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Well, I didn't say it, but I was assuming one wouldn't double-up on a primary (e.g. Storm/Storm); but a Ninja/Thugs would be nice. Or a Bots/Demon...

Ordered based on purest "debuff" defender. I agree, I love dark and storm (rad is so-so with me), but those are definitely hybrid, from heals and aoe defense/res toggle stuff. So I put them near the end of the "most debuff" list. TA = Trick Arrow. I started a separate thread on Fantasy primary pairings...

Defenders do OK damage-wise solo thanks to vigilance, however, things are always better in teams for everyone. Therefore, assuming we're in a nice big team, meat-shield, pew-pew, etc. and as a defender we do not need a blast/attack secondary... If we could pair defender primaries, what would you pair and why? For me, it would be Trick Arrow and Dark Miasma. How much would you bring to the team with THAT? Basically TA and anything else. Runners up were: Storm Summoning / Dark Miasma (double AoE stealth, defense, complimentary resist toggle!) - but the endurance consumption would be FRIGHTENING! Traps / Trick Arrow or Poison / Trick arrow - because mobs don't need to do damage, hit, regen, recover, or anything really. Just stand there and die. (or get arrested) Storm Summoning / Trick Arrow - because I *truly* believe I could solo with this. Trick Arrow / Thermal - If I can't shoot you with a healing arrow, the least I could do is set you on fire to heal you up! Probably more helpful would be: Sonic/Nature or Thermal/Time for some all-around buff/debuff. OK, there are far too many to imagine... Oddly, I can't think of another AT that I would want to pair primaries... maybe control/dom but everything else would be mostly unplayable. Corrupter/Blaster would be total pew-pew, but without a secondary, they'd be not just a glass cannon, but an empty glass cannon requiring constant attention from buffing teammates. Similar with Scrapper/Brute/Stalker (pow-pow only) or a Taunt-Bot Meat Shield tank (but an SR/REGEN tank would be interesting, or Dark Armor/Regen!)

You probably have figured out by now that there are, essentially, two types of defenders: buffers and debuffers. Of course, there are a few that try to do both. It sounds like you want a debuffer, and everyone and their mama has answered it, so I will as well, but I'll also rank them: Defender Debuffers (from best to "less best"): 1) Trick Arrow — best debuff, pure defender set in the game, recommended only as defender primary. Does not allow for too much blasting/other stuff. PRO: has every debuff in the game, FAST recharge (always doing something) - some LOVE doing that, very low endurance use, get's Oil Slick / giant burn patch CON: the -regen power is not perma, FAST recharge (always doing something) - some DON'T like that, has ZERO (nothing) for the team. ZERO. ZILCH. NADA. Not a SINGLE HEALING ARROW!! 2) Poison — great as a pure defender, good as corrupter/controller secondary, weak as MM secondary. Allows for a lot of blasting/other stuff to do. PRO: has strong -RES / -DMG debuffs with quick recharges, majority of it's power is in just two powers (Envemon & Weaken), poison trap as Nuke w/ procs, some team buffs (heal, anti-cc, rez with puke) CON: -regen is pitiful (-50%), poison trap ONLY good for proc nuke, PBAoE toggle is expensive, not as many debuffs as TA 3) Storm Summoning — strong controller or corrupter secondary, good defender primary (especially paired with sonic blast). Best set to deal damage. PRO: it's storm - played right, it's incredible; debuffs mob HEALTH better than any defender powerset, Freezing Rain, KB-to-KD procs make it very desirable now, strongest -ToHit in the game, gets a stealth AoE (steamy mist), a ST/Ally heal that really is -END resistance (stack it and laugh at Freaks/Clocks) CON: it's storm - played wrong, you get kicked / people leave the team, must use KB-to-KD procs in 2-3 powers, it's the only real ATTACK Primary defenders get. 4) Traps — best as MM secondary for solo play, just OK for Corrupter, Controller and Defender. Good for micro-managers (esp. with MM pets). PRO: everything is a drop, so it keeps working while mezzed, etc., Poison Trap (not like Poison's, ironically) is -1000% regen, best in game; set is best soloing or in slow teams. CON: some drops can be attacked/destroyed, Force Field Generator goes away after 4min (why?) and needs resummon (or gets destroyed a lot); Acid Mortar is mediocre, lot of throw-away powers, takes a LOT of time to setup/get going, bad set for fast teams (iTrials) 5) Dark Miasma (hybrid buff/debuff) — better as controller or MM secondary. Smart teams love TA and they love Dark. PRO: best AoE heal in the game, but requires living target; best defender stun in the game (Howling Twilight) - n00bs take it as a rez; lots of utility and exotic stuff. One of my favorite sets (that's a "pro" right?) CON: endurance and slot intensive, not for inexperienced character builders, not good for cheap (regular SO/IO) builds. Really, not many cons for me... 6) Radiation Emission (hybrid buff/debuff) — better as controller, corrupter or MM secondary. Pairs well with Sonic Blast (defender) PRO: Very strong 1-2-3 punch (two toggles and an targeted AoE ) debuff opening. Slow recharge, not much to do between lingering rad and AM, except aoe heal and blasting (many like that), Fallout is a nuke, EM Pulse is a nuke (for robots), Accelerate Metabolism is really good. Heal is PBAoE. has a rez CON: Fallout requires you to fail (team mate defeated) to use, and hope they dropped in the middle of a mob. Kind of boring to play (IMHO) on a pure defender, VERY endurance intensive, not for beginner builders nor for cheap IO/set building (need lots of end discounts and +recovery). Now each of the sets and their descriptions can be threads (and probably are) in their own right, these are just my quick summary of them, with respect to "DEBUFF DEFENDER" with a couple hybrids thrown in (Rad & Dark). My bias: I would love to have a TA/Dark Miasma defender. Or a Storm/TA. Oh man. I think I'll start a thread for that...

