If you could make a new Enhancement type, what would it be?

[Draeth Darkstar]

Most of the things you could conceivably enhance about powers already can be, but there are some holes in the system it could be neat to fill. If you could make just one new type of enhancement, what would it be? Why that one? And how would it work?

 

For the sake of discussion, I'll go first.

 

I'd pick "Enhanced Area of Effect." There's two reasons for this: one, it seems to me like the most obvious thing about powers that currently can't be enhanced (at least, not for all of them), and two, because I think it's really cool that you sort of can enhance the area of a cone via +Range enhancements, effectively making it bigger at the end of the range.

 

I would make Area a Schedule B enhancement type (+20% on an even-level SO) the same as Range currently is, which would increase the radius of a PBAOE or TAOE, the arc of a Cone, or the maximum jump distance of a Chain. It would also increase the Target Cap of the power by 1/3rd of that value rounded to the nearest 10%. For example, at 3 even-level SOs, you'd get ~55% increased radius/arc/chain distance and 20% increased Target Cap, which would increase a Target Cap of 6 to 7, 10 to 12, or 16 to 19.

 

Bonus: I would add Enhanced Area as a secondary enhancement to Alpha Core/Radial Resilient and Vigor and as a tertiary enhancement to Radial Intuition, because those are the ones that seem to get the least use currently. I would also make new dual type enhancements that were Damage/Area, Accuracy/Area, Control/Area, and Range/Area. Damage/Area and Control/Area would be added to the special ATF-only pool and the others would be added to the regular dual type pool from Hamidon et. al.

[MrAxe]

Damage Modification, buff the damage of Assault, Build Up etc. Also a Taunt set with a knockdown proc.

Edited July 4, 2022 by MrAxe

[Gulbasaur]

Resistance debuff and damage buff and debuff.

 

I'm aware that resistance debuffs risk being overpowered on a couple of support sets and they're something of a coding oddity due to how resistance and damage debuffs interact with other stats, but some Resist Debuff IO sets with proc effects would be really nice. I'm a fan of the somewhat unique Contagious Confusion proc and wish there were more like it (Spreading Fear? etc)  so maybe something similar a chance for a second AoE resist debuff would work out well.

 

It would also give Sonic a bit of breathing space in the modern meta; one of the reasons it's hard to work as a damage set is that it has very few proc options. It's fine on Defenders in teams, but fairly anaemic otherwise.

 

-DMG is a rare mechanic but it interacts with resistance debuffs in a strange and wonderful way. Being able to turn it from a side-effect of a power to something meaningful would be excellent.

 

Thinking about it, a +special proc effect would be really handy. We've got a couple of mini Build Up enhancements, so a mini Power Boost would be great.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Gulbasaur

[cranebump]

An enhancement that lets me slot the April Fools knockup in Brawl permanently:-)

[tidge]

Only one you say? I want a boostable Very Rare set of six enhancements for Fear. The pieces ought to offer for single-target Fear attacks the same that Coercive Persuasion offers for single-target Confuse attacks:

1. Fear (Superior)
2. Fear/Recharge (Superior)
3. Fear/Accuracy/Endurance (Superior)
4. Accuracy/Recharge (Superior)
5. Accuracy/Endurance (Superior)
6. Contagious Fear ('Splash' AoE %Fear on adjacent targets)

 

I have opted to suggest piece (3) have an Endurance bonus (instead of Recharge, as other Very Rare sets) and piece (5) with Accuracy instead of Mez, because my own play experience shows that, when not slotting six pieces) I am most desperate for (boosted +5) Accuracy and Endurance cost enhancements in my Controls. The Contagious Fear piece would behave just as the Contagious Confusion piece works from Coercive Persuasion. If we need to tie the set to a piece of Lore, Jack in Irons uses a fear attack, although I'd rather have his name reserved for a a special "Halloween event" set like Overwhelming Force/Winters.

