It's i19--what do you think of the "classic" powersets?

I think many of the original powersets will always remain popular simply because many break the balance formulas in one way or another. Depending on the powerset in question that may or may not make them stronger than other powersets. IMO it surely does make them more interesting.

New powersets we get are more "balanced", and as a result they tend to feel somewhat bland and more or less interchangeable to me. I doubt there will ever be another Blaze, Seismic Smash, Dark Regeneration, etc., so the older powersets will always have a place.

I think the newer sets are better. I think they might have been written in such a way where there is more room to adjust them today. Where as older sets might have been written a bit more ridged. I know it sound ridiculous seeing that they need to change them up also. But it is clear they had sets in mind to go together.. EG AR Device..

But today Device is just an old horse with no updates in a LONG time.. And it is very clear that many feel it does need updating for today's i19 game..

I think what they started doing is creating categories for power types.. This is a hold so it should work this way. We will make this hold last longer but have a longer recharge. This hold will be shorter but have a quicker recharge.. Basically they are now weighing the powers out as if on a point system to make them the equal. So in that sense you can see how some "Classic" sets are having troubles when they try to restructure them to fit in with the newer sets.. Look how long it took to have them suppress powers when hidden for dark melee set and such.. People had been asking for this for a LONG TIME.. But at i19 its done..

Personally I can't wait till i25 for Mastermind Pet AI to be up to snuff finally ..

I started around i4 so to me 'classic' is anything before trick arrow and Villian ATs.

Of my classic toons I have...

Le Count, a broadsword/regen scrapper who never got past lvl 14. That has nothing to with the powerset combo - I just can't play Scrappers (I just re-rolled him as a Stalker since they can use Broadswords and can be heroes now)

SS/Invul Tanker. This one I got to lvl 41 but it petered out as I tried out new toys. Every attempt to go back to it hasn't gone very far.


Elec/Elec Blaster. This one I haven't picked up since I started playing again last month or so, but always finds its way back in to my regular rotation. Blap n' Sap is an extemely fun combo that I don't ever see getting old.

Dark/Dark Defender. This one was actually the first toon I made, but I didn't want my global handle to be "Ms Evard". I made her just to play with one particular group of friends but she got pre-empted by my elec/elec blaster and then later City Of Villians. I've made plenty of Dark Blast using toons since so I don't think I'll ever really get back to her. Maybe...

Fire/Rad Controller. Cool combo, but another character that kinda got swept under the rug

Pretty much, the only combo I have that is 'classic' and has been played in the last 2 years has been the elec/elec blaster.

AH! Classic Powersets!!!
Does anyone miss original Martial Arts, with the Chun-Li kick?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BvZFM6WGFI

Well, my first few 50s and what I think of their powersets currently:

Storm/Elec Defender: Storm remains good. Electric blast... eh. It's not a set I'll ever revisit on a Defender again, and I'm ambivalent toward it at best on Blasters.

Katana/Dark Scrapper: Katana remains good, Dark Armor remains good, but the combo itself is overshadowed in just about every way by my Fire/Shield Scrapper, thanks to the former being on a pre-i9 build and the latter being heavily IO'd. If I were willing to put that much cash into the Katana/Dark, she'd probably get amazing survivability... but with no Shield Charge, I don't see the fun in doing so.

Dark/Elec Defender: Dark is one of the few sets I'd like to revisit at some point. Elec... see my Storm/Elec for thoughts on it.

Stone/Energy Brute: lolEA. This combo, though, has decent survivability, thanks to the Stone end of things. Feels more like a Scrapper than my other Brutes do.

Thugs/Poison MM: Thugs remains great, even if Demons has reduced its popularity a little lately. Poison... I remain of the opinion that Poison is gimped Radiation, but it works nicely enough with Thugs. By some metrics, this is probably my single most powerful character.

And my most recent characters are an Ice/Rad Corruptor and a Katana/Invuln Scrapper, both of which were possible as soon as their respective ATs were introduced. So I guess I'm happy with most of the old sets. Actually, the newer sets tend to be moderately likely for me to avoid altogether--Dual Pistols, Willpower, and Demon Summoning are all ones that I just don't enjoy for one reason or another.

I started with an archery blaster, then a Bots MM, then a dark brute. I wouldn't really count those among the 'original' powersets, though. I love the brute and the archer (my main) still, but my temperament doesn't stand up to re-bubbling hordes of players and bots well, so the Bots MM has fallen by the wayside.

After a cpl more 50's (I have around 12 iirc), I got a Stone/Stone Tanker. I still have trouble feeling quite as Super with any other single AT as I do when running on my Stoner.
My Archer puts out metric Tonloads of damage, but there's something special about walking up to the toughest enemies in the game, taunting them, and then being able to clip my nails while they swing at me ineffectually.

I also have an Ill/Rad controller and a Rad Defender, and that's a different kind of feeling... when you can lay down toggles and your formerly squishy character becomes quite robust.

