tidge

October 31, 2023

2 hours ago, biostem said:

How would you go about creating a character whose main schtick is inflicting/cursing enemies with bad luck? I was thinking maybe a mind/dark controller and rationalizing it as you cursing the enemy with weariness, clumsiness, and maybe blindness? Your thoughts? Thanks for reading!

This is the theme of my Mind/Poison/Primal Controller. Everyone who crosses paths with him ends up fumbling and bumbling.

October 31, 2023

2 hours ago, Warlawk said:

EDIT: Just so it's clear, I parked him in the middle of some enemies and watched his heal go off then the attributes window immediately reflected the proc.

What is the total Regeneration rate with a level 50 Heal IO?

October 30, 2023

1 hour ago, Warlawk said:

Since they reworked the pet sets and made it so you could slot those sort of things into pet upgrades now, they changed the way they apply. In this case it applies as if that proc was slotted into the 45 sec CD heal that the henchmen get from the upgrade so the proc has the appropriate chance to trigger on the casting pet each time it uses its heal.

Is it a great thing and high value? Probably not, but WTF else are you going to put in that upgrade power?

Until someone tests and reports back... I'm reluctant to believe that the +Regeneration piece actually works that way. I'm not saying anyone is wrong as the Necromancy upgrade power seems to work that way, but we know that the Robotics upgrade power (that takes heal sets) does not. The Miracle piece is a +15% Recovery... which maybe the Ninja need and maybe they don't... but I think I'd rather have the Preventive Maintenance %Absorb slotted in it, even if it only works for the MM. If that also works for the henchmen... bonus for them!

3 minutes ago, StrikerFox said:

Frankenslot the pets. Pets can get good stats, the pet uniques and the most useful damage procs by frankenslotting. The sacrifice being some of the IO set bonuses will be lost. The only set bonus to keep is the +30% recharge from split SMoS. Lose the SCotMM set, including +AoE def IO, as the pets will have equivalent softcap with Darkest Night running.

The main point I want to make is that the henchmen need slotted accuracy to even have a chance to %proc. The slotting for Oni seems to be leaving a LOT of Damage Enhancement potential unused. Minimally: Edict of the Master caps at level 40... sometimes that compromise makes sense, I don't think it does on the T3. The use of %proc on the T2 looks like a bade tradeoff: two (-1) hench with 4(?) powers that might trigger one %damage and a 10(?) second -Resistance debuff as opposed to always boosting the accuracy and damage of 7 attacks of the T3 Oni. As an aside: if the player had the recharge times of powers like Sting of the Wasp and Gambler's Cut... each under 7 seconds... I'd never sacrifice a set bonus for what the %proc rates would be if they were player attacks. Are the %proc chance that much improved for (two) Jounin?

Disclaimer: I am a believer in trying to get resistance debuffs into play via %proc, but my preference for Masterminds is to have multiple powers (preferably not toggles or pseudo-pets) slotted with the same %-Resistance piece, because each successful re-application of that %-Res will extend the duration of the debuff... and it is IMO pretty much only in long duration fights with a lot of allies (or henchmen) that %-Resistance debuffs have a chance at shaving times. Otherwise I think it is better to simply slot a reliable %damage piece of an different sort of damage type. (because Resistance resists resistable resistance debuffs, and damage is damage.) I prefer to try to do this sort of debuffing with AoE attacks from the MM using the Annihilation piece, which I think could also be slotted in Howling Twilight.

This is just me: I won't trust henchmen defense numbers until I see them in game, specifically because of Level shifts, proximity to the MM (for Supremacy, if nothing else) and enemy debuffs.

The good news is that with unslotters, it is trivial to test alternate slotting for henchmen. For Ninja, I suggest:

T1:

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Overwhelming Force – Damage/Knockback-to-Knockdown

(*) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets

(*) Sovereign Right – Accuracy/Damage

(*) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus

T2:

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Soulbound Allegiance – Chance for Build Up: Level 50

(*) Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus

(*) Call to Arms: Defense Aura for Pets

(*) Call to Arms: Accuracy/Damage

T3:

(A) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy: Endurance, +Resist (All) +Regen(Pets): Level 50

October 30, 2023

I disagree with this advice:

48 minutes ago, StrikerFox said:

Slot up the pets to utilize damage procs.

Unless a MM build has someplace other than the T1/T2/T3 henchmen to slot the Reisstance/Defense Aura Enhancements... 4 of which don't come from the ATO sets... these will need to go into the henchmen powers. The MM ATOs are worth using 10 of the 18 possible slots. This leave 4 slots across 3 henchmen to play with. I typically have those 4 slots split between the T1 and T2.

