ironjoe

I've been thinking how I would change Sentinels and that change to two toggles is how I would want it done.

They want to leave one thing Brutes can do that tanks can't... well at least it feels that way.

With Force Bubble I currently skip it as I find the bubble too large to manage usefully. My intent with the change was to basically make it like a Force Field Hurricane, which works really well in the hands of a good Storm player. Really you wouldn't want to use both Force Bubble and Repulsion Field at the same time. You would probably want to use Force Bubble to push everything into a tight group in a corner or other spot and then switch on Repulsion Field to watch enemies keep falling down and taking damage as they try to work towards you. As far as the resist vs. defense point, I currently have a base of 30% DDR to counter the Defense Debuffs I often see but after thinking about this a bit would adding in a debuff to enemies to-hit buffs inside Dispersion Bubble also help in the case you are proposing and if so what percentage would you propose? Also while resist doesn't always scale favorably, it is a much rarer buff compared to defense all over the place. Most of the times on leagues I will be well over 100% defense but rarely will I be at resist cap unless I am playing something with it's own armor. So I feel like gaining those resists are still valuable in most cases where players are well over defense cap already.

I guess this one depends on how large of groups you play with for if you will hear it or not. Normally I hear from people that Cold Domination already provides the defense of Force Field yet also has some of the best debuffs in game and they would much rather have a Cold Corruptor on the team. So part of my concept was to not try to to compete directly with Ice Shields on pure defense but to diversify further for differentiation based on DDR. Then once down the DDR route there was no incentive to not have other resists so it made thematic sense to me to go for other resists. I was also thinking of Thermal with this change with how it doesn't just try to match all the resist buffs of Sonic but also adds in some healing. So Thermal has it's own differentiation from Sonic. But at any rate if you don't see the issue between Cold and Force Field, then my explanation will come off as an argument with you and that is not my intention. All I can say is that I do hear it all the time, and I have to acknowledge it myself when comparing things. I just like the set and would love to see it get some love to make it more valuable to those playing end game content.

I more recently created another alternative but I think the biggest help in any change would be adding on a debuff to bring more on par with Ice shields.

While Absorb was one of my early thoughts, I later thought the reason for over capping defenses so high is to make up for a lack of DDR. My argument is that adding in DDR does in fact make up for it and in fact makes it more valuable. The only thing I question for myself is if the DDR numbers are high enough. Right now it has a base DDR of 30% across the different sources. I feel the resistance and DDR are much more in theme for Force Field. I also feel adding in Absorb would be much more in theme for Empathy/Pain Domination which I am also working on a tweak for.

