Ask Anything: Ranged Blast and Blaster Manipulation Changes
By
Abysmalyxia,
Posted on: 2012-06-21 13:45 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Earlier in the thread, someone suggested a "charged" mez protect, and you said you didn't want to use the method they suggested, because it would encourage standing around, waiting for it to recharge between fights.
In light of that, I'm making a similar suggestion, that also highlights the "defiance" aspect of blasters:
Add a small amount of mez protect to each of the three attacks that can be used while mezzed. I'm thinking mag 0.5 on each, with a duration of 20-30 seconds each. This buff would be flagged "Only when Held, Asleep, Stunned, or Immobilized". That way, blasters would remain vulnerable to mezzes, but they'd be able to fight their way free, with a short duration of immunity once they are free.
EDIT: D'oh! I just went through the Dev Digest and picked out Arbiter Hawk's responses, and replied without noticing that at least one other had suggested the same thing! Hawkward!
But I guess that means that it's a good idea, right?
EDIT2: As another "act of defiance", would it be possible to make ALL blaster toggles (including offensive ones) suppress when mezzed, so that when you do get mezzed, you don't have to stop attacking and toggle back up?
@Roderick
I'd think the easiest way to make Munition's Body Armor more useful would be to make it into a clone of Wolf Spider Armor. Rename it to Combat Armor Suit, if we must rename things...
A minor passive S/L resist is rather silly on a blaster, but a minor mag threshold against everything but KB...golly, that's almost OP.
Sleep grenade is just silly because Sleep is so darn ineffective due to AOE splashing around everywhere. Heck, can't the grenade even break ITSELF due to having a damage component? I think Trick Arrow has a sleep secondary affect on an arrow that breaks its own sleep, too, lol. A place to put a really cheap, unused IO set I guess.
So I wanted to Ask.....since i am currently playing a Sonic Blast/Psionic Manipulation Blaster.
Ok so since sonic has no Sniper shot I assume the new sniper machanic will do nothing for that blast set...is that correct?
Also since the T3 power in sonic is a cone attack called Howl...i assume it wont get raised to 80 feet...is that correct?
And since Psionic Manipulation is felt to work as intended it wont be getting any enhancements either...is that correct?
so basicaly the blaster i am currently playing is working the way that Blasters should work right now...is that correct?
Sorry i just felt I had to ask.....
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Originally Posted by Arbiter Hawk
If we were going to do this to Time Bomb, we would have a way of doing it without granting you any extra powers or making you click any buttons that weren't Time Bomb.
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Originally Posted by Codewalker
I'll choose to read that as "a toggle a la Dimension Shift".
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Then it's time for them to get off the cross, use the wood to build a bridge, and get over it.
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"Shout" is the T3 single target attack that will get its range boosted. Other than that you are right on.|
Originally Posted by PsychicKitty
So I wanted to Ask.....since i am currently playing a Sonic Blast/Psionic Manipulation Blaster.
Ok so since sonic has no Sniper shot I assume the new sniper machanic will do nothing for that blast set...is that correct? Also since the T3 power in sonic is a cone attack called Howl...i assume it wont get raised to 80 feet...is that correct? And since Psionic Manipulation is felt to work as intended it wont be getting any enhancements either...is that correct? so basicaly the blaster i am currently playing is working the way that Blasters should work right now...is that correct? Sorry i just felt I had to ask..... |
The devs will be making other changes to the sniper-less sets as necessary, but those changes haven't been defined in detail AFAIK.
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Body Armor is 8.75% S/L Resist (about 12% slotted)|
Originally Posted by Iannis
I'd think the easiest way to make Munition's Body Armor more useful would be to make it into a clone of Wolf Spider Armor. Rename it to Combat Armor Suit, if we must rename things...
A minor passive S/L resist is rather silly on a blaster, but a minor mag threshold against everything but KB...golly, that's almost OP. |
Wolf Spider Armor is 3% S/L, 2% Psi resist (About 4%/2.4% slotted), and a mag 2 mez protect.
That's a pretty large nerf to the resistances, especially when many don't even think that Body Armor is worth it in the first place. In return, you get mag 2 mez protect, when most mezzes are mag 3. Wolf Spider Armor is meant for the pre-24 game; after that, you should be using Bane or Crab Armor.
Crab Armor is the same as Wolf spider, but mag 4 mez protect. This would be better, but the resistance is still pretty underwhelming.
Bane Armor is 7.5% Resist All (10.5% slotted). That's weaker than Body Armor, but covers all damage types. It has mag 4 mez protect (like Crab Armor), and a small +Max HP.
Mag 4 covers ONE mez, or two if they're only mag 2 each, so stacked mez would still stop a blaster using a Bane Armor clone. Giving both Resist All and +HP to a blaster via autopower MIGHT be overpowered, but not necessarily. If Body Armor was replaced with an Arachnos Soldier armor clone, I'd recommend Bane Armor, or Bane Armor with the +HP removed.
