Rudra

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like narrowing the effects of the proposed set. Give each attack a 2-part approach. Leeching damage and health. Each power applies a -Dmg effect to targets affected by Susceptible. The -Dmg stacks to a damage floor on the targets. The character gains a stacking minor +Dmg effect depending on the current -Dmg effects up to a set maximum. And targets affected by Susceptible taking damage from the character provide a minor heal effect to the Parasitic Blast PC. Edit: To keep things simple, the stacking +Dmg component is applied each time the character applies a -Dmg effect. With dev determined duration for buff. Edit again: Also, if a target is affected by Susceptible, it has an increased chance of being affected by Susceptible, refreshing the duration.

How about -Dmg with a minor health leech ability? Kind of like regen, but not regen.

The MM primary innate attacks (as opposed to pet attacks) are not dead picks, token picks, or invalid picks. (Unless you want to tell me I'm building my MMs wrong. And my MMs have no problems killing anything in the game unless it has AoE nukes to wipe out my pets with.) If players want the END cost of those attacks checked and possibly modified, that's fine. If you want to say those powers are not useful to you, that is also fine. Everyone has their preference for what powers they find useful on an AT. Please refrain from making blanket assertions that MM innate attacks are dead, token, or invalid though.

Yeah, Champions Online has a Silver Free Form and Gold Free Form slot. The difference is the silver free form gets the same number of powers as the archetype characters and the gold free form gets 1 or 2 extra powers. And you can choose powers except for the energy builder (which you are only allowed to have 1 of) from any set of powers. What people calling for CoX to be like CO are missing though, is that the powers in CO had prerequisites. You could get up to 3 different powers from any given set. Those 3 or so powers had no prerequisites. They were also bottom tier powers. The higher tier powers had progressively higher prerequisites to get though. Those prerequisites being a minimum number of powers from that set already on the character. The minimum prerequisite was still 3 powers to unlock anything higher, but your energy builder counted if it was from that set. And you still had to have 6 (maybe 5?) powers from a given set to get access to the best power(s) in that set. So powers like the nukes and other premium powers are still gained relatively late in the game. Edit: Also conveniently ignored in those comparisons are that CO is mostly archetypes. You have to buy each and every slot you want as a free form. Otherwise you are stuck playing an archetype and are given your powers with no choice on the matter except for at 1 point in leveling. You don't get to make your character, it is pre-made for you and you just get to select a slotted power and make 1 choice between 2 powers at a single late point in leveling. No, the request is to create an I win button and simply bypass the levels. I disagree with doing so, but that is what the I win button in the thread is for.

The only sets I know of that lean towards an origin are the gun sets and device sets. Because people automatically think of tech when they think of those. However, guns and devices are not specific to any origin. Natural characters in comics and other sources tend to use guns and devices. Tech characters tend to have their weapons and devices integrated into their bodies or power armors. Science characters and mutation characters use them surprisingly frequently to supplement or control or focus their own abilities. And technomancers have been a thing in literature and gaming for some time now. The only other set I can think of that might lean towards an origin is Bio Armor. And that still does not define itself as specifically mutation. Science can cause the same effects. Magic definitely. Being of a race with that ability? Makes sense. (That guy that killed Superman was basically the Bio Armor set, and he can be considered both natural (racial trait) and science (artificially created race).) Even technology can easily be used to explain the set on any given character. The only two sets that specifically tie into any given origin are the 2 current existing origin power pools. The blast set as proposed doesn't lean toward a single origin. It is specifically a magic origin set. It is specifically using magic energy, arcane energy, eldritch energy, mana, ether, aether, whatever your preferred arcane-based definition of energy is; to manifest specifically magical effects. There is no gray area. This proposal makes an origin specific AT power set. So you're a natural origin character? Choose this power set and congrats, you are a spellcaster. Tech origin? You may use technology, but you are a spellcaster. (That would be a technomancer, which is a magic origin.) So on and so forth. The magic origin encompasses any character that uses magic, whether a spellcasting mutant, a technomancer, and magically adept race, wielding/using magic weapons or devices, or anything else. (Others are free to define their origin based on other traits, but typically, that is how a magic origin character is defined.) The whole reason why every power set except the two power pools are set up the way they are is so that it fits with any character you may want to make. They specifically avoid getting into the how of a power and leave that up to the player so players can go as crazy as they like with their character concept. However, the OP specifically tells you the how of the set. And effectively gives the finger to the other 4 origins. Choose the proposed power set, and you are wielding magic. Period. Everything about the set is defined as magic regardless of how a player may want to approach their character. This exact same set would engender a lot less opposition if it were generic in its approach. Elemental Blast could work as @biostem said. Entropic Blast. Whatever Blast. However, the author specifically wants the set named and identified as a strictly magic origin set. (Edit: Add other weapons and shields to the guns/devices mix. Sorry for not already including them.)

