Fedifensor

People don’t really appreciate Electric Armor until they run into Malta...

My bots/traps character took the second attack power for Robots because my only choices at level 2 were an attack power or Caltrops, and I didn’t want Caltrops (not high-tech enough for my character). If I had more room in my build, I would take the AoE attack, but it’s hard to justify the power slot when I have so many other options vying for it.

I don’t think this would work...and it would be very hard to balance. However, I could see a Mental Projection powerset that has pets similar to what Illusion gets, with a level 18 power that is some form of confuse power that takes over a target. Perhaps if a lot of work was put into the set, you could have projections for the lower level pets, and have the level 26 power actually do what you suggest, taking over an existing minion or lieutenant (boss or higher would be too tough). It’s a strong option...but would replace your top tier pet and require someone to take over.

There are times where doing so is useful. In your specific example of Mako’s Bite, probably not. Mako’s Bite has a minimum enhancement level of 30, which means you can’t slot it before 27. Even if you get a level 30 Mako’s Bite, it’s more efficient to add 5 enhancement boosters than to buy an attuned IO that scales with you up to level 50. Now, if you’re a blaster using Detonation (perhaps to fill out the 6th slot when the other 5 slots are Positron’s Blast), it starts at level 20. You can get an attuned Detonation IO at level 17, slot it, and never have to upgrade to get the full benefit all the way to level 50. If you slot a level 20 non-attuned IO at 17, the bonus stays static instead of increasing as you level. If you’re obsessed with squeezing out every last drop of efficiency from your build, you may replace it later. Use an enhancement unslotter when you’re at or near 50 and replace it with another IO that you then boost with enhancement boosters, and give that attuned IO to your next character who needs to slot a targeted AoE (or put it in your base for another SG member to use).

Ah, okay. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing any pre-50 options to increase range.

I run a different Mastermind build, but do you have a specific reason for 6-slotting Command of the Mastermind and Mark of Supremacy? 2 slotting Mark of Supremacy gives you a +6.25% global recharge bonus...you could do that in 3 separate powers to get +18.75% global recharge. Likewise, I wouldn’t slot more than 4 of the Command of the Mastermind IOs...unless you want to lean heavily into a Tankermind build and need as much +resist as possible. Also, I would avoid slotting the AoE Defense Aura from Command of the Mastermind - it’s strictly inferior to the Defense Bonus Auras in Call to Arms and Edict of the Master. Unless you’re trying to fit all 6 of the pet aura IOs into your build, I’d skip it. (The Mastermind ATOs are also horrendously expensive - plan to spend around 10 million each, or 120 million if you get all of them.) I see that your build six-slots a lot of sets, which is generally a bad idea. You get a lot of inefficiencies in the stat bonuses for your powers, and you’re often better served by mixing sets to get a better overall result.

I like to have at least +60% accuracy from IOs, and I run Tactics as well. My daughter runs Demon/Time, has Tactics, and is also shooting for perma-Farsight (which gives +9% accuracy unslotted). Accuracy is most important in your lowest-tier pets, since they start two levels lower than you. I try to get Damage to the point of diminishing returns, though as long as you’re at least at 80% you should be fine. It’s nice to have a bit of Endurance reduction as well, if you don’t sacrifice Acc or Dmg in the process. If you’re only getting 2 of a set, then set bonuses aren’t going to be a big deal - at that point, you’re slotting for the stat bonuses instead of set bonuses. Notable thing to look for with pet IOs for Masterminds: * If you can fit the following 5 unique pet aura IOs into your pet powers (Demon Summoning has 4 different powers that can take them), your demons will be pretty hard to take down - Expedient Reinforcement (+10% Resist), Sovereign Right (+10% Resist), Edict of the Master (+5% Defense), Call to Arms (+5% Defense), and Mark of Supremacy (+10% Resist/Regen Aura). Try not to put any more than 2 in any one power, as doing so limits your ability to maximize damage and get +60% or higher Accuracy. * Call to Arms and Expedient Reinforcement both give +Recharge at 4 slots, though the bonus for Call to Arms is double that of Expedient Reinforcement. I like to have Call of Arms 4-slotted on one of my pets (or Hell on Earth, for Demon Summoning). However, I skip the +AoE Defense pet aura in Call of Arms, since it’s not as generally useful as the other unique pet-boosting IOs. The only thing I take from Expedient Reinforcement is the +Resist/Regen Aura, and perhaps the Acc/Dmg IO if I have nothing better to put in the power. Any IOs from these two sets with Rchg should only go into Hell on Earth, as you shouldn’t need recharge for the others if your pets are durable enough to avoid constant resummoning. * Smash/Lethal damage are the two most common types of damage in the game. Sovereign Right gives +2.25% resist for 3 slots, and Edict of the Master gives +3% for 4 slots. I try to get at least one of those sets in a pet power at sufficient slots to get the bonus. * Mark of Supremacy is one of the most expensive sets in the game - expect to pay 10+ million per IO on the market. However, just two slots will give a +6.25% global recharge bonus. I put 2 slots in each of 3 different pet powers to maximize this benefit. * Command of the Mastermind is about as expensive as Mark of Supremacy, and doesn’t give a recharge bonus until you get your 4th IO slotted into a power. However, if you can fit it in, +7.5% global recharge (plus bonus damage and health) is a nice boost.

