MIG

I just wish some sets had a purer purpose. For EM, it was once viewed as a great ST-damage set, but due to the prior nerfs it is presently too slow (there are better sets that also offer more AOE and/or better secondary benefits). If you want to make EM like all other sets (mix of AOE and ST damage), I suggest this change: Stun = PB AOE Stun with med damage / longer cooldown ET = Cone with very high damage / longer cooldown If you want to rebuild EM as ST specialist: Stun = Stun + -Res / longer cooldown (make it useful) TF = speed current animation by 1 sec ET = speed current animation by 1.5 secs (For TF and ET changes above, I was hoping speeding up the existing animation would be easier than reworking the entire animation, or the letdown of borrowing from other sets. Lastly, the time reductions are ballparks, I'm sure the devs will have a more precise figure, but the point is to make the attacks feel more fluid and useful)

I vote yes. People play the game for different reasons. For the players that focus on a limited number of characters, it would be a welcome benefit. After VL 100+ the incarnate system is dead and there is nothing to differentiate a character at that point (which can't already be done for characters below VL 100). Short of a complete revamp or an expansion of the incarnate system, I would suggest: 1) VL 100 = +1 slot 2) VL 200 = +1 slot 3) VL 400 = +1 slot 4) VL 800 = +1 slot 5) VL 1600 = +1 slot Etc. Considering I know only one person at VL 1600+, I don't think this distorts the game or creates and unfair advantage. I really don't care if someone has 3x the badges I have, and I don't think people should care if someone has one or more slot than them. From a coding perspective, if you apply the same framework (max 6-slot), it should be feasible (spaghetti code or not, we've seen a lot of great changes to the game). Personally, I would love to see 7-slotting, because it would be more impactful for someone to ascend to those heights and continue to play the end game, but I would just take the additional slots (plenty of great places to put slots in any build). I'd love to see a +5/+10 difficulty settings as well, to keep the challenge factor in place, but that is a separate topic. In summary, this suggestion has merit and should be seriously considered.

Thank you Bopper, Myshkin, and Darkir! All very helpful observations and information. Last question of the day, how would you slot Irradiated Ground, with the goal of maximizing a proc and/or damage potential?

I have a "drag-along" sidekick that I should have called "Chum," since his primary job is to attract more aggro. I went a similar route as Bopper suggested, but I went with a Brute Rad/Fire, with Burn on auto... occasionally Atom Smasher on auto. I like the idea of Whirlwind, but KU really doesn't add much when everything dies in under 4 mins. This is a question for the uber-testers in the room (cough... Bopper... cough... Myshkin...). I tend not to believe everything in Mids (probably a decent policy) and I was wondering which "damage aura" is the best, looking at the available tools: Rad Melee (Irradiated Ground) Spines (Quills) Elec Armor (Lightning Field) Fire Armor (Blazing Aura) Bio Armor (Genetic Contamination) I might be missing something, but I am wondering if there is a clear winner(s).

Great work team! Outstanding patch! I have a Spines/Fire Brute with 1B+ influence build and I’m not losing any sleep over burn, panic, taunt, etc. I’m playing other characters... heck, rolling illusion just for the new look! Devs, please take the weekend off, relax, and review the bugs later... you earned it.

Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good. No amount of testing will make this a perfect patch (everyone accepts it equally), but it is a good update and will make most people happy.

I agree with your thoughts. In addition, I spend good amount of time playing a tank and I'm never looking for more survivability or taunt. In addition, I read the Tanker thread religiously and no one is asking for more survivability. Damage is the issue and I hope the current patch to beta will make a difference, while the devs consider a long-term solution for bruising (contribution to group dynamics).

I'm unclear as to why we have such deference for Brutes. As of the September FOTM LVL 50 reports, Brutes are rolled 3x more than Tanks. Yet we sit here and debate how a Tank buff somehow degraded into a confusing nerf, while buffing Brutes in the same patch? To be frank, Brutes are better at farming, soloing, and even grouped. In its present state, and on test, Brutes are the better AT. We keep seeing tests of one Tank doing damage Live vs. Test... the better comparison is taking a Brute with the same build/IOs and looking at the damage disparity. In my experience, Brutes have 95% survivability to Tanks, but with 30%+ more damage output. I don't need precision testing, when I'm racing a stock Porsche 911 to a Toyota Camry. My suggestion is to buff Tank damage further and if we must go down the -reg rabbit hole, please make it stack/contribute to effective levels (for group dynamics). As I've said before, it doesn't matter if anything changes for Tanks, players can simply choose the superior AT.

Unless "much' tougher content arrives soon, greater survivability and taunt is unimportant, grouped or solo. Let's be frank, in the era of IOs and Incarnates, I don't have a single build at LVL 50 that has concerns about endurance or durability (especially with the number of "oh-crap" temp and pool powers). For the record, if stamina wasn't free, extra end might make sense. Let's get back to changes for a tank that are easy to implement: 1) slightly more damage (beyond the current iteration) 2) and... yeah, just point #1

Thought this horse was dead already... Anyway, damage is the endgame metric for every AT in the post-50 content world. There isn’t a player I know who doesn’t appreciate more baseline damage or creative ways (slotting, combos, power selections, etc.) to increase damage output. Before a Defender or Controller tells me they hate damage, there will always be outliers... With that said, the game has matured with 25+ releases, creating an opportunity (or necessity) to address certain ATs. The tank is serviceable, but with IOs and incarnates, its survivability is no longer a discernible asset, while offensively it is underwhelming. I support all the changes, but Increased damage is critical.

change it... don’t change it... equilibrium will be found through choice. Next up...

If the tankers receive more, great, I’m supportive. However, from a casual player’s perspective (not in the know), this patch is languishing in indecision and with each passing week of hesitation it “could” degenerate into a patch that hardly corrects the current gap between brutes and tanks. If the changes are approved (again, I’m supportive, thank you devs), close the thread and push the changes live. However, until the patch comes, I don’t assume these “changes” are set, especially when I see heated debates about other ATs in the tanker-specific feedback thread. Hope springs eternal, until then, keep rolling brutes or simply continue to play tanks in their dysfunctional state. No barrier to entry in this game to go with the superior option(s).

The reality is, with the proliferation of IOs and incarnate powers, the difference in survivability between a Tanker and Brute is infinitesimal at this point. Furthermore, with the ease at which a player can switch alignment, there is no advantage to content or rewards. Lastly, with double-xp bonuses, combined with the expansion of power sets (very few singular sets), a player can level any class with ease, removing the last possible barrier to rerolling into the most effective class. I say this as a casual player, with a dozen lvl 50s, most IOed. Regarding actual Tanker feedback, the class needs something... it’s not endurance, hit points, or resistance (all of which are borderline meaningless with the aforementioned IOs and incarnates). For quality of life (1-50) and into veteran levels, “damage“ is the missing component for a tank. My recommendation is to change the damage back to Brute levels and call it a day. If you don’t, people who love Tanks will still play Tanks, but the min/maxers will just continue to roll Brutes. I don’t know why we are so concerned in a mature game about AT identity... homogeneity took over long ago, but it left us with a fun, flexible game. Because of this forgiving framework, we can also be brutally honest and the Tanks have needed a damage increase since the first purple IOs hit the market. Add in incarnates and the need for buffing tanks becomes acute.

If we think about all the PvP abuse EM caused over the relatively brief time it was in its original form, we probably have another year of jail/nerf time to . make up for our prior sins. I ran a INV/EM tanker to great success early on in the game and when stalker became available I immediately went EM. The one and two shot combos were outrageous, but you had to wait for the opportunity to catch people sitting still to unload the full wrath of EM with AS. In the "stupid funny" category was pairing with another Stalker friend and having him TP-other heroes at entrance and greet them with AS-ET-TF combo of love. Almost as much fun was running into the hospital in pairs to actually get off an ET-TF combo on a hiding hero you wanted to face-plant. Yeah, crazy times... but now we must do penance because Castle received hate-mail for three years straight from traumatized players.

Played to i12 with JL, spent time with mains: MIG SUN HEL HEX WAR Good memories, quietly farming to VL1000 on Everlasting.