Ultimo

Can I assume they're removing the consistent knock on Air Superiority then? It's entirely possible NOW to permanently juggle an enemy. Now, Rage would temporarily allow you to do that to an AV or EB or Boss, but it's SUPPOSED to, since a super strong character is supposed to be able to move things that otherwise can't be moved.

Well... I can't imagine applying knockdown to things like pylons or other objects that don't move. It would also be possible to counter unresistable knocks by using something like Unstoppable, which increases knock resistance even further. I also don't see it being a problem because it would work both ways, as enemies would knock the PLAYERS while Rage is running as well. Finally, it would only be unresistable while Rage is running, which isn't all the time. Moreover, you don't knock enemies with every punch. I'd say maybe 20% of my Super Strength attacks knock enemies around (just a guess, really). I'm only suggesting that characters would not be able to resist those knocks, meaning they would be knocked around 20% of the time instead of 0%. In short, there WOULD be some exceptions (eg. Giant Monsters, static objects, etc.) to unresistable knocks, and there would be counters to it as well, in addition to it not being available or happening all the time.

I was only using Street Justice as an example. I find that it is more effective overall, largely because of the availability of AOE earlier in the set. It has TWO area effects before L20 (or just after, for tankers), while Super Strength has none until L30. It isn't going to drastically change anything to swap Hand Clap and Hurl, and is better thematically. As I mentioned, Hurl is the only power in the set where the character lifts something ostensibly heavy, and Hand Clap is better used as a higher tier power, as it's generally depicted in the comics as a higher tier ability (eg. it's kind of the Hulk's signature power... even for Statesman, it's a higher tier ability). In the end, the goal is to add a bit of function and flavour. Hitting multiple foes at once "feels" stronger than one at a time. The addition of a little damage to knockback wouldn't be a drastic change to the performance of the set, and would affect OTHER sets as well. I'm not suggesting a huge amount of damage here, just a bit of extra damage, relative to the amount of knockback done. For example, suppose the power did 100 damage and knocked the enemy 10 feet. Perhaps he'd take an additional 10 damage. If he was knocked 5 feet, only 5 damage. You get the idea. Nothing game-breaking. My suggested change to Rage is more for theme than anything. In the comics, we see characters with super strength knocking enemies around, no matter how massive or resistant. For example, I think we would agree that Darkseid is a character most heroes wouldn't budge with a punch, but Superman knocks him around often. Likewise, if Superman was in this game, he'd have Invincibility, with it's knock protection... but he is also knocked around by Darkseid (or Captain Marvel, or a host of other super strong characters). It would mean a tiny bit of extra damage from the knockback, but again I expect it would be trivial. My goal here, as is always the case, is to better represent what we see in the source material, while also making Super Strength a little more effective in ways that aren't based on damage output (ie. area effects). Again, I'm not seeing how it would cause any harm to anything, and the benefit would be conceptually substantial, while adding only the slight performance tweak I think the set could use. I'm not saying you're wrong, I just think it's something that would be beneficial. You're welcome to disagree, but I hope you see my point.

Indeed. The thing is, the changes I suggested wouldn't change the performance of the set all that much. It would add a little damage due to the knockback, but beyond that, the only real changes are to swap the order of a couple of the powers (Hurl would come earlier, since it's the only power in the set where you lift something heavy), and to add a little more AOE earlier in the set, which the set could definitely use (as mentioned, the only AOE damage in the set is the LAST power in the set). So, I stand by my suggestion. Can you say why NOT tweak the set? That is, how would my suggested changes harm anything?

That's fair. I mean, it's not BAD, I just think it's not as good as other sets.

So... I've commented before that I feel Super Strength kind of underperforms, and after playing some characters with Street Justice lately, I'm more convinced of it than ever. The main thing is the AOE. Street Justice has several AOE powers, Sweeping Cross, which characters get EARLY, and Spinning Strike, which characters get around L20 (depending on AT). Super Strength gets ONE AOE power, Foot Stomp, which is the LAST power in the set. There is Hand Clap, but it doesn't really do anything productive (knocking foes away is counterproductive to most characters who have Super Strength, as their armours rely on things like Invincibility or Rise to the Challenge). There's also very little "flavour" of being STRONG in Super Strength. I have three suggestions to improve Super Strength. First, swap Hand Clap and Hurl. Make Hurl an aoe at point of impact. Second, make Knockback inflict damage, relative to the amount of knockback done. This does mean Hand Clap would do a little damage, not from the clap itself, but from the knockback... which would maek it a bit useful, even if it does knock foes away. Third, alter Rage so it makes all knockback UNRESISTABLE. We see characters like Superman or Hulk, who would certainly have powers like Unyielding if present in this game, getting knocked back all the time, but usually just by characters who are ALSO super strong. Super strength is used to move things that people without superhuman strength cannot move. It's entirely appropriate to see super strong characters knocking Lord Recluse, or Hopkins, or any other AV back, because they're STRONG. TLDR: Swap Hand Clap and Hurl. Make Hurl an AOE at point of impact. Make Knockback inflict damage, relative to the amount of Knockback done. Make Rage make Knockback UNRESISTABLE.

