Troo

This has been mentioned and hopefully it is being addressed. A new EF should not be prevented by the first (for all ATs). @Captain Powerhouse Could a stalker potentially have 4 EFs? I did not test for that. because they only get one and it's the lesser of the two.. I can see what your saying.

oh geez, did page six get bumped into Issue 27? I was hoping: Page 6 is likely coming out soontm Issue 27 is only in beta. Page 6 Issue 27, Pgae 1

@Hew, doesn't change what I said though. TK Thrust is a mag 8 perfect power for getting one target off a blaster. Trading that for a Mag 2 confuse that's only an 8 foot AoE toggle.. Something like Seeds of Confusion is mag 3, 50 foot radius cone.

Nine new arena zones.. pretty cool stuff.

Well done

Thank you thank you thank you for the reasonable adjustment. The rest of the EM changes.. meh (more combo mechanics = em/puke) Having combo mechanics light up the same as insta-snipes = lame thanks Moving the Melee attack from T3 to T9... bye bye defensive knockbock. Making all the sets too similar is just gross.

New additions to the list: Nerf the Cottage Rule.. ..and replace it with something stronger that encourages new sets, features, content and zones while protecting existing. Nerf other servers & youtubers. Nerf overreaching PvP changes that deviate further from PvE. Nerf reality TV becoming reality,, wait too real life-ish.. wake me when it's over.

Hahahahahaha My Fire,Fire,Fire blaster isn't strong because look at the Sun!

FYI - Assassin's Strike misses more than it should from Hide. What are the odds that it misses while hidden and after using Build Up. (that's rhetorical) Well, it misses more than that. Here's what I'm talking about: MISSED Practice Dummy!! Your Assassins Strike Stealth power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 98.63.

As mentioned previously, if zoomed in too close there is barely a chance to see the EF message. When zoomed in too far the messages don't show at all.

This is the visual for the double EF. Here is the power tray with one spent and one still available.

I would also swear it was 80.

A Brute or Tanker provide more HP, so I'd start there. Something like Super Reflexes is able to get good numbers with minimal slotting. Shield can I think do it with just three power picks (just have to keep 2-3 teammates around) That's what I would be looking at to free up power selection spots for pool powers or the epic powers. Shield with just the Fighting Pool can provide 44+ Melee, Ranged, AoE pretty easily. It's a good base to start building off of, and can all be had by reasonable level. One example:

@Naraka I had come to a similar conclusion. If the combo mechanic was going to be implemented, just simplify it as a way to switch between AoE & single target focus. Having the third option just seems to over complicate it. The improvements buried in the EF stun option could be spread around or put elsewhere. It's not game breaking to be able to stun one target. TF > BS is a good replacement for Stun > BS. ET > BS is also serviceable. TF > ET will just be stunning a corpse.

interesting

experience ymmv

FYI - Assassin's Strike misses more than it should from Hide. What are the odds that it misses while hidden and after using Build Up. (that's rhetorical) Well, it misses more than that.

There are interesting performance gaps between max builds or everything hitting and in game behavior. Hence testing and Beta. I can tell everyone that Build Up > Assassin's Strike misses from Hide more than it should. That's the boots on the ground. Meanwhile, the numbers say it should be rare.. but that's not the case.

@siolfir @Vanden Increasing the stun duration of EF+Barrage slightly to match Stun makes sense since that is what it's replacing . Stacking stuns is required for some targets and it would make sense that there is a reasonable window. The numbers may not be exactly dialed in on the EF+Barrage stun duration. No point in doing that yet if EF+Barrage is going away or the effect is moving to another power.

While I did test the various ATs, this is the only one I really have any AT specific comments on. The powers switching places is minor but did have an impact on existing characters copied over. One character lost Energy Transfer out of their build just due to level 32. The beta Energy Melee feels to me like a very busy set now when compared to live and the old version. The old version being more straight forward and simpler allowed more focus on situational tactics and secondary powers. This may just take more time to climate. Insta Assassins Strike, a new combo mechanic with three options, possible crit double EF, hidden vs not hidden, build up recharging, etc. There is a lot going on. It is a blinding flurry of pom poms and powertrays lighting up. Paired with a busy secondary it is a very very busy character. Regeneration is a specific example. This busy-ness was one reason I'm not super excited for this vs a reverted EM. Having tested, I still feel this way. The combo mechanic is now the feature of the set. Does Insta Assassin Strike and the Energy Focus powers have to light up the same?

It is, call it what you want. It’s a game mechanic that requires another power in combination. I have no problem with many targets and no aoe. This is part of EM appeal.

The power that replaced Stun (Stun being an often skipped utility power) Pro: New AoE power for the set. Pro: Has a small chance to stun, this does stack nicely with some disorient capable toggles. Pro: Combined with WH, it is a good bit of AoE. Con: 5 targets for some ATs. Con: Positioning to get targets in the cone. Con: It uses the old Stun animation. Foot Stomp alternate ground punch could be a better fit. -----this is all before using the combo mechanic----- Pro: Using the combo it effectively doubles(ish) the number of targets. Comment: I don't like having to sacrifice single target effectiveness for additional AoE. I would have been fine with WH improvements alone.

Pro: Reduced animation time (this was likely long overdue) Thank you! Pro: **Stalker Hide should allow this to crit every time when hidden Pro: A good replacement for the removed power Stun (same disorient capability) (would not have used it this way with the long cast time) -----that's all without the combo mechanic------ Pro: Energy Focus is 100% miss or not. (did not test if a miss while hidden did a double EF) Using Total Focus starts a treed combo mechanic with three options. A fast Energy Transfer OR a 100% mag 3 stun OR a double(ish) targets AoE Power Crash. Pro: These are for the most part optional (especially when using Barrage instead of BS) Con: Crits are what they are. Comment: If doing a combo mechanic, triggering it off a slow, later tier, heavy hitter seems counter intuitive. Comment: This power could have been equally improved without adding the combo mechanic. Without the new feature the crits may have been able to be better.

Brute.. unless you really like Scrappers This answer is in response to not having cash to burn and wanting a multipurpose character. (scrappers fully kitted can absolutely do great stuff = $$$$)

Everyone loves a redside tanker! It's more than a niche if you find it beneficial. Providing Tankers some love on Barrage is a pretty cool result of all this.