Stealthrider

You get them, I just prefer not to take them. This is a canon (more or less) build. You wouldn't see a Night Widow NPC tossing around lightning or sharks, for example.

Would it be possible to allow VEATs to have more than one Arachnos costume? It'd really be nice to be able to wear multiple different variations of the Arachnos armor without having to go to an Arbiter/Facemaker every time.

For the record, Night Widows' Mind Link is strictly superior to Fortunatas' and is much easier to make actually permament.

Was successfully talked out of the Fighting pool earlier, so I won't be posting that version of the build. Instead I'll post this version, which is a significantly updated version of the build in the OP. I'll update the OP to recommend this one, though it's a bit more expensive so I won't outright replace that version. Still no purples, and thanks to Merits it's a lot easier to get a bunch of these formerly elusive unique IOs, so it shouldn't be too hard to complete. We get overcapped defenses, 28% S/L resist (ENTIRELY from IOs, so be aware that it'll take a while to get to that point) and all of the powers I mentioned in the OP, at the same levels. Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Natural Arachnos Widow Primary Power Set: Night Widow Training Secondary Power Set: Widow Teamwork Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Medicine Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Villain Profile: Level 1: Mental Blast -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(42), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Dcm-Build%(43) Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 2: Strike -- CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(A), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx(36), CrsImp-Dmg/Rchg(36), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50) Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-EndRdx(5), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(5), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(7), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(7), LucoftheG-Rchg+(11) Level 6: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(48) Level 8: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9), RechRdx-I(9), GssSynFr--Build%(43) Level 10: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx-I(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(11) Level 12: Spin -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(13), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(15), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), EndRdx-I(43) Level 14: Lunge -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(17), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Mk'Bit-Dam%(37) Level 16: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 18: Slash -- SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDmnofA-Dmg/Rchg(19), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), SprDmnofA-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprDmnofA-Rchg/DmgFear%(23) Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 22: Mask Presence -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(46), Rct-Def/EndRdx(46) Level 24: Foresight -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(25), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(25), RedFrt-EndRdx(27), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(37) Level 26: Eviscerate -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Obl-Acc/Rchg(29), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), EndRdx-I(34) Level 28: Mental Training -- Run-I(A) Level 30: Mind Link -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(31), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(31), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), LucoftheG-Rchg+(33) Level 32: Psychic Scream -- Dtn-Acc/Dmg(A), Dtn-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Dtn-Dmg/Rchg(45), Dtn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(45), Dtn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), Dtn-Dmg/Rng(50) Level 35: Aid Other -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 38: Aid Self -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(39), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(39), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(39), Prv-Heal/Rchg(40), Prv-Absorb%(40) Level 41: Field Medic -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50) Level 44: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 47: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(48) Level 49: Placate -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 1: Conditioning Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(3), PrfShf-End%(3) ------------ ------------

Will be updating this build in the coming days as I experiment more at endgame. Already changed a few minor things, but nothing so significant it warranted a full rewrite. Currently testing to see whether dropping the Medicine tree for Fighting. Medicine gives us Aid Self, which lets us recover from bad hits and helps our unfortunate endurance issues, but leaves us with very little Smashing/Lethal resist at endgame. Fighting lets us get a baseline of 25%-ish S/L resist, which can get as high as 58% with proper IO set slotting. That leaves us with nothing but Health for recovering HP, though, and gives us two more toggles to use, which means instead of carrying nothing but blues we're carrying a mix of blues and greens. But, the extra S/L resist means there's less damage getting through to heal. What I'll likely do is post the Fighting version as an alternate, for those that prefer to mitigate damage rather than heal it. Typically that's the way to go in CoH, but note that endurance will be a problem if you go this route, so expect to need to go for Cardiac in your Alpha slot. Otherwise, the build mostly as-is has been doing just fine in both solo and teams all the way through endgame, though it can struggle solo against Elite Bosses, especially +2 ones (I've been soloing at +2/x1 almost exclusively since the 30s, but feel free to experiment to find your preferred Notoriety).

Character: Sterling Spear Account: Stealthrider Battle Cry: Justitia Invicta!

