6+ slots to a power

[xl8]

Given there's enhancement diversification, can we have the number of slots increased on powers, preferably to an unlimited amount.

This would give players who'd like to build a character around 1 power or ability the chance to max out that power and even get creative with processors and other enhancements. It would bring some additional variety to the game and make for fun crafting.

 

[Greycat]

I *want* to say this was tried at some point and it broke things.

 

I do know of one time, thanks to a bug, this allowed a Peacebringer to one shot Hamidon on live. (No. Not kidding. Might even have been back in SO days.) While amusing, that sort of thing would be *bad* for the game.

 

Besides, between incarnate buffs and set bonuses, things are already "past ED." Set bonuses don't get touched by ED and already allow capping and perma-ing of *so* much stuff it's silly.

[Glacier Peak]

11 minutes ago, xl8 said:

Given there's enhancement diversification, can we have the number of slots increased on powers, preferably to an unlimited amount.

This would give players who'd like to build a character around 1 power or ability the chance to max out that power and even get creative with processors and other enhancements. It would bring some additional variety to the game and make for fun crafting.

For so many reasons I am not supportive of this suggestion. 

[aethereal]

Hey @xl8.  I think it's an interesting suggestion.  Let's explore it a little.

 

As I think is implicit in your initial proposal, Enhancement Diversification prevents "lots of slots in a power" from equalling "lots of enhancement of a given stat to that power."  You can put 10 +5'd damage enhancements in the power all you want, it'll be a waste of slots.

 

"Overslotting" a power would give you the ability to max out (ie, to ED limits) all of the enhanceable attributes of a power, but not to overenhance one of attributes.  So you could, if you wanted to, have a Freezing Touch with ~100% accuracy, damage, recharge reduction, endurance reduction, and hold duration.  You probably almost can do that with frankenslotting today, and I agree that this would not be abusive.

 

There are a few powers that currently suffer from it being very difficult to effectively enhance all of their useful enhanceable attributes -- powers that significantly damage an enemy and heal yourself are a classic example -- and this change would provide a buff to those powers.  There aren't a ton of those powers, but some of them are pretty good, and we'd need to watch closely what would happen if you could easily slot them for both healing and damage.

 

But what about the effects of the change that aren't purely on how easy it is to enhance power attributes?  This change would allow you to do things like, if you wanted, slot two complete sets in a power and pick up the set bonuses of both.  Perhaps more realistically, it could let you five-slot one set and three-slot another.  In the case where you're somewhat starved for the ability to slot certain kinds of sets, you could see this being a pretty significant advantage to some builds.

 

And, perhaps most importantly, it would let you slot a full set (or most of a set) and then pile on a bunch of procs, and that's where I think the change really falls down.  Because ED prevents you from usefully 10-slotting damage, but it does not prevent you from usefully slotting Freezing Touch with 5-piece Hecatomb (ignore pure-damage), then Unbreakable Constraint proc, then the following procs:  Gladiator's Strike, Mako's Bite, Touch of Death, Ghost Widow's Embrace, Basilisk's Gaze, and Gladiator's Net.  And that seems problematic to me.

[Shenanigunner]

Proposing a new reply trope:

 

"If I can't have a BFG-9000, I don't wanna play."

[arcane]

Goodness gracious are you *trying* to raise my blood pressure?

 

NO.

[Aurora_Girl]

It's like OP is... deliberately doing this. Is there a word for that? I forget. 

[biostem]

The "multi-aspect" IOs basically take care of this for you...

[Vanden]

9 hours ago, Greycat said:

I do know of one time, thanks to a bug, this allowed a Peacebringer to one shot Hamidon on live.

 

A completely untrue exaggeration!

 

As I recall it took two shots, because Hamidon had more health than the hard cap on how much a single tick of damage can do.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Vanden

[Yomo Kimyata]

I have a counter-offer:  limit the number of total slots per power to five.

[Vanden]

3 hours ago, Aurora_Girl said:

It's like OP is... deliberately doing this. Is there a word for that? I forget. 

 

That thing where you get a better understanding of something by having to explain it to someone else?

[PeregrineFalcon]

[Greycat]

11 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

I have a counter-offer:  limit the number of total slots per power to five.

 

Ooh! No. Limit the total number of slots to 5. Period.

 

>.>

[0th Power]

5 hours ago, Greycat said:

 

Ooh! No. Limit the total number of slots to 5. Period.

 

>.>

2 at level 2 and 3 at level 50. You get powers at all other levels.   I think you’re on to something. 

