Eco-Friendly Powerset Recycling!

[FoulVileTerror]

@Replacement . . . I GM tabletop roleplay and in-game events (not to be confused with "GM" in the context of Game Moderators, mind you).   I am no stranger to talking to myself for the entertainment of others.

I just try to avoid it in the forums as there are some people who are really upset by it here.

[Lines]

10 hours ago, FoulVileTerror said:

@Replacement . . . I GM tabletop roleplay and in-game events (not to be confused with "GM" in the context of Game Moderators, mind you).   I am no stranger to talking to myself for the entertainment of others.

I just try to avoid it in the forums as there are some people who are really upset by it here.

It sounds like you missed the reference to the thing you started referencing.

 

Whoops!

 

Whoopsie!

Edited September 17, 2020 by Lines

[FoulVileTerror]

Nah.   My spouse watches 'em like crazy.  They're pretty good!
I'm just straight-up letting Replacement know that I do stuff like that myself sometimes, but avoid it here specifically.

[Alchemystic]

Since there's been a lot of talk about grenade powersets and natural origin themes, I wanted to do a blast set themed around explosives. However, having multiple powers that looked almost identical seemed a little boring, so I instead included some of the old material from the 'Urban Warfare' powerset to give it some more variety.

This powerset is designed to encompass a great variety of character themes, from mercenary grenadiers, crazed arsonists, streetwise vigilantes or thuggish enforcers. The explosive nature of these powers means that there is only one purely single target attack, and acts as this powersets special theme/mechanic.

Pyrotechnics

You have an arsenal of pyrotechnic devices that can cause explosive blasts or fiery blazes. Pyrotechnics powers focus heavily on dealing a mixture of smashing, lethal or fire damage, and often can cause foes to go flying, catch on fire, or both.

 

 - Throw Bomb: This new power uses the 'throw rock/snowball' animation to launch a miniaturised dynamite projectile, exploding on contact and dealing light smashing damage to a single target.

 

 - Dynamite: This power is almost identical to the Scrapyarder/Destroyer power of the same name, except it instead deals moderate smashing damage to a single target and light smashing damage to enemies in a close AoE radius. Has a chance to knockback. Uses the Fire Blast/Thorny Darts overhead throwing animation to mix things up.

 

 - Spit Fire: A power borrowed from the Arsonist henchmen, this power deals moderate fire damage over time in a cone.

 

 - Frag Grenade: A power belonging to many NPCs, deals moderate smashing/lethal damage in an AoE and can knock foes down.

 

 - Aim: Standard Aim power of blast sets.

 

 - Molotov Cocktail: Another power that many NPCs possess, this power creates a targeted AoE patch of flames that does minor fire DoT. Uses the Stun/Impale animation so it's not as boring.

 

 - Stun Grenade: Another NPC power, dealing light smashing damage and stunning foes in an AoE similar to Dark Pit.

 

 - Fire Bomb: A power borrowed from Arsonist/Scrapyarders, dealing high smashing/fire damage in an AoE with minor fire DoT, can also knock foes back. Uses the Alkaloid/Antidote animation.

 

 - Demolitions Charge: A power that functions like Time Bomb, though instead dealing extreme smashing/fire damage and a -DEF debuff. Can also be set off earlier like Oil Slick Arrow. To make it visually distinctive, it uses the appearance of the 'bomb' mission objective.

 

---

Other ideas that didn't make the cut for various reasons:

 

 - Bomb Volley: A cone version of Throw Bomb, using the 'Psi Blade Sweep' animation. It'd work, but I felt it wasn't interesting enough. Intended in place of Spit Fire.

 

 - Minefield: A power that works similar to Trip Mine, laying several high damage explosives instead of one high powered one. Seemed like a good fit but mechanically awkward. Intended to be the T8 power, with Fire Bomb instead working similar to Molotov.

