Doc_Scorpion

Very, very much worth re-creating. The very first character I re-created here on Homecoming was my very first character back on Live - a kat/regen scrapper. It's not an uber set, but you can make it kinda so by investing a ton of inf. But at that point... it doesn't actually matter what secondary you're using. That solution is for folks whose primary method of dealing with tactical challenges is to throw Mid's and inf at them. It's not the most powerful set, it's not the most survivable set. You probably won't be able to solo the toughest stuff in the game without investing in a ton of set bonuses... And yeah, it's fragility is legendary, and for good reasons. But honestly, so what? I solo just fine with the difficulty turned only modestly up* and I have fun doing so. And beyond debate, fun is the whole point here. The one thing you can do wrong in this game is to not have fun. Go ahead and create the character and see what you think - in the end, that's the only way to know for certain. * One criticism often leveled at Regen is the inability to handle Alpha... You can fix that one of two ways, by spending inf and turning it into not-Regen, or by turning the difficulty down to a survivable level. There's no shame in not running at +4/x8, not matter what the hardcore folks tell you.

Been suggested since Live, unlikely to happen (AIUI) because of the limits of the game engine. The existing Whip animations are reputed to be pretty deep hacks of the system. (That is, not expandable.)

It has ever been thus - not all builds, not all archetypes, are created equal. This is by design in a MMO based primarily on teaming. Or, to put it another way, no - they aren't being punished for some transgression or offense.

Level 25-29.

At launch, Goldside required the Going Rogue expansion (either box set or digital download), which sharply limited the number of people right from the start. After that, it suffered from the same problem that Redside does to this day - people seem to prefer playing heroes. (And there's a network effect at work too, people want to go where there's lots of people.) I also have to wonder how much level capping and replayability played into it. Back in the day, I played through a couple of times, but then never went back. (Though part of that is that Imperial City, shiny and soulless, made my skin crawl.)

What benefit does it provide the player in exchange for the dev and beta tester time required to bring it fruition? What problem does it solve? What does it make possible that previously wasn't or what does it make simpler that was previously complex? Etc... etc... Or, in short, why?

What's the use case?

Neither of which have anything to with anything I said. So, why, exactly did you use me for your soap box? (Other than pronouncing me "wrong, wrong, wrongity, WRONG!") What I said is the stone cold truth. Your proposed solution ("put it on the Test Center!") doesn't address the questions of social meta that other posters have raised. You don't like their positions, take it up with them, not me. But before you do, read the next part: Then bite your tongue, review the Concerning this forum... post at the top of this forum (including the part which makes it clear players are allowed to disagree with a proposal), and scroll on. The problem, with our without your edit, isn't the preceding statement (quoted above) - it's this sweeping declaration than anyone who doesn't meet your standards is by definition deficient and invalid.

Hmm.... Bots/FF - offense and defense in one pint size package Rad/Rad Defender + Earth/Rad Troller - serious control plus a double helping of rad debuffs Fire/Fire + Ice/Ice blasters - pure pain plus a light spicing of control. Fire/Fire and Fire/Shield tanks - Grant Cover + a double helping of 'esplody PbAOE goodness Elec/Elec brute - more pain The problem you face against this team is the defensive powers of the ranged types synergize so nicely. (Bubbles, plus two Choking Clouds from the rads, plus Frigid Protection from /ice.) Properly positioned, they'd be very vulnerable to AoE but a very tough nut for melee range... Especially with the tanks and the brute running interference. Not to mention Stoney and the 'bots. (Which sounds like a great name for a really bad 80's cover band.) To take this team on... Job #1 is to stun, sleep, or hold the /rads before they can get their debuffs off. Job #2 is to kill arrest the Mastermind and get her bots off the field. Then you go back and handle the /rads. That's the key problem with this team - it's simultaneously very tough, but also very fragile. If you can get the MM and the /rads off the field without being mauled yourself, it turns into a pure battle of attrition. Given that the key phase of the battle is fought at range, to take them on I'd want a team slanted support and Blaster heavy. To win, you simply have to take out those first three ASAP... and there's no time to close the range in that phase.

