Machariel

Your other points are extremely good but I think Lockpick's point is that two 50+5 IOs give the same enhancement value as three 50+0 IOs. It's not a question of "is three slots better than two?", but rather, "can you get the same benefit out of three slots with two slots?", to which the answer is "yes". I'd say probably the "sword and board" aesthetic theme, and the fact that /Shield's melee defense pairs well with BS/'s Parry. Leveraging Parry means you get to fight with a lot of people around you, which maximizes the +damage from Against All Odds, which lets you chunk down minions with Slice and obliterate Lt's and up with Assassin's Slash for as long as you have endurance. That's the part that's surprised me so far- just how tanky I can be if I just use Parry on cooldown.

That one second means you're doing 20% less AoE DPS. which is okay, because the Nova killed everything anyway, and you put Posi's into a power that you weren't using on cooldown?

I pretty much agree with the content, although it's phrased a little more harshly than I would. The MO for my Dominators is to apply hard control and then do as much damage as possible before I have to deal with CC. Many of the T8 and T9 powers are Melee or PBAOE, and the T2-T4 melee powers have pretty good DPA, so every Dominator has access to melee attacks that are hard-hitting or at least efficient, and it's important to leverage those. I actually respecced out of Fire Blast and back into Incinerate for this reason - I found myself wanting the faster attack, even though it was melee only, since melee isn't a huge drawback. I should say that I think everything else is excellent advice for someone new to Dominators. :)

This is so exactly what I was trying to say that I'm tempted to delete my post above. +1 inf for you 8)

Is the poison trap actually worth slotting for hold? I figured the big deal was the -1000% regen debuff for AVs, which can't be enhanced. But, I haven't actually got the power yet, so I don't know how good it is haha ;D I guess you might as well though - if /Traps really has that few powers that are worth using then you should be swimming in slots ::) I'd really like to see Trip Mine's animation cut down to like, 2 seconds, and for Time Bomb to be replaced with the Gun Drone pet from /devices. Would go well with the FFG.

IOs opened up the possibility of everyone being Superman/Superwoman/Supersomethingelse more than Incarnates did, I think. But I don't find them as objectionable or feel like they make archetypes trivial. Now, they do make a lot of regular CONTENT easy, absolutely. But the big difference between IOs and Incarnates to me is that you can have two characters with the same power sets built for different tasks and with different IOs and they'll function differently. A plant/storm controller, plant/fire dominator, TW/Bio scrapper, fire/time corruptor, MF-ing warshade, etc etc etc are all super strong builds capable of just steamrolling 90+% of the content in this game. But, they all have different weaknesses (and indeed use their Incarnate powers differently to cover those weaknesses) and they all play very differently. Incarnates, though - you get 8 incarnates on a team and it doesn't matter what any of them do because you can just roll judgement powers :p so while the characters do play differently solo, once you get in a big team it all kind of washes together. though honestly any 8 lvl50 IO'd characters would go almost as fast anyway, probably (or a moderately synergistic team running SOs) I think overall it's not a huge problem. With how easy it is to make new characters and IO them out now compared to Live, it's easy to roll up a new character without incarnates, or to go do Ouro content, or join a lower level task force. Or you can do what I do and play at 54x8 and invite mostly lowbies to your radio team when you just want to farm some content c:

I was thinking about all the missions set on Praetorian maps where it feels like each of all the individual enemies are perfectly evenly distributed around the map. Extremely frustrating for control ATs.

I rolled up a BS/SD stalker over the weekend and my word is it a killing machine. Both of the Stalker ATOs are completely bonkers (they make the Dominator ones look like actual garbage). I'm only level 24 but already I can go Build Up -> AS -> crit with Hack -> Build Up. Can't wait until I get her into the 30s so I can start picking up slots and get a better power to follow up the AS. . .

The recharge enhancement it gives is garbage and the accuracy enhancement is subpar. And using the KB-to-KD IO and the proc for the recharge bonus means the enhancement values are even worse. I suppose that's true. I mostly have it in powers like Fire Breath and Rain of Fire, which are both inherently accurate and neither of which I use on cooldown, so the lower enhancement values aren't so bad - they're already accurate/fast recharging enough for practical use. Plus, it's easy to pick up a TON of accuracy bonuses without trying, and also common to build for recharge. EDIT: Plus sometimes you don't want to slot extra recharge into powers if you intend to use them for procs. This is not to say that it's a great set, just that its possible to work around it, and it has pretty good set bonuses :) But yeah, for something that you want to make part of your core attack chain it's pretty underwhelming. I wouldn't want it in Fireball for example.

Yeah, I misread what they wrote - you are correct :) My point was that- not everyone plays the game as a pure power fantasy. I think everyone agrees on that. But, IF - hypothetically - everyone DID, I still don't think you'd see people setting it to -1x8 or street sweeping hellions; therefore the fact that you don't generally see -1x8 is not evidence for or against being a "power fantasy". Minor quibble.

