oedipus_tex

Melee characters were already given this treatment for the most part. There's a solution to the mezz problem, but its bringing the archetypes closer together and making mezz meaningful for everyone, not making mezz even worse for the archetypes who already have to deal with it. If we want to have mezz start shutting down Melee toggles I'm down for it. If the answer is "No that's annoying" I'm like, "Yes. It is." 🙂

Cognitive is usually not worth it on anything except an Ice Control player using Arctic Air. In that one very specific context, the Mags can stack meaningfully and result in controlling things that may have rolled lucky on AA, or on bosses. Even then, it's not amazing, just "okay."

I'm very critical of Ice Control, despite loving the concept. I mained it on live (as Ice/Fire and Ice/Energy.. this was the old Fire Assault that was leagues better than the other choices at the time). I think Ice/Dark is one of the more workable Ice Dom builds. What's especially nice is you can safely skip Dark Assault's T9 so you can grab all 5 powers out of the Psi APP. The self heal is also really important given Ice Control's holes. FWIW I'd skip Cardiac if at all possible and use Ageless Destiny to cover endurance issues. The Musculature Alpha is in nearly every case the better choice because nothing else is going to give you extra damage above the enhancement cutoff. Muscle has a version that adds to your -ToHit, which will be very helpful since its hard to fit slotting for it in real slots. Of course you can also get multiple incarnate abilities and swap them out when needed. Having both Muscle/Cardio and Destiny Barrier/Ageless to swap between as needed can help a lot.

IMO Dominators have the best APP powers of any archetype. That's a good thing because the AT without the APPs isn't that impressive. Best in show: Sleet Indom Will + Resist armor + Mind Link Fireball + Rain of Fire + Rise of the Phoenix + Armor with fire resist (less popular these days but still a damn fine combo, especially for Fire Assault players) Power Sink + Ball Lightning + Armor with energy resist (mostly for Elec builds but still good overall) Soul Drain + Dark Oblit I didn't list Water Spout since a few archetypes get it, but it's really good too, and especially good in the context of Dominators.

From general to specific. Normalize the animation time of Single Target Hold, Single Target Immob, and AoE Immobilize. The original intent was for all of these powers to do identical damage, except for Fire which should do more. However, an oversight in how animation time contributes to damage resulted in some of these powers having 2.5x the DPA of others, with no rhyme or reason for which sets do high damage versus low. A balance pass similar to Blasters would be highly appreciated. Plants AoE immobilize does x2 as much damage as it "should." This is probably a bug, because neither the ST Immob or ST Hold do this. Apply archetype modifiers to pseudopets (like was done with Dark Miasma). This would result in Controllers getting slightly better numbers from a few powers that include debuffs, like Earthquake, Quicksand, and Shadow Field, as well as the correct bonus duration to controls like Synaptic. Doms have the same modifier as pets for these attribs so would gain or lose nothing, Controllers would gain +25%. Update the power order for backloaded sets. In general I'm in favor of this restructure: T1 Immob T1 Hold AoE Immob Cust Power 1 Cust Power 2 Cust Power 3 Cust Power 4 Pet AoE Hold A little variation is fine. However I don't think any of these sets should be waiting until level 26 or 32 for key controls. It may be wishful thinking asking for the pet at a lower level, but it would make the trip on these characters much less frustrating IMO. AoE Holds are generally not useful at the level you currently get them and only get decent with IOs. Make AoE Holds (other than Earth and Dark) the nukes they are meant to be. Adding a substantial debuff to them would be a nice touch. The Electric one for example feels like a power that should either tank endurance and/or end resist, but doesn't. At a minimum, remove the Accuracy penalty. Blast sets get bonus accuracy in their nukes. The Accuracy penalty in these powers just means they aren't useful on un-IOed builds. Communicate a philosophy for the role pets are supposed to play. I feel like with Mastermind pets everyone has a pretty good idea what the pets are there to do and how they are meant to contribute. I don't get that sense with Control archetypes. Its fine for them to be different from each other, I'd just like to understand what determines that Gremlins, for example, have almost no defense or resistance and mediocre attacks while other pets are tanks or have Mag 3 Holds. Specific changes, from critical to wish list. Do something about Mind Control on Controllers. Not sure what, just something. Mind Control for Controllers needs a big boost somewhere to make it relevant. Fix Synaptic Overload on Dominators. This is a vital fix. The set has no AoE powers that Dominate currently, other than the standard AOE hold and immobilize. This power currently Dominates the first target but not the rest. It should follow rules for other AoE controls. In its current state it feels bugged. Update Arctic Air on Dominators. Solution here is less clear. The power doesn't Dominate but should at least do something. As is, it is strictly weaker than the Controller version. Dominators do not have a secondary buff set to make up for the short Confuse duration they get using this power. AA should also probably have its Recharge reduced from 15 to around 5. Getting detoggled out of it is extremely debilitating, makes the whole build center on maintaining mezz protection. Update Propel on Dominators. Not sure what specifically needs to happen here. Gravity is supposed to be a "blast-troll" set. Propel is a signature power supposedly demonstrating this, but it's worse than most Assault powers and routinely skipped. Making it an actual AoE blast on Doms would potentially work. As would making it an actually worthwhile control. Open to ideas. Make Shiver at least as good as the buffed Blaster version. Not sure this needs a write up since it seems obvious to me, just want to make sure it's nto missed. Reduce animation time on certain Control powers. There are two main classes of control power that seem to lag to me, the ones that feel like they are meant to be spammed but drag, and the ones that feel like they are meant to be placed mid combat but the animation is so long its often better to just not. Here are some examples of both classes: Jolting Chain (2.07) - I'd aim to match the quick AoE immobs (~1.32) Mass Hypnosis (2.1) - I'd aim to match the quick AoE immobs (~1.32) Quicksand (3.1) - I'd aim no more than 2 sec Spirit Tree (3.2) - I'd aim no more than 2 sec Bonfire (3.2) - I'd aim no more than 2 sec, this one is least concern due to how powerful the knock proc is in it tho

