The Curator

Take Your Child to Work Day You can now walk all over your child You can now send your child to its room for a short period of time Your child will now fade away when you leave, rather than falling over Bug Fixes Fixed an issue with custom critters and path auras that caused some arcs to give a "MADoorInvalid" error Fixed a display issue where costume parts from an old costume could sometimes linger for other players after switching costumes Fixed a server-side crash Fixed a client crash in the tailor screen UPDATE #1 (11:00 UTC): Some of the fixes had to be rolled back due to unforeseen issues. We'll work on getting them resolved ASAP. UPDATE #2 (21:00 UTC): We've pushed out another hotfix to resolve the remaining issues. The notes above reflect the second update.

Take Your Child to Work Day To simulate a more true-to-life superhero experience, all heroes and villains must now take their children to work! Your child will follow you around and will always move slightly slower than you Be sure to take regular breaks so they can catch up Please note that, just like real children, you cannot dismiss them and they must be cared for at all times Powers Brawl This power has been significantly rebalanced to ensure all characters are on an even footing Nerf Bats All players now have the ability to nerf each other with large foam bats This change should finally ensure that the game is perfectly balanced, as all things should be Floors Floors have been removed from the game Nemesis Plots

The following change was omitted from the beta patch notes due to a related exploit: Influence gain can no longer be increased by disabling XP We’ve made this change to reduce the influence income gap between players who farm and those that do not. The amount of additional influence gained by abusing level 49 missions simply wasn’t healthy for the overall economy of the game, and generally unfair towards those who play standard level 50 content instead of farming. Additionally, there were various exploits that could be abused in order to further increase influence gain through this option. Overall, we concluded it was best to remove the mechanic. Even with this change farming is still far more efficient than every other method of influence gain. Discussion of this change should take place in this dedicated thread. Thanks!