What's wrong with Positron's Blast? 6.25% recharge from 5 slots, a small range boost (doubly great in cones), and a damage proc... what's not to like? @QuiJon: Indiscriminate knockback is f-ing annoying. It's your character and you have the right to do it, but it's annoying as hell. Incidentally, if you open up with AoE knockbacks before the tank has gathered everything together, a good controller/dominator WON'T have used their AoE immobilize yet anyway... because it roots the enemies in place instead of waiting 2-3 seconds for the tank to do their job. When I'm playing SOLO, I do open up with my AoE immobilize because that's how my character works best... when playing alone.

I really don't think that's true at all because even if you take the game to be a pure power fantasy (whatever that means, but it's is definitely part of the game), you feel stronger crushing on +4x8 than you do on -1/x8. I think it's pretty obvious that crushing +4x8 endgame content makes you feel stronger than going into Atlas with the same character and street sweeping level 1 hellions.

Boosters are pretty expensive in terms of merits so I definitely don't use them everywhere. I think the only things I really look to boost are generic IOs in powers without many slots. A perfect place for them is to have two 50+5 IOs in Hasten as it's just as good as 3-slotting, and any time you can spend inf to free up a power slot, you should, because inf is infinite but slots are fixed. If you go Fly/Afterburner, I think enhancement boosters can save a slot there as well. I guess anything with a long recharge is a good candidate as well as it may be a cheap way to save another 5 or 10 seconds off of a long recharge power. For non-generic (Set) IOs, I just buy attuned and forget about it. Being able to not worry about exemping down is worth a lot more to me than boosting the % values of some enhancements, especially since most of the stats I care about are already so close to the ED cap anyway.

Playing at level 45 to 49 can be rough because you don't have your incarnate powers yet, but it's still high enough level that 50s aren't exemplared out of them, so they're fighting not one but two levels above you (because they retain the level shift) AND incarnate powers. Blasters I think do quite well though in an incarnate/IO environment because they can get enough defense to Not Die by using IOs and incarnates to cover their gaps and they have more front-loaded damage than any other archetype in the game. Judgement is good but Inferno is up 2-3x as often and about as much damage (granted a good chunk of it is over a short DoT). In fact, I think my next character will be a blaster since I just realized that you can go Aim (with Gaussian's Build Up Proc) + Build Up + Snipe (with Decimation's Build Up proc, which goes off very often in snipes) + Inferno. . . which Pine's says is something like 2000 damage, and I can live with 2000 damage every 30 seconds.

Sorry, you do what now? (Unbreakable Guard is a resist set so it can't go into either Hover or Concealment but either way - you're getting like 7% defense out of those 2 powers and 10! added slots. . . )

The Malaise's Illusions proc is pretty meh I think, but the set gives you a nice ranged defense bonus when six-slotted, and it's a nice placeholder for the Coercive Persuasion set :)

Yeah, when everyone's basically invulnerable, any ability outside of "kill dudes faster" is kind of a wash. Still, I do still see people die in Incarnate content, so it's not quite as risk-free as people make it sound. (though, granted, the solution in those cases usually isn't "more control", since they probably died to something like Battle Maiden blue death energy). I wouldn't say that some archetypes as a whole are obsolete, but there's a lot of power sets that fall by the wayside when everyone is defense capped with decent resists. Empathy & Force Field are two that come to mind readily. Traps is rough too. I don't even really mind incarnate powers in regular play, with one exception - I think Judgement powers might have been a mistake. Giving every character a crashless nuke every 60 seconds (on top of the crashless nukes that a good chunk of ATs in the game already gets) means that most fights are over super fast and then you just have bosses and up to chunk down. So any character that's specialized in ranged AoE damage is kind of... ehh... since on an 8 person team you can throw 2 or 3 judgement powers at every spawn. This is doubly true for characters who CAN clear mobs pretty fast, but who need a few seconds (not minutes, like setting up mine fields or whatever, but literally just a few seconds - something like a plant/storm controller) - finds almost everything dead before their powers finish casting. Destiny powers have a huge effect, but none of their effects - however useful - make a team kill stuff faster. One good use for control ATs is for helping teams fight more than one spawn at a time by basically skirting the aggro cap - the tank can group up one spawn, then you dump a ton of control on it, they lose aggro (stunned/confused/held/etc), and that frees up the tank to start pulling in the next one. They're also very useful when the game just straight up throws more dudes at you than one person can effectively manage (consider, ambushes on the ITF). Alternatively, if you're speed running something but your team is too fragile to just run past the spawns you don't want to fight, you can just dump an AoE control on them and by the time it wears off your team will be long gone. And then, of course, there's the fact that most of the content in the game exists below level 45 anyway, and that not everyone plays with IOs, or wants to bother grinding out all the incarnate content. It actually does take a while and for people who actually have a dozen or more active characters, that's a BIG time sink to get them all up to that level. I totally understand the desire to play a character at their maximum level. Heck, I do it, even with all my complaints. Honestly, when I get to a point on teams when I feel like I'm not contributing, I just leave - either I break off and start clearing separately or I just find a new team. Frequently, when I do this, I notice that the rest of the team starts dying more. . . so maybe control isn't as superfluous as it feels. I do like that the Incarnate content has some points that are clearly designed for particular ATs to shine. BAF is GREAT for controllers and dominators, both the prisoner escape phase (obviously) and also locking down the huge groups of dangerous bosses that spawn. But... things like regular missions were put in the game long before IOs and incarnates existed, and it definitely shows. No argument there.

