Galaxy Brain

Yes and no.... for many powers the conversion to KD is worth far far more. Tbh, I will still campaign that KB is not superheroic enough and should be buffed.

It also very much depends on the power doing the debuff. Sure, a Sentinel with Dark Blast lets say can debuff Tohit well. It is not gonna compete with Dark Miasma in that dept + actually support tho. As for complexity, it all boils down to the actions IMHO. The numbers are all fluff when it boils down to: Hit person, they get targeted and its better to attack them. The more you attack, you eventually go (diet) super sayain.

Edited the OP with the revised proposal

.... that is weird now that you mention it. Let me check another set.... Charged Bolts = Blaster - 62.56 Sentinel - 52.83 Corruptor - 27.81..... That can't be right. Did you look in mids too? As I'm typing this I'm double checking in game: Charged Bolts = Blaster - 62.56 Sentinel - 52.83 Corruptor - 41.71... Corruptor Snap Shot in-game shows as 28.36 damage as well, which is close to what we see but yeah.... Redoing these: Blaster: Snap Shot = 108.84 Charged Bolts = 129.57 Corruptor (Assuming 25% bonus Scourge): Snap Shot = 69.13 -> 82.95 (50% Scourge) Charged Bolts = 101.67 -> 122.00 (50% Scourge) Sentinel (Proposed): Snap Shot = 113.31 Charged Bolts = 134.89 @Bopper Corruptors are broked in Mids 😛

Agreed, the method of doing it though is what we can fiddle with. Just a quick example, lets look at Archery between a Blaster, Sentinel, and Corruptor, using Snap Shot just for giggles. Blaster = 52.55 base damage Sentinel = 44.38 Corruptor = 27.82 For sake of argument, you are spamming Snap Shot as fast as you can against a target Blaster -> 52.55 * 1.1212 (6.6% defiance boost you can keep 2 stacks of easily) = 58.92 Corruptor -> 27.82, but multiplied times 2 for Scourge... but also dictated by HP and RNG, lets say it gets a 1.25x boost on average from 100% to 0% HP = 34.78 Sentinel -> 44.38 gets multiplied by the 15% -Res, but it can also be boosted by Opportunity. Snap Shot's proc is about ~17% of base, or 7.55., which isn't affected by damage buffs but does interact with -res. (44.38 * 1.1) + 7.55 = 56.37 * 1.15 = 64.82 At base, with this new Opportunity the Sent actually pulls ahead! Lets look at 95% enhancement tho + the other math Sentinel = 113.31 Blaster = 108.84 Corruptor = 67.82 (if we were to assume Scourge hit say, 50% of the time it would be 81.35) With Opportunity running and a marked target, the comparable Sentinel attack is actually looking pretty nice! That said, they do have less range and target caps than the other two and would lose out in that dept.

Really sideways point, but I feel like all ATs should have had crits and then Scrappers get something else

