Story Archer

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.

I think a lot of the 'unkillable' aspect of your build is the skill you have in playing it and the fact that it suits your particular playstyle. For people trying it out, figuring out the build isn't the problem, it's the elevated level of play that is required, or maybe just getting out of their comfort zone regarding how they think a tank should be played. Yeah, it's hard not to love Gloom and Darkest Night. Sure, the latter is an Endurance hog, but no more than Focused Accuracy would be... and DN is such a wonderful pulling tool. The problem is that endurance-wise you lose Physical Perfection (and it's potential PS proc) and you have to make certain you've got something else in place of FA so that you can fight off ToHit and Perception debuffs. That's the downside of a Resist-heavy defense is that you lose that extra protection from all of the non-damage debuffs which pretty much auto-hit. Definitely think you should consider that Preventive Medicine proc, btw - it's a life-saver, and synergizes well with res-heavy builds.

Little thread necro here - in part because I have a question and in part because it's always a good thread for people to see. If you increase your maximum endurance, does that basically add a flat amount to the 100 number we have set for base? In other words, does a +5 to maximum Endurance also increase your recovery rate by 5/minute? I'm assuming that an increased max endurance also increases the recovery rate by a commiserate amount, so that you will recover fully in the same time frame rather than extending the amount of time necessary to get there.

I took a stab at my purple IO build, taking advantage of a few of the concepts that you lean so strongly into. Obviously playstyle differs and there's not necessarily 'one right way' to do anything, given the variables out there, but I'm quite pleased with the way it came out and would appreciate any thoughts you might have. By way of comparison, your build and mine are pretty similar when it comes to resistances, capping S/L/N/F/C & P while trailing only about 10% in Energy and Toxic. I originally had us about even, but I saw a few opportunities that I didn't want to miss. I know how you feel about defense without DDR, but giving up that little bit of resistance I still managed to go from flooring my defenses to soft-capping melee and having 23+% on everything else. That's an easy trade-off in my mind, especially considering how much more effective it makes your inherent ToHit DeBuffs. Between non-suppressible stealth and my ability to gather ranged threats into Cloak of Fear range with Fold Space, non-melee attacks should theoretically be at a minimum. I've also got 8 points of KB protection instead of 4, for whatever that's worth. I think my Endurance management situation is a bit smoother. This build's max Endurance is about 5 higher and it burns a fair bit less endurance overall. I've also got two Performance Shifter procs in there that aren't accounted for in the numbers and I managed to slot the Theft of Essence proc into Siphon Life without reducing any of its effectiveness as an attack. I really like the way I have Siphon Life slotted, it's getting me some serious bang for my buck, but if it turns out that I don't need the extra healing or Endurance, I might drop a couple of damage procs in there to make it that much more of a threat. I'm getting way more out of my Fear abilities than you have them slotted for. I seriously considered both Oppressive Gloom and Death Shroud, but right now Cloak of Fear is dealing more damage than Death Shroud would, it gives me a stackable Fear, I'm using less Endurance, nobody goes wandering out of range and I'm not burning through hit points. A few random thoughts: I initially split Superior Gauntleted Fist to help get my Energy resist higher, but cobbling it back together is what allowed me to get over the soft-cap for Melee defense. Soul Transfer was a perfect place to drop in a Preventive Medicine +Absorb proc. I didn't take Taunt. We'll see if I end up needing it. I'm still a little torn on my Cloak of Fear slotting because I really like the overall set bonuses from going straight Glimpse the Abyss as well. I honestly don't know how anyone could crap on Dark/Dark as a power combination. I'm looking at a toon with capped melee defense, basically capped resists, not one but two of the best heals in the game, a self-endurance buff, three different AoE Mezzes - two of which stack - what's not to like? Thanks again for your earlier input. It's always good to hear from players with real experience running their preferred power sets. 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

(NM - answered in another thread)

Well you've certainly given me a lot to think about - my default has been to max defense and consider Resistance lagniappe, but between the control mitigation and capped Resistances, it's a very different approach that I think I can learn a lot from. I made the originally posted build without any purple IO's or any Tanker sets and was pretty proud of it given the circumstances, though I'm already seeing things there I could tweak. How does this high-Res build hold up under similar restrictions?

