Greycat

For the most part back on live, we didn't have 2xp boosters. And depending on when (as in year, not time,) leveling could have been insanely slow. So 2xp weekends were... more welcomed there. Here? 2xp is a brief stop to click something at a vendor. The only time 2xp (or 125 or 150%) isn't available is when the servers are down for maintenance. Any "specialness" of it is, frankly, nonexistent. I ended up hearing "oh, and it stacks!" and ... just shook my head. I have alts. Tons of them. So I'm aware of leveling lesser used characters. And frankly I'm avoiding playing certain characters because... I don't have 2xp on them and don't want their XP boosted. They'll be at 50 fast enough. I look at this weekend being a thing and just have to ask "why?" New powersets? Others were released and didn't have it. And again... 2xp is available 24/7 for those who want it, while those who don't can ignore it and level normally - versus "Twice the XP or none at all," which is the choice foisted on everyone on these weekends. If 2xp weekends in the current climate are going to be a thing, then pair it with the availability of -50% XP tokens so those who want a normal leveling experience can have that versus the choice of "Deal with it or don't play."

Way too overpowered. 😉

I don't tend to like forced respecs, honestly. VEATs have a *really* forced respec at 24 when you "pick your path," and I absolutely *hate* that. (You have to do it on secondary builds, too.) I really wish we could just 'pick the path' at level 1 and just keep going. It's my biggest gripe with the VEAT ATs. I don't mind doing respecs if I need to. They're tedious, but eh. It's like washing the car or taking out the groceries. And I generally don't plan to respec - to me, for the most part, the power choices and levels are part of a character's story. Improvments? Yes. There are plenty... and years upon years of suggestions 😄

No, they should not.

I'm assuming you mean "for the person using it" and not "for the affected target," to be clear. Been brought up before - I think *I* did as a joke at some point regarding psy blast, even. My only real... gripe? about it is that you'd still be affected by casting time. Also - Would you be looking at removing the animation as well? While it might be "suitable" for some characters, I *suspect* they'd get kind of boring to play in such an action/graphics heavy game. *Especially* if you're talking removing animation... walk, stop, look at someone for a second, walk, stop, look at someone. (Edit - this being more for control/attacks/etc rather than armor, generally.) *shrug* I probably wouldn't use it, one way or the other, but wouldn't be bothered all too much by it being an option.

I wouldn't call "plants" an element, and might argue "water" is covered by ice... not that I'd argue that hard, but it kinda-sorta is. 🙂 It's a low level group, but there is room for more, I'd agree. As far as the look? They're a low level mutant gang. Just a step above the skulls (jeans and jean jackets, or leather) and Hellions (more jeans/jackets/vests.) and even/below the warriors (at least Talos level- jeans, vests, T-shirts) - even the Freaks are basically jeans and T-shirts. So I'd call it appropriate, for the most part, though a graphical update might not be out of place where some extra variety is added. (I'm not sure if I'd find it more amusing to have an Ice user in a winter coat year round or swim trunks...)

As I recall - granted it's been a while - on at least some of them, your powers are *replaced* as well. It may be tied to this. I don't really care about the numbers one way or the other, but as far as "move and award another," what would really be the point other than "award another badge?" All you have to do is "keep playing." 10 isn't that big a deal. If we were talking 150 raids or something to get them? Then maybe. But 10? Doesn't take that long.

Well. I like sets already having a weakness (and hate the thought of them losing that and homogenizing the game,) so at times I already aim for this - or do so in slotting or something. So, yes. Even without a corresponding buff of some sort. If it fits the character, I'd absolutely give them a weakness. I tend to find the "I recharge everything in 1-2 seconds, do a quadrillion damage and have so much defense that if something tries to hit me, it hits itself instead" boring as hell.

... or because that was the *predominant way teams ran.* It was insanely boring, and for many teams if you tried to do *anything* else you got complained at and/or kicked. It was right on the list with "If you don't want to be bombarded with blind invites on your emp when you hit 42, go on hide" and "jump in a dumpster and spam burn." I didn't want "an efficient way to grind XP," I wanted to *play the game.* There was even *less* reason back then to rush to 50 - no Incarnates, no inventions, and if you wanted to run a lower level TF or mission, you had to hope someone ELSE was running it (and that you - or the person who was exemping you - didn't have a connection issue, or you'd be booted.) I don't wonder at all. >.>

Well, they were also planning on essentially *obsoleting* previous incarnate powers as the tree got higher.. .so yeah, good none of that happened.

