Chyron HR

To clarify a point that some people are missing:

Prior to Issue 5, hostage NPCs could see you when you were stealthed and had no trouble following you. In I5, the devs deliberately chose to make hostages unable to see through stealth. Shortly after, they gave NPCs who assist in combat the ability to see through stealth, on the basis that they were going to draw aggro to you anyway. And in I6, they gave Warburg scientists the same ability, presumably because they felt it would be unfair to make people unstealth in an open PVP zone.

So this is not an issue of "LOL Devs can't fix hostage NPCs"; the hostages don't follow you when you have stealth up because the devs don't want them to be able to do that. And they're probably not going to change their minds just because players like the idea of something as (quite frankly) broken as an auto-stealth power that can be stacked to get auto-invisibility.

This runs contrary to what we were previously told, that "bonus effect" IOs slotted into click powers are always active. Has the system been revised so that this is no longer the case?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That's what gets overlooked when peole get all shook up over some of the bonuses you can get from IOs: there is an opportunity cost associated with them. And in the case of slotting Empathy will full IO sets (yes, the thread's gotten so far off topic that it's back on topic again), that opportunity cost is much lower than it is for many other Defender primaries, even though those other sets may offer a greater number of properties to be enhanced.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't know if it's intended, but it comes across like you're pretty confident in what is the already-optimal slotting and purpose for the powersets- what people should slot and what you should expect from a slotter. IO's are specifically intended to shake those notions up.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't care what people slot and I don't expect anything from slotters other than vaguely coherent communication and a non-suicidal playstyle. And, in the spirit of full disclosure, I expect to team with people who didn't sacrifice their primary and secondary to get all four travel powers by level 20 (they do exist)--if that makes me an elitist, so be it.

I do know what *I* consider the optimal slotting *I* would hypothetically use in a given powerset (taking into account the fact that what we know about IOs is still fairly nebulous), and I feel entitled to argue from *that* basis that one set or the other has more potential to benefit from IOs, in my personal opinion.

Until we get I9 to play with, the whole issue of "what powersets get more use out of IOs" is pure theorycraft, after all.

[ QUOTE ]
But that would still benefit the team.. Being able to bring fortitude back faster allows it to be cast again sooner. It may not extend the actual power on the buffed teammate, but you can hit them again faster with a recharge... or am I getting that wrong?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, yes, technically *any* self buff is a team buff, because the whole team benefits from your increased performance. And, by the same token, ally-only buffs are also self buffs, so long as you have teammates to use them on. However, that's entirely separate from the notion that by slotting a mini-hasten IO in Fortitude you can use the power to buff your *teammate's* recharge rates, which is what some people theorize you can do.

However, since people take issue with the example of Fortitude, let's look at Hover. This is a power that many people take and three-slot to gain unrstricted flight in combat. Instead, those three slots could be used to make hover into a power that grants stealth, +recharge and +tohit--aspects that are undeinably awesome both on their own and together. However, if you put those IOs Hover, you no longer have a power that grants unrestricted flight in combat. You have to either forfeit that aspect of Hover or remove slots from some other power, making it less effective in turn.

That's what gets overlooked when peole get all shook up over some of the bonuses you can get from IOs: there is an opportunity cost associated with them. And in the case of slotting Empathy will full IO sets (yes, the thread's gotten so far off topic that it's back on topic again), that opportunity cost is much lower than it is for many other Defender primaries, even though those other sets may offer a greater number of properties to be enhanced.

[ QUOTE ]
I hear there are these wonderful enhancements that give SO level bonuses to two things. HOs or SHOEs or some silly thing. One of them is resist/endurance, leaving you three extra slots of wiggle room for IOs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, but I prefer to focus on realistic slotting situations, rather than planning to get three super-valuable, super-rare HOs so that I have room to slot three super-vauable, (probably) super-rare IOs.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I mean, you can slot Fortitude with all that stuff as well, but I think your teammates might be expecting you to use it for its intended purpose rather than a vehicle for IO bonuses for yourself.

[/ QUOTE ]


It's "intended purpose" is to buff your teammates. Putting a full Defensive IO set in this power would:

1) Increase the Defense Buff youe teammates recieve.

2) Give them an additional buff if you used one of the "Special" Enhancements.

Why should your teammates care if you slot it in such a way so that they benefit and YOU benefit from it as well?

[/ QUOTE ]

1) Iakona provided a list of cherry-picked IOs from different defense sets, my point was that you couldn't put all of those in Fortitude without taking away from either the defense it provides or the number of teammates you can keep it cast on.

2) As far as we know at this point, IOs that provide a bonus buff to the player (ie, +7.5% recharge), do not affect the power itself; they're just kind of "there". So slotting Fortitude for a recharge boost would only apply to you, not to the teammates you cast it on.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Shadow Fall: Can take Resistance and Defense sets.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, of course, you can slot it's nearly nonexistant defense. You can slot MANY things for IO set bonuses as long as you're willing to gimp the actual power itself.

[/ QUOTE ]
Or, y'know, you could slot it for +7.5% Recharge, +7.5% ToHit, and Knockback/up protection (all 3 of these enhancements are found in Defense Sets). But I suppose that would be gimping the actual power itself, eh?

[/ QUOTE ]

Since you would have to give up slotting it either for resistance (reducing the power's ability to fulfil one of its primary functions) or endurance reduction (reducing your ability to do anything else while the power is active) to get those benefits... then yes, pretty much.

I mean, you can slot Fortitude with all that stuff as well, but I think your teammates might be expecting you to use it for its intended purpose rather than a vehicle for IO bonuses for yourself.