 

As for the Global Set Bonuses from such a hypothetical set, I'd suggest a slightly tweaked set of Very Rare bonuses different for (but slightly more suitable to) the types of AT likely to slot Fear powers.

1. -- (no set bonus for 1 piece)
2. 2.5% Max Endurance
3. 4% Fear Duration
4. 15% Accuracy
5. 10% Recharge
6. 5% Melee Defense  /  2.5% Smashing/Lethal Defense

 

 

[TraumaTrain]

Some powers, like Sonics, give -resistance to the targets. I'd like to see Resistance Debuff enhancements to slot in those types of powers.

[Galactiman]

I know it's completely impossible within the current game engine, but an Increase Animation Speed enhancement would be cool.

[TrelNargil]

   At the top of my head, I would say an Enhancement that would change the type of damage a power causes to a different type, but at the cost of it being reduced in damage by a "tiny" amount. And when I mean change, I mean change; as in not add a 2nd type of damage to a power, but change it completely to another one. For example, change Fire Blast from causing DoT fire damage, to say Toxic or negative instead. Of course, this would require an Enhancement for each type of damage in the game, but that's feasible I am sure. So this way you could slot one into Super Strength, which causes smashing damage, to instead deal Psi damage instead (without changing Super Strengths standard secondary effects btw). These Enhancements would of course cost a lot as they would be able to change a very important and integral aspect of the game itself (damage type), but hey maybe it would be worth it in the end? What do you think?

 

Peace...

[Gulbasaur]

14 minutes ago, Galactiman said:

I know it's completely impossible within the current game engine, but an Increase Animation Speed enhancement would be cool.

It would be too meta-defining as it would effectively raise DPS (and actions per second). Recharge is broken enough as it is!

 

In Guild Wars 2, there is a buff that does just that and the whole support meta starts with that one buff.

[Galactiman]

26 minutes ago, Gulbasaur said:

It would be too meta-defining as it would effectively raise DPS (and actions per second). Recharge is broken enough as it is!

 

In Guild Wars 2, there is a buff that does just that and the whole support meta starts with that one buff.

Not really fair to compare it with GW2, the games are totally different. GW2 is all about making sure your party has every buff covered. We're talking about an enhancent of which you have a finite amount in a power and choosing one is a trade off. If you choose to increase animation speed you must sacrifice something else, like damage, recharge speed, endurance consumption (which will also be increased with animation speed increase), or a proc or set bonus. Also, if you don't balance your recharge correctly then having quicker animations will just leave you standing around waiting. Also, like anything else, it's just math and can be balanced with the right effort.

[Gulbasaur]

10 minutes ago, Galactiman said:

If you choose to increase animation speed you must sacrifice something else, like damage, recharge speed, endurance consumption (which will also be increased with animation speed increase), or a proc or set bonus.

Yeah, it can be done well, but I don't think it would be a good fit for CoX. Titan Weapons has this mechanic as its gimmick and that had to be reined in as it was overperforming. 

 

Personally, I'm not in favour of flat damage increases, which this would be by proxy unless it had a significan payoff (lower accuracy?, higher endurance cost?), and part of why CoX combat is so fun for me is the fact that crowd control is both meaningful and impactful. 

 

CoX has a lot of underlying mechanics that one could realistically call ripe for abuse - recharge is the most obvious, but the IO system's easy defence stacking is another. 

 

Something that gave a build-up like "quick animation" proc could be good (which is kinda how Momentum works) but hard to make meaningful. A flat animation speed increase would be overpowered. It's a tough one to balance, but City of Heroes was never a particuarly balanced game, especially once you factor in buffing and debuffing interactions.  

 

It's an interesting idea. 

[Snarky]

8 hours ago, Draeth Darkstar said:

Most of the things you could conceivably enhance about powers already can be, but there are some holes in the system it could be neat to fill. If you could make just one new type of enhancement, what would it be? Why that one? And how would it work?