What would be nice (and maybe easier for the developers) is to have a pet customization option (similar to what illusion's Phantom Army recently got) where one option would be Scirocco's tornado power (it's multiple water-spout looking, narrow dust-devil things) - using just one of them, of course, to replace the tornado. The water spout could be another customization option. Then allow coloring of them. I would like that.

While the intention is fine, I am worried it would just become like a Twitter or Reddit cesspool. Popularity contests (systems) are very easy to abuse on-line.

Other possibilities, but not as helpful would be things like: $group = character's supergroup / villaingroup $playedtime = amount of time played (equiv. to talking to a Civilian NPC who's name starts with "M") $patrolcount / $patroltime = similar to Civilian NPC who's name starts with "N" / "O" $helpflag = Help Me! / Helper / Roleplaying Probably many others...

To the devs: Currently, there are at least ten (10) in-game variables that I know of that are usable in chats: $name = character name $archetype = character AT $level = character level $primary = character's primary powerset $secondary = character's secondary powerset $battlecry = character's battlecry $side = character's alignment (Hero or Villain) $origin = character's origin (magic, natural, etc.) $target = currently selected target $server = 10.10.40.4 (not sure if this is a local, client-side IP or what) What I would like to propose is the addition, if possible, of the following NEW in-game variables: $team = current team number (1 through 6 when in a league, or just "1" when on a normal team or solo) $slot = current slot on team (1 through 8, or just "1" when solo) $shard = name of server (e.g. Everlasting, Reunion, etc.) {since $server seems to be taken} There can be many more, of course, but with these three proposed new in-game variables, it will make cross-server chatting and in-game league coordination much easier. For instance, I bind "Everlasting TF" channel to my CTRL+1 key with the following bind: /bind CTRL+1 "afk Broadcasting on Everlasting TF...$$beginchat /send "Everlasting TFs" ($name, lvl $level $archetype): " That way, it comes out with my current character's name, level and AT... fine for Everlasting TF, they'll know I'm on Everlasting; however, for other cross-server channels (e.g. Global), it would be nice to add $shard to let people know what server I am on. Likewise, when in league play (e.g. Mothership Raid), I can have a macro or bind that calls out "$name on team $team, slot $slot - needs a T.P. back to the bowl!" or similar. How difficult is it to add these? It seems the $primary, $secondary, and $side (and others?) were added after the sunset of the game (I assume), as they were not in the live game that I recall.

Yeah, says you and every spines scrapper/brute, thorns dom/blaster... There probably should be a unified vision of redraw/non-redraw, and might as well make it Katana since it's in more ATs/sets.

