Psi-bolt

Wow, that's terrible, I'm not defending that. Honestly most times now I just don't even bring it up when someone has Energy Blast or is a PB. But I do see that a lot of players have used self-help in the form of not even playing Energy Blast or Peacebringers. Although with both of those sets that could also have a lot to do with the effectiveness of those sets outside of the KB. Believe it or not, I want to support the use of those sets and powers. I think for the average player, having their KB turned to KD would be positive for their gameplay.

Doesn't communication solve this? I create many teams so I will tell you how I would deal with such a situation. Honestly, most times I would just ask someone if they wouldn't mind using the toggle. I wouldn't kick them if they didn't, but I would ask. If they said no and asserted that they can use KB effectively, I would give them a chance. Now I know some people wouldn't but those same folks would be much more likely to just boot you right now.

How is it difficult to see that the ability to switch back and forth between KB and KD at the push of a button improves options? Examples: I'm playing my Energy Blaster and join a team where the team leader hates KB. I'm annoyed because I love KB, but I need this Manticore TF for the accolade. So I press the button for the toggle and as soon as the TF is done I can get my KB back without any hassle. I'm playing the Apex TF and the team loves KB and thinks I'm a great player because I Hover over the spawns and carefully control what I'm doing. Then I run into the final boss where flying can be deadly. I don't want my KB to scatter the warriors (I don't think it can scatter the swords). So I hit the toggle and finish the TF. When we do Tin Mage next, I go right back to using KB. You see where I'm going with this? A toggle allows you to switch back and forth giving you the option to use KD or KB at the situation merits. Surely (and I'll stop calling you Shirley if you ask), you can recognize that sometimes KB isn't the best option and that there are opportunities in being able to change it to KD when needed.

Sure it does, with such a toggle Team Leaders have a very reasonable alternative to asking folks to slot a special enhancer that is a million inf+. Thus, you will know who is TRULY annoyed by KB where now some of your teammates clearly suffer in silence. No it wouldn't and no one here has argued for KB to be removed entirely. A toggle KB-KD precludes that solution entirely. There would never be a need for such a solution in the presence of such a toggle. No one would control your build other than you, and my suggestion completely eliminates any concerns about build because I partially agree with you. That's my point, that people should have to spend resources to remove this effect. More on that below. No they are not. You always can leave such a team and the team leader can always boot you from the team. Any "control" you perceive is someone else playing the game the way that they wish to play. These options exist now. I can when I create teams refuse to invite someone with Nova or Explosive Blast. This would give me another option. To ask that person to improve their play by using the toggle. It allows team leaders an ability not to exclude people. It puts the onus on the player using the problematic effect but asks almost nothing of them. Because they don't need to buy an enhancer or use a slot they can retain the KB in their powers for teams that don't care or when they are solo or leading. No, this doesn't deal with the problem. You assume that only melee players have a problem with KB. That's not true. When I'm playing Blasters with location AoEs, it is annoying to have someone run in and Nova everyone out of range. Also your toggle eliminates Knockdown and Knockup, both very good controls that we should be encouraging folks to use (via a free toggle at the START vendor!) Finally, the cost just encourages booting people with KB which is what we're trying to lessen.

Could we have a sub-zone of Pocket D or it could even be a new zone altogether with a MUCH larger Architect Entertainment area. Something like 30 terminals and multiple contacts and mission entrances. Or even just multiple AE interfaces. Now this is probably too much work, but a sunny version of Croatoa's farmlands would be appropriate. Cooperative zone, of course. In lore perhaps it's upstate of Paragon City along the US 95 highway. Add a trainer, START vendors, a general store, etc. Just a fun farming community outside of town. PLEASE NOTE: I personally have no objection to farming and this isn't an anti-farming post. It just gets very crowded in the Pocket D AE. and Pocket D in general because of all the farming.

