Jibikao

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The Medic is as finicky as the Arsonist, they do as much of not more knockback than Robotics for the most part, the damage is almost exclusively Lethal, the Spec Ops are mostly useless due to their slow recharging mezzes and only a few actual attacks, they have most of their AoE damage wrapped up in the Commando's slow attacks, and they have little straight up damage(most of it is DoT-style damage).

The up side to them is that most of the time they're all range, they have solid resistance, and have fairly steady damage. The truth is though that most people that swear by them are Merc/Pain or Merc/Dark, have Achilles's Heel Proc and possibly the Touch of Lady Grey Damage Proc, along with the Resistance Unique, in which case they are fairly effective at range.

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I do agree that Merc's damage output should not be balanced around "proc damage". Merc with procs do decent damage but without procs, I am afraid it's pretty lacking (but not unplayble).

They can just simply reduce Spec-Ops' aoe mezzes. Reduce them by 15s?

Or, make Web Grenade 20s recharge instead of 30s? It is pretty embarrassing that web grenade takes 30s to recharge. lol

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So I really enjoy City of Heroes, and I've gone back and forth between being a subscriber and not playing it, but I always have this dilemma. I can never stick with a character. I don't know what it is, but I just can't. I know it's possible, I just need some help. So, if I list my playstyle below, could you help me out? If you could suggest something that fits it and actually describe it, that would be so awesome!

1. I like being valuable to a team, but not to the point where I can't even solo.
2. I'm fine with any type of combat really, ranged or melee.
3. I like having a little strategy involved in my character. If it's always going to be the some button combination over and over, that's no fun.
4. Having a Plan B is always nice. If something goes wrong, I don't want to be repeatedly screaming "I'm screwed! I'm screwed! I'm screwed!!"

If there's anything else you need to know in order to help, just ask the question and I'll respond ASAP

Thanks for all answers!

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I was going to say Epic Villain, SoA but do you have lvl 50 Villain?

You can make either Soldier or Widow and have two builds for each branch! Change playing style when you feel like it. SoA is very valuable to ANY team and they can solo well past lvl 24.

I spent the most time on my Widow. I have both Fortunate/Night Widow and I change my build depending on my mood and team's setup. If the team needs some melee, I'll use NW and if the team lacks Psi dmg and control, I'll use Fort.

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Footstomp without the foot? =/

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I was going to say this. lol

Wow, they already have promo for the new changes? That's cool!

Well, for one, you won't be taking as much damage because Shockwave and Focus have very reliable knockbacks (or downs).

If you are soloing, you can knockdown easily with Focus and hit Aid Self in time with no problem.

I have a lvl 50 Claw/Will and it is a very safe sets against things that you can kb.

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My main, Outback Saviour, is a BS/WP scrapper. However, with BS becoming a stalker power, I don't know if I should focus on my alts or make Outback Stalker, a BS/WP stalker.

I know that Stalkers are more stealthy, but will it be a whole different expereince with the stalker or just a similar redside version of Saviour?

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Well, it depends which powers are included in the set. I hope the dev can surprise me with Whirling Sword but I think it's going to be like Ninja Blade and it'll be boring...

I don't know.. Broadsword doesn't look very exciting to me.

Funny, I was going to start a thread that I dislike teaming with "whining Brutes"....


When I play my Merc/Storm, I hate teaming with "whiny Brutes". I knockback. yes. Get used to it! It's part of the game. And I don't need you to hold aggro for me.


Most Brutes are pretty over-rated anyway.

Actually, Piston and Rocket Boots have a hidden proc that does energy damage when you land on top of the mobs!

I think sometimes we focus too much on how the Pets are or are not balanced when it is the WHOLE SET that needs to be taken into consideration.

Ninja has the potential to deal great damage because of Smoke Flash. SF is a good power to take.

Thug has decent attacks plus a useful aggro-taking power in Gang War.

