Mikazuki

Kinda got the same message on my tablet, working fine on my main computer. No idea what may be causing this, was working fine before may 30th's update.

Just descriptive sadly. The alpha only gets two skills in addition to the other skills the howlers have, Growl(AoE -dmg -tohit) and Lick Wounds(self heal). Both lionesses have a Lion's Roar buff tho, which grants +6% defense to your pets for 15 seconds with 60 second cooldown, which isnt really reliable.

I'm currently working through the numbers and will post something more concrete at a later date, but overall beast might be quite amazing. Extremely focused and doesnt waste time on crowd control, base numbers offer a lot more damage and defense(compared to ninjas, Minions and bosses have twice the defense but jounins have a bit more base defense compared to the lioness) As far as mastermind terms go, they got the tier 1 and 2 pets of necromancy, added base defense to them, removed ranged attacks, and mixed them with another high powered melee tier 3 pet. All of them having an ability that gives immob resistance and increases movement speed(plus damage and other things) And theres also the pack mentality and fortify pack mechanics. which can give you stacking damage/crit chance numbers or just plain extra defense. Honestly from my point of view, people were too tired from melee mastermind pets being suboptimal just dismissed beasts as just another one back in 2012, But so far trying it out and running the numbers, this might actually be Demon-Level. (Hard to compare it to the safeness of bots and sheer power of thugs right now.)

Kinda wanted to multibox, but then found out that for some reason autohotkey's controlsend doesnt work on CoH, and i dont want to pay for a multiboxing software right now(and not even sure if any exist), so... right now the only purpose i can imagine for actually multiboxing(unless you found a Multibox software that works on CoH) is for farmers to have a slave buffer following them around. ...or just for masterminds on follow i guess? that works at lower levels and at lower difficulties but i fail to see the purpose, imagine the nightmare of having to tab just to move your second character through doors and unglue out of corners all the time.

That is actually the same issue i have on my windows 10 tablet. Can't start CoH at all until both my bluetooth keyboard and mouse are connected, but after that there are no issues. So if you are running on an actual desktop, not sure what might be it.

Regardless of being worthwhile or not, it is quite possible to make something like this if someone is willing. All combat information is instantly logged to a log file if you have the option selected, wont even need to scan the game's memory. ACT provides a good framework for it if anyone with the appropriate knowledge feels like investing their time into a CoH plugin: https://advancedcombattracker.com/

Using a mini Bluetooth mouse right now, the tablet keyboard case i got didnt have a touchpad sadly. But can look into virtual mouse programs, not sure how those would work with touchscreens tho.

...Way to go at answering my own question, while looking for the original post i downloaded the version i have, i found a post with a newer version that fixed the issues i have. Leaving this here just in case anyone else needs it. https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,541.msg15109.html#msg15109 note: we could use a sticky post with the latest version of pines, just a thought.

the above link leads me to a login prompt, and http://www.cohplanner.com/ seems to still be stuck in 2012

I've played all kinds of MMs(except beasts, should try that sometime) Mercs/Traps was my first back on CoV's release, had a lot of fun with it, could solo +4s while leveling quite easily due to the heavy CC (back then we didnt have an option to set party size, so that means +4 x1 lol) and heck mercs is the only primary that can actually snipe pull, with the specops. That being said i did most of my villain carreer solo, once i started getting more into groups and tried out other MM primaries, i kinda started hating mercs. Mercs are a bit way too focused on CC, spec ops scatter mobs around with flashbang, your medic will knock things back with frag grenade, and there's the commando... almost everything your commando does knocks stuff back. He can even "snipe pull" with a rocket launcher scattering the target group everywhere. I kinda want to test mercs again on homecoming with overwhelming force on the commando to see if it gets more bearable, but dont think it'll bring mercs up to the level of bots/thugs/demons even so. I wouldnt say they are "hot garbage" as you can actually use them, i'd say they sit comfortably in the middle of the pack not excelling but not being unusable(without insane levels of optimization) like ninjas and beasts. Just be prepared to annoy the hell out of your team. pair it with /storm for maximum troll points.

Well the new build planner doesnt seem to have an official place and is just handed around like an illegal substance(albeit freely, unless its using my machine to mine for bitcoins right now). First: was wondering if there was any location where updates would be posted, website, reddit thread, etc. If not: Was wondering if there were any newer versions after the 19/05/16 version, just noticed /rad doesnt work for masterminds there, builder thinks its so ludicrous it crashes once i select it. ( ' - ')b

Can run CoH on my 300$ windows 10 tablet quite well, no video card involved. Bizarre thing is if i dont use a mouse CoH wont start at all, gives me a direct x error telling me to update then the next message up is that a mouse and keyboard could not be detected, but works fine once i activate a blutooth mouse. Pretty sad, was hoping to mess around in coh during my commute, using a mouse in a bus is kind of awkward.

