Jibikao
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Originally Posted by Captain_Freak
because if you could crit from hide, why go into melee? Then you could just stand back with the blasters and range the crap out of things.....making your large (by blaster standards) def even larger since your not getting melee'ed, which is dangerous....unless your fighting longbow which do more from range than melee....but why are you fighting longbow you nefarious fiend!!! Youre hanging with blasters bringing fiery justice to evil do'ers everywhere!
Oh justice, youre the whip topping on my sundae of do good.
If Bane follows Stalker's critical ratio, then a range aoe can only have up to 50% which means Bane's pretty-low-damage attacks like Mace Valley won't be able to even kill a minion. The critical part only applies to Bane's branch so no critical on Soldier's attacks and Patrons, although Stalker can critical with patron attacks.
I don't see Bane critical with Mace Beam is going to be overpowering. Those are pretty low damage range attacks and besides if the crowd is tight, Bane can still use Crowd Control. -
Just curious what is your secondary on Demon MM?
My Bane has no problem with bosses at all and he can solo most elites. It really depends on the boss' damage type and resistance type. If the boss has less smashing resistance, then my Bane can melt him easily. If the boss has tons of smashing resistance, then I am sure Demons can compete with the killing speed.
Overall, my Bane can kill most bosses quick enough. I just do SU, Build Up, Shatter and Shatter Armor and then either Crowd or Pul. -
Mine is called: Maryland Blue Crab 1 (and I am all blue colored)
Maryland Blue Crab 2 is my twin brother who no longer plays. I play on Freedom now.
My Widow used to be called Rainbow Widow on Virtue but after I moved her to Freedom, the name is taken so I rename her to Fabulous Widow. hehe -
Quote:I have confirmed it this morning. I took out my lvl 50 merc/storm and I see the two Soldiers run up a lot and they are not really punching. It's like they can't find a spot to "shoot" and constantly move in for some reasons. Spec-Ops and Medic stay on the back most of the time.Originally Posted by Agent_Draven
Here is a pic I took earlier showing them tossing punches! I noticed they use it less when upgraded, but they still like the "run up and shoot em in the face" approach. If their shirts werent soaked in gasoline, that might not be so bad.
Clicky
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Quote:Originally Posted by Nova Knight
and I'm glad I did. But I'm also glad that I waited a year-and-a-half to do so. In my opinion, the complexity of MMs requires a firm grasp of game mechanics since they're not as intuitive to play as blasters or brutes, for example. (both of which I also enjoy) It seems like learning the basics of the game while also learning how to utilize your henchmen would require a fairly steep learning curve.
This is VERY true. I've heard some people that say Mastermind is easy to play 'cause all you need to do is just watch them fight. That is not true at all. Yeah, a "bad" MM can play that way but a "good" MM will need to pay attention to both henchmen and teamamtes. Just like a "bad" Empathy would just set heal on auto while a good Empathy would blast as well to help out the team.
Mastermind demands the most attention from me because I hate seeing my pets die. I just hate it. I love them and I want them to have "full health" all the time. I watch where they run and constantly direct specific target for them 'cause I don't want them to "chase" and cause more aggro. And if there is an aoe coming, I have to goto them away from the potential threat. Yeah, it takes a lot of energy and that's why my Ninja/FF will never hit lvl 50. :P -
I did another small test on Genin's performance with just 2nd upgrade. I wanted to see if they would cycle Crane Kick more.
Well, they did but it causes another big problem. If the target is not immb with kb protection, Genins spend too much time "chasing" the target. So it actually hurts their total dps more!
With both upgrades, Genins cycle a lot more throwing stars which is fine by me 'cause I am not so sure if I want them to run too close every time. lol
So yeah, I think we'll see a big improvement if they can switch Crane Kick with something. I think it's pretty obvious that knockback on a pet is just not good. I mean isn't that the reason why they changed Lich's aoe knockback to knockdown after years of complaints? I think if we add knockdown to Genin's Crane Kick, it will be a lot more desirable. It won't hurt the dps and it adds some soft controls.
Just throwing some ideas around on Sunday... -
I haven't played these two for a long time. One is lvl 46 Ninja/FF and one is lvl 50 Merc/Storm. I was curious to see if there's any changes.
