VashNKnives

Since I didn't have RoP experience I made a build on live with I/Os that I thought could benefit heavily from it... rad/dp Defender currently in its 30s running choking cloud and the main rad debuff toggles going up against mezzy mobs.... I'm probably too low level still, but am pretty unimpressed with RoP even with the 90 sec duration. With just ok recharge from slotting, AM, Hasten, and a couple set bonuses I still try to use it reactively and it hasn't really been that great due to animation time and long recharge. I will switch to proactive use asap. I will also keep going toward 50+, but I think if this goes live I may jump ship to the new flight pool for the extra defense and flight control (also dislike how loose mystical flight is but do like translocate) and just use the sorcery slots on the epic shield that I'm currently not going to toggle most of the time b/c endurance. This character's concept of sorcery doesn't hinge on the rune graphics enough or even at all. I feel anyone that is doing a rune mage will be less likely to be able to walk away and I don't think origin pools should feel weak even compared to primary powers. So if anything I would be in favor of buffs and not nerfs and would keep it 90 sec until more assessments could be done.

Never took RoP but it does look very nice... why not increase its recharge instead? When you have to use a situational power it should help make for epic moments... Epic moments sometimes take more than a minute.

More balanced options doesn't dissuade choice, it just adds to it. Any character that you make that is a scientific type can throw chemicals at baddies b/c of experimentation. Any magical character (even if ar/dev blaster) can be a sorcerer/sorceress. I take the Leaping aoe power in the superjump pool for my valkyrie... If people min/max themselves in to a corner for every build then that is on them. The game is easy enough even solo at ×8 that concept builds are more than viable.

Likely said already... More thematic power pools (both normal and epic). The new ones like experimentation are great and we are still missing epic pools for some themes discouraging folks from even rolling that theme in the first place if you are stuck picking from electric or dark powers or a mace or such when you get to 35. Breaking theme is major disappointment for me. Also, I echo the customization request for more pets.

IMO, Gravity needed help before fold space but now FS makes it more evident. For grav, one thing I suggest is random mag3 hard controls added to the mobs inside diminsion shift and the effects should last for like 10 sec after DS is untoggled - to make it safer to go inside, to give it quick soft control use, and to allow more I/O possibilities. Back to FS... though I like it and use it, it feels cheaty that a pool control power animate that fast and that affected mobs don't seem to show fx right before they are blinked away. I also kind of liked the idea of using the mob's current aggro level and target to determine if they get blinked...though it doesn't really make sense to resist teleportation to me it is already in game as an I/O.

I am sure some folks just heal bot with /elect but I enjoy using the photon grenade to pull and focus fire my bots. In addition, discharge and shock decimate the end of even 54s. Throw in a defib for those unlucky enough to come close to the bots. It feels very rewarding to me to play bots/elect. Very tanky, which I loved since my ninja/ just about made me walk away from MMs lol. 👍

I have a Bots/Elect and Beast/Cold and had a thugs/pain, nin/poison, and zomb/dark on live.... I will say the bots/elect is by far the most tanky. The thing about it, is yes... you are a resist/heal based set, but your protector bots put bubbles on things, then you have your auras from I/Os and manuevers. Most importantly you have mez protection for the pets 🙂 and your heal/end powers are chaining so you don't have to even look at your pets' health - just keep tapping via keybinds your heal and end buffs every so often to keep them all topped off. I think the following is my build:

TA/Water/Levi = One of my favorite defenders and a solid competitor for my first page of heroes! Tweaked over several respecs, each single target attack (ice arrow, dehydrate, and water jet) does something to help you survive. Flash Arrow @ Level 1 giving over 31% -tohit + over 30% Def to R, AoE, E, N and near that for F/C + capped Smash/Lethal Resistance + 48% Res to Cold. Awesome debuffs met half-way with enough buffs for acc, damage, and rech. A great experience and fun build. Old Build: Edit: As a test, I just took the build through the Maria Jenkins mish with Resistance soldiers and Nightstar at +3x8 as a level 51. Even as a squishy it fairly easily took out mass amounts of the resistance soldiers. Though I keep my defense numbers visible onscreen so that I know when to hibernate and avoid cascade failure. Edit2: decided to drop the kismet - throwing in the reactive proc instead - this build just has too much -def to worry about the added +tohit. My last hit chance is stuck at 95% Edit3: went assault radial hybrid instead - don't need the extra +def buffer or end redux as much as damage and the proc damage works very nicely with this build Edit4: I replaced assault with poison gas arrow. The solo damage from this build is mostly procs and I like to solo team sized purple spawns. The -dmg and utility of an aoe sleep really cuts the retaliation I receive. Edit5: B/c Dare I say why not? LOL! Anyway, I wanted to report to the very, very few that read this that after getting incarnate abilities that +4x8 on this build is very doable against even the toughest around in Dark Astoria missions. You may go through every power you have every spawn but most recharge before the next +4x8 spawn and you only really need to keep emergency breakfrees or pre-emptive small purples for ambushes. For the worst spawns of 2 or more sorrow type Banished Pantheon I may wait for all the powers to recharge.... but the activation goes something like so: Flash Arrow EMP Arrow Poison Gas Arrow Glue Arrow Oil Slick Arrow Acid Arrow Disruption Arrow Geyser or Ion Judgment or Steam to light oil slick Whirlpool Reapply flash as needed while you mop up using dehydrate/water jet/ice arrow/Steam/whirlpool/acid/entangling... (move in to the EMP field for mez protection asap) Fun-derful build 🙂 So yeah... I took every TA/ power lol New Build:

