Neiska

Yes, and I am well aware of their posts you linked, and the changes to AE since HC change. So... not seeing your additional point, if there is one. They have already changed it. I would say that makes their stance pretty clear. Which to me is they want it to remain an option, just not the "superior" option for exp/inf gain, which I think is fair.

1. Thank you for your source. Though it is from 2009, from a person who does not make any rules or judgements on HC as far as I am aware. Though there is a chance they are present under another name. But this leads me to #2 - 2. Certainly. And they are free to pick and choose, add and change, so on. I mean, they have made several changes/updates to powersets and ATs, Seismic Powersets, Electrical Affinity, changes to MMs like pet AI and how their hitboxes interact with players, and so on. So why is all that "fine" to some people, but not how they choose to allow folks to use AE? 3. At this point, removing AE will do more harm than good, which is likely why they haven't done so. But that is just me guessing. I still say that the HC should use Live as a rough draft, but not a do or die guidebook on how to run things on HC. This applies to AE, as well as any other changes they add/change/implement.

I would genuinely be interested in seeing the original source for that, but I stand by my point that it's largely irrelevant either way. But thank you for affirming. Thats kind of my point. Homecoming isn't Live, which I see as a good thing. From where I sit, it's better in some ways, worse in others. But that is my personal take on it, others won't see it the same, obviously. (and rightly so.) Ultimately, it's up to the HC staff to decide policy. Not what they did on Live.

Two thoughts. 1. The first, citation needed. Do you have a source or data on record that is verifiable that specifically states precisely that in no uncertain terms? Or is it murky "way back when on live they said" - AKA - If you don't have a source, this is simply more of "you think's" 2. Even if your statement is true, what bearing do the Live Dev's have on Homecoming? What authority/bearing do they have, on how the HC staff run things? "But back on Live..." Well, HC isn't Live. It's a different staff. A different game. A different community. Stop trying to make HC "Live." It isn't "Live," and was never meant to be. And how they did things "on live" has zero bearing on HC here and now.

I agree with your take on that specific incident in the video. But I also agree with the point @Excraft as trying to make. People who try to control the way other people play, regardless of reasons, are part of the problem, not the solution. Except of course, if one is a staff member which I doubt any of us are. But a fellow player? Zero right to dictate/lecture/control fellow players, especially when there are zero rules being broken.

@UltraAlt "You think." "You think." "You think." There sure are a lot of "you think's" in there. Considering your emphatical stance and claims, I find that amusing. Especially since you have precisely zero access to actual server data that would prove any one of your many claims. You don't "know" any of this for FACT, you merely "think." Which renders your entire point moot when it comes to server policies and rules, especially when people aren't breaking any rules by doing such actions. Let me paint a picture for you. CoH is a playground. You are playing your way, but a group of others are playing in a way they enjoy. For some reason, this upsets you. So you go to the teacher to try and make them stop. "People aren't playing with me!" "They are leaving!" "Why don't they do the things I enjoy?" "Make them stop! Make them play with me!" Which to me speaks volumes about your character more than your dubious and unproven, unfounded claims. Here is a spoiler alert: It isn't written anywhere that people must play your way. And as a side note, it's possible that they actually are, but you are simply unpleasant to be around. So some do play your way, simply not with you. Perhaps stop trying to lecture others on what "you think," because I can assure you, most people either don't care or don't ask for it. The world doesn't revolve around you, or what "you think." Food for thought.

