Blaster Issues - Mezzing

Acrobatics.

@DreadShinobi

Thank you for making my point so succinctly. Yes you can use pool powers to shore up a build BUT EVERY AT can do so and it stacks with what they all ready bring to the table. Pool powers are not unique to blasters so they convey absolutely no special benefit and certainly can't be brought into a serious discussion about balance. That merely points out the seriousness of the lack of AT balance.

To give a non-random example:

• Fighting pool gives you Tough and Weave (3 powers picks) for increased mitigation.
• Leadership gives you Maneuvers for +defense, Assault for +damage and 42.39% placate/taunt resistance (admittedly not much help in PvE), Tactics gives you + to hit and +perception and 36.33% resistance to confuse/fear. (3 power picks)
• Leaping gives you Super Jump (locked into this as your travel power) Combat jumping for + defense and mag 8.3 immob protection, Acrobatics gives you mag 9 KB protection (enhanceable to 10.2 with 1 SO), mag 2 hold protection, and 48.44% hold resistance. (3 power picks)
• Medicine gives you Aid Self and interruptible self heal that also grants 48.44% resistance to stuns (2 power picks)
• Fitness (which is now free) Gives you 48.44% resistance to sleep.
• Epic pool gives you your defensive toggle. (2 power picks)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailboat Recently had a Stone/Stone Tanker held and killed fighting against +1s.

I guess you should have taken acrobatics then

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychicKitty Hate to pop the bubble here...but corruptors and defenders cant cast mez protection on themselves nor other powers on themselves.....and area of effect powers wise they actualy get a smaller amount of protection then their team......thats why you for example will see some area of effect hold that doesnt effect anyone except the defender....and you only notice because their attacks cease and they stand motionless.

It doesn't burst any bubbles.

• Force fields, Sonic resonance, and Traps all have powers that convey mez protection on the caster.
• Radiation Emission, Storm, and Dark can all floor an entire spawn's chance to hit.
• Early game primarily buffing power sets like Empathy have some similar issues but do have tools to keep the caster alive. Later additions like Thermal and Cold have both buffs and debuffs to use and it isn't 100% necessary for a primary buffer to directly enter combat to still fulfill their primary function.

The notable exception to these is Trick Arrow and we know that is on the dev's radar http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=279734

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rigel_Kent For the same reasons Miladys_Knight discussed, blasters would be the beneficiaries of a buff to mez protection powers like Clear Mind. The devs seem to think making me cast Clear Mind 4 times instead of once in a team of five makes the game somehow better; I disagree. I don't see why Clear Mind and its clones are so much better than Speed Boost that they have to remain so limited. Make Clear Mind an AoE buff like Speed Boost, and the problem may be solved indirectly. In addition, I'd like to see 10 seconds of mez protection added to all Aim and Build Up powers on all ATs. I first had this idea before ever playing (that other superhero MMO), and once I saw this idea in action there, I was just more convinced it's a good one. Why? Getting mezzed on any squishy is a bummer, but getting mezzed during my ten seconds to shine can be mouse-throwing, chair-kicking, wake-the-neighbors infuriating.

This presents the problem of what to do with Assault Rifle, Dual Pistols, Devices and Darkness Manipulation. The first 3 lack these powers and the final one has a recharge of 120 seconds and a duration of 30 as opposed to 90 seconds and 10 seconds for all other power sets that have these type powers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailboat No, I was 50 and running Rooted. My point in this thread is that ot's not "complete" mezz protection. Here's the autopsy report.

Guess you should have turned your difficulty down then.

Even with that a single break free would have solved the problem and I'm sure that you didn't consume the mountain of them in your rise to 50 that would have been required to do the same thing with any blaster that wasn't ??/dev.


(In all seriousness you have my condolances but you get the picture I'm trying to paint. The inanity of these statements when they are uttered by blaster buff nay sayers are on the level of "OMG that wasn't hemmoroid cream that was super glue" to me. Not just irritating but almost as deliberate as the person that switched the super glue in....)

