BrandX
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Posts
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Quote:I can't say on the end sustaainability. I know on some of the builds I worked on at the time I was able to sustain the end use AND maintain that chain without using Hasten (So just enhancement slotting and global recharge bonuses).Originally Posted by William_Valence
I don't want them to be replicas of each other, but Spines is supposed to be strong AoE, weak ST, with a strong mix of Debuff/softish control. Spines was fine in my opinion when it could be said it was the best combination of those two elements. Other set's had AoE, other sets had a strong combination of Debuff and mez, but until Titan weapons came along spines was the one that filled that role best.
With Titan Weapon's addition, it has better ST damage, strongly competetive AoE damage, and comprable soft control/debuff (with additional self buff potential).
Spines standing versus other set's wouldn't be skewed if it's longer animation times were trimmed, and it's debuff ability increased. It's supposed to be better in those areas already, so any argument that sets should be buffed because of spines would need to be applied now, as well as in the case of a buff.
How much recharge does that chain need, and how much endurance does it burn? I'm positive the chain took Quills into account, but I don't believe ripper or throw spines were used do to rules on AoE attacks and endurance sustainability.
Those are the best DPS attacks, with the added benefit of having some long animations in Impale and Ripper that make the chain not that hard to obtain (at least not as hard as some of the other top chains).
Also, Spines doesn't suffer from redraw like other weapon sets.
What I never could figure out is if Fire Blast or Dark Blast added more DPS to the chain or not.
Paired with WP, ELA, or EA should at least keep the end uses under control while ELA and EA help with even more +RCH. -
Quote:Time is still a factor and they said they plan to normalize all the AS animations to 1 second. So I wouldn't worry to much about it...if it lasts past i22.5 then maybe start worring about it.Originally Posted by MisterD
I agree it is a concern. The changes are amazing, I admit. But having such a difference in the AS animations is silly. Especially considering..since they DID the changes, you would think it could make sense to have gone through and also balanced the animations..at the same time..
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Quote:I don't know. My Dark/Time is a sorcerer who relies on spirits all around to help fight evil villains! Didn't seem to dark for me. But maybe it's the manga influence.Originally Posted by Pyrox
Seems a bit evil and dark :P
Never saw them do much damage, guess I wasn't looking hard enough. I though they were mainly just for the fear factor which I would of got from other powers. -
Quote:The problem with that, is I don't think the Spines ST attack chain took into account Quills. Which dmg auras help add up on the ST DMG (and is one of the things that will keep some combos of Scrappers equal to o surpassing Stalkers in terms of ST DPS).Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Claws just got a buff not that long ago.
The problem is: None of those sets are significantly underperforming in any area enough to warrant a buff.
Spines actually does need a bit of a buff IMO. But not in the area you might think.
It's not being overshadowed in AoE output by any means, but its single target damage is the worst of any melee set by a WIDE margin. According to Bill Z Bubba's DPS spreadsheet, Spines has a ST attack chain that puts out.....80 DPS. The next powerset up the ladder is Electric Melee at 103 DPS. The next one after that is Broadsword at 121 DPS.
That's more than 40 DPS separating Spines and Broadsword.
My goal isn't to have Spines buffed into a DPS monster like Claws or Fire Melee, it's just to maybe get Spines up to being on par with Electric Melee.
Also...Impale -> Ripper -> Throw Spines -> Repeat = 115.4 DPS at 95.6% Enhancement slotting with no Procs or other sources of +DMG.
Quills I believe tacks on 15-20 DPS.
Since unslotted Spines does less than 80 DPS, I'm guessing your 80 DPS was with slotting.
Also, the DPS I calculated doesn't put in the added DPS of using Build Up. -
Quote:I don't recall any ASes being weaker than Storm Kick when it comes to DPS. I'll have to go recheck.Originally Posted by Calhou
I'm not saying the change as such is bad - of course not, I welcome all stalker improvements.
