Sir Myshkin

Side tangent, can we make this official, like an “unkindness of ravens”? Let’s make it official. Murderball of Corrs

Wait, are you telling me there are other powers in that Patron Pool other than Scorpion Shield? Huh, who knew.

What is this, WoW? Get out of here. I don’t have a crazy deep stable of characters, but even to give up half would be a struggle. There’s at least six that come to mind right away, so maybe I could settle on six? But now, just one would never happen.

For the general public record a level 50 AV can be solo defeated by a character only running pool attacks with the support of Acid Mortar and Poison Trap exclusively. Primary chain of Boxing, Kick, and Cross Punch. There is enough DPS within the pool abilities to take down an EB on their own.

Don't worry about the math if you're just looking to have fun in the game. Even the barest minimum can be min-maxed to death if one tries hard enough, and even a power-pool exclusive character can manage to "win" at this game if they choose their cards correctly. If there's an attack you want to cycle in for dramatic effect, then cycle it in, even if it doesn't always play to some random DPS algorithm! I kept Hurl Boulder on one of my characters for a long time just because of the occasional enjoyment of picking up a chunk of street and tossing it forcefully into a thugs head. If you really want to find the best avenue to explore a character that gets the most benefit/bang out of pool powers then I'd point you at the supportive sets like Defenders/Corruptors/Controllers. They're less likely to have lost out of some significant component in their AT that being pool-driven will have mattered. The second additive is loading up on a bunch of damage procs in the attacks as possible. Two or three in each attack will help compensate the offset of their damage in the first place, no differently than any other ability, but it'll help bring them closer to a normalized scale of performance. The last thing is carrying around any kind of debuff abilities from their support role will also help skew combat back towards your favor, making the choice to be pool-centric less of an issue.

If you're comfortable upgrading RAM yourself (it's the least invasive upgrade you can make to a Desktop), there are a few options you can pick that provide improvements in other areas like better graphics cards in exchange for their configurations. This build has a current generation chipset both in CPU and GPU, but only 8GB of RAM. A single stick can be purchased for ~$40, or you can easily get one of the packaged options from Best Buy (they sell them two packs) and end up with 24 GB of total RAM in your build: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-5600g-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-500gb-ssd-black/6479741.p?skuId=6479741 Here is an iBuypower option of the above that comes with 16 GB RAM and an extra 1TB HDD, but at a cost of $200 more. This ends up in the same price range as what you previously looked at, but gets you into a better graphics card without giving up any processing power. The Ryzen 5 5000 series processors are strong, and the 5600x is pretty much spec to spec on par with an i7-11600k. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-slate-mr-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-5600x-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-8gb-480gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6485757.p?skuId=6485757 This is a SkyTech build, a company that Best Buy has had a limited distribution deal with that increased significantly this year due to demands, so there's not a lot of track record on their site with them, but it has a good cost and spec ratio, and it also has a block cooler on the CPU instead of just a generic stock fan which is an added plus, most Intel builds often don't have very good stock fans. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/skytech-gaming-chronos-mini-gaming-desktop-pc-intel-i5-10400f-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-500g-ssd-16g-3200-memory/6489651.p?skuId=6489651

So anyway, I started blasting...

But who gets the badge?!?! Ugh!

For me I'd likely end up playing this build very much the way I play Storm/Energy, which is to say right in the thick of things, but this one doesn't have the same benefit of end balance to be constantly spamming abilities so it kind of has to take Ageless to be consistent, unfortunately. Grabbing some extra damage out of Reactive or Degenerative to help boost performance are going to be a boon for a Controller here too, so I'd consider one of those, but don't be afraid of taking one of the other Interfaces that tosses out random effects because you'll be spamming a lot of pets and abilities that can rock a lot of triggers, a confuse interface might be amusing to test out. Past those two the rest are really up to you. Judgement is preference (personally favor a ranged tool like Ion or Pyre, but Vorpal has a Defense-inclusive option too). For Hybrid I'd suggest the Support Core as it adds a constant endurance discount while equipped, and when you fire it up it grants a nice little package of buffs that double up on pets (ie: Stony to toughen him up for an AV alpha)--I've been using this Hybrid on my Stormie for a while and find it rather useful. Oh, and the Alpha, can't forget that: Intuition Radial, the +Damage inclusive one as it'll also come with hold, def debuff, range, and slow enhancement that'll impact a good variety of your other powers while getting that all important damage maximization.

