beradical

Meh, my best advice is to ignore my advice. dps can vary wildly from fight to fight - I'll get 415 one farm clear, then 385 the next? But with 3 runs you start to get an average and a rough idea, but it would take 10s of runs per build variation to really get any objective numbers. That said, I was playing around with a few more options, and went all purples for shits and giggles, and got my personal best MT dps of 433, next run 418. So I took the same build and went at a pylon, hitting ST 238, just shy of my best pylon runs 245 w procs. I don't know enough about how dmg is calculated from procs and crits, but the raw data in my combat logs shows that my best ST run was proc'd, but that cost my MT chains more than I gained. My best MT run was purp'd maxing recharge and a crap ton of dmg boost. I suspect that recharge helps the dps of this AT since I'm trying to leverage two separate 4 power attack chains for ST & MT. Proc dps doesn't seem to improve with dmg or rech boosts from sets, and I dont have enough global recharge to run 2 separate attack chains without gaps. For this particular build I'm going back to some purples and set bonuses to maximize resistance. Either way I'm just not seeing the numbers to support losing set bonuses in lieu of heavily proc'd build. I'll leave my telenukes partially proc'd since they have a lower damage cap, but I think this balance gives me max survivability, MT dmg, solid ST dmg, and plenty of endurance.

Alright everyone, thanks to your collective advice, and a week of grinding on beta tracking ST & MT dps, I'm getting close to my final build. Here are my conclusions, and questions: I went Charged Brawl over Havoc Punch. Base ST dps is 167 w/CB vs 145 w/HP, timing of CB > CI > CB > AS works perfectly, stacks 3 AF for crit, hit Zp & Jdgmt when up. Replaced Spring Attack w Ball Lightning, my MT dps (on S&L farm) went from 268 to 287. Swapped Agility w Musculature and it went to 350. Switched from Assault Radial to Core, it went to 374 (stacking +15% dmg likes AoE, even if telenukes do better with radial). Proc'd attacks, and my dps went to 413. A sustained 413, up from 268. Holy hell you people are awesome. Procs are awesome on this build, the numbers are there. But I noticed I was dying a lot more, esp on ITF when defense debuffs got me (Agility +def offset this previously). In looking at Frosticus's Sav/Shield Stalker I see that ignoring Resistances was my mistake. So I'm currently running this build on beta w greatly improved survivability, losing some global rech, end, dmg, acc and def. This toon is much more survivable, and has OwtS for tough fights & def dbuff. The resists are noticeable. Global dmg went down but my dps wasn't too impacted, maybe because procs don't scale? I can accept losing some +dmg set bonuses, but I wish I could keep Assault. Is Assault more valuable than OwtS? Acc went down, but @ base 39% in mids for +4 mobs still near 95%, not even counting BU. I think accuracy is fine, and I don't need Tactics. Def is no longer soft-capped, which sucks, but I'm not too far off (around 43% situationals). Can we call this close enough? Rech went down, but I can still sustain continuous ST & MT attack chains, very close to perma-hasten. It's as close as I could get. End starts to drop during last 30s of Ageless, esp MT fights, but I haven't detoggled (yet). OwtS give +recovery, not bad on ST fights (AV fight, etc). It's not good but manageable... How could I improve this build? My main goal is AoE damage, that's why I rolled Elec/Shld Stalker, but I need to still provide serious ST dmg for the AV fights, and stay alive 😃

lmao, don't do this to me!?! But seriously, this would be an awesome replacement to HP or CB. Too bad you're forced to take one =/ I don't have a SJ, and never played it, so I can't verify dmg in-game, and don't know how the combo system works. But I can plug in the attacks based on Bopper's data, calculating base dmg, and you'll have to infer the crit/combo/proc stuff. Give me a bit and I'll try to get it on this evening.

