Demon Shell

My idea was just to make Serum an AoE (without the crash) and reduce the cooldown to around 200-240 seconds. Such that even if Merc's damage output/utility is garbage, they could at least carve out a niche for being extremely durable. But I like your idea a lot better. An extra summon power would also help with slotting set procs.

Debuff resist values, not resist debuff resistance (which I don't think exists). Endurance debuff resistance, recovery debuff resistance, perception debuff resistance, to-hit debuff resistance, recharge debuff resistance, movement debuff resistance, and yes, defense debuff resistance. But, if they were going to give us all of those minus one, defense debuff resistance would be the one to drop. Defense is not part of a Keldian's natural kit; they're expected to be hit (which is why debuff resist is so important). I also wouldn't ask for so much coverage if we got more than 10% per Epic AT (or any at all while solo).

If I could change only one thing, it'd be debuff resistance. Keldians get none. Not in human form, not in dwarf. If teamed with another epic AT they get 10% Recharge Resist each and that's it. Bare in mind, when you pick "Tank" on the Playstyle list at character creation, Keldians are up there with Brutes/Tankers, and the latter 2 always have decent debuff resist values in at least some areas. On a resist-based AT that shouldn't be expected to dodge most incoming attacks, it should be 10% all debuff resist. The mez protection from Controllers/Dominators should be doubled, too.

Yes, it would create a buffer where your resist can't be dropped unless it's debuffed by a value greater than 20%. Fortunata's have defense debuff resistance. They get it from Foresight. It's not very much (neither is the to-hit debuff resistance they get from the Widow version of Combat Training: Offensive), but it's leagues better than the nothing Soldiers get.

This link should help. https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Limits

Is there a list of keyboard commands somewhere? In particular I can't remember the command to bring up Pet abilities.

So here's one that I've been wondering about. If a mod is boosted, does the set bonus extemp down to the level of the mod (level 30 + 5 mod available at 27) or the level of the mod with the boost factored in (level 30 + 5 mod available at 32)?

To be more clear, Procs count as set bonuses. They don't scale with level and will shut off if your level drops below the mod's level.

Farm Brutes don't take it is because they aren't buffer/debuffers. The damage buff from Rage makes keeping Rage up more important than any debuff they can provide. And that requires fast abilities. Nevermind the difficulty/time investment in using a long range, narrow cone on a melee AT. If you think your damage on a Soldier will cause your team to hit harder without Arctic Breath than with it, go ahead. But, if you're getting Arctic Breath to boost team DPS anyway, both it and Bile Spray have higher DPAs than Suppression. And Bile Spray will hit harder than that due to the total 60% Toxic Resist Debuff that Arctic Breath/Venom Grenade causes (20% more than for any other damage-type on the first rotation). Their cones are more narrow but that's okay, because Crabs can fight at range, where even their 30 degree cones extend to nearly 20 yards across. You still want Suppression, despite it having a lower DPA than Heavy Burst (which itself has a lower DPA than Bile Spray even before debuffs), because its a massive cone good for wiping out minions. But if you're not the one getting aggro, because you're not a Brute, you can push it back in your rotation in favor of helping your team kill the boss/lieutenants faster. Arctic Breath will also boost the damage of your pets.

You can be both. You can have tons of AoE plus 2-3 pet powers. Regardless, Leviathan Mastery is the best choice for AoE damage on a Crab. School of Sharks/Arctic Breath/Bile Spray (especially those last two) work very well with Venom Grenade/Frag Grenade/Suppression. Between the 5-6 of them I don't think you even need Heavy Burst.

It absolutely does not. Reduce End in an Alpha far out weights End Mod, since it not only reduces the cost of your toggles but all of your attacks as well. My old Dark Armor even used Cardiac (and will again, given time). But he was a Brute and ran Darkest Night (which isn't available to Scrappers) on top of Dark Armor. If you want to go with Cardiac, go ahead. It may wind up being the one you like the most. But I will tell you right now, looking at the power selection you posted and with how expensive Dark Armor is anyway, Cardiac isn't going to save you while running all toggles plus all leaderships. I don't think anything short of guzzling serums from P2W will. Even properly slotted and using Cardiac, you're looking at nearly 2 endurance a second from toggles alone. That's a fundamental issue.

