InvaderStych

As do most who are older than us. You know we had a meeting back in the 90s about this, it's by design. 😛

Can you post what you've worked up? Posted builds tend to get more advice/tips/comments in these threads. 🙂 That said ... I don't think my build will be all that helpful for you as I am likely dropping GZ in favor of tLD (*) and worked more on resists under some defense while leaning into DA or Shadow Meld to conditionally bolster defense. Here's a current draft though just in case it gives you any ideas. Drop Teleport if you're not into CT for CJ (and the 5th LotG), could swap in GZ for tLD although keeping both means moving slots around. The idea here was to leverage Ageless for recharge and DDR, but I don't think I like building such that an iPower is needed, so that might change too. I'm not overly happy with this result just yet. Considering a Hover/EvM/Combat Teleport version, but that's another story. | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1491;729;1458;HEX;| |78DA6594CB4F135114C6EF3CCAA3142A94529047A148E9030AB8F3153442514B136| |2DD9A3AD0111A6BA7999644DDB97069346AA20B9F898A6EFC075CB95591E852FD03| |4C1434F185ABF1CC9C0F5A6313F23BF3CD3DDF39F7DC3BA4CF4D799ECD5C9C1452C| |BE182562E67330BA6562AE966437AB9A255F24651D04F9DBE6014EB29F06FBDCEA6| |F582AE27525A452B6AFDDBEA947E5A2F96F5C4712D9777B2B387CCB38629DAE60CA| |39038413925C3645FB723654ABA9E6B76C2647E71A9922F2E7A9DA7595DCBE96679| |295FEA9A2EE51712998A5638431532C672219BD6CA15DD3CDF491DC5E8EFB2DD9A6| |4376AB9C44B45880955B85F315B5E3377AC826F981D6BCCD0F076AE2A7EB026FF04| |7F33D54DF00F73254A2952CECE91A575D6EA3E31DB7FA90EC3D493221C5F59792F3| |B5AEC0373E4237317D576716DC585DA75A8DD80DA0DA87D95FCEA9D462DA53ECCF9| |EE38B3CD2F31BFF3DA21F26D645FB97140389A6737BFF304E845AF2AAE905F1366D| |6F4907D3A1E31871F832BE013F4FF9419A2DC66CE15CD71F60F534D2FF7A77A7D98| |4527736443766A8E4CF2F3689BE23CCBE4D30A9FD64BA8453E3EC9F111BE17A4F95| |4A1D03A3FE6E4C79CC630A731CC6962EB8C686D00FB0A1C63AD33091E61F6CD30C3| |2978607ED729B78BCFCCD5758ACF71A706CE337B1670BE39506746A8EF6ECE55BA3| |FB36FCF17ECB70F0C325BA94E2FEE5C2F7AEC4BFEDB5BFF5110BDDDA09C207A0BDE| |E69AFD77980377C17BE07DE620667A8D7243C80DED616D702FB80F77713F78007CC| |01EF6B51EC23D1E5AE3B39E780BBE636E7A8488F01A3582FD44B19F28F613C57E62| |D84F8CE615C7D9C771877CD467025A02F77698B471F616E3DDEC1154B7BF59AB471| |5F859F6A36589D9FF943915CB49911C65DD6D7FC15046B9D246AD1661ED6BAD36C0| |D5BF553549C2D7DE7293A796A27F47E3E82CE5230971A8BD1A2703D5F8A0BF1ADFB| |2D77397D6F350553FE9AEC65A4D3C5713CFD7C47F01C510EC49| |-------------------------------------------------------------------| I'm not sure how I broke it several months ago, but in-game it was never really finished anyway so .... 🤷‍♂️ Even unfinished Kat/Rad carves up AVs, a better player could do quite a bit with the combo. * - Ground Zero is a fantastic power, and when I was playing this toon regularly it kept both GZ and tLD, but I was never happy with the 3s activation time - it just doesn't flow with Katana very well, one can fit a *lot* of tLDs into the downtime of GZ, and I needed to make space for my personal "must have" - combat teleport. I am by no means saying anyone else should do what I did and go either/or on those powers. EDIT: Apparently the live version still has GZ, suffice to say I go back and forth on this one.

