UltraAlt

Is the question 1) What would be the most efficient way to obtain and accumulate reward merits red side, solo? 5) How do I get merits reside -solo - as quickly as possible? 3) How do I get merits redside - solo - without any effort on my part? The most efficient way to obtain and accumulate reward merits - solo - (whichever side you are on) is over time through marketing to make profits and turning profits into card packs. I agree full well there are players that don't want to take the time to do what they need to do in order to reach their goals and/or don't have patience enough to play City of Heroes for the long run. I do not see the number to be in abundance nor do I see it as a "stage" of the game. It is only a "stage" that those players have reached. The OP doesn't even indicate why they want merits? What do they want to spend merits on/what will they achieve by having merits? I'm not sure why it is considered a privilege. It took me a long time to obtain it and probably millions of clicks. It wasn't like the merits were gifted to me (maybe a card pack or two along the way - but that was long since paid back multiple times by card packs that I have given away through one mode or another).

Doesn't seem too overpowered on face value, but I think some people might think that the + regen is a bit high, but it would turn off pretty quickly if it has time to heal you ..... and below 25% really it would only have time to make much of a difference if you ran off from the enemies or had someone else pull your agro for 10-20 seconds.

Work the market and buy card packs. I don't use merits much because I can generally buy what I want on the markets with inf. Currently, in "Character items" from card packs, I have 1133 "25x Reward Merit (Salvage)", so 28,325 reward merits that I can pull out of "character items" on any character when I might need it. So yeah, I say work the market and by carc packs if you want merits ... even if it turns out that you don't need the merits because you're working the market.

Yeah. I thought this was a really great mini-series as well. I picked it up on the rack (well, as soon as I saw issue 1 or 2, I put it on my subscription list... so out of my subscription box at a local comic book store). It looked cool at the time, and it was a fun run.

I get eye pain from the all white ice powers (and people that just decide to make their character all white or glowing white and/or make all the powers white - which I can see to do for no other reason that to be annoying to other players ... to be frankly honest) as well. Here is what I have found works best for me. /macro fx0 "noparticles 1" /macro fx1 "noparticles 0" The command is noparticles so 1 means no particles; and 0 means "yes" to particles. This sounds backwards to me, and that's why my macros are fx0 (particles off) and fx1 (particles on). When you click on the /macro fx0 "noparticles 1" button in your tray, it will immediately take effect. When you click on the /macro fx1 "noparticles 0" button in your try, it will partially restore the FX, but FX won't be entirely restored until you zone. It is completely to my advantage to use this macros and I have them on all my characters. I used to have to leave teams due to people that used way to much white in their character and/or power set. Since using these macros, I'm not sure that I have had to leave any teams over the excessive whiteness issue. And for those of you that like white powers, if you put a little light blue in there ... that really helps cut down the eye pain for those of us that have an issue with the "blinding" white powers.

There are no real items unless you count the P2W powers from the P2W vendor, but none of those are snipes. You can use ranged enhancements on most ranged powers, but it is really better to go for +range from IO set bonuses in both the ranged attack and snipe sets. If you are going for range and high hitting power then you want to go with a blaster. Of course, Assault rifle as close as you can get to a sniper's rifle in City of Heroes. (https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Assault_Rifle#Sniper_Rifle) I would go with Assault rifle and devices or ninja training. Both have a stealth power. Ninja training's stealth power actually gives you a bonus to damage first attack coming out of being invisible, and that should be your sniper shot/snipe to maximize damage. (Shinobi - https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Ninja_Training#Shinobi) Devices (instead of Ninja Training) gives you caltrops that you can throw down to slow down enemies so you can pick them off and can get a targeting drone and smoke grenades in devices as well. And Field Operative (https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Devices#Field_Operative) is great to make sure you don't run out of endurance if you slot a couple of End Mods and Performance Shifter: Chance for + End proc in it (as well as in Stamina after 3 slotting it with end mods) I have a Punisher-Tribute character that is Assault Rifle/Devices and that works well for me. For me, I like to make sure I hit and, even if an attack power doesn't need it, I put 2 acc or 2 acc worth of accuracy bonus (from set IOs and their bonuses). There are some IO set bonuses that will buff the damage of all your attacks as well. There are diminishing returns after putting 3 of any one kind of enhancement into a power, but I try to put 2 or 3 damage enhances into my snipe power on any character I make with a snipe. That should be a good start at least. have fun.

