Focused Feedback: Marine Affinity

[Zappalina]

I love it the fish me me smile and remind me of Lew Zealand. Only suggestion so far, anyway to get the Barrier Reef to look like corals and not the crystals that it currently is?

[BrandX]

3 hours ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

I know there were some folks curious about Marine paired with Necro and all I gotta say is: Do it. I'm a meh to average player and am testing it at level 41 with basic IOs (running the new Ashling Corlett arc at the same time). I can't speak to the in depth numbers stuff many of you other folks can, but for an average player using this set, it feels really good with necro.

 

My biggest complaint so far is that Shifting Tides has to be recast on one of my henchmen every time we move through an elevator (which is a lot so far on the Corlett arc). And just sort of playing by feel; I can't tell if Brine is doing anything to make the harder Crey targets in this arc feel easier to defeat. Also, Tide Pool is still lacking a proper animation both in the character create screen and in game which is a minor annoyance when you're casting and getting your stuff set up.

 

Toroidal Bubble is really great for helping to keep end from tanking, even on an active MM using personal attacks, epic abilities, and my secondary. I rarely had to pop blues to keep the action going. I don't fully understand the complaint about the T9 as it's very similar to Nature's T9, which is a huge fancy animation for a big buff.

 

I've only had 1 death at 0/x3 (starting small since I am still feeling this pairing out) in the second missing of Corlett's arc, and that was due to a player error. I failed to pull a spawn around a corner to take them on as the one PP had hot feet running so even with spamming my henchmen to follow me, they had no choice but to run about wildly and pull other groups. Considering I almost survived this failed attempt utilizing things like the debuffs and frenzy mechanic, I am sure a more talented player would have been able to come out ahead (I mean, assuming they pulled my whoopsie and didn't pull the spawn properly in the first place).

 

Marine definitely wants you to be able to preset up things like Tide Pool and buff up before you jump into the melee, which makes things like spawns right behind doors a bit like "oh shit let's get it running lol." I'm not sure if Stealth would help with that.

 

Overall though, I'm finding this pairing of Necro/Marine to be fun, sturdy, and powerful feeling. The second mission of Corlett's arc warns you the mobs will be tougher than a normal mission and other than my whoopsie engagement, my zombies powered right through the mobs. There was even a point where they all went down to a tough PP, but I was able to resummon and rebuff and finish the fight like it never happened.

 

I'm undecided about keeping brine, but feel like Shoal may be worth it as an MM since it can be procced and the debuffs can help the henchies combat the lower damage they face due to level shifts. Not to mention proc'ing frenzy providing them with some needed mitigation.

 

I was wondering if Shoal getting a -Regen component would make it more useful, but then I hadn't thought, maybe I might not feel it as useful on Defender, but MM would be a different beast and possibly Controllers, so may be more useful for them?

 

Of course, maybe it's useful for Defenders, but I honestly don't think it is as much except for maybe proc bomb.

[TygerDarkstorm]

1 hour ago, BrandX said:

 

I was wondering if Shoal getting a -Regen component would make it more useful, but then I hadn't thought, maybe I might not feel it as useful on Defender, but MM would be a different beast and possibly Controllers, so may be more useful for them?

 

Of course, maybe it's useful for Defenders, but I honestly don't think it is as much except for maybe proc bomb.

Yeah, the set seems to play really different depending on what AT you're using. I'm hoping to make time to try it on one or two of the other AT's as well.

[WumpusRat]

I've mostly been trying it on masterminds, since it gives a decent variety of things (melee, ranged, mixed) to see how it performs within a "mini group" so to speak.

So far it's worked VERY well for melee oriented pets, as you can tend to keep everything in the pool and keep chain-knocking them down with whitecap now that it's got a much lower recharge. 

For ranged pets it's not AS solid as some of the mobs will charge out of the pools and they'll split up, if it's a large spawn (for instance, some of the Talons spawns in the DA arcs come in 2-3 spawn 'super-packs', and have 15-20 mobs clustered together if you're running on x8). 

 

Overall, it's a very solid set, but for masterminds I'd much prefer the heal to be a pbaoe instead of a cone. 

[tricon]

So Brine has 1 min recast, does a little bit of -hp and -resist that is decaying. The -hp stays over the full duration but the -res will vanish over the 60s duration.

