tidge
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Posts posted by tidge
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1 hour ago, Chuckers said:
I've been having something like this happen a lot on my ice/rad stalker. I'm new to stalkers, so I wasn't sure if this was reported.
I am in hidden. The target is not moving and neither am I. I hit assassin's ice sword and the power waits, fires, and does nothing. It doesn't even register as being used (no recharge on the power icon). I can hit it immediately again and it fires off properly. It does not break hide either.
This is something that happens on Stalkers. I'm not sure why.
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14 hours ago, Coyote said:
Disclaimer: I was aware enough to stay away from Serum or Detonator, so I won't say it's the worst power you could take. But it was worse than Invoke Panic. Or Brawl 😛 .
I take Brawl on all my toons.
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On 6/3/2020 at 10:55 PM, TalynDerre said:
There have been a number of discussions lately about villains feeling like their characters lack agency – that villain progression is just that of low-level lackeys to high-level lackeys, doing other characters' dirty work.
I keep coming back to this complaint...
If you take your villain 'all the way through' Red side (lvl 1 - 50), you will get a significant amount of NPC dialogue that is *very* respectful/fearful of your accomplishments. For example, finish the Lord Recluse SF and there are several Red side NPCs which congratulate you. I don't recall any dialogue kudos for having done the Statesmen/Ms. Liberty TF.
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19 hours ago, BamBam said:
recluse victory is a baron wasteland no one is ever in the pvp zones bc everyone is on heros.
Shh... I use Recluse's Victory to collect the Iron Man/Woman (necessary for a Villain Accolade) and Time Traveler badges!
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I think Body Mastery is a fine choice. I also agree with @Croax about trying to have as solid a build as possible before Epic/Patron pools are considered. Some builds need Epic/Patron less than others, mileage varies.
I was going to post this in a different thread re: 'Having too many attacks; why bother with a Snipe?'.
Aside from getting the bonus potential damage from the Snipe (+ToHit, Hidden status, slow Snipe bonus, %Damage):
- For my Stalker the (fast) Snipe 'flows' better in my attack chain
- Runners! (I especially don't like adjusting tactics when I've gone back into Hidden while chasing down the last runner from a spawn)
- Pulling (heresy perhaps, but sometimes teams require it)
For high DPS characters (Stalkers, Scrappers) I prefer Soul Mastery over Mu Mastery mostly because I personally devalue (most) relatively low-damage attacks, immobilize and holds... my feeling is mostly motivated by worrying about investing 'too many' slots in level 35+ powers. Soul's second pick of Shadow Meld is a fine mule for Defense IOs (generally LotG +Recharge).
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Oh, Triage Beacon;
A spinning aura of what?
Not Health but Regen.
I definitely don't think Triage Beacon is even in the bottom three of Homecoming MM /Traps powers. It is not a good choice for fast-moving teams, but if a fight is going to stay in one place for a while, I find that shortening the time between healing tics is quite helpful. I have Preventive Medicine %Absorb slotted in Triage Beacon, but I never noticed a pet getting an Absorb layer from it.
As I wrote elsewhere: I skipped Triage Beacon for the Medicine pool while leveling. While leveling I felt that the on-demand Healing was more useful than +Regen; but I reversed the decision at the level 50 respec. The only time I can say that I really missed not having Triage Beacon was on the Positron TF parts 1 & 2.
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Allow me to echo...
On 5/30/2020 at 12:04 AM, Omega-202 said:For higher end content, I don't stress on the pets. They're more of a bonus than a critical feature. Respawn them when needed and just try to keep them as alive as possible.
I can't write for others, but for me 'Crabbermind' is a more of a philosophy than an actual AT. It's a neat option, but the pets are more like an Epic pool add-on than a defining feature of the Crab sets. These pets only last for (max) 4 minutes, and it is possible to have the resummon (Disruptors and Patron) ready in less than that time with some effort.
