Doomrider

Light Form is a buff, not a form as the name would lead you to believe. It works across all forms, Human, Nova and Dwarf. You will want to take advantage of it. It will actually let you be more adaptable by allowing you cap your own damage resistances and give you a recovery boost while in any form. I have a thread in this sub forum with a few different PB builds, typically tailored to more end game performance but there are some more budget friendly ones as well that perform just as well. The beauty of Peacebringers (and Warshades for that matter), is they exemp really well in general and while some builds can vary somewhat in effectiveness at certain levels, typically your less limited than other AT's, especially if you decide to take advantage of the forms. @Redlynne also has a more in-depth guide, typically tailored to builds that you can slot up as you level.

Adaptable, challenging and versatile. (disclaimer: my experiences are going to be coming from a Tri-form perspective) Adaptable in the sense that while some folks often talk about roles when playing CoH; this AT is good at X role, or this AT is good at Y role etc, etc... Kheldians are often described as being able to switch forms to fill different roles as the team requires. This often lends to them being referred to as a jack of all trades, master of none. I don't look at it that way though, nor do I think that should be how the class is defined. Khelds should not merely be defined by the tools they choose to use at any given juncture but rather by the sum of their parts. When you choose a Kheld and more specifically to play as a Tri-form Kheld, you do not swap forms to "Blaster mode" (Nova) or "Tank mode" (Dwarf), you are all forms simultaneously and as such you have the ability to be multiple roles simultaneously. Challenging in the sense that the skill ceiling for a Kheldian is high, much more so than most conventional ATs. At their most optimum performance, the effort required to play, learn and master are much higher than traditional AT's and some would argue Binds and Macros are almost a requirement. This is seen to some as a detriment more so than a useful tool. Often I hear "Why would I put in all that effort when I can get the same performance out of another AT with much less work". If you see it as work, of course you will not find enjoyment in it, but for those of us who have put in the time to learn and master Kheldians, they are quite rewarding. I don't get bored with my Khelds, there is a reason I continue to play mine and have for years. Player performance almost matters more than build when it comes to Khelds which I think, at least in my experience, is perhaps less so on other ATs. The versatility comes from being adaptable but it is also earned by taking the road less traveled and learning mastery over the class. People say Khelds don't bring anything to the group and I think that's a bit short sighted. While their inherent doesn't necessarily bolster the team, having the team bolster the Kheldian by way of that inherent is indirectly benefiting the team because as a Kheld you are the backbone of your group. For a well seasoned Kheldian player, when things turn south you have ability to react and counter in even the most dire of circumstances. If the tank over aggros, you can take on the additional aggro with ease. If the damage dealers faceplant you can nuke the mobs into orbit and give a squishy cover to rez. Even if the tank goes down, you should still be the last one standing. For that reason I also heavily encourage all Kheldian players take Vengeance and take it early. The last thing I will say about versatility is just to echo @nicoliy's point when it comes to build choices. With Khelds having such a wide array of powers also comes a wide array of ways to build your Kheldian. As others have stated, Peacebringers tend to be more self-contained and have a more consistent performance while Warshades will excel in situations with higher mob saturation, so more peaks and valleys than a Peacebringer and thus the aoe damage output ceiling is naturally a bit higher for Warshades but PB's ST performance is stronger. Peacebringer performance will generally be better during extended fights when there are fewer mobs or concentrations of mobs to buff off of. For example, when fighting the Hami at the end of the LGTF, there are basically no clusters of enemies to buff of off so the Warshade will see a lesser damage resistance buff when using Eclipse against a single Mito where as the Peacebringer will be using Light Form to cap his dmg resistances (except for Psi) and this requires no target or to-hit check.

Gravity Well and Radiant are both on primaries though :😐 Radiant and D.Mire though both have great DPA though so they would still be good to pair in a chain.

If there is any role a Kheldian can fill best within the framework of the Archetype (PB + WS; and depending on build) is a Tank. No it does not mean they are as good as a Tank for aggro management, but you could also argue that the amount of aggro management needed (if at all) entirely depends on your team makeup which is rarely going to be static. That being said, being able to exemp down to 15 and have access to a taunt and punchvoke in Dwarf Form and the ability to cap resistances through IO's even at that level can certainly make you "tanky" enough to sit in for a tank should the need arise. One thing that should be fixed though, IMHO, is for Warshades' Dwarf Mire to also have taunt baked into it's attack just like it's ST attacks have and just like it's counter part the White Dwarf has in it's Dwarf Flare aoe ability. I'm not sure if this was an oversight but it hardly seems intentional to make 1 out of it's 4 attacks available to Black Dwarf not apply a taunt when the other 3 do, and having a 15' radius pbaoe that also applies a taunt with help tremendously with grabbing aggro.

I could definitely see some interesting builds coming out of mixing the two existing primary/secondaries for Khelds, depending on what form this option would ultimately take. Inner Light and Dwarf Mire in the same build? Glowing touch to heal my own Essences? I will take both please.

