MindOverMatter

I've continued focus on Stalkers as I believe their survival is most impacted by the recent rounds of changes. Level 50 Stalkers, IO Sets, No Incarnates Electric Melee 😐 Ice Melee 😐 and Dark Melee 🙂 Overall Appreciated Changes: While the Defense Debuff Resistance is limited, I'm happy to see some. I'd encourage more. Invulnerability, an armor set with limited +Defense has considerable DDR to protect what little defenses it provides outside of the box. I'm not asking for as much as Invulnerability, but more than the 8% base DDR on a level 50 Stalker. The Build 4 and 5 buffs/fixes really helped survival. The -DMG for stalkers (and sentinels) is helpful when the Aura of Madness Mez Roulette Wheel is not spinning in your favor. Unexpected (Yet Appreciated) Change: The inclusion of a 45-second Instant Rez window for use of Memento Mori (and for Soul Transfer) are an encouraging penalty reduction for the player who attempted to use the conscious version only to be quickly overwhelmed and without a rez. While this will provide triumphant returns from the brink of death to win some encounters (especially on teams), I suspect many players biting off more than they can chew reviving and experiencing a quick defeat until their tactical awareness improves. Really a win-win. Most Intriguing Mechanic: The stacking Debuff Resists from Psychokinetic Barrier prompts a game-play loop wherein the maximum effectiveness of the ability requires a player to activate the ability three times as quickly as possible (base 60 second recharge) to achieve the 60% debuff resistance (regen, end drain, -recovery, and -recharge) and then once every ~43 seconds to maintain the stacks. Each use of PKB also refreshes the Absorb. This raises the ceiling on character durability yet will require a heavy click rotation to sustain particularly when maintaining Devour/Consume Psyche stacks. This means that Psionic Armor players who want to maximize their protection must proactively sacrifice some DPS to account for time spent keeping their sustain up. This is a trade-off that may not be apparent yet will be critical during challenging endgame encounters where the time spent reactivating PKB is weighed against unloading more DPS to shorten an encounter. Overall, I appreciate this approach yet find it really makes being caught in long animations a burden (nothing new here). Closing Thoughts: This set is potent for Tankers/Brutes yet will provide a highly variable experience for everyone else. I do believe that the +HP (via PKB and Memento Mori) and the in-set Regen/Endurance/Drain/Recharge Debuff Resistance reflect a clear appreciation for how fragile some layered protections can be compared to the more straightforward combo of Defense + Burst Heals. Be prepared to click to survive tough encounters. Try to build some Mez (to combo with Aura of Madness) or some Defense synergy outside of the set if you're trying to survive +4 endgame on anything that isn't a Tanker/Brute though. As always, YMMV.

Some quick notes from a brief testing session on a stalker and tanker. Psionic Shield The Toxic resists are greatly appreciated. Psychokinetic Barrier Although the updated notes say that the additional +HP is 10% Max HP, the amount granted (tested on both a Tanker and a Stalker) is 10% of the Absorb amount granted by this power. Can we bump this power up in the order for Stalkers/Sentinels/Scrappers? It's loaded with survival tools that are deeply more helpful than the passive from Precognition.