I love earth, and I like poison. Don't think I'd pair them, but if I did it would look like this:

I am leveling up a plant/storm - two of my favorite sets. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier. Here is my current build: Powers Taken & Why It Matters: Entangle - skipped, who needs a single-target immob that does meh damage over time? Strangler - Your go-to attack AND hold. Roots - this is one reason you skip Entangle; it's also your "spamming" power, so get some End Reduction in there! Spore Burst - situational, but with the chaos of Storm, it's not likely things will remain sleeping. I always skip it. Seeds of Confusion - your opening attack! Why not start out with friends? Seriously, this is game-breaking. Mind Controllers have to wait until their T9 at level 32, muahahaha, and it's a longer recharge. Shhh, don't tell the devs. Spirit Tree - I skip because LoL regen = who is waiting around that long for a trickle heal? Get a panacea proc in health and get similar results all the time w/o wasting a power and slots! Skip the tree. Vines - Sweet "O.S." power (oh, sh!t). 4-slotted with basilisk and you're good to go. Carrion Creepers - the reason you are playing Plant Control. Get them +Rech as much as possible, use them every time. Not only do they do damage, they immob and TANK for you, as mobs will attack them. Fly Trap - it's the pet, it's ok. Looks cool, when colored well. Don't expect a lot except a 4-slotted rech-pet set. Gale - Have to take, but you know what? It's a decent interrupt and time-buying power. I 2-slot it, and use it as a aoe KD to buy some time to fill in control gaps, if needed. O2 Boost - Skipping this shows you are not a team player. Take this if you plan to team because it is a great buff that happens to heal. It is EXCELLENT on early TFs where you fight clocks and freaks and other end-draining things, as well as disorienting things... plus you can 6-slot an inexpensive preventive medicine set for rech and end reduction. Snow Storm - decent 1-slot power that sometimes I'll take at 49, for the -fly utility, but roots does that well, too, so on controllers with aoe immob that -fly's, I don't take it. Steamy Mist - a no-brainer, 6-slot it with Reactive Defense, as the default resists are good enough and you really should be shooting for more defense over resists. Plus the set bonuses are great (more end reduction) Freezing Rain - the reason you take Storm. One of the greatest debuffs in the game, and no need for a lot of slots (3-4); add that Achilles' Heel proc for even more -res (chance). Hurricane - some like it, many don't. Most people are not very good at playing with it, but in the hands of a skilled player, it's incredible. Do not pass it up, even if you're not good with it, it's still a great set mule and another "O.S." power. I mainly use it to To-Hit debuff AVs and EBs, things that don't repel or KB/KD. On my Plant/Storm, I get -45% to hit debuff - that's serious. Plus the -range is good. Thunder Clap - I always skip this, as it's just a mag 2 and not really needed. On my Earth/Storm I'll take it to add to Stalagmites, but on Plant/Storm, I'll pass. Tornado - This is the "one" of the one-two punch, take it, slot it, love it. I go 4-rech-pet set and 2 sudden accel for the KB-KD proc. It is your damage dealer, lock things down tight so it AoEs (but even single target, it's nice) Lightning Storm - This is the "two" of the one-two punch. I slot for damage, some slot for procs. YMMV. Add in your pools (I go Scorpion Shield, as I like to survive encounters) as well as the usual Fighting, Flight, and Leadership. Leadership should be mandatory on a defender (numbers-wise), controllers are 2nd best at it, so don't pass them up. I only wish I could run all of them, but you'll see in my build in this post that I took recall friend instead of assault. Mostly because Plant/Storm *is* a bit endurance intensive. I might add it in when I'm incarnated out with end mod / end reduction. As a side note: Since this is an endurance-intensive set, you need to let the powers do the work. Seeds, Freezing Rain, Carrion Creepers, Roots, Tornado & Lightning Storm... that takes a bit of endurance, but the good news is, you can basically sit back and recover while they do all the work. Maybe re-apply the Roots or hit Strangler on a boss to start stacking mag. At this point (after initial drops) it becomes a "maintenance playstyle" - adding only what needs to be added or refreshed (rain, roots, tornado/LS, etc.). Toss an O2 boost to pet or teammate, whatever. Heck, I will throw in a Gale, just to see more flopping around! It is a beast. Probably the most impressive controller combination I've played; and I play a lot of controllers - usually for control and support; but this build / combo is definitely a damage-dealer and control. Support is non-existent (O2 boost), but you should have things floppin' and lockin' (locked down) most all of the time, with temporary "friends" (seeds of confusion) to assist. I'd complain about the pet, but that's pretty much every controller pet. Except Singularity. That's the best controller pet in the game.