It has been a while since I've played it but I believe the below is my current mind/ma/mace build. I remember the goals were ninja-esq, thus the reason for the stealth pool and sticking with ninja run.. I also remember that cross-punch from fighting was a good addition - MA has pretty good ranged attacks, but I apparently didn't love the kicks other than thunder. I can't believe I didn't want a heal.... but I must have been really digging misdirection. Mind/ is such a powerful set that it must have made up for some things... sorry that I don't remember more. SM/L/AoE:

I'm posting this just as a help for anyone seeking Grav/Rad build. Like many of you I have many years of experience building characters and multiple pages of 50s on Homecoming alone all with I/O'd builds and incarnates. Thankfully with this game you can take even a concept character and make it work.... However, this Grav/Rad concept I had was originally very tricky to play even with all my experience, resources, and planning (much more trouble than my fire/fire/fire or mind/MA/mace) . I respec'd about a half-dozen times and finally found the rhythm. So without further ado - the build is in the Spoiler tags and some highlights are below: Fun Guidelines Must survive solo +1x8 when 50. Must solo at a reasonable speed when 50. Must not require micromanaging permadom Avoid Incarnate endurance management if possible Concept Guidelines Hover Teleport Avoid non-gravity/dimensional looking effects Findings Binds are a significant quality of life booster for this combination - specifically powexec_location target and powexec_location me Grav/ - just feels like it needs an AoE soft control power like hotfeet, even just a sleep, or modification to dimension shift - good thing /Rad has some stuns, a knock, and a heal to help Dimension Shift just is too situational - cool power but very situational to fit in a tight build - would like it more if it added a bunch of random mezes like confuses and terror to baddies stuck inside Combat Teleport is great for positioning hoverers to also be meleers "Painting" radiation on all is a constant goal Radiation siphon is better than I originally thought as a heal/damage power Devastating blow is worse than I originally thought as a damage power Just using the shield from //mace was a nightmare even at 45% to SM/L/R and with personal force field - not enough resistance or AoE damage or endurance Don't underestimate resistance epic pool shields - was //mace and switched to //soul b/c you will get hit even with 45%+ def to sm/l/r and your heal needs resistance to keep up Don't underestimate the need for supplemental AoE damage - //soul or //psionic were my top choices b/c of theme /Rad is an end hog - //soul helped by allowing tough/weave to be dropped and then take a debuff to make up for it End Result Fun Permadom - yet with tight hasten/domination activation timings managed by keybinds after adding //soul +1x8 is easy most of the time even before incarnates ranged/melee hybrid with good tools for most levels Suggestions Fold Space can be a good power for this build but I wanted to fly and have a little more breathing room for permadom dimension shift and crushing field are interchangeable but crushing is far more spammable incarnates are to taste, I think I may change my void judgment to radial for the -damage if you find yourself frustrated with recharge or end management don't forget supergroup base boosts or the pay to win vendor - you don't need them with this build but its all part of the game as far as I'm concerned Build: Enough defense that a -tohit debuff can make a difference and so that Afterburner activation gets you to the softcap in a hurry if necessary:

As someone who recently leveled a grav/rad/mace dom with a fully I/O'd high-end build and as someone who mained a grav/rad controller 15 years ago with every other control set under my belt since (though I never made it to 50 with ice control).... I can vouch that grav is still weak on AoE controls due in large part to dimension shift being so situational and team unfriendly. Don't get me wrong, I still plan on teaming and incarnating my new dom. However, grav could really use the this or that power treatment that super reflexes got with practiced brawler. I would think a choice between a slow/ knockdown/crushing aura and dimension shift during power progression would give the set the extra AoE it is lacking without loading its deck. Btw, I did skip propel and take lift and distortion on my build. Unless propel does AoE damage I could not justify it on a dom. Unless maybe the ff proc goes off more than with lift. Though I have lift slotted with no recharge - 3 thunderstrike, the ff proc, and the purple ranged proc - and the ff proc goes off regularly. I then use lift as a filler in single target attack chains. Singularity adds distortion if I don't so impact damage happens regularly.