Homecoming Pitch for changes to the Force Field Powerset Challenge Currently Force Field is seen as a subpar support set as they offer defensive support and not much else compared to other support sets. Being so concentrated in one area, it offers little else in comparison. Goal Diversify the support offered by Force Field so that it becomes more valuable on a wider range of teams. Adjust powers seen as situationally useful. Add a debuff comparable to other sets. Solution Note: I will use Defender values as a baseline and give current values, recommend changes, show the changes, and explain my thought process for those changes. Personal Force Field Current: Toggle: Self +Def, Res(All except Toxic) +75% Defense (All), +40% Damage Resistance (All), +100% Resistance (Teleport) Recommended change: Add combat suppression that if character attacks values are reduced to 10% of original values. Add DDR to both versions. New: Toggle: Self +Def, Res(All except Toxic) (Normal)+75% Defense (All), +40% Damage Resistance (All), +100% Resistance (Teleport), +20% Resist (Defense) (Suppressed) +7.5% Defense (All), +4% Damage Resistance (All), +10% Resistance (Teleport), +10% Resist (Defense) When not suppressed use current values. Why: Personal Force Field is situational useful to some players. Allowing a player to attack with a weakened form of it would allow for more players to find a use for the power. Deflection Shield Current: Ranged, Ally +DEF(Smash, Lethal, Melee), Res(Toxic) (all affected targets) for 240s +15% Defense (Melee, Smashing, Lethal), +40% Resistance (Toxic) Recommended Change: Reduce Defense (Melee, Smashing, Lethal) from 15% to 10%. Reduce Resistance (Toxic) to 10%. Add Resistance (Smashing, Lethal, Psionic, Defense) New: Ranged, Ally +DEF(Smash, Lethal, Melee), Res(Smashing, Lethal, Toxic, Psionic, Defense) (all affected targets) for 240s +10% Defense (Melee, Smashing, Lethal), +10% Resistance (Smashing, Lethal, Toxic, Psionic, Defense) Why: Main support issue: “Only offering defensive mitigation is seen as a weakness of the powerset. By trading some defense for resistance, this makes the set more useful in a variety of situations. It is also in theme as in most fiction that if something makes it through a defensive shield, the attack is weakened.” I also felt trading some Toxic resistance to add in Psionic resistance would add value to the set. Force Bolt Current: Ranged, Minor DMG(Smash), Foe Knockback 7.2293 points of Smashing damage, Mag +18.694 to Knockback Recommended Change: None Why: Force Bolt has its supporters as “machine gunning” it is a thing. I had considered adding an additional debuff here but felt it would be better in the most often skipped detention field. Insulation Shield Current: Ranged, Ally +DEF(Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Ranged, AoE), Res (End Drain) +15% Defense (Ranged, Area, Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative), +86.5% Resistance (End Drain) (all affected targets) for 240s, Mag -10.812 Mez Protection (Main Target) for 90s Recommended Change: Reduce Defense (Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Ranged, AoE) Defense from 15% to 10%. Reduce Resistance (End Drain) from 86.5% to 50%. Add Resistance (Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Defense) 10%. Add Recovery +30%. New: Ranged, Ally +DEF(Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Ranged, AoE), Res (Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Defense, End Drain) +10% Defense (Ranged, Area, Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative Energy), +10% Res (Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Defense), +30% Recovery, +50% Resistance (End Drain) (all affected targets) for 240s, Mag -10.812 Mez Protection (Main Target) for 90s Why: [See main support issue] I also felt trading some End Drain Resistance for a small Recovery bonus would be a buff enjoyed by most teams. Detention Field Current: Ranged, Foe Capture (Special) +596% Immobilized, Untouchable, OnlyAffectsSelf for 30s Recommended Change: Change to a hold. 12s second Held (Mag 3). -40 Base Defense, -40% Damage Resistance. +20% Resistance (Heal Dmg) New: Ranged Hold, Foe -RES, -DEF, -Heal 12 second Held (Mag 3), -40% Base Defense for 30s, -40% Damage Resistance (All) for 30s, +20% Resistance (Heal Dmg) for 30s Why: Making a foe untouchable is very situationally useful to the point of making this power normally useless. Forcefield also lacks debuffs other than soft control of knockback. So making Detention Field a traditional hold/debuff is much more useful for a power choice. Thematically making it a defense/resist debuff seems to work. I also felt heal resistance fit in as the Detention Field makes it hard for allies of the enemy to assist with healing. Dispersion Bubble Current: Toggle: PBAoE, Team +Res(Hold, Immobilize, Disorient) +DEF(All) +10% Defense (All), Mag -8.65 Mez Protection (Held, Immobilized, Stunned), +86.5% Mez Resistance (Held, Immobilized, Stunned) Recommended Change: Reduce Defense (All) from 10% to 5%. Add Resistance (Smashing, Lethal, Energy, Negative, Fire, Cold, Toxic, Psionic, Defense) 10%. New: Toggle: PBAoE, Team +Res(Hold, Immobilize, Disorient) +DEF(All) +RES(Smashing, Lethal, Energy, Negative, Fire, Cold, Toxic, Psionic, Defense) +5% Defense (All), Resistance (Smashing, Lethal, Energy, Negative, Fire, Cold, Toxic, Psionic, Defense) 10%, Mag -8.65 Mez Protection (Held, Immobilized, Stunned), +86.5% Mez Resistance (Held, Immobilized, Stunned) Why: [See main support issue] Repulsion Field Current: Toggle: PBAoE Knockback Mag +6.231 to Knockback (all affected targets), -1.0 points of Endurance (self only), Radius 9ft. Recommended Change: Add 10 points of Energy Damage (all affected targets), Reduce knockback to knockdown. Increase radius. Remove additional Endurance penalty. New: Toggle: PBAoE Knockdown, Minor DoT(Energy) Mag +0.67 to Knockback (all affected targets), 10 points of Energy damage (all affected targets), Radius 20ft Why: The power is currently situationally useful and overlaps with Force Bubble in use. Making the power similar to a Force Field variation of “Hot Feet” is more useful in combat and differentiates the two powers. Repulsion Bomb Current: Ranged (Targeted AoE), Light DMG(Smash), Foe Knockdown, Disorient 36.1466 points of Smashing damage, Mag +0.67 to Knockback, 11.92 second Stunned, Cast Time 3.07 sec Recommended Change: Reduce Cast Time to 2 sec. New: Ranged (Targeted AoE), Light DMG(Smash), Foe Knockdown, Disorient 36.1466 points of Smashing damage, Mag +0.67 to Knockback, 11.92 second Stunned, Cast Time 2 sec Why: Cast time is what impacts the usefulness of this power. Shaving off ⅓ of the Cast Time will result in a petter player experience. Force Bubble Current: Toggle: PBAoE Foe Repel, Knockdown Mag +10 Repel for 0.25s, Mag +0.1 to Knockback, Radius 50 ft Recommended Change: Reduce Radius to 25 ft. New: Toggle: PBAoE Foe Repel, Knockdown Mag +10 Repel for 0.25s, Mag +0.1 to Knockback, Radius 25 ft Why: Force Bubble is too large to be useful in most cases. Reducing the size makes it usable on more maps. Challenges Everyone seems to have their own opinion of how to “fix” Force Field. This is mainly taking the same powers and swapping in different effects and values while attempting to keep some balance. In Conclusion These proposed changes are what Force Field needs to be more competitive with other support sets by adding in some diversity in support given while adding in a needed debuff for the set. Notes on concerns by reviewers Does the addition of the hold/debuff counter the loss of not being able to Power Boost shields due to the resist component? Keeping the extra -Endurance on Repulsion Field was seen as too much considering enemies would now only be knocked down. Removed that due to the suggestion. Homecoming Force Field Pitch v.5.pdf

