Swashbuckler? Mauler? Name This AT! (And Help Me Flesh It Out Too.)

[Rudra]

So, @Sakura Tenshi got me thinking in another thread. Okay, first off. Everyone calm down. The men in the white coats are standing right next to me with the Happy Juice (tm). Everything is going to be okay. I think....

 

Anyway! I don't know if this has been proposed yet or not, and I'm too lazy right now to go check. Basically, I'm proposing an inverse Blaster AT. The primary pools would be more or less straight copies of the Scrapper sets. The secondary pools would be ripoffs of the Blaster's manipulation sets. With some obvious differences. The basic structure would be:

 

T1:   Basic armor set appropriate to theme.

T2:   Basic ranged attack.

T3:   Basic utility power.

T4:   Another ranged attack.

T5:  Mez protection or an armor. (Not sure which.)

T6:  Another ranged attack.

T7:  Another utility power.

T8:  Another ranged attack or an armor. (Mostly dependent on whether the T5 is an armor or not.)

T9:  GO NUTS! ... I mean... a big ranged attack....

 

So for instance, a fire secondary. ... What the blazes should the secondary even be called?! Anyway! Fire secondary.

T1:  Fire Shield variant.

T2:  Flares.

T3:  ... I have no clue... a damage power up maybe?

T4:  Fire Blast.

T5:  Plasma Shield.

T6:  Fireball.

T7:  ... someone give me a hand with this please....

T8:  ... probably Rain of Fire? Maybe Temperature Protection or Healing Flames?

T9:  Blaze, Blazing Bolt, or maybe even Inferno? ... probably not Inferno....

 

Could even make whole new power sets like Vacuum Slash. Replace the example ranged attacks with shiny crescents flying at the targets from a sword.

 

Seriously, I gave this AT some thought, but this was the best I could come up with. Help? Please? Or tell me to toss it in a dumpster with some incendiary charges? What do the rest of you think?

[biostem]

Interesting.  So mainly melee, with some ranged and armor powers mixed into the secondary.  What would be this ATs schtick?  Where do you see the damage scale being?  It kind of seems like a more offensively-focused Sentinel, giving up some armor for ranged attacks.  

[dangeraaron10]

Well, I'm not really sure how different this would be than a Scrapper picking up some ranged attacks from an Epic pool, conceptually aside from more variety in powerset themes.

 

I would caution against more ATs that present themselves as a "go between" on a sliding scale between existing ATs as the balancing act causes no end of frustration.  If this AT is less durable than a Scrapper, should it do more damage?  For all intents and purposes this is a Melee AT with a couple extra ranged attacks for the occasional runner.

 

Personally I like the idea of a sturdy, mostly melee playstyle with a couple heavy hitting but not often used ranged attacks.  Very comic booky, in my eyes.  Though I would rather see additional Epic pools for every AT including more ranged focus pools for Melee ATs if they don't value additional control or support powers.

 

For this AT specifically?  Maybe "The Skrimisher" as Swashbuckler is a bit too specific in it's theme.  

[Rudra]

1 hour ago, biostem said:

Interesting.  So mainly melee, with some ranged and armor powers mixed into the secondary.  What would be this ATs schtick?  Where do you see the damage scale being?  It kind of seems like a more offensively-focused Sentinel, giving up some armor for ranged attacks.  

Details! Details! I don't even have an inherent or name for this yet! 😄

 

Anyway, @dangeraaron10 summed it up pretty good. Focus would be on doing damage. I figure it shouldn't get crits since it can hang back at range or close in, so it would just be relying on its base damage as enhanced by others and enhancements. And nothing like the fury bar! That is strictly the Brute's schtick. So! Hrm... damage....

 

Con: This AT still gets armors, but not as much as even ye olde Scrapper despite being in the thick of things most times.

Pro: This AT has ample ranged attacks to either soften up targets prior to engaging or eliminate runners.

 

Sooooooo... ... uhm... probably slightly higher damage than the Scrapper. A lack of crits would still let Scrappers shine with significantly higher damage since they get crits and can improve their chances of critting with their ATOs, but this AT would still do respectable damage for a melee-focused AT. Brutes would also quickly overtake this AT in damage with their Fury, but that would be necessary simply for AT balance.

