Steampunkette

To be clear: This isn't a "Magic Wand Assault" set. It's -wand- assault. You can RP it as a Star Girl style techno-weapon, or magic, or whatever! Which also functions as a Warmace. Maybe call it Scepter assault, instead?

Tier 1: Pulverize Tier 2: Wand Bolt (Minor Energy/Toxic, Ranged) Tier 3: Jawbreaker Tier 4: Wand Gloom (Moderate Energy/Toxic. Ranged) Tier 5: Build Up Tier 6: Shatter Tier 7: Wand Burst (Moderate Energy/Toxic, PBAoE) Tier 8: Wand Blast (Moderate Energy/Toxic, Ranged AoE) Tier 9: Crowd Control Pretty much just uses the Warmace options for weapon models, with a few of the Staff options added in. Use the Volkov animations for the Blackwand attacks from Volkov Skulls. Blackwand Blast uses the Disruptor Blast animation from Mace Mastery. Toxic damage either represents the power of magic or the same weird energy blast Arachnos uses. Minimally resisted in the game. And then make an Assault Primary archetype and slap this thing on it as a flagship powerset.

Slippery Slope detected! Anyway. Yeah. If you don't like Group Fly you should have the option to be immune to group fly. Other people can still use and benefit from that power, you just aren't affected. This would be a more accurate comparison. Blaster Nuke thing is an EXTREMELY out there argument which amounts to arguing to absurdity. Self-Rez is just balls to the wall insane argument to absurdity. No. They aren't. This is gonna shock you, but people CAN tell the difference between Gay Marriage and Sex With Ducks. People can recognize that there's some reason some people might dislike KB reducing their effectiveness without immediately accepting that self-rezzing ruins someone else's good fun. (Granted it's not a perfect metaphor, since Gay Marriage is infinitely less onerous on the populous than the Anti-KB Hatred in this community is, but I just really wanted and excuse to use the song and point out how bananas this slippery slope argument is) Not only does KB not bother me, I much prefer to play WITH KB. Myself and the KB of others. I am, however, against the CONSTANT pressure from the Anti-KB community to either change the entire game to be KB free or demand that anyone who has any KB power slot an ever increasing number of KB Stopping IOs in order to appease their playstyle. At least this way the onus is on them, and the impact is limited, rather than it being a constant fight.

No, not really. 1) Not an interrupt. 2) No "Mez Condition" Think of it like a Stack Tracker for Assassin's Strike or Street Justice. Only it's how many magnitudes/scales of each type of control are you under, right now. If that number is over X, you lose access to One With the Shield. If it's over Y you can't use Crushing Uppercut. If it's past Z you can't cast Hasten. They "Grey Out" on your bar as if you were exemplared. It's like that, but applied to NPCs rather than players.

It is a potential problem. I do like the Overpower suggestion, though. Something like that could be built in to make Controllers catch up in overall efficacy. Could be pretty cool... but. Would mostly result in players complaining they're being locked out of their "Best Powers". I think this'd need to be one-sided for it to be fun, rather than punishing.

So this was an idea my husband and I had years ago, specifically to make it so that Control characters are more useful against EBs/AVs from the control side of things. 1) Every NPC gets a "Hinder Level" tied to their various powers. 2) If the NPC is under a specific control magnitude equal to a power's "Hinder Level" they cannot use that power. Even if they're not locked down. Tadah. That's it. That's the entire idea. We can see something similar going on with Blackwing Industries, where if their HP is above 75% they don't have access to specific powers they would otherwise have available. This way, even if the Purple Triangles of Doom are up on an AV, the Controller or Dominator in the group is still having an effect. Perhaps a somewhat invisible effect, sure. But a direct mechanical benefit even if the AV is uncontrolled or uncontrollable. Same thing for Giant Monsters and stuff, too. They still get their binary lockdown, too, obviously, once the stacks are high enough... Just also get to deny baddies access to their big powers when they're not locked down, too. The easiest way I can think to implement it, is have an invisible Hinder "Power" added to all NPCs. If they get control stacks above X value, powers with a recharge time above 8s are locked out. If it's above Y stacks powers with a recharge time over 6s are locked out. And if they're above Z stacks, powers with a recharge time above 4s are locked out. And then define X, Y, and Z by the rank of the enemy. This also means the Purple Patch affects this setup, since your controls aren't as effective against NPCs of higher levels than you.

Ultimately, this is why I think the onus of 'fixing' the problem belongs on the shoulders of the people who don't want KB. Because either EVERYONE has to pay the slot tax or get shunned... Or the person who doesn't want KB can have a method to disable KB in their immediate vicinity so they can have their fun without forcing other people to do anything.

