Neiska

First, I would like to say that I will word my reply as respectfully and tactfully as possible. I am thankful for everything all of you on the staff have done, the work put into the game, all on your own time. Even if its not things I personally will enjoy, because hey, someone here will enjoy it right? However, I do have some concerns. 1. Part of the magic that is CoH is the fact that I can fully progress a character all on my own at a reasonable pace. Other games such as Wow, diablo, and so on, a player must raid to fully gear a character, or hunt endless runs for that .005% drop chance. But here, that isn't needed. I can find my own things, craft my own things, trade, or buy off the auction house. CoH is very solo-friendly. And many of the changes seem to be changing away from that. I hasten to add they haven't made it impossible, only more difficult or time consuming, so I do worry that it will eventually slide into something akin of "purple recipe's only drop in trials" or something similar, eventually falling into the design of so many other games out there. Which to me, is not a good thing at all whatsoever. 2. Much of the content that has come out, has been aimed at a specific part of the community. Namely the high end people, or certain ATs and/or classes. But for all this talk of the new hard modes, it is only for a minor part of the game. Anything over a certain difficulty is impossible for many ATs, no matter what the build is, what your incarnates are, or how much INF you throw at them. Off the top of my head, there have been several conversations ingame, here on the forums, as well as the discord about the state of Masterminds, Peacebringers, Warshades, Sentinels, etc. Simply put they cannot take part in the new content, its only for Tankers, Brutes (perfectly built), Defenders, Corruptors, Blasters, Dominators, and Controllers. I actually got told by a group putting together a team that they would take anything else than a Mastermind, even though my mastermind is full T4, built to support (electric affinity), has 400 vet levels, and is purpled to the gills. I would ask that by what context is that balance, or "play your way", or encouraging/discouraging certain groups of people? 3. In line with #2, the PVP crowd I don't think have even gotten so much as a glance by any development. I am not a pvper myself, but i can sympathize with those that enjoy that play. Essentially, many of these changes feel directed at a certain scope of player. And if you are not that kind of player, IE A raider, or someone who likes to solo, or someone who likes certain classes, then the message feels to be "screw you." I hasten to add no one on the staff has actually said that, but that's certainly what it feels like to many of us. Particularly when there is a lot of talk about an issue and we don't even get so much of a blip that says "we are aware and considering options" or even a "working as intended" post would go a long way to quell peoples worries. Because in some parts of the community, they feel pretty neglected or forgotten. My thoughts about it. Again, I wish to re-integrate that I don't mean to come off as disrespectful in any sort of way. Only concerned. And if you see this, thank you very much for your time. Best wishes

I have found four prisms in total since the patch went live. I gave them to a close friend because she adores the costume stuff, and I don't. And she's helped me out in the past so I thought she might appreciate them more than I. But I would like to take a moment and gesture upwards. The people who wonder why there are those of us who don't run ITFs and so on? This. This right here is why. If I wanted to deal with aloof egotistic people, I could do it in any other game. Just take a sit back and see how people treat each other. How they speak to one another here on the forums. Now put that into an ITF or worse, a hard mode, 2 or 3 stars. Now "your" runs might be all grand, but for some of us, it is such an unpleasant experience that we don't care what carrot or stick they use, we flat out won't do it. Because it's really starting to look like Wow Barrens Chat/Diablo Pvp/League of Legends/Call of Duty communities. It's okay to disagree. People get heated. I am guilty of that myself. But we are a small community, and an older one at that. I would hope that such things were beneath us, at least on face value. But it's gotten to the point that if it is no longer feasible to solo play or farm, a growing number of people will sooner leave than partake of those activities, even if they gave a billion inf and every purple. My two cents for what it's worth.

Personally, I think it says quite a bit when almost any topic in forums eventually turns into a "nerf farms" debate. Ever since patch 4 hit beta it's been a hot issue. My theory is that some people spend way too much time worrying about how other people play or spend their game time. And by that I don't mean only the anti-farm crowd either.

I know its been discussed in discord, but I have yet to hear a GM/Dev comment about it. Even if they are aware of it, I doubt it's going to be fixed or addressed anytime soon. So I have more or less shelved my MMs far as hard modes are concerned. You can bring literally any other AT and it will be more of a help than "any" MM. So I am currently leveling up a character specifically for hardmodes until they at least say something about it.

