Linea

Any immobilize. I would even go so far as to say that I wouldn't play AR without an immobilize. The immobilize can be primary or app, that doesn't matter so much, just so long as you can stack it enough to hold bosses in the burn patches. You might also want to look at immobilize procs.

Power boost effects fall off fast, something like 10 or 12 seconds. The same for Clarion +Special and PBU. Also, there is some decreasing returns limiting in the interactions of PB, PBU, Clarion, and any other similar power. That said, (cast in this order) Clarion +Special * (PB or PBU) * Energize should boost the stats of the energize until it either expires or is cast again over-writing the old boosted numbers with the unboosted ones. I'm not sure how it would handle the endrdx. If it was endmod for recovery it should boost it, but I'm not at all sure how it's going to interact with endrdx.

Stalkers: Two-shotting EBs is fun. 😜 StJ, maybe not quite second AoE, maybe third, then again maybe it's second. But it's good. It's a really solid good all around, for stalkers. EnM gains lets call it 15%, 1.15x StJ ST damage, but the AoE is just ugh. But going StJ/Ena Stalker to EnM/Ena Scrapper, I didn't lose any AoE, and I kept the 15% gain on ST. The downside being my alpha is a bit lighter, I definitely absolutely pull aggro due to taunt in the aura, and I can't shed aggro to save my life. Overall making the scrapper less durable. On the other hand, the scrapper can off-tank with that terribly pitiful little taunt aura if push comes to shove. There is a place for both builds, depending on your goals. That said, neither of these have enough AoE to really write home about, they are clearly intended as primarily ST damage builds. My abysmal trapdoor times pretty much confirm that. Which is why overall I'd probably recommend Kat/Ena or Kat/Bio instead. Kat/Ena running dampeners is a beast early on and only gets better except for the Psionics hole. While Kat/Bio is a beast later and a really good all around build. I consider Kat/Bio the modern Kat/Regen, for better and worse, and it really is one of my favorites.

The top 3 for stalkers are: EnM - maximum ST damage, terrible AoE. It's AoE is bad to start with, and then gets 2/3s of the AoE ripped out in the Stalker Conversion. I recommend EnM/EnA Scrapper for this version. Stj - Best all around, Second best ST, Second Best AoE. ElM - Best AoE, and not horrible ST, *IF* and only *IF* you pickup a snipe, probably Gloom and ShadowMeld. I would also second the opinion that Stalker ElM is probably the best version of ElM in the game. I'd almost wonder how we could backport it back to the other ATs.

Nature self damage cap and Resist Cap experimental build .... I would call this one an advanced build, not a first timer. Nature Fire - Fourcade 2td - [i25].mxd And a more traditional easier to drive defense armored version ... I would recommend this one instead for a first timer. Nature Fire - Laoraine 2c - [i25].mxd Also, there's an argument for yanking one of the recharge ios in aim, forcing max proc rates for the Guassian. I've done both 2 and 3 slot, but these days I trend toward the two slot to maximize the proc. The ability to punch through T9 defense armors on a guaranteed proc is very handy.

Tank, any tank. But you will pull aggro and might get yourself killed, maybe. But the durability part just comes naturally, you probably don't even need to work at it. Brute, you'll pull less aggro than the tank, but you'll also probably need to work at durability at least a little bit. Scrapper, 50/50 depending on the sets you pick, you might or might not pull agro, and you really do need to work on durability. Stalker, you won't pull aggro, you can shed aggro, but you absolutely do need to work on durability. I'd recommend StJ/Ena for the most part, but it does have a psionics hole. Sentinel, you won't pull aggro, and like the stalker you can shed aggro, but you also absolutely do need to work on durability, and your offense is the worst. Any primary with /Ena /Regen /Inv .... and others will all work. Bots/FF Mastermind ... Buff, Fire, and Forget. The ultimate in lazy play. FF/Water, you'll work harder on keeping yourself alive, but depending on build you can go from ultra-durable self buffs to incarnate softcapping an entire team with Clarion+Pbu+Bubbles. And once buffed, it's no-harm no-foul if you die as your buffs persist for 4? minutes. Just get ressed and buff again before the next fight. My personal picks would likely be: Kat/Ena Scrapper or Brute (SL softcap at 13ish with dampeners), Kat/Bio Scrapper (overall favorite), Huntsman (best malfactor build I've ever played), FF/Water (second best malfactor build).

