Dispari

I've got my pistoler all ready to go. Name and costume, reserved currently with a thug/trap MM.

I even have a pseudo-build going in Mids, based heavily on assumptions.

No.

However, I was hoping that the Dual Pistols set would play more like a Scrapper set than previous ranged sets. By which I mean instead of having ST attacks that only go up to high damage, it would have 5 or so ST attacks that go up to extreme and superior damage. Great for ST DPS damage, with a couple AoEs on the side. Mimicking more the playstyle of a Scrapper without actually being on a Scrapper (which, if they did that, would require all the attacks to be melee-ish and be nonsensical as well as stupid).

Maybe I'm just being optimistic, but I imagine he and his team would know if they were 10+ levels below the enemies and dying left and right.

Huh. I've done dozens of villain-only LGTFs and ITFs, and always done just fine with Brutes. And of course the hardest task in the game, the LRSF, is always done without Tankers.

Psychic/telekinetic gunslinger sounds like a cool concept.

All I remember about my first toon was that she was Broadsword. I don't remember what her secondary was. But I had Maneuvers. I recall she was named Maulotov, and had red hair and camo pants.

It would be nice if we could get dual origins just for RP purposes. But I can see how that might cause some very minor advantages in places, so it probably wouldn't be done. For instance, someone who has two origins can use twice as many DOs and SOs, even though that's more or less just a convenience option and not a balance concern. They'd also possibly have more options available when using the small handful of powers that are based on origin (mostly just vet stuff, and the Demon Box temp). Wouldn't be an unbalancing change, but it's a consideration.

It's possible. I don't remember what it was like to be a newbie to the game, other than vaguely recalling taking Maneuvers on a Scrapper at level 6. And I don't remember what my gaming experience was before the point where I started being serious about the game and doing things like making builds in external character builders. And that was all long before WP.

These days, I use level 25 standard IOs, which are weaker than regular SOs. But even that means I'm using the right powers and they're slotted the right way. I also probably have some sort of optimized attack flow, and I know for certain I use inspirations more fluidly and intelligently than people starting out (in fact I find it annoying that most people in PUGs don't use inspirations at all, until someone dies).

So theoretically just because my 25 SIO WP toon isn't having issues with 3 +2 enemies doesn't mean that the average player doesn't. Although you know what they say happens when you assume. It makes an *** out of someone named Ume.

I think it also assumes that WP would even need to worry about its survival below 4 enemies in range. If I'm soloing on +2/x1 and fighting mostly minions with some liutenants and the occasional boss, but never fighting more than 3 foes at a time, I don't have any issues with survival using RttC. And my survival rate against a single +3 boss is enough that I don't need to wish it was higher. Reconstruction might show higher results with lower amounts of enemies, but I also don't think it's necessary.

Of course, I imagine it'd be different on AVs and whatnot, but for most content it's never been an issue for me.

No, pretending to suggest an abysmally bad idea in the name of a "social experiment" is pretty much the textbook definition of a troll. vv

This is a pretty good summary and a decent take on natural vs tech when it comes to gadgets. I believe it may even apply and make sense of the toons I've created. I have:

Rad/Traps - Natural. This toon can naturally fly, throw energy, and move fast. But the traps are devices she made. Even though she's an inventor and made things like explosives and FF generators, I chose natural because she has plenty of capabilities outside of the gadgets. She can create a forcefield generator, but without it she'd still be super. And it's less about what the gadgets can do for her, and more about what she does with the gadgets.

Bots/Traps - Tech. I don't have this toon anymore, but used to. She was an inventor as well. But without the gadgets, she had no powers. Without robots and forcefield generators, she couldn't do hardly anything. She's not a super without the stuff. She's not a tactician or anything, she just hides behind forcefields and bombs.

Dual Pistols/Traps - Natural. Can you tell I like traps? Okay, so this toon isn't made yet, but will be. She's natural too, even though she uses a ton of gadgets. Like my first toon, she's still something without her stuff. She's a martial artist, an assassin, and a spy. She uses gadgets like guns, explosives, and generators. But it's more about how she uses them than what they do.

So by my definition there, the first and third toons could use jetpacks and be natural. The middle would use a jetpack and be tech.

Um, Stalkers definitely lose defense by having low HP. And the cap is VERY significant. A Stalker who has accolades only needs 13.5% HP to cap his HP. That means not only should a WP Stalker not slot HPT, but he can't even get the full boost of the BASE amount it gives. It means a Stalker can't get the full benefit of Dull Pain or Overload.

It means the heals in Regen, Ninjitsu, Willpower, Dark Armor, Electric Armor, Energy Aura, along with the regen in Regen, Willpower, and Electric Armor -- basically EVERY set but SR -- is weaker and the Stalker is squishier.

In addition, the passives in SR give +5.625% DEF, while Hide only gives +1.875% DEF (when suppressed). So SR has lower AoE DEF than it should. It does get slightly more M/R, but it still loses out due to HP/regen. Energy loses its passive RES too.

