Golden Azrael

I think you nailed it there. It's far more versatile. It was very two dimensional before. AoE wasn't just mediocre. It was poor. Which resulted in very grindy missions with x8 wide setting. Poor Build Up was fighting a losing battle trying to lift Whirling to any average heights. Now you are not only a potent Single Hitter. But you can decide Long or Short ET. You can opt for a BM auto Disorient/stun which is a right pearler of an idea. You can opt to raise the game of your AoE by TF. And rp theme wise? That makes sense. You have Total Focus. Total Focus on Energy. So the Energy Focus idea should be central. TF gives you the clarity to access this and make a decision about how to spend your energy resources to manage a fight. Minions ganging up? Boost your reach of your AoE and some damage! Stack it with Whirling! Go thin those horde minions. Got a stubborn boss left? Boy, he's in for it. TF. BU. Short ET. 'What just hit me?' and whilst he's still feeling his jaw? Long ET (no end cost!!!) is coming down the track care of a short recharge. That's gonna hurt in the mornin' son. Azrael. PS. You make a decent point about this versatility feeling different, therefore across all ETs. It has a lot of design reach for each AT.

I like the 'baseball' pitch animation. Putting their shoulder into it. But I'm not opposed to an alt animation to PC. A little bit more animation choice in the character creator. I'm into things that gives people more options. Ergo. I like EM. It now has more options. Old timers can can access 'short' ET. People who like the new keep it. Those, like me? Get to have both! Utopia! Though I thought the old EM was bit dull, I did want 'old schoolers' to have access to the short ET. They have access to it now. I still have access to the long, showy ET which I like. Allows for a bit of showboating. 😄 EM does have its fair share of cool animations. Eg. Whirling, Crash, ET, TF... Azrael.

That's a cool idea. Azrael.

COmpared to where EM was. The new AoE stacking combo is respectable. If that is medicore then I love it loads. But the principle is fine. Excel at Single and be moderate at AoE. Which both attacks are. We can hit build up to nudge them higher. And take Assault from the incarnate Support pool. And with spiritual and hasten? We can rinse them for all their worth. I felt that the AoE hole was a bit omission from the original set. And Whirling was a tired, mediocre damage set with a posey animation. It has had a shot and with Power Crash having it's back? This is 'nose bleed' territory for EM AoE. Azrael.

I echo your party sentence. Old EM was a plodding dinosaur. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for the HC devs to roll back the game to pre nerf EM. But that's backward looking. What next? Roll back the game to issue 3 (which I liked by the way.) It's time to move forward. Titan Weapons has had it's wings clipped. Long time come. Played like a dog. Over performed. EM was a slow, grind fest of boredom. It's had a much needed shot in the arm. As I put to Troo in a private email. I quote: Energy Melee works for me. It was never 'great' but it is 'now' for all the reasons I outlined in numerous comments. I like the 'new' EM. All of it. 🙂 I suspect I won't be alone. It was a plodding dinosaur on live. I did 50 levels of it. A real grinder. I tried the old and new. I saw the old and new played on live. It was nothing special outside of ET. The new mechanism gives fans of the 'old' a chance to get their piece of cake. And for those progressives like me who like the new? I get to enjoy both old and new ET with an uplift in damage over the whole set. It's far smoother. Fluent. Imaginative. You don't have to like it. That's your prerogative. 🙂 I've done several tests (eases the Pylon test to one side...) of my own making from my own play. How can I make the 'big mob' of debuffers go away test. Arti Knive Ladies. TF. Energy Crash. BU. WHs. EC. TF. Crash. WHs. Sprinkle Short ETs in there. With the odd long punch for fun and variety. Then Tier 1-3 for 'goodnighting' what's left. Then the boss is left? Go Long. Go Short. Go long. ET. TF giving me quick and slow. And that mob wasn't around any more. This worked even better with Devouring Earth which used to be a right grindy pain. What I like about this? I'm sure there is an optimal 'one way' (BORING) but I like the fact I can do it in a variety of ways. End result..? Mobs. Melted. Boss? Rocked to their core. My anecdotal evidence is that this is faster, more varied, more powerful, MOAR damaging. And their are plenty of routes to take out mobs now. You can AoE spam for the mins. And BIG TRUCK hit for the bosses. Azrael.

It has that old school feel. But wayyyy better. Faster. Choicier. More exhilarating. Great combat feel to this. This is a leading edge tank melee set now. Azrael.