Hello Forums, A friend asked for help with their Elec/Elec corruptor. Corruptors aren't my strong point but this is what I came up with. They like to team so I included Defib and Amp-Up, and tried to keep 45% ranged def for soloing. But the build looks pretty self-sufficient far as Heals/Absorbs/END goes. Here is a snip of the totals - And here is the build. I don't think I missed anything but am wondering if this could be slotted better. - This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.1.2.5 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Corruptor Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast Secondary Power Set: Electrical Affinity Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Lightning Bolt -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(40), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(42), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc(43) Level 1: Shock -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rejuvenating Circuit -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Absorb%(5), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(43), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg(45), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(46) Level 4: Galvanic Sentinel -- PreOptmz-Acc/Rech(A) Level 6: Ball Lightning -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(7), Artl-Dam/Rech(34), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(37), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(39), Artl-End/Rech/Rng(40) Level 8: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(9), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(9) Level 10: Energizing Circuit -- PreOptmz-Acc/Rech(A), PreOptmz-EndMod/End(11), PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(11), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/End(33), PreOptmz-EndMod/End/Rech(34), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/Rech(45) Level 12: Zapp -- ExpMarks-Dmg/End/Int(A), ExpMarks-Acc/End/Rech(13), ExpMarks-Rng/FSnp(13), ExpMarks-Acc/Dmg(15), ExpMarks-Dmg/Rech(15), ExpMarks-Dmg/Int/Rng/Rech(21) Level 14: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A) Level 16: Faraday Cage -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(17), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(19), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19), UnbGrd-Max HP%(21) Level 18: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 20: Empowering Circuit -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A) Level 22: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(23), UnbGrd-ResDam(23), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 24: Weave -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), Ksm-ToHit+(25), Rct-Def/EndRdx(25), Rct-ResDam%(31), Rct-Def/Rchg(31), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(49) Level 26: Voltaic Sentinel -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(27), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(27), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(34), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(46) Level 28: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(29), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(31), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37), RedFrt-Def(50), RedFrt-EndRdx(50) Level 30: Evasive Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 32: Thunderous Blast -- SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMlcoft-Dmg/Rchg(46), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), SprMlcoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), SprMlcoft-Rchg/Dmg%(49) Level 35: Insulating Circuit -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(36), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(36), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(36), Pnc-Heal(37) Level 38: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(39), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(40) Level 41: Charge Up -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 44: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45) Level 47: Defibrillate -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 49: Amp Up -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Scourge Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(3) Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(3) Level 1: Shocked Level 49: Quick Form Level 14: Afterburner Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon ------------ Thanks bunches

I do both, afk farming and active farming. I do agree that my afk time isn't as fast as my active time. But it matters to me how fast my afk farmer can kill things. If it takes 3 minutes then I can do 10 maps in the time it takes to do a 30 minute clear. Honestly, the biggest effect on time required for afk farming is which map I use. Smaller maps tend to have faster clear times. But if you are "slow-mode" and you don't care about clear times, then maps where mobs can move or path is also advantages. But to answer your question, my fastest farming setup is my 3 mm team which is right at 3 minutes now, lower if I use Lore Pets but I don't consider having to use Lore Pets as a good frame for reference.

What's funny though, is that for some of us our farming has actually gotten better with page 4. And yes, that includes afk farming. Now I don't have to move around so much to aggro more as they instead come to me. I won't go too much into detai, but, specific afk builds are still certainly possible. The biggest impact was the one's that were just getting by have to make changes, but the really fantastic ones are even faster now. And not just my AFK farming setups, but even my "chillmode" tanker farmers or my 3 box MM teams. Page 4 cut about 38 seconds off my map clear time. And I hear some people have below 3 minute clear times now. Honestly, the only way they are going to completely nuke AFK farming, is if they get rid of the autocast option. But that will change everyone's gameplay, so it's really a question if they consider that benefit worth the change. IMO, they should stop offering tools and then try to control how people are going to use those tools. Either its an open game environment, or it isn't. The moment you go "this is an open world but you can't play it X, Y, or Z way" is the moment it stops being, well, open world. The biggest change though? The things that still work (or even work better now) people are being more tight-lipped on, because there are some in the community that more or less feel "they will nerf that too" which personally, I find worrisome, because we certainly don't need an "Us vs them" atmosphere any more than it already is.