Honestly, that's both horrifying and awesome in equal measure IMO. I like to imagine that someone hates KB so much that they carry around a few extras for the people who take Nova. 😆 It's not? /s Honestly, I never complain about KB on teams, but I can't deny that it's annoying to me (I'll accept that as a personal failing). There's simply too many powers that depend on enemies being tightly clumped up to feel otherwise. Fold Space can be annoying as well, but once I know who is using it, it can be helpful. As for "using KB well," there's maybe ten players I've seen in 21 years who really can control KB well. I'm one-hundred 💯percent sure that anyone who is reading this is a grand master in the use of knockback and I apologize in advance for having the temerity of doubting your skills. Please forgive me. The thing about a toggle (KB to KD) is that it gives people who LIKE knockback more choices. If you don't want to turn off your KB, then you can leave the groups of anyone who has the gall to ask you to do so. That's a completely valid choice. Likewise, with a clear cheap and easy option available, people who don't like KB can express that choice without automatically excluding people who play certain ATs or sets. Or worse, annoying themselves and perhaps other teammates by not being exclusionary and letting the KB player do their thing. It gives the KB player a choice that doesn't come with a cost in slots or influence, while simultaneously improving their outcomes in most cases. I guess I just don't understand the objection to such a toggle. It seems to me that the objection is that people will ask you to use it. And that the loss in fun from having enemies still controlled (better?) with KD instead of KB is a terrible imposition. Is KB really that fun for you guys? Is having to position and all that other stuff you all do to control KB enjoyable? By the way, while I am a true and complete hater (again personal failing) of AoE KB, I love ST KB when it's guaranteed. For illustration, I almost always take the ST KB powers that have really high magnitudes like Force Bolt when they are available, because those powers are hilarious. I even six slotted one once with an ACC and 5 KB just for the laughs when you knock an enemy half way across the zone. But do folks really get that much enjoyment out of the KB in Nova, Explosive Blast, etc.?

This is why I think we need a straight KB-KD toggle power purchasable at START. Then there really should be no more arguments. If you’re on a team and the team wants you to turn off the KB you can have a free easy way to do that without a slot tax. Or if you really like KB that’s cool too and you can quit and play with others who agree with you. Even start your own teams where KB is welcome and appreciated. No more need to spend several million influence.

I can believe that. But I think that middle of the pack for Blast sets is pretty bad because the best sets are so awesome.

That would be interesting. On the main topic, after a recent post on KB, I started an Energy Blaster with the full intent of getting it to 50, made it to 30. I came to a realization. It's not even the KB that holds the set back so much, that set just sucks. I started a Water Blast right after because I had never done that set on a Blaster and it was a joy to play. The KB is just insult to injury for that poor set. The AoE is weak and the ST attacks are middling. While with Fire having a PBAoE Tier 9 is fair given what that set brings to the table, with Energy Blast, Nova doesn't need that limitation. I pretty much feel the same with Peacebringers too.

We should not encourage Tanker Regen players to make such a choice. You can still make a respectable Tanker with Instant Healing, but you're vastly better off with Reactive Healing with Tankers. I have a Regen Brute that tanked fine with IH, but I built around giving them mitigation to make up for that. I still respecced into Reactive the same day the patch went live. Reactive is just plain better. I think the developers left the choice in for people so no one would feel the need to respec. But there's little justification for using that power any longer.

It would be nice if we could pick up the hostage. Even if that came with a debuff.

We need a tongue sticking out emoji. EDIT: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abstruse

From the description of those both pro and anti the current implementation of procs, procs are an abstruse mechanic. They might be fair in some instances and not fair in others, but do procs have a major affect on balance? It seems to me that most players don't have a significant enough understanding of the mechanics to capitalize on procs and even where players do, it really doesn't make a character so much better than someone who does more conventional slotting. Personally, I think that making the mechanics more plain and easy to understand would be the first adjustment that should be made. Then we would have a better baseline to see if they are a problem.

I wish we could buy temporary charges of this power.

My primary issue is with the content itself, not its rewards. I don't think the Ms. Liberty TF, for example, should be soloable at all. No matter the rewards. Obviously some TFs like the ITF are soloable, but I think if the TF rewards Alpha components or better (e.g. Apex) then it shouldn't get this treatment.

I agree with this except for the endgame TFs like Kahn, Lady Grey, ITF, etc. Basically anything that gives Incarnate salvage. Even with lesser rewards, the story behind those IMO just don't support them being solo adventures even though some can be soloed with powerful builds.