Time I have well over 50 different variations, maybe over 100, and it depends on the goal, and level, and if leveling, and ... Kiski all dolled up in Amps, Dampeners, and the Works. A bit overkill, but if you got it, flaunt it. Make the Tanks Jealous. 😜 (I wasn't going to delete them and re-buy them just for a screenshot) Time - one of the STF builds if not the Sorcery FoN builds which was the original from way way back. The near-perma souldrain builds are more than durable enough for 95% of the game, and can pack near blaster levels of offense. If I'm not running the ultra durable STF variant, I'm probably running the near-perma souldrain variant. I typically run these on /Fire these days, but the originals were /DP. Another good choice would be the Time/DP or TIme/ proc builds, that just barely skirt the defense cap. There are a few threads devoted to them in the defender forums. Probably Bopper and Dahkness would be the two to look at. FF - again, probably the STF build. FF/Water would be best, but I'm not sure I ever made an FF/Water version of the STF builds. Traps - similar but I'm not sure I have a build handy, I retired my traps because most modern teams move too fast for traps to keep up. Others: Huntsman - no it's not a defender, but some variation on it, and I have dozens, is by far the best malfactor build I've ever played. FF above would be second best malfactor. Earth/Eafn - also not a defender, terrible offense, but very durable with stony effectively resist capped. Plant/Time/Fire - yet another variation of Time/ I'm very fond of this one, but it's an endurance hog and then some. _Linea.zip

Me Too ... but now I'm gonna have to double check. 😈

Build Style and Play Style obviously matter here. (almost) None of my builds are offense oriented, but instead heavily armored. With that in mind, I'm not sure any of my times will be helpful in any way to any one else. It's going to be a bit of apples vs oranges. Ciaraine - Water/Atomic 801.2 Armored Blaster - 7:00 Angel Hornet - Enm/Ena 801.6 ASF Scrapper - 8:00 I really noticed the lack of AoE, but the insane ST helped make up for it. I also really felt the Psionic Hole, and used a considerable amount of my time on survival/counter-psionics instead of offense. Angel can off-tank/solo up to 801.6 without any buffs at all, and up to 801.9 with minimal buffs. Kate Wolfe - Kat/Bio 801.2 Armored Scrapper - 8:00 This was the most comfortable overall, really good balance of Survival, ST, and AoE. She's also probably my favorite overall scrapper outside of 801 where I prefer the heavier armor and off-tank potential of Angel. If all the tanks rage-quit, Kate can't step in and take over in anything over 801.2 or 801.3, not without substantial buffs. Lucy Medrano - SD/RadM 801.C Tank - 8:45 Heavier AoE, and a bit ST weak. I felt the weaker ST. But outside of finger fumbles, she's my most solid tank. She's a solid beast. Alnamar - StJ/Ena 801.6 Stalker - 9:15 Stuff Runs Away. Asja Duvall - Kat/Ena 801.A Brute - 10:40 This was the only surprise, I expected her to rate better. Shes very comfortable, but the 801.A build is light on Aoe, and the ST is also a bit light, and feels more like a tank. The alternate 801.6 build has more AoE, but the same ST and would rate about where Lucy does offensively. I'm probably keeping the heavier armored A build, despite the lower damage. It gives me a flexible backup alternative to Lucy for a wide range of 801 runs on alternate servers. But I'm also considering swapping her back to the 801.6 build, too. It's a tough call. Dahlia Walker - Rad/Kat 801.6 Heavy Tank - 12:00 AoE galore, Taunts Galore, this is a tank-built tank. But despite the good AoE, and Great Taunt Potential, it's a bit lacking in ST. Still if I want a tank with maximum taunt and aggro holding potential, this is the tank I pick.

