Neiska
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Posts posted by Neiska
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16 minutes ago, tidge said:
I think I've noticed (corner?) cases where the performance of Robotics (/Traps) has improved, and some where it is worse. I can't be sure, as I had mostly mothballed by Homecoming Day 0 MM for a year or more until the more recent changes. I also had leveraged the MM primary attacks, so I didn't have to radically change my playstyle. What follows is purely anecdotal.
The area where performance is worse is in solo play against PI/Eden/Abyss Giant Monsters. My guess is that this is because previously the -Regen from 6 henchmen was doing a LOT of heavy lifting against these big sacks of HP. I don't regularly tackle enough different content to see this, except that I feel like high-level zone's Event GMs also take slightly longer to solo, whereas low-level zone event GMs (e.g. Winter Lord) have roughly the same (solo) defeat times.
The improvement I see is against:
- Low level zone GMs are defeated in shorter times (defeat times are faster, presumably because -Regen only from the MM is "enough")
- Even-level x8 instanced missions are cleared faster (presumably because of increased damage, and not needing to slot KB->KD)
Fore example: I don't recall being able to reliably defeat the Grandville Arachnos Flier at a single landing site (with only Robotic henchmen) prior to the recent changes. Since the update, I can be reasonably "late" to a landing site and still have a 50-50 chance to defeat it before it takes off with its shields up. I feel like noting: even with the longest path between landing sites (is it Beta 1 -> Beta 2?) that allows the flier to nearly completely regenerate, the Robots can eliminate the flier at the next site.
Also complicating things for me: RNG provides wide swings in defeat times against certain GMs (notably Jurassik).
I do agree with the idea that if the new set is better or worse might hinge greatly on secondary, playstyle, and activity. As for me personally, my main Robotics are /EA, /Time, and /Dark. And my main activities are TFs (with friends) where I can't really notice any difference, soloing AE's, GMs, AVs, and +4/8 tasks where times are almost universally worse, and Ouro tasks which seem to be roughly equal, but with improved gameplay.
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Other.
My main concern? Forum PVP.
My main concern in-game? Unbalanced ATs/Powersets, and I am not referring only to DPS. Some of them are so far behind that they were left back on live. At least some are seeing updates though which is nice.
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1 hour ago, tidge said:
I have no disagreement with the facts as explained, but I do disagree with the assessment (bolded above) that a MM with ONLY an Assault Bot was effective (prior to recent updates). [I have no real disagreement about the caveat of only using the most survivable Robot on Teams, except that MMs Tank better with all henchmen.] On my Robots/Traps MM, my "one big robot" build was painfully slow solo. As noted, this is primarily because the Robots excel at AoE and DoT... with all the henchmen out during combat, it is less obvious (at least to me) all the DoT and AoE that is accumulating on an average (large) spawn... but with only the big guy, it was pretty clear just how hard it was to take out even lone bosses.
I haven't played as much with my revamped "one big robot" build... mostly because the revamped standard build has been so much fun.
One of the recent Homecoming changes that have helped all MMs: being able to take the higher-tier powers earlier in a build lets MMs have a better spread of henchmen across more content. Theoden's SSA1 arc now allows solo MMs to finish in roughly the same time as other ATs... still slower, but times are not a factor-of-two difference.
Perhaps I should further elaborate my point. I mentioned that on "teams" you could use just a T3 pet and it wouldn't severely impact you, as most MMs on teams take the role of support or debuffer rather than DPS. The additional sub-par DPS from having the other pets often wasn't worth it. Now alone, I do agree you should use all your pets in nearly all circumstances. I have heard of "1 big robot" setups but I doubt it would be efficient.
Overall I like the MM primary updates, only the Robotics do I dislike. To me they took what made the set unique and fun, with different ways to use and made it like the other sets, as with the lateral move of the -regen. They say the DPS was improved, but in all of my personal tests its been worse. Every test I did from before/after is over 2 minutes difference, and not a single test were the new robots "faster." So I suspect what they really mean is the T1 and T2 pets damage was improved, but the T3 pet was reduced or changed. Not that I expect them to make any reversions or updates to Robotics again anytime in the near future.
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6 minutes ago, Hedgefund said:
Actual DPS testing showed that Bots weren't really deserving of being A-tier (no supporting links, sorry), so my non-insider thinking is that only Beasts is even a possibility for a future pass.