@Rathulfr, I dig that idea though it's not 100% what I had in mind! I think I'll take a moment to refine the idea here (may redo the OP too) : To streamline Sentinels, I feel it is best to reduce "Decision Fatigue" in order to make them easier to play on top of giving them some boosts overall. 1) Base Stats: Unchanged for the most part, but crank up their Secondary Effects to possibly even Corruptor values! Sentinels already debuff per hit in the current game, and an archetype that is offensive both damage wise and status/debuff wise is a unique mix. 2) Opportunity - Vulnerability Mark: Currently, Sentinels have to get max Meter and hit a target successfully with either their T1 or T2 attack in order to apply a Mark. This is far too particular given what the mark actually does, heck we even have Trick Arrow able to more or less replicate this exact effect every 3 seconds! This should be decoupled from "Opportunity" and instead just be something the Sentinel can do whenever. Specifically, the T1 and T2 blast, as well as the lvl 6 T3 ST blast will now be able to freely apply the Vulnerability Mark when they hit an enemy. (List of lvl 6 T3 blasts) Sentinels can only mark 1 Target at a time, and the mark cannot stack from multiple Sentinels. These marks last 10 seconds but disappear if another Mark is created (you cannot mark 2 different targets at once by yourself), and new marks replace old ones on the same target. While marked, Vulnerable Enemies face a harsh, unresistable 15% debuff to: Damage Resistance, Mez Resistance, and (Special/Debuff) Resistances, as well as a 7.5% Defense Debuff. This myriad of weaknesses allows any player to benefit in their own unique ways towards a target highlighted by a Sentinel where not only do they take more damage, but longer mezzes and harsher debuffs. Sentinels would enjoy this themselves solo too with each set having a strong Mez attack and increases to their base secondary effect mods! With this in place, the "passive" Vulnerability on-hit of 5% -Res and 2.5% -Def would be removed, and replaced by the second change to their inherent. 3) Opportunity - Overwatch: Sentinels will now produce a 60' Radius Aura (Identical range to Mastermind Supremacy) that grants themselves and allies +Perception, as well as +Perception and ToHit resistances (something minor, but flavorful). Allies in Overwatch range will have some interactions that we will touch on in just a moment. With every hit Sentinels dish out, they will gain meter towards Opportunity. Hits on Vulnerable Targets will give Bonus Meter, on top of this Allies within Overwatch Range will supply the Sentinel with Bonus Meter (TBD, could be if they are simply in range the Sentinel gets a boost per hit to make it easy). In order to solve some of the Feast/Famine dynamic, I figure giving the Sentinels more ways to stay in "Feast" may just be the most straightforward solution! Once at (near full, 80~90%) Meter, the Sentinel will trigger Opportunity automatically! Once active, both effects of Offensive and Defensive that we know now will be active for the Sentinel where they are able to proc damage on foes they strike as well as heal HP and Endurance just the same. On top of this, Overwatch will now grant everyone in range a 10% Damage Buff, 5% ToHit Buff, 30% Regen buff, and 15% Recovery buff for as long as Opportunity is active. Better still, allies within Overwatch will be able to use the effects of Offensive/Defensive opportunity (may as well just call it Opportunity) when they strike Marked Targets! 4) Putting it together: Overall the goals of the changes are to streamline Sentinel's Opportunity to be much easier to trigger and be more impactful to themselves and allies than it is now. The ability to mark targets at all times with an unresistable debuff will be stellar and help the Sentinel out greatly in between boosts, and the combination of boosts when you get going will allow them to rise to the occasion each fight especially when they focus fire in a team. Allies benefiting in multiple ways wouldn't hurt either 😉 Keeping the current opportunity bar and procs doesn't mess with too much IMO and keeps their spirit alive, though I am still a little hesitant on whether the T3 blast should also mark, but it seems like a fair compromise between those who do not like the base abilities and those who want every attack to be able to mark.

If you could cancel the animation with any action it'd circumvent this.

I can see how it can come off that way, but at a high level I see it as: Current Sentinel: Attack targets to build meter When meter is full, you have several things to think about: Which opportunity from the T1 or T2 do you want to use? Which target should you attempt to mark and trigger opportunity on? If you miss, do you wait for the same opportunity again or just settle for the other one? Rinse / Repeat over and over to create a ton of choices over the course of combat Proposed Sentinel: Attack targets to build meter, as you build meter you and the team get better Certain attacks mark targets that allow you to hit them harder. When you're at full meter, you and the team have bonuses to hitting these targets My goal is to take away "decision fatigue" as much as possible which is what we see on the current setup unless everything goes perfectly each time (it doesn't). The proposal should cut out the cases of "which target? which opportunity? what do I do if I miss?" and other panicky scenarios while also boosting the performance outside of Opportunity. The Tanker change was a little more nuanced as they started with a lot less damage (0.75 mod) and Bruising was a Band-Aid to help that, where Sentinels were made with Vulnerability from the start, on top of them having a direct near 1:1 competitor in Brutes, which is where their massive overhaul got it's roots in order to make them stand out more with a role. Sentinels are in a similar boat, though they don't have any direct 1:1 competitor... moreso everyone else specializes more than them at their role (which is fair), but then some setups also just outclass them given that. Being a "Debuff specialist" on top of self protection and decent blasting is something pretty unique. As for the unresistable debuffs, this already exists with the IO Procs that inflict -Res. These have the target apply a power to themselves and ignore other resists. Technically this would be like having a built-in Achilles Heel proc. Only if they perceive it 👀 Tbh though this is for flavor more than anything due to Stealth content being limited, would still be nice in some instances! Agreed, sustained AoE only matters if there are a bunch of bosses at once which is kind of rare. I think their role should be like a cavalry that bolters the roles of everyone else while also being effective solo. Marking targets and boosting themselves and the team as they attack is something fun and dynamic that many would enjoy!

