Captain Fabulous

Prior to IOs each AT had a role and sets within that AT were balanced with each other in regard to that role. It's one of the reasons why nearly every OG powerset follows the exact same pattern. IOs threw all that into a blender, with the ability to make godly any AT with any combination of powersets. I know I'm high. Are you high? 🤭

Controllers are gaining the ability to control their pets.

But what in this patch is hurting those people? The Tanker changes are a wash IMO, Controllers are getting a huge buff that will be great for "normal" players (the only big nerf here is Seeds), Regen will be playable again for the masses, lots of little changes and buffs for a myriad of other sets with a few small nerfs. Lots of changes in the way some powers work (which arguably will make those power better), so people will have to adjust. But that's not necessarily a hurtful nerf.

Because this is what the development team, both live and HC, have repeatedly told us thru the years, and why the game has always been balanced around SOs, because that's what the majority uses. If this has changed recently and someone from the dev team wants to chime in and confirm it's no longer the case I'll happily issue a mea culpa. Writing a "review" based solely upon patch notes and not having actually played the beta is like reading the list of ingredients off the menu and deciding the omelet is going to taste like shit without even trying it.

They are what created the power divide that's plagued the game since their introduction and made true balance impossible so they absolutely are part of the problem. How does a dev team, any dev team, balance around players using SOs and maybe a few common IOs with those who have full IO set builds? You can't. All you can do is try to reign in powers and sets that are overperforming and shore up those that are underperforming. Sometimes that means the meta gets buffed, sometimes it means the meta gets nerfed. And it also means having to introduce new mechanics and update old ones that have become obsolete. Games have to evolve. The endgame in every MMO including CoH is grind, so it's really no surprise the focus is on doing as much damage as quickly as possible, because it's not about doing ITF for the 10000th time because you enjoy it so much, it's because you want the reward. This is really basic MMO 101 stuff that seems to have gone over the author(s) heads. What keeps getting lost in this conversation (and by the author(s) of this "article") is that majority of the playerbase are not high end speed runners with fully optimized IO builds steamrolling thru +4x8 content. The majority still use SOs and common IOs and are playing at +0 to +1 at the default team size.

Bro, can you take it down maybe 100-150 notches and stop insulting everyone who disagrees with you? Mmmkay, thanks.

Oh, that's me. His opinion and "article" are trash. Period. If that makes me an asshole I'll own it. If he doesn't want his opinion criticized then maybe he shouldn't have written an uninformed, nonsensical, and grossly biased hit piece. If my being critical of his "article" is a personal insult, then his being critical of this patch is also a personal insult to the developers and closed beta testers who worked on it, of which I am one. But this was less a design choice and more a economics one. In a for-profit MMO there is every incentive to slow progress in order to keep people coming back and hopefully paying money. When there is no profit there is no need to artificially hinder progression. In fact there is every incentive to make progression easier, which is why it's been the trend over the past decade. Despite the game being 21 years old it still needs to be reflective of modern gaming if you want to retain your playerbase. And no one is forced to speed run anything. It's not necessary or required to play and enjoy the game. If you loathe speedruns start your own team, make your intentions clear, and progress at whatever pace you desire.

Exactly. Plant got rebalanced with the emphasis taken off Seeds, which has always been grossly overpowered. Controllers are getting massive buffs in this build with deep sleep, adaptive recharge, expanded containment, and pet control. To read all that and think "oh Controllers are getting nerfed" means you're either completely unfamiliar with the game or 10000% disingenuous.

I have no idea who she is and frankly don't care. I speak only of what she's stated, which is just plain wrong and just as reactionary and toxic as the shit she claims to rail against. The game can be played in any manner one likes. No one is forced to play "the meta". No one is forced to do anything they don't like or enjoy. The majority of the playerbase aren't the hardcore meta players, they're people who have suboptimal builds with SOs and common IOs, who either solo, play with small groups of their friends, or hop on to do a quick TF every now and again. Moreover, it sounds like neither one of them have actually PLAYED the beta, only read and reacted to the notes. Which is wholly unacceptable for a "journalist". Their uninformed conclusions also spit in the face of those of us who spent MONTHS in closed beta testing all these updates and changes. It's a garbage hit piece by people who clearly have an axe to grind.