 

Screenshot is vs. one AV. So you geting -193.72hp out of 30483.43 and -13.50 resist that will go to zero  compared to a T1 Sonic Sipon that has a 16sec recast and stays for 30s at the same - resist lvl, this power really does suck, sorry.

 

Even in a normal gameplay with a dmg proc I hardly find a job for it as a corruptor, maybe a MM can get a bit out of it. *shrug

 

 

Sidenote I found out why I don't see no procs in the Bubble, the large aoe is killing the proc chance. Perfomace Shifte fires of with a 15.318% chance. So IMO not worth it, a +end mod helps more.

 

 

[BurtHutt]

I haven't tested this but I've been reading this forum. This power seems really cool. Which AT do you all think it really excels on? DEF or CORR?

[MirrorDarkly]

1 hour ago, BurtHutt said:

I haven't tested this but I've been reading this forum. This power seems really cool. Which AT do you all think it really excels on? DEF or CORR?

 

Of the two I like it more on the Def.  I feel like the higher buff & debuff values are always going to be relevant for this set, where as on a more focused set both ATs will get you to your soft or hard cap and then anything more is largely wasted. Also while leveling getting Tide Pool early makes a huge difference.

[357trall]

I tried Marine Affinity out a little bit, created a Mercs/MA mastermind and ran a few paper missions at +0/x2 without bosses using common IOs. At level 10,the first mission against council gave me trouble. Their grenades and my lack of powers and enhancement slots made things painful. Second paper mission I did at level 18 and things went much better, tide pool and it's frenzy mechanic made a major difference. Third paper mission was done at level 40 with all the Marine affinity powers taken. It went well and I didn't lose any pets.

 

It's a ok set, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. Tide pool appears to be the center of this set, most powers want allies/enemies in it to buff/debuff/cc. I found Whitecap to be not really mesh well with mercs, they tend to stay put while my character jumps around outside of bodyguard range. A couple powers are probably a bit too powerful, Barrier Reef and Power of the Depths.

Barrier Reef (forcefield generator + stacking absorb shield) should probably be limited to one stack of absorb shield or increase the time it takes to generate one. Power of the Depths should probably have a longer base cooldown then 4 minutes to prevent it from being able to be made perma.

 

Not a bad set overall, should support teams well. Can't say that I liked it that much with it having, short duration buffs, location dependent and late blooming powers.

[MirrorDarkly]

By far the most effective combo that I have tried so far is an Illusion/Marine Controller.  The two sets were practically made for each other.  With Marine's slows, KD and damage providing the AoE Illusion lacks and Illusion taking care of most of the weaknesses I've encountered with Marine.   They both really benefit from high recharge and Phantasm's AI traditionally annoys me but with this character he's the perfect Shifting Tides anchor and is very tough when supported by the rest of Marine.   

[Tacheyon]

7 hours ago, 357trall said:

I tried Marine Affinity out a little bit, created a Mercs/MA mastermind and ran a few paper missions at +0/x2 without bosses using common IOs. At level 10,the first mission against council gave me trouble. Their grenades and my lack of powers and enhancement slots made things painful. Second paper mission I did at level 18 and things went much better, tide pool and it's frenzy mechanic made a major difference. Third paper mission was done at level 40 with all the Marine affinity powers taken. It went well and I didn't lose any pets.

 

It's a ok set, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. Tide pool appears to be the center of this set, most powers want allies/enemies in it to buff/debuff/cc. I found Whitecap to be not really mesh well with mercs, they tend to stay put while my character jumps around outside of bodyguard range. A couple powers are probably a bit too powerful, Barrier Reef and Power of the Depths.

Barrier Reef (forcefield generator + stacking absorb shield) should probably be limited to one stack of absorb shield or increase the time it takes to generate one. Power of the Depths should probably have a longer base cooldown then 4 minutes to prevent it from being able to be made perma.

 

Not a bad set overall, should support teams well. Can't say that I liked it that much with it having, short duration buffs, location dependent and late blooming powers.

 

I agree.  Shifting Tides is a staple on this set and it doesn't play well with Ranged MM's (Mercs & Bots).  You have to be constantly anchoring on a enemy that can take a few hits for it to be effective, and then the long CD makes it hard to keep flowing (pun intended) by consistently dropping anchors all over the place.  Although it's ok with Thugs since you can send in your Bruiser and he'll be fine.

Ninjas I was surprised at how well they do with this set.  I've still yet to try out Demons since they also have a mix of Ranged and Melee minons. 