As others have eloquently put, balance does indeed matter even in a co-op game like this in order to keep everything fun. I like this anecdote in particular: These are great comparisons of two different ways to solve the same problem but with different efficiency. In a single player game, the Mortar and Rocks are your lvl 1 gear you get from killing rats, and the Concrete is the high lvl gear from killing bright purple accursed rats from the 9th layer of heck. In that game the balance of the lvl 1 gear vs the high lvl gear is a moot point as you are expected to use the high lvl gear as you progress. If there is a particular high lvl gear that is broken and stomps everything, there is nothing stopping you from using that nor any guilt felt by the lvl 1 weapons for doing so. In a multiplayer game, if your friends all have low / mid level gear and you have the Prestige Concrete you're gonna outshine them pretty hard. In this example, they can all be expected to get that concrete too though at some point but at the moment it can be frustrating for them to be "Stuck" and unable to perform as well as you do with better gear no matter their skill. What sucks is when you are stuck with Rocks while somebody else has the Concrete. Say, Assault Rifle vs Fire Blast. No amount of slotting or player skill is going to make up the raw difference in effect between those two sets without Dev intervention for a variety of factors. Anything that is advisable to the AR character (get good, slot X, take Y pools) could also be done by the Fire character making it a moot point, and its not like the AR character can just swap to fire stats like changing gear or skills in other games. You're stuck with the rocks unless you reroll, and playing with other people who essentially do "your job" way better and you simply cannot match / compete it ruins the fun. When the fun is impacted is when Balance needs to be addressed, which is why we saw TW brought in (and side graded with a huge buff to endurance), and EM brought up. Other such changes will be necessary for the sets that are lagging behind or outclassed in order to preserve the fun.

Been thinking on this. While having a perk for defeating marked targets is something I think should be in there, would it be better if it was the current "hit a target and get some HP/End back" on marked targets instead?

The last bit with the harsh debuff is what I was going for. Icy Bastion exists and is probably just better Hibernate, but the power is already super cemented for Ice Armor on Tanks/Brutes and is a cool idea that just needs a little somethin somethin... Heck, even if it froze you + all enemies around you and left them incredibly slowed (Everyone hibernates!) it could be a neat addition.

Thinking on it more without bringing up the standard code rant, I'm not 100% sure how much effort would need to go into adding it to "all" powers, unless you mean all ST attacks? If so, not all sets have the same amount of ST and that can get kind of awkward. Having it on the 2 lvl 1 blasts and the lvl 6 blast is a bit more standardized and iirc all the lvl 6 blasts are used + you have to take one of the lvl 1s to start. Id imagine simply changing the "trigger" to make a mark on the powers that already have it would be easiest, and from there adding just 1 more power per set would be the next step before "anything marks". Id also prefer an attack over a seperate button to be quite honest as its about the same investment, even if its just your T1 you click it and after 1s can act again to make use of the mark. If its an issue of either attack missing, the tech to do autohit effects exists with TW and EM now.

Id rather it not be between the two buffs, nor they be super strong as it reinforces the root issues in the OP with the clunkiness and feast/famine. Changes should hit those two issues directly where it is a smooth experience and you're not just waiting to "be a real character" once Opportunity is up. Even Dominators are still pretty dang solid outside Domination.