Both my Masterminds have group fly and I love it for mobility of the pets. Then sometimes I'm playing a character that might not want it at that particular moment in an MSR in the RWZ or an iTrial forming in Ouroboros. I can understand why there are instances where people might want to switch back and forth more easily. Summoning Null would be nice for those instances where a quick swap is needed. Alternatively I feel like placing him somewhere in Ouroboros and the Rikti War Zone would cover many of the instances where a quick change is necessary.

Most people don't go the arcane route of having that many Hami-O's. I'm happy to see ideas for encouraging including special origin enhancements in builds.

For the first question I feel like Invuln is one of the easier Armor Sets to pair with Super Strength. Invuln has strong resists to help handle the defense crash and others have mentioned ways to wait out or manage the damage crash. As far as the further question this topic always go into... The crash annoyance level largely depends largely on the experience of the player and how much they like managing the crash. So super annoying for new players or who hate managing the crash down to barely noticeable for some veterans with armor sets that barely impact it. Generally I'm not a fan of crashes in game. While the Powerhouse solution wasn't everything I wanted, I liked it enough to support it. It was at least was better as people pointed out by giving the option to avoid the crash mechanic. If I had everything I wanted, it would most likely look something similar to Fury or Against All Odds. Basically a toggle that increased the damage bonus by number of enemies in range to whatever we wanted it to cap out at with a good average damage bonus somewhere below that.

I can't believe I missed this earlier. Shield is a great Tanker armor. It's very much layered in that yes you are very defensive and have great DDR but you also have access to some resists and then toss in the fighting pool and IO sets to have some very well rounded resists. You also get some more Max HP with True Grit. My Shield Defense/Super Strength Tank is super tanky. All the knock down adds in some additional mitigation for the team but that can be more difficult to track.

Tactical Armor - High Pain Tolerance (From Willpower) - Auto: Self +Res(All), +Max Health - Temp Invulnerability (from Invulnerability) - Toggle: Self +Res(Smash, Lethal) - Dull Pain (from Invulnerability) - Self Heal ,+Max HP - Defense Training (from Ice Armor: Wet Ice) - Toggle: Self +DEF(All), +Res(Disorient, Immob, Hold, Sleep, Slow, Knockback, DEF DeBuff) - Tactical Training: Maneuvers (from Training and Gadgets) - Toggle PBAoE, Team: +Defense - Tactical Training: Assault (from Training and Gadgets) - Toggle PBAoE, Team: +Damage +Resistance (Taunt, Placate) - Tactical Training: Leadership (from Training and Gadgets) - Toggle PBAoE, Team: +ToHit +Perception +Resistance (Confuse, Terrorize) - Strategic Healing (from Invulnerability: Dull Pain Swapped to Ranged) - Ranged, Ally Heal ,+Max HP - Tactical Strike (From Energy Blast: Sniper Blast) Sniper, Extreme DMG(Energy/Smash), Foe -Max HP I hear people asking about melee support and I thought of how some of the tools are there in VEATs but stuck with that theme. This takes existing game assets to create a mixed armor base, then some passive support. I used the original theme name since that seemed to be the common inspiration for most people. If I were to rename things I would base it around the "tactical" name like above.

