Replacement

Keeping in mind that @oedipus_tex started this tangent with "I don't want to argue with anyone about Incarnates" and not really wanting to derail on it either, I do want to mention you're running into this entirely out of self-imposed limits. If you aren't seeing Judgements going off every 12s, it means those players are choosing to prioritize playing the character they built, instead of the same-y mass nuke everyone got handed, which really tells you Tex is right about their bland, game-normalizing nature. I play almost exclusively in groups of 1-4, which means we tend to not hold back much of anything. Guess what: it sucks to be a Blaster in a trio whose schtick is being taken by the Tanker. Back in the day I'd say "sure a Scrapper might have more DPS than me, but can they do this?" Yes. Yes they can. Not saying "remove Incarnates" or anything like that, but Tex' original point about losing our distinction in the sea of normalized and massive power grants via Incarnatation is pretty spot-on.

I gather this is an old rule that was suddenly enabled; probably during past server restart. Is this an intentional change? When trying to send an email to myself I get this: Yes, the boot fits (I send myself a bunch of crap), but this used to not be an issue. If this only applied to number of emails with Inspirations, I would be all for this...

A generalized list of topics where posters argue due to a fundamental mismatch of game expectation. Bulleted points are not my opinion; they are my attempt to summarize a broad forum perspective. I tended towards a bit more draconian than most human brains work -- chances are, you will see yourself as having an opinion that falls between one of the "tentpoles" listed here. Balance scales In discussions of balance, particularly powerset balance. Assessments should assume the strongest build involving the element in question. Assessments should assume SOs only. A vacuum is best; you should ignore even the Secondaries a set can be paired with. All player options should "scale" similarly, being roughly the same power with the same amount of investment. Outside influences are a reality, and should also be considered (inspirations, teammates). Community involvement How involved should the community be in the addition of new game material? Nothing should be added without a long tail of player conversation to reference. Our feedback and even our suggestions' worth is in how it informs developers of pain points and gaps in the player experience. The developers and game runners have all the power and we should be happy there's even a beta process. Sometimes you gotta break an egg and some changes are worth making, even without some players on board. The OG Developer's legacy How much of a living museum should this be? The game is pristine; anything added should seek to make as few waves as possible. We have a lot we've learned about game design; let's use that to fix old wrongs. It's 202x, baby! *pew pew finger guns!* Rule of cool is the design philosophy now. // I'm sure this isn't every broad category, and others would have organized these differently. Within the categories, I've no doubt missed some very cornerstone opinions. Some of these topic responses can really never be anything but "ideals" for people to associate themselves with, and maybe that could be enough for identifying varying opinions instead of leaping straight to "wow that's a bad idea/take" and starting a 3 page fight.

I have a character with this issue. I don't really remember server transferring them though (but I do that a lot so it's super possible). Since i27, I've unlocked 2 exploration accolades and still no unlock. Currently residing on indominable; can provide more info as needed (more responsive on discord).

I don't think this insp will happen and think we need +mez more, and that doesn't offend me or bother me. Ok that out of the way, this reasoning doesn't entirely track for me. Are you familiar with EHP? Effective Hit Points? If you have any resistance at all, it multiplies your effective HP, even if by a small decimal amount. If you have +Defense, it multiplies the effectiveness of your hp and your resistance. If you're at 80% hit rate but are under a full fulcrum shift, then the Yellow you just popped multiplies the damage bonus you are currently running. So all of our current inspirations are already multiplying the effects of other stats. I don't see how Recharge is different aside from being more universal -- though even then, it won't affect your toggles or your autos. I don't think anyone isn't recognizing it's a more powerful stat, but it's not interacting with other stats in a fundamentally different way. I still like the idea of diluting it with +move speed, or giving it a 5s duration with a big (cap-scratching) boost but there are plenty of ways to make it balanced.

