A small idea.

Just a little idea that popped into my head playing my emp/sonic the other day. Wouldn't it be neat if defender nukes could be used while mezzed, or even acted as a break free? One of the main complaints about using nukes is that it disables your ability to actively use your primary to defend the team for a short bit. Sure, most of the nukes have a nice debuff or stun to counteract this, but it is still the perception. If you're mezzed you're sure not using your primary or any other powers to defend! This would give more defenders an incentive to actively take and use their nuke, and it would be used in situations where it's impact would be most appreciated.

I'm not sure how this might work with crashless, quick recharging powers like rain and full auto. Perhaps they could be simply used while mezzed, while the big nukes are usable and act as a break free. The recharge is slow enough on the crashless nukes that you wouldn't be making a mezzed attack chain out of it any time soon, but the damage is significant enough that it could be quite helpful.

The longer recharge normal nukes are on such a long timer that I don't think this would be an abusively powerful anti-mez strategy.

What do you think?

I think it should go in Suggestions and Ideas Forum. If it can survive them, it's a good idea.

I'm cool with the basic concept of defender nukes being different from blaster ones. Don't know if this is the way to do it, but it's a nice idea.

The idea has some merit, I think, but here's a little snag. What if you're mezzed from range, and you're out of the nuke's effective range to deal damage? At that point it essentially becomes just an endurance-crashing purple pill alternative, and not a very favorable one, in my opinion.
My thought is the only way defenders might use nukes more is if they did more damage than they currently do. As the system works now, the damage a defender does with a nuke isn't worth the End. crash by a long shot, so a boost in that department might make people consider using them at least.

Well, defender nukes aren't supposed to be openers anyway, they're supposed to be finishers. When the spawn is half dead, that's when you wade in and nuke.

That way, most o all of the spawn is dead and your lack of endurance to defend the team isn't as important because there's nothing left to defend the team from.

The dark blast nuke (at least on paper) looks like its debuff is so powerful that you could use it as an opener and your team would be perfectly safe.

Who needs a Break Free? *zaps the Sleeper with a Hold and then turns on Dispersion Bubble*

Just to continue the thread with another idea that occured to me recently.

What if Defenders, unlike other ATs were able to change inspirations 1-for-1 to any other type of inspire ?
In an over-simplified way, every defender powerset can be likened to an INPSY. Purple = FF, Green = Emp, Blue = Kin
And each powerset actually provides inspire-like effects of multiple kinds.
Empathy (My current top Def) Hands out Greens, Blues, Reds, Yellows and Purples

Aren't Defenders the "Inspiration of Any Team" afterall !
Who better to become an endless source of whatever Inpire your looking for than a Defender.

Hmmm, maybe I dont want people buggin me to cash in their chips for <<insert whatever color Inspy you want here>>
I would need a macro for "Oh Sorry, My tray is full right now, you will have to go see your contact"

eh, who needs a window of break-free time? Sorry, but my toonz arent mezzed all day long.... and the time i actually need or want to nuke, maybe 1% of the time if that, would i be mezzed..... thats more useless than Vigilance. Those who have pbaoe mez resist/pro like Forcefield, Sonic, and Rad's AM? Exactly how they gain from this?

Give me a "nuke crash"-free nuke when your vigilance bar gets up to a certain point. That affects ALL defender powersets, irregardless of their inherent powers.... the nuke will help w/ team damage and mostly likely have an awsome secondary effect for damage mitigation - this is the principle that Defender's inherent should have....