Biospark
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Quote:Hehe, yep. I have witnessed this in other games too. Door sitters, what a horrible fate.Originally Posted by DrMike2000
A 20 or 30 minute buff is long enough to allow you to log in as your Defender, buff everyone, and then log back in as a Scrapper. Effectively, the Defender doesn't need to be on the team once its got their blessing, for probably the next two missions.
I've heard that in some games where this was the case, buffers were treated as deadweight and sometimes kicked once they'd done their work, in favour fo another DPS-er.
So the 4 minute buffing cycle ensures that the Defender has to stick around for the team to get their benefit.
Personally, I've never found the 4 minute buffs to be a chore, and I've played Force Fields and Sonic to 50. Kinetics was pushing it, 2 minutes for Speed Boost and 60 seconds for Increase Density, but it was doable, and all part of the frenetic pace of the set.
Having played many of the "buff-centered" powersets, my biggest gripe is with buffs less than 2 minutes.
4 minutes is an eternity, but giving everyone 4 minutes would probably be unfair to FF. Powers like Increase Density or Clear Mind, drive me nuts. If they bumped them all to 4 minutes, I would pay for "daily massages" for the whole dev crew for a month, but even 2 minutes would go a long way to making these powers less of a chore. -
Quote:Having spent time only recently on corruptors, I can only give you my experience from a defender's point of view. Sorry, in advance if this post rambles a little bit.Originally Posted by Streethawk
I'm use to playing and slotting up corruptors offensively with some team support (i.e Energy/Kin, DP/Pain, etc) but have yet to go with a debuffing sort of corruptor. Well that's about to change and looking to see the strengths and weaknesses of a rad/dark versus a dark/rad. Please include powers you feel are a necessity to each and which ones are wastes of a power slot.
Get Ready!
Rad Blast/Dark Miasma VERSUS Dark Blast/Radiation Aura!
GO!
Dark Miasma and Radiation Emission are both jewels for powersets. They both bring a lot of survival and extras to both solo and team settings. Depending on what you prefer more, one of these two sets may be more your style. Radiation is more of a straight buff/debuff set with much greater ability to raise your(and your team's) damage. The strength of the buffs/debuffs on Rad is greater than Dark, but as a counter point Dark offers Much, Much more crowd control and a really powerfull pet ally. This makes Dark solo slower, but in greater safety. Same for teaming, Dark will protect a team better than rad, but will not increase their kill speed as much. Dark has a MUCH better heal !
Now to the blast sets. I have tried to like both Rad Blast and Dark Blast over the years, but lets just say that I found a few things not to my liking. If you enjoy the blast sets then go for it, but here is my opinion on their strengths and shortcommings.
First, the strengths
Rad Blast is excellent for teams. -Def really comes in handy against hard targets and combining with other teammate powers. While solo, I have been impressed with the -def and what it does to improve your kill-speed, but I am much MORE impressed with the -acc of dark blast (while solo). Both blast sets offer a few extra tricks which can be helpful, with disorient being the one I like the most. Both sets offer great AOE potential.
The weaknesses are many (to me). Rad blast has a tier one attack that is a tiny but fast recharging attack. It takes FOREVER to whittle down enemies with it. Now that we have improvements to solo dmg perhaps this power is better, but I could only "like" NB for about 10-12 levels before I got really tired of the extra mouse clicks. Don't even get me started on making this power auto-fire
. Then X-ray eyes is a cool power, but just like fire melee and ice melee, what if you don't want X-ray beams (or flaming swords) ? Do you skip this power for concept and miss out on a very good attack ?
Dark blast has only 2 single target attacks that are not snipers. Both sets have multiple AoE powers, so they could be built as decent AoE machines, but you need to work out strategies for meshing cone attacks, with anchor debuffs, and deal with the endurance intensive AoEs. Because I always felt like the choices and tactics I prefer were pushing me to not take some of the best Rad/Dark blast powers, this made me NOT like either blast set much.