[Gahzirra]

Shoal Rush and Tide Pool synergy.  I was thinking to make Shoal Rush better and give it a reason to be cast more often that the "Frenzy" acts like a mini break free for those in the Tide pool radius.  Thematically makes sense as those under frenzied effects cannot usually be controlled.

 

This way the MA hero and any party members can stand in the Tide Pool and each time Frenzy triggers they get a few seconds of resists.  Seems cool and keeps you active and gives a strong reason to cast Shoal Rush.

[Wavicle]

With Barrier Reef and as much +Offense as the set has, mez resist seems like it might be overkill.

Edited July 16 by Wavicle

[UltraAlt]

On 7/10/2024 at 2:57 AM, UltraAlt said:

Water Blast/Marine Affinity corruptor here.

 

Level 20 now

 

Leveled up to level 10 solo.

Progression smoother than the lower levels. 

Still has a hard time at +2 with SOs but doable. A lot of retreating and using respites.

 

Leveled to 12 or 13 with a Marine Affinity/Storm Blast Defender.

Teaming is always easier.

Ran 2 missions in the Hollows after running the lake at their level for the the first 5 levels or so.

My character could have used more healing from the defender, but I know the player and concern for other characters on a team is never a priority with them. 

 

We decide to jump to level 20 and went to Striga. Ran at +1.

We had a rough start because of trying to use too many new powers and not paying attention closely enough to our health bars.

Fought some Family. Fought some warriors. ...before getting to our mission to defeat 10 council.

Ran Dr Francois - timed mission - and he was in the first room?! what?!

Ran Tommy One Eye and there seemed to be bunch of ambushes added to the last room .... at least there were bunch of additional Family showing up from behind way more often than simple timing on patrols.

 

All-in-all a fun night.

After figuring out how to use the powers gained to level 20, things went much more smoothly.

 

My only real feedback at this point is that I don't have to watch my End bar at all. I can use my powers a much as I want and it seems like I have nearly full endurance at the need of every fight. It seemed the same for the Defender I was running with. It seems like some of the powers should cost more End to use.

 

It seemed like when my teammate was using

 

 Tide Pool- Create a large pool of water at a targeted location to swell the damage that your allies deal, while reducing the damage and movement speeds of enemies within the Tide Pool. If an enemy is defeated in the pool, the marine life present will be thrown into a frenzy!

While frenzied,  the Tide Pool has a chance to knock over enemies and the damage buff and debuff is stronger.

 

That it wasn't agro-ing the enemy. 

I haven't gone back to double-check it at this point, but I just thought about that again.

[UltraAlt]

16 hours ago, BurtHutt said:

hich AT do you all think it really excels on? DEF or CORR?

 

I really like Electric on masterminds, but I'm definitely going to make some Marine Affinity masterminds.

 

But, if the choices are "DEF or CORR", I would say for most players go for the "CORR" due to higher damage output.

[MirrorDarkly]

37 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

 

 

My only real feedback at this point is that I don't have to watch my End bar at all. I can use my powers a much as I want and it seems like I have nearly full endurance at the need of every fight. It seemed the same for the Defender I was running with. It seems like some of the powers should cost more End to use.

 

 

You were probably seeing double stacked Toroidal Bubble, besides resistance it grants about +20% End recovery.  

[UltraAlt]

Plant/Marine Controller

 

Level 6

 

I'm not sure if I'm just getting use to the marine powers or if the controller is the best marine combo that I've played (first character corruptor, second mastermind).

 

A little rough in the 1st couple of levels because I have always been purchasing marine powers as soon I can - so only had a plant hold, inherent throwing weapon and brawl for damage.

 

I had though that 

On 7/5/2024 at 7:12 PM, The Curator said:

Soothing Wave - Send forth a calming wave of water, washing over friend and foe alike. Allies will be healed by this power, while enemies will have their offensive power watered down.

 

didn't heal you character, but, after putting a heal enhancement in it, I saw that it did heal my character, so put a recharge in it as well. 

[Snugglefundles]

With how delayed Barrier Reef is to follow, it can make going in on fights dangerous, especially if you Whitecap into the mob. The defense buff from the move should linger a bit IMO, just otherwise you'll spend the alpha strike of mobs weaker than normal unless you stick to range. I know for traps the delayed shield generator was always a big turn off for me from using that powerset.

