[Very Rare Res and Def sets]

9 minutes ago, Webmaxx3 said:

It seems someone has, gotten off-topic.

 

Was there a proposal in the OP I missed? Both Resistance and Defense sets already have PVP sets, as well as Hami-O and D-Syncs for the most common slotting needs, so what do you want from Purple varieties?

[Prelude to the Coming Storm]

I had minimal interest in the Incarnate content on Live, my attitude hasn't changed.

 

I still have a deep distaste for the "story telling" direction the game went with end-game Prateoria, Incarnate Dark Astoria, Galaxy City, and the Signature Story Arcs. Why?

 

1) So much of the game is mostly "evergreen" content that felt natural for new characters to experience. "Trashing" entire zones in certain content certainly breaks that immersion.

 

2) I barely care about other players' bios and life choices, why shove the life choices of an NPC like Manticore or Scirocco down my throat? When people talking about the NPC story arcs... I kinda tune out because I'm not playing here to read someone else's comic book story.

 

3) The self-feeding cycling of giving players MOAR POWA wasn't great for the game (blah blah subscriptions blah blah fishcakes). I don't have a dog in that fight, but past conversations with some of the most vocal L33T players are obsessed with what they can have, and any challenge involving taking those things away (enhancements, incarnate powers, whatever) isn't actually a true challenge because the players should be able to use all their AWSUM might. It's this (weird, IMO) mental model of the game's challenges I cannot grok. It's basically the same reason why I disliked almost every appearance of Q in ST:TNG. "I am all powerful and I am bored... and by the way did I mention I am a superior being?"

 

 

 

[Sending Yourself INF after Issue 28 - An Open Question]

My global had a space in the name, so the macro was never working for me.

 

I don't maintain many alts, and my Inf hoard is pretty much established to be self-sustaining... that is, I don't have the need to accumulate more Inf, and between the other things in my hoard (Merits, Recipes, Enhancements, etc.) my slow-ish playstyle allows me to build up new characters as desired.

 

As for how I transfer wealth: It's pretty much a single on-demand email transfer of a single Hero Merit plus anywhere between 50M and 100M Inf, depending on what I want to purchase from S.T.A.R.T. at level 1.  Initial purchases are usually some prestige travel options, turn off rez insps, Reveal, some temp attack powers, and the offensive/defensive/recovery buffs. The Hero Merit is usually just to allow some quick conversion to whatever: typically unslotters and converters.

 

Things like ATO and other commonly used enhancements will be waiting in the SG base.

[Mastered the Mastermind Basics - Now I need to get advanced]

14 hours ago, khy said:

But I'm hoping to up my game a bit. There's a few things that are tough for me to decide upon and I'd like some advice on them.

 

1) Slotting - My initial instinct is always to 6-slot my 'main' powers (All the henchmen and my big Force Field Buffs), then slap entire sets in at once. But I see so many other people who 'frankenslot' and put a mix of various different things in different places. How can I tell when that should be done vs just going all in on a single set? Is there a good guide out there I can check out? I know I can just copy other people's sets, but I'm hoping to learn what to be actively looking for so I understand WHY other people slot the way they do.

 

Full disclosure, I don't like FF as a MM secondary.

 

My experience with FF on other AT is that the character hits the point of diminishing returns fast... so 6-slotting every bubble/shield is probably a waste of slots. Most Defensive powers are fine with just 2 slots of 50+5 Defensive pieces (or equivalent, or Hami-O). The only Defensive set bonuses I bother with are Reactive Defenses, and Shield Wall. If I am skimping on slots and using LotG Def/Recharge, occasionally I will use 50+5 LotG pieces to further enhance those powers... I just don't value the LotG set bonuses that much,

 

MM attacks when chosen should be slotted for set bonuses. It is a bad idea IMO to try to make a MM a source of damage (from procs or otherwise).

 

MM's have five "unique" global Defense/Resistance enhancements from (Recharge Intensive) Pet sets, one Superior %buildup piece for henchmen, and two more global defense/resistance pieces from the ATO sets. Ignoring the %Build Up, that is seven enhancement pieces that ought to be included in every MM build to make the henchmen more survivable... they are the source of damage. The three tiers of henchmen have max 18 slots, so without some other power (like Gang War) it is necessary to divide up those 7 pieces among the three tiers. It is possible that with FF secondary one or more of the global aura enhancements could be skipped, but I don't recommend it without serious testing. On my Robots build I only used four of the five Pet damage pieces myself.