Low levels represent just the start of a super journey and your character is supposed to be little more than a step above a normal being. So you should use Brawl and your origin attack both with quick natural recharges to fill the gaps in attack chains. Other than that, enhancements, even basic training ones, are a main part of the game. Defense, tohit, debuffs, accurancy, etc... are what make the experience unique and fun to me. Unless trying to make a comic hero/villain with a no-miss ability, it really is normal for even the best supers to miss sometimes. Slot for acc, and watch for to-hit debuffs. Keep an eye on your endurance. You may want an end redux or two. Once you get enough inf, try to get some cheap multi-attribute IOs to make the most of your slots at low levels. After that, work in sets for bonuses to match your build goals.You will make a ton of inf as you get closer to and at 50. You can ship inf to other lower characters. Characters with IOs and at 50+ feel awesome because you saw the progression from start to finish.

Totally agree with KC! Bots/EA is at the top of my MM list because it plays great on teams and solo. Here is a build from my various builds Bots/EA/Mace:

My new Son/Son/Mace blaster is now 51 w/ a few accolades and musculature radial doing DA Incarnate stuff. (solo +1x8 w/ bosses) This is what I think of this combination: General: Melee range is the best place to be to get the most out of your aura, strong melee, and nuke Awesome tricks at your disposal to control the fight - don't underestimate siren's song or echo chamber both filled with procs I don't need Howl but would have liked to take it for team content when I just felt like ranging it Defense cascade failure is a quick bad thing and clarion is very nice thing, so another emergency power like hibernate or something can smooth things out (I chose afterburner) your -res + controls really bring something to team play that some other blasters lack good thing to have -res b/c smashing / energy damage isn't exactly exotic - but procs are good at adding some flavor New Powers: Sonic Thrust = awesome free air superiority type power - juggle them bosses Strident Echo = quick DoT and hold to stack with echo chamber - you'll be surprised at how often you'll hold hard targets Echo Chamber = the damage for this ramps up quickly with procs - second highest single target DPA for my build Sound Booster = fire it as soon as it recharges Deafening Wave = reminds me of psychic shockwave - nice for lowbie taskforces, to follow-up the nuke, and rotate with siren's song for AoE Sound Barrier = really solid sustain - kind of a jack of all trades but will stack well with I/O buffs Disruption Aura = thematic and reliable Sound Cannon = fast activation and like siren's song - this is good out of the box so I just put the FF proc in the default - rotate with siren's for AoE control Earsplitter = hits like a truck and has a comfortable recharge Stun fun: Howling good time:

Staff/Ice Armor/Leviathan may be the toughest non-tank character I've ever made. It hasn't been defeated yet at 51. I also primarily pick-up teamed all the way there, except for soloing a few of the accolades and one task force (Numina). For perspective, if you care, all my 50s have I/O sets and most start getting them at around level 10, I have 2 other incarnate stalkers (ice/shield/levi and elect/nin/mu) that are no where near as tough, and I've played very recklessly on this character for most of the ride - soloing x8 size mobs without insps, pickup group for Lady Grey (mini-Hami), speed ITFs when I was sub 50, rushing mobs on teams... etc. I have one tank, brute, and defender and many scrappers, blasters, doms, controllers, corruptors, etc.... all I/O'd heavily... and survivability of the Staff/Ice/Levi Stalker easily rivals my dark armor scrapper and makes me feel like I'm more on my rad/titan/energy tank due to all the AoE and non-stop assailing. I love my blasters and scrappers... but this stalker has risen out of nowhere to be tied for my main alt.

/fire is also a fave of mine. When you get it going with aura + hotfeet + burn + FSC the intoxicating feeling of being a simultaneous aggro magnate and raging wildfire hits you. Pair it with a set that gives you other position-agnostic attacks and mezzes for more safety... or go for broke like me on my arch/fire/mace ... stand proud in the middle of the bonfire you're making while enemies flee very slowly in terror around you and you wreck anyone who dare think they were smart enough to stay out of range of your flames...

Dual Blades looks fast with all the combos and that fancy top attack, but if you want lightning don't forget that lightning strike teleport in electric melee. Also Kat is super stylish, imo 🙂