So yes, EVERY single Stalker set has reduced survival to some degree over even Scrappers. Even if that's just a small bit of AoE DEF in SR, but that also counts their HP, and the resulting regen amount from the lower HP. Adding 1.875% DEF to regen doesn't make up for the fact that DP can only add 13.5% HP at most instead of 60%, and there are 5 powers in the set that are diminished in strength due to the lower base HP.

No it isn't. Scrapper base damage is 1.125 and Stalker is 1.00. Scrappers crit 5% on minions and 10% on everything else. Stalkers crit 10% on everything, unless they have a large team. With the addition of hide, placate, and AS, the Stalker can get some burst damage in, but those are all time-consuming activities. And only in ST DPS. And that's discounting that Scrapper BU is +100%, while Stalker is +80%. And Scrappers have access to secondaries like Shield and Fire which add more damage. A Stalker is only outdamaging a Scrapper if he has tons of friends nearby, and even then, loses out on AoEs:

Elec: -1 lame power; only set not severely hampered (and popular for this reason)
Spines: -1 PBAoE toggle
BS: -1 PBAoE
Katana: -1 PBAoE
EM: -1 PBAoE
MA: -1 PBAoE
DB: -1 PBAoE, Sweep/Empower restricted by BU timer, AV is ST
Dark Melee: -2 PBAoEs, SD -> BU (severe loss to DPS)
Claws -1 PBAoE, Eviscerate is ST, FU -> BU (severe loss to DPS)

There are two sets with ZERO AoE powers, one being MA which previously had a rather good AoE damage. Then the remaining sets outside of Elec and Spines are left with only cones, no PBAoEs. Sets like Dark Melee, which you mentioned, had poor AoE before, but between the two long-recharge PBAoEs it was at least "poor to okay," while with the loss of those it's mostly just "almost nonexistant" having to rely on SM exclusively.

In addition, various powers are reordered for Stalkers, making good powers come super late, making them much harder to play and attain DPS chains at low levels:

Parry: 8 (Scrapper), 18 (Stalker)
Impale: 8 (Scrapper), 18 (Stalker)
Siphon Life: 8 (Scrapper), 18 (Stalker)
Crane Kick: 8 (Scrapper), 26 (Stalker)

DM does have weak AoE on a Scrapper. But note that it's EVEN WEAKER on a Stalker.

EM has really weak AoE. But it has ZERO AoE on a Stalker.

Unfortunately, Katana, Broadsword, Claws, Martial Arts, and Dual Blades all have pretty good AoE. But they don't on Stalkers. Instead of having a couple ST-oriented sets (DM, EM), Stalkers turn EVERY set into an ST-oriented set, and then your only option for AoE is Elec.

Elec is the ONLY primary that shines so well on a Stalker. And there's a reason it's so popular. It lost a useless power to gain AS, while all other sets lost GOOD powers to gain AS. Elec has its full strength in everything it does still in-tact, while all other sets lost something important.

If instead of dropping PBAoE powers the sets had instead lost stuff like Stun, Cobra Strike, and Touch of Fear, we'd be having a different conversation. That's not an option for every set though (DB, Katana). It's just unfortunate that the ONLY set they chose that route for was Elec.

SRS BSNS thread is a go.

*insert long-winded, serious paragraph about how there's no such thing as a real sarcasm meter*

I have two Brutes who can handle +2/x8 WITHOUT buffs. And it would be a cold day in heck before I formed a team with ZERO support, since even if the tank was a 500b ubergod Granite/Dark Tanker, something's going to kill the Blaster over there.

Most Brutes, even before being IOed out, backed by basic support, should be able to tank for a team.

I disagree too.

Merging the servers is a pretty terrible idea, but at least I can theoretically see how someone might think it's a good idea or necessary.

I can't at all see why you'd want to get rid of characters when they reach their peak. Especially considering all the post-50 content we have that we'd just be getting rid of. And even if you did think that 50 was a let-down, why would you want to destroy the characters rather than work on improving the post-50 content?

Most of the primaries lose out on AoE powers in exchange for AS. Some sets have ZERO AoE powers. They also lose out on HP (especially max HP; ask a WP how they feel about their HP cap) and defenses in their secondary.

Stalkers are ST specialists. But the reason they suck is because they aren't good enough at that to warrant all the cons they come with. 95% of the game's content doesn't need high ST damage. The few situations where you might want it (AVs, GMs), other ATs are just as capable as a Stalker. And for that other 95% of content, the Stalker is kind of just dead weight.

Now MAYBE if Stalkers were just REALLY GOOD at doing ST damage, that would be different. But they really don't push that far ahead of Scrappers or Brutes, and that's even when they're on a full team.

Stalkers, Defenders, and Tankers all suffer from this problem as I see it. They only do one thing, and it's something that other ATs can do well enough that their "specialty" isn't necessary. Blasters are the other AT that only does one thing, but the one thing is tons of damage, and damage isn't a waste. Stalkers would need to do more damage to be worthwhile.

What a way to start.

You can use some of mine if you think it'll help.

Would make the high-end task forces and purples kind of silly too.