FupDup

This reads more like an argument for nerfing proc monsters (via the procs themselves and/or the global recharge that enables them) rather than an argument against the OP's suggestion.

A long time ago during live, something people did was make toons with skin-colored tights to make them look fully nude. Since this is a rated T game, that obviously can't be allowed, hence the lack of certain colors for costume pieces. I just wish it could be done on a per-piece basis instead of banning the colors from all parts. For example coloring some baggy camo pants or giant shoulder pads in skin tones won't make you look naked.

I got my PB to IO's and T4 incarnates a long time ago; the anecdotes were from years ago back when I played him. I don't touch him anymore (not just because of the Kheld-specific issues, but also because I tend to lose motivation to play a fully "completed" alt so I roll another and start the cycle anew).

My anecdote was from playing a Peacebringer solo a few years ago at base difficulty (+0x1), leveling the slow way without financial support from alts. At low levels the only defensive power you've got to protect against them is the energy/negative toggle shield, which isn't available until level 14 these days (I played this toon before the update that let you pick powers earlier so I think I had to wait until even later to get it). I also think that the heal power wasn't available until a bit later than it is now (currently level 4). It's been a while so the exact level brackets are a bit fuzzy in my memory. My only enhancements at such low levels would've been the P2W freebies in attack powers plus some DO's in non-attack powers. All I know is that Void Seekers would body me hard if I couldn't keep them knocked down/back.

For energy blast, what I've always wanted is a revamp that integrates a toggle as an actual power that takes up a power pick. Something like this: Focused Force (Toggle) >Replaces Aim >While active, removes all knockback and knockdown but gives you a small damage and to-hit buff and costs some endurance The way I think about it is that the normal energy blast is like a shotgun, spraying a big load of energy all over the place that can yeet people. Focused Force however would be more of a precision rifle shot, not yeeting anyone because the force is focused into a very small surface area. Yes, I know that most people would run that toggle all the time. I'm not terribly bothered by that because of the polarizing design that KB has in any non-solo environment. This would certainly let people experience both sides (yeeting and not-yeeting) in a seamless way that doesn't require them to level the character up to 50 twice and spend twice as much inf putting two builds together. And this wouldn't even totally remove the utility of the KB to KD enhancements because using those would still give you some soft control, whereas this toggle wouldn't even let you have any KD at all.

In very early levels playing solo it's definitely very possible (and likely) to get oneshotted or twoshotted by Void Seekers as a Kheld. The way you feel is basically the Puss in boots meme where he sees death. Ironically, the only way I figured out to survive against them in early levels was to always start fights with the Nemesis Staff (knockback) so they couldn't attack for a few seconds. Then throw everything at them to try to prevent them from getting back up.

It's a pretty good costume creator but there are some flaws that are kind of annoying: Armored tops have very few actual armor pieces available for chest detail, which can lead to "tight" tops actually feeling more bulky/armored than "armored" tops sometimes. Armored tops also have fewer shoulder armor choices, similar issue as above. The system is great if you want just 2 colors across the whole costume, but if you want to add some limited "accent" colors it can sometimes be hard since every costume piece is limited to just 2 colors at most (some having just 1). Some pieces are designed such that they could visually accommodate 3+ colors (like Imperial Defense boots and gloves) if the game engine could handle it. Speaking of colors, the lack of colors like tan/creme is a bit weird since we can use those colors for skin (maybe this is to prevent "naked" toons?). Lack of modern military/tacticool costume pieces, especially for chest detail (tactical vests pls). Most soldiers made in this system look like Green Army Men or WWII guys.

As a correction, Grant Cover's DDR and recharge resistance both apply to the user in addition to allies. Only the actual defense doesn't apply to the user. At worst, the power does make a fine LOTG mule. In general I do actually agree that shield is kind of overrated...most other people here would rank it as like S+ but I'd put it around A- or maybe B+ if I'm being as harsh as possible. However, since it is considered by many to be a top tier set, I find it unlikely that it will receive substantial buffs in the foreseeable future. And honestly there are definitely worse sets out there that could use help first.

