How would you buff Sentinels?

[Murcielago]

Playing an Archery/SR Sentinel I really have not had a hard time playing this character, it's been a smooth but slow ride. I cannot help but feel that Sentinels were undertuned for fear of them being OP from the gate. Range + mitigation has a recipe to be the Titan Weapon/Bio of ATs. So if you were part of the homecoming team, how would you buff, if at all, Sentinels? For starters I would like to see them have their range brought closer to Blaster level and have the same AoE cap. 

[Mikewho]

I actually don’t mind the reduced range and aoe, but I really would like the inherent to be better. It’s terrible as is, both in how effective it is as well as how coherent/understandable it is. Perhaps just a Always on small -res added to all attacks or something, similar in concept to the blaster inherent. That way they would still do substantially less damage solo than blasters, but perhaps catch up on large teams.

[Force Redux]

Let the Opportunity Bar build. When its full, the sentinel can use it to create a buff that lasts for x seconds. Kind of like Domination for dominators. It should not be affected by global recharge. Perhaps 30 second buff with 90 second downtime. So up 1/3 of the time if there is active building. 

 

The Opportunity Bar should be ability-agnostic, that means any primary set attack builds it, and its use is not tied to the T1 or T2 attacks. 

 

The buff should be group wide (so to enhance their appeal in groups) and will scale with the number of group members (up to 8). Everyone affected (perhaps up to 48 targets, so a raid) gains the following:

 

Exactly what the buff should do (boosts to damage, end reduction, heal procs, etc, I leave to others. But it should to at least one offensive thing and at least one defensive thing). 

[Steampunkette]

Buffs for Sentinels? Well!

 

Firstly I'd remove Opportunity as a Mechanic. They need something -different-. The domination-filling-bar thing is all well and good, but they really need something to make them not only work differently but -feel- differently.

 

My current thought is an 'Unleashed' mode where for X seconds out of Y Seconds they get to increase their target caps or add a control effect to their attack powers. Or maybe have their defensive abilities apply a portion of their bonus to nearby allies or something similar.

 

Crits are done. Fury is broken. Domination and Overpower are nifty but not applicable. Defiance? Sentinels who are near death have already failed. Current opportunity is a built up Bruising which is significantly less powerful.

 

We need something -new-.

[TheAdjustor]

Quote

For starters I would like to see them have their range brought closer to Blaster level and have the same AoE cap. 

Bingo !!

[biostem]

42 minutes ago, Steampunkette said:

Buffs for Sentinels? Well!

 

Firstly I'd remove Opportunity as a Mechanic. They need something -different-. The domination-filling-bar thing is all well and good, but they really need something to make them not only work differently but -feel- differently.

 

My current thought is an 'Unleashed' mode where for X seconds out of Y Seconds they get to increase their target caps or add a control effect to their attack powers. Or maybe have their defensive abilities apply a portion of their bonus to nearby allies or something similar.

 

Crits are done. Fury is broken. Domination and Overpower are nifty but not applicable. Defiance? Sentinels who are near death have already failed. Current opportunity is a built up Bruising which is significantly less powerful.

 

We need something -new-.

What if we kept the offensive and defensive opportunities, but had them function differently;

 

1. Offensive opportunity greatly buffs range & damage, but debuffs defenses.

 

2. Defensive opportunity greatly buffs all defensive attributes, but debuffs damage & range.

 

They'd sort of act as "limit breaks" in either direction.  I'd also divorce these effects from the 1st 2 attacks - perhaps grant 2 innate powers, which become clickable (but mutually exclusive) once the bar is at 90% or greater, to enable 1 of the 2 modes..

Edited September 18, 2019 by biostem

[Razor Cure]

1 hour ago, Force Redux said:

 

The Opportunity Bar should be ability-agnostic, that means any primary set attack builds it, and its use is not tied to the T1 or T2 attacks. 

Yes! I almost NEVER take t1 attacks.

 

2 hours ago, Murcielago said:

Playing an Archery/SR Sentinel

That's why its slow..Archery is pretty meh on everything.

