oedipus_tex

I haven't heard of the Brewmaster, but that's exactly the idea.

I'd personally respec out of Tactics/Vengeance and replace with Total Focus, Ice Armor and Hibernate.

Sounds like you're looking for Plant/Savage if you consider "Nature" a consistent theme.

The new TA is a ton of fun. Hop over to the Beta Test servers and try it out. You can auto level up your character and auto apply IOs using the freebie Menu (click the chat icon in the chat bar.)

Thanks for the replies. Brief responses below. That's a fair question. Absorb is different because it is an increase in the total size of the HP pool, so that a player who normally has 1000 HP now has 1300 HP. With queuing, there is no change in the size of the HP pool. Absorb shields also can't be repaired by Healing spells, while the damage queue can. Really all damage queueing is is a delay in killing a player. They still take the exact same amount of damage. A "real" DoT is just damage taken. Any damage taken from a DoT would apply to the damage queue just as if you got hit by a quick string of attacks. Again a fair question. This would be handled the same way it currently is. You couldn't put more damage in the queue than the player's total HP -1. The only difference between taking a hit with these mechanics is that damage is applied first to the queue before the Green bar. There is no reason damage transferred from the queue to the Green bar should interrupt powers, although that's a good question to ask because it's an important design parameter. The attack already happened. It was just temporarily queued. It should not interrupt powers,

This suggestion is to improve "reactive healing" sets like Empathy and Pain by giving them the ability to turn direct damage into a DoT. Concept The basic concept is simple, even if the implementation probably isn't: A power in these sets would cause damage to a teammate to flow into a "queue" instead of damaging the teammate's green bar outright. Every second, a portion of the queued damage would be applied to the Green bar. Any healing the teammate receives would first heal their Green bar, followed by whatever damage was in the queue waiting to be dished out. Note this isn't a suggestion that all damage in the game be queued. Only players hit with the queueing flag because they've been buffed by an Empathy/Pain/other character. Balance Teammates would still receive the same total amount of damage, this change would just change how fast it applied and give more reaction time. I don't think a significant shift in balance would occur beyond these sets being better able to react. Implementation I think (but am not sure) that this would require an engine change. Basic implementation would be creating a player property that tracks Queued Damage. Any damage received goes into this queue. Every second, apply 25% of the damage in the queue to the green bar. Future Expansion/Other Uses Bringing a similar idea into other powersets, like Armors, might be interesting. The Regeneration set in particular seems like a set that would be improved by a feature like this.

I got a chance to play it on some teams on the test server. I'd say you're correct. It's far from Tanker territory because so many of the powers are clicks, versus the Tanker who just jumps in. Even most buff/debuff sets have at least a few buffs that can be cast out of combat. Enemies who die wipe the Flash Arrow debuffs away and you have to reapply it to any adds. Ambushes can complicate things further. TA can sort of use Flash Arrow like an out of combat buff, and EMP Arrow can be set up ahead of time for a pull, but on a team I found trying to keep all the arrows up very challenging. The set is very fun and very different than anything else out there. In a way, it reminds me of a sort of Ranged Kinetics in playstyle, but with the addition of some interesting "sneak" mechanics for soloists like the ability to cast so many arrows from behind obstacles, like a true trick archer. The lack of heal or end redux/recovery is quite a price to pay and also keeps this set from being a Tank Mage.

The change to EMP Arrow has catapulted this set into one of the most interesting and fun powersets in the game. Truly great work. The Faraday Cage summoned by EMP Arrow is interesting because it technically gives perma-mezz protection. But in actual practice, it creates a much more interesting situation where to take advantage of it, you need to have certain strategies. The fact that this power also is a Hold and your source of -Regen adds to the chess game. EMP Arrow was one of those powers that was always going to be tricky to balance, but I think you nailed it in a very interesting way. What I like best is how the set now "feels." Before the feel was "use some debuffs that happen to look like arrows." Now it's "deploy arrows that do a variety of interesting things." Even small changes like "able to fire Glue Arrow around corners" have really turned around how this set plays.

