Hexquisite

Never any vocal compliments. But after skillfully leaping into the fray, taking the alpha, and then hammering faces while keeping aggro as everyone else blasts and controls and corrupts and defends and masterminds, I like to think the lack of clearly-deserved praise is due to the stunned silence as my teammates are overwhelmed by the inspiring manner in which I hit things, and then get hit by things. They're too amazed to speak. I don't hold it against them.

Right? Why block when I can just absorb the hit? Presuming it even manages to hit?

I might have to give that a try with Controllers. Someone else mentioned powerleveling, but I can't play characters that have been boosted. I need to take them through mission content to get a feel for them.

Regen gets a major revision to it's t9. Moment of Glory now temporarily returns Regen to it's former unkillable amazingness. . . and then crashes, into a permanent self-nerf.

This. . . this is what moved Masterminds, for me, from the position it once shared with Controllers in the 'do not get!' category. I, personally, hate min-maxing, as planning things out always sucks the fun of discovery for me. I play characters, not builds ( not to say that you can't do both; just that character always comes first ), and like the characters to develop naturally. And it was an eye-opening moment, not long before sundown, when I realized that the only thing really holding me back from enjoying Masterminds was that I was playing them the way everyone else seemed to be. As Buff Bots With Pets. And that was never what the character themselves wanted to do. I'm always happiest in the fray. So, I sent my MMs into the fray. Let the pets become support, covering fire, or the occasional decoy while the character took the enemies head-on. Sure, I died a lot more, but they were Glorious Deaths, and I was loving every moment. Started trying out characters who didn't have all the pets, different combinations, etc, and the entire AT opened up for me. I didn't have pets, I had a crew/disciples/a bunch of robots tasked to protect me who got increasingly frustrated that I didn't stay back and let them handle things. This is why I spent so much time making, attempting, and deleting Defenders, Corrupters, and Controllers. I'm still convinced there is a way to make every AT fun for me, even if I have to play them against the conventional wisdom. I've succeeded with all but Controllers. And I'm still convinced I can make them work... I just can't play them as Controllers.

Opposite for me. Melee is where I'm happiest. There was a time when I couldn't get into any AT's that didn't offer me close combat opportunities. That has, fortunately, changed, and I've found ways to have fun with ranged and support, but I'm still a melee girl at heart. Maybe that's why I can't get into Controllers. . . everything they do (the 'tickling') just feels like waiting for the mobs to die, rather than having an active hand in putting them down.

Bad puns are the best reason to make a character.

I recently made my twelfth attempt at a Controller ( Illusion/Time; base character concept was a dreamwalker who could manifest dreams into reality; not the most original, I know, but I also don't care. It sounded fun in concept to both play and RP) and once again found myself, utterly and completely, bored senseless. As I was with other eleven Controllers I've attempted since I found Homecoming, and with however-many-I-honestly-can't-remember I rolled back on live. It's the same every time, no matter what combination of powers I choose, or clever character backstory or concept I come up with. I'd had similar issues with Defenders and Corrupters, but after a few serious tries, have managed to make them work for me with a solid character concept, and had fun playing them. But nothing I do seems to make Controllers interesting, or even fun. I know many people enjoy them, and I love that they do, but I'm at the point where I don't understand why. So the only conclusion I've come to is that the archetype simply doesn't gel with me and how I like to play. But this isn't about getting me to like Controllers, or finding out why other people like them. This post is because this thought process got me wondering if anyone else has had this experience with any ATs. And I don't mean 'my first attempt at Tankers/Dominators/Sentinels/whatever was a bust, but then I found an awesome build and now I love it.' I mean even with the strongest build, the best combination of powers, the best character concept, the best groups, after several attempts you still couldn't get into it. So, anyone else? Is there an AT that simply doesn't do it for you? And if so, have you figured out why? And most importantly, have any amusing anecdotes of your efforts?

Now now, chums, clam down. Don't get salty. Sure, it was a porpoisely terrible joke, but I think we should scale back. Yes, it cod have been betta, but can you honestly say you expected krilliance? Salmon has to say it - we shouldn't be surprised. It said it was carp right in the title.

Finally!

There are two types of players. Both advocate nerfing Regen. I'm a simple girl. I just wanna create a character with personality, and run around in spandex punching things. Sometimes shooting them. Builds are only considered when I hit fifty - until then, I take what makes the most sense in my character's story. If they've been having trouble with defense, then they spend time training their defense, and I pick a defensive power when they level (if one is available). Even if it'd be smarter to grab something else. Even after I hit fifty, I have a hard time picking powers during respec that don't fit the character and concept. I don't want to be the strongest, or the toughest. Those are some of the least interesting characters. I mostly solo, unless the character is one who would gravitate toward teams. When things get hard to solo, they find a team. If the team clicks, the character might change. Basically, everything is character-driven. From the powerset I pick at creation to how I play them to the types of missions they take. The Challenge is inherent. There are two types of players - those who insist things be made more challenging, and those who actively make their own challenge.

