CaptSquid

The real question isn’t whether Seeds or Creepers are “still good” in a vacuum — it’s whether they’ll still be strong and unique enough post-patch for players to actually want to play Plant Control. Balance changes shouldn’t just flatten out outliers; they should preserve what makes a set appealing in the first place. If the result is a powerset that’s technically “balanced” but no longer stands out in any meaningful way, that’s not really a win. A balance patch that makes a set less popular or less fun to play isn’t achieving good design. Players gravitate toward power sets that feel impactful, and removing or dulling their most iconic tools risks killing that appeal. That’s what people are concerned about here — not whether every power is numerically fair, but whether the set will still feel worth picking.

Thanks for the insight on the reasoning behind the changes. I’d like to ask a more philosophical question about design intent: do we actually know if the player base prefers powersets to have a wide variety of viable builds, or would many players rather have a few standout powers that define a set's identity, even if that means less overall flexibility? From my experience, I can’t think of many powersets (controller or otherwise) where I’ve ever taken every power. Most players cherry-pick the strongest or most fun tools in the set, and that seems to be the norm across the game. So I’m curious why, in this case, Plant Control is being reshaped under the assumption that powersets should be evenly balanced across the board. Is it possible that the uniqueness and strength of powers like Seeds of Confusion and Carrion Creepers were part of what gave Plant its appeal and identity? And if so, do we risk losing that identity by flattening the set in the name of flexibility? I completely get the need to fix bugs and rein in overtuning where it breaks encounters, but I do wonder if some of the "overconcentration" on specific powers was less a problem and more just a reflection of what made the set feel different and desirable in the first place. Would love to hear thoughts from others too, especially if people actually do prefer taking every power in a set when it's well balanced. I just don’t think that’s been the typical playstyle across most of the game’s history.

I understand the general direction here: standardizing certain power behaviors (like Confuse recharge and scaling), adjusting proc abuse issues, and giving underwhelming powers more presence. That said, my main concern is that these changes to plant collectively feel like an overall nerf to a set that doesn't seem to warrant it. Plant isn’t overplayed or dominant. Anecdotally, I see far more Fire Control users than Plant, and not just by a small margin. Plant is popular for its synergy and distinctiveness, but it’s hardly dominating the meta in the way other specs might be perceived. If the set is slightly overperforming in certain scenarios, I question whether that justifies reducing its strengths when it isn't leading to abuse or crowding out other options. Specifically: Seeds of Confusion losing scale and targets hits hard on top of a recharge nerf. That power was a big part of Plant’s identity and strategic depth. It serves as the alpha strike mitigation and post-patch would underperform equivalents such as Stalagmites or Flashfire, as others have pointed out. Carrion Creepers losing the quirky, layered proc interactions may have been necessary from a technical standpoint, but it also seems to dull the set’s feel and fun. Spirit Tree’s new tanky role is interesting, but I worry it’s being asked to fill a role no one really needed it to. The old regen tree was a unique utility tool, and this version feels like a solution in search of a problem. That said, I do want to acknowledge the Sleep mechanic overhaul as a very welcome improvement. Deep Sleep seems like a great addition for powers like Spore Burst and others that previously felt too fragile in actual gameplay. Making sleep stackable and resistant to instant cancellation adds depth to its role as a control tool, especially when damage-over-time powers are in play. Still, I worry that the cumulative changes to Plant, especially the nerfs to key identity powers, may leave it feeling flatter and less distinct. The City of Heroes experience isn’t primarily about PvP or competitive balance. It thrives on variety, playstyle identity, and the feeling that different sets bring something unique. Homogenizing outliers that aren’t disrupting gameplay risks creating sets that feel too similar to one another. Balance should of course be considered, but in this case it feels like it’s being pursued at the cost of a set’s identity. If the set isn’t over-represented or warping the game, what’s the upside of reducing its high points? Thanks for reading.

I personally feel swapping one of the sleeps or the stealth power for something like "poison caltrops - caltrops coated in a paralytic poison, functions same as normal caltrops with a minor toxic dot. The first instance of damage enemies recieve from them has a chance for a short immobilize. It would allow some containment interactions, a tiny damage boost plus the animations are already in game so very simple to implement and still works thematically. I know the set would be heavy on placeable aoe powers but that can then be the sets "playstyle" I've played cox since issue 1 and sleeps are wholesale the only power type I have consistently skipped in every power set they are available in, I've never found them useful beyond niche 1 in a 1000 circumstance so having to choose between 2 at the start feels bad but I'm probably just biased here 😂