tidge

If the game and the sets were re-examined from scratch, having such a power earlier in the sets might be useful... but for the most part I think the current progression of Armor (and Defensive) sets is pretty solid. I have a couple of characters where I *personally* felt I was not getting a specific type of Defense until late in the progression, but this vague feeling wasn't affecting my enjoyment of the game... and with set bonuses from IOs I can use Ouroboros to go back to those earlier levels and increase difficulties. TL;DR: I see re-arranging the Armor (and Defense) sets to include a potentially useful click at an earlier level as more of a NERF, since it will be delaying (mostly) useful power choices until later. I won't support a solution to the "problem" of "most players don't take a T9" to be "move one of the useful lower level powers to T9 so that they take it".

Rather than going for new Mastermind Primaries (because I think there needs to be a serious re-balancing of the existing primaries first), I still like this idea that can lead to a new 'pet' control AT (as opposed to henchmen): Praetorian Epic Archetypes (PEATs): Model them like the VEATs, where you take a force respec at lvl 24, and one of the two paths allows you to be a hybridized (Praetorian) Devouring Earth... where you can summon/reuse some of the DE assets (Rubbles, Shards, Fungi) The other PEAT path could give you the Orbs, or Seers or what not.

I like the thinking here. If the T9 are find use in PVP, I guess that's good for them... but I neither play PVP nor take the T9s, so I'm ignorant of them. I would certainly reconsider them if they helped my team, but with the caveats: Do we really need more powers to make teams MOAR powerful? T9s come late in the game for the content where extra team buffs would make a difference.

The SoA can be built very tough, but they don't make particularly good tanks IMO. That isn't to say that playing by themselves they can't get a lot of aggro and need to be tough, its just that they have many good tools for improving team performance as well as debuffing enemies (and providing some 'softer' controls). My take is that for team play, focus on the team buffs (from the SoA tracks) and enemy AoE debuffs (from the SoA attacks) will pay larger dividends than just trying to cap your own resistances. Don't fall in love with your pets... they are not like henchmen, and they are not like controller pets. The closest analog to them that many players will be familiar with are Lore pets. Your teammates are your best pets. @Gulbasaur makes a good point about not getting the pets until higher levels. If you intend to team for lower level content, you won't have them. At 50+ content, you will be revisiting the forum to find ways to keep the pets alive in order to increase your own damage output. Here is a thread to examine. Any SoA build advice from @Omega-202 is worth considering. If you post a build asking for advice, he'll have something to say about it. Here was a thread specifically focused on some of the "pet" questions.

My Widow also has enemies scattering in 2π (even more if the mobs can fly!), but I would not want a Taunt aura. Personally, I'm not sure such a thing would actually keep enemies from scattering anyway. If a better Taunt is requested, then make Confront be a targeted AoE instead of the single-target Taunt. My Widows all dip into the Presence pool (to get Unrelenting) and Provoke is a trivial choice for me, as even with the ToHit check, 99% of the time I am trying to take aggro I want aggro from more than one enemy. The other 1% of the time something has gone SERIOUSLY wrong and I'd prefer the auto-hit Confront to interest Lord Recluse while my teammates are rezzing. I do agree that the VEAT inherent seems peculiarly weak.

Best Brut is Brut Reynolds

Thank you for exposing this. I have a -/Poison Controller and a -/Traps Mastermind, and I haven't been impressed with the contribution of the Poison Trap Hold to Controller build as much as I am with the Mastermind build.

9999 merits and Empyrian ain't one.

This is a key point! Crabberminds get (recharge intensive) Pets (including a Patron pet) and NOT Henchmen. This results in a few key differences to be aware of (and not sob about, dear new recruits): They can't be ordered like henchmen There is no bodyguard mode Some Incarnates you might expect to work for the pets don't work like you might expect them to work They are on a timer, unlike pets from other AT (e.g. Singularity, Fire Imps) For the powers that spawn multiples, if you resummon 'replacements' before any surviving 'originals' expire, they will all expire at the same time as the (surviving) originals. You have to put some effort into defense, search this subforum for lots of discussion on 'keeping the pets alive' Crabberminds can be a LOT of fun, but you have to adjust your expectations. I enjoy the Bane builds, with the AoE/Debuffing focus on the rifle attacks the most.

You should be fine. I haven't played my Grav/Kin is a long time. From memory, I skipped Lift and Dimensional Shift in the primary. From the secondary I skipped Repel and (somewhat foolishly, IMO) Increase Density... which is why I advise against making the same mistake I did! It's the sort of power that can make a big difference (especially if taken ASAP, and you play on a lot of teams). I definitely had Inertial Reduction... but part of my enjoyment of CoX is travel through the zones. YMMV. I think I used it to slot additional travel power sets. I have nothing against Maneuvers and Tactics. I probably have Maneuvers in that build myself. Grav/Kin is a classic combo with the opportunity for clever build choices around the edges... with respect to power choices more than just trying for 'caps'. I don't think my build was particularly clever, so let us know where you land.

/seconded. I was on a recent Frostfire mission (we started at +3) and I was remembering how PAINFUL (and GLORIOUS) that mission could be with a team of 8 that included a Kheldian.

I have a Grav/Kin, but my only immediate thought is in a different direction... no matter what secondary you take, I would reconsider taking Leadership toggles if taking those powers means that you would be sacrificing powers from the primary or secondary. anybody can dip into the Leadership pool, the Controller powers are far less widespread.

Meh. Why bother putting it (a modified Perez Park) in a (rather centrally located) existing zone at all? There is quite a lot of different things going on in that zone anyway, so why screw that one up (as opposed to say... Boomtown? Or a modern/transplanted Cimerora? I think it is fair to say that the "Hazard Zone" concept really didn't pan out the way that the original Devs intended... but of all the original Hazard zones, Perez Park is the one with the most nostalgia... at least for me. Of the originals it is also probably the quickest/easiest to traverse, modulo a door mission inside a tree maze.

