Kruunch

Very well said.

Oh and for heaven sakes make a real expansion and plan on having a real expansion at least once a year.

Yes you might actually have to hire more then 3 devs (shocking I know).

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Define content for me as you see it. I'm having trouble seeing MA and new content as mutually exclusive of one another so I'm interested in expanding on your point of view.

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Mutually exclusive? Not in the technical sense since it's technically "new" content with each new published MA, but the *style* of content hasn't changed at all and has only changed very minutely since the release of CoH.

"Kill all bad guys and click all blinkies". Without an exception (that I can think of at any rate) and without reading one mission arc (either MA or normal content) you can accomplish literally 99%+ of the content in the game by doing just that. The style of content is extremely lacking in diversity. Now they have made some baby steps with a few newer encounters (LGTF, STF and ITF) where the boss mob actually now requires a minimal amount of strategy to kill ... but it's still very basic and only 3 encounters in 5 years of production to show for it.

For another part of the equation lets take a look at risk vs. reward. Eventually this must always boil down to time vs. reward in an MMO simply due to the limitations of what you can program into the AI. In other words, complex fights eventually become memorized fights through repetition and thus not really "risky" but rather just time consuming (keep doing said encounter until whatever it is you want from it is yielded). However CoH started from the premise of "time vs reward" from the very beginning. The early versions of Trials (Hami, Sewer, et al) showed this in that random multi-enhanced enhancements would drop and you would need to do said encounter(s) many many times to fill up on what you wanted for your character. That's fine ... if the encounters themselves weren't fairly easy and/or as stagnant as they were. They were on the right track however with the original Terra Volta trial (and original Sewer I might add) in that these fights were a little more dynamic (read as "controlled chaos") but the general population found them too difficult and they were thusly nerfed into a mode more in line with current content (i.e. easy enough that a three year old can do it).

The lack of substantial reward has been a big plague on this game as well (which goes towards character development again) and only fairly recently addressed with IO sets. However the meaning of that reward is lost when content hasn't progressed past the stage of needing SOs. In other words I can do all of the content in this game (every single bit of it) with a team of SO equipped characters, which renders the IO sets fairly meaningless except for bragging rights and slightly easier management (in a game where the difficulty is sub par already I might add).

Finally, we get to the end of our toon's levelling, and what is there to actually do? PvP in a vastly revamped (and imo broken) system never designed for PvP in the first place, badge gathering (of which only a minor fraction are actually relevant to get Accolades), Accolades (see badge gathering) whose bonuses are not merely only a trifle but as fairly useless by and large as IO sets and finally the IO sets themselves if applicable and we've already discussed those.

What would be *real" content to me? Dynamic encounters. All bosses and various other areas which introduce random and/or multiple elements into the scenario.

Stepped content. Design higher end content for max level toons that require IO sets and Accolades to be able complete. This gives those rewards a "real" meaning while at the sametime gives your population a purpose and goal to aspire to even at max level.

Non-static spawns. Make each spawn in a mission (and on the street) have a patrol area. Add many MANY more *real* patrols to both missions and outdoor areas.

Introduce tougher challenges to Hazard zones and increase the drop rates of enhancements and recipes in those zones, while at the same time eliminating drops and influence for gray con mobs.

Expand crafting to include making up salvage from other salvage (i.e. the converter but more smartly done). Add additional IOs that have other effects such as changing the hue of your attack powers, or allows you to transform into other mob types in the game (i.e. the Freakshow mission disguise) and makes these items *very rare*.

Develop the non-combat system you promised (Detective System). It doesn't have to be much more then a "choose your path" type of story mechanic in the beginning but at least it expands your content base. Adding dynamic puzzles and riddles to this would be a huge plus and fairly easy to do if thought were given to it.

Finally reset PvP so that powers work as they do normally. Then "fix" the really large holes with uncommon to rare (not very rare) IO's (such as an anti-teleport IO, etc ...). Keep toggling the way it currently is.

Actually fix long animation times across the board. While pretty, they invariably become to be considered pretty useless. Fix the final few powers with negative drawbacks. You don't balance a game by making it awful to play ... that's just silly.

I could go on and on and this already should be in another thread but I think you start to get the idea. All of these can be readily accomplished with current technology and most of it with the current technology at CoH's disposal.

One final thing ... get rid of MAs and burn your world builder tool. I think it's far past the time for a more robust tool then something as simplistic and static as what they are using.

This thing is still going on?

Siphon Life got a pretty big bump.

I'm not sure about the rest of the line .... it's damage (number wise) isn't horrible, but the secondary effects (toHit debuff) apparently is one of the larger mitigating factors for PvP (which makes sense).

