Steampunkette

A mastermind without their ninja (or thugs, or mercenaries, etc) is soon to follow them. But in the media, that's not exactly true. The conservation of ninja, whether heroic or villainous, clearly indicates that the fewer ninja on the battlefield, the stronger and more skilled the remaining ninja will be. This is also born out in other parts of CoH, when you have to fight your way to the AV through minions, lieutenants, and bosses to challenge the much stronger leader. I would like to suggest a slight change to Supremacy. One that will smooth out MM gameplay in general without adding extra power to them, overall. A passive power which provides 60% additional damage, and a 30% endurance discount. Yet for every minion, 10% damage and 5% of the discount is removed. This can help smooth out standard MM gameplay when a few of their minions die, allowing them to do a bit more damage. It also supports the conservation of ninja principle, and has a third benefit: It improves some less than optimal builds in a marginal way, increasing the number of ways you can play a mastermind. The "Boy and Big Robot" build would enjoy the boy gaining a 50% damage buff and a 25% end discount. The "Top 3 Minions" build would enjoy a 30% damage buff and a 15% end discount. The "Minionless Mastermind" would get to swing a whip that still does fairly bad damage at +60%, and costs less. It also tracks with their end cost increases for their support powers (Infrigidate costs everyone 10.4 end, but Masterminds 13, for example.) The extra 30% end costs exists to offset the additional 6 attackers the MM can bring, but if they don't have the 6 minions it's a burden on top of their precarious situation! However, this change does not A) Increase the ability of a Mastermind beyond it's current levels. You're always better with your pets, you're just less trash without them. And since it's a damage bonus applied to your character it counts toward the cap. A Whipstermind on a team with Fulcrum Shift doesn't deal any more damage than they currently do, which remains very low. Slightly less expensive, though. And a full clear of 8 Masterminds on the ITF will deal precisely 0 points more damage than they currently do. B) Make lower minion builds optimal. Even with a +60% damage bonus on your 3 core attacks and the entire Fighting Pool your base damage is still 0.55. So you're at a massive disadvantage without your minions, even before considering your force-multiplication abilities in your secondary that aren't having full effect without your minions to take advantage. It does make lower-count MMs slightly more attractive in team situations due to the issues of NPC AI and character count on the screen, just for reduced confusion. Conservation of Ninja. It's a solid quality of life improvement for MMs (particularly in the summoning phase when you start out with a 30% end discount) that essentially self-balances their damage and force-multiplication against the number of minions they have active!

We have Robot Arm 1, which replaces your upper right arm with a robot bit and allows you to change your gloves and chest independent of the upper arm. We have Robot Arm 2, which replaces both of your upper arms, and allows you to change your gloves and chest independent of the upper arm area. We have Robot Arm 3, which replaces your right arm, entirely, including some unique full-arm options, and allows you to change your left glove and chest independent of the right arm. So how about Robot Arm 4... Which makes both arms fully replaced? Mostly I just wanna make a character who gets the Cybertech Arm options on both sides, but I bet there's a few people who'd -love- to have the Fire and Ice options on both sides, too!

So hey! Peacebringers suck. Really badly. At every role. There's no reason to take a PB on a 4 star unless they're doing the animation-canceling damage dump that you already intend to fix. Without even that function, PBs will be essentially a carry in 4-stars since they're not as damaging as even a Dominator, marginally more durable than a Scrapper, and have very little in the way of support or control to offset their greater weaknesses. Yes, they can form-change into a Squid to do good ranged damage, but 4 attacks in exchange for suppressing all toggles and being unable to use pool powers or anything is a wild exchange. So my suggestions are as follows: 1) Give 'em .95 in humanform for both ranged and melee damage. So they're still stronger in their forms, but with less versatility, and the humanform is at least useful. 2) Give them a 500% damage cap like damage dealing archetypes. This gives them a higher ceiling to make them more attractive to Kinetics-centric teams. 3) Give them Brute HP values. Bigger than a Scrapper, less than a Tanker, to reflect their reliance on Damage Resistance. And the big one, probably the most controversial: 4) Kill Cosmic Balance as a single inherent and give them three toggled inherents with a 0 end/sec cost. The choices are Offensive, Defensive, and Balanced. Offensive toggle provides procs in the same way Shinobi does "Critical Hits". Defensive adds Punchvoke to attacks and a regen bonus. Balance is basically Cosmic Balance. The goal, there, is to essentially allow you to pick what Archetype you're calling on from the various previously-bonded characters. Even in the different forms. And then, since you plan to do the same kind of mechanics-fix with Warshades... Buff them up this same way. Only make their offensive toggle Scourge instead of Crits and their Defensive toggle provide straight healing per attack instead of regen to play up the "Lifesteal" identity. The end result? 1) Humanform PBs aren't as bad at survival as before, though a Brute is still going to be more survivable and deal more damage when capped (.95x500 is 475, .75x700 is 525) 2) PBs in general will have a better functionality as off-Tanks, but still lake the Aggro-Aura of even a Scrapper. 3) Being in humanform won't be as much of a DPS detriment, though a Blaster, Brute, Scrapper, Sentinel, or Stalker will still do more damage. 4) In Squidform they'll be able to "out-damage" Blasters while capped, but only have 4 attacks, and not be as able to cycle or specialize in ST vs AoE. Especially since Bright Nova Bolt does tiny piddly damage. These changes are also a ton easier to implement than the "Use all Powers in All Forms" suggestions, since they focus on changing up the AT's scalars rather than digging through spaghetti code.

