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TLDR: At this time, if you want high difficulty high level content, (AE, the Existing Hardmode TFs, the newest existing Hardmode 1-star Story Arcs, and the standard 'Enemies Buffed/Players Debuffed' options), are likely the only viable options. Expanding Hardmode is being worked on, but it's a very slow process. I don't know that it's so much 'against the idea' as it is there's only so much that can be done with the insane spaghetti code mess that is CoH development. Once upon a time I spent 6 months just learning and looking into bases because I wanted to improve and expand the capabilities. The Alpha tests went great, it IS possible to do. Yay. However, it was going to take 2 person-years and skill sets I personally did not have. Project scrapped. And THAT is CoH development in a nutshell. 801 took 6-months to develop the alpha, and a year to develop the first version that only went up to 801.2 difficulty. Each Hardmode TF is taking 6-months to 1 year to develop. I'm not sure how many Hard Mode 1-star Story arcs are in-game now, one or two probably, they also took 6 months to develop. There's a theme here. With the resources and number of developers we currently have, it will take a considerably long time (years if not decades) to update the entire game an all it's content to a more flexible difficulty system. The devs started at level 50 and are (most likely) working their way down through the TFs. At some point, enough work will be done that it might not be impossible to add Hardmode to the general difficulty of an entire tier of CoH, most likely the level 40-50 or 45-50 range. But I doubt that's even on the radar yet. Maybe a year or two. Because of the way CoH was designed, simply buffing enemies (much) beyond 54 doesn't really work out well. Scaling up or down, much more than +/- 4 of what an enemy group was designed for introduces issues. I do think we could get away with +5 to +7 once we reach incarnates, but that's really the reasonable limit for general game play, and that's about where the 'Enemies buffed/Players De-buffed' settings in all the standard TFs will put you. Adding that setting to standard contacts difficulty might or might not even be possible given the spaghetti code that is CoH, but if it is possible, it's likely the only 'low hanging fruit' available to the difficulty settings tree. Once upon a time there was a bug where the ITF would spawn 54 while the team level locked at 45. Great Fun, at least for me, but not something I would put into a production product. That bug was eventually squashed because it was also used to do the opposite, spawn the TF at 45, while the team sat pretty at 54, ick totally boring. It's been a long time, so this won't be 100% accurate. There are at least 2 types of standard missions, maybe 3 now that we have the WoW style low level contacts, and the phasing tech. Then there are 2 or 3 types of TaskForce / Trial Missions, then there are a couple of different formats for Incarnate Trials and Missions, and then there's the AE hack missions. Each it's own different format, and none are effectively compatible with each other, but instead have to be completely re-written. There are even multiple internal scripting languages or types. Each with it's different capabilities. As an example look at the differences in Zone Pylons vs LFG Pylons, aka don't do your pylon testing in the LFG version. Same thing, written two different ways in two different systems. It's a maddening mess. You'd have to get one of the (I only know of two) high level devs that generally don't post in public to give you a more precise answer.

Here is the 5-6 year old build. DAB means I was running it with Kinetic Dampeners, Amplifiers, and Base Buffs. That means it not only costs a small fortune to build to the build, but that it also costs a small fortune per hour to run the build (solo). You can also add the Kinetic Shield Badge, and Wedding Band. You can probably swap Hybrids and such around too for better durability. Something similar should work for any primary with a snipe. Beam Energy Sniper - Devries LRM NR DAB 1 - [i25].mbd

Alpha +Range, Power Boost, Clarion +Range, Boost Range, ... Primary Snipe +Range +KB, LRM Snipe/Nuke, Judgement Snipe/Nuke (Range Boosted Fire), Primary Snipe, Range boosted Nuke. You hit your target, KB/KD it, LRM nuke the area, about the time it tries to stand up another snipe or nuke hits .. it starts running toward you and you snipe or nuke it again, then as it gets about half way there you nuke it again. It and it's buddies are mostly dead, so you snipe the left overs KB/KD them ... and it's done. Then you let it all recharge, and start stalking your next target and calibrating the various ranges so you can do it all over again. I have a list of ranges written down somewhere for when I was playing with this one. The hardest part was figuring out the various ranges and the fire order (which is probably incorrect above as it's been ages). Your range ends up exceeding maximum entity draw distance, and even exceeding maximum pve targeting distance. You can literally shoot stuff from so far away you can't even see it. A fun but otherwise pointless build.

*shrug* DP takes a proc build nicely. No idea what the current state of proc builds is. Raw DP is/was middle-tier at best, but is still good enough to solo a +4x8 ITF. I had a DP/Nin I ran a great deal "Just for Fun", she soloed a +4x8 ITF. /MC is also a good pick for this one. AR has been improved over the years. Also did a triple snipe build, but I think that one was Beam/Eng. However, AR would work too. I'd do this one /Eng or /Nin. /MC just doesn't "feel" right with AR to me.

