roleki

Melee Core sounds like it would do the trick; one of the reasons I hadn't rolled a /Shield before is that I was hesitant to invest in a set that really has no backup plan. Melee Core would at least shore up the resists some.

Perhaps you could split the difference and roll an Electrical Affinity character. EA gives you the ability to send heals and buffs to individuals as they need them, and as a bonus, everyone in their vicinity. It's an excellent set for handling frenetic teams that seem to value elbow room over survival, but works just as well on a team that's moving in a pack.

I would be interested in giving that a go, but timing/scheduling would need to be consistent. I usually only get to log in between riots or after the kids are unconscious (from rioting).

Melee is intriguing, not exactly sure what the Incarnate Wiki means when it references Front-Loaded abilities; on the one hand it sounds like the T4 gives 3% resistance (all) per enemy within 10' (up to 9x) but the Front-Loaded ability note says 16.08 resistance. I suppose I could check it out on Test, it makes it sound like you get 16% just by having the toggle on, no matter how many enemies are in range? It's... unclear. This is another case where the wiki kind of shied me away; it states that Double Hit takes into account the Recharge and AoE of the triggering power, and Axe trucks a lot in AoEs. Sounds like I am going to be spending more time on test than I would like.

"Well, it's DARKER!" - Player X on why they dislike RedSide "Well, it's DARKER!" - Player Y on why they prefer RedSide

Good to know; since I am usually on a team, I fire off Acid first so that EVERY tick is giving max effort. I'm at something like 52 ranged defense (on the Corruptor, would have to dig into the Defender to report out) so alpha doesn't usually bother me. Key word being 'usually.' Heh, I was Polarrhoid, on Victory as well. I don't know the exact date I hit 50, but it was either just before or just as CoV came out; I just know I was in a hurry to finish so I could concentrate on CoV. It was just funny because everybody I ran into wished me luck. I'd never had that happen before or since 😉

As far as I know, I had one of the first - if not THE first - level 50 /TA controllers on Live (almost certainly the first Ice/TA) and have been a huge fan of the set from the minute I got ahold of it. As such, I never found TA to be that lacking, but following the generous bumps given it by the HC team, it definitely has changed how I use TA in a scrap. As things stand now, against standard mobs I always lead with Acid Arrow (to maximize debuffs) and follow it with Glue Arrow (to keep things packed). After that, it's a progression of AoEs (PGA into Flash Arrow into Disruption Arrow into OSA) then I ignite OSA and begin working on single targets/reapplying debuffs. Entangling Arrow and Ice Arrow I hold in reserve for Olympic-class runners (there's always one or two) and I keep EMP Arrow as a "spare" Clarion. Versus hardier stuff (AVs, GMs and Pylons) I do switch things around a little, leading off with Flash Arrow into Acid Arrow then straight into PGA/Disruption/Entangling/Ice/OSA/kitchen sink. On my defender, I fire off EMP arrow right away, but on my Corruptor I'll wait until the target is at about 3/4 health, just because it is fun to watch the last 3/4 take as long to chip off as the first 1/4 did. I will say, TA is the only type of character that I *always* take hover/fly on, and I prioritize Ranged defense above any other set bonus because it *seems* like things hate being debuffed even more than they hate being killed outright. I also have all my TA stuff target macro'd in one tray and raw in another; that way I can pick the sturdiest target and lay everything on it quick, but can still see the cooldown timers and fire off Location AoEs manually should the need arise.

I finally unlocked all the Incarnate slots on my Axe/Shield brute, and am wondering which Assault Hybrid branch to pick up. Between Fury, Against all Odds, and a steady diet of red insps, I'm usually north of 375% damage, but with the Chance for Build Up proc in... Build Up, I frequently hit the damage cap for 5 or 6 seconds every 30 seconds. I usually go Core Embodiment (10% damage buff plus 5x stacks of +DMG) but is this a situation where I might be better served by going for the double-hit side of the tree?

You should shoot for writing the Great Nauruan Vampire Novel, then work your way up to the Great Palauan Vampire Novel, then Liechtenstein, Tonga, Iceland and so on, until America is ready for it.

On this one I am running everything but Drones and Time Bomb; my /Traps usually take Drones but this build was too tight to fit them.

