Captain Citadel

Yeah, I wish it was less of a struggle to optimize themed builds. I have an Ice/Fire/Fire Dominator that doesn't use Jack Frost. The character is a wizard, but he prefers not to get involved in making deals with elementals or other mystical beings in exchange for their services. So he doesn't use pets. I had to figure out the least conspicuous Lore pet to get around that particular wrinkle. Apparently I'm leaving a ton of damage on the table by not taking Jack Frost though. If I wanted to use pets I'd play a Mastermind.

How would you recommend setting up a build within certain constraints? For example without using Hasten, Laser Beam Eyes, or Hurl, and limiting the travel powers to the Flight pool? Not having a ranged attack is rarely an issue in my experience, so I don't mind dropping one. I can still use Taunt to hold a ranged mob's attention if there's some reason I can't just hover over to it and smash it to pieces. My primary build concerns are hitting def caps, shoring up resistances other than S/L (particularly the gaping Psi hole), and not gimping my damage too much. I don't necessarily need double Rage, but a single-stack perma-Rage without Hasten would be ideal for the whole "set it and forget it" convenience.

Some explanation for why I made certain decisions: Foot Stomp works with Hover at ground level, I like the power because it works for defense while giving me full freedom of movement in any conceivable direction with zero drift. I took FS for AoE damage. Hand Clap I find useful because with KB to KD slotted, I'm not throwing enemies all over the map. I just keep juggling them with knockdowns. The time they spend recovering from knockdown is time they can't be attacking anyone. I took Maneuvers because I like Leadership buffs, thematically. It makes a good mule for LotG recharge. I took Tough and Weave because they made good enhancement mules for a few unique bonuses. Frankly I loathe the entire Fighting pool because you have to take an attack power from it just to use the defensive toggles. I know my S/L defense is overslotted but the rest of the defenses are deliberately above the softcap to account for buffed enemies in iTrial content. It was my understanding that you needed to go past 45% defenses to around 60% to account for their +ToHit buffs and/or defense debuffs. When I'm surrounded by mobs, Invincibility ramps up to achieve this. I've conceded that I have to put Rage back in my build in order to actually dish out respectable damage, but I'd rather not put up with Rage and Hasten in the same build. Rage is a lot easier to put up with when I don't even have to think about using it. I also would rather not take Pyre Mastery because it doesn't fit thematically. I'm not a big fan of Hurl either because unlike Foot Stomp and Mighty Judgement, it doesn't function with Hover at all, even at ground level. Which seems like an oversight, but I don't know if the HC dev team wants to fix it.

Was sort of hoping someone would reply with an example of an improved build instead of people coming in here to argue with each other about the endurance crash on Rage, or someone suggesting I reroll a character that I've had since before Homecoming had that one server wipe near launch. Street Justice is the only alternative to Super Strength I could consider because I'm not a fan of EM's or MA's animations, even MA's alternates. You can change some of the kicks to not look like kicks but I wouldn't really call them punches. Even then though, I don't know if I would like StJ's builder-spender rotation. And again, really don't feel like rerolling. I really don't use Kick, no. Like I said in my OP, I took the Fighting pool for Tough and Weave because I needed more defense and resistance bonuses. It really doesn't fit into my attack chain and deals poor damage relative to my other attacks. Hand Clap deals no damage at all but at least I can use it to keep knocking down enemies and interrupting their attack chains. If I could build in a different way to retain my almost literal invulnerability that didn't involve taking those powers, I'd love to learn how. Particularly if I can patch the Psi damage hole. I tried using positional defense caps to offset that, but I've read some enemies use abilities that don't have a positional defense check. It would be nice to know I was better protected from all forms of damage except the typeless stuff.

