Focused Feedback New Powerset - Psionic Armor (Brutes, Scrappers, Sentinels, Stalkers, Tankers)

[The Curator]

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New Powerset: Psionic Armor (Brutes, Scrappers, Sentinels, Stalkers, Tankers)

 

You use your psionic powers to shield yourself reducing incoming damage, as well as steal your foes own psyche and use it against them, be it by empowering your own regenerative powers, weakening their defenses or completely subduing their will!

 

 Psychic Wall

• Toggle: Self +Res(Smash, Lethal, Psionic)
• You focus to create a psychic wall that dampens the smashing, lethal and psionic damage.

 

 Psionic Shield

• Toggle: Self +Res(Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, End Drain)
• This power generates a psionic shield that dampens most energy and elemental damage types while also reducing the effect of endurance drain effects.

 

 Impenetrable Mind

• Toggle: Self Res (Psionics, Disorient, Hold, Immobilize, Sleep, Fear, Confuse, Knockback).
• When you toggle on this power, it grants protection from Sleep, Disorient, Fear, Immobilize, Confusions, Knockback and Hold effects. Indomitable Will also grants moderate resistance to Psionic based attacks.

 

 Consume Psyche

• PBAoE Foe -Regen, -Recovery; Self +Regen, +Recovery
• Only available to Tankers and Brutes
• You Consume the Psyche of nearby foes, thus weakening their Hit Point Regeneration and Endurance Recovery and boosting your own. Although this power has a low recharge, each affected foe will increase its recharge by 8.5 seconds for a maximum total of 90 seconds.

 

 Devour Psyche

• Cone Foe -Regen, -Heal, -Recovery; Self +Regen, +Recovery
• Only available to Scrappers, Sentinels and Stalkers
• You Devour the Psyche of foes in front of you, weakening their Hit Point Regeneration and Endurance Recovery and boosting your own. Although this power has a low recharge, each affected foe will increase its recharge by 8.5 seconds for a maximum total of 90 seconds.

 

 Precognition

• Auto: Self Def(Melee, Ranged, AoE, Psionic)
• Precognition allows you to read your enemies minds, letting you see their attacks before they happen. This power is always on and costs no Endurance.
• Fixed description typo.

 

 Psychokinetic Barrier

• Self, +Absorb, +Res(-Regeneration, -Recovery, -Recharge, -Endurance)
• You can erect a temporary wall of crystalized psionic energy that will absorb a large amount of damage before breaking off. Psychokinetic Barrier will grant a moderate amount of absorption and reduce the effect debuffs have on you.

 

 Impose Presence

• Toggle: Self +DEF(All), +To Hit, Foe -Recharge
• Only available to Tankers and Brutes
• Impose your presence on nearby enemies, slowing their attack rate down and increasing your defense and chance to hit.
• Tankers and Brutes should now be able to slot taunt enhancements and sets on this power.
• Tanker radius increased to 12ft.

 

 Mask Presence 

• Toggle: Self Stealth, +DEF(Melee, Ranged, AoE)
• Only Available to Scrappers and Sentinels
• Mask Presence makes you almost impossible to detect. When you attack or are damaged while using this power, you will be discovered. Even if discovered, you are hard to see and retain some bonus to Defense.
• Fixed a bug where some of this power's defense buff was suppressing in combat.

 

 Aura of Insanity

• Toggle: PBAoE, Foe Confuse, Disorient, Sleep, Hold, Fear, DoT(Psionic), +Special
• You emit a powerful psychic aura that causes the minds of those around you to become weak and distracted. Foes may be stunned, held, terrified or even confused in your presence, in addition to suffering a debuff derived from the applied control effect. Those that resist these effects will suffer damage over time. This power allows you to use your own Hit Points to keep enemies near you disabled. The power cost no endurance but can be dangerous to use.
• Fixed description typo.
• Tankers and Brutes should now be able to slot taunt enhancements and sets on this power.
• Tanker radius increased to 12ft.

 

 Memento Mori

• Self Rez, +Max HP, Special
• Terrify your foes projecting images of their own impending demise into their minds. Memento Memori inflicts fear on targets while healing you even if you have been defeated. Each affected foe will increase your maximum hit points and heal you. Although this power has a low recharge, each affected foe will increase its recharge by 29 seconds for a maximum total of 300 seconds. Using this power while defeated will always result in a 300 seconds recharge.

 

Tanker/Brute: Psychic Wall Psionic Shield Impenetrable Mind Consume Psyche Impose Presence Psychokinetic Barrier Precognition Aura of Insanity Memento Mori

Scrapper/Sentinels: Psychic Wall Psionic Shield Mask Presence Impenetrable Mind Devour Psyche Precognition Psychokinetic Barrier Aura of Insanity Memento Mori

Stalkers: Hide Psychic Wall Psionic Shield Impenetrable Mind Devour Psyche Precognition Psychokinetic Barrier Aura of Insanity Memento Mori

[StarkWhite]

Note for folks testing: Aura of Insanity might seem underpowered unless you're really building for the mez effects with slot investment and incarnate picks - or at least that was my experience. If you choose to make it a centerpiece of the set, it's actually pretty impressive.

