New Dawn

This thread is about buffers rejoicing, if all was balanced before, it can't be that way now as some buffers have something to sing about whilst others have nothing new. Pain and Poison may not be part of the defender sets hence why a small mention.

Taking this build I've analyzed it against mine which is about 20 times cheaper. For 20 times more expensive I'd expect an I win button. Your build truly wins in the +damage compartment. Shield walls are PvP IOs I believe so it should.

Going through it here is what I came up with conclusion wise as to what differences I would make:

I would hasten, you would have more hp over time, more end rec over time, more defense over time, your attack rate is better and you will have more build up over time, your regen rate would then be substantially better over time and all thate toxic resistance would actually come out on top compared to my build because atm they don't. Because I use Hoarfrost twice as often my toxic resist over time equals yours.

So this build would be better with haste.

I would try to slot all attacks well, where there is smidgens of tiny little bonuses like 4% regen I would ask myself how much is that in real terms, note that its a 1/3 of a single hp and breath a sigh of relief that 2 slots can come out of combat jump to do more in an attack than I would recieve in hp. There is no point being so far past the flight speed cap thats another slot free to go into an attack, each one of these newly freed slots that were given you nothing or something less than a hitpoint per sec in regen build an attack which can give you something more worth it, it could be additional defense.

Lots of attack come as Smash or Lethal, when it comes to Fire there is often Lethal, if lethal misses then the fire misses, same with cold, same with energy and smash etc therefore some bonuses like what you're getting by slotting up Permafrost with Aegis over the extent of the game may not be that helpful especially in terms of minor additional fire res, but in an attack they can be and the same bonuses might be gained anyway.

All I am saying is that if I spent that much I would of done things differently and whilst you have such a good build which may do for the content there would be something in my mind that would try to make it better. However no one writes the rule book that other people may follow so if you've found something that you think is perfect then fair play and good luck to ya, I'm still looking for perfect.

One of the reasons I have Haste is EA. I agree with you about endurance I can see how staminaless Icetanks managed. I'd autofire haste but not EA, one thing I'd rather do is hit EA myself so as to make sure it doesn't fire off when I least want it to, ie simply traveling to a mission or between enemy groups. Much better to use it with mobs next to ya.

Yep and as I see it all I've asked for is a buff to Empathy, Pain and Poison of equal value - could be anything. Reactive sets could do with less cast time and is still my opinion. This buff removes cast times from the sets its bestowed to so I see it only fair however what the Devs do with their knowledge is down to them.

I just want all my defense sets to be equal, people with a view from one or two of them won't see where people with all of them find them unequal ingame.

Edit: As someone who almost never soloes a defender although I did with TA/DP to compare it to DP/TA pre defender damage buff my views are biased.

People with their sets can spend alot of time chasing people, finding people or more usually getting in range of people in order to buff them. This time can add to the cast time of the buffs and prevent other actions which can mean someone gets defeated whilst you finally became locked in your cast time or with all that fannying about your damage output is lower. That's not the fault of the devs or maybe the ST buffs should have longer range.

Forcefield,

defender time to buff for a 8 man team roughly takes up 1/7 of the time they could be doing something else. The whole team can be done within 2 fight durations out of 12. Positioning and blasting can be done easily together. Hardly any FFers utilize nigh damage less KBs for people survivability nor detention field as they're just barely desired. Given the lack of desirability for half of FFs set, the powerboost on the buffs is fair. Even the change we're talking about, to it, is probably fair.

Empathy,

3 constantly applied forts out of people with SO builds, 5 out of IO builds. IO build would do fort buffing excluding movement 1/10th of the time (120s/12s). Still usually atleast 3 people not buffed with it, AB is saved for specials but atleast 3.2s in a 120s period.

Both RAs are up within 90s and their combined 4s of use plus if people do it that way the gather time which adds 3 to 5s then thats roughly an average of 11s addeds to the fort time of 12s over a 120s cycle. 120/23s = just over a 1/5.