So I guess what I am saying is decide which Defense set you prefer, and (if it were me) pick a completely different Blast set than either Rad or Dark. If you really like them both, then decide if you want the more defensive set (Dark) or the more offensive blasts (Rad). -
Quote:Now that I have been playing the Villain ATs alot more (Thanks to GR !Originally Posted by brophog02
This is a pretty good discussion, and we're only able to find rather small differences. I definitely agree that Dominators are more Blasters than Controllers. Having a buff/debuff set is a really big difference between a Controller/Dominator, whereas a Dominator Assualt set can effectively mash together a Blaster's primary/secondary by being able to eliminate things like controls and nukes.
A Dominator is much more a Blaster with more control than a Controller with more damage.
), I really like the ones I have tried so far (Brute, Corruptor, Dominator)
Dominator is to Controllers/Blasters AS Brute is to Tankers/Scrappers
I have to give some major Kudos to the Devs for creating such versatile and unique variations of the Hero ATs for CoV. Kicking myself now for not trying these ATs years ago.
Jury is still out on Masterminds and Stalkers, but I will trying them soon enough. -
Based on my guildmates Dark/Dark scrapper IO journey, these are the specials he grabbed in order.
2 KB IO (Combat Jumping, *any choice toggle power for second IO*)
Steadfast IO (Dark Embrace)
Miracle +rec (Health)
Theft of Essence Proc (Dark Regen)
Numina +rec/+reg (Health)
The order will depend on influence, merits and preference, but these 5 needs should be filled. -
Defenders solo alot better now. They are pushing closer to Tanker level damage, which for me is just fine as far as solo speed. For some players though, Tanker-like speed will just not be enough. To each his own.
Before the change, I could not stand fighting Bosses solo. They could be handled, just that it took wayyyy too long to get thru a spawn. Now, after the solo boost, Bosses are still a bit of a drag, but the added speed in defeating Lts and Minions makes it seem alot less tedius.
Corruptors, OTH, have it pretty sweet. Not only do they have about the same solo damage, but Scourge comes into play in a greater way against Harder targets. So bosses are much easier to deal with for them. And they get to keep all their damage when they join a team. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Werner
.....it allows you to slot an Achilles' Heel proc
oooooohhh ! This is news to me
was that another GR change that I missed ?
Because the new Mids does not show that you can slot defense-debuffs. (Not at home so cannot check in-game). -
Quote:The CAK animation can be changed to a punch now (power customization), Its the only reason I actually use it now. I did not like the original animation at all.Originally Posted by Nwknight
Basically, Crane Kick would be the only one I could see that wouldn't hurt to be rid of. That is, if you're more willing to deal with KB than the ugly animation on CAK -
Quote:Although I don't completely agree with your point, I do agree that the system encourages you to play EVERY day in order maximize your rewards.Originally Posted by Ryuuk
My suggestion: add a timer to the purchase of each item, like the one which is on "Convert Merits" right now. If they do not want a player producing a pvp recipe(on a single character) faster than 1/20 days, set that timer at 20 days. Allow a character to run as many Tip and Alignment Missions as they would like within their existing alignment to earn AMs. This would maintain current time limits on side-switching, while allowing "burst" players like player B above to earn AMs as much as they can during their playtime.
The new Merit system is a very good step in helping casual players and non-farmers to achieve their build goals, so I am hesitant to see it changed very much.
One suggestion that I made during beta was that they should consider putting the 20 hour timer on ONLY the Merits. Thus making it a 1 HVM per day limit regardless how you earned it. I would also like to see the tips option able to be completed that same 20-hour period. I really don't like doing half the missions one day and the second half on the next. Many, Many times I log on with time still left on the timer, so I have to log off and wait till the next session, which could easily be more than 20 hours of "delay" (real life is so unpredictable).
***If it were an issue of how long it takes to switch alignments, then perhaps the timers should be longer for Rogue/Vigilantes, since they cannot earn the special merits, it would still have the desired effect.
