n00baka

I honestly made a Grav / Storm controller way back in the day specifically because Grav had no protection from Knockback. I honestly can say I liked the feature and it was the entire point of the combination for me. I like having at lease a couple sets different from each other because it allows variety in gameplay.

Seconded Shoot, I think I like this idea more then I want to admit.

I don't really feel like it needs to go that far. Reducing KB to KD by default would be my ideal solution. Followed by possibly adjusting the KB Set IOs to mostly follow a 'standard' slotting of the universal damage IOs, just with the KB boosting added as an extra effect all together. I think someone in this thread (or another, I'm not sure) mentioned that Knockback doesn't play well with other aspects of the game that want things bunched up. AoEs, placed powers, certain debuffing toggles, etc all want the enemies together, and Knockback kind of makes it hard to keep that happening. It's especially true for melee ATs that really just want things close. And I absolutely sympathize with both sides, I really do! I get how KB makes powers feel more powerful, and I get how gameplay is affected by the ability. I think the best of both worlds is to have a way for Knockback to be consistent, expected, and planned for as opposed to random. I don't think every power that currently has a percentile KB chance should be made 100% across the board, but I do feel like having KB and KD be a percentile chance from the beginning was a mistake.

I've always thought the whole Endurance system for NPCs could use an overhaul. They have too much endurance for too few attacks that use too little endurance each anyway. I have no idea what a viable fix would be, but I've always wanted something less binary. Something where their more damaging or AoE attacks require an amount of endurance that could actually be stalled out, while still allowing smaller attacks through. Kind of the -Recovery version of -Recharge.

I don't really have a dog in this fight personally, but I feel like the original reasoning for having most Immobilizes contain some anti-Knockback measures is because Immobilize and KB together is kind of a poor man's Hold. I'm not personally opposed to discussing if it is still a viable option, or if it's current status should be maintained. But I do think it's important to consider WHY the developers originally set something like that up and placed a restriction that makes playing harder.

I did a little digging, because I remembered picking Gravity to pair with Storm specifically so I could knock foes down while Immobilizing them and this is what I found: Gravity Control: Crush Fire Control: Ring of Fire Specifically, Gravity Control doesn't have the -Knockback, while Ring of Fire does. But for most powers, it is pretty standard for the Immobilize to have -Knockback.

That is an oddly specific example of what you want, but I'm impressed with the effort you put in to make it look just right for the forums! Personally I would have gone with 'Rouge Entertainment', but to each their own! I know hoping for controversial discussion on this topic is probably a bit too much, but I'd gladly welcome any opinion you, or others, might have on it.

Not that I've seen. I tend to load them all into the same power (usually the heavy hitting one, for obvious reasons) because I use them for the Dmg /Rech, and not the Procs. The Procs are nice, mind you, especially when you don't expect them. But still, I consider those "free damage" and don't worry about it. Though I can see the merit to slotting them in the fastest recharging attack and spamming for Procs in the early levels, but as you get better attacks with higher damage then the Procs can give, I would think it's better to slot for the Dmg / Rech.

As you level up, your characters gain access to Titles from the Trainers. Suddenly "The School Teacher" can become "The Amazing School Teacher". And while I love the many options and combinations available to all Heroes, Villains, and Praetorians, I'd like something more. I'm greedy. I'd like to have a text box option where I can add my own, custom, titles. I assume these would come with a certain character limit, both in how many characters and which characters can be used. I would also assume they would fall under the same scrutiny as names: no profane, obscene, or hateful, etc, etc. This all comes with the standard, "I have no idea how to code, but have the idea that it's very, very hard" disclaimer, so take this as the wishful thinking it really is.

So, I'm not a huge fan of the proposed changes in the OP. The first suggestion just strikes me as someone who doesn't like Knockback / Knockdown. And that's fine. I can sympathize with that line of thinking myself. Granted, when it comes to the Warshade / Peacebringer ATs, I tend to want their KB to be more consistent across the attack. A higher percentage then what's already there, especially with the AoEs in Nova form as when I hit a group with either power. I'd like them all to stay in a group, even if that means them flying together like the Mighty Ducks. But that's my opinion, and it obviously differs from the OP's. So while I personally wouldn't support the idea based solely on personal taste, I also am a bit wary due to the OP's use of personally inferred thematic opinion. By that, I mean the idea that because some Warshade abilities are themed around gravity, that the Peacebringer must be themed around anti-gravity. Nothing in any of the mission lore I've read, or game lore I've seen, supports that. Everything seems to indicate they used a form of energy blast for their attacks, which in this game is usually flavored with Knockback / Knockdown. Warshades also have this applied to them, because despite some abilities having a gravity flavor (usually their control abilities) their attacks are also styled around energy blasts. Just with Negative damage instead of Energy. With all that said, I'd like to suggest being careful with using the flavor of a set or ability or power to justify game play changes. I say this mostly because game play tends to be less flexible with what you can do with it compared to how easily it can be justified with flavor. I'm not saying 'flavor should never dictate game play', but that it shouldn't be the initial justification for it, let alone the only one. All that said, reducing the Knockback strength to the realm of Knockdown would be ideal for me, though I know not everyone likes that. Let's move on to the second suggestion. I get WHY you would want to compare Peacebringers and Warshades, but I think it's a little questionable. For starters, the two ATs have fairly different play styles because of their differences in both what powers are available and their strengths. It would be like comparing a Soldier of Arachnos to a Fortunata just because they both happen to be villainous EATs. It might be better to compare Pulsar to Thunderclap from the Corruptor, Defender, Controller, or Mastermind Storm Summoning sets. That would give you a better baseline as what's expected of this power as both have very similar functions. For the Defender, the ability is obviously going to be cheaper and last longer, but it also casts faster, has a larger radius, and affects more enemies. But Pulsar has that 50% chance for a higher Mag, so that's something. The Corruptor version is interestingly very similar to the Defender version, but lasts significantly less time. Again, it also costs less endurance, casts slightly faster, and affects more foes. With those comparisons in mind, I'd counter-propose that Pulsar simply needs an increase in the number of foes it can hit as well as an increase its radius. I don't think the Mag needs adjusting, and while the endurance certainly could be looked at, I'm not sold that the power needs a complete overhaul. I would like to hear other people's thoughts on these subjects though, because while I certainly don't think the Peacebringer design is "gimped", I liked the discussion.