Well... just that they're not very sneaky. Ninjas are known for their stealth, more than anything, then the devastating strike from the shadows. The whole Stalker class is based around them. The Genin don't have any stealth at all, and Smoke Flash only gives it to them for a moment. Agreed, there is Grant Invisibility from the Concealment pool (and I did try using that), but it only affects them one at a time, and they STAY invisible even in combat, which isn't quite in character either. They should be invisible until they strike, then become visible.

I have expanded this mission into a full 5 mission arc! Now more challenging and interesting! Give it a try and offer some feedback, I'm always interested in improving my work.

Thanks for the tips! The lack of a proper wall section with a doorway in it is an egregious oversight by the developers (the original ones, I mean... the Homecoming guys have had more important things on their plates), and my efforts to make them manually have always ended up looking terrible. The current system of a wall with a static door and a gap above is kind of a temporary measure. I thought about putting the vendors out in the parking area, but they seemed kind of out of place, so I put them not too far into the house, kind of the reception/administration area (the X-Mansion was a school, after all). I think they're all there. I put extras in places I thought were appropriate (eg. a nurse in the medical area, a trainer in the classroom). I'm still trying to decide what to do with the "danger room" area in the basement. I would love to be able to put targeting dummies in there, or better yet, spawnable enemies to actually fight (similar to the testing area in Champions Online), but that might be a lot to ask. It's fine as it is for now... the suggestion of a danger room is sufficient for now. I did have one other minor concern, the order that the floors are listed when interacting with the doors to the "stairs" is a bit borked. So, when you go in the front door, the door in front of you is the "stairwell," going UP to Beth Point (2nd floor) and DOWN to Lamedh Point (basement). Of course, from the basement, your only option is the 1st floor, Aleph Point. However, if you're on the 2nd floor, it lists Aleph Point (1st floor) first, then Kaph point (attic) second. This makes it look like Kaph point is LOWER. I would rather Kaph Point be listed ABOVE Aleph, but I don't know how to make it do that.

I should have said, apologies. I play on Excelsior.

I Just put walls in with doors on them, but left the tops open so if you want to go IN the relevant room, you just hop over the top. Far from ideal, but it's sufficient until they provide us with the tools to do it properly.

So, I've been doing a fair bit of work on the mansion, so if anyone would like to visit it, then leave some feedback or ideas, I'd love to hear it!

Ya, I suggested that as a possible option in the original post.

Having faced the Warriors in Talos on a bunch of characters, I think they're ok, but there are a few of them doing an AWFUL lot of damage. My characters are getting hit for 80-90% of their health in ONE attack by some of them... mainly the mace/staff guys. And that's the MINIONS. Lieutenants and Bosses will sometimes do enough damage to oneshot my characters, sometimes even durable characters, like Scrappers or Brutes. Tankers have time to run away at least.

Cool, I'll give that a try! Update! It works, I can again plan a build. The numbers might not be correct, and some powers won't be available for use, but I'm planning for an older character, so he's got older powers.

So, my regular PC is in the shop, and I'm stuck using my old PC, which still has Windows 7 on it... which Mids won't install into. Is there a version of Mids out there that will install on Windows 7? Or, failing that, is there an online version?

It's something of a concept character. I looked at the way characters in the comics worked. I noticed that in the old, original X-Men comics, the Angel spent his time flying around above the enemy, who would try (and fail) to shoot him down, while his teammates got into position to take them out. I thought I would try to emulate that. I also noticed speedster characters did the same kind of thing (see Quicksilver in the Avengers, when they were taking on the Exemplars... I don't recall the issue number). It seemed like a neat idea, and it doesn't work BADLY, but it's not as effective as just hanging around among the enemies.

Ya, the point is to get their attention on me, then stay directly above them. My thinking is that they would all bunch up directly under me, allowing the team to lay out the AOE and wipe out the bad guys. It did work that way, when the groups were smaller... but larger groups... they weren't all taunted, and so ran after the squishies, which is why I was puzzled. I just thought Taunt affected a larger area and more enemies. If it's just 5 guys, that's not much help. Granted, Tankers have Gauntlet, but what if I'm on a Brute or Scrapper? Not much help there. I think the confusion is that I'm not flying far up into the sky, I'm flying just out of reach.