Just a red herring I regret biting into, since it again let Shenanigunner not explain why this is any different. This came out of literally the least important sentence of a post of mine, that has nothing to do with the topic. I'm still wanting to know why "build for recharge, use inspirations for other stats" is ok but "build for other stats, use inspirations for recharge" is bad, and somehow easymode. I will reiterate my initial point: "testing this instead of opposing it with no sound reasoning on why it's bad would be better." I don't think it's too much to ask someone to explain why this is EZmode, why this stat that enhances like the rest, is different. If that still leaves you feeling indignant, or like I'm the radical, I'm truly sorry that we have no common ground.

I think you're missing a word or 3 in your 2nd paragraph. I think it's saying 10-20% of S/L should be flagged irresistible?

I would enjoy this as a solution more if the price formula used level -1, which should result in them being free at level 1 and 1k each at level 2. Remembering to email all my poor new characters stimulus checks gets old. In regards to the OP topic, I think the values of TOs are so low as to be worth more as inf, so I find myself feeling like the change prevented participation in a trap system.

I like it, but I think I'd go for a different "schtick": lose the smashing damage from non-wind, and give +damage (source) to the element you're not using. Example: Fireball gives +DMG(cold, smashing, energy). You could even go a step further and have it apply a damage debuff to Fire, but I'm not sure I like that degree of forced rotation. If the set doesn't have an Aim, I'd consider adding a +ToHit to the gimmick as well. I don't know, Puma, I don't think this is the same. A "Beam Rifle" may be a conduit of magical energy forged into a gun by an arcane gunsmith**. Demon Summoning refers more to the final effect, since you can always make the argument that a demon is just an alien from another dimension where all the denizens are evil. To make a Science "Sorcerous Blast" you must address (if you actually build lore) how your science character is specifically accessing Magic, because a synonym for it (Sorcery) is right there in the name. Of course, we are all welcome to ignore the names and I think a lot of us do that - example would be the Dark Armor character I have where I made all the armor into off-white cumulonimbus clouds - but at that point why not try to bake that into the power set to begin with? If "Elemental blast" or something similar hits the same effect, and has "cast" alt animations, that seems like a wiser path to develop on. ** I still want staves added to weapon customization for beam rifle. I'm totally fine with it being held like a gun.

I've never really been big into Daft Punk, but I find it lovely how impossible they seem to be to dislike. Frankly, I cannot imagine any other still-living band causing this sort of news wave over simply breaking up. Sure, by fan count, something like BTS or w/e pop-sensation will be felt by larger numbers... but by virtue of number of cultures and sub-cultures who will take notice, I think Daft Punk takes the cake. I mean, when Metallica finally breaks up, we'll probably overdub the announcement.

I didn't think you were wrong at all, actually. Just explaining my position, based on what you quoted. I draw a hard line: if you do not like a thing, saying "I think it will cause [I won't explain] damage" is a bad justification. I'm done with this Red Herring. Defender->Electric Affinity-> provides 125% Recharge for 5 seconds. Suggestion: Something along these lines would actually be really fun as an Inspiration. Example progression: +75% Recharge +100% Recharge +125% Recharge (+150% if you care for a t4) Duration: 5s. This means the better your build, the less effective these become, and they function as quick bursts to cross you to the finish line when a power is almost ready. Because they are so time-sensitive, you can't just keep pumping them and then run on God Mode like you can with a full tray of Reds. I'm curious to see how people would break this.

So "Special" IOs (6th piece) don't drop as well as the regularly-scheduled exclusions (pvp, event, ato). This would certainly make IOing way more expected. We would still buy and sell, if only to attune, but yeah I'd say that qualifies as a pretty big sea change. One year after that point, we would want a new topic like this. Heck, I wonder about doing this just with the 3- and 4-piece sets which tend towards bad, just to improve the baseline and introduce people to sets without feeling like a thing that needs a big time and brain investment. I like this notion, though I tend towards a "watered-down but more expansive" approach (and I hate gimmick fights usually): Give me a difficulty mode that makes groups spawn with a Power Grant, pulled from a pool. This spawn, the boss has Accelerate Metabolism. This next spawn, every mob has Death Shroud. Combine with my other idea where every LT spawns with one random inspiration and bosses have one random team inspiration, and suddenly you have a lot of dynamic, changing battles. Benefits are harder to work out, especially since I would want this before 50, so unless they lift the ban on Incarnate components pre-50, even that isn't a good enough reward.