I personally like tier lists, a lot of people see them as "dumbing the game" for people as they can just pick whatever is at the top, but it leads to a lot of thinking and understanding for those making and discussing said list. That being said, Top and bottom tiers are very clear, but mid tiers kinda need a bit more shuffling i'd say. I'm not sure what the actual criteria each set is being judged on, but i'll comment based on party utility: Pain Domination) I feel like this should be at least one tier higher than empathy, it has overall lesser heal numbers and is definitely not as attractive while leveling as empathy's burst of endurance is loved by underenhanced and underslotted players, i still feel pain brings a lot more to the table at 50+ and incarnate levels. Painbringer giving +damage instead of +recharge stacks a lot better as most players will set up their builds towards making whatever powers their need perma-active. And the +end is kind of pointless when at least half your team is spamming ageless, And the heals even when reduced in power are enough to keep tanks up in incarnate trials. And oh, anguishing cry. no such thing as enough -res. Trick arrow) I dont have much to say here as i have very little experience with the set, but the major gripe everyone has with it is "REDRAW!" not sure if you noticed but i25 now has no-redraw options for most weapons(sadly not arachnos maces), including bow/trick arrow. Think it is worth taking another look at this. Poison) Kinda feel like poison deserves a bit more love, with powerset proliferation and this thing being now available to defenders, the debuff numbers are juicy. Debuffs are massive, surpasses other more popular sets in raw potency, downside being the way the powers work, as it only affects your target in full and everything around it only gets about a third of the effect. but on the flipside, cooldowns are short and the powers are spammable.

Time can work but it takes a lot more work and the early levels will be a major pain. The -res debuff is Slowed response, gives -25/20% res and -22.50/27% defense which on paper sounds good, but is on a 1m 30s cooldown and lasts 30 seconds, making it perma would require some external global cooldown reductions. And the worst point it here is that you only get it at lv35, as opposed to lv2 for dark and 2/10 for rad. Chrono shift can help with your phantom army recharge and also your slowed response recharge, but its on a 6 minute cooldown and the recharge buff lasts for 1m 30s, which can be a bit better than accelerate metabolism as its on a shorter cooldown and gives 50% recharge vs AM's 30%. But... you only get it at lv38 vs lv4 for AM. Can work, but not as friendly.

I'll admit my bias, i'm not that big of a fan of dark myself so memory kinda diminished it for me. But yeah both can work, the two of them together in a team would be even better.

My only quibble is showing the 'full damage' as if Scourge auto-triggered. While Sentinel damage is a bit 'iffy' compared to their closest Scrapper cousins, I think its better than it looks on the surface. Fair enough, edited the first post to outline that. And i kinda want to compare sentinels to scrappers as well but finding a comparable set is hard, plus all melee damage archetypes have a bonus damage mechanic, flat crit for scrappers, party crit and stealth attacks for stalkers, rage for brutes. While sentinels have a debuff inherent power which makes them support-ish... just weird.

After some further digging, the set i found to be most amusing was assault rifle and i think comparing it seems interesting: Beanbag/Disorienting Shot: Blaster does 12.51 base average damage. 3 mag stun for 8s 20s cooldown Sentinel does 61.28 base average damage. 3 mag stun for 2s 5s cooldown This is actually very interesting, Disorienting shot is a tier 2 power for sentinels so it applies the resistance debuff. And beanbag was always a throwaway power for AR blasters. I mean when properly slotted for cooldown and accuracy this thing can stunlock bosses and apply -res debuffs, not saying this is optimal but it does sound fun. Ignite/Incinerator: Blaster does 278.05 base average damage. 20s cooldown Sentinel does 120.29 base average damage, 12s cooldown Another very interesting one, ignite always had insane damage but it is so clumsy to use, literally requiring immob/hold or a very powerful slow to be any good, as anything standing in it would obviously try to run out, and with the affected area being so tiny, a lot of AR blasters just skipped this power. But sentinels just outright change it to a targetted single target debuff damage over time attack. It's not amazing, its also single target, but... it is a lot easier to use. Full Auto: Blaster does 178.55 base average damage. 1m cooldown Sentinel does 127.35 base average damage. 1m 30s cooldown. As mentioned before the higher cooldown does make the base damage more comparable. So yeah, sentinels are weird, but also somewhat interesting. I still cant see them being comparable to any of the other classes, but they do seem fun, i do want to try that disorienting shot spam lol. Hope to learn more about them anyway~ Each skill has a flat scourge damage value that happens whenever triggered, the chance to trigger is increased as the target's HP gets lower starting at 50% health. It is not quite a crit, just bonus damage, for tier 1/2 powers it usually means double damage, for higher tier powers its more like a 30% bonus yes.