Oh, I realize that. The idea is for the character to drop down and make melee attacks (preferably AOEs), then zoom out of range. Of course, he could still land and engage normally, when appropriate.

Perhaps what I need then, is more recharge to make the taunt more available... if I want to keep the concept of the character as it is. Thanks for the input.

So, I was in a conversation online last night about Taunt. I have a character who I designed around a concept... he's a flier (like Angel, or any other similar winged hero, or perhaps many speedsters). The idea with the character is to fly in using Flight (without Hover) with an attack queued. The attack will fire as I fly by, and with Flight, the momentum will carry me away from the enemies. I would then gain altitude and stay out of reach while they try to get to me. Or, I would fly over and hit the group with Taunt, and then stay out of reach. While their attention was on me, my teammates would take them out. I seemed to be working, but I noticed a lot of enemies were ignoring me and going after my teammates, despite Taunt. Calling up the info pane, it said it only affects FIVE targets, and only in a 15 foot radius. That's pretty wimpy. I commented in chat, and someone said they thought those numbers were different for Tankers... but they weren't sure. So, I thought I'd come here and ask about it. Does Taunt work differently for Tankers? I mean, I sure did see a lot of enemies ignoring me during Positron...

Well, I mean it's impossible to heal them if I'm at range, using my bow. It would be easier to convince me to get in melee range if I had access to martial arts moves (perhaps as alternate animations for the Fighting Pool), or a ninja-to. I did originally give the Kinetics character Grant Invisibility, but I found it very annoying to use, just constantly spamming the thing over and over every couple of minutes... and it seems to have a habit of running out at the most inopportune moment. Your modifications to my quandry do kind of simplify things... I'm just not quite sure if it helps me decide! I have a bunch of Masterminds, I wanted to make one with each pet set. The Bots MM is a juggernaut, paired with Force Fields. I have a Necromancy/Darkness MM who does tend to get stuck in. My Thugs/Poison MM also tends to get stuck in close (based on the Joker, it seemed in character for him to get his hands dirty). The Beasts MM has Plants, and the Demons MM uses Electric Affinity. After the bots, the most effective seems to be my Mercs/Radiation MM... and I also have a Mercs/Empathy MM. I've been tinkering with a Thugs/Traps MM, but I can't get into the Traps set... I find its uses very few and far between. My point is, I'm fine bringing the MM into melee range if it's appropriate for the character. It definitely WOULD be for a ninja, but there's no way to get a sword or martial arts skills to use in melee range. Perhaps I can just get by with the fighting pool, but it's frustrating having to accept something that doesn't quite fit. Perhaps there's a temp power that uses the katana or ninja-to?

Time does have a couple of drawbacks. First, the heal is centered on the character, who is likely to be at a range. This makes it impossible to heal the ninjas. The other thing is a lack of any stealth effect. Both Darkness and Storm have stealth effects, which would be very in keeping with ninjas. So I'm kind of torn. Time is arguably the best conceptually, but lacks some functionality. Darkness is good conceptually, and has stealth, but I have so many Darkness characters already, and does lack SOME functionality. Storm is the worst conceptually but has stealth, and it does have a ranged heal... but that's single target. Kinetics does offer the ranged AREA heal, and it does have powers to boost damage and endurance, which is very good for a Mastermind... but it really does nothing to make the Ninjas more survivable, beyond the heal... which is of limited use because the ninjas are so squishy. Which means the Mastermind is kind of stuck trying to fight without the pets, because they're dead before they can do much. So I'm torn.

Call it a Danger Room, a Practice Room, or what have you... many or even most superhero teams in the comics have some kind of training room where the heroes can practice their moves. It would be really nice if something like that could be added to Bases in this game. It might be something as simple as a variety of Training Dummies... some that don't fight back, perhaps some that do. Make them look like crash test dummy robots, or something. Another option might be to do something like Champions Online has, where you can choose an enemy, their numbers and ranks and go fight them in a generic room. A third option might be to give us Architect access in our base, both a terminal to set up a mission/arc, and a transporter to enter it. There are likely other possibilities, but the general point is, it would be nice to be able to make a training room in our base with targets we can actually attack.

Ya, I saw those, but realized I couldn't actually USE them... so I wondered if there WAS anything I could target. I'll probably just make the room a big gymnasium looking place.