Riverdusk

Hate to be the one with the cliché answer, but the one you enjoy playing. You can make anything work if you enjoy playing it and you're much more likely to keep playing it.

Possibly, but force field generator alone often makes me happy to see one on a team (especially if I'm playing a squishie or there are just a lot of other supports on the team). It also isn't hard to get out an acid mortar unless the team is moving so fast that likely any debuff set is of little use anyway. Then when you run up against an AV/GM, traps is one of the best sets around for helping take them down.

All for this. In my experience they summon so fast even throwing a hold/stun on them right at the start sometimes isn't enough to stop the summoning.

I think it is also because FF has just been outclassed by other support sets as well. I'd rather go with sonic if you want to go around with a status bubble for everyone as that one provides resistance (which is more rare) and also adds to damage (through -res debuffs). If you just want to pump everyone with defense there is cold or time and once again both add a lot of other useful tools. If you still want that status bubble and still some defense (usually plenty enough) and with a whole lot of other toys too, there is traps.

And I think I was in that previous thread defending seekers too. 😄 And I still say the opinion on seekers seems divided enough that I wouldn't call any consensus on them. Divided opinion is probably more apt. I've also seen plenty of people call them "amazing" in various trap threads and in game, and even I wouldn't go that far. Just a good solid power. The build up proc is a good idea and will have to try that, thanks @Onlyasandwich As to triage beacon, I would skip that one any day before seekers. Triage is the power I only take if I really have spare room left over. And only one, as if I have two powers I can fit in I'd rather grab medicine. For triage at the least I'd like its recharge (and duration to be fair) cut in half. Then at least you'd be able to make use of it more often with the speed that teams move. Currently I find myself leaving it behind before its duration runs out almost every single time. So, that long duration is wasted except in very rare circumstances anyway. Trip mine just needs to get the blaster treatment (get rid of the interrupt as the main tweak) and it'd be great. I still take it, but it just doesn't get a whole lot of use (pretty much pre-battle set up sometimes). Trying to "toe bomb" with it just got too frustrating as too often I'd get interrupted, even when I didn't have any aggro on me at all. Time bomb is the one I think 98% can agree is garbage.

Very true. Defense inspirations are a bit OP and easy to come by. Even with only a modest 20 defense, a medium defense inspiration gets you the rest of the way and even mediums aren't too hard to come by later game. Honestly to me that holds true even for an AV fight. If I can't pack enough purple inspirations to last an AV fight (assuming using only one at a time), that AV fight is taking too long to be worth doing solo imo.

I don't think that's really a consensus. Just look at the comments so far and every single person uses it. Although I can see them being more important to corrupter/defender (who can also use them as an alpha breaker), than a controller or MM who are perhaps more likely to already have that covered with other powers/pets. But personally even on my Illusion/traps I still use seeker drones often enough I wouldn't drop them. If they both hit a target that is a 10% tohit debuff (base) and a big -40% damage debuff (controller/corrupter/MM numbers, defenders get even more). That is pretty dang powerful of a debuff, but some may just not realize because it isn't real obvious. It is also a power that can effective even with minimal slotting, which is always nice.

For that I'd probably just look at the stats the devs have compiled about the most/least played sets and pick something super rare (although from March 2020 so needs an update). For me personally something like an ice controller leaps to mind as always my first thought. Probably the least damaging powerset out there? Although it might have some proc opportunities. And what do you know, ice control/traps is tied for last place among controller combos.

Pretty sure I've seen a dev post where it's been stated powerboost's affecting +def buffs is another thing they are "looking at". I've already started to build around that going away on all my /time characters, not something I'm counting on lasting.

Fair enough, and why I'd also say the idea of making "offensive" toggles suppress instead of detoggling (like defensive toggles work now) is a good one. Even without that though, I've played rad support before as I said, and AM's significant mez resistance did make a noticeable difference in my surviving mezzes even though it would drop RI and choking cloud. Things did get more dangerous, but it definitely did cut down on mez deaths and mez locks compared to some other "squishies" of other sets that I'd played. I have to clarify I'm not talking solo +4/x8 type content as I don't tend to play that way very often. In more extreme content shorter mezzes probably aren't as helpful as you can get overwhelmed very quickly.