Robots had the best AOE and inherent -regen. They had weak ST though (and still do), but the biggest complaint was how back-loaded the set was. The T3 pet did roughly 80% of your total net damage, which made doing things like Ouro or side-kicking down a pain. But there were also ways to take advantage of that was well. Having so much damage on one pet made ST buffs like Forge much more useful, and it was easier to drop a red inspiration onto your big T3 and boost your damage as well. It was also a mixed blessing when it came to teams, as you could get by with just your T3 pet and it wouldn't impact you very much. But now you can't really do that anymore and have to bring all the pets, the same as every other MM set.
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I think they wanted to make the MM primaries more interactive/personal attacks more impactful, but not in regards to damage. I have played the new Mercs, Necro, and Robots. The Mercs and Necro were definitely made better, but to me the Robots got a lateral demotion. My new Robot Farm team takes about 150-180 seconds longer than it used to, despite the "DPS being made better." The DPS isn't so loaded on the T3 anymore, but to some of us that wasn't a bad thing either. But I digress.
Honestly if they wanted to make the MM sets more equal giving each primary a mule power would go a long way to do that. Most MM sets have a "slot tax" for pet auras, and the sets for those auras are far from optimal. So if you use the slot for the set bonuses you are kind of shooting yourself in the foot. They could make the pet Enhancements better too, or remove the Auras entirely and bake them into pet stats or upgrade powers.
As far as Beasts specifically, I am not a fan. They don't have a full attack chain so can get stuck and pause a moment, and if the mob is fleeing then its a chase and can pile into the next group of mobs, often before you are ready. I also wish the wiki had a more complete power listing for beasts like they do for the other sets, it could show ways to improve proc-slotting.
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4 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:
Make it a Sentinel and go with greenish-brown Water Blast. Eeeewwwwww!
Call them the Sewer Sprayer?
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MMs can be lazy, depending on primary and secondary. Some MM setups are also quite active.
But another "lazy" AT can be the brute or tanker. If you build durable enough with softcapped defense and resists, you can just put a PBAOE on auto and go do laundry. Again, not all are that way obviously. It depends on the build.
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21 minutes ago, srmalloy said:
And it's things like that which demonstrate either a shortage of imagination or a fixation on appearance. I remember, back on Live, seeing an 'xxxWolverinexxx' in a good copy of the yellow-and-black outfit before the generic renames began to be handed out end masse (one of the seemingly endless train of Wolverine clones, virtually all of whom had some contorted name to retain 'Wolverine' in the name), and it was kind of sad to see how hard people fixated on minutiae like that. Name the character 'Carcajou' (Canadian French, from the Algonquin 'kuàkuàtsheu') or 'Quickhatch' (from the East Cree 'kwiikwahaacheew'), and you're still calling the character 'wolverine', just in a way divorced from the Marvel character.
Oh for sure. Just last night my ITF was graced with the presence of Dan and Akuma from Street Fighter, and a few days ago I joined a DFB led by Homelander. Their names were different, Bios were empty (I think) but it was 100% their costumes, Dan's pink Gi and all.
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1 hour ago, Panache said:
It absolutely is; look at the post Crumpet was replying to when they wrote "I'm the same".
I've said my piece here. It's disappointing to learn that this is how the game is being moderated, but apparently it is what it is.
You are taking things entirely out of context. They cited how they typically personally deal with things that might offend them. But in an earlier post they elaborated on how the team has discussions and the like. Those two things are not one and the same. Moreover, wither or not you personally like or dislike someone has absolutely zero impact on someone's ability to perform a task or job.
You are jumping to conclusions based on things not related, and creating a situation that doesn't exist, and presuming that it is true without any firsthand knowledge or experience of it.
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25 minutes ago, ZemX said:
No, listen... this time someone is going to win the argument. I just know it.
Blasters: "I drink Coke."
Corruptors: "I drink Pepsi."
Tankers: "I drink Beer."
Brutes: "I drink Protein Shakes."
Controllers: "I drink Decaf."
Dominators: "I drink Tea."
Masterminds: "I drink Chocolate Milk."
Sentinels: "I drink Tang."
Scrapper: "I drink Monster Energy."
Stalkers: "I drink Whiskey."
Defender: "I drink Water."
Arachnos Soldiers: "I drink Gatorade."
Arachnos Widows: "I drink Starbucks."
Peacebringers: "I drink Milk."
Warshades: "I drink Purple Mountain Dew."
Snarky: "You already know what I drink."
DMs: *looks into cup, sips Coffee.*
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6 hours ago, Raikao said:
Would a Robots/Time be on par? 10% worse? What's your take on that?
