Peacemoon

Try the LFG channel, I get almost all my teams from there 🙂

These powers teleport you from wherever you are standing to directly outside the mission door. So it means you can skip middle steps (like Ouroboros or SG base etc) and just have one zoning screen to land directly at the mission door. Assemble the team just let’s you catch up if someone kindly uses it to jump you to the mission door. Its not a fix of course but just trying to suggest ingame tools that might mitigates and help the OP. I would als try reducing world detail, as that use to help me with loading times on my old pc.

It occurred to me far later than it probably should have that I should just be able to click ‘top floor’ at the first elevator I come to...

I think the hasten issue is something we’ve argued to death. It is as clear as the sky is blue that it’s very powerful and far above a lot of other picks, with a benefit that can’t be replicated elsewhere. All I would say to it now is changing hasten is not really something you would do on cold empirical evidence. You have to factor in how much of a staple to CoH it is now. It’s been that way since launch. I think @Rathulfr’s suggestion is a long the right lines. I.e. not so much nerfing it’s effectiveness but just spreading out the bonus a bit so it’s not all centred in one power pool pick.

Does that mean we could play Dominators without the need to create ultra complex scripts and macros to make Hasten and Dom both autofire? 😆

Well, to be honest I’m not a very mathematical poster, it’s not really a strength that I bring to a discussion so I stick to what I am good at (I’ll leave it for others to decide whether I bring anything else of value!) I added some numbers to the post because I think it’s pretty evident even at face value, that the power pool attacks are not worth it, which is why they are rarely ever taken, and usually when they are taken it’s more thematic reasons than gameplay. I think it’s unfair to say I’m just ‘wanting M0R3’ - I thought I wrote up a fair analysis. Also to highlight again that power pool attacks should be competitive choices and at the moment they clearly aren’t. Their damage is too low. Their recharge is too fast. They rarely bring anything else to the table. It’s alright saying they should be weaker than primary and secondary set powers, but power pool attacks are in direct competition with them (and other powers) when it comes to deciding whether to take them or not. So if they are weaker, what is it they’re supposed to bring to the table? So again, either turn them into proper attacks that do respectable damage and have longer recharged, or give them some other advantages so they can be woven into an attack chain to provide some benefit. Not only are power pool attacks inferior to primary/secondary attacks, which every AT has plenty of, but even when it comes to unlocking the ‘requires 2 powers to select’ - are you going to take Combat Jumping or Jump Kick? Flurry or Hasten? Arcane Bolt is actually the closest to a decent attack, and the one you see taken by players the most because of that.

Oh of course, just trying to unpick the problems and group them up together in common ‘themes’. Presence, Concealment and Medicine have a different set of problems. I posted some ideas about Concealment on page 2, but I’m not sure about Presence or Medicine. Medicine’s Aid Self is problematic because if it were too good everyone would take it as a no brainier. And there are PvP concerns too. I’m not sure where the sweet spot for Aid Self would be. You could take it off the interrupt but give it a 30 second cooldown which can’t be reduced. You could make it +regen rather than +heal in PvP. You could make it a 10 second heal over time rather than one big heal to again make it useful but less instantly powerful. A combination of the above? There is a reason why Aid Self is so hard to balance but some of the above suggestions could put it in that sweet spot where it is useful but not overpowered.

