KaoticKarl

Doh.. I didn't even think to test the recharge portion. Good call, and thanks. I think this one's a winner for me! 🙂

I'd love to see any alternatives you can think up, so if you have it already that would be great. I just didn't want to keep taking up your so much of your time 🙂 I did get curious about the LOTGs and attunement though, since you'd mentioned it, and went to go do some testing. Poor Positron is probably confused to all get out with the amount of times I picked up his TF and dropped it, but I did find some interesting results (at least for me it was new). You're 100% correct on the single slot SW vs Common IO Def Buff (CIO). Each one behaved the exact same as the other whether level 50 or 15, +0 or +5. Same % bonuses for each. However, for the LOTG Def/global rch IO test, it seems there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to attune these unless you want to keep the set bonus. At level 50 I had 4.50% base Smashing Defense due to picking up Stone Skin. Tried different combos of slotting and toggles: Hide on - unslotted: 50 Def 6.75% / 15 Def 6.29% Hide +5 LOTG 50 Def 7.12% / 15 Def 6.44% Attuned/Unattuned LOTG (no difference with similar level) 50 Def 7.05% / 15 Def 6.41% So, not much of a difference here overall between attuned and boosted, but the +5 is still slightly higher even at level 15. Thought maybe it was Hide having some effect on this, so I tested both again on Rock Armor and CJ: Unslotted at 50 and toggled on separately for RA base Def 18.90% and CJ base Def 7.65% LOTG+5 RA 50 Def 21.29% / 15 Def 18.86% CJ 50 Def 7.12% / 15 Def 6.44% LOTG Att/UnAtt RA 50 Def 20.81% / 15 Def 18.67% CJ 50 Def 7.05% / 15 Def 6.41% Like I said, not much of a difference here, unless when all is combined it changes ability to softcap at 15 versus just under (which I'd probably never notice either way), but something to consider regardless. Probably something others have already long figured out, but I had not idea how it worked and it was fun to do anyways, so might as well share in case.

So, BU proc is one that activates globally when the power is used at least once on a map? That's also another good thing to know, and can help a few of my other stalker builds. Now I'm really glad I asked for your help, as I also had it in my mind that the only +5 that retained their full values were purples and PVP IOs when exemped. So, if level 50+5 Common IOs are the same raw boost at level 20, then using a SW as the 2nd slot truly would be a silly waste of inf to do so. (I'll blame "old age comes with bad memory" here.. 😄) Any other tweaks you can find would be terrific Bopper, but if not, no worries. You've already helped me a bunch already, so anything else would just be gravy at this point, thanks!

Overall, really nice suggestions Bopper, thanks! I have no issue losing the six slot for BU, as it was mainly to obtain the IO Set bonus. Since you've neatly covered that elsewhere, not a biggie, and as you've said the proc should take care of any recharge there anyways. I also have no issue switching up EP and TF slotting, as the hold isn't a big deal and I assume I get more mileage with the BU proc in TF giving a better chance of it going off due to its natural recharge, correct? I did a little more tweaking to the build to suit my tastes, as I really wanted that perma-hasten (not sure why, lol, but it just irks me having it that close and yet not perma). I also switched up CJ back to the LOTG/SW mix, since mids was showing regen 10% cap with six sets, and reduced the boosted in SS so I could retain the attuned bonus when exemplared. My issue was trying to figure out how to get the one more slot in the build needed to keep perma-hasten without sacrificing too much elsewhere. Pull the one from Rooted, and I'd lose the S/L Res & higher regen you'd increased. Pull the extra Aegis or SW and again, I lose the boost to S/L or E/NE res there as well. Finally settled on taking the Dam/End slot from ET. I lose the 6% to Toxic/Psi res and about 23 damage for the power, so not a big deal to me, as I don't see how 13% vs 19% res makes all that much difference in the long game, especially with the Psi Def getting cranked up with this too. New build below: I really appreciate your taking the time to help Bopper, thanks!! 🙂

Little late to the party here, but I have a relatively expensive build that leverages sets to reach softcap+ to all types including Psi, decent resists (not great), max HP, perma-hasten, and recovery gain around 1.94, so no endurance problems I've experienced. I only get around 50% recharge resists, compared to @Bopper's 80%, but with less chance of being hit in the first place, I've not noticed any issues, and everything else seems pretty comparable. I took it for a test drive and managed around 450 dps on pylon (avg. 120 seconds), which makes me pretty happy since I'm fumble-fingered as a stalker. My chain was whatever happened to light up first, followed as much by TF>ET as possible. So, in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, it might go even higher. 🙂 Take a look and let me know if you guys feel something can be improved upon. I could switch the third hasten slot out easily, but that would drop it to just under perma at 122.6 seconds recharge, and personal preference is to not worry on perma and still able to take musculature instead of agility: Build below:

