Weekly Discussion 65: Build Your Own Powerset

[GM Miss]

Weekly discussion 65 - Week 8/23/20-8/29/20:

 

⚔️YOU VOTED: Let's build our own powersets! ⚔️ 

 

❓Things to think about:

>Work by yourself or in a team! 
>Make sure to give all the details you can! List powers, animations, numbers, etc! 
>Think about balance and not making it to over or under powered.
>What powersets would you like to see from Homecoming?

 

Let's Chat 😄

[Greycat]

*waits for all the "Illusion on doms!"*

*pre-mehs at that.*

 

Other than that, hmmmmmm..... Have to work up an acid armor.

 

Acid Armor:

So. Being really honest, this is what Memphis Bill should have had. See, long ago in the 80s, Marvel came out with the New Universe. One of the characters there, Dennis Cuzinski / "scuzz"  had a mutation which just kept his skin producing acid.

 

Fast forward several years later, some friends were starting a Silver Age Sentinels game and the concept dangled in my head while making a character. What all could I do - besides eat through clothes and spit acid - with this? It actually came in rather handy. (And created a surprisingly large dice pool for some attacks... I kind of broke a bunker with a spitball. If you know Tristat, I had ... a *lot* of dice to roll for that.)

 

Come City of Heroes, well, I figured to give the same idea a try. But the only thing available for a tank, which fit the rest of the character (with super strength) well, was Fire armor. So I ran with that, but wasn't really satisfied. COV came along and gave us brutes, with SS/Dark Armor. Closer, definitely. Then that swapped blueside, and I have the closest I came to the idea - a DA/SS tank. Sort of worked with the fear, too, because who'd want to get close or stay close to this acid-reeking guy?

 

But it was still just "close."

 

So what should Acid armor be?

- Resist based. I just dont' see Acid giving a defense of any sort, really. Though it may affect tohit.
- Damage enhancing. Probably Toxic.
- Weakness would *likely* be cold.
- AOE based. Yes, an AOE damage toggle - but I could also see this creating an area for team resists (the enemy gets too close, acid in the air affects their ability to fight as well,) *potentially* defense (same reason,) and/or enemy -tohit.
- Buffing regeneration. Since, after all, whatever caused you to have this acidic armor probably doesn't want you dying of it. Or maybe it's just your body's reaction.

 

Considering:

- The set builds off and reinforces itself, not just by having more armor, but in a fashion similar to how the Fighting pool's attacks are more effective if you have more of them.
- Having a heal that also gives a damage buff. You're healing yourself with an odd acid, it should have other odd effects. Or maybe it just *hurts* and punching something harder makes you feel better. I'm not judging.

- Should probably work up an acid melee with a lingering DOT to go with it.

 

 

Edit: Rough idea.

 

Not a numbers guy, so... no real numbers. And the order can be switched around.
Potential workup:

T1: Ooze.
Passive S/L/Toxic. (Gets folded into first armor toggle for stalkers.)

T2: Acerbic aura
Active S/L/Toxic/fire? toggle.

T3: Sulfrous Succor
Passive +regen.

T4: Corrosive Cloud
PBAOE damage aura - toxic/?. Slight boost to T1 when taken. Adds KB protection to T1. (Or just add here.)

T5: Boiling blood
Self-heal. Slight dmg boost. (Possibly where to put status protection?) Boosts T2 when taken.

T6:
+Recovery. Adds chance to stun to Corrosive Cloud. (Adds other resists to T2? Or just put them here?)

T7:Acid puddle
PBAOE placed acid puddle. DOT. Boosts T3 when obtained. Yes, I was tempted to call this "dropped acid."

T8:
... all right, I don't know. Something nifty, hopefully.

T9: Vaporous...
PBAOE toggle. Team +Def/+Res and/or enemy -tohit. Boosts Corrosive Cloud

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Greycat

[Parabola]

Probably worth linking this thread:

 

[Lines]

^ My vote for best thread on the whole forums.

