Any stacked debuffs really. End Drains, Slows, -ToHits, -Defense, -Resistance. One per spawn is usually grand. But when they mount up... *shudder*
The worst I managed was a test arc with a load of Dark/Cold enemies in it with Benumb. Didn't really notice on the MM I was using to test it initially, but my poor Dark/WP Brute...
I try to avoid these when making custom critters.
- Aim/Build Up/Rage
- Carrion Creepers
- Dark Regeneration
- Flash Arrow/Smoke/Smoke Grenade
- Granite Armor
- Hibernate
- Power Sink
- Rise to the Challenge
- Web Grenade
Story arcs:
The Golden Scepter: #9852 [Winner of American Legion's July 2011 AE Author Contest]
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When I think about what power sets to use for customs I always first think about the level of the arc. This is especially true for enemies with MEZ powers.
Below level 10 I stick with immobilizes and maybe sleep on a single enemy
Level 11-20 I pepper in some of the other Mez powers, but never double up on them (two enemies with the same set).
21-up I would use just about any power, but again not doubling up.
MEZ powers I won't use: Confuse - People hate this power and it falls into what I call "stand around and wait " powers.
Speaking of "stand around and wait " powers others that fall into this category Glue Arrow, Siphon Speed followed by other slows. My personal least favorite power on customs: Smoke. UGH. Talk about stand around and wait.
"Too many" powers are the ones that are not so bad until they get stacked on. A good example of this is debuffs. Ever fight a group of CoT Spectral Demons and Knights? Dreadful. (As a side note these appear at level 12 and up. If you are doing a CoT mission that is rated below level 20 I recommend removing them). Another of these are healing powers. A heal on a boss, OK. A heal on a room full of minions, not OK. Same with Nova type powers.
Powers I just plain avoid, besides Confuse are self Rezes, Build UP, Aim, Unstoppable and other similar effect powers.
These are basic off the top of my head guidelines I use, but that's not to say you can't find a way to bend the rules here and there. Also, there is no way to perfectly balance for every possible power combo a player may have.
WN
Check out one of my most recent arcs:
457506 - A Very Special Episode - An abandoned TV, a missing kid's TV show host and more
416951 - The Ms. Manners Task Force - More wacky villains, Wannabes. things in poor taste
or one of my other arcs including two 2010 Player's Choice Winners and an2009 Official AE Awards Nominee for Best Original Story
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Pretty good list. Want to point out though that the reason why carrion creepers is a good one to avoid is because they work exceptionally strange when custom critters use them. They never seem to stop spawning, and some will spawn as allies. Just a real mess.|
Originally Posted by Mystic_Fortune
I try to avoid these when making custom critters.
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Web Grenade can be okay on bosses, and works better if the enemy has a weapon they need to draw or has melee powers. This causes them to not want to toss the web grenade every time it recharges.
Also, I want to add the entire earth assault set to that list. The set is bugged to deal out way too much damage.
EDIT: Also, Terrify and Fearsome Stare, and by extension, spectral terror on anything lower than a boss. They have a heft -15% to-hit and a really long duration fear, which most sets don't resist.
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Err.. really? In that case, I better remove it from my one Elite Boss critter in the Golden Scepter arc..
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Originally Posted by LaserJesus
Also, I want to add the entire earth assault set to that list. The set is bugged to deal out way too much damage.
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Story arcs:
The Golden Scepter: #9852 [Winner of American Legion's July 2011 AE Author Contest]
Let your voice be heard! Sign the petition to keep CoH alive.
Quote:
Earth Assault is fine as long as you do not use Heavy Stone Fist or Seismic Smash. Sadly, Standard includes Heavy Stone Fist, so you'd have to have No XP for now, but that may soon be changed for the better.
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Originally Posted by Mystic_Fortune
Err.. really? In that case, I better remove it from my one Elite Boss critter in the Golden Scepter arc..
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Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
Hm. WhT's up with earth assault specifically? I'm planning on an earth dom as a boss in an upcoming arc.
Can anything be done to mitigate its negative effects?
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."
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Quote:
Not really. All of its stone melee attacks deal far more damage than the same versions in stone melee. I'd bet that the ranged attacks are also dealing more than they should. Best bet is to just use stone melee instead.
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Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan
Hm. WhT's up with earth assault specifically? I'm planning on an earth dom as a boss in an upcoming arc.