Okay, here is a budget version of the build I posted, using it as a framework. I kept the "must haves" and put IOs into the rest. You still have good Defense and good resists, particularly for a flyer. You still have the same attack cycle too, so you can upgrade as you go. (I tried to keep it simple.) This build won't be soloing +4/8, but it should be fine on +2 or 3. As you upgrade you will get roughly 10% more defense and 20% more resistances. The biggest issue is that you might have END issues, so you can either take Cardio as an alpha or Ageless as a Destiny. I tend to favor the Muscled for Alpha and Ageless for Destiny. Some like Agility as their alpha to help with perma-spider pets though if you want to go that route. Personally I perfer super-durable crabbys. But this should be within 50-75mil price range, most of that coming from the special uni builds that are more or less required. Here's a screenshot of the totals - And here's the build - This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.1.2.5 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Arachnos Soldier Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Channelgun -- Empty(A) Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(3), StdPrt-ResKB(3) Level 2: Wolf Spider Armor -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A) Level 4: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 6: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 8: Suppression -- Ann-ResDeb%(A), AchHee-ResDeb%(9), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(11), Acc-I(11), EndRdx-I(13) Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), DefBuff-I(13), DefBuff-I(15), EndRdx-I(15), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(17) Level 12: Venom Grenade -- Dmg-I(A), Acc-I(19), Dmg-I(19), Ann-ResDeb%(21), SprSpdBit-Rchg/Global Toxic(21), SprDmnofA-Rchg/DmgFear%(23) Level 14: Tough -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A), Ags-Psi/Status(23), Ags-ResDam(27), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(27), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(31) Level 16: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(33), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(33), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(33), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 18: Frag Grenade -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(34), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(36), Acc-I(36), EndRdx-I(36) Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 22: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 24: Fortification -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(25), ResDam-I(25), EndRdx-I(37), EndRdx-I(37), EndRdx-I(37) Level 26: Fly -- HypSnc-+Special(A) Level 28: Serum -- RechRdx-I(A), Heal-I(29), Heal-I(29), RechRdx-I(31) Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(39) Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39) Level 35: Mu Lightning -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(40), Dmg-I(40), Acc-I(40) Level 38: Summon Spiderlings -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Acc-I(43), Acc-I(43) Level 41: Electrifying Fences -- Immob-I(A), Immob-I(43), Dmg-I(46), Acc-I(49), EndRdx-I(49), Dmg-I(50) Level 44: Call Reinforcements -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Acc-I(46), Acc-I(46) Level 47: Summon Striker -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(47), Dmg-I(47), Dmg-I(48), Acc-I(48), Acc-I(48) Level 49: Mental Training -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Conditioning | Hidden Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(5), Prv-Absorb%(7) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(5) Level 26: Afterburner ------------ ------------ Hope this helps! And welcome to Arachnos! We have Taco Tuesdays, Casual Fridays, and No-Pants Thursdays. (Butt capes still permitted though for the Widows!)

PS - you can skip either the ranged powers or the melee powers, the ranged are generally better. being a flyer will really cut down on your incoming damage as well. as far as budget builds, thats a bit tricky. I will see what i can put together for you but thats really tight, not sure how tough of a crabber you are going to get with that much. But i will see what i can do.

Here's my hovercrabby, shes super tough/durable. She plays like a tough hover blaster. She has pets but they aren't quite perma. But these values are without any incarnate powers activated - This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.1.2.5 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Technology Arachnos Soldier Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Channelgun -- SprSpdBit-Acc/Dmg(A) Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResKB(5), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(7) Level 2: Wolf Spider Armor -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A) Level 4: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 6: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 8: Suppression -- AchHee-ResDeb%(A), PstBls-Dam%(9), Ann-ResDeb%(9), Bmbdmt-Dam(15), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(17), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(47) Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(11), Rct-Def/EndRdx(11), Rct-Def/Rchg(13), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Rct-ResDam%(15) Level 12: Venom Grenade -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(37), Ann-ResDeb%(37), SprSpdBit-Rchg/Global Toxic(40), SprDmnofA-Rchg/DmgFear%(50) Level 14: Tough -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A), Ags-Psi/Status(33), Ags-ResDam(34), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(34), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(46) Level 16: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(17), LucoftheG-Def(23), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(23), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(43) Level 18: Frag Grenade -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(19), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(19), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(21), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(21), Ann-ResDeb%(31) Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(A) Level 22: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 24: Fortification -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(25), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(25), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(27), UnbGrd-Max HP%(33) Level 26: Fly -- HypSnc-+Special(A) Level 28: Serum -- Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(29), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(29), Prv-Absorb%(31) Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(31) Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33) Level 35: Mu Lightning -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Apc-Dam%(37) Level 38: Summon Spiderlings -- EdcoftheM-Acc/Dmg(A), EdcoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(39), EdcoftheM-Acc/EndRdx(39), EdcoftheM-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), EdcoftheM-Dmg(40), EdcoftheM-PetDef(40) Level 41: Electrifying Fences -- GrvAnc-Immob(A), GrvAnc-Immob/Rchg(42), GrvAnc-Acc/Immob/Rchg(42), GrvAnc-Acc/Rchg(42), GrvAnc-Immob/EndRdx(43), GrvAnc-Hold%(43) Level 44: Call Reinforcements -- EdcoftheM-Acc/Dmg(A), EdcoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(45), EdcoftheM-Acc/EndRdx(45), EdcoftheM-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), EdcoftheM-Dmg(46), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(46) Level 47: Summon Striker -- CaltoArm-Acc/Rchg(A), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg(47), CaltoArm-Dmg/EndRdx(48), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(48), SvrRgh-PetResDam(49) Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 1: Conditioning | Hidden Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(3), Pnc-Heal/+End(3) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(5) Level 50: Agility Core Paragon Level 26: Afterburner ------------ ------------

