Neiska

I've never solo'd those actually! But I can almost guarantee I would stance-dance when doing it. And DEFINATELY need to not only during the leveling up process, but also when side-kicking down to do Ouro or content with lower levels when you don't have all your big tools. Stance dancing is important for Bio, and I am a bit remiss I didn't elaborate further on it. I just find myself in offensive most of the time. 😆

I'm actually a she! 😋 But yes, correct on the stance-dancing. But I guess that really depends on what people consider "hard." I don't really need to stance-dance until doing 2 star or above. But that's really dependent on build, playstyle, incarnates and stuff. If you are popping barrier you don't really need to stance-dance and so on, at least in most content. I typically run +4/8 solo stuff, but do occasionally run hardmodes with friends. But the stance-dancing is most certainly a YMMV (your mileage may vary) thing, depending on level, activity, build, and inf invested. But Juggling Carapace, RoP, Parasite Aura, and Barrier, I really only need to change to defensive stance for 2 stars or GMS. But that is also endgame too. At lower levels and lower inf invested stance-dancing definitely helps. But good catch mentioning the early level stance dancing which is a big help until they get the good stuff!

Hello I-Dirty, Bio Armor is my favorite Armorsets, so hopefully I can help you out or give some guidance. They say it "takes skill" because the set is kind of unique in playstyle, in that it doesn't focus DEF or RES like the other sets, it gives a "bit" of both. Not much mind you, but enough to build on. No, where Bio Armor shines is it is kind of a swiss army knife, with many powers doing multiple things, some like DNA siphon has both offensive and defensive uses. It also has stances - an offensive, defensive, and efficient stance, each of which boosts one feature like damage or defense, but at the expense of something else. Later on when you have all the purples, you might find yourself using offensive stance 90% of the time. To put it simply, think of Bio Armor as a set with mediocre defenses, but with multiple ways to heal yourself. But the survivability of Bio comes from 3 key powers - 1. Ablative Carapace - this is an absorb. Your first reactive/pre-emptive power. This will be your main clickable at lower levels, but it becomes overshadowed later on, and is best used as a pre-pull tool to help absorb the alpha strikes, as well as act as a "bridge" when Parasite Aura or DNA Siphon is down. 2. DNA Siphon - a PBOAE that does minor lethal and toxic damage. This power affects BOTH living and defeated enemies. For living targets, it applies a -regen debuff to your targets, but it also gives you a bit of health and end for each living enemy hit. Against defeated enemies, they give less of a heal, but will give you both a regen and recovery buff for a short while. Which means you can use this power in many ways - as an emergency heal, as a -regen debuff, or use it as a stacking regen + recovery buff that stacks per target affected. Personally, I like to slot DNA for Endurance rather than healing so I am not relying on Ageless or Blue Inspirations to play at peak performance, regardless of secondary set. 3. Parasite Aura - another PBAOE that affects living, but gives you a stacking healing and recovery buff per enemy hit. This also does additional effects, depending which stance you are in. For example, if you are in defensive stance, it applies more damage absorb to you and a damage debuff to them. This buff can stack 10 times if you hit enough enemies, giving a massive absorb, regen, and recovery buff for each enemy hit. And make no mistake, for that 45 seconds you can heal from zero to full several times in a row quickly. It is more or less super-sayian-wolverine mode for those 45 seconds. And you can get the recharge down to 90 or so seconds, giving you nearly 50% uptime on it. During the "downtime" is when you use Siphon, Carapace, and/or other tools like Rune of Protection. Then its rinse-repeat! So, Bio Armor loves recharge. Ideally, you will want as much uptime on Parasite Aura as possible, with around 50% uptime on it. During the time it is down, you will use Ablative Carapace and DNA Siphon (if you need it.) The TLDR behind bio is, instead of giving a flat persistent boost