Is anyone else a total slave to the thematic?

[ImpousVileTerror]

Alternatively, @Tyrannical, replace Enenra with a straight-up Decoy that has a large Taunt AoE, but just stands there until it's defeated, AND has a rather short cooldown.   WHEN it gets defeated, have it explode, essentially casting Char on each target in range of the PBAoE.

Something new, and fun!

[MTeague]

38 minutes ago, Blastit said:

I reject any notion of a magic-user who would not kick a man in the vulnerables if need be.

As long as we're talking like Rularru type threat, I'm okay with it. 

It really shouldn't be Dr. Strange's preferred method of handling a purse snatcher, though.

[JnEricsonx]

My problem sometimes winds up being that the Epic or Patron Pools don't mix with my chars.  I have a fresh 50 Water/Cold corr.  Not even the Mako set works because her power is from a river spirit.  So I just took Power Mastery instead.

[Glacier Peak]

1 hour ago, Menelruin said:

They had some ideas for a riot suppression rifle that would have worked well.  Mostly took the various specialty grenades, like you said.  

 

Munitions

You possess a highly tactical rifle designed for riot suppression and crowd control, possessing a variety of functions and special payloads.

 

 - Electrified Net Launcher: Reworked version of 'Electrified Net Arrow' from Trick Archery

 

 - Cryo Freeze Ray: Taken from Munitions Mastery.

 

 - Wide Area Web Grenade: Taken from Arachnos Solider.

 

 - Flashbang Grenade: Taken from PPD SWAT.

 

 - Sleep Grenade: Taken from Munitions Mastery.

 

 - Rubber Bullets: Reworked version of 'Heavy Burst' from Arachnos Soldier. This power is a low smashing DoT cone with a disorient effect.

 

 - N2 Cannon: Taken from Crey Scientists

 

 - Tear Gas: Taken from PPD SWAT.

 

 - Gun Drone: Taken from Devices.

 

 

This would be a perfect reason for me to reroll my brute "Riot Control"!

[kiramon]

I’m the opposite - i refuse to play “obvious” pairs (electric / electric armor, electric/electric affinity etc).

 

i always try to make a concept work with another one - like electric/ energy 

[Hero_of_Light]

7 hours ago, DrInfernus said:

I don’t know if it’s an OCD thing or what, but I have always found myself a complete slave to the thematic in CoX. 

 

Fire/Fire, ice/cold, elec/storm, archery/TA, ss/invul, that kind of thing. That very much extends to epic power pools too. I just couldn’t even fathom playing a non-thematic build, and I know because I’ve tried! 
 

Is anyone else like that or am I just one lonely loon in a prison of self-restraint? 

 

 

I don't know if I'd say I'm a slave to it, but I do need to have a theme in my head when building a character.

 

They don't need to be typical thenes,  but they do need to fit a story i have in my head or I can't enjoy building/playing the character as much as I normally would. I'm weird hahaha

[User]

I had a mutant energy/ice blaster on live. His concept was that he would suck the kinetic energy out of things which would make it colder and then release it as energy blasts.

[DrInfernus]

5 hours ago, JnEricsonx said:

My problem sometimes winds up being that the Epic or Patron Pools don't mix with my chars.  I have a fresh 50 Water/Cold corr.  Not even the Mako set works because her power is from a river spirit.  So I just took Power Mastery instead.

I have a fire/SR Sentinel. Love him. Well, LOVED him. Then I took Psi Mastery epic for the much needed procced damage boost from Dominate. It ruined him for me. 
 

Can’t go back to lower damage as the Sentinel REALLY needs the boost, and can’t remake him as a Psi/SR/Psi (I tried) because Psi blast animations just felt glacial to me.

 

Honestly, it’s maddening!! 

[dangeraaron10]

I always build to theme but rarely does that result in matching weapon types or elements.  I like my characters to have a mix of things and Epic Pools very often play into the concept.

 

My Brute is a mini-Godzilla that uses Savage Melee for claw attacks, Radiation Armor as radiation is what powers him (and Ground Zero makes for a great "Critical Mass" type nova ability), and Energy Mastery for Laser Eye Beams (as a substitute for a breath weapon, something not fired from the hands for a better monster feel).  I'm still trying to figure out what AT and powerset combo I can enjoy to make a Black Mage inspired character that uses Fire, Ice, and Electricity.  

