tidge

I'm with you on the crazy Endurance cost for MM primaries, but I don't understand your point? It sounds like you expect the Pet AT to also be a DPS AT...but without Pets? If this is a Whip thing, just say so and I'll understand. Have you tried playing a Controller that takes only pet powers and goes into combat with only the Fighting Pool and Air Superiority? If not, I'm dying to know how the Control sets can be improved for that style of play! Point me at the SME, resident or not! I have a lvl 50 Bots/Traps MM with 3 attacks (2 rifle, 1 mace). I have those attacks slotted for Knockdown and -Res to support my Bot attacks. I have no expectation that I could reslot those attacks and then go challenge +0/x8 content without pets. Now I do pause from my "attack chain" (such as it is) to leverage my secondary: Acid Mortar, Caltrops, Poison Trap. I'm not under any illusion that it is my toon individually dealing the damage (even if it is 'bots!) but my oddball slotting of the attacks does make a difference, as observed in even-level AE farm times.

For reference: my 6-slotting with a PVP in Life Drain is 120HP heal, with about 400 damage (with no proc) per MIDS, with no boosting of the Gladiator's Javelin.

This is usually what I do when I am opening up a second (or third) build or the first level 50 respec. The new build has a 'shopping list' of uncommon/rare pieces and as I'm playing roulette I will stop as I stumble across the pieces I need. The SG storage has a small supply of non-PVP/Superior/ATO pieces which are commonly used across builds, almost entirely sourced from the converter roulette of pieces that didn't end up on the market.

I'll look deeper at the specifics of the build, but I can answer a couple of quick questions: My build should have both Procs in Blackstar, one may be 'hiding' in the 5-slot Armageddon. I played with Time Shift while leveling, I didn't like it. I almost always give Disorient attacks a chance. For this Blaster, I was already avoiding controls (except knockdown) in favor of damage-dealing, so dropping it was a no-brainer for me. I'm sure this makes me a bad /Time blaster, but despite taking 7 of 9 secondary powers, I really only use Chronos (the Build Up), Temporal Healing (the Sustain) and Time Lord (an Auto!) regularly. The play style for this toon isn't particularly 'Blapper', so the PBAoE from End of Time doesn't get used that often. The long-range cone/knockdown from Umbral Torrent is simply too good to plan to Blapp with. I will cycle the /Time on GMs or AVs, and I don't mind being in close to use End of Time. In my build End of Time ended up with the ATO slotting essentially by default. One thing I am sensitive to about 5/6-slotting Winter Sets is to consider the relative values of the Positional Defenses (often well-boosted by Winter sets) versus Type defenses versus the other positional Defenses. I was trying to keep the Ranged and AoE defenses as close as possible... so in my build the Superior ATO's +5% Ranged was chosen rather than the +5% Melee/+2.5% AoE. IIRC, Melee positional is the worst defense, but the type defenses are (slightly) better than it. Winter Sets are a great choice for boosting positional defenses, and the help with Status effects will be a plus. My own bias is to favor the Very Rare sets for Global Recharge, Accuracy, and (often) help with Endurance management. I've considered alternate (6-) slotting of Repulsion Bomb to use a Winter Set for more AoE (which I can boost in a couple of different ways) but more AoE hasn't been a priority for the build. A subtle point about my build: That build has FIVE 10% Global Recharge builds (Ragnarok, Apocalypse, Superior Blaster's Wrath, Hecatomb, Armageddon)... this is why Defiant Barrage isn't attuned to be Superior, as a SIXTH 10% Global Recharge bonus would be wasted (so I live with a 7.5% instead).

