Peacemoon

I will add the reduced recharge of GDF to the main post, its a good alternative to wormhole fiddling. (Although some positive wormhole changes would still be welcome!)

Thanks for the support guys. :-)

Well its time to bring up Gravity Control and its effectiveness again. Why? Because it is a weak control set that in my view could still use a few small adjustment. I know a lot of people agree and it has been left in the dark for far too long. I will try keep this brief and to the point.

Gravity's Flaws:

1) Gravity has very limited AoE control. It has no real AoE control till level 18, and this is a short duration long recharge. The "gap filler" is not accessible till level 26 and even then is mediocre at best. This makes Gravity a very very weak control set until 26, where at that level it just becomes workable in a team setting.

2) Gravity is full of single target "fun" powers, and yes they are fun, I would never advocate removing Lift or Propel. However, they also are not hugely effective in a team setting. Due to this, there is a greater importance of other early powers in the set to be usful.

3) Dimension Shift, Gravity's first really powerful power has a very negative effect on teams. If everything is going well, and you are chugging along nicely this power has zero use at all. It can only be used as a emergancy power to buy a team extra time.

As gravity does not have much control, it can not afford to have such a badly positioned power in its set. Because of its placement it leaves Gravity as the worst control set in the early game by a large margain, forcing controllers atleast to focus heavily on their secondary set. Becoming second rate defenders with a bit of control thrown in. I don't know what dominators do, they probably solo, or hitch a ride to 26 as fast as they can.

4) Wormhole is a good power, but its radius is too small and its activation time is FAR TOO LONG! It is also the only AoE Control power which has a knockback effect, causing the power to scatter foes. Especially as Gravity's AoE immobalize does not prevent knockbakc. It comes late in the tree for gravity, and many gravity players have already given up before reaching it.

Suggestions

Okay this is not all doom and gloom, Gravity is a fun set, with a great theme. It has many "cool" and "uinque" powers and arguably the best pet for helping out with control. Many people look towards it because of its unusal nature, unlike fire, frost, earth etc which is available in any game. Gravity in that way - is unique.

However it lags behind other control sets at low levels by a very big margain and while it catches up a bit with wormhole, you never quite feel like an amazing hero while playing it, rather a weak, unloved sibling of the other control sets who just about manages to get the job done.

You watch other sets pull off amazing, flashy stunts and once the novelty of propel wears off, many Grav players abandon their character for greener pastures. I for one do not blame them.

I know CoX devs do not like to adjust sets too much and I agree with this principle. However I would plead, beg and wish for them to listen to these suggestions I have which would make Gravity a much more fun, workable set at low levels whilst not making them overly powerful either.

i) Bring Wormhole to level 12, push Dimension Shift up to 26.
ii) Increase Lift's damage to match Levitate. (Controller Only)
iii) Increase Propel's damage significantly or lower animation time.
iv) Lower the activation time of Wormhole to something reasonable.
v) Increase the radius of Wormhole to match other powers with similar effects.
vi) Consider turning the knockback to knockdown, atleast when unslotted. Gravity is the only set with knockback on its AoE disorient.
vii) Replace Dimension Shift with either a 'Location Targeted Knockup Field' (kind of the reverse of Ice Slick) or a 'Targeted AoE Knockup'.

I realise wormhole is a special power due to the enemy teleport, but perhaps it would be a set defining power ala ice slick. If 12 is too early, then atleast make more radical changes to dimension shift to fill the large control gap Gravity has.

Thanks for reading!

Great guide, ty

Well I don't have a huge experience with Force Fields, but I do like how I can apply my shields and then forget about the primary mainly and just shoot with my bow.

Personally I'm not too fond of all the knockback powers, they're nice to have but something I can happily live without. Although I only took FF for RP reasons so I just ignore the powers I don't like. Repulsion field is basically repel from Kinetics as far as I am aware - a power I've tried before and never liked. ><

Still its a shame I skip quite a few of my powers but then I do like but then I do like the fact I can ignore a lot of my primary and still do my basic job - shield allies without feeling like im missing anything much at all. However thats hardly balanced - is it? ^^

[ QUOTE ]
I, too, have a problem with the high level Defenders and their roles on teams. Playing a Dark Defender I've been able to avoid many of the pitfalls that others would fall into. However, there is an issue that they aren't separated enough from Controllers that groups would prefer to choose a Defender over a Controller for many of the same situations.

You'd think in the highest difficulty battles, AV's, that a Defender would be desired. Many times in the teams I've been on people have asked for a Rad Controller. When I've said how about a Rad Defender, you know because they DeBuff more, they've said they'd rather have someone who can do actual damage. It's mind boggling but it happens.

