csr

The thing that bothers me the most with the new Acid Arrow is that it went from a "take ASAP, use often" power to a highly skippable infrequent use power. My use of it (even with an AH proc in it) has dropped so dramatically that it almost feels like a Cottage Rule violation. The larger Radius is certainly nice, but it's irrelevant if you never use it. And with the -Def and -Special being so seldom needed or useful (respectively), that's most fights. Is it really worth the time to cast it to increase Flash Arrow's -ToHit by about 3-6% (depending on AT and opponent level)?

It should be spelled out one way or the other. I.e. "Range may be enhanced but not buffed." or whatever it actually is.

Combat Teleport is listing enhanced Range when slotted with an End/Range IO. Does "not affected by Range changes" mean something other than unenhanceable? Perhaps that it will still teleport to the target if the target has moved beyond range? If so, rewording that may be in order. I took it to mean no buffs or enhancements.

I've just started testing the Warshade changes and didn't take the time to read the whole thread. So I apologize for repeating things that have already been covered. Shadow Step: Why doesn't this power grant Untouchable as Teleport does? Starless Step: TYPO: The description text reads "Note that Starless is unaffected by Range changes. Note that Starless Step is unaffected by Range changes." Black Dwarf Step: This doesn't get the Untouchable either, though it makes more sense here, since you're in "Tank" form.

Even given the P2W option, for the most part I'd just spend the time to get the explores and pick up 5 RM in the process. Where I'd want the P2W option is fairly common for me though. I see someone advertise a TF, I have some toon that I want the badge for, I say "let me switch", and then end up on a toon I find doesn't have the LRTP power unlocked yet. Also, if there's a red-side toon I don't want to switch alignment on I might also just fork over the INF if given that "out". There's no easy to explore zone comparable to Atlas Park red-side or yellow-side.

I think the level of the Freaks is a small issue with that hunt. It is essentially asking a toon at the lowest level of the arc to fight at a setting of +2 or so. But that will still likely be easier than the Raverobber, Pathogen and Cortex missions.

It is quite easy to unlock the LRTP. Using Jimmy's prescription I'd just have to have my 170 alts sit in Pocket D for 1 hour each. That'll only take a little over a week at 24 hrs a day. Assuming I check in every hour to change toons, of course. No problem. Sarcasm aside... the LRTP unlock isn't really trivial. Trivial would be if any explore badge unlocked it. Fortunately for me, probably over half my alts have the AP explores. So I'll only have to spend maybe 6 hrs total unlocking the LRTP on the others by running around and getting zone explores on 70 or so toons that don't yet have it. So, basically 5 or 6 minutes of "maintenance" each on toons I log in that don't have it. Spread out over of the 3 months or so I go before completing a cycle of alts that's maybe 5 minutes a day of my CoH play lost. Minor, but not trivial. My suggestion is to simply put an unlock in the P2W Vendor store for whatever price is deemed appropriate.

I ran a couple of more toons through to Pierce's dialog so I could make sure I'd tested all 4 possible results and all 3 options at Hide Park. Everything looks good up until the Pathogen mission (I left the toons there to test virus issues later). I have to say I'm getting a little punchy and may have missed some typos (I'm usually pretty good at catching those, but I've read most of the dialog so many times now I may be reading what I expect to see instead of what's actually there). I ran another L28 MM through the Rave mission. Boy is that thing packed to the rafters with bad guys. I ended up hitting L29 (untrained) in it (just before the last room), which helped. But it remained slow going even on an Demon/Thermal MM with +Res buffs and an AoE heal. Mostly just making sure not to aggro more than a couple of spawns at a time. Which I managed, so no defeats. That's not where I die anyway - it's the fires in the Pathogen mission or Cortex's respawn with no insps or END left that get me (the no insps is because I have to burn them during the illusion fights). The other toon was a Stalker again for speed (an L24 EM/Nin on SOs, not a "real" build 🙂), so the only challenge was Raverobber as a +1 EB. What a difference AT makes on this arc.

There is an ambush, with some sarcastic dialog ridiculing the ambush itself. As for the level of street spawns - they actually are set off hero activity in the area. Higher levels and larger spawns mean higher level heroes and more heroes moving about the area. I've mostly been finding L20-21 Freaks over by the Magic Store when hunting. The ones over towards the Hospital tend to be higher level regardless of activity.

