Riverdusk

Could probably report it to the typo bug thread. I reported that text error quite a while ago around the same time I reported a few other bugs with stalker ice melee. The other issues were mostly fixed, but guess that was one was overlooked.

Not in my experience. I used Steam at first (added the CoH launcher as a non-Steam game), but Steam doesn't seem to track hours for non-Steam games that you add manually. Did make it a bit easier to take screenshots though as the CoH screenshots I took using F12 went right into Steam.

Well, you also have soul extraction so there really is no need to try and fit all 6 aura IO's into your regular 3 pet powers. Even if you want to deck out soul extraction and really enhance it well, you'd still be able to fit at least a couple of the special IO's there. The IO auras are always on, even if the soul extraction pet isn't going. You could then put in some of the procs already mentioned (like achilles and cloud senses) to your regular pets. Unless you are trying to go for a build that skips soul extraction all together. Interesting idea to use some Hamis though, I always forget about them.

If you are really curious (at least for future hours), you can add CoH manually as a game under the new GoG Galaxy client and it'll track total play hours for you (as long as you keep the launcher up). Shows me at 995 hours and 17 mins right now and I figure about 1,000 from before I started using it. Not to be a salesperson, but nice little program on its own that you can use to link, keep track of, and launch any game from any gaming service all in one spot.

You want the build up proc in phantom army. It adds quite a bit to their damage.

One I've always liked is storm/dark defender or dark/storm corrupter. I feel they have tremendous synergy. Dark blast helps solve two of what can be annoyances of storm, things getting scattered and the lack of a self heal. Dark's aoe immobilize doesn't prevent knockback, but I've found it still helps in keeping things together, and that way you can be selective in what you want to have knockback and what you don't with the IO's. I've found tentacles definitely help in "hurdicanning" things up for your tornado and lightning storm. Dark blast is also a bit on the lighter side relatively on damage and storm is great at making it a much harder hitting character. Both sets also have stuns that you can stack together if you want to go a more controllery route. As to theme, what's more classic than a dark and stormy night? 🙂

Yep, sadly one of the sets I avoid playing completely solely due to this graphical issue. Even notwithstanding the flickering, just the way it forces the weird invis+glowing eyes graphics onto team mates I dislike, because I know a lot of people don't like having their character graphic changed so significantly with no opt out. The power should have a minimal graphic option, like ice shields has a min fx option, imho.

BAF is pretty good for MM's to join in my experience and I wouldn't feel afraid to join up on that one. Having all the pets is actually good at catching the runners. The rest of it you are sitting in place at the tennis courts just beating on things.

They could also make it so that pets in passive get some sort of big defense/res bonus and/or stealth? With enough of a delay before it kicks in to prevent abuse of it mid combat.

Luckily, in my experience, while playing a stalker, mobs are rarely in the 1% to 20% hp range. You take off such big chunks of hp's at a time, they tend to be near full....or dead. I didn't find runners near as bad on my stalkers as I did on some of my scrappers (speaking of the ones that didn't have a taunt aura secondary). Which is probably why I don't much care for playing scrapper secondaries without a taunt aura. As to the original topic, probably brutes to me so far, as I just don't care for the constant pressure to go, go, go or else see my damage drop to pathetic levels. I usually like to play at my own pace. Also, if I want melee damage I'd usually rather play a scrapper/stalker (or even a dom), if I want to tank I'll play a tank. Brutes are the one that is in the weird in between to me (and I'm not interested in farming). I know I'm very much in the minority when it comes to brutes though.

I have found that it can be hard to find teams in the level 1-20 range that aren't DFB sprinkled with an occasional Posi or Synapse. It tends to get a bit better again once you hit Talos. Edit: On the other hand, it is usually easy to fill a Frostfire team if you are up to starting one up yourself.

Figured I'd throw in here my two step bind handy for Necros out there that want to quickly create a lich dead body and then use it to Soul Extract from. I use numpad divide and numpad multiply, but of course you can change to whatever keys or macro you want: /bind divide "petcom_pow Zombie dismiss$$petcom_pow Grave dismiss$$releasepets" /bind multiply "powexecname Soul Extraction$$petselect 0" You may need to double tap the second key.

Yep, I have been complaining about this for a while. I find it super annoying. Really wish they'd tone down the volume on the pet summon/enhance powers to help mitigate this. Necro are one of the worst, but almost all the MM sets are this way.