I'd also like to point out that there are some combo's of Controllers + Defender secondaries where Controllers achieve 90+% Defender efficiency. This one has been said several times but

FF/* Defender:
. Ins/Def+Dispersion = 43.75% Base DEF, 0% to Psychic

Ill/FF Controller

. Group Invis+Ins/Def+Dispersion = 42.5% DEF, 7.5% to Psychic

Do I want to see Controller Nerfs? No! But there has got to be some differentiation. In essence, is that Controller providing more? At the higher lvls, yes. Group Invis might not last as long as the shields but not only does it protect against Psychic damage but it's DEF bonus lasts about as long as a normal, non-AV fight lasts.

Look at the difference between a Rad/* Defender and an Earth/Rad Controller. The base DEF Debuff of RI+Earthquake is comparable to that of the Defender's RI. However, the Defender often has to slot it for Acc DeBuff because he does not posses a power which deals continual KnockUp to his opponents. EF might give a 7% larger RES DeBuff but the Controller can gear himself to -DEF and -RES while the Defender must split it between -RES, -ACC and/or -DEF.

Let me make a pole in the AT section with several powers listed so that you get a good feel for how others are percieving the shared sets. I know it would be enlightening. You basically have to ask yourself, since you and the Dev team do play this game too, can you honestly tell in the course of normal game (i.e. PvE) play the difference between a Defender's and a Controller's:

Clear Mind
Fortitude
Recovery Aura
Regenerative Aura
Adrenalin Boost
Deflection Shield
Insulation Shield
Dispersion Bubble
Force Bubble
Transfusion
Increase Density
Speed Boost
Inertial Reduction
Transference
Fulcrum Shift
Radiation Infection
Accelerate Metabolism
Enervating Field
Lingering Radiation
EM Pulse
Steamy Mist
Freezing Rain
Hurricane

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good point, and I could add many more powers to that list too. Gale, Tornado, Thunderclap, Lightning Storm and thats just from Storm.

Stateman, if you are answering questions then what about your thoughts on Hasten? Do you think it is too powerful, are you monitoring/analysing it? If you don't think there is a problem with it, do you have any issues with certain powers from power pools becoming so widespread that almost everyone has them? (stamina/hasten) Do you believe them being so widespread is simple a symptom of a differant problem, such as endurance and long recharge rates (espiecally for certain AT's like controllers)

Really I just want to hear your thoughts on the situation as a whole, and what your position is on them.

Well my rebuttal (to those who say its good because it adds more challenge) is that you can make low level bosses, lieutenants, powerful without giving them high level powers. (and can we PLEASE not use "hurl boulder" as a standard attack for anything without a gun? It does massive ranged damage)

Damned, Bonedaddy's...both were really tough without the need for super high powers.

Also, I think its nice to save some of the high powers for...high level bosses. If a level 14 fire boss is already using fire imps then what will a level 34 or 44 fire boss use? Fire Blast?

I vote no

There are two degrees of this villian abuse though, there is the level 5 villian using a level 6/8/10 power (which is bearable) and there is a level 14 villian using level 26/32 powers. (which looks...dumb) the first isn't so bad, but the second is inexcusable.

A lot of people like to discover these powers for themselves. Nothing ruins the feeling of looking forward to high level (unseen) powers like having a villian throw them in your face at level 6. Espiecally for people who don't have a character thats even level 30, so have never seen the cool effects of say, lightning storm or fire imps.

Also, high level powers are generally more powerful, villians using them at low level are incredible difficult to defeat because you don't have the tools to get past them. When level 5 shockers were using hurricane, it was hard to do any damage at all with only training enhancements, a very small inspiration pool and like 1 or 2 attack powers.

I would really like to see high level, powerful powers removed from lowbie villians. Lead scorchers (lvl 14) summoning fire imps, and lead shockers summoing thunderstorms and using thunder strike is just immersion killing and totally unnessecary. With so many powers available to villians already (they can be a fire tanker, fire blaster and fire controller all in one) is it really nessecary to even do this? How do you explain to people that while hero's have to wait till XX to earn the power, villians can use them 20 levels lower?

Maybe the player base has matured a little, and fire imps arn't quite so special to the average poster here, but to a lot of people - they still are, and throwing them around the game willy nilly just lessens their coolness factor.

Extreme example: If level 1 hellion bosses spawned in atlas, and were summoning fire imps, I'm sure a lot less people would feel excited about the prospect of getting them. (not that anyone in their right mind would dare to level a controller solo without some close friends to play with....)

The fire imps on lead scorchers bugged me a lot, moreso then any of the others.

And yet it is the achievers who will complain leveling is too boring, because they ignore all other aspects of the game and devote all their time to one goal.

hmm, now i'm not sure what to think

Does Tar Patch give an accuarcy debuff?