oedipus_tex

Is Repulsion Field a good power? I look at this way: Repulsion Field is nearly the same power as Whirlwind from the Speed pool, with minor adjustments. Whirlwind costs more Endurance per activation, but, ironically, taking it on a set that has endurance management tools that FF does not have makes it much easier to use. If I really wanted to mess with a Repulsion-like effect I'd go with /Cold Domination, still get the shields, but be capable of maintaining my endurance bar with Heat Loss while knocking back whatever I felt like. I usually don't do this, because even with bottomless endurance, Whirlwind is not amazing. It stands to reason then that Repulsion Field, which appears in a set with no endurance management tools at all, is not amazing. I do think Repulsion Field ticks somewhat faster than Whirlwind but in a set that does not provide additional Endurance this tends to be a bad rather than good thing. I think there are plenty of ways to buff this power without destroying its original purpose. One of them is to drop or eliminate or even reverse the endurance component of the power. Some might argue that's overpowered but since Whirlwind is the same power and can be used on sets with bottomless endurance it stands to reason that Repulsion Field wouldn't suffer.

/Temporal is the most underrated set IMO, mainly on account of it blooming late. Temporal has 2 main advantages that often go unnoticed: Time Shift, the level 35 power, is a Mag 3 Stun with 70ft range and a 20ft radius. Thus, other than its duration, it is identical to the Controller power Flashfire. As far as I'm aware, this power is stronger than ANY Stun available to ANY power set in the game other than the pure Control sets. This includes the Defender/Corruptor buff sets, which are typically Mag 2. The Stun won't last as long as a Controllers would, but for a Blaster, you don't need to. Stun the mob from afar and then blast them into bits in near perfect safety. You can even add a Knockback proc if you want and it will trigger extremely frequently and knock bosses down too. Time Lord, the level 38 power, provides protection from Stuns. If you combine Time Lord, Combat Jumping and Acrobatics, you thus have protection from Hold, Stun, and Immobilize. Not amazing protection, mind you, but enough that combined with your other abilities can carry you far.

For a Fire Blast AV soloer I would probably look to a Corruptor over a Defender. The added damage from Scourge most likely outweighs any extra damage you'd get from debuffing as a Defender. I have not actually done the math tho. EDIT: Sorry, I see you've already rolled the character. It should still be fine, just not idealized for AV soloing (altho it will contribute a bit more to teams/leagues).

For pure power gaming purposes, on a Defender I would choose Time/Sonic. Sonic Blast is simply the most exceptional Blast set for a Defender, almost as good as choosing a second primary set.

I think by any reasonable measurement both Force Field and Sonic Resonance deserve buffs based on the current state of the game. FORCE FIELD This set is in a weird place, because the bubbles are legitimately good. Where it falls completely flat is on its supposed "offensive" side. REPULSION BOMB: A Mag 2 stun with a quick-ish recharge sounds ok until you look at the agonizing animation. Speed it up to around 2 seconds and the power is...okay at least. FORCE BUBBLE: I don't even know what to say. Might be marginally more useful if you had the choice of whether to wear it on your character or place a psuedo pet on the ground. FORCE BOLT: It's occasionally mildly useful, but why not give it something to make it actually useful. The effect is similar to a Pay 2 Win power that is free; this version is improved only in that it is more accurate. After the initial enemy is knocked back can we make this power bounces between multiple enemies similar to Electric Control's Jolting Chain or have it in a radius like Propel now does? Also wouldn't be opposed to this being a straight up Tier 1 Blast power in strength. Or even adding a new effect like adding a chance to Dispel a buff effect from the enemy. Also, I can see Force Bolt having the effect "Instantly cancels any Absorb the enemy may have." A lot of enemies don't have any Absorb, because it was so new, but it's a unique mechanic. OTHER COMMENTS I agree with the OP that Absorb should make some kind of appearance in this set. SONIC RESONANCE This set fares slightly better than FF. Overall endurance usage is too punitive. Too many powers fail to live up to potential. DISRUPTION FIELD. Lower endurance cost of from 1.04/sec to 0.52/sec. No reason for it to be as high as it is. The current endurance cost completely wrecks some potential builds, such as Fire Control/Sonic Res based on toggle costs alone. LIQUEFY. We are in an age where nukes are crashless and recharge in 2.5 minutes yet this power has a 5 min recharge. Based on what this power does, a correct base recharge time should be around 90 to 120 seconds, not 300. CLARITY. It's an anti-mezz in a set that already has an anti-mezz bubble. The +Perception has some usefulness at least.