That's good point about Death Shroud - I only took Torrent for the IO set slotting. It does make me worry more about Endurance issues, though...

A little thread necro here, but I'm really surprised not to see Dark Melee mentioned for synergistic purposes. Was this before Touch of Fear got boosted?

I struggled trying to figure out which powers were skippable vs. which powers were must have, and just as much when it came to where I should put my slots. I really like the power set combination and I feel like what I've got is just fine, but I'd like to know if I'm missing something completely. I feel like what I've put together gives me the best of all worlds when it comes to multi-layered defenses/healing/control while also letting me manage my Endurance issues as well as can be. Due to severe alt-itis and occasional lack of funds, I try to pre-build as effective a character as I can with IO's but without using any purple sets, so that's kind of the criteria here. I figure that I'm close enough to the defensive soft-cap that pretty much any team-provided defensive buff will get me there. Resistances are solid if not spectacular, but I'm looking at stacking Cloak of Fear with Touch of Fear whenever I can for mitigation. Taunt and eventually Fold Space should help me gather everyone into range of both. Set bonuses basically give me +10% Endurance and 10% Endurance reduction. I don't think the Performance Shifter procs are factored into the Recovery numbers, but between those, Dark Consumption and the occasional Theft of Essence proc popping off I think I'll be good Endurance-wise. Side question about the Theft of Essence proc: considering how obscenely expensive Dark Regen is, would I actually be better off dropping a L50 Endurance Reducer there? I plan on only running Focused Accuracy on an as-needed basis since everything but Cloak of Fear is already hitting at over 95% on +4. I put a snapshot of the build below - TIA for any responses, I'm really looking forward to giving this guy a try!

Is it really? That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'd like to be able to run all the toggles I want (Maneuvers, Focused Accuracy, Tough/Weave, etc.) and simply not have to worry about Endurance. If I could do that with only two or three instances instead of all four, those are free slots I could definitely use elsewhere. Considering that the build also includes four sets of Unbreakable Guard and a full set of Preventive Medicine, that's another 13.75% Global Endurance Redux on top of everything else...

So I'm putting together a build for a character I'm probably going to be soloing a good bit, Street Justice/Rad Armor with the Energy Mastery. No experience with any of the three power sets but I'm playing around with the build in Mids. Knowing (and enjoying) the go-go-go nature of Brutes, I was considering slotting the Power Transfer +Heal proc and the Performance Shifter +End proc in Gamma Boost, Stamina, Superior Conditioning and Physical Perfection. I know that Rad Armor already has a fair amount of healing and recovery in its DNA, but my default here is that more is always better. Am I completely misunderstanding how procs work in auto powers?

That's an interesting approach - are you using it to winnow out characters you've made or do you have to catch a new character all the way up if you make one?

🙂

So upon discovering that my beloved CoH had returned, I completely spazzed out over the new (to me) options and all of the changes that had happened since I hung up my cape years ago. In an effort to get things under control, I've finally committed myself to two of each AT, not including Khelds or Arachnos (one day, maybe). I wanted to give myself a good mix of playstyles and power set experiences while avoiding the random things that I know I'm not overly fond of. This is my final list, my dedicated 22: Blaster: Alpha Spectrum (Fire / Atomic) White Star (Energy / Energy) Controller: Speed Orchid (Plant / Kinetics) Time Shadow (Illusion / Time) Defender: K-D1VA (Kinetics / Sonic) Fear the Never (Dark / Ice) Scrapper: Serrated Angel (Katana / Willpower) Ladyshrike (Claws / Energy Aura) Tanker: Iron Anvil (Willpower / Super Strength) Lady Mossad (Shield / Martial Arts) Brute: Crimson Skye (Staff / Electric) GenX 4 Life (Street Justice / Radiation) Corruptor: CoX and Chill (Ice / Cold) Mujere de Agua (Water / Storm) Dominator: Defoliator (Plant / Fire) Mistress Montclaire (Mind / Psi) Mastermind: Sheen 2.0 (Robotics / Time) Drakken Ruhl (Necromancy / Dark) Stalker: Hyperstrike 2.0 (Street Justice / Energy Aura) The Eldramoor (Dark / Shield) Sentinel: Hurtz (Electric / Electric) Six-Gun Angel (Dual Pistols / SR) Almost all have been made and most advanced to 20th at least - a few are still pending and a couple of the names haven't been checked, but the rest are all well on their way. Honestly, I'm not really sure why I even posted this - I'm just really excited to have it settled and looking forward to the adventure.

