Agorazium

Hi all, I have a few questions about my planned Demon/Pain build having never taken either set to 50. Mainly: - Not sure my pet slotting is optimal. I went for maxed accuracy/damage then seasoned to taste. I see most people putting the Soulbound proc in the Demons but it seems to me like Demon Prince does significantly more damage so it was better there? - I have two empty power picks with no slots to afford them. I'm torn between Provoke (I like the tankermind playstyle though Provoke never feels super necessary), Suppress Pain with the Panacea proc, Conduit of Pain as a just-in-case, Oppressive Gloom for an extra soft control option, and Combat Jumping for a little more defense which the build is sorely lacking. Thoughts? This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Soothsayer: Level 50 Mutation Mastermind Primary Power Set: Demon Summoning Secondary Power Set: Pain Domination Power Pool: Teleportation Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Corruption -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Apc-Acc/Rchg(3), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Apc-Dam%(5) Level 1: Nullify Pain -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(7), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg(21), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(21), Prv-Absorb%(23) Level 2: Summon Demonlings -- SprMarofS-Dmg(A), SprMarofS-Acc/EndRdx(13), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(15), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(17), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(17) Level 4: Soothe -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(7), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(9), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(9), Pnc-Heal(19) Level 6: Enchant Demon -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Crack Whip -- Ann-ResDeb%(A), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), PstBls-Dam%(25), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), FrcFdb-Rechg%(42) Level 10: Combat Teleport -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 12: Summon Demons -- SprMarofS-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg(27), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(27), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(29), ResDam-I(29), EdcoftheM-PetDef(31) Level 14: [Empty] -- Empty(A) Level 16: Enforced Morale -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 18: Hell on Earth -- SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen(31), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(31), CaltoArm-Acc/Rchg(33), SvrRgh-PetResDam(33), SvrRgh-Acc/Dmg(33) Level 20: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(34), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(36) Level 22: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 24: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(36) Level 26: Summon Demon Prince -- SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprCmmoft-Rchg/PetAoEDef(37), SlbAll-Build%(37), IceMisTrmt-+ColdDmg(39) Level 28: World of Pain -- GldArm-End/Res(A), GldArm-RechRes(39), GldArm-RechEnd(39), GldArm-Res/Rech/End(40), GldArm-ResDam(40), GldArm-3defTpProc(40) Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 32: Abyssal Empowerment -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Anguishing Cry -- AchHee-ResDeb%(A), AnlWkn-Acc/Rchg(42), AnlWkn-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(42), AnlWkn-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(43), ShlBrk-%Dam(43), TchofLadG-%Dam(43) Level 38: Painbringer -- Pnc-Heal/Rchg(A), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(45) Level 41: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(45), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(45) Level 44: Soul Tentacles -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(46), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(46), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), PstBls-Dam%(48), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(48) Level 47: Soul Storm -- UnbCns-Dam%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(48), GldNet-Dam%(50), GhsWdwEmb-Acc/EndRdx(50), GhsWdwEmb-EndRdx/Hold(50) Level 49: [Empty] Level 1: Supremacy Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 1: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(11), Pnc-Heal/+End(34) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), SynSck-EndMod(11), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(13) ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1706;742;1484;HEX;| |78DA75944B4F135114C7FFD399F228081444405A0A2882802D557CED8C80094A131| |21475451A3BC898D269FA48E403F819D4F85C19F71A752946134D2451D7EAC2C428| |284214769A7A9833476E6B98A433BF7B5EF77F6ECF4CECF270F5C2EBB163D0EA869| |2F16C762A16CFE6CCCCAC954A54C4F2B978CEB2533A00DF846DE766B2F13933534E| |CB8ECDB0A989FCECAC9D0A0F9B74771756EA624889389E9F9E0E8FC7ADD4D4B04D0| |6A728EAC76D3B193E6D26CDB49DE18D6A1DD398194F9899EC8C95F639EB89B46926| |FC0EC6E2292B9D4F3AC18191B47521ACEAB0F34957FE5C3369ECA2DFB53ABA6990A| |B6000FD1E206AC083B04084C1C0804094E1777571B617F8AA3B9E322C32D4638961| |3BBE097C67D8816586EB244253CB68386D389E6A9C65A8C18AC7859F0C75F825B0C| |6F087D4E86A2F3A02A226C85081368190E86B67B84122BC4A36BCE880E3B9499EF2| |4D7D05A31C5FA483CF0CCD7802171E33ECC51556B587C6A152AD5B29756F51DD2AB| |5ED2A9CE16E776252E03D6F10C047817ECE6EC32241B781025DD8C60F7AA25643E2| |DF66B5B2D96DDACCAF6EE6C739C32D745EE013490E1A68C7078175CE6EC72A839FB| |A6950CAE80D68D41C4F074EE92E8C32ECC209F78C29A9513D824651D5409E26C5A3| |35E19EC74DBECF708784B74011DE82E752FF05C36EBC14782530E49E3E6ABC3CC57| |432AD6AFFAD88EA6EC8A0C001866E0C084404F6337492E0A0DA4A107DDCCA5DD219| |523D216952A7AD3BD5AD3B314FEA1A3686E48DC79D96770CBD782B50A63BFF412F1| |6DCB78ECA74A967D525C3DC2FC3FC941E3D4A88A7076B12B22EB071DE54779ED67D| |EAB9F6E101EBDD8787028F04DCA98EC89C47E0E1737D4665C24A19238C518F1B32C| |B9311C588EEC225B1580C1B435B881950AF42215062708C34DD635BD8C70DF52B44| |768DEDCBBEE2CF93C4FFD8C2BE5262A73E4E6ACE3BE6C3A44C7907F7B2FA7FEC55E| |EDB8725F978AD300CF616EB2B1CED2D9EE9C2613254A98683A529874A0D474A53FE| |0296B9F81A| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