FYI Time Wall applies an effect that causes Time Stop, the Hold power, to inherit an extra +1 Mag, for a total of +4. This will hold a Boss if both powers hit, thus the Accuracy is useful there. You occasionally want to spam this power when fighting AVs if you have nothing else to cast because it also causes -Regen (I've not done the math on how much it actually contributes). You'll want to put a kb to kd IO in Bonfire. They don't exist in the Mids/Pines tool, but they do exist in game. Overwhelming Force KB to KD and some other set I can't remember right now both offer this effect. Time Shift is way too good a power to skip. Mag 3 Stun with 20ft radius, 70 ft range. In other words, this is the Controller power Flashfire with a shorter duration. No idea how it has a Mag 3 Stun instead of Mag 2 to be honest, but it's good. I would definitely not skip this power. Temporal Healing should be taken as soon as possible at 20 and slotted for Healing and Endurance. I posted a possible build alternative below for your consideration. This one would lose a few procs, some Resistance, but overall endurance management is better. This build is nearly soft capped to Ranged attacks when Hovering (44.4%, which by most calculations is considered acceptably close to the soft cap. Any tiny source of +defense puts you over the cap.). You would lose Tough/Weave but gain Aid Other and Aid Self to spot heal. If you want to lose Aid Other and Aid Self you could replace them with the blap powers, but I don't find them worth it for this set. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Thoughtless-Final: Level 50 Magic Blaster Primary Power Set: Archery Secondary Power Set: Temporal Manipulation Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Medicine Power Pool: Flight Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Snap Shot (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 1: Time Wall (A) Accuracy IO Level 2: Fistful of Arrows (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage (7) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance (9) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge (9) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy) (11) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (11) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff Level 4: Time Stop (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold (15) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold (15) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge (17) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold Level 6: Aimed Shot (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (17) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (19) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (19) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (21) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (21) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 8: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (23) Recharge Reduction IO Level 10: Chronos (A) Recharge Reduction IO (23) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up Level 12: Aim (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 14: Blazing Arrow (A) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (25) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (25) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (27) Superior Defiant Barrage - Damage/RechargeTime (27) Superior Defiant Barrage - Accuracy/Damage (29) Superior Defiant Barrage - RechargeTime/+Status Level 16: Explosive Arrow (A) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown (29) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage (31) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (31) Overwhelming Force - Endurance/Recharge (31) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (33) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 18: Combat Jumping (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (33) Red Fortune - Defense (33) Red Fortune - Endurance (34) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (34) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (34) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge Level 20: Temporal Healing (A) Endurance Modification IO (36) Endurance Modification IO (36) Healing IO (36) Healing IO Level 22: Aid Other (A) Healing IO Level 24: Hover (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance (37) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points) (50) Defense Buff IO Level 26: Stunning Shot (A) Stupefy - Accuracy/Recharge (37) Stupefy - Endurance/Stun (37) Stupefy - Accuracy/Endurance (39) Stupefy - Stun/Range (39) Stupefy - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge (39) Stupefy - Chance of Knockback Level 28: Super Speed (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance (40) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points) Level 30: Ranged Shot (A) Calibrated