Because while I'm currently leveling a few different ATs I am starting to wonder which should be my main. So I stumbled upon this thread and instead of making another one I shall hijack this one 😛
Basically I want to do the followong (solo):
- +4x8 Missions, and not just against The Council (certain factions will be harder than others, but should be doable still)- GMs / AVs - I really liked killing an AV once in a solo mission on my stalker back in...2010? It took forever but it was fun. How much -regen do I need for that I wonder? Time has a little bit and you get -200% per active skill from robots. Question is how much -regen do you need to solo GMs/AVs?
- Do Oroborous Flashback content. So the build should exemplar down well too. I'm not expecting to do +4/x8 lvl 10 missions but if I run those at lower difficulty, I still want to get through them. I'm thinking getting Time's Juncture early + AoE Heal should take care of that. Throw in Maneuvers and pet set bonuses and should be fine?
Now if Robots/Traps can do those thing A LOT better than Robots/Time I'll swap to it. I'd like to play an MM as my main and still accomplish these goals. So I was positively surprised when MM was mentioned here. I mean Widows or Dominators are cool as well, but I just like summoners too much.
My take after playing several Robo MMs -
/Traps would beat /Time for -regen, which is crucial for GMs and AVs. /Time has a little bit of -Regen, and you could take personal attacks for a bit more, but /Traps would still win. But for virtually everything else, +4/8 missions, Orobo missions, exemplar-ing down, etc, my money would be on /Time being superior at all those other activities. /Traps can be a little clunky or lacking in power until later on. Both like recharge, but /Traps requires more of it. And /time is good from level 1 onward.
Also specifically for Robots (and Mercs) I would also suggest group fly. It makes a lot of difference in how durable your pets are when you can effectively negate many of the incomming attacks. It's not a fix-all, it can very according to map and enemy type. But for the majority, if you are alone it makes a very large impact on pets surviving, even on harder difficulties.
Hope this helps!
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31 minutes ago, Player2 said:
By the way, before you try to make excuses for this one, the second item under the Content Guidelines section of the CoC states:
"Hate speech is defined as anything threatening or abusive towards a specific group based on their race, religious beliefs, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity"
Identifying a character as lesbian and indicating they are useless is BLATANTLY abusive toward gender identity. And the GM who ignored this is JUST as offensive for letting it slide.
The funny thing? To me your entire attitude of selfishness and how to "game the system" is just as offensive to me as that name, if not more so. What kind of person wants to purposefully make a community fail, just because they didn't get their way?
We will not be communicating again. (See, this what mature adults do.)
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17 minutes ago, Player2 said:
This promotes an "us against them" mentality,
But that's precisely what it is. Both you and I are guests here. Either we behave ourselves, or we will be shown the door. There is no debate. No compromise. This is their house, so it's their rules. Don't like it? Too bad.
17 minutes ago, Player2 said:That example is not clever and is a clear violation of the rule. "No dragons" says no dragons, which means all dragons are excluded regardless of color. Your example falls flat and wins you zero points.
Also, if a rule is vague then it isn't a rule at all... it's a damned suggestion that lets whoever's in charge at the minute decide what they want the rule to be. That isn't fair to anyone.
If you took time to apply my context to the argument, you might see how it does. An easier example for you to apply then, in context of a costume, might be making a superhero costume, but changing the colors. Or transposing a few letters of the name. Lets say someone wanted to make an omage to Wolverine, and instead uses the name, VVolverine, and instead of yellow and black, he is red and blue. Now, you or I might be okay with that. A staff member, may or may not. The point is, it isn't up for you nor I to decide. And once decided, you don't get to ask another staff member to try and get the answer that you want. IE - "Mommy said no, so I will just ask daddy."
Your counterpoint failed the intellectual maturity bar, and wins you zero points.
17 minutes ago, Player2 said:Wrong. As I said, if it's too vague then it's not a rule and lets the people in charge in the moment make a decision. That means the rules change whenever a new GM arrives... and a constantly shifting set of "rules" is unfair to the players. Make rules, stick to them, ALLOW people to appeal decisions, and if the rules are too strict or too loose, then update the rules as needed... but make sure to post that they've been updated and how in a fairly obvious way, such as the part where we have to agree to the CoC upon logging in to the game... and maybe even before when we pull up the launcher. Because right now, I see no effort to "quietly make adjustments where necessary." It's just rules intentionally vague because it benefits the GM side of things. Well, if that's the way it is, I think the GMs are coddled and deserve to have everyone push every envelop there is. Overwork them and wreck the system so that we can get some real change.
To people with fair intents, the rules ARE fair. The rules are "Omages or funny jokes are fine. but don't copy." To any honest and well meaning player, that is quite fair. Only those with, shall we say, poor intents of skirting the rule would such a rule be "unfair" which is whom that particular rule is directed to. So, I would say the rule is working.
