Combo Mechanics Thread

[Without_Pause]

1 hour ago, arcane said:

I don’t think Dual Blades is hindered in the slightest. It’s a very high DPA set and you never ever have to trigger a single combo for that to be the case.
 

It certainly needs no help, but I wouldn’t violently resist if the devs decided to add a combo that’s actually triggered by using the best attack chain. That might be OP though, the set’s already great with that chain as is.

 

Staff S/T damage (well not on Stalkers I guess) sucks yeah but the question is just how much of that suck is justified by the substantial combo buffs and the good AoE damage. Tho its real problem is the lamest break dance melee AoE animation ever.

How many people take 1k Cuts? It is a T9. I look at sets based on the available powers versus just what people take. I've been looking over the melee attacks based initially on cast times. DB gets flagged as any melee set I have seen.

 

Here's the commentary I have written on my initial pass for Sky Splitter.

 

Leap then attack with KU

 

Soaring Dragon: 1.33, 1.584(cast time, arcanatime)

Disembowel: 1.8, 1.98

Sky Splitter: 2.82, 3.036

 

One of the best examples of where a combo system gets the short end of the stick, pun fully intended. Sky Splitter’s damage with the combo factor kicked in is 138.1358(Scrapper). It is 86.3349 without. Disembowel’s damage is 122.6205. Disembowel recharges in 10 seconds versus Sky Splitter doing so in 15. If we want to categorize this as a leap then attack, that’s still bad. It is also tied for second longest animating single target attack in the game, and its DPA, even with the combo system applied is trash.

 

Again, this is a T9 attack. You are actively screwing yourself by using it even with combo damage added. I'm sure the more I look into Staff it is going to show more and more issues, but hey, I guess it is end friendly. 

[kiramon]

9 minutes ago, SeraphimKensai said:

This thread and the conversation is has produced has been enlightening to me. I've always seen myself as a power gaming outlier, that I forget people enjoy a slow pace.

 

I'm over here triboxing, watching Netflix, drinking a beer, playing with my dog, and talking to my wife about names and ultrasounds. If you ever see me in game I'm zipping around ready to rush and crush whatever objective. If you saw my fingers though on the keyboard I look like an over caffeinated college kid trying to write a 50 page paper in one night before a 9am class. Sometimes I'll hit a key 4 times waiting on the animation and wondering why it's moving so slow that I have time to change my laundry over to the dryer before I can attack again.

 

Like I said I'm an outlier and definitely have a problem.

Ive never hit a key exactly one time in my life in a game.

 

#mywasdkeysarescratchedoff

[Naraka]

9 minutes ago, kiramon said:

Ive never hit a key exactly one time in my life in a game.

 

#mywasdkeysarescratchedoff

Nothing unique there. In FFXIV, spamming your hotkeys so no time is wasted is required and practically a feature of MMOs. Although, it constantly bit me in the ass playing Blade & Soul since your hotkeys dynamically change throughout your combos or when you get CC'ed. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Naraka

[Naraka]

On 2/7/2022 at 1:37 PM, PeregrineFalcon said:

 

I really don't want this game to become some kind of Darksouls Super Hero game where I have to constantly play wack-a-mole with all of my various power sets and pools. Rings constantly popping up while I have to play my keyboard like Chopin on crack in a desperate attempt to stay alive because the devs added combos to all of the power sets and listened to all of the "game too easy, bruh" threads.

 

Darksouls is a bad analogy lol

 

It's gameplay is actually far more simplified than an MMO. It just relies on knowledge and reaction speed for survival. The worst you'd get from missing a glowing ring here is maybe a 15% loss in damage on a mob that would die with or without the bonus.

 

[nihilii]

"Why do people dislike combos?"

Combos take away choice in a game that is largely defined by freedom of choice.

 

Whether choice of pace, choice of powers... Combos restrict freedom.

 

It's that simple. No need to overthink it!

 

"But in practice your choices are dictated by [this] or [that] regardless" misses the point. Combos are a big glaring neon sign there is a Right Way to play. Whereas with powersets without combos, you're free to believe the beautiful chaos of emergent gameplay led you to where you are. Regardless if it's true or not, regardless if we're all puppets dancing to the invisible incentives of math.

Edited February 8, 2022 by nihilii

[UltraAlt]

15 minutes ago, nihilii said:

Combos take away choice in a game that is largely defined by freedom of choice.

 

So what does MIDs do?

MIDs tells you what combo (combination) of powers, slotting, and enhancements that it thinks is most effective.

