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I don't think I've yet chimed in with this (in this thread): I kinda hate what the Live Devs did to Praetoria. I am naturally averse to content that isn't "evergreen"... I can tolerate some little bits of Lore being odd if content is done "out of (level) order", but aside from Praetoria (including Incarnate content) and the Signature Story Arcs... the content I enjoy involves the PC's story and not the PC only mentioned like some sir-only-appearing-in-the-appendices-of-LotR. I mean... how many times can Statesman die or Praetoria be annihilated before it looks like "why bother?" First Ward was IMO a triumph of evergreen story-telling... because after finishing the arcs I can almost believe that everything is put back in place for the next character to experience the exact same content. Watching Hamidon eat Praetoria makes it a little harder to be motivated to suppress the protestors, if ya smell what I'm cooking. That being said... I don't know why we couldn't have Praetorian content 35-50. Devouring Earth certainly exist at these levels, and Clockwork/IDF/Seers/Vanguard all exist at 40+. It would be I think somewhat cool to have a Gold mission arc that parallels (some of) the Tina MacIntyre arc: Capture Positron, destroy/steal dimensional macguffins, subdue a population for Praetor Berry... whatever.

Having Hasten at level 49 (or at any level 41+) seems a LOT like not having Hasten. The "end result" of this suggestion is pretty much my build, but with Hasten and fewer set bonuses. My ideal choice to take Hasten is either just before or just after the first power that has a base recharge time of greater than 90 seconds... obviously this thinking is slightly complicated for Dominators because of Domination being available at level 1! I get it. You want Hasten, no matter what. I have Dominators with Hasten, even if they already have 'enough' global recharge from set bonuses. But even then, it really isn't necessary to have perma-Hasten via two 50+5 slots (in my experience), that's just one more thing to chase. It would be (by my crude math) about 12 seconds off the AoE Hold and 17 seconds off Link Minds... not insignificant, but ultimately not earth shattering for me. I suppose if I was the only control on a team and it was my controls that were going to make-or-break the encounter... those 12 seconds might make a difference. +20 seconds on Domination... that is more impressive, but it is basically a wash (considering endurance burn/refill is the only difference, AFAIK everything else is 'replace existing effect') unless some radical slows come into play.... and all this is with my build that already has +136% global recharge from set bonuses. I haven't forgotten that the argument was predicated (on some level) to "take Hasten instead of chasing set bonuses"... so dropping even more recharge set bonuses and/or compromising on control duration... for (at best IMO, more) defense... I don't think the argument in favor of one choice over the other is as crystal clear.

Think of it this way: I came for the control aspect of the Dominator, not the ability to drop %damage in the hold. 5- or 6-slotting the AoE Hold with a hold set it is NOT resulting in the AoE hold being available less frequently.

Do you mean "cut scene"-like dialogue? I think so.

I'm struggling to think of any specific suggestion from the forum that was implemented... I want to say that there was at least one relatively minor quality-of-life addition that came from the forum bu I'm blanking on it ATM.... something like a minor interface or a vendor-purchased item? Did anybody actually suggest giving everyone "Athletic Run" (a good idea, but also a no-brainer)? I wouldn't count the revamps to power sets (e.g. fast Snipes, Energy Melee, Mastermind Primaries, two secondary choices at L1) as coming from the suggestions forum... even if some of those might have been tangentially suggested. Specific to the power sets... what we got was clearly somebody's idea, but I think (prior to the revisions) I saw many different suggestions that were at least as-balanced and in some cases would have been preferable to what we got. (I'm not trying to knock any specific update, just saying that some of these look like someone's idea that maybe wasn't shared with a wide group before the change was rolled out.)