I haven't played the game in a while so I'm not up-to-date on all the latest changes, but glancing around at some other Invuln/SS Tanker builds that have been posted here, I'm wondering if I should rework mine at all. I would appreciate it if someone more experienced with theorycrafting could give me some pointers or tweak this build for me. Chief Concerns: I feel like my Resistance values could be higher, particularly where Psionic damage is concerned. I'd really like to avoid using Laser Beam Eyes for concept reasons. This character is inspired by Superman but heavily nerfed in terms of not having super-senses or a slew of utility powers like super-breath or heat vision. He flies, punches stuff, and is basically unkillable, but that's it. Ranged damage output is an intentional weakness. I realize that sounds dumb when talking about build optimization. I'd also like to improve my damage output, but I dropped Rage from an earlier build because I found it frustrating to work with, particularly with the endurance crash. I already have perma-Hasten so my single auto-cast power slot is full. Hover, Fly and Afterburner are important to me. Hover works really well for combat and general indoor flying, while Fly and Afterburner have enabled me to outrun some Super Speed and Super Jump characters after pushing all my IOs to +5. Any other pool powers are totally open to being swapped out, particularly the Fighting pool. Tough and Weave feel useful but Kick feels like it's just getting in the way because my attack chain is full without it. This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Level 50 Science Tanker Primary Power Set: Invulnerability Secondary Power Set: Super Strength Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery ------------ Level 1: Resist Physical Damage (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (3) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (3) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance (5) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP Level 1: Jab (A) Superior Gauntleted Fist - RechargeTime/+Absorb (5) Superior Gauntleted Fist - Accuracy/Damage (7) Superior Gauntleted Fist - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (7) Superior Gauntleted Fist - Damage/RechargeTime (9) Superior Gauntleted Fist - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (9) Superior Gauntleted Fist - Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime Level 2: Temp Invulnerability (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (11) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (11) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance (13) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime Level 4: Dull Pain (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance (17) Panacea - Heal (17) Panacea - Heal/Endurance (19) Panacea - Endurance/Recharge (19) Panacea - Heal/Recharge (21) Panacea - Heal/Endurance/Recharge Level 6: Haymaker (A) Superior Might of the Tanker - Recharge/Chance for +Res(All) (21) Superior Might of the Tanker - Damage/Endurance/Recharge (23) Superior Might of the Tanker - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (23) Superior Might of the Tanker - Accuracy/Damage (25) Superior Might of the Tanker - Damage/Recharge (25) Superior Might of the Tanker - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge Level 8: Resist Elements (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (27) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (27) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance (29) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime Level 10: Unyielding (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime (29) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance (31) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (31) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance Level 12: Taunt (A) Mocking Beratement - Recharge (31) Mocking Beratement - Taunt (33) Mocking Beratement - Taunt/Recharge (33) Mocking Beratement - Taunt/Recharge/Range (33) Mocking Beratement - Accuracy/Recharge Level 14: Resist Energies (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime (34) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance (34) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance (34) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance Level 16: Fly (A) Flight Speed IO Level 18: Hover (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed Level 20: Knockout Blow (A) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance (36) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (36) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge (36) Hecatomb - Damage (37) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge Level 22: Invincibility (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge (39) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge Level 24: Kick (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge Level 26: Tough (A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All) (39) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% Level 28: Weave (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed (40) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage (40) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All) Level 30: Maneuvers (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed Level 32: Hand Clap (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown (40) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge (42) Absolute Amazement - Stun (42) Absolute Amazement - Chance for ToHit Debuff (42) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge (43) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge Level 35: Hurl (A) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative) (43) Apocalypse - Damage (43) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge (45) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge (45) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (45) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance Level 38: Foot Stomp (A) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance (46) Armageddon - Damage (46) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge (46) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (48) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge Level 41: Tough Hide (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge Level 44: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (50) Recharge Reduction IO (50) Recharge Reduction IO Level 47: Afterburner (A) Flight Speed IO Level 49: Conserve Power (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 1: Gauntlet Level 1: Brawl (A) Accuracy IO Level 1: Sprint (A) Run Speed IO Level 2: Rest (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 2: Swift (A) Run Speed IO Level 2: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO Level 2: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery (13) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 2: Stamina (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (15) Performance Shifter - EndMod (15) Endurance Modification IO Incarnates Level 50: Support Radial Embodiment Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon Level 50: Paralytic Core Flawless Interface Level 50: Mighty Radial Final Judgement Level 50: Longbow Core Superior Ally ------------ https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1523&c=687&a=1374&f=HEX&dc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

Honestly I'd just like the option to get rid of Rage. One of my problems with Super Strength right now is that SS is balanced around having basically perma-Rage, and I'd rather it be optional like Build Up is for all the other sets. In its current form it's more like Dominator's inherent clicky power, but there's no crash when Domination wears off and you don't need to use up a power slot in your build to take it. I'd rather have my baseline damage baked into my powers. I've already got Hasten set to auto-cast, so it's a bit annoying to have to keep clicking Rage just to get "normal" damage values. This is why I like Build Up, because if I don't want to take it, I'm not harshly penalized because Build Up isn't intended to be on all the time.