Any chance Tide Pool could get KB enhancements? It tends to throw everything around, so being able to do KB>KD IOs would make it way better.

 

Other than that though, absolutely love this new powerset and can't wait to make my storm/marine corr!

[BrandX]

25 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

Plant/Marine Controller

 

Level 6

 

I'm not sure if I'm just getting use to the marine powers or if the controller is the best marine combo that I've played (first character corruptor, second mastermind).

 

A little rough in the 1st couple of levels because I have always been purchasing marine powers as soon I can - so only had a plant hold, inherent throwing weapon and brawl for damage.

 

I had though that 

 

didn't heal you character, but, after putting a heal enhancement in it, I saw that it did heal my character, so put a recharge in it as well. 

 

One of the first things I tested 🙂  I was a bit worried the cone heal wouldn't heal oneself.  So glad it did!

[mistagoat]

Barrier Reef - Overall I really like this power and I like that it follows you. 

However, it feels odd that a reef is mobile and sentient enough to follow me. I'm sure it's too late to change anything but making it something like a sea turtle or a big crab or a Gary would make much more sense to me.

 

[UltraAlt]

9 hours ago, BrandX said:

One of the first things I tested 🙂  I was a bit worried the cone heal wouldn't heal oneself.  So glad it did!

 

Yeah, it didn't seemed like it was healing my corruptor or mastermind, but I don't think I had slotted a heal enhance in that power for those characters.

I haven't had time to go in a check.

[WumpusRat]

10 hours ago, mistagoat said:

However, it feels odd that a reef is mobile and sentient enough to follow me. I'm sure it's too late to change anything but making it something like a sea turtle or a big crab or a Gary would make much more sense to me.

 

I dunno how different it is than a walking houseplant, a gravitational singularity, coalesced energy in a vaguely humanoid shape, or any number of other things that just happen to follow you around. 🙂 

[UltraAlt]

On 7/5/2024 at 7:12 PM, The Curator said:

Tide Pool- Create a large pool of water at a targeted location to swell the damage that your allies deal, while reducing the damage and movement speeds of enemies within the Tide Pool. If an enemy is defeated in the pool, the marine life present will be thrown into a frenzy!

While frenzied,  the Tide Pool has a chance to knock over enemies and the damage buff and debuff is stronger.

 

So I ran into this tonight.

The info for Tide Pool in the manage screen is the same for the corruptor, controller, and mastermind - but different for the defender.

 

Here are screen shots for the controller, corruptor, and mastermind first. Note the red circles. The details say that the power is a "click" power, but the pop-up menu says it is a toggle power.

 

Controller

 

 

Corruptor

 

 

Mastermind

 

 

 

The Defender says that the power is a "click" power, but the pop-up menu the description starts with "Location AoE".

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17 by UltraAlt

[UltraAlt]

On 7/11/2024 at 12:19 AM, UltraAlt said:

I believe the outer ring key is incorrect.

I thought I was going to click on a location to use this power, but instead, when I click on it, it transports me to the targeted enemies location.

Not what I was expecting based on the outer ring key.

 

However, it does say "toward your target" and not "toward your targeted location".

 

I did go back and look at the outer ring key for Combat Teleport (targets the ground for transport, but does no damage to the surrounding enemies) and Burst of Speed (targets the ground but also damages surrounding enemies).

 

So I do believe since White Cap is targeted AoE damage that it should have the AoE outer ring key instead of the "summon or drop" outer ring key. The transport part is incidental and transport powers have no outer ring key.

 

Yeah, I think to avoid confusion on what this power does it needs to have the same out ring key and icon as Burst of speed ...  ... but with the different coloration to match the power set.

I had another player tell me that they had no idea what the image on White Cap was supposed to be. I explained to them that I thought it was supposed to look like someone getting ready to dive with water rushing up behind them. I honestly don't think the image is clear to what the power does either.

 

 

[Bionic_Flea]

I have to agree with Ultra Alt on the Whitecap Icon.  What he is suggesting matches Shield Charge, Lightning Rod, Jaunt, and Spring Attack.  But maybe with the short line on the bottom indicating it is also a debuff.

[BrandX]

11 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

 

Yeah, it didn't seemed like it was healing my corruptor or mastermind, but I don't think I had slotted a heal enhance in that power for those characters.

I haven't had time to go in a check.

 

You should see if it's healing without it, because I didn't have it slotted and it healed my Defender.