The Trouble

Just a disclaimer: I'm not a Mastermind expert. I didn't used to like them. Then I started slotting endurance reducers in the pets. Here's my guess at what's happening: Pets don't actively consume your stamina, but your attacks are very costly. You have to fill in the gaps with expensive powers when your pets' DPS slows. Their DPS has slowed because they are low on endurance. Then they eat up their blue bar firing off their low-tier attacks, and don't fire off their heavy-hitters nearly as much. Slotting the pets with endredux will help because they'll be able to cycle more (and better) attacks, freeing you from taxing your own stamina bar so much.

Well guys, the meme clearly shows who the badguys are, so battlewraith has apparently won. 🤷‍♂️ My condolences to those that defended the notion that loot drops are rewards for playing the game, and for anyone that incorrectly believes that playing the market is fun. Anyway, I'm going to watch the end credits of my gaming backlog on YouTube so I can feel the exact same satisfaction as beating them.

If I find myself frustrated by the behavior in a thread, I stop reading it. Which stinks because some opposing opinions are stated so well that I find great interest in their reasoning. Then some folks show up with thoughts on this game so strong that they fire off posts with the heat of religious rage, and every attempt at actual discussion gets ruined.

I have a petless Mastermind that I only level from street sweeping - no missions, task forces, or trials. I can only equip enhancements I find. Not doing the Ironman/Hardcore thing because my insanity has a limit. It's fun in a completely ridiculous way. The other challenge that I'm utterly failing at is to have no more than 50 characters on my primary server.

Yes! I've done this twice, and both times the switch ended up feeling right. I had Plant/Storm Controller modeled after a Leshy that I played all the way into the mid thirties before the concept didn't excite me anymore. I also had a Plant/Fire Dominator wizard who's concept I loved, but the archetype and powerset combo (while very powerful) left me bored. I slapped this Dominator's costume, concept, and name onto the Controller, and that endurance burning bastard became a favorite. I made a vampire: A Savage/Darkness Brute. Before long, those powers didn't fit the personality I imagined my vampire having. So a Dual Blades/Energy Stalker with a thick layer of dust inherited the vampire's persona, and once again my excitement for the character surged and stayed high. I think the best characters deserve to be fun. If you have to 'retcon' to get them there, then do it. You can even incorporate the change into their backstory with some creative thinking. I fully embrace the "Concept is King" mantra, and I have two Kinetic Melee characters to prove it.

8isgreat.costume

Pro: Players could instantly fully realize their build concepts. Con: Players could instantly fully realize their build concepts. Like others have stated here, I also no longer hoard inf. I just make money when I need it. But I find the process fun. To remove marketing entirely would reduce the amount of activities in this game that I enjoy. To me, this suggestion is similar to - "Some people find making costumes tedious. Is it time to have the game assign locked-in costumes?" I don't want to see an entirely optional component of the game broken because a vocal minority dislikes it.

Air Support Thermal/Beam Defender

I won't repeat the weirdo I posted in the other thread because I made a different kind of monster Blaster. I made him Psy/Energy with the initial goal of being a "Blapper". But here's the thing... Psy has extremely long-ranged blasts, and Energy has Boost Range. As soon as I got Boost Range, I knew I had to see how it paired with the sniper power, Psionic Lance. Well? I one-shotted a guy from orbit (only way to be sure). His group went aggro. Even though I didn't move an inch, that group gave up the chase simply because I was too far away. He also has softcapped defense to Smashing, Lethal, Energy, Negative Energy, and Ranged attacks. I sacrificed Resistances, and a little bit of damage to get there, but I can't say I've noticed the compromise. All I know is there is no distance, near or far, where the enemy is safe from becoming a glowing pile of viscera.

My Ice/Fire Tanker. A witch that has attained godlike power. If you've ever played a cranked-up Ice Tanker, you'd know that's not far off 🙂

I'm getting a weird vibe from certain posters that seem to be trying to convince us that this is a Bad Game(TM) and we're wrong to like it. I'm reminded of the necessary phase of teens and young adults that vehemently, angrily, reject everything they enjoyed as a kid to substantiate their adult-ness. I'm all for criticism, but aggressive negativity doesn't encourage a meaningful dialogue. Backhanded bad attitudes poisoned the refreshing positivity thread @Scarlet Shocker attempted. Please stick around and interact with the community you've become a part of, but a vitriolic dislike for the game isn't a constructive way to connect with that community. It's a bit strange to show up at comics convention to preach how silly you find the hobby. I really like this casual MMO that heavily emphasizes my own creativity. I also like: Dark Souls 1 & Elden Ring Dead Cells Noita Project Zomboid Baba is You All of those games test my limits in different and satisfying ways. I play those games when I want that sensation. I play City of Heroes when I want City of Heroes. I agree with the rising sentiment that Controllers have a marginalized place in a lot of endgame content. I think that Brutes and Kheldians are also in a nebulous place. I'm willing to talk about their shortcomings, but I would get nowhere if I opened with "These classes are stupid and useless, and their design is irredeemably flawed. Anyone who likes them is a complete moron."

EQ @ level 1: A rat kills you after a harrowing 3 minute fight. CoH in the tutorial mission: Beat down multiple minions in about a minute. Both of these scenarios can be fun, but guess which game I'm still playing?