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I have Moonbeam as part of my Spines/Bio rotation. Hide is the mule for the Kismet +6% ToHit, and Build Up has the Gaussian proc (firing at 90%) for even more +ToHit. If you have waited long enough to go into Hidden, you should be ready for a slow snipe for even more damage. I have Moonbeam 6 slotted: 5xSting of the Manticore (w/ %Toxic) and a Gladiator's Javelin (%Toxic).
The part I like best about having it is that streakbreaker forces Moonbeam to hit if the Assassin's Impaler misses, which takes a lot of the sting out of the initial miss. I even wrote a poem about it:
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19 hours ago, TalynDerre said:
There have been a number of discussions lately about villains feeling like their characters lack agency – that villain progression is just that of low-level lackeys to high-level lackeys, doing other characters' dirty work.
As opposed to Blue side, where the character 'agency' is constantly tracking down items stolen from M.A.G.I., if you aren't trouncing characters in DfB just to get early XP and boosts because you can't be bothered by Twinshot.
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Does your build already have that bonus 5 times?
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As much as I would appreciate Merits from Safeguard/Mayhem Missions, once the appropriate contact is unlocked it would be trivial to speed run these for Merits. Blue side I believe all the Safeguards are launched from a truck next to the contact; Red side involves more travel across Cap Au Diable (to submarines, ships) IIRC.
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On 5/30/2020 at 9:07 AM, Apparition said:
So, what would Shazam! be? Elec/Elec Brute, SS/Elec Brute, Elec/Elec Corruptor?
Billy Batson, a.k.a Shazam a.k.a. Captain Marvel a.k.a The Big Red Cheese be like:
/macro_image "CarnivalOfLight_IncandescentBurst" "S" "SHAZAM!!!$$e ultimatepower"
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19 hours ago, Zeraphia said:
I think there really is another element that should be said that's sort of off-topic to this idea...
Put it this way: you may be able to survive a group at +4, but if it takes you triple or quadruple the time it would've taken another combination to survive fine enough at +2, I do not consider the former very impressive and I consider the latter much more impressive/worthwhile overall.
8 hours ago, Heraclea said:But I don't outside of tailored AE content. It just gets boring, taking forever to kill the several bosses in each spawn. I prefer to run story arcs for their ending rewards, and running them at +4/8 just slows me down.
This is where my head-space landed a long time ago (on Homecoming). It is interesting to test builds against EXTREME CONTENT, but I find those challenges to be a grinding chore, especially solo.
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7 hours ago, Croax said:
TLDR: Use 5 Hecatomb + 1Unb. Const. Proc in Freezing touch
This is similar to the the slotting I have in my Street Justice Scrapper's Crushing Uppercut. Rather than the extra Hold proc for (more) Smashing, I went with one of the Psi procs for a different damage type. For my damage-dealing toons it is typical that at 50+ my builds generally end up with only two procs in any given attack: One from a set with bonuses I want (often Global Recharge from a 5-piece Purple) and one from an appropriate damage type. For me %Damage slots are the first ones I consider moving if I need slots elsewhere.
I don't object to proc %Damage in principle, but the biggest benefit of %Damage is for AT which do relatively small amounts of damage.
I'll admit I don't know the answer to this question: Does Build Up have an effect on proc %Damage? I'm reasonably sure that %Damage wasn't buffed on Live.
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4 hours ago, aethereal said:
Five-slotting Boundless Energy with a set that includes lots of things it doesn't need (end/recharge) seems like... a lot. It's got the 7.5% recharge, obviously. But you could get the same things minus the set bonuses by dropping two slots and doing the panacea proc + two common heal IOs, I think.
In my build, it really is about the set bonuses (for Global Recharge). My point (to @r0ybuild) was more about replacing a 5-slot Preventive Medicine with a 5-slot Panacea... and since you want the Panacea proc in an Auto, that is where I dropped it in my build. Franken-slotting those powers (Health, Stamina, Boundless Energy, Ablative Carapace) is a perfectly fine choice.
