Oedipus_Tex

I would make it so that when the values on a set change, IOs in that set can be dragged and dropped out of the current power slot and into the reserve bar, independant of the respec process. Players should only be allowed to do this once for each individual IO in the changed set. Leave the respec process itself exactly the same (although the suggestion to make it more like Mids is a good one).

A quick and dirty way to do this, by the way, would be to strip all characters of the changed set and have it be retrievable from the Vault Reserve. If they want to put the IOs back in, that's their option.

I wonder if it's built on the Dual Pistols mechanic that changes power functions under certain conditions.

So it's been confirmed. It's time for us to start grasping at straws.

First, you should watch the most recent video, with a few screenshots of the set: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1l0-2qqElY

In the slides shown, three things I notice immediately:

- What looks like a single target Hold
- What looks like a ranged knockdown
- What looks like 2 gremlin mobs

So, here are my baseless predictions so far:

1) Electric Fence - as per the Defender Electric epic pool, modified to Controller values
2) Shocking Bolt - as per the Defender Electric epic pool
4) Electric Fences (probably with a different name) - AoE Electric Fences
6) Lightning Field - modified version of Blaster secondary
8) ??
12) ??
18) EM Pulse (possibly with a different name) - AoE Hold similar to other Controllers
26) ??
32) Gremlins - perhaps similar to Fire Imps, maybe two at a time instead of 3


Additional possibilities:
- Power Sink (enemy -Recovery, self +recovery)
- Lightning Reflexes (+Recharge aura)
- Lightning Clap (AoE knockback + stun) - hope this or something like it is in there to make this set work with Storm's Thunderclap (plus a Controller with AoE -immob can stop the annoying knockback)
- Some version of Lightning Rod that does status effects instead of heavy damage (not really expecting it, but would love it)

Anyone care to join in the rumor starting?

I don't think you can use Shield Charge or Lightning Rod while flying.

Here are some quick blue-side matches:

Blasters: Fire, Ice, Electric, and Energy Blast are all x3's. Assault Rifle or Pistols match Devices and have a matching epic as well. Psi/Mental exists but has no direct epic; Primal works quite well for this however.

Defenders: Dark/Dark/Dark is the only set that carries through as a direct match from primary to epic. Reasonably close x3 matches are Empathy/Mind/Mental, Storm/Lightning/Electric, and Force Field/Energy/Primal. Obvious x2 matches are Cold/Ice, Trick Arrow/Archery, Sonic/Sonic, Rad/Rad. Traps/Rifle or Traps/Pistols.

Controllers: There are few exact matches. x3's are Fire/Thermal/Fire and Ice/Cold/Ice. A case could be made Mind/Empathy/Psi, Mind/Force Field/Psi, Gravity/Kinetics/Primal and Gravity/Force Field/Primal but none are "obviously" exact.

Scrappers: Fire/Fire/Blaze and Dark/Dark/Dark are the only obvious x3's. A case could be made for Shield + Weapon. Elec/Elec is an x2.

Tankers: x3's are Ice/Ice/Artic, Earth/Earth/Earth and Fire/Fire/Pyre. x2's are Dark/Dark and weapon + shield. Energy Melee and Energy Mastery exist without a primary (Energy Aura, not available to Tankers yet).

I might have missed a few in there.

I'm kind of the lone ranger but I've always found Radiation in general and Ill/Rad specifically to be a bit overhyped. Is it good? Yes. Is it tremendously better than other Controllers? That really depends on what you're measuring. It can solo AVs because it has -Regen and AVs are incredibly unintelligent. Ill/Rad is a fine choice, definitely, but IMO other than the AV oddity not incredibly better than any other Illusion/ or /Radiation combo.

Endurance is going to be the major issue. Sonic Resonance is like a hole you just pour your bblue bar into. The biggest synergy between Ice and Sonic is that your mezz protection lets you run Arctic Air without fear of getting mezzed, but your endurance is going to hate you. I generally consider Ice/Force Field a more workable combo if you're still open to switching and want something with a similar feel.

I wonder how many Empathy/Pain "healers" we'd get.

I'd assume a Buff/Buff AT would get Epic powers similar to what Controllers get now, and if that happened they'd be good farmers. I'm specifically looking at Kinetics/Cold/Fire.

Anyway, pure support characters do kind of exist now. Unless people are inviting Ice Controllers to the team for their L33T damage. And no these types of characters are not "leeches" just because they don't get orange numbers. That's just silly.

EDIT: Would a Cold/Storm be able to double-Sleet/Freezing Rain? Now that would be a great character assuming the epics had ranged attacks. The attack powers in Storm with the endurance recovery and debuff of Cold. You'd also make your allies completely invisible with stacked stealth auras (or maybe not if they're hardcoded to be mutually exclusive).

