Focused Feedback: Blaster Secondary Revamp

Heraclea · October 29, 2020

3 hours ago, csr said:

Comparing it with Force of Thunder...

Repulsion Bomb: 45s Rech, 3.07s cast, 21.14 END, 62.56 Damage, 70' Range, 1.2x Acc, 15' radius, 16 targets, KD, 40% chance of Mag 2 Stun for 9.54s, +6.20% Defiance damage

Force of Thunder: 90s Rech, 1.23 cast, 13.00 END, no Damage, no Range, 1.0 Acc, 20' radius, 11 targets, 30% chance for KB, Mag 2 Stun for 9.54s + Mag 1 for 5.96s, +2.50% Defiance damage

To me, Rep Bomb is clearly the better power. FoT has better Stun and Radius and a much faster cast, but the lack of Range, the KB instead of KD, lower target cap and acc, lack of damage and doubled Recharge time more than offset that, IMO. You can't get Rep Bomb until 41, FoT is available at 35 in this build. So, basically, you'd lose it for L30-35 content.

Force of Thunder has basically been turned into Dark Pit minus the Range and with a KB component that is probably a net negative. It sucks.

This is my impression as well. The sustain of /Electric is now in an aura that does paltry damage, and that I had specifically avoided in my current build. Force of Thunder is my current opening attack on the character. I am already in the Force pool for Personal Force Field and Repulsion Field, and I think Force of Nature, which I use as trouble bubbles. If I keep the character, the way to go would appear to be to drop Force of Nature and pick up Repulsion Bomb and use it instead as the opener. Repulsion Bomb hits more targets, does damage, apparently does not need anti-knockback slotting for even level targets, and has half the recharge. It will likely be available to use as an opening move every fight, or at least likelier than FoT, which would probably be banished to that special hell for powers with too long recharge that can't be used regularly and so end up forgotten.

My build philosophy is to prefer primary/secondary powers over pool powers, but so it goes.

Puma · October 30, 2020

2 hours ago, Heraclea said:

This is my impression as well. The sustain of /Electric is now in an aura that does paltry damage, and that I had specifically avoided in my current build. Force of Thunder is my current opening attack on the character. I am already in the Force pool for Personal Force Field and Repulsion Field, and I think Force of Nature, which I use as trouble bubbles. If I keep the character, the way to go would appear to be to drop Force of Nature and pick up Repulsion Bomb and use it instead as the opener. Repulsion Bomb hits more targets, does damage, apparently does not need anti-knockback slotting for even level targets, and has half the recharge. It will likely be available to use as an opening move every fight, or at least likelier than FoT, which would probably be banished to that special hell for powers with too long recharge that can't be used regularly and so end up forgotten.

My build philosophy is to prefer primary/secondary powers over pool powers, but so it goes.

This pretty much sums up my problems with the entire change to blaster secondary, and specifically their crowd control powers. I think it's a major mistake for the archetype and honestly, it makes the crow control powers in most sets not worth it.

I honestly dont know that Ive ever been so unhappy with a patch as I am with i27. Like...not even playing as much level unhappy.

TNT · October 30, 2020

I have been testing out the Electric Manipulation changes. Before going to the test server my elec/elec was using Force of Thunder and Lightning Field, but skipped Thunder Strike. I primarily used FoT as a soft control to knock enemies down with the Sudden Acceleration proc slotted, and then drained the blue bars to nothing while they were angrily getting up to pound me. I slotted Lightning Field for damage and end mod. Thunder Strike would synergize well with FoT but I disliked the animation time. I could use Havoc Punch and Charged Brawl in the same amount of time.

Here is what I have found while trying to create a similar play style.

1. I am not a fan of the 100% chance for stun and 30% chance for knock in Force of Thunder. I will most likely drop it. Why not 45 second recharge and 100% chance of knock without the stun component? While I like to incorporate stuns into a bunch of my alts it is at odds with my established style for elec/elec. I have no problem with the way the power operates on the current live build. Sure I have to click it and wait out the animation but it works well and is different than most of the sustains. It is a great opening move and give soft control.

2. Dynamo works pretty well for my needs, I only slot with damage and end mods sets and consider the regeneration and recovery as gravy. Plus there is no endurance cost, so free damage, even if it is piddly. Count me in as one of those people that doesn't necessarily understand why a damage aura is the best place for a sustain power. Power Sink does seem a likelier candidate for that role, just move it to an earlier tier and maybe lessen the end mod effect, if it would be considered overpowered.

