Alchemystic

On Tankers and Brutes, there is always a power that has a taunt aura. Sometimes it's tacked onto other powers, others its a new power completely. The idea I dabbled with used the Sentinel version of Ninjitsu, but with Blinding Powder swapped out for a -ToHit/Taunt aura instead.

Honestly it helps gauge interest in the topic if anything, more push is always good, and fresh perspectives are always welcome

You joke, but I did at one point recycle HEATs into actual powersets (called Light and Void) cos I figured there's a lot of "not a Kheldian IC" characters out there 😛

So not to long ago I made a thread about porting one of the last remaining armor powersets over to Tankers and Brutes (which you can find HERE ). On the flipside of that, I couldn't help but ponder what else is currently missing for Stalkers. there's the obvious ones like Battle Axe, War Mace and Super Strength. But, I think one that doesn't get brought up often is Titan Weapons. I know it seems like a bit of a silly idea in theory, but is it doable? Absolutely. Recently I discovered that Titan Weapons and Staff Fighting can have interchangeable animations, which can help break down some of the barriers preventing Titan Weapons from being accessible on Stalkers, but the remaining issue is... how will Momentum work? Currently, Momentum works by attacking frequently, which then increases attack speed. 'Build Momentum' is the unique version of Build Up, which grants you a longer lasting burst of Momentum, but as we've seen with other Melee powersets like Staff Fighting and Dual Blades, sometimes these unique mechanics have to be changed to suit Stalkers. So the question is; how do we make Momentum work on Stalkers if they are likely to just get 'Build Up' instead? Well, one idea I had was to make it so when you deliver an Assassin's Strike from Hidden, you will gain a full 10 seconds of Momentum just like Build Momentum does. The only other issue I can see is the amount of AoE potential. Three cones and a PBAoE is a lot for a Stalker, but I think we can adjust a few things to ensure the powerset benefits the Stalker playstyle. Weapon Smash Melee, Light DMG(Smash) Crushing Blow Melee, High DMG(Smash), -DEF Defensive Sweep Melee(Cone), Moderate DMG(Smash), Self +DEF(Melee, Smash) Assassin's Blow Melee, Special DMG(Smash), +Momentum Build Up Self +DMG, +To Hit Placate Ranged, Foe Placate, Self Stealth/Hide Titan Sweep Melee (Cone), High DMG(Smash), Foe Knockdown Rend Armor Melee, Extreme DMG(Smash), Foe -Def(All), -Res(All) Arc of Destruction Melee (Cone), Superior DMG(Smash), Foe Knockback Weapon Smash: With Whirling Smash removed to make way for Assassin's Blow, it left Follow Through as the only power that required Momentum to function. Instead of losing it completely, I reworked it into a new melee attack where the Follow Through animation is played as the standard attack, and the Staff Fighting 'Mercurial Blow' animation plays when you have Momentum, creating a power that doesn't require Momemtum to function and can act as the initial power of the set instead of an AoE. Assassin's Blow: The new Assassin's Blow power functions much as you'd expect it to, only when you perform the attack from Hidden, you gain 10 seconds of Momentum like you would with 'Build Momentum'. In addition, this power plays the slow animation by default even when not hidden, unless you have Momentum and are not Hidden. The animation for this is the same as the 'Assassin's Staff' power from Staff Fighting.

