Story Archer

Well, that's pretty simple, straight-forward and not remotely intuitive at ALL. How the hell is someone supposed to figure that out? Thanks for the help, guys.

Do either of you have a screen shot, because I can't find this elusive '+' you speak of... no '+' when I hover over an enhancement, no '+' when I go to the selection window, nothing. I've got the latest version.

Just wanted to make sure that I'm not missing anything obvious - there are no arcane themed invention worktables available for bases, correct? I just plop that computer array with its high tech holographic display right in between the ancient tomes and mystical artifacts?

You're not wrong. I'd say that I know about 20x what the average joe running around knows and less than half of what someone who's really gotten into the thick of it might. I only ever remember how much there is to it when I try to explain it to someone new ("Alright, so a psuedopet is..."). Case in point, I don't have the slightest idea what 'Damage per Animation' might mean or how it would differ from 'Damage per Activation' - the animation occurs when I activate it, no? Back to the original question, which is still somehow falling short. Let's take Hasten. I have two level 50 generic Recharge IO's in it. In the game, I use Enhancement Boosters to bump those up to '50+5' generic Recharge IO's, which increases their effectiveness and the speed at which Hasten recharges. I don't see a way in MIDS to make those two IO's in Hasten become '50+5', either visually or algorithmically, and I just assumed that it wasn't an aspect of the game that MIDS accounted for. Then I saw the image you posted and thought that maybe I had missed it. That's what I'm asking about.

Well, first off I can't find that last part (show damage per activation) anywhere in my config options, BUT I don't think I adequately expressed what I was wanted to know to begin with. In the image I quoted, it shows enhancements that have been boosted beyond L50 (i.e. 50+5). I don't see any option in MIDS which would allow me to turn on or display those individual enhancement boosts, much less have them taken into account in the Totals. This probably isn't the thread for all that, I just never knew it was an option.

Above, @Tidge suggested the Enzyme HO (Def DeBuff / ToHit DeBuff / End Redux), which is perfect.

This particular type of build definitely plays differently from other Tankers - when teaming I even make sure to inform the others of that, particularly if there is another, more traditional Tanker there. The entire point of the build is to leverage the Rage benefit of SS by mitigating its drawbacks as much as possible, otherwise the Rage crash would be utterly intolerable (to me, at least). This is primarily done by focusing on non-Defense 'defenses' and by using Damage procs in place of more traditionally used sets because they help to circumvent the massive -DMG drop. Rad Armor checks all these boxes and then some (such as -Rech and Endurance drain resist), creating a lot of synergy with trying to get your recharge up (Particle Shielding, Rad Therapy, Ground Zero, KO Blow, Rage, Foot Stomp, etc.). My attack chain is actually pretty simple, though you have to be a little flexible given all of the variable recharge flying around. Against single targets it's pretty much Cross Punch -> Haymaker -> either Dominate or KO Blow (whichever is up) and then scan the recharge row listed below for applicable options before beginning again. When surrounded (which is most of the time) it's Foot Stomp -> Cross Punch -> Haymaker -> whichever ones of the following that have recharged: Rad Therapy, Ground Zero, Psionic Tornado, Pyronic Judgement, Hasten, Rage, Ageless Destiny and Assault Hybrid. It seems like a lot, but its really not - you just click your three attacks and scan the row of potential recharges before beginning again. FWIW, she is an absolute wrecking machine. As a further aside, Psionic Tornado and the Pyronic Judgement make for a brutal ranged AoE one-two punch. I'll frequently use them against a second group of mobs further away while I'm surrounded by the first group.

