tidge

You get "ambushed" by Frostfire's Imps, but that's about it beyond whatever spawns get aggroed.

I have found that Robotics really benefits from the primary attacks, at least after the recent revamp... for the high HP targets, because of -Regen. I'm sure much of the content can be done without those attacks. I might not take them early while leveling up, but they would probably be early choices in a level 50 build. My own post-revamp experience has been that the only GMs the upgraded henchmen can handle without my MM using the rifle attacks are the very low-level zone instances. They were more self-sufficient against GMs before; now they perform better across all content.

I try to avoid having a character that only does exclusively (or almost exclusively) one type of damage; to my thinking this is the best reason to try to have some %damage powers on certain high DPS AT characters. There are a handful of Giant Monsters that give my GM-hunters slightly more trouble because of their resistances (above and beyond their MaxHP); I usually try to have a Lore slotted that can help against these (beyond debuffs and extra DPS). Flipping this around: Generally I prefer to try to shoot for positional defenses, and as for specific damage type resistances... it is more-or-less catch-as-catch-can... especially with the more-recent changes to damage typing. I don't specifically build characters to 'farm' but I can understand easy-to-get resistance builds for S/L or F/C.

I've been experimenting with this problem. Since I almost always have the problem with the T3 (upgraded) henchman, I am starting to believe it is because (after the upgrade) it is almost always attacking... and so I think the game isn't allowing the asynchronous drag of the Inspiration from my (the player's) tray to the henchman to 'stick' because the hench is either attacking or has a queued attack at the server. I rarely see this issue with henchmen/pets that have fewer attacks. I have had more luck dragging the inspiration to the T3 when it is in 'idle' mode, such as when having the henchmen go to 'follow' bringing them in close before they start to recognize targets.

I think a lot of the classic appeal of Thugs was Gang War. I took a Thugs MM to 50+ and I was really unimpressed. I went with a combo that is strong on offense and debuffs, with just a little bit of support for the Henchmen: Robotics/Traps/Mace. I understand the appeal of Necromancy as a primary, and I don't think it is at all weak... my opinion is that it offers a lot of different cool things that MMs don't really need and that those things can be a distraction. Please don't think I hate on Necromancy! My only complaint about the Time secondary is this: Time doesn't have that many skipable powers! I voted Traps because with just four powers from the secondary (Caltrops, Acid Mortar, Force Field Generator, Posion Trap) it is possible to get almost all the debuffs and buffs needed to make the MM and the Henchmen capable of facing almost every challenge in the game.

I'm going to offer my (personal, internal) perspectives on the whole Tanker/Brute ruckus. On Live: Whatever debate/discussion folks have about TvB... I remember almost the exact argument being had about Tankers v. Scrappers ... long before Brutes were even in the game. Among Tankers;, there was an extraordinary imbalance in favor of Fire Tankers, because of enemy AI (and to some extent the aggro rules). At certain points, there were many loud voices proclaiming "Tankers are irrelevant", with exceptions made for "map herding". Many of us will be able to think of both specific and general content where a Tanker was preferred to relying only on Scrappers; my point is there were many loud voices making the earlier comment. Some changes (noticeably the AI changes, then the aggro cap) had a big effect on what those loud voices though "Tankers were good at"... so cumulative changes (CoV, Blueside Brutes, AE) resulted in (my PoV both of Live and early Homecoming) loud voices proclaiming "Brutes are superior to Tankers in every way". As near as I can tell: this "Superiority" was being measured in x8 map clearing times. Again: my point is not to argue that, it's just that this always appeared to be a cornerstone of loud arguments of players who really wanted to confidently say "Brutes are superior to Tankers". I don't personally believe Brutes ever got nerfed. I am bracing myself for a long litany of follow-up posts informing the world how wrong my perception is. I can see how some power set changes affected HC AE Fire Farms. I can see how AI changes "slow down" farming. I can see how altering XP (and Empyrian merit) rewards affects the Inf-building bottom line for some activities. I can understand how the revision to defense/resistance attack typing can have altered the performance (and perception) of specific defense/resist builds. None of these changes were targeted at Brutes IMO. Boosting the AoE radii of Tankers was not a swing of the nerf bat at another AT. Full disclosure: I generally do not enjoy ATs (or builds) that require constant button mashing or enemy engagement in missions. During play I try to pay some attention to General chat, and who knows what I might be doing with open inventory/auction house windows. Dominators I can tolerate once "perma-domination" is achieved... all discussion about that can be found elsewhere... but Brutes and the Fury bar mechanic has never really appealed to me. This player (points to self) is far more likely to roll a melee concept as a Scrapper, Tanker, or Stalker sacrificing what the Fury bar can do, simply because I don't enjoy building/maintaining Fury. Fundamentally, my perception of the combat part of the game comes down to "how many button mashes do I need to clear this spawn/enemy?"... so requiring two attacks instead of three attacks is obviously fewer clicks, but I start to lose interest in min-maxing when the difference is seven clicks instead of eight.