Issue 26, Page 5 Safe Mode Discontinuation As we announced in January, Safe Mode is being discontinued with the release of Page 5 If you are unable to play the game on the 32-Bit or 64-Bit clients, please post in the relevant support threads (Windows support thread, Mac support thread) Costume Editor Update Auras have been separated into two slots: Auras and Path Auras Boots and gloves now have an asymmetrical toggle, which can be toggled on to allow separate left and right glove and boot selection Not every set of gloves and boots are available in asymmetrical mode, more will be added in future updates All sets of gloves and boots remain available in symmetrical mode New Support Powerset: Electrical Affinity You are able to control and manipulate electricity to aid your allies and weaken your enemies. Some Electrical Affinity powers build Static, which increases the number of targets your Circuit powers can chain to. The set has been built around chaining powers and a stacking / combo system that's similar to those found in many of the more modern melee and ranged damage sets, with a focus on wide variety of buffs for the whole team as well as damage and endurance debuffs for your enemies. Electrical Affinity also introduces and makes use of a brand new mechanic which allows powers to dynamically change the number of targets they can hit - in this case, the four Circuit powers hit more targets for every stack of Static that you currently have. Electrical Affinity is available for Defenders, Corruptors, Controllers and Masterminds. Electrical Affinity has both a Hero (blue) and Villain (red) default theme available for all ATs, along with the light and dark customisation themes. Powers T1: Shock (Ranged, Foe -DMG, -End, -Recovery, -Regen) Strike a single foe with a highly-charged electrical shock, draining some endurance and moderately reducing their recovery, regeneration and damage output. Recharge: Slow T2: Rejuvenating Circuit (Ranged (Chain), Ally Heal, Self +Static) Create a circuit of healing energy between several nearby allies, healing them for a small amount. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to additional allies. The first few targets in the chain receive a more potent effect. Rejuvenating Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Moderate T3 (Defenders, Controllers and Corruptors): Galvanic Sentinel (Summon Galvanic Sentinel: Ranged Debuff Special) Summons a Galvanic Sentinel to your aid. The Galvanic Sentinel shocks and weakens your foes, draining some endurance and reducing their regeneration, recovery, and damage output. The Galvanic Sentinel can be buffed and healed, and may be targeted with your Circuit powers. Recharge: Slow T3 (Masterminds): Discharge (Ranged (Targeted AoE), Foe -Dmg, -End, -Recovery, -Regen) Unleash a blast of electrical energy around your target, draining them and all nearby enemies of some endurance. This will also reduce their regeneration, recovery, and damage dealt for a short period of time. Recharge: Slow T4: Energizing Circuit (Ranged (Chain), Ally +End, +Recharge, Self +Static) Create a circuit of pure energy between several nearby allies, restoring a small amount of their endurance and significantly increasing their attack rate for a short time. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to additional allies. The first few targets in the chain receive a more potent effect. Energizing Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow T5: Faraday Cage (Location (PBAoE), Team +Res(All DMG but Toxic, Status, Knockback, -Rech, -Rec, -End)) Create a large energy barrier at your location which provides all allies within resistance to all damage except Toxic. They are also protected from status effects, knockbacks, endurance drain, recovery debuffs and recharge debuffs. Casting this power again will move the energy barrier to your location. Standing inside your own Faraday Cage will grant you a stack of Static every 5 seconds. Recharge: Moderate T6: Empowering Circuit: (Ranged (Chain), Ally +DMG, +Tohit, Self +Static) Create a circuit of empowering energy between several nearby allies, increasing their damage output and chance to hit for a short time. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to additional allies. The first few targets in the chain receive a more potent effect. Empowering Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow T7: Defibrillate (Melee (Targeted AoE), Ally Rez, Foe Sleep, -End, -Recovery) Strike a target with a highly-charged jolt of electricity, reviving all nearby allies and draining all nearby foes. Any enemies affected will be drained of some endurance, have their recovery reduced and be put to sleep for a short time. Defibrillate consumes all stacks of Static, and the strength of the offensive component of this power scales with the number of stacks consumed. Allies will always be revived with full health and endurance regardless of the number of Static stacks consumed. Recharge: Long T8: Insulating Circuit (Ranged (Chain), Ally +Absorb, Self +Static) Create a circuit of protective energy between several nearby allies, granting them a small protective shield. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to additional allies. The first few targets in the chain receive a more potent effect. Insulating Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow T9: Amp Up (Ranged, Ally +Special, +Recharge) Empower an ally with raw energy, causing all of their abilities to unleash chained bolts of electricity at nearby foes. These bolts drain a small amount of endurance and have a chance to knock up the target. Amp Up also moderately increases their attack rate and greatly boosts the secondary effects of their powers. Their power effects like heals, defense debuffs, endurance drains, disorients, holds, immobilizes and more, are all improved. Recharge: Very Long Static (Circuit Boost) Every stack of Static you have increases the number of targets your Circuit powers can chain to by 3. New Origin Power Pool: Experimentation "Experimentation gives you access to poisonous ranged attacks as well as powers that boost your attack power and the survivability of your allies. This pool's travel power is Speed of Sound. While active, this power allows you to run at incredible speeds and also gives you access to the Jaunt power. Jaunt allows you to quickly teleport long distances once every so often." As a reminder: Only one Origin Pool (Sorcery, Force of Will, Experimentation) can be active in a build at any one time. Powers T1: Experimental Injection (Melee Ranged, Ally +Regeneration, +Recovery, +Res(Status)) You inject an ally with a compound that greatly boosts their regeneration, recovery and resistance to status effects for a short time. Recharge: Long T2: Toxic Dart (Ranged, Minor DMG(Lethal), High DMG(Toxic)) You fire a toxic dart at your target causing an very minor amount of immediate lethal damage followed by a High amount of toxic damage over time. Recharge: Moderate T3: Speed of Sound (Toggle: Self +Speed, (Special)) Your experiments have yielded incredible results. By activating this power, you're able to run at incredible speeds. In fact, while this power is active, you gain access to the Jaunt power. Jaunt allows you to teleport to a distant location once every short while. Jaunt (Click, Self Teleport) Clicking on this power and then selecting a location will cause the caster to vanish and reappear at their target location. Recharge: Moderate T4: Corrosive Vial (Ranged (Targeted AoE), High DoT(Toxic), -Defense) You hurl a vial of toxic fluid that explodes upon impact leaving a corrosive puddle at your target's feet. Any foe that stands within the puddle will take toxic damage and have their defense reduced for a short while. Corrosive Vial requires you to have 2 powers from the Experimentation power pool. Damage: High (DoT), Recharge: Slow T5: Adrenal Booster (Self, +To Hit, +Recharge, +Damage, +Special) You inject yourself with a concentrated experimental serum that boosts your damage, recharge, chance to hit and secondary effects for a short time. Adrenal Booster requires you to have 2 powers from the Experimentation power pool. Recharge: Very Long New IO Sets Synapse's Shock (Endurance Modification, Rare, 21-50) The first of two new Endurance Modification sets with a damage focus, designed to be useful in endurance-draining attack powers. Enhancements: Endurance Modification Damage / Recharge Endurance Modification / Recharge Damage / Recharge / Accuracy Damage / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction UNIQUE: Endurance Modification / 15% Increased Run Speed Set Bonuses: 2: 7.5% Movement Speed 3: 10% Slow Resistance 4: 8% Regeneration 5: 6.25% Recharge 6: 4.5% Energy / Negative Resistance + 7.5% Mez Resistance Power Transfer (Endurance Modification, Rare, 21-50) The second damage-focused Endurance Modification set. Enhancements: Endurance Modification Damage / Recharge Endurance Modification / Damage Damage / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction Damage / Recharge / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction Chance to Heal Self (3 PPM) Set Bonuses: 2: 6% Regeneration 3: 1.35% Max Endurance 4: 1.875% Max Health 5: 9% Accuracy 6: 7.5% Recharge Preemptive Optimization (Endurance Modification, Uncommon, 21-50) An Endurance Modification set with a focus on ally buff abilities that don't deal damage. Enhancements: Accuracy / Recharge Endurance Modification / Endurance Reduction Endurance Modification / Recharge Endurance Modification / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction Endurance Modification / Accuracy / Recharge