Thanks for crunching the numbers, @Galaxy Brain. Hopefully the Homecoming team reads your post, it's very informative. Assuming major changes can't be made directly to Super Strength because they'd alienate players who enjoy the current Rage-stacking meta, it would be great if this data could be used to draw up an alternative powerset for players like myself that would prefer a more consistent version of Super Strength. If Rage was replaced by a normal Build Up-style power, could the "Bruising" effect of this theoretical powerset be raised further?

Aside from the specific Sonic-flavored theme of the powers, yes. My intent was to offer an alternative to Super Strength for players who want to smash things with a heavy melee set, but don't like how Rage works and might prefer a more support-oriented variant of Super Strength without the combo-based nature of Street Justice. As long as it has thematic similarities to Super Strength but doesn't have wonky animations like Kinetic Melee, I don't really care what it's called. Trading in the knockbacks for knockdowns is also fine with me. Mostly it just seems like a rework to Super Strength won't fix the problems I have with it, and I don't want to propose removing Rage since some people like it the way it is now. So I thought it would be helpful to propose a variant of Super Strength that skews in a different direction from the Hulk-like nature of double-stacking Rage.

All of that is a lot more work to implement, though. What I am proposing is distinct from Super Strength mechanically in that it's basically "Sonic Melee" but with similar animations to Super Strength. It could provide a thematic fantasy that is similar to Super Strength, but more easily proliferated to other ATs that have always wanted Super Strength but couldn't have it because of the Rage mechanic causing balance problems.

I'm a big fan of Super Strength thematically, but I'm not really happy with the way it works on paper because of how it was designed around maximizing Rage uptime. The set has subpar damage output without Rage active, and I really don't like the crash. I understand why the crash has to be there, but it would be nice to not be forced to use Rage. I know Street Justice is an option, but I don't care for the combo-based playstyle it has. So I'd like to propose an alternative. Would it be feasible to create a sort of duplicate version of Super Strength (perhaps called Might) with Rage replaced by an ordinary Build Up power? The current Rage-based Super Strength has more of a Hulk-like theme to it, giving the user high damage output but repeatedly subjecting them to windows of virtually no damage. Instead of coming up with a new combo gimmick like Street Justice and a lot of the other newer powersets have, it could be given a more traditional secondary effect. Since Super Strength doesn't have a combo system or a secondary effect, this new powerset could be given a -Res debuff effect similar to Sonic Blast attacks. I feel this would work well thematically. The idea being that characters with Might do not rely on a "berserker rage" to deal damage, but instead use their immense strength to shatter their opponent's defenses through precise, methodical blows. The difference between someone like the Hulk and someone with super strength that utilizes a more refined technique, like Superman. It would also bring an element of team support to the set that echoes the old Bruising mechanic, but Might would be available to more ATs, not Tanker-exclusive. I'm not a game developer, so I don't know if this set would be easy to balance properly between the different melee ATs. I know people have been eager to see Super Strength proliferated to Scrappers, but Might could be a good alternative because it's built without the Rage mechanic. I'm just interested in having a set to play with that emulates Super Strength thematically while not requiring Rage to deal decent damage or relying on combo rotations like Street Justice, and I also miss the team support aspect of Bruising, so I thought it'd be neat to have a Smashing melee set with similar debuff properties to Sonic Blast. Anyway, what do you all think?

What was the point of increasing the target cap for Foot Stomp and Hand Clap while leaving their radii alone? These changes are extremely watered down from the first pass, and even then they felt insufficient to address the gaps between Tanker and Brute performance at endgame. What's the point of being forced to take useless T1 powers now like Jab, without Bruising?