 

Also on the table was the idea of calling Frag Grenade 'Pipe Bomb' and Stun Grenade 'Stun Bomb' for thematic purposes.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Tyrannical

[Replacement]

On 9/17/2020 at 11:58 AM, Tyrannical said:

Since there's been a lot of talk about grenade powersets and natural origin themes, I wanted to do a blast set themed around explosives. However, having multiple powers that looked almost identical seemed a little boring, so I instead included some of the old material from the 'Urban Warfare' powerset to give it some more variety.

This powerset is designed to encompass a great variety of character themes, from mercenary grenadiers, crazed arsonists, streetwise vigilantes or thuggish enforcers. The explosive nature of these powers means that there is only one purely single target attack, and acts as this powersets special theme/mechanic.

Pyrotechnics

You have an arsenal of pyrotechnic devices that can cause explosive blasts or fiery blazes. Pyrotechnics powers focus heavily on dealing a mixture of smashing, lethal or fire damage, and often can cause foes to go flying, catch on fire, or both.

 

 - Throw Bomb: This new power uses the 'throw rock/snowball' animation to launch a miniaturised dynamite projectile, exploding on contact and dealing light smashing damage to a single target.

 

 - Dynamite: This power is almost identical to the Scrapyarder/Destroyer power of the same name, except it instead deals moderate smashing damage to a single target and light smashing damage to enemies in a close AoE radius. Has a chance to knockback. Uses the Fire Blast/Thorny Darts overhead throwing animation to mix things up.

 

 - Spit Fire: A power borrowed from the Arsonist henchmen, this power deals moderate fire damage over time in a cone.

 

 - Frag Grenade: A power belonging to many NPCs, deals moderate smashing/lethal damage in an AoE and can knock foes down.

 

 - Aim: Standard Aim power of blast sets.

 

 - Molotov Cocktail: Another power that many NPCs possess, this power creates a targeted AoE patch of flames that does minor fire DoT. Uses the Stun/Impale animation so it's not as boring.

 

 - Stun Grenade: Another NPC power, dealing light smashing damage and stunning foes in an AoE similar to Dark Pit.

 

 - Fire Bomb: A power borrowed from Arsonist/Scrapyarders, dealing high smashing/fire damage in an AoE with minor fire DoT, can also knock foes back. Uses the Alkaloid/Antidote animation.

 

 - Demolitions Charge: A power that functions like Time Bomb, though instead dealing extreme smashing/fire damage and a -DEF debuff. Can also be set off earlier like Oil Slick Arrow. To make it visually distinctive, it uses the appearance of the 'bomb' mission objective.

 

---

Other ideas that didn't make the cut for various reasons:

 

 - Bomb Volley: A cone version of Throw Bomb, using the 'Psi Blade Sweep' animation. It'd work, but I felt it wasn't interesting enough. Intended in place of Spit Fire.

 

 - Minefield: A power that works similar to Trip Mine, laying several high damage explosives instead of one high powered one. Seemed like a good fit but mechanically awkward. Intended to be the T8 power, with Fire Bomb instead working similar to Molotov.

 

Also on the table was the idea of calling Frag Grenade 'Pipe Bomb' and Stun Grenade 'Stun Bomb' for thematic purposes.

 

 

Good stuff as always. Critique:

You won't succeed at getting a t2 blast have an aoe component without some sort of gimmick (like contaminate).

 It's also a lot of aoe. Looks like every attack except the t1.

The next issue is stun grenade. There isn't much precedent for (good) aoe control in a blast set.

 

So some Replacement thoughts:

-a sort of bottle rocket attack could be fun, if a bit counter to the thread's original intent. I'm imagining something like a pistol shot animation but without a pistol (you're just holding the charge in your hand, where it fires from).

-likewise, something like a flare gun would be better than stun grenade, with an ST stun.

-"Remote Charge" could be a really fun sniper attack if you wanted one. Literally just play an animation that looks like you're activating a switch (I'm sure there's something) and someone in the distance blows up. No one knows when or how you snuck the charge to them...

