biostem

So you want a mixed blast set is all? Why not just propose that? Call it elementalist blast or prismatic blast, or something like that. Magic need not be part of the descriptor or equation...

And I'm asking what magic blasts look like. What makes them magic, other than your say-so. I can look at fire blasts and say "yeah, that's fire". What's your go-to to sell that this proposed set would be magic?

And in some settings, the ability to cast magic is a genetic trait. The issue here is what is the end result. For instance, how does that mutant from your example know that they are one and that it is said mutation that allows them to access magic? Either way, the question boils down to aesthetics; We have a pretty good idea what constitutes fire or ice blasts. Even dark blasts are pretty well cemented. What makes a particular blast magic? Is it the presence of runes, magic circles, and the like? Those can be accomplished with auras. I think a good example to consider would be radiation blast - IMHO, it's an inconsistent set. Beyond the default greenish color, there's like no coherency among the powers - a generic hand blast, eye beams, somewhat gaseous/cloudy effects, then some energy balls, but that's it. Heck, the set doesn't even have some generic geiger counter sounds or anything. Color it something else, and there's little to signal to an outside viewer that this person is slinging radiation...

What they would probably have to do to get this to work is have the power also apply a "buff" to you that has a duration slightly shorter than the actual power, and when it expires, it produces the warning message. So let's say your T9 lasts for 3 minutes/180 seconds, this do-nothing buff would have a duration of 170 seconds, and when it expires, it simply generates a message that says "WARNING! Unstoppable will wear off in 10 seconds!", or something to that effect. I'm not against the idea as an option, but it may require more work than is obvious. As an aside, I wonder just how much can be done with how buff icons start to flash/blink on and off when they are about to expire, and if that could be drawn from instead, or if that is a general mechanic and would either have to produce annoying popups for all powers/buffs or whether it could be targeted...

Can you describe what makes something quintessentially "magic"? If I made a character with fire blasts, what would differentiate said character projecting magical fire vs some mutant ability? Is it just aesthetics? What damage type would a magical blast set deal? The thing is, I wouldn't be against, say, a "wand blast" set, if it included tech, steampunk, or other such less obviously magical implements, but I'd rather have wands & staves as alternate animation options instead. Now let's look at the various firearms you mentioned - do you *know* for a fact how each and every character's weapons function? What's to say they use a small magical charge to propel the bullet instead of gunpowder? Maybe they don't fire bullets at all, and instead conjure small chunks of matter then launch them, no chemical reaction necessary? Heck, maybe they are mundane weapons, but your character uses a magical ritual or enchantment to give them the skill to wield said weapons effectively. In summary, magic is a "how", not a "what" - it describes how your character is able to do the things they do, but the end result is still energy, fire, ice, etc...

Look past the exterior housing that is the robot - what powers it? What dictates its behavior? It could be a magical power source or said robots could simply be vessels to contain an animating spirit of some kind. You must think in comic book /fictional terms, and not just how things function IRL.

Hmm... I wonder if they could adapt the animated swords from the Apex TF into temporary pets/pseudo-pets for the ranged attacks...

Amazing! How well do you think a "Crab Spider" would print? I suppose no more difficult than those exquisite insect wings...

So the worst value for tactics, IIRC, is for MMs, which is like 7% tohit (base), so roughly 10-11% enhanced. With 8 players running that, it'd be at least a 56% tohit buff, which is massive. I'd wager you could skip slotting acc altogether in that scenario. Assault ranged from like 10% - 15% each. I normally slot 3x dmg, which is over a 90% boost. The trick here is that, outside of buffs like fulcrum shift, various ATs have different damage caps, but I think they are at least 300% each, so I'd still slot for dmg.

This is an interesting idea, but I would approach it from a different angle; It'd have a mechanic similar to dual pistols' 'swap ammo', only it'd del with the particular type of dimension you were tapping into. You could have a hellish fire dimension, a noxious/toxic dimension, and an psionic/insanity dimension, (think Cthulu mythos for the latter). The attacks would consist of you either directly opening a portal on/at/near enemies to produce various effects, or perhaps you open a portal, stick your hand through, and a big hand thematic to the particular dimension you're currently attuned to emerges from the other end to deal damage or apply the effect, (maybe becoming a tentacle or giant creature's head instead).

One thing Champions Online did well was it had these little pips at the top of the costume color selection screen that were the last few colors you used, so you could quickly re-select those you've used recently.

Well, imagine if, under normal circumstances, you dealt 100 damage to an opponent over 2 seconds. If they were accelerated, from their perspective, that 100 damage may instead occur in only 1 second or possibly less.