As far as the "lets overwork the GMs so the sytem fails!" then I believe you are the specific kind of person who the majority of rules exist in the first place. The majority of mature adults know how to behave and conduct themselves. But the notion of "lets crash the system" in a "home" you are free and welcome to be in, without any manner of pay, provided for entirely on volunteer time, reeks of entitlement and narcissism.
17 minutes ago, Player2 said:Too hard for them? Well then, don't volunteer. Or get more volunteers. Don't want to write rules more clearly? Then just admit you don't want rules, you want to oppress the players selectively... and even if that isn't what you want, it is what you get. When some people get away with things because vague rules don't apply to them even in obvious situations where they should while the same vague rules target other people for lesser reasons, then it's selective oppression... possibly random or who knows, maybe favoritism. Without transparency there is no way of knowing, and since the GMs get the favor of inflicting the vague rules how they see fit, why should we trust that they have any intent of being fair?
A better counterpoint - Can't follow common sense and behave yourself? Need to be hand-holded and an overbearing presence to ensure your lack of integrity is always in check? Then don't play here. You say "it isn't fair!" "What" isn't fair? That you don't get to copy IP and threaten the entire community and game with your selfish desires? I would say that isn't fair to the rest of the entire community that attitude is even permitted. To anyone with clear intent to just enjoy the game, the rules are pretty transparent already. Only those who are going "I wonder if I can get away with..." are the rules not clear-cut enough. And odds are, if you have to question it, then you are likely in the wrong.
17 minutes ago, Player2 said:Context matters? Bull. Character name reported: Useless Lesbian, and I find that pretty damned offensive. GM response same day, so it's not like anyone was too overworked to notice it. That character is still running around with that name. Since we're obviously in an us vs. them situation with the GMs, should I name the GM that chose to ignore this? I mean, I outed myself for reporting it now, maybe the GM will come along and explain why that name is okay. And if so, I'd love to know why my merc/FF mastermind named F-Bomb because of the double entendre and use of Force Bomb power was taken away along with a warning not to use it again or more severe action will be taken against my account. Is the profanity rule so strict that we can't even refer to words that refer to profanity? For the record, the only "f-bombs" I dropped in chat was the word fudge... for humor, because subverting expectations. So I'd love to call bullcrap on all of your explanations, but I'm worried that "bullcrap" might be mistaken for another expletive and get me in trouble for breaking profanity rules... despite people frequently using the vulgar term for excrement.
I have no inner knowledge of your specific case, but "Useless" and "Lesbian" are neither wrong or profanity, while the F bomb most certainly is. Now, neither you nor I are the ones to decide if "Useless Lesbian" is an acceptable name. I believe most people would say, that it is not. But here is a shocker - if someone on the staff says it's okay, then it is. Don't like it? Too bad. Not your call. And for the record, yes, your term for bull excrement is also profanity.
17 minutes ago, Player2 said:I have no sympathy for the GMs at this point, and you've not made it any better but only made me resent them more. Good job.
Life is far too short for me to even pretend to care about your personal feelings on the matter. But perhaps your time would be better spent in wondering if you resent playing here so much why are you playing then? Personally, I think your entire complaint arises from a personal interaction that you are still salty about. So salty and selfish that you would rather see it all come crashing down just because you didn't get your way on something, most likely a minor matter.
And to that, I can only respond with "K."
And the way this conversation is going, I expect this topic to be closed.
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57 minutes ago, Player2 said:
It often seems like the sometimes intentionally vague rules are selectively enforced, so... meh.
I might be able to offer some insight.
But before I do, I want to make it clear that this is only my personal experience as a staff member for a different but similar game. (Neverwinter Nights 2 for those wondering.) A similar circumstance - a private server with a community, active forums, roleplay, etc. But I claim no hidden knowledge or 100% accuracy in how CoH runs things, I am only sharing how we managed things as well as why.
1. "The rules are vague!" - Yes, intentionally so. Having vague rules serves multiple purposes -
1a. There are "a lot" of us, and only a hand full of them. Enforcing and policing rules in a community this size would be a full time job. Having vague rules gives staff members room to make personal calls and decisions where needed.
1b. The moment you make a hard, clear cut, lawyer written rule, in about three minutes you will have people who dance up and down that rule, and try to get as close as possible without actually breaking it, and often enough break the "spirit" of the rule, but not actually breaking the rule itself.
As an example, I will quote a line from Sword and the Stone -
Merlin- "Come now Mim, you made the rules and you said No Dragons!"