I have a Dark/Time, but I rarely take him against AVs solo. (Slog-fests are just not my thing, YMMV). I can offer some perspective on my alternate choices for some powers. Our Defense numbers are not radically different, so I'll say this: I lean more heavily into Very Rare sets instead of Winter sets. My character also has made some flavor choices for powers where your build should be better equipped for AVs. I took Force rather than Flame Mastery. YMMV, but general consensus is that the Defiant Barrage (+Status) is best in a T1 or T2 attack, since you can fire those when mezzed. I can understand putting it in an AoE. I didn't take Tenebrous Tentacles. This is mostly a personal choice, although it would have only fit in my build at lvl 44+. Also: You can slot a Travel +Stealth power (Running or Jumping) in Sprint, this allows you to slot a Universal Travel (Knockback Reduction or Slow Resist) global into Fly. You may also already be at the flight-speed travel cap without slotting a Fly enhancement in Swift. Time Stop: I also have this 6-slotted, but I found I wasn't using it regularly as part of attacking. This hold gets used only when I'm trying to synergize the debuffs from Temporal Manipulation. I passed on the procs and went all-in for Gladiator's Net. I felt those set bonuses complimented my build better than any other option. I also passed on Abyssal Gaze from the Primary. I am a fan of the Thunderstrike set, but with one hold I am already not using that much I didn't want a second. I would change the slotting on Moonbeam. I used Experienced Marksman while leveling, but it has a SERIOUS drawback with the fast-snipe piece. While the fast-snipe piece is slotted, you will ALWAYS have fast snipes. This ultimately costs you damage output and is not worth it. Moonbeam is one of the bread-and-butter attacks Blackstar should probably have a Proc in it, for extra damage. Can you explain the choice of Temporal Healing slotting? I feel like 5-slotting with Preventive Medicine would be better than the (semi-)franken-slotting. I invested 6-slots for Preventive Medicine there for the nice Global Recharge bonus. We also went in different directions for Life Drain. I think Touch of the Nictus would be a better choice for your build (assuming you are going for Accurate Healing); the level range is higher than Theft of Essence and it will contribute a global Accuracy bonus you may want for going against AVs. I don't use this attack all that often but if you are planning on going against hard targets with it, multi-slotting Siphon Insight (a Debuff) might be an even better choice. Here is my pitch on Chronos: I 6-slot it with Gaussian's and leave it on Auto. It fires every 21-ish seconds, with a nigh-guaranteed Build-up every time. That's 5-seconds of an uber-boost, and another 5-seconds of the 'regular' boost. Folks have criticized this choice of an auto-power as 'wasteful', but my guess is that those same players don't frequently use inspirations for the same reason. My build also has Aim (on a slower recharge) if I feel the need to trigger a different boost. Here is the text of my current build: And here is the data for it: My build has two powers strictly for flavor: Arcane Bolt and Repulsion Bomb but I did try to leverage them with sets for bonuses. Arcane Bolt also allowed the build to take Rune of Protection which is used strictly as a substitute for Inspirations. Repulsion Bomb is just part of the Force Mastery package for Defense/Resist mules. Honestly I just wanted some different damage types in the build, and often I only toss it for -Resistance debuffs. Future Pain doesn't fit into my standard attack chain, unless I am going for the Temporal Synergy against a hard target. I wanted to have at least one melee attack in this build and this is my choice. As I wrote above: I don't use Life Drain that often. I have it 6-slotted with Gladiator's Javelin because I felt the set bonuses offered more for the build (moar Damage, moar Accuracy). However, if I was more routinely facing "hard targets" I would probably 6-slot it with Siphon Insight to further Debuff those targets and to inflate my Defense numbers. If the +ToHit proc fires that would boost the Damage from Moonbeam. Speaking of Moonbeam: I have two %Toxic procs in it (one from the 5-piece Sting of the Manticore) The recharge on Moonbeam is not ideal for procs, but I'm using that attack all the time, so I do get a healthy bit of extra damage from the procs as part of regular business. If I was more serious about trying to maximize damage from Moonbeam, I would seriously study the effect of taking the 6-slot from Moonbeam (the Gladiator's Javelin %Toxic ) and using the slot to add a Kismet +Accuracy (really ToHit) wherever possible. For your build: the global Accuracy (without Aim) appears to be a little low (ignoring actual power slots), the unique +ToHit from Kismet will definitely help with lower accuracy Holds/Immobilizes/Debuffs. I would have to reconfigure my choices for Weave, Manuevers, or Personal Force Field to benefit from the Kismet unique. Manuevers would be the natural spot to drop it in I suppose. (Someone Please tell me if I'm wrong, and the Kismet acts as a Global even while the power is not activated!)

