Jade_Dragon

In general, -dmg debuffs tend to be of higher magnitude than +res buffs. This is because +res can be kept up all the time and effects all foes attacking you, while -dmg effects only the foe hit by it. Combined with the requirement to maintain a debuff, given that it can be knocked off by killing an anchor, or may have a recharge time before being used again, this probably balances out the difference.

In short, I would say +res tends to be more stable, while -dmg fluctuates, giving you more and less damage over time. That may not be true in PvP, that's hardly my field, but I would assume it holds true there as well. Of course, being more limited in the number of foes you need to debuff does give debuffs the advantage. (The same with AVs) As you said, though, you're talking about PvE. (I got it backwards on first read )

The difference between Defenders and Corruptors is miniscule, and I think it comes down mainly to power sets. So likely there was just something about Dual Pistols that clicked with you, that somehow the greater damage for Corruptors didn't provide. In my own case, though, I had a Dark/Dark Defender that I switched to Dark/Dark Corruptor, and found it easier. YMMV.

My main has always been a Defender, though, and I've got quite a few other Defenders and Corruptors. There's something to be said for that versatility of the buff/debuffs, combined with the simple and direct damage dealing of blasts. It's slow and steady, but always new tricks to try out.

Honestly, the only reason I have chosen the Pool over Superior Invisibility is that I wanted Phase Shift for concept reasons.

And actually, I'm thinking of picking up Superior Invisbility and saying it is a phase shift.

You can save the second build until you hit 24 and then use that to train up the Crab or Bane powers and save the respec. Then your original build can be a Huntsman or otherwise specialize with the machine gun. I'm pretty sure with my Crab though I went ahead and used the respec to switch out a couple of powers, though, even on my original build.

It's basically a concept. Going with the machine gun instead of the mace, but otherwise being a Bane in all but name. The Huntsman in the Arachnos hierarchy is a very high ranking, squad oriented military leader. He's a General. Banes are special forces, built for sneaking around and doing missions solo or with a small team. So it's really just a specialization with the team oriented powers instead of the stealth and Executioner's Strike stuff.

I've done kind of a similar thing on my Crab, her dual build is split between a specialization with her arm attacks, and specialization with the machine gun. (With a few attacks from the arms just so they aren't just sitting there) She prefers the arm attacks, but there are situations in which the machine gun just provides better options.

Honestly, I think it more likely that the Dark Servant would be moved from Dark Miasma to Dark Control (and given some damage) instead of Dark Control having no pets. That would cause a problem for Dark Control in combination with other Secondaries. Gravity was the last Control set to have neither a pet not a Confuse power, and it gained Wormhole for that very reason. It's extremely unlikely that a new Control set would not have a pet.

One idea that has occured to me, though, is a combination of Illusion and Dark Control, called Dark Illusions. The pet could then be skipped for a Decieve/Mass Decieve, which would be an interesting supplement to Dark's Fear. This would obviously be a Dominator set, though, not a Controller set, and their version of Illusion, not necessarily a counterpart to Dark Miasma or Dark Assault. And there's no real reason for the Dom not to get the pet, since it doesn't get Dark Miasma.

I honestly think that the pet and the potential for overlap is the problem, not balance reasons. The MM balancing basically IS the pet, the nerfs are that and the radius of Twilight Grasp, and the recharge on Dark Servant is I think the bigger nerf. Honestly, if the CoV devs had already taken the step of creating a unique Dark Miasma (i.e., with different powers) for Masterminds it probably would port better.

I honestly think that once you get the Crab Backpack, the Natural Origin falls by the wayside. That seems to me to be a cybernetic implant. That's essentially where I draw the line, in the old Origin system, Superior Human and Gadgeteer were what we might call Natural today, but Cybernetics is Technology. It's adding technology to your body.

OTOH, in threads I've read on the subject, I've agreed that it's possible there are different types of backpacks. The cybernetic implants wired directly into the brain are for the top of the line, "Special Forces" type of Crab Soldiers, but the low level grunts might just be using an actual backpack they wear, which is controlled by sensors in their gloves. So it could just be an extremely powerful and complex sort of machine gun. It's a weapon, and a stock factory produced weapon, at that.

That's really where I draw the line between Natural Origins that use gadgets, and Technology Origin that uses gadgets. If the gadget is doing all the work, and it's a one of a kind, special item developed by the hero himself, or a team of geniuses working for him, then it's Technology. If it's just a weapon, in the hands of a trained soldier who wields that weapon so well because HE knows how to use it, then it's Natural. Batman's gadgets, for all their high tech, are dangerous because of Batman's training. Iron Man's suit, on the other hand, plans a lot of the strategy and does a lot of the fighting for him.

