Alchemystic

@JoshexI'm glad to see you took the time to come up with some pretty conclusive numbers! Not everyone would go out of their way to present facts, so kudos! With that in mind, I would probably suggest that since Absorb scales with MaxHP as you said that we explore that interaction by adding Absorb to powersets that have a +MaxHP power (if it permits), as well as a few other powersets that might also benefit from it. Though as @Galaxy Brainsaid, Frostwork having +MaxHP can be pointless, so that is certainly a candidate for this change at least.

I think Frostwork is the only ally targeted +MaxHP power, right?

Let me know your results, because if the numbers say that Absorb is vastly inferior to +Max Health, then I'll consider this thought experiment a bit of a failure and wrap it up here. But if that's the case, I think I'd like to see Absorb powers incorporated into powersets via different means as not to encroach on the effectiveness of +Max Health, and instead find a way for them to compliment each other without being OP.

Mostly because +Max Health doesn't strictly indicate if the bonus HP benefits or modifies regeneration rate. Just thinking of this from a new player's perspective.

that's basically what Absorb over Time does, but I fail to see how it could be more confusing than a hidden regeneration buff as a side effect of +Max Health

Probably because, as you say, absorb is a fairly new mechanic and the old dev team didn't see fit to go back and change things accordingly. An oversight that can easily be fixed, I'm sure.

I believe the term is "/jranger" What do you think this is? a democracy?

Which is why Absorb over Time exists to compensate this.

There is definitely a mathematical element to it which calculates a suitable exchange, which is what I'm looking to explore. How much absorb (or absorb over time) would be required to match the standard +Max Heath values of the powers above? I'm not looking reduce the effectiveness of these powers, but create a version of them that is more transparent in its value.

only autopowers are permanent, as I noted in my original post, which is why I wished to leave those powers be and focus only on the powers that are click-activated, as they are not permanent.

So! One of the most confusing things I've found with the absorb mechanic is that it's almost functionally identical to +Max Health effects. You gain temporary hit points for a short amount of time, the only difference is that hit points generated by +Max Health can be healed/regenerated. However, since it's easier to see when you get temporary hit points from Absorb (the silver bar) than it is for +Max Health (no visual change) I propose that for the purpose of click powers that we replace +Max Health with Absorb or Absorb over Time. Autopowers with +Max Health will remain unchanged, since this permanently increases your hit point maximum and doesn't change unless the power is somehow deactivated. Powers affected would be; Chill Mastery - Hoarfrost Cold Domination - Frostwork Cold Mastery - Hoarfrost Ice Armor - Hoarfrost Ice Mastery - Hoarfrost Invulnerability - Dull Pain Energy Aura - Overload Regeneration - Dull Pain Stone Armor - Earth's Embrace Stone Mastery - Earth's Embrace With these changes in mind, we would likely see more benefit from enhancements since +MaxHealth is affected differently than Absorb. So, there would have to be a few changes made to accommodate this, namely removing any standard healing effects they may already have. There is also potential to add Absorb or Absorb over Time to a number of other powers in order to provide a boost to functionality, open access to healing enhancement sets, and improve on their theme. Good candidates for additional absorb functionality are; Empathy Field Mastery Force Field Force Mastery Luminous Aura Pain Domination Shield Defense Umbral Aura

The new origin power pools seem far more formulaic in their approach, and there may be a reason for that; they are exclusive from one another. Players can freely pick between any power pools they wish, but they can only select a single origin power pool, so that's why they all appear so similar in design. However, it's true that these new power pools set a new precedent for balancing, especially versus conventional travel powers. In order to compete, old power pools need to appear more viable with a little rebalancing. Travel powers should probably follow the same formulaic approach as origin power pools so they balance out against each other, and after that other pool powers should be looked at to see what changes they need to meet the new balance criteria. Travel powers should look like this; an attack power a toggle power a travel power (with new secondary functionality) a team power a strong self buff This means the nature of some travel power pools will change, but will balance out a little more evenly.

They can.

I wouldn't say so, the broaches aren't tied to an animation rig like gloves and boots, they're a static texture model that could be applied anywhere. In fact, the broaches change position and size when you change what kind of cape you use, and some of the broach models were even taken from chest details and belts already.

I guess just put another trainer over at the red-side of the bar? Maybe Arbiter Sands? He seems suitable.

Could be interesting! I imagine this powerset using many of the animations from Kinetic Melee and Force of Will, plenty of hand movement to display momentum and force.

Seems like an interesting idea! My guess it would only work for certain belts though, some models seem a bit unsuitable.

It's not the case of duplicate mechanics, it's the case of duplicate powers. A powerset like this needs its own identity if its to work in tandem with Trick Arrow, otherwise I just dont see it working very well for controllers.

I think there are some interesting ideas here! My guess is that the reason we have Trick Archery for Blasters is because it does indeed have a lot of Mez potential. That being said there is the problem of this powerset having too many overlapping powers with Trick Arrow, which isn't great for Controllers, so it would have to be a Dominator-only powerset.

I must be linking this a lot lately, but... Check out the stuff here for Earth Blast and several other powerset concepts

Desert Wind is a little like Gust I believe, and Dust Devils summons smaller tornado-like pets. Ash Fall is much like Snow Storm, an area that reduces vision and accuracy.

I think these would be the most likely candidates for sure, there's certainly data for Wind Control, and some discussion for a proper Sniper Rifle blast powerset too. Water Melee might be viable too, since there's existing stuff in game at least.

This may have already been suggested but would it be possible to add asymmetric shoulder and sleeve options too? Perhaps even a face/chest/legs detail that is a complete 50/50 vertical split down the middle? Maybe on a few suits and robes too?

I was tempted to, but I don't think its ideal for player use.

Feel free to! I'll be sure to add in anything you come up with to the index in the original post!