Accuracy - Accuracy/Damage (40) Calibrated Accuracy - Accuracy/Endurance (40) Calibrated Accuracy - Accuracy/Interrupt (42) Calibrated Accuracy - Accuracy/Range (42) Calibrated Accuracy - Accuracy/Recharge (42) Calibrated Accuracy - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge Level 32: Rain of Arrows (A) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage (43) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Damage/Recharge (43) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (43) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (45) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (45) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Recharge/Chance for Fire Damage Level 35: Time Shift (A) Absolute Amazement - Stun (45) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge (46) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge (46) Absolute Amazement - Chance for ToHit Debuff (46) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge Level 38: Time Lord (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% Level 41: Bonfire (A) Empty Level 44: Fire Shield (A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All) Level 47: Aid Self (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance (48) Numina's Convalesence - Endurance/Recharge (48) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge (48) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge (50) Numina's Convalesence - Heal (50) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 1: Brawl (A) Empty Level 1: Defiance 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: Sprint (A) Celerity - +Stealth Level 2: Rest (A) Empty Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift (A) Run Speed IO Level 2: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery Level 2: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO Level 2: Stamina (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod (13) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge (13) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End Level 50: Agility Core Paragon ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 13% DamageBuff(Smashing) 13% DamageBuff(Lethal) 13% DamageBuff(Fire) 13% DamageBuff(Cold) 13% DamageBuff(Energy) 13% DamageBuff(Negative) 13% DamageBuff(Toxic) 13% DamageBuff(Psionic) 6% Defense(Melee) 6% Defense(Smashing) 6% Defense(Lethal) 6% Defense(Fire) 6% Defense(Cold) 35.06% Defense(Energy) 35.06% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 38.81% Defense(Ranged) 6% Defense(AoE) 3.6% Max End 10% Enhancement(Range) 3% Enhancement(Stunned) 6% Enhancement(Heal) 60% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 58% Enhancement(Accuracy) 19.5% SpeedFlying 122 HP (10.12%) HitPoints 19.5% JumpHeight 19.5% SpeedJumping Knockback (Mag -12) Knockup (Mag -12) MezResist(Confused) 25% MezResist(Held) 25% MezResist(Immobilized) 25% MezResist(Sleep) 25% MezResist(Stunned) 25% MezResist(Terrorized) 25% 16% (0.27 End/sec) Recovery 24% (1.21 HP/sec) Regeneration 5.25% Resistance(Smashing) 5.25% Resistance(Lethal) 9.75% Resistance(Fire) 9.75% Resistance(Cold) 19.5% SpeedRunning | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1471;678;1356;HEX;| |78DA6594CB4F135114C6EFB453B12FCAB3BC5A0AE5FDAA54DD1B0451914604744B2| |6655226296DD39644568AFA17E8C24405D48DC1851B35BAF1F937A831115F2B573E| |D66EEA61BEAF80E924ED6FE6BBF79CF39D33BD4D5C9CF03D3AB9764C69FEF1B4512| |82C1C97EFA29977258C94955472D5CE2F6557524BC5B459288C4C5A19235D256A90| |FB16668D4CCA5C8C8DE5934B667EB5A72CCFADE472D97C31366F2E0B8DF442C2C85| |8B995B451B4B219E599C966D3B1B99C692EFAECDB69D3C8599994DF7E48988B56D2| |CA985EFB69326D49F5BA13392B29F7C6B229A9764AAC368B8D5EF98454F92AB9D4B| |A20AE2BC706B909EA77C97BE081FBE0D8C06EAC52ADD0DA051AF3698FB9FF0978F0| |29F91CF43C237F386D8E4B3E27629DCE8F0EA5C2BAAAFE40BE076BDE8161D9E5621| |D177DD7D0771D7DD7D177037D37D07754DE41956DB2A4550D410B9213E2C18DBC9A| |BBBCB6E5B0D9218F5EF6EBE55A44E0A70FBF53B7B5669D7480AD1AA9C0900BEC94A| |8006303DF3183D036D8FE8DFC4C7E013BBE8241E9A1163DB86A3D1AD6AAC900D8E9| |257DA41F9C941EEB11EBACEF401F5D6576FFCFB0D46964CF8DD4DCA23521DED1F40| |9B3E9DE06E3ED8C17B4B0B7964BA8DB7D995C037BAF9057C96B6097E46FE3FB6963| |FE3EE68F8A1A66DEF00BD4EA7B49BE02075E936FC8B7E08EFD086323B730C7C1DBE| |41D721D1CDE2037C15332B32862F5E814BC0C9F0147A6C9B364023C2D313DE843F5| |EC0C4C7EB70F245D3FE7D95F924B6D8932C45D4387512D221388F1EDC6CE612A876| |6C939721E8C9F272F800F25C5282B8CF2571AD2F79D54BB6AA75E3EA8A5D260C5EA| |688512AF508E5428472B94E9BD2A72AC3095197DF71F4269F62E77CDEEB92FFDF4C| |82A23B411B8FFBD5F9B929B3E5DFDDAAFF563DF9F3DCDA15D4735DF0DF226F83728| |60DFFF00483DE3EC| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Just my opinion but... IMO Gale is an awful power. I've rolled probably 10 Storm characters over the past 12 years (ok, with a 7 year gap.) I've never found it useful. It is marginally ok with the new-ish kb to kd converters. But overall still an endurance drain.