Long story short, my brother wrote a python script to calculate various attack chains, seeing which is the best attack available (including waiting if that improves DPS). This doesn't calculate procs or crits, so we have to manually infer that data. I plugged in all 11 attacks from Elec/Shield/Mu/Jumping, based on values from in-game on Beta, including base numbers and pylon attacks. We then set it for a 3 min fight. On ST chains, script likes Zapp, Chain Induction, Charged Brawl, Assassin Shock, with AoEs to fill in the gaps. Assassin Shock & Zapp are beasts, and this isn't even including crits and procs. [Name, # times used, total damage, dps] Chain Induction, 29, 6793.25, 37.66/sec Zapp, 20, 6266.20, 34.74/sec Assassin Shock, 26, 3867.76, 21.44/sec Charged Brawl, 48, 2399.04, 13.30/sec Lightning Rod, 6, 1066.02, 5.91/sec Pyronic Core, 2, 983.14, 5.45/sec Jacobs Ladder, 11, 981.75, 5.44/sec Shield Charge, 6, 850.86, 4.72/sec Ball Lightning, 11, 667.59, 3.70/sec Spring Attack, 4, 333.68, 1.85/sec Havoc Punch, 2, 157.08, 0.87/sec Thunder Strike, 0, 0.00, 0.00/sec On MT chains, using guesses on # mob hit, again script likes Chain Induction, but also Jacobs Ladder & Thunder Strike. Spring Attack scores way down the list. [Name(#mobs hit), # times used, total damage, dps] Chain Induction(4), 29, 33966.25, 185.65/sec Jacobs Ladder(3), 22, 9817.50, 53.66/sec Thunder Strike(5), 13, 7580.95, 41.44/sec Lightning Rod(10), 6, 5330.10, 29.13/sec Zapp(1), 17, 5326.27, 29.11/sec Pyronic Core(10), 2, 4915.70, 26.87/sec Shield Charge(10), 6, 4254.30, 23.25/sec Ball Lightning(10), 13, 3944.85, 21.56/sec Spring Attack(5), 5, 2085.50, 11.40/sec Assassin Shock(1), 7, 1041.32, 5.69/sec Charged Brawl(1), 3, 149.94, 0.82/sec Havoc Punch(1), 0, 0.00, 0.00/sec Some suggestions from this rough data: (1) Chain Induction scores high on both ST & MT, and is the real hero in this set? (2) Zapp is a beast. Not even counting procs or crits. (3) Jacobs Ladder scores really high. Even set at 3 targets, it's dps outperforms Thunder Strike set to 5 targets, but TS gets a bigger burst out of hide... (4) Havoc Punch has lower dps vs Charged Brawl, but performs better in actual attack chains. (5) Although Zapp & Ball Lightning add no Assassin Focus, both score well and can crit from hide. I think this really is a winning Pool. (6) Thunder Strike scores pretty well, even if it often hits less than 5 targets. I will try it 2nd in attack chain so more mobs are alive when it goes off out of hide for it's big burst dmg. (7) Spring Attack straight up sucks (for this particular build). So Omega-202 was definitely right, Thunder Strike & Ball Lightning are each better than Spring Attack, and Zapp is badass. Havoc Punch vs Charged Brawl is a bit of a wash, there's a slight gap with HP, but overall higher DPS. Havoc Punch, Assassin Shock, Chain Induction, Thunder Strike, Lightning Rod, Shield Charge, Zapp & Ball Lightning. For ST chains, BU > Zapp > CI > HP > AS > BL For MT chains, BU > LR > TS > SC > BL > CI

K, I am standing 7ft away from the middle Rikti Test Dummy. Thunder Strike hits the middle 3 targets, Spring Attack doesn't hit any targets, and all other AoEs hit all 5. Man, you haven't been wrong today. I'm running calculations on the raw damage right now, maybe SA will still have some redeeming qualities?

None at all, I'm here for help, and really appreciate the advice and excellent explanations. My thinking was that at least while Hide is active I get a pretty massive boost to defense which really does help, more often than not I get a crit on Thunder Strike, but dear lord it seems so obvious now, why the hell have I been waiting til the end. Hahaha, I am a slow learner. Thank you. So really what you're asking is which of the AoEs available to me will have the highest dmg output in a chain...LR, SC, SA, BL & TS ignoring some other pools. I really can't get any data on SA, but in game has it quite low. I am 99% certain you are right, but I'm going to go back to Beta and look at the damage logs, then scrub the data and will post my findings.

Ok, that's actually brilliant. ty for this. I really, really want to, but I need the huge defense bonus from Winter's Bite to stay soft-capped. Let me see where else I can find that defense so I can proc Zapp. Spring Attack doesn't break Hide, so it stacks super well with the other 2 telenukes, then giving me 50% crit chance on my 4th AoE, which is looking like Ball Lightning now.

