Street Justice - Some info, review, and FAQ

Alright, I've run my Street Justice brute (Captain McHero) up to level 10 now, and I thought I'd share some important info I've learned.

Damage, animations, and recharge times all feel solid so far. This set is great for a Natural hero.

The combo system does NOT require a specific order of attacks like Dual Blades does.

Your combo level is clearly displayed as both a "1", "2", or "3" buff on your buff bar and a red "Combo Level X" message in the corner of the screen. When you are at combo level 3, finishers in your power tray are highlighted with an orange circle.

Builder attacks do NOT increase your combo level on a miss. However, missing completely (hitting zero targets) with a finisher does NOT reset your combo level to zero either. So, if you have Combo Level 3 and miss with one finisher, you can just try another.

One disappointing aspect of the combo system, however, is that the combo level buff goes away after about 5 to 10 seconds if you do not execute another Street Justice attack. This means you will often finish a mob with combo level left over, only to see it go away in the time it takes to get to the next group of enemies. I could also see it being an issue with very clicky secondaries or when debuffed with -recharge or -end such that you have trouble chaining together a full combo.

On the other hand, all the finishers are still completely competent attacks when used at combo level zero. They still do good damage with decent secondary effects. You just need full combo level to get the most out of them.

The Combat Readiness power (at least on Brutes) gives +20% to-hit buff, +50% damage buff, and sets you to combo level 3. This is most useful at the start of a fight at low levels, but I can see it used a higher levels to do a Finisher - Combat Readiness - Another Finisher for some significant burst or AoE damage.

There's a nice variety of secondary effects - knockdowns, stuns, -Def, and even some -Damage and -Resist. The Finishers have their secondary effects massively improved by high combo levels.

The set feels nicely balanced between single target and AoE. This isn't Claws or Spines for AoE by any stretch, but it's also not Martial Arts-style ST focused either.

I have heard, but am not certain, that the Assassin Strike power for Stalkers gives 2 combo levels instead of 1, for faster building-up to a finisher for them. The also get a standard Build Up instead of Combat Readiness, I believe.

I don't think this set has any particular synergy with any given defensive set. It's well-rounded enough to go with anything. That said, a taunt aura will help keep enough enemies in range for good AoE with two AoE finishers.

Any other questions? I will be happy to answer whatever I can to help people decide if they want to buy this new (and awesome!) power set.

This set appears to have the worst AoE capability of any melee set, (well, okay, maybe second worst, Whirling Hands is pretty awful). Just having looked it over, (didn't test it in beta), it has no PBAoE attack, has a pretty standard melee cone, and a targetted AoE with a pathetic 6-foot radius, (even Thunder Strike, which you're lucky to hit 2-3 enemies with, has a 7-foot radius!). I am not really sure what the point of this set is, if it's supposed to be awful at AoE it certainly fits the bill, but if it's supposed to be great at ST damage... I'm not entirely convinced. It does seem to have a few more high DPA attacks than most sets, but its final attack, Crushing Uppercut, has the same recharge as Knockout Blow while dealing less damage (and less DPA). Add Rage on top of that and Super Strength slides ahead, even more so when you consider that Knockout Blow comes at level 8/20 as opposed Crushing Uppercut at 32/38. Even with the Combo system taken into account, Mids is showing me that with a single stack of Rage Knockout Blow is still marginally ahead.

I strongly believe that Spinning Strike's radius should be increased to at least match that of Thunder Strike. I understand that it has a lower recharge time and higher DPA, but considering it is one of only two AoE powers in the set, and the other is a melee cone, I really think it's necessary.

IM finding it exceedingly difficult to hit more than 2 or 3 enemies with sweeping cross.

Its aoe is beyond horrid.

Edit, Ultimus just put a post on this, pretty much confirming what I was feeling, its inferior to SS for brutes and I would assume tanks.

Thats what it feels like it was nerfed then not properly tested.

I only got 1 question, where to get my 800 points back.. Serious what a waste of money that was, they said it was unique and all, but all i see is a SS/brawl/MA stylish play with followup style 'buildup' (since you can stack that to 3 also but has longer duration).

I serious serious serious hope Staff and Titan will be some decent quality.

I'll give it a try, but their EULA is pretty clear on this.

Mace and Axe are basicly identical, the final tier powers really give you that 'WHOOMP' feeling, even though their are identical to broadsword animations. Yes they are identical, but that was the 'trade effect' from both weapons, aside i never had to pay for such.

Dual blade is okish, some animations are lovely, some are plain crap (resulting in unnatural movement of your character) and the walking is just terrible. But its far different from Claw, both feeling as animation.

I see each weapon as a certain 'playstyle', like Broadsword is slow and hard hitting, katana is nible and swift prepared strikes. Dual blade in several other games are done so freaking nice, CoH version then looks kinda gimpish. In that line, i see no 'playstyle' for street justice, it feels like a mixup of several styles but not making it into a 'whole set'. (kinda jack of all, master in none).

I like it.

I'm not overly concerned about it having massive AoE. (what is with the obsession with everything having massive AoE anyway? Does everything have to be a farming set?)

I haven't gotten to Spinning Strike yet, but Sweeping Cross feels very similar to Shadow Maul as far as hitting multiple targets goes. And it's faster than Shadow Maul is.

Seems to me like the people complaining are bent out of shape that the set isn't better than everything else in the game. It's actually pretty well balanced from what I've seen so far. Balanced is good, if it were too good you'd have people pissed because they have to pay money for the best set, if it were too bad you'd have people pissed and wanting their money back (good luck with that, do your research first next time).

So far, I like it. It very much has a natural feel to it, or at least an "untrained street fighter" quality. I suspect it will be an effective AV soloing set as well, but that remains to be seen.

[QUOTE=Dispari;3917986]You're weird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari You're weird

This made me LOL.

"You are weird..."

Excellent.

I'm not sure what to think at this point...

Street Justice seems like the cool big brother to Martial Arts feel of yesteryear. This doesn't seem fair, but I understand the underlying drive to sell something new, rather than bring something old up to date.

Street Justice makes me think Martial Arts could be REALLY cool if they added Dual Pistol style animations to it, and some other minor tweaks.

I feel a bit ripped off by the new set because I am a VIP player so.... I kept asking myself, why am I paying for this? I felt a little taken advantage of by paying my monthly fee, twice this month already just to enjoy content I apparently subscribe to.

I blame myself though. I got caught up in what I call 'Sewer Justice' and had to have one. The problem is when you've played nearly everything that interests you in this game, and have explored most of the content, it's easy to get sucked in.

That being said, I actually really enjoy the set. The sounds, and moves are what make it though. There very well may be MUCH more.... potent melee sets out there, but this is a very bone crushing, visceral, and violent looking set (no pom poms here, k, thnx)

As I hit a meager level 19, I'd have to say this set won't last longest with the min max types. It will last with concept players, and people who love the feel of a very batman-esque, bone-snapping, power set.

I suck at tight cone powers, like Shadow Maul etc. I can never hit more than 2. But thats ok, I am fine with treating Sweeping Cross as a single target attack. Street Justice is Street!

Lewis