Luminara

I found them online last year, but I can't justify spending that kind of money on a luxury item. Maybe next decade.

Chocodile. I haven't had a Chocodile in 35 years. They don't sell them on the east coast any more. My sads, they embiggen.

To expand on that: In addition to this very short list of examples, tack on enhancements, IO set bonuses, Vigilance, Alpha +Enhancement values and everything else one doesn't typically refer to as "powers". All +Damage is a single effect, regardless of source, and that's why it's additive. It has to be additive because it's all-encompassing. If it were multiplicative, it would multiply every +Damage source, including those enhancements, set bonuses, buffs, everything. Every Damage enhancement slotted would buff both itself and any other slotted Damage enhancements in that power. Turning on Assault or popping Aim would buff every enhancement and Assault or Aim. There's no flag, no code in the game, which limits that at this time, so controlling it would require new code, The "Ignores buffs and enhancements" code wouldn't work, because that would just prevent +Damage from working at all. Simultaneous with the new limiting code and a redesign of the basic damage formula, every Damage buff in the game would have to be revised. They'd also have to comb through all critter, pet and NPC powers, silent powers, temporary powers... basically every power in the game which deals damage, buffs Damage or can be slotted for Damage would require attention. The alternative would be to create an entirely new category of +Damage, separate and distinct from the existing one, which could be buffed, limited and controlled, and place it in the game alongside the existing +Damage, but reserve it for use in specific capacities, like enhancements, set bonuses and certain powers, and make it function with the "Ignores buffs and enhancements" flag. But that would still require months of work to create it, integrate it and revise every power to use it. And in the end, it would probably cause more problems than it would solve. In fact, there's only one problem really looking to be solved, the less than honest representation of how +Damage affects powers, and it would be so much easier to just add a notification somewhere, or a brief one-line explanation to a trainer or information NPC, so players would understand that taking Assault on a controller doesn't mean their powers deal 1.15x damage, it means they have the equivalent of a -1 Damage DO added to their powers' damage. I am, obviously, not the person to write that one-liner. My one-liners are porn jokes and movie references.

Oppressive Gloom clone. Only difference is the name.

You're not gangster if you're not drinking RC Cola.

I didn't even have to edit that to make it dirty. Well done.

That's what she said?

Beginner's Luck scales down as you level up. You'll miss slightly more frequently with each level, unless you're making an effort to compensate for the loss in +ToHit (Offense amplifier, Kismet unique, extra Accuracy in each attack). And against +1 critters, you're already at a slight disadvantage, as your attacks have a 65% base chance to hit, rather than 75% base. Every miss equals an increase in endurance cost per critter defeat, and since we're dealing with short animation and recharge times, it does add up quickly. Regarding endurance, there is a mechanic, Endurance Discount, but it's only applied by specific powers, not as part of the leveling system. The 2.5% and 3.75% Endurance Discount set bonuses in a few IO sets, Conserve Power, those sorts of things.

Not true. At launch, Defense functioned very differently from the way it does now. Typed Defense forced a hit check for each type, essentially "double-dipping" when attacks with multiple damage tags were being checked. Defense used an overwrite mechanic at that time, so it didn't stack in any other way, only the highest value from all sources was applicable. And Defense buffs, click or toggle, only buffed Defense to position or type, not both. Pool powers had zero typed Defense at that time. After toggle mutual exclusivity was removed, Cryptic modified the overwrite mechanic, allowing stacking from different sources, but only to permit both positional and typed Defense to apply, not to allow multiple values to stack the way they do now. The highest value of any position or type was still the only one used when a hit roll was performed. Defense calculation was changed to prevent typed Defense from "double-dipping". Pool powers and some stealth/invisibility powers were modified to include Smashing/Lethal typed Defense in addition to their positional Defense (none of which offered AoE Defense) but only Smashing/Lethal. Most powers still only offered Defense to positions or types, not both. GDN was implemented concurrent with the release of CoV. Interspersed with these Defense changes were adjustments to critter hit chances, which is a lateral Defense adjustment. For instance, when GDN went live, it was accompanied by a reduction in base critter hit chance, from 75% to 50%, equating to a 25% increase in base Defense for all characters, all archetypes. When metrics indicated that Defense was under-performing, the overwrite mechanic was removed entirely and Defense was allowed to stack the way it does now. Numerous powers which only offered Defense to types or positions were adjusted to include both a position and one or two types, and pool powers were revised to provide Defense to all positions and types (except Toxic, which was only recently added). It was only after all of those changes, comprising the period between launch and the release of Issue 6, that Defense became what it is now.

