Nanotech powerset

However Swarm should have really simple animations which scream "Ooo Neat!"

This concept is a support set based on the idea of Over Time effects, which I find incredibly nifty. It's something no other powerset does too terribly much of, and could make for a fun and challenging set!

Tier 1: Mending Swarm: Using your power over the swarm you coat the target in a microscopic mesh which begins repairing damage on a cellular level. Moderate initial heal, followed by 10 evenly spaced smaller amounts which total double the initial heal. So 100 initial followed by 10 ticks of 20, for example. When Direct Modification mode is active this power grants 2.5% damage resistance to smashing/lethal per tick of healing after the initial burst for 2 minutes.

Tier 2: Swarm Guard: You place a small but powerfully shielded colony on a nearby ally, granting them increasing and then decreasing defense for a short while. Over the course of 20 seconds the power applies 10 ticks of 1.2% Smashing/Lethal and Melee defense to the target which persist for 4 minutes, each. Initially it grants only 1.2% defense, but that quickly ramps up to a full defense value, then ebbs away at the end of the duration, rather than merely dropping. With Direct Modification mode active, this power also grants Energy protection and a small, stacking, regen boost of 2.5% with 10 ticks over 20 seconds.

Tier 3: Consumption: You launch a swarm burst at a target, gradually eating away at their resistances by ordering the swarm to destroy their protections on a cellular level. Similar to an inverse of the Swarm Guard ability attacking smashing and lethal damage resistance and melee defense, this one has a flat 12% debuff followed by a 15% chance for a further 6% every 5 seconds for 20 seconds. With Direct Modification mode active, it becomes an AoE with a 15 foot radius for the cost of a single-target debuff.

Tier 4: Stimulation Swarm: You apply the swarm to all allies in a small burst. This swarm focuses on stimulating the target's motor functions, increasing their recharge rates and, as a happy side effect, their regeneration rate (albeit Slightly) With Direct Modification mode active, it grants a large regen boost.

Tier 5: Direct Modification: This self buff applies modification mode to the caster, which causes all Swarm powers to gain a bonus effect or otherwise change. This power has no other effect. This power should have a 30 second duration and a nice long recharge of 4 minutes.

Tier 6: Power Drain Field: You create a massive swarm at the targeted location. enemies within the patch get progressively weaker as an over-time damage debuff is applied to them. Allies in the same area gain a damage buff at a similar rate. Suggested at 3.5% per second with a 10 second duration for both allies and enemies. When Direct Modification mode is active, this power also applies a regeneration debuff and buff to all enemies and allies in the area. (These effects would be created through the use of two "pseudopet" emanators at the target location, one affecting allies, the other affecting enemies)

Tier 7: Swarm Cloud: You surround a targeted ally with a toggled swarm which eats away at enemies near him. This power functions as an aura with an escalating damage over time effect and defense debuff of 1.8% with an onset of 1 second and duration of 10. With Direct Modification mode active the power grants the person a scaling regeneration boost for each enemy in melee range similar to Rise to the Challenge.

Tier 8: Increased Efficacy: Like Direct Modification, this power alters the utility of all other powers in the set. It doubles the "Over Time" length and number of ticks of all other swarm powers. I think this power should have a very long (5-6 minute) recharge and last for 10-20 seconds.

Tier 9: Swarm Storm: This power creates a large swarm around the target enemy, debuffing damage resistance, damage, and regeneration for a fairly large amount and a fairly large time. I'm going to suggest 4.5%, 2.5% and 15%, respectively, with a 5 second "over Time" duration and each tick coming at every .5 seconds, granting it a far faster onset than any other power in the set. While in Direct Modification mode, this power would also apply a ToHit buff and Damage with a similar ticking rate. The debuff being around 2.5% ToHit and the total damage adding up to a "Moderate" or "High" damage AoE.


Outside of Direct Modification this set tends to underperform compared to other buff/debuff/healing sets, which do not have short periods of weaker buff/debuff/healing values and instead have an instant-onset of full buff/debuff/healing. However with Direct Modification, each power is made more powerful, at it's apex, than comparable powers. Making this set splendid for fighting hard targets (Bosses/Elite Bosses/AVs/Monsters/GMs) but far less useful against shorter lived foes.

Opinions? Suggestions?