Endurance Modification / Endurance Reduction / Recharge Set Bonuses: 2: 1.8% Max Endurance 3: 1.5% Max Health 4: 3% Toxic / Psionic Resistance + 5% Mez Resistance 5: 3.75% Recharge 6: 3.75% Ranged Defense + 1.875 Energy / Negative Defense Bombardment (Targeted AoE, Rare, 30-50) Enhancements: Damage Accuracy / Recharge / Endurance Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Damage / Recharge / Endurance Reduction Chance for Fire Damage (3.5 PPM) Set Bonuses: 2: 5% Increased Range 3: 2.25% Smashing / Lethal Resistance + 3.75% Mez Resistance 4: 7% Accuracy 5: 5% Recharge 6: 4.5% Energy / Negative Resistance + 7.5% Mez Resistance Artillery (Targeted AoE, Uncommon, 30-50) Targeted AOE set with a Range component and two sources of Ranged Defense. Enhancements: Accuracy / Damage Damage / Endurance Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Recharge / Range Endurance / Recharge / Range Set Bonuses: 2: 8% Regeneration 3: 1.88% Energy / Negative Defence + 0.94% Ranged Defence 4: 2% Damage Buff 5: 9% Accuracy 6: 3.13% Ranged Defence + 1.565% Energy / Negative Defence Powers The following powers now ignore outside buffs (they all provide enhanceable resistance and should've always ignored buffs) Controller > Darkness Affinity > Fade Controller > Poison > Elixir of Life Defender > Poison > Elixir of Life Corruptor > Poison > Elixir of Life Mastermind > Poison > Elixir of Life Sentinel > Bio Armor > Genomic Evolution The following Scrapper and Stalker Epic Pools powers have been modified: Mace Mastery > Web Cocoon: This power now does Toxic Damage over time. Now accept damage enhancements and sets. Leviathan Mastery > Spirit Shark Jaws: This power can now land critical hits. Mu Mastery > Electric Shackles: This power can now land critical hits. Soul Mastery > Soul Storm: This power can now land critical hits. Weapon Mastery > Shuriken: This power was erroneously set at half the intended recharge for it's damage. Recharge has now been increased from 3 to 6 seconds. Weapon Mastery > Explosive Shuriken: This power was doing 85% the damage it was meant to do in PvE, damage has been increased. The following powers are now disabled whilst in Arena matches: Mystic Fortune (and buffs) Secondary Mutation (and buffs) Jump Pack Steam Jump Leadership The following Leadership powers have had their activation time reduced from 3.63 seconds to 1.5 seconds: Pools > Leadership > Maneuvers Pools > Leadership >Assault Pools > Leadership >Tactics Invention Procs Call of the Sandman: Chance for Heal No longer procs multiple times per power Heal increased from 5% to 15% This proc is now unique Gaussian's Synchronised Fire Control: Chance for Build Up Should now once again work on pets to-hit powers, but will not will not proc on the pet owner when using pet-summoning powers Edict of the Master Now shows defense under all defense types instead of under base defense Dark Miasma The following powers were using Defender modifiers, they have been fixed to use their own AT modifiers Controller > Darkness Affinity > Twilight Grasp Controller > Darkness Affinity > Tar Patch Corruptor > Dark Miasma > Twilight Grasp Corruptor > Dark Miasma > Tar Patch Mastermind > Dark Miasma > Twilight Grasp Mastermind > Dark Miasma > Tar Patch Pets > Dark Servant > Twilight Grasp Incarnate > Lore > Demons > Support > Twilight Grasp Incarnate > Lore > Vanguard > Support > Twilight Grasp Mission Maker > Dark Miasma > Twilight Grasp Signature Summons > Ghost Widow > Twilight Grasp All versions of Twilight Grasp Accuracy increased from 1.0x to 1.2x Power Customization Updated Electrical Blast for Blasters and Corruptors to be able to select from both the default Hero (blue) and Villain (red) options, along with other customisation options Fixed the default Villain (red) theme Electrical Blast having a Hero (blue) Voltaic Sentinel Update: This is actually something coming in Page 6! Katana Animations Katana powers no longer have a "No Redraw" theme. These powers now will execute an interruptible draw animation only in the following conditions: Out of combat Out of range from the target Power still has not recharged These changes impact the following sets: Blaster > Ninja Training Brute > Katana Mastermind > Ninjas > Jounin Tanker > Katana Scrapper > Katana Sentinel > Epic > Ninja Tools Stalker > Ninja Blade Should these changes work as intended, other weapon sets will get similar treatment as time permits Dark Melee Shadow Maul (Tanker, Scrapper, Brute, Stalker) is now a much larger, faster cone that's actually capable of easily hitting multiple targets - especially on tanks! Arc increased from 45 to 120 degrees Recharge increased from 8 to 11 seconds Cast Time reduced from 3.07 to 2.35 seconds Damage lowered from scale 2.156 to 1.6184 DPS reduction is minor, it has only been lowered from scale 0.653 to scale 0.645 Target Cap increased from 10 to 16 for Tankers Target Cap increased from 5 to 10 for Scrappers, Brutes and Stalkers Dark Melee was under-performing in the AoE department. The aim of this change is to increase the AoE potential of the set whilst having minimal impact on the single target potential. Powers Bug Fixes Tanker > Super Reflexes > Evasion: Fixed a bug where this power would not maintain its Defense Resistance 100% of the time. Fixed several villain powers being tagged as both Ranged and AoE: 5th Column > Missile Launcher Banished Pantheon > Musket Event Zombies > Musket Generic Guns > Missile Launcher Temporary Powers > Particle Cannon Crey > Sleep Gas Axis America > Missile Launcher Vahzilok > Venomous Spray Paragon Police > Smoke Grenade Snakes > Venomous Spray Secondary Mutation > Devolution: Fixed an issue that caused you to not change your shape and prevent all powers from being usable until zoning Pool > Invisibility > Phase Shift: This power's effect should no longer cancel if stunned, held or slept by a delayed mez effect. Incarnate > Hybrid > Melee: This tree no longer grants mez protection in PvP zones, instead, it grants mez resistance. The following powers Soul Noir theme of this power was executing the wrong animation and missing FX. This has been fixed: Sentinel > Dark Blast > Abyssal Gaze Defender >Dark Blast > Petrifying Gaze Scrapper > Epic > Darkness Mastery > Petrifying Gaze Stalker > Epic > Darkness Mastery > Petrifying Gaze Incarnate > Interface > Degenerativ: Should once again work on raid targets Invulnerability > Unstoppable: This power no longer accepts Endurance Mod enhancements or sets. The Recovery buff in this power has never been enhanceable Stalker > Ice Melee > Ice Patch: This power no longer states that it accepts Universal Damage or Stalker Archetype Origin sets, it has never accepted these enhancements Savage Melee > Savage Leap: Should inflict damage much more reliably when used from maximum range on moving targets or while jousting Blaster > Support > Devices > Targeting Drone: This power's text should no longer state it grants a recharge buff General Powers with redirects will now display numbers properly in the detailed information window Standardized combat spam for heal and endurance modification attributes Standardized the text description denoting the recharge time of player powers: Less or equal to 3s: Very Fast More than 3s, less or equal to 6s: Fast More than 6s less or equal to 10s: Moderate More than 10s, less or equal to 60s: Slow More than 60s, less or equal to 240s: Long More than 240s, less or equal to 600s: Very Long More than 600s: Extremely Long All players can now move through Mastermind henchmen and push them out of the way, not just their owners Null the Gull now has options to disable the additional power tray popup for all Origin Pool travel powers Updated the "incorrect password" login error message to prompt the player to check they aren't using their forum account info Influence gain can no longer be increased by disabling XP General Chat Channel A new 'General' channel has been added to the game This is a new shard-wide channel like LFG and Help. The goal with adding this is to ensure that LFG and Help remain focused on their specific topics, with everything else being discussed in General /general, /gen and /z can be used to send messages to General The new channel will automatically be added to the appropriate chat tabs after a character has re-logged twice. Mastermind Henchmen AI Updates Melee Mastermind Henchmen set to Go To are now free to move within a 30' radius of the selected position in order to attack foes Ranged Mastermind Henchmen set to Go To are now free to move within a 5' radius of the selected position in order to attack foes Mastermind Henchmen set to Go To strongly prefer targets closer to the location they are supposed to be guarding When Mastermind pets are teleported to their owner due to being out of range, they now now reset their orders to Follow to avoid odd Stay/Goto behavior Login Screen Update The login screen has been updated to feature the new Homecoming logo Goldie's red sleeve has finally been fixed and is now actually gold Bug Fixes Alpha > Vigor Boost: Icon replaced with a colour corrected version that matches the rest of the Vigor powers Sorcery > Rune of Protection: VFX no longer persists after the power expires Fixed an issue preventing some power customisation files from loading properly Fixed Medium Dual Team inspirations being tagged as Small inspirations in AE Positron should no longer teleport all over the place in the Mortimer Kal Strike Force Fixed a crash relating to combining enhancements Fixed an issue that could cause boosters and catalysts to not show up in the combination screen Fixed clipping issue for Huge > Pants > Gunslinger Boots