Just cleared 3 mob cave of Dev' Earth. (More fun than a pylon test to me.) This is def' quicker at mob thinning than the old lumbering EM. And it BOOMs the hell out of slug bosses. Great single target damage. Every player can devise their own test. I do. There isn't one test to rule them all. The old EM was a gimped grinder. The new model is quicker. More damaging. More choice. The new Energy Mech' brings and breathes new life into it. Lots of fun choosing which way to go in combat. Azrael.

I've been using Power Crash to stack with Whirling and it really thins the mob. The uplift in AoE damage for mobs is tremendous. Far less grindy and dull than it used to be. It's a net win for me. Before I know it ? I'm down to bosses. Hitting them with slow long EF/ET combos that rock their brains out. I concur. I played this on live. Got it to L50 etc. Very grindy on mobs. And slow on bosses. This is deffo hitting harder on Single target and AoE! And it's far more flexible. Far more. Instead of 'ONE WAY' attack chains you have flexible choices depending on the situation. Azrael.

I'm going to keep posting my pleasure at this new set. This new EM is such a revelation!!!! Love it! BRING IT LIVE!!!! IT@S READY!!!!! Azrael.

Constrained? This is total uber BOOM liberation!!!!! Choice. Freedom!!! DEMOCRACY!!!! Want the old EM? It's better. Want the new combo system? EVEN BETTER! Azrael.

It sounds like you're completely wrong. It's gone from being a slow dull 'jewel' of the EM crown to something faster! Harder hitting. More often. Just hammered 4 Dev' Earth Slug Bosses. TF, Quick ET....Slow ET...TF ET...MIGHT INCARNATE!!!!! OOhhhhhHH!HH!H!H!H. All manner of BOOM!!!! This is raucously good fun.!!!! Who cares about specific attack chains when you can choose a random beauty each time. This is a gdn sweet shop of a Tank Melee set. Such variety. GO AOE? Stack it? Or Slow or fast boom!!!!! I@ve never whooped the Dev' Earth this much before. And enjoyed it!!! HC just gave EM for Tanks the BIG JOY!!! Azrael.

Just click the ones you like. You won't be underserved by doing that. Yes. I do like combo systems. Azrael.

Stun used to have a stylish animation. But it sucked. A single target stun was a waste of time. Now we have AoE stun with dam and stacking with WHs. It's an AoE revelation. Energy is now a leading Tank Melee set. Rescued from being alone, unloved and uncared for. POWuRR CRRRRRASH!!!!!! What a fab' power that is. Crashtastic!!! It elevates the entire set!!! This combo mechanic is super juicy to play. Fervour!!! Excitement!!!! POWER!!!! HOW TO SPEND THE POWURRRR! You can play it. Or not. But I'll be playing this to death!!! The KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!!!! Azrael.

The shorter cast times are a revelation. With Spiritual Alpha? This set is turbo charged BUTTER!!! Azrael.

This is single target monster! What a beast. What fury! What damage!!! What hitting power!!! What a thoughtful approach to his en melee set. It was NEVER this good on live. EVER! Old or 'nerf' (new.) This is a Mother Truckin' set that keeps on BEASTING THe MOBs. I've put myself in HP again. Just not paying attention to the Bio. EN IS THAT GOOD. It's complete TANKER LOCK!!! I just went short...then long ET...and EF allowed me to go short and long. Rough housed the Artie Boss. This is tankers rock and roll. Made me forget about my brute damage En/Elec! Who dat? Azrael.

...set is self big love. You could be arrested for playing it in public. 😄 Azrael.

Jimmy and the team. We salute. What a corker!!! I liked it that much. It put my alt in the Hospital. (I wasnt' looking at my Bio Armour.) Captain Powerhouse. The Motherload of Thank YOUS! THIS IS WHY I PLAY HC COH!!! It's an absolutely excellent piece of work. It's the Duracell bunny melee set. You just wanna keep going and it keeps giving and giving and giving. GIVE IT TO ME!!!! COME ON!!! ENERGY MELEE!!! GIVE IT TO ME!!!!! *Cap Powerhouse. Thou hast done well, my san. Most worthy. *Calms self. Azrael.

I agree. HC knocked this baby right out the park. Smashed it. It buries pre-nerf EM. Stats and to play. It's sheer joy. *tear in eye. I thought I loved the auto snipe. But this is a whole set that plays like the EM I always had in my imagination. What it could have been? it now is. What a blinder by HC. What a hit. They have pulled a belter here. I liked it that much...I didn't even care about the Knives of Artie slowing down my Bio armour. This is SO good. It's READY to go LIVE!!! Azrael.

