scottocamp

Here is a data chunk for my Symphony / Sonic controller. I ended up using a lot of procs as that seemed to work well for Symphony. I do use the Sonic Barrier and Sonic Haven shields on the Reverberant pet and they seem to help. But I often forget to refresh. I'm not sure the Disruption Field is all that impactful on the Reverberant. And I can't say I really understand what the Reverberant pet is doing to help me but I certainly do better with the pet than without. No clue if my slotting on the Reverberant is any good. I mostly just hover at a distance and spam cone attacks after laying down Liquefy. The cones are all quite good but there are clear advantages to using the cones in a particular order. Like Liquefy, then some sort of containment then Confounding Chant and then mopping up with Energy Torrent or Dreadful Discord is a good progression. Liquefy is now up much faster than Mids is indicating. For single target, Hymn of Dissonance and Impassioned Serenade are both solid but the set seems ultimately better at AOE. Not great defense but there is a ton of controls which largely keep you safe. And a lot of -tohit in Liquefy. I skipped Sonic Siphon just because I never seemed to use it. The two powersets seem to go well together in the sense that Symphony needs a lot of slots and Sonic hardly needs any. Power Boost seems helpful. Increasing your range is exceptionally helpful. Bottom line - not my most elegant build but it has worked well for me. Just ran a couple of missions against the newly refurbished Council at +4/8 and the build did very well. But again - you can't just leap right in. You need to stay back and run your cones in a specific order to be most effective. And I'm basically only using two Sonic powers while solo (Liquefy and Sonic Dispersion) which is kind of odd. It is an unusual toon for me to play as it creates a lot of perceived chaos while still doing quite a bit of damage. Hope this helps!! 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

With regard to the Epic Power Pool adjustments - I believe your philosophy and intent are absolutely correct. But the solution being implemented (lengthening recharge times, increasing endurance costs, etc.) will only serve to push players more strongly toward already established secondary options like Hasten, Tough, Weave, (Kick or Boxing) Combat Jumping, Hover, Maneuvers & Tactics. Which will create less rather than more diverse build options. I doubt there is any willingness to reduce the effectiveness of these core Pool Powers as that would disrupt every build. So a player with 24 power choices will now pick 15 or 16 primary and secondary powers, 7 or 8 of the core Pool Powers mentioned and maybe 1 or 2 Epic Powers like a shield toggle. The rest of these Epic Powers (which number in the hundreds) will be largely ignored. The "power creep" baseline is already established with powers like Hasten and Weave. Without changing those powers, the only real option to move players toward more diverse builds would be to make Epic Powers nearly as attractive. Moving a power choice from Weave to an equally decent Epic Power doesn't make the build any more over-powered than it already is. But reducing the appeal of Epic Powers will absolutely ensure no one considers not choosing Weave or Hasten or Tactics nearly all the time. Your solution is working directly against your stated goal of not making players feel "funneled toward the best" option.

If a couple of epic powers (like sleet) need to be adjusted downward - have at it. But what is the justification to balance downward powers that few if any players make use of now? Shouldn't balancing imply that you also enhance the powers that are under-utilized while diminishing the powers that are over-utilized? Making unappealing powers even less appealing seems like a lot of effort without any benefit to the game.

I am profoundly grateful this game still exists for me to enjoy. And I greatly appreciate the efforts of the extremely talented HC team running this game and moving it forward. My concern, however, is that the HC team seems focused almost exclusively on “balance” issues. To a degree that at times feels like they are balancing the life out of the game. Offering a reward for a balanced team composition, balancing villain groups to make sure all are equally powered, only introducing new power sets or enhancement recipes that are middle of the road, making sure all epic powers are equally lackluster, reducing the effectiveness of oddball powers like Bonfire, and so on. After every update the game seems a lot more balanced and little bit less fun. Adding a bunch of new epic powers that are all largely skippable just so Masterminds can now have access to Dark powers and Scrappers can now have access to Ice powers making everything more symmetrical just seems rather pointless. Why add powers no one is probably ever going to use? Symmetry just for the sake of symmetry doesn't really add anything to the game. I have no issue with focusing on balance. It always needs to be considered. But the game is largely self-balancing simply because every hero or villain is limited to 24 powers and a fixed number of enhancements. Choosing an epic power largely means not choosing a very good primary or secondary power. So why not make the epic powers something more than skippable filler? My big picture feedback would be to occasionally consider what makes the game enjoyable to play rather than always just focusing on balance. City of Heroes has always been fun (to me at least) because it seems so wacky and wild and unbalanced. I play because of powers like Bonfire. More Battle Axe vortex powers and fewer comically bland powers with impossibly long recharge times would go a long way to keeping that wacky spirit alive.

That is your argument in favor of this mechanic? That there won't be problems all the time?

At present it is not usually that complicated to form a team. With this mechanic I can imagine evenings where the first four folks I invite turn out to be blasters. Then the next couple of people decide to drop once they realize they won't get the $3 million bonus. Or there is a debate about making the blasters switch AT's. And maybe the blasters don't want to do that. Or maybe they do and then we all have to wait for three of them to switch. Or half the team wants the $3 million and the other half just want to get going and not wait. Or I have to now recruit for a TinPex where there will be no bonus because we already have four blasters and that drags out recruitment. Or I can boot a couple of the blasters who joined first and try to fill the team with different AT's. And meanwhile there is grumblings all about. None of this sounds more fun to me as team leader. Without this mechanic we could already be on our way to finishing the Tinpex. Instead I am dealing with stuff I don't really want to be dealing with. Again - it just seems like an unnecessary mechanic that will discourage even more people from leading teams. Not the end of the world. But also not an improvement.