Bug Fixes Fixed a client crash that could occur when combining enhancements Fixed the enhancement screen to correctly show salvage (boosters & catalysts) in the second slot when combining

The target meaning the critter you hit with the power, which is not necessarily yourself. In the previous patch it was healing you more if you used it against lower level critters, and less if used against higher level critters. The change does not mean that it will only attempt to hit a single targer in the AOE; it still tries to hit all targets, but it will no longer stack heals if it hits more than one. This means that in an AOE, it's likely to go off 100% of the time for 5% health. This is not likely to change; it is a single IO, letting it heal the player for 50% health in one hit is way out of line. This is not okay. Both Call of the Sandman and Power Transfer will be made non-unique in the next build; Entropic Chaos is already not unique.

It makes sense from an internal development point of view: this is part of a general pass to get rid of all pseudopet powers and replace them with native mechanics. Pseudopets are spread all over the game, so there will no clear pattern to the powers unless you connect the dots to a pseudopet cleanup. And the change will be invisible for most powers, increasing the confusion on why so many powers were "untouched": they were, but it resulted in no change from the player's perspective.

This is incorrect. There are no new pseudopets, and the existing pseudopets for these powers is not being used anymore; that is, Pets_Twilight and Pets_TarPatch are no longer used; and if you look at the bin files, you will not find new versions of those pets for the various Archetypes. The powers engine in i26 allows the target of powers to execute other powers, as well as produce the same effect as pseudopets without actually summoning a hardcoded pet; all of this originates from the player, and therefore uses the player's AT tables. Twilight is no longer a pseudopet at all, instead it executes a new power, Redirects.Dark_Miasma.Twilight, which inherits AT tables. Tar Patch uses the new effect that mimics pseudopets while using the power Redirects.Dark_Miasma.Tar. No new powers will use pseudopets that require a different version for each AT; many powers have already been modified to use the new power attributes, but the change is invisible unless the pseudopet is using the wrong AT modifiers, as seen here. Pseudopets are considered a hack to work around the limitations of the i24 engine; one good example is chain powers, which were implemented as a succession of pseudopet summons in i24, but are a native engine feature in i26.

Can you post the actual costume file so we can take a look, @Ariamaki?

General Just a minor patch today; continue using the existing threads for feedback and discussion. Brainstorm, Aeon, Shadow and Reflection now share the same authentication server with the Live shards. This means that an account sync is no longer needed; your Live account will work on the Beta and Staging shards by default, and password changes will now be reflected immediately across all shards. Fixed an issue where unlinking Asymmetric parts for some costume pieces and then switching to a different Costume Set would not reset the asymmetry mode. Improved backwards compatibility when saving costume files that have no asymmetric parts or path auras. The game client will prefer to save costume files that can be loaded by Issue 24 clients if possible. The Random costume button will occasionally generate costumes with asymmetrical parts. Safe Mode has been removed from the Staging servers.

The original AOE Chance for Heal Self proc (Call of the Sandman) had only a 10% chance to trigger. Slotting it in an AOE that hit 16 enemies meant you had 16 individual 1/10 chances to be healed. Triggering multiple heals from a single power activation was rare. When Issue 24 introduced the Procs-Per-Minute system, Call of the Sandman was set to 2 PPM. Because of how PPM works, that means if your AOE takes 30 seconds to recharge, you'll get a 90% chance to hit on every target, making multiple heals extremely likely. This is way too powerful for a single proc. This had not been noticed until now because Call of the Sandman is not a popular set, but Power Transfer brought the problem to light. On the next patch, both Power Transfer and Call of the Sandman will be changed to 3 PPM, but will not stack on the same power tick.