[ QUOTE ]
Howling Twilight: +Regen/+Recovery? Now you're showing you don't know how this power works.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. I don't know how to play my main. Very classy.

FYI, I was talking about the *IOs* that give either a +regen or +recovery boost. Which would be good if you're not planning to 3-slot HT for use as a regen debuff.

[ QUOTE ]
Shadow Fall: Can take Resistance and Defense sets.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, of course, you can slot it's nearly nonexistant defense. You can slot MANY things for IO set bonuses as long as you're willing to gimp the actual power itself.

See, the thing is that Empathy can slot its powers WITHOUT taking away from the aspects you would have slotted in the first place, which puts it ahead.

[ QUOTE ]
Empathy is basically limited (based on current info) to Heal sets and one power to slot a Defense set in, if you want to 6 slot Fortitude. (My post was about putting a full set of 6 in a power).

[/ QUOTE ]

Your original thesis was that Empathy didn't have many powers that could be effectively six-slotted with IOs, so I listed two-thirds of the set which can. Now you've moved the goalposts to "Empathy can't slot different types of IO sets".

[ QUOTE ]
And Three have many choices when it comes to powers to put a set of 6 in. (Dark Miasma, Storm Summoning and Trick Arrow). Characters with these Powersets will have a much easier time when it comes to putting a set of 6 IO's in a power. Many already have powers 6-slotted, and there is a set that fairly closely matches how they have used those slots.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeahbutwha? Dark Miasma:

Twilight Grasp - Needs two accuracy, can only slot up to 4 of a healing set.

Darkest Night - Nothing

Tar Patch - Nothing

Shadowfall - 6 slot resistance IOs

Howling Twilight - Can slot with +Regen/+Recovery IOs, not usually six-slotted. And if we count Howling Twilight, we have to count Ressurect--seven powers for Empathy.

Fearsome Stare - Does no damage, cannot fully benefit from a six IO set. EDIT: Not that I do this, but many people slot Fersome Stare as a tohit debuff power rather than a control, but this usage of the power is not supported by IOs.

Petrifying Gaze - Needs significant recharge slotting to be useful, which IO sets do not provide; does no damage and cannot fully benefit from a six IO set.

Black Hole - Nothing

Dark Servant - Controls, Heals and Debuffs, none of which can be enhanced by IOs (pet sets only); cannot be slotted for damage but all of the pet IO sets are designed to enhance pet damage.

In short, there is *no* power in Dark Miasma that will not be made worse by slotting it with a six-piece IO set. Fearsome Stare can work if you mix two sets together to avoid the useless damage enhancements.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Any plans to add enhancers for buff/Debuff powers? My Rad/Rad is feeling a little abandoned in all the fun!


[/ QUOTE ]

Try looking at Empathy or Kinetics and decide what Powers you can put IO Sets in. Especially if you want a full set of 6 for the last bonus effect.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heal Other
Healing Aura
Absorb Pain
Fortitude
Regeneration Aura
Adrenalin Boost

Is this a trick question?

[ QUOTE ]
Last I knew "greatly desired" and "needed" meant two different things. It's helpful if you don't read things in that aren't there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Last I knew, being "greatly desired IF THE TEAM WANTS TO HAVE ANY CHANCE OF WINNING" was the same thing as being "needed".

And now I suppose you're going to say something bizarre like "you don't NEED to complete the task force, so they're technically not needed".

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not too worried about the bounds aspect. I am worried about players mistakenly, or unknowingly, bypassing content. So if I'm a hero and I turn villain at level 20. I'm going to miss out on level 20 to 50 content for heroes. If I do the same for a villain, that's content I'm going to be bypassing. So that's one thing I'm kind of concerned about.

[/ QUOTE ]

So when people who got to level 50 before you introduced the Hollows/Striga/Croatoa but want to experience that content, it's not allowed because "you're not supposed to see all the content on one character". But when people want to switch from one faction to the other, it's not allowed because "you would miss one faction's content"?

Nice flying, Yossarian.

[ QUOTE ]
Portal Jockey was actually fun to get. Just run the 2 story arcs. Get some nice SOs into the bargain.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but an unscientific survey of various public channels reaveals that more than half of the CoH playerbase is too stupid to understand what a story arc is, thus putting Portal Jockey (and Statesman's Pal) beyond their reach forever.

LOOKING 4 BOBCAT AND ANTIMAN AV PST

[ QUOTE ]
You have to stick with one choice at the end of the game. A choice with a consequence. CoV has a lot more "consequences" than CoH does, to add more flavor to the game.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, whee! How wonderful that there are story-based *consequences* for your gameplay-based power selections!

Hey, you know what, all you... Empathy Defenders? You can't do any of the Striga content. Just plain can't. /Emp controllers, too. You want a certain set of powers, you're locked out of content. Reroll or suck it.

[ QUOTE ]
2) Receiving the reward will count towards the badge. You don't need to see the rocket "take off" to get credit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Could you clarify? Does that mean that recieving the reward *is* the trigger for badge credit? And, if so, does already having the reward (temp power) mean that you don't get credit, as you can't recieve another until you've used your first?

I think I finally figured out the purpose of taking away Steath's stealthiness. There's going to be an AT in City of Villians that's based around combat stealth, and our dear developers didn't think it was fair that other characters in a separate game could do the same thing.

(Of course, six months from CoV's release the Stalker's stealth will also be suppressed in combat, because "We never intended for it to be used that way." Tee hee, those developers are such cards.)