Went back to beta with your collective advice, and yeah, Mu and Musculature are pretty awesome. I was using a 4x8 S&L Farm to test my AoE, and a Pylon to test my ST. Musculature made a significant improvement in both, with no sustained endurance issues. Sets and Ageless alone are plenty. It does start to dip down near the end of Ageless, but I never ran out. I really do like Ball Lightning. It hits more mobs and casts fast, awesome to follow 3x telenukes w/plenty of crits. But really where it shines is that Ball Lightning's cast time is so fast I can use it in the ST chain: along with Chain Induction to hit multiple bosses after my alpha; or when waiting on AS, CI, HP & Zapp to fill in the gap. The negatives are less damage, the knockdown/disorient was decent damage mitigation, and Zapp & BL don't gain Assassins Focus. I think it's worth these trade-offs. So now I need to read through the guides on AH and making money...and learn how the hell procs work. Until then, here is what I'm working towards:

Man, just when I thought I was done with my build I made the mistake of asking on the forums... So I really dig what Croax said, and it has me wondering about Mu. I could swap Laserbeam Eyes for Zapp, but would it be worth it to swap Thunder Strike with Ball Lightning?? Does Ball Lightning crit from hide? It seems like a terrible drop in damage, but my god Thunder Strike sucks. I get it, we need another AoE, and it's dmg is awesome, but 7ft radius and 3.3s cast time really harm it's effectiveness. In today's high speed game, a lot has changed in 3.3 seconds. It takes a lot of finagling to get lined up to make it really shine, even on something like ITF where the mobs clump so well.

Ok, that's really true. Total damage output is certainly damage x recharge, but right now I'm all recharge buffs with little damage buff. So Musculature would increase damage buff more than it would decrease recharge. Looks like I have to grind out another T4 lol. Hello Heather Townshend.

What would be better alternatives to Agility? Musculature is sexy with it's damage, but most of the other effects are not super useful, though Mids says Radial boosts Endurance Mod which might help. But if I'm going damage let's go the 45% route, all or nothing right?? But that Agility recharge is pretty awesome on this toon specifically, since I get telenukes back faster. So which does more damage, in this aoe build - damage boost or recharge boost? Maybe once I get my 2 ATO sets and purple I'll have enough recharge with Ageless to get Musculature. Also, yeah, the Endurance return from Zapp is probably not much, but would help to offset it's high endurance cost and it really does make a lot of sense; and as Croax says, it definitely fits thematically. You know what I find so fascinating about the Elec/Shield Stalker? There are SO many variations of builds posted. Most ATs tend to slowly consolidate to one standard build with a few minor deviations for personal play style. But this one is all over the place. I think it's because this build requires so much compromise. I have 8 6-slotted attacks lol. What the f$&k.

I just went to Beta, respec'd (taking Moonbeam + Grant Cover) but without upgrading my current enhancements, and I had no endurance problems at all, even with the extra toggle. So it seems the Incarnates really addressed that issue. I was able to kill a pylon faster with Moonbeam than Laserbeam Eyes, but not substantially faster. Moonbeam is a touch slow even at 6s recharge. It works if I throw Havoc Punch between attacks to buy a bit more time, which is awkward but functional. So I added the 2 Stalker ATOs, plus a Purple, and I was able to chain in Moonbeam more seamlessly, requiring less reliance on Havoc Punch, and I was able to take down the pylon noticeably faster. So thank you both for your helpful input. My conclusion is that I will be taking Moonbeam, later, once I get my final sets. Without the crazy awesome recharge, Moonbeam is only slightly better and moderately more annoying if I don't time the attacks right and have to stand there d$%k in hand waiting for an attack. So then when planning out my final build, I guess i need to see if I can eek out some more To Hit. Good call on the Kismet +6%, and maybe since I'm doing fine on endurance I can get Tactics instead of Grant Cover. You people are seriously so awesome.

Thank you Aethereal. I can have 6 seconds immediately with my current build, and once I get my 2 Stalker ATOs and a purple set or 2 it'll get even lower. The question is endurance, since its switching to a more expensive attack and losing Superior Conditioning. But now that I know how sniper works, it sounds like its worth a shot, so maybe I'll go to beta and go at a pylon and see how it does. Much appreciated!

