The PB Changes


AIB

 

Posted

I must say, it's a bit more impressive than I thought it would be.

Note: my preferred PB is Human-only, so that weighs in on some of my observations

Perma Lightform is a gamechanger. I took on +8 Cot wBosses without breaking a sweat. +8 Longbow gave me some fits, but they do some of my other ATs as well. To make it perma, I have a bit over 150% global recharge (with 3-slotted hasten) and Lightform itself having somehere in the 90%recharge. Have to insure that I keep a few blues with me at all times for the end crash, but with my heals the Health crash was almost never an issue. Watching that Blinking Icon and juggling those is a bit of an issue, but nothing that can't be overcome. Also, I can see my Toon when using it. Win!!! Farewell to my shields.

Inner Light was a bigger boon than I thought as well. It's got 2 damage bonuses (lets round them and say they're approx 70% and 30% each). When you first fire it off, you get both bonuses, for about a 100% increase in damage. After 10 seconds, the 70% ends, but you still have the 30% for 20 more secs. Here's the real beauty: if you have a high enough recharge, Inner Light will be ready again before the first applicaton expires. You click it again, you get another 100% added to the 30% from the previous, for an overlap of 130% (how long that last depends on your recharge, but mine last several seconds). Enough Recharge and Inner Light Perma and stacks its buffs - It really is like a mini-doublestacked Rage. PBs have needed a damage boost and this feels like one to me.

Then, Photon Seekers just seem be available for almost every mob now.

Finally, Solar Flare can be fired off above a mob now, in the air, and although I haven't found the 'sweet spot' distance yet, I can be further away than I thought I'd be and it doesn't seem to scatter mobs as much

Things could still be tweaked, but I'm a happy PB right now.


 

Posted

I would agree as well. I'm not a min/max player, and I did have fun with the old version of the Peacebringer. However, I am really enjoying the new PB dynamic. I've entered a respec with my character when I21 went live and knew some of what to expect from the beta and adjusted without the use of mids.
I'm a tri-form with 111% of natural recharge. An additionial 3 slotted hasten brings lightform on whenever I need it. Not to mention my new attack chain is a ton of fun.


 

Posted

I respec'd into my perm lightform build b4 ish 21 so that I wouldn't lose the freespec.

Anyway, so far Perm lightform has been great for me epsecially combined with S/L soft capped defense. Just need to remember to reactivate hasten like I did back in my old permdom days but no big deal.

One thing to watch out for: I'm seeing my Lightform stack up to 3 times which is cool.....until the first two stacks crash either simultaneously or back to back, either way you suffer the health/stamina drop from BOTH. I can easily heal but when it's a double whammy like that it's good to snack on a blue or two to ensure you don't stamina crash.
Granted I could shut off the defense toggles, but I like that defense

If I transform to either mode, S/L drops to 31% but that's a fair trade off for the firepower of squid or extra durability of Dwarf. Downside is hasten/lightform can only be activated in human mode.


 

Posted

I tried to take out one of the Monster Island Monsters with this change. While I wasn't able to really damage it, while Lightform was up, I wasn't taking much damage either. Effectively, as a human form peacebringer, I was fighting a GM to a standstill.

I couldn't have done that under the old build.


 

Posted

A good start to overhauling the PB. However, I HATE the new animation for Lightform with a vengeance. I want my old awesome looking flowing ball of light.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja View Post
A good start to overhauling the PB. However, I HATE the new animation for Lightform with a vengeance. I want my old awesome looking flowing ball of light.
That's my favorite change of all. This game has one of the best costume creators in the business - powers that make it useless most of the time are useless to me.


 

Posted

I love costumes and will spend a lot of time in Icon picking out a new outfit but I loved the flowing, glowing ball of light. It let everyone know that I was in kick butt mode. Plus way easier to see the crash when in the middle of three mobs intent on killing you. Khelds are forms, each with an utility to be mastered. Even though my Warshade is constantly shifting I do not bemoan the loss of seeing her outfit when in dwarf or nova. It is part of the package.

However, the change is made and all I can hope for is that they will offer the old animation as an alternative.

Love the handclap change so now I can stay in hover and knockdown the troublemakers before launching an all out assault.


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja View Post
..Khelds are forms, each with an utility to be mastered....
Forms aren't, nor where they ever, been the only way to play Khelds. I feel that the design of the powersets (so many Human attacks duplicated from Nova, Human Shields) meant that the Devs intended the Human Form to be a primary (or only) form if the player so chose.

Many play Human-only Khelds. They were somewhat viable before the change - now they're very viable.

And RP-wise I always preferred to think of my Khelds as infused with an energy being (like the movie Starman) as opposed to a Shapeshifter.

Different strokes, folks...