You say that, and it's certainly true. But you also see "Slot even more of your powers with more KB to KD or get kicked off of teams" as a valid choice between two people with differing perspectives and not just a choice between two ways to capitulate to one side's demands. The Anti-KB crowd gets what they want, and anyone who likes KB gets shunned or accused of griefing or trolling for playing the game. Personally? Nah. You haven't said anything personal. I don't find it particularly compelling, either, though. I'd feel like it was a massive waste of time and effort to try and erase Knockback from the game which would likely result in increasing demands from the Anti-KB community to keep removing KB. Up to and including cutting Energy Blast now that Energy Emission exists in the game.

No. Because the power you're dropping a beacon for still has to target the player in the other zone.

This "Teleport to Contact" button exists and functions because the Contact in question has a specific location on a specific map. You'd need any prompt to use a similar system, rather than being an actual "Power" that can target across zones.

Assemble the Team requires the same zone. All Teleport Powers require the same zone because they need target coordinates, and every zone has the same X/Y/Z map. They also require a target on the same map, because the targeting system doesn't allow for multi-zone interaction of powers. So if you COULD target a player on a different map with a teleport power, the game would teleport them to your target location... relative to the zone they're in. Which could be inside geometry. Something like this would need to be handled through a separate structure, like Chat, Email, Constacts, or Auction House, for it to communicate that kind of intention. Like how the Oro Crystal can teleport you to the mission's contact. It can only do that because it's not targeting you with a power, it's shunting you to a different map.

Y'know, that's a good point. But how do we make it work? After all, we've gotta help these Anti-KB folks out, and if this toggle gets implemented you know they'll complain that Repel isn't also covered... Definitely make the powers Mutually Exclusive. Any toggle with a Repel Component automatically Detoggles this power. That, at least, would stop you from abusing it, solo. But it doesn't help in a Team situation where you're using Hurricane while standing on the Scrapper with a Taunt Aura and this thing toggled on at the same time. This -is- a puzzle... Resistance to Repel is still a stat... If we change it to, say, +1,000% Resistance to repel, would that keep them being pushed a -little- without getting flung outward?

Yes. It 100% is. Not only is it a serious proposal, I explicitly altered it to better conform to game mechanics to ensure KB turned to KD instead of just being entirely negated based on poster feedback. To you. Because you don't want to have to change anything for yourself to reduce the KB in missions, you just want EVERYONE ELSE to change how they play, build, etc, or fuck off away from you if they won't capitulate to your no-KB position. You've made that incredibly clear by trying to frame "You can slot KB to KD or have the choice to find other teams" bullshit. Yes. For players to affect their own powers in a way that makes it more and more reasonable and widespread to change your build to capitulate to a vocal group who refuse to accept KB on their teams. The knock-on effect of which is just more and more threads requesting more ways for people who have KB in their build to change their build to capitulate to the No-KB paradigm until it's the standard. Which is trash. No, no. Reduce one aspect of a power (KB) to another aspect of a power (KD). That doesn't "Negate" powers. It also only happens if someone who is so infuriatingly smarmy about KB is willing to spend 10,000,000 influence for an hour without KB of any kind. Bonus points: It means no one ever needs to change their build to slot the KB to KD IOs unless they specifically want to. 'Cause all of you Anti-KB folks have the option of making KB into KD in your special little zone. Even if it's your -own- KB. Just think! No need for KB to KD IOs in your builds even when soloing! Just click a toggle and go! Nah. It'll do 3 things. 1) Show how few people really deeply care about KB in the game. 2) Give those few people a complete guarantee there'll be no KB around them. 3) Barely be noticeable to people who like KB 'cause the KD zone will be specific rather than global. And hey. That'll reduce the extant pressure to hunt for specific teams for your preferred playstyle, change your build to accommodate others, or kick people from your team 'cause you, personally, hate KB. Honestly, I don't care how wide you would've made it or if you meant it to be tongue in cheek. You've shown, rather pointedly, you don't actually care about other people having fun. You only want things to conform to the way you want to play. The second the imposition is on the side of the people who don't want KB it's an unserious suggestion. Which goes back to "Other people should change their KB to KD so they can be part of teams with people who hate KB" The "Solution" to the aforementioned shunning (which is unilateral, obviously) is that everyone should conform to the Anti-KB brigade and the Anti-KB brigade should change nothing. At least this suggestion demands the folks who want to curate their experience to actually do something to curate it rather than demand action of others. That said, if you wanna haggle over the price, that's fine. The suggestion itself, however? Serious as a heart attack.