-Rachel-

If I can't name a set 'Death Scythe' or 'Bloody Spear' when we've got sets called 'War Mace' and 'Battle Axe', then you can't make a set with the word 'tech' in it

...now I'll read the post....

Powersets tied to origins? Ahem...Necromancy, Robotics, Dark everything... This would just be one more of -many-. And the idea of a set focused on over-tiem effects is an interesting one. Can't comment to much ona buff set since I hate playing buffers most of the time. Heh.

Oh hey, I figured out how to login. Been a year or two since THAT happened...

Neat set. I wouldn't play it personally, but neat set. Why you ask? Because I spend 99% of my time fighting big crowds, not individual hard targets. Maybe that's personal preference, but it's how I play and as such, a set that underperforms on groups 70% of the time isn't particularly useful to me. Probably similar reasons to why I don't like Poison!

I wouldn't say the set would underperform against groups or anything (unless you're defeating foes quickly, in which case, any buffs probably aren't going to do much either besides make things even easier)...It'd probably be statistically better in most cases but it'd need intervention from players to get it there like through controls and other mitigation. It's just when crap hits the fan that this set won't give you that edge you need now...like when people start to drop. There'd almost be nothing you can do except bide your time while the debuffs take greater effect...not hard for someone with controls.

Nanite or Nanite Control (oooo another power set whose name can cause people to go "HOW COME X SETS CAN'T GET THE POWER WITH OUR NAME IN IT!") would both be acceptable names.

I'm actually shocked noone seems to dislike the powers...

But am I right in presuming players have an overwhelming sense of "Meh" towards this powerset..?

-Rachel-

I would play it. It seems like an interesting combination of Sonic and Rad with a enough unique to make it cool. I am not a numbers guy, so I can't say much about that... but I certainly like the idea.

Perhaps you could call it something simple like "Swarms" and then have selected power customization options: insects, nanites, magic entities (not sure what that would be like), etc. This would require some of the powers be renamed (*= suggestion): Healing Swarm*, Guardians*, Consumption, Stimulation Swarms, Direct Modification, Power Leechers*, Miasmic Cloud*, Increased Efficacy, Directed Barrage*.

Ooo swarm yes!

I really like the idea of the powers being applied over time.

I can see some technical problems, e.g. Nanoguard is required to stack its buff with itself to build up the effect, but I guess cannot stack from the same user in the same way Force Fields: Deflection Shield can't. But, nothing that can't be figured out. It might require some custom coding, but so did Dual Pistols and Kinetic Melee and many other powers.

Increased Efficiency and Direct Modification are both really cool ideas. Increased Efficiency Nanogaurd would be like Power Boosted Fiorce Fields, and an obvious 24/7 use for this power, but then again a Increased Efficiency Consumption would eb very handy. I like powersets that make you make decisions like this.

I can see this powerset playing a lot like Trick Arrows - if you take your time and set up you're good, but your ability to react quickly to events like ambushes may be a bit weak.

And with power customisation, I'm, sure the set could double as many other themes like insect control, magical dust or whatever.

I'd play this in a heartbeat.

Actually this is one of few player-suggested powersets that I've really liked in awhile.

Most suggested powersets are usually a mish-mash of powers picking the very best from other sets (and often other ATs) that break all semblance of balance.

I like the base concepts of this set and it seems (initially) to be both reasonably balanced out along with sticking to the correct AT roles.

With some graphical tweaking/customization I could see it easily fitting pretty much any of the Origin types and concepts.

Thumbs up

I'd play it! Looks good.

Sorry, hate to rain on your parade. But nanotech would simply be an RP source of one's powers.

Heals.
Resistances.
Defenses.
Attacks.
Buffs.

The powersets as they are can already encompass these.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

This idea has merit because it's different from existing sets in terms of its game mechanics. The effects-over-time would make it play differently. It doesn't really matter whether its officially called nanotech, swarms or whatever, players will interpret it as they will.

Yep, Dark Blast or Radiation Infection or a host of other things can already be roleplayed as nanotech.
But, before Going Rogue I was already able to roleplay Energy Melee as a hyperkinetic force field, blue-tinted Fire Control as electrical powers and a Ninja Mastermind as a demon summoner if I wanted. It doesn't make the new powersets redundant, does it?

I think it's safe to ignore Hyperstrike on this one.

It would be easy to just ignore him, but on threat of being a hypocrite, the OP cannot. Thems the rules, I suppose.