I mentioned earlier in the thread but the whole concept of power pool attacks needs to be rethought. Either they should do respectable damage or offer some other perks. Boxing and Kick do at least increase the damage of Cross Punch, but how many would take them if they weren’t required to gain access to the good stuff? With so many fun powers in the game, I always consider it tragic when people have to choose a bad power to get to a good one. It’s very bad for the player experience. If Tough/Weave as innate would be overpowered (I would make them passives if baseline not toggles), than perhaps we can at least be able to access Tough, and then Weave, without having to take Boxing or Kick. Going back to Power Pool Attacks, let’s compare their damage on a Defender with the T2 energy blast attack, available from a Defender’s secondary at level 2. (Values taken from Mids). Power Blast: 59.28 damage. 8s recharge. 80 range. Boxing: 23.25 damage. 2.5s recharge. Melee. Kick: 25.69 damage. 3s recharge. Melee. Cross Punch 38.84 damage. 8s recharge. Melee Cone. [Requires 2 powers to select] Special - each power gives +15% damage to the other two in the set. Air Superiority: 30.59 damage. 4s recharge. Melee. 100% knockup chance. Project Will: 46.12 damage. 5s recharge. 80 range. 25% knockdown chance. Wall of Force: 25.64 damage. 10s recharge. 40 range cone. 33% knockdown chance. [Requires 2 powers to unlock] Jump Kick: 30.59 damage. 2.8s recharge. Melee. 20% knockup chance. Spring Attack: [No numbers on damage]. 2min recharge. 60 ranged teleport. 66% knockdown chance. [Requires 2 powers to unlock] Arcane Bolt: 53.5 damage. 7s recharge. 80 range. 25% knockback chance. Flurry: 34.99 damage. 3s recharge. Melee. 20% MAG2 stun. Toxic Dart: 46.99 damage. 6s recharge. 80 range. Corrosice Vial: According to the forum (and in-game experience) this power is bugged and not doing hardly any damage. [Requires 2 powers to unlock]. So from these numbers, I think the problem and the answers are staring us in the face. Every AT, with maybe the exception of some Controllers and MMs, have better attacks in their primary and secondary. Power Pool attacks are not required as part of a good attack chain, and rarely provide any other advantage (air superiority’s guaranteed knockup being one of the only ones). As such, I think the consensus is to avoid them wherever possible as they serve no real purpose. Two solution paths I see: 1. Simply make them proper attacks. Up their damage so they are at least comparable to a T2 blast, and up their recharge as they don’t need 2/3/4s recharges. No one should be using a single power pool attack that frequently! (Exception to Boxing and Kick potentially...) Even at these numbers there is the added disadvantage of requiring melee range for the majority of attacks, where that is not preferable for a lot of ATs. 2. Or, have the power pool attacks give themed buff for 10 seconds based on the the pool they come from. This would also mean upping the recharge as above. Examples: Flurry increases movement speed, and recharge for 10 seconds. Jump Kick increases jump height and speed and recharge. Air Superiority increases flight speed and defence. Values don’t need to be too high. Like 10% recharge and 2% defence. Anyway specifics could be thought up by people.. this is just a starting idea. Hope this helps illustrate why at least numerically speaking, power pool attacks are in a bad place (generally speaking).

I think concealment would be great if characters could get a sneak attack bonus for attacking out of concealment’s stealth. Not free with stealth, but an extra bonus on taking more concealment powers, like how fighting works with Boxing, Kick and Cross Punch. So trying to stick to the cottage rule would mean giving Misdirection and Phase Shift and the rest, additional passive bonuses that would effect stealth, rather than reworking the powers themselves. Such as a scaling buff, like +10% damage +3% defence for x seconds after exiting stealth, for each additional concealment power trained. It would mean that concealment could give all characters the ability to be mini stealthers and have a pseudo-stealth playstyle, which I then is what was intended with the set and above all, would be FUN (and a worthy rival to Leadership, Fighting, etc.). With my above example I would probably rework the Concealment pool so that you HAVE to take stealth to unlock the other 4 powers, and then all the other powers could be taken with stealth as it’s only requirement.