 

And on that final note, it's not really compatible with your pyrotechnics set, but I think it would be neat to see a set like this but very low on aoe, and a special feature where everyone you hit gains a non-stacking, long duration debuff. It doesn't do anything by itself, except activating the Aim equivalent detonates the charges you planted on everyone you've struck.

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Replacement

[Vanden]

21 minutes ago, Replacement said:

The next issue is stun grenade. There isn't much precedent for (good) aoe control in a blast set.

That's fine, the power can just suck

[Alchemystic]

2 hours ago, Replacement said:

Good stuff as always. Critique:

You won't succeed at getting a t2 blast have an aoe component without some sort of gimmick (like contaminate).

 It's also a lot of aoe. Looks like every attack except the t1.

The next issue is stun grenade. There isn't much precedent for (good) aoe control in a blast set.

 

The AoE component for Dynamite is fairly weak, intended to use the new 'splash' mechanic that was included in Blind or Explosive Shuriken, where it's a sort of 'soft' AoE. The splash would be a low range and low damage compared to a conventional AoE.

 

And yep! There's a lot of AoE, that's this set's gimmick. No special combo mechanic or unique secondary effects, just straight up extra AoE.

Stun grenade was intended to be similar to Dark Pit, but I suppose a similar power to Char might suffice, maybe using the Spit Fire animation again!

[Alchemystic]

9 hours ago, Keovar said:

Is there something like "Fear Control"? 
Seems like that would just use existing graphics, with a few colored clouds around an affected targets, and animations like running away, cowering, kneeling, or dropping prone.  The damage could be some mix of Psionic and Negative energy, mostly in DOT form.  
A recolored 'Hurricane' could work for a defense power.  Anything getting too close has to make repeated checks or start running like they're at 25% health.  The main attack powers shouldn't cause enemies to run, they would use more cowering/kneeling/dropping for holds and immobilizes.  
The death animation for Praetorian ghouls could work for a 'Nightmare' power that combines sleep with a psionic/negative DOT.  

I think the closest thing we have already is Darkness Control, which has 3 powers that inflict fear. Dark Grasp has an alternate animation called 'Petrifying Gaze' too that can sorta play into it.

[Alchemystic]

While going through a buncha frequently requested ideas here on the forums I came by a lot of demand for a Sniper Rifle powerset, and figured I'd have a look at what could be done to create this. As it just so happens, I was also looking at other NPC-exclusive powers that could be used to create another powerset, and The Resistance and PPD have the answer to both these things! So, I present to you now; Marksman Rifle.

 

https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/The_Resistance

 

Marksman Rifle

 

 - Single Shot: This Resistance power fires a single shot that deals minor lethal damage.

 

 - Burst: This version of Burst (or SCAR Burst) belongs to the PPD Ghosts, and deals moderate lethal DoT.

 

 - Heavy Burst: This is a renamed version the 'SCAR Heavy Burst' power that belongs to the PPD Ghosts, dealing high lethal DoT.

 

 - Area Sweep: A renamed version of the Resistance's 'Heavy Burst' power, dealing moderate damage in a cone.

 

 - Aim: unlike Assault Rifle, you can actually aim.

 

 - Sniper Shot: A renamed version of the PPD Ghost's 'SCAR Snipe', dealing extreme damage over long range (Sentinel's get 'Aimed Shot', which has no sniper functionality).

 

 - Covering Fire: This unique Resistance power deals low damage while also reducing a foe's recharge and speed.

 

 - Auto Fire: This is a renamed version the Resistance's 'Burst' power, dealing very high lethal DoT.

 

 - Ricochet: This new power fires 3 similar projectiles to Sniper Shot, each ricocheting to different targets to deal extreme lethal DoT, and using the Cutting Beam animation form Beam Rifle.

