Ignatz the Insane

I was gonna post earlier and thought it was silly but now I secretly hope you decided on a 'Back to Basics'' run and did the original Positron.

Shoot, after reading your reply and rereading mine, I came off as far more aggressive than I felt while typing it. Sorry 'bout that. That post definitely was a me problem. There's a certain cadre of players who have such an intense sense of entitlement directed towards the Devs it makes my teeth hurt. You're generally mild in comparison, but you imply a great deal about what the Devs can/should or can't/shouldn't do. You say repeatedly that you understand they are volunteers and I believe you when you say you appreciate the work they've done...but you don't seem to take into consideration their time constraints. What's their commute like, do they have a physically or emotionally demanding job, do they have a family... Running Homecoming up to now was more of a hobby than a job. Hell, not more of...it is a Hobby.

How are you in any position to agree or disagree about what the Devs can or cannot do? You think they can manage it just fine you say. How the heck do you know? Because it's your opinion? If you have more technical knowledge to impart, you should let the Devs know. Your arguments are pointless and self-centered, filled with conjecture based on what you want and what you expect. There's a kind of hubris to your posts...like you deserve the changes you want, and the Devs are there to serve your desires. Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

When I first read it, I loved the idea. Thought it could really help say....a group of friends who wanted to try the game out. There is strength in diverse teams, especially early mission/TF teams filled with players who can't afford SOs. Several of the objections have been from the viewpoint of level 50 characters, including fully kitted and incarnated ones arguing about what 'role' they can or should play. These objections are irrelevant for TFs filled with unslotted or poorly slotted teams. And going by what my friends have said when I mentioned playing as a group; most don't want to bother with complexity, at least not right away so SOs and generic IOs appealed to them. So much of the joy of my early experience with this game was a tank taking agro, a controller controlling, a scrapper and blaster focusing down bosses and lts. And a defender...bubbling? It didn't take my early group of friends long to realized that there was more to a defender than healing. My first 50 was a bubble Defender. I'm guessing new players here will also figure that out as they (hopefully) play different alts. Yes, I get it, a fully kitted out level 50 is significantly more durable even in the lowest level TFs. Most of the rest of the objections have been people concerned about team leaders requiring such and such. And they're right. I'm guessing there'll be a bunch of speed Yin TFs daily chasing the reward...which is not unlike what we already have. I doubt it will affect much beyond that after a time. I'm not gonna worry about team makeup when I join a TF. Are you? I'll take the occasional happy accident reward thank you, and never give it another thought. For my part, I think the idea is neat. But in the end, tweak it, pull it, or put it out as is....I don't feel any personal angst no matter the decision.

It's always a bit perplexing to me just how personally some people take nerfs...in any game. Especially ones that are 20 years old. Maybe let it go? Seems like a waste of emotional energy.

High end Blasters are sturdy enough to smash spawns with impunity much of the time, but they have never exceeded Sentinel survivability on the surface, below the surface, or above the surface. I understand you were more conveying that Blasters in today's game can be built to be incredibly durable. I agree. So can any other AT.

As of now you're correct, it's not against the rules, although it sure appears to be a gray area to me. It becomes a problem though if there are enough afk MMs around that xp rewards for leagues is greatly reduced. There's no way to avoid them unless the entire league decides to move to a new area not populated by a bunch of afk MMs. So perhaps it should be against the rules. If you're multi-box afk, you're not in a league. As far as rewards, any damage you do is for yourself, not the league. You're actually leeching xp from the League to yourself. You're also not contributing you're secondary. Especially if you're parking your afk MMs above the fray. Why the hell would I be envious of something I can easily do myself? No, that's not it. I'm pretty sure it's because if there are enough of you, you're leeching xp from the league. Good advice. You wanna afk farm? Go for it. Don't care. If players are noticing significant xp drops because the xp is being divided by one league and a bunch of (or teams of) afk MMs, then there's a problem with your play style in that it affects other players. For the sake of argument: If you logged on and joined a ToT league, dropped your pets and set an auto power, and then spent an hour doing something else while your MM got some rewards, I personally wouldn't have a problem. At least then your damage would contribute to the league. And you would benefit from their damage. If you're just parking a bunch of MMs and leaving them afk for an indefinite amount of time, you're just leeching. That most certainly lacks etiquette. If you don't give a shit about etiquette, then I question your character, not your play style.

My first thought was a Dark/Pain Domination Controller.

My opinion definitely differs. Scrappers and Stalkers are terrific solo characters. The best IMHO. I'd add that Sentinels, Tanks, and Brutes are also easy mode for solo play. Especially at min difficulty. All of them have mez protection. All of them do sufficient damage to roll through anything up to EBs. Edit: Anything can solo at minimum difficulty. Just make sure you have Breakfrees handy if you don't have inherent mez protection.

Regen is great for soloing at minimum difficulty. When IO'd out it can push the envelope quite a bit at the cost of DPS. Same as any of the weaker solo classes. Me? I'd rather just about any other secondary for Scrappers, and if I'm intent on Regen, I'll play a Sentinel. I reckon most players are rather casual. In which case Regen is just fine. If you want something that is a better performer for Hard Mode content or difficult solo challenges, pick something else. Not sure why this is so hard.

I remember many PUGs asking for either a 'healer' or a 'tank'. Hell, one of the stickies here is "I need healing". City of Heroes was more Tank, Heals, Holds, Damage as far as PUGs. More of a Quadrinity. Super Groups who experimented with different ATs, especially the Repeat Offenders, blew that playstyle to smithereens. Stacking Buffs and Debuffs is and always has been the superior way of building teams in CoH. Defenders and Corruptors in particular are such potent force multipliers. There were folks who realized the potential of force multiplier ATs. And folks who wanted a Holy Trinity/Quadrinity. My first 50 on live was a Force Field Defender, followed by a Dark Defender. I definitely gravitated toward the former.

I skipped BFR and slotted Freeze Ray for damage and still have more than 50% Ranged Defense (I was trying to reach incarnate soft cap, and could have, but at too great a cost). I'm getting more than 28% of that from Arctic Fog, Weave, Maneuvers, and the two uniques. Freeze Ray is a terrific attack, and recharges super fast, enough to stack holds even without Lockdown. The increased damage is significant. My single target attack chain is Freeze Ray, BIB, Ice Bolt. Not sure if that's optimal, but single target feels fast and powerful. If there's opportunity to hit more than one target, I sub in Frost Breath instead of Ice Bolt. I can see making a second build with stacking holds for...say Hami raids or LGTF. In most cases though, I think you're better off slotting it for damage. Only an opinion though. You're still gonna be effective on teams regardless.

My advice? Make it a game within a game. You're a Scrapper. Look for sets that increase melee defense. Leverage Heightened Senses and Parry, look for sets that have s/l e/n. I wouldn't get too caught up chasing defense personally. Yea, I'd get Melee, S/L/E/N as high as possible, but not to the detriment of resists and regen. Getting a long look at sets in the AH will give you a better perspective on which direction you wanna take with IOs. Figure out what you want to chase and go from there.

"I deserve". You're either trolling or an entitled ninny. No vote from me.

Another vote for taking a break. I've been on an extended sabbatical myself, although it isn't entirely due to game fatigue. It's ironic. I found the game during the pandemic when I was out of work (I'm a casino dealer/dual). I played the hell outta Homecoming for about 2 years. Then I got game fatigue. Then I got work at a different casino, although I have an hour commute. That combined with family has made it difficult to fully come back to the game. But what makes this game remarkeable....after playing from launch to sunset, and again with Homecoming; I still love the game. So....take a break, keep in touch, and come back when you're ready! This is a special community, warts and all.