I don't mind this solution. TBH there's nothing about the current street NPC generation that puts me into the element thematically. It's like "Oh there's someone getting her purse snatched. Well, best of luck lady, these mobs are gray to me!" FWIW Striga Isle is a possibly good candidate for this treatment. I think some version of those mobs stretches to 50. I'm not sure it would create a wave visitors there where none were before but it would at least make the zone make more sense.

Because of the Psi Defense and because if you die you get knocked out of perma dom.

Well that's not the combo I would have initially suggested, but if you've tried it and it worked well for you I won't question it. 🙂 Thorns does have a good power in Thorntrops and is generally cool looking. You also get bonus points for uniqueness, part of the fun is everyone bringing unusual builds. Voltak is correct about actually soloing the content, but this should do well enough with some healing support. You'll just want to watch out for DoTs cancelling your ability to use Sleep. I'm personally probably going to be doing this content as an Electric Dominator, mainly because I consider it a solid B-lister. Not S-tier, not likely to solo the thing, but a weird interesting teammate for people to be like "it was weird teaming with a Elec guy." Electric is "serviceable enough" for me in most cases. Now if you had come back with Gravity/Electric Assault I might have had some questions. 😄

Well, in fairness, we are talking about a "melee Dominator build" which I don't picture as something running solo Task Forces. As good as Dark is, if I had to pick between a Dark and Plant teammate who said they were going to play in melee range, I'd assume they meant they are going to melee only the AoE portions against easier enemies, and not that they are going to solo the whole TF that way. Dark is good, definitely S-Tier. I forget how many Plant and Dark Dominators I have total, but its enough where I feel comfortable saying which one I'd push someone toward. I agree Dark is very good at soloing, largely on the strength of the single target Confuse and the -ToHit in the set. As good as it is, Seeds of Confusion and Carrion Creepers are just ridiculous powers. They'd never get re-released in that form if they were created today.