Hello Forums, I just wanted to ask for feedback on my Demons/Nature build. I have played Demons before but only dabbled with Nature but never to any great extent. As far as playstyle I am imagining a melee build that fights inside the Bastion/Overgrowth, with both Bonfire and Entangling Aura to keep enemies there and to buy time for the pets to do their work. I am hoping this will be viable both for solo and teams, and wont rely on Ageless to be functional. (I personally dislike that). I am aiming for max difficulty that is durable, does decent enough damage (for a MM) and will be a good addition to teams via buffs/debuffs/Endurance/Absorbs. A few notes - Sorcery pool - Spirit Ward to help protect the prince a little more, Flight is always nice to have, but Mainly I took it for Enflame to boost Demons iffy AoE damage, and Rune of Protection because based on my reading here on the forums one issue with Nature is being mezzed is the main issue because that deactivates your toggles. Epic pool - Bonfire to help CC/Damage things inside my Bastion/Overgrowth. The only thing I am not happy with is the lack of Burnout for Hell on Earth, but that I don't think that's a make or break build feature. It was down to deciding between Burnout or Enflame/Rune, and I decided to go Sorcery. Slotting - For the pets I focused on Accuracy, due to the lack of Tactics. I also put damage procs where I could, both on the Pets as well as Bonfire and a little on Enflame. I am going to keep Entangling Aura and slotted it to enhance the holds. Even if the Mag isn't strong enough to get bosses and elite bosses, it should be strong enough to get the majority of enemies each spawn. I also read elsewhere on the forums that slotting Living Spores for Recovery/Endurance is quite good, because outside of Overgrowth my END looks to be fairly demanding. As far as incarnates go, I have really only went with the ole reliable Musculature Core for pet damage. I haven't decided on anything else yet. I want to see how this performs first. But I imagine I will go Degenerative, Support, Banished, but uncertain about Destiny if I will go Barrier, Ageless, or Clarion. That will mostly depend on how well the pets perform. But that's enough notes, I just wanted to explain my reasoning behind some of the powers and slotting choices. Here is the build! - This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.1.2.5 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 49 Magic Mastermind Primary Power Set: Demon Summoning Secondary Power Set: Nature Affinity Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Heat Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Summon Demonlings -- SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMarofS-Acc/EndRdx(3), IceMisTrmt-+ColdDmg(3), ImpSwf-Dam%(5), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(5), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(7) Level 1: Corrosive Enzymes -- Acc-I(A) Level 2: Regrowth -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(9), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(11), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(11), Pnc-Heal(17) Level 4: Wild Growth -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(23), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Pnc-Heal/+End(31) Level 6: Enchant Demon -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(33), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(33), Rct-ResDam%(33) Level 10: Spore Cloud -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(A) Level 12: Summon Demons -- SprMarofS-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen(13), SprMarofS-Dmg(13), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), ExpStr-Dam%(15), UnbGrd-ResDam(17) Level 14: Spirit Ward -- Heal-I(A) Level 16: Lifegiving Spores -- PreOptmz-EndMod/End(A), PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(34), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/End(34), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/Rech(36), PreOptmz-EndMod/End/Rech(36) Level 18: Hell on Earth -- RechRdx-I(A), EdcoftheM-PetDef(19), SvrRgh-PetResDam(19), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(21), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(21), SprCmmoft-Rchg/PetAoEDef(23) Level 20: Wild Bastion -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(36), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(37), Prv-Heal/Rchg(37), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(37), Prv-Absorb%(39) Level 22: Mystic Flight -- HypSnc-+Special(A) Level 24: Enflame -- Ann-ResDeb%(A), Ann-Acc/Dmg(39) Level 26: Summon Demon Prince -- SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), IceMisTrmt-+ColdDmg(29), SlbAll-Build%(31) Level 28: Rune of Protection -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(39), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(40), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40) Level 30: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 32: Abyssal Empowerment -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Entangling Aura -- Lck-%Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Hold(43), GldNet-Acc/Rchg(46), GldNet-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(48), Lck-Rchg/Hold(49) Level 38: Overgrowth -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40) Level 41: Bonfire -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), ExpStr-Dam%(42), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(42), Ann-ResDeb%(42), JvlVll-Dam%(43), PstBls-Dam%(43) Level 44: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(45), UnbGrd-ResDam(45), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(45), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(46), UnbGrd-Max HP%(46) Level 47: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(47), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(47), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Ksm-ToHit+(48) Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(49) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(7) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(9) Level 1: Cold Demonling Level 1: Fiery Demonling Level 1: Hellfire Demonling Level 12: Ember Demon Level 12: Hellfire Gargoyle Level 26: Demon Prince Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon ------------ Thanks bunches in advance! Demons-Nature mk 2.mxd

My favorite top 3 - Robots/EA, Demons/Time, Thugs/Traps. Playing with a Robots/Dark now which seems promising, and tinkering with a Demons/Thermal in MIDS.