I'm slowly fleshing out my Elec/Shield Stalker, which is easily the most fun toon I have ever played. It's an active set to play, and does unreal damage. It's such a different play style, and so strange to have 2 separate attack chains for ST & AoE. However, I've been trying to find a balance between solving (1) endurance problems, (2) lack of ranged and (3) a nice ST attack chain. So far I've settled on Body Mastery so I can get Superior Conditioning and Laserbeam Eyes, which solves all 3 problems. I just got T4s in Agility & Ageless, so these might fix my endurance issues alone without needing Superior Conditioning? I see a lot of people taking Sniper attackers from their Epic pools, but how do these attacks work? Can they be used in a standard attack chain in the midst of battle? It says Insta-cast at 97% To Hit, but I have 0% To Hit (unless I'm misreading Mids). Plus it looks crazy endurance expensive (~18 end unslotted), and they have a long recharge, so what am I missing? Can they be part of a ST attack chain and useful each fight? What does the Fast Snipe enhancement do? Does it make it viable as a standard attack? Here is what I'm running right now so you can get an idea (currently working on ATOs and Purples to replace cheap sets): Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.7.2.10 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Collateral Damage: Level 50 Technology Stalker Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Havoc Punch -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(3), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mk'Bit-Dam%(7) Level 1: Hide -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 2: Deflection -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(7), LucoftheG-Def(9), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(9) Level 4: Battle Agility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(11), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(11), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 6: Assassin's Shock -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(13), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mk'Bit-Dam%(17) Level 8: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A) Level 10: Combat Jumping -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(27), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(50) Level 12: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 14: Spring Attack -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(23), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(23), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Obl-%Dam(27) Level 16: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 18: Chain Induction -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(29), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mk'Bit-Dam%(31) Level 20: Build Up -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(33), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(33), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(33), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(34), GssSynFr--Build%(34) Level 22: True Grit -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-Max HP%(48) Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(36) Level 26: Thunder Strike -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(36), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(36), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Obl-%Dam(37), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 28: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A) Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), LucoftheG-Def(39) Level 32: Lightning Rod -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(40), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(40), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Obl-%Dam(42) Level 35: Shield Charge -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(42), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(43), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Obl-%Dam(45) Level 38: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), LucoftheG-Def(45) Level 41: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 44: Superior Conditioning -- PwrTrns-+Heal(A), PwrTrns-EndMod(46) Level 47: Laser Beam Eyes -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(39) Level 1: Assassination Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(17), Pnc-Heal/+End(19) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(19), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(21), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(21) Level 1: Quick Form Level 50: Agility Core Paragon Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment ------------

Tell me more about your psi/rad. I was looking at rolling an elec/shield, then discovered /rad and was leaning elec/rad, but then I saw this quote, and looked up psi which has a great pbaoe and st. What would be arguments for elec vs psi primary? Elec gets 2 aoes, foe -end, and a teleport that doesn't interrupt hide. Psi looks like it has an awesome ST chain (which elec doesn't), a decent pbaoe (though not as strong as either elec aoe), and the best dmg type in the game, so probably a great pvp AT; and psi has a couple Mag 3 mezs. Both look awesome, but would one pair better with /rad?

Well, I tried to bind select next teammate, and execute power. Each works by itself, but not together, so I'm guessing no go on: /bind CAPITAL "target_custom_next teammate$$pow_exec_name Speed Boost" I'll have to stick with Caps Lock to select next teammate and LShift for Speed Boost, as I don't really like the solution of binding a specific key to teammate #. That seems like more work than just scrolling through teammates with the next function.

Wow, that is such helpful information. I wouldn't have even thought of aggro with SP/FS. I can't thank you enough! One more question. I want to keep speed boost up on my teammates, so since I already use Tab to scroll through mobs, i keymapped Caps Lock to scroll through teammates, and (L)Shift to cast speed boost. that way i can at least CL > Shf > CL > Shf etc. But is there an easier way, such as binding that select next teammate AND cast it?

I'm running a Rad/Kin, closing in on level 50, and using Darkfir's build in this thread as my starting point. I mostly pair with brother's Sav/Shield Brute (duo or team), and we both prioritize AoEs, clumping and nuking mobs, before switching to STs with Scourge to finish B, EBs, AVs, etc. So far it's a crazy fun character, has incredible dmg output and buffs/debuffs, but very busy and clicky, and I need help finishing the build. I'd appreciate any advice you all could share 😃 Here is what doesn't make sense: (1) I don't understand Repel. Other than solo, when wouldn't a team be upset that someone is flinging foes all over. Clumping is generally preferred, no? (2) Is Vengeance that useful? Seems rarely valuable, would something else more consistently valuable be better? (3) I see Mace Mastery a lot of Kin builds. Is that because it's the only Def toggle (not Res)? And I should prioritize soft capping my Def, right? (4) Is Siphon Power + Fulcrum Shift redundant, or helpful? Seems like 50/50, half take both and half say don't bother. Personally, it's a super clicky build, so less powers the better... (5) Is Rune of Protection something you would drop on auto, firing it when its up for routine Res, or just use for Boss fights, etc? (6) No one seems to take Aim on any of the X/Kin sets. Why not? Coming from a Stalker, Aim/BU is the shit. Does it not bring the same value to a Corruptor, especially since our big dmg via Scourge comes at the closing attacks, not the opening attacks? Or is it because Tactics already adds ToHit? (7) Does Stealth add value for the speed runs? Right now I use Super Speed which helps a bit, I just read someone recommended putting a Stealth IO in Sprint, so both on adds enough. Is that helpful or unnecessary for not dying running around speed TFs? (8) Right now my single biggest weakness is Mez protection. I'm popping BFs like Skittles these days. Which powers are helping to mitigate this?

