page 3 [OPEN BETA] Patch Notes for December 5th, 2025

[Troo]

 

Many interesting development choices.

 

Quite a few that simply lack justification.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Maelwys]

4 hours ago, Harbor said:

Outside of lasting for 3 minutes, what part of the current T9s do you guys like? Or is it just the duration that is the hang up?

Can you note any advantages there are to having powers like Elude, Kuji-In Retsu, Unstoppable, or Power Surge as they are on live? Something that would make it worth having them as mutually exclusive?

 

The duration is the major hang up.

 

A few minutes of reliable +survivability, +recovery, +mez protection and in some cases +DDR is a useful tool in situations where you're in over your head and aren't getting a steady stream of Inspirations (think AV/GM/BBEG fights).

 

However a few of the existing powers have crashes which essentially kill you. Like Unstoppable. And a few of them have crashes which are a mere speedbump. Like One with the Shield. That's why you see more of the former powers sitting unchosen or used as set bonus mules, and more of the latter getting chosen and used very regularly.

 

In short: we hate the more extremely punitive crashes ("lose all of your endurance and most of your health"), but love the long durations. If you tamed some of the crashes but kept the durations at 120+ seconds (perhaps lowering the magnitude of the buffs and tweaking the recharge to balance it out) you'd end up with a much happier playerbase. 

 

Anything less than a 60 second duration is going to be seen as worse than chugging an inspiration or two. Or activating Rune of Protection/Unleash Potential.

 

That all said, there is a lot of other really positive stuff in this patch, and that's coming from someone who enjoys playing Bio Armor toons.

[Chaos Ex Machina]

Quote

Henchmen that leave supremacy range (60ft) and are not engaged in combat will receive a high stealth buff and perception debuffs as well as movement speed buffs. These will all cancel if they attack, are attacked or enter Supremacy range. This effect is PvE only.

Hold on this should only apply for PASSIVE henchmen

This would otherwise nerf the mastermind aggro control which is pretty much its whole identity!

[Mezmera]

For armor t9's yeah its duration and netting you something you don't already have a ton of, like Elude is a waste you're already getting oodles of defense from your regular powers, but something like OWtS at least nets you a ton of resistances you likely aren't capped on plus more hp.  I know a few t9's got reworked a few updates ago like the Ice Armor change which was fine and appropriate for that specifically since it was taking the place of Hibernate.  I just don't want them all to be like that in duration.  To me at minimum I'd like most armor t9's to have a 60s duration.  

[AlwaysAPrice]

4 hours ago, Harbor said:

Outside of lasting for 3 minutes, what part of the current T9s do you guys like? Or is it just the duration that is the hang up?

Can you note any advantages there are to having powers like Elude, Kuji-In Retsu, Unstoppable, or Power Surge as they are on live? Something that would make it worth having them as mutually exclusive?

 

For me it is pretty much just the duration changes that take away the playstyle options of the current versions that I currently enjoy or occasionally depend on. In their current form, I can build a character to depend on their T9 for a few minutes of maximal defensive performance and put a heavier focus into their offensive slotting in exchange for having to rely on inspirations or teammate buffing to survive during the downtime. Then for other characters that don't always depend on the T9 but keep it on hand for emergencies, 30 seconds just doesn't cover the only situations I'd consider emergencies (multiple spawns/ambushes or managing a harder-hitting AV for a smaller team). While the originals could all stand improvement, especially in the crash department, fully replacing the old with the new changes the use case of all of 'em from "minutes of godmode" to "moment of alpha". A mutually exclusive approach could add the new differently appealing version of the T9, to tempt the people currently giving them a skip, without completely taking away fun people using the current iterations are having specifically because they work the way they do for as long as they do.

[Fira]

1 hour ago, Chaos Ex Machina said:

Hold on this should only apply for PASSIVE henchmen

This would otherwise nerf the mastermind aggro control which is pretty much its whole identity!

 

To do aggro control you need to use Passive too, otherwise pets will hit targets and overwrite their aggro list.

[MoonSheep]

10 hours ago, Heatstroke said:

oooh Shield Charge Breaking Hide..  oooh Shoild Stalkers arent going to be happy..

