InvaderStych

Is my assumption that you were running Malicious or above correct? If so - Don't sleep on the Turrets that pop up during the gladiator fight. I haven't confirmed this, but I suspect they are pure fire dmg with maybe a ranged position. Couldn't ignore them on my solo run in beta, and on teams I'll ask someone to take them out while I focus on the "champions." Also: Smelters, Smelters, Smelters. They're stacking Melt Armor with reckless abandon. Between those and the Blue Ring Grenades one can find themselves in negative damage resistance territory very quickly. Depending on diff settings the "adds" in the Pit Champions fight can become rather dangerous. Smelters First, AU-Rifters Second, Brickernauts Third. Everyone else after that. Presence of an AV changes that priority a bit, but I'll still take down the Smelters first.

This truly is one of my favorite things about this game. So many viable routes. I tend towards the opposite approach: they can't hurt me if they're defeated. 😄 Probably why I play more scrappers and blasters than brutes or tanks. 🍻 The only time resistance has really been an issue for the Psi/SD scrappy is trying to solo Siege and Nightstar, who both resist Psi at 70%. Council bots get their 50%, but who cares about Council bots, lol. I guess Malta bots as well, but the Overwhelming Orange Numbers tend to make those a non-issue most of the time as well. Everything else that does resist it tends to be in the 30% range. Easily mitigated with FotG and/or Achilles - assuming one takes an EPP power that can slot the latter. Praetorian Seers and Awakened tend to be the most difficult (shudders at memories of Subjugators stealing my lunch money), BP Zombies are mostly minions and the occasional Lt, and those fall fast enough to not be a problem. Friendly reminder also that All versions of Praetorian Clockwork (AM's, Neuron's, IDF bots, etc) do not have any Psi resistance, even though they are "Bots." I could see this being a bigger issue on a Tank with the lower base damage though. Also important to remember the trade off: Being able to cut through Unstoppable and similar abilities on EBs/AVs is worth dealing with resistance in other places, imo.

Yup. When GPB (Insight Up + Concentration) Crits it is downright beautiful, so I can imagine it is quite similar with a full fury bar. 🍻 Still though, missing out on the "bypasses ED" dmg enhancement is my non-starter for an Alpha slot on a damage focused toon. Fury is a global damage bonus, above and beyond enhanced damage in the power. I suspect this is where some of the issues the OP was having might reside. I did some test builds with Ageless on my scrapper, and on top of set bonuses and hasten it was more than enough to have GPB and ML up as often as needed. I still didn't pull her away from using Rebirth (+regen side) as it is far too useful and I am often on a team with someone dropping ageless anyway. 😉 They're seasoning, imo. I lightly pepper them in where they are a clear advantage, like doubling up on the purple versions in GPB, or using %Hold pieces to leverage against the inherent hold also in GPB in this case. When the math inevitably changes I'll make changes. No biggie. Until that day comes I'll drop them in here and there, but only if I can keep the firing rate above 70% or so. Otherwise there are better uses for the slot most of the time.

Agreed on Ageless. Of the two that's the keeper. Going Agility looses out on a lot of +dmg from Musculature and ruins the firing rate of procs as it counts as an enhancement.

Very welcome, hope some of that helps. In general the build looks overbuilt for durability, imo. Ageless and Agility is overkill on recharge, for example. Wouldn't be an issue in the ASF. Brickers don't resist Psi (at least not in any amount that matters) and the only bots I can recall are in the first mission. Also, Brickernauts are vulnerable to Psi during their Golden Countdown of Doom; trying to take them out during that countdown is a risky tactic that I only recommend if there is time to bail out if the swing misses.

