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Archery blaster. All pink. No pants. Name yourself Eros (or some variant thereof). Arrows inject hot, viscous love into the targets, they faint from the extreme pleasure. I triple-dog dare ya!

You owe my cat an apology, @GM Tahquitz. After three years of off-grid living, I'd lost touch with the modern computing world and had no idea what to look for, or even that gaming-capable laptops existed at the $300-350 price point. But I'm posting this reply on a 15.6" laptop with a Ryzen 3200u, instead of the 8" tablet I've been using, thanks to the informative guidance provided here. It's not perfect (the screen is a TN panel), and I still have to iron out some issues (400w inverter shuts down if the laptop draws a full load for more than ten minutes), but it's downloading Co* and will be adequate for that... and having a full-sized keyboard is heavenly. And I don't have to quadruple my battery bank and PV array to feed it, nor did I have to spend all of the money I was going to save to make it through the winter to buy it. Still going to be a week or longer before the download completes, too, because I'm on a Verizon pre-paid line (read: aggressively throttled) with a weak signal (so, packet loss is significant), but it'll get there eventually. Oh, the apology... the only table I have is about 2' square, and this laptop is taking up most of the room where Jessica preferred to stretch out. She's both confused and displeased, which is a less than desirable situation for a half Savannah cat. Tell her you're sorry so she'll stop trying to eat the screen (not an exaggeration) and shoving the laptop off to the side to make room.

Names of historical figures are public domain, and the likeness and abilities of mythological figures are as well. Anyone can make a comic book about the adventures of Thor, the God of Thunder, for example, and not be subject to copyright violation because the name, likeness and the abilities are all public domain. What would invoke copyright protection would be plagiarism of existing stories which are currently protected under copyright laws. Making a comic book about Thor in a group of heroes who fight off an alien invasion in New York, that would be copyright violation. Making a comic book about Thor and Odin battling Níðhöggr in New York would not be copyright violation. Marvel would never have a case based on name alone, as the word is in public domain, and there's no plagiarism in our Valkyrie's back story or related content, so despite the two sharing a name, there's no case to be made for a copyright suit.

Knowing how to thrive without a crutch can lead to being the one still fighting when everyone else is down. Being reliant to and dependant upon the inspiration tray is a poor measure of "better".

God, Becky, you're, like, such a drama queen. The planet will be gone in 3.5-4 billion years, so they'd have to come to a decision before then. Like, no wonder Todd dumped you for Rachel.

No. Cryptic sold all IP rights to NCSoft about 20 years ago.

Frankly, I doubt anyone in power at NCSoft cares one way or the other at this point. Someone handed it off to their legal staff and said, "Talk to these people", and as far as the company is concerned, it's handled. It's almost certainly down to whatever agreement can (or cannot) be reached by the attorneys now. As long as the HC team isn't asking for anything "outrageous", a deal of some kind will probably be reached eventually. It's far, far more likely that the Homecoming server will operate in legal limbo for another 3-5 years, and eventually achieve an arrangement which allows it to continue, than it is for someone to order the talks to stop and C&D notices sent out.

I don't believe this is about purchasing. A large development studio or publishing company might convince NCSoft to sell the IP, but that was never in the cards for any fan-based operation. And given the small change value we can offer as donors, or even subscribers, there's no real money to be made in licensing fees for a company the size of NCSoft. Most likely, the negotiations are simply for use of the server code and absolution of NCSoft in the case of liability issues. NCSoft would retain IP rights, but wouldn't be dragged into any disputes over copyright issues. That's a different approach from an attempt to buy the IP, and given the all but dead status of the IP, one they're likely willing to permit, as long as their collective ass is covered.

That's what she said.