I hear what you're saying, but a lot of time including Hasten (and chasing perma-Hasten), with or without Dominator context) feels to me more like become a goal, in and of itself, than it is to pickup a wider variety of powers slotted how I'd like. This is informed by my play experience: There aren't that many powers in any single build that would greatly benefit from 60% more global recharge above 136%. I'm not saying there are NONE, just that for a control+attack active chain, that much more recharge does relatively little. We can parse the effects of a few seconds faster recharge times on something like Link Minds or Unleash Potential, but these are, to me, marginal. Once we're trying to parse those sorts of powers, I question whether or not it would be necessary to also try for perma-Hasten... like I wrote, it often feels like *that* is the goal, and if so there are only so many places to make changes in sets... see below(*1)... I disagree about the 'more flexibility'. Yes the build I shared has mule powers, but they are piled into the last power picks... so shifting (or skipping) any of the power picks before level 30 to take Hasten makes the build less flexible IMO. If the goal is "different set bonuses"... aside from (positional) Defenses, I don't think there is that much more life-changing to "chase" beyond the Recharge/Accuracy/Recovery in the Purple sets. Slightly more range and resistances are a thing... but *I* haven't found them to be particularyy life-changing on squishies. As for moar %damage... there aren't that many reliable candidate powers in the build to try for %damage IMO. As I wrote above... I'm not interested in the AoE hold having some chances for %damage every 50 seconds or so when the build actually has an attack primary. (*1) In a final build, I think the one thing Hasten would allow (that would be valuable to me, YMMV) would be to add a handful of Winter sets... *if* I could six slot each of them... for Defensive reasons. As things stand now... almost no power in the build has all 6 slots, so that approach (which I considered!) was going to cause me to pull slots from somewhere, which IMO would have hurt the performance. For full disclosure, se (superior) Winter sets I'd be looking at are (likely a "pick any three" situation) Entomb, Frozen Blast, Winter's Bite, and possibly Avalanche. Some of those can go into sets with (currently) 'inferior' sets, but I'd still have to scratch up 6th slots for those.

I don't know that I'd turn down the difficulty (e.g. -1) because at some point many ATs will be causing knockback. Otherwise the idea is fine (if not using Ouroboros for non-multi-boxers). The real advantage I think would be in the second and third missions, because multiple objectives could be done (mostly) simultaneously. The second mission can have the necessary spawns (including the final) attacked in any order, and the third only requires one spawn to be defeated.

Even Diantane doesn't respond to EVERY post in one of their threads.

I feel like part of the trick is to put yourself in Rest, or some such.

I like the comparison between VEATs and HEATs. For performance (solo, teams) I prefer VEATs... although I think they also have a somewhat stinky Inherent, all things considered. I think the reasons for my preference are manifold: VEATs get more offense that scales more like other ATs (that is, a natural progression of potential attacks at typical levels) VEATs get more defensive/resistance options... and more ability to tailor the choices and slotting than HEATs VEATs have a wider variety of powers from which to customize their build for their playstyle... and have access to all those powers in their 'one form', obviously HEATs feel pretty locked into a single playstyle with a little bit of variation around the edges... but even in the cases where I (maybe?) see variation I don't see that much. I suppose folks could make a similar argument about VEATs, but even within a chosen path (e.g. "Crabbermind") there can be room for variation without skimping on performance.

Yes. There is a subtle point about the DA arcs... which isn't unique to them, but still worth mentioning. Any incarnate can join in starting the final mission of a DA arc and get the extra Incarnate rewards if the mission holder has it "naturally". Obviously for Ouro, everyone has to be on the team at the start. I mention this because if a DA team has a bunch of incarnate who haven't run an arc, they can all choose to count the earlier missions as 'you just completed a mission you already have, want to consider it done?' but then NOT do that for the final mission to reap the final rewards multiple times (once for each player in the group). It isn't trivial to set this up, but if you have a cadre of buddies all on thr same page it works.

I've certainly sped through Heather's arc. It can also be a pretty good 'farm' for XP and drops if turned up to x8. I had several different characters that could complete it at x8, and by clearing every map I had a pretty reliable 50-50 chance of a level 50 PVP or Purple recipe from those 30 minutes of play. It also doesn't take much of that to get a handful of specific defeat badges.

In fairness, the tit-for-tat posting *is* one of the behaviors that I think often leads to the more toxic types of behavior, including brigading. It is somewhat common for someone making their Nth post (especially in a suggestion thread) to eventually include something insulting... likely because they've run out of other things to write... and at that point there is just a pile-on. Or, as happened here *in this thread*, someone brings up a personal sore spot tangential to the actual thread to start that process.

