Oathbound

[ QUOTE ]
With the impending return of the 5th Column, what do you think of the Void Hunters as the next Villain Epic AT? <snip>

[/ QUOTE ]

Minor nitpick (and possible spoilers)... the 5th Column and the Void Hunters have nothing to do with one another.

The Void Hunter mercenaries are a sub-faction of the Council, and did not exist prior to their takeover of the 5th. They are enhanced with N-Fragments in much the same way as the Council's Galaxy troops (of which the 5th Column has no counterpart). Unlike the Galaxy soldiers though, Void Hunters are armed with Quantum Array Guns.

To the best of my knowledge the 5th Column have had no dealings with any faction of Kheldians, outside of the fact that Requiem is a bonded Nictus.

(As a side note, I am currently working on a 5th Column/Kheldian MA arc.)

Here's my entry for this:

My namesake Oathbound, a Forcefield/Psychic Blast/Psychic Mastery Defender.

Personality: As a result of his unnaturally long life he prefers to maintain an emotional distance between himself and others. He's outwardly very reserved and somewhat aloof, sometimes to the point of seeming cold, or apathetic. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor, and rarely actually laughs at things he finds amusing or humorous, tending only a slight, sly smile.

Costume 1
Costume 2

Oathbound is a case of "He thinks, therefore he is." Though he doesn't know it, ~1500years ago he and his entire village were killed accidentally by an immensely powerful Illusion/Empathy controller, Rafi. Stricken with grief over this, Rafi created an illusion and embedded it with as much of the young man's fleeting consciousness as possible, effectively resurrecting him, though there was significant gaps in Oathy's memory.

Shortly thereafter Rafi set off across the globe, Oathbound in tow, seeking some degree of redemption for the deaths that he caused.

Eventually when Rafi died, he imbued his illusion with the entirety of his psychic energy, prolonging Oathbound's "life" indefinitely. Oathbound still carries on that fight for redemption, not for any sense of duty or guilt, but because it's all that he can really remember ever doing.


As far as his appearance goes, there are a few things that can't be depicted in game. The character has grown a lot since I first came up with him. He's become this kind of an amalgamation of a Judeo-Christian Seraphim and a Hindu diety, who has six arms and six wings.

References:
Seraphim wiki
1
2
3

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Sadly that's unlikely to happen, given that I believe one of the Devs recently stated that they would rather add new content, than revamp old zones. They take about as much time/effort.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the Shadow Shard still has a ton of story to be told and, iirc, is tied directly into "the coming storm" (was it not Rularuu that sent the Shivans?). So, it would actually make sense to do some soft of revamp with the Shard as they start unfolding that story.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard a lot of speculation about Rularuu being involved in The Coming Storm, but have never seen any evidence to indicate he was. (Or that he had anything to do with the Shivans at all.)

Edit: Nevermind

As other have said, I highly doubt that Lanaru or Faathim would help Rularuu at this point.

I could see Lanaruu being a Rogue npc, fighting Rularuu and Players alike, and I could see Faathim helping Players against Rularuu and Lanaru both.

...

A potential solution for the Jade Spider problem, perhaps have Rularuu in an instanced area of the Shadow Shard where everyone in the zone is granted "Shattered Gravity" an always on temporary flight power for as long as they stay in the zone.

They might also shrink him a tad bit, hopefully keeping him as big as technically feasible.

At the very least I'd like to see the Shard revamped, and the other 4 aspects of Rularuu added. Sadly that's unlikely to happen, given that I believe one of the Devs recently stated that they would rather add new content, than revamp old zones. They take about as much time/effort.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Rikti Headmen and soldiers would be Technology Origin, because they rely exclusively on weapons, which would work just as well if they'd never undergone any genetic tampering at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

By that argument, Crab Spiders would also be Technology. But the origin of their abilities is Natural; anyone can pick up and use one of those mass-produced weapons. Technology indicates there's something unique, something superpowered, about the character's technological devices. (This is true even if the actual granted powers are identical to those a Natural hero would have -- the difference between an AR/Dev Tech blaster and an AR/Dev Natural blaster is purely in how the powers are explained.)

So would Headmen and whatnot be Natural? After all, they're using the same weapons as all the other Rikti. While they may be super-tech by human definition, any other Rikti could pick up and use one. But it doesn't really make sense to call a Headman "Natural"... even though a Natural character could use those weapons, Headmen are not Natural entities. They're genetically altered beings. The only Origin that really makes sense for them is the default for their kind -- Science.

[/ QUOTE ]

Character Origin has always been described as "Where/what they get their powers from."

Science doesn't fit that for Headmen/Soldiers, because their genetic engineering is NOT what they get their powers from. Their Armor and Weapons are, which makes them either Tech or Natural.

It's not really "tech" that makes shields/brawl work with weapon powersets.

It's the fact that they made a seperate animation for each power, in each set that could be paired with it. That's why Shields took so godaweful long. They had to make over 200 animations for it.

