MTeague

Friday at 06:44 PM

1 minute ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

I've never played Diablo - is that a genuine thing? I would never play a game where Permadeath was non-consensual. If I know what I'm getting into and know I have a good chance to survive and a worthwhile reward, sure on some of my characters. Otherwise, no way!

Diablo 2, in Hardcore mode, was Permadeath from the word go. That was just part of the risk of choosing that mode of play, and it was one HECK of an adrenilin rush. I didn't really object to the permadeath as such.

But in Diablo 2, any and all PvP was nonconsensual. Nonconsensual PvP+Permadeath is a recipe for maximum possible grief. Every Diablo 2 player was, on paper, one of the heroes supposed to be fighting evil. But any player could declare hostility on you, at nearly any time. Even while you were deep in combat and surrounded by other PvE enemies, like Act Bosses. The PvP'ers had to go back to town in order to flag themselves as hostile, but they could still use waypoints to bamph right back next to you, and I'm 90% sure they could use a third players open town portal to get back to the party nearly instantly, too. The culture at the time was generally people joining games with random players, and it was always a "how far do I trust them?".

After finding a small cadre of players I trusted, we agreed to us a particular set of password protected games to block out any players except someone we were personally willing to vouch for.

Friday at 06:27 PM

3 hours ago, roleki said:

Toxic Dart isn't really exciting but it's better than Experimental Injection and since you have to take one of these if you want to get into the deeper end of the pool, Toxic Dart is proper. It's also a funny way to kill off a straggler or pull the occasional badfellow away from their group.

Toxic Dart also works quite well on Controllers / with Containment. No, it's not Arcane Bolt, but it's ... pretty nice.

Friday at 06:16 PM

1 hour ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Perhaps this is exactly why PVP is only embraced by such a small percentage of the player base.

For me, it's too many bad memories of player-killers in Diablo II Hardcore (perma-death) who would surprise-gank you and laugh that your lvl 57 paladin, or your lvl 73 sorceress, was now permanently dead, and could never be played again, because they lured you into a trap. That left a very, Very sour taste for all things PvP for me, evermore. There are NO circumstances in which I will ever really embrace PvP again, in any game, even when there is no permadeath.

I do tolerate PvP and accept the risk of being ganked just long enough to acquire a Shivan Stone or a Warburg Nuke. But I grab them off-hours, only, and I do not linger once I have them. So far, that's been enough and I have never actually been attacked in either zone. But make no mistake, that's not embracing PvP, that's tolerating it just long enough to get a shiny.

As far as

On 10/9/2025 at 1:55 PM, Troo said:

Folks who don't care for PvP, no worries, it's just a discussion.

That's true if and only if they were to change PvP to match PvE. If they were to change PvE to match PvP, I would very much consider that an issue.

Friday at 02:31 PM

5 minutes ago, archgemini24 said:

Idea for 7: Blinding Radiance/Umbral Torment - PBAoE Toggle Damage Aura with To-Hit Debuff and Taunt Aura

Umbral/Blinding Flash for Stalkers - PBAoE attack with no damage but greater To-Hit debuff and puts Stalker back into Hide State?

I am interested in what your ideas for a Luminous/Umbral Assault set would look like.

Honestly, I hadn't thought it through for Dominator secondary, or for a Blaster secondary.

Certainly the punch-powers from Luminous Blast / Umbral Blast are low-hanging fruit for the melee attacks.

Umbral would probably get more on the Immob side of soft controls, or very-short-term holds, as per Gravimetric Snare / Gravity Well.

Luminous would be more knockback focused, I'd think. Though really both Blast sets do have their fair share of Knockback powers.

Friday at 02:07 PM

I rarely take Hasten. Generally, only my Dominators have Hasten, though I have also taken it on a non-Dominator character where, For Reasons, I just want Whirlwind for the funsies. Cause no way in heck am I taking the week-old-roadkill that is Flurry.

Adrenal Boost will always have a long cooldown. Doesn't matter what kind of recharge you have, doesn't matter if you have a pocket kin Speed Boosting your left and right. I defy anyone to get Adrenal Boost perma. I have taken it on a SS Tank as something for a little extra kick for big fights. And it can be made to serve in that manner.

But I respec'd out of Adrenal Boost shortly after.

I don't really care about the +Hit from Adrenal Boost. IO's have generally take care of my accuracy, and there's yellows when I need something short term.

