Rudra

Arcane means secret, obscure, or mysterious. So explain the secret power set. Or the obscure power set. Or the mysterious power set. The things the word you are using mean but does not correlate to anything that can be animated or defined as a power set. How is the Arcane Blast set secret, obscure, or mysterious? What effects will it generate that are encapsulated by "secret", "obscure", or "mysterious". If you can't define that, then you are not using the definition you are claiming to be.

If you want a multi-element set, then make one and give it a suitably generic name. If you want to mix different damage types, propose the set and give it a suitably generic name. If you insist on a magic set regardless of whether you call it "arcane" and then try to hide behind a definition you are obviously not using, then expect to be opposed.

So in other words, you have no explanation for a secret blast, obscure blast, or mysterious blast, hence no explanation for an arcane blast as you are insisting it means. So you truly are just using "arcane" for magic as it is generally understood at least in pop culture instead of what it actually means.

How does Beam Rifle translate into the game? What makes that set "Beam" but not Energy Blast? Some of the Fire Blast attacks look like beams to me... Radiation Blasts, too. Even Dark Blast has some dark beams. What did we need a Beam Rifle for? And what about the name Beam Rifle informs the player of its damage type or effects? How does "beam" or "rifle" or the combination of the words tell us about the disintegration effects? How does "Beam Rifle" do anything but let people know they'll have an Energy Blast that isn't the Energy Blast powerset? I made no mention of beam rifle. I asked you to explain secret blast sets, obscure blast sets, or mysterious blast sets. You know, what an "Arcane Blast" set means by definition? So how about that explanation? Though if you want to know how Beam Rifle as a set name tells anyone about its disintegration mechanic? It tells people as much about its disintegration mechanic as Assault Rifle tells others it will have a flamethrower and a fire patch generator, or Seismic Blast summons a meteor from space, or that a Peacebringer is an energy being, or that claws have a ranged attack, and so on and so forth. However, unlike your secret blast, obscure blast, or mysterious blast, people do still know that the assault rifle set has a rifle that shoots bullets, a beam rifle set has a rifle that fires beams, the seismic set probably makes use of rocks, and the claws set has claws. What is a secret set? Or an obscure set? Or a mysterious set? Does the secret set throw a bunch of classified folders at their enemies?

You could always try not grouping together. Like how in the Underground iTrial, the Avatar of Hamidon is turned away form the league by a Tanker or Brute and everyone does their level best to not be grouped together in case it turns around and blasts the league. (Edit: In fact, that used to be a necessary tactic against the Hamidon. Everyone not hitting yellows scattered to keep the blues from END wiping the league or killing ranged characters.)

The literal definition of arcane is secret, mysterious, or obscure. So what is that in game mechanics is what @biostem is asking. How do you present a "secret blast" set, a "mysterious blast" set, or an "obscure blast" set? You are specifically asking for a magic set, hence the "sorcery blast" and your use of "arcane blast". And as @biostem and others have stated, and I am no longer opposed to considering the added power sets, a multi-element set would likely be fine, but not a "Magic Blast" or "Sorcery Blast" or "Arcane Blast". Because magic and sorcery are specifically tied to magic and arcane is not a power effect. Edit: Now if you can explain what a secret blast set, mysterious blast set, or obscure blast set even means that is not the understood use for magic? Then maybe you would have a point.

You may be thinking of Golden Roller in the Aeon SF. (Edit: Or King Midas from the same SF.)

I misunderstood. Apologies.

What I remember are the obelisks from the Cavern of Transcendence, the twin computers in a non-arc mission (from Tina MacIntyre?), and a few other missions that required team coordination. And they sucked. Horribly. Even with the Cavern of Transcendence when someone would count down to make sure everyone clicked their obelisk at about the same time or trying to run off the visual cue that someone had just clicked their obelisk, there were many, many failed runs because of how coordinating actions (does not) work(s) in this game. Edit: Also add the two Reischman TFs/SFs where someone had to slip by insta-dead lasers or the correct AT had to be in the correct spot to hurt Reischman.

