EvilGeko

I have CoV day one characters who don't have that badge. But then I gave up too. Not worth it.

(by the way the SoA were released on 5/20/08)

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I duuno. My neutrino bolt with acc/dam 2 dam/range and 3 procs suggests otherwise.

The absolute 'best' builds are a combination of HO, Set-IO and common-IO

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Yes, but the proportion of HOs to Set-IO in those "best" builds tends to skew towards Set IOs by a factor of 5 or more.

Sure I keep a couple of Nucleolus in Parry myself. That doesn't mean that HOs are a balanced reward. You didn't even address the point I made about their relative worth next to purples.

If HOs aren't going to be a good as purples then sell them at the merit vendor.

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I don't like the scrapper inherent. It's just so dull and uninteresting, even without being a flimsy duplicate of the stalker inherent.

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I like it. I don't want some CoV, need my inherent to be equal to the other ATs. I love Scrapper, SoA, Tankers and others whose inherents are mostly afterthoughts.

Oh and Scrappers were the first AT to receive an inherent as such. It's stalkers that are doing the copying.

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5% or 10% crit chances sound like something that should be part of the powers themselves, because they sure as heck aren't archetype defining.

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Scrapper kill, criticals help them kill MORE and FASTER. Sounds like a match made in Chuck Norris' fist to me.

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People are happy enough with scrappers that not a lot of ideas are out there.

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Nor should there be any ideas. Nothing to fix.

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(QR)
Scrappers do not need buffs.

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Controller

They all have a ST hold that is near identical in holding strength and accuracy (it gets a bonus). They all have an AoE hold which varies between them. Some have a targeted AoE hold, others have a PBAoE hold.

However, there are other controls which make one or the other better. For an empath controller, I would probably go Plant. Not that any of them would be bad or that Plant would be so much better, but Plant has Seeds of Confusion which is one of the best powers in the game IMO.

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You mean like 33.3% acc and 33.3% dam for the HO versus a level 50 IO which has 26.5% acc and 26.5% dam ?

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Improper comparison.

Compare them to purples the other non-merit purchasable PvE loot. It's not pretty. Same enhancement (33%) + ultimate set bonuses + farmable solo on mob that can drop 50 enhancers. Unlike HOs and SHOs which have exactly THREE ways to come into the game, all of which requiring a group/multiple groups.

It's obvious why HO supply has dwindled. Except for exceptions like Membranes in Mind Link, there's just not any reason to get that reward.

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A FF/Ice blaster feels much more damaging.


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Catwhoorg, you using hax again?

QR

I always get a giggle when Scrapper argue about whether this or that set is best. A whole AT where every single powerset combo is near overpowered or better and people feel the need to argue about the details.

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Oh and by the way, i insist that ANY Defender can solo on Heroic difficulty. I did it. Not saying that it is fun and fast all the time but it certainly can be done.

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I agree with you. I can't think of a single Defender combo that can't solo. Some, like my Kin/Sonic can solo quite well. The question I would ask about that is, "but why would anyone?"

I know that the devs promise that anyone can solo on heroic, but I really don't understand why people pick an AT that is designed to offer many of their advantages to teams and then complain when the AT isn't much of a soloer.

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Can you guys suggest a server other then freedom (so much lag) or virute (not into RP). Any one that i can get a good standered mission team will make me happy. Also as stated before, AE didnt ruin CoX. I've played awsome story based arcs. I have a few im working on. unfortinally if it gives any reward such as xp, inf, badges, tickets, salvage, ect. It will be farmed if you were in villans around lvl 6 before AE everyone did bank farms. So its not the content but the way it is played. If you want zero farms they will have to turn CoX into a game where you are a blob of goo in a cardboard box, and your objective is to not move for 100,000,000,000,000 years. If you win you get a cookie, oh wait people can farm that too just leave your computer on for a long time. Well i guess there is only one way to fix this. Delete CoX from the world and never try to bring it back.

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I have no problems getting teams on Justice, but then 90% of the time these are SG or folks from my global channels. TBH, while I think you can get a PUG at mid levels (20-35), I think lower levels can be difficult post AE.

