swordchucks
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Posts posted by swordchucks
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3 hours ago, Veracor said:
how much earlier than the schedule I'll have to form up the raid every day.
Thanks for running them, anyway. We were full tonight at 7:29 (for an 8:00 scheduled start) and I think someone was running another at 8:00.
I feel like the magic is gone, though. It's too serious now and not the fun party-time I'm used to enjoying. It might now be how it was on live, but a whole lot of people playing now never did that content on live. For a lot of us, the way it was since May is the only way we've experienced it.
For the first time in months, I think I'd rather go to bed early than mess around raiding. Not a good feeling, man.
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7 minutes ago, Snow0wl said:
You don't leave the broken piece in while working on to let it cause more damage.
You can absolutely leave something broken if fixing it will cause more damage than not.
The un-capped state of things wasn't great from some perspectives. It made it easy to leach (bad). It made it easy to overload the server (bad). It made a relatively easy activity and made it possible to faceroll it (bad).
On the other hand, it made it was a large community activity that saw a large number of folks coming together to do something as a group (good). On Everlasting, at least, it had a festive atmosphere that was celebratory in nature (good). It made it relatively easy for a person newer to raiding to coordinate the activities, which is healthy for the game overall as the more raid leaders we have, the more active things are (good). No population cap meant that it was feasible to invite absolutely everyone along, even if they were brand new (good).
The social experience of these raids was one of my favorite things over the last few months of the game. I'm sad to see it go.
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28 minutes ago, SchnauzerXL said:
Honestly instancing the raids, if possible, I think would be the ideal solution.
I'd be perfectly happy with that solution. I don't see how putting the caps back to 50 really makes things better. You just end up trading out one set of issues for a different set of issues. Having to fight the zone population cap isn't what I'd call a positive addition to gameplay.
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I've taken to viewing MSR and Hami raids as a social experience. They aren't hard. You can clear Hami with about 35 people if you know the mechanics (and we did that on Everlasting once during the weekend). What we're left with now is the loss of that social experience.
RWZ being a zone with TFs in it means scheduling a MSR is going to be hard to coordinate and not in a fun way. If we had a way to spawn "private" zones for leagues, this wouldn't be a big deal. If the cap on RWZ, at least, were - say - 75 to account for all of the non-MSR traffic, this wouldn't feel so bad. Having a league of 48 trying to fit into a cap of 50 just seems like it's going to generate much more annoyance than anything else.
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I love this data.
Would it be possible to get filters or have it dump to a csv/excel file?
Also, I'd love to see this kind of breakdown for pool powers and epic pool powers, too. I'm curious about the use (and not use) of certain pools. Like, what percentage of people at fifty have Hasten? How many bother with anything else out of the Speed pool? What about epic pools? Are there some there that are clear winners and losers?
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You might want to repost this over into the Bug Reports forum. https://forums.homecomingservers.com/forum/32-bug-reports/
There is an already known issue with Illusion's holds not stacking properly.
On Reddit, it was explained that the last patch involved reducing the cost of various stealth powers. Illusion was ported from i24 to i25 and not really touched aside from that. When they actually changed something (reducing the cost of the invisibility powers), that had unintentional consequences. Assuming this bug is repeatable, it may be wrapped up in the same root cause.
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If you're just playing a controller without a detailed build plan or guide, I can completely understand the original sentiment of this thread. You hit 50 with powers that looked like good ideas at the time and you're doing content with folks that can have a really huge variety of build levels. If you're at the bottom end (a typical poorly slotted and powered fresh first 50), it can feel disheartening. My Ill/Rad controller is a delight after a bit of polishing, but I felt really underwhelmed as recently as level 47.
Of course, it can also just be a matter of who you're comparing yourself to. While leveling, most of the folks around you are also leveling. People that extensively IO while leveling are relatively rare, so you all kind of suck together. When you get to endgame, you're maybe running along beside folks that are fully T4 incarnated and have hundreds of millions of inf in their sets. They're all level 50, though, so it can be hard to judge why they're so much better than you (and veteran levels can help with that comparison, but they're not super reliable).
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Those are very interesting stats, so thanks for cross-pollinating that.
Anyway, ice isn't in a great place right now (nor is Mind - presumably Electric isn't, either, though I haven't played it enough to tell). Sonic doesn't do much to help the parts of Ice that aren't great and Traps has a learning curve to it and doesn't mesh well with some content.
That said... I'm surprised that those numbers, in general, line up with my own impressions of the different sets. It's also embarrassing that my level 50 controllers are three of the four most common pairings (and I'm leveling the fourth).
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I realized that mine needs a respec earlier as she has been languishing unplayed while I got a plant/nature and ill/rad to 50.
I don't have a specific build for you, but the two biggest shifts from live are:
Procs are very different. I honestly only understand the basics (don't put procs into toggles) but aside from that, you should probably research the topic for a high-end build.
Bonfire can be slotted with a knockback to knockdown converter to great effect. It becomes an all-star power when you do so.
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I am running an ill/rad right now and /rad is mainly just used for AM and debuffing AVs. Outside of AM, I dont find myself using the secondary for much on teams.