Uh, sure? I would like to get more feedback on this before changing the set yet again. Preemptive Optimization Accuracy / Recharge Endurance Modification / Endurance Reduction Endurance Modification / Recharge Endurance Modification / Accuracy / Range Endurance Modification / Accuracy / Recharge Endurance Modification / Recharge / Range Post-ED: 68.9% Accuracy, 26.5% Endurance Reduction, 91.78% Recharge, 97.49% Endurance Modification, 25.6% Range.

Well, I'm going to lower the regeneration of Artillery to 8% to make @r0y happy (and because I forgot to nerf anything when buffing defense on the second bonus) but other than that, they should be done.

No, it never was and it was never supposed to be.

Bug Fixes Improved the loading of power customization files with invalid colors and tokens. This should resolve the issue of some of the files not showing up in the list. Fixed an issue that could cause the list of powersets in a character to become desynced and crash the client.

Something to explicitly mention is that ATO and Winter sets were originally cash shop items, and their bonuses are intentionally too good because they sold for real money. There's no intention to make new sets to hit that level of power. Instead, at least for now, we are focusing explicitly on sets that fill specific holes (no damage in EndMod sets, bad Targeted AOE sets) without falling into powercreep. @oedipus_tex made an extremely good case why the original Bombardment was too good, and the comparisons being mostly to unique sets just proves their point. We want to add flexibility without taking the easy route of making a set that is just better than anything else available. This is obviously going to be frustrating at times, but I think there's enough room for new sets that will open up build choices without being obvious must-have choices.

Damage procs aren't unique (outside of sets where all pieces are unique) so the proc would need to change to something like chance for Immobilize or chance for KnockUp (but there's already a TAOE set with Chance to KnockDown) or some other effect.

Unfortunately the set bonuses come in a limited number of combinations, so for 3.75% defense it's either everything in one boost, 2.5/1.5 or 3.13/0.625. I assumed that being able to stack with Thunderstike was more important. I could change the third bonus to 0.94% ranged, leave the final bonus alone (increasing the set to 4.07% ranged defense total) and lower the damage and/or accuracy bonuses to compensate. But yes, if the set is getting Range enhancement and lots of Range defense, it could use a different name. I'm open to suggestions. Regarding Bombardment, is ranged def is too much and aoe defense is too little, what about smashing/lethal/melee defense? Sounds odd for a ranged set, but there's nowhere else to go. 3.75 sm/l + 1.875% melee would at least put the focus in the damage type. The existing bonus could also be flipped to 3.75% fire/cold + 1.875% AOE.

We could swap the first bonus between Bombardment and Shrapnel, but I actually feel like having a set with a range bonus and one with range enhancement makes more sense. We can change Shrapnel's to include more range this way: Proposal A: Change Dmg/End/Rech to End/Rech/Range Change Acc/End/Rech to Acc/End/Rech/Range Post ED: 66.3% Acc, 97.49% Dmg, 39.8% End, 85.75% Rech, 24.06% Range Changes from current version: -2.6% Acc, -3.18% Dmg, -2.60% End, -2.32% Rech, +24.06% Range Proposal B: Change Dmg to Dmg/End Change Dmg/End/Rech to End/Rech/Range Change Acc/End/Rech to Acc/Rech/Range Post ED: 68.9% Acc, 95.11% Dmg, 47.7% End, 88.07% Rech, 26.5% Range Changes from current version: -5.57% Dmg, +5.30% End, +25.6% Range

Let's see if we can make some changes that leave more people happy here. This is just proposals being written down while looking at the spreadsheets. Bombardment (Proposal A) Change Acc/Dmg/Rech to Dmg/End/Rech, and Acc/Dmg/End/Rech to Acc/Dmg/Rech. New set pieces: Dmg, Dmg/Rech, Acc/End/Rech, Acc/Dmg/Rech, Dmg/End/Rech, Proc. Post ED: 42.4% Acc, 96.7% Dmg, 42.4% End, 88.07% Rech. Change from current version: -18.6% Acc, +0.39% Dmg, +2.6% End, +2.32% Rech Increase fifth set bonus to 6.25% recharge. This trades some accuracy to bring the recharge back to the first revision. Bombardment (Proposal B) Change Acc/End/Rech to Acc/Rech. New set pieces: Dmg, Dmg/Rech, Acc/Rech, Acc/Dmg/Rech, Dmg/End/Rech, Proc. Post ED: 66.3% Acc, 96.31% Dmg, 18.6% End, 89.96% Rech. Change from current version: +5.3% Acc, -21.2% End, +4.21% Rech Increase fifth set bonus to 6.25% recharge. This trades some endurance reduction to bring the recharge back to the first revision. Shrapnel Remove the Resistance bonus, split the Defense bonus, and increase the damage bonus. The new bonuses would look like this: 2: Improves your Regeneration by 10%. 3: Increases energy and negative energy defense by 1.25% and ranged defense by 0.625%. 4: Increases damage by 3%. 5: Improves the accuracy of all of your powers by 9%. 6: Increases ranged defense by 3.13% and energy and negative energy defense by 1.565%. This makes it possible to get some Ranged Defense by 3-slotting this set, and leaves the option to fully slot it if you want to get all of it, making this set the choice for characters building towards Ranged Defense. The 0.625%/3.13% split was chosen so this set could stack with Thunderstrike bonuses without triggering the rule of 5; that set uses a 1.25%/2.5% split.

