Smurphy

I'll be closing the auction late in the day on Monday. Currently the bidding is at 750M.

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While searching for posts to rage at, I came across something that shocked me.

These assumptions!

Now, us normal posters would never assume that the person is a noob and a farmer and a whole lot of other things, because even farmers and noobs have the sense not to waste two hundred and forty three million on a cheap-o Uncommon set.

I checked the other posts in this thread, and noone else arrived at the same arrrrggghevilfarmersgah conclusion that you did; but you still managed to.

Post-strapped young posters don't typically arrive at these biased conclusions; and veteran posters have the sense to realise that this topic has been beaten into the ground. The only conclusions I can come to is that this is someone who refused to look at the obvious rational explanation, preferring instead to further his or her own biases by blaming teh ebil farmerz.

How would a poster lack such sense? I seriously doubt someone hit them upside the head to cause that much brain damage, and I've hit so many people upside the head I nearly know the max jail time by heart.

Way back when AE arrived, the anti-farmer bias started showing up en masse. Before there hadn't been too many or were that bothersome. When they all showed up the boards went bonkers. The posts with SUBSTANCE suddenly went from few and far between to a complete non-existence. My efforts to reinvigorate the CoH/V boards went down the tubes. Shocking, etc.

How can we help the biased ones not come to these ridiculous and utterly absurd conclusions based on no evidence and thin assumptions? I don't have any worry that the trend will continue, but if this continues as things did when the ED dweebs arrived, it could mean trouble for the posters above "Legend". Maybe even Super-Powered at that, I'm not sure.

Does anyone have a freakin' clue?

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Maybe because they had no experience with the topic and couldn't possibly have known anything. Everyone has to learn sometime. The original poster even posted again and said "aha, I hadn't thought of that". Sounds like a rational, capable of learning human to me.

Doom
DOOOM!

Or... like others have said... there is an alternative explanation.

It also depends on what kind of effectiveness you are looking for:
1) Ease of Play
2) Early to Bloom
3) Late game carnage
4) Max IO'd
5) AoE Damage

My main suggesting is to have at least one among the team who is more than capable of leading the charge. I think Storm --> Freezing Rain is my #1 choice for this. Not only does storm bring some defense, slows and damage to the table but Freezing Rain is a massive debuff, slow and knockdown. Leaning towards more storms, rads, darks and poisons will give you lots more damage and lots more effectiveness for 4 very experienced players mid to late build. However, things like traps, force field, and other shields bloom much earlier and are much simpler to play in a safe everyone lives manner.

When my crazy, super experienced brothers and I went for a 3+ man super effective combo we went all Thug/Storm. The fire power is outrageous post level 16. However, they might not be as easy to play, diverse, and interesting to you and your family. Chalking up a bunch of Thermals, Colds, Sonics and Force fields together and buffing yourself to outrageous amounts would be the super easy "we can't die and we all get our buffs at level 4" team. Not as outrageously damage as the all storm (this setup would still do crazy damage... just not AS crazy) but blooms early and is easy to play.

Any combo you pick will be ridiculously powerful when all the buffs are on and together. There's no loser combos

I think this thread should be considered a great tribute to the devs and their continuous work in striving for balance. If these sets are considered the "worst" or "most underperforming" or "least potential" that's pretty damn good. These sets can all tear it up

Like others have already analogized we're differentiating between 9.2s and 9.7s and not 2s and 3s to 9s. "Bad" isn't really "bad" in this game

I think I'm one of the few people who aren't all that interested in a Kinetics Mastermind. I think they are outrageously overhyped. I've essentially played one. I've twoboxed a Kinetics corruptor who just used his secondary and a MM who just used his primary. Sure you can say it's not exactly the same... but really... it's the same. I know enough on how to manage endurance so that it wasn't like having two endurance bars.

The MM pets are simply too dumb to fully maximize the use of Fulcrum Shift and speed boost. Yes, Kinetics MM would be fun and exciting but would be far less powerful than most of the MM secondaries that are already out there. Nothing game breaking nor even the threat of game breaking.

All of other potential Mastermind Secondary proliferations are incredibly powerful. Sonic, Thermal and Cold all combine enemy debuffs with targeted shields. All of these would be frighteningly powerful. Sleet and Ice Shields may be overpowered on a Mastermind.

Radiation would also be very impressive and fun. All of those debuffs would be so useful. I think the heal is overrated. Woop de doo an AoE heal. That doesn't help kill anything. It's relatively easy for all of the MM debuff sets and most of the buff sets to completely neutralize the enemy attacks anyway. What's the use in healing if they don't take any damage.

I think the answers are...

Yes.
Yes.
Move everywhere.
Yes.

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But Clouded. If someone where to IO out a /stone brute, to say +recharge, +run speed, +dam, in a sense, negating the draw backs of Granite, would that not increase the gap further?


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That gap is and always has been imaginary. Some think that survival is everything and thus choose sets most heavily focused on survival. One can get an /Elec, a /Fire, a /Dark, and other high damage sets to survive all of those crazy encounters. Inspirations can easily take you through any trouble spots.