The one good thing about Shiver is the size of the cone. It's a 135 degree arc with a 60ft range that can be extended up to around 90ft. This used to be better back when there was no target cap, it meant you could slow huge packs of mobs. The main limitation being you need to find an enemy to center it on (sadly, it doesn't work like the newer Nature Affinity cone that simply casts at whatever is front of you, which would be a huge improvement). Now it is simply "okay." I usually skip this power on Ice Controllers. I probably wouldn't skip it on a Blaster just because Blasters don't typically get many other mitigation powers. It's not really helped by the IO sets for Slows not being very good. But it can occasionally be a path to netting some extra Ranged defense.

For Epic you probably want Psi for the mezz protection to keep Arctic Air and Time's Junction running full time. This will be an endurance heavy combo so you'll want to think about an alpha like Cardiac. Also keep in mind this character will have very low damage throughout his life. I assume you already know that, though.

Temporal is very, very good, mainly on account of the level 35 power, Time Shift. It's a Ranged AoE Mag 3 Stun with a 20ft radius. In other words, it's the Controller power Flashfire with a shorter duration but sightly faster cast time. If you take the Fire pool you also get Bonfire which you can slot with a kb to kd IO. At that point, with some differences, you've got Control capability that steps on Controller's toes, but with the damage of Blaster. Also, note that casting the Temporal Immobilize power and then hitting the Hold, the Hold becomes Mag 4 and will hold Bosses. Temporal's level 35 power also gives you mag 3 protection from Stuns which is extremely handy. Signed, an Energy Blast/Temporal Blaster who recently made this character his main.

In terms of pure power gaming? Blast set: /Sonic Blast. Zero competition here. Support set: The usuals I'd say. Radiation, Cold, Dark, or Time.

Hah. Well this explains a lot. Thanks for the reminder.

Although it is possible to go for Slash/Lethal defense and this will protect you from a lot, the issue with doing so is it often leaves you with very low Resistance. That's the reason I usually chase Ranged Defense instead, with a Resistance based shield (Fire, Energy, etc). The Resistance shield + Tough will cut any Slash or Lethal damage that hits you (and some will!) a bit less than in half. Also, quite frankly, there isn't a Tertiary set right now that adds more survivability than Fire. Bonfire slotted with a kb to kd proc is frankly overpowered--you will outperform Ice Control's Ice Slick, and by a big margin, plus get a Resistance shield as mentioned above. Rise of the Phoenix is one of the most underrated powers in the game IMO because even given everything else, you will sometimes die, and RotP puts you right back in the action.

The new powers were added when the set was proliferated from Defender/Corruptors over to Controllers at the time Dark Control came out. Since Dark Control took Dark Miasma's cone fear, it was replaced with something new.