I would also like the option of setting it so that it will Automatically pay my SG rent if the SG has the prestige available.

Indeed. it would definitely help to know what your goal was for the character.

Going off my impressions of the build itself... Are you level 50 already? Cause there are some powers that seem REALLY late in your build, TT:M at 49(!) for instance. I would drop CT:O at the level 2 slot, move Strike down and pick up TT:M at 4. If you really WANT CT:O you can put it at 49 instead.

You've also got 6 purple sets slotted, which is a huge waste IMO since you can only stack up to 5 like bonuses, and Purple bonuses are largely redundant. I would suggest one of two options: Drop the purple set in Lunge for the same slotting as Strike(5slot Crushing Impact) OR Drop the purple set in Aura of Confusion for 5 slots of Malaise's Illusion plus the Purple proc or a /recharge purple. (I would lean more towards Crushing Impact in Lunge, to keep the 5%ranged Defense from the confuse purple.)

I would also change the Mind Link slotting to L50 LoTG Defense, Defense/Recharge, Endurance/Recharge and the +Recharge Global. You only lost 0.4%defense but your shave the recharge down to 90.4seconds. (You could do better by just slotting LOTG, RedFort and GOTA Defense/Recharge and the LOTG +Recharge Global IMO. LOTG's bonuses are nothing all that special, and the frankenslotting will get Mind Link perma with some wiggle room.)

Not too long ago I posted my idea about an Illusion armor set for stalkers, just for speculation's sake here's what I came up with:

Illusory Aura Stalker set
1) Hide -- Self Toggle, Slow Recharge, Stealth, +Defense All 1.88%, +Defense All but AoE 3.75%[suppresses], +Defense AoE 37.5%[suppresses]
2) Illusory Image -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Defense All 9.75%, +Heal 2.5%
<Ticks every 4seconds, unlike most armor toggles that tick every 0.5seconds. The idea of this powers is based off how Illusory damage heals back after a short time. The healback mechanic is taken from Pain Domination's Soothing Aura, I based the heal percentage off of existing Clicky self heals, but that number can be adjusted upwards if needed based on the performance of the set.>
3) Mind Over Matter -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Max Hitpoints 10%, +Resist Smash/Lethal/Psionic 15%, +Resist Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative/Toxic 7.5%, +Protection Hold/Sleep/Disorient/Immobilize/Fear/Confuse 10.4mag, +Protection Knockback/Knockup 10mag, +Resist Knockback/Knockup 10,000%
4) Project Likeness -- PBAoE Toggle, Minor Damage, Slow Recharge, Confuse
<Clone of World of Confusion>
5) Divert Attention -- PBAoE Click, Very long Recharge, Placate
<Clone of Smoke Flash>
6) Dellusions of Grandeur -- Self Auto, +Damage Illusory
<Variation of the Enchantment of Serafina temporary power, adds Psionic damage to you attacks, but some of that damage will heal back if your target survives long enough. Again based off the idea of Illusory damage.>
7) Phantom Apparition -- PBAoE Click, Very Long Recharge, Fear
8) Sleight of Hand -- Self Auto, +Recharge, +ToHit, +Resist Slow/Recharge
9) Astral Projection -- Summon Special, Very Long Recharge, Self Intangeable
<Varation of Phantom Army. Summons a trio of Decoys at your location and phase shifts you for a brief time(5seconds or so) to give the Decoys a chance to pull agro off of you.>



The set was designed to have minimalist defenses, and utilize an assortment of clicks and status effects for improving survivability.

Change for Change's sake is bad.

For every person who hates an effect, you'll find a person who loves the effect. I personally love all the powers that use the very effect you don't like (Power Surge/Surge of Power, Cloak of Darkness/Shadow Cloak, etc).

My favorite costume on my Warshade is Shadow Cloak + Heavy Sparkles aura. He's like a mini nebula with twinkling stars.

may as well throw my hat in... my namesake Oathbound, a Forcefield/Psychic Blast/Psychic Mastery Defender.

Personality: As a result of his unnaturally long life he prefers to maintain an emotional distance between himself and others. He's outwardly very reserved and somewhat aloof, sometimes to the point of seeming cold, or apathetic. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor, and rarely actually laughs at things he finds amusing or humorous, tending only a slight, sly smile.

Costume 1
Costume 2

Oathbound is a case of "He thinks, therefore he is." Though he doesn't know it, ~1500years ago he and his entire village were killed accidentally by an immensely powerful Illusion/Empathy controller, Rafi. Stricken with grief over this, Rafi created an illusion and embedded it with as much of the young man's fleeting consciousness as possible, effectively resurrecting him, though there was significant gaps in Oathy's memory.

Shortly thereafter Rafi set off across the globe, Oathbound in tow, seeking some degree of redemption for the deaths that he caused.