At a glance, just speaking from my Psi Melee (scrapper) experience: Drop Psi Blade in favor of the T1 Fist. PB only gets better DPA than MS if it has 2 ticks of Insight damage added, which are both unpredictable and cancel on miss. Unless one is going for an all blades build (I did this, despite it being objectively less damage output) then MS is a better choice than PB. Doubly so on a Brute, imo due to it being a speedier attack. Ditch Diamagnetic for either Degenerative -HP side (das beste against hard targets) or something with a 75% chance for damage side (Reactive for being basic, others for variety in damage type). I would also ditch Agility in favor of Musculature Radial. Agility is tanking the firing rate on the procs you have slotted in GPB and any others you might add. If you don't need the added EndMod and MoveSpeed from MuscRadial, then just go Core for maxing damage. Find a way to get FotG %(-res) into ML. Because this power does damage on delay it is affected by its own -Res proc. It works ok in PBS, but it is better in ML. You could drop Taunt. You'll have no problem keeping mob's attention, and if you want a hard target to focus on you just punch it in the face. PZ %Dmg is sort of a trap in Taunt. The rate of return isn't really as great as it seems on paper. Char might be a better choice here as it would stack with the hold in GPB. Gloom would be another option as well for the utility of a ranged attack on a melee toon. If you can find a way to get SBC %Hold into one of your attacks that also helps to leverage GPB's colossal hold. Move that Force Feedback into TKB and if possible get another into ML. Drop the one out of Kick. This is another trap with very little practical return. I'd offer to post a build, but as a scrapper with /SD it is building on positional defense, so the slotting is completely different. 🤷‍♂️ Other thoughts: Energy Manip %Stun works great in Drain for some extra soft mitigation. Splitting the SBF set into 3pcs in 2 powers doubles up on the S/L defense bonus and might ease up your slotting options elsewhere, but also might not help your build either as the resistance bonus for 6 slotting is also useful. I don't think the 6th slot in Boggle is really all that helpful either, you could drop to 5 if you are keeping it for the recharge bonus. It is no secret that I am not a fan of Boggle, but YMMV and if it works for you a a power you are using, then by all means continue. If it is just a set mule, you can probably get more mileage from something else. Edit: I also prefer the +Res side of Melee Hybrid on a toon that has a defense based secondary, and I carry that and Assault in order to swap them as the situation warrants.

Dry Cleaning - Her Hippo; Unsmart Lady; Leafy; Viking Hair (NPR Tiny Desk (home) Concerts, 2021)

Well, uh, I ... sorry ... totally not intended ...

Lite-Brite Ignignokt image was inspired by ..

Happens in several places. I think one or more of my blasters shows this. Fairly sure it started after Page 3.

Rise Against - Entertainment .. packaged, synthesized versions of you ...

Maybe the trick here isn't to try to compare to modern games, but to lean heavily into the "retro" vibe. Homecoming is the Vinyl of Games. The Medium Format film of MMOs. The 16mm Bolex of ... er ... Games ... I guess. 🤷‍♂️

Nice. Definitely going to give that a try. Yeah, had that happen in my most recent run. Converted neighboring Egypt to Shinto and 3-4 turns later they founded their own religion and started aggressively pushing it. They were pretty small though so I just wiped them, kept the two cities that had wonders and eventually my other neighbor got over it. 😄 Stamford Raffles one of the Great Merchants has the ability to absorb a City-State into your empire. I am still working on the Timing Great People mini game, as some are vastly more valuable than others. The Great Merchants that grant a bonus resource (Toys, Cosmetics, etc) for the added amenities are absolutely key. Amenities can be hard to come by in other ways, or at least I've not found a ton of ways to generate them.

Just when I was contemplating a Moment of Serious Business reply and providing a disclaimer about my previous post! Oh well, gonna do it anyway, but in a spoiler so as to not ruin the fun completely. 🙂 We now return you all to the light-hearted and fun thread that this was always meant to be. 🍻