Sorry, hadn't looked in for a bit. As far as willing seperation? Shadowstar's been passed down since Ancient Egypt. She talks about passing the mantle (and Kheldian half, after all) on to her daughter. Also, to combat the Nictus plan to forcibly take over the bodies of various people (politicians, the "elite," etc.) the Peacebringers merged with them, specifically to fight the Nictus - and the Nictus could not merge at that point, being surprised to find the PBs there. There's nothing there saying they were permanently merged. After all, even if it were to protect the would-be victims, that wouldn't make them *much* better than the Nictus themselves. And while it might stretch the definition of "willing," if we're looking past "and the host died," it's also mentioned the host *can* push out the Kheldian (well, the Nictus) with enough willpower. They wouldn't retain part of the Nictus. From the other side? The Council were using weakened captives as.. for lack of a better way of putting it, bed-and-breakfasts for the Nictus who came through the Cysts (mentioned in at least one story arc.) So the Nictus would also split willingly - or there'd be a *lot* more missing people serving like this. Shapeshifting - is a little weird, granted, as mass *does* change - but consider it basically comic-book-back-of-envelope understanding of energy/mass equivalence. The "Given by a live dev answer" to how Khelds travel interstellar distances, even with being energy (limited to the speed of light after all) and only a 10 year lifespan, involves mass change - they accelerate to near light speed in light form, then shift to Dwarf and have the sudden serious increase in mass basically punch them through a wormhole that gets created to get to where they need to be. Forms: No, they don't need to stay merged, they do remember the pattern. Yes, I expect this means Shadowstar could, theoretically, shift into hundreds of different prior hosts. (And maybe she does. Hard to "keep an eye out for a woman with dark hair" if you slip behind a building and come out as a tall man with blonde hair, after all.) Is there an upper limit to this? Unknown. (Personally, I'd say "probably likely," but where it is and if the complexity of the hosts comes into play... like it would take less "storage" to merge with and copy the shape of a sea sponge than an elephant. But that's 100% my supposition.) (And as far as "remembering how to shoot a blast from a tentacle," I'd call that less personalty and memory than... instinct that goes with the form? Otherwise they'd have to learn new ways to breathe in a radically different host, for instance.) Personality: There's some leeway here one way or the other. Yes, the Kheldians we meet do tend to merge their personalities - Sunstorm's human half tempered his Kheldian half, for instance. BUT. We don't know if this is a result of how long they've been merged, "conversations" between the two, etc. Going back to the people temporarily merged with to keep the Nictus from forcing themselves on it - having a bunch of powerful people undergo a sudden, possibly dramatic personality shift would be more than a little worrying. Again, personal view here, is that for them there wasn't as much of a personality shift as a "Guess what happened to me last Saturday" story. We *do* see that if a Kheldian and host are forcibly separated, it ... how can I put it - shatters the shared personality and leaves the host (and Kheldian, it seems) confused - the person we rescue in the Kheld arcs even says (paraphrased) "I'm not them, I'm not me, I don't know who I am." Once separated? You ask about an alien "taking" half the host's personality - they wouldn't be taking anything. They don't *remove* part of someone's personality - they're not running off having removed part of the host's brain. They *would* quite likely be changed by it. It's ... essentially the same way that if you live with someone for a while, you *will* change, like it or not - maybe something will make you more short tempered, maybe you'll have new interests, maybe you'll walk away knowing how to make a mean pasta primavera, but you will be changed. Same here with the host and Kheld (though the kheld, again, would have the hots's "pattern" if needed to shift into.) Does it make sense... It's internally reasonably consistent, and past that it's all comic book logic. *shrug* I like it though.

Divining Rod has met his fate and the name is free...

Drop the rule of 5 to the rule of 3 instead. Make the Alpha slot power's boost last through any exemping all the way to level 1 as your 'reward' for getting to Incarnate level, and lower (or disable) effects on other Incarnate powers in non-Incarnate content (example: severely dropping the Judgement target cap.) Develop the Blood of the Black Stream, at the *very* least as an enemy group with full storylines from 1-50+ on both sides. Make perma-ing powers more difficult and/or requiring a team's assistance. Have other Arachnos react to VEATs being around - either positively or negatively, or at the very least comment about them. Develop story arcs and other development for the various hazard zones. Massive usability update for the character select screen with more info, sorting options, etc. Have settings stick per machine for things like window placement, scaling, etc. so it doesn't alter what I see on my desktop if I log into a character on my laptop. More base editor love - stick parts into units that can be moved as one piece, duplicate pieces, more texture/tile sizes and options (making it easier to, say, make roads.) Music issue, from a prior suggestion. And yeah. more.

Never honestly felt a lack of AOEs on my MA stalker was an issue. I felt *more* hobbled by higher resistances to my damage type as I leveled, if anything.

*nitpick* It's what you find in the ship in Striga that the Council are, for whatever reason, trying to steal. WHY that, and a not very clear that as it's not named, I couldn't say. (Past just being a placeholder and ... future easter egg like the Avilian skull you find in one of Wincott's missions that also didn't pan out.) And why they hadn't been touched on when the Coralax were introduced - as they were (by memory, here) supposed to be a servant if not enslaved race to the Coralax, I don't know. That could be a whole other series of missions, NPCs and otherwise interesting interactions. (Also, availability wise, they're also in the Hollows. More likely for game reasons - IE, badges - than any lore, as they really don't fit.) As far as the OP... *shrug* do your own spin. There are a lot of myths and legends that don't show up in the game. We barely get mention of Egypt and its rich history and mythology, or China. Xibalba's not mentioned. Look at it as being a whole lot of canvas. Just expect to run into someone else who's also "from Atlantis," but has a very different concept of it and never saw you at the Atlantean coffee shop.