Neiska

The changes is not "flat" (IE constant) damage nerf, it is during periods of self-buff like rage/build up. But the way I read it, the change to cones and diminishing over cap damage is a constant.

Personally, I think if they are going to handicap Tanker damage, then IMO they should look at DPS survivability stats. I mean if they can get 70% of what a tanker gets, the tanker should get 70% of their damage then, right? (Not speaking literally here, just an example for context.) Out of all the games I have played, the "glass cannons" here do not feel "glass cannon" at all. They can do absurd amounts of damage and still feel fairly durable. At least able to take a few hits, and in this game that's certainly enough to clear rooms. As far as Tankers? I felt they were in an okay spot. And I would be okay with "some" of the changes, but not all of them together. Either the nerf to target cap damage or reduced everything else. but all of them together seems fairly harsh. Do agree with the sentiment of - instead of nerfing tankers, give people reasons to play brutes. I remember when it was hard to find a tanker do to things with. Some of the hardcode teams don't even use tankers, they just take turns popping incarnates. If you ask me, those kinds of shenanigans are more game breaking than tankers AOE damage ever could be, but that's just me musing.

There is a p2w vendor in open world, like atlas park. And one in pocket D. You dont need access to a sg base to buy them. Its kind of a band-aid, but still it helps, especially in the early levels.

Fair! And one important distinction that someone pointed out to me - this is during "self buff", like rage or build up, NOT a flat base reduction. Which still kind of sucks, but just not as bad. Honestly the only one that bums me out is the diminishing AOE. Thats the one that sucks IMO. The rest not so much.

Speed? Fun? Challenge? Farming Badges? Kill Count Missions? Lots of reasons more than just AE/Farming. And I am not at all concerned about balancing around +0/0 going one group at a time, spawn by spawn.

For leveling up i would suggest the END P2W tool, think of it as a mini-ageless. It has a cooldown but does help quite a bit with END issues. Costs moneys though, but it helps.

I quite regularly engage 3-4 groups, especially while farming. At +4/8 difficulty. I do agree that is not the norm though, but that doesn't mean that its not impossible or people don't do it either. I actually prefer "en masse" fighting style, especially with tankers or MMs. Though with this, that is very likely to change.

Unless you are engaged with more enemies, such as more than 1 spawn, in which case you will gain a G, H, I, etc. And I am not claiming my math is accurate or correct, its best guess on my part and does miss variables like resists, but this is all also assuming that you are hitting everything, with reduced arcs and so on as well. We wont know for sure until we see it in action. But my initial reaction is its a hard aoe nerf for tankers, depending on circumstances.

Currently some powers cap at 16, all taking 100% damage, and some powers cap at 10, all also taking 100% damage. Now, for the 16 cap powers, each target after 10 beyond the first each progressively takes 25% less per foe. For the 10 cap, each one beyond 5 each take 44% less per step. Which is a total net damage reduction of 32% for 16 cap powers, and 43% for 10 cap. Unless of course I did the math wrong and/or misunderstood the patch notes. But I would call a 32% and 43% damage reduction pretty significant.

well the notes say each target beyond the first takes reduced damage after the next, so unless im reading it wrong its a stacking reduced damage per target effect.

Fair. But as much as they claim they want to balance things, I can't help but notice they only balance one side of the scales. Some ATs remain rather untouched, while others have been given several passes. I am not saying changes are bad. But I don't believe for an instant that "balance" is their goal. You may disagree, and that is fine. We are both entitled to our opinion on the matter. And I like to farm. And the only people I hate are the folks who rant about offensive or nsfw things on raids. (And reporting seems to do little to no good. I stopped reporting them because I will see the same person on the next raid.) You want to team? Go for it. You want to solo? Go for it. You want to farm? Go for it. You want to play stock market simulator? Go for it. I hope everyone finds the activity they like to do. But let's not pretend that the devs favor some activities over others, or have encouraged some, while discouraging others. The "play your way, all forms of enjoyment are equal" is not really a thing anymore. Best wishes, whatever form of fun you like.

This was my rough napkin math for the AoE damage changes. It presumes max targets hit, for 100 damage for easy maths baseline. Not sure if this is 100% correct or not, and doesn't take things like resistance into consideration - but if these numbers are right, its a 32% damage loss for 16 targets, and a 46% loss for 10. A lot more variables can be added to be sure, but I just wanted the baseline as rough number to look at. I agree. It is pretty dang harsh, if this is correct.

