cohRock

There are quite a few powers which have side effects, yet the primary set for that power does not support the side effect. For example, a melee attack may also have a chance to stun and take stun enhancements. With normal enhancements or IOs, you might slot it with an acc, endReduc, three damages, and a stun. If you were using a damage set, you could also include some recharge with the power. But you would either have to use a normal IO or enhancement for stun. What I propose is the capability to change a normal enhancement of your origin and level range, and upgrade it to a set element of a given set. Example: level 42 scrapper has an attack slotted for six enhancements, and has 5 of the PBAoE set Obliteration. He has the whole set except for "chance of smashing damage", and would like to extend stun time instead. His options currently are to slot a normal level 45 stun enhancement of his origin, a level 45 normal stun IO, a stun-set IO, or sacrifice another Obliteration bonus to get the small, first bonus of a stun set. What I propose is something like: (game adds a capability to the Manage Enhancement screen (MES) to make a wildcard IO) purchase a stun enhancement of your origin and level (assume 45, but 40 would also work) have an empty slot in the power click any member of the Obliteration set already in that power drag the stun enhancement to the second merge slot merge them. Now the stun is a slotted level 45 (40) element of the character's Obliteration set, offering the final-tier set bonus Restrictions: only one wildcard within a power could be used, even if there are multiple sets already there the wildcard must be of a type the power already accepts, but the set does not offer (I.e., you cannot add more end reduction to a set if the set already has at least one element with end reduction) the wildcard enhancement can neither be sold nor traded. It can either be slotted at creation, re-used in a respec, or deleted, nothing else. (I.e. there is no additional programming needed for the assignment house to support many dozens of new wildcard enhancements.) only normal, "dropped" or store-purchased single-origin enhancements can be used as a base, not IOs nor Hammis. The strength of the IO becomes fixed regardless of the character's level (but as stated, it must be within his level range when the wildcard is created). you cannot extend the count of enhancements in a set. If the set only offers 4 elements, you cannot use wildcard to create a fifth. If a wildcard is already slotted as the 4th element of the set, you cannot add the normal 4th element at a later time without first removing the wildcard or an already-slotted normal set element. Note that this concept could also work in reverse. You might have a stun set in a stun power that does minor damage and accepts damage enhancements. You could add a single damage wildcard to that stun set if the set does not already offer damage. I understand that some will feel that the option for the power to simultaneoulsy accept more than one type of set is a reasonable trade-off. That is a perfectly valid position, but I do not think this suggestion would cause any game imbalance.

For completeness' sake, I'll say there is a p2w vendor in Pocket D as well. She is accessible by all characters, regardless of alignment.

Good points, thanks. I might have an issue with the last one, which i set to red. I would not favor a large speed increase in Acrobatics. In fact my suggestion gives run speed only a 5% boost and other speeds a 10% boost. (I seriously considered suggesting them all at 10%, though.) The reason is, I want Acrobatics always on in missions, and in a lot of missions, such as caves with narrow passages, having too much speed is a negative for me. I grin and bear being speed boosted by a kin, and I absolutely hate the Fool mystic fortune. The latter not because of the slight decrease in accuracy, but the speed itself. I'm not the only one either. People with slow computers or internet connections, poor eyesight, or decreased hand coordination tend to find excess speed to be problematic.

I already know the points you bring up. That is why only one of my characters has Acrobatics. I guess the answer to "But why?" is simple nostalgia. I played long before sets were introduced, and the leaping pool Combat Jumping and Super Jump powers were pretty much standard on all my melee guys. So anyone who still needed knockback protection would also take Acrobatics. A few of my flying or Super Speed non-melee guys would take it as well, bypassing Super Jump for Jump Kick. So it just felt right to give Acrobatics to at least one of my guys on Homecoming, and it was an expedient method for my fire/fire tank to not get knocked away from his own burn patch. That said, once I had Acrobatics, I did think, "this power is a lame anachronism." I got to thinking what would make it seem useful again without it becoming a "must have" for min-maxers. The suggestion in the first post is my answer.

@Snarky To avoid further side-tracking this thread, I replied in my original suggestion thread.

