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Everything posted by tidge
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IIRC: The weekly TF will award a Prismatic Ather, upon first completion (for the week) per character. Also: The chance for a Prismatic Aether Particle to drop occurs at the completion of any mission. I think they have to be instanced missions, I can't recall ever getting one from an open world hunt mission. In this sense, these are a sort of complimentary award for 'defeat alls'... that is, players can often complete missions quickly by skipping fights... and defeats give all the other game rewards (recipe drops, etc.)... so they ended up being a reward that drops slightly better for players that speed through missions.
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Question about character items tab in email.
tidge replied to Monty Haull's topic in General Discussion
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I hit the limit on Reward Merits intentionally (to verify the limit still exists) before I started doing conversions. I hit the Monstrous Aether limit "by accident", because I hadn't thought it would be on 999. I generally try to keep the 'stockpile' of those at 90% of the limit, because I'll usually remember to convert before I hit the limit. I typically spend the things like Vanguard and Threads so AFAIK I haven't come close to whatever their limits might be. I'm not trying to (humble)brag about the limits on Reward Merits: it really is quite easy to accumulate them; no special build is required. The primary reason I've accumulated so many is because I don't have a particularly large number of alts. When I want to try a new concept, I almost always convert at least 1000 Reward Merits into ATO (occasionally more if I plan to use Winters), and then as the alt approaches 50 I look to see what, if any, Purple pieces I need that haven't already been accumulated. This isn't the most cost effective (in an arbitrage sense) way to use Merits, but it works fine for me. -
REQUEST: A Little More Storage for SG Bases
tidge replied to BlackSpectre's topic in Suggestions & Feedback
I'm in this mental headspace: If I had more storage space in my one SG base, I would simply hoard more stuff. I suspect it is probably fine with the limits we have now. I have a dim memory of how SG base storage got screwed up when the "base salvage" was eliminated on Live, so I am sensitive about database issues. There are many ways to manage personal SG (and email, and auction house, etc.) storage. My own approach is that I keep 1 bin for super Inspirations, 4 bins for Enhancements, 1 bin for Catalysts/Aethers/Access Bypass/Miscellany, and the rest for salvage. If I need more space for enhancements, I usually just have characters hold them... I have a few characters with stacks of salvage stored in the AH because every once in a while people play stupid market games. Storing stuff in the AH on individual characters doesn't interfere with my using the market. I could just buy whatever salvage I want when I need it, but I do a lot of random crafting/SG base buffs, so I like having salvage on hand in the base. My personal recipe for using base storage suits me fine, but I wouldn't expect it is an approach suitable for anyone else. -
Question about character items tab in email.
tidge replied to Monty Haull's topic in General Discussion
About the 999 vs 9999 number, at least in "personal" (individual character) storage... There are different limits on how many items can be held in on an individual character for different sorts of things. The only ones that I have personally bumped up against: 9999 Merits and 999 Monstrous Aethers. (Prismatic) Aethers must not have the 999 limit, considering the recipe that requires over 1000. I'm guessing there are other players who have hit limits on Vanguard Merits and Incarnate Threads. -
High Level Roadmap / More Mid Level Content / New Player Stuff
tidge replied to Troo's topic in Suggestions & Feedback
I don't doubt that some folks have spent big on the market, but they don't have to.... and so it isn't as if a level 50 build that includes Purple/ATO/Winter pieces is going to be particularly difficult to figure out how to make "less expensive", by whatever measure. It's not as if there is some barrier to enjoying play if a character has 3% less global Defense (for example) because they don't have a Gladiator's Armor piece slotted. We may as well cringe at posted builds at all, because it could be unfairly biasing new players from "figuring things out on their own." -
Also a legit strategy. I got used to having attuned PVP pieces around to act as placeholders for "purples" and to experiment with different power/slotting choices.
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I don't think that unattuned and unboosted PVP pieces will enhance better than the level they are, in other words a level 49 would be better than a level 10 (for player content above level 10). Since PVP recipes will drop for all content in levels 10-50, I've gotten plenty of sub-50 PVP recipes. These either get converted into the "every build uses one" pieces and/or attuned for reuse on future builds.... while they level up, or while they await their own level 50+5 versions. I find teh level 50 respec to be a convenient time to reshuffle/attune pieces, but enhancement unslotters are also cheap.