You know, that 'Lots of Guns' idea the old dev team were tossing around gave me an idea. The concept of having disposable weaponry sorta made me think of the old school street brawler games like Streets of Rage, Fighting Force, and Yakuza. So I wondered if it could be possible to take the concept and apply it to melee weapons too, having a series of weapons that you 'find' and make use of, before eventually they break and are disposed of. Like the Lots of Guns/Munitions powerset, I'm gonna include a reverse-combo system called 'Durability', once all stacks of Durability have been spent, your weapons breaks and deals damage in a cone. Stacks slowly recover over time, and by the time you have enough powers for Durability to run out faster, you would have access to the 'Re-Equip' power that grants a new weapon. Attacking foes with no Durability has a -DMG effect, so it incentivises you to swap to a new weapon soon. Each melee attack power spends 1 Durability, but some may spend 2 or more. Improvised Weapons - Quick Attack: Light lethal/smashing damage melee attack Light Weapon: War Mace 'Pulverize' Animation Strong Weapon: Katana 'Divine Avalanche' Animation (without parry) Long Weapon: Staff Fighting's 'Mercurial Blow' Animation Heavy Weapon: Titan Weapons' 'Follow Through' Animation - Heavy Blow: Heavier lethal/smashing damage melee attack Light Weapon: NPC 'Kama' Animation Strong Weapon: NPC Baseball Bat Animation Long Weapon: Titan Weapons' +Momentum 'Crushing Blow' Animation Heavy Weapon: Stone Melee 'Stone Mallet' Animation - Swinging Strike: Cone lethal/smashing melee attack, consumes 2 Durability Light Weapon: War Mace 'Bash' Animation Strong Weapon: Titan Weapons' +Momentum 'Titan Sweep' Animation Long Weapon: Titan Weapons' +Momentum 'Defensive Sweep' Animation Heavy Weapon: Stone Melee 'Heavy Mallet' Animation - Re-Equip: Special power that grants 4 abilities that can be activated at 0 Durability, or when outside of combat (you can re-equip the weapon you already have equipped) Light Weapon: Lightest Damage, Fastest Recharge Strong Weapon: Moderate Damage, Normal Recharge Long Weapon: High Damage, Slow Recharge Heavy Weapon: Heaviest Damage, Longest Recharge - Throw Sand: Taken from Martial Combat, functions the same way and doesn't cost Durability. Serves similar mez functionality to 'Fault' and 'Ice Patch' - Taunt: Standard aggro management power - Whirling Weapon: PBAoE lethal/smashing melee attack, consumes 2 Durability. Not available to Stalkers Light Weapon: War Mace 'Whirling Mace' Animation Strong Weapon: Katana's 'Soaring Dragon' Animation Long Weapon: Titan Weapons' 'Whirling Smash' Animation Heavy Weapon: Titan Weapons' +Momentum 'Arc of Destruction' Animation - Hurl: Taken from Super Strength, functions the same way and doesn't cost Durability. Fits as a suitable short ranged power - Breaking Slam: Special lethal/smashing attack that consumes all Durability and deals bonus damage depending on how much Durability was left Light Weapon: War Mace 'Shatter' Animation Strong Weapon: Katana's 'Golden Dragonfly' Animation Long Weapon: Staff Fighting's 'Sky Splitter' Animation Heavy Weapon: Titan Weapons' Standard 'Crushing Blow' Animation Weapon Models: Light Weapon: Pipe Wrench, Pipe, Hatchet Strong Weapon: Baseball Bat, Pipe Wrench 2, Shovel (Axe) Long Weapon: Broom, Pipe (Staff), Pool Cue Heavy Weapon: Sledgehammer, Concrete Mallet (Smaller). Fireman's Axe

There's plenty of throwing animations as is, maybe not all of them would work, but enough at least. What this set could play with is having a sort of 'returning' mechanic where it could have a lot of chaining between targets or even narrow cones like 'piercing rounds' (dual pistols) and 'piercing beam' (beam rifle). Add a few weapon skins like hammers, boomerangs and discs and you're probably onto something.

@megaericzero made an interesting Polearm set over on his thread HERE that I was quite interested in, so I did a little digging to see what animations could be used for two-handed weapons and discovered that Staff Fighting and Titan Weapons both use the same animation setup, which means they can be used interchangeably! With that in mind, I wanted to have a stab at the idea to see what could work when reusing these animations, while hoping to avoid stepping on the other powerset's identities. I've tried my best to make it a near 50/50 split over what animations were used, and opted to stick to the ones that would blend together easiest. Polearm Combat: - Engage: Light lethal attack. Uses Staff Fighting's 'Mercurial Blow' animation - Sunder: Heavier lethal attack that can knockdown. Uses Titan Weapons' +Momentum 'Crushing Blow' animation - Sweeping Slash: Cone lethal attack with moderate damage. Uses Titan Weapons' 'Follow Through' animation - Build Up: Standard Build Up power - Whirling Strike: PBAoE moderate melee attack. Uses Staff Fighting's 'Sky Splitter' animation. Not available to Stalkers - Assassin's Lunge: Signiature Stalker attack. Uses Staff Fighting's 'Assassin's Staff' animation. Exclusive to Stalkers / - Taunt/Placate: Standard aggro management power, uses the Titan Weapon Taunt and Staff Fighting Placate animations - Charging Lance: Self-Teleport power that deals damage in a narrow cone to enemies passed through. Uses Titan Weapons' 'Rend Armor' animation - Stabbing Strikes: Cone attack power that can immobilize and deals DoT damage. Uses Staff Fighting's 'Innocuous Strikes' animation - Impaler: Massive damage attack with Knockdown and Hold potential. Uses Titan Weapons' +Momentum 'Arc of Destruction' animation

