Rudra

Another random thought (so brace for it): If the REAT is to be made, how it fits into the story needs to be addressed. Simplest solution? Actually depends on how the AT itself is implemented. I'm sorry @megaericzero, but I have absolutely no idea how to work with the OP, so this is going to gloss over all that. So, first option, the REAT starts the game as a Rikti option. This is @megaericzero's OP and my SOA style branching option. In all cases, the new Rikti character is a... fledgling(? What the hell do you call a starting Rikti other than just Rikti?) that is being assigned to work in the field with either Hero Corps/Vanguard to build trust with humans on behalf of the Traditionalists, or with Arachnos on behalf of the Restructurists. In either case, the starting contact explains the expectations and guidelines under which the new Rikti PC will be operating under in the field. As the character hits key level triggers, most likely every 5th level like the SOAs/WOAs, they either get a new mission/arc from the starting contact to progress the trust building/infiltration mission, or is handed off to a new contact to do same. Specifics of those missions? I don't have a clue at this time. The problem with this approach is the character would by necessity be locked into a set career progression path. You start red side? Your only available missions are red side. You start blue side? Your only available missions are blue side. You are a Traditionalist or a Restructurist, even if you go to the other side. The other contacts just won't talk to you. The other problem with this option? It doesn't explain why your character would even be able to participate in a Mothership Raid. Second option, the REAT starts the game as a Rikti or a Lost. Again, the character is whatever you call a starting Rikti, except this time the PC has been recruited by Hero Corps/Vanguard or Arachnos. Using Vanguard in this case makes the rest of this much simpler since Vanguard works with both sides. You still start hero side or villain side, except your starting contact is a Vanguard operative who explains your role and gives your first mission(s). You are a recruited Rikti providing information to Vanguard. Either the Traditionalists or the Restructurists sent you to the appropriate zone to start gathering information, either for future cooperative ventures with the humans for the Traditionalists or for future dominance for the Restructurists. That part is moot anyway, just background. This explains why the PC Rikti/Lost is able to do all the same missions as the other PCs instead of just being locked into a Rikti only game. In this case, you can change sides without losing access to contacts, because the contacts at each trigger level give the same (aside from minor differences) missions. And the only missions I can see coming from the Rikti is your specialization mission, so most of your missions would be Vanguard missions. Aside from that, the bulk of the missions would be against the opposing Rikti side, gathering information and disrupting particularly dangerous plans, ostensibly for the Rikti faction you are part of, but mostly for Vanguard. Third option, the REAT starts the game as a Rikti or a Lost, and functions near identical to the second option. Except your starting contact is a Rikti like the first option. The main story line I see for this would be that as you progress in levels and do more non-Rikti missions for non-Rikti contacts, the Rikti start trusting you less. This concern would first manifest at level 25 after you have undergone full Riktification if a Lost, or chosen your specialization branch if a Rikti at start. Why would this happen? Because lets face it, running around involving yourself in all the garbage humans do to each other in the game will start manifesting itself in some decidedly anti-Rikti thought. We see this in several Rikti missions, two of which I can remember from the RWZ right now. So starting at level 30 or 35, you lose access to your Rikti story contacts, and pick up Vanguard contacts, who work with you like they do with those Rikti you see in the Vanguard missions or the Cure the Lost arc. This opens the character up to several possible reasons why they would participate in say a Mothership Raid. It also does not preclude access to contacts like the Restructurist in GV who would view you as basically just another Primal due to your anti-Rikti thought, though it would add dialogue to his missions about you and your breaking off from Rikti thought. The advantage of any of the provided story options is it gives a plausible reason for a Rikti character to be running around doing existing content while still giving a reason why the REAT would be able to grow and specialize as a Rikti character. Edit again: Problems I have yet to figure out: How does the REAT do the Cure the Lost arc or the Join the Midnighters arcs (for at least the blue side version)?

Steal the Smoke Flash animation from Ninjutsu for those with a Batman/Ninja preference.

*face palm* ... I was begging for your proposed tech option.... Though it would need to have the proposed animation reduced to keep up.

It would reach like-minded people...instead of people that want nothing to do with it. It would reach those willing to use the AE channels for farming, but not those that use LFG to ensure they see any and all farms that may be forming/running.

🙏

Like I said, farming isn't just done in AE. And there being channels just for AE still won't make it likely to catch on for farming use because farming isn't just done in AE. Now if the channel was an official Farming/Power Leveling channel, there is a chance it might see use as the actually used channel for farming and power leveling. However, since LFG already works so well for that, has been used for so long for that already, and the official stance (last I checked) was that farming itself was not officially supported in the game; that's extremely not likely to ever happen with any amount of likely success.

The thing about Flight for me? Even without any global movement buffs, let alone fly speed buffs, I drop a single Fly/Endurance enhancement in Flight, and I find my fly speed is capped. There are 24 sets that grant a global fly speed bonus, by the way. Edit: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Set_Bonus_Comparison_Tables (Every set in the movement list grants bonuses for run, jump, and fly.)

