_NOPE_

Thus the idea of DoT added to it.

That's not a bad idea. I think you're all hinting at the main issue - Force Fields does fine, for what it does, but it doesn't do ENOUGH. So, what should that extra "something" be that other support sets don't do as well. Cold Domination came in and started taking over FF's position as the Defense master, along with providing additional utilities that FF doesn't provide (-SPD, -Recharge, +Ally HP, Swapping Endurance between enemies and allies). So, what can FF bring to the table that Cold doesn't, to differentiate it and make it stand apart from Cold. And I think you're on the right track, as I was hinting with my original suggestions. I think that area can and should be - raw damage. The "oomph" of a force field hitting someone. In my opinion, Force Fields should see a large increase in its damage output to account for other sets, IOs, etc. taking away from what "made it great", namely, Defense. In a world where everyone can get tons of Defense bonuses in the end game, and everyone is already in a low chance of wiping due to their various powers/auras... then if FF provided more damage, then it would help the team even more. So, as I said in my original post: Up the damage for Force Bolt to a Tier 1 Blaster attack level of damage Up the damage for Repulsion Bomb to a Tier 3 Blaster attack, or a Tier 1 Blaster AoE attack. And, since everyone is always complaining about it (though I've personally never disliked it), double the speed on the animation and reduce the cast time by half. A third option could be, just as you suggested, any enemy hit with Repulsion Field ALSO takes damage from the force of the blow. Let's call it another Tier 1 Blaster attack. Hell, why not? The FFer is already losing endurance to knock enemies back, why not give them some free damage as well? Force Bubble wouldn't make sense to add damage to, since it's just a Repel wall. However, what if Detention Field also did DoT to the enemy? Let's call it damage from lack of oxygen, or damage from the detention field pushing in on the enemy. As has been suggested by others, lets also up the MAG on the hold and the immobilization. Allow FFers to bring something unique to the table by letting them be able to hold AVs. But again, I think it needs to be a toggle so that we can release at our own choice, and to make it not too overpowered, increase the endurance cost for as long as the toggle is activated, so that the FFer can't keep them held indefinitely. What do you think about these adjustments? Then FF would have the following: The standard 4 Defense raising powers (Deflection, Insulation, Dispersion, and PFF) Three different powers that can do attack level damage (Force Bolt - Single Target, Repulsion Field - PBAoE, Repulsion Bomb - Targeted AoE) An "uber hold" - Detention Field, with perhaps some moderate DoT? The Gandalf Power - Force Bubble (YOU SHALL NOT PASS!) I think that would be quite something, and change the mix a bit. What say you?

Not the same thing. Repulsion Field has a TINY radius of activation - basically, an enemy has to be on top of you and gets one free swipe before they are knocked back. Force Bubble in the other hand has a HUGE radius of activation around the FFer, that enemies can "push" through. Honestly, I haven't spent the time looking into the mechanics of how the Repel effect actually works. Maybe I should, since I now have access to the code. But from just the behavior I've noticed, it looks like some mobs have a repel resistance, so some can push through better than others. Some with the highest repel resistance can push through all the way to the FFer and get a swipe in. Then, as they are swiping, for some reason they lose their repel resistance as the swipe is happening, and they get pushed back again. It's an interesting effect, and I wish I understood it more. Either way, the two powers do NOT have the exact same effect. They have similar effects, but not the same, and they use two different mechanics to do it.

A Defender with Personal Force Field can stand in a mob full of Freakshow Tanks swiping, and take no damage at all. 😛

And it makes sense, because Absorb basically *IS* healing... it's just "preventative healing". The more we talk about it, the more I think Absorb doesn't make sense for FF. Now Defense Debuff protection, on the other hand...

The "other layer" for me, was always the soft control. And in my extensive experience, It works pretty darn good. I suspect that most players that don't enjoy the force fields current playstyle are looking for something different... perhaps some sort of "passive buff-bot" that follows you around, buffs you and blasts? That's never how I played. I've always been in the thick of it, knocking enemies up and down and all around. It makes for a very dynamic playstyle.