Angel Hornet started as an StJ/EnA stalker years ago. Shouldn't be that hard to port her back to the Stalker. StJ Ena ShadowMeld Stalker - 801 - Recharge-T9 ver 1c - [i25].mxd EnM Ena ShadowMeld Scrapper - 801 - Recharge-T9 ver 2J - [i25].mxd I also played with a version with burnout, which works, but was yet another level of complexity.

You'll have to dig around the forums for the original threads and updated versions, these are all very old. Bopper's and Dahkness' builds are more offensive and probably where you want to look. Kiski builds are heavy tanks that I take solo into hardmode content. Time DP - Kiski - STF SLE Malfactor 2 - [i25].mxd Time DP - Quarterback 2d - [i25].mxd Time DP - Kiski - Sorcery 4i-b - [i25].mxd Time DP - Kiski - FoN SLE 1a+ - [i26].mxd Time DP - Bopper Proccer 1 - [i26].mxd Time Dp Power - Bopper 1 - [i26].mxd Time Dp Soul - Bopper 1 - [i26].mxd Time Dp Soul - Bopper 2 - [i26].mxd Time DP Defender - Dahkness 4-Star ITF v4 - [i27].mxdTime DP Defender - Dahkness HMITF v7 - [i27].mxd

Good luck ... You'll need it ...

First alpha version of Kiski way way way back DID build around it.

Dedicated healing isn't overly helpful. You're leveraging incarnates such that you're full healing anyone in range semi-passively every couple of seconds ... so blast away with all the rest of your resources. Buff as you alpha into the groups, or mid-group right after an alpha nuke, or just before you omega out to the next group; depending on which works best for the team. But regardless you should have a lot of resources left that can be focused into offense. (Unless you are baby-sitting Impy, *face palm*, I swear he's more trouble than he's worth 90% of the time. But if you can succeed baby sitting him and point him in the right direction, he does pack a wallop.) "can select and pick his targets" - I like illusion, it's one I do run from time to time, but unless it's a relatively slow or kill almost all run, not being able to focus fire is a serious negative. Also, your pets are not completely immune in the 4-star runs, and the passive taunts are not as effective on all targets. The defender version can perform equally well in speed runs, fast runs, normal runs, and slow kill all runs. Illusion is going to be a specialty pick. You can definitely make it work, but defender would be my pick, then Corruptor.

Binds and organizing the team list really helps, ... at least until someone loses connection and you have to rebind. The latter is where mixing binds and macros helps, you can just drag and drop the macros to reorder. A logical order, and binds such that it is effectively: recharge numpad1, recharge numpad2, recharge numpad3, recharge numpad4, loop. I take a few minutes to organize and set my binds at the beginning of each team.

Lol. I probably have at least one build with it six slotted with winters for the SL Defense. But that's definitely an exception since boxing is usually available instead. I do have a few 4 slotted with I think it's Kinetic Combat? for the SL Defense. But those are also exceptions, but not as rare as above.

Even my /Bio builds are built for durability, not damage; and I definitely don't have one for New_Axe/Bio. The only version of New_Axe I tested was /EnA on one of the test servers. If you want damage, I'd look in the pylon thread, and look for Nihilli, Ston, Someguy, Myshkin, Bopper, etc. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d0VruEHGktnPFvtMLF_MdpKPBe0wgUhzyGvb1DQNQQo/edit#gid=0

EnA is many times more durable than Bio, while Bio will give you more offense. At 50, you really shouldn't be having serious endurance issues. Energize and double or triple stacked Energy Drain is a massive amount of both Endurance and Defense. If you are having endurance issues, then Bio will likely suffer 80% of the same issues as well. I don't know if I have a perma defense version of Axe/Ena handy. A hardware failure took out all my temporary and/or unfinished builds. All my recent builds are for soloing 3-star hard mode, and use stacked T9s and standard defense outside of T9s. You'd probably have to go back to before hardmode, and translate one of those to the new Axe. And if you're looking for offensive builds, you'd probably want to avoid mine altogether. An offensive build can run 600 to 700 dps on glass cannon armor, my builds are the opposite end of the spectrum, running 300 to 400 dps with hard-mode capped armor via T9 Stacking, half the damage, triple the armor.