The truth is that controllers bloom really late. I didn't really start to enjoy mine until a bit into incarnates and IOs when it was really starting to sling out respectable damage. Up until then... it was alright, but nothing that impressive. You absolutely can't tell at level 8.
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I am really in to my illusion/radiation/fire controller right now. After incarnates and avout half IO'd, it does a lot of damage and solos easily.
Plant/nature is also exceptional. Mine isn't big on damage (in part because I didn't know what I eas doing when I made her), but just feels like a solid, all-around team character.
Thematically, I also enjoy my ice/storm character. Falling down is just silly and I like the idea that she'd be feared because fighting her ends up being embarassing.
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Based strictly on "I feel like I have controlled those enemies", my top picks are Earth and Plant. Earth offers some great powers with hard control and a ton of -DEF. Plant offers the best confusion ability I've used (admittedly, I haven't gotten Mass Confusion on my mind troller yet).
Ice would get in that list, but the cooldown on Ice Slick is just too long (though Arctic Air is really interesting once you get to a point where you can reliably use it and not run out of endurance).
Fire can end up on that list, but only because of KB>KD in Bonfire (which ends up being a bit better than Ice Slick from a "feel" perspective). Without Bonfire, Fire is one of the least controllery-control sets.
The two sets I don't feel in control with are Illusion and Gravity. I know they're both good for damage (especially on single targets), but I just don't feel like I can get stuff locked down with them on a regular basis. Mind may join that list, though I haven't gotten one to a high enough level to judge for sure.
My experience with Electric and Darkness is limited, so I'm not even going to put them on the list.
Speaking about specifics pairings:
My favorite pairing so far is Plant/Nature. Nature is a great set, and Entangling Aura adds some interesting hard control. Overgrowth is a great team buff that you can hit yourself with, too. You can also heal and provide +absorb, which is very nice for teams.
Another I'm using is Ice/Storm, though I don't recommend it for the (somewhat silly) reason that Freezing Rain makes you hyper-aware of the flaws in Ice Slick. Other than that, it's a decent enough combo, though a little slower than some due to cooldowns.
I'm also using the old standbys of Illusion/Radiation and Fire/Kinetics, and they both do exactly what you'd expect. Great, but definitely not new ground.
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I'll echo the feeling that controllers get a lot better as they level. As fire/kin and plant/nature, I felt like I got a lot stronger into the 20s and 30s. You stay fairly squishy, but that's to be expected. You also don't deal a lot of personal damage, but your control and support mean that teams benefit a lot from having you along.
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I'm no expert, by any means, but I can offer you some general insight.
You're not going to deal a lot of damage (especially at lower levels). Your primary is control and your secondary is support. Neither one of those is big on damage. You will work really well on a team, but solo is likely to be slow early on. Solo is relatively safe since you can lock down mobs pretty well, but you don't have the damage to capitalize on that. Controller sets tend to bloom late. I've done fire/kin and plant/nature, and both primaries really started to get good late in the 20s and into the 30s. I'm trying to level an Illusion/Rad controller right now, but sub-20, they're kind of thin.
That said, controllers are wonderful on teams. You're a support character and a potent one. You don't deal a lot of damage yourself, but you can lock down entire spawns pretty regularly. Your secondary lets you buff your allies or debuff your foes, too, which makes the whole process easier for your team as a whole.
I can recommend fire/kin for a more damaging/soloing character or plant/nature for a great buffing/support character. The highlight of fire is bonfire now that you can turn its KB to KD. The highlight of plant is the confusion spray (which will confuse a whole spawn for almost a minute once you've got your sets going) and the tentacles, too.
I hear illusion/radiation is a great soloing set, but, as I said above, it takes a few levels for that to be true (probably up till you get Phantom Army).
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I want the defense because I'm using Hot Feet in an offensive capacity, getting in really close and then letting lose PBAoE fear, bonfire and hot feet.
So, I farm sometimes on my Fire/Kin and as long as you're not facing a lot of AVs, you can flip that order to dramatically lower your need for defense. Start by throwing out bonfire (with KB>KD slotted), then fire cages. With your foes locked in the "hell of falling down while on fire", you're going to face few attacks as you run in and start grinding your Hot Feet against their faces. For farming, this works best on maps with tight clusters of foes with a bit of separation between them like the Battle Maiden map.
I'm currently running Fire/Kin/Fire with fire shield, tough, weave, and maneuvers for defenses, though I'd like to reduce (and eventually eliminate) the need for Tough and Weave. It's not amazingly fast, but I can do +2/x8 barely slotted.
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My plant/nature controller is in her low 30s and finally has her Fly Trap. A couple of notes which are probably strictly useful for lower levels (and will get overshadowed by IO set bonuses in several of these cases):
1) Seeds of Confusion is a great power. Slot it for accuracy and recharge so you can use it on every spawn.
2) Lifegiving Spores has an endurance component that is super-useful while leveling. Slotting it to increase the endurance modifier is very welcome on teams (and is a lot more useful than the health regen, really).
3) Wild Growth's +resist component is more important than the rest of it while lower level (since very few people are near the cap). Slot it for resist damage and recharge reduction. You can achieve near-perma with level 25 recharge reduction IOs.