You also get two heals (Dull Pain and Siphon Life) and an endurance reclamation in Dark Consumption. You have toHit buffs in Invince and obviously Invuln is a tough take down in either PvP or PvE.

I'm personally a big fan of self sustaining combos but if you want to go the larger alpha route then Super Strength, Stone or Axe are probably better bets.

I should really take Kruunch for a spin in RV again. I haven't tried out his new build (a PvE build unfortunately) out since I stuck IOs in them.

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Just hit L49 last night on the WP Tanker. With both Tough and Weave in place now I was doing boss farms without a problem.

Happy bashing.

Stone is more of a single target set. There are two AOEs in Stone (Tremor and Fault) and one of those doesn't do any damage (Fault). It's a good mitigation line and excellent for single target damage.

If you are set on Dark Armor (and I've seen Dark Armor run really well with a little care) I would suggest War Mace. It's mitigation is as good or better then Stone (lots of disorients and knockdowns) and has more AOEs in its repetoire.

Note: Dark Armor and WM are both endurance hogs (as is Stone for that matter but for a different reason) so be prepared to frankenslot a lot and/or IO for recovery.

I'm lazy and don't feel like being all spazzy like a Scrapper or shark bait like a Blaster.

Just hit me in the face

Elec/Therm Corruptors and yes, PvP is horrible now.

Inv/DM or WP/DM isn't a bad choice these days if you're going Tanker. Energy isn't what it used to be due to an increase in Energy Transfer's animation time and more importantly, the lack of de-toggling now.

A lot of people say that SS is still top of the heap Tanker wise for secondaries (my guess would be because of KO Blow).

But you may really want to haunt the PvP forums. I gave up on PvP when I saw the changes that were made so my information isn't going to be as good as the people who did it regularly still.

lol

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As an Inv/SS accuracy is not something you should be overly concerned with. Between Rage and Invince, you won't be missing.

The only reason I slot for ToHit in Invince (and Rage for that matter) is for the IO set bonuses. Otherwise I wouldn't bother. If you PvP, then throwing a few in Rage as Vox noted will net you a better return.

Leave off Chilling Embrace until your 30s (if at all). Skip Icicles altogether.

Skip Taunt (if you're mostly soloing).

Skip Perma Frost (unless you plan on farming Portal Corps missions (Behemoths)).

Go the Stamina route up through L20 (take Hurdle, not Swift).

Get Hasten at L24(ish).

I suggest Combat Jumping / Super Jump.

Pick up Energy Absorbtion as soon as possible (L26 I think?) as this is what gives you your go power.

Hibernate is definitely worth taking.

You will want all of the Mace powers (except Taunt) more then likely.

Try to fit in Tough and Weave for when you want to main tank for groups towards the end of the build.

Hope that helps.

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Over the years there have been threads advocating "change" to stone armor, and thankfully they've been ignored by the devs. Hopefully yours will gain no traction as well.

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Thankfully they listened to the "Poo Armor" threads.

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Here here.

