Thoughts on Experimental Blaster

eviltwintwo

I have bounced back and forth from liking this power to not liking it and back again repeatedly.

Issue #1: The blaster has a 35% chance to deal additional damage (70% with the Death Ray advantage). When it goes off, it makes even taps seem really good; but even with Death Ray, I've had to hit targets extra times because the extra damage didn't go off.

Issue #2: The Death Ray advantage. Love the higher-percentage chance of extra damage, turns this into a great power against single hard targets. (The issue above doesn't apply b/c you have to hit such targets far more than basic mobs, which mean the extra damage will go off many times before a significant target is defeated.) Don't love the insta-kill thing. I'm playing a super hero, and I have the traditional mentality on that--super heroes don't kill. That's why I switched to Sonic Arrow on the toon that I was using this on; the extra damage to the main target always goes off, and it hits nearby mobs. Though really, this is more of a preference thing, since no one really dies either way, I just don't like the way the death ray effect looks.

Issue #3: This is just me, to a large degree, but I see the gadgets set as a set that should have almost ultimate utility. You could argue that it does--there's a rez, all kinds of attack options, etc. However, what about healing? It's true there's a passive (Medical Nanites) and an on-damage heal (Bionic Shielding). And Support Drones are fairly often used even by non-Gadgeteering builds, though they can be destroyed. So where's the direct healing?

These issues got me thinking--this power needs one more 1-point advantage: Life Ray. Yes, friends, the opposite of Death Ray, er, sort of. How would such an advantage work?

It would probably still have an up on the chance to deal additional damage; 70% would be great but even 50% would be okay. (Note: The 70% model would allow a player to use both Death Ray and Life Ray at the same time; otherwise they'd have to be mutually exclusive to keep from breaking the power.) Beyond the increased chance of extra damage, Life Ray would allow you to target allies (or yourself) for a direct heal.

But probably if anything like this were added, it would have to be a separate power. That would prevent Death Ray from butting heads with Life Ray altogether. Not saying it's ever going to happen, just posting some thoughts.

***Edit***
Wouldn't ya know I'd forget something?!
The Teddy Bear effect. It was amusing the first 2 or 3 times it happened, then it got old. Then it got irritating because it seems to seriously buff the transformed mob's resistance. So it really only serves to drag out fights which should be over in a shot or two. This should be removed altogether.

flowcyto

Yea, a number of of us have been saying the same basic thing- that there needs to be more non-magical or non-mentalist healing options in CO, and something like a Healing version of one of the existing Gadgeteering powers could work well. All else I can say at this point is that many of the sets haven't been reviewed still, and I hope something like it is in the pipeline.

eviltwintwo

flowcyto said:

Yea, a number of of us have been saying the same basic thing- that there needs to be more non-magical or non-mentalist healing options in CO, and something like a Healing version of one of the existing Gadgeteering powers could work well. All else I can say at this point is that many of the sets haven't been reviewed still, and I hope something like it is in the pipeline.

Yeah I've seen some statements about this. Realistically, there's gonna be stuff said about this until something is done about it. Which can't really be speculated on too much because Cryptic has its own plan and its own pace. Still hoping for this eventually though! Thx for the reply.

roughbearmattach

I think it would have to be a 2 point advantage.

eviltwintwo

roughbearmattach said:

I think it would have to be a 2 point advantage.

What, Life Ray? Nah, Death Ray is 1, Life Ray should be 1 also. It doesn't add anything (esp. to freeform) that isn't available with another heal, it just saves a slot--assuming it ever comes to be. It would be an efficiency thing.

Other than the prevalence of 2-pt advantages, is there any other reason you'd say so?

aesica

So much of Gadgeteering is a hot mess at the moment. As much as I dread the gutting, nerfing, and homogenization that would likely rain down on MSA and probably Concentration, the rest of the powerset would most likely come out a lot stronger and more usable.

As for the "Life Ray," I agree Gadgeteering (which has a support AT FFS) should have a proper heal of its own that mirrors those found in other sets. I don't think it should be an advantage tacked onto something else though. It should be its own power so that it could have its own set of proper advantages.​​

eviltwintwo

aesica said:

So much of Gadgeteering is a hot mess at the moment. As much as I dread the gutting, nerfing, and homogenization that would likely rain down on MSA and probably Concentration, the rest of the powerset would most likely come out a lot stronger and more usable.



As for the "Life Ray," I agree Gadgeteering (which has a support AT FFS) should have a proper heal of its own that mirrors those found in other sets. I don't think it should be an advantage tacked onto something else though. It should be its own power so that it could have its own set of proper advantages.​​

That wouldn't be unwelcome. The main reason I thought it could be added to the existing power is because I see gadgeteers as the ultimate utility concept, perhaps having more utility in the same number of powers. Also, I like how Rebuke works and think a gadget version would be cool.

aesica

eviltwintwo wrote: »

That wouldn't be unwelcome. The main reason I thought it could be added to the existing power is because I see gadgeteers as the ultimate utility concept, perhaps having more utility in the same number of powers. Also, I like how Rebuke works and think a gadget version would be cool.

