The idea in the video is that the "bird" is really just another emenation point for the character's power. And really is only limited by what type of skeletal mesh we can apply be it bird or round-shaped object. We are also not necessarily limited to floating-off-shoulder locations either, but could have off to the side at thigh height too. While we may not necessarily have many (if any) working animal rigs by launch, we will have the human rig. Size scaling is simple enough, as is the general tethering, following, and related animations. Which means something like a fairy is not out of the realm of possibility. The limiter here is providing sufficient options for inclusion at launch. Eventually though we are looking at unparallelled customization.

Lothic wrote:

Kiyori Anoyui wrote:
Another cool concept is Ferra/Torr in Mortal Kombat where the pet IS the projectile. And it can either be on you or following you.
So you have the character who is a meat shield with a lot of strength and a little guy with high int and gadgets. Alone they aren't much of a threat but combined are a super force

This might blur the line between "a fancy critter animation where an attack power projects from" and "a combat pet with its own HPs and attack powers". I suppose as long as the "little guy" in your example is just a fancy animation of an attack power being used by the "big guy" then it might work.

That is what I was thinking, so you would have a power that would both pick up said little guy, then throw it, like the shield toss in CoH

Meaning, that the two characters are intertwined power wise, not with their own sets. The only question, and still a question as far as Pets with attack points go, do they have shared HP, or their own HP, and how much will they have?

Kiyori Anoyui wrote:

Lothic wrote:
Kiyori Anoyui wrote:
Another cool concept is Ferra/Torr in Mortal Kombat where the pet IS the projectile. And it can either be on you or following you.
So you have the character who is a meat shield with a lot of strength and a little guy with high int and gadgets. Alone they aren't much of a threat but combined are a super force

This might blur the line between "a fancy critter animation where an attack power projects from" and "a combat pet with its own HPs and attack powers". I suppose as long as the "little guy" in your example is just a fancy animation of an attack power being used by the "big guy" then it might work.

That is what I was thinking, so you would have a power that would both pick up said little guy, then throw it, like the shield toss in CoH
Meaning, that the two characters are intertwined power wise, not with their own sets. The only question, and still a question as far as Pets with attack points go, do they have shared HP, or their own HP, and how much will they have?

No that's the point I was trying to make with my last post. As Cyclops said I don't think that the critters that would serve as firing points are going to be actual "pets" in terms of being a separate entity with their own HPs or targetable in combat. They would literally be more like the "shoulder pets" in CoH but simply physically disconnected from the character's body and animated to "look" like living critters.

Kiyori Anoyui wrote:

Yea, that would make sense. I guess what I was talking about would be more along the lines of a mastermind. But then again any pet with a firing point would classify you as more of a Mastermind, if that is your only source of attack.

You could certainly roleplay that your "firing point pet" is like a pet that a Mastermind would have, especially if you choose to have all of your attacks focused through that pet.

But I think the important difference is that the Mastermind relies on his/her pets to be actual entities with their own powers and HPs so that they can protect the Mastermind in combat by acting as "meat shields". By keeping the "firing point pets" as simply fancy targetless animations the characters using them are technically "petless" as far a combat goes so that there's no need to worry about the ramifications of spitting HPs or worrying about those characters being more powerful than other characters that choose not to use separate pets for their powers.

Bottomline it would just make things much, much easier if firing point "pets" in CoT are treated more like the shoulder kitties of CoH than as actual pets.

Hmm, the only situation I can imagine where melee powers would be able to use an external emanation point without it being viewed as a or in the form of a pet would be if it was done in a similar fashion to Phychic Frenzy from Esper's in Wildstar. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKJnpbTJN1U]Best video of it that I could find[/url] .
The biggest issue with having external emanation points for melee powers is making it look good without major clipping issues. Using a pet for melee would essentially mandate that it always attacks from the side or from the back.

On another note, I would love the ability to have multiple emanation points, like say a laser barrage coming from several probes hovering around me. Think in the style of Frenzy (iirc) from Arachnos Soldier.
Or even having it (shoulder fairy, imp, demon, whatever) visually "empower" your attacks, like during the short-term +damage/to-hit buff that most damage sets had. Perhaps through it channeling on you or combining its attack with yours.

Hmm, I wonder how leech type powers (regardless of what they leech) would function with external emanation points, will it cast on both you and your target? From a mechanics point of view I know it won't make any difference but from a visual I think it would make a fairly big one.