Paladin Armor - High Pain Tolerance (From Willpower) - Auto: Self +Res(All), +Max Health - Temp Invulnerability (from Invulnerability) - Toggle: Self +Res(Smash, Lethal) - Dull Pain (from Invulnerability) - Self Heal ,+Max HP - Defense Training (from Ice Armor: Wet Ice) - Toggle: Self +DEF(All), +Res(Disorient, Immob, Hold, Sleep, Slow, Knockback, DEF DeBuff) - Tactical Training: Maneuvers (from Training and Gadgets) - Toggle PBAoE, Team: +Defense - Tactical Training: Assault (from Training and Gadgets) - Toggle PBAoE, Team: +Damage +Resistance (Taunt, Placate) - Tactical Training: Leadership (from Training and Gadgets) - Toggle PBAoE, Team: +ToHit +Perception +Resistance (Confuse, Terrorize) - Lay on Hands (from Invulnerability: Dull Pain Swapped to Ranged) - Ranged, Ally Heal ,+Max HP - Smite (From Energy Blast: Sniper Blast) Sniper, Extreme DMG(Energy/Smash), Foe -Max HP I hear people asking about melee support and I thought of how some of the tools are there in VEATs but stuck with that theme. This takes existing game assets to create a mixed armor base, then some passive support, then for paladin theming lay on hands and smite which are renamed game assets as noted.

My character isn't themed for Halloween but I enjoy all the events and support expanding on them. I also like the idea of looking at reskinning things to bring broom travel for those for those that use it.

How about "Master of" for all task forces. That would be pretty awesome.

A more elegant option for identifying a player to their alts would be to have "Player Global" as an option under Windows > Reticle. While we can get the same information through different means, players that care about that sort of things could have it easily visible. Doesn't help with the SG affiliation but I would rather they figure out how to up the limit, even if it's a small number of SGs that suffer from that issue.

Here I am just imaging it following still on the ground as a triage roomba and now I really need to see this one as a reality.

I like the idea of an IO set reward for that. Not completely sold on the set bonuses but I will think on those more.

I was thinking of something similar to help revitalize PVP among players. Have a queue in LFG for opposing teams. Bank robberies, capture/free hostage tasks where two teams could have opposing objectives. It would have interest from RPrs and from PVPrs. It would have some of the objective based qualities of the PVP zones but in arena like match ups.

Also are the Homecoming team looking at October 5th to November 2nd for the event this year?

So every year I enjoy the Halloween event. I had some thoughts for additions. This week we have the Katie Hannon TF as a WST. Could we get that in as a bonus rotation some time in October as it is very much traditionally Halloween themed. My other thoughts were around highlighting Croatoa and Dark Astoria more during the month with increased GM spawns since both seem very much Halloween themed with the traditional Croatoa and the eldritch horror of Dark Astoria. And my final thought was to check if the doors on the abandoned Portal Corp facility in the Hive and the Park buildings in the Abyss are tagged to be able to trick or treat from as they might be fun to get while Hamidon leagues are forming.

I kept all your powers and made some enhancement/slotting changes but kept what I could: 45.86% S/L Defense 53.05% Melee Defense 25%.55 Ranged/AOE Defense Small changes up/down resists. Higher Max HP and Regn Net gain .12 end a sec MAG 12 KB Protection Even if you don't like the trade/offs I hope it gives some ideas of how you might want to go with it. DarkDarkv2.mxd

It's just tauntless tanks are kind of in an awkward spots for a Hami raid. They can run ahead to punchvoke a yellow but they won't completely hold agro when the melee team comes in. If they follow with the melee team, they pull just enough agro to get some shots in on the team normally. I get it though so I don't complain I just occasionally ask people about it to make sure it was a choice, sometimes people just don't know. Also for people on Everlasting I am willing to give 20 million influence to fund an SO alternate build for raids with taunt as that makes them more effective there if they swap builds at the raid and swap back to their regular one after.

Notice how the end bar just drops when you hit Dark Regeneration. The best way to fix that is with Theft of Essence: Chance for +Endurance. Drop that in and it procs so much in a large group that Dark Regeneration becomes neutral or an end gain when you fire it off. https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Theft_of_Essence:_Chance_for_%2BEndurance I'll stop back when I can look at my Dark/Dark build at home.

I could just see someone reading this a deciding that we instead need arcs for the Epic pools.