tidge

Thanks for the repost, it's been my experience that pure toxic damage is not quick way of defeating enemies.

I have only played (since Live) Traps on a Robots/Traps MM. I skip the last 3 powers of the secondary. I like Seeker Drones, but for my build they simply weren't contributing to the speed of defeating enemies and they weren't doing much as far as "absorbing alpha strikes" Because Robots has such an AoE focus, I try to leverage the other powers to keep enemies in AoE patches (Caltrops, Poison Trap, I despise Web Grenade) ... I also try to leverage Knockdown in MM attacks. to debuff enemies (Caltrops, Acid Mortar, Poison Trap) to make the henchmen more effective in hitting/hurting My build does include %procs in the secondary powers, but far fewer than some folks might think based on available options. It's not fair to describe this approach as a personal bias against pseudo-pets, its more that there are useful set bonuses (for MMs) to be had (MaxEnd, Endurance Discount, Recharge, Accuracy) to get through slotting sets. FFG uses a couple of LotG and a standard Defense IO. Triage Beacon is not a power I used while leveling up, but with slots available in a level 50 respec it can hold very useful sets/pieces. I find the Beacon helps with the Henchmen, as long as I draw enemies to the 'Bots. This works fine for GMs and Farms. Fast moving teams may not get much utility from the Beacon.

I'm not exactly sure what point is being made about ignorant users when we are discussing the subtleties of market prices for catalyzed ATOs versus uncatalyzed ATOs. I certainly believe that there are more players than forum regulars, and I completely believe that some folks are ignorant about the invention system... I think it may be a stretch to assume they are ignorant about a lot of stuff and are also paying customers for catalyzed ATO that are on the market. From my PoV the enhancement market looks 'rational' to me (balancing costs, profits, specific badges for crafting, supply and utility) with only a couple of outliers, such as: There are a peculiarly large number of some %proc that simply don't sell (i.e. not all %proc are useful... if 700+ are on the market with the last sale prices below 1Minf, don't try to sell here!) The catalyzed pieces being on the market <- I completely accept that inf can be made form the ignorant, but it is a peculiar amount of effort involved to make these specific pieces to put on the market.

FWIW, while leveling up I don't recommend putting precious slots into Build Up until you get to higher levels because the Gaussian's set can only be slotted at a higher level (21?). Once you are high enough, go for it.

Welcome to the game! I play a variety of AT while ignoring others. If I have an opinion about "power rankings" it will be very mild and based on the types of game you play in CoH. For example: The Invention system allows for many set bonuses that cover what ought to be "balancing" factors from game mobs. As almost all of the game involves defeating mobs, damage (particularly AoE) makes the game "go faster" for some ATs (occasionally dependent on primary/secondaries) The Incarnate system is pretty much explicitly adding on to the idea that all ATs should have access to what other ATs have. As far as game style, some AT may feel like they are "doing less", for example: on large teams at high levels, Dominators/Controllers will watch large spawns melt before much "control" is applied. Typically this implies that such an AT has to change up personal tactics from how they play solo whereas damage-dealers typically will not have to change playstyle. Also note that there is a difference between playing low-level content and high-level content.

I'm surprised that there is much of a market for Superior versions of ATO (and Winters). I grok why level 50 builds use them, and I am intellectually aware that some folks prefer to only play with a full-kit level 50+ build so won't find value in (uncatalyzed) ATOs but from my PoV the difference between a catalyzed and uncatalyzed ATO is basically 20 minutes of play (one drop per day at level 50) or (heaven forbid) merit-farming... hey, you want those accolades don't you? The only time I every look at the catalyzed ATO market is to price-check the difference between them when looking for a specific piece.

I also ended up with a few bargain-priced lvl 53 HOs, and scored some large profits from 'forgotten' bids. I didn't think to stay in that niche for more than four hours! It felt like the Oklahoma land rush.