3. Thunder Strike looks to be my replacement for Force of Thunder. It does knockdown and the reduced animation time makes the power much more bearable. I just wish the collateral damage that it inflicts was a bit higher but that may be asking too much.

As I stated, this is all based on my particular way of using the powerset. I know there are many ways to use the same powers to different effect.

I guess this is just my 2 inf.

Zed · October 30, 2020

Sorry, i haven't read this whole thread, maybe it has been reported already.
Shinobi triggers the gift opening animation at random and it locks you in place for about 3 seconds.

I'll keep testing Ninja, this seem to have potential 🙂

Epoch Paradox · October 30, 2020

3 hours ago, TNT said:

I have been testing out the Electric Manipulation changes. Before going to the test server my elec/elec was using Force of Thunder and Lightning Field, but skipped Thunder Strike. I primarily used FoT as a soft control to knock enemies down with the Sudden Acceleration proc slotted, and then drained the blue bars to nothing while they were angrily getting up to pound me. I slotted Lightning Field for damage and end mod. Thunder Strike would synergize well with FoT but I disliked the animation time. I could use Havoc Punch and Charged Brawl in the same amount of time.

Here is what I have found while trying to create a similar play style.

1. I am not a fan of the 100% chance for stun and 30% chance for knock in Force of Thunder. I will most likely drop it. Why not 45 second recharge and 100% chance of knock without the stun component? While I like to incorporate stuns into a bunch of my alts it is at odds with my established style for elec/elec. I have no problem with the way the power operates on the current live build. Sure I have to click it and wait out the animation but it works well and is different than most of the sustains. It is a great opening move and give soft control.

2. Dynamo works pretty well for my needs, I only slot with damage and end mods sets and consider the regeneration and recovery as gravy. Plus there is no endurance cost, so free damage, even if it is piddly. Count me in as one of those people that doesn't necessarily understand why a damage aura is the best place for a sustain power. Power Sink does seem a likelier candidate for that role, just move it to an earlier tier and maybe lessen the end mod effect, if it would be considered overpowered.

3. Thunder Strike looks to be my replacement for Force of Thunder. It does knockdown and the reduced animation time makes the power much more bearable. I just wish the collateral damage that it inflicts was a bit higher but that may be asking too much.

As I stated, this is all based on my particular way of using the powerset. I know there are many ways to use the same powers to different effect.

I guess this is just my 2 inf.

I play mine very much the same way and while I like having the regen/recovery in some kind of toggle simply because you don't have to click to refresh it, I definitely prefer FoT the way it was, as mostly a knock with slight chance to stun and fairly quick recharge. It was much more fun that way.

Vanden · October 30, 2020

I don't have an */electric Blaster, but I do have an */Energy Blaster and an Electric/* Scrapper, so I know two things:

1. I hate click sustains, and would much rather have it as a toggle I don't have to think about

2. A 30s Recharge AoE knockdown with an unreliable stun feels more useful to me than a 90s recharge AoE stun with an unreliable knockdown (even if the former needs a slot dedicated to KB-to-KD).

With that in mind, I think the best thing for Electricity Manipulation is to have the sustain in Dynamo, and revert Force of Thunder to Lightning Clap like it was in i23.

Heraclea · October 30, 2020

On 10/29/2020 at 9:17 AM, macskull said:

According to the patch notes posted on one of the testing Discord servers, most of the Blaster sustain auras that also have a debuff component will be suppressed when the Stealth power is active.

If this is happening to the Blaster auras, perhaps other aura powers across the board should get a similar pass? I'm thinking specifically of Poison Gas from Poison. I have a Poison/Dark defender and a Plants/Poison controller. I think both of them have the power, but it is basically a wasted pick because they are stealthy like all my squishies, avoid melee, and so never turn it on. There are probably other powers that could use this treatment: really, any damage or debuff aura that isn't part of a melee armor or attack set.

This certainly will open up a number of blaster secondaries that I have avoided in the past for exactly this problem.

Jimmy · October 31, 2020

Build 2 - October 31st, 2020

Blaster Secondary Revamp

After the game shut down, several new Blaster secondary sets were developed (eg: Tactical Arrow, Atomic Manipulation, Plant Manipulation), but these sets were generally quite overtuned in the crowd control department, whilst also lacking in incentives to get into melee range - both of these factors contributed towards the sets being a tad too safe.

