Lazarillo

Does AAO suppress when Hidden? Or do you have to manually turn it on in every fight lest you aggro stuff? I'm curious, 'cause that's the power I prolly woulda replaced with Hide, rather than Grant Cover. Stalkers don't usually keep taunt auras.

Too...many...quoteboxes. But yeah, that's what I'm saying. The Fire Control Imps only get the run speed and Recovery from Speed Boost now. They are immune to +Recharge, essentially (as are all other summoned pets).

Okay, I kinda figured just thought I'd be sure. I appreciate the clarity. Going /Cold, I've actually been able to get them about 0.25% shy of soft-capped defense with the two shields, Maneuvers, and the set bonuses. I can push it over with Arctic Fog, but that doesn't have quite the radius of Maneuvers or Supermacy so I sorta fear I might not be able to keep 'em in range as easily. I was just hoping for an easy-out, mostly. If you are a beast mm you can right click on the powers for detailed info, if not on the char creation you can hit the i button and hover over the powers. In addition to this, since the character creation screen doesn't work for me, it's worth noting that you can view them on any character once you're in-game by putting the power names "hot linked" into the text box. Go into a mission alone and you can use the Team channel so you're not disturbing anyone and put in [summon Wolves], [Train Beasts], and [Tame Beasts] into chat, and you can see the powers there. That's how I did it despite not making the character yet.

Only the +Recharge aspect of Speed Boost fails to apply to pets, as far as I know. It still increases their movement speed and their Endurance Recovery. Although, that was not originally the case...depending on when "back in the day" was, it's possible he's remembering a time when the +Recharge still applied too.

Now that /Cold for Masterminds got a minimal FX setting, I'm thinking of trying out a Beasts/Cold concept. So in the description of Summon Wolves, it says "The third one summoned will be an Alpha Wolf, which grants some leadership bonuses to the pack.", but when I look over the powers in the summon, and in Train Beasts and Tame Beasts, the only thing I see the Alpha getting is a small enemy damage debuff, and a single-target heal. Is there some other passive trait that the Alpha has that isn't reflected in the power numbers (kinda like Pack Mentality in general)? Or is that all there is to it and the descriptive text was just always a little inaccurate?

So I realized that Perma-Domination/Hasten and Perma-Venom Blades have about the same thresholds, and that slotted Venom Blades + Kismet means Masterful Throw fires instantly. These two things combine to completely change my perspective on this set. It's a very heavily-ranged oriented set rather than kinda melee-ish one that I'd been playing so far (and will prolly continue to, 'cause I'm playing a theme, dammit!); it's going to be doing its best on sets that like hanging back a bit and get more bang for their buck from Perma-Domination, I think.

Water/Energy was the last character I made before the shutdown was announced back in the day, and it worked pretty well; Energy kinda has the advantage that, particularly if you ignore the punches and go for the buffs, it syncs up well with just about anything (and some of the punches, especially the tier 1 Power Thrust, feel like they fit in with the theme of "Tidal Force"). ...only reason I haven't remade that alt is because I had an awesome costume for her that I never saved, and even though I can't remember exactly how it looked, every time I try to redo it, I'm like, "no, that's not right!"

How much of Scirocco do you want to emulate? Scirocco's "signature" sand moves are just a re-particled version of Tornado, IIRC...not sure power customization will allow recoloring it to the same dark brown (and even then, it won't quite look the same), and which neither Blasters nor Sentinels get. Blasters can emulate his inclusion of some sword techniques with the Ninja Training secondary. If you're not trying to do the sword, though, I'd actually say the closest you can get to him would probably be an Earth/Electric/Leviathan Dominator, though (Leviathan and not Mu, ironically, because that gets you Water Spout, which is a Tornado clone).

The big reason I liked the Blapper idea was for the "partial mez resistance" aspect. Most of the melee sets, you just shrug those things off, or if I skip mez protection, get completely locked down. I'm trying to find a happy medium where I have to acknowledge mez, but one bad hit won't ruin my day. Blasters' Defiance seems to be only play where mez isn't just all or nothing. That said, do the click-mez-protection in Super-Reflexes, Shield Defense, and Ninjutsu serve like Break Frees (as in, can you click 'em while mezzed)? Because if so, I may try exploring that avenue as well.

I've been playing an Ice/Martial, mostly that I intended as a side alt, and it's a lotta fun, to the point that it's been like my 3rd most played character since the game restarted. I'm not sure there are any particular synergies to the sets, though (someday, Arctic Air will make me happy, but it still drains by Endurance too fast to be super useful). In terms of power synergy, I think Gravity would actually fit pretty well, as Martial Assault has a lot of cool "trick" powers but very little direct, single target damage, which Lift and Propel could probably make up for.