 

For the sake of discussion, I'll go first.

 

I'd pick "Enhanced Area of Effect." There's two reasons for this: one, it seems to me like the most obvious thing about powers that currently can't be enhanced (at least, not for all of them), and two, because I think it's really cool that you sort of can enhance the area of a cone via +Range enhancements, effectively making it bigger at the end of the range.

 

I would make Area a Schedule B enhancement type (+20% on an even-level SO) the same as Range currently is, which would increase the radius of a PBAOE or TAOE, the arc of a Cone, or the maximum jump distance of a Chain. It would also increase the Target Cap of the power by 1/3rd of that value rounded to the nearest 10%. For example, at 3 even-level SOs, you'd get ~55% increased radius/arc/chain distance and 20% increased Target Cap, which would increase a Target Cap of 6 to 7, 10 to 12, or 16 to 19.

 

Bonus: I would add Enhanced Area as a secondary enhancement to Alpha Core/Radial Resilient and Vigor and as a tertiary enhancement to Radial Intuition, because those are the ones that seem to get the least use currently. I would also make new dual type enhancements that were Damage/Area, Accuracy/Area, Control/Area, and Range/Area. Damage/Area and Control/Area would be added to the special ATF-only pool and the others would be added to the regular dual type pool from Hamidon et. al.

A quick note.  Increasing AoE Radius is not equal to increasing range on a ST attack.  Increasing ST range is a linear bonus.  AoE radius increase would by definition be a geometric increase, and therefore way more powerful.

[TheZag]

I need a shenanigan enhancement.  It would be called sheZAGigans and enhance your ability to troll your friends.

[gamingglen]

13 minutes ago, TheZag said:

I need a shenanigan enhancement.  It would be called sheZAGigans and enhance your ability to troll your friends.

 

You have friends? 😄 

 

I need one to make some friends.  (yeah, yeah, play a Kin and you'll have all the friends you ever want... but all they really want is my bod... powers). 

[TheZag]

17 minutes ago, gamingglen said:

You have friends? 😄

 

I use the term loosely.  I really just have people that are willing to invite me again after teaming once.

[roleki]

Hardly necessary, but I would like to see holds/stuns/immobilizes etc get the same treatment that Slows got with Ice Mistral's Torment, and if it's not too much to ask, both a yellow version and an orange.  

[KC4800]

An immobilize set that adds +def to you. But not some thing that's always active, you have to use the immobilize to get the def boost. Why? When you encase someone in a spider web, they should miss their next few attacks. Although if it gave more -tohit I'd be ok with that as well.

[biostem]

I would like to see a sort of "vampiric" set - whether a direct enhancement set or through set bonuses, that applies a buff to you that complements or compensates for the type of debuff you apply - so +def to you for -def you apply to the enemy, or the inverse, (so +res applied to you for -def applied to the enemy).    I'd also like to see some unique flat +4 mez resistance offered, similar to how steadfast grants you +4 kb protection, (so one for holds, sleeps, stuns, etc).

 

Oh, and another thought:  One that grants you a portion of buffs you apply that are "ally-only".

Edited July 4, 2022 by biostem

[Andreah]

I want a set that reduces my personal aggro cap by 1 as a global effect, and up to five sets can be slotted. 

 

I also want a set that increases my aggro cap by 1 in the same manner. 

[Draeth Darkstar]

3 hours ago, Snarky said:

A quick note.  Increasing AoE Radius is not equal to increasing range on a ST attack.  Increasing ST range is a linear bonus.  AoE radius increase would by definition be a geometric increase, and therefore way more powerful.

It's functionally very different from ST range, yes, but comparable to Cone range, which was the only thing I did compare it to.

 

As for power, you would need to be in a specific scenario where you could saturate your AoE target cap with the radius increase while not being able to do so without it; that's actually why I included a (much smaller) increase to Target Cap, because you could effectively get no benefit from an Area increase that didn't also increase the Target Cap in many common endgame situations. It also comes at an opportunity cost of slotting more damage/accuracy/recharge/procs.