So EB vs enemy for damage, EB vs ally for healing? That'd be neat and would fit the theme of gadgeteering nicely (let me just reverse the polarity on this death ray and...you're alive!) but people would probably cry homogenization because celestial already works like that. I'd still want it to be a core concept for the power though, not a tacked-on advantage.

Ultimately though, celestial's damage suffers due to the multipurpose nature of its powers. Not sure I'd want gadgeteering to follow that same route.​​

eviltwintwo

aesica said:

eviltwintwo wrote: »

That wouldn't be unwelcome. The main reason I thought it could be added to the existing power is because I see gadgeteers as the ultimate utility concept, perhaps having more utility in the same number of powers. Also, I like how Rebuke works and think a gadget version would be cool.

So EB vs enemy for damage, EB vs ally for healing? That'd be neat and would fit the theme of gadgeteering nicely (let me just reverse the polarity on this death ray and...you're alive!) but people would probably cry homogenization because celestial already works like that. I'd still want it to be a core concept for the power though, not a tacked-on advantage.



Ultimately though, celestial's damage suffers due to the multipurpose nature of its powers. Not sure I'd want gadgeteering to follow that same route.​​

Celestial is definitely themed. However, I use Rebuke on some FF specifically b/c it handles max-range, single target heals and single target damage (if you have the right passive). Just think--Life Ray could have a 70% chance to do...extra healing!!! Even Rebuke doesn't have that, though it probably doesn't need it. The Technology tree doesn't have passives that amp healing though, so extra healing from Life Ray could be quite useful (probably even on the AT). I think it'd work well with Medical Nanites that way, or with Aura of Protection if you wanted a force-field themed character that actually had a useful force field. (Bad you'd have to rip off the Supernatural sets to get a tech theme, but the way this is set up is a bit too limiting for my taste, so I just ignore that and do what I want, as I'm sure many people do.)

You have some good ideas. Any chance you're putting in an application to work at Cryptic??

------

One more thing about your post. I read this at nearly midnight where I live, and I'm tired, so when I saw "EB", I wondered why you were talking about Energy Builders. Dopey me.

eviltwintwo

aesica said:

eviltwintwo wrote: »

That wouldn't be unwelcome. The main reason I thought it could be added to the existing power is because I see gadgeteers as the ultimate utility concept, perhaps having more utility in the same number of powers. Also, I like how Rebuke works and think a gadget version would be cool.

So EB vs enemy for damage, EB vs ally for healing? That'd be neat and would fit the theme of gadgeteering nicely (let me just reverse the polarity on this death ray and...you're alive!) but people would probably cry homogenization because celestial already works like that. I'd still want it to be a core concept for the power though, not a tacked-on advantage.



Ultimately though, celestial's damage suffers due to the multipurpose nature of its powers. Not sure I'd want gadgeteering to follow that same route.​​

------------------

I use Rebuke from Celestial on certain characters specifically because it provides (in 1 power) a max-range single-target heal as well as good damage when combined with the right passive. The Technology tree doesn't have a passive that amps healing like the Supernatural tree, a fact which I find somewhat limiting.

That's why I like the idea of Life Ray. Just think--you'd have a 70% chance of...extra healing!! Even Rebuke doesn't have that, in and of itself (though it probably doesn't need it if used with the right passive). This would work well with Medical Nanites, assuming you had some presence, and would benefit the AT as well. Or if you want a force-field themed character, you could use Aura of Protection; bad you'd have to rip off Supernatural for that, but Technology should have a force field like that anyway, so I'd just use the aura and ignore its placement in the Supernatural tree.

You have some good ideas Aesica, any chance you've submitted an application to work for Cryptic?

eviltwintwo

aesica said:

eviltwintwo wrote: »

That wouldn't be unwelcome. The main reason I thought it could be added to the existing power is because I see gadgeteers as the ultimate utility concept, perhaps having more utility in the same number of powers. Also, I like how Rebuke works and think a gadget version would be cool.

So EB vs enemy for damage, EB vs ally for healing? That'd be neat and would fit the theme of gadgeteering nicely (let me just reverse the polarity on this death ray and...you're alive!) but people would probably cry homogenization because celestial already works like that. I'd still want it to be a core concept for the power though, not a tacked-on advantage.



Ultimately though, celestial's damage suffers due to the multipurpose nature of its powers. Not sure I'd want gadgeteering to follow that same route.​​

------------------
Okay, attempt #3, since I keep losing my comment for some reason. I better not have 3 of the almost exact same comment when I look at this next time...though I'm not sure what I could actually do about it.

I use Rebuke on certain characters because it provides, in one power, a max-range single-target heal and good damage. (I've soloed Chimera with the Radiant at -1, if I remember right. It's a good power.) When combined with the right passive, it's awesome.

The Technology tree doesn't have a passive like Seraphim, which is why I like the idea of Life Ray. Just think...you could have a 70% chance of...extra healing! That would fit the current theme of Gadgeteering, and put a good heal on a damage power, which would leave a space for, shall we call it "creativity"? The AT could benefit from Life Ray as well. And it would work well with Medical Nanites (or with Aura of Radiant Protection, if you don't mind ripping off Supernatural to get a good "force field" toggle).

You have some good ideas, Aesica. Any chance you've applied to work for Cryptic?