Well, be the change, yadda, yadda, so I came up with a little something. Maybe this'll spark some other folks creative juices for C&C? Decided to go with Energy as the primary because it has the best animations for the t1 and t2 powers (don't like the Nova one as much, but eh, it ain't bad). With those low-tier powers, I'd probably try to squeeze a KB-to-KD Sudden Acceleration proc into the empty slots, but not into Nova, because Nova not doing KB is a crime against nature. Figured 20% defense to all positions was a decent enough place since it means one medium purple is a soft-cap, but I might be overestimating its usefulness, not sure there. Skipped Hasten because "go perma or go home" is kinda my policy on that power. I'm a little unsure on Power Sink and Lightning Field, too. PS is nice but isn't going to be a full drain, and I get plenty of Recovery it looks like from Force of Thunder, so it may not be worth the investment. Dropping Power Sink would let me get a few slots into a few other powers early on, and possibly allow to beef up my defenses slightly more. Also, I could swap Lightning Field to do End drain instead of damage, but I feel like even then, the ticks aren't strong or fast enough to really synergize when I don't have Electric as a primary, too. Lightning Field also got slotted up really late because I like my blue bar and I'm not sure I can handle using it much early on, even if I took it early in the build. With someplace more to start, anyone have any thoughts? Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Blaster Primary Power Set: Energy Blast Secondary Power Set: Electricity Manipulation Power Pool: Teleportation Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Power Bolt -- Rui-Acc/Dmg(A), Rui-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Rui-Dmg/Rchg(9), Rui-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Rui-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Empty(48) Level 1: Electric Fence -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(9), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46) Level 2: Charged Brawl -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(37), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(46) Level 4: Power Blast -- Rui-Acc/Dmg(A), Rui-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Rui-Dmg/Rchg(7), Rui-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Rui-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Empty(48) Level 6: Lightning Field -- Mlt-Acc/Dmg(A), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Mlt-Dmg/Rchg(43), Mlt-Acc/EndRdx(43), Mlt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48) Level 8: Teleport Foe -- Acc-I(A) Level 10: Havoc Punch -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(11), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(46) Level 12: Aim -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(A), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(17) Level 14: Teleport -- Jnt-EndRdx/Rng(A) Level 16: Build Up -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(A), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(17) Level 18: Long Range Teleport -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 20: Force of Thunder -- Stp-Acc/Rchg(A), Stp-EndRdx/Stun(21), Stp-Acc/EndRdx(21), Stp-Stun/Rng(23), Stp-Acc/Stun/Rchg(23), Empty(50) Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I(A) Level 24: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), GldArm-ResDam(25), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(42) Level 26: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(27), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(42) Level 28: Thunder Strike -- Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Mlt-Acc/Dmg(29), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Mlt-Dmg/Rchg(31), Mlt-Acc/EndRdx(31), Mlt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40) Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(50) Level 32: Nova -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(33), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(34) Level 35: Power Sink -- EffAdp-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(A), EffAdp-EndMod/Rchg(36), EffAdp-EndMod/EndRdx(36), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(36) Level 38: Shocking Grasp -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(39), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(39), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), TchofDth-Dam%(40) Level 41: Personal Force Field -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- StdPrt-ResKB(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(45) Level 47: Super Speed -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 49: Recall Friend -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Defiance Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(50) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(42) Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 0: The Atlas Medallion Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1517;676;1352;HEX;| |78DA6593D94F135114C6EF74A6D49656A0EC3B656BD90A55137D302151C1174888A| |80F2A366319CB68D38E6548E449D1678D6C2EE0FAE483D1FFCCE53FA8A7F37DE048| |27697FF77EF79C7BCE3DE7DEC5C757A23FAE6ECD2A2D76B960AEAF672FC9BF6B958| |38B66DECEA9EA17925F37E5EC35B398B756D37345AB9CDF8471EA686D79C3714A65| |373D57B0726ED9CED9EE6676D12CDACE46C174ED5251C5974AA542FABA55B0AA769| 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I feel like the Hold component in one of the ST attacks makes up for a lot. Also worth noting that Blasters can get Night Fall in Soul Mastery, for what it's worth (and a second helping of Tenebrous Tentacles, at that).

To my knowledge, Burn is like Lightning Rod in that, yes, its damage is increased by Fury, but, it also has a lower damage "cap" due to its pseudo-pet status. ED-limit damage slotting + 50% Fury will get it 3/4 of the way to cap as is, while that same amount will get you to less than half the max potential damage for your other damaging powers.