to DEF or RES, it instead relies on stacking buffs. Now the numbers might be deceiving in mids. But Bio Armor is definitely in the big boys club with the rest and can outlive most other sets, but not due to its inherent DEF or RES, but by just flat out absorbing and out healing incoming damage. Playing it would go something like this - Pre-apply Ablative Carapace before the pull. Run in. When absorb from Carapace falls off, pop Parasite Aura, hitting as many targets as possible. Enjoy 45 seconds of near immortality. By the time Parasite Aura wears off, Ablative Carapace should be ready to use again. Use DNA Siphon/other tools as necessary during the time Parasite Aura is waiting to recharge. Rinse repeat. Changing stances between offensive-defensive-efficient as needed. But at 50 fully incarnated, I am in offensive nearly all the time, only against big targets do I feel the need to swap to defensive stance for the extra absorbs and damage debuffs. Another upside to Bio is that it sort of has extra layers of defenses that most other sets don't have, multiple ways of healing, absorb, regen, and recovery. Some sets like Radiation Armor has "some" Absorb, but nowhere near the amount that Bio has. So, this is an additional "layer" of survivability. Even without your regen, absorbs and such, you can still build to softcap melee defenses and get resistance capped to smashing and lethal, with respectable amounts in the others. Which in itself is pretty good. And Absorb/Regen/Healing together is effective against nearly every kind of foe you will come across, regardless of attack or damage type. There are some enemies that bypass absorb and such but those are rare. But there are downsides to Bio - 1. You can't really skip any powers. Well, you "can" bbuutt its not recommended. This is because there is a domino effect, and each bio power you have, affects the others. 2. It can be a little rough starting out as Bio, relying on a single +absorb at first, then that and a heal, and finally Parasite aura. And even then its a bit skippy until you have enough recharge to begin your cycle of buffs. But once you hit that point, you are more or less wolverine in just how much damage it takes to put you down. 3. For many players they dislike the visual effects, even with minimal VFX on. This is entirely personal preferance though. Some like it, some do not. Personally I just wish there was something that went with it visually, but there really isnt. You can get close with some looks like Chitin but it still looks off. 4. Lastly, and this the BIG downside - the set more or less relies on buffstacking, which is affected by how many targets you hit with DNA Siphon and Parasite Aura. This means against fewer targets like AVs or GMs, you don't heal as much, and you cant just rely on any 1 of the buffs to keep you alive. As far as what to pair with it, well, pretty much anything you like. Bio loves recharge, so it pairs very well with fast sets like Savage or Claws. But it also has offensive stance, giving a very nice damage buff, so it pairs very well with sets like Energy Melee, Super Strength, Fire Melee, Battleaxe, etc. Honestly, I don't think there is a melee set it "doesn't" pair well with. But to give you an idea of how well it pairs, my Bio Armor/Energy Melee Tanker can perform 600+ Single target damage, which is fantastic for a Tanker. Granted, credit goes to Energy Melee for that, but Bio Armor certainly plays a part. But if I had to say what it pairs with the BEST, Savage, Dark Melee, Claws, Energy Melee, Fire Melee, Battleaxe, Spines, and Radiation Melee are all top choices. One tool I wanted to mention that goes fantastically with Bio Armor is Rune of Protection. It pretty much fits the holes in Bio Armor like a puzzle piece, and I almost always take it. It is yet another big buff you can put onto the pile, boosting your damage resists and CC resistance, and also being another "bridge" between buff cycles if needed. Anyway, know that was a lot to explain but I hope it puts you in the right direction!

Well now I'm just tempted! PS - Spiritual Radial I'm assuming?

Huh... I didn't think of that one. Stacking -SPD? Just how far can you push that I wonder? First time I have heard of that particular focus in a build. Very nice! Might have to give that one a try.

Currently Mercs are better at group fly setups.