there's actually a few visual assets you can use to flavor the set a little more if you wanted. There's the Flies, Fleas, Butterflies and Roaches character auras that are available in costume customization, as well as unique visuals from Devouring Earth 'Swarms' and the unique 'Nectar' temporary power.

So the 20th Anniversary Q&A is up and it's pretty cool to see some of the ideas back then have sorta appeared here in this thread (Water Control, Water Armor, Water Melee, Psychic Defense). But I'm intrigued by the notion of the 'Eldritch Blast', 'Envenommed Blades' and 'Lots of Guns' powersets that were being considered, three concepts that seem pretty unique. 'Eldritch Blast' appears to bear a lot of similarities to the 'Power Weapon' idea discussed here, where the character has a sort of implement to cast attacks with, and even has a near-identical mechanic where you could choose your secondary damage type much like you can with Dual Pistols. The key difference being that in addition to a wand/mace, the player also had a "grimoire" in their offhand, and a mechanic for locking in a damage type for a greater boost (much like Elementalists from Guild Wars 2, I suppose!) 'Envenomed Blades' however was something I hadn't really considered. From what was said, it seemed to utilize two weapons much like Dual Blades, but held in that iconic 'rogue/assassin' style reverse grip. Now I did touch on the idea of having a reverse grip weapon before in the form of 'Combat Blade', but it only featured one weapon, and didn't have the unique poison build up effect mentioned in the Q&A, and instead focused more on dealing stacks of Lethal DoT as a sort of 'bleeding' effect. 'Lots of Guns' (for lack of a better name) is probably the most interesting; a blast powerset not to dissimilar to Assault Rifle, but instead of having a single weapon with different firing modes and payloads, instead you have a series of disposable weapons with limited ammunition. From how it sounds, you would be locked into one weapon until you used a 'finisher', and you would then swap to something else. I guess it would be similar to Titan Weapons, where each attack would have different 'modes' depending on the conditions when activated. Since Eldrich Blast has a lot of similarity to Power Weapon, I don't think there's much else I can do to close the gap between the two concepts! But, Envenomed Blades and Lots of Guns (which I'll name 'Munitions') seem like they're distant enough from current concepts to work with. So, here's my attempt at making those powersets with the assets avaialble to us! Envenomed Blades Staying true to the idea of 'Envenomed Blades', I wanted to make a lethal/toxic powerset using a two-weapon stance. To do this, I'm looking to the Red Caps for inspiration, the only NPCs that currently utilize weapons in this fashion. Using their unique powers, as well as a few borrowed animations from Dual Blades and other sources, it should be possible to create that sort of combat style. As described, the powerset would have a burst damage mechanic, which I've incorporated in the form of a stacking 'Toxin' system. At 5 stacks, the target takes massive Toxic DoT. - Stab: Quick melee attack dealing minor lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 1 stack of Toxin. Uses the Red Cap 'Stab' animation - Lunge: Heavier attack dealing moderate lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 2 stacks of Toxin. Uses the Red Cap 'Lunge' animation - Rend: Cone attack dealing moderate lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 1 stacks of Toxin. Uses the Dual Blades 'Sweeping Strike' animation - Toxin Build Up: Standard Build Up power that also grants an additional stack of Toxin to all attacks - Whirling Blades: PBAoE attack dealing moderate lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 1 stacks of Toxin. Uses the Dual Blades 'Typhoon's Edge' animation. (Stalker