Just, when trying to work out some attack chains, I despaired at the differences. Using rough values, this is what I found:
Kinetic Melee ends up with a monstrous 228 DPA. That's crazy awesome, and beats even Blaster Blaze as the without doubt strongest single-target attack in the game.
The baseline sets fall well behind, but still looking good, at 152. Behind the Blaze up there, as well as things like Scrapper Clobber, but well ahead of most single-target attacks.
Street Justice... about 130. That's fine, I guess - still among the strongest single-target attacks.
What's that? You want a broadsword? Enjoy your 92 DPA, weaker than even some regular stalker attacks. (Say, Storm Kick and Crushing Uppercut.) -
Quote:Actually, I assumed you took Havoc Punch and skipped Charged Brawl. When I suggested dropping Havoc Punch, I figured that made it obvious to switch to CB.Originally Posted by BL00DBATH
Judging from your post, BrandX, you assume that I took Charged Brawl and Havoc Punch. I did not, I only took Havoc Punch. Why would I take Charged Brawl over Havoc Punch?
CB is better for the DPS so why not take it instead? -
I am for a few extra slots! Not for min/max purposes really (though I admit in some builds this would happen), but because there's some powers that while one may min/max the set bonuses/enhancement values, that even underslotting some powers leaves a few powers you'd like to use, unuseable due to a lack of slots.
Now if they made them purchasable in the market, I think Id leave it 3 slots per character, bought per character, and possibly not useable untill they're level 50), so it's more to enhance a character you plan on playing regularly (for most people) and not "Okay this will help my leveling up" -
If you prefere the crafted one, can always buy in game a lvl 21 one Proc and buy the rest of the set you want in the market.
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Quote:You need to read a comicbook. When a villain goes up against a team, they get a power increase for story reasons (exceptions of course...poor Shocker)...of course the inverse is true, when a powerful villain goes one on one with a hero, sometimes they lose power (depending on the hero they go up against).Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
At least someone gets it.
Additionally I hate the EB to AV mechanic. Some characters have no ****ing business ever being AVs. Arbiter Sands on the STF; he's a nobody in the grand scheme. I beat his head in solo back in Faultline. He's got no story or lore rationalization for suddenly popping up 8 times stronger than me.
A character who's roughly on peer with the player character shouldn't suddenly be able to take on 7 others. Instead of bloating them up to an AV, they should not have been used for a challenge in team content to begin with. Either give said character backup in the form of additional EBs, or have them subbed out by someone worthy of challenging eight heroes of any given level. In the case of Incarnate content, there should be very few individuals that fit the bill considering the smack down we lay on Reichsman, who as the dialogue states, is roughly on par with what Statesman used to be, meaning we're now AT that level or above.
So, as an example, if they had Tub Ci spawn EB class "Honored Ancient Spirits" to back him up in his mission when teams run it, or have additional Ravagers spawn for teams in the encounter with Mot's Avatar in Dream Doctor's arc, that'd be a-ok with me...
But, specifically for DA, I object to catering to teams on principle. Teams have a ton of trials and content to run, AND they're vastly more rewarding for the purpose of powering up Incarnates. Leave DA to the soloists and small teams and go back to running trials if DA fails to please on a large team, because trials are for that.
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It's called keeping the story interresting
That said, I think a majority of the villains that should spawn as AVs should, and when needed they should gain increased power through other means, rather than downgrading to EB.
Of course I like the idea of one on one superhero fights akin to Spider-Man vs Venom. Venom wouldn't power down to an EB
And of course, it would stop people saying "so and so signature character is a pushover" when they solo them at EB, when these characters are suppossed to be tough and thusly a character should be built to solo them.
It's the difference between the comic book characters who have solo tiltes the likes of Spider-Girl, Batman, Wolverine, and those characters who are meant to be strictly team characters...Mr Immortal. -
Quote:Using sorcery to call uponthe spitits to attack your foe, doesn't work with sorcerer concept?Originally Posted by Pyrox
Hello forumers
i've played this game of and on for some time and never really focused on character builds and pretty much just randomly slotted.