So ever since doing Graham Easton's arc and having the whole bit with the honor duels, and such, I've been trying to come up with an idea for what sets I think would be best suited to a sort of honorable warrior type. The big kicker is mez stuff. An honorable warrior shouldn't have to fear being locked down, but shouldn't completely negate an enemy's ability to do so, nor be doing it to an enemy. This rules out...most ATs, but Blasters have that cool funky semi-mez resistance in Defiance that suits them. An honorable warrior should also willing to fight toe-to-toe, since that's what most enemies like to do. That means primarily a Blapper. And when I think of the Blappiest of the Blappers, I immediately think of /Electric as a Secondary. ...beyond that, though, I'm kinda stumped. I know I also need the 1st and 2nd tier primary powers, and I kinda want a PBAoE nuke as well. I'm sorta leaning between Energy (with some KB-to-KD, probably), Psi, or Sonic, but I'm not sure which between them. I'm also completely lost on how to slot such a character when there are so many critical powers (pretty much everything from /Electric is on the must-have list), while also probably needing at least a few moderate defenses. Anyone have any experience with a build like this (whether you played it for the same reasons I'm looking at it or not) and care to chime in?

This is still the case. Defiance allows you to use your t1 and t2 primary powers, and your t1 secondary even when mezzed, and every damaging primary and secondary power comes with a small, somewhat variable damage buff that stacks as you attack more often. The duration of each buff is around 8-11 seconds, and depends on the animation time of the power, while the amount buffed is anywhere from about 2%-10% and dependent on the total potential damage of the attack (so AoEs only do a smaller buff).

Yes. Interface is set up to proc in any of your powers that can accept damage enhancements, essentially. As for which is better, it might depend a bit. Paralytic also debuffs damage, IIRC, so it can help a bit if your pets are fragile-ish. However, if they survive pretty well, and you want to wreak some more havoc, you can go Reactive.

A "bad" Mastermind set is like, I dunno, a "bad" winning lottery ticket. Sure, you might not be set for life, but it's still a pretty good thing. Mercs can handle just about anything you throw at 'em, just maybe not as well as bots or demons.

Well, that seems easy enough to test, so I did. Made a new MM, took 'em to the tutorial. After getting to level 2, here were the results. * Level 2 Punk (unenhanced) vs. Level 1 Neo-Shivan: Punk shoots Shivan with their Pistol for 12.85 points of lethal damage! * Level 2 Punk with Clockwork Efficiency slotted immediately vs. Level 1 Neo-Shivan: Punk shoots Shivan with their Pistol for 12.85 points of lethal damage! * Level 2 Punk with Clockwork Efficiency slotted and then resummoned vs. Level 1 Neo-Shivan: Punk shoots Shivan with their Pistol for 14.57 points of lethal damage! * Level 2 Punk with Clockwork Efficiency trashed immediately vs. Level 1 Neo-Shivan: Punk shoots Shivan with their Pistol for 14.57 points of lethal damage! So yeah, it seems the GM was correct and enhancements apply on the pets at the time they're summoned. If slotting changes after they're out, they just need to be dismissed and called again and all will be well. And I can make this experimental character more permanent, along with a few other Mastermind plans. Incidentally, how's Thugs/Traps?

Not to mention one of the most common ones (Longbow Eagles) are immune to -fly anyway (I'd assume the same is probably the case for Rikti Drones, which are the other main source of flying enemies that I can think of).

Well, that's a bummer. Guess I'll hold off on any more MMs for the time being.

Are you using the "No Redraw" version on one and not the other?

Still seems to be happening to me as well.

So this may be more of a PEBKAC Error, but I directly edited the names of several of my power customizations to better organize them and now about 1/3 disappeared. Furthermore, the ones that do still appear are all mismatched! I can always reorganize with the somewhat tedious load/save/delete process but I'm not sure how to get the ones that disappeared back! I've also noticed that everything is saved as a text file, so it might be possible to change or edit something there? Not sure what this is all about though.

So I heard recently that for toggled-on healing powers like Cauterizing Aura and the non-Mastermind version of Soothing Aura, there was an option that would not make the little green number appear over characters' heads every couple of seconds. However, after a little fooling around, I have not been able to deduce the location of this in the option menu, if it exists at all. Does anyone know if it can be done or not?

I've been thinking on the best way to slot this sorta stuff with a Necro/Kin I want to try, and I'm wondering if for that one, since the Lich doesn't focus on damage much anyway, it might be better to have him have both of the "vanilla" aura procs, but the recharge intensive ones into Soul Extraction, the PBAoE into Grave Knights since they're likely to be closer to the rest of the pets than the Lich is), and the Resist/Regen into the first tier zombies (to spread things out a bit). Not sure the practicality of it all (even putting cost aside). I don't have a lot of experience with Necro, though. What do you (or anyone else) think?