I have it on my Bots/EA and FF/Beam. Both support sets are mostly defensively oriented so Corrosive Vial’s debuff is very welcome, and Experimental Injection is great on the FF for when damage does get through the shields.

I have a sonic/mental and the AOE in particular feels tons better. That combo was never going to be the top single-target DPS but it absolutely melts crowds now, and the ST rotation feels better even if the damage wasn’t improved too much.

I usually stick with pretty standard spandex-y designs so I'm really happy with how these turned out. Moonglaive, DP sentinel, and Soothsayer, a nightmare-conjuring telepath (demon/thermal MM).

I feel like I have seen dozens of threads recently that get totally derailed by you insisting your way to play is the best. If someone disagrees with you it is OK to just not respond! I appreciate your builds and videos but this approach is just not the way to go about it. Anyways, my Time/Dark is what I always come back to, and I have rerolled her several times just to get the experience of playing through the game with that build again. Time offers something useful at all levels and Dark does decent damage with a nice bonus layer of defense through its -tohit.

Is it me or is the pet kind of bad on a Dom? I see the value for a Controller who will be spamming their primary powers constantly, but after I open with a couple AOEs and hold the boss I’m really not using primary powers a whole lot…meaning the pet is just sitting there. I feel like it needs a “basic attack” of some sort, I’m pretty close to dropping it from my build at this point.

A few new costumes for Stardance, a reiteration of my main from live who has been revitalized by Symphonic Control.

Having a blast with Symphonic/Energy so far. Energy plays pretty well from range and has PU to shore up Symphonic's weaker control capabilities, while Symphonic's AOE options make up for Energy's comparatively low AOE DPS. Just picked up Confounding Chant and can melt groups fairly quickly even at level 20.

First of all, thank you x a million to anyone involved in creating this set. My "main" for the last 15+ years is a light- and sound-themed toon and I feel like this set was tailor-made for her (Sonic Resonance is so boring lol). On a slightly less subjective note, I really like the set. The # of cones doesn't bother me since I prefer consistent positioning on my characters but if it is an issue for most people I think some of the powers could easily (and thematically) be turned into PBAOEs instead. Seconded that the sfx are extremely loud, and that Chord's projectile feels very slow, even compared to the other slower AOE holds like Shadow Field.