 

This is all purely speculative at this point. Not even to the "Hey, devs. Would you look this over and maybe implement?" point yet. (And the devs would need to do the final balancing anyways.) Right now, this AT still needs to be fleshed out for what its schtick actually is, what would be a good inherent for it that doesn't step on other AT toes, what would be the necessary changes to the Scrapper primaries for this new AT, what would be the actual template for its secondaries since even that isn't fleshed out yet, and a name.

 

So pretty much everything on this AT is open for debate! Give me your thoughts forum!

[UltraAlt]

5 hours ago, Rudra said:

This is all purely speculative at this point.

 

Yeah. I think you need to think this one out some more and take game balance into account.

No reason not to type it out in the forums as you progress the idea and build on the concept.

[Rudra]

1 hour ago, UltraAlt said:

 

Yeah. I think you need to think this one out some more and take game balance into account.

No reason not to type it out in the forums as you progress the idea and build on the concept.

I posted it on the forums to get feedback on how to do exactly that.

 

Edit: I even specifically asked for help with the AT in the OP.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Rudra

[UltraAlt]

54 minutes ago, Rudra said:

I posted it on the forums to get feedback on how to do exactly that.

 

Yeah, I know. I need more information before I can help you.

 

One of the main obstacles I can see is the want for Melee attacks, Ranged Attacks, and "armor" in this Archetype.

In general, we only get 2 of these in a set.

 

So say we blend armor aspects into both the Primary and Secondary.

I"m assuming that the Primary is Scrapper and the secondary part is the secondary blaster part? is that correct?

You want to say make a Martial arts (Screapper set)/Martial Arts (Blaster secondary) but with armor mixed into both the primary and secondary sets? Is that correct?

 

I think  you see where I'm needing more information from you before I can continue.

[Rudra]

Basically I'm looking at an inverse Blaster. I put the armors in, in limited fashion, because I figured they were a necessity for melee range survival since there are no controls in the set. I'm fine with taking the armors out. (Edit: What would you replace them with though?)

Edited January 26, 2023 by Rudra

[Rudra]

Ooh! How about something like this?

 

Fire... something or other....

T1:  Flame Burst. Imposes a -(what would be a fair Mag? 3.5?) % penalty on a single target's accuracy against you. (You briefly flare a flame at an opponent in melee combat with you. Short to moderate recharge. Uses... I can't remember the attack's name.... The one where you brandish a single hand that is on fire as part of the attack.... Use that as the animation.)

T2:  Flares.

T3:  A Perception boosting power. Name it something appropriate.

T4:  Fire Blast.

T5:  Healing Flames.

T6:  Fireball.

T7:  Overheat. 8' radius stun PBAoE. (You instantly raise the temperature around you, causing air to flow up and away from the battle. The sudden shock of lack of air and overwhelming heat stuns foes in its radius. Long recharge, moderate duration? Uses Consume animation?)

T8: Blinding Flames if toggle or Flare if clickie. Imposes another To Hit debuff, this time in a PBAoE. (Long duration effect if a clickie.)

T9:  Blaze or Blazing Bolt, not sure which.

 

Bear in mind this is just to determine a template upon which the rest of the powers would also be patterned. So in the case of @Sakura Tenshi's anime swordsperson with their ranged attacks, it would probably go something like this:

 

Sword Master set?

T1: Blade Flare. You reflect light off your sword at an opponent. (Still a ToHit debuff.)

T2: Wind Slash. Quick ranged attack. Same as ye olde stats for average Blaster T1s.

T3: Sense Other. Skilled warriors can sense their foes even when hidden. (Still just a +Perception power.)

T4: Falcon Strike. A moderate ranged attack roughly equivalent to a Blaster T2 attack.

T5: Inner Fortitude. A self-heal.

T6: Crushing Strike. A cone attack.

T7: Warrior's Spirit. PBAoE stun. The best warriors can defeat their foes before the first strike even happens. (Still long recharge maybe?)

T8: Death Wish. PBAoE slow. Fear can fell even the mightiest of foes. (Toggle.)