Oh. Well, serious response, then. There are fine points and niggling details which must be examined, considered and discussed in any legal negotiation. Questions which must be answered, scenarios proposed, liability determined, etc. Even a simple query, such as, "Can we use this software?", requires lengthy analysis, proposals, counter-proposals, definition of terminology (in the U.S. judicial system, exact wording is almost always more important than intent, thus the phrase "letter of the law"), and can take months to refine to the point of an actual contract being written, and then said contract will be subject to further refinement, which can also take months. And in this instance, we're dealing with an overseas firm which specializes in corporate contract negotiations and legal responses, so there are the matters of translation, legal definitions, technical definitions, interpretations of phrasing, differing perspectives of intent... before the contract negotiation even begins, they have to agree that they're talking about the same thing, in as precise legal terms as they can. Between two entities with practically unlimited funds and full-time corporate representatives at their disposal, such discussions can take over a year. For the HC team, who are acting as volunteers (meaning, they also have jobs and families to attend to), and who are paying a small firm which only dedicates a small portion of their time to the case, it could take a few years before the details of the proposed contract are agreed upon and written down. That contract would then have to be reviewed, extensively (again, "letter of the law"), before a final draft is issued, further reviewed and more details discussed and clarified or changed, and only then, eventually, signed. Don't lose sleep over it. Nothing's going to happen for a long time. NCSoft, even if they're not interested in squeezing any financial consideration out of us, won't agree to anything until they have as perfect a contract as humanly possible in their hands, in order to ensure that they have no potential repercussions which might cost them a single won in the future (such as a lawsuit by Marvel). Since their legal team is on retainer, it costs them nothing to negotiate, so it makes no difference to them if this takes a day or a decade, financially. So it's not going to be a swift process, but as long as the negotiations are proceeding, there's little threat of legal issues. If they eventually decide not to allow public use of the Co* server code, it will still be a long time coming.

Stuff.

He doesn't. Last sentence in the second-to-last paragraph in the post linked below. He's just here for the same reason someone would go to a French restaurant every day and complain about the lack of tacos on the menu, then leave without ordering anything. As for blocking, dodging, pausing to chat with the Pointer Sisters, whatever, it's a console mechanic, designed and used as a means of providing developer-controlled response to enemy attacks which have also been specifically designed with blocking as the intended response. It's unsuitable in computer gaming in general, as even the most basic keyboards offer an order of magnitude more user input than a handheld controller. It's even less suitable, as others have pointed out, in online gaming, due to latency. And as has also been mentioned, that suitability declines yet further when the combat system allows 16 foes to attack, not simultaneously, but according to class scripts and power availability, resulting in rapid-fire attacks with no timing or order imposed. And here, in our game, a block mechanic would necessitate reworking, if not outright removing, Defense buffs, Resistance buffs, ToHit debuffs, Damage debuffs, all status effects, range and all forms of healing, as well as significantly reducing spawn sizes and redesigning critter AI in order for the mechanic to have any value or utility, which drops the suitability to something on par with "refrigerator at the North Pole". Blocking is a limited mechanic, designed for limited systems, used as a workaround to dealing with limited input options, and of all of the potential complaints about Co*'s combat system, not having to sit through long enemy animations (long by necessity, to act as tells so the player knows when to block) and slowly fighting one opponent at a time would definitely not be on the list. Any list. Fewer limitations and faster, less repetitive combat is always better, from player perspective and for the longevity of a game. But for people who can't function with a superior combat system, there are always console games with carefully controlled combat situations which can be learned by rote (or watching a video) and which offer the satisfaction of referring to oneself as a master twitch gamer because one managed to press a button after 4-5 seconds of tells.

Confuse, Portal Corp courtyard, Possessed Scientists with KB attacks... Looks like you're homing in on something. Test some spawns of critters without KB attacks.

