oedipus_tex

Dark Control far outstrips Soul Drain in area of effect and ability to layer -ToHit, especially once you factor in the pet with its own -ToHit effects to reduce pressure on animation time. The only set that can really compare is Dark Blast, due to Blackstar.

While I am not 100% positive because I have not tested it explicitly, I'm fairly sure the -ToHit portion of Shadow Field is autohit, so part of the attraction is even the things you actually miss still can't shoot back at you. Loose canons are always a problem for Dominators.

I agree with Coyote that Dark Control offers better control than Mind Control. I also politely disagree about Dark's AoE Hold. IMO it's the best AoE Hold in a Control set. It's both an immediate AoE Hold followed by a 45 second duration -ToHit field. Unlike the similar-ish Earth power Volcanic Gasses, it Dominates on first cast and the effect is immediate. The only drawback is the shorter Hold duration, to the extent that matters. Overall I just don't really like Mind Control much at all. I used to main it for a while on live, but with Dark around these days I just find that so superior, lacking only Mass Confusion, with its 240second recharge self.

I can farm, kind of, on my Elec/Psi Dominator. The damage isn't there to compete with a Brute of course. Not even close. But I can run at x8+4 against Energy using mobs (hand picked similar to how you do for a fire farm; Energy because Energy Defense is always paired with Ranged Defense). Plus generally run through most of the more standard enemy groups, like Circle of Thorns and Council. Just not Arachnos (Arachnos have -Recharge, which is Dominator kryptonite). Plant is a genuine all around curb stomper. Plant/Psi is a good pair because Plant has damage to help cover Psi's holes. Altho most of the damage is AoE. Gravity/Psi might be one of the rare pairings for Gravity Control on Dominators that could work out. Lift/Propel can help fill in for Psi's poor single target blasts and the ability to Wormhole>Drain Psyche will never not be amazing. If you notice I keep mentioning Psi that's because altho it's the lowest damage set I just can't seem to get my other Dominators to the survivability levels it provides and the ability to roll through x8+4 content. Dominators just eat too much damage. It's possible I'm just not as skilled as other players though. FYI there's a certain point with any Dominator where you kind of go "Might I not be better rolling this as a Blaster for the huge damage or a Controller for force multiplication?" And it's kind of true in the current meta that those archetypes (IMO) have a leg upon Dominators in a lot of scenarios, specifics depending. But the archetype is still fun, if not quite the front runner it used to be back in i24.

IMO for most AoE powers Bombard is superior to Positron's Blast. With Bombard you lose 1.25% global recharge and 2% global accuracy but gain +2.25% S/L Resist which is normally somewhat hard to grab on a Recharge build. I'll be swapping most of my Posi slotting over to Bombard.

I think it could work. FWIW what I've always wanted for Trick Arrow is the ability to load up multiple arrows and launch the effects all at once in an opening salvo.

Yes but Blazing Arrow is an Archery power. Trick Arrow doesn't have powers that light the slick. Interestingly there is a power in Tactical Arrow that would though (Electric Net Arrow).

It's always been really weird to me that one of the arrows in Trick Arrow can't be used to light Oil Slick. That's an example of old school design.

The Sentinel is unfortunately very vulnerable in its current state. Even Fire Imps and Electric Gremlins get some Resistance. I think cloning the values from Singularity are appropriate here. That would provide 50/50/50/50/90/90 Resistance. Yes that's very high. But this set needs to be able to count on the pet staying alive solo or else it will be radically better on Masterminds and Controllers, with their reliable pets. That's also why I think the Sentinel needs a much longer duration. As is, if I played this set, it would only be on a Controller so I could avoid fiddling with the short duration, relatively ineffective pet.

Thanks for your comments. 🙂 It's true that spamming Insulation Shield basically duplicates a heal power. But Hit Points are permanent unless you exceed Max HP. The +Absorb in Insulation Shield lasts just 20 seconds. So unless your team is constantly at the brink of death, reapplying it has little meaning. There are a couple of scenarios in game where it's probably overpowered and the majority of scenarios where it's just not great. On the one hand you're right--you could probably make a small team close to invincible. In general practice though, unless you've got reflexes like a tiger throwing a 20 second Absorb on a teammate probably has little effect. I certainly didn't see many reasons to cast it while solo. With a 60 second duration at least it would be around for most of the fight, and I could better justify applying it.