Time IMO is a jack of all trades, master of none set. It pairs well with anything but does best with a set which has a secondary effect to layer with Time's buffs/debuffs. Sonic would be good since Slowed Response's -res while great for groups is underwhelming on single targets, for example. Dark is my personal favorite since the -tohit stacks very nicely with Farsight's +defense and reduces your need to take Power Boost, and Dark also offers a few controls to supplement Time Stop/Distortion Field.

I’m too lazy to spend a lot of time converting so I use 100 merits to buy event IOs, several of which sell for 20m. That’ll then buy me 2-3 ATOs depending on the set.

I second @Carnifax, I wouldn't skip Heart of Darkness or Enervating Field. HoD is probably the best power in Dark/ and can be 6-slotted with procs for a massive nuke if you like. Enervating Field is your most useful toggle in teams that are doing well and don't really need the others. Fearsome Stare is better to slot with -tohit IMO. Overpowering Presence's bonuses are nothing to write home about vs. Cloud Senses' which are fantastic, and fully slotted it does about -20% tohit which frees you up from slotting for +def elsewhere if you want/need. I would also drop Possess. Dark/ has so many tools that it's not super useful at baseline, and the best time to use it is usually at the start of a fight - but with /Rad you will be spending a fair amount of time setting up first so I doubt Possess will see much, if any, use. You could then move those slots to EM Pulse which needs more slots to be worth taking IMO, maybe Basilisk's Gaze so you're not losing out on too much recharge.

Your ability to make simple designs so striking and memorable is what I strive for 🤯

I joined a PI team led by an MM who kept all his pets on passive and did absolutely nothing, forcing me (a controller) to open every fight and die immediately because no one else was equipped to do it. If it had been me on the MM I would have thought that bodyguard-tanking and/or lowering the difficulty would have been better options. I left after one mission because it was so frustrating and noticed a couple of my teammates did too. That said, that was my first bad experience in a PUG in a LONG time. This game is so easy that even one person with a kitted-out build can carry the rest of the team. I generally lead my own teams and am happy to bring 7 lowbies along for the ride. I just don't think this is a problem. We've all joined teams we were not really contributing to at one point or another. IMO and IME, if you have demands about your team composition/playstyle/builds/what have you then you need to be the one leading (i.e. if I am running harder content I will ask that only characters of a certain level ask me for invite, but if it's not my team then it's not my place to complain unless someone is afk or something).

Seconded, my dark/staff is one of my favorite toons. Single-target damage is a little lacking but his AOE, aggro control and resilience are beastly.

Hello, I created a concept and costume I really liked for an Ice/Spines tank. Having never played either set, I have lots of questions and don't know where to start with a build. I've stolen what I can off the forums but I really want to fit Ice Storm into the build and most of what I've seen here is pretty starved for both powers and slots. I threw one together that I will post when I get to my PC, which has capped defense to S/L/E/N/C, about 60% S/L resist, and very low Psi def/res - does this sound right for Ice? Some other questions: - Are there skippable powers in either set? My build so far skips Lunge and Impale since it'll have procced-out Block of Ice as an attack, but otherwise takes everything. I am thinking about skipping Spine Burst once I get higher leveled. The AOE is nice at low levels but it does seem pretty weak. - Is it worthwhile/necessary to take both Icicles and Quills? And are they one-slot wonders or do they need to be 6-slotted? - How should Energy Absorption be slotted? - Most importantly, is this going to be able to tank level 50+ content? I am used to seeing higher numbers across the board on my Shield/Invuln/Dark tanks and if Ice is an underperforming set I may need to consider rolling a different combo. Thank you!

Oh I love the DA arcs, I run them on all my 50’s…but come to think of it I haven’t seen any teams recruiting while leveling my current alts. Some of the enemy groups are pretty gnarly if you’re bringing lowbies along with you.