[FoulVileTerror]

Yeah, pretty much what Tyrannical's got there.  Not 100% support from me for every little thing in there, but overall that's a very top-notch thread which @Tyrannical has going.

 

Now, of course . . . if we were going to implement an in-game Build your Own Set FEATURE  . . . well, THAT could be absolutely stellar!  Of course, it would have to be VERY carefully constructed, or we'd just have the Second Coming of Architect Entertainment all over again.

I do think it's possible.

Feasible, on the other hand . . . 

[Alchemystic]

14 minutes ago, parabola said:

Probably worth linking this thread:

 

Thanks for the link!

 

I'd be so pleased if the Homecoming team had a look at some of the stuff that's been brain stormed in the thread! I think it would be perfect discussion material for this week 😃

[FoulVileTerror]

There's an idea!

 

Let's use this thread to rank our favourites from /that/ thread!

 

Number 1:  Utility Grenades

2:  Munitions

3:  Sonic Control

 

(Ranking subject to change without notice.)

[Galaxy Brain]

 

[Alchemystic]

46 minutes ago, FoulVileTerror said:

There's an idea!

 

Let's use this thread to rank our favourites from /that/ thread!

 

Number 1:  Utility Grenades

2:  Munitions

3:  Sonic Control

 

(Ranking subject to change without notice.)

If i had to choose, it would likely be; Earth Blast, Earth Manipulation and Primal Armor, mainly because I enjoy nature themes!

[Darkneblade]

 

[CursedSorcerer]

Here's a powerset idea I've wanted for a while:

 

Staff Blast

Concept: Attack your opponent with attacks from a Staff.

Archetypes: Blaster, Defender, Sentinel, Corruptor, Dominator (Secondary)

Special Mechanic: Includes a power that changes the damage type. (Similar to Dual Pistols) Options include: Fire, Ice, Energy, Negative Energy, Psionic

Staff Customizations: Same as Staff Fighting.

 

 

[Yomo Kimyata]

How about a Build Your Own Powerset Powerset?

[Eldyem]

For years I felt like Poison Control would be an interesting way to make it easier to build Poison-themed characters (since, let's be real, while /Poison is easy to theme around, it can be hard to theme it around another existing powerset). I thought it would be fun for it to play around with reducing Mez Resistance (not Protection) which I think is a massively underexplored area of the game that I don't really think would be too horribly broken because two controls control most things and AVs have the purple patch.

I also thought it would make absolutely no sense for a Poison Control set to have a pet, and thought it would be very cool if it had a Scarecrow-style Fear Gas power as its level 32 that took cues from Phantom Army and Carrion Creepers to create a Fear (or Confusion, both to distance itself from Scarecrow and because it's roughly as easy to theme the set around conceptually) Patch that also summoned a Phantom, mechanically identical to Illusion's Phantoms, per enemy caught in the gas.

Otherwise it would have a ST Immob, ST Hold, AoE Immob, AoE Hold, ST Confuse (or Fear), and a POWERFUL Mez Resistance reducing power - ST or AoE depending on what's balanced, and possibly also doing an Exotic damage type for reasons -  an AoE sleep because Sleep Gas is obvious, and then some sort of filler mez, probably a Stun, to make sure the set functions pre-32. I'd also personally have the ST Immob and Hold be Lethal/Toxic or Smashing/Toxic or something while the AoE was pure Toxic, just because enemies who resist Toxic resist it by a lot.

Unfortunately, the Scarecrow-inspired T9 is a large reason I never really shared it; mechanically cool but incredibly derivative feels like a weird thing to try and put your name on.