For the record it would've been far better served to have just been up front about this from the get go instead of beating around the bush 😉 As such I understand the sentiment you're (now) expressing and that's something that tends to get self-edited out as far as the typical hive-mind of the Pylon thread is concerned. An impractical approach is oft considered just that, impractical. Pretty much every Mastermind run is erroneous from the get-go sadly because pets scale up against the Pylon in combat unlike how they would against an actual AV so the conditions of the fight aren't "accurate" out of the box/portal/parachute/smokebomb.

I don’t follow your rationalization of this statement. A build would need to be able to survive the pylon itself which isn’t exactly a casual task for most non-melee characters. The build I posted also takes most of its reasonable choices for AoE abilities and attempts to turn even its typically non-damaging ones into more useful effects as Controllers are typically an AoE-lite AT. I already stated I tested that build not only at taking down the Pylon, but also in performance against normal gameplay at +4/x8 and did fine, so unless you had something more specific you’d like to discuss… ?

Traditional Pylon Rules are No Insp, No Temps, No Lores, and if Judgement gets used call it out but typically most don't use Judgements. Back when I did the proc testing I actually ran Earth through paired with Dark Miasma and part of my field runs were how it performed running content/field operations and also how it performed (same build) against a Pylon to best simulate a full run of content. This is the video from back then, it does use Ageless but that's simply because of endurance. I typically ran a lot of the builds with Ageless active to wash out endurance concerns to get max experiential feedback, incidentally Dark is actually pretty good on its own anyway. Pylon goes down in about five minutes between Stony and I. This was the build:

Don't forget your build is backed by Farsight which is going to grant you 10% bonus To-Hit (22% once you get Power Boost), and your posted final build has 30% Global Accuracy. With just one level 50 Acc/End/Rech Analyze Weakness slotted it tips its rech to pretty close ED cap of 28/s, 12 End, and ~93% Acc against +4.

The great thing is that this stuff hasn't really changed so all the info is still relevant and functional. Your build looks like it checks all the right boxes too. Chrono Shift will be perma with a trigger of a FF+Rech proc, and you've got the right balance in your attacks. Only thing I'm seeing off the bat I could suggest is pulling a slot from Slowed Response to add the Reactive 3% Res IO since you don't need any Acc adjustment in that power with how high it starts.

I don't follow, I'm a visual person, help me out here... 🤣

Your desire for a trans mutational capable aspect is the part that makes that quintet a bit odd, but I think the appropriate path for the character would be best done as a Defender. I mocked this up, just powers no slots: I know a Defender can work and fight with just the Fighting Pool and nothing else active besides a couple of Traps supporting it, so it'd be very easy for you to pick and choose how and when parts of the character played out, but this borrows into each aspect pretty tidy. Traps to focus on being able to manifest objects, Fire Blast for the Demon, Sorcery for the "show boat" part of it (and flight), Psionic Mastery for the Vampire to have pacifistic options in confusion and hypnosis, and the full fighting pool for the martial aspect. Another plus with it being a Defender is the better scaler values. FFG and Weave with the two 3% Def IO's easily put the build at 35% Def to All so it's really easy to jump to soft cap and be a very safe and strong build while keeping it RP focused.

bzzt Nope! Any combination of sets in the game can be designed to work at ridiculous levels, it just takes the right kind of designer to get the build there. Not to say there aren't some just stinkers out there that the effort just shouldn't be considered, but it can be done! 😉 Based on what you've responded with so far I get the impression you're more of a mid to ranged type of player that'd prefer to cast and entrap things then get into the fray which leaves me a couple of suggestions for you. Defenders What gets classified as a support set in this game can contain both debuff and buff opportunities, but not all those buff options are solo friendly (or even caster-impacting for that matter). Thus far you've mentioned experiencing certain sets in the game, and a few others have talked about opportunities to move in a good direction. For early adapters to the game that are soloing, Time Manipulation, Traps, and Trick Arrow are good options to start with as they have straight forward utilities and can be easily built to keep a player alive with little trouble; these sets also easily pair with pretty much any blast set. My build suggestion for you as a Defender: Trick Arrow/Archery Don't get this wrong, it won't be a typical Ranger! This combination supports the synergy of a single weapon cast and much of the Archery set is fast firing allowing quick reapplication and movement between primary and secondary abilities. Archery's T9 AoE is also a TAoE with a shorter than normal recharge allowing for more uptime for a solo player. Another prop to Archery is is slight bump to accuracy which is a nice plus when there's no other team buffs floating around. its light end use means picking up additional powers like Assault to amp up damage won't be an issue. This bow and arrow type of character carries a quiver with a lot of tricks occupy enemies. Controllers As you mentioned mez effects are a troublesome aspect of the game to deal with, and as much as they can be irritating for a player, you can use them equally as well against the enemies in the game with this AT. A bonus here is Defender primaries are shared as Controller secondaries meaning you can take Time, Traps, or Trick Arrow and play it as a Controller pairing just as well, but focused on using ahem controls instead of damage to defeat your enemies. My build suggestion for you as a Controller: Fire/Time Manipulation Fire Control is the highest damage performer between its attacks, Hot Feet, and Fire Imps, but can be felt as an end hog. Having a set-and-forget secondary like Time Manipulation, which also support long active recharge/end buffs helps dramatically support Fire in combat. Farsight being an AoE means it supports you and your trio of Fire Imps too, and these little monkeys are vicious lawn mowers that requires little attention from you to do their thing. Flashfire will easily stun large spawns, and Bonfire with a KB>KD converter will keep them flopping around like fish for days while Fire Imps tear them apart. Sentinels While not exactly a Melee character in reality, in concept this AT is built to act like your typical "meat shield" by getting housed in the same type of strong armors but supported with long range attacks. These builds end up being a duality of safe both in regards to their ability to keep raw distance from enemies as well as just natural safety of their secondary protecting them. My build suggestion for you as a Sentinel: Beam Rifle/Energy Armor This is a bit of an obscure suggestion to try and help break away from that World of Warcraft past by putting a modern techy rifle in the mix that happens to be a very good set for Sentinels and comes packed with decent AoE and performs well for ST too. Energy Armor once it's built out can cover pretty much every defensive type, and this can be a very solid "top tier" solo build that takes very little effort to pilot. Of the three this is probably the most straight forward and simplest to run and operate, and the one that'll feel "complete" fastest as it can be IO'd at 40 with most of its kit whereas the others will want more time to flesh out between 40-50.