T9: Master's Blade. PBAoE high (severe?) damage attack.

 

All PBAoEs can be 8 or 10 feet. Just grasping at what would be a good radius.

 

Would this be more balanced to you? The AT would still have a measure of surviving in close through the use of a few debuffs or soft controls. No more getting ranged attacks + melee attacks + armor (even if only a limited capacity).

Edited January 26, 2023 by Rudra
Edited for clarity and to add "Sword Master set?" as possible name.

[UltraAlt]

11 hours ago, Rudra said:

Basically I'm looking at an inverse Blaster. I put the armors in, in limited fashion, because I figured they were a necessity for melee range survival since there are no controls in the set. I'm fine with taking the armors out. (Edit: What would you replace them with though?)

 

Okay.

I'm going to take a ground up approach on this.

I don't think what  you are suggesting is power sets. It looks like to me to be an entire new AT.

 

With a name like Swashbuckling and what is suggested, what comes to mind to me is a character with dual swords primary and dual pistols secondary, but it could be a mix of which ever melee and ranged sets that already exist. Character uses an axe and throws ice attacks at people? Great! Character that fights with melee fire attacks and throws ranged fire attacks? Great! Want to make a martial arts/electrical? that can work too in the comics/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy genre that City of Heroes has become. 

 

Primary is Melee. Secondary is ranged.

This is based on being able to have access to a pick of a melee weapon type for primary and a blast type for secondary.

 

Primary - Melee

T1 - Medium damage/recharge melee Attack

T2 - Melee attack Defense or Resistance power (toggle power w/ +special resist based on type of power [ice, street fighting, dual blades, etc.)

T3 - Cone Medium damage/recharge attack

T4 - Mez resistance power

T5 - High/medium recharge melee attack

T6- Defense or Resistance power all but ? (auto power but not as strong as the T2 power)

T7 - Self heal

T8 - Self Rez

T9 - PBAoE - Extreme damage - long recharge/high end cost - probably with exhaustion effect (unable to gain endurance for a set length of time) aka "berserk")

 

Secondary - Ranged

T1 - medium damage/recharge ranged immobilize attack 40 foot range (can be enhanced) [Base range limited as to not interfere with other primarily "range" attack classes and to make up for the Armor component.)

T2 - Ranged attack Defense or Resistance power (toggle - maybe all but ?)

T3 - medium damage/recharge ranged AoE attack - 30 foot range with set based FX

T4 - AoE defense or resistance Power

T5 - Build up (have this boost perception as well as +damage and + to hit)

T6 - PBAoE aura attack light damage with set based FX

T7 - Confront/Challenge

T8 - Click short-time defense or resistance versus all (maybe "all but?' depending on set) w/ high end cost.

T9 - Extreme damage Snipe - range 50-60 feet

 

*"all but ?" = except toxic, except psionic, etc <- which is related to that type of power set in the other ATs.

 

Should your character need to change weapons for use of Primaries versus secondarys?

Should you use the secondary ranged weapon for melee attacks (like Green Arrow melee fighting with his bow at close range or pistol-whipping, hitting enemies with the butt of your assault rifle, etc.)?

 

There would need to be a lot of balancing on endurance costs, recharge times, damage and defense-or-resistance levels. but I think that crams all the kind things  you are looking for into an AT.

It allows for the melee attacks, ranged attacks, and armor protection that one would commonly expect in a melee character (melee, ranged, AoE, all, and mez protection).

It might seem a little light on attacks, but one can gain more of those from the power pools or P2W powers.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by UltraAlt
restructuring post

[Rudra]

2 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

Okay.

I'm going to take a ground up approach on this.

I don't think what  you are suggesting is power sets. It looks like to me to be an entire new AT.

Uhm...

Swashbuckler? Mauler? Name This AT! (And Help Me Flesh It Out Too.)

23 hours ago, Rudra said:

I'm proposing an inverse Blaster AT

 

11 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

One of the main obstacles I can see is the want for Melee attacks, Ranged Attacks, and "armor" in this Archetype.

 

 

You are also doing what you said was imbalanced on my previous posts. Combining melee with ranged and armor. So now you have me extremely confused as to what is going on here.

