Steampunkette

1) Gather enemies on a tight corner. 2) Debuff the big stack of enemies. 3) AoE. 4) Repeat. Poison is the only set I've ever used that allowed me to solo AVs as a Corruptor. Gecko Girl, level 50 Water/Poison. It's not a grest solo leveling set, sure. But different powersets require different tactics. Play differently and Poison becomes really good.

This is why I say it wasn't a bad idea on it's face. It has merits. But the cost was too damned high in terms of time and manhours. Ultimately it was back burner ed forever.

I am surprised it was never done in the original game, especially with how money hungry they were at the end, could have made a fortune if they offered it! I'm not surprised it wasn't done, because it's a bad idea. It isn't a BAD idea... but it is impossible using the game's current system! To implement such a function would require the game to grant you a couple extra power sets (which it can do) and then shift the autoselect "first tier" secondary to a new powerset (which it can't do) and then make the replaced powerset invisible and unselectable (arguably it could, but the miles of code you'd have to go through are monstrous) all while increasing your character's datafile size. It's just not worthwhile. It was never done on Live because the cost investment was too dammed high compared to the small number of players who would use it. Alts, on the other hand were worthwhile! You played the game more and spend more time doing stuff while the monthly subscription date creeped closer and then the devs got paid for your interest.

Are you kidding me? They're evil in this dimension! It's a private army invading a sovereign Nation arms with flamethrowers which are banned by the Geneva convention and they're not terribly discriminant at who they're shooting at while in a civilian area. These guys are probably setting fire to Mercy island every 30 minutes. They're terrorists.

So here's my plan! The character I'm playing is meant to be a Fearmonster, essentially. I RP up all her Dark Powers as essentially kind of being Scarecrow like. Just shadowy fear and terror. My main goal with the character is to start a fight with a Fearsome Stare (to slow incoming damage) leap into melee range, and fling off Heart of Darkness to stun everyone. Then go to town with melee and ranged attacks. If something happens that slows her down, she's got her Shadow Field to fill the recharge-gap on Heart of Darkness. As soon as HoD recharges: Hit it again. Just keep killing things in melee while everything is stunned to bits. Umbral Beast and Haunts with near constant uptime supplement my damage, and the build is permadom with near permahasten. I know I won't have perfect accuracy or uptime, but that's why I've got 75% Smash/Lethal and 15ish% defenses. It isn't -great- but if I'm on a team with any kind of defense buff character I become largely unkillable. I -could- swap the Melee Hybrid over to the Assault Hybrid for more damage, but I'm not sure... I think using Melee could be a nice 50% uptime "Nothing seems to kill me" thing... What do y'all think? Hero Plan by Hero Hero Designer 2.23 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Necropunk: Level 50 Mutation Dominator Primary Power Set: Darkness Control Secondary Power Set: Savage Assault Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Dark Grasp -- SprDmnGrs-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprDmnGrs-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(3), SprDmnGrs-EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprDmnGrs-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(5), SprDmnGrs-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(5) Level 1: Call Swarm -- Apc-Dam%(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(7), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Apc-Dmg(9) Level 2: Maiming Slash -- CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(11), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx(13), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13) Level 4: Vicious Slash -- Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Hct-Dam%(15), Hct-Acc/Rchg(15), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(17) Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(21) Level 8: Living Shadows -- SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(A), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(23), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(27), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(27) Level 10: Unkindness -- Rgn-Acc/Rchg(A), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(29), Rgn-Knock%(31), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(33) Level 12: Fearsome Stare -- GlmoftheA-Acc/Rchg(A), GlmoftheA-Fear/Rng(19), GlmoftheA-Acc/EndRdx(21), GlmoftheA-EndRdx/Fear(31), GlmoftheA-Acc/Fear/Rchg(34) Level 14: Heart of Darkness -- AbsAmz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), AbsAmz-Acc/Rchg(43), AbsAmz-Stun/Rchg(43) Level 16: Spot Prey -- RechRdx-I(A), GssSynFr--Build%(36) Level 18: Haunt -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(34), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(34), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(36) Level 20: Rending Flurry -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Arm-Acc/Rchg(39) Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A) Level 24: Tough -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(25), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Ags-ResDam(31), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(33) Level 26: Shadow Field -- UnbCns-EndRdx/Hold(A), UnbCns-Hold/Rchg(39), UnbCns-Acc/Rchg(39), UnbCns-Acc/Hold/Rchg(40), UnbCns-Hold(40) Level 28: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 32: Umbra Beast -- CaltoArm-Acc/Rchg(A), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg(33), CaltoArm-Dmg/EndRdx(40), CaltoArm-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(42), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42) Level 35: Call Hawk -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(46) Level 38: Feral Charge -- Obl-Acc/Rchg(A), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(42), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43) Level 41: Dark Consumption -- Acc-I(A) Level 44: Dark Embrace -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Ags-ResDam(45), Ags-Psi/Status(45), GldArm-3defTpProc(48) Level 47: Soul Drain -- Obl-%Dam(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Obl-Acc/Rchg(50), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(50) Level 49: Dark Obliteration -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Domination Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), PrfShf-End%(48) Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany Level 50: Spectral Radial Flawless Interface Level 50: Phantom Core Superior Ally Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon Level 50: Melee Radial Embodiment ------------

