lightpunch

I'm pretty unfamiliar with MA. Can anyone explain to me why it performs so highly across all 3? Is it the fast activation times?

This happens to be my current project as well. I don't have hard numbers for you atm on scourge for beam rifle, but I'll say I haven't found the buffs/debuffs to be lacking as I'm leveling her, and I appreciate the damage she can do. At high levels/end-game, maybe I'd appreciate the advantages of a defender more, but I'm enjoying the experience of leveling a beam/rad corr more than I did my poison/beam defender.

Dark/Storm Controller with presence pool.

Thanks for the feedback y'all! What would you recommend I take in its place? Still seems like a better pick than dual wield or empty clips on damage (and on range). Won't my attack chain be lacking without it or some other attack in its place? With the recharge in HoB, aren't the -res proc's odds of firing very low? Same with OSA and bullet rain? And if Acid Arrow has so fast a recharge that procs aren't useful in it, why put the -res procs in it? I thought procs in powers that you were also slotting +rech into had very low chances of firing -- aren't I better off pursuing set bonuses like +def or +rech for those? Flash Arrow was one of the picks that benefitted from me not seeing a more obvious place for those slots. Even if it's autohit, the accuracy and sm/l/m slotting bonuses seemed more valuable than any bonuses from other -tohit or acc -tohit sets. But I swapped in 4 slots of Clouded Senses and will try to find that +def elsewhere. Alright I took Mezmera's recommendations for OSA slotting, unsure where to put Scourging now though. I stuck it in Piercing Rounds, which I'm willing to drop, but not sure for what at the moment. Any patron/epic picks you'd recommend here? In that original build I'm at the soft cap for all positional defenses without a patron armor (well I think just shy for melee, but with the -tohit I think I'll be ok) -- am I seriously gimping myself with the +def set bonuses I have? If I'm not, why force in an armor toggle I don't need -- BS has the only +def armor, and it's typed versus positional, which I'm much closer to softcapping with this build. Here's an edited version, looking for answers on replacing Piercing Rounds, which patron/epic y'all would recommend, and clarification on why I'd want procs in Bullet Rain/HoB/OSA etc.

I wanted to add a trick arrow character to my lineup for some ultimate late-game debuffs, and have a concept I enjoy -- a vigilante former Knives of Artemis assassin hunting down the KoA/KoV/ToV. I thiiink I've committed to Dual Pistols as her primary, and wanted feedback on the build I've attached here. Couple questions: Is DP viable enough on a corr to be worth it? I don't have an issue with the double weapons when I set them both to no redraw, and I like the natural concept for the character. But I'm not opposed to something also in line with the KoA/KoV/ToV theme, and could consider seismic/sonic/water/fire/beam/psy with enough encouragement. Diamagnetic interface -- worth it? Thought it'd be helpful to add -regen to this build, but if it's not significant in practice, I'll pivot to Reactive or something else. I felt stretched for power picks on this build, but weirdly had an abundance of slots -- if some of these picks seem weird, it's because I didn't have a better idea for where to put them! Definitely open to slotting feedback. Other than Ice Arrow, have I procc'd the right powers? Thanks in advance!

