oedipus_tex

I personally think it would be a good move for the development team to change the current level unlocks for powers by one tier, which would make Controller pets unlock at 26 instead of 32 (and make stuff like Wormhole unlock at 18 instead of 26, so a Grav troller would actually have AoE Controls prior to the mid 20s). The order of power unlocks in each set is mostly random and untied to any particular balance structure. Witness blast sets like Energy Blast where the second AoE unlocks at level 26 (outrageously, level 35 for Defenders). Barring re-ordering all the powers this would be a wise move to fix many of the more frustrating sets. Bonus points if doing this provided 3 powers choices from the primary pool at level 1 and 2 choices from the secondary pool.

I'd start with Dark over Electric. Electric is very low damage and has a bit of a learning curve. I tend to feel Electric is best played on Dominators or else with a damaging secondary like Storm to make up for the extremely poor damage contribution. Dark isn't likely to flatten spawns but does contribute enough damage to sustain.

I think part of the issue is we don't have end game content that addresses the powers that arrive at level 51 and beyond. Incarnate abilities have pushed us to the extremes, where level 50 radio missions that used to be very challenging are actually easier than stuff in the 30-40 range. iTrials partially address this. The buff sets are very very very very useful there. Controllers are still a liability due to low damage, but not like in the ITF or Summer Blockbuster where a low damage Controller, particularly one with an unideal secondary set, could cause a team fail. The much maligned Force Field set is actually among the best secondaries for an iTrial for example. But as for 8-man teams, those aren't currently in a great place at the end of the game. I imagine if the game had continued, the developers would have added more stuff to it. FWIW one thing I always thought was kind of a shame about CoX is that the levels are mostly devoid of interesting obstacles. I mean like the stuff you see in Beat Em Up games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Freeze Rays that block the way, lazers, chainsaws, etc, that you have to avoid but can also toss enemies into. With more of that the game would be a lot more fun IMO. We get a few portions like that in the Apex Task Force and a few other places, but I wish there was more of it. I wonder how the current dev team feels about current content and whether we'll ever see 'ultra challenge' modes. Accelerated challenge versions of the existing Task Forces seem like they would be a good bet.

As I understand it, no, the power available to each set is a deep clone of the set it was proliferated from, so there is a separate data object representing (for example) Controller Glacier from Dominator Glacier. The Dominator version was cloned from the Controller version and tags added to it to responded to a caster in Domination mode. Thus, it would theoretically be possible for each power to have wildly different characterstics. Allowing the Controller versions to always be Mag 4 might be a decent fix for these powers if we don't want to mess with their Recharge. Overall I feel like the powers are already pretty effective for Dominators and don't really need changes. But it wouldn't necessarily hurt for those to also be default Mag 4, increasing to Mag 8 (or 7 if they don't to fully double it) when in Domination mode. If there is serious worry about this, they could just change the 20% chance for +1 Mag Controllers have on these powers to a 100% chance. That would apply to Controllers but not Dominators and allow them to hold most bosses.

A number of changes since the game have gone live have given rise to the 'melt your soundcard' move I use on my Gravity/Storm troller. The setup: - KB to KD IO in Wormhole - KB to KD IO in Singularity The trick: Use Wormhole to drop enemies directly on top of Singularity. Since Wormhole no longer notifies enemies, you can safely cast it even with line of sight. Enemies will be stunned and wake up directly on top of the Singularity's knockback aura (which is now knockdown). This will usually cause any who weren't stunned to attack Singularity instead of you (at least at first). Singularity mostly won't move from the spot as long as an enemy is directly under it, so you have effectively duplicated the Bonfire effect. If you happen to be a /Storm, add a Tornado and Lightning Storm both with KB to KD IOs to add to the fun. If you are a /Sonic Resonance, hang your debuff donut from Singularity so enemies land in a -Resist effect. I'm sure other secondaries offer similar fun (especially Traps). Downside: the noise is so persistent it may cause your sound card to explode. It is, however, effective.

