Player2

Well, as they have stated in the past, they're entitled to voice their opinion on the topic --no matter how negative they want to be about it-- and always show up to do so. I feel like I'm just as entitled to defend the merits and point out the flaws in their arguments against it. You may have created the thread, but it is an open topic of discussion.

And yet you have stated that you will argue against this topic every time it comes up... and you do it, always with the same arguments. Why does CrusaderDroid or anyone else have to be open to accommodating other points of view but for some reason you don't have to?

What, within the CoH setting, makes handwavy animations distinctly magical? How do you know that it's not technology guiding the user's actions to harness the arcane forces? "Natural" means that the abilities are part of your baseline existence, which could include spellcasting animations, effects, and all... It's not necessarily magical for some, it's natural. And "Mutation" is differently abled from a species normal abilities. So why not a mutant who can inherently wield magical effects? Why not Science-based effects that are meant to look like magic to mislead people into thinking it's magic? Why not a technological Robot with magic using capabilities (which is actually a part of CoH lore)? No origin is locked to a powerset regardless of how it looks or behaves. That is entirely the point I am always making... but for some reason, some people think that reasoning does not apply to a magical-themed powerset... only for everything else.

I think this would be ideal for a Scrapper and Stalker version of Super Strength. There's too emphasis on Rage as a power tied to Super Strength, when in the comics world that kind of strength really is attributed to the Hulk and his side characters. There may be others, but they're very obscure. Meanwhile, super strength without rage is a staple in superhero lore... but if you don't make your character a "Hulk" then you're limiting yourself. There needs to be a non-ragey alternative.

I'll drop it when they drop it. They insist on making the same stale and sometimes inane arguments over and over and even if they're asked to drop it, they never do.

YOU are interpreting it that way. Mutant robots: fine. Magical guns? fine. Natural traps/devices? Noooooo problem. But magical look and feel with the option to apply Mutation, Natural, Science, or Technology option makes your brain shut down. That's your issue; stop trying to make it everyone else's.

The fact that you want to call it Primal Forces makes me want it to be called Magical Blast. There are magic-sounding terms that do not implicitly require it to be tied to the Magic origin any more than Robotics powerset need be tied to the Technology origin. Arcane works fine... as does Mystic. These are terms that lend to the feel of a magical theme, but can be viewed in non-magic ways. For example, the Force in Star Wars movies has a very Arcane or Mystic nature but is implicitly and explicitly not magic. Stop getting hung up on origin.

Why does it have to have animations for every type of origin? Magic specific animations as a base... and generic animations for everyone else. It's not like the tech themed powersets offer origin-specific options for every other origin, so you seem to be insisting something that doesn't apply anywhere else just for the sake of trying to naysay the whole idea.

No, YOU are missing the point. CoT is a decidedly very specific magical group... with members specializing in dark or other effects, but no one possessing a variety of effects under one powerset. I can't play CoT's kind of magical diversity as a single character because their differing effects come in the form of different NPCs for each kind of magic they can use. IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE ANIMATIONS/VISUAL EFFECTS... so get over that and try asking a new question. You're too stuck on that like Rudra is on magic look must be Magic origin.

Good luck with that. 😄 Some people are perfectly happy rationalizing tech stuff like Robotics, Devices, Traps, guns, etc as working just fine with the magical origin... but propose something with a decidedly magical look to it and suddenly their minds are locked in on "MUST BE MAGIC ORIGIN AND THAT MAKES IT BAD!!" mentality. Don't bother trying to appease this very vocal minority because it will never happen. Just present your idea(s) and maybe others will like it.

He starts off stating that it's an attempt to capture the versatility of wizards and bringing a diverse arsenal of effects. You recognize that it's a mixture of different damage types and debuffs... then immediately go to your same old question of "what makes it magic?" and follow up by questioning the if it's the animations and how those could be added to anything. Are you intentionally ignoring what people say just to reiterate that question at every opportunity? I'll give you a good answer to it: nothing will make any powerset magic, because magic isn't real. The best we can hope for is something that simulates a look and feel of magic but could also be used in a non-magical way by people that don't want to use the Magic origin. Saying that magic animations could be added to other powersets does not accomplish what anyone who has proposed a magic-themed powerset has suggested; all it would do is allow people to use those other powersets like a spellcaster but they would still be limited to a specialty. Hey, you chose fire blast for your wizard... you're a fire specialist. She chose dark blast for her witch, that makes her some kind of necro specialist. Ice blast? Winter mage. Assault Rifle? Sure... go ahead and add spellcasting animations to assault rifle just because I want to see how that looks. But it still lacks the overall diversity that embodies wizards of all manner of mediums from fantasy RPGs and movies to comic book sorcerers. It is NOT about just the animations... but the animations are also a strong part of the idea... so it's better to have a new and unique powerset with the spellcasting animations that can have more generic options added for people that would want to use the set without being locked into the Magic origin. Also, it would be arguably easier to add generic animations to one new powerset than it would be to add alternate spellcasting animations to every other powerset.

Suitable, but doesn't have that same alliterative ring that Battle Bikini does.

She has plenty of belt pouches that are concealed by her hair in this pose. There might also be some boot pouches, and maybe a choker of neck pouches.

I don't see a problem with this. Yes, some powers might have issues with too much damage on crits... but we know they can balance that. And just because... we need Super Strength for stalkers. I want a Knockout Blow assassin strike. 😎

Maybe a new feature for Null the Gull to offer?

It's not cheating the game, it's cheating themselves. Also, speed runs definitely do not get the same rewards faster because they're missing out on XP and influence from all of the stuff that they skip. I think a good way to encourage playing through more content might be to include additional (or maybe just break up) mission completion bonuses for achieving secondary objective(s). Like there might be ambushes or other stuff going on that you get XP/Inf for defeating normally, but it can still be skipped... and if it is skipped then deduct an appropriate amount from the overall mission bonus or add to the mission completion bonus for the added objectives that are completed. Whichever way would add more incentive.

Looks great, but could use a bit more chaos in its design. Have you considered using asymmetrical options for different color (and/or possibly piece selections) for gloves, boots, and shoulders? Maybe try it as a secondary costume and see how it comes out.

Suggested some (alternative) animation ideas.

Trying the new image hosting recommendation... Battle Bikini Shield / Broad Sword Tanker

Back on live, I had an Invulnerability/Super Strength Tanker named Liberty-Lass. When shield defense was introduced, I renamed and repurposed the tanker and started a new Shield/Martial Arts Scrapper as the new Liberty-Lass. The way I explained the switch was the new one was from Praetoria, where the heroes weren't very heroic... but she was, and wasn't really welcome there, and not doing so well when she made her way to Primal Earth. So Tanker Libby and Scrapper Libby swapped places, and the tanker version went off to fight everyone and bring justice to the bad guys... which meant, later on with Going Rogue and Praetoria as a new starting zone with Loyalists and Resistance factions, they were all bad guys because Libby doesn't compromise. Praetorian version then became the default, and like the Primal version she was 100% hero... no compromised values and siding with one of the two factions.

Actually, the OP grows geometrically, so more than three...

You shouldn't have to turn off the VPN, but you might need to whitelist certain websites.

Remember, patriotic theme means dedicated to a country... not necessarily the United States and definitely not to a political party. One of my favorite patriotic characters is Irish.

One more scrapper, because I always like patriotic-themed characters... Miss Representation Psionic Melee/Willpower Scrapper

I had a random funny thought last night and then I made this: T-Factor Dual Blades/Willpower Scrapper I almost went with Ninjitsu secondary, and I'm not entirely sure I won't start over with it, but for now... She keeps lots of things in that backpack, so beware.