It would be interesting to play with the delayed/accelerated mechanic from other time sets, but to debilitate the enemy in a more immediate sense; If you accelerate them, you cause them to take more damage over shorter period of time, (-RES), or perhaps to miss more often because they aren't used to their accelerated state, (-tohit). If you slow them, they take longer to heal, (IIRC, there is a -healing effect that can be applied to enemies), and they're generally slower to move and act, (-movement speed, -recharge).

It's been a while since I've fought them - Do Arachnoids throw canisters for their web attacks? If not, there's a plethora there to draw from: 1. ST immobilzie 2. Targeted AoE immobilize 3. Melee ST hold 4. Ranged ST hold Now flesh that set out with some additional powers, like a pet and/or by reusing the existing animations for other effects, (maybe a stun, confuse, etc), and you're good to go.

Please see this link. A similar idea to reuse existing powers has already been suggested...

*Every* powerset can be magic. It's just where your powers come from or how they are powered that makes them magic, not the resulting blast itself. There is a speed power pool. If you're talking about something more specific, like "speed melee", then I could get behind that. Super Reflexes is kind of the armor version of this. We already have teleportation powers. We also have sword or various martial arts powers as well. Combine them as needed to achieve your very own version of Nightcrawler. There have been many proposals for Medieval/knights/fantasy MM sets. Sadly, MM primaries seem to require the most amount of work to create, hence why we haven't seen any new ones. You can get some long robes already, doubly so if you include the long skirt options. Maybe they could be ported over for male & huge body types to use as well.

In a worst case scenario, you can slot 1 DO for every 2 slots or 1 SO per 4...

From my understanding, they *are* very rare - it's just that some content gives them as a guaranteed drop. It's kind of like how running your first market Crash always gives you a purple recipe...

I think this points to a larger issues; Basically, a good chunk of players, (possibly even the majority), want content that is easy to access, quick, and offers good rewards for the time invested. While content that takes place on new maps that contain novel mechanics can be fun, it requires a fundamental shifting of gears/priorities by those players that want to take part in it. I'm not against such content additions, but perhaps it should be broken up into manageable chunks which account for the more limited windows of time within which many modern players can, well, play...

The problem is that certain enemies would/should be completely immune to such a set - I doubt Council Mekmen, Nemesis automatons, or any group that is basically brainwashed or mind controlled would care one bit how much money you can throw around. That being said, there are other ways to represent such lavish wealth. For instance, within the world of CoH, I'm sure someone who is so wealthy could make connections or outright buy top of the line armor, weapons, and other such gadgets. Secondly, you could hire mercenaries or otherwise purchase robots or maybe even magical artifacts. Finally, you could use your wealth to make connections or directly fund various experiments or otherwise get a hold of various super soldier/experimental serums that could grant you super powers.

There's a slight difference on when you can take certain powers depending upon how many other powers you already have in a set/category, and since your "Tier 0" power, AKA your "energy builder" is like the 1st one you get, that impacts how quickly you can progress within that particular category.

Want status protection as a MM? There's force field, sonic, traps, rune of protection, acrobatics/cj, clarion, or a few other power(sets) that I may have missed...

I dipped into that game for about a year or so - I loved the voice acting, but once I hit endgame, the grind for gear just killed any momentum I had going.

I kind of feel like the clowns should be the gang war-like power - A small car pulls up and disgorges a bunch of clowns that attack by throwing pies or with balloon animal weapons. For the rest of the set, I'd do: T1s - 2 acrobats that use attacks similar to Carnie Harlequins, with the 3rd being a strongman. T2s - I like your lion tamer idea, except I'd have the actual lion tamer be the minion, and their attacks would summon a temporary lion that charges/mauls the target. The other T2 could be a juggler that throws various items at the enemy, (knives, chainsaws, firebombs, etc). T3 - A Ringmaster/Ringmistress, who provides various buffs and can use powers similar to symphony control's to buff their allies and attack/debuff their opponents. The personal attacks would be the various ring tosses that some Carnies have, (a quick look shows at least 3 such attacks - energy ring toss, electrical ring toss, and exploding ring).

You're not going to get other players to do what you want by ordering them around, and if you type too much, they'll probably ignore it. You need clear & concise instructions that are presented in a friendly and helpful way, not barking orders. Try to appeal to their sense of teamwork and comradery. Maybe play up their strengths and/or suggest ways that they could use their powers more effectively. If that still doesn't work, take what you've learned and be a bit more selective with whom you invite to the team in the future; I'm sure there are some red flags you'll pick up on as you play...