excluded) - Assassin's Blades: Stalker exclusiove power dealing massive lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 2 stacks of Toxin. Uses the Street Justice 'Assassin's Strike' animation / - Taunt/Placate: Standard aggro management power - Throwing Blade: Short ranged attack that deals high lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 2 stack of toxin. Uses the Martial Assault 'Explosive Shuriken' animation - Slasher: Powerful cone attack dealing high lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 2 stacks of Toxin. Uses the Spines 'Ripper' animation - Perforate: Massive damage melee attack dealing superior lethal damage and toxic DoT. Builds up 3 stacks of Toxin. Uses the Red Cap 'Jumping Stab' animation Munitions This one was tough to figure out. The idea was to have multiple weapons, but not strictly as individual powers, which to me means something similar to Titan Weapons and Bio Armor, where each power has different effects depending on conditions. A few weapons got mentioned such as Pistols, SMGs, Shotguns, ARs, Rifles, etc. but I think having a maximum of 4 weapons would ensure it doesn't become too difficult to keep ontop of. As mentioned, it would have a reverse-combo system, where you start with max stacks, and each power consumes them until zero are left. At 0, powers begin to cost more endurance. - Quick Burst: Deals moderate lethal damage at range - Heavy Pistol: NPC hip-fire pistol animation - Machine Pistols: Dual Pistols 'Pistols' animation - Shotgun: Arachnos Soldier 'Single Shot' animation - SMG: Assault Rifle 'Burst' animation - Heavy Blast: Deals high lethal damage at range - Heavy Pistol: Thugs 'Pistols' animation (1 hand only) - Machine Pistols: Enforcer's 'UZI Burst' animation - Shotgun: Beam Rifle's 'Single Shot' animation - SMG: Enforcer's 'Heavy Burst' animation - Area Sweep: Deals moderate lethal damage in a close cone, consumes 2 ammo - Heavy Pistol: NPC 'Wild Shots' animation - Machine Pistols: Enforcer's 'UZI Cone Blast' animation - Shotgun: Assault Rifle 'Buckshot' animation - SMG: Arachnos Soldier's 'Heavy Burst' animation - Rearm: Special power that grants 4 abilities that can be activated at 0 ammo, or when outside of combat (you can rearm the weapon you already have equipped) - Heavy Pistol: Heavy Damage, Higher Accuracy - Machine Pistols: Damage Over Time, Applies Wider Cone - Shotgun: Heavy Damage, Applies Wider Cone - SMG: Damage Over Time, Higher Accuracy - Aimed Shot: Deals high lethal damage at range - Heavy Pistol: NPC two-handed pistol animation - Machine Pistols: Thugs 'Dual Wield' animation - Shotgun: Beam Rifle's 'Lancer Shot' animation - SMG: Beam Rifle's 'Disintegrate' animation - Volley Fire: Deals high lethal damage in a wider cone, consumes 2 ammo - Heavy Pistol: Enforcer's 'UZI Cone Blast' animation (1 hand only) - Machine Pistols: Dual Pistols' 'Empty Clips' animation - Shotgun: Assault Rifle's 'Slug' animation - SMG: Assault Rifle's 'Sniper Rifle' animation - Heavy Burst: Deals very high lethal damage at closer range - Heavy Pistol: Dual Pistols' 'Executioner's Shot' animation (1 hand only) - Machine Pistols: Enforcer's 'UZI Heavy Burst' animation - Shotgun: Beam Rifle's 'Penetrating Ray' animation - SMG: Beam Rifle's 'Cutting Beam' animation - Empty Mag: Deals damage proportionate to ammo left, drains all stacks of ammo - Heavy Pistol: Enforcer's 'UZI Heavy Burst' animation (1 hand only) - Machine Pistols: Thug's 'Empty Clips' animation - Shotgun: Arachnos Soldier's 'Heavy Burst' animation - SMG: Assault Rifle's 'Flamethrower' animation - Lots of Guns: Deals extreme damage in a cone, instantly swaps to a new weapon and can be used a 2nd time - Heavy Pistol: Dual Pistols' 'Piercing Rounds' animation (1 hand only) - Machine Pistols: Enforcer's 'Dual UZIs' animation - Shotgun: Beam Rifle's 'Overcharge' animation - SMG: Assault Rifle's 'Full Auto' animation

