Aligning with the times: EMP/Sonic suggestions for quick tweaks

[Seldom]

Being a recovering altoholic driven to have one character of every powerset, it's been eye-opening to see just how good some powersets are, and how the 'product of their time' powers line up to these.

 

Two in particular stand out in my recent experience: Empathy (Particularly in the shadow of Nature affinity) and Sonic Resonance, in the shadow of Cold/FF/even thermal.

Starting with Empathy:

Absorb pain has a lot of overlap in a powerset that already has many heals. Many folks skip this, it doesn't add much new aside from a burst of what is available already. Suggestion: Add an actual absorb effect, with an added 30 sec duration, 18 sec recharge. This won't change slotting, but will give some more wiggle room for timing to save allies, if not giving some added prevention. The heal part AND heal debuff could remain, but only if the ally is damaged.

Clear mind is a mez protection that's hard to keep up broadly, costs a full power slot in a game with limited mez enemies and plentiful other mez protection paths. In a powerset with limited protective capabilities and plentiful clicking, make it better at mental protection more easily used. Suggestion: Make this into a 30ft ally Aoe, (similar to shield buffs) providing broader mez protection to the team, as well as an enhanceable/non-stacking +15% psi resistance.
Recovery/Regen auras both have 500 sec recharges. Meanwhile Chrono shift is 360 secs while doing a lot more, Wild bastion 240 for a similar heal area buff. Suggestion: Setting RA's to either 240 or 360 would make the powers for more available.

Adrenalin Boost is a single target buff that lasts 90secs with a 300 sec recharge. Most other high impact single target buffs (temporal selection/forge) last 120 secs. Suggestion: increase duration to 120 secs to allow this to be kept up more readily.

Sonic resonance:
Disruption field is the same cost as many other toggle AoE debuffs, but requires good positioning from a pet/player outside of you (not always available) while only having a single effect. Suggestion: Make the power able to toggle on an ally OR an enemy, like enflame from sorcery. Add a minor -tohit to give unique pairing of multiple effects.

Sonic Cage slows down any fight it's used in, and often protects a target from the kill speed of many players teams, leaving folks to wait for it to come down. Suggestion: make this a timed toggle, like dimension shift. 35 max duration, 60 sec recharge.

Liquefy is handy, but lasts too short a time (30 secs) for its recharge. (300 secs) It does many things, but many of the effects aren't needed. Suggestion: pair down the effects, and extend the duration. Remove the damage, hold, -jump. extend duration to 240 secs, like emp arrow.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Barneysaurus

[Rudra]

Just as a heads up? Sonic Resonance is not an older set compared to Cold Domination, Force Field, or Thermal Radiation. You're comparing legacy to legacy and saying it needs to be updated to match legacy....

 

(Edit: Aside from that note, since I don't use any of those sets even on the ATs I play that have access to them, I'm not going to weight in on this. Though I will warn you now, there is a lot of love for the Empathy and Sonic Resonance sets, so you should prepare for the response.  Also, bear in mind that any changes to these sets will also affect the powers the mobs use against the players. Looking forward to fighting enemies that get layered absorbs placed on them? Like Numina AoE Clear Minding the Freedom Phalanx and granting them all absorb?)

Edited October 17, 2023 by Rudra

[Psyonico]

What I've always said about Sonic Resonance is that it needs 2 things

 

1. Liquify's recharge needs to be reduced.  No other changes to the power, cut it in half and call it a day

2. Endurance usage on the toggles needs to be reduced, whether it's all is the toggles or just Disruption Field, I don't know. 

 

Really, that's what's need for Sonic

 

As for empathy... I am not sold it needs to be buffed.  It's already one of the strongest buffing sets in the game.

[Seldom]

Fair point to the age, but as sets are added or playstyles/understanding evolve, these two stuck out as the ones that need to work harder to do what other sets do with ease.

As to Numina, I would rather a set be improved for characters and then resolve the bosses/enemies than hamstring players.

[Seldom]

4 minutes ago, Psyonico said:

What I've always said about Sonic Resonance is that it needs 2 things

 

1. Liquify's recharge needs to be reduced.  No other changes to the power, cut it in half and call it a day

2. Endurance usage on the toggles needs to be reduced, whether it's all is the toggles or just Disruption Field, I don't know. 

 

Really, that's what's need for Sonic

 

As for empathy... I am not sold it needs to be buffed.  It's already one of the strongest buffing sets in the game.

 

I kind of agree on the toggles,  but unfortunately the costs are in line with the game.