[UltraAlt]

Just now, Rudra said:

Uhm...

 

Yep. I know, but to me. you were talking about it like power sets versus an AT.

 

1 minute ago, Rudra said:

You are also doing what you said was imbalanced on my previous posts. Combining melee with ranged and armor. So now you have me extremely confused as to what is going on here.

 

I agree. I did say that.

I'm trying to work with you on this and making suggestions on what you indicated.

 

That isn't to say that I don't think adding the armor in is a bit of out of balance, but I made a closing statement in regard to that (I did update my post a couple of times and you may have responded before I had edited it a couple of times - but the basics of it were all in there when I originally posted).

 

I'm shifting my viewpoint to try to fit your paradigm at this point.

My initial posts were based on the way things are currently set-up in the game (balance-wise) and my understanding at that point of what you were suggesting.

[Rudra]

7 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

With a name like Swashbuckling and what is suggested, what comes to mind to me is a character with dual swords primary and dual pistols secondary, but it could be a mix of which ever melee and ranged sets that already exist. Character uses an axe and throws ice attacks at people? Great! Character that fights with melee fire attacks and throws ranged fire attacks? Great! Want to make a martial arts/electrical? that can work too in the comics/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy genre that City of Heroes has become. 

 

Primary is Melee. Secondary is ranged.

This is based on being able to have access to a pick of a melee weapon type for primary and a blast type for secondary.

You mostly got it. The AT is not focused on weapons. It is a melee primary with ranged secondary AT. So you want to be a fire whatever? You have lots of fire melee attacks, some fire ranged attacks, and some other powers to help with survival. You want to be a sword wielder with some sort of sword-based ranged attacks? Well, that hss to be built from the ground up still, but this AT will do it. You want to be a martial artist that pulls out a gun to deal with those dishonorable runners? Go ahead. You want to be a video game fighter? You have your martial arts primary as your bread and butter attacks, and fire or ice or dark or whatever for your ki attacks. It is meant to be as open-ended for concepts as I can manage.

 

Blasters are a good start for this since they already mix ranged and melee attacks. However, ranged is the Blaster's primary focus. Doesn't really match the theme of a melee focused character with ranged attacks filling out his or her repertoire of abilities. So... inverse Blaster. Problem is, the Blaster's primary is too much for the AT and just copying the secondaries by swapping the melee attacks with ranged attacks does not flow with a melee-focused character. So I used armors to fill those gaps. You said that wasn't balanced. So I made a new run at it that uses soft controls instead.

[UltraAlt]

@Rudra but I still might me misunderstanding what your actual goal is.

I'm reading it like you wanted a reverse blaster, which to me is a melee character with blaster secondary powers and melee class type armor/protection, but I maybe confused still about your actual target.

[UltraAlt]

3 minutes ago, Rudra said:

So I used armors to fill those gaps. You said that wasn't balanced. So I made a new run at it that uses soft controls instead.

 

From the game-meta, armor and ranged attacks have only really had a mix with Sentinels - and that leaves them out on the third aspect, which is the melee attacks.

It's a rock-paper-scissors kind of thing, but you get to pick 2.

 

I would also think that the Swashbuckler AT would have higher HP base than squishes based on my understanding of your target is at this point.

[Rudra]

Okay. I admit I'm not terribly clear most times.

 

What I am going for in theme is a melee focused character. The character prefers in close combat, so that is the primary focus. So I am simply stealing the Scrapper's primary sets for this AT as this AT's primaries because the Scrapper sets already do a really good job of random melee character. However, the character also has an array of ranged attacks. Since the focus is on melee, the number of ranged attacks needs to be limited. However, there does need to be enough ranged attacks for the AT to maintain a rudimentary attack chain. Think of characters like Batman who excels in close combat but also has a vast array of ranged attacks as options. (Mostly control type options.) Or the anime character that fights with his/her weapon in close and uses ranged attacks to supplement their ability against foes that keep their distance. or a video game character that is almost all melee, but can chain together ranged attacks to defeat their foes.

 

That is basically what I am trying to create here. I'm not doing a very good job of it, and I apologize for the confusion, but that is my end goal. A melee-focused AT that has a chainable (even if limited) array of ranged attacks. Too OP? Maybe, maybe not. Not sure yet.

