Laevateinn
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:I have a low opinion of forum theorycrafting and convoluted make-believe simulations that somehow always manage to play out in favor of the poster's argument. I tend to put more weight on quantifiable advantages that can reasonably be guaranteed, in this case, the fact that if you doublestack Tar Patch you will get -60% res, and if you cannot you will get -30%, compared to Rad's lower -22.5%, while noting that EF has some unique advantages of its own. Beyond that, I can't say anything else.Originally Posted by Local_Man
It is not that you "hit a nerve" so much as I think that folks on the forums often focus so much on the maxed-out numbers in an ideal situation and don't take into account the actual application of the powers in much of the game.
I also assume that all characters are +3 full VR incarnates with unlimited budget builds and all accolades. If people don't play such characters, they're welcome to say so and I'll tailor my advice accordingly. -
Quote:That's your perogative. When what I come up with clashes with what the writers have written, I ignore what they have written. Their stuff isn't as fun, and fun is the point of the game.Originally Posted by LeoninProtector
To this I must vehemently disagree. The lore is the basis of ANY game. It gives the pixels and numbers and animations PURPOSE. I can create the most amazing and awe-inspiring story for my character, but if what I come up with clashes with what the writers have written, then I need to change my story. Point blank.
You obviously like the lore a lot, but others don't, and writing being such a subjective thing means they will never be able to please all or even most of the population. Smart developers will cater to both groups by providing lore but making sure that they don't shove it in the faces of people who don't fancy their concepts.
Re: EATs, frankly I would rather see the developers continue supporting and developing a proven strong selling point of the game (customization) rather than stuff that isn't (their garbage Well metaplot and ugly looking NPC groups with poor backstories). I don't want to see a proliferation of niche EATs becoming a major focus for the development team instead of stuff that's actually useful like new costume sets, powersets and animations. -
Quote:There's been good and bad. On the bright side, we got branching dialogue and side switching. We now at least have an illusion of choice as regards character responses and we're free to play good brutes and corruptors without going through morality missions. They've also attempted to avoid talking down to the player (you get to beat up Bocor in that rogue tip mission, and you talk back to Prometheus, etc.) You're able to unlock Alpha without going through Ramiel's arc (thus ignoring a big chunk of their nonsense incarnate story) which was a pleasant surprise. We got phasing tech which sounds like it has great potential; hopefully one day you can actually log in to citizens greeting you and a statue of you in AP after saving the world from the Battalion. Statesman and Psyche are dead, which I hope means that the League of Dev Self-Inserts will be playing a less prominent role in future.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
The post-GR game world must be a living nightmare for you then
On the bad side, we've got the whole Well garbage and there was the fiasco with Lore pets (where, to their credit, the devs wisely bowed to pressure). The anti-science, anti-technology bias in the lore has gotten worse with Praetoria, followed by one magic-themed story after another, and culminating in Cole's pointless and senseless nuking of Nova Praetoria. -
Quote:I accept that it's not my convoluted, uninteresting universe of horribly squandered potential and thank God it will never be. I'm quite happy to play by various practical limits and to accept the general premise of the world, e.g. Paragon City is a place with lots of heroes and the Rogue Isles are rules by an organization called Arachnos. However, the more permissive the lore, the better. The lore should be made as unintrusive as possible so that I can ignore parts that don't fit.Originally Posted by LeoninProtector
I understand some people like to role-play and come up with extravagant and detailed stories for their characters (I do it too);
however, at some point you have to come down to Earth and realize that you are not playing your own game.
You are playing a game written and developed by someone else. It is that way with ANY game you play, unless
it is a table-top...even then you're running into the same issues. Your character exists in another person's universe.
It is not and never will be YOUR universe, so anything that "steps on your toes" needs to be gotten over.
Storyarcs can just be ignored without consequence. EATs can be ignored - although if it happens to be mechanically very good or has a playstyle I've always wanted, I would be irritated that it was not just implemented as a regular AT, with optional lore-specific parts like animations and costume parts. Occasionally the game coughs up something that's a bit harder to dismiss, like the original IDF-only lore pets. That made it comparably more difficult to handwave the entire nonsense with the Well. At least they did backtrack on that one and implement other lore pets, so I just have to handwave the godawful translucent Lore FX.
