The Trouble

For various reasons (some unexplainable) neither Bane nor Crab appealed to me. Trying out a Bane just gave me a feeling of "Why not just make a Stalker?" I admit that this is a vast oversimplification of a Bane - especially due to their melee/ranged versatility and strong buff/debuffing - the gameplay result for me gave me that sensation. Focusing on the ranged rifle attacks just clicked for me, and Huntsman ended up feeling really satisfying. I've uploaded a build in this forum if you're curious to try it out. So in short, Huntsman builds are a specific flavor of the Bane branch. Much like your CrabberMind.

I think the attitude is less "I think Diantane should leave" as much as it's, "I wish DIantane could adopt a more accepting and positive perspective". You're experiencing burnout partially because of negativity. I still play my 50's. Even the ones fully Incarnated/Purpled/Cat-ed/Boosted because they're still fun. If your goals come from a strict definition of "progress", then burnout is inevitable. I don't think you should quit. I think you should understand that when parts (or the whole) of a game feels like a literal chore, it's time to pivot. Either your thinking needs to shift, or the way you play should. I suggest ditching the poo-tinted goggles in whatever healthy method you can find. Life's too short for your games to upset you. And if you've tried everything, and still can't derive any pleasure from the game, then it's time to go. I believe you'll know what's right for you. Good luck.

There's an unfortunately vocal minority in this game that like to denigrate "farmers". They see a level 50 on a character that's only 3 days old, and they like to call it out. Then there's the edgelords that poke fun at years-old level 30-somethings. Having the birthday off by default protects people from having to SPAM the ignore commands, and that kind of harassment in the first place.

I have an Ice/Sonic Blaster I loaded up with Lockdowns. Your post inspired me to finally try Devastations, too. Granted, I didn't do a full technical analysis of the log, but it looks like Lockdown fires off *way* more often than Devastation. Just throwing my anecdotal information into the mix until someone less lazy provides spreadsheets. Speaking of anecdotal: Of the Elite Boss trick-or-treat monsters, Arisen Mummy is the only one that takes more than 2 holds to stop. This Blaster can solo all of the other Elite Bosses unscathed by chain holding them.

On Live, I chased perma-Hasten on nearly every character. Nowadays, I have that kind of recharge on (I think) 3 characters. An Illusion/Dark Controller for that constant Phantom Army goodness, and stacking Tar Patch. A Fire/Time Blaster that has the choice of either a single-target attack chain, or an AoE attack chain. Only the heaviest of hitters apply. An Invulnerability/Super Strength proc-monster Tanker with Knockout Blow recharging in about 7 seconds. FF:Recharge is relied upon to get there, just like we're discussing here. I firmly agree with the sentiment you've said here regarding perma-Dom, but with every character: Build/compromise for as much passive Global Recharge as you can without leaning on Hasten. I almost resent the power, now. It flushes a chuck of Endurance down the drain at the worst times, and it's just another thing I have to worry about activating. I could put it on auto... but then something even cooler can't benefit from being automatic. Anyway, this may be the longest way I've ever said: "I agree with almost* everything in your post." *If Hasten is too much of a bother for me, then you bet I'm much too lazy to head back to my SG to refresh buffs 🙂

I felt similarly for a long time. I made multiple attempts, even back on Live. Broadsword gameplay just didn't click for me no matter how cool the concept or costume. That all changed when I saw a random post someone made talking about their swordsman proc-monster. I suddenly felt excited to play a Scrapper that had collected dust for months... and the first Scrapper I've ever cared about. The damage and debuffs on this guy evaporated my apathy towards the set, and an entire archetype. I'm not saying this specific thing will work for you, but you might find some inspiration by checking out other people's builds. Maybe there's something out there so inspiring that the slowness won't even bother you anymore?

