Ukase
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Posts posted by Ukase
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2 hours ago, lemming said:
I find it a nice burst of XP.
Incarnate XP, I presume. I never noticed, so thanks for that.
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My perspective about Fold Space, having used it on a few characters:
It's just not that useful. It really isn't, except for cones, as it lines them up rather nicely. But other than that? I'm sure it saves some time. But not enough time to be really worth what you give up. If you like Combat Teleport - which so far for me is probably more useful on characters that don't have burst of speed, then you can position yourself in the midst of the mob, rather than position the mob in your midst. And frankly, super speed is just as good at doing this as CT, but you don't get the wonky tohit buff (that stacks, supposedly).
Please bear in mind that I have only used this on a handful of characters and it's just my experience with it. -
9 hours ago, Fireburn said:
every time you do that arc
Okay, so, not many people think like me, I guess, and maybe I should have mentioned this somewhere.
Don't talk with Captain Nolan.
Like ever. You don't need to.
Heather Townsend will speak to you without doing this little toggling off story. When you are ready to start, just go to Dark Astoria and talk to her and begin her arc. Go left from the SG base portal, take the next right, then take the next left, turn right and she's straight ahead. (and if I got that wrong, use the HC Wiki to get her location)-
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It's not lost on me that while playing this fire/ma blaster, using CT to close in for an Eagle's claw because burst of speed is recharging..that I should probably be playing a scrapper, or a brute. Then the defense/resist numbers the blaster would have to aim for would practically be inherent. Or, as mentioned above, a Sentinel.
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3 hours ago, Zect said:
Most toons I see have too much def and res for the threat environment they play in.
I believe that building for too much def and res carries the danger of making one stupider: it insulates the player from negative results of their choices and actions.
I don't disagree with your take here.
From my seat however, because I probably have slower reflexes than some of you who have been gaming on much more challenging games than I have, I need all the protection I can get from bad decisions and sometimes inaction, or slow action. And if I'm being really honest, I love it when there's a team wipe, and I'm still standing. Now, I could tell myself if I'd slotted for more dps and less survivability, I might have been able to clobber the npcs before they trashed my team. But I just don't think that's the case. I've seen what a single damage IO does. Not much! I just don't think there's a lot of difference between optimal and average. Maybe I'm wrong.-
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7 hours ago, DrBasics said:
I experience both sides of the coin. Sometimes I just say screw it and take weird power picks for the sake of "Rule of Cool" and just being fun. But there are times when it is extremely obvious that everyone on the team is doing that and the entire team is very unoptimized. Just an example, when it took 30+ minutes to run just Apex TF, then another 30+ minutes to run Tin Mage. It's nothing game breaking, but it is enough for me to get back into squeezing optimization and min/max a build like crazy, at least for a week or two.
I can't articulate how much I relate to this.
Some teams, particularly the speedy Aeons, I feel like I'm the one that hasn't optimized. And really, I haven't truly optimized. I've just tried to eke out enough defense and resistance to survive, with what I feel is a balance between chaos (dps) and order(survivability)
And some teams, I wonder if they even have anything slotted. -
9 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:
Kick (so much better than Boxing!)
Does it matter? I never used them. I mean, you could try and kick something ten times for that proc to fire, but candidly, I'm not using either of those lame attacks in my rotation. Mind you, I have tried them after they made the attacks with some synergy, but I still found them lackluster, even with some slotting.
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46 minutes ago, Ultimo said:
Take from it what you will.
So, I've got a Shield/mace tank. And it's certainly gone through the task forces. While I do have memories of gasping for endurance as you mentioned, perhaps you left sprint on? Or could the TF leader have snuck in some crazy challenge setting? And my other question would be - are you using the Panacea and Miracle IOs?
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31 minutes ago, baster said:
Well good for you because that means when you deside to dive in, you are in for a treat.
I'm sure you mean well, but there is no way I will ever play that game. There's nothing appealing to me.
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I am in this stage myself, looking at trying powers I've never tried before - because to try them means sacrificing the same tools I've been using since retail.
There may be 2 or 3 exceptions, but across my 200 or so characters, they all have
Combat Jumping, Hasten, Super Speed, Boxing, Tough, Weave, Maneuvers, Assault and/or Tactics and Vengeance.
After trying and liking Burst of Speed, I figured I would give Combat Teleport a try. And, since I'm sacrificing leadership to get it, I might as well get Fold Space too. Which I've used before, but frankly, that by itself is not worth the sacrifice to me. Now, obviously there are situations where it's useful - but it's useless to me, for the most part. Mainly because I'm solo 80-90% of the time.
