tidge
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Posts posted by tidge
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2 hours ago, UltraAlt said:
Are you talking about the mode where it is actually always recording the last "set length of time" (I think the default is set at 5 minutes) versus starting to record when you tell it to start recording?
Frankly: I turned aware from the software so I can't offer details on what it was doing. I had intended to use a mode where I would pick when it started to record. My suspicion is that the software was always passing some small (a few seconds?) duration of the displayed screen through some sort of buffer in anticipation of the user asking it to begin recording. While the software was running, what was finally being displayed on the screen was IMO "obviously" not the immediate video output I expected (or had experienced) prior to activating that part of the code.
The effects it introduced was a a "delay" (almost to the point of hysteresis, but not quite) in simply moving icons/windows on the desktop, and certain closed windows kept an "afterimage" on the screen. Task Manager would no longer show the programs as running, but the last images from them would be preserved. The first effect was highly annoying, but I can imagine that per the software implementation it was "working as expected". The second effect was a clear software defect. In either case, the program did not meet the needs of my intended use and significantly affected my quality of life. I'm not going back to it, and the experience was painful enough that I'm simply relieved to have recovered from the experience; I have no intention of going back to it... even to help better understand what happened.
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I have the Gaussian's %Build Up slotted as mention, and I see it up often... but I question if it is really the optimal choice (for the rest of the MM build) only because I don't usually see the T2 Henchmen making attacks in the short window when it is active. This is the sort of thing that I think is objectively hard to assess because it depends on a certain amount of asynchronous syncrhonicity involving the positioning of the henchmen, available targets, etc. I think I keep it because I just like seeing the little violet fist appear next to the henchmen.
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Good advice in the OP, but with a couple of minor sour notes (to my eyes, YMMV) that prevent me from applying a "like". Nothing worth starting a discussion over.
Story time, just for discussion.
I recently joined a Ms Liberty TF with my Tank that was being run by another Tank. No big deal, my casual observation is that we were roughly equal in terms of survivability but it did result in some odd (team) behavior that I hadn't witnessed before. When we ended up 'in the future' as part of Doc Aeon's trap, the other tank went through the effort to round up 3 of the 4 AVs while I held down the first... and then did the same sort of thing with the "big four" in the final mission. This struck me as a a reasonable way to demonstrate "I'm Tough", by my clock it actually made the TF missions go longer than they otherwise would have if we had 100% of the team focused on 1 (or 2) AVs at a time.
The ONLY complaint I have about having two tanks on that TF was that when it came time to take down Lord Recluse, he ended up being 'pinned' at the top of a tower, which made focusing fire from the team difficult. (I think opinions can vary if this was good or not vis-a-vis LR's specific attacks). The Dominators can take some of this blame, but I feel like the competing tanks made it hard to get him to move.
On a completely different tangent: I have grown to LOVE "Tanker Stealth" on missions in arcs such a Manticore's TF. I'm specifically thinking about the magic combination of missions where the team doesn't NEED a tank, and there is a desire to 'get to the glowie' ASAP, and the tank is the fastest toon on the map... the trick is to get past the early mobs (who will be aggro-triggered, but will eventually focus on the non-sprinters)... and then hit the aggro cap with some completely OTHER spawn (that won't lose interest in you) and get to the glowie without upsetting the nearby baddies. 95% of the time I just keep my Tank near the door mowing down baddies, but every once in a while it is fun to take a different approach.
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On 5/5/2021 at 4:26 PM, LadyDee said:
Once again, never said it was thee cause of the drop rate and I cannot control how other people read. So if someone chooses to start a conspiracy theory (about a game none-the less) well, that is their issue not mine.
Suggesting it was past level 99 was the only conclusion I came to after exhausting all other possible reasons. Then when others seemed to have a lower drop rate past said level, it just added more information that this could be the reason but not 100% certain. I'm not a moron, just because something seems to be the cause does not mean it is, but at least it's a place to start.
Had you recently changed your costume?
Was the arrangement of inspirations in your Insp trays different?
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7 hours ago, Katharos said:
That's one of the worst lists I've ever seen. How did no one notice this before now? A lot of these are frequently used sets.