For %proc to work in the henchmen, the henchmen will need to have Accuracy/ToHit... keeping in mind that for most of the game content the T1 and T2 will suffer a (negative) level shift against all enemies even-level and above to the MM. You also have to pick a %damage piece that can possibly trigger off of a majority of attacks made by the henchmen. This is why I like the KB->KD and the %Buildup.

My own preference is to make sure to use the Very Rare %BuildUp... preferably in the T1, but Genin are nuts with the KB->KD piece... so their last slot will almost certainly be an Accuracy/Damage piece. The T2 Jouninstill will need an Accuracy boost, so there isn't a lot of room there. I might consider a Boosted 50+5 Fury of the Gladiator Accuracy/Damage plus the Fury of the Gladiator %-Res, but honestly I think I'd just go 2x Soulbound Allegiance Acc/Dam 50+5 plus %Build Up.

EDIT: My bad, Soulbound Allegiance doesn't have a Accuracy/Damage piece! Sovereign Right (Attuned will probably be my choice)

October 30, 2023

16 hours ago, bellona100 said:

Update: I finally got Warlawk's build open. I was using an older version of Mids' and it was not compatible with the file.

Warlawk's build is a PoS. There is no kind way to put it. Don't use his build or even reference it at all.

8 minutes ago, Warlawk said:

Anything constructive to offer? Specific complaints? Suggestions on things to change? I'm always happy to learn about sets I don't know well but I need something more specific than "it's a pos" to do so.

I didn't put the build into Mids, but I saw some approaches I wouldn't take:

Call Genin T1 has the slotting I would use for the T3 Oni. Generally, I find enhancing the T3 is better than slotting the uniques in the T3 I'd put an Overwhelming Force KB->KD and the Soulbound Allegiance %BuildUp pieces in the T1 henchmen. With those choices, I want 2x Superior Mark of Supremacy in each henchmen, and then fill with the uniques. If possible, add Acc/Damage pieces from sets to boost henchmen stats and get the some set bonuses.

As for /Dark.... my attitude depends on the slots available.

Tar Patch: Generally I go simple with 2xRecharge IO. It isn't a great %proc power, but it is a great -Resistance Power. Enhancing Slow is not really necessary IMO. I am dumbfounded why in this build the 6th slot isn't the last Ice Mistral's piece, as it would give a pretty big boost to AoE defense.

Twilight Grasp is IMO over-slotted, and it is using the wrong set. I would lean to this slotting, with or without the %+Endurance (there may be a better power for it, I'd have to experiment):

(A) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance

(*) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage

(*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing

(*) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

Darkest Night is almost certainly over-slotted for my taste. Until I can drop a single Hami-O Enzyme in it, I will just slot for Endurance Cost. YMMV, but I don't take debuff powers so early in a build if I have better choices.

Howling Twilight: This isn't a terrible choice of slotting, but I prefer the following... this threads the needle for me on Recharge, Accuracy, Endurance, Stun and Damage... with more viable set bonuses. YMMV.

(A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy) OR Bombardment Chance of Damage(Fire)

(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

(*) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5

Shadow Fall is an odd duck of a power, in that it can leverage useful uniques and/or go for set bonuses. MMY depeding on henchman protection. I would probably go with:

(A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)

(*) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50+5

(*) Kismet - Accuracy +6%

(*) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection

(*) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

(*) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Fearsome Stare: I would replace the Siphon Insight piece with the %Psionic piece from Glimpse of the Abyss.

Dark Servant: I tend to only 4-slot Cloud Senses, because I don't think there is a better %proc option.

Charged Armor: 2-slot or 4-slot (or more) Unbreakable Guard... 3-slotting this set seems like a waste of a slot to me.

Tactics: On a Mastermind, once I am past one or two slots (going for +ToHit and Endurance) I think I would always go for the 6-slots of Gaussian's in order to get the extra Defense bonuses. My opinion is that I like extra global +Accuracy and +Recharge from Adjusted Targeting, but I like +Movement, +HP, +Recovery and +Defense MORE.

I haven't played Ninjas, but I have thoughts on the other powers:

I don't know how Kuji In Zen is working for the henchmen, but I generally don't trust a %proc piece in such a power. I suspect it is only working for the MM and only for 120 seconds after cast. If it also works for the Henchmen, I suppose recasting it over-and-over isn't a terrible strategy. I would have to monitor attributes of the henchmen before deciding if this is better than just slotting a Preventive Medicine %Absorb (or IO Health) I can't speak for Train Ninja options.