The goal of the build below is soft capped Ranged defense, mainly. The blank slots in a few powers are where KB to KD converters would go (they don't appear to exist in the version of Pine's I have). Any thoughts? Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! strange father: Level 50 Mutation Blaster Primary Power Set: Energy Blast Secondary Power Set: Temporal Manipulation Power Pool: Medicine Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Power Blast (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 1: Time Wall (A) Trap of the Hunter - Endurance/Immobilize (7) Trap of the Hunter - Accuracy/Recharge (9) Trap of the Hunter - Accuracy/Endurance (9) Trap of the Hunter - Immobilize/Accuracy (11) Trap of the Hunter - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge (11) Trap of the Hunter - Chance of Damage(Lethal) Level 2: Energy Torrent (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage (13) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance (13) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge (15) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range (15) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy) (17) Empty Level 4: Time Stop (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold (17) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge (19) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold (19) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold Level 6: Power Burst (A) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage (21) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Damage/Recharge (21) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (23) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (23) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (25) Superior Blaster's Wrath - Recharge/Chance for Fire Damage Level 8: Power Bolt (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (25) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (27) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (27) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (29) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (29) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 10: Chronos (A) Recharge Reduction IO (31) Recharge Reduction IO Level 12: Aim (A) Recharge Reduction IO (31) Recharge Reduction IO Level 14: Aid Other (A) Empty Level 16: Aid Self (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance (31) Numina's Convalesence - Endurance/Recharge (33) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge (33) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge (33) Numina's Convalesence - Heal (34) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 18: Boxing (A) Empty Level 20: Temporal Healing (A) Healing IO (34) Healing IO (34) Endurance Modification IO (36) Endurance Modification IO Level 22: Tough (A) Resist Damage IO Level 24: Weave (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (36) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (36) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (37) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (37) Red Fortune - Defense (37) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 26: Explosive Blast (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage (39) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance (39) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge (39) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy) (40) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (40) Empty Level 28: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (40) Recharge Reduction IO Level 30: Super Speed (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points) (42) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance Level 32: Nova (A) Overwhelming Force - Endurance/Recharge (42) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage (42) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (43) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Endurance/Recharge (43) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (43) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown Level 35: Time Shift (A) Stupefy - Accuracy/Recharge (45) Stupefy - Endurance/Stun (45) Stupefy - Accuracy/Endurance (45) Stupefy - Stun/Range (46) Stupefy - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge (46) Stupefy - Chance of Knockback Level 38: Time Lord (A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All) (46) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% Level 41: Bonfire (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge (48) Recharge Reduction IO (48) Empty Level 44: Fire Shield (A) Titanium Coating - Resistance/Endurance (48) Resist Damage IO Level 47: Combat Jumping (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points) (50) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix (A) Eradication - Damage/Recharge (50) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (50) Eradication - Accuracy/Recharge Level 1: Brawl (A) Empty Level 1: Defiance 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: Sprint (A) Empty Level 2: Rest (A) Empty Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift (A) Empty Level 2: Health (A) Empty Level 2: Hurdle (A) Empty Level 2: Stamina (A) Endurance Modification IO ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 9% DamageBuff(Smashing) 9% DamageBuff(Lethal) 9% DamageBuff(Fire) 9% DamageBuff(Cold) 9% DamageBuff(Energy) 9% DamageBuff(Negative) 9% DamageBuff(Toxic) 9% DamageBuff(Psionic) 6% Defense(Melee) 6% Defense(Smashing) 6% Defense(Lethal) 6% Defense(Fire) 6% Defense(Cold) 31.63% Defense(Energy) 31.63% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 37.56% Defense(Ranged) 6% Defense(AoE) 1.8% Max End 6% Enhancement(Heal) 10% Enhancement(Range) 3% Enhancement(Stunned) 41.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 56% Enhancement(Accuracy) 5% Enhancement(Immobilized) 12% SpeedFlying 85.84 HP (7.12%) HitPoints 12% JumpHeight 12% SpeedJumping Knockback (Mag -12) Knockup (Mag -12) MezResist(Confused) 25% MezResist(Held) 25% MezResist(Immobilized) 25% MezResist(Sleep) 25% MezResist(Stunned) 25% MezResist(Terrorized) 25% 13.5% (0.23 End/sec) Recovery 24% (1.21 HP/sec) Regeneration 9% Resistance(Smashing) 9% Resistance(Lethal) 6% Resistance(Fire) 6% Resistance(Cold) 12% SpeedRunning | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1450;658;1316;HEX;| |78DA6593594F135114C7673AC542571681B2946EB4500AD3564D5C6224CAA226344| |18ABE92098C6592326DDA219127C5E52BB88080FA62F4C117D70FE2F2206EAFEEDF| |A09ECEF9B7699C49DB5FE77FEE59EFBDD92BD3EE6767372705D13355502A95A533F| |46BA8E5D6ECBAA1185A5117E8F1568CB2A2E7D5D065C55855CB0E9206B06E69A166| |58916774B59CDF60EF58DD965B2F958A65435E54D7884A6129ABE85A69BDC0813DF| |3C56241CEAA2BDAB2A6ABFC36ABE5570D4DCF3BCDB75C495557DCE6DF39552991DE| |3953D296E5D982B2A652B05A920D3F5513A3EF31A1FE545B841D42C62ED876C13DA| |6FD01F89079E011F374A2C9F78EC8B6DBCCD6BBE03DA6730BDC661E272F11BEE273| |8EE77E01BE647A5F816F98ED557A8429CA2AB1A724BDB50942802CEF989D1FC0F7C| |C13B4AA05595AB62433CAC16DF03EB36707DC65FAF79847C9CB015F0726E3C764FA| |31997E4C66109319C464A6A9C636F615DB92AC0D8127092ED85CFFD90294D0C336C| |163761B24C5277215BE0B3CBBA1056628072E821799E14B4C917C3B10ADC38C364B| |75757134A96B987386EB0C31A3A044DEDDBC56E81EC70920AD17D5F43A394BD405B| |A99C31ED00BFA98A7C8AB0FF3ECC38EC7B1E371EC781C3B3DF21A34AB8E50D601CE| |2A0E60522360946C014C33B06F33B5C447E624A941640C7E92CC1391D8E7DD4D7C6| |68E7D01BF82DF98E7685211F846AE7207E3D7C04DF03A73E2067893799E7C63A837| |7688E34DD4C646F91FD3EB28C7B58DDEE23A53E8256576FB845624E19D1CE38829C| |CBF87BA956193D16D06DD3E25BF3422A77FF0F9CFFC04BF3307ED8D1B4B9F5AB6B0| |BD7E11ABD5318B356D513216E5B045396251E62CCABCBD71FF05D154DADA1BF7BAF| |ACB4956B1D9FAC7A2FCB6287F9B159CE27FC317032A| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Are you going to IO this character? A combo I consider significantly underrated would be Time/Energy Blast, IF you are willing to invest several million in KB to KD procs. You can buy them for around 2 million each. I'm not wild about Fire Blast on a Defender, altho technically there's nothing better for Defenders in Energy Blast either. But Energy Blast will do a much better job of keeping you and teammates alive. Altho again, for team play, I would highly recommend buying some KB to KDs (I did it with a farmer character and passed them to the Energy Blaster). You'll probably want 3 total, one for each AoE. Note you can earn up to 1 version of this proc for free from the Summer Blockbuster event. If you insist on staying Fire Blast I'd look at playing this character as a Corruptor instead of a Defender. The higher damage is significant and what you lose in buff strength isn't severe enough to hurt the tradeoff too much.

