r0y

First of all, it's a great thematic set. I will give it that. Paired with Dual Pistols (likely) or maybe Archery, it fills that RP/theme playstyle, I'm sure. Now, I love blasters. I don't WANT to, but truly there are not many AT's and combos that can keep up. Yeah, yeah... survivability. Good blasters survive... most of the time. 😉 ("Most of the time, blasters have a 50/50 chance of survival!" - you can quote me on that!) So I am checking out various Secondaries to play with the best PVE Primary (duh, Fire, fast/high damage=win). I actually main a Fire/Dev (my favorite secondary), a Fire/Atomic, a Fire/TacArrow (second favorite), and a Fire/Time. Think I have all the good ones down. So I am digging around in those "other" secondaries... With /Ninja Training, it seems interesting at first. Got a stealth: check, Got a recovery/regen: Check. Got some tricks: Check. I skipped all the sword powers because: lol, melee lethal. Dart is weak for a T1 (Toxic Web Grenade from /Devices does more and is also a toxic immob with matching range, duration, recharge, but less acc). It's as underperforming as the T1's from Martial and Energy. Choking Powder is surprisingly good. I first had a Hold set in there, then realized that thing is doing decent ticks of TOXIC, so I bumped it to a devastation 4-slot and a ATO-damage-proc: man, it's impressive for a hold (and a T3 attack). Shinobi: The run/jump is silly, but OK. It's basically stealth. Half the measly defense is lost when in combat, so meh; but at least it's a stealth and a mule for a LotG7.5. Now the odd part is (similar to devices) the first attack out of stealth (once every 30 seconds?) gives a nice +damage for that "sneak attack". The revised Devices (Targeting Drone) does this better and has the "crit ring" thing so you know when it's up. With Shinobi, you have to be monitoring your damage bonus and notice when it goes up over 40%. Going back into stealth (and thus, you're out of combat) doesn't re-trigger the buff immediately (prob. the 30-sec thing), which is likely due to the very low recharge, so it's not gamed). Still, just copy the Targeting Drone mechanic (trade some ToHit for more +Dam) and you're done. Kuji-In Toh: I get it, ninjitsu and sr have their "click" buffs. I never liked click buffs, except when things would DE-TOGGLE when mezzed. Now that most things don't detoggle, click buffs are lame interrupters of an attack chain. This should just be a free toggle, like other sets get. Smoke Flash: I cannot believe this is NOT -ToHit and/or -Perception. Because of the no ToHit, it takes NO SETS. So bad. It's a Tier 7 for crying out loud! It's supposed to PLACATE and -RES. Well, I'm fully stealthed and walk into a mob. Figure, cool I can do a smoke flash to get -res, aim and nuke. Well, kind of. The Smoke Flash (which supposedly placates) just aggos them all (prob. from the -res) and now you're: A) exposed, and B) Lost your +Damage from Shinobi. Great set. Guess I'm supposed to use the -res/placate thing AFTER I've damaged them. What is up with that?! Blinding Powder: This, like choking powder, is a surprisingly good power. Any AoE confuse is a great trick to have in your bag. Just goes to show how OP plant control is with their Seeds of Confusion (fast rech, larger/longer cone, get at level 8, etc). An excellent survival (esp. solo) tool. Again, I did NOT take any of the sword attacks, I'm sure they're wonderful. What I like to look for in the secondary sets is flow and usefulness. This is probably why I love Devices the most, it has everything in two toggles, and smoke grenade is gravy and taser is so good instead of some silly punch-attack (or sword). it's like a quicker, better-ranged Bone Smasher (though not quite as hard-hitting). Anyway, Ninja Training has nothing remotely cool like that. Lethal-based, melee-ranged, -Def attacks are NOT really blaster material. Blasters should always have high acc/to-hit, be at range as often as possible to help with survival, and should try to avoid one of the most resisted damage types in the game. I guess one could say the same for Martial training with all the kicks (smashing/melee) though it can also be argued that KD is better than -Def (esp 7%), as it helps with survivability. I wanted to like you, Ninja Training, but I just can't. I don't know WHAT IS UP WITH NINJA TRAINING! Paired with some under-performing primary for theme/RP reasons, I'm sure it's great. For efficiency in the Blaster AT, it's very skippable.