Merc has a chaos knockback in M3 Grenade, some like it and some don't. Serum, in my honest opinion, is pretty garbage. Problem with Serum is the lack of Psi damage resistance and the fact that Commando doesn't generate taunt so AV/Hero can still easily change target even if you goto Commando closer. I've taken Serum twice and both times I respec out later once I have access to Patron powers.

If the dev can improve Serum, Merc set can stand out a bit more IMO.

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I was wondering how a mind/energy dominator is. I can tell it'll have awful AoE so it'd be a good choice to pair it with soul mastery. But is Mind control bad at locking things down? Would I really be much help at level 50 on say, a big SF? Thanks

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I just recently made a Mind/Energy to 40. I like Mind and I kinda like /Energy's Ranged attack chain but I don't like the combo much.

Well, I like Power Boost but I have no -kb in controls so the target will get pushed further and further unless I position myself more or hit them against the wall. It's a bit annoying I have to say. Power Push is a very strong knockback and it's even worse with Domination on. The Single-Target-ness in Energy fits well with Mind control as Sleep is a great way to start the battle.

I probably would enjoy Mind/Icy more I think.


Or, you can focus more with Bone Smasher and Total Focus. My Mind/Energy focuses more on Power Push, Blast and Burst.

I am pretty sure this "taking damage after NPC dies" is pretty recent.

In fact, I believe it just appeared with I15 release.

Is this a hidden way to make this game harder? It is mildly annoying but not game-breaking.

Has any dev commented on this? A bug? An intended add-on?


I am 99.9999% sure the mobs wouldn't deal damage if they die before their attacks come out. Rain of Arrow is a very good example.

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"Rule of thumb is to slot Achilles Heel -Res into all you pets." Oh so true Gypsy..If you can find them for sale anymore. I was trying last night and not one was for sale.(That I had seen.)

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I have noticed the same thing with the Achilles heel - it used to be that they where a nice, cheap (relatively speaking) way to increase damage. I think the problem here is that they are pool b (mission completion) drops and with a lot of folks still trying the MA they don't drop as often PLUS the random roll table that generates them (silver roll) also gives you pool A rares - so even when people do roll for them they come up less often.

Hopefully the issue 16 feature that allows folks to set mission size will get more people back out into the regular missions, thus generating more pool b drops.

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Yeah, tell me about it. On Virtue, I couldn't even buy one because nobody has for sale!! It's so annoying. It used to be so cheap.

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I'm considering building a Merc MM and am wondering why they seam to be the bottom feeders of the MM world? I see in the comments of posts often that Mercs suck, but I've not found any actual post detailing why. They seam like a decent ranged bunch of grunts, and are supposed to have some good AoE. What am I missing?

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People who post in the forum are a lot more "hardcore" than casual players and their opinions are also a lot more "hardcore".

None of Mastermind's primary set is "unplayable". However, if you examine and compare each set carefully, you'll notice some unbalances and then forum people form opinions that certain sets "suck" (in reality, it's a bit under-performing).


Having said that, most people say Merc suck and that's because in comparison to Robot and Thug, Merc doesn't stand out enough. For range aoe damage, both Robot and Thug are better and believe me, I have two lvl 50 Merc (Merc/Poison and Merc/Storm).

Let me just list:

1. AoE damage: Tier 1 Robot's cone attack is a bit wide than Soldier's. Assault Robot has two Target AoE attacks so you don't have to line it up perfectly for cone coverage. This is one area that Commando loses. Commando actually has 3 cone attacks (the 4th one is snipe aoe with super long recharge) but you actually have to goto him to certain angle to get the most out of his aoe. Spec-ops have ZERO aoe attack while Enforcers have severals. Merc has ok aoe but not as "practical" as Robot/Thug. I use the word "practical" because on paper, Commando seems to be a Beast in aoe but in real situation, you'll need to really micro-manage him to get that potential.


2. Single Target Damage: In this department, I have to say Merc > Robot (but don't get too excited yet). Thug's ST damage is quite amazing once Bruiser is at melee range.