[Cooltastic]

1 hour ago, Force Redux said:

Let the Opportunity Bar build. When its full, the sentinel can use it to create a buff that lasts for x seconds. Kind of like Domination for dominators. It should not be affected by global recharge. Perhaps 30 second buff with 90 second downtime. So up 1/3 of the time if there is active building. 

 

The Opportunity Bar should be ability-agnostic, that means any primary set attack builds it, and its use is not tied to the T1 or T2 attacks. 

 

The buff should be group wide (so to enhance their appeal in groups) and will scale with the number of group members (up to 8). Everyone affected (perhaps up to 48 targets, so a raid) gains the following:

 

Exactly what the buff should do (boosts to damage, end reduction, heal procs, etc, I leave to others. But it should to at least one offensive thing and at least one defensive thing). 

 

+1 for this idea. Keep the name but turn Opportunity into a bar like Domination that fills as you attack. Once filled you can pop it whenever you like for a team wide buff. I suggest a +Recharge/+10% Resistance to all buff that lasts for roughly 15-20secs.

 

If a team buff would be considered to powerful for some reason, then make it a personal buff that buffs all the sentinels recharge/defense/resistance/healing so they can really go ham for awhile.

 

1 hour ago, Steampunkette said:

We need something -new-.

 

What Force was asking for would in fact be something new.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Cooltastic

[DR_Mechano]

The main problem is that, once again, Bio armour is a bit of a breaker. A Beam Rifle/Bio Sentinel can put out stupid damage, more so than even a blaster due to the fact that the offensive mode really racks up the damage and thanks to containment spread it means their limited AoE caps and range aren't as much of a problem (Beam Rifle has fairly crappy AoE outside of its nuke anyway, the sweeping beam is considered a skippable power for example). As mentioned the reason for this is that A) Offensive stance counters the lower damage numbers with adding additional toxic damage ontop and B) Beam Rifle doesn't care about AoE caps since it does poor AoE as a blaster set anyway.

 

However then you get sets that rely VERY heavily on larger cones and AoEs. A set like Assault rifle suffers massively for its reduced AoE caps and range. This combined with the lower damage numbers mean that certain sets end up feeling just bloody awful compared to even their Corruptor counterparts (if I remember correctly Corruptors do the same damage but do not suffer the reduced range and AoE caps). Pair this with a secondary like Invulnerability and you've got something that feels way worse than a scrapper, which would be their nearest competition (Stalkers are too single target focused, Brutes have higher resist caps).

 

So they question is, how do you buff sentinels without buffing Beam Rifle/Bio into the stratosphere? The answer is fairly simple, you remove the AoE and Ranged caps. As mentioned this doesn't benefit beam rifle because its AoE potential is already smaller than most sets (its mostly single target with two narrows cones, one weak, short range and wide cone and one targeted AoE) but does help sets like Archery, Assault Rifle, Fire, Ice..basically pretty much every other set.

 

Their inherent definitely needs to be changed. Currently, if you want the best benefit you have to take both the tier 1 and tier 2 powers (since choosing offensive or defensive buffs relies on using either the tier 1 (offensive) or tier 2 (Defensive). Firstly this isn't very well explained and is incredibly clunky. Secondly because Opportunity HAS to be used on the next use of that power once the bar is full, this leads to problems of, most of the time, the power becoming available as a mob dies since you have to build it up. Doms got around this by having Domination be a button they can press so they don't waste it and Opportunity needs to act the same. What it DOES I'll leave up to smarter people but it needs to be an on demand ability not something that procs on a mob who has 100 health remaining.

[Force Redux]

What Mechano said

<--------

[Rathulfr]

The main objections to Sentinels are: weak damage and they don't offer anything significant to teams. 

 

Removing/changing the AoE caps would address some of the first objection.  Changing the inherent to something simpler and more obviously beneficial to the team would address the second objection.

 

I think the Opportunity trigger needs to go away entirely: no more cues or clicks, please.  I'd rather have it trigger automatically when the bar is filled.  It should also trigger both the offensive and defensive benefits at the same time, and they should apply to everyone on the team, not just the Sentinel.