Eventually when Rafi died, he imbued his illusion with the entirety of his psychic energy, prolonging Oathbound's "life" indefinitely. Oathbound still carries on that fight for redemption, not for any sense of duty or guilt, but because it's all that he can really remember ever doing.


As far as his appearance goes, there are a few things that can't be depicted in game. The character has grown a lot since I first came up with him. He's become this kind of an amalgamation of a Judeo-Christian Seraphim and a Hindu diety, who has six arms and six wings.

References:
Seraphim wiki
1
2
3

I wouldn't get your hopes up, it's been explained that there's no way for the current game engine to produce a "Pull" effect.

The only possible way of implementing it would be to have the power spawn a 'pet' behind your target and use a Knockback/repel power on your target.

There's however no way to guarantee the pet will spawn behind your target. So more often than not it would knock/repel your target backwards, or to the side instead.

On top of that there's no way to adjust it based on your target's distance from you, so even if it does manage to spawn the pet behind the target, and knock/repel them towards you, based on distance vs magnitude it may knock them too far, or not far enough to be of any use.

It would be nice, but would require extensive reworking of the game to implement.

Dimension Shift was always in the set, it was Singularity that was added. (The Original Tier9 power was Fold Space, a team recall power.)

To my knowledge that's the only power that's ever been replaced in the 5year history of the game.

Castle has, of late, made it very clear that he has no intention of replacing powers, or drastically changing their function (The so-called Cottage rule).

About the only thing I think we can really hope for are the changes Jibikao listed, and possibly a few additional ones. Speeding up animations (Crush/Gravity Distortion/Propel) would be a good change.

Also, 4feet is a pointlessly tiny radius for a power, I can guarantee that the majority of the time you'd never even notice it wasn't a single target power. Hardly overpowering.

Gravity lacks any real form of AoE control until level 26, making Lift into an AoE power (With a real AoE radius, like 10-15' and an increased recharge of 10-12s) would give them that.

I must say that when I first looked at Batty Boi, I totally thought his staff was, well, erm... "his staff"

I was like....

I'm all for more options for Monstrous characters.

I can't even express how much I want a set of Valkyrie Greaves for my tanker with Monstrous legs.

[ QUOTE ]
The colored text burned my retinas.

[/ QUOTE ]

HAHA!

My evil plan it working....

Here's a couple more:

Toxic Blast
1) Caustic Bolt -- Single ranged, Minor DoT, Fast Recharge, -Regeneration, Chance for Infect 10%
2) Caustic Blast -- Singel ranged, Moderate DoT, Moderate Recharge, -Regeneration, Chance for Infect 10%
3) Corrosive Spray -- Cone, Moderate DoT, Slow Recharge, -Defense, -Resist
4) Aim -- Self Click, Very Long Recharge, +ToHit, +Damage
5) Noxious Odor -- Singel ranged, Slow Recharge, Hold, -Speed, -Recharge, Chance for Infect 20%
6) Contagen -- Single ranged, Moderate DoT Slow Recharge, Chance for Infect 80%, Chance for Infect 80%, Chance for Infect 80%
7) Pestilence -- Short ranged, Heavy DoT, Slow Recharge, -Regeneration, -Recovery, -Heal, -Damage, Chance for Infect 15%
8) Mass Exposure -- AoE, Moderate DoT, Slow Recharge, -Regeneration, -Recovery, Chance for Infect 10%
9) Rampant Plague -- PBAoE, Extreme DoT, Very Long Recharge, -Regeneration, -Recovery, -Recharge, -Speed, Chance of Infect 20%, Self -Hitpoints, Self -Endurance, Self -Recovery, Self -Regeneration

**DoT effects are 3.1seconds duration or less.**

**Infect is a chance for the effect of the power to 'jump' to another target within a 10' radius of the affected foe. Infect will only allow the effect to jump to a single additional mob. In the case of AoE powers, each affected target has a chance to Infect another target.**

**Contagen has 3 seperate 80%chances to infect additional targets.**

**Rampant Plague doesn't have the normal crash for Nukes, instead it sets the caster to 25%hitpoints and 10% Endurance, and applies -1000%Regeneration, and -1000%Recovery effects.**