Ok, I think I get the objection here. The thing is - outliers aside, this is basically what EPP/PPP choices are - re-tuned powers from other ATs (blasts & snipes for melee, shields for blasters, melee, heals, and buff-debuff for Sents, apparently) that add utility or fill some sort of gap. They can also be safely ignored if nothing fits the bill. But "nothing to do with" is inaccurate - thematic pairings are there "fire, dark, psi, etc" and "flesh out abilities" choices exist within them. But if it is the literal definition of "Epic" that you are seeking, then EPP/PPP choices alone aren't the right place to look regardless of AT. Edit: Beam could easily make use Mind Link, or the Caltrops power from Ninja, or several others. Beam could also just not take any of them at all and still be a damn fine toon. Double Edit: Pick the favorite toon you've run so far and play it through to the post-50 game. The "Epic" you are looking for is out there, but it's not hiding in a perfect powerset combination. It's hiding in places like Dark Astoria (how do more people not love this zone?).

Honestly, I see this the other way. Scrapper, Blaster, and Brute EPP/PPP choices are extremely limited simply because certain powers either "stand out" like blaster toggle shields or fill a gap - usually the tremendous endurance costs of 9+ toggles, never mind adding hideously expensive ones like Focused Accuracy for 0.78 end/s. In contrast Sentinel choices look to be much more balanced, lending themselves to thematic flexibility in filling out a build. Almost literally default choices. So much Scorpion Shield. I'm even guilty of it on my most played blaster. It would be really cool if things like LRM Rocket were as good of a choice, but they aren't. While these shield powers are good, they're hardly the reason blasters are what they currently are. Again, for some combinations almost default choices. See above regarding the end cost on FA, and recall that these sets also include the universally reviled Laser Beam Eyes, which would be awesome if it was as useful as say snipes in the other Scrapper Epics, but it isn't. And I'll even admit that as someone who uses it in a build for [Reasons]. Is it a question of their not being a Body/Energy mastery equivalent for Sentinels? That as a specific suggestion might be worth exploring by the folks who know Sentinels better than I, but recall that Sents already have more pool choices than any other AT. They also get Mind Link and an array of pbAoE heals to choose from. There is not a single heal within any of the Scrapper EPP/PPP choices. I don't see this as an issue really, because that sort of thing delves further into "samey-same" territory. Honestly, reading over the various pools, I'll agree that none of them stand out as "default choices," but I disagree that it is a problem. I'd much rather have viable diversity in pool choices than feeling saddled into the same sub-set of them over and over again.

Wait. I don't even see what I did there? 😄

Can you demonstrate, specifically, how these choices are problematically inferior to the ones available to other ATs? Bearing in mind that Sentinels get the most available EPP/PPP options to choose between.

Glowing Tinfoil Wrench. Got it.

May I recommend Elec/SD? Since it's a solo project you'll get to use AS more often than on a team, and Elec's AS sounds like a rattlesnake during the wind-up. 😉

Lots of good stuff in here. Glad to see the "Betrayal..." series getting so much love. A couple of games I've not seen posted but might have missed: Quoridor - An absolute gem. Picked up the mini version long, long ago on a whim. One of those Easy Learn/Complex Play games. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/624/quoridor The "We Didn't Playtest...." series. Surrealist Recommended. 😉 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31016/we-didnt-playtest-all

2021 and designers are still putting these things in games? I'd rather just install Progress Quest and watch it run. 😛 http://progressquest.com/

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't there an event at some point where Brawl gets comic-esque effects and ludicrous amounts of knockback? If am am remembering correctly, and that event swings around again, your project is going to seem like the work of a prescient genius.

This. It doesn't take much to render sending 10-25mil over to a new toon a trival matter. Merits -> Inf is plenty for my purposes, but it is far from the most lucrative. I'll also run SOs while leveling a toon; the number of them slotted does start to taper off after about level 22 though as more unique/global pieces become available, or if I know I'm chasing a specific set for an eventual build. I'll grab the ATO proc pieces early if they are valuable (scrappers!), but the rest depends on how early I decide I want to keep the alt. After a certain point it starts getting into the 1.2-1.5mil mark per upgrade, and that is a bit much. At low levels, if I were not gifting new toons with coin I would probably do things differently. Ballpark estimate? Starting slotting at level 3 or so, I probably dropped about 15mil (maybe 20) fake money units in total on SOs to level 50 on a scrapper with a mix of solo/team/tf play and intermittent use of 2XP buff. When it hit 50, probably about half SOs and half IOs/sets. FWIW: Before the "Upgrade" Button, common IOs were the go-to. The problem is that I find crafting tedious (I know, it's just me, no value judgements, I just don't have the attention span) and searching around for an available common can be frustrating at certain levels. I recall trying to find IOs at 30, and having to settle for 15s as the only ones on market, nothing rare, recharge, acc, etc. SO's are more expensive during leveling, beyond a doubt, but so much less tedious, imo, than dealing with Commons.

