Alchemystic

there is only one Radiation Assault power that has toxic damage (Atom Smasher). But, the set does benefit from the 'Contamination' mechanic similar to Radiation Melee, which allows it to deal reliable bursts of AoE toxic damage. I don't think including the Contamination mechanic would be entirely necessary for Radiation Blast, as the AoE powers I listed above would be receiving Toxic Damage, so there would be little need for it.

Pretty much what it says in the title. I think Radiation Blast could well use an overhaul to bring it in line with Radiation Melee, Radiation Armor, Atomic Manipulation and Radiation Assault. The absence of Toxic Damage from Radiation Blast was always something that confused me, even from the start. Radiation is, after all, highly poisonous. I can understand why the original development team stayed away from it, since sources of Toxic Damage was intended to be 'rare' in the original production of the game, and was not intended to be used reliably. However, I think at this point that there should be a Toxic Damage element included in some, not all, of Radiation Blast's powers. I think the ones that aren't present in Radiation Assault would be good candidates, so we don't have to rebalance more than one powerset. So that leaves us with; - Irradiate - Cosmic Burst - Neutron Bomb - Atomic Blast Of these four, I would say that Cosmic Burst is the weakest candidate, but could still be included. Each of these powers would have to have their damage values modified to compensate for the inclusion of a Toxic Damage element, adjusting them as necessary in order to ensure that they balance out. Toxic is a highly resisted damage type at this point, so I don't think there should be much of a damage tweak in order to ensure that the powerset doesn't overperform. This kind of change shouldn't affect overall game balance all too much, since way back the only Toxic Damage powerset was Spines, and now we have Radiation Melee, Radiation Armor, Atomic Manipulation, Radiation Assault, Thorny Assault, Dual Pistols, Widow Training, Bane Spider Training, Demon Summoning, Ninja Training, Bio Armor and Experimentation that allow us to very reliably put out Toxic Damage. At this point, giving Radiation Blast a little Toxic Damage helps bring it in line both thematically and mechanically with all the other new Radiation powersets, and I think would aid the powerset in standing out a little more when compared to the abundance of pure energy based powersets we have already, especially Beam Rifle and Electrical Blast.

As a side note, I've been going through some of my older material from my lazy phase and giving them a bit of an improvement. I've updated a few rationales and descriptions so they hold up to the same (still fairly low) design standards I have now! 😉 A few powersets like Arsenal Blast and Artillery Blast also got some mechanical tweaks to try and make them a little more interesting!

Okay for this one I opted to go for a low-hanging fruit that I've been ignoring for a while, but I figured I might as well give it a try since by this point it's too easy to put off any longer! Thorn Blast - Thorny Darts: Taken from Thorny Assault, works nicely as a T1 blast power - Thorn Javelin: A new moderate damage ranged power that uses the same animation as the 'Pilum' or 'Spear' NPC power, with a projectile similar to the one from Impale. - Fling Thorns: Taken from Thorny Assault, this fits in as a good cone attack. - Aim: Standard aim power of blast sets. - Thorn Burst: This power is already present in Plant Manipulation, but I think it works better here. A new power called 'Barbs' would replace the power in Plant Manipulation, which works identical to Quills. - Thorntrops: Taken from Thorny Assault, works pretty good as a DoT AoE power like Rain of Fire or Ice Storm. - Impale: Taken from Thorny Assault, fits in nicely as a ranged mez power seen in many other blast sets. - Thorn Barrage: Taken from Thorny Assault, this is ideal for that low range high damage power typical of blast sets. - Rending Thorns: A completely new power, using the 'Shred' animation from Savage Assault to throw several thorny projectiles in a wide cone dealing superior Lethal/Toxic DoT and -DEF.

I've not much to add but... Would the Sentinel version of Regen work well if ported to Tankers?

I think the main issue is that usually it's the pot calling the kettle black. A lot of people who point fingers at supposed toxic elements tend to be somewhat toxic themselves. Instead of simply avoiding the conflict, they instead engage them in a hostile way and give rise to further conflict. Sometimes these people will find their way into chat channels and forums where they call out the people they dislike for validation or support, and suddenly you've created your own little toxic clique too. It's an ironic cycle that perpetuates itself from people forming one group to spite another, and so on and so on. I like to think most people can be rational, but some fail to see that they're actually the ones being problematic.

General is a great channel It filters most of the nonsense out of LFG and Help

I theorycrafted a few different ways of including whips into other powersets over in my other thread. From what I found, making a manipulation set would be the easiest way to go, and an Assault set could potentially be done rather easily too. Making it a full Melee set would be much harder, but by using a few different animations with the current FX we have, it could be possible at least.

I actually had some ideas for 'new' day job badges, in addition to the new accolades mentioned above. But Sewer Inspector is a real good one! Hero: Sewer Inspector - Log out in the sewers Construction Crew - Log out in any construction site Sea Captain - Log out in any docks Park Ranger - Log out in any park Prison Guard - Log out in the Zig Lifeguard - Log out in any beach Accolades: Sewer Inspector + Construction Crew = City Planner Sea Captain + Lifeguard = Coastguard Prison Guard + Law Enforcer = Warden Park Ranger + Patroller = Reconnaissance Officer Villain: Arsonist - Log out near an arson spot Wrecking Crew - Log out in any construction site Pirate Captain - Log out in any docks Gambler - Log out near casinos Consortium Guard - Log out in the Hellforge Aviator* - Log out in any airfield (*The current version of Pilot would be renamed to Arachnos Pilot to avoid confusion) Accolades: Arsonist + Wrecking Crew = Demolitionist Pirate Captain + Aviator = Sky Raider Consortium Guard + Arachnos Agent = Oppressor Gambler + Criminal = Grifter

Also something I think is worth making note (mostly for roleplayers); RL political issues or figures aren't parallel in the CoH universe.