Maybe they bonded with the T-virus at the cellular level.

An assemblage of nine powers linked thematically and accessible at specific levels. Assault Rifle, Broadsword, Axe, Mace, Devices, Claws, Martial Arts, Spines, a whole lot of stuff that wasn't tied to "elements" when the game was released.

That's what happens when you don't bond with the T-virus at the cellular level.

Ah, the power of the mullet.

Beating things into quivering gelatinous stains is therapy. What I need therapy for is the rage I experience when my best attacks miss every... damn... time... I... use... them... Miss! Forced hit! Miss! Forced hit! Miss! Forced hit! Mi- OHYOUMISERABLECOCKGARGLINGSHITBAGMOTHERFUCKERAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

None, you're right. There are so many toggles in Dark Armor, and my eyes are 50 years old, I couldn't tell what I was looking at. Good catch, thank you. Fixed. Again, thank you.

SOs are the balance point. SOs in a vacuum are not. Individual powers slotted with SOs in a vacuum are not. You included Hasten in your analysis, and a single +Recharge SO, but failed to account for other variables. RI and EF are in Radiation Emission, a set which also happens to have Accelerate Metabolism, but the recharge times on your Rad toggles don't reflect AM's buff. You use the current animation time for RI, rather than the reduced animation time, which is irrelevant in an examination of the effects of the new suppression. Empowerment buffs have been made easily obtainable, no prestige, no farming. It doesn't even take two minutes to make a supergroup, enter a basic base, drop a couple of empowerment stations and have access to empowerment buffs, and that's if the player isn't part of an established SG with their own base. The only expense is salvage and the buff lasts 90 minutes. Even I have begun using empowerment buffs, and I'm one of "those people" who don't use temporary powers, or inspirations. Offense amplifiers are just a step above free at level 1, can be stacked up to 8 hours and add 15% global +Recharge. Over and over again, people on the forums have pointed out that all one has to do is take the free inspiration generator, sell the inspirations on the market and have 8 hours of Offense amplifier time, with change left over. In any power with no +Recharge slotted, slotted +Recharge can be substituted for global +Recharge. Yes, you added comparisons with single SOs, but nothing for two SOs, nothing for frankenslotted level 20/25 set IOs (which adheres to SO baselines and, in eschewing set bonuses, the spirit of the restriction). Most all of these toggles can slot set IOs and benefit significantly from frankenslotting. All of them could be slotted with a second Recharge SO and benefit, and we're not talking about scavenging a build for a dozen slots, we're talking about adding one or two slots to each toggle, which equates to one or two slots total for most builds. Nothing touching on buffs from teammates, either. Someone playing strictly by the SO standard is statistically likely to be teaming, since the HC team has stated that the modern performance expectation for solo characters is 3 +3 minions, rather than the 3 +0 minions as it was at launch. 3 +3 minions is IO and set territory. And this is without going into post-50 Incarnate stuff, which further skews the metric. Point being, failure to account for variables is why toggle mutual exclusivity was axed. Failure to account for variables is why GDN was implemented. Failure to account for variables is why the purple patch was added. Failure to account for variables is why ED happened. Failure to account for variables is why PvP went through multiple revamps and still hemorrhaged players. Don't examine this in a vacuum, because it's not happening in a vacuum. Every variable not properly accounted for will bite you on the ass later.

You put waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much effort into that hand job. Next time just spend the $20.

Excellent testing. 👍

It bothers me when it's Singularity doing it. Bitch ain't gettin' paid for door sitting!