Creating and coding for the test server takes a non-trivial amount of effort. Pondering the effects and alternatives beforehand takes much less effort. (And filters out a lot of bad and questionable ideas.) There's a reason why best engineering practice is "analyze, then build a prototype". That's particularly important in cases such as this were the limited number of people on beta can prove the mechanical function of inspiration, but cannot effectively test the large scale changes to the meta that would invariably accompany publishing to the live game. For the latter, we must rely on thought experiments and the informed judgement of experienced players - AKA, this thread.

You did not say "I could not post". You said "had a 10 minute silence when they join" - which means something entirely different. They're sufficiently different in meaning that they cannot possibly be confused. What you said plainly implies that you could not receive an answer. Etc... Etc...

If I were driving them or if the games AI were driving them? From the various times I've faced my doppelganger/shadow/clone in various missions, the latter ain't too bright.

By my families standards... that's corn flavored cake, not cornbread.

Yeah, some interesting ideas... But as the OP says, it feels more like a controller set than a defender set.

In some ways it is... There's three main limits on how often you can use a given power: endurance, cooldown, and animation time. Adding a recharge inspiration means you can now shortcut two of those three limits. And actually, it's even worse than that. The only effective limit on a number of significant powers (such as Domination, or Accelerate Metabolism in the /rad set) is cooldown. There's a reason why folks try to shoehorn in as much global recharge into builds as they possibly can (on top of recharge in individual powers).

The poster I replied to made a suggestion that could be read as replacing the existing click (attack this and keep attacking until you or it are dead or I give you a new command) with a toggle (attack whatever I'm currently looking at, which equates to a new command every time I shift focus). Either they're attacking (en masse) where you're currently looking or (if they're in an aggressive mode but not commanded to attack) they're attacking whatever the game's internal AI tells them to attack. (It would also be really easy to aggro multiple groups if your cursor accidentally locks on that other spawn down the hall...) Hence replacing the command (taking away individual targeting) is very limiting in terms of playstyle. I mean, I can't be the only MM that multitasks... Can I? Hence my suggestion is to do exactly as you say - make it available but optional. Either with a double click on the existing command, or (preferably) as an entirely new command. (The latter will be easier as it can be assigned to a key, etc...)

The existing command shouldn't be changed to a toggle that forces you into a playstyle. It should be a double click or a new command added. I frequently target my bots (by type) on different targets and am often scanning the enemy group to see where to next concentrate my fire. Changing the existing command to a (default) toggle would break the flow of my style and those of other MM's who are very active and who've mastered the art of managing their pets. (Well, I'm more of a recently graduated apprentice starting as a journeyman, but you get the point. Effort should be rewarded.) I'm also somewhat wary of such a change. Granted, MM's have a punishing learning curve and little flattening might not hurt... But that learning curve is also the price of having a one-toon-team.

Needs some balance testing and probably some fencing (caps? short time of effectiveness?) to prevent exploits... But I can see where it could be useful.

I have an SG base... (Not everybody does.) But in this particular instance I wanted to respawn at the field hospital (I was headed to that part of the zone anyhow) rather than back among the purples around the SG teleport beacon. (After all, they're why I was headed to the hospital in the first place...) Not being able to respawn safely at the field hospital kind of misses the point of having a field hospital. It wasn't an actual problem for my semi-blinged out /regen scrap, but a squishier toon might not fare so well.

This spawn point should maybe be checked out... Kind of disconcerting to revive, be toggling up, and have a sniper taking potshots at you...

Yup. One of the design goals behind alternate builds was preventing them from being used tactically.

I'm completely at a loss to grasp why you think essentially repeating yourself is any kind of useful response to what I said.

No offense, but you've got some serious misconceptions here. The world is not your personal servant available 24/7 to instantly attend to your whims. Ten minutes for people to give assistance isn't at all unreasonable when you consider it's just random people taking time out of their day to help you. The ability to check your name is available right from the start, it's the box down at the bottom center of the screen. It's how most games work - events in the game happen in responses to your choices. Given the almost infinite number of costume combinations available... I don't even know what to say here. Maybe she didn't realize the top level selections expand out into menus with a number of lower level selections - each with dozens of options?

When Electrical Affinity came out, I was seriously surprised to find the name "Shock Princess" available.

Just because "most people" think it's a good idea doesn't make it a good idea.