 

Empathy is strong with high recharge, but is hurt by the recharge/duration mismatches, and has less to offer in high control or good mitigation situations. That and it's focus on heals (a third of the powers) doesn't offer many different solutions.

[honoroit]

single target status dispels (as a mez buff, which breaks the mez) i think was the thought.... and maybe if we called these 'esuna' its seem more like what someone thought the healer should be doing with their time.

 

i.e. see defuff and dispel as point cast, or respond to the rare but still posted 'zzzzz' from team mates (the height of egocentrism!)

 

itd be nice for them to be aoe, but if they were youd blanket every 1m30 or less, as opposed to 'playing healer dispel duty'...

 

agree with much of ops suggestions. nature vs empath shines nature EXCEPT when heal output is st oriented and requires chain cast.  could you be thermal at that point... ya, and likely doing ok plus having put res shields.  your just missing the second st heal that hurts you.

 

sonic resonance is trash (go thermal), aside from the -rez toggle you put on a player.

 

pain dom is a bit lack luster too, the aura is nice, the scream is ok... but empaths two aura buffs are stronger than that aura, and work when people move away, which they tend to.

 

are empath and sonic res underpowered, for want when be heals'y? yes.

 

as for empath and pain as 'i get hurt spells to heal you'. we get shit blood magic, and should have 'profaned land'

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by honoroit

[Doomguide2005]

Empathy

     Absorb Pain - I'd be okay with tweaking to include an Absorb.  I'd probably still skip it though as long as the self debuffs existed outside of maybe Hard Mode my playstyle plus usually a couple of powers (including HA) all but require me to be in melee range.  It's just too lethal, I need to be upright to heal and buff the next ally.  And it's too rare in the overwhelming majority cases to need a heal of that size.  All I'll typically do is leave them with larger green bar but green either way when keeping an ally standing after a heavy hit or three.  And that is sufficient to allow me to stack on more heals or the character to use inspires etc..

     Clear Mind - Never really had an issue with getting a team covered by Clear Mind specifically when needed which is rare these days outside of very low levels when even some melee armors can lack coverage. Though the sheer quantity of single target buffs that a team might benefit from can keep one very busy using only Empathy without using the other paired set, pool or epic powers.  I wouldn't complain but really see no need to buff CM.

     The Auras - really don't see the need to change or buff either of them.  Changing just the recharge times is a recipe for perma Auras which is just a wee bit overpowered applied across a team 24-7.   Chronoshift is strong but it is nowhere near as strong as the Auras combined for providing end recovery and health regen to a team.

     Adrenaline Boost - is quite arguably one of the strongest single target buffs out there.  And it is already possible to make it perma on one ally even without an especially high recharge build.  This was at the core of how Green Machine was/is so potent on SOs alone.  Really can't justify this change.

[Seldom]

On 10/18/2023 at 8:12 AM, Doomguide2005 said:

perma Auras which is just a wee bit overpowered

 

I hear this each time empathy buffs come up, but I wonder, why would that be?
Regen as an effect is great when layered, but looking at empathy, the most protection it can layer across the team is the at max around 24% defense from fortitude. (lower on controllers/mm's)
Besides this, all regen does is give you more leeway between spot heals. Much of game escalates not in DoT, which regen directly works against, but in burst damage. Burst damage doesn't really care about regen until it hits truly absurd levels...but 500% regen is deceptively mediocre. This is the same as a willpower tank with all toggles off except Rise to the Challenge and 4-5 targets surrounding them. Watch how long that tank might last... that is not incredible/god-like survival.

 

Recovery Aura is awesome, but it's an enabler with a low ceiling...there are very few powers players have access to that they don't run/use freely due to end cost. Most players, even without high invention investment, have found means to use their powers in rotation by the time their build is set up without extra buffs. recovery aura certainly shines in places like against -end debuffs (How there, carnies/Malta) but also doesn't give resistance to -end so drains still can bean issue with it up, if it's done in a big enough burst to start detoggling powers. It a wonderful convenience power, but not something unbalancing.

 

Clear mind came up as it's asking for a power pick, but gives very little value for most of the game, while requiring way more micro than the effect rewards. The characters that need this the most have ways to resist mez already, and many foes don't actually even have any mez. So you're asking empaths to waste a power pick on something that and is mostly covered by a quick break free for the rare occasion.

 

Adrenaline boost is potent, but only can hit one target...I will never compare how powers do with lots of other buffs, as that's not a given. As-is, it does make one target able to do ridiculous rotations with the +recharge/Recovery combo, I'd just want it to be something accessible via more than the +recharge set buffed builds, especially in a way that needs less cooldown tracking.