Scientist

Does it work to bring Howl into the rotation, since you are likely to have it anyway for AoE debuffing, or is the animation too high? And is the highest dps chain the same as the max average -res debuffing one, given that your main goal as a defender may be debuffing that AV so the other 7 teammates beating on him will do more damage?

In particular, the Clarion power that was mentioned, clickable perma-mezz protect, meant my Rad defender could then fearlessly solo spawns with lots of mezzing like Rikti, Carnival, etc. that previously shut off his debuffs and killed him pretty much every time. Why you want them depends on the AT, maybe a Tank wants a way to do a Blaster level nuke for example, but they are definitely potent in high end content. And I hate them, because when I get my main to 50 in this new game, I'm going to be torn between continuing to play her to get good Incarnate powers, and working up alts to 50, darn it. . . :)

Also be aware that the AH up and down converts levels on recipes (and enhancements) automatically, so you can sell a level 15 orange recipe and someone else can buy that recipe as a level 50 recipe. This has had some . . . interesting . . . effects on the market. One of which is that you can often get a couple hundred thousand on that level 13 yellow Doctored Wounds recipe, or something.

If you are referring to salvage, there are in fact tens of millions of all salvage for sale, the devs have put an essentially infinite supply of common salvage for sale at 10k, uncommon for either 50k or 100k, I forget, and rare salvage for 1M. They wanted to cap their prices. I haven't seen what you describe for recipes, though. I often see blank history until I make a bid on something and hit the Find button that pops up, though. And I have seen the "two different histories for the same item" bug someone else reported, depending where you click.

I was able to kill AVs with a bots/traps when I was still on SO enhancements back in the day redside. Having the mezz protection of the FF generator was helpful, a lot of AVs mezz, and the -regen of poison trap is double what a Rad gets. I believe the -resist of Acid Mortar is -20%, which is probably the same as Rad's version. Even the caltrops could be nice to disrupt the AI of an AV, as they run back and forth, and the Web Immob works on some AVs. That said, it is certainly more work than the toggle debuffs of Rad, which I played on a defender a lot blueside, and to really rock and roll with Traps it is helpful to build for recharge as well as defense (to stack with FF generator), so the build could be pricier.

I have seen a Market Crash trial mentioned in the LFG channel, but I can't find any information on it. Is there any way to get a basic description of it, i.e. number of players needed, minimum levels if any, approximate time needed to complete, etc?

An exception is the Invader accolade redside, you need to get those in Mayhem Bank Robbery missions at various level ranges (10-15, 15-20, etc.). You can't Oro those, last I knew, so if you powerlevel past them, you'll need to hope someone broadcasts that they are doing them later on. I've seen people wait for weeks back in the old game to happen to find someone with one at the right range. Also certain things, like the Lars Hanson Striga unlock for the Hess TF or the Maria Jenkins storyline, can take a while to do the arc for, and Oroborous locks you into TF mode for that whole time, so you would need to either have several hours for a play session and be a pretty good soloer or be willing to tie your character up for days or weeks. I don't know if you can invite people to your Oro arc after you start it, I've never tried.

I think there is a "walk" power that may do that, lets you actually walk naturally around places like Pocket D. Some of the "fly" powers like Rocket Board may do it too.