Additional statistics: There are 46 offensive toggles with differing recharge and animation times. A toggle which is duplicated across archetypes but is otherwise identical in base recharge time and animation time (blaster Beta Decay and melee archetype Beta Decay, for example) is treated as a single entry in this list, as the new system will affect them comparably. Variants of toggles which have different recharge times, animation times or both have been included. This does includes toggles from every archetype. Against All Odds - 10s recharge, 2.64s animation Beta Decay - 10s recharge, 0.924s animation Blazing Aura - 4s recharge, 2.244s animation Chilling Embrace - 2s recharge, 0.924s animation Choking Cloud - 20s recharge, 1.188s animation Cloak of Fear - 4s recharge, 1.32s animation Conductive Aura - 15s recharge, 2.244s animation Darkest Night - 10s recharge, 3.432s animation Darkest Night - 10s recharge, 2.508s animation Darkest Night - 40s recharge, 3.432s animation Death Shroud - 4s recharge, 2.64s animation Dimension Shift - 60s recharge, 1.32s animation Disruption Aura - 10s recharge, 2.112s animation Disruption Field - 8s recharge, 2.904s animation Dynamo - 10s recharge, 2.244s animation Enervating Field - 8s recharge, 1.716s animation Enflame - 10s recharge, 2.244s animation Entangling Aura - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Entropic Aura - 10s recharge, 0.924s animation Evolving Armor - 10s recharge, 3.168s animation Force Bubble - 15s recharge, 1.32s animation Genetic Contamination - 4s recharge, 1.32s animation Hot Feet - 20s recharge, 1.716s animation Hurricane - 10s recharge, 2.244s animation Icicles - 4s recharge, 1.848s animation Irradiated Ground - 4s recharge, 2.244s animation Lightning Field - 10s recharge, 2.244s animation Mud Bath - 4s recharge, 2.244s animation Mud Pots - 4s recharge, 2.244s animation Oppressive Gloom - 8s recharge, 1.32s animation Orbiting Death - 4s recharge, 2.244s animation Quills - 15s recharge, 0.924s animation Radiation Infection - 8s recharge, 1.716s animation Repulsion Field - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Repulsion Field - 40s recharge, 2.244s animation Rise to the Challenge - 10s recharge, 3.168s animation Snow Storm - 40s recharge, 2.244s animation Snow Storm - 10s recharge, 2.244s animation Snow Storm - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Sonic Repulsion - 8s recharge, 2.508s animation Spore Cloud - 8s recharge, 3.3s animation Telekinesis - 60s recharge, 1.32s animation Time's Juncture - 10s recharge, 0.924s animation Venomous Gas - 8s recharge, 2.244s animation World of Confusion - 10s recharge, 1.848s animation World of Confusion - 15s recharge, 1.848s animation 36 of those, ~78.3% of all offensive toggles in the game, have base recharge times at or below 15s, 10, ~21.7% of all offensive toggles, have base recharge times at or above 20s. I stated in the quoted post, the majority of offensive toggles have recharge times below 20s. This list verifies that, and justifies the addition of the adjective "overwhelming". The overwhelming majority of offensive toggles, more than three fourths, have recharge times below 20s. There are three variants of Darkest Night, with differing recharge and animation times. Darkest Night - 10s recharge, 3.432s animation Darkest Night - 10s recharge, 2.508s animation Darkest Night - 40s recharge, 3.432s animation There are three variants of Snow Storm, with differing recharge times. Snow Storm - 10s recharge, 2.244s animation Snow Storm - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Snow Storm - 40s recharge, 2.244s animation There are two variants of Repulsion Field, with differing recharge times. Repulsion Field - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Repulsion Field - 40s recharge, 2.244s animation There are two variants of World of Confusion, with differing recharge times. World of Confusion - 10s recharge, 1.848s animation World of Confusion - 15s recharge, 1.848s animation Here are the 10 offensive toggles with base recharge times at or above 20s: Choking Cloud - 20s recharge, 1.188s animation Darkest Night - 40s recharge, 3.432s animation (*PP variant) Dimension Shift - 60s recharge, 1.32s animation Entangling Aura - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Hot Feet - 20s recharge, 1.716s animation Repulsion Field - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation Repulsion Field - 40s recharge, 2.244s animation (*PP variant) Snow Storm - 20s recharge, 2.244s animation (*PP variant) Snow Storm - 40s recharge, 2.244s animation (*PP variant) Telekinesis - 60s recharge, 1.32s animation 2 offensive toggles have a recharge time of 60s, 2 have a recharge time of 40s, 5 have a recharge time of 20s, 4 have a recharge time of 15s, 15 have a recharge time of 10s, 7 have a recharge time of 8s, 9 have a recharge time of 4s, and 1 has a recharge time of 2s. The most common base recharge time is 10s (~33% of all offensive toggles). 2 offensive toggles have an animation time of 3.432s, 1 has an animation time of 3.3s, 2 have an animation time of 3.168s, 1 has an animation time of 2.904s, 2 have an animation time of 2.64s, 2 have an animation time of 2.508s, 17 have an animation time of 2.244s, 1 has an animation time of 2.112s, 3 have an animation time of 1.848s, 3 have an animation time of 1.716s, 6 have an animation time of 1.32s, 1 has an animation time of 1.188s, and 5 have an animation time of 0.924s. The most common animation time is 2.244s (~37% of all offensive toggles). The two "most common" statistics give us a glimpse into the development thought process. 10 / (1+0.9 (Hasten + Increase Attack Speed empowerment buff, SO-only solo build)) = 5.26. 5.26 - 2.5 (Break Free time) = 2.76s recharge time remaining. 2.76 + 2.244 (animation time) = 5.00. This is likely how they arrived at 5s for the revised suppression duration. However, 20 of these toggles, ~42.5% of all offensive toggles, have recharge times at or below 10s and animation times shorter than 2.244s (example: Beta Decay - all version have a base recharge time of 10s and animation time of 0.924s), and will experience a lockout period when the player would otherwise be able to use them (will have already recharged and had time to animate, but still suppressed). And that's only factoring SO-only solo builds. For IO builds, for builds using Alphas with RchgRdx/Ageless/Lore pets with +Rchg buffs, for builds with inherent means of global +Rchg, builds using the Offense amplifier and/or Cross Punch's +Rchg buff, and for players who team with anyone who has a +Rchg buff, toggles with base recharge times of 15s will also fall into the lockout category. Accounting for other variables, such as power slotting, IO sets, IO set global +Rchg bonuses (~79% of these toggles allow IO set usage), Alphas, +Rchg bonuses from powers in primaries, secondaries and pool powers, additional +Rchg sources, and teammates with +Rchg buffs, which we can see now was not done in the initial proposal or the revision, it would be wise to tack on another ~50%, minimum, to the Rchg value, to provide a more realistic representation. 10 / (1+1.4) = 4.17. 4.17 - 2.5 = 1.67. 1.67 + 2.244 = 3.91s. 4s would be statistically appropriate. It will still add an arbitrary penalty to toggles with shorter recharge or animation times, powers which would be better served by a 3-3.5s duration, but most of us could live with it. 5s is not balanced, it is not a duration derived from a thorough examination of the pertinent details, and it will incentivize avoidance of offensive toggles in favor of buffs, which, as I previously explained, are already grossly imbalanced by comparison and largely responsible for the power creep problem pervading the game. And if it's 5s or nothing, nothing is the superior alternative.

