InvaderStych

*sigh* 😞 I already hate myself quite a bit for even beginning to engage in this train-wreck, but some days I just can't fucking save myself from myselves. First the trailer itself: I have not read any of the Tolkien books in 35 years, at best, so I couldn't tell you who was altered into whom and I frankly couldn't really care either. Because that trailer, in terms of production quality and craft execution, is an absolute dumpster fire. The opening vista looks to have been rendered in FarCry 4 and the CG faces are even worse. The editing is slap-shod at best, intentionally hiding flaws at worst. Every time the camera pedestals up to reveal a sweeping vista we immediately cut away from it before the viewer can really enjoy it. That "catch the arrow" scene? What in the ever-loving-fuck? Did they have an intern on the speed ramping button? It either doesn't flow right or blends too much into the character firing the arrow back. I can't tell if they are supposed to be firing back in slo-mo or just slowly and deliberately. And the bit at the end with the jumping axe-wielder doing a full circle swing with the axe in mid-air .... if that isn't blatantly stolen from Tarsem Singh's Immortals* then I'll strike-through this sentence in a subsequent edit that forces me to re-read the shit-show that is this thread one more time. I could prattle on more about the crap lighting, weird compositions, shit editing, and more but I don't want to watch the trailer again, and I watched it when it dropped so I am working from memory. It should be blatantly obvious from the poor quality of the trailer that this is nothing more than a blatant cash grab. Craft quality of The Expanse did not diminish when Amazon took over (writing and editing did in s5, but that's not this thread), and on the basis of those 3 seasons I know Amazon can do much, much better. They should go spend a few days on the naughty step and think about what they've done to my eyes with that nonsensical video game cut scene pretending to be a trailer for a TV series. That the show-runners have leaned hard into the needless "controversy" that Russian Bots and Paid Schills have tricked us all into frothing up over this Absolute Nothing Burger should have been the second and largest clue. Whatever so-called "side" one is on, motivations noble or nefarious, Amazon wins and we lose. People subscribe to support or they subscribe to hate-watch. The internet goes ape-shit with rage and we bitterly divide ourselves further to the benefit of those who would keep us sick, angry, broke, and distracted. We're all being duped into arguing over false equivalencies and fictitious irrelevancies while the oligarchs and kleptocrats watch, laughing as they enjoy a scotch and some light fellatio on a pile of our money. Anyone who believes that every single YouTube comment of a Tolkien quote in alleged "protest" of this series was from a person who's concerns are genuinely about narrative integrity is dangerously naive. Anyone who believes the sub-set of quotes posted in Russian were from actual humans who care about Tolkien and not Bots programmed to sow discontent is either ignorant or just flat out stupid. Hell, at this point I'd wager that a statistically significant portion of those "Tolkien Quote YouTube Comments" in all languages are bots working at the behest of some Agency, PAC, NGO, or other entity with a financial interest in ensuring the masses are too busy arguing to notice the erosion of our constitutional republic or the global rise of kleptocracy. And I am not a gambling man. Am I really the only one who remembers the shit-show that bots made of Anti-Social Media between 2014-2018 by latching onto "hot-button" issues and posting inflammatory trash on both "sides?" Anyone who believes that the Amazon Showrunners are interested in anything other than money is similarly naive, ignorant, stupid, or all three. They definitely do not care about making a quality product if that trailer is any indication. And they sure as hell don't care about DEI either - if they did they would be adapting any of the hundreds of Afrofuturist sci-fi/fantasy works available and more than worthy of quality adaptations. Amazon Showrunners don't care about you. Bots and Schills quoting Tolkien don't care about you. They don't care about Tolkien, telling a story, making a quality product, your thoughts on it, or even the "issues" they claim to care about in their posts and responses. They don't care about you. The best course of action here would be for everyone to stop talking about it, not watch it, and teach them a lesson about throwing some paint-by-numbers nonsense that looks like it was rendered 15 years ago with a broken potato out there expecting us to pay for it because it is Tolkien or because they made it controversial. Ignore it. Don't be duped into this divisive, manipulative bullshit. It is not designed to benefit us no matter what we personally believe. It is designed to keep us in our place. All of us. I had hoped we were better than this. I was wrong. Humans, we Americans in particular, are an Ignorant Mob with the Memory of a Goldfish. Please stop. You are being used. * - Immortals is a problematic film to be sure, and not really even that good. However, if one metric by which to measure a film is to make "Every Frame A Painting" then Singh nails that metric every time.

