Power replacements when powers get re-ordered

[carroto]

I'm wondering exactly how it works when powers are re-ordered.  What happens to existing characters?  For example Blaster Electrical Manipulation powers are getting re-ordered.  So what happens to existing characters when the issue gets released?  If I had a power at a specific tier does it just get directly swapped for the new power at the same tier?  So for example Lightning Field at tier 3 is being replaced with Build Up.  So if I want Build Up after I27 goes live, should I take Lightning Field now?

 

Just trying to work this out because I have an Elec/Elect Blaster currently at level 10 and I don't know what powers to pick as I'm leveling up.  Since we don't seem to get freespecs on HC even when major power changes are made I'd like to avoid having to respec if possible.  Not sure if I should avoid playing that Blaster or maybe don't train up until I27 drops.  Problem is that could be quite a while, and it would be strange to play with such a limited power and slot selection for very long.

[csr]

I don't think powers are re-ordered in existing builds since it would break many of them.  They've stated the replacements.  So my Fire/Elect Blaster will have Dynamo swapped in for Force of Thunder at level 20.  And Force of Thunder for Lightning Field at 38.  To get Build Up earlier than 16, where I took it, I'd have to respec.  Since it's not being swapped for a different power in the I27, it will simply stay where you took it.  If I wanted to I could respec Lightning Field up to level 4 right now, and it should become Force of Thunder in that slot, even though FT is not supposed to be available until level 35.

Edited November 1, 2020 by csr

[carroto]

13 hours ago, csr said:

To get Build Up earlier than 16, where I took it, I'd have to respec. 

Okay but if I took Lightning Field at level 4 and am currently level 10, what power do I have after I27 goes live?  In I26 I couldn't take Build Up until level 16, and Lightning Field doesn't exist anymore.  So what power do I have now?  Do I have Dynamo, the sustain, at level 10?  Seems like Lightning Field would have to be replaced with Build Up, even though the enhancements would make no sense.

[csr]

3 hours ago, carroto said:

Okay but if I took Lightning Field at level 4 and am currently level 10, what power do I have after I27 goes live?  In I26 I couldn't take Build Up until level 16, and Lightning Field doesn't exist anymore.  So what power do I have now?  Do I have Dynamo, the sustain, at level 10?  Seems like Lightning Field would have to be replaced with Build Up, even though the enhancements would make no sense.

The Patch Notes say Lightning Field will be replaced by Force of Thunder (the last line below).  I think their #1 concern is simply not breaking builds.  By that I don't mean screwing up your slotting or bonuses, but actually breaking them so they don't work.  So they just swap power-for-power and don't worry about the order unless you respec.

 

•  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

[Chris24601]

Yeah, I can confirm from testing out Tac Arrow that it just swaps the current power for the replacement automatically and leaves the slotting unchanged, even if said slotting is useless for the power (ex. Acrobatics became Oil Slick Arrow three-slotted with Luck of the Gambler).

 

Changes this extensive always came with a freespec on Live and I’m hoping they will here too. I don’t care how cheap people think respecs are... they aren’t free and if you’re level 41 and out of respecs you’ve got a long wait for another free one so you’re down to running a gimped build until you can gather the resources for a paid one (i.e. run a respec trial or get enough merits/influence to buy a respec recipe).

 

I suspect the majority of players don’t do the market mini-game so getting 50 merits or however many million inf they go for on the auction house isn’t trivial.

 

These changes definitely call for granting everyone a freespec when it goes live.

[csr]

4 hours ago, Chris24601 said:

Yeah, I can confirm from testing out Tac Arrow that it just swaps the current power for the replacement automatically and leaves the slotting unchanged, even if said slotting is useless for the power (ex. Acrobatics became Oil Slick Arrow three-slotted with Luck of the Gambler).

 

Changes this extensive always came with a freespec on Live and I’m hoping they will here too. I don’t care how cheap people think respecs are... they aren’t free and if you’re level 41 and out of respecs you’ve got a long wait for another free one so you’re down to running a gimped build until you can gather the resources for a paid one (i.e. run a respec trial or get enough merits/influence to buy a respec recipe).

 

I suspect the majority of players don’t do the market mini-game so getting 50 merits or however many million inf they go for on the auction house isn’t trivial.

 

These changes definitely call for granting everyone a freespec when it goes live.

My /Elect won't need a respec, just re-slotting, but I will probably end up respec'ing 20+ toons off of I27 changes (mostly Blaster due to secondary changes, Energy Melee and the Teleport pool - the last will be elective though).  So even though they all have respecs unused, that runs up to a decent amount of value.

Edited November 2, 2020 by csr