Maelwys, I really respect you and your input on the forums. But I kind of disagree on this, simply because this doesn't take into account the different tanker primaries. Not all powers have the cone powers, or even AoEs. Some are fantastic AoE, like Spines. Others like EM have barely any AoE or cones at all. So please consider that this change will not change all tanker secondaries equally. But I hasten to add that may not be entirely a bad thing either, as it might help separate how some of the melee powersets perform differently on Tankers vs Brutes.

@Snarky - It should be obvious by now Snarky.... If you like to solo, do AE, go giant monster/AV hunting, or play durable-type characters like Tankers, Brutes, SoA's, MMs, then it's essentially "F you. Here is your crust of bread and stagnant pond water, and you better be grateful for that. You will see changes but we are going to make sure you don't like them." But if you like to play blasters, corruptors, scrappers, or stalkers, its "oh, let us open the door for you. Here is your red carpet and complimentary Champaine. Will you be reserving the VIP room this evening? No, you will never be changed, for you were perfect already. Nerf damage? Preposterous! We will just lower everyone else's."

More things I dislike about the patch than like. Do wonder if Blasters, Corruptors, Stalkers, or Scrappers will ever see nerfs. I kind of doubt it. Disagree. You don't see nearly as many farmers now as we did a year or two ago. Which I suspect was the intent all along. From the multiple changes to the carrot-on-a-stick rewards for nearly all on non-AE activities. The changes to AE farms and MMs made MM farming take 3x as long now, to the point I can take any 3 tankers and do the map over 3 minutes faster. My Robot MM farm team went from 3 minutes long to 8.5 minutes long, same map.

Personally, I tend to focus more on other things than what is "best" or does most damage. Things like - Theme - A bit OCD on this, if the name, costume, powers don't all "feel right" to me, then I most likely won't like it regardless of how strong it might be. Playstyle/flow - if a build is super ultra powerful, but is "clunky" or awkward, then I likely won't enjoy it. Examples are sets like Super Strength or Titan Weapons. They are good, but not for me. I dislike having "windows" of power, but with periods of "low" or "slow." I would rather have a reliable consistent performance regardless of activity, even if it isn't cutting edge or top dps. Because I like to do different activities, on different difficulties, sometimes alone, sometimes with other people. Some people like "when the stars align" and boost performance to incredible levels, but that's just not my cup of tea. Viability - if I am pigeonholed or forced to take something like Cardio or the P2W END tool it feels like a crutch. Some sets are very rough on the END, like Dark Armor. But I dislike having obligatory/necessary tools just to make something playable. My favorite ATs - Crabber, Mastermind, Tanker. If I had to pick only one, I would go Crabber. Sure, it doesn't take first place in any category, but it's the play/feel/style that I like the most. It has pets, its tough, it can fly/be entirely ranged, and they have good team support. All things I like. Just my musings on the matter. I think people might be focusing too much on just damage or durability when comparing ATs, and when you do that some ATs are going to be dead last pretty much by default. And context matters quite a bit. - Such has having a /Cold on a Hardmode. Debuffs are pretty dang important on the most challenging content, but on speed teams a controller or debuffer may not feel like they are contributing very much when scrappers or blasters are 1 shotting everything at breakneck speed. -But on the other hand, some setups like dominators or many tankers can solo some incredible things like GMs, ITFs, etc and more. True, it may not be FAST but they "can" which to me in itself is far more impressive than what the biggest damage meta is currently. So its kind of give and take. As far as what is "best" I would say that depends on many things. Do you like to play alone or do you like to team? Do you like to go fast or do you like to take down bigger fish? And the like. Bonus: The most team I had, was an all Soldier/widow Team. Just watching the big boss get swarmed by spiderbots and blasted was absolutely funny. The odd thing? It was one of the smoothest teams I was on. Mostly we just watched the pets mob everything, while the soldiers and widows just blasted from afar. It was a few years ago but I don't think we had a single death the entire mission arc. Now some may say an all Soldier/Widow team isn't meta or optimal, and I don't disagree. But it was a lot of fun, and sometimes thinking outside the box or trying new things can lead to surprising results.

