Runebound

Shield/Elec Tanker

Runehawk, Plant/Savage Dominator

Love 'em! The thread linked by Lunchmoney has serious suggestions mixed in with humorous gems. Standouts include:

Thought that Counts: resurrect a Defeated teammate who is then immediately Defeated again Fat Fingers: buy an Enhancement Converter for 750,000 Influence At Your Own Risk: drop out without warning, while leading PI Radio Missions for a team of under-30s Down, Sparky: as a teamed Tanker, start a a mission and leave all Toggles off Old Timer: in chat, use the phrase "back in Live" What Happens in the RWZ: be Defeated by a Rikti Monkey Just Looking: as an MM and while teamed, stand in a doorway and position your pets in another doorway Parenthetical Aside: in your Bio, refer to your character on Virtue Down, Sparky 2: be Defeated within 1 minute of increasing mission difficulty

Scrooge: reach 50 without using or moving the Inspirations from the Tutorial Doormat: level and be Defeated in an AE Mission without using any powers I Played Live: use a Battlecry heard on Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, TRON, or the A-Team Scrapster: as a Blaster, take Alpha 100 times while in a team Third Time's the Charm: get stuck behind an open door while Hovering Mouthful: be Defeated while typing in Chat General Will: respond three times to a forum thread on Focused Feedback Timing is Everything: use an Emerge Inspiration within one second of being Defeated Lightning Strikes: be Defeated by the Drop Ship twice in a single MSR Captain Obvious: be Defeated while Stealthed or Invisible Eight Isn't Enough: login to 9 characters in one day Language, Language: spend more than 5 minutes looking for a glowie in a CoT cave Navel-Gazer: reply in Help, General, and Broadcast all within 1 minute Fomo Hero: leave a team and join another in less than 10 seconds

You're right that Blasters are now the masters of damage in general, but they really were a ranged AT. It's not just the character creator that lists them so. In the old Paragon Wiki page on Blasters, before listing the Primary Powersets, it says That's how they were in Live. But now, of course, they do quite well at melee, with powersets increasingly gauged towards close play. Crysis has an interesting take on why Blappers now flourish: As a ranged player, I'm really glad some powersets still have the option to play at a distance, but posts like Nemu's above and Jeneki's about jousting in-and-out of melee make me want to try a melee option as well.

Yes, I think that's fair. But because fast travel affects teaming, especially in TFs, I don't want the changes to discourage newcomers. Unlocking the LRT is easy for veterans, but it's a lot less clear to anyone new, I didn't know that it even needed to be unlocked. To clarify, I'd change the text from "A new accolade power which can be used to instantly teleport to another zone once every 10 minutes. You can unlock more destinations by collecting exploration badges. " to something more like what it says for the Fast Travel Power: "This menu is unlocked as soon as you acquire one of the powers available in the menu, and can be found in the Accolades section of the powers window. " I'd also add that once you open the LRT window (if you have a power that unlocks it), you can then summon a base portal. Finally, it would help to convey to newcomers how easy it is to get an Exploration Badge for, say, Atlas Park. I didn't have one, and when I asked in Help how to open the LRT, I was directed to Pocket D. For me, standing around semi-afk for an unlock is a poor gaming experience, taking away good play time, and I wish I knew about the alternative. I'm not sure how to solve that for other newcomers, since explaining about badge collection doesn't fit in a power description. So I suggested the alternative: unlock the LRT for everyone. If that seems too easy, maybe there's another way to make the process clear.

I'm wary of nerfs in a PvE game, since I'm not hurt when you run a mission with a powerful toon. The one exception is when given power so alters the game that it weakens the experience for teammates. Incarnates may fall into that category, at least in non-endgame content. As a relative newcomer, I'm often reduced to a spectator in TFs where other players clear masses of mobs in the time it takes for me to me hold one, largely because of Incarnates. That may be ok. Other players have earned their Incarnate powers, I'm still enjoying the game, and I hate to make nerfs that reduce the fun for another player. But if nerfs are warranted here, these seem reasonable options: If #1 is too much, the second would enable Incarnate abilities for content suited to their power. It's a good suggestion, and #3 is a softer alternative.