Update: Majestrix IV [Majestrix IV].mbd I really want to thank everyone who has taken the time to weigh in on this discussion. The different perspectives offered have not only helped to immeasurably improve this build, but a number of my others and hopefully will continue to offer additional insights to anyone who comes across it in the future. This newest iteration has some substantial improvements, including: I am leveraging the +Res ATO proc more efficiently, so that 1 tick will put me right at 50% for Cold & Psi, 90% for everything else. I picked up an additional +6% Cold, Negative and Psi Resistance to round out the above. Foot Stomp deals more damage, more consistently. Beta Decay is slotted more efficiently with the Enzyme HO. I'm adding additional mitigation by leveraging the Confuse proc from the new Cupid's set in Psionic Tornado (shown as an empty slot for now). Radiation Therapy has gone from (yet another) mini-nuke to a utility proc bomb that helps with mitigation and recovery. Still playing with the slots there. Note: the empty slots in Haymaker, Foot Stomp, Cross Punch and one of the ones in Psionic Tornado are all for the FF +Rech proc. The extra one in Psionic Tornado is for the Confusion proc from the new Cupid set. It's been surprisingly effective.

How do I get Mids to show/reflect the enhancement boosts like that?

This is some interesting advice. You might have already read my response to Zect regarding the frequent flooring of my base damage from Rage as the reason why I went with procs in Foot Stomp over the set bonuses, which I would normally take in literally any other build. The very first version of this character actually had 4x Unbreakable Guard in all four Res toggles, along with Darkest Night from the Soul Mastery Epic to try and compliment all the Res defense despite the inherent Rage crash (this is what I do on my Rad/Stone and it works amazingly well), but I ended up coming to the conclusion that chasing any defense while attempting to stack Rage was just trying to ice skate uphill. I've seen a few suggestions about not leaning quite so heavily into the two proc bomb mini-nukes purely for damage, and I think there's genuine merit to that. With Foot Stomp, the surprisingly effective Psionic Tornado and my Incarnate AoE to go along with the mini-nukes, I think there's some value there to turning Radiation Therapy into more of a 'utility bomb'. At the moment I'm thinking maybe three of the Superior Gauntleted Fist for the benefits there (incl. the proc), and three touch of Nictus to increase the healing and give me a little accuracy bump, potentially freeing up the slot I'm currently using for Kismet in the process. Or maybe adding the Theft of Essence, Power Transfer and Performance Shifter procs to help with healing and especially recovery when I experience those sudden double Endurance drops from Hasten and Rage... do we have any hard numbers on how much benefit slotting Radiation Therapy for Healing actually provides? Random question - I think I'll have an additional proc slot available for Psionic Tornado, what do you think about dropping a Confusion proc from the new damage set in both it and Radiation Therapy as additional mitigation? And a proc question: the Armageddon damage proc fires 4.5 PPM, or roughly every 13 second as I understand it, meaning that it would theoretically fire every time if placed in a power that recharges every 15 seconds or less, right? So that would mean that placing it into a power that fires less often than that, say every 20 or 30 seconds would be wasting a lot of its potential. Does that sound right? I'm thinking it might be better placed in Foot Stomp if I free it up here. Also, thanks for the suggestion about slotting Beta Decay, I was just asking in another post what I would put there if not the Achilles Heel proc.

I apologize for the earlier confusion. I misread part of your initial post and then didn't want to take the chance of seeming like I was ignoring you. I'm actually starting to run into the law of diminishing returns with some of what you suggest. I move slots from Tough to create some slots for the Gauntleted Fist so that I can raise my N Resist (E is already way over-capped), dropping my S/L Resist a bit but it's okay because the MotT ATO can cover it - except that the ATO was already covering my N resist to begin with. There aren't really many more places that I can actually put or need additional slots at this point. My original intent was for the ATO to help cover the hole in C & P on the occasion that I faced it, and leave the more common S, L, E & F as close to capped as reasonably possible. If I wanted to maximize its benefits, I'd probably drop the Resilient Incarnate for Musculature, but I like the other benefits that Resilient provides (improved Absorb, Taunt and ToHit Buffs). I'm in the process of maxing out Musculature as well, so I'll give it a try both ways to see which works better in practice. I'm over the bare minimums on ACC & ToHit buff because my defense is frequently floored (or underwater), and when ToHit DeBuffs come, they tend to come in bunches (like with CoT). Never once in this game have I ever felt 'hey, I'm hitting WAY too much', so I'm fine with going a little overboard on accuracy, especially when it lends other useful set bonuses in the process. I've got ways to mitigate Endurance Drain and -Rech, and the Ageless Incarnate certainly helps, but unless I see a clear benefit elsewhere - rather than just freeing up slots to do it - I'm probably going to keep the higher accuracy for now. What else would I put in Beta Decay if not the Achilles -Res proc? Slot a couple of damage procs? I can't believe that would grant me much of a return...

