Dark Current

Let us know how your build turns out. I'm curious to see if a 'heal' stalker works.

https://discord.gg/VJtUzF7BCP Try that one, @LPMc

And I ran the Team Trials to record stats for comparison with my other Support Stalkers the other day: Check out this video "Meltdown Stalker - Team Trials Over Exposure - The Flash Before the Ash City of Heroes HC | Support Stalker Experiment" https://www.twitch.tv/darkcurrent2083/v/2564149506?sr=a

@Chrome and @LPMc im not at my computer atm, so i cant load the mids builds to check them out. If you use Discord, you can join the server i created for CoH builds and team testing to post the downloadable mids link https://discord.gg/4KfGWshe Just post your forum and/or game global if you do and I'll update your role so you can post.

First would be very smashy. Second im not nearly familiar enough to speculate

Solo Test Run Coucil paper missions in GV 52x8 53x7 54x6 Suffered one defeat in first mission as I got used to Over Exposure's capabilities.

I haven't run that particular combo, but I ran electric on Dead Cell and Psi armor on Uncaged Psyche. The slotting is particular to their build concepts as support stalkers, but you might get some ideas from them if you take a look on page 1 of this thread.

Thanks for the idea. I was going for drain a little bit with Dead Cell, but shifted more towards the sleeps. I updated Over Exposure above with some of the details from the videos.

The Meltdown Stalker Origins Real Name: Danielle Kordell Powers: Radiation Melee / Energy Aura / Fire Mastery Origin: Science (empowered by alien Shivan essence) Backstory: Danielle “Dani” Kordell was an EMT in Galaxy City, known for running headlong into danger with a wry grin. “Reckless but unbreakable,” she spent long nights alongside Freedom Corps liaisons, patching up civilians and heroes alike. So when meteors began streaking across the skies that fateful dawn, Dani was among the first to respond — sprinting into collapsing streets to drag the wounded to safety. One of those meteors struck near the Galaxy Girl statue, erupting in a radioactive plume that shattered stone and scattered glowing fragments across the plaza. Dani was caught in the blast while shielding a family beneath her body. Alien shards drove into her flesh, embedding like glass. Her last sight was the statue’s face crumbling into ash as fire and light consumed everything. She should have died. Most did. Instead, she awoke days later in the ruins — burned, alone, yet alive. Shivan fragments had rewritten her cells, fusing alien proto-matter with her DNA. Her veins glowed faintly, her breath steamed like venting plasma, her skin radiated a constant heat. When panic surged, she could unleash bursts of searing radiation and flame, incinerating the neo-Shivans that prowled the wreckage. Survival came at a cost: Dani could never turn it off. Her very presence emitted waves of invisible poison. The civilians she once saved now recoiled in horror, seeing not their rescuer but a reactor in meltdown. She was no longer a savior — only another monster birthed by the meteors. She took a name to match her new reality: Over Exposure… the Flash before the Ash. Personality & Traits: Recklessly Brave: Dani doesn’t hesitate, even when the odds are overwhelming — hesitation costs lives. Haunted but Compassionate: She carries survivor’s guilt from Galaxy City. She knows pain, and doesn’t want others to endure it. Fiercely Defiant: She refuses to let her fate define her. If she can’t be loved, she’ll make sure she’s feared by the right people. Powerset Synergy Over Exposure’s Radiation Melee / Energy Aura / Fire Mastery build focuses on meltdown debuffing, layered crowd control, and frontline suppression: ① Defense Debuff (-DEF) Radiation Melee (Contaminated Strike, Radioactive Smash, Proton Sweep, Radiation Siphon, Devastating Blow, Atom Smasher): Heavy and persistent -DEF across single targets and clusters. Fire Mastery (Melt Armor): Strong AoE -DEF debuff stacks with Radiation Melee, ensuring enemies remain vulnerable. Keeps enemy defense stripped, enabling team-wide accuracy spikes and amplifying crit chains. ② Resistance Debuff (-RES) Melt Armor (Fire Mastery): Potent AoE -Resist, synergizing with Radiation’s -DEF for maximum team damage output. Achilles Heel (-RES proc): Radiation Melee attacks can be enhanced with -Resist, compounding Melt Armor. Enemies not only take more hits, they take harder hits, turning her into a team-wide damage amplifier. ③ Crowd Control Atom Smasher / Devastating Blow / Disrupt: Reliable AoE and melee Stuns, locking down clusters. Char and Ring of Fire (Fire Mastery): Single-target Hold and Immobilize, perfect for pinning lieutenants or priority bosses in reach of Atom Smasher or Fire Ball. Packs are controlled and clustered, giving allies a stable damage platform while enemies remain helpless. Mids Build: Over Exposure - Stalker (Radiation Melee - Energy Aura).mbd Final Analysis - not all powers listed were chosen for final build... Debuff / Control Type Strength Rating Notes -DEF / -RES ★★★★★ Core meltdown role: heavy -DEF from Radiation Melee chain + Atom Smasher; massive AoE -RES/-DEF from Melt Armor; additional chances from Achilles Heel. Enemies become crit-magnets. Control (Stun, Hold, Immob) ★★★★☆ Char provides strong ST hold, Ring of Fire ST immobilize, Disrupt + Atom Smasher create repeat AoE stuns. Keeps clusters locked for ally AoEs. Knockdown ★★★★☆ Radioactive Smash knockdown plus Atom Smasher’s PBAoE provide layered disruption; useful against bosses. Endurance Drain ★★★★☆ Energy Drain cripples enemy stamina while boosting self-endurance and defense. Excellent in sustained melee. Absorb / Self-Healing ★★★★☆ Energize (heal + regen + end efficiency) plus Overload for survival spikes keep her stable even while face-tanking.

