StratoNexus

When editing your costume the zoom works great on the Head and the Upper Body, but when you zoom in on the Lower Body, it is actually higher than Upper Body. You barely see any of the Legs at all.

Time? Adjusting RoP is something they have already examined in detail, especially with the other Tier 5s having the 60 second recharge, that lends itself to also already having a similar change out in live (sort of). Messing with the other powers in Sorcery requires time to examine the pool overall and brainstorm multiple ideas for how to adjust. Stuff I am sure they have thought about a little, but not enough to push the change to beta (unlike the RoP adjustment, which has already been iterated based on Unleash Potential and Adrenal Booster).

45 seconds is interesting with a 7.5 minute recharge. 450 base recharge - 45 second duration At 225 second recharge, uptime is 20% with a downtime of 185 seconds (vs lives 210 seconds). At 150 second recharge, uptime is 30% with a downtime of 105 seconds (vs lives 110 seconds). At 127 second recharge, uptime is 35% with a downtime of 82 seconds. (vs lives 80 seconds). At 109 second recharge, uptime is 41% with a downtime of 64 seconds (vs lives 55 seconds). The downtimes are very similar to live and my suggested 60 second duration with 480 second recharge (180, 110, 76, 56), but the overall uptime percentages match the 60 second duration with 600 second recharge and still keep it so that at max recharge it is only 50% uptime. I think being able to use it to get out of a bad situation requires 45 seconds. 30 seconds is a bit short (while 30 is enough for most bad aggros, 45 seconds covers a lot more). That said, with those downtimes, I think you could just go with 60 seconds and 8 minutes, which lets it work better proactively, while still less well than the live version.

That is an interesting premise. As I stated previously, I think <50% uptime is good goal, although I disagree with premise that we should look at the recharge cap for that. I do think a power like this should have some downtime, even at the cap, but 50% seems more like a number we want to stay under in general, not absolutely. The vast majority of characters at the recharge cap are going to somehow have additional help beyond +recharge anyway, You don't get there solo for long periods of time. That said, even though my suggestion reduces the uptime percentage, it sought to keep the absolute amount of downtime similar to the current live version, and that downtime amount may have been the actual primary target of the change, rather than uptime percentage. At the 4 levels of recharge I used in my original post, live downtimes are 210 seconds for the generic build, 110 at mid-tier, 80 at the high-recharge, and 55 for the very high recharge (at the cap it would be 30 seconds). My suggestion (60 second duration/ 480 second recharge) ends up at 180 seconds down for the generic build, 100 at mid-tier, 76 at the high recharge, and 56 for the very high recharge (and 36 at the cap). If the goal of the change was to significantly increase the downtime rather than to make it a more active power with less overall uptime, then you are correct, they would have to reduce the duration if they would reduce the recharge. I am not positive increased downtime is the primary goal (they added the resists to the click break-free aspect, which tells me they would like people using it reactively more often and the reduced recharge encourages that too, while still reducing overall uptime). I do not feel that 60 seconds up and 110 seconds down (current test in a high recharge build) is necessary compared to my suggestion of 60 seconds up and 76 seconds down at that same level of recharge. Is that extra 34 seconds down an important part of the power reduction? Possibly, but not necessarily. Jimmy said As far as mez overall, my interaction with Mez is biased by my own gameplay, which heavily leans on my decent understanding of when and which mezzes are actually a problem. Mez is not a zero-sum game for me, I can usually choose not to take a breakfree for most mezzes and come through a fight OK, but I also usually know which mezzes I really need to get out of RTFN. And I sometimes am wrong. I have taken a breakfree, only to have my team back me up right when I needed it, thus "wasting" the BF. I have also chosen to wait out the mez and been wrong that I would survive through. That is not zero-sum; my choices generally make a difference while also not being absolute (sometimes I make the "right" choice and it ends up not right).