I guess it does! You really do learn something new every day. Sadly, considering AV's debuff resistance, 50% is so low it might as well not exist lol!

No problem! This post has the build I was using last year (I can't get it to open in Mids for some reason). I have since made changes but I believe this one had capped ranged defense and capped Smashing/Lethal resistance. It was incredibly tanky and able to take alphas in +4x8 Dark Astoria missions and ITFs. Power Boost is ridiculous when paired with Time since Power Boosted Farsight gets you to the defense softcap extremely easily. This frees up a lot of power choices and slots elsewhere if you go that route. Without it I'm not sure you can cap both ranged def and S/L resist (at least not without taking the Fighting pool). That said, after slotting Fearsome Stare for -tohit you can get away with being 5-10% below the defense softcap without really running into any issues. Any APP will work but I wouldn't recommend Soul Mastery just because Soul Drain's buffs aren't that great on a controller especially if you slot proc-heavy like I do. For powers, these are your must-haves IMO: Dark Grasp - ST hold, I have it 5-slotted with procs right now Fearsome Stare - excellent when stacked with your other AOE controls, up every fight, takes 2 damage procs, ~20% -tohit when slotted for it Heart of Darkness - whether you slot it for stun duration or as a proc bomb this is a very strong AOE control, especially when stacked with Distortion Field so stunned mobs can't wander too far Shadow Field - this is skippable on some builds but again, with Distortion Field to stack on top of it, it becomes a lot better Umbra Beast - I used to skip it but controller damage is just so bad without the pet I think it is a must-have. Slotting it with a knockdown proc makes it much better Temporal Mending - self-explanatory Temporal Selection - this gets skipped a lot but in my opinion, nothing else you do with that one button press will compare to 2 minutes of +25% damage to a DPS Farsight/Chrono Shift - the biggest reasons to pick Time in the first place Slowed Response - AOE -res, self-explanatory Hasten - you can get perma-Farsight without it I think, but I like having perma-Chrono Shift and faster AOE controls Good but not necessary: Living Shadows - it's your only source of AOE containment but you have no AOE attacks to take advantage of that; I still take it to stop stunned mobs from wandering and to immobilize AVs Shadowy Binds - good to take early game until you can pick up an epic blast, drop later Possess - you have so many tools in your belt by endgame that when I do have this on my bar I literally never use it, but it does take useful IO sets if you're chasing bonuses Time's Juncture - like with Possess, Dark/Time does so many other things well I have never found this necessary other than at early levels. I also prefer to play from range after I've used Heart of Darkness. If you prefer being in melee then definitely take it. Distortion Field - this is a "meh" power on its own but it works very well with Dark Control. Lockdown chance for hold proc makes it a lot more useful than it is at baseline Time Stop - I take it as a proc bomb and to instant-stack with Dark Grasp to hold bosses. If you don't have slots to spare I wouldn't bother with it Meh: Haunt - I am told this is a great power that does significant damage over time and can serve as aggro control. I've given it so many chances and drop it every time. I have never been in a situation where I thought "Haunt is the best power to use right now" vs. anything else in my kit. Time Crawl - You have to take this. It's your only source of -regen, but at -100% it's not super useful. I only ever use it vs. AVs when I am trying to stack holds on them (it enhances the magnitude of Time Stop's hold). Hope that helps!