Sorry i was running from memory and didnt check numbers one by one, lets go into detail then: Things that Rads have that help you do more damage or hit more often: Radiation Infection(-Def) Enervating Field(-Res) Things that Darks have that help you do more damage or hit more often: Tar Patch(-Res) Radiation Infection provides -25% Defense, can be enhanced to -40% with SOs, has a recharge of 8 seconds and is a toggle, so can be heavy on edurance. Enervating Field provides -22.5% resistance, -res cannot be enhanced, recharge of 8 seconds. Both of the above powers used to be cancelled as soon as the target it was toggled on died, now it stays until the corpse despawns, which in most cases is enough to kill anything else that is around them. Tar Patch provides -30% res, -res cannot be enhanced, has a cooldown of 90 seconds and lasts for 45, recharge can be reduced to 46 seconds with 3 recharge SOs. Now let's take a look at the other powers, Excluding everything that buffs you and your team: Dark has: Darknest night (-dmg and -to hit) Howling twilight(cant remember if you can use this without a dead target, but i'll leave it here anyway, 30 second regeneration shutdown plus 2/3 mag stun/fear. 3 minute cooldown) Soul Absorption( -to hit) Black hole(panic button) Dark Servant ( Extra pet) Rad has: Lingering radiation( 30 second regeneration shutdown, 1m 30s cooldown) Choking cloud ( 2/1 mag AoE hold toggle ) EM Pulse ( 3 mag hold, 15s regeneration shutdown, some damage against machines) extra mention for rad: Fallout (Requires a dead target, doesnt see much use outside of iTrials and some AV fights, or sketchy farm groups - -24% defense and -37.5% res aoe around the dead body) Accelerate Metabolism( As previously mentioned, helps you get perma phantom army, extra 30% recharge rate for yourself)

Its curious, they do lose all snipe powers in exchange for some heavy damage regular powers, nukes seem to still be the same, just weaker. Comparing a few more numbers, lets go with the most famous damage set, fire blast: Inferno: Blaster does 410.94 base average damage. 2m 25s cooldown Corruptor does 279.42 base average damage (+83.42 scourge proc) 2m 25s cooldown Defender does 237.43 base average damage. 2m 25s cooldown Sentinel does 183.52 base average damage. 1m 30s cooldown Blaze: Blaster does 170.49 base average damage. 10s cooldown Corruptor does 135.32 base average damage (+88.42 scourge proc). 10s cooldown Sentinel does 135.51 base average damage. 10s cooldown Defender does 98.50 base average damage. 10s cooldown Blazing Bolt: Blaster does 228.99 base average damage. (according to city of data) 12s cooldown Corruptor does 152.63 base average damage (+115.1 scourge proc). 12s cooldown Defender does 132.28 base average damage. (according to city of data) 12s cooldown Sentinel does 120.13 base average damage. 12s cooldown (This is actually Blazing Blast for sentinels) Rain of Fire: Blaster does 125.12 base average damage. 1m cooldown Corruptor does 83.42 base average damage (+83.42 scourge proc). 1m cooldown Sentinel does 125.12 base average damage. 1m cooldown Defender does 72.57 base average damage. 1m cooldown I can see sentinels mix up some of the less popular ranged blast sets and change the interruptable snipe for a lower damage but instant cast heavy nuke, And some powers -seem- like they deal similar damage to blasters because their tiers are rearranged. eg: rain of fire is a tier 8 skill for sentinels and tier 4 for the others. Their nukes seem to recharge at a fixed rate of 1 minute 30 seconds unlike blaster's which have a variable rate, the old higher damage nukes that used to drain all your endurance and stun you recharge at 2m 25s for Blaster/Corr/Def thus lose a lot of damage as they tried to balance the damage per recharge. In the other hand the 1 minute cooldown nukes, like Archery and Assault Rifle, deal slightly more comparable damage as their cooldown is increased to 1 minute 30 seconds. I dont know... the class still feels really weird to me. i'll run the numbers for archery and assault rifle later but for now it still seems to me that Sentinels only have about 50% of the damage potential of a blaster.