Please tell me you have one e-mail at the very beginning of all that with just one solitary inf in it as your "First Inf Earned."

All Defender builds are capable of traversing the City-Verse solo, but there isn't necessarily a "top" performer because each will have small pot holes that take experience to fill. However, some are better suited to solo work or have abilities centralized to benefit the caster, which (in no specific order) would be: Storm, Dark Miasma, Nature Affinity, Poison, Time Manipulation, Traps, Trick Arrow. Storm is the most aggressive option, and if I had to blanket pick just one Defender, period, it would be a Storm/Energy. I can also get NAff/Energy setup to play similarly which ends up making it a contending second. More considerable analysis on these topics can be founds in my signature!

Your overall build goals will determine what you ultimate stick in your attacks. While leveling using procs are an effective way to add burst value without investing yourself to a specific set if you get the random proc recipe dropped on you as they will sell easily later on if you choose not to continue using them. If an attack you're looking at slotting is one that you don't need to rely on a particularly effective set for its bonuses, then adding two or three (or sometimes four) procs to the power's slotting are a much better trade off damage wise. It's something you have to determine during the build design process like if you're trying to achieve 45% softcap defense, knowing where and what powers you'll be able to achieve that with and how lets you know what powers you'll have the ability to play around with more freely. I ended up having some time on my hands due to a Zoom meeting that I expected to be more than just a slideshow and put together a build based on the Shark concept. I built this as a Corruptor though to showcase that end stats for the build could still get achieved without sacrifice. Defenders are definitely easier to build for due to better buff values out of the box, but a Corr would play better towards Damage, and that's all this type of build really has going for it. I also went into Force of Will for Weaken Resolve and Unleash Potential. Weaken so that in team settings the build could force multiply with some -Res, and Unleash to help patch any defense debuffing.

I meant to get a reply into this sooner but I've been swamped looking for a new job and sort of slipped my mind. On a one to one scale Gravity Control (with Singularity) has the ability to take down an even level AV, but it is a slow process. When I tested I used a Gravity/Time and Time Manipulation isn't exactly loaded with debuffs. I did use Propel during the fight, and it does create a trash pile that--while amusing--is tedious to deal with after a while; Arcane Bolt wouldn't be a bad choice to swap out for as it'd perform comparably. For those curious: In the realm of building for Gravity/Dark the sustainable notes are in getting the build to a point where Fade keeps it at/around 32% defense naturally. -Darkest Night will do a lot of heavy lifting going forward, even with purple patching. A +4 AV will knock down DN by 50% easily, but if it's boosted above 20% to begin with it still creates a significant enough impact for the build's survival. -Soul Absorption did a lot in terms of group dynamic survival. It may not come off on paper as much, but it can steal a hefty amount from a spawn and when stacked behind a wall of reasonable defenses can do a lot of supplement things like Twilight Grasp for survival and end management. Essentially just don't forget to use this power. -Build an attack chain around Propel or Arcane Bolt with a a FF+Rech proc in it to help supercharge Howling Twilight. Lift is one of the best DPA balanced powers in Gravity, that leaves a choice of something like Crush, or an Epic Blast. -Some consideration on Poisonous Ray: It does have that tasty -Res inclusion, but it's on a short leash and Gravity already suffers from low DPS to be adding a very low DPA attack into the mix for an exchange in DPS increase. It will add, but it'll be anemic in most situations without a team backing you to really chew into that extra leverage. If you're going to be solo on that AV the inclusion of that ability may end up being detrimental long-term. I would sooner look at something like Water Spout with an Achilles' packed in it as Tar Patch will help ground the AV (ideally) while it chews down. Otherwise look at more aggressive forms of damage potential or resources like Fire, or Earth for Seismic Smash.