It's really only an issue at low levels and if they ever want to implement a solution, it would be mostly fixed by just giving low level enemies a penalty to their base Defense. The mechanics are the way there are because of powersets like Force Field and the large level of abstraction required to make multiple powersets, each with wildly different effects, all filter into a single combat system. Powers either hit or miss with nothing in between because there are so many secondary effects to consider. It might have been interesting if you had to roll for each tag on the power. (e.g. a power tagged ranged, fire rolled for both ranged and fire, and split the damage and secondary effects). But it would difficult to implement cleanly.

I've been meaning to ask how effectively procs like Defiant Barrage work in Cauterizing Aura. It's got a tiny radius (8ft) but do procs carry it the distance?

I don't think Wormhole factored into it, altho it is possible I am wrong. The original Gravity was widely considered one of the weakest in the game until its revamp late in the game's life cycle. One of the few selling points of Gravity back in the day was "At least its AoE immobilize doesn't interfere with knockdown." It was considered a bonus at the time, and some Controllers even slotted knockdown procs in the power to take advantage of the extra control (we were much more innocent in those days and valued those kinds of effects more). When Electric came out it was given the Class B type of AoE immobilize to avoid interference with Jolting Chain. This was interesting because Ice and Earth Control had long struggled with interference with Ice Slick and Earthquake. But Electric Control, as the second to last Control set ever designed, was built with higher attention to in-set conflicts than either of those sets.

I'm no expert, especially in the i25 rules. Energy Blast was long regarded as one of the dead worst Defender blast sets due to a combo of low base Defender damage and the scatter caused by the powers. Overall, Energy Blast has fast animating attacks and two decent (if late coming) AoEs. A couple of questions: 1. Is there really such a thing as a 'knockback tax'? I ask this because in discussions of the new proc mechanics several have mentioned that E Blast has to spend a slot to convert kb to kd. But, I question whether this tax is 'real.' It's only really the AoEs that require kb to kd procs. Knockback in single target powers isn't a huge issue. The rate of knockback in Energy's AoE's is: Energy Torrent: 60% Explosive Blast: 50% Nova: 100% That rate of mitigation seems extremely effective to me. It does mean Energy Blast will do lower damage in the end, but it's also significantly safer. Other sets can add knockdown to powers with a proc, but I don't think they can sustain the constant barrage of AoE knockdown that Energy Blast can. 2. No desirable secondary effect. This part if hard to argue with: E Blast doesn't benefit much from Defender's superior values. In fact, the value it adds (extra knockback distance!) is generally regarded as undesirable. However, I question how much this matters in the current meta. Of the available sets, only a few offer secondary effects that benefit from Defender bonuses: Sonic - - Resist Radiation - -Defense (valued almost exclusively at high levels for -resist procs, which dont vary by AT) Beam Gun - See above Dual Pistols - See above Psi/Ice - Other than the Holds, just -Recharge Dark - -ToHit, arguably among the most useful Water - Mix, generally not benefitting the Defender more than other ATs Electric Blast - Endurance drain doesn't adjust by AT, so virtually no differences Fire, Archery, Assault Rifle - Nothing at all beyond mezz durations and the odd debuff So, really just 2 sets out of 11 vary significantly by AT. Is it remarkable that Energy Blast doesn't vary? (FWIW I've long argued that when Knockback is adjusted by AT it should apply to knockback chance and not knockback distance. However, that's a game balance issue unlikely to ever be settled. It's unfortunate it's not how developers saw the proliferation of powers from the outset.) What are your thoughts?

Prior to the i25 change, there were two types of AoE immobs: Class A: Totally Stop Knockdown/Knockup/Knockback by applying a combo of kb protection and resistance Class B: No Effect Whatsoever on Knockdown/Knockup/Knockback Class A applied to Ice, Fire, Earth, Plant, and Dark. Class B applied to Gravity and Electric. In both cases it was because it was believed the -kb would interfere too much with the knockback/down of these sets. In i25, all Class A powers lost their knockback protection but not their resistance. The result is all kb converts to knockdown. Class B powers were not changed. So Gravity and Electric AoE immobilizes dont convert knockback to knockdown. Perhaps they should, since they are the sets developers originally worried most about. In the meantime, tho, they still work as they have since live.