@Yomo Kimyata is correct. Usury, the practice of charging exorbitant interest on loans is a crime. It is a poorly prosecuted crime, and can be difficult to prove depending on the interest rate, but it still stands as one. Charging interest is legal, just not when it is exploitative.

Anything in particular? (Personally, not to bring up another thread, I'd really like to see bird tails. As well as squirrel tails, multi-fox tails, and more animal heads.)

Removing Empyrean Merits in their entirety would work against the incarnate system. They existed as part of the incarnate system back on Live so players could buy the salvage they needed to make their incarnate powers without relying solely on random drops as mission/arc rewards.

Even magic gets blocked. Even in CoX there is a Dispel Magic spell. And a Counterspell as well. You are conflating sources with effects. A magically created shockwave is still a shockwave and can be dealt with as such. In every reference source of magic, magic creates specific effects. You know what? I'm not up to dealing with your post line by line. Just look at my previous post for my response.

You're correct. Arcane energy is not an element. Neither is it a specific effect, it is a specific source. Arcane energy as used in comics, anime, movies, novels, and video games is the background power through which the mage, wizard, witch, warlock, sorcerer, or any other different variant of arcane caster creates a specific effect such as fireballs and lightning bolts. However, the power sets in CoX don't deal with the How of a power, they deal with the What of a power. So a lightning bolt in the Electric Blast set can be arcane energy, biochemical induced projection, capacitor induced, divinely granted, and so forth. So the whole idea of any character using arcane energy to do anything is covered by the How. And the How is defined by the character's origin (in this case, magic) and the character's bio (if desired). This can be further supplemented through the use of auras, specifically the Runes aura. And a request for additional options for the Runes aura to make it look more like Dr. Strange, World of Warcraft fan art, or whatever is definitely an option. Edit: Also the claim that magic does more damage due to being magic is rather biased. The effectiveness of magic in any given world or setting is dependent on how the creator (writer) of that world sets magic to be. So it can range from so meager as to only be able to achieve some minor mostly unnoticed effects all the way up to "I am a god of destruction!" levels of power. (It is also dependent on the specific character's strength of magic in that world setting within the provided limits of magic's scope.)

Seems a bit OP to me, but I guess that would really depend on the final numbers. Aside from that? Looks interesting.

The initial dead drop mission is to familiarize the character with the dead drops so (s)he can receive orders. The initial mission briefing includes the following line: "I need you to place these orders for other Void Sanction agents and familiarize yourself with the drop locations." (https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/The_Major) So the initial run is passing along orders for other agents to perform other missions as part of familiarizing you with the sites. Then when you go back to those drops, you are picking up orders other agents are leaving for you. (Possibly even other PC vigilantes as part of also joining the Major.) As for re-arranging the mission order? The only way to get the Major as a contact is by being a vigilante. Which means you've already done some very questionable and most likely very illegal/murderous acts. Though in the context of testing the character for loyalty and compliance, it does still work.

Yes, there are characters who have no control over their powers in the comics. And if players want top tier powers like nukes at level 1 to simulate that? Then sure. As long as those powers have the following flags: Affects enemies, Affects allies, Affects non-combat NPCs. After all, they can't control their power, so using it is going to hurt everyone other than themselves. I doubt anyone is willing to play that kind of character though. Makes teaming unpleasant and escort missions almost impossible, but that is how the characters in comics that start with the uncontrolled powers and have to progressively learn control work. The power progression in the game shows a character that has control over his/her powers and improves on it. I don't get why anyone would play a character that has no control and progressively gains it, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. However, a lack of control over powers means those characters are as deadly to their teammates as they are to their enemies. And to random bystanders like NPCs needing to be escorted out. (Edit: And yes, that would apply to the T9 pets too. They can't be controlled, so they keep attacking everything.)

I don't think pets can check character facing. Just character position. So having the sentinels advance slightly in front of the character could be problematic. Maybe a wandering mechanic instead so that when not in combat, the sentinel floats to various points around the character?

Go to. If you want pets to come back to you, use the go to command. Just click a spot near you and they all come running to you. (Edit: Or set them to passive until they get back to you. Both options work.)

Yes please. When I join ToT leagues, it is quite common to hear the league leader calling for the current team leader of some teams to promote a specific member so the team can have a 50 lead instead of the current 20-something that most commonly seems to be the default leader. And those leaders are not paying the least bit of attention, so the entire team is useless against the mobs and getting nothing for it for quite a while. Even with those of us that are 50 on the team asking the team leader to promote any of us in team chat, league chat, and tells.

Because we don't have any mages in the game. Haven't seen a single one anywhere. Nope. No enemy factions that are all mages or mystics or arcane. No warlocks either. Not as NPCs or as PCs. Okay, putting sarcasm aside. Mages can be made as Blasters, Defenders, Controllers, Sentinels, Corruptors, Dominators, and Masterminds. (Necromancer anyone?) Unless you want a more melee focused character. Warlocks? I'm going to guess that means something like the WoW warlock class. The one that summons demons. Like the Demon Summoning Mastermind. Except you can have 6 demons out at once instead of just 1. If he wants a multi-element power set? Fine. A magic origin specific power set? What about the technology, science, mutation, and natural origins? Weapons are not restricted to technology heroes. Devices aren't either. (Edit: Hello, technomancer.)