I certainly agree on Combustion and Short Circuit. Fire Sword Circle and most of the Whirling powers feel OK to me. One problem with lowering Hail of Bullets down this far is it doesn't leave so much room for the other AoEs to still be flashy if it is ever decided to adjust them. I'd love to see those 3 second animations dropped down to the 2.5 to 2.67 like the Whirling powers, but that is still longer than the current HoB animation. I am all for a lower animation time. I still think they went too far. Please consider cutting one half to one second off, not 1.7 seconds. The more I play on live and then occasionally switch back to beta to test, the more I dislike the stutteriness of the new animation. The old one flows, with a really good rhythm. The new one is not long enough to set a rhythm.

I like the idea of 60 second durations on these powers, making them more active. 600 second base recharge : 60 second duration vs 90 second duration comparison below. At 300 second recharge, uptime is 20% vs 30% (this is a base build, likely SOs or generic IOs only). At 200 second recharge, uptime is 30% vs 45% (this is a mid-tier build, likely Hasten up most of time, with modest Set bonus for recharge). At 170 second recharge, uptime is 35% vs 53% (this is a high recharge build, Hasten is perma or very near). At 145 second recharge, uptime is 41% vs 62% (my time defender reaches this level of recharge, my Grav/Storm gets close with his multiple Force Feedback procs, without Ageless). I think it is reasonable for this power to have uptimes below 50% in general. I also hate all powers with 10 minute recharge. Could it be considered to lower the base recharge on the power to 480 seconds with the 60s duration (and lower recharge on the other 600 second recharge powers this is being compared with)? I think the below uptimes make the power more usable for all players, while still reducing the overall uptime for higher end builds noticeably. It also allows for a slight buff to the other T5 pool powers. The extra time or two per mission the power can be used is also handy, while the shorter duration still allows the power to be more active. I also toyed with 500 or 510 seconds, which may be more appropriate, but I think the even 8 minutes was more elegant. 480 second base recharge with 60 second duration uptimes outlined below (using the same 4 recharge levels as above). At 240 second recharge, uptime is 25% (down from 30%) At 160 second recharge, uptime is 38% (down from 45%) At 136 second recharge, uptime is 44% (down from 53%) At 116 second recharge, uptime is 52% (down from 62%)

I like the new layout for the description, changing the text color was a nice add (although Incendiary could be a bit more orange or red). In the special ammunition section, I would prefer to see the Ammo type listed at the beginning of the sentence rather than the end. Instead of: *A minor damage over time effect if 'Incendiary Ammo' is loaded. Make it: *'Incendiary Ammo' adds a minor damage over time effect. I really thought the Hail of Bullets animation time was going to be too short for my liking, but I was mostly OK with the overall look. After going back and forth between live and beta, I do significantly prefer the live version, however the beta version was not as bad as I had originally anticipated. Visually I would still prefer a longer animation; is it possible to go somewhere between 4.17 and 2.47? 3.17 or 3.33? Additionally, I find it somewhat odd that this very strong AoE power would animate faster than Fire Sword Circle, Combustion, Short Circuit, etc.

I slotted mine with 4 Expedient Reinforcements (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/Dam/Rech, End/Dam/Rech) and an Acc/Mez Hami.

Set up my target Concentrate for the big kill Denied by Judgement

Did you ever locate this script or do you have another source of converting png to texture file? I would like to convert a png to a texture file and have no idea where to start.

It looks like half this set is inappropriately set to allow slotting at level 7, rather than level 17. It is confusing having three of the set allowed at level 7, but the other three require level 17.