I have tried Arctic Air with World of Confusion. It's sadly fairly lackluster. IMO Arctic Air could do with a bit of a buff. It's a very risky power that tends to get detoggled easily. Ice Control is frankly in a bit of a bad state right now. The premier knockdown patch is Bonfire with a kb to kd proc (longer duration, faster recharge and can take Force Feedback procs.)

Well one thing that stands out about the revived game is that Blasters, Corruptors and even Defenders deal significantly more damage than before due to crashless nukes. This has moved the bar tremendously in terms of the need to hold whole packs of mobs. It's also funny that Controller AoE holds are on a 4 minute recharge schedule while NUKES are on 145 second recharge schedule. I know the original reason the wait for AoE holds was created but it might be time to revisit that.

I wouldn't say Electric particularly benefits from chaos. You want mobs close together probably more than any other set. Kb to kd procs in the main knockback powers will help with that considerably. One major plus for Elec/Storm is that at least it shouldn't have too much trouble dealing damage after level 40. The road there can be long and rough though.

I've tried /Sonic a few times and I find it to be among the weakest buff sets, mainly due to an unreasonable consumption of Endurance and several powers that fail to impress. The Tier 9 power, Liquefy, is on a 300 second recharge with a 30 second duration. You'd think when you use it amazing things would happen. But... no. This power is a great mystery, really. Sonic's "debuff donut" power requires a teammate or a pet. While I suppose this is no different than similar powers in Empathy or Force Field in requiring second parties, but somehow it feels like you're being shortchanged. There's also a power in Sonic, Clarity, that provides mezz protection. This despite your bubble power already providing mezz protection. It's one of those annoying 90 second anti-mezz powers like Empathy's Clear Mind. Also, it's the level 35 power. So if you thought you were gonna get a fun power at that level, surprise you're getting Clear Mind. IMO in 9 times out of 10 rather than roll a /Sonic Res I'd prefer /Thermal. Thermal has the same shields, the same Clear Mind like power, but doesn't hurt for endurance, can heal, and has access to -Regen. Sonic can make a team a little faster with its debuff donut but other than lacking cast time there's nothing major to write home about. It could certainly use a look. I would: - Lower endurance consuption - Reduce the Recharge of Liquefy and add some -resist there - Improve the Clarity power. There's a good argument for why a power like this should add +ToHit and enable better sniping

