'Fender Frenzy!!!

[Lu]

Next Tuesday is good for me (I thinks).

There is still some confusion for me over which server.

Looks like May would prefer Defiant because of a lack of slots on Union.

Ms W would prefer Union... but has not stated a reason.

Due to slot shortages and the FA being a Union SG, I suspect most people have most Union slots full, so I'm going to suggest Defiant, unless Ms W really really can't make it.

[Ms. Wildfire]

Ms W would prefer Union... but has not stated a reason.

It was a simple question, didn't realise it would need reasoning. Sorry if I made confusion.

I've made the toon on Defiant and ready for Tuesday.

Defenders Hooooo!

[Josh Stormfall]

wow, I may actualy be able to join you, though will no doubt be a little late

[Josh Stormfall]

I should be able to join in again tonight, though I may be running a little late (more like 20:30 BST)
I got bored of my psionics defender so created an Ice / Ice and got her to lvl 6, hope that's ok, if not I can re use the howler.

[Phoenix]

'pologies for not making these and such, assuming they're still going. was asleep last time and windows has puked itself inside-out today so i've had to wipe and start from scratch in system terms so I'll miss today too.

sorries. >.<

[Lu]

*hugs*

No need to apologise May. Sometimes life gets in the way.

[Josh Stormfall]

Hi,

Sorry I missed Tuesdays Fender fest, getting back to work after taking a holiday meant catching up a a lot more than I suspected... isn't it always the way.

Anyway, here is a video of someone I suspect to be one of Cy's contacts:
www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/251786.html

Enjoy.

[Josh Stormfall]

Another epic fail, I will have to miss this weeks frenzy.
I curse work
curse it I tell ya
I'll leave it there otherwise I'll need to move this mail to the "just a rant" thread.

Sorry and I hope it goes well.

[Ves]

Worry not Swash matey.

We decided to put the teaming on hold this week, with yourself, Pix and May absent, the team would have been getting a little too spread out level-wise.

Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but last week we touched upon the idea of working through the TF's, and as they have a minimum lvl requirement, the last thing we want is to spread out too much and have people struggling to catch up or missing out on TF's etc they're not big enough to take part in.

Besides... Wouldn't have been as much fun without everyone there now would it? *huggles*

[Josh Stormfall]

Aww, I'm quite touched.
still at work mind </e grumble>

Hopefully things will be shiny next week.

[Lu]

Ok All,

This evening I had a tell from Dr Whitelight asking what level some one has to be to join the team.

Basically she has a new boyfriend, whom she has just introduced to the game, and wants to know if he can join the team.

The response I gave her is as follows:

" It should be ok at the moment for a lower level to join, but it would be tricky without a travel power and difficult if we end up going to a hazard zone"

So, the questions I have are:

How picky are we about keeping the team to being FA peeps?

Personally, I like it being FA limited, but I know we're a small group so that automatically limits the potential team size. And also we've already broken that aim by inviting Dr Whitelight (whose player also plays Darth Delicious (Dee Dee) ).

How picky are we about keeping the team to being Defenders?

Again, from a personal perspective, I'd like to keep it to being only Defenders, but again, we've kinda broken that aim by letting Plas bring along his tank.

Opinions please. Coz I don't really like having to make all the decisions on my own.

[Ves]

Okay, before I get started properly, I'm going to apologise for my recent absense from the Fender Frenzy line up. It's all down to my current tech nightmare (which I'm hoping to get sorted with the return of my PC from Dell *crosses fingers*) and even though I'm currently able to make it in-game, teaming is pretty much a no-go as the laptop starts to get a tad clunky if too much happens all at once (it started crying when I ran a few missions solo with my Kin / Rad defender during DXP, so imagine how it'd be with the usual number of shiny power effects we have with our FF team.)

That said, I should have at least let you know I'd not be there yesterday in advance, but after waiting up for a courior to take away my PC, and the extra 3 hours after the informd time, I was shattered and headed off to bed, not waking until late last night and having failed to leave a messege.

Ves is very sorry

Now, to the two important points Pix makes, do we want those dodgey lookin' outsiders tagging along to bask in our awesome, and do we keep it to only defenders... Well, I see it kinda like this...

