AspieAnarchy

Like I said, there would be at least 3 distinct themes for this from the get-go: 'Venom', 'Acid', and 'Toxic Waste'. This would mean different graphics for the projectiles, but also some different animations in some cases (e.g. Acid Spit and Cobra Venom would certainly be 'spitting' graphics in the 'Venom' version, but not necessarily in the other two). For the final 3, I was, to start off with, envisioning: Slime Wave - a broad sweep of the arm Hazardous Spill - Here's your vomit right here, kelika2! Think the aftereffect of Poison/Elixir of Life, but something is actually left behind. Venusian Miasma - I had not yet put more effort into this than the standard 'arms out', or 'beckoning up', or 'literal X-Man' poses one sees in many PBAoE powers. Rudra's suggested alternatives are all good as well. To be clear, the 'Slime' I was envisioning was supposed to be in the vein of 'Toxic Crusader'/'Nickelodeon' slime.

This one's meant to be a little different in that way.

Acid Spit serves up -res from the get-go, and Slime Wave (intended to be the "crown jewel" of the set's damage output) lays out even more. Fair point, however, about -regen!

...especially now that "Toxic defense" finally exists, so why not?!? As the opening description implies, this could have at least 3 distinct animation/appearance-styles right off the bat. TOXIC BLAST (Ranged) Available to: Corrupters, Defenders, Sentinels, Blasters Set Color: Mustard Yellow-on-Dark Cyan Scour your enemies with venom, acid, or toxic waste! Compared to other Ranged sets, this set does only average damage (much of it damage over time), has inferior range, and lacks a sniper power, but makes up for it with a diverse arsenal of crippling debuffs and effects. 1) Acid Spit – a basic attack that corrodes your target's defense and damage resistance. Damage: Minor Toxic Recharge: Fast 2) Venomous Blast – a moderate attack that weakens your target's damage. Damage: Moderate Toxic Recharge: Fast 3) Toxic Cloud – you send forth a cloud of poisonous gas that harms a group of foes and may briefly sicken them into helplessness. Damage: Moderate Toxic (DoT) Recharge: Moderate 4) Neurotoxic Breath – you spew forth a neurotoxin that slows your enemies' movement and attack rates. Damage: Moderate Toxic (DoT) Recharge: Moderate 5) Cobra Venom – assaults your victim's eyes with poison; damage is only minor, but the target's chance to hit will be massively reduced and it is likely to be completely blinded. Damage: Minor Toxic Recharge: Moderate 6) Power Boost - similar to Dominator Assault power 7) Slime Wave – a moderate-ranged cone attack that does a lot of damage and reduces enemy damage resistance. Damage: Superior Toxic (DoT) Recharge: Moderate 😎 Hazardous Spill – you cover a patch of ground with toxic waste. Those who pass through it are contaminated, taking serious damage and dealing less damage themselves (this latter effect persists even if they leave the patch). Damage: Extreme Toxic (DoT) Recharge: Slow 9) Venusian Miasma – You saturate the air around you with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, creating conditions much like the atmosphere of Venus. Enemies in this miasma take massive Toxic damage over time, have their defense gravely corroded, suffer reduced range for any ranged abilities, and are likely to be immobilized. Damage: Extreme Toxic (DoT) Recharge: Very Long Example Character Concept: The Vile Pollutia! (Villainous Toxic Blast/Poison Science Corrupter)

I already explained it first-thing at the top of my post. @srmalloy That IS interesting, actually - I would not mind shifting to turquoise-blue one bit, either!