I don't realy care about the +Recharge from Adrenal Boost (I know, I'm a Heretic...), and I defintely wouldn't care about it if I were already taking Hasten.

Which leaves just the +Damage aspect of it. And for that, why not just take Leadership/Assault, and provide a constant-on +Damage buff to me, and every teammate in range, instead. Oh, and Assault gives +Res(Taunt,Placate). Especially on a Defender, Corruptor, or Widow, Assault wins by a lot in my book. Although Assault does cost a certain amount of End, so plan your End Management accordingly.

Wednesday at 03:53 PM

I have no problems with more day jobs and more badges.

I don't see the need for Even More Accolades.

October 7

I don't think the idea of a rank between Boss and Elite Boss is necessary.

But I'm not opposed to the idea either. I don't think it would be harmful, in any way.

I just would prefer programming time went to other concerns.

October 6

Lizardman costume. Stone Melee/Stone Armor. Name: Crocodile Rock

October 6

2 hours ago, macskull said:

I’d hope any potential Kheldian buffs significantly bring up the performance floor while not affecting the ceiling, but past experiences with outlier powers show they tend to get nerfed and the rest of the changes don’t do enough to make up for the loss.

While I'm not sure I agree, I definitely understand and respect the concern. The good news is any Kheldian Overhaul would be likely to have it's own Focused Feedback thread, and would probably be open for some time. That said, while I think Plant Control is currently in a good place, there are definitely players who felt their Focused Feedback on Plant was entirely ignored, and it's certainly true the set is not now what it once was. That wasn't the first time major changes were made, it won't be the last, and sometimes we cheer at the result, and sometimes we ask "Why???".

October 6

36 minutes ago, macskull said:

At the end of the day, if an archetype that is at least somewhat supposed to be focused around dealing damage needs to rely on an exploit to achieve performance comparable to a mediocre Scrapper, there’s a problem with that archetype.

Hence the "Kheldians need some love and not be reliant on changeling to be competitive" title of this thread.

I don't think anyone is saying "suppress changeling exploit and give them nothing".

But if the reason the exploit was left in place was to allow degrees of performance, then the long-term solution is boost performance to where the exploit is no longer necessary at all, and then close that exploit. I have reasonable faith the HC devs will not act until they believe they can address both sides of the equation, in a manner they believe produces an end product they can stand proud of.

October 6

Honestly, I would be happy as a clam if a version of Luminous/Umbral blasts, and Luminous/Umbral aura (minus all shapeshifting) were made available to Sentinels. That's really what I want out of a Humanform Peacebringer anyway. A Sentinel, with a pair of powersets that I think look awesome. I was never all that taken with the shapeshifting anyway.

October 6

i purchase darn near everything as Attuned, anyway.

October 5

Especially on Illusion Control, you can never go wrong chasing +Recharge. Getting perma Phantom Army is very very sweet if you can swing it.

Deflection Shield - LotG 7.5%, LotG Def, LotG Def/Rchg, LotG Def/End (4 pieces will give it solid defense, and you +9% acc)
Insulation Shield - LotG 7.5%, LotG Def, LotG Def/Rchg, LotG Def/End
Dispersion Bubble - LotG 7.5%, LotG Def, LotG Def/Rchg, LotG Def/End
Repulsion Bolt - 1 acc, or, Kb2Kd, or Force Feedback proc
Force Bomb - I would proc bomb this. Proc Bombing is not necessary, just the -RES effect is also really nice.
- 1 acc
- Positrons Blast / Chance for Energy Damage
- Bombardment / Chance for Fire Damage
- Javelin Volley / Chance for Lethal Damage
- Explosive Strike / Chance for Smashing Damage (though Force Feedback proc is worthy of consideration, too)
- Overwhelming Force / Damage/Kd2Kd
(OPTIONAL) Damping Bubble - LotG 7.5%

somewhat unfortunately, there's not great options for +Recharge in Force Fields themselves. I mean, you can fit in 4/5 of the LotG recharges, and that Does Not Suck. But other defense sets only have 5% recharge or less in bonuses, with exception of Reactive Defenses, which has 8.75%, but at 6 slots, making it mutually exclusive with a LotG.

You could also forgo the proc-bomb option on Force Bomb, and go with something like 5 slot Ragnarok (10% global recharge) plus a Kb2Kd in the sixth slot. Less damage, but if you really need that extra +Recharge, well, it's an option.