I think 'cringey' to be an apt description of the Lore plans had the game continued. Frankly, I least like the elements of the Lore that remind me of 'comics event fatigue'. See also, "Who Will Die?" I can barely accept the Dark Astoria revamp as there is essentially a story arc to be played there, and that it removed the 'fog'... even though I liked the atmosphere of the fog and the ghosts in original Dark Astoria it was a real PITA to travel in that zone... a nice change of pace, but not everyone's cuppa. I am also of the opinion that the later caretakers (on Live) have a VERY mixed record when it comes to 'revamping' or 'introducing' zones. Faultline was a rather solid revamp (as was the Hollows), and for my $$$ both Striga and Croatoa were solid out of the gate. However, I find the Shadow Shard and Cimerora to be pretty dull in terms of narrative... and the revamped RWZ is a sort of take-it-or-leave it as far as I'm concerned. The less said about "Shining Stars" and "Dr. Graves" the better. Personally, I LIKE the available graphics for a sky-enabled Perez Park (I imagine that assets from the Scirocco Patron arc would be reused), but I would HATE to lose the original (or have it sent to Echo zone). Perez Park is, at least for ME (a day 1 player) the original Hazard Zone and it is still one that I enjoy taking new lower-level (hero) characters into as a test of their mettle. If anyone is looking for reasons to NOT revamp Perez Park as planned, I suggest polling players about their feelings regarding travel within in zones like Grandville and the Shadow Shard.

On most of my lvl 50s, I enjoy playing lower-level content (beyond TF/SF) that I would otherwise have to use Ouroboros for... and I don't always want to sign people (myself included) up for an entire arc. For those situations, I always "follow". If it is a TF or SF, I'll recruit... BUT... I am somewhat impatient when recruiting for TFs: We've all done them before, so it isn't as if there are many enjoyable surprises (see below) I won't "wait for eight", unless the team raises a fuss when I suggest starting with fewer "Enjoyable surprises" fit into diverse categories: Sometimes team composition surprises me, typically only on smaller squads.... but I don't recruit based on AT (and I kinda hate it when I see this in LFG) I actually LIKE seeing the team split up on "defeat all" missions. I can take-or-leave "stealth to end" team splits. Many of my characters can do it, so can many other players. meh. With a couple of full-kit lvl 50s on a low-level TF, it can be a lot of fun to run them at +4. With a full team of lvl 50s in low-level content, it is practically mandatory (for fun!) I want to see how other players PLAY, not how fast we can get the end-of-mission fanfare.

Feh, I'm not voting on this one simply because my opinion is that playstyle depends both on the player attitude and the construction of the character via power choices and slotting. I also would like to note that with my favorite Blaster, when I am solo I will usually end up "Blapping", but on PUGs it performs much better when he holds back and uses its cones, AoEs and controls to support the team... and if I am being honest, speeding up clear times by drawing distant spawns (via Snipe) towards the area where the fun is.

RNG hates me: Brute: Fire/Energy Aura. At least I should be able to put him on the AH and flip him.

I have been toying with the idea of a Psi/Mental blaster as well, but don't yet have specific build advice to offer. However: I'm probably going to slot the Cone (Psychic Scream) for Damage/Range along with %damage procs Not yet sure on Drain Psyche, on other builds I use this to 6-slot Preventive Medicine, I will experiment as I level Other attacks will probably leverage ATOs and Very Rare sets; on a longer attack like Psychic Wail I'll probably go 5xArmageddon with a %damage proc.

I'm pretty sure it does. (It doesn't work for Membrane Hamidon pieces) This is what I believe to be the optimal (1), (2) slotting for Mind Link. After this you hit the point of diminishing returns HARD. Level 24: Mind Link (A) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge: Level 50 (31) Shield Wall - Defense/Recharge: Level 50 (31) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 (1) You can boost the the Shield Wall Defense/Recharge to +5 (2) The Shield Wall Global Resistance piece can be added here for the Regeneration bonus, if you don't have it elsewhere and have an extra slot.

Yes.

I have a Bots/Traps, and it the only character that I bother to solo Giant Monsters in PI with. It also has reasonably fast clear times in farms, if that matters, The key, IMO is debuffing enemies and keeping them grouped so that the Henchmen AoE work on as many as possible. Traps is good at this, as are the Knockback to Knockdown pieces. I have take the Photon Grenade (at level 30), Pulse Rifle Burst (level 38) and Mace Beam Volley (Epic) to also apply -Res and Knockdown to support the henchmen.

A boosted common Enhancement scales to all levels, a boosted piece from an enhancement set will cut out if you exemplar for content below level 47. The cutout does not apply to any boosts applied to the Very Rare or PVP sets.

Three 50+5 SO enhancements will be better than two 50+5 SO enhancements, its just that you will be well past the point of diminishing returns on what else you otherwise could be doing with the slot. For example, an attack could probably benefit from some Accuracy and Endurance discounts, or perhaps there is a secondary effect worth buffing? My general rule of thumb is to not use more than two of the same 50+5 SO enhancements in the same power... and if you are starved for Inf, you probably could stop at (two) 50+4.

I always picture Yomo as the guy who flipped enough market items to end up buying Lexcorp, Stark Industries and the Wayne Foundation.

I buy super-packs only when I have a character that needs some ATO, and then that is primarily to satisfy my curiosity about what else comes with them. I'll play converter Roulette to get the ones I want, or ones that will sell. I do this until I have about 2/3 of the ATO I want and then I'll buy the remaining pieces. The extra goodies either stay in email or get sold, depending on my mood.