I disagree... 1) KB and KD have similar overall survival benefit. Yeah, certain enemies (Demon Overlords, Warwolves) can wind up taking SIGNIFICANTLY longer to get back up with full KB due to geometry issues and their skeletons, KD is only slightly shorter than KB in most instances. 2) I also mention AoE Immobilizes Stone Cages, Frostbite, Living Shadows, Roots, Fire Cages, Wide Area Web Grenade, and others all have +10,000% Knockback Resistance to all affected targets. 3) My suggestions were for a PBAoE Aura or GTAoE In the former, the enemies are next to the person who doesn't want KB, so they're probably maxing out aggro with their silliness. In the second, it's a discrete area. In both cases, it's a localized phenomenon that doesn't stop you from using KB to defend yourself from targets that aren't in the specific area. Kinda like all the AoE Immobilizes I referenced.

HAH! No. You can use the secondary power suggested in the OP: The GTAOE version where enemies "Over There" get affected. Or maybe a target-toggle AoE like Darkest Night for KB Resistance. You want to completely negate knockback in your special little area, feel free. But it just goes to keep showing how little you care about other people's enjoyment when you post stuff like this. This is me, reaching across the KB-KD divide, offering a mouse a cookie, and the mouse demanding all the milk in Wisconsin. "Meet me in the middle" says the unjust man, right before taking a step back. No. But you can turn off Speed Buffs or Auto-Reject Mystic Fortunes and the like without paying anything. And several AoE Immobilizes provide KB Protection to enemies they land on, too, so it's not entirely unheard of. Worth noting, however: You still deal your damage and the enemy gets KDed instead of KBed. So your power is still having a significant effect, just like how Speed Boost gives the player the recovery/recharge bonus even if they ignore the +Speed component.

Before KB to KD enhancements: Some people disliked KB. And would grumble and gripe. Occasionally they would demand the players who had KB change their behavior by either not using their KB powers, or try to put enemies in corners. If they happened to be the team leader the worst of the Anti-KB contingent would kick KB characters off the team. Either silently so as to not get into arguments about it, or while loudly stating their opinion. After KB to KD enhancements: The Anti-KB crowd grew in vocality. Everything that had happened, previously, still happened. Only now sometimes people would demand you change your build to add in some KB to KD enhancements to increase their enjoyment of your character's presence. They used the existence of these IOs as "Proof" that KB was a massive systemic problem and not an issue felt by a small but vocal portion of the playerbase. That the Devs supported their position and you 'have' to use those IOs to be a good team player. If this idea is implemented: Same thing as before. Only now frankenslotting with the KB to KD Universal IO Type might become a part of the overall game's Meta where people 3 and 2 slot sets, then slap the KB to KD Universal IO to squeeze out a 4-set and 3-set bonus out of a 6 slotted power. This idea will not fix anything, might open up a can of worms on power creep.

Thanks! I'll go ahead and change the OP for that!

Oh. Sure? Like 95%+? I'd be down with that, too. That way they still get knocked down, just not knocked back? But you'd need the Repel and TP -Protection- for them to not get stolen or pushed/pulled away from you.

Which is great... Except you're asking for it in a way that increases pressure on everyone ELSE as well. "You don't even have to lose your set bonuses! Just slot this IO into every one of your KB Powers!" My suggestion allows the person who doesn't like KB (whether for themselves, or for everyone else) to change their own stuff without pressure increasing on other people.

Simple enough. A Toggle you buy from the START Vendor. Let's say 10,000,000 for 1 hour of active use, and you can buy up to 10 hours of total use at a time. Toggle it on. Enemies within 10-15ft gain +20 magnitudes of Repel and Teleport Protection, and +1000% Knockback Resistance so all KB becomes KD inside the area. Enemies do not notice this effect. This effect generates no Aggro. Make the duration on the enemy 5 seconds, non-stacking, applied every .5 seconds. Voila! Now you have a solution to people's complaints about KB! They can just toggle that thing on, run into melee, and enjoy the enemies being rooted to the ground, unable to get moved away from you by any force in the City of Heroes! No one else on the team needs to change their build to slot specific IOs. No one else on the team needs to use the toggle. Just you! You can just run in and enjoy the complete KB negation you heart desires! And hey! It doubles as a nice Influence Sink to help relieve some of the market pressures of people running around with 2 Billion inf on half their characters! No more worrying about whether other people took the time to make their build KB Free. No more griping and kicking people off your team because they didn't slot KD IOs. No need to quit teams because someone else is using KB powers! Just toggle it on, go run into melee, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with doing it yourself to handle the problem for everyone, rather than demanding everyone cater to you, instead! Bonus points: Make an alternate toggle version where you use a GTAOE version of same! That way people who are too cowardly to run into melee range can instead spend a clock cycle to lock down the KB "Over There" before the fight starts!

