Redletter

Dodododont do that

As GC said, I'd try Roleplaying over on Everlasting. It's mostly populated by roleplayers, and while Veracor makes his home there, most people arent Vet Level 12billion. Mind you, vet level 80 gajillion isnt what makes these things go fast, its builds, and on Everlasting most people are trying to make characters with power sets that fit the idea they had in mind, and many arent going out of their way to fullstack purples and io sets and all that stuff. Excel. is a great place, dont get me wrong, but like... they're the big numbers gang. These guys are ALSO like, RIGHT up your alley. I saw the post a while back, and was like "I hate grinding but good for them". They're big into it and I think that's totally cool, like, Ive been tempted to join up JUST to have a character and group who can painstakingly scrape the content of the game so I can experience the story, alongside a group of people looking to do the same. Personally, Im NEVER kitted out, I hate feeling like a leech. And the only time I ever DO feel like a leech is on AE Farms, which I partake in because I hate grinding more than I hate feeling like im a leech. I digress though. My point is that I get you, and those would be my solutions.

I dont use my forum name in-game, mostly because I dont really want the DM's I get in-game to follow me back to the forum (still trying to find a way to set my in-game account to hidden so I can just PLAY the game sometimes). But now that i've been like, Everlasting TFs are goodies and I really appreciate being able to join in on their events and, in doing so, have a character that has an actual presence in that little niche community of folks who meet up 3 times a night beating up hamidon. Like, as a person who NEVER got attached to the community, as I got into the game when it was live and the grind was real and nobody had time for an wide-eyed child who had NO IDEA ON EARTH how to play the game outside of enjoying the wild, wild fun of having my own superhero. Going around, asking people with cool looking toons things like "oh you look so cool what's their name? howd they get their powers? Wow!" and not realizing that WASNT the purpose of the video game. Like, for me? My LAST memory of the game was me trying to play a villain, getting sent to a den of snakes, and HIDING because there were SO MANY of them and I was really freaked out by them? And I got lost, couldnt find the way back out, then just logged off and totally forgot about the game for like... over a decade. So OP, I can relate.

Are you the clown who made that post about how people SHOULDNT be using LFG to let people know when a group is full? ... Could it be? No... that person surely doesnt exist anymore... ... jranger? Is... is that you?

It's also highly likely youll have an exploration badge in at least one of those ones by the time you're getting these missions? So all it takes is like... what? 10 minutes in Pocket D to get your Long Range Teleporter so you NEVER have to navigate to the (immeasurably superior) ferry.

There's a few IOs, Im specifically thinking about Triumpahnt Insult and Energy Manipulaton in the title, that offer chances to proc control powers. Im playing an Elec/Elec Tanker, and BOTH of these could be slotted into Lightning Field (it can be slotted into nearly every other power i have, honestly, but Lightning field also has my -res proc in it). Do these work as they say on the tin? About two times every minute i could stun/disorient a target? As in a chance on EVERY target within Lightning Field's aura? Because I've slotted them to do this, and I've never seen it go off. Likewise, if I slot "Eneregy Manipulation: Chance to Stun" into my Stamina slot, does it make ALL my powers have a chance to stun? Or is it just straight up wasted there?

I see Super Speed more in PvP than I do anywhere else. It's actually super obnoxious, since people have it even if they dont need it, because powers go off when youre close enough to execute them? So like... If im NOT a brute, say, Im a tanker, then zipping around with SS doesnt save you from my Jab. My Jab is clicked, you entered range of Jab, no amount of distance you put between us will STOP it from going off... It's like, really trying to min/max the benefits of regeneration effects, since if youre NOT next to me, you may be able to avoid any follow ups... But if we're BOTH melees, and I dont bother chasing you, you STILL need to come BACK and fight me, and the benefit of the range you established with SS now benefits ME in the EXACT same way, except IM not spending resources on the toggle... what I think it is is that SS is probably the most obnoxious FX for a travel power, so you get the benefit of potentionally melting your opponents PC by stacking FX until they either lower their settings (useless against one such as I, who plays the game on minimum graphics as god intended) or they sacrifice their PC for that VITAL PvP win that'll FINALLY, at LONG LAST, unlock the secret "Play as Null the Gull" mode...

My Psy/MC blaster has a build that is specifically built just to cheese out people, since not only is the damage a problem, but the -rech makes fighting them suck major beans. Especially since Burst of Speed is just ANOTHER combat teleport, so you can just NOT be places you dont want to be, and Inner WIll is literally just a Dominator Button for Blasters I can trigger whenever im under 50% of either of my bars. Theyre not like, a mega super top tier ubermensch but they ARE really fucking annoying to fight. Good luck ranging out 100ft base range, with yet more range enhancements. But to answer OP, Hamidon. Hamidon wins.

