BlackSpectre

No. The aggro cap does address several big problems. Personally, I’d like to see the aggro cap increased. Instead of 16, maybe to 32, 48, or 64? Given the 16 mob aggro cap, I do really like the Changes HC did to make the whole thing a little more realistic. I love that mobs beyond 16 attack from range but dont move. Way better than mobs just standing there doing nothing. I also liked the addition of the defense debuff for some fire powesets in AE. At the very least it’s interesting as a way that mass numbers of mobs can have an impact on a very tough hero. To be clear, I’m not talking about increasing the number of mobs that can be taunted, but rather the number of mobs that are allowed to move. P.S. I'd also drastically reduce the duration of aura taunts to something like 2 seconds. This would prevent a tank from merely jumping around the area for their taunt aura to hit mobs and would prevent the tank from controlling all the aggro. This way taunt auras still keep the baddies next to you, focused on you, but can't really be used to control over 16 mobs.

For the record, I NEVER felt that way when I was on a team with a herding tanker back then. See, my job as a blaster was to take all those gobs of mobs down fast! Although there wasn't an aggro cap, there was no way a tank could stop a group of 90 mobs from attacking and killing the rest of the team. It took teamwork to make it work, and when it did it was incredibly efficient... and exciting! As a defender, it was my job to keep everyone safe, and that wasn't easy when 90 mobs are attacking in full aggro. Same for a controller. For scrapers, it was like wailing away in a mosh pit! Freakin exhilarating! Not at all risk free. Frankly, it was this that started me to evolve stronger and stronger toons, no matter what AT I was playing. If the team made one misstep, teammates would die... and fast! Herding made it ridiculously dangerous! And when we prevailed, we had bested something BIG! A huge gaggle of berserker mobs! Timing was extremely important. The team had to wait until all the mobs were focused on the tank or the team would wipe. As it was, after the first attack, mobs would always peal off of the tank and hunt other teammates down. As a herding tank, it was super important to not just stand there and let the mobs pummel you, but rather jump around to intercept mobs about to attack teammates. It was hectic! And fun! That's said, I ran with a team who understood the tactics and the danger involved. I had a great SG filled with expert players. However, Herding on a PUG was often a disaster. Many players were unfamiliar with the tactic. So many PUG players were overwhelmed by the huge group of mobs. The mob's onslaught was brutal and fast! These PUG players hadn't built their toons to survive a situation where 30 mobs could turn and rush them. Many PUG teammates died instantly. Some quickly learned how to make the situation work, while others quit, thinking that what the tank was asking of them was crazy! "No one could survive that!" they'd say and quit the team pissed. Now my SG might have been a little odd. We liked to pull the entire mission map at once. Get a TON of mobs in the mosh pit! We didn't mind waiting around for the tank to do it because the coming battle was going to be a doozy! Freakin awesome! The special effects flying everywhere alone was awesome! It took many small battles, and made them EPIC! But not everyone did as we did. Some saw how much easier it was to keep a team safe by herding, and although they didn't herd the entire map like we did, they still used the technique for small groups. Let the tank herd. Let the tank take the alpha attack. And here I can see where some would get bored. I know I would. With a small group of mobs the tank was able to keep all of them on him without fail. The payoff was the EPICness of the coming battle, but if it was never epic, then yeah. I can see that. Still, I'm sad they took away the ability for us to turn many small battles into one epic one when the aggro cap was implemented. But whatcha going to do? COH is still a good game, and everyone once in a while a battle does still become epic. Just saying, it wasn't bad for everyone, and indeed wasn't all bad.

If I were a dev, I would lament that I don’t have an artist to make all my ideas come true… and then go sit in a corner.

Just use the knockback to knock down global proc enhancement in that set. Then slot the others as desired.