Scrappers 4
Brutes 2
Tankers 2
Defenders 2
Controllers 2
SoA 2 (One of each)
Kheldians 2 (One of each)
Blasters 2
Masterminds 1
Stalkers 1
Corruptors 1
Dominators 1

IIRC. The last four are primarily to fulfill my goal of 1 50 of every AT.

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While I would take any buff offered, with three of the four SoA branches being clearly overpowered (not complaining I <3 my widow and huntsman) and the banes being darn good, I think you all are going to have a hard time getting Castle to come on board with this.

The SoA's inherent is that they are full of win. I wouldn't be calling too much attention to the AT in general.

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Lag, space and vision are my main concerns for any team larger than the current maximum. Spawn points can be retooled (though given that Vernon's arcs still have the pre I7 bugged spawns, it may not be simple), but that won't solve the real problems.

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Not a problem for raid encounters, which is what I think the OP was getting at.

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"Not a problem" is subject to debate. A couple of days ago my game crashed upon arriving at a Rikti Raid mosh pit. The one I attended later the same day caused my video card temp to spike. The last Rikti Ship Raid I attended was a slideshow and several times caused server-side lag that made it highly uninteresting. And I still remember years ago when, while fighting the Hamidon, most of the participants along with the Hamidon himself would simply disappear because we hit the actors on screen limit.

And I don't have a weak machine, lemme' tell ya.

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The Hive only allows 50 people in zone precisely to deal with this issue. The Rikti Ship raids are somewhat problematic, but in any event this is not an objection to the OPs idea.

We already have raid encounters intended for multiple groups. Creating some infrastructure around those raids is an entirely different issue than fixing lag. When I said, "not a problem" I was responding to your specific point which was directed at putting multiple groups in mission instances. Right now, raid instances like Hamidon's Hive is INTENDED for multiple groups and so your objection is not well-founded there.

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Face, meet palm. Palm, face.

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This.

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Darkness Mastery for Tanks, Pyre Mastery for Scrappers, Electric Mastery for both

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Oh yes, forgot about Darkness Mastery for Tankers! Thanks!

DISCLAIMER: Yes, villains get screwed because they don't have ancillaries that give them thematic choices. No I don't think this is fair. Yes, I think the devs should fix this.

OK that out of the way. Is there any chance that the ATs getting new thematic pairing could get some proliferation of their ancillary sets. Controllers, lucky bastids that they are, already have thematically appropriate ancillary sets in place, and Blasters are out of luck because there's no such thing as Radiation Mastery but could the others get:

Defenders: Chill Mastery (As Blasters but exchanging the T1 powers for Ice Slash and Ice Patch [melee version].) and/or Munitions Mastery

Tankers: Electric Mastery

Electric Fence
Tesla Bolt
Lighting Bolt
Ball Lighting

Scrappers: Pyre Mastery (As Tankers) and/or Electric Mastery (as above)

OK folks: FLAME ON!!! (Hopefully with Scrapper Pyre Mastery. )

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Basically, I have no problem if you want to hide your effects on your screen, especially if it's just your character in particular, but you can already do that with a simple macro or bind. The visual effects are far more for other people than they are for you, really, and forcing everyone to use power icons out of "reliability" is a dubious design decision at best.


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But what's the basis for the statement that this would be a "dubious" design decision?

I can think of a couple MMOs off the top of my head that don't have obscuring visual cues for all (or even most): WoW, EQ2. WoW, of course, has, and always has had superior sub numbers than City of Heroes.

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Lag, space and vision are my main concerns for any team larger than the current maximum. Spawn points can be retooled (though given that Vernon's arcs still have the pre I7 bugged spawns, it may not be simple), but that won't solve the real problems.


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Not a problem for raid encounters, which is what I think the OP was getting at.

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Just for that player/those SG members, right? 'Cause otherwise I'm betting would be used as a griefing tool within seconds of it launching.

The other thing that I'm not sure about is the legal ramifications. Theoretically, if it only called up the .mp3 for you and only you, I don't see how it could be an issue. Calling it up for a whole SG however...

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Only for you. As the file would have to be hosted on your machine, it would be no different than embedding a .mp3 player into the game.