Here you go. It's still a work in progress (I'm not the pre-planning math wiz that the IO vets are) and the last two powers (Tough and Weave) are still being worked on (although the IOs are already waiting for them). This is my main build on the WP/Stone Tanker although for the past 10 levels or so I've been using a second (but more clunky) build with Tough and Weave in it already to do the heavy tanking chores (i.e. farms, ITFs, etc ...). Basically the aim with this build is to do everything with one build. With either some decent support (i.e. L24+) and/or a decent kill team this build has managed to main tank farms. At L50 he won't need the support and/or fast kill team.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Indominable Kruunch: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Willpower
Secondary Power Set: Stone Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Mind Over Body <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[*] (13) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance[*] (15) Impervium Armor - Resistance[*] (15) Resist Damage[/list]Level 1: Stone Fist <ul type="square">[*] (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage[*] (3) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge[*] (11) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (33) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (43) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge[/list]Level 2: Stone Mallet <ul type="square">[*] (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage[*] (3) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance[*] (7) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (13) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge[*] (33) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (43) Force Feedback - Recharge/Endurance[/list]Level 4: Heavy Mallet <ul type="square">[*] (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage[*] (5) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge[*] (5) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (7) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (33) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance[*] (37) Force Feedback - Recharge/Endurance[/list]Level 6: High Pain Tolerance <ul type="square">[*] (A) Resist Damage[*] (11) Resist Damage[*] (17) Resist Damage[*] (34) Healing[*] (34) Healing[*] (34) Healing[/list]Level 8: Rise to the Challenge <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[*] (9) Healing[*] (9) Healing[*] (17) Healing[*] (40) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance[*] (43) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff[/list]Level 10: Indomitable Will <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[/list]Level 12: Quick Recovery <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Modification[*] (19) Endurance Modification[*] (19) Endurance Modification[/list]Level 14: Combat Jumping <ul type="square">[*] (A) Defense Buff[/list]Level 16: Super Jump <ul type="square">[*] (A) Jumping[/list]Level 18: Hurdle <ul type="square">[*] (A) Jumping[/list]Level 20: Health <ul type="square">[*] (A) Healing[*] (21) Healing[*] (21) Healing[/list]Level 22: Stamina <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Modification[*] (23) Endurance Modification[*] (23) Endurance Modification[/list]Level 24: Hasten <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction[*] (25) Recharge Reduction[*] (25) Recharge Reduction[/list]Level 26: Build Up <ul type="square">[*] (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff[*] (27) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge[*] (27) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance[*] (42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance[*] (42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance[*] (42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up[/list]Level 28: Heightened Senses <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[*] (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance[*] (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense[*] (31) Defense Buff[/list]Level 30: Fast Healing <ul type="square">[*] (A) Healing[*] (31) Healing[*] (31) Healing[/list]Level 32: Taunt <ul type="square">[*] (A) Perfect Zinger - Taunt[*] (45) Perfect Zinger - Taunt/Recharge[*] (45) Perfect Zinger - Taunt/Recharge/Range[*] (46) Perfect Zinger - Accuracy/Recharge[*] (46) Perfect Zinger - Taunt/Range[*] (46) Perfect Zinger - Chance for Psi Damage[/list]Level 35: Tremor <ul type="square">[*] (A) Obliteration - Damage[*] (36) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge[*] (36) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge[*] (36) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (37) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge[*] (37) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage[/list]Level 38: Seismic Smash <ul type="square">[*] (A) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge[*] (39) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (39) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (39) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage[*] (40) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance[*] (40) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge[/list]Level 41: Strength of Will <ul type="square">[*] (A) Resist Damage IO[*] (45) Resist Damage IO[/list]Level 44: Boxing <ul type="square">[*] (A) Accuracy[/list]Level 47: Tough <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[*] (48) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance[*] (48) Impervium Armor - Resistance[*] (48) Resist Damage[/list]Level 49: Weave <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[*] (50) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance[*] (50) Gift of the Ancients - Defense[*] (50) Defense Buff[/list]------------
Level 1: Brawl <ul type="square">[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 1: Sprint <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction[/list]Level 2: Rest <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction[/list]Level 1: Gauntlet

Yeah I'll post it when I get home tonight.

Sarrate: most of the AE farms I've been on involve some form of smash/lethal LTs or Bosses for the most part. Many are custom mobs, with either Axe, MA or Dual Blade primary and either Invuln or SR secondaries (some differ in secondaries).

The only exception to this that I've seen are the Freakshow farms where Juicer Chiefs are used and Rikti farms where the gunner LTs are used.

Mob packs on full teams are somewhere in the range of 15-25 depending how creative the author was and what setting the group leader is on and in many farms, they will spawn ambushes of similar sizes to up the mob count.

Having said that, my WP Tanker actually finds Boss farms generally easier to deal with than LT farms because the spawn count isn't as high (generally speaking).

Note: If your Tanker (doesn't matter set here) is feeling squishy during these farms (in other words getting through each pack is a squeaker but you're not getting out right creamed each time) try agroing via proximity (or a ranged attack) so the first alpha you take is their ranged shot ... then go in and do your thing. Most squishy Tankers have a problem with the alpha more then anything and that's a pretty good cure for it. If it's because your fights are too long, get a better team

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Technically the sky doesn't have a color.

And in other news, the world isn't flat either.

/popcorn

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Hey I was going to say that one but then found that stuff about green skies and figured it would be more fun to note how it CAN turn green.

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I beat you to some minutia?!

/noose

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I agree with your points except your last one.

Sadly in CoH your character's future at L50 is of a very limited scope (more then in most MMOs).

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How is it limited? You can, now, go back and do every piece of content in the game, on every level 50 that you have, as much as you want.

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And the MA has opened up a near inexhaustible supply of new post 50 content.

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Actually I14 has more clearly demonstrated what's been the problem with CoH since its inception then any other debate or issue I've heard talked about.

The fact that the designers of this game, past and present can't break away from their world builder tool enough to expand the content in the game the way it should be is appalling. Giving it to us as a "content update" is insulting.

But to each his own.

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Rectified Reticle? I can understand for PvP but for PvE what will this give you except some protection against the *very* occasional blindess?

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There are a couple of really challenging Boss missions people have created in the MA that have stealthiness like a stalker. +Percep allows me to see those stalkers sooner.