Remember that it's better to suggest changes, rather than just say that you don't like the current version. Most (all?) of the changes to the sets have been the result of feedback from previous threads.

Supergroups We are tracking some sporadic crash reports related to the costume backend changes and Supergroups. Some of the things that could be triggering the crashes are: Entering/Leaving Supergroup mode and triggering a costume palette change. Changing costumes while in Supergroup mode. Modifying settings and colors in the Supergroup options window. Editing a Supergroup base with items that contain the Supergroup logo. Possibly other things. Because it is currently difficult to nail down the problem, it would be greatly appreciated for testers to create or join a Supergroup and play with those features to try to trigger the crash. If you do crash, please send a crash with memory dump attached as well as description of what you're doing when the crash happened. Please use this thread to discuss this topic.

Addressing some previous feedback: Synapse's Shock continues to not have the greatest damage values. This is by design; you can still use it on a damage power by spending another slot to fill the hole in this set, but damage powers are not its main intended target. Power Transfer, on the other hand, is intended to be used in damage powers, and the enhancement values reflect that. Preemptive Optimization used to have a Range component, but previous feedback made a good case that the list of powers that would benefit from range without requiring accuracy was negligible to non-existent, so the set has been reorganized to provide Accuracy instead. Bombardment has gone through the most changes so far, possibly because it was the only new Targeted AOE set. The addition of Shrapnel is intended to provide another Targeted AOE set so the feeback can be better balanced between the two. It may be worth considering removing some of the Endurance Reduction that was added to Bombardment in order to restore the Recharge set bonus to 6.25%. Shrapnel does not currently have a proc, as the intention is to provide solid enhancement values that make it worth six-slotting in order to reach the Ranged damage bonus. Its current post-ED values are 68.9% accuracy, 100.67% damage, 42.4% endurance reduction, and 88.07% recharge. If a proc is desired, it would not be a Damage proc (Bombardment already got one) but rather a Chance for Immobilize, Chance for Knockdown, Chance for -Defense or something else not exceedingly common.