Please see this thread regarding the Power Transfer %Heal proc. I have Energy Mastery on a tank and my independent testing verified that multiple Power Transfer %Heal were not contributing more than just a single instance of that Proc. That doesn't diminish the usefulness of Energy Mastery for Endurance issues.

I want to add that (IMHO) Crabberminds are a niche build. I have one as one of my Soldier VEATs. Building a 4-minute pet-summoning Crabbermind is very different than building any other AT with a pet; the closest another AT with no 'pets' in a primary/secondary could get would be a completely non-pet toon trying to keep a Patron pet up every 4-minutes. Many compromises go into a Crabbermind build: VEAT only have access to the Patron pools. Of course this is where the even-level pet comes from, but a Crabbermind (high recharge, extra slots) with Bonfire would be crazy good on many maps. I believe the earliest levels to get the summons are 35 (Spiderlings), 38 (Disruptors) and 47 (Patron). Getting a Patron pet requires two other Patron pool choices. General consensus is that in any given Patron pool only one of those two powers will be useful as an actual power, as opposed to a potential for IO set bonuses. YMMV. Pre-Incarnate, It is difficult (and requires power/slot compromises) to boost the survivability of the Crab pets. IIRC a Crabbermind is limited to the secondary Leadership powers, and power pools Leadership and Concealment for actual Defense buffs. Pet heals are only going to come from Medicine... I don't think you can even drag Inspirations onto these pets. The pursuit of enough Global Recharge to get below the 4-minute time for T2 and T3 is a full-build commitment. Mental Training and Hasten are a must. 5/6-slot bonuses for Global recharge are required. Even though the Crab pets can take IO sets from the non 'recharge intensive' pet category, in practice to get the (Global) recharge each pet needs 4-slots of Expedient Reinforcement, leaving at best 6 slots for any of the 'aura' IO pieces. The last bullet point is something of a sore-spot for me, because the heavy investment in slots for powers at level 35+ (27 on my Crabbermind) results in a toon that isn't nearly as durable as my no-pet Bane who has only 18 slots use in the level 35+ powers, and neither a Patron pool nor Hasten. I'm not against investing many slots in high level powers in principle, but at least on my Crabbermind build I feel like those slots are coming at a cost to the rest of the build.

I took the first quote to say that it wasn't worth having more than one Power Transfer (Chance to Heal Self) in multiple Auto powers, as only 1 can proc. This matches what I observed with a Tanker. The next two quotes imply that the Performance Shifter (Chance for +End) also prevents a Power Transfer (Chance to Heal self) (both in the same Auto power) from proccing. Is that true? I may have at least one other slot to play with on one build. I have Auto Quick Recovery with 2 Performance Shifter (Proc & End) and Power Transfer, as well as Stamina with 2 Performance Shifter (Proc & End). It appears I may have invested slots unwisely.

Crabberminds are in a very different space than Masterminds. A few points about Crabberminds: Crabberminds don't have MM control of the pets, and cannot put them in Bodyguard mode. Crabbermind pets (not the Patron, which I haven't tested for this effect), don't go on a new timer when refilling the ranks, even when the recharge is faster than 4 minutes. That is, if you lose a T1 (Spiderling) or a T2 (Disruptor) and cast the resummon, the newly summoned pets will disappear with the originals.(*1) As a corollary, Crabbermind pets don't stick around like the T1, T2, T3 Mastermind pets. They also aren't upgradable; the Spiderlings only ever have 2 attacks. If you want some lulz, read the archived thread about Arachnos Soldier VEAT where folks were complaining how they wanted Crabberminds to be more like Masterminds! (*1) This is to say, Crabbermind pets can never really be "perma", the best you can do is summon them immediately after the 4 minute timer expires.

Here is one example of extremely annoying enemy behavior: Heather Townshend's Dark Astoria arc. 2nd Mission. The final two Banished Pantheon spawns. I've triggered 'Aura of Confusion' on them as they spawn. Once they have done enough damage to each other, the 'survivors' will run away... and NOT return to where they spawned. I've found some of those guys flipping through the empty desks on the upper level of that floor just waiting for me to find them.