I think the only reason we started out all FA peeps is because the team night was discussed on the FA channel, which kinda limited the people that'd ask to join. Since then, as you said, DD's joined in and by all accounts has had just as much fun doing so as the rest of us. I see this as a good thing.

Now we learn that she's enjoying it so much that she'd like someone else to come along, someone completely new to the game. Now, this person might not like the game at all, play a week or two then call it quits. On the otherhand, they may well love the game, be a great person to chat with and mission along side, and end up becoming a good friend to some / all of the current FF team members. I'm happy to say sure and hope we get the latter of the outcomes. An FA and friends type arrangement, if you will.

Now then, the trickier question... Deenders only or not... Well, a rather blunt answer would be, does it really matter? Between the insane buffing and debuffing which occurs within seconds of encountering anything, (or nothing in the case of shields and AM type powers) we're pretty much strolling over everything while relaxing with crazy high Res, Def, recharge, and recovery, all backed up with multiple healing powers, a few rezzes if needed, and all the other powers we have to make the enemies as tough as tissue paper.

A better answer would be this... While I very highly doubt that there is currently anything heroside that a team of defenders like ours, in our level range we'd not be capable of, the addition of a little variety of tactics on occasion is actually quite refreshing. When Plas' tank came along, it wasn't a case of 'without a tanker we're doomed' but more a subtle shift in tactics like 'Nice, now I don't need to break up my debuffing of the AV to deal with all these pesky mobs trying to attack me since the tank will have them nicely taunted away'

(Please note, I'm really, really sorry about the last bit above Plas, it sounds horrible and I'm in no way questioning your tanking ability, it was much appreciated, I'm just trying to point out that we're better than 'We need a tank and an empath or we're doomed' type teams.)

"Is there a point to your rambling and apologies Ves, for the love of god?!"

Probably not, but I'll try making one anyways... Outsiders, I'm fine with, I'm pretty sure we've all had someone on our global list stuck soloing when they'd rather be on a fun team with friends (maybe even been that person a few times too) so why not ask them along, if they've a toon for it. Once more a little variety can make the evening all the more interesting, if only with different coloured lighting or swirly bits for the powers. And the other AT's? Well, again the variety is nice, and at times highly appreciated, but I think the reasons for it not being a defender would need to be fairly convincing (IIRC Deviant is Plas' home server, so is likely to have slot limitations or suitable ranged toon issues, so his tank is a welcome addition) With the SK system someone making a ne toon for the team really has no excuse, we can easily dodge hazard zones with radio missions if all else fails, and travel powers are a null point due to the team having a resident kinetics user with SB and IR, so that's super speed and jump for free. Hell my lvl 28 kinetics toon's never had a travel power and she manages fine, a few nights SK'd and any lowbie's going to be hitting travel power levels anyways.

Hope all that made sense, and covered the points Pix raised. If not just gimme a nudge later and I'll have another go with less babble, but this'll do for now, and I'll blame any screw ups on lack of coffee *nods*

[Lu]

I wanted to mention a couple of things.

One thing, I should have said before now, but with work being busy and me not even feeling like turning on my computer when I get home, never mind doing something that involves thinking, I haven't done.

The second, only turned up a couple of days ago.

Firstly:

Plas, I owe you an apology. I feel as though my being sukly has made you feel as though you are not welcome to Fender Frenzy with your tank. This isn't entirely the case.

I have to admit to feeling a little disappointed when the make up of the group stretched beyond being just Defenders, which was the intention of the team initially. Playing with a team full of Defenders is ace fun and having other archetypes join the team changes the dynamic of the team. When one week you said Kitty was hassling you, I assumed you meant you wanted to leave the team to go and join Kitty's team, but then you made a comment about us not wanting a blaster in the team and I took that to mean you thought we should invite Kitty to the team.

If the usual attendees to Fender Frenzy want to expand the team to include non-Fenders to get the numbers up, I can understand that. It would be my preference to limit the team as much as possible to Fenders because that it what I enjoy about the Fender Frenzy sessions and if I want to be on a varied AT team, I can do that fairly easily any other time. However, I don't want to spoil the fun other people want to have and so would not object if people want to expand the team to take in other ATs to expand the team size.