This is probably what he's referring to: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/20405-the-modern-empathy-defender/#comment-232003

These are all ancient by now, over a year old minimum. I just pulled them from my archives, didn't double check them or anything, so they could all be garbabe. I have not done Kat/Ena since I started Hornet EnM/EnA, so that's years... All my builds are defensive oriented, intended to solo very difficult content. They are also very active and difficult to drive builds and require some level of precognition. You may be better served with a less hectic less intense build from another author. That said, this is probably the most recent, just guessing. Kat EnA ShadowMeld Scrapper - Angel 2J - [i25].mxd Here are some additional builds as well. If you're more interested in offensive builds, SomeGuy's builds will be a better place to look. Kat EnA Scrapper - SomeGuy Pylon 500 DPS - [i27].mxd Kat EnA Scrapper - SomeGuy Pylon 560 DPS - [i27].mxd Kat ENA Shadowmeld Scrapper - Psi-Armor 3 - [i25].mxd Kat ENA Shadowmeld Scrapper - Psi-Armor 2 - [i25].mxd Kat ENA Shadowmeld Scrapper - Alpha 2 - [i25].mxd

look up @Voltak's old threads. He has a Nature/ in there somehwere.

TLDR: EnA, ... SD, Inv, SR, ... RadA, Bio, ... with probably EnM ... or Mace, Axe, Kat, ... Define Strong. If you mean durable, that's one answer, if you mean 700+ dps, that's another almost opposite answer (and probably isn't a brute). If you mean both, that's a completely different third answer. If you want to solo a 3-star hardmode ITF, that's yet another fourth answer (and probably isn't a brute).

This is Lucy's combat monitor. SD/RadM. SD and SR can stack DDR, which can be very valuable at times. RadM for the self heal, DM being another alternative for self healing. Tank Proc, if slotted for it, can stack up 21 ish resistance. If you swing away from SD, and don't mind low damage, you can push that another 7 or so points with /Staff and have a dynamic up to about 30 ish resistance. Which is were you probably start leaning Inv/Staff. Which then leads to Granite/Staff which is just silly and probably can't kill a fly. But I know a few of those and they are indeed durable. Rune/Hybrid/Rune/Demonic ... Demonic is an accolade, so it IS available in hardmode. No her resists aren't perma, but they're up ... 7 minutes down 1 minute ... or something like that. It's pretty ludicrous. There's also a very viable offensive variant with the new SD/Axe where you could use /recharge procs. You could even explore that route further and off into the direction of Axe/EnA on a brute for an overload/burnout/overload stacked with Rune/Hybrid/Rune/Demonic/...

I personally haven't done ElA/ in over a decade, but there are several that have run 801s with me, and I'd say they, with those players as pilots, rate at least a 7.

Inv/ is the easy answer, it practically builds itself, and it's very easy to pilot. EnA, Inv, SD, SR, Stone, RadA, Bio, ... and many more. A good hardmode self contained pug tank should be able to solo AE "801.7 static". If you're more selective with your teams, and your team provides buffs the way it probably should, and actually works as an actual team, then any self resist-capped tank becomes the desired choice, then as the team quality improves further you shift into full offense resist based tanks, and several teams start leaning into a full offense fire tank .... which is the exact opposite of a full 801 (Inv, SD, Stone) Tank that would be the above pug hardmode pick. A full offense Bio/ would also fit this slot.

Never actually tried it purposefully, but frequently I take out over half of them when I'm testing, and that's with pauses in between tests for recharge, making notes, and so forth. I would say a duo would be doable. I know raids have been done with 4. I don't think you can do the actual raid with less than 2 due to the placing of the bombs/grates things?

I bind them (bio and staff) both to attack keys, and use macros to switch the bindings in order to switch stances. That way they always automatically turn on when I start fighting, if I've forgotten them. I do the same for Dual Pistols.

I put 2 slots in it in my latest hardmode build. (Recharge+5, Membrane) For standard content 1 slot of recharge+5 would be fine. For hardmode, you can go up to 3 slots of (defense/recharge)+5 or membranes or whatever.

Scrappers can be very durable, considerably more durable than blasters, and can have up to twice the ST damage, but considerably less AoE. I would recommend EnM/EnA for near tank durability while still maintaining respectable damage (but light on AoE damage). I used this combo to solo 2-Star and 3-Star content. From there you can expand into more overall balanced damage with Kat/ Mace/ Axe/ Fire/, /Bio. More AoE focused with ElA/, /SD. and many more variations. EnM Ena ShadowMeld Scrapper - 801 - Recharge-T9 ver 2J - [i25].mxd

There isn't. It's about HP (and regen) and the artificial cap put on degen but not reactive, not DPS. pretty sure for AVs it's always roughly equal, but +4 Trial GMs might swing to Reactive due to the artificial capping on Degen. I do know the really fast teams abuse degen stacking rules to nuke the AVs and GMs faster. Every 2 players take a different radial degen tier, then the last pair take Reactive. Instant max caps of -HP, then multiplied by -Resist. Note: all interfaces have a stacking cap. Degen also has an artificial max -hp cap.