Well, it's sort of like this. I see the various activities as tools to make my own entertainment, rather than rely on the game to entertain me. Games like Minecraft, Conan, various "building" games and so on. Here's some examples off the top of my head - - Using the inf I get from AE to form my own little SG of villains, and assign them my own missions, essentially rping a contact and actually awarding them. Like a "I have assembled you here to retrieve X thing. Go to X place and do X newspaper missions, and I will give you X reward." Which both fosters community, roleplay, and rewards low levels and can make them feel like their actions actually matter. - Using the inf i get from AE to help support rp events, such as costume contests, rp games, dice games, we just had a 500 mil Friday the 13th themed costume party and contest last night as an example. - Go accolade badge hunting, which I reserve solely as an activity for characters I want to take all the way to the max. The same with T4 incarnates. I get my T1 3rd rank on nearly everyone, just for the level shift. I go t3 on builds i want to see what they are capable of, but I only go full T4 on the builds I truly enjoy. Most of which are MMs, Tankers, and my Crabber. - Do Ouro missions by myself, both to catch up on stories and lore, at my own pace and time instead of random speeds with random people. etc. -Eventually I do want to learn how to base build, but the little I have tried to do I had difficulty with the unwieldly interface, which has only increased my respect for the base builders of talent out there. Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is I don't see as story missions as the main part of the game, at least not anymore, not for me personally. I mean, who gets excited to go "wow I get to play through the Dr Graves chain for the 435th time!" When you just want to get to the end point with a build and see what it can do, the process to get there would be very mind numbing without other options. Just explaining how I see things. I see all the different activities as options, many of which only come to fruition at level 50. Thats the part of the game I enjoy most, the post-50 things. Not the climb to get there. I can understand if that's all a person does is get to level 50 before starting over, then yes I would agree that would be the game in its entirety for them. But for some of us, combat is a side activity. I much prefer "community" activities, be it games, contests, roleplay, farming to help people level, just hanging out and roleplaying, chatting about game mechanics, and so on. Best wishes!

Itfs, incarnate content, making friends, power building, farming, badge hunting, accolades, crafting, building a financial empire, etc etc etc? If you ask me there is more things to do at 50 than not 50, if all you do on the way to 50 is do combat missions.

Respectfully but strongly disagree, which might be the crux of the argument. For many of us, the game "starts" at 50, and everything leading up to that is more or less a long, clunky, unnecessarily grindy prelude to where the real game and fun is. I am not saying you are right or that I am wrong, only that not everyone agrees with "everything after 50 is filler." Maybe its filler to you. It isn't to me. And if we are going by "when the game was first released" argument, then by the same logic anyone who plays added ATs/Powersets/Story Arcs are also "playing the game wrong?" I hasten to add that you didn't precisely say those words, and I am not trying to "put words into your mouth." I only extrapolate for context of your point if it was applied to other things. As far as the topic itself, personally I feel that the troubling number of "you are playing the game wrong" stances might be in fact driving people away, and certainly doesn't "attract" new players. And I still stand by my original point that perhaps the best bang for the buck would be for the HC staff to start a social media account, perhaps even as one of the characters in the game. Like a Ms Liberty or Recluse twitter page, which has possibility to be not only free recruitment but highly amusing as well. I am unsure of the legal grounds of such a thing, but if that is murky then still a plain HC social media might do some well to shine a light on the servers.

I shall take your word for it. 👍

No thank you, I'm good. I don't click random links from strangers on the internet. 👍

If you knew the group wasn't for you to begin with, you could have just ignored them at the start and avoided contact entirely. I would call that the high ground. Far as 801 goes, well, I would say that's on them. But if you know what they are, what they are about, and you know beforehand that you wont jibe well, and you join them anyway, then yes, I would say you are knowingly leaping into a situation there. That's just stirring the pot or adding to it, to my mind.

Personally, I wouldn't call trying to manipulate strangers solely to see if you shouldn't play with them as taking the high ground, but that's just me.

Not insinuating the person I responded to was the Gatekeeper, only the argument itself is Gatekeeping.

