Kai Moon

Hmm, I think I see what you mean. The heading structure you did makes more sense. I'll give it a shot.

Found a video from November 2019 with the Cutting Beam delayed fx. So this bug started sometime between November 2012 and November 2019. And just to clarify, this has nothing to do with Disintegration. My test character didn't have the Disintegrate power, and Cutting Beam never spreads Disintegration anyway.

Got some video. Cutting Beam's visual and sound effects are playing on the primary target correctly. But they're delayed by 5 seconds on all other targets. Tested Original/Bright/Dark customizations, same delay. Tested Blaster/Corruptor/Defender/Sentinel, same delay. Found this 2012 video with no delay on Cutting Beam effects. Good chance this is a post-2012 bug. cutting-beam-delay.mp4

Why should nothing happening to a target alert the target? Game mechanics should be intuitive unless there's a good reason otherwise. This reminds me of [Positioning] - a kludgy power that interrupts and de-stealths players despite having no effect on players. Players expect no effect to mean no effect, but there's a code quirk that alerts targets to nothing happening. Fortunately, the "notify mobs" flag to get around that code quirk already exists. Seems like a good use for that flag. (On that tangent, do the non-taunting melee hybrid powers interrupt or de-stealth mobs? That could be a minor exploit.)

The Mysterious General Z arc from Christine Lansdale is 25-30, but the critter type used near a required glowie in last task appears to have a 28+ range. This can force the critter to be much higher than the mission level. The critter's surrounding spawn matches the mission level, as expected. Screenshot: Level 28 critter in level 24 mission at -1x1. Surrounding enemies are level 24 as expected.

The Pecking Order badge mission (Eliza Thorpe / Lorenzo Tate) is level 25-29, but the critter type used for the third task's boss appears to have a 30+ range. This can force the boss to be much higher than the mission level. The boss's surrounding spawn matches the mission level, as expected. Screenshot: Level 30 boss in level 26 mission at -1x1. Surrounding enemies are level 26 as expected.

Another example, Elec Affinity gets its tier 9. Annoying. Fortunately, the tier 9 isn't very good. So it's not just Marine Affinity, it's the overall approach to the feature. Not saying "not a defect", though. It contradicts and undermines the story. They have powers I can't have, so I don't buy Rollister's dialogue that they're copies. They're more like the Flawed Clone with random powersets from Dean MacArthur's arc. Amusing, in an "I wonder what powers it has" kind of way. Not what the writer intended, but that's where I'm at.

This only happens on the first attempt to combo after zoning. It may be related to unsheathe animation timing, or an unsheathe animation time offset. Steps to reproduce: 1) Load into the game, or change zones, with a Dual Blades brute/scrapper/tanker. 2) Without pre-drawing your swords, attack an enemy with Nimble Slash. 3) Immediately queue Ablating Strike. Expected results: Nimble Slash sets Weaken/Empower combo mode 1. Ablating Strike sets Weaken/Empower combo mode 2. Typhoon's Edge and Blinding Feint are highlighted as combo finishers. Actual results: Nimble Slash sets Weaken/Empower combo mode 1. Ablating Strike doesn't appear to advance the combo. Ablating Strike remains highlighted as the next combo step. Typhoon's Edge and Blinding Feint don't finish the combo. Reproducibility: 5/5 on the first combo attempt after loading into the game or changing zones. 0/5 on any further combo attempts. dual-blades-broken-combo.mkv

Thanks for finding that! i27p1 is my guess for the culprit. The powers that fire but have no effect or a partial effect if the target goes down at the wrong time, as far as I can tell, all use the "execute power" mechanic. And if there's a partial effect, it's always the part that isn't in the "execute power" that works. The December 1st patch after i27p1 shortened the window for Transfusion to misfire. But it still misfires when I'm extra unlucky with the timing, or extra laggy. And, like @Burk said about Transference, it happens a lot with "execute power" effects other than Transfusion.

In this thread, I posted videos of the Kinetics powers working in an early i26 build. This was broken on Homecoming within the past few years.

I'd agree with that statement if there were an option to launch DFB with a "hard mode" Meinst whose cadavers are invincible until after she went down. That being how Ouroboros handicaps work.