Mim- "Did I say no PURPLE Dragons? Well, DID I?"
You will see this almost constantly. People can be clever with wordplay or, shall we call it, "creative interpretation" of the rules. Another example would be "You never said no Dragons, on TUESDAYS" and so on.
1c. Having vaguely written rules is actually an advantage to the Staff. Not from the "play nice" standpoint, but from the "lets see what they can do" standpoint. It allowed our big brain people watch to see "how" people would try to break the rules via exploits and the like. So in a way, we used our own trolls and/or cheaters as a QA process. Not that they were ever aware of it of course. We would just watch to see what they did, and quietly make adjustments where necessary. It actually proved to be very successful as a way of highlighting to us what needed attention and/or fixing.
This isn't to mention that it would take time and resources to actually write a sort of players code of conduct, as well as policing and enforcing it. When I hope we all could agree we would rather the staff work on other things, rather than spending their precious time chasing down offenders who like to draw attention for thrills.
2. "The rules are selectively enforced!" - Well, yes and no.
2a. As mentioned, there are a "lot" of us, and a handful of "them." A staff member might spend every spare moment stomping out offenders, and you personally might never notice. And how would you? It isn't as if the staff is going to personally notify you of their actions.
2b. All you might see, or even realize, is that the "offender" is suddenly gone. You might chalk it up to playtime or circumstance, when the staff member may have taken action. Or they may not. There is simply no way to tell. And I would argue, that it isn't our business what steps they took against the offender in the first place. You did your part. You made a ticket and reported it. That should be the end of your involvement.
2c. Context matters. Using my own experience as an example, we had one rule that was more or less "Roleplay how you like in private." This is because different players will roleplay differently. Some take the lore and books as kiss-your-elbow-gospel, and others take it as more of a guideline. And these two groups of player styles can often get into arguments. So in our attempt to compromise, it was "Rp as you like in private." Well, then the term of what is or is not "private" got called into question - it started as 1 on 1, then it got expanded to private player houses/bases, then it moved onto personal guilds, and then suddenly it was being practiced by "official" guilds as well, followed shortly thereafter by people in official elected positions and the like.
The point is, is that the rules kind of have to be selectively enforced. Because people are going to people, meaning any rule in place they will analyze and try to see how it might advantage them personally.
At this point I would point out that being too aggressive with trying to "police others" can be just as bad. "You" might see something you dislike or believe is against the rules, and submit a ticket. The staff member looks into it, and makes a personal judgement call of "well, I think that's fine" and does nothing about it. IE - they disagree with you. Now it may look from outside appearances that nothing was done. But in actuality a judgement call was made that simply disagreed with your view on the situation. Who knows, perhaps even the other person and the staff member even had a conversation, one which you were not a part of. (In truth, situations like these made up the vast number of 'rules are selectively enforced' complaints I had to deal with.) The rules weren't selectively enforced, the person who made the ticket was wrong. It's really that simple. A staff member might have looked into the costume or whatever and said "it's similar, but it's different "enough" and closed the ticket. Or that person with the costume might have simply disappeared from your point of view, and you simply never realized.
Anyway, there is a lot more I could go into. But that is the skinny of why "we" had vaguely written rules. And why things might have seemed one way, but in actuality was not. Please bear in mind, you only see one side of things - your side. Not the staffs side, or even the side you might be complaining about.
Again, NONE of this is directly related to CoH staff, how it writes the rules, why, and how they police them. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were similarities.
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1 hour ago, Hjarki said:
Not taking the three personal attacks in primary is going to cost you a ton of damage. Virtually all Mercenary attacks against a target add 33% for each of Burst, Slug and M30 Grenade you've hit the target with in the past 30 seconds. So you'll literally be doing half the damage you should without those attacks against a single target.
It's 3.33% per personal attack, so all 3 together is 10% total damage. Not an insignificant number however.
And I will be the first to say this build is far from optimized or min/maxed. It could certainly be better. Some builds have themes. And themes (while awesome) are often far from optimized. And this builds "theme" is being lazy. The general idea is to be as effective as possible, while also being as passive as possible. Hence the name, the "Lazy" Mastermind. 😆
Not expecting this build to be taking on AVs or GMs, but if it can solo +4/8 then I will consider it a success!