I love those challenging missions. Not the easy PL farms fighting Family. Those make me nod off.

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Ahhhh.

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I agree with your points except your last one.
Sadly in CoH your character's future at L50 is of a very limited scope (more then in most MMOs).

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Fair enough, but to call this finite content "the end of your character's existence" is quite a reach, wouldn't you say?

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Well I'm not saying you hit L50 and your character disappears and that's it. Obviously that's not the case.

However (at least for me) for me to stay interested in a toon at maximum level, there has to be some form of character growth still possible. While CoH has extended this a tiny bit, it is only a very little tiny bit. Most other MMOs have expansions and expanded content (and items, and skill, and crafting and so forth) to keep high level toons entertained. CoH lacks these. While it has added some new high level Task Forces, these by themselves aren't enough to keep me entertained on a single L50 for more then a few weeks (maybe a few months if I was really determined to purple out a toon).

PvP would normally be a viable option for me. Nothing is better (to me) then getting that new shiney whatever, and then going out and beating your neighbor over the head with it. However PvP in CoH is essentially busted for all intents and purposes. As opposed to a decent rock paper scissors scenario, or flattenend form of balancing, you just have some sets that "work" and some that don't. Period. And given that state, this is one of the main reasons most PvP zones (at least on Justice) are a ghost town.

But the most telling aspect here ... I am literally the only I1 L50 toon that I've seen since I've been back. In fact, *all* of the L50 toons that were on my friends list from the last time I was in CoH (around I8 or so) have neither been on (I came back at the beginning of I13) nor have come back with I14.

I've seen some of their owners from time to time (and very sparingly) but I have yet to see them play any of their old toons.

And it's a shame ....

He will absolutely 100% get crushed in AE farms without Tough and Weave (and even with Tough and Weave you need support for the harder farms). I have a fairly well IO'd L46 WP/Stone Tanker.

With a high damage kill group and/or support (including at least minor healing) you can get away with LT farms without running Tough and Weave.

Consequently you can skip grabbing the Fitness line and IO for +recovery (depending how much money you want to spend) and have room for both Tough/Weave and Pyre.

Not having taken a Stoner to APP levels (I've ended up deleting all my Stoners before that point because they were just too slow and clunky for my tastes (this was before IOs however)) my assumption would be that the more attacks in your chain would be another way of offsetting the -recharge penalties of Granite.

In that regard I would probably think that Pyre would be best which offers the most damage and gives you them at range (a Stoner's blessing as well) including an AOE.

A higher level Stoner would probably be your best choice for advice here however.

Anything Stone/* is slow from a soloing perspective. And while near indestructible in PvP, you will also be virtually ineffectual and ignored. I'm not sure that would satisfy the criteria you've presented.

You may want to look into Inv/Axe or Inv/DM.

Shield/DM is also another good option regarding your criteria although i can't say how well Shields does in PvP (historically Defense based sets do well however).

Fire, SS and WM are good secondaries (especially when combined with Shields) if you want to be more of an AOE based toon, but AOE based toons aren't usually as effective in PvP.

Hope that helped.

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I agree with your points except your last one.

Sadly in CoH your character's future at L50 is of a very limited scope (more then in most MMOs).

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How is it limited? You can, now, go back and do every piece of content in the game, on every level 50 that you have, as much as you want.

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Limited in character growth. IOs and badges (and by proxy Accolades) are the only form of character growth at L50 and both are extremely finite.

For the PvP oriented there is a bit more robustness at being at L50 and for doing said earlier content, however PvP is an extremely small part of this game and for most, not a viable alternative to lack of stimulating content.

Also the idea of being able to do the "content" that you've missed (or worse, re-doing content that you've already done) is a fairly ornery chore at best. "Content" in CoH being as extremely limited in scope as it is (as in "kill all enemies and click all blinkies").

As for the interest of the content itself (the story lines) some are interesting while most tend to be extremely basic and rehashes. This is of course my opinion. But one thing that does hold up is that the popularity of MMOs are based on "living worlds" with content that's interacted with. This is the basis by which MMOs (and gaming in general) supersede static content mediums such as books and television. CoH in this regard does a very poor job of bringing a "living world" to the player. This has always been its biggest problem in my opinion.

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I will be taking Hasten, just not until i can slot SO's and IO's. Downtime for that power is crappy with Training and dual origin enhances.

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Very smart ... I usually hold off on Hasten till L24 (or there abouts) for just that reason (and also because of the endurance drain the crashes and faster recharge rates cause).

Unless of course if I'm taking Super Speed as a travel power.

I agree with your points except your last one.

Sadly in CoH your character's future at L50 is of a very limited scope (more then in most MMOs).