There was a spreadsheet showing the relative differences in expected performance for the Panacea %+HP and the Power Transfer %+HP (after the "fix"); it isn't that hard to figure out how much HP will be healed via Regeneration (and at what 'tick' rate). My search-fu isn't turning it up maybe @Bopper recalls the keywords/author?

No disagreement from me... although more than two instances of it seems like overkill, at least to me. The large HP AT might be better suited looking at what is going on with their Regeneration numbers, even if it is just from slotting Health.

Anything will work. If you really intend to cruise on -1x0 I would avoid (for play reasons, not because they are weak): Brutes: The Fury mechanic is something you are unlikely to notice. Dominators: As with Fury, you will be unlikely to notice it, until it Domination is up and then you will want to have Domination up all the time which requires build choices. Hero Epics (HEAT): These offer different play-styles, but mastering swapping between forms (and making slotting choices) may be confusing. VEATs: You should have a plan going in, as you will have to respec and make some choices. Masterminds: You'll be rolling over -1x0 content and probably not pickup on the different considerations.

The Power Transfer %Heal piece should work just fine in a toggle. I don't think this one relies on having any enemies to hit; that is... I feel like it should do its thing "on cast". This piece did/does have a few things odd about it. It may be possible to test by standing in some lava/fire and monitor Healing Received. I often make the "mistake" of slotting this piece into a long recharge power (as a mule) forgetting that it isn't a global. If it was going to require its own slot (in a power that wouldn't otherwise be active or part of a set bonus) I'll put the slot in Stamina.

I had missed that I was tagged on this thread... I found that on my favorite Fortunata, the biggest issue (not really a "hole") was Endurance. I addressed it through Cardiac (Core, for MOAR). Players who simplify their attack strategy can probably go another route. For the Crabs/Hunstmen I will simply Alpha = Musculature. I usually don't put much thought into the other Incarnate abilities. Of them, I usually craft multiple options for Destiny and just switch depending on content. Ageless is probably the best choice (for Debuff resistance) but I have several "panic buttons" so my Fortunata doesn't usually have this slotted. Judgement is almost always Ionic, because it is relatively easy to use and there are only a handful of enemies that can "defeat" it (e.g. Intangible Carnies) Interface is almost always Degenerative (Radial), simply because I *like* the %-HP more than other effects but I don't really need it (so I take the %75 DoT Radial path) Lore is whatever I feel like. I treat Hybrid like Destiny... I usually craft multiples and alternate among them. Crabberminds start with Support, everyone else starts with Assault (for simplicity). I rather like combining the Support Destiny in addition to the other "Leadership" types of powers on VEATs to further buff teammates.

I've only played Energy Melee (from all eras, Day 1 thru Homecoming today) on a Tanker... on Homecoming, I find Energy Melee to be a very satisfying offensive set. There is always a possibility of "corpse punching", but the fast/focused attacks mitigate this rather well. The Total Focus mechanic/ i27 revamp isn't what I wanted, but it was a good set of changes. Any HP cost from Energy Transfer is rather meaningless IMO. Have the Reactive Defenses %Scaling Damage Resistance piece slotted (in addition to %+HP pieces) and you will never notice.

I believe it is still possible to enter the RWZ from Crey's Folly (as well as through the Vanguard Base). I feel like some fraction of my exploration badge runs progress directly from that corner of CF to the RWZ.

I've observed this: the Maintenance Drone appears to sometimes be "stunned/held" or "knocked back". Occasionally my Robotics MM ends up behaving the same, and it is always when under some status effect (while Hovering). FWIW The Maintenance Drone is a LOT better about staying close to the MM than the Force Field Generator.

