Bionic_Flea

Had some time to play Sonic Melee. I made a Sonic/Energy Brute and leveled him to 20 solo with mostly SOs (I can't help but slot Panacea proc and a few others ASAP). I completed both Posi TFs. My doppelganger was pretty easy and I defeated Dr V without any temp pets. It got hairy a few times when ambushes came, but I was able to keep attuned on him while I took care of the add ons and earned a few clutch inspirations. Occasionally hitting him with T1 or T2 meant he wasn't regenerating much, if at all. After that, I auto-leveled to 30 and slotted some IO sets. So far, I only ran the first mission from Gordon Bower at *4. He handled the Tuatha really well. Same as Dr V.: target the boss with attune, slap him once, then take care of his friends. I was also able to herd a couple of groups together so I will turn up the difficulty. While I think it performs fine, it does feel clunky to reapply attune and use the first two attacks so much. The icons, animations, and sounds are mainly from blasts and so I find myself with cognitive dissonance -- it feels like I should be blasting and not punching. Sometimes I wonder why my attack isn't going off and it's because the target is 10 feet away. Too far! I agree with some that the animations should either be all punches/arm movement or at least have an option to choose the animations. Then you could be a hand waver, a screamer, or some combination. I also think that it would be neat and different if Sonic melee had the longest distance melee attacks of at least 10 feet. That makes sense as sound travels a lot more than just seven feet. Perhaps even giving it spill-over AoE damage. So for example, 7 feet range for main target who takes full damage, but those within 10-15 feet take a smaller amount of spill-over damage. OH! And I forgot to add, I hate the "pspspsps" whispers sound effect when I use Sandman's Whisper. It's distracting and creepy. I'll add more as I play a few more levels.

I have at least 1 level 50 of every AT. I was surprised to see that the thing I have most of is controllers. But I do like them, Defenders, and Corrupters the most. I also have a bunch of Brutes and Tankers. The things I have the least of are Sentinels, HEATs, VEATs, Stalkers, and Dominators. PS - Are folks hand counting for their posted lists? Or is there some kind of tool that can do that?

I just noticed that Sandman's Whisper on a brute adds -res but only with Fiery Embrace. Is that accurate? Seems odd to me.

That is a great name. I think we may see a lot of Karens in the near future.

Uun, would you be a mensch and do that again exemped down to a lower level . . . or levels if feeling extra generous! But I also Uunderstand if you don't want the extra work.

Here's an idea and I don't know if it is possible, but . . . could you convert the +recharge set bonuses into +speed for the pets? At least those set bonuses will contribute something.

Or you can Speed run a few no-star Aeons for a chance to win the D-sync lottery, then slot it or sell it to pay for your entire build.

Quite interesting, my dear man. Quite interesting indeed!

Is it pronounced "MergerRoger" but a bit more mumbled?

OMG! This is so true. I started my recent MM testing on a live fire Pylon and had exactly that happen a few times. That's when I gave up and went to the "passive" ones instead. Making the pets have a few seconds to finish the summon animation and get buffed would be great. But I don't think you could buff them if they were "untouchable" as I know I frequently get frustrated when I try to protect a teammate with a shield or mez protection and see the word "unaffected" float by.

I posted some new times for Test pylon and three different dummies (50, 52, 54). A BIG improvement at +4, about the same on the others. Here for the dummies a little further back for the pylon -

Check the focused feedback threads on masterminds. Essentially, new MMs are slightly worse off against even and +1 foes, about even at +2 and +3, and better at +4 and over.

Have you read the patch notes yet, Sai?

I miss them from the chat box icon. Muscle memory is hard to break, but I realize you need more real estate to get to +7.

So, I did the +4 Vanguard Dummy on test. I should also say that I am +1 and slotted with all the I-powers, but I'm not using any except for Alpha (Intuition Radial Paragon) and Interface (Degenerative Partial Radial). I also have Hybrid support but that only grants passive endurance. I'm not toggling it on for the extra damage. I'll try it again on Live in a few minutes. Test 50+4: Live 50+4: So +4 faster on test by a decent amount. Going for +2 next. 50+2 Live: 50+2 Test: Essentially tied at +2. Level 50 next (remember I am +1) Level 50 on Live: Level 50 on Test: Also essentially identical. So at least for me on this build, the changes are not helping me at 50 or 50+2 but a decent boost for me on 50+4., at least against a pylon or dummy that aren't fighting back. I'll try to run an identical AE mission at the same levels . . . but I might not be able until the weekend. After patch on test (Brainstorm): 50 Even - Identical 50+2 - 4 seconds slower, but I missed that Accelerated Metabolism had recharged. 50+4 - A SUBSTANTIAL improvement to both Live and pre-patch Brainstorm.

Yes. One of the three levelless Pylons, not a combat dummy. What level Dummy should I go for? (Please don't say all five 🫣). Speaking of which . . . Hey @Cobalt Arachne! Are we going to get +5, +6, and +7 dummies somewhere?

OK. Here is the identical version from live now copied to test: That's better and closer, but still a significant reduction from live damage. I know that I could get a better time with a respec and using other powers, but I think this is a fair test. For Dispari: Ran it again after the latest change to restore incarnate procs (just degen interface for me) and that shaved off some more time making a pylon even closer to live -- 2:06 test vs 1:56 live. I'll do the dummies next.

I can, but I think I should copy my live copy over first.

The top is a Bots/Rad on test. The second is Bots/Rad on live. That's a pretty significant difference. There's a few slotting differences but nothing that should change the outcome by that much. I'll make them identical and try again.

2-3 snowmen, 2 Jack Frosts, 1 Yeti! As for the need to earn costumes, I can sympathize with both camps. It's nice to have goals to reach and rewards to obtain, but grinding to get your look just right can be a pain. I just hope that not every new costume needs an unlock and that those that do not be too grindy. There's a huge difference in killing 50 critters or 5,000 critters (or more!) to earn a badge or other reward. Also . . . damn, that's a lot of notes!

Wouldn't she be Illusion controller or Dom for all that "Where in the World is" hiding? Or maybe a stalker!

Like a vampire looking in a mirror . . .

@Gerswin, Dilemma Diabolique Trial is kinda what you are asking for. It involves magic, Praetorians, is fairly straightforward, level 54+ AVs, and a bunch of rewards. For a new TF, what if some powerful dark magic escaped from the Night Ward Midnighter Mansion and powered up Drudges, Animus Arcana, Talons, Apparitions, and Spirit Stalkers to incarnate levels? Those Animus Arcana can be damn tough in large groups. That one mission where you have to defend the mansion against them is killer.

@CoeruleumBlue, please allow me to introduce you to @Sovera, who knows a thing or two about fire armor.

You can't. They won't. People tried. There's everything to lose, like the game itself. Remember when the company you want to make a deal with for profit closed the game while it was still making a profit? Besides, the game is going great as is. Why would I want to pay money for the same thing, or potentially better . . . or probably worse? Right now, the people making decisions are doing it for the love of the game. If you inject a profit motive then decisions are made based on what could make the most money.