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Money making in CoV/H (and how I dont do any of it)
tidge replied to Snarky's topic in General Discussion
Slotting Fold Space with 2x Provocation is about as close to the ur-Example of "throwing good influence after bad power choices" as I can imagine. I also hate Fold Space (but not Shadow Slip!), both from the perspective of "How I see it used" (almost always, "clumsily") and from the perspective of "What poor build choices did the player make to get that?" Particularly: What are they doing with their build that Combat Teleport doesn't suit them better? Are the players' AoE so bad (in radius, in recharge) that a Fold Space -> AoE is the superior choice to just popping into a group and doing... whatever? Did they really take two other powers from the Teleport pool to unlock Fold Space? Combat Teleport is absolutely wonderful... and if they'd been using it before taking Fold Space, why take Fold Space? It makes me think (rightly or wrongly) that they are very likely the sort of player that doesn't realize how good it is. Also: Teleport is probably the most inferior of all Travel powers. Maybe the other pre-req was Teleport Target? If so... how did they slot that, and why don't I see them using that power (on friends or foes)? Did they really put at least two slots in Fold Space: to improve Accuracy to the point of Fold Space mostly working, and recharge so that it is available somewhat during missions? Did they sacirfice something like improved damage or a Taunt to be able to have slots for Fold Space? Did the inherent recharge time of Fold Space drive them to have to take Hasten? Did they make other choices that cornered them into chasing global Accuracy and Recharge? I realize many purple sets get both, but that's a choice. Three slots in the Teleport pool cut down on LotG mule choices! What level did they chose to take Fold Space? I mean... after level 40, most teams of at least two players should be able to handle whatever at least as well as they could without having Fold Space. Related: What did the player skip to take Fold Space? For something like a Tanker, I can see delaying Tough/Weave until 47/49 but if I find out a Tanker skipped Taunt to be able to fit Hasten and Fold Space.... sheesh! What's the theory craft of what to do with all the critters that Fold Space missed? ... especially for Tankers. Those level 54 Bosses aren't exactly going to be repositioned for whatever is supposed to come next. -
Short answers: If you have attuned pieces, they will always provide enhancement bonuses as if they are at the level the character is, with the caution that if the set tops out at a level below 50, the enhancement value will be capped at the level of the set, not the player. So an attuned piece from a set that caps at 20 will provide less enhancement than a piece from a set that caps at 50. PVP and Purple sets act as if they are attuned, so this is why players often boost them to 50+5. HO/DS act as if they are attuned. Winters, ATOs, OF are always attuned. All slots are "available" in powers, the game doesn't "remember" at what level a slot was placed. The game does remember when powers were taken, which is why when exemplaring down players lose access to some powers. (IIRC power are available up to +5 above the level exemplared to). Something I recall fondly from the days of live: The Kheldians were particularly tough in Bloody Bay, because a Kheldian could either respec into having a LOT of slots in Dwarf form, or eventually just exemplar down (much later IIRC), which made a single Dwarf able to hold off huge numbers of villains in PVP.
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I have long observed that on some maps, a placement of a pseudo pet via a macro like this won't work, even though clicking on the power itself will bring up the reticle to allow placement. powexec_location target Caltrops One of the easiest places to observe this behavior is on the open world Croatoan map in the Grim Vale. The targeting reticle allows Caltrops to be tossed, but targeting an enemy doesn't even allow the power to be activated. This also occurs on some of the elevated areas of Grandville. There are a handful of similar powers where (on certain maps) the power will be activated, but the pseudo pet is not placed at the feet of the enemy, rather it is (I believe) placed at some geometric level below (z-axis) the target $loc. I've observed this with Bonfire, when on instanced "tall room maps", the macro will trigger, but it won't be placed at the target location. A similar sort of issue occasionally happens with target location "teleport macros" (which I use for Burst of Speed, Combat Teleport, etc.) where despite the target being in range and the power being recharged, the macro will not fire. This is rarer, but I have observed it. For years, I just accepted this.. it is annoying to not be able to rely on favorite macros, and it appears to be limited to certain map geometries. However... With the Terra Volta respecs as the weekly, I observed that a different, non-macro power appeared to be not working: The Blaster Epic Melt Armor. Melt Armor works like the macros do... pick a target (it won't work without a target) and then a patch appears at the targets feet. In the Terra Volta map, I can cast the power, but the patch doesn't not appear. This also happens in the Grim Vale. At some Grandville locations I can't even cast the power. I have also observed in some player constructed bases where floating "floors" appear, there are other powers that require a floor surface won't work... like summoning teammates, so I am relatively sure this is a map geometry issue. This doesn't really bother me for Quality of Life... but for some powers (like Melt Armor) this strikes me as a "bigger deal". I put this in the BUG forum, but perhaps a suggestion is appropriate? Maybe Melt Armor could be applied to the target, rather than to the target location?
