What Is Your Travel Power Do You Shoehorn In?

[Erratic1]

From time to time a character concept comes to mind where none of the travel powers really fits. As example, Captain America conceptually is the, "Maximum human potential"  character and humans do not be default fly, leap blocks at a time, run faster than speeding cars, nor teleport. If Cap sees an explosion on the horizon he's going to have to get there by mundane means.

 

That's all fine in a comic book but practically in CoH not having a travel power is disadvantageous in the extreme. Of course one could make use of the P2W vendor and grab a flying gizmo but is there a power you shoehorn in?

Edited September 9, 2021 by Erratic1
Poll options disappeared

[Dona Eis Requiem]

If you're being specific to a character that is Cap-esque, I would say Combat Jumping wouldn't be out of the question. 

Because many comic book groups of supers has a gadgeteer at their disposal:

You could also use costume pieces: Rocket Boots /Piston Boots/ Backpack options etc. to help fit the concept in order to use

an actual travel power. I doubt we'll ever see a vehicles as a mode of transport so creative reasoning is really the only option for those.

[A Cat]

20 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

From time to time a character concept comes to mind where none of the travel powers really fits. As example, Captain America conceptually is the, "Maximum human potential"  character and humans do not be default fly, leap blocks at a time, run faster than speeding cars, nor teleport. If Cap sees an explosion on the horizon he's going to have to get there by mundane means.

 

That's all fine in a comic book but practically in CoH not having a travel power is disadvantageous in the extreme. Of course one could make use of the P2W vendor and grab a flying gizmo but is there a power you shoehorn in?

For my natural human character, I use the p2w hoverboard and sprint+athletic run. Another thing to consider is Infiltration in the stealth pool. It's not the fastest, but good enough, at around 60mph. Unless they keep sending you too Nerva. 

[Miss Magical]

24 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

That's all fine in a comic book but practically in CoH not having a travel power is disadvantageous in the extreme.

The difference is not that great:

 

Sprint + athletic run + synapse proc and 2x performance shifter in Stamina = 62 mph.

 

Unslotted super speed = 71 mph.

 

I often have a travel power for concept, however the only content I have found where travel powers offer a really large advantage is speedrun TF’s. For those, super speed is ideal (for the stealth, and because leaping does not navigate small tunnels well, while flight is too easily grounded by Arachnos web grenades).

[Erratic1]

9 minutes ago, Miss Magical said:

The difference is not that great:

 

 

Not been to zones which require verticality recently?  😛

[Snarky]

you left out Fly.  and superjump for that matter.  travel power elitist.

 

i use fly on almost everyone.

[Erratic1]

10 minutes ago, Snarky said:

you left out Fly.  and superjump for that matter.  travel power elitist.

 

i use fly on almost everyone.

 

I assure you they were there when I submitted the poll.  In alphabetical order for the base travel powers even. 

 

Hmmm...how to edit? 

 

Okay, seemed to have gotten it fixed. 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Erratic1

[Apparition]

I always take Fly, Hover, Evasive Maneuvers, and either Super Speed or Speed of Sound on every single character I make.  I prefer Fly, but many of my friends are speed runners, so I also take Super Speed or Speed of Sound to keep up with them.

[Luminara]

1 minute ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Not been to zones which require verticality recently?  😛

 

I've been through every zone in the game, every map in the game, with nothing but Hurdle and Combat Jumping.  With set bonuses and two level 50+5 Jump IOs in Hurdle, you can hit 63.31 mph Jump Speed and Jump Height of 32', easily enough reach anything with a little practice (with the exception of the Top Dog badge.  that is, after several years of testing and hundreds of attempts, the only badge i've found which can't be acquired without either a travel power or someone teleporting your character).

 

 

Shadow Shard, PvP zones, Browntown, Shinyville, I've been everywhere with builds like this.

 

These days, though, I just take Infiltration on most of my characters.  Eight years without travel powers is enough, I'm moving on to other challenges.

[Erratic1]

I will mention that I just (last night) decided to start yet another scrapper with Street Justice and  Ninjitsu as his powersets. Natural origin would seem the obvious choice but I decided to go with Mutant instead, making his ability to read people's physical reactions reflexively--he knows what you're going to do from that first flinch and reacts accordingly both offensively and defensively. With a mutant background I could really justify any travel power but the powersets themselves really do lean towards the Natural origin and I really considered getting him a hoverboard instead of taking one of the pool travel powers. 

[Erratic1]

6 minutes ago, Luminara said:

 

I've been through every zone in the game, every map in the game, with nothing but Hurdle and Combat Jumping.  With set bonuses and two level 50+5 Jump IOs in Hurdle, you can hit 63.31 mph Jump Speed and Jump Height of 32', easily enough reach anything with a little practice (with the exception of the Top Dog badge.  that is, after several years of testing and hundreds of attempts, the only badge i've found which can't be acquired without either a travel power or someone teleporting your character).

 

 

Yeah, but you had to use IOs and 50+ at that. If you're not getting by well until you're IO'd out using level 50+ enhancers, I'd call that disadvantageous since you went dozens of levels without.

 

I did without travel powers on a character or two back on Live. Typically it meant taking weird routes to get places and always arriving after anyone else in a group was already in the mission. 

 

Of course the arriving late for groups bit is less meaningful if you primarily solo (which is what I did with one of the characters I had without travel powers). 😄

 

[Yomo Kimyata]

I was born a Combat Jumper and I will die a Combat Jumper.