Additionally, most of the legacy sets received some changes in the i24 beta just before the game shut down that were never really followed up on. This ended up with several sets (eg: Ice Manipulation, Electrical Manipulation, Energy Manipulation) being slight underperformers, especially compared to the new sets.

This round of changes aims to level the playing field for Blaster secondary sets, both towards each other and towards dedicated crowd control ATs. In general, you'll see many of the underperforming sets receive several buffs (both in terms of damage and survivability), alongside some reductions in the crowd control capabilities of most sets.

Tactical Arrow

Electrified Net Arrow
- Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
  - Range adjusted from 50ft to 60ft
- Endurance cost increased from 5.2 to 7.8 to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Ice Arrow
- Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation ST mez powers
- Recharge increased from 12s to 16s
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Upshot
- +Recharge buff reduced to from 30% to 15%
- +Damage buff reduced from 100% to 81.25%
- +ToHit reduced from 20% to 15%
Flash Arrow
- This power's effects are no longer irresistible
Gymnastics (Replaces Agility)
- Gymnastics and Agility have been merged into a new toggle power
- Provides knockback protection, a 1.75% defence buff, a recharge bonus, a movement speed buff and some slow / mez protection
- If you previously had Agility, you now have Gymnastics
- Now grants a +jump bonus
  - See note on Movement Buffs in "Other Powers Changes" for more info
ESD Arrow
- Hold now only applies to robots
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
- Added Stun against all foes (does not override the robot hold):
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
- Now accepts Stun enhancements and sets
Oil Slick Arrow (Replaced Gymnastics)
- Similar to the Trick Arrow version, but does not have a defence debuff and only has a 15ft radius
- If you previously had Gymnastics, you now have Oil Slick Arrow
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Electrified Net Arrow
Glue Arrow
Ice Arrow
Upshot
Flash Arrow
Eagle Eye
Gymnastics (Replaces Agility, merged with T9)
ESD Arrow
Oil Slick Arrow (Replaces Gymnastics)

Atomic Manipulation

Electron Shackles
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Positron Cell
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Radioactive Cloud
- Recharge time reduced from 180s to 90s (the same as live)
- Hold effect has been adjusted:
  - 50% chance of hold by choking - choking foes might actually counterattack if hit
  - 50% chance of hold by barfing - barfing foes will continue emptying their stomachs until the duration of the hold expires

Darkness Manipulation

Penumbral Grasp
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Touch of the Beyond
- Increased the duration of the self buff from 60s to 120s
- The self buff now also provides Fear protection
- The self buff now auto-hits, regardless of if the enemy-targeting portion of this power hits
- Added a short, non-enhanceable Mag 3 Hold (in PvE only)
- The regeneration buff should no longer be weaker when used against higher or lower level enemies
- This power has had some implementation changes, please test it to ensure everything is still working as intended
Dark Pit
- Recharge time increased from 60s to 90s
- Endurance cost increased from 13 to 20.18
- Stun changed from Mag 2, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Devices

Toxic Web Grenade
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Taser
- Fixed this power doing PvE damage in PvP
Field Operative
- This power now has a No Fade customization them
  - Selecting this theme will stop the power from fading the player body
Gun Drone
- Now has 80% resistance to all damage
- Taunt aura reduced to 8ft, mag 3, max of 4 targets
- Death explosion now has a knockup component

Electrical Manipulation

Electric Fence
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Thunder Strike
- Cast Time reduced from 3.3s to 2.53s
Dynamo (renamed from Lightning Field)
- Moved from T3 to T6 (see Power Order Changes below)
- Is now the sustain power in the set (along with the existing damage aura component)
  - No longer has an endurance cost to run
  - Provides a Recovery and Regeneration buff
- Should no longer spam regeneration and recovery messages
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)
- If you had Force of Thunder, it will now be replaced by Dynamo and keep the same enhancements from Force of Thunder
Force of Thunder
- Moved from T6 to T8 (see Power Order Changes below)
- No longer provides a sustain buff
- Stun changed from Mag 2, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
- Recharge reduced from 90s to 30s (the live value)
- Stun chance reduced from 100% to 50% (the live value)
- Radius reduced to 15ft (the live value)
- Knockback chance increased from 30% to 100%
- If you had Lightning Field, it will now be replaced by Force of Thunder and keep the enhancements from Lightning Field
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Electric Fence
Charged Brawl
Build Up (moved down from T5)
Havok Punch
Thunder Strike (moved down from T7)
Dynamo (moved up from T3, renamed from Lightning Field)
Power Sink (moved down from T8)
Force of Thunder (moved up from T6)
Shocking Grasp