So following up on the previous post of including more of a gadgetry theme into the game, I wanna try my hand at making a melee and assault gadgetry set. There isn't exactly a lot to work with, but it could be possible to make it work through use of existing props, animations and visual FX to achieve what we're looking for. The structure of the powerset borrows from a few of the ranged-heavy powersets like Spines, Ice and Stone, including a lot of Mez potential and dipping into ranged attacks more frequently. A lot of the inspiration of this set comes from real world non-lethal devices, but given a sort of comic-book style flair much like Arsenal Control, and like Arsenal Control it focuses more on technology designed to incapacitate instead of kill. Device Melee - Telescopic Baton: Basic Smashing attack that uses the 'Telescopic Baton' Mace customisation, using the 'Blackjack' animation and sound. Has a low chance to Stun the target - Taser: Uses the older version of the 'Taser' power which featured a handheld version of the device, deals higher Energy damage with chance to Stun - OC Spray: Cone attack that deals Moderate Toxic DoT and reduces ToHit. Uses the 'Uzi Cone Blast' animation with a similar delivery device to the 'Spit Fire' power - Power Build Up: Build Up power that also increases the effectiveness of Mez and DeBuff effects of attacks - Assassin's Agent: Stalker exclusive power. Uses the 'Experimental Injection' syringe prop with the Ninja Blade assassinate animation, dealing massive Toxic damage - Stun Grenade: Similar power to Flash Bang, but deals some Energy/Smashing damage as well / - Taunt/Placate: Standard aggro management power - Dazzler: High Energy damage melee attack that has a low chance to Hold the target and reduce ToHit. Uses a handheld device with similar FX to 'Flash' - LRAD: Medium Energy/Smashing ranged attack with a weak Stun and a -Res effect. Uses 'Sonic Blast' FX from a handheld device at range. Not available to Stalker - Pulse Mine: Deploys a mine that when triggered has a similar effect to 'Force Bomb', dealing Smashing damage and potentially inflicting Stun and Knockdown Device Assault - Stun Gun: An improved version of 'Taser Dart', instead launched from a firearm and has increased distance and damage - Telescopic Baton: Basic Smashing attack that uses the 'Telescopic Baton' Mace customisation, using the 'Blackjack' animation and sound. Has a low chance to stun the target - LRAD: Medium Energy/Smashing ranged attack with a -Res effect. Uses 'Sonic Blast' FX from a handheld device at range - OC Spray: Cone attack that deals Moderate Toxic DoT and reduces ToHit. Uses the 'Uzi Cone Blast' animation with a similar delivery device to the 'Spit Fire' power. - Power Build Up: Build Up power that also increases the effectiveness of Mez and DeBuff effects of attacks - Pulse Mine: Deploys a mine that when triggered has a similar effect to 'Force Bomb', dealing Smashing damage and potentially inflicting Stun and Knockdown - Caltrops: Same power from Devices/Traps/Martial Assault, dealing lethal DoT and slowing down targets - Dazzler: High Energy damage melee attack that has a low chance to Hold the target and reduce ToHit. Uses a handheld device with similar FX to 'Flash' - Stun Grenade: Similar power to Flash Bang, but deals some Energy/Smashing damage as well

Gonna cross-post a little so it helps provide a little context. I was pondering what Weapon Mastery (And Ninja Tool Mastery) might look like on Tankers/Brutes, and maybe use the material from that thread to influence what Ninjitsu would look like when we move Caltrops over to an Ancillary and free up that space for something else; Weapon Mastery Revamp Ninja Tool Mastery Proliferation Ninja Reflexes Toggle: Self +DEF(Melee), +Res(DEF Debuff) Danger Sense Toggle: Self +DEF(Ranged, AoE), +Res(DEF Debuff), +Perception Shinobi-Iri Toggle: Self +DEF(All), +Stealth, +SPD, +Special Kuji-In Rin Self +Res(Disorient, Hold, Sleep, Immob, Confuse, Fear, Psionics) Kuji-In Sha Self Heal, +Res(Toxic) Tai-Jutsu (New) Toggle: Self +Special, Foe -ToHit, Taunt Bo Ryaku Auto: Self +Res(Knockback, Knockup, All DMG) Seishinteki Kyoyo Self +End Kuji-In Retsu Self +DEF, +Res(DEF Debuff), +Rec, +SPD, +Special So this time around we're assuming Caltrops is in an Ancillary. which has opened room for another power. I've opted to include Kuji-In Rin and Seishinteki Kyoyo again and give Tai-Jutsu different functionality. With these changes, powers can fit closely to where they are in other Archetypes, and I've opted to include the Sentinel version of Shinobi-Iri as @KaizenSoze and @BrandXsuggested. Tai-Jutsu now has a new effect that behaves like a softer version of 'Power Boost' increasing the secondary effects of your melee attacks (such as DeBuffs, Sleeps, Stuns, etc), while retaining the -ToHit and Taunt effect on nearby enemies. The new description would read as thus; "Tai Jutsu is one of the 18 fundamental skills of the Togakure-ryu school of ninjutsu, focusing on special techniques for assisting in close quarters engagements, enhancing the secondary effects of your attacks. While active, the potency of DeBuffs, Status Effects and Draining effects is increased, while also reducing the ToHit chance of surrounding foes by keeping them assailed."