 

if the devs want shield charge to break hide, then it should become a regular target AoE power that procs and allows for crit hits

 

now it offers the worst of both - breaks hide but isn’t a fully fledged attack

[Skyhawke]

Well, there goes my perma Lightform PB build. Better solo the last of the Incarnate story arcs while I can and shelve him for good. Like the Brute 75-85 increase at least. I'll mirror what others have said and say do the multiple choice thing for T9s. Let those that deal with the crashes keep their builds, please.

Edited Saturday at 11:36 AM by Skyhawke

[Shin Magmus]

11 hours ago, Heatstroke said:

oooh Shield Charge Breaking Hide..  oooh Shoild Stalkers arent going to be happy..

...in exchange for dealing +100% dmg with Crits when  it breaks Hide... I think they'll somehow find a way to still be happy.

[Wavicle]

13 minutes ago, Skyhawke said:

Well, there goes my perma Lightform PB build. Better solo the last of the Incarnate story arcs while I can and shelve him for good. Like the Brute 75-85 increase at least. I'll mirror what others have said and say do the multiple choice thing for T9s. Let those that deal with the crashes keep their builds, please.

Did I miss something about light form?

[Skyhawke]

2 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

Did I miss something about light form?

 

If they're mucking with T9 armors, light form's a T9. Although, the way Khelds get ignored, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it got left out of the changes.  

[Wavicle]

Just now, Skyhawke said:

 

If they're mucking with T9 armors, light form's a T9. Although, the way Khelds get ignored, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it got left out of the changes.  

It actually got specifically mentioned that the Kheldian classes need a full revamp, not just a one power fix. So yes, they got left out.

[Skyhawke]

4 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

It actually got specifically mentioned that the Kheldian classes need a full revamp, not just a one power fix. So yes, they got left out.

 

Don't see it in the notes, but I could have missed it in another post. 

[Wavicle]

Just now, Skyhawke said:

 

Don't see it in the notes, but I could have missed it in another post. 

Somewhere it was said, but not in patch notes. There are no changes to Khelds right now.

[Wavicle]

13 hours ago, The Curator said:

Resurgence

• This power can now be activated while conscious
• If used while conscious, the power will:
  • Heal you for 25% of your base HP
  • Apply a scale 0.5 Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Toxic and Psionic resist buff for 10 seconds (Does not stack with itself)
  • Apply a scale 0.5 Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Toxic and Psionic resist buff for 60 seconds (Does not stack with itself)
  • Recharge in 90s
  • You will gain an auto-self rez if you are defeated in the next 35 seconds.
• If used after being defeated, the power will apply the current effects
  • Apply a +100% recharge buff for 90 seconds.
  • Apply a scale 1 Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Toxic and Psionic resist buff for 90 seconds (Does not stack with itself)
  • Recovery and +End effects are no longer enhanceable
  • No longer provides Damage or ToHit buffs
  • No longer give a damage buff or crash
• This power no longer takes Endurance Modification enhancements or sets.
• This power now takes Resist Damage enhancements and sets.

 

 

The patch note is incomplete in that it should also say the power now takes Healing enhancements and sets as well.

In addition, the ingame description of the power needs to be updated to include the new functionality.

[Heatstroke]

I have to say, what I am sure someone else has said before. The T9's should have TWO versions the way some other powers have TWO versions. Speaking for myself I liked the way the original versions of Icy Bastion and Power Surge worked and was not a fan of a drastic change from something I had liked and built not only the character around but even his origin and bio around. 

 

While I appreciate making T9s more user friendly so people are encouraged to take them, there should be a dual option in the same way that dual options are being offered for other powers. 

Edited Sunday at 12:12 AM by Heatstroke

[thundersquall]

Thank you for the work you've all put into this! These patch notes are really exciting and it's cool to see those underperforming sets get some adjustments. The Spines changes are a standout to me. Leaning into the poison aspect and adding a thematic regen debuff is very cool!

 

I'm also a huge fan of the way HC is adding mutually exclusive powers (e.g. Boomerang Slice). It's a really great approach to adding new things, preserving some older things, and still emphasising player choice imo.

 

MMs no longer have the endurance penalty, MM quality of life improvements, Spines buffs, Broadsword buffs, Storm Blast gameplay improvements, Dual Pistols becoming more thematic... It really is Christmas!

