Bossk_Hogg

Are any electric blasters really suffering for endurance though? The sustains work ridiculously well to keep me topped off at least. It might be nice for defenders/corrupters, but I need more damage/recharge/etc, not more endurance on my electric blaster and sentinel.

Trick Arrow was introduced for defenders/controllers in Issue 5, ported to masterminds in issue 6, and corrupters in issue 16. I saw a few other posts saying it was nerfed, but to my recollection, it never was when it made it off the test server. It was actually in an even worse position when it was released... as here are the changes made in I6. Several changes have been made to the Defender, Controller and Mastermind Trick Arrow sets: Added 0.1 Slow effect to Entangling Arrow. Changed Flash Arrow to Auto Hit in PvE. In PvP, a to hit check is still required. Glue Arrow recharge time cut by 50% to 60 seconds. Glue Arrow now has a -Fly component. Disruption Arrow recharge time cut by 50% to 60 seconds. Fixed an issue where Entangling arrow could be escaped, despite its -Fly component, by jumping/flying out of it. Oil Slick Arrow should no longer have the odd failure to ignite condition. The Oil Slick Target should be easier to hit now. Fixed a bug with Oil Slick Arrow - it was erroneously showing a -SPD debuff on the caster. Fixed some issues with Poison Gas Arrow (Mastermind, Defender and Controller). All versions will now choke the targets more often, will play the proper visual f/x and will affect the proper area. The PvP aspect of the Controller version has been fixed (it was not working against players at all.) It was pure garbage when released, but has managed to claw it's way to being only "fairly bad" now, no thanks to the gimp power brigade, who voraciously defended it even back when Glue Arrow and Disruption Arrow had 2 minute cooldowns. Defenders and Corrupters have the exact same issues with TA, it's just highlighted most on corrupters. They're essentially the same AT anyways, with reversed access to powers. Corrs have a smidge less debuffs, and a tiny amount more damage. Solo they're more or less the same (ie, terrible), with the vigilance on defenders making up for the slightly higher base damage on the corrupter. On full teams, the debuff difference is a rounding error once you factor in level based resists. So any change needs to help them, both (and not help controllers more). The simplest way to do this is to up the debuff numbers, lower cooldowns, and add more debuff effects, as those benefit the two support AT's the most. The set really needs - regen, - special, and -max HP (currently only found in the degenerative hybrid).

That would be amazing! I'd deal with the general crapulence of mercs if I could make them costumed goons.

TA is bad on MM's too. I think they just accepted that their first power is usually garbage. Plus there's like 12 of them total. Net Arrow is bad and should feel bad. It's skipped by almost everyone who can avoid it. About the only power selected less are the scrapper single target taunts. TA is bad for everyone, it's just more apparent on defenders and corrupters.

Four. It's also a corrupter set, which really serves to highlight just HOW BAD the set is. You're a shitty /Tac Arrow blaster for most of your levels. Yay! I traded away half my damage, massive sustain, build up, hold protection, innate recharge, and debuff resistance for oil slick arrow! Sure, blasters can get a better version of that in Bonefire... But that's OK, my flash arrow has a 0.1% better debuff (not joking here btw)! Oh, and Tac arrow has Damage on Net Arrow Damage on Glue Arrow AND 3/4 the recharge of TA's glue arrow Tac Arrow's Ice Arrow deals damage, recharges in 12 seconds vs 18, and lasts almost 3 seconds longer Tac Arrow's AE hold recharges in 90 seconds vs 300, and doesn't debuff your OWN recovery. 5 of the 9 powers in Trick Arrow are WORSE or the same on Tac Arrow. This set really is indefensible in its current state.

It is my understanding that enemies don't actually have toggles. They have clicks that act as toggles, with a set duration. Also, they don't really use endurance the way players do. So long as they have 1 endurance, they can use anything they want. It's why end drain can't really ever be "fixed", otherwise it just becomes a hold. We need to look at other solutions to buffing the set, rather than ripping apart the guts of how NPC's work.