Poison Assault and Poison Blast would also logically follow, but I think the "splash" aspect of Poison already fits those a lot while making them an absolute nightmare to balance, plus the difficulties of pure Toxic sets, though I think it could take some cues from Fiery sets and add in a Smashing/Lethal component for balance. Requires more thought than I felt comfortable exploring.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Eldyem
adding the part about Poison Assault

[ForeverLaxx]

I'm not really in the mood to go into numbers or balancing at the moment, but I'd really like to see some kind of Whip Assault set so I can take my anemic Petless Demon Mastermind and make her something that isn't painful to use. There are 4 whip animations in the game that I know of and that's half a powerset already. When I get the time I'll maybe try to flesh something out and perhaps post up multiple versions so people can go ranged or melee depending on their preferences.

Edited August 25, 2020 by ForeverLaxx

[kiramon]

Insect control, insect assault (Swarm assault). 
 

I do think teleportation melee could be done.

 

dreamweave - new healing set

 

[Alchemystic]

4 hours ago, kiramon said:

Insect control, insect assault (Swarm assault). 
 

I do think teleportation melee could be done.

 

dreamweave - new healing set

 

I had a little something on Insect Control. It's a bit of a push trying to make it work just from what's already in game, but here it is.

 

 

[Zepp]

A couple of compilation threads:

 

Sorry, been too busy to get the other compilation threads done yet...

But my personal powerset proposals:

 

Also, some shoutouts to people that should check-in on this thread - people who have developed one or more sets that I know of: @malonkey1 @Varkarrus @biostem @Xaeon @Marine X @Chance Jackson @Steampunkette @daveyfiacre @Wavicle @Leogunner @Anubys @Purrfekshawn

Edited August 25, 2020 by Zepp

[Marshal_General]

You know we need a clown mastermind set.

[Zepp]

Been thinking about a new idea. Basically I think there is room for a less physical melee set.

Elemental Melee

Name	Animation	Level	Description
Wave	Umbral Torrent (with water)	1	Melee, Minor Damage (Smashing), -Regen, chance for KD
Piercing glance	Abyssal Gaze	2	Melee, Moderate Damage (Lethal), Foe -Regen, chance for KD
Call to the night	Howl	4	Melee, wide cone, Moderate Damage (Negative)
Cascading Power	Reach for the Limit	10	All Attacks: Chance for +ToHit, +Dmg
Firepit	Caltrops (with flames)	16	Patch, DoT (Fire), Foe -Spd, -Rech, -Fly
Breath of Winter	Frost Breath	20	Close ranged, High Damage (Cold), -Regen
Mindscape	Aim	28	PBAoE, Moderate Damage (Psionic), Foes -Regen, KU
Stank breath	Siren's Song	35	Targeted AoE, Moderate Damage (Toxic)
Ball of Light	Explosive Blast	38	PBAoE, Superior DMG(Energy), Foe -Regen, KD

[Lockpick]

I don't know that I can build a brand new set.  What I would like to see are more options within existing sets.  For example, I would like a branching option of being able to pick between different powers at Tier 1, 2, etc.

 

Examples:

 

Blaster: Ninja Training

Tier 1 is Immobilizing Dart

I would prefer to have the option to take Shuriken or have an alternate animation like Shuriken.

 

Blaster: Devices

Tier 8 is Time Bomb

I would prefer to have the option to take Fragmentation Grenade

 

Tier 9 is Gun Drone

I would prefer to have the option to take a Grenade or Seeker Drones

 

Obviously keep these powers with the similar stats, but give the option to add some differences.

[Alchemystic]

I forgot I had this lying around too. Its highly experimental concept that uses pretty new new stuff (as far as player accessibility goes).

 

 

Basically; a MM primary using the new Phantom Army clone FX, along with psuedocharacter effects from Dual Pistols and Vorpal Judgement for attacks.

[Seigmoraig]

Swarm Control :

 

Offensive primary for Dominators with some built in mitigation.

You walk around with a swarm of insects on your body, they can be Bees, Locust, Ants, Flies or other such critters.

-When your swarm is not engaged in combat you gain some sort of shield that slowly regenerates itself.