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My take on it -
Personally, I don't want anyone to loose their names, 50 or not. If it were up to me, it would be "first come, first serve." And I wonder what brought this change about in the first place. Is there suddenly a shortage of names or adjectives in multiple languages on Earth? Aside from that - life happens. People take breaks. I myself only just started playing regularly again after being gone about 9 or so months. And when I think about returning to play a game again, the last thing I want to do is scroll through 100+ characters on multiple accounts just to "log in" to keep something I have already had for years. People have multiple characters. Some build specific characters for specific tasks. Others simply have characters to act as bankers or storage. Other players still have a bunch of characters simply used as visual props and use assorted powers for roleplay, and the list goes on.
To me this entire think stinks, to 50s and non-50s alike. And for nearly all contexts, I usually take a dim view on making people take extra steps or jump through hoops to keep something they already had.
My two cents on it.
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50 minutes ago, StrikerFox said:
Fun build! Good job, man.
Here is the MK 2 with the suggested changes, a few of your points were a little confusing but I think I got all that. But this is mostly a checklist for myself -
1. Adjusted pet slotting.
2. Moved 1 slot from Scorpion Shield to Equip Mercenary, added Impervious Skin .
3. Swapped Shield Wall out, replaced with LoTG.
4. Replaced LoTG with Shield Wall in Hover.
5. Added Steadfast Protection to Equip Mercenary. (Lack of other places to put it, it was Equip Mercenary or Serum.)
Think that's everything? But here is the build and a screenie for reference. Your comment about Shield Wall was a little confusing.
Thank you bunches! Do appreciate.
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Thank you, I will make the suggested changes. I can answer a few of your questions too!
- Yes, a MM can be knocked out of the air, it's happened to me on my other MMs. Elusive maneuvers isn't 100% failsafe but its enough to make a difference. Pets can get knocked out of the air as well, but as far as I know there is nothing that can be done about that save having a high ranged DEF.
- I had the KB protection because I was unsure of the interaction between that and Elusive. I will see what else I can put in, but I hope to be knocked out of the air as little as possible.
- I actually took Repulsive Bolt over Burst because of the KB to KD, but also of the inherent -15% res, which should stack with the Achillies procs.
- As far as the pet stats goes, I have no way to look at them in MIDs and I actually can't check ingame yet. But it's not just softcap I'm worried about, it's also Ranged since I hope to be flying as much as possible, save for maps like caves. But it's not like I can just have it on me and check later on too, so there is that.
But thank you very much for the pet slotting, that was my big question was how to slot them and maximize their damage while still having all the must-haves.
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Hello Forums,
I decided to try out Mercs, but I have no experience with them or with FF. The general idea is to focus on Group Fly and being lazy/easy to play. I know the slotting for Mercs is a little different, as I have seen procs done all sorts of ways. If someone with Merc and FF experience could take a look at my initial attempt, it would be appreciated. But here are the highlights I am striving for -
- I am hoping to use this as a sort of "training wheels" to help some friends/new players learn how MMs work. Not looking for top shelf/GM soloing here, I am more looking for ease of play and still be good. (Hoping it is +4/8 capable.) And namely trying to see if I can make a build that capitalizes on Elusive Maneuver's passive bonus and Force Field's passive playstyle.
- I included Medicine Pool to help with healing a bit, but also to have a END tool as FF does look quite hungry, and I intend on taking Barrier, because I personally really dislike having to rely on ageless or blue candy to make a build work. But since this build won't be doing a whole lot, and the END is only tight with when Repulsion field is on, that should suffice.
- With the "lazy" feature, I am hoping to take advantage of Elusive Maneuvers as much as possible. It won't be "completely" hands free of course, but far more than others. The one thing I am uncertain about, is once you take an action, how long the buff from Elusive Maneuvers remains inactive before re-applying again. Far as personal actions goes, I am expecting to just use Serum and Aid Other when necessary, with the occasional Force Bolt.
-Have very close to perma-serum, with a 60 sec duration and a 68 sec recast time. And the way it is slotted, it should give 87% resistance, with FF's strong +DEF and the fact this build uses Group Fly, "should" end up with some very sturdy pets, with the option to use Repulsion shield to push away other fliers if necessary.
-I did try to stick in pet procs and Achillies -res proc's on the pets, but I am sure it could be done better. I did try to focus on a balance of recharge/pet damage far as pet slotting goes. I did ignore a few of the +def pet auras since FF has that covered in spades but did grab the +res ones.
- After talks with @Bionic_Flea I did manage to add Power Boost into the build.
-I am unsure what other incarnates to use with a Merc/FF build. I intend to use Agility core, for the Def Buff and Recharge bonus. For Interface I will probably use Degen. I hope I don't have to use Ageless and will be able to use Barrier, but I guess we will see about that.