Edited December 5, 2021 by 0th Power

[merrypessimist]

13 hours ago, 0th Power said:

2 at level 2 and 3 at level 50. You get powers at all other levels.   I think you’re on to something. 

Is it wrong that I think that option might be fun?

[Akisan]

New challenge mode - powers don't get a starter slot for enhancements (you only get the slots rewarded for levelling up)

For double fun - No IOs.

 

But yeah, definite no to more than 6 slots, getting 2x 4+ set bonuses in a single power would be so very OP

[arcane]

Y’all finna have all powers taken away at this rate

[JasperStone]

On 12/5/2021 at 6:47 AM, 0th Power said:

2 at level 2 and 3 at level 50. You get powers at all other levels.   I think you’re on to something. 

 

I think this is Ludicrous Difficulty Level

[xl8]

On 12/4/2021 at 11:18 AM, aethereal said:

This change would allow you to do things like, if you wanted, slot two complete sets in a power and pick up the set bonuses of both.

Sure. I wasn't thinking to his extreme, but okay. All the OP comments aside, you're still limited to your total number of slots, so anyone who does this would either be a glass cannon or just weak.

I'm all for letting people use the slots however they want. At this point more diversification makes for more interesting game play.

[WanderingAries]

I mean, it would be Cool to be able to have enough slots per power to put one of each type of Enh, but I think that's why they came out with Sets.

[Wavicle]

This is what the Alpha slot and Invention Sets are for, and I believe very firmly that ought to be sufficient.

[Shenanigunner]

10 hours ago, WanderingAries said:

I mean, it would be Cool to be able to have enough slots per power to put one of each type of Enh, but I think that's why they came out with Sets.

 

Not many powers take more than six enhancement types. Just off hand, I'd say most only take three or four.

[aethereal]

3 hours ago, Shenanigunner said:

 

Not many powers take more than six enhancement types. Just off hand, I'd say most only take three or four.

Almost all enemy-targeting powers take at least four:

 

End Reduction

Recharge Reduction

Accuracy

Whatever their primary effect is (damage, mez duration, whatever)

 

Ranged powers typically take range enhancements.  Powers that have a secondary effect usually can enhance it, too.  So it's pretty common for powers to take 6 enhancement types.  Much rarer to take 7, though still not exactly hard to find (like, Dark Blast has three different powers that take 7 enhancement types: Moonbeam, Life Drain, and Abyssal Gaze all take Acc, Dam, End Redx, Rech Redx, Range, and To-Hit Debuff, then Moonbeam takes Interrupt Redx, Life Drain takes Healz, and Abyssal Gaze takes Holds).

Edited December 10, 2021 by aethereal

[Koopak]

19 hours ago, xl8 said:

Sure. I wasn't thinking to his extreme, but okay. All the OP comments aside, you're still limited to your total number of slots, so anyone who does this would either be a glass cannon or just weak.

I'm all for letting people use the slots however they want. At this point more diversification makes for more interesting game play.

I'm gonna have to counter that claim that such a build would be weak, far from it. Taking my own main as a model, this would actually allow me to build significantly more defense/resistance at no significant loss in damage powers, but more importantly it would allow me to slot enough recharge into the powers to do the optimal rotation at no durability loss while increasing my per power damage.

Many many builds are less optimized than my own, which usually end up in a 3-4 power rotation, being able to slot more freely means that recharge and accuracy goals can be obtained in a single power more easily, potentially allowing you to drop lower DPA attacks while increasing the damage of higher DPA attacks.

A good example is that in the case of a Katana scrapper, one could cut Flashing Steel, Sting of the Wasp, and Divine Avalanche in order to slot all the scrapper ATOs, necessary sets, and 3-4 procs in the remaining powers. Bare in mind the optimal recharge loaded rotation is 3 buttons, Gambler's Cut, Soaring Dragon, and Golden Dragonfly. Two of these have solid proc rates even with recharge slotting and thus would benefit greatly from this kind of slotting and all I've lost are 3 powers i either didn't take, or rarely used to begin with, and instead gain yet more by not needing them, allowing me to take 1 slot wonders in their place. And again this is without even touching my defensive power's existing slots.

Lets not even discuss the madness that would be Bio Armor slotting, which can then take advantage of AoE powers that's have heal, end, damage, accuracy, and recharge, as well as room for proccing to turn what a survival tool into a significant damage dealer.

In an era of SOs only this idea might have some value in theory, (though i think in practice it would still just be a net player buff), but in the modern era of procs, set enhancements (like the +3% def), and set bonuses, it just ammounts to being one or two steps removed from just letting us press a button to max all stats.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Koopak