I just clarified a bit, but I am comfortable discarding opinions that tell devs what to work on, and I'm comfortable telling people they are passing off feelings as facts. If you are talking about my final bolded sentence, would you accept "for me" added to the end of it? A little less "these are the laws of the universe" and more "I want you to understand why I'm not considering this as good feedback"? I do come across rather absolute, there.

Two things I want to note: No response of "devs should be working on something else" is ever valid, I would even argue within the dev and homecoming team itself. They are volunteers and will work on not only what they think is needed, but what they are interested in actually implementing. I am not telling them what to do or what to work on; rather - I am pointing out the worthlessness of shutting down an idea without the data to know if it's good or bad (at least in a topic lacking thematic or artistic properties like this). This wasn't in response to "look at this impact it will surely have." This was in response to an undefined feeling: (The rest of this post is what I responded to in the parts you didn't include in the quote) To put it more generally, "This might not work" is never a valid reason to shut down an idea (edit: for me). Either bring the data to your Gedankenexperiment, or accept that you are opposed to progress.

I literally do not see the difference you're trying to highlight. For starters: I'm trying to have a conversation here, so maybe aim for discussion instead of sarcasm? Unless you are agreeing with me in a strange vernacular, there is nothing logical presented here. You seem to be saying "it's ok to build for recharge and get your [other missing stats] elsewhere, but it's unacceptable to build for [other stats] and get your recharge elsewhere." I repeat: I do not see the difference. Second, you seem to think players have infinite inspirations? Are we really going to balance around someone emailing themselves 400 of these every time they're online? Is this somehow different from buying the p2w Amp powers?

See, I have a completely different reaction to this same information - I like the idea because it alleviates some build needs for Recharge on a per instance basis. I don't see this dumbing down difficulty so much as further diversifying what stats we can focus on, and in what order. When I read this bit about changing game strategy or bypassing power limits, I think: what are two stats that stop being such a big deal once you're well-enhanced? Accuracy and Endurance. I would argue these 2 stats would be a much bigger deal without matching inspirations. People would say "well yes, you have 95% hit chance in this build, but what about vs Rikti Drones?" They would say "I don't have endurance problems, but about 1-2 times per Freakshow mission, I have to stop the killing and recover end." Instead, we don't talk about it and don't even really consider Freakshow to be Sappers because when you get to this point in the middle of your career, you can just pop a small blue once per mission and it's not even worth discussing. I feel like a +recharge insp would be similar to a break free -- some will hoard and rely on them, some will just ensure they always have one on hand, and many will be take-it-or-leave-it (high end melee builds with perfect attack chains being the big one). I don't see that as any different or more harmful. There's also a lot of balancing levers. It doesn't need the same amounts as an Uncanny Insight. Or it could have a low duration (break free sets the precedent), or as I mentioned before, you could dilute the power budget with +move speeds. I personally like the idea of it being very potent and short-lived, like 5-10 second duration. This would intentionally make it run afoul of +Recharge caps. I truly believe any time you find yourself thinking "No, because it might be bad," the better thing to do is pivot to "put it on the test server, and I will try to prove it's bad."

Thank you. I accept and respect this response.

Activating a train of boring toggles is not playing the game for you, it does not require tactics, it has no consequences outside of time sink, and it is already no-thought. I'm not really on board with this suggestion*, but I don't think you're being reasonable to tell @arthurh35353 not to be hyperbolic in response to calling out your hyperbole. You claiming this makes the game any of what you claimed is no better than saying "find a server that hates QoL." *Standard Code Rant pending, I think I'd be on board with an intermediate of ignoring animations when flagged out of combat. My understanding of the power files though, tells me this would require 3 separate power entries per armor toggle (base entry with 2 conditional redirects), so this isn't a realistic suggestion.