3. Survival: I said don't get too excited yet because while Robot's ST damage is a bit lower than Merc, Robots have some of the best defense on pets with very decent resistance too. So if you are in a tough fight, Robots usually come ahead. Thug's tier 1 have survival issue but as long as they stay close to Enforcer, it should be fine. You just need to goto Brusier so he takes more aggro away from Tier 1 pets.


4. Knockbacks: I think Merc has the worst knockbacks of the 3 because Commando and Medic have one aoe grenade that spreads out the mobs. Robots/Thugs seem to only have cone knockbacks. I've heard a few complaints about Merc's knockbacks on the team. My only response is "Fine! I won't attack!" Knockback is part of the game and I don't know why some people hate it, but they do.
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With the introduction of procs, Merc's ST damage can be very decent. I don't know if anyone has ever done thorough damage comparison that includes Procs. I have a feeling Merc is pretty far ahead of Robot in ST damage especially now that Spec-Op cycles Snipe as part of the attack chain.

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I'm wondering, exactly how noticeable/useful/good is this inherent power? My Wolf Spider is the only alt I have remaining that hasn't got Stamina and/or equal or better endurance sources, so I kinda can't compare the recovery and regen to alts of the same level (only 12 last I checked). I still run out of end often and can't wait to get Stamina (glad I'm skipping a travel power, believe it or not), so obviously it doesn't cut it on its own.

How does Conditioning affect your playstyle?

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Yeah, it is a bit hard to tell as my SoA usually carries several toggles.

My Fort has both Numina/Miracle and she has zero endurance issue but I have a feeling a lot of toons won't have endurance issue with both uniques so what is our advantage?

SoA's base health is also pathetically low (which I can understand) so I doubt the +regen effect is that noticeable. Maybe it's more noticeable on Crab.

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Thugs can easily pass hit and pass the def softcap which is a big deal since the last 5% of defense really do make a big difference.


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Gang War can take the new Pet unique? Damn.. "LoL Ninjas..."

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Yup - my thugs/traps has had softcapped pets since she got manuevers at L30. FFG + manuevers (unslotted even)plus the two +def uniques and a single def IO in enforcers was all it took.

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But Genin has 7% Defense to all!!!!

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[u]3-Step Plan for Appreciating Dimension Shift[u] according to LW

1) Find smarter teammates.

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Completely coincidentally, I made a suggestion to Castle regarding detention powers about the same time this thread was started specifically to address the fact that when used by critter allies it can often be a net buff to foes as anything else.

I was specifically thinking about detention field and not dimension shift - although I was thinking about foe intangibles in general - and the suggestion was basically to apply -regen/-recovery to the target (so it doesn't actually get stronger while shifted) and a fast-ticking low-damage DoT (so a target at the edge of being defeated can get eventually knocked out by the power), and a new "detention" animation so its obvious which targets are affected (the rapid low damage DoT ticks above their heads should also help there).

That doesn't affect anyone who is using it for some tactical purpose now, it just increases its useability a tad for players and makes it a bit less annoying when allies use it. I can even think about an AI tweak that might make it more tactically intelligent: mark the power as a heal: critters will then try to shift your foes generally only when you get low on health, and if it targets you with the power it might even target through to your target, which means you could theoretically select the target that is shifted (although this is less applicable to dimension shift).

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Seeing as how dev won't completely change the power, I think your idea is pretty sound.

My vote is still Reverse Ice Slick. It fits the Gravity theme perfectly. I've been watching a lot of BlazBlue fighting games on youtube and one of V-13's moves is like a gravity power that pulls you upward.


Is it possible to have a Reversed Ice Slick? You drop a big patch, and the game checks for a chance to "knock up"? The chance is much smaller than knockdown of course but at least you can use it frequently without messing with teammates.

My problem with Dimension Shift is that it's not even a very good "Oh no!" power. The best "Oh no!!" is to RUN AWAY!