I wouldn't recommend skipping all the Primary MM attacks. I would give up Electrifying Fences... with Tar Patch I don't think the Immobilize is that necessary (and the power comes way late in the build). Taking the MM AoE attack (Fistful of Arrows) as early as possible does the following:

It will draw aggro to the MM
It offers a chance for a good set bonus (I like 6xAnnihilation), mileage varies.
It offers a chance for %proc, if that is how you want to roll. I would absolutely include a %-Resistance piece (again, see Annihilation)

Keep in mind that even with %damage, most of the damage is coming from the Henchmen. Also don't forget the stiff Endurance tax that MMs pay for making attacks. All the extra Global Recharge is just helping the MM burn through Endurance faster.

19 hours ago, Warlawk said:

I doubt this is a combo I would run as I already have multiple /dark characters and Ninjas is not really my cup of tea as a primary. If I did run it, this is how I would do it (Yeah, I'm a +rech whore, come at me!).

What would you be doing with all that Global recharge? I didn't crunch the sets, but it looks as if the goal is simply to get (close to or beyond) perma-Hasten. As can be seen by some of my suggestions, I wouldn't chase after all that recharge... in fact I'd drop Hasten as well. I may have missed something but I didn't see any powers that really benefit from it, except possibly improved spamming of Howling Twilight.

October 30, 2023

2 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Next time I log in on this character, I will craft them. Convert by category for 2 converters each and I will have 50 Touch of Lady Grey. I will convert each one of those by rare until I have something that I would consider slotting in one of my characters, which is a loose proxy for if something is valuable or not. I think you should have a good idea of what the useful IOs are by now, but if not look at the last 5 trades are (hopefully it's not a bugged display!) and see if it consistently trades over 2mm. Put them on the /AH at a price a little higher than what you think the floor is based on the last 5.

I rarely bother with trying to make beaucoup inf these days, which means I'm not actively hunting recipes to craft... but this is exactly what I do with my recipe drops. I happen to be Catalyst-rich (I play enough with a small stable of characters) so crafted recipes I will use get added to characters, generally at the the level 50 respec, or earlier if appropriate. The AH can attune them for the cost of the vig as well, depending on supply.

Sidebar about my SG base storage: My SG base stores:

Super-Inspirations (1 bin)
4x Enhancements: Mostly the crafted 'useful' Enhancements (attuned or not), I have a few ATO/Winter still in there IIRC
1x oddball (Catalysts, Warburg pieces, occasionally Prismatics and some holiday pieces)
The rest are salvage

This lets me casually craft my recipe drops, allows me to quickly craft any PVP level 10 (or 50) PVP recipes, refill on SG boosts if I am missing salvage.

Characters (and their Vault and AH storage) can also act as storage racks, up to a point. There are a few Enhancement sets and recipes I especially like for certain builds that are kept with some level 50s, but are otherwise ones I don't generally use.

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

But I would not make big claims either. '40 mill in 20 minutes' is not something I would claim. First because I'm not a pro marketeer and just dabble, and second because stuff still needs to sell. My claim I posted above ended trickling above what I said because there were lots of IOs that took a while to unload.

(+1)

I don't think I've ever made x MInf in y minutes... because I am lazy and/or patient. When I had my first 5 characters on Homecoming, I dedicated one of them to earning merits, playing level 50 x8 content (for Inf and Drops), crafting/converting for the market and leveraging the Winter pack sales (no longer available). This one character by itself primed the SG base with everything I needed for future characters... including 'starting funds' for P2W goodies. New characters replenish the Inf they spend for future characters (vendors, AH), and they have replenished the stock of attuned enhancements.

I write (and repeat) the above because since I've been doing the above, I think the most actual Inf I ever spent on a single character is probably on the order of 200 Minf (because D-Syncs, and BIN fever). I certainly have spent an amount greater than that if imagining that the Merits, Catalysts, Boosters used on characters were converted to Inf.... but my point is that Inf itself isn't that necessary, but of course having a cushion isn't a bad thing. I simply question the size of that cushion.

I can imagine that there are players who really want to power-level to 50+, and then want to have full-kits. My advice for such a player that does this and has almost no Inf... craft some of the workbench IO drops, slot those, and run lower-level content like crazy. Simply having powers slotted will make such a character pretty powerful for low-level content. Use merits and drops from the low-level content to start the AH journey.

October 29, 2023

I'd make a pair of Praetorian Epic Archetypes (PEAT), modeled somewhat after the VEATs. There would be two starting points with two (diverging) paths. I'm lazy so I'll explain them based on male/female, but there are only slightly canonical reasons for this.

Female Path: Starts with a "Resistance/Teamwork" path (like Arachnos Widows), and starts with "Underground" contacts. At level 24, hard choices (i.e. respec) occurs and there are two divergent paths:

A "Seer" path <- the character is given some autonomy, obviously
A "Carnival of Light" path

Male path: Starts with a "Police/Training" path (akin to Arachnos Soldiers), and starts with "PPD" contacts. At level 24 is when the "hard choices" happen, with two different options:

An "IDF" path
A "Devoured/Infected" path <- this would be a slight change to canon in which the Praetorian mad science is experimenting with hybridized Devouring Earth/IDF soldiers to combat Hamidon

October 29, 2023

6 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Lot of good points Tidge. But...fatal flaw.

