Intermipants

I always buy attuned IOs up to level 50. At 50 I catalyze ATOs to get the superior version, swap non-attuned purples in for the IO sets I’d been using up to 50, boost purples and any regular IOs (e.g. recharge in hasten) to +5.

Here's my electric/psi build. It's easily the safest dominator I've ever played and can safely and effectively solo +4x8 content. The build has a large amount of aoe control and combined with the incredible amount of sapping that it does it's very effective at keeping yourself and your team safe. After opening with static field or synpatic overload you will spend your life in melee range. I found it to be very effective at all levels (largely due to static field being available early and being an extremely powerful cc tool). Downside is that it's very expensive (happy to send you funds if you like playing it but are a bit short of cash). Juan Travoltage - Hero Dominator Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.7.4 rev. 2 ────────────────────────────── Primary powerset: Electric ControlSecondary powerset: Psionic AssaultPool powerset (#1): SpeedPool powerset (#2): FightingPool powerset (#3): LeapingPool powerset (#4): LeadershipEpic powerset: Mu Mastery ────────────────────────────── Powers taken: Level 1: Tesla Cage A: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold3: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold/Recharge3: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold/Recharge/Accuracy5: Unbreakable Constraint: Recharge/Accuracy5: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold/Endurance Level 1: Mind Probe A: Hecatomb: Damage11: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge13: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy13: Hecatomb: Recharge/Accuracy15: Hecatomb: Damage/Endurance Level 2: Chain Fences A: Bombardment: Chance for Fire Damage7: Bombardment: Damage7: Positron's Blast: Chance of Damage(Energy)9: Javelin Volley: Chance of Damage(Lethal)9: Trap of the Hunter: Chance of Damage(Lethal)11: Annihilation: Chance for Res Debuff Level 4: Hasten A: Invention: Recharge Reduction15: Invention: Recharge Reduction Level 6: Jolting Chain A: Apocalypse: Chance of Damage(Negative)17: Tempest: Chance of End Drain17: Gladiator's Javelin: Chance of Damage(Toxic)19: Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge19: Explosive Strike: Chance for Smashing Damage21: D-Sync Drain Level 8: Conductive Aura A: Synapse's Shock: EndMod21: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Rechage23: Synapse's Shock: EndMod/Recharge23: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy25: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Accuracy/Endurance Level 10: Kick (Empty) Level 12: Static Field A: Fortunata Hypnosis: Sleep25: Fortunata Hypnosis: Sleep/Recharge27: Fortunata Hypnosis: Sleep/Recharge/Accuracy27: Fortunata Hypnosis: Recharge/Accuracy29: Fortunata Hypnosis: Sleep/Endurance29: Call of the Sandman: Chance of Heal Self Level 14: Tough A: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)42: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3% Level 16: Weave A: Kismet: Accuracy +6%42: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed42: Karma: Knockback Protection Level 18: Paralyzing Blast A: Basilisk's Gaze: Accuracy/Hold33: Basilisk's Gaze: Accuracy/Recharge34: Basilisk's Gaze: Recharge/Hold34: Basilisk's Gaze: Endurance/Recharge/Hold Level 20: Drain Psyche A: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb34: Preventive Medicine: Heal36: Preventive Medicine: Heal/Endurance36: Preventive Medicine: Endurance/RechargeTime36: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime Level 22: Synaptic Overload A: Superior Ascendency of the Dominator: Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance/Recharge48: Superior Ascendency of the Dominator: Accuracy/Control Duration50: Superior Ascendency of the Dominator: Control Duration/Recharge50: Superior Ascendency of the Dominator: Endurance/Recharge50: Superior Ascendency of the Dominator: Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance Level 24: Combat Jumping A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed43: Winter's Gift: Slow Resistance (20%) Level 26: Gremlins A: Soulbound Allegiance: Chance for Build Up31: Sovereign Right: Resistance Bonus31: Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Damage31: Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus33: Expedient Reinforcement: Resist Bonus Aura for Pets33: Call to Arms: Defense Bonus Aura for Pets Level 28: Psionic Lance A: Apocalypse: Damage37: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge37: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy37: Apocalypse: Recharge/Accuracy39: Apocalypse: Damage/Endurance Level 30: Psychic Shockwave A: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage39: Obliteration: Chance for Smashing Damage39: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage40: Scirocco's Dervish: Chance of Damage(Lethal)40: Superior Dominating Grasp: RechargeTime/Fiery Orb40: Superior Ascendency of the Dominator: Recharge/Chance for +Damage Level 32: Maneuvers A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed Level 35: Power Sink A: Synapse's Shock: EndMod45: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Rechage45: Synapse's Shock: EndMod/Recharge46: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy46: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Accuracy/Endurance Level 38: Charged Armor A: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP43: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance43: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance45: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance Level 41: Surge of Power A: Invention: Recharge Reduction46: Invention: Recharge Reduction Level 44: Tactics A: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: Chance for Build Up Level 47: Assault A: Invention: Endurance Reduction Level 49: Vengeance A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed ────────────────────────────── Inherents: Level 1: Brawl (Empty) Level 1: Domination Level 1: Sprint (Empty) Level 2: Rest (Empty) Level 1: Swift (Empty) Level 1: Health A: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance48: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery48: Miracle: +Recovery Level 1: Hurdle (Empty) Level 1: Stamina (Empty) Level 49: Quick Form

Thanks everyone for commenting, especially on the logistical problems which I hadn’t considered (not really my forte!)