I prefer using both +Resist IOs for Singularity, to get the resistances to 70%. Defense is also a good choice, but I can’t sacrifice more than two slots for those IOs and still hit the Enhancement Diversification limits for damage (at least not without sacrificing too much accuracy). 70% resistance + the defense I can give the Singularity from Maneuvers and Farsight makes it durable enough that I don’t have any problems with its survivability.

Out of curiosity, what are you taking to get to +50%?

I roll with whatever Training enhancements drop until level 7. At that point, what I do depends on my Influence supply. At level 7, I check the market and place some low bids on generic level 10 IOs. A lot of people craft these for badges even if they don’t use them, so you can get lucky and pick them up cheap. If I’m flush with cash, I just start buying attuned set IOs from sets that start at level 10. That gives me a boost that will level with me, so I don’t have to reslot later. At level 12, if I haven’t found cheap level 10 IOs or bought attuned set IOs, I bite the bullet and start buying or crafting level 15 generic IOs...and if any are selling cheaply enough, attuned set IOs. I’ve played to 22 using nothing but drops...it can be done, but starts getting annoying at this point. At level 22, I start slotting with attuned set IOs, filling gaps with level 25 generic IOs. If I’m low on cash, I leave the previously slotted level 10 and 15 generic IOs in my powers until I have the influence to replace them. For reference, Level 10s are better than training enhancements, Level 15s are about the power of a DO enhancement, and Level 25s are the equivalent of a SO enhancement. At level 32, I start putting level 30 set IOs in my level 32 power, and use merits to boost them (+++++), since I haven’t been spending merits up to this point. I purchase IOs for any power I acquire after this point at 2 levels below the level I got the power, since a power can be used when exemplared up to 5 levels below, and IOs can be used at up to 3 levels below. IOs that aren’t level dependent (like procs) are the only things I buy attuned at this point, unless I’m adding slots to a lower-level power. I’m sitting on 300 million influence with my main, so usually I just get attuned IOs starting at 7, but hopefully sharing my thought process on what I was doing with my first few characters helps.

Fire / Fire gets a 10% damage boost from Molten Embrace, AND all of your attacks have a chance to inflict damage over time. Not as consistent of a bonus as Bio Armor, but you're also not reducing your defenses to get the damage boost.

Thanks, Sunsette! Personally, I don’t mind the inherent being improved. I would have a problem with a radical redesign of Sentinel powersets after a large group of people have been playing them for several weeks now. That’s ground that has to be tread carefully.

It sounds like this thread won’t hold any further interest for you, then...at least not until you hit level 50 and want to dig deeper. It’s all about having fun, so if that works for you, great!

Even before I started trying to make money at the market, I chose to use set IOs rather than generics, because it was the cheaper option. I was getting the cheapest set pieces I could without worrying about set bonuses, and they were often cheaper than getting the generic IOs. For example, I would buy 4 different Acc/Dam IOs to put into a single attack power, and I bought those IO’s pre-attuned for about 100k each. Prices have inflated since then, but even now I could get them from “undesirable” sets for 250k or less if I don’t want instant gratification when placing the bid. I did this with my main attack power for one character at level 15, by simply dumping recipes and salvage I wasn’t using onto the market at whatever price the market would pay. Two pieces of rare salvage (selling for 900k each) paid for IOs on my entire build at the time. Each Acc/Dmg IO is roughly 2/3rd the value of an equivalent level generic IO in each category, so those 4 Acc/Dmg were giving the equivalent of 2 2/3 Acc and 2 2/3 Dmg...it’s a better deal than generics. They’re also attuned, so instead of using dropped trainings until 12, level 15 IOs until 22, and level 25+ IOs after that, I just bought attuned set IOs starting as early as level 7 (for sets available at level 10) and kept the same ones in my build the whole time instead of reslotting later. It’s a lot cheaper in the long run, and doesn’t take a lot of time in the Auction House. Sell every recipe and salvage for whatever the market pays you, place reasonable bids for the set IOs you want, and give it a bit of time (an hour or two should suffice during peak play times) for the orders to fill. The triple IOs are also good deals, being about 1/2 the value of an equivalent IO in each category. Slot 3 Acc/Dmg/Rchg, and you have the equivalent of 1 1/2 IOs in each category - that’s 4.5 IOs worth of power in 3 slots. That’s my recommendation for casual min-maxing - cheap set IOs, don’t worry about set bonuses, sell everything else on the market as soon as you get it. You can pop up the auction house with /ah in any zone besides a base, so a quick sell off is faster than going back to a vendor to sell off excess inventory, and you’ll usually get more Influence that way.