Other than through confession, I don't know how to assess if a single person is trying to manipulate the AH. The closest we've seen to consensus that the market was being manipulated was (as written above) the spike in uncommon salvage prices. My personal opinion is that the uncommon salvage price jump was market manipulation, but it had to be for the lulz and not for profit. Earlier in the life of HC I definitely felt that I was the only player filling one-or-two specific markets (the supply always looked like it was my entries, the sale prices aligned with my collections), and a small fortune was made until other folks noticed the niche (probably because they had built a character that could slot those pieces) and drove down my profits. The Hami-O market is interesting, but I can't imagine it being worth trying to manipulate. HOs aren't fungible like other enhancements. The (current) game mechanics and slotting behavior don't really support the value of HOs except for a small number of choices that typically only benefit a limited number of powers (for which the player doesn't want to invest slots). The one area I think could be open to manipulation would be buying up 50, 51, 52 (and the Titan-Os) and marketing only 53s. But at that point I think the seller would only be hoping to hook a few big fish while ignoring all the small ones. I played in the Membrane (Recharge/Defense/ToHit) market for a while only because some folks (and MIDS) was giving bad advice about slotting them for perma Link Minds / Mind Link. I didn't make tons of inf, and in my defense I have always been vocal that the Membranes don't contribute to the recharge of those powers (despite what MIDS would tell you). If Hami-O's could be converted, I think we'd see a lot more of them on the market as well as attempts at market manipulation of them. Sidebar: I would expect (based on the passionate discussions regarding certain build philosophies, specifically "Proc Monsters") to see more demand for certain HOs, but as a practical matter I've never paid particularly high prices for the ones that end up in my builds.

Each of the set bonuses from the Guassian's set is pretty good (although I suppose the Health boost at 3-slots is somewhat "meh")... the sixth piece also gives Fire/Cold Defense in addition to the Melee boost. It's certainly no (6-piece) Superior Winter bonus. When folks don't want to invest many slots in a Build Up power, I do recommend backing up the Gaussian's %Build Up proc (if it isn't slotted elsewhere) with a (boosted) Recharge. There are just enough fun team-up missions/SF/TF at low enough levels (i.e. below level 18 where the Gaussian's set cuts out but above level 8 when Stalkers can take Build Up) that having the Build Up available more often (keep in mind that at such low levels a Stalker won't have as many attacks to trigger the ATO) is a relief. Obviously if Build Up is taken at a later level or you don't care, don't sweat it.

If you are testing VEAT builds on TEST, the forced respec certainly adds an emotionally draining tax to things. Even leverage the 2nd and 3rd builds can be tiring.... and then trying to remember which powers get which %procs... MADNESS!

Like I wrote: I'm not going to try to sway another player about their VEAT power choices, I just want to explain some of my thinking. I have 5xDominion of Arachnos in Telekinetic Blast, with the %terrorize ATO in an AoE (where it belongs, IMO) as part of the 'layered defense' of the Fortunata. Obviously that is the sort of slot you might want to go to a different %proc. I don't find that the extra recharge from that piece messes up the %proc chances too bad, on some powers it will have no effect on %proc chances. As for my own slotting of Confuse and Aura of Confusion: Confuse has 6 slots and Aura of Confusion has 2 slots (Malaise's %Psionic and Acc/Recharge). I'd like to get the other %damage proc in there but as you know, VEAT builds get TIGHT fast. Frankly I could probably replace the Acc/Recharge with something else but I don't like the non-enhanced recharge time and I doubt that I'd notice a significant change in performance otherwise.

This has become all too common on Torchbearer. I find it especially annoying on level 45+ LFG announcements... both Red and Blue side have some great arcs that can easily serve as XP farms for characters... plus (especially on Blue side) there are accolades worth working on that require enemies that naturally crop up in content. There has been a nice spate of players running Ouro missions (for completeness, badges) who have been announcing and taking teammates for those arcs.

Those choices remind me of why (for my ranged-only Fortunata) I took Confuse at level 28 and fitted it with Coercive Persuasion, leaving Aura of Confusion as the %damage PBAoE, working it into my regular offensive cycle. As I have written elsewhere, I like scoring %damage as part of the mass confuse in order to get onto the drop tables. Having the single-target Confuse (even with %contagious) takes some getting used to if you are coming from the PoV of MOAR DAMAGE... If so, then I'd recommend the Spin route. @Gulbasaur can describe the joys of having certain enemy LTs buff/heal you (or debuffing other enemies).

Invulnerability/Energy Melee. It can be considered "classic" or "simplistic" but I like the way it channels the feeling of "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere (until the change to rooted)." In the mean-time, have a glowing pom-pom TO THE FACE. While I see the appeal of auras that do things to enemies, I get the most satisfaction from auras that only makes my tank stronger.

FWIW, my preferred method of (quickly) accruing debt for the badges is to street sweep in Dark Astoria starting around level 45. If I find that this is still taking 'too long' because of character survivability I will street sweep without toggles. Below level 45, I find it is too inefficient to try to 'farm' the debt badges.