I like the idea of a minor-moderate recharge buff as well as a +move speed buff. Just an all around celerity inspiration. I realize it would probably be (too) cumbersome, but I would love some mid-mission inspiration "recipe" options in the right-click menu for adding new inspirations. ex: Combine break free and accuracy of same tier to build a +speed insp. This lets you avoid adding the new inspiration to the drop pool and increase the relative "cost" of them, which seems like a good way to ease it into the game.

This got me thinking, it's weird the same rationale for Incarnate content isn't reflected for IO content. I think in a more standard MMO, the order of operations goes: * Baseline game difficulty and player power. * Introduce new subsystem for players to engage in, which increases power ceiling. * Create new content tied to the new subsystem, which expects the additional power. I understand Cryptic-Paragon had a policy of not locking content to "power gaming" and that's how we ended up here. But I would submit the largest issue in that mindset is limiting content to story. An example would be something like the mass effect multiplayer modes: you have a small introductory plot, then you fight waves of bad guys, with random objectives every once in a while. You can beat it on the "story" difficulty and call it done, or you can start working on IOs and keep trying to go big on the difficulty. A lot of systems like this have ways to keep adding modifiers to keep upping the challenge more and more, which appeals to the high end players without feeling "required" for story-mode types. -- This will feel like a sudden hard left turn on this post, but this is AE's fault. All those other games that use their new subsystems to push their new content promise "greater rewards and greater power." When money=power and AE is the best way to earn money and xp, the incentives for anything like what I'm talking about evaporate. The "I wanted to challenge myself" crowd isn't that big. Also going to echo @oedipus_tex- this is more musing than wanting real change at this point. While I would be ok with difficulty increases starting around 35 (if they were minor and unfrustrating), I think at this point it would be upsetting the compact between player and developer. I can muse about how AE needs deleted without actually wanting it to happen on Homecoming.

"Balancing around the concept of fun" is, in fact, The definition of game design. Also, stop ignoring simple comparisons while claiming you need to see the facts. Enough has been given to show you why @Galaxy Brain's claims (such as "stun sets are weak") aren't just him asserting his opinion as fact. You are just ignoring anything you don't like while trying to claim moral authority. it's exhausting.

@SwitchFade I think one thing that actually isn't addressed is pretty specifically the OP's "debuff controller" use case: We can combat the drop in accuracy, incoming damage, etc. But the purple patch also reduces debuff strength and mez duration, which have very very few active modifiers. I think you're still valid, here, I just wanted to be thorough and point out this... I think I'd say imbalance. A Scrapper can add more acc and damage and just keep doing their job, but a controller can really only up their acc and... just live with there not being an avenue to improve the other aspects of their role. You can "fix the problem" to different degrees, depending on what your party role is.

To my understanding, this isn't strictly true. The big thing is that non-minions have a lot of endurance, and every "tick" of endurance is a % of your max - so sayeth the wiki, 6.667% recovery every four seconds for all critters. With the very large pools of Endurance an AV has, it only takes one tick to gain enough endurance to use any of their moves. This is why once you do start scraping something's endurance to 0, the most important stat is -recovery, since (iirc- citation needed), every second of -100% recovery = another second delay until they get that tick. I am having a hell of a time trying to find AV endurance, but I want to say it's like 600-1200. This is made worse by AV resistance. Even removing the Purple Patch from the equation, if you're level 50 and fighting a level 50 AV, they will reduce all -Endurance and -Recovery effects down to 15% of their listed effects! There's a lot that could be adjusted to make this possible without being unfair to the AVs themselves -- the big one would be reducing the actual size of their Endurance pool, though. Even paired with an inherent endurance discount, this would make sapping actually something that could cost them an attack every now-and-then.

Sure but... let's not use that as a reason to do nothing with these zones. 😛 I think we'd settle for 80% useless instead of 90%.

I've seen a lot of reports that new maps is the most expensive part of video game design. I gotta be honest: when I read stuff like "oh we built entire zones just for story backdrop" I think "no wonder this game and its studio went extinct."