I’m sure we all have at least one of these kinds of stories, and this is one of mine. I hooked a newly-outfitted 50 Fire/Traps controller to a 4/8 PI Radio team. On my way to the door, Team Chat made it clear that things weren’t going well. Hop in, and there are red arrows all over the map, and a couple on their way to joining them. As soon as I got in, they asked if I had a rez, and I didn’t. Heals? I have a +Regen patch. There was grumbling but I was running through the sewer towards the two live bodies so I didn’t read through that. Get to the spot on the map just as one of them does, so now there’s just me and a Sentinel. I dropped an AoE stun and AoE Immob, then ported into the mob to start laying traps, followed by Bonfire. That wiped out everything but the Death Mages, but the Sentinel and I finished them off. I noticed the team was dwindling in numbers as people quit, and soon it was down to two, and I had the star. The Sentinel and I finished a 4/8 map ourselves; on the last mob he died almost instantly, so I finished it off myself. He sends an incredulous tell to the effect that I could have solo’d the map (probably not) but he was really impressed and then says, wait, you’re a CONTROLLER? Where’s your pets? In all the excitement, I never thought to re-deploy my Imps after they died early into the door. Moral of the story is, Traps is awesome, but almost nobody notices because they’re too busy mistaking “support” for healz and buffs.

I usually lean into Build Up with a Gaussian’s ToHit/Recharge, Gaussian’s Proc, and a 50 Recharge IO. That should put you around 75% enhanced recharge, still netting you a proc nearly every time, but making up for proc misses by being available that much more often.

I've run every permutation of Fire/TA (plus TA/Fire) and in my opinion the best of the bunch is the Corruptor track. You don't notice the difference much with minions and lieutenants, but boss and above, the Corruptor wins easily on account of Scourge. As far as slotting goes, I think your build is the right approach (big fan of splitting up Superior Scourging Blast) but on a /TA I prefer to stick as much Ranged defense in there as possible, since /TA really doesn't have any survival poppers the way /Dark or /Rad might. You'll kill plenty of GMs and AVs with a Fire/TA, but only if you're evading the incoming; Flash Arrow and soft-capped Ranged defense should make it difficult for anything to lay a hand on you. ETA: If this paste works, my Fire/TA build should show up under here. This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Plasmarc: Level 50 Technology Corruptor Primary Power Set: Fire Blast Secondary Power Set: Trick Arrow Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Fire Blast -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(3), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7) Level 1: Entangling Arrow -- Acc-I(A) Level 2: Fire Ball -- SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMlcoft-Dmg/Rchg(7), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprMlcoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprMlcoft-Rchg/Dmg%(11) Level 4: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Flight-I(17) Level 6: Rain of Fire -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(19), Artl-Dam/Rech(19), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(21), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(21), Artl-End/Rech/Rng(23) Level 8: Flash Arrow -- ToHitDeb-I(A) Level 10: Ice Arrow -- Lck-Acc/Rchg(A), Lck-%Hold(23), RechRdx-I(45) Level 12: Aim -- GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(A), GssSynFr--Build%(25), RechRdx-I(25) Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27) Level 16: Glue Arrow -- Slow-I(A) Level 18: Blaze -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(29), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31) Level 20: Acid Arrow -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(31), Artl-Dam/Rech(33), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(33), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(33), Artl-End/Rech/Rng(34) Level 22: Flares -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(34), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36) Level 24: Poison Gas Arrow -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 26: Boxing -- Acc-I(A) Level 28: Disruption Arrow -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 30: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(37), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(37), UnbGrd-Max HP%(37), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(39), GldArm-3defTpProc(39) Level 32: Inferno -- SprScrBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Arm-Dmg(40), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(40), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42) Level 35: Oil Slick Arrow -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(42), Artl-Dam/Rech(42), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(43), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(43), Artl-End/Rech/Rng(43) Level 38: EMP Arrow -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45) Level 41: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(48) Level 44: Blazing Bolt -- SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrBls-Dmg/Rchg(45), SprScrBls-Rchg/+End(46), Thn-Acc/Dmg(46), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(48) Level 47: Char -- Dvs-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Dvs-Hold%(48) Level 49: Fire Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(50), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(50), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(50) Level 1: Scourge Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Heal-I(A) Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(13), Prv-Absorb%(13), Pnc-Heal/+End(15) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(15), PrfShf-End%(17) Level 49: Quick Form 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 4: Ninja Run Level 50: Cardiac Partial Core Revamp Level 50: Ion Total Core Judgement Level 50: Degenerative Total Core Conversion Level 50: Warworks Total Core Improved Ally Level 50: Assault Partial Core Graft Level 50: Clarion Partial Core Invocation