I mean, @The_Warpact isn't wrong here. 😄 There are many versions of Stych and you all, for better or worse, are subjected to most of them. Sorry, Not Sorry. No, wait, I apologize. Nah, no I don't. YES YOU DO!!! Damn, you're right, we do. SurrealistStych just wants to drop some, often non-sequitur, memes to lighten the mood. SelfRightousIndignationStych (I try to keep this one on a leash, but it's a strong mofo that often escapes) just isn't in the mood for anyone's shit. Like Ever. WouldBeNoblePaladinStych, SRIStych's more productive cousin doesn't speak often, but when he does the point is usually tainted by the noise from the rest of us, rendering his effort moot. ActuallyDoesPlayTheGameStych just wants to help out and answer player's questions, discuss random ideas, and in general post for the love of The Cities. BatShitCrazyStych, too often the dominate one of late, is completely unpredictable, loves chaos, and kinda just wants to watch the world burn. MusicAfficionadoStych stays down in the Son Of Jukebox Thread and just drops tunes, mostly from artists who deserve more exposure than they are getting. He's an unashamed HipsterMusicSnob and his music collection is "cooler" than yours. DefinitelyNotSafeForWorkStych knows better than to come anywhere near The Sandbox and stays as far away as possible. This Stych is on indefinite vacation for [REASONS]. MemoryLossStych is trying to recall if he's entertained @The_Warpact, annoyed them, or both but has consumed far too many drogas in his misbegotten lifetime recall offhand. LazyAssStych isn't going to bother searching through threads looking for instances of the above. GetYourShitTogetherStych-Stych really wishes that the rest of the Stych's would sit down, shut up, close forums, and get the fuck back to work. FrustratedAuthorStych thinks the rest of us should go away for a while so we can write in peace and quiet because there are some narrative/writing prompt threads to which he's been meaning to contribute. GYSTS-S keeps reminding this one that The Sandbox is too full of distractions for such things, but FAS doesn't listen and keep staring at the empty loose-leaf in frustration. Y'all can figure out for yourselves which of me is posting at any given point, because Stych sure as hell cannot most of the time. 😉

I don't think I played as much of 3 as I did 2 and 4 but that was more a function of timing than anything else. There is a lot to like in 6 though. The canal mini-game can get quite crazy on the right map. Although, I am starting to get annoyed with the way religion works after working my way up the difficulties. AI gets really aggressive with apostles rather quickly. Next game I start I think I might try to ignore that aspect completely and just not found one and see what happens. Not really a fan of having a dozen City-States by default though. I've been cutting that in half just to have some room to build. Hmm. Maybe that's not the way to go either though. 🤷‍♂️ Civ always reminds me that I am not nearly methodical or meticulous enough and in general I am always clicking for the next turn then realizing I forgot to make the rounds on what cities are doing. Really should define/refine a routine for every turn and teach myself to stick to it, or something.

Nerf Wednesdays.

I'll just agree 100% percent with this and quietly walk away.

Incubus - Anna Molly ... if you've ever met an anomaly you'll understand ...

Not saying this is the case, but there are companies who cut trailers for their bread & butter. Chances are Marvel rolls their own, but it is possible (though unlikely given how they love to play close to the chest with their content) they outsourced this one? OTOH, the last shot of the teaser is a former love interest, so ...... 🤷‍♂️

Yeah, sort of struck me too, but not in the same way.1 It does fit in with the distinctly 80s aesthetic used in the titles. I can dig it. However .... Where do we go? Where do we go now? Where do we go? ... the ending refrain, in spite of its conspicuous absence, might be the link. Where do we go when we don't know who we are? That said it could just be a case of the folks hired to cut the teaser having a bit of fun. 1 - Still waiting for satisfaction of my desire for them to choreograph Thor to Amon Amarth, which is the most correct pairing.

Where can I get me one of those "Strongest Avenger" trucker hats?

Spring Attack. Feral Charge. Savage Leap. Combat Teleport. Jaunt (available with Speed of Sound). Translocation (available with Mystic Flight). Burst of Speed. Lightning Rod (similar but probably out of theme because lightning). Shield Charge (also similar but probably out of theme because Shield). Some options that might approximate the whole "I am a projectile" aspect of the toon.

I tried to enlarge the thing, but it remained the same size. Am I doing it wrong?