CBeet

I'm all for axes as a part of Dual Blades, since the axe head is bladed so it makes sense anyway..

But there'd need to be some extra code in place if they added maces/blunt weapons, because (IIRC) the devs have said that they want to keep damage types the same as the visuals, so it's easy to know what to expect just by looking at what's charging at you. Dual Blades are all Lethal damage, AKA slashing/stabbing/shooting, and currently there is no way to change game mechanics by visuals.

I think it's a little counter-productive, but that's the last I heard on the subject. Sorry, I have no source.

Since it'd really be stepping on Teleport's toes, I'd really like to see this in a Gravity Melee set or something like that. A follow-up with you teleporting behind enemies, Lightning-Rod like AoE where you teleport in and there's a brief still of a phantom model (like you get with Dual Pistols) kicking/punching every enemy in the group as if you'd teleported in quick succession.

Heavy Tap, jab with -speed instead of stun
Uplift, an uppercut with Levitate's knock up
Superheavy Slam, Haymaker's animation with it's speeds altered so you raise your arms slower then slam them down at blinding speed
Tactical Wormhole, instantaneous teleport which summons a psuedopet with a PBAoE attack, 1 target max, disorient/stun. Self +damage/tohit
Confront/taunt
Wormhole Barrage, targetted melee AoE (think Thunderstrike), you simply kick or punch your target and any other enemy hit has a brief phantom model appear doing a kick/punch with the teleport effect
Gravity Well, the Warshade's one..

..All I can think of any more right now.

I am deeply offended and intrigued by this thread.

Carry on.

Genesis: ST nuke attack
Hybrid: 100% chance for additional damage of X type, rank increases damage/adds secondary effects
Mind: Toggle self buff, one for damage, one resistance, one defense, one regen. Level shift
Vitae: Click buffs, one self heal/regen/+hp, one +def/+res, one ally heal/regen/+hp, one ally +def/res. Temp level shift

Those're my thoughts on the first four.. Now I have a few theories on Omega;

Fully customisable power. Choice of Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, Mez (really high mag) or Debuff (% unresistable). Each one you can customise from a choice of effects linked to damage type (with scaling damage depending on choice), enemy effect etc. All the same animation times, all the same endurance/recharge/mag depending on tier. Each give a short term level shift with every use, with only Very Rare ranked ones being perma-able with constant use (I'd think recharges would be t1-60s t2-45s t3-30s t4-15s with level shift at a 16 second duration to make up for the lag of it kicking in), only effected by Alpha slot.

Another Alpha Slot, working like a Hami-O enhancing only 2 things but up to full 45% with the same ED ignoring ratios for both. Acc/Dam, Def/Res, Heal/Rech, Mez/Endred. Tiers add level shifts (t1 0, t2 +0, t3 +1, t4 +2) only available during Incarnate content, trees add additional secondary effects to powers;
Acc/Dam adding chance for immobile or chance for -res/-def
Def/Res adding chance for hold or chance for -tohit/-dam
Heal/Rech adding chance for stun or chance for -rech/-end
Mez/Endred adding chance for knockdown or chance for -speed/-secondary effects
Mez all Mag 2 for 8 seconds, highest chance being 50%, knockdown 75%. Debuffs only 50% chance, tier increases magnitude by t2-2.5%, t3-3.5%, t4-5%, they stack with Interface.

Each tree offering a change/increase to base numbers/multipliers/caps. Increase of HP/damage cap, increasing base damage multiplier by a small amount plus level shifts, things like that -if- at all possible, which I doubt but it'd be pretty amazing if it were

Some great advice and posts in here, but just thought I'd throw in my own build because it might come in handy if you have a lot of money on hand. My Bane's on a different build from lack of funds, but this is what I'd aim for if I had the funds to splash on it.

A death penalty system I'd like to see is a combination of 3 and 8. When you die you get a stacking -stats debuff, 10% per death, which either goes away when you level up next or you can spend the same % of your total level XP to pay it off. That way, you can work off your death penalty with some elbow grease, or you can pay it off at the expense of 10%+ of your total XP bar.

On the #1, perma death, I've always though there should be some difficult but paced (level wise, like only once every 15-30 levels) ingame content you can run in order to get extra lives. Make it difficult to do, so more likely to die in the process, but if you succeed you've got an extra life for the rest of the game. Risk vs reward, bam!