Only reason they'll not notice it's missing is because the amount of -Res it provides is so low that it can only really be appreciated while soloing, but I think an opportunity was missed to augment the team support capability of Tankers by buffing Bruising. Why shouldn't they be a force multiplier like Defenders if Tankers and Defenders are both designed for team play?

If your characters have 90% damage resistance and a 5% chance to be hit, you shouldn't be worried about their HP. If they don't have both of those things, then you're cherry-picking my post. 45% defense (or 65% for Incarnate content) isn't enough to make you invincible, but combined with capped resistance it is. Extra HP is just padding out your stats at that point. It's silly to harp on HP as the defining advantage Tankers have over Brutes when other stats diminish the actual effectiveness of that sole advantage. If you're hitting harder than a Tanker and not taking any appreciable level of increased damage in return, you're objectively better than a Tanker in any way that really matters. Buffing AoE is a good start, but eliminating Bruising in favor of a purely selfish damage increase doesn't make a Tanker more attractive in a group setting. And the buffs to support abilities like the Leadership pool are negligible, especially considering you'll find Leadership buffs more commonly used by ATs that aren't Tankers. Using my own builds as an example, I have a Dominator that runs all 3 toggles plus Vengeance. My Tanker can't fit anything past Maneuvers in his build.

I fail to see the relevance of increased hit points when a Tanker and Brute have both achieved def/res caps and the Brute deals more damage. HP is basically irrelevant if you're only getting hit 5% of the time and resisting 90% of the hits you do take. Barring extreme edge cases like Hamidon where your defensive stats are purposefully invalidated, the Brute will consistently outperform the Tanker at their stated group role. The fact remains that Brutes and Tankers were never balanced to coexist. Homecoming has inadvertently shone a bright light on these imbalances because of how much easier it is to put together top-tier builds here than it ever was on Live. Just buffing Tanker AoE and calling it a day isn't going to fix the problem.

Hopefully the individual Tanker sets will be reviewed quickly after this patch goes live. I'm still not happy about Bruising being gone, but the AoE buffs will be nice. I just liked the thematic feel of Bruising and feel like it could have been buffed to increase the team support capability of Tankers. It doesn't seem like these changes are enough to fully close the gap between Tankers and Brutes. Brutes will still do more damage against single targets while retaining equivalent defenses to Tankers. Playing Super Strength just feels very...not super. I don't like dealing with the debuffs attached to Rage, so I removed it from my build, but without it the set may as well be called Impotent Nerd Rage. And Hurl's interaction with flight powers is still broken. It should be able to be used while flying at surface height, like Foot Stomp and Mighty Judgment.

Any idea when the next round of changes will hit beta? It's been a month but it seems like all that's happened in all that time is the reversion of the change that allowed for Rage crashes to be avoided. Plus the removal of Bruising and the extra endurance for Tankers.

Scrappers do not need Taunt powers at all. They are not intended to soak damage, otherwise they'd have higher resistance caps. They're just not intended to be squishy, either.

I don't think we need a Superman/Cyclops-themed EAT, but otherwise I agree with you. I personally don't want eye beams, I just want to play a flying tank with super strength that doesn't need Rage to obliterate his enemies, and can be built to laugh in the face of all damage types. My current build is indestructible and can even hit the flight speed cap, but he hits like a wet noodle because I took out Rage for the sake of convenience. It really feels bad to have all my DPS wrapped up in one super inconvenient power.

By this logic it seems there's very little we can be permitted to do in order to fix the problem of Super Strength being designed around Rage, I think "violating the cottage rule" would realistically involve actually breaking the theme of Super Strength and what the powers do, whereas changing the way Rage interacts with the set doesn't actually constitute such a violation. The old devs also acknowledged the cottage rule could be broken if it was necessary, and it's not like they were infallible.

Making Hurl better is still not going to fix the fact that Rage is a required power, whereas Build Up is not required in every other set. Build Up is more of a "limit break" power that you only take if you want it. Single-stack perma-Rage is required to make Super Strength deal respectable damage. I don't want to take Rage. I don't like the crashes associated with it, particularly the damage crash. I don't want to micro-manage it at one stack just to perform adequately once these changes go live, to ignore the crash effects. Building Super Strength around its own special version of Build Up was a mistake, but the people who love stacking it twice and even three times are shouting "but muh cottage rule" and insisting we cannot change Rage in any way, beyond what's already been done. The proposed changes don't feel good to use. As far as I'm concerned it's just an incomplete fix. Rage and the set as a whole need to be looked at.

