Greycat

Yes. I did love having hover, doing /em *flips you off for trying that* and reporting the people who were doing that. (I want to say that was before they set it so you could not die from fall damage from full health, but would end up with 1hp.) Just as annoying were the people teleporting others into guard towers.... you'll note they have openings to walk out of now.

Wow. Let's just unpack this. "Literally everyone uses this power" - prove it. I'm also making the assumption that by "everyone" you're intending to say "it is put on the majority of characters," not "every user has hasten on at least one character," as that's weasel-wording things. "Except a few people who refuse to out of spite or protest." - Nice of you to assume you know my motivations. I don't take hasten on the majority of my builds because I don't want to. I don't need it. So, word of advice, don't shoot yourself in the foot and sound like rather an arrogant cur by making statements like this. "Because they're pretty much obligated to in order to be viable" - No, they aren't. Every powerset is perfectly viable without hasten. I have played literally hundreds of powerset combinations. You know how many needed hasten to be "viable?" Zero. Hasten is a "nice to have" power in some instances. That is it. (That link is from live, and incomplete as I had multiple sets. That does not count the characters here, either, obviously.) (Currently, across all servers I have about 80 characters. The majority on one server - 75. Remove two that are base builders or NPCs - 73. Of them, I have it on... possibly two. And I'm considering removing it on one since it's rarely used. Know how many are not "viable?" Zero.) "Or to compete with other players who do have it." Unless you're in PVP, this is not a competition. You don't have to compete with anybody. "This means not only one less power that everyone could be taking but also one less power pool everyone can choose from." Well, not everyone takes it, so personal choice is personal choice. " Kind of a steep price for something so ubiquitous." It's the same price as any other power, pool, primary, secondary or ancillary. "The last time something like this happened, it was with the Fitness power pool, and they eventually reworked that entire pool to be automatically granted to all players." Specifically *Stamina* was taken by a majority of players (and it really was a majority at that time.) AND that required not one power (like Hasten,) but *three* to be taken (sprint/leaping/health - two of three as a prereq.) Hasten, again, does not. It's a very low cost choice if someone wants (note, not needs) it. "There's no reason to not make Hasten an inherent power. " Yes there is. It's not as needed as you say, and I don't want the side effects (from having to make costuming choices to avoid glowy hands to having to change slotting to deal with the endurance issues of having powers trigger faster in the low to mid game) of it. There are other ways to get more recharge if desired, given IOs, which makes Hasten even *less* "required" than you wish to portray it as.

Funny that he mentions this while I type the above. Yes, I remember *very* well asking NOT to be buffed with the original Sonic (because it caused headaches) and having people intentionally do it, who *quite obviously* heard the request. That should be reported to a GM and acted on, because that's not "funny."

Poked around and found this thread referenced from another. Yeah. I pretty much was *very* loud and fought... since sonic resonance was on beta to get those animations (well, graphics) changed, because I heard *every night* I played with my SG just how it was affecting people. I have friends who get bad migraines and had this trigger them every...single...time. *I* don't get migranes and it was giving me a headache. I was even told by BAB that it couldn't be fixed (or that they wouldn't or some such. I don't remember the wording, just that it rather... annoyed me, to where I was ready to leave the game.) I argued that often and for what felt like years. Then the current animations came out. Relief for everyone... except one person. What *really* annoyed me - and part of what prompted me to post was your friend's experience with people *trying* to give them siezures (who, frankly, if they're doing it with foreknowledge? Should be jail time, as far as I'm concerned,) was the number of people making fun of the people who *actually* had problems. If there was ever a time I was disappointed in the COH community, that was it. And the "Orange gives me migranes" (which they admitted to others that, no, they were just not liking the shields.) All their BS almost drowned out one person who *actually did have a physiological problem with it* - which, while I'm not happy they did, it turned out that's how they finally went to a neurologist and got diagnosed. (They'd apparently also had an episode of... whatever it was, I don't remember now - because of the opening of the movie Saw, as I recall.) So, if Keen says they have a problem with it, I'll believe them until I have reason not to. And yes, for me personally, I keep wondering just what the hell attacked me, too. (Especially if we're dealing with enemies with electric attacks.)