I have a StJ Scrapper, and an Invuln Tanker so this advice will be a little scattershot: For Invuln: pay close attention to what the Resist values are. On the Tank side it is easy to 'overslot' resistances. Invulnerability can be Endurance hungry, so plan to have as many +End/MaxEnd/Recovery/EndDiscount sources as possible while leveling. For StJ, I took everything from the primary except Initial Strike and Confront. I had Provoke when leveling up, but at level 50 I swapped it for Hasten to increase DPS. I don't really like single-target Taunts for a majority of game content. I don't worry about the 'combo-builder' aspect of Street Justice; it is nice when it triggers but the secondary effects aren't necessary for me (YMMV). Combat Readiness can 'load' those effects if you want. I want to note that until you are running xN content (with large N) you may not see the AoE hitting many enemies. Sweeping Cross will break your heart. Six melee attacks is more than is 'needed' for a smooth attack chain, so in addition to acting as placeholders for IO sets, I try to leverage them for different tasks. I don't fine-tune my attack chains, and I am generally sloppy about adding procs to attacks that rechareg 'too fast'. For my build: (1) Heavy Blow: Isn't part of my regular attack chain at higher levels, but is holding Scrapper's Strike. (6) Sweeping Cross: I have Armageddon here, for Global Recharge. Part of the regular chain. (12) Rib Cracker: This is where I have the Critical Strikes set. I throw this attack as part of the regular chain for the -Res. (18) Spinning Strike: Ragnarok and Force Feedback %+Recharge. Lots of knockdown and Recharge boosts. Part of the regular chain. (26) Shin Breaker. Not part of the regular chain unless I want -Def (and -Res from Achilles Heel proc) Blistering Cold is here for Defense Boosts. (32) Crushing Uppercut: Hecatomb w/ a Psi Damage proc. Part of the regular attack chain. Combat Readiness was taken at level 8 and is 6-slotted with the Gaussian's set. I deferred taking a travel power until lvl 14; I consider those two spots swappable... but because I put no extra slots in the travel I took it later. I can't speak for Fire/ Blaze Mastery. I personally wouldn't find the immobilize/holds that useful for my toon. For my build, I wanted at least one ranged attack, preferably a Snipe. Because of my large number of attacks taken from the Street Justice primary, I ultimately only have the power picks and slots for 1 ranged attack, so I went with Soul Mastery: (35) Moonbeam: Sting of the Manticore + %Toxic proc (41) Shadow Meld: LotG Global Recharge and a 'generic' Recharge Reduction IO. With a Kismet +6% "Accuracy" (really +ToHit) and 2 Toxic procs, Moonbeam is a reliable source of ranged damage. I thought I would miss having more than 1 ranged attack, but it hasn't been an issue. When playing solo, I often start with a snipe against the enemy which will give me the most grief (lately, Malta Sappers). Shadow Meld is a short (15 sec) boost to Defense, that I could theoretically use every 27 seconds or so but using it interrupts the flow of my attacks. I'll mostly use it when closing in after the snip (for enemy alpha-strikes) or if I have a lot of enemies attacking without closing into melee range. I wouldn't fault anyone who takes fewer attacks, or mixes in an extra ranged attack (from an Epic/Patron pool) as opposed to one of the many melee attacks I took.

I agree. Unless a S/L resist is being used to mule an IO, or chasing an IO set bonus, adding extra slots may be buying less than you think. This advice is true for other Resists (and often for certain specific Defenses as well), but Smashing/Lethal is where I often see overkill... at least for a majority of game content. While leveling a tank, the early slots should probably go into your secondary set attacks to reduce Endurance costs before adding them to your primary sets. You can always respec later.

Oh Hai Diabolique!

I gave a like specifically for this part: I don't think there is a level range in the game where Inspirations don't have a major impact on improving performance. Despite the fact that they are better used than unused, I often find myself 'hording' unused inspirations for an 'emergency'... but unless I am using inspirations to put myself into riskier situations it is rare that 'emergencies' even arise! I think the advice about slotting Hot Feet for Slow is also smart.

