Would be cool to consolidate ideas about future enhancements. If anyone knows of an established thread...if not, how about this one? -link-
That said, I'd personally like a bit more hybrid in the power enhancements of the ATO procs...
Not sure what the slotting bonuses of the current sets are off the top of my head or the new ones at all (I just glanced at the sets' procs and that's about it) but if I were to guess, the general slotting bonuses are sort of normalized, being general copies so they're even across similar ATs. The procs are where they differ.
I'd see it as a nice alternative if each of the ATs had a specific tangent put to them to differentiate them some expressed by ATOs...
Blaster meta-damage//self-support= They have the +mez protection and fire dmg proc. More self support like +absorb for self only by doing damage and insta-recharging click bonuses like Stalker's proc on a certain power in their primary of their choice. This would separate them greatly from other blasting ATs while aiding them in overall participation in a team.
Corruptor damage//support= They have the neg dmg proc and that +END proc, right? More straight damage buffs or extra dmg + support for continual damage dealing. I think Corruptor's enhancements are spot on. It will certainly make my Fire/Storm and future Water/Storm amazing-er than they'd be without.
Defender support//meta-support= They have the heal and absorb proc. I think their other procs should keep in that direction but also add support features that you can't get in other places. Some more ideas for possible buffs: +range, +special (think Power Boost), +END discount and +debuff resist.
ATs like Scrappers might branch off into added control effects too, Stalkers added debuffs, Tankers AoE control effects and debuffs, Brutes self meta-buffs to improve their sustainability of damage dealing.
All in all, when it gets down to the meat of the game, damage starts getting less important. Because everyone can do damage. What begins to matter is the ease of doing that damage and making your character more generalized in their capabilities. Making your Tanker practically unkillable, capable of dealing okay dmg, supporting a team *AND* managing foes may not make them more effective than a Brute, but it's techically more powerful in capabilities if the Brute can only deal damage with moderate aggro management.
So, there looks to be another set of ATOs in the works and I've seen them on beta.
Now, looking at these, it got me thinking. Other games have epic weapons and abilities. In a game like CoH, there is a fair degree of overlap.
For example, blasters, defender and corrupters all share the same attack sets. MMs, defenders and corrupters all share the same buff/debuff sets. Then if you have a corrupter and a defender on the team, there is very little diffrents...to a degree. One does better buffs/debuffs, slightly worse damage while the other one does better damage but worse buffs/debuffs.
That isn't 100% true, but it gives a basic idea.
Now, lets look at the ATOs for a corrupter and a defender.
Right now, the corrupter has a damage proc and on beta there is a PBAoE that restores some endurance.
This fits a corrupter nicely, damage and the fuel to do more damage or buff the team.
Now the defender has a PBAoE heal and a PBAoE absorb. These are both pure buffing abilities.
This has started to seperate out corrupters and defenders more. A defender, by using their attack powers brings heals and buffs and damage to the group, which I feel helps further cement their roles as the primary buffers and debuffers.
The corrupter has a damage proc that only fires from them and grants people near them end, including themselves. The way both their ATOs mainly help themselves pulls them away from defenders.
Slowly, I think, ATOs are going to move away from must have enhancements on every build to something more situational. More toolboxey.
Heck, just by slotting 1 ATO on my crab, she went from a crab tank to a crab tank with a fair bit of dom who fears spawns with her supression.
And what is the future of ATOs? I'm gonna be taking a guess.
Arachnos: Procs that summon pets that debuff and do toxic damage. General damage boosts of exotic damage types.
Tanker: More survability stuff, more absorb, heal, res and defence.
Scrappers: Higher sustained damage, with large spikes from crits.
Stalkers: Lower sutained damage than scrappers but much higher spikes, with procs that refresh powers or put debuffs on for more damage.
Brutes: More playing around with rage, focusing on upping damage.
Kheldians: A real tool box, heals on every attack, procs on diffrent forms, etc.
Corrupter: Self buffs and things to increase damage PBAoE
Defender: Team buffs and increasing HP and absorb.
Controller: Procs on mezzes and focusing more on locking down with some exotic damage
Dominator: Domination buffs, procs of +mez etc.
Thanks for reading.