 

15 minutes ago, nihilii said:

Whether choice of pace, choice of powers... Combos restrict freedom.

 

Combos don't restrict any one's freedom.

You are always free not to use them.

 

15 minutes ago, nihilii said:

It's that simple. No need to overthink it!

 

You most probably use a power rotation. You might not even realize you are doing it.

However, in doing so, you have your own combo (combination of button presses).

Those combos are based on power selection, power recharge times, and other factors; all of these things are built into the game as well.

 

You're going to be in a cage - no matter where you go. Pick your own cage.

If you think that combos are a cage, you can avoid them, but you have to accept the new cage you put yourself in by not using them.

 

Combos have been a part of gaming for a very long time. 

"The earliest known competitive fighting game that used a combo system was Culture Brain's Shanghai Kid in 1985; when the spiked speech balloon that reads "RUSH!" pops up during battle, the player had a chance to rhythmically perform a series of combos called "rush-attacking"." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combo_(video_games)#:~:text=The earliest known competitive fighting,called "rush-attacking".

+ (from the same URL) "John Szczepaniak of Hardcore Gaming 101 considers Data East's DECO Cassette System arcade title Flash Boy (1981), a scrolling action game based on the manga and anime series Astro Boy, to have a type of combo mechanic. When the player punches an enemy and it explodes, debris can destroy other enemies.[2]"

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by UltraAlt

[Bill Z Bubba]

4 hours ago, arcane said:

It certainly needs no help, but I wouldn’t violently resist if the devs decided to add a combo that’s actually triggered by using the best attack chain. That might be OP though, the set’s already great with that chain as is.

 

BF, SS, AS would trigger a massive HP and damage debuff to the player. That'd keep it from being OP.

[arcane]

43 minutes ago, nihilii said:

Combos take away choice

Come now, that’s absurd.

[arcane]

1 hour ago, Without_Pause said:

Here's the commentary I have written on my initial pass for Sky Splitter.

 

Leap then attack with KU

 

Soaring Dragon: 1.33, 1.584(cast time, arcanatime)

Disembowel: 1.8, 1.98

Sky Splitter: 2.82, 3.036

 

One of the best examples of where a combo system gets the short end of the stick, pun fully intended. Sky Splitter’s damage with the combo factor kicked in is 138.1358(Scrapper). It is 86.3349 without. Disembowel’s damage is 122.6205. Disembowel recharges in 10 seconds versus Sky Splitter doing so in 15. If we want to categorize this as a leap then attack, that’s still bad. It is also tied for second longest animating single target attack in the game, and its DPA, even with the combo system applied is trash.

 

What weight did you assign to Sky Splitter’s substantial buff when comparing powers side by side? I don’t know the math there, but I can logically guess that the effect of Staff’s buffs on the set’s lower damage is not zero.

[Naraka]

1 hour ago, nihilii said:

"Why do people dislike combos?"

Combos take away choice in a game that is largely defined by freedom of choice.

 

Whether choice of pace, choice of powers... Combos restrict freedom.

 

It's that simple. No need to overthink it!

 

"But in practice your choices are dictated by [this] or [that] regardless" misses the point. Combos are a big glaring neon sign there is a Right Way to play. Whereas with powersets without combos, you're free to believe the beautiful chaos of emergent gameplay led you to where you are. Regardless if it's true or not, regardless if we're all puppets dancing to the invisible incentives of math.

Man, FFXIV must be making it's money off of whales and not people that enjoy playing the game for the amount of freedoms it offers. Somebody should tell them they are doing it wrong and give back all those millions of dollars along with all the other MMOs that restrict combos.

[Without_Pause]

5 minutes ago, arcane said:

What weight did you assign to Sky Splitter’s substantial buff when comparing powers side by side? I don’t know the math there, but I can logically guess that the effect of Staff’s buffs on the set’s lower damage is not zero.

I took it's base damage(86.3349 points) and then added in the damage if it were in at level 3 of any of the forms(51.8009). I don't view the additional bonuses that amazing to justify such terrible DPA. Staff is widely known for lower damage. This is part of it. Make the cast time similar to Disembowel and then we can talk about an attack worth actually using.

 

Again, using arcanatime, SS is at 45.5 DPA with the combo damage and recharges in 15 seconds. Disembowel is at 61.9 and recharges in 10. SS without the combo damage is 28.4.