There is a brief period where the hang time functions like Hover, except you can't move up. You can move around laterally and not have the fall start, for a couple seconds looks like, which helps me get on surfaces I can't see when I teleport up. Teleport to edge of the surface I want to get up to, move towards it and jump. I'm on top of the surface (building in GV usually) that I couldn't place my teleport for.

Yeah, I'm done with this convo.

Are you kidding me? Forget one of the two benefits the power grants for TWO MINUTES, a +200.8 max HP boost on Scrappers, on a THREE MINUTE recharge power to fixate on a 15 second duration effect? Because the devs could have just as easily put it into a different power? The devs put it in Consume. They did so intentionally. They didn't just throw a bunch of powers in a set and then grab bag what was going to go into each one. No, the base function of the power is +max HP, END resistance, +END (not max), and +REC, while still doing damage in a PBAoE. You cannot throw out the parts of the power that don't fit your argument. That is Consume. Consume is and always was a +max HP, 50% END drain resistance, immediate 20 END to the character, +5% REC for 15 seconds, for a minor to moderate amount of damage to foes around the character. That is the power you want to shorten the duration of. That is everything that must be factored into the proposal. You cannot argue the power is an attack that happens to boost your END. With a 40 second duration on a 60 second recharge power, the result would not better than a two minute duration on a three minute recharge power. Because we can already stack Consume to renew its effects, and we would still be doing so with the 40 second duration on a 60 second recharge power. The difference? We would have to click the power a lot more often to maintain that benefit, because you want it to be an attack in your attack chain.

They are supposed to be situational. They are not meant to be in constant use as attacks. And with a 120 second duration on a 180 second recharge, reducing duration to 60 seconds to match a new 60 second recharge is not going to happen. We can already double up on Consume, renewing the max HP and END resist, with a 120 second duration and a 180 second recharge. So if the recharge was dropped to 60 seconds, then the duration would be reduced to 40 seconds. That's a lot of clicking for that power. And if you want to compare it to Dull Pain? Dull Pain also has a 120 second duration, but has a 360 second recharge. For only an increase of 67 HP for that duration. Dull Pain has twice as long a recharge, for a marginally better effect, and Consume's effect can be stacked, replenishing itself with much more ease. Consume, like Dark Consumption, is not meant to be part of an active attack chain. Yes, it does damage, but doing damage to enemies isn't its purpose. It's purpose is a lasting buff to give your character an edge (+max HP and END resistance) while also temporarily fortifying your END reserve (flat +20 END and +5% REC for 15 seconds). That is more than enough to get a character out of trouble. I've used it while overwhelmed on +4/x8 because I grabbed too many spawns, and found my health stabilized long enough to drop the number of foes trying to smash my head in to a reasonable number. It works. It works well. Apparently, we have very different definitions of fun. Because adding Consume to my attack chain is not something I want. I fully understand you do, but I really like having that ace up my sleeve for when things get out of hand or I screw up my attack rotation or RNG decides it only wants to roll 95.01%+ constantly except for Streakbreaker. Consume and Dark Consumption are not attacks. They are not meant to be incorporated into an attack chain as part of an ongoing rotation. They are there to give you an extra edge when needed.

There are 11 IO sets that grant range set bonuses, 6 if you drop the ATO sets completely. https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Set_Bonus_Comparison_Tables (Edit: And if you're talking about Teleport range instead of attack range? Warp and Jaunt have two enhancements each that have a range component, while Time and Space Manipulation has one enhancement with a range component. Further, Warp also has a global range bonus as a set bonus. So all three teleport sets boost teleportation range.)

Want to make it even lore aligned or weirder? Have the AT start the player as a Lost. At level 12 or 15, you can go either Headman and Pariah route. At level 24, if you stayed regular Lost, you can go Rikti (grunt). If you went Headman, you can go Rikti Soldier (gaining access to basic Rikti attacks as well as Headman and Chief Soldier attacks). If you went Pariah, you can go Rikti Mentalist (as described previously). Or to keep the insanity simple? The player starts as a Lost with access to lieutenant tier attacks as well. Then at 24, you go Rikti, either the Soldier tree or the Mentalist tree. Previous suggestion would be a homeworld Rikti. The character would be a Traditionalist if blue side aligned and a Restructurist if red side aligned. This would have absolutely no mechanical effect. It would however, explain why you can talk to either Traditionalist or Restructurist contacts like other PCs without the contact trying to blow your head off. (So it is just the Hero/Villain alignment.) The version in this post would be a Primal Earth Rikti, like how most of the Restructurists are. However, some are in the Traditionalist ranks as well, so no harm no foul for a PC Rikti starting and progressing this way. (And since the Traditionalists have the flaw of not allowing former Primal Earth humans into their upper most command structure, it makes sense that they remain in the field interacting with other PCs.) (Edit: Yes, the Lost option would require the PC first slot costume model to be replaced with an appropriate Rikti model at level 24, so this is not an approach I recommend. At all. It is just a bit of insanity I couldn't keep to myself.)