Then there are the heal powers which can be either used once in a blue moon late game or a lot early game which reduce personal blasting time not only in for reactive purposes the anticipation but the travel to the target. A minimum of an average 6s use within a 120s fight period on a decent team although I've been in them teams where I am activating all 3 heals after eachother, and for the sake of someone better doing damage hardly blasting at all. Being generous then by saying I am not having to heal much in a team then that 6s plus maybe a tiny bit of travel is added to the 23s of other buffs which hasn't included CM yet and not taken that buffing time to 30s. Even if my figures have been wrong still a 1/4 of the time can easily be spent buffing.

Empaths don't even debuff so that either themselves or 8 ppl can effectively do more damage, the +Dam from fortitude is not relatively special on one but good across the 3 to 5 people, no reason not to use it especially as atleast 25% of your time can be spent attending peoples needs, not to mention that can increase from CM use, any real traveling to that sod that cant stay within 80ft of you and aniticipating to heal to be fast enough.

CM is better proactively used when you realize that someone can need healing whilst other people play in a way that they get themselves mezzed. I'd much rather CM at the end of one fight cycle than in the middle or at the start of one but keeping that out its still around 25% buffing and 75% blasting. Must be some people still stacking CM on some non flexible tanker vs GW somewhere.

I'm all for Kins getting an AoE ID, from a fun play perspective there is so much to do in so little time but if they can do that with Kins ID then that puts my Kinetic out infront of my Empath when playing with players that know what they're doing. I realize with Kinetics I can barely get to blast myself from stacking buffs but the contribution to the team is greater and the ability to solo is also greater. It's not like many people, don't already believe that Kins are superior anyway.

I am sure I read somewhere that the Defenders were considered the most balance set so a bit of tweaking would cause some inbalance.

Really I am not suggesting for Empaths to recieve the same buff just some buff of equal value. If the Devs took off 1 second of forts and heal others cast time I'd be well happy.

No it isnt and its not down to elitism. When it comes to defenders I think they need to be experienced. Too many people give advice or have an opinion on sets they don't even play.

I wouldn't want the same treatment to apply to fortitude as thats OP. AoE shielding would be easier playing with the types that would normally forget to buff but thats about it.

Its a fair answer, but I think all the powersets which buff need to be looked at for time spent casting on people, during this time a more important power could be used or an attack. Especially as with empaths when they do attack its not on anything they're debuffing.

Somebody else who actually plays all the powersets should be talking to me about what would and wouldn't benefit from the change.

Some defender sets are far easier to play than others, and require less attentiveness to team support yet they are targeted whilst the more reactive sets are not.

I play all the sets when it comes to what sets required a cast time reduction I do not feel that the specific ones that needed it have been targeted.

I believe that powersets should be balanced so that peoples characters have equal value in teams or atleast on paper.

Cast time reduction tips the balance of favour towards a teams survivability. Some sets getting it while the more reactive sets don't is unfair.

I'm not asking to see an AoE applied to whats now a ST on them sets, although why not on the Mezz protection powers atleast? Usually often or not only like 3 ppl can do with it supplied to them but even I have been a single empath on a manic nearly all blaster team.

Call me masochistic but its amazing how many people fail to constantly proactively buff everyone yet I dislike this change as it leaves Pain, Poison and Empathy out without a change of equal value. A forcefielder should have no reason not to keep buffs up yet when I am on a scrapper who shouldnt even really be paying attention to other peoples buffs normally I notice it alot. People did fail to probuff, this can and does lead to problems and now people just have to wait for a power to recharge less often fitting in the cast time in less times around other duties. IMO no way was Pain, Poison or Empathy over powered before so why there is nothing for them of equal value is something I'd like to see someone have a guess at.

Once again the Ill/Cold may as well be the Super AT all on its own.

I think the game would get easier if the same treatment was given to fortitude.

With some sets, whilst making time to shield someone, something else can happen, something in which a defender might wish they did something else in that moment. Empaths can be busy forting or as it was more likely CM'ing someone at a moment when it would of been good to use AP. Being able to do everyone in one cast time reduces moments like them. Pain, Empathy and Poison could do with a buff too, as to what buff, I am not suggesting any but I'll know already from playing all the sets which are more challenging and which are less challenging and as it stands I know which ones I'd let three year olds play.

*Faints*