-Every power you use takes up some of this shield and uses it to fuel your attacks.

- Most of the powers would be AoE but with a ST Hold and Immob (carpeting a single target with the swarm ie: ARRGGGHHH THEY'RE IN MY MOUTH !!!).

-Heavy emphasis on Fear and Confusion powers

-Toggled PBAoE damage and debuff auras. Toggling these would reduce the shield by X amount for as long as each are active.

-Ground target AoE slow/debuff similar to Tar Patch but with a lower duration, but reduces shields for as long as it lasts. 10-15 secs duration

Edited August 25, 2020 by Seigmoraig

[Chance Jackson]

4 hours ago, Zepp said:

Also, some shoutouts to people that should check-in on this thread - people who have developed one or more sets that I know of: @malonkey1 @Varkarrus @biostem @Xaeon @Marine X @Chance Jackson @Steampunkette @daveyfiacre @Wavicle @Leogunner @Anubys @Purrfekshawn

Thank you for the shout out, thank you for reminding me & thank you for bringing this thread to my attention Zepp

 

Street Assault

Combine Street Justice Melee attacks & Whip/Metal Chain whip attacks that use the 3 Whip Animations from MM>Demon Summoning.
Pop Culture Examples: Iron Monkey from well "Iron Monkey", Kurapica from Hunter X Hunter, Ivy from Soul Calibur, Bandit Leader from Claymore, Belmonts from Catlevania, Indiana Jones from you get the point,
 

 

 

Gun Fu/Gun Kata

Combine Pistol Blast Set Attacks with Street Justice or a mix of Martial Arts & Street Justice melee attacks with some altered animations for when pistols are drawn.

Pop Culture Examples: Tequila from Hard boiled, obviously All Gun Kata Practitioners from Equilibrium, Spike Speigle from Cowboy Bebop, Just about All fighters from the Matrix, Hitgirl & Bigdaddy from Kick-Ass & way too many more to name even 1/100th of them.

[BurtHutt]

Yes, we have lots of stuff that is like a power armour (PA) set and have NPCs that have other attacks that would be in a power armour set. I get it. However, we already have a number of power sets that are like previous ones. So, I am all for cobbling together a Power Armour set option! I posted it in the suggestions thread and here are some of my ideas.

 

-This PA set could contain the electric AoE attack like the newer Clocks have

-The grenade/bomb launcher as seen in Freakshow bosses

-Missile launch AoE - same animations that you see in various NPC items such as the Arachnos flyer (love that animation where missiles fire and have that somewhat indirect smoke trail to the target!)

-a gattling gun type item with various animations (Champions online had one that would work its way up and set up on the toon's shoulder).

-have options on where you want to launch some of the weapons (ex. missiles from the chest or pop-up shoulder launchers etc)

-laser beams (firing location options: hand(s), eyes, chest etc)

-an energy sword or built in metallic sword etc

-super strength via your armour some melee attacks could be an option

-armor upgrade

-Nuke tier 9 power (missile, bomb, etc)

-analyzer (yes, we have it, I know)

-the list could easily go on....

 

Ideally a lot of the powers would have new animations. I'd be all for using the animations NPCs already have that are not currently in any player power sets.

 

Lastly, this may be a bit off topic but I saw a youtube video for another CoH server that has a ton of new powers and ATs. Whenever Homecoming goes legit, I'd suggest reaching out to them and incorporating that team and their powers to this game. I haven't played there but the video is impressive. Maybe after a balance sweep of those ATs and powers, they'd be awesome adds here. I see they have a ton of stuff added and it would be amazing to add that content here (maybe some name changes as well would be useful - they're way too D&D and religious inspired names for my liking). 🙂

[Alchemystic]

@BurtHutt I actually had a few things similar to this over in the thread that was linked; Arsenal Blast and Artillery Blast, inspired by Iron Man and War machine respectively, and utilising powers from Clockwork, IDF, PPD Shells and all sorts of robots!