EnM/Stone Stalker: Averaged around 2:00 time on test server +/- 2 seconds. So, ((30677+(102.26*120))/120/(.8)) = 447.38 DPS I think? Zero survivability issues (soft-capped+ to all types incl. Psi plus max HP due to EE). Ran with T4 Agility Radial, T4 Ageless Core, and T4 Assault Core toggled on (no pets/amp/etc.). Not sure if it's wonky in Mids, but running Agility T4 with BU procs shows as higher dps than straight up Musc Core T4. Strange, but something to note. With the extreme caveat that I know absolutely bupkis about Stalker endgame mechanics (this will be my first 50 stalk on live/HC), and just mashing buttons as they popped up with rings, I think it's pretty good for an old fart like me with bad reflexes. 😄

I did a quick modify of my WP/Ice build, which is not cheap by any means, but it does provide a solid tank with pretty good dps. I'm showing in mids that this has softcap to all but Psi (~33%DEF) prior to incarnates, hasten ~128 seconds recharge, and dps looking like 150 or so without rage. I'm not a big fan of SoW, so I'd probably sub that out for either Assault or Darkest night, but folks were including it prior: Hopefully, this works or at least helps to give a few more ideas for your own builds. The bonus is you're free to take whatever suits your fancy for incarnates, although I'd strongly suggest keeping in the Ageless radial as an "oh ish" button to avoid any debuffing crashes. DDR is pretty pathetic, but still better than nothing on WP.

This right here, where we can't be sure which team did what for the game, is a testament to how well the HC team is doing things right now. Amazing job guys, and thanks for bringing it back to us! Looking forward to what's still to come

Or you could mix all three of the above and go for a Dominator. A Dom can get controls, pets, and blasts in a pretty fantastic little package. Once you can achieve perma-domination, you also get full time protection to mezzes/stuns the other three don't have access to until incarnates. It's not the best AT in terms of raw power or min/max, but I think a dom is quite good on the fun factor scale.

This is only trying to save you some time typing, @Snarky, but you can execute these commands with even less: /macro Bliz powexec_location target "Blizzard" /macro MeBz powexec_location me "Blizzard" (change up to whichever power you need to execute here - the quotes are optional, but I like them to make it look cleaner in case of edits) if you want to have these for any keyboard key, switch to bind command with X integer below as whichever key you feel comfortable with. Also, I use powexec_name when no target is needed, mainly for binds as well: /bind X powexec_location target Blizzard /bind X powexec_name Warmth You can also set these up as macros/binds to do various other things as well, such as a location a few feet in front/behind/left/right depending on numeric values and distance - great for pet summoning. 0 = degree arc around your character, so value between 0-359, and 5 = distance in feet(?) away from your central point. For example, to summon fire imps with a key press five feet directly in front of you: /bind X powexec_location 0:5 Fire Imps Lots of good info on this from the HC Wiki: https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Powexec_location_(Slash_Command) Don't worry @Aurora_Girl, I'm right there with you. I will bind the same keys as necessary across several different heroes. I use: Q for my heal-clickies, such as Warmth, Heal Other, Dull Pain, et al; E for Aim, build up, target toggles like Darkest Night; Z for most of my ground target attacks (Blizzard, Savage Leap, etc.); X for anything similar or debuffs like Tar Patch. Makes it much easier to click those quickly in case of "ish hits the fan" moments no matter the toon I'm on, rather than try to hunt a click in the power trays. I also set up C as my de-target in the key listing, so I don't fire off a 'flares-oops' when running up to the next group, and accidentally pull the alpha strike with my squishy defender. 😄

Yeah, but if we're sending wishes to Santa Claws, might as well go big, right? 😄 Intentional misspell, of course!

Said it in another thread.. I want to pair Shield with Dual Pistols... hopping blasting kapow-pow wholesome goodness! Or maybe fire and elec too. Regardless the primary, I'd be super excited for a shield sent.

Oh just GREAT! 🥺 Now I want a Shield Sentinel... with DP guns Would be hella fun, especially running Fiery Bullet Rain into Charge, then straight to Hail of Bullets

First, rename your pet to make this easier. Sparky, Spot, Jade, whatever... we'll go with Sparky here. The command is: /bind (desired key) pet_select_name (pet's name) I personally like to bind Q to Sparky summon, E to target Sparky, and C to bounce heal. Makes it really easy to summon, target, and heal while solo, so do this type in each line separately: /bind q powexec_location me "Galvanic Sentinel" /bind e pet_select_name Sparky /bind c powexec_name "Rejuvenating Circuit" To create a macro instead: /macro PET pet_select_name Sparky

I've started a Shield/Savage tanker that has been pretty fun in the lower levels. Really fast playstyle and good damage that's smooth as butter, plus I'm looking forward to the double porting AoEs when it gets higher 🙂 I've done the Savage/Bio combo on a brute to 50 (would recommend, tons of fun!), so I'm curious to see how they differ between the two ATs in the leveling process.