The majority of offensive toggles have base recharge times below 20s. Most are 8s or 10s base recharge time. With the same numbers you're using... 4s base recharge time / (1+1.7) = 1.48s recharge. 1.48 - 2.5 = -1.02s 8s base recharge time / (1+1.7) = 2.96s recharge. 2.96 - 2.5 = 0.46s 10s base recharge time / (1+1.7) = 3.70s recharge. 3.70 - 2.5 = 1.20s 15s base recharge time / (1+1.7) = 5.56s recharge. 5.56 - 2.5 = 2.06s Presuming the player has no +RchgRdx slotted in the toggle, the 4s toggle would need an animation time of 6.02s for this to be considered a buff. The 8s toggle would need an animation time of 5.54s. The 10s toggle would need an animation time of 3.8s. The 15s toggle would need an animation time of 2.94s. Darkest Night has the longest animation time at 3.432s, and a base recharge time of 10s. That leaves 0.39s of suppression. That's for Darkest Night. Every other toggle has a shorter animation time. It's not a buff unless you're using a toggle with an excessive recharge time, or just don't bother to react to mez at all. Go ahead, check the math. It's falsifiable.

I do have about a dozen people on ignore here. I decided that it was better to cut off the source of irritation, or incentive to engage in a pissing match, than to test my maturity and resolve. I'm certain the GMs appreciate my decision. But I enjoy communicating with people here. The one thing I missed more than anything else during the between years was the forums. I love the game, but I love the forums more. I always have. It's the least threatening medium of communication, from the perspective of a person with social anxiety disorder. The lack of immediacy removes one of the obstacles which I typically encounter when I'm trying to express myself. Forums also offer a degree of granularity that chat channels lack. I can choose not to read a conversation or comment on a forum, whereas I can't in a chat channel unless I use /ignore. I can read a conversation or comment when I wish on a forum, rather than catch it immediately or miss it forever in a chat channel. I can respond at my leisure on a forum, whether it's in a few minutes, or after I watch a movie, or in a week, as opposed to hammering out a response before whatever I'm responding to scrolls out of temporary storage. And most of the people using the forums display at least a basic level of literacy, as opposed to the horrible spelling, grammar and punctuation (or lack thereof) typically used in chat channels... and, again, the granularity here allows me to remove that particular headache without removing the entire communication medium. There's also a slightly higher character limit on forum posts than chat messages, and we all know how much I love to use as many words as humanly possible, at every available opportunity. Of course I don't ignore you here. I've known some of you, in one way or another, for almost 20 years. This is home, as far as I'm concerned, and we're family.