Kaika

Came here to say the same thing, it's currently still a toggle and rapidly casting the initial attack, drains end super fast too. For fun I ran a "one button" pylon test, though I did have to use the tester burnout to keep Geas up since the end drain was pretty wild

Just got on and messed around a bit with the new attune and the VFX is a game changer feel wise. Makes the power feel far more impactful and translates it mentally into a toggle in my head way easier. I really like the VFX for it, just enough to not lose it in the mix of things, but not too big as to get mistaken for a AoE, and does not cover the head or legs to be mistaken as control. The extra range also makes it quite a bit harder to detoggle and makes it so you don't feel like you have to be glued to your target anymore, I don't think I would want it to extend any farther then this though. I still have to get into melee to make the DoT effective so it isn't a free lunch, but I no longer need to constantly keep my target in mind positioning wise, and they are far easier to keep track of. All and all a huge upgrade in the game feel department here, good work on this. The only thing I could think to make it better would be if the VFX changed when the T1/2 were applied to it, but I know thats a bit of a ask and it's still very good the way it currently is.

I feel heard, thank you these were two of my biggest issues with the set!

Fair, I thought you meant more on a set by set basis, not power. Migraine was likely added due to so many sources of -res being very difficult to balance due to how powerful of a debuff -res is. Though to be fair sonic has also had a history of being CC heavy, which sonic melee does follow. Either way I still stand that the set would feel incomplete without a source of -res which is more prevalent in other sonic sets.

Sonic assault also has -res in the ranged attacks and Disruptive aura which is a -res toggle, it still has alot of it

Assassin strikes are very inconsistent across different powerset, Ice fire and BS all have longer animation times in both quick and long forms, KM has a insanely quick AS, and as other have stated AS often interacts with the set's gimmick. Having them all be the same is not, and never has been, a fundamental aspect of stalker design, not all sets are built the same as the assasin strikes reflect this. In this case it's inheriting sandman's whisper's powerful secondary effect, which otherwise has no really good place to go. -Res is not only one of the most powerful de-buffs in the game but is one of* the signature secondary effects of sonic powers. AS is also a decent place for it, as it's usually your opener, and does not benefit from the -res on the initial strike. Given the recharge lines up with the same duration of the -res this seems like a very good place for it, as stalker would be far weaker then scrapper without it. Also not sure why you think sonic clap is skippable because this is one of the best melee cones in the game by far, massive 180 degree arc with a 15 foot range, this thing is huge, decent CC, with low cooldown and decent damage, have you tried it yet? And yes, if stalker were to get TW, thats exactly what I would expect, it would likely build momentum from hide as well, but thats for the devs to decide if they do ever give stalkers TW (please). Edit*: clarified the secondary effect statement

Laucianna summed up my opinions on a future Kheldian change fairly well. I do think though their single target peak shouldn't be as high as scrappers or stalker. Sentinels would likely be a good place to aim as they share alot of the same traits (Survivable, ranged capabilities, Nukes) but also have more versatility and utility. I do however think that at the moment, without changeling, they are the weakest AT in the game, almost unquestionably. They simply lack the raw damage on most of their kit, have to deal with KB that clashes with their melee kit, and lack good sources of mez protection(even with light form) which is practically a death sentence vs many groups. This doesn't mean they aren't functional or can't accomplish anything noteworthy, both can easily maintain a 85% res cap and that on it's own is enough to out-survive most things. I just think the fact that the ability to instantly animation cancel their attacks doesn't make them overpowered in the eyes of the devs should speak volumes. Even so I don't think any AT in this game is "Weak" so even if I think they are the weakest overall it's not that bad. I can completely understand though why someone wouldn't want a changeling on their team though, they cover the area they are in in particle effect, constant loud noises and (if not turned off) constantly shake the screen. It's not a ideal solution but it's fairly in line with the potential of other ATs, and it is NOT easy to pull off well and honestly it's just kinda nice seeing Khelds preform well. It's also really fun, I'll definitely miss it once it's gone, but I understand. I'm hopeful for a rework but I can understand why it would take a good while, the AT isn't exactly super popular and the task of actually reworking them would be pretty big compared to some other under-preforming sets that wouldn't need nearly as much work.

