biostem

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...

I think a good defender also blasts, so to that end, you'll want to leverage the increased debuff effect that defenders benefit from. That, and wanting good overall utility, I'd suggest ice blast, electrical blast, or sonic attack. All 3 sets have their pros and cons, but offer a lot of utility, even if you don't take all of the attacks. I have a 50 kin/elec, and I like how the end drain pairs with the end drain kin already does. Voltaic sentinel is also nice as it'll allow you to focus on buffing/debuffing/healing while still contributing to DPS. The shock effect is also a nice bonus. You also have a nice hold, some good AoE, and a ranged nuke, not to mention an aim-like power that also boosts your end modification for a short time. I also have a 50 kin/sonic, and the biggest benefit is that you debuff enemy damage resistance while also boosting your teammates' damage. Siren's song is also great while solo, to put the weaker enemies to sleep, so you can focus on the few stronger ones that are still awake. Add a kb->kd IO into shockwave, and you have a very effective cone that plants enemies on their asses. I don't have a 50 kin/ice, but I do have a 50 ice blaster. It's basically the top blast set for control, IMHO. On a defender, those slows will be even greater. The 2 single-target holds can quickly take a boss out of a fight, and ice storm + blizzard make for a great set of damage patches/location-based AoEs. In the end, it really comes down to just how much you want to invest in your secondary and how comfortable you are with multitasking...

I think the City Representative needs her own Task Force; She seems overworked and underpaid. Maybe have it involve reports about some crooked cops, which has you delve into the darker side of the PPD. It'd be cool to see a renegade faction - maybe a Nictus infiltrated the Awakened Division, or an AI gained control of some fraction of the drones, or there were just some legitimately corrupt cops that got access to some very dangerous equipment...

My connection has been fine, today. Do a netgraph 1 and see if there's any unusual activity. Couldn't hurt to do the typical stuff as well, (restart modem, router, computer, etc).

Well, then those cops are wieners!

Collect the whole set!

You... you know who the OP of this thread is, yes?

I believe "The Coming Storm" was to deal with a group called "The Battalion", with the Shivans from the Galaxy City tutorial being the first wave. AFAIK, it never progressed beyond that in-game...