I'll admit it: in Live, I liked that travel took a bit of time and creative problem-solving. It felt good to exercise game knowledge in linking two efficient transfers, or to appreciate your travel power as an integral part of the game. But it's a matter of balance. I don't miss weak Sprint or the level 14 gate for travel powers. I'm grateful for Ninja Run and glad the Homecoming devs make it readily available. Here, I wonder if we could hit the right balance with two tweaks? Grant a temporary "Summon Base Portal" power to players running a TF, so stragglers neither miss out nor hold things up. Or shorten the CD for LRT while on a TF Grant access to the LRT account-wide, removing the busywork of standing in Pocket D, getting a Day Job Accolade, etc. 1) can ease the trouble our teams had in TF's yesterday. With uneven access to base teleporting, we had the worst of both worlds: TFs took longer (without offering any more fun), while in several missions, half the players got surprisingly far ahead while the others struggled to catch up. If you wanted to keep solo players from exploiting the LFG queue for access, you could reduce the CD by number of players (1 min per person on the TF), or grant the temporary Summon Base Portal power after the second or third mission. 2) may sound like a small thing - just stand in Pocket D for an hour! Just get Exploration Badges! - but it's maybe the most important point. If a game starts to feel like work, people stop playing. That's actually why I'm here now (thanks, BDO, for driving me away with a crappy reliance on semi-afk play). Given that I've been here only 2 months, I have, well, an embarrassing number of alts that I play near daily. Spending dozens of hours in Pocket D isn't fun for me, nor is managing the Day Job shuffle. Exploration Badges are active, but I still hate to do them for every alt. I could skip it - I get that fast travel can be seen as a privilege, not a right - but since TFs are my favorite part of the game, I also hate to hold up my team, or miss part of each mission while they begin without me. See #1. Any chance of adding those tweaks?

I've been here two months and I'm continually impressed with the community. Helpful, creative, positive. And they like puns. More or less.

Balance is a matter of context - for the set, the AT, and the game overall. You can balance each set by setting each power to the same range, damage, hold time, and the like, but only at the cost of reducing diversity. Within each AT, the diversity of powers and playstyles provides a lot of the fun of CoH. For game balance, CoH has it easier than a PvP game and can wield the nerf bat sparingly. No one is hurt if one powerset or AT can shoot a little further or harder, or stun a little longer, unless they become so relatively powerful that they dominate group dynamics.

It's incredible. Highly recommended!

Thanks for the info Vanden.

That's good to know. Does the non-stacking aspect apply when the same caster uses another (non-stacking) power, or only for repeat use of the same power? And any insight on the other questions? How does the Scale affect duration? Does a Scale 12 last twice as long as a Scale 6, or is there another variable in the formula? Do Lieutenants come with Mag Protection 2 or 3 (since the Wiki claims both), and does that increase by +1 for each level above yours (for a 51 mob vs a 50 hero, for instance)? For the Blaster powers that have changed from Mag 3 to Mag 2 (non-stacking)/ Mag 1 (stacking), does that mean that it now takes four castings to hold a boss and six to CC an even-level EB, or does the stacking work in a different way? Knowing the answers would help in understanding the effects of the patch.

On the more general topic of CC changes, could we get clarification on the impact from someone who knows more about the mechanics than I do? How does the Scale affect duration? Does a Scale 12 last twice as long as a Scale 6, or is there another variable in the formula? What is the Protection level of various mobs (3 for Lieutenants like on this ParagonWiki page, or 2 like on this other ParagonWiki page)? And does Protection increase by +1 with each level above yours? Depending on the answers to the above, it looks like the patch primarily affects options for Bosses and above. A solo player using Time Stop can still hold even-level Minions and Lieutenants (if the second link is correct about needing to exceed the listed Protection levels, so 2 + 1 > 2), though a bit shorter in duration. Is that right? Time Stop Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to: Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking) Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking) Tougher targets become less accessible for solo players, though. It now takes four castings to hold a Boss (2 + 1 + 1 +1 >3) instead of two (3 + 3 >3). Before the patch, a /Time (or /Plant or /Ninja, etc) Blaster could hold an EB if able to get off three casts (3 + 3 + 3 > 6), but now it would take six to CC an even-level EB (2 + 1 + 1 + 1 +1 +1 > 6), making it more of a team option. Is that right?