I have been accused of being a Botter, to cheating, exploiting, and more, when all I am doing is playing multiple accounts, with follow and 1 power on autocast that ISN'T haste. (Some people seem genuinely shocked that you can put almost any power on autocast, even PBAOEs.) Personally, I put it down to people being mistaken, unimaginative, or simply have very loose definitions for what is botting. I use no keylogger, no multiple screens, no automated programs, etc. I have never used those things and wouldn't know how to even begin. (I'm actually not very computer savvy.) But honestly, you can multibox in CoH without much trouble at all, just making 2-3 accounts, put your main character on follow, and pick your autopower. Seriously, that's it. All I alt tab to do is refresh buff or pop an incarnate power. I can think of only one legitimate time I suspected of another player actually botting, and that was when I encountered 1 person playing 5 Crabberminds, and they all acted in unison. They all turned at the same time, flew up and down at the same time, all used the same powers, at the same time. Like it was synchronized dancing. When I multibox, its always the same power on auto, and there is always a bit of lag, like when I travel for instance. My boxed characters are 2-3 seconds behind me to catch up, they don't move or do the same thing at the exact same time. And for those wondering, synchronized characters vs multiboxing is kind of blatantly obvious to spot, but I can understand how some might get confused if all they have seen are multiboxers vs an actual Botter.

I can +1 to Shield/Dark Melee, or even Shield/Rad Melee both being quite good. Both have strong DEF and debuff resists, help out the team both with Cover and have self-healing. Both secondary's pair wonderfully with Shield even into incarnate levels. But I personally have found Bio Armor to be quite strong as well. Other sets will certainly shine in some circumstances, and Bio rarely places first in any situation, but often places very high in many. And has tools that some other sets don't, namely stacking regen and absorb, with respectable levels of other layers of defenses. So it doesn't rely on any single thing. Which mean's it's flexible. Personal preference and tastes applies of course, but so far my best results were with Bio Armor, focusing on Recharge, especially when using Melee Hybrid and Rune of Power to shore up the sets lack of other features. This is often so good together that most often I end up slotting DNA siphon for END, not for heals. Essentially I focus on Juggling both Parasite Aura and Carapace (Often Carapace first on the pull to dampen alpha hits), and then juggling Melee Hybrid and Rune of Protection. All for rolling effects together are absolutely fantastic, and this isn't even using DNA to clutch-heal or relying on your Destiny slot. Often this is so fantastic that I don't even have to change out of Offensive Mode, even as a tanker. But it will be awhile before you reach this point. The downsides about Bio is, is that until you hit a certain point of recharge, it feels more like a moped than a tank. You will rely on just Carapace at first, then DNA to help manage damage. But once you hit that certain point of recharge where you can keep rolling the next buff as the last one wears off you can become quite powerful. Another downside to Bio Armor while it uses multiple tools, they often depend on a stacking buff that is dependent on how many targets are hit. Which means against single targets your buffs are not as potent. Another downside for some people are the visuals. Yes, you can turn them down to minimum VFX but some still don't like it, even then. Your experience may vary of course. But for me, Bio is a solid win. It may not have the flat out DEF or RES that other sets have, but it can absorb and heal so much more than the others that its lower DEF and RES is a moot point. But I would like to point out that perhaps the most important part of builds isn't numbers at all, but wither you personally enjoy it. If you have to "force" yourself to play a certain AT or powerset then what's the point? I have seen people take powers or sets that conventional wisdom said was bad and do some amazing things. And taking the current meta won't magically make you auto-stomp everything you encounter either. It helps, certainly. But player skill and game knowledge plays into the equation just as much. So if you like your Invulnerable tanker, then stick with it. Or if you want to try something new, like a Shield or Bio Armor then I say go for it. Each armor set definitely has a different "feel" to it. Some you may like. Some you may dislike. Regardless of the math. Others you might absolutely fall in love with, even if its just a matter of keeping the same primary power, but trying it with a different secondary. That alone can also make quite a bit of difference. Hope this helps!

True, AE and normal missions are pretty close now. The only upside to AE is convenience and no travel time. Well, that and being able to pick map types. (Personally I hate cave maps and similar.) The upside to other missions is that 2% chance at an Aether, so there is that. So it's personal taste really. Personally I tend to favor AE as something I can do alone, at my own pace and convenience, and doesn't involve a lot of travel when multiboxing.

A Wizard did it!

