Clear Mind Duration

Clear Mind - and similar powers the prevent debilitating debuffs - an ability I've found to be extremely valuable. Keeping this ability on every team-member possible is a great thing to do, except for the person who actually has to do it.

Why? Because they have to reapply this buff to every team member every 90 seconds. And when you're also expected to be healing people, it becomes a real pain.

I'd like to propose two alternative ways to handle Clear Mind - or similar powers, not including Stimulant:

1) Make it a longer lasting buff. Like 5 or 10 minutes. Ideally, the Defender throws it up at the start of the mission, and it lasts until the end.

2) Make it simply counteract debilitating debuffs, and remove the duration. The idea being that a Defender will see someone get held/stunned/immobilized/whatever, hit them with this, and it frees them without any longer-lasting effects.

EDIT: 3) Make it an Aura. If team-members are within X-distance of the Defender, apply the benefits of the buff.

I'm wondering if anyone else feels the same way I do, and what reactions to the proposed alternatives are.

1) Unlikey to happen. Animation time is used as part of the balance. Its designed to make a defender faces choices over what to use when.

Alos long duration buffs tend to lead to botting, and this isn't something the Devs want.

2) This is a major nerf. using my rad/rad defender as an example, the ability to stop him being mezzed is important to stop his offensive toggles dropping.

I think the duration is fine, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Animation time lowered on Clear Mind. The current 3 sedconds makes pre-emptively CM-ing ateam much more onerous than, say, Speed Boosting an entire team, or even applying double shiedls with Cold, Sonic or FF.

Looking at the clone powers the times seem a bit all over the place:

Empathy - Clear Mind: 3.1s
Sonic Resonance - Clarity: 1.5s
Pain Dom - Enforced Morale: 3.1s
Poison -Antidote: 1.5s
Thermal - Thaw: 2.2s

I can't help but wonder if there's some deliberate design and balance to this, or if Empathy just got saddled with a long animation at the start, back before animation times got factored in to power balance.

You might want to ask which team mates actually need it. Some Tankers and Scrappers will probably tell you they don't need it, so, you can skip them.

I'm going to try to edit most of the snark out:

1) It used to have a 30 second duration.
2) As mentioned, many people don't need it, and some missions you don't need it much at all.
3) Someone mentioned "reactive CM" for Freakshow. Sleeps (which most Freaks and Clockwork use) can be broken with a heal.
4) If you want to never stress about your teammates getting mezzed, consider Force Fields. Dispersion Bubble gives mez protection [except sleep, I'll admit] and is a toggle. You should still put the little bubbles on your teammates, or I'll cut you out of the will, but that's once per four minutes, rather than once per 90 seconds, and the benefits are dramatic.

First, I'll admit that Clear Mind-like powers don't need to be on continually, but they certainly help.

One of my complaints about this power in particular (because I haven't messed with the others) is that when I am employing it, I get to sit around and stare at health bars, team-member buffs and my recharge bar. I really don't get to observe or engage in the scene at all.

Giving Clear Mind, and similar powers, an extended duration might lead to exploits, but it'd also give players time to focus on other aspects of the game, instead of staring at team buffs and health bars.

Here's another alternative I'd like to propose (I'll see if I can add it up top too):

3) Make it an Aura. If team-members are within X-distance of the Defender, apply the benefits of the buff.

NOTE: It sounds like some defenders have a power that works similar to this, but I'm not familiar with it.

The idea is that by making it an aura, the Defender has to actively engage in the scene to keep everyone protected, instead of standing around, staring at team buffs and health bars, which is, ultimately, what I want.

CM's fine as-is. Every status protection buff has a duration of 90 seconds (except Increase Density, which has a 60-second duration because it provides more than just mez protection). Never mind that in PvE two of the five standard ATs have mez protection on their own anyways, mezzing mobs are rare aside from a few groups, and being mezzed isn't a guaranteed death if it's caught soon enough, except in rare cases. If you think CM's bad, you probably haven't played a Therm - it gives about the same effects and has the same recharge time, but the activation and root times are substantially longer... that being said, CM's on a relatively short timer because the buff it provides is very powerful.

Just wanted to address a couple things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by macskull two of the five standard ATs have mez protection on their own anyways

I'm using this quote, macskull, because it sums up a lot of what others have said.

In my personal experience, I've had good tankers request Clear Mind be kept up on them at all times against certain foes (I think it was Carnies).

Quote:

Originally Posted by macskull CM's on a relatively short timer because the buff it provides is very powerful.

I'm not really disagreeing with anything you say. For certain, Clear Mind is a really powerful buff. It's just that - as a player - I don't want the headache of having to reapply it every 90 seconds.

If it's intended to be situational, then I think it'd be best served by my second proposal, which makes it directly counteract ongoing debuffs. If it's intended to be for general use, then the first or third option seems to make more sense.

Finally, I'm glad everyone's been helping me out with the fact that I don't know how abilities like Clear Mind work for other powersets. I am proceeding as though we are also discussing them as well, with the term "Clear Mind" filling in as a proxy for whatever they might be.

Clear mind is mez protection. Putting that on someone makes them not a squishie anymore.

CM also grants +perception which is very handy against Arachnos and is the only time id use on tanks or scraps.

Every other def/troller I keep cm up on 24/7 when I play an emp.
Khelds usually fall into the same category.

Blasters rarely need it if I keep fort up on them.

It actually really bothers me when i play on a team and the healzor keeps cm up on the tanks and scraps. The cast time it takes to use is horrible and thats time you could be doin something else like blasting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadow Ravenwolf My favorite combo is Faceplant/DebtCap with the TeamWipe Ancillary

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari Yeah, I like Blasters too.

You don't need to play Empaths. I put in my hours, got a couple up to the 30's, then stopped.

... having said that, CM is very slow for a reactive power, kind of annoying for an active one, and often not needed. I play like I don't have CM on me, and many experienced players do as well. It's good to have for emergencies, like Master illusionists and Malta everything.

But volunteering to CM the entire party, all the time, and then complaining about it just makes me say "Play something else. You've got at least seven other slots per server, use them."

I didn't know if there were people somehow still on 8 slots per server.

I would agree with Fulmens. I always play my blaster assuming that I will not be given mez protection (the exception is if we have a Traps or FF on the team in which case staying inside the bubble is my responsibility not theirs). I carry break frees for emergencies and I would much rather the Emp concentrated on using Fort, AB and his blasts with the occasional emergency heal than on keeping clear mind up on me. I won't complain if it's used (especially re-actively) but I'm a big boy, I've been mezzed before and there are probably better uses of the Emp's time than casting Clear Mind on me, especially if he's doing it pro-actively.

I'd much rather not have the empath..........