**************************************

Illusory Aura Stalker set
1) Hide -- Self Toggle, Slow Recharge, Stealth, +Defense All 1.88%, +Defense All but AoE 3.75%[suppresses], +Defense AoE 37.5%[suppresses]
2) Illusory Image -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Defense All 9.75%, +Heal 2.5%
<Ticks every 4seconds, unlike most armor toggles that tick every 0.5seconds>
3) Mind Over Matter -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Max Hitpoints 10%, +Resist Smash/Lethal/Psionic 15%, +Resist Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative/Toxic 7.5%, +Protection Hold/Sleep/Disorient/Immobilize/Fear/Confuse 10.4mag, +Protection Knockback/Knockup 10mag, +Resist Knockback/Knockup 10,000%
4) Project Likeness -- PBAoE Toggle, Minor Damage, Slow Recharge, Confuse
<Clone of World of Confusion>
5) Divert Attention -- PBAoE Click, Very long Recharge, Placate
<Clone of Smoke Flash>
6) Dellusions of Grandeur -- Self Auto, +Damage Illusory
<Variation of the Enchantment of Serafina temporary power, adds Psionic damage to you attacks, but some of that damage will heal back if your target survives long enough>
7) Phantom Apparition -- PBAoE Click, Very Long Recharge, Fear
8) Sleight of Hand -- Self Auto, +Recharge, +ToHit, +Resist Slow/Recharge
9) Astral Projection -- Summon Special, Very Long Recharge, Self Intangeable
<Varation of Phantom Army. Summons a trio of Decoys at your location and phase shifts you for a brief time(5seconds or so) to give the Decoys a chance to pull agro off of you.>

**The set was designed to have minimalist defenses, and utilize an assortment of clicks and status effects for improving survivability.**

Yay for posting a whole slew of powerset ideas:

First Up...

Radiation Melee Tanker (Scrapper/Brute)
1) Isotopic Therapy -- Self Auto, +Resist All but Psionic 12.5%
2) Augmented Health -- Self Auto, +Max Hitpoints 20%(10%enhanceable), +Regeneration 100%
3) Somatic Renewal -- Self Click, Long Recharge, +Heal 25%, +Resist Toxic 20%
<Rad version of Healing Flames>
4) Irradiant Aura -- PBAoE Toggle, Slow Recharge, -Damage 15%, -ToHit 15%, Taunt
5) Enhanced Metabolism -- Self Click, Very Long Recharge, +Protection Hold/Sleep/Disorient/Immobilize/Fear/Confuse 13mag, +Protection Knockback/Knockup 10mag, +Recharge 20%, +Resist Slow/Recharge 20%
<Clicky mez protection with bonus recharge>
6) Unstable Mutation -- Self Click, Very Long Recharge, +Resist Smashing/Lethal 25%, +Resist Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative 15%, +Damage 80%, +ToHit 20%
<The first of 3 short duration, long recharge powers designed to be cycled one at a time on top of your passive defenses and hitpoint recovery.>
7) Mutagenic Enzymes -- Self Click, Very Long Recharge, +Regeneration 300%
<Second of the "Advanced mitigation" clicks.>
8) Radiation Sickness -- PBAoE Click, Very Long Recharge, -Defense 10%, -Resist 10%, -Regeneration 25%, -Recovery 50%, -Recharge 50%, -Damage 20%, Chance Vomit 30%
<The Final "mitigation" clicky, by far the most offensive in nature. Large radius, use it to neutralize a mob's damage dealing capability.>
9) Meltdown -- PBAoE Click, Extreme Damage Special, Very Long Recharge, Hold, -Defense 35%, Self -Hitpoints 50%, Self -Endurance 50%, Self Resist Heal 50% (for 10 seconds)
<Basically Atomic Blast. Thematically you allow yourself to partially meltdown, suffering considerable damage to yourself, and dealing extreme damage to nearby mobs.>


**The Idea with the set is that you have your base mitigation powers and a heal for any time use, then on top of that you have a trio of clickies that you can stack on top of your base defenses for improved survivability.**

Stalker Version
Hide
Isotopic Therapy
Augmented Health
Somatic Renewal
Enhanced Metabolism
Unstable Mutation
Atomic Flash -- PBAoE Click, Very Long Recharge, Placate, -ToHit 5%, Chance Disorient 50%
<Modified Atomic Flash from Radiation Melee [see below], variant of Smoke Flash>
Radiation Sickness
Meltdown

**************************************

Radiation Melee Tanker Version
1) Contaminated Strike -- Single melee, Minor Damage, Fast Recharge, -Defense, Chance Knockdown
<Copy of the Shivan power, Damage/Recharge adjusted>
2) Radioactive Smash -- Single melee, Moderate Damage, Moderate Recharge, -Defense, -Fly, Chance Knockdown, Chance Disorient
<Copy of the Shivan power, Damage/Recharge adjusted>
3) Irradiate -- PBAoE, Moderate DoT, Slow Recharge, -Defense
4) Taunt -- AoE, Moderate Recharge, Taunt
5) Build Up -- Self, Very Long Recharge, +Damage, +ToHit
6) Core Breach -- PBAoE Toggle, Damage Special, Slow Recharge
<Combination of 3 PBAoE Damage Auras, one each 5' Radius, 8' Radius and 12' Radius. Net effect is that the closer the mob is to you the more damage they take each Tick>
7) Enervating Touch -- Melee AoE, Moderate Damage (Target), Moderate DoT 10' Radius, Slow Recharge, -Defense, -Resist
<Radiation version of Thunderstrike. Heavy damage to your target, Splash damage and a Debuff in an AoE around them.>
8) Atomic Flash -- PBAoE, Slow Recharge, Disorient, -ToHit
<Radiation version of Lightning Clap, but with -ToHit instead of Knockback>
9) Cosmic Burst -- Single range, Extreme Damage, Slow Recharge, Disorient, -Defense