 

Edit: yeah... it's not a swashbuckler AT. However, I couldn't think of a good name for the AT when I created the thread and swashbucklers are the only character type I could immediately think of that mixes ranged with melee while being melee focused. Just forget the swashbuckler part. it is not a defining thing here.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Rudra

[UltraAlt]

now I'm onto what the AT innate power would be.

To go with the Swashbuckling theme, I would think that a get-away power when the character is in trouble would be a good thing.

Like once the character go below 25% HP the innate power triggers with works as a breakfree, +run, +jump, and +fly until the character has more than 25% HP.  If you already have the Mez resistance power, this would still automatically trigger - if say that was still recharging or you were in mid combat and didn't have time to trigger it.

 

9 minutes ago, Rudra said:

That is basically what I am trying to create here. I'm not doing a very good job of it, and I apologize for the confusion, but that is my end goal. A melee-focused AT that has a chainable (even if limited) array of ranged attacks. Too OP? Maybe, maybe not. Not sure yet.

 

I'm still trying to narrow in.

I'm seeing a pirate boarding a ship. They maybe shot an opponent or two on the riggings and jump aboard the target ship. They pull out their swords and fights in melee range, and pull out their pistol(s) from time to time to shot someone is farther away.

-or-

Indiana Jones just fails with the whip and pulls out a pistol and shoots the guy. Most of the time he is fisticuffs or the whip, but, nonetheless, - always has access to the ranged pistol attacks.

 

To me, Batman is primarily boxing/martial arts and mainly just uses the batarangs for ranged attacks (be that simply hitting opponents with them or spreading knockout gas and the batarangs being of various sizes [and, of course, use as a grappling/entangling item]).

 

I'm thinking John Carter Warlord of Mars, The Three Musketeers, Errol Flynn in Pirate movies (or even Robin Hood - he does pull out a sword in parts of that), etc.

 

16 minutes ago, Rudra said:

A melee-focused AT that has a chainable (even if limited) array of ranged attacks.

 

So when you do a melee attack it can combo into a ranged attack? (do increase damage, some kind of fx, or maybe increase the range of the ranged attack?)

Hmmm. I don't think we really have "get over here" powers other than the taunts. 

That would be kind of interesting to do a melee attack and then the range attack gains a taunt component that makes the enemy hit need to move into melee range in order to fight your character. Which would mean that if hit them with an entangle/immobilize and they are out of melee range, they wouldn't be able to attack your character until your character moved into their melee range or they were free of the entangle/immobilize. 

 

 

[Rudra]

34 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

now I'm onto what the AT innate power would be.

To go with the Swashbuckling theme, I would think that a get-away power when the character is in trouble would be a good thing.

Like once the character go below 25% HP the innate power triggers with works as a breakfree, +run, +jump, and +fly until the character has more than 25% HP.  If you already have the Mez resistance power, this would still automatically trigger - if say that was still recharging or you were in mid combat and didn't have time to trigger it.

I really, really like that for the inherent. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Or gets away depending on how the player uses the inherent. It would also address the lack of mez protection in my second attempt at the AT.

 

34 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

I'm seeing a pirate boarding a ship. They maybe shot an opponent or two on the riggings and jump aboard the target ship. They pull out their swords and fights in melee range, and pull out their pistol(s) from time to time to shot someone is farther away.

-or-

Indiana Jones just fails with the whip and pulls out a pistol and shoots the guy. Most of the time he is fisticuffs or the whip, but, nonetheless, - always has access to the ranged pistol attacks.

Those are good takes on the idea. The pirate relies mainly on his cutlass for combat, but has his pistol(s) available for dealing with distant threats or just making an opening to cross the gap between ships. Indie relies mostly on fisticuffs for fighting with his whip giving him greater versatility, but has his trusty pistol for pinning down a threat to cover others, picking off targets, or because melee is just not a good idea at the time. Yes, more or less this. A melee focused character that is still capable at range.

 

34 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

 

So when you do a melee attack it can combo into a ranged attack? (do increase damage, some kind of fx, or maybe increase the range of the ranged attack?)

