dugfromthearth

probably a quibble, but why would an SoA want an accuracy bonus with 2 powers that give that?

TW is at least as popular as Time was when it came out on new characters - and everyone had to buy TW.

I have to assume that they sold a ton of the powersets, which means we should expect more pay for sets in the future.

And while people in game think the set is powerful, they didn't seem to buy them because they'd read about that. They just wanted a new set or liked the look.

Of course there may be no MM pet sets like this, just ones that can go on several AT's so lots of people will want them.

I am going to get moonbeam on my dark/dark

I could really use that extra damage at the start of the fight. If I were IO'd with recharge I probably wouldn't care. But leveling I run out of single target damage while an lt or boss is still alive. I won't use the snipe every fight, but it will trivialize some fights that are a bit risky right now.

I have fun in PuG's in the teens and 20's in Steel and Talos. It is almost always radio missions, but I am fine with that.

While I like Faultline, Striga, and others - in a team never get the storyline. And really teaming I do for the fun of the team dynamic.

And given that redside AT's which are better at soloing while being diverse are now available blue side you really can play what you want and solo.

I think the only issue is that leveling solo is so dramatically slower than in a team. You choose between exploring content and getting XP.

the real limitation of shield defense is that you really need to be surrounded by enemies to get the benefits - both the +dmg and the -dmg to your foes.

This is not normally a problem for tankers, but it does mean you need to herd them. A bunch of Council shooting you at range is a problem. SR just always works, so it is a bit easier to work with.

You probably won't normally notice this unless the terrain/enemy is a bad combo (council on Striga ships)

the real answer is to make a gravity controller

controllers can use all of the attacks in gravity, and then get a buff/debuff set

gravity is a fine set, just not for dominators

play a thugs MM in bodyguard mode, done

I'll have to try that

in my current version it looks like a spider dragging a body

also I want to see if I can make a head with horns so that it looks like a spider's mandibles when it is running

Having just gotten my Crab to level 29, I am also surprised that there are so few SoA's given how good he is.

Reasons not to play an SoA
1. Forced backstory. I generally ignore it, but character concept is important to a lot of people and being forced into the Arachnos backstory is limiting
2. Forced costume at start. Not a big deal since you can get a different one at 10, but people don't really know that.
3. Crab backpack limits look of character. In CoH look is very important.

but the main reason I think is that there is no real "concept" behind them that people can imagine. Stone tanker - stone, take damage. Fire blaster - fire, do damage. But SoA's are really many different AT's linked together, and they are not explained in a way that player's grasp.

I think you would see a lot more SoA's if they officially broke them into different AT's - or at least listed them as such when choosing your AT in the character generator.

Crab - ranged damage and buff
Bane - melee damage and buff
etc

Because the devs allow you to have real powers and use them

Other games very much limit what you can do and where you can go. If you get to a bridge with a tower, you have to cross the bridge (fighting everything in your path) and then walk up the tower (fighting everything in your path). No matter your character, the game is fighting along a pre-determined path to get to the end. In CoH you can fly there, stealth there, fight your way there. The world is your environment to act in, not a tunnel for you to be forced through.

Also, because of the multiple villains per hero, things like holds actually work. In other games a controller cannot be allowed to really control because you fight one at a time. If you hold your only foe each fight, it is trivial. Whereas 3 villains per hero means there are many viable ways to fight and have them all be challenging. One shotting a villain is another example - they can't allow that in games where you fight one at a time.

In shorthand - the cool guy on the box, you get to be him.

bane spiders can be ranged, but they miss out on the damage bonus from melee attacks striking from stealth. So they would be a bit gimped

If you have your crab spider use beast run it scuttles very nicely along the ground. From the front the backpack legs appear to be running.

Tip from my daughter who suggested we try it.

I think an additional pack is a good idea

the devs need to see what people are actually willing to pay for. Will they pay for extra storyline missions (First Ward), powersets, weapon skins, costume parts, pets, etc.

if you don't like it don't buy it. The devs will no doubt pay attention to where the money is

I love the look of dual pistols and happily play it as a dp/rad corr
it is possible that the /rad makes up for issues with dp

as a blaster it is much harder to play with a subpar set as damage is all you have.

but then I play mostly tankers, so a dp/rad corr feels like it does a lot of damage comparatively

I demand a gender equal test post to be deleted soon

I only looked at one and it was slow to develop. Seemed more like a "here's my character" than a comic book.

I don't have a problem with screenshots of the game. I liked the machinima contest they awhile back that was all bits from the game.

if I read a comic I want the characters to be interesting and the comic to be dynamic. A gripping storyline, and lots of action. If there isn't a fight by the end of page 2, I'm gone.

the important question is: what is the role that you see Energy Melee playing?
If you want AoE dmg choose X set
If you want ST dmg choose Y set
If you want damage mitigation choose Z set
If you want healing choose Q set

It is perfectly reasonable to say EM is the set that has the most hard control in disorients/stuns. You may not want that, but it gives a reason why someone might choose the set.

It used to be you started with themed content. Magic characters got a magic contact, Tech characters a tech contact, etc - and they faced appropriately themed enemies. After the initial contact you could in theory choose contacts with enemy groups of your origin type.

The new tutorial and starting missions (which I like) got rid of that. Everyone has the same story - kind of like CoV where everyone had the same destined one storyline.

Add in First Ward which is neither heroic nor villainous but post-apocalyse emo, and the roleplaying seems to be largely gone from CoH. You play a character in whatever story and theme the devs choose. They choose your motivation, your words, etc.

I was hoping long ago that CoH would move the opposite direction - the comic book direction.
The Defenders did magic things, fought magic foes, went to magic dimensions
The Fantastic Four did science things and went to science places
Batman fights gangs and robbers, the mob, etc

I wish CoH had a "planned" arc for a variety of themed content from 1-50. Start a magic character and you can run through magic storylines - Hellions, CoT, Midnighters, Tsoo, Banished Pantheon, etc. Most likely create zones for it.

Imagine Hollows, Faultline, Striga, RWZ, is science/tech
Perez Park, Croatoa, Dark Astoria, Cimmeroria is magic
Atlas Park, Steel, Talos, PI is the Heroic storyline
King's Row, Brickstown, ??? is the Vigilante storyline
Praetoria, First Ward, ??? is nihilist rebellion storyline

Content could be filled in where missing, so that you would not just jump around randomly. You would play through content that matched your character.