In another thread @Snarky wrote: The "compromise" is threefold. First, the buffs to speed are conservative, not worth a lot on their own, but still significant. Second, the resistances to slow and recharge debuffs are vague and would be set by the developers to likewise be subtle. Third, I avoid suggesting a buff to recharge speed as that is already covered by the pool power, Hasten as well as various set bonuses. In so far as what AT power comes closest, it might be elements from the ice armor power Wet Ice in its protections to knockback, hold, and slow. I can't think of a power that simultaneously buffs speeds and resists debuffs to slow and recharge though. The heart of my suggestion is that a power named "Acrobatics" should make a character more, you know, acrobatic.

Which is a large part of my rationale for proposing that Acrobatics be buffed. Many people I think reach the conclusion that it is a lame power not worthy of their build. And it certainly is overpriced in end cost for what a character receives. Instead of just having another eminently ignorable power, give it enough qualities to make it worth taking. What do you think of my suggestion? (You can answer there.)

An unmentioned option to this point is Acrobatics. It offers mag 7 (+2 more according to Mids) KB protection and some hold resistance. One of the downsides is that you need two prerequisite Leaping Pool powers (chosen from Combat Jumping, Super Jump, and Jump Kick) before taking Acrobatics. The end cost is somewhat high (0.26/sec) considering that the -kb procs use no end at all. My fire/fire tank has chosen this option and has had no kb problems, especially considering he has no knock protection otherwise. Incidentally, I have recently made a suggestion to buff Acrobatics so more people will consider taking it. See: Basically, I suggest that its functionality be improved, by actually making characters more athletic. It would slightly buff speeds and provide some resistance to slow and recharge debuffs.

Assume you have an attack with knockback as a side effect. You slot it with a knockbact-to-knockdown (kb2kd) proc, but also add another enhancment from the same set that includes more knockback. Does the additional knockback make any difference at all, or is it cancelled completely by the kb2kd?

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I am going to do as Rannos suggests, except change the auto-fire back to Hasten. The reason is I found a fourth reason that makes an auto-fire of Clarion to be a hassle. If you want to use it to buff your Lore pets (or any others you may have), then coordinating an auto-fire Clarion and pet summoning becomes more awkward than necessary. By taking back control of when Clarion starts, the coordination is simpler.

My level 50+3 psy/poison corruptor has two powers I would like to autofire, Hasten and Destiny:Clarion (tier 3, Partial Core Invocation). Clarion has a 2 minute recharge, and at tier 3 grants at least level 6 protections to most mez's for the entire time -- i.e. perma mez protection. So I have to decided to change the autofire from Hasten to Clarion. I see three downsides to this decision, in descending order: Clarion costs 20 endurance. During big chaotic battle it could possibly de-toggle Charged Armor, Maneuvers, Tactics, and/or Hover. I might forget to restart Hasten for some period of time. If I team at a lower level, I need to remember to set Hasten to autofire. Besides my protection, the other strong positive of Clarion is it grants its protection to all allies and pets within 50 feet, so any other squishies on the team usually receive the same mez protection as my guy. (Well the melee guys get it added to their own mez protection, which seldom is needed except perhaps for knockback.) So which do or would you choose to auto-fire?

@WavicleI have mixed feelings about your suggestion. I agree that if you are the squishie of a duo and don't have stealth while the tank/brute (t/b) does, then it is easy to get in situations where you bear the brunt of alpha strikes. OTOH, if you follow behind the t/b and he is careful to taunt immediately then his aura suppression will seldom have negative consequences. In this instance, though, you are forced into a play style that may not suit you. Bottom line is I favor aura suppression but admit it can have unfavorable consequences on your teammates. My bottommer line is that my t/b characters do not choose power sets with stealth because of these consequences.

