Troo

I wasn't shocked. I merely asked the question to clarify, that's all.

I was trying to point out a good thing. It's great that you expanded it and gave the "how to do it, if it's not working for someone'. -kudos!

2.5-ish days and 24 25 pages in.. <{[ ALERT Wall of Words ALERT ]}> Flashback time Suggestions in May (above 300+ replies and other places) I guess weren't early enough in the process to provide any valuable input or feedback. Same for comments in that Weekly Discussion 68: Energy Melee (9/13/20-9/19/20) where many folks had similar suggestions. Because, look what's is on Beta.. Gotta have more AoE. New power with targets galore. A set defining combo mechanic involving both heavy hitters. Is it re-envisioned? Absolutely. The bar was set pretty low so let's be realistic, any reasonable improvement was going to seem pretty good. (There are good things in the Beta) --- -- --- Did you know that pre-nerf (July 9, 2008): Energy Punch was a .57 or .83 second activation time, a 4 second recharge, and a 5.2 end cost. Energy Transfer was a 1 second activation time, a 20 second recharge, and a 10.2 cost. These were fantastic powers. In less than 2 seconds Pop-Boom! It was stunning. << On a high recharge build, EP recharged in about 1.5 seconds and ET was in the 7.5 seconds. Current Beta: So why the combo mechanic now? Why such a drastic change? (It may not be drastic for all, but it is for others. Just accept that. Even if it seems ridiculous to you) Surely just reverting the nerf, adding quicker Total Focus, a higher damage Whirling Hands and some other goodies sprinkled on top would perform well. Maybe too well. The combo mechanic prevents a number of things from happen. That's what it does. It's a guard rail. That allows adding another AoE (middling as it may be). --- -- --- Right now a highly tuned build could be getting exaggerated performance while a middle of the road build is good but not great. Below that, the performance continues to drop. Not a big deal for those focused on level 50 incarnates. --- -- --- My opinion: I don't think it is right to force the combo mechanic on an existing power set. I find it sub-optimal in practice, even if some scream "it's so easy". I don't like the combo mechanic. Having one choice be big stun +debuff OR that fast Energy Transfer folks are drooling over.. seriously? I promised to give it a fair shot (which I am still doing). I really like my EM/Regen who has been screwed over too many times to count. I apologize for not settling for something I don't think is good enough. Is beta awful? Heck no. Could it be better? F--- Ya! <-- We want 'F--- Ya', don't we? Based comments bouncing around many threads the ol' noggin started to point to a potential option that is not "revert the nerf" & keeps much of the beta version.. Below is a link to what would get me to shut up and choke down the combo mechanic.

Okay cool. I'm working up to something and if the -regen is really needed, that may have an impact.

Here's a new spot to get the rankings that were referred. Thanks @Galaxy Brain. Check GB's post linked above for more details. The spoiler below just grabs highlights of the performance testing. Combined Results: (Energy Melee 15 out of 20)

Excellent stuff. Will link & poach from here.

Were you using the -special and -regen at all?

Excellent work @Safehouse Can you do my homework too?

Dr V sends Cortex a Valentine. That's totally in cannon. You're doing awesome!

Market UI.. is it a lost cause?

Powertrays.. too bad we can't save a power tray setup.

Being able to have the same setup across characters without having to reposition stuff is a great thing.

I've never really opened with Total Focus, it was always something else. Bone Smasher was often applied very liberally, like, every time it was up.

You could run?! I remember thinking 'Sprint is to run a fast as we can, isn't it? I guess it's meant leisurely jog all along and I just didn't know different.'

See above

Would triggering off Bone Smasher work better? It gets used often anyway. That could help also avoid reordering powers.. but would the stun go to Energy Punch then.. I dunno. I'm trying to work with the combo mechanic but something just feels off.

Thanks. So does the first application get a full Mag 3 and then additional applications get the stacking Mag 1? Bosses are Mag 3, Elite Bosses are 6 (that's if I am remembering correctly and we have to exceed the Magnitude, not just match, to get the effect)

I think I'll double down with: Yes, interesting.

Who has the combo crack control? Please someone take the crack pipe from that person!! (semi-joking, this isn't so bad) Is there someone that can explain a bit the Stun and Hold changes from Mag 3, scale 12 to Mag 2, Scale 8 non stacking? Actual impact? Why? What good is a Mag 1?

Interesting. Please elaborate. Drats!

They have cybernetic enhancements.. I'm was just wondering if the game treated them as a non-robot. An E.M.P. or similar could have an effect on a cyborg.

Wait wait hold on. Just hold on. Are you saying by confusing a nemesis support target we could get Vengeance?

Quick question, are Freakshow considered robots or non-robots?

Speed Runs = Skipping parts of the missions to focus on objectives The term Speed could be a misnomer as it doesn't necessarily guarantee Time. Team make up, players involved, etc all have pretty big impacts on the result. 45-ish minutes for a pickup team seems right. (sure 45 is not terribly fast, maybe ranging from 30 to maybe 50) If we are expecting to shave 15 minutes off a pickup team time, it might be worth taking a moment to confirm with the team to avoid disappointment. Dropping is lame for all parties (though sometimes.. unavoidable) If someone is expecting 20 min from random pick up teams consistently, I laugh at your optimism 😃 ... unless UNLESS someone can carry the team to that time. I'm totally okay with "Why are you skipping ahead?" "Yall said it was a speed run, I'll have this done in 15, keep up :)" just my 0.02