MHertz

A set with no visuals at all would have an advantage in PVP as well. A person might not realize they had been affected by a debuff. I suppose it's also possible that being invisibly buffed could also be an advantage in PVP — the enemy doesn't know what your status effects are. The minimal solution is that buffs and debuffs from this set have effects in PVP, so both sides are aware of them. I should also point out that the OP never said "no visuals." That was me, making a possibly unwarranted assumption.

No, I get that’s what you were going for. I just don’t know how well that would work in an audio-visual medium. The advantage to gear and powers is that they provide a context for visual feedback. The animation shows a character doing something; the action has a persistent effect (smoke, bubble, glow, patch on the ground; a buzz or hum); when the effect is no longer visible and/or audible, the buff is gone. A “no powers, no gear, no theme” set would essentially be invisible to the user. You’d have to watch the buff icons like a hawk to see whether any effect was in place on your teammates.

I really like the idea behind a Batman-type set. I’m not sure this is quite balanced. Part of the reason is the obvious benefits to the Defender (or whatever), which isn’t in line with the way other Defender sets work. This set gives the character continuous +Def, continuous +Res(All), +to hit, +damage, +recharge, and Stealth + sneak attack damage bonus, in addition to granting additional combat effectiveness from enemy debuffs. This does have some holes in its self-defense, such as no self-heal, no self-protection vs status, and no self-recovery boost, but that’s about all it lacks. It’s kind of a hybrid between a defensive set and a support set. Also, there is only one bonus in the set requiring a to-hit roll (4: Reveal Weakness). This puts it above even Radiation, which has only two (Choking Cloud and EM Pulse) but it’s auto-hit e enemy-targeted toggles draw a fair amount of aggro, as I recall. Kinetic’s main heal is to-hit, as is that of Dark; FF has aggro-inducing knockback. Thermal has two enemy-targeted debuffs. This Defender set gains all of its benefits while drawing almost no enemy aggro or even relying on having enemies in mêlée range. The third thing I’m not crazy about here is that it’s just … a list of buffs and debuffs. There’s no theme. What kind of animation is there for any of these? Effects? The Defender just talks to his teammates? It’s a very meta set — seemingly built around the advantages it gives rather than a concrete heroic concept. I would revise it as such: Caltrops (click, targeted AOE, -Speed) Smoke grenade (click, targeted enemy AOE, -To Hit, -Perception) Tactical support (toggle, PBAOE self+ally + Def) Hallucinogen Grenade (click, targeted enemy AOE, Fear) Laser Targeting (click, targeted enemy, debuffs) Inspire (click, PBAOE, +Speed +Recovery, +Recharge) Smelling Salts (click, defeated ally, revival; +Def, +Damage) Distraction (click, ally, +Stealth, +Damage) Always Prepared (click, PBAOE, Res(all), high values for a short time, can be clicked while mezzed) Or something like that.

The question is in the title. I’m curious how many people divide their time between different servers.

I was on Everlasting with a level 20+ Shield/Broadsword Tanker, exemplared down to level 2 in missions in Atlas Park. As a level 2, Battle Agility was not available (I had taken it later, prior to the adjustment of power availability). When the lowbies gained levels, my Tanker’s power Battle Agility came back with a new icon, in addition to the existing icon. I could not move this secondary icon because it kept saying the power was already in the tray.

I'm not sure how this bolsters your argument that more absurdity is the solution.

Story-wise, when you’re level 50, you are facing cosmic level threats, aliens, invasions from other dimensions, time travel, stuff like that. Threats from outside Earth. It cheapens the idea of beyond-max-level enemies if they’re just loitering around city zones. There may also be technical or design reasons why the incarnate content is segregated: gating the content from under-50, setting up the level shifts for incarnate content, adding to the zone load-in with additional mobs, or whatever. I wouldn’t assume it’s just a matter of tossing some guys on the map and calling it a day.

What’s wrong with that? Characters with that level of power should be looking for extraterrestrial forces to do battle with, not fighting random thugs on the street who also happen to have godlike powers.

