[Focused Feedback: Earth Manipulation]

The new blaster versions of Stone Prison and Salt Crystals allow defense debuff enhancements and sets. I think that's the right call.

 

The controller and dominator Earth Control versions of the same powers don't allow debuff slotting, though. That will put the controller/dom version at a disadvantage. In particular, blaster Salt Crystals would be decent at applying Achilles procs, but controller/dominator Salt Crystals (despite its much longer recharge time) would not. I'd suggest backporting debuff enhancements and sets to all of Earth Control, to show the whole set a bit of love.

[Focused Feedback: Changes to Sleep and Placate]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:12 PM, Booper said:

Player sleep powers are now Auto Hit.

 

1) The powers still have a hit roll for their non-sleep components, but the Hit Rolls log no longer displays the hit roll or hit chance. It'd be nice if those numbers could be left in the Hit Rolls log.

 

2) Mass Hypnosis and Spore Burst have only one effect, sleep, which will be autohit. Accuracy enhancements will no longer affect them, so should probably be disallowed.

 

3) Salt Crystals (controller and dominator version) has a defense debuff, but debuff enhancement is disallowed because the debuff is too minor. The same reasoning would apply to accuracy enhancement; either debuff and accuracy enhancers should both be allowed, or neither. Probably both, since the blaster version allows both.

 

4) Flash Freeze and Sleep Grenade will have sleep that autohits, but insignificant damage with a to-hit check. This creates a perverse incentive to not slot accuracy, since the powers probably become less useful with more accuracy - the damage prevents sleep stacking. Not sure on a good way to remove that incentive. Maybe make the damage non-breaking for sleep?

5) Poison Gas Arrow and Static Field have 100% chance to sleep components. I feel like the 100% chance to sleep parts should be autohit too.

 

6) The day job power Sleep Gas is 100% chance to sleep. I feel like the rationale for making player sleeps autohit should apply to day job powers too.

 

7) Sleep IO sets become less useful with this change. Powers that accept these sets either deal good damage (so want to use a damage set instead), or get little or no benefit from accuracy (so don't want to waste slots on acc). Tweaking some of the acc parts could help.

[Winter Event 2021 log-in badge]

Varying degrees of unseriousness

 

Black Diamond (exploration?)

Ding Dong

Firelit (exploration?)

Home for the Holidays

Wrapper

[Report Typos Here!]

In Operative Wellman's second arc, "Master of Destruction", the final mission "Destroy statues in Steel Canyon" has (at least) two Wyvern elite boss ambushes. When the elite bosses spawn, they say "We're going down, (player name)!" It should be "You're".

[Female Skulls not Counting for Kill Skuls Badge]

Derp, I finally remembered where the unique version of Bonebreaker is used. End of Sondra Costel's arc. Tested it, does not count for either badge.

 

(The boss at the end of the Bonefire arc is named "Bonebreaker" but is just a renamed Bone Daddy and counts for both badges.)

[Scrapper Secondary Ninjitsu - Shinobi-Iri available at level 6 instead of level 4]

[Dedicated Archetypes]

Anyone who wants to do a strict primary build, fine, your character, your rules.

 

For my part, I'd rather have a teammate who knows how primary and secondary powers synergize. Take cold domination, for instance. It's all right by itself, def is handy, heat loss is nice, sleet is OP. But what about the other 90% of the fight when you're doing nothing? Throw in a blast set and you're so much more. Off-tanking in a pinch, or soft controlling for days, or soloing AVs when teaming gets slow. (Full disclosure, I own stock in Tenebrous Tentacles, and I want you to buy some too.)

[Sonic Siphon logs a Hit Rolls message only when it misses]

Expected result:

Sonic Siphon logs a Hit Rolls message whether it hits or misses.

 

Actual result:

Sonic Siphon logs a Hit Rolls message only when it misses. No Hit Rolls message when it hits.

[Report Typos Here!]

There's a slash command to autocomplete a mission in Architect Test Mode.

 

/architect_completemisison

 

Note misspelling "misison".

 

The command should be /architect_completemission.

[Female Skulls not Counting for Kill Skuls Badge]

I noticed the same yesterday, and tested to confirm. Many of the new Issue 24 Skull types weren't added to the lists for badge credit. Asterisks below are the results that don't seem right.

 

Evidence:

Local SCoRE server test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_KLHgeoVAQ

Homecoming test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umj4ietw_TU

 

Actual results:

Old minions (chopper, slugger, brawler, slicer, slammer): Males count, females don't*

New minions (striker, assailant): Males and females count

Quantum minion: Doesn't count*

 

Old LTs (buckshot, gunner): Males count, females don't*

New LT (soldier): Males and females count

Quantum LT: Doesn't count*

Special LT (hostage in Dr. Graves arc): Doesn't count

 

Old boss (daddy): Counts for both badges

New bosses (doll, walker): Count for both badges

Quantum boss: Doesn't count*

Special boss (Bonebreaker in Sondra Costel arc): Doesn't count*

 

New AVs (Chernobog, Morana, Veles): Don't count*

Pets (Grave Knight, etc.): Don't count

 

Expected results:

Based on badge descriptions, I'd expect the female chopper/slugger/brawler/slicer/slammer/buckshot/gunner, the quantums, Bonebreaker, and the AVs to be on the list for Kill Skuls. I'd also expect the quantum boss, Bonebreaker, and the AVs to be on the list for Bonecrusher.