Merc
1. The two Soldiers indeed "run forward" a lot. They got rid of Brawl on Medic I believe but the combat attribute still shows Medic has brawl. The other two soldiers would run forward a bit and then shoot and may run forward a bit. It's like they can't find a spot to shoot. Quite honestly, I think they can just get rid of brawl in the soldiers. They have no business punching people.
2. Medic shoots frag grenade from rifle now. I thought he was throwing it? lol
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Ninja
1. Genin: I was read combat attributes in both upgrades just to see what the recharge for the powers are. Genin has 6 powers (which is a lot for a minion) but the limitation is Genin doesn't cycle the high damage power whenever it's up. The highest damage is Crane kick and the attribute shows that it only charges in 5s? I thought it's 8s. I haven't seen Genin cycle Crane right after 5s so I guess the shorter recharge doesn't matter. Genins cycle a lot of powers. They are constantly attacking. Overall, Genin still does good damage but too fragile.
2. Jounin: I was paying close attention to them 'cause I used to dislike them quite a bit. I am surprised by how often they shoot poison dart and then run forward for melee attacks. I've only found two instances where one of them would just shoot dart at short distance. I've also noticed that Ninja's behavior is quite different when there are less pets around them. For example, if I only summon two Jounins, both of them draw sword almost immediately and go in for melee but if I summon Genin, Jounin's behavior is a bit different as one of them may not go for melee right away. This is the same for Oni which I will talk about.
3. Oni: I believe Oni is the weakest link of the set. I am sorry. I used to like Oni 'cause I could do Smoke Flash and goto him for easy critical Breath of Fire but ever since they changed pet's recharge and AI, Oni's behavior is unpredictable. Oni has personality disorder that's put it that way. The combat attribute shows that Oni's Char (hold) recharges only 5s. I highly doubt that. I've summoned Oni alone and he only use Char once and the second time he uses is like 10s later. Using Oni alone has one more problem... which is when he draws the sword out, he doesn't cycle immb/hold/fireball.
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Ninja sets have some synergy problems. Oni is supposed to bring "control" and some damage to the set but when Oni uses Ring of Fire, the target may not be knockdown or back (Golden Dragonfly, Dragon Soar and Crane Kick), which means the set loses its "soft controls". If Oni doesn't use Ring of Fire, you would see stupid behavior from Crane kick's knockback where ninja would stand and then chase and mess up their AI a bit.
I've explained that I think the Ninja set was designed to let the pets "spread out". Basically Ninja fights better on their own than directing them to FOCUS on a single target. Crane Kick makes more sense when Genin is fighting single target on his own because it gives him control and same as Jounin's knockup and down. The problem with this approach is that Ninja runs freaking quick and they can easily aggro other groups because if a crane kick knocks the target down the next level, your Ninja follows and bang...aggro! The mob has many "run away" AI now so this makes this "spread out" approach even more dangerous.
I think Ninja has great potential but they just don't have good synergies. It's like each branch of the set does its own thing.
I like comparing Ninja VS Necro because the Necro set has a lot more synergies. Lich, while doing bad damage, doesn't have powers that causes conflict. In fact, Lich has aoe immb, fear and hold and aoe knockdown (rather than knockback). Grave Knight only has knockdown or up and Zombies don't have any controls except for one tohit debuff.
What do you guys think? A good direction in "fixing" Ninja set is to improve their synergies. -
Quote:Originally Posted by doomrider
Thank you!
These are epic power pools right? I personally don't want them to just feel like more skippable powers.
LOL you don't know how many powers I skipped in Patron sets until they introduced some useful ones. The only thing that is worth taking is the patron shield. -
Quote:Mmm, now that Heroes have access to the "weaker" version in the patron sets (for certain powers) and suddenly they want to fix them? :P That's encouraging to know!Originally Posted by Siolfir
These are very old complaints that have existed (with requests for fixes) for years. It's possible, with more high level heroes being able to switch sides and get access to the Patron Pools, that they may finally be addressed. But since there was a stickied thread about just such issues back from just after i7, I don't know how they could NOT be aware of the discrepancies without willful ignorance.
Well, I don't really care about the math behind Defender needing "better" soul drain but 240s vs 120s is just not acceptable. One is like twice as weak. It's one thing if the Courruptor's version is like 180s or something.
And not just soul drain, I think the holds are good example as well. Why should Blaster and Defender epic holds recharge only in 16s while Corr and Mastermind's version have 32s. I can understand on Brute/Stalker.