Tried to keep your notes about what you're looking for in mind, and to create the most "balanced" builds, tried to think about how I'd match sets to counteract the criteria they fail the most at. Also tried to go for not necessarily obvious combos, but some classics are that for a reason. Energy Melee + Shield -- Energy melee is the ST king, but if you're going to solo not just effectively but satisfyingly, it needs AoE help, and I find waiting for ancillary/patron powers for AoE on a damage AT to be frustrating. Yes, Shield Charge is available at the same level you get access to ancillary/patrons, but requires no additional pick investments. You'll be one of the ST kings in the game with acceptable AoE. You won't have a click heal, but the only heal-possessing primary is better paired with a different secondary. Dark Melee + SR -- SR is the king of defense, resisting defense debuffs, and not much else. To stay interesting (to me), it wants utility and some options in case those two strengths fail it. Dark melee has -tohit, helping to make you the GOD of can't-touch-this. If that fails, you get the one primary set with a reliable self-heal that wants to be a part of your regular attack chain. Basically, this might be the most unkillable pairing possible of these 8 sets. And the mechanics of soul drain, dark consumption, and even the new ToF (yes I know the damage isn't top tier, but I enjoy it as a melee aoe soft control, and at max soul drain, it's a fun time) keep the playstyle interesting. Claws + Radiation Armor -- I don't love Claws. I know it's one of the top performing sets, but I've just never enjoyed the animations or feel of the set. So from my perspective, it's about giving claws what it wants (+rech) and giving me what I need (something to make it enjoyable), so I'm bringing in maybe my favorite set in the game, Radiation Armor. Your +rech will help you reach claws' ideal attack chain; you have multiple means to heal/boost your health; you've got one of the best armor set tier 9's in the game, with a navigable crash. And proc'd out? Forget about it. Claws/SR will be an ST buzzsaw with fantastic AoE too. A kill-before-you're-killed pairing, but Rad has several oh shit buttons to keep you going. Dual Blades + Energy Aura -- For those who think WM/EA isn't pretty enough. EA may take a sliiight hit with the new patch, but it's still a well-balanced, well-performing set. +Rech will help DB reach the recharge heights it wants to be a top performing DPS set, while DB's combos and fun EA utility powers will keep the playstyle dynamic and interesting. The flourish of the DB animations and glow of EA will also make it a very visually appealing character to play, assuming none of the animations bug you. Katana/Broad Sword + Dark Armor -- Swords bring your +defense to add some extra mitigation to Dark, while not being overly taxing on endurance compared to some other primaries. Swords also lack mitigation in most of its attacks, which DA can help with through CoF or OG. Dark regeneration has some fun proc opportunities, and in general the breadth of slotting options available across both sets will allow you to have fun with slotting unconventionally, if that's what you're interested in doing. Staff + Bio Armor -- Here are two sets I want to love, and have tried to love, but whose limitations or playstyle just haven't clicked for me. So why not try them together? Bio will give staff the damage boost it needs to get its ST closer to other primaries, while staff's +def and mitigation will help occupy foes you want to keep nearby to take advantage of bio's draining/aura abilities. By the time you're reaching 50, endurance shouldn't be a problem, so you'll be able to stick with the +dmg stances for both of these sets. Martial Arts + Ninjitsu -- These last two pairings lose some of the flair of previous pairings in terms of playstyle, but make up for it in thematic coherency, which can satisfy some of those "fun to play" feelings. MA/Nin is the pseudo-stalker of the Scrapper world -- Shinobi-Iri + Eagles Claw have extra high odds of critting, while the KB, stun, and -def powers of the primary and blinding powder give you some fun proc options. Nin doesn't need much help -- it's got good defense, a stealth ability, a heal, and an end booster. They're two solid flavors that taste extra-solid together. War Mace + Invulnerability -- For those who like the prettiness of DB/EA but want something a little more understated. Like MA/Nin, neither of these sets needs much from the other to work. WM packs a heavy punch and has a good mix of ST and AoE, while Invuln offers everything except protection against Psi to keep you going. WM's mix of disorients and KB will also help Invuln take fewer hits, never a bad thing for a hybrid or resist-based armor set. Much briefer thoughts on the also-rans, though I do love some of these sets: Street Justice + Fiery Aura -- StJ has a good mix of mitigation techniques, and its fast playstyle will work well with FA's "kill before you're killed" style. Stone Melee + Electric Armor -- Stone has endurance issues and wants recharge to keep its AoEs going. Electric needs mitigation to make up for its total lack of that and protect its resist-only nature. Radiation Melee + Ice Armor -- Three offensive auras (two damage, one debuff), endurance assistance to support RM's cost. Savage Melee + Stone Armor -- Savage offsets Stone Armor's intense energy costs. Savage's DoT damage + Mud Pots + Brimstone seems fun (not an expert on savage). Last tidbit, not as a recommendation because we're already on part 2, but just my own journey: I've been trying to find a forever scrapper myself, as most of mine just don't compare to my favorite tank (and it pains me to say that). Right now, slow though she may be, I'm really enjoying the experience of leveling my radiation melee/bio armor scrapper. The DoTs and contamination and the siphon heal, it all just makes for a very enjoyable build that I'm confident is going to hit like a bomb by the end. Maybe my 3rd lvl 50 with bio armor will be the charm! Global: Thermostata