Levels and ATs Tested: Tanker: Psi/Elec @ lvl 20 (SOs), 40 (Basic IOs), and 50 (Full Sets) Scrapper: Dark Melee/Psi @ lvl 20 (SOs) Stalker: Elec/Psi @ lvl 20 (SOs), 40 (Basic IOs), and 50 (Full Sets) Overall Testing Experience: Although I remain curious around the design goals, I can sum up my take on the theme as "layered protections with an emphasis on Resistance (despite a Toxic Resist hole), Regen, some interesting enemy mez mechanics, and minimal debuff resistance." While there are some interesting power quirks, the absent Toxic Resists and low/missing debuff resists (especially DDR) put a lot of pressure on the other defensive layers and clever IO sets in ways that often fold under the variety of attacks and debuffs in endgame encounters. Tankers are okay though once you incorporate ATO +Res and layer +HP and Recharge. On a Tanker, the early access to layered defenses (level 20 play testing) worked fine and the higher Tanker AT Resistance and HP values (and +Res ATO) helps the set against most basic enemies - yet the absence of Toxic Resists is worth noting, especially during this release where even Electric Armor now has Toxic resists. On Stalkers and Scrappers, the delay of The-Power-Currently-Known-As-Psychokinetic-Barrier felt noticeable at level 20 while the auto power of Precognition offered little substantive support at the earlier slot. Consume/Devour Psyche are significant recovery tools that present possibly useful -regen utility and helps sapper builds shine as well. Aura of Insanity feels like a complex power that could significantly impact survival and occasionally provide enemy debuffs - with a little more clarity about the implementation and design of the power. Specific Power Feedback: Psychic Wall (AKA Psychokinetic Wall) Feedback: Functions fine. The lethal weakness is noticeable on non-Brutes/Tankers. Recommendation: Swap the word "Psychic" here with "Psychokinetic" from The-Power-Currently-Known-As-Psychokinetic-Barrier. Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing are common damage types from the impact of physical weapons and concussive force. CityOf reduces all of that into simply Smashing and Lethal damage types (even going as far as representing the concussive force of an Energy Blast as something that would include a smashing component). Keep the "Wall" part 'cause in a world where many of these Psy-themed names are interchangeable, at least "wall" and "physical damage type" fits slightly better. "Psychic Barrier" is generic enough to encompass an Absorb for all damage - which is what Absorb does here. Psionic Shield Feedback: Fine as-is. It does what it do. Although it is curious why you wouldn't equalize the amount of resists (outside of the bonus psy resists here). Recommendation: If the addition of Psionic damage resists here means there had to be a reduction somewhere, I recommend equalizing the NRG/Neg.NRG/Fire/Cold Resists - even if that means reducing the max -/+ NRG values. You could also include some of the otherwise absent Toxic Resists here. Impenetrable Mind Feedback: Indomitable Will is always a welcome sight for a player character. If you want to name it something else though, you should update the power text description too. Consume Psyche / Devour Psyche Feedback: While I can understand making it easier for Tankers/Brutes to obtain full saturation via PbAOE (and thus more easily maintain the sustain benefits and enemy debuffs of this power), it is challenging that Stalkers, Scrappers, and Sentinels 1) encounter a reduced effective area for targeting that is narrower than their field of vision and 2) require positioning for any chance at deploying the -Regen debuff and maxing self-buffs effectively. Recommendation: Expand the Devour Psyche cone to 120 degrees. Precognition Feedback: It's fine, but would not be prioritized over other sustain powers. It could use a benefit boost from elsewhere in the set. Not something "in addition" but rather as an opportunity to spread an offense buff. The lack of DDR in the set makes defense a less desirable investment for limited slots. Recommendation: Move the +ToHit from Impose Presence to here and add some DDR as it both expands the availability of the buff to non-Tankers/Brutes -and- boosts the theme of reading an enemies mind. The +perception baked into the current version reflects the an insight that could also thematically support being more likely to hit your intended target. AT modifiers will address the balance of power provided. Psychokinetic Barrier (AKA Psychic Barrier) Feedback: This power is helpful for survival and should be earlier in the power order. "Psychokinetic" fits more aptly for the smashing, lethal, and psionic resists power although "barrier" is fittingly and appropriately vague about damage type. The minimal debuff resists here feel perfunctory. Recommendation: 1) Please move access to this power before Precognition and 2) rename this power to "Psychic Barrier". Precognition, as a passive, is lower on the priority list for survival tools while the Absorb and the regeneration of The-Power-Currently-Known-As-Psychokinetic-Barrier should be available at level 20. Impose Presence Feedback: Taunt is helpful for Memento Mori and slowing enemy recharge can be a helpful tool. The lack of DDR in this set makes the paltry defense provided here feel like an afterthought. Recommendation: If the +Defense is intended to support survival, I would recommend changing the Melee Defense to AOE Defense and adding hefty Defense Debuff Resistance. AOEs and Ranged attacks would be the most prominent threat to a Tanker/Brute when oversaturated by nearby enemies. While the nearby Melee attacks could hit harder, mob density would reduce the number of eligible melee attacks compared to eligible AOE/Ranged attacks. With no DDR in the set, the minuscule defense provided by this set is easily erased. Even Invulnerable Armor has considerable DDR to protect the minor Defense it offers. Mask Presence Feedback: I feel that this power provides the elegant solution of granting Scrappers and Sentinels a power without depriving Stalkers of a power. Recommendation: Reduce the endurance cost. Yes, even though the set has a source of +Recovery Aura of Insanity Feedback: This is one of the most complicated powers that i've attempted to slot, and I find its effectiveness varies wildly depending on one's approach. The complexity of conditional debuffs prompts further questions such as: Does the conditional debuff only go into effect for enemies impacted by the mez from Aura of Insanity or would an outside mez also provide a chance to apply the associated debuff if an enemy is in range of Aura of Insanity? Is there a lockout from the conditional debuff if the mez is reapplied? Does the enemy have to be controlled by the mez in order for the debuff to take effect? If so, can stacking outside mez help overcome the mez needed to engage the Aura of Insanity Debuff? Recommendation: More context from Devs is needed (along with power description updates to help clarify). Also, the current notes in the power description should be edited to reflect the possessive "its" and not the contraction "it's." Memento Mori Feedback: Unlike Stun (as seen in Soul Transfer), Fear affords targets a chance for retaliation and another immediate defeat if their retaliation strikes before the delayed Untouchable status takes effect. Memento Mori needs some love to be of more help. Recommendation: Add a matching high mag confuse to the fear. This would further the implied terror by having retaliating enemies target wildly during the limited duration. This would 1) offset the soft-mez nature of Terrify, 2) lean into the multi-status effect implementation of powers in Psionic Armor, and 3) enhance the flavor of this T9 above being a less-effective clone of Soul Transfer.