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| Sleep grenade is just silly because Sleep is so darn ineffective due to AOE splashing around everywhere. Heck, can't the grenade even break ITSELF due to having a damage component? I think Trick Arrow has a sleep secondary affect on an arrow that breaks its own sleep, too, lol. A place to put a really cheap, unused IO set I guess. |
@Roderick
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That concludes the level of assistance I am willing to provide in the area of dev communication.
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Originally Posted by Leo_G
Oy oy oy. Why are you coming here picking apart my posts? If you're trying to help me, like you're implying, stop pretending I'm talking non-sense.
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Shout is T5 not T3 but it is 40 feet....but since they dont want to do changes to lighting field but want to instead effect Thunderclap...i will assume that they wont make changes to a T5 power under that same pseudo logic as to why they dont want lightning field to have improvements and instead insist on using a minor damage point blank area of effect knock back attack with a hefty starter animation(i consider anything that makes enemies many times kill you before you get it off a hefty starter animation)that most of the time wont be able to be used unless you want to risk your character by running into a group of enemies......and also make it impossible to hit things with area of effect powers because the Thunder Clap power disperses them.
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Originally Posted by Mr_Kingkillaha
"Shout" is the T3 single target attack that will get its range boosted. Other than that you are right on.
The devs will be making other changes to the sniper-less sets as necessary, but those changes haven't been defined in detail AFAIK. |
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It may be Tier 5 over all, but it is Tier 3 single target. for comparison to the other blasts that are getting bosted...|
Originally Posted by PsychicKitty
Shout is T5 not T3 but it is 40 feet....but since they dont want to do changes to lighting field but want to instead effect Thunderclap...i will assume that they wont make changes to a T5 power under that same pseudo logic as to why they dont want lightning field to have improvements and instead insist on using a minor damage point blank area of effect knock back attack with a hefty starter animation(i consider anything that makes enemies many times kill you before you get it off a hefty starter animation)that most of the time wont be able to be used unless you want to risk your character by running into a group of enemies......and also make it impossible to hit things with area of effect powers because the Thunder Clap power disperses them.
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Executioner's Shot = Tier 7
Lancer Shot = Tier 6
Power Burst = Tier 4
Blaze = Tier 7
Bitter Ice Blast = Tier 7
Cosmic Burst = Tier 7
But basicly, it is all the 40ft and 50ft single target blasts that are getting normalized to 80ft.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Then it's time for them to get off the cross, use the wood to build a bridge, and get over it.
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It's NOT the Tier 3 power getting it's range boosted. People are just calling it that because it's quicker to type. It's the third single target blast that's getting its range boosted. With a few exceptions, the third single target blast has a shorter range.|
Originally Posted by PsychicKitty
Shout is T5 not T3 but it is 40 feet....but since they dont want to do changes to lighting field but want to instead effect Thunderclap...i will assume that they wont make changes to a T5 power under that same pseudo logic as to why they dont want lightning field to have improvements and instead insist on using a minor damage point blank area of effect knock back attack with a hefty starter animation(i consider anything that makes enemies many times kill you before you get it off a hefty starter animation)that most of the time wont be able to be used unless you want to risk your character by running into a group of enemies......and also make it impossible to hit things with area of effect powers because the Thunder Clap power disperses them.
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Concerning Thunder Clap: If you want the buff without getting attacked or scattering enemies... Use it between enemies as you're running to the next group? Hawk already said that it doesn't need to hit anything to buff you, and the recharge is far quicker than the duration of the buff, so you'll be able to use it for both effects as you need to.
@Roderick
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I'm really not sure what you're implying here. You do know that Accuracy and ToHit are two totally serarate mechanics, and slotting all the Accuracy in the world will have no impact on insta-snipe, right?|
Originally Posted by SerialBeggar
How did you come up with the +22% tohit requirement? (I wasn't around to view the twitch.tv conference.)
Was it some sort of inside joke to make the Calibrated Accuracy IO set to appear to be even more stupid?  |
I suspect that the number was picked so that unslotted Aim was enough to trigger the effect, but fully slotted Build Up was not. Since "Three small yellow inspirations" has been mentioned a few times, it was probably part of the design decision as well.
@Roderick
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I was thinking about something like this, only it would sorta break the cottage rule a bit. My idea was to change Time Bomb to Remote Explosive, and it would basically function similarly to what you suggest, except it would persist much longer than 15 seconds. Perhaps there would be a lockout window of a few seconds, to prevent the explosive from being detonated early. I don't like the idea of self-damaging powers on a blaster though.|
Originally Posted by St_Angelius
Oooooo, that seem interesting. Toggle on, Time bomb drops. Toggles runs for 15 second and Time bomb explodes and toggle ends. Drop toggle early, time bomb explodes. Maybe make it so the explosion hurts the caster to discourage toggling on and off straght away and at least having to retreat first.
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Originally Posted by Roderick
I suspect that the number was picked so that unslotted Aim was enough to trigger the effect, but fully slotted Build Up was not.
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@Demobot
Also on Steam
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Ok, maybe not the self damage, but the lock out before you can detoggle would work just as well.