My main is a dark/time controller. She’s my favorite character to lead teams with because even if everyone else is level 1 she can tank most enemy groups at +4 and give the team a ton of +tohit so they feel like they’re doing something. Lots of proc opportunities in both sets if you feel like your damage is low, and the -tohit from dark control is an underrated pseudo-defense buff to your whole team on top of Farsight. I think this combo has just about everything you're wanting... Debuffs: Slowed Response is easy to get on a short cooldown and can take an Achilles -res proc for massive AOE -res and -def. Time's Juncture is amazing too. Everything in Dark/ does -tohit. CC: Dark Control is one of the better control sets IMO and Shadow Field stacks very nicely with Distortion Field. Time Stop also means you can instant-hold bosses which is a weakness of controllers otherwise. The pet is not the greatest but has a lot of cone attacks - slotting an Overwhelming Force knockdown proc gives you a ton of extra soft control on top of your AOE hold, stun, and fear. Mid-level maintenance: Farsight and Chrono Shift are up every 90-120 seconds. Temporal Selection is your single-target buff which has a long-ish recharge too so you only need to click it every minute or so. Damage: Heart of Darkness is one of the best proc bombs in the game and can become a huge nuke. Slowed Response also takes multiple damage procs. I have my ST hold slotted with 5 procs since otherwise ST damage is lacking in this build. Clear position: You do have a cone in Fearsome Stare (and the immob if you need it) but everything else can be done from melee, meaning you only need to open with the cone and then jump into the enemies for the rest of the fight. This is less annoying than it sounds since the couple seconds you spend casting the fear gives your melees time to grab aggro so you should never die. Buffing: Farsight/Chrono Shift are PBAOEs so you're not going to hit everyone every time, but it's not the end of the world since you do so many other things with these powersets to keep your time alive and healthy.

My thought process was more that $10 and a nonsense promotion would fly under the radar. I can't have too many people getting suspicious!

Mind control. I want a $10/hour raise.

I ended up benching this character because the 4-attack chain was a little too repetitive for me, but here is the build for anyone else thinking about this combo since it did perform very well: | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1380;653;1306;HEX;| |78DA6593EB6E124114C767D945EE964B2945A048A1D0825DA8978F46DB02555B922| |61ABF92952E748500816D52BC3C810FE013F8C1B7F1FAC527D0DA967A4B6C0CAE87| |3D67424D27D9FC32FF99FF9973CEEC54F68BEE7ABD7C9B099EF596D2EF57EFEB4AA| |BA9F6EC953D5DD1B54E5B64306CF04569A55A515BAA2A6F6A6D55D76AD5555D576A| |CD085F2CAA75B5DD57E5525BED3506D5D5BD9EC2FCDB9D4E4B7E00B66EA787513DA| |654D61ABBBAD66EB8CDD996AA7461E2C2A5D6782D5CEA6A3579ADB333A85694BEAE| |F6063CBF59C8280E9FE2637C1812AB03562466691035E485C7C86C13B9E6000A681| |2D8A6688A9747308D49EC918FAF4144811CD2387206225164BF86F32C45AE8149A4| |885691D2B0D3667BCE62D249E978C9E4A5E03B60B672B3F50DA6E37C8B74BF23BE4| |75EFC40FC8854C16CE3B5D85EE349FE57C87528D4C1233B8ED1313D249E2067BE21| |97BE137F208B60769159720505DC3C8D9CF5127DC8A500B204260F9998278105964| |19CE2694C5DC79D970AC46BC8E80D64362498F7B07C15D36840813E6EF6FDC1C2A2| |23E49C4164B879EE165DE64DD433F0E706E83259E0138A6910835C0C528E0288212| |E860C184C04294C278BE1538AFC1399F845FC8DBC03354604F3CF312C915309170F| |91C9177072007E238818E32D8D514B53D4CA14B53245AD4C53AB77A10171DE80F85| |38C98DE270E909927C467C4E7C8BB90D63C37CF7FC65C935F90F903E4CA57E221F1| |0829C1C90BFC32175E62F76C202E727191443B88397E4C6E84675FF94B3488CC6A7| |259205A9033D015994794A92B1B907881DF47812E29224D5EBB113D3319CFE1C6B6| |CE4BDBD2E43933C1948E9C93E74FBB8ECF4BC333928525A8230F31BBE43DC17CFF2| |7FF6DA266E40FB0DEFC10F90F382DD2F6| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Still tinkering every couple levels but pretty happy with how this one's coming along: Artymis, Beast/TA MM.

These both look great! I think minimizing the gold is the way to go. Thanks so much!