Issue 26, Page 5 (Build 3) Testing Notes Changes from the previous build will be listed in green. Any changes or fixes that are only relevant to the beta builds (as in, not changes relevant to the live version of the game) will be listed in blue. Known issues that will be fixed in a future build will be listed in purple. Be sure to read the Homecoming Beta FAQ to get started! The beta server is now called Brainstorm and will be joined by Aeon once testing starts next week so we're able to ensure comparability with Homecoming's multi-shard live environment (remember when a patch caused character transfers to break everything? never again!). Cheats have been re-enabled. All characters on Brainstorm and Aeon will be granted badges to unlock Accolades, Epics, Incarnates, Ouroboros access and Vanguard merits; in addition, the Salvage ingredients have been removed from all recipes. The Safe Mode client is now gone from the Beta shards. If you are unable to play the game on the 32-Bit or 64-Bit clients, please post in the relevant support threads for it (Windows support thread, Mac support thread) as Safe Mode will no longer be available when Page 5 hits the live servers. Please use these feedback threads to discuss the changes in this build: Focused Feedback: Experimentation Focused Feedback: Electrical Affinity - Powers Focused Feedback: Electrical Affinity - Name Focused Feedback: New IO Sets General Feedback: Page 5, Build 3 Please note that Focused Feedback threads are heavily moderated to ensure they remain on topic. Any off-topic posts in these threads will be removed without warning. The thread will be locked when no more feedback is required, but you are more than welcome to continue the discussion in a new thread. New Origin Power Pool: Experimentation (Feedback Thread) "Experimentation gives you access to poisonous ranged attacks as well as powers that boost your attack power and the survivability of your allies. This pool's travel power is Speed of Sound. While active, this power allows you to run at incredible speeds and also gives you access to the Jaunt power. Jaunt allows you to quickly teleport long distances once every so often." As a reminder: Only one Origin Pool (Sorcery, Force of Will, Experimentation) can be active in a build at any one time. Powers T1: Experimental Injection (Melee Ranged, Ally +Regeneration, +Recovery, +Res(Status)) You inject an ally with a compound that greatly boosts their regeneration, recovery and resistance to status effects for a short time. Recharge: Long T2: Toxic Dart (Ranged, Minor DMG(Lethal), High DMG(Toxic)) You fire a toxic dart at your target causing an very minor amount of immediate lethal damage followed by a High amount of toxic damage over time. Recharge: Moderate T3: Speed of Sound (Toggle: Self +Speed, (Special)) Your experiments have yielded incredible results. By activating this power, you're able to run at incredible speeds. In fact, while this power is active, you gain access to the Jaunt power. Jaunt allows you to teleport to a distant location once every short while. Jaunt (Click, Self Teleport) Clicking on this power and then selecting a location will cause the caster to vanish and reappear at their target location. Recharge: Moderate This power is no longer affected by global recharge buffs Recharge increased from 8 to 10 seconds. T4: Corrosive Vial (Ranged (Targeted AoE), High DoT(Toxic), -Defense) You hurl a vial of toxic fluid that explodes upon impact leaving a corrosive puddle at your target's feet. Any foe that stands within the puddle will take toxic damage and have their defense reduced for a short while. Corrosive Vial requires you to have 2 powers from the Experimentation power pool. Damage: High (DoT), Recharge: Slow T5: Adrenal Booster (Self, +To Hit, +Recharge, +Damage, +Special) You inject yourself with a concentrated experimental serum that boosts your damage, recharge, chance to hit and secondary effects for a short time. Adrenal Booster requires you to have 2 powers from the Experimentation power pool. Recharge: Very Long New Support Powerset: Electrical Affinity (Feedback Thread - Powers, Feedback Thread - Name) "You are able to control and manipulate electricity to aid your allies and weaken your enemies. Some Electrical Affinity powers build Static, which increases the number of targets your Circuit powers can chain to. Others consume Static to increase their effectiveness." The set has been built around chaining powers and a stacking / combo system that's similar to those found in many of the more modern melee and ranged damage sets, with a focus on wide variety of buffs for the whole team as well as damage and endurance debuffs for your enemies. Electrical Affinity also introduces and makes use of a brand new mechanic which allows powers to dynamically change the number of targets they can hit - in this case, the four Circuit powers hit more targets for every stack of Static that you currently have. The set is currently available only as a Defender Primary. It will be ported to other support ATs after testing and feedback. General Changes Fixed several "Shock Therapy" powers are appearing in the powers window under Inherent Fitness Fixed Static not building up while exemplared Powers T1: Shock (Ranged, Foe -DMG, -End, -Recovery, -Regen, Self +Static) Strike a single foe with a highly-charged electrical shock, draining some endurance and moderately reducing their recovery, regeneration and damage output. Shock grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow Now applies -75% recovery and -75% regeneration for 25 seconds T2: Rejuvenating Circuit (Ranged (Chain), Ally Heal, Self +Static) Create a circuit of healing energy between two nearby allies, healing them for a small amount. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to an additional ally, and the number of jumps will double at 5 stacks. Each successive jump along the chain will heal the next target for less. Rejuvenating Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Moderate T3: Galvanic Sentinel (Summon Galvanic Sentinel: Ranged Debuff Special) Summons a Galvanic Sentinel to your aid. The Galvanic Sentinel shocks and weakens your foes, draining some endurance and reducing their regeneration, recovery, and damage output. The Galvanic Sentinel can be buffed and healed, and may be targeted with your Circuit powers. The duration of the Galvanic Sentinel scales with the number of stacks of Static you have. Casting Galvanic Sentinel will consume all stacks of Static. Recharge: Slow Galvanic Sentinel's debuff now applies -50% recovery and -50% regeneration for 10 seconds Will no longer inherit +recharge, +range and -end cost buffs from the caster Can no longer be slotted for +range Fixed dark theme summon VFX Base duration increased from 30 seconds to 60 seconds Additional duration per stack increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds Max duration increased from 80 seconds to 135 seconds T4: Energizing Circuit (Ranged (Chain), Ally +End, +Max End, Self +Static) Create a circuit of pure energy between two nearby allies, restoring a small amount of their endurance and increasing their total endurance pool for a short time. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to an additional ally, and the number of jumps will double at 5 stacks. Each successive jump along the chain will restore less endurance to the next target. Energizing Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow Now grants +5 max endurance (enhanceable) for 30 seconds Fixed this power not jumping back to the caster T5: Faraday Cage (Location (PBAoE), Team +Res(All DMG but Toxic, Status, Knockback, -Rech, -Rec, -End)) Create a large energy barrier at your location which provides all allies within resistance to all damage except Toxic. They are also protected from status effects, knockbacks, endurance drain, recovery debuffs and recharge debuffs. Casting this power again will move the energy barrier to your location. Recharge: Slow Fixed +Resistance enhancements not actually improving the power T6: Empowering Circuit: (Ranged (Special), Ally +DMG, +Special, Self +Static) Create a circuit of empowering energy between two nearby allies, increasing their damage output for a short time. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to an additional ally, and the number of jumps will double at 5 stacks. Each successive jump along the chain will empower the next target for less. Empowering Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow T7: Defibrillate (Melee (Targeted AoE), Ally Rez, Self -Static) Strike a defeated ally with a highly-charged jolt of electricity, reviving them and any other nearby defeated allies. The amount of health and endurance allies revive with scales with the number of stacks of Static you have. Defibrillate will consume all stacks of Static. Recharge: Long T8: Insulating Circuit (Ranged (Special), Ally +Absorb, Self +Static) Create a circuit of protective energy between two nearby allies, granting them a small protective shield. Every stack of Static you have will cause this power to chain to an additional ally, and the number of jumps will double at 5 stacks. Each successive jump along the chain will shield the next target for less. Insulating Circuit grants 1 stack of Static. Recharge: Slow T9: Amp Up (Ranged, Ally +Special, +Recharge, Self -Static) Empower an ally with raw energy, causing all of their abilities to unleash chained bolts of electricity at nearby foes. These bolts drain a small amount of endurance and have a chance to knock up the target. Amp Up also moderately increases their attack rate and greatly boosts the secondary effects of their powers. Their power effects like heals, defense buffs, endurance drains, disorients, holds, immobilizes and more, are all improved. This power increases in strength with the number of stacks of Static you have. Amp Up will consume all stacks of Static. Recharge: Very Long Static (Circuit Boost) Every stack of Static you have increases the number of targets your Circuit powers can chain to, up to a maximum of 5 stacks. At 5 stacks, the number of targets your Circuit powers can chain to is doubled. Casting Galvanic Sentinel, Defibrillate or Amp Up will consume all stacks of Static. Static no longer grants passive movement speed New IO Sets (Feedback Thread) Synapse's Shock (Endurance Modification, Rare, 21-50) The first of two new Endurance Modification sets with a damage focus, designed to be useful in endurance-draining attack powers. Enhancements: Endurance Modification Damage / Recharge Endurance Modification / Recharge Damage / Recharge / Accuracy Damage / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction UNIQUE: Endurance Modification / 15% Increased Run Speed Set Bonuses: 2: 7.5% Movement Speed 3: 10% Slow Resistance 4: 8% Regeneration 5: 6.25% Recharge 6: 4.5% Energy / Negative Resistance + 7.5% Mez Resistance Power Transfer (Endurance Modification, Rare, 21-50) The second damage-focused Endurance Modification set. Enhancements: Endurance Modification Damage / Recharge Endurance Modification / Damage Damage / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction Damage / Recharge / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction UNIQUE: Chance to Heal Self (2 PPM) Set Bonuses: 2: 6% Regeneration 3: 1.35% Max Endurance 4: 1.875% Max Health 5: 9% Accuracy 6: 7.5% Recharge Preemptive Optimization (Endurance Modification, Uncommon, 21-50) An Endurance Modification set with a focus on ally buff abilities that don't require accuracy or deal damage. Enhancements: Accuracy / Recharge Endurance Modification / Endurance Reduction Endurance Modification / Recharge Endurance Modification / Accuracy / Endurance Reduction Endurance Modification / Accuracy / Recharge Endurance Modification / Endurance Reduction / Recharge All enhancement values have been adjusted to replace the Range component with an Accuracy component Set Bonuses: 2: 1.8% Max Endurance 3: 1.5% Max Health 4: 3% Toxic / Psionic Resistance + 5% Mez Resistance 5: 3.75% Recharge 6: 3.75% Ranged Defense + 1.875 Energy / Negative Defense Bombardment (Targeted AoE, Rare, 30-50) Enhancements: Damage Accuracy / Recharge / Endurance Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Damage / Recharge / Endurance Reduction Chance for Fire Damage (3.5 PPM) Set Bonuses: 2: 5% Increased Range 3: 2.25% Smashing / Lethal Resistance + 3.75% Mez Resistance 4: 7% Accuracy 5: 5% Recharge 6: Increases area effect defense by 3.75% AoE Defence + 1.875% Fire / Cold Defense This set had its Ranged Defense swapped for AOE Defense set bonus instead, as the combination of Recharge and Ranged Defense is considered slightly too strong in a set that can be slotted multiple times easily Shrapnel (Targeted AoE, Rare, 30-50) This new AOE set provides the Ranged Defense set bonus that was removed from Bombardment. This is the first pass and is currently using the same icon as Bombardment. Enhancements: Damage Accuracy / Damage Damage / Recharge Accuracy / Damage / Recharge Damage / Endurance / Recharge Accuracy / Endurance / Recharge Set Bonuses: 2: Improves your Regeneration by 10% 3: Increases Energy and Negative Energy resistance by 2.25% and Mez Resistance by 3.75% 4: Increases damage by 2%. 5: Improves the accuracy of all of your powers by 9%. 6: Increases ranged defense by 3.75% and energy and negative energy defense by 1.875%. These sets are not yet available for free from the merit vendor for testing purposes. This will be rectified in an upcoming patch. In the meantime you can use the /boost_set command with any of the following names to get a copy of the set: Synapses_Shock Power_Transfer Preemptive_Optimization Bombardment For example, to get a level 50 set of Synapse's Shock: /boost_set Synapses_Shock 50 Dark Melee Update Dark Melee was seriously underperforming in the AoE department. These changes are aimed to increase the AoE potential of the set whilst having minimal impact on the single target potential. Shadow Maul (Tanker, Scrapper, Brute, Stalker) is now a much larger, faster cone that's actually capable of easily hitting multiple targets - especially on tanks! Arc increased from 45 to 120 degrees Recharge increased from 8 to 11 seconds Cast Time reduced from 3.07 to 2.35 seconds Damage lowered from scale 2.156 to 1.6184 DPS reduction is minor, it has only been lowered from scale 0.653 to scale 0.645 Target Cap increased from 10 to 16 for Tankers Target Cap increased from 5 to 10 for Scrappers, Brutes and Stalkers Dark Consumption (Tanker, Scrapper, Brute) Changes to Dark Consumption have been reverted to the live version General Powers with redirects will now display numbers properly in the detailed information window. Standardized combat spam for heal and endurance modification attributes. Standardized the text description denoting the recharge time of player powers: Less or equal to 3s: Very Fast More than 3s, less or equal to 6s: Fast More than 6s less or equal to 10s: Moderate More than 10s, less or equal to 60s: Slow More than 60s, less or equal to 240s: Long More than 240s, less or equal to 600s: Very Long More than 600s: Extremely Long All players can now move through Mastermind henchmen and push them out of the way, not just their owners. You're welcome. Chain powers now have a unique border, courtesy of @GuyPerfect: Beam Rifle (Sentinel) Refractor Beam Electric Control Jolting Chain Synaptic Overload Electric Melee Chain Induction Electricity Mastery (Sentinel) Rehabilitating Circuit Martial Assault Trick Shot General Chat Channel A new 'General' channel has been added to the game. This is a new shard-wide channel like LFG and Help. The goal with adding this is to ensure that LFG and Help remain focused on their specific topics, with everything else being discussed in General. /general, /gen and /z can be used to send messages to General. Mastermind Henchmen AI Updates Mastermind Henchmen set to Go To which are flagged as melee (Beast Mastery, Demon Summoning, etc) are now free to move within a 30' radius of the selected position in order to attack foes. Mastermind Henchmen set to Go To strongly prefer targets closer to the location they are supposed to be guarding. Bug Fixes Fixed crashes relating to backend costume storage changes Fixed even more crashes relating to backend costume storage changes Alpha > Vigor Boost: Icon replaced with a colour corrected version that matches the rest of the Vigor powers Sorcery > Rune of Protection: VFX no longer persists after the power expires Fixed an issue preventing some power customisation files from loading properly Fixed an issue that caused the General chat channel to not send messages without using one of the /slash commands

Bug Fixes Fixed a major performance issue relating to the Targeting Drone fix from earlier today