Join anyway! When I'm not working I'm on from morning to night. A lot of people are like that and those of us in the Service Industry or Freelancing or Housewifing or whatever also have erratic playtimes.

Echo of Galaxy City exists, still. Accessible through Oroborous (Beneath Silos on the back where the hospital is) But that won't help. Everyone goes to AP 'cause you just... it's what you do. You create a character and you go to AP to get on a DFB and get some fast levels any time day or night 'cause it's always got plenty of alts and newbs in it. Galaxy wouldn't have that. Neither does Mercy. It's not about zone variety, it's about population mass. People go where there's people to be around people.

Just made a Discord Server for Purpleside. Come join us! https://discord.gg/2MfHYQZ

... what if we made the travel power you're describing into a "Brutish Climbing" travel power...? Have the teleport emote only work on flat surfaces and take the form of your character moving their hands like they're grabbing a surface, planting their feet against it, and leaping like Hulk in the first Avengers movie? Sure it'd look dumb if you used the "Climb" while on the ground (You'd just be teleporting along the ground holding on to nothing like this is Thriller!) but it'd be a really neat way to have wall-climbing. Add a hover-delay with that pose and we could even "Cling" to walls, briefly.

The Demonic Hellfire attacks have a distinct graphic set from Fire Blast. You can KIND OF see it in this video: The best way I can think of to describe it is Liquid Flame. More like the fire that is -on- the whip than the fire blast particle-storm. More distinct flame shapes moving around inside each other. Like dropping Lighter Fluid through a blow-torch. I know what your talking about, but I think there may be a better way to get player access to that animation. I'd rather have it in the Hellfire Assault set so that it matches the whip...

While we're at it, how about a Minimal Effect Psychic Everything? That way I can do mind blasts that just have the sound traveling towards my target instead of the wibbly wobbly pink dart? It would definitely look more like mind-blasting if people got blasted back without the particle effects, and would definitely make the various Psionic Sets stand out a heck of a lot more. I'd actually -use- Psionic Melee that way!

I'm not certain Taunt multiplier can be applied at greater than 400%. Otherwise I figure there'd be at least a few mechanics where the real numbers show the magnitude as 500+% to show how much more "Taunty" they are. And based on that reasoning I think we have to go to the base numbers that are being multiplied. Which are damage and healing. But we can't really increase the Tanker's damage that much without risking other (larger) implications, so I figure adding in the secondary healing/damage is a good solid way to increase the 'Base' that the multiplier gets added to without changing the game's balance in any meaningful way. As to whether it can be done: Lightform (PB Tier 9 Defense) has a crash that heals you for 100% of your maximum hit points then immediately damages you for 50% of your maximum hit points. It's where I snaked the idea from! The only difference is using set and unresistable healing and damage values that are perfectly equal to ensure the target neither gains HP nor loses HP from the secondary effect. You COULD make the healing and damage equal to the baseline damage of the attack itself if you'd like Tankers to get flatly triple the amount of aggro that they normally do, but I wouldn't recommend it. Aiming for around 1/3rd of the attack's normal damage ensures you get around half the increased aggro. 150x4 = 600 (Main damage) 40 x 4 = 160 (Secondary Healing) 40 x 4 = 160 (Secondary Damage)

To be clear on the equal damage and healing: Both would be applied to the Enemy. You hit a Vortex Cor Adjutant for 150 damage. 0.1 seconds later the Adjutant gets a 40 point heal cast on him and takes 40 points of damage from the same attack. You get 920 points of aggro on that dude, he only actually loses 150 HP from the attack.