So, Instead of having capped s/l resist on my Fire/MC blaster, I'm deciding to just not sweat the numbers. It's very weird. And so far, I haven't been defeated. And I'm pushing the character a little, ran at level 20 at 0/3. Running at 30 +1/3, for now. Might up it if it's manageable. Some mobs, it handles fine. Other mobs, it's pretty scary.
I got involved in a patron finale earlier, and it didn't look good. Half the team was just jumping into a +2 AV Quatrexin like they expected him to be an LT. And I think some extra mobs got aggroed by something. Anyway, I did have some large lucks and large greens, and used all of them - but I didn't get defeated. And now I can take scorpion shield when the time comes.
When teaming, it's hit or miss so far. A lot of corruptors do nothing but buff. Some defenders do nothing but attack. Some blasters do nothing but die. So far, I'm relying on just my positioning within the battles themselves to stay alive. And it's working, for now. I'm also wary, because there's are lot of doms and tanks out there - as referenced by someone else's post. Was on a Posi 1 and 2, that were super simple (yes, Snarky. Nobody died even once) But that may have been because we had 3 tanks, and 3 doms, and I think an MM and my blaster. Maybe it was just 2 doms and corr. Either way, I didn't need to use any inspirations at all.
I'll know more when I'm in the labyrinth next week.-
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On 6/27/2025 at 7:56 PM, baster said:
That said I'm sure everyone played WoW at one point in their gaming carrier
Not me. CoH is the only MMO I've played, unless you count Risk Online and chess as MMOs. (I don't count the week after CoH shut down that I tried Champions online.)
As far as endurance goes, different AT's and powersets will have different struggles with it. The key is to actually know how much end your attacks cost you, compared to your ability to recover it. This is why I pursue Atlas Medallion as soon as reach level 23.
I monitor endurance recovery and end usage. I aim for a different of 2% or more. And this is with all toggles on. But, it's a blaster, so it's already like a cheat code.
Now, as easy as these solutions to end management are - that doesn't make them fun for everyone. But - there are parts of the game that aren't terribly fun for me, either. But, I deal with it to play the other parts of the game.
I think you have to pick your battles, and given all the solutions available, I don't see you winning this one.-
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I think the same barrier to this naming idea being useful is the same barrier to $loc being useful. A newer/inexperienced player isn't going to know either of these things.
So, specifically with regards to troll raves, it could be against common sense story-wise, but the trolls could just have the rave at the same spot every time. Eventually, folks will know where this is. Anecdotally, it seems as if you believe the rave occurs at three distinct locations in Skyway. I just assumed they were random areas, though they often look like the same building, just in a different part of the city.
As for Babbage, he doesn't spawn at only one point; he'll spawn in at least two, probably more. So, I'm not sure there's a way to mark "where Babbage spawns", unless our HC dev team decide to 1) have that specific mission not be so close to the train, and 2) have it be in the same spot so Babbage can spawn at that same spot.
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The only thing I can think of that I discovered - which I have no documentation of - is when I was trying to find out what contact West was trying to get me to talk to, I switched alignments and ran Alexander's arc, and spoke with Frostfire within it to learn of his advocacy for mutants, missing or otherwise. I mean, the West arc was the only reason I clicked on him, to see if he had any information, and he was a contact who might know something. After Fusionette and Manti wouldn't talk, there weren't any contacts I'd done that involved Crey at all - which has already been hashed to death in another thread. Still, it was interesting that Frostfire had words on the topic.
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I'm torn right now. For those that don't like my big walls of text, I've spared you. You're welcome.
SpoilerUsing Combat Teleport means losing leadership, which costs me 10.5% damage buff, and 15% in global recharge. Not to mention the consistent 10% (unenhanced value) of tactics for everyone nearby and myself, unlike CT. There's a few arguments for it - one being Fold Space. So many people love this power, even though it barely works half the time the way I'd want it to. Even with two HO 53 acc/threat/recharge...it still misses as many as it gets. (I'm thinking of Rikti during MSR) In a vacuum, it's not even close to worth it. As I would have to relearn how I play, which is generally with enough defense to handle the aggro that using fold space would bring. But, I don't play in a vacuum.
In the labyrinth, usually, there are enough buffs to keep most folks alive if they don't find themselves away from the mythic fog, the anchor. But that's just a small portion of the game. What about the pursuit of accolades, which is generally a solo effort? The odd Aeon SF with a pug, I'll need all the defense and resistance I can get.