My suggestion was mostly prompted by posts on here and Reddit where players bemoan a lack of funds or ask for advice on how to make influence, although perhaps you’re right maybe it’s just a very small minority of players who are in that boat. It’s also born a little bit out of frustration at the feeling that you can be sitting on a mountain of influence and can’t find an effective way to give it to people who need it more than you do. I like your conclusion too - there’s no harm in setting something like this up (unless of course it’s difficult for the devs to do) and even if it only helps a few players that’s better than nothing. Thanks for commenting!

I wouldn't. I think any player could withdraw from the fund. Veteran players with billions wouldn't need to and it would help anyone who's short of cash.

Quick suggestion to help new players get up and running with influence - create a repository where veteran players can donate excess influence and any player can withdraw a certain limit of influence per day, perhaps a limit of 1 million per day. Players who have been playing for years have billions in influence and have run out of things to spend it on and while it's nice to give new players ten million or so when you encounter them on an ad hoc basis, I think it would be even better to have a more systematic approach that could help everyone. Quick edit, one other thought - to encourage donations maybe put badges in place for influence donated.

Completely agree with this. I tend to think of controllers as the polite, sensible cousin of the rockstar dominator. Once you hit permadom, you can lock down everything in a single cast and never worry about being mezzed again. That’s huge, especially the not being mezzed bit, no more clarion etc. From there, it’s just swagger in and smash the place up. It’s liberating. After playing my first permadom, I actually found it hard to go back to controllers — they feel a bit too safe and tame in comparison, and I found it really frustrating that I couldn’t control a boss in a single shot. Where a dom is spectacular and chaotic, a controller is more safety-first. It’s like swapping fireworks for a fire extinguisher. And if you’re really nervous about faceplanting, I’d say an Electric/Psi dom is the safest flavor of control you can run. You’ve got endless AoE lockdown tools, and anything that’s not controlled has no endurance left to mount a counterattack.

FYI…the unspeakable terror disorient proc fires frequently when you put it in cloak of fear and stacks with oppressive gloom to add more stun power to your mez cloaks.

I actually tried it, at least on blue side, and got to manticore but Synapse and Citadel in the same evening tipped me into an existential crisis and I had to log.

Ahoy everyone, so for the first time in about 10 years I was home alone today with zero responsibilities apart from a couple of dogs and cats. The weather was beautiful, it was gorgeous outside, so naturally I played COH all day. All of it. I took a brand new grav/ff troller to 35, didn't like it, switched to a grav psi dom which I loved and took to 42. Probably did about ten tfs, frostfire three times (I can't resist Frosty), and a bunch of other stuff. Anyway, I feel like I wasted a day. I really should've thought it through and done it properly and obviously tried to see what was the max amount of levels and badges I could get in a single 24 hour window. I think I'm gonna have another free day in the next few weeks, so I'd love to hear how many badges and levels you think you could get in a single 24 hour window and how you'd go about doing it. Oh, and no farming. Crikey, 24 hours of farming, oof.

In options you can change it so that player rating is shown all the time. I think it’s in the windows options menu.

I can’t believe that I’ve been playing for this long and I’ve only discovered in the last month the add note feature. It allows you to give ratings for players (and notes obviously - speed boost showcases a vibrant ruby color with aromas of blackcurrent, oak, and burnished leather) and for someone like me who plays almost exclusively on PUGs it’s fantastic at reminding me of who I’ve played with before. My rating system is based largely on chat quality: 5 stars (15% of players): initiates interesting chat / is hilarious / amazing costume / super helpful and considerate 4 stars (25% of players): joins in with chat / is funny / is helpful with tt, advice etc 3 stars (50% of players): everyone gets 3 stars for showing up 2 stars [9% of players): bit moany / bit miserable / look at me everyone I’m soloing causes team wipe 1 star (1% of players): actively unpleasant (only happened once and we all cheered when they were booted) Does anyone else use this feature? Does everyone else use this feature and once again I’ve been a complete plonker for not knowing about it? If so, what’s your rating system?