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My build suggestions won't be for you, because outside of something like a Dominator needing a little more recharge, or maybe a Trap-layer who is desperate to get one more whatever out, I think the Force Feedback %+Recharge pieces are niche. Mileage varies, but unless the build contains some really long recharging power (Blaster nukes are not that long IMO, I'm thinking something like Unrelenting) that is almost always used when ready (so again, maybe Unrelenting) I think global Slow Resistance is probably more useful across more content than a short-duration %+Recharge. another hot take: Blasters should probably have enough variety in their attacks to sustain both single-target and AoE (also rang and melee), and swap between them such that %+Recharge isn't required to keep pouring out damage. A little bit of %damage in place of %+recharge may mean that the Blaster has to make fewer attacks, where as %+recharge can at best allow a Blaster to make more attacks in a slightly shorter amount of time. As for how to best use /Atomic? My suggestion is to invest in Combat Teleport. Because this combination allows for a nice variety of set choices, I will share my slotting for Radioactive Cloud. It requires IMO more than just dumping every possible %damage piece in it to work best. It has a long enough recharge time that I didn't find investing a 6th slot in it to be contributing significantly to DPS compared to what else I could do with the slot. Since you will have Psi damage in the primary, you may not even want to include the 5th %Psi slot... I find off-brand damage to be a better choice outside of Purple/PVP choices. Level 28: Radioactive Cloud (A) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Damage (Smashing): Level 50 (*) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5 (*) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage (Lethal) (*) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage (Psionic)
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Question about character items tab in email.
tidge replied to Monty Haull's topic in General Discussion
Thanks for saving me the trouble! I recently hit the limit after running a character through a level 40 Ouroborous arc at x8, and tried to dump hella-many level 45 recipes in email for a different character to use for crafting badges. -
High Level Roadmap / More Mid Level Content / New Player Stuff
tidge replied to Troo's topic in Suggestions & Feedback
Perhaps this is a personal defect, but I cannot imagine what a "roadmap" would look like that doesn't already sort of exist in the game now. For example, we have both hero and villain "roadmaps", plus whatever a player chooses to do with Gold/Incarnate/Ouroboros. We have "Zone arcs". The game launched with contacts that were more-or-less tied to "origin". The game has EATs that have their own arcs. Why is "skipping content" considered to be such a problem? I am reading that there is a recognition that this is a personal problem, and NOT a problem with the game. Every time you cringe at a posted build, perhaps follow up with a helpful suggestion? I pretty much only post "Level 50 builds", but that is because it would be a huge waste of my time to post more than one build, and it would be a true PITA to post "intermediate" builds with incomplete slot assignments, not to mention power choices. For 90% of *my* builds, the level 50 build: Accurately represents the powers taken at what level Accurately represents the power pool choices (if applicable), also taken at what level Accurately represents the types of Enhancements slotted, if the specific choices aren't available because of level restriction I don't feel like my builds insult new players because they use ATOs... ATOs are only 100 merits each and until players can afford them, IOs will do. Same with Winters. The reference to "multi-billion" is IMO a tell that this sort of thinking is mired in the past. It is true that a player almost certainly needs (or has) a level 50 (no incarnates needed) to collect merits to buy ATOs.... but a character with no enhancement slotted can tag along with all sorts of content, including regular Hamidon raids, and few players are going to complain. I don't feel the need to explain that for most of my high-level attacks, I almost never slot more that 3 pieces while leveling up... because I am making choices about other sets to look for set bonuses... and I don't feel obliged to explain all the nuances of my particular choices for which powers get slots at what levels. I don't feel the need to offer a build that doesn't contain attuned enhancement pieces, in case there is some "new student" who isn't familiar with enhancements. I do occasionally try to explain what *I* find fun (and tedious) about certain builds... but at some base level I don't expect players to have radically different ideas about what some ATs will do... for example, the Tanker forum is always going to have threads about the "most toughest", and other forums will always have threads about "most DPS". -
Please help me be able to see this Ninja/Trick Arrow build
tidge replied to TG BrainFog's topic in Mastermind
I can't parse the data (don't MIDS, sorry). I haven't tried Ninjas/TA... but on Necro/TA I was underwhelmed by (my choices) in Trick Arrow. I was hoping I could use the secondary for debuffs and controls, but I just couldn't get it to come together. Writing only for myself, I think I know what the issue is for me: The Trick Arrow secondary requires picking too many powers and requires too much activity (on the part of the MM) to gel... at least for me. There is another slight issue (for me) in that the best of what Trick arrow offers comes late... so options for power picks start to bunch up in addition to being somewhat late blooming. My personal experience has been that MM builds that can skip at least two of the T7/T8/T9 secondary powers, and don't need more than a Shield from the Epic/Patron generally perform more smoothly that those that "bloom late". -
If Pets are this bad, what is the point of Masterminds?