Empathy Defender Team Ankh's 801 Trials - Team 2 Mission Overview Mission 1: 801.0 f IC 6034 = 13 minutes Mission 2: 801.5 F IC 6035 = 23 minutes (team defeated) Mission 3: 801.0 f IC 6034 = 17 minutes Mission 4: 801.5 F IC 6035 = 46 minutes (timer expired) Teammates Missions 1-2: Gammalock (Dominator), Wednesdaywoe (Tanker), Fire Marsh (Blaster), Golden Anathema (VEAT Crab). Teammates Missions 3-4: Gammalock (Dominator), Nate Radrock (Tanker), Hank Kirchhoff (Blaster), KILL O’WATTS (Scrapper) Empathy Verdict Reaction and Analysis - Ankh vs. Frisson Sensate (DEF vs CON) Defensive Metrics Defensive Summary Survivability: Ankh only fell 2 times vs Frisson’s 17. Clear durability edge. Ally Risk: Ankh’s allies suffered fewer defeats (22 vs 35), even with reckless teammates. Resilience: Ankh absorbed half the damage (29k vs 57k) and withstood spikes far better. Punishment & Overwatch: For Frisson, damage taken was directly tied to both his own and his team’s defeats. For Ankh, those links were weaker — he could take hits without dragging allies down. Avoidance: Frisson dodged more hits on paper, but when he was struck the damage was devastating. Ankh took more hits but reduced their impact. Provision (Buffs): Ankh nearly doubled Frisson’s buff output and delivered it more consistently. Warding (Buffs vs Ally Defeats): Frisson’s buffs tracked with collapses (reactive). Ankh’s broke the tie, preventing defeats. Shielding (Buffs vs Pet Damage → proxy for teammates): Frisson’s buffs rose alongside pet damage (reactive). Ankh’s reduced the link, showing true prevention. Verdict Defensively, Ankh was the far stronger supporter. Frisson: avoided more hits, but every landed blow punished him and his team. His buffs were reactionary, tied to defeats. Ankh: took more hits, absorbed them at half the cost, kept defeats low, and proactively blunted damage with nearly twice the buff volume. Takeaway: Defensively, this one wasn’t close. Frisson dodged more, but when he got hit, both he and his team collapsed. His buffs mostly came too late, chasing damage. Ankh, meanwhile, soaked more hits, turned them into half the damage, barely fell himself, and pumped out almost double the buffs — actually preventing collapses. Bottom line: Ankh was the sturdier, steadier supporter… defensively speaking. Offensive Metrics Offensive Summary Lethality & Kill Share: Ankh nearly doubled Frisson’s kills (339 vs 162) and claimed a larger share of team lethality (22% vs 14%). Amplification: Ankh’s buffs scaled cleanly with ally kills, while Frisson’s were inconsistent. Threat (Raw Damage): Frisson dealt more total and per-minute damage (384k vs 323k), showing higher ceiling for raw output. Potency (Damage → Kills): Ankh converted his damage into kills far more reliably. Frisson’s damage often failed to finish. Engagement (Under Fire): Frisson held the edge — at his worst he matched Ankh, but at his best he outpaced him even when targeted. Disruption (Controls): Frisson dominated volume (4,151 vs 985), but Ankh’s knock-up controls hit harder and were tied to kills. Efficiency: Ankh turned damage taken into output more effectively (10.2 vs 9.0 average ratio). Pets: Ankh’s pets contributed more (81k vs 60k), were more efficient, and tied tightly to kills. Frisson’s pets were steadier but secondary. Verdict Offensively, Ankh was the more efficient and lethal supporter. Frisson: excelled at raw damage output and constant control pressure, thriving when under fire — but much of that effort failed to translate into kills. Ankh: dealt less raw damage, but converted more of it into decisive outcomes. His pets, buffs, and efficiency made him deadlier and more reliable in supporting team offense. Takeaway Frisson flooded the field with pressure, but Ankh struck with sharper results. Offensively, Ankh comes out ahead. Final Verdict… In this Empathy showdown, Ankh comes out on top. Defensively, the difference wasn’t close. Ankh only fell twice compared to Frisson’s seventeen, absorbed half the damage, and still kept his allies standing with nearly double the buffs. Frisson dodged more hits, but when he got tagged, both he and his team collapsed. Ankh, on the other hand, soaked more pressure and turned it into half the cost. Offensively, Ankh was just as decisive. He nearly doubled Frisson’s kills and claimed a bigger share of his team’s lethality. His pets were stronger, more efficient, and tightly tied to actual enemy defeats. Frisson still shined in raw damage output and sheer control volume — he blanketed the battlefield and put up the bigger numbers. But much of that pressure didn’t finish fights, while Ankh’s output translated directly into results. ⚖️So here’s the Bottom Line: Frisson was the louder supporter, overwhelming the field with suppression and damage. He fought hard, putting up bigger raw numbers and constant suppression pressure, but he was fragile: when hit, he and his team paid dearly, and his offensive volume often failed to convert into kills. Ankh was the stronger supporter — sturdier, steadier, and far more lethal. He absorbed twice the punishment at half the cost, kept his team standing with superior buffs, and turned his output — and his pets’ — into actual victories on the field. So while Frisson made a lot of noise — Ankh brought receipts carved in stone. And in this matchup, that makes him the true pharaoh of Empathy. DEFENDERS Win Empathy!!!