The AoEs from Dual Pistols are granting their Defiance bonus for each target hit. Tested on a DP/Mental and a DP/Nin blaster. I tested Fire, Elec, and Radiation primaries as well, none of their AoEs were bugged as far as I saw. This behavior also did not occur with any secondary AoE attacks. Confirmed for Piercing Rounds, Empty Clips, Bullet Rain, and Hail of Bullets. HoB is like a mini Fulrcum Shift on yourself. 🙂

You can definitely start attacking right after the rez; you cannot be buffed by friends nor hurt by enemies (although there is a very tiny window where you first rez before the protective buff applies that sometimes will bite you, but that is very rare). I usually turn on the sustain power as soon as I rez and then either attack or add more shields (or drop inspires if I have any left). I love the power personally. It is visually fantastic and a great way to shed debuffs plus it deals good damage in a very large AoE. The KB is big and I prefer it to KD on this power, but you cannot slot KB enhancers nor can you slot Knockback Set IOs. I do recommend getting at least 33% heal enhancing in the power.

Elec Blast end drain on defenders is actually pretty potent, although it works fastest if you can combine it with an Epic that helps. Power Sink, from Electric or Mu Mastery is one option (and considering Storm can be an end hog, is also helpful to recover endurance from a series of pet summoning). Power Build Up and Power Boost from Power or Soul is the other option. I usually slot Short Circuit mixed between a damage set and an End Mod set. Short Circuit is the key, because not only is it the big end drainer in a very large AoE, but it also floors enemy recovery. Ball Lightning can be slotted similarly. for additional support in keeping whole spawns sapped. Musculature is an obvious Alpha, although Agility is also very good. Since snipes were buffed, Electric's single target output is not as bad as people think; and while Voltaic Sentinel is not great in big team spawn to spawn fighting, he does good damage vs single hard targets and helps when playing solo and small teams.

Atomic is a solid Blapping secondary with some interesting utility/mezzing. The holds stack well with Ice primary, so a good combo.

That would be a great alternate animation, although it is faster than the current (1.32 vs 1.716). If they could trim the dart animation to 1.32 (would also be good for fixing the Widow Poison Dart) and allow the Throw Shuriken animation as an alternate, that would be cool. Not sure the Dart animation could be trimmed that much, 0.4 seconds is a lot of animation to trim without making it look clunky and I don't remember a lot of pauses in the animation.