 

Basically, I'd like folks to say, "yes, we need a Sentinel" instead of, "no, Sentinels not welcome here."

Edited September 18, 2019 by Rathulfr

[Haijinx]

Maybe offensive opportunity could buff the AOEs to match blaster radius/number of targets.

 

 

[Lost Ninja 5]

The only thing I currently dislike about sentinels is the fact that I have to take the first two primary powers, whereas on other ATs I can skip the weaker in favour of something more useful, especially now that I can pick up a travel power at level 4. The fact that I not only have to keep what is often quite a weak pick but then have to make sure it's ready to use at specific times just to use the ATs special power is a real turn off to me.

[Sovera]

7 hours ago, DR_Mechano said:

The main problem is that, once again, Bio armour is a bit of a breaker. A Beam Rifle/Bio Sentinel can put out stupid damage, more so than even a blaster due to the fact that the offensive mode really racks up the damage and thanks to containment spread it means their limited AoE caps and range aren't as much of a problem (Beam Rifle has fairly crappy AoE outside of its nuke anyway, the sweeping beam is considered a skippable power for example). As mentioned the reason for this is that A) Offensive stance counters the lower damage numbers with adding additional toxic damage ontop and B) Beam Rifle doesn't care about AoE caps since it does poor AoE as a blaster set anyway.

 

However then you get sets that rely VERY heavily on larger cones and AoEs. A set like Assault rifle suffers massively for its reduced AoE caps and range. This combined with the lower damage numbers mean that certain sets end up feeling just bloody awful compared to even their Corruptor counterparts (if I remember correctly Corruptors do the same damage but do not suffer the reduced range and AoE caps). Pair this with a secondary like Invulnerability and you've got something that feels way worse than a scrapper, which would be their nearest competition (Stalkers are too single target focused, Brutes have higher resist caps).

 

So they question is, how do you buff sentinels without buffing Beam Rifle/Bio into the stratosphere? The answer is fairly simple, you remove the AoE and Ranged caps. As mentioned this doesn't benefit beam rifle because its AoE potential is already smaller than most sets (its mostly single target with two narrows cones, one weak, short range and wide cone and one targeted AoE) but does help sets like Archery, Assault Rifle, Fire, Ice..basically pretty much every other set.

 

Their inherent definitely needs to be changed. Currently, if you want the best benefit you have to take both the tier 1 and tier 2 powers (since choosing offensive or defensive buffs relies on using either the tier 1 (offensive) or tier 2 (Defensive). Firstly this isn't very well explained and is incredibly clunky. Secondly because Opportunity HAS to be used on the next use of that power once the bar is full, this leads to problems of, most of the time, the power becoming available as a mob dies since you have to build it up. Doms got around this by having Domination be a button they can press so they don't waste it and Opportunity needs to act the same. What it DOES I'll leave up to smarter people but it needs to be an on demand ability not something that procs on a mob who has 100 health remaining.

 /Bio anything isn't as amazing as spreadsheets might make it seem. And for that neither does Beam Rifle. I don't know why this combo is being touted as extreme but I would like some empirical testing as opposed to looking at HD's numbers.

 

All other suggestions are on point, but I don't see why a Sentinel *needs* to do party buffs. Scrappers are melee selfish damage and Sentinels are ranged selfish damage, seems about right. Despite the boohoo about Sentinel damage they have something that Scrappers do not and that's a *wide* radius T9 nuke backed by Aim which tends to kill all minions and leave lieutenants at half, and once the rest of the AoEs are fired while still under Aim and on CD those too tend to be near death. Teaming or solo this is too often discreetly swept under the rug. If we have an AoE cap of 10 and face a group of, say, 10 mobs (and it's usually not over over 10 mobs per pack outside of Council missions) then just the leading nuke already whittled the spawn in half and the following AoEs are now hurting the other half.

 

While I would never say no to more Sentinel damage my uber procced up Rad/Ninjutsu kills a pylon in 4 minutes (not mentioning pylon times because they matter but as a metric) while my Fire/Atomic Blaster does it in three. Both do it in a full ranged rotation (ignoring the fact both the T9s are PbAoE) which is why their times are not better since including melee attacks improves those.