There's an enormous difference between Gen X culture and millennial culture. We both grew up with Internet access and social media platforms. The change wasn't numerical, though, it was in the trend toward (arguably fascist) control of how we're permitted to express ourselves. Gen X culture was blunt and direct, flame wars were the norm and we didn't have moderators stepping in to slap our wrists and tell us to behave. Our online experience reflected our real world experience, in that it was frank and sometimes unpleasant, but like real life, we dealt with it. Millennial culture is very different. It's controlled, processed and sanitized. Gen X was responsible for that evolution. The people who began moderating chat rooms and forums were Gen X. The people who decided there should be behavioral norms and rules for interaction were Gen X. The people who created millennial culture were Gen X. So when I express dissatisfaction with the nature of online communication in the millennial era, it's not an accusation of fault on the part of millennials, it's just what I said, a dislike of the culture that has evolved. It's dishonest, and it does more harm than good. And if I were pointing a finger at people, rather than societal behavior, it wouldn't be millennials, it would be Gen X, my generation. Now get off of my lawn.

I didn't "blame millennials". I said millennial culture, that being the current societal norm. There is a difference.

Ah, millennial culture. Everything is offensive, no-one should contradict anyone, the feelings of delicate little snowflakes are more important than truth or reality, and temper tantrums are mandatory. People fly into a rage, or incoherent sobbing, at the drop of a hat these days. That doesn't mean they should be coddled, or confrontation avoided. On the contrary, they should be corrected, with a sledgehammer if necessary. Being wrong isn't the end of the world, and they'll either figure that out (eventually), or behave like twatnozzles until no-one's listening any more. Correct more, worry less.

I understand the sequence. Your posts have been concise. It's not stacked Resistance debuffs. What Incarnate abilities do you have? What is your tray arrangement for all of your primary and secondary powers? Where is your pet when this occurs and what is it doing? How is the pet slotted? Do you have any procs in other powers, which could potentially cause the issue, or sets with +KB mag as a set bonus? What buffs are active on you when it occurs (including things like Day Job and P2W temp powers)? Have you double-checked the enhancements in your powers to be certain a proc didn't wiggle in accidentally (i've slotted a proc unintentionally more than once and had to waste a respec to fix it)? Each variable isolated narrows the search for the cause.

I'd forgotten about that. Thank you. A bug could've been introduced in that change, but if there was an unintended and unanticipated interaction between K* and -Res, there should be reports all over the forums, give the popularity and wide availability of -Res, and the increased of acceptance of KB due to the KB-KD proc. The vector change shouldn't have altered OSA's KD in any way, since OilSlickOil's KD was already radial from itself, being a PBAoE. None of the other PBAoE K* powers are causing KB, apparently, and there are more than enough -Res powers and procs for it to have been noticed and reported by multiple other people. There's just no chatter indicating this. @Redlynne's speculation is interesting, but the conclusion erroneous, since OSA is always first in the attack sequence, the reverse order of what she suggests might cause an increase in K* mag. If -Res increased K* mag when it was applied after the K*, it should also be much more prevelant and easily reproducible by anyone with -Res and K*. And, again, there aren't any other reports of that. And DA can't self-stack on the initial usage, and only self-stacks for 0.25s every subsequent 5s, so it wouldn't be capable of causing increased K* mag until 5s after the fact. @roleki's observations point to OilSlickTarget, not DA, because it only occurs when OST is present, but that's not actually possible. OST only has one critter-interactive ability, a -100 Threat reduction. No attacks, no K*, and the only -Res it applies is to itself. The only interaction between OST and DA is -Res, and we know that neither -Res on a target with +Res, nor stacked -Res (both would apply to OST), cause K*. There just isn't anything there to cause or increase the mag of K*. Unless the HC team have been toying with Threat reduction code. The increased frequency of occurence with Death Mages is suggestive. Kamikaze is Interruptible... but doesn't cause K*, as far as I can tell, and wouldn't be used at the beginning of a fight, or send the critter using it flying. No information is available (to me) on whether or not Death Mages are susceptible to K*, or have a power which provides status effect protection and can be Interrupted. That's something that can be tested, if anyone's interested. I believe there's something else going on. Another player in the background using a K* power, an overlooked proc, an Incarnate ability which increases status effects/K*, or use of a second K* power unintentionally (which would definitely be all but imperceptible in OSA's graphics). Those are the possibilities which seem most likely.