Trick Arrow/Duel Pistols Defender - Ive been playing this combo for a bit now, and it's probably my favorite version of these power sets. It's stylish, effective, and has great flavor. It's not as "supportive" as most defenders are typified as being, but Ive played them up to 41 now, using mostly SOs only, and I havent like, needed anything outside of what normal progression has given me. If the HC devs were like "ok gang, NO MORE EXP unless you PAY" I could play this combo just fine and never level again and be totally fine. Oh I get two?! Hmm... Street Justice/Super Reflexes Stalker OR Shield Defense/Super Strength Tanker. Ive played both of these to 44 now, and the stalker is just so stupidly stylish and fun I find it hard to quit or to recommend any other build for the stalker. Likewise, while my first tanker ever was an Elec/Elec Tanker here on HC, I've since tried SD/SS and it meets a lot of qualifiers for me to enjoy it. It's fairly stylish inherently since shields are just MORE customization, and the alternate animations on SS help keep the shield from looking tacked on. It's effective at what it needs to do, and if you need to pump your damage you can hit Rage, One with the Shield, and in combination with Against All Odds, for a couple precious minutes, you're THE MAIN CHARACTER of the game. Like, I have never felt MORE like a comic book superhero then when i've hit Alt+1, Alt+2 and gone to work. Now, maybe street justice is even cooler than this? But I havent made a SD/SJ tanker, and SJ's stamina consumption early on make me feel reluctant to suggest it on the already toggle heavy SD, which solves the stamina issue pretty. Combine this with Shield Charge, letting my reposition on demand? It's just really cool, and it's pretty much "finished" as a build waaaaaaay before 40, like, you could hit 33-34 and stop gaining XP and you'd miss very little. Those are my picks, I feel like... I might lean more heavily toward that tanker, since while that stalker is really cool they're very hard for me to play as a team player, since like, most AoE debuffs on teams tend to be slapped on the biggest, baddest guys? and as a Stalker my FIRST target is the biggest, baddest guy, so there's a lot of conflict there. Plus, in groups with a lot of melee going on, Assassin's Strike's charge up time can be less than ideal? And while the ability to be a team taxi is REALLY nice for fast runs? I think the flavor of the SD/SS tanker is way too enduring for me to say I'd prefer to play a stalker, even if it's got a lot more of a natural feel to its play.

no

I, meanwhile, would love to strut when dressed to smack baddies in the face LET 'EM GAWK, LET 'EM HATE! DEATH BY CRAB PACK IS THEIR NATURAL FATE!

I'd personally say SD/DM tanker. People saying SR are absolutely right, that's probably like, the BEST defense set in the game I think? For tanker? I have no idea, but it's really good. The reason I say SR though is because SR lets you hit defense soft caps, AND resist i think? So you get to dodge AND should you get hit that hit does less damage? Then you get a nice buff to your damage with it too, and then Dark Melee gives your enemies -to hit on top of that? With a self heal, a stamina heal, AND a damage buff that'll stack with your damage buff from SD. Plus, that means you can sport a shield. Shields have so many opportunities to enhance your style. And at the end of the day, S T Y L E is the most important stat you CANT raise by ANY other means in the game.

Help! Im trying to make a Mu themed Dominator so I can really embody my absolute, unabating hatred for the Circle of Thorns but I've never slotted anything that wasnt Mind/Energy, or Fire/Frost. Like, all im certain on is that Im definitely supposed to slot contagious confusion into synaptic overload for maximum chaos? I think?

Does LotG abide by the rule of 5 though? Like, do you NOT get the extra global cooldown from a 6th gamblers?

I have no more to add, just commenting to save the thread for later viewing since this all seems reallly useful info.