So... The game doesn't have that capability. At all. First we'd need to redesign all of the game's buildings to have invisible entity "panels" around the top to target with your grapple and create a flag that let you grapple to them. But also make them immune to damage and unmoving and big enough to completely encapsulate the edge of the building. At least four -per- building to cover each of the four sides. You're overthinking it, IMO. If it's JUST a way to get to the top of buildings? All you need is for the game to be able to know when you're next to something you can get to the top of, and add an animation of a line from the character to the top of that thing. Then, essentially, buff the unholy snot out of Jump Height. Slower than superjump, but higher, with no "air control" (just straight up). CO did it fine. No worries about buildings, anchor points, etc. Even in a featureless desert plain, Swinging just ... worked. Up to the player if that disrupted their fun or not. The game has no distinctions in ground. All ground is ground. Top of a building? Nope. It's just ground. There's no modifiers or markers in the game that indicate it's the top of a building. And because that functionality doesn't exist: Invisible Entities! It's the single most common kludge in gaming. Freaking WoW has raid encounters filled with invisible bunny rabbits that get triggered in stages to fire off specific ground targeting effects. If you wanted to do the "No Air Control just jump all the height" that would work fine 'cause the game -has- that functionality. But you'd still need an entity or other object that is separate from the building (Which again is just 'ground') to attach the line to. As to Champions having swinging: They built the game's engine with the intent of parabolic arcs (Both up and down) being a thing. City of Heroes does not have an understanding of parabola, nor the capability of describing such a thing. Much -less- the whole Momentum increasing effects of the physics engine that Champions has to let you go faster if you drop farther. City of Heroes' physics engine just cannot cut that kind of math and make it usable for movement.

(To say this is a pie in the sky AT is a massive understatement!) The Praetorian Infested Infiltrator shows no sign of being infested on the surface, but within there is a roiling infection of the Hamidon and his seedlings twisting organs and flesh. Primary Powerset: Devouring Secondary Powerset: Infiltration Any tier with multiple powers is mutually exclusive at that tier. Summoned Pets function like Controller pets: They follow you and are aggressive but do not accept commands like a Mastermind pet. All the melee attacks are described in over the top fun ways, but just using Street Justice animations with the "Spines" hand-extruding stuff would work just as well, so long as it could be customized for slate, crystal, thorns, etc) Devouring Powerset: Tier 1: Infectious Strike (Single target Minor Lethal/Toxic DoT, animates like Savage Strike with a Carrion Creeper sticking out of the player's arm) Tier 2: Toxic Tendril (Single target Moderate Lethal/Toxic DoT, animates like Swipe from the Crab Set with a Carrion Creeper coming out of the player's upper-back) Tier 3: Poisonous Pummel (Melee Cone Lethal/Toxic DoT animates like Lash from the Crab Set with Carrion Creepers coming out of the player's upper back) Tier 4: Summon Shards (2 minute recharge, 1 minute duration, summons 3 Shard DE Underlings, stats scaled to level) Tier 4: Summon Rubble (2 minute recharge, 1 minute duration, summons 2 empowered Rubble DE Underlings stats scaled to level, Extra HP and PokeVoke) Tier 5: Eruption of Infection (PBAoE High Damage Lethal/Toxic Dot with KD, animates like Spine Burst with Carrion Creepers exploding outward from Player Model) Tier 6: Summon Fungoid (5 minute recharge, 2.5 minute duration, summons 1 Fungoid DE Minion, stats scaled to level, Control-Centric Pet) Tier 6: Summon Bladegrass (5 minute recharge, 2.5 minute duration, summons 1 Bladegrass DE Minion, stats scaled to level, Damage-Centric Pet) Tier 7: Tier 7: Tier 8: Summon Boulder Tier 8: Summon Seed of Hamidon (Nerfed down to appropriate levels) Tier 9: Wild Flurry (PBAoE Extreme Damage, Very Long recharge, animates like Hail of Bullets with long Carrion Creepers swinging and stabbing instead of guns) Tier 9: Give in to Unity (Form-Change and Power Replacement ala HEAT with the Devoured model and Super Strength attacks, Massive HP and Moderate Damage Boost, can still use Summon Powers) Infiltration Powerset: Tier 1: Tier 2: Tier 3: Tier 4: Tier 4: Tier 5: Tier 6: Tier 6: Tier 7: Tier 7: Tier 8: Tier 8: Tier 9: (WIP Had to go to work, will come back to this!)