October 5

1 hour ago, Biff Pow said:

I've almost created a character named Saturday Knight a few times but could never decide on a costume.

Donald Duck? 😀

October 4

I hear Saturday Knight's all right for fightin'.

October 4

I solo much more than I team, so I am sympathetic to the idea. I do think @Biostem is correct, though.

12 hours ago, biostem said:

Frankly, I think it would be difficult to come up with some sort of general appearance that would satisfy most players, (though I suppose it could also be a great testbed for some more customization options)...

You know someone's going to want a frontline of 3 scrappers instead of 3 blasters. Or a 2-summon of controllers or dominators. Or a 1-summon of an Energy Blast sentinel in an iron suit. Everyone is going to have their own idea of what the "generic super team" should look like. Unless they wanted to let us customize the summoned AT's, which frankly, would shock me, I think this is going to be a source of Even More Asks.

Of course, if they Wanted to do truly full customization, I wouldn't say no. I'd just have to pick my jaw up off the floor, first.

October 3

24 minutes ago, Lunar Ronin said:

wap them across the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper,

aren't we supposed to use spray bottles to disciple them, now?

October 3

In the six years I've played since 2019, I have never used a single 2 XP booster deliberately.

The one time I accidentially popped one, I immediatially went into options and selected "No XP".

It is stupidly easy to level super-fast even without any bonus XP / patrol XP. And if that's really what people want, OK, knock youself out. I guess I picked up some parts of my outlook from EverQuest and WoW's early years, and feel like levelling should take a long time, and that I should experiance several phases of a character's life as they gradually grow in power, and that anything else is cheating myself, denying myself the lessons needed to play the character properly. Which, intellectually, I know that doesn't hold true in CoH. But the back my mind will not let that go.

October 2

Well, with that logo, clearly he's on the A-Team. So, you have a theme song and a couple of catch-phrases pre-loaded if you wish it.

Invulnerable / Energy Melee, or Invulnerable/Super Strength are a total stereotype, but one that exists for a Reason. They're effective and fun, and with the Stuns (energy) and knockdown (SS), you have mitigation built into your attacks to tide you over until your armor set matures.
I note that his eyes are covered. Not sure if that's because the helmet has some kind of high tech VR display screen for him, or if he's blind like Daredevil, or if he needs to cover his eyes like Cyclops (perhaps you plan on taking Laser Beam Eyes for an epic power...). Or perhaps it's the completely impenetrable disguise a la Clark Kent, to preserve his Secret Identity.
Peacebringers look awesome. But Quantums never ever stopping, ever, no matter what, keep making me ragedelete them. If you go Peacebringer, may you have greater patience than I do. (my nerdrage may be amplied by my deliberate super-slow levelling, doing many many story arcs on the way up, but that's non-negotiable for me).
If you want to keep him flying more than grounded, Energy Blast/Invulnerable Sentinel is a definite option, too.

October 1

13 hours ago, megaoozaru said:

I only hate the endurance costs of some storm powers. Just using lightning storm is like 15% of your endurance bar.

Lightning Storm has a non-trivial casting cost, sure. But it lasts for a good while once cast, and end reduce enhancers exist. If you go with IO sets (which I always do, but I occasional have to remind myself not everyone does), end management really isn't that bad. Storm is ... in a pretty good place.

October 1

New Regen performs Quite Well the higher your Max HP are, so, those are good bonuses to slot for, and of course,

Tanker is king there. But my /Regen Stalker is still loads of fun.

There is a definite curve on regen, where you can feel if your regen is outpacing, keeping pace, or losing ground to incoming damage.

Teaming, New Regen benefits wonderfully from all +RES / +DEF team buffs since it doesn't inherently have that much of either. Bubblers, Empaths, Thermals, Sonics, Cold, all make you even more of a god than you already were. And of course, a team where people are running Leadership toggles and actually staying near each other, is always wonderful.

Soloing, I prefer to stack +RES over +DEF on /Regen, purely because of the lack of Defense Debuff Resist. Your milage may vary. It is not required to laugh maniacally when you go from 20 foes down to 15 foes and see your HP bar start to climb back upwards, and you realize they are now incapable of killing you. But it is fun.