**Scrapper/Brute power order switched, move Taunt up to tier 6, shift Build Up and Core Breach down a slot.**

Stalker Version:
Contaminated Strike
Radioactive Smash
Electron Wave -- Cone melee, Moderate Damage, Moderate Recharge, -Defense, Chance Knockdown
<Melee Variation of Electron Haze, comparable to Jacob's Ladder>
Assassin's Curie -- Melee, Damage Special, Slow Recharge, Demoralize
Build Up
Placate -- Ranged, Long Recharge, Placate
Irradiate
Enervating Touch
Cosmic Burst
**************************************

Sonic Aura Tanker (Scrapper/Brute)
1) Sonic Shield -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Resist Smash/Lethal/Toxic 15%
2) Accute Hearing -- Self Auto, +Defense All 5%
3) Sonic Shell -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Resist Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative
4) Inner Clarity -- Self Toggle, Slow Recharge, +Protection Hold/Sleep/Disorient/Immobilize/Fear/Confuse/Taunt/Placate 13mag, +Protection Knockback/Knockup 10mag, +Resist Knockback/Knockup 10,000%
5) Ultrasonic Vibrations -- Self Toggle, Fast Recharge, +Defense All 10%, +ToHit 10%, +Perception 90%, +Resist Perception 33%
6) Keening Aura -- PBAoE Toggle, Slow Recharge, -Resist 25%, Taunt
7) Dispursion Shield -- PBAoE Toggle, Slow Recharge +Resist All but Psionic 7.5%
<Perhaps a smaller Radius similar to Grant Cover, though I don't think the standard 25'radius would be a problem (There's no thematic reason it wouldn't work at that range, unlike with Shields>
8) Marking Time -- Self Auto, +Recharge 20%, +Runspeed 35%, +Flyspeed 13.7%, +Resist Slow/Recharge 40%
9) Siphon Resistance -- PBAoE Click, Very Long Recharge, -Resist 25%, Self +Resist 10%, Self +Resist 5% per target
<Kind of an Eclipse/Energy Absorption type of power, has a 30second duration. I would add an End recovery component to it like the aforementioned powers (I think the set could really use it) but it doesn't 'feel' right>


**All toggles except Keening Aura cost 0.18end/sec. Keening Aura costs 0.33end/sec**

Stalker Version
Hide
Sonic Shield
Accute Hearing
Sonic Shell
Inner Clarity
Ultrasonic Vibrations
Disprusion Shield
Marking Time
Siphon Resistance

**************************************

Sonic Melee Tanker Version
1) Sonic Strike -- Single melee, Minor Damage, Fast Recharge, -Resist All
2) Concussive Blow -- Single Melee, Moderate Damage, Moderate Recharge, -Resist All
3) Soundwave -- Cone melee, Moderate Damage, Moderate Recharge, -Resist All, Chance Knockdown 30%
4) Taunt -- AoE, Slow Recharge, Taunt
5) Build Up -- Self Click, Very Long Recharge, +Damage, +ToHit
6) Sonic Concussion -- PBAoE, Slow Recharge, Disorient, Knockback
7) Reverberating Touch -- Melee AoE, Heavy Damage(Target), Minor Damage 10' Radius, Slow Recharge, -Resist
<Another Melee AoE Based off Thunderstrike (Can you tell I like TS?) this version deals most of it's damage to your primary target, with only a relatively small AoE damage component (Like the Blaster TS)>
8) Entrancing Melody -- PBAoE, Slow Recharge, Sleep
<basically the old Frozen Aura>
9) Sonic Boom -- PBAoE, Heavy Damage, Slow Recharge, -Resist, Knockdown
<Sonic 'Footstomp' as it were>

**Sonic Melee would be a high control set, sacrificing a share of it's single target damage, but you can make up for that somewhat by stacking your resistance debuffs on your target.**
**Scrapper/Brute power order switched, move Taunt up to tier 6, shift Build Up and Sonic Concussion down a slot.**

Stalker Version
Sonic Strike
Concussive Blow
Soundwave
Assassin's Aria -- Melee, Damage Special, Slow Recharge, Demoralize
Build Up
Placate -- Ranged, Long Recharge, Placate
Reverberating Touch
Entrancing Melody
Sonic Boom