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Natural Arachnos Widow Primary Power Set: Night Widow Training Secondary Power Set: Widow Teamwork Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Medicine Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Villain Profile: Level 1: Mental Blast -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(36), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(3), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(3), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(11), LucoftheG-Def(17), LucoftheG-Rchg+(31) Level 2: Strike -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(A), OvrFrc-End/Rech(46), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(46), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(46), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(48), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(48) Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(5), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(5), Rct-Def/Rchg(7), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Rct-ResDam%(11) Level 6: Mystic Flight -- Flight-I(A) Level 8: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9), RechRdx-I(9) Level 10: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 12: Spin -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(13), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(13), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Obl-%Dam(17) Level 14: Lunge -- CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(A), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx(33), CrsImp-Dmg/Rchg(33), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 16: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 18: Slash -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(19), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mk'Bit-Dam%(23) Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(23), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(25), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(25), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(31) Level 22: Foresight -- RedFrt-Def/Rchg(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(37), RedFrt-Def(37), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(40), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RedFrt-EndRdx(42) Level 24: Mask Presence -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 26: Eviscerate -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(27), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(27), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Obl-%Dam(31) Level 28: Mental Training -- Run-I(A) Level 30: Mind Link -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 32: Psychic Scream -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(50), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(50), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(50) Level 35: Aid Other -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 38: Aid Self -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(39), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(39), Prv-Heal/Rchg(39), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(40), Prv-Absorb%(40) Level 41: Field Medic -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 44: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45), RechRdx-I(45) Level 47: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 49: Placate -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 1: Conditioning Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(42), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(43), PrfShf-Acc/Rchg(43), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(43), PrfShf-End%(45) ------------ ------------