DS seems to confuse players more than it actually helps. Ok, I understand sometimes you can reduce some aggro from a patrol group but other players still complain about "Unaffected" message.

I don't believe that if a power is hated by 9/10 people, it is User Error (when I say 9/10 it includes both Gravity user and those who's experienced with DS/Blackhole). The only people who would say that are programmers as my business partner is a programmer and he needs to force himself to get out of that "Programmer mentality" (basically he thinks other people are just stupid). This is why I am in charge of Site navigation and Check-out process on our website because I care way more about that 9 people than that 1 person who thinks the "power" is fine. If 8 or 9 out of 10 people complain how confusing it is to navigate my website, I would choose to improve it rather than to tell them "you are not trying hard enough!"


PS: By the way, do you have a good idea of Stalker's Replus in Energy Aura?

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Maybe they will fix it when it is ported? *ouch ouch* No more rocks *ouch ouch*

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I highly doubt PT will get fixed back to it's previous glory, but there's no way in Hell for Castle to port the powers as is from a numbers point of view.

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Afterall, it took them 4 years to figure out Corruptor is paying 25% more endurance.....

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Ummm... I may be "Ignant"... but what is so great bout Seismic Smash?

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Probably the best melee attack in the game in terms of damage, activation and mag 4 hold.

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(Thanks to those who pointed me to the following.)

From the April 7, 2009 Patch Notes:
"Recharge times on pet attack powers will no longer be affected by any outside source. This includes buffs and debuffs. What this means is that pets can no longer have the recharge time on their powers increased by player buffs (like Speed Boost) or their recharge time decreased by player or NPC debuffs. This change was made to allow pets to correctly cycle through their attacks instead of getting locked on using the same attack over and over and neglecting to use other available powers."

So is this limited to only external buffs from players and NPCs? Does this include slotted IOs also? Are IOs considered an "outside source"? How do I check in game using the Numbers?

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Basically, there is NOTHING that can modify your pet's recharge speed. They can't be buffed or debuffed.

Strike Force, AE and what else?

Time to make a new MM!

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Thugs can easily pass hit and pass the def softcap which is a big deal since the last 5% of defense really do make a big difference.


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Gang War can take the new Pet unique? Damn.. "LoL Ninjas..."

The only high-lvl MM I don't have is Robot but I've seen so many of them that I think I know what they are capable of.

Basically, I think Thug is the "best" one in most situations. The design is just nearly perfect.

1. You have a boss pet that can tank a bit and draw aggro. The melee boss pet fits even better with secondaries like /Poison (Noxious Gas) and /Pain (Pain Bringer).

2. Thug even fits fine with "difficult" secondary like Trick Arrow (fire damage for Oil Slick), unlike Necro and Nina.

3. Thug stacks defense with other Enforcers.

4. Thug actually has a decent lvl 18 power in Gang War, unlike that awful Serum.


When I look at all the pros of Thug, it really is the best set in most situations. Sure it has some cons like mostly lethal damage (so is Merc!) and lack of defense in tier 1 (but Bruiser can draw more aggro and it's not like Genins survive so well...), but if you lvl a Thug and then lvl a Ninja, you'll know Thug is better especially on a large team.

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If you are min/maxer, Thug is definitely a great choice. Other sets are not UNPLAYABLE so you do have other reasons to play non-Thug, like "I want something different!"

I am one of those who dislike using something that is too popular. I gave up my lvl 37 Thug/Trap because it was too good.


If you are into PvP, I think I'll choose Merc and Necro over Thug.

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Most people "hate Dimension Shift" for the same reason they "hate" any power: it's not a power you spam on every mob/every time it's up. It's a power that requires forethought and creativity to leverage, and the vast majority of the playerbase doesn't want to deal with powers like these.

Thus, DS falls to the wayside.

