McNum

I think, as a general rule of thumb, that if you cannot figure out a power to pick, and you haven't used all four of your pool choices, it's never a bad call to go with a Leadership power. I'd pick Maneuvers as it's both a decent power, although not great on a Stalker, and because, yes, it can hold a LoTG. But more Defense Buff is almost always a good thing, and while one individual Maneuvers isn't that great, they add up fast on teams. You probably don't need to run it while solo, though.

Yeah that seems like a pretty fair review. CoH is my MMO of choice, but it does have both its weak and strong points. But having played the game for so long, I'm obviously blind to a lot of those, so it's good to see the perspective of a new player. Plus, it's always nice to see a shoutout to the community, and his choice of mission for that Nemesis one was great. That's a lot of enemies, perfect for showing off one of CoH's strengths, even if he didn't show it directly: "Few vs. How many?!"

Hello Tanker forum!

I've been playing a lot of different characters, but the one AT I've never been able to like anything I've made in, is Tankers. Until now. I made a Fire Armor/Titan Weapons Tanker that's growing on me, so I figure it's time to ask people who know things about Tankers if I'm about to do it wrong. So to ask that question, have a Mids build:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.953
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Nightmare Sanction: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Titan Weapons
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(3), ResDam-I(3), EndRdx-I(5)
Level 1: Defensive Sweep -- Acc-I(A), DefBuff-I(42), DefBuff-I(43), DefBuff-I(43)
Level 2: Crushing Blow -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(7), Dmg-I(7)
Level 4: Healing Flames -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17), RechRdx-I(17), Heal-I(19), Heal-I(19), Heal-I(25)
Level 6: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 8: Titan Sweep -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(11), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 10: Consume -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(11), EndMod-I(13), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(13), ResDam-I(15), EndRdx-I(15)
Level 14: Blazing Aura -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(37), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 16: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 18: Burn -- Dmg-I(A), Dmg-I(21), Dmg-I(21), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 20: Follow Through -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(23), Dmg-I(23), Dmg-I(25)
Level 22: Build Momentum -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 24: Taunt -- Range-I(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(27)
Level 28: Kick -- KinCrsh-Acc/KB(A)
Level 30: Tough -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(31), ResDam-I(31), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Rend Armor -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), EndRdx-I(48)
Level 35: Whirling Smash -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(36), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 38: Arc of Destruction -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(39), EndRdx-I(48)
Level 41: Rise of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Char -- Acc-I(A), Hold-I(45), Hold-I(45), Hold-I(45), RechRdx-I(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Melt Armor -- Acc-I(A)
Level 49: Fire Ball -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(50), Dmg-I(50), Dmg-I(50)
------------
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(29), EndMod-I(29)
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 1: Momentum

Pardon the colors, but I like this one for its readability. Anyway, you guys see any glaring flaws in this? It's mostly basic IOs, I'll worry about sets later, but as a basic Fire/Titan Tanker skeleton, is this good?

I've delayed Taunt under the idea that it's no sense taunting things until I can survive doing so, which I think my Tanker is begnning to be able to here as she's hitting the mid 20s. I'm also getting Tough at level 30 to cope with the Smash/Lethal damage that a lot of the later enemies do. You might also notice what's no there, which is Hasten, I just don't like that power on most characters, it just makes End problems go from annoying to terrible. Also Kick slotted for Knockback might turn a few heads, but I like having a single attack to move an enemy into something nasty, like lava, so that's why Kick over Boxing.

Anyway, I just wanted to run this by you all and see if I was about to do something stupid.

I'd love 4-8 size iTrials. Four is my favorite team size in the game, when the team gets bigger than that, everything just becomes a sea of effects. The Halloween trial was awesome because it was exactly four. No more, no less. And it was balanced for that.

One big annoyance with the 16+ man trials is the downtime. The trials themselves are pretty fun, usually, but the League forming and the recruiting part? That takes way too long. Which is where small teams rock. Gather four characters and go! Eight for a TF is also okay, but I really don't like when it gets bigger than that.