Not only that, but while Batman had to build a lot of his equipment himself, Natural heroes in Paragon City seem to be able to pick their gadgets up at the local Image Inc. It's all bought off the shelf. That doesn't mean he can't build his own gadgets, but it may save time if he doesn't have to. (Not to mention he doesn't have to be a millionare playboy to afford it )

GavinRuneblade said it best, and I think it's still the best test for who is Natural. "If you take away all his wonderful toys and he STILL kicks your butt, he's Natural." The Natural hero (or villain) doesn't need the weapons, they're just there to make the job easier.

In the case of Crab Spiders, even if you take away his backpack, he does still have all that time he spent as a Wolf Spider to fall back on. Likewise, the Fortunatas may have had to undergo some scientific or genetic experimentation to unlock those mental attacks, but if they didn't have the discipline already from being Widows they probably wouldn't be able to control it. Most of the Tarantula Mistresses apparently go insane from the combination of unlocking their mental powers and being transformed into cybernetic spiders anyway.

Has the Arsonist started coming up with the wrong name? I never noticed this problem before.

Anyway, I have a macro of my own which switches the name of my Enforcers. I find that the command basically works if I rename one to a neutral name, rename the other, and then rename the neutral name. That is, the commands seem to be executed in order. Thus, you may not need two macros, the clear command might work as the first command of the sequence.

Don't quote me on that, though, as I haven't tried it.

Also, shouldn't that be Chef, not Cook?

I don't believe I've ever deleted any of my characters. Even a couple of random characters I created for testing are still sitting over there on Triumph.

I have replaced a couple of characters, though. Loopy Loup Garou, my werewolf Brute, was originally EM/Inv. I recreated him as EM/Willpower. I recreated him on Pinnacle, though, but once GR comes out I'm planning on creating him again as Claws/Will. So I will delete the oldest version of him.

I also deleted my old Dark/Dark Defender when I recreated him as a Corruptor. And actually, in one case I changed the name of a character and altered his height and appearance rather than delete him, when I changed his Power Sets. I wanted to keep the old combo because it was still fun.

With the ability to move characters from server to server, though, available slots is no longer a problem. I've got lots of characters laying around below level 10 that I don't play, but haven't deleted. I guess that may be the question, not what keeps me from deleting it, but what keeps me from leaving it around unplayed.

Personally I think a bad player will play any AT bad. Just because they have a so-called "Epic AT", that doesn't make them any worse a player, and the Epic ATs aren't that hard to play. Kheldians don't really require any awareness of Quantums any more, they aren't really a threat, and IMHO SoA aren't hard to play at all...

Besides, all those Epics ATs you're seeing around now are from the MA.

There's an answer from Sunstorm and another thread on the subject linked to in this thread.

The problem is, it is all related. If Dominators get Dark Control, then Controllers will want Dark Control and Dark Miasma. If Dominators get Dark Assault, then Blasters will want Dark Manipulation and Dark Blast. And the theoretical Dark Control has a lot of overlap with Dark Miasma. Either Dark Miasma for Controllers will have to be stripped of some of its control, adding new powers unique to them and not Corruptors and Defenders, or Dark Control will have to be designed with powers that aren't in Dark Miasma, making those powers unavailable to Dominators.

Personally, I feel the best solution is to give the Controller version of Dark Miasma powers that Corruptors and Defenders get in their Blast set, such as Dark Pit. Then all four ATs will share some powers, but Corruptors and Defenders will have it in Miasma, while Controllers and Dominators will get it in Control.

I can understand why the devs have been hesitant to look at it yet, though. So far, they have tried to port Sets without making them different between ATs. The only difference has been where the AT itself makes it necessary, such as Stalkers, or Masterminds. Usually they try not to replace a power with a whole new power that does something different. (Dark Armor for Stalkers, for instance, has its capabilities in different powers, but still the same capabilities. Shadow Dweller makes up for the difference between Cloak of Darkness and Hide, it doesn't add all new abilities CoD doesn't have)

In short, a Dominator will outdamage a Corruptor in melee, or against single targets. A Corruptor should have the advantage in AoE damage. A Blaster will beat them both at both.

Note also a Corruptor can usually boost his damage with his Secondary while a Blaster or Dominator cannot. (Outside of Build Up/Aim, but that is usually a short burst of damage) The Corruptor needs to take time to lay down his debuffs, though, or buff himself and his allies.

The Dom is really closest to a Blaster in Blapping. The damage isn't quite as good, but then the Dom is at less risk, too, since he can be pretty confident his foe can't fight back before moving into melee. (And the Dom does have more melee damage, it's just the Blaster's attacks are harder hitting, and he can mix in his ranged attacks as well)

I also think it's a little cool that a Dom's Sniper attack does pretty much the same damage as a Blaster, although it takes a little longer to recharge, and uses a litttle more End. That was apparently a little something the devs added to give Doms a bit more burst damage, although likely in the end it's not really significant.