This is an interesting question, and one I've never tested (for reasons I'll explain later). Years ago, I would have said "%damage breaks the Placate, no matter what", based on how other powers (like Sleeps) used to work. IIRC a short delay was added to Sleeps, so that the %damage didn't prevent a critter from being put to sleep. The handful of different Placate-like powers I looked at in City of Data don't appear to have a delayed effect to Placate, even after the more recent reconsideration of Threat. Keep in mind, there are different sorts of powers which Placate. For example: a primary power set's version behaves differently for Stalkers and Banes/Widows than Pacify from the Presence pool. The primary reason why I've never tested this: Generally I've found that particular %damage piece to be underwhelming in Taunt/Provoke/Confront-only "attacks" such that I almost exclusively use the Mocking Beratement set in Threat powers (when seeking set bonuses). Part of the issue is the ToHit check required for the %damage (even in 'auto-hit' powers), part of the issue is that for the types of powers where it can be the only %damage, it has ended up having a very marginal impact on clear times. To my way of thinking: If I need to placate an enemy, I'm unlikely to really benefit from a little extra damage anyway! If I don't need to placate them, just hit them! The calculus of others may be different.

Thanks for the reply. I am aware that GMs can 'see' hidden players, and while I personally don't want to go around 'narc'-ing(*1), it can be very difficult (for a non-GM) to see the names of players in the open-world when players are hidden (from other players). I'm not particularly sensitive to griefing(*2), but I recognize there is a spectrum of behavior and acceptance. (*1) I have a short list of players who I often (but not always!) see skirting the multi-box rule... but those name are only in my notes because the player wasn't particularly creative about the account names *and* I happened to stroll across them frequently enough that I could "catch" the names with a mouse-click. (*2) for example, I've seen some teammates have a meltdown on something like triggering a spawn... it isn't my call to say if such a thing is griefing or not as beyond whatever circumstances there may be it is impossible to know the feels of all players.

I do often open with Sweeping Strike, but as noted... it takes a little bit of discipline. It somewhat depends which target I am actually opening against, enemy positions, etc. Some enemies just don't want to stand within 7' of each other! Overall... I am not a fan of the combo mechanics in any set. I *think* I understand what the power devs are trying for when they do this, but I'd rather be able to find synergies between attacks (and enjoy animations) without feeling shoe-horned into specific power picks or attack chains.

IIRC some fraction of the "bank robbers" appear in various Red side arcs, and IIRC some of them appear in morality/alignment missions (both sides). Think of (some of) them as being part of a temp agency roster for NPCs. FWIW, I always think it is hilarious to see Lord Recluse robbing a bank.

I *think* I trimmed out the fluff to get to the crunch. The Homecoming game itself already offers pretty "great rewards" for not much effort, *and* includes mechanisms to make the game harder without adding penalties for being defeated. "Harder" content does offer more rewards: sometimes it is as simple as more drops and more XP/Inf for xN content, sometimes it's a special type of enhancement, recipe or component or a unique power. This is me trying to say: The game is already very generous, why should it be even more generous for this specific type of play? Now, about the idea of players "getting worse" for getting rezzed... this strikes me as a sort of escalating feedback that would make the game a lot less fun. Bluntly: I remember what it was like on Live when there was essentially no ceiling to debt, and also what it was like to go through mission arcs with things like "Vahzilok Wasting Disease". One of the more enjoyable aspects of CoX (to me, anyway) is that defeat inspires can offer the chance to change strategic approach without also adding a debuff for trying the original strategy.

This seems like a reasonable ask. As would an instanced Hamidon raid. This scenario also feels adjacent to the whole "hidden player" status. I know that there are some players who legit simply don't want to have anyone know they are in the game. OTOH, there are also some players who leverage hidden status to skirt policies: griefing and multi-boxing (at certain times) are two that come to mind.