I feel like Johnny Sonata and that Praetorian opera singer villain will be getting some new powers with this, neat. Wasn't on my list of dream controller sets but I'm intrigued -- looks like a lot of the powers deal damage, very curious to see what numbers it puts out. Also, cone-heavy, very different from most offensive sets in the game.

Here's the build again with some adjustments.

Thanks, I'll look at those sets in those powers. And thanks for your affirming feedback! Completely forgot about Wormhole's KB, so thanks, will look at correcting for that. Regarding Sing's repel, does having a KB to KD proc in Sing not prevent that? Totally meant to have the Steadfast Protection unique in Rune, not the KB unique. Thanks for flagging it. Thanks y'all for the feedback, I'll post a revised build sometime tonight.

After some time with other ATs, I'm feeling an itch to play my home AT again. I have a concept for a magic/spellcasting character in mind, and Grav/Dark (+ leviathan purely for water spout) fits perfectly and seems like a powerful combo. But! I've never gotten Grav to a high level, so I'm unfamiliar with strategies concerning wormhole and singularity, and just in general how it feels to play them. Couple thoughts: Current battle plan: wormhole-->tar patch-->crushing field-->tp'ing enflamed Sing into mob-->water spout-->kill. I know this setup will be fun, but is it too rigid? Does this build have enough flexibility to still be powerful outside of this sequence? What powers are worth proccing in this build? Specifically, should I proc out crushing field and water spout, or nah? I've always wanted to use water spout, and never had a good reason to before this build, where it works for theme, dmg, and extra cc from fear and kd. Is it just not worth the tradeoff of a +def armor though, like scorp or ice have? I'd love to get more +rech and +def into my IO sets, so any tips on achieving that would be appreciated. Bonus concern! Should I reconsider this concept as Ill/Dark? I don't currently have an Illusion controller, and do have a mid-level Grav/TA that I think will be powerful, has a great build/look/concept, etc. But I'm really seduced by how I can use Grav powers to seem like magic, and I've heard enflame + tp'ing Sing is a really fun way to play. I know how powerful and sturdy Ill/Dark is, but I worry I'll miss the cc element of being a controller too much. I also don't wanna shelve my Grav/TA, so I'm hoping her all-ranged leadership-heavy playstyle will differ from Grav/Dark's battlefield manipulation style. Below is my first crack at the build. Any comments or critiques are appreciated!

I've always wanted an option that gave you access to some selection of all the powers of one element/type. The term I had back in the day for this concept was Incarnate, but hehe that's taken now, so I don't know what you'd call it. Elemental is fun but wouldn't perfectly encapsulate things like psychic or radiation powers. In this concept you'd have access to (a curated selection to prevent too much game breaking) the following: Fire Blast/Fire Control/Fire Melee/ Fiery Aura/Thermal Radiation Ice Blast/ Ice Control/ Ice Melee/ Ice Armor/ Cold Dom Seismic Blast/ Earth Control/ Stone Melee/ Stone Armor/ maybe sonic resonance but wouldn't really be in the spirit of the ability, so no fifth set unless one is designed. Elec Blast/ Elec Control/ Elec Melee/ Elec Armor/ Elec Affinity Psychic Blast/ Mind Control/ Illusion Control/ Psychic Melee/ same as earth, could do FF or Empathy hypothetically. Dark Blast/ Darkness Control/ Dark Melee/ Dark Armor/ Dark Miasma Plant Control/ Nature Affinity/ Storm Summoning/ Spines/ Bio Armor Radiation Blast/ Radiation Melee/ Radiation Armor/ Radiation Emission I really just want to play a character that feels like a complete master of their 'element,' without having to make alternate versions as a different class. Even with a restricted power selection, I think playing something like an all-around-radiation character would just be fun as shit.