Now that Homecoming has delivered Atomic Manipulation and Radiation Assault, the versions of both I'd worked on over the Lost Years may've lost a fair amount of their half-lives, so to speak, BUT that doesn't mean I can't still share them here - who knows? Maybe some future Issue will introduce some way for these ideas of mine to see the light of day (or something similarly brigh-*KABOOM!!!!!*)... ATOMIC ASSAULT (Assault) Available to: Dominators Set Color: Electric Bluish Green You direct the raw power of the Universe against your enemies to devastating (although at times unpredictable) effect. 1) Neutrino Bolt - as Radiation Blast 2) Uranium Fist - see below 3) X-Ray Beam - as Radiation Blast 4) Irradiate - as Radiation Blast 5) Build Up 6) Touch of Ruin – You generate a small amount of antimatter from your fingertips and can direct it at a target up to 15 feet away from you. In addition to taking serious damage, the target is knocked back and left with reduced damage and damage resistance. This power is more endurance-intensive than similar attack powers, and there is a very brief period wherein it can be interrupted, so it must be timed carefully. Note that it can benefit from both Melee and Sniper Invention Enhancement sets. Damage: Superior Energy Recharge: Slow 7) Proton Volley - as Radiation Blast 😎 Shiva Strike - see below 9) Cosmic Burst - as Radiation Blast Example Character Concept: The Unstoppable Fall of Empires! (Roguish Gravity Control/Atomic Assault Magic Dominator) ATOMIC MANIPULATION (Support) Available to: Blasters Set Color: Electric Yellowish Green You are nuclear-powered! You can generate radiation and pure atomic energy to devastating effect. Compared to other Blaster-Support sets, Atomic Manipulation offers truly exceptional raw power, but at a price of greater risk to you. 1) Background Radiation – greatly slows the target and deals some damage. Damage: Minor Energy (DoT) Recharge: Fast 2) Uranium Fist – an unstable radioactive melee attack that, while it has a penalty to accuracy, does high damage and leaves the target with reduced defense. Damage: High Energy/Smashing Recharge: Fast 3) Radiation Leak – While this power is active, you give off radiation that slowly damages nearby enemies over time and slightly reduces their accuracy and defense. Damage: Minor Energy (DoT) Recharge: Slow 4) Enervating Field - as Radiation Emission 5) Fusion 6) Atom Smasher – a nasty melee attack that splits some of the target's atoms, generating a powerful explosion that propels the target backwards and disrupts its damage resistance. Damage: High Energy/Smashing Recharge: Moderate 7) Critical Mass – you push your ability to generate energy to the absolute limit. While this power is active, all damage you deal is further increased, but you slowly take damage yourself. Recharge: Slow 😎 Shiva Strike – channels a megaton of energy into a single melee attack. The target's defense will be decreased and there is a small chance that ordinary enemies (unnamed pets, underlings, minions, lieutenants, and bosses) will be obliterated outright. Damage: Extreme Energy/Smashing Recharge: Slow 9) Fallout - as Radiation Emission The Astonishing Lal Oppenheimer! (Heroic Radiation Blast/Atomic Manipulation Technology Blaster)

Force Field - "White-Picket Fence" - "Interposing Hands" - "Adoring Crowd" Cold Domination - "Ice Cream" - "Snowmanization" - "Refrigerator Contents" Dark Miasma - "Halloween B-Movie" Electrical Affinity - "'90s Internet" - "Cattle-Prod of JUSTICE!" Empathy - "Giant Band-Aids" - "'Eat Food To Restore Health!'" - "Happyfaces" Pain Domination - "Duct Tape Fixes Everything" - "Hurt 'Em 'Till They Heal" - "EEEVIL Happyfaces" Nature Affinity - "Tofu n' Granola" - "Herbs n' Shrooms" - "RatCorp™ Princess" Poison - "Clown Tricks" - "Tropical Fish" - "Past the Expiration Date" Radiation Emission - "Practical Jokes" Thermal Radiation - "To Serve Man" - "El Sῡper Mexicanὀ" - "Extra Crispy" Traps - "Practical Jokes" Assault Rifle - "Popcorn" - "Ricochet-Rama" - "'BANG!' Flags" Archery - "Big, Happy Flowers" - "Small, Angry Animals" Ice Blast - "Noisy Ice Cube Machine" Fire Blast - "Disco Inferno" Bio Armor - "Fluffy Bio-Bunny" - "Gingerbread Man" - "Covered In BEES!!!" Fiery Aura - "Birthday Candles" Ice Armor - "Snowman" Street Justice - "Stooge-Fu" Spines - "Gone Bananas" - "GE Corn" Stone Melee - "Baked Goods Melee" Martial Arts - "Dance-Fu" Mind Control - "Compelled Choreography" Energy Assault - "Pinball Wizardry" That'll do for now; hopefully I can add more later. Anyone who wants to add more is WELCOME! 2 rules for this thread if you do: - nothing about Mastermind minions (non-MM pets are okay); customizing MM minions is a topic all to to itself, after all! - Strive for WACKY (look to the above if you need a guideline)!!! Nothing 'Sensible', 'Slightly Silly' will only split the vote and spoil the upcoming by-elections, and while it can certainly be "cool", "cool" by itself is not good enough! Also, one clarification: Just because I only gave overarching set-wide themes above doesn't mean you can't be more specific.