Was able to get around a slightly under 2 min pylon time on a fairly quickly thrown together Sonic/psi stalker build, which is respectable, specially considering how much AoE and control the set has. That's without using the -regen from devour psyche, though I did have a proc bombed out aura of madness and moonbeam, so it's not ALL just the sonic damage. I maintained attune with both stacks, but not sure how much it was really doing at the end of the day. Bringing it into a mission though, I'm not really a fan of attune, I don't think it's *bad* or anything but for all the effort you have to put into it, it really didn't feel all that impactful, especially with AS and crits in the mix, It's the kinda thing where the numbers probably add up to it being worth it, but just barely, but that's only a hunch, I'm sure someone will do the math. Honestly I think it would be alot better as just a melee based DoT toggle with no other interactions, thats already really unique and something thats not in the game, the interactions with the T1 and T2 just feel like they over-complicate things and sorta force you into taking powers that are normally somewhat skippable. It kinda feels like the old tank gauntlet issue again, and I would rather the T1 and T2 be strong enough to stand on their own then have to have this awkward interaction to make them worth it, as they feel very weak on their own. Another issue I was having was losing my attune target in the mix of things, there is no VFX on the main target effected which makes them really easy to lose if you are switching around targets. Sure yo u can see damage numbers over their heads, but in alot of situations it's still hard to line it up, specially if it's a group like council and many of the enemies look identical. Also on stalker I kept having a issue with the DoT damage would cause the enemy to quickly start fleeing forcing me to chase or lose attune, which kinda just sucks, since it would happen very quickly. This isn't a issue unique to sonic melee, but it feels worse since you lose attune and have to set it up again. All and all it works fine, just feels really over-complicated single target DPS wise, and not really great in normal misions due to how much setup it needs. AoE feels great at least. It's current state is fine, but I don't think I'd play it.

I mean, you are completely hamstringing the set by doing that, the fighting pool powers are very weak by stalker standards, and especially by fire melee standards, you would have better luck doing this with scrapper honestly but even then, not taking greater fire sword is a massive hit to your DPS. Exploding shuriken is great but normal shuriken is very weak, and not really useful as anything other then a back up ranged attack. Going either all sword or all fist though, would pretty severely handicap your damage in both AoE and single target, I wouldn't recommend. All fist you could do, but it would be very inefficient, and all sword would just not be feasible as you would only have 3 attacks and would be missing core parts of your kit like assassin's blaze. If you don't like the swords just play NRG,StJ, or Rad and color it orange and say it's fire, otherwise you are really hampering your effectiveness. If you want a fire sword only, katana, Broadsword, and Dual blades all have fire sword skins that you can use.

As someone with a fully kitted out 50+3 staff/psi, I can confirm it's a solid combo. It's AoE is extremely good, and it's survivability is comparable to tanks. It's single target is solid but definitely a bit on the lower end for a stalker specifically, but would be considered high by other at standards. It trades a bit of ST damage for utility, aoe, and survivability, but I would hardly call it bad at that. I can still solo most 54 AVs without much difficulty. I can confirm what everone else says about ice melee, its a very well rounded set on stalker. I do want to defend EM a bit though, while it only gets a single AoE cone, power crash get a buff on stalker compared to the other ATs, so it hits like a firetruck, on fire with a fairly low cool down and decent range and arc. It actually has fairly decent AoE presence off that one power alone. If you want a PBAoE for gameplay reasons though I understand.

Idea police here, This idea wouldn't work because trying to get people to change their behavior to not point out a unrealistic idea for being unrealistic on a forum where anyone can waltz in a post anything, and doing so is not against the rules, is rather unrealistic. To change this would unfortunately require more GM hours for our voluntary team for what would likely be a unpopular change of the forums rules, and a societal movement the world over where people decide to stop criticizing the ideas of others on the internet. All in all it doesn't seem very realistic and it's lost my vote. /jranger Side note, is the name "Idea police" taken yet? That's a good one.

With slotting it's very strong at 10 stacks, even on a stalker, it's very much worth up keeping

The HC devs fixed it on open beta a few years ago but decided not to due to backlash. While its honestly fairly balanced and even interesting as a game mechanic, nothing signpost that it should work like that, implying it is not intended.