Perhaps you run missions differently - but I try not to be dismissive of the requests people present when offering to join a team. If folks want to go for a badge, then we try for the badge. That sort of stuff. This adds another layer of complexity to all that. Which will certainly make the experience of leading a team more difficult - at least for me.

As someone who tries to lead at least one team event each evening (usually a TinPex or weekly) - this just seems to add another, admittedly small, level of complexity and perhaps stress to the whole process of recruiting and filling a team and trying to deal with folks who can already be a bit demonstrative in expressing themselves even without an additional 3 million at stake. It almost seems like a small punishment for those attempting to lead a team. I would gladly *pay* an Aether just to not deal with a mechanic that complicates the recruitment of players.

Wow - my main Mallard Duck is in this wonderful photo!! This makes me so happy to see!! I am terrible with names but certainly remember kind folks like Hopper, Ironblade,Turbo & Solaris helping me along. I believe this was a group event as the game was shutting down to recognize the greatness of Infinity! Thank you so much for posting this! Such good times. Mallard Duck and the mighty hero birds of F.O.W.L. are now on Excelsior

I am going to wholeheartedly agree that for a Dominator in melee range, World of Confusion is a wonderful power. Though I always 6 slot the power. While it can take a minute to kick in, once it does the contagious confusion can spread well beyond the range of the power. I am frequently shocked to see the entire mob surrounding my character confused. I would not depend on just this one power for my survival but it is wildly effective at confusing mobs. Without domination, without a character that exists in the middle of a mob and without some investment in slotting (particularly the contagious proc) - then I can see how it would be underwhelming. Some sort of boost to secondary effects (like Power Up in Earth Assault) is also helpful. But regardless, it is absolutely not a crap power for Dominators.

Does anyone know if slotting range enhancements in the reverberant pet actually increases the range of the reverberant attacks or just increases the range at which you can cast the pet? Thanks!!

If you converted a one million influence enhancement into a five million influence enhancement - it would seem like you have added four million in value/wealth/influence to the game at large. And that would be true if you could sell the upgraded crafted enhancement to a game vendor for five million influence. But you can't. You can only sell that upgraded enhancement to another player. So you are not adding value/wealth/influence to the game at large. You are simply transferring *existing* value/wealth/influence from another player to you if you sell that enhancement at the auction house. The auction house moves existing money around. Nothing more really. Certainly a base full of purples is equivalent to influence with an active economy. But upgrading an enhancement does not add anything to the overall economy. It may make you personally wealthier because another player has chosen to give you their money so that they don't have to bother trying to upgrade enhancements. Running missions, however, does add value/wealth/influence to the game - even if you are the only person playing the game. Put another way - if everyone did nothing but run missions, the amount of value/wealth/influence in the game would steadily increase. If everyone did nothing but upgrade and sell enhancements at the auction house, influence would move around from player to player but the total value/wealth/influence in the game would not increase. Perhaps all those enhancements eventually end up as nothing but Luck of the Gamblers. Which would seem good but the money available to purchase these enhancements would remain constant. So the total value would remain constant. The latter scenario is a zero sum game.

Ironblade It seems counter-intuitive but imagine if you were the only player in the game. Converting an enhancement would not affect wealth because there would be no one to purchase the better enhancement. You would have one enhancement in storage and now you would have a different enhancement in storage. The converted enhancement might be more useful to you for your future builds but it would not create more wealth for you (or the game at large). There are two ways for an individual to acquire personal wealth in CoH. One is to run missions which creates money out of thin air and one is to take money from other players by giving them things they want in exchange. Converting an enhancement will make it easier to acquire / take money from another player - but it doesn't actually add wealth to the overall game. The only wealth being added to the game is the money being created from missions. That said - for an individual playing the game currently, taking money from other players is a much better return on your time than running missions. But that would change if folks stopped buying enhancements on the market. Which is plausible given how easily recipes drop and how simple it is to convert those recipes to enhancements you wish to use.

I am simply curious as to the process when changes are made to the game that no one seems to be requesting. And curious as to how the community should respond and provide feedback for these unexpected changes. And wondering if changes no one is expecting might benefit from more community input. Am also not advocating "throwing sand in the gears". Would just like to offer thoughtful feedback prior to the point at which the change is largely considered a done deal. I have no expectation that my feedback will be acted upon or that the process should be a popular vote. Just seems as if the goal is to make the game the best it can be, then engaging the larger community as much as possible in a manner that is acceptable to the developers would be a largely positive approach. Especially for changes no one sees coming. Just a rough idea of what is on the list with absolutely no guarantees would be a nice gesture.

Fair enough. I don't believe I have ever seen a build posted on this forum that incorporates any of these new travel sets but obviously that doesn't really mean anything. I would be willing to wager however that very few builds make use of these sets despite the effort put into developing them. I have 46 level 50 toons and none of them use any of these enhancements. And I try fairly deliberately to make diverse builds. My actual point is how does the list of possible game changes get assembled? I completely understand responding to feedback from posts on the forum (i.e. make sentinels better, etc.) but why do something no one is asking for? Is there no way to have input on such decisions prior to work being done without actually being a developer? It seems like some of these decisions just get plucked out of thin air and somewhat blindside the community. Obviously that is not true but wouldn't it make sense to involve the community much earlier in the process regarding what might be on the "list"? Sure, there might be disappointments if items are necessarily removed from the list because they are not possible or worth the effort. But most folks completely understand such restraints. Since this is no longer a for profit game and the intent is to make the game the best game possible - why not include the community earlier in the development process? If the concern is lots of arguing and community angst, well - that seems to happen currently. The situation might end up being less contentious if the process felt more inclusive.