Sell me on superspeed - why is running around the city the best?

[DougGraves]

Superspeed should be fast, has some invisibility, and now has phasing of some sort.  So is it okay, good, the best?

 

What makes superspeed special and what are fun tricks to do with it?

[Shenanigunner]

There's no question that the 3D travel powers are superior, if for no other reason because the city is so extravagantly 3D. Plus the zones that are egregiously 3D, such as Faultline, RWZ and even Boomtown.

 

But my main, from Live and HC, is a speeder and I love it. A little jump boosting gets over most hurdles, and TP or a jump pack gets the rest. I don't feel particularly limited when running him. I can get to mish doors as fast as any flier and most jumpers, and, well, I see the city while I'm doing it.

[Yomo Kimyata]

It’s a gateway drug to Whirlwind.

[arcane]

Super Speed’s advantages at both raw speed and stealth make it preferable for speeding indoor missions. For those that know how to get around the outdoors well enough, this nearly seals the deal. And then you account for it sharing a pool pick with Hasten and it becomes more obvious than ever.

 

I only have one character that definitely has no ground speed buff powers (incl. Speed of Sound, Ninjitsu stuff, Siphon Speed, etc.), and its “RP travel” (Mystic Flight in this case) was promptly made fun of when hanging out with the gang stealthing through the treespec map in the MLTF or the other Oranbega map in the Morty TF. And they were right to do so tbh.

Edited November 19, 2021 by arcane

[DrunkFlux]

Used to use super speed all the time, and still also use speed of sound on a few characters.  It's a powerset that tbh, requires good or even intimate knowledge of the maps your navigating to get the most out of it, placing it closer to "Difficult yet awesome" category, alongside teleport(which just needs some good bind setups tbh).

 

Only the shadow shard is impossible to efficiently navigate on superspeed, the vents are unreliable at best(doesn't help hurdle changes your jump physics which can sometimes mess with the vent launch trajectories).  Even Terra volta has an on-foot route to the power plant, although they are unfortunately somewhat or well hidden, which imo should be fixed if possible(like, make some proper roads to the place?  it makes no sense to have to jump through an obscure hole in a wall next to some ramps, or worst, concealed by some boxes).

 

But those are the only two examples I can think of where super speed isn't very useful(it's still slower than flight/super jump in terra volta, and the routes are way to long in shadow shard for ground travel+vents).  Even Grandville can be navigated with a little bit of practice villain side.

[Ukase]

So, my thoughts are that Super Speed is superior to all the travel powers, by far - until you head to the shadow shard where flight or teleport are almost mandatory, unless you're content to use the geysers, which are the fastest - once you learn where they are. But they are not often going to get you there in a direct path - unlike teleport or flight, which will. 

Teleport has come a long way, particularly in this latest patch. But, I still prefer Super Speed. But - I don't rely on SS all by itself. Depending on the character, I'll either do radios in Kings Row until the Safeguard mission for a raptor pack, or I'll just buy a jet pack from p2w. I bind my L key to the jet pack, and as I use my arrow keys to move in whatever direction, I'll toggle the L for the vertical when needed, then toggle it off when it's not. 

I have two characters that are opting to omit leadership in exchange for the teleport pool. But they'll get SS, too, at least until I get used to TP self, and find ways that are as fast as SS within the mission. TP Self may win out, but that will take some practice on my part first. 

But until then, SS is king. I can stealth just about any mission that only requires glowies for mission objectives. I can escape needless aggro zipping through higher level zones for badges. I really don't see a downside to it. Unlike flight which is just slow. And cumbersome in a mission map. (But I think you can get used to that, or I could, rather, if I tried to do so)
Still, the stealth, plus the speed...it's just more useful than SJ or flight. TP now has an effect which temporarily renders you unaffected, so you needn't worry about higher level mobs, provided you keep teleporting. Useful, but still not as good as SS if there's a phone call or some other real life issue that would cause you to stop looking at the screen. 

All of that said, the only reason to embrace it is to try something new, or to be stealthy. If you're one who likes to clear maps and gobble up all the xp you can stand, it may not be very useful to you. But it's definitely going to save you a little time between missions in almost all zones except the shadow shard, and perhaps Boomtown, Faultline, Mercy and Grandville. (if you don't have a jet pack as well)

[catsi563]

SSs main issue is they missed a lot of the opportunity to stretch the engine a bit and do some of the things Speedsters do in comics like running ON water or being able to run up buildings 

 

i think if theyd added those elements with the caveat that the SS user must keep moving then SS would be loads more useful

 

still all tolds its fun

[Apparition]

All of my characters have both Fly and either Speed of Sound (Brutes and Tankers), or Super Speed (every other AT).  I use Fly outdoors, and Speed of Sound or Super Speed indoors.  It's just very efficient to move around mission maps with.  Although the stealth argument for Super Speed will have less going for it once Page Three lands and mobs in hard mode can see everyone using Super Speed and a +stealth IO enhancement, but that's only one SF ATM.

 

I know some people think I'm crazy for taking both Speed of Sound or Super Speed and Fly and should just use a jetpack, but IMO they haven't experienced the difference between using Fly and Hover or Fly and Evasive Maneuvers, and a jetpack.  It's like night and day.  About 30 MPH faster now, with much greater control.  Like the difference between driving a Chevy and driving an Audi.  I'll take the Audi every day. 