 

The next thing to consider is this: You really ought to enhance both Accuracy and Damage for the henchmen tiers! not only are the henchmen the source of damage, there will be level shifts (downward) for most of the game's content. The MM (superior) ATO are very good for this! Since you mention Robotics, let me share my slotting... as this should make it clear how my thinking goes.

 

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

 

The Battle Drones get two of the five damage set pieces. With four remaining slots I want to get an ATO bonus (10% Global Recharge, because my MM is doing other things) and I want as much Accuracy and Damage as possible, so Sovereign Right offers me more Accuracy/Damage plus a Regeneration bonus... normally I don't care that much about Regeneration, but because of the effective pool of Hit Points/Health when using Bodyguard mode, I'd rather have it than not. This piece could be franken-slotted with a Hami-O.

 

Note that I put the %Build Up piece in the henchmen tier I will have three of... each henchmen will trigger this %proc, and quite frequently... and this is the henchman tier that needs the boost the most. My three T1 end up doing the equivalent amount of damage as my one T3 in the same amount of time, FWIW.

 

Level 12:              Protector Bots  

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

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

 (*) Hami-O  Defense/Endurance (53 or use a 50+5)

 (*) Edict of the Master: Defense Bonus

 (*) Call to Arms: Defense Aura for Pets

 (*) Call to Arms: Accuracy/Damage

 

I found it hard to get a lot of offense from the T2 robots, so they get two of the five damage set unique pieces. It also provides another 10% Global Recharge bonus. The T2 burn endurance quite hard, so they get Accuracy, Damage and Endurance Reduction boosts. The T2 provide defensive bubbles, which on a non-FF MM are well-worth boosting, I use a Hami-O. The Call to Arms set tops at level 30, but the extra Endurance recovery is valuable for my MM. If the Recovery boost is not valued, the fifth of five global aura pieces could go in its place, or a Hami-O, or a boosted Soulbound Allegiance.

 

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

 

Nothing fancy for T3, except to get MM ATO set bonuses I want (2x 10% more Global Recharge), plus the two global pieces for henchmen/pets.

 

15 hours ago, khy said:

3) Auras, Procs, and Me. Obviously there are some really important IOs to get my mitts on first, because they grant auras. What I'm unsure of is how to determine what works where. A few examples of things I'm unsure about :

 

Sovereign Right - Resist All. Does that apply to me as the MM or to my Pets? If it applies to pets, does it apply to all of them or just the ones I slot it into?
Superior Command of the Mastermind - the AoE Defense Aura, does it center on me or on the pet it's slotted into?
How do I know when an enhancement is a 'proc' versus when it's a constant effect? Do I specifically look for the word 'chance'?

If I put a constant-effect IO into a healing power does it affect me all the time or does it affect the person I use the power on? (Panacea HP/End, Numina's Regen/Recovery, etc)

 

Auras affect the henchmen (and pets) while they are close to the MM. They do nothing for the MM directly, and only indirectly through Bodyguard mode.

 

Comments about %damage procs, which I generally avoid. Note that AFAIK, all %damage procs for henchmen can only come from "secondary" effects.

 

1) %damage will only trigger in the attacks made which include the specific secondary effect. If (for example) a henchman is only casting a power with a -Defense secondary effect half the time... the %damage will never have a greater than 50% chance to be applied (for each henchman)

 

2) %damage requires each of an initial ToHit check for the base attack, a %proc chance (between 10% and 90%), and an individual ToHit check for the %damage based on the inherent and slotted accuracy of the power (i.e. no global ToHit or accuracy bonuses)... if the henchmen are fighting level shifted enemies, they will have inherently poor %damage chances because of the ToHit formula.

 

%procs like the Soulbound Allegiance %Build Up and the Overwhelming Force %Knockdown will have a chance to trigger on every attack... these are much better choices IMO than any %damage choice for Henchmen, I realize others feel differently, but my opinion is that T1 and T2 need Accuracy and Damage, and without accuracy the %damage will be mediocre anyway, so why try to thread that needle? The T3 is IMO the place to put the MM ATO sets,.. adding %procs to T3 is hindering its damage output IMO.