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja View Post
I love costumes and will spend a lot of time in Icon picking out a new outfit but I loved the flowing, glowing ball of light. It let everyone know that I was in kick butt mode.
I can understand this sentiment. I'd say being in kick-butt mode all the time and letting people see the results is a pretty fair trade off, though.

These changes are fantastic. I was doing tips on my PB last night running at x7 and the only speedbumps I really hit were radiation Longbow Wardens and a bunch of Knives bosses stun-grenading me while I was out of inspirations. Even a swarm of Nullifiers weren't much of a problem on their own, with Light Form + Dwarf I just sort of laughed at the sonic grenades. It's a lot of clicks to manage, but the payoff is worth it. I've got perma Essence Boost and Lightform recharging slightly faster than its duration, which makes handling the crash trivial, and I honestly feel like the psi hole and the crash aren't that bad of a trade off compared to how much I have to worry about positioning and the number of mobs around my Warshade when Eclipse needs refreshing, and Eclipse having no mez protect.

I also found myself using Nova and Dwarf a lot more often than I initially thought. Even slotted up, the PB AoE blasts weren't as impressive to me as a Nova AoE volley and then a lot of Human clean-up punching, and Dwarf is useful when you need some extra breathing room against res debuffs, movement slows, and mezzes (especially with the new instant dwarf mez protect, <3). So yeah, I really hope Arbiter Hawk follows through on his desire to speed up shapeshifting once some animator time is freed up.

All in all, I feel like my PB performs at a similar level to my WS, finally. The WS is still a crazy engine of destruction when everything goes right and the bodies keep on flowing, but with all of the heals and soft control and worry-free, always capped resistances, my PB can just take everything in stride and keep blasting away, good or bad.


 

Posted

I added a tiny bit of extra recharge into a very old build that I have yet to update for the last few issues. I never finished it but D'Argon was still very scrappy.

The changes to the PB did not look overly promising when reading the words on the forum during beta but the actual impact in game has been pretty nice.

So after a bit of added recharge (just 7.5%) and a very low amount of extra energy defense I decided to run her through the Underground Trial last night. Very impressed with what I was able to do as a blapper. Still working on getting the groups to fall just right with the new hand clap (love not having to go to ground for this attack!).

I only hit lightform two or three times during the trial as the rest of the group was doing an excellent job of listening to the leader and keeping us all rolling through at a good pace. My heals came up nice and quick but I need a bit more recharge to really utilize the new LF and to keep me at perma 1659 hitpoints. Inner light was up for almost every single group.


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja View Post
I added a tiny bit of extra recharge into a very old build that I have yet to update for the last few issues. I never finished it but D'Argon was still very scrappy.

The changes to the PB did not look overly promising when reading the words on the forum during beta but the actual impact in game has been pretty nice.

So after a bit of added recharge (just 7.5%) and a very low amount of extra energy defense I decided to run her through the Underground Trial last night. Very impressed with what I was able to do as a blapper. Still working on getting the groups to fall just right with the new hand clap (love not having to go to ground for this attack!).

I only hit lightform two or three times during the trial as the rest of the group was doing an excellent job of listening to the leader and keeping us all rolling through at a good pace. My heals came up nice and quick but I need a bit more recharge to really utilize the new LF and to keep me at perma 1659 hitpoints. Inner light was up for almost every single group.
I was on that trial with you with my PB I believe (Socorro Starborn). I actually got lost for a bit and ended up way ahead of the group. I was all alone several rooms up in the tunnels, amidst all those lvl54 evil things, getting smacked and pot-shotted left and right. I made it back to the main group without dying, even though I kept making wrong turns and diving into new mobs. That was my biggest acomplishment of the night haha


 

Posted

Yes, you were! I did the same thing after I had to hit the hospital that once (or maybe twice). I could have sworn I was following the path already taken between the teleport point to where the group was but I ran into 4 groups of baddies. Fortunately the fly power was fast enough for me to catch up to the group and leave them behind. Maybe after I finish her build I might jump into the middle of things a bit more. I had Des for most of the beginning and found that sitting in the middle where the healing was hitting while playing blaster worked well for keeping her out of trouble. It is nice to be able to switch between melee and blaster and watch things melt away. Now I just need a bit more recharge for LF and Inner light, and... everything.


 

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[QUOTE=FallenValkyrja;3884133]...I had Des for most of the beginning and found that sitting in the middle where the healing was hitting while playing blaster worked well for keeping her out of trouble....QUOTE]

Heh, she locked on to me in a previous trial. I could NOT get her to stop going right up next to these warwalkers and hitting them with her whip. I'd get far away to see if she'd follow...Nope! But she still managed to stay alive due to heals so your strategy is a good one


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja View Post
A good start to overhauling the PB. However, I HATE the new animation for Lightform with a vengeance. I want my old awesome looking flowing ball of light.
Agreed. That's the only thing about the changes that bites. I'll be using combat auras from now on with my PB to make up for it but still...