Inspirations can't give Willpower a damage aura. Inspirations can't get /Stone increased recharge. Inspirations CAN give the other sets the same survivability.

Take the damage tools and add survival. Take excellent recharge and add even more.

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BUFF/DEBUFF: Empathy. But it won't see a buff because 1) devs buffing a buff/debuff set? HA!, and 2) if the majority of the playerbase is deluded into thinking Empathy is a great set, the devs might be too.

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I'm "deluded" into thinking Empathy is a great set. It has a fantastic single target buff you can put on several players simply with SOs. Fortitude is monstrously powerful.

The two Auras, Recovery and Regeneration are beastly good. Instant Healing to the whole team? Yes, please. Infinite endurance to the whole team? Sure they cannot be permanent from a single Emp but so what? Strategically used they are incredible tools. Adrenaline Boost is Instant Healing and Speed Boost mashed into one single target super buff. "Target player is awesome".

Can you compare Empathy to Pain Domination for me please? I want hear why you think Empathy is weak and Pain Domination is not. What does Pain Domination have that puts it ahead of Empathy?

I like +Hit Points as well.

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and 2 kids, aged 8 and 10.

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I think these two will be your focus. You will want to find something that is fun to them (obviously) and fun/easy to play and be powerful. You know them better than I do but you might want to steer them towards sets that are simple to understand/use.

/Sonic and similar sets come to mind. You should be able to explain "Target us, shield us, then shoot the bad guys". Explaining the ins and outs of a set /Dark and how to maximize its effectiveness may be too complicated. You will know your kids better than I do but it's more than "can they handle all these crazy things" it is a question of "can they handle these things and enjoy doing it."

Mastermind's in bodyguard mode can also be easy to explain. I've explained to little ones about my house that they just need to charge in and drop the traps and their zombies will protect them. They got the hang of that and liked it a lot very fast

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OK...not to threadjack, but if SS/FA is so awesomesauce for farms (and I have 2 Brutes and a Tank in this combo...love them), then why is it that AE teams insist on a */Stone Brute?

/Threadjack off

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People are stupid.

Many players think that only a /Stone can survive a minus 10 minion attack. The old Tank/Heal/Nuke thinking.

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How well could a Tank FA/SS solo an AV?

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Mines killed Manticore, +2, with no inspirations/no temps. Took 4 tries or so. Once you get used to eating the right candies... cakewalk. IOs are unimportant. Inspiration eating is key.

Most of the lag people complain about is their own PCs unable to handle it. Many of those just need to turn a few settings down.

I did not but others who did similar had problems. I received bids for 575M and 600M.

*EDIT* Make that 750M

Those are good but I will keep looking for more pictures and subjecting people to my current one.

Bids up to 550M.

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They probably want stuff like this to be super rare to extend the carrot stick. Super rare = super expensive. I'd be shocked if the devs saw "outrageous" prices on certain stuff and took it as a sign of something they should fix.

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merits and tickets considerably undermine this logic.
whatever other gameplay goals they serve, they absolutely were designed as an end-around the market and it's "ridiculous" valuations of certain goods.

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No. Merits and tickets don't undermine that logic.

"Stuff like this" refers to PvP IOs and I assume purple IOs and perhaps Hamidon IOs. They are not obtainable with Merits nor tickets. There is specifically no "end around the market" for "stuff like this". If anything, merits and tickets SUPPORT that logic.

I received a bid of 500M. Apparently people don't like my all growed up baby bunny. I'm open to suggestions on other pictures

Initially, yes. Level pacted toons to 50 did have a few issues. Those were deemed "mistakes". I heard last on the topic when I sold my previous three that at that time selling level pacts to 50 for Infamy/Influence or other "in game" stuff was all good.

He grew up.
Still wears the outfit.

Auctioning off 1 (one) level pact to one of my toons. I get levels fast. You will get levels fast too. I can't promise a speed. I expect more than a week less than a month. This auction is for Freedom/Villainside. I expect to close the auction this weekend or Monday/Tuesday of next week.

Someone bid 350,000,000. I consider Infamy/Influence the same. I can accept money straight up on Freedom, Virtue and Justice. Likely others I'd have to consider the 10% market fee to transfer it.

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rad

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Why does rad suddenly seem to be back on people's lists of what you absolutely super-duper must have to ever kill an AV ever ever? Did I miss something, or are people still stuck on the 'omg it's got the super best -regen!' thing, even though that's no longer true?

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Because every common notion of "we need x" or "x is the best at this" is wrong, mostly wrong, dead wrong, or "marginally right if you look at it like this and only this and ignore everything else". In short a significant amount of people are dumb.

Scratch that. I do have another villain I want to reach 50 on Freedom. Just one and I suspect I want him to get to 50 quickly. Send me your ludicrous offers.

I've only stored any items off the market once in any of my marketeering. That time was when I bought 2,300 of a rare salvage. I prefer super low volume, super low risk, super high margin.

I like to keep everything in cash.

Done. I have no plans at the moment of starting up another level pact squad. I don't know any more toons that I would want

But if someone makes me some ginourmous offer that might work. Also, at random times I'd be willing to get paid a big sack of money to take someone to 22 or 35.