biostem

Can... can I just get a version of energy blast w/o the KB in every attack? Elec is ok, but it's not the same, and I don't wanna play a WS to get a janky version of the blasts. Heck, I'd even settle for being able to use the energy blast animations on other blast sets, at this point...

How about a /ninjitsu scrapper? You get the best of both worlds, (and a superior version of ninjitsu, IMO). You can be sneaky, but also good in a stand-up fight, (better, again, IMHO)...

I think it sparks an interesting thought experiment as well - is a character's "origin" even worth mentioning if how they function in the now is based upon something else? When Stark lost access to his armor and operated as "The Mechanic", where he had to use his wits and intellect instead of relying on his armor? Heck, you could argue that Dr. Strange had to rely more on his own intelligence and perseverance in order to even get into the mindset where he could accept that magic was real and start to learn, (or maybe he would have taken to it faster if he weren't so smart/set in his ways)...

Gone to the Americans or /jranger?

I would say that, beyond the general "player fiat" type of declaration, that it depends upon how much "skill" is required to use that tech. For instance, Iron Man is tech not just because it's a suit of powered armor, but also because Stark can't really do much (combat-wise) without said technology, whereas someone like the Winter Soldier was a capable fighter before his augmentations, and it doesn't really matter what weapons he uses. Similarly, Batman, while indeed utilizing a dizzying array of gadgets, still requires a lot of skill and training (natural ability) to do so. I mean, in Iron Man 3, Pepper had the Extremis implant applied to her and suddenly became a good fighter, and in End Game, she had her Rescue suit, and I'm pretty sure she neither developed nor had extensive training. Heck, Rhoadie in Iron Man 2, had, AFAIK, zero practice with the suit but was able to pick things up rather quickly. I suppose, in short, it's a very flexible definition. Heck, I've used natural origin for "digital beings" because their abilities are inherent to what sort of entity they are. Even a robot could conceivably be "natural", since, from their perspective, their training and abilities are the result of the form they exist in. Now, if that very same robot built all sorts of augmentations for themselves, or were otherwise provided with such accessories, then I'd say they were "technology" in origin...

IIRC, KB powers include some distance calculation as to just how far they knock the target back, so why not utilize that to determine how much additional damage is dealt?

Counter proposal; All powers used by everybody across all servers knock back whatever character @Snarky is playing, (with those KBs queued up in the event that he's not logged in at the time).

If people joined, knowing that it wasn't going to be a speed run, and they went off on their own anyway, then that is definitely a dick move on their part. That being said, people may not be aware of the actual time requirement for the TF, or perhaps they just want to get credit/rewards for the WST, and yours was the first announcement they saw. I guess what I'm getting at is that some people see these longer, older TFs as something you just have to "get through", and all other impediments be damned...

"Ever" is doing a loooooot of work in that sentence...

I would also suggest that you perhaps go create the character on another server, just to have the name there, and perhaps consider some slight variations of the name, (even adding an apostrophe, period, or perhaps some adjective before or after could work).

In general, I agree. The problem is that, (at least from my perspective), we really haven't gotten to a point where we've moved beyond the "Batman has Gotham, Superman has Metropolis, Flash has Central City, and each stays in their lane, until a truly world-ranging threat appears", phase of any DCEU; They try to put the cart before the horse, and essentially sabotage themselves - Give each character enough, well, "character" to stand on their own, and only once each is well established, should you start doing crossovers. instead, they want to rush toward that promise of a $1 billion blockbuster...

Besides not being a fan of PvP, I just don't like the art style. I cannot fault anyone else for liking it, but for me, I'd much rather the older isometric/top-down games like alliance. Also, I want to play MY character, not some premade...

Not if you're trying to open up with a heavy attack, especially if you're trying to take out some particularly tough or dangerous enemies. In YOUR opinion, but my point still stands; 4 > 2. So you're admitting that savage requires more thought/planning/steps to utilize than spines, which is another point in its favor.

Only when rage is on, and there's a crash associated with that, not to mention that it has an AoE that does NO damage. Lower burst damage and there's there 'exhausted mechanic". No build-up, no exotic damage type. Trades burst damage for sustained damage. 2 AoEs vs spines' 4. 3 AoEs vs Spines' 4, with 1000 cuts having a fairly long animation in its own right, and all lethal damage.

Not at all; As I've said multiple times already, spines trades ST damage for AoE. Nothing more, nothing less.

I do not believe calling out a specific person in the forums, even in the server appropriate sub-section, is the way to go. Use the command @ZemX posted to find their global chat handle, then send a polite email or try to send a tell to them in-game, and see if they would be willing to change their name, but do not go into this assuming you are any more entitled to it than they are...

Well, sure - against fewer than, say, 3 opponents, any AoE will be a waste. That being said, it is, like many things, a tradeoff - worse ST performance in exchange for better AoEs. I don't dispute the general sentiment that there are many attacks, (not just in spines), that should have their animations shortened. That being said, perhaps focus on a ST set if you want better ST performance, instead of trying to turn an AoE set into one...

You literally said "prestige sprints", and neither ninja run nor athletic run are those. Regardless, I have not noticed any "whispy speed trails" on athletic run, but if they do in fact exist, then, sure, offer a "no fx" version of that...

It kind of sounds like a combination of shield charge and Omega Maneuver, all in 1, and with you teleporting away from instead of toward the enemies. It's not a bad idea, but without the taunt built in to Omega Maneuver, it'd need to go off light right away, lest the enemies move away from it...

That's pretty big, though, and since it's paired with an armor set, that's easily 2 damage auras, and IIRC the few tests I ran w/ the combat tracker back in the day, they contribute a significant part to the overall damage dealt. It still has more ways of delivering damage to multiple enemies than other melee sets, and also applies debuffs with nearly every attack. I still don't see it as underperforming...

Isn't spines whole schtick, besides the less resisted toxic damage, that it has a lot of AoEs? Seems kind of contrary to that, to *also* give it powerful ST attacks. Compare spines to energy aura, which barely has 2 AoEs, (one being a cone).

The ninja run and athletic run powers are more stance-related than them having "FX", and athletic run was specifically added as a "No FX" alternative to ninja run, that uses a regular running animation. The prestige sprints specifically exist as versions of sprint with other FX added. I can see no reason why this would be needed, unless you were using them as mules for various IOs, (which, IMO, is against their intent).

Veteran levels =/= Actual character levels. They don't directly contribute to character performance, (besides periodically providing resources to craft incarnate stuff, but even then, you stop getting those periodic rewards after like veteran level 99 or something). All it represents is that person continued to play that character past level 50...

That reminds me about a joke involving roses on a piano...

Then I see no issue... It's good to have options.