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Focused Feedback: Earth Manipulation


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1 hour ago, FutureTails21 said:

I never payed any attention to any of the melee attacks cause I never pick any melee attacks on a blaster, but I guess I would say remove the hold on Seismic Smash, and replace Salt Crystals with Fossilize.

Seismic is iconic to the set, removing it's hold is removing it's 'oomph'. ST holds dont serve as well as AoE. A sleep would allow a blaster to control large mobs solo. 

 

And if you never take any melee ever on a blaster... I'd dare to say you aren't playing a blaster right. 

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14 hours ago, Wavicle said:

They aren’t going to give it two single target holds I don’t think…

Sonic Manipulation says hello!

 

I'm intrigued by salt crystals. Now that sleeps are autohit it might be useful as a tool to detoggle annoying mob powers like darkest night or hurricane. It's the perfect place for the fortunata hypnosis placate proc, the fact that it takes -def sets is just gravy on top.

 

It won't make it into a mainstream meta build but it could be a fun off-meta power to play with.

 

I wouldn't say no if it got replaced by fault though, fault is fun, more fun than salt crystals. Blasters need more KU.

Edited by Nemu
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Liberty, Torchbearer, Excelsior, Everlasting

Jezebel Delias

Level 50 Fire/Elec/Mace Blaster

 

I am the Inner Circle!

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Well, if you are talking 100% chance then no, Earsplitter has a 75% chance for a mag 3 hold and that's still pretty high. I don't think it's game breaking to have 2 100% holds in one set especially if you consider the leveling progression and how far these powers are apart from each other. An ice/electric/dark/dual pistols blaster can already use their hold + the mag2 hold from certain blaster secondaries early game as mitigation, having a 100% hold at level 38 doesn't change that.

 

Having said that I'd rather not have a mag 2 hold. I'd like Earth Mastery to have a bit more smashy AoE goodness, 

 

Can Tremor also have an alternate animation, like the one atom smasher has?

 

Build up seems generic, can we do something like "strength of stone" where you get a reduced damage buff but add additional smashing or lethal damage to all attacks, kinda like toxins or envenomed blades from dominator Martial Assault? I like the idea of free rocks with all attacks. Who's with me?

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Liberty, Torchbearer, Excelsior, Everlasting

Jezebel Delias

Level 50 Fire/Elec/Mace Blaster

 

I am the Inner Circle!

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Both Seismic Blast and Earth Manip come with some hefty screenshake, Earth Manip moreso, which is not in and of itself a bad thing.

 

However, there is at least a small percentage of the playerbase, myself included, who have to turn screenshake off because it causes nausea or headaches.

 

The problem here is that all the camera options are under 'Mouse' for some reason. I have to lead people to find it on the /help channel fairly regularly, and I suspect that will increase with i27p3's release. Can we break the camera options, including Disable/Enable Screen Shake out into a 'Camera' section in the options?

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On 11/7/2021 at 5:08 PM, Sejanus said:

Seismic is iconic to the set, removing it's hold is removing it's 'oomph'. ST holds dont serve as well as AoE. A sleep would allow a blaster to control large mobs solo. 

 

And if you never take any melee ever on a blaster... I'd dare to say you aren't playing a blaster right. 

Why would I not be playing Blaster right if I don't pick any melee powers? My playstyle is to play at range at all times and dealing high amounts of damage and never had any problems. There really isn't a right or wrong way to play Blasters

Edited by FutureTails21
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On 11/8/2021 at 8:07 PM, FutureTails21 said:

Why would I not be playing Blaster right if I don't pick any melee powers? My playstyle is to play at range at all times and dealing high amounts of damage and never had any problems. There really isn't a right or wrong way to play Blasters

Nothing wrong with an all ranged blaster build; I have a few. But you’re still missing out on a treat 🙂 
 

How much you’re missing out depends on the set. /Dark and /Mental are the sets where you’re most obviously being pretty damn silly if you never melee. Probably /Sonic and /Martial and /Atomic too. Then kinda /Electric and /Fire and /Ice to some extent too...

 

But yeah, as long as you’re using the sustain power and the build up power, you don’t *have* to do much else with blaster secondaries..