I kind of dig it personally as it's a 2 for one haha, I like being able to inflict harsh effects on top of damage thematically 🙂 Looking into it more, every Sentinel set has a lvl 6 ST attack that could also trigger the mark if we say "the lvl 1 and lvl 6 blasts can all mark targets". A total side thought here, but what if you had a chance to just apply a mark at any time with any attack, but only 1 at a time? You'd always have a base (10%) chance that builds up as you build meter up to 100%, once you apply a mark it resets though.... its a start of something maybe 🤔

I mainly tried to just eyeball the common setup for each AT's ancilliaries and pair up what i think would fit from the available archery sets haha. I think ranged shot fits for a lot of ATs for the theme of using a bow for that one, special shot on a far off target, but otherwise it was just sort of ad lib tbh.

I edited the OP a bit to clarify, but the intent here is that there is just 1 opportunity mode, but with offensive and defensive aspects. You get both the damage procs and the sustain/heal on defeating marked targets at the same time instead of having to pick one or the other, you just get "Opportunity" at full meter. @Wavicle, while Corruptors do have a .75 mod to a Sentinel's .95, there is a lot that goes into it, mainly Scourge and multiplication. If we take Scourge just as-is, you can double that .75 to 1.5 every so often, let's be generous and say throughout an encounter about 1/3 of your attacks Scourge, that would end up with the Corruptor essentially dealing 1.0 damage scale. In "bigger" fights that ratio climbs up and up to somewhere near 50% of your hits or more. The kicker though is that Scourge is a seperate hit that interacts with damage buffs and resistance debuffs doubly, further boosting output in a way that Sentinels cannot as easily at the moment. Sure, it may take a moment longer for more "bursty" encounters, but beyond that the Corruptor (talking top end, there are exceptions like a /FF corr) pulls ahead. I had thought of this when coming up with this,, wanting to tie "offensive opportunity" to Aim but... dual pistols would not be able to use it. Tying to the T1/T2 makes the most sense still as everyone *needs* to take them. Perhaps also having the t3 or mez attack that all Sentinel blast sets have apply marks could help? The AoE comment is valid too where Sentinels have the same target caps as melee classes (except tanks). However the blast sets were more designed to cover huge areas.

@Quindorrian, Chilling Embrace is strong but not incredibly strong. For reference, Darkest Night on a Tanker has -30% damage on an AoE as well as -15% ToHit and that's free to take right now from the patron pools. Also, taking the base set into account it's not a massive increase as Ice does not naturally have strong resists outside of Cold damage, which is another reason I felt the need to do some tweaks. Anything not in debuff range still will hit you for (full damage) if able so there is still a dynamic there, but -Damage is a unique property that I feel like is not explored too much and would be helpful for team content as well for any stray hits or AoEs that may come at your allies.