Oh... for the record, I played around with Total Domination in my build(s) and I don't remember every trying to put the ATO in it. AoE Holds are obviously good %damage sources, but I found it wasn't available enough to really make a difference for me.

I am very familiar with the 'situational' aspects of a Fortunata's toolkit. I actually use Aura of Confusion on offense (with %damage) as I have the Coercive Persuasion in the single-target Confuse. I won't try to sway you away from your power choices. I'm also well aware of the potential to suffer from lack of Accuracy/ToHit at low levels. My own build has franken-slotted Dominate (5x %damage, with an extra Damage) and Psychic Scream (3x %damage and ATO %terrorize, with a pair of boosted Centrioles... because CONES). I really only suffer in extremely low-level content that has seriously boosted enemies... but I took Aim at lvl 20 to help for most of that.

I have never 'waited' for stacks with my Stalker, so I found myself wondering if I was perhaps 'missing out'. I ran a lot of content across different level ranges and I can report that @SwitchFade comment rings truest. I was clearing mobs fastest by not worrying about the stacks. I suppose it is possible that against very hard single targets I could switch to an alternate playstyle/attack chain... but I don't think I'd notice.

I see you've done some tweaking, so I'll make a few comments without knowing exactly where you landed. I have a distinctly different approach to my (solo) Fortunata, so my feelings won't be hurt by counter opinions. My (ranged only, solo) Fortunata has two slots in Aim, with the second being a +5 Recharge IO. On the build from the post I am quoting, I would pull the %proc out of Strike for it. I get the sense that you are walking a line between having enough Accuracy/ToHit to support the %procs... I have more set bonuses so it is hard for me to judge, but I found that my Fortunata didn't really need more Accuracy. Similarly, I didn't chase Damage buffs from sets... even with MOAR damage, most attacks have damage from set slotting. What is your (practical) up-time on Mind Link? I ask for a couple of reasons: It seems like you are juggling a lot between Rune of Protection, Hasten, Mind Link... I'm aware it can be done (and occasionally do such things myself) but as a practical matter on my Fortunata I find myself not using it so much solo (but I rarely bother with +4 solo) and with teams I try to keep it up on the team (or troubled allies) more than for my benefit. If you aren't keeping Mind Link up "perma", I think you eek out slightly more (positional) Defense (without Mind Link clicked, but with Evasive Maneuvers toggled on) by putting Reactive Defenses into Evasive Maneuvers. This is a different sort of 'numbers' game that factors in play style, I went with alternate slotting for Foresight, Mind Link and Mask Presence. I have no Sorcery pool in my build, I also forgo the Kismet piece, so CT:Defensive holds a LotG. I don't have Maneuvers in my build. If the level at which the powers are picked seems odd, just imagine I have certain powers I want at lower level content. For reference Defense/Resistance slotting is: Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A) Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(13) Level 22: Foresight -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), LucoftheG-Def:50(29), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(29) Level 24: Mind Link -- AdjTrg-Rchg:50(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg:50(31), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(31), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(31) Level 30: Mask Presence -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(37), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(39), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), Rct-ResDam%:50(39) Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A)

Mastermind direct attacks have a very poor damage scale and are Endurance heavy. IMO they are best leveraged by slotting with: %procs (assuming you have enough Accuracy/ToHit without adding some Accuracy Debuff / control effects (e.g. Knockdown) set bonuses

Masterminds don't NEED Provoke to be able to get aggro (and hold it if other characters cannot). They do need to be bigger threats than other characters. As was mentioned above, Robots/Traps is a reliable combination that doesn't need the Presence pool.

I definitely agree that Masterminds were the "Tankers" of City of Villains; anyone who claims that "Brutes" were intended to fill that role is confused (understandably, but they are still wrong). Masterminds do have to work much harder to tank (I am including build choices in the 'work') and typically can't just turn on a toggle that generates aggro and claim to be L33T T4NK3R. Generally (some of this was written above): A MM has to be paying attention to the AI stance and physical positioning of the Henchmen A MM needs to be aware of the assorted debuffs they have available A MM with Provoke (from the Presence Pool) needs to have is lotted (Accuracy first, Taunt second, plus Recharge to spam) because it is NOT an auto-hit like Taunt and Confront are. Investing in an actually set (I like Mocking Beratement at 5x or 6x slots) is worthwhile. It should be re-emphasized that part of what makes Masterminds able to "tank" is the pool of Health provided by Henchmen in Bodyguard mode... so you will need to have some investment in Henchmen Defenses and Resistances as well. In my experience, the most problematic enemies in the game for a Mastermind to 'tank' (ignoring non-Incarnate level shifted enemies) are those that have NASTY AoE (because losing all the henchmen means losing most of your Health) or large spawns that simply will not group (because many MMs have some sort of AoE that can draw attention).

