Vadavim

I second this. Ideally Power Boost, or I guess Power Up if they're sticking to that trend... But either way, I was always extremely disappointed in the electricity assault secondary, and this was one of the reasons.

Oh that's right, I remember hearing that as well! I'd have to double check on the test server when I get the chance, but best to err on the side of caution and assume it can't work with Cold Domination.

Power Boost makes Elec/ very happy! Controllers get a really high bonus (I think 120%?) from power boost compared to some other AT's versions of it. The only downside being that it comes very late in the life of an Elec/ controller (in the Primal Forces Mastery). Another thing to keep in mind is that you'll probably want to be close to enemies if you want to benefit from Conductive Aura, so picking a set that complements this is not a bad idea. With this in mind, I like to pick a secondary that also benefits a lot from Power Boost, along with synergizing with Conductive Aura. Great contenders: /Time: A Power Boosted Foresight is awesome! Also a great boost to healing. Has an aura of its own, also encouraging you to get closer. There's a lot to like about this set. /Kin: For obvious reasons (healing, powerful endurance drain, etc.). /Dark: Really not a bad choice (lots of -To-hit, great heal, a PBAoE Defense buff and a PBAoE Regen/Recovery buff... all greatly benefit from power boost! You can color your lightning dark and have a nice theme going) /Nature: Entangling Aura also encourages you to be close to enemies. That and you have several PBAoEs (which also benefit from power boost)! Power boost makes Lifegiving Spores even sexier, which is nice. Also the fact that you can heal yourself makes the option of getting in close less dangerous. /Ice: There's actually a lot to like here! Power boost significantly boosts the effectiveness of the ice/glacial shield, and helps out Frostwork. You also have some good -Endurance in this set, and a Power Boosted Heat Loss makes your whole team happy. And of course Sleet's just the bee's knees. I wanted to love /Poison when mixed with an Elec primary (whether it be a Controller or otherwise), but I just never liked how it felt in practice. However, it does have a great -Recovery/Hold, potent debuffs, and an aura that also encourages you to be up close. So it's got plenty of synergies.

I totally understand where you're coming from. I think it's fine to criticize Stone Armor for its faults (hehe), and I like some of the changes you suggested (especially adding absorb! It feels like Stone Armor should have that). I personally have had a hard time trying to work it into a build. I find myself avoiding it because it just feels too slow for the benefits it provides, and the lack of synergy bothers me. This is a shame because I really love the concept! Also, is there no limited FX version of Granite Armor? (I did not notice a power customization option for it). It's a bit of a turnoff to me, especially since it doesn't fit thematically with some of the alternate FX options for stone armor (lava and crystal).

I do find that this IO has really encouraged me to pick up powers I normally wouldn't (for fear of how people in a team would react), and it's actually made some powers more useful than before! I can't help but wonder why the original devs did not explore this kind of change before (other than the universal damage IO): were there balance reasons they were concerned about? I like the idea about having a toggle (for Knockback -> Knockdown). Having that level of control for powersets like Storm and Energy would be AWESOME! However, I'm reluctant about handing this out freely. While I'm concerned about the potential IO tax we're seeing here (I feel like a lot of these powers I wouldn't use without the IO), I also like the idea that there is a meaningful choice or tradeoff involved in getting this benefit. Remember that one of the changes to immobilize, to make it more useful, was that it would convert knockback to knockdown. I really like how it encourages teamwork with controllers / dominators (root 'em, then boot 'em!). I feel like that benefit would be lost if we could easily convert knockbacks without any tradeoff like an IO or a bought power.

So I logged into the forums today and I'm noticing the formatting in the new forums looks muuuch better than it did yesterday (larger text, less unnecessary spacing, etc.). I really appreciate the changes!

I feel like if you shift your alignment to Rogue / Renegade, that you get the best of both worlds since you can team up with either side. Or am I missing a drawback for that alignment choice?

Oh, okay, that is very reasonable! Thank you for the reply. 🙂

Can we get a comment on why the change was made in the first place?

You can use apprentice charm (the magic origin basic power) to ignite it. If you aren't magic, you can revoke your starting origin one at the P2W vendor. Taser Dart (the tech one) might also work, but I used apprentice charm w my TA on live. I'm aware of that method, but I appreciate you mentioning it because maybe some people don't know about that yet. Still, my argument was that it was odd that there was no power inside of TA that can reliably ignite it. I really liked Trickshooter's idea about an electrifying net, though! :)

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that it was anything other than my opinion. But yes, Electrifying Arrow is definitely a great compromise and it's something I'd get behind, too. Also, I understand that you're very passionate about TA. I apologize if I stepped on any toes in my previous post.

I'm sorry but Bossk_Hogg really hit the nail on the head. Entangling Arrow is absolute garbage. It feels redundant and it's not very fun to use. One thing that always struck me as odd is that there's no reliable way to ignite the oil slick arrow using other powers from TA. Why not recast Entangling Arrow as something that can ignite the oil slick? (Maybe have it deal a little fire damage + AoE knockdown/knockback, kinda similar to Gale in Storm Summoning.) I mean, Time Manipulation has powers that combo with Time Crawl, so it wouldn't be a stretch to have the TA T1 power combo with oil slick arrow.

I think the fact that this thread contains 18+ pages of passionate replies really shows how special CoH was! Here are some of the things that made CoH feel unique to me: Roleplay This was the first time I actually tried roleplaying in an MMO, and boy was it great: Pocket D was amazing, and it still is in Homecoming! Roleplaying really felt like a game-within-a-game, to the point where it was all I'd do some nights. Add to this a bunch of awesome super groups and bases where we could hang out, and it was incredibly immersive. Unique Roles I absolutely love controllers (and dominators). They provide an experience that I haven't been able to recapture in other MMOs. You really felt like you could control the battlefield, with so many ways to disable enemies. I think this role has long since been forgotten in modern MMOs in the name of "balance" (when's the last time you saw a class that could completely disable groups of enemies for more than a few seconds?). Other support roles also felt amazing. Buffs and debuffs feel so meaningful in this game. They're not just tiny stat boosts you can grant for a short period of time. With a team of support characters, you can turn of zeroes into a team of heroes! Creativity People were (and still are) incredibly creative with their choice of power sets, costumes, and character names. It makes teaming up together so much more fun! Every character felt unique, and their costumes weren't constrained by gear, race, or class choice (unlike many other MMOs). You could have a stylish character at level 1, whereas in other MMOs, style usually was more of an endgame thing. Chaos This has been mentioned before, but there's really nothing quite like running a bunch of radio missions and things like it. It's a lot of chaotic fun! I can't think of another MMO where you constantly fight crazy amounts of enemies. Bodies flying everywhere, big explosions, hurricanes, snow storms, the whole shebang. Some of the most fun I've had have been in teams where there isn't a tank, chaos erupts, and we're all fighting for our lives. Suddenly we get ambushed and it turns into a full out brawl. Ahhh! Because revival is incredibly easy in this game, no one's afraid to get their hands dirty, so this can lead to some crazy (fun) scenarios.