Please enable this power to accept Accurate Heal Enhancement Sets to support the Alive/Conscious use of this power. It currently accepts Heal Sets and the red highlight reflects an intentional desire to require some accuracy slotting. I suspect this was just an oversight.

Per the title, neither of these powers currently grant a stack of Assassin's Focus. Please review. Credit @Ston for noticing Savage Leap was missing the stack tag.

Storm Blast quick thoughts: Storm Cell Mechanic: I can appreciate the ramp-up of damage and mitigation effects when used with other Storm Blast powers, however I experienced some trade-offs around unpredictable damage leading to overkill (happens when a lightning aura strike defeats an enemy as you execute a separate attack) which contributes to higher endurance use (both upfront cost to keep Storm Cell up to maximize the mechanic for better mitigation/damage and the cost to use more attacks to generate lightning strikes from Storm Cell via other attacks) Recommendation: Returning endurance (even a small amount) to the player when they attack an enemy currently under the Storm Cell effect. Yes, this is similar to what Electric Blast does - however it is limited to only supporting the Fury-like mechanic of Storm Cell's interplay with other Storm Blast attacks. Aesthetics: Excellent FXs work here, from the rains in storm cell to even the sad cloud burst raining on someone's day. Notes from Solo Testing on a Sentinels: Level 1-13 - Early levels are straightforward, but the endurance sink of Storm Cell is significant. Early on, the need for more damage pushes use of Storm Cell and spamming low cost attacks - and the payoff is unpredictable but endurance-hungry. I hesitate to recommend swapping the order for a single-target staple like Lightning Strike/Snipe to support ST damage, because I am still just as hungry for endurance by the time Lightning Strike/Snipe was available. Level 20-30 - Enemies are getting tougher and the need to also slot for accuracy means the tradeoffs of end redux/damage/recharge with limited slotting is even more pronounced. When Storm Cell is down, I find myself waiting a beat before engaging groups to allow it to recharge, cast, and pause to recover some of the endurance expenditure before jumping in. This would be a more meaningful decision if I weren't wasting Storm Cell duration or being pressed for endurance management simply to utilize the set's core mechanic Mid-Late Game: More slots helps with managing endurance (as well as various endurance powers granted by the Sentinel Secondaries) - curious about how the thirsty endurance maintenance impacts non-Sentinels and Blasters (since those ATs typically have sustains in their secondaries) Tested using: /Radiation Armor (Yeah, Radiation Armor is great, even with the +Absorb override issue in Particle Shielding) and /Dark Armor (so much potential and so little Regen Debuff Resistance/HP).