x3. Sonic Thrust, Strident Echo, and Earsplitter are already melee attacks. Deafening Wave gives it a pbAoE (See Spin, Whirling Sword, etc) <please remove the tag on DW that prevents it from taking outside buffs, thanks!> Slot in the usual for each melee AT (Taunt, Confront, AS/Placate) and there's not really much remaining to add Might want to borrow some animations to make it more "melee-ish," probably remove the repel and reduce the KB from Thrust, maybe borrow the Hand-Clap/Foot Stomp animation and make a sort of click based Disruption Aura with a little Sound Cannon in it. Although bringing those two powers over as-is isn't a bad idea either.

If I am reading these right: https://cod.uberguy.net/html/power.html?power=incarnate.interface_silent.maxhp_debuff https://cod.uberguy.net/html/power.html?power=incarnate.interface_silent.dot_toxic Both the debuff side and the dmg side are tagged "stacking is collective" which I am pretty sure is the stacking from multiple players part. The debuff is tagged with a limit of 4, while the dmg power a limit of 8. I haven't looked, but I would assume that other interface choices have similar limits; just drill down to the "silent" power that actually does the thing.

Most recently completed: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/276694.Eeeee_Eee_Eeee My review: Snowcrash is now my 2nd favorite novel starring a pizza delivery guy as a protagonist. It's that good, but only if you're into the sort of thing that it is.