OK. I've written up an article for using colors at the wiki. Please check it over and let me know if you have any suggestions, additions, etc. https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/User:BlackSpectre/Testthis2

I found out this is not true! After doing a little research, I discovered that when the wiki goes into dark mode, it INVERTS the brightness (from dark to light, and from light to dark) and changes the colors into their complimentary colors. It then flips the complimentary colors to the opposite side of the color wheel. It results in some weird approximation of the color. So none of the colors we see on in light mode will be reproduced exactly in dark mode. This is why when we make text red, for example, it turns into a weird off-red pink color in dark mode. In general, the lighter the text color, the darker that color will be in dark mode. Conversely, the darker the color, the lighter the color will be in dark mode. So dark blue turns out to be a very bright blue in dark mode. Rule of Thumb: AVOID LIGHT COLORS FOR TEXT Here's what the notes using dark blue looks like in dark mode: Here is a cool contrast checker that might be useful, however it does not use the CSS filter that dark mode uses at the wiki, so the colors will be different than what we see on the wiki. https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/

I'm currently playing an ice/ice controller, and I can't help but notice that the only major armor of the ice themed power sets for a controller is in the Ice Mastery Epic pool... Frozen Armor. This power gives 13.5% Smashing/Lethal defense. The problem is that S/L defense is primarily a melee character defense type... and yet, controllers... especially the ice/ice controller... are ranged toons. This does NOT seem very useful on controllers, unless I'm missing something. Further, S/L defense is no where near as useful as it used to be before the change to the damage types mechanic. So... how about changing the defense type for Frozen Armor to defense against ALL types of damage (except psionic)? Or ranged defense?

Players have done a great job of deciphering the game’s mechanics and then sharing that info on the wiki. Procs, damage calculations, and how XP is actually calculated. Is there anything left that we need to figure out that’s not currently at the wiki? And if not, then is there anything else not on the wiki that you’d like to see on the wiki?

Oddly, red is the color used when quoting a dev, and you can find it in the various Quote templates. It’s a leftover from paragonwiki but red to me is a warning color. Like “Don’t click this button or your toon will self destruct!” I don’t actually know how exactly dark mode works, which means I’ll need to do a little more research before anything is decided.

What’s wrong with my base? Why don’t I ever win any base contests? I think it’s awesome! Am I crazy??? Go ahead and look around. Would love some suggestions. Make sure you click on things that you might not usually think to click on. On excelsior. Base code = SI-7230

Well, my regular friends are taking a break from gaming altogether for some reason. I’m guessing work stress. But whatever the reason I find myself alone in COH. So I’m looking for a new crew to play COH with. I’m normally the one leading teams, TFs, or trials but in all honesty I’m just as happy to follow. I have a decked out supergroup base on Excelsior that is super efficient and functional while also looking cool. I tried to join someone else’s SG about a year ago but just couldn’t deal with not having access to all the cool stuff in my base. I’m a veteran player since 2005, and know my way around the game, but much of the content I haven’t done often… rarely even. Which means there’s still a lot of “new” stuff for me to do. Anyway, like most veterans, I’m an older guy. I’ve been around for a long time. Fun loving, off-beat sense of humor, but one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. I’m not going to say one of the smartest guys you’ve met but I’m definitely not lacking in that area. I’m honest, tend not to hold grudges, and also tend not to think the worst of people. I hope others see me as kind at the very least. I do love action and special effects in movies… and COH. (My god, I suddenly feel like I’m filling out forms for an online dating service! LOL) Anyway, I’m also realistic enough to know that people have different schedules and responsibilities, myself included. So what I’m thinking is maybe scheduling one day per week for teaming, initially. Start small but consistent. Any shard is fine, but since Homecoming started I’ve been on Excelsior. I probably won’t be joining any other supergroup, but if your base is as awesome as mine it’s completely possible! You won’t need to worry about thefts from bases or anything with me because I have built up over 7 billion inf (not bragging, just a fact). I’m not really wanting for anything in game. So even if you didn’t believe I’m a decent guy, I literally don’t need anything from you or any other player in game. And, of course, if you’d like to join my SG it’s perfectly fine. Mostly I’m just looking for a crew to hang out with, do missions with, and laugh with for a couple hours per week. The best time for me to log in is between 7PM-10pm PST. That’s after work and dinner for me. 10 PM is supposedly my bed time during the weekdays but honestly I NEVER meet that deadline. LOL There’s no time limits for the weekend. So what do you say? Interested in a new guy joining your crew for a trial run? Send me a PM here at the forums or in game to @BlackSpectre and let’s see if we can schedule a time.