Is it fair to say that most of you folks that use CT and Fold Space are doing so while teamed, presumably with team buffs to shore up the weaknesses in your build? If not, how close are you coming to defeat during your boss fights? Are you just jumping in like a fire blaster, or being clever and whittling down the mob size first?
I'm just trying to temper what my expectations will be. I could just make another blaster, and level up with it. That would be the smart thing, because then I'd know what I could, and could not do with more clarity than just making a second build or using a respec. While I don't mind playing melee, I do mind playing melee all the time. That's why I've always loved playing a blaster. You can range or melee, and have the tools to do both well.
I really liked Burst of Speed. Very useful. Not nearly as situational as I thought. And it's superior in a sense to CT, because with the OF damage/kd, it knocks them down and buys me time to use Dragon's tail, and Eagle Claw on anything left standing. With CT, it puts me in position, but there's a fraction of a second where I've got to wait for an attack to activate. But I think most folks look at CT like a bonus, the real gem is fold space. And situationally, I'm sure it's a valid perspective.
I guess I just go ahead and make it and build it. That's what all the slots are for, right?
And this build is weak. Maybe strong on damage in some powers, but I'm sure it's gonna die before it does half of it. I have no idea how anyone can play a gimp build like this with any efficiency, but I'll soon see.
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I feel I should add...Martial Combat is an incredible secondary because of burst of speed, and inner will. I have inner will on auto-fire. I can't tell you how many times I'll look down at my power bar and see it fired, and I didn't even notice. That means I was mezzed (cuz my health didn't go down in that case) and didn't even realize it.
Between inner will and sheer will, I only carry one break free now, in case of emergencies. I was able to proc out inferno and the snipe and still build for s/l resist cap and 25% melee defense. So, yeah, I like Martial Combat. I'd like it more if I could auto-fire hasten as well, but I've just bound it to the h key.-
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On 6/21/2025 at 1:17 PM, SuperJames said:
I've just logged in to check and the top price for a level 10 Science Origin Accuracy enhancement at Wentworths is 1,250 influence. Damage is 1,000. Recharge is 1,500. If people are concerned about new players struggling, usher them towards the market instead of a vendor.
This is not a consistent supply, though. I've had challenge characters buy all they could and vendor them for profit.
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So, to the question asked, my pros and cons.
Cons: No carrot to make the donkey move. Newer players would certainly grab what they think is good and try things out. There'd be a lot of that, I think. Players trying new things. But consider the folks that spend hours fine-tuning a build specifically for hard mode stuff, and then suddenly, all those prismatics and MAs are just free. Or, alternatively, the stuff you'd get with them are free, so the coins of the realm are essentially nothing more than souvenirs.
Addressed above in at least one post (haven't read them all yet) is the behavior changes. I'm no expert on behavior. But I'll share with you an interesting behavioral change in myself, which no coincidence, happened about the time the winter packs went on sale for 15M. The 10M sale the previous year helped me a LOT, but at that time, all I could do was buy all I could afford to buy. It certainly paid off, but even then, it wasn't until the 15M sale that I got to really take advantage. I still have another 600 or so to open. So, maybe I did better the first year than I remember. Anyway - the behavioral change was in regards to taskforces. I used to do them all. For the accolade, which I could get redside quick and easily, but mainly for the merits. But now..why? Why spend that time doing the same thing I've always done for some measly reward merits, hanging out with a pug group that may or may not know their butt from their elbow? So, I seldom do blue side tfs anymore. There's just no motivation. While everything might not be free to me, other than HOs, they might as well be. But even the most expensive of those can be bought by me whenever I wish, and I will still have enough to out fit every possible character I could think to create, on all servers. (assuming I use my usual way of kitting them out and not "buying now")
Pros: People can try new things out. No more people farming just to outfit their zillion alts. They can actually just play.
I'm also of the opinion that the auto-upgrade could use a tweak. I saw a build in these forums where a player asking for advice had all level 36 SOs, all of which were yellow. I can only assume they were level 37 or 38. But if they're wrapped up in some kmITF, all of those enhancements go red when they ding 40. All at the same time. A new player doesn't normally get the influence in stacks deep enough to replace them all at the same time. At least, anecdotally, I could only get about half of what I wanted. But that was on retail, a long time ago.
I think it would be best to utilize Lemming's suggestion that they only pay a pro-rated portion, with the SOs they have being automatically sold, before they're upgraded, to take some of the sting out of it for the new player.