I’ve really enjoyed kinetic melee on my regen tanker. The way I look at it to maximize the benefit of regen (huge health pool and eye popping regeneration) as well as the reactive regeneration power (increasing regen when you take damage) you want to get hit as often as you can but not very hard. To that end kinetic melee’s -damage effect on mobs is great, it’s like a surrogate for resistance that enhances your primary. I’ve found that regen also benefits hugely from recharge and the two aoe powers in kinetic melee trigger the force feedback +recharge proc all the time so with hasten and various set bonuses I can be at +200% recharge all the time. The key powers for this to work are repulsing torrent and burst. I’d also add that the turbine spooling up sound effect is ridiculously entertaining.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, it’s interesting to see all the different approaches to the game! I tried to change but it doesn’t feel right to me, as someone said above, it feels like the character in disguise.

Ahoy everyone! Philosophical dilemma that I fancied throwing out there. Here's the situation. I've got two characters: Kendo Barbie - a tank with a perfect build that's been tremendous through absolutely everything. Really average to slightly poor concept with almost no opportunity for fun. Elastic Bandit - deeply average tank that will never be as great as Kendo because of the powerset choices. Has hilarious much beloved rubber band costume. Question. Can I rename and reskin Kendo Barbie as Elastic Bandit...and pretend that Elastic Bandit was always this build? In other words can you transplant a beloved character's identity onto a different build and just carry on? Is a CoH character a person defined by their powersets and journey? Or are they a persona - a theme or costume that can live again in a new build? Would love to know if anyone has made a "better version" of a character. Yours worriedly, - Elastic Bandit

I used to do the same thing where I’d butcher the original concept to shoehorn extra defense or recharge or whatever. However, I stopped doing it once I found that the characters I play the most are the ones that stick to the concept. I also really love the whip powers in the demon mastermind set and I made a whip kinetics petless mastermind that was fairly useless but looked fantastic and was fun to play and that definitely broke my min max addiction.

Four tanks and three controllers on every team! Fling fire with reckless abandon my friends! What a time to be alive!

Reactive regeneration works better the more often you get hit and so I’ve gone with a secondary that allows me to get hit often but softly - kinetic melee. I also like the thematic synergy where the healthy regen primary is complemented by a secondary that looks like a morning yoga class.

It’s gotta be Dr. Aeon for me - noisy, untrustworthy, and hilarious, a bit like my trousers after a curry. Shoutout to Frostfire too for being a legend.

I’m in the same boat. I was absolutely devastated when I used the Wedding Band in the final AV fight on an ITF and realized I hadn’t switched it off while I was selling my stuff at Wents afterwards. I had used up at least four minutes of it in the shops. Devastated.

I love that the game allows me to be creative by providing a vast array of power set combos, costumes, and different ways to play. It’s a blank canvas that can bring to life some of the things that I imagine. I love that it satiates my apparent need to create superheroes with stupid names like Disorient Express and Careless Crisper. I love that it also feeds my analytical side where I can plan for hours about things like getting an extra 0.75 ranged defense without sacrificing recharge. I love that I can meet people who make me laugh and have fun on PUGs (I more or less play exclusively on PUGs on excelsior). I love that the game I started playing before my kids were born I now play with them. Thanks Scarlet Shocker for a brilliant post - too often I take the things I love for granted, it’s great to have an opportunity to say thanks to the devs for bringing this game back and looking after it and the community so well.

Thinking of the very starting game in 2004.

Ahoy everyone. I was on a few PUGs tonight and there were lots of new players - which I love and think is a brilliant thing. I always try to encourage new players as much as possible and compliment their costumes etc. because it’s great to add new people to the game and I don’t want them to disappear, and also because it’s dawning on me that this is probably quite a difficult game/world to jump into the first time around. I think it’s much more intimidating than it was when I first started on live. When I first started playing ages ago on live I didn’t even know what an MMO was and it blew my mind that the players with blue names were real people (that’s really quite embarrassing to admit – I think I was in my late 20s at the time!) Needless to say, with that starting point it took me a long time to learn a lot of nuances of the game. I play loads and got back on in 2019 and even today I’m still learning new things – I did a 100 badge run challenge thing recently and learned two weeks ago that blarf is something in Pocket D! Who knew?! Today I can’t imagine what it must be like to jump into this where lots of us know all the travel tricks, have fifty different TPs, understand IOs, can race through TFs etc…and where it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Having said all that, although the pace has changed I think the one thing that’s stayed the same is the kindness and generosity of this community and I’m pretty sure that’ll keep anyone new hanging in once they get into it. So anyway, just a bit of random musing tonight.

Apologies for hijacking the thread but I’d like to announce that I’ve decided to take my appetite to the Outback Steakhouse.

Thanks for the tip with the open gift! I got a 19:29 with my stalker. Used SG buffs on run speed and flight speed to move things along a bit. Also experimented with the invisibility buff on the warshade but was killed in Perez. Perez is so good though, that cluster of 6 badges - I just can't leave it alone. I also sold all my salvage for the Wentworth badges while I was flying around Cap, which saved a bit of time. Need to change my route a bit though because I'm still wasting time.