Frisson Sensate, Empathy Controller analysis: Mission Overview Mission 1: 801.0 IC 6034 = 16 minutes Mission 2: 801.5 C IC 6035 = 36 minutes Mission 3: 801.6 Static IC 6041 = 30 minutes Mission 4: 801.7 Tech R IC 6089 = 18 minutes 4 Teammates: Arcfusion (Tanker), Shocksplice (Tanker), Nate Shocks (Sentinel), gyyv (Peacebringer) Total Time = 100 minutes 1. Survivability – Personal Defeats Mission P Defeats Time Teammate RATE Composite 1 0 16 4 0.000 0.000 2 7 36 4 0.194 0.049 3 7 30 4 0.233 0.058 4 3 18 4 0.167 0.042 Total 17 100 0.149 0.037 AVG 0.103 0.026 STD 0.051 0.013 SE 2. Risk – Ally Defeats Mission A Defeats Time Teammate RATE Composite 1 0 16 4 0.00 0.00 2 8 36 4 0.22 0.06 3 17 30 4 0.57 0.14 4 10 18 4 0.56 0.14 Total 35 100 0.34 0.08 AVG 0.28 0.07 STD 0.14 0.03 SE 3. Resilience – Damage Taken Mission DMG In Time Teammate RATE Composite 1 1454 16 4 91 23 2 20112 36 4 559 140 3 23342 30 4 778 195 4 11814 18 4 656 164 Total 56722 100 521 130 AVG 300 75 STD 150 38 SE 3a. Punishment – Damage taken vs Personal defeats 3b. Overwatch – Damage taken vs Ally defeats 3c. Pet Loyalty – Pet Damage Taken Mission Char DMG In Pet DMG In Total PP CP 1 1454 2441 3896 62.7% 37.3% 2 20112 6931 27043 25.6% 74.4% 3 23342 20656 43997 46.9% 53.1% 4 11814 3684 15498 23.8% 76.2% Total 56722 33712 90434 39.8% 60.2% 3d. Pet Sacrifice – Pet Damage Taken vs Team Defeats 4. Disruption – Controls Delivered Mission Controls Time Teammate RATE COMPOSITE 1 406 16 4 25.4 6.3 2 1013 36 4 28.1 7.0 3 1497 30 4 49.9 12.5 4 1235 18 4 68.6 17.2 SubTotal 4151 100 43.0 10.8 AVG 20.3 5.1 STD 10.1 2.5 SE 4a. Blunting – Controls vs Damage Taken 4b. Prevention – Controls vs Team Defeats 5. Avoidance – Hits Taken Mission Hits Time Teammate RATE COMPOSITE 1 88 16 4 5.5 1.4 2 252 36 4 7.0 1.8 3 234 30 4 7.8 2.0 4 74 18 4 4.1 1.0 Total 648 100 6.1 1.5 AVG 1.6 0.4 STD 0.8 0.2 SE 5a. Targeting – Hits vs DMG taken 5b. Deflection – Controls vs Hits 6. Provision – Buffs Provided 6a. Warding – Buffs vs Ally Defeats 6b. Shielding – Buffs vs Pet Damage Taken 7. Lethality – Foe Defeats Mission F Defeats Time Teammate RATE Composite 1 26 16 4 1.6 0.4 2 82 36 4 2.3 0.6 3 44 30 4 1.5 0.4 4 10 18 4 0.6 0.1 Total 162 100 1.5 0.4 AVG 0.7 0.2 STD 0.4 0.1 SE 7a. Kill Share – Proportion of Team Kills 7b. Amplification – Provision vs Foes Defeated by Allies 8. Threat – Combined Damage Output Mission DMG Out Time Teammate RATE Composite 1 31029 16 4 1939 485 2 110368 36 4 3066 766 3 142988 30 4 4766 1192 4 99522 18 4 5529 1382 Total 383908 100 3825 956 AVG 1625 406 STD 812 203 SE 8a. Potency – Damage Dealt vs Foe Defeats 8b. Engagement – Hits vs Damage Dealt 9. Efficiency – Character vs Pet DMG Out Mission Character Pets Total PP CP 1 27758 3272 31029 10.5% 89.5% 2 91710 18658 110368 16.9% 83.1% 3 121571 21416 142988 15.0% 85.0% 4 82761 16761 99522 16.8% 83.2% Total 323801 60107 383908 14.8% 85.2% AVG 9a. Character Ratio – Out:In Mission DMG Out DMG In Ratio 1 27758 1454 19.1 2 91710 20112 4.6 3 121571 23342 5.2 4 82761 11814 7.0 Total 323801 56722 9.0 AVG 6.8 STD Ratio of the Sums 5.7 3.4 SE 9b. Pet Ratio – Out:In Mission DMG Out DMG In Ratio 1 3272 2441 1.3 2 18658 6931 2.7 3 21416 20656 1.0 4 16761 3684 4.5 Total 60107 33712 2.4 AVG 1.6 STD Ratio of Sums 1.8 0.8 SE 9c. Pet Aggression = Pet DMG : Character DMG Output Ratio 9d. Pet Savagery – Pet Damage vs Foe Defeats 10. Debilitation – Controls vs Damage Dealt 10a. Devastation – Controls vs Lethality

