Bopper

I am unfamiliar with which mez protection powers that can be cast while mezzed. I only know of Rune of Protection. What other mezz protection powers work as a break free, are those the only two?

Looks like you didnt get any feedback for the pros of reducing endurance reduction for range. Hopefully this means you can leave it unchanged.

I see, when I read the Cause section, it looked like you were implying Power Boost could strengthen the resistance of Fade.

I dont think Power Boost (and most +Special powers like it) have ever offered +strength to damage, nor +strength to resistance, so it would not apply here. However, I also believe the reason why powers like Power Boost dont boost Damage nor Damage Resistance is because those powers are already flagged as not accepting outside buffs...so it would be a pointless feature. The case where it would come into play is the new Experimentation power, Adrenaline Boost, which is a lot like Power Boost, but boosts strength of damage too, while not boosting defense (it does a few other boosts that aren't normal for +special, fwiw).

As a means for not going too off topic in other threads, I felt compelled to start a discussion specific to this issue (thanks @Dr Causalityfor suggesting it). For those that don't know, the reason why all of the enhanceable resistance powers (such as armors, but also heals that may have toxic resistance included, or powers like Fade that provide both defense and resistance) get flagged as "Ignores outside buffs" is because of a weird interaction between Damage buffs and Damage Resistance. @Trickshootergoes into great detail about this interaction (I'll find the link later, but its dated around Jan 7, 2020), but the main point is Damage Buffs will cause Damage Resistance powers to also be buffed (conversely, Damage Debuffs might cause Damage Resistance powers to be debuffed?). This interaction is why all (well most) the powers in the game that contain an enhanceable resistance component will be flagged as "ignores outside buffs". Without it, you can increase the strength of your resistance powers by using Build Up, Assault, or using a Damage Inspiration. So the problem is known, and it is understood why this flag is used. It is needed. But it sure would be nice if it wasn't. The point of this thread is to discuss ways this interaction can be removed. What are the game limitations preventing this to being reworked? It is my hope that we can reach a point where Resistance can be enhanced by effects such as "increase strength to resistance +10%", similar to how Power Boost can does with strength to defense. Or possibly introduce strength to damage effects as well. I have some ideas that I'll have to sound out on paper before I suggest them, but hopefully others have suggestions themselves. So I guess this thread is a suggestion with a request for more suggestions. Please, discuss.

I was just about to follow up with a reply to address this. After consideration I realized we may have different definitions for nerfs. In the broad sense, anything that lessens the effectiveness of a power can be called a nerf (whether bug fix or not). For me, a nerf is defined as specifically addressing a power with the intention of weakening its effects (typically for balance issues). I agree, its semantics. Now let's see how they'll nerf Farsight, and I'll cry a little inside as I witness my main character lose its effectiveness.

Out of curiosity, why?

I have also noticed this behavior and I agree. I had to look up my key binds for selecting next friendly just to make it easier to target the little guy. It also doesnt help when I summon him, he comes straight in front of me, causing my character to block him from my mouse. It's a slight nuisance for sure, but I'll probably have to just set up easy macros, such as auto selecting him after summon, or finding sentinel to target. Not ideal, but it is what it currently is

It is only a nerf if accepting outside buffs for Fade was intended. Since all enhanceable resistance powers are supposed to be marked as "ignore outside buffs", the power was not working as intended. Even if it hasn't been working as intended for 8 years. It was a LOOOONG overdue bug fix that was one of the biggest exploitable bugs in the game (given its strong numbers for the entire team). I agree that the system having a weird mechanic between damage and resistance should be addressed, and I hope the i25 engine can allow for those changes. But until those changes happen, the only fix for that weird interaction is to flag the power. It might suck, but it's the way it works for now. In summation: a nerf is when a power is scaled down from its intended design once it is realized the intended design was wrong (too powerful). A bug fix is to correct a power when it is not working as intended. They are mutually exclusive as one is working as intended and the other is not.