First off, thank you so much for taking all that time to respond in such detail, there were many interesting perspectives offered there. Secondly, the reason why I'm leaning into procs so heavily on something like Footstomp is because of how frequently Rage floors my damage - procs are far and away the best means to circumvent that aspect of Rage crash. With all the recharge I have coming from things like Beta Decay, Cross Punch, Ageless, Hasten, etc. It tends to come back very quickly. Lastly, I've already updated the build considerably, including a number of things you happened to mention, and posted a link to the build above (Majestrix III). I really do appreciate the offered insights and will keep them in mind moving forward.

lol - okay, another question - are you referencing the most recent build that I linked right before your post or any earlier iteration?

Just checking - are you responding to the OP?

I've taken what you've posted here to heart and taken a long, critical look at the build (which I've been pretty happy with up to this point). I tried to discard some of the more reflexive slotting that I tend to do and focused on chasing effectiveness a little more than chasing MIDS numbers. I don't agree with you on everything - I would never run her or any other Tanker at 50% S/L Res, I see value in the Aegis unique for this low-defense build where mezzes can stack quickly, and I would generally prefer not to have to waste time and clicks on mitigation or control if I didn't have to. but I have to say it's really left me open to some new perspectives. I made a number of changes, mostly minor ones, but I did drop Weave to mule status and slotted up Punch to basically mule Hecatomb instead. Combat Jumping is also pulling some heavy mule weight as well. All in all, my accuracy is higher, my damage is improved, and I picked up another 10% +Rech, all without noticeably affecting my defenses. I'm still playign around with it, but this is where I'm currently at... *deleted to avoid confusion with updates later in the discussion thread.

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Honestly, making sure that I've got both the Reactive Defenses and Preventive Medicine full sets has almost become reflex in most of my builds, as I think that they're really underrated, especially together - but on most of my builds I already have 4 or 5 LotG +Rech elsewhere so it became a little bit of a blindspot on this build. I'll definitely look at the switch that you suggested there. With Harmonic Mind I don't suppose that I need the Endurance discount, but I think I get more out of 1.5% S/L and 3% F/C than 4.5% N (since I'm already WAY over the cap to E). This is really fine-tuning, of course, but maybe I'll go 4-slotting Reactive Defenses, drop the Shield Wall +Res and the LotG +Rech in there and drop a second LotG +Rech in the spot freed up in Combat Jumping. I like the 9% +ACC that I get from 4-slotting Adjusted Targeting in Rage - honestly, I find that I kinda need it. When only one Rage is up, it (along with Kismet) puts all of my proc'ed out attacks at just over 95% Accuracy against +3's. I really weighed the two Alphas, as Musculature is almost always the automatic take on all of my non-support characters. I didn't want to completely sacrifice my defenses for offense and Resilient doesn't just give me a noticeable bump in Res (7% S/L/Tox, 6% N/F, and 2.5% C/Psi) it also improves my absorb shield and the +ToHit that I get from Rage, which I need as mentioned above. While the additional Res can really be made up for by a single SMotT proc, as a whole it just seems too synergistic to pass on, especially with Rage frequently crashing my damage bonus. I think I'm going to eventually max them both out though, and equip the one best suited for what I'm doing. I find that I use Punch a lot, as Cross Punch, KO Blow and Dominate just don't give me a full attack chain and an attack loaded with all those beneficial procs just makes too good of a filler. I actually wish that the two AT procs didn't come with a Recharge enhancement though, for the very reason that it causes them to go off even more infrequently. Ultimately I slotted Punch because I had to take the power anyway, and I'm greedy for power slots, but now I'm looking at dropping something - maybe Fold Space since I'm not using it as much as I expected to (and I always get annoyed when someone else uses it to pull targets out of my AoE attacks) - and dropping Haymaker in there instead, giving it the slots I'm currently using for Punch. Thanks again for chiming in - no matter how strong I think I am at assembling builds, I never fail to learn something from the perspectives offered on this board. EDIT: I made the change discussed up top with Weave/CJ and dropped Fold Space so that I could work in Haymaker, replacing Punch in the attack chain. I'll let you know how it goes, but I think it'll be a definite improvement. if it works out I'll replace the above post with the updated build.