 

Posted

Yeah I'm also annoyed by the Lightform animation change.
After playing my Tri-form Warshade that I really enjoyed it I wanted to do a Human form HEAT and felt the PeaceBringer would be the most viable plus they had that cool Lightform ball that turns them back into their "true" Kheldian form!

I was like yeah I can pop that on missions for some awesome and when I'm chatting with my SG mates I can pop it for some cool factor as well. Now it's just lost that cool factor for me.


Oh, it must be dreamy to have a costumed nemesis. Chasing you, wringing his gloved hand in concern for your every move. - Dr. Orpheus

 

Posted

I really empathize with you folks that liked the old Ball-of-Energy Lightform, but I HATED it.

With Lightform now being permable (and my new AT strategy), I'd really loathe it if that's how I always looked. I didn't like being a ball of light part of the time then; I'd hate being a ball of light all the time now, so much so that I wouldn't have bothered bringing my PB back to life if it were otherwise.

Now, I'm all for an Alternate Animation for you guys, but I'd re-shelve my PB if we completely reverted back.


 

Posted

I can take or leave the glowing ball, but it would be nice if the new animation were significant enough to at least be obvious when it goes away. Not everyone has a perma lightform build, and relying on one small blinking icon can be problematic in high-combat situations.


The Scrappers' Guide to Dark Melee | Kheldian Binds and Strategies

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling_Joe View Post
I can take or leave the glowing ball, but it would be nice if the new animation were significant enough to at least be obvious when it goes away. Not everyone has a perma lightform build, and relying on one small blinking icon can be problematic in high-combat situations.

Yeah I can get behind this- I've only had a chance to briefly test it out, and I had my tri form build on. Especially with Dwarf/Nova having an aura that looks like the LF aura already, it can be pretty difficult to tell when the buff expires. Same could be said, really, for any full body auras in human form.

edit: It was pretty obvious when my HP crashed, though.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling_Joe View Post
I can take or leave the glowing ball, but it would be nice if the new animation were significant enough to at least be obvious when it goes away. Not everyone has a perma lightform build, and relying on one small blinking icon can be problematic in high-combat situations.
While active I prefer the more subdued look of LF while its running, when it ends, if something like a burst of light then a fade happened to give you the visual cue that it's ended, that would be nice. Of couse seeing your bars dip is a pretty good indicator already haha


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by TwoHeadedBoy View Post
edit: It was pretty obvious when my HP crashed, though.
Yep, that is how I can usually tell when it is over especially when doing a BAF when I tend to zoom out a bit. You cannot see the aura at all and a tiny flashing icon when the entire screen is flashing from powers being triggered...


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling_Joe View Post
I can take or leave the glowing ball, but it would be nice if the new animation were significant enough to at least be obvious when it goes away. Not everyone has a perma lightform build, and relying on one small blinking icon can be problematic in high-combat situations.
We tried asking for a compromise during Beta. I guess that didn't work. <.<


'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Socorro View Post
While active I prefer the more subdued look of LF while its running, when it ends, if something like a burst of light then a fade happened to give you the visual cue that it's ended, that would be nice. Of couse seeing your bars dip is a pretty good indicator already haha
Yeah, but then you die. I'd actually really like to see a revamp to the ui in general that did this. One of the things I really appreciated playing That Other Game(tm) was how much you could customize the ui with mods; Power Auras is an amazing mod that lets you display visuals on your screen in a super-customizable way based on all sorts of in-game conditions. Less than 5 seconds left on a specific buff? Oh, look, there's a hazy yellow halo around the middle of the screen that reminds me it's about to wear off.

Something like a right click "Show this buff in the middle of the screen when it is expiring" choice would be awesome, so I could get a faded outline of a light form icon in the center of the screen at, say, 10s to go.


 

Posted

My PB has been stalled for YEARS. Compared to my WS (which I consider a co-Main with my Plant/Fire/Fire Dom), I thought the PB was too weak.

These changes have me pumped to revive him as a Human Form only PB. I've always thought that a Human Form PB could be made into a near perfect Iron Man homage character. I never did it before because I thought the Human attacks were too weak. With Inner Light and Perma Light Form, Human PBs are very viable. I'll likely do a TriForm build too.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plasma View Post
Something like a right click "Show this buff in the middle of the screen when it is expiring" choice would be awesome, so I could get a faded outline of a light form icon in the center of the screen at, say, 10s to go.
Want. Nao.


The Scrappers' Guide to Dark Melee | Kheldian Binds and Strategies

 

Posted

Frankly I'd be more positive about the change if they didn't just take the same FX and put it behind your toon. It's like a smack to the face to the people who prefer the old look and if you didn't like the old look well it's still there just your guy is ontop of it now :/


Oh, it must be dreamy to have a costumed nemesis. Chasing you, wringing his gloved hand in concern for your every move. - Dr. Orpheus