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If being creative can yield better results, sure, some players may dig it. If by being creative you mean putting less accuracy in DS so some may not get affected and then trying to pick out the non-phased targets, then I think the whole creative process has failed pretty bad. Instead of using Step 1 AoE control 2, Kill them, the whole team decides to 1. AoE Phase, 2, Trying to figure out who is Phased 3. Then kill them slowly since some can't be damaged.

Let's what other creative ways... oh, yeah, pull two groups and phase one first! It gives the team 30s to kill the first group! How about not pulling the 2nd group to begin with?


That's how I see DS... it serves a purpose that is very unpractical. It's not even that good as a situational power as most people don't know what DS is doing and you end up trying to explain what just happened. You know why I know? Because I've actually used the power many times and I encourage my twin bro to take the power! I am tired of explaining to people why the targets are Unaffected... I am so seriously done explaining.

Just give me something more practical.

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I just got DS and haven't yet to understand its use only maybe to use when the team is getting whooped. My DS will hold my targets and at first...they will attack byut real quickly stop and just stand there. I can see the visual effects but no damage. I assume that DS does not damage just hold targets?

I dk but I'm not thrilled having taking DS so I am respecing as soon as I can. Someone please reply to inform me of the use of DS if its a good power to have.

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You won't feel a thing if you respec out Dimension Shift. 9/10 Gravity users either don't take the power or took it but never use it. Only that 10% of Gravity users trying really hard to like this power (like me) or claiming the power has "nothing wrong with it", which we know is not true at all. If there is nothing wrong with the power, why do most people hate it so much?

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Speak for yourself, don't pretend to speak for all grav users. I know it's true that there's nothing particularly wrong (edit: mechanically, I have no argument with it being made more apparent it's in use) with the power itself. If people don't use it *intelligently,* that's not the power's fault. Why do people hate it? *Because some people have no clue how to use it, and use it poorly.* Much like, oh, Telekenesis, Repel, Force Bubble, Hurricane or Group Fly.

I don't have to "try really hard" to like the power. I know full well it's situational. On the other hand, if someone *doesn't* like it, hey, it's not a foundational power for a controller like a single target hold.

As for the person you were replying to:
- No, DS is not supposed to do damage.
- It holds targets in a way, yes - it makes them intangible, unable to hurt anyone (though they can still move - if they resist immobs, they may still be able to run) or *be* hurt. This obviously doesn't do anything for Containment.
- Its use - completely removing a group from a fight for a while. AOE hold not up, and you don't need more incoming fire or aggro from the AOE immob? DS while you finish the first group. Use it as a "ghetto stealth" to get past a group, or for a pause in the action. In one of those tight lab rooms with a boss and another group, and you don't want the boss's aggro right now? It takes two holds to hold a boss - but only one application of Dimension Shift.

It is situational, absolutely. If you think there's another power you need more, there's nothing wrong with *not* taking it - it doesn't fit into everyone's playstyle.

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You are one of those 10% people I was talking about...

You try really hard to like this power.

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Here's a clue for you.

Don't tell me what my motivation is. You are *wrong.* I don't have to "try" to like a power. I either do, or don't. I find a use for it. You apparently do not. Leave it at that. Don't try to project that I'm "trying" to like it when I say I find a use for it. Or, just flat out. quit trying to say I'm lying to everyone including myself.

If I don't like something, guess what - I say flat out I don't like it. Hell, I don't like *the entire Illusion control set.* I don't particularly like the VEATs I've played (one of which is a few bubs from 50.) I don't like their arcs at all, or the wasted 23 levels.

I dont' "try to like it." I am trying it out to understand it, yes, learning the set so perhaps I can help others - but if I have a dislike for something, it is *far* from hidden. If I see something as generally useless, guess what I do? I say I find it useless. Do note that wording though - *I* find it useless, not "Everyone finds it useless, even though some people say they don't, they're just trying really hard not to."

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You can make a point for every power in the game. Some powers are a lot more useful than the other and Dimension Shift is one of those that is super situational and you won't feel a thing if you respec out.