@SleepyCatten Someone just happened to post this. I'm not sure if it will help, but it's more game controller stuff.

@SleepyCatten I've managed to do it with a Logitech Controller/Gamepad that looks like a PS2 controller, but I haven't tried to do it with XBox controller. Some people have asked how to do it, but I haven't heard back that they were successful. The reason you can do it with the Logitech Controller/gamepad is that you can put it into a mode that makes the computer think it is a keyboard and then assign keystrokes to the buttons and sticks.

Like all knockback, it is a matter of how you use it. If you are fighting a single target, you could use your other melee powers, and then KI push them and follow up with your ranged attacks. If you are fighting multiple targets, you could use it to knock one back with Ki push and then fight the remaining ones that are close with melee attacks. Personally, I like to use Ki Push to throw enemies into walls and especially corners, use my other melee attacks until they start to stand up, then Ki push them again and repeat. Stick a Blistering Cold: Recharge/Chance for Hold in Ki Push and you might even hit them with a hold as well.

So going with the basic framework that I was suggesting, below is for a Martial Arts/Martial Arts swashbuckler Primary - Melee - Martial Arts T1 - KI-push -Medium damage/recharge melee Attack + Knockback T2 - Focused Fighting - Melee attack Defense +RES (confuse, defense debuff) T3 - Dragon's Tail - PBAoE Medium damage/recharge attack T4 - Practiced Brawler - click -Mez resistance power T5 - Crane Kick - High/medium recharge melee attack T6 - Dodge - Auto - melee Defense + RES (All DMG, Defense Debuff, Special) T7 - Inner Will - Self heal + Special T8 - Stalwart Will - Self Rez T9 - Fist of Fury - PBAoE - Extreme damage - long recharge/high end cost - probably with exhaustion effect (unable to gain endurance for a set length of time) aka "berserk") Secondary - Ranged - Martial Arts T1 - Shuriken Throw - medium DMG(Lethal) + sleep - 40 foot range T2 - Focused Senses - toggle - Ranged attack Defense + RES (defense debuff) + perception T3 - Trick Shot - Ranged (Chain), Moderate DMG (Lethal) - 30 foot range with set based FX T4 - Evasion - Toggle - Self +DEF(vs. AoE), +Res(DEF Debuff) T5 - Focus Chi - +DMG, +To-Hit T6 - Reaction Time - Toggle - PBAoE, Self Absorb over Time, +Recovery, Foe –Rech, -Move, Special T7 - Warrior's Challenge - Ranged, Foe Taunt T8 - Elude - Self +DEF, +Res(DEF Debuff), +Rec, +SPD, +Special (tone down as not a T9) T9 - Masterful Throw - Sniper, Extreme DMG(Lethal), Foe -To Hit - range 50-60 feet

The one for smashing I use for as long as I have a character. It goes to the far right of my enhancement tray 7. I get this weird glitch sometimes when my trays shut down and I only have access to the ones that have enhancements in them at that point. Puting that smashing prestige IO in tray 7 in the farthest slot on the right stops that from happening, and it can't get thrown into the auction house by accident - seriously, I have started using that one for that purpose. The lethal one is the next less useful one. I tend to slot the Psi damage first. The knock down goes in an AoE or cone attack. The Energy damage goes in another attack as slotting allows. I don't always use them because, on some character, the slotting is more useful elsewhere and I don't have any more than my standard 2 acc in each attack power.