 

A one minute difference isn't *that* bad even if both ATs have, in practical terms, the same toughness in the end game. But the one minute tax sentinels pay ends being that they achieve that same toughness much earlier, and much more cheaply, while the blaster needs to be level 50 and spend three fourths of a billion to have the same toughness but always have the one minute advantage. *Their* T9 is only up every two spawns too, so it's not like a Sentinel who nearly wipes a group on their own every 25 seconds.

 

What they do need is a better inherent. A watered down Fury would be great IMO since they have all the tools to keep on fighting and rush from group to group with their fast recharging T9s. Sustain is also a lot of the Sentinel game while burst (Aim + Build-Up + T9) lays squarely in the Blaster's territory.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Sovera

[Steampunkette]

8 hours ago, biostem said:

What if we kept the offensive and defensive opportunities, but had them function differently;

 

1. Offensive opportunity greatly buffs range & damage, but debuffs defenses.

 

2. Defensive opportunity greatly buffs all defensive attributes, but debuffs damage & range.

 

They'd sort of act as "limit breaks" in either direction.  I'd also divorce these effects from the 1st 2 attacks - perhaps grant 2 innate powers, which become clickable (but mutually exclusive) once the bar is at 90% or greater, to enable 1 of the 2 modes..

 

7 hours ago, Cooltastic said:

 

+1 for this idea. Keep the name but turn Opportunity into a bar like Domination that fills as you attack. Once filled you can pop it whenever you like for a team wide buff. I suggest a +Recharge/+10% Resistance to all buff that lasts for roughly 15-20secs.

 

If a team buff would be considered to powerful for some reason, then make it a personal buff that buffs all the sentinels recharge/defense/resistance/healing so they can really go ham for awhile.

 

 

What Force was asking for would in fact be something new.

It's still the same fill bar + button mechanic. The button's effects are different, but it's still the same mechanic.

 

... What about a Bodyguard mechanic?

 

Sentinels protect. At least that's what the -word- Sentinel means. How about instead of a bar and buff mechanic they get an inherent that allows them to explicitly choose a teammate to place a 'Watched Over' buff on. When -that ally- takes damage, a portion of it gets transferred to the Sentinel? Alternatively we could have the buff get stacks whenever the person under it makes successful attacks, and have it apply an Aura-based buff to the Sentinel with the ebb and flow of stacks. If we went bodyguard I think it'd be best to make the Watched Over buff be mutually exclusive: One Sentinel per Target.

 

Meanwhile for themselves, we can give them "Precision".

 

For the Baseline Sentinel increase their target cap with their attacks and slightly reduce their damage scale, increasing their maximum Damage Buff accordingly. Then give them a 'Precision' toggle as an inherent that allows them to limit their target counts for increased damage. Basically a change in the power-call triggered by the buff to select a higher damage version of their attacks with a lower target count and inherited enhancement use... why yes, it -would- be a massive pain in the ass to implement!

 

 

It allows them different Firing Modes for different situations (High Count AoE gets Precision turned off, ST and Low Count AoE gets it toggled on) and the ability to help the team, possibly in a -really- important way (Watch Over the Defender, or the Tanker!)

[biostem]

12 minutes ago, Steampunkette said:

It's still the same fill bar + button mechanic. The button's effects are different, but it's still the same mechanic.

 

... What about a Bodyguard mechanic?

 

Sentinels protect. At least that's what the -word- Sentinel means. How about instead of a bar and buff mechanic they get an inherent that allows them to explicitly choose a teammate to place a 'Watched Over' buff on. When -that ally- takes damage, a portion of it gets transferred to the Sentinel? Alternatively we could have the buff get stacks whenever the person under it makes successful attacks, and have it apply an Aura-based buff to the Sentinel with the ebb and flow of stacks. If we went bodyguard I think it'd be best to make the Watched Over buff be mutually exclusive: One Sentinel per Target.

 

Meanwhile for themselves, we can give them "Precision".