I keep typing replies to this thread and deleting them. I should probably delete this one too, but I'm in a mood, so f$%^ it. There is no point in discussing a symptom without digging deeper to the cause. PPM/Procs are a symptom, not a cause. There is no point in discussing a solution to a "problem" when no one can agree upon a design intent in the first place. @Luminara - we get it, you are incredibly eloquent and obviously quite intelligent. But hidden in your loquacious missives is some seriously counter-productive bitterness and animosity ("lazy blasters" - your words). How about dialing all of that back a bit and instead of offering to ridicule people who don't meet your data standards, offer up some ideas of your own as to how to achieve this allegorical "economic equality" in a game specifically designed so that there is no single path or single set of gear to achieve maximum effectiveness on a given combination of AT and power choices. For that matter, save the "how" and just tell us the "what" of your desires and goals. What is it that you want, specifically? And lets be honest with ourselves here. The only way I've seen to achieve true parity within a given class is to force that class into "must have" gear like every single other MMO I refused to play for that very reason. I tolerated it in SW:TOR because that game had beautiful artwork and interesting enough solo stories. But I only played it once because forced gear can kiss my proverbial. Gear that determines appearance doesn't warrant even that privilege. Katana and Energy Melee will never do the same damage so long as Katana must deal with lethal resistances in the game's targets. Quills will never be as effective as Irradiated Ground, not only because of resistances, but because IG is broken AF. Scrapper Ground Zero will always lag behind the Brute (Fury increases the damage, GZ does not critical for scrappers) and Tank (bigger size, larger target cap) versions due to the way the game is designed. This holds true for all AoEs available to those ATs in their armor sets. My Psi/SD scrapper is beyond useless on a BAF. That "desirable content" is inaccessible to her. Should the BAF be changed so that particular toon is granted access to that content? Should Siege and Nightstar have their Psi resistance (70%!) stripped so that Psi based toons can access that "desirable content?" Should the Prisoner phase be changed so that Controllers/Doms can use their CC powers upon them? Hint: No, not it should not. I chose that combo, I chose that AT, I must accept that PM will gimp me against certain enemies and that the lack of AoE will do the same for certain missions/situations. I could have gone Tank for bigger AoEs and the ability to at least taunt AVs I couldn't hurt, but I chose Scrapper for my own reasons. Should Scrappers be able to Taunt like Tanks so that I feel more useful? Nope. My choice, my consequences. I love that toon and she stomps all over most of the game - but BAF will forever be inaccessible to her and most other Scrappers will dish out sustained damage more reliably in general. She's about the burst and I accept that. I know those examples are slightly fatuous, but that long missive really gave me the "Luminara wants everyone to get a puppy and a participation trophy" feels, and I am reasonably certain that is not your intent. Please clarify what it is you actually want. @Bill Z Bubba - you have also often spoken upon "numerical parity." So I'd love to hear your actual thoughts on how that could be achieved with figuratively millions of variables and combinations in play. Without forcing every build into a specific top-end set of enhancements and without obviating any ATs in a team environment. ---- Further, what is the goal here? What is the expectation? That all ATs can contribute to a team's efforts at the most difficult content? We're - with a few weird exceptions - basically mostly there. DASF, as an example of things to come, arguably values support above "just bring damage" as the effectiveness of Corrs in that SF has clearly demonstrated. Given that it has been repeatedly demonstrated that Scrappers fall behind in damage until they are rocking the SCS +50% piece I can see a future where if one wants to bring melee to challenge content then only Tanks need apply. Hell, I could make an argument that this is basically "City of Tanks" and we're all just living it it, but that's not fit for this thread and I forgot my flamesuit today. 😛 So, for you both, state your goals "before you say another word" to borrow a phrase. 😉 For The Record: Procs/PPM are not the problem. That they require counter-intuitive slotting is not the problem (I would rather that they did, personally I like the trade-off). What they are is a rather fun and interesting system that highlights other problems in the game's overall design. Post-Script: Where is all of this "Support ATs aren't valued" stuff coming from anyway? Every time one joins a team I am on, a number of players greater than 2 (ie me and usually at least one other person) celebrate their arrival with some sort of thankful comment. "Awesome, love me some Thermal!" or "Hooray! A Kin!" Hell, last night one of my SG mates was so stoked to see a pair of Kin's on our team that one of them threatened to "take away her coffee." I'd play them more, but I absolutely suck monkey butt at remembering to drop buffs/shields and targeting teammates. No one wants me to try to fill that role. 😛 I have yet to see, in near as makes no difference to 2 years of HC, anyone in game make derisive comments about support ATs or refuse to include them on a team. That seems to be limited to here on the forums - which rarely reflects the actual state of opinion in the game. All of that is not to deny any of the mechanical/design issues caused by inconsistency and overlap in AT designs, exaggerated by everything that has come after, but just to say that the perception on the forums and the one in game are likely very different.

See also Greater Psi Blade.* * - I assume I am reading CoD correctly, though it gels with what I see in game on my scrappy.

T1 Leaping - Combat Jumping. T1 Flight - Hover. EvM is not about defense, it is about flight speed and physics defying stopping/turning ability. That it is t4 is a result of its utility and has no bearing on the defense component which I would argue was a concession to grant it the ability to slot defense sets anyway.

What? (Edit: Removed previous comments as they were in error) Revised: Did a quick test. I'm no math expert, but Combat Attributes only showed a single 37.5% buff, and dmg of psi blasts seemed to gel with that based on anecdotal observation at lvl 10. Is it possible that there are two different definitions of Dmg(all) that do/don't include Tox/Psi? I can confirm beyond doubt that Concentration in Scrapper Psi Melee definitely boosts Psi dmg and is listed as a single Dmg(all) as in the Blaster version.