I'm going to personally disagree that ground target Glue Arrow is a bad change. With this change you can now corner-cast Glue Arrow > Disruption Arrow > EMP Arrow (if you choose to throw that in there). Glue keeps the enemies from chasing you down while you lay down your debuffs. If you happen to be Ice Blast you can finish this off with a corner-cast Blizzard. IMO Glue is much stronger under these new rules and more sensical for a set like Trick Arrow.

Thanks again for continuing to work on this set! Location based powers are generally better than enemy-targeted powers. They can be cast around corners, where enemy powers have to have line of sight. Given this is a "sneaky archer" set I consider adding more corner-casting a big plus. RE: EMP Arrow casting Faraday Cage I had a chance to try this out. I salute the return of the cage. Thanks for that! Unfortunately I'm less sold on it not affecting the caster, just for logistic reasons. It just feels... strange... for it not to work on the caster, because all similar powers do. I don't think making it affect the caster would be overpowered considering the many limitations of this power. It would mainly mean the TA player has full time personal mezz protection for AV fights--however, it also means to take advantage of the protection they need to stay close-ish to the AV because this power is also the source of their -Regen. I like the strategy that goes into deciding where and when to place the field. It's a very different power from "real" Faraday Cage, which has a 32 second recharge, better Resist numbers, and breaks the user out of their current mezz. In contrast the TA player would be limited to wherever they set up camp--and that's fine.

I like the EMP change. Perfect for this set. This puts EMP Arrow in a great place IMO. It's both powerful and potentially skippable* depending on the player's desires. (*Edit: I forgot about the -Regen in this power. It's not really skippable with that there. If you moved the -Regen to Poison Gas Arrow or Acid Arrow I think youd find the best possible balance equation.) This update makes Trick Arrow one of the five Buff sets that can do AoE mezz breaking with a bubble, alongside Force Field, Sonic, Traps, and Electric Aff. It's less reliable than any of those which is where it should be. A good TA build can move the cage every 100 seconds or so. This in top of it being a 35ft radius Mag 3 Hold. Great power. Unfortunately I cant get in to test because that hurricane that hit New Orleans retroactively stole my electricity with no reconnect date in sight. Thabjs again for your continued work on this set! I cant wait to use it in game.

I'd wait for the revamped Trick Arrow. Illusion/TA looks beastly.

Fire is in a weird place as a Dominator set. It's not bad. It's just that really all you're getting is Mag 6 Flashfire, Char and Cinders. Hot Feet is the signature power but does less damage on Dominators than Controllers because of Containment. The Assault set provides some reliable damage, which isn't worthless, and you probably out damage most Controllers. But you lose force multiplication. Despite being a meleeish archetype Dominators aren't built too well for melee. Pretty much everything rides on your mezzes. In strict min max terms even Masterminds would be easier to build for melee. The only other archetype that gets neither an armor or a support set is Blasters. This becomes really noticeable with a aggro magnet power like Hot Feet IOs can still carry you far. I have a Fire/Ice Dom who is "not bad." I consider him a novelty build. Fun to play for something different and not a serious contender in the min max game which I suppose is fine.

RE: Glue Arrow. I like where this is. It's a good power that can be skipped or not without breaking the build. RE: Acid Arrow I love the concept, but I'm still wavering on its actual performance. I've been testing it and the return on investment isn't super high when running a solo Defender. On the other hand, it buffs all your pets and teammates debuffs too, which is something. I noticed Acid Arrow doesn't debuff RunSpeed or FlySpeed Resistance. Not sure if these were left out for a specific reason. Adding those in there would modestly improve this power because most players don't bother slotting for slow Run Speed. Right now I'm leaning toward skipping this power on most builds. It's competing with other powers for its cast time. I'd reconsider if this power wasn't an actual "power" but a toggle that caused another arrow (e.g. Disruption Arrow or PG Arrow) to do the Acid Arrow effect, saving cast time. But that's a lot to ask this late in development, so I'm just throwing it out there without any commitment to it. RE: Combining TA with Power Boost I tried mixing various combos of Power Boost with TA and got the results expected. Acid Arrow doesn't directly benefit from Power Boost, which is expected. Side note, PB + Flash Arrow is really really good on a Defender. 4 slotted with Dark Watcher's Despair, PB + Flash Arrow put same level enemies at the soft cap. The power has a good debuff duration, fast animation, good AoE seize, and since you can cast it before the fight starts there's never a reason not to barring ambushes. The only kind of surprise (but not really)is that if you use a Power Boosted Flash Arrow and then a non-PBed one, the non-PBed one replaces the debuff in the PBed one. This is the expected behavior since the power does not stack, but any TA players should be aware ofit.