A dark storm splits the sky. Upon a high peak is a castle whose banners flutters in the wind. Deep in the bowls of the ancient fortress, reclines a Gatekeeper enjoying a beverage. One of his underlings creeps in -"M-my lord, I bring terrible tidings!" The Gatekeeper then replies - "..Speak." The pathetic underling continues its whining in an annoying nasal tone. "W-we have received reports that.. that... that people are deciding for themselves what they enjoy!" This statement makes the Gatekeeper bolt upright. "What? IMPOSSIBLE." The underling nods its head empathically. "It's true! It's true! I swear it!" The Gatekeeper casts down its beverage in disgust, and its voice echo's throughout the entire castle. "This Shall NOT stand!" The Gatekeeper begins to pace, accenting its cold joyless words with over emphasized body language. "How DARE they! YOU! Write this down! Take their Newspaper missions! Take their Veteran levels! Take their alternate options of play! Make them pay money for Features!" The underling nods as it frantically scribbles down the Gatekeepers commands. "B-b-but what of Raids my lord? Task forces?" The Gatekeeper pauses and turns its hate filled gaze upon its groveling servant. "NO. I enjoy those! NONE SHALL TOUCH THEM." The underling prostates itself pathetically on the floor. "Forgive me my lord! Banish the thought!" The Gatekeeper narrows its eyes, but nods, and slowly sinks back into its throne. "You have my commands. Now, BEGONE! Leave me." The underling nods, as it slowly backs out of the room. "Y-yes! At once your excellency!" as it turns and flees down the hallway. The Gatekeeper allowed itself a smug look of gloating self arrogant satisfaction, and reclined back into darkness amidst its thoughts. How dare these new interlopers have fun on their own terms! Well, we shall soon see who has the last laugh, even if I will be alone, for only I enjoy the game PROPERLY. All else is PRETENSE. FALSE. A Sick imitation, nothing more. Surely, no one else's opinion or preference of enjoyment mattered but its own. The figure became consumed by these narcissistic thoughts for hours, and the storm continued to rage outside.

Fair! Just be aware that EA is one of the busiest sets. But there are some skippable powers that let you nab the power picks, slotting is another matter however. If you go this route I hope it works out for you! Tempted to blow the dust off my Demon/EA and make a few tweaks myself.

I use a fully slotted tactics, so I have accuracy there anyway. But even without it, your question really depends on the mission difficulty. +4/8 they might struggle, but I've had little issues on 3 or less. Not really no, I focus more on the resist/sustain than Defense. My melee defense is 30%, and everything else is around 19%. This is out of barrier however. Hasn't been an issue no. On paper it might be terrible, but it is fire and forget. But I do find to be a noticeable improvement. Free damage is free damage after all. I have no idea if the proc is bugged, beause it's really hard to tell. But I have my enflame slotted and proced anyway. It does great for me, but your mileage may vary. The -9.4% resistance from Lash/Corruption/Crack Whip? One lasts 2 seconds, the others last's 4 and 5 seconds. In order for you to reap the full benefit from the -res you more or less would be doing that "nonstop" to maintain the -28% resistance. Personally wither or not I take them largely depends on my secondary. Some sets like FF are very passive and have all the time in the world to take use those attacks, and the space to slot them. But Electric is a very busy set, you are healing, applying abosrb, dropping a cage, using enflame, bonfire/cc power of choice, managing pets, keeping an eye on everyone's END, so on. To me there simply isnt space in the build for them, both in power picks or slotting, or time to use in the rotation. It would be difficult to even keep a 5 second one up regularly, which would be 9.4% res debuff. I'm not saying such a thing wouldn't work, just might not be for EA's style. But if you want to give it a try then I say go for it.

I cited my numbers when they were fully slotted. My Faraday Cage is 6 slotted with Unbreakable Guard, and my T2 demons has one +resistance. And yes, I have tough as well, but bodyguard mode isn't shown in mids and I don't have RoP. Here's a screenie -