You get about 2/3rds as much selling Converters instantly as you do using slower but more efficient RM-to-INF conversion routes (you can earn still more by really working the market - I'm just talking about using Boosters and Unslotters - which have a higher return but more volatility). Since we're talking 2-3M to fully SO a low level toon through the mid 20s that only amounts to a loss of about 1-1.5M INF going the quick-and-easy route. That's not a lot for avoiding having to think or wait. But you still do need to know what Reward Merits are, what Merit Vendors are, and how to use the AH.

Let's call it effectively 14' then. BoS being a dual use power is a bit of a drawback, and Combat Teleport will step on the toes of one of the uses. There's no question about that. So perhaps BoS deserves a buff. The straight one-use 20s Recharge mini Shield Charge version certainly has some appeal (to me at least), but it ceases to be a utility power and is just an attack. It would basically do the damage of Psychic Shockwave or Deafening Wave with a different secondary effect. As for the 270s cycle time. The power still only has 90s of base cooldown plus 3s of activation time, the rest is from not using it when available. If you're trying to maximize damage you could use BoS every time it is reasonable to use it. When you do that it does about 75% of the damage of Lightning Rod on a Scrapper in just a touch more time, with a much longer range and less chance of overkill, but without the fairly reliable KD mitigation. It's still in the neighborhood performance-wise of those similar powers (LR and Shield Charge), so for any suggested change to be seriously considered I think it's going to have to be a minor buff at best, or simply a clever mechanic that captures someone's fancy.

That is an issue. But including it in the damage formula would be a bit iffy unless you are going to have damage scale off the range to target when cast and make it counter-intuitively greater when further away. I think balancing slow projectiles is more of a per-power thing than a damage formula thing. Slow projectile attacks should probably consistently have better secondary effects.

The following Blaster sustain powers are still bugged in Build #3 (Nov 4): Darkness Manipulation / Touch of the Beyond: The Fear Protection isn't working. Martial Combat / Reaction Time: The Absorb tick rate doesn't match the description. And the +Recovery doesn't appear to be working. Temporal Manipulation / Temporal Mending: All components save the Absorb frequently cease to work when you zone (and upon initial log in) and also occasionally turn off for no apparent reason.

I tested those 3 in the current build (#3). I didn't test all sustains or all components of sustains. Just the broken parts of the ones I knew weren't working correctly in build #2.

It appears to be bugged atm. Both of the toons I used to complete the arc still had it more than 24 hrs later.

That's a good way to test, but it moves you from adjacent to the target instead of at the target. I'm not sure a 0' attack would hit if you are adjacent to the target.

True. I should have said "anyone who has taken a serious look at the formulas" instead of "all of us". Everybody who has looked at them ought to know that Activation Time being left out is a major issue. And most people should realize that target caps not being included is also a significant oversight. Finally, the linear rather than quadratic relationship of the Area Modifier with Radius is also iffy.

Good, I didn't bother to test all the sustains systematically in this build as it didn't look as if any had been changed. There were still three that appear to be broken: Darkness Manipulation / Touch of the Beyond: The Fear Protection isn't working. Martial Combat / Reaction Time: The Absorb tick rate doesn't match the description. And the +Recovery doesn't appear to be working. Temporal Manipulation / Temporal Mending: All components save the Absorb frequently cease to work when you zone (and upon initial log in) and occasionally for no apparent reason.

I think all of us - including Captain Powerhouse - know that the damage formulas are seriously flawed. But changing that is a massive and highly controversial undertaking. So I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. And without such a reworking I think you are just going to have to accept that suggesting a major deviation from the formula is almost certainly going to fall on deaf ears with the devs. I suspect Burst of Speed is on a 90 second cooldown right now because the well-established Shield Charge is too. BoS does similar damage to Scrapper SC, but with twice the Activation Time (both of those from using it 3 times in succession), no KD, and much better TP speed and range. It's balanced fairly well with SC. Oh, and it's available at level 10 instead of 26 (Tanker) or 35 (Brute, Scrapper, Stalker),

No, it mezzes Lts as long as the combined Mag is > 2. So on one cast that's the duration of the Mag 1 portion of the effect, since that will stack on top of the longer Mag 2 portion. I assume it's split to make it harder for Blasters to Hold Bosses and Elite Bosses with just their Secondary powers. The non-stacking portion just doesn't stack with itself from the same caster (I haven't tested the "same caster" part - but I think that's how the mechanic works in general). So if you can cast the power twice in the duration of the Mag 1 portion it will overlap briefly for Mag 2 + 1 + 1 = Mag 4 and mez a boss. To perma-mez a Boss with one of the Secondary ST mezzes you'll likely need to slot that power with Mez+Rech instead of as an attack. Or you'll need a second mez to stack with it. Mez Scale with an Archetype Multiplier determines the duration of the effect.

