Post-Sorcery Power Pool speculation

Sorcery is a new Power Pool set currently being tested on beta.
It has five (and a bit) powers:

Spirit Ward - single target absorption buff for an ally
Arcane Bolt - Ranged energy blast
Mystic Flight - Flight power which also makes an addition Teleportation power available (Translocation) via the pop-up power tray
Enflame - An aura that can be placed on friends or foes that generate blazing patches that damage foes.
Rune of Protection - Self-buff of various resistances and mez protection.

Sorcery has some gorgeous (and customizable!) FX with runes flying everywhere. The set itself has some damage powers, a travel power and some buffs. It has a a strong link thematically to the magic origin (although it is available to Heroes/Villains of all origins), and using this as a starting point I began to wonder about what other origins might get...

Natural Origin. Always tricky - there is a lot of crossover between Natural and Tech/Science once equipment starts getting involved, and there are several power pools such as Presence, Leadership and Fighting that can represent the innate abilities of a natural hero. One natural 'action' hero archetype that isn't in CoH is the 'superspy' so here is my idea for a Natural counterpart to Sorcery.

Espionage

• Blow Dart - single target sleep attack - does not break concealment.

• Recruit Bodyguard - can target either an ally or foe. Transfers all your threat to the target for a time. An ally gains a small absorption bonus and mez protection, while a foe is confused and gets a small damage bonus.

• Parkour - travel power similar to ninja run (possibly with additional climbing animations that can go up walls) which also unlocks the Parachute power which slows falling rate, gives limited directional control and mitigates falling damage. (BASE jumping!)

• Snipershot - long-range, interruptible attack with a sniper-rifle.

• Disguise - Transforms a player into a random Citizen model, with a multi-target placate. Damage powers disabled and player is untouchable for a short period of time.

• Pseudopod Snare - an amorphous tentacle drags an enemy into melee range. Includes a taunt and -Range.

• Plasm Punch - a fleshy extrusion lashes out and smashes an enemy down into the ground (think hordeling lashers). KD and -fly.

• Mucus Membrane - (FX similar to the 'Possession' power plus slime) The player is coated in a layer of frictionless mucus that boosts movement speed and defense. Unlocks the 'Gooball' power that when activated expands the mucus into a translucent sphere around the player that can absorb damage and can bounce long distances. Activating attack powers will 'pop' the Gooball.

• Pheromones - Creates a cloud of chemicals surrounding the player that boosts inter-team communication (Allies have buffs to Perception & To-hit) but confuses and slows enemies.

• Reanimation - If the player has fallen in combat, this power surrounds their body with a cocoon that unleashes a storm of tentacles that immobilise and poison enemies while the cocoon opens and reveals the resurrected player. The remnants of the cocoon give them a signifcant absorption shield for a time. This power can also be targeted at fallen enemies but their bodies are simply transformed into a longer lasting tentacle storm without being revived.

• Heisenberg's Glance - Single target eye-beams that freeze an enemy or give an ally a short-term flight power similar to Hover.

• Hawking Radiation - (Location AOE) A microscopic black hole is created that slows surrounding enemies and bathes them in radiation (energy/toxic) before it dissolves.

• Decoherence - The character partially phases out of reality and becomes able to move omnidirectionally independent of gravity or inertia (Ghost flight). Unlocks Gravitational Lensing (Stealth) which has a high endurance cost.

• Schrodinger's Cat - The player summons a glowing, translucent cat that sits grooming itself while causing semi-random effects to reality about it. These effects hinder enemies and aid allies and could include changes to Recharge, Recovery, Damage, Accuracy, Regeneration, etc.

• Entanglement Echoes - The player is linked to counterparts in alternate dimensions, tapping into their strengths and power and sharing damage and other effects between them. (Player flanked by intangible, flickering doppelgangers while this power is active).

• Smart foam - a capsule of rapidly expanding foam coats either an enemy or ally. Allies gain an absorption shield, while enemies have both their movement and attack rate reduced.

• Wrist-mounted Crossbow - that shoots taser-bolts

• Gyropack - Counter-rotating blades unfold and lift the character into the air. (Think Inspector Gadget) Unlocks Rocket Boost (Major flight speed boost for limited time)

• Ready Grenade - Unlocks Throw Grenade power along with three optional 'load-out' toggles: Liquid Nitrogen (cold damage, targets held in ice), Sedative Gas (targets asleep and slowed) or Thermite (fire damage DOT, -resist).

• Prototype Exoskeleton - FX similar to Assault Bot crossed with PPD Hardsuit. Major absorption shield & Resist buff. Unlocks: Stomp, Flamethrower, Missile Salvo, Eject (Exoskeleton Self-destruct). After a set period of time, Eject is activated automatically.

They've all already kind of leaked, actually. One involves scientific Experimentation. Another allows you to harness your Force of Will. One of them is a powerset revolving around your genius in the ways of Gadgetry. And finally no Batman-inspired hero would be complete without their Utility Belt.

Why stop at Origins? We could have all sorts of individual pools relating to given archetypal characters:

Bionics: Melee Attack, Force Field Ally Buff, +DMG toggle (comes with a +def FF toggle), +Regen/Recovery Clicky

Energy Being: Narrow Daze cone, Ally +End/Recovery|Enemy -End/Recovery, Energy Run(Hasten Clicky), DoT Aura

etc.

Ah, wasn't aware of the other sets being leaked. Still was an interesting thought experiment.

Kirsten: by all means consider further sets - as I said, this was initially an attempt to expand the Sorcery model to the other origins. One obvious option is a Supernatural pool with an actual 'Ghost Flight' power that I'm sure would be popular.

It is actually an interesting direction that the devs are exploring. New powersets will still be the big-ticket items that will excite players, but these pool powersets give power concepts that might not support a full powerset or that do not fit any particular AT a chance to be explored. It also opens up new customization options - so that we can really tailor our power choices to reflect the themes or origins of our characters.

no wall climbing. i'd love it but apparently its a limitation of the game.

also, was discussing his with my team last night, We were talking about psionics or bestial combat for mutation, military specialization or alien tech for natural. and such It would be nice if things keep going past just one interpretation of origins. In a way its a flavor specilization gave the game a pseudo "freeform" option.

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