I'd still give Plant credit here, because in most situations Carrion Creepers should be able to keep the enemy occupied for the couple of seconds you'd need to stack the effect. I think you need Mag 6 to Confuse an Elite Boss, which should be doable against most with 2 applications of Seeds. On a good Plant build that will take about 15 seconds. Against all logic, Seeds of Confusion is a Scale 20 Confuse, the same Mag as the single target Illus/Mind/Dark Confuse (and also Mass Confusion) so it shouldn't have any issues with duration ratios. There's also chance you could miss. OTOH if I'm correct about Mag 6, you could hurl Vines + ST Hold. It's good to see Mind Control redeemed a bit here too. It's technically in the safest boat, with three powers that don't alert enemies. That probably matters more solo than on teams of course. Dark of course can stack Fearsome Stare if it gets into a pinch, and the -ToHit is likely to be very helpful. Even Electric Control kinda has a role here, even if its the least sneaky of the Confuse-ers. Synaptic is Scale15. I probably wouldn't try to solo a endgame TF with Electric Control, but its nice that it has that fallback to be a semi-Mind Controller if stuck. Semi off topic, I wonder if the change to make Sleep powers autohit will make powers like Spore Burst more attractive. It's technically not a bad power, just always been poor in context. Spore Burst has 45 Recharge and IMO is a lot better than the Earth or Ice sleeps, you could easily get that to 12 sec recharge if these newer TFs called for it.

A really interesting one would be Spirit Ward, the Magic Pool power. It would require you to either shut down the caster with a mezz or DPS through the extra HP it provides its buddy. The rank of the enemy you place it on would determine how difficult piercing it would be. Also I mentioned above auto-hit debuff cones, so that any tank and spank teams need to think about the direction they are pulling things, not just gathering them around. Would also be interesting to see some highly telegraphed moves on an enemy that can only be interupted by knockback.

Destiny powers work like an Empathy PBAoE buff. They hit all friendly targetable creatures up the target cap (usually around 250+) including the caster. Pets are affected as long as they are targetable.

The effectiveness of this one on sapper builds still eludes me. Does -1% endurance per second for 4.3 seconds translate to an overall loss of -4.3% endurance after 4.3 seconds? I can't think of any other powers that drain endurance over time like that. I have this proc on my Elec/Psi Dominator but have a hard time figuring out how much its actually contributing.

I don't know the team's true rubric, but I'm familiar with the code side of it. By default, all powers detoggle on mezz. A flag can be added by the power designer to prevent the detoggle. The power designer has to decide on their own whether the power is a "defensive power" and should get that treatment. The Blaster power Cauterizing Aura is a damage aura that is also a heal/end battery. It suppresses rather than detoggles on mezz. The Nature Affinity power Lifegiving Spores is a pure heal and endurance recovery power, but it detoggles rather than suppresses. So, there is no strict consistency. In the case of this power, I think a click is more appropriate and consistent.

I built a prototype power where a psuedopet knocks itself back for the LOLs. Never got around to making it into something but it was my LOL way of making knockback entertaining, by using it as a self limiting component for the pet.

I'd like to see this for Energy Blast, mainly, because it is the set I consider the "knockback specialist." Not too keen on it for every set. Mainly the reason I'd like a toggle is to decide, shot for shot, whether stuff gets KBed or KDed. FWIW Dual Pistols sort of has this already. While I'm here I'll also reiterate that I'd like Knockback Chance to scale for Defenders and Corruptors. They currently cause higher knock Mag, but not Chance. I've prototyped a very knock-y version of Defender Energy Blast on a private server and it was so much fun to play.

Ok, so the build I posted above isn't perfect. I played the toon up to 50, but decided the endurance costs were too high, and rerolled as Plant/Trick Arrow for a smoother ride. Fire/TA can still work and be interesting, but its a lot to juggle. Defense numbers on this aren't great. TA doesn't provide any base Defense, just -ToHit. If I were to continue to play with this I'd have tried to get closer to around 32.5 Defense to Ranged and S/L. I took Leviathan for Water Spout here, which you wouldn't have to do. The extra bonus of Water Spout is it floors enemy Defense even further, and is autohit, so that means a lot less missing with the procced out Ice Arrow and Acid Arrow. Between Rune of Protection and EMP Arrow you probably have enough mezz protection for most situations. It can still get annoying having Hot Feet get detoggled though, so you could drop RoP and go for the Psi APP for Indom Will or else Clarion Destiny.