Fire Manipulation

Ring of Fire
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Cauterizing Aura
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)

Energy Manipulation

Energize
- Now provides a small amount of Stun protection (PvE only)
Stun
- Recharge reduced from 20s to 14s
- This power now has synergy with Power Boost and Boost Range
  - With Boost Range active, this power becomes a ranged Stun
  - With Power Boost active, this power becomes an AoE (instead of boosting its duration)
- Stun will have an orange ring whenever either of these buffs are active
  - As highlight rings can only be one color, Power Boost and Boost Range are also getting a pale white ring to make it easier to know if their buffs are still active, without having to look at the buff bar
- Full combo details:
  - Stun = 14s recharge, 7ft range, Mag 3 scale 10 stun, single target
  - Stun + Boost Range = 14s recharge, 60ft range, Mag 2 scale 10 stun + Mag 1 scale 6 stun, single targets
  - Stun + Power Boost = 90s recharge, 7ft range, Mag 2 scale 5 stun + Mag 1 Scale 2.5 stun, AoE (10 targets)
  - Stun + Power Boost + Boost Range = 90s recharge, 60ft range, Mag 2 scale 5 stun + Mag 1 Scale 2.5 stun, AoE (10 targets)

Total Focus
- Cast time reduced from 3.3 seconds to 2.53 seconds

Ice Manipulation

Chilblain
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Frigid Protection
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)
Shiver
- Half of the debuff now lasts 60 seconds (previously the entire debuff dropped off after 15 seconds, now only half of it does)
Frozen Aura
- This power now inflicts damage and accepts damage enhancements and sets
- Sleep changed from Mag 2, Scale 20 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 20 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 12 (stacking)

Martial Combat

Ki Push
- Damage lowered from scale 1.32 to scale 1.0
- Recharge lowered from 6s to 4s
Reaction Time
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)
Throw Sand
- Stun changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Mental Manipulation

Subdual
- The range of this power is not being adjusted and will remain at 80ft as increased range is part of the secondary effects for Mental / Psionic powers
Telekinetic Thrust
- Recharge increased from 6 seconds to 16s
- Cast Time reduced from 2.07s to 1.67s
- Damage Scale increased from 0.8 to 2.92 (per the standard damage formulas)
- Moved from T3 to T9 (see Power Order Changes below)
World of Confusion
- Moved from T7 to T3 (see Power Order Changes below)
Scare
- Moved from T8 to T7 (see Power Order Changes below)
Psychic Shockwave
- Moved from T7 to T8 (see Power Order Changes below)
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Subdual
Mind Probe
World of Confusion (moved down from from T7)
Psychic Scream
Concentration
Drain Psyche
Scare (moved down from T8)
Psychic Shockwave (moved down from T9)
Telekinetic Thrust (moved up from T3)

Ninja Training

Immobilizing Dart
- Toxic damage over time doubled to bring it in line with other single target immobilize powers
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Sting of the Wasp
- Recharge increased from 5s to 10s
- Damage increased accordingly (per the standard damage formulas)
Choking Powder
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Shinobi
- No longer grants a damage buff outside of stealth
- Now grants the caster a 20% chance to inflict lethal criticals with every attack
  - The amount of damage will be based on the recharge time of the power
  - Usually this will be 80% of the standard damage formula
  - This bonus damage ignores enhancements and damage buffs
- Now provides movement buffs similar to Scrapper's Shinobi-Iri
  - See note on Movement Buffs in "Other Powers Changes" for more info
- Christmas has been cancelled, this power will no longer cause random gift opening animations to trigger
- Fixed pets gaining the critical proc
The Lotus Drops
- Recharge decreased from 28s to 14s
  - This was much higher than intended
Blinding Powder
- Sleep magnitude increased from 2 to 3
- Chance for Confuse mag increased from 2 to 3
- Chance for Confuse scale lowered from scale 20 to scale 8
- Accuracy lowered to 0.8 (to match other AoE CC powers)
Golden Dragonfly
- Recharge increased from 12s to 20s
- Damage increased accordingly (per the standard damage formulas)