Currently: While this power is active, you are very nimble and Acrobatic. You can avoid most Knockback effects and are resistant to Hold effects. You must be level 14 and have two other Leaping powers before selecting Acrobatics. ... End Cost: 0.26 end/sec Personally only one of my characters have chosen Acrobatics (fire/fire tank). One has to invest in two other Leaping powers, and the end cost is equivalent to a full shield. He doesn't use it for the hold resistance, but for the knock* prevention. I would suggest enhancing this in subtle ways so as to make it worth the investment and end cost, but not so much that it would become a min-maxer's dream. Specifically I propose: increase base run speed by 5% increase base fly speed by 10% increase base jump speed and jump height by 10% resistance to slow debuff resistance to recharge debuff The in-world justification for these improvements would be that, being more athletic you can move better and have learned to minimize wind resistance in above-ground movement. The slow and recharge resistances would also be the result of your training to maximize your movement and reaction even under harsh conditions. Note that recharge time isn't actually increased; you have simply gained the ability to shrug off some of a recharge debuff placed on you. The reason I don't propose even a small recharge buff (5%, say) is I don't want the power to be viewed as a step to perma-Hasten. That might make it too attractive to some people, who would end up with two prerequisite powers many would not otherwise take. None of these abilities would be enhanceable. Acrobatics would continue to accept End Reduc, Recharge speed, and Knockback (resistance) enhancements only. IMO, the suggested improvements would make the power worth the end cost. Alternatively and less appealingly, the end cost could be lowered to be more in line with its current benefits. Maybe 0.12 end/sec.

I agree it should be enhanced, but don't really envision it as an in-combat power. With any team with more than 4 members, its difficult to have everyone stay close,and the bigger the team the more the chaos. While this doesn't hold for regular teams who work together all the time, for the large majority of teams, I can't imagine even a very effective group fly being utilized well.

I couldn't decide so I made Yelo Snow, a storm/ice defender. With Snow Storm, Freezing Rain, Ice Storm, Lightning Storm, and Blizzard, the guy has elemental options. Tornado is of course available when he doesn't want them wet. 😶

Thank you-all for the replies. I avoided saying what his archetype was thinking thread could go off topic with folks asking why i didn't post in the archetype forum. Poi'Tho is currently a level 41 Psy/Poison corrupter. He hasn't started working sets yet. @nihiliiYes, it is awkward to use slow-snipe in midst of battle due to the delay, but sometimes I do sometimes pause long enough to enable it and fire. If foe is already damaged enough for scourge to activate, the already-high damage from slow-snipe is pretty darn high. That said, @Dark Dove point is valid that with the waiting time, overall DPS might be reduced since I'm not doing any other damage during that period. So maybe I should be happy with slow-snipe as an opener and be satisfied with fast-snipe's damage during battle.

Venomous Gas (VG) is the tier 9 toggle power for the poison set. It is a debuff aura weakening foe resistance, damage, defense, and toHit. It has a relatively high cost of 0.52 end/sec, but its numerous debuffs would seem to make the cost worthwhile. Since it is available for defenders, corrupters, and controllers, I decided to post in General rather than one of the archetype forums. For controllers I don't see an issue with it. Most (all?) controller sets already offer a debuff aura of their own, and stacking Venomous Gas on top of that could be great. I don't have a /poison controller, but it sure seems like it would be nice. Defenders and Corruptors face a side effect of VG which controllers do not. I learned in play today that your character cannot simultaneously be debuffing foes with the aura and using a full-strength snipe. If you are far enough away that your aura is not affecting foes, then you will be able to snipe at full power. However, if foes are being debuffed, snipe will be debuffed to its lesser state by the ongoing aggression of the aura. But it's a good aura! Do you feel that the trade-off of losing mid-battle full-sniping to keep the aura up is a worthwhile one?

As I understand it, attacks are always bound within a 5% to 95% chance of hitting. E.g., if a level 1 player attacks a level 50 foe, he will still have a 5% chance to hit it. Similarly, the foe would have a 5% chance to miss. Correct? If so, I have a question. The only defenses my level 24 brute has stems from both Combat Jumping and Maneuvers. Their defense percentage currently sums to 5.05%. Does this mean they never help him while soloing? I know other teammates could be adding to his defense with force field shields, cold shields, or their own Maneuvers. Also if his attack set were one of the swords or Titan Weapons, one of his attacks would add to his melee (and lethal or smashing) defense. So my brute has a potential head start when teamed with others or uses a certain attack in certain sets. But on his own, it would seem to be his level of defense is usually worthless.