Kin melee's animation times are both very long, and very back loaded which is not good. Long animation times are already bad due to how fast things tend to move in this game, its why alot of people really don't like TW despite it being almost objectively one of the best melee sets in the game. Not only is there a large chance that the target you are attacking died or takes enough damage to make the attacks overkill, but thats more time that you are locked in place committed to that one action, where faster sets could move or take a utility/surviability action. This isn't a death blow on its own, but the sets "ok" to terrible DPA on most attacks seals the deal. The real nail in the coffin however is power siphon which is the sets main gimmick and takes the slot where build up would normally be, the intent with this power is to sorta make it a set that ramps up over time, like DB or claws. However unlike DB or claws, this often takes too long to build up, as you need to hit like 3-5 times before you actually start seeing values that would make it worth it, this, COULD work in a fast hitting set, but kin is not that, as stated before, it's the opposite of that. Oh and remember this is a game where a blaster can erase a small army from existence in about 3 seconds, burst damage is king here, something kin is horribly lacking in. That's not even to mention such wonderful power choices as "Power that knocks a cone of enemies AWAY from a melee character", yes you can make this ok with a KB-KD but what kinda design is that? Sure claws has shockwave that kinda does that but that has a MUCH lower KB, does far better damage, and is also a day 1 set, kin is from much later in the games life, the should have known better. You also have "Burst" a AoE that takes 3 seconds to activate, has a tiny radius, and hit about as hard as a slight gust of wind, which might be the single worst PBAoE attack in a melee set. For the record this is only for tank/brute/scrapper, Stalker kin is a entirely different beast, I would go out on a limb and say it's one of the better choices. It' gets the best assassin's strike in the game and by alot, having a full lighting fast 0.6 second animation time in its quick form with no loss in damage, making it possibly the single best DPS melee attack in the game, and rounding out its rotation to let you entirely skip the non criting, 3 second activation time, concentrated strike. It trades the gimmicky power siphon for build up, making the set actually have burst damage now. Best of all, due to a glitch Burst on stalker has a 100% crit chance from hide, turning a extremely lack luster AoE, into a proper nuke when hidden, gving it a solid AoE presence. It's not perfect, the attacks are still back loaded in DPS and outside of AS and burst, are still only "OK" DPS at best but it's a far better set and honestly pretty fun.

Can you really call it pizza if it doesn't have pineapples on it?

See if you can't tell by my avatar, it's against my religion to turn off super speed, so I just become very intimate with every wall and obstruction, its still faster.... probably....

Their Phantom army also does considerably more DPS, which fits their AT more, that's probably more the reason why they lost the taunt. Conisdering the dominator themselve is a pocket blaster, and the ATs heavier focus on hard control rather then support I think this one makes perfect sense.

Because it has not stopped being fun in the last 20 years. One of the best things I think about this game, the the sheer depth that it has that you practically do not need to interact with. When I was a kid, I had no idea what I was doing, and was just having fun picking whatever sounded cool, and the game still worked fine. These days I'm min/maxing the crap out of all my characters to my specific play style and am able to solo just about anything thats possible to solo, spending hours editing and optimizing my builds and making sure I can properly execute all of my individual characters rotations for max DPS, and the game still holds up extremely well. When people talk about accessibility they usually only mean to players newer to MMOs or video games in general, and while CoH is somewhat good at this, what I think is this games real strength is that you can kinda just always keep digging for more depth if you want it. The game REALLY wants you to play it however you want and accommodates every level/style of play. This is on top of the already absurd amount of ways to play this game, meaning that as long as you don't get bored of the base mechanics and systems, the game really never gets old. I've played since release in 2004, I take decent sized breaks occasionally but I always come back, just nothing else like this game

Keep in mind, in the original release of the game travel powers had much higher end cost, and often combat downsides when running them. This was also back in the day when stamina was supposed to be a power pool power that you really had to invest in to get (and basically everyone did). Both fly and super speed used to lower your accuracy fairly significantly and teleport had a end cost so high it practically rendered it unusable as a travel power without slotting for end. Originally travel power were VERY MUCH intended to not be used in combat. However if you played back in the day, you would know that basically none of the original design intentions like this worked, as without ED, you could 6 slot stamina, and never have end issues again, then 6 slot tactics and never have to worry about accuracy and this was all without travel power suppression. Needless to say, their efforts didn't even really work from the get go, at least once people started to learn how the game worked. Once the Pandoras box of being able to use these in combat was open there really wasn't and putting them back in it. Overtime they made travel powers less and less restricted as it turns out, going fast is fun. Honestly I think it's for the best, but it's kinda interesting looking back on the original design intention, as missions were intended to be done at what we would consider a glacial pace by today's standards.