The total Powers list of the Praetorian PD: Force Bolts Force Blast Force Burst Force Wave Impact Bomb Force Brawl Force Maul Force Shockwave Force Netting Force Cage Resistance (S/L/E) 5 Ranged Attacks (3 single target, 1 cone, 1 targeted AoE) 3 Melee Attacks (2 single target, 1 PBAoE) 2 Controls (1 Sleep, 1 Hold, both single target) 1 Defense (Autopower S/L/E resistance) Then there's TEST which adds: Plasma Blast Plasma Burst Force Vortex (Similar to Shockwave, but Disorient rather than KB) Call Reinforcements Which adds a second PBAoE and two slightly different ranged attacks. But the big change is Call Reinforcements. Then we have DUST. They add: Shockwave Grenade Toxic Burst Plasma Stream From this we could PROBABLY cobble together an Energy-Blaster who also does some Crabstermind stuff. If you really want to do something with the PPD Blasts I'd suggest making it into an Energy-Assault style powerset. If you really want to make an EAT from Praetoria I feel like the better angles to go for would be IDF (more options, but it's basically going to feel like an Arachnos Soldier) or more excitingly: Devouring Earth. See, the Devoured are all connected to the Hamidon. But if you had a Devoured from Praetoria on Primal Earth with no connection available to Praetorian Hamidon, they'd be, y'know, something kinda different. Have an AT that can do different kinds of poisonous, natural, and pet-summoning stuff. Do WoW Shaman style Emanator buffs where you put down a PBAoE pet that buffs people. Whole nine yards. Play with the idea of Infiltration Infested characters who try to masquerade as having mutant powers of nature-manipulation and shit... ... I'm gonna go tinker with this idea, now. Thanks. >.>

The Demonic Hellfire attacks have a distinct graphic set from Fire Blast. You can KIND OF see it in this video: The best way I can think of to describe it is Liquid Flame. More like the fire that is -on- the whip than the fire blast particle-storm. More distinct flame shapes moving around inside each other. Like dropping Lighter Fluid through a blow-torch.

It's entirely the redraw issue. Because Dominators are using their secondary powers for attacks that would have redraw, it's not a good option. Now if there was something like Deadshot's wrist-mounted gun that could be implemented as a costume piece akin to the Vanguard Shield or the Crab Spider Backpack, -then- you could do something like this by just having the character point their wrist as part of the animation to fire off disintegration beams or whatever.

I think increasing the Tanker Damage Cap isn't going to be terribly useful, in the end. It's still going to result in a lower damage output simply because their baseline damage is -so- abysmal compared to other ATs. The only reason the Brute gets away with it is the absolutely MASSIVE damage cap and the presence of a Fury Bar. Increasing the Bruising Mechanic to more attacks is an interesting suggestion... I feel like it's a decent one? Though I would expand it to do some different things. Like Hamstringing enemies with an AoE power to apply a movement slow effect so they can't break off as quickly. It would also contribute to the aforementioned "Tar Pit" feeling! The aggro cap is definitely a thing that we can't reasonably change. I'm 90% sure it's a global combat mechanic to which the cap was jury rigged to avoid further Herdfarms. For those who don't remember those: There used to be no aggro cap and people would use the Atta Hollows map filled with enemies whose only attacks were Smashing/Lethal or Energy or whatever, run alllllll through the map to aggro EVERYTHING, then drag it all around a single corner in a massive cluster of "Holy Crap everyone start killing them before I die!" How about an area and target cap increase to Taunt for Tankers? 10 targets in a wider area would make them much more able to grab aggro and force targets to focus on them, as well. No amount of Brute Fury gets through that without actively using their own taunt to take Aggro off the tank. I wonder if it would be possible to throw on an invisible "Equal Damage and Healing both ignoring enhancements and buffs" effect for Tankers? Like... You smack the dude with Beheader for 150 damage, but there's a further 40 untyped damage and healing that proc together, neither of which requires an accuracy check, creating another 40 points of aggro-generating damage and 40 points of aggro-generating healing? Might be worth looking at.