 

 

 

[Very Rare Res and Def sets]

Here is my PoV: There aren't attribute combinations for Defense and Resistance that aren't available and useful, AFAIK.

 

Let's have Purple sets for Fear and Threat first.... for the following reasons:

 

1) There are only two pieces in (different) Threat sets which include Accuracy, and many Threat powers require Accuracy. A Purple or PVP set could fill this niche.

 

2) There are no Threat set pieces which reduce Endurance costs, there are quite a few Threat powers which could benefit from Endurance reduction (i.e. toggles)

 

Fear enhancement sets are IMO better balanced in terms of attributes (Accuracy, Endurance, Recharge... and Fear obviously) but I see a "gameplay gap" where single-target Fear powers are almost completely useless, with the only exception being if a player stacks a single-target Fear onto a critter that has already been hit by another Fear. I'd like to see a "Contagious Fear" %proc, similar to the one from the Coercive Persuasion Confusion Enhancement set... as I have found that turning a Single-Target mezz into a %multi-target mezz to be a way to make inferior powers more useful across more content.

 

3) I generally find the choices of which set bonuses to pursue from the Fear sets to be mediocre, and I also default to Mocking Beratement for Threat, I find it annoying to only have two "up to level 50" sets from both Threat and Fear to consider for builds, without resorting to franken-slotting.

[Training Options: Powers vs Enhancement Slots]

To be fair, because players only get one enhancement slot when they pick a power, the proposed trade-off should be "one less power, one more slot".

[What Is Your Reason For Choosing a Corrupter/Goals?]

I will choose Corruptor pretty much only when the following stars align:

1. There is a primary/secondary combination I want that I can't get from another AT
2. The primary or secondary has a lot of powers I want to take (especially early power picks)
3. I want damage more than secondary effects (from primary/secondary)

My second point may seem a little odd, but it plays into the "what do I want to do with the character"... and often when the primary/secondary choices I want for concept include Corruptor and I don't feel the need to lean into damage early... I will usually go in another direction. It's hard to describe, and I offer no hard data, but for solo play I've usually found Defenders (and even Controllers) to be quicker about cleaning large spawns than Corruptors. Against AVs solo Corruptors probably have the advantage but I haven't done much testing without incarnates.

[Storm / Storm First Impressions (and Leveling Up)]

22 hours ago, arcane said:

What does everyone think of Intensify these days. I kind of hate that the power is only (allegedly) good because of Storm Cell procs (which are hard to observe/measure), and I’m leaning closer and closer to skipping it.

 

 Intensify is a power that I considered dropping or delaying in order to get Rune of Protection earlier in the build. I kept Intensify because I wanted to have an on-demand power to boost damage from single-target attacks, for those times when I am down to the one-or-two "hard targets".

 

For my play style, I considered only single-slotting it with the %Build up, but I did not make that change. Reason: I often team with groups that will split up on "defeat all" missions and having the boost available more often against +4s helps. Even without the %Build Up, Intensify is maxing out the damage bonus of the (Fast) Snipe) from +ToHit.

[Recipe: GM Mini Pets]

With league/team fix now in place... it's pretty much down to

• RNG,
• Do you qualify for a reward roll (so none observed for Sally, or for being too far away, or slacking),

The recent Saturday Night Synapse had 18 Babbage defeats, my character got four mini-Babbage recipe drops.

[Level Range: the Hollows]

11 hours ago, Jacke said:

 So even without the various XP multipliers available today, it would still be possible to outlevel contacts.  I've run a Blueside+Redside Completist Toon into the low 20's and I had to turn off XP to not outlevel contacts.

 

The ability to turn off XP is the answer, even if not trying to do complete content...which ought to be impossible to do without turning off XP, otherwise leveling would be a massive chore.

 

I just got another blue-side character to 50, and from memory the leveling path went like:

• Did Outbreak, some Atlas Park, started Hollows
• Started Radio/Safeguard at level 5 (did a Safeguard every 5 levels) to get Trevor Seaborn
• Only collected Patrol XP from exploration slowly
• Did some Skyway missions for a change of pace
• Started Faultline
• Started Striga
• I think I did Posi 1 at 27? Finished Tips/Alignments before 30
• I did a switch to redside to get some badges, accolades and a Patron arc at 35. I did Levantra's arcs as well.

