Out to EAT : A look at Epic ATs - what is, could have been, and never was

[Greycat]

Hmm. Thanks. I remembered the Primalist, but I wasn't sure that they'd be an Epic or if they were being looked at as a normal (or, from the last little section, possibly a "premium" or paid) AT. I'm not sure what they'd be tied into with lore. I'd love to find out just what they were planned as - "normal" (which, with that complexity, I doubt,) Epic (with what storyline? Inquiring minds want to know!) or Premium (got to get that money after all that work!)

 

For now, I'm going to edit and stick them in under "premium" unless/until there's more info.

 

When I read the term "hyper-advanced Clockwork," it read to me more like a description than "this is the name we're settled on." Can tweak that, certainly.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

And @Glacier Peak, given other things were mentioned as put off due to Goldside fatigue, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

[tjknight]

Thank you for this thread!!!! I also appreciate the hard work you put into research and writing this! 

[Triumphant]

Kind of interesting to see what might have been, but never came to pass.  I don't play the EPIC ATs, myself.  Just too many moving parts for me.  I didn't realize the EPIC tag referred to things like literary epics, though.  Now I'm less annoyed by the powers in the EPIC pools not being as good as I might expect (given that I'm interpreting them through the lens of the "other" definition of epic).

[Greycat]

10 hours ago, Triumphant said:

Kind of interesting to see what might have been, but never came to pass.  I don't play the EPIC ATs, myself.  Just too many moving parts for me.  I didn't realize the EPIC tag referred to things like literary epics, though.  Now I'm less annoyed by the powers in the EPIC pools not being as good as I might expect (given that I'm interpreting them through the lens of the "other" definition of epic).

 

*nod* It's ... had to be mentioned many times. It's also why I try to refer to the power pools that unlock at (now) 35 as "ancillary" and not "epic," because they use ... as I recall, kind of the D&D definition of "epic ability/level" there!

[mistagoat]

What an interesting lunchtime read, thanks for putting this together! I had heard a couple bit and pieces of that over the years but it was mostly brand new info to me. I lament to loss of additional ATs to that game just for the added diversity we missed out on but at least some of them morphed into other thing that made it into the game.

 

I'm ashamed to admit that despite having multiple 50s of every other AT (well, just 1 Widow and 1 SOA), I've never made it to 50 on a PB or WS. They just never clicked with me and they stalled out in the low 30s but they're both on my bucket list! I'll get to them eventually 🙂

[Felis Noctu]

On 9/4/2024 at 1:17 PM, Shin Magmus said:

Nobody cares.

 

On 9/4/2024 at 1:21 PM, Videra said:

The lore doc from 20 years ago still isn't canon, Grey.

 

Shoo. This is fascinating stuff, and a great look at the history of the game!

[Sutekh the Destroyer]

After playing (and enjoying!) both a Fortunata and a Crab Spider, I wondered if there was ever a VEAT considered who was more support focused, since the current VEATs were kinda blasty/controller/melee/tankish, but had no real support utility outside of their stacked leadership fun.

 

A VEAT based off of the Mu Mystics seemed like the route to go to me, with unique costume stuff (and even a 'bound' or 'unbound' option to have the toon all wrapped up and blind, using unique animations for stuff like brawl and kick, if able to take them at all, since someone with their arms and legs all wrapped up wouldn't be able to use most animations!), and powers based off of that red lightning they use, which could have lightning and occasional psionic (mostly telekinetic) effects, but also some of the support options from electrical affinity, for less blaster-y options.  (I had the notion that they wrapped people of the appropriate bloodlines up as part of the process of empowerment, and if the spirit of an elder Mu that came to inhabit the victim didn't learn to float, they'd never move, didn't learn to move things with their power, they could manipulate stuff, didn't learn to 'see' and 'hear' and 'speak' with their power, they'd remain blind and deaf and voiceless, and, obviously, didn't learn to sustain their new body magically, the body would starve and it's back into the crystals for another ten thousand years...)

 

I had no idea the Coralax were instead being considered for a VEAT role.  I am not as interested in the Coralax, but would have liked to see a VEAT that covered that neglected support side of things, even if it was a coral-dude!