I have played both of these blaster secondaries to fifty. My DP/Nin/Mun concept is a character I love, and the flow between the pistols and Katana works well for me (I even wish I could force redraw of the Katana after a pistol attack, that first Sting of the Wasp not animating bothers me, even though it increases my DPS by not animating the redraw). My Rad/Mar/Mace Halloween baby quickly became not just a favorite character, but also a fun and effective toy for smashing content. It is true that Storm Kick and Dragon's Tail are slightly low damage for blaster melee, but the control they provide causes me to prefer the faster recharge/lower damage. I had posted on the first set of forums about the problems with Ninja Training, but since that post is gone, I will repost my thoughts. Overall, the concept for the Ninja Training secondary works very well. The power choices include a good mix of melee, control, utility, and the blaster sustain is thematically appropriate. There are just a few implementation issues that hold the set back with some truly subpar powers (not unplayable, just noticeably weaker than they should be). First the Good: Choking Powder is good. Standard single target mez, reasonable damage, good animation, bonus base to-hit is nice and fits the standard Katana theme.. Kuji-In Toh is fine. Perma out of the box (with a bit of overlap so you do not need to mash it immediately), good animation. On top of the Fear protection I think protection and/or resistance to Confuse would make sense thematically and would be pretty unique, but not really needed. Second the Meh: Shinobi is OK. The benefits are not truly high enough compared to TD or Build Up. Even if they get the +movement fixed, still not good enough. If they made it a zero (or near zero) end cost toggle, maybe, but I think it should have a stronger effect (or a better way to leverage the +damage from stealth more often) and keep the higher end cost. I personally like the idea of this power opening up a secondary power (like Mystic Flight opening Translocation) that either puts you back in stealth or maybe grants a minor Build Up (with a ~30ish second recharge that is unaffected by buffs). Finally the Bad: (these are all bad to varying degrees, some are almost meh and some are outright bleh) Immobilizing Dart clearly does not deal as much damage as it should (or it should have some additional secondary effect(s)). Animation looks good to me, although it is on the longer side compared to the other tier 1s, which compounds the lack of damage. Blinding Powder is a fine AoE control/debuff and pretty unique. It's recharge was shortened from the armor set version, which is good, but compared to other blaster AoE soft controls, not shortened enough (45 or 60 second recharge would be proper, 90 makes sense for the hard controls in Temporal and Plant, which this is not). Also a bit small sized for the AoE when compared to other blaster options. Not one of my favorite powers personally, but very appropriate for the AT and the Ninja theme. Smoke Flash is a great idea, but really mixes much better with Stalker armor than it does with blaster powers, including the rest of this secondary. I really thought I would like this, but I found it to be much less effective than I thought it would be. The animation is a bit long for an unarmored AT and a blaster's best defense is making dead things so blowing 2 seconds on this activation ends up more dangerous than using a primary attack to make dead things. I am not sure how I would fix this power. Katana features quick recharging, fast animating attacks that can be chained for great DPS. Blasters are not really made to do that with melee, so melee attacks generally deal more damage per click, but have longer recharges. All three of the Katana attacks in Ninja Training are problematic, but we will start with the most blatant error. The Lotus Drops was treated as if it was being moved into an Epic pool, rather than a blaster secondary and had its recharge doubled while it's damage scale remained the same as the Katana version. I'd love to see this power have an 18 second recharge, 10' radius, and deal scale 1.2 lethal damage with 3 ticks of scale 0.12 lethal damage (66.73 + 3 ticks 6.67). That is only slightly higher than the current damage, but with a larger radius (and a shorter recharge that appropriately almost follows the damage formula (some of the DoT is bonus "free" damage, just like the Katana version)). Sting of the Wasp and Golden Dragonfly were straight ported from the scrapper to the blaster, which is problematic since chaining fast, but lower base damage melee attacks works fine for an armored AT with criticals, but not as well for a blaster with defiance. I do not think these powers need to be /Nrg or /Elec melee attack clones, they can keep a slightly lower damage per click with a faster recharge, just not quite as low/fast as the scrapper versions. I'd go with 8 seconds, scale 1.64 damage (91.2 dam) for Sting and 17 seconds, scale 3.08 damage (171.28 dam) for Golden. Alternatively, you could do a bit lower damage per click, maybe 6 or 7 seconds for Sting and 14 or 15 for Golden, but add Flashing Steel with an 8 or 10 second recharge (replacing either Smoke Flash or Blinding Powder). I would like that, but have no real justification other than I would like that.

I can't answer for the OP, but I understand your question. /Fire does shine more for melee/near melee. I would guess thematics would be the primary reason, although Ring of Fire is actually a very good first tier blaster secondary power for a ranger. Burn is also decent at making enemies get away from you, so not bad defensive option for a ranger. The Fire/ primary is a fine mix of AoE and single target range attacks, even skipping Fire Breath, you deal good AoE with just Fireball and Rain of Fire (and of course Inferno).

My experience with blaster absorb is with /Martial, I am not positive how similar that is to /Plant's. The absorb effect is useful, but you will still lose enough HPs that a heal is good.