Yeah, the binary nature of end drain is why I've been pushing for my idea, which basically makes the secondary a buff effect, so it at least does something even if you dont drain their end fully. Put a stacking 6% recharge/end discount buff on each attack. At 5 stacks the next Short Circuit has an instant cast time and a power boosted end drain. Elec blast is a mediocre set on blasters, but at least they have a damage secondary to fall back on. Elec on defenders/corrupters is truly abysmal.

The average player uses HUNDREDS of purples, given the alt-friendly nature of COH. One a week is absurdly rare IMO. This isnt a job... or EQ where you grind for a week to get a partial advance to one gear piece on the only character you play.

So let me get this straight..., you think you should have to farm night and day, for a week, to see ONE? On a casual game where alts are basically the endgame? What did fun ever do to you to make you hate it so much? Is it just Stockholme syndrome from early 2000's Everquest that made you think you need to grind your fingers to the bone for a rusty shortsword -1? I'm baffled by this Puritan Play Ethic we keep seeing from forum busybodies. "Whelp, put in my 40+ hours a week, time to log into COH for more drudgery in my leisure time! BRING ON THE SLOG!" Note, I'm not really on favor of upping drop rates, but your claims are pure BS. I've got 4 in the past 2 months, including farming several billion influence

Because they aren't going to mainly balance downward. That ship has LONG sailed. If you wanna drag everything down to the level of force fields, ice control, energy melee... Uh, no Peg.

Nah, I earned it once the hard way, I'm good. "Protestant Fun Ethic", that demands we grind for everything, isnt something I care about. Maybe form a SG called "Uphill Both Ways" if you really want to go back to early 2000's MMO drudgery with a self-imposed ban on teleporters, monorails, extra costume slots and whatever other QOL issues you all detest. I'm also not sure how bunch of characters, standing around in silence for a few minutes at a time while the browse auctions, really adds much community. You can do the same thing in AE if you're that lonely.

I'm an adult with a family, job, home and many other responsibilities. I'm done working for my fun. If you wanna waste your time physically going to the auction house, feel free. But don't ask to waste mine. To all the other forum busybodies constantly looking to add grind- please stop asking to take away MY options because of YOUR preferences, particularly when you still have YOUR option available.

Which was in response to the suggestion to make the powerset MORE dependent on combos, which is harder to code and balance than just making the powers better by themselves. And requires speific rotations to work. I don't like being told what order to use my powers. One of the reasons why I dislike dual blades. Given that anyone already can light the slick with taser/apprentice charm, this does seem an odd hill to die on opposing what amounts to a QOL feature by adding some energy damage to disruption arrow.

I ran through Shauna's Vigilante Arc and quite enjoyed it! I appreciated that the detective acknowledged that breaking into a police station to steal evidence to turn over to the police wasn't the best move lol. Also, not sure if I just lucked into it or if it was coded, but I busted out laughing at Lusa popping up in the cutscene at the end. My only real suggestion would be to make this a higher level arc, maybe up to 34? It's a bit hard to encounter without using flashback or null the gull, as you have to hit 20, then run 10 tip missions, then a vigilante alignment mission before level 30. If you team, use double exp, or play at higher difficulties, you'll shoot right past it. THANK YOU for adding new stories, particularly to the middle alignments!

Fine. Four of it's first three powers are shit. A single target immobilize is next to worthless. An insulting 5% to hit debuff (aka, less than what dark blast inflicts). A crappy single target hold. Oh, and tac arrow's glue arrow is better. So right out of the gate, TA sucks, and sucks worse than a blaster secondary (tactical arrow). Tac Arrow also has a 90 second cooldown on its AE hold, vs the 5 friggin minute cooldown on trick arrow (that also debuffs your OWN recovery). Its by far the worst debuff set, with weak effects and long cooldowns. it spends more time, endurance, and power picks to do less than other debuff sets. If you want to argue otherwise, put up some numbers. But TA sucks about as hard as a support set can suck. Do you have some skin in the game in not bringing it up to par with the rest of the defender primaries? If you're just gonna say "nuh uh, its mediocre" and think that's fine, we don't have much else to say to each other. You may as well go threadcrap in another post about how Ice Control, Energy Melee, or Traps don't need buffs.