tidge replied to Caios's topic in Mastermind
I pretty much only take Hybrid Support, except on raw DPS characters, and occasionally hard control casters. The advantage of Support for MMs is that they always bring their own team with them. -
This won't help you recycle slotted enhancements, but the second (and third) builds of characters can be used for testing. Writing only for myself: The few times I want to do something like "move a single slot", I've done testing with unslotters first to see what sort of pieces I can do without. This won't help with wanting to add slots, but I do consider it important to know what I might be sacrificing first. When I am not that familiar with a power (or how it behaves for a certain AT), I definitely play around with it before level 50. Occasionally, powers that may not need many slots get 'extras' to make it easier for me to slot/unslot different pieces in them as I am leveling up. I've tried many powers that looked good "on paper" but ended up being rather inferior in practice. There certainly are powers and slotting approaches that are often highly recommended in builds yet range from mediocre to hot garbage IMO. The only way to know is to test... and the best tests are done while leveling up.
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My Hot Take: If a Blaster is going to make "Range" the primary focus of the build, unless effort is put into making the ranges of all the attacks roughly equivalent the effort is not well-directed.
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The Upgrade button is not something I'd ever see myself using...setting aside that I'm constantly reusing/resupplying Enhancements from sets... I'm willing to bet that some low bids on common IOs (especially 25/30/45/50) would end up being cheaper than trying to keep SOs updated.
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I'm leaning towards this being a ridiculous question, if only because I believe that many different MM builds could end up with similar sorts of clear times. Critter AI behavior can also factor into "map clearing" in ways that some combos could be better suited to handle than others. The secondary choices that I think would have relatively slow map clear times would be those builds that focus on buffing/healing the henchmen... because buffing and healing don't directly contribute to clearing. As for primaries? I want to say that Robotics may be the top, only because the henchmen are nearly pure ranged attackers. If the henchmen don't need to move, that ought to improve x8 clear times. If the maps are filled with x1 spawns, then other primaries should be faster.
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I think Burst of Speed is a necessity for /Martial. I dislike Water Jet, Dehydrate is IMO a more reliable ST-attack. You should not need Hasten, especially with this combo able to switch between range/melee ST/AoE. EDIT: I would not put the Ice Mistral pieces in Reaction Time, two of those should probably be 50+5 Healing IOs.
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Make MM upgrade powers slotable with pet IOs
tidge replied to FirstRingOfSaturn's topic in Suggestions & Feedback
Even though I like the changes to the first upgrades to allow pieces other than Endurance & Recharge, I still think it makes no sense that the first upgrade is available before the T2 and T3 henchmen AND that the T2 and T3 henchmen require the application of that first upgrade. That first upgrade comes early enough to T1 summons that there is literally no content except at a character's initial pass through levels 1-5 that the T1 won't have the ability to apply the first upgrade. There is no flashback content when the first upgrade wouldn't be available. My preference would be: Henchmen get summoned with the first upgrade applied The first upgrade be replaced with a buff pet (not a henchmen) to provide something (I'd suggest the current options, or something to further help with henchmen ToHiT); this would allow the power to take (recharge intensive) pet enhancements I'm not hurt that what I suggest was not the path taken, as the more recent HC changes are improvements I can work with... it is more that I am scratching my head about the peculiarity of the first henchmen upgrade. -
Red/Blue Characters should get the "admissions" contact when they reach a certain level. At least my recent characters have gotten him.
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Adding Knockback Resistance to %Immobilize Enhancement pieces?
tidge replied to tidge's topic in Suggestions & Feedback
I completely agree that this would not be to "solve a KB problem", I make the suggestion more for consistency among general advice along the lines of "immobilizes mitigate knockback".