biostem

I still find it a bit cumbersome to figure out, myself, but this has some useful information...

I thought you vampires sparkled...

Leviathan Mastery also offers a cold-themed armor, (though that one is even further down in the power set). Mace Mastery offers a S/L/En defense shield as a T1 pick. I suspect, (though of course I'm open to being proven wrong), that the OP wants an ice-theme, defense-granting armor toggle with zero prerequisite, and while I can appreciate that, that isn't within the realm of what is available, so instead of adjusting or adapting their build, they'd rather try and make the case here for why things should be changed to accommodate them...

These forums are not for developers-only. If you don't like feedback, then that's on you. As stated multiple times already, it's not about your perception of what is or is not "fair" - It is about APPs/PPPs offering abilities your chosen AT would not normally have access to. If you want an ice-themed character with ranged attacks and armor, roll a sentinel. If you want a blaster with armor, then you're going to have to make do with what's available. It should also be noted that frozen armor provides some resist in addition to the defense, meaning you can also slot the global +def IOs in it. This only serves to belie your lack of understanding about powersets - not every powerset follows the same pattern, nor do they include the same types of powers or where those powers sit within said powerset, and this is/was a very intentional decision.

NP. Here's a very quick and dirty version of each:

Snip & Sketch is built into windows 10+, (I think it's called just "Snipping Tool" in previous versions) - If you click the little magnifying glass and type "snip" it should auto-complete as the first result (App). Cheers! You can also give remove.bg a try if you want a quick and easy way to remove-out the background, so you get just the character. Just note that this tends to clear away various particle effects, though...

Cool design! If I may suggest, try using snip & sketch, (or something similar), so you can trim out just the character - it'll save you on file size and give us a better look at your great costume(s)!

Love the color scheme of that character! Funny how the Ai removed the little toe-hooks.

You cannot look at one AT in isolation. Since APPs/PPPs being consistent across all sets for any given AT has never been the case, there is no precedent for what you're asking, either.

No, we're talking about Ancillary and/or Patron power pools, which are not only AT-specific from inception, but also vary wildly in what each provides. You must compare like-for-like. Regular power pools are, indeed, consistent from AT-to-AT.

Different ATs already have different power modifiers, and it's been like that since launch. Different ATs also get the same sets with various changes beyond the aforementioned modifiers. APP/PPPs are also treated differently than primary or secondary sets - heck, look at the recharge times of holds in those pools for melee ATs vs their primary power set equivalent...

Variety is the spice of life - not everything should be in rigid lock-step. It's no different than how some blaster primaries have more or fewer AoEs, how some have faster animations or more desirable secondary effect; Every power pick has an opportunity cost, and that must be considered when making your selection...

Longbow are just the particular PMC that got a notable hero's backing and a veneer of legitimacy; The vast majority of their members are just guys with guns. Sure, they have some superpowered individuals, but so does Crey and other groups. You don't really see them helping cats out of trees or little old ladies cross the street, so what actually makes them better than other "good" groups? Heck, the PPD seem to do more to aid regular people, and who doesn't appreciate a nice Hawaiian shirt?

How about some ASCII art? ^o^ ^v^

Stupid seksy vampire! Stop batting those "come-hither" eyes, I say!

Can't we just report him to the mobs instead?

Clearly you need to apply more defense debuffs or use an insight...

Aren't the Legacy Chain kind of the "lawful good" faction? Sure they're zealous in their approach, and don't really have a presence on blue side, but they exist...

Don't believe his lies! This is actually his evil (good?) twin, "Snorky":

Some people collect badges simply because those badges exist. That doesn't mean we should lock any badges behind this proposed rng-heavy AT. I have no issue with the AT itself, just don't try to lure people into playing it by dangling a badge in front of them...

That's not a reason to add more of it, though...

I'm not a fan of RNGs, TBH, particularly when it comes to what primary or secondary my character would get. I'm also not a fan of essentially forcing this randomness on players who collect badges...

After a lot of tinkering, I present the rootinest, tootinest, cold bloodest varmint in the wyrd west: "Sylphiss"!

It could also be as simple as "new boss or investors have particular beliefs/philosophies/causes they want to insert in their products, (sometimes at the behest of whomever they are receiving funding from), and so prioritize hiring or moving around people who hold those views", and just assume that the existing fanbase will buy whatever they put out, simply because it bears the franchise's name...

Then any AT which you'd want to slot such a specific IO would have to be included, thereby diluting the complaint - want to slot that chance to recharge buildup IO on your stalker? Slot tax! Heck, if you consider those LotG global recharge IOs as "needed", then not only are you paying a slot tax for those, but many builds have to scramble for powers that grant defense, so they can slot those IOs in the first place... so "power tax"?