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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.

I'm not a huge fan of the (now current) reworked Energy Melee, but it performs better than what existed previously. Specific to /EM Tankers: I respec-ed my Invuln/EM tank after the relevant Homecoming changes and I'm satisfied with performance. I don't play that character too often (I took him through hella-much content already), but he was pulled out of retirement to help with an otherwise squishy Ms. Liberty TF and he did absolutely fine: AFAIK, the character single-handedly took out two of the potential "key holders" (finding the key on the third) which I thought was impressive for a tank. I think he only took one hit from Lord Recluse, which always looks scary, but thanks to a team buff there was no problem at all... such that I wasn't even worrying about timing my use of Dull Pain or inspirations. I almost want to congratulate the OP for making me think about "Taunt Auras" on my Invulnerability toggles... but then I thought about playing in all those PUGs with Tanks (and Brutes) that don't want to actually take Taunt, instead pretending to think that an aura is going to do the same job. The Blue side WST is currently Positron 2... and that's always a good one to witness some hard fails on that particular score.

Invulnerability has a T9 power?

THE HOOP GAWD DEMANDS MORE HOOPS TO BE JUMPED THROUGH! JUMP! JUMP FOR THE HOOP GAWD!

These are the hoops I mentioned.... but I think you still need to have the minimum level to get the mayhem mission in Peregrine Island. There is a difference from joining a Numina at lvl 35 and waiting for Lord Schweitzer to hand you a mission at level 45 it is a LOTTA levels.