**************************************

Elecrical Control
1) Electric Fence -- Single ranged, Moderate DoT, Fast Recharge, Immobilize, -Endurance, Chance -Recovery
2) Tesla Cage -- Single ranged, Moderate Damage, Moderate Recharge, Hold, -Endurance, -Recovery
3) Electrifying Fences -- AoE, Minor DoT, Moderate Recharge, Immobilize, -Endurance, Chance -Recovery, -Knockback/Knockup
4) Short Circuit -- PBAoE, Moderate DoT, Slow Recharge, -Endurance, -Recovery
5) Static Field -- PBAoE Toggle, Minor Damage, Slow Recharge, -Endurance, -ToHit, -Speed, Chance Sleep
<Kind of a Hotfeet Variant. You energize the area immediately around you, constantly shocking any mobs neaby. the -tohit and -speed is from the shocks causing them to spasm wildly.>
6) Electrostatic Discharge -- Ground Target AoE, Very Long Recharge, Disorient, Knockdown, Self Teleport
<Uses Lightning Rod animation... cause I wants it.>
7) Tesla Field -- AOE, Very Long Recharge, Hold, -Endurance, -Recovery
8) Energy Cascade -- AoE, Damage Special, Long Recharge, -Endruance Special, Ally +Endurance Special
<Technical description; Spawns a pseudo-pet for each foe within the radius. Each pet fires off a pbaoe Damage/End drain/Ally +end power then despawns. Net result is that vs a single target you drain a little end and deal a little damage, but vs multiple targets you deal a fair share of damage and drain a significant amount of end.>
9) Voltaic Construct -- Summon, Very Long Recharge
<An actual targetable pet akin to other controller tier 9s, uses the Cap Gremlin model people love so much. Has Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Lightning Strike and summons Voltaic Sentinel. Alternately you could make it summon 2 gremlins, each with Charged Brawl and Havoc Punch, or 3 gremlins each with only Charged Brawl.>

**************************************

Dark Control
1) Tenebrous Grasp -- Single target Immobilize, Moderate DoT, Fast recharge, -tohit
2) Soul Storm -- Single target hold, Moderate DoT, Moderate Recharge
3) Tenebrous Expanse -- AoE Immobilize, Minor DoT, Moderate Recharge, -tohit
4) Fetid Wastes -- Location AoE, Very Long recharge, -Speed, -Regeneration, Chance for Vomit
<location targeted pet like Quicksand or tar Patch. Lowers enemy movement and regen, has a low chance to cause mobs to vomit (hold? sleep? whatever) each tick>
5) Starlit Shroud -- PBAoE Toggle, Slow recharge, -Tohit, -Damage, Chance for Placate
<basically Chill of the night, trading the damage for the chance to placate. A Dark equivalent to Arctic Air>
6) Oppressive Gloom -- PBAoE Toggle, Moderate recharge, Disorient, Self Damage Special
<Increased to Mag3, either uses the Defender version's 12' radius, or possibly gets upped to a 15' radius.>
7) Stygian Embrace -- PBAoE Toggle, Slow Recharge, Minor DoT, -End, Self +Regeneration, +Recovery
<kind of a variation on warshade's Stygian Circle power. Drains the HP and End of any nearby foes, returning it to you via regen and recovery. Alternately instead of the self +Regen/Recovery it could have a +Heal/+Endurance ( kind of like Pain Domination's Soothing Aura).>
8) Spirit Squall -- Target AoE, Very Long recharge, Hold
9) Will-o'-the-Wisps -- Summon Special, Very Long recharge.
<summons a few puffy black Wisp pets to serve you. each wisp only has Death Shroud and a weak/fast version of Soul Drain that does about 25damage a hit every 10sec. Wisp's buff lasts 10sec>

--OR--

9) Surging Shadow -- AoE, Long Recharge.
<Summons an immobile Shadow (like Phantasm's decoy) for each target within the radius of the power. These Shadows are targetable, and attackable, but are indestructable. Each Shadow uses Deathshroud, damaging and taunting foes to attack them. Basically creates a damage field that absorbs agro for you. Since it's not a real pet, and each Shadow despawns when it's anchor mob is defeated, the recharge would be MUCH shorter (Say 60-90seconds) allowing them to be resummoned frequently.>


**As you might have noticed, It's a pretty toggle heavy control set, which relies on being right in the thick of things, chewing through endurance and hitpoint the like. That was the main reason for the inclusion of Stygian Embrace. It's both the set's main source of damage (outside of the pets) and serves to mitigate the end and HP costs of the other powers.**

I did not use Dark Miasma powers in the Dark Control set because I'd still like Dark Miasma as a secondary.**

**************************************

Time Control

This set it obviously the one I got the most involved in designing....

The main issue with Time Control was finding a way to set it apart from Gravity and Ice, given that it's OBVIOUS secondary effect was speed/recharge slows. For a while I was thinking of making it a Tohit/Defense debuff (since you're moving slower than the people around you, you have a harder time hitting targets, and avoiding attacks), but that didn't feel like a good fit. Then I started thinking about a combo system, like Dual Blades uses... but that still didn't really make sense.

Finally I thought, instead of Time Control power's secondary effect DEBUFFING your target's movement/recharge, instead have it BUFF yours. To that end the idea of "Acceleration" fleshed itself out, where when you successfully hit a target with your Time Control powers you get a small, stackable recharge buff. Single target attacks get the largest up front buffs, with AoE attacks starting out with very small buffs for the first target, and scaling upwards to more respectable numbers based on how many targets you hit.