How do we feel about the debuff durations in Ice Arrow? Part of me's like, wow 1 minute is a long debuff. That's 30 seconds longer than other -Special debuffs on a very generous recharge schedule to boot. The other part of me is like, well, each set should have bragging rights to a few things. So is there anything hugely broken about the 1 min duration I'm not picking up on?

I understand about the Villain pools, but in this case I think Mu is such a strong option for Electric Control that I recommend spending the 30 min or so to grab that pool. Power Sink will refill your blue bar and floor enemies, including Elite Bosses. This makes it safe-ish to melee with them with relatively low Melee defenses. I've tried Electric Control with a few other secondaries and always find myself back with Mu.

Initial thoughts. For your APP, you probably want Mu Mastery so you can get Power Sink. Here's an imperfect build example. I havent spent much time around Electric Assault so slotting may not be ideal. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.1.25 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Social Medium: Level 50 Magic Dominator Primary Power Set: Electric Control Secondary Power Set: Electricity Assault Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Tesla Cage -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(3), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(5) Level 1: Charged Bolts -- Acc-I(A) Level 2: Chain Fences -- Dtn-Acc/Dmg(A) Level 4: Charged Brawl -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(9) Level 6: Lightning Bolt -- SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(9), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(13) Level 8: Conductive Aura -- EffAdp-EndMod/Acc(A) Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13) Level 12: Static Field -- SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(15), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(17), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(19) Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 16: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(19), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(21), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21) Level 18: Paralyzing Blast -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(23), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(23), BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(25) Level 20: Zapp -- StnoftheM-Dam%(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(27), StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(27), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(36), GldJvl-Dam%(36) Level 22: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(29), GldArm-3defTpProc(29), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(31) Level 24: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 26: Synaptic Overload -- CrcPrs-Conf(A), CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(33), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(33), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(34), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(34), CrcPrs-Conf%(34) Level 28: Cross Punch -- Obl-%Dam(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Dmg(39), Obl-Acc/Rchg(39), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(39) Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(37), Rct-ResDam%(37), Ksm-ToHit+(50) Level 32: Gremlins -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(36), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(37), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(40), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(45) Level 35: Thunder Strike -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(40), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(42), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Obl-%Dam(43) Level 38: Voltaic Sentinel -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(43), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(43), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45) Level 41: Charged Armor -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(45), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(46), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(46), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46) Level 44: Ball Lightning -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(50), PstBls-Dam%(50) Level 47: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 49: Power Sink -- PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Domination Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 1: Quick Form Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 23% DamageBuff(Smashing) 23% DamageBuff(Lethal) 23% DamageBuff(Fire) 23% DamageBuff(Cold) 23% DamageBuff(Energy) 23% DamageBuff(Negative) 23% DamageBuff(Toxic) 23% DamageBuff(Psionic) 21.63% Defense(Smashing) 21.63% Defense(Lethal) 6% Defense(Fire) 6% Defense(Cold) 23.81% Defense(Energy) 23.81% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 24.13% Defense(Melee) 26.63% Defense(Ranged) 6% Defense(AoE) 4% Enhancement(Stunned) 97.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 48% Enhancement(Accuracy) 5% Enhancement(Max EnduranceDiscount) 4% Enhancement(Held) 4.4% Enhancement(Terrorized) 8% Enhancement(Immobilized) 8% Enhancement(Sleep) 8% Enhancement(Confused) 15.26 HP (1.5%) HitPoints MezResist(Confused) 52.5% MezResist(Held) 52.5% MezResist(Immobilized) 52.5% MezResist(Sleep) 52.5% MezResist(Stunned) 52.5% MezResist(Terrorized) 52.5% MezResist(Teleport) 100% (20% chance) 20% (0.33 End/sec) Recovery 22% (0.93 HP/sec) Regeneration 30% ResEffect(SpeedFlying) 30% ResEffect(RechargeTime) 30% ResEffect(SpeedRunning) 22.5% Resistance(Smashing) 22.5% Resistance(Lethal) 37.5% Resistance(Fire) 37.5% Resistance(Cold) 25.5% Resistance(Energy) 25.5% Resistance(Negative) 18% Resistance(Toxic) 18% Resistance(Psionic) | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1505;698;1396;HEX;| |78DA6594DB4F134114C667BB5BB9B51644EE2058C04229950AEAA33180264213945| 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I don't think Doms compete with Fortunatas. Fortunatas are like a way better version of a Mind/Psi Dominator.