I like Energy Melee on all the alts I've tried. Especially now. ? Tank!!! Combo mechanic is transformative. It gives people choices rather than taking them away. I like looking at the possibilities of combos now. Far more choice. Far more variety. It hits like a mother trucker. So if you want to have that short hard Truck Punch? You can play for it. TF + ET. EZ!!! HC having just twiddled here and there. They've evolved the set with a total core revamp. It's become the Tanking HOT ROD TANK! It's sheer joy to play by a HC dev' team that clearly love the game. This is now my favourite tank melee set. And I thought SJ was good. Smooth as butter and cuts through mobs like a knife. A hot one. Stacking AoE is now fun and not a Whirling chore. And the choice of long or short ET has that 'soft centre' or hard centre chocco choice feel. HARD CENTRE BOOOM! The melee set feels far less grindy bore. MoAR excitement decisions....decisions...do I give the mob the AoE....or the ET? The Bonesmashser stun? Nom Nom Nom.... Azrael.

Just played the Energy Melee set again on the EM/Bio tank. Boyyyyyy. This is a heap of fun. I was that engrossed I died. (Bio. Very high maintainence…) ERM. This plays superb. Go long go short on the ET? The quick recharge and no end cost. A great boon. Tried the basic Tier 1-3 attack chains. Much better. I do like the TF choice you're given from the Energy focus. Do you want to hit more AOE? Do you want a short ET BOOMBA? Or??? Do you want to SMASH THEM INTO STUN WITH BONE SMASHER? Erm. Let me...see... That variety and choice makes things a lot more interesting. The flow of the set is far more engrossing/engaging because of this 'lift' it's given the overall set. T1-3 feel better now to finish mobs on their last bit of HPs. You can really rough up a mob now with WHs and Energy Blast stun. Instead of mobs taking years to die...(be arrested...) it's much more modern and contemporary. The whole set is more exciting. Less dull. Less of a chore. Less of the plodding boredom. (I had one old school on live, one 'new' school on HC. Both very dull plodders.) AoE Stun. Stackable AoEs. Boosted AoE stun with TF. Short ET. Long ET. Bonesmasher Stun with TF. You want BU with dat? Just play tested on +2, 3, +4 x8. With bosses. Boy. This set puts them into the meat grinder. You can really focus on what you want to do with the set. AoE utlity to thin the herd? NP. Want to rough up and put the boomba shakka on the Boss? Taunt...TF....ET....BU....BS...TF...ET....Taunt....LONG ET....BOOMMMMMMMM! *slow motion as the boss falls to the ground...with a thunderous thud. The fight is over. Azrael.

Actually, they've really fleshed out TA's Acid Arrow. There seems to be a lot more to it. Played the TA set on beta now. It's very good. It feels a lot more...robust? And has more depth and breadth. It's a lot more refined as a whole. Well done, HC. Azrael.