The War Mace custom option named "Celestial Mace" currently is the same model as the "Celestial Axe" used in Battle Axe - only reversed. See below: (Celestial Mace) versus (Celestial Axe) While I am unsure what design constraints/choices went into this choice, the result is a somewhat awkward Hammer with a significantly longer bladed back than blunted hammer. Is it possible to adjust the size of the blunt portion of the Celestial Mace and reduce the bladed portion? Preferably, the design would retain the ornate celestial pattern yet swap sides it to ensure that the larger design aspect is now covering the front blunt area for the Celestial Mace. I propose that the resizing produce a hammer with blunted/blade ratios similar to the Rularuu's Fury mace option. If folks would still like to keep the current style of the "Celestial Mace," they could have that option as too.

Feedback here has been sparse, but I wanted to share some preliminary thoughts from testing and reflection on Sonic Manipulation that may spur some additional testing and encourage folks taking another look. First up, some thoughts on what I feel defines the set: a mechanic that provides the potential to stack holds, a slightly weaker Build-Up that also boosts Mez strength, an AoE toggle -Res that supports being in or just outside of melee damage (more on this in a moment), and a T1 (Sonic Thrust) that marries the KB strength of Power Thrust with the Repel certainty of Ki Push. Otherwise, the set is energy/smashing and has some standard cone and pbaoe action that on the surface aren't particularly striking and reflects a rounded mix of incentives to be in melee blapping or at least melee adjacent with a T1 design to send a target effectively out of that radius rather soundly. Because puns. This provides some clear value for those used to mixing in some blapping and moving in and out of melee range regularly. For everyone else though, the set may encourage a particular playstyle to maximize some of those defining features. Here's where I would encourage some differentiated thinking for the ranged-only Blaster folks: hover-blasting with Disruption Aura. Hover-blasting is a common, reliable way to obtain some safety whilst unloading with standard ranged attacks *and* obtaining positioning to better leverage cones Hover-blasting with Disruption Aura means that now your love of your ranged attack rotation is amplified by 14% more damage You are providing debuffs for the team and can manage your proximity to a hard target while remaining somewhat safe from melee and PBAoes If you Auto Sonic Thrust, you can forcefully smack down any enemies that have the audacity to jump towards you whilst you unload your ranged arsenal. If you love being at range, try it. Build for ranged defense and hover-blast. Share what you've experienced. I'm not saying that is sufficient identity for Sonic Manipulation, however it does offer something for those who prefer not to Blap. Yes, there is also mez-boosting/hold-stacking potential that exists in this set. However, unreliable controls for a Blaster may prove more of a nice-to-have than a consistent draw to the set.

Just checked this again in-game and confirmed with Bopper that while the recovery is flagged to Ignore level differences, the regeneration in Touch of the Beyond is not flagged to ignore. Is this WAI?

Comparing Strength of Blaster Sustain Values Across Secondaries Are blaster secondary survival/sustain powers intended to provide varying strength when compared to secondaries offering the same type of sustain (Regen/absorb/etc)? More specifically, is the consistent regeneration value provided by self-toggles such as Field Operative supposed to match the currently variable regeneration buff from Touch of the Beyond? For context, Field Operative’s regen values do not diminish in strength when used against a higher level foe. It is self-contained. Touch of the Beyond’s regen values are still (as of this Beta) impacted by enemy level. Thus, TotB performs significantly weaker when used against higher-level foes. As a caveat, I recognize that Drain Psyche is an outlier for comparative metrics. Drain Psyche, however, has a lower base value and higher performance ceiling based on number of targets.

This bug appears in a number of other places as well, including the Blaster > Darkness Manipulation ability Touch of the Beyond. Sadly for Darkness Manipulation, the impact of this bug severely weakened the secondary against harder enemies. It may be time for a thread collecting all instances to help the Devs diagnose the underlying issue.

Just bumping this bug report. I recognize that there may be few who take the Soul Mastery Patron pool but the odd Scaling damage to self may be linked to another scaling bug for blasters: the Darkness Manipulation > Touch of the Beyond. In the case of Touch of the Beyond, higher level enemies provide less Regen from activation (making the sustain far less potent than its counterparts in the other blaster secondaries) while lower level enemies provide enough Regen to cap the player.

Apparently, this bug has been going on for some time. It seems to be linked to a zoning issue and may need more folks calling this out in the Bugs Thread to investigate further.

I’m curious if you would be better suited using the /Devices on a blaster. You’ll get Smoke Grenade and a cloaking device as well as other gadgetry that could be useful in your stealthy pursuits.

We simply abandoned the TF at that point. Will try again another time.