I was looking at inFrigidate as a contender for proc slotting too, but have been on the fence because I wanted to take other powers Instead. They way the ice/ice co troller powersets are shaping up, I suspect a huge RESPEC will take place once the toon hits lvl 50.

I had no idea Mids includes proc damage in powers! that makes it an even more amazing app! Very cool! I went through my new ice/ice Controllers powers using the proc calculator and it looks like only a few powers are worth procing out at all. The trade offs are killer. “Nope, that defense debuff needs to be stronger. I can’t take any enhancements away to use for damage procs.” ”Nope. I need that set bonus to boost _____. I can’t take any enhancements away to use for procs.” Etc. just killer. I did discover one power that would work fantastically… Sleet. 4 slotting to get the defense debuff and acc up, lets me add 2 different 22% -res procs, both of which should proc most of the time on a hit. It’s not damage, but it makes that power super good! The mobs just melt away when I’m on a team! I need to put in more thought and research to try to get that toon’s damage up. Most of the powers that do damage in ice/ice do so little damage, 6-7 pts, that they’re not even worth counting as sources of DPS for that toon. Thats what prompted me to look Into procs, but initially it doesn’t look like procs will help get damage up much with that toon. I’ll keeping looking though. Maybe I’ll have a breakthrough? 😀 Thanks for the answers and the examples. Super useful!

If I wanted to take a crappy tier 1 attack power that I'd normally skip and try to make it a good power using damage procs, what would the general guidelines be? For example, would it generally be best to 2-slot accuracy and then add 4 damage procs to a single power? Should all 6 enhancement slots be procs? If 4 enhancements with procs are in a power, will all the procs have a 90% chance to proc so all 4 can proc in one hit, for example, or will only one proc activate at a time? I see on the wiki that an enhancement will proc a range of damage, 7-72 for example. What determines how much damage a proc does? I'm using this calculator to answer most of my other proc questions https://proc-calc.weebly.com

Thanks guys. Good info!

Is there a hold enhancement that also does damage? I'm playing and ice/ice controller and he only has 2 damaging attacks... a hold and sleet.

Zero times. Work hit me hard over the last few months. I think the number of times I've logged in over the last few months can be counted on one hand. Things are getting a little better now, and I have a little more free time. So you might be seeing more of me until May when the stuff hits the fan again. Honestly, I'm only slightly aware of the marriage event and have no idea about it's benefits, whether or not it was good, or anything!

"Toxic positivity"... bah! There's no such thing! I deny everything!!!

Were their character’s name in your SG members list?

Lol Well… people that participate in random pick-up-groups have many, many horror stories AND triumphant stories to tell. You just never know what you’ll get. I’ve heard leaders of teams tell horror stories about their PUG teammates, and players tell horror stories about their team leaders. Team leaders being picky about the AT, powersets, or builds of another toon could easily be attributed to multiple bad experiences with other players who have played those kind of toons. It could be that the leader is attempting to build a specific team for a specific mission or purpose. There are many, many reasons possible. When I run a team, I usually am just concerned with gaining XP, what kind of toon or even what level of toon joined me is completely irrelevant. I don’t really even care if they participate. I also dont care if they go off by themselves and try to complete the mission by themselves. It doesn’t matter to me because the toons that I build can carry any team (yes, even defenders). I also don’t mind dying, not that I do a lot of that. LOL. Im not tooting my own horn here as much as I’m letting you know that I’ve had lots of bad experiences with PUGs. Players have done all sorts of crazy, selfish, disrespectful, and offensive stuff and have even actively tried to sabotage the rest of the team just for fun. I’ve teamed with control freaks, anarchists, noobs, incompetent players, foul-mouthers, insulters, little kids, and griefers. Nothing phases me anymore. On the other hand Ive played with a LOT of really great players. The kind you just want to instantly invite into your supergroup. And that is what I recommend you do… when you play with a great player, invite them into your SG or ask if you can team together again. Ask for times and days that they play and put each other in your global friends list. One thing I have noticed on Excelsior is that different times during the day host a different character of people in general. Adults and veterans who work tend to log in between 3-5PM PST on the east coast, 6-8PM PST on the west coast. After 8PM we start getting a lot of players from Europe logging in. Between Noon and 3pm PST a lot of middle school, high school kids log in after school. Retired players can play at any time. These are generalities of course with tons of exceptions. what time do you generally log in?