Below is the Cold/Sonic I ran in the original game, 96% recharge, soft capped S/L/E and decent defenses elsewhere. You could replace some of those purple sets with other new sets without much loss of recharge. Cold/Sonic is great at debuffing hard targets, especially if you have a single hard target to work on like an AV. Its best powers come later than some of the "early" defenders, like Rad and Dark, and you need a fairly well IO-ed out build for recharge to really max out its capacity, as some of the Cold powers are on long timers instead of being toggles. It is easier to get defenses on than Rad or Dark, though, because Arctic Fog gives you an in-set base, plus a place for Resist +3% Defense IOs and stealth to boot. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.96 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! ZephyrSong: Level 50 Technology Defender Primary Power Set: Cold Domination Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack Power Pool: Teleportation Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Ice Shield -- HO:Cyto(A), LkGmblr-Def(11), LkGmblr-Rchg+(13) Level 1: Shriek -- Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(A), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(3), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Apoc-Dam%(9) Level 2: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(40) Level 4: Howl -- Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(A), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(5), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Ragnrk-Knock%(9), Range-I(15) Level 6: Glacial Shield -- HO:Cyto(A), LkGmblr-Def(13), LkGmblr-Rchg+(15) Level 8: Scream -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(17), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43) Level 10: Infrigidate -- HO:Lyso(A), Achilles-ResDeb%(11) Level 12: Arctic Fog -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), HO:Ribo(25), HO:Ribo(31), GA-3defTpProc(31), DefBuff-I(36), DefBuff-I(40) Level 14: Recall Friend -- Zephyr-ResKB(A) Level 16: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29) Level 18: Benumb -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(21), RechRdx-I(23), RechRdx-I(23) Level 20: Shout -- DefendersB-Acc/Dmg(A), DefendersB-Dmg/Rchg(25), DefendersB-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), DefendersB-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), DefendersB-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), DefendersB-Rchg/Heal%(43) Level 22: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+(39) Level 24: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(37), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(40), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Build%(46) Level 26: Sleet -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), LdyGrey-Rchg/EndRdx(27), LdyGrey-%Dam(39), Achilles-ResDeb%(39) Level 28: Siren's Song -- FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg(A), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(29), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg(31), FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx(34), FtnHyp-Plct%(34) Level 30: Frostwork -- Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(A) Level 32: Heat Loss -- P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(A), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(33), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(33), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(33), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(37) Level 35: Screech -- Amaze-Stun/Rchg(A), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(36), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(36), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(45), Amaze-ToHitDeb%(45) Level 38: Scorpion Shield -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50) Level 41: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(42) Level 44: Dreadful Wail -- Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(46), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Armgdn-Dam%(50) Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 49: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Vigilance Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 0: The Atlas Medallion Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(50) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(48) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) ------------

No, since Bio doesn't have any Resistance to -Def, as a "tank" that defense will mean almost nothing after a hit or two from a Cimerorian Sword or a Rad attack, or whatever. It will cascade to 0 quickly. More recharge and HP and Resists to buffer the activation time and player reaction time for heals is where the budget should be spent on Bio IMHO. For me w/o even trying I soft capped E/NE/F/C. I actually found that getting 30-35% defense on my Fire tank helped a lot with Cimeroran, while you are right they can bring that down fairly quickly, a decent amount of their alpha strike is ranged, javelins and such, which I don't think debuff defense, and by the time they get chewing through that defense, your team is killing them. I agree you won't be able to park in a spawn and make a sandwich, but it did make it feasible for me to main tank an ITF on my Fire tank a few times. Before I IOed out for defense, I was a lot more dependent on external buffs or healing.

From the numbers I've seen run on Recluse in the STF, as well as personal experience, he is designed to 1-shot any tank, including Granite. The only way to survive him is to pop enough purples to go well past the normal soft cap until your teammates can take down a tower or two, and have some good healing available. Bobcat is also notorious for hitting Really Hard. I saw a couple of people mention defenses in Defensive Adaption for Bio, I couldn't find anywhere, including Pine's builder, that shows how that changes between modes. Is there a good guide to that somewhere?

Back in the original game the markets weren't mixed, so I had a bots/traps MM without a lot of Inf. The redside story arcs involve fighting a lot more AVs than the blueside ones. I soloed over a dozen AVs on SO enhancements on the way to 50, when I actually started investing in IO sets. I don't know many other ATs that can solo AVs on SOs, without more skill than I have. :) As others have said, though, Traps is not for the ADD. You need to be willing to set them up and tinker with them to get the best results. It does have one of the most powerful -regen debuffs in the game, though, which is relevant to soloing AVs and GMs. I suspect Cold would work well too, it has great -resist debuffs, but it may need even more global recharge than Traps, which is expensive. I only ran a cold/sonic defender, not a MM. Rad and Dark also have good AV tools, but a lot of AVs are mezz heavy, which is a problem for them.

