battlewraith

That's right. That's what people are doing, skipping over it. The idea is to make it interesting so that they don't feel compelled to. But we have this wonderful subforum where we can advise against more formulaic, cookie-cutter content. Asking for things that are actually different. I gave you my take, If it's subjective, then yes it's true for some people. You're just not one of them.

No. You have 3 slots for builds? If you used one of those slots for this mode, which would be set for normal enhancements only, the other build slots would be completely ordinary, structured the standard way.

Oh no. 21 years later I have hatched a diabolical plan to cheat the game. Now I'll have...more characters sitting on the shelf waiting for me to grind expensive IO sets. Given the tone of your post, it sounds like your maybe just set in your ways.

The idea behind it is make that domain of the early game more interesting/fun/novel. If you were going to run the general post 50 content, you would use one of your other build slots which you would enhance normally.

I don't post something like this with the expectation that it will happen. For me, it's about expressing the type of thing I would like to see implemented. If the idea and the rationale behind it is clearly expressed, there might be a point in their development cycle where something like that becomes possible.

Yeah it's ridiculous but that is the Captain America from the comics. He does not have super strength in the comics (at least the version I reads as a kid). The super soldier serum didn't make you superhuman. It just made you physically peak human performance at things. And he routinely takes out multiple targets with shield throws.

It's not shortcut mode. Shortcut mode is sitting on a farm and skipping the low levels. Even a DFB with experience boosters will get you to early 20s very quickly. The core experience is something that people have had for two decades now. The whole point of this suggestion is to add something different than what is already available. I don't see how it would unbalance or break anything. As I specified, it would be limited to normal enhancements and you would still be subject to needing to slot things. The significance of getting those powers early diminishes as the character actually gets closer to 50. It would still give some options that would be interesting regarding pool powers, but nothing on the level of significance of IO sets or bonuses. It doesn't make the assumption that "people" don't like lower level content. It's for people like me that don't like lower level content. If you're someone that enjoys what you're doing now, it won't affect you. But I suspect that people that like to tinker and experiment with oddball builds would enjoy this. I think a lot of people would be into this, and if they want to go back to the traditional way all they have to do is visit the trainer. There are a lot of ways to build and slot a character--once you hit 50 and respec for sets. I don't think there's a whole lot of meaningful variety when you're leveling. And the complaint is often about the slog of getting your character up in levels, not "omg I have so many options to choose from."

What is it?: One of the build slots on a character can be designated as saga mode. This option would be made available after some global unlock, similar to the way Kheldians were a reward for having a lvl 50. Once this condition has been met, a player can start a new character, go to a trainer, and switch to saga mode right away. They don't have to already be leveled or anything like that. Once saga mode is engaged, the character levels and alternates power/slots as usual. However, for the selection of powers the primary, secondary, and pool powers are unlocked with regard to availability. That means a lvl 2 character can be running around with imps. Or a nuke. Or a headsplitter. The restriction is that characters in saga mode are only able to use normal enhancements (ie SOs etc.). So no damage procs, no set bonuses, unique bonuses, etc. Since the PPPs have to unlocked via mission, I would propose that they and the APP would become available at the normal point in progression, but they would afterward be unlocked as well with regard to selection. What's the point: 1. To make lower level content palatable again for veteran players that are used to using IO builds that don't gas out constantly. And overcome the irritation of having to take powers that you know you'll skip later, wait for things you like, etc. 2. Enable greater build diversity. Allow players to cobble together exotic builds that are precluded by the current system. 3, Increased novelty/narrative diversity. Instead of this measured increase in power that is the normal logic of the game, maybe you have a character that can barely control their powers and just nukes every couple of minutes. Maybe a super glass cannon character that only has attacks but can rise from the dead periodically. People would have a lot more options to play with.

When I saw the title, I thought it was going to be someone hawking denture cream.

Oh no... First Hall and Oats, now you two. Some people. Lol.

I think the gist of what Troo wants is something idiosycratic, not necessarily bad in the sense that it performs poorly. The game at this point is very predictable, very formulaic. Rudra says: Ummm..no? lol? If that floats your boat fine, but it I think a lot of people feel this game has gotten stale with the same thing over and over. Just come up with a new theme, tweak some variables, and viola a new set. But it's really just more of the same, which is what this game has been ever since they went down the road of powerset proliferation Some of the recent posts in this forum indicate that some people: 1. Insist on a carboard cutout sense of balance. Everything has to perform in roughly the same way. 2. They don't want anything actually challenging. 3. They don't want any kind of randomness. Cater to these three preferences and you have stagnation. The same thing with just cosmetic changes. Dull, low hanging fruit.

Par for the course. I think some posters are so desperate to promote their vision of the status quo that they forget this is actually a game.

No, I think the point of badges is to give players a sense of accomplishment/reward for doing different aspects of gameplay. I personally am not a fan of getting out vidiotmaps yet again and bouncing around in different zones to get exploration badges in order to get accolades. But I get that some people like engaging the lore this way. Given that part of the point of the challenge is to do something different from what players have been doing now for over two decades, I though a badge would be a good thing to add. But if that particular aspect of the proposal is a dealbreaker for you, feel free to set it aside for now.

Are you serious? Cap fights sharks? I might have to see it if that's true.

Yeah I get that, but it's kind of the whole point of the challenge. You are dealt a hand, let's see what you do with it. I'm sure that people who would want the badge but don't actually want to do the associated challenge would just fudge it--pl or something. The pvp badges are the same. People who hate pvp still covet the badge, so they farm characters in the arena or have a friend in o.ne of the zones help them get it.