For this set I've actually gone a bit overboard and even included numbers based on equivalent Control Set powers, and which animations each power would use (Particle FX would of course be new):

1) Suspend Movement
Suspends your target in an artificial bubble of space-time, preventing them from taking action. This bubble is fragile, and will break if your target is disturbed.

Click
Activation 1.1 (uses Gloom animation)
Accuracy 1.1x
Range 80
End 5.2
Damage 30.6 (Energy)
Recharge 6
3.5mag Sleep 55.9s
20% 1mag Sleep 27.9s
Self (+)5% Recharge 15s

2) Pause
Stops target foe dead in their tracks, leaving them held and helpless to defend themselves. Like most other Time Control powers, Pause grants you a small bonus to your recharge if successfully executed.

Click
Activation 1.17 (uses Transfusion animation)
Accuracy 1.2x
Range 80
End 8.53
Damage 30.6 (Energy)
Recharge 8
3mag Hold 22.4s
20% 1mag Hold 16.8s
(-)Knockback/Up
Self (+)5% Recharge 15s

3) Slow Field
Slows a group of foes to a standstill, effectively immobilizing them and massively slowing their attack rate, while boosting your own. Unlike most AoE Immobilize powers, Slow Field deals no damage.

Click
Activation 1.03 (uses Fire Cages animation)
Accuracy 1.0x
Range 80
Radius 25
End 10.4
Damage 0 (Energy)
Recharge 12
Max Targets 16
3mag Immobilize 27.9s
50% 1mag Immobilize 14s
(-)81.25% Recharge
Self (+) 4% Recharge 20s, (+)1% Recharge/Target 20s (Maximum of 20% Recharge)

4) Halt Movement
Encases a group of foes in a large pocket of artificial space-time, rendering them unable to act. Foes will be freed from the effects of this power if damage or moved.

Click
Activation 2.27 (uses O2 Boost animation)
Accuracy 1.0x
Range 80
Radius 30
End 15.6
Damage 0 (Energy)
Recharge 45
Max Targets 16
3mag Sleep 22.4s
20% 1mag Sleep 11.2s
Self (+) 4% Recharge 20s, (+)1% Recharge/Target 20s (Maximum of 20% Recharge)

5) Chronoshift
Chronoshift violently forces your target out of sync with normal space time, then instantly pulls them back from the edge of nothingness, leaving them stunned and staggering. A Successful hit with Chronoshift accelerates your attack speed for a brief time.

Click
Activation 1.93 (uses Siphon Power animation)
Accuracy 1.0x
Range 80
End 10.4
Damage 30.6 (Energy)
Recharge 20
3mag Disorient 18.6s
20% 1mag Disorient 14s
Self (+)10% Recharge 20s

6) Temporal Rift
Manipulation of space-time is not without it's hazards, inexperienced chronomancers sometimes inadvertantly create dangerous rifts in the fabric of time itself. Experienced Chronomancers can bend these very rifts in time to their own will. Activating this power calls forth such a rift to serve you. Temporal rifts are short lived and immobile, but can posses potent attributes, and are extremely hard to destroy. Temporal Rifts cannot be healed, and will collapse after 30 seconds.

Click
Activation 3.17 (uses Dark Servant animation)
Range 60
End 13
Recharge 120
*See below for Rift Information*

7) Atrophy
By selectively manipulating the flow of time in your area you are able to Atrophy the bodies of nearby foes, causing them to waste away into oblivion.

Click
Activation 1.07 (uses Irradiate animation)
Accuracy 1.0x
Radius 20
End 18.5
Damage 26ticks x1.5 damage over 5s (Energy)
Recharge 30
Max Targets 16
Self (+) 4% Recharge 20s, (+)1% Recharge/Target 20s (Maximum of 20% Recharge)

8) Temporal Anomaly
A truely powerful Chronomancer is able to manifest Temporal Anomalies to serve them. More powerful and destructive than minor Rifts, Anomalies fluctuate violently, lashing out at foes within range, locking them in place mid stride, and slowing their attacks, while boosting the recharge of any allies nearby. Like their 'cousins' Anomalies are Immobile, and hard to destroy, but will only last for 30 seconds.

Click
Activation 2.03 (uses Fire Imps animation)
Range 60
End 16.6
Recharge 120
*See below for Anomaly information*

9) Time Stop
Focusing your energies, you put your mind to the task of halting the progression of time itself. While active, Time Stop will continuously attempt to hold any foe that enters it's area of effect. Time Stop will remain active for upto 30 seconds, or until detoggled, whichever comes first.