DOMi & JD Beck - Jump Sniff

FWIW; This part is a blaster-wide thing. The -Res is Sonic's secondary effect, but all blasters get a rolling dmg buff from attacking, different powers are different +%.

Don't hold your breath. 😄 I can dig it. Honestly, the HC Forums Official Tradition should be to reply to threads that the OP never bothers to read anyway with food related diversions.

Yeah, IG apparently is an extra-special kind of pseudo-pet, and the ATO buff would go to the pet. I was speaking in jest, slightly bitter jest, lol. I say "extra-special" because there are a couple other sort-of-pseudo-pet powers where ATOs work just fine. I don't see why not; it's not like it's a game-breaking request, lol. Seems mechanically possible as well.

The place where we want it that it cannot go is Irradiated Ground. 😄

I prefer to think that this thread is now Officially About All Things Toast. To wit:

Well, not exactly. I never quite landed on build for my Kat/Rad, though I am considering circling back to it for [Reasons]. Here's some of my thoughts on Rad armor from a while a ago; scroll down-thread for some excellent counter-points and a build from another player.

In fairness, Keyes' Disintegration is pretty much auto-death for most anything without outside support or massive self-healing with an immediate dose of GTFO to prevent all other damage than the disintegration effect. It's not as bad as the original version (nerfed during retail), but it's still brutal on those of us with permanent Scrapperlock, lol. On a side note, where are you guys finding Keyes runs? I was just saying the other day in another thread that I've almost never seen them going.

Orbital - The Box, Part 2

Couple things I just noticed: -- That Frozen Blast is supposed to be the Superior version, probably messed that up when moving the sets around. -- Repulsion Field is strictly for solo play. Pretty sure it would be annoying on most teams, besides it is easier to manage range on a team. Double post instead of an edit as I've edited posts with builds in them in the past and it broke the build display, so I'm being lazy and avoiding the need for multiple edits. 😛

