GetRidOfWires

I like stuff I consider challenging and/or investing. Agent Watkins in Steel, I look at that as a test of my early builds. The final mission from Heather Townshend in DA: another test to see if you can save both of them in time. I think I have only succeeded in the Descent of the Hydra trial once or twice Same for the Hamidon section of the LGTF I still find Shauna Braun's arc interesting, seems like there is no right answer.

Mastermind pets don't vanish if the MM gets mez'd. Neither does Gun Drone, or Trip Mine, or any of the Traps gizmos. I think it's too much of a pain to keep retoggling Sparky, since it doesn't go away with the power as is pre-revamp. I don't generally pick Beta Decay for the same reason. The benefit does not outweigh the PITA aspect. I play to relax and have fun, not to be frustrated. Make Sparky more like Gun Drone: able to Tank to a certain extent, and that would be a better capability.

I did a quick run with an Elec/Elec Blaster in PI. I agree with what others have said here, Voltaic Sent is pretty useless since every mez drops the toggle, no matter how brief the mez lasts. Maybe it's useful on other ATs, but I wouldn't pick it for my Blasters in its current form. It's not all that powerful anyway, I don't see why the toggle drop is needed. The Shocked mechanic is good, I think it is balanced correctly. I like Devices for my Blasters, did any of the changes to Elec powers get transferred to Taser?

Is there a reason the Scrapper version of Stone Armor isn’t also proliferated to Sentinels with appropriate adjustments?

My Fire/MA. He's the only character I've got purple sets for and AT-specific IOs for. Max Incarnate stuff, he's tons of fun to play and borders on impossible to kill. I have tons of Blasters but he's still my favorite. He's one of my few Blaster characters that saved Kadabra from the bosses in DA within the time limit.

Tough call, because many combos are fun. I think I like */Bio best because the damage and range boost, plus the ability to go into Defensive mode if stuff hits the fan are great. Not a fan of the effects of some of the powers, but they are not terrible. I like the Dual Pistols animations, and again the chance to increase damage with Fire Ammo is nice. I don't think I have a DP/Bio Sent, but that might be next. I have a DP/Inv and DP/SR both at 50 and they were a pretty smooth ride. Right now I'm leveling an Eng/Bio Sentinel, and the KB plus a Chance to Hold proc in the single-target attacks is really great. I added the Dark Epic pool, the Tentacles fit his concept. Reading here about how everyone likes */Rad makes me want to give it a try, but the effects have put me off in the past; they can kill a concept character if they don't "fit".

Way back when our favorite game was new, there was a player who went by the moniker TheConfessor. He or she wrote a really good discussion of Defense, Resistance and Regeneration and how they mix to protect your character. It was back when Invulnerability held your character in place, I think. I'd like to read that again, does anyone have a copy or a reference link?

So how do you handle those Zombie Bomb enemies in the new Vahzilok arc? They instantly appear and detonate in seconds. Can you drain them fast enough to prevent that? I find that arc a good test of my characters, and often a lesson in humility.

I’ve never successfully completed the sewer trial with the Hydra and respawning Rikti. After the second team wipe, people admit defeat and/or ragequit. It’s my gaming white whale. I’ve never taken a Defender, Controller, Tank, WS, Stalker, MM or Corruptor to 50, dropped them all after about 1/2 hour. I have a bunch of Blasters and a few Sentinels at 50. I’d like to find a Corruptor to level, because I see people play them well. I’ve never been invited to or participated in a Hamidon raid. It seems complicated. I’m afraid I won’t pull my weight, or I’ll screw up and ruin it for everyone out of ignorance/inexperience. There are a lot of story lines I’d like to do through Ouro but just never get around to it due to severe altitis. Same for Redside stories. I’d like to play through the “Who Will Die” stories, but again altitis strikes.

In the costume builder, if you create a Dual Pistols character, lets say a Blaster, and then add TA as the secondary, there is a bug with displaying both pistols and the bow, specifically if you edit the left hand gun, the bow becomes invisible, and if you then deselect/reselect the bow and edit the colors, the left gun becomes invisible. If you deselect/reselect the gun, it takes on the color of the bow you just set, losing the gun colors. Change the gun colors, and the bow gets them too. If you then try to select the Long Range Missile power in the Blaster Epic pool, it gets even worse. You can’t see the rifle, or the bow or the left pistol, and the color issue becomes even more confusing.

Is there any benefit in looking at enemy resists in this topic? I’m actually surprised that Archery is so high given that a lot of its damage is Lethal, which is more resisted by later game enemies. You would predict that AR would just get worse than it already is at higher levels. And I agree that AoE is a big factor in success, and is arguably a strong reason to play a given set. Chaining ranged AoE also helps: Fire Breath followed by Fireball is pretty amazing. Converting Energy KB to KD makes it a much better set, even if you don’t add the +recharge IOS, because it makes consecutive AoE use viable: Energy Torrent followed by Explosive Blast is very effective if you can hit the same group with both attacks. It’s part of why Electric, Sonic and Psy are lower tier: lack of effective chained ranged AoE attacks. It’s just my opinion, but when Elec finally gets access to Static Discharge, it becomes more effective as a set because it has two ranged AoE attacks it can chain. I’d be interested in a ranking based on time to deliver full damage. Both Rad and Dark have some long animations and some attacks use DoT, both mechanics that reduce effectiveness in terms of quick defeats. Archery’s nuke is DoT as well. This is a great discussion, thanks Galaxy Brain for doing the work!

Well, can’t they just disable the command in PVP zones and inside missions? Like /AH is disabled inside a base? That would eliminate both problems without removing it as an option.

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I don’t want the elimination of the /enterbasefrompasscode command. I play this game for relaxation and fun. I think the command as it is it makes the game easier and more enjoyable. Yes, easier is OK. There’s no subscription fees, so there’s no reason to make people spend more travel time. Players don’t have to use it if they don’t want to. And adding a myriad of other TP functions makes playing more confusing, more tedious, and not as much fun. I don’t want to go back to Synapse taking hours to complete and no one wanting to run it. Removing fun, adding tedium and calling it “better gameplay” is standard MMORPG fare, but not needed here. Again, we play games for fun and enjoyment, not the grind or to prove how great we are getting six TP powers. Just my two Merits, I’m sure others will have differing ideas.

I would respectfully disagree that Dual Pistols is so low and Beam Rifle so high In rank. One of the main reasons to make a Blaster is ranged AoE, which can be better than any other AT. BR is lacking in AoE for Blasters, while DP has more with seemingly faster animation.

Great to hear! I'm very excited that Mac users aren't being left out!