I suppose that'd be an option too, I guess. I think the evolution of the temperement of the devs showed though that they were starting to "give stuff away" to players more than they had in the past with each year - reducing requirements for power picks, reducing level requirements, etc. etc. I kind of doubt that they'd force the playerbase today to choose one power over another.

Example, the Medicine pool (https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Medicine). When it was started, it looked like this: Power Level Effect Aid Other 6 Close, Ally Heal Stimulant 6 Ranged, +Status Protection(Ally, PvE), +Status Resistance(Ally, PvP) Aid Self 14 Self, Heal, +Res(Stun) Resuscitate 20 Close, Resurrect(Ally) By Issue 24, it looked like this: Power Level Effect Aid Other 4 Close, Ally Heal Injection 4 Ranged, +Status Protection(Ally, PvE), +Status Resistance(Ally, PvP) OR -DMG(Foe, All), -Rech(Foe), -ToHit(Foe) Aid Self 14 Self, Heal, +Res(Stun), +EndGain(Synergy) Resuscitate 14 Close, Resurrect(Ally) Field Medic 14 Self, +Heal, -Res(Heal), Special THREE different powers to choose from at level 14, where before, there was just one. And ALL pool powers only used to have FOUR choices. They increased that for most if not all power pools to five choices. So, there's a precedent for powersets to have multiple choices at the same level.

The personal jibe was inappropriate, you're right about that, and I apologize for it. However, post after post shows that you really don't LIKE the Force Fields set. You just... don't. Thus, I don't think that your opinion should be given much weight in any changes to the set. The opinions of those that enjoy the set as it is should be given greater weight. This opinion would be fine - as a new power that doesn't replace an existing power. We already have examples in the Power Pools of the Paragon Studios devs offering players a CHOICE of alternative powers to choose from other than the traditional powers. If you really want to "go nuts" with new power ideas, that'd be the route to go.

If you want to free up a slot, merge Deflection and Insulation Shields into a single ally shield, and double the endurance cost. BAM! Free power slot to play with. Problem solved. Just leave my two VERY different powers alone and don't merge them.

Yyyyyeah... Someone that doesn't even know the names of the powers PROBABLY shouldn't be one of the ones to guide the discussion of the changes to those powers.

I personally don't get what the difference is between Absorb and Regen/Healing. I mean, if you allowed players to be "overhealed" and have that overhealing decay automatically... there'd be no practical difference. It really feels like Empathy's domain to me. Both powers essentially just increase your life meter.

I can guarantee you that if they were liable, they'd make sure they had a say. Otherwise they'd dump the stock.

I disagree, and I think you are misunderstanding how liability works. If you take away limited liability, then the OWNERS of the businesses are responsible for those decisions, not the workers. If limited liability was taken away, and a Domino's delivery driver, for example, hit someone and broke their leg, then the owners of the business would be financially liable, not the driver or their co-workers. Though, as per the law of the land, the driver could be held personally responsible for related criminal offenses, as the criminal offenses are related to the actual perpetrators. What I'm saying, in short, is that if Wal-mart lost limited liability, then if someone slips and trips and falls on their personal sidewalk, the Walton family would have to pay personally, rather than it coming out of the "corporate wallet". I think it would keep them more honest. Though, to your point, we should also be writing laws to prevent frivolous lawsuits, so that if a case is determined in the favor of the defendant, all court costs should go immediately to the plaintiff. That would deter those types of frivolous lawsuits. I think for one to happen, the other also has to happen at the same time. You have to make people responsible for their own lawsuits at the same time you make people responsible and sue-able for the actions of their companies.

That's exactly the problem - it's callous, it's "not personal"... it's inhuman. This is one of the reasons why I preach against the concept of "limited liability", because it lets corporations get away with doing nasty things because the people making the decisions are divorced from the effects of those decisions. Whereas if it's a sole proprietorship or partnership, those that make the decisions are PERSONALLY responsible for the results of those actions. It forces the companies to "remain human", for the lack of a better term. The further we get away from that, the easier it is for companies to make bad choices that hurt people. I personally think that the very concept of limited liability should be stricken from the books. NOBODY should be able to make a decision and then not have to be personally responsible for the results of that decision. If we did that, then better decisions would be made, for the betterment of all.