Plant Manipulation

Entangle
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Skewer
- Cast Time reduced from 1.67s to 1.17s
Strangler
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Spore Cloud
- Moved from T9 to T5 (see Power Order Changes below)
- No longer grants a Defiance buff
  - As a toggle, it never should've given one
- -Regeneration debuff now scales with player level
  - -59.32% at level 20
  - -80.33% at level 40
  - -90.83% at level 50
Wild Fortress
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
- VFX will now stay active as long as the toggle is active
Vines
- Recharge time reduced from 180s to 90s (the same as live)
- Hold effect has been adjusted:
  - 50% chance to hold foes at scale 8 mag 2 + scale 5 mag 1
  - Foes not held in this way will be held for scale 1.5 mag 2 and immobilized for 17.88s (not enhanceable)
Thorn Burst
- Moved from T5 to T9 (see Power Order Changes below)
- Cast time reduced from 3s to 2s
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Entangle
Skewer
Strangler
Toxins
Spore Cloud (moved down from T9)
Wild Fortress
Ripper
Vines
Thorn Burst (moved up from T5)

Temporal Manipulation

Time Wall
- Now inflicts scale 1 energy damage to bring it in line with other single target immobilize powers
- Now accepts Damage enhancements and sets
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Aging Touch
- Base damage slightly reduced from 1.32 to 1.02
  - This power was doing more damage than intended
Time Stop
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Temporal Healing
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
Future Pain
- Recharge increased from 11s to 18s
- Endurance cost increased from 11.024 to 16.848
- Damage increased accordingly (by about 52.8%, per the standard damage formulas)
End of Time
- Recharge decreased from 22s to 17s
- Endurance cost decreased from 20.176 to 16.016
- Damage decreased from scale 1.552 to 1.232 (per the standard damage formulas)
Time Shift
- Stun changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Architect Entertainment

AE versions of these powersets have been updated with missing powers and to match current power effects

Blackbird71 · October 31, 2020

20 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

Gymnastics (Replaces Agility)
Gymnastics and Agility have been merged into a new toggle power

Provides knockback protection, a 1.75% defence buff, a recharge bonus, a movement speed buff and some slow / mez protection

If you previously had Agility, you now have Gymnastics

Now grants a +jump bonus
See note on Movement Buffs in "Other Powers Changes" for more info

OK, starting with the good stuff. Thanks for making this work! Gymnastics now keeps it's flavor and functionality without conflicting with CJ, etc. Given what was said about this before, I'm impressed you were able to pull it off.

23 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

Tactical Arrow

Electrified Net Arrow
Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Range adjusted from 50ft to 60ft

Endurance cost increased from 5.2 to 7.8 to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers

Ice Arrow
Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation ST mez powers

Recharge increased from 12s to 16s

Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)

Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)

This part I'm less enthusiastic about. The feedback has been that the range on both ENW and Ice Arrow is too short, especially given the range support nature of the set (no melee powers). I'll be honest, to only slightly boost ENW up to IA's 60ft almost feels like an insult. This decision is especially confusing in light of the following:

25 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

Mental Manipulation

Subdual
The range of this power is not being adjusted and will remain at 80ft as increased range is part of the secondary effects for Mental / Psionic powers

This indicates that it's perfectly possible and reasonable for a blaster secondary to have an 80ft immobilize, especially when range is a key aspect of the power set. Whether intended or not, I would submit that range has also been a characteristic of the Tactical Arrow set, and should be considered as such.

Chris24601 · October 31, 2020

60’ for the Electronet Arrow is at least a step in the right direction, though I agree with the sentiment that the longer 80’ is a staple characteristic of the set.

60’ at least will require only one 50+5 Range IO to mostly fix (and I’ll be testing what using two while exemping down looks like shortly) which in my rebuild gets me my increased speed from the Thunderstrike set back which combined with only needing two 50+5’s cuts the expense of the rebuild considerably (from 20 enhancement boosters to 10) and since you can slot two before getting close to the ED diminishing returns there may be a balance point on slotting two range into ENA and Ice that will put them at roughly the same range as your main attacks even with superior blaster’s wrath and additional +range set bonuses.

I’d still rather see a reduced mez duration (and I’ll note that Trick Arrow’s Net Arrow had it’s duration reduced and I’m not sure where that puts it’s duration relative to ENA due to various AT scalars) with the range maintained at 80’ simply because there’s less incentive for Tac Arrow players to search for workarounds that render the intended nerf irrelevant.

Honestly? The main nerf for me looks to be to my influence account as it’s pushing me from being okay with mostly mid-range sets to looking at higher end sets to recover as many lost set bonuses as possible.