The simplest answer is that, unless you're following a build someone else made for you (and unless their preference matches yours very closely), there is no way the next time you respec will be your last. So experiment. Back during live, and not counting minor respecs that just moved a slot here or there, I probably respeced my two mains a dozen times each. That's not to say that you will come close to that, but it takes trial and error. To be more direct, the first thing you do in a post incarnate CoX is unlock your Alpha and decide which one you want. Agility is a swiss-army knife and should probably be the first one you get if you don't know what you're doing. It will give you a boost to recharge, endurance recovery, and defense, and Dark Armor can use all 3 of those. If you decide you want a different one later, once you get going in incarnate content it's not that hard to switch from one T3 to another. Don't upgrade your Alpha to T4 until you're sure you know which one you want.

A Vigilante can join a Villain/Rogue doing the final mission of the first arc to skip it. Patron Pool unlock is tied to having one of the badges, not completion of the arc itself. Sometimes someone advertises for that. I joined a group just last night that had the badge mission for Black Scorpions's arc. Also, any one of the 4 patron badges will unlock all 4 Patron Pools. So it doesn't even have to be Black Scorpion's badge that you get (although it is the one most people do if they just want to unlock Patron Pools).

Chill Mastery also has a defense toggle, and a Max Health boost that increases Toxic res. It also has an AoE sleep that can stagger a mob's alpha strike. But you'll miss the extra Energy defense from Scorpion. And Energy is not only a common damage-type, it's also sometimes associated with -def. Additionally, Chill would be a greater investment in terms of slots and power picks then just grabbing Scorpion Shield.

Claws is a lot of fun. Mechanically, it's probably my favorite melee pool. But I prefer it on Stalker. Hidden Shockwave is amazing.

I'm 100% behind Invisibility becoming a travel power, provided it is treated like one and available at the same level when SS/SJ/TP/Fly are, without a previous power pick. The Infiltrate mode also sounds rad.

You will ultimately replace it, but Pummel is amazing in low level content. It's chance to stun will feel higher than the listed value. Combat Training: Offensive is not a passive you want at end game, but it can help a lot early off. Venom Grenade. Mandatory on all Soldier builds no matter what. So is Tactical Training: Maneuvers. It's a group-wide 10% Defense buff. That's massive. It's as much defense as a Defender's Dispersion Bubble. Bane's have fewer AoE attacks and overall use less End than Crabs. Good reason to go double Leadership even while leveling. Well-slotted Double Maneuvers will give you and your team +20% Defense. Web Cocoon is kinda slow for a hold. I tried it, didn't like it, dropped it. I also didn't care for Surveillance. YMMV. Wide Area Web Grenade offers a pretty strong recharge debuff. Stacking that with Mace Mastery's Web Envelope will significantly reduce enemy damage output (by reducing the number of incoming attacks). I didn't ultimately go that route, but it is a very underrated option. Shatter/Build Up are great opening burst ST due to Cloaking Device. Other good overall options are Pulverize, Crowd Control, and Poisonous Ray (due to the increased Toxic -res from Venom Grenade). But in a decent team you will probably just open with Arctic Breath and/or Venom Grenade. Your team will deal more damage than you can yourself. Placate is no where near as strong on a Bane as on a Stalker. It's not bad, but remember that it only works if the followup is a Melee move, and some of your other options have -res on them. Call Reinforcement is pretty good. In addition to the damage they deal (and incoming damage they redirect) the opening move in their rotation is a hold and if they both hit the same target (which they often do) it will hold up to a boss rank. Many Banes go for Mace Mastery for thematic reasons (myself included). It's not necessary, and Leviathan will vastly out-preform Mace DPS versus crowds (which is the majority of the game). Arctic Breath will make Venom Grenade hit harder and cause Bile Spray to hit entire groups for 60% -res toxic damage. Alternately Shatter Armor from Mace will let you deal greater ST damage and give you the previously mentioned Web/Envelope -rech stack. I didn't see it often (ever?) on Bane, but Soul Mastery has Darkest Night, which can be very helpful for survival. There's no explicit reason I know of to take Mu Mastery. One final thing I discovered recently. Spring Attack from Leaping will not impact your Hidden state. If you are Hidden when you use it, it will deal damage but you will still be hidden (though enemies will be aware of you). If you are not hidden it will still deal damage, but will not count as an attack. This means if you aren't being hit, the counter for becoming rehidden will continue to countdown. If you dodge all incoming attacks, taking a break to resummon both of your pets and finishing with a Spring Attack is about how long it takes for you to become rehidden for an AoE crit/ST Execution. Banes have little natural resist, no Defense Debuff Resist, and no heal. This can result in you dying really, really fast due to cascading defense debuffs.

I just had a thought. What about some version of Power Boost for Natural Instinct that also enhanced Regeneration? That would tie the Regen and healing effects together. Plus it would enhance the Endurance return from Lifegiving Spores (and any other secondary effect you have on your primary).