Assuming people "now know" is a crap bet. Ask any of the endless streams of scammers making money off the endless queues of ignorant people who cannot wait for product X

I think it is a greater logical flaw to make guesses that players know about one aspect of the game (Auction House Salvage) and not about other aspect of the games. I include in this "I want that specific dope enhancement" aspect. I seriously doubt there exits a new player who knows about a PVP Panacea piece and only knows about yellow salvage prices in the AH as some means of getting that piece. I am aware that folks can compartmentalize what they want to know... but I am highly skeptical that any lone player would somehow discover they want certain specific enhancement pieces and remain ignorant about so much of the rest of the game.

Organically, players will get a pop-up about "first piece of salvage" and "first merit reward" but (from memory) the in-game explanation for the auction house comes only at the completion of the University crafting arc.

October 29, 2023

25 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Is it really a problem when one (1) merit can be raw sold for something like 200k?

This isn't applicable to low-level characters, but level 50 Recipes sell to vendors for an average of of 100K Inf. SO Enhancement drops vendor for an average of 12K Inf.

5 minutes ago, SwitchFade said:

Sorry, the claims here are not supported by evidence and I remain unconvinced.

(+1)

I personally find it odd that folks do weird things on the yellow salvage market... it is something of a 'choke point' for set enhancements (and some SG base buffs), but trying to buy so much (for self-crafting or market manipulation) strikes me as highly inefficient.

If there are "new players" who are being injured by the AH price of (fungible) yellow salvage... I have to believe that those players now know enough to not really be affected by it because they presumably know how to earn merits and what can be done with those merits. To echo @SwitchFade... it's incredibly straightforward to collect a significant number of merits by simply exploring and playing content. I have trouble imagining that a "new player" is attuned to recipe crafting (and wants to jump into it) but is ignorant about other aspects of the game.

For example: A newly minted blue-side character can immediately go to Atlas Park -> Recluse's Victory to be "Entrusted with a Secret"... and after leveling up (almost trivial with AP contacts) can be in a position to run the lowest Ouro arcs (in Atlas Park) for merits. IIRC Red side low-level arcs are slightly more rewarding for merits, but getting the Ouro badge on a starting red-sider is not as trivial... and the travel around Mercy Island can be frustrating. If the players literally don't know about Ouroboros, they can run arcs as usual and get clued in via contacts.

October 29, 2023

Stupid level 7 market tricks: those 100-merit PVP recipes are incredibly cheap to craft at the lowest levels! Level 7's should be making a killing.

October 28, 2023

On 9/9/2023 at 9:26 AM, TheZag said:

Confront is mostly skippable as it is now because of what it is usually needed for.

I'm ok with sets having niche powers. I agree that for most content, and for (what I imagine is) a majority of playstyles, Confront isn't really needed on Scrappers/Widows to handle pretty much all the content the game can throw at a team/player.

Having written the above: I have used Confront while leveling, I did find it useful for set bonuses and for content when teaming with other players that had no aggro-management (beyond auras and simply casting AoE).

I'd like to use this thread to once again remind folks that the enhancement set choices for Threat are particularly thin and not really that imaginative. If we had something like a Very Rare enhancement set for Threat I know I would more seriously consider slotting certain Threat powers. In particular, I'd like to see the following pieces exist in a hypothetical Very Rare Threat set:

Accuracy/Threat <- Not all threat powers are auto-hit! This type of enhancement combo does not exist (except as a D-Sync!)
"Contagious Taunt" <- Similar to Contagious Confusion, to make single-target 'taunts' slightly more effective
Accuracy/Endurance <- primarily for the classes that can slot Threat pieces into toggles

The other three pieces can be combinations of Threat, Range, Recharge... but I'd avoid flat-out mimicking Mocking Beratement and Perfect Zinger. I recommend this as a Very Rare set so that the pieces are unique... so presumably there would be fewer concerns about balance issues.

I can believe that a PVP/Very Rare "Taunt" set was never previously added because of PVP balance concerns... but that's because I remember (or imagine I remember) an era of Live PVP where game effects like Taunt really surprised PVPers (since Taunts were so uncommonly used by enemies in PvE).... but I think we are way past worrying about how upsetting this could possibly be in PVP.

