jack_nomind

The jobs I think direct porting accomplishes over the OP's initial proposal are implementability and maintenence. It's much less of a headache to implement or maintain five nearly identical versions of Insulation Shield than it is to have four Insulation Shields and one Insulating Shield, a personal armor power that works similarly to Battle Agility. Why yes, I have, thank you. Anything's possible with enough time and money. We could create walls, and then redo every level design to use them rather than map boundaries. We could replace Enhancements and enhanceable attributes with a traditional system of STR/DEX/MAG/etc and give characters gear slots. We could nerf Titan Weapons. Unfortunately our budget is zero. In my experience, the more conservative the approach is, the easier it generally is to sell the proposal and to get it done when it's approved. I do think a really good unique proposal would be absolutely worth considering despite the headache; it adds enough in gameplay to justify the cost to me, and I'd work harder to sell it. The Duo (linked earlier) does that; functionally squashing armor sets down into 5/9 and adding four custom support powers (or etc) IMHO does not. As far as D&D classes go, my mental template is the Marshal, but that's less iconically recognized.

Hmm. Okay... Taken from Codewalker's upload of powers.txt, ======== Entry 3501 ======== FullName = Brute_Melee.Battle_Axe.Beheader CRCFullName = 2370787318 SourceFile = DEFS/POWERS/BRUTE_MELEE_BATTLE_AXE.POWERS Name = Beheader SourceName = Brute_Melee.Battle_Axe.Beheader ... DisplayName = Gash (P703192528) [??!] ... -------- AttribMod 0 -------- Name = Damage ... Table = Melee_Damage Scale = 1.96 ======== Entry 13657 ======== FullName = Scrapper_Melee.Battle_Axe.Beheader CRCFullName = 2435312206 SourceFile = DEFS/POWERS/SCRAPPER_MELEE_BATTLE_AXE.POWERS Name = Beheader SourceName = Scrapper_Melee.Battle_Axe.Beheader ... -------- AttribMod 0 -------- Name = Damage DisplayAttackerHit = You Gash {PlayerDest} with your Battle Axe for {Damage} points of lethal damage! (P783158006) [??!] DisplayVictimHit = {PlayerSource} Gashes you with their Battle Axe for {Damage} points of lethal damage! (P3409016606) [??!] ... Table = Melee_Damage Scale = 1 ======== Entry 15639 ======== FullName = Tanker_Melee.Battle_Axe.Beheader CRCFullName = 1863365053 SourceFile = DEFS/POWERS/TANKER_MELEE_BATTLE_AXE.POWERS Name = Beheader SourceName = Tanker ... AttribMod = -------- AttribMod 0 -------- Name = Damage ... Table = Melee_Damage Scale = 1.96 Which frankly... what? On several levels; the [??!] comments are mine. What's worse; there are multiple versions of each of those Beheader powers which all claim to come from the same source directory and all have the same "Entry" number relative to that AT/version, but sometimes have different values in the Scale line. I admit to merely skimming this to base my conclusion on earlier, but... there's something unexpected no matter how you slice it. in any case... all the power definitions in the file for Air Superiority class it as the same power Entry number, 11979, and none of them derive from any class directory. Whatever is being inherited (because either you're right and I'm wrong or we're both wrong, but I'm not correct in either of those cases) probably isn't being applied to the power because it only exists in one generic form.

What Sarrate said. Also, Damage scales don't exist anywhere independently; they're a balancing tool used for power design, not an inheritable template in the game's files.

Wolverine canonically has super-strength. The Flash has super-everything while utilizing the Speed Force (strength, agility, durability, healing factor); while it's true he can't just lift a bus bare-handed, he can generate an equivalent amount of force. Moon Knight, Daredevil, Elektra, and Mockingbird all "sometimes" have superhuman strength, depending on where they are in their various natural/magical/mystic serum power cycles. Batman, similarly, stretches the definition of 'peak human' to absurdity since he canonically can lift a car. In any case, here's for Scrapper Superstrength.

I'd be fine with /assault Defenders, but honestly for them it's just more attractive to stay at range; they'd need their melee scaling adjusted significantly upwards to make it worthwhile. Even some Doms skip melee powers other than whatever their big hit is, and their melee scaling is fantastic. It also wouldn't effectively accomplish the paladin-y feel I think most of us are going for.