So I'm looking forward to the new DA. I want my pick-up-and-play Incarnate gameplay to happen, just like the rest of the game, where I can log in, run a mission and be happy that I made some progress. With iTrials, you can waste hours and not get anything useful out of it, which is a major flaw, introduced thanks to the random loot system and the massive team sizes you need.

I came in not really expecting Derpy Hooves, but it was.

And yup, she's a background character in My Little Pony who was mistakenly drawn with crossed eyes in one of the early episodes. She's become sort of a "Where's Waldo?" in the show now as she's usually in every episode, some times easy to spot, and some times a blink and you'll miss her cameo. Last episode, she was blatantly easy to spot, she even waved at the audience.

I want the construction in Steel Canyon and the similar one villanside to actually complete. They've been building whatever it is for over five years now. Wasn't it supposed to be a spaceport or something? Now that's an abandoned story worth checking out, or at least do something about the construction, it's getting silly now.

I remember Enhancement Diversification. That changed the game, and in the long term, for the better. But man did it hurt the first couple of months. I gave up on a few characters because of it.

I remember when Inventions and Salvage was added. That changed the game a lot, since we now had both loot and an auction house. The new IO builds we could make were fun, and in some cases, changed the entire archetype, such as the Perma-Domination Dominators. Initially, I was skeptic of adding loot to CoH, and while I'm still not a loot fan, I respect how salvage and recipes work in CoH. I can live with that kind of loot. (And perhaps profit a bit fro the auction house while I'm at it.)

I remember my first Rogue. Seeing my former villain in Atlas Park was a little surreal. Seeing her in the Shadow Shard was just wrong.

And more recently, I remember getting my first level shift. Yeah, that level 50 minion? Cons blue now. Nice. Shame the trials get so repetitive, but I hope the new Dark Astoria will help a little with its alternate route.

CoH has changed quite a bit these last 21½ issues...

Eh, it's not the Winter Event that's keeping my attention. It's my new Titan Weapons Tanker, plus the usual day-to-day gameplay of CoH. Do I play other games? Yeah, but none that require a subscription. And I'm keeping it that way. Any new subscription based game has to argue well and hard on why I should give up CoH to play it, and none so far have done that.

As for the new kid on the block? I got burned by its predecessor, I am not buying another MMO in that galaxy.

I'd love for Repulsion Field to be as nice as Hurricane, but I'd be careful about giving forcefields more Defense. And as someone who likes forcefields, it might seem odd, the the point is... that forcefields won't benefit much from more Defense. Why? Because a lone forcefield Defender can already near softcap the entire rest of the team with the single target bubbles, Dispersion Bubble, and Maneuvers.

So adding more defense, while nice to have, will only really have an effect in Incarnate content, and there it's not unusual to see Barriers and Leadership powers being slinged around casually. Add to that the use of Power Boost/Power Build Up/Clarion Destiny to boost the defense even further, and forcefields really has an overkill of Defense. What forcefields want is Defense Debuff Resistance. Now that would be nice to have.

To change Repulsion Field and Force Bubble, it would be best to look at the positioning and area denial aspects of it. I'd say adding a slow to Force Bubble for the few enemies that can resist the repel would be nice. Maybe a moderate ToHit debuff like it had way back when, but it's a fairly situational power, and sadly, when a situation where it would be nice appears, it's 50/50 on whether the targets get made resistant to repel.

I do like the -range of Repulsion Field. It's dirty. A repel/KB power that makes the enemy want to get closer. I'd perhaps make its radius a bit biger as some enemies can slip through and hit the bubbler in melee still, which really shouldn't happen with this thing on. A wild idea would be to make it a pseudo-pet you can drop. An enemy-free area on the battlefield. Could see some characters appreciating that.

You know it's Paragon City when it's the helicopter people notice and not the gigantic octopus in the background.

So that's why my username in to upper right turned yellow?

Anyhow, welcome all you free/premium players. Welcome to... the forum! Mwahaha! We're not quite as hostile as most MMO forums, you'll find, and we like it that way, so feel free to ask what you think might be stupid questions, but do behave.