The idea was to keep the same general animations as the Praetorian Clockwork, but not using the props and weapons. As for there being no snipe? There was enough material to work with to create a whole blast set without creating wholly new powers, so I figured as not all Blast powersets have a snipe it would be fine to leave it as is.

@Player2 I really like this idea! There's definitely room for something like this for Dominators. My only advice would be to swap Bullet Rain and Executioner's Shot around so they line up with other Assault powersets, and maybe change Sweeping Strike for a single target high damage melee attack. Perhaps something called 'Point Blank Shot', dealing high lethal damage and knocking foes back, maybe using the 'Burst of Speed' animation to make it look just as dynamic as the other powers. Either way, I'll add this one to the list!

If we're talking T9s for Dominators and that counts Assault powersets, then I'd like to see all T9s function as AoEs similar to Explosive Shuriken and Fissure.

Going off this, maybe a power that is a kinda confuse power, that simply turns one targeted NPC into an ally that can be healed and buffed, and can't be hurt by allies.

I suppose one other idea would be to turn Mass Confusion into an anchor-style toggle that confuses all foes around the target, but has a high endurance upkeep. The recharge would be in-line with most mez/debuff toggles of it's kind.

Is it the coral themed ones, or do they actually have some sort of 'water punch' ability?

Remove Telekinesis from Mind Control Make Mass Confusion a T8 Make Penny Yin's 'Psionic Nexus' pet the new T9 ... I didn't put a lot of thought into this.

While going through a buncha frequently requested ideas here on the forums I came by a lot of demand for a Sniper Rifle powerset, and figured I'd have a look at what could be done to create this. As it just so happens, I was also looking at other NPC-exclusive powers that could be used to create another powerset, and The Resistance and PPD have the answer to both these things! So, I present to you now; Marksman Rifle. https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/The_Resistance Marksman Rifle - Single Shot: This Resistance power fires a single shot that deals minor lethal damage. - Burst: This version of Burst (or SCAR Burst) belongs to the PPD Ghosts, and deals moderate lethal DoT. - Heavy Burst: This is a renamed version the 'SCAR Heavy Burst' power that belongs to the PPD Ghosts, dealing high lethal DoT. - Area Sweep: A renamed version of the Resistance's 'Heavy Burst' power, dealing moderate damage in a cone. - Aim: unlike Assault Rifle, you can actually aim. - Sniper Shot: A renamed version of the PPD Ghost's 'SCAR Snipe', dealing extreme damage over long range (Sentinel's get 'Aimed Shot', which has no sniper functionality). - Covering Fire: This unique Resistance power deals low damage while also reducing a foe's recharge and speed. - Auto Fire: This is a renamed version the Resistance's 'Burst' power, dealing very high lethal DoT. - Ricochet: This new power fires 3 similar projectiles to Sniper Shot, each ricocheting to different targets to deal extreme lethal DoT, and using the Cutting Beam animation form Beam Rifle. Hopefully the powerset isn't too alike to Assault Rifle, since it focuses purely on precise shots instead of hosing enemies in bullets and fire, but will likely share many weapon customizations.

I've avoided numbers thus far and it's worked out okay for me!

Rebirth is the 'classic' server, instanced in a pre-issue 24 version of CoH with none of the new additions introduced by SCORE, Leandro or Homecoming. It will still have AE, but the rewards/drops are the same as on live, and there's no P2W vendors.

Going off my suggestion from earlier, I came up with a second set of options for villain/hero ancillary powers, this time based off the Patron's Lieutenants and the Vindicators! This way, there are 5 more villain patrons and 9 completely new hero patrons, so there is once again an even amount of choices on each side as per the last suggestion. Red Widow - Poison Mastery Ice Mistral - Storm Mastery Barracuda - Sea Mastery Silver Mantis - Blade Mastery Wretch - Strength Mastery Aurora Borealis - Will Mastery Luminary - Cyber Mastery Swan - Telekinetic Mastery Infernal - Hellfire Mastery Woodsman - Nature Mastery Malaise - Psyche Mastery Valkyrie - Nanotech Mastery Mynx - Wild Mastery Ms. Liberty - Martial Mastery

I think the old server was kept private because of legal issues, or at least belief there would be legal issues. However, once it was leaked, people felt betrayed that it was kept secret for so long without attempts to legitimize it, which is completely understandable. That being said, I can understand the precaution, since there was no way of knowing exactly what would happen if something like this reached the light of day. Do note though that the original server was leaked out of spite in an attempt to shut it down, not to release it to the public so that the greater community could enjoy it. Either way, I think at this point Homecoming has it's own identity separate from Leandro or SCORE, and shouldn't be held accountable for the misgivings of the past.

To my understanding, there has been some communication efforts in the past, but they were met with unfriendly response.

Thunderspy is the Garry's Mod of CoH servers. It's fun and wacky, but it's not a properly curated game experience. A lot of what you see on there is high concept materials that don't receive the same balancing and thought as you would expect on Live or here on Homecoming, and mostly serves as a playground of possibilities instead of genuine development efforts. Thunderspy also operates on an older version of the OuroDev system, so unfortunately as @MTeague and @Pattisaid, the content there is likely incompatable with the version used here on Homecoming anyway. Things may progress slower here, but it's entirely for the sake of quality assurance and game health, something that's not really taken into consideration over there.

I think the closest thing we have already is Darkness Control, which has 3 powers that inflict fear. Dark Grasp has an alternate animation called 'Petrifying Gaze' too that can sorta play into it.