Here are some contributing factors why such things could me missed:
- At low levels, folks don't have many slots to put into powers
- At low levels, P2W offers free %damage enhancements that can be slotted at level 1
- It is relatively easy to get through levels 1-12 very quickly
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A couple years later, and I will add that my MM prefers that the FFG is a summonable (limited life) object as opposed to a toggle. I wouldn't want him to have to spend the Endurance tax to maintain it, and aside from some occasionally issues with paths/corners it will pretty much stay with me. Keeping it as a summon makes it feel much more like the rest of the (Mastermind) secondary.
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I'm just dropping by to resummon the following message:
There is a difference between PETS and HENCHMEN.
Casually using the terms interchangeably IMO can lead to different expectations about how certain things work in the game.
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My Thugs MM was rolled after the changes to henchmen AI; I'm not ignorant how to command henchmen. It's clear that your opinion is that Thugs are a cut above all others, and in many ways they are... but I believe in terms of AoE, against large spawns (e.g. x8), that it is Robots that come out on top. I completely agree that the Traps secondary is a large part of it. Traps has both the FFG and a Triage Beacon to provide direct help to the henchmen, beyond the Protector Bot's shield boost to allies. I don't typically experience "cascading failure" when it comes to Robots, except:
- against very specific enemy types (e.g. Rularuu) that have both nasty tricks stacked on their attacks AND don't cluster like other enemies
- If I am making a "mad dash" through +4 enemies as part of a TF (because I'm not laying down the AoE controls), and the henchmen don't keep up (losing both the benefits of protective auras and FFG).
Against almost all single target tests, Robots are really bad(1). My Robots can typically handle as many different spawns as I can drag into their kill zone. It isn't a lot of fun, but my Robots are able to take down multiple GMs (one at a time, and sloooowly) which is not something I would bother trying to do with my Thugs.
(1) Re: Single target misery (in Robots) No one should underestimate the importance of the T1 and T2 Robotic henchmen for dealing with single-targets. It is a common statement made along the lines of "80% of your DPS comes from the Assault Bot, look at TEH NUMBAS". I used the second build on my Robots/Traps to try the "one big robot" challenge, just to see what content would be like... and I swear that it took me between two (at x1) and three (at x4) times as long to get through typical game content (level-independent arcs, Ouroboros, tips). The force-multiplier effects from the T1 and T2 should not be underestimated.
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I think the answer was /Traps.
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Bots don't have Gang War to mule Aura sets, so if the measure is going to be 'slot the henchmen for procs', well... yes Robots will suffer.
However... Bots don't run all over creation, they stay in place to finish off enemies. I've had ZERO problems keeping my robotic henchmen alive.. I can barely keep my different tiers of Thugs to stay in one place.
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I've played Robots/Traps/Mace and Thugs/Thermal/Heat to level 50+, and the Robots are much better at AoE.
The Robots can be made even better by making some choices to KEEP enemies in place. I regularly use:
- (Traps) Caltrops (AoE, slotted with %-Res from Annihilation)
- (Traps) Acid Mortar (AoE, slotted with -Res from Annihilation and Achilles' Heel on top of being slotted for the inherent debuffs)
- (Traps) Poison Trap (AoE, slotted for Hold Duration, some %damage)
- The Robots all have Sudden Acceleration KB -> KD. This is quite important.
- (Robots) Photon Grenade (AoE, slotted with %-Res from Annihilation and Overwhelming Force KB->KD)
- (Mace) Mace Beam Volley (AoE, slotted with with %-Res from Annihilation and Sudden Acceleration KB->KD)
I want to note the following:
- The primary attacks (and Epics, naturally) are taken LATE in the build; they wouldn't help nearly as much before the final Upgrade at level 32.
- The build also includes single-target powers Web Grenade (mandatory T1 secondary, no extra slots) and Pulse Rifle Blast (with Sudden Acceleration KB -> KD).
- If they proc, the %-Res from Annihilation don't stack, but they will extend the duration of the debuff.
I played around with Mace's Web Envelope (an AoE Immobilize, which looks like something I would want), but opted for Pulse Rifle Blast instead because:
- The extra immobilize wasn't doing much on top of all the other 'tricks' to keep enemies in place
- I found that the Single-Target ranged attack was more efficient at drawing enemy spawns into my Robot's "kill zone".