If you could get 1 merit per day no matter how you did it, you could plan each session ahead of time; e.g. Today I am running a TF with my SG, and will trade in the merits plus influence for my Merit, or... nothing going on, so run 10 tip missions and get a free merit.
Just an idea
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Quote:Not trying to disagree with you here, because I actually see your point.Originally Posted by DarkCurrent
I don't disagree. This has been the argument that many of us who are against homogenization have thrown out time and again. This came up a lot before the whole dominator revamp.
The more you try to balance everyone around the concept that everyone should be able to do the same thing, contribute the same amount, solo the same, team the same, have the same powersets available, etc... the more you get watered-down vanilla.
But one thing that is not being mentioned is the difference in AoE capabilities between Blasters and Dominators. With some exceptions, Blasters will contribute greater AoE damage on teams. -
Being a Defender fan and a blue-side player, GR has given me an opportunity to get into the ATs (formerly know as Villains) and specifically the corruptor.
I am really liking it
Solo, I don't see any huge differences in their base damage, so they feel very similar EXCEPT for;
...getting on teams and being able to KEEP that extra damage is sure nice
and, SCOURGE !!! This power is one that you will find some folks who will downplay its overall effect on DPS. I have even heard that someone went thru the trouble of assigning an average DPS value to it ( 17% approx), but that number simply does not do Scourge justice. Where scourge makes the greatest difference is on HARD targets. If you have played defenders alot, you know how tedious it can be to bring down a boss, EB, heck even Lts (prior to the Vigilance 2.0). Corruptors don't have anywhere near the trouble with these targets. I have not gotten my main corruptor onto any teams to fight AVs yet, but I am REALLY looking forward to "chain-scourge"
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Quote:YEP ! Devastation Procs FTW !Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
I actually get the Tesla Cage effect more often on my non-Electric Controllers than the Electric one I'm playing at the moment because of the 'Chance to Hold' procs. At least Tesla Cage can be recolored to make it less obtrusive if you want.
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Quote:Oh I dont know. Destroyers with Hurl and Footstomp against non-status protected characters by level 10. Seers using chain knockback. Thats a challengeOriginally Posted by SwellGuy
<QR>
I don't feel that the difficulty in Praetoria is more difficult than CoV. I think some of the difficulty stems from our unfamiliarity with the enemies and how to deal with them.
I think both CoV and Praetoria are slightly harder than CoH enemies but nothing that cannot be overcome with strategy.
I learned the hard way from doing MA custom mobs that Footstomp (in particular) is a definite "no-no" on missions designed for anyone under level 20, and still pretty obnoxious at higher levels.
I will say this though, having the choice between excessive KB/KD as opposed to excessive -Def, I would choose KB every time. I can IO away that weakness.
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Quote:I agree with this assessment.Originally Posted by Cyber_naut
I think the posters who feel the difficulty isn't so bad are probably primarily soloers or on very small teams. Soloing, I've had very littel problem with the praetoria missions.
However as teams get larger, the difficulty gets RIDICULOUSLY too high. I don't mean slightly too hard, I mean stupid hard. Going to the hospital after every other spawn (or countless ambush...)hard. I don't know why they went away from the difficulty slider mechanic, but I strongly suggest they go back to it.
I can imagine new players trying this and thinking its some kind of emergency room simulation.
Some players like hard, and thats fine, but hard was attainable by pumping up the difficulty slider. A lot of people like to feel powerful and not visit the hospital every five minutes, so the base difficulty should be easy. This way more people are happy becuase there are more options instead of the only option you have in praetoria, which most seem to agree, is too difficult, especially for toons that are such low level, with minimal powers and slotting.
Anecdotal or not, I just did a new mission that I had not seen during Beta where I had to find out what happened to the Seer's sister. She went with me in the mission after TP'ing me into the door. Worked our way thru to the end and found an Elite Boss. I was playing an Archer-Dark corruptor (Fully DO-slotted, helps having a rich uncle) and when the EB was down to half health we were ambushed by anywhere from 6-9 mobs. We still had the EB plus two minions left to defeat when the ambush occured. For one Corruptor solo plus a helper thats pretty extreme for base settings. We both died.