Waste is a strong word, but for /DA I'd be inclined to go Brute as the aura benefits from Fury but not from Critical hits. (Criticals for Scrapper Secondaries When?) Scrapper Ice Armor gets a decent T9, a little DDR, some utility. Sort of an under-rated set, would be interesting with Psi Melee. Though my memory of leveling a spines/ice was not one of overwhelming durability while along the journey. Tanker's AoE buffs would benefit Mass Levitate, and PBS, but as that's the only AoE in PM that's hardly a reason to go Tank. Though if absolute immortality *is* the goal, then go this route. Some interesting stuff on PM here: As interesting as all of that is, I suspect Boggle is still too slow to actually for my personal scrapperlocky ways. And yet, the increased chance on TKB and the revelation that it takes 2 tics of Insight damage for Blade to be better dpa than MS had me thinking about doing a Psi Melee brute (I already have Psi/SD on a Scrapper) and see what MS-TKB-GPB looks like as an attack chain. Probably with something ranged (preferably AoE) from an epic. That would be pretty good with /DA. Fear Aura, Knockup from Mass Lev, etc, etc. That said, a Critical Hit on Greater Psi Blade when Insight is up (and it's packed to the ED +dmg cap with 2 VR dmg procs) is a beautiful thing - but you already know that with the Stalker. 😄 Back on retail I used /DA to simulate a sort of hive-creature-swarm thing. I would think Cloak's transparency pulls off a sand effect better than ice?

First thought: Anything/Cold Adds +def and +hp shields to your son's resistance* based armor. The rest of /Cold is no joke for debuffs either. * - Guessing that by /EA on a Tank we're talking Electric.

Likely the only options. Combat Teleport does not accept global range bonuses, only direct enhancement. This includes the +range from Clarion Radial and similar powers that boost "secondary effects."

Great catch on the location looks very much like you're correct, but ... uh ... not my idea. 😉

King Richard is there to put Dr. Strange in the Tower of London. Probably as part of the tour.

Is the extra 7pts of -KB specifically for 801 runs, or are you finding 10 isn't enough elsewhere as well? I don't recall a ton of KB in ASF, but I've not tried Relentless either so ....

They are referring to Defense in the OP. I was going to yammer on about how "soft cap" isn't conceptually the same for Res as it is for Def: there is no clamp mechanic that ensures damage is always above/below a certain value as there is with To-Hit. Anytime a toon (pretty much only Tankers without outside buffs) can get to 100% resistance they have 100%RDR, even if that is above their AT cap for the stat. But that's just semantics. AT Cap, Soft Cap ... whatevs ... you do you! 👍

Does it though? In real game-play terms? Search around for threads on /Bio and the preponderance of them hail the sets ability to run +4x8 in Offensive without breaking a sweat, many going so far as to say they don't even bother with defensive stance. If I saw more variance in armor choices among the top damage rankings, then maybe I'd be more inclined to feel differently - but until there is more variety there I don't see value in buffing the top performing sets like /Bio, /Rad, or /SD. Particularly /Bio given its absolute dominance in the +dmg department.

A former cop and the mental imprint of a young woman steer the rock into Venus.

Yeah, I should give that a try. Moving the Achilles would give me back a slot (could drop an LotG in evasive, among other options), and it does seem that starting with GD lines up the recharge times of the attacks more smoothly. I hadn't considered the higher crit chance on GD at all; over time that makes tons of sense. I'm not 100% sold on slotting it like that, but I sure do enjoy using it. 😛 I don't know the exact proc rate but it seems decent enough; whoever posted the "watch their dmg in mids as recharge changes" suggestion in another thread made guesstimating these things close enough for my purposes. 🙂 It's that 1s cast time that does the trick for me though. Why did I not know about that sooner? 😛 Nice. IDK about me getting consistently under 2mins, even if the build should be able to. 🤣 After a certain point "maybe it's not the bike that needs the tune-up." 😉

How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love Ageless w/Procs Genius. Tried a variation of this with my Kat/Rad. Why didn't you guys tell me that Scrapper Fireball has a 1s activation time? 🤣 Not fair to compare this toon to its previous, incomplete but very durable incarnation. Not quite enough recharge to maintain the 3pc chain consistently, but the times got much quicker once I got down a decent filling pattern with RT, Proc'd Fireball, and occasionally GC. Start with MA, fire it on cool-down. With/Without Meltdown times overlapped enough that the variation is probably my crap button discipline, so I stopped using it after the first few runs. Fastest run 2:30, slowest 2:55, seemed to smooth out in the low 2:40s. T4s: Musc Core, Degen -HP, Ageless Radial (might go Core on live), Assault Core slotted but not clicked. EvM has to be turned off about 3/4 of the way through the run or blue bar becomes a problem. For comparison, this is probably around 2x as quick as the best times with my Psi/SD built for extreme durability. Build as slotted, I was going to use Provocations in MA, until I saw the price and that there was only one on market when I looked. But when I copied to beta I forgot to swap them in. Concessions for durability could be dropped for more recharge by changing slotting on GC and FB, maybe elsewhere. Powers order in Mids is a bit messy. 😛

Ask yourselves, does /Bio really need to be buffed? This is the most correct answer.