Illusion is quite simple really. You have amazing pets that can't be buffed and deal illusory damage which gets healed if the target lasts long enough. So you want a debuffer that will make things take a lot more damage so they can die fast so your damage wont be healed. There is no contest really, while dark has -some- -def and -res debuffs they pale in comparison to rad's. Dark is mostly focused on -acc and -dmg, and that doesnt really help you much since your pets are invulnerable. Go forth and melt faces.

Preface: please, this is not an attempt to change the way anyone plays, CoH is a very forgiving game and anything works in it. I and some others like understanding how classes work and what their actual strengths/weaknesses are, and that's my target audience. If you are enjoying your sentinel, great! have fun with it~ now the actual topic: So, so far i've been busy recreating the stuff i used to play on live and gearing those up. Next step is to actually look around and see "what is new", and the new archetype certainly is the most intriguing, so i've done some digging to see "what is sentinel actually about." In the olden days there was always the Blaster vs Corruptor discussion, and it is inevitable that Sentinels will be compared to those two. Amidst several controversial statements it was generally agreed that blasters were better for easily farmable content while corruptors shine the tougher things get. So i wanted to see where the sentinel would fit in that diagram, and when i started looking at the raw numbers i saw.... weird things. First i looked at psychic blast, a set with raw numbers that focuses mostly on one type of damage so numbers are pretty clear. Picking Mental Blast as an example: Blasters have: 102.60 average base damage +11% self-damage buff from defiance. Corruptors have: 41.74 average base damage (+41.71 scourge proc) Sentinels have: 52.83 average base damage. and a -20% resistance to all damage debuff on target After seeing that i noticed that while sentinels have much lower damage than both blasters and corruptors, they seem to have an amazing debuff potential, so obviously went for sonic next: Picking Shout as an example: Blasters have: 132.63 average base damage +17.60% self-damage buff from defiance. -13% resistance to all damage debuff on target Corruptors have: 88.42 average base damage (+88.42 scourge proc) -15% resistance to all damage on target Sentinels have: 112.0 average base damage. .... and 9.60% resistance to all damage on target. So turns out that Sentinels have an inherent -20% resistance to all damage debuff on all tier 1 and 2 primary attacks. Which has a lot of potential honestly, everyone loves -resistance, even more on fast recharging attacks. But on the other hand, unlike Corruptors and Defenders that have higher debuff %s on their powers despite losing damage as compared to blasters... ALL of the sentinels numbers are severely reduced. Just from looking at raw numbers it seems that Sentinels have less than 50% of the damage potential of a blaster without the benefit of a buff/debuff set like corruptors. Which leads me to their secondaries, which are less surprising than primaries really, just slightly worse than Scrappers and brutes. eg: Temp Invulnerability: Tankers: 30% Scrappers Brutes: 22.50% Sentinels: 21% And sentinels dont seem to have any special effects on their secondaries. Their inherent power i didnt really get how it works, the description lists -def - res and notes that targets will suffer +5% damage up to 25%, but their powers list just a flat -20% resistance with no -defense, does this inherent power work at all? All other archetypes have their inherent abilities listed in their detailed power info. Seems to me that this just means that all their Tier 1 and 2 Abilities stack a -20% resistance debuff instead of all powers having a chance to cause -5% resistance. So my conclusion for now: The -20% res on all tier 1 and 2 powers i -really- like, that's insane for lower levels(however that may not work like that as outlined by their inherent ability) But... for -res debuffs i'd much rather take a sonic corruptor/defender/blaster as they have -res on all their skills. Other than that sentinels seem to me like... really weak ranged scrappers, they lack critical hit/rage/defiance, their overall damage numbers are really low and they dont have any special abilities to compensate. And they also lack shield defense, i havent fiddled around with bio armor much but not having that is a major red flag for me lol. Please do point out any mistakes on my initial analysis, i have not played one yet and i'm writing this during lulls at work, pondering if i should try something new once i get home. ( ' - ')b small edit for readability.

All I remember is that whenever MM pet customization was brought up positron’s reply would be something along the lines of “HAHA no.”

That is mostly correct, yes. But: 3) Defense debuffs and +to hit on enemies as well (we all love nemesis, dont we?) Only other factor is the rank multiplier plus difficulty setting. ie: a +4 boss(which cons +2) will have a 5% extra to hit bonus against you. a +4 archvillain will have a +20% to hit bonus.

But remember that the secret badge for defeating the entirety of DFB with nothing but brawl is going away soon, so dont miss it!

i've taken 90% of my characters from 1 to 50 doing nothing but task forces. Its pretty fun but: Once you reach lv40 prepare for quarterfield. (and the other subsequent shadow shard TFs.) Hope you have a lot of free time lol.