Erratic1

A lot of people do a lot of questionable things. That does not mean the powerset combo is bad, that means it is often played poorly. Siphon Power is bread and butter for any of my Kinetics characters. And while I do have a Kin/Sonic Defender, I think I prefer my Water/Kinetics Corruptor.

He formed an energy sword with one hand and a force shield with the other. Shield/Psi Armor would probably give the best approximation to the character (not that I am suggesting the combo).

So... Justice, from Marvel's 1980s New Universe line.

Rad/Psi Tanker was my first Homecoming character, taken to 50, and certain seemed functional though not anything special even if tossing foes in the air is a lot of fun.

Elec Armor is one of my favorite defensive sets and I had an absolutely grand time back on live with a DM/Elec Brute. I have never tried Rad Melee/Elec Armor but nothing leaps to mind immediately to suggest any problems with it and as you note Elec Armor has powers to offset some of the downsides of Rad Melee. I had thought one about trying Rad Melee/Energy Aura but only so much time in a life.

There are things you have not listed in your consideration which may influence your enjoyment of certain builds. Rad Melee hits like a truck dropped from orbit but it is also about as fast as an object dropped from orbit...you wait for powers to cycle. This is of course fixable to an extent but the effort to do so means not going down other build paths involving the powerset. Rad Melee was also a bit endurance hungry in my experience and Proton Sweep is a miserable power. Do I enjoy my Rad Melee/Shield Scrapper? Yes, absolutely. But the feel of melee combat on it is quite different than other melee builds I have. However if dealing with those issues are not off-putting, Rad Melee/Invulnerable will be tough and hit hard. I personally tend to lean a bit more towards combos featuring endurance recovery and/or a more frequent healing power but (a) I do not always confine myself that way and (b) with sufficient toughness and slotting Dull Pain can take you far.

Seems to me you've made the argument for making more use of the other stances. 🙂 My recollection is that I spend most of my time in Efficient on my SS/Bio. My SS/Bio brute approves. 😁

Back on live I ran a DM/Elec Brute and he was stupidly tough along with having nice damage. I would imagine Elec/DM on a Tank would be tougher still.

Nicely done.

Great, I need to remake my Dragon character. Wonder what archetype fits?

From experience, END drain is pretty useless and you could probably bottom out a target's endurance with your primary attacks roughly as fast as you would adding in secondary powers. But even with that said I would bet you see more Elec/Elec blasters than you do Elec/<something with useful synergy> because if X/ is your theme then /X is the obvious thematic fit. As for Fire/Fire winning, I have gotten my Fire/Dark up to having Soul Drain and there is a lot to be said for boosting your damage output for 30 seconds. Yeah, you're going to do the big BOOM! but afterwards having that boosted damage means continuing to melt through foes like a hot knife cuts through butter. I just need to find a way to both have high defenses and high global recharge for her to achieve godhood. In the non-Fire/* department, my Sonic/TA blaster is also coming along. He feels more like a super corruptor--better damage than regular corruptors while having some controls. My currently planned build for him directly targets perma-Hasten. There is something to be said for being able to turn out two Mag 3 Immobilizes in under 2 seconds, double-Flash Arrowing targets for 6.56% To-Hit debuff each in under 4 seconds, and having an area, "Why don't all you trash mobs just sleep it off" power. Of course we measure blasters by the damage they bring and yeah, it doesn't spit it out quite like Fire does. Its not horrible but it ain't Fire. Even so, its been a lot of fun and certainly does not qualify as a miserable experience.

(1) There is disagreements over the best placement of the Crit Proc and it matters depending on how much you optimize your attack sequence to squeeze out maximum damage. I am fairly relaxed about such things, and so would probably stick it in Whirling Hands to increase the likelihood of it proc'ing but other might tell you differently. Probably should listen to one of them (if they give you a detailed explanation for why to do otherwise). (2,3,4,6) If Unstoppable is only a mule, at the loss of some Psionic resistance for not taking the power, you could instead take Shadow Meld, seeing as you have access to it. Pop and for 15 seconds your defenses go through the roof. At your current global recharge it is up every 42 seconds for 15 seconds. Were you to achieve perma-Hasten that would become something like up every 24 seconds for 15 seconds. (∞) The order of your powers might be somewhat problematic if you ever decide to play lower level TFs/exemplar. I would swap Super Jump and Build Up and swap Dull Pain and Manuevers. Edit: Bless you for the data chunk. Wish more people included them.

I went Beam/Martial/Mace, but yeah, Beam/Martial is a lot of fun. But if you're posting in the Guide section, shouldn't you be share your build and what makes it work?

It was because I'd heard bad things about it that I made my SR/TW Tanker. I am really going to have to stop reacting to claims about bad combos that way. Not because it didn't work out, just I really do not need the alts that is going to result in.

I'd wondered if the +Recharge from EA would help out Rad Melee's slow recycle times.