You can be a decent human being and be sent to jail. You can be a decent human being and make really bad decisions because... well... there is so much guesswork in life and life is complicated. Sometimes too complicated for our meager human intelligence and perception. You can have good intentions and get evil results. Doesn't make you a bad or even a gray person... just a very unlucky, ignorant, or unwise one. Unforeseen consequences even. As such, the true hallmark of a decent person is the desire and striving to make things right if they break something (assuming that's possible).

Guud eeevening... Do you want to suck our blood? Again?! Welcome back. 🙂

Here are the corrected numbers... Tank Smasher lvl 30 Attribute Results of Power Boost Boost% Attribute Results of Power Boost Boost % Before After Before After Twilight Grasp ToHit -6.3 -12.4 98.0% Heal 480.46 712.36 48.0% Life Drain ToHit -9.4 -18.6 98.0% Heal 109.87 209.92 91.0% Howling Twilight Run/Fly Speed -17.7 -26.5 50.0% Darkest Night ToHit -27.3 -45.7 68.0% Fearsome Stare ToHit -23.8 -42.8 80.0% Blackstar ToHit -24.6 -48.8 98.0% Night Fall ToHit -9.4 -18.6 98.0% Tenebrous Tentacles ToHit -9.4 -18.6 98.0% Gloom ToHit -9.4 -18.6 98.0% Moonbeam ToHit -9.7 -19.2 98.0% Weave Def 7.6 12.51 65.0% Tar Patch No Effect Shadow Fall No Effect

I looked but I didn't see any changes in those powers. I can look again... Bummer. That's cool. 🙂

Mostly due to the 15 second duration. Most of the dark powers only debuff ToHit for about 8-10 seconds. With an 8 second recharge time, Twilight Grasp would only be able to get 2 heals in. A couple more with hasten... but not much. The most I have been able to reduce Power Boost's recharge time is down to 42 secs, mostly using Hasten and Recharge IOs. That is correct, sir! Lvl 50 attacking a lvl 30 Tank Smasher. So yeah, the overall numbers are a bit boosted because of that, but their proportions or percent of boost should be the same. I did think about this when I wrote the comment about flooring an enemy's defense to zero, but I didn't know what boost the difference in levels would give. What do I do to get more accurate numbers? Divide them all by 3.1? OK. Looking at the numbers divided by 3.1, it wouldn't floor enemies' ToHit to zero without Power Boost while fighting even con enemies... and even less of a debuff if the enemies are above my level. Hmmmm.... 15-20 secs of "un-hittable-ness". Not bad! OK. I'm starting to see the light... Hitting Power Boost and then jumping into the middle of a group and using BlackStar would effectively floor their ToHit for 20 secs. That's a nice alpha strike avoider! The same for Fearsome Stare. Darkest Night would give 15 seconds of un-hittable-ness. The recharge time for BlackStar is too long to use in every battle, but Fearsome Stare at 24 secs recharge isn't bad! Against a single target, my Twilight Grasp (~4 sec recharge time) could get in 3 heals before Power Boost is over... that would be -37.19 ToHit debuff at that point, but each debuff would last for 20 secs which would let me get in another heal before the 20secs is over giving me -49.58 ToHit debuff for about 4 secs, -37.19 for 4 secs after that, -24.79 for 4 secs after that, and -12.39 for 4 secs after that as the debuff durations tick away. OK. Thanks for this! Looks like I'll be keeping Power Boost 🙂