I know on my bots/traps MM I was soloing most AVs in the various villianside arcs by the mid 30s with SOs and common IOs, not even sets yet, maybe a bit of frankenslotting. You can do a lot of prep work with /traps, though, and Poison Trap floors their regen pretty well, so if you are careful eventually you can win.

There are no, and never have been, assurances that NCSoft won't shut this down. What this setup of a LLC means is that if NCSoft comes in and sues them, the most money they can get is whatever is in their LLC account to pay for servers, as you mention above. They can't go after the individual assets of the people running it. That is how the "corporate veil" works, providing they are careful and don't co-mingle funds. So this provides a lot more protection for the people running it. I think that is all we can get for now, unless NCSoft comes to some kind of license agreement with them. I don't think there is a downside regarding NCSoft coming after them, either way it is pretty clear they are not trying to profit from NCSoft's intellectual property, so it still depends on (1) if NCSoft finds out, and (2) if they care.

For anyone who wants more detail about the different support sets defenders get, which powers are "signature powers" of the set, which ones to skip, I found this guide by Silas again. https://guidescroll.com/2011/07/city-of-heroes-support-guide/ It is written in a tongue in cheek enough way that it will make entertaining reading even if you never plan to play support. :)

That is a downside to the Traps powerset as well, it is great if your team allows you to prepare a battlefield and fight in it, or the fight is hard enough that your powers will recharge anyway between spawns, but much less useful in highly mobile situations. The FF generator follows you around, but some other things are ground placed and sit there. Playing a Mastermind with a defender secondary can be a nice change of pace after being a defender trying to support a team that keeps having TPKs because they Won't Do What You Tell Them, dang it! :) Regarding Gameboy1234's post about healing, he is correct that some healing is certainly useful in many situations. I typically take Aid Other with a Traps powerset for spot healing, and it is enough, same thing with a FF defender. I do recall running into a Rad defender once, though, who took Radiation because with Hasten and Accelerate Metabolism he could have the fastest possible cycle time on his Healing Aura, he didn't have either of the toggle debuffs. I did try to explain to him that he was missing the point of Rad. . . Also, prepare yourself for getting "nice heals" on your defender after supporting a team through a tough mission even if you didn't throw any heals. They may not know exactly what you did, but at least they know you did something. :)

I agree that the Dark set is very potent, enough so that IMHO it works well on a Corruptor, paired with Fire, for example. The Dark placeable slow, Tar Patch, works nicely to pull mobs into, then drop Rain of Fire to melt them as they slowly try to run out of it. Try that with a Fire/Kin corruptor and prepare to die a lot, as Overclock can testify. :) Tar Patch's only downside in some AV fights is that the AV may not stay in the patch, whereas the Radiation toggle follows them. Potentially into other groups, aggroing them, which could be bad, always tradeoffs. Also if the defender is mezzed, Tar Patch doesn't drop, Enervating Field does. I would add two other points to the original post by Overclock. First is where do the really useful powers come as you gain levels. Radiation, Storm and Dark, for example, get their signature, AV-debuffing powers quite early. Radiation, in particular, has its main tools by about level 10. The upside is that you have them even exemplared down to low levels, and you have a long time to enjoy them. The downside is that the play style doesn't change a huge amount getting to 50. Later designed powers like Cold, Time, Traps and Trick Arrow tend to get their big debuffs significantly later in leveling. Second, later designed powers like the above mentioned Cold, Time, Traps and Trick Arrow tend to have their big debuffs on long timers, so you may need Invention Origin set bonuses on top of things like Hasten to make them operate full time in a tough AV fight. In particular pay attention to which powers in which sets get -Resistance debuffs, since that is the only debuff AVs don't resist. Archvillain class foes have, as mentioned above in another post, something like 85% resistance to debuffs like -regen, -accuracy, -defense, slow, and so on. A -Resistance debuff just reduces their resistance and increases the damage the whole team does to them.