As for the amps, just ditching them or removing the mez protection I'd be against. However, I'd be for the defense amp changed to mez resistance instead of protection. But I'd say it should be a really good amount of it, I'm talking like in the range of +200% (which would base cut mez times to 1/3rd). Would be accelerate metabolism levels basically and from playing rad support characters, that's the level you need for it to really feel noticeable. As others have mentioned a lot of the issue is more how long mezzes can be in this game. Typically getting mezzed for a few seconds is recoverable. Sitting there for 10 seconds+ of not being able to do anything isn't...and at the least gets really frustrating. It also often leads to being chained mezzed.

It does both. You can see in combat attributes when you turn it on it gives 35ft of pve stealth. It also gives -1 threat level.

Or war mace if you don't like the feel of TW. I honestly prefer stalkers most of the time over scrappers now a days, but war mace is amazing and it isn't available for stalkers either.

"Current Absorb" can now be monitored in the combat attributes window Nice. Minor request, can we get it changed to where we can "monitor" more than 10 things? I find it a bit limiting. Not sure if it is due to some kind of technical hurdle to increase that?

As others have mentioned, can we get a minFX version of Rune? In my case not even necessarily due to it not being "thematic" for a character, but just because I find it kind of obnoxiously "loud" of a graphic. I can live with it (unlike Fade which I avoid a whole powerset for due to its graphics, but that's another rant), but it'd be nice to have something more toned down.

Add me to the camp that very much likes the new arcane bolt how it is currently on Beta. I don't like the idea of linking it with other powers in the set (to me that limits it much more than the current mechanic as that then limits build flexibility/opportunities in a pretty major way). Some of the other suggestions I've seen sound even more complicated than how it is on Beta now. For my characters that will regularly use it I won't find it finicky or gimicky or really treat it as a combo of any sort. To me I'll treat it more like a scrapper crit, when it happens it happens and I won't worry about it, just blast away. As has been shown it is now a decent power even without the bonus effect. So, basically it is just some amazing free damage when it does happen, yay! For those that do want to try and time it and maximize it, it is still possible to a certain extent as well, moreso than scrapper crits anyway.

Yep, MM is the one AT I never join a team that is higher level than me while leveling up. Because doing that right off the bat puts you at -1 to the leader and the missions you are running. That puts your pets even further behind and they can run into big problems even on modest difficulties. So, MM to me has less teaming opportunities while leveling up than any of my other AT's. Good thing I enjoy playing them solo.

As a controller it is even easier as they have a third option. Take Psi mastery epic and indomitable will. 10 mag protect against hold/stun/sleep and even terrorize and confuse. 90 second uptime with a 360 recharge, so you can actually perma it with a very high recharge build (same recharge as required to perma phantom army). Available at level 35 with no prerequisites. No resistance, but you do get some nice psi defense too, which can be hard to get. Only drawback is being locked into psi mastery, but I find it is a decent epic pool even outside of indom will (mind over body and psi tornado are both nice enough and worth taking imo). That they find RoP overpowered on a squishy and not indom will is what I find...odd. Course it makes me wonder if they don't have their eye on nerfing indom will next...

Same. Tried it as one of the few ways to add a ranged attack for my controllers and it was so sluggish it just didn't feel good. New one feels a bit better. Bolt and mystic flight might become a staple for my controllers. I find the whole ROP nerf a bit funny. With so many ways to get mez protection in the game now, I almost never really felt it was worth 3 power picks to pick up, especially with most characters only looking at around 50% uptime typically. And here the devs thought it was some overpowered god like thing, I had no idea! I think I have it on like 1 character out my dozens. Of course the only "squishy" AT's I usually play are controller and MM. Controllers have easy access to indom will which I always thought was a MUCH better deal than ROP. MM's I honestly don't find typically that squishy and being mezzed isn't as a big of deal for them in my experience. I can see it a bigger deal for defender/corrupters, as the data bears out. Hence why I always thought defenders/corrupters should get an epic power choice like indom will that controllers have.

