Scarlet Shocker

I should probably have said that evidence/raw data is really helpful here. I am trying to avoid raw assertions because I'm genuinely interested in how to define the difference.

You can do two things: You can see it as a chore, which, from what I've read in this thread is your current perception - or perhaps you can see it as a golden opportunity. It could be a new facet of the same person, or perhaps their Praetorian counterpart - some kind of weird doppelgänger - or perhaps an alien mimic that has usurped your original character's identity. Sure, you probably think you've finished that character, but if you do, then what do you do next? If you're like most players you'll roll another toon and play that through to its logical conclusion, then to bring it out on high days and holidays. So all you are literally doing is playing another toon and then making a bio, costumes and stuff you likely do for many of your characters. I'm afraid all I'm seeing here is "I want therefore I should have" levels of entitlement rather than working within some very easily overcome restrictions that do you no real harm whatsoever.

Or is it such a stupid question? I've played both and regular readers might notice that I've experimented with a couple of different defenders recently - but I've also played a few corruptors but rarely to high level and rarely in real depth. It seems to me that they share a lot of stuff in common - the same sets, just switched; the primary is dependent on the AT but not so much is different beyond that (so far as I can tell.) Until you get to Vigilance and Scourge - both of which are mechanics I don't know well enough to say too much about but if I have to make a judgment, Defenders work better in teams and Corruptors work better solo. But I'm really not certain about the truth of that statement. Is there a significant difference between the damage their powers do? If we take two characters, same power sets... Thermal/Dark or Dark/Thermal - same powers, same slots, same enhancements in said slots - what are the defining differences between the two? (Same pool and APP/PPP powers too.) For the purposes of this idea we'll assume both arrive in Atlas Park on the same day, and run the same missions on the same team. So maybe shoot to lvl 10 with a series of DFBs and then duo through the Hollows until... well let's presume we take them through to 50 running the same content ensuring there are no differences in the teams they run in. Under those conditions is there any meaningful difference between the two ATs and if so what is it an why?

Why not just remake the character as you'd like it and swap the name from the 50 to the new one? Then you have a 50 which you can use and develop your new toon as you like

If you're having to use an ice pick you're probably just a gangster

Change for change's sake. Unnecessary and unwanted by most I'd wager.

It's entirely possible you might be overthinking this a tad 🤣

If you use something like a Razer Tarterus (and possibly a Naga mouse) it should be possible to bind a keystroke to simulate a keypress and after a user-defined time activate a similar one. I've not tried it myself - I've honestly never felt the need, having all the keys I need to hand and never wanting to bind my keys so inflexibly. I would not be certain that wouldn't be considered an exploit or gaming the system however so I'd caution against it

Nerf Rock

the Controller pet would need to be something like a giant preying Mantis or something that would grab enemies and crush them

I have to say I don't recall any of that - I remember a big PVP rebalance around I13 which seemed to please nobody but I don't think it had any effect on the PVE game at all. I could be mistaken but I don't remember it But I think it's also important in an MMO to be willing to accommodate other players' desires too - otherwise you're playing a solo Superhero RPG which is an entirely different experience.

Giant Insect MM

That's a valid opinion - but I'd counter it by saying that I feel no negative impact from PVP in the game as it stands. If I want to take part in PVP, I take part. If I don't, then it doesn't bother me. There is no measurably impact on the PVE game I can detect unless I willingly go into a PVP zone (for example to get Shivans) and somebody happens to try and take me on there, which is entirely their right to do so. I'd be interested in understanding how you feel PVP has actually been of detriment to the PVE game and wider community - and I think it's worth pointing out that there are a significant number of players who enjoy casual PVP and wouldn't go for a completely distinct and separate game just to PVP

That's always a risk but I'm with it. Do we know for certain if/when? If you have a practical build here I'd love to see it

That's interesting. I think I have a Necro somewhere languishing so I might see if I can trot him out. Thanks for the thermal info. I knew it could be good but not quite as good as that sounds

Ah yeah I remember 🙂 Was many funz 😄

But what about sausage-based plant substitutes? That would make for an interesting new controller power set! 😄

you'll have loads of fun 😄 Good call

Thanks for the feedback. @tjknight kind of sums up how I feel. I think there's also a few other debuffs I can bring to the party from pool and APP/PPP powers to make up for anytthing Thermal is missing and it does give a nice kind of thematic thing. I've tried necro a few times (should I rephrase that?) and I've never really gotten on with it. Can anyone point me to what changed to improve it?