For the SG to all have the same song, it would have to be on folks individual machines. However, if people wanted a different theme they could have that. This would be an individual choice, not anything that the devs would control, or SG leaders could mandate.

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Allowing everyone to run around with actual invisible powers is...a very bad idea, game design-wise.

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Why?

Does Wolverine glow green when he heals?

Does Professor Xavier shoot pink rays when he dominate's someone's mind?

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Because, unlike a comic book or cartoon, a game (especially multiplayer) requires a certain amount of visual indication as a shorthand for being able to understand what's going on. Multiplayer games require substantial cues for quick reaction times, as well as to be able to understand what's going on around your character while not even looking at your character (like when you're looking at your tray for recharging powers).

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There are other MMOs where characters can have 20-30+ buffs on at once (you can get close to that here). The visual cues are all but useless in those situations. And some games don't have them. Only the buff icons.

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Because gaming isn't a passive activity, cueing takes precedence over visual realism in terms of good gameplay, especially team (or adversarial) gameplay. For example, can you imagine PvP with no colours? Can you imagine trying to heal the Bubbler who hit PFF and it not working because you can't see their power active?

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Yes, I can imagine a PvP where you don't instantly know that you're fighting a Regen and so have to think through the encounter with limited information. Sounds kinda fun personally.

As for PFF, having played a bubbler for 4 years, people don't have the slightest idea when I'm in PFF, especially when, as stated above, I have other buffs on. I've had people try to heal/buff/etc. while I was in PFF.

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I'm fine with making powers more subtle--I'll probably do that on a number of characters--but on heavily team dependant characters, I may change colours, but wouldn't want to make things invisible. After all, I don't want my Rad 'fender being yelled at for not using AM just because no one saw it.

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I check for buff icons. More reliable and quicker. And I still would if I wasn't glowing green.

I know that many folks already play with the sound down and play their own music in the background as they play. I tend not to, as the sounds are part of the experience for me.

However, I have several characters who I've adopted certain songs as their theme songs. What I would like is to be able to have the game call up these songs, in game, as follows:

1) Via a preset macro (such as the "Ready" or battlecry macros)
2) Attached to our bases.

So for instance, my personal SG, "Those Meddling Kids" could have a song attached that would be the background music for my base.

Or one of my characters, the Solar Paladin, could have another song that I could call up when she plays that would be her personal theme.

The songs could be any .mp3 (or other music file you'd like) that the user would have on their system. I recognize that this is not anywhere near a high priority, but I think it would be fun.

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I'll never touch FA again. It's too damn squishy and I don't like being knocked back by pylons. Apparently they do more KB than 3 of the -4KB IOs can deal with. Pretty much rules out /DA as well.

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I have other problems with the set, but I'm with Bill. One trip with Energy Melee and Fiery Aura is enough for me.

As for the topic, instead of wanting EM, I'm holding off on Super Strength until I can Footstomp with Scrapper mods!

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Lastly, anything that can't get done by EIGHT SUPERHEROES...well, it ain't gettin' done, pard.


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Except Hamidon or the Rikti Ship Raids.

I think the OP is really asking for a better raid team option. Right now, in our two multi-group encounters, groups have to use the existing chat options and don't have the other benefits of being on the same group (some buffs are group only for example).

I really think it would be cool if we could have a better raid system for things like Siren's Call PvP. I think that whole mechanic would be better if all the heroes and villains in the zones could link up in some way.

Thus I would amend the OPs idea to allow six groups to link up into a raid. Each group would be semi-independent, and whole raid teams would only be allowed in zone sized instances.

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Too much proliferation of the power sets and the[u] individuality of the archetypes seems muddled. [u]


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So?

Why do the ATs have to be unique and beautiful snowflakes? And assuming they do, why can't the inherent powers handle that task?

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Disagree with Draeth - invisible armors are precisely why I want this system in the first place. It would be nice to see a renaissance of sets with notoriously ugly armors. Cold Domination comes first to mind.

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Am I the single person in the game who likes ice armors?

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I like them too, but my Cold/Ice defender does get complaints.