Thanks for the response, @KauaiJim. It turned out that my problems were more than just visual. Many character files refused to load and generated an error. So I made a brand new directory, and loaded a clean install into it. That seems to have fixed everything. I did not need to do anything with .net.

Nope, Display Settings (win 10) had the scaling factor for "text, apps, and other items" set to 175%. When I set it to 100% (recommended) and re-logged, everything was smaller, as expected. When I started Mids, the alignment problem is still there, with the enhancements still falling below and to the left of the power they are for. Mids itself has always rescaled nicely as you dragged its window smaller or larger, so I should not have been so quick to blame my GUI scale factor. ... It's just that, now, I have no idea what is causing the problem, or how to fix it.

I just upgraded to new Mids (v3.0.1.9). The enhancements are misaligned visually, but I believe the mouse reacts to their "should be" locations. This obviously makes it very awkward to use. See image below indicating visual offset. The problem may be that I have my windows screen font set to +25% (large font?). I'm playing right now, so cannot test that theory. I'll report back once I can test theory. Thank you for updating this. Except for alignment, looks good overall.

Thank you for the comprehensive and informative reply. One nit is that the tool tip for Sentinel's Dodge does indeed say it resists all damage. The tool tip for their Agile does not say this however, nor do any of the auto-defense powers for an SR tank. Sentinel Dodge -- Auto: Self +DEF(Melee), Res (DeBuff DEF), Res(All DMG, Special) Tank Dodge -- Auto: Self +DEF(Melee), Res (DeBuff DEF), Res(DMG, Special) Whether this is just a typo, I cannot say. But I wanted to verify that I wasn't crazy in seeing the "All". I'm sure I only looked at Dodge, and assumed Agile and Enduring would say the same for their scaling resistance. Since my sentinel is not yet senior enough to have Dodge, I don't know how to bring up its info window; all I have access to is the tool tip.

I have a level 17 Beam/SR Sentinel, as well as SR protection in other archetypes including an SR tank. For the Sentinel, several changes have been made. We get base 0.42% resistance to all but Toxic and Psi in Agile, Dodge, and Enduring. Other SR archetypes have a base of 0.33% to the same (Lucky instead of Enduring), but are marked as resistance to all damage. Sentinel SR resistance just says resistant to damage, not "all". Does that mean they will scale up from 0 on toxic and psi, but a Sentinel SR will not? We have an option to take Master Brawler (MB) rather than Practiced Brawler (PB). MB makes the toggle shields offer mez resistances. I.e., if your toggle shields are on and you have MB (on or not), then you have mez and KB resistance. While active, MB grants absorption, which I'm estimating can be made perma with 2 or 3 SO-level recharges and the Quickness power taken. Given that, why would an SR ever want to choose Practiced Brawler instead? PB only offers mez protection, and can be unavailable after death for many seconds. We get Enduring instead of the static AoE defense, Lucky. It offers significant Endurance recovery, scaled resistance, and defense to Psi damage. Lucky's only offers AoE auto defense, as well as the aforementioned scaled resistance. SR evasion includes extra AoE defense compared to Focused Fighting and Focused Senses, presumably to make up for the lack of AoE defense otherwise. Should we even bother slotting Enduring for its Psi defense? I am of the understanding that positional defenses include psi defense, so I am puzzled why it is offered. Overall, Sentinel SR seems to stack up somewhat ahead of of SR for other archetypes, perhaps because of our lower maximum hit points. What impressions and/or experience do you have concerning this?

(dammit, sorry. Ir looked like my edit wasn't completing, so i tried multiple times. Is there a way we can delete our posts?) NM. I was able to use Options->Hide on three posts.

Clamping always bounds both your chance to hit and be hit to between 5% and 95%. A level 5 blaster can shoot at a level 45 tank and will still have a 5% chance of hitting him., even if the calculated chance was 0.037%. Similarly his chance of hitting you is not nigh 100%, but "only" 95%. If the attack calculation gives a chance to hit between that, 50% say, then clamping is not activated.