My NA defender is /water, and I think she's a great boon to teams between her buffs and water's solid (for a blast set) soft control in the form of knockdown and slows (and its -def allows for some procability). She's not a defender that lets you neuter AVs, but she's definitely a great and fun team support character. And for me, water blast is just the most fun blast set. Looks great, feels great and powerful, does good damage, etc.

Has anyone tried a staff/stone scrapper? I'm wondering if the AOE/KD of staff compliments stone well, and if the damage-boosting powers of Stone help give staff an extra lift.

Thank you, I was looking for ways to get to the soft cap for energy. Thanks for the link. I was familiar with that rule -- I think the only place I didn't follow it was in Psy Tornado, and I figured I'd take the lower odds of the FF proc firing as a trade-off for the slotted purple set's benefits and its +10% rech. I thought I could really leverage Burst of Speed's three uses for a great procability? Or did I misunderstand how that power works? I'd been hoping to get away without Acrobatics (not sure why it's needed with the KB protection slotted in SJ) and Manuevers, but I can see how they'll be helpful to reaching the defense goals. Damn the 4 power pool limit. Thanks for your feedback!

Hi folks, Recently came up with the idea for a psy/martial blaster. Not sure I've seen one in the wild and on paper, it looks like it could build into something interesting/fun. Just hit 30 with her and the combo of tornado-->triple burst of speed-->dragontail is very satisfying, and I expect it will get more satisfying once I've got the nuke. Below is the weird build I've whipped together. My goals are s/l/melee defense cap, recharge, and proccing where possible. That being said, I'm not a proc master, and I'm also at a loss what to do with the end of the build in general. Here's the build for anyone that wants to critique/refine it. My main questions/areas of concern are: Where are the best places to proc out this build? Did I choose poorly? I'm pretty sure Psy Tornado isn't a good place for procs because they only fire on the first hit, but is that wrong? This build trades some set bonus recharge for FF +rech procs and the weird rech from reaction time. Is there a way/place to get more recharge into the build that I'm missing? Am I overusing/misusing FF +rech procs? There are some powers listed below that I'm not at all married to but didn't know what else to pick. Any suggestions on what else I should pick, or how to make better use of these? Storm Kick All TP pool selections (it's a fun perk but not necessary) Throw Sand Will Dom Is my ranged attack chain too lacking? She's intended to be a blapper who bursts into melee, but I don't want to be limiting the build's potential from range too much. Any other input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I'm intrigued about how Elec plays on Corruptors now. Anyone seeing/experiencing any potential for good synergy between Shock and Scourge? It feels like they'd support each other well (elec attacks lowering health and endurance, eventually Scourge kicks in while the potential for Shock goes up too), but maybe in practice it isn't a noticeable or significant synergy.

Hi folks, I recently decided I needed ("needed") to get a 50 of every AT (not counting EATs, leaving them for later). All my 50s are trollers, blasters, tanks, and brutes. I've got an MM and a def in the pipeline, and several scrappers I've lost interest in for the moment but could resurrect and get to 50 when it suits me. That leaves corruptors, stalkers, and dominators, three classes I never had much luck with or interest in on live, but I want at least one 50 in each that I enjoy playing. I'm hitting a wall with my rad/rad corruptor ( namely, was this a bad idea?) so I'm moving on to my dominator project. One of my big issues with dominators had been that the appealing combos were already so close to trollers I had/enjoyed that I ended up not wanting to rerun the same sort of concept. But I'm over that, and have decided my dark/ dom will play different enough from my dark/dark/soul troller to make it worth it. I'm currently a bit lost on the secondary though. I'm considering Psi, Icy, Energy, Fiery, Savage, and Martial. What I think I'm looking for is a dark dom that: uses heart of darkness extensively maxes out melee defense ideally even has cause to use Fold Space to drop foes directly onto me for some carnage I know all of those possible secondaries will be successful to some extent, but any thoughts on which of those combos I should pursue to achieve this specific dom dream?

@Nemu I'd never heard of the rule of 5. Would you mind saying what it is or linking to something that does?