[Lazarillo]

1 minute ago, StarkWhite said:

Note for folks testing: Aura of Insanity might seem underpowered unless you're really building for the mez effects with slot investment and incarnate picks - or at least that was my experience. If you choose to make it a centerpiece of the set, it's actually pretty impressive.

I'm confused by that a bit.  Does it just do a random mez from the list if it hits?  Or does it attempt to inflict all 5 (presumably at varying degrees to reflect their usefulness).  Because certainly sounds underpowered unless you're slotting with "buffs all Mez" HOs or something.  Which might be the point, I guess.

[LastHumanSoldier]

Can you give an option for NO SKULLS for Memento Mori?

[Groovy_Ghoul]

Disregard 

Edited Tuesday at 04:13 PM by Groovy_Ghoul

[Velvet Violet]

Just now, Groovy_Ghoul said:

No Build Up for Stalkers? How will this interact with the ATO Assassins Mark: Chance to Recharge Build Up?

 

This is an Armor set, not a Melee set, so Build Up would not be in it

[Groovy_Ghoul]

14 minutes ago, Groovy_Ghoul said:

Disregard 

I edited it 30 seconds after posting and realized my mistake 

[Super Atom]

Is min/no-FX planned? Brain armor seems like it could be a set with min/no-FX

 

 

[ScarySai]

Preliminary testing results from a STJ/psi scrapper and a  SS/Psi brute

 

1: Resists values are too low and the regeneration isn't high enough to compensate for it even with a fully saturated DP. This thing will buckle on a non-tank (because tank stats in general are just busted) to the actual threatening factions.

 

2: Memento mori should give you something for defeating enemies affected by it.

3: I don't like the pbaoe DP being only for brutes and tanks. If you insist on shoehorning that in, make it a choice like what other sets this patch have got. I do not like the cone at all.

 

4: I'm having difficulty getting value from insanity on higher difficulty levels, even with the mez juiced up to 11.

 

5: This set would be infinitely better if reworked from a resist set, to essentially being the defense version of dark armor.

Edited Tuesday at 05:10 PM by ScarySai

[LastHumanSoldier]

Why do Melee characters (Stalkers and Scrappers) get a Cone DP?

So let me play out the gameplay loop:
I am fighting in melee, but I need to refresh DP. So I leave melee to get to a good cone position and then go back into melee?

Yeah on its face I am never considering this set on a Scrap or Stalk.

 

[StarkWhite]

The majority of my testing was on a Scrapper and DP was fine (by far the most clicked power in the set). It has adaptive recharge; my aim did not have to be anywhere near perfect to keep full stacks of +regen/+rec.

[Ratch_]

I like the cone a lot in practice, just my perspective.

(Branching would be best here though)

Edited Tuesday at 06:41 PM by Ratch_

[Sharkbat]

2 hours ago, Super Atom said:

Is min/no-FX planned? Brain armor seems like it could be a set with min/no-FX

 

 

Strongly agree with this. Minimal/no fx options are sorely needed and it shouldn't be a simple port of the Mind Over Body shield effect from the Psionic Mastery set (which is also deeply in need of a minimal fx option because it is hideous). 

Edited Tuesday at 07:17 PM by Sharkbat

[Groovy_Ghoul]

2 hours ago, ScarySai said:

 

5: This set would be infinitely better if reworked from a resist set, to essentially being the defense version of dark armor.

I really like this idea. Change the two resist toggles to defense and the defense auto to resist. 

[electric_emu]

I am going to echo min fx requests.  Would greatly appreciate a min fx (or any non-bubble) version of Aura of Insanity in particular.

[Wavicle]

3 hours ago, LastHumanSoldier said:

Why do Melee characters (Stalkers and Scrappers) get a Cone DP?

So let me play out the gameplay loop:
I am fighting in melee, but I need to refresh DP. So I leave melee to get to a good cone position and then go back into melee?

Yeah on its face I am never considering this set on a Scrap or Stalk.

 

 

In practice it's not a big deal. The buffs refresh, so it's VERY easy to keep at max stacks.

[Wavicle]

I think increasing the strength of Precognition, or adding more All Positions/Defense All somewhere else in the set, could have a triple effect, (1) help shore up the squish factor of the set, (2) address the thematic complaint that the set should have more "telekinesis" in the form of defense, and (3) further differentiate the set from Dark Armor.

 

In fact, I might suggest increasing Precog +Def significantly, adding Defense Debuff Resistance, and making the power a toggle.

[Psyonico]

First round of testing for me, I'll be comparing a Psionic/Psionic tank to a Willpower/Psionic Tank.  Both using nothing but SOs, except for 3 HOs each, Aura Of Insanity got 3 Acc/Mez HOs for the Psi armor and Dominate got 3 Dam/Mez IOs for the Willpower.