Or? The proposed Rikti AT could work like the Soldiers of Arachnos and Widows of Arachnos. Wolf Spiders as mobs have a very limited selection of powers available to them. Crab Spiders and Bane Spiders as mobs even more so. And yet the SoA AT is full of options for players to make their characters with. Whether they want to stay a Wolf Spider, go Bane Spider, go Crab Spider, or go hybrid Wolf-Bane Spider or Wolf-Crab Spider. (Personally, I loved how my hybrid Wolf-Bane Spider worked back on Live. And eventually I'll be recreating that character on HC.) (Edit: So like, start as a basic Rikti, at 24 you can go Mentalist or Soldier, gaining access to either the Mentalist (lieutenant and boss) options or the Soldier (Headman and Chief Soldier) options. However, I would cut out Rikti Monkey, Rikti Drone, Rikti Heavy Assault Suit, Rikti Communications Officer, and Rikti Magus.)

Thing is, I get why it may not be actively used. AE isn't the only place where players farm, particularly for power leveling. I remove LFG, Help, and General channels from my chat tabs, but I still find myself aware of when someone is say doing a Council Empire Earth farm at Portal Corporation anyway. (Typically because it gets repeated in the chat channels I do maintain, whereas AE farms do not.) Since Portal Corporation missions are also used for farming, it makes sense to me that players would use the LFG tab to look for farms instead of AE chat channels. (It also doesn't help that the AE channels are channels that must be player added to their chat tabs. If it isn't a chat channel I expect to use, I don't put it on my chat tabs. So they go unused and often unknown by me.)

They show up for me too, and I've certainly never joined any Architect channels on any of my characters. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that yeah, those two are official channels.

DOs and SOs drop as a matter of course and can be slotted into powers for free. Or sold for some extra inf'. IOs always have to be crafted or bought. Removing DOs, and possibly SOs, means that a character can't slot enhancements except by buying them. (Which includes crafting them since you have to pay to craft them.) Doesn't get much cheaper than free. Edit: So if it comes down to losing DOs/SOs because improving low level IO sets makes them worthless? Then I am very much opposed to the idea. While I usually just leave my enhancement slots empty until I can get the set IOs I intend for them to use, there are many times I find myself throwing SOs or DOs in them as a stop gap measure because I can't afford anything and hey, I've got several drops I can use that are of more benefit slotted than sold. (Edit again: I also find funny your comment that some things and systems may have not needed to exist in the first place, on a discussion about low level IO sets, where you seem to imply it is the DOs and SOs that should have never existed in the first place, considering that set IOs were a much later addition on a game where TOs, DOs, and SOs were the benchmark for having a capable character. Especially since it was ED that prompted the IO sets to be created since players were in an uproar that they could no longer slot their powers for their play style or full effectiveness. [Lord knows I was rather upset when my Dark/Dark Scrapper found itself only able to barely use 3 of the 5 red SOs I had in each attack. And it was slotting that way that made the character suddenly very capable instead of struggling to face off against equal level mobs.])

You do realize that reducing Consume's recharge will necessitate reducing its duration as well? Two minutes of improved max HP and END drain resistance are going to have be smacked down to account for an improved recharge. And I have no problems keeping my toggles going and using my attacks on Fiery Aura characters unless its paired with Radiation Melee. (And Radiation Melee has its own concerns I'm still learning to manage. Not a set I've used before until this character.) (Basically, I still don't see why you want Dark Consumption and Consume to have their recharges reduced. They aren't supposed to always be recovering our END, just periodically giving us that emergency boost to keep going. We are supposed to manage our END use, not rely on things like Dark Consumption and Consume to keep us in the fight. For END hungry sets like Dark Melee and Fiery Aura though, they are great for keeping us in the fight as is while also doing damage to our enemies. When needed, as opposed to being part of an expected attack chain.)

Set IOs are also static unless attuned. They just don't lose effectiveness from us leveling past their slotted level.

Especially as that call would very quickly get echoed on other ATs. (Widows anyone?)

*grumble* *grumble* *bites tongue about people thinking Placate is or was ever worthless before says something that gets self booted from forums*

Repel doesn't have a distance setting, it can't push or pull X feet, it only has a duration. If that duration were a set amount, it would either drop the target short of the user, or continue to pull the target after it reached the user. Thus, the duration would have to vary with distance in order to make it bring the target into melee range regardless of where the target was previously, but also stop pulling when melee range was reached. I get that, except that Singularity uses an inverse repel to draw targets to it, with the result being the target reaches the Singularity, moves past it, is drawn towards it for not being at it, and the target keeps shifting around the Singularity because of the constant attraction. The constant duration as long as the Singularity is not defeated or times out keeps targets moving to it even if they get drawn past it. Hence, my expectation that the variable duration would be necessitated by Confront not being a sustained power.

What if it instead gave the target a minor movement buff to close with the Scrapper/Tanker/Brute?

I actually agree that every power in a power set should be a desirable pick. However, I find that Confront already is a desirable pick depending on my character and build. I'm actually fine with Confront being made a little stronger, as long as it isn't changed, and most definitely not replaced, but the repel may be a bit much or otherwise unworkable.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the reason for the variable duration is because it isn't a constant effect like Singularity?