I am *really* trying to get into Dominators. I've made three (3) and got them to 50; IO'd them out (no purples or ATO's mind you, but LotG's, Oblits, etc). I ended up deleting one (Elec/Savage). I *really* wanted to like the elec/savage, but it was just such an under-performer. I'm not even comparing to other ATs (where Dom's seriously underperform), but rather to my other two doms: Fire/Thorns and Earth/Earth. Earth/Earth is stupidly OP for a Dom, so much so that it seems the only combo I've found that can not just keep up, but lead on damage and mez. It's a great, fun combo (even with the limitation of being on the ground for several powers, makes sense). Fire/Thorn is decent at range and has some nice tricks with it. That all said, I believe what makes dominators LACK is the fact that even if you can keep up or slightly pull ahead of another AT, it is taking the player 10-12 click powers to do it. That's a TERRIBLE rotation. Ideally, one should have 3 or 4 decent single-target attacks, and 2+ AoE, and 1 nuke or so. All added up, that's 7+ powers, far fewer than 10-12... Now, adding in AIM/Buildup/Dominate is more clicking (I perma-click dom, since I rarely am having hasten) but still. DOMINATORS = dominate clicking or pressing buttons to achieve the same (or just less) than other ATs. Let's be honest, dom's only look good when compared to Controllers. Oooo, I can mez and out-damage a controller. Well, you know what? I don't play controllers to damage. I play a damage class to damage. Therefore, how do Dom's do against Corrupters and Blasters? Or Scrappers and Brutes and Stalkers? Yeah. I really want to play them, as they have unique set mashups and can have some interesting thematic stuff, but it really feels like I am doing 3x the work to achieve the same goal as I do on even a corrupter, let alone a blaster. The best mez in the game is death. My blasters are pretty mezzy in that.

Are you sure you can load macros from the command "/bind_load_file" ? I've tried this, and while the game says "Keybinds file loaded <path/file>" it does not actually create the macros. Currently, my macros.txt file (in game root, E:\CoH\macros.txt) has the following format: macro X "commands" macro_image image X "commands" That is, no preceding slash (e.g. /macro) similar to the keybinds.txt file format. What am I missing? Figured it out, read your linked guide to Transfer Macros... still: Also, chats are loaded from chat_load_file — or will bind_load work, too?

This is still around, and it is still annoying.

I had a wrong client error, and it turned out I had the beta's manifest selected in Tequila; when I changed it to the non-beta manifest, it worked. YMMV.

I have re-edited the Freebies PopMenu and will include it here with instructions: 1) Download my latest freebies.mnu version 20200309.01 from HERE 2) Copy it to your game's ..\data\texts\English\menus\ folder. You might have to create several of these if you have not done so before. See below for an example: 3) Close & Restart game client if it is running, otherwise fire up City of Heroes Homecoming... 4) In game, create convenient macros to use freebies.mnu: A) Large, original menu: /macro F "popmenu freebies" B) Smaller, compact menu: /macro f "popmenu freebiesc" (note the "c" for compact) 5) I recommend creating a floating power bar (click the "+" see below) and drag the bar to your upper left, as popmenus like to cascade right and down only it seems. 6) Then put your macro(s) ("F" and "f" from step 4) into the new, floating tray you just made. Voila! Hope this helps, and let me know if I messed anything up! -r0y Updated 08 Mar 2020 fixed an ordering issue with the compact menu and added the Artillery set. Updated 09 Mar 2020 to include @AboveTheChemist's cool badge-granting submenu!

I also typo'd it is "texts" (plural). Not sure why putting it in ../data/texts/English/menus/ isn't working for you, as this badge-thing is a great popmenu.