Heat Loss, which on a character with good Recharge could probably replace Stamina entirely AND provide occasional AoE -Resistance.

In a low-level fight against the Tsoo there is one thing you must absolutely make sure to do, or you will lose the fight: mezz any Sorcerors you come across on sight. If they get on top of your group with Hurricane, you all take a huge ToHit debuff that will probably floor your chance to hit while they will stand around and heal the few enemies you do manage to hit.

A Mind or Illusion Controller can confuse them at range to take them out prior to the start of the fight. Plant might be able to Seed them as an opener, but if they're killing you a lot, make them your initial target when you throw the seeds. If you miss, use your single target hold immediately. The other two team members can do whatever they feel like. The Tsoo are one of those enemy groups where Controllers bring huge benefits to the team (later, expect similar solutions with Carnies, Malta, Knives of Artemis, and a few other trouble makers).

If something goes wrong and the Sorceror gets on top of you with Hurricane on, run away from it to get out of the debuff zone and then fire your single target hold to detoggle it from range. If the one of the Defenders has a single target mezz he or she can also use it to detoggle any Hurricanes.

Also, keep in mind not to put your toggle debuffs on a Sorceror. If it teleports somewhere else on the map it could aggro whatever group it ends up next to. Same goes for runners. Turn the debuff off if the enemy takes off or you might be meeting some new friends.

It might be doable, but it depends a lot on the AV and your epic power pool. You're going to need some hardcore Endurance Recovery, though. IMO Illusion/Cold would have an easier time of it, especially since it gets three native powers you can slot Luck of the Gambler +Recharge in to get you closer to your Perma-PA goal.

Super Speed lowers the Threat Level global attribute by 1.0. But what does this actually do?

Most radial effects in this game are spherical. It's easy to measure whether something is inside a sphere because you can just look at the distance between center points. Is object A within X feet of object B? Ok, then it's in the area of effect.

The only radial powers I can think of offhand that don't affect a sphere are some of the patch powers. Ice Slick, Oil Slick, Quicksand, and Glue Arrow are definitely not as tall as they are wide. I don't know whether they effect an elipsoid or actually a cylinder area. You can float safely above these powers, but if you fly with your feet close to the ground (~5 feet off the ground or less) they will affect you.

Steamy Mist and its variants have doubly misleading graphics. They are not only typically very "tall" (IMO probably spherical), their actual radius is much bigger than the graphic implies. The graphic shows an area of approx. 25 feet (about as wide as Arctic Air or Dispersion Bubble) when the actual radius is a huge 60 feet.

Update on my death status with this power. It happens much less now. What I've started doing is using Hover to get above the group before I launch the attack. It's not a perfect solution but it does prevent most of the two-shot deaths I was getting before.

Well, this thread is about powers that suck, but since it came up, I'll chime in and agree that Seeds of Confusion is ridiculously overpowered. IMO it really does upset the overall balance of Control sets, which tend to either offer decent damage and lighter controls, or heavy controls and low damage. I would definitely not call Mass Confusion a bad power. The issue is Seeds of Confusion is far too good, and really should have a more appropriate Recharge time and lower duration (since it's an AoE with the same duration as the single target Confusion power Illusion and Mind get). I'm sure I'll be set on fire for that opinion, but there it is.

Earth/Kinetics may be the ultimate character for turning a team into a steam roller. It is far from a bad combo, but it depends on what kind of action you're looking for. Earth reduces enemy defenses and turns them into statues, and Kinetics boosts your team's damage, increase their Recharge rate, and gives them limitless endurance. In essence, any team you end up on, no matter how crappy, will be able to stomp most enemies, and they will love you for it.

On the solo front, the good news for you is you're past the hard part. If you continue leveling this character, his solo strength will improve dramatically. If you take Fulcrum Shift at 38 and blasts in your epics, you will become a steady soloer (not a farmer, though).

If you're unsure, it might help to post your build and/or your power selections so far so we can tell you how to get the most from this character. After 32 levels I would definitely not delete him right away.

It's probably too early in the morning for me, and my Internet is too slow to watch the videos, but I don't understand the tests. Did he just create a bunch of Controller characters, go to town on a boss, and record how long it took? How many times is each run repeated?

There are tons of variables involved in a test like this. You'd have to run it many times before you could call your results demonstrative.

Furthermore, you would need to keep a log of every attack the pet made each trial, the order in which the attack occurred, how much time elapsed between each attack, and whether the enemy was able to retreat or somehow hinder the attackers at any point in time. The reason you have to do this is you have to show that pet AI consistently uses the same attacks in the same order at the same times. If you can't show that, you have to come up with a method of normalizing the damage (and will still get wobbly results).

You would also have to find some way to account for attacks that miss, since there is a 1 in 20 chance that any attack could miss at any time (Well, almost. It's more complicated because of the streak breaker but you get the idea.)