Rad/Fire is primarily suited to AoE, considering the sheer amount you can get (Irradiate, Electron Haze, Neutron Bomb, Atomic Blast though that's your nuke, Combustion, Fire Sword Circle, Burn plus Blazing Aura and Hot Feet for damage auras). When you factor in IOs, pretty much any Blaster can solo an AV if you build for S/L or Ranged/AoE defense (and hover out of range with Aid Self).

I have a Rad/Fire and it is very fun, not 50 yet but has been tearing through content so far, even solod through Praetoria with ease thanks to the many easy AoEs making short work of supposedly hard ambushes.

For an AV soloing Blaster, I would suggest a Fire/Mental Blaster pimped out for Ranged then AoE defense and as much recharge as you can fit, with the idea being that you hover just out of range and use Drain Psyche from Mental Manipulation now and again to keep your endurance up and debuff your target's regeneration, then Aid Self for quickly healing back spike damage which gets through. It's easier to cap S/L defense thanks to the Villain patron pool Mace Mastery's Scorpion Shield, whichever's in your budget. They can even solo GMs

I'm sure if a more experienced builder sees this thread they could maybe offer up a build?

Leo, you're missing one thing, what if these ideas were combined?

All for Stone Stalkers, say aye.

I like it, though maybe not as an alternative to Granite Armour. The main issue I have with Stone is that it's very dibilitating, even without Granite. The endurance cost is high, the run speed and jump debuff in Rooted can be crippling both to a character and the freedom in the build (Stone Armour? Get teleport! You wont have any problems then! Except the problem of having teleport as a travel power or using up one of your power pools).

In fact, add 2 mags of mez protection, a small amount of +regen, a small amount of -runspeed and replace Rooted with it. That'd take away a lot of the out-of-Granite problems by giving another way of upping stats and removing a toggle, plus you can actually -jump-. It'd make out of Granite play easier, and when in Granite it'd be at the cost of even more runspeed.

Elec/Fire is fun, don't know if it's unique or popular though. It's like the on-the-edge opposite of a SS/Shield.

Also, Dark/Fire is great!

..I like Fiery Aura.

Noyjitat, I am watching your signature with Ghostbusters on in the background, it is hypnotising.

Elec's resistances are pretty high, it's heal is pretty good, but because of it's recharge I wouldn't call it reliable. It's fine enough to be a good pick, but not great, IMO.

What Elec is really good at though is end drain. Slot the damage aura for endmod and use Power Sink in every group and work your way to completely sapping groups of enemies, bonus points for going Mu. With most enemies drained, you with unlimited endurance, good enough resistances for the alpha and a heal and god mode for panic buttons, it can be pretty solid.

As for pairing with Battle Axe, it'd be fine, so long as you don't mind redraw. If you do, just be grateful it'd not as bad as Fiery Aura with the >20 second self heal and Consume for endurance. Elec's +recharge and end management will counter BA's relatively slow attacks and high endurance costs. Also, Carnies are weak against lethal and you're strong against endurance drain, so go nuts against them (and Malta too, mwahaha).

Alien vs Predator, 1 and 2
Doom
Spawn

... <.< >.>

..The original Power Rangers movie.

Flintlock and cutlass
Chainsaw and sawn-off shotgun
Combat knife and SMG

Whatever works!

Now here's the thing about dual wielding a ranged and a melee weapon. Both can be used in melee, both can be used at range. It can easily be spread out between Scrapper, Brute, Tanker, Stalker and Dominator with only a few changes to make it work.

And very yes to scythes (maybe a Katana or Battle Axe model? Or part of a polearm/staff set) and riot control/grenades control set for natural Controllers/Dominators..

Hmm..

Web Grenade
Pepper Spray (ST hold, -tohit)
Wide Area Web Grenade
Glue Grenade (AoE -speed, -range, chance for knockdown patch)
Flashbang Grenade (AoE stun, -tohit)
Choking Gas (AoE patch, 50% chance for choking hold every .5 seconds, smallish radius but 30 second patch duration)
Riot Police (Summons 5-10 riot police, like Gang War, all they have are Phalanx Fighting, Grant Cover and a shield smash for minor damage but 100% knockdown)
Suppression (AoE fear, fires a grenade over the group which explodes in a big smokey cloud)
Smoke Grenade (Patch, pulsing placate, -perception, -range, -tohit, confuse)

A little off topic but not much, the reason behind the huge amount of defense debuffs vs resistance debuffs is because of how easy it is to get more defense. Either through IOs, power pools, team buffs, whatever, it's very very easy to get and stack and become godlike.

