Super Atom

This is why I'm confused as to why EP/Bar doesn't proc EF like Energy Assault has more than 1. Utility in T1/T2, more chances at its use etc.

Haven't played DB or STJ too much to remember, but do they have giant red text that say "Combo 1" or anything of the sort like EF? Cause thats why EF is so easy. not that it's hard to look at your buff bar or anything.

Rolled a level 20 Energy Melee / Dark Armor brute At this level i had Total Focus, though only 2 slots for it. I slotted for endurance and used only SO's. I had no endurance issues unless i needed to pop my heal, which was not often or at the end of the mission against the boss, even then I had plenty of endurance to fight and finish the boss. EF on BS from my TF helped a lot, It was up often and used often to stun enemies it felt really good. Gotta say, at this level EF works amazing for brutes. My endurance was not 100% perfect, but it's early game and not only shouldn't it be 100% perfect, it wasn't bad either. If you can make Dark Armor be tolerable through a whole mission without stopping too much, you can do it to any set. On Bone smasher, I think it's important for balance and It's also really strong. Early game aside, you could easily maintain enough EF to use ET every single time as quick and use BS after ET or PC to maintain it's place in a rotation. Edit; i still think EP/BA should have a chance to cause focus.

Endurance is easy enough, especially with the early SO's I think the biggest problem EM is facing right now is not having a second builder. EP/BA should probably just have a chance to build EF since the EF effects on bone smasher are actually pretty good and i can see why they're attached to bone smasher. The learning curve of not wasting your EF on bone smasher isn't a difficult one so no problem there. Making use of EF on Power Crash and Bone Smasher earlier than TF even if only a chance would probably improve the sets early play a lot. Having a second builder works for Energy Assault, you get a good opening to the system early without it being too much since it's just a chance and you can make use of its buffs early for improved early game play and it feels smooth and nice, no reason to deviate now

I personally think It's fine as is and misusing bone smasher is more of a players adjusting than an actual issue with the mechanic itself. However it never hurts to explore while theres time, my preference is also no touching of the scrapper or stalker 😛 I'm in love with my EM/Ninja scrapper. Live is 100% dead to me for now.

On second thought; Moving the BS effects would have to go to either the T2 or the T1, not both. My immediate pick is obviously the T2, but that kinda leaves tankers out in the cold in the choice department. So realistically, to minimize the forcing of powers, It'd have to go to the T1.

Working off of Bone smasher might undo the point of EF, at least in a 100% capacity. If you could get EF every other attack then you might as well actually just bake it in without the mechanic, which again isn't really an option due to over performance concerns. Extensive play on a scrapper so far it seems fine as is, but if they traded double EF for crit damage, I personally wouldn't mind. I think a compromise would be to move the BS effect to EP or barrage to free up bone smasher since it's been a mainstay in rotation. This is of course assuming this wasn't done intentionally to mini-control EF for balance reasons. I too thought It'd be closer to Energy Assault with a 100% and then smaller percents on other abilities, but if i'm understanding it right, this might have been too strong for EM. I don't wanna @ captain or anything cause he's probably real busy but if you DO happen to read this maybe you could touch on it?

Mediocre AoE sounds about right for EM, as long as it's got that ST shine. What we have on live is god please why AoE, so Mediocre is a large improvement weirdly.

It's a multi-stage balance. If you're doing instant ET everytime, you're unlikely doing increased AOE damage everytime. If you're doing increased AOE damage all the time, you're unlikely doing stronger ST. Repeat repeat repeat. It's a self-balance system that delivers stronger ST, stronger AoE, without doing both at the same time causing over performance. Going only for one in either direction keeps the set in limbo of being too weak in a specific area, like it or not the game as evolved to a point where a sets AoE capabilities absolutely factor into its viability. Keeping it centered around SO's is a good starting point, but keeping IO's in mind is also important. You can't let IO's make something run wild because a gigantic portion of the game from low to high levels have IO's in them. Eventually people will need to move past 2005 City of Heroes. It's long gone and unless those other guys do it, It's never coming back.

It's likely a carry over from EF on Energy assault, didn't even notice that mistake haha

Really? haven't done too much with brutes yet. Surprised but welcomed, always good to see tanks pull ahead in a change.

It's not overly complicated but still too much math to be honest, the damage formula is a trip. Have you tried it though?

I could see that, though the increase in targets from PC is no joke on tanks man. Baseball punch the entire map

The problem stems from a over-performance issue. If you just baked EF into all the powers, the sets would be above it's sister sets. It's an easy self balancing juggle of a proc based system that you personally need to decide what at any given time you want to see the highest improvement in. Have you tried it out yet? I thoroughly encourage testing it out in missions and stuff before judging it harshly, unless you have in which case disregard

To be fair, It's not a combo mechanic. It's a proc mechanic. The abilities do not do less damage for not following it technically. you can still have EF and use power crash on two targets and it won't do much different. Only in large scale situations will you see much of a difference. The 'mechanic' as it were is just a simplified way to improve things without completely reworking a set, though some feel they have i personally feel this was an easier and more fun solution. and a decently passive solution. It's not like DB or STJ, you don't lose out big time for not following it in the grand scheme of things. Have you tested it out yet in team play and solo at 50?

It's not the same, the Mastermind isn't balanced around not having pets. EF is additional stats, not missing stats. There has always been an optimal rotation, just because it now gives visual clues as to what that rotation is doesn't mean it wasn't there before. You can still use whatever power you'd like in any given situation. Looking at your bar to see them isn't much different from looking for hasten, looking for heals/endurances/bu/epics etc. You're always looking -anyway- so it doesn't change much.

Accidents happen sure, but that shouldn't disqualify the base idea behind it. User error =/= systems fault kind of deal. I think the idea would be to add EF proc chances on other abilities while keeping TF as a 100% like EA. Perhaps a scaled % based on the power? BS higher chance, PC lower, ET even lower while TF guaranteed?

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Could be a good addition, having BS/ET/PC also having a chance to trigger EF if used on a stunned target. This keeps a good solid balance, as having these abilities without EF would be over preforming in the long run.

In Energy Assault, Bonesmasher can trigger Energy Focus, as do other abilities outside of TF. anyone who played it would know that. 😉

Question for you as i haven't yet, how well is the bonus recharge from radiation armor working with TF/ET in combat? I imagine Beta Decay is making it crazy quick to chain PF abilities. Was thinking SR would be a good fit since the +HP from ET crits would be a good fit and the bonus recharge would be cool

You'll never make all parties happy, Its the curse of game development and i do not envy but very much support the homecoming devs in their quest to fix bad sets.

Nope, It absolutely does. Which is why It's a benefit of a proc and not the baseline. ET didn't change too much from current outside of being your #2 in rotation to achieve that damage. It's not a big ask, it's not a big difference and i personally think people inflating this to be a big problem are just pouting. Optimal rotations are a thing on every set, if you're not doing them already you already have a problem from your perspective.

Which is a difference in opinion. It feels the same for me, but plays better. Asking me to use TF first to get an instant ET is not too much in my opinion. As you said before, there has always been an optimal rotation and all that PF has done for me is change that optimal rotation.

That makes no sense. It's not a literal combo system where the damage is scaled based on it. the default non PF is the baseline, with PF giving it increases in specific areas.