A rando observation. Gathering Prismatic Aether Particles favor speedy conclusion to as many missions as possible in as short a period as possible; (Recipe) Drops favor as many defeats as possible... so these two types of rewards. It does seem like the current devs are implementing something. I do like the TFs that offer opportunities to defeat more "named" NPCs, particularly those that lead to badges(*1)... and I like when it is possible to collect extra rewards "inside" a TF/SF. Complete aside: (*1) I wish that more "villains" in blue side missions offered progress on Villain Disruptor; I'm always peeved when I have to keep repeating the PI Bank/PD station to complete that one. I'm less bothered by Hero Slayer because of the ease at picking up Bloody Hands... although it would make some sense for those badges be similarly easier for Villains to collect organically.

With %damage in the AoE Confuse, the Controller gets in the drop pool for every hit enemy. The XP is worth far less than the drops, and the "cost" of losing XP from a confused enemy is much less than one might naively think.

For my Corruptors, I usually have done this slotting(*1): Malice of the Corruptor: 6-slot in the attack taken at Level 1 Scourging Blast: I split this into two 3-slots, occasionally this is a single 6-slot.. depending on what other set bonuses the build will have. The three pieces with Recharge tend to go into a lower-level power, unless a long base-recharge AoE is a better fit(*2) . The other three non-Recharge pieces tend to go into an AoE power that I will add %damage procs to. (*1) This is at final build, often I do things sightly differently with the ATO while leveling up. (*2) Long base recharge is inherently better for %damage, as are AoE attacks. The early attacks tend to have high base recharge, so slotting pieces that grant set bonuses while boosting the recharge component of an already fast power makes those early powers a "good fit" for more complete enhancement sets IMO. The Corruptor melee/ranged damage scales are IIRC only at 0.75, so I tend to consider the larger AoE powers first when considering %damage on Corrs. Mileage varies depending on available powers, other build choices, etc. The Scourging Blast's %+End is more important early than it will (probably be) later... I try to keep that in an attack I will have relatively early, but I don't specifically try to include that in a long-recharge power. I take the hit on %proc rates, because I'd rather have a low chance in an already low-damage attack I am likely to be spamming.

This is probably the best "late game" reason to have/use a single-target immobilize. I almost never take ST-immobs (if I have the choice); AVs and GMs are pretty much the only content where I miss having such a power. As an aside: I think ST-immobilize is one of the most useful (for certain fights, see above) powers that isn't available from P2W. There are a handful of temp attacks that can be earned through various missions but AFAIK that is it. I'm always somewhat amazed that we can buy Envenomed Daggers but not Web Grenades from P2W. Flooring an GM's regeneration doesn't strike me as being radically different than getting them to stay in place (even for a short time). I wouldn't try to get DPS out of a ST-immobilize. The damage scale is not kind to Controllers. I definitely would not slot for %damage, as @Uun notes the high-base-recharge powers have pretty bad %proc rates. I'd dedicate no more than 2 slots (Acc and Mezz) and then switch to a single Boosted or HamiO piece in a final build.

I agree with this. Any effect of power customizations is minuscule compared to (some of) the regular animations, especially those that generate a bajillion 'particles'

I find Mind Control on Controllers to be pretty powerful. I can understand why some folks could look at it and say "but why no summonable pet?"; I don't think it needs one. It's got some of the most effective controls in the game! In terms of slotting choices, it is exceptionally well-positioned to take multiple kinds of sets (for example: lots of Gloabl reacharge options available) and can make some strong %damage builds. The only issue I have with Mind Control (as a primary) is that the early levels more-or-less require P2W attacks to be able to solo low-level content at a reasonable pace... but this is by design and is easily mitigated (as I wrote, P2W attacks). It's not really a bad design choice IMO, more like a feature.

I appreciate the discussion on Patron/Epic Cones... I won't be taking any of them on my Beam Rifle Sentinel! As I've written (or hinted at): I won't have the slots... or would have to make sacrifices on several powers... to be able to meaningfully slot another attack. It's not impossible (cut back on the Travel slotting, give up 6th pieces) but I rather like the QoL I'm getting from the existing choices. Frankly: The main issue in my head is that I'm pretty disappointed with the cones (arcs, ranges, max number of targets) in Sentinels. Of course Beam Rifle's Piercing Shot is a special case... I don't blame it for what it is, but it doesn't help the feels. In play, I find I want the next AoE when I am surrounded (i.e. targets are not positioned for a cone) so a PBAoE (or a targeted AoE) would be a better fit for my play style. Not specific to Sentinels: When I find myself thinking about trying to put a Cone attack into a build (any AT) I almost always consider a version of the character where I can work Wall of Force (ideally before level 20) from the Force of Will pool into the character. The arc is huge; the power accepts some decent %damage. I have many characters where a cone attacks was a primary reason for taking the Epic/Patron, in many cases I prefer getting the cone attack much earlier!