I'm less bothered (on a 50+ build) by slotting a Heal/End in an Auto power than I am by using a Numina +Regen/+Recovery proc. In my experience the benefits to Regen are rarely worth it (on a build that already has large Regen), and even it's Recovery boost is very small for many of my builds. I know it is common wisdom to slot Panacea/Numina/Miracle procs, but Numina is pretty far down on the list, for me. YMMV. On certain toons: I'd sooner use that slot to get a 2 (or 3) piece Defense buff from Blessing of the Zephyr.
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I like the build suggestion.
With my /Bio Stalker I shift between the different adaptations as necessary; I've found that (while leveling, pre-incarnate) Endurance can be managed pretty well with some different slotting. I'll post the key differences on Health/Stamina here:
Spoiler------------
Level 4: Boundless Energy -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux:50(A), Pnc-Heal/Rchg:50(9), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg:50(11), Pnc-Heal:50(11), Pnc-Heal/+End:50(13)
Level 20: Ablative Carapace -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(34), Prv-Absorb%:50(34)
Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+:40(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(50)
------------My build is using one more slot (in the shown powers), but that is driven by my wanting the 6th-set bonus (+8.75% Global Recharge) from Preventive Medicine. If the Recharge isn't key, it can be held at 5-piece bonuses. Essentially my recommendation would be to replace a 5-slot Doctored Wounds with a 5-Slot Panacea (in an Auto power).
I'm considering on breaking up the 2-piece Performance Shifter as I think I can eek out more Recovery by moving the slot to Boundless Energy and slotting a 50+5 IO there.
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On 5/30/2020 at 1:26 PM, Redlynne said:
Traps will play a lot like Electrical Affinity and Nature Affinity, in that there is a very definite "plant the flag" aspect to how Traps get used. The secondary is something of a grab bag of everything, but the secondary really shines when you're "allowed" to fight pitched "static" battles that don't move around that much. Since a lot of Traps involves "summoning" various stuffs and effects, the secondary has a sort of "rhythm" to how it wants to be played, and so long as you can get into that "groove" you'll be fine. As soon as you get knocked off your game, or need to move more often than you'd otherwise like, you start leaving your buffs/debuffs behind you as the battlefield moves from spawn to spawn (very common in team and league settings). Another secondary that can be somewhat forgiving to beginners when they're soloing but doesn't necessarily scale all that well in fast moving team contexts.
I have a Bots/Traps MM that I mostly solo; I find this to be a pretty good pairing as the Bots are inherently slow at clearing large spawns so the AoE debuffs/control from Caltrops/Acid Mortar/Poison Trap help out quite a bit. This does require investing into KB->KD for the Bots so as to not scatter enemies everywhere.
At endgame, I respec-ed into Triage Beacon (for set bonuses, and for solo 'tankerminding') but it is an easy power to skip while leveling. My final build skips the final three powers in Traps. I love the Seeker Drones, but they didn't fit with my end-game play style. Trip Mind and Detonator simply don't do enough (for me, YMMV) and are too niche to bother with (again, IMO). I hate having to take Web Grenade, but with moderate levels of Recharge Caltrops/Acid Mortar/Poison Trap/Seeker Drones can be available frequently enough to keep up with even fast-moving teams.
In my build I also invested in primary attacks (after lvl 30) for more AoE Knockdown and -Res, but the Endurance management is a serious issue when trying to take such an active role in the offense.
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1 hour ago, Gulbasaur said:
The broker system punishes people who want to run story arcs by forcing five generic missions before unlocking a contact - rework it to one or two, please! It's a shame, but many of the good story arcs are behind grind-gates like that.
While it is different to have to unlock contacts via the newspaper missions, the missions don't have to be grinds. At least one of the three choices is either a 'defeat <name>' or a 'steal <object> from <group>' which can be sped. In almost every zone, your first contact (whomever chosen) will eventually offer you the others, although the 'second round' of options may be limited (from any one contact).