I would say to summarise my thoughts succinctly, on one hand we have VERY powerful pools and powers like Hasten, Leadership and Fighting, and then on the other hand you have ones which are so heavily taxed they hardly make a difference, like most of the power pool attacks, Presence and Concealment. Not to turn this into a 'nerf Hasten' thread because lets just all assume that isn't on the cards (its been a staple of the game for too long), but certainly my biggest issue with Power Pools is the varience in effectiveness is just so extreme, anywhere from massive impact to your character to dead powers that hardly make a difference. Some other random thoughts: I don't like the cap on only being able to take 4 power pools maximum. It sometimes can really restrict your ability to take some of the 'anxillary' power pools (like Presence, Concealment, a Travel power from a pool you haven't otherwise taken...). It would be more interesting gameplay if all the power pools were equally balanced, but unfortunately there aren't. There are huge question marks in my head about the point of power pool attacks. There seems to be a general rule and belief that power pool powers should be weaker than anything from your primary and secondary. That might be proper when we're talking about buffs and debuffs, (although not universal - see how Weaken Resolve was nerfed very hard but buffs like Leadership and Hasten are still massive), but when it comes to power pool attacks, why should they be massively weaker? What is the purpose of these powers? The only AT which has few attacks are Controllers, and even their single target controls can be slotted for damage. For Most ATs the rule where power pool powers should be weaker means that power pool attacks do not compare to their attack powers in the primary/secondary. I think we have to remember that the cost of buying these powers, (taking up a power slot) is the same. There is a strong argument I think that these attacks should be more competitive choices, and not taken just for style. I would be inclined to up their damage, or up their recharge and have them grant a temporary buff after activation. Sometimes I find the 'you must take 2 powers' to unlock a power pool power very restrictive. Sometimes it works, other times it just doesn't seem warrented. It works better where you have pools where you're already taking the travel power so the 'power slot' cost is in effect reduced. Otherwise some of these 10 minute recharge, 1 minute duration powers take 3 power slots to acquire - and rarely do you want all the powers and so the cost just becomes not worth it. Especially when the powers you have to take have nothing to do with the power you want to get. For example, take Fighting - boxing/kick have nothing to do with Tough and Weave. It is almost as if it is two pools combined. Speaking of Tough/Weave I would actually put them in the Fitness pool and make them baseline. Radical I know. Tough at 20, Weave at 25, or something. Make the fighting power pool much more focused on melee attacks. There would be more room without Tough and Weave.

Definitely a hardware issue. In game there are a few things that can help you from the p2w vendor: mission teleport power, 1 million influence and 30 min cooldown. Teleports you to the mission door. If the mission is quite far away I sometimes use this so it’s only 1 load not 2+. team mission teleporter, 10 million influence and 30 min cooldown. This is where you summon a transport vehicle and it teleports everyone nearby on your team to the mission door as above. If everyone has one you can take it in turns to use. assemble the team, 1 million influence 30 min cooldown, recalls everyone on your team to your position. If your friends don’t have recall friend, they could use this to teleport you to the mission door once you arrive in the zone. Hope that might help a little? Personally I always try wait for everyone to arrive before beginning a mission, but not everyone does this.

Kings/Crey's/St. Martial Was close between Kings Row and Steel Canyon, I like them both. Nothing says CoH to me than Steel Canyon. But if I had to choose 1, I woud miss Kings Row more.

Controllers are basically like DnD mages. They start off really weak and get exponentially more powerful. It’s what I enjoy about the AT, the power growth. I think it’s also why I find melees pretty flat.

I would settle for a lot of bug fixes rather than new powersets. For instance, the sonic blast alternative animations taking much longer to animate than their original versions; means they're pretty much unusable. I would love to see some feedback on some balance changes on less powerful sets, which are universally considered to need help. For example we had a massive thread in the Controller forums about changes to Mind Control to give it a bit more AoE control early on. Assault Rifle which I personally enjoy very much could maybe do with a few tweaks. Some of these sets wouldn't need massive changes to make them more balanced. Even the infamous regen, if it just a little bit more resistance as well as healing (which I think goes nicely with the concept of shrugging of damage) then it wouldn't be so bad. To be honest anything the devs could do I would be immensively grateful. Theres a few easy wins out there when it comes to balancing sets which I think would be greatly received and less work than an entire new set.