 

  

5 hours ago, Galactiman said:

I know it's completely impossible within the current game engine, but an Increase Animation Speed enhancement would be cool.

 

This would be awesome, but I'm pretty sure @Faultline would go full-blown Redside if that much work had to be done on animation sequencers.

 

9 hours ago, tidge said:

The Contagious Fear piece would behave just as the Contagious Confusion piece works from Coercive Persuasion. If we need to tie the set to a piece of Lore, Jack in Irons uses a fear attack, although I'd rather have his name reserved for a a special "Halloween event" set like Overwhelming Force/Winters.

 

Love the whole idea, but I especially want to highlight how awesome a contagious Fear would be. That's such a cool imagery.

 

  

12 hours ago, Gulbasaur said:

Resistance debuff and damage buff and debuff.

 

I'm aware that resistance debuffs risk being overpowered on a couple of support sets and they're something of a coding oddity due to how resistance and damage debuffs interact with other stats, but some Resist Debuff IO sets with proc effects would be really nice.

 

I would also really like this to be possible, but if I'm remembering correctly, one of the powers devs from the Live server days said they didn't make these because the weird under-the-hood interactions between damage and damage resistance made it not work correctly or something to that effect.

  

12 hours ago, Gulbasaur said:

Thinking about it, a +special proc effect would be really handy. We've got a couple of mini Build Up enhancements, so a mini Power Boost would be great.

 

This would be a lot harder to track since I don't think there's any way to see your +special in the combat stats, but it could be really cool if that could be addressed somehow.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Draeth Darkstar

[Snarky]

7 minutes ago, Draeth Darkstar said:

It's functionally very different from ST range, yes, but comparable to Cone range, which was the only thing I did compare it to.

 

As for power, you would need to be in a specific scenario where you could saturate your AoE target cap with the radius increase while not being able to do so without it; that's actually why I included a (much smaller) increase to Target Cap, because you could effectively get no benefit from an Area increase that didn't also increase the Target Cap in many common endgame situations. It also comes at an opportunity cost of slotting more damage/accuracy/recharge/procs.

i'll give you that.  i thought of cones after i posted.   but cones are more target capped in general i believe?  i think a lot (and this is by memory of blaster aoe and cones so may be wrong) of the circle AoE tend to have more generous target caps making an increase of footprint more functionally powerful

[Draeth Darkstar]

4 minutes ago, Snarky said:

i'll give you that.  i thought of cones after i posted.   but cones are more target capped in general i believe?  i think a lot (and this is by memory of blaster aoe and cones so may be wrong) of the circle AoE tend to have more generous target caps making an increase of footprint more functionally powerful

 

It varies pretty wildly. The only broad strokes rule that seems to be observed hard-and-fast is that the shorter the range of the Cone, the smaller the Target Cap is. For damage abilities that usually means melee get 6 caps, ranged damage get 10 caps, and control/debuff/whatever else get 10 or 16 caps. There are a bunch of exceptions though, especially for Tankers due to Gauntlet.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Draeth Darkstar

[Erratic1]

 Effect Duration Increase

 

I do not think it should be enabled on powers which modify Global Recharge or other powers whose durations already have existing enhancements (Holds, Immobilizes). But for other powers, rather than having to work in Recharge Reduction it would be nice to instead be able to make the effect last longer.

[Sovera]

Taking a few notes from Path of Exile:

 

- An enhancement that increases the radius of PbAoEs at the expense of a % less damage.

- An enhancement that decreases the radius of PbAoEs and in exchange increases damage by a %.

 

[Aracknight]

Very Rare Slow set

 

A taunt set with a Fear proc.

 

A proc that increases (and another that decreases) Threat Level.  Might mitigate runners.