VERY quick improvements to forcefields/sonic resonance

**Note: suggested numbers presented represent highest possible, at the defender 1.25% modifier. Corruptor, controller, and mastermind modifiers would make corresponding values for those archetypes lower.**

Forcefield:

Forcebolt: the impact causes bruising to the target, reducing their damage resistance by 15%. (unstackable from caster)

Logic: forcebolt is a low damage attack, and a mandatory choice for masterminds of the forcefield secondary. Adding a debuff gives this a use against KB resistant foes, and gives forcefielders a nasty new trick when KB fails, an effect that makes up half their mitigation. The limited nature makes forcefield still behind more debuff-centric powersets, but allows them to add something extra to a group even when other team members are providing defense.

Deflection shield: +16.66% resistance to -defense debuffs

Logic: forcefields relies heavily upon defense to provide protection to allies. Defense debuffs cause rapid failure of this protection. This change would allow the protection to be a bit more reliable, and would make it a welcome buff to defense-based allies who rely on defense but on whom the extra +defense might usually prove slightly redundant. This also makes forcefields stand apart from other +defense sets that offer a wider variety of tricks. They may offer more tricks, but forcefields would stand as the more reliable protection.

Insulation shield: +16.66% resistance to -defense debuffs

Logic: see above.

Dispersion Bubble: +16.66% resistance to -defense debuffs

Logic: see above. This with the other two shields then provides 50% resistance to -defense, making the presence of a forcefielder very welcome to defense-based characters, especially against foes that would reduce that kind of mitigation.

**edit 6/02/11**
Downgraded -defense resistance numbers, so that it would require more forcefielders to get near the cap for defense debuff resistance.
..............................

Sonic Resonance:

Sonic Siphon: add -15% damage.

Logic: this gives sonic resonance a mitigative debuff in its prescribed power, an effect that is especially strong versus archvillains and their like. As such foes are problematic when facing the attrition of survival that pure resistance faces versus sustained high damage, this allows sonic resonance to bring added mitigation, but only against limited enemies.

Sonic barrier: add 20% -defense debuff resistance.

Logic: due to the commonality of -defense lethal attacks, this reduces the effects of said attacks even as it reduces the damage.

Sonic Haven: add 20% resistance to -end, -recovery, -speed and -recharge debuffs.

Logic: this softens the side effects carried by many energy and ice attacks, even as the shield softens the damage.

Sonic dispersion: add 10% resistance to -defense, -tohit, -end, -recovery, -speed, and -recharge effects.

Logic: As the shield protects from lethal, negative energy, energy, and ice attacks, this allows the bubble to also soften the common effects of said attacks.

Clarity: add 25% resistance to psy damage, and 20% resistance to -tohit debuffs. **Edit: 6/02/11: psy resistance unenhanceable**

Logic: the -tohit protection is in theme with the increased perception. The psy protection follows the mez mitigation: if this effect can protect from mental manipulation, it makes sense it could also protect from mental damage. This also allows sonic resonance to protect against psychic damage, a valuable talent as psy damage is both common and a common weakness. This allows sonic resonance increase versatility as a set the team can rely on for added longevity. ** Addendum to unenhanceability: removing the ability to change psy resistance means that sonic users do not have to sweat finding new slots for +res, the powerset does not gain new +res set possibilities, and the psy resistance become a set quantity.**

**edit for clarification due to thread discussion, 6/02/11**

I do feel some other sonic powers need a pass- liquefy suffers a base 1/10 uptime. Sonic repulsion cannot be sustained along with the rest of the set, making it feel like a situational power; as such, converting it to a timed click may solidify its situational nature, and rectify the endurance drain. Disruption field's cost is very high, despite its singular effect, making endurance tight when running this power and sonic dispersion. These are aspects of the powerset that I feel could be improved by the developers should they address the set's performance. However I won't offer specifics in these cases as I'd rather keep the main thrust of the above on means of improving the defensive/resistance performance of the sets.

Now these are some changes I could get behind.