Hello @... Demon/EA is my 2nd favorite MM pairing and have played one quite a bit so hopefully I can help. The good - Demon/EA is one of the most survivable builds out there. I have outlasted some tanks and brutes before. You still aren't a tank without aggro tools however, but in terms of sheer raw survivability this is definitely up there, especially for a non-melee build. This build is capable of withstanding some truly impressive things, outdoing tankers/brutes in some instances. You are as tough as they are, but if they run out of END they often splatter. You on the other hand, should "never" run out, while being just as tough. The bad - Unfortunately, it won't win any DPS races. Demons by itself is good, but EA does very little to support it. It does have Empowering Circuit for a bit of +damage, but that's all to speak of. Playstyle - I have always had the best results from Demons when playing aggressively. I usually keep the prince and t2 pets in aggressive, and t1 pets in defensive. But to me this set definitely performs better when being aggressive with it, rather than defensive than Robots. You will want to be close to your pets to keep them inside your Faraday's Cage and to keep everything in range of your heals and absorbs. Slotting - You will definitely want to build for recharge, to make your Absorb/Heal as fast as possible, but also to get your Hell on Earth perma. Luckilly for MMs, this is easy to do with many options for Luck of the Gambler Global Recharge, but you can slot 2 pieces of the Supremacy set for 10% recharge reduction each time, and 4 parts of the other for another 10%. This is a total of 40% without any other sets considered. Powers Breakdown - Demons - I rank them 5/5 for Single target damage, but only 2/5 for AoE. They aren't "terrible" at AoE, but they aren't great either. Unless you "want" to take them, I would skip Corruption, Lash, and Crack Whip. They are decent picks in some builds, but with the MM damage penalty on personal attacks and increased END cost, they are rarely worth it. Plus /EA is a fairly busy set. T1 pets - I usually slot the T1 pets with a 2 piece AT for the 10% recharge time, a damage proc, and accuracy. Being as they are -3 to your level, they will need all the accuracy that they can get. T2 pets - I slot them with another 2 piece for another 10% recharge time from Supremacy set, but I also slot them with a +resistance as it does affect their buff. This is also a great spot for Soulbound chance for Buildup, as your Hellfire Gargoyle is your main AoE damage pet. T3 Pet - Hes also great for damage procs, and a 4 piece of the Command of the Mastermind set for another 10% recharge. Special Power - Hell on Earth - A great mule power, but with enough +recharge you can get this up to perma. I would use it on your Hellfire Gargoyle or Prince, depending on circumstance. It is both a 35% +damage buff, but also can spawn little hellspawn cinders which can add some DPS and more bodies on the field. The great thing about Electric Affinity is these temporary pets also benefit from all your +resistance effects, making them quite durable. At top end my cinderlings don't really "die," they last until they expire. Which if you can Perma Hell on Earth, more or less means you have a lot of free recharge pets that follow you around when spawned in combat. For Slotting I put 2 recharges in, a few of the pet IOs, but you can also slot it for Overwhelming Chance to KD unique. Electrical Affinity - My favorite MM secondary, I would rate it 5/5 for survivability and support. Not everyone likes this playstyle, however. Shock - Obligatory Powerpick, I usually don't slot it and either use it on Bosses/Elite Bosses or as a ranged Pulling power to aggro the next group without having to move. Rejuvenating Circuit - Your heal which is both cheap, fast to recast, and generous with targets affected. It does bounce however, so be aware of that for ranged targets. Energizing Circuit - Another great power that with enough slotting can give effective "infinite" END for everyone, especially if you recast it as part of your rotation. Faraday's Cage - "The" defining power in the set. Not only is it a 18% all res buff, but also makes you, your pets, and team mates immune to things like Knockback, Endurance Drain, Status Effects. Ideally you will want to keep all your demons inside of it while they fight. Empowering Circuit - Your only +damage power that gives 22% Damage to the first target, a bit less to others, but also gives them a bit of tohit as well. Defibrillate - A skippable power, in my opinion. Especially if you tend to solo more than team. Insulating Circuit - Your primary power, best used pre-pull to help absorb the alpha strikes. But fully slotted it can extend your pets effective health by roughly 20-25%. Amp Up - Sadly, this power doesn't work on pets, only players. Again, if you solo more than team, I would skip it. Auxillary Pools Leadership - I would suggest Maneuvers to help with pet defense, Tactics to help their accuracy, and Vengeance to serve as a mule for LotG Global Reduction. Sorcery - Some might be surprised by this suggestion, but you can take Shield Ward to stack +absorb with your Hellfire Gargoyle/Prince, Mystic Flight for mobility, but most importantly Enflame. Enflame goes a long way to help Demons mediocre AoE damage quite noticeably. You can have it up effectively permanently, only having to click it roughly once a minute, and can be slotted for damage procing as well. You "can" take Rune of Protection, but it isn't needed with Electric Affinity. Speed - Haste, obviously. But I also recommend taking Burnout. This is because you can use Hell on Earth, then Burnout, then immediately use Hell on Earth again on a different pet for a big boost in both damage and cinders on the field. Do be warned however that your Recovery will take a dip when Burnout wears off, but that is only a minor problem for EA. Fighting - The standard kick/boxing, tough, weave. If you find your own defenses lacking you can 4 slot kick/boxing with kinetic combat for another 4/2% S/L/Melee defense. Teleportation - You can take teleport self/combat teleport, but the real gem here is Fold Space which will let you pull things into your killing area, rather than you having to relocate yourself. Epic Pools Heat Mastery - My favorite epic power for this setup is Bonfire. This is because 1. It's a form of CC making things bounce inside your Fardays Cage, letting your pets wail on them. 2. It is a form of AoE damage, even if it's a dot. 3. You can slot it for damage procs as well as Annihilation -res. Mu Mastery - Fitting for theme if you care about such things, Electric Fences is one of the best Damage/Immobilize powers you have access too. It's a good immobilize, which you can actually get better than perma as it lasts 17 seconds with a 20 second recast to start, this is before all your recharge bonuses and so on kick in. The downside is it requires another power pick to take, neither of which is of great help - Static Discharge doesn't do enough damage for the cost, and you will already be resistance capped without Charged Armor. But if theme matters to you, then this might be worth taking for you. Mace Mastery - Web Envelope is very similar to Electric Fences mechanics wise, but does have the weapon draw animation, but doesn't waste precious power slots. Incarnates - Alpha - Musculature, no contest here. Your pets need every bit of damage they can get. Interface - I almost always recommend Degenerative, for the simple fact you can't really get -maxhp effect anywhere else, and you can slot -res effects into some powers. Judgement - Your choice here. Mighty can do an AoE Knockup to act as a tool to buy time if you need it in an emergency, but Ioun is the most thematic. Destiny - This is where Demons/EA really shines. Typically, a build has to pick 2 of the 3 following effects - Effortless END management through Ageless, Status Protection through Clarion, or Superior Durability through Barrier. However, with EA you can effectively have all 3 - Faradays Cage gives you and your pets Status Protection, and Energizing Circuit gives you "effective" infinite END, which leaves you free to take Barrier. To put it bluntly, you sort of get 2 incarnate effects through Electric Affinity, which is why it is a very potent set, even though its entirely defensive minded. Hybrid - I would go Support. Yes, if you want to juggle pets they can benefit from Assault, but I personally think its too much work for too little gain over simply using Support. If that doesn't bother you, then Assault might be the optimal choice. How it all comes together - So you have +absorb, heal, status protection and immunity, with a few damage buffs. You might get the best results by playing aggressively once you have all your tools, trying to keep as much of the fight inside your big bubble of demonic DEWM through Fold Space/Web Envelope/Electric Fences/Bonfire, and use powers like Hell on Earth and Enflame to support your pets as much as possible. The highlight of the playstyle - Though combined total effects, you never have "low" levels of survivability, only peaks of "not capped." You use Barrier, with absorb/heals/capped resists being plenty to manage the downtime when barrier isn't up. And since you and your pets are all resistance capped, you can take a truly stupefying amount of damage with bodyguard mode, absorbs, and heals. Anyway, know that was a lot to throw at you. But I hope it all helps!

