tidge
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Posts posted by tidge
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My memories of Rescue the Fortune Teller as a mission were these:
- When debt was burdensome, it wasn't that hard to end up with that mission, but...
- If you played with buddies (no SGs!) and avoided debt it was possible to miss it.
I'm also remembering that since actual travel powers weren't available until level 14 (and Fitness wasn't inherent) so there was a lot of motivation to play relatively low-risk content (with PUGs) to level up fast enough to get that precious travel power.
Specific to this mission, it used to be a very painful one to do... especially without a travel power navigating Perez Park. On Homecoming (and all my memories of using Flashback on Live), I'm always sent to Perez Park. I feel like on Live I may have had a single instance where the cave door wasn't in Perez Park.
Here is a place where my memory is foggy: I want to say that prior to badges being a thing, the game was somehow keeping track of some completed arcs/missions. I feel like several of my Issue 0 slow/grind characters didn't have to redo certain arcs/missions.
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5 hours ago, evetsleep said:
As someone whose been here a long time and has just about every MM combo, this was the thing that made my MM life so much easier once I came to terms with "letting them die" after the QoL pass on MM's. It breathed new life into my play style that includes letting my cardboard dragons (previously paper dragons) of Genin die so I could just resummon them. I spend far less effort protecting my pets (especially the T1's) and it's allowed me to play a much more aggressive MM.
This sentiment is basically why I am comfortable with no longer including a MM secondary like Dark in my stable: On Live, I felt that AoE healing the henchmen was somewhat game-changing. I don't feel that way on Homecoming.
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You get "ambushed" by Frostfire's Imps, but that's about it beyond whatever spawns get aggroed.
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I have found that Robotics really benefits from the primary attacks, at least after the recent revamp... for the high HP targets, because of -Regen. I'm sure much of the content can be done without those attacks. I might not take them early while leveling up, but they would probably be early choices in a level 50 build.
My own post-revamp experience has been that the only GMs the upgraded henchmen can handle without my MM using the rifle attacks are the very low-level zone instances. They were more self-sufficient against GMs before; now they perform better across all content.
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I try to avoid having a character that only does exclusively (or almost exclusively) one type of damage; to my thinking this is the best reason to try to have some %damage powers on certain high DPS AT characters.
There are a handful of Giant Monsters that give my GM-hunters slightly more trouble because of their resistances (above and beyond their MaxHP); I usually try to have a Lore slotted that can help against these (beyond debuffs and extra DPS).
Flipping this around: Generally I prefer to try to shoot for positional defenses, and as for specific damage type resistances... it is more-or-less catch-as-catch-can... especially with the more-recent changes to damage typing. I don't specifically build characters to 'farm' but I can understand easy-to-get resistance builds for S/L or F/C.
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On 9/27/2023 at 10:13 AM, tidge said:
The near-random inability for Inspirations to 'stick' to henchmen.
I used to attribute this problem 100% to "not being close enough" to the henchmen, now I attribute 98% to it. Some fraction of the time when the MM clicks on an Inspiration, the insp will 'vanish' from the UI, and then re-appear (not having been used) so I think there is some server lag as well. Other times I think there is enough of a discrepancy in positioning of the henchmen between local and server that may be contributing. What is weird: I rarely have this problem with the Lore pets, it usually happens when I try to put a Red Insp on my T3.
I've been experimenting with this problem. Since I almost always have the problem with the T3 (upgraded) henchman, I am starting to believe it is because (after the upgrade) it is almost always attacking... and so I think the game isn't allowing the asynchronous drag of the Inspiration from my (the player's) tray to the henchman to 'stick' because the hench is either attacking or has a queued attack at the server. I rarely see this issue with henchmen/pets that have fewer attacks.
I have had more luck dragging the inspiration to the T3 when it is in 'idle' mode, such as when having the henchmen go to 'follow' bringing them in close before they start to recognize targets.
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I think a lot of the classic appeal of Thugs was Gang War. I took a Thugs MM to 50+ and I was really unimpressed.
I went with a combo that is strong on offense and debuffs, with just a little bit of support for the Henchmen: Robotics/Traps/Mace. I understand the appeal of Necromancy as a primary, and I don't think it is at all weak... my opinion is that it offers a lot of different cool things that MMs don't really need and that those things can be a distraction. Please don't think I hate on Necromancy!
My only complaint about the Time secondary is this: Time doesn't have that many skipable powers! I voted Traps because with just four powers from the secondary (Caltrops, Acid Mortar, Force Field Generator, Posion Trap) it is possible to get almost all the debuffs and buffs needed to make the MM and the Henchmen capable of facing almost every challenge in the game.