Hi folks, I know there's been a ton of illusion talk lately on these boards, but I was hoping to get some eyes on my (pretty sure crappy) attempt at an Illusion/Poison build. A few things to start: I know with Illusion it's all about getting PA permanent, and I BARELY got that with incarnates, so I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I would also like to get my defense values higher, especially melee, to take advantage of poison trap and venomous gas; however, I know that might be hard with the set bonuses available to this character, plus with high enough s/l defense and -tohit, it gets close enough to the same effect. I have three level 50 controllers (fire/cold, dark/dark, earth/time) who do the controller thing pretty well, so I have no qualms with losing some of the controller abilities in this build (like Flash or Deceive, if they need to go, fine). This is a bit of a concept character -- Praetorian version of a villain character of mine, so a riff on the toxic abilities of the first character is what led me to Poison over Rad. Plus, I did an Ill/Rad on live, very fun but want something new and a little more toxic feeling. I know they're considered subpar power pools, but I was interested in getting Presence (for Invoke Panic and maybe Unrelenting?) and maybe even Concealment (just for Misdirection and maybe more LotG mules) in the build, seemed to have good synergy with spectral terror, venomous gas, etc. I ended up not being able to really find room for them in a way that worked, but if someone has some ideas for working them in, I'm all ears. The no-longer-existent Teleportation powers in the build right now are placeholders for Teleport Other and Fold Space. The build's below. Any critiques or guidance at all are appreciated. Thank you in advance! | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1506;703;1406;HEX;| |78DA6594D94F135114C6EFB4530A85D20DCAD256765AB6425D1E0D89600C0924241| |89F54AC6588938C9D66A61879F47F50C1046431B2AA8F6E6FFE1F9A485CA3527079| |E2A59ECE77284D3A49FB9BF9EEF9CEB9F7DCB9337177B4E6C5A57BC342F28E6849D| |39C1ED1D35943D734C5704EA554259D52045DEE5123DE3AAA68AAA1EA73A693948E| |93C0634F7C4CD3E64C554F1F0BC192980B73B3B3F1495D35F5B4704DEA143D95519| |419BF757B59D1948C6E649359727B2C695C49CE2886794BCDF8ACE7B1F41DD5546F| |AA9A9A9D0F5FCCA8A97849F289644AA13F33AB18F38D34B928FD5624C157DE21B66| |42112B2B06D3377407997F90CAC780E3EA82B7A85D8B75BDA2AE593389FB42C10FF| |18F4AE305741FF1A731D7C48F9ECF0DAEC0EBA8BC8624006072BC076EAAAC32A909| |71C7DF005994F487762CCE1AC972CADD22559BE4A379E5DD5CC5AB0C6032E50ED2A| |9E77D5279BE5097F06BBBF80FD5FC1C437E677709D5254B3B77A037DA8D9046BB79| |8DB60DD0E73178CD27ADCDC43B7DB66693ED23CBC460FAF23E1059F127C5CCB7780| |F8E021D8F89BF9076CFECBFC0706286F80F306CE11A8B79DCC47B4FE7A1EAB6F40C| |FFA4F638E5DE46BE03936BC47AE0D0A69E2793435E27D0837811DCDCC10D8196646| |C018E50B71BE509E2EB15628C8D9225751E1D435E675E634D87603EC48829BE46D6| |16FCB0FBC09AD3F99BF98FB605B8E79002ED1AADBD9DB2EB0DAEE61660EBB1B3D8F| |3AD1DBD881E8119E97C9DBC5DEAE57D07A5F33DF32DF80032F99EF88013A39B4853| |174DB1EE31DEEE11DEE0930FDE07D8AED431DA98FFDFD4B85E32B8B451A8BF38989| |7FC47C07F7981FC03AEAF610777B886B1536A47872AD1D889C28F9DEB2D1A132255| |1A69C2953CE9629E3054562C58E9E4CCAC52F8690ACA82A6FF13B90DF77D1283BA4| |01ECDA41A976052BCA956A31C41D966A0BA876142440CB2F064EEEFF03D1C6F879| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I mentioned Fiery Aura as one that would work conceptually with a character themed after fireworks, but I'm not convinced it can give me the survivability I want, between its lack of mitigation (besides murder) and heavy reliance on healing flames. But I'm looking into it -- what powers are skippable other than RotP? I already have a psy/rad scrapper, and though I love the feel of /rad, I haven't felt like she's that survivable. Do I need to be slotting her for more HP to feel the survivability? I was hoping that the inverse would also be true -- just like a scrapper can be built sturdy enough, that a /em tanker can be built to be damaging enough, at least with the right armor set too. I liked the idea of her being able to serve the classic tank role while doing good damage too, but maybe I need to reconsider an em/rad scrapper, if the kill speed increase is going to offset the lower defenses. And thanks all for your replies, I appreciate it.