Ouch. It's tough to follow a post like Captain Powerhouse's above: it's thoughtful and reasonable, and yet I'm finding it hard to say how sad I am in what is, after all, just a game. Maybe it's because, like Blackbird, I found in Tac Arrow what I really wanted in gameplay, and now I've lost it. Changes to other powersets affect more of my alts, but this is the one that hurts. Maybe it's because it feels so unnecessary. In a non-pvp game, nerfs are less pressing: I'm not hurt when another plays a powerset stronger than mine, unless it deeply alters the teaming experience. Nerfs might help players maintain a sense of fairness when a set surpasses others in every way, as with TW, but no one's claiming that for Tactical Arrow. Here the question is about a different playstyle. Whether you think 50' and 60' feet is still distant enough for ranged play, what made the set unique is now reduced. So I'll hold out a wee bit of hope that some range will be restored to Tac Arrow. Even 10' more to ENA and Ice Arrow would let us stay out of aggro range while we set up our openers - one of the most fun aspects of the powerset. Thanks to Captain Powerhouse for his interest in avoiding homogenization. Varied playstyles for different powersets are one of things that makes the game such fun.

I agree. I do think a little more detail before the patch would help achieve the OP goal of "clearing up" issues around power sets, hence my post above, but that doesn't keep me from seeing and appreciating how the GM's reach out to the community. That's a win for everyone. Also, while there are bound to be cranky voices in any long thread, it seems the GM's make the most of constructive feedback. Early on, Widower posted

I feel blindsided by the nerfs to Blaster secondaries, in part because of what I read here, or rather what I didn't read. Based on this thread, I felt safe to spend much of my game time in the last month leveling Blasters with /Plant and /Tac Arrow, without any sense that the nerf bat would hit so hard. Maybe it's because I'm new, while veterans would know better, but the OP threw me: That suggests a coming nerf for TW. Fine: a heads-up beats blindsiding, and that kind of advance notice great way for GM's to make use of the Forum But when I read "improvements to... Blaster secondaries," I never pictured such deep cuts to CC across the board. Ice Arrow and similar powers look to be changed from the ability to hold an Elite Boss after 12s to doing so after 80 seconds. (That's from Mag 3 x 2/12 s to Mag 2 + Mag 1 x 4/16s. If it doesn't work that way, please enlighten me: even Magnitude is hard to get info on, with clear errors in this Wiki page, and I'm even less sure what "Scale" means in the listed nerfs). Worse still are the cuts to the range of Tactical Arrow. Range seemed to be the feature of the set. This thread on Blaster secondaries gives a good sense of player views on its key role as a ranged secondary (in the first two pages, before the thread devolves). Here are the comments from page 1: "Most blaster secondaries are very powerful melee attacks, usually with a debuff, with Build Up later on. Tactical Arrow has a lot of debuff and soft control and Devices offers a little bit of everything if you absolutely don't want to get into melee range" "And then you even got tactical arrow which has all ranged powers that provide both control and damage, plus several nifty buffs. Ditto for devices....Overall, however, the thing I like the most about blaster secondaries is that they are all different, and thus provide very different playstyles" "Both ATs secondaries have a wide variance in how they work, with Blaster /Devices and /Tactical Arrow working much differently than /Electric and /Fire." Nothing I read there, or in the OP here, suggested that Tac Arrow needed to nerfed back into melee range, hence the unwelcome surprise. This post isn't meant to debate the nerfs to Tac Arrow (or Plants. sigh.). There's another thread for that, Focused Feedback: Blaster Secondary Revamp. Here, I'm responding to the good intentions of the OP of giving us a heads-up about pending changes, and to avoiding a "homogenization" of powers. I was thrown on both counts. So here's my plea to the GM's: in the future, please give a few specifics on projected changes - not exact numbers and amounts, since those can get last-minute tweaks, but rather statements like "we plan a reduction of Blaster CC abilities and in the range of Tactical Arrow powers" instead of the vague and misleading "improvements to Blaster secondaries." If we have a clearer idea of what's coming, we can be better prepared.