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 Cross-posting from the Seismic Blast thread:

 

Jumping in with my anecdotal feedback on Seismic Blast (and Earth Manipulation):

 

Short and sweet: Amazing sets, both visually and mechanically. I don't play Blaster very much, I am more of a Corruptor sort of player. The added effects (looking at Knockback/Down specifically) add SO MUCH survivability to these sets. Drawback is currently my own learning curve, I don't understand the mechanics well enough yet, lots of circles showing up in my tray around powers. This is not a fault (haha get it!) of the set, I just need to play it more to better understand it. I was able to enjoy Water Blast and Street Justice after a while, I know this will occur eventually for the Seismic Blast/ Earth Manipulation sets. 

 

Spoiler

1.JPG.0a82f8dc4a01c848456f3a5d0a138cd8.JPG

 

Seismic Blast

1. Testing on an average (subjectively), SO-only Level 50 build (Seismic Blast/Earth Manipulation), with NO RESISTANCE OR DEFENSE powers or set bonuses, fighting mobs in Peregrine Island. I was capable of juggling and manipulating enemy mobs in to the air with my knockback/down powers that they didn't even manage to set off attacks. The viability of knockback/down powers are so underrated in my experience (only played a Storm Defender) but holy smokes - why even bother with chasing resistance or defense when you can just glass canon everything with knockback/down powers. I've got every power from the set selected, I open with Build Up and Seismic Force, drop a knockback/down power (either Upthrust or Tremor) then Meteor (good lord this is such a beautiful power, so much props to the designer, please don't change a thing about it!!!). After this point it is just a matter of juggling the enemies or targeting the main threat in the mob (usually the boss, but maybe the mezzer or special enemy).

2. Power icons are excellent, I may sort of echo what folks have said about certain ones not visually explaining what they are, but at the same time, it is a new set that will be learned eventually so this isn't worth changing IMO. Tombstone is a great power, in fact, all of the powers in the set feel balanced damage-wise (on SOs). The problem isn't that there are a few good ones and the rest are terrible, its that they are all effective and I have to prioritize which to select (this is a great thing to have to do for a build!).

3. As I mentioned above, I am not adept at the set's mechanics just yet. It is not a set you can just pick up and know how to use effectively immediately (I am thinking Fire Blast as the easiest example of this). This is more along the lines of Water Blast and maybe even Psi Blast. That is not to say that is a bad thing, in fact I love the added layer to the set and I hope it continues to exist as such when ported to live.

 

Earth Manipulation

1. Fracture has a hella long recharge. 1 minute 30 seconds base for a power that does Mag 2 stun for 15 seconds? Okay, I am not a controller so that is fine. I can always build around recharge and +special effects to make this power worth it.

2. I dig the two toggles, Mud Bath and Beryl Crystals. Not much to say about them, but they are a welcomed change from the Absorb Shield I've seen a lot of added to recent Blaster secondary powers that feel too much like Sentinel armors. 

3. Seismic Smash is a very heavy hitting power. And it's nicely procable! And it has a Mag 3 hold! Wow!

 

Other

1. Why is there a ton of powers in the power window:

Spoiler

2.thumb.JPG.c2976ba4979ccf22f2d2cc6748632946.JPG

2. Not seeing the +33% accuracy in my combat attributes window from Beryl Crystals

Spoiler

3.thumb.JPG.dbbd2ffb9fb02f13fda0375f274bceba.JPG

 

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I may have finally found a reason to play a Blaster and been here since issue 4. . .

Earth/Martial/Mace is RIDICULOUS. . . So much fun. . .

 

Okay, feedback time.  . .

Animations are great fun

Rock shards is definitely skippable

The long activation on meteor is a bit jarring at first. . . especially since other AoE powers dont seem to fire while waiting for the "big finish" - great animation and definitely feels unique but it is looooong

 

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On 11/11/2021 at 12:06 PM, arcane said:

Nothing wrong with an all ranged blaster build; I have a few. But you’re still missing out on a treat 🙂 
 

How much you’re missing out depends on the set. /Dark and /Mental are the sets where you’re most obviously being pretty damn silly if you never melee. Probably /Sonic and /Martial and /Atomic too. Then kinda /Electric and /Fire and /Ice to some extent too...

 

But yeah, as long as you’re using the sustain power and the build up power, you don’t *have* to do much else with blaster secondaries..

I'm just simply not a melee person. There really isn't anything that I'm missing out on if I don't enjoy using them no matter how good they are.

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2 hours ago, FutureTails21 said:

I'm just simply not a melee person. There really isn't anything that I'm missing out on if I don't enjoy using them no matter how good they are.

