Trickshooter's Vigilance 2.0

Random Thought: What about the idea of making all Single Target team buffs and debuffs be targeted AoEs? The AoE buff/debuff wouldn't be a strong as the target buff, but could also affect the Defender. Existing AoE buffs/debuffs are unchanged.

I know, I know: Buffs/Debufs aren't the problem and on Defender teams this would get stupidly broken.

I guess the problem is: Should the Denfeder Inherent assist in the Defender's primary job of Buffs/DeBuffs or should it assist the defender when he has to solo?

If it's to solo that's why I suggest Corruptor values minus scourge, maybe accounting for the Defender's better buff numbers, so maybe a 5% boost than a 10% one.

Take this for what it's worth: I run one of each AT, of the basic ATs I found the Defender was the hardest to solo in the early levels. I was running a Sonic/Sonic so I was taking advantage of the secondary effects of the set. I still remember how aggrivating it was to do a simple clockwork mission in the sewers in the lower levels. You have to also understand that my first (and often favorite) character was my Rad/Rad Corruptor, so it's not like I was going at the defender completely cold.

Soloing my Peacebringer in the early levels felt similarly anemic before the buffs were implimented.

A Defender's primary powerset is to buff team mates/debuff enemies. An inherent that does pretty much the same thing is redundant. The inherent should give the defender something new and different.

The problem with the current Vigilance is that you only derive benefit when you've screwed up and let your team mates get injured. You're being rewarded for poor play. Other ATs get their inherent all the time, or when they use their powers as they're meant to.

If you want to keep the concept of Vigilance, a better version would be some way to overcome being mezzed. This is the literal meaning of vigilant -- not falling asleep on the job. This could be a buff based on the number of team mates (like Khelds being teamed with controllers), or a click power that works like a break free.

A click power might be charged by using defender powers, in the same way that dominators build up domination. This would be easy on the server CPU utilization too.

The click power is probably preferable to a buff from team members because it works solo (and defenders need all the help they can get solo). It's not particularly unbalancing because anyone who bothers can always maintain a ready supply of Break Free inspirations in their tray after level 25.

If it included the current endurance reduction and a recharge buff it would really be worthy of the name Vigilance.

Another possibility would be to take a cue from blasters and allow the defender primary powers to work when the defender is mezzed. This would allow offensive toggles to remain in effect all the time (like Hurricane and Radiation Infection, which are protective debuffs), and would be a seriously robust buff to defenders (one that you might want to allow only in PvE).

Yet another possibility would be the ability to use inspirations on other players and the ability to somehow make inspirations at will, maybe by sacrificing hit points or endurance. For example, you could make a small green or purple inspiration, or a break free for 25% of hit points, and a small blue or red for 25% of endurance. And defenders could convert inspirations on a one-to-one basis, instead of a three-to-one.

Though I love every Vigilance suggestion I've seen, I'm sticking to my first idea. Change inspirations to work like this:

Enrage

Effect area: Sphere
Radius: 25'
Entities affected: Friend
Entities autohit: Friend

Self:
+25% dmg(all) for 30 seconds if NOT used by a Defender

Target:
+25% dmg(all) for 30 seconds if used by a Defender

It reinforces the team-support flavor role of the archetype, requires no changes under the hood, adds minimal processing overhead, and benefits defenders of all types equally. Doesn't help us soloing, but there's no rule that says inherents have to be helpful soloing. (Especially if they're this good teaming.) The real drawback I see is noobly empaths slowing down missions with even more constant "gather" or "stay close 2 tank" requests.

I think Vigilance should just be a static endurance discount dependent on number of team-members BUT with a nice damage bonus when the defender is solo.

Say 15% endurance discount for the first team-mate and another 2.5% for each member after that. That's a constant 30% discount on a full team without anyone having to get hurt. About an SO's worth of end red in every power.

Conversely, when the defender is going solo a 20-30% damage buff doesn't seem unreasonable. Whatever the number should be it should bring the defender up to about Corruptor levels of damage before calculating in Scourge.

Blasters get a damage boost and two attacks that they can use whilst mezzed.

Defenders get mezzed, have their low dps lowered even more and get defeated.

I think Defenders need either to have a couple of attacks that they can use whilst held or have scale-able mezz resistance so that they have a chance to break free and use any power. They are 50% blaster-like.

Definition of Vigilance: state or quality of being vigilant; watchfulness: Vigilance is required in the event of treachery.

Breaking free of mezz effects in order to watch over the team, especially with Confuse would fit Vigilances' definition imo. Solo, you may stand a better chance as you get cleared off of sec effects and start fighting back.

I can't see it affecting server performance at all.

Lack of Mezz protection is why I may rear guard. I don't want to heal aura anyone half the time because if I am that close to people then I may fit in the aoe of a control power that is targeting them.

Defenders definitely need a Inherent that also helps them to solo.

Keep the end discount with the change.

Edit: to add.

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: vig·i·lance
Pronunciation: 'vij-&-l&n(t)s
Function: noun
: the quality or state of being wakeful and alert : degree of wakefulness or responsiveness to stimuli —vig·i·lant /-l&nt/ adjective

Luminara, I think we're on completely different pages, and that's why we're not seeing eye to eye.