Draft: Felicity Freebird graduated at the top of her class with a degree in business, marketing and public relations. She had posted samples of her work online and had garnered a lot of interest from the corporate world of business, with many companies bidding to hire her. After a short bidding war, Felicity took a contract with Crey Corporations to try improve their image with the public and finally dispel the unfair rumours about the corporation. After heading up a successful media campaign for the corporation, Felicity began to be trusted with more sensitive information regarding the company's true agenda. Horrified by what she learned, she compiled a portfolio and brought it to the attention of the Paragon Police Department. Unfortunately for Felicity the cops she had brought this information were dirty, and arrested her on the spot for corporate espionage - framing her with the charge that she was attempting to start up her own rival company with this insider knowledge. Crey's lawyers also got involed, and she was sent down for 10 years. Felicity Freebird's time in jail changed her. Over the days, months and years that proceeded, she lost her faith in law and order, and society as a whole. The betrayal of the cops was like a knife straight to the heart, especially as they had murdered her parents when she had phoned them for help. While in jail, Freebird plotted to avenge her parents, and right the wrongs of the past. Using her professional media skills and charisma, she hosted the prison radio and was able to successfully cause a riot in order to facilitate her escape. The thugs she inspired stayed with her, and together they sought about exacting her plan. Society and law and order had failed her. There was no reason for it to exist anymore. She set out to bring down society as we know it, and rebuild it as she saw fit. One media campaign at a time (and a few broken laws). Felicity Freebird (Jailbird?) Villain - Thugs/Empathy or Pain MM, Mind/Psi Dominator, Mind/Pain or Sonic Controller. Would definitely be thugs if you could get a female gang ingame rather than male... Next badge: MASTER ARCHITECT

Strong and Pretty, what came to my mind was a young woman who had had a difficult life, and had overcome some pretty bad family/relationship issues. She would have an urban style but a sweetness underneath that still shines through. Sort of like Cherry off of Streets of Rage 4: Her strength would be ‘inner strength’ rather than physical strength - the mental strength to survive a traumatic history and come out still shining. Im not sure about AT/powers, I would be tempted to say Street Justice/Willpower but I think I’d like to do something more interesting. I really like the idea of using music as in the picture, but you can’t get guitars, and the sonic sets don’t feel quite right! Maybe Sonic/Martial Blaster? Or Sonic/Pistols Defender?

I find all the melee ATs really boring... sorry 😳 I just find that by level 10, I don’t see much further progression. You just get more powers that hit things and more armour. Whereas Defenders/Controllers and the like are always getting really new and interesting powers that can completely change how your character plays. Just my subjective experience 🤪

❤️❤️❤️❤️ is all I have to say to HC team.

Oh no... 😞

TBH Trick Arrow’s niche should be it can bring pretty much every debuff possible, with the drawback being you can’t buff or heal allies at all. So some of the numbers should be improved to match other sets (like -res should be 30%), and one of the arrows should bring -regen. But that’s just my thoughts on the set. My post was mainly about how you need to approach it with a different mindset to make it click.

So maybe this will be a little fun. I hope so! I start by posting a badge name, and someone replies with a concept (AT, powers, very small backstory) for a Hero or Villain that could use said badge name as their badge title. Extra points if you include a screenshot with costume! Then in your reply you post another badge name for the next person to use. This was born because sometimes I collect badges and the name of the badge instantly creates a cool concept in my mind! So, lets see if it works for others too? If there are multiple replies in quick succession just try pick one of the latest badges that someone hasn't created for. Okay, so first badge, picked randomly from a Vidiot map I had left open, is: CREY CARES (Crey's Folly exploration badge)

I think one of my first characters Grav/Kin I took everything... this was before APPs and the level cap was 40. Theoretically she didn't need travel because of Inertia Reduction.. but since she was Grav/ I felt compelled to take Flight and Group Fly for theme! I think it was before the level cap raised, but she definitey took Singularity so it was after Fold Space got changed into the pet.

Love it! Duos are such a great way to experience this game. Really recommend to everyone if you can find a partner.

I saw two characters at the steel canyon university identically dressed and named, was that you? I was confused for a few minutes until I figured out how they had named their character the same. Splitshot I think? Both were electrical melee and willpower I think!

Yeah I do find them pretty fun overall. Also the Apex and Tinmage TFs are pretty epic, but everytime I’ve done them it’s been so rushed it’s hard to take in what’s happening. Looking forward to doing them at a slower pace sometime