I followed Redlynne's guide, switching sides as much as possible. Managed to get through every storyarc - until I flubbed it and accidentally picked the wrong choice at the end of the final Resistance arc, locking myself out of the final Loyalist Power arc. The only one I had left. Immediately went to Null to see if I could rectify this and, of course, could not. I've been kicking myself for weeks ever since. In terms of the character's internal story, she successfully rose in the ranks and prestige of both sides of the conflict, simultaneously, without ever being caught. She eventually left for Redside as a valued and trusted officer within Powers Division, firm in her commitment to the Emperor, and as an admired fighter in the Resistance, obviously dedicated to earning freedom from tyranny. Her goal wasn't protecting the people or ending a tyrant's reign. It was all about spreading as much discord and mistrust and flaming already burning hatreds into raging infernos, simply because it amused her. And, deep down, revenge for the sacrifices she had to make to survive the empire. But mostly, it was all for the lulz.

Circle of Thorns Spectrals and Demon lords. I was so happy when I got to a high enough level that they ditched the spirits and started bringing the behemoths out.

Additional difficulty modes will be overcome, and then you'll be asking for even harder modes. This will repeat, endlessly, until a mode so punishingly, so aggravatingly, so unenjoyably hard is introduced that everyone who'd been clamoring for it ragequits. Harder modes aren't the solution for more challenging content. Because most people don't actually want challenging content.

...yeah, I get this with the normal progression. But, I'm one of those crazy people who likes to level through normal mission content ( ie, not endless DfB and TFs ), and enjoy the feeling of character progression as I grow stronger and gain more powerful abilities. So, hard pass. I don't want the game 'easier' at lower levels. Whether or not I love the character has almost nothing to do with their powers.

There is no cure. There is no self-control There is only giving in. Yesterday, I went to make an alt. I ended up making three. There is only giving in.

Maybe not exactly the topic, but I feel this is in the same vein - laser shots option for pistols, instead of bullets. My retro 50s scifi action lass has dual ray guns. . . that fire bullets. I can pretend, of course (they are very loud, sped up pewpewpew's) but it would be lovely to have a laser option.

Same. I always do the tutorial. I need the character to have a solid beginning. I don't do the backstory, though, until I have a good feel for them. I like to write it in their voice, rather than just an overview of them or list of various traits, in order to give the reader a feel for the character's personality. Sometimes that takes a few levels to get the feel for. But when I do get it, I stop whatever I'm doing (after defeating whomever I might be fighting at the time) and write it. I stopped rampaging through a Longbow base once to stop and write out a 1000-word character study.

No matter what they add or adjust to make it more difficult, people will find a way to turn it easy. Asking for a higher built-in difficulty level is just asking for a new limit to reach, surpass, and then start deriding as being 'too easy.' Such patterns do not end, and eventually lead to increasingly annoying WoW-like raid mechanics where half the team has to hop on one foot while juggling waffles in order to distract a boss so that a Defender in a clown suit can sneak up behind him and use Brawl on his right shin, because THAT'S the only way you can hurt him once he starts reciting the screenplay to Good Will Hunting, and then repeat it for a solid three hours with minor variations. ("You used syrup!? Dammit, now a Corrupter has to put on the clown suit!") I'm pretty sure this has been said many times already, but I don't feel like scanning through 13 pages to make sure. You want the game to be more of a challenge, then challenge yourself. Play an archetype you never have, pick powers you normally avoid. Ignore your established play style and routine - Don't run DfB ad nauseum. Don't join a radio team. Solo everything. Slot only Training Enhancements. Skip useful powers because they don't fit the character. Choose to run missions in zones you rarely visit. Make it to 50 street-sweeping using only brawl. Play as though it was still i5 and everything that came after doesn't exist. Pretend you know nothing about the game and are playing it for the very first time. Just moving the bar means you'll eventually hit it again. We'd all love more content, but I'm just not seeing the feasibility of that on the scale people are thinking, and even if it was, I worry "making things more challenging" will eventually just lead to "making things more annoying." And I hate putting on clown suits.

In a similar vein, I always attempt to jump on top of cars and surf the streets on them. It never works, but I try every time.

Sometimes, if the path I jump doesn't feel realistic, I feel this annoying urgency to go back to where I started and re-route it for official canon purposes. Sometimes, I successfully fight that urge.

I fly into power lines. All the time. No idea why I do it, and I wish I would stop. I also move away from anyone, NPCs and other players, when I call a contact, as though I were trying to get privacy. No one can actually hear my call, and no one even has any idea I'm making it. But still, I fly a few yards up or run a few yards away so I can make my call in 'private'.

I never quite get into Scrapperlock. I've come close, maybe even managed it now and then, but it's much rarer than Furylock. Possibly because they're squishier, and I always feel the need to keep one eye on my health. I never take Taunt on my Brutes (at least, not in the main spec; sometimes I'll off-spec it) so the gigglefunsmashsmash never gets interrupted.

I like Scrappers, but honestly, I agree. I've fallen into Furylock (BETTERER SMASH!) more times than I can count, sometimes to the point where I forget a Mastermind's ally's pets aren't more things to smash. Or that allies aren't more things to smash. But I like Scrappers, too. I like any AT that gives me interesting and different ways to punch things.

This one! Bio armor is so ugly. I like that I can turn most of it off, but there are still a few powers where that ugly carapace won't go away.