If this badge didn't exist, taking the zombies out last is easily the worst way to approach this fight. Meinst's ability to rez the zombies is insignificant. So it's one of those Badges Awarded For Playing Badly On Purpose. Personal preference, but I don't like those badges. I'd prefer if the encounter were changed so there's a strategic reason to avoid killing cadavers. Say, Meinst has a fast PBAoE to resurrect all nearby fallen zombies as embalmed, and you get the badge for preventing Meinst from rezzing any embalmed. Additional upside, there'd be multiple ways to succeed at that.

Just popping in to say that DiB gives merits when launched redside, but not when launched blueside. Which is weird, man.

Add Marine Affinity's Whitecap to the list. If the target dies mid-animation, the caster teleports, but there are no further effects. I think it's safe to say all powers using this mechanic on Homecoming have this bug.

Soothing Wave heal and Soothing Wave debuff are two separate powers, with an apparent delay between their activations. The heal's timing is normal, and goes the direction faced at the beginning of the activation, as expected. But the debuff goes somewhere else if the caster is turning or moving. Video 1: Heal goes left, debuff goes right. Video 2: Heal goes close, debuff goes far. The videos may appear forced, but this happens all the time for me in normal gameplay. I use a face keybind and have a mobile playstyle. Possible fix: Use the Medicine > Injection mechanic instead. The same power affects both friend and foe, with different effects for each. heal-left-debuff-right.mp4 heal-close-debuff-far.mp4

AI 6 months ago vs AI today. This is why your brother-in-law won't shut up about that Nvidia stock he bought. 305201983613792265.mp4

Couple of Lord Recluse Strike Force typos: Mission 4 (assault Vindicators base) entrance pop up text: Should be "allowing you to get past". Task force completion reward window: Statesman isn't in LRSF anymore.

I have a habit of only editing slot 0. That means every time I accidentally open the costume window... Eww! That's how I left chargen? What are thooooose? I was so desperate to dump that look, I'd try anything. Even steampunk. But actually it turned out good.

The contact definition for Percy Winkley (35-50) includes introductions to Cadao Kestrel (35-39), Madeleine Casey (40-45), or Harvey Maylor (46-50) when complete. Percy never introduces any of these contacts, though. Instead, Percy says to come back at level 50 for an introduction. Then, at level 50, he still doesn't introduce a contact. This bug is present in COH-VM3-i26 (2019), and I vaguely remember it happening before 2012 as well. Possible fix: Percy's redside counterpart, Ashley McKnight (14-50), also has a max level of 50. She has Cap Au Diable contacts as friend/peer introductions, and that works as expected. Changing Percy's introductions to be friend/peer introductions instead of complete/next introductions may fix him. Workaround for players: If your blueside magic contact chain (Cadao Kestrel, Madeleine Casey, Harvey Maylor) is broken by Percy Winkley as a dead-end contact, you can resume the chain by getting a friend/peer introduction from a contact in the blueside mut/nat/sci/tech chains.

Confirmed it's Crey Protectors only. Also confirmed it's Homecoming only. i26 VM3 build doesn't have this bug. May be related to Crey changes on Homecoming.

Whoops, posted this in the wrong thread. Moved here. PSA for Empathy, Time, and Elec Affinity.

Beginning at level 11, Wes Schnabel stops offering missions, and starts introducing a next-tier contact. It looks like Wes Schnabel's failsafe and/or max level is erroneously set to 10. His levels should be the same as whatever Willy Starbuck's are, since Willy Starbuck has the same mission set and is working correctly. Wes Schnabel is also outleveled at 11 on my VM3-i26 local test server, so this was probably happening before 2019, and not Homecoming specific. Screenshots: Wes Schnabel at 10, Wes Schnabel at 11 (no missions, next-tier introduction ready), Willy Starbuck at 10, Willy Starbuck at 11.

Verified this still occurs. This is the Pocket D version of Mercedes Sheldon, who has a red jacket, no missions, and no introduction text. She can be selected by clicking around her portrait, but this is a useless "dead end" in the introduction chain. When I use GM commands on a local test server, it appears Pocket D Mercedes Sheldon is probably on the peer introduction lists for all 15 original blueside contacts of this tier but I didn't check them all. She should be removed from the level 10-14 peer contact introduction lists. This bug was present in 2012 IIRC so it's not just Homecoming. Screenshot: Athena Currie (10-14) offers two peer introductions to a level 10 character. Alfonse Rubel (also 10-14) is normal, Pocket D Mercedes Sheldon (no missions) is a dead-end.