An option might be to put actual debuffs in Acid Arrow in addition to the Resistance debuffing. Something like this: -40% Resistance to Recharge debuffs -20% Recharge (unresistable) -40% Resistance to ToHit debuffs -5% ToHit (unresistable) That would help bridge the gap with Lt/Bosses/AVs a bit without probably breaking too much. Note this is mainly if the ToHit Resist floor is unfixable.

Great detective work you've been doing. The fact that debuff resistance resists resistable -res means it works like other forms of -resist so isn't that surprising, but I'm glad you tested it to be sure. I wonder why Lts and Bosses have a -Resist ToHit floor that is so high. If players and minions don't have that floor, I wonder if it would be possible to change it to match them. I guess that's a question best left to the devs. It almost sounds like that value was just put in place as a placeholder, since there were no powers that affected it before recently. I'm personally against marking -Resist Unresistable. Although it would be useful, that would be very powerful versus AVs. With two TA characters working together, you could strip a same level AV from near invulnerability to endurance drain to having almost no protection and then floor their blue bar. You could do the same with -Recharge. Also since Acid Arrow multiplies all debuffs on the enemy, not just ones owned by the caster, it would mean powers that don't normally factor much into AV fights would suddenly be very useful. That isn't all bad--being able to use -Recharge in AV fights might actually make it a good effect. But it's perhaps a it too good.

FYI if you haven't seen yet, TA updates are posted in recent beta patch notes. The set looks very solid now and could be a real boon for Controllers.

A bit off topic, but like others have noted, Repel used on gray enemies is subject to the Purple Patch. If you ever want a good laugh, run around Atlas Park as a level 50 Force Field Defender with Force Bubble toggled on.

I love these changes. Thanks so much for pouring your heart into the revisions. Some of these powers work in very interesting ways. The most interesting change to me is the -Resist Special in Acid Arrow. There's nothing else like that in the game. In a recent conversation I learned that debuff strength is recalculated every tick, so an enemy hit with Acid Arrow will see its -ToHit debuff etc multiplied even if the arrow hits after the debuff lands. There's a lot of potentially weird combos for the new Acid Arrow: Paired with Electric sets, endurance drains are more effective Paired with Dark sets, -ToHit is more effective Paired with Ice or Psionic sets, -Recharge is more effective. This is the first and only power in the game that can make -Recharge more effective. I have a lot to explore. I've got a TA character I can pull over to the test server to see how things go.

Perma-Dom was actually well known when the OG developers retooled Domination in Issue 15. If I use the powers that are available I have the ability to set up missions that are -2 to +3 to me. Marking the Alpha Level Shift "Incarnate Zone Only" like Lore and Destiny would change the range to -1 to +4. If the reward rate for +3 enemies were adjusted like I suggested, players would have more rather than fewer options. Right now, we're all being held back by players who don't want there to a difficult setting higher than +3.

This is the "If you think it's too powerful, don't use it" argument, which is a cousin of "Numbers don't matter." It's like saying no power actually does too much damage; if you think one does, you should just not slot Damage in it. I think any argument about this topic that will get us anywhere has to start with assuming players actually use the powers available to them. If we can't make that assumption, its not possible to discuss powers at all, since a player can self-nerf anything.