There is a LOT that I think is straightforward (and easy) but I don't know what Average Joe Man is and isn't doing in game. (non-superior) ATO and Winter pieces are available from Merit Vendors for 100 merits each. (I think the Summer Blockbuster pieces are in there as well, but it has been a while since I've checked). Merits can be acquired any number of ways. A brisk (2xp) journey to level 50 usually averages me about 600 merits without really trying. If a player wants gobs more merits, it is relative easy to earn more with some cooperation from other players. An Enhancement Catalyst will drop about once every 24 hours for a level 50 character after defeating something like 50-100 even+ level mobs. Catalysts (and Boosters) can also be bought through the Merit Vendors. PVP enhancement recipes also can be purchased for 100 merits each. Note that the recipes will be +3 to the level of the character buying them, max 50. These have to be crafted. I use attuned ones for levels 7-49, then typically I will switch to boosted 50s when I can. This is not something I expect Average Joe Man to do. It may or may not be more cost-efficient to acquire those pieces from the marketplace, but there is an alternative to "waiting for a drop" or "buy it now". As for other pieces: There are two strategies for acquisition that I think are available to Average Joe Man. 1) AJM can wait for recipe drops, craft them and play converter roulette. Converters can be bought with merits. 2) AJM can put in bids at the AH with Inf. I recommend the second. I don't think this is "playing the market". Many commonly used enhancements (attuned!) are 2 MInf on average for "Buy it Now". What we think of as "common" IOs can be had for much cheaper... folks chase crafting badges and so a LOT of IOs end up on the market. Things like Enhancement Converters (from Merit conversion) can be put on the AH for sale... it has been a LONG time since I saw one of those go for less than 50K. Yellow salvage is fetching around 10K, Orange Salvage is 440K to 500K. Regular vendors will buy stuff. Level 50 common IO recipes average 100K each. I can believe that someone might pull up one of my builds and convince themselves that it is a "half-a-billion Inf" build... but I never come close to spending that much Inf(*1)... I am either recycling enhancements(*2) from the SG base or using Merits to "buy direct"... it depends on my mood. I don't equate spending Merits/Catalysts that were earned through regular play with AE farming or "playing the market"... I'm not passing judgement, I believe AJM can pretty much do whatever he wants to get pieces he may want. Some folks might look at a 6x slotted Superior Winter set and see an outlay of 150+ MInf. I see five days (or fewer, with multiple characters!) of Hamidon raids and a possible 6th day for the last catalyst (if only a single character was played). (*1) I could convert the merits to other things and earn inf by selling those things, and sometimes the market is too attractive to NOT do that. (*2) Between converter roulette and catalysts falling from the sky (and a couple of other shenanigans) I maintain a stockpile of Enhancement pieces that I know I will almost certainly be using in some future build.... just as I have some very favorable (to me) bids placed for certain items on the AH. EDIT: I completely neglected to mention that the Very Rare recipes are also only 100 Merits each at the Merit Vendors.

1) I cannot speak for other players: I have several characters that play like they are invincible and they absolutely are not invincible. Setting aside the self-rez insps and temps, I have a couple of rather "soft" characters that have relatively fast-recharging self-rez powers. If those characters never fell, I'd never get a chance to use those powers! The Health bar is a resource to be leveraged, it is not supposed to be "never touched"! 2) "That's like, your opinion man" 3) I still see requests for Tankers... and often I'm actually confused why there would be such a request for that specific content. I love Tankers, and I want to believe I know what they can do better than other ATs... and I believe just surviving isn't tanking.... but I appreciate that the game is flexible enough that for almost all content: no specific AT (or Team!) is required.

I really HATE missing attacks. Beyond having ToHit and Accuracy, the only thing I find that assuages the bad feels around RNG are multiple, large (area, number of targets) AoE attacks. The 'flat' RNG is absolutely going to bite, so I may as well be hitting something. My personal favorite (internal) manifestation of perception bias w.r.t. ToHit/RNG: it ends up that every missed followup single-target attack against a critter in a spawn also wasn't hit by the opening AoE. This results in a verbal "oh FF". That is: in order to miss the second attack against a critter, I have to miss the first attack. Not a deep thought, but one I often have.