With an appropriate character concept, I will always consider such things. As I wrote, after level 35 my Stalker builds are usually really tight for slots, and I (as at matter of personal preference) dislike having 'too many' attacks, balanced against having as smooth as possible attack chains across almost all levels. There is certainly a lot of fun content at 40+, but I'm not likely to go out of my way to %proc on an Epic AoE ranged attack just because I can.... even if Obviously I'm not required to invest many slots in something like Ball Lightning (perhaps not even Accuracy), but if my melee AT character is going to be throwing attacks, I would prefer the game to display damage. Otherwise, I'm more likely to make power choices and slot investments that scale to much lower content than for which such a Patron power would be available. Having written all that, I definitely have a character concept that could fit with more Epic/Patron AoE so I'm not taking it off the table.

I can offer my attitude; I can't say if it is 'conventional' or 'wise'. My attitude is based on the primary/secondary combinations that I've chosen. Mileage may vary with other choices. My Stalkers (and Scrappers) ALWAYS take a Snipe. The Snipe serves a few different purposes for my playstyle: I almost always have the Kismet +Accuracy (really +ToHit) piece in Hide; Hide is almost always toggled on; the +6% from the piece boosts the (Fast) Snipe damage (there is a cap of the boost from +ToHit which is otherwise easy to reach but not easy to maintain - from team buffs, Build Up, etc.) Slow snipes don't get a bonus from +ToHit. The extra ranged attack is a useful part of the attack chain, especially if debuffed enemies begin to scatter. I rarely open with the Snipe; as a matter of practicality: the nerf to the range of Fast Snipes has limited the utility of the Snipes for me. Some enemies run VERY FAR, VERY FAST so I would use the Snipe to tag those runners. I also used to use the (Fast) Snipe on the NEXT enemy spawn not just to 'ping' a target but to keep me from going into Hide 'too quickly' if I was worried about DPA with the Assassin's Strike. My Stalkers have never taken an Epic/Patron AoE power. To the first order, I am focused on the melee performance of my Stalkers. I can believe that there are circumstances of play and concepts of characters that would lend themselves to some sort of AoE. I can also appreciate that players coming from other ATs may really miss not having MOAR AoE. Finally, for my own approach and builds for Stalkers/Scrappers it is typically the case that I have any 'extra' slots that can be invested in an Epic/Patron AoE. As a practical matter: for those AT if I have ANY extra enhancement slots above the level 35 power (when I typically take the Snipe) those slots will be used in Defense or Resistance powers for mules or set bonuses.

That escalated quickly! Even though I use Unrelenting on my Fortunata, I can totally grok why Rune of Protection is a valid choice for others. Frankly, the most controversial point in the thread is that Widows don't need Tough/Weave ... which I agree with 100%. It used to be MUCH more common (at least from my casual reading of this sub-forum) that there were a few (demonstratably) experienced players who would casually suggest to a newer (VEAT) player that their proposed build could do without Tough/Weave only to be met with disbelief. I find it to be much more interesting discussion regarding the choice between Rune of Protection and Unrelenting. Some unrelated blather that came to mind: I'll make as many of my own biases explicit: I don't like to play Incarnate content, and even 45+ tends to be monotonous (I'll happily join AV teams of course). This means that (as a player, independent of character) if I am looking for extra coverage of any sort, it is almost always coming from SG base buffs and the core build, not from Incarnate choices. Ironically perhaps: my Fortunata probably has the most veteran levels (well above 100) and a LOT of that came from Incarnate content. When I (the player) play lvl 45+ content it will almost always be with PUGs (except for Television, because WE ALL LOVE TELEVISION, but my love for Television is especially unique), and I actually do expect us to play as a team, not as 8-solo characters. I will do my fair share of 'solo' work on lvl 45+ teams, but that is based on my mood. I really do believe that lvl 50+ missions that involve defeating AVs and lots of mobs go faster when the team sticks together, but YMMV.