Alchemystic

Is there an outline for what would be considered copyright infringement? I've seen plenty "homage" characters that are basically identical to existing IPs, even down to their bio, but I've never bothered to report them... but I guess theres more reason to now 😅 Obviously CoH has a few archetypical characters of their own; Statesman, Manticore, Synapse... they all bear some resemblance to popular Justice League IPs, but distinct enough to have their own identities. Is this the bar by which we should measure what's considered a homage vs plagiarism? Lets say... a character is very clearly Batman, but they have a name like 'The Dark Bat' or 'Shadow Wing' or something, but appear identical in both appearance and bio, would that be considered an offense, or just... unoriginal? 🤔

CoH doesn't need to borrow this kinda mechanic from other MMOs/MOBAs, because it simply doesn't fit the way the game was engineered. Having a spammy auto-attack that fires off every few seconds might work as a cheap DPS/Aggro tool in other games, but CoH's combat is designed with more thought and consideration into the various mechanics in the game, and tries to be more engaging than just sitting around passively inflicting damage/healing. So you're right, it'll change the game... but certainly not for the better.

That's why IP bans are a thing.

True, but doesn't seem too clever violating the CoC/ToS around somebody who can record you doing it. Easy way to lose your account.

Sounds helpful, and probably fairly easy to implement!

I understand perfectly, I'm explaining that most of your requests are currently already in game, and those that aren't seem unlikely to happen due to development constraints.

Thugs Demons I have no idea Zombies Demons again Likely never, it's a 'Pet' not a 'Henchmen' Mastermind primaries are difficult to make, and most of the 'elemental' themes tend to wind up as Controller/Mastermind pets. But, that being said, there has been suggestions before about trying to make an elemental themed Mastermind powerset too, using the Animus Arcana as inspiration.

It's a vanity power, not a combat power.

I think it might be a little heavy on the mez to be a support set, but there's potential for something like this if we look at the unique animations/FX belonging to the Mastermind's 'Ninjas' powerset. 'Train Ninjas' and 'Kuji-in Zen' look as though they could be reused for different purposes, so I may look into incorporating that material into a potential new powerset.

I'm not sure if there's enough material for a full on support powerset, but I did make use of the powers from Ninjitsu and Ninja Training to create a new control powerset called 'Trickery'

I know PA is a balancing can of worms, but I think a few additional changes might make it more Dominator friendly; Swap Spectral Wounds for a single target sleep power. Reduce the damage so it's a little less that Spectral Wounds Swap Group Invisibility for an AoE sleep power. Give it a little damage to compensate for reduced DPS Bump Flash to T7/T8, so it lines up with other Control powersets. As for PA? I know people feel as though keeping them invulnerable is their key selling point, as is their ability to hold aggro, so the main issue is damage. Do we reduce the damage? do we reduce the delay between them healing that damage back? Or do we give Phantoms different powers?

These have been presented before, and I'll agree that they're pretty damn good, but HC tends to do everything in-house, so it may be unlikely these will be ported over.

👀

Following on from another thread that popped up recently, I decided to try and adapt some material from the 'Water Control' powerset earlier in the thread to try and make 'Water Manipulation', so we had more powersets with cold damage, especially secondaries. I know @oedipus_tex made a great Water Assault set, so I'm hoping to expand on that with some custom melee powers that could work with that suggestion too. Water Manipulation - Sink: A single target immobilize power, deals smashing/cold DoT. Forms a smaller version of the 'Whirpoool' FX on the target's legs. - Hydro Slam: A moderate smashing/cold melee attack that uses the animation of Kinetic Melee's 'Body Blow' with water FX on the hands - Submerge: Suspends a foe in a bubble of water, dealing high smashing/cold DoT. Foes are held in the same (albeit larger) water bubble FX created by 'Hydro Blast' - Build Up: Standard build up power - Mist Cloud: This power is functionally identical to 'Smoke' from Fire Control, but creates an aura of mist rather than smoke on each foes' head. - Saturation: A toggle power that grants regeneration, recovery, as well as resistance to fire and toxic damage. Similar FX to the droplets from 'Wet Ice' - Aqua Burst: A new smashing/cold PBAoE melee power with knockup potential. Uses the same animation of Kinetic Melee's 'Burst', forming a globe of water before slamming it down with the FX of 'Water Burst' - Aqua Globe: Creates a much larger water bubble. Targets in the bubble (including allies) will hover, but with the swimming animation. Foes will be slowed with reduced maneuverability and defense. - Pressure Blast: A heavy cold/smashing melee power that uses the same animation as 'Energy Transfer', with similar water FX to 'Tidal Forces' on the arms.