Believe it or not, Force Field actually used to be worse. Repulsion Bomb used to not be an attack, instead it was castable at a teammate and it would cause enemies to fly back away from them. The early devs thought they had designed a game where knockback was a meaningful and valuable control power. The thing is, it can be, but not really with the way FF was designed. Repulsion Bomb was one of the least taken powers in the game, which resulted in it being changed to its now marginally more useful state. But it still has the excruciating 3.3 second animation time. Force Field as a whole has long been a one trick pony. On the plus side, its pretty good at that trick. On the negative side, the trick isn't all that desirable at high levels (although I won't go so far as to call it useless). Some ideas from the past for Force Field include: - Having Force Bolt and Repulsion Bomb strip Stun and Hold protection (like reverse Clear Mind) - Chance for Force Bolt to apply an Unresistable knockback in addition to normal KB (so that it can occasionally effect AVs and players with high kb protect) - Finer control over the size of Force Bubble

This combo is significantly better if you are willing to invest in Knockback to Knockdown procs. You'll want to put them in: Tornado Lightning Storm Gale (if you even bother with Gale) They cost about 2 million each. Not cheap, but considering what I just paid for a Energy Blaster, not as bad as it could be. Electric kind of got the short end of the stick. It had no -kb in its cages in order to prevent Jolting Chain from failing to work. But that also meant in the recent conversion of AoE immob it didn't get any resistance in its immob powers. IMO that should be fixed, because if two sets should work together, its these two.

Illusion is a very early game set (issue 1 I believe) that was the pre-Mastermind pet set. In return for 3 unkillable pets, Illusion sacrificed some of its AoE control. At the time, Illusion and Mind Control were the only two sets with a Confusion ability (except for Ice's Arctic Air which operates quite differently). Illusion is still the only Controller set with a Phantom Army-like power. Dark Control was the final Control set to be added to the live game (a Wind Control set was in planning, but never announced or released). Dark is in many ways "informed" by the existing sets, resulting in a set that, overall, has very few skippable powers and unlike most other sets, zero outright duds.It can be seen as an amalgamation of all previous sets rolled into one. It copies the Confusion power more or less directly from Mind and Illusion Control. It is also the first set to attempt to be a "hybrid" of Illusion, stepping halfway into its court with the added pets--however, as a concession, the pets are killable and do not hold aggro like the PA does. Dark Control is also one of the sets that gets a secondary effect (like Ice, Earth, and Electric). In this case it's -ToHit, arguably more effective than the -Defense, -Recharge, or -Endurance of the other sets. It kind of depends on the situation tho. Note that Dark Control was also in the strange position of having to hybridize with Dark Miasma, the Defender/Corruptor buff set. You'll note that Dark Control steals Dark Miasma's cone fear power and the Controller Dark Miasma set gets a different power altogether. TLDR Illusion functions as a kind of off-tank who leads the way into packs, Dark Control is a more traditional AoE Controller, and a very strong one at that. Both excel at the role they are given.

What are overall opinions of Electric Blast separate from when it is paired with the Electric secondary? I almost never see this set in action. I'd like to try it with something other than the standard builds, but I've always been intimidated because I've heard some not so positive things about how the set functions. Thoughts?

Fire Breath is mainly left out on account of its long animation time. In the time it takes to FB you could hurl a few blasts. As your Recharge time drops as you fine tune the character, its harder and harder to justify 2.67 seconds on a cone with limited range. Also, that late in the game, reaction time matters a lot more for getting out of death patches and the like, and anything over 2 seconds spent on a power needs a lot of jusitification--especially in a set like Fire where many of the other attacks are very quick. If Firebreath animated in 1 second, it would be a different story.