Necro'ing this thread again - I'm seeing a lot of hype for the Necro/Dark pairing... I've been on the fence for a while on what my first MM should be, and I'm torn between Necro/Dark and Necro/Cold, so much so that I've put off making the character til I decide. The benefits of /Dark have been mentioned above and are clearly very strong, but with Cold you get the Ice shields and strong options for both large mobs (Sleet, Heat Loss) and hard targets (Infrigidate, Benumb). Am I overlooking something or is Dark that clear of a winner?

So if I put it in Siphon Life it would go off whether I used the ability or not?

Well, if I can figure out what the percentage of a character's Health regenerates in one minute (base only, without Health) and then figure out what percentage of a character's health an unslotted Siphon Life would heal if it successfully lands every 10 seconds (or 6x per minute), it would seem to be a somewhat direct comparison... Killer avi image, btw. I find that I, too, am better at doings than at understandings. 🙂

Is it a good candidate for the Preventive Medicine +Absorb proc? As part of a steady attack chain it would seem to be an ideal fit?

Interesting. I've got a quick question about Illusion/Time. I'm not super familiar with Controllers; I've played a Plant/Fire Dom and I've poked around with different Illusion toons but never all the way through to Phantom Army and I know absolutely nothing about Time. I have an Illusion/Time concept that I really want to go with (pulling past and future versions of yourself to help in a fight, that kind of thing) and I was curious about their synergy (or lack thereof). Are there any decent Time guides out there? I don't mean just generic sample builds but a breakdown of the various powers, their strengths and weaknesses, what to skip, consider and absolutely take, etc? I haven't been able to find any but admittedly my search-fu is a bit weak.

My favoritely-named toons: CoX and Chill (Ice/Cold Corruptor) Defoliator (Plant/Fire Dominator) Serrated Angel (Kat/Will Scrapper) Six-Gun Angel (DP/SR Sentinel) Hurtz (Elec/Elec Sentinel) Rebel Yell (Thugs/Sonic Mastermind)

I think that you should consider Shield/Martial Arts for several reasons. 1) You can reach soft-cap defenses, mez resistance AND Resist to all of 26-28% practically by level 12 only slotting IO's and a couple of uniques (see my recent post on this forum). That means that you can get right back into the tanking you're used to without any sort of painful grind. 2) The Martial Arts powers are visually very dynamic and will definitely 'feel' different than the slow stony you're used to. Moreover, with defense so quickly and easily taken care of you can spend more time focusing on your offense for a change. 3) All of the knockback/knockdown will feel familiar and will let you slot those +Recharge procs you're probably used to. At the end of the day, while Peacebringers can tank (if by 'tank' you mean stand there and absorb damage), they are a wildly different play experience from Tankers. Depends how far you want to venture from what you've enjoyed in the past.

Right, I mentioned Storm Kick, and of course its temporary, like Divine Avalanche or Guarded Spin, except its to ALL positionals. The question is how long does the buff last, because the kick's base recharge is only 6 seconds and you have to figure any decent build will get that down to 3-4.

As I return to the game I loved for so long, I've been trying to familiarize myself with what's new, what's changed, etc. Tanks were never something I really played because I tended to solo a lot and back in the day that's just not what they were intended for. Now I've read some good things about them and I'm giving them a look with fresh eyes. After dipping my toe in with a cursory Willpower/SS build, I went looking to put together a concept I hadn't ever really gotten to try - Shield/MA - and I was not prepared for what I found, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something here: Is this right? It can't be. Now I'm not going to build this character exactly like this but I just wanted to see - by level 12 with Storm Kick, only the most basic slotting and a few Unique IO's, this character is already essentially at the Defense cap for all, has his status protection in place AND is resisting everything but Psi at 26% or higher? If true then that's just crazy. All Tankers can't be like this now, can they?

I know that's where it comes from - how do you raise it? Does it improve automatically through normal slotting of Defense IO's?

It's at about 86% - how do you raise DDR?