Oh for sure. I just thought maybe people who put all the effort and time into combat might appreciate a combat reward? Even if its something like a 3% damage accolade or something like that. I guess what I am saying the kind of reward doesn't really match the effort? Costume stuff was liked to badges or holiday events on live. I do want to add that something is better than nothing, and I am glad the volunteer staff added a bonus reward at all, or something new to get excited about. I just, duno, feels a bit off? Still a nice gesture though. But I am curious how much of a moneymaker those hardmode ITFs are when you take drops, merits, and aethers all converted into INF into account

I have played a few Dark Armors. Like others have mentioned before it helps a lot to pair it with an END friendly primary like savage melee, and to not expect to run with all of your toggles on at all times, this is especially true while leveling up. Later on it gets easier if you take cardiac and/or ageless. But overall the set is a bit of a turnoff to me, because I dislike having to rely on incarnates to be functional or for a build to perform, there are also side-kicking issues as well. Dark Armor is beefy though to be sure, it just comes with a cost. My other issue is that there is sort of a power-bloat, particularly with the cloaks. The set is simple to build and play though, so there is that. More or less, its almost all toggles.

Personally I have mixed feelings about the deluxe costumes. To me it feels like a carrot on a stick or bribe to try and entice people who don't usually run that content into running it. But as long as its special or unique costumes I don't really have any objection. If it was special costume parts, like special weapons, helmets, gloves, boots and the like that you can mix with other costume parts then I would have issue. As far as the currency itself, I think we have too many currencies as it is, but I do understand they needed "some" way of reward/barter. And as long as they can't be turned into merits or something, there shouldn't be any massive issues aside from people selling them on the AH. The prices are bloated now, but I expect them to come down in time once the "new shiny" effect takes over, but that also depends on how much supply is listed as well. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have gone the costume route though for rewarding hard modes. I would have suggested a temporary power or perhaps a new accolade to earn. Or perhaps something new entirely. The hard modes are hard after all, and the costumes feel more for fun/rp/holiday to me than epic level play reward. I mean cosmetics are always nice, but in my experience they have always served elitist ego more than any other use or context. Although they are tradeable and sellable now, so I suppose that will be less of an issue here.

Go try a 4 star hardmode on a Mastermind, and you might understand why it feels that way to some.

Respectfully, I don't see how my pets on my most durable MMs getting one shot on harder difficulties arises from me being "bored." There is a difference between "challenging" and "I am not going to bother re-summoning, because they will instantly die before the power is even off cooldown." It's just straight up 1 shot mechanics as far as pets are concerned. And no I don't think it was designed that way on purpose for pets, I just think it was an unintended consequence.

This is just me musing here but, what if the different servers actually had different rules, that way people who favored whatever activity could go to what they enjoyed? Make one server hardcore, with regards to incarnates and things. Incarnate mats only from X or Y activities Make another one where farming is allowed and permitted. another server can be the circus. Full on pvp, zero control measures. Let chaos reign baby! Another server gets Ragnarock'd. Armageddon'd. Relevation'd. The End times. Everyone starts over from zip, with its own independent isolated economy and such. etc. These are just examples off the top of my head. But it did occur to me that we DO have more than 1 server here. But I don't possess the technical knowledge to know for sure how hard it would be for them to have different server playstyles/rulesets for different servers. I mean, isn't that sort of an everyone wins scenario? I know this would likely take a LOT of work to pull off, but lets say that it did. Would this be an "everyone has their place" situation?

I am sorry to hear about your friends, truly. But you aren't the only one's who lost friends here either, I suspect we all have to some degree. I have lost friends for the opposite reason - not that thing's are too difficult, but because we lost things we used to have. And some of my friends are far less flexible than myself when it comes to "play your way," and that includes things like roleplay mind you. More often than not my global friends is full of "offlines" unless its an ITF or rp night or something. On any other night? Just me soloing. Anyway, point is that just as many people have left because of changes, not because things were not changed enough.