Thanks for giving us another go at reviewing the set. I'll echo the sentiment of other players about the set still feeling like it needs buffs. It's slightly better than before though, discounting bugs. What I like: The set is on the path to being unique and different. That's important and I appreciate the love you are putting into it! What I'd like to see improved: I still think the set is not generous enough with its buff numbers and durations. IMO the pet needs the Singularity treatment. Or at least be as strong as the pet from Dark Affinity. It has no resists and no defense. Also, it has no mezz protection. Like others reported, the pet appears to have forgotten how to use its powers. Look at pets in other sets. This one should be at least that strong. Just not Voltaic Sentinel, a known clunker. Based on what is available in other sets, the pet should have a much longer duration. I'd personally vote to drop the clunky extra duration for Static expenditure mechanic. But if you keep it, drastically improve durations. +30 sec - +1 min durations per Static. Overall the pet needs to be more than just a prop to bounce chains off of. A temporary power pet can do that. Insulating Circuit IMO the short duration of the effect makes this unwieldly. Like, you would have to really spam this power for it to have any practical effect and there are few situations where I think the effect makes it worth that. I think it needs a duration closer to 45-60 seconds, with recharge adjusted to match. The current effect isn't practical with the animation time. Energizing Circuit This is much better now that it can hit the caster. Is it intended to hit targets multiple times? It seems to be right now. But that could be an error in the dialog reporting.

See above RE: existing set bonuses. I personally believe our goal shouldn't be to make obtaining both Recharge and Ranged Defense trivial. I especially believe this when the source of the buffed stats are Aoe Powers which are inherently more desirable than single target blasts. If they decide to split the Ranged defense bonuses in Shrapnel, I think they should mirror Thunderstrike with +1..25% Defense at 3, +2.50% at 6. Or they could have made the older 6th slot unique. I personally prefer how they changed it though. You can slot for Ranged defense with target AoEs, where you couldn't before. That alone is a big change.

Hi dev team, thanks for sharing the updates. I appreciate y'all asking for feedback. Looks like you've been working hard. RE: Synapses Shock. I feel like I am being evil by harping on this so my apologies if I seem like I'm rattling your cage. It looks like you stuck to your guns on the low damage. I already had a say and I don't want to badger y'all so I won't mention it again after this. 🙂However, if the set goes live like this it is something I will see people slotting and will have to inform them in my build feedback to slot something else. It's designed for a hypothetical power that deals damage but where endurance drain is more important than the damage. I'm drawing a blank. I can't think of a power like that. Electric Fences for Controllers and Dominators maybe? But there are better options there. You usually have your pure endurance drain powers, and you have your attacks that happen to do endurance drain. This set belongs in a power that deals enough damage that you want to slot some, but not as much as endurance drain. Meanwhile the proc has nothing to do with a damage power. It's best slotted in a power like Stamina or Quick Recovery. The Run Speed proc even gives additional End Mod rather than Accuracy or Damage so it seems like it was designed for those powers rather than an attack. So unfortunately I will be giving this set a pass on my characters, the opportunity cost is too high. Verdict: I expect to see people slotting the run proc and not the rest of the set. RE: Power Transfer. Better than Synapses Shock. The proc is at least relevant to a blast attack, altho like we discussed I was wishing for a damage proc. It can't be a damage proc for technical reasons, so that's fine--you're working with the Resources you have, which I appreciate. To get to the good stuff you need to slot 6 slots which limits the ability to slot procs from other sets. I'd still rather slot Positron's Blast or the new Bombardment in AoEs because then I can slip in two damage procs in the power. Verdict: Not bad. Electric sets are still paying a price for slotting their endurance drain though. Slotting this loses you out on two potential damage procs in a targeted AoE. I appreciate that you have constraints on the design though. RE Preemptive Optimization The change from Range to Accuracy makes this much more useful. Verdict: A nice but not earthshattering addition to the End Mod sets. RE: Bombardment. I think you made a wise decision nerfing this versus version 2. Like we talked about in the previous thread, sets that have both repeatableglobal Recharge and Ranged defense have the potential to create tank mages, even moreso than we already are. The ability to 5 slot this set would have resulted in +25 Recharge +18.75 Ranged defense with no challenge to slotting. The Recharge is lower than Posi but the stats better and you get S/L resist for your troubles. Verdict: Adds some variety. No longer a Monty Haul set that provided a dragon's den worth of enhancements. RE: Shrapnel This is the only in game option that provides Ranged defense from a targeted AoE power, so will always be useful. Very nice. Verdict: Does what it needs to and is alignment with similar powers in other sets.