Agreed. Cutting the reach to force Tac Arrow users "into melee range" tries to make the set into something it's not. Make us play tactically if you must. Keep the other changes and we have to play with care. Ice arrow takes 50% longer to recharge and Upshot's recharge bonus is halved, with its other buffs cut. Flash Arrow can be resisted. ESD arrow has a weaker hold. We need to watch out: fine. But let us do it at range. Not every Blaster has to be a Blapper.

Thanks to the GMs for all you do to keep improving Homecoming. I'm sure grateful. But I'm troubled by the push to get Blasters "into melee range." This post has it right: It's ok to reduce the power in sets that you see as "overtuned." But nerfing a playstyle is different and should be approached with more caution. Nerfing Plants to the point of making more generically akin to others reduces the rich variety of the game, for instance. Worst of all is the range nerf to Tactical Arrow. The patch cuts multiple ways into that Secondary - with increased recharge, with weakened buffs and holds - but of all those, the range nerf is the most puzzling. Surely, there should be a Blaster Secondary that favors play at range, just as so many favor melee? To date, patches have been friendly to melee play. Homecoming made welcome improvements to Tankers, and those players who like Blappers have many strong options. Now please keep ranged play viable, and consider scaling back this patch's nerfs on ranged abilities.

Is this strategy still viable as a way to make money by selling contents? I don't have enough data for a conclusion. but my results do raise the question. tl;dr? 50 packs yielded a direct profit of 36m Inf, about a 7% profit. As a new player without enough Inf to buy 100 packs at once, I've bought and sold 50 by turning the over in the past two weeks. Highlights: Packs were a LOT more valuable in my first week. I expect my recent bad streak is just RNG, but I'm watching it to see if ATO rates changed with the last patch. My average sale price was a bit higher than in Timrod's OP (8.1m vs 7m, before fees). That's probably a matter of speed: he wanted "fast sales" while my listings are up 3-4 days. Fewer ATOs/pack is the real trouble. Unlike Hopeling, who got 75 ATOs from 60 packs, I got 46 out of 50. Merits didn't balance the drop in ATOs. I got just under 8/pack, compared with Hopeling's 10 per, probably not statistically significant. My numbers count only "direct profit" of anything that can be sold or converted and sold, not potential income from things like Windfall (of which I got one). Initially, I did no converting of ATOs, so I could learn the market. Over the past few days, I've started converting ATOs if the price is relatively low and either the number of listings is high or the last 5 sales go back more than yesterday. There wasn't a huge difference between the Heroes & Villains Packs (35 of them) and Rogue & Vigilante Packs (15). The R&V had a slightly higher profit rate, with a lower % of near-total loss packs, but the H&V came close, thanks to more packs with two ATOs per pack and more with large amounts of merits. All that variation can easily be due to RNG with such a small sample size. Conclusion? That was a lot of work for that return. Veterans here could have done it much faster - I spent a lot of time recording data about individual ATOs to learn the market - but even so, the bottom line came out lower than expected. 7% profit is well under the posted figures from 2019, and it's not better than alternatives with less commitment of funds. Is anyone else seeing similar numbers?

That's a lot of TFs! The channel has been helpful, and your SG sounds appealing. I'll keep an eye out for you in game!