Anyway, no more boring details... but by level 30 I hadn't used XP  boosts, and I did at least one Faultline arc  through Ouroboros, which I consider to be a fine option. After I got done with what I wanted to finish by level 43, I turned on XP boosts because the content I still wanted to do could be done though Ouroboros anyway, and there were some set bonuses I wanted more than I wanted anything else.

 

This character is still missing a couple accolades (TF Commander, Portal Jockey) and is in no rush to slot incarnate powers (but Alpha is unlocked)... which I mention because I believe that for many players, what I just described would be intolerably slow play, and an expanded level range for the Hollows would make no difference for those, or even more players.

 

For better or worse, the zone arcs that players cannot outlevel are the Rikti War Zone arcs... and that is partially because the enemies that spawn in those missions are designed to scale with difficulty. This isn't true of the Outcasts or Trolls or Minions of Igneous. We already have witnessed how some players reacted quite negatively to how the Council was made to scale up... I'm in no rush to see that for groups like the Trolls.

[Level Range: the Hollows]

1 hour ago, Techwright said:

tidge, certainly no offense intended, but you do understand that this statement comes across like a reason, more like 3 reasons, with some merit towards actually alter the current arrangement, yes?

 

The only reason to overhaul such old content (again!) would be... what exactly? I'm convinced that the Hollows (arcs, level ranges) pretty much exist because once-upon-a-time:

• debt at low levels was a thing
• debt could run deep
• there was no patrol XP
• there were no XP boosts

Anyone can feel free to ask that the level range of any given zone be changed... but somehow I think if that happened, then eyes would turn to Faultine, then Striga, then Croatoa, and possibly First Ward and Night Ward.

 

Yet... if instead we brought back massive debt, and got read of easy XP... perhaps the ranges would be "more organic" for some players? I'm happy with the way the game is now, and I have control of turning XP on or off as needed to complete zones at the existing level ranges... or use Ouroboros.

[Storm / Storm First Impressions (and Leveling Up)]

Here is my build at level 50.

 

Spoiler

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Storm Blast

Power Pool: Sorcery

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Leaping

Power Pool: Concealment

Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

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

Level 1:                 Gale

 (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50+5

 (*) Accuracy IO: Level 50+5

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

 (*) Bombardment - Chance for Damage (Fire)

 

Level 1:                 Hailstones

 (A) Superior Defender’s Bastion - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

 (*) Superior Defender’s Bastion - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Superior Defender’s Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Superior Defender’s Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

 (*) Superior Defender’s Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Superior Defender’s Bastion - Recharge /%Heal (PBAoE): Level 50

 

Level 1:                 Snow Storm

 (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 4:                 Jet Stream

 (A) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

 (*) Superior Frozen Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Reacharge: Level 50

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

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

 (*) Positron's Blast - Chance for Damage (Energy)

 (*) Bombardment - Chance for Damage (Fire)

 

Level 6:                 Mystic Flight

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

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

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

 

Level 8:                 Steamy Mist     

 (A) Kismet - +ToHit (6%)

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

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

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

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

 (*) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 50+5

 

Level 10:              Storm Cell          

 (A) Superior Vigilant Assault - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

 

Level 12:              Freezing Rain    

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

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

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

 (*) Positron's Blast - Chance for Damage (Energy)

 (*) Bombardment - Chance for Damage (Fire)

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

 

Level 14:              O2 Boost

 (A) Healing IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 16:              Hurricane

 (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 18:              Intensify

(A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire- Control - Chance for Build Up

 (*) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 20:              Direct Strike      

 (A) Experienced Marksman - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50+5

 (*) Experienced Marksman - Damage/Recharge: Level 50+5

 (*) Experienced Marksman - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5

 (*) Experienced Marksman - Damage/Endurance/Interrupt: Level 50+5

 (*) Experienced Marksman - Damage/Interrupt/Range/Recharge: Level 50+5

 

Level 22:              Tornado              

 (A) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5

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

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

 (*) Overwhelming Force - Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Achilles’ Heel - Chance for Resistance Debuff

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

 

Level 24:              Chain Lightning               

 (A) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

 (*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

 (*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Recharge/%Absorb (PBAoE): Level 50

 (*) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

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

 (*) Bombardment - Chance for Damage (Fire)

 

Level 26:              Lightning Storm               

 (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback-to-Knockdown

 (*) Gladiator’s Javelin - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50+5

 (*) Superior Winter’s Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Gladiator’s Javelin - Chance for Damage (Toxic)