Back in the first month of live I created a DM/Inv Scrapper and he was fantastically tough for a scrapper. Considered reusing the sets on a Tanker but I have this aversion to repeating myself, and neither remade the combination nor for that matter used Invulnerability again. I think the lure of sets with more frequent heals and endurance recovery played a part too. So here we are all these years later and I decided to give Invulnerability another whirl. Hoping someone can look at what I have and suggest improvements (while avoiding purple sets): This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Leyden Jar: Level 50 Science Tanker Primary Power Set: Invulnerability Secondary Power Set: Electrical Melee Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Temp Invulnerability -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(3), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(5) Level 1: Charged Brawl -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(5), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7) Level 2: Havoc Punch -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(9), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(13) Level 4: Jacobs Ladder -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(15), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(19) Level 6: Super Jump -- Empty(A) Level 8: Unyielding -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A) Level 10: Dull Pain -- NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(A), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(21), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(21), NmnCnv-Heal(23), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(23) Level 12: Resist Elements -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(25), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(25), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(27), ImpArm-ResDam(27), ImpArm-ResPsi(29) Level 14: Resist Energies -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(29), Ags-ResDam(31), Ags-Psi/Status(31) Level 16: Thunder Strike -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Dmg/Rchg(31), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(33), FrcFdb-Rechg%(34) Level 18: Invincibility -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(34) Level 20: Resist Physical Damage -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A) Level 22: Taunt -- PrfZng-Taunt(A), PrfZng-Taunt/Rchg(34), PrfZng-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(36), PrfZng-Acc/Rchg(36) Level 24: Build Up -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 26: Tough Hide -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(36), Rct-ResDam%(37) Level 28: Chain Induction -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(39), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(39) Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40) Level 32: Unstoppable -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A) Level 35: Lightning Clap -- PrfZng-Taunt(A), PrfZng-Taunt/Rchg(40), PrfZng-Acc/Rchg(40), PrfZng-Dam%(42), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(42), FrcFdb-Rechg%(42) Level 38: Lightning Rod -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(43), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(43), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), FrcFdb-Rechg%(45) Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 44: Physical Perfection -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(45), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(46), Prv-Heal/Rchg(46), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(46), Prv-Absorb%(48) Level 47: Energy Torrent -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(48), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(48), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(50), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50), FrcFdb-Rechg%(50) Level 49: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 1: Gauntlet Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(13), PrfShf-End%(15) ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1353;671;1342;HEX;| |78DA65D3C94F13711407F0DFB4536B4B0B2260416869A1502A58C0E8D98354A396A| |452F4DA8CE5274E1CA7755A0D3D9A88CBCD355E54D09B1EBCB81DFC1BDC5804F1E8| |C50D3551A3C6A53EE6FB82264CD27E3A6F7E6F99DF7406C7067CB7771CDF2A14DF3| |6432B16B3C39A79485AEE4C4E97664E0A3ABC29591E9166789766B9E9348415D901| |79409A4599D8691E3B6A98D2D2F6EB865E2A07F9F2A034A44C240D992B597A4E331| |010BE743E6F2452522BE8E6A8D73EC914A41CA9B77F26C70AD2D20F4BB3A495F4BC| |596507B71BFAE8C1525DB2A0E712496A345ACE0E6AC592B4CA8D344E2B7DA63DF4A| |52CCD5A718A2F4E21FA55E1F8CA7E83EA77F8A846F0416BD34490AEED81AB86D80C| |7C4C6B15D4752927543B7FF5387B127A4FB1A7A1EF0C7C42B94ECE755E41ACFA2A5| |C738D9D806B27D9EB3040FBECC28CC255A1433C8C0BE14635E10E28F6743374D71E| |AC523D438A9D599F6187E1BABDEC3E384B09553C5555947EC454D1D8C176C2F531B| |60BB6C4E11CE5FA7997FD7DA8D7D20F439BD92DF019DD7D0DF7A9798E9D0FCDC1F0| |3CBBC0BE84917187ED3CF5A9B5B7BDA2D4D6A35EA4014ED1B53ADE87BA4DC87B4AB| |D1AF8893698A811C9C3F6027B044ED1DA00E7076E22F6826A3621E668E23EEDBB51| |3BFA194E535E337AB89ACFE22945CFB1E761E705F6227B09B6D1D30CA2BE12EC167| |62CC62E78F00F5E9AA7F5077ACD50AF36EED5C6F713E3FB89F17DC48BEC2BF488F3| |DECD526E07EF7BC74FC436FC627FB37F604F85E5DC096ADFC5B374F17CB7FC42747| |3BDEED798AFE70DDCF8967DC7BE87BD8BF00691E0DCC41DD4EBBDCBDE83FDF7D907| |2CCF3249B97D3C4B5F04D7E2EAF25B5E695197DFE2A5537A43522B226995975344B| |1238BDEE5F799231F56443EFE1F89A2F3A77F31871246CCC7565FC6C47F0136C7E1| |52| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Soul Drain slotted with Gaussian. No half measures here. 😁

Speaking from the standpoint of my Fire/Dark blaster, buffing your own damage numbers is so wrong you should probably grow hair on the palm of your hands. But if its wrong, I don't wanna be right. 😁