 

Hopefully the powerset isn't too alike to Assault Rifle, since it focuses purely on precise shots instead of hosing enemies in bullets and fire, but will likely share many weapon customizations.

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Tyrannical

[oedipus_tex]

RE: Water Assault for Dominators, I just realized recently that the Coralax Patron Power Pet has water based melee attacks that could be used. 

[Alchemystic]

6 hours ago, oedipus_tex said:

RE: Water Assault for Dominators, I just realized recently that the Coralax Patron Power Pet has water based melee attacks that could be used. 

Is it the coral themed ones, or do they actually have some sort of 'water punch' ability?

[oedipus_tex]

12 minutes ago, Tyrannical said:

Is it the coral themed ones, or do they actually have some sort of 'water punch' ability?

 

It's a water splash effect. Hard to capture in a photo because the only toon I have with that pet has an eternity downtime. One power is a cone (not too fancy looking) and the other is a PBAoE water splash that is pretty impressive.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by oedipus_tex

[Menelruin]

I NEED that bomb Blast set!

[Player2]

Pistol Assault

Let's put some guns in the hands of the dominators.  If we mix the dual pistols ranged attacks with a few melee attacks (that keep the pistols drawn), we could have a fun set to give more shoot 'em up alternatives.

 

T1: Dual Pistols  (Ranged Moderate Lethal DMG)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T2: Pistol Whip  (Melee High Smashing DMG)  -  use SS Haymaker alternate animation with pistols in hand

T3: Suppressive Fire  (Ranged High Lethal DMG + Disorient)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T4: Empty Clips  (Ranged Cone High Lethal DMG)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T5: Aim  (Self +high ToHit, +minor DMG)  - standard

T6: Spinning Strike  (PBAoE Moderate Smashing DMG + KB)  -  same animation as Street Justice attack but with pistols in hand

T7: Sweeping Strike  (Melee Cone High Smashing)  -  same animation as Street Justice attack but with pistols in hand

T8: Executioner's Shot  (Ranged Superior Lethal DMG + KB)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T9: Bullet Rain  (Ranged AoE High Lethal DMG + KB)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

 

[Alchemystic]

@Player2 I really like this idea! There's definitely room for something like this for Dominators.

 

My only advice would be to swap Bullet Rain and Executioner's Shot around so they line up with other Assault powersets, and maybe change Sweeping Strike for a single target high damage melee attack.

 

Perhaps something called 'Point Blank Shot', dealing high lethal damage and knocking foes back, maybe using the 'Burst of Speed' animation to make it look just as dynamic as the other powers.

 

Either way, I'll add this one to the list!

[Safehouse]

On 4/3/2020 at 8:11 PM, Tyrannical said:

Got another from recycling a bunch of the powers from Praetorian Clockwork to make a sort of 'robotic' themed blast set. it will likely not include the moving parts as seen on the clockwork, but would use the same animations and FX at least.

 

Arsenal Blast

You have an arsenal of munitions affixed to your body, allowing you to release blasts of energy from specially designed weaponry.

 

 - Particle Blast

 

 - Charged Blast

 

 - Plasma Spray

 

 - Aim

 

 - Welding Ray

 

 - Particle Spray

 

 - Particle Burst

 

 - Anti-Matter Ray

 

 - Anti-Matter Beam

I love the idea of this set. I was playing with the idea in my head some time back because I love the aesthetic of the praetorian clockwork blasts.

 

The only thing that would make me love this more would be if it came with an option to shoot from the hands rather than mounted weaponry, if you so chose. One of the reasons I haven't really gotten "into" beam rifle is because it doesn't have an option like that (even if the actual aesthetic for the blast is closer to what I want for my character thematically than what energy blast can provide). Acknowledging that that's a totally selfish and very specific/likely infeasible idea.

 

I notice it doesn't look like there's a classic "snipe" ability like you see from most blast sets. Any reason you decided to forego that?