Let me explain a bit more on how I see my version working.

Let's use Conserve Power as a reference. It's a 50% endurance discount. And you'd be hard pressed to run out of endurance while that power is up. So 50% is, IMO, too much of a buff.

Now for Vigilance to be useful most of time it needs to be fairly consistent, meaning the buff amount shouldn't vary wildly. So in practice the amount of buff you get isn't going to vary much between base and max.

My thinking is this: 15% endurance discount for 1 critter and +1% for each additional critter up to 16, for a maximum buff of 30%. Since we know that a persistent 50% buff is too much, 30% is probably the sweet spot. And you'd never get less than 15%.

Of course these can be tweaked here and there as necessary -- maybe 12.5% base and a 32.5% cap, 10% base and 25% cap -- whatever -- but that's the range I think would work the best.

And this is why I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of "exploiting" it -- because there simply would be no need to. You just wouldn't gain that much. Even maxed out at 30%, it's not going to be an unlimited well of endurance, and it's certainly not going to make a Defender uber. And in "normal" solo gameplay you're going to get a buff of 15-18% without even trying. OK, sure, you can stun, blind, mez, choke, blah blah blah, but for what? An extra 8%? 12%? Why? Is it really going to make that much of a difference, so much so that you're going to go out of your way to maximize it? I don't think so. *YOU* might, but I don't think most people will bother.

I think people have to pull back a bit and realize AT inherents aren't supposed to make anyone uber. Supremecy, Containment, Critical Hit, Assassination, Gauntlet, Scourge, etc etc etc, look at them. They add a little somethin' somethin', but nothing that's game breaking. You could argue that Domination was a bit overpowered, but it's not so much anymore. Fury perhaps, but you generally have to work pretty hard to get and keep really high levels of Fury; you can't just stand around doing nothing.

I envision Vigilance being much more like new Defiance, where now it's like the old one. The buff should be big enough to be meaningful, but not large enough to trivialize endurance management.

So while you might find it easy with an overpowered Dark Defender to game the inherent, you're just not going to gain much by doing so. But really, is this any different than a Brute using Brawl (level 1 inherent power) to maximize Fury generation? Or a Corruptor on a team only attacking foes under 50% health in order to maximize the chance of triggering Scourge (don't laugh, I know a LOT of Corrs that play this way)? Or a Controller opening with an immobilize, hold, sleep, or stun to trigger Containment? Are any of those "exploits"? I don't think so.

Back to range, I understand your point but disagree with it. I don't see the problem having Vigilance at a 40' range when you have 80' attacks. I don't think people will get confused. Inherents are bonuses. There is no "penalty" if you aren't getting it. A large number of AT inherents have conditions, and no one gets confused about them.

One could use your argument and apply it to ranged/melee modifiers. Why should I get "penalized" for using a ranged attack instead of a melee attack? Because being closer to your foes is more dangerous, and the game "rewards" you by giving you a buff to short range powers. The concept is the same. Sure, you can stay right at 80', firing away in relative safety. But then your risk is low, you can't use your most powerful attacks, and you don't deserve a buff. Get closer to the action and your risk goes up. When your risk goes up, you're entitled to a buff. So many facets of the game work this way. This is nothing different. Having to be within 40' away from critters in order to trigger the inherent is no different than requiring your pets to be within 60 feet of you, having to be hidden before you attack, your foes having less than 50% health, or critters needing to be stunned, held, immobilized, or slept.

Vigilance - The Defender's primary focus is to protect the team. When he and his allies are in danger, the Defender is able to look deep within himself and rise to the occasion. As a Defender's teammates are in danger of being defeated, the Defender gains an Endurance Discount and can activate their powers at a reduced cost. The more teammates in trouble, the greater the discount.

Let the AT just work without a goofy, gimmicky inherent. Add higher base HPs and higher base damage. Keep the simple inherent that just works, but let it work solo.

How about this for Vigilance 2.0:

For every 1% above 60% health the defender gains 1% damage buff for a max of 40% damage at 100% health. Also for every 1% below 50% health the defender gains 1.5% endurance discount for a max of 73.5% end discount at 1% health.

This rewards the defender doing well with a bit more damage (also helping solo play) and keeps the idea that the defender can afford powers to help save himself (and team) when in trouble.

The numbers can be adjusted and possibly tied to the entire teams health percentage instead of just the defender but i think something like this would be perfect as it would give the defender worthwhile damage when then team is otherwise solid (like a fully def capped team taking little damage). The solo implications are good too. A bit more damage when high health (makes slotting -tohit and such more useful) and some personal end discount when hurtin.

Hmm... what would the effect be if the various ally-targeting aura/PBAoE/AoE? powers were changed so that they had a scaling effect based on how many allies are benefiting?

Something like (pulling completely random numbers out of the air):

Players  Effect Scale Total Effect
        1           178%          178%
        2           133%          267%
        3           119%          356%
        4           111%          444%
        5           107%          533%
        6           104%          622%
        7           102%          711%
        8           100%          800%            
        9             99%          889%
        ...
       16            94%         1511%