Stating that the lore is stepping on our toes is not being childish or juvenile, or whatever your next childish, juvenile personal attack will be (I do accept that many people make unreasonable demands, like fully customizable pets using the costume creator). On the contrary, it's reminding those in charge of this stuff that the backstory should stay where it belongs - in the background where I can easily turn a blind eye to it. -
Great guide, bookmarked for reference.
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Quote:This is a very exaggerated version of the truth. In many cases, the skippable powers being lost contribute very little to the build and can be replicated or made obsolete by better tactics and creative use of your existing powers. For examples of what softcapped builds actually look like, see some builds I've posted.Originally Posted by Local_Man
There is a trend from many posters on these Controller Forums to push for extreme max builds with capped Defense, Recharge and almost everything else. Usually those builds have to sacrifice utility powers or some effective slotting to achieve those build goals.
Choosing to take skippable powers that are not necessary is really up to subjective personal preference and not objective performance concerns. -
I can tell I've touched a nerve. Lemme guess, your main is a /Rad controller? People always get emotional when discussing those.
Quote:The above post somewhat overstates the difficulty of doublestacking -Res patches. Only tar patch is difficult to doublestack, and a standard permahasten build will still have something like 45s duration 25s recharge on it, which is enough to doublestack it a considerable fraction of the time. If you are illusion, then in the first place you will be getting the huge +Rech needed since you will have perma-PA as a build goal.Rad's Resistance Debuff is a foe anchored toggle with almost no recharge time. Other sets like Storm, Cold and Dark, have a click patch power which in some cases can be double stacked with a HUGE amount of Recharge. However, on a fast moving team wiping out groups quickly, that clickable Resistance debuff won't be recharged in time to use on every group, while Rad's Enervating Field is always available and is always on until the anchor is killed. If the foes are moving, the debuff area moves with them and you don't have to re-cast it. The toggle nature is really nice on tough foes, since you don't have to interrupt your attack chain every few seconds to re-cast the debuff (and thereby lose out on the damage you would otherwise be doing). The overall effect of all of those benefits may outweigh the higher numbers from some other sets. Yes, there is a problem of having your anchor killed off, but there are some things you can do to reduce that chance (as discussed in my guide).
Rad vs. other -res sets is complex and you'll have to weigh the benefits of EF being autohit, guaranteed to be up every spawn and costing less casting time vs. the disadvantages of detoggling on mez, anchors dying and no doublestacking. The only thing that can be said for sure is that rad has the lowest peak -res of all sets with -res as every-spawn powers. However one spins it, it's still the only deficiency of an otherwise excellent set. If you want a lot of -res rather than a smaller amount of reliable -res, try another set. -
Quote:I didn't even know there was a camera shake feature.Originally Posted by Paradox Fate
To be able to turn off the shakycam was a recent discovery for me.
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Quote:I do play for story - my own, not the yawn-inducing one that's in the game.Originally Posted by LeoninProtector
Someone obviously doesn't play for the story, which baffles me. I've tried most of the other MMOs out there
(excluding a galaxy far away) and Paragon Studios has ALWAYS had the best writers out there, IMHO.
I prefer my own stories not because they're actually better than Paragon's in some objective sense, but because they're mine. So when the one in the game starts stepping on my toes, for example by putting translucent Lore FX on my pets, I get irritated. I also have no interest in playing minor enemy grunts from someone else's fiction. -
Quote:Controller damage is as dependent on the primary and APP as it is on the secondary. Illusion lacks an aoe immobilize so it will never have decent aoe damage, however, you can still muster considerable ST dps.Originally Posted by Rigged
What I would really like is to hit really hard. I primarily solo, and do not want a secondary that is primarily oriented towards shields, because after running kinetics and thermal, I am utterly sick of renewing shields. However, I don't want to be the sort of player who is hugely annoying when I do group with people (so I am somewhat leery of taking /storm, though if I am told it's exactly what I should take, I'll just adjust my playstyle).
