Ally Toggle Duration Cycle to Prevent Elevator Toggle Drop

[SeraphimKensai]

There's several powers in the game that allows or requires an ally to be an anchor for the power to function.

 

Of the powers I named in the tags, noxious Gas has a 30-foot range, disruption field has a 70-foot range, and shifting tides has a 80-foot range. These powers detoggle when the player and anchor exceed their power ranges. Honestly I feel these distances should be equalized myself.

 

But the real hassle is many missions have multiple floors, and the way the game works is the floors are spread out horizontally and the elevators essentially teleport players to different sections of the map. Anytime a player or anchor uses an elevator these ally anchor powers break due to range issues.

 

What if these types of powers could have some sort of short duration, 10 seconds or so, that would keep the power active if an actor and player using the power are separated until they are reunited and back in the powers range before dropping.

 

This kind of effect would likely eliminate any kind of toggle drops due to elevators or maybe even mission doors for masterminds, or pet using controllers, and greatly diminish the frequency of toggle drops when the power is used on other players.

 

To me this seems like a potential QoL style improvement to the functionality of these types of powers.

[UltraAlt]

16 hours ago, SeraphimKensai said:

There's several powers in the game that allows or requires an ally to be an anchor for the power to function.

 

I think that https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Sorcery#Spirit_Ward and https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Sorcery#Enflame are affected by this as well, but I will have to do some testing to make sure.

[Rudra]

43 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

 

I think that https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Sorcery#Spirit_Ward and https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Sorcery#Enflame are affected by this as well, but I will have to do some testing to make sure.

Spirit Ward is. I've taken to only applying it during combat if a friend I'm playing with is taking more damage than I am comfortable with because the moment (s)he uses an elevator, it drops.

[SeraphimKensai]

2 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

 

I think that https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Sorcery#Spirit_Ward and https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Sorcery#Enflame are affected by this as well, but I will have to do some testing to make sure.

They both are so it would make sense to include. I didn't have time to fully think up all the powers that behaved like that as I was at work in a conference room waiting for some clients to show up (that want to make a drive thru coffee shed) when I posted.

[tidge]

I think the separation distance causing a drop is a reasonable price to pay for powers that can be applied (as toggles) to both enemies and allies.

[SeraphimKensai]

On 9/11/2024 at 8:03 PM, tidge said:

I think the separation distance causing a drop is a reasonable price to pay for powers that can be applied (as toggles) to both enemies and allies.

I agree if a power is on an enemy combatant then sure. If it's on an ally I see it more of a QoL aspect not having to automatically reapply because you went up an elevator.

[Rudra]

1 hour ago, SeraphimKensai said:

I agree if a power is on an enemy combatant then sure.

That doesn't hold up though. I can currently place a toggle debuff like Darkest Night which has a 70 feet range on an enemy and that debuff will remain active on that enemy until the enemy dies, I turn off the toggle to avoid extra aggro, or the enemy runs far enough away that the game drops the enemy from being tracked at all by my character. So that toggle debuff remains even though the targeted enemy ran well beyond the power's 70 feet range.

 

However, I'm going to set aside Enflame for this discussion, even though I can throw any other debuff toggle on an enemy and never have it drop until the target dies, I decide to turn it off, or the enemy gets beyond game tracking distance for my character. Spirit Ward however? Sure, I've learned to only use/apply it during active combat and ignore it dropping outside of combat, but I don't understand why it works the way it does.

 

I can throw a buff on an ally and it will stay until it times out or the ally dies unless it is Spirit Ward. Spirit Ward drops the moment your ally moves more than 80 feet away though and can't be used against enemies. So if you and your warded ally go in separate directions unintentionally, you often lose the Spirit Ward in the time it takes to correct for the movement. Or if your ally is faster than you, then even when you are going in the same direction, unless there are more enemies nearby, odds are you're going to lose that Spirit Ward until you catch up again to re-apply it. If your ally uses an elevator in the game, even if you both click it at the same time, if there is any difference in your transition times, you lose Spirit Ward even though you are both going in the same direction to the same place at as close to the same time as you can. Why? Sure, it is a toggle rather than a click, so it needs something to balance it out. However, why is that balancing an immediate dropping of the toggle for exceeding distance when I can maintain any of my debuff toggles far beyond their listed ranges?

 

(So to be clear, I agree with you, but I don't agree with the usable on enemy portion of your statement.)

 

(Edit: No one is asking me, but my recommendation would be to reduce Spirit Ward's range to 30-40 feet. Once applied however, it does not drop until your distance exceeds 150 feet. You can even apply a penalty of double END cost while the warded target is more than 80 feet away with the added END cost not being affected by any END reduction enhancements or effects.)

 

Edited September 14 by Rudra