First hero was an Ill/Rad controller. Long before that even became a FotM.

She was collecting dust for a while because she had gotten as far as she was going to and there were lots of other new shinys to check out As soon as i19 hit, though, she was up and running. Didn't even have to respec, as she didn't have Fitness to begin with (she surprised a lot of people who thought that Stamina was a requirement for radiation).

Soloed the Alpha arc. Trapdoor was a chump. Had some issues with the Rikti mission with the Honoree and that other dude but handled it with aplomb and flair. She just got her Uncommon Spiritual, to bring her closer to perma-PA. About ten seconds of downtime now.... anybody have some spare Basilisk's Gaze IOs that they can spare? She isn't as IOed out as she could be.

Heh, I remember back in the day she had 80 million influence, and I figured that was more than she could ever possibly need. Now that won't even buy a single LotG 7.5% recharge recipe.

Ditto for playing my Warshade. He came into being about a week after issue 1 went live. Still a beast. Haven't gotten him his uncommon Spiritual yet for perma-Eclipse, but it's coming.

I played several classic power combos back in the SO days: Fire/Ice tanker, Ill/Rad controller, and a Fire/Kin controller.

Of those three, the only one I still enjoy playing is the Fire/Kin. Not as sturdy as my best brute or my widow, for sure, but I love the feeling of being able to "power up" the entire team via Speed Boost, Fulcrum Shift, and one of the strongest heals in the game, plus being able to do reasonable direct damage, plus having some AoE control powers. That mix of capabilities is still very appealing to me.

My original toons rolled at or near launch that I still play are:

En/En blaster - my first toon ever. Not a favorite, by a long shot, and if it weren't my first and namesake toon, I would've deleted him a long time ago. Also rolled at launch a Fire/Ice blaster who's my fav blaster by a mile. First blaster to 50.

Fire/EM tank - was a fun tank before the Burn nerf, became fun again after softcapping his def. Now that Burn's been fixed, actually feels kinda uber again. 1st tank to 50, 2nd overall toon to 50. All other launch tanks have been deleted, tho my 2nd 50 tank was a Stone/Ice, but he was rolled around I6.

Kat/Regen scrapper - fun, but has been supplanted by my DB/WP who was instead my 1st scrapper to 50. Also have a Spines/Dark, but he was rolled pretty recently, around I17. All others are new powersets.

Ice/Storm & Ill/Kin controllers - were fun, still are fun. Supplanted somewhat by my Fire/Rad (rolled around I2) who was my 1st toon period to 50, but my Ice/Storm & Ill/Kin were my 3rd & 4th toons to 50.

Defender... er, no original defenders made it. I rolled a Kin/Dark at launch but deleted it, same w/a Rad/Rad. My 1st defender to 50 was a Son/Son, followed by Cold/Dark.

All in all, I still like most of the classic powersets. My favorite newer powers are WP, SD, TA & Son, but the oldies are still among the best.

I don't think I play anything anymore which could have been created in i0.

My first main was AR/Dev lvl 50- booted off my playing server to have the space
My first 50 was a FA/FM tanker- booted
First 50 scrapper DM/Regen- booted
FA/EM lvl 50 tanker- booted
Invuln/BA lvl 44 tanker- booted

I do have a very old rad/rad defender who was created back in i2 who's been lingering in the 40s for ages. I keep thinking I'll get him to 50 eventually. Beyond that most of what I play consists of newer sets, and especially newer ATs since I quite like SoAs.

Wow! I am surprised to see how many energy/energy blasters were people's first blasters. It was my first blaster, too, made in i3. He is still lvl 36. I just had a hard time with him when I first made him (mostly due to not knowing the best way to play a blaster). Now the knockback is still annoying to me and teams, but I am experienced enough to deal with it.

My first character Spines/DA created on the day CoH went retail. My oh my what a ride she's had. Definitely glad I stuck it out with her. She's so much better off now. She and I definitely paid out dues

Classic combos, IMO:

Invul/SS Tank - Goes without saying, really.
Fire/Energy Tank - Being able to deal damage ticks of 100 and AoE attacks... and the occasional suicide from ET.

AR/Dev - Your classic Soldier of Fortune combo.
Fire/Dev - Apparently this combo is/was good... saw quite a few of them back in the day.
Energy/Energy Blaster - Power Boost + Power Push (six slotted for KB, of course). 'Nuff said.

Fire/Kin Controller - Yeah.
Mind/Storm - Cause they want pets too!

Pure Emps - Failure, in my eyes. But hey, I'm not here to tell you what to play.
FF/Energy - It's like a restraining order.

Darkity Darks of All Flavors - The closest you could get to being evil without being evil.

ScrapperPowerSet/Regen - Regen. Was. God.
MA/Dark - Stun stacking, I guess...
MA/SR - Because you can't really make a good pirate combo, but ninja's are easy!
Spines/Dark - Total AoE destruction back in the day.

