VoidSpawn2

Thanks very much, @Bill Z Bubba and @Doomguide2005! Cogent and most considerate advice! I think I'm going to give the "Master of ITF" +4/8 some focused attention, just so I can officially state that I've done it. Even if one has done it on all ATs at 0/8, with no deaths, it just somehow doesn't compare to doing it, even once, with one AT at the master level. (Well, it does, if one considers skill with multiple ATs as an attribute, and a composite matrix weighting this is constructed and evaluated against that of a single Master run. But, still, I get it. World of difference 'twixt the two.) If I crack the code -- if there is one -- I might try with more ATs. I don't think I'll get obsessed again, and have to do it with all ATs. But I might, if I sense that I can succeed. -void

https://tenor.com/view/thanos-fine-ill-do-it-myself-ill-do-it-myself-gif-22181201

I know that Hard Mode ITF is all the rage now, but for those of us who are still considering soloing the Master of ITF +4/8, did the somewhat recent/last Cimeroran defense buff render the run a Whiff Fest? Is it still possible to solo it now, if it's allegedly so much harder to hit them than it was prior to that buff? I was in the midst of my solo AT runs when this occurred, and I was going only at 0/8, so there was little, if anything, that I noticed at that scale. I do, however, recall that @Bill Z Bubba and @Werner mentioned it, and how it impacted their elite runs at that setting. Therefore, I'm making the query to get some advice on how do-able it is now, post-boost, and, if anyone is still doing it (along with what works best, what adjustments had to be made, if any, etc.). Thank you in advance for any advice and thoughts you'd like to share. -void

Interesting, @TungstenShark. I'm not surprised at the overlap, however. Comparing and contrasting the two builds leads to some very notable deltas.

This is a Max Health, non-Haste Binary Stone Armor/Dark Melee build that allows for a decent fantastic build without Granite, yet conserves the option to use Granite as a panic button. Rune of Protection is factored into the mix as well. Incarnates are used to fill in the holes. Not using Barrier, which could be used in place of Ageless, but I'm doing that because the benefits of Ageless smooth out some of the holes mentioned previously. (Get both, if you'd like.) These are the basic stats with Granite Off, and with the other armors on: These are the stats with Granite Off, with the other armors on, and with Rune of Protection on: So that's what 60 seconds out of 180 seconds are going to look like. And, finally, these are the stats with Granite On, no other armors on, and no Rune of Protection on: Of course, no need to show the Granite plus RoP shot, because RoP boosts that Psionic Resistance up to 90. So, actually, Granite pushes up the Resistances significantly, save for Psionic, providing a firm "steady state" of overall protection, though that is paid for by a significant loss in Defense stats, Movement, and Recharge. Indeed, as this is a non-Haste, non-Teleport build, which is not actually centered upon Granite. It's centered primarily upon the non-Granite armors, which, after our fantastic Devs showed those armors some love, are now fully capable of supporting your Stone Armor character sans Granite for 90%+ of the content in the game. Dark Consumption was the power that was removed for Granite. The Incarnates somewhat take the place of Dark Consumption, so that's okay. I used a Stone Armor/Dual Blades build by @Sovera to get my head around not having Granite as the primary, absolutely necessary power for a Stone Armor build. Then, I meshed a few of my heavy tanker builds, giving and taking to get where I thought it would work best, without sacrificing too much fun. Having the powers of a Stone Armor Tanker, and being able to stay in non-Granite form for the vast majority of the gaming experience? Most excellent. And having Granite around for a most potent panic button? Killer! Always open for your thoughts and insights into these hypotheticals. Only way to learn and improve. -void The Build:

The Sentinel version is much better.

Having 6 click powers for the /REGEN version is somewhat annoying: Instant Healing, Rune of Protection, Dull Pain, Moment of Glory, Shadow Meld, and Reconstruction. This is without Incarnates, of course. Thus far, at baseline 50, it's surprisingly durable. However, there's a lot of micromanagement occurring.