I do not understand why attacks in pool powers are so weak. One can take the first two powers (either or) at level 4; assuming one is an attack, the other something else (hover, mez prot, mystic flight, etc) - shouldn't this mean that any attack (T1 pool power, let's say) should be NEARLY equivalent with a T2-T3 attack power? (T3 for attack primary, T2 for attack secondary) Since that's about the time you decide, do I want my cone attack from the primary, or this single-target from the pool power? Unless the attack has some excellent utility (hello, Air Superiority!) I am not sure why it would need nerfing (damage-wise). Maybe add -res instead of damage; or, reduce damage to minor DoT, but give it a -10% res for 10s (a la Corruption from Demon Summoning)? Then it'd be a great utility and meh damage, so as not to compete with primary/secondary attacks.

At least with Mystic Flight, you're flying already and do not fall to the ground instantly, like with Jaunt. It is a good idea, but feels very impractical, especially given that players can pick a free vertical travel a la Steam Jet / Jump Jet (or whatever its called). I used to love the Magic Pool, and had mystic flight with it's free TP (that didn't increase speed any) until I discovered Afterburner. Never took Mystic Pool again. Don't get me wrong, I see the value of these in Role Playing or strict Theme-based characters. Plus, new sets are always welcome! However, for my playstyle, they just fall short of getting done the job I need them to do.

I tried the travel power. While the Jaunt is a decent idea, mechanically, it is cumbersome due to camera angles and distances. My test was jumping up on the train station's roof in Atlas: I had to zoom all the way back and rotate things just right to get the target rings on top of the roof. It completely interrupted the Speed of Sound (SoS) travel. I can see this happening a lot, so I'd probably just stick with Steam Jump for my vertical needs. I always liked how Champions did teleport: fade color out, fast fly (intangible) for a few seconds, re-emerge hovering a few seconds, then fall/gravity (giving enough time to hit the TP key again). The toxic dart was fun for a low-level, leveling-up power. Overall, I think it'll be great for theme characters, etc. But I doubt I'd replace SS with SoS due to the stealth aspect, as well as Hasten > this entire set as far as value goes. Let's face it, the real test of any of these origin-based sets are: is it good enough to replace the comparable travel pool? In this case: Not really. Hasten+SS is a tough combo to beat.

Just noticed that the Sentinels attack, but cannot IGNITE oil slick (from Trick Arrow). Also seems the heal, etc. (chain elec affinity powers) do not ignite oil slick... I thought "energy" (in addition to fire) ignited it?

I love the single rocketboot thruster! Good enhancement to the customization options! Odd there are no "robotic" boots (was going for a missing arm/leg amputee thing). The corsair pegleg was chosen instead: As a side question: Any possibility of custom THRUSTER COLOR?