Peacebringer - Oooh... shiny.

Funny, how many of those I rolled in I0, and deleted soon after...

Invul/SS Tank - Deleted
Fire/Energy Tank - Brought to 50
AR/Dev - Deleted
Fire/Dev - Dev was the shizzle back before ED when you could just 6-slot for damage w/TD. 300% fireballs before BU.
Energy/Energy Blaster - still getting by
Fire/Kin Controller - Fire/Rads were also quite the vogue, even back then. Neither combo has faded much.
Pure Emps - Tried so many Emp/* combos, deleted them all.
FF/Energy - Same for FF/*. Son & Cold were more fun since you also had debuffs to play with.
Darkity Darks of All Flavors - Tried & deleted several attemps at a D3. Finally got one in the 40s, but as a Dark/Ice.
ScrapperPowerSet/Regen - Kat/Regen for me. Those were the days.
Spines/Dark - Still think it's better than Spines/Fire. I mean, sure /Fire does a bit more damage, but Spines/Dark does *enough*, plus has far better survivability.

With a few new exceptions all the toons i'm playing now are from near the start of CoH/CoV.
Left about 2006 and came back recently. (Real life is such a drag)

My Originals:
Red Krosse-My very first ever toon and a 23 Emp/Energy defender.
The Red Lobster-Looks like a giant red lobster and is a 22 Ice/Ice Blaster.
Tectonic-23 Stone/Fire tank and made to look like a walking volcano with the armors and aura up.
Fly Girl-haven't really played too much with this one except to update the look but will get around to it.
Syndrome-Bots/Traps MM and currently on the way to level 42.
Classic- Lvl 23 Mind/Psi dominator and currently my favorite atm. (Eveyone loves a Classic?)
The Embalmer- My level 23 undead Zombie/Dark MM and has the whole undead look to it.
Illicit-Only level 12 or so but my pretty (But too young) Dark/Rad Corruptor.
The Salamander-Lvl 10 SS/EA Brute..(Concept i'm working on)

Pretty sure i have a few more, but these are the main ones i've played lately. Mainly updated the looks and respecced most of the higher one's powers and enhancements.
Have a number of newer builds but waiting to get these up to par first before i work on them more..

My first five:

Ill/Emp Controller: Still a fun swiss-army-knife of a character. Does more damage thanks to containment, never was much of an AoE Troller, so wasn't hit too bad by the AoE nerf.

Nrg/Devices Blaster: Not fared so well, Nrg still has the "OMG KB!" stigma, and Devices still has the "No Build-Up" stigma.

Dark/Rad Defender: Playing experience improved with greater recognition among the playerbase as to what Dark/ can do for a team. Another fun swiss-army-knife of capabilities.

Stone/Mace Tanker: The improvements to Warmace by themselves make this character go from being kind of a chore to being a lot of fun. IOs help counterbalance a lot of the drawbacks.

Grav/Storm Controller: Storm seems to get recognized now as a better powerset than a lot of people used to give it. Wormhole and Propel are still two of the most fun powers in the game, and the animation time buff to Propel usually makes it worth using.

I'm still having a blast with Inv/SS. My main is already a heavily optimized Inv/SS tank.

I have his villain counterpart SS/Inv about half a level from 50 right now.

I ALSO have his Praetorian self finishing up his last few contacts in Praetoria right now before he jumps out into Primal Earth to save people and make himself disgustingly rich and famous (and not necessarily in that order). Fortunately he's not "Goatee Hyperstrike". Hyper's already sporting the VanDyke, so I went handlebar.

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

My oldest is an AR/Fire, hardly ever played anymore, on the Victory server. I remember going on these boards trying to argue why secondaries other than /dev could be useful. I was like, why didn't anyone understand how Buildup could be powerful?

Although, I only got her to 29. All my high level toons have at least one "new" powerset.

I joined in i3 and promptly became the slowest leveling, altiest player ever. Here are some of the characters that have stuck with me. Given how I tend to make and play, I have watched a lot of my combinations come into vogue and then get nerfed out of it.

Rapunzel - Ill/Emp, actually made it to 50. (I have 60+ characters, and 3 50s.) Still love her.
Eternal Hush - Dark/Dark defender. Buckets of fun!
Vero Tesla - Emp/Elec defender. I love the Empathy set, and this is a good PUG barometer - if I'm shooting, its a good PUG.
Eternally (remade from another character with the same sets) - Dark/Regen scrapper. I do not tend to enjoy melee sets, so this was a lovely surprise.
Feral Ember - Fire/Fire flying tank. Started after the Burn nerf.

I have controllers of just about every flavor, the team support with lots of interesting toys role really appeals to me, and I don't worry too much about damage.

If Khelds are classic - I have a 50 warshade that is my precious pride and joy. I love that AT, so flexible, so many situational toys, and an awesome powerhouse when you use them well.

Of the new sets I love Dual Blades, Willpower and Robot MMs.