So I was wondering if anyone could help me with a build for a dark/force field controller, the character currently sits at level 32 and I have around 135,000,000 ATM. I'd like help for a level 50 build as I can manage through the levels.
I prefer to not have end issues, which I've just currently fixed with SO's and possibly an increase in survivability because so far a feel blaster squishy.
So far I am not using haunt mainly because it doesn't fit with my concept (sorcerer) and I don't find it very useful, unless you can change my mind.
So please could you help
But besides that, I've found them to be useful in the damage department. -
Quote:This.Originally Posted by Blackleviathan
Why is this a problem? O_o it beats the before loooong freakin wind up time on all assassins strikes and your always wanting to facepalm if you miss after setting up for an assassins strike in the midst of a big fight and keep getting hit with AoE attacks of mobs..
I can see the different times being different animations n stuff.. But that's about all.. I mainly play duel blades
Really. It's not that big of a deal. -
Quote:I am not against weapon sets being ported to Dominators, but I wonder...would it be worth it?Originally Posted by Premonitions
I think we need some old concept expanded to more ATs (ma for blasters and doms, weapons for doms, gadget-based control, earth-based blast/manip, psychic-based melee, e.t.c.) most of the "new" things I can think of end up only really serving my individual needs for one or two characters and not something I would apply overall.
That's time and money put into a project, that if the melee AT threads are any indication, would have few people using the sets, as that will be a lot of redraw.
What they could do is make a Sword/Pistol set and port it to Scrappers/Stalkers/Tankers/Brutes/Dominators! FIVE ATs with just ONE powerset! I'd reroll my soon to be rolled up Staff Fighter into that
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Quote:I agree. Time Manip plays differently!Originally Posted by Hopeling
Fair enough. I think some of the new sets play quite differently from other stuff, even the ones not using new mechanics. Time, for instance, feels very different from other supports sets to me (and is the only support set I've ever liked enough to get to 50). If you want more, though, more power to you.
Darkness control doesn't play different, but at the same time I've been enjoying it more than my other Trollers. Maybe because I paied it with Time?
Titan Weapons does play differently. Unless you're not worried about end use, or maximizing AOE, then well, will any melee set play differently? -
Quote:Your stalker is squishie? >_>;;Originally Posted by Jake_Summers
Congradulations to the Devs! You have finally made my Stalker what he was meant to be. A squishy Scrapper with crazy high on meth damage.
It may have taken 15 issues, but by George, you did it!
Give yourself a pat on the back from me.
*hides /wp stalker away* -
Katie would never go back in the box. My main (a hero) might be blamed for a lot of people suffering/dying. Of course she'd do all she can to save them, but she wouldn't sacrifice one for the many.
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Can never have enough naughtiness going about!
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Quote:It's always a risk. But Im for the SG token rename option.Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Not a problem. I'm in the same boat as you, having inherited a couple of SG's a couple of years ago that I would love to change the names.
As to the drama yeah it can get ugly. I recall a big brujah a couple of years ago when the leader of a really big and active SG decided to cancel his subscription. Instead of handing over the leadership of the SG to another member he simply logged on, kicked everyone from the SG and then quit the SG himself so everything the SG had earned and stored was deleted. Boy were people pissed off.
Personally I hope the devs change their minds someday and give us some of these things. -
How does Body Mastery not ft into the natural theme.
Also it looks like you want Natural to equal human.
Also, aren't the Widows Natural? Why no Widows? Use the claw attacks, skip the mental ones, MindLink can be played off as Leadership style abilities.
Also, none of that will make leveling any more of a challenge.
Also, are you looking for a SG with such limits, or plan to create one?
Also, tend to find a lot of theme SGs don't always last long or go over well :/ -
Quote:JL's is one of your best DPS attacks. Drop Havok Punch.Originally Posted by BL00DBATH
I came up with a build that took both powers and skipped Jacob's ladder. Is that a foolish decision?
