SkyeSharpe

Agree. Would really like decent ponytails on guys.

As a kenophobe who is deeply terrified by the Shadow Shard and everything about it, I guess I'm not going to be attending any CCs from here on out.

Like I said, overinvesting in Hand Clap for the memes is something I do. It just doesn't solve the major problem. I love my Hand Clap for the soft control and space-filler attack it provides, but it doesn't help with AoE damage in any significant capacity. Also I'm not asking for a combo system, I'm basically asking for SS's lamest moves to have "chance for AoE damage", in addition to/instead of what they have now (whatever works better for overall balance.) I have no problem at all with there being ST and AoE focused sets - in fact I really like the balance and gameplay aspect of them existing. I just don't agree that being so strong you can crack pavement, clap your hands hard enough to knock people off their feet, and throw boulders the side of your entire body *doesn't* translate into being an AoE-friendly set with explosive hits of force. The animations show these bursts of impact, and it makes less sense to me that those explosions aren't translating to anything but damage to the guy I'm hitting. Shockwaves are a thing for any sufficiently strong hit, and hitting something hard enough would create one around the point of impact - hence my idea.

So, SS has AoE Problems (tm). Foot Stomp aside, it really doesn't do much unless you're fighting a single target, or you're like me and overinvest in Hand Clap for the memes. And it's also a really old, dusty set that could use a little life injected into it in any case. Not that I'm biased - my super-strength/invuln Brute says so. I've seen a suggestion here or there about moving powers around or changing powers entirely, but I have my own idea; one which could maybe solve the problem while retaining a good feeling of "SUPER STRENGTH" with heavy hits and thunderous impacts. That being: "Impact" - An effect like Rad-Melee's Contamination. I'm thinking a dead simple idea: Jab, Punch, and Haymaker have a chance to inflict a special "Impact" status on enemies they hit. If those powers hit an enemy who's already afflicted with "Impact", they have a chance to instead create an "Impact Burst", a small AoE that does a some light Smashing damage and causes knockdown. Or maybe more damage with only a chance for KD. The concept here being that Super Strong punches hit so hard that the shockwaves from each hit hurt enemies nearby. If it suits the balance-gods, you can take the secondary effects off of Jab, Punch, and Haymaker to make room for Impact. That's it, that's the idea. Some tepid chance-for-AoE damage on their most boring normal attacks to give a greater feeling of big-smashy hits, and give more AoE control and damage beyond Foot Stomp.

Honestly I'm all for it. I have a couple of female characters who're way too masculine to be sashaying her hips like a runway model. I'd love to be able to Walk and not feel out of character.