Beam really benefits from higher damage modifiers and more consistent +dmg buffs from defiance as the disintegrate spread dots will be much bigger on the Blaster than they will on the Sentinel. Sentinel beam is still in a good place as other's have mentioned and I will agree. It really depends on what you want to do and how much you want to invest. Beam sent will likely perform better on a modest budget but a Blaster will perform better with higher investment. I recently made a Beam/Devices blaster and got him to 50. The ST dps is very high and AoE is manageable. His defenses aren't all that bad either tbh. The build has 32.5 s/l/e/n and ranged defense, with melee just under 32.5 plus a resistance shield and PFF. It's a very run and gun playstyle. I can even manage to take on Carnies at +3/+4 x 8 with enough kiting/breaking line of sight, etc. The playstyle on a blaster definitely relies on inspiration usage if you intend to solo at a high difficulty and particularly against harder enemy factions where as the Sentinel will probably be more laid back.

Now that Tank's have had their damage cap increased, I can see some merit to this suggestion. It won't improve bottom end performance though. Yes, toggle suppression has been a long standing request from Kheld vets. Provided this mechanically can be achieved, I do believe it should extend to all toggles not just the above referenced ones. The toggles should not however, grant any effect while in Nova or Dwarf. This one... well. I don't think it's necessarily a bad suggestion but I don't think it was the intent to have Nova and Human forms have some form of punchvoke or built in taunts since that's what Dwarf form is for. I would rather improve Dwarf's aggro management. Perhaps giving the Dwarf form toggle a taunt aura and letting Dwarf Mire apply a taunt when you hit enemies with it just like Dwarf Flare does and just like Dwarf ST attacks do. OR Since Light Form already grants you some level of Mez Protection, you could sooner argue that Eclipse should do the same. I'm sure that won't satisfy many people, but honestly, Khelds not having mez protection is not that big a deal, there are other ways to get Mez Protection (BF's, Clarion, RoP, any number of ST mez protection granted by allies). Sure, why not.

Doom's Water - Storm Corr 32.5 ranged+aoe.mxd This was the build I was referencing earlier. Each time I fire off Tornado, the proc refunds me back 8.5 end I believe, making Tornado very cheap. The Tempest dmg/range in Dominate is actually Entomb chance for absorb just FYI. The Entomb proc IO's recharge enhancement values are incorrect in mids so it's throwing off the proc chances. Anyway, I have this build at Level 40 now and slotted up as far as I can, zero endurance issues so far. Maybe someone you can pull ideas from this for a defender variant.

I'll check the build when I get home. I don't usually run softcap, I shoot for 32.5 to ranged at minimum, aoe if I can manage and use small purple insps to get the last 12.5%. iirc, the build should have 32.5 ranged/aoe I believe. Being water/storm I really have no reason to be in melee since I didn't take soul drain but I'm sure the build could be adapted. Hitting those defense goals would certainly be much easier on a defender but you'd lose out on the scourging blast end proc. Should be easy enough to port the build to a defender instead.

In addition to that, putting scourging blast chance for end In tornado let's it fire every time, refunding you endurance and making the power very cheap to spam. I have a water/storm build that's end efficient already at level 37, so getting your end under control pre incarnates is very doable for this particular combo.

Adding chance to KD procs like avalanche to powers that already knockdown have always worked this way iirc. The added chance for knockdown in those specific powers will produce knockback. Likewise in a power like nova that natively does kB, if you slot avalanche proc and OF or sudden acceleration to turn the native kB effect to KD, the power will knockback. Same if you slot say kinetic combat chance for kd into a st attack that already does knockdown, it will cause kB. If the avalanche proc did not operate this way specifically in shield charge then this may be new, but in all my experience testing, slotting that avalanche kd io into powers that already KD or kb, has produced kB.

LOL. Was anyone really complaining that this power was too good? I really doubt it if that's the case... Yay for more throwaway powers.

A minimum FX option is probably doable. The form attacks already animate in human form when you preview them in the character creator. Giving players the option a way to utilize form powers without being forced into the visuals those forms bring is probably not even lore breaking tbh. I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy and use this option. Some people dislike the Dwarf and Nova visuals so much for their interference with costume visibility and theme, that they pass over playing the AT at all as a result. I can't see how the cosmetic option could be seen as negative.

This might be in regards to the conversation that took place on Discord about front loading these powers to make them more reliable during extended hard target fights or when mob density just isn't there. For example; allowing the first target hit to grant the largest bonus with each subsequent target hit giving less.

So kind of like Quantums but only spawn when players (or a player) have incarnates slotted? I'm all for Shadow Cysts coming back in whatever form that may come. I play my Khelds more so than any of my other alts, and I really miss Cysts spawning on maps. I know many probably feel very differently about Cysts in general so I could see this only being available as an opt in, whether that was integrating into the current system or reserved only as an Ouro challenge setting. I would take either at this point but I agree it would be nice to have special/rare chances attached to them.