Quote:I'm currently leaning towards /rad, but I'm wondering if I can somehow get more -res from another secondary. How well does poison work with an Illuson controller? - Rad does a flat -22.5% res that is not stackable, the lowest of all controller secondaries. It's the only significant shortcoming of an otherwise excellent set. It has the full set of debuffs as well as +rech, +recovery and +dmg that is easily permable (Accelerate Metabolism).
- Time does -22.5% res that is not stackable, tied with Rad, but using single-target time dilation ups this to -27%. It has the full set of debuffs and +rech, significant +def (all) and +ToHit that is easily permable (Chronoshift/Farsight). The main downside is lack of -Regen, only -150% compared to most sets' -500%.
- Dark does -60% res from doublestacked tar patches. It has significant +def (all), E/N/Psi resists, +recovery and +regen. Weaknesses include no -Def (fixed by taking tactics) and the -Regen power cannot be made permanent (you have to make up by spamming the targetted heal, which has -50% regen).
- Storm does -60% res from doublestacked freezing rain. It has minor +def (all) and F/C/E resists. Hurricane, the -ToHit power, knocks back enemies and is difficult to use effectively on a primary without aoe immobilizes that apply -KB. It also lacks a self-heal and -Regen, and gets damaging powers instead.
- Forcefields and emp do not debuff res, therm and pain cannot have their -res powers up every spawn, sonic, cold and kin have ally shields.
I'd go with dark personally. - Rad does a flat -22.5% res that is not stackable, the lowest of all controller secondaries. It's the only significant shortcoming of an otherwise excellent set. It has the full set of debuffs as well as +rech, +recovery and +dmg that is easily permable (Accelerate Metabolism).
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EATs also lose power customization, in a game that's renowned for the depth of character customization it offers.
Nobody ever refers to CoH as "That game with the really good backstory, did you see what they came up for with their incarnate storyline, that was really good writing?" Performance not tied to appearance and variety of character customization has always been one of this game's unique, strong selling points. Not the crappy lore, or ATs tied to crappy lore. -
Quote:Kheldian formsOriginally Posted by Tenzhi
That's, what, one branch of one AT?
Widow (uncustomizable and ugly) claws -
You can click the little "!" in an explosion that appears beside the mission name in the compass to re-read your mission briefing.
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Not at all. Instead of new ATs, problems with existing ATs should be fixed.
Absolutely no new EATs with their mandatory ugly costume parts, poorly written lore and horrible performance. Why anyone would want to play an NPC from this game's unimaginative and boring enemy groups is beyond me. -
If you have enough endurance, defense and recharge, and since you are not one of a handful of characters with enough resistances to benefit from the res alphas, the default choice is Musculature. It improves the damage of judgement and lore pets as well - I found it really nice to be able to judgement for 700-800 post-debuffs and have cim pets that hit for 1k+.
I might consider agility if taking it allowed the build to maintain the softcap while dropping weave or powerboost (presuming you're relying on one or the other to softcap), or if it allowed the build to come close to the incarnate softcap. -
Some notes:
- It is much, much easier to S/L/E softcap rather than to range softcap, but S/L/E softcapped characters are squishier. Range softcap will be backed up by 45% S/L and minor exotic resists, and faces less kryptonite enemies than S/L/E softcapped ones.
- If you take fire breath, it will be harder to hit the range softcap. The power is slot-hungry and TAoE has crappy set options.
- Gaussian's on ranged softcapped characters is a classic build mistake. You pay 6 slots for 2.5 ranged def and no rech, which is not slot efficient compared to other options out there (Cloud senses, basi gaze, stupefy, red fortune etc.) The set is only worth it for melees that have to softcap 2 or more positions.
- As for the alpha slot, it really tends to be about slot efficiency - does slotting cardiac and relying on set bonuses for rech cost fewer slots than the other way round? If yes, then go for it.
As an example, this is the range softcapped fire/dark I play in-game. It's not built the way you seem to prefer (no flares, no firebreath, no resist in shadowfall) but it may give you some ideas. Remember to turn on the cardiac alpha.
45% ranged def, caps tohit against +3 enemies without tactics, Hasten and souldrain are 2-3 secs off perma.