Goal: Ice Armor is a solid set, but it has some flaws with it's ability to scale to harder content as well as a "Wasted" power budget with a HUGE amount of Cold Resistance that over-caps before slotting, as well as being a bit sketchy due to how rare Cold damage actually is (less than 2% of all damage from NPCs is Cold)! I think that the theme as an Armor set that has a specialty of debuffing enemies around you should be kept and emphasized, while also rounding out some of the rough bits of the design. Changes: Frozen Armor: Reduce the Cold resistance from 30% to 20% (Using Tanker numbers for ease on all these), but allow it to now slot Resistance Enhancements and Sets. This is sort of a meta buff with more slotting options, but it also allows you to beef up the fire res a bit which is much more common. Chilling Embrace: Simply buff the numbers here a scootch, from ~ -15% Dam/~ -30% Slow > -20% Dam/-40% Slow Permafrost: Add in 5% res to Smashing / Lethal / Energy / Negative / Toxic damage Icicles: Change the damage type to Cold, all other armors have "matching" types for their auras. On top of this, Icicles now applies a minor -Speed/Recharge debuff on enemies hit (something small like 7.5%) Glacial Armor: Remove the cold resistance entirely here. Instead, gain 8.5% defense to Fire/Cold damage. Energy Absorption: Add -Recharge/-Recovery/-Damage to all foes struck, similar to how Cold Dom powers "sap" heat. Example values: -10% Recharge/Slow, -5% Damage, -25% Recovery Hibernate (Tank/Brute only): Upon use, drops a pseudo-pet that casts Chilling Embrace 2.0 using the numbers above that slows down and softens up enemies for the team, as well as yourself when you end hibernation. This is meant to stack up once you pop out as your other toggles suppress while hibernating, making it have a more competitive use. Totals (Base values, full Energy Absorb): Current New Other Def 25 25 F/C Def 8 16.5 Cold Res 120 80 Fire Res 25 25 Other Res 0 5 -Rech -32 -57.5 -Dam -14 -25 -Rech Hibernate -32 -75 -Dam Hibernate -14 -45 The big changes here are to the Recharge/Slow as well as Damage Debuffs, especially if you pop Hibernate and stack those up with Chilling/Icicles/Energy Absorb! In either a solo or group setting, this is a unique method of defense that Cold Domination also deploys by stacking defense with slowed incoming DPS, meaning you take less hits on top of less hits being dished in a similar time frame, and if they do land they should hit for less. Not only does this work well for you, but for team mates as well which is an added perk that can help with tougher content as you stack your debuffs with others. The change to Icicles will also be a big boost as swapping damage types means a lot more enemies will take that much more damage over time. On top of the more meta tweaks to Frozen Armor and the addition of slow to a few powers if need be. On the whole the tweaks here are sort of minor but I feel they snowball into something more meaningful when you look at the grand scheme! -Galaxy Brain

As in the lower caps? I'm not sure, but they have even faster nukes than any other blast AT so it sorta evens out.

Just curious, do these timers stack to a total of 24 seconds, or do they get shorter and shorter? If the latter, on top of the needing full meter, I unfortunately see that as a downgrade 😞

Archery Mastery Surprised this hasn't been seen yet as it seems so basic for tons of concepts, mainly something I realized when playing Assassin's Creed and my guy is able to wield an Axe, Shield, and a Bow! This ancillary pool will be available to all AT's except for Blasters, Corruptors, and Defenders.... mainly because I didn't know what to put in at the moment that wouldn't be covered by Archery or Trick/Tactical arrow lol Scrapper / Stalker Snap Shot Ranged Shot Ice Arrow Explosive Arrow Poison Gas Arrow Tanker / Brute Blazing Arrow Glue Arrow Fistful of Arrows Explosive Arrow ESD Arrow Controller Aimed Shot Fistful of Arrows Gymnastics Ranged Shot Upshot Dominator Explosive Arrow Eagle Eye Gymnastics Ranged Shot Acid Arrow Mastermind Ranged Shot Gymnastics Explosive Arrow Fistful of Arrows Upshot Sentinel Glue Arrow Flash Arrow Ice Arrow Ranged Shot Disruption Arrow

@Wavicle, I saw your thread and figured we could consolidate here. I really like the idea of the ATO extending the opportunity timer!

On average, Scrappers cleared their rest in 5:29 vs Blasters at 5:59. There is some wiggle room though as Scrappers have 20 tested primaries vs Blasters' 13 primaries, and when testing I used /wp for the Scrapper for no added offense.... but likewise /elec on the blasters with only the Damage Aura sustain toggle running (and build up) to isolate the primary. Fire Blast was the fastest among both ATs, but the 2nd fastest Blaster set (Beam Rifle) was slower than the top 8 scrapper sets. Taking out secondary damage likely hurt blasters, but this was also meant to test just the blasts, not "blasters" if that makes sense. In my opinion though, it shows two things. One, I feel Melee sets are much more coherently designed than Blast sets with how the whole package works on combat. Blast sets often have odd ranges (different cones you gotta line up, rains) or situational powers (nukes tbh) where Melee mostly can just jump in and spin like the Tasmanian devil in a mob lol. Two, the test im comparing was at x3 size, which may have favored scrappers *slightly* as the target saturation was not always that huge to take advantage of the blast set's higher target caps... but then its also a question of if the blaster would have been able to solo that many targets.

@Hyperstrike, tanking 1 mez =/= mez immune.