I want to write this: Red Side progression through zones/XP/levels is surpsingly smooth. With the default setting for Inf/XP/difficulty, it is possible to always have content to play at your level... pretty much in the zone appropriate for your level. Any amount of teaming (SF for example) will likely earn you enough Inf to out-level a zone. I can see how this lead to feeling like a newspaper grind (because a player will have to unlock the new contact in a new zone) but as I wrote it really isn't that onerous.
In my recent play to level 50 red side there was only one batch of levels where I felt went a little too 'fast' (I finished all the Nerva arcs); this turned out to be a perfect time to do more Tips (the merit reward at the end for the Morality mission is pretty good) and SF team ups.
27 minutes ago, Redlynne said:That's an exaggeration. The Broker system is a solid pattern of 3 Newspaper missions enable 1 Mayhem mission after which you are introduced to a new Contact. 3+1 does not equal 5.
The higher level zones require 5 newspaper missions before the mayhem mission, IIRC. Lowbies only have to do 3 newspaper missions before the first (two?) mayhem missions are offered.
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3 hours ago, MTeague said:
- Villain story arcs where the player is making a grab for power.... ON THEIR OWN BEHALF. Not something to strengthen Arachnos. Not helping Victor Von Grunn do mad science, so that HE can have a devouring earth army (seriously, what's my motivation to help a potential rival like that?)
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On 5/31/2020 at 1:29 PM, PeterDutcher said:
What is the best mission to powerlevel in on red side? Without using Architect?
I'm guessing that in this context there is a 50+ character trying to PL a lower level character? You can get Council Missions via the newspaper, but traveling between them may be problematic. IIRC St. Martial newspapers can be set up to run between two nearby doors, and many Tip missions in Nerva are almost all at the same door.
By cranking up the difficulty, you can get a lot of mobs in missions... but the issues for Power Leveling will be (a) moving the low level between missions, (b) handling the right mix of opponents. There are plenty of Red Side missions for good XP, but I don't know if the high-level toon would feel comfortable trying to speed PL against Crey, Malta, Arachnos. If you can drag them to Dark Astoria, low level toons can door sit in all those missions.
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I'm a great fan of Redside. I just finished getting a villain up to level 47 and decided to 'go rogue' for the purposes of collecting a few pelts in the blue areas. My experience Red Side has always been this:
- The arcs are generally tight. There are a few that will send you between zones, but nothing like the Blue Side arcs. Many arcs are finished in a handful of missions.
- There are enough arcs (with diversity) that it is easy to replay Red side with different content. This is especially true if you find yourself teaming up with other villains. This can happen Blue side as well... but we had YEARS of playing most of the (low-level) Blue content... I think the idea of 'speed leveling' is commensurate with Blue side. A few characters ago, a few of us had trouble recruiting a large 'Red DFB', so we just ran missions instead. We missed the bonuses, but we ended up with more merits and plenty of XP by just playing a 3-man team through the Mercy Island and Port Oakes arcs.
- The TIP missions are hilarious. Every one of them offers 'agency'. Even while playing a nasty villain I found myself sometimes taking the Rogue choice because I preferred that option.
- Mayhem Missions are fun.
I think the title question could be 'How to get more players in Boomtown' and we'd be reading almost the same reactions from contributors: Too drab. Lack of Agency. Dull opposition. On the Blue side, I see very few players in Boomtown (Scrapyard's Ghost gets more bites than a Babbage in Boomtown), Faultline, Sewer Network(s), or Skyway City for that matter.
I find arguments (not the folks making the arguments) about 'player agency' disingenuous. Why do the Blue side contacts only offer me a choice between two missions? Don't thy know I'm hunting badges and want to face down Siege RIGHT NAO! Why am I being dispatched to 'Defeat 15 Hellions' when I should be going after the big bosses?! I'm a HERO not a flunky for the Perez Park Security Chief. And those RWZ contacts... UGH.