October 1

early slotting advice:

if you play something with an "armor" powerset (Invulnerability, Fiery Aura, Willpower, etc), don't go nuts over-slotting your defenses at too low level. There are some exceptions but I try to keep these powers to 1-2 slots until my character is in their mid-20's.
early slots are better spent in your damage-dealing powers. The harder you hit, the fewer attacks you need to defeat an enemy, which means the less endurance you spent to defeat that enemy. also the faster you defeat enemies, the fewer incoming hits you have to facetank.
- You'll want one +Acc, and three +Dmg SO's in your bread and butter powers right away.
- a +EndReduction SO is also helpful in your teens to 20's.
- SO = single origin enhancement

currency / auctions:

starting out, money will be tight.
this can sometimes be removed as a concern if a veteran player chooses to smile upon you. If a veteran player throws 20,000,000 influence your way, that will remove any concern of affording basic enhancements for a long while. It's not something guaranteed to happen, but 20 million is literally chump change to someone who's been playing the game for several years with multiple lvl 50 characters.
if no such gifts are made, or if you specifically want to earn the money yourself, be mindful of any Invention Salvage you get in drops
- white salvage can be sold on the auction house (Wentworth's, or the Black Market), for 200 each.
- yellow salvage can be sold on the auction house for 2000 each.
- orange salvage can be sold on the auction house for 400,000 each, sometimes more.
- at least in the case of orange salvage, this vastly exceeds what NPC vendors will pay for it.
you earn Reward Merits by doing story arcs, and acquiring all the explore badges in a zone, or taking part in Task Forces, etc.
Reward Merits can be turned into certain kinds of salvage that sell very very well on the auction house. Most notably Enhancement Converters.
At some point you may choose to stop selling Converters, and start acquiring them for personal use. Do not regret any you already sold. You can always earn more Reward Merits. It's not difficult, at all.

General:

sometimes it's helpful to tag enemies with a range attack and run around a corner, pulling them to you, rather than charging them.
there is no shame in running away to rest / heal.
there is no meaningful penalty for being defeated, other than the blow to pride.

September 30

Versions of Luminous Blast / Umbral Blast for non-Kheldian AT's. (Blaster, Corruptor, Defender, Sentinel)

Gleaming Bolt
Glinting Eye
Gleaming Blast
Proton Scatter
Inner Light (build up)
Luminous Detonation
Luminous Lance (snipe, no preexisting power exists, but maybe an animamation like Blazing Bolt with the Luminous color scheme?)
Solar Flare
Dawn Strike (pbae nuke)

Versions of Luminous Aura / Umbral Aura for non-Kheldian AT's. (Tankers, Scrappers, Brutes, Sentinels... I guess Stalkers, too, but Luminous and Hide don't go together. Umbral for sure though)

Incandescence
Shining Shield
Thermal Shield
Quantum Shield
some kind of Practiced Brawler analog for status protection
Reform Essence
???
Restore Essence
Light Form

Full Disclosure: Yes, I have an ulterior motive. I love the look of the Kheldian powers, but I keep nerdraging and deleting my Kheldians around lvl 11-16 after dying to Quantums too many times. Yes, if I wasn't nerdraging over that, I might well be among the first to shoot my own idea down. But hey. The thread title does say "selfish list of things", right?

September 29

8 hours ago, tidge said:

The only ATs that I find annoying to be susceptible to PVE 'control' are Controllers... they can grab a lot of aggro, and don't have extra damage to deal with RNG misses of enemies. Once I have 15+ inspiration slots I typically don't worry about PVE control.

Depends on the Controller powerset, and depends what you have your notoriety set to. If you're set to +1x2 or something, most controllers can lock down the enemy mezzers before they can even react. Mind is Especially good at this (Mass Hyp, Confuse, are both non-aggroing), but Plant/Spore burst will sleep them and you should be able to make sure they never wake up again. Dark/Possess, Illusion/Deceive, heck even Earth Control.... some form of Stealth, even a Celerity Stealth Proc in sprint, plus Salt Crystals = PBAE deep sleep, and you can easily keep enemy mezzers in a Hold until they're dead.

I'm sure there's some permutation of Controller that struggles mightily with it. But even my Ice/Cold controller does right fine.

EDIT: now, if you're soloing at +4x8, sure, there may be too many to lockdown. But that's a choice.

September 29

As long as the new version captures the soul of the old version (no, not with Banished Pantheon magics...), I wouldn't feel bad or guilty about it.

But I would measure six or seven times before I started cutting. It's doable, but losing badges, losing accolades, losing credit for every story arc I've done, deciding if I really want to rebuild up to Confidant with each contact all over again.... It's not something to do lightly. At least, not for me.

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