This of course also dips it's toe into why there's so much +defense but next to no +resistance in IO bonuses, if there was just as much +resistance there'd have to be an ingame counter to make up for it, unresistable -resistance, higher damage etc. Even if they don't (supposedly) take IOs into consideration when testing new content, it'd be silly not to consider it for balance.

It's easier to balance defense from all it's counters (higher base tohit, +accuracy/tohit powers, -def attacks) which have little effect to other forms of protection. To balance resistance in much the same way it'd require things which would have a greater effect against other protection types, or just characters in general (higher damage, unresistable damage, stacking and/or unresistable -resistance).

Now that I have your attention, I would like to have a stab at suggesting something many people have been wanting, and many others have also been shooting down as a bad idea.

A gun and blade set for melee characters, a simple idea which has been shown throughout entertainment (Rambo, generic army bad-A characters, Ash from Evil Dead kinda, 40K Commissars).

Conceptually, how would it work?
Dual wielding a bladed weapon with a pistol, while quite awesome looking by itself, is quite silly if it's meant for a melee based set. If you have a gun in one hand, why not just shoot it? My only answer is that you have a knife in the other.

If we look back at other powersets, it's not unheard of for a melee set to have ranged attacks, so it can definately have at least one plain shot from the gun, even two. For one more point because otherwise that was a small paragraph, a gun would do better damage the closer the target is, added with muffling of sound if it was placed against your foe before firing it might even be a strategic advantage for a gun user to be in melee thanks to the travel abilities in the game universe.

So what about it's name? When I think of someone going knife/sword in one hand, gun in the other, I can't help but think of the stereotypical Bad-A army type. Usually people suggest this as Gun-Fu but I think that's a bit cliche. What about Commando? I think that works, make you own suggestions if you want to.

Now, finally, here's my idea for what powers there'd be and their effects. Feel free to suggest your own.

Stab, minor lethal damage, typical first attack, 3 second recharge. A simple stab with the knife

Quick Shot, moderate lethal damage, -def, 30ft range, 6 second recharge. A single shot from the gun

High Swipe, moderate-high lethal damage, chance for knockdown, 8 second recharge. You quickly slash up with the knife

Riposte, Claws' Follow Up clone

Single Out, 130 degree cone moderate lethal damage, extra tick of moderate lethal damage against target, chance for knockdown against target, 8 second recharge. You quickly spin and strike with the knife for the cone, then immediately shoot your targetted foe

Confront

Target Practise, high lethal damage, small foe knockback, 12 second recharge. You violently kick your target off their feet, then shoot them in mid-air

Whirling Shots, PBAoE moderate lethal damage, chance for knockdown (50%), chance for high lethal damage (25%), 20 second recharge. You quickly spin to trip targets around you, like a Martial Artist's Dragon Tail, while simultaneous firing your gun wildly in an attempt to hit a target

Two T9 ideas

Dual Pistol's Executioner's Shot OR

Overkill, superior lethal damage, 3 chances for moderate lethal damage (first 75%, second and third 50%), 40ft range, chance for knockback (75%), each individual shot does -def, 20 second recharge. You violently throw your knife at the target, then fire 3 wild shots in their direction. Maybe even have Eagle's Claw's +crit effect for Scrappers and Stalkers?

Speaking of Stalkers, remove the PBAoE for Placate and replace Quick Shot (making the first two attacks Stab and High Swipe) and put in a melee range Executioner's Shot for the Assassin's Strike.

Thank you for reading, well done if you read it all I know I can go on a bit and please leave any suggestions/comments you can

I can narrow it down to two.

Mosh Pit, Stone/WP Brute, a telekinetic metal head whose powers become more brutal and powerful the more worked up he is, usually through music.

Big Rig, Invuln/SS Tank, ex-government Texan truck driver took his motor skills and some classified material he helped transport to create the Big Rig, a great power suit mostly made out of truck parts.

PS: I can't remember if I've already posted in this thread.

Arachnos/Praetorians/Rikti/Signature Villains vs Longbow/Vanguard/Midnight Squad/Signature Heroes FPS, working like a cross between Team Fortress 2 and Star Wars Battlefront 2.