 

Edit: Added Bonebreaker info, see below post

[Certain contacts cannot reach max relationship]

Outleveling has nothing to do with the bug I've described. For these contacts, even if you complete every single mission they offer, you will not reach the max CXP.

[Exploration badge and history plaque coordinates dataset]

One caveat, exploration badge award coords can be different from the visible plaque coords. So far, I've only seen any differences in Praetorian zones: Ambitious, Citizen Cole, Guardians of Justice, Tiberian Overseer.

 

In normal play, this doesn't matter. The visible plaque is within the award radius, just not at the center. But depending on the application, this might be something to keep in mind.

 

Edit: Most extreme example, you don't get Citizen Cole badge where I'm standing. The badge award is centered on the pool, not the plaque.

[Certain contacts cannot reach max relationship]

1. Fareed Abdullah

2. Guy Denson

3. Mark Freeman

4. Tom Bowden

 

These four contacts require 70 CXP to reach max relationship, but their missions award a total of 65 CXP. It is not possible to reach 70 CXP with these contacts, even with Ouro.

 

Changing their relationship thresholds from 10/50/70 to (for example) 10/40/60 would make it possible to max their relationships.

 

5. Special Agent Jenni Adair

 

This contact requires 40 CXP to reach max relationship, but her story arc awards a total of 30 CXP. Completing her arc, whether live or in Ouro, leaves a player 10 CXP short.

 

Changing her relationship thresholds from 10/30/40 to (for example) 10/20/30 would match her relationship progress to her story arc.

[Achilles Heel 8 messages per proc]

I have Achilles Heel proc in Weaken Resolve. When it procs, I see "You reduce your targets damage resistance temporarily" 8 times per proc.

[[FIXED] Issue 27 gave low level Vahzilok high level resistances]

Fixed on beta, thanks!

[[FIXED] Issue 27 gave low level Vahzilok high level resistances]

Issue 27 patch notes included "some additional tweaks for the higher levels" of Vahzilok. Issue 27 appears to have unintentionally impacted low level Vahzilok as well.

 

Before issue 27, cadavers, embalmed cadavers, abominations, diseased abominations, and embalmed abominations had:

• 30% smashing resist
• -30% lethal resist (vulnerability)
• 20% toxic resist

 

Now they have:

[Patch Notes for April 20th, 2021 - Issue 27, Page 2]

Does this mean someone had to write tips for 400+ explore badges in the game? Wow.

[Reconstruction is not boosted by Field Medic]

Field Medic adds a 25% global boost to heals. This boosts Aid Self and the heal portion of Regeneration - Dull Pain as expected, but does not boost Regeneration - Reconstruction, at least not for Scrapper.

[Death by end drain]

How about a new enemy flag, where certain flagged targets are instantly defeated if their endurance goes to 0?

 

It'd be a fun alternative for getting rid of e.g. force field doors, destructible glowies, and other targetable objects.

 

It could even be a special thematic weakness on certain enemies. For instance, incorporeal enemies might dissipate, electronic enemies might shut down when out of energy. Wouldn't necessarily be overpowered, either, since the enemies would be unable to attack anyway.

 

(Hat tip to Final Fantasy VI, which probably gave me this idea subconsciously.)

[Combat Training: Offensive accepts enhancements, but they do nothing]

Combat Training: Offensive unslotted, brawl has 82.5% chance to hit even level

 

Combat Training: Offensive with 3 acc IOs, brawl has 82.5% chance to hit even level

 

This means players can spend slots and enhancements on the power, but they do nothing whatsoever.

 

Possible fixes: Make Combat Training: Offensive unslottable and unable to add slots to, or give it some enhanceable effect.

[Old Hoarfrost icon still used on stalker, tanker, and masteries]

Homecoming updated Ice Armor's Hoarfrost icon from the old "generic resist" symbol (IceArmor_Hoarfrost) to a new "max hp" symbol (IceArmor_HP) for brutes, scrappers, and sentinels.

 

The stalker and tanker versions of Ice Armor still use the old icon, however. The versions of Hoarfrost in Mastermind Chill Mastery, Blaster Cold Mastery, and Dominator Ice Mastery also still use the old icon.

[Help Name the 17th Anniversary Badge!]

Back with fridge inspiration. Since we already have anniversary badges Torchbearer, Indomitable, Everlasting, and Excelsior!, how about:

 

Reunited

[Kinetic Melee Confront uses Taunt icon and description]

Scrapper Kinetic Melee Confront uses the same icon as the Brute/Tanker multi-target Taunt, KineticAttack_Taunt, but a more suitable icon KineticAttack_Confront exists in the base game piggs.

 

Kinetic Melee Confront also has the same short description as multi-target Taunts, "Ranged (Targeted AoE), Foe Taunt", but it is single-target and should be "Ranged, Foe Taunt" like other Confronts.

[Help Name the 17th Anniversary Badge!]

OK, serious suggestion

 

Debutant ♂️/Debutante ♀️

[Abomination gladiator badge given for Synapse instead of Positron TF]

Although it's been this way forever, the Synapse TF has never had anything to do with Vahzilok.

 

More likely, the dev who mixed up Vahz and BP in the original description for this badge also mixed up Positron and Synapse TFs.

 

Suggestion: Award Abomination with Dam Hero badge, Positron's Ally/Positron's Betrayer badge, or Dr. Vahzilok defeat instead.