biostem

And you are presuming the superior damage ATs *with* the benefit of all the buffs, debuffs, controls, and so on. My point was merely that mediocre damage + buffs/debuffs is on par or better than superior damage in the absence of those things. Perhaps you should be in less of a rush to jump to conclusions regarding the motivations of your interlocutor.

It's because there is no stance in the game for having weapons from 2 different powersets out at once. Even in the case of shields, they had to be handled separately and aren't permitted with some other powersets. You'd need some sort of "keep all weapons drawn" toggle or a pistol + 1-handed sword set...

Interesting. I wonder why they wouldn't just go with a defender, if we're assuming they're focusing mainly on their secondary and the pool powers. I suppose if they were going with a secondary like storm summoning, you could leverage scourge a bit more...

Imagine being able to just teleport target the hostage to the exit...

The closest would be to do something like what sentinels get in their version of regen - some absorb. There isn't really a way to "delay" damage. The problem is that regen is a very binary set - either your regen is greater than the incoming damage or you die. Really, the only way to work around this is to apply debuffs or hard/soft control effects to reduce the rate of that incoming damage. Another option would be to have various regen power stack on even more extra HP - increase that HP pool, and you inherently increase the regen rate and widen that margin for error...

There are tons of costume and aura options. What, specifically, are you going for? Many of the images I found are basically black/dark grey with red and white accents. Are you talking about the biotics, (or w/e their "magic" ability is called in-universe)?

And the superior damage people will do nothing if they faceplant because they can't handle the aggro or incoming damage. We can cherry-pick scenarios all day, but my point still stands: -DR + mediocre damage = no -DR and superior damage.

Or by dropping the enemies' DR via debuffs. "Superior damage" vs an enemy with high DR is basically the same as "lesser damage" vs an enemy with a bunch of -DR on them...

That's interesting - Did that mob become a valid target between the activation and the target check of the power, if you couldn't have targeted them beforehand?

I don't really have a list, per se. It's simply a matter of having "enough" of any given aspect. For instance, you don't need a tanker if you have enough buffs/debuffs and those with them are proactive or responsive enough. You don't need a huge amount of raw damage if you can drop an enemy's damage resistance enough. You don't need a lot of buffs/debuffs if you can sufficiently control the enemies. The problem is that many people often play on PUGs, where there is little communication and everyone is basically soloing in the same instance. Anytime I see these kinds of posts, my first inclination is to ask if you took the time to talk to your teammates, examine your team composition, and derive a strategy that used those resources to their greatest extent...

@Luminara hit the nail on the head - use a location-based AoE power to hit them. There's still a little bit of an untouchable period, but you'll be able to hit them much sooner...

You are the one that brought up the notion of doing things that were "cheatie". My point is that you should not discount legitimate aspects of the game, such as different effects/bonuses that various powersets and set bonuses have to offer. Here's a suggestion going forward - avoid the hyperbole, since inflection or intent does not carry over well in a text-based medium, and don't infer bad intentions where there is none.

OK, so "totally legitimate methods of play". Gotcha. It's like saying it's "Cheatie" because dual pistol sents can get a permanent range bonus when using cryo ammo, or how ninjitsu sents can get a stealth power w/o having to take concealment. Different sets offer different things, and that's not cheating.

OK, and? That's not "cheatie" - set bonuses have certain rules as to how they are applied and such. I'm not sure what your point is? Sentinels also have shorter ranges by default.

Yeah... not being able to "have it all" can stink sometimes...

Don't underestimate the value of range enh's in cones, either...

It all comes down to pathing issues. The NPC logic just isn't that advanced. Frankly, I wish we could just "carry" them - even if it disabled our powers while doing so. You just gotta take it slow and be patient, which is really annoying given the pace of the game everywhere else...

Agreed. For me, I usually use the 1st build as a leveling/"good enough" build, and save the others for end game. By that, I mean I take low level attacks or even some pool/filler powers to get a decent enough attack rotation or to take powers that are good *now*, but may be overshadowed later by APP/PPP powers.

Fantastic costume! The little bit of of gold on the belt blends perfectly with the chest piece! Splendid!

Craziness, perhaps, but it does seem that many players build their characters in anticipation of being "ready" at 50, instead of consuming a respec. It may be easy to get them, but it's still something some people are loathe to "waste" on a leveling build...

This is only true for certain combinations of primaries and secondaries. Even that initial immobilize power can deal decent damage if slotted and used for that purpose. The issue is that many players build with an eye on how the build will perform at 50, so handicap themselves in the here-and-now toward that end...

What obligation does the HC have to get a 3rd party app/program working? I also disagree with your statement that MIDS is "vital"...

Consider giving the VEAT "Arachnos Soldier" a try - they can be very "Mastermind-like", and get pets in their patron pools...

Here's something I whipped up, heavily based upon a costume I've been using for my blaster: darklord1.costume

I wonder if it would be feasible to implement some sort of lottery system - you buy "tickets" for like 50 inf each, and at the end of each week, someone wins like half of the total amount, and the other half goes "poof!".