 

For the Baseline Sentinel increase their target cap with their attacks and slightly reduce their damage scale, increasing their maximum Damage Buff accordingly. Then give them a 'Precision' toggle as an inherent that allows them to limit their target counts for increased damage. Basically a change in the power-call triggered by the buff to select a higher damage version of their attacks with a lower target count and inherited enhancement use... why yes, it -would- be a massive pain in the ass to implement!

 

 

It allows them different Firing Modes for different situations (High Count AoE gets Precision turned off, ST and Low Count AoE gets it toggled on) and the ability to help the team, possibly in a -really- important way (Watch Over the Defender, or the Tanker!)

Well, if you want to go by the definition, a 'Sentinel' is someone who stands guard, but not necessarily a bodyguard, per se.  If you're against the notion of a "fill up bar, click button" mechanic, then how about this:

 

You have a location-based AoE, which designates a zone.  Your stats are buffed while you are in this zone, and enemies who enter it suffer some kind of debuff, (or maybe they're just drawn to it, kind of like a taunt).  Basically, you become the master of your domain, while in this zone.  It would kind of be a "hold the line" effect;  It wouldn't play well with a fast-moving style, but for stand-up fights, you'd be extremely tough...

 

Edit:  I was just thinking - maybe it'd be easier to you designated the zone as a PBAoE effect, and it extended a certain diameter from where said ability was cast.

Edited September 18, 2019 by biostem

[Steampunkette]

2 minutes ago, biostem said:

Well, if you want to go by the definition, a 'Sentinel' is someone who stands guard, but not necessarily a bodyguard, per se.  If you're against the notion of a "fill up bar, click button" mechanic, then how about this:

 

You have a location-based AoE, which designates a zone.  Your stats are buffed while you are in this zone, and enemies who enter it suffer some kind of debuff, (or maybe they're just drawn to it, kind of like a taunt).  Basically, you become the master of your domain, while in this zone.  It would kind of be a "hold the line" effect;  It wouldn't play well with a fast-moving style, but for stand-up fights, you'd be extremely tough...

Could work, definitely. But it feels less 'Inherent'. By anchoring it in the world with a target click it feels more... I dunno... It just doesn't feel as -personal-. As -inherent-.

 

What if it was a PBAoE mechanic? You put down your 'Protection Radius' pseudopet right where you're standing (Or flying) and get buffed while you're in it's area. Call it "Hold the Line" and have it 'trigger' both Offensive and Defensive Opportunity (Just let it trigger the secondary mechanics tied to the attack powers that are already in place), maybe add a Taunt Buff to increase the aggro generated by attacks while you're in the area.

 

If it debuffs enemies in the area I think it should only slow their movement and recharge. Sort of a battlefield control ability that gives others time to reposition.

 

 

[GunnyBarney]

I'll be honest -- until now, whenever that text appeared, I had no idea what it even meant. So I'm loathe to offer suggestions, but all this talk of active abilities and the like doesn't really feel inherent, ie something that just 'happens.'

 

My first thought would be to build opportunity a little faster, then automatically trigger it on next attack, alternating between the two effects, applying a nice group buff within a reasonable range. Or have some buffs to your allies and some debuffs to your enemies, depending on opportunity type. For example, it might apply a nice restore/resist bonus to nearby allies while applying a reasonable-magnitude stun or disorient or -recharge/-speed debuff to your target and all enemies near your target (or targets, if the triggering ability is an aoe).

[DR_Mechano]

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

 /Bio anything isn't as amazing as spreadsheets might make it seem. And for that neither does Beam Rifle. I don't know why this combo is being touted as extreme but I would like some empirical testing as opposed to looking at HD's numbers.

If I remember correctly it was the first Sentinel set to solo Ms Liberty/Lord Recluse (can't remember which) TF/SF due to the inherent -regen and -res on several of beams attacks (and one in bio) and the single target damage focus of Beam Rifle.  I namely use it as an example because it's a case where the primary and secondary work ridiculously well together to cover the weakness of Sentinels. Like I said comparing Beam/Bio to AR/Invuln is like night and day. Assault rifle SUCKS for sentinels because the cones and AoEs (the hall marks of AR is its wide cones with Buckshot, flamethrower, ignite, M30 grenade with Kb-kd in it and Full auto, there's like 3 single target attacks in the whole thing) are overnerfed for them, turning an already mediocre blaster set into a very meh sentinel set.