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8 hours ago, A Cat said:
I'm guessing that it also has to do with brutes getting repeatedly nerfed also. As someone who occasionally farmed, I am part of the problem, but it is a shame that the whole AT got nerfed for such a niche activity. A lot of my brutes (used to main brutes) got rerolled as scrappers and tanks. Tanks are a bit slow getting off the ground due to a low number of attacks though.
I'm going to offer my (personal, internal) perspectives on the whole Tanker/Brute ruckus.
On Live: Whatever debate/discussion folks have about TvB... I remember almost the exact argument being had about Tankers v. Scrappers ... long before Brutes were even in the game. Among Tankers;, there was an extraordinary imbalance in favor of Fire Tankers, because of enemy AI (and to some extent the aggro rules). At certain points, there were many loud voices proclaiming "Tankers are irrelevant", with exceptions made for "map herding". Many of us will be able to think of both specific and general content where a Tanker was preferred to relying only on Scrappers; my point is there were many loud voices making the earlier comment.
Some changes (noticeably the AI changes, then the aggro cap) had a big effect on what those loud voices though "Tankers were good at"... so cumulative changes (CoV, Blueside Brutes, AE) resulted in (my PoV both of Live and early Homecoming) loud voices proclaiming "Brutes are superior to Tankers in every way". As near as I can tell: this "Superiority" was being measured in x8 map clearing times. Again: my point is not to argue that, it's just that this always appeared to be a cornerstone of loud arguments of players who really wanted to confidently say "Brutes are superior to Tankers".
I don't personally believe Brutes ever got nerfed. I am bracing myself for a long litany of follow-up posts informing the world how wrong my perception is. I can see how some power set changes affected HC AE Fire Farms. I can see how AI changes "slow down" farming. I can see how altering XP (and Empyrian merit) rewards affects the Inf-building bottom line for some activities. I can understand how the revision to defense/resistance attack typing can have altered the performance (and perception) of specific defense/resist builds. None of these changes were targeted at Brutes IMO. Boosting the AoE radii of Tankers was not a swing of the nerf bat at another AT.
Full disclosure: I generally do not enjoy ATs (or builds) that require constant button mashing or enemy engagement in missions. During play I try to pay some attention to General chat, and who knows what I might be doing with open inventory/auction house windows. Dominators I can tolerate once "perma-domination" is achieved... all discussion about that can be found elsewhere... but Brutes and the Fury bar mechanic has never really appealed to me. This player (points to self) is far more likely to roll a melee concept as a Scrapper, Tanker, or Stalker sacrificing what the Fury bar can do, simply because I don't enjoy building/maintaining Fury.
Fundamentally, my perception of the combat part of the game comes down to "how many button mashes do I need to clear this spawn/enemy?"... so requiring two attacks instead of three attacks is obviously fewer clicks, but I start to lose interest in min-maxing when the difference is seven clicks instead of eight.
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17 minutes ago, carroto said:
I'd love to calculate the regen equivalent of one of these procs but I'm not sure I know the details of how the chances are calculated in auto powers or toggles well enough to be able to do it accurately. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a place to go like the wiki with details like that.
There was a spreadsheet showing the relative differences in expected performance for the Panacea %+HP and the Power Transfer %+HP (after the "fix"); it isn't that hard to figure out how much HP will be healed via Regeneration (and at what 'tick' rate). My search-fu isn't turning it up maybe @Bopper recalls the keywords/author?
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10 minutes ago, carroto said:
Well it's not unique, so it's possible to use more than one. I almost always have one in Stamina, but it's possible to slot them in other things like say Superior Conditioning and Physical Perfection from the Body Mastery pool (not for Tanks though, they only get Physical Perfection). Then sets like Rad armor and Bio have another power in them that can take one, so it's possible to have at least four in some builds. You can get a lot of heal proccage going on.
So naturally I was looking for a place to put one in Elec armor and Lightning Field seems like the only auto/toggle the set has as a candidate.
No disagreement from me... although more than two instances of it seems like overkill, at least to me. The large HP AT might be better suited looking at what is going on with their Regeneration numbers, even if it is just from slotting Health.
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Anything will work. If you really intend to cruise on -1x0 I would avoid (for play reasons, not because they are weak):
Brutes: The Fury mechanic is something you are unlikely to notice.
Dominators: As with Fury, you will be unlikely to notice it, until it Domination is up and then you will want to have Domination up all the time which requires build choices.
Hero Epics (HEAT): These offer different play-styles, but mastering swapping between forms (and making slotting choices) may be confusing.
VEATs: You should have a plan going in, as you will have to respec and make some choices.
Masterminds: You'll be rolling over -1x0 content and probably not pickup on the different considerations.