Nice build and I love the goblin concept. I really like Aim, so I made the below modifications in order to put Aim into the build. I'd likely rearrange power picks to get Aim sooner as well. If you wanted Blinding Powder as more than a set mule, then nevermind, but Aim is a much better power, IMO. I maintained softcap vs Smash/Lethal, although just made it. It modestly improved all other defense (actually capping Fire/Cold) gave a bit more resistance across the board and a few more HPs. I did swap out the pure Damage Eradication for an Acc/Dam/Rech, since the loss of the 9% global Accuracy dropped Golden Dragonfly below 95% chance vs +3s. This only causes a loss of 6 pts of average damage (3pts compared to your build, due to the small extra global damage in my version). I had to move the Hold proc out of Stunning Shot, which would definitely have gone off a lot, although since the power already stuns, I did not think it was all that handy to also have it hold (and you don't have Choking Powder to stack holds). I also moved the End mod out of Stamina, you have gobs of endurance and are well slotted for end reduction in most attacks. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Blaster Primary Power Set: Archery Secondary Power Set: Ninja Training Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Snap Shot -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Immobilizing Dart -- Acc-I(A) Level 2: Aimed Shot -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(21) Level 4: Fistful of Arrows -- Ann-Acc/Dmg(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg(7), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Ann-ResDeb%(25) Level 6: Blazing Arrow -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(7), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(11) Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15) Level 10: Shinobi -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(19), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(21), ShlWal-Def(50) Level 12: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A) Level 14: Explosive Arrow -- Ann-Acc/Dmg(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg(17), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Ann-ResDeb%(29) Level 16: The Lotus Drops -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(36) Level 18: Ranged Shot -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(31), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(37), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc(42) Level 20: Kuji-In Toh -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(33), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(48), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(50), NmnCnv-Heal(50), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(40) Level 22: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A) Level 24: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(29) Level 26: Stunning Shot -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(43) Level 28: Smoke Flash -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(33), LucoftheG-Def(46) Level 32: Rain of Arrows -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(34), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(43) Level 35: Aim -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(36), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(37), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(37), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(40), GssSynFr--Build%(45) Level 38: Golden Dragonfly -- ClvBlo-Acc/Dmg(A), ClvBlo-Dmg/EndRdx(39), ClvBlo-Dmg/Rchg(39), Erd-%Dam(39), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Erd-Acc/Rchg(43) Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42), LucoftheG-Def(42) Level 44: Sting of the Wasp -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(45), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(46), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(48) Level 47: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(48) Level 49: Summon Spiderlings -- ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Defiance Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 0: The Atlas Medallion ------------

Full disclosure, maybe my nostalgia is making me think more highly of Dimension Shift than I should be. I had respecced into it before the end of the game back in the day and while I know I rarely used it, I seem to remember that in the situations I did use it, I thought it worked really well. Even still, it was my level 49 power back then and I still have it as a 49 power now. This means that I have not actually played with it on Homecoming yet, my namesake is only 46 (leveling him slowly, enjoying the ride to 50). Maybe my tendency to play a lot with voice chat also helps, because I can easily communicate that the back left spawn in the cave is shifted, so my team knows not to waste powers there (or a melee character can run into it and start defeating/aggro control). I just recall saving a lot of grief with Rularuu in those big cave rooms or multi-spawn intersections with DS. I agree with your statistical analysis of power usage, my last line about 'out with Crushing Field' was a joke, because I dislike AoE immobs since they cause many of the same issues people complain about DS causing and get used every spawn by people who use them and they can't be shutoff once misapplied. That is why earlier in my post I said lots of people rely on Crushing Field, but it makes me weep. However, if they removed Dimension Shift and replaced it with Superior Fly, I would not complain. You could play Grav/Kin and have three of four travel powers.

I think it is thematically a good idea, but I can't think of a power to remove. Even Dimension Shift is a solid pick now. While my namesake no longer uses Propel or Lift, they are both good power choices and I would never want to see them removed. Crushing Field, like all AoE immobs, generally makes me weep and I also skip that, but lots of people rely on it. Crush is a simple control that is pretty iconic and while skippable, lots of folks use it as well (including me). The other 4 powers are all fantastic powers, although GDF is skippable due to its long base recharge (but I would never skip it). So Crushing Filed out and Superior Fly in!

I do not see Repel in the list of currently known sounds, but silencing (or changing) it can be done if you can find that information.

One of your teammates? Isn't that why you started this thread? Yes, take Siphon Power. Yes, use it often. Try to stand near some allies when you use it, because the buff radiates from you.

I do not think this is true. The following linked guide gives a good outline and matches my experience.