It's great to see an unfashionable set like TA get a thorough overhaul. I'm playing a TA/Arrows Defender at the moment with my DUO partner. So I'm becoming intimately aware of what's good about TA! Battle field debuff? It's fantastic. Layers and layers of debuff layed down produce a heady brew of debuff that sees the mobs struggle. So let's have a look at the changes. 1. Entangle. Miss. This is a sound power. Really? Yes. It can hold AVs and for a good little while. Spam this and you have an AV holder. And the - recharge makes sense. Removing the - recharge doesn't make sense? Why? If you're wrapped up in cargo net you've going to take time to get out of that. Ergo - recharge to get out of that. Or it will slow you down, rather. I'd keep the potency of the immob' with the addition of -res added to it. Make it a power everyone ones to take. It's the most used power during 46 levels! (We didn't take the Ice Hold Arrow for thematic reasons.) I'd say this still needs work. 2. Flash Arrow. HIT! You know that Night Widdow power that blinds you? Flash dishes the debuff and takes out an entire mob! Powerful stuff! It's a stealth. It's a combat inhibitor. Half of this is now irrestistable! INcreased to -15 to hit! 'Nuff said. This is a signature power. It opens every battle! It will now sing! 3. Ice Arrow. HIT! We didn't take this for theme reasons. But making the - slow -25 makes far more sense. With a - dam special. If you keep the - recharge with ENTANGLE the - recharge would stack! (Bring back the - rech' to entangle!!!) A 60 sec' special. Can we afford to NOT take this now? 😮 4. Gas. HIT! This 'killer' dark horse power is being bumped to - 50 dam? :OOO I fire this into a mob and it's amazing how many attacks I take and I'm still standing!! Nemesis. Arachnos. Carnie. Malta. Gone toe to toe with them all! A squishie like me!? This is an essential power that just got even better. WoW. What a change! It's a hit! 5. Acid Arrow. MISS!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! This is a great one - two killer punch. You hammer their - def' (what a beating!) and it has - res' as well? Bring the res' back? Why? Because without it...this power probably won't be taken. It's mighty powerful as is. So. Did HC add good bits to this in beta? They did. - debuff special. Adds a pot poury of - debuffs. Those are a good laundry list. And? Why not change their -res to heal to give you a heal over time? (A bit like the water cork screw from...Water?) Ie. Not only does it -debuff their health regen? But? It buys you time to heal yourself. Ergo. Heal over time.) Debuff duration and radius are big pluses. However, for all the good bits. Losing the -res doesn't make sense to me. Here you go, pal. You've had acid thrown all over you. You aint going to resist that and whilst you attempt to? You'll be defenceless. Ergo? - def. - res. PLEASE, for the LOVE of GOD bring BACK the -res. 6. Disruption Arrow. Abstain. 'We' didn't take this power. Why? The pulsing wave gives me a migraine/discomfort. I don't know why. Remember all those sonic players that complained about the Sonic Pulse Waves? For some reason that particular form of sonic was drawing complaints. Solution? Alt animations. See the Sonic Defender's set for alt 'pulse' waves that are 'LESS' nauseating. If any ever POWER needs an alt animation/power look? It's sonic arrow. I've even stopped doing Long Bow missions because of it. 😕 And I used to enjoy them. But it's got to the point, I can't do them. Shame. Now. The chances. The lower recharge. The increased mob radius. All good things. The - res is about where it SHOULD have been at launch. (Apparently the devs were worried about it being too powerful in combination with another arrow?) End debuff is good. Duration. Also good. What I don't like? Ties in with my criticisms about Acid. Moving the - res from Acid to put it here. I'd rather use Acid and Dis' Arrow together. As you can use both to increase the scope of mob arrgo' you want to handle by placing them in different spots. I'm glad Dis' Arrow has been improved. But not at the expense of Acid. I'd like the -res back in Acid. Very please. 7. Oil. HIT. It's fine as is. Range being slotted is a good tweak for strategy reasons. 8. EMP Arrow. HIT! I thought this was a real turkey choice of a power. - end for 15 seconds basically means a Defender, suffering from end issues already, can't fight having deployed it. Removing the -end/recovery makes a massive different. The overly long recharge was also quite punishing to really make the whole TA set sing. Half the - regen lasting longer? A GOOD thing. The halving of the hold duration I can live with sans robots. Can always slot back for holds? And the damage res and recovery debuff protection and end drain protection and status protection? Excellent and imagination choices by the HC team. Overall. This is a kick Az update to the 'dated' and 'unfashionable' TA set. I'm really enjoying it. It's an excellent set. But ? It could stand some tweaking. And HC have tweaked the hell out of it!!! :OOO My only reservations are as follows. Keen the - rech' in Entangle. Keep the Acid - res. AND? For the love of GOD? Change the Disruption Arrow animation to something that isn't head ache inducing! And then? This update would be perfect. it's close. Oh...so CLOSE!!! It's littered with the HC team's good judgement. Regards, Azrael.

I thought I wasn't imagining things. So Energy Punch is faster and more damaging? 'Bout time. 😄 Energy Melee used to be a dull, lumbering dinosaur. Now it has more damge, more disorient, more aoe and access to choice of big hitters thanks to the total core revamp of Total Focus. The end cut from ET is a revelation as is the lower recharge time. The whole set plays smoother and is far more exciting. I was absolutely gripped by the Energy Melee tanker changes. Take a bow, HC! Azrael.

I love the new Power Crash! Stacking with WHands!! Whhoo! And I like the utility coming off the new Energy Boost mechanism. It opens a lot more choice. BOOM damage. AoE stun. BS dis'/stun. Very addictive stuff. I didn't even mind that the artie knives were slowing my attack chain. 'When that Power Crash comes up, ladies...' Azrael.

Ty Home Coming for LISTENING to the feedback! The mobs. What a beat down. It's fast. It's hard. It's BOOM-TASTIC!!! Excellent work by the HC team. Their best work yet. Azrael.