October 28, 2023

I agree that a color-coded shading in the team/pets tab would be good for STATUS effects (because I don't like to keep the Ally power icons visible... sometimes there are too many!), but I think it would be important to avoid going overboard with both different types of indications and the number of different effects that would be indicated. For example: It is common for Accuracy/ToHit/Defenses to be debuffed... occasionally it is nice to know when this has happened to an ally, but this is different IMO than an ally being slept/held.

This being written: when I am playing a support character, I explicitly try to keep allies that I can assist in my field of vision so as to keep an eye on visual clues for their character.

October 27, 2023

On 10/24/2023 at 10:10 PM, shortguy on indom said:

Mine:

Build as much team buffs as i can, (+tohit, +defense, +heal, +status effect protection, +damage, etc.), because they are not resisted at all.

Build as much acc/tohit in my few attack powers as possible.

Try to incorporate either immobilize or sleep powers because they are not resisted (sometimes) by bosses on up.

Leadership pool and Hybrid status.

My Defender priority list is similar:

Team Buffs (Defense, Status, Resistance... roughly in that order, but I don't always have a choice)
Personal Accuracy/ToHit and Endurance Managment
Enemy Debuffs (-Regen, -Res are priorities)

I like to solo (although not +4x8) so all my characters will have an attack chain for all level ranges.

EDIT: I should clarify... this is roughly my priority through all levels, but for "level 54" or Incarnate Content: Debuffing the hardest targets is something I find really important for teams, and pushing teams well-beyond the "Incarnate softcap" is usually critical fro team success. Most players will have figured out how to deal with Status effects, but it doesn't hurt to layer extra help on them.

October 26, 2023

I played with /Dark on Live... in the Homecoming era I don't think the Dark secondary is as dominant. The PBAoE Heal of Twilight Grasp, plus the Dark Servant Pet were game-changing in the Live era. I don't have a /Dark MM on Homecoming, but here is what I would definitely get:

Tar Patch, because of Slow (some good set options, and helps keep henchmen alive by delaying enemy offense) but mostly for AoE -Resistance
Twilight Grasp, although PBAoE heals are wonderful... this is a power I'd probably mostly want for -Regeneration
Howling Twilight, because it is a crazy good AoE stun
Shadow Fall for MOAR Defense
Dark Servant (see other threads for slotting options)

I would probably try to include:

Fearsome Stare, provided I could have 4xCloud Senses + %Psi from Glimpse (i like Fear and I like cones)
Darkest Night, but this would probably be a mid/late-build power pick without extra slots.

I am not keen on single-target holds, so Petrifying Gaze would not be a high priority. I like the set options and I like the %proc options, but as spawn sizes increase single-target holds become less important for my play style. YMMV. Black Hole is a niche power for me.

My opinion of /Cold is that it has fewer obvious skippable powers. I would also want to maximize global Recharge to reduce the recharge times of Benumb and Heat Loss. I like the many options for slotting global Defense/Resistance pieces.

I don't like Snow Storm as much as a slow. Frostwork is a sly power... many good set choices could go in this, but planning to use this all the time on a henchman (which would be its best default use for a solo player) seems like a sort of mental trap that closes off different options the MM may have (to improve offense).

I might skip Infrigidate: Yes it is a great candidate for %damage (but add Accuracy and the Achille's Heel %-Res first!), however the real appeal to me (for a MM) is the incredible raw Defense Debuff. If the henchmen have enough Accuracy/ToHit, this aspect is less important. I'd certainly have it while leveling; I'm just not sure if I'd use it in a 50 build, no matter how much I'd want to. YMMV.

My attitude to MMs is that the multi-hench MM shouldn't be trying to damage enemies with their own attacks, especially not against single-targets. Single target debuffs are better than single-target MM attacks IMO.I wouldn't fault anyone for 6-slotting Infrigidate, I'm just putting my cards on the table as far as my own slotting priorities.

TLDR: I like Dark for the relative simplicity, /Cold looks to me to require a more active playstyle that requires chasing Global recharge.

October 21, 2023

A suggestion for players that cannot handle, or otherwise don't feel like defeating Hallowe'en elite boss monsters: ToT near something that has police drones. Run to the drones and et the drones zap them.

I will admit that I have some characters that aren't threatened by the bosses, yet defeating the elite bosses takes significant effort. I'll just drag the EBs from door-to-door until I want them drones to clean them up.

October 20, 2023

On 10/18/2023 at 6:02 PM, Luminara said:

And nothing changes the 5%, it's 5% if you're at 2500% Regeneration or -100% Regeneration. It's always 5%. +Regeneration reduces the time between pulses, it does nothing to alter the 5%. +MaxHP increase the 5% relative to the amount without you'd receive without +MaxHP, but it's still 5%. It's just a bigger 5% because your maximum HP is higher.