So... The game doesn't have that capability. At all. First we'd need to redesign all of the game's buildings to have invisible entity "panels" around the top to target with your grapple and create a flag that let you grapple to them. But also make them immune to damage and unmoving and big enough to completely encapsulate the edge of the building. At least four -per- building to cover each of the four sides. Then we'd have to completely restructure the way Knockback works to try and create a "Pull Towards", something the Professional Developers on Live said was basically impossible on a few occasions. And let's not -start- on Swinging...

Nevermind.

Dr. Leah Wood was just heading home after a long night in her office at the lab. Endless paperwork and analysis came at the end of every experiment and she was so -close- to the answer, to the truth... And that's when the Council captured her. She was dragged through the streets of Cap Au Diable, kicking and screaming, pleading for aid, but her friends and neighbors simply shut their windows or turned off the lights as the well armed soldiers walked past. One of the RIPD literally turned around and walked the other way as the soldiers kidnapped a Doctor right from her car, still idling in the distance. They had wanted her formulas. The had wanted her to provide them with new Super Soldiers. But she refused to cooperate, even to the end. As the barrel of the gun was pressed to her temple and her eyes closed on the tears that streamed down her cheeks, a commotion could be heard toward the front end of the Council Base. A Hero had rescued the Doctor that day. A rare occurrence in the Isles where one is more likely to be killed or snagged by some villain while in the clutches of another. Where people of hateful miens and violent means fight over scraps and crush the innocent public who hold no power... But no longer. Dr. Leah Woods invites heroes of the Isles to step forward. Invites heroes of Paragon to cross the Atlantic. She invites you all to join: The Redeemers! The Redeemers are a team of Superheroes in the Rogue Isles who fight to save the innocents of the Isles and to redeem those criminals who -can- be redeemed. Dr. Woods acts as the group's Director, both in recruiting superheroes and arranging safe houses, funding for the group's activities, and tracking down criminal activity to direct heroes towards. Contact me @Steampunkette in game for an invite and interview!

So looking into it, the ranged attack powers of the Demons themselves are really just reskins of the current Fire Blast powers with damage type changes applied. Complete with the swap from fire to toxic DoT. We -could- change things up by making the Hellfire attacks reduce the target's Damage Resistance ala Sonic Blast. That would make it the -only- Dominator Secondary which reduces DR. The others tend to reduce Speed, Recharge, ToHit, Endurance/Recovery, or add a mess of knockdown. The only exception is Fire, which has a DoT component. Split the attacks damage between Fire and Toxic, add the -RES component, and even if the attack speeds are largely the same between Fire and Hellfire, the mechanics and Fire Whips will set them apart.

I see your point, but it would be much harder to differentiate that set from Fiery Assault in feel and visuals. I feel like the sort of "Liquid Flame" look of the Demon Pets's attacks and the Whip Attacks themselves could help to differentiate it visually, to an extent. Using the whip would also be a big honking difference (And I know a TON of people who would play a Melee-Dom just because of them, myself included!). As far as the actual -feel- of the powers, that is a bit difficult. It really depends on how they function on a mechanical level. Having the same animation time and damage values, for example, would ruin it. Especially if the only difference is the DoT type. I'll take a look at it when I get home and make a fuller suggestion.

The idea of the Control/Defense split is that they're both forms of directly defensive powers that are functionally different. Defense is a form of Partial Mitigation while Control is Absolute Mitigation. A Defense and Support set would be Partial/Partial. Essentially this kind of class would play like an EAT without being Theme-Locked. Also I wasn't trying to get on you, Justice and I'm sorry it came across that way!