There are (some) really great responses and ideas here. I think a new engine would be the order of the day as a matter of course but I'd enjoy seeing (a non-exhaustive list) some of the following things: 1) An open city - no War Walls. Technology in gaming has moved on a good deal and they're no longer the necessity they were. 2) Fewer, larger zones, with one or two hazard zones 3) Dedicated PVP server - those that want to PVP can 4) Fewer powers, more choices: We have (IMO) too many powers currently but the majority seem to be very necessary in a good build. I took a lot from The Secret World's power wheels - I loved the idea of passive and active powers that could be interchanged at will once learned. I'd enjoy seeing something similar where you have a range of powers for a given tier/potency that all do roughly a similar thing but allow a far better expression of flavour for your character 5) Mobile character creater and build generator - design your characters while at work and then play them when you get home 😄 6) Many more customisation options in the creator. More anchor points giving better options. 7) Invade the Rikti homeworld with heroes - we should have sent them packing by now and gone to their home to ensure there's never a repeat of their invasion. 8: Character morality/choices have consequences - many missions give morality choices and those define your character's place on the "Moral-O-Meter of Doom" - are you a saint or a sinner or just grey like most of us? That could lead to some interesting mission choices and once you've gotten somewhere on a path there could be specific missions for the super-bad or super-good that are exclusive to that alignment level.

Heh, Mr Milligna, well known typing error and genius, had a few great aphorisms in his life

interesting idea - but it falls over with Iron Man but Crey does that admirably.

Young man, I object. My sausage is in no way plant based. You insult me and I must have satisfaction!

to be serious for a moment - it depends on the mistake. If it's dreadful, I delete the character, even if it's 50. I do that quite often for a number of reasons - especially now that it's easy to get to 50. It's no hardship to play the game I love and rebuild a character that I didn't get right last time. It is very easy to strip a wealthy char, store all the goodies, recreate and get them all back. There's almost no penalty. I do spend time on respecs and (see one of my more recent posts in the Defender AT section) I rebuilt a character from scratch because I'd misunderstood the use of one power which totally borked the character. Fortunately the result was a significant improvement overall so it's a win. to me, a character's value is in the emotional connection I have to it. That surpasses everything else. I develop a concept and if it works, then great, if it doesn't I rework it until it does. I abandon avatars if they fail to meet the concept but I almost never abandon concepts. That said, very occasionally I've created a toon, played to 50, enjoyed it and thought "this isn't fitting the concept for the character" so I have renamed it and kept it as a distinct entity.

what would that look like. There was a time we had high (or less high) hopes of successor projects. Some of us even gave money to them, in the hope we'd get something in return but I think genuinely without too many expectations. Some of those projects haven't gone so very far, others have withered on the vine, and some seem to be increasingly close to completion in a way that counting to infinity works. But... (and it's a very big but and I like big buts I cannot lie) We were blessed with some magic and we discovered that against all odds, something we loved dearly was given back to us - but not just returned in a static state like an antique vase, but more like (rushes to search for an analogy) a classic racing car, that is continually run, successful in its class, and often modernised and updated within the rules of the competition (ie the constraints we are under as we are) So this is more a thought experiment than anything. I should stress it is not a "wish list" or a call to action for our own devs - but I need to give them credit for not just nurturing our game but treating it with the love, respect and dedication that it deserves. They have guarded it well, and in many many ways improved it - and even if I've disagreed with some of the options they've gone for I understand their logic and reasoning and they are mostly minor. I genuinely believe that this group of developers have served the game better than some served it on live - but I also understand the commercial pressures they were under and that's not what this thread is about. So imagine our guys get a free rein, go have skilled fun and come up with Paragon City 2.0 (perhaps after we've finally kicked the Rikti's butt and sent them packing (it's the 20th anniversary of their invasion, after all) - what does that look like? What does City of Heroes 2.0 look like on day one of launch? No, this is not a wish list. It's not about new gimmicks, or "I want x power set" or "I wanna play a clown" etc. It's about how does the game, the story, the environment move forward as a game released at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century with a 20 year legacy behind it. Go to it!