ZorkNemesis

Praetoria hands-down has some of the best environments in the game. Locations like the Magisterum, People's Park, and Neuron's Reach are excellent environments. Hell even the coastline surrounding the city is a nice sight. Night Ward also has an amazing skybox that would be a good backdrop. Set your graphics to the highest and take a good snapshot. Outside of Praetoria, some good locations include the Shadow Shard (Cascade Archepelago in particular), Atlas Plaza, Aeon City (Cap), Hell Forge (Sharkhead, position it just right and it looks exactly like Cryptic Studios' old logo), Salamenca (Croatoa), Kalisti Wharf and Cimerora among others.

Perhaps not in the same sense a villain would consider living, but Longbow does a good job keeping the southern end of Nerva in pretty good shape. Biggest worry there would be getting abducted by Crey nearby I think. Cap Au Diable isn't bad either if you don't mind people with jetpacks breaking into your appartment and stealing your electronics periodically, or the demon that's plugged into the power grid.

Oh hey, my namesake. > What is a Grue? Side note, also playing Animal Crossing. Didn't really want to at first, but between life generally sucking at the moment and all the crazy decals/clothes people are making I had to check it out for myself.

I remember making an energy/energy Blaster when that combo was flavorful (as in everyone was doing it). Even with the knockback stigma I recall people still liked it for it's high overall damage output. These days I hardly run into anyone with Energy Blast, not sure why either. Sure KB can be annoying when used wrong, but it's still fun. Also Stone Armor is pretty rare now. I guess Granite's no longer the big damage tank when inventions let you tailor most defensive powersets into Granite tankiness without the speed or damage penalties. And Ice Control was super common too, with Ice Slick being an insanely good power before Bonfire and KB>KDs took over. It still is, but Ice's overall softer controls seem to lag behind most other control sets these days.

Thermal has Warmth as it's T1 power which functions exacly like the heal auras from Empathy, Pain, and Radiation. Thermal was kind of the villain stand-in for Empathy before Pain Domination was added since it gets both an AoE and ST heal, plus resistance shields to reduce the amount of healing you'll need to do in the long run. Sets with ST heals are Storm and Poison (which is an absolute trash heal that doesn't even have a good bonus with it's Toxic resist), if Homecoming added Cold to the mix, Cold also sort of has a ST heal in the form of Frostwork, which is actually just a Max HP Boost that can be used as a heal in a pinch.

Diabolique in Maria Jenkins' missions can be outright unbeatable with a poor team setup if you fight her as an AV thanks to this. Not even daggers can stop that junk and her Personal Force Field at low health does not help anything. Worse yet, she's also one of the least threatening AVs as far as kill potential; I think her only damaging attacks are Force Bolt and Repulsion Bomb and even at AV strength both of those aren't very strong (minus the very high KB of course). Her powers only seem to serve to drag the fight on for so long that you just give up out of frustration (Siphon Power, Siphon Speed, two strong KBs, periodic phasing, and a low health phase).

Build Up (Gaussian's proc included) Hidden Assassin's Strike Miss Stand there like an idiot

Man, I wish I could work from home like everyone else, but I work retail and there's no sign of us closing any time soon.

I remember pugging a Posi 1 back in the day, back when you could outlevel a TF and be locked out of it. 8-hour trainwreck that was and while we finished it, I can assure you my parents were pissed I was on the family computer all day slogging through it.

Enemies with built-in flight are absolutely the worst offenders here. Goldbrickers and Sky Raiders are especially bad, but holy hell the Cabal will fly away near instantly. I can't stand fighting Cabal on any character that doesn't have AoE immobilize and flight supression; they even flee from Tanker taunts!

Back on Live I had a Mercs MM who employed the Cheat Commandos. The Soldiers were Fightgar and Gunhaver. The Medic was Silent Rip. The Spec Ops were Firebert and Ripberger. The Commando was (obviously) Reinforcements. As a bonus I had extra macros that made them deliver their box taglines as well as another one that made them all shout the CC's rally cry (Cheat Commandos... Rock, Rock On!) My current MM project is a Thugs/Sonic by the name of Garage Band. She is the lead singer and her thugs are her bandmates and some staff. The Bruiser is The Drummer. The Enforcers are The Guitarist and The Bassist. The Punks are The Roadie and The Groupie while the Arsonist is The SFX Guy.