Well, I can't speak to munitions personally, but here is a second-draft version of the target build for my Beam/Dev/Force (Hover/Ranged Focus) just to add another style into the mix. There's likely a lot of room for improvement: I like the ancillary bonuses in the 3 sets used in the secondary to get 9.39% of the ranged defense, but it feels like a massive slot cost. I looked into using Thunder-Strikes instead, but the loss of some layering didn't seem worth another ~1% additional defense. Probably overkill on the -KB in BotZ sets, but the AoE defense is interesting, and I freaking hate being knocked. Mag 4 is fine most of the time, but outliers are often >10. It would be nice to shuffle one or two of these slots into other places; another Hami in either TD or TI, or both... Talk me into moving some of those. I go back and forth on Cutting/Piercing Beams. Same sets in either, and both are situational, Cutting is faster and includes debuffs, but Piercing has interesting applications and does big dmg. In general, deciding what to drop out of Beam is the toughest part of the build for me. Smoke Grenade because I was on a TF with another /Dev blaster who was using it to stealth glowies without aggroing the mobs around them. That's some baller utility, and shout-out to that player for the idea. Repulsion Field is interesting. Initially took it as a pre-req, but it's actually effective at staving off swarms. (And HIL-AR-I-OUS on Rikti Monkeys) If I can figure out a single button bind to swap between EvM and RF that could work nicely. Both at the same time is too endurance heavy. Earlier version had a Red Fortune in Weave and 47% Ranged defense, but I think ~44.5% is probably fine and the SW bonuses + LotG are more valuable. I'm not sold on filling up with -Res procs on this one. I do have the one in there, but I might replace it. Any BR vets want to chime in on the topic? I can't tell which of the Res Uniques is more valuable. Aegis in there for now, but was Unbreakable +HP previously. Thoughts on which is best for blasters? Doesn't lean into Gun Drone as much as the Burnout builds, but at lvl 40 the toon can already overlap them, so having 2 out at a time should work just fine. So, with all that said, here's my "Current, but probably not very good" build. 😄 This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.6 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Mutation Blaster Primary Power Set: Beam Rifle Secondary Power Set: Devices Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Single Shot -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(43), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(45) Level 1: Toxic Web Grenade -- TraoftheH-Acc/Rchg(A), TraoftheH-EndRdx/Immob(11), TraoftheH-Acc/EndRdx(11), TraoftheH-Immob/Acc(27), TraoftheH-Acc/Immob/Rchg(29), TraoftheH-Dam%(29) Level 2: Caltrops -- PcnoftheT-Acc/Slow(A), PcnoftheT-Dmg/Slow(3), PcnoftheT-Acc/EndRdx(7), PcnoftheT-Rng/Slow(7), PcnoftheT-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(9), PcnoftheT--Rchg%(9) Level 4: Hover -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(5), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(5), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(21) Level 6: Cutting Beam -- FrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), FrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(40), FrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), FrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), FrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(42) Level 8: Disintegrate -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(37) Level 10: Targeting Drone -- HO:Cyto(A) Level 12: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(13), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(13), WntGif-ResSlow(48) Level 14: Evasive Maneuvers -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(15), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(15), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(46) Level 16: Lancer Shot -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(21) Level 18: Aim -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 20: Field Operative -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(37), Rct-ResDam%(48), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(48) Level 22: Penetrating Ray -- Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Apc-Acc/Rchg(23), Apc-Dam%(23), StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(25), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(25), StnoftheM-Dam%(27) Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 26: Smoke Grenade -- Acc-I(A) Level 28: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 30: Tough -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-Psi/Status(31), GldArm-End/Res(31), GldArm-3defTpProc(31), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(34) Level 32: Overcharge -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(33), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(33), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(34), AchHee-ResDeb%(34) Level 35: Weave -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(36), ShlWal-EndRdx/Rchg(43), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(46) Level 38: Gun Drone -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(39), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(40), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(40) Level 41: Repulsion Field -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- HO:Ribo(A) Level 47: Maneuvers -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(50), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(50) Level 49: Tactics -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 1: Defiance Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(3) Level 1: Disintegrating Level 12: Afterburner Level 49: Quick Form ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1367;651;1302;HEX;| |78DA6593C952135118856FA73B3284C890304F26806090264171A955A8A00255143| |C40AA256D485524A92454E9CAB1CABD0B5170582ACAFC06FA02BA70A5BE8282E2BE| |FDBBCF2162D955C9D77DFA1FCEFDFBDEE95B976A3627EE5D505AF062D62A169363F| |25FB20B95D34B25AB94C92D2AF7AA905F2BDF2467ADC5B49D32C76CEB6672367323| |6B371FBE995BCAE77385923961A5D276A9A80233B95CD61CCF66D20BA56AEF7E2E6| |FDBA9206457CD2CA66BBDA729DB4AD985E24226DF70399F9937C77385793B39EDD5| |BDDD22EDA3F24B86152FC7AF94A154C250318DF481A775D220FDE01D7524F789E66| |9D5CBE453B0ED19D8B142AE8277254B63AEB601CDB7091EDB22B7C1CA1D7217AC92| |D9E95EB2A3EB5F7C9E667C25BF81E146C45AB23E3FFA18FE4DF8EEDF024F6D933BE| |42E783D8CCFE3E654BC81D6B346BE057BDF91EBE07D89AE82275535AABC5106A448| |0075F4007DD6D0670D7D0EB7EB1E3FC4940A724D41C61E67EC71C60E714D29F157C| |BD9D5AE20BF6E957C0E36BC205F82E157E0BCE4D62357D5AFA1EE43790AB177E831| |B4DE65FA3B40DE307BDB92DFC8DE8D26629A86C904D8F251819FC0B6CF6054E6D1C| |C19350F427BE01E03FA696D83E693B8766AED8E5C4A17A5139946671C4EBA46C904| |1C768D8011B745A7A1D2E2B41B39FEEE11383B71863C4B8E829173E47B61487691F| |48BB25FF41AEAF68C83B12BE0D055FD9FAFF248A2FB3899BE3DD43BB94FFE247F81| |FD07E46F705D4A0D70C503114C6143B4414E6BF0BCBBA374552FBE4C7E29937E129| |3641D7C24E82724B171E6C75933621C1E3BC7E930CAA7D77D94294F1D5574389B31| |CAE754695ED4F7EA720DE6FDF84FD93BAA44E06FFFAFA629EE321F77D9EB58B9B3A| |39ACAA7C699143DCEFB3F7C47CE47| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Generally speaking, attributes like Mez Protection (magnitude that nullifies the effect if it is less than the protection level) and Mez Resistance (expressed as a percentage that reduces the duration of any mez that gets through "protection") are not enhance-able in the way that Dmg Resistance or Defense are. There might be exceptions to this in Support powersets that I am not familiar with, but in terms of self-defense toggles/clicks, that is almost always the case. Edit: Turns out KB/Acro is one of those exceptions, see below.