I'd say make some more NPCs and give them access to powers from Water Blast. More Coralax maybe? Water themed Outcasts and Circle Mages? Maybe even Tsoo and Banished Pantheon bosses?

I've considered using some of the stuff from Peacebringers and Warshades, but I wouldn't want to take something that is intended to be unique to a certain archetype with some pretty heavy lore behind it. That being said, since there are some enemy types (such as the Drudges and Galaxy Soldiers) that make use of several attacks belonging to Kheldians, I guess the cat might already be out of the bag on that one. It might be possible to create complete powersets from the materials from Peacebringers and Warshades, but the issue is designing them in such a way that it doesn't just invalidate Kheldians altogether. Reusing the FX however, is still entirely on the table.

@Piecemeal if you ever get chance, theres plenty of plausible powerset ideas put forward by myself and the community in the Eco-Friendly Powerset Recycling thread! It's popped up a few times in Weekly Discussions, back when they were a regular thing, and has been an ongoing thread for over a year and a half! (Earth Blast was actually one of the powersets that kicked things off 😅 )

On the subject of toxic damage, how about some toxic themed ancillaries? Or... well, a little toxic damage at least. I noticed that we're currently lacking something in the Radiation department for ancillaries, and there's plenty of powers to play with since the addition of the Radiation Melee, Armor and Manipulation powersets. Radiation Mastery - Blaster/Mastermind - Ground Zero: An AoE debuff with some nice ally buff too - Proton Sweep: A close range cone power much like Static Discharge - Alpha Barrier: A personal protective power common to most ancillaries - Radiation Therapy: A self heal power seems fitting, as well as a little more damage - EM Pulse: Similar to EM pulse from Electric Mastery, so works nicely here Atom Mastery - Controller/Dominator / - X-Ray Beam/Ground Zero: A ranged attack for Controllers, and an AoE Debuff power for Dominators - Neutron Bomb: An AoE damage attack not uncommon for Controller/Dominator ancillaries. - Alpha Barrier: A personal protective power common to most ancillaries /- Devastating Blow/Accelerate Metabolism: A heavy melee attack for Controllers and the usual team buff for Dominators - Radiation Therapy: A self heal power that works nicely as a capstone power Nuclear Mastery - Defender/Corruptor - Electron Shackles: An immobilize power that seems common to ancillaries of this type - Alpha Barrier: A personal protective power common to most ancillaries - Positron Cell: A powerful hold that seems suitable here - Radiation Therapy: A self heal power seems fitting, as well as a little more damage - Devastating Blow: A heavy melee attack works nicely here Atomic Mastery - Scrapper/Stalker/Tanker/Brute - Electron Shackles: An immobilize power that seems common to ancillaries of this type - X-Ray Beam: A good ranged attack that works nicely here - Positron Cell: A powerful hold that seems suitable here - Neutron Bomb: An AoE damage attack as seen in most ancillaries for melee archetypes - Radiation Infection: A debuff power not unlike Darkest Night from Dark Mastery Radioactive Mastery - Sentinel - Electron Bonds: An AoE version of Electron Shackles, fitting in with other Sentinel ancillaries - Radioactive Smash: A simple melee power common to Sentinel ancillaries - Positron Cell: A powerful hold that seems suitable here - Atom Smasher: An AoE melee attack similar to other ancillaries - Radiant Aura: An AoE heal power that seems to be common for these ancillaries

Yeahhh... I think judging by overall response and the fact two different GMs have said this is unlikely to happen, I think we've passed "wasting people's time" now.