My Huntsman features: Softcapped positional defenses. 100% immune to slow effects. Lots of -Res debuffs. Maintainable blue bar... attack away! Try it out, I think you'll like it. Invincible Huntsman - (Bane Spider Soldier - Bane Spider Training).mbd

I like this! Maybe just add this effect on to Supremacy, as in whatever travel power you use gets applied to your pets. Granted, I don't know his internal workings as an NPC, but another idea would be to just grant everyone Null's phone number like a trusted Contact. It would be nice to access his options without having to zone twice.

First a clarification: I usually don't include Incarnate stuff in builds because they tend to be very subjective. I also have built multiple Incarnate options to switch out for certain content or just my general mood. Usually running with the following: Alpha: Musculature - Extra damage is always welcomed. Interface: Reactive/Degenerative - About 50/50 split between these two. Extra damage. Judgement: Ion - Convenient to use and thematic! Lore: Polar Lights - Pretty and thematic. I can only sacrifice so much in the name of more damage. Destiny: Clarion - Barrier is extremely popular, but this one has saved more teammates than I can count. Probably my favorite Incarnate power ever. Hybrid: Assault - Hey, more damage! There are good arguments for multiple different types! For instance, Vigor(?) in Alpha can make your heals really pop.

Succinct, and easy enough to understand for all PuGs: "KB is more damage mitigation than KD." For all follow up questions, and unsolicited advice? /ignore Everyone remembers the newbie who set off Nova and ruined the Tanker's work. But no one notices when an Energy Torrent sends most of a crowd back to the other end of a slow field (or other zone debuff). No one vocally appreciates the Super hovering over the boss, dribbling them like a basketball. Or when another gat-dang Warwolf pops up, and the team really needs a bit of a breather, and sending that dumb fuzzbucket pachinko-ing down four flights of stairs would be extremely satisfying regardless of the team's status. Knockback rules. Spread the word.

I suspect it was produced using licensed samples based on other tunes in the game, but can't say for sure. I can say for sure that I have the Atlas Park theme song in one of my music production libraries. The orchestra hits that show in the default library sample have been removed from the in-game version, but they're the same tune. Source: Orchestral 2: Modern (Cinematic 03) Produced by Sony Since many musical themes are reused throughout the game, but with the exact same instruments, I strongly suspect most of the music up until Going Rogue was put together in Acid Loops (or something similar) by a competent music producer, rather than an actual music writer.

Most of these are "blink and you'll miss it" powers. If you want to show off, they need enough time to appreciate it! So that means Bitter Freeze Ray wins. You can say "Hey, check this out!", and your friends will have enough time to create an account, roll up a character, and observe your awesomeness all before it goes off!

For my own homage, I couldn't picture a Batman type being anything but a Stalker. Especially that fear proc after an Assassin's Strike! He hits so incredibly hard that I don't miss the lack of AoE's. I went with Street Justice and Ninjitsu, and picked up every gadget I could cram into my build. Most of what I picked were for thematic purposes, maximizing on fun/cool. Attached is my current build (that frankly needs a respec). I think my overslotting leaves a ton of room for others to customize, so I'll risk embarrassment to encourage others to Batman with us. Capped positional Defenses! 🙂 Vengeful Vigilante - Stalker (Street Justice - Ninjitsu).mbd

Peacebringer. Hands down. I can fly, teleport, heal myself and others, survive in space, and shapeshift into cool monsters. Now it's time to look out the window and sigh wistfully...

This is the basic Proc Monster concept I tried on Test Server. My "real" build is shaping up differently due to practicality, but this build is the proof of concept that kickstarted the real journey. This isn't a solo +4/*8 type of thing at all! Just a fun and weird thing. 🙂 No, I leaned heavily into damage. In the spirit of this front-loaded bizarre build, I think I'll give that a shot (even if just on Test) If you could somehow fire off all of your holds at once, the math says just two of these characters could hold an AV. Enjoy! *Edit to add: I forgot to mention in addition to potentially melting Greenies during a Hami Raid, the MSR Raid also benefits if the team decides to take down the Drop Ship. If you can fly fast enough, you can stack your own holds. Blaster (Ice Blast - Sonic Manipulation).mbd