I like the concept of the new support powerset. I went to make one on the test server, but keep crashing to desktop while leveling it up at Ms. Liberty. I also CTD'd leveling up a DM/Shield Brute at Ms. Liberty, so I'll hold off on test for now. That said, I cannot wait for the changes to DM to go live; DM is one of my favorite sets, but it pains me to see how it (and EM) got left behind. I don't play stone melee, but that is also another set I rarely ever see. I also am excited for the RP'ers (I play on Everlasting, but don't really RP), they love the thematic stuff (e.g. origin pool powers, etc). While I am sure it is brought up elsewhere, are there current or future plans for costume sets/pieces - or even "fixing" of various costume-related issued (e.g. clipping, re-ordering/re-naming categories, etc)?

Any plans on adding the new sets that are on the test server(s) now? The Synapse Shock, Power Transfer, etc.? (ref thread) Thank you for your hard work and dedication, the popmenu has been a GODSEND for me, I cannot thank you enough.

The proper folder is TEXT, not test. Put them in ../data/text/English/menus. For example, I have CoH installed on my E: drive, so my path looks like this: E:\CoH\data\texts\English\menus Hope this helps

While I get the concept, both powers have almost a 3-second activation, which means that in 6 seconds, you'll have "almost" 2 nukes. Add in an aim and/or buildup, and you're adding another 2.5 or so seconds (just over 1s each, plus arcanatime); that's two really decent nukes (do trip mine and time bomb increase damage based on aim/bu?) in about 8+ seconds. Now, I don't know about you, but in iTrials or large teams, 8 seconds is WAAAAY too long, as the entire mob is evaporated within the first 2-3 seconds, and only a couple boss-level stragglers remain, if any. Just ask any melee toon that has Total Focus, Thunderstrike how often their mob is dead before the über-long activating hit finishes going off. For solo, I can see it as fun and thematic / practical. In teams, I skip at least time bomb. Trip Mine is a great filler to followup a fireball (in my Fire/Dev's case) in between Inferno+Fireball. It works decently on him.

I am not a huge fan of ATO's and Winter Sets, as they are obscenely expensive. Until one can afford them, I made an interim build, a bit more survivable, slightly less damage (2-5%). I like flying, I bind hover/fly to my tilde key ( ` which is left of the 1 key) and then remap "t" key to toggle afterburner on/off. Hovering is fast (esp. with tac arrow's agility) and is the safest way to blast. Immobs kind of suck, but with high defense, they're a bit rare. If I enjoyed beam rifle and didn't already have 30+ level 50 toons, I might make one. I love my Fire/TA but don't play it as much since I love Fire/Dev the most.

You mean S/L and E? I've not seen anyone mix positional and typed defense before, though if you're blapping, maybe?

A) Thanks for quoting the long-ass build post, just to reply with 1 line... lol. B) Stealth (and invis?) lose ½ their defense when in combat. This is generally true for all stealth powers. C) Instead of using Invis to be "fully" hidden, use stealth toggle + sprint with a stealth IO in it. It will be 65' and good enough for MOST mobs that do not have +Perception (looking at you, nemesis snipers!)

I loathe my beam rifle. I want to delete it and reuse the IO's. It feels so weak and un-fun. I actually like AR more (even though it's prob. less damage, it feels tougher). I would cry if I was forced to play beam rifle on a sentinel. Not sure why people play them; guess they're new to the game or don't min/max. If you must take beam, go blaster. Beam/Time would be decent, or Beam/Devices for great solo play and decent team play. Smoke grenade is your friend. Heck, Tactical Arrow would be awesome, but who wants a rifle AND a bow?

AR/Dev sniping is pretty sick, they recently "fixed" /dev, so now the targeting drone has the "crit ring" (e.g. stalkers) when out of combat to indicate the additional 60% damage (on top of it's constant 20% damage buff). Sniping with /dev is the second-best experience in the game for sniping. Second only to the utterly broken (why?) crit-insta-snipe scrappers can get (lol).

Field Operative + Stealth IO in sprint = 65.0' stealth radius. Done.

