biostem

It ties back to the whole "selfish vs selfless" concept; Assuming you are not playing solo, should you take leadership powers that help you and your teammates vs ones that only help you? Are the buffs better/worse than alternatives? Do people skip these powers because they don't know or know better, etc?

From my understanding, the login server and actual shards are different "entities", and the login server hands you off to the appropriate server, once you have passed the initial verification. That process may utilize different ports, which your job/institution may then block, causing the error. Do you have access to a VPN that you could try?

Do you have your basters up front on one side and your melees on the other, attacking in different directions and at different groups? If so, then it does sound like everyone is soloing within the same instance, only caring about themselves. If so, and if that works for you, then so be it. If the mobs are as spread out as much as you say, then you are wasting a lot of AoEs and just slowing things down. I'm not saying you have to do old school dumpster-diving, but being so spread out seems inefficient. As I've said multiple times now, if it works for you, then fine. I'm not sure I would ever refer to stuff in-game as "real world", though...

You use the term "ought", but that doesn't equate to "does". So that 24-ish% means you're roughly mitigating half of the damage vs even-con enemies. That'd be less vs higher-con ones, but if we're making assumptions about people's builds, then if everyone had some +DEF from set bonuses, APPs/PPPs or other sources, then it definitely helps. It's sort of a "drop in the ocean" vs a "snowball effect" scenario. You have to start those buffs *somewhere*. A single 2% may not be a lot, but now add in buffs from 7 other people, (and from other sources, not use leadership), and then we're talking!

You are probably right, then. Then it sounds to me like you play more of a "we all solo, but it just so happens we are in the same instance" style. I'm glad that works for you.

Tankers get pretty good values from leadership, IIRC, (at least on tactics, anyway). You'll get no argument from me that the end costs are high. That being said, that cost can be mitigated. VEATs are an odd sort with regard to leadership, as they basically get better versions in their secondaries. Keep in mind that I also specifically mentioned stacking the buffs. I used to take assault more often, but given the maneuvers can also mule LotG, I've switched to taking that more often. Getting your teammates to stick together is another matter entirely, IMHO. If you're team can't or won't stick together, then that is a matter for that team to discuss/work out internally.

I want to start by stating that this topic is targeted toward people who team, so if you solo, please disregard. Secondly, if your primary or secondary already includes powers that grant buffs to your team, this is also less directed toward you. That being said, why don't more people take leadership? More specifically, I'm referring to maneuver and tactics - those defense buffs really add up, and the tohit buffs means more of your attacks connect, (both being crucially important on harder content). Is it just a matter of builds being that tight? Is it just a general lack of knowledge of how good these powers are, when there are multiple stacks? Is it not wanting to have yet more toggles to manage? Even on my characters that get lower values for these powers, I still find them immensely valuable. Thanks for reading!

Well, there are diminishing rewards for running the same trial or TF again within the same time frame. I wonder if people would be accepting of a system that, instead of returning fewer results on repeated runs of the same content, simply permitted X runs of *any* content at full value, then started reducing them from there, globally...

Bypass shards? No. But threads are much easier to come by, in my experience, and you can get 120 a pop from some vet levels. For some of my characters, that alpha ability is a real game-changer, so if I have a bunch of threads lying around, and in some cases, don't even have the other slots unlocked yet, advancing that alpha *now* over one of the other slot abilities later, is of more value to me...

It basically nixes any advanced shadow or other such effects. What I do is find a nice middle ground of texture quality and antialiasing, tweak draw distance, and change the option to show player names to only on selection or mouse-over. I will also remove that option for the initial character creation, so I can get a better look at what their costume will look like and to customize their powers. Either way, I'm glad you are able to play the game more smoothly now!

When you say "canonically dead", what canon source are you referring to? As far as I'm concerned, no body = not (permanently) dead...

It's not so much what they can unlock that's the issue, IMHO - it's that they could have adapted/expanded one of the existing currencies instead of introducing yet another one...

Truth be told, while I appreciate the devs adding new content, and have no problem with people wanting/playing harder content, I just do not have the kind of time availability to partake in a multi-hour TF the new ITF. I'm sure the time it takes will be cut down as people develop new and better strategies, but at the same time, I want to play MY character with the costume I created for them, not an NPC model. And even then, having to manage & track yet more currencies is one reason why it took me so long to delve into Incarnates...

I wouldn't go that far - I'd do what I thought Kenobi was gonna do - a Jedi keeping their head down, but still trying to make a difference. Since, at least according to the EU stuff, Windu skirted the line between the light and dark sides, have him fighting not to stray too far into the dark, but at the same time, while trying to not whip out the lightsaber at every opportunity, uses mind tricks, telekinesis, and so on, much more than his blade. Maybe have him relying on a cybernetic limb to compensate for the lack of the lightsaber, etc...

I'm still curious why they don't bring Sam Jackson back in and do a dark, gritty series about a now crippled Mace Windu making his way through Coruscant's grimy underbelly...

I don't understand the obsession with going backwards and creating shows/movies that "already happened", (prequels, interquels, etc) - is it a fear of trying something new?

I'll make the same suggestion I always do: Use the -usetexenvcombine launch parameter if you're running integrated graphics...

I think it's the steam or piston boots that have an effect when you land. The question is whether whatever checks for that can then force an animation on the entire character model, (as opposed to the simpler cloud of steam).

One I've been playing recently is a willpower/battle axe tanker, named "Revolutionary Axe", with a tricorne hat and cloak. It's quite the fun character!

I have had fantastic results with a radiation armor/savage melee tanker. There are 2 key things I've found with this combination: 1. Do NOT use savage melee attacks that consume your stacks of "blood frenzy", as they apply a recharge and end cost reduction bonus to you. I usually take fighting on these builds, and will mix in an attack with boxing or kick so I lose 1 stack, then use the other powers that consume blood frenzy when it is at 5 stacks, so I keep them instead. 2. Particle Shielding is your bread-and-butter, here. Besides the nice boost to absorb and regen, it also grants a significant recovery boost. While said buff can't be enhanced, if you combine it with stamina, gamma boost, and perhaps a couple of the unique IOs that also grant +end or +recovery, not to mention the aforementioned end cost discount from savage melee's blood frenzy, you are NOT going to tire EVER!!! A few final notes: I usually skip maiming strike and hemorrhage. I just don't find that they add enough to my attack chain, and my builds are pretty tight as-is. I like slotting a fury of the gladiator, chance for -RES in one of the AoE attacks. Beta Decay, since it applies a def debuff, can accept an achilles' heel, chance for -res as well. Also, while it does not deal any damage itself, can be slotted with something like the perfect zinger, chance for psionic damage proc.

I kind of feel like this would have to be implemented as a toggle power - perhaps a custom sprint-like power; I'm basing this off of how Ninja Run gives you different jumping behaviors and such.

The elec and fire APP have team heals, which is nice...

Have you considered a pedal bike and an inverter? (I'm surprised they haven't mass-converted all exercise bikes and treadmills to do this, at this point)

Do DJ Zero's powers extend to anything beyond creating and maintaining his pocket dimension, though? I mean, the actual DJ part of his occupation seems to be regular technology, and it's the whole pocket dimension that's the real feat...

The only issue is, if you look at the wings, they consist of a few "structural" pieces, then some textures/meshes that kind of stretch & warp as those structural pieces move. We really don't have pieces that articulate like would be needed. Even the mechanical wings only "deploy" as a fixed animation, then are static from then on. The only feasible option would be to replace the texture with one of a more mechanical/metallic appearance.