Why is it not a weak set? Run the numbers, it offers lower debuffs than radiation, which also has a heal, a fantastic utility/damage buff, a rez, an AE hold aura, etc. ALL it has going for it is oil slick, which you apparently hate the idea of being easy to light. Why do you think the set is OK, other than COH is so easy that Brawlman can get to 50? Because if you're drawing the line at being playable, then I guess we can end the discussion, because nothing should ever be adjusted.

A gimmick of "being mediocre unless you have the combos required to bring your set up to snuff" is a pretty cruddy one. Not to mention harder to implement and balance. TA's main issue is purely that of numbers and limited scope of what it offers. It's debuff/soft control only, and not really good at debuffing.

Single target is more or less pointless (no pun intended) in modern COH outside of PVP. AV fights are rare and don't last long compared to 99% of the rest of the game. Additionally, debuffs, other than -resist or -damage, are basically useless in those fights due to the stupid purple patch. Poison already has single target debuffing down (and poison isn't particularly good). TA is an AE set other than 2 powers and should absolutely remain that way to be true to the set. It should be focused on AE support and control, with a minor in damage. Unfortunately the OG devs decided to nerf TA's controls so that they are weaker on defenders/corrupters than controllers. Therefore any buff to control helps controllers more than defenders with the current rules in place. I say ditch em, let TA be a set that breaks the parameters, and have the control numbers highest for defenders, followed then by controllers/corrupters, then masterminds. This would give TA a more unique niche in support sets. As for support, the numbers need to go up, and powers need to do more than one thing.

This may have changed since live, but doesnt lighting the slick consume it or make it go away faster? So there's a reason to not light it out of the gate.

This is incorrect for the widow pieces at least. It's a chest detail with the -n suffix. If they removed the flag, you could use it. Test for yourself in Icon. The only thing that you can't mix and match there is the butt cape. The high collar is under detail 2 on the face. Same thing with dresses, sybil robes, etc. All it takes is removing that NPC only parameter and we could use them. It would really be nice if Homecoming caught up to the other servers in granting us access to costume parts already in the game...

That isnt really impressive. Anyone with holds can solo paragon protectors no problem. Only faster, because the sets deal more damage. Elec blast is unarguably low damage. End drain does nothing until the mob is completely drained and hit with -recovery. Elec blast doesnt really have the power to do that with JUST the set, making it entirely dependent on the other set to really matter. Other debuffs at least have some impact from the moment they hit. It's not that people don't understand how end drain works, it's that it usually isn't worth the investment doubling down on a weak mechanic. Fixing electric blast is pretty easy. 1) Up Tesla Cage's damage 2) Add a second attack to Voltaic Sentinel 3) Put a stacking 6% recharge/end discount buff on each attack. At 5 stacks the next Short Circuit has an instant cast time and a power boosted end drain.

There's no law that says all changes have to be ported to controllers. Regardless, TA's only strength is "has oil slick". It's incredibly sub-par on basically everything else and more limited in debuff options than other sets that offer more buffs/heals/utility.

If it's good enough for Brutes (who also have SR), it should be good enough for Tankers. SR's problems of being too one-dimensional with a completely redundant T9 are a different matter that could be addressed separately.

It's probably also best to balance the tank AT to get a baseline feel before balancing the individual sets.

There are really too many melee AT's to keep splitting hairs. You have four AT's with armor toggles who hit things in melee. You're bound to have overlap and some powersets/combos that are just flat out better on one AT than another. Imagine trying to balance two more defender/corrupter based AT's with a 5% difference in blasts and buffs. So long as they're "close enough", which they seem to be, we can deal.