Issue 19: Incarnates

The whole idea of 'Incarnate Levels' still strike me as raising the level cap. Granted, I'd change this up a bit if I had heard that it can affect alts, but we've been told that this is end-game content. Plus, I don't honestly envision being able to go into Level 1 Atlas Park and being able to unleash Zeus' Lightning.

If it's only available at level 50, what different does it make what you call them? You can call them Praetorian Advancement Stages for all I care, but if it's making you stronger- more capable of dealing and avoiding damage, better Def/Res, then it is an additional level. Just because your contacts still like you doesn't mean their arcs won't have fell significantly along the difficulty curve.

On the flip side, the entire system of getting further in 'levels' strikes me as the opportunity to pull a WoW-style 'Heroics' content for missions/arcs.
"Would you like to set this at Incarnate level?"

One of the Devs has specifically mentioned, at Hero Con, that the new End Game system would allow characters to 'trivialize' the current content.

Dont know how much is true but MMORPG.COM said that the name of issue 19 might be changed.

I am afraid I do not have a specific link, I simply remember reading it during Hero Con. Don't recall if it was an interview or just something someone overheard. I think it was Castle or Posi, if that helps anyone else find it.

I think the difference between a level cap increase and a bonus for 50's is where the rubber would meet the road to an incarnate: A level 49 when they turn 50 gains a boost in damage and hitpoints, and a greater advantage vs. all foes in game. (They essentially gain defense/resistance/damage vs. lower-con targets, and at 50, it's the final step to lower-con stuff.) A boost for 50's would not necessitate all of these, especially if they take the 'bonus-ish' route, where you are choosing between new strengths. (Sacrificing the opportunity for a different strength.) We see something like this in-game: with IO sets, you can boost your damage further, but focusing solely on damage bonuses means you aren't gaining hp/defense/recharge/etc.

The new powers thing is intriguing. If 'incarnate' stuff was more closely bound to characters than, say, power pools or patron pools, would they exemplar down? Having a pool of always accessible extra powers in a game that encourages revisiting older content would be a bonus not to be overlooked.

The notion of incarnate powers being custom/signature powers would be awesome, but could give the devs a headache, so I dare not hope for that.

I see incarnates as probably being fluff at best. What its going to end up being is just all those suggestions for things that we wanted but they are just end up being universal enhancements that you get at level 50. It will be something like anti-knockback enhancements that turn knockback into knockdown. Something that gives more regen or more defense or more hp. I doubt its going to be full powers like in some of the power pools. I would be shocked if it was.

As for as the powersets go, I think electric control will do nicely, its still not illusion for dominators but I will take what I can get. As for as kinetic melee, I dont see it doing well at all. You would think by now the devs would know knockback on teams = bad. Most players simply do not know how to position critters to minimize knockback or they scatter everything to the 4 winds. Essentially what we have been given is energy blast but at a closer range. So unless they allow these incarnate levels to be given at level 1 I see kinetic melee being phail. Now if all of the powers do knockdown instead of knockback that might be a different story here.

If Incarnate powers are buffs, good luck with being god-like in a Diminishing Return PvP zone!

Considering that Incarnates are the End Game system, and it wouldn't be an end game system if you could permanently max out your Incarnate level, it seems reasonable to think you'll have to maintain your Incarnate levels somehow.

Also, just like you don't get to keep your level 50 powers when doing a Posi TF, then if Incarnate abilities trivialize current level 50 TFs, I wouldn't expect to be able to keep them while running those TFs.

Powers that degrade just because you can't play for a while? No thanks!

WARNING: I bold names.