I'd more argue that is a function of its damage values, smaller radius, and lack of crits than the animations. Anyway, it's not that I disagree with you. I mean, I like KM other than how tiresome the sounds get after a while, but I do listen to others and have heard their complaints about the set. I actually have read (most of) the OP, but I'm not in a position to have a definitive take on it. (I have one KM character because I can't convince myself putting up with the sounds is worth more than one character. [Though I do enjoy playing that character on the odd occasion I do.] And with only one KM character to my name, I am most definitely not in a position to argue against any improvements for the set.) I just find that whether I'm playing my KM on a team or teaming with someone else's KM, KM isn't doing any worse at hitting already defeated targets than any other set I've played or teamed with. (Yes, I get frustrated too when I attack a target but it is already defeated before my attack hits. That happens with every power set and AT I've experienced before. Especially on large, fast moving teams.) So I'm pretty emphatic about defending the set's speed as a review of animation times. Damage values, radius of effect, probability of secondary effects, chances of critting? Everyone else can debate those and pitch their ideas to the devs. (Again, just because a set takes more hits to achieve the same effect, it does not make the set slow. It makes the set weak. And from a damage perspective, KM does have relatively light damage values when looking through City of Data between sets on the same AT.)

I understand what you are trying to do. As I said earlier, I have no opinion on it. I'm fine with my KM, though I do understand others are not with theirs. If you can convince the devs to improve KM, I'm not going to complain. (Though I would like alternate sounds for the set. The sounds start out nice, but quickly become tedious.) The only part I intend to have in this discussion is what I have been posting about, that by and large the animation times for KM is in keeping with other melee sets. If some of the later powers in the set aren't up to snuff, they can be buffed. If part of that buffing the devs decide to shorten the animation time? That's their choice. (Edit: As for the new as opposed to recycled for animations? To me, if something is placed in the game but the original version of it is still there so now there are two of them? I call that new. However, I've had more arguments lately than I care to bother with, this is a minor matter at best, so I'm just going to say we hold different views. I apologize for the potential derailment.)

That is correct, yes. ... that requires new animations to be made... even if only sped up versions of the existing ones....

Yeah... I'm still opposed to just shortening the animations of the powers because the animation times for KM are not slow. However, the only way for a power to have a long form and a short form cast time is to have a long form and a short form animation to reflect said cast time. When the long form of the power is active, it uses the long form animation. When the short form animation of the power is active, it uses the short form animation.

If you would like to, there is a simple way of doing so. For Mercy Island, it helps to have a flier, but it isn't necessary. Approach the Longbow area of the city and watch the buildings. If you have not done the Operative Kuzmin arc, you will still see a burning building where you would have blown up the hidden Longbow base. As you get closer though, the building reverts back to not being on fire. For Atlas Park, take any character that has not done the Matthew Habashy and follow up arcs. Go to the industrial section of Atlas where you would fight Longbow and you will instead see Vahzilok, Clockwork, and Hellions. As you approach, it shifts so that the pylons appear and Arachnos is there. Now, for both these cases, and the other examples I'll let you explore in both zones if you want, once you complete the requisite arcs, those phased in effects and spawns go away. So you will only see what is actually there as opposed to what the game is trying to mask it with for those arcs. So as long as you do those arcs, everything stabilizes and you won't see anything. Now, apply the zone phasing to contact and mobs that are not removed or altered by any mission. So you have Villain A arrive in Mercy Island after having escaped the fall of Galaxy City. The current Mercy Island is the primary Mercy Island, so that player would see the zone as it currently is. Villain B however, arrived in Mercy Island after having been broken out of the Zig by Arachnos and instead sees the zone phased in original Mercy Island plus the current Mercy Island because of how zone phasing works. So they would have two Mathew Burkes, two Kalindas, and a few other contacts I can't currently remember. Or say they get the snake hunt mission. Because of how zone phasing works, they will either see the Snakes they are looking for scattered fairly prolifically around the zone only to disappear and be replaced by Longbow and their crates or Legacy Chain, or they would only see Legacy Chain or Longbow and their crates until they got closer and could see they are actually Snakes or Hellions or other faction. So the villain that went through the Breakout tutorial would run into difficulties in accomplishing street sweep missions, find duplicate contacts of which only 1 they can interact with, and be nowhere near the other starting villains when they first spawn on the map for having done a different tutorial.