- I liked the slotting options for Pulse Rifle Blast (Ranged, Knockback) more than Web Envelope (Immobilize)
I could drop my travel power (Fly) to take Provoke from the Presence pool, which would make the character a slightly more effective 'tank' at lower levels (leveraging Bodyguard mode), but that would cost me 4 points of KB reduction (Blessing of the Zephyr) and my Rocket Boots costume piece! I also wouldn't have the slots to give Provoke the respect it needs... and even with slotting it wouldn't do a job that needs to be done (either in solo or group play).
I won't provide a similar analysis for my Thugs/Thermal/Heat build, but between the nature of the attacks by the Thugs henchmen, even if I made different choices for secondary and epic I don't think I could match what the Robots do (for AoE).
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I (only) have Spirit Ward on a Controller, but it is pretty much exclusively as (a) a mule for Preventive Medicine's %Absorb and (b) a casual power to back up that character's otherwise half-hearted ability to protect allies via heals/absorb and (c) a stepping stone to Rune of Protection. This is a pretty selfish/self-oriented build. I didn't have the power choices or slots to do 'better' than muling an important enhancement, and I didn't need (and couldn't leverage) Arcane Bolt for offense. I have trouble imagining how to fit the power in on a VEAT.
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The following comment is not precisely about Energy Melee (newly revised, or what came immediately before)...
The Stun component of Energy Melee is (in my experience) one of the best places to experience 'disorient' as a type of control against enemy mobs, as you literally apply the disorient as you are actively working to get their health to zero (and reap rewards).
I've played many sets that include stuns, quite a few that have them as secondary effects, but Energy Melee was always the best experience for me.
I make this comment because I think that it is important not to minimize/trivialize the opinions of folks that lean into Stun as a part of Energy Melee.
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No complaints about the rest of the OP, and I just want to chime in on:
On 4/29/2021 at 8:01 PM, Techwright said:Third thought: considering the comments I've seen this week about invasion fatigue, might it not work better to set the invasion to 1 zone per side at a time?
I suspect fatigue plays a big part, but it could also be timing. Aside from Vanguard Merits (and whatever XP/Inf that comes along) the reward is pretty much badges (and an eventual accolade)... and you can only get those once per character. I was starting Leagues (Blue Side) to help other players get badges simply because no one else wanted to do so. I also felt that since I was logged into a 50+ Stalker: being able to one-shot freshly dropped bombs has got to help other players looking for that badge.
We never got full Leagues, but this week also has some high-level Weekly TFs that were running and I think some Incarnate trials were running simultaneously while I was logged in. The structure of the event really benefits large teams/leagues, especially if your character is low DPS (during the Bomb phase).
The only tweak I feel would improve the event: I'd like to see the Rikti Master at Arms spawn similar as to how Nemesis spawns during his invasions. Maybe he does and I have always missed him?
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1 hour ago, KC4800 said:
But is it more fun?
The revamp didn't go the path I would have chosen. I think it is objectively a better version than the immediate predecessor.
I happen to have fun with the new Energy Melee (on my Tank, no PVP), but there was a long stretch of playtime (on Live, with my launch-day character) after the AI behavior of stunned enemies was "fixed" that I leaned in HARD to the Stun mechanic. The current version has brought a lot of that feeling back, without me having to make as explicit choices in power selections or slotting. There are some enemies that just look so CUTE stumbling around in a daze.
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23 minutes ago, Bopper said:
There is also a survivability component to this that mirrors Defense/Resistance as they approach their caps, where the closer you are to the cap, your survivability increases exponentially (not really, but people can picture an exponential graph better than an inverse graph where the denominator approaches 0).
Yeah I get it, especially the "your taking 50% less damage by going from 90% resistance to 95% resistance" (for example)... but sometimes the amount of survavibility is already 'enough' such that a build can get better returns by investing the slot in something else. That is past my point of diminishing returns.
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Thanks for the cross-link @Troo
I should note that for me: I almost never chase +Regeneration, either because (mostly because it hits the point of diminishing returns too soon for my taste, a little because of my opinion that needing +Regeneration is a function of play style choices that come from 'spending' Health) so a semi-regular +HP bonus is always preferred. YMMV.
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1 hour ago, BrandX said:
So, the next question would be, is it worthwhile to put multiple in a build? I was thinking it could just help Regeneration more with more healing.