Those pics are basically the Runes: Fists aura. You want it with the discs too? We can ask for an alternate aura with the discs added.

No reason to be confused. What does arcane energy look like? You said we need a pure magic energy power set. So what does magic energy look like? Also, would only magic origin characters be allowed to use the proposed Arcane Blast power set?

What does arcane energy look like?

I grabbed Plasmatic Taser to look at it. Plasmatic Taser: As used by a level 50 Blaster Average Damage:102.81 Damage Per Activation Time:96.08 Damage Per Cast Cycle:7.87 Activation Time:1.07s Recharge Time:12.00s Endurance Cost:14.82 Accuracy:1.00X Fistful of Arrows: MM primary attack as used by my MM at level 50. Average Damage:52.86 Damage Per Activation Time:45.18 Damage Per Cast Cycle:10.91 Activation Time:1.17s Recharge Time:3.68s Endurance Cost:8.01 Accuracy:1.84X Available Level:8 They are both cone attacks. Both at level 50. The innate Fistful of Arrows has the higher damage per cast cycle, much better recharge, better END cost. and way better accuracy. Taser is the faster attack with its activation time. And I only have Fistful of Arrows 4-slotted. (I can't get Plasmatic Taser on that MM because that MM is on an ITF with a friend. And she can only play 2 days a week. And my other remaining MMs are not yet 50.) We're obviously not going to convince each other though. So sure. We agree to disagree.

I don't know about other people's builds for MMs. I don't really care how other people slot their MMs. I don't even care if the END cost for MM powers is reduced. It won't hinder me at all. I always slot my MM's innate attacks. Ranged attacks typically do less damage than melee ones, so of course I expect the melee attacks in the OP to outdamage them. The claim that MMs can't even clear a spawn of green minions without crashing their END reserve and the claim that MM innate attacks are too under-powered compared to temp powers is what is getting me. Even with no enhancements, I have never played an MM that ran out of END taking down white con minions, let alone green. Until I see an MM unable to take down -2 minions, I will hold those comments to be garbage. What is so uncivil about the comment? I didn't say anything about you personally, I said that claim is pure garbage. And I showed why. Your comment was that even after accounting for enhancements on the MM's attacks, they could not compete with temp powers. And they obviously can. It's not just accuracy that makes or breaks a power. Not even. You have to look at the power in its entirety if you are going to make comparisons. I don't have a Thugs MM any more. Didn't like the set. Will probably try it again later to see if changing other elements makes me more inclined to keep playing them. Otherwise, I would take the Thugs innate attacks, find the most comparable temp power I can, and run a comparison between them. I've never respecced my MMs unless a new enhancement set was released that I thought would be of more use. Neither will I run +4/x8 missions on my MMs. The slog of clearing the missions is way more than I am willing to deal with. So let's sum up here. You build your MMs however you want. I don't care how you build or play them. I don't care if MM innate attacks get their END cost reduced. I care about the fact that easily disproven claims are being made about MMs.

Aimed Shot is 5-slotted. I treat my MM's innate attacks the same as I treat all the other AT's attacks. My MMs have 6 attacks that are slotted as attacks. 3 just happen to be pets. Temp powers cannot be slotted. The argument that got me to do this was Riverdusk's quoted statement, which is pure garbage. Aimed Shot: As used by a level 50 Blaster with no enhancements of any kind slotted anywhere on the character. Average Damage:82.58 Damage Per Activation Time:49.45 Damage Per Cast Cycle:10.77 Activation Time:1.67s Recharge Time:6.00s Endurance Cost:5.20 Accuracy:1.15X Bow and Arrow: Temp power attack as available on my MM at level 50. Average Damage:175.63 Damage Per Activation Time:105.17 Damage Per Cast Cycle:18.16 Activation Time:1.67s Recharge Time:8.00s Endurance Cost:10.66 Accuracy:1.15X Uh oh. Looks like Blasters need a buff too. The Bow and Arrow temp power blows the Blaster's unenhanced Aimed Shot completely out of the water. So what metric do you really want to use for MMs?

The difference is that existing Alpha powers can supplement how you enhance your powers. Having an Alpha slot that converts KB to KD does not supplement anything. It replaces the existing enhancement sets that exist for that purpose. So, no.

I'm all for this. Any time a team works together to get something done, the entire team should get credit for any badge associated with what was done. This includes any mission badges where only the mission holder gets credit. Why is only the mission holder getting credit when the team is doing the mission? (I think this is only relevant to some missions in Dark Astoria though.) Basically, team does something, entire team should get credit, regardless of task involved.