I wasn't thinking of chaining the melee and ranged together, just chaining melee into melee and ranged into ranged. However, this would also be an interesting mechanic to incorporate. Could even be the inherent in lieu of the triggered mez protection + move.

 

34 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

 

I'm thinking John Carter Warlord of Mars, The Three Musketeers, Errol Flynn in Pirate movies (or even Robin Hood - he does pull out a sword in parts of that), etc.

Uhm... okay.... I understand the Three Musketeers reference, but you lost me on John Carter Warlord of Mars and Errol Flynn.... (I do get Robin Hood though. And yes, except that is more a Blaster since his bow is his primary means of fighting.)

 

34 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

Hmmm. I don't think we really have "get over here" powers other than the taunts. 

That would be kind of interesting to do a melee attack and then the range attack gains a taunt component that makes the enemy hit need to move into melee range in order to fight your character. Which would mean that if hit them with an entangle/immobilize and they are out of melee range, they wouldn't be able to attack your character until your character moved into their melee range or they were free of the entangle/immobilize. 

The Confront power in the Scrapper primary fills this role. I love that power. I get many others hate it, but it does fill the role.

 

Okay, so far I'm thinking of using my second attempt at the secondaries coupled with the Scrapper primaries and using either the triggered mez protection + move or the melee enhances ranged enhances melee bit as the inherent. (Edit: I know you didn't say melee enhances ranged enhances melee, but it works from my point of view. Your melee attacks grant a very brief boost to your ranged attacks, either for range or damage. And your ranged attacks grant a very brief boost to your melee attacks, either damage or a +special component. Which could make for a very interesting AT concept and inherent actually....)

 

Edit again: Nah, stick with the triggered mez protection + move one. Far more practical and nowhere near as disruptive to normal game play as making players keep swapping between melee and ranged.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Rudra
Edited to add "that" between "love" and "power".

[Akisan]

With that pairing, I'd probably name the AT as "Striker" or "Harrier", depending on if the desired playstyle is a few ranged attacks before moving in for a melee kill, vs. nimbly shifting in and out of melee, keeping something's attention.

 

And based on that - themes:

 

Striker:

Strike hard, strike fast, get out. High Damage, +movement and -threat.  I'd add attacks with short(er) animation times, longer cooldowns, more endurance cost, but more damage.

 

Harrier:

Keep a foe off guard, either to line up a finishing blow, or to allow your allies to easily finish the job. Moderate-Low Damage, +movement and maybe +threat.  Melee & ranged attacks, possibly with debuffs attached.  Lighter armor (worse than Scrappers), with light, single-target CC/aggro tools. (example power - a melee strike that lowers enemy range and taunts them.  Ideally, one would hit them and then jump away, forcing them to chase.)

 

Both variants could receive mobility tools to help them get in and out of melee range.

 

Edit - The Striker's ranged attacks would boost melee damage, and vis-versa (or could carry a resist debuff)

Edited January 26, 2023 by Akisan

[Rudra]

6 minutes ago, Akisan said:

With that pairing, I'd probably name the AT as "Striker" or "Harrier", depending on if the desired playstyle is a few ranged attacks before moving in for a melee kill, vs. nimbly shifting in and out of melee, keeping something's attention.

 

And based on that - themes:

 

Striker:

Strike hard, strike fast, get out. High Damage, +movement and -threat.  I'd add attacks with short(er) animation times, longer cooldowns, more endurance cost, but more damage.

 

Harrier:

Keep a foe off guard, either to line up a finishing blow, or to allow your allies to easily finish the job. Moderate-Low Damage, +movement and maybe +threat.  Melee & ranged attacks, possibly with debuffs attached.  Lighter armor (worse than Scrappers), with light, single-target CC/aggro tools. (example power - a melee strike that lowers enemy range and taunts them.  Ideally, one would hit them and then jump away, forcing them to chase.)

 

Both variants could receive mobility tools to help them get in and out of melee range.

