Neiska

Well not for MY characters, but I'd love to see Weird Al or Carrot Top in a superhero movie.

After playing/testing, I put all my tankers on the shelf right next to my Robot MMs. I've kept 2 or 3 in case a friend needs a tanker for whatever reason. But if their goal was to have fewer people playing tanks then they have been successful.

Farming isn't the problem. Them favoring some activities, playstyles, ATs, more than others is the problem. And I would argue that for the past 5 years there have been more nerfs than buffs, and I suspect some things that need fixed aren't even on their radar. Some may disagree, and that's fine. Each to their own. But I will have little empathy for folks who complain when what they liked gets nerfed, after the things I liked go through multiple rounds of being nerfed.

I would argue that for the majority of 95% or so of content, "nobody" is "needed." You can do pretty much any activity with any AT makeup. You don't NEED a tank, you don't NEED controllers, you don't NEED healing, and so on. And I think they did an overall good job balancing things. If you have a lot of Tanks/Brutes, you don't really need healers. If you have a lot of Controllers, you don't really need tankers. If you have full on DPS, you don't really need anyone. If you have full MM group, you don't really need anyone. If you have a full SoA/Widow group, you don't really need anyone. I have never been on one, but I suspect if you had all Warshades/Peacebringers, you definitely don't need anyone. (And that might actually be a blast to play, come to think of it.) One of the things I like the most about this game is that you don't really need the MMO party tri-fecta of Tank/Healer/DPS. You can go all Tank, or all DPS, or all Control, heck, you can even go all Support or Healer and accomplish 95% of the game. The only real difference is how long it will take and how many people may die in the process.

Never played that, but I remember a lot of the Disney games for all their silliness were actually quite difficult.

The oldschool Castlevania's. Super Ghosts n Goblins. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Zombies ate my Neighbors. Adventure of Link. And of course, Battletoads.

Shelving my tankers for the time being unless a friend needs one for some reason. Only one I am keeping on the roster at the moment is my Bio/EM Tanker. Looking at possibly a Spines/Bio Scrapper or a Brute. Most of the time I don't need a tankers durability, and I am not going play solo and be penalized for having such.

Last time I checked the Demons +RES buff stacks. The robots bubble applies once per MM I think too. Think that's it though. I know you no longer get double bubble from 1 robot MM but they should still stack with different MMs.

Personally, I rate this game on the easier side of things. Other games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Darkest Dungeon, etc can be much more difficult. Most of the hardest things in this game isn't really hard, or unfair, it's just knowing the fight. (dodge the purples). That or the fights just take a lloonngg time. Now, to be fair, the same could be said of those other games. People have beaten Dark Souls using nothing but mudpies and not taking a single hit. But I would argue the "Ceiling" to get to that point is much higher in those games than this one. But at the end, it isn't a contest or race. And if you want a harder challenge, you have that option here. You don't HAVE to optimize. You can increase the difficulty. You can take different powers. If you want a challenge, you can give it to yourself. But if you want it easier, well, that isn't really an option. Personally, I try to view +2 as the "normal." Any build can do stuff on +0 or -1, pretty much any AT can do +2. +4 is where you have to know what you are doing, and to do harder content you have to plan ahead. So its easier for me to see +3, +4 and beyond as a kind of built in hard mode or difficulty (+). Short version - I say this game is on the easier side of things. And that's not a bad thing. Its nice to have a game where you have the option to go full chill mode and relax, as well as push the envelope if you want to. Not all games have such options in the same game.

Sometimes my favorite things to do are just goof off and do silly things. -Swoop down as a Full 50+4 incarnate demigod to save that hot dog vendors tips from some level 2 never-do-wells. -Fly around with a Knockback power and try to blow npcs off of buildings. -Use a -fly power to try and make enemies fall. -Hop a top some random car and see where it goes. (Most of the time they just drive in circles.) Honestly Wish there was a full-on mission (or even a mini story) where you are on a Train or something with enemies attacking it from the sky and you have to defend it. -I might see some hero out in the world and just buff them to the gills as much as I can without explanation. -Fight some giant monster. -Spend hours (and I mean hours) in the costume editor. I might have 100+ costumes that will never see the light of day. -Muck around with the power customization options. -Ski Slope! Honestly, wish we had more stuff like this. Like an Asteroid-hopping game where you are in an area with flying disabled and jump from asteroid to asteroid. Or a swimming one with goals and jumps and obstacles. -Once for funsies made a scavenger hunt with friends. Each of us made a list of 3 things we had to locate in the open-world game. Some of them were downright mean. On a side note, I do kind of wish there were more "down to earth" kind of missions. Not everything has to be some grand epic struggle to save the world from a global threat. Why not stuff like breaking up a bar fight in a super hero bar, finding a lost puppy, so on.

I would actually enforce the "no adult content, politics, harassment, etc etc" of the user agreement, with paying special attention to Raid channel.

No, it's more one group of things consistently getting nerfed while the other is either outright ignored or even encouraged and rewarded.