... and your point is lost to me. I explicitly described two different approaches to having perma-Dom: one for leveling up (relying on Hasten), and one that waits until a level 50 build (without relying on Hasten). Personally? I tend to level up without perma-Dom, but there is no judgement behind my approach... simply sharing. For more details about the thought process, leveling and testing of the Grav/Arsenal Dom... I have a recent thread about that.

I don't feel like I skimped on any aspects of this (again, most recent) Dominator... by my allocation of slots... except maybe for that T1 attack that I very rarely use. Adding Hasten to this build, just to have Hasten, would have implications like: giving up one of the power pools... maybe no big deal, maybe it is... but this cascades other choices having to decide if I want perma-Hasten (so, "find a slot") or not.., delay/skip Wall of Force (which does include the %+Recharge piece, but it is for 'peace of mind', it is not required) and or Unleash Potential Juggle both Hasten and Domination clickies. This isn't a big deal for me, but it is "one more thing" to have to worry about. I'm not asking for a different build, I'm simply answering the "how do you do it without Hasten?" question.

How I did it on my most recent Dom: Five LotG pieces for 7.5% each 10% from Superior Ascendency of the Dominator 10% from Hecatomb 10% from Apocalypse (I put this in a Snipe FWIW) 10% from Absolute Amazement 10% from Ragnarok 5x Decimation in a low-tier attack, for 6.25% 5x Positron's Blast in a low level cone for 6.25% (set includes a Range piece and %damage, range helps the cone) 4x Cloud Senses in a pool debuff for 6.25% 4x Expedient Reinforcement in a pet for 6.25% <- this was added for 'margins', I don't like the level range on this set. 4x Basilisk's Gaze in the low level ST Hold for 7.5% 5x Gladiator's Net in the AoE Hold for 7.5% (The AoE holds may look like good %proc bombs, but IMO the base recharge time is far too long even with perma-Dom levels of recharge) 6x Reactive Defenses for 8.75% Some comments: It isn't necessary to catalyze ATO if I don't want to "overstep" the maximum five 10% bonuses to global recharge. Enhancement values from sets that cap out below 50 are still pretty good, so I have no allergy to Decimation or Basilisk's Gaze, especially not in otherwise weak powers. I mention this because (as noted) it is necessary to reach into some corners that may not seem obvious for all players (or anyone). I think I could have had another +8.75% (certainly another 1%) by putting 6x Preventive Medicine in Unleash Potential (instead of franken-slotting) but I think that would have hurt the build more than it helped. Aside from a Resistance piece mule power at level 38, the latest power in the build with multiple slots is at 35 (Link Minds, holding the Reactive Defenses set). I mention this because my general approach is to have my most-used, most effective powers as early as possible. Hasten usually (for my builds) gets in the way of, or delays, another power that I feel offers more utility for the build. I probably should have taken Hasten while leveling up, because a lot of those recharge bonuses weren't there before level 50, but I kinda like learning the combo without perma-Dom. I will admit that there is a juggling act... there are only so many powers that can take certain types of enhancement sets (including ATO) so I'm doing things like using Gladiator's Net where others may reach for an ATO or Unbreakable Constraint, or using Apocalypse in a power than can take Sting of the Manticore or Experienced Marksman. Finally: I fully intended to franken-slot this Dominator's pet (Singularity)... and I can have perma-dom without the 6.25% from Expedient Reinforcement set... but in practice: despite having slow resistances, I was occasionally "getting stuck" in an animation (button mashing may have been involved) and missing the auto-Domination what I was trying to do with the Singularity wasn't making that much of a practical (or observable) difference

My $0.02 I often took Epic Bonfire, and would slot it with KB->KD. It was crazy good. Since the (now long-ago) change, I haven't felt a need to respec out of Bonfire. Since the (now long-ago) change, Bonfire feels more like other powers with similar effects. My personal recollection of those "soft controls" via knockback, slows, whatever, was that they weren't as good as Bonfire, mostly because of (smaller) radius. I suppose there is a debate to be had about the relative size of an EPIC power... but AFAIK Bonfire has the same (or larger) radius as similar location-based Epic powers among ATs.

No. ... or should I say: I am not aware of any toggle such that once the toggle is active that enhanced Recharge has any affect.