For my new tank I was trying to portray metallic shades and made his initial costume blue/gray. Without thinking about it, made a different costume for his second slot which actually is gray/gold. Anyway, was going on a Yin TF and switched back to original costume because it appears tankier. We we're in the midst of running it and I notice my costume appears white/gold. "Hmmm...didn't I swap back to first costume?" I wondered. When I got a moment I pulled up costumes to switch and I was on the first costume. First thought was that the lighting conditions were causing the costume to show incorrectly. But I went to train and noticed that while standing there, in brighter light than in a warehouse the costume's colors had seemed to shift. Then I realized, "I've recreated the dress illusion because I'm using the same colors." That costume is the same one shown in the Best Costume Thread here. Its not a game artifact because looking at the above screenshot I can see both color pairs at different times.

Had to hunt around for this. The image quality is low because I compressed the poop out of the video to get it to fit the post size limitation but its from my SM/EA scrapper. Notice the Recharge bonus (fuzzy but you can make it out) as he fights. https://forums.homecomingservers.com/uploads/monthly_2020_12/KRBW.mp4.4128ce8a8cec3870f651144e27216d0c.mp4 No reason you couldn't do this on a Brute.

I have an SS/Bio, and yes, his DoT is quite nice, especially with Rage up.

Savage/(Rad, SR, Elec, or EA) would allow you double dipping on self +Recharge buffs. Not that I am in any way suggesting Savage/Bio is not good. Probably quite wonderful.

Couldn't help but think of this thread on last thing I was doing. Started a new Tanker and was at the point of wanting to run Posi 1. Recruited people but could only find three others, a Defender, Brute, and Stalker. So we decided to try to four man it. Granted we did not turn the level up or anything nor put any impediments on ourselves. But you know how things go with new characters with limited abilities. We had someone go down on first mission where it wasn't clear that we were not engaging every group, just those directly in path to objective. After that it wasn't too bad, but I worried about Oranbega, zombie ambush, and the final mission. Oranbega was no problem. Zombie ambush was no problem. But final mission... ...started off well with us sticking together. Got to the point of heading in and the question was asked if we should clear around door first. I said sure and two of us went to do so. But someone had already opened the door. Life totals got thin but never so bad it look like a wipe. We pulled it off without losing anyone. Inside door wasn't bad but then comes the shadowy duplicates. Duplicates had me, the Tanker, eating inspirations like candy. Shadow brute and stalker hurt, oh how they hurt. But we managed the entire run with only that one loss in 34 minutes. Take from the above what you will. Fear of dying added to fun? Sure. Limited team size added to fun? Sure. Limited abilities added to fun? Sure. Not saying I am on board with mandating anything because sometimes you want/need to wade into a sea of enemies and vanquish them all. But sometimes you need it to be a challenge too.

Thanks so much for the compliment on the costume! The compression I had to use to get the video to fit the size limitation for posts makes it appear fuzzier than in game. A better snapshot of it is viewable here. Dark Blast I've covered, so let's look at what Energy Manipulation brings to you: Power Punch, Power Thrust, Bone Smasher, and Total Focus are melee range attacks. I have tended to in my previous breakdowns skip over the melee attacks but if you do that with Energy the question becomes, "Why are you looking at Energy Manipulation?" and what else it brings to the table had better be fantastic beyond compare. Where other sets say, "I'm going to immobilize, slow, or hold foes to keep them from getting to me," Energy Manipulation says, "Go ahead, get close to me and see what happens!" And what happens with these powers of the set is you knock the target away from you or knock them silly (or dispatch them depending on how much health they have left). They are single target however, so not answers for groups of things and if you miss the guy is by definition all up in your junk ready to stomp you a new...well, you get the idea. How well this approach works is going to be highly subjective. Given you will be getting some survivability out of debuffing To-Hit, it might not be an unworkable tradeoff. But then... ...then there is Stun. Another melee stun against a single target at base. But (and I never knew this until now) it can be combined with Boost Range to stun something at range. It can be combined with Power Boost to make it an AoE, so now you have a way to deal with groups. And you can combine both Boost Range and Power Boost to do an area stun at range. Problem here is you do not get Boost Range until level 28 and Power Boost until level 35. Use with Power Boost shifts its recycle to 90s from 12s too. Still, the stuff you fight in your 30s is more dangerous than at lower levels so you'll have it by the time you're facing the nastier foes the game has to offer. I really shy away from trying to influence anyone to play one way over another, preferring to point out the benefits and tradeoffs things bring to table, so read the following less as saying, "Don't play this" than, "Here is what you would be getting into." You are not getting the healing or recovery regeneration the other sets offer with Energy Manipulation. You can perhaps make this up elsewhere either by power pool, epic pool, or IO choices. But most of that will be doable only in later play.

The other night we exited a radio mission in Founder's Falls and the next mission was not only at the same door but it was the same map. Of course I had to ask, "Were we not just here and did we not clear the place out?" Team member responded, "That's how tight the rental market is. Bad guys move in immediately."