Pretty sure all set bonuses are global. I often will agree with that and say so, as in "Okay, it is a global set bonus", even if I find that a bit redundant And your source is a third party wiki. According to the game itself LoTG is labeled a set bonus. I'll trust the label the game itself gives it.

Not to be nit picky, but technically the LoTG +7.5% recharge piece is a "set bonus" as well. The game literally lists the +7.5% piece under your character's set bonuses (menu-personal info-powers tab) and it follows all the rules of a set bonus. Bit of a pet peeve of mine as every time I call it a set bonus when people ask about how it works on help channel, at least a person or two shoots back, "it's not a set bonus, it's a global!" Some can be strangely aggressive about it.

Same, @Force Redux has a great guide. Only nitpick is I'd swap the grades for cognitive and preemptive interface as both have damage procs so the only real difference is a slight chance for a confuse proc vs endurance drain. I'd take the chance for confuse as at least slightly useful vs endurance drain which is going to absolutely worthless (unless maybe you are electric secondary). As to damage type, MM's don't have any psi damage primaries (still waiting for that carnie MM set 😄 ), so mixing in a bit of psi damage can be a positive. I also kind of like hybrid melee core sometimes on certain sets even though I never tankermind. You can use hybrid melee as an emergency break free and/or regen/resistance buff as you can click it while already mezzed (it is basically like getting rune of protection, but as a "free" incarnate power). Go core and you aren't dependent on actually being in melee for it. I find it is enough typically to not need clarion, which opens destiny up for other choices beyond clarion. Especially if you have a pet set combo where they are already defensive softcapped to where they aren't being hit very often by mezzes anyway (often for beast, thugs, bots), so you really only have to worry about yourself.

Only issue I had with my beast/dark is AV's running away. Trying to solo TF's and having to chase after some AV's for 20 minutes as they run all over the map (and easily out of your tar patch) drove me crazy, especially since your pets are melee so you lose a lot of your dps. When triangles are down you can freeze them with petrifying gaze, but that's only part of the time. I tried not using darkest night's toggle and they still ran. So, I'm guessing it is the fear affect that howling twilight has was doing it, and that is your -regen. You can eventually still do it, but it tends to takes a MUCH longer time with all the running. Hard to depend on dark servant for the immobilize either, although that'll help stack if you do get your own immobilize. And so, I'd definitely recommend getting an immobilize from an epic pool if you are interested in that sort of solo content. I think @HachiMan2007 had the right idea with soul tentacles. If you aren't a solo AV hunter of course, not an issue.

Especially once I get all my pets I do this a lot and honestly you can keep them that way most of the time you are walking around. Keep the big hitter(s) in aggressive mode, keep others in bodyguard mode (usually the tier 1 pets at least). Even with just 3 pets in bodyguard you still get the majority of the damage resistance benefit. Your aggressive pet(s) start the fight, get attacked, and that gets everyone else to jump in. Also prevents the "problem" I have with some sets that a few last straggler enemies end up so slowed or controlled that your defensive pets eventually lose interest (or like the original poster's problem). If everyone is in defensive you all kind of sit there staring at each other until you realize you need to tell your pets to start attacking again. Splitting pets stances I find is an easy way to still play "lazy" if you aren't into constantly switching stances and you aren't going after super tough content.

At the least I'd say the other stealth powers should get a shave off their endurance costs or stealth needs an endurance cost bump given how powerful it now is. After all it is now doing in one toggle what my energy aura scrapper (as one example) needs two to accomplish (energy cloak + sprint with a celerity +stealth IO). And if they do want to run sprint with their 55 foot stealth they can do it cheaper (they can slot the default slot with an endurance reducer whereas I have to slot the IO there), or they can run faster (with a run speed IO).