I used to be against farming, back when I was young and foolish and I thought I knew what it was. Today, it’s really hard for me to define some bright line in the sand that says “this behavior is farming and is not acceptable” and “that behavior is not farming and can be condoned.” Lots of behaviors in this game point toward players trying to gain rewards at a faster pace, or with less risk. Designing a mission, creating a build, and/or writing scripts to acquire game rewards while AFK Running missions in AE to reduce travel time altogether Using zone-teleport powers to eliminate travel time between missions in an arc Running radio missions in a zone so you don’t have to travel very far Setting your notoriety to higher level enemies and larger spawn sizes to gain XP faster Abandoning a story arc when you outlevel the enemies Speed-running a task force for the merits and badges Always running with teams of 8 when possible Skipping powers in a set that do not offer as much advantage; taking power pools which balance your weaknesses Skipping to the end of certain missions in an arc or TF Running radio missions in PI (as long as it is Council) Going AFK in a mission while the team fights on Forming leagues for special events Avoiding enemies too difficult for that level (eg, Vahzilok at 10, Tsoo at 15) in favor of enemies against which you can more easily succeed Back on Live, trying to get exemplared to the lowest-level person on the team for maximum XP gain Back on Live, herding whole swaths of Perez Park into a dumpster to be burned if you’re honest with yourself you’ve probably done many of these things. But somehow they are not all considered “farming” despite occupying a space somewhere on the “advantage-seeking” continuum. The more I thought about it, the anti-farming rhetoric was really about anointing certain kinds of advantage-seeking behavior as approved, while denigrating other kinds. What’s the point?

I don’t think this implementation works. The devil is in the details. ”Normal” play: you get 50 levels worth of XP, influence, and drops; you try to fill your slots as you go. Assuming you start slotting at level 10, and change all your slots every 5 levels thereafter, that’s a total Enhancement demand of up to ~475 slots. 2XP play: you get 50 levels of XP and drops and have a total demand of up to ~475 slots to fill. PL with 2XP: you get 50 levels of XP and drops, but your demand is only ~95 slots (total slots at 50). Instant 50: you get 50 levels of XP and demand ~95 total slots filled. Instant level 50s do not contribute to the available pool of money; they only contribute demand for slots. If they are bankrolled by another 50, they take cash out of the economy. This isn’t completely a bad thing — there’s a lot of money sloshing around and nothing to spend it on — but it would greatly accelerate the pace of hoarding names that cannot be reclaimed. The effect on prices would probably be to make them rise as excess cash is flushed into the economy (especially considering the insta-50s would be generating no drops). My solution for an insta-50 button is to get 1 token for deleting a level 50 character. Spend 2 tokens to have an insta-50. This will eat into the supply of hoarded names, rather than build it up to ludicrous levels.

It should really be renamed altogether. I propose we call the set “stickbonking.”

And here I thought complaining was the most popular activity on Homecoming. Are they nerfing complaining now? My God, won’t somebody think of the Stalkers? What will they do? And the Sentinels! Devs, don’t nerf complaining!

All of the above, yes please. Additionally, it would be lovely to: lock an item from being accidentally moved or rotated rename an object or add a note so you remember which one is which a “building base AFK” message

How desirable an enemy is for farming isn’t the same as how fun they are to fight. I like that the Freakshow are smashing/lethal/energy and not a whole plethora of damage types. No toxic, no psi. The fact that they get up sometimes, that’s just to keep you on your toes. If you have a couple holds on the group and you’re judicious about locking down problematic Super Stunners, it’s okay. Nemesis is usually on the same plane, except when the snipers have an advantage of location that’s hard to get around. Crey’s Paragon Protectors are pussycats if you hold them before you deliver the beatdown. Carnies are annoying because you can’t lock down everything that’s a problem. Arachnos, same. Vahzilok, double ditto, plus they do toxic damage and explode and rez, which is a lot for heroes of that level.

I’m pretty agnostic on this idea. I’m in favor of the idea that the late game is too easy and needs more of a role for support archetypes. Things die so quickly that the challenge is greatly lessened and the usual powers and tactics aren’t needed. However, I know that the devs are tackling the long-term balance issues to correct for these things, and adding another solution might not be appropriate. I’m curious: in your vision, how does this affect rewards for 50s who have (or would have had) a level shift?

I can't answer questions about how base PVP is designed to work. That isn't at all related to what I'm suggesting. From the standpoint of a kick/ban function, I'm only saying I can envision a use for it, if you're trying to set up a 4v4 battle but some knob won't leave the base. For all I know, the problem of bystanders has already been solved. Or not.