My main will always be a Peacebringer. I guess that would generally mean he would grant powers like a Peacebringer, but I decided against powers that would overlap with his. Cosmic Boost (Power Boost) Sunspear (Snipe) Blinding Pulsar (Ranged Cone -ToHit & mid/low Magnitude Hold) Quantum Entanglement (slight -Res + Enemies around this target take a portion of their damage) Lightspeed (10% auto-hasten) I'm okay if this is considered overpowered. I means I'd get more patrons 😁

I'm glad we're finally talking about this again because Cottage/Rules Controllers are way overpowered.

This is the part that blew my mind when I first started playing twenty years go. I was so impressed that powers from level 1 continued to be useful through the entire character's journey. While CoH isn't the only game designed this way, I wish way more RPG's (and especially MMO's) would adopt that philosophy. As for CoH being more difficult to learn than in the first years? No. It's easier to grasp, not just due to streamlining, but also thanks to players like you, @Intermipants. Veterans have peeled away all the layers, and can explain the denser mechanics to new players in a holistic way. NPC text tends to half-explain a thing in a vacuum.

I have one more warning: This is not a level-up build. It's better to respec into. Unless you pick up some freebie attacks from the START vendor, you'll only have 3 attacks (including Brawl) until level 16 if you follow this to the letter. I noticed you're new to Homecoming, but I don't know how new you are to City of Heroes, so I figured I should clarify a bit more.

Here's mine. For standard content, this thing is extremely durable. Things to keep in mind: I avoided attacks that didn't have those sweet psionic blades for Rule of Cool (TM). There's nothing wrong with the non-blade powers. Changes are coming soon for Cloak of Fear that look pretty darn good, but this build doesn't utilize that power. It's probably a bit pricey. Check out the Market forums for some inf making strategies. I think this build could be a great jumping-off point for flavoring to your personal taste. Datachunk: Formatted: Shadowmind Tanker (Dark Armor - Psionic Melee).mbd

They did a buffnerf when they should have done a nerfbuff!! Remember that thing that happened 0.01% of the time back on Live? It's still happening!! UGH! And where's the Armor/Armor archetype I demanded?! I can't believe after all this time, and multiple warnings, that this game has completely gone to the Americans. 🤦‍♂️

Firstly, I've altered the build slightly. Shatter's Knockdown seemed to become Knockback in more situations than I would have expected. That's got Overwhelming Force in it to compensate. It's nice to be able to open with an Executioner's Strike whenever you'd like without flinging your target somewhere. Revised build attached. The "Invincible" name I put on that is, understandably, hyperbole. Damage resistance numbers are a bit too low, and there's no Defense Debuff Resistance to protect you. That said, this build gets pretty darn sturdy quickly. Lean on the Wide Area Web Grenade. This keeps mobs grouped tightly for your numerous and quickly recharging AoE's. Toss that Web Envelope right after, and you'll see bosses get tangled up. Venom Grenade (especially when the -Res proc goes off) is absolutely devastating. Speaking of... the two melee powers are appropriately named. If you've already broken from Hide, start with Shatter Armor before using Shatter since the first one has that beefy resistance debuff. If you play this Huntsman like a Blaster, you will very rarely see defeat. Open with grenades: Web, Venom, Frag. Then Heavy Burst before you pick off stragglers with your single-target powers. Or go back to your grenades, since they're probably recharged already! I don't normally include Incarnates when I post builds, but I'll break tradition on a few here. Alpha: Musculature Core was made for this. Everybody loves more damage, but this build loves the +Immobilization even more. Web Grenade ties down mobs for about 45 seconds with this one. Judgement: I went with Ion mostly for convenience. In a rare twist, I wish I could make it appear to come from the mace (and the opposite for Buildup) Interface: Reactive Core lines right up with the abundance of -Res this build leans into. Lore: Not included in the build because this is so user-specific. For personal lore reasons, mine has Vanguard. Equip the one that best fits your meta. Destiny: Also not included. I've crafted Barrier, Clarion, and Incandescence to be equipped for the content those powers are most needed. Hybrid: Support Radial all the way. For one, your blue bar will hardly budge. For two, you probably noticed how much utility this build brings to a team, and Support fits so well into that theme. This is my favorite character to bring into league focused content. You'll find the extra Defense, ToHit, and -Res you bring will be universally welcome. When solo, x8 is mindlessly trivial, so bump up the enemy levels to match your personal skill. Trouble Huntsman - (Bane Spider Soldier - Bane Spider Training).mbd

I hate to admit it, but your post title got me. 🤦‍♂️ Trolling level: Expert. If only civvies had that level of perception when rescued in a mission!

You suggested that ranged DPS wouldn't be appreciated, but even that has a welcome place in any scenario. So let me reiterate the wisdom already shared here: everything works. My suggestion is to find the archetype and powerset that excites you the most. Find a character combination that's so fun that you literally forget about the experience bar. You'll re-learn the game in short order, and become the player everyone wants on their team. There's no gearscore. Forget the "build police". Fun will lead you to victory in City of Heroes. It's what makes this game so special.

I find the crafting badges less tedious than these arcs.... but the Shining Star/Brightest Sun/Supernova titles were way too good for my Peacebringer to ignore.

My Peacebringer's Incarnate costume:

There are a handful of agreeable recipe sets that I can rotate though, but Converters are unique in that they are always necessary. My Converters come almost exclusively from Reward Merits, and keeping me insulated from any wild market fluctuations make those Reward Merits priceless. Gotta keep that profit margin higher than Cheech and Chong.