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Did I not say that? Gee, yes, looks like I did.
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You list out different situations where DS serves a "purpose". I can also list even more situations where DS is completely waste of time, confusing and ANNOYING. The things that DS can do, AoE sleep can probably do better or hold. And you need a lot of team communication for DS to be "not annoying". Believe me, I've tried to like DS. About the only time I use DS freely is when I solo.

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Hmm. That sounds like the very definition of "situational." And go ahead and tell me where Gravity has a sleep. I'll wait... actually, no, I won't, since it doesn't.

Gee, communicate with a team? Nobody EVER does that! Well, maybe not on yours. Seems mine do all the time. From the tank saying "Herding," or "Bringing some here," or "Taking them in place," to someone saying "Resting," or "Dropping ice slick."

Communication is not a *liability.* So saying you have to communicate is roughly as obvious as saying you have to be logged in to play the game.

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Feel free to disagree. I know I am not the minority here.

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Majority or minority is not the issue. You apparently telling me I'm lying ("trying to like the power" implies that I don't' and (a) am lying to myself, then (b) lying to others) is. So knock it off. If you don't have a use for the power, great, that's you. I'm not you. So don't try to speak for me.

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Actually, I want to speak FOR you because you are those who thinks Stalker's Repluse is so great because it has a PURPOSE! The purpose is to knock things AWAY from you as a melee fighter. It can knockback things (drain a lot of endurance). The degree of usefulness is very questionable but it has a PURPOSE!

Yes, I keep bringing up Stalker's Repluse because I see it as the same type of power that Dimension Shift is. It has a Purpose but very limited.


You can keep talking about how great Dimension Shift is because I don't believe you.

Communicating with the team? How about "PLEASE DON'T USE IT?" I think 90% of the team will appreciate you not using DS. Oh wait, you are going to give me that 10% of the team that will SIT THERE, discuss how the Grav dom is going to put most mobs in DS and remind the teammates EVERY SINGLE TIME not to hit the Phase Shifted!! You can do that but is it very "practical"? Hell no.



The moment people talk about how "unpractical" Dimension Shift is you get offended because you think EVERYONE ELSE IS JUST LAZY. That's the mentality that I hate.


If a power gets bad rep 9/10 times, then it's the POWER that has the problem, not the players.


Another perfect example, why did Castle overhaul Dominators all of sudden? I can tell you a lot of veteran Doms think Doms were JUST FINE and it's always the bad players that give Dominator bad rep. But you know what, if most of the new dom players think doms perform poorly and the data supports that, then the problem is IN dominator's design!


It's not a hard concept to understand. I don't know why you keep giving me so many reasons to LOVE Dimension Shift. I don't love that power. I've tried it (and the dev made it worse now) and most people hate it or don't get it and I am not spending 3-5mins trying to explain to my teammates every single time I use a freaking power. "Stop hitting the Phased targets!!!" And I am not going to spend time to come up CREATIVE ways to make DS perform better, like not putting any accuracy so less targets get affected.

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Come on dev, let's just change the power all-together!!! You know you want it!


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Reverse Gravity Field - AoE patch like Ice Slick, except it is Knockup instead of Knockdown. You know you want it!

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Yeah I think it's a cool idea. You cast it like you cast Ice Slick and the game checks for knockup. The chance is lower than ice slick for sure but it has -slow effect too.

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Come on dev, let's just change the power all-together!!! You know you want it!


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Reverse Gravity Field - AoE patch like Ice Slick, except it is Knockup instead of Knockdown. You know you want it!

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It will be a dream come true if it's AoE Lift!! (knockup) AoE Knockup fits the Gravity theme so well. A lot of games have "lifting" powers when it is related to gravity. This "phase shift" thing is kinda weird...

I've played a lot of RPG games (mostly Japanese ones) and Gravity powers are usually meant for "grouping things together" and "lifting things".