I was looking at something like this for my AR/Traps, but to be honest leveling her has been so painful that I haven't gotten her past level 15. Traps just... doesn't... do anything at low levels, either for yourself or for your team. Honestly I really only want Traps for the Force Field Generator (ez defense), Acid Mortar (repeatable -res), and Poison Gas Trap (-1000% regen) I don't know what I want for my Ancillary pool. Soul Mastery seems the best because you can get perma soul drain, which I like in theory, but in practice seems like it will be at odds with my planned playstyle of "stay far away and shoot". Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! First Impressions: Level 50 Technology Corruptor Primary Power Set: Assault Rifle Secondary Power Set: Traps Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Fighting Villain Profile: Level 1: Burst -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(3), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), AchHee-ResDeb%(7) Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc-I(A) Level 2: Slug -- Apc-Acc/Rchg(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(7), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Apc-Dam%(11), FrcFdb-Rechg%(11) Level 4: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15) Level 6: M30 Grenade -- PstBls-Dam%(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(17), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(17), FrcFdb-Rechg%(19), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(19), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21) Level 8: Triage Beacon -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(21), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(23), Prv-Heal/Rchg(23), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(25), Prv-Absorb%(25) Level 10: Acid Mortar -- AnlWkn-Acc/DefDeb(A), AnlWkn-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(27), AchHee-ResDeb%(27) Level 12: Hover -- Ksm-ToHit+(A), Ksm-Def/EndRdx(29), WntGif-ResSlow(29) Level 14: Sniper Rifle -- StnoftheM-Dam%(A), StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(31), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(31), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(31), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Dcm-Build%(33) Level 16: Force Field Generator -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(33), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFrt-Def(34), RedFrt-EndRdx(34), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(36) Level 18: Flamethrower -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(36), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(37), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(37) Level 20: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(37) Level 22: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Flight-I(39) Level 24: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(39) Level 26: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(A), GssSynFr--ToHit(39), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(40), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(40), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(40), GssSynFr--Build%(42) Level 28: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 30: Tough -- StdPrt-ResKB(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(42) Level 32: Full Auto -- SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMlcoft-Dmg/Rchg(42), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), SprMlcoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprMlcoft-Rchg/Dmg%(45) Level 35: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(45) Level 38: [Empty] -- Empty(A), Empty(46) Level 41: [Empty] -- Empty(A) Level 44: Poison Trap -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(45), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(46), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(46) Level 47: [Empty] -- Empty(A), Empty(48), Empty(48), Empty(48), Empty(50) Level 49: Ignite -- Rgn-Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(50), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(50) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Scourge Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(13) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(13), EndMod-I(15) Level 0: Marshal Level 0: Born In Battle ------------

yeah, i'm good with that.

This is a fantastic thread. Thank you for all the hard work you did documenting the effort for the rest of us and congrats on breaking 500 mil (probably) !

I had trouble tearing myself away from Plant/Fire/Fire on Live and I still do, 7 years later. Dominator 4 lyfe.

EDIT: wrong thread lmao but in the spirit of the thread I always advertise my teams as "all levels welcome" (playing at +4x8). Only once have i gotten someone who was really.... not... useful... (they were literally level 1 and had no travel powers) - aside from that, I'll adjust my difficulty to what the group can handle and never turn anyone away because they're the wrong AT or powersets :)

If you set the level range filter in the AH to be from 1 to 1, it'll only show you attuned enhancements :)

I think I saw arcanaville say that the -res procs work by causing the target to cast the debuff onto themselves, and it doesn't stack with "casts from the same caster", but I wonder if two different -res procs could work simultaneously by providing two "different" debuffs?

Alpha: I like Intuition Radial Paragon. It's not quite as much +damage as Musculature, and the extra hold duration is nice (especially because I usually underslot my holds with 4 Basilisk's Gaze and then leave it alone), but you get the +20% range across the board, which I find very useful and makes Seeds of Confusion even stronger. It's just a shame that Coercive Persuasion, unlike Malaise's Illusions (i think that's the set?) gets no +range. Judgement: Whichever fits your concept. Ion is probably the best since it has no trouble with spread out mobs. I roll Pyronic because fire + fastest casting time. Interface: Reactive all the way, -res is great. You could also do the -max HP one (Degenerative?) if you intend to be using Drain Psyche's -regen to solo AVs. Lore: Whichever you want. Cimerorans are highest DPS, robots bring some good dps and -regen. Destiny: I went Ageless because I burn through endurance like a maniac, or Rebirth because my dominator has no other form of self healing, but with Drain Psyche covering both of those, you can really pick whatever you want. I'd say Barrier. Hybrid: I use Assault. If you spend a lot of time teaming and at/near the damage cap, go with the chance for doublehit; else, stick with the stacking damage bonus. I strongly prefer the chance for doublehit, although truthfully I don't really notice when either version is turned on. EDIT: Cims were highest DPS back on live, this is no longer true, I think Banished Pantheon is now.