The truth is more in the middle. If you need a certain file type of a certain format, it's possible that no, the person doesn't know how to get *specifically* that. An OGG file? Try to hunt down something that might not be intuitively named in a PIGG viewer? No. However, if someone creates a thread and says "Download this transparent graphic. It will be named this. Put it in this folder," more people would try it. Not everyone - I do tech support, I have people utterly baffled by "read this information off the screen," who still call the monitor the "computer" and the like, but they're great in their fields. I would *not* call them "unwilling to try." Computer-related (or generally tech-related) things are just *foreign* to them, and you know what? When they're done dealing with patients or whatever and they go home and decide they want to just play a game and not have to learn directory structures, file types and other "esoterica" *I* enjoy - that's fine. Hell, *I'm* getting to the point where I want to not have to care about it, and I do this for a living and have done it as a hobby for decades now.

I don't, because I generally don't care about "builds." I don't try to perma-this or softcap-that. My builds tend to be "organic" - slots go where they go when I get them with what it looks like I need now or in the near future. Yes, sometimes there's a set in mind, but not a grand overall plan. I have tried "builds" a time or two and it just never felt like *my* character, no matter how much I played them.

As a side note... you can't change the color of someone else's buffs/effects. Plus, that doesn't look like what the OP was asking (mentioning specifically Leadership, with the little graphics that swirl around showing acc and def buffs.) It's *probably* possible to do something with replacing it locally, but I don't know what or with what (or what it would break.) This would only affect you.

Nope, that also screws up gameplay if a mastermind is trying to position themselves using TP while sending their pets elsewhere. And that mention of masterminds was only *one* use case. I'll point out that it was useful enough we have a much wider area version of it in the Incandescence incarnate power tree. Again, removing powers tends to be *bad.* The Recall/TP Foe gets a pass on that because it's combining versus actually removing.

To be fair, that's pretty much just +def. Tack on the +status resist bonuses in sets. Also, for the +res in Phase Shift - and it's rare enough I don't actually recall - was the change actually *implemented* to let phased entities fight each other? Still would be fairly rare.

They were disabled in part due to the changes in base editing. Honestly, the base editors and bases *themselves* are a little fragile as I recall. I'm not sure having a "PVP switch" (to disable doing things like, oh, turning on noclip and putting the generators outside your base's floor or in a room with no doorways) wouldn't break a thousand other things. 🙂

I do not want inherent Hasten. I do not want it on my control or support powersets. It is not necessary, and I almost never take it. I do not want the (already described) power creep. Absolute *disagreement* with that. But I went into that on the other thread. WIth that out of the way: Part of the issue is relying on undeveloped IO sets. I wouldn't *mind* seeing other sets come up - I think we might see -res before "placate sets," given *just* how limited and specialized Placate use is (and I'm not sure I'd want to have to start thinking about "slotting placate." 1. Concealment - "Intangible." I'm assuming you're talking about Phase Shift, with this affecting you outside the 30s window. Eh. No real argument. Though you have it listed as "only effective while intangible," which is... fairly wasted, I'd think. It would come into play so rarely that, at best, it becomes a set mule. 2. Flight - Group Fly. Part of the issue with this is it wearing off. Granted, part of the issue with the *current* Group Fly is that those doing the flying are a bit faster than those following, whether it's other players or MM pets. (There's a side issue of being lifted off the ground making you unable to use some powers.) Of course, people can fly "out of the bubble" and fall, too... I'd *lean* towards "group fly gives everyone the same flight speed" more than a change, but I'm not really invested either way. 3. Leadership - Rather than a straight up cost reduction, I think I'd rather see this get the Fighting attacks treatment. As you take more leadership toggles, you get more of a cost reduction - primarily due to this affecting support characters more. 4. Already talked about Speed. 5. Teleport - I get combining recall and tp foe. Not arguing over that, though it'd automatically trigger respecs on a lot of characters - likely bleeding over to Warshades, as well. However, just flat out removing team teleport... Don't remove a power. I *do* see this used (primarily with masterminds.) Don't remove the option to take it. (I've mentioned before, the devs on live tried that once with "unused" ("rarely" used) powers when revamping patron pools and practically had a mob form, pitchforks, torches and all. Thus, we now have five powers in pools.)