I've quoted what I consider to be the TLDR concluding statement, and bolded what I think the key feature is for Regeneration.

At first order, my thinking is "If don't plan on continual, regular spending of HP... I won't go out of my way to plan to improve the passive refilling of the HP bar." I contrast with the Endurance bar, which all of my characters are constantly spending Endurance... and I will admit to occasionally leaning too hard into Recovery. But this is why we have unslotters to test!

There are some circumstances where MOAR passive HP refill is worthwhile (for a wide variety of AT), but often there are other mitigation options that offer more utility across a wider amount of content.

October 20, 2023

2 hours ago, Bananiac said:

What du you mean here with TA? Is that somehow related to Penetrating Ray?

And I assume for Overcharge you mean global Acc, ToHit and Recharge, right?

I also heard that you want to avoid slotting of +Recharge into a procced-out power as much as possible, because that would somehow impact the %proc adversely... (although I don't quite get it how that works really...)

TA is a fat-finger for ITs

In powers where I want %damage, I slot Accuracy as well. Global recharge does not affect %proc, but long recharge powers can tolerate significant slotted Recharge without really hurting %damage..

My rough categories for deciding on %damage (assuming I have already decided to lean into it):

Attacks that have an inherent recharge of less than 12 seconds should not be counted on for %proc
Attacks with inherent between 12-20 seconds can probably reliably %proc, especially if recharge isn't slotted (and Global recharge is present)
Attacks with inherent recharges above 20 are probably worth relying on %damage, slotted recharge doesn't hurt too much
Powers with inherent recharges above 90 secs tolerate both recharge and %procs

Getting to the point where I want to lean into %damage is a different sort of calculation. Defenders are excellent candidates for %damage because (a) they get Blaster attacks and (b) The Defender base Damage is poor enough that %damage is often a better return than slotting Damage (if the %damage is reliable). Beam Rifle is one of those sets that because of the homogeneous damage type I try to mix things up.

October 19, 2023

When I have 'enough' attacks on Blasters, I usually look to either:

Flame Mastery, for the reasons @Uun mentions.

Force Mastery, for the Defense and Resistance mules.

I often skip the Fighting pool if the Primary/Secondary is offering me a LOT of what I want form those choices such that I wouldn't have a chance to pick Tough/Weave before I could pick the Epic powers.

October 19, 2023

I'll post my FF/Beam Defender build, to share the slotting choices I made for Beam Rifle. Looking at the build, don't trust the Stamina Slotting. I feel like this is correct, but certainly with Kin you could make different choices.

Spoiler

Primary Power Set: Force Field

Secondary Power Set: Beam Rifle

Power Pool: Sorcery

Power Pool: Leadership

Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

------------

Level 1: Deflection Shield

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

(*) Luck of the Gambler - Defense

Level 1: Single Shot

(A) Superior Defender's Bastion - Accuracy/Damage

(*) Superior Defender's Bastion - Damage/Recharge

(*) Superior Defender's Bastion - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

(*) Superior Defender's Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

(*) Superior Defender's Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

(*) Superior Defender's Bastion - Recharge/Chance of Minor PBAoE Heal

Level 2: Charged Shot

(A) Superior Vigilant Assault - Damage/RechargeTime

(*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime

(*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime

(*) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage (Toxic)

(*) Explosive Strike - Chance of Damage (Smashing)

Level 4: Cutting Beam

(A) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

(*) Annihilation - Chance of Res Debuff

(*) Bombardment - Chance of Damage (Fire)

(*) Shield Breaker - Chance of Damage (Lethal)

(*) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance of Damage (Negative)

Level 6: Mystic Flight

(A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

(*) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance

(*) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range

Level 8: Insulation Shield

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

(*) Luck of the Gambler - Defense

Level 10: Disintegrate

(A) Apocalypse - Damage: Level 50+5

(*) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50

(*) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

(*) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5

(*) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage (Negative): Level 50

(*) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage (Toxic)

Level 12: Dispersion Bubble

(A) Kismet - Accuracy +6%: Level 30

(*) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)

(*) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50+5

(*) Shield Wall - Defense: Level 50+5

Level 14: Repulsion Bolt

(A) Gladiator's Javelin - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50+5

(*) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage (Toxic)

(*) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance of Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown

(*) Explosive Strike - Chance of Damage (Smashing)

Level 16: Maneuvers

(A) Reactive Defenses - Defense

(*) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance

(*) Reactive Defenses - Endurance/RechargeTime

(*) Reactive Defenses - Defense/RechargeTime

(*) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime

(*) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage

Level 18: Spirit Ward

(A) Preventive Medicine - Chance of +Absorb

Level 20: Rune of Protection

(A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)