I'm sure the notion that Mind Control got Mass Confusion in lieu of a pet is canon from somewhere, but that only makes it even more ridiculous that Plant has a pet AND an always-up AoE confuse. That said, I knew Mind Control was pretty low on the popularity scale, but it never occurred to me that it was unpopular for cause... probably because I've always paired Mind with a secondary that can finish the job that Terrify + Mass Hypnosis started. I suppose somewhere there's a Mind/Nature, desperately trying to Levitate everything to death in serial.

I would have argued that Seeds was what needed correction, not Mass Confusion, but that ship sailed, sank, and corroded down to just a keel and ribs eons ago. I rarely use Mass Confusion on my Mind/ characters (it functions more as a panic button than a tactic) but wouldn't mind it being available more often.

I can't shake the feeling that this is directed at me.,

In terms of using soft control as a means to prevent enemies from doing what they want to do, Grav/Storm is pretty adept. With the proper loadout, you can Wormhole stuff into a corner, pin them there with Hurricane, Thunderclap to stack with the Stun from Wormhole, Gale the stragglers , and have Tornado/Lightning Storm just beat on them unmerciful. If something manages to squeeze out of the killzone, Singularity is there to knock them around a bit. Fire/FF is another good soft-control engine, but again, it depends on the loadout. I've got the Superior Avalanche KD proc in Hot Feet, plus the KB:KD enhancement in Bonfire and Repulsion Field. Lead off with Repulsion Bomb, teleport into the mob and lay down Bonfire, then just stand there while the popcorn gets burned. Is fun!

Different strokes for different folks; I can see where Sentinels would not appeal to the "DPS-is-king" crowd, but I still don't understand why it is the target for spontaneous open mockery... there are people who go so far as to start ragging on Sentinels when there's not even a Sentinel in the ZONE, let alone on our team. I sometimes feel the urge to ask them to show me where the Sentinel touched them. It's like that. Meanwhile, I occasionally take my Beam Rifle/Energy Aura Sentinal out to an MSR, and on more than one occasion have had some Brute or Blaster or whatever joking in chat about Sentinels ON THEIR WAY BACK FROM THE HOSPITAL. I guess some people deduct travel time from their DPS calculations.

I always take both SI and GI because it's a cheap way to get closer to Perma PA. On some characters, one or the other doesn't get used; on Ill/Traps I use both like @Riverdusk because having everybody invisible is useful when exploding people unawares.

Don't see why that wouldn't be valid, EA has been around forever (now) and from a design standpoint is almost perfect in terms of what it can do, what it can't do, and how much you have to invest in it to make it work. It's tough for me to call my favorite matched pair; Rad/Rad defender and En/En blaster were my favorites back in the old days, but on HC I think my favorite would be Rad/Rad corruptor... it's like a Rube Goldberg killing machine.

I'll take an AoE sleep over an AoE hold every time. The way teams mow through stuff, an AoE hold is unnecessary, and if you're soloing, an AoE hold isn't up often enough to act as anything other than an OHSHI button. An AoE sleep is available often enough to use as a tactic AND a passable panic button.

The Lockdown +2 Hold proc (and the... Devastation? +2 Hold proc) are decent in a ST attack and make it possible to hold bosses fairly often with one click. When the proc hits, the hold animation is a ball of electricity as opposed to your usual hold graphic. It's not AS effective in a hold aura like Choking Cloud (usually not standing in a mob long enough for the trigger roll to hit at random every 10s) but I slot it anyway because when it does hit off an aura, it usually gets most of what's still standing.

Mind/Poison is a sneaky beast, I love mine. Rarely if ever takes any damage, and just mows through your day-to-day content. One of my favorite workflows in the game, to be honest.

I find it's easier to cap S/L in Fire than in other secondaries, and beyond being low-maintenance, it's consistent and chunks out some damage while it's there. Other secondaries may have more bells and whistles, but who needs them for farming?

If you take Swipe/Strike, do you slot them at all? Trying to draft up a Claws/WP and find myself short of slots if I throw any in the Tier1 attack.