Incidents occur all the time as problems come up with public RP spaces. That should be reason enough to give base owners and SGs control over whether troublemakers have the right to stay and continue being obnoxious. PVP is only an added wrinkle that provides extra impetus for a solution. Whether or not such a command should be permitted while PVP is active is a question of implementation. The devil is in the details. I think you ought to be able to kick someone out before PVP begins, if they aren't part of the plan and won't leave voluntarily. After PVP has been activated, it should be the case that no further people can enter the base. This prevents PVP from being used as an ambush against unsuspecting players (who enter the base and didn't know PVP was active) but also to prevent pile-ons (give all your buddies the code and zerg rush the other side). Once PVP is flagged, the portal should lock — in my opinion, anyhow. (Edit: I do not know whether this is already the case, as I don't use base PVP.) Whether a kick command should be permitted during PVP, and by whom (team leaders? base leaders? anyone in the SG?), I couldn't say. That is literally not my fight.

My understanding is that base raiding does not exist, per se, but base PVP can be activated. I have not tested this to see how it functions. If the SG is running with PVP active for an in-character "sparring" session, or using Halloween costumes to simulate a parley with some Rikti or whatever, then someone could definitely cause trouble by attacking people or attacking the "enemy" when that is not what the RPers are trying to do. Even without base PVP, a lot of people on Everlasting have set up their bases as public spaces to be shared — restaurants, parks, city blocks, apartments, or what have you. Occasionally you get people showing up making trouble, such as by spamming, or inserting themselves in an RP session where they are not invited, or starting arguments that drown out whatever else was going on. Right now there are no good alternatives to preventing this, short of changing the base password and kicking everybody out, even the people who weren't a problem; or one could try to summon a GM to scold the unwanted participant. Having an in-between option — begone with thee! — would let RP sessions police themselves.

Now that we have PVP in supergroup bases, can we implement a kick/ban feature to remove problematic players from the base, preferably based on global ID? Some SGs are going to want to use the PVP feature as a role-playing aid and will need a method to remove players who are making trouble.

I do like the event weekends because of the increased traffic, and the planning; it’s a must-attend event that brings in players. If double (or more) XP isn’t attractive, other ideas include: Lootmania. Change the drop rate and/or level range for items. Maybe 2x regular drop rate, or make purple drops land on low-level players. It would create some churn in the market and extract some money from rich players looking for rare goods. Increased Inf* rate. This could bring players in and, as above, create some action in the markets. Extra rewards for TF/SF/Trials, mission completions, AE, or some other specific activity. Double number of mobs per spawn, just for kicks. If you want to avoid the stigma of power-leveling, just give a % chance to auto-level up for any non-gray enemy your team defeats (as long as you did damage). That would make for a fun weekend, even if the chance is like 1/500. Using the “bug attacks” software on a semi-regular basis would also be good.

You misunderstand. I couldn’t care less that farms exist and I don’t think anyone else needs to get in a twist about it either. People will always seek to maximize advantage; devs will always fix bugs. That’s how it goes.

The letter E (for "emergency") has been assigned as an automatic hotkey to fire off all your longest-recharging powers. This now means you can no longer type the letter E for any reason without setting off powers. You will have to adjust your in-game chat accordingly. Characters with the letter E in their names will have to be renamed so they can be invited to teams. Farm missions will now be given subsidies by the local government. The mission owners will be paid in order to keep them in business, but 90% of the generated XP will be thrown away or fed to pigs. 40% of all Longbow officers, city police, and police drones in Paragon City will now take 20-minute vape breaks at random times, but they will be paid the same as the other police. Because Hamidon raids generate so much lag, the new artwork for all Hamidon-related mobs will consist of a spinning GIF of a ham sandwich. In order to make the Mercenaries set more efficient, mercs will now stab each other to death after summoning to save time.

You have a stray 4 that got out of its corral.

Architect Entertainment has been purchased by the cable company. XP from AE missions will be delivered to your supergroup base within a four-hour window. You must be present to receive XP.

I know people are upset about the changes to their favorite toys, so let’s make up silly hypothetical nerfs to be upset about instead. I started a new character, and I had to begin at level –15. I tried to use my flight power but I was bumped by the airline because someone else was using Flight before me. The Walk power now has a supplementary travel power called Uphill In The Snow, Both Ways. Water Blast now has to cut back water usage by 40% due to drought conditions. I tried to make a Stalker … and it let me. If you take the train anywhere, they make you get out and push.