I've been trying to draft up some ideas for a Slow set. The barrier I keep running into is how widely variant each of the Slow powers is. But the first challenge is that the actual -RunSpeed aspect of the power isn't usually worth buffing to begin with. At least not like -ToHit or -Endurance are. Like, I've rarely encountered situations that would have gone much better if only I had more -RunSpeed. 🙂 Beyond that you get to the profiles of the kinds of powers that can Slow sets: Toggles (Snow Storm) Needs Endurance Redux, does not need Accuracy or Recharge Castables (Shiver) Needs Accuracy, may need Recharge, End Redux usually not really relevant Quick Recharge Patches (Tar Patch, Quicksand, Caltrops, Glue Arrow) Sometimes need Recharge True PBAoE Slow Auras (Chilling Embrace) Mainly need End Redux Incidental Slow Auras (Arctic Air) End Redux is relevant but really should be slotted for Confuse Cold Blast and Melee Sets Need Damage most of all, then Accuracy, maybe End Redux and Recharge Dual Pistols One to watch because it can slot any procs added to a Slow sets despite not being the main intended target off the buff Slows that can't be enhanced (Ice Slick) Should they be enhanceable? (Probably) Needs vary. Based on this wide profile what I wish a new Slow set looked like was very different from traditional sets. For the non-damage powers, something like this, where the bonuses repeat themselves: Recharge/Slow Recharge/Slow Accuracy/Slow Accuracy/Slow End Redux/Slow End Redux/Slow That would make the set more relevant to the actual needs of the power. I'm still thinking about what bonuses are appropriate. I think something juicy at 4 slots is what is needed but I need to hash that over more.

I agree with you. Kinetics works because the numbers are outrageous. Other sets work because of long durations that let you concentrate on blasting or controlling and not having to baby sit the buff/debuffs too much. Another situation with Kinetics we may want to keep our eye on is how Kinetics came to be associated with Fire Controllers instead of Defenders or Corruptors, who ostensibly have better damage. Fire Control has a damage aura that requires no clicking, along with three pets. It also has long lasting controls that make it safe enough to spend time on the clicky Kinetics powers because the risk is largely mitigated. Even with a self heal and a power that restores the endurance bar Kinetics can land you flat on your back very quickly without support from a Control set. Defenders and Corruptors mostly have powers that compete with Kinetics for clicks. So, in general, the clickier a set is, the harder it is for a Defender or Corruptor to excel with it. There aren't too many examples of click heavy sets out there, and none nearly as vulnerable to death as Kinetics. Electric Affinity has total mezz protection on demand, which counts for something--I think people are writing this off too much. So, Electric is not quite as vulnerable to the commitments of animation time as Kinetics. But it's stilla factor.

I feel like the developers who made this were thinking "Kinetics, but hitting your teammates instead of enemies." I have no proof this is accurate, but a key aesthetic of the set seems to be the lightning constantly chaining between teammates. It's a cool effect I think and a great place to work from. Kinetics shows us that a very clicky set can work. However Kinetics has some pretty astronomical numbers to back up its clickiness. Total mezz protection more or less on demand isn't a bad start. I think maybe people are taking that too much for granted. What would be nice would be if you could build Static with any attack, not just the powers in Electric Affinity. That could be accomplished with a proc that applies to all damage powers. If you could also make some of the other powers in this set autocast or renew while you're blasting, that would keep the clickiness but still let you do other things. Maybe your teammate's clicks also keep the chains running. So the set becomes a click farm, where everyone is trying to blast as fast as possible to send the chaining effect around the team.

What I like this set is what I imagine the developers felt as they were testing it, with the raw current running through the team. It's like the team is constantly being blasted. It's an aesthetic very different from any other power set, and I like how it feels. Rather than extend these power durations directly, would you be down with longer recharges on the Circuits, but once you hit your target, it becomes "Charged" and fires chains on its own for a period of time. Like, in other words, you cast Empowering Circuit, the +Damage circuit. The person or pet hit with it becomes a conduit. Every 15 seconds, a chain of Empowering Circuit is eminated from him or her, so anyone near him or her keeps getting their Empowering Circuit restored.

The nice thing about the Dark pet is it does -ToHit. This translates, in a roundabout way, into +Defense. You can also put Force Feedback: Chance for Knockdown there for some real fun. It will add 20% chance to kd to all of the pet's attacks. The dog is also generally well behaved, unlike say Gremlins or Imps. I've rarely had issues with him aggroing nearby groups before I'm ready.