The only build of mine (please consider that I don't have a full spectrum of ATs) for which I considered having multiples was with my Invulnerable Tank. I figured that for certain content, damage would be getting through and that the Max HP and the resistances might provide enough extra buffer during those periods where Dull Pain wasn't in play (because it hadn't recharged after previously clicking it, or BUTTON MASH MODE ENGAGED) or an Incarnate heal wasn't available. I ended up NOT moving a slot to where I could leverage a second instance, but I can understand similar math for high HP characters could motivate doubling up on the piece.
I have the piece (singular) on some far squishier characters, and I am not adding more. As it is: it is just a random bit of healing that helps when I've taken some lumps and reconsidered my immediate play style (or skipping towards the next spawn). For me it's the final layer behind Panacea +HP/+End, Preventive Medicine %Absorb, and Scaling Damage Resistance. My (somewhat limited) roster of characters can typically find a better use for the slot.
I like reading others' opinions however!
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These displays should give folks an idea of why some mid-to-low-end video cards of the Live era gave folks problems. I don't know how the zones were constructed and/or what tools are available for the editing of the maps... but drawing all the content that folks should never see is a waste of resources. In earlier eras it was possible to go through maps with a "cutting tool" to remove bulk. I can somewhat understand wanting to keep some of the resources as is for cutting/pasting reasons, but several zone (e.g. Port Oakes) were particularly bad about having many complicated structures extending pretty far below ground (that was itself somewhat complicated.
These days? It's almost certainly not worth addressing.
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2 hours ago, gamingglen said:
Now I'll never look at them the same ever again.
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On 4/21/2021 at 12:15 PM, UberGuy said:
Sort order of items with different values in binary heaps is stable, meaning the sort order of unchanged entries will be the same after an insertion or removal of an item to/from the heap. However, the sort order of items with equal values (ties) is not guaranteed to be stable.
In my day job (the one I don't get Patrol XP for) I find myself on both sides of issues like this: explaining why we just can't write requirements around specific implementations and motivating testers to demonstrate that any invocation of the "80-20" rule had better be thorough enough to show me that such an issue (caused by a specific immutable implementation) happens less than 20% of the time.
I think it was Genghis Khan that said "There will always be one software engineer willing to walk alone into the blizzard just to scream at the Dzud."
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That's not the Carnival of Shadows after a shift change...
That's the Paragon Police Department after a shift change.
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I don't mind the defeat all in the Synapse TFs as much as I dislike the 'run around Steel Canyon and click on things', and then pop into Boomtown, and "btw lets send you to another zone" after that.
For revamping Synapse: I would strongly prefer the first few missions (the defeat alls, the talk, the hunts, the clicks) to be replaced with an instanced map of Steel Canyon similar to how the Penny Yin TF has an instanced version of Independence Port. Fight groups of Clockwork, talk to somebody, click on things... but all on the same map. If 'Bertha' is so important to the story arc, send us to an instanced map to fight with her.
The Clockwork Court is a neat idea... but the execution of it feels off to me. Partially because of the 'go back to Positron while Babbage spawns'. I would revamp the penultimate mission to be in a single map where the TF has to defeat different members of the clockwork court to assemble/unlock the one-shot temp power (that was stolen from Positron). Again, taking a page from Penny Yin's TF where three of the missions require explicit defeats of spawns to progress.
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24 minutes ago, NetWraith said:
If you have any other suggestions, especially how to have a fast taunter/AoE taunter at low/starting level they would be greatly appreciated.
For what you ask: Nothing is better for Tankers than taking your Taunt ASAP (level 12) and putting a Taunt duration enhancement in it. You can collect aggro by doing more, but the aggro cap limits mean that you won't ever be able to protect everyone if the spawn size exceeds the cap.
After taking the Taunt, you should focus on your own survivibility, which means different things for different primaries. In my experience the early slotting for survivibility means Endurance reduction for toggles, and 'just enough' Defense or Resistance to buff what your primary gave you. With INF you can invest in some of the Globals to boost those things. Some Tankers will rely on their attacks to survive, so don't short change those.
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So you want to tank
in Tanker
Posted
I've been revisiting my Tanker with the explicit intention of playing different styles with different PUG, just to see how the players react. I don't do this as some sort of grand social experiment, its more along the lines of exploring different corners of gameplay. The main thing that gets me to STOP experimenting this way and settle into a more commonly recognized play style is if one or more members of the PUG are in over their heads; as much fun as I may get from my squishy characters pushing far past the limits of what they can handle I don't assume that other players feel that way.