The type of nerfs I think you’d really want for over performing sets would be ones where the player either does nothing in reaction or, at most (due to the change with Acrobatics/Gymnastics/Oil Slick Arrow) uses a respec to fix some slotting issues, but doesn’t try to completely rebuild their character to get around the changes.

In other words, changes where the outcome can mostly be predicted (i.e. most everyone accepts the dev selected nerfs without other changes) vs. changes that produce even more uneven results (major changes in slotting with each player taking a different course ranging from shelving, accepting as is, sacrificing other areas to counteract the nerf or upgrading the quality of their slotting to more expensive sets than they currently were settling for).

Rejolt · October 31, 2020

Got all kinds of happy to see Ninjitsu movement for blasters... but the lack of stacking with CJ, Ninja run, etc muted that somewhat.

Transferred over my psi/nin scrap and I still have stacking of ninja run and Shinobi-lri for maxed run/jump. If it’s suppressed eventually... blargh. It won’t be /delete toon but it’ll get mothballed

edit: I take that back - apparently a glitch of running/toggled on in copy from live. It is suppressed

Running speed is 92.5 mph, jumping 78 on live.

73.7 & 78.14 on beta with nin run off

67.88 & 72.45 with nin run on

(Shinobi was still running)

blargh,I say! Blargh!

EDIT: Jump height - live 80 feet, Beta with just shinobi - 54, With shin and NRun on 46...

Edited October 31, 2020 by Rejolt

Random Robot · October 31, 2020

On 10/24/2020 at 1:41 PM, Jimmy said:

Field Operative
This power now has a No Fade customization them
Selecting this theme will stop the power from fading the player body

This is a great addition, I'd love to see similar nofx options for all other stealth powers that make the character transparent.

Keen · October 31, 2020

On 10/24/2020 at 8:41 AM, Jimmy said:

Field Operative

This power now has a No Fade customization them
Selecting this theme will stop the power from fading the player body

Thank you so much for this! Hoping that eventually other Stealth powers get the same treatment (like Hide for Stalkers maybe 😄 )

Recovery8 · October 31, 2020

60 isn't good enough, seconded and thirded to what others have said. Tac arrow has no melee powers and the 80ft or bust is just what the set needs to keep it's identity. If mental can have it, so can tac.

Eva Destruction · October 31, 2020

1 hour ago, Jimmy said:

Force of Thunder

Moved from T6 to T8 (see Power Order Changes below)

No longer provides a sustain buff

Stun changed from Mag 2, Scale 8 to:
Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)

Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Recharge reduced from 90s to 30s (the live value)

Stun chance reduced from 100% to 50% (the live value)

Radius reduced to 15ft (the live value)

Knockback chance increased from 30% to 100%

If you had Lightning Field, it will now be replaced by Force of Thunder and keep the enhancements from Lightning Field

So it looks like it's getting back the utility it had on live, minus the sustain. Now that the 30-second recharge is back, what is the reasoning for keeping the sustain in Dynamo?

1 hour ago, Jimmy said:

Wild Fortress

VFX will now stay active as long as the toggle is active

Can we please make this a customization option? Not everybody wants the VFX to stay active.

glycerine102 · October 31, 2020

Dynamo's short help lists the following:

Toggle: PBAoE, Minor DoT(Energy), Foe -End

While the detailed info on the power and enhancements screen only lists the Recovery and Regeneration components.

+112.50%% regeneration rate on self Ignores buffs and enhancements unresistable

+112.50%% regeneration rate on self unresistable

+100.18%% recovery rate on self unresistable

I did put the whole Power Transfer set in there which is why the recovery is showing enhanced values.

The endurance drain component from Lightning Field is there as well. I figured I would mention this since the patch notes only state:

Quote

Is now the sustain power in the set (along with the existing damage aura component)

I do see in the combat log it is draining enemy endurance

2020-10-31 11:24:06 You hit Council Empire Archon with your Dynamo for 19.72 points of Energy damage.
2020-10-31 11:24:06 You hit Council Empire Archon with your Dynamo for 7.2 points of their endurance.

Captain Powerhouse · October 31, 2020

Force of thunder will remain separate from the sustain because the players should never be in a position where they need to spend their AoE CC just to refresh or restart their sustain buff, the power shoulf be free to be used as needed to control foes.

That was the reason for it to be split from the sustain.

Apotheosis · October 31, 2020

Thank you for reapplying the +Jump to Gymnastics, losing that aspect felt like losing a part of the powerset's identity and flavor.