The words do look the same if you look at them from a certain angle.

Check out what is on his right hip. I admit I had to dig a bit to find pictures that clearly show him using a pistol. The marvel action figure another company's John Carter action figure .... onto Errol Flynn Pirate prop pistol from "Captain Blood" Agreed. yeah, sorry. I was lumping Confront in with the Tanker Taunt and shouldn't have (even though they both do take Threat (taunt/pacify) enhances if I remember correctly) I did put that in on my list of Secondary Powers that I thought would work for the AT. I put it in the secondary as the primary was was already filling up with armor stuff and I wanted to make sure that the Primary had a decent amount of attacks in it. My listings are generic while yours seem to be set based by the way it was written. That's why I didn't name anything in my listings and simply the powers types - to keep it generic. Of course, powers usually shuffle around in the various power sets of any AT. It has 4 primary set melee attacks and 4 secondary set attacks. It includes and PBAoE nuke in the primary and a snipe in the secondary. Secondary includes a ranged immobilize and the PBAoE damage field. The primary a cone and the secondary an AoE. Rounding out with the standard Melee defense/resist powers types, a self heal, a self rez, and a mez protection power. It's your idea. I'm just giving input for the discussion. Yeah, seems like playstyles within the AT set. Stalkers tend to play in one of those two modes.

You are doing a good job of "running" the unofficial weekly discussions. I'm not trying to step on your toes. I don't use the CoH Discord, so I'm out of that loop as well.

now I'm onto what the AT innate power would be. To go with the Swashbuckling theme, I would think that a get-away power when the character is in trouble would be a good thing. Like once the character go below 25% HP the innate power triggers with works as a breakfree, +run, +jump, and +fly until the character has more than 25% HP. If you already have the Mez resistance power, this would still automatically trigger - if say that was still recharging or you were in mid combat and didn't have time to trigger it. I'm still trying to narrow in. I'm seeing a pirate boarding a ship. They maybe shot an opponent or two on the riggings and jump aboard the target ship. They pull out their swords and fights in melee range, and pull out their pistol(s) from time to time to shot someone is farther away. -or- Indiana Jones just fails with the whip and pulls out a pistol and shoots the guy. Most of the time he is fisticuffs or the whip, but, nonetheless, - always has access to the ranged pistol attacks. To me, Batman is primarily boxing/martial arts and mainly just uses the batarangs for ranged attacks (be that simply hitting opponents with them or spreading knockout gas and the batarangs being of various sizes [and, of course, use as a grappling/entangling item]). I'm thinking John Carter Warlord of Mars, The Three Musketeers, Errol Flynn in Pirate movies (or even Robin Hood - he does pull out a sword in parts of that), etc. So when you do a melee attack it can combo into a ranged attack? (do increase damage, some kind of fx, or maybe increase the range of the ranged attack?) Hmmm. I don't think we really have "get over here" powers other than the taunts. That would be kind of interesting to do a melee attack and then the range attack gains a taunt component that makes the enemy hit need to move into melee range in order to fight your character. Which would mean that if hit them with an entangle/immobilize and they are out of melee range, they wouldn't be able to attack your character until your character moved into their melee range or they were free of the entangle/immobilize.

From the game-meta, armor and ranged attacks have only really had a mix with Sentinels - and that leaves them out on the third aspect, which is the melee attacks. It's a rock-paper-scissors kind of thing, but you get to pick 2. I would also think that the Swashbuckler AT would have higher HP base than squishes based on my understanding of your target is at this point.

@Rudra but I still might me misunderstanding what your actual goal is. I'm reading it like you wanted a reverse blaster, which to me is a melee character with blaster secondary powers and melee class type armor/protection, but I maybe confused still about your actual target.