THAT type of play is not "Empathy needs fixing." That sort of play is either (A) "I'm on a Mothership raid and it brings my machine to a 10-seconds-per-frame slideshow, so at least auto'd I'm helping" or (B) "I'm lazy." (Even when I *am* soloing, HA is not on auto. I don't want to waste the endurance, nor do I want it firing just *before* I get hit.) Honestly, a lot of what you're looking at (for base effects, tnot the chains) as far as soloing is already "fixable" by... having a second solo build. Don't take AP, CM, Fort, etc. Dip deeper into the pool powers, play with IOs (chance for +endurance, recovery/regen, etc. - play with converters) and as for mez protection, there are now (I believe) a couple of 4th or 5th power picks in some pools that grant it. Yes, I know "it costs inf." Inf only costs time (and a little smart selling.)

I would not call this a valid argument, given how many other "uber" builds require picking up powers just for set mules (recharge/bonuses.)

I will say this is part of why I don't play redside as much. I have more choices blueside - atlas to the hollows? Do i want to sweep Perez? KR? Do I stay in Atlas and try to do everything to 10-11 and start in STeel? What about skyway? Oh, look, Positron... Redside just... always feels same-y. (Among other things, which were gone into in another "why don't you play redside" discussion.) Which does contribute to the "ugh, this again, I don't want to play this alt then..." feeling.

Honestly, I think we need to get a list of these spots. I don't *think* we get smacked at Castle, for instance. But having (when they can) devs look at and maybe adjust some of the pathing wouldn't hurt. Either that or have the lasers "strongly prefer" the trainers over the people there training.

Oh, that's not bad. That's not bad at all... (and that old live listing is STILL missing some...) 🙂

Ahh, Repeat offenders. And the Green Machines. Always Fun.

I *want* to say no to that, given they're... items, basically, as far as I know, but a GM could have dropped some there. Or it might be in a mission somewhere?

You mention soloability. I tend to be perfectly happy with my Emps solo, specifically *because* of those "can't affect me" powers - it lets me dip into other powers I might not otherwise take to buff up offense or whatnot. As far as the changes? I'd hate to have healing aura be a toggle, period. I can use it when needed. If I want a toggle heal, I'll run Pain Domination. (Honestly, most of the time when I read these suggestions that come up for Empathy, the first thing that comes to mind is "You actually want to play pain domination." 🙂 It's got a different focus. ) Absorb Pain is... interesting. It already invokes a cost on the empath (*you* can't be healed for a time after using it, but it's a large ST heal.) I do like the idea of it granting some Absorb to HA (honestly, might as well put HO in there as a beneficiary too, in general.) I'm not sure if the "click an enemy and they're confused" thing would be good or bad... I'd hate to get the attention of something because of a misclick. RAs to auras... I don't think I'd like, personally. While teaming, to me, this would chain you to the "biggest clump." RIght now, I can fire them off, and if I see someone lagging (maybe fighting a rearguard action on an ambush,) run over and assist quickly. It sounds like you're sacrificing team utility for soloing. But that's just me.

Are you in a SG, or with a group you normally play with? If not, get one started. Not only will you get through the "I've seen it" content faster, but (for me, anyway) the back and forth with others lends its own spin to whatever you're playing.