Yes. That's rather the point. That portion of the community would haaaate this powerset and think it's the worst and the rest of us would go have a ton of fun flinging enemies around like ragdolls!

I call it "Chessmaster Control" Power 1: ST Knockback. Power 2: ST Knock Toward. Power 3: Ground Target AoE Knock Left. (If left isn't an option, knockback) Power 4: Power Build Up. Increased Knockback and adds big damage to these knock powers. Power 5: Targeted AoE Knock Right. (If right isn't an option, pulsing knockdown) Power 6: PBAoE Knock to Caster. Power 7: Cone Knockback with massive magnitude. Power 8: Ground Target AoE Pulsing Knock Up and Center. (Animation, flipping the chessboard) Power 9: Pet: Holographic Queen. Do the "Low Rez" body model and then slap one of the crowns onto it. All of it's attacks (Whirling Sword, Headsplitter, Slice, Disembowel) do big knock. Some is back, some is up, some is in. All the powers make black and white squares appear near the target, and then you get a 'gold' line to show where the bishop is moving, or a straight line for a rook, or the L of a knight, etc etc etc. The Tier 2 Knock Toward can be en passant! (This is actually a semi-serious suggestion. It would be interesting to play, but probably a nightmare to balance.)

So... out of curiosity, I zoomed WAY IN on the Crey Biotech image. I recognized Amanda Vines, Dean MacArthur, Jessica Flores, and a few others at the press event... Where is that from, and what's it meant to represent?

Eh. Not my monkeys, not my zoo. If the dev team want people to go to other zones to experience the game world, and they all go to precisely one zone, and that's acceptable, surely allowing them to go to various other zones to experience the game world shouldn't really be a problem. It's up to them to continue their argument that AP should not be the zone people level in, not me. The issue, there, is that people level using papers and radios. Which is why they stay in the zone you're in. A level 15 character getting sent to Talos Island is going to be bouncing to the hospital, repeatedly, while trying to get to their mish.

Okay... So leave Atlas and Mercy out. Problem solved!

With the AE you stand inside a single building entering and exiting a column of light. At least with papers you'd be running around the zone fighting crime!

People go to Peregrine for three reasons: 1) If you're level 40+ your options for running Radio missions (which are what is constantly advertised in LFG) your options are very limited. 2) Most players are Blueside. 3) Shadow Shard is difficult to maneuver around. The density of the mission doors doesn't need to be optimal with these key factors in play. Sure, Dark Astoria could be the preferred zone for radio missions, especially with the incarnate reward options, but then you have to explain how to get to Dark Astoria to newbs. Thanks to the Tunnel portal, Peregrine doesn't really have that problem. Level 1 character needs to get carried? Hit the portal to Peregrine and you're golden. Meanwihle Cimerora requires jumping through a few gates to go in. With this change, we'd probably see a -lot- more hero teams running around Atlas Park (highest filler population)... But is that -really- a problem when most hero teams run exclusively in Peregrine Island, already? In that regard it's just shifting where the Radio Teams spamming for players hang out to wherever it's easier to be. But for people who enjoy specific zones, or want to do a ton of content hanging out in Praetoria post-20, or make their supergroup a "Zone Hero Team" that mostly targets crime in a single place for RP purposes? It's a major boon. Plus people could do radio mishies cross-factionally in Kallisti Wharf, maybe, which could be fun and might result in it becoming a bit of a hub-zone just for a new place to spam radios! So on one hand we've got a boon for RPers and for Variety for anyone who wants it, and on the other hand we've got people making Atlas Park the heart of the game instead of Peregrine Island. That doesn't seem like a heavier thumb on a "Downside", to me.

Blueside they let you do stuff in any zone. Redside, every level 41+ tip mish is in Grandeville, sad to say!

I've also been informed that Message Man and Clockwork A87952 are the Praetorian repeatable mission contacts. Which is great! Now just expand their level range from 1-50...

I mean... the title's it. Let my level 50 character do radio mishies in Cap Au Diable and Brickstown. Add a "Holochannel" for Praetorian Zones to do radio mishies there, too. Still the same old madlibs content generation, just anywhere in the world. Even Hazard and PvP Zones because who the heck cares if someone wants to run around Recluse's Victory fighting pockets of Council or Circle of Thorns bases on instanced maps?

Ahhhhh... that explains it. Thank you! ❤️

I've clicked on a bunch of doors in Cap Au and gotten 0 monsters... Is it limited to specific zones?

Just what it says on the tin. We've got the Winter Horde which are pretty great for when you wanna do a Winter or Snow-Themed storyarc or encounter... but how about the Apocalypse Zombies? I'd love to be able to have Nightmare EBs in my AE Arcs. Same for the Mapserver event's D.O.O.M. minions. Having a "Reality Breaking" NPC with Code Gremlins and Unspecified Error minions could be a lot of fun.