Anyway, for those that know more about Mercs and FF please let me know if pets or FF powers could be slotted better. Honestly, I don't think this looks too bad for my first attempt.
Thanks bunches!
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29 minutes ago, macskull said:
Issue 27 Page 5, not Issue 5. So... about 10 months ago.
Ah my bad, thought you meant live. But I duno! Still don't pvp unless you count baseball bats, snowballs and frisbees!
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10 hours ago, macskull said:
Maybe I'm smoking crack and the last year has been a fever dream, but wasn't PvP in SG bases re-enabled in Page 5?
I have no idea hon, that was way before my time. I never played live! So you tell me! 😆
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4 hours ago, honoroit said:
you should git gud.
Maybe you should "git gud" at making inf and buying those cosmetics you want so bad then huh?
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Just now, honoroit said:
you dont think lady liberty would fight back in such an implementation, like npcs get zapped, or that gankers would do well against ppd lasers?
but 'could' it happen? sure. someone 'might' be able to solo org as ally.
See, now you are changing your request. Currently, the NPC Lady Liberty in Atlas does not take part in combat, she is a mission giver/quest NPC. And changing her to take part is no longer just "adding more PVP."
This sounds more like you are asking to make it possible for teams of Gankers to kill PVE NPCS, like its possible to do in WoW where the opposite faction just kills the quest NPCs over and over, preventing the opposing faction from completing quests. Which I view just as another form of harassment.
But this entire conversation is moot. There is very little chance of any of this coming about, especially as you keep changing your request. Originally this began as "Aethers for PVP" to "PVP flagged server" now to "Let us fight in Atlas City." And the more I hear the less I care for any of it. To me it sounds like you are grasping for ways to justify grieving your fellow players or tricking them into being punching bags.
No, thank you. If you want to PVP, go PVP. Can't find people to PVP with? Perhaps there are reasons why.
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1 minute ago, honoroit said:
maybe @Neiska is missing 'server flag' in my commentry on open pvp, like pvp vs pve servers in other games.
hence, people interested in pvp (open world) would (likely) move characters there.
and so, youd be less bothered, no?
Given that there are already pvp areas on all servers largely devoid of people, I don't see how having a server specifically made for open-world pvp would change that. Here is what I expect would happen -
1. If its an existing server suddenly made into open season PVP, anyone who doesn't want that would change servers or simply leave.
2. If it's a new server, you just made a server-sized PVP zone, that would be largely empty. You might get some people who would check it out shortly after launch, but as soon as the toxic behavior began (ganking new characters at lady liberty) I suspect that those seeking "legit" PVP would leave. So what would leave you with 3 -
3. A server with few legitimate PVPers/duelers, a few people like yourself wondering where all their targets are.
4. Cue the "pay people to come to the pvp server!" posts.
Which is essentially the same thing as this same topic. Just instead of PVP zones, it would just be the PVP server.
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whats your most pressing issue?
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by Neiska
Ah, "There" it is. You know, I was wondering how long it would take for the "I hate farmers!" complaint to rear its head. Honestly, I am surprised it took 4 pages.
In light of how the discussion has progressed, I wish to change my answer.
My new answer is - Other - Self-appointed Dictators of fun who have the self obsessed narcissism to feel they have not only the authority but the right to police others gameplay and activites.
I honestly cannot fathom the mindset a person must possess to think that their personal narrow scope of preferred playstyle is the golden measuring stick to base not only the entire game around, but all other activities as well, even those activities they themselves dislike. Unless you are a Staff member, then your opinion on the matter is just that, your opinion. Not scripture or a server rule for everyone to abide by.
You enjoy an activity? Great! Go have fun.
You dislike an activity? Great! No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to do it.
You dislike others enjoying an activity? Well, that's not really your business. Don't like it? That's too bad. The game, the Devs, and other players do not revolve around what you personally approve or disapprove of. Long as its an entirely legal activity to do, (which AE and farming is), you can watch from the sidelines.
For the record, most farmers are content to "live and let live." You do your thing, I'll do mine. But I will also point out that out of every activity a player might enjoy doing, none have been so changed/edited as much as the AE. The INF/EXP has been adjusted several times now, as well as the NPC behavior. I will also point out that every change has been one direction - to make farming more tedious and time consuming, despite it being an entirely 100% allowed and legal activity to do. Ironically, this has not reduced farming as a whole, only made it more necessary for those players who enjoy that activity. So the measures taken to "reduce" farming, actually only made it more necessary.
