Opinions to the Dev About Issue 5

UI and Options - 08/07/2005

This is not directly related to Issue 5, but it has been a major peeve since I started playing over a yar ago.

Please explain to me the concept behind the Tab targeting system where the first foe it selects is the one furthest away from you and cycles in from there. There are times it selects someone way out yonder where they weren't even rendered. Which archtype does this benefit? Certainly not meleers or even ranged fighters due to the distance.

Why was the Tab targeting system not designed to choose the foe directly in front of me on first press? This foe is most important in my opinion since he's the one beating me with a baseball bat. What do I care about the guy 2 blocks away? And too often in the heat of battle, I've accidentally shot a foe in the next spawn group due to the Tab functioning as it does currently.

Yes, I know I can do the Ctrl-Tab to select the nearest foe, but Tabbing to cycle foes will once again choose the furthest guy. The Ctrl-Tab would not be necessary if the Tab wasn't counter-intuitively implemented. In addition, the Left-Ctrl is the default for power tray selection. Why you overlapped that is another peeve.

Stealth - 08/04/2005

Statesman wrote:

If you Attack, or are Hit - Critters see you.

If this is the case, that is every foe can see you, not just the group you are aggroed with, then I agree with the others about the endurance cost. The endurance cost should be lessen during the revealed/suppressed period or reduced as a whole for the powers.

Stealth in particular because that seems to be a physical technique, ie you are sneaking around. This is in contrast to Cloaking Device where you have a gadget running. Once battle begins, voluntarily or not, then you are not and probably can't maintain sneaking anymore. For Stealth, I would suggest that along with the visibility suppression, that it's self slow should be suppressed too.

Still, I disagree that once aggroed EVERY foe should be able to see you. The Cloaking Device is still running. The invisibility "spell" is still on. The mists and miasmas are still flowing. I would rather it be that upon engagement, you have a CHANCE to be seen by foes in adjacent spawn groups. In addition, there should be a slight chance for engaged foes to lose sight of you and thus lose aggro.

Dark Servant - 07/19/2005

With the Issue 4 update, a player click-to-move feature was implemented. Can this be jury-rigged to allow us to control our Pets? Just being able to get a Pet to disengage it's current target and repositioned would be extremely helpful.

Defiance - 07/19/2005

I haven't tested Defiance and frankly, I'm not going to bother. This whole concept is against my playstyle.

I've played a couple of Blasters for over a year now. I know that when my health drops to half, I'm going to get screwed if I don't use a Respite immediately. Especially since those little Respites my contact sells me don't heal much. I'm not going to fool around just to see a little boost in damage.

This is even more true if I'm on a team. Should I voluntarily increase my chances of defeat significantly by not using a Respite just for a chance of a little more damage? What good is that damage to the team if I don't survive the next shot at me?

I'm a soloist, so even on a team I play self sufficiently. I support the team, but play knowingly that at times, they may not be able to return the support. This keeps me alive. And I believe this will be particularly relavent if Issue 5 goes Live. With the decreases in Tanker and Controller effectiveness, the Defenders may be overwhelmed in trying to keep the front line from falling. I'm not going to distract them with an orange/red health bar.

This buff is bogus and is too dangerous to use. If I'm on with any of my characters that can heal, you can be sure that I'll be conducting drive-by heals without reservation. Tell your in-game support crew to expect petitions about me for griefing with heals.

Controller Set - 07/18/2005

First off, I am very disappointed by these changes for controllers. This will negate any value I would offer a team that they could not get from a defender with my secondary set. As it is, most of the powers I have and use on a regular basis are from my secondary.

I play a Fire/Rad. The powers I use from my controller primary are a single target hold, an AOE stealth, an AOE hold, an AOE disorient, and my Pets. The issue 5 changes has totally gutted my effectiveness for a team. The only power I can rely on is Char and what's left of my Pets.

I'm already perma-Hasten and perma-Accelerate Matabolism. Yet, the recharge on my AOE powers are still agonizingly slow. Not to mention that they fade so quickly now. Oh sure, put some more slots in them. Slots from where? Most of my slots are in my secondaries, the most team beneficial powers. Should I break my right leg just so my aputated left leg won't feel so bad?

Then there is the issue with the Pets. The most significant aspect of the Controller archtype that drew me to play it were the Pets. I understood the forum consensus that it would be a tedious journey and yet I made one anyway. And I did it by mostly soloing. It was tough and I did despair for a while, but I researched and rethought my strategy and persavered. I wasn't in a rush to level up, but when I got my Pets, I truly felt that I my work was rewarded.

Yes, I consider Pets the reward for enduring all the pitfalls of being a Controller. Which other archtype, as a whole, is so ostresized than the Controllers? Which other archtype has to choose whether to slot their powers for their purpose (survival) or for damage (leveling)? Which other archtype has their most powerful primary powers include inherent self -acc? Which other archtype are designed to be further gimped by not being able to buy all the enhancements they need at the stores, but instead need to cultivate contacts whose mission they can bearly accomplish and who would then gouge them when they can least afford to be?

Oh yes, the double damage will come in handy for the newly birthed Controllers, but what use is it for me? It doesn't seem to apply for Pool Powers and my only reusable "attacking" Controller power is Char. Woohoo! Char with no damage enhancements x 2 sure will get those Arch Villians quivering in their boots.

Double damage on powers with dinky damaging secondary affects and which I can not afford to allocate damage enhancements will not allow me to level faster. Double damage will not keep me alive when my AOEs wear off. Double damage is no substitute for 4 to 12 additional Imps. Double damage will not differentiate the Controller archtype. And, double damage will not make me want to play a Controller.

[Edit:
Upon reviewing the nerf list again, I see that the Immobolize powers were not changed. Well, as you can see from my list above for the Primaries I use for my Fire/Rad, I long ago ditched all the Immob powers. Why? Because they were getting me killed. And with Issue 5, the AOE Immob being able to affect a possible 10 foes is a way better taunt than a Tank's who can only hit 5. Yeah, like that will entice me to pick it up again to help with my weakened powers.]