For me the ultra feeling of satisfaction is finding that perfect badge title that fits my characters powers, theme, name, roleplay, and costume. When everything aligns it is pure Nirvana. 🙂

Sure, but not every AT has even durability or strong DPS. I can think of many ATs that I have never heard soloing a GM. But I do want to say that I don't think we should use "soloing GM/AVs" as a measuring stick either, because honestly it is kind of unfair to some powersets, and represents a minor aspect of the game. Off the top of my head, you need ST dps, with -regen debuff. And most people who do open world content seem to favor AoE damage which is favored for mission activities and what have you. I mean, for context to my mind it would be the same as if trying to balance the game around the notion that everyone was multiboxing accounts, which I hardly think represents any kind of large number of the player community. The people who multibox are a small part, just as the ATs who solo GMS, or even players who solo gms/avs, are all a small part of the whole. Just my opinion.

And what, pray tell do you think they should do about it? Lets mull over the options - 1. Reset button? - make everyone start over and make those purples way more rare like you suggest. I imagine folks would leave in droves if this was done, and things would certainly be rare all right, players included. 2. Band-aid fix it? - make purples even rarer? That will only make them go up in value. And given time, they will still be just as common. It really depends on how quickly they are picked up and used (or how quickly alts are made.) But this is still only a temporary or bad fix, and do more harm than good. People rarely react well to having things they used to have suddenly taken away, in order to artificially make the game harder or character advancement longer. 3. Add difficulties? - this seems to be the option they have added, and its something of a poo-show. Some ATs and powersets are completely useless or even worse, actually a detriment. This new content is pretty harsh on Sentinels, Stalkers, Brutes, and Masterminds in particular. I see many scrappers, blasters, corruptors, and dominators doing it though. If you want "balance" I would look at those. Realistically, it is sort of a no-win situation. Any sort of fix will either piss people off, or only make things worse. Now you could balance things back to "ye olden times," but I would also expect a massive drop in community numbers. Now that might be all right with you, but I for one prefer things how they currently are, rather than a balanced but dead server.

Oh, I think its possible, just not at a level everyone would be happy with. Personally I try to see as +2/8 difficulty at level 50 as the goal post/finish line, and anything after that as bonus/extra/new game +. Why +2/8? Well, because first off that's something that every AT can manage, with just about any power pick available. Secondly it doesn't require being all purpled and incarnated out, so anyone on a budget can compete. Beyond that is a bonus difficulty. Personally I like redlining builds, pushing them, seeing what's possible, trying new things, and the like. I usually play on +4/8 whenever I am able. So to my mind, we already sort of had a hard mode already, with more difficulties stacked on top of that. I also admit not everyone shares the same opinion, but that's all right.

With respect, I disagree with both of you, but I respect your opinion. I think when we get to the heart of the matter, it comes down to essentially what each person thinks is "overpowered." I mean, if some things are "too strong" as things stand, then why can only certain AT power combinations with certain outside buffs do things like Solo GMs? Not everyone can, in fact, most cannot. But I hasten to add that I am not suggesting everything be boosted to that level, I bring up the point to highlight that people don't agree where the finish line or goalpost stands. I mean, by what metric do we want to try to balance things? Is it Soloing TFs? GMs/AVs? Not even all builds/ATs can solo +4/8 difficulty, no matter how much INF you put into them or how high of an incarnate you have. I think it is more important that we as a community should find a rough idea of where the "goal post" is, before we attempt any creative discussions about balance, because right now not everyone agrees on what overpowered or underpowered is. Over/under powered compared to what? What frame of reference here? And the issue gets even more complex, when you take certain scenarios into consideration. As an example, lets look at a robot/traps mastermind, one of the best soloers to date. Sure it can perform amazing feats if you are patient. But on the new hard mode? I don't think anyone is going to plead the case that a robot/trap is OP and needs to be nerfed. And it gets even more complicated in addition to those above points, when trying to compare different features, such as a tanks durability to a domi's debuffs, or a scrappers DPS to a defenders support power. I think there is a lot of "line drawing" that needs to happen before any real sense of balance can be achieved, both by the community and perhaps by the GMs. My two cents

Meanwhile, that shiny new prismatic salvage is selling on the AH for 22 mil a pop. Considering it takes 10 for one of those special costumes, that's 220 million. I expect the prices to drop as time goes on. But I do think its kind of funny. Or will it only be a matter of time before topics of "nerf prism drops" pop up in the forums?

Same here. For reasons I won't go into, I don't want it to become yet another flame war. Summarized - I feel less and less welcome. Punished even. In my head I know that isn't the case, but its certainly how it feels.

This patch sure has brought out the best in people and the forums. 😆 But yea, this patch sure has affected some ATs more than others.