(*) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%: Level 30

Level 22: Lancer Shot

(A) Absolute Amazement - Stun: Level 50+5

(*) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Absolute Amazement - Endurance/Stun: Level 50+5

(*) Damage Increase IO: Level 50+5

Level 24: Penetrating Ray

(A) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

(*) Superior Vigilant Assault - RechargeTime/PBAoE +Absorb

(*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage

(*) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage (Toxic)

(*) Sting of the Manticore - Chance of Damage (Toxic)

(*) Explosive Strike - Chance of Damage (Smashing)

Level 26: Tactics

(A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff

(*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge

(*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance

(*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance

(*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance

(*) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance of Build Up

Level 28: Piercing Beam

(A) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage

(*) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime

(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime

(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

(*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime

(*) Annihilation - Chance of Res Debuff

Level 30: Overcharge

(A) Superior Frozen Blast - Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime

(*) Javelin Volley - Accuracy/Damage/End/Rech: Level 50+5

(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage (Lethal)

(*) Bombardment - Chance of Damage (Fire)

(*) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance of Damage (Negative)

(*) Shield Breaker - Chance of Damage (Lethal)

Level 32: Damping Bubble

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 35: Charged Armor

(A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance

(*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance

(*) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime

(*) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP

Level 38: Power Sink

(A) D-Sync Conduit (End Mod/Recharge): Level 51

(*) D-Sync Conduit (End Mod/Recharge): Level 51

Level 41: Assault

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50+5

Level 44: Summon Adept

(A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5

Level 47: Personal Force Field

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 49: Vengeance

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 1: Brawl

(A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50+5

Level 1: Vigilance

Level 2: Rest

(A) Interrupt Reduction IO: Level 50

Level 2: Athletic Run

Level 2: Swift

(A) Run Speed IO: Level 50

Level 2: Hurdle

(A) Jumping IO: Level 50+5

Level 2: Health

(A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance

(*) Miracle - +Recovery

Level 2: Stamina

(A) Performance Shifter - Chance of +End

(*) Performance Shifter - EndMod

(*) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50+5

------------

I should note the following:

Because the Defender damage scale is so poor, I have %damage pretty much everywhere (and because of damage type, keep reading). Generally: naturally high recharge attacks are poor choices for %proc, AoE with enough targets will either be 'ok' or 'great' for %damage, IMO. Note that Beam Rifle's attacks all do Energy damage, this tipped the scales towards me putting as much %damage in attacks as I did. Often I am less likely to add as many %damage pieces to attack, even for Defenders.

From concept, this character 'needed' all these attacks. A more optimized build could certainly drop Charged Shot (I prefer to have -Regen from Single Shot, especially on a teamy Defender). For me: The lowest attack will have the ATO I want to be 6-slotted. (here Defender's Bastion)

On my build Charged Shot is holding half of the Vigilant Assault set. I used the recharge ones here, with a couple of %damage pieces. These won't proc all that much, but the chances are not floored.

Cutting Beam isn't the greatest %proc attack, but rates are respectable. It is a non-discriminatory Cone. Annihilation set is giving +Endurance.

Disintegrate is a necessary power. the Level 50 slotting is shown. It could take 3 of the other ATO instead of the very rare set.

Lancer Shot is necessary, as it is the only BR attack that is guaranteed to have a chance to spread Disintegration. I opted for the stun set for my teamy Defender. Note that the spread pseudo-pet also requires a toHit chance to 'stick' to any targets it might spread to.

Penetrating Ray TAs a snipe, there are some good slotting options. I would go for a set bonus to do damage.

Piercing Beam is a narrow cone; it takes some getting used to. I almost always 6-slot Annihilation in it. It isn't worth trying for multi-%proc IMO.

Overcharge is well worth %damage, provided you have Accuracy/ToHit and Recharge.

October 19, 2023

2 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

I think I have a radical idea. Hear me out. Dark/Elec Defender with max recharge and max procs on Howling Twilight.

I like the cut of this jib. Here is the slotting I usually settle with for Howling Twilight, for Recovery set bonuses and balancing Recharge, Accuracy, Stun and Endurance cost, without resorting to D-Syncs.

(A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage (Energy) <- alternative %Fire from Bombardment to mix up types

(*) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage (Lethal)

(*) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5

(*) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance: Level 50+5

As with other powers, I feel like having Accuracy slotted makes a different for the %procs.

October 18, 2023

24 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

This is here mainly because this build would be a real stinker in terms of endurance burn, and I could see for a long fight swapping away from the scrapper to the defender to reapply things like AM and LR (and Misdirection for 15 seconds of -dam res!) and maybe needing Power Sink to recharge. The mag is only good for minions, it is true, and I seem to recall reading that when they added hidden accuracy checks to procs they only did it for damage procs.