4) Vines and Carrion Creepers are both great, but suffer from really long recharge times. Slot them heavily for reducing. Vines also definitely wants accuracy. Also, you probably want to add a /bind to make creepy tentacle references when you use Creepers. What? That's just me?
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I'm also part of the "slot level 25 IOs at level 22" crowd. Funding this by turning a few merits into converts and selling those on the AH works fine. Selling rare salvage also works.
Though... I recently discovered how great it is to have a character that knows how to craft IOs. If you take the basic IOs and craft enough of them, you get merits that let you "memorize" the formulas. This means that you can craft that IO again without needing a recipe and it cuts the base inf cost of the crafting. You still have to buy the ingredients from the AH, but the actual cost to you is much, much lower. For details, see here: Paragon Wiki Link
Yes, you're probably just as well or even better off just taking that character and farming for more inf to throw at the auction house with the same amount of time, but I like to feel like I'm saving money.
Once you hit 50 a few times, you'll have the influence to start slotting in the important sets for your character earlier, but if you're a new player, I'd just stick with basic IOs.
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This is helpful for me as I'm running Plant/Nature and finding it really hard to not take all of the powers (which means slots are really tight). I agree that you can skip the ST immobilize, the sleep, and the tree (Lifegiving Spores is much better, as far as I can tell).
It plays like a healer that also has a lot of control, which I like a lot.
In any case, I think I'm going to try out a fairly similar build, but without Boxing/Tough/Weave. Obviously more squishy, but those powers are pretty boring and expensive.
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I tried running all of the mission arcs as they came. To accomplish that on Homecoming, you have to kind of know what level things happen at and then turn off experience repeatedly. That was... a bit too much trouble for me. I'd rather get to 50 and run everything as flashbacks.
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I just hit level 50 on my Fire/Kin/Fire Controller last night, so I haven't gotten deep into the end game. My general experiences are pretty well in line with what you're saying here. I know my build isn't the best, but that's mainly because I "wasted" some power picks getting flight + afterburner to get around town faster. I'll probably yank that out at some point and put Cinders in again (I'm terrible about using PBAoEs like that and realized it wasn't likely to hurt much to leave it out until I got better at playing the character).
In any case, a couple of comments/thoughts:
1. Fire Imps are like really hyper small children with no self preservation instincts. I frequently find myself looking around and asking "where did the imps go?" while hoping that they aren't aggroing every pack on the level (which only happens sometimes). They can be difficult to get to start fighting (since they like to hang back), but once they do, they will range quite a distance. I've considered theming a character after a "kindergarten teacher from hell", but it seems like a lot of work for the three little brats.
2. Bonfire is best slotted with Sudden Acceleration's KB to KD proc. It makes the power absolutely hilarious and pairs well with Fire Cages to keep all of your foes in one spot. As long as you're not dealing with AVs, you should be able to lock down spawns this way without much trouble. Start with Bonfire, then throw in Fire Cages and dump the kitchen sink on top of them while they're constantly falling down. Even better, it sticks around a long time and I've had many ambushes run straight into it while the team was dealing with the next pack. It doesn't take a lot to get the recharge down below the duration, either.
3. If you're slotting Sudden Acceleration into Bonfire, that means you can still use the Summer Blockbuster (Overwhelming Force)'s KB to KD enhancement on a different power. This is important because that IO includes a chance to generate KD in a power that doesn't normally. Being a Universal Damage set, it slots into most attack powers, including your Imps which give even more chances to knock things down.
4. Since you're already taking the Speed pool, it can be fun to take Super Speed and slot a Celerity: +Stealth IO into it. This makes you very hard to spot and makes it easier to position yourself just so before tossing out the pain.
5. On the bad side, I found some EBs to be very, very difficult on a fresh 50 with only a few sets slotted (and the rest regular IOs). I died quite a few times to the pair in the alien base in one of the middle missions where you unlock your Alpha slot, and I'm still not entirely sure why. The AV at the very end died easily (well, with some kiting), but those two were murder, even while popping inspirations.
6. I find solo on the character pretty painful up until level 26 when Bonfire becomes available. Level 32 with Imps is even better. Those are probably the two break points that seemed most significant in leveling. I didn't end up with Hot Feet until I respecced in the mid 40s and didn't really miss it (I die enough in missions as it is).
Patch Notes for September 10th, 2019
in Patch Notes Discussion
Posted
I'm quoting myself because I've had some time to mull over my feelings (and become less fatalistic). I still don't like the change or the effects of it, but there's something more fundamental at play here that I want to express as clearly as I can:
Homecoming has been up for months now. You have a percentage of the current player base that never played on live. You have a percentage of the player base that played on live a little but never saw most of the content or quit a long time ago (I count myself in this group). You have a percentage of the player base that was active at the end of live, but now after several years don't have strong memories of a lot of it. For many of these people, Homecoming is CoH, not live.
Thus, I urge the devs to take care with "fixing" long-standing bugs. For someone with a strong attachment to live, it's a simple fix, but for someone without that attachment, it can feel like a dramatic change.