Perhaps you hit them so incredibly hard it causes their molecules to collapse and create a black hole a mere Quark in size, creating not only its on gravitational field but also causing a momentary "absolute zero" which we observe as them being held in the mid-air as a frozen iceblock? Science can be both awesome and scary sometimes.

My suggestion is to find a mission that uses either the Asteroid or Large Cityscape map. The large cityscape is massive with tons of enemies. The Asteroid is smaller with more densely pact enemies, and is a series of 5 missions so there will be load times. As far as updates and changes, they changed how AI works. Before if you were at target cap, enemies would just walk right by you and not aggro. But enemies no longer meekly wait their turn to get beat up anymore. Now if you are at target cap and aggro beyond that, they will stand at range and use any ranged powers they have. This means you can no longer just build for Melee DEF and RES and call it a day, You have to take Ranged DEF and ways to heal/passive regen into account as well. Or you can do what I do - multibox 3 farmers at a time. That way rarely are all 3 at aggro cap so the ranged attacks aren't an issue. And you get more INF and EMP merits anyway. And multiboxing lets you use traditionally non-farm ATs as well, such as a SoA's, Scrappers, Stalkers, or whatever you like to play. Just park your 1-2 tankers/brutes with an AoE power on autocast, and play your main AT like you were on a team. PS - As far as the INF and EXP rates, yes they have gone through a few changes. It is slower now, but still worth doing if you enjoy Farming or prefer to play alone.

People are free to color their powers whatever they like. It is a bit silly to expect an entire community to base their choices around what is a personal situation. And I say this as a deaf player. My advice, would be to join a SG or form a group of friends to run content with, who know and understand your situation and circumstances. In my case, I simply tell my friends if I have ears on or ears off. (I have a Cochlear implant, but I don't wear it all the time.) They all know if it's off, I won't hear glowies and the like. But it's rarely proven to be a problem. Now if you are teaming with random people, it is a bit silly to expect complete random strangers to know, or even have a costume with different colored powers ready to be changed on the fly. You can ask people to not use powers, certainly. But understand that they are free to say no. And depending on the set or power, not using a certain power might be detrimental to the team. I guess what I am saying is, "know the pool you are about to swim in." It is unfortunate to have your circumstances, but it is just as silly to expect everyone to adapt to your circumstance. Some people will, but just as many, possibly more, won't. As far as what you can do about it on your side, I am unsure. I am afraid I am not very tech savy. Possibly you might be able to change your monitor or computer settings outside the game so it's not an issue? Others have mentioned things you can do ingame already, but I am uncertain what else you can do personally. As much as it sucks, it really is a sort of "them's the breaks" when gaming with a lot of random people through the internet.

I think it really depends on if you are solo or on a team. But it's 100% fine to like something that isn't kiss-your-elbow mathematically superior too. I have only tried 1-2 controllers, and just couldn't get into them. I may try again sometime, but for me it just led to frustration.

Thank you. I will make a few adjustments. I really like RoP, and it is heavy slotted but that was mostly for the 6pc bonus, but i can certainly move that elsewhere, I do like the set for the melee defense bonus. I can move some slotting around.

Hello Forums, I wanted to make a new mastermind, namely to solo harder content and difficulties. And I decided to try /Dark out. So this is my first attempt, on initial pass I think it looks pretty good, but do worry a bit about END use. I did make her on the tougher side, with tough/weave/RoP and so on. Feedback appreciated! [/img] View This Build In MRB Neiska (Demon Summoning - Dark Miasma) Mk 1.mbd

Proc procity-proc proc proc!

I would like to go on record and say I have used Group Fly on my Crabber and found the spiderbots vaguely horrifying when flying. Their bodies float in the air, but their legs hang straight down like they were some kind of robotic space tics. In seriousness though, it wasn't as useful on them as it is on MMs, as they shoot once then swoop into melee. So there isn't much point. Personally I take group fly on some MMs, depending on the primary. Its good for robots and mercs, dubious usefulness on other primaries outside of certain circumstances like Hami. But outside of situations like that I consider Group Fly to be a power best used when solo, regardless of primary.