Chris24601 · October 31, 2020

1 hour ago, Keen said:

Thank you so much for this! Hoping that eventually other Stealth powers get the same treatment (like Hide for Stalkers maybe 😄 )

This will be enough to get me to re-roll what was supposed to be a Dual Pistols/Devices Blasters, but not being able to see my costume at all due to the sustain led me to drop and re-roll with other secondaries a couple times before ending up switching ATs entirely to a Traps/DP Defender.

Honestly? Half the problem with some of the sets isn't the mechanics, its the god-awful graphic choices (which, to be fair, were not typically made by our current devs) like making all your costume choices worthless because you're perpetually invisible even to yourself unless you deliberately debuff yourself for purely cosmetic reasons.

Nemu · October 31, 2020

1 hour ago, Captain Powerhouse said:

That was the reason for it to be split from the sustain.

The ideal treatment for FOT for me would be to make FOT a toggle sustain with the KB component as a click on a 30 second timer, similar to speed of sound/jaunt or mystic flight/translocation. But I can understand the argument that now you have to split slotting priorities in that power so it's not a game breaking change to have Dynamo in it's place as the new sustain.

I'm very happy to see FOT reverted to it's former glory, even if it is a late game pick now. I would love to switch that with power sink in the order sequence, since most blaster builds won't really need an extra endurance recovery tool early game, but I'll take what I can get.

Regarding the blaster AoE holds on the 180 second timer, I'm glad to see those recharge times tuned back down to 90 seconds. That will make them more appealing for players and not just as set mules.

Thank you for taking in the feedback!

👍👍👍

Vanden · October 31, 2020

2 hours ago, Captain Powerhouse said:

Force of thunder will remain separate from the sustain because the players should never be in a position where they need to spend their AoE CC just to refresh or restart their sustain buff, the power shoulf be free to be used as needed to control foes.

That was the reason for it to be split from the sustain.

Not to keep hammering on this topic, but couldn't the same argument be made for splitting Energize into a toggle and click like I suggested earlier? As the power is now, it's almost impossible to actually use the heal component of Energize to heal yourself because you need to click the power whenever it's up to get the sustain effect.

Chris24601 · October 31, 2020

Okay, so I ran some numbers in test including the effects of set bonuses

- For comparison, the primary 80' range becomes 88' with a +10% range set bonus (ex. Superior Blaster's Wrath) or 96' with +20% (Superior Blaster's Wrath + two Barrage +5% set bonuses).

- The 60' range with no slotting for range becomes 66' with +10% range set bonus and 72' with a +20% set bonus.

- The numbers below are for 1 and 2 slotting 50+5 Range IO's into the powers with no set bonus, +10% set bonus and +20% set bonus).

Level 32-50

1 IO: 79.13' (none), 85.13' (+10%), 91.13' (+20%)

2 IO: 93.94' (none), 99.94' (+10%), 105.94 (+20%)

Level 29

1 IO: 77.08' (none), 83.08' (+10%), 89.08' (+20%)

2 IO: 92.31' (none), 98.31' (+10%), 104.31' (+20%)

Level 19

1 IO: 69.93' (none), 75.93' (+10%), 81.03' (+20%)

2 IO: 79.85' (none), 85.85' (+10%), 91.95' (+20%)

Level 7 (lowest possible via Oroboros)

1 IO: 63.17' (none), 69.17' (+10%), 75.17' (+20%)

2 IO: 66.35' (none), 72.35' (+10%), 78.35' (+20%)

From my observations... one IO + Superior Blaster's Wrath keeps you within 5' of your primary attacks (and above 80' overall) down to level 29. Two IO's + Superior Blaster's Wrath keeps you within 3' of your primary attacks (and above 80' overall) down to level 19.

If you spend a lot of time exemping down to do Posi, Synapse and Yin then if these ranges go through I'd recommend two maxed range IO's in the powers. If you only rarely drop below 29 then a single range IO in each will mostly fix the range differential unless you're the type who sidles right up to the edge of max range and doesn't open with ENA or Ice.

Another aspect to consider if getting the ranges as equal as possible is the goal might be slotting two basic 50's in place of 50+5's since that would put your numbers between the slightly too short 1 maxed IO and the slightly too long 2 maxed IOs.