I am more curious about "why" then complaining because whatever the villains have had, it's good enough. -
Quote:Oni can use some -endurance.Originally Posted by evertheskeptic
Just got the Oni, what's good slotting for him? Obviously accuracy and damage, does he need an endurance like the others? What about hold or immobilize duration, does he use those powers often?
There is still a bug that shows Oni takes knockback set. Oni has no knockback at all. It would be nice if Oni and take either Hold or Immb set.
Yes, Oni does use those two powers often. -
Quote:Mmmmm, I haven't played my Merc for a while. I'll play her tonight. I thought they got rid of the "punch" power so they don't run forward?Originally Posted by Agent_Draven
That has been my experience. I began playing again, and my merc/traps , bot/traps, and the new MMs I created in Praetoria seem to have this new change. One of the reasons I liked mercs was because they stood at range. I did find I could order them back with goto , you just have to do it everytime they run in, which is constant and a pita. I put my MMs on hold while I explore the rest of GR, but hopefully it is something they are looking at.
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Quote:You know what, I wanted to start another Snipe thread (I've started discussion on Snipes before) and I agree that Snipe shouldn't have that interruption. 1. Snipe's damage is nowhere as good as AS. Good luck sniping a lieut to death even as Blaster. 2. Some Snipes have knockback/knockdown. This is a big NO because once a target is knocked, the whole group is "alerted". There is no point in "pulling". 3. If the point of using snipe is to pull, many sets can achieve by putting just one +range or hell, most range attacks can pull even with 60' range vet staff attack.Originally Posted by EvilGeko
IMO, both snipes and AS should be <1 cast time and not interruptable. Snipes should also do the same amount of damage as AS, but that's another thread. To balance that they should have a longer cast time. Something in the 60 sec. range.
So yeah, I think they should get rid of interruptable in AS and Snipe. The 4s activation time is already long enough for such fast-pace game. -
I haven't looked at the in-game values but there are many imbalances.
Corruptor has access to Dominate (hold) from Psychic set and this hold only has 16s recharge; whereas all the other "Patron holds" have 32s recharge. T_T
Can somebody explain to me why similar version of the powers in Epic are stronger? Soul Drain is a good example and then there is Dominate hold VS Patron hold. Why did Heroes have better version of the similar power? I don't know the "theory" behind heroes having better version but the difference is as big as 2x. Soul Drain's recharge is 240s vs 120s and Dominate hold is 16s vs 32s. T_T
Do dev secretly prefer Heroes to create that Hero > Villain feeling? LOL Just kidding... -
Quote:I just found out Taser has 20ft range. I don't recall seeing Taser in action though. Well, I don't see many /device Blaster to begin with... heheOriginally Posted by IanTheM1
Taser hasn't been a melee attack for a good while now. Out of all the powers in Devices, it's one of the last I would consider changing, honestly.
I do agree with giving Voltaic Sentinel something, though. A chain effect would be dandy.
I thought it would be nice if Taser does some damage. I still hate Time Bomb... -
So we get Stamina at lvl 2 or something? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of being a "low-bie"?
Having inherent Stamina is cool but can we have Swift/Hurdle open at 6, Health open at 14 and Stamina open at 20?
The game is already very easy as it is. I don't want having Stamina below lvl 15. I hope I am not the weird one....
I am excited about more power choices as those choices are going to be Recall Friend and maybe Aid Other on toons that can't heal. Nothing major change! -
Quote:I would drop Super Jump tool. On villain side, you can buy temp fly at lvl 10 and if you have ninja run, you really don't need super jump. You can make up the loss of Combat Jump defense with a decent Aid Self and Aid Other too.Originally Posted by BenRGamer
Well, I won't be able to do that without completely dropping an entire power pool.
In fact, all my MM/Trap take Aid Other. MM using Aid Other is the best because your pets are still attacking and you can afford spending 3s to provide a decent heal. -
If you focus on pvping in Siren Call, I think Merc is very good. I've seen many Mercs winning in that area and mostly because lethal resistance isn't that common until lvl 40+. Merc is all ranged and has decent ST damage.
