Force, as a set, has enough good powers that you see occasional people bothering with it, but it's got some poor synergies and glitchy mechanics, and a number of powers that gets ignored, so a revamp would be nice.
Key Concept
The key internal synergy should be around containment fields and force fields. Force fields aren't changed much, containment fields are, so I'll start with that mechanic:
Containment Field
- Must be fully charged
- Paralyzes the target
- Applies containment field to the target. This is a containment effect that absorbs all energy striking the target (up to its health) and also prevents damage to the paralyze.
- When a containment field is removed, it applies containment breach to the target. This causes damage equal to the damage the containment field previously stopped, and applies the containment breach status effect for 8s (this means using containment field doesn't cost you damage). Containment breach is also a containment effect.
- A containment field on a hold-immune target is immediately removed, applying containment breach (for no additional damage).
Now for other effects:
Force BoltsEnergy Refraction
- Now classed as a force field effect, rather than an energy form.
- If you are protected by a personal force field, field strength is halved and the other half is added as healing to the force field.
Force EruptionGravitational Polarity:
- Move damage bonus into the severity layer.
Force Snap (no changes)
Force BlastField Inversion:
- Damage bonus applies if the target is affected by a containment effect you own.
Crushing Field
- if the target is affected by a containment effect you own, applies Demolish
Force Geyser (no changes)
Crushing Wave
- change repel range to 40' so targets can't be pushed out of the area.
Reversal (new):
- instead of a repel, applies a reverse repel out to 50'.
Force Cascade:
- No longer has any special interaction with energy forms.
- If you are affected by a force field effect you own, reduces that effect to zero and does additional damage equal to the health of that effect (this allows for some odd hybrid offense tricks using force field. That is intended). There is a cap (probably equivalent to a tap) on the amount of fields that can be absorbed.
Force DetonationAntigravity (new)
- converts this power into a knock-up.
Force Spate
- Damage bonus applies if the target is affected by a containment effect you own.
Implosion (new):
- Applies containment field to primary target.
- All other targets are knocked to the primary target, instead of away.
Field Surge
- Needs much higher numbers, or maybe existing numbers every 3s for 15s.
- If subject is protected by a personal force field, healing rate of the field is increased to max.
- Now classed as a force field effect, rather than an energy form.
Protection Field:
- If the target is protected by a personal force field, applies half its effect as healing to the force field, and the other half as a normal protection field.
- Now classed as a force field effect.
Redirected Force
- Applies or refreshes redirected force on up to 5 allies.
- Redirected force is a force field effect that absorbs damage, similar to protection field.
- If redirected force is destroyed, applies kinetic potential to owner.
- Kinetic potential is an on-next-hit (stacks to 5) that does crushing damage.
Inertial Dampening Field: form
- Provides a small flat damage reduction effect.
- Grants stacks of Inertial Dampening for each rank of the power you have. In addition, whenever you apply a shield or containment field, you gain an additional stack, and whenever you gain a stack you gain energy.
- Stacks scale with Pre or Ego
- Strong bonus to Shield strength (unlike Compassion, no bonus to healing)
- Weak bonus to melee and ranged damage.
Personal Force Field
- Field health no longer scales with shield strength effects.
- Field regeneration is no longer reduced by taking damage. Instead, it is increased, to a maximum of 200%.
- Field regeneration is no longer increased by blocking.
An alternate version, that's a bit more radical:
- Field health is increased to about 20,000 for a level 40 with good gear; field regen is 10%/3s.
- Field is applied before all defenses, not after.
- Taking damage increases field regen rate by +1 per 10 damage taken (before defenses). This is not capped (though more than 100% field healing is useless), a Teleiosaurus bite for 120,000 damage will give +12,000 field regen. This bonus is halved every 3s and zeroed out if field is at full health at the start of the tic.
The second version will give a persistent bonus though it can never reduce damage taken by more than 20%.
Kinetic Manipulation:
- In addition to its existing effects, increases Shield strength.
Force Shield: no changes.
Kinetic Reverb (new) energy unlock; triggered by ranged knocks.
The set could likely use a single target attack other than force blast. Myabe a steal from gravitar.
Comments
There we go. Much better.
"New tier 3 single target power that deals damage and consumes a forcefield effect to deal additional damage. Har har!"
Kidding, but yeah, I always figured Force Cascade would get that thrown into that role, although I'm sure some people would flip their **** over it becoming a single target ability. I know "tier 3 ranged maintain" is another cookie cutter thing that appears in a lot of newer ranged sets, but I feel like force is the perfect place to introduce a new power that gives players a maintained version of Concussor Beam:
Concentrated Force
Deals Crushing damage to the target and repels them up to 50 feet. The strength of the repel increases over the course of the maintain. Damage is increased by 20% against targets with forcefield effects. On a full maintain, knocks the target down. (because muh energy unlock)
[2] Mine To Toy With -- The repel effect draws the target toward you rather than pushing them away. If the target gets within melee range, they take additional Crushing damage and are knocked a good distance away. (Think Tractor Beam + Final Delivery.)
A Tier 3 single target charged attack?
Contained Singularity:
Single target 50' charged attack.
Deals heavy damage. If fully charged you create a singularity connecting you to the target that redirects 50% of the damage you take to the target for 3 s.
Too powerful?
My Characters
but also, I think the Endurance stat should give a small amount of
damage resistance %, and the Endurance Specialization Tree
also needs a revamp!