[Wavicle]

14 hours ago, The Curator said:

Strength of Will

• Cast time reduced from 3.1s to 1.67s
• (PvE Only) Duration lowered from 120s to 30s.
• (PvE Only) Recharge reduced from 300s to 120s.
• (PvE Only) Crash eliminated.
• (PvE Only) Smash/Lethal resistance increased from scale 2.5  to 4.5
• (PvE Only) Non Smash/Lethal resistance increased from scale 1.25  to 3.25
• (PvE Only) Now grants Taunt Protection
• Now grants 25% resistance to most debuffs for its duration.
• Now grants a scale 4 damage buff for its duration.

 

Seems to also grant +ToHit, though it's only in the ingame numbers, not in the Description of the power, and not here in the patch notes.

Also, in the ingame numbers, both the ToHit and Damage are listed as "On Deactivation", but in fact they seem to be on during the regular duration of the power, just like the other effects.

[Fira]

FWIW when testing on Beta Pets didn't seem to get the advertised movespeed increase along the stealth when outside Supremacy

[arcane]

Gonna need billions/months to play City of Respecs again but cool changes otherwise 

[TauntingMonk]

Maybe make Seishinteki Kyoyo just a auto: self power?   

And Kuji-in rin could be a toggle, it's relatively thee same as Blaster's Gymnastics IO set wish. 

Please? so... many click powers and just makes this set feel like click to survive instead of attacking..

Edited Saturday at 01:41 PM by TauntingMonk

[Wavicle]

I've now tried most of the t9s on test, and I'm warming to them.

I completely understand all the responses that they are too short, but I feel they have to be taken in context of everything.

In several cases other powers in the set have been buffed, taking some pressure off the t9.

In the case of Brutes and Sentinels, their defensive base has come up.

 

In the case of Sentinels and Stalkers, their offense has come up.

 

The original t9s were designed in absence of Inventions or Incarnate powers. Godmode of several minutes made some sense. Now, you get IOs for your near Godmode, and you can use these new t9s as a rotational shield alongside your self heals and other defensives.

 

I'm not arguing with anyone who dislikes the change, but I think it's going to work out fine in most cases. Overload maybe could still use a little boost.

Edited Saturday at 01:54 PM by Wavicle

[Shin Magmus]

   Has there been any internal discussion to the fact that Stalker Elec Melee is going to be retroactively FUCKED by the proposed Elec Melee changes unless you swap power acquisition and order?  You've changed the set so that it now has a dedicated strong T3 single target attack in Lightning Clap, with a refocus on making Chain Induction be an AoE power (it even now takes AoE sets instead of single target Melee sets.)  Elec Melee Stalkers do not get access to the best single target power in the set.  Correct solution: Stalker Elec Melee should lose access to Jacob's Ladder and gain access to Lightning Clap, with Lightning Clap as the T8 and other power order moved up (earlier levels) to compensate.

 

   This needs to be done before the patch is released, Stalkers don't deserve to lose access to the literal one power in the entire set worth using while Hidden, with good dmg and a 100% Crit Rate.

 

 

[Ukase]

Can confirm, 10% defense and 20% res debuff, except it's not a direct 20%. It's more like convoluted math, that turns 90+% into about 83%. 

      


What I'm not clear on is why the defense is reduced just a full 10% from the defense total, but the resistance debuff is using that convoluted math instead of the straight 20%, down to 70% (which is what I was expecting)

But that's not relevant. It's either by design or an error. I'll let y'all figure that out. 

 

[Maelwys]

7 minutes ago, Shin Magmus said:

Stalker Elec Melee should lose access to Jacob's Ladder and gain access to Lightning Clap, with Lightning Clap as the T8 and other power order moved up (earlier levels) to compensate.

 

FWIW I remapped out my Elec/Shield/Mu Stalker's potential attack chains on CB only a few days ago.

 

The short version is that it's still just about worth taking and using Chain Induction in an Elec Melee Stalker's single target rotation even after these changes (rather than using a combination of JL, TS and Epic Blasts) ...however it's indeed a noteworthy drop in DPS compared to live. The silver lining is that CI can now proc on its additional targets (even if the activation rate is rubbish) so it works out a smidge better for AoE damage... which is the exact opposite of the apparent intent behind these changes!