Actually, try this: Ask a "stupid" question in Player Questions, then start a stopwatch. Stop it when you get a useful reply. If it hits an hour, we're slacking.

I kind of like Statesman, actually. Even if I think most national color costumes are a bit gaudy. But Statesman the ideal is great to aspire to. Here's this man who's saved the world many times over, and is regarded as one of the most powerful individuals in the world. He's the guy you want to be, or at least be acknowledged by. Statesman the person is, of course, flawed. He's a bit old fashioned, and somewhat grumpy, but he means well, and doesn't hesitate to help those in need. But that's actually kind of good, I do like it when long lived people are written like this. Things change, people less so.

So, do I think killing Statesman is a good idea? Well, actually... It depends on how. But Statesman did have the same problem as Lord Recluse, he was becoming either a joke or irrelevant. By letting the two best known Incarnates sit out the Incarnate battles, then what use are they? And the content with Statesman in it... well... either you save him, or he's a powerful enemy to villains. And that's about it. There are very few stories about Statesman, he's just there. But what stories are there left to tell about Statesman, now that he's deliberately not part of the current major fight? I mean, we know his story. Marcus Cole, weakened by Mustard Gas set out to find the Fountain of Zeus. Drinking from it, he got the powers of Zeus. He became a superhero and has a rivalry with his old pal Lord Recluse... and the rest is a battle log and a family tree, with the Miss Liberties being the most interesting people there. Basically, Statesman's story has precious few places to go.

So you kill him. Now that is a story that has places to go. How does the world react to losing a living legend? How do the heroes handle it? The villains? Will Lord Recluse find the one who killed his rival and turn him inside out? Will Ms. Liberty? Will she team up with Uncle Stefan to do so? That's all good stories to tell, and of course, who will fill out the void blueside?

So, I'm slightly supporting of killing Statesman, but on a few conditions. States must die a hero's death. I'm talking punching Rularuu in the eye or similar. Statesman HAS to go down swinging. He deserves to die in battle. Secondly, this has to mean something. Losing Statesman should be felt in a lot of places in the game. It must have consequences. There are so many stories to tell with this, so do that.

I'll admit, I might get a little worried about Lord Recluse now... If Statesman dies, then what is Recluse's purpose now? He was kind of like Doctor Doom with Reed Richards, and now his Richards is dead. What happens now?

Also, now I want a single new costume piece to unlock on finishing the fifth arc blueside: A black armband with the Statesman Star on it. Come on, it's the classy thing to do.

Ah, yes, the instant before the ponies show the power of Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and of course, Magic can do when focused into a rainbow colored coherent beam of destruction. Ask Nightmare Moon about that. Or Discord. The first being the corrupted princess of the night, and the other being, well, Q. As a half pony, half dragon thing. Yes, they got the same guy who played Q in Star Trek to voice Discord, and it's awesome.

Friendship is Magic doesn't have that many villains, though, but you got to hand it to the ponies. When a villain does show up, it gets defeated. None of this "let the bad guy escape for later" going on. Nightmare Moon got redeemed, and now goes as Princess Luna again, and Discord... Well, he did say "Friend me!" Some villains just have to learn to watch what they say, don't they?

But all in all, it's actually not these scenes of ponies being awesome that's the fun of the show. I actually prefer it when they're being adorable and girly. I think a lot of the fun is that it's My Little Pony, and it's good. The novelty of that is just fun. It's about time, too, Transformers has had several good cartoons, so why shouldn't the ponies get a crack at it?

I have a few ideas to add. At least some that I find typical of Demigods.

Knowledge - A Demigod usually knows things, often things not meant for mortals. Maybe he can see the future, maybe he knows of unspeakable horrors, maybe he just knows something about how the world works, or knows all there is to know about military planning, but a Demigod knows stuff. They aren't always wise enough to act on it, but that comes with the job.

A weakness - It's a Demigod. Maybe it's a vulnerable heel, maybe it's stupidity, or perhaps he is just not as invincible as a full god, but for a Demigod to be interesting, he must still be possible to defeat.