I dig it. I have a stalled Rad/Rad tank that did similar, though it never occurred to me to try the +to-hit pieces. I might try this since I don't have tactics on the current Kat/Rad build, assuming I can find a couple slots. I don't think one needs to slot any accuracy at all in RT, btw. It has stupidly high base accuracy. Unless you're chasing that 2-pc bonus you could swap to either dmg or heal from another set.

What is your definition of the word "Forced?" The phrase is common because it is part of the game community's collective history. There's no more force involved than there is when someone makes reference to "Strong and Pretty" or "Gone to the Americans." All three are part of the collective past associated with The Cities, no one is forcing it into anything nor are they forced to use it. At this point though it's pretty much @PeregrineFalcon's bailiwick these days, so we all just let them get on with it for us. 😉 Also, just to remain on topic: Thank you, but no to this suggestion.

I haven't kept up with the current offerings, but I have an HP laptop (Spectre 360 with Radeon+Iris) from 2018 and it has been an absolute workhorse. CoH won't be a problem - although mine does get too hot for my mental comfort level while running games at 4K on the laptop screen, it works a treat running them connected to a 21:9 HD monitor. The one you're considering has much more gfx horsepower than mine and should have no problems with CoH. More importantly (to me) mine has survived the rough treatment that comes along with the type of work (and associated travel, though less of both these days, grrrrrr) that I do. I considered some less expensive options, but I am glad I paid for the metal body over plastic. I've seen rental/kit laptops on jobs that may as well have disintegrated the moment they came off the plane. Also, it had the best keyboard of every laptop I tried. And don't say Macbook to me, my mutant hands haven't fit on an Apple keyboard since they stopped making PowerPCs. 😛 I have only had one issue with it where I had to do a bios roll-back then re-update in order for the screen to properly flip when folding it over. Which, considering I quickly discovered it is too heavy to really use like a "tablet" when folded, was mostly a non-issue. The Envy is probably a solid choice.

Indeed. The Cities have always had a solid community, even when we were all +/- 17 years younger this was still one of the friendliest of gaming communities. Which is good because of the massive variety possible in game; coincidentally that variety is what makes these threads interesting to follow. No need, I full on believe you, that's not the thing and I do apologize if my comments brought you to that inference. It is more that while I am content with my tiny stable of 50s that are at or near some version of a visualized build not a single one could come close to that pylon time. Not even remotely. It's impressive to be sure, but also baffling. 😄 I might be able to get the blaster Trapdoor time down to sub-5 mins with a lot of practice, but I don't see either the Psi/SD or Kat/Rad scrappers closing the gap by all that much. Not that it matters, it's just interesting in its own way.

Yeah, I tend to try countering Blindness with other sources of +to-hit/+perception, so the insp tray could stay closed. My Psi/SD does use Rebirth though, so I figure if folks are dropping Ageless I could probably keep that available. Hybrid slotted, not clicked, no Judgement, etc, etc etc. Been trying to keep up with the norm - it wasn't until the videos started dropping that I noticed all the Ageless. In fairness, the Psi/SD could probably do the run faster with a different Epic and working in Ageless, but I'm really accustomed to the way the Rebirth/Holds build plays. 🙂 Agreed. I suspect that just as I could take one of the 4 Minute Club builds and still not come close to the same times, a more competent player could take one of my toons and get faster times even without tuning the builds. Still though, it is interesting to give this a go on the few toons where I've made major time and FakeMoneyUnit investments. Baffling. Not the numbers in that quote, on a tank that makes sense. It's the damage output. Baffling.