It's cool stuff for sure. Don't know about Wild Growth and Wild Bastion though. Might end up making a Regen that's stronger than a Regen. I understand Regrowth probably isn't a good choice because it's an ally cone for an AT that might be entirely melee. Maybe drop Bastion for Entangling Aura? It would be an expensive extra toggle, but you would have Lifegiving Spores to bolster Endurance management. Have you considered giving one or two of these sets an ally rez (like Rebirth)? You wouldn't be able to use it on your pet but it would certainly have some utility in a group. There's also the possibility of going into another pool. Spirit Tree from Plant Control would fit the theme very well. Spore Burst could provide a moment/stagger alpha-strikes to help give Regen breathing room to do its thing (plus its one of the non-damaging sleeps, which means you can stack it).

Here's a Crab build based on my old Crab I haven't remade yet. Soft-capped positional defense, +50% resist to everything, perma-Hasten. If you want a travel power, I suggest dropping Omega Maneuver or Assault. Villain Plan by Hero Villain Designer 2.23 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Slice * (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage * (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance * (23) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge * (33) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative) * (37) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance * (46) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade * (A) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance * (3) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% * (5) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection * (7) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All) Level 2: Wolf Spider Armor * (A) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance Level 4: Combat Training: Defensive * (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed * (5) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All) * (9) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage * (9) Luck of the Gambler - Defense Level 6: Aim * (A) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge * (7) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Recharge Level 8: Suppression * (A) Superior Dominion of Arachnos - Accuracy/Damage * (34) Superior Dominion of Arachnos - Damage/Recharge * (37) Superior Dominion of Arachnos - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge * (40) Superior Dominion of Arachnos - Damage/Endurance/Recharge * (42) Superior Dominion of Arachnos - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge * (42) Superior Dominion of Arachnos - Recharge/Chance for -Dmg and Terrorize Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers * (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed * (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance * (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense Level 12: Venom Grenade * (A) Superior Spider's Bite - Accuracy/Damage * (15) Superior Spider's Bite - Damage/RechargeTime * (15) Superior Spider's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime * (23) Superior Spider's Bite - Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime * (33) Superior Spider's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime * (34) Superior Spider's Bite - RechargeTime/Global Toxic Level 14: Kick * (A) Accuracy IO Level 16: Tough * (A) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance * (17) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP * (17) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance * (19) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance * (19) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime * (21) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime Level 18: Tactical Training: Assault * (A) Endurance Reduction IO * (42) Endurance Reduction IO Level 20: Hasten * (A) Recharge Reduction IO * (21) Recharge Reduction IO Level 22: Mental Training * (A) Run Speed IO Level 24: Fortification * (A) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance * (25) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance * (25) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge * (27) Aegis - Resistance * (27) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance * (31) Aegis - Resistance/Recharge Level 26: Combat Jumping * (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed Level 28: Serum * (A) Doctored Wounds - Recharge * (29) Doctored Wounds - Heal * (29) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance * (31) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge * (31) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge Level 30: Weave * (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed * (33) Luck of the Gambler - Defense * (34) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance Level 32: Omega Maneuver * (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 35: Summon Spiderlings * (A) Call to Arms - Accuracy/Recharge * (36) Call to Arms - Accuracy/Damage * (36) Call to Arms - Damage/Endurance * (36) Call to Arms - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge * (37) Call to Arms - Endurance/Damage/Recharge * (50) Call to Arms - Defense Bonus Aura for Pets Level 38: Call Reinforcements * (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge * (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage * (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance * (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge * (40) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge * (40) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets Level 41: School of Sharks * (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage * (43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance * (43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge * (43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range * (46) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance Level 44: Arctic Breath * (A) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage * (45) Superior Frozen Blast - Damage/Endurance * (45) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance * (45) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge * (46) Superior Frozen Blast - Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime Level 47: Bile Spray * (A) Ragnarok - Damage * (48) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge * (48) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge * (48) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge * (50) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance Level 49: Assault * (A) Endurance Reduction IO * (50) Endurance Reduction IO Level 1: Brawl * (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Dash * (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Slide * (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Quick * (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Rush * (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Surge * (A) Empty Level 1: Conditioning Level 1: Sprint * (A) Empty Level 2: Rest * (A) Empty Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift * (A) Run Speed IO Level 2: Health * (A) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery * (13) Miracle - +Recovery Level 2: Hurdle * (A) Jumping IO Level 2: Stamina * (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End * (13) Performance Shifter - EndMod Level 0: Marshal Level 0: Born In Battle Level 0: High Pain Threshold Level 50: Agility Core Paragon ------------ ------------