I don't know how intentional it still is, but aren't Swashbuckler and Arachnos Rising supposed to have their progress meters hidden if you're a Hero? I remember in the I7/I8 days a lot of people were upset that their list has a then-impossible to complete progress bar because they checked the plaques in the PvP zones. Maybe that was changed when alignment changing was added but I do remember some of the older fuss.

Sorry for the lack of a screenshot, but I have to ask: Mastermind Epics > Charge Mastery; is the power supposed to be named "ESD"? Paragon Wiki has the power listed as "EM Pulse" which also matches the Blaster version that I assume was used as the basis for MM Epics. ESD doesn't sound like it makes much sense, I guess Electro-Static Discharge maybe, but that doesn't exactly line up with the power description that clearly states Electromagnetic energy is used.

I assume asymmetry with normal auras still isn't a thing? I would love to be able to have two different color "fists" auras like Serene who has orange fire in one hand and blue in the other.

My concerns with the set is that it's just broken and not well balanced. My own opinions on the set having leveled it to 50: Immobilizing Dart: Could use a damage buff and maybe a better visual on when targets are immobilized. I feel like it should do a spot of lethal up front and then apply its Toxic DoT, kind of like the Sleep Dart origin power. Sting of the Wasp: I don't mind this power, but it's noticably weaker than other set melee options of this caliber. I also want a traditional weapon draw animation since the no-redraw looks dumb when you're just standing there and suddenly your foe takes a phantom cut from nowhere. Choking Powder: I almost feel like this power is too strong for being a T3 power. If Immobilizing Dart gets a damage buff, maybe this should get a damage reduction or moved to a later power slot. Otherwise, it's a good power. Shinobi: a built-in Stealth is pretty nice, but as a Build Up replacement this power is garbage. 30 seconds out of combat is far too long for the damage buff to kick in, especially when Targeting Drone only needs 8. The Lotus Drops: not a bad power, but why is the cooldown so absurdly long? Compare it to something like Fire Sword Circle in Fire Manipulation and TLD has something like a 15 second longer wait. Kujin-Toh: a good power. My only gripe is that it's a click buff when it might be a bit more useful as a toggle. Smoke Flash: every time I tried to use it the Placate effect was bugged. It would be handy as a get-out-of-danger button but it doesn't even apply the Placate. The -res doesn't seem too useful either. If you ask me, it should reset the damage bonus on Shinobi after using it (and hitting). Blinding Powder: short range and low magnitude. It was nice with Sonic primary since I could stack it with Siren's Song but it feels weak otherwise. I hear the Contageous Confusion proc helps though. Golden Dragonfly: A bit weaker than your average T9 melee with no real secondary effects either. Katana attacks are just weak it seems.

I'm one of the six Sonic/Ninja Blasters checking in. A strange combo for sure that I was inspired to roll upon seeing those two sets being the overall least played for Blaster (and only one at 50 from the last time stats rolled out). What a weird trip that ended up being, but still a cool one that's both unique in play (a Blaster with lots of control capabilities) and paradoxical in theme (ninjas aren't normally shattering eardrums). There's so much data to go through, at this point are there any powerset combos for any AT not at 50? I see a couple ones on the list but i'd be curious if anything's still overlooked.

I try to avoid going full-on reference material, but I do have at least one who would fit the "very much inspired by" category. A Blaster by the name of "Commander Voltage" who is Electric Blast/Martial Combat with Super Speed and I tend to play him as a speedy pugilist who derives most of his speed powers from his electricity. He's one part The Flash, one part Synapse. Of course, I also have costumes inspired by other media, usually games, that don't necessarily match the inspiree's abilities. Some examples include a Staff Scrapper who resembles Lunais from Timespinner, a Necro MM who resembles Plague Knight, a DB Brute that looks similar to Vyse from Skies of Arcadia, a DP Corrupter who looks like the protagonist from Red Steel 2 (think cowboy samurai type), and another Staff Scrapper who resembles a Final Fantasy Dragoon.