The payoff Red Side (for me) comes at around level 40: you start getting missions where you face off against individual members of the Freedom Phalanx, Vindicators, et al. Prior to taking out the BIG BLUE NAMES I found myself taking out the 'Rogues Gallery' of my potential competitors as well. I don't care who the contact is Red Side... It's MY VILLAIN who is taking them down. I don't think if you go to Red side with Blue side thinking you are setting yourself up for a good time. I understand that players may not want to change their 'head canon', and that's ok. That doesn't mean that there is anything WRONG with Red side.
I do have a small list of things that I'd like to see Red Side, as 'Quality of Life' improvements.
- The 'Defeat 200 ____' badges (for the accolade powers and unlockable contacts) should be as easy to get (through missions) as the 'Defeat 200 Wolf Spiders'. That is to say: there are so many Arachnos missions that I got this one quite early, but 'counting coup' against factions (for example) like the Family is less straightforward, despite them appearing in so many zones. I'd like an(other) contact in each applicable zone who gives missions that organically allow players to collect defeats. Alternatively, maybe some more could be made available by Street Sweeping? Right now Hellfrosts are the only boss type I can think of that are easier to get Redside (aside from Scrapyarders, Cage Consortium, and the like).
- I think there are areas of the existing zones that are under-used: Villa Requin in Sharkshead, Primeva in Nerva, The Hard Way in St. Martial. I'd really appreciate a 'Tunnel System' map like Paragon City's Sewer Network beneath Cap Au Diable and Port Oakes. This could be the equivalent of a Trial Zone Red Side.
- The temporary powers (as mission rewards) are already quite abundant, my only complaint about these is that some have such a low number of uses I don't find it worthwhile to add them to my trays. Boost the number of uses on the TEMP POWERS please.
- I find the Merit Rewards to be pretty good already, but I wouldn't object to a(nother) slight boost in rewards.
- Villains should be able to collect 'named villain' defeat badges as easily as they collect 'named hero' defeat badges (from TIP missions, for example). Writing that, there are a few instances (Vincent Ross' finale) where defeating the named characters should count for something. That final mission, although easy, is TEDIOUS.
- On the subject of badges and unlockable content: Rogue Toxic Tarantula in Warburg should count towards the Toxic Tarantula badge. I don't find it (Red Side) natural to have defeated enough Toxic Tarantula by level 44 in order too unlock Number 204. I suppose I could crank up difficulty in Arachnos missions, but still...
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17 hours ago, Sovera said:
Always and all the time. From the moment Musculature reaches T3 my difficulty slider never again budges.
Edit: Except if exemplaring and starting a TF. Then of course not, poor lowbies I might be playing with.
I find that exemplaring low enough (KR Skulls arc, Posi 1) can cause significant trouble for a solo player against large numbers of enemies. Purples, Winters, and ATOs of course scale down, but losing attack powers and any set bonuses (many which lick in at lvl 17, or lvl 22). If playing as part of a balanced team, a large number of enemies is less of a problem.
I enjoy throwing my characters against large numbers of enemies pell-mell, but more than once I've earned some debt as my reward (Rularuu!)
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2 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:
Lol. Creepy and cool at the same time. Still, can anyone really know someone else?
Power Pools, Again
in General Discussion
Posted
I find the Presence pool to be a synergistic choice on Defense-based melee characters (Scrappers, Arachnos Widows): The Provoke AoE is generally more useful than a primary single-target Taunt, Placate or Intimidate is useful when leveling when a breather is needed. The gem is Unrelenting (on a high-recharge build) for buffs or heals (or a rez). Invoke Panic is a very nice PBAoE control. The only wish I have for this set is that I could pick Unrelenting or Invoke Panic as the second choice of the set, as once I made my decision about the first power, the second required power choice is not as appreciated.