Found the old build. Posting real quick and will give commentary on a separate device because the PC this build was stored on is failing. One moment. 🙂 This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.6.0 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Controller Primary Power Set: Fire Control Secondary Power Set: Trick Arrow Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Concealment Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Char -- NrnSht-Dam%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(3), Apc-Dam%(3), GldNet-Dam%(5), GldJvl-Dam%(46) Level 1: Entangling Arrow -- EnfOpr-Acc/Rchg(A), EnfOpr-EndRdx/Immob(5), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(45), EnfOpr-Acc/EndRdx(48), EnfOpr-Immob/Rng(50), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob(50) Level 2: Flash Arrow -- SphIns-ToHitDeb(A), SphIns-%ToHit(7), SphIns-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SphIns-Acc/ToHitDeb(9), SphIns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(9) Level 4: Fire Cages -- PstBls-Dam%(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(13), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(15), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(15) Level 6: Smoke -- ToHitDeb-I(A) Level 8: Hot Feet -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(21) Level 10: Ice Arrow -- UnbCns-Dam%(A), GldNet-Dam%(21), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(23), NrnSht-Dam%(23), ImpSwf-Dam%(25) Level 12: Flashfire -- SprWiloft-Rchg/Dmg%(A), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(25), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(27), SprWiloft-EndRdx/Rchg(27), SprWiloft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(29), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(29) Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17) Level 16: Poison Gas Arrow -- Acc-I(A) Level 18: Arcane Bolt -- Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), Thn-Acc/Dmg(31), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(33), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33) Level 20: Acid Arrow -- TchofLadG-%Dam(A), ShlBrk-%Dam(33), PstBls-Dam%(34), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(34), AchHee-ResDeb%(34) Level 22: Spirit Ward -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 24: Rune of Protection -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A) Level 26: Bonfire -- OvrFrc-Dam/KB(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(36) Level 28: Disruption Arrow -- Range-I(A) Level 30: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 32: Fire Imps -- ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(A), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(36), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(37), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(37), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(39) Level 35: Oil Slick Arrow -- Artl-End/Rech/Rng(A), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(39), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(39), Artl-Dam/Rech(40), Artl-Dam/End(40), Artl-Acc/Dam(40) Level 38: Water Spout -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(43), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(45) Level 41: EMP Arrow -- BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(42), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(42), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42) Level 44: Shark Skin -- StdPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), StdPrt-ResKB(45), UnbGrd-Max HP%(46), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46) Level 47: Hibernate -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(50) Level 1: Containment Level 1: Brawl -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(36), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(48), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(11), EndMod-I(11) Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon Level 18: Arcane Power ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1383;682;1364;HEX;| |78DA65934B4C13511486EF74A6144A2B60A194977D60014B29547C2C8D021A4C9BA| |018B7CD58079C583A645A0AB833A63EA20BC1D7461EBAC057E2CAD7D6952B973EB6| |2E5C2AF8D8B830F530FF8136B1E9CC77E7BFE7DC73CF3F779273C3AEE7C72E1E125| |2FD5046CDE5524346366F1A998C66DA93EAA49E169B3F075DFEF2CC5650ECA86E6A| |5B0F6D15F34766262662A74C3D7D3E75D8348D59E11C33287C7C5AD3CEBA3034CCB| |466CE37580FA3D9829ED3CFE8193D3F8FE984A64EEBD9C9C0C8B49E8E0D1B537A56| |CD1B662AA11574357F4ECDA6926A2E4FF93EDA5890AEA244B7CD4B9414A1D2A0431| |1B629629C18B7595446648B7D51D0B4E2AD1CBBB8895865018CDE06FB17C1F82DE6| |1D30277139AA2739B05E958B590B5657339DE0654A9039477E232CCDF59AF90ADCF| |192F902BC423976E408FB20B4ABA439B857C77DC5D2EA57C19D2BCC65B071099CA1| |F81AAE5D330A3F1AD90F2FFBE465DF7C6BE035422DFB53FB0CB1BEA760EB13E663B| |0FD11730D0CD18971638F92BB17FBAE671648AFE39EEA5AA12D868568E05A0D0FA1| |ED7AC05C622E838115E62A384BEB79D80FCF7BF416A892AD1E82EC73D06607DFD2B| |C47110B54AF0939A229883DDF25AD99F7D5BC17DA758A69E13E5ABE40EB2CA2C61C| |E96D1CDF16411D37F5DDC1EB7634C1D71B043FF7E6FF8DDCCE5FE0EE9FCC1FCC0DB| |06B1D9CA7DC10E786AAD1439783590576DB990A53062FD176C3FCCEC307B15EE400| |733F731F181D042F50BD1EE4C83D9F6D96877B3E303F323F81455ABF17BDCABD5E9| |C99A80FECFBC3DF5A339EBFBA8488B12FB1D37CDEC8AB01F67680BD8AFF15563CFD| |B7BECD527B792C8B314288FC3B01F69F648E838972EC666AA924C694ED2F554896F| |2CD498A54A97CFF4F59AF548ED3A05B111B65CD26DD835FCE456600EF3FE12120A6| |F42EB27DA64BFF00C981D324| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I'd probably roll this as Blaster, mainly because Archery on either Defenders or Corruptors isn't that amazing. If you do roll as a debuffer, I'd go Defender because the self heal proc ATO is useful with TA. If you wanted to do another toon with a different blast set then TA is probably more attractive. Water, Dark, Fire, (the new) Electric, are some of the sets that pair with it really well. TA is also great on Controller or MM because you can proc the heck out of some of its debuff powers and cover for these archetype's normally weak blast strength. Edited to add: I really, really enjoy the new Trick Arrow. It has a feel unlike many other sets in game. It's worth checking out on a separate character some time.