I don't see how this has anything to do with levels or zones, I think you're being a bit facetious here in hopes to undermine the greater argument. Sure there are things that warp the suspension of disbelief, but I'm not talking about CoH's attempt to rationalise game mechanics, I'm talking about how levels and zones were designed in such a way to make you feel rewarded for progressing. 1-50 zones ultimately diminish that, theres no sense of progress, it turns CoH into every other MMO; a pointless grind.

I'm interested

City zones were always intended to work as chapters in a character's career, making Kallisti a 1-50 zone means that a character could spend his whole career fighting the same fight and never really make an impact. There's a reason why theres a narrative element to security/threat level, and we used to see a lot of dialogue referencing it, but removing the concept of level-restricted access to one zone would invalidate the need for it in all other zones, and ultimately diminish the rationale behind security/threat level to begin with. With that in mind, I think it's completely the right call keeping Kallisti a 40-50 zone.

oh hey, I suggested this not too long ago too

PROTECTOR The protector is a highly adaptive defensive archetype, ready to lead the charge into the fray while defending both his allies and himself. The Protector's primary focus is shielding the team, and can adjust his approach to combat to better coordinate with his allies. Primary: Protection Secondary: Assault Ancillaries: Control & Ranged AoE Survivability: 7 Melee Damage: 4 Ranged Damage: 4 Crowd Control: 3 Support: 7 Pets: 2 Inherent: Unity - When a Protector is nearby his allies, he will receive a scaling endurance discount on all of his protective auras. The more allies that are nearby the greater this discount will be. In addition, depending on what archetypes his nearby allies are, he will receive an Accuracy and ToHit buff for his ranged or melee powers. (Melee - Scrapper, Stalker, Tanker, Brute, Warden. Ranged - Defender, Corruptor, Controller, Mastermind, Sentinel. Melee & Ranged - Protector, Blaster, Dominator, Peacebringer, Warshade, Arachnos Soldier, Arachnos Widow) Powerset: Protection 1 - AoE Armor toggle: This initial power acts much like an Armor power, but also grants the armor to nearby allies as well. Typically a resistance/defense power for smashing and lethal. 2 - Autopower: A simple autopower that will act as a baseline protection for the player. It could be as simple as a resistance power, or a +MaxHP power as seen in armor powersets. 3 - AoE Heal, Buff or Debuff: Similar to support sets like Empathy, Pain, Thermal and so on... a simple AoE Heal power or similar effect helps keep both you and your allies alive. 4 - Second AoE Armor toggle: Just as above, filling in resistance/defense power for fire, cold, energy and negative. 5 - AoE Damage/Debuff Power: Much like many armor and manipulation sets, having access to an AoE damage or debuff power helps keep on the pressure. 6 - AoE Mez Protection: A Click power that grants mez protection to yourself and nearby allies for a short while, definitely needed to keep the fight going. 7 - Self Heal/Buff: A little more in the way of personal survival could do well here, allowing you to keep yourself alive so you can continue to support your allies. 8 - AoE Debuff Power: Like before, another debuff power would do wonders to keep the enemy at bay, ensuring that you and your teammates have an easier time in the fight. 