My leveling system is, and always has been since IOs, to use what ever drops until level 22, then craft as many Acc IOs as needed. From then on, any drops get sold (except for the salvage I need for what IOS I’m planning on crafting) and only build lvl25 IOS until the mid 40s. Then I start crafting and saving lvl50s and set IOs to replace my 25s. Once I’m ready to replace the lvl25s, I preform a respec to fix / polish up my build and remove all the IOs and save them in the SG storage for future characters to use. It’s tough to get that initial character to 50 and crafter because I had been so used to bank rolling. But by running TFs (hitting as many different ones as possible each day for the merits) I managed to get both full sets of the Kheldisn’s Set IOs, either through purchase in the market or flat out buying from merits. So I’d say that running TFs of every level you can for merits is the best option, then either using that to buy what you want flat out, or converting them to a marketable currency. Worst case scenario, halt your Exp gain and run missions on teams or TFs or do Ouroboros stuff.

Having never experienced this myself, I support the idea 100%. If it’s not possible to skip the mission (and even if it is, new players in the tutorial shouldn’t have to do that), the fact that a single player can wipe out all of the Broken Clockwork and leave those just behind unable to complete the tutorial in a timely fashion is wonky at best.

Not nessecarily. If we look at the Origin powers each player gets at creation, I envision this idea being like that. You still get it automatically, but if you don’t like it, then on a per character basis you can change it. Now it’s not a perfect comparison, but shows that it’s possible to have an option that’s automatic, but still be altered. What I want is just the option of saying, ‘for each new character, give them x, y, and c, but not z or a’. That way, for the majority of the time, I have a general set up. And of course should I make a character where ‘a’ is more in line, a quick run at the start can make the alteration for me, taking generally less time overall. I would like to reiterate that the idea isn’t to force this account wide selection in every player. Simply have it an option for those who find they pick the same handful of things on each alt. And being both optional and not the default setting, this allows players who want to customize each character every time they make one the ability to continue to do so.

I would like for the option to have the various Epic ATs available to both sides from the start. It is worth noting that it would completely lockout their AT story arcs, as they are quite specifically on a ‘this side only’ availability at the moment. I’m not discounting the idea based on that, I just feel that it is a point to consider.

I mean, other then the option already on the P2W Vendor that can remove those and allow you pick the other one, you’re absolutely right. Perhaps I didn’t explain it completely, but I don’t see why it has to be locked once picked. I didn’t explain it as being locked, and even mentioned keeping the current options of allowing free alterations on a per character basis as currently exists. Edit: I just feel that a slightly more streamlined feature of many of these power ups could be done. Though it will admit that I personally am grateful I don’t have to have all the prestige sprints on each character any more. And if maintaining the status quo is the price to not have those automatically loaded on every character, I’ll take it.

This really is just a minor QoL change for me, but it’s something I’ve wanted to mention. If it’s possible, I’d like for some of the P2W Vendor purchases to be made available as an account wide option. Things such as which origin power, which staff, prestige sprints, and even the Enhancements. Really, just the currently free options. I can understand having the option cost Influence as a money sink when activated or adjusted, but could still allow individual changes on a per character basis to remain free as it currently is. This is really a personal desire for myself and those who suffer (enjoy?) altitis.

Would a focus on "softer" control be a better option? Knockback, Fear, Immobilize. I agree that a shorter duration is a great idea, especially with AoE effects. Alternatively, making the damaging abilities separate from the controlling ones, or at least making the soft control abilities the only source of damage. I love the idea of an Endurance reduction Inherent.