[Player2]

3 hours ago, Tyrannical said:

@Player2 I really like this idea! There's definitely room for something like this for Dominators.

 

My only advice would be to swap Bullet Rain and Executioner's Shot around so they line up with other Assault powersets, and maybe change Sweeping Strike for a single target high damage melee attack.

 

Perhaps something called 'Point Blank Shot', dealing high lethal damage and knocking foes back, maybe using the 'Burst of Speed' animation to make it look just as dynamic as the other powers.

 

Either way, I'll add this one to the list!

Absolutely.  I'm more a big picture idea guy.  I'll leave fiddling with the finer details to those who have a mind for such things.

[Alchemystic]

2 hours ago, Safehouse said:

I love the idea of this set. I was playing with the idea in my head some time back because I love the aesthetic of the praetorian clockwork blasts.

 

The only thing that would make me love this more would be if it came with an option to shoot from the hands rather than mounted weaponry, if you so chose. One of the reasons I haven't really gotten "into" beam rifle is because it doesn't have an option like that (even if the actual aesthetic for the blast is closer to what I want for my character thematically than what energy blast can provide). Acknowledging that that's a totally selfish and very specific/likely infeasible idea.

 

I notice it doesn't look like there's a classic "snipe" ability like you see from most blast sets. Any reason you decided to forego that?

The idea was to keep the same general animations as the Praetorian Clockwork, but not using the props and weapons.

 

As for there being no snipe? There was enough material to work with to create a whole blast set without creating wholly new powers, so I figured as not all Blast powersets have a snipe it would be fine to leave it as is.

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by Tyrannical

[Safehouse]

51 minutes ago, Tyrannical said:

The idea was to keep the same general animations as the Praetorian Clockwork, but not using the props and weapons.

 

As for there being no snipe? There was enough material to work with to create a whole blast set without creating wholly new powers, so I figured as not all Blast powersets have a snipe it would be fine to leave it as is.

 

Sure that's fair, I mean this is eco-friendly powerset recycling, not eco-intensive powerset recycling, ha.

 

I see what you mean. Water blast, to name one, has no snipe that I can think of, and as I understand it it's perfectly fine without one.

[Alchemystic]

Okay for this one I opted to go for a low-hanging fruit that I've been ignoring for a while, but I figured I might as well give it a try since by this point it's too easy to put off any longer!

Thorn Blast

 

 - Thorny Darts: Taken from Thorny Assault, works nicely as a T1 blast power

 

 - Thorn Javelin: A new moderate damage ranged power that uses the same animation as the 'Pilum' or 'Spear' NPC power, with a projectile similar to the one from Impale.

 

 - Fling Thorns: Taken from Thorny Assault, this fits in as a good cone attack.

 

 - Aim: Standard aim power of blast sets.

 

 - Thorn Burst: This power is already present in Plant Manipulation, but I think it works better here. A new power called 'Barbs' would replace the power in Plant Manipulation, which works identical to Quills.

 

 - Thorntrops: Taken from Thorny Assault, works pretty good as a DoT AoE power like Rain of Fire or Ice Storm.

 

 - Impale: Taken from Thorny Assault, fits in nicely as a ranged mez power seen in many other blast sets.

 

 - Thorn Barrage: Taken from Thorny Assault, this is ideal for that low range high damage power typical of blast sets.

 

 - Rending Thorns: A completely new power, using the 'Shred' animation from Savage Assault to throw several thorny projectiles in a wide cone dealing superior Lethal/Toxic DoT and -DEF.

Edited October 8, 2020 by Tyrannical

[Alchemystic]

As a side note, I've been going through some of my older material from my lazy phase and giving them a bit of an improvement. I've updated a few rationales and descriptions so they hold up to the same (still fairly low) design standards I have now! 😉

 

A few powersets like Arsenal Blast and Artillery Blast also got some mechanical tweaks to try and make them a little more interesting!

