biostem

If you want a more specific breakdown, let's start with what the 2 sets have in common: 1. PBAoE heal. 2. Ranged single-target ally-only heal. 3. Another ranged, single-target ally-only heal, but heals for more and deals some damage to you, while also preventing you from healing yourself for a short while. 4. Rez power 5. Ally-only mez protection Where they diverge: 1. Empathy has the 2 "RAs"; Recovery Aura and Regeneration Aura 2. Pain Dom has Soothing Aura (HoT) or Suppress pain (PBAoE +regen) 3. Pain Dom has World of Pain, which is a PBAoE +dmg, +tohit, +RES 4. Empathy has Fortitude, which is a single target ally +dmg, +tohit, +DEF There are more differences as well - check the links in the 1st response I gave for a full breakdown...

In general, Empathy is more defensively-oriented, while Pain Domination is more offensively-oriented.

If you chose a non-flesh tone color for the skin, you could make the secondary color of the bone boots & gloves match that color, so it looks more organic/integrated...

I kind of feel like "Ninjas" would better describe the various stealth/infiltration/assassination units that various factions have; The Knives or Artemis do it through extensive training, Arachnos does it through psychic powers, and so on, rather than a faction on its own...

It also allowed them to have the rather questionable cybernetics successfully grafted to their bodies in the first place. From the WIKI: "The drug in question was an experimental physical booster program developed for the military. The compound warped and expanded their bodies over the period of just a few hours, giving them superhuman physical attributes, incredible pain tolerance and a powerful narcotic buzz. It also allowed them to expand their own abilities beyond the physical boost the serum provides. Cybernetic enhancements are a relatively new and untested innovation, and few people's bodies can handle the experimental limb and organ replacements. The regenerative properties the super serum provides allow Freakshow members' bodies to handle the implants with relative ease."

I'm pretty sure all the Freakshow are cyborgs, and cannot simply take off their armor. As for Dr. V, can he take that flesh suit off, or is he sewn into it?

I meant "mutants" in the sense of getting their powers through a mostly natural process, as opposed to something induced by an animal bite or exposure to some serum/ray/radiation...

There are +range set bonuses already. TBH, I think the LotG global recharges have spoiled a lot of people. In the grand scheme of things, +range is probably a lot less OP...

Granted, but then why, outside of that collection of "rogues" in CoV, do we have hardly any tights & capes groups? Heck, besides the Outcasts, we don't even have any mutant-like groups...

Maybe I'm missing something, but besides the PPD Power armor Corps and perhaps some Arachnos units, there doesn't seem to be many groups using powered armor. Cybernetics and various mutagenic agents seem far more common. Is there a particular reason for this in-universe, or is it more of a general design choice?

I really like Sentinels. I've gotten many to 50 thus far, and it's even gotten me to expand my interest to SoAs. I'm currently leveling a Widow, but I think I like my "Crabbermind" better...

My point of contention is that pretty much everything can be addressed by fiddling with the numbers. The proposed cat 5 too powerful? Lower the damage or proc rate. The dust devil and water spout, in their original form can't be targeted? Adjust it so they can. The hardest part, as far as I can tell, is creating *new* art assets, and if the HC devs can create a wholly new pet in the form of the reverberant, then they should be able to make the dust devil/water spout targetable...

But you don't *know* that. You have no basis to make the statement that existing NPCs need only be adjusted to become MM pets. All you have is your guess, as educated as it may be.

Has the HC team created *any* new MM primaries? AFAIK, no. As such, what is your basis for saying that "using existing defeatable mobs as the base helps streamline the creation process"? We have zero precedents to work from, here... All of which could be easily adjusted. As i stated multiple times, a pet-empowered Cat 5 could/would still be less than Gang War...

Why would you think that these proposed MM pets couldn't be attacked? You'd really only be using their character model. Do you honestly think that Cat 5, even with pets being able to trigger the special effects, would be more OP than Gang War? Have you played storm blast?

All of which could be addressed by adjusting the powers referenced. None of this would be a straight copy-paste of their original versions. I mean, Necromancy gets life drain at level 8, whereas other characters have to wait at least until level 22. With a mastermind's damage scale, Cat 5 could absolutely be adjusted to be balanced, especially considering it'd be up against the likes of Gang War...

I would really diversify the pets: T1: Dust Devil (As per Scirocco's power) Water Spout (As per the Leviathan Mastery power) Fireball (Per the Animus Arcana NPC) T2: Lightning Storm (Animus Arcana) Cloud of Ice (Animus Arcana) T3: Magmite Lord (As per the Minions of Igneous NPC) Then the Mastermind's personal attacks would be: 1. Encase (Seismic blast) 2. Hydro Blast (Water blast) 3. Fireball (Fire blast) And their "special ability" would be a modified version of Category Five from Storm blast - using your own attacks, or attacks made by your minions within the storm can trigger the special effects, like lightning strikes, and so-forth.

The update to mercenaries is quite good.

Maybe we need "The Interwebs" as a contact...

Dumb question, but how does the game track "on the ground", and is it capable of, say, calculating "10' from the ground" instead?

Here's the problem with that logic - you never have to reload your firearms, replenish your arrows, can use fire attacks while in the water, and so on. If we're going for realism, then do so across the board and more consistently, If not, then let players use their powers freely...

Unless powers that require the enemy or player be "on the ground" have a significant bonus to compensate for that requirement, I say get rid of the restriction altogether...

The only thing likely to get me to PvP would be to either: A. Introduce a PvP mode that relies solely on a special build with only SOs or some equivalent, with no IOs, temp powers, accolades, or anything else - just your build against mine, with no advantage for having "deep pockets" or the time to farm / grind content. and/or B. A form of "Indirect PvP", where you and your team defend your base or area against waves of NPCs, I defend mine, and the winner is whoever holds out longer or achieves some goal, without us every directly fighting.

I do not believe that it would be possible for any individual or group to wholly arrive out of nowhere - they would pretty much have to come from some existing group; They could be a new faction of an existing group or otherwise have ties to them - sort of like the Knives of Vengeance coming from the Knives of Artemis and the Talons of Vengeance...

There are only so many "players" within the world of CoH. By "players", I mean forces that pose a threat, either on a local or global/universal/multi-dimensional scale. There are many potentially untapped plot ideas that could utilize already existing factions. It doesn't have to be confined to "steal dangerous artifact" or "build doomsday weapon", either. I wouldn't want new random stuff added just because you or the devs are bored, and it would make more sense for new stuff to tie back into what we already know...