 

I took everything but Concentration and Boggle on the attack side, took every power from both sets on the armor side.  for APP went Psi mastery with Dominate, Harmonic Mind, and Psi tornado.  Also took fly, Tough, Weave, and Combat Jumping on both.  after faceplanting the first time on Psi armor, I opted to slot Agility Core Paragon for both toons.

 

the mission: Radio mission, +1x4 against Arachnos.

 

Psi really struggled to keep up with this.  I was popping Consume Psyche and Psychokinetic Barrier on cooldown.  I used Memento Mori several times throughout the mission as well to stay on my feet.  I face planted against the first group almost immediately, subsequently slotted an alpha and things got a little better, but for a tank I felt pretty weak.  I had to use some strategies that I don''t usually find myself using on tanks.  I had to use Dominate on Mu targets and focus down the one or two that were not held before moving on to anything else or I would bottom out on endurance (yes, even with PKB's -end resistance)

 

Willpower was chosen because it is a pretty good "middle of the road" set.  in the mission I did, my health never dropped below 70%, endurance only almost bottomed out once (fighting 4 mu and I didn't prioritize them at first) but most of the time it was a comfortable, easy ride.  I did not use Strength of Will at all.

 

So... to me Psi armor feels pretty weak, and here's my thinking.  You're layering too many different mediocre mechanics together in hopes that they will stack well.  At a bare minimum, I'd like to see the Smashing/Fire/Cold resists brought up to the level of the other resists in the set.  Probably want to add AoE defense to Impose Presense, maybe even do some front-loaded defense on it like Invincibility gets.  I'd also like to see some of the debuff resistances increased in Psychokinetic Barrier.

[Lazarillo]

Question because this is pretty nonstandard: Is Psychic Wall supposed to give roughly 50% more Smashing and Psionic resistance than Lethal?  I know there's been a push to get more...creative with power effects but this is in defiance of basically every other armor set out there, and typically when sets do this sort of thing in doubling up against their "favored" element (like this does by putting Psionic resistance into multiple toggles), it's the doubled up ones (that is, Psionic here) that give less per toggle but more when stacked.  I could see Lethal being conceptually intended as a weakness, or something, but I feel like that's so irregular that it should probably be somewhere in the description blurbs, if not for the set itself (like Invulnerability noting its lack of Psi protection), then maybe at least in the Psychic Wall power description?
 

...that said, I could also see this as two damage types getting flagged backwards in a database setup, or something.  So some clarity would be nice, regardless.

[StarkWhite]

5 minutes ago, Lazarillo said:

 Is Psychic Wall supposed to give roughly 50% more Smashing and Psionic resistance than Lethal?

[Lazarillo]

  

2 minutes ago, StarkWhite said:

 

Like I said...I could see that being the intent, yes.  But I also think that should be clearly stated, in-game, if it is.

(It's also, admittedly, gonna kinda sour me on the set if so...it already feels a little like "We have Dark Armor at home.", but even moreso if it's got a hole to the most common type of damage.  But I fully admit that's a 'me' thing.)

Edited Wednesday at 01:15 AM by Lazarillo

[StarkWhite]

2 minutes ago, Lazarillo said:

  

 

Like I said...I could see that being the intent, yes.  But I also think that should be clearly stated, in-game, if it is.

 

Not a dev, but yeah, CPH said in closed beta it was intentional (that example was all mine, though).

[ScarySai]

8 minutes ago, StarkWhite said:

 

If we go off comics, it makes way more sense for this set to be a defense set than a resist one.

[FupDup]

The lethal/smash thing has a funny story behind it.

 

The first version of Psi Armor had much lower Psi resists than it does now, which lead to several people saying that it was weird for the titular Psionic Armor to be countered by its own theme/element (compared to most other armors which counter their own element, i.e. Electric Armor counters electrical based attacks). I made some jokes about how a lethal weakness would make more sense than a Psi weakness because Jean Gray gets killed by Wolverine all day every day, and Cap Powerhouse apparently wanted to have an armor set with unequal smash/lethal res for a long time. In my joke, she saw an opportunity to do that and thus reallocated a portion of lethal resist to beef up the Psi resist. 

 

So you can partially blame me on this one since I made the Jean Gray joke, but in my defense it also just so happened to line up with an old idea that CPH had (most of my other ideas never get anywhere, i.e. I also thought that Psi Armor should've been more defense based instead of being a regen set).

 

Also, to play devil's advocate for a second, it is kinda weird how smash/lethal were previously always identical to each other when all the other elements are decoupled. Energy/Neg, Cold/Fire, and Psi/Tox are very commonly unequal but Smash/Lethal were always 1:1 until now. I'm not saying this was the best place to do it, but I think that having it somewhere makes sense. 

Edited Wednesday at 01:28 AM by FupDup

[Crimsanotic]

8 hours ago, ScarySai said:

5: This set would be infinitely better if reworked from a resist set, to essentially being the defense version of dark armor.

 

This, please. When one thinks of psychic armor, they typically think of Psylocke. Psychic armor should be primarily defense, absorb, and max HP.

 

Too bad this isn't happening.