 (*) Apocalypse - Chance for Damage (Negative)

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

 

Level 28:              Cloudburst        

 (A) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50+5

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

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

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

 (*) Apocalypse - Damage: Level 50+5

 

Level 30:              Category Five

 (A) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

 (*) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

 (*) Annihilation - Damage/Recharge

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

 (*) Annihilation - Chance of Resistance Debuff

 

Level 32:              Maneuvers        

 (A) Reactive Defenses - Defense

 (*) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance

 (*) Reactive Defenses - Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Recharge

 (*) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage

 

Level 35:              Spirit Ward

 (A) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb

 

Level 38:              Rune of Protection        

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

 (*) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

 

Level 41:              Charged Armor

 (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance

 (*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance

 (*) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP

 

Level 44:              Energize             

 (A) D-Sync Reconstruction (Heal/Recharge): Level 53

 (*) D-Sync Reconstruction (Heal/Recharge): Level 53

 

 

 

Level 47:              Combat Jumping             

 (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

 

Level 49:              Infiltration         

 (A) Karma - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

 

 

Level 1: Brawl    

 (A) Empty

 

Level 1: Vigilance             

 

Level 1: Sprint   

 (A) Unbound Leap - Stealth

 

Level 2: Rest      

 (A) Interrupt IO: Level 50

 

Level 2: Athletic Run      

 

Level 2: Swift     

 (A) Run Speed IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 2: Health  

 (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance

 (*) Miracle - +Recovery

 

Level 2: Hurdle 

 (A) Jumping IO: Level 50+5

 

Level 2: Stamina               

 (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End

 (*) Performance Shifter - EndMod

 

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

 

NOTES:

 

  /macro_image "DarkCast_Aim"    "CELL" "powexec_location me Storm Cell$$powexec_location target Storm Cell"
   /macro_image "IceBlast_Aim"    "RAIN" "powexec_location me Freezing Rain$$powexec_location target Freezing Rain"
   /macro_image "BanishedPantheon_Storms_Hurricane"    "Cat5" "powexec_location me Category Five$$powexec_location target Category Five"
   /macro_image "ElectricalBolt_Aim"    "TORN" "powexec_location me Tornado$$powexec_location target Tornado"

 

 

Notes:

 

Besides the obvious "what can be slotted", this was not my leveling build. I used Flight and didn't respec into Sorcery until level 50. I also used a different choice of powers 35+.

 

I put 12 points of KB protection in this build. For a lot of content 4 points is fine... but for Freem! I wanted to be able to craft a buff and take the build to 22. The final power (Infiltration) allows swapping in of a LotG or a Winter's Gift Slow Resistance.

 

This is intended to be a "solo build" for +0x8, it plays just fine on teams at +4x8... but it also does not have incarnates and only has one accolade so far. I didn't regularly solo play +0x5 until after level 40, as that is when I wanted XP and drops to come at a better rate.

 

A lot of what "solo play" means for me is an affirmative response to "Can I play content at that setting without having to rely on Inspirations (or Incarnate Powers/Shifts)?" So what that means for this build are the AoEs, the debuffs, a "Build Up" (to simulate red/yellow insps), Rune of Protection (for long duration mezzes), and a self-heal. Ideally I would include Power Sink (Mu Mastery) to mitigate the need for blue insps, but I didn't quite have the slots I wanted for that.

 

I recognize that the Gale slotting may seem odd. Gale has an inherently poor Accuracy, and it's recharge time is on the fast side, but with slotted accuracy it's large cone makes it a pretty good source of %damage against large spawns. I would fault no one for making a radically different set of choices with respect to Gale... I find myself using it as source of control, and while I am using it as such I am perfectly happy to sometimes pick up some extra damage from it. I end quite a few fights with Gale!

 

As I wrote earlier in the thread, this combo is proctastic! Both because of the nature of Storm Blast, and the smooth acceptance of %damage in both the primary and secondary powers. A team-mostly character should not need the (extra) %damage, but for mostly-solo non-DPS characters an AoE-%damage build can clean up large spawns much faster than those without adding %damage. As an aside: I love damage-over-time on low DPS AT, as it keeps certain enemies from "doing things" like summoning pets. The Knockdown/knockback is surprisingly good at delaying enemies from cast certain powers too!