I like the Striker. It meshes better with what I'm trying for here. Still melee focuses, but can fall back and just rely on range as necessary. Hit hard, hit fast, and move where you're needed. Not specifically trying to shift in or out and keep others' attentions so much as just being able to adapt to the situation and murder... ... I mean... arrest or defeat... the opposition. (Not sure about the -threat part, but lacking armors, probably a good idea for survivability.)

[UltraAlt]

11 hours ago, Rudra said:

John Carter Warlord of Mars

 

Check out what is on his right hip.

 

 

I admit I had to dig a bit to find pictures that clearly show him using a pistol.

 

 

 

The marvel action figure

 

 

another company's John Carter action figure ....

 

 

onto Errol Flynn

 

 

Pirate prop pistol from "Captain Blood"

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 hours ago, Rudra said:

(I do get Robin Hood though. And yes, except that is more a Blaster since his bow is his primary means of fighting.)

 

Agreed.

 

11 hours ago, Rudra said:

The Confront power in the Scrapper primary fills this role. I love that power. I get many others hate it, but it does fill the role.

 

yeah, sorry. I was lumping Confront in with the Tanker Taunt and shouldn't have (even though they both do take Threat (taunt/pacify) enhances if I remember correctly)

I did put that in on my list of Secondary Powers that I thought would work for the AT. I put it in the secondary as the primary was was already filling up with armor stuff and I wanted to make sure that the Primary had a decent amount of attacks in it.

 

My listings are generic while yours seem to be set based by the way it was written. That's why I didn't name anything in my listings and simply the powers types - to keep it generic. Of course, powers usually shuffle around in the various power sets of any AT.

It has 4 primary set melee attacks and 4 secondary set attacks. It includes and PBAoE nuke in the primary and a snipe in the secondary. Secondary includes a ranged immobilize and the PBAoE damage field.  The primary a cone and the secondary an AoE. Rounding out with the standard Melee defense/resist powers types, a self heal, a self rez, and a mez protection power.

 

11 hours ago, Rudra said:

(Edit: I know you didn't say melee enhances ranged enhances melee, but it works from my point of view. Your melee attacks grant a very brief boost to your ranged attacks, either for range or damage. And your ranged attacks grant a very brief boost to your melee attacks, either damage or a +special component. Which could make for a very interesting AT concept and inherent actually....)

 

It's your idea. I'm just giving input for the discussion.

 

10 hours ago, Akisan said:

Striker:

Strike hard, strike fast, get out. High Damage, +movement and -threat.  I'd add attacks with short(er) animation times, longer cooldowns, more endurance cost, but more damage.

 

Harrier:

Keep a foe off guard, either to line up a finishing blow, or to allow your allies to easily finish the job. Moderate-Low Damage, +movement and maybe +threat.  Melee & ranged attacks, possibly with debuffs attached.  Lighter armor (worse than Scrappers), with light, single-target CC/aggro tools. (example power - a melee strike that lowers enemy range and taunts them.  Ideally, one would hit them and then jump away, forcing them to chase.)

 

Yeah, seems like playstyles within the AT set.

 

Stalkers tend to play in one of those two modes.

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by UltraAlt
"sent" should have been "tend"

[UltraAlt]

So going with the basic framework that I was suggesting, below is for a Martial Arts/Martial Arts swashbuckler

 

Primary - Melee - Martial Arts

T1 - KI-push -Medium damage/recharge melee Attack + Knockback

T2 - Focused Fighting - Melee attack Defense +RES (confuse, defense debuff)

T3 - Dragon's Tail - PBAoE Medium damage/recharge attack

T4 - Practiced Brawler - click -Mez resistance power

T5 - Crane Kick - High/medium recharge melee attack

T6 - Dodge - Auto - melee Defense + RES (All DMG, Defense Debuff, Special) 

T7 - Inner Will - Self heal + Special

T8 - Stalwart Will - Self Rez

T9 - Fist of Fury - PBAoE - Extreme damage - long recharge/high end cost - probably with exhaustion effect (unable to gain endurance for a set length of time) aka "berserk")

 

Secondary - Ranged - Martial Arts

T1 - Shuriken Throw - medium DMG(Lethal) + sleep - 40 foot range

T2 - Focused Senses - toggle - Ranged attack Defense + RES (defense debuff) + perception

