AT Suggestion: 'The Manipulator'

[biostem]

My suggestion is thus:  An archetype that uses blaster manipulation sets as its primary, (sans those that lack attacks), and the secondary would be control sets.  This AT would excel at getting enemies right where they want them, then exploiting their weakened state in order to defeat/arrest them.  Their inherent ability would be "exploited", and would provide a damage bonus based upon the number of status effects the enemy is suffering, (immobilize, hold, sleep, fear, stun, disorient, etc).  I'm not sure just how much of a damage buff they should get from each status effect, but I'm thinking that 2 effects should just about match Controller's containment, while 3 would exceed it.  Your thoughts?  Thanks for reading!

Edited March 8, 2020 by biostem

[MTeague]

Well, you'd have some primary / secondayr redundancies with the Immobilizes.   Electric Manip gets immobs, and so would Electricity Control.  Things like that, might need some ironing out.

 

Still, I very much enjoy control-based characters, so I'm sure I'd play it.  It would be interesting having offense and control but WITHOUT the extra shutdown on Domination.  The Lockdown Chance for +2 Mag Hold would be must-haves for sure.  Or you'd have to live and die on the softer controls.  Confuses, Stuns like Wormhole, etc.

[biostem]

21 minutes ago, MTeague said:

Well, you'd have some primary / secondayr redundancies with the Immobilizes.   Electric Manip gets immobs, and so would Electricity Control.  Things like that, might need some ironing out.

 

Still, I very much enjoy control-based characters, so I'm sure I'd play it.  It would be interesting having offense and control but WITHOUT the extra shutdown on Domination.  The Lockdown Chance for +2 Mag Hold would be must-haves for sure.  Or you'd have to live and die on the softer controls.  Confuses, Stuns like Wormhole, etc.

Your point about the 2 immobs is well taken.  Maybe keep the power basically the same, but give it a different status effect that isn't otherwise present in the set, so you can better make use of the "exploit" mechanic...

[cohRock]

I like this idea so much that I specifically came here to post the same idea.  Glad I searched first!

 

One idea to correct the "dual immobilize" shortcoming is that the manipulation primary would substitute a 40-ft ranged  single-target attack.  The attack would have the same secondary effect characteristic to the type of manipulation (-speed for ice, -def for plant, etc).  The range is short because basically I see a manipulation primary as having its direct damage focused on melee attacks.  Giving it an attack of this sort would be similar to a scrapper spines Impale attack.

 

Another problem with overlapping powers would be debuff and/or damage auras.  For example, imagine simultaneously using Atomic Manipulator's Beta Decay (-toHit, -defense, +recharge) and Ice Control's Arctic Air (-speed, -recharge, -stealth).  Even though Beta Decay also includes a buff, it would be considered a debuff power because it adversely effects foes around the player.  So to minimize the possibility of unbalancing a battle, a new mechanic would be added, Exhaustion.  Whenever simultaneous debuff/damage auras are active from the primary and secondary, Exhaustion would be active, draining endurance beyond what the powers themselves use.  There would be no way to reduce the effect of Exhaustion except to shut off one of the powers which caused it to activate.  I don't know what a good value would be, but one idea would be for Exhaustion to start out at 0.5 end/sec and every 3 seconds, increase drain by another 0.1 end/sec.  So after 15 seconds, the total drain would be 1.0 end/sec.  The accelerating drain would continue until the source power(s) crash.  Pure buff auras from the manipulation set would not cause Exhaustion to activate.

 

Note that three blaster secondaries are not named "manipulation".

1. Ninja Training.  This is really a difference in name only.  It includes sufficient melee direct damage potential to line it up with the more normally-named blaster secondaries.
2. Devices. This is basically another controller set, lacking direct damage attacks.  Either it would not be a Manipulator primary set, or a special version would be crafted for manipulators containing at least three direct damage melee attacks.  Device-themed attacks could include Brass Knuckles and Spiked Kick (shoe or boot with spike).
3. Tactical Arrow.  Like Devices, it lacks melee direct damage attacks.  If kept as a Manipulator primary, themed attacks could include Bow Bash and Garrote (a strangling attack activated by swinging the string-end of bow at foe, releasing a separate line that wraps around foe's neck).

 

[Completist]

I also had a very similar idea which I posted a while back. Instead of an additive damage bonus I envisioned a similar "Edge" debuff: each specific damage type would reduce your foe's resistance to an associated damage/mez pair, and stacking multiple types would give increased benefit. 

 

I am no longer sure a manipulation/control Manipulator is a great idea: It's a cool concept, but that concept is pretty much a Dominator. 

 

That said, the idea clearly has some inherent traction. The manipulation set is one of the more varied and exciting secondaries--Why should Blasters get all the fun?