I feel like giving defense to the resist shields is a bit of a cop-out to the defense meta. I'd rather do some combination of the following: A. Increase the resist values provided, since resists have a much higher cap than defense and are generally considered weaker B. Give some weak mezz resistance (not protection) to the resist shields, since you're getting hit with mezz more often C. Give some weak debuff resistance to the resist shields, since you're getting hit with more debuffs than somebody built for defense D. Maybe reduce endurance cost a little given all of the drawbacks of resists vs. defenses

To answer the OP's question, I don't really have much in the way of a specific power combo. In terms of AT's, I favor Sentinels over other AT's. Yeah they don't do the most DPS, nor can they tank the most damage, but they've got a good blend of everything in a single versatile package. I normally like "all rounder" characters like Soldier 76 in Overwatch, The Soldier in TF2, or medium/heavy mechs in Mechwarrior games. Sentinels are the COH equivalent of that. It boggles my mind how this game existed on live for so long without Sents because of just how gigantic of a hole this was in the AT roster. I am theorycrafting some Scrappers though so they might be a second runner up. I had a Huntsman VEAT I used to play a few years ago too but he's long retired.

Sentinel blast sets get some unique changes in a few places, like Beam Rifle gaining an chain AOE attack (arguably "best" version of BR because of that) and Assault Rifle getting flipped upside down (gets aim, ignite is replaced by single-target incinerator). All of them have their usual mezz attacks like Tesla Cage turned into strong damage attacks (while still keeping the mezz). They all lose sniper attacks in the process though. Besides that, the different secondaries and AT modifiers might make a set have more synergy with one AT than another, i.e. debuffs from blast sets are stronger on Corr/Def than Blaster, so those sets may have better synergy on a support AT than a pure DPS. Same goes with armor sets. For example, Sentinel SR gains a passive 30% (enhanceable) recovery, toggle mezz protection (Master Brawler), and a clicky absorb shield (also Master Brawler). Sentinel Invuln is also bonkers because it gets passive +10 max endurance and passively refreshing absorb shield, both in one single auto power. Sents get the best variant of Regen hands down (still kinda meh but a lot more playable). So basically an AT/build is more than just the sum of its parts. There are synergies and individual differences (when applicable) that can complicate 1:1 comparisons.

An alternative to that would be to fire either an explosive bullet or shotgun shell, which achieves the AOE effect with only a single recoil motion.

Funnily enough, this already happens if you've got Dual Pistols and the ninja run stance. I don't know if it's possible to do on weapon sets that don't dual-wield though, because technically you can't have a sword and rifle in a different hand at the same time under the current system (only one OR the other).

For the Buddy Cop badge, you have to save Detective Hopp in various Dark Astoria story arcs. First in Heather's arc, then later in Dream Doctor's. The problem is that he also appears in a mission from Praetor Duncan, and if I save him there then he doesn't show up in Dream Doctor's mission. If I save him in Heather's mission, but don't get near him in Duncan's, then he appears in Doctor's mission as expected. I did check all corners and wipe out all baddies, but the "???" never appears in the mission objective display if I saved him in Duncan's mission (unless I replay Doctor's arc in Ouros). Is this intended? Am I not supposed to save him in Duncan's last mission? Madame Bellarose is a similar DA character that can be found in three separate arcs but she doesn't disappear if you find her all three times.

Compromise Idea: Apply the same "Fighting Synergy" idea from the attack powers in the pool to Tough and Weave. Allow them to be taken without any prerequisites, BUT they are drastically weaker (lower values and/or higher end costs) if you take them alone. So if you took Tough by itself, it might have only 1/2 the usual resists at a higher end cost. If you took Weave by itself, the defenses might be only around 1/4 of what they normally are at a higher end cost. If you took the usual triplet (Kick/Boxing + Tough + Weave) they would be equal to where they are now. If you added on Cross Punch and/or an extra T1 attack they might even be a little bit stronger? This would also open up the possibility to make Kick or Boxing give different benefits to Tough/Weave just like they do with Cross Punch. So one of them might lower the end cost and give a small protection bonus while the other only gives stronger protection but in a larger amount, so that there's a little bit of thought to choosing which one you want to use as the prerequisite (or both if you can spare the power picks). Alternatively we might just give a bump to how effective Boxing and Kick are so that they're less of a "waste." Boxing for example could really use a higher magnitude for its effect because it rarely works even against minions (compared to Kick which is very consistent at KD'ing against LT's and many bosses). Or really we don't need to do anything here since Tough and Weave are already strong powers as it is, even with the one "wasted" power pick factored in to the equation. And IMO, I kind of like having powers that take few/no slots so that I can dedicate more slots elsewhere.