Because it's redundant with the proposed secondary. The proposed secondary starting this part of the conversation was literally just Support, with no changes. You pointed out that for several sets like Empathy, this wouldn't work; I agree. I agree also that even for sets that it more or less would work for, like Force Fields, it's not an ideal approach to plop it in with no changes. I agreed with your idea that one of the ways to address the issue was to make the Inherent handle the mez part of the armor kit, since that doesn't cost any defensive slotting. It was your flip I found confusing. So I needed this clarification that you are, at this point, talking about some other different proposed secondary kit. I think we could still do at worst a 5/9 port on nearly every Support set. I think with the right Inherent we could make it an 8/9 with maybe a few exceptions (Empathy leaps to mind), as long as some of the ported powers are adjusted for either better uptime or self coverage. This might not be the ideal implementation, but what I'd rather see is for the AT to start with five or so solid secondaries (FF, Sonic, Dark, Time, and Nature come to mind) that take the least amount of work to massage over and an Inherent that works for them and anticipates sets like Thermal, Cold, and Storm. Like you, I also want the class to feel significantly different than playing a Scrapper, Corruptor, Defender, or Tanker -- even though it's got a little bit of each of those things. Our three easiest anchor points for that are the replaceable non-attack (eg Taunt, Confront, or Placate) from melee kits, the class Inherent, and the secondary toggle (since all of the Support sets either have one like Shadow Fall or can get one with a fairly obvious move like by dropping Absorb Pain). The less redesigning we need to do outside of those three areas to make it fit, the easier the AT is to implement. (Or in the other extreme, something almost totally new like the Duo, which seems like a development nightmare but is a neat idea.)

Why do you think that an Inherent power that provides mez protection isn't sufficiently unique for a novel combination of primary and secondary powersets, and why does the Inherent need to be the thing that makes an AT unique?

Support characters very often have Defense powers that are clicks, not toggles, and they accept the same sets. At one point it was very common to have to cast click Defense buffs individually from FF or Cold, but even now they're useful for Farsight, Mind Link, maybe Vengeance, etc. +recharge, mostly; nearly all Scrapper primaries want 70%+ global recharge from set bonuses, getting your per-power recharge to +200%-300% with recharge enhancements and Hasten. You'll be relying mostly on SR itself and your insp tray for your damage mitigation, but it can be valuable to get +HP, S/L resist, and +Regen on the side (in roughly that order). The two individual +3% defense IOs (from Resist sets) and +5% Resist and Scaling Resist IOs (from Defense sets) are basically must-haves.

literally what i'm trying to do here. i don't understand WHY, and would like you to explain WHY. i disagree with the outcome of your position, but i have no idea how you got there in the first so i'm reduced to 'ur wrong' and i think we can do better than that. or if i'm wrong about part of the WHAT, you can say that instead. restating what i take your position to be in my own words so you can examine that understanding isn't a strawman.

so i understand that you are also not a dual boxer. I haven't multiboxed on HC (so far?) but back on Live I regularly ran that game-breaking Defender you're so concerned about (mine was emp/sonic), and it had a much more restrictive CoC. It's already possible to run an entire rotation on two keys, and to -- even without violating the unofficial 'characters must have players' rule, which isn't explicitly in the CoC -- simultaneously control two characters with WASD + QE + space. It's already possible without using any kind of utility to have a passive buffbot or idle farm, although those might arguably violate that unofficial rule. In either case (either we do rely on the CoC to deter automation, or we don't) adding more autopowers doesn't make a real impact on what's practical to do. You said you don't use Hasten and it's clear you don't multibox; I don't think I understand where you're drawing your opinion from?

I've had a lot of trouble pinning down what you want; it seems like you're now asking for KB to have a mitigation component other than its >=2s hard lock-out. KB (as of June 5) always at least does KD to an immobilized target. If you're saying you think -movespeed and/or -rech are more useful than KB... well, certainly I think so on behalf of my water/ corr or most of my melee, but not because of the mitigation aspect. A slow that expires before the hold doesn't do anything unless it's reapplied; similarly, the >= 2s hard lockout needs to be reapplied to have an effect. KB's very benefit -- that it forces enemies to reposition -- is also what makes it frustrating. I tend to agree with the general feeling that the best solution is just to replace KB with KD/KU in as many cases as possible.

Your friends are correct. Do you have Tough/Weave already?