I went back and cleared every single mob before pulling the EB, died 2 more times, and loaded up on Inspies each time (Def/Heal/Dmg/BFs) and eventually defeated the EB all by myself. I would hate to imagine how hard it would have been for someone not using Dark Miasma.
Bottom line, I love a challenge. But the ambushes should probably be toned down to fewer mobs or more time between waves. We are talking about players that do not have SOs yet, unless..... There are future plans we don't know about.
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Quote:I played one of them. Theme was a Magic controller of dark and light before color customization (of course). It worked pretty well actually. Lots of KB into my tar patch YAY!.Originally Posted by Death_Badger
Dark/energy defender also seems pretty rare
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Quote:Hmmmm. This makes a great deal of sense.Originally Posted by Umbral
That's the main reason why I decided to use Blasters as my baseline. Any set with an appreciable amount of any survivability contributor is going to have redundant contribution from virtually any support set out there. Any non-squishy with an appreciable amount of defense is going to get overkill defense from either Cold Dom or FF. The same applies for resistance sets and most +res buffs. Any set that doesn't specifically stack defense or resistance is going to have a largely inconsequential amount of +def (unless we're talking about IOs, but IOs are largely outside the realm of the balance we're seeking). It just as easy to simply state that if you're already bringing in a large amount of whatever survivability mechanism is being augmented then the overall contribution of the set is lower simply due to a lack of synergy, just like bringing in more than one Tanker is going to do almost nothing for the team.
However, this would not show numerically the point of how forcefields tends to provide huge benefits to the lower end of the scale (Level-wise) and assuming at level 50 with teams of IOed players, FF (as a set) would provide less overall benefit.
This is kind of the reason I am leaning more toward a curve that shows performance of each set as you crank up additional contributory factors. The purpose not being to show how any particular set out-performs or under-performs, but to show the power-curve which that set provides from solo survival all the way up to self-sufficient team-mates (ones in which no benefit is required to survive). -
I completely agree Umbral,
One thought that had occured to me was to simply throw out two of the options ( soft-capped defense by itself and the capped resist(all but Tankers)) and just have the solo model, the baseline (no def or resist) and the midline 22.5% defense and 37.5% resist.
The last model I chose as a halfway point between typical caps and is something that EVERY class can achieve by level 50 with IOs.
My issue with just solo and baseline is that (as you have pointed out to me), the contributory protection of every set is impacted greatly by the team-mate that you are "enhancing". You could chart all 4 of these models on a curve(s) to show contribution factors as you move from baseline to capped in each category (res/def) and contrast them.
The question becomes, what would define an "outlier" using this metric and how would you identify it ? What is our tolerance ? 10%, 20% ?
Edit: Of course there is also the factor of sets like regeneration who would gain a great deal from certain powersets, but would gain nearly nothing from Empathy's healing and regen. Gotta love that. -
This is a great Idea
There are potential problems with its implementation, however.
If some (or most) were based off Defeat badges, how would it effect folks who already have these badges. For example, if I had 15 defeat badges which triggered Vendetta's, would I suddenly beset by 15 different ambush groups on day one of the new system ?
Ouch !
What would make sense to me would be a system that was triggered simply by numbers of defeats and have everyone set to zero when the system went live. Make the numbers hidden, so you cannot see the progress. Make the number random. And finally, make it only occur in open zones which are frequented by that group. So if you trigger a Vendetta with the Tsoo, you dont know when its coming, but flying through Steel Canyon or IP would likely cause an ambush if you have met the defeat total.
The second issue would be having all these random groups of mobs running around in low-level zones. It would be undesirable to have collateral casualties of lower level characters who ran into your high level ambush that was trying to chase you across the sky.