The old blue/brown caves in their entirety, with the aforementioned layer cake room. I honestly love them from a atmospheric standpoint but they are just BAD. Narrow winding corridors filled with random bits of geometry to get stuck on. Many rooms have multiple floors with tons of nooks and cranny to hide out in. The tight corridors make travel powers and movement, my favorite aspects of the game, feel anywhere from frustrating to useless. Worst of all the enemy are always spread out through out the room, you would think "this would things harder" but no it actually makes things considerably easier. In newer maps groups are often spread out in a area to prevent fireballs from ending the fight instantly, which makes them harder, however in a cave a single group is often spread out so far that even a team of 8 PUGs with no attempt at stealth will only take half the group at a time, or less, without trying. That's not even to mention some of the room layouts, the layercake room is infamous but thats not even to mention other rooms, like the room that requires you to jump up to the second level to find a tunnel that lets you go forward. God forbid you get a "defeat all" in a caves, or even a "defeat the boss" with a layer cake room. They were very much made by a inexperienced dev team that still had little to no idea how their game actually played, even at the time. It's little wonder that at a certain point, they just entirely stopped using them and basically replaced them with the tunnel map in newer content.

I have toons that can run out of end on ageless, you can 100% end up in this situations with some setups/play-styles, without it being a deliberate misplay.

I absolutely dislike end management, I feel it's archaic is extremely annoying, and just ends up being something you have to deal with rather then something enjoyable. Most modern MMOs no longer have this kinda all or nothing resource management unless its core to the classes play-style. However CoH was made with endurance in mind, You can't just remove it without throwing any semblance of balance out the window. I find the stronger offensive sets tend to be a big end hogs because better powers tend to use more endurance faster. End is a nuisance that you still have to deal with but in dealing with it you sacrifice resources that could go to other things, whether that be activation time, slots, powers, or mental capacity. Without it the game would be missing something at it's core that would likely boil over the balance, which is already tipped heavily in the players favor. I think end is in a very good spot at moment, if you never want to deal with it there are myriad ways to basically negate endurance as a concept, at just about every point in the game if you're resourceful, but you have to spend time/money/focus on that, that could go elsewhere which is a nice tradeoff. Long story short end isn't going anywhere because its a core part of the game, like it or not. Removing it as a obstacle would further empower players more then they already are as they would no longer need to spend time/resources manage it.

Rolled a Staff/psi stalker, Psi armor is kinda a monster when built right, though staff might also be doing some heavy lifting on my end, But hey, High res, High Regen, and a good Bases for building up defenses, not even to mention the absolute monster of a power that Aura of madness is (which hits like a truck of proced out). She can solo 4x8 of most groups quickly and with relative ease, when taking incarnates into account. All and all its a good set, the only thing I have a problem with is Devour being a cone for some unfathomable reason.

I can kinda understand this on scrapper they want you to use it when approaching the group. I still disagree but at least I can understand the use intention here. On stalker the cone makes ZERO sense, as you basically always start combat from stealth, in melee. The ideal time to use devour would be when approaching from a distance but as a stalker, that's literally just giving up your opening AS/Crit, which you would basically never want to do. So as is now, you need to jump in, do your out of stealth opening stuff, then awkwardly reposition to hit the cone to get the most of of a single use so you can get back to damage. Sometimes you get lucky and enemies are just played out in a way that allows this but often you can't. It's a shame because I love everything else about this set on stalker it's a power house and really fun to play, except this single thing that is extremely annoying. Since closed/open beta practically every other single peice of feedback was "this should be PBAoE" and they still went with this and I cannot fathom why. I regret not testing it more on stalker because it feels like it was not.

You know the funny thing is, in the early days of CoH synapse was known as the "fast" TF. I do agree though it's long overdue for a proper revamp, 45 mins to a hour and a half of end draining enemies at low levels, where every mission is practically the same thing gets old.