The decay of Barrier keeps it from becoming particularly overpowered. I often have Barrier as an eventual Incarnate option, but I think I mostly use it only in two cases: I'm teamed with squishy (or sub-50) characters playing in high level content (or I am that squishy) I'm playing a Mastermind (and I don't want to use Rebirth for some reason) Rebirth (Core) is my default choice on most toons (including Masterminds). I don't like to see allies fall, and it is easier to click the wide heal than to try to dump them green insps. It's a reasonable panic button for myself as well. I don't examine my PUG allies' details for defense or resist numbers, so the green bars are a better indication of how they are handling content... and it is easier on my play style to sweep in with a heal when needed rather than try to babysit such characters with Barrier, although I've done exactly that on occasion. As I try to have Endurance under control before Incarnates, I almost never take Ageless. Clarion is a low priority because of building for Defense and the other buffs are a little to invisible for my taste. I've played with enough other toons who are a little liberal with their use of Incandescence for me to favor it, but if my toon is super-stealthy I will have it available for certain missions.

As I have written elsewhere, I see Rune of Protection as a bit of a 'trap' for builds, because it relies on high Global Recharge and high defenses across the board, and is a pick requiring 3 powers. Widows certainly qualify, but there is more to a successful Widow build than just high resistances (half the time). Here is one of my Night Widow builds that relies on the healing from Unrelenting for those times when the damage is getting through. Unrelenting has worse recharge than Rune of Protection, but the Widow's scaling resistances almost always give me a chance to hit it. (Lord Recluse was the only solo that caught me off guard!). I have some other different choices in this build as well. Perma-Mind link is achieved, and I'm reasonably sure that Hasten could be added (with 2-slots @ 50+5) to also have Perma-Hasten if so desired to bring the times on Unrelenting down even further. Several of the Procs have less-than-optimal timing and can sacrifice those slots. It also looks like I was lazy on slotting or Provoke and Intimidate to get Unrelenting.

Pure anecdote: I've always felt that Streakbreaker was occurring too often for situations where my 'final chance to hit' was 95%. My understanding: If the wiki is to be believed, when the 'final chance to hit' is > 0.90, Streakbreaker should prevent a "0.95" player from missing "three times". That is, the first miss is 'natural', the second miss is 'consecutive' and then the streak is automatically broken by 'streakbreaker' (on the next attack). I spent some time with my logs (small sample size) and it looked like streakbreaker was appearing (on average) after around 20 attacks (for 95% base)... which would imply that what should have been a 5% 'final chance to miss' was more like a 10% 'final chance to miss': Streakbreaker was fighting against the (assumed) weighting of hit rolls > 0.95 which was 'flooring' the effective 'final to hit chance' at around 90%. I grew frustrated by my attempts to parse the logs, and I didn't want my amateurish attempt to study those be a lone voice of paranoia. I appreciate the folks willing to look at this more seriously.

I always recommend MMs consider adding the Overwhelming Force Damage/KB->KD on the T1s. They are 'throwing a lot of dice' and the extra control is usually useful. The Build Up buff is *stronger* on the T3, but each one of the 3 T1s has a chance to trigger it. I often see my that more than one of my T1s has it triggered.

I like Laser Beam Eyes as an extra means of grabbing Aggro, but honestly the best use of it is probably to use it as a means of getting a set bonus from a Ranged damage set. It's 'natural' recharge is something like 20 seconds, so if you don't add recharge to the power itself you can use it as a somewhat reliable means of triggering procs. If you went the 'proc-only' route, I would probably start with the Achilles Heel % -Res, and then Decimation %BuildUp. I think there are three %Negative Energy procs and a Toxic for extra damage chances.

You can convert a boosted PVP into a PVP proc, if so desired. (for teh lulz)

I think it is worth repeating 🙂 Many of us will recall that at launch, the level cap was 40. Burning three power picks to get Stamina (which was necessary to hang in combat) was an incredible amount of build overhead for *everybody*. Four extra powers (and all those slots!) by raising the cap to lvl 50, and saving us one pool and 3 power choices added so much to the character design and play experience. Just because many players take Hasten/Tough/Weave/Maneuvers doesn't mean we should give those powers out to everyone (pre-Incarnate, anyway!)

I have no issues with the post above except for one point: Are you sure you aren't seeing something like an incarnate level shift on your (I assume) Crabbermind? Your three Spiderlings should be -2 level, your two Disruptors should be -1 level, and a Patron pet will be even level (with the summoner).

... and someone else made the exact point he was going to make. Oh well, maybe next thread.