[arcane]

4 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

I took it's base damage(86.3349 points) and then added in the damage if it were in at level 3 of any of the forms(51.8009). I don't view the additional bonuses that amazing to justify such terrible DPA. Staff is widely known for lower damage. This is part of it. Make the cast time similar to Disembowel and then we can talk about an attack worth actually using.

 

Again, using arcanatime, SS is at 45.5 DPA with the combo damage and recharges in 15 seconds. Disembowel is at 61.9 and recharges in 10. SS without the combo damage is 28.4.

I am just asking because I don’t consider the sizable resistance buff negligible. While I probably disagree with buffing DB at all, I’m with you on Staff sucking.

 

As I’ve said many times, I max out all the sets indiscriminately. Staff isn’t as bad as Kinetic Melee but it’s a low ranking set for sure in my experiences with every single melee set.

Edited February 8, 2022 by arcane

[Without_Pause]

1 minute ago, arcane said:

I am just asking because I don’t consider the sizable resistance buff negligible. While I probably disagree with buffing DB at all, I’m with you on Staff sucking.

It isn't negligible, but how often is one to use Staff attacks when they aren't at level 3? Fairly consistently.

 

My biggest issue with DB is 1k Cuts.

[arcane]

1 hour ago, Without_Pause said:

My biggest issue with DB is 1k Cuts.

Sure. I don’t look at bad animations as a problem unless the set is hurting overall, so that’s where we disagree. The fact that the set has 3 solid ~1 second animation single target attacks to chain (basically Claws Lite) makes me go “meh” at any other issues. I am planning to just respec out of 1K Cuts next time I revisit though so you aren’t wrong about that specific power.

Edited February 8, 2022 by arcane

[Galaxy Brain]

On the subject of Staff, do you feel needing 3 other attacks to fuel it should have a bigger payoff, or with how the game works where you'd naturally be swinging in between uses is it fine?

[arcane]

25 minutes ago, Galaxy Brain said:

On the subject of Staff, do you feel needing 3 other attacks to fuel it should have a bigger payoff, or with how the game works where you'd naturally be swinging in between uses is it fine?

I think the combo mechanic is plenty potent, and the buff/debuff values seem reasonably generous and easy to trigger; the set just needs to have animation or damage adjustments. To the later powers. Some long animations are fine, but not on *all* the later tier powers like Kinetic Melee.

 

Giving Sky Splitter more damage to make its DPA reasonable would go a long way by itself. People tend to put up with long animations just fine if they feel reimbursed for their time.

Edited February 9, 2022 by arcane

[Naraka]

This whole talk got me remembering old posts about ideas and suggestions for combo mechanics I read about. Overall, it's not always about fitting in a box but rather doing things other sets cannot do.  One idea in particular is I had to search for by @Leogunner:

 

Pasted here:

Trinity Beam Arm-Cannon (Ranged Blast Powerset; Blaster/Corruptor/Sentinel Primary||Defender Secondary)

It's namesake outlines it's ability to infuse up to 3 powers into another.  It utilizes an operating mode called "Trinity Charge" when active removes the interrupt period of some of your cannon blasts but forcefully ends this mode.  Other powers in the set can be used to charge another attack (up to 3).  Charging past the limit causes fire DoT to the user and overwrites the oldest charge.

 

*1. Arm Buster (Ranged; Moderate DMG(Energy), chance of Knockback, +Special) - Shoot a single burst of energy at a target.  The burst of energy has a moderate amount of concussive force that can push a target off its feet.  In conjunction with Trinity Charge, instead of firing an attack, you add a buff that adds minor energy damage and a chance to knockback to the attack you decide to charge.  Can stack 3 times, adding the minor damage and chance of KB for each stack.

 

*2. Buster Cannon (Ranged; High DMG(Energy), +Special) - Focus a beam that energizes the target with energy until they combust.  In conjunction with Trinity Charge, instead of firing the attack, you add moderate energy damage to the attack you decide to charge.  Can stack 3 times, adding moderate energy damage.

 

3. Buster Array (Targeted AoE; *Interrupt*; Moderate DMG (Energy/Smashing), Fire DoT; +Special) - A barrage of exploding blasts that requires a period to prepare.  If used in conjunction with Trinity Charge, the interrupt period is absent and you're forced out of Trinity Charge mode.  If fully charged (having 3 stacks), this attack also causes additional fire DoT to all targets hit.