I would probably say Scrapper with a taunt aura for the highest combination of AoE and ST Damage. That said, in one of my +4x8 MOITF contests, it was a pair of Rad/Rad Brutes that won the fastest duo time. The builds were much less armor oriented than anything I run, probably leaning on inspirations as needed, and pushing offense pre-i27-proc builds. These days I'd look at something similar, but with a heavier proc load, and I'd probably prefer scrapper frame, but then again full fury all the time on a brute with the higher resist cap. It's probably gonna be a close call. This is not my build, and it is old, early i25. Radm Radm - MOITF - [i25].mxd

I'd say ask @Croax. I've never found any significant faults in his logic. I don't have anything objective on psi melee. Subjectively and Anecdotally, Everyone I know that has tried Psi melee with the intent of clobbering AVs and other hard targets has in the end been disappointed in some way or another. It really seems like it should be a good plan, bypass those T9 armors and resists, but it doesn't appear to pan out as well as expected. But this is not an objective measure, it's purely subjective and anecdotal. ymmv.

Given how many tanks die in 801.5 and lower, you're doing great. Add Kinetic Dampeners (to Rune/Hybrid/Rune/Demonic) to cap Energy resists, and all you're missing is enough Heal/Regen ... with minimal support you should be able to handle an 801.7

A single int+5 in Aid Self will let you use it while standing in 1 set of caltrops. I call that good enough. Or there's always DM or RadM.

I don't have a set chain for StJ. I just adapt and follow the damage intuitively. I'd have to go solo a few pylons to get back into the rhythm. But as I recall it settled into two different fairly predictable chains based on First-Half of Ageless Radial vs Last-Half of Ageless Radial. But if anything messes up the rhythm, I just adapt and go with the flow. Dig around the forums, I'll bet it's out there somewhere. It's something like Bu -> Optional MB -> AS -> CU -> Optional_Filler_As_Needed ( SB or (HB, SB), or (HB, SB, HB)). You dont' have to wait on anything, and as soon as you engage this is gonna go all to hell in a handbasket. Don't wait on the combos, use what you've got. But if you can get 1 other Stj in before AS->CU then you will spike hard.

Both. The stalker is a little more durable since it can shed aggro, while the scrapper has a mild taunt and really doesn't shed much if any aggro. Otherwise they balanced out different but roughly equal. Any top tier dps set, if you drop below the top tier you may start running into dps check issues. I'm running 350 to 400 dps on the full 801 armor builds, and that's just barely by the skin of my teeth enough dps for Vicious. DPS Checks, Blech! If we could downgrade the AVs to EBs, I'd probably be soloing on Relentless 😜 I rather suspect I could have run the full dps builds on both Villainous and Malicious as I barely touched my armors on those runs. But I have my doubts about running the full dps build on Vicious, as I did frequently need to use my full armor. But If you can figure out how to balance that out, it would definitely be helpful, and potentially open it up to most primaries. There is a lot of room between the two extremes of double armor vs double damage, the trick being how to find it and build it.

You can, but you MUST share both the .cvg file AND all of the .critter files used to create it. If you don't included the latter .critter files then, CoH will incrementally and exponentially slow down when trying to load those missing files. If enough files are missing it will lock up entirely. If too many files are not missing then you can recreate them with in-game editing. If you're past the point of no return and locking up, then you can either recreate them with a script, I use a perl script to extract and recreate them from the .cvg, or you can delete the problematic .cvg or .storyarc. The HC devs were aware of the issue of CoH wanting to re-read ALL files when even one is changed, and may have fixed this bug behind the scenes, but they also may not have.

Assuming Full Tier 4 Incarnates and Full Tier 4 IOs, built for maximum damage .... Scrappers 600+ dps Stalkers 500+ dps Brutes 400+ dps Tanks 350+ dps Tanks start tough and tend to spend resources on damage. Brutes start with both durability and damage, and can then build toward scrapper or tank, but generally not both. But this does make them in many ways the most flexible melee AT. Brutes are also the kings of farming. Scrappers start with damage, and tend to use resources to increase durability. Stalkers start with damage, are the easiest to maximize that damage, but don't quiet peak as high as the highest scrappers. Stalkers also tend to lack AoE.