But lets play hypothetical here. Lets say that the AE vanished overnight. POOF! Pixies stole it in the night. What do you think would happen? Well, I don't know for certain, but I can take a very good guess -
1. The first reaction, would be anger and resentment. Followed by some whoops and cheers from a small part of the community but who is also the loudest in their complaining.
2. There won't be a sudden influx of players teaming or doing those activates you enjoy. The big brains in the farming community have already identified the next most expedient methods of EXP and INF, and those would simply become the new farm. Builds have already been configured for it in fact.
3. The game wont suddenly become a paradise of rainbows and everyone getting along. I expect the rifts that already exist, will widen further. Currently, the various people I team with already resent some others to the extent that if those people show up to a team activity, they will simply leave. (Myself included in some cases, if a select few people show up to it.) Simply because I don't care what the activity happens to be, I absolutely refuse to partake in it with those people. And this? Will only make that worse.
You can't bribe, coerce, or force people to enjoy things. That's human nature. And you have to accept that some of those very same activities that you are so passionate about - (making a new character, slow-crawling over weeks to 50, and doing it again, or whatever) are the same actions that other people despise, just as much as you might hate AE. And trying to "the beatings will continue until morale improves" angle will only make things worse.
Speaking entirely for myself, I might spend hours in the costume creator, making a look, then even more hours in MIDS, planning out a character. And if I want to rush them to 50 to play with my other friends who are 50? Then that's my business. You can't "force" me to enjoy the game with you, doing "your" activity. This is not that game. This is a sandbox. Where we all can play and do what we enjoy. And if you are not on my friends list, or if we don't go out and do things together, then it is no exaggeration to say that I personally don't give a leaky sack of wet rat farts what you like or dislike.
"But new people are 50 without a clue!" - Yes? And? First, I would love to see the citation and source of this tidal wave of new players. Secondly, if they are learning, isn't that the point? Not everyone has memorized every mission in a game old enough to vote. Thirdly, you speak as if this isn't a fixable situation. People aren't sure what to do? Then take the time to mentor and teach them. You know, part of that whole "community" thing you claim to speak for and represent. And honestly? You should be happy we are getting newbies at all in a game this old, in the age of mobile games and short attention spans. And even if someone who is 50 shows up and doesn't know what to do, I must say it is mighty presumptuous of you to immediately assume they don't know the game. Not everyone runs weekly TFs. Not everyone runs Raids. Not everyone runs hard mode. I have played HC since shortly after it was made public, and I have YET to do a Hami, Mothership Raid, or anything like that. I have run Aeon and Imperious a few times, 2 star I think? And I have "several" level 50s on multiple accounts, fully incarnated t4's. And I do not consider myself a "newb." I simply dislike large activities with random people, and the attitude of "new 50s are clueless!" does play a part of that. Why would I choose to be lectured to and berated by some self-appointed judge, when I can just go do my own thing or play with friends?
"But people can AFK and earn money!" - And? So can you. We don't have any sort of advantage. We all have the same tools and access. You simply choose not to do it, and somehow, that is other peoples fault?
"I'm tired of the AE in LFG channel!" - That's... the point of the channel? LFG is LFG. Nothing stipulates that LFG is only for TF, or that AE groups are not allowed to use it either. Or that PI/Radio missions isn't. I mean if someone wanted to post "looking for roleplay!" in LFG, then by all rights they could. Looking for GROUP is looking for GROUP, as in groups of people to enjoy an activity with. You aren't mad that they are looking for group, you are just mad they are looking for a group for an activity that you dislike. And to that I say that sounds suspiciously like your problem.
"But the economy!" - I hate to break it to you, but an economy, any economy, is never a stable thing. There are ups, there are downs. Ebbs and flow. At times, there will be too much money. Others, not enough to go around. As an example, let's look at Aethers. When they were first added, they were selling for 15 million each. Now? Down to 2 mil last time I checked. It's stabilized. And I have a bit more bad news. In any game economy where money gain outpaces money-sinks, well, no matter what you do the only thing that changes is time. How long it will take before everything is absurdly expensive. You can slow it down, sure. But it can't be stopped, at least not without money-sinks to compensate. And for all those points of "we get too much inf!" I have yet to see actual points of conversation to balance the scale. You know, the other things that no one wants to think about. Things like -
-increasing AH cuts in sales.
-increasing costume costs.
-making a weekly/monthly upkeep on bases.
-increasing costs of recipe creation.
-increasing vendor prices.
Any of those things will have a far greater impact on balancing the economy, than "punish those darned farmers!" ever would. But since that would affect "everyone" and not just "them," no one wants to have that conversation. The easiest solution to any problem is making someone else do it, right?
/Rant over.