Awesome, so she has no f*cking clue what she's talking about either.

I don't know who this twit is, but he has no f*cking clue what he's talking about.

There are a bunch of unique IOs I try to build into each of my characters: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End Miracle: Recovery Panacea: Chance for +HP/+End Power Transfer: Chance to Heal Self Numina: Regen/Recovery Kismet: +accuracy Steadfast Protection: +3% def Gladiator's Armor: +3% def Luck of the Gambler: +global recharge (up to 5 of them) As for set bonuses, I'd go for melee/ranged/aoe defense, as much as you can get.

I did limited testing of this in closed beta, and I suggest you do some of your own testing in open beta. While I completely understand where you are coming from, IMHO all the changes are a bit of a wash -- there are some buffs and there are some nerfs. I did not notice any significant change in overall effectiveness between live and beta.

Nah, it didn't happen that way at all.

I really don't get all the poo-pooing about Rage. My main has been an Invul/SS Tank since 2004. The Rage crash isn't nearly as big an issue as everyone makes it out to be. Do I wish it (and all other penalties) were removed? Of course, but seriously, it's not that big a deal (it's only 10 seconds) and there are plenty of ways to mitigate it if you need to.

Damage cap for HEATs is 400%, same as Defenders, Controllers, Dominators, Masterminds, and VEATs. I don't think Cosmic Balance/Dark Sustenance has changed recently. They give +20% damage for each Corruptor, Defender, MM, and Tank on the team, +10% resistance to all damage for each Blaster, Brute, Scrapper, and Sentinel, +1 MAG mez protection for each Controller and Dominator, and +10% slow resistance for each H/VEAT. I'm pretty sure most if not all click buffs carry over into forms. For example, if you use powers like Essence Boost, Conserve Energy, Inner Light, Light Form, Sunless Mire, Eclipse, Hasten, etc. in human form and then switch to Nova or Dwarf you will retain the effects of the power until they expire. So while you can't activate them while in Nova or Dwarf form, you can benefit from them once activated. A common tactic for Warshades is to use Sunless Mire, switch to Dwarf and use Black Dwarf Mire, and then immediately switch to Nova and take advantage of double stacked damage buffs.

I think my vote is for #1, if for no other reason than ease and simplicity. Sometimes giving too many options isn't the best way to go. It'll just wind up being confusing to the casual players who make up the majority of the playerbase, IMHO.

My guess it's due to mismatched animations. Attacks would look weird coming from the walk stance/animation.

They are quite versatile. You can absolutely solo.

I'm not sure how to address this. Human form is where all the team, utilities, and debuffs are. You can't leave it out and then complain you don't have them. You say that you have to constantly change forms, but isn't that the point of a shapeshifter class? Why pick shapeshifter forms if you don't want to, y'know, shapeshift? How much you do or do not shift forms is completely up to you. Want to blast away in Nova, go for it. Want to tank a bit, rock your Dwarf. Want to swap back and forth to keep things interesting, have at it. How you play is entirely up to you. Nova attacks have a 1.2 damage modifier, the highest in the game, higher than Blasters. Dwarf has a 1.0 modifier, higher than Tanks and Brutes. The mez protection in Dwarf is FAR higher than what other melee sets get. You are correct there is no defense in either Nova or Dwarf form, and only a trivial amount in Combat Flight and Shadow Cloak. But you are forgetting that Cosmic Balance/Dark Sustenance boosts your damage, damage resistance, mez protection and can provide slow resistance, depending upon team composition. Electric Armor, Radiation, and Fiery Aura also lack any defense (Dark Armor gets a trivial amount in Cloak of Darkness) and most sets only get 1 or 2 debuff resistances while Regen has none. The ability to change forms and fill multiple roles on a team is what they bring to the table. Need extra damage, go Nova. Need an off-tank, go Dwarf. Need extra control, healing, debuffing and other assorted utilities, go human. I'm never against suggestions on how to improve an AT or set, but lets not misrepresent what it actually is and does before making suggestions on how to improve it.

Oh I thought you were holding back and had more reasons. 🤭

And?

Was it a holiday? Even villains get time off.

Unfortunately I'm pretty sure it's baked into the sidekick/exemplar code.

Try /bind numpad1 "broadcast $target $loc"