Lol how many socks are in this thread? By all means, keep complaining about complaining.

This is an idea inspired by Troo's thread. The idea entails unlockable content for experienced players, so it wouldn't be something that a newbie would roll up day one. Unlocking this character would involve acquiring most or all of the gladiator badges and then doing a TF that would make the character available. The character is an MM that conforms to the general structure of the AT in terms of number of pets, upgrades, etc. The difference is that each tier of pet is randomly assigned from a pool of gladiators. The upgrades and other MM powers are randomly chosen from the current MM sets. The secondary is a normal secondary but randomly assigned. The player is free to choose pool powers, patron powers, etc. If the player successfully levels that character "as is" they would receive some sort of badge or accolade. Respec would be available, but doing so would prevent the acquisition of the badge on that character if they had not already acquired it prior to doing the respec. This I think would offer some novelty to the AT and some aspects of the game, like gladiator badges, that people are probably not getting that much out of.

Umm...no not really? Yes it affirmed the point you made that there are independent contractors and unions. And yes, not a single word of it touched on film failures or production companies firing people. But is certainly gutted the part where you insisted that these workers would just jump on another project. And yeah, the fallout goes back to two striking unions--unions that were striking in response to unfair labor practices. So yes, as I said before, the labor is suffering as the result of the decisions made by studio heads and money interests. That was the simple point I made earlier, it wasn't contingent on the specific scenario of a studio directly firing workers.

1. You don't have to use the pets. You don't have to use the buffs. If you disagree, play the way you want. Don't push your expectations on to other people. 2. You said ANY changes would be a buff. Yeah it was ridiculous, but you said it lol so I responded. 3. LOL NO. Can you read? The title of the thread is "phantasm sucks". It's not "the illusion set has an issue that will be addressed by improving the Phantasm" and all the unnecessary baggage you are bringing to the discussion. In terms of the function of the set, I think the requested change would be marginal in terms of performance. The main thing is that it would be less annoying to use and more justifiable as a power pick, as opposed to some other pet or procable dmg power.

That's exactly how the industry is working. People who are underpayed to begin with are losing their jobs. Or transitioning to some other profession that offers some degree of stability. https://archive.vn/5iN1u The notion that they can just bounce on to another project project headed by producers B-Z is maybe true if they can afford to move to another state or country and most likely work for less. People do stupid things all the time. Things that lead to disastrous outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities. You want to munch popcorn over it, you do you. I'm not going to gloat over other people's sufferings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_film_directors Michael Bay is #4 on the list. If Michael Bay thinks he's making good movies, and he's basing that on earnings, then he's probably more credible than people posting in this thread. Or, you have to say that box office doesn't really reflect quality. Or that what constitutes a good movie is largely subjective and different audiences have different perspectives.

Yeah it's Shadenfreude. It's understandable, but it's a bad look. Generally speaking, if we accept the premise that greedy incompetent people are ruining the media we love (ignoring any subjective component to that assessment), it's important to remember that the people calling the shots are not ruining themselves. Rich powerful people don't suffer the consequences; maybe they'll go sulk on their yachts. The people that will suffer are the workers. Artists, animators, gaffers, costumers, lighting people, crew that build sets and props and so on. They will be looking for another job and continuing to struggle to make ends meet. So no, I don't revel in some studios miss-steps. I don't crave the financial disaster of failed movies or games. I continue to support the things that I want to see and don't worry about the rest.

I understand your opinions. They are bad, for reasons I've already explained. But you keep popping back up and regurgitating them. 1. "the developers intend..." Which developers? Something like the illusion set goes back to 2004, at which point it behaved differently than it does now. And the game didn't have sets, incarnates, etc. This is you stating what you want by speaking on behalf of the development cycle of the game. The gist of it is this--coh gives you different boxes of tools to mix and match to suit your personal playstyle. That is the core strength of the game. The point of this thread is that one particular tool is poorly coded and should be adjusted. Your counter is to look at the balancing of the set as a whole and assume that it is being played a certain way. Build diversity and options are more important than your assumptions. 2. "Any improvement OF ANY KIND". This is obviously false, they could improve the aesthetics of the thing for example. Make it customizable. And again you seem to be assuming that the suicidal nature of the phantasm is intentional. It's meant to die so that its dps is balanced with respect to the set as a whole. This is a post hoc rationalization that could be baselessly applied to any poorly implemented power. 3. "However, you are wrong. The onus is not on me. The onus is on YOU to back up your positive claim that Illusion has an issue that will be addressed by improving the Phantasm." Try to listen. I am not making a positive claim that illusion has an issue. That is YOUR framing of the issue. Your dogmatic insistence that the issue be filtered through your assumptions. I'm just concerned with the behavior of the pet and whether is fun to use or not. I think the dps increase about which you're complaining, assuming it materialized, would be negligible. Laughable.

Yeah I think that’s a dynamic that goes on here. People complain about a thing they don’t like. If that doesn’t satisfy, they point to bad box office. If pointing to bad box office doesn’t satisfy, they complain about the industry. The thing is, bad box office doesn’t mean a film is bad or the studio necessarily did anything wrong. Especially for films that are ahead of their time and come to be appreciated later.

I suspect for both myself and the OP, this is a QOL issue. The pet is annoying to use and causes problems. You are insisting that this is a balance issue, out of what appears to be a dogma that any change must be a balance issue that involves a consideration of the balancing between different sets. I don’t agree with your framework, and I think the onus is on you too establish that a more reasonably behaved Phantasm will somehow significantly improve the set as a whole with regards to how people are doing with controllers in general. I think that would only be the case if the developers intended to pet to die a lot and be unmanageable.