Not saying it is the best (I'm still tweaking really), and I'm necro/sonic, but I went somewhat with what you have in mind so far and didn't go super proc heavy. Zombies: 5 Mark of Supremacy and an Overwhelming Force Chance for Knockdown Grave Knights: 5 Soulbound (gets them the BU proc) and an Achilles Heel. Before getting purples you can use 5 of any pet set here really that gives bonuses you like + the Achilles. Lich: 4 Command of the MM and 2 Cloud Senses (including the damage proc). Soul Extraction: The other 4 special pet IO's and 2 extra Call to Arms I find it really hard to fit in full sets of either of the MM ATO's. Even if not going proc heavy, every pet benefits a lot from at least 1 proc so you are limited to 4-5 slotting the MM sets, you just have to miss out on some of those extra personal resistances they offer at the 5th and 6th slot. For incarnate don't know that you'd need more healing or to enhance it. I'd think thermal would do well to stand on its own there, but I'm not super familiar with it. I went resilient to maximize the resistance shields (cardiac was another option if I was still having end issues), barrier, diamagnetic (helps add even more tohit debuffing to all of their attacks), and hybrid support. As much as people poopoo on the MM attacks, I also recommend at least taking gloom. It is one of the best (if not the best) MM attack you can take. In that I went 3 thunderstrikes and 3 damage procs (cloud senses, gladiator, Apocalypse). As it is my only healing I also took life drain and between the two attacks anyway, I find it really helps speed up taking down the tough single targets (bosses, EB's, AV's)....and gives me something more to do. Looks like @seresibyl3 has a necro/thermal build posted just a little while ago here so you might check that out. That one looks good too.

Still have yet to try it, but I always thought mercs/storm would be the way I'd go. They are ranged pets so storm's keep away powers would work well, hurricane and knockdowns to help keep them alive, plus it adds a bunch of extra damage and -res to make up for mercs being on the relative lower damage end for MM's. It'd definitely be on the active side to make sure you kept things knocked down and debuffed and then there's the usual AV problem who mostly ignore all that stuff (time to pull out the team inspirations for those). Sounds like it'd be a fun chaotic ride though. Bonus: You'd get to see a tornado full of shell casings.

Well, also the fact that one side giving +12/24 vs a flat +8 and the only real drawback is a bit smaller radius would also be completely out of whack if true. No one would take the radial side if those were the actual numbers. I usually take core on my MM's. The difference between 50ft and 80ft rarely comes up in my play and you're giving up 2% personal defense to get 4% more for all your pets, worth it to me as it is much easier to get personal defense (thanks to IO's) than pet defense.

Lot of the game descriptions could be better, no argument. The Interface slot is another example of one that is very lacking in describing what they actually do. In the meantime though, this is a good resource I use (in conjunction with the in-game data): https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/Incarnate_System Click on (abilities) and it'll take you to more detail on each.

With liberal use of kb to kd IO's you can definitely be "team friendly" and also contribute quite a bit. I like the idea @Zepp has of having two builds, one "chaos" and one "controlled", although expensive to do of course.

MM's are probably the most "different" play style possible, so I can definitely see them not clicking with some people. Have also heard according to the stats they are the AT most likely for people to start and then abandon before reaching 50. So, you aren't the only one. I think MM drawbacks are well known, but at least for me mostly it was just finding a MM combo I could make both "sturdy" (like most people I don't like having to resummon a lot), and with pets you find "cool". I just love the way grave knights whack things, even though I've tried playing a broadsword scrapper myself and didn't care for it nearly as much that way.

I'd definitely lean toward brute. Brute's have the higher resistance cap and probably just as important, a built in taunt aura to help prevent runners.

As a necro/sonic that hits both of your worsts, couldn't disagree more. One of the stronger characters I've ever played, and currently my highest in vet levels (only like vet level 8 and tier 3 of most incarnate stuff, but I alt a lot). 🙂 As to a couple of the worst sets imo: Ice control: Not that you can't make it work and it isn't absolutely terrible (unless you are trying to solo with it as a controller), but it is just so outclassed by every other control set now a days especially with the way you can IO bonfire now. Trick arrow: I hear so often from people, "trick arrow is so underrated!"....yeah, I don't see it. I even tried illusion/ta that is actually suppose to have some good synergy....couldn't stick with it and it still felt weak...and I love illusion.

Actually a lot of Malaise's attacks aren't positional at all. He has those few psi attacks that have no vector (mostly mind control set attacks). He even did a number on my SR stalker before I remembered how he works. Luckily he doesn't hit as hard as some AV's.

Never heard a dev, either live or on HC, say that was the reason. But I've heard that as a player response before to a request to give stalkers mace, "You could play a bane". They are probably just trying to give a "helpful" alternative though, not saying it shouldn't be a thing. At least I'd hope so. It really wouldn't be stepping on a bane's toes anymore than a claw stalker steps on a widow's.

Yep, Lambda is painful. BAF is fun though.

Yeah, it is very inconsistent. I had people swear /time's -regen debuffs stacked, but went on to test server to confirm they do NOT. Then I was surprised when testing /dark's twilight grasp and finding it did stack.