 

*4. Cannon Flash (Ranged; Minor DMG(Energy), foe Stun, +Special) - A quick flash from your attack renders the foe dazzled, searing them with minor energy damage.  In conjunction with Trinity Charge, instead of firing an attack, you add a buff that infuses stun and moderate energy damage into the attack you decide to charge.  Cannot stack multiple times.

 

5. Trinity Charge (Self Toggle; +ToHit, +END Discount; +Special) - Trinity mode allows you to infuse three blasts into your next attack.  Only some of your charges can be infused and only some stack with themselves.  These charges, whatever effects they hold, will affect any targets you hit with your charged attacks.  Once a charged attack is fired, all charges disappear.  If you have 3 charges and use another charge attack, you will receive moderate fire DoT and overwrite the oldest charge.  Interruptible powers have shorter casts by removing their interruption period if used with this toggle.  Turning off the toggle puts a time limit on the charges you have (10sec) and will apply the charge effects to your next attack.

 

*6. Trinity Beam (Ranged Cone; High DoT (Energy), foe -def, -res, -special; +Special) - Unleash a brilliant beam of energy, engulfing all before you, reducing the defense, resistance and (stun)mez resistance to all foes hit.  In conjunction with Trinity charge, instead of firing off the attack, you add a buff that infuses a high DoT(energy) and -def/-res/-(stun) into the attack you decide to charge. Cannot stack multiple times.

 

7. Cannon Torrent (Ranged Cone; *Interrupt* Moderate DMG(Energy), foe repel) - Immediately unleashes a steady stream of energy that repels foes within 15ft of you back.  Foes further than 15ft will continue to be pulsed with energy damage however, interrupting this attack will prematurely end the effect.  In conjunction with Trinity Charge and if fully charged, this creates a field for the duration of the attack that continues to repel foes back even after you move onto bigger and better blasts. You are then forced out of Trinity Charge mode.

 

8. Overcharge (Ranged; *Interrupt* Extreme DMG (Energy), +Special) - This attack requires some time to prepare. Fires a shot that consumes the target in an explosion of energy.  In conjunction with Trinity Charge, the interrupt period of this attack is eliminated but you are forced out of Trinity Charge mode.  If fully charged (having 3 stacks), Trinity Charge will be turned off but recharge immediately however Overcharge will be put on a longer recharge.

 

9. Omega Buster (PBAoE; Extreme DMG(Energy), DoT(Fire), foe stun) - Overcharge your Trinity Cannon but instead of you eating the recoil, you give the foes around you a taste, engulfing them in hot energy as well as leaving them dazzled.  Has no effect in conjunction with Trinity Charge or the other charge buffs you have.

 

The powers with a "*" next to the numbers would be the attacks that turn into buffs while you have Trinity Charge active.  While Trinity Charge is active, those * powers technically have no animation meaning you can move while you click them...they still have an activation so they aren't instant cast though.  Another effect is, you can add secondary effects of one power to another, for example you can add Arm Buster's chance of KB (as well as some of its damage) to Buster Array which makes it an AoE chance of KB...or you can add Cannon Flash's Stun (and some extra damage) to Cannon Torrent to get a repel+stun cone. The tier 9 nuke is isolated from the mechanics, making it a good opener or finisher.

 

For an AT like Defender who might be more occupied by other duties, having the option of just overlapping your attacks into 1 strong strike might be more fruitful rather than keeping up a certain DPS rotation for attacking.

 

For an AT like Blaster, it would be very dynamic since you could use the set a multitude of ways, just keeping on your Trinity Charge and charging up your blasts into one strong one and while you build up the charge, you can use your blaps to put on the pressure, unleashing the the attack on a prime target.

 

For a Corruptor, their specialty seems to be DoT and this AT has 3, one that you can infuse into another attack if desired.  You could technically infuse Trinity Beam with Trinity Beam if you wait for its recharge without using other attacks....it's a complex opportunity cost that incorporates downtime to your advantage.

 

I don't play Sents so no idea about them.

[A Cat]

4 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

How many people take 1k Cuts? It is a T9. I look at sets based on the available powers versus just what people take. I've been looking over the melee attacks based initially on cast times. DB gets flagged as any melee set I have seen.

 

Here's the commentary I have written on my initial pass for Sky Splitter.

 

Leap then attack with KU

 

Soaring Dragon: 1.33, 1.584(cast time, arcanatime)

Disembowel: 1.8, 1.98

Sky Splitter: 2.82, 3.036

 

One of the best examples of where a combo system gets the short end of the stick, pun fully intended. Sky Splitter’s damage with the combo factor kicked in is 138.1358(Scrapper). It is 86.3349 without. Disembowel’s damage is 122.6205. Disembowel recharges in 10 seconds versus Sky Splitter doing so in 15. If we want to categorize this as a leap then attack, that’s still bad. It is also tied for second longest animating single target attack in the game, and its DPA, even with the combo system applied is trash.

 

Again, this is a T9 attack. You are actively screwing yourself by using it even with combo damage added. I'm sure the more I look into Staff it is going to show more and more issues, but hey, I guess it is end friendly. 

Shouldn't the comparison be with Golden Dragonfly/Headsplitter? Soaring Dragon and Disembowel are T8's. I'm guessing Staff will look even worse though with this comparison. 

 

Personally, I took 1k Cuts on my only DB, who is a stalker, just to have more AoE outside of SS and the Sweep Combo. I don't think it is amazing, but it is decent enough. 

[ForeverLaxx]

On 2/7/2022 at 8:41 AM, Galaxy Brain said:

It's often lauded as something that is a negative, but why exactly is that?

I personally find combo systems to be lazy design when applied in areas they don't make much thematic sense, and I especially hate when they're incorporated into a powerset that didn't originally have them so I can pretend I'm getting what I want as long as I play the set the way the devs want me to play it.

 

It does more than stifle an individual's choice in how to run a set, it also actively punishes that player for doing it "the wrong way." Unless I'm soloing content and have to beat down a foe that takes minutes to defeat, I don't need an "optimal chain." Even if you want to be stubborn about it and ignore the combo system anyway, the set will be wonky because it's not designed to be ignored. Even Dual Blades, the "original" Combo Powerset, can look weird if you don't flow the attacks in the "proper" order, but the combo system there was new to the team at the time and, ironically, you get the most out of it by ignoring the combo mechanics. Future combination systems avoided that "mistake."

 

Oh, one last thing I hate about combo systems being everywhere -- it lowers your character's "uniqueness" relative to other players using the same set and often locks you into taking all, or nearly all, of the attacks in that set which reduces your ability to supplement your character with Power Pools that can help define your concept. You're often so restricted that you're only able to barely fit the minimum "optimal" Power Pools for an end-game build and you're not allowed to branch out if you want to be functional.

 

I don't mind Combo Systems when the set has them from the start, even if they make you take 8-9 powers to use them right (though I do grumble at that). though I do dislike how most sets released in Late Live and HC Updates almost demand you take every power in them. I will reiterate that I loathe them when a set is updated and it's shoehorned in. Nothing makes me more upset than powerset updates that change the entire feel of a powerset, causing me to drop that set. Sometimes I revisit the set later with a new concept, but the characters it was on prior are always deleted when that happens.

Edited February 9, 2022 by ForeverLaxx

[Naraka]

52 minutes ago, ForeverLaxx said:

I personally find combo systems to be lazy design when applied in areas they don't make much thematic sense, and I especially hate when they're incorporated into a powerset that didn't originally have them so I can pretend I'm getting what I want as long as I play the set the way the devs want me to play it.

 

...does anyone else want to tell him?

 

Okay, I'll tell him...

 

...You already play the game the way the devs want you to. It's not like you're playing some sandbox game that lets you make up your own rules.

 

Narrowing it down to individual powersets, I'd just say games can be more fun when you're cooperative. If this was a table top RPG, it's not as fun when you're not playing ball with the other players or the GM and it's harder to make the campaign unique and engaging if you're actively trying to subvert the game to your own expectations. Sure, a good GM is flexible to adapt to the players but that's not a one-way street.

 

And people now-a-days have weird definitions for words. Not getting a participation trophy is now punishment, it seems.  I wouldn't be surprised if *playing the game* to get something would be considered punishment. But then I guess I'm starting to sound like a hypocrite since I said before that you should be free to hate.  Hate what you want, I suppose, but I think you're hyperbolizing quite a bit.

[ForeverLaxx]

23 minutes ago, Naraka said:

You already play the game the way the devs want you to

Yes yes, you can sound smart when you boil down the nuance and scrape the bottom of the pot. I get it.

 

If you want to be facetious about it, that's fine, but I know you know what I'm talking about. Not replying to you further on this matter.

[nihilii]

11 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

You most probably use a power rotation.

 

You wrote a whole page to avoid reading the last paragraph of my post. 😕
 

10 hours ago, Naraka said:

Man, FFXIV must be making it's money off of whales and not people that enjoy playing the game for the amount of freedoms it offers. Somebody should tell them they are doing it wrong and give back all those millions of dollars along with all the other MMOs that restrict combos.