A domain or specialty - A lot of Demigods are specialists in something. Hercules is the strongest there is, for instance. But it might also be light, darkness, fire, steel, or more abstract things like war, love, knowledge, magic, and so on. A Demigod has a lot of power, yes, but usually there is a focus or a theme. Something that the Incarnate system perhaps lacks by being so scattershot.

And finally: A challenge - Demigods are awesome because they can take on things mere mortals would stand no chance against. It might be monsters, it might be a logic problem, it might be an alien invasion, but whenever a Demigod exists, there's usually a counterpart to him to keep him busy. After all, it's no fun to read "Superman: Traffic Cop" for more than a single issue, is it? Actually, I probably would read that issue, sounds funny.

I want the heroside WWD arc to end with Darrin Wade thinking that while the heroes may have foiled his plot, at least he got away safely. Until he notices a very angry Lord Recluse who says something corny like "Never get between a spider and its prey!" before eviscerating Wade. That'd be a good way to have Recluse come back and be relevant.

The villainside finale? Delivering Wade to Lord Recluse, of course. Or rather, setting him up so he walks right into the trap. Just make sure that Wade makes himself a big enough annoyance to both the player and Recluse first.

I just want the big ol' Spider to be relevant again. Tyrant is... okay. But he lacks something to be a great supervillain: A theme. You can fault Recluse for a lot of things, but the lack of a theme isn't one of them.

I got two stories. One that succeeded, and one that at least was a valiant effort.

The first one is a oldie. Before Blasters got the new boring Defiance. Yes, it's better, but so boring. I have this Elec/Elec Blapper that had a habit of jumping things she really shouldn't, and coming out alive. Like hunting Rikti bosses for sport. Or tanking AVs. Man did I learn so much about AI quirks playing her... Did you know that the enemies have a shorter aggro ranged behind them? Or that you could force Rikti Bosses to draw their swords, before they got the gunswords?

Anyway, I had decided that she would need to solo Tyrant, you know, the old Energy Melee one in A Hero's Hero. He's always level 50, but my Blaster was level 47. I asked other people if it was even possible to do what I was thinking, and the answers ranged from "lol, no" to "You're crazy, of course not!" Well, I wasn't going to take that kind of pessimism. I was going to go for it. Some of my friends thought I was mad, but they wanted to watch, so they joined me in the mission and dropped team. So... an "impossible" solo fight... with a crowd. Now, I'll happily admit that the first time went pretty bad. So did the second, although I did hurt him. The third time, however... Low HP, and a Blaster in melee range at that time meant a ton of damage. And I did it. Tyrant fell. That was fun. Riding that blinking HP was an artform for a solo blaster.

The other story is from a Stalker, Ninja Blade/Ninjitsu that I was exemplaring down to run an 8-man version of the Barracuda AV mission. If you know the mission, you know how dreadfully frontloaded it could be, like 3-4 spawns spawning on top of each other. Anyway, the team took out Barracuda, but the sea of Freaks took us down. Well, all except my Stalker. I think I fought that mess of Freaks for a good solid 10 minutes, taking them down one at a time, but it was a losing battle. Sure, the could barely hit me, but with that many, 5% of the hits is still a lot of hits, and I used the Ninjitsu self heal on the brink of death so many times. But in the end, I fell, too. With my blue bar completely exhausted, no inspirations left at all, and an awestruck team asking in chat "Stalkers can DO that?!" Yes, yes they can. They should have seen her at level 50, they should. (How to ding 50 in style: On Lord Recluse.)

I've since retired and remade that Stalker. I will make her as good as, or better than she was before.

Well, Discord is basically Q. Even got the same actor to do the voice for him. Expert trickster, chaos incarnate. Almost took over all of Equestria, if he hadn't been out-tricked by Princess Celestia sending some letters back. Then took weaponized friendship to the face.

Discord was a fun villain. I wonder if we've seen the last of him? We did, finally, get another Nightmare Moon episode this season. Or rather, a Luna episode. Kind of fun to see what the effects of having been sealed on the moon for a millennium does to a pony.