So what exactly are we allowed to change about SS then, Vanden? With Bruising gone, Jab is now a complete waste of a slot that we're forced to take on Tankers, and Rage is a pain in the neck to run perma-single-stacked, but SS as a set only gets competitive damage when you run it with double-stacked Rage. So in order to maximize uptime on double-stacked Rage, we have to take Hasten. As @Demon Shellreported, that requires taking a huge endurance drain, averaging -35 endurance per minute.without even counting the drain from toggles or an attack chain. And even with the awesome power of double-stacked Rage, we then have to put up with 10 seconds of being de-powered and only being able to fire off Judgment if we want to deal any appreciable damage. Some part of the most holy and sacrosanct "cottage rule" will have to be bent or broken to fix the problems Super Strength has. There's no other way around it. SS is completely shackled to Rage, so Rage has to change in some way so that the rest of the set can be reworked to be more competitive with newer damage powersets.

Another thing you're forgetting is that without Rage, the numbers for SS don't really equal the numbers for sets that only have Build Up. The powerset was balanced around having Rage up nearly all the time at one stack. Build Up is a very bursty power, so the sets that include it are designed to account for the fact that Build Up is not up all the time, and therefore not an essential part of their damage output. This is the problem that I think needs to be addressed. I don't think IO sets were ever accounted for when the devs looked at Super Strength balancing back in the day. The power was not likely meant to be perma-double-stacked or even triple-stacked. It becomes imbalanced at those levels but not so much before that double-stacking threshold. That's why I personally think Super Strength needs a rework, not just to improve the functionality of its attacks, but to change the way Rage is balanced. Of course, suggesting that anything be changed from the way it was on Live will invariably bring the "cottage rule" people out of the woodwork. But I really like Shadowsleuth's ideas for improving the attacks in SS. Giving Haymaker a cone and putting a debuff on Hand Clap are great suggestions. Though IIRC Hand Clap already has a stun, so maybe the magnitude could just be increased to make it a more useful form of CC? I still think removing Bruising was a mistake and that Tankers should just inherently apply a -Res debuff to all their attacks, but that's just me. Also, while this seems like it might be more of an oversight than an actual rework component, it would be nice if Hurl followed the same rules as other "ground attacks" like Foot Stomp or Mighty Judgment. Both of those powers work while a flying power is toggled on, as long as you're at ground level. Hurl doesn't though, and it's a pain to turn off Hover (a thematic defense toggle for many builds) just to use my only ranged attack.

Fair enough. My point about Cross Punch still stands. I was saying Super Strength is not getting as much benefit out of the Tanker changes to AoE powers, because it only has one damaging AoE and no cones or other area attacks like several other Tanker secondaries do. Telling people "just take Cross Punch" is not a great solution when most people aren't going further than 3 powers into the Fighting power pool.

It's balancing the entire set around double and triple stacking that's causing so much of the grief over these proposed changes, though. It was already a mistake to build the set around Rage when so many other sets get by without a constant buff power to account for. Build Up is optional for so many builds because you can't have 100% uptime on it, but because you can have perma-Rage and stack it, the entire set has to be balanced around the assumption that it will be built for perma at the very least. It'd be like if Hasten was part of a powerset instead of a pool power, you'd be expected to take it and build around it. No other damage sets are built with something like Rage that needs to be up all the time to have parity with other sets.

Cross Punch is a pool power, and a fairly deep one at that. Not many people are going to build with it. Also, you're going to compare Rage to Fury when Brutes with Fury can take Rage in SS? And 2x Rage at that? Double Rage is not worth the damage crash, and it's rather disingenuous to call Tankers and Brutes "even" by comparing 2x Rage on a Tanker to a Brute that doesn't have it, seeing as how SS Brutes are fairly common, and the only reason it's not the most popular set is because Spines/Fire farmers exist.