An amalgorithm of recycled Warwalkers, Council/5th giant mechs, Kronos titans and a Freak Tank put together for a new GM.

Maybe bits of Arachnos subs and Longbow fliers thrown in too.

Gentlemen.
/Spy

Can't remember if I've posted in here before but what I really like about good animations are if they feel like they connected like the screen shake and sound of Stone Melee, slightly burning scenery of Fire Melee etc or if they're on the egde of believeability and only dipping their toe into the rule of cool like Eagle's Claw or Rain of Arrows, Dual Pistols went too far I think, as have most of the Cast animations added to ranged sets with Dual Blades teetering on the edge.

With future animations, please, keep it simple, easy to keep track of and not overly busy. This isn't just for personal asthetics though, I think that if a power's animation is too fancy or complicated it can give the illusion of looking longer, much like how people thought Dual Pistols' animations were far longer than they are, making some leave it alone with the thoughts that it's weak.

Long story short before my personal suggestions, cleaner and less busy animations would be GREAT for future content and additions, PLUS powers which look like they would act in such a manner in the real would are a major bonus, though not needed if balanced with the rule of cool.

Anyhow, here are my personal suggestions for future animations and/or effects

Karate Chop! for Martial Arts' Thunder Kick.

Fire, Ice and Stone melee alternating the attacks so there're weapon and hand/feet animations for all powers, for Stone Melee I would imagine there'd need to be brand new animations for the two handed hammers but otherwise it could all be redone animations with new effects. Here're my ideas;

Scorch - Broadsword Parry
Fire Sword - Super Strength Haymaker alternate animation
Cremate - Broadsword Slash
Combustion - Super Strength Foot Stomp alternate animation but carrying the Fire Sword
Breath of Fire - Hand flamethrower alternate animation
Fire Sword Circle - Super Strength Foot Stomp
Incinerate - The last part of the Stalker's Broadsword Assassin's Strike animation
Greater Fire Sword - Martail Arts Cobra Strike alternate animation
Burn - Regeneration Moment of Glory with the Fire Sword

Frozen Fists - Broadsword Slash
Ice Sword - Super Strength Haymaker
Frost - Katana Confront with the Ice Sword being used to shoot out the normal Frost power effect
Freezing Touch - The last part of the Stalker's Broadsword Assassin's Strike animation
Greater Ice Sword - Energy Melee Stun
Frozen Aura - Ice Sword Circle

Stone Fist - Quick jab up at chest-head level to hit with the top of the hammer
Stone Mallet - Super Strength Haymaker alternate animation
Heavy Mallet - Martial Arts Cobra Strike alternate animation
Fault - Heavy Mallet animation with the ranged portion of Fault OR throwing the Heavy Mallet in an arc at the target
Hurl Boulder - Heavy Mallet at the ground, breaking up a chunk of ground, then pulling the hammer up quickly to launch the chunk at your target OR throwing a Stone Mallet at the target
Tremor - Total Focus two-handed strike at the ground
Seismic Smash - Very quickly swing a Heavy Mallet behind you then down on the enemy for a huge overhead smash

As for emotes - Facepalm, laying down, more natural sitting which actually works with furniture in the game, running on the spot, stretching and/or yawning, using dumbells/weights, a loop of throwing punches and kicks (can be taken from SS and MA, doesn't matter)
The following actions/emotes whilst sitting down: Drinking (cup, enriche and tea), shrugging, yes, no, talking, clapping, sleeping (slumped back looking limp with the Zzzzs effect), waving, eating, stretching and/or yawning, slit throat
I'm a Roleplayer, go figure the list would be long

Summoning a Trip Mine/Time Bomb by tapping controls on your arm

Kick alternate animations for Energy/Electrical/Kinetic/Dark/Fiery Melees and Super Strength (even if it's just a sped up Kick from Fighting with the Super Strength aura down your leg for Jab)

Two handed Battle Axe/Broadsword/War Mace

One-armed Spines so they can work with Shield. -I have a character concept darnit-

Assault Rifle animations for Archery, so that they can have crossbows

Likely not covered by this but:

Axes for Dual Blades. It's called 'Blades' and last I check axes have a blade.
Thick, single bolt of lightning for Electrical Blast/Assault like Lightning Storm uses, either coming from the player or striking from the sky (Or both!)
No effect options for Super Strength and Martial Arts