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Originally Posted by Demobot
I was thinking about something like this, only it would sorta break the cottage rule a bit. My idea was to change Time Bomb to Remote Explosive, and it would basically function similarly to what you suggest, except it would persist much longer than 15 seconds. Perhaps there would be a lockout window of a few seconds, to prevent the explosive from being detonated early. I don't like the idea of self-damaging powers on a blaster though.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Then it's time for them to get off the cross, use the wood to build a bridge, and get over it.
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That's what I get for trying to do build calculations in my head. :P|
Originally Posted by Demobot
The 22% mark can be reached with just Build Up. My Blaster has Build Up 5 slotted with Adjusted Targeting (without the Tohit Buff/End ) and gets 22.79%. I think this was intentional, to give primaries without Aim the means to insta-Snipe.
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Your To-Hit slotting has to be pretty close to maxxed out there. I'd say that the numbers you're showing there are even more proof that the number was carefully selected, and not just picked out of the blue.
@Roderick
This is a hypothetical question in case data shows that blasters need more survivability.
Is it possible with current tech to give blasters a buff that is only active while they are mezzed? I was thinking rather than giving blasters mez protection it might be interesting to make it so that while mezzed they have a significant buff to regen, recovery, damage, and recharge. That way they can keep blasting away with the powers defiance allows them to use and do some serious damage with it. Then when the mez wears off or if they pop a break free the buff goes away.
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Don't recall ever asking...and I know you're not the charitable type so...
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
That concludes the level of assistance I am willing to provide in the area of dev communication.
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I didn't see if this was asked or answered, so my apologies for repeating someone else's suggestion.... but any chance of making the Snipe activation scaling rather than all-or-nothing?
That is, at 75% To-Hit (or lower, if you somehow manage that), it has the full 4-second interrupt time, at 97% To-Hit (and higher) it has no interrupt time, but at, say, 86% To-Hit, it has 2-second interrupt time? (In other words, half-way to that +22% mark you get half of the animation removed, or 99% of the way to that +22% mark, you get 99% of the animation time removed)
Or is that simply not possible with the way the animation system works?
Edit: And it occurs to me that, due to time zones, I may be waaaaay too late to ask Arbiter Hawk any questions. Or way too early. I'm not sure.
Thunder_Knight: You're thinking of Accuracy. ToHit is a different mechanic, and is used in a different part of the attack mechanic.
ToHit starts at 0, and isn't reflected in your powers' slotting, because it isn't part of the power, it's the same value for all powers. If you want to see your ToHit value, you'll have to look at your Combat Attributes - that's the only place it shows up.
And yes, you were about 12 hours late. But he said he'll be back to read over late responses and try to answer them, so you aren't TOO late, just late. :P
@Roderick
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Actually, I think you are both missing the picture. In that set, you have acc/int. Int is interrupt reduction.... With interrupt reduction, you wont need as much tohit to make it auto, since tohit decreases interrupt time.
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Originally Posted by Roderick
Thunder_Knight: You're thinking of Accuracy. ToHit is a different mechanic, and is used in a different part of the attack mechanic.
ToHit starts at 0, and isn't reflected in your powers' slotting, because it isn't part of the power, it's the same value for all powers. If you want to see your ToHit value, you'll have to look at your Combat Attributes - that's the only place it shows up. And yes, you were about 12 hours late. But he said he'll be back to read over late responses and try to answer them, so you aren't TOO late, just late. :P |
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Hew in drag baby
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It doesn't work that way. 22% removes it flat out. It does not build up to the removal, unless we missed something from the devcast.|
Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch
Actually, I think you are both missing the picture. In that set, you have acc/int. Int is interrupt reduction.... With interrupt reduction, you wont need as much tohit to make it auto, since tohit decreases interrupt time.
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Which we didn't.
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I'd support this.|
Originally Posted by Arbiter Hawk
I would consider making snipes also instant while under the effects of Domination, but if I did so I would also lower the scale of all of the Dominator snipes back to the 2.76 standard.
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I have a question, if you'd humour me one more time at the risk of sounding like a broken record.
What's your opinion on survivability disparity between, say, a Mind/Psi Dominator (with Drain Psyche and plenty of opportunity to safely use it) and an Ice/Ice Dominator who is forced into melee with risky alpha-mitigation and a slow propagating confuse?
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Or use powerboost....
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Originally Posted by JayboH
Originally Posted by Arbiter Hawk This may be a common misconception. The two effects are functionally identical in most significant ways, so making them perform identically is just a question of doing the math on the scales of the effects. There is no difference between Regenerating 1% of your health per second and Healing 1% of your health per second. Originally Posted by JayboH Unless you are slept. |
Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.
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I skip alot of t9 powers on all my melee AT's...I'm sure others do as well.
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Originally Posted by Xprom
Can you give us a clear answer why T9 Blaster powers that crash weren't addressed with these other nuggets your giving us. A Brute Scrapper, or Tank never question taking their T9 attacks and neither should Blasters.
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Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.
Was there ever a reply/comment about Frozen Aura in Ice Manip? Man I'd love to see some damage love in there.
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