At higher level, I've seen Necro/Poison doing well because of their damage type and the only MM that I enjoy in pvp is Necro/Trap in Siren Call. :P -
Quote:Some AVs are a lot easier than others. You should find that deals mostly lethal/smashing to take advantage of your soldier's innate resistance.Originally Posted by BenRGamer
Me too =P I was thinking the ability to tankermind through the majority of general AVs (Psionic AVs notwithstanding)
Other than that, I think I may want to take Aid Self just because you don't have any reliable way to heal yourself. -
Quote:Fitness is very useful on Mastermind. All the endurance cost on secondary powers cost a lot more than other ATs. Unless I don't plan on supporting the whole team, I can see why I would skip stamina. If I want to support by casting shields/heals or running toggles, I want to take stamina.Originally Posted by BenRGamer
You're assuming that people take Fitness on one of the best ATs to avoid having to take Fitness.
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What type of AV/Hero are you going to face? I hope he is not doing psionic damage! :P
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Spec-Ops:
Stealth is meaningless because I've tried goto Spec-Op to see if they can open the battle with that melee Rifle Butt stun. They get attacked before even hitting. Without doing Stealth-Strike, I really don't see a point of having stealth except for slowing them down.
Two things they can do:
1. Add Stealth-Strike, or
2. Add more +defense for Spec-Ops. -
Quote:Mmmm, when is the last time you play your Merc? I am pretty sure Soldiers don't run in that much after they got rid of their "punch" attack? I haven't played my Merc much after I came back though. Yes, Merc's damage can be low without procs.Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
Genin and Jounin hit freakishly hard, man. Mercs however, are currently stupid crappy, and stupid... stupid. I deleted two 20+ Mercs MMs because my minions kept running in rather than using their guns.
Genin gets hard.. no doubt but they also die the fastest. Like I said, the potential is there! In a situation where Genins don't die and both Jounins draw out their swords, yeah, Ninja's damage can be the highest but you don't get that all the time. -
Quote:Putting those procs in Merc makes their ST damage a lot better. Their AoE damage varies too much because the two Soldiers' cone attack is very narrow at only 20'. Medic actually has an aoe knockback grenade. Spec-Ops have zero aoe attack. Commando's aoe attack is best at 40' range so he would cycle Flamethrower and Buckshot. If Commando stands too far, he can't cycle those two. Commando is not like Assault Robot where you just point and big patch of dot damage comes out. Commando requires a bit of micro-management.Originally Posted by Test_Rat
Mercs is pretty dismal huh.
Are the Slotting advantages (Debuff, proc due to the -Def effect) availabe to mercs enough to make them competative? -
This means Ninja will be "dead" last IMO. The only thing that makes Ninja stands out a bit more is using Smoke Flash whenever it's up. Smoke Flash costs a lot of endurance and all the Archery attacks deal so little damage and you can't really get fancy with them 'cause they have no secondary effects that take sets. I would rate Ninja as the worst in most cases. The potential is there but reaching that potential is hard.
I think the set that will see the most improvement having access to "personal attacks" is Necro. I have a lvl 50 Necro/Pain that I love but I skipped Life Drain in favor of other things. I would definitely pick up Life Drain when I respec.
Merc also gets more controls from M3 Grenade if most people skip. 50% for a knockback is decent for adding more controls to a supposed "control heavy" set. And my lvl 50 Merc/Storm may pick up Serum again just because it belongs to the set. I would probably forget to use it like I used to. lol
Demon will just be more melee-ish. I did take the whip attacks but since my secondary is Trick Arrow, I am already busy enough shooting arrows. With a different secondary, I can see Demon being fun.
I think most primaries will see some benefits while Ninja will lag behind even more. The only power worth taking is Fist of Arrow but even that the damage is so low. You will need one proc damage to make it worthwhile, or you can just throw Smoke Flash like most Ninja masters do before the fitness change. I see no big change in Ninja and that's not good! -
Quote:Yeah, Gloom fits Fortunata perfectly.Originally Posted by Rintera
@Death: Thanks to your advice/suggestions, I also removed a slot from hover, moved some slots around soe some things weren't as heavily slotted with no reason, increased overall recharge, picked up gloom because it's a solid Single target attack.
and I slotted TT: Maneuvers with a red fortune set, which made it more efficient :]
The cheapest way to get soft-cap Range defense is Thunderstrike. I put two full sets in Gloom and Subdue.
I also took aoe immb from Soul mastery because the immb will reduce enemies running towards me which means I have even more "range" defense. I actually skipped Psi Tornado in the end in favor of Tenticle. My recharge is fast enough that I can just use Scream for aoe damage.