Is Hasten a "Must Have" Power?

Until we can customize it, then no. It's not. I rarely get it because I just hate having my hands glow with the light of the freaking Sun. :P I do get it on characters that the look and concept mesh.

When/if we can change it to different colors, remove the effect, etc. then I'll likely get it on a few more characters that could use the extra recharge but I've never felt at a loss for not having it.

As for me, I only take Hasten if I'm playing a Blaster, Controller, Defender, Tanker, Scrapper, Warshade, Peacebringer, Corruptor, Dominator, Mastermind, Brute, Widow, or Soldier.

The rest I skip hasten on/don't ever play.



Honestly, I can't think of a build in the game that wouldn't benefit from having 70% more recharge.

If we're looking at hasten from a purely aesthetic perspective, I can undoubtedly find reasons for not taking it. First off, how many characters in this universe are endowed with superhuman speed? Sure, it's not the power "super speed" per se, but in any role playing sense, having that power means you're probably gifted with superhuman speed in some degree. For me, RP is a big part of this game. If it weren't, I wouldn't attempt to come up with original names, costumes, etc. I'd run an Invuln/SS Tanker with the default costume, complete with fury haircut, and a name like jAmes13, or xXxSAB3RxXx.(Just made those up, no offense)

But really, if you're taking it on every character without attempting a "perma" concept, I see that as min/maxing, essentially. It kinda strips the fun out of the game, doesn't it?(He's got all these ice powers, but WAIT--he's got Super Speed, too!!) And say what you have to about T9's, but I really enjoy having One With the Shield on an SD Tank.

One last thing to add. If the powers team made flurry a viable attack(please, consider making it a one-two combo that executes with superhuman speed), less people would probably take hasten. I mean, there's pretty much no contest there, and flurry is reserved usually for those newer in the game, or people going for a Flash-like concept.

Well from a superhero game standpoint, hasten to me is a lot like inherent fitness now. Being a superhero implies a certain level of fitness over the general population, which is why I welcomed inherent fitness. It's one of the things that makes you "super" besides shooting flames from your eyeballs, or other stuff. It's not unreasonable to assume or expect ANY superpowered being to be able to do things faster than normal, in my opinion, which is why I have no issues with taking it on every character, and how I could justify it in any RP context.

Ya, a guy with all mind or psi powers who supposedly was an amazingly smart guy who tapped into his inner potential, and began manipulating things with his mind is cool. Him attacking and using his mind powers amazingly fast(hasten) due to his super mental abilities? Yep...I could buy it. His hands looking like they are on fire, and glowing yellow? Ah ok...not so much. lol. But again, concept wise the idea to me is sound. It's just the game's enforced graphical detail that makes it not fit. On this note, I would love it if you could customize any power in the game - not just your primary and secondary sets. Or at the very least "turn effects off" for any power, if it bothered you. But that discussion is for another post. ;-)

The only build I did not take it with by 20ish was a tank, and that was before inherent stamina.

IMO it should get a similar treatment. Make half of the hasten bonus inherent and it will be worth taking but not so universal.

In pre-Open Beta testing of COH, Hasten was a toggle power. Click it on and you got all the bonuses for a plain flat Endurance/Second cost.

THAT would be "Must-Have"!

I still find that I always get it on all my characters these days. With the advent of Inherent Fitness opening up three more power choices, I can't find any one single power to take that doesn't benefit ANY character I have more than Hasten.

All ATs have at least one or two long-recharging power that will greatly benefit from more recharge. Most ATs will have longer-recharging AOE powers that get a nice preformance boost from Hasten after they're already maxed out on Recharge enhancement or even an Incarnate Alpha Slot bonus.

A single Endurance Inspiration basically negates any Endurance Crash problems that a Performance Shifter +End proc doesn't take care of.

The visual effect of Hasten, while not the best, is no where near as bad as some make it out to be. "Light of the sun"? Not even close. A bit of yellow energy around the hands is all. Big deal.

Not saying anyone has to take Hasten, but from a numbers and performance point of view, my experience is that the easily-countered drawbacks are far outweighed by the benefits.