For me, I have been playing RPGs (on and off the computer) for almost 30 years, and I dont accept the idea that something is not possible or that its pre-ordained to failure.
I understand where you're coming from here, truly. In theory on paper it can be done. The combination can be made to work, if it is designed with care. However, I do not believe your approach is adequate.
It's a fine and elegant plan to state the proliferation as you do: "Self-Defense can pair with Melee Set, Control, and Ranged Sets." It states the objective clearly, and it does so in a simple, clean way that makes it seem simple to implement. However, simple this is not.
The existing self-defense sets, as designed, do not pair well with Ranged or Control. They were never meant to. As an example: Invulnerability gets a power, Invincibility, that grants a slight bonus to DEF and TO-HIT, based on the number of enemies within range. It is therefore ideally leveraged against melee powers. What happens if you change that?
Invulnerability + Control
You will very likely end up with the enemies locked down Slept, Immobilized, Stunned, or Held all over the map. Most will be out of range. Invincibility will be largely ineffective, and one of the key, basic, essential powers in the set will be out of balance. Tanker secondaries have Taunt, with its -Range debuff component, that helps scoop enemies into melee range. Controllers... do not.
In addition, the strength of Invulnerability is based upon a certain estimated-time-to-failure. Damage Deflected Over Time is carefully calibrated to the Damage Dealt Over Time figure so the Tanker has a fighting chance. The combat is neither too easy (viz, his damage or his defenses, or both, are too high) nor too difficult (either his damage or his defense, or both, are too low). If you throw a Control set into the mix, which generally does a fraction of the damage, such a character would die long before he took out any of the enemies.
You also would get very strange synergies with certain sets, allowing things to happen that should never be allowed. For instance, Invincibility has a PBAOE Taunt aura. And Fire Control has Fire Imps. You could summon some Fire Imps, go AFK with your taunt aura turned on, and they would destroy everything in perfect safety while you were drinking Jaegermeister and watching the ball game.
Invulnerability + Ranged
Enemy AI is designed to behave in a certain way, and the sets are balanced around that known and somewhat predictable behavior. Some enemies prefer to stay at range; some prefer to keep to melee. Creating a Self-Defense-Ranged combination will create brand-new exploits in enemy behavior. Just to name one: Super Reflexes gets Ranged Defense. It's the ultimate kiting set: stay at range with your blasts, turn on Ranged Defense, and you never need anything else.
You also get strange and unintended synergies here too. Dark Armor + Dark Blast gives you a self-healing, mez-proof, stealth sniper with self-rez and a boatload of -To Hit debuffs. Why would you play anything else? And that's just the first thing that leapt to mind if you unleash a poorly thought out system upon the game world, you can bet your eyeteeth that the other gamers more cunning than I will find ways to use these combinations to pry huge holes in it. Every combination would have to be analyzed or rejected on its own merits. Grand, sweeping statements like "Self-Defense goes with Ranged" look great on paper but the devil is in the details, always.
The time to test new sets would dramatically increase. Right now, a new Self-Defense set has to be tested in synergy with all of the existing melee attack sets. First, the animations must be compatible; second, the powers must be compatible; third, the effects must be compatible. (For instance, you couldn't do Assault Rifle/Shield, and Claws/Trick Arrow would have a despicably slow redraw problem as you had to switch between weapons constantly.) If you allow the kind of proliferation you're speaking of, every set would have to be tested against almost every other set.
It really would be much, much easier to create a single new Archetype with a particular combination Team Defense + Melee, for instance and build a small number of intercompatible power sets around that concept.
It's a fine and elegant plan to state the proliferation as you do: "Self-Defense can pair with Melee Set, Control, and Ranged Sets." It states the objective clearly, and it does so in a simple, clean way that makes it seem simple to implement. However, simple this is not.
The existing self-defense sets, as designed, do not pair well with Ranged or Control. They were never meant to. As an example: Invulnerability gets a power, Invincibility, that grants a slight bonus to DEF and TO-HIT, based on the number of enemies within range. It is therefore ideally leveraged against melee powers. What happens if you change that?
Invulnerability + Control
- You will very likely end up with the enemies locked down Slept, Immobilized, Stunned, or Held all over the map. Most will be out of range. Invincibility will be largely ineffective, and one of the key, basic, essential powers in the set will be out of balance. Tanker secondaries have Taunt, with its -Range debuff component, that helps scoop enemies into melee range. Controllers... do not.
- In addition, the strength of Invulnerability is based upon a certain estimated-time-to-failure. Damage Deflected Over Time is carefully calibrated to the Damage Dealt Over Time figure so the Tanker has a fighting chance. The combat is neither too easy (viz, his damage or his defenses, or both, are too high) nor too difficult (either his damage or his defense, or both, are too low). If you throw a Control set into the mix, which generally does a fraction of the damage, such a character would die long before he took out any of the enemies.
- You also would get very strange synergies with certain sets, allowing things to happen that should never be allowed. For instance, Invincibility has a PBAOE Taunt aura. And Fire Control has Fire Imps. You could summon some Fire Imps, go AFK with your taunt aura turned on, and they would destroy everything in perfect safety while you were drinking Jaegermeister and watching the ball game.
Invulnerability + Ranged- Enemy AI is designed to behave in a certain way, and the sets are balanced around that known and somewhat predictable behavior. Some enemies prefer to stay at range; some prefer to keep to melee. Creating a Self-Defense-Ranged combination will create brand-new exploits in enemy behavior. Just to name one: Super Reflexes gets Ranged Defense. It's the ultimate kiting set: stay at range with your blasts, turn on Ranged Defense, and you never need anything else.
- You also get strange and unintended synergies here too. Dark Armor + Dark Blast gives you a self-healing, mez-proof, stealth sniper with self-rez and a boatload of -To Hit debuffs. Why would you play anything else? And that's just the first thing that leapt to mind if you unleash a poorly thought out system upon the game world, you can bet your eyeteeth that the other gamers more cunning than I will find ways to use these combinations to pry huge holes in it. Every combination would have to be analyzed or rejected on its own merits. Grand, sweeping statements like "Self-Defense goes with Ranged" look great on paper but the devil is in the details, always.
The time to test new sets would dramatically increase. Right now, a new Self-Defense set has to be tested in synergy with all of the existing melee attack sets. First, the animations must be compatible; second, the powers must be compatible; third, the effects must be compatible. (For instance, you couldn't do Assault Rifle/Shield, and Claws/Trick Arrow would have a despicably slow redraw problem as you had to switch between weapons constantly.) If you allow the kind of proliferation you're speaking of, every set would have to be tested against almost every other set.It really would be much, much easier to create a single new Archetype with a particular combination Team Defense + Melee, for instance and build a small number of intercompatible power sets around that concept.