This conversation between two Nemesis soldiers in a Vigilante Tip mission in the 30s Carabineir: So where do you think $player will go? Fifty bucks says he comes here. Chasseur: You're on! $player will totally disarm those bombs. *Attack* Carabineir: Woo, looks like it's my lucky day... err... wait... no probably not. Chasseur: Shoot. I'm out fifty bucks and we have to deal with $player. Talk about bad luck.

I'm usually a fan of either powered armor/suits for my tech supers or science accidents for my sciencey types. Classic tropes with plenty of variety.

I've got a giant backlog right now and an ongoing project where I'm trying to go back through and play and beat a lot of games that I played as a kid but never beat, along with a number of newer games I've wanted to play. Among older games I've played a lot of classic NES stuff like Super C, Darkwing Duck, Super Mario 2, and Adventures of Lolo, while more modern games include the likes of Concrete Genie, River City Girls and Ace Combat 7. Most recently I beat Ape Escape last week and Mega Man (Gameboy) the week before that. My current game is New Super Lucky's Tale and I have plans to finish Spider-Man in the near future as well. Hopefully soon I'll be able to devote some time to an RPG as well, Persona 5 has been on my radar for a while now.

Old thread, but here's my take on it. /Ninja isn't in a good place. It's perfectly functional, but it has problems. I leveled a Sonic/Ninja to 50 (do not recommend) and here's my opinion on Ninja's powers. Immobilizing Dart: standard immobilize. No real issue with it other than the damage which is far lower than any other Blaster immobilize, barring Temporal which exchanges its damage for a Delayed effect. It could stand to offer up a little more damage; I think it should do a spot of lethal damage before applying the toxic DoT. Sting of the Wasp: no real problem with this power. Would like an actual weapon draw animation though. Choking Powder: is pretty much a copy of Char from Fire Mastery, but with toxic damage instead. I almost think this power does too much damage for its level and damage type, but otherwise solid. Shinobi: this power is the main issue I have with the set. Instead of a build up you have a weak version of Hide with a 30-second cooldown on the out-of-combat damage boost and the invisibility is only as good as Stealth or Field Operative/Cloaking Device. With the changes to Targeting Drone in Devices, why can't Shinobi also get that kind of love? If you have to lower the damage boost to make it balanced that's fine but 30 seconds between fights is too long in a game where average encounters tend to be over in 12 these days. The Lotus Drops: no issue, though a little slow charging compared to similar PBAoE attacks. Kujin-toh: no issue. Would be nice if it were a toggle however. Smoke Flash: Last I checked this power is actually bugged. Any time I used it it would not placate targets like it says. I even fired up my second box and used it in PvP and could not placate an unenhanced detoggled brute. If you ask me, this power should also reset the timer on Shinobi's damage boost. The resistance debuff is ok, but doesn't feel too useful when things are still hitting you. Blinding Powder: because Shinobi isn't full invisibility, it's actually really difficult to use the powder undetected due to a very short range. The sleep synergizes well with Sonic since it does no damage and can stack with other sleeps (Siren's Song) but is underwhelming otherwise since it's mag 2. The confuse is also underwhelming, though I hear the CC proc makes it much better. Golden Dragonfly: no issue, but seems to lack the same kind of power from similar T9s like Total Focus