Great info, thanks. Since my goal in the thread is to make a viable two-whip build, I'm curious about these defense and damage options, given the collected advice above. Any thoughts on these tradeoffs? 35% Ranged Defense with 5% S/L Resist or...... 22% Defense in everything, with 13% S/L Resist? I started at range and planned to max Ranged Def. But now that I'm trying Melee range, I wonder if the latter route will pay off? Changes would include replacing a set of Blood Mandate with Sovereign Right, replacing Cloud Senses x2 w Siphon Insight, and dropping the Soulbound Chance for Build Up If I can eventually afford 4 Marks of Supremacy, could add Melee Def of 3% and S/L 1.5%, at the cost of some Resist (2.25% S/L, plus dropping Sleep/Hold/Confuse from 40% to 30%) Bonfire with 1 slot plus Maneuvers & Tactics at 2, or.... Bonfire with 3 slots and Maneuvers & Tactics at 1? I'll confess to finding Tactics unnecessary for ordinary mobs, and superfluous when in well-buffed teams facing tough enemies. Maneuvers seems similarly situational, and Bonfire is just plain more fun, Fun is the ultimate goal, but since it's also fun to succeed, I wonder if I'm underplaying the value of M & T. Can they be effective with just 1 slot each? I'm ok on Endurance, though with just 2 slots in Stamina, I do watch my toggle use when Tactics is up.

Thanks for the good thoughts! I'm continually struck with how helpful folks are in the Forum. That's all good info and consistent with the way I planned my Whips build, though I wonder now if Ranged defense will still do, given the melee-distance approaches described above. I'll add Accolades to the (long!) list of things to learn about. Good to know. Which are the Defense Uniques to look for? I didn't realize the Pet Uniques don't carry to the MM, so that may be why I don't see the Resist value change when I slot Sovereign Right Resistance. It sounds like there's a way in Mids to see pet Resist values? That makes sense about the PM Aborb unique. I'll keep the Numina's in Health. Is it also worth the slots there for Miracle +Recovery and Panacea +HP/End? I'd love to keep Heat Mastery if it's viable. I'm glad to hear about the damage, too - I'd been using it just for CC.

I've been trying this approach for the past several days, thanks to Coyote and SpiritFox. It makes good sense, though it takes getting used to. I generally play at range as a squishy, and I'm used to pulling with Corruption, often to a corner spot where I can funnel mobs through Tar Patch. The biggest change is in build plans. It's tricky to reach this 20% Defense + Resist goal: Any tips on getting there? Working from Force Redux's excellent guide, this is what I have so far It prioritized Ranged Defense (34.8%), but it's weaker vs Melee and vs Smashing/Lethal (13.5%). S/L resistance is just 5%. Force Redux's is a bit lighter in overall Defense but shines in Resistance, with 47% S/L, plus similar or higher numbers in everything else. Some of that comes from Dark Embrace, but I wonder if the rest is from the Superior Mark/ Superior Command slots in Hell on Earth. I'm still learning about the Incarnate/ Alpha system: do those apply a 15% bonus to all Resist and Defense? If possible, I'd like to keep Heat in place of Soul Mastery, while still boosting my melee worthiness. I know Heat trails in popularity, but I love Bonfire, and have learned to shape my play around it for this MM. Also, Heats fits well with using both Corruption and Crack Whip: since Bonfire doesn't need additional slots, I complete Crack Whip by taking the slots from Soul Tentacles in Force Redux's build. Other slotting choices I'm not sure about: Sovereign Right Resistance Bonus (in Demon Prince) shows no benefit I see in Mids. Does it add 10% to all Resists? Is Soulbound Allegiance Build Up (once I can afford it) worthwhile in Demon Prince? Most builds put it in Demonlings (for x3 bonus?), but some in Demon Prince. I went with the latter to keep the Ranged Defense bonus from a 6-set of Blood Mandate in Demonlings, but if there's a better way, I'll change it. Is Numina's +Regen/ + Recovery (in Health) important? I could drop it (or swap it with Preventative Medicine's Absorb, if that's useful), plus drop a slot from Maneuvers or Tactics, to 6-slot Char with Neuronic Shutdown for a couple points more S/L Resist and Def, if worth the trade. Any advice on improving defense/resistance while keeping Corruption + Crack Whip?