[cranebump]

My most active incarnate is conceptually a normal with guns & arrows. He has athletic run+sprint+whatever the speed bump is from AR/Tac Arrow. I purchase jet packs for when I need to fly, and tend to use p2w jump pack a lot when traveling. It’s no SS or SJ, but serves. Are usually don’t eat any of these when I’m on teams because of all the team transports and his own mish TP power. 

[Luminara]

9 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

Yeah, but you had to use IOs and 50+ at that. If you're not getting by well until you're IO'd out using level 50+ enhancers, I'd call that disadvantageous since you went dozens of levels without.

 

The way the game used to work, travel power speeds increased as you leveled up  On that character, who was leveled before the travel power update, my Jump Speed was comparable to or above Fly Speed at every level from around 12 onward.

 

In the game as it is now, after the travel power adjustments in the last update, yes, it would be at a disadvantage at times.  But not as much as it seems, unless it's a strictly numerical comparison (and even then, not always, because vendor jet packs/void skiff/rocket board still have the old Fly Speed limit).  People, even now, when arriving at a mission can be as simple and rapid as one click, tend to spend as much time lollygagging as they do actually playing.  They stand outside the last mission until someone reminds them that the next mission is up.  They stop on the way to a mission to change a costume piece.  They take a few minutes to train up to the next level.  They go shopping.  They go AFK for a smoke, or to walk the dog.  They stop, and do not-mission things.  "Be there in a minute, guys, I'm just <insert activity here>."  Speed running every mission and mass teleporting teams door to door aren't the norm, they're the exception.  Most people still play this game as it was intended, as a casual-friendly social MMORPG.  They just don't care if you're showing up at the mission door first or last, whether you're using a vendor jet pack as your travel power or rocking SS and SJ and Teleport all in the same build.

 

If it matters to you, then take a travel power.  It doesn't matter to most of the people you'll meet and play with.

 

16 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

I did without travel powers on a character or two back on Live. Typically it meant taking weird routes to get places and always arriving after anyone else in a group was already in the mission.

 

I never arrived last.  I typically arrived third.  I couldn't allow myself to because I had to prove that my no travel power characters with Trick Arrows were just as good as everyone else.  I made it my business to know how to go everywhere and reach everything; to reach any destination with the fewest zone transitions and shortest direct path; to get moving the instant the next mission was set; to go all the way to the top of maps, and navigate every maze of trees or sewers; to find every mechanical quirk and use it.

[roleki]

I'm a big fan of Speed of Sound; 99% of the time it makes no thematic sense whatsoever, but dang if it isn't convenient to run here and there but still be able to pop 200' in any direction on a moment's notice.

[Spaghetti Betty]

Super Jump is extremely convenient for me since I take Combat Jumping on all toons. Sometimes I just go without. Sprint + Athletic Run is fine on its own with some set bonuses stacked on top.

[SuperPlyx]

I'm of the SS+CJ crowd. Recently played a toon without CJ and boy do realize how much that power helps you when you don't have it.

 

 

Went to get the Triumphant badge recently for the Accolade but did not have a jetpack. Could not get up there , had to go get a jetpack. 

[Miss Magical]

3 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Not been to zones which require verticality recently?  😛

Combat jumping and jetpack solve those. Combat jumping is deceptively good at scaling heights. Unless a surface is completely smooth (eg. wall), you can often just walk or hop all the way up with combat jumping. Try it out on eg. some of the hills in Cimmerora sometime.

[drdread]

Typically, I've leaned more towards Fly or Mystic Flight.

 

However, Infiltration is quickly becoming my new favorite.

[Mezmera]

If you're going a Cap-esque character yes what others are saying that CJ + Athletic Run + Sprint is your movement of choice.  Typically I'll only take one travel and usually it's Mighty Leap from the Force of Will pool.  

[Greycat]

Athletic run.

Or buy a jetpack.

Or just realize you don't typically see "go go public transport" in movies/comics and take whatever travel power you want as "what happens between panels to shorten the boring parts."

[Neiska]

I usually try to fit in fly out of the travel powers, because I use it for more than just getting from point A to B, there are some places where vertical is a concern as well.

 

But there is one power I always have on my tray, regardless of AT, Powers, Build, Origin, or Inf Investment. So long as they are level two, I always always 100% of the time without fail have WALK on my tray.

 

For RP purposes. It looks weird/ungainly even just flat running around. 

[Neiska]

15 minutes ago, Greycat said:

Athletic run.

Or buy a jetpack.

Or just realize you don't typically see "go go public transport" in movies/comics and take whatever travel power you want as "what happens between panels to shorten the boring parts."

 

Psst... I will share with you the horrible horrible truth of it. The secret of "Fast Travel", but you gotta kiss elbow promise not to tell anyone. Itsa S-E-C-R-E-T!

 

Okay, here we go... this is what "really" happens when you fast travel -

 

 

[Mezmera]

21 minutes ago, Greycat said:

Athletic run.

Or buy a jetpack.

Or just realize you don't typically see "go go public transport" in movies/comics and take whatever travel power you want as "what happens between panels to shorten the boring parts."

 

If what I think you're suggesting is that we need a new pool power that incorporates all of the activities within these comics good idea!  In this pool we would need a travel "Let's Get This Party Started" that'll just fast forward us to the action sequences which we can just port over from LFG, then we'd need a monolog type power and eventually a plot hole type power in this pool.  

[Coyotedancer]

None of the Above....

 

(I play Oranbegan magi. They all have Sorcery. 😝 Is its Mystic Flight really just Fly? Is it Teleport? Both? Neither? I dunno... but it's fun. )

 

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Coyotedancer