Okay, maybe "the fall of Fire/Kinetics" is an overstatement. 🙂 I'm taking some dramatic license. On live you couldn't go go give feet without tripping over a Fire/Kinetics Controller. They were the premier farming build, but also hot (sorry) for tasks like the ITF. A lot has changed since those days. Fire Farming in the AE taking over as the main farming method had a lot to do with the changeover. But I think there's a lesson in the game's meta behind the huge popularity of the Fire/Kin followed by it falling out of favor. What are the reasons you'd list for: Why was Fire/Kin so popular in the first place? Why is it less popular now?* * Keeping in mind I don't think anyone thinks Fire/Kin is bad. But it's interesting to see many fewer of them.

I'm not 100% certain how the CoX client reads packets sent by the server, but I always felt like the issue isn't actually the graphics settings and instead something related to the client trying to read delta packets from critters and players who are a long distance from the camera. In Peregrine Island for example the client runs fine when the camera is pointed from the Portal Corps sign toward the outer edge of the zone, but its a slide show when pointed from the Portal Co sign toward the docks with the zone in view. Have you noticed similar slowdowns?

I've always had this issue on the beta servers. For me it is specifically related to view distance. If I swing the camera so that it faces the outside of a zone or a solid wall, the slowdown lessens. It's usually fine inside missions. I've tried limiting draw distance without success. I always assumed its related to the beta servers having fewer resources. If anyone has a solution I'd be down to try it.

Fire Rain, Ice Storm and Blizzard continue to attack even if the caster is mezzed. They aren't mobile, but it's always been the case that Fire, Ice, and Electric deal some of their damage with pets. Carrion Creepers and Tornado are examples of untargetables on other ATs that continue to attack. Gun Drone is a Blaster secondary example. As far as I am aware this is the first time a damaging pseudo pet that is shut down by mezz. Nature Affinity has a buff pet this happens with and it is a bit of an anomaly. IMO this power should remain a clickable unless turning it into a toggle is actually intended to be a penalty. I don't get the sense that that is the intent.

Is Siren's Song now autohit? I usually skip that power but if it got the autohit buff in the next issue I'd consider it a must-take.

This is a YMMV situation, but you may find a partial solution in Fold Space. The path to Fold Space will give you Combat Teleport which is useful for porting right on top of enemies for a blap, and Teleport Other is just a useful utility ability in general. Fold Space and Drain Psyche are sitting in a tree kay eye ess ess you get the idea. The fact that Fold Space won't yoink bosses above a certain + to you is actually a bonus and makes sure you only vampire off enemies who can't hurt you as bad.