Secondly:

This week, and probably future weeks, Shadowe and me will not be able to make Tuesday evenings as a friend is coming over to stay so he can make our Wednesday night Pen and Paper D&D RP sessions.

I'd like to suggest moving it to Monday or Thursday, but realise others also have other commitments.

[Kitmarch]

Bah. No apologies necessary. Plus there just aren't enough evenings in the week at the moment.

[Shadowe]

Notification regarding Pixie's post - this week can continue on Tuesday as normal. The friend Pix mentioned (avoiding mentioning his real name on a public forum - he's the one who got his head bashed in a year ago) isn't going to be able to make it this week, so we're both free on Tuesday night.

I, for one, am quite grateful for this, as it will let us actually discuss the situation with the 'Fenders in-game.

Now it's time for a slightly different topic, because it's something that I've been thinking of a little bit lately - After 'Fender Frenzy finishes, what AT are we going to try next?

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

Firstly, one of the things that makes 'Fender Frenzy a whole helluvalot of fun is that an AT not known for its ability to dish out damage has been proven immensely capable when teamed up with others of the same AT.

Secondly, the prospect of "easy mode" really doesn't appeal to me, personally.

So, taking each of the ATs in turn, here's my thoughts, and each AT rated "Poor, Meh or Good":

The Heroes

Blaster: Squishy and insane damage. No synergy between characters because there are minimal buffs. Damage output would be insane, but individual characters would suffer against Alpha-strikes, and AV-killing would be... tricky. Anything of Boss level or lower would last about two seconds. EBs, AVs, Monsters and Giant Monsters could prove very tricky. Overall: Meh.

Controller: Squishy, okay damage. The synergy between toons goes through the roof. Containment all round! Capable of locking down pretty much anything, and then dishing it out with bonus damage. Secondaries might make it feel too much like the 'Fenders. Fire/Kins are the farming tool of choice. Overall: Meh.

Scrapper: High melee damage, non-squishy. Little synergy between toons due to no buffs. A group of scrappers would function like a lawnmower, with pretty much anything on the map being a blade of grass. Survivability high, damage output high. Little risk. Overall: Poor.

Tanker: Low damage, non-squishy. Little synergy between toons due to no buffs. Capable of standing toe-to-toe with almost anything, but might not be able to dish it out enough against tougher foes. Gauntlet and conflicting Taunts could result in some amusement. Overall: Good.

Kheldians: (I'm lumping both types together for the purpose of this) Good damage, variable squishiness. Self-buffs increase survivability, and some good teaming powers, too. If toon roles are defined can fit into almost any gap. Overall: Good.

The Villains (bearing in mind that I don't know villains as well as I do heroes)

Brute: High damage, non-squishy. In my mind Brutes fall somewhere between Scrappers and Tankers. They have the damage output of Scrappers, and the surivability of Tankers, and a combination of the good and bad points of both. Overall: Meh.

Corrupter: High damage, squishy. The "inverse 'Fender". Potential for as much synergy as 'Fenders, with a potential for damage output to make a Blaster gulp. Definitely not easy mode, but together could become as insanely fun as the 'Fenders are proving. Overall: Good.

Dominator: Moderate damage, somewhat squishy. Pretty much what Controllers wish they could be. Little synergy between toons due to no buffs, but the capability to lock down anything on the map. Risky, but with a high return. Overall: Good.

Mastermind: High Damage, somewhat squishy. Another lawnmower AT, thanks to the pets ability to draw damage away from the Master. Potential lag issues with lots of mobs and power fx on screen. Overall: Meh.

Stalker: High damage, moderately squishy. The ultimate "Ghosting" machine, but less capable on Defeat All missions. Not lawnmowers, not dead in the water. Overall: Good.

Soldiers of Arachnos: I'm not going to discuss these here, as I know that at least one player does not have them unlocked, due to a lack of an extant L50 villain.

Some personal thoughts, now - I don't like Stalkers. In fact I can't stand them. I'm not a huge fan of tanks, either. Even with those caveats, though, I'd be happy to play either if that's what the team is looking for. I don't think Corrupters is a good choice immediately after the 'Fenders, because the two ATs are rather similar to each other in terms of powerset choices.