Doesn't the "average lifespan" during that period of history really vary country to country, and perhaps more importantly, class to class? IE the nobles and such had cleaner homes, better food, cleaner water vs those living in poorer conditions and the like?

Personally I think its pretty presumptious to assume individual ownership of a GM in a public area, in a public game. You want to fight a GM solo? Make an AE for it, or go do some of the missions that has one. Sure, you can "ask" others to let you solo it. But just as you are free to ask, others are free to go "lolno."

Want to see the Fun Manager?

I haven’t checked in a week or so but when I did it was 2-2.5 or so. But I would expect some fluctuations as normal.

You are kind of proving my point... If all you do is reroll new alts over and over, (and I have nothing against you if that's how you enjoy the game), then how do you expect to earn Prisims? Here is a link to the wiki - https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Prismatic_Aether_Particle_Salvage But here is the short of it - 1.) Each mission at any level has a 2% chance to earn an Aether. 2.) Dr Aeon and Imprious TFs grant Aethers, depending on difficulty, with an 18 hour lockout. 1 star = 2 Aethers. 2 stars = 7 Aethers. 3 stars = 13 Aethers. 4 stars = 20 Aethers. 3.) Incarnate Trials grant 1, 2, or 3 Aethers, depending on the Teir, with 18 hour lockouts. 4.) Weekly strike targets - the first time each week a character completes will earn you 1-2 Aethers, depending on the length of content. 5.) Halloween event - each halloween badge grants 2 Aethers. 6.) Lastly, you can buy them. Currently they are 2 million a pop. So farming inf and buying them, are actually one of the worst ways to earn them. (Well, that depends how fast you earn INF but I digress.) But keep in mind, these lockouts are per character. In theory you could run a 2-star TF, weekly strike target, and an incarnate trial in the same weekend and earn 10-12 Aethers. You simply aren't doing the content that awards Aethers, and that is your choice to do so. But since you constantly reroll new characters, the only other option for you is to farm. So I would say the system is working as intended?

Because the game needs money sinks. Think about it. Once you are level 50 completely slotted out with all the purples, there is little if any cost you have to keep paying. You can play that character however long you want and you will only ever spend inf if you want to on things like costumes and things. Other games like WoW have repair costs. Or you lose money when you die like Diablo. But CoH has virtually no "maintenance" or "upkeep" costs. Pretty much the only thing you have to do to make money is get a level 50, get them kitted out, and simply play it. Anything you get is a net gain, no matter what you do. And you can make over a billion even with casual play on a 50 that you don't spend money on. When it comes down to it, if you make fewer alts, you have more money. But making alts is a big part of the attraction in CoH. I mean, the alternative thing is that they offered actual power/special enhancements for money, but that's more or less pay to win, trading money for actual "power" which I hope everyone involved agrees is a bad idea. To get a full purple 6 piece set at 20m apiece that's already 120,000,000 or more, assuming you are just buying them from the auction house. Finally, the dev's don't actually set prices on things, barring situations where they seed winter sets in the AH. (I have no idea if they actually do that or not, but that's the rumor.) As far as I am aware, the player market has set the prices on Aethers. The devs just put how many are needed for X teir costume, but its the community who decides how much each Aether costs to buy. "That's" why they cost just over a billion. And they are a cosmetic luxury item. There is no difference in gameplay between someone with or without them. And as silly as it sounds, cosmetics can be BIG in some games. Wings, pets, auras, special armors etc can all be big money, both ingame money and real life money. People will pay to look pretty. No one is twisting your arm to have the special auras. Not having an aura has zero impact on your characters power or abilities. Its just something you can work for and enjoy having. And honestly I wish we had more of them. Personally the only one I want is the mini-me one. But I am not willing to fork over the inf and just buy the Aethers for them, I am just taking my time doing weekly hardmodes with my supergroup until I get enough Aethers for them. So technically, these auras are free, if you are patient and do the content that rewards them.