Disruption Arrow does occasionally cause Interrupt on Interrupt susceptible foes, but there is no interaction between -Resistance and K*. There's no code for it, no tables, no references to cross, so if it is bugged, it's not at that end. If the critters you're fighting have KB protection applied from a power which can be Interrupted, that would cause KD to scale up to KB, but if that were the case, OSA's KD would have already Interrupted them and the behavior would be reproducible without DA. There haven't been any changes in Resistance, -Resistance or TA, and to the best of my knowledge, the only KB change has been the addition of the KB - KD proc, so there's little to investigate on that front. Which leaves third party asshattery, Incarnate abilities and procs as the most likely culprits. You said you have no KB proc in OSA, and I don't recall any existing for DA. That narrows it down to the former two, either someone using a KD or KB power to screw with you, or Incarnate abilities. Do any of your Incarnate abilities enhance KB? Or... do you happen to have Sleet or Freezing Rain next to DA on your tray, or in a tray slot above or below your primarily used tray?

Yeah... too fast for the damage output indicated in this thread. Reduced scale values wouldn't be unjustified.

What are the activation times on TW powers?

There was no insult intended, Bill, and I apologize if you inferred it as such.

You didn't say TW should be balanced in a certain way. You said the game should be balanced in a certain way. The game. As you're not playing TW exclusively, indicated in the same post, and used a non-TW example to drive your point home, you clearly weren't referring to TW when you said the game shouldn't be balanced around SOs. And you're continuing to argue the case of the game, not TW, but the game not being balanced around SOs, which further indicates that the post in question was not about TW. I've never considered you to be someone lacking in maturity, so why not stop digging this hole in an attempt to save face and move on, rather than waste both of our time? Both. The game was balanced around SO schedule values from the outset. Every AT modifier, every power scale value, it was all built around the concept of allowing players to slot enhancements. Enhancements which had set, specific values which varied only slightly by level differentiation. The players disregarded developer expectations and preconceptions regarding slotting and forced the developers to devise and implement a limitation to enforce balance. Consider, they could've reduced every scale value for every effect by one third and accomplished exactly the same goal as they did with ED, saving themselves the time and effort of writing the code for ED. They could've saved even more time and effort by modifying AT scales, as there are far fewer ATs than powers. Instead, they wrote new code to enforce the balance. They did it that way because those SO schedule values, 33%, 20%, et cetera, are the fulcrum point of all of the math involved in enhanceable effects. Both pre-ED and post-ED balance was always centered on SO schedule values, because that was how the equations were implemented. The math, Bill, is what matters. Not the availability of anything else, but the math beneath all of it. And that math relies on SO schedule values. Incarnate powers were intended to move beyond the existing boundaries. They're god mode. The developers explicitly said that. They were balanced for different content than the standard 1-50 game, they have their own limitations and balance point, and the don't obviate SO balance. You can't progress through any content using Incarnate powers exclusively, you still have to use primary/secondary/pool/*PP powers, and those powers still have to be enhanced. The SO schedule values are still relevant and necessary for balance, with or without Incarnates. The formulae and equations underpinning the entire game are where my belief is grounded. That's the reality here. You can look at the math yourself and see it. And arguing with the math is akin to shouting at the sea to stop the tide from coming in. You wanting the math to be different isn't going to change it. You having a different perspective of what entails balance isn't going to change that, either. It just doesn't work that way.

Your post, the entirety of which I quoted, was not addressing a powerset, or it's performance, it was addressing the game in general and SOs as the balance point. So if it doesn't matter, why did you initiate the discussion? And why are you continuing it? The math behind powers, ATs, every effect, is. And the game is balanced around the math. Not liking, understanding or being aware of the math doesn't alter it, or the balance, in any way. Also, could you please clarify how you could be logged into a level 23 character with 19 set IOs and the rest level 25 IOs when you, per your own statement, never slot anything until level 32. I'm certain I'm not the only one confused by the discrepancy. Math problem?