Edited September 18, 2019 by DR_Mechano

[nihilii]

I would not buff Sentinels as a whole. I think Sentinels have better balance than other ATs, both between different Sentinel powersets and as a whole. I see the perception of Sentinels being lacking as part unfamiliarity, and part other ATs having much more variance in performance (that is to say, specific overpowered builds) which end up overplayed and which people start to think as representative of the whole AT (and on the flipside, those other ATs also have clunkers).

 

Many (all?) of the suggestions ITT would be a nerf to my own Sentinels.

If you really want to buff Sentinels, then functionality has to be improved or added... but not removed.

But really, I'd rather see chirurgical changes and bug fixes, rather than taking the hammer to the whole thing. AR could use a little help, I think everyone could agree on that. Most Sentinel primary ports tend to be:

1) snipe becomes strong T4 attack on 12s recharge
2) ST mez power becomes strong attack (archery, elec, sonic all follow this pattern)

 

For some reason, with AR Beanbag became "Disorienting Shot", a sad T2 level attack; while Slug was moved up as if it were a T3, despite being a bog-standard T2.

It would make more sense for Slug to become the alternate level 1 pick like in every other version of AR, and Beanbag to be a 10s recharge power dealing 106 base damage.

Just that change alone would probably do a lot towards bringing AR up to par.

[PaxArcana]

A few things, actually, is what I would do.

 

• Raise their AOE caps, and things like cone angles/distances, to match Blasters.  Their damage multiplier is already down at the level of Corruptors, IIRC, so they don't need to be reigned in all that muh.
• FIX.  THE.  INHERENT.  Tying it to the T1 and T2 powers is a mistake, IMO.  It should be a separate pair of powers, on one of those Pseudo-trays (like how Mystic Flight gives you Teleport on an un-numbered extra tray that pops up for you) ... and the tray only shows up, when the Sentinel's Opportunity meter is completely filled.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate having to stop attacking for several seconds (at levels up to ~26 so far), because the bar has filled, but I have to wait for the right power to finish recharging.  And that happens ALL.  THE.  DAMNED.  TIME.

[nihilii]

17 minutes ago, PaxArcana said:

It should be a separate pair of powers, on one of those Pseudo-trays (like how Mystic Flight gives you Teleport on an un-numbered extra tray that pops up for you) ... and the tray only shows up, when the Sentinel's Opportunity meter is completely filled.

This is one suggestion that would break the AT for me, for example. There's a reason Null the Gull offers an option to hide the Mystic Flight tray - enough of us dislike randomly popping trays. Tying Opportunity activation to another power would also imply a separate activation, meaning lost damage, and one more thing to keep track of.

Personally I never stop attacking, nor do I see a reason to. When my bar is full my Opportunity goes off, if I see the circle I make an attempt to aim towards the toughest guy in the room but that's it. Free damage.

I suppose you're mixing T1 and T2 in your chain and want specifically Offensive or Defensive to activate. That problem would naturally lessen over time once you have more recharge.

In general, I wish people who don't enjoy an AT/powerset wouldn't suggest "buffs" breaking it for those who do enjoy it. Well... That's perhaps a little strong. Everyone can suggest anything. But I'm going to vigorously plead "please don't break my favorite toy". 🙂

Edited September 18, 2019 by nihilii

[Zepp]

I have a non-drastic solution.

Keep the inherent mostly as is, but instead of having offense and defensive opportunity triggered by the T1/T2, you just have opportunity. Opportunity has both effects and can be triggered by any single-target attack power. It has the same effects, just both at once. If that is a bit OP, it could be toned down a little, but I don't think that is necessary.

[Rathulfr]

TL;DR: Increase Sentinel base damage modifier to 1.0.