 

Defensively: By level 50, the positional defenses are in the high 20s, which is good enough for +0 or +1. I typically don't run with either Hurricane or the Mu Charged Armor on. 4-slotting Unbreakable Guard is a sort of default choice to boost Melee defense, but with better planning/use of Hurricane I am certain that I could pull two slots from Charged Armor, add one to Hurricane (more Endurance reduction, possibly a 50+5 Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge piece as the second) freeing up a slot for elsewhere in the build.

 

I'm still noodling on a Storm/Storm build for higher difficulty, small team size play.

 

[Level Range: the Hollows]

12 hours ago, kelika2 said:

Just remember 2 things: +2 is nice for a pug since you wont out-level it in flashback mode.  and the bigass crystal in the center teleports you to the zone

 

Double-clicking the smaller pillars also teleport direct to contact... for almost every contact.

[Bi-form PB but with squid instead of lobster?]

It's been a long time since I played Peacebringer, but not at all long for Warshade... but something immediately comes to mind is that the Nova form attacks are essentially "formulized" to be low-level attacks, because of the level that the Nova form can be chosen. Slotting those attacks isn't radically different that having and slotting a whole lot of T1/T2/T3 attacks. The Kheldians are pretty good in the level 4-14 range because the Nova form gives 4 (plus one) ranged attacks... but after level 16 or so, the utility of simply having a lot of relatively weak attacks falls off.

 

As for theory-crafting a build, the question as I see it is: What can slotting the Nova form powers do for the Human form? There are limited options... the most variety is in the Nova form power itself, otherwise it's ranged ST/AoE or ATO sets, modulo secondary effects like KB, whatever, for set bonuses. In contrast: the Dwarf form is at a higher level (so closer to the "nuke" tier of powers) so when they get enhanced, the enhancements go farther... plus there is the whole "get outta mez free" reason to have a Dwarf. Plus, the Dwarf forms can have more slotting variety.

[Level Range: the Hollows]

My own experience with the Hollows is this: even without using 2XP and going out of my way to NOT collect patrol XP (including exploration badges) and running solo... the only way I've run through the entire Hollows storyline without Ouroboros was by going out of my way to do so. A single side-trip to do a safeguard mission has forced me to disable XP!

 

Even so: I am not in favor of raising the level range. I always felt that The Hollows was fine, especially for its era... when debt worked differently, and leveling/teaming options were fewer.

 

I end up with the same problem in Faultline! Casually making sure I do level-appropriate Safeguards and collecting exploration badges usually means that unless I am careful I'll outlevel at least one of the arcs in Faultline. If I do a TF? fuggeddaboutit!

[Recipe: GM Mini Pets]

My hot take on the Market House and mini-pet recipes: There are some Giant Monsters that are more commonly fought than others. For example, Jack in Irons and Eochai. I can't imagine a sustained demand for either of those recipes. Scrapyard is practically a summonable-on-demand, so that recipe probably will never require much bidding action. Making them vendorable is a reasonable addition.

[Traps/ Defenders - Looking for feedback/thoughts on powers]

I can toss in $0.02, based on my experience with the Mastermind Traps secondary:

 

The arguments between Web Grenade and Caltrops are legit... but I went Caltrops. Even facing enemies that like to run, I found that Web Grenade had two things working against it:

1. It isn't useful against enough (95%+) content.
2. To make it useful when you want it, it requires more investment than I prefer to make.

Caltrops  will %proc on cast, mileage varies on how well you can leverage this.  More Slow does very little in my experience, so I wanted accuracy for better %proc chances, plus some set bonuses.

 

 (A) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime

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

 (*) Ice Mistral’s Torment - Damage/Recharge

 (*) Ice Mistral’s Torment - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

 (*) Ice Mistral’s Torment - Chance for Damage(Cold)

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

 

Triage Beacon is an odd duck. It was a power I used while leveling, but eventually got rid of. It would be more useful IMO than Web Grenade.

 

Acid Mortar is good! It requires accuracy to %proc reliably. The MM wanted debuffing for the henchmen.

 

Acid Mortar       

 (A) Undermined Defenses - Defense Debuff

 (*) Undermined Defenses - Defense Debuff/Recharge

 (*) Undermined Defenses - Recharge/Endurance

 (*) Undermined Defenses - Recharge

 (*) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff

 (*) Accuracy: Level 50+5

 

FFG is great, Just a couple of Defense pieces maxed out, more slots if you need mules.