[Parabola]

One thing I like about superspeed is the different perspective on the city it gives you. As you have to go around obstacles and follow roads etc it gives an entirely different and literally more grounded view of the city. We don't often see the world around us from above and so the city feels more real to me from street level. Having said which like most people I take fly or superjump far more often because they are more convenient!

Edited November 19, 2021 by Parabola

[PeregrineFalcon]

Fly is simply the better travel power and I have it on a lot of my characters.

 

But Fly is boring.

 

Superspeed is fun. It requires just a little bit of getting used to, a modicum of skill and timing. And, unlike Fly, you actually have to actively pay attention to what you're doing when you use Superspeed. Also, with the new jump ability that they've added to Superspeed, it's much easier to use.

 

But definitely have a Jet Pack for the Shadow Shards.

[Hardship]

1 hour ago, arcane said:

And then you account for it sharing a pool pick with Hasten and it becomes more obvious than ever.

 

This is the reason that I often choose Superspeed.  Since Pool powers are limted and sometimes I don't want to spend select a pool for SJ or Fly, I'll grab Superspeed and a jetpack and call it good.

 

[cranebump]

With Phase Shift a part of SS, it's now pretty handy to zoom through mobs in mish. I still don't take SS as a matter of course, though. Most of my chars use inherent travels, with jet packs and such. Unless they fly, which I like better than SS. That said, of all the combos I've used, SS+SJ has been my favorite overall. Man, you can get around.

[Erratic1]

  Speed of Sound in Experimentation moves you fast and comes with Jaunt for verticality. 

[Spaghetti Betty]

I choose SS thematically. It does have a lot going for it. It does give you the fastest ground speed. The phase is really nice. It used to have some issues getting around vertically, but that jump boost helps a lot. If you know a thing or two about geometry in the game, the jump boost + your speed + hitting a slope at the right angle will launch you straight up (and hopefully over) to where you need to be. And you get stealth.

 

All that being said, I think the best travel power currently is TP.

[Shenanigunner]

5 minutes ago, Spaghetti Betty said:

All that being said, I think the best travel power currently is TP.

 

SS + TP = all you could ask of a toon.

[DougGraves]

2 hours ago, Shenanigunner said:

SS + TP = all you could ask of a toon.

 

I like having attacks

[Doomguide2005]

    And while many areas are, as Shenanigunner put it, egregiously 3D many of those areas have ways for someone running SS or even just Sprint to move through the vertical if or when necessary.  There are very few areas if any you absolutely can not reach even with no travel power at all.  I've run a couple characters who deliberately experimented getting around certain zones with only Swift, Sprint, Hurdle and Combat Jumping.  You add SS and all the various teleportation options, temp fly or jump powers and/or the jump geysers in the Shadow Shard you can reach anywhere.

[arcane]

1 hour ago, DougGraves said:

 

I like having attacks

Wut. You got 15 attacks or somethin?

Edited November 20, 2021 by arcane

[merrypessimist]

Personally, and I say this as someone who took super speed as my second travel power ever (since back in 2004 flight was just the tops), the only reason I take it these days is because I want a travel and don't have a 5th power pool slot open after I take Hasten.  Or if I have a character whose concept benefits from having a motorcycle, which SS ghetto serves as.  It's good but not great, and the zones where it doesn't work well it REALLY doesn't work.  The others are easier to deal with.

[Solarverse]

8 hours ago, catsi563 said:

SSs main issue is they missed a lot of the opportunity to stretch the engine a bit and do some of the things Speedsters do in comics like running ON water or being able to run up buildings 

 

i think if theyd added those elements with the caveat that the SS user must keep moving then SS would be loads more useful

 

still all tolds its fun

 

That's about the only thing DC Universe got right IMO.

[kiramon]

3 hours ago, Solarverse said:

 

That's about the only thing DC Universe got right IMO.

Idea wise, not implementation wise 

[MrAxe]

4 hours ago, Solarverse said:

 

That's about the only thing DC Universe got right IMO.

That and the amazing telekinesis.

 

Super speed is the best indoor travel power. For example there have been many time I've wanted to just click the glowie to get the mission done. The stealth component allows that. You also don't bash your head on everything when zooming around looking for that last bloke for a defeat all.

[Yomo Kimyata]

Kidding aside, I feel that (outside of theme) none of the travel powers are really that necessary any more.  
 

I find that Sprint, Athletic Run, and a 5k inf jet pack cover all my needs from 1-50.  I think Superspeed gives you a marginal increase over that, but it’s really just an optional Universal Travel set mule as far as I’m concerned.

[Techwright]

On 11/19/2021 at 1:31 PM, catsi563 said:

SSs main issue is they missed a lot of the opportunity to stretch the engine a bit and do some of the things Speedsters do in comics like running ON water or being able to run up buildings 

 

i think if theyd added those elements with the caveat that the SS user must keep moving then SS would be loads more useful

 

still all tolds its fun

I'd add one other:  comic speedsters vibrate through solid objects.  It would take a massive amount of reprogramming, I'd guess, but having the ability to speed in blue caves without banging into every outcropping because I can vibrate through walls would be greatly desired.  SS wall smashing is one of the main reasons I only have SS on a single character.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Techwright

[Oubliette_Red]

After getting stuck in one too many bus stops I'm afraid that I cannot recommend Superspeed.