 

I'd like to add some general comments, instead of specific suggestions.  Back in retail, an Energy/Energy Blaster (50+3) named Rathstar was my main for 8 years (2004-2012).  When Homecoming came along, I re-created that main, and got him up into the 40s within the first few weeks.  But along the way, I decided to try out this new "Sentinel" thing.

 

*record scratch* I then proceeded to play about a dozen different Sentinel builds, most of them well into the 30s, and half of them to 50.  Rathstar was reborn as an Energy/Willpower Sentinel, and he became my 50+3 T4 main.  Most of you here in this neck of the forums will recall my many posts declaring my love for, and defense of, Sentinels.

 

But something was still off, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  I had converted from Blaster to Sentinel because of the latter's durability.  I love playing "tankmage".  But I was definitely feeling more "tank" than "mage".  And the more I played my Sentinels into higher levels and end-game content, the more I noticed that my damage output wasn't at all competitive with that of Blasters.  And I don't mean by a little: it was significantly less damage.  I respec'ed over and over again, trying to improve my damage output, but to no avail.

 

Then a friend pointed out some of the features of the newer Blaster secondaries, and the improvements that had been made to all of them.  I tried out a few, and the difference was stark -- night and day.  The damage output of Blasters isn't just a little better than that of Sentinels: it's ridiculously better.

 

I resigned myself to what had to be done.  Rathstar was re-reborn again, this time as an Energy/Temporal Blaster.  My Energy/Willpower Sentinel was relegated to "evil twin" status: I changed his costume (I added a van dyke and a scar) and alignment (villain), and renamed him "Wrathstar".

 

The bottom line here is Sentinel damage is weak compared to an equivalent Blaster.  Yes, the base damage modifier explains most of that, but not all of it.  I suspect that Blaster secondaries complement their primaries with better synergy, which makes sense, because they were designed that way.  Sentinel secondaries were designed for melee ATs, so they don't synergize well with ranged primaries. 

 

One can say that the base damage modifier of Sentinels is the same as Corruptors, so that should be sufficient, but I would argue no, it is not.  Again, Corruptor secondaries and their inherent (Scourge) were designed to complement/synergize the primaries.  So Corruptors augment their base damage with signficant buffs/debuffs.  So Sentinel damage can't even really compete with Corruptor (or some Defender) damage, either.

 

I would argue that Sentinel damage needs to be buffed because they lack complementary secondaries, unlike Blasters and Corruptors, which have them.  I won't argue that the Sentinel base damage modifier needs to be increased to the same value as that of Blasters, but increased to above Corruptors wouldn't be unreasonable.  A base modifier of 1.0 would probably be the upper limit.

 

I've already posted my preference for removing the AoE caps and changing Opportunity, above.

 

Thanks for suffering through the long rant.

 

[Cutter]

22 minutes ago, Zepp said:

I have a non-drastic solution.

Keep the inherent mostly as is, but instead of having offense and defensive opportunity triggered by the T1/T2, you just have opportunity. Opportunity has both effects and can be triggered by any single-target attack power. It has the same effects, just both at once. If that is a bit OP, it could be toned down a little, but I don't think that is necessary.

This was where my brain was going as I read through the thread (along with memories of my recent sentinel sessions). Roll Off/Def into the same effect, with more opportunities (heh) to trigger it without mandating "forced" power picks.

 

As far as effects go, what I'd like to see is +dam/to-hit/range (from the Offensive half) and +rcv/def/res/regen (from the Defensive half). All effects trigger on cast and last while Opportunity is active, so no getting hosed by the RNG and seeing a string of misses while under current defensive. Yeah it's a lot of things rolled into one inherent; I want my tankmage to have a few moments of actual tankmageyness!

 

In fact, I'd go even go further and allow Opportunity to proc on any attack, balanced (if testing says it's needed) against a downscaling unresistible -res effect depending on the target cap of the power used (1-3 target power applies the current -20 debuff; 4-7 target power applies -14 debuff; and 8+ target power applies -8 debuff).

 

THEN AND ONLY THEN, I'd start looking at individual power sets (AR as mentioned, etc.) to see if and by how much they are still underperforming under the new version of Opportunity.