I don't play the meta, but I do try to get the most out of what powersets I choose. But some of them I make just because I enjoy them. Rarely do I copy other peoples builds, mostly I look at them for ideas or inspiration, and then put my own spin on things. I am more concerned with enjoyment, something that flows well (not END starved), and is consistent. Nerfing dps durability? Totally fine with that. Tanker damage nerf? Would be fine with it, if tankers got something else in return. We didn't. Axe nerf? Duno. Never tried it. Farming? Ironically, it's not the farmers who are the absurdly wealthy folks - its the people who A. Play their 50s for a long time because there is very LITTLE upkeep in this game to speak of. So once your 50 is done, you incur virtually zero cost, and anything you get is a net gain. And people who B. Play stock market simulator on the AH. The richest people I know are like, level 10. They don't do missions. They hang out in their chosen spots and play the market. Thats their main draw to the game. Not my thing mind you, but for some that's their thrill. Sure, balancing touches every aspect. Bbbuuttt... it certainly seems at one section of the game... ...and hardly ever others. Some ATs/Powers have yet to get touched, at all. And others are all over the place. And I don't believe for a moment that everyone would agree such things are "balanced." If you ask me, they focus on what's popular, or the best. If somethings the best, its automatically presumed to be over-tuned and needs nerfing. While the stuff at the bottom has been at the bottom for awhile now, and at this point I kinda doubt its gonna change anytime soon.

I am split about 50/50 on the changes that I like or dislike. But either way one thing I will give them absolute credit for is the dedication to devote free time to the game that by all rights should be long gone. Younger games are already on life support, so I will thank them for that. Likes - All the cosmetics, new missions, new side content, quality of life improvements. Community involvement. Lore and Story. Dislikes - The balance changes, most of which I tend to disagree with. Complete overhaul of some powers to the point they are similar to their originals in name only. Bias in receiving feedback. (There may not be any bias, but it certainly seems that way. One crowd certainly seems to always get what they want and anyone who naysays or disagrees is left by the wayside.) The full-on support/encouragement/rewards/new shiny for team play while leaving people who prefer to solo or mainly play alone very little new content. Even punishing it in some ways such as the heavy-handed AE nerf. Overall, happy the game is alive and well. But I find myself liking the game less the more they change, add, or "fix." All my favorite builds I loved when HC first came back don't even play the same at all anymore.

You are entitled to your opinion. Getting 45 DEF isn't the catch all be all. That isn't even the most mathematically beneficial according to my napkin math. The most immediate and most effective form of defense is flying. Why? Simply because most enemies don't have full ranged attack chains, most only have 1 or 2 attacks. So that means right out the gate you are facing up to 1/2 to 3/4th less attacks against most enemies, before any dice is even rolled. But lets play hypothetical how I rip apart +4 stuff solo on my corruptor - Oh no. I'm in a fight. I better start flying. (Immediately face far fewer attacks.) Oh no I'm under attack. (Power Boost + Farsight, I'm now over defense cap) Oh no, my DEF buff is wearing off. (Pop Chrono Shift) Oh no, I am under CC. (Pop RoP) Oh no, I am getting debuffed. (Pop Ageless) This isn't even popping a single inspiration. Or any P2W. Or any accolades. I am essentially immortal or at least extremely tough against most enemies, comparatively as tough as my tanker would be. The tanker is far more durable overall, but that is in a sense moot since the corruptor is as tough as required. So if I am comparatively tough "enough" but I do far far more damage, then where's this outcry for "tankers do too much damage" vs "squishy aren't squishy" originating from? First off, a biillion dollar build no way entitles you to clear anything on any AT. Secondly, I would argue playing around a single powers cooldown is hardly "strategic" anymore than rock-paper-scissors is. And any AT can be built "tough enough" for even the most difficult solo activities. Either combining buffs with debuffs, p2w, incarnates, etc etc. But not every AT can be built to do enough dps for any solo activity. At least unless you want to go afk for an hour with a power on autocast. See above comment. It takes more than DEF softcap, but what's escaping you is my point that hitting DEF softcap, and fairly good resistances without having to use other tools/cooldowns shouldn't even be an option on full hog DPS ATs. In a sense, you are aurging that - Its totally 100% okay for DPS ATs can boost their survivability. But if Tankers/Brutes/survive builds want to boost their damage, that requires an immediate nerf. No, Brutes are simply the fastest. Tankers are simply the easiest, as well as the cheapest. But you can farm with nearly any AT, I have done it with SoA, Warshade, even triple boxed MMs that could clear maps in 3 minutes. (That has since been nerfed.) Even farmed with Widows and Controllers. It also matters if you are talking active farming vs afk farming. If you are AFK farming, than survivability is crucial, since you are only using one autocast attack AoE power. If you are actively playing, that isn't as make-or-break, since you can use other powers as well. And I would argue that it's a moot point, since now we are talking about balancing Tanker/Brute DPS in all activities (groups, solo, hardmode, chill radio teams, etc) only because of what some single builds can do? Well, if that's the argument then lets nerf fly and -fly protection and Farsight/Power Boost right now since those are so strong defensively. RoP as well. Lets make Incarnate cooldowns longer or have a debuff built in so teams can't juggle them for constant coverage. (AKA a "not affected by incarnate buff" timer when it wears off.) I mean I have a whole list of things that should be immediately nerfed if we are going to stomp entire ATs because of what some builds are capable of under some situations. But call it a hunch that nobody wants to have that kind of conversation. Again, you are entitled to your opinion and I respect that. But I doubt we are going to agree on this. And from my chair it sure seems like some are allowed to "have their cake and eat it too" while others are constantly changed/tweaked/nerfed, and I am not convinced it's not for any kind of biased reason.