Riotess! The rolling riot. Hard-left political character who supports the Scrapyarders and fights the Family, Tsoo, and Council/Column as her main goal. (Savage/Invuln Brute) Ionique! Cap Au Diable defender, she's a hero in the Isles fighting to protect the citizens of Haven from the Goldbrickers, Vahzilok, and myriad Destined Ones looking to conquer, kill, or crush the isle. (Elec/Elec Sentinel) Fortresse! Protector of Port Oakes, she mostly fights against the Marcones and Verandis in the ongoing war between them, but also fights against the Hellions, the Lost, and the other dangers of the eastern end of the Isla Diable. (SS/WP Brute) The Silversaint. Greek superhero who retreated to the Rogue Isles after receiving a debilitating injury during her superheroic career in Europe. Signing on with the Global Defense Force, she makes the Isles her priority but will fight wherever needed. (Staff/WP Brute)

I'm really struggling on a superhero name for this character: The idea is she's a Rogue Isles Superheroine. Elec/Elec/Mu Sentinel. (Though I may also wind up making an Elec/Elec Dominator version, as well, at some point). Right now she's "Stormlight" with the i for L trick in her name. It's a solid name, for sure. I'm just wondering if I can get something snappier for her. Any thoughts from our thesaurally blessed forumites?

Belladonna Vertrano Tights and Chest Detail. IDF Belt with legstraps. Please? I could make such cool characters with these things.

The only thing I really think would help Storm Blast without making it OP or whatever is just dropping the lockout on the storm procs being target-based. That would make it so multiple Storm characters can work together on a team without stepping on each other's toes, and also make Storm better at fighting AVs/EBs/GMs/Etc than it currently is. Put the proc-lockout as a debuff on the storm pseudopet rather than on the pet's target. Then -my- Storm won't lock out other players, and a single enemy could be struck by multiple procs in sequence (Lightning, Split Lightning, Quad Lightning) if the procs line up well.

What I eventually wound up going for. Focusing almost exclusively on having strong attacks, softcapped S/L, decent S/L resistance, and having enough recharge to have PA up almost permanently. (16 second cooldown) Between them and the Spectral Terror being available every 13 seconds I'm pretty decent at shrugging off large scale Alphas and cleaning up spawns fairly quickly. The character is currently 30 and pretty solid, honestly! She's never going to tear up Pylons in 20 seconds or anything, but that's never been my goal.

There's some really good advice in this thread. Allow me to add a little more: Snipe the everliving daylights out of someone to start the fight. Pick a dangerous Lieutenant, pop aim and build up, and remove them from the equation. Then grab some cover. As a Fire blaster, drop Rain of Fire between you and the enemy group. Sure, overlap -some- but in front of them so they run through it to reach you. The "Avoid Damage" part of the AI may cause some of them to turn around and run away. Since Rain of Fire is a ground target area of effect you can place it around corners while you're enjoying your cover, keeping you from taking all the alpha in one shot. Assess your HP/Defense and how many people are running through the rain. Pop a green if you need it, purples and oranges if it looks like you're going to get run down. Fireball and Breath of Fire as your next two casts on however many of them got through the rain. Then single-target any still-standing lieutenant. The remainder of the spawn should be easy to mop up after that. Mingle in your /Rad melee to tear them up quick and efficient. If you're feeling -particularly- froggy, or none of them run away from the Rain of Fire, drop Inferno instead of fireball/breath of fire for the big AoE damage to wipe the minions, then hit the LTs with your fireball and breath of fire. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Aggressively is the BEST way to play Storm Blast! ... as a Sentinel. Sincerely, Sentinel Storm Blast -shines-. It's never going to wipe groups like a true blaster, but throw down your Storm Cell and then drop C5 every spawn with a bunch of lightning..? *chef's kiss* The problem with most Storm characters is that they're not Sentinels. So they have to waste a bunch of their time clicking powers from their secondary powerset instead of just having a few toggles providing them everything they need to survive while they focus on destroying everything.

I just meant the saturation and brightness of these Skyboxes so that they'd fit in with the Aesthetics of the Isles, not "Make the Isles Greyer!" Like make a copy, drop the saturation/lighting to match the Isles' current saturation/lighting and then put it in the Isles. Rather than having bright blue skies and the colors/aesthetics of the Isles clashing with it.

Kind of a silly idea, but I know a lot of players dislike the "Night = Blue" filter that many zones apply. So what if we started using Praetorian and Kallisti skyboxes for various zones? If it's meant to be a grey and overcast zone, slap the Imperial City skybox on it. If it's meant to be grey and overcast and dirty, slap the Neutropolize skybox on it. If It's meant to be cloudy but still bright, slap the Nova Praetoria skybox on it. If it's meant to be bright and shiny, slap the Kallisti Wharf skybox on it. And then maybe work on a Redside version of all the skyboxes which is just those four skyboxes but with the brightness and/or saturation dropped sharply.