Honestly I have no idea about this. The only non-damage %procs I can recall slotting in attacks are:

Contagious Confusion: It is wonderful
Entomb's %+Absorb: seems to trigger on cast, not on any hit
Lockdown's %+Mag 2 Hold: Hard to tell if this has a second ToHit
Call of Sandman %Heal: I hardly ever try for this, so I can't tell.

October 18, 2023

1 hour ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Leadership is good for values and some status resistance, but I don't need much help on my base scrappers.

Unseen is two slotted health (Panacea and Miracle) and two slotted stamina (Perf shifter proc + end mod). Stealth is not toggled since I haven't figured out how to get the interrupted values to represent. Considering Grant Invisibility rather than Infiltration. and the order is simply how I mashed it together this time.

For a dual-box, tag-a-long Defender, I was thinking Maneuvers for the Defender.

A few specific slotting choices I would try to make:

Reactive Defenses' Scaling Damage Resistance, coupled with at least one Power Transfer %Heal.... for the times when the Pocket Defender is taking damage.

I see what you are going for with Summon Adept slotting, but if six slots are to be used, I would probably go with:

(A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage

(*) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge

(*) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

(*) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge

(*) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up

(*) DEALER'S CHOICE - starting with Edict of the Master - Defense Bonus, but could be Soulbound Allegiance piece, depending on damage and power recharge times.

If Summon Adept isn't going to be brought out all-the-time, I'd probably pull slots to get a set bonus from 6xGaussian's.

Power Sink strikes me as being over-slotted... I also don't like the %Stun piece unless there is accuracy slotted in the power (IIRC, the %stun requires a ToHit)... and I think the magnitude of the stun is pretty low (mag 2?)

October 18, 2023

I've lost track of the different Voltaic Sentinels. On my Dominator it is a power that has to be continually resummoned. Is that not the case for Defenders?

October 18, 2023

20 hours ago, BastionWalls said:

The question I had was how effective is it to build towards high def/res if you spend the majority of time in Bodyguard mode. Yes, you can split your henchmen and regardless of how much aggro you can pull there will be times where your pets get targeted and those def/res will help, but how cost effective is Force Field for example when the majority(ish) of the time it does not come into play?

I have a LOT of experience with Robotics/Traps; this informs my comments:

I have all the MM Def/Res pieces slotted. I have a FFG, and the Protector Bots also provide Bubbles. With Supremacy, my squad is sitting with pretty high defenses (I think even the T1 are soft-capped against even-to-MM-con enemies, but it has been a while since I've checked). The MM is IIRC above the Incarnate softcap without using Incarnate powers. There is also a Maintenance Drone. Relevant henchman slotting is shown in spoilers (imagine the other powers and mules for the MM):

Spoiler

Level 1: Battle Drones

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up: Level 50

(*) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets

(*) Sovereign Right – Accuracy/Damage

(*) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus

Level 6: Equip Robot

(A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance

(*) Unbreakable Guard - +7.5% MaxHP

Level 12: Protector Bots

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Defense Buff IO: Level 50+5

(*) Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus

(*) Call to Arms: Defense Aura for Pets

(*) Call to Arms: Accuracy/Damage

Level 16: Force Field Generator

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

(*) Luck of the Gambler - Defense

(*) Defense Buff IO: Level 50+5

Level 22: Assault Bot

(A) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

(*) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(*) Superior Mark of Supremacy: Endurance, +Resist (All) +Regen(Pets): Level 50

Level 26: Upgrade Robot

(A) Healing IO: Level 50+5

Prior to the recent Homecoming Robotics revamp, the biggest gap in this slotting approach was that I pretty much had to rely on the secondary's Triage Beacon to 'repair' the henchmen, as I had a very active MM.... and positioning relative to the Beacon was one more thing to worry about. Even then, it was rare that I really had to worry about the henchmen.

The biggest problems (now and then) are Enemy AoE that hit everybody at the same time. Think the Foot Stomps from Eochai when it rolls a 0.002. There is a subtle point about Robotics in that the preponderance of range attacks can mean that the henchmen end up far enough away from the MM that some of the aurae may not reach them.

I do NOT recommend the Presence pool for MMs. The Provoke requires a ToHit check and has a small target cap. Better IMO is to pick and slot an actual AoE attack (preferably damage+debuff) for the MM to grab (initial) aggro. With all the henchmen attacks Provoke really won't be doing very much IMO.

October 18, 2023

2 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

The build I'm currently planning has Kick 6-slotted and brawl 5-slotted! Pools are Concealment, Sorcery, Fighting. It's a fun intellectual exercise!

Ya stumped me! I for sure thought that Leadership would have also been in the mix.

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