Well, just to start with, there can be arguments about where some heroes fit in the Archetype system. Superman, for instance, seems to be on the line between a Tanker and Scrapper. It really depends on whether you consider Invincibility on a Scrapper not really standing up to what Superman can do, or whether you consider him pulling his punches with Super Strength so he's more like a Tanker. You might also see arguments for Willpower instead of Invulnerability, or that Rage doesn't really fit his concept.

Spiderman also pretty much can't be created. He would be a Scrapper with Super Reflexes, but his ability to snare and control foes is something Scrappers can't do. Ninjitsu would kind of give those kinds of abilities (and Web Grenade from the Epic Pool) but while I would like to see more Power Sets with those options, right now it's kind of not an Archetype. A Dominator isn't quite right either.

I may go ahead and post some of my ideas, though, if I get the chance. I personally don't think a known superhero would have one exact build that you would HAVE to use for it, but there could be suggestions you could make for possibilties. And you could then tweak those suggestions into a more specific concept for a character that's more original. Like my Blue Diamond, for instance, he's an Inv/SS Tanker, and a lot like Superman in concept, but he's got a temper like The Thing, and taunts a lot like Spiderman. So Rage is in concept for him, and Gauntlet and Taunt are really in concept for him too.

I direct you to this thread where a discussion on this subject is already going on.

However, it occurs to me that the background of Praetoria is that the vast majority of Earth IS a dead, desolated wasteland, and only Paragon City is the Utopia that the game trailers show us. Plus, as has been mentioned, this is propaganda. We can't trust any of it.

All we do know is that the concept art from the original Praetorian missions has been updated and the characters look considerably different. Their backgrounds have also been fleshed out in much greater detail. But other than that they can be and probably still are the tyrants they were portrayed as.

A good use for Frankenslotting is also to get a combination of Enhancements that wouldn't be possible with a normal IO set. For instance, on Follow Up on my Claws Scrappers I typically slot for 66% Damage and Recharge by using 3 Damage/Recharges from 3 different Melee sets. Those sets separately would normally only give you 100% Damage and about 33% Recharge. (And another Damage and Recharge will give me 100% in both, or some combo of End or Acc with Damage or Recharge in the other 3 slots)

Slotting way high Accuracy is a good use for it as well, although as with GuyPerfect's example sometimes just a standard Accuracy IO can give you that.

I think it might be good to point out that with Going Rogue, it is possible a hero side Kheldian could be sideswitched to be a Nictus. (Particularly, a Warshade, since the backstory states specifically that Warshade are Nictus "gone good") If the Nictus VEAT was dropped because it would be essentially identical to a Nictus, then you would have pretty much the same thing with a side switched Warshade, assuming that's possible. The only thing lost would be Nictus-specific story arcs, and that could be added later as part of the Praetorian content.

Switching a Soldier of Arachnos to hero side makes a little less sense storyline-wise, but one of the standard costume slots could be used for a Longbow costume for either a "Longbow infiltrating Arachnos", or a "Arachnos infiltrating Longbow". The only branch that would have to be avoided would be the Crab Spiders, for the backpack.

Of course, I don't know if it's been mentioned whether EATs will be excluded or allowed in side switching.

I generally consider my character "done" when I get what I feel to be the signature power for that character -- or more properly the next level when I can at least get some slots in it. For most characters that is the Tier 9 power at 32, but a couple of characters the defining power for me was 26 or 28. Rarely do I consider a character done as low as 20, so for those character where the ones gained at that level are the main power, I'll wait until I get a good one that complements the character concept.

In some cases a power in the Secondary or Epic will be one I'm really waiting on. My Ninjitsu Stalker (a variation on my MA/SR Scrapper) was not complete until he got Blinding Powder at 35. My female robot "tank" who is a Claws/Inv Scrapper finally got to 38 and Unstoppable, recently. (Just to show how important Unstoppable is to the concept, she has a special costume for when Unstoppable is about to crash which shows her battle damaged and "sparking") And my main Tanker, Blue Diamond, will not be done until I can get him Energy Torrent.

In general, my major milestones are:

22 - first gain access to SO's

26 - Tier 8 Primary

28 - Tier 7 Secondary

30 - Aura

Somewhere past 32 - complete

My bio is usually done within minutes of creating the character, as I have never started a character without already having a concept. I don't really consider the cape a major milestone, but the aura definately is if I have one in mind. For the most part, the levels from 40-50 are "finalizing" the character, and in fact I have only 2 50s, although I have quite a few I consider "complete".

I'm also not really a badge hound, but I do have one character that I gained badges for, and he's not anywhere near finished.