They aren't subject to zone phasing. However, if you don't do the Operative Kuzmin arc and its follow ups? You can still see everything things like the burning building that you didn't blow up, the Longbow in Mercy in the city still disappear when you aren't in their vicinity, and so on. Same thing with Atlas Park where regardless of whether you do the Matthew Habashy arc and its follow ups or not, you can still see both the phased and not phased elements.

The only way for that to be done is for new animations at the shorter animation time be created for the power set to access like with Titan Weapons.

Okay, you're taking your tantrum too far. I'm asking you to engage in a reasonable conversation on this.

Oh!!! We have hook hands in the costume creator, right? What if the devs added wand hands too? (Not as in wands for hands, but adding wands to a fist for players to select for their characters. Emanation points may be tricky to work, but would it be feasible?)

Anyway, setting petty tantrums aside, @PeregrineFalcon makes a good point. Adding more auras that players can apply to their characters for various magic effects would help players better portray their magic characters.

Oh, so you're back on this again. Then I guess you should hurry back to the other threads where you agreed with me and remove those responses.

I do always get a kick out of the 'nuh uh' responses. 😄

Something like this?

In every portrayal of magic, magic is a force that is shaped by the user to achieve some effect. Whether in comic books, anime/cartoons, movies, novels, or anything else, magic is itself not a power effect, but the power source. Even when blasting a target with pure, raw magic power, it is a shaped bolt/blast of energy. It is no different than if someone were to blast the same target with a generic energy bolt/blast, except that the source of the bolt/blast is magic as opposed to some technological device utilizing an unstated energy type, a chemical reaction causing an unstated energy type, a racial ability to channel an unstated energy type, or a mutant power utilizing an unstated energy type. It is just a bolt/blast of energy where the type of energy has been defined as magic energy. It may have a runic circle appear as it is manifested, it may require specific gestures and vocal intonations to make it manifest, it may require the use of a rune stone, wand, or staff to manifest, or it may not require any special focus or effect; but it is still just a bolt/blast of energy. Every use of magic can be broken down into specific effects. It is no different than any other source of power.

This is bottom of the barrel priority, but I always found it weird that you escort NPCs all the way through the map to the mission exit, but instead of exiting, they run back through the map looking for an elevator door or a sewer door or some other door than the one they are already at to exit. Can that be fixed?

I don't pursue leveling speed either. (Like others, I turn off xp to avoid outleveling content regardless of blue side, red side, or gold side.) However, I'm curious as to what we are doing differently since when I make a gold sider I have to turn off xp to avoid leveling and just play through most of the content without xp. Something I don't have to do as much red side or blue side. Believe it or not, I get that. It's why my gold side characters are gold siders and not red or blue siders that are going to flashback to Praetoria to do the content. I'm not sure, but I think Praetoria was more of a proof of concept that allowed players to make Praetorians and see what the dystopia actually is like. Sort of a novelty that showcased more difficult foes and missions in a prettier setting with darker lore. Regardless, it is difficult to expand Praetoria without taking away from the flow of the zone as I see it. I'm open to more content gold side, it's just that with the lore of Praetoria, it is rather difficult to fit too much in without tossing Praetoria's lore. This could use its own thread like the "Red Side... Best Side? Right??" thread. Though it will run into your mentioned problem of further partitioning the player base.