Might want to roll Sentinel then. All the range you want, not wasting power slots since there is no melee to take. 

 

Not using melee on a blaster is like making a PB and J with no J. You can, but why would you want to. 

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On 11/12/2021 at 8:58 PM, Sejanus said:

Might want to roll Sentinel then. All the range you want, not wasting power slots since there is no melee to take. 

 

Not using melee on a blaster is like making a PB and J with no J. You can, but why would you want to. 

I'm staying with Blaster. Not picking any melee powers. No need for me to change when I'm already good at what I do.

 

And I also just don't really like Sentinel all that much.

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  • City Council

Build 2 - Earth Manipulation

 

Earth Manipulation 

New Secondary Powerset for Blasters

 

You can control the forces of the Earth. You can manipulate earth and stone to defeat your foes. The crushing force of many Earth Powers can reduce a target's Defense, while most Stone attacks will knock foes off their feet.

  • EarthManip_StonePrison.png.33e9df63dd323703106deeef1e49fce5.png  Stone Prison  Ranged, Moderate DoT(Smash), Foe Immobilize, -DEF, -Fly
    • Immobilizes a single target within an earthy formation and deals some Smashing damage over time. Some more resilient foes may require multiple attacks to Immobilize. Stone Prison can also reduce a target's Defense.
    • Fix: Immobilize reduced to mag 3
  • EarthManip_HeavyMallet.png.e4fe21c408a3352852bc8f9d655b178b.png  Heavy Mallet  Melee, High DMG(Smashing), Knockback
    • Your control over the earth allows you to form a mallet of solid stone. This Stone Mallet deals high damage and can knock down weak foes.
  • EarthManip_SaltCrystals.png.7df27c7f3670579f1e72e643fd5467b6.png  Salt Crystals  PBAoE, Foe Sleep, -DEF
    • Attempts to encrust all nearby foes in a Pillar of Salt. The victims will remain encased within the salt for quite a while, but will automatically break free if attacked. Affected targets have reduced defense for a while, even if they break free.
    • This power is Auto-Hit. The power still requires a ToHit check to apply its -Defense Debuff.
  • EarthManip_BuildUp.png.e8dcb140330339b76823c1bed8d2b1b0.png  Build Up  Self +DMG, +To Hit
    • Greatly increases the amount of damage you deal for a few seconds, as well as slightly increases your chance to hit.
  • EarthManip_Tremor.png.f0063a6a17b18bb2d9385c4d8263c12a.png  Tremor  PBAoE, Light DMG(Smashing), Knockback
    • You can cause a localized earthquake immediately around you. This will deal moderate damage to every foe in melee range, while knocking them back.
    • Fix: Added ability to slot Blaster ATO sets.
  • EarthManip_MudBath.png.deb288ef79375660425315543775008f.png  Mud Bath  Toggle: PBAoE, -SPD, Self +Heal Over Time, +Recovery
    • While this power is active, you draw upon the geothermal power of the Earth to create a bubbling pool of hot mud around you. All foes in melee range will become snared and entrapped in the mud, slowing them down. You recover a small amount of health every few seconds while this power is active.
    • Fix: Removed ability to slot Blaster ATO sets.
    • Fix: No longer grants Defiance.
  • EarthManip_Beryl.png.f8b32e84f93351c1598f8269e9eef24e.png  Beryl Crystals  Toggle: Self Res(Confuse, Perception, ToHit), +Perception, Accuracy
    • Activating this power summons several rare Beryl Crystals to orbit around you. These Crystals can bring clarity of the mind and increase your Accuracy, Perception to see hidden foes, and grant resistance to Confusion and ToHit debuffs.
    • Fix: Beryl Crystals should now apply its +Acc strength correctly
    • Added IgnoreResistance flag to the +Acc effect
  • EarthManip_Fracture.png.f7ec0a3c6bae7fa7aa0e010aefd47120.png  Fracture  Ranged (Targeted AoE), Foe Disorient, -DEF
    • You can Fracture the ground around an enemy, disorienting all affected targets for a good while. You must be on the ground to activate this power.
  • EarthManip_SeismicSmash.png.41963c5e4880793eb2fcea5b61c80a66.png  Seismic Smash  Melee, Extreme DMG(Smashing), Foe Hold
    • This massive attack hits with all the force of the Earth itself. It deals tremendous amounts of damage and may Hold the target if they are not defeated outright.
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