T3 - Trick Shot - Ranged (Chain), Moderate DMG (Lethal) - 30 foot range with set based FX

T4 - Evasion - Toggle - Self +DEF(vs. AoE), +Res(DEF Debuff)

T5 - Focus Chi - +DMG, +To-Hit

T6 - Reaction Time - Toggle - PBAoE, Self Absorb over Time, +Recovery, Foe –Rech, -Move, Special

T7 - Warrior's Challenge - Ranged, Foe Taunt

T8 - Elude - Self +DEF, +Res(DEF Debuff), +Rec, +SPD, +Special (tone down as not a T9)

T9 - Masterful Throw - Sniper, Extreme DMG(Lethal), Foe -To Hit - range 50-60 feet

[Rudra]

Ki Push works well for a Blaster since theoretically they want to keep their distance. It doesn't really fit the schema of this proposed AT though. Melee is the preferred, and the "knockback" of Ki Push is more like a repel effect when you watch it. The target slooooooowwwwwwlyyyyyyy flies away from you. I'm not a fan of splitting armors between sets either. Though it could work... ... now I'm imagining a fire/ice Striker using both fire and ice armors... that could be weirdly fun....

 

I'm wondering if armors are the way to go though. Especially given what you said earlier. Does it make more sense for this AT to use armors or to use soft controls to survive? (This is a serious question I'm asking. Not rhetorical. And is aimed at everyone willing to answer.)

[UltraAlt]

7 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Ki Push works well for a Blaster since theoretically they want to keep their distance. It doesn't really fit the schema of this proposed AT though. Melee is the preferred, and the "knockback" of Ki Push is more like a repel effect when you watch it. The target slooooooowwwwwwlyyyyyyy flies away from you.

 

Like all knockback, it is a matter of how you use it.

If you are fighting a single target, you could use your other melee powers, and then KI push them and follow up with your ranged attacks.

If you are fighting multiple targets, you could use it to knock one back with Ki push and then fight the remaining ones that are close with melee attacks.

Personally, I like to use Ki Push to throw enemies into walls and especially corners, use my other melee attacks until they start to stand up, then Ki push them again and repeat.

Stick a Blistering Cold: Recharge/Chance for Hold in Ki Push and you might even hit them with a hold as well.

 

 

[Rudra]

New version/attempt at this AT. Kind of cludged together from previous attempts and feedback.

 

Striker:

Inherent: Unstoppable:

When HP drops to 25% or less, gain +10% regen and +10% speed (recharge and movement) until above 25% HP?

 

Primary: Melee

T1: Light damage melee attack (fast or very fast recharge)

T2: Moderate damage melee attack (fast or moderate recharge)

T3: Melee defense or resist power (theme dependent toggle)*

T4: Cone moderate damage melee attack (moderate recharge)

T5: Mez Protection

T6: Confront

T7: High damage melee attack (moderate recharge)

T8: Cone high damage or moderate damage+special melee attack (moderate-long recharge)

T9: PBAoE severe to extreme damage melee attack (long recharge)

 

Secondary: Range

T1: Light damage or light(er) damage+special ranged attack (moderate recharge)

T2: Ranged defense or resist power*

T3: Special power (perception increasing power [including +ACC or +ToHit] or minor enemy debuff power for instance)

T4: Moderate damage ranged attack or light damage+special ranged attack

T5: Self heal or Build Up

T6: AoE defense or resist power*

T7: PBAoE utility power (toggle or moderate recharge click; enemy debuff)

T8: Cone or TAoE moderate damage ranged attack

T9: High damage ranged attack or panic button power

 

*- Defenses may be changed to typed rather than positional depending on set theme, or may include typed damage resist/defense on top of positional at lowered values for all defenses/resists depending on power set theme (such as fire). All defenses/resists to be at lower base values than Scrappers. (Edit again: Or may substitute regeneration powers for a regen-based pairing.)

 

Disclaimer: Power order subject to re-arrangement as appropriate for power set. (See Scrapper primary powers as available for review at https://cod.uberguy.net/html/index.html for more information.)

 

So how is this?

Edited January 30, 2023 by Rudra
Edited to add forgotten inherent power.