Overall concept is to affect a brief comparison between the two, insofar as build optimization, sans Barrier, is possible. The theme is that of stacked and/or phased layers of Shadow Meld, Rune of Protection, and Moment of Glory. This is just to get the conversation started. More experimentation to follow. Thoughts and feedback are most welcome, as none of this is set in stone yet. Basic build comparison is first. Energy Melee Bio Armor: Energy Melee Regeneration:

After several months of casual play, a bit of focus and devotion, and a large leveraging of build knowledge from multiple, masterful players, my self-imposed quest of cycling all ATs through a simple instantiation of the ITF at 0/8 has been achieved. With the exception of some of the tankers and perhaps another character or two, the average actual play time for any member of the group was approximately 24 hours. That might sound insane, but I have a system in place. Most of that was farm time (enough to get to all T3 Incarnates in most cases), accolade hunting for the four primary accolades, and Enhancement buying/converting/slotting time. I was able to learn the different ATs well enough to succeed on a solo ITF during that brief duration of time because I broke the pattern that serves as the Gestalt for CoX game mechanics. It would make an interesting article or post. Plus, I'm the kid with the banjo on the porch, in the movie Deliverance. Being on the spectrum is both challenging and occasionally frustrating in RL, but it simultaneously grants a few nifty powers to compensate. And those nifty powers lend themselves quite well to games and patterns (among other things). I claim nothing extraordinary regarding this. I'm certain that many others have done it, and at much higher levels of skill. My scientific curiosity compelled me to form the hypothesis, then test it. And test it I did. I'd like to thank the following folks for their many contributions to this quest, including sharing many wonderfully awesome builds and game mechanics concepts with me: @Leandro, who helped me with my first build, an INV/EM Tanker, way back during the early issues on Live. @Werner, @Bill Z Bubba, @Linea, @STiTcH, @Hyperstrike, @Infinitum, @Heraclea, @Voltak, @FUBARczar, @Sovera, @Snarky, @KaizenSoze, and so many other wonderful people, too. Next up? Just having some fun for a while. Going to sample the iTrials and higher level events, which I've not had much experience with yet. Then, I'll create another challenge and up my game a bit. Comments, feedback, constructive and destructive criticisms are all most welcome. Only way to learn. -void Warshade: Peacebringer: Mastermind: Arachnos Soldier: Arachnos Widow: Dominator: Corruptor: Blaster: Defender: Controller: Stalker: Brute: Scrapper: Sentinel: Tankers:

@Heraclea's Tanks are awesome. I've captured many of his builds. I do this with all of the legendary tankers. Only way to learn and improve. Concur with the "monster" appellation. Have fun!

Thank you for the adjustment. This build wasn't designed either for leveling or for exemplary play; however, your adjustment makes it entirely capable of doing such. As for being mathematically unaltered without incorporating Rune of Protection, that is a firm analysis, differentiated only by most subtle parsing in a bit more Status Protection, which is probably redundant, and in an approximate 8% RES in both Toxic and Psionic, for 60 seconds out of 180 seconds (Void's build is on the left): An elegant solution, @Hyperstrike. I very much appreciate both your sharing your knowledge, and your attention to detail. -void

While it certainly wouldn't be too practical, it can be done. Dull Pain is not permanent, which might be a no-no for most. Some rearrangement of IOs is possible to mitigate this somewhat, although I was using mostly the previous Incarnates to control for that deficit. Perhaps used as an alternate build for extreme situations? In which case, Dull Pain probably should be made permanent lol... This is what the updated stats look like now, at full saturation: In actual game play, the stats would vary up and down like stacked sinusoidal waves, with certain mins and maxes. Overall, and over a typical three minute/180 second window, however, they remain consistently high. I mean, really, really high. That's assuming max stacking, and max saturation, which isn't always possible. Updated build with this thread's suggestions incorporated into it. All things are initially turned on. Note: One of the Lore pets adds periodic additional buffs to both +DEF and +RES. The Build:

Quite correct, @Psyonico. I rather much used a basic Incarnate template instead of wading a bit more deeply into those possibilities. As a Tanker, using Melee Hybrid in place of Assault should have been the better "steady state" choice. Instead, I went with Assault for Doublehit, selecting it to gain more damage, as I was considering more solo action instead of team action. Duly noted. Thank you!

Concur totally, @Hyperstrike. I've got many of your awesome Tanker builds in my repository. In fact, you might notice some of your influence in my "heavy armor" builds. Your stance on personal preference is most appreciated.

@DRoddo, if I add Haste, I'd probably move it into the Combat Jumping spot. That would sacrifice a little more defense, which I could try to recover by shifting the slots around a bit. I'd slot Haste with two +5 IOs, then spread the remaining four IO slots to other powers which would help minimize the DEF loss from deleting Combat Jumping. Of course, Combat Jumping is primo for ground fighting and maneuverability, so if that's your style, it might not be worth it. I'm mostly a flyer, using Mystic Flight, because I can usually make it maneuver like Hover. A review of @Hyperstrike's many awesome Tanker builds will give you a better sense of your alternatives.