You're packing about half a dozen strawmen in just two sentences.

 

1) There's reasons to play games besides freedom of choice.
2) There can be plenty of freedom of choice besides combos or lack thereof.

3) The average person enjoys some level of structure, and the freedom CoH offers is likely too much on the scale for most (see: insistence over the years on replicating tank/healer/dps patterns)

4) Money is not a proxy for value

5) There's no "doing it right" or "doing it wrong", an ideal game market should offer different games for different tastes.

 

-

The two of you sound personally offended by my post, whereas I'm only voicing the reason people who dislike combos dislike combos. This was one of the stated purposes of this thread!

When you don't understand where other people are coming from, there's two paths: either you try to see their point of view, or you plug your ears as hard as you can. I think earpluggers assume even trying to understand "the other side" implies an endorsement of their position - and a betrayal of their own. But that's misguided. You can understand someone without agreeing with them.

And if you were trying to fix a practical problem for a population ("how do we make combos likeable to people who don't like combos"), you have to start from understanding their position so you can rework the solution in a way that addresses the needs of that population.

Edited February 9, 2022 by nihilii

[Naraka]

5 hours ago, nihilii said:

 

The two of you sound personally offended by my post, whereas I'm only voicing the reason people who dislike combos dislike combos. This was one of the stated purposes of this thread!

When you don't understand where other people are coming from, there's two paths: either you try to see their point of view, or you plug your ears as hard as you can. I think earpluggers assume even trying to understand "the other side" implies an endorsement of their position - and a betrayal of their own. But that's misguided. You can understand someone without agreeing with them.

And if you were trying to fix a practical problem for a population ("how do we make combos likeable to people who don't like combos"), you have to start from understanding their position so you can rework the solution in a way that addresses the needs of that population.

 

Why would I be mad? I'm not suffering from the crippling perception of my freedoms being ripped away by a set mechanic.

 

I figure if I threw in some straw men for you you might understand my perspective that it's indeed a perception thing and you're not forced to take powers or use them in a specific order nor are you punished for going your own path.

 

This does remind me of the days of pre-inherent fitness where the primary complaint was feeling forced to take fitness and how their freedom felt limited because of needing to save 3 power slots. Guess what? Now you don't have a choice. That's an example of *actually* having the freedom of choice removed because you have to take it. Would you consider that a positive or negative? Or likely an incongruent analogy from your perspective...

 

I think it's a good idea to self assess what one considers to be freedom of choice and reflect because I see players seemingly taking their own freedoms away far more than any set combo mechanic does. Just look at all your builds and see what you fit into all of them and will limit your own options to fit them then chastise a set for not making said sacrifice effortless. 

 

 

[UltraAlt]

9 hours ago, nihilii said:

20 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

You most probably use a power rotation.

 

You wrote a whole page to avoid reading the last paragraph of my post. 😕

 

What your point?

You say ...

 

20 hours ago, nihilii said:

"But in practice your choices are dictated by [this] or [that] regardless" misses the point. Combos are a big glaring neon sign there is a Right Way to play. Whereas with powersets without combos, you're free to believe the beautiful chaos of emergent gameplay led you to where you are. Regardless if it's true or not, regardless if we're all puppets dancing to the invisible incentives of math.

 

You pretty much indicate that you most probably do use your own power rotations that you found yourself by playing the game.

I don't see how that changes anything that I posted.

My points are accurate.

I don't need to post that paragraph in a reply to prove that I read it.

[EmperorSteele]

18 hours ago, Galaxy Brain said:

On the subject of Staff, do you feel needing 3 other attacks to fuel it should have a bigger payoff, or with how the game works where you'd naturally be swinging in between uses is it fine?

 

I'm a bit mixed on Staff. Like, I'll wait for the big AoE to get it's ring, and I'll use it, and then... all the bad guys are still alive. Which is fine, I don't expect it to be a one hit multikill, but, I don't perceive any difference between the buffed and unbuffed version of the power. It certainly doesn't seem to do any more damage... and this is on a Scrapper, so you'd think any extra % damage would be noticable.

 

I'm not saying there's no difference, just that it's hard to see and appreciate. Also, this is down at level 20-something, so maybe with higher damage enhancement, the extra damage really starts to show up.

 

But yeah, I got bored of that character pretty quick unfortunately. Rerolled as a Stalker, and it seems a bit more fun so far.