Thanks for putting these together @Linea They're a fun challenge for testing my DECONs. If each tier is 2x as hard as the one before, how would the 801.0 compare to a standard +4 radio or paper mission?

Frisson's 801 Trials "The Slaughterhouse doesn’t let you save the team. It lets you trade it—one soul at a time." Chatty Cathy The Challenge: AE 801 Trials A brutal custom mission arc designed by @Linea to push support builds to their limits Includes elite bosses, ambush chains, and heavy debuffs Played at +4/x8 difficulty with incarnate-level enemies 5-man teams, level 50 minimum Increasing mission difficulty from Tier 1 - Tier 5, randomly selected from mission list by die roll Trial ends when either Defeat Condition is met: 4 out of 5 defeated teammates at the same time; time-limited missions (30, 30, 45, 45, 60) or Success Condition is met: complete all 5 tiers of missions before the time limit expires. No extraneous help, no 'cheese' temp powers like AV summons or super-inspirations, no email access, no exiting the map, no hospital visits... just what your character has on them and would 'normally' do within the purview of their build

Ankh MIDS Build: Ankh - Defender (Empathy)2.mbd Frisson Sensate MIDS Build: Frisson Sensate - Controller (Symphony Control - Empathy).mbd

Round 2: Empathy "Your powers give you the ability to heal and aid allies as well as yourself. Empathy has no offensive powers, but its heals and buffs are unmatched." The Challengers... Ankh Empathy / Water / Soul DEFENDER Concept: Lord of the Wrapped. Empowered by Ra, the sun god to reclaim incarnate power stolen by the insolent Greek deities. Blasts of punishing sand and bursts of radiant vitality. Hunting down Mu mystics in service to Scirocco who have plundered the tombs of the ancients and stolen relics. Playstyle: Light switch. Buff first. Then Blast away. Support on the fly. VS Frisson Sensate Symphony / Empathy / Ice CONTROLLER Concept: Famous soft rock superstar who gained power through abuse of designer neuro-pharmaceuticals synthesize using CSF from Praetorian Seer Network. His vocal talent has been enhanced to where his songs amplify the emotions of his listeners bringing them euphoria and elevating them to heights of passion. Playstyle: Blanket enemies with 7 swaths of far-reaching cone attacks, layering multiple CCs and debuffs. Support as needed. Matchup Video Both are designed to bring the pain as much as ease the pain. Of special note, Frisson was designed by Cathy (Chat GPT) and I can't wait to show you what she came up with.