I think Burst of Speed is a 15' radius; but it is hard to tell. I base that on it appearing to be more than 10' and the next standard size being 15'. Increasing Dragon's Tail's radius to 14' or 15' would reduce its Damage by about 30% (or up it's Recharge to around 17s) to keep it balanced with regard to the standard formula. Plus, it's just not going to happen, as the power isn't in need of a buff of any kind. Rebalancing BoS to an attack with a utility side effect rather than a power that balances the two is probably not going to happen either. That 200' teleport with no line of sight required is a pretty serious "side effect". I can tp from by the SG portal in the RWZ Vanguard base to the targeting dummies. BoS as a 6s Recharge 15' AoE with a basic side effect (no tp, no 3 times) would have Damage less than half of what it does now. (Edit: I haven't tested BoS's tp, but Combat Teleport works for out-of-los tps through assist. I expect BoS will as well. That's a major power effect.) Personally, I'd like to see its recharge improved a bit, since it's the signature power of the set, but the numbers you are suggesting are just way out of line. A 60s Recharge I could see; anything less than that and some part of it would likely be nerfed for balance. At the extremely short Recharge you're suggesting it would basically end up doing no damage at all and becoming a longer range Combat Teleport.

At a 12-15s recharge (unless you lose the 3 times before cooldown part) it would be doing much more damage (more than 2.5 times) than Dragon's Tail with roughly the same Recharge and extra utility (I think it even has a larger radius).

It can be used 3 times before the cooldown starts.

I ran this on the same Necro/Elect MM (switched to Rogue) as I used for the hero arc. Now at level 30 (31 for the final mission). The only added power was Assault. The arc was rather rough on this guy, as I had trouble controlling the pets. It's been a while since I played Zombies, and I had some old binds that weren't leashing them well. But even when I had things fixed, the Zombies took off and I lost bodyguard a LOT. The bees in the Kraken sewer were one culprit. The Immature Paragon Protector clones' gas clouds in the Hopkins mission were even worse. Naturally, in the hero arc, these very same zombies were quite happy to bathe in the fires. But one dead Mini PP and 5 out of 6 of my pets were out of the fight for several seconds. I died twice, partly due to poor play on an unfamiliar MM with old binds, and partly due to critters that just aren't friendly to melee pet MMs. Both times were in the Kraken room in Mission 3. I probably would have been fine had I cleaned up my binds before that and been more cautious. On the final mission I forgot to take Bile to his arms locker and he got stuck in the elevators exiting the lower level. He just kept entering the 'vators and coming right back out on the bottom level. I exited the mission and came back and he was at the top of the elevators. I had to repeat that at the bottom of the 'vators. After that I was able to lead him back to the locker and then out. Really, the only complaint I have is that it would be nice if Bile followed more closely. When he's a non-combat pet, he seems to be easy to lose.

I tried this again with a L28 Hero DM/SR Scrapper running on common IOs. I sped through the missions on base level to test the Virus Cocktail. I was very careful to follow the heroic path and ended up perma-debuffed again. And I was defeated by the fires. This time I died immediately after defeating Pathogen. I beat him with a Siphon Life and before the 2s rooting of that attack could finish I was dead. I was near full health at the time. The HP debuff is much weaker on a Scrapper than an MM, btw. My MM lost about 30% of his health (154.2 of 525.7), this Scrapper lost about 15% of hers (126.2 from 876.2). So that fire damage was somewhere in the vicinity of 700 HP in less than 2 seconds. I did finally realize the Medical Research helped offset the debuffs, but it's just not enough. Increasing its duration might help. Once again, fighting Cortex with no END to speak of was a nightmare. He managed to defeat me simply because I had to convert every insp into blue. My Touch of Fear DoT finished him too. But I had no insps to make a rez and had to leg it from the Hospital. With the debuff as it is this arc is hard to play on anything less than a fully set-slotted toon.