Can anything be done to mitigate its negative effects? Eco |
Any power that is an auto-hit should be avoided in general.
Lots of good info in here!
I seem to remember tanker / brute sets doing waaay more damage than corresponding scrapper sets as well. Was this fixed (like Ninjutsu was)?
-- Z.
I'm told that Self Rezzes are very annoying! Especially if the critter is already tough.
to 
TO THE END!Villains are those who dedicate their lives to causing mayhem. Villians are people from the planet Villia!
Masterminds are OK as bosses IMO, but mastermind summoning sets should never, ever be given to minions.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
Down about a third of the way on this page you can find some good advice:
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Mission_...t_Custom_Units
I've been following these rules ever since I found them and so far so good. I really should go back over my first two arcs with these in mind (not that they were big failures or anything).
EDIT: oh yeah, and about halfway down are some tips on ones to avoid. It's a pretty good thing to read in its entirety, really.
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You can manage a self rez every once in a while, but definitely not on any enemy that the player will be seeing a lot. It should be saved for special encounters, and only if the story really warrants it.
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Originally Posted by cursedsorcerer
I'm told that Self Rezzes are very annoying! Especially if the critter is already tough.
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Debuffs on anything less than a boss, unless your group is very diverse. They will stack up and make life annoying for teams and people playing on high difficulties.
Fire Armor on bosses and higher. It gives insanely high fire resistance even on Standard, making these enemies difficult, if not impossible for people who rely on fire damage to take down. It also has mez protection on Standard, which leads to....
Mez protection toggles. This makes Doms, Controllers, and anyone else who relies on mezzing for mitigation hate you.
Tier 9s (Unstoppable, etc) on anything other than a Unique boss who has it for thematic reasons. Instant Healing on anything.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
Most of the Willpower set.
Trying to solo a Hard WP EB on a Dark/Thermal Corrupter was not fun. I mean, c'mon, it died, rezzed and by the time I bashed through it's Resistance and Defence it it's rez was recharged.
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I don't think that's true. But you have to keep in mind that custom critters are in effect a different "archetype." Scrappers hit harder than Tankers but when you give scrapper and tanker powersets to critters they all hit equally hard relative to the design of the powers. A 1.0 scale "scrapper" attack hits just as hard as a 1.0 scale "tanker" attack when custom critters possess them. You can give a custom critter a bunch of controller sets, but they will hit still hit like blasters on crack when they use them.
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Originally Posted by Zaphir
I seem to remember tanker / brute sets doing waaay more damage than corresponding scrapper sets as well. Was this fixed (like Ninjutsu was)?
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[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
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Keep in mind that this issue scales up with rank, due to the resistance/defense/regen values going up, in addition to it having more HP, meaning it will regen more HP every tick.|
Originally Posted by ReclusesPhantom
Most of the Willpower set.
Trying to solo a Hard WP EB on a Dark/Thermal Corrupter was not fun. I mean, c'mon, it died, rezzed and by the time I bashed through it's Resistance and Defence it it's rez was recharged. |
Archvillains with ANY kind of regen power, including fast healing, will be completely immune to regen debuffs. Willpower will give them more HP from the first auto power, and they will get more regen from fast healing and rise to the challenge on top of their already boosted regen.
So essentially, for the love of god, do not give willpower to your custom AVs.
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Yeah, that's what I was referring to in my last post.
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Originally Posted by ReclusesPhantom
Most of the Willpower set.
Trying to solo a Hard WP EB on a Dark/Thermal Corrupter was not fun. I mean, c'mon, it died, rezzed and by the time I bashed through it's Resistance and Defence it it's rez was recharged. |
to TO THE END!Villains are those who dedicate their lives to causing mayhem. Villians are people from the planet Villia!
I am sure I started a thread like this earlier, but I searched and could not find it.
Inspired by Bubba's lastest challenge, I am fixing up the first arc I ever wrote for MA. It is a 1 mission arc with mostly Freaks, but it does have some custom enemies.
So my question is this. What powers really annoy you in customs?
The one I recall from my earlier thread responses was slow.
@Gypsy Rose
In Pursuit of Liberty - 344916
The Vigilante - 395861
Suppression - 374481 - Winner of The American Legion's February 2011 AE Author Contest