Because the market converts IOs of any level, it’s often cheaper to buy the IO directly than to buy the recipe and then craft it. Furthermore, since you can get attuned IOs when you buy from the market at no added charge, it’s easier to slot IOs that will level with you all the way to 50 (or the max level of the IO), then use your alternate build to create something that will be optimized for level 50 play. While true, know that there is luck involved and you could find yourself out a few million from a series of bad flips. If you’re low on cash, be wary of flipping - a bad run could wipe you out.

Call to Arms goes in your Hell on Earth power, which has a notable recharge time. It also gives global recharge by taking 4 of the 6 pieces in the set. Global recharge is useful for nearly every character, and it’s pretty easy to get with some of these sets without making sacrifices.

Should probably post this on the Suggestions and Feedback forum...

I would put a few pet buff IO’s into Hell on Earth, but not all of them. For starters, you may want to get the set bonus by having several from the same set in a single power. Second, you don’t want to make Hell on Earth useless - it’s a fun power that can give enemies a lot of grief. I would put 4 IOs from Call to Arms (including the Defense Bonus Aura one) into Hell on Earth to improve Accuracy, Damage, and Recharge, and to get the set bonus for global recharge. Maybe Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/Rchg, and End/Dmg/Rchg. If you have the funds later, put in the +Resist/Regen Aura IO and one other IO from Mark of Supremacy, which gives you more global recharge for only two slots. Slotting for the various demon pets can vary, but you should end up with a decent Accuracy and at the point of ED diminishing returns for damage. Edict of the Master is a good choice, as it has a decent selection of stat boosts, and gives +3% Smash/Lethal resistance for 4 slots. Later, when you can afford it, Command of the Mastermind should be 4-slotted into one of your pets (Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/Dmg/Rchg, Acc/Dmg, End/Rchg) for the global recharge bonus and general usefulness of the IO bonuses.

Citation needed.

So, if your playstyle is to stay close and blast, do what you enjoy instead of spending time bashing a thread where the Sentinel players interested in increasing range are talking about how to do so.

Doing damage builds opportunity, but it takes a Tier 1 or Tier 2 primary attack to trigger that opportunity. Level 27 with my fire/fire sentinel, and I'm wondering whether to skip some of the higher-level powers. Burn requires being on the ground, and half of the time I'm using Hover (the other half, I use Super Speed with a Stealth IO to zoom past foes I don't care about fighting). Inferno is a PBAoE that is reportedly a shorter radius and less targets than the blaster version, when I prefer to fight at range. Rise of the Phoenix is nice...but with defensive powers, I don't die very often. That's three powers I could skip...but what would I pick in their place?

If I wanted to be in someone's face, I'd play a scrapper...

My sentinel has hit level 27, and I've achieved Blaster ranges... Flares 3-slotted with Sentinel's Ward (A/D, A/D/E, Rech/Absorb Chance) Blaze 2-slotted with Opportunity Strikes (A/D/E, A/D/R), plus 3-slotted Tempest (A/D, D/E, D/Rchg) Blazing Blast 3-slotted with Sentinel's Ward and 2-slotted with Opportunity Strikes Rain of Fire 2 -slotted with Opportunity Strikes (A/E/D/R, D/R), plus Overwhelming Force (Chance for Knockdown) That's a total of 5 +7.5% range bonuses from sets, for a total of +37.5%. My single-target attacks are now range 82, while Fire Ball and Fire Breath (which each include a Positron's Blast Damage/Range currently at +12.6%) are both range 60. Anyone else trying to design their Sentinel to overcome the reduced range of the archetype?

That's correct. I skipped Fire Blast with my Fire/Fire Sentinel, so I can't trigger defensive opportunity. So far, I haven't had a problem with that - when I get an opportunity, I almost always want more damage.

I decided to take my Tier 1 primary, but not the Tier 2, because I already have a full attack chain without it (at mid-levels). That means I can activate an Offensive Opportunity, but not a Defensive Opportunity. So far, I haven’t missed it, but do people find Defensive Opportunity important enough to take the Tier 2 primary?