I agree with both of you. The closest power I've seen to Faraday Cage is Sonic Dispersion. FC gets 50% more protection in its Hold, Stun, and Immobilize protect while also offering protection for Knockback/up and all other forms of mez. Plus it provides psionic resistance. Overall, the fact it is a non toggle I view it as a small tax to pay. You are more than capable of instantly reapplying it wherever you go, but I can understand that becomes a boring gameplay experience being a walking faraday cage dropper. If there is one compromise I can suggest, perhaps make the duration of the effects of FC last for 5-10 seconds. That way if you leave the cage, you can go a short while without having to reapply it instantly. But I dont want to see it become a toggle. I love the look of a floating ball of protection in the sky, it gives new flavors to the game that aren't the same cookie-cutter powers we tend to get, and it requires new creativity in how you use a power like this.

Does it still need to be unique with this new limitation @The Curator

You're right, I overlooked Mako, and Cloud Senses didnt show the 3.75% on the webpage I used. So there is one Melee, one pet damage, one sniper, one heal (unique), one hold, and one accurate to hit buff. That's not many options for a range character. And Artillery still offers more range defense (+0.3) and more EN defense (+1.65). But again, you're welcome to chase the bonuses in other sets. This one doesn't need tweaks.

Everyone does,and all these sets are awesome with each one bringing different flavor. As for 3.75% range defense we typically see, it only shows up in 4 non-ATO sets: a Pet Damage, a Sniper, a Heal, and a Hold. Among the ranged sets (Range Damage and TAoE Damage), currently only Thunderstrike offers ranged defense, and Artillery will do more than Thunderstrike. Offering up 4.0625 Range defense and 3.4375% EN defense.

Last I recall, it's a self anchor PBAoE, so if you're flying, it anchors to your location in the air. Pretty cool effect, actually.

+0.9375 And you are welcome to use one of the other sets. That's the point of having options.

*beating my head against the wall* IT WAS NOT A NERF, IT WAS A BUG FIX You can't say it was nerfed if you could pop enough damage insps and hit 37.5% resistance for the whole team.

There is a plethora of options for AoE defense. Aegis, Winter sets, etc. There aren't many options for EN resist. As for your build goals, maybe Bombardment isn't for you. But the point isn't to make a set that is to be perfect for everyone, that's where imbalance comes in. The option was between AoE def and EN resist, and the argument for EN resist won out mostly for those reasons. If you can make a substantive argument for AoE defense, feel free. This is the forum for that discussion. But please quantify it. As of now, we have numerous options for TAoE. You have Positron that would be favored by proc builds, you have Bombardment which gives great all around values, Artillery that will interest the cone/range def characters. Then you also have ATOs, Ragnorak and Winter Set if those other options aren't satisfactory.

It's an uncommon set that adds up to over 4% range defense and good all around enhancement numbers. It needs no change. Far from garbage. It has great overall enhancement values, a solid recharge bonus, a proc and a top notch EN resist which is rare.

It sounds like you'll sap that enemy dry long before he'll ever kill you. Also effective, especially given that the enemy would require applying 60% more damage than usual to finish you off.

It's a -37.5% damage debuff. Why does everyone assume that's insignificant at low levels. It's equivalent to a 37.5% resistance to your enemy of choice. Plus the duration is long enough to apply it to multiple enemies if needed.

Unless the absorb shield gets a major buff (which it somewhat can't because eventually you run into the max absorb cap of a Defender's base HP), increasing the recharge and duration further is just nerfing the power. The power at best does ~520 HP with enhancements on a single target, 390 HP for the next ally in the chain, and 260 HP for the rest of the team. Those numbers over 45 seconds (or for 30s for that matter) isn't amazing, so increasing the recharge large enough to require full recharge enhancement and additional global recharge to only provide a 260-520HP shield every 45 seconds is useless. The appeal of the power now is the ability to quickly reapply it when the shit hits the fan. I actually preferred is as a 15 second recharge with 20 second duration for that very reason, but that might have been too OP potentially, so where it's now might be a fair compromise between not being too OP while also not being too clicky with its reapply.

It certainly does, and Oedipus Tex already showed the justification for sets needing accuracy. At this point I think the only debatable thing is the amount of endurance reduction. But looking at sets like Electric Control, I think the end redux is preferred.

@oedipus_tex can you add to your analysis from when you justified Accuracy over Range? Can you include which powers have a need for endurance cost reduction? The trade off for Range over Endurance Reduction is being discussed and I know you've looked at this closely already. Thanks

It was changed to this version in Build 3 There was justification that there is greater need for Accuracy than there is for Range, which resulted in the change.