I have a few defenders: Poison/Dark (very impressive), Cold/Ice (hold machine), Trick Arrow/Archery, and Storm/Sonic. Of these, one set clearly stands out as the most helpful in team debuffing situations. One set is what people really come to see: T and A... that is: Trick and Arrow. (What were YOU thinking?) Do not underestimate Trick Arrow. On a defender it is MASSIVE debuffs ALL THE TIME: Entangling Arrow: I skip this, but often miss having it. -Fly, -Movement, -Recharge in single-target form. Flash Arrow: A lot skip this, and they're probably not too bright (pun intended!). ALWAYS take the -percep / -tohit / non-aggro power. ALWAYS. 4 Cloud Senses. Done. Glue Arrow: Simple tool to keep things huddled so they can't flee as easily. It is also 20% -Recharge on mobs. Great utility, always up (easy to perma). Ice Arrow: a hold, take it or leave it proc it out or 4-basilisk for the recharge bonus Poison Gas Arrow: Don't be fooled because it says "sleep" this is a nice -Damage power, easily perma'd and/or proc'd. I usually go 5 Call of the Sandman. YMMV. Acid Arrow: Out of the box perma already, -Def / -Res (slightly less than Freezing Rain, but it's up ALL the time for that multi-mob goodness), does tiny ticks of toxic. Disruption Arrow: Why have ANOTHER -Res power that's easy to perma (2 rech. IO's is all I put in there). Another -20%... hey, that's 40% -Res all the time in 2 powers. Why Yes! Yes it is. Oil Slick Arrow: Well, well, well. What have we here? Basically a NUKE. Up every mob or so (I usually have it around 70s rech) and it does Knock DOWN and -Def and... HEY! Would you look at THAT? MORE -res! Granted it's only 12.5% -Res, but didn't you just drop 2 arrows for 40% total? Well, shoot, we're now at 52.5% -res. Not too shabby... Oh, and you can SET THIS ON FIRE with an energy and/or fire power (those inherent magic or tech ranged things, or something from your blast set, e.g. blazing arrow). My current build (TA/Archery) has 6-slotted Annihilation (ooo, is that a -res proc? Sure is!) and it ticks for a TON of damage. Between the KD and the glue arrow, mobs tend to stay in it for the duration or their death. Great power. Simply great. EMP Arrow: Finally, tier9 and you get -Regen. 1000% -regen! And -Recovery 1000%, as well as draining 55% of their endurance (lol, end drain on mobs) AND an AoE hold. OK, I can see why it's T9. It's nuke-worthy (though it only damages robots, which on an ITF at the computer is fun!) I actually often skip this one, too, as my builds are pretty tight and I either take this or ice arrow, never both. Ice adds to survivability, it's up often and it's a decent hold, thus has more use. For big AV fights, I'd lean towards EMP for the -regen/-recovery. People ALWAYS forget about Trick Arrow. People ALWAYS underestimate it. Well, the experienced players know all about TA. In short, TA brings the following debuffs: -Fly -Perception -ToHit -Recharge (x2) -Movement (x2) -Damage -Defense (x2) -Resistance (x3) +KD AoE (-standing debuff?) -Regen -Recovery +Damage patch (-living debuff?) So it has a few. But please. It's also pretty fast cast/activation times. Acid Arrow and EMP Arrow are the LONGEST activations with cast times of 1.83s each. Most things are 1s-1.16s activation. Not too shabby! Will make sonic attacks seem like you're held a lot of the time. TA/Fire will feel FAST. Probably the fastest defender out there, as far as activation goes.

This is a great combo. I don't play my defender much, as Storm without lock-down is really just a lot of fearful fleeing going on. Realistically, one can get a rain and howl off (55% -res) and pick ST's off. But once the Tornado and/or Lightning Storm are out, things just don't stick around. A more viable build is an Earth/Storm controller. Don't say I didn't warn you. It is worth the 5% debuff loss on the Controller version of Freezing Rain, as well as no Sonic (good and bad) in order to have Stone Cages and Quicksand and Earthquake and... well, you get the picture. Earth=OP + Storm=OP is really an awesome team player... just remember to open with cages... always cages... THEN drops... and drop and drop and drop....

Did you not read the post above yours? 😉 Not only have I updated the menu with the new sets, but thanks to @AboveTheChemist, it now includes various BADGE-GRANT options to unlock patron pools (villain epics), ouro portal, Incarnate Slots, etc. Check it out in the post above (the one with all the How-To images, etc). Or download from HERE.

Just a note (which you all probably know or noticed): The Rocket Boot and Piston Boot do not have an animation when split or when matched (but selected as both Left and Right). Of course I wanted a single-thruster boot, as well as a single shockwave when jumping... then I want a pony.

What I would recommend is they are split by default (showing right and left), then you toggle the first one (right, I think is listed first?) and that makes it symmetrical. This way, one picks a glove and if one decides to have them the same, a simple click will lock them (symmetrical); otherwise, rinse-repeat for the next one. Same for shoulders (when that happens) and boots.

I also updated the freebies.mnu file to include the Artillery Set. It can be found with instructions in THIS THREAD. Alternatively, if you know what you are doing, here is the link to the dropbox of the file: Freebies.mnu Thanks!

Getting a ½ step closer to Champions Online level of customization! I love it!

Too many 10% regen bonuses. I'd rather it be 9%, just so it's not conflicting with the myriad of other 10% regen bonuses. Also, it's always a let-down to see Mez Resist in a set, ESPECIALLY when it's the 6-set bonus (or part of it). The rest looks pretty good, and I like the level range for the End sets (21-50) - makes gaming the converting system easier.

That's an excellent point. I totally agree, totally know this, but had not thought of it. Yeah, some toons just never seem to have a lot of insps, whereas others I'm constantly converting and popping. Good point.