The bonus damage as you describe is probably a no-go. It would probably be a no-go even if there were a simple way of doing collisions, but it's more interesting/understandable in that case. KB powers already act in some sense as you describe. The target of a KB is unable to use powers during the entire flight time/ragdoll period. But in general, 'mastery' of KB usually means minimizing flight time either by first rooting the enemies (which provides KB protection) or vectoring them into the floor or a corner.

Speaking as someone who does take Hasten, we absolutely do need more automation (even though clearly some players won't want to use it). Having two or twenty powers on dumb auto won't make the game any more 'scriptable.'

Not hyperbolic, still baffled. What you want -- I think -- is for the proposed AT's Inherent to specifically modify the AT's attack powers to do something similar to other AT's Inherents. For example, you'd presumably be OK with an Inherent that improved melee damage for X seconds after casting a buff. What you don't want is for the Inherent to do something different than other Inherents, like providing mez protection based on the number of allies/enemies nearby or w/e. What you also don't want, or don't count as unique, are emergent differences arising purely from a novel primary/secondary combination and their scaling, as e.g. separated Controllers and Defenders before either one had any Inherent. Why you are introducing this design constraint remains unclear.

Okay. If I'm understanding this, you want each KB power in the game to be re-written so it does half (or w/e) as much damage as now up-front, and another half after 2s, and to ignore damage enhancements for the second half but use KB enhancements to buff the damage instead. This is neither a buff nor likely to happen.

No, it wasn't. And it doesn't exist in any form in PvE. Fighting +6 is bad because of the +tohit -- but it doesn't take anywhere near that to see >50% ehp loss vs defense-heavy sets due to accuracy increases.

Those powers just split their damage between two hits, like Barrage does. They don't do 'extra' damage.

KU doesn't specifically have a separate damage proc, although it can cause falling damage. So can KB, if you knock someone off of something. The problem with geometry damage is that CoH mostly doesn't have geometry. Walls simply don't exist. There might be a way to have KB interact with falling damage, but it would in effect simply cause additional damage until the target stopped moving -- anything that stopped the target's motion would actually reduce damage.

neither of those things is true. Arcanaville demonstrated Defense was inherently flawed. defense and resistance have accreating returns; getting some -- even what seems like a lot -- of one you don't have much of isn't worth getting what seems like a little of one you already have a great deal of. +2% resistance at 88% (mitigating 1/6th of incoming damage) is more valuable than 4% defense (mitigating ~1/11th of incoming damage) from zero.

I'm utterly baffled by this. Why? Corruptors, Scrappers, and Stalkers have incredibly similar Inherents. Hell, most Inherents are psuedo-powers/design guidelines anyway; the difference is almost entirely in the power sets and scaling.

Titan Network forum direct message, or Twitter.

If math can't tell the story, it won't work on a computer. If you were living a 'random' amount of time, you wouldn't be an effective tanker. I agree that ehp layers other than resistance and defense get too often neglected, and that the math gets oversimplified for convenience. Modelling something like 30% chance to KD as mitigation is a pain -- but it's neither random nor amathematical. You can claim any experiences you want. One time, I experienced having telekinesis in real life. I was eight and had gotten a kite stuck on top of our detached garage, and I mentally pushed it off. Of course, the fact I was out flying a kite should give a hint as to how windy the day was, but it sure felt like I'd done it with my mind powers. These arguments were won over years by testing before becoming accepted wisdom, not by a popularity contest. Without documenting your experiences to compare against others, what you seem to be saying isn't that "the crowd" is wrong for any particular reason except perhaps being "the crowd." Models absolutely can be wrong, fail to account for things -- but unless you are on a uniquely magical computer, what we need (and should easily be able to design) are reproducible tests that we poor grunts of "the crowd" can examine for ourselves. If you are on a uniquely magical computer, please understand that the rest of us are just using the regular ol' math kind, and give advice accordingly. You have 90% S/L from 100% health, and this is reflected in Pines. If you're at 87% including the scaling resist proc at 100%, you're at 90% S/L from ~57% health on down. For SwitchFade, resist resists resistable resistance debuffs. Edit: Since everyone else is posting builds, here's half of one.

Since this is entirely old forums, I think he might be more open to the idea -- it absolutely falls in line with Titan's archival efforts. At the least, I think he might be willing to provide some info on db hosts.

Have you spoken to Tony / Titan about hosting?