My dad, who I think was smarter than my teen self ever gave him credit for would say, "when in doubt, do nothing". Now, I'm not sure that applies to every scenario, but if I look at this game, the market kept me interested in this game when the content did not. I'm not even sure I'd still play without the labyrinth.
I think for now, making things free like on Brainstorm would be horrible for the game. A GM would spawn, and people would be like..."Eh, I've got that badge. What's the point?"MSRs...people might do those to level up, but I really only do those for the HVAS. The MSR used to be fun for me, but now it's very routine.
Hami Raids? Heck no. If the HOs are readily available...who would do that?
And when players stop doing these kinds of activities where there's some idle time for chit-chat and jokes and such, then connections between players are reduced. And that means player retention is reduced. Which means a drop in player population.
Jack Emmert was a lot of things to a lot of people. And people don't like to admit it, but the dude is smart. He wasn't perfect, no. But his view that the purpose of playing this game was to team up, and if you weren't going to team up, there was no point. It wasn't because he didn't want remote workers to enjoy the game while they were supposed to be doing their jobs. It was because he wanted players to get to know each other, so they'd keep playing. Now, the game is free for us to play, so it's not that critically important. But, it is still important, because without the connections we form, this game would eventually get dull for everyone. Where that line is would be different for everyone, but eventually, it would just die.
At least, that's my opinion. -
One last question about it - for those that like it and use it - do you use it just as an opener to get the tohit buff, or are you using it throughout the fighting, or does it depend on where your accuracy is at that moment? I'm on Brainstorm now, trying to get used to it.
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This is hard to answer because while I can see the set bonuses and powers chosen, I have no idea how they have anything slotted. I think the most creative impressive thing I saw was @sentenza on a petless MM with an envious badge count.
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So...if you're in the labyrinth and getting drawn to the center - can you combat tp (as if I could do it quickly enough, lol. but, hey, I can practice ) to the mythic fog and prevent your demise?
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Self-inflicted or not, it's kind of like an intersection where a lot of accidents occur. Does the city put in a traffic light to help mitigate this, or just say "User error" and let them keep happening? Granted, just like with most municipalities, resources are scarce. We'll just have to let the powers that be decide what's the best use of their time.
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7 hours ago, srmalloy said:
Grinding them as bosses in DA is the inefficient way to get the badge. Take Unai Kemen's first mission, enter at +0/x1, and for each spawn you find whack the minion. The lieutenant will summon an underling mask that counts for the badge; whack the mask and leave the lieutenant. If you're a ranged AT, you can stay up in the air and shoot at the masks as they come after you, but it works with melee ATs as well. After a minute or so, they'll summon another, and will keep summoning a new mask after you whack the last one they summoned. When you have six or seven lieutenants pissed off at you, cycling around through them will keep you in a steady supply of masks until you get the badge.
Thanks. I've done this method. But I'd always set it to -1/8. I just engage the first group, and kill everything that doesn't spawn a mask. It's usually 3 of them per group. I want to say they're "Ancient of " one thing or another. Then I engage the second group, kill all those that don't spawn a mask, leaving me with 6 of them that will spawn a mask. I tend to have enough survivability between destiny, normal defense and insp use to just stand there and swat the masks as they come. If I don't, I bring a natty in with a heal on auto.
But in the case of the above character I was on, I was rogue; and I only needed about 60 more masks. And a level 50 just one shooting a level 26-28 boss, compared to waiting 90 seconds or so before the mobs in Unai's mission spawn more masks...well, I anticipate I'll be hunting in the zone unless I need well over 100. Not to mention it was bright and sunny in Echo:DA. I was having more fun there than I would in the mission. Oh, and I was waiting on Adamastor, too. -
Oh...Dark Astoria, also not so dark.
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Americans squat in this fashion, too. But only before we make them go to school. Look at a 5 year old - they intuitively squat. And we kill that by making them sit in a stupid desk for 6 to 8 hours a day. I mean, it's unreal. A 4 or 5 year old squatting will keep heels and toes flat on the ground, with the crease of their hips below their knees. And when we get older and try to replicate this without weights, well..some folks have trouble with it. And when we add weight before we get that addressed..well, injuries can happen.
If you do nothing else, squat your own body weight 30 - 50 times a day, not even necessarily in a row. Maybe while waiting for the MSR or Hami Raid to begin! Your far in the future self will thank you. You current and tomorrow self might not.
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The +4/x9 Experiment
in General Discussion
Posted
If I look at the @apparition post, @Hedgefund makes note of the lack of corresponding rewards for your efforts.