Third, as someone mentioned, these should be solo events only. Imagine how this would slow down a TF if you had to deal with 8 players' worth of ambushes. -
Quote:I have done several WP characters including a WP/Fire Tanker (to level 50) and I always take the first 7 powers and skip the last two (Self-Rez and SoW). These last two powers are not bad, just that I personally have an aversion to powers that depend on death as the "set-up" or which come hand in hand with a "crash". Functionally there are NO skippable powers. For day-to-day, and battle-to-battle all-around usefullness, take the first 7 powers.Originally Posted by AegisWolf
I was planning to create a /Willpower Scrapper, so I would like to ask for the classical advices: which powers are essential and which ones can be skipped, if Fast Healing & Quick Recovery normally substitute (or are picked together with) Fitness, if Resurgence is useful, etc.
I know that maybe it's the millionth time someone ask you about this, however anyone can help me (or, at least, send me to a previous thread about the argument)? Thanks. -
Quote:Long, Long ago when the game started my scrappers were all SR and it was very difficult to get my scrappers off the ground until I tried a Katana-Invulnerability. Invuln works noticeably better at the earlier levels than Reflexes, but make sure you get Dull-pain and slot it up as soon as possible. The hardest part (for me) is the long road to getting invincibility.Originally Posted by Terse
For ages I've wanted to find a satisfying scrapper build and when I saw Kinetic Melee I immediately had thought of a wizard/battlemage kinda concept using magic spells and wards to fight with hand-to-hand and defend himself.
/Invul seemed the best secondary fit to represent glowing magical wards surrounding his body but I'm worried my attachment to /Invul (my first L50 being an Inv/EM Tank) is blinding fatal flaws in its Scrapper incarnation.
I accept I'm not going to be tanker-tough but what survivability can I expect as I level up and hit 50?
Are /Invul scrappers still tough enough to hold their own or do the reduced caps make them sad in comparison to Invul tanks and other scrapper secondaries?
Anyone got any recent /Invul scrapper builds that show what it takes to hit the caps or experiences fighting with /Invul scrappers they can share that might help illustrate their potential?
Thanks in advance for any responses.
Once Invincibility is added to your powers, that is when the set seems to turn the corner and become very solid. But perhaps using Katana as my primary "skewed" my perception of the secondary. -
Here are my 2 cents on the defender modelling concepts.
The way in which I would (and have been working on for awhile now) create the comparison models would be to actually create SEVERAL models for each powersets like so.
Create a survivability contribution factor of ONLY the defender powerset ignoring contributions from your secondary or other team contributors for each condition.
A) Solo (Basically determining the amount of increased self-survival to yourself)
B) One Team-mate with 0% Defense and 0% Resistance. (Baseline contributory survival increase)
C) One team-mate with soft-capped defense and 0% resist
D) One team-mate with 75% resistance and no defense
E) One team-mate with 22.5% defense and 37.5% resist.
I would do these models assuming S/L incoming damage with caveats for any set which contributed differently to other damage types. I would categorize the contributions with 3 SO level enhancement of the PRIMARY effect that people will slot for that power. This last one was a hard one to consider. My initial instinct would be to analyse with "Un-slotted" power numbers because there is quite a variety of slotting options for defender powers and I imagined a endless discussion of "how-to-slot" every power in these sets. But I knew that the "unslotted" model would immediately be subjected to criticism because it DIDNT take slotting into consideration.... catch 22
After all 5 of these models were done, list them for each set showing the contributory values side-by-side under each different condition. In this manner you would see the FF set (as an example) how its contribution varied based on team-mate starting values.
The only thing left to decide on my models is how (if possible) some aggregate of each condition could be numerically calculated. I am not certain whether a simple average of the contributory values displayed next to the self-defense values portrays an accurate conclusion.
Any thoughts ? -
Quote:Not myself, but makes me consider making a twin to Biospark that is Electric Control - Empathy. Just wish the Electric Control sound effects were more like the crackling sounds of Electric Blast.Originally Posted by StratoNexus
This thing is very good and is definitely functioning better than Spectral Terror so far. Static Field makes me open my mouth in amazement, often.