Been a while since I posted here! But, I do have a good few things I'm trying to put together, in the meantime though I wanted to take a look at Weapon Mastery and how it could be expanded to other Archetypes. Now, I did suggest a version of Ninja Tool Mastery for several Archetypes already, and highlighted that I wanted to keep it separate to Weapon Mastery but with similar functionality (you can find the post HERE). However, I think in order to ensure neither Ancillary powerset clashes with the other, I want to take Weapon Mastery and make some minor tweaks to create room for the two to coexist, namely by removing the Shuriken style powers and replacing them with thematic stand-ins. Scrapper/Stalker/Tanker/Brute (Revamp) - Toxic Web Grenade: An upgraded version of Web Grenade with good immobilize power and some DoT potential /- Caltrops/Physical Perfection: Same powers as before, no changes needed - Sawblade: Identical power to Shuriken, but uses the same sawblade prop as the Freakshow power - Targeting Drone: Same powers as before, no changes needed - Frag Grenade: Standard AoE explosive power with knockback and good damage Blaster - Fortification: A Resistance toggle taken from Arachnos Soldiers that fits the traps/devices theme - Acid Mortar: Static DeBuff power that helps build out the set's utility - Serum: Another Arachnos Soldier power that fits in as a powerful +MaxHP buff - Seeker Drones: A good Mez/Debuff power that helps increase utility of the set - Temporal Bomb: A powerful psuedopet that deals damage, while buffing and debuffing targets Mastermind: - Toxic Web Grenade: An upgraded version of Web Grenade with good immobilize power and some DoT potential - Fortification: A Resistance toggle taken from Arachnos Soldiers that fits the traps/devices theme - Taser: Uses the older version of 'Taser' which featured a melee attack instead of a dart and deals higher damage - Frag Grenade: Standard AoE explosive power with knockback and good damage - Serum: Another Arachnos Soldier power that fits in as a powerful +MaxHP buff Controller - Sawblade: Identical power to Shuriken, but uses the same sawblade prop as the Freakshow power - Fortification: A Resistance toggle taken from Arachnos Soldiers that fits the traps/devices theme - Frag Grenade: Standard AoE explosive power with knockback and good damage - Targeting Drone: A toggle that improves Accuracy, ToHit and Perception - Serum: Another Arachnos Soldier power that fits in as a powerful +MaxHP buff Dominator: - Acid Mortar: Static DeBuff power that helps build out the set's utility - Fortification: A Resistance toggle taken from Arachnos Soldiers that fits the traps/devices theme - Frag Grenade: Standard AoE explosive power with knockback and good damage - Temporal Bomb: A powerful psuedopet that deals damage, while buffing and debuffing targets - Serum: Another Arachnos Soldier power that fits in as a powerful +MaxHP buff Defender/Corruptor - Toxic Web Grenade: An upgraded version of Web Grenade with good immobilize power and some DoT potential - Fortification: A Resistance toggle taken from Arachnos Soldiers that fits the traps/devices theme - Taser: Uses the older version of 'Taser' which featured a melee attack instead of a dart and deals higher damage - Targetting Drone: A toggle that improves Accuracy, ToHit and Perception - Serum: Another Arachnos Soldier power that fits in as a powerful +MaxHP buff Sentinel - Caltrops: A DoT slow field that provides good utility - Taser: Uses the older version of 'Taser' which featured a melee attack instead of a dart and deals higher damage - Seeker Drones: A good Mez/Debuff power that helps increase utility of the set - Targeting Drone: A toggle that improves Accuracy, ToHit and Perception - Temporal Bomb: A powerful psuedopet that deals damage, while buffing and debuffing targets

Another thing to note is that the only reason Stalker has Caltrops is because Scrappers and Sentinels instead access it via their ancillary powersets (Weapon Mastery and Ninja Tool Mastery). If plans were laid out for Tankers and Brutes to receive one of these Ancillaries in addition to Ninjitsu, it may be that the power is placed there instead. If that was the case, I can imagine more wiggle room as to what powers could be incorporated. 'Kuji-In Rin' could remain as is, and 'Tai Jutsu' could instead have different functionality (though I'd still keep the -ToHit/Taunt aura aspect as its something the set needs). Just some more food for thought as to how this powerset could shape up.