Just my opinion but overall I think the ATs are pretty well balanced, it just depends on context. Builds that are great solo often aren’t the best option for hard modes or speedy teams. Difficulty also matters here as well. At 50/+0 anything can work, what changes is “how” and how long it takes. It’s when you go beyond that does differences is “power” get more complex. Personally I like how there is a kind of “extra” difficulty for us to enjoy. And if some ATs or powers cap out before that, that doesn’t mean things are unbalanced etc. Overall- things are more balanced in CoH than some other games. There will always be a meta or kiss-your-elbow best setup for a particular situation, but nothing is 100% best at “everything” and I suspect that’s entirely by design.

Thank you, I appreciate the clarification.

I'm sorry, but did you just compare race to radiation in fictional writing? You don't think that's dropping a GRENADE here? I need a moment.

Just my own two cents here but - I think we all would agree that if CoH were a real place, it wouldn't be real for very long as real life science and cause/effect and consequences would quickly be felt, without other things like the time it takes to rebuild, both in physical terms as well as the population would make such a place un-sustainable. Even just going by the birth to death ratio as the city has a higher mortality rate than the WW2 eastern front, it simply wouldn't last long. Secondly, Radiation is but one of any number of horrifying possibilities. We have people strong enough to hit the sun into a black hole. We have alternate realities, time hopping, living sentient diseases and more. And I think many of them are "over the top" entirely on purpose to create an exciting story and so on. And I am fine with that! (except for unfinished stories, but that's an unrelated topic.) I am fine with people trying to explain and rationalize things. Some people like things to make sense! I am also fine with "meh, it's just a game/fictional setting" and so on. It's fine if someone doesn't go into every little detail. I would argue that leaving some things a mystery actually makes some things/characters better! At the end of the day, its really up to each of us to decide how far to go on our characters. Someone can break out the chemistry or astrophysics book if they like. Someone can just handwave stuff if they want. When in doubt, "A wizard did it" or "it's a Nemesis plot" always works in a pinch. Even some pretty neat characters are "the powers that be are still trying to figure it out" can be great and lead to surprising things too. So, for me both arguments hold water. There are times I googled science terms that I was unfamiliar with for inspiration and even managed to learn stuff at the same time. (I was interested in a living weapon/poison kind of character, so I was googling biological terms and definitions.) I am also fine people just wanting to sit back and have fun without every micron measured or atom accounted for. But for the people that do enjoy that, explaining the actual physics/magics/tech/whatever behind the character is part of the fun and enjoyment too. No wrong opinions on this one IMO. Long as people have fun and enjoy their personal creations. 😁

Well, going by the Heroes Unlimited Palladium (a tabletop RPG) one of the neat things is they go into more than just combat features for powers, they also elaborate on things like perks, side uses, and quality of life things. Some of the quality-of-life side bonuses are pretty neat! Here are some examples for Control Radiation - Use yourself as a radiation damper - you can't stop a nuclear explosion, but you can make a contaminated area safe for others by soaking up the lingering radiation in an area. Detect radioactive elements - you can sense the presence of radioactive elements and isotopes, such as uranium, plutonium, radium, thorium, polonium, etc. Generate light/glow - you can cause your body to glow and illuminate an area. X-ray vision - you have X-ray vision, able to see through most walls and substances, stopped by lead and lead alloys. Discharge Nuclear Fire from limbs - you can ignite materials with a toxic fire. Generate Heat - you can emit heat as high as 2000 degrees and have can roughly guess at a materials melting point. Some materials have a melting point beyond the heat you are able to generate, such as Titanium, Chromium, Tungsten, and Vanadium. It does go on to mention that use of this power may endanger innocent bystanders, and that you are constantly emitting a small but potentially dangerous amount of radiation that over time can cause harm. You can consciously suppress it, but doing so cuts the number of attacks and bonuses you have by half. Then they can also use Enviromental Body Armor and radiation suits to protect others. So, what you could do, is have the character always wear an Armored Radiation Suit, with "ports" or controlled releases to focus the radiation? Kind of how Cyclops from X-men does with his Visor? Or you could also just say that your character is a Radioactive Sponge whose presence simply soaks up the radiation from their powers and "recycles" it to continue to fuel their abilities. Just a few thoughts.

I choose to believe it’s Mad Max looking for Master and Blaster.

Personally I’d recommend Bio/savage. Boosts both offense and sustain, END friendly, Bio loves recharge which savage boosts as well, so it has both synergy and theme to boot.

Why not both? 3 accounts here. Sometimes I 3 box solo, sometimes I play 1 with a team. Sometimes I’ll be teamed up on my main, and 2 box afk farm with the other two. I think of it as efficient use of my leisure time.

Welcome home, beers in the fridge, watch out for Snarky’s.