I've made some refinements since then, but I swear I first made this long before 2020.... DISEASE (Buff) Available to: Defenders, Corrupters, Masterminds Set Color: White-on-Medium Dark Hazel Diseases can be devastating (or in a few cases, helpful), and are usually contagious, but with the exception of Computer Virus (and Rabies in the case of certain Masterminds), robots and machines are immune to their effects, and most spectral or ghostly beings are likewise unaffected. It has few, if any, rivals for its breadth of debuffs, and thanks to contagion, they often continue to do their work even without the vector’s (that’s you!) continued effort; depending on the movements of infected enemies, other enemies in turn might wind up suffering their effects before you’ve even encountered them! 1) Creeping Cold – infects the target with a relatively mild, but highly contagious, strain of the common cold. The target’s speed, accuracy, recovery, and perception are all decreased for a little while, and nearby enemies are very likely to contract it in turn. Recharge: Moderate 2) Antibodies – incites a single ally's immune system to purge whatever ails it, temporarily increasing the target’s regeneration rate. Recharge: Medium 3) Influenza – reduces the target's damage, defense, attack rate, and endurance recovery. The flu is extremely contagious. Recharge: Moderate 4) Blight – infects a target with a vicious parasitic fungus. Most organic foes will suffer a moderate decrease to their regeneration and slight decrease to their accuracy and resistance, but plant-based foes, as well as certain unnatural beings (zombies, for example), face much more severe versions of these effects, as well as some reduction to maximum hit points and a much greater rate of contagion. Recharge: Fast 5) Computer Virus – infects an electronic or robotic target with a vicious (but only weakly contagious) computer virus that may have any number of deleterious effects, potentially including 1-4 of the following: Slowing, to-hit debuff, defense debuff, reduced recovery, disorientation, immobilization, sleep, blindness, placation, and/or confusion; some organic enemies, particularly cyborgs, have been known to suffer weaker versions of its effects. Recharge: Moderate 6) Polio – Causes complete paralysis in a target. Nearby enemies may contract a milder version and become immobilized. Recharge: Slow 7) Invoke Symbiosis – stimulates a defeated ally's mitochondria, reanimating it and protecting it from debt for 90 seconds. The target will benefit from increased endurance recovery for a while after reanimation. In addition, whatever germs and parasites happened to have been residing in the character's body are prompted to seek out new hosts, generating a cloud of pestilence around the beneficiary that lowers the accuracy and resistance of nearby enemies. When these effects wear off, the subject will suffer from decreased endurance recovery and attack speed for a while thereafter. Recharge: Very Long 😎 Ebola (Defenders, Corrupters) – infects the target with a horrible flesh-eating virus that very gradually deals massive damage. Nearby enemies may contract a much weaker (but faster-acting) version. Not usually too helpful against your typical gaggle of Minions, but can be very effective if unleashed at the start of a tough fight. Damage: Extreme Toxic (DoT) Recharge: Very Long OR Rabies (Masterminds) – you infect one of your own henchmen with a rapidly-advancing form of rabies (or a software analog, if your henchmen are robots). The target's movement, attack rate, and damage are all drastically increased, but the subject immediately collapses once the disease has run its course. Recharge: Very Long 9) Plague – Unleashes a terrible plague epidemic on your enemies, starting with an initial target and spreading more rapidly and at longer range than other contagions. Victims are subjected to slowing, severe endurance loss and retarded recovery, reduced damage and damage resistance, and possibly a substantial reduction of their maximum hit points (that can be strengthened with Healing Enhancements). Recharge: Very Long Example Character Concept: The Remorseless Guns Germs & Steel! (Villainous Robotics/Disease Technology Mastermind)

Okay; I guess I was confused by the word "shown".

Sorry if I'm a yutz, but in this case, what do you mean by "the OP"?