I don't use keybinds either, what I do is drag the commands from the pet window to my tray. 3 Rows of trays, with tray 1 being t1 pet follow, attack, guard, etc. Tray 2 being the same for the t3 pets, and tray 3 being for t3 pet. I also put the all follow, all attack, all defend command there too. So i can still manage all my pets as i need with a few mouse clicks. PS - I use "Advanced" pet window, not the base one.

And I'll just point out that the first post of removing the AE is in post #5 of this thread was where the whole move/remove AE discussion began. And no matter how you try to slice or rationalize it, my original response to this has always been - more options are good. CoH is, and always has been, "play your way." And this is removing options, for new players. Players, even new ones, should have the right to decide if they want to use AE or not. Who are you, I, or anyone else to tell them otherwise? They are free to get rushed/farmed, just as they are in any other game. Also, I will add that moving the AE from starting zones, will likely have minimal effect anyway. At level 10-12 people usually move into the next newbie zone. So what difference would it be from being able to immediately use it, from using it the next zone over? It's not as if a new player once they learn its location, cant just make an alt and run there anyway, right? I would call that a strawman as well. You say "new players shouldn't be catapulted out of the gate." I agree they "shouldn't," but I don't agree with taking away the option to do so, if they so choose. Players, even new ones, should be able to choose their activity, just the same as doing any other - contact missions, random patrols, base building, roleplaying, playing the AH, etc etc. The real strawman here is the argument that power leveling a new player will somehow magically make them disinterested in playing, when it is entirely just as likely a new player can go "wow, this is awesome, I can make as many characters as I want, try any powers I want, as many ATs as I want, and can have the money to do so, and it won't take years of game time." True, SOME might go "eh, this game is too fast." But SOME are just as likely to go "...this awesome." And who are we to tell anyone otherwise? Players, new and old, will like what they like. And I take a pretty dim view of using questionable moral/for the greater good arguments to try and persuade their decision on how to enjoy the game.

@UltraAlt