What about adding to Defiance a +MezResist value so as you are mezzed however many stacked Defiance's you have reduces the duration by [num_defiance x MexResist].
As you are mezzed you still attack using the 3 available powers and any Defiance those attacks generate is added with their +MezResist.

The following is based on what I read from here:
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Resistance_(Mechanics)

I thought Archery had increased recharge as it's secondary effect...
Always thought AR had increased accuracy built in as well...
Makes me curious why I thought such things.

IMO, mez protection for blasters needs a mega overhaul, to the point all the current inherent mechanics go out the window and something new comes into play. Just what that is is obviously a much contested issue.

that being said, if we come to find ourselves totally unable to remove our thought patterns from 7 years of history and simply cant think of a better way to do things then defiance, some other things should occur. if we remain true to the "use these 3 attacks while mezzed" idea, then IMO we should be allowed an immense increase in allowable custimization of the 3 powers we come to rely on so heavily. if, solo, i am to remain locked into a power bolt-power blast-power bolt-power blast-etc themed attack chain due to inherent mechanics, then I think i should be able to customize more then color on these powers.

Tier one and two blasts do not grow enough with the character. Certainly, enhancment slotting grows them for a while, but as a character approaches lvl 25 or so, the powers are basically peaked out. Some alteration to function can be achieved with set bonuses, like excessive rech bonus or the like, but even this does not alter the animation times or rooting times or secondary effects.

Maybe those things should change as level increases. maybe animation time should slowly reduce for tier one and two attacks on blasters so that when mez becomes so common, you have grown those powers to compensate. maybe while defiance is in effect under mez, secondary effects of those powers should be magnified, or made 100% chance. More secondary dot dmg for fire, 100% chance of knockback for nrg blast, greatly increase endo drain/transfer on elec blast, etc. More effects, and animation time reductions. The higher level you get, the more important position becomes to survival, and reduction of cast time and root time would accomdate this.


basically, if the blaster AT stays the course on defiance/mez, then the blaster AT really should allow the tier one and two powers to grow to a power peak that is significantly higher then current, and significantly higher then other AT tier one and two comparitively as the other AT are not so heavily reliant on those powers.

Or we could just make it simple and give the blaster enough mez protection to ignore 1 application of mez and be done with it.........

Hence my suggestion that could be worked 2 ways:

1. add a point of mez resistance for each time you use a level one or 2 power
2. 3 uses of a 1 or 2 level power in a row grants you 5-10 seconds of breakfree and this is very similar to the Momentum power.

I prefer number 2 but one works as well.

Momentum's not really a 'stance' as defined by other games. You can't control it. You might as well call current Defiance a stance. And people do dislike Momentum shutting off; for some people it's a dealbreaker.

Swap Ammo is definitely a stance power though, and I don't think players have an issue with the concept so much as the execution.

Stances i think would be accepted no problem for new powersets or even a new AT, provided they are done correctly. A revamp of an old AT like a blaster would have to be done perfectly though or there would be big time backlash. Blasters are too established for players to absorb a half *** stance system.

For instance, kheldians. Once some of the "clear cut roles" of the form toggles was blurred together a tad, people warmed up to the AT a lot more. There is more room to improve IMO, but as time goes on I think the devs are learning how to do stances better. I think the initial failures and complaints of things like khelds and swap ammo are what make them hesitate to add something as big as an AT inherent stance toggle to blasters(or tankers, thats been brought up since I2)

Swap ammo itself isnt really hammered on by the player base so bad, just the perception that most of the ammo types effects are totally underwhelming. The effects are probably balanced on paper, but in actual play people just use fire for the MOAR dmg because the other effects just dont seem useful enough "so why not just add dmg" as it were. The execution of the swap ammo toggle itself I think is received well, its just the execution of the ammo effects that isnt.


Anyway, I wouldnt rule out a blaster stance as a fix. heck it might even be the easiest way to balance the AT for solo vs team situations.