Shiva

I just built out an Arsenal/Arsenal dominator this weekend and I have to say it's a lot of fun to play as a set. The toon's just up to 13 at this point, but I really enjoy the fact that you get a very cool set of different attacks/abilities right out of the gate. It's certainly not the struggle that low-end Traps players had to endure at low levels. Even at this level, END is a struggle, so it requires you to play with that in mind. To this point I haven't struggled soloing radios or arc mishes by myself at +1. The set also plays well with teams as you have ranged control and damage, so it's easy to play with a fast-moving team. I've been surprised that I haven't had to go crazy with defense at this point. With the sleeping gas and the cryo ray alone, it's been pretty easy to keep the bad guys at bay long enough to drop them with burst, my trusty shot gun, or even throwing knives. I look forward to getting up the power tree a bit and getting creative with some IO sets. ;-) I love playing doms, but I could see rolling with this set as a controller as well.

I have a BR/Regen that's in the mid-30's at this point. I've been very impressed with the overall survivability of the build. Even just three-slotted with SOs in Fast Healing, Instant Regen, and Integration, I typically don't see my health meter dip significantly in the middle of a heavy 4X8 battle with minions, LTs, and even AVs. The surprising thing for me has been how easy Regen has been on Endurance. That gives me a lot more offensive flexibility that I don't normally get with other ATs and builds. Also, I haven't had to manage an inspiration tray of blues to keep me relevant before END can be mitigated through IOs, ATOs, or Incarnate fixes. I can say Regen is robust enough that I don't feel the need to take that constant peek at my health bar when I'm in the middle of a fight. I also don't need to hang back out of melee range to do work. That's a comfort.

I have started playing my Elec/Elec Corrupter pretty much exclusively lately as I finally crossed 40 and started the toon on its glorious ride to fiddy. Until he got to 30 he was pretty gimped and not really fun at all to play. I was driving the struggle bus. The change from SOs to IOs really brought his skill set out to a point and he's actually very fun to play now. A not too pricey investment in Endurance Modification and some not-over-the-top Ranged Damage IOs can be the catalyst for a very fun character you'll enjoy playing well past the 50 mark. He can solo, thanks to the build's galvanic and voltanic pets, but this alt seems built for team play and can be a real game changer in a number of ways. As you've all said, the chain buffs (while irritating sounding) quickly become a team favorite against all baddies, but especially those that are hard on team endurance. And while the toon's not designed to be a primary healer (IMHO), it can do the job for most teams. The "meat and potatoes" is the end and dam buffs you can drop on your team regularly. The other unsung star of the E/E show is the Faraday Cage. Initially, most squishy teammates don't realize that when you drop the Faraday Cage for them in the middle of a battle it dramatically ups their survivability. It generally takes a few rezs (also a nice benny with this alt) before they all realize that their best option is to stay under the curtain of zappage if they want to survive a up-close contest with a group intent at curb stomping them. One of the most surprising things I've found is how flexible the build is once it gets its legs underneath it. You need to have patience and invest, but the payoff is there. You can play it as a conventional Blaster with a lot of success. The build has a number of great long-range attacks that can help you avoid traditional Blaster face plants if you want to play as a ranged God of Lighting. And, like a Blaster, several of those attacks hit like a truck. Zapp is very solid and after floating it some slots and IO love, can one-shot many single targets. It takes a bit of time to load, and can be interrupted, but the results are undeniable. Thunderous Blast is a personal favorite. Properly slotted, TB can turn the tide of battle very quickly. It hits and drops groups with power that's on par with a Incarnate Judgement ability. With a modest investment in Hasten, you can typically have it available inside of a minute. You can, as Hew has pointed out, play this toon as a front-line melee support character with equal success. In addition to all the buffs EA provides, the mastery of the endurance drain attack is a huge advantage against AVs and nasty groups like KoA, Carnies, and Malta. With a Faraday Cage in place, attacks from your GS and VS are vicious, and melee is made even better if you invest well in Shock. Again, with some IOs in place, the E/E can make a Brute's/Tank's job much easier. The key is learning to recognize what you team needs from you and adapting your play style. Having played a bunch of Blasters. I can honestly say the E/E is the much discussed "Blastroller" of lore. 🙂 Real DPS power and the ability to provide meaningful support Not gonna lie, though. The End management early on with this alt is a major PITA. The build will try your end engagement skills every time you take it out of the stable. There was a point around level 21 when I was ready to delete this toon. I just ran a Yin TF at 22, and it was paaaaaaainful. You need to invest early on IOs for this build to blossom.

This sounds like it'll be a blast!

Add me to the mix for this as well. I'm getting the same. Manifest download error for http://patch.savecoh.com/manifest.xml The remote server returned an error: (503) Server Unavailable.

After seeing a Stalker destroy everything in a room full of baddies during a recent mission, I was intrigued enough to give one a try. I looked around at some of the builds folks were hyping. I ended up rolling a Savage Melee/Bio Armor Stalker and I have NOT been disappointed. Even as a lowbie, he was one-shotting nearly everything he came across. Like many of you, I lament the fact that when building a new toon, it's basically worthless until level 20. That is not the case with Stalkers. And at least in my build's case the END investment us incredibly low considering the damage output. There's not even really a need to bloat up the build with a lot of ancillary pool powers to compensate for glaring issues in the set. The Savage Primary is indeed savage in pretty much every respect. Bio Armor provides a flexible approach to survivability that I haven't seen with many of my other toons. I was initially cautious about dropping him into a group of four or five baddies a level or two above me. I've found out quickly that is not a thing to be concerned about. I for one still love close quarters fights. Even in these heady days of Incarnate AOE attacks. Stalkers make melee feel fresh. Walk up to the biggest mook in the room and slice him into ribbons. You won't regret it. 🙂