I love Blasters. I roll lots of Blasters and here's a couple i've found. They're a bit unorthodox but still a blast (ha!). Archery/Energy. Fast attacks, early build up, but most importantly Boost Range is freaking amazing at letting you put so much distance between you and your fight as possible. Combined with Ranged Shot you can easily break 100ft range on Fistful of Arrows and practically Rain on groups that are just barely in render distance. Grab another cone attack from your epic (I have Mace Beam Volley as well) and become a long-range death monster. As an extra note, if you decide to take Teleport; Boost Range and Ranged Shot both affect it. If you Boost and take a snipe, you can teleport over 600ft away at once, making it objectively the fastest travel option in the game other than someone recalling you. Fire/Dark. Strange but fun. A weird mix of running into groups for your dark AoE buffs then dropping Inferno or bouncing out for Fire Breath. Plus some nice utility with a ranged fear and to-hit debuffs. Not perfect, but it fit my style. Water/Fire. What I love about Water Blast is how customizable it is. While you can recolor other sets, they're usually still the orginal power (purple energy is still energy) but water gives better creative control. With dark coloration, I have an oil theme on this character that looks cool and does tons of damage. Lots of close quarters fire AoEs and oil blasts. Sonic/Mental. Mental is an excellent secondary for Sonic. Psychic Scream gives you another excellent cone blast for Sonic's decidedly lacking AoE potential and Psychic Shockwave is a great followup after a Dreadful Wail to clean up survivors. Not to mention Siren's Song sets you up for a free crowd-sized Drain Psyche to turn you into an unstoppable machine. Sonic's -res can also make your Psi attacks more useful on the enemies that frequently heavily resist Psi damage like machines and zombies. The two sets just work really well together. Dual Pistols OR Assault Rifle/Martial Combat. These are combos that just make you feel like an action movie star. Gunplay and roundhouse kicks. If you want to play like you're Keanu Reeves, this is how you do it. Martial also comes a status protection power (it's basically a Break Free as a power) and a weird teleport attack that can work to rapidly adjust your position in combat which can be helpful for getting out of a jam, positoning for cones, or jumping in with Hail of Bullets.

Not so much dialogue, but if you roll a Resistance Crusader, the first mission objective on the Nav for Ricochet is always funny. Ask someone what exactly Ricochet said. Also, I think whoever wrote some of the Rikti lines was having too much fun. Profound realization: you complain. Bomb defense: Priority > Negative. Bomb defense: job description I feel: Targeted Status: Quiet > Status correction: Too Quiet Another one that makes me chuckle is a random Freak Tank in Bloody Bay. I already told you. When you're me, then you can use the walkie-talkie. Also, how could I forget the Circle banter in the Halloween tip mission. If we're going to be here a while, are you siding with the Loyalists or Resistance? Give me that thorn blade. You are too dumb to wield it.

Not long ago I recall having a chat in the bug form about Staff and Sky Splitter having some kind of AoE effect that seems to have been attributed to Tanker's Gauntlet effect, which adds an AoE taunt to every single target attack. It seems this effect may be unintentionally causing secondary effects of some attacks to apply to the Gauntlet AoE as well. I've got a Dual Blades Tank right now who just trained 28 and got Vengeful Slice which causes a knockdown partway through the animation. This knockdown seems to be applying to all targets in range of the taunt effect, but only the knockdown. I recall my Dual Blades Brute on live servers, and that attack never dealt an AoE knockdown so i'm betting it's a Tanker problem and something is making me think it's more than just VS with this problem. In case people ask about additional effects or slotting, Fire Armor is my shield and the only power slotted with a KD effect is Typhoon's Edge so there shouldn't be any external KDs going on here. VS itself is fresh and only has an IO Damage currently. As an unrelated but quick bug, Fire Armor's Consume states that it provides two minutes of "Endurance Protection" after use, which I assume is supposed to mean protection from recovery debuffs or endurance drains. This doesn't appear to be doing anything. Combat attributes reports no resistance to Recovery Debuffs, and Consume is not anywhere to be found on the spreadsheet after the 15 second recovery buff goes away.

I run a Plant/Time myself. Lots of control, lots of buff. Back on live one of the main reasons I had rolled that combo was for stacking Regen and Recharge on the Hami tank; multiple Trees, Selection, and Chrono Shift were instrumental for keeping the tank(s) up and running when straight heals weren't an option. Overall however, the combo feels like a jack-of-all-trades. You get a large amount of control with Plant's variety, plenty of damage with procs and vines, Time covers so manu bases in the buff and debuff department and just makes everything easier. I also like the thematics. I like the idea that Time control is actually your character's main power and you're using it to make plants grow like crazy in isolated spots.