Honestly, this is the most fun I've had with a character - she's absolute mayhem. Once I figured out a way to deal with Rad's kinda unappealing visuals, she's been a blast to play. I really haven't learned anything about macros, maybe I'll have to look into it. Honestly, I'm finding that I just don't use Fold Space that much for some reason.

I have absolutely nothing to offer on the Fire/SS front, but my Rad/SS literally moonwalks through those farms... if you haven't tried it, you should! [Majestrix II].mbd

If you really wanted to proc it, I'd drop the chance for -Rech from Dark Watcher's Despair... I'm honestly not sure you'd even get much benefit from End Redux or ToHit DeBuff in that slot. Best to just load up on its healing effectiveness - on my scrapper I slot a full set of Preventative Medicine in there. Combined with a set of Reactive Defenses in Heightened Senses or Weave, you've got some really nice set bonuses there as well as a couple of great uniques.

*deleted to avoid confusion with updates later in the discussion thread.

So I'm running a RAD/SS Tanker with lots of proc'ed out AoE, most of it PBAoE. I've chosen the Teleport travel pool because I like its speed, the ability to 'port allies to me and, initially, because Fold Space would seem to be a no-brainer to compliment my area attacks. I've never used Combat Teleport before, so I don't know how cumbersome it is to actually use, particularly once your group gets on a roll, but it looks like it could take a Guissian's Build-Up proc and that's got me wondering if that would be a viable tactic to take. My instinct is that the power probably isn't smooth to use without some sort of macro/keybind invested and that Fold Space is the way to go, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience using both, and if the BU proc would work the way I think it would. I'd hate to waste a respec just for that unless it's genuinely effective.

I think it's one of the better options for normal 1-50 content for sure, in part due to its early access to Quick Recovery and due to the fact that Tanks are so BA to begin with, but against the more difficult content I think it lags behind (my first 50 was a Kat/Will Scrapper). It relies on RES as its primary defense against S/L, which means that Lethal attacks hit often, and they usually come with a -DEF debuff. Little to no DDR means that whatever DEF Willpower grants to everything else gets whittled down quickly due to that blindspot No Tank is weak, by any means... but if you look at that DA/MA I linked above, you'll see that it's not what I'd consider to be optimal. I do agree with you though, that it certainly fairs much better on a team than solo, with the build above gaining nowhere near as much a boost in performance when similarly buffed.

I find that Willpower tends to struggle a bit against those solo EB's and AV's, at least in comparison to other sets.

I'm only getting a 4 second or so bump to recharge when I do that, and give up a substantial amount of damage in the process. 😞 Just so that I understand how it works - does the proc off of SGF stack with the absorb shield I already have if I haven't reached my max yet? If they just overlay then there wouldn't seem to be much point in having it at all...

I'm not 100% sure how procs work with AoE's, their likelihood to go off vs. single-target attacks, but I do know that the lower the attack's recharge the less likely they are to go off each time, to balance their PPM rate. Does a proc in an AoE attack have a higher chance to go off (or the possibility of procing multiple times) when attacking 1, 2, 5 or 10 foes at once, or is it the clicking of the power that determines whether it procs, not the number of foes affected individually? Or does that formula work differently for damage procs (affecting them) vs. buff procs (affecting me)? Looking at my build, (Rad/SS) I feel like I'm more likely to need the absorb shield replenished by the proc when I'm surrounded by many foes than by one hard target (?) and the bonus recharge from the enhancement certainly benefits FS a lot more than Punch. The rest of the slots for FS are four damage procs and a FF proc FWIW.