I call that the Jenga effect, or the "Fallacy of Perpetual Growth". I've been harping on that since 2014: http://philotix.altervista.org/2014/09/business/

That's the thing, all indicators suggest that CoH WAS still profitable. It just wasn't AS profitable as their other ventures, so they decided to move assets around to INCREASE profitability. Not, to cut a loss, because CoH wasn't a loss. Just one reference: https://www.mmorpg.com/city-of-heroes/general-articles/profitable-or-not-1000007015

I can confirm this. I spent a year in an MBA program. I left, not because it was hard (I got all As and Bs), but because what I was was being taught was EVIL, plain and simple. Now, I'm a deist, I believe that whatever Creator there was created this universe with a set of rules, like a watchmaker making a watch, wound it up and let it go... so I don't really believe in a Judgement that decides what happens to you after you die (if in fact ANYTHING happens to you after you die). For all I know, all that we have is right here and right now. That we know for sure. And knowing that, my personal morality is based all around how you treat other people. Do you make things better for other people, or do you make things worse for them? And in the MBA courses I took - that was NOT a part of the equation. It was a cold, hard, calculation of what's best to create and maintain maximal profitability. People were tools, pawns, or in their words "assets" to be utilized, just as a building or piece of machinery is utilized. When I realized that THAT is what they were teaching, that's when I decided to leave the program, because I CANNOT do that. I can't dehumanize others and see them as assets, and make decisions based on their perceived worth. I'm halfway between a Utilitarian and a Kantian, but I'm definitely NOT a pure Utilitarian. Each person has intrinsic and inherent value. The fact that they are and have been teaching GENERATIONS of MBA students this uncaring, unfeeling, cold calculation and evaluation of other human beings... well, that's the closest thing to pure EVIL that I've ever myself seen in this world. The decision to pull the plug on City of Heroes was EXACTLY that thought process. It was a decision for the pure purpose of profit. They did NOT consider the joy that they were taking, the communities they would be destroying, and the lives (specifically the lives of Paragon Studios employees), that they would be changing - forever. They just cared that City of Heroes wasn't making ENOUGH money, and that they could move those financial assets elsewhere and make MORE profits. That thought sickens me.

Yeah, I always found that the purpose of the Cottage Rule was to maintain the THEME of powers and power sets as they were originally designed, so that they don't stray too far from that design. Tweaks and adjustments can and should be made, but only for the purposes of balancing and quality of life. Like the changes to the buff shields that made them targeted AoE instead of single target. It changed the way the power works, but it didn't change the THEME of the power, just the mechanic, and only in a way to make things easier. It didn't change what the powers fundamentally did - it just made them more efficient and less tedious. Save the new tricks and new mechanics for new powersets, I think. Otherwise, why make new powersets at all, when you can just change existing powersets and keep redefining them?

I just want to know if the HC team has anything to say about this turn of events.

Not a bad idea.

That's kind of what I think Force Bubble SHOULD be. But it's not, because the mag is too low, and the shape is to awkward.

The Cottage Rule is a good rule.

Nice, I LOVE the "three modes" idea. It's great. Might be a challenge to code, but my experiences have taught me that ANYTHING is possible in code, it's just a question of time/resources.

I've been away for a while. I think for a while there, I was the most prevalent poster on these forums, but then life changed. Got a new job, new responsibilities and a big upgrade. In the meantime, I've been just quietly working on my "Get a FF Defender Maxed Out Solo" project, which I just completed last night with another Burden of the Past run: All Incarnate Slots filled with Tier 4s Totally purpled out Veteran level 47 so far: From level 1 to V Level 47 completely SOLO. Now that I've got him fully kitted out, I think I'll go back through Ouroboros and flashback all of the unfinished missions/arcs until all of those have those pretty yellow stars behind them. So, what's new with Homecoming itself? Anything change vis a vis the negoations, or perhaps new system updates, or perhaps structurally within the HC team itself? How's the community doing? Are you all organizing into any community groups?