Can I hijack your thread and ask for some Rad/Kin playing advice? I just returned to the game, and rolled a Rad/Kin Corruptor, after deciding not to roll my live main toon Rad/Son Def. It was powerful but slow and boring. Well, this Kin is definitely not slow or boring, but can be a bit overwhelmingly clicky?? There's a lot to do. Questions: (1) Does this AT always struggle with endurance (I'm only at level 30), or does it get better once I get Transference and everything slotted? (2) I am capable of great dmg, I am capable of great buffs/debuffs, but I really struggle to consistently do both. How do you prioritize? Do you open with FS to debuff dmg, launch into AoEs, then ST to finish off weakest mobs with Scourge, and then rip out things like Transference, Transfusion and/or Siphons as needed? On fast teams do you just debuff/buff? Just drop dmg if the team is rolling? (3) How do you manage teammates buffs? Do you keep their buffs expanded on the screen? Are there macros or other tools to help me SB all of my teammates, other than clicking on each name and dropping that buff? I realize these are big questions, amounting to how do you play this game, but any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated =/

Alright you big beautiful bastards, your advice was very much appreciated, and both my brother and I rerolled. I liked the Kin powerset, but ended up going Rad/Kin Corr, while my brother rolled Savage/Shield Brute. I'm hoping this duo has good synergy, and both will still be useful for end game content. I've never played a Corr, and am sick of Sonic, as much as I love the -res. I hope Rad wasn't a bad choice, I just liked the dmg, it has such as nice AoE set and strong ST 1-2 punch with Proton > Cosmic. My brother loved his OG Main, but EN's main 1-2 combo got nerfed. He wanted Titan, but no-go with Shield. Not enough arms I guess... Shield is probably softer than any brute he's played, and he's old school, so he's used to prioritizing RES over DEF, but paired with my Kin's dmg debuffs, and his Grant Cover def buff for me, I think this duo will have legs.

I've never played Kin myself, though I recall from way back when it being super popular because it made runs so much faster and was a buffing machine. Have end game players gotten so tough they just don't need -regen anymore? I keep reading it's all blasters, brutes and scrappers running amok, which supports your argument for Kin/. The Rad/ toggle debuffs are great for bosses, but a bit slow and impractical for quicker missions and runs. By the time you drop your 3 debuffs the mobs are dead and the group has moved on. So I can see the argument that Kin/ will be more useful in every fight and scenario. I'm still on the fence about Poison/, it seems like devs just hit the random button when making Poison Def...

So I rolled a Poison/Fire, only lvl 32, but it is certainly a challenging character. I think I'll eventually get a feel for it, but it definitely plays wildly differently than my other defenders. I'm sure it will get better with levels and my own personal comfort with charging a ranged squishy into melee....currently all I can say is I'm glad we have universal health care for my frequent trips to the hospital. Right now end drain is a real problem, so I have to avoid a lot of the toggles until I get them all slotted better. With a team or duo, it seems to make a noticeable difference to overall success if I just focus on debuffing instead of attacking - it's a lot of active powers to drop, so I'm still sorting out how to be most effective.

@Psy, that's actually kind of brilliant lol. K, I'm going to look at the build options, considering I've never considered it...

Thank you so much KS, reading that guide now... Much appreciated!

In old days, I exclusively played Stalkers, playing with my brother's En/Inv Brute. I'd let him draw attention and add some dmg. Fun pairing in PVP, but at end game no one wanted Stalkers and my brother quit playing, so I rolled a Rad/Son Defender and loved it. Could solo GMs and AVs, had no problems finding teams, always in demand. Well, thanks to Homecoming, we're back! Brother rolled his same Brute, so now I'm torn. I think I'll avoid Stalker, despite my love of them. Being a creature of habit, I am considering Rad/Rad Def again, but is there another combo or even class I should consider that would pair well with his brute? I know Ill/Rad Trollers were super popular before game was ganked from us. Son/Rad Corr's were also super popular. Any alternatives to consider before diving into another Rad/Son Def? (edited to fix Rad/Son, because I'm an idiot and it was years ago.)