So, I'm still going to say this would be a LOT less complicated if the ranges were just 80' and other things were nerfed, precisely because I don't think the goal of these changes is for Tac Arrow players to start doing in-depth build analysis for smoothing out differential ranges with minimal losses to set bonuses.

If you want to consistently reduce performance, nerf something that's harder to compensate for. For example, right now it is very easy to slot the ENA for damage because its base immobilize duration is more than long enough for blasters to lock down a mob until you've dealt with everything else.

If you cut the base duration in half though, now there's a meaningful choice between slotting for damage (making it basically another T1 attack with a short duration immobilize) or slotting for immobilize (half the damage of your primary damage slotted attacks, but control back around the live base range values) and whichever way you slot it, you've got a fairly substantial nerf to its performance.

zenblack · October 31, 2020

4 hours ago, Jimmy said:

Wild Fortress

Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds

No longer shows floating numbers by default

A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers

VFX will now stay active as long as the toggle is active

The VFX option added by the patch only affects the original version, not the color tintable or show floaters. My thinking on this would be to allow color on (since if you are customizing it you probably want it to show) while leaving original as the invis one since you can recreate the normal green spread if you want in color tintable.

Edited October 31, 2020 by zenblack

Blackbird71 · October 31, 2020

2 hours ago, Chris24601 said:

Okay, so I ran some numbers in test including the effects of set bonuses

- For comparison, the primary 80' range becomes 88' with a +10% range set bonus (ex. Superior Blaster's Wrath) or 96' with +20% (Superior Blaster's Wrath + two Barrage +5% set bonuses).

- The 60' range with no slotting for range becomes 66' with +10% range set bonus and 72' with a +20% set bonus.

- The numbers below are for 1 and 2 slotting 50+5 Range IO's into the powers with no set bonus, +10% set bonus and +20% set bonus).

Level 32-50

1 IO: 79.13' (none), 85.13' (+10%), 91.13' (+20%)

2 IO: 93.94' (none), 99.94' (+10%), 105.94 (+20%)

Level 29

1 IO: 77.08' (none), 83.08' (+10%), 89.08' (+20%)

2 IO: 92.31' (none), 98.31' (+10%), 104.31' (+20%)

Level 19

1 IO: 69.93' (none), 75.93' (+10%), 81.03' (+20%)

2 IO: 79.85' (none), 85.85' (+10%), 91.95' (+20%)

Level 7 (lowest possible via Oroboros)

1 IO: 63.17' (none), 69.17' (+10%), 75.17' (+20%)

2 IO: 66.35' (none), 72.35' (+10%), 78.35' (+20%)

From my observations... one IO + Superior Blaster's Wrath keeps you within 5' of your primary attacks (and above 80' overall) down to level 29. Two IO's + Superior Blaster's Wrath keeps you within 3' of your primary attacks (and above 80' overall) down to level 19.

If you spend a lot of time exemping down to do Posi, Synapse and Yin then if these ranges go through I'd recommend two maxed range IO's in the powers. If you only rarely drop below 29 then a single range IO in each will mostly fix the range differential unless you're the type who sidles right up to the edge of max range and doesn't open with ENA or Ice.

Another aspect to consider if getting the ranges as equal as possible is the goal might be slotting two basic 50's in place of 50+5's since that would put your numbers between the slightly too short 1 maxed IO and the slightly too long 2 maxed IOs.

So, I'm still going to say this would be a LOT less complicated if the ranges were just 80' and other things were nerfed, precisely because I don't think the goal of these changes is for Tac Arrow players to start doing in-depth build analysis for smoothing out differential ranges with minimal losses to set bonuses.

If you want to consistently reduce performance, nerf something that's harder to compensate for. For example, right now it is very easy to slot the ENA for damage because its base immobilize duration is more than long enough for blasters to lock down a mob until you've dealt with everything else.

If you cut the base duration in half though, now there's a meaningful choice between slotting for damage (making it basically another T1 attack with a short duration immobilize) or slotting for immobilize (half the damage of your primary damage slotted attacks, but control back around the live base range values) and whichever way you slot it, you've got a fairly substantial nerf to its performance.

The problem with slotting for range is that it removes the option to slot a full set for bonuses. Depending on the sets used, this can have a significant impact on a /TA blaster's overall defense numbers and strategy. So either way, the reduced range impacts /TA survivability.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Blackbird71

midnox · October 31, 2020

Could you change the animation for Eagle Claw to something from Kinetic Melee? I realize that would require renaming it, but that's okay. Just an aesthetic thing.

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