OP is asking for another option for IO slotting. Which will result in more pressure from teams to change your build using the new IO. Which is annoying AF and will result in more threads for "Remove all KB!!!" as apparent Dev support for the anti-KB sentiment grows. At least a toggle that you put on yourself and go into melee changes your own playstyle and your own activity, not someone else's, even though it also overrides their preferences for KB. It'd at least be unobtrusive and rely on the Anti-KB squad to do something THEMSELVES rather than pressuring everyone else to change their behavior and builds.

He rationalizes it because you can choose to slot all your powers with KB to KD -OR- grab the Toggle, but in either case, fuck you if you WANT to have KB! Just seems like the easiest solution. Feel free to grab the toggle and then run into melee, then. It's what most Blasters, Corruptors, and Dominators do, anyway. And on high end spreadsheet-managed 4-star teams it's THE standard practice to make sure everyone gets hit by every buff and AoE heal. (Especially the Kinetics with Fulcrum Shift, Transference, and Siphon Power) But I like how as soon as it's a matter of you changing how you play the game it's untenable. But everyone ELSE should shift their playstyle and/or build to accommodate you. Suuuuper telling. There's nothing that will lessen people who hate KB kicking people off of teams because those people enjoy KB. Nor will it lessen people who hate KB from quitting teams run by people who like KB. (Which, I notice, is a possibility you don't even acknowledge...) The only thing your toggle will do is make it a mandatory purchase for anyone with KB because people who hate KB will scream bloody murder about it and resist any cost or change to their own activities in favor of demanding EVERYONE ELSE change how they do things for your benefit. If you don't like knockback, you grab the KB Protection stuff for yourself. Not for everyone else.

The KB to KD Toggle doesn't give people who like knockback more choices. I can ALREADY leave groups where people complain about KB. This changes nothing for me, as a person who wouldn't use that Toggle. The only thing it would do is provide support for the Anti-KB community to press harder for KB to be removed from the game, entirely. The "Give a Mouse a Cookie" situation. You've already been given the KB to KD IOs for yourselves to minimize your KB if you don't want it, but here people are asking for more ways to remove KB. The OP wants a 'Universal' IO that works with any other set to allow people to remove KD while still getting their set bonuses... which will just result in more community pressure to control OTHER PEOPLE'S BUILDS. Your suggestion is for a global Anti-KB toggle that would free up build slots, but result in Team Leaders demanding everyone go to the D or AP or wherever to buy the damned thing to avoid getting booted off teams because, again, that one person is in control of how you play your character. And both of them support the Anti-KB community hatred and will result in even more "Just make it automatic". Here. How's this for a suggestion that would make it center on the person who hates KB so much and require precisely nothing from the people who like KB: A Toggle which grants enemies within 10ft KB, Repel, and Teleport Protection of 10. Generates no aggro and enemies do not notice this attack. Lasts for 1 hour of active use, costs 10,000,000 inf, and you can buy up to 10 hours of use at a time. TADAH! Now you have a special toggle you can go buy that stops enemies from being knocked, pushed, or teleported away from you and you alone. No one ELSE has to run around to fix your problem. And it doubles as a halfway decent Influence sink for overall game health, too.

Telekinesis yanks mobs into a single small area. That small area was "On the tank, slightly to one side, tightly packed" instead of "loose spread around the tank" But even -that- is too much for your own tastes. What is your definition of "a way that actually benefits the team" if this is too far?

In your experience. I've used KB to lock enemies tightly into corners in nice neat piles and been griped at 'cause the tank or brute had to push the W key for 3/10ths of a second to reposition for more AoE. Personally I -love- that use of Wormhole. But, hell, I've had that issue with Telekinesis where a tank got pissed 'cause the enemy cluster suddenly moved 'behind him' but still in melee range. Like. Literally. The act of turning around to throw more punches was SUCH an imposition. I've had people drop Sudden Acceleration KD IOs into my inventory the first time they see an NPC move more than 2ft. Followed, shortly, by a tell of "Slot That" Some folks are freaking RABID over the idea of having to move or change the angle of their cones. Like combat is a spreadsheet of perfectly timed and maximized flow-charts for power activations and the slightest alteration of their activity is a MASSIVE BURDEN. It's super annoying, and every month or so we get another thread begging for KB to become KD globally, or a slightly different interpretation of it such as the toggle.