Hello all you Arachnos devotees, Night Widow Lyserian here, second in command of the famed Wraith Spiders, personal guard to our patron Ghost Widow. I'm here to show you how to be a proper Night Widow, the way our NPC ancestors did it back in the days before they let just anybody wear the helmet. This is not a top-tier, definitive build for Night Widows. There are better PvP builds and PvE builds out there, and this build sacrifices in both areas in order to be as close to a canon Night Widow NPC as possible, with only a couple of exceptions. Update 2: This is a top-tier, definitive build for Night Widows, at least for PvE. See the updated build post HERE.Yet to test it in PvP, but Widows have historically not been great in that department. Update 3: Attempted to solo Ghost Widow at level 53. Was able to outdamage her regen and survive everything she did, but her healing made it so the fight would've taken *forever.* So I dropped her to 52 and killed her in about 12 minutes. This is without Lore pets, by the way. I tried using them on the first attempt, but they made the fight harder as she just kept healing off of them. I took screens of the fights, but sadly I was an idiot and forgot to un-hide my UI. Whoops. Either way, build is good. Solos difficult AVs at at least level 52, and that's without the Dart powers for -regen. With them it'd be a piece of cake. That said, this build has several pros attached to it: -Perma-Hasten and Mind Link, with only 14 seconds of downtime on Build Up You'll have a solid attack chain without gaps and be dealing pretty good, if not top-tier, damage! -Softcapped Melee defense without Mind Link, 56% and softcapped Ranged with Mind Link Nothing in melee is gonna touch you, and if it does you've got Aid Self! -All of the most important and powerful Night Widow abilities in a solid core. You're not missing anything big! All the team buffs save Vengeance, all the big attacks--especially the flashy ones! -Extremely easily moddable to suit your playstyle and desire to min/max, solo AVs or even PvP. Don't like Placate? Swap it out! Want -regen for AV soloing? Easily swap the Psi powers for Darts, without changing a single thing about the build! Want to PvP? You've got room for both Super Jump and Super Speed, and whatever else you'd like! The choice is yours. -CHEAP! No purples here! Prices may vary depending on which server you're on and what the economy shapes up to be, but we're only dealing in yellows and oranges here. No PvP sets even, but feel free to swap those in! There are a few cons, though: -Mostly theorycrafted for now Still working my way toward endgame, and set IOs are currently a dream. But the math checks out, and this ain't my first rodeo as a Widow, so I'm fairly certain this'll do just fine no matter what content you plan to run (just be sure to tweak as-necessary, IE don't try soloing AVs without -regen from Darts!). Heavy on endurance The cooler, "canon" Widow powers, namely Eviscerate and Psychic Scream, are pretty heavy on Endurance. You should be more than OK by endgame, but expect it to be pretty rough for a while while levelling. If necessary, drop Widow Training: Leadership for Combat Training: Offensive and hold off on Widow Training: Assault til your endurance is more manageable. Or carry tons of blues! No Elude or Smoke Bomb I really want to love both of these abilities. I want to be the most canon Night Widow out there. But, I just can't get over how purely, singularly awful Smoke Bomb is as an ability and as awesome as Elude can be, even with perma-Hasten its cooldown is too long, the crash too painful and the defense boost not impactful enough when you're already past soft-cap. Maybe I'll change my mind on this some day, and if you enjoy one or both powers you can easily swap them in (for example, in place of Field Medic and Placate). Update 1: Have played the build extensively now, and can safely say it's as strong as I thought it would be. That said, I left a more optimized version a few posts below this one, so look to that if you're looking for an optimized build rather than a "pick up and play" one. I made further optimizations to my actual in-game build, but I'm not going to post that version, as it's considerably more expensive and time consuming to achieve and I'd rather keep this guide as a guide rather than a showcase. Update 2: See the updated build post HERE. No longer experimental or theoretical, this build is absolutely legit. So before I dump the Hero Designer build on you, let me explain certain decisions I made with the build. I started with the goal of making a canon Night Widow build that was viable at endgame, and immediately decided that perma-hasten and Mind Link was the way to go. Build Up was a natural choice with perma-Hasten, which limits its major weakness compared to Follow Up: its downtime. Feel free to directly swap one for the other, though; the choice is yours! Swipe has always felt unnecessary, but if you'd prefer to avoid the long (but awesome) animation and heavy endurance cost of Eviscerate, take Swipe instead and you're likely to have even better overall DPS. Highly recommend taking Follow Up if you go this route. I chose Mental Blast and Psychic Scream for thematic purposes, but having some Psi damage and -recharge is pretty useful. That said, in nearly all cases Poison Dart and Dart Burst are strictly better, but especially when soloing AVs for their stacking -regen debuff. If your goal is to min-max your Widow rather than to be faithful to the NPCs, take the Darts and never look back. Otherwise, enjoy the super long but awesome animations and knowledge that you're more of a proper Widow than those other ones. Field Medic is there for the QOL of having more Endurance recovery on a taxing build. It's easily swappable for whatever you'd like. Placate is, likewise, swappable, as is the travel power. Feel free to take Super Jump and Super Speed to PvP with, Elude for epic moments, Smoke Bomb for canonicity and lulz or whatever else you'd like. In any case, when you replace an ability make sure you're replacing it as directly as possible (ie, Psy Scream fo Dart Burst) so you can re-slot and re-enhance those powers the same way you would for the initial ones. The QOL powers don't need slots, so don't worry about them. Update 1: In the more current build posted later, it is possible, if you so choose, to remove Hasten and one other power, likely Placate or Field Medic, and replace them with Boxing and Tough. You'll still maintain perma-Mind Link, though you'll lose significant cooldown on Build Up and there may be a small gap in your attack chain (easily filled with Mental Blast). Switching from Build Up to Follow Up would close the gap, and likely provide a more consistently high-damage chain, but be aware that Follow Up itself will not be properly slotted as an attack, and you will lose the guaranteed double Build Up effect from Gaussian's thanks to Follow Up's shorter base cooldown. Either version is acceptable, pick which you like better. With the build as-is, or even with the above modifications, you've got all the team buffs you need, a solid single target melee attack chain, a similar one for AoEs, two ranged abilities (one AoE) and even an uninterruptible Aid Other for those times you're desperate. As you kit yourself out with sets you'll only get stronger. Core abilities (Take immediately, at the recommended levels!) Strike TT:Maneuvers Build/Follow Up Indomitable Will Spin Lunge Slash Foresight* Mask Presence* Mental Training* Mind Link* Build-Important (Take when you feel you want them/can afford to run them) TT:Leadership TT:Assault Hasten Aid Other Aid Self Night Widow Flavor + Additional(Swap as recommended above if you'd like!) Eviscerate Mental Blast Psychic Scream Field Medic Placate Combat Jumping (Very useful for Defense and Luck of the Gambler +Recharge, only swap if you absolutely need the extra power) Enjoy, Widows, and go forth for the glory of Arachnos! (Hero Designer in next post) (Update 1: More current build in this post: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,830.msg18588.html#msg18588) Update 2: Even more current and powerful build here: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,830.msg18588.html#msg18588