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The Power Transfer %Heal piece should work just fine in a toggle. I don't think this one relies on having any enemies to hit; that is... I feel like it should do its thing "on cast".
This piece did/does have a few things odd about it. It may be possible to test by standing in some lava/fire and monitor Healing Received.
I often make the "mistake" of slotting this piece into a long recharge power (as a mule) forgetting that it isn't a global. If it was going to require its own slot (in a power that wouldn't otherwise be active or part of a set bonus) I'll put the slot in Stamina.
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I had missed that I was tagged on this thread...
I found that on my favorite Fortunata, the biggest issue (not really a "hole") was Endurance. I addressed it through Cardiac (Core, for MOAR). Players who simplify their attack strategy can probably go another route.
For the Crabs/Hunstmen I will simply Alpha = Musculature.
I usually don't put much thought into the other Incarnate abilities. Of them, I usually craft multiple options for Destiny and just switch depending on content. Ageless is probably the best choice (for Debuff resistance) but I have several "panic buttons" so my Fortunata doesn't usually have this slotted.
Judgement is almost always Ionic, because it is relatively easy to use and there are only a handful of enemies that can "defeat" it (e.g. Intangible Carnies)
Interface is almost always Degenerative (Radial), simply because I *like* the %-HP more than other effects but I don't really need it (so I take the %75 DoT Radial path)
Lore is whatever I feel like.
I treat Hybrid like Destiny... I usually craft multiples and alternate among them. Crabberminds start with Support, everyone else starts with Assault (for simplicity). I rather like combining the Support Destiny in addition to the other "Leadership" types of powers on VEATs to further buff teammates.
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I've only played Energy Melee (from all eras, Day 1 thru Homecoming today) on a Tanker... on Homecoming, I find Energy Melee to be a very satisfying offensive set. There is always a possibility of "corpse punching", but the fast/focused attacks mitigate this rather well. The Total Focus mechanic/ i27 revamp isn't what I wanted, but it was a good set of changes.
Any HP cost from Energy Transfer is rather meaningless IMO. Have the Reactive Defenses %Scaling Damage Resistance piece slotted (in addition to %+HP pieces) and you will never notice.
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1 hour ago, srmalloy said:
If you go to the Homecoming wiki and look at the city map, you'll see it's badly out of date, too — not only is The Hollows still marked as a hazard zone, but so is Peregrine Island, and it still shows the RWZ with the borders of the old RCS, along with its entry being from the west end of Crey's Folly. Lots of outdated information.
I believe it is still possible to enter the RWZ from Crey's Folly (as well as through the Vanguard Base). I feel like some fraction of my exploration badge runs progress directly from that corner of CF to the RWZ.
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I've observed this: the Maintenance Drone appears to sometimes be "stunned/held" or "knocked back". Occasionally my Robotics MM ends up behaving the same, and it is always when under some status effect (while Hovering). FWIW The Maintenance Drone is a LOT better about staying close to the MM than the Force Field Generator.
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3 hours ago, Solarverse said:
If the Devs were concerned with the current system (big if) then it would seem the obvious logical choice is to tie those to NPCs killed rather than length of Task Force. A system that calculates how many NPCs the team wiped out in the Task Force and hands out Merits accordingly?
A rando observation.
Gathering Prismatic Aether Particles favor speedy conclusion to as many missions as possible in as short a period as possible; (Recipe) Drops favor as many defeats as possible... so these two types of rewards. It does seem like the current devs are implementing something.
I do like the TFs that offer opportunities to defeat more "named" NPCs, particularly those that lead to badges(*1)... and I like when it is possible to collect extra rewards "inside" a TF/SF.
Complete aside: (*1) I wish that more "villains" in blue side missions offered progress on Villain Disruptor; I'm always peeved when I have to keep repeating the PI Bank/PD station to complete that one. I'm less bothered by Hero Slayer because of the ease at picking up Bloody Hands... although it would make some sense for those badges be similarly easier for Villains to collect organically.
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2 hours ago, kelika2 said:
Confuse kills should reward full exp. between all the other ways to get levels fast the old "low risk low reward" mentality does not feel needed anymore.
and we just wont know until someone does a "confuse only challenge" run to get to 50+3
With %damage in the AoE Confuse, the Controller gets in the drop pool for every hit enemy. The XP is worth far less than the drops, and the "cost" of losing XP from a confused enemy is much less than one might naively think.
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For my Corruptors, I usually have done this slotting(*1):
Malice of the Corruptor: 6-slot in the attack taken at Level 1
Scourging Blast: I split this into two 3-slots, occasionally this is a single 6-slot.. depending on what other set bonuses the build will have. The three pieces with Recharge tend to go into a lower-level power, unless a long base-recharge AoE is a better fit(*2) . The other three non-Recharge pieces tend to go into an AoE power that I will add %damage procs to.