Anyone playing with this regularly above level 30 yet?
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Quote:What are you saying Stormy ??Originally Posted by StormyDarkness
*cough*FF*cough*
My level 30 FF/Energy Defender could run circles around my Emp/Electric (when he was that level).
KB + 25-30% Defense + PFF + Aid Self + mezz protection + hover = very solo-able AND Safe Defender. -
Quote:I dont know how much help Forcefield really needs (not that I wouldnt be happy to see something go it's way), but Sonic Resonance is downright BAD!! Maybe at level 50 and IOed out it turns into something really nice, but I could not get thru the 20s on that powerset. I would rather solo an Empath !Originally Posted by Vel_Overload
I think people have been saying FF (and sonic resonance) need love since their creation...
mabye one day that'll happen*
*most likely never
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Quote:I agree Stormy.Originally Posted by StormyDarkness
Based on my experiences, I'd debate safety for sure and maybe dps/speed depending on the sets. Buffing though, there's several powers that are the same values of defenders as they are corruptors/controllers. It's all perspective, but I'm glad there's several of us non-anti-Defenders out there (Yes, I realize that's a double negative).
As for the Corruptor/Controller comments, it really depends on what the OP wants to gear himself towards.
Trying to keep my post short, I kinda glossed over the safety part. To me, Controllers have lesser buff values, but because of their "pre-emptive" controls comeing earlier in their career, their lower buff values don't make them noticeably less "defensive" or safe. And both Controllers and Corruptors outdamage Defenders by a wide margin (my opinion), so they are exposed to damage for shorter amounts of time in fights. This was kinda why I said defenders were less "safe". I did not mean to suggest though that certain Defender sets are "unsafe".
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Quote:Despite what others here have said to point you back to corruptors or controllers, Defenders are the BEST at Buffing, Healing and/or Debuffing. You will be trading solo speed, safety and dps to get the best Buffs in the game.Originally Posted by DogTags
Now I am no number cruncher prebuilder type person. So throwing builds at me will probably just cause me to have a large brain fart. That said. General advice is welcome.
I have not picked a build yet...as for I have to level some on my Tanker tonight to get to Shark Head Isle ...then it's on to defender.
Before I pick, I want my defender to offer some solid support for big teams...and I am undecided if I should even go down the dark path . I have a corruptor I love already. DP/Dark he does a great job in heals and dps. This time I want to be more support less dps for future teams on Villains.
Throw me some pros and cons you Defenders.... I would love your input.
With that being said, its easy to see why people would shy away from Defenders in order to have their cake and eat it too. Even I (someone who wanted a defender from day one) have been tempted by Corruptors and Controllers.
IF you decide to give Defenders a go, I would consider one of the sets that are not currently open to Corruptors (Forcefields, Empathy). And using your criteria, that would lean towards Forcefields (or Cold like others have suggested). Forcefield Defenders are a little difficult to get started (like most buffing Defenders), but with a little investment in pool defenses (CJ, Weave, Maneuvers) plus your own defenses and KB, you can feel like a mini-tank blaster. You get to use your buffs every 4 minutes and then spend the rest of your time blasting. For some (like me) thats a very low-stress and fun way to team.
A couple of good blast sets to pair with FF are Dark Blast (-toHit, small heal) or Sonic (-res, sleep cone, KB).
Empathy or Kinetics are two other great Team Sets, but are difficult to solo. Kinetics (if done right) is extremely busy during team play. Between Fulcrum, SB, ID, Transfusion and Transference, you could find yourself with very little time left over to blast. On the right team though, Fulcrum + watch everything die in a fiery heap from your teammates, move to next spawn, repeat can be quite fun.
So from least busy to most busy, I would say FF, EMP, KIN. And finally, of these three, Empathy has the most trouble scaling up to larger teams due to the way their buffs recharge.