I made a concept AR/Dev blaster (Bronko Nagurski) and he's very fun to solo and team with. I love /dev, and never really did AR, so I made one a while back. It isn't as button-mashing as most blasters, as one has to have a strategy to get the most out of AR. Ignite is awesome, but you need to use it mainly on locked down mobs, as the fear is gnarly. Trip Mine is used OFTEN, I'd like to slot it more, but my build is trying to get as close to S/L/E defense soft-cap as possible (42.8%/42.8%/37.7% currently, w/o incarnate stuff). Trip Mine, on a blaster, is NON-INTERRUPTABLE. This is good and bad: bad when you accidentally hit it, or change your mind, etc. Good because it's nice boom to fill in any gaps in your attack chain, etc. I use it most on my Fire/Dev blaster (which is amazing). Here is Bronko's current build, mostly on the cheap, as I was only doing a concept toon (I did drop Munitions, it's trash. Period.) Good luck and have fun with AR/Dev! -r0y

Just lost mapserver on Everlasting (about 10:34am PST), guess we're all gonna wait...

I have played a LOT of Earth control over the years. Earth is (IMO) the best control set in the game. The lock-down is amazing, and the debuffs are incredible. The price you will pay for this epic control set is DAMAGE. Even pooman (the pet) is slow/under-performing (better than Jack, but not by much). With all that, consider only playing in large teams and/or leagues. You'll shine with earth. Sonic, as anyone who's ever played it, including the posters above, will tell you: it's not a worthy set. If you want to try it out, do so on test server or something... +resist buffs are better with thermal, as the rest of that set is great. My favorite Earth Control pairing has to be /Dark. My Earth/Dark is a monster in teams, but that's because /Dark is amazing, too. I've also done Earth/Storm, which is a more advanced play style – albeit, much easier thanks to the addition of KB/KD procs. Also, Earth/Poison is also hard, but really strong against everything, including (especially) AV's and such. Earth/Rad, /Time, and /Nature are all very good, too. Earth/Rad is particularly gruesome (an easier version of Earth/Poison with more team buffs). These get hard to slot and set, because when you have a lot of powers worth taking, and they want a lot of slots, sacrifices have to be made. Power sacrifices were essentially eliminated due to P2W travel powers (ninja run, steam just, etc), but slots are still too few for some builds... Just a word of about Hover/Fly with Earth: Stalagmites (the AoE stun) requires you to be on the ground to use. It's a GREAT stun, I usually 5-slot purple stun set (Absolute Amazement), but Stupefy is good, as well. Get a lot of recharge and use it often after stone cages and/or quicksand for a nice AoE ghetto hold.

I left the last raid (yesterday evening) when we got incan'd into the monster wall, followed by incan into hami. It was late for me and I was not really into multiple deaths and some childlike snickering. Sorry I just bailed, but that was probably best before I said something stupid. It cannot be easy "herding cats" to form raids so often, I get that. We seem to develop a level of familiarity that encourages people to be more "edgy" with one another (for whatever reason). I think that's a slippery slope for some, myself included. Thanks for posting this; I only hope the potential griefers and/or less civilized players read it.

I am not sure what this means. I loaded the latest .mnu file, restarted client, etc. When I click on a badge I have, it is not setting it, so what do you mean when you say, "click on an option"? Also, I do not see Hero Slayer / Bloody Hands under defeats (or anywhere). It could be I'm blind and/or lazy... EDIT: Found it under Achievement→Mayhem (i25) list for some reason. In game, Hero Slayer/Bloody Hands is, in fact, listed under Defeats for me. This might be confusing for others.

I did not know this, nor have I ever heard of a base Mag 1 protection... In fact, when I look at my Combat Attributes window, under Status Effect Protection, I see 0.0 for everything but KB (which I have a proc in a power for). Is it a "stealth" protection, you think? I'm curious about this. Thanks!

Hmmm... you're making a decent case. Not sure how many holds that I am getting hit with are only mag 1... then again, I get all the mez's (hold, stun, sleep, immob, etc). Then again, I've begun to take hover/fly/afterburner on most toons (non-melee/tank types, anyway), so working in either CJ or Acro would be tough.

Not to necro this, but I just started receiving this today on a character. It's a little annoying, not a lot, but something I would love to figure out how to fix... if I can on my side of things.