I've been working on lots of ideas for a long time and it's been too long since I've presented one, so here's one I just realized was ready to debut: MARTIAL CONTROL (Control) Available to: Controllers Set Color: Black-on-Rust Not every gritty street-fighter favors simple frontal assault or stoic trading of blows, and not every subtle manipulator is some otherworldly mage, convoluted gadgeteer, or gifted mutant; masters of Martial Control use gumption, cunning, mundane tools, and tricky wrists to tie their enemies in painful knots. Martial Control is very unusual among Control sets for its emphasis on close-ranged attacks and tricks; it makes up for this vulnerability, and for some of its control effects being relatively short or weak, with reasonable endurance costs, better-than-average speed, and most importantly, significantly better damage than most other Control sets. 1) Blackjack – A simple attack with a good old-fashioned blackjack, moderately damaging and severely stunning the target. Damage: Moderate Smashing Recharge: Fast 2) Golf Swing – FOOORE! Your (or maybe somebody else's) trusty nine-iron has a helpful extra bit of reach, and your practiced swing with it both carries a painful punch and knocks the target into the air. Damage: Moderate Smashing Recharge: Fast 3) Nerve Pinch – Secrets of anatomy both ancient and cutting-edge enable you to reach in and press just the right spot on nearly any foe to cause both serious pain and temporary paralysis. Damage: Moderate Smashing/Psionic Recharge: Moderate 4) Boomerang Wave – Boomerangs used in their ancient function as weapons aren't actually supposed to return the way "toy" ones do, but you have your ways (or perhaps just a very large stockpile); an artful toss of one of your boomerangs will ricochet from foe to foe, inflicting mild damage and a lasting stun on foes in a short cone ahead of you. Damage: Minor Smashing Recharge: Moderate 5) Pinata Spin – Using a dirty, dangerous fusion of wrestling and party tricks, you grab a foe and spin it around until it becomes not only so dizzy and confused as to start attacking its own enemies, but with a chance of so enraging it that these misguided attacks do increased damage, besides! Recharge: Slow 6) Sucker Punch – A fearsome sock to the face (or whatever your enemy's got) that not only carries an effective placate effect from the shock of the blow, but deals a great deal more damage if the target is presently under another control effect from this set. Damage: Special Smashing Recharge: Slow 7) Tear Gas – A few household chemicals and a supply of cheap delivery-vessels are all you need to make your own tear-gas grenades, and enemies in a cloud of such gas will be effectively paralyzed by blindness and choking. This mass hold effect is cheaper and faster, but also has a shorter-lasting, compared to similar effects in most other Control sets. Recharge: Slow 😎 Rat King – 'Strength in numbers?' Not on your watch! All you need is a volatile mass of cables, zipties, and superglue at your disposal to put your enemies in a world of collective hurt. Enemies caught in the area are immobilized, suffer reduced recharge rates and damage resistance, and even face a very small chance to lash out at their fellow 'rat-kings' in confused desperation - the more targets are effected, the greater the severity and probability of all these effects! Recharge: Long 9) Come Out and Play – A master of the streets such as yourself commands the respect and fear of friend and enemy alike - and sometimes, you can rope a few into doing you a favor. You summon 1-3 Lieutenant-level henchmen, randomly culled from the ranks of either the Warriors, Sky Raiders, Family, Tsoo, Wyvern, Private Security, Lost, Freakshow, Trolls, Outcasts, Council, Scrapyarders, Knives of Artemis, Destroyers, Syndicate, or Carnival of War, to fight by your side. They can be healed and buffed like any normal ally. Recharge: Long Example Character Concept: The Unflappable Butler! (Vigilante Martial Control/Poison Natural Controller)

My Traps character is an Illusion/Traps Controller; I don't like not using full sets.

In which would you sooner put the [[Armageddon]] set, then: Trip Mine or Poison Gas Trap?

What about [[Soulbound Allegience: Chance for Build Up]]??? I'm literally having a hard time understanding what I'm reading here; could you please rephrase?

This would be a problem; why not?

Seeker Drones do 3 Enhanceable things: - disorient - to-hit debuff - damage My question is simple: What are the options available for optimizing in any of these three directions? Also, I suppose I should ask whether this question varies at all with Archetype. For what it's worth, I use the word "optimize" with some hesitancy, since I've long associated it with dogmatic bean-counters/"powergamers" who claim there is one "best" way to do anything - however, in this context, it is appropriate.

Is there a limit/deadline to getting the rewards promised by this challenge? I've been playing my entry at the same breezy pace as all my other characters, so it could be a while before it reaches level 30.

OKAY! I actually did it (about a week ago now, but I wasn't sure how soon it was important to post a screenshot): Introducing PLASMA-SCREEN!!! (Fire Control/Electrical Affinity Controller)

Okay; anything else I should know?

So I made three rolls, and one included a jackpot; what do I do now?

What I really want is for the damage to vary significantly based on what you throw - that should be doable, shouldn't it? Whatever RNG determines which object shows up, add to each result a separate damage range.

...when the car appears, hard liquor-time! Consider it a show of good faith to your foes: They're not the only ones getting smashed.

I must say...I am impressed. I don't think I'll actually do this, but part of me does feel tempted to make a Claude Rains tribute-Blaster....

I had a Mercenaries MM back on Live, and I honestly don't know whether they're as "bad" as everyone says they are or whether it might just be groupthink; that said, your changes are certainly respectable. My feedback, however: - Why totally deprive Spec/Tac-Ops of rifles? It would seem appropriate for Mercenaries to have an element of conformity to their weapons. - Maybe replace (in the case of those who don't get Pummel) Brawl/Heavy Brawl entirely with something like "Combat Knife" (a slightly better version, perhaps of the switchblades used by some Hellions/Skulls/etc)? - Maybe at least some of them should receive Bayonet from upgrade powers, too? - An idea I heard floated for "fixing" Mercenaries was "double down on the debuffs"; that could be a good approach for Spec-Ops. - Why not keep Serum, just make it better? I like your Field Support pets, BUT I think every Tier-7 Summon power should aspire to be unique. Admittedly, this is different enough from Gang War and Hell On Earth, but a sufficiently good Serum power would be moreso. - Maybe "medical support" abilities could be watered down and distributed to all the Soldiers as part of Tactical Upgrade; maybe all Mercenaries could have the Fitness Pool benefits. Even better, maybe dispense with healing entirely and go with your "Equipment Support Unit" abilities; I really like that (and had similar a similar idea for a new Summon set idea I've been working on). Maybe just replace "3rd Soldier is a Medic" with "3rd Soldier is a Quartermaster".