Damage procs are always a good idea if you can fit them in, especially in longer Recharge powers. One thing I note about your build Frosticus is that when Spot Prey is down, several powers don't have great Accuracy even with Tactics running. It looks like against +4s, Unkindness is at 80%, Vicious Slash is at 68%, Call Hawk is at 69%. It may not matter in actual play because you have -Defense in Sleet and Unkindness. However it does make me wonder if you'd be missing AVs a lot since you can't debuff their Defense by much. May not matter though since AVs are mostly encountered on teams and usually a few players are running Tactics. Your build definitely clears average spawns faster than mine and I am inspired to revisit several other builds based on it.

Morning all. I appreciate what you guys are saying and thanks for discussing. What I want to reiterate is Damage is more important than End Mod. With a Damage set, Players need to be able to cram the Damage into the first 5 slots, if not the first 3. The secondary effects are a nice to have but not the deal breaker. A Damage power first and foremost must deal Damage. Here's the profile of the Yellow Thunderstrike set, which is a modestly popular, cheap set at 3 slots: The powers in Electric Blast and Electric Melee were designed for the SO system, where it is feasible to slot x2 Acc x2 Dam x2 or x1 End Mod. The End Mod would eat up a slot normally occupied by either Recharge or End Redux. Never Damage. Damage powers need to deal damage. The issue is that when sets came around there was no way to slot that way any more and still get set bonuses. Why continue to punish Electric sets with a Damage penalty for pursuing that design? The reason we wanted a combined End Mod/Damage set is because these powers were always intended to have some End Mod slotting. But no one in the SO days shortchanged the Damage slotting for End Mod slotting. After investing 5 slots,I shouldn't still need to "fix" the set with a Damage IO or a frankenslot. Slots in damage powers are too valuable for that. Looking at my current Elec/Psi Mu Dominator, for example, I currently slot x5 Positron in Electric Cages and x5 Ragnarok in Ball Lightning. Neither set is great, but they are functional and provide +6.25 or+10 Recharge in 5 slots, critical for me to keep my Recharge up. Adding some endurance mod here would be nice... but not at the price of losing the damage proc in Posi and come away with just 68% damage, meaning now I'm forced to expend a 6th slot, and that slot can't be a damage proc either because I have to fix the set's missing Damage.

Thanks for your feedback. 🙂 I understand that sets need holes. However, a damage IO set that lacks damage is not a hole, its the Grand Canyon. There are a couple of sets that follow the model of not having sufficient damage... the Slow sets... the Knockback sets. No one slots them. Damage powers need to be slotted for Damage. The sets with insufficient Damage are ignored even if they have decent bonuses. You can skimp on the Accuracy, Recharge, or End Redux of a Damage set. But Damage powers need to be slotted for Damage.

I saw a vision of God when I saw Frosticus' Call Hawk slotting... Seriously, that is genius. That said,,, I find both the pet and Shadow Field too good to pass up. But your build inspires me. You always did manage to out build me on live, and here you strike again. 😎

The legend I heard some time ago is that all Ranged AoE blasts are tagged as both AoE and Ranged. This would mean you dodge the attack using either your Ranged or AoE value. I just looked through Mids at several powers and all the ranged AoE blasts are tagged as AoEs, with no Range tag. Are enemy powers tagged differently or did I just hear wrong?

Electric Blast/Ice Manipulation/Fire has a very Mage-y feel to it. I used to not think much of Frigid Protection until I realized it's a 30ft radius auto hit slow aura, with -14% Damage debuff. My jaw honestly dropped.

So I have mixed feelings about this. First of all, I feel like if you roll a -Endurance set on a Dominator, Controller, Defender, or Corruptor, there's plenty of ways to build on it and make the endurance drain merciless, through either Power Sink or Power Boost. When you pick any set, if you choose to ignore the available tools in the APPs, then that's really on you. Power Sink on SOs can drain mobs of 80% of their endurance. Power Boost makes drain super charged. Blasters and Melees have an excuse in that Power Sink is in Elec Manipulation and Elec Armor and they can't grab it easily. Also Power Boost is similarly locked away. I don't like having to roll a specific secondary to get access to decent endurance drain. Then again I'm not sure how good the drain is really supposed to be on these archetypes. Masterminds have never really had an endurance drain set, til now, so we will see how that goes. There are some oddball trash situations, like Electric Assault in the Dominator archetype that is searching for a reason to exist outside of being paired with Electric Control. I main a Elec/Psi/Mu Dominator, so I'm surrounded by drained mobs all the time. Endurance drain can work, but you do have to devote yourself to it.