Toggle
Activation 1.17s (uses Stone Cages animation)
Accuracy 1.0x
Radius 25
End 1.04/2s
Damage 0 (Energy)
Recharge 200
Max Targets 16
3mag Hold 3.73s
50% 1mag Hold 3.73s
(-)Knockback
Self (+)10% Recharge, (+)2.5% Recharge/Target 2s (+50% max)

*Temporal Rift*
Temporal Rifts possess 75%resistance to Smash, Lethal, Fire, Cold, Negative Energy, Psionic and Toxic damage, and 50% resistance to Energy damage.
Similar to Singularity, Rifts cannot be healed.
Temporal Rift has a constant PBAoE Damage over Time aura that will taunt effected foes to attack it.

*Temporal Anomaly*
Temporal Rifts possess 75%resistance to Smash, Lethal, Fire, Cold, Negative Energy, Psionic and Toxic damage, and 50% resistance to Energy damage.
Similar to Singularity, Rifts cannot be healed.
Temporal Anomaly will use Pause on foes within range, and has a constant Foe 25%recharge slow, Ally 25%recharge buff aura, which taunts effected foes to attack it.


Set Notes:

The feel I was going for with the set was a kind of hybrid between Illusion's use of indestructible "tank" pets and more conventional control sets.

Time Control as outlined would utilize short duration, high durability pets to mitigate damage by acting as damage and agro sinks, allowing the Time Controller/Dominator to focus their relatively low level of hard control on high threat targets.

Time control should ultimately have a distinctive "timing" element to it. The more you use your powers, the greater the recharge buff (to a point), the more potential you have to get everything nicely under wraps, but you've got to be mindful of the lifespan of your "tanks" lest you end up with nothing standing between you and a large group of angry mobs.

*Atrophy*
A straight up attack may seem out of place in a control set, but I wanted the set to be distinctive from other sets. With regards to it's actual damage, It will in fact do Less damage than Hotfeet, the benefit being that it's more burst damage, where Hotfeet takes time to whittle away at foes.
Atrophy is 39 base damage over 5 seconds, on a 30 second recharge.
Hotfeet deals 114.75 damage over 30seconds
Roots deals 18.4 damage over 5.2seconds on an 8second recharge, usable 3 times for 55.2damage over roughly 30 seconds (but for far greater end cost) other AoE immobilizes deal about 1/2 as much damage as Roots.

**************************************

So what say you all?

Yes.

A million times yes.

Even if they had to subdivide each set into 2 different groupings. (e.g. a ranged focused Luminous Primary, and a melee focused Luminous Primary.)

I'm not holding my breath though.

I believe that one's the map used in the lowbie mission against the Skulls, not a Carnie Map.

The only ones I'm aware of currently in the game are the two outdoor maps.

My one published arc is 99.51%, so I dunno what the trouble it's giving you with 97.75%, but it seems to be rather isolated in occurrence.

As far as the Custom critters goes, while I am somewhat disappointed in just how much space individual mobs take up, I can understand it...

There are likely already hundreds, possibly even thousands of custom critter groups, if they didn't set some kind of limitation on them the servers simply couldn't handle it. Custom Groups use a lot more memory storage than Stock groups, because they tend to be a LOT more detailed in appearance.

My arc uses 2 custom groups (and a stock enemy group) of which one custom group has 3 minions, 2lieutenants, 1 boss, and 1 Archvillain, the other has 2 minions, 1 lieutenant and 1 boss, plus 1 Archvillain.

If it's doable within your storyline, almost all of the Longbow Set of tech maps are VERY linear.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes to the idea... but It's doubtful that they would be "flowing" in any way. The (Admittedly comic book) science behind Talsorian items wouldn't support that.

I would expect something much closer to the projection mechanism of the Talsorian Shield, likely just a small tech styled backpack while not flying, the using a telescoping cross bar to support a fixed wing more like that of an Aircraft.

[/ QUOTE ]

I really want Babs to post on the "scientific" explanation of this. It would be epic and entertaining.

[/ QUOTE ]

There was one a while back explaining in all it's geeky glory why a Talsorian Mace wouldn't work...

Alas I can't find it now, so I can only assume it's met with a forum purge.

(QR)

To be nitpikily technical... it's Repulse for EA, not Repel... and it would be the most craptacular power ever for Tankers.

EA lacks any type of Taunt Aura, I would think in the case of Tankers that is what CP would be replaced with.

Perhaps instead take Repulse, and drop the magnitude down to 0.67 (knockDOWN instead of Back), lower the end cost to 0.52/s with no extra per-mob cost, and drop it from guaranteed to a 30%chance of. Add in Taunt.

I'll make an EA/DM Tanker no matter what they put in CP's place, but where I might have actually taken CP, or a modified version of CP, Repulse is entirely counterproductive for a melee AT, especially a Tanker without a taunt aura.

As far as ElA goes, either a Heal, hitpoint buff or Regen needs to be added for Tankers. Brutes weren't designed to be the CoV agro sponge, but Tankers were. They need some method of HP recovery in order to deal with the sustained incoming damage Tankers are subjected to.