9 - AoE Mega Buff/Debuff: As the capstone ability of this powerset, something with high power and long cooldown is likely best here, whether it's a buff or debuff. Examples: Fiery Protection - Flame Ward: A hybridisation of Fire Shield and Thermal Shield - Temperature Protection: Same power that belongs to Fiery Aura - Warmth: Same power that belongs to Thermal Radiation - Blazing Aura: Same power that belongs to Fiery Aura - Plasma Ward: A hybridisation of both forms of Plasma Shield - Thawing Heat: A PBAoE version of Thaw - Healing Flames: Same power that belongs to Fiery Aura - Consume: Same power that belongs to Fiery Aura - Melting Blast: A PBAoE version of Melt Armor Icy Protection - Ice Ward: A hybridisation of Ice Shield and Frozen Armor - Permafrost: Same power that belongs to Ice Armor - Chilling Embrace: Same power that belongs to Ice Armor - Icicles: Same power that belongs to Ice Armor - Glacial Ward: A hybridisation of Glacial Shield and Glacial Armor - Black Ice: A PBAoE version of Wet Ice - Hoarfrost: Same power that belongs to Ice Armor - Energy Absorption: Same power that belongs to Ice Armor - Heat Drop: A PBAoE version of Heat Loss WARDEN The Warden is an expert at close ranged crowd control, able to enter the fray and take on the worst of the assault. While the Warden lacks in damage, he is capable of locking down multiple foes and keep them from escaping Primary: Defense Secondary: Grapple Ancillaries: Ranged & Debuff Survivability: 10 Melee Damage: 6 Ranged Damage: 2 Crowd Control: 6 Support: 3 Pets: 2 Inherent: Lockdown - The Warden is a crowd controlling powerhouse. The more enemies surrounding the Warden, the greater the capacity of his crowd control powers; cones will be wider, spheres larger, and chains reaching further away. When there are fewer enemies surrounding the Warden, he will instead receive an increase to the accuracy and magnitude of his crowd control abilities. Powerset: Grapple 1 - Melee Stun/Sleep/Immobilize/Fear: The initial power in this type of powerset is a melee verison of a typical single target mez effect, most commonly and immobilize or stun, but sometimes a fear or sleep effect. 2 - Melee: The secondary power in these powersets is a basic attack power. Most of these can be borrowed from existing melee powersets and would act as a damage focused power. 3 - Melee Cone/Chain: A little AoE potential added to the mix in order to ensure that the Warden can aggro enough enemies to pull into a close enough proximity, ready to deliver his mez powers. 4 - AoE Taunt: An AoE taunt not unlike Tankers and Brutes, allowing the Warden more control over the mob and making it easier to herd them into a close group. 5 - Power Build Up: A variation of the standard Build Up power that also increases the effectiveness of seocndary effects, such as mez, buff and debuff, for a short duration. 6 - AoE Melee: Some more AoE potential in order to properly handle the larger mobs the Warden may face, while ensuring that he retains the aggro of a group. 7 - Melee Hold: A simple hold power that is delivered at melee range, allowing the Warden to completely contain the threat of one particular enemy while he deals with the rest of the mob. 8 - AoE Stun/Sleep/Immobilize/Fear: An AoE version of the powerset's initial power, allowing the Warden to contain a large mob and prevent them from escaping. 9 - AoE Hold: The Warden's capstone power, allowing him to potentially lock down a large mob and prevent them from being able to fight back, ensuring that he can better focus on more imposing targets nearby. Examples: Fiery Grapple - Singe: A melee version of Ring of Fire - Scorch: Same power that belongs to Fiery Melee - Breath of Fire: Same power that belongs to Fiery Melee - Taunt: Same power that belongs to Fiery Melee - Power Build Up: Standard boost power for the set - Combustion: Same power that belongs to Fire Manipulation - Smog Strike: A melee version of Char - Inferno: A melee version of Fire Cages - Cinders: Same power that belongs to Fire Control Icy Grapple - Snowplow: A melee version of Chilblain - Frozen Fists: Same power that belongs to Ice Melee - Frost: Same power that belongs to Ice Melee - Taunt: Same power that belongs to Ice Melee - Power Build Up: Standard boost power for the set - Ice Patch: Same power that belongs to Ice Melee - Freezing Touch: Same power that belongs to Ice Melee - Creeping Ice: A melee version of Frostbite - Glacier: Same power that belongs to Ice Control

I'm mostly thinking QOL for PvP and Teaming, as well as for people like me who forget what Patrons they're running sometimes.