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Quote:Does it help at all that my psychological contract says "they want my money and I'm giving it to them"?Originally Posted by EarthWyrm
That's one possible interpretation of their actions. The other is that they choose not to give the free respec because they'd rather "encourage" purchasing respecs for real money. It saddens me that my inclination is to be more prone to believe the latter than the former, but that's where I find myself. I'd be satisfied with just about any explanation; no explanation is not something I view as acceptable, given the past few years' history surrounding this issue.
I stand by my previous statement that this represents a violation of the psychological contract that exists between the devs and the players, and that it concerns me as such.
If there's some piece of explanation that I've missed (I've looked at the dev and community digests, but don't frequent the "Freedom Friday" thing or have time for the Ustreams) I'd be fine with being educated on the topic. All I'm finding in my (admittedly cursory) searches is a lot of wind, and Zwill's "Sorry, not this time" up-thread.
We didn't always get a free respec with every issue, even with issues with powerset changes.
Paragon Studios is a business. -
Quote:Expand resources like enhancements which, you can always reobtain if you just reslot over them.Originally Posted by UberGuy
And you can state this because ... right, you can't. You don't have any inside track to that. Saying we can overlay IOs is no better an argument than saying we could buy a respec on the in-game market. In order to adjust to changes made to our powers by the devs we are having to expend our own resources. That's not how things have been done for quite some time, and if it's the new direction, it's not one I support.
Respec, you get a trial to run three times, not to mention vet specs. You get plenty from those, and freedom re-newed them.
So, Freedom came out, you respeced that old stalker who used those three trial respecs, and have no vet specs left? Even with all the build help available to people, that wasn't available way back when?
*shrug* I just don't see why they should be expected to give them out. More so when they've released issues without giving a free one, even when powers had changes in the issue. -
Quote:You have the power, you have it slotted, weren't respecs originally for changing powers, not keeping the enhancements?Originally Posted by Cathulhu
You honestly think that someone who slots a power and then later has the power changed on them is the same as someone who mis-slots a power?
You know, back in the day when you didn't care if you lost your enhancement cuz you'd just buy a new one.
And just handing out free respecs, that just seems to go against the whole "Here we've put them in the market to make more money"
More so when there are free ones for being a vet, free ones to be found in game, and ones to be bought on the market.
Not saying I wouldn't pass it up. But I wouldn't expect them anymore. And like I (believe I) said, re were reissued new ones with Freedom. With the game it is today, I have to ask, do people need /that/ many respecs? -
that is just awesome! Great work! And looking through your gallery you can only see the awesome grow!
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Quote:I do! Always interresting to see the pencils versus the colors.Originally Posted by Tartyrsause
deadline is still the 17th to finish them all.. seven days left... eeep!!
..err.. did anyone wanna see the pencils?? -
Quote:But the change wasn't meaningful in a way that requires a free respec. It made a change to a few mechanics, only one of which effects an attack, and it's one attack that can easily have it's IO's overlayed with others.Originally Posted by EarthWyrm
ZM and Uber pretty much summed up my thoughts. Not providing a freespec when meaningful changes have been made to an archetype, and when a powerset shared by two other archetypes has been pretty sizably re-designed, seems to represent a change in the apparent philosophy of the game's management that I find disheartening.
I've tended to dismiss claims that the Freedom model has led to "money-grubbing" tactics, but if this really is about trying to make people pay for more respecs (and I've seen no evidence to the contrary, like a statement that, "We plan to issue one for the anniversary and don't want to give them out too close together") then I guess my friend who wants me to start beta-testing other games gets his wish. I'll head down to Gamestop with my $5 tomorrow.
The arguement of "Well I don't want to lose those enhancements" is not a reason for a free respec.
Nor is the arguement of "I don't want to lose my HO's that I used in a way that wasn't intended." more so if you knew it wasn't intended (which anyone who used them that way, I find it hard to believe they didn't know).
Now if they decided to, that's awesome! But this issue really didn't warrant it based on changes made. It's no different than you slotting the wrong enhancement into a power and regretting it. You're build should for the most part have the same slots in the same powers (exceptions of course) after the respec.
But free stuff is free stuff.