Makes sense.

... which means they'll probably never be implemented, but they make sense.

See my Guides and Tutorials

Yes. I like this new suggestion.
/Heavy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

I just think he's overstating how valuable people would find buFFers* for their DDR buffs. I think the defense buffs would still be the big selling point.

* See what i did there?

You said they would be very welcome to defense based characters. I don't think it's a stretch to think that implies they wouldn't be happy to have them without the DDR buffs.

Well thought out, and not game-breaking. I like these buffs. I still wish Sonic Siphon worked more like Power Siphon or Siphon Speed (granting the user a buff) but I suppose that would be hard to justify based on the theme of the set.

/signed.

The important thing, in my mind, is that these buffs give FF and sonic something that their counterparts (Cold and Thermal) can not offer.

These are really good ideas for improvements.

I think your numbers are a bit too high, especially the DDR, but other than that, great ideas and not overpowered or out of scope like many "improvement ideas" seem to be.

Force Bolt - remember this is a KB power much more than a damage power. I like the bruising, but I'd make it a -8% to -10% tops.

DDR from Bubbles - aside from Super Reflexes, even the best of the defense-based powersets only get into the 50% to 70% DDR levels. I do like the idea of the bubbles providing team-level DDR, but I think it should be lower than what you've set it at. If it was me, I'd probably limit it to 10% DDR for Deflection, 10% DDR for Insulation, and 15% DDR for Dispersion for a max of 15% Self-DDR and 35% Team-DDR.

I'd want to reduce your numbers on the Sonic Res adjustments as well, but overall Great Idea!

I'll again mention the number above would be on defender mods, and I think should be lower for any other AT's.

I know that forcebolt is primarily a KB power...but putting in bruising gives the power a use when facing a KB/repel resistant foe. Since forcefields has more knock* powers than anything else, this gives it a handy tool for where that fails, but not to the point it overpowers. The bruising is actually a copy/reduction of tanker bruising, which is 20%. With these numbers, controllers would end up with -12% res, and MM's -9% res. It also might be mentioned that no buff set that lacks a debuff has ever been proliferated to corruptors. This would give the set a debuff. Hmmm...

The DDR does verge a bit high, but again, defender numbers. You'd end up with 60% for controllers, and 45% for masterminds. This also assumes being in dispersion range, which is not always the case. If a melee character is in the front, and bubbler is in the back, the suggestion would leave the melee character at 50-30% DDR. If the number were reduced, I'd have the higher values go to the little bubbles, and lowest in the big one. (In theme with the rest of forcefields, where the bubbler is most vulnerable most of the time.)

For the sonic effects, again keep in mind these would be lower for controllers/corrs. That said, the high debuff resistance is particularly interesting in that it has absolutely no effect on gameplay until the character is hit, takes damage, and gets the corresponding debuff. the above numbers would mean that 70% of the debuff would effect the shielded player, best case. if the sonic user were hanging back, or the character moved forward, the debuff shifts to 80%. I actually left the number a bit low. (the resistance shifts to 24-16% resistance for controllers/corrs, depending if you are in the big bubble or not.)

That said, I did hope the values would go up with resistance enhancements. (I'm all but certain this is consistent with debuff resistance in resistance based armor sets, correct me if I'm wrong.) If such could work, the resistance can jump to 48%-32% for defenders, (Hugging the bubble vs. not) and 38.4%-25.6% for controllers/corrs.

Hm. Oh, I also meant to add that the shields that protect from cold/energy should also reduce slow/-recovery debuffs. Whoops!

Lovely changes that aren't completely disastrous or that will explode the game. I like these. Please implement in some way.

Edit: I'd personally like to see Liquefy have a lower recharge over all. Without or without the changes.

But anyway, Psionic damage is no longer an exotic, deadly damage anymore. If anything, Negative is probably worse due to the -tohit. With things like Elusive mind and IO bonuses patch Psionic damage. But yes, Sonic should have a weakness of some kind, and mabye that should be Psionic. So I don't care either way.