I could be wrong on this having made it to live because I know it was tested but I’m foggy on when it (may have) went live: Fade is no longer impacted by Power Boost. This isn’t necessarily a deal breaker in building however since Darkest Night is a ver comprehensive cover for making up defense values with its -ToHit value. On the topic of Grav taking down an AV though, totally possible, especially with Dark backing it up with Tar Patch’s -Res and Howling Twilight’s -Regen. Only thing I’d advise against is probably Propel, and not because of damage but because the fights will still take several minutes and you’ll end up with such a ridiculous amount of screen trash to deal with.

Bingo. This right here is exactly why I don't play Redside. It quite literally depresses the crap out of me to be on that side of the game and it is directly connected with the overall environment/weather/sky of the zones. If they replaced the sky box with a standard sunny day I'd probably be fine, but I have a hard time spending more than five or ten minutes running around before I start to feel like the sky is falling in on me.

This is still going back to the same hang up that the Seeker Drones are being artificially enhanced for use via the proc, and it is truly only the proc that is adding a significant value to their utilization. As an alpha absorption are they really making that much of an impact comparatively if you--as the player--are (we're assuming) already soft capped via FFG, and it's impacting with a nominally small debuff in -ToHit and -Dam on one or two targets, most likely minions, most likely earliest to die. Without the addition of the proc there is also less recourse of re-summon for each additional engagement of threat level (Boss, EB, AV) over the duration of fight due to reduced debuff effect, and negligible damage component. From a play stand point it makes a player feel engaged and inclusive in their set, environment, and the experience of being a "Traps User," but from an analytical standpoint there is no significant data point value to the inclusion of a Seeker Drone's impact in combat. The Seeker Drone's have the same recharge as Poison Trap, and Poison Trap has a far more meaningful impact on opening a spawn compared to the Drones because it occupies and removes assailants from combat while instantly weakening them. That's the kind of play impact that each power should be providing, meaningful impact. I'm not telling you or anyone else to stop playing in a way that makes it so you enjoy the game, but I will still call out the deficiency in the set and the change that needs to happen.

This concept is taking survival and bending it back to the original idea of Offense is Survival, but each of the Mad King Blasters is bent around taking at least one or two key tools available to help maintain some level of performance either solo or while on teams. In terms of that Energy/Elec there's Force of Nature packed into the build that will cap the Resistances of the Blaster for a couple of minutes, and with active FF+Rech use it'll have a much shorter down time than most players experience (about a minute). Another tool packed in is something like Unleash Potential which helps boost up Defense, which in a team scenario is likely to be stacking on top of additional Maneuvers or other latent team buffs to get the Blaster over the hurdle of 45% without the effort of soft capping themselves, and again with a lot of active use in the FF+Rech proc that power will have a pretty easy 50% up time if used consistently. The remaining aspect of this particular build is the fact is really is honing in on that Knockback component and pushing it forward (pun intended) as part of the front line offensive defense. A target can't engage if it's face-planted and/or out of range. Taking a set with such an aggressive "control" mechanic and pairing it up with a very damage empowered secondary, then packing it full of recharge makes it possible for this build to cycle Build Up and Aim a lot too. Will you die with a build like this? Oh most likely, especially in the learning stages, but once you get ironed out you'll be dishing out such egregious amounts of damage in a timed manner that you'll likely often forget to even be focused on clicking Force of Nature and just be spamming through cycles of KB/KD and Nova between loops of BU/Aim. I do not. Water Blast does have a couple of abilities with KB/KD components baked in, but not nearly to the same level as Energy Blast so setting up a strong assortment of attacks isn't as clean in regards to having a consistent chain of FF+Rech feeding attacks to fuel the idea; there's also not a lot going on in Temporal Manipulation beyond the auto +Rech that's intuitively connected to this idea either. Which Defender variant were you looking for, and what version of Mid's are you using? These should load in the most current format: Storm/Energy Nature/Energy: