Alchemystic

I don't think a suggestions thread for a quasi-legal server for a 10 year old video game is exactly the best platform to crusade against gender dimorphic censorship.

@Normal Thomas I think for the most part it looks good, my only pointers would be to maybe bump Punch to the 2nd power and have a similar 'push' power to Sonic Thrust, Ki Push or Power thrust in its place. In order to make room for that I'd likely get rid of Resist Physical Damage, and maybe swap Haymaker and Hand Clap around.

Following the idea of turning some of the powersets here into Melee/Armor powers like I did with the Light/Void stuff, I decided to take a stab at taking the FX and theme of Poison and attempting to make some more materials for melee archetypes. For the melee set, I wanted to play on the whole Poison/Acid theme, having some powers reduce regeneration, while others reduce defense. The armor set I wanted to be resistance based, with other powers based around managing your health. Toxin Melee - Toxic Strike: Basic attack that deals Smashing/Toxic damage. Uses similar FX to Alkaloid/FX on fists - Poisonous Touch: Attack that deals high Toxic damage and minor Toxic DoT and debuffs regen. Uses similar FX to Alkaloid/FX on fists - Spray of Poison: Similar attack to Snakes' 'Venom Spray' dealing moderate Toxic DoT on a melee cone while reducing regeneration - Toxins: A copy of the 'Toxins' power from Plant Manipulation, granting a Build Up effect and adding toxic damage to most attacks. - Corrode: An attack that deals high Toxic DoT and reduces defense, similar FX to the 'Volcanic' aura - Taunt/Placate: Standard aggro management power - Poison Burst: A PBAoE Melee attack that deals moderate damage and reduces regeneration, uses the same explosive visuals as Plant Control's 'Spore Burst' - Virulent Grasp: An attack that deals high smashing damage and high Toxic DoT and reduces both regen and defense. similar FX to the 'Slime' aura - Acid Wave: A cone attack power that deals very high Toxic DoT and reduces defense, uses the same FX as 'Bile Spray' Toxin Armor - Toxic Armor: Toggle power that provides Resistance to Smashing, Lethal and Toxic. Uses the same gas FX as Rikti Monkeys - Constitution: An autopower that increases MaxHP and increases Toxic resistance - Toxic Gas: A new PBAoE damage aura that uses the Venomous Gas FX, simply deals Toxic DoT to foes nearby - Acid Armor: Toggle power that provides Resistance to Fire and Cold. Uses the 'Boils' character aura FX - Remedy: Click power that heals the player and grants minor stacks of absorb. Uses the same character FX as Alkaloid - Curative: Click power that grants a standard suite of mez protection. Uses the same character FX as Antidote - Alkaline Armor: Toggle power that provides Resistance to Energy and Negative. Uses the same liquid FX as Bile Spray - Inoculated: Autopower that increases protection to -regen, -heal and -res debuffs - Saturation: Click power that grants large stacks of absorb and a large boost to regeneration. uses the same character FX as Elixir of Life

Like @GraspingVileTerror said, fun is subjective. It's... an opinion, of sorts. That's why it irks me when people use "fun" as a rationale for change, because its inherently biased, and more often or not loses any sense of objectivity. People have different perspectives... Bruticus Maximus thinks the game is too easy, and it would be more fun if the difficulty increased, whereas The Defendinator is struggling to solo, and thinks it would be more fun if the game was easier for him. I think we see a lot of discrepancy in the suggestions forum, general discussion and even the patch notes when it comes down to changes, there's not going to be a unanimous agreement on what's "fun", and I wouldn't want there to be. Having options is the key to keeping people happy. Being able to choose your content and playstyle helps cover a lot of bases, and the vast amount of customisation available for characters, bases and AE helps tailor the experience. I think focusing on that would mean more people would have fun.

That's what I was thinking, yeah. People really don't want a version of Illusion Control without Phantom Army, and people don't want Phantom Army to undergo significant changes, but there has to be a compromise somewhere, but it's what kind of compromise that's been stumping the developers for a while.

Because the developers have said that compared to other Control powersets it leans too heavily into DPS, which is something that Dominator secondaries already provides.

PA has been stated as the number one reason that Dominators have yet to receive Illusion Control. In it's current state it would be more powerful in the hands of a Dominator than a Controller. The other concern is the lack of Mez powers that would be affected by the Domination Inherent power, since there is only Blind, Flash and Spectral Terror that would contribute to it. So here's a quick idea; Replace Spectral Wounds with a sleep power. This reduces the DPS to provide some much needed mez Replace Group Invisibility with an AoE sleep power. Dominators arent so focused on team buffs so swapping it for more mez could work. Adjust Phantom Army's damage output, or speed up the 'healback' on the illusion damage, or both. With Spectral Wounds removed we dont have to do too much to the DPS element of this power. Move Flash higher up the powerset. With the addition of more mez powers it would be fair to push this power further back. Remove the AoE sleep element from Blind. With dedicated sleep powers, this is no longer needed.

To be fair the original post was edited in such a way changes the context of the thread, and in turn undermines some of the feedback given.

There's loads of 'web' based powers from Arachnos, as well as various insect based FX in the form of Auras (Flies, Fleas, Butterflies, Roaches, Fireflies, etc.) There's also the animation rig used by Spiderbots and Banespawn, which are distinctly insectoid and could be re-used for pets.

There's been some discussion in the past about potentially turning Martial Assault into a sort of 'Martial Blast' by taking all the shuriken powers from the set and pairing them with various NPC powers that also throw blades of some kind. So it certainly can serve as the basis for a Sentinel primary, among other archetypes, but in it's current form I dont see it translating so well.

it could be possible if the primary powersets behave in such a way that VEATs do, where you have access to two different powersets simultaneously when you advance far enough (such as Arachnos Soldier + Bane Spider). I'm not sure how easy it would be to implement though, or what effects it could have on MM balance, but having options for what your attack powers are would be a welcome addition. Honestly, if CoH was to undergo a total revamp, I wouldn't mind this being a feature across multiple Archetypes, expanding on the customisation of your powersets and character themes.

Interesting idea! We're certainly lacking a 'Cultist' or 'Mutant' angle for MM primaries, and this looks to be a pretty good middleground!

Looks good! Would this be an Ancillary Power Pool for any specific Archetype or is this a standard universal Power Pool?

I mean strictly speaking about this thread 😋

Since we're short on melee and support powersets, figured I would try and adapt some of the Light/Void powerset stuff to fit that, which shouldn't be too hard really. I'll also throw in Void Control, since a lot of Warshade powers come with some sort of mez element to them (Illusion Control seems pretty close to what I'd consider Light Control so I can't think of much else for that). The melee powersets shouldn't be too hard since they borrow assets form existing powers, since most melee powers involve applying very basic FX over a suite of repeatedly used animations, but the new support powersets would likely need way more work in terms of FX and animations to really bring out their aesthetic. Light Melee - Light Barrage: Same general FX of most PB powers, dealing light Smashing/Energy damage - Luminous Smite: Same FX as Radiant Strike, this melee power does moderate Smashing/Energy damage and reduces enemy Accuracy - Photon Scatter: Same FX as Proton Scatter (closer range), this power deals moderate Energy/Psi damage in a melee cone and reduces enemy Accuracy - Build Up: Standard build up power, using the same FX as 'Inner Light' - Taunt/Placate/Confront: Standard aggro management power - Flare: Same FX as Solar Flare, this power does moderate Energy/Psi damage in PBAoE and reduces enemy Accuracy (Stalkers get 'Assassin's Flash') - Shining Ray: Same FX as Gleaming Blast (closer range), this short range power does high Energy/Psi damage and reduces enemy Accuracy. - Brilliant Strike: Same FX as Incandescent Strike, this melee power does superior Smashing/Energy damage and reduces enemy Accuracy. May also hold foes - Radiant Burst: Same FX as Pulsar, causing nearby foes to take high Energy/Psi damage and have their Accuracy reduced. Affected foes may sleep much like Blind Light Affinity - Healing Light: Same FX as Pulsar, healing all nearby targets in a PBAoE - Light Burst: New power that works much like Flash Arrow, reducing ToHit and Perception of foes, uses similar FX with some PB stuff added in - Light Aura: Same FX as Shining Shield, grants resistance to Smashing, Lethal and Energy to a nearby ally - Luminous Touch: Same FX as Glowing Touch, healing a nearby ally and increases their MaxHP for a short while - Glowing Aura: Same FX as Thermal Shield, grants resistance to Fire, Cold, Energy and Negative to a nearby ally - Radiance: Uses generic PB FX on the target's head, grants resistance mez effects and a perception boost to a nearby ally - Rekindle: Same FX as Restore Essence, revives one fallen ally and increases their damage and regeneration - Brilliance: Same FX as Flash, holds one enemy and deals no damage - Mirage: New power that slowly chains between foes and placates them, while also reducing their accuracy and perception, has a small chance to confuse. Creates PB eye FX on affected foes Void Melee - Shadow Punch: Same general FX of most WS powers, dealing light Smashing/Negative damage - Dark Strike: Same FX as Black Dwarf Strike, this melee power does moderate Smashing/Negative damage and reduces enemy Defense - Nebulous Burst: Same FX as Gravitic Emanation (closer range), this power does moderate Smashing/Negative damage in a melee cone and reduces enemy Defense - Build Up: Standard build up power, using the same FX as Stygian Circle (Self only) - Taunt/Placate/Confront: Standard aggro management power - Void Pulse: Same FX as Sunless Mire, this power does moderate Smashing/Negative damage in PBAoE and reduces enemy Defense. (Stalkers get 'Assassin's Void') - Creeping Void: Same FX as Gravitic Emanation (closer range), this power deals moderate Negative DoT and slows down foes and reduces Defense - Void Slam: Same FX as Black Dwarf Smite, this melee power does superior Smashing/Negative damage and reduces enemy Defense - Crushing Grasp: Same FX as Gravimetric Snare, this melee power does high Negative DoT and immobilises the foe while reducing their Defense Void Emission - Gravitic Bolt: Same FX as Shadow Bolt, projecting a Defense/Speed debuff at your foes - Void Aura: Same FX as Gravity Shield, grants Defense to Smashing, Lethal and Energy to a nearby ally - Nebulous Aura: Same FX as Penumbral Shield, grants Defense to Fire, Cold, Negative and Energy to a nearby ally - Stygian Shroud: A new power that works as an AoE stealth power with minor Defense to Melee, Ranged and AoE as well as resistance to Speed and Defense debuffs - Quantum State: Same FX as Twilight Shield, granting mez protection as well as resistance to enemy teleportation and placate - Gravity Anchor: A new toggle power with similar FX to Dark Extraction. Anchors to a foe and Reduces Speed and Defense of enemies within range - Leeching Miasma: Same FX as Eclypse, draining nearby enemies of endurance and slowing them down - Black Hole: Same power from Dark Miasma/Affinity, with the FX of Inky Aspect instead. - Grasping Shadows: A new power that has a chance to hold foes in an AoE and heavily reduces their Defense, Perception and ToHit Void Control - Void Grasp: Same FX as Gravimetric Snare, immobilising a single foe and dealing moderate Smashing/Negative DoT - Gravity Shift: Same FX as Dark Extraction, lifting a foe into the air and slamming them down to deal high Smashing damage - Crushing Void: Same FX as Gravity Well, holding a single foe and dealing moderate Smashing/Negative DoT - Void Snare: Same FX as Gravimetric Snare, but on multiple targets, dealing light Smashing/Negative DoT and immobilizing foes - Slowing Miasma: Same FX as Stygian Circle, creating a patch on the ground that slows down foes and reduces their Defense - Antigravity: Same FX as Unchain Essence, acting identical to Mind Control's 'Telekinesis' power - Pull of the Void: Same FX as Eclypse, creating an area that pulls in enemies much like Singularity. Enemies that leave the field may be teleported back - Abyss: Same FX as Stygian Return, holding all foes within the field much like Crushing Void, but deals no damage - Stygian Entity: Summons a pet. The Stygian Entity uses the same rig as the Hellfire Gargoyle, but looks like a cloud of nebulous energy. Has access to Void Melee/Blast attacks

Jokes on you I'm Irish 😉 But I like the idea of a melee powerset similar to a 'Sonic Melee' concept that actually makes more sense that just screaming down people's ears

At this point the genie's already out of the bottle, but that doesnt mean there shouldn't be rules for what people can wish for 😉

I'd say OPAF and broken are pretty synonymous

You don't fix something by breaking it more

I'm wary of anyone using a "wider variety of builds" as reasoning for this kind of change, because historically it translates to "I want fewer limitations so I can make obscene game-breaking metabuilds"

Is this a Tekken reference I see here? 👀

Sonic Thrust 👀

I believe that was on the old server Infrastructure, which has since been updated to handle more intensive activity.

Oh now look what you've done