Yep. I know, but to me. you were talking about it like power sets versus an AT. I agree. I did say that. I'm trying to work with you on this and making suggestions on what you indicated. That isn't to say that I don't think adding the armor in is a bit of out of balance, but I made a closing statement in regard to that (I did update my post a couple of times and you may have responded before I had edited it a couple of times - but the basics of it were all in there when I originally posted). I'm shifting my viewpoint to try to fit your paradigm at this point. My initial posts were based on the way things are currently set-up in the game (balance-wise) and my understanding at that point of what you were suggesting.

Okay. I'm going to take a ground up approach on this. I don't think what you are suggesting is power sets. It looks like to me to be an entire new AT. With a name like Swashbuckling and what is suggested, what comes to mind to me is a character with dual swords primary and dual pistols secondary, but it could be a mix of which ever melee and ranged sets that already exist. Character uses an axe and throws ice attacks at people? Great! Character that fights with melee fire attacks and throws ranged fire attacks? Great! Want to make a martial arts/electrical? that can work too in the comics/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy genre that City of Heroes has become. Primary is Melee. Secondary is ranged. This is based on being able to have access to a pick of a melee weapon type for primary and a blast type for secondary. Primary - Melee T1 - Medium damage/recharge melee Attack T2 - Melee attack Defense or Resistance power (toggle power w/ +special resist based on type of power [ice, street fighting, dual blades, etc.) T3 - Cone Medium damage/recharge attack T4 - Mez resistance power T5 - High/medium recharge melee attack T6- Defense or Resistance power all but ? (auto power but not as strong as the T2 power) T7 - Self heal T8 - Self Rez T9 - PBAoE - Extreme damage - long recharge/high end cost - probably with exhaustion effect (unable to gain endurance for a set length of time) aka "berserk") Secondary - Ranged T1 - medium damage/recharge ranged immobilize attack 40 foot range (can be enhanced) [Base range limited as to not interfere with other primarily "range" attack classes and to make up for the Armor component.) T2 - Ranged attack Defense or Resistance power (toggle - maybe all but ?) T3 - medium damage/recharge ranged AoE attack - 30 foot range with set based FX T4 - AoE defense or resistance Power T5 - Build up (have this boost perception as well as +damage and + to hit) T6 - PBAoE aura attack light damage with set based FX T7 - Confront/Challenge T8 - Click short-time defense or resistance versus all (maybe "all but?' depending on set) w/ high end cost. T9 - Extreme damage Snipe - range 50-60 feet *"all but ?" = except toxic, except psionic, etc <- which is related to that type of power set in the other ATs. Should your character need to change weapons for use of Primaries versus secondarys? Should you use the secondary ranged weapon for melee attacks (like Green Arrow melee fighting with his bow at close range or pistol-whipping, hitting enemies with the butt of your assault rifle, etc.)? There would need to be a lot of balancing on endurance costs, recharge times, damage and defense-or-resistance levels. but I think that crams all the kind things you are looking for into an AT. It allows for the melee attacks, ranged attacks, and armor protection that one would commonly expect in a melee character (melee, ranged, AoE, all, and mez protection). It might seem a little light on attacks, but one can gain more of those from the power pools or P2W powers.

By some of this week's posts it looks like a discussion of Discord might be popular, but you should probably put a link to it on the CoH Discord channel.

Yeah, I know. I need more information before I can help you. One of the main obstacles I can see is the want for Melee attacks, Ranged Attacks, and "armor" in this Archetype. In general, we only get 2 of these in a set. So say we blend armor aspects into both the Primary and Secondary. I"m assuming that the Primary is Scrapper and the secondary part is the secondary blaster part? is that correct? You want to say make a Martial arts (Screapper set)/Martial Arts (Blaster secondary) but with armor mixed into both the primary and secondary sets? Is that correct? I think you see where I'm needing more information from you before I can continue.

Yeah. I think you need to think this one out some more and take game balance into account. No reason not to type it out in the forums as you progress the idea and build on the concept.

Eris is not pleased.