO damage."


Others would be able to add more. Why do so many players classify defenders as having the sole role of Support and the damage they do is negligible and unnecessary to a team? The perception of the AT needs to be addressed both in solo and team situations. You can make your defender fit the role of buff/heal bot but you cannot make them a force to be contended with respect to their attack set unlike the other ATs.

This statement from Greenflame stands out and really irks me: "They Debuff,Heal and Buff,they only attack if they have no choice"
There are very few situations were a defender player should only attack if they have no choice. The only 2 that come to mind are Mothership Raids and a Master of TF attempt. In a MSP, there will always be someone else that could use a buff or a foe that can use a debuff. In a MoSTF for instance as an Emp, concentrating on only buffs/ heals may be your best contribution so you are of a mindset to be quick to respond to a teammate's untimely defeat. But even then, it is reasonable that they could throw out some choice attacks as they recharge.

My defender wins pvp tournaments.

They said something about them being where they wanted them. But then they changed vigilance anyway. While that was modestly useful, I still think it missed the mark and I still do not see lots of defenders (nor corruptors) when I do searches for allies.