I'd stick to an Elec Blast archetype. End drain got nerfed on Homecoming, it mainly just sets up elec blast mini-crits. Defender survivability is fine and potentially even better than Sentinel. I never have a problem with survivability on my elec/elec/elec defender. Even at low levels, he's got his mez protection, he's got his knock protection, he's got 24% resist all but toxic. At high levels, Charged Armor nearly caps smashing/lethal/energy resists. On the flip side, a sentinel will never sap whole spawns. Thunderous Blast recharges faster, handy for bullying an AV. But Short Circuit's the better choice for packs of normal mobs, and all your aoe's are reduced to 10 targets for Sentinels. Assuming you go defender: From Elec Affinity, I'd say either Rejuvenating or Insulating is skippable. Having both seems like overkill. The other powers have end drains or useful self-buffs. Don't skip Energizing, you'll have end problems without it until you get Power Sink. Defibrillate can be used as a strong AoE mez + end drain without a dead teammate. Amp Up is usually skippable as a nerfed version of Power Boost, but for a dedicated sapper, it adds an end drain proc to one of your teammates. From Elec Blast, I'd say Lightning Bolt, Ball Lightning, Tesla Cage, and Voltaic Sentinel are skippable. Charged Bolts is slightly better than Lightning Bolt for sapping, so I took Zapp instead of Lightning Bolt. Use single target blasts as end management - if they mini-crit, they restore more end than they cost. Ball Lightning's mainly for AoE damage, its small end drain is superfluous on top of your big AoE drains (Short Circuit, Defibrillate, Thunderous Blast, Power Sink). I took Shocking Bolt instead of Tesla Cage. Homecoming put a questionable cross-set interaction on Tesla Cage which consumes your Static, and I'd rather use my Static on Defibrillate which is a better AoE drain. Homecoming tried to make VS a toggle, but it constantly gets stuck on geometry, so you have to resummon it all the time anyway. It's okay to overslot Thunderous Blast for end drain. Won't make a difference for EBs, but does make a difference for AVs. One-shot draining AVs isn't super helpful on Homecoming, but it sets up your mini-crits, and it's a flex. For alpha, I went all in on Agility Core. Absolutely biggest saps in the game, but the recharge component messes with damage procs. Musculature radial would be a better balance between damage and sapping.

Cold Domination Sleet got nerfed hard last patch, it has basically no slow to keep enemies running away from its DoT. Have another method to keep enemies grouped up. Still a good all around buff and debuff set. Lack of heals is almost never an issue, but maybe load up on defense set bonuses, since otherwise you'll be squishier than your buffed teammates. Ice Armor Covers lots of bases. Also covers lots of your costume, plan your costume around it. Chilling Embrace (non-sentinels only) is a decent damage debuff, nice for tanking AVs. Ice Blast Haven't played it. Long standing reputation as a single target focused set. Probably for good reason. Sentinel version even more so. Ice Control Homecoming tried to buff this set. Tried. Ice Slick now has a little DoT, which is nice, but those DoTs cause fleeing, so make sure to use your slows and immobs. The fear added to Shiver/Cold Snap is only a narrow cone within the cone, so you end up having to aim it like a narrow cone anyway. Or skipping it, Ice Control doesn't really need more mitigation. I just like the visual of enemies shivering. Ice Manipulation Shares a few of Ice Melee's best powers. Freezing Touch isn't as OP as the ice melee version, but is still decent. Sustain toggle has the same damage debuff as Chilling Embrace, nice for blapping AVs. Ice Patch is good for grouping and mitigation. Ice Melee Seems to have been balanced purely by making Freezing Touch OP, so you sorta have to take that. Frost isn't as bad as Breath of Fire, but still, take it only if you love cones. Stalker version doesn't lose AoE, their assassin ice sword is a straight upgrade to Greater Ice Sword. Ice Patch is Ice Patch. Icy Assault Chilling Embrace is different in this set, more of a PBAoE damage toggle than a debuff (damage debuff cut in half, not so nice for tanking AVs). Ice Sword Circle isn't as good as Frozen Aura. But added together, that's more PBAoE damage than most dominator secondaries. And if you want to jump around with an ice sword, this is the only way. Arsenal Control, Dual Pistols, Demon Summoning, Storm Blast, Storm Summoning Ice-ish. Up to your concept and how you like the visuals.