The /Fire one to me is most useful, though I haven't got any actual data to back this up. It provides raw Healing values, as in literally little green numbers over your head. I was shocked by how much healing it actually provides. Since it's raw Healing it should also in theory benefit from set bonuses that improve Healing. More importantly though the values are high enough that in a lot of fights, unless you die outright, you can often run away a short distance to charge your health bar back up and then come back.

One thing I've not quite grasped yet about /Storm Defenders is how they solve the mezz protection hole. Or do most of them just not worry about it?

The i25 proc rules are game changers for the Defender AT. Due to Defenders having excellent buff stats and the fact that most damage procs don't adjust their Damage to the Defender's normally lower Damage modifier, they are poised to be proc-generating lawn mowers. The question is, which powers have benefitted most from these changes? I've seen some discussion of Dual Pistols. Are there other sets that are well positioned to benefit? Which powers, and how specifically? I'm tempted to guess, for example, that Ray Gun and Radiation Blast are both in a good place. But I'm not sure how powers should be slotted or how best to turn them into monsters. Any ideas?

You'll want to spend time in the air with Hover or a similar power when faced with enemies who can punch hard. You lose some DPS but its worth it if you are otherwise being one-shot. It's particularly the case around levels 30-45 when enemies hit extremely hard and the team isn't fully prepared to deal with it yet. Slot the Fire PBAoE aura power for Healing and Recovery as soon as possible. Luckily the Blaster Fire tertiary set is very strong, offering Bonfire, Rise of the Phoenix, and Fire Shield. Spend 2 million influence or so to turn Bonfire into a knockdown patch. Then you'll have one of the best control powers in the game and should be far more survivable. You'll want to try to get Bonfire before Hot Feet or Burn if you can get the proc.

These days I would strongly consider a Blaster over a Kin Defender or Corruptor for farming. Blasters can sustain themselves easier and deal huge damage. Kinetics is still a very good set for boosting team damage, so Kinetics has its place. Kinetics Fire and Plant Controllers are of course still good farmers. I'd generally prefer the Corruptor or Defender over either of them for iTrials so it balances somewhat.

Time Shift is literally the same power as Flashfire for Fire Controllers, with slightly lower Stun duration. It is hands down one of the best Blaster powers available and even gives some Control sets a run for their money. The rest of Temporal is generally 'pretty good' to 'okay.'

Looking closer at Atomic Blast I did discover you cannot actually slot it for Hold duration (tho maybe you can use Damage/Mezz Hami-Os, Did they change that?) Dreadful Wail and Psychic Wail can be directly slotted for Stun duration. Although Hold and Stun are somewhat different, the effect is strikingly similar given that nukes are likely to also flatten the spawn, where the Controller has to follow it up with attacks. Three sets were hit extra hard by the ED change. Mind, Ice, and Gravity. None of these three has a strong, quickly recharging AoE hard mezz to fall back on (well, Gravity sort of does in Wormhole, but the radius is only 15ft). Mind has Mass Confusion which also has a 240 second recharge (why? this one seems to make sense as a 145 second power too, and this would make Mind Control far more attractive as a set.) Ice... haha, poor Ice. :(

In the wake of Blast set nukes being set to a base recharge time of 145 seconds, I think it's time to review whether the current recharge time of Controller and Dominator AoE holds could use some review. As it stands, several of the nukes on Blasters seem to duplicate Controller holds, with the bonus of doing huge damage, and being extra accurate: - Atomic Blast: mag 3 AoE Hold (12 seconds), base accuracy 105%, 145 second recharge, 250 damage - Psychic Wail: mag 3 AoE Stun (12 seconds), base accuracy 115%, 145 second recharge, 250 damage - Dreadful Wail: mag 3 AoE Stun (12 seconds), base accuracy 105%,145 second recharge, 250 damage Compare this to some of the Controller PBAoEs: - Glacier, Cinders: mag 3 hold (15 seconds), 240 second recharge, base accuracy 60%, ZERO damage The only extra thing Controllers get is a 20% chance for an extra Mag 1 on the Hold. Now, I don't begrudge Blasters. It's only 3 sets that have these extreme control capabilities (altho I confess it was enough to cause me to reroll some Controller characters as Blasters/Defenders in light of this). The question is, what is an appropriate Recharge value for Controller and Dominator holds with these factors in mind? I'm tempted to say 145 seconds is a baseline. However, if the powers retain their terrible accuracy, should it be even shorter than that? I'll confess I'm far more concerned for Controllers than Dominators. Dominators are a damage AT that can double the magnitude of Hold powers, which significantly increases their value. I'm having trouble seeing the value add for Controllers though. It really feels like a change of some kind would be welcome. After all, Holds don't actually kill enemies.