Stalker and Scrapper both. (StJ, EnM, etc) / EnA. Running overlapping chained T9s as needed. Didn't really need them until I hit Vicious. For Villainous (1/5), I'd say just about anything can pull it off. Probably 80% of my builds. Malicious (2/5) cuts that down to about 40%. Vicious (3/5) cuts that down to less than 4, due to the AV DPS Checks, primarily on Ripplesurge, secondarily on Zoe/Rodney #2, and last on Midas #4. Vicious (3/5), */EnA Stalker and Scrapper both. You really need 350+ dps, I'd say 400 dps, while maintaining def/res/ddr/rdr/regen/healing, as well as confuse/perception/to-hit. Durable enough is probably 20% of my builds, but durable enough AND packing 400+ dps, yeah that's about 4 tops. I have a sentinel that can survive it, but drops 150-200 dps over the scrapper. The brute with a full durabilty build drops 100 dps over the scrapper, but IS nearly twice as durable. A Tank that is fully durable drops 150 dps. Either a Brute or Tank that pushes dps higher, doesn't take long till it drops durability too low. I'm certain there IS a balance point in there where both Brute and Tank can do this, but that's a much more subtle balance than I usually aim for. I tend to build toward extremes of either durability or damage or taunt potential, and the point you'll be looking for will be hiding somewhere in-between. I do think that point exists, I just don't know how long it would take me to find it. I took my RDR Capped Rad/Kat Tank into a solo Relentless ASF, survived nicely. Finger-fumbled and died, but that's normal. Mind you that build has crap dps, I wasn't actually trying to solo it or pass the DPS Checks, I just wanted to test durability of a resist set vs ASF. Overall I'd say SLE Resist/RDR Capped Brute/Tank is viable for the ASF. The question then becomes how to you keep RDR capped while pushing 400 dps at the same time. That's not a question I can answer, as it's not my build style. Assuming Vicious (3/5) or above, regen will matter at least for Ripplesurge and Midas. I would say you can potentially ignore it elsewhere, but it is still useful if can get it, but not required. Fubar Midas pool 3 or 4 and you'll have a much nastier fight on your hands than you potentially bargained for. Definitely worth looking into. I've yet to get to test my SD/ vs Relentless Goldbrickers. She runs a native 69/54/54 defense, with good but not perfect resists. I suspect that would need to be reconfigured some for Relentless. It's a very tough question.

59 is the standard incarnate soft-cap, 65 for some of the praetorian incarnates. If a build is capable of it, I build for that when possible.

I've soloed up to Vicious (Difficulty 3 of 5), I do not expect Ruthless nor Relentless to be soloable. The hardest fights where, depending on difficulty settings: Zoe/Rodney #2, and Ripplesurge.

Snipes are very good damage, and great for supplementing a weaker ST damage chain. Which obviously varies from build to build, some will need it more while others not at all. I use Shadowmeld more depending on the situation. When up to my eyeballs in Incarnated Psionics or worse (801/ASF) I'll use Energy Drain double or triple stacked for ~+10-15 defense, Energize for the EndRdx, and Shadowmeld. That's ~+35 ish defense, and mostly applies to Psionics as well, If I back that with Rune or Hybrid, what was my weakness is now much more manageable, at least for long enough to take out a boss and start dropping the incoming damage down to more long term survivable levels. The same for any other minor weaknesses or debuffs.

This is one issue.

Has anyone complied a Tier list for Brutes similar to Croax's Stalker Tier List? Seems like that would be a useful thing to have bookmarked somewhere.

Just exactly how much offense do you want !?! StJ without a secondary can push over 500 dps easily. I tend to run extremely heavily armored builds (that are tougher than many tanks), and they run in the 350 to 450 dps range, but that's because I devoted almost all my resources to durability instead of damage. But even this lower dps is enough to effectively solo just about anything that IS soloable. I also often have a second build that is damage oriented, but tend to prefer the armored builds. If it's an StJ stalker, run any armor you want. If you want absolute maximum dps, I'd probably say /Bio. StJ/Bio (all around) EnM/Bio (ST dps) ElM/SD/Snipe (AoE dps)

Any really, particularly if you go high recharge near-perma souldrain. As a general rule I recommend Fire, Ice, Water ... but paired with time, you get a lot more options, particularly if you want to proc out the build too. Bopper and others have some really nice proc builds built on /Time.