[BrandX]

On 10/2/2020 at 2:57 AM, Player2 said:

Pistol Assault

Let's put some guns in the hands of the dominators.  If we mix the dual pistols ranged attacks with a few melee attacks (that keep the pistols drawn), we could have a fun set to give more shoot 'em up alternatives.

 

T1: Dual Pistols  (Ranged Moderate Lethal DMG)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T2: Pistol Whip  (Melee High Smashing DMG)  -  use SS Haymaker alternate animation with pistols in hand

T3: Suppressive Fire  (Ranged High Lethal DMG + Disorient)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T4: Empty Clips  (Ranged Cone High Lethal DMG)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T5: Aim  (Self +high ToHit, +minor DMG)  - standard

T6: Spinning Strike  (PBAoE Moderate Smashing DMG + KB)  -  same animation as Street Justice attack but with pistols in hand

T7: Sweeping Strike  (Melee Cone High Smashing)  -  same animation as Street Justice attack but with pistols in hand

T8: Executioner's Shot  (Ranged Superior Lethal DMG + KB)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

T9: Bullet Rain  (Ranged AoE High Lethal DMG + KB)  -  same animation as regular Dual Pistols attack

 

 

On 10/2/2020 at 5:38 AM, Tyrannical said:

@Player2 I really like this idea! There's definitely room for something like this for Dominators.

 

My only advice would be to swap Bullet Rain and Executioner's Shot around so they line up with other Assault powersets, and maybe change Sweeping Strike for a single target high damage melee attack.

 

Perhaps something called 'Point Blank Shot', dealing high lethal damage and knocking foes back, maybe using the 'Burst of Speed' animation to make it look just as dynamic as the other powers.

 

Either way, I'll add this one to the list!

 

Posted my own version of this earlier in the thread, however, I have to say, the idea of Executioner's Shot at Melee Range, may not be a bad suggestion.

[AgentForest]

On 8/25/2020 at 12:54 AM, BrandX said:

I thought they said it wasn't ported because it lacked enough actual control for domination.

That too.  It just didn't really mesh well with what Dominators do, or how they do it.

[AgentForest]

On 8/26/2020 at 2:20 PM, AerialAssault said:

 - Tier 5 Power: Superior Maneuvers. When the time is right, your spring your contingencies. When activated, you grant yourself and allies a powerful Defence (All) buff. Afterwards, you continue to flow and adapt to the battle, providing a moderate Defence (All) buff to any allies nearby. Toggle PBAoE buff, initial high buff, tapering off and de-toggling after 1 minute, Long cooldown, sets accepted: Defence. Animation: Maneuvers from Leadership but with a more flashy SFX.

I actually really like the idea of a power with gradually diminishing benefits that eventually ends.  As a toggle or click power, either way, it's neat.  I toyed with the idea of a Tanker primary with a similar concept.  The powers you choose grant a passive boost to your durability in some way, but grant you an active ability that gives a huge bonus to that stat, but it fades over time.  So instead of needing endurance reduction, you want recharge reduction, to keep your boosts up more often.  One power gives you a huge amount of resistance that fades.  When it's getting low, activate your heal-over-time.  When that's running out, use your defense boost.  Then a regen boost.  One move could be an AoE damage debuff that fades over time as you intimidate your enemies.

Not exactly cloning old moves, but the assets and animations for the power set could easily be sourced from other existing powers.  I'll have to draw up a full set...

[AgentForest]

On 8/31/2020 at 11:48 AM, Tyrannical said:

Pain Blast

Not that any of your idea is bad, because it's not, but personally, I always imagined any attempts at a "Pain" damage set to include illusory damage.  Like, give all the powers a higher base damage scaling, but have them heal off a portion of it a few seconds later.  Like Spectral Wounds and Phantom Army, but baked into an entire blast set.  That way you hit like a truck, but have to finish things off fast or you'll have lower damage output than other blast sets.  Higher damage if you're efficient about focusing down targets.