It does, but unfortunately still only procs when you wait for 8 seconds for it to build up. The Blaster version of Shinobi instead has a passive damage buff in addition to that stealth strike bonus, which I think is our best option for Tankers/Brutes

Giving me real Knives of Artemis 'oops all caltrops!' PTSD there buddy

Here's a descriptive bio for the updated Tai Jutsu power: Tai Jutsu is one of the 18 fundamental skills of the Togakure-ryu school of ninjutsu, focusing on special techniques for assisting in close quarters engagements, such as grapple-breaking and escape maneuvers. While active, you gain resistance to Stun, Hold, Sleep and Immobilize, while also reducing the ToHit chance of surrounding foes by keeping them assailed. Your running speed and jumping height are also increased.

If people feel a Stealth power is neccessary, we could potentially implement the Blaster power "Shinobi" from Ninja Training which functions a little differently to Shinobi-Iri as it does not have that build-up period for the +DMG to come into play. I may move it further back in the powerset so it sits at the same point as other stealth powers. We could then maybe rework Tai Jutsu so instead of a +DMG buff, instead merge it with Kuji-In Rin and essentially makes the power function like Integration and Entropic Aura, working as a Mez Resist toggle with a Debuff/Taunt aura. Additionally, I'll change Seishinteki Kyoyo to "Kuji-In Toh" from the same Blaster powerset as it breaks up the Mez Protection a little and offers similar survivability to powersets like Energy Aura, Electric Armor and Bio Armor. I'm also gonna move some powers around so it more closely resembles the other versions of Ninjitsu Here's what the powerset could look like with these alterations; Ninja Reflexes Toggle: Self +DEF(Melee), +Res(DEF Debuff) Danger Sense Toggle: Self +DEF(Ranged, AoE), +Res(DEF Debuff), +Perception Caltrops Ranged (Location AoE), Minor DoT(Lethal), Foe -SPD, Taunt Tai Jutsu (New) Toggle: Self +SPD, +Res(Stun, Hold, Sleep, Immob), Foe -ToHit, Taunt Kuji-In Sha Self Heal, +Res(Toxic) Shinobi Toggle: Self +DEF(All), +Stealth, +Special Bo Ryaku Auto: Self +Res(Knockback, Knockup, All DMG) Kuji-In Toh Self +Regeneration, +Recovery, +Resistance(Psionic, Fear, Confuse) Kuji-In Retsu Self +DEF, +Res(DEF Debuff), +Rec, +SPD, +Special All in all, I think Version 2 definitely looks better. Not only does it manage to squeeze a Stealth power back into the set, but it also manages to keep the Taunt aura in some form with minimal compromise. The structure also looks a lot more traditional when compared against the other archetypes, and other powersets!

I don't think it needs to lose access to stealth, just the part of the power that encourages you to hold off attacking. Shinobi-Iri "...[While stealthed, you have a very high chance of landing a critical attack, however you can only attempt this after spending 8 seconds without attacking or being hit]..." This sorta defeats the point of playing Brute, where your Fury bar is fuelled by constantly being in battle. Tankers' Gauntlet isn't affected as much, but I fear their lasting Taunt effects would cause the "not being hit" part to be difficult to maintain.