So, In my experience? I gotta say Tanker. Like, Im no expert in numbers or whatever. Im only saying this as a person who made a character three different times, as a Scrapper, Tanker, and Brute to see which was the funnest to PLAY. The scrapper lost my interest by level 18. MAYBE they're super cool when you have the class enhancements and tons and tons and tons of inf for super expensive enhancement sets. Maybe theyre like, turbo bonkers crazy and can suplex Recluse into a coma. I didnt have the patience or resources to get them there, and since you didnt even ask this is a moot point. The real winners were the Tanker and Brute build. I asked on excelsior which one was "better" and got no consensus, which doesnt help my baby brain so I just made both. Brute was hard to love until the A N G Y bar filled up and my damage started spiking. Getting them to 32, mostly doing random teams and early game content, wasnt too hard and when I had friends they were kinda fun. My problem was that, in teams, Scrappers and Stalkers out-damaged me, so the appeal of the brute kinda petered off because, like, I dont really feel cool when I DONT have a place on a team. When you have like, 8 people doing something, how you stand out and feel cool comes down to what YOURE doing in this group - it's why Dominators are my favorite class because CC is ALWAYS something youre doing and it stands out, and people appreciate it but you ALSO get damage so you can fight, AND you get your DOMINATOR BUTTON for when you get mass CC'd by some Circle fuckbois or by Malta or by Nemesis or whatever... But then you have the tanker. Tanker's problem is he has baby damage. But... that's kinda his only problem. He just has real baby damage... and you can fix baby damage with Incarnate Muscle Milk, or BIG. RED. BUTTON inspirations, or buffs from friends. Or buffs from yourself because that Shield user damage buff is ACTUALLY the tits. You also solve baby damage problems by having friends who have tonka damage. A tanker stands out on a team too, since you AUTOMATICALLY pull agro. Just HIT some idiot and him, and his immediate family want to throw hands with YOU - JUST you. You have a LOT of ability to control the agro of a fight by staggering your attacks, or attacking different groups, using the actual TAUNT power, and all kinds of stuff which makes you not only really useful, but there's situations where you, as the tanker, are the LAST idiot standing. That is a LOT of power, because you can then say "ill lead them away so you can all use your wakies" and then you just Iron Giant your ass backwards, taunting idiots till the WOULD BE team wipe into a small speed bump. Im speaking from an Elec/Elec tanker, which is ALL damage RES. That's not even like, a PHENOMINAL armor set. YOU want to use the REAL good sets. I'd say make that SD/EM Tanker. Youd get the Defense to help you NOT get hit, youd get the RES to help mitigate the damage that somehow gets through, a damage buff to help mitigate your baby damage problems before you get your alpha slot, and youd have a really strong offensive set that does quite a bit to mitigate your lack of damage by being just REALLY strong up front. To put it in perspective, I have and En/En brute, and a Mace/Shield tanker. The brute is sitting at 20 something and logged off in the atlas police station for 43 days. The mace boi is 36 and was just the other day bashing carnie brains in. Maybe Im bias. But while I do think Brutes have the damge tankers wish they had, when I play a tanker I already make peace with my lack of damage. Meanwhile, when I play a brute, im always surprised I when I cant do the things my tanker does.

Literally the ENTIRETY of my life on live. Sonic/Sonic Defender. Just running around screaming at street thugs until they died, AMAZED by how cool I was and how many spiderman clones there were.

I load up the beta server and painstakingly crossreference Enhancement Sets on the AH with the freebies menu and my powers - then do a lap around Dark Astoria to get a general idea how good it is as dealing with things there, since IMO, Dark Astoria has a very good mix of mooks that'll let you see what youre liable to face in day-to-day play (CC, Debuffs, hordes, ect). It's by no means perfect, but it DOES let me change out sets immediately and get practical feedback immediately. Like, I'd never had thought to build the Elec/Elec defender for straight damage without that method, since something like MIDs is only gonna give me numbers. How those numbers work in gameplay though is something I needed to see.

In your defense, it's often far more expensive to buy all the materials on a recipe list and then make it than it is to just buy the attuned version off the market. So, youre not lazy, youre just thrifty! Goddamned miser...

This whole image belongs in the Costume Piece request thread.

Mashing my numpad to punch some goon next to me in the teeth. Let's say a Bonedaddy. Mashing and mashing and mashing. Power's not on cooldown. My attack buffs have since run out. He's right here, I need to attack him. I try every power on my bar and nothing... Until I hit a ranged power. Let's say Throwing Dagger. Character pivots 8 degrees and tosses the knife. Current Target: Some Gravedigger 11ft away

Killer Kermit...

Thanks KaizenSoze-Sensei. I figured it was something like a Stalker with ranged options, jsut looking at the powers. I did use my alt build on my crab to test out the mace stuff, but Im a picky eater and the redraw, while basically meaningless, does infuriate me, as does the crab pack being hard coded into the crab powers so even if you take one, on a totally different build, which isnt a problem I'd even say SHOULD be solved since I assume solving it would take more time than other, much more important fixes. But I digress. Thank you. Out of curiosity, is there a reason you didnt use the Mace powers from the patron set?

I like both of these sets, so thanks Team HC! You make my numbers big!

REVEAL TO ME YOU SECRETS OR PAY WITH YOURE BLOOD