It's also worth mentioning that Water Burst retains the full 16 target cap from other versions, which is a bit of a rule breaker when you compare it to other Sentinel primaries. This in combination with it's other aoes likely puts it in spot #1 for Sentinel AoE dmg, even past Fire IMO.

I think there may be a work around to suppress the effects of the toggle if suppressing the whole toggle out right is not an option.... Here's the idea: Look at the way Bio Armor's Adaptations currently work; when you have one toggled, it modifies the buff values of certain powers, sometimes reducing your resistances, granting the player end reduction or allowing certain powers to grant a damage bonus. I think it's safe to say something similar to this mechanic could be implemented with the form powers themselves to achieve this, a psuedo suppression if you will. So for instance if you had Orbiting Death toggled on but switched to Nova, OD would stay on but the Nova toggle power itself would modify Orbiting Death's damage to 0 and reduce it's end to 0 (or near 0) while you have Nova toggled on and likewise with Dwarf. This could then be applied to a variety of toggle powers. So in essence I guess rather than suppressing the toggle itself in whole, we'd change the form power toggles to modify or suppress the effects of the toggles while the either form power is toggled.

No problem. If you need any else feel free to DM me. I'm also on the CoH: Homecoming discord as well.

If you need assistance understanding Peacebringers and how to build them the Peacebringer & Warshade sub-forum is a good place to start. Plenty of knowledgeable people to lend a hand and lots of good information and resources. I have a thread there with numerous PB & WS builds I've created and posted for people to use as templates, each with a rundown of the highlights of each if you were curious about what Peacebringer builds look like.

Agreed. I would also extend this to all toggles not just the ones built into the primary/secondary. While no toggles would benefit forms while shifted (and that is the intent still) having the toggles not drop when you returned to Human Form would be much more intuitive than how they currently work. There have been changes made during the course of the game to reduce the amount of re-toggling required, it's not a stretch to say this could be implemented for Khelds but I wouldn't call it a buff per say, only due to what connotations that word brings. This would be a massive QoL boost for the both Kheld AT's, it would open up greater variety of ways to build within the AT and help solve some of the clunkiness that is apparent with how shifting currently works, not to mention would be a step in the right direction as far as making the class more accessible and intuitive for first time Kheld players. This may be the 3rd thread you've seen, but this has been a topic of discussion and a request from Kheld vets for as long as i've been a part of this very small subset of the community, going way back before the snap, before HC was even a thought. I think another thread is warranted if this idea is to get traction especially given the even smaller subset of players regularly playing Khelds on HC servers. That being said, I think there are certain advantages toggle suppression could bring to Human Only builds, or rather lets call them, Human Focused builds. Dwarf form specifically could bring a lot of added utility to a Human Focused build with minimal slot investment if only you could guarantee your toggles would not need to be turned back on once you shifted back to your primary (human) form.

Not feedback persay, but i've played this arc. It's quite fun and actually provides a fair bit of challenge for those seeking some. AE is the real end game :D.

This is a joke right? You know both Warshades and Peacebringers do KB correct? I really hope this was a joke...

The vendetta some folks have with KB comes from poor utilization mostly, not the mere fact the KB exists, it's how players choose to use it. It can be used to great effect, it can also be used haphazardly. In my experience, the latter seems to be more prevalent. That being said, it doesn't bother me personally when people use KB, though on my Khelds I slot KB-KD IO's more so out of courtesy, that and on my Peacebringer in particular it is very much advantageous to do so while I solo as keeping the mobs bunched up rather than scattering them feels an indirect buff to my damage which is nice on an AT that isn't particularly high on the damage spectrum. Furthermore, I think many suggest this change be made not only for the sake of saving slots and not having to slot KD IO's but also in part to improve the stigma Kheldians have. That when one joins your team, you can expect they will scatter mobs and be more a detriment to your team than an asset. I don't fully agree with that sentiment but I understand where it comes from.

I think you misunderstood the idea... the toggles wouldn't work at all on shifted forms. They'd provide no benefit while in Nova or Dwarf form. What this WOULD do, is allow you to not have to re-toggle when you returned to human form. This would be a huge QoL change for Tri-forms and provide greater build diversity.

I had a wild idea the other day on the topic of toggle suppression... in the event there is some limitation in the code that were to prevent this from being realized, what if instead of suppressing the toggles, the form power toggles themselves could be altered to change the effects of other certain power toggles (Orbiting Death, Inky Aspect for example) while in their respective forms. I'll give an example to illustrate: Say you had Orbiting Death toggled on your Shade while in human form and you then switched over to Nova; what if instead of the toggle dropping, Nova would change the properties of OD similar to the way Bio Armor's adaptations change aspects of Bio's various toggles depending on which adaptation you had toggled on. Could you not, hypothetically then change the Nova toggle to reduce the damage dealt by OD to 0 and reduce the end usage while in Nova form? Sort of pseudo suppressing the toggle in a sense?