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- It is much, much easier to S/L/E softcap rather than to range softcap, but S/L/E softcapped characters are squishier. Range softcap will be backed up by 45% S/L and minor exotic resists, and faces less kryptonite enemies than S/L/E softcapped ones.
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Quote:I think you mean that it may let you get in more APP aoe attacks, since those recharge quick enough that Mass Hyp cannot keep up with them, but I get what they are trying to say now.Originally Posted by Local_Man
If you are going to use Total Domination to set Containment, you might as well do:
Total Dom > Terrify > APP AoE Attack > some single target attacks until Terrify recharges > Mass Hypnosis > Terrify.
As Oedipus Tex mentioned, Power Boost may let you get in a second Terrify before the AoE hold runs out. This is one of several reasons that the Primal APP is a good choice for a Mind Controller.
This improved my opinion of Primal APP mind controllers. -
Quote:Relies on hide to softcap (which I'm not sold on yet - I want to see my costume) and does not cap aoe, but still quite good. Thanks!Originally Posted by Black_Assassin
Auroxis' Elec/Nin build
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Quote:No I don't.Originally Posted by Comicsluvr
We all like the idea of new power sets. We like making up new toons and trying to figure out the coolest way to defeat Lord Whoever with different combinations of powers and ATs.
Just correcting a misconception. Carry on. -
Quote:Blasters still get the worst modifiers for APP shields and mitigation toggles like tough/weave, and spend the most slots to achieve the same softcap that other ATs have.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
You can take Scorpion Shield from Mace Mastery at level 35, which gives S/L/E defense in good amounts. If you buy the sets you need from there at level 38 or below you can do it pretty easily. If the sets are level 33 or lower you will stay softcapped as low as level 30 (because you keep your level 35 power exemped to level 30)
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Quote:As usual, there's a misconception that pointing out flaws in an AT is supposed to be "hating" on them or due to player incompetence. On the contrary, it serves to highlight problems with game balance, and a more well-balanced game benefits all.Originally Posted by Diggaroo
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I think too many people conflate criticism of an AT with an attack on their characters which they have heavy emotional investment in. In my experience the people who have been the most rude and abusive when confronted with evidence of balance problems with the ATs and builds they play are always the ones who have such characters as their mains (easy to tell when the character has the same name as their forum handle or appears in the avatar). -
On Virtue, the roleplayers are so scarce that they need to organize events to make themselves easier to find. I have no idea where you're getting your roleplayer "problem" from, OP.
The impression I get is that most (not all, but most - or at least the noisiest) roleplayers are secreted away in elitist cliques where they huddle and whisper about the danger of being griefed by "those who're not like us". -
Quote:I admit that I misread this as "Shield has real trouble hitting the new Incarnate softcap of 59%", and had to double-take and go back to reread it.Originally Posted by Test_Rat
Shield has real trouble hitting the standard softcap of 45% which is 14% lower than the new Incarnate softcap of 59%.
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I do a lot to optimize characters, but in general I don't complain when things are changed. I accept that making use of exploits is a calculated risk on the part of the player, and that change in an MMO is inevitable. I consider dealing with the changes and figuring out how to use them to build a better character as part of the fun of build optimization. Every issue brings a new FotM, new ways to increase performance and a new build to reroll that subpar alt into. Optimization is like a logic puzzle, demanding good reasoning and judgement - it'd be a lot less fun if it were just about picking mids' builds from a list.
Nerfs are not always negative things, either. Part of the fun of playing an elite build is the sense of being significantly more powerful than others, but if everyone is playing the same thing, that that defeats the purpose of optimization. When I first made my shield scrapper the damage was phenomenal but it was not so noticeable with 4 other */SD on the team scrambling to get kills. After shield was nerfed, the number of shielders went down dramatically. Net result - even though the set was slightly weaker than before, I got to dominate the killcount much more often that fewer people were playing it. Overall, I consider that positive. -
To be fair, there's nothing wrong with daydreaming about a powerset that's MY FAVORITE POWERS! ^_^
Mine would probably be like
Blaze
Gloom
Bitter Ice Blast
Sleet
Fireball
Dark Obliteration
Rain of Arrows
Farsight
Lingering Radiation
Gimme a moment, I'll think up a secondary to match.