 

So, yes, but not in the way you describe.  

[ForeverLaxx]

I try to avoid "same element" combinations where possible if only because I find it's the easy way to make something. That's not to say I won't do it, like my D3 Controller, but I'm more likely to combine sets that don't match on an elemental level than ones that do. Being able to color powers helps with the "immersion" problem, like my Dark Armor/Stone Melee Tanker that has his dark armors colored to look like sand. Sure, the actual resistances might not "match" but that doesn't matter to me. It's how the character looks that I find more important than the other things.

 

I'm a slave to the theme insofar as that theme works with my plans and power customization rather than always pairing one set with its "natural" counterpart.

[Coyote]

14 hours ago, Blastit said:

I reject any notion of a magic-user who would not kick a man in the vulnerables if need be.

 

You magic missile them there. Why resort to uncouth practices like kicking? 😛

[Coyote]

I like to stick to a character CONCEPT. Sometimes that's matching powersets, sometimes it's not. I remember having a "mage" character who used Illusion/Rad, because Rad seemed like the closest effect to casting spells upon the enemies. Now I considered a Necro/Thermal, with the fires colored black/red to represent the flames of hell burning the souls.

Theme can be used to create a concept, but it's the concept that generally drives character design for players who care about concept. Not the theme directly.

[ImpousVileTerror]

I find it's more an issue of practicality in attempting to kick while wearing the billowy robes.  Go for the throat- and/or kidney-punches instead.

[ravynwinter]

SO I see this thread is in line with what I am trying to do.  THEMATIC BUILDS
I have a concept in mind that I want to work on. 
Winter based hero but I dont really know the pitfalls and perks of the differnt powersets. I will be SOLO playing most of the time and prefer ranged combat over chasing badguys.

Any ideas out there for really col builds along those lines.  I am willing to mix a non ice powerset in if I can collor it to look icy.

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by ravynwinter

[Alchemystic]

I made a medic character recently who uses Medicine and Experimentation instead of Empathy, does that count?

[Twisted Toon]

1 hour ago, ravynwinter said:

SO I see this thread is in line with what I am trying to do.  THEMATIC BUILDS
I have a concept in mind that I want to work on. 
Winter based hero but I dont really know the pitfalls and perks of the differnt powersets. I will be SOLO playing most of the time and prefer ranged combat over chasing badguys.

Any ideas out there for really col builds along those lines.  I am willing to mix a non ice powerset in if I can collor it to look icy.

 

You might try either a Sentinal or a Dominator, if you didn't want to go straight up Blaster.

 

Dominator's Icy Assault has a mix of ranged and melee attacks, and they'll get a some of crowd control in Ice control.

[Zanthyna]

I build my toons either on concept or by what sounds interesting.  And what sounds interesting to me is usually rare / unusual combos (this is the novelty-seeking that my ADHD brain loves).   I tried a couple of matching primary / secondary toons but could never maintain interest in them.

[srmalloy]

On 6/4/2020 at 4:06 PM, Blastit said:

I reject any notion of a magic-user who would not kick a man in the vulnerables if need be.

Just a completely out-of-the-blue bit, but this comment reminded me of a Crowning Moment of Awesome in SWTOR, where my Smuggler character Dirty Kicked a Sith warrior and dropped him, immediately spawning the line "Ancient weapons and hokey religions are no match for a durasteel-toed boot in the nards."

[Techwright]

I suppose I play thematically because I know, or rather assume, that the developers likely did the best testing to balance two powersets when they are themed.  Never really gave it much thought before.

 

I do know when I built a character that was water / psychic,  I had a lot of surprised reactions from p.u.g. teammates.

[DoctorDitko]

I love sticking to the theme that inspired a character. To the point that my Storm/Ice Defender had to take an excursion Redside to pick up Mako's Epic Pool so she could get the Hibernate (Giant Ice Cube of Awesomeness) power.

 

It just makes it so much more fun for me. I guess it's related to the Roleplaying Urge that crops up from time to time.

 

But I hear ya! More power to the Theme!