I would go Defender for this combo. Defenders are pretty ruthless now with the +30% damage buff they get solo. Radiation Blasts best power is Irradiate, a PBAoE damage over time with a very fast animation. This means you'll be spending a lot of time up close with enemies and will benefit from the extra defense capability of a Defender. Rad Blast's nuke is a PBAoE with a Mag 3 hold. It will stack with Choking Cloud, should you choose to.use that power.

Fire/Time is a combo I'm surprised not to see more often. Maybe because of the endurance costs of running two PBAoE toggles. But the two sets compliment each other perfectly, with the huge bonus that Farsight and Time's Juncture will also benefit your Fire Imps.

/Storm is a great option if you are willing to spend some money for a kb to kd proc in Tornado and possibly Lightning Storm. Electric Control is low damage, a niche that Storm fills nicely. Most other secondaries are okay if you're okay with a very low damage character. Forewarning: some teams may not be, and for a few specific tasks that require high DPS (like the Summer Blockbuster event) you could end up being a drag on the team. But play what you enjoy.

I think perhaps the most overlooked buff set in the game is Thermal. Thermal truly has it all, and while other sets can certainly accomplish faster clear times on AVs, Thermal is probably the most likely set in the game for taking any random team composition and filling a hole it was missing. It is also an incredibly survivable set thanks to the PBAoE heal (only Empathy, Radiation, Nature, Time, and Pain get one of these, and none of those is quite a match for Thermal). A PBAOE heal with Defender heal values on an AT that can cap Resistance on self and soft cap fairly easily is incredible stuff on its own. Under the new proc rules powers like Melt Armor are virtually guaranteed to trigger additional resistance procs, making the power far more valuable than it used to be. Also, Forge adds +25% ToHit to a teammate so if someone has a snipe it becomes insta-cast, which is always appreciated. Soloing an AV is something quite different of course. But for teams a good Thermal is always a huge win.

I have shifted my thinking quite a bit on build priorities after having more experience with how procs work after i24. The major change is that powers with long recharges are much more likely to cause a proc to fire than previously. The math for this is fairly complicated, but what it means in practice is powers with relatively long recharges (16 seconds or so and up, but even powers with 12 or 8 second recharges) are extremely good places for extra effects. Sometimes the effect is so extreme that the proc damage makes sets that seem lackluster, like Dual Pistols, into beasts (see recent discussions in Defender forums on this topic). Because of this, I now value soft capping much less than before. Sure, it's nice. But often getting close to soft cap (say around 35-40%) and counting on bonuses for the rest can help. Of course, it depends a bit on the sets in question. Sets like Storm or Energy Blast with lots of mitigation, or Dark with its extra -ToHit can probably squeeze by more easily. Global Recharge, on the other hand, has drastically increased in value, because Global Recharge does not count against the proc chance to fire calculation. That makes powers like Hasten, Alphas like Agility, and +Recharge from sets extra incredible. Also, you can find Purple inspirations for defense but not inspirations for Recharge. So, Recharge to me is the most valuable, and at least theoretically competitive with extra raw Damage.

Any thoughts about whether Energy/Storm plays better on Corruptor or Defender? I can see advantages for both. I'm playing Corruptor right now, on fence about switching.

Dominator is the class you want if you want a long term project to plug away at for a lengthy period of playtime before seeing its top performance. Permadom completely changes the AT in a way that no other AT is changed. Unlike a Brute or Scrapper, who tend to progress along a linear curve, for Dominators a huge door opens once you hit key Defense and Recharge values. It's also often very expensive. It may or may not be worth it to you. You'll never outdamage the (newly buffed) Blasters, a class that these days requires significantly less investment. But a Dominator makes for a good long duration effort.