So there's not many armor sets left that Tankers and Brutes don't have access to. There's Regeneration and Energy Aura for Tankers, but I feel there's been a lot of push to get those two out already, so I'd like to turn my attention to Ninjitsu, which neither Archetype currently has access to. Ever since Stalkers received Shield Defense, I wanted there to be a 'trade' of sorts where the remaining melee archetypes received Ninitsu in return, but given the gimmicky nature of the set it's hard to come up with something that works around the needs of Tankers and Brutes, especially when so many powers seem to conflict with their playstyle. So, what do we do to make it viable for these archetypes? Ideally it should make use of as many existing powers as it can, but with Ninjitsu being so varied, the challenge is finding what powers fit the best overall. So, here's a draft I made for what Ninjitsu for Tankers/Brutes could look like; Version 1: Ninja Reflexes Toggle: Self +DEF(Melee), +Res(DEF Debuff) Danger Sense Toggle: Self +DEF(Ranged, AoE), +Res(DEF Debuff), +Perception Bo Ryaku Auto: Self +Res(Knockback, Knockup, All DMG) Kuji-In Rin Self +Res(Disorient, Hold, Sleep, Immob, Confuse, Fear, Psionics), +SPD Tai Jutsu (New) Toggle: Self +DMG, Foe -ToHit, Taunt Kuji-In Sha Self Heal, +Res(Toxic) Seishinteki Kyoyo Self +End Caltrops Ranged (Location AoE), Minor DoT(Lethal), Foe -SPD, Taunt Kuji-In Retsu Self +DEF, +Res(DEF Debuff), +Rec, +SPD, +Special Version 2: (See Changelog Here) Version 3: (See Changelog Here) Design Notes: Static Powers; Ninja Reflexes, Danger Sense, Kuji-In Rin, Kuji-In Sha, Kuji-In Retsu These powers are always present in Ninjitsu regardless of archetype, so it made sense to keep them. The only exception being Blinding Powder, which I'll go into more detail later. Since these powers felt like a staple part of the powerset, I wanted to retain them as they help build the foundation to work from. This gives the set the same access to positional defense, mez protection and healing as other archetypes, without compromising on the Tanker/Brute structure. Floating Powers: Caltrops, Seishinteki Kyoyo, Bo Ryaku These powers only appear in some versions of the Ninjitsu powerset, and are incorporated where they are needed most. First off, Caltrops, which is a Stalker exclusive power. Since it has similar function to Burn, I thought it might fit here (although accessed much later on) and serve a similar purpose. Both Seishinteki Kyoyo and Bo Ryaku appear only in the Scrapper/Sentinel version of the powerset, but provide buffs that I think would help improve the survivability on Tankers and Brutes, with their positions would change to better suit the needs of these archetypes. Omitted Powers: Shinobi-Iri, Smoke Flash, Blinding Powder These powers are ones I don't think would be suitable for Tankers and Brutes, as they conflict in one way or another with the playstyle. Shinobi-Iri is a stealth power, and while that isn't strictly uncommon for Tankers/Brutes ( Energy Cloak, Cloak of Darkness), its reliance on not engaging the enemy for a +DMG buff runs counter to how these archetypes play. Similarly, Smoke Flash causes enemies to lose aggro on you, something that definitely would be a handicap, and would likely need to be dropped. Lastly, Blinding Powder. While the power doesn't have many inherent problems, the Sleep and Confuse effect may present issue retaining aggro, and would be worth losing to make space for a power that maintains it instead. New Powers: Tai Jutsu This new power exists as a means to maintain aggro much like Against All Odds , Beta Decay and Rise to the Challenge. It is a Taunt AoE first and foremost, but also incorporates the +DMG effect of Shinobi-Iri and the -ToHit debuff from Blinding Powder. The more enemies affected, the greater the +DMG bonus will be. Visually this power would have similar VFX to Evasion, much like how other Ninjitsu powers share the appearance of Super Reflexes powers. The idea of 'Tai Jutsu' refers to the same school of techniques as some other Ninjitsu powers, and focuses on close quarters combat proficiencies, which compliments the Tanker/Brute theme, and also the mechanics of a +DMG/-ToHit aura.

Not a bad idea, given Blueside leans more into the origins than Redside (especially in superpower governance), but I wonder how they would differ in theme from the existing Origin Power Pools?

I could maybe see them being added if Infernal was one of the Patrons

While I'm no expert when it comes to Incarnate lore, I feel like it could be assumed that the missile could be created and operated by Incarnate tier genius? Not all incarnate power is direct and apparent after all, I like to think something like this could reflect that.

I pondered this a while ago, and came up with this as a concept of what could be done with current in-game features.

Presumably the same way Longbow and Warworks robots are 🤷‍♂️

I wouldn't say so. They may look similar, but they would be different enough to make sure neither are redundant.