As I said above, I don't really care about OTHER players' knockback that much. I would prefer you not Nova that spawn that I just cast Blizzard over, but I'll live. As a melee, I don't care one bit, especially on my Tanks. If the squishies decide to do things that make it harder for me to protect them, then I wish them well. I'll just move on to the next spawn. Of course they are options and yes, these are my choices to avoid this set and other sets/powers with AoE KB. But what other secondary effect is there that players feel the need to work around? Or have to 'learn' to use? I mean, the "learn" to use it argument is the one that really is insane to me. Does a Fire Blaster have to learn to use a DoT? Does the Psychic have to learn to use the -recharge. And so on and so forth. Most secondary effects even if they don't do a whole lot, don't require positioning or having to modify your playstyle or slotting an enhancer to turn them off. All I think they should do is add a power to the START vendor that applies a -30 MAG debuff to your powers with KB and applies a .67 buff to KB that ignores buffs and enhancements. Now, I do recognize that there will be some people who will auto kick any Energy Blaster, Peacebringer, etc. that refuses to use them. But IMO it would open the set up to more people making it an reasonable tradeoff. I'm mostly in "old man yelling at cloud" mode at this point. I don't expect any changes, but heck I didn't expect them to return Regen to glory and they did that so hope remains alive.

As I just finished another Blaster, I have been thinking of doing just this, slotting the two AoEs with KB-KD and ignoring the others. But I know I'll just find myself at the character create screen and wind up with a psychic blaster or something! 😆

I don’t think anyone finds auto powers annoying. As for playing level 50s, I wish I could manage my severe altoholism, but no I play lowbies quite regularly. Finally, I don’t doubt that you’ve had some fun all-KB teams. I just want a choice. I like the look of Energy Blast and if I could just suppress its KB I would play the set. I’m not going to buy an expensive enhancement for all my powers because other sets have secondary effects that don’t have the same interactions with other powers and don’t require such an enhancement.

Without knowing anything about their agreement with NCSoft, the best way to improve the resources of the game is to provide them resources in the form of money. Either provide a voluntary subscription or allow real money transactions for some in-game items. Both of those can be considered toxic by different groups of players.

I have no issue with this idea, but I think it would be easier if contacts just gave you their phone number after first meeting them like with Task Forces. It's rather silly that contacts are stingy with their contact info when you're risking life and limb to do their missions.

Perhaps, but I don't think any honest broker would argue that Energy Blast, for example, is a popular set. That could be for other reasons, but I would suggest that its KB is a core reason that people don't want to use the set. I don't complain about KB either nor do I see many people complain about KB. I think in the current state of the game on Homecoming that's primarily because things are streamlined to the extent that the clear efficiency lost from KB powers is mitigated by the game being easy enough that it really doesn't matter. Basically, I think I am like most players in that while KB can be annoying at times, it's not worth getting upset about. Honestly, the biggest argument in favor of KB is that it's fun and thematic. From a gameplay standpoint, its benefits are far outweighed by the lost of efficiency. It's not just melees either. I was playing my Ice Blaster recently and a SS character used Hand Clap on a spawn. Well with the enemies spread out like that, using either of my location AoEs would have been a waste. I didn't sweat it, like I said, I don't care that much. I just moved on to the next spawn and let the melee clean up his own mess. There are a LARGE number of powers that benefit from having enemies tightly clumped up. Many AOE powers, many buff powers, debuffs, etc. That's just a fact. KB, whatever its benefit, interferes with maximizing the use of those powers. That it does so has caused many players to avoid KB powers in my observation. I PUG almost every session I play and I rarely see sets with substantial KB or even individual powers with AOE KB. This makes sets like Energy Blast very uncommon even though it's a cool looking set. I think the various developer teams from live and Homecoming don't want to change this because of players like you who really enjoy using KB. The undeniable feeling of power that comes from tossing enemies all around is fun. That's cool, I can understand that perspective.

Didn't most people survive by not playing sets and/or powers with KB? Personally, I tend to think that the KB to KD should just be a free power that you can buy at SMART that suppresses all your KB powers.

In the D&D campaign I am currently in, an Earth Elemental was hiding in a wall and got surprise on our Paladin with a smash. I'm all for Stalker Stone! I also think re: Tanker/Brute Ninjitsu that you would need to boot Blinding Powder. That could be a good place for a taunt aura though. If they wanted to be fancy you could do that silly thing they do no Naruto where they create Shadow Clones of themselves. It could be only a visual cue too, and just be a normal taunt aura otherwise.

Recognizing the issues with Rage discussed in your other thread, I still don't see why it would be a big deal to proliferate SS to Scrappers/Stalkers. Hand Clap obviously becomes Assassin's Blow/Smash/Knockout or whatever. I don't think you can just go with Build up, but it seems to me that a +DMG/+To-Hit toggle (so no crash) called something like "Focused Strength" with perhaps equal to-hit but much less damage buff (25-40%) could work.