Hi folks, Lately I've been inspired to remake my first main/50 from live, and I'm looking for feedback on what AT would be the best fit for her. Originally, she was an Energy Blast/Fire Manipulation blaster, in the times before KB->KD, meaning she was truly one of the most unsynergetic combos available in CoX. I know a bit more about the game now, and there are both new and improved powersets available now that still fit her general theme, so it feels like a good time to reroll her. Conceptually, I imagine her as what it would be like if a woman with powers like Jubilee or Boom Boom became Captain America -- colorful pyrotechnic abilities combined with a classic look and a middle-of-the-fray playstyle. To achieve that effect, the new Energy Melee seems like a good fit, and between fiery aura, energy aura, and radiation armor, radiation seems the most exciting to me while also offering more AoE damage to pair with EM. So: what AT takes the most advantage of a EM/Rad Armor combo? I was leaning Tanker, because I like how much radiation armor shines with more HP and the Pyre Mastery Epic Pool seems like a great addition to the concept. But can I achieve roughly equivalent levels of survivability on a Brute or Scrapper, while getting substantially more out of EM's damage? I'm not strongly considering Stalkers, as they've never been my playstyle and also don't fit what I imagine for the character, but I'm open to being persuaded. Beyond that, I'm also having trouble with my build simply because of how many powers from both EM and Rad Armor seem worth taking, so if anyone has any thoughts on what powers are skippable, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance!

Hi folks, I'm currently working on a katana/energy aura scrapper and was hoping someone would offer thoughts on my build. I'm not the best with theorycrafting and even then, I'm better at it with trollers and defenders, so hopefully someone could point out what I'm doing wrong or could be doing better. My aims for the build, some caveats, and some questions: I'm going for speed (in "feel" more than actual mob-burning rate) and efficiency (in terms of endurance). I know there are better sets for speed in a number of senses (savage, claws, StJ), but Katana is fast enough for me, has a +def power, and works with the concept. And my understanding is kat/en is a pretty good pick for an endurance-efficient character. I'm also hoping to be able to take on some AVs solo. I don't aim for her to be a "AV Killer," but I want her to be able to duke it out and win with some of the more reasonable ones. If the only reasonable way to make that happen is once Alpha is already slotted, so be it, but it'd be cool if I could manage it before then. There is a concept behind the build (tl;dr tech ninja), so as not optimal as they may be, I am hoping to keep things like the Experimentation set and Laser Beam Eyes in the build. I understand the core mechanics of procs vis-a-vis base and enhanced recharge rates, but I'm still basically a novice with them. Which powers should I proc out and which should I not? What defensive/support procs are worth having, and where should I put them (health, stamina, energize, energy drain, etc.)? Should I be aiming for perma hasten and capped defense without entropic, avalanche, or energy drain, or is it reasonable to factor them in at a low mob quantity? Is my order of set bonus priorities (typed def + rech > psi resist > procs > regen) the right approach for this build? Thanks in advance! The longform build: And I'm having formatting issues, but here's the data chunk too:

Are there announced changes, or just the general idea that EM is getting looked at in the nearish future?

I have not, only because I'm very new to the server and didn't yet know what channels were the appropriate place to do that. I'll ask around next time I'm in game. And thank you! I can always find some other group to join if there isn't one already. Or perhaps find people willing to co-start one themed around such ideas.