(*1) This is at final build, often I do things sightly differently with the ATO while leveling up.
(*2) Long base recharge is inherently better for %damage, as are AoE attacks. The early attacks tend to have high base recharge, so slotting pieces that grant set bonuses while boosting the recharge component of an already fast power makes those early powers a "good fit" for more complete enhancement sets IMO. The Corruptor melee/ranged damage scales are IIRC only at 0.75, so I tend to consider the larger AoE powers first when considering %damage on Corrs. Mileage varies depending on available powers, other build choices, etc.
The Scourging Blast's %+End is more important early than it will (probably be) later... I try to keep that in an attack I will have relatively early, but I don't specifically try to include that in a long-recharge power. I take the hit on %proc rates, because I'd rather have a low chance in an already low-damage attack I am likely to be spamming.
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13 hours ago, Panache said:
For me, I usually only take the ST immob if I’m interested in soloing AVs with that character.
This is probably the best "late game" reason to have/use a single-target immobilize. I almost never take ST-immobs (if I have the choice); AVs and GMs are pretty much the only content where I miss having such a power.
As an aside: I think ST-immobilize is one of the most useful (for certain fights, see above) powers that isn't available from P2W. There are a handful of temp attacks that can be earned through various missions but AFAIK that is it. I'm always somewhat amazed that we can buy Envenomed Daggers but not Web Grenades from P2W. Flooring an GM's regeneration doesn't strike me as being radically different than getting them to stay in place (even for a short time).
14 hours ago, rksr9997 said:The question is does this ability on controllers equate to good single target DPS for controllers? ... I am asking in terms of a character I will play all the game content on so down to lower levels as well.
I wouldn't try to get DPS out of a ST-immobilize. The damage scale is not kind to Controllers. I definitely would not slot for %damage, as @Uun notes the high-base-recharge powers have pretty bad %proc rates. I'd dedicate no more than 2 slots (Acc and Mezz) and then switch to a single Boosted or HamiO piece in a final build.
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18 hours ago, Rudra said:
I'm not sure where you're coming from with this part though. There are powers and a power set I find obnoxious as all Hell (looking at you, Electrical Affinity), but I'm not seeing the power customizations as cluttering the screen any more than the regular power animations did.
I agree with this. Any effect of power customizations is minuscule compared to (some of) the regular animations, especially those that generate a bajillion 'particles'
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I find Mind Control on Controllers to be pretty powerful. I can understand why some folks could look at it and say "but why no summonable pet?"; I don't think it needs one. It's got some of the most effective controls in the game! In terms of slotting choices, it is exceptionally well-positioned to take multiple kinds of sets (for example: lots of Gloabl reacharge options available) and can make some strong %damage builds.
The only issue I have with Mind Control (as a primary) is that the early levels more-or-less require P2W attacks to be able to solo low-level content at a reasonable pace... but this is by design and is easily mitigated (as I wrote, P2W attacks). It's not really a bad design choice IMO, more like a feature.
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I appreciate the discussion on Patron/Epic Cones... I won't be taking any of them on my Beam Rifle Sentinel!
As I've written (or hinted at): I won't have the slots... or would have to make sacrifices on several powers... to be able to meaningfully slot another attack. It's not impossible (cut back on the Travel slotting, give up 6th pieces) but I rather like the QoL I'm getting from the existing choices.
Frankly: The main issue in my head is that I'm pretty disappointed with the cones (arcs, ranges, max number of targets) in Sentinels. Of course Beam Rifle's Piercing Shot is a special case... I don't blame it for what it is, but it doesn't help the feels. In play, I find I want the next AoE when I am surrounded (i.e. targets are not positioned for a cone) so a PBAoE (or a targeted AoE) would be a better fit for my play style.
Not specific to Sentinels: When I find myself thinking about trying to put a Cone attack into a build (any AT) I almost always consider a version of the character where I can work Wall of Force (ideally before level 20) from the Force of Will pool into the character. The arc is huge; the power accepts some decent %damage. I have many characters where a cone attacks was a primary reason for taking the Epic/Patron, in many cases I prefer getting the cone attack much earlier!
Updated Tier list?
in Mastermind
Posted
Generally, for MMs, I find there are competing considerations about %damage in personal (primary) attacks.
If attacks are going to be slotted: I lean towards going for set bonuses, especially for Endurance effects. Keep in mind:
If going for a %proc in an MM attack, I prefer using "damage multiplier" %procs that do %-Resistance.... assuming there will be henchmen making attacks.