Underrated/Overlooked?

I enjoy playing defenders, and I especially enjoy the Second Build feature available after level 10. So I experiment on Mids and in my mind how powers that are underplayed COULD work.

Current project of mental machinations: Detention Field, Sonic Cage, Black Hole.

What makes a bad power?

1. Players don't know what it does, i.e. the consequences
2. The power doesn't work consistently enough to be useful.
3. Players don't know when it's activated, know how to work along with it.

With these three 'cages', allies know what the cage does, they know how it works and that it works as intended. I feel the greatest irritation has been knowing when it's been activated, which has been tricky even with binds... until NOW with power colorization.

Don't get me wrong. I hate it when an ally or AE NPC has to fire off detention field every group - just as much as I do NOT like hurricane abuse, Target AoE with radial knockback and all the other powers that can make a team pull their hair out.

My question, if you sonic buddy could put a bright red and yellow glowing cage on a bothersome behemoth lord that might be on the verge of defeating an ally like a blaster or controller, couldn't we show some open-mindedness for a debt saving manuver? Binds and power colorization I feel have greatly diminished the stigma attacked to cage powers.

Do the cage powers give any warning when they're about to wear off?
I'm afraid to say I have no idea, despite having a level 50 Sonic/Energy, FF/Sonic, Dark/Rad and Grav/Emp Controller!

I think thats one of the issues - say you've got a lone phased Behemoth left and everyone's waiting for him to unphase, does he pop straight out ready to attack?
Can you tell when he's about to unphase?

In Freedom Force, for example, the exile state caused knockdown when exited, so you have a small window to deal with the target without reprisal when they reappear.

It would be cool to treat a phased character as out of range - that way the team could queue up attacks which would fire off the moment he popped back into normal space, and also stop people wasting their attacks on phased targets.

The cages definitely have their uses. And if you have the room in your build and think you'll get use out of it, i say go for it. I prefer other ways of rendering foes useless without making them invincible, such as taking /elec and going with tesla cage. there's even a hold power in electric mastery that lets you hold so you could stack holds that pretty much takes anything out of the fight for a good long time but allows it to take damage. psi has dominate you could use as well. I mean there are alternatives that will reliably remove a threat without making the team wait to take out the threat.

Dr. Mike:

There is an icon on the casters buff/debuff bar.
The behemoth jumps out ready to attack.
I think the range debuff on player attacks would be a good solution to whiffing on the detention field. I think the color emphasis could help with that, too.

Griff Mender: They are invincible but equally harmless for a period of time. It's like half a hold. Electric and ice blast get holds, but waiting for an epic hold is a long haul considering how early sonic cage and detention field arrive on the scene.

I wasn't suggesting these powers to use just to be annoying, dilatory, or for regular use. In a situation you could weigh, rezzing retoggling, restoring health and endurance vs. waiting for a detention field to expire. The power colorization in my opinion makes these detention powers more team friendly with the extra visual cue.

"do it appropriately" is sort of the key.

I remember one time I got very good usage out of Detention Field, and I think there was another one. (that's in 135+ levels of Force Fields, if you're keeping count.) I was playing with two /Dev blasters, and for whatever reason we kept getting pairs of Paragon Protectors. Phasing one of them was very helpful.

But, normally, that 30 second duration is about 15 seconds longer than the rest of the fight.

the powers have a use as panic buttons to contain powerful foes, a second spawn that aggros, etc.

but there are so many other options that these rarely come into play

they are no less and probably no more useful than most self rezzes and aoe sleeps

I've personally gotten the greatest use of the single target intagibility powers when duoed with a rad/dark or the like with target debuff AoE's

Example:

Duoing on my FF with a Fire/Rad

My friend uses his rad debuffs on a target of his choosing(usually a boss), then I hit it with detention field so that it can't attack or move(the debuff aura still affects enemies when the anchor is intangible)

This makes sure that it won't be killed until last.

This method can be transfered to any aura debuff such as darkest night, snow storm, etc.


Also, I make the detention field power Bright Red(my normal bubbles are Gold/Blue) to disinguish it and make it easily visible.

Detention Field with the new ability to recolor it bright red is AWESOME now. Still doesn't stop idiots from wasting their time though... nothing will ever stop that.

I have played this game some 67 months, and this is the first I knew that placing detention field on a anchor/debuff would not shut off the effect on nearby foes. It was my understanding the debuff and the AoE were placed in detention, too. I learn something knew everyday, but sadly I forget more than I learn lately.