Never a "Boring treadmill," and I"m never dissatisfied. I had multiple accounts and hundreds of alts on live. I don't think the game would have kept me around as long as it did if it *weren't* for alts. Having only 3-5 characters? Just a few powersets? Looking like everyone else? I've walked away from *that* in numerous other games. Ignoring the occasional base-builder character (typically a level 1 Peacebringer, because fly,) or RP-centric "practically an NPC," the characters that get concentrated on tend to have "something going on." Either part of a recurring group (SG, "super team," theme team, that sort of thing) or I have some sort of project or other reason to concentrate on them (like the one I just got to 50 - remake of my first 50 on live, she was going to be my first 50 here.) On occasion I'll set a goal - get all the lowbies up to X level. Get all that are in *this* level range to *that* level. Alternately, you can give yourself projects - on live, for instance, I did "one of each control set to 50." Or just enjoy them wherever they are. It's not a race, and the only person whose judgement matters is your own.

I'm well aware of it. Not everyone has fly, or a jetpack. Or wants them. One of the incredible things about this game is *options* in what you take or what you want. And while *I* am aware of it, *not everyone is.* Not everyone is even aware of the P2W vendor, given the number of times it's asked about in help.

Not everyone has fly, those that do run the risk of getting smacked by a dropship, and if you're on a lower level, fighting them is... not particularly fun. (Yes, they "scale." They don't do it well.) Yes, I'm focusing more on the experience at lower levels here. There's a reason these don't spawn in Atlas, after all. Upper levels? Well, I tend to keep Ghost Falcon's unlock mission around because that *is* enjoyable - attacking hordes of Rikti on demand.

So, for me, the Nemesis invasion event is one of the least interesting, least "put together" events of all the invasions. It's not that engaging, it's mostly "Oh, look, nemesis are spawning on top of me." For the "master planner" that Nemesis is supposed to be, it's... just a disappointment. It doesn't feel like you're fighting, or have fought off, an invasion - it feels like just another spawn writ large. Essentially, it feels like a GM was asked to "spawn some nemesis" and just wrote a script so they could get some fresh coffee made while it ran. I'd like to see these beefed up and made interesting with elements similar to the Rikti invasion and Halloween banner event. First, the whole "getting there and delivering troops." The Rikti have dropships. Nemeiss also has a troop carrier - mole machines. Now, these are kind of annoying in (I think it's) Black Scorpion's (?) patron arc since they're just giant bags of HP that take a while to wear down. So, let's give them a purpose that also affects the zones (and the troops.) MOLE MACHINE: 1. Has squad of troops defending it. (Standard Nemesis.) 2. Deploys from 2-4 Nemesis "specials" within 100 yard. Nemesis Specials are: a. About the HP of a Rikti bomb. b. Similar to a bomb, defeating (or doing significant damage) gives credit towards a badge. c. Generators of effects - Mole Machine health, Hero damage/acc/def/resist debuff (Destruction reverses the effect and gives a small *buff* to whatever was affected up to 5% while event is active, to some cap) Nemesis troops buff. (Effects go away on destruction.) 3. There are a set number of mole machines that deploy within the first 5 minutes (time is really just a placeholder.) The machines themselves *also* have a small zone-wide effect. 4. At the end of the timer, if all mole machines have been destroyed, a main Nemesis device is revealed as having been under construction. Similar to the old Paladin, you have a few minutes to keep it from being built. Device types vary - dip into Nemesis lore for it - weather machine, chemical bomb (debuff/damage,) some sort of "control the zone" item (no actual control effect, or at most a minor one - draws minion/lt NPCs within 300 yards to assist Nemesis.) - If they have not been destroyed, the machine is there, as is a gloating Nemesis/Fak to fight. Destroy the machine. - If the machine is built, a mole machine arrives with Nemesis. Fight. 5. If all mole machines are destroyed, an enraged (add buff) Nemesis/Fake Nemesis arrives with an army from one last mole machine. Fight and defeat. Of course, mobs still do the random spawn after some point (after the mole machine phase?) giving those who want to avoid it some warning to get out of the zone. I'd think this would feel more like an invasion and *event,* (with appropriate badges/temp powers/whatever) versus the current "oh. We're randomly spawning Nemesis mobs and some text" that we have now, and would make things more enjoyable - as well as more avoidable for those that want to skip the event and "just get to their mission/trainer/etc." While ti borrows some ideas from the other events, it also gives it its own lore-related flavor.

Wouldn't argue with that.