This AT was a pretty cool concept, but the edits to the first post are excellent. This looks very close to something you'd expect to see in game. The 6 Armor moves to 2 Miasmas is a little jarring though. Obviously something like Tar Patch or Darkest Night would be too much (and I'm pretty sure no one wants Black Hole). I thought for a moment (and you probably did too) about Shadow Fall instead of Cloak of Darkness, but that would put you over-the-top on Negative/Psionic resist and eliminate Dark Armor's weakness to Energy. Maybe some amalgam of the two (Shadow Cloak?) that offers AoE stealth/defense/perception/immobilization protection? I also thought (instead of the above) you could maybe sneak into Dark Manipulation and grab Dark Consumption or Touch of Fear instead of Oppressive Gloom.

What if Containment's damage amp was calculated by how many of the 4 mezes are in effect, instead of capping at one? Such that if an enemy is held, immobilized, and slept your next attack (which will wake the group up) will deal 3x Containment damage. If a mob has that many mez effects active on them, is there a reason you shouldn't hit that hard? Would the AoE holds feel more attractive if they had the potential to amplify your damage, and the damage of every other Controller in the group? Would it feel less like a Sonic Blaster is stepping on your toes if you, as an Illusion or an Ice that doesn't have a stun, benefited from their stun?

If you ever find yourself tanking a Yellow Mitochondria you'll be glad you have DM if your using DA. DA's heal will never land against that thing because it's AoE Defense is like freaking infinity.

Your call, obviously, but interesting that you'd bring this up. It relates to a criticism/suggestion I thought of, but didn't ultimately comment on. Going back to your examples, based on the powers they have available at level 1, a Dom is a CCer with attacks. MMs are a Pet AT with Support. Tankers are Armored Attackers and by reversing the pools, Scrappers are Attackers with Armor. So what is Duo based on it's level 1 picks? A Pet class with Armor. If that's by design, that's fine. But for a Duo, two people fighting together, I don't think the pet summon should be in the Primary. If it is to be available at level 1, I think it should be the T1 Secondary. This would give you an attack and a pet right away. This specific combination offers clear indication how this AT is meant to be played, aggressively with your partner (and if you so choose, would even if you the opportunity to pick a melee or ranged attack as your first Primary pick). Additionally, if you have a pet, you don't need an armor toggle immediately anyway. Conceptually, it's a dramatic departure. But mechanically, it makes more sense. It also opens up the AT to more varied Duo combinations. You and your pet can fight similarly, or you can have radically different combat styles. You can Fastball Special any pet. Going back to what I previously proposed, you Thunderclap and your companion, as a sign of comradory and a personal connection to you, has learned how to emulate the effect to also Thunderclap, even if it's not normally a part of their powerset.

This is certainly a more interesting idea for the "dynamic duo" concept than anything I'd thought up. Criticisms: Build Up/Follow Up/Rage mechanics are a means to increase DPS via burst (otherwise the AT would just have a higher base damage multiplier). You and your partner using your strongest attacks as openers would emulate that. I don't think the AT should have a Build Up at all. Pet Upgrade powers make more sense on a Mastermind because they aren't as engaging of a playstyle. Ultimately on Masterminds, upgrades wind up being a punishment for letting your pets die (as you now need to reupgrade them after resummoning them). As this is meant to be a more engaging AT, I don't think Duo should have the kind of micromanaging that upgrade powers create. Suggestions: Though the AT is called Duo, I don't think it should get it's pet until level 6. That would a) give you time to learn to fight on your own, b) give you an iconic level 6 power, c) make more sense as your pet is no longer stronger than you when first acquired. Modify the summoned entity into multiple versions separated by level thresholds (like a Villain Group) so it has more powers when summoned at a higher level (because it's technically a different version of the pet). This would allow your pet to get stronger as you progress and eliminate pet upgrades. In place of a pet upgrade, what about forced coordinated strikes? For example, in place of a pet upgrade, Duo SS has a version of Thunderclap that sends out a short-range pet upgrade-like signal that puts a hold on your pet (to stop them from queuing up anything else), but instead of them playing one of the different hold animations, makes them perform the Thunderclap animation as well while creating a PBAoE around them, emulating the attack. The result would be, you Thunderclap and your partner stops what they're doing to Thunderclap as well if they're in range. You Burst of Speed, and your partner Bursts of Speed next to you. More attacks of varying types, to offer more options for engaging (to replace the build up/pet upgrades being dropped).