I think I read someplace that having multiple powers activate in the same macro / bind is a timing thing. This is from memory from pre-shutdown, so forgive me for not being 100%, but I think if you press down, the first one triggers, and when you release, the second one would. Meaning the best way to do it, is to hold the button just a little until the first power finishes activating. It's been a LONG time though, so I really don't remember well. I just remember not liking the "toggleoff Dark Nova" mixed with "toggleon Shadow Cloak" bind, and just made a bind to turn off both Dwarf and Nova and switch trays, and have another button all together now that turns on Shadow Cloak. Besides, I don't ALWAYS want to turn into a purple mist when changing forms. Just some of the time.

Now this I also like a lot. I'm envisioning the secondary as a bit of a mix between Blaster Secondaries and Controller Primaries. A couple higher damaging Melee range control, some PBAoE, and any ranged control powers with a shorter range (think just inside the standard mob's aggro range, so to control effectively, you have to be close to the fight). This would put the player in enough danger to justify the Defensive Primary, while still allowing slotting for a safer play style. I'd probably want any targeted AoE style control to be PBAoE, and Cones would have a shorter, but wider, variation. The Inherent is something I'm torn on for this potential AT. My first instinct is something like a Fury bar that builds up based on the number of controlled enemies. The more enemies you have controlled, the higher your damage. But being a Defensive Primary, I'd almost want something that boosts the survival of the AT, but I'm not particularly fond of that. As far as mental exercises go, I rather like this "what if I made an AT" game.

I like the idea of having different LFG channels, but feel that it might be a bit unnecessary. My first instinct is to have one for Blue, one for Red, And one for Gold, with the default having all three running. But it feels cluttered enough with the number of possible channels available. Honestly, I’m on the fence. Not because I don’t think it’s interesting, but because I don’t know if it’s worth the time?

Agreed. I want a Titan Weapon / Storm! There are plenty of combinations I’d rather see over Defense / Ranged Dmg.

I was in my early 20's and in the US Army, single, and living in Hawai'i when I first started playing this game. Now I'm older (of course), have been with my significant other for 10 years, and work as an overnight baker doing a job I love. Life is fun and leads you all over in places you wouldn't have guessed.

My personal opinion has always been that Auras could stand to be level locked, though to what point is open to negotiation with me. Capes have felt like something that should be open at level 1 for basic capes / patterns, but have the more advanced or desirable patterns and capes level locked, again open to negotiation on what level to unlock. This isn’t born from any logic, or based on any lore (though the old in game lore was nice, having to earn the right to wear a cape in honor of the sacrifice of Hero 1). So honestly I would never call for a change to the current system. But I wouldn’t object either. I just insert my own personal level lock for capes and auras. I’ll always save capes for the second or third costume, and auras for when I’ve gotten a good feel of how the powers look and play. I don’t think anything has really been lost, but I don’t think anything has been gained. Other then the ability to complete a look sooner.

The idea of KSing has never bothered me in this game either. I other MMOs I’ve played, it did. Mostly those feelings were due to how the rewards were handed out, and mostly because I play Solo for a long time before teaming up so I can be sure I have the basics down rather than burdening others in the game with my horrible plays. CoH has always felt like they hit the nail on the head with the KSing problem, in that it doesn’t exist. I’d be happy to hear concerns about it though. If nothing else, we can all agree that some players feel it is a problem. I certainly don’t mind hearing their perspective as to why it’s a problem for them because if it’s something that makes they’re gameplay less enjoyable, maybe we can provide some help. Even if that help is only a reminder about communicating in this MMO.

This is just my personal $.02, so don’t be afraid to take it with a grain of salt. I played the Kheldians back when they were introduced. They were marketed as being ‘Advanced’, and so needed players to reach a certain level of skill to play. The Devs chose level 50, and I made several that first day. My main became a Warshade and I’ve never looked back since. Even now I play a Warshade as my main on these servers. At some point the Devs dropped the level requirement for the Epic ATs. I don’t remember when, or to what, and it doesn’t really matter to me personally. I remember feeling a little cheated. Not a lot, mind you, because I knew they had over sold the complexity of the AT. It wasn’t harder, just different. Like learning to play a Tanker for the first time after only playing a Controller. And that brings me to today. This time the level required was brought to zero. I was grateful, mostly because I could hop in and make a Warshade without going through the hassle (and yes, it would have felt like a hassle as I did it) of leveling something, anything, back to 50 first. The reason I mention all this is because the Epic ATs were never as complex as the Developers thought. They are different from other ATs, but that’s not unique. All the ATs play differently from each other, each with some overlap with another. And new players, much like veterans, will learn by playing. I had no idea what to expect from the Peacebringer when I first made one, and it was only by leveling one that I realized how it worked and why it played differently from my Warshade or Controller. I may have had the benefit of knowledge from playing my other characters first, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have figured it out through play first, or if I had played different ATs first it would have made a difference. I look back and realize why the Devs did what they did, and while I know you’re not advocating returning to a level 50 requirement, I don’t feel that any level requirement is needed for a player, old or new, to learn on one of the Epic ATs. The only change I would encourage, is giving players the option to do the Tutorial with their Epic ATs. That, I feel, might be a better solution.