 

IMO it isn't worth too much %damage in Poison Trap, but it will fire reliably. Note that the Entomb piece affects caster, and is reliable (upon cast).

 

 Poison Trap       

 (A) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Hold: Level 50+5

 (*) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

 (*) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

 (*) Unbreakable Constraint Chance for Damage (Smashing): Level 50

 (*) Superior Entomb: Chance for +Absorb: Level 50

 

Seeker Drones got dropped. I like stuns, but I found these to be unreliable. They will not %proc on detonation.

 

I don't use Mines, YMMV. The issue with Mines for me is that with Caltrops, Acid Mortar and Poison Trap I already have enough to "drop"... and I don't like having to devote extra mental processing power to figuring out where to put them.

 

I have no experience with Temporal Bomb. I skipped the (different) T9 on the Traps Mastermind.... again, it was too much effort for me.

 

[Storm / Storm First Impressions (and Leveling Up)]

15 hours ago, SeraphimKensai said:

I believe for your standard 3.5ppm proc it was like a 13% chance to fire iirc. I haven't looked up the proc chance in a year or so.

 

Freezing Rain is definitely a power that would be just fine with Recharge Enhancements(*1). The Debuffs alone are great. It has a pretty sizeable radius so catching a bunch of enemies in it upon cast (to get the %damage) saves a couple of mediocre ST attacks. I pretty much only see the %damage on cast, which is similar to my experience with Caltrops on other characters.

 

The main reason for me to keep the %damage in it is that for my (leveling, and likely final) build is that  I have few damaging powers before level 20, not counting Storm Cell. Hailstones is a typical T1 ST attack, Gale is an unreliable source of damage, Jet Stream is a fine cone attack... and then there is Storm Cell.

 

(*1) It appears to me that the debuffs also require a ToHit check, so I have a sort of "in for a penny, in for a pound" thought process where if I am slotting for both Recharge and Accuracy I may as well toss some %damage into it too. Once I have a couple of 50+5 Accuracy/Recharge pieces in it I'll be doing some testing. It's going to be franken-slotted, I just haven't decided how many slots to devote to it yet.

[Recipe: GM Mini Pets]

Alternatively: make them fungible again.

[Help with my Necro/Dark Build, please]

1 hour ago, FluffyLyah said:

Been asking for something up to date that is a good replacement either way. And sure i am even a tad overkill on recharge for hasten so dropping the conceal pool can also work its wonders for grabbing group fly. As someone with no experience in the matter, i much prefer to get direct feedback and changes to look into as knowing me... i copy others and my setup crashes and burns. Honestly... havent had a chance to try it on Test Server yet, will do regardless now that i got some time.

Thanks for the feedback so far, @Meknomancer, by the way.

 

Generally: I'd avoid Hasten completely on a Mastermind, there really shouldn't be any powers that need its recharge (EDIT: except Tar Patch, see below) and all MM powers have a heft Endurance tax. You would be better served by having Tactics to help the level-shifted henchmen.

 

Tar Patch should be 2-slotted for Recharge, it is a pretty bad %proc power. If you don't believe me... feel free to test it. Similarly Darkest Night is not going to be a good %damage power, I'd just slot it for Endurance reduction.

 

There is probably more suggestion I could make, but I don't play that combo on a Mastermind.

[Storm / Storm First Impressions (and Leveling Up)]

Some more experimenting between levels 30 and 40, with Tornado.

 

I definitely want Tornado to have KB->KD, as the more time it needs to chase anything is wasted time. I didn't like that it will scatter enemies away from Lightning Storm, the Storm Cell and Freezing Rain. It also plays havoc with my AoE attacks. Originally, I had the Overwhelming Force Damage/%KB/KB->KD, but that piece ended up in Lightning Storm, so now Tornado has a Sudden Acceleration piece in it, and a couple of Expedient Reinforcements.

 

I was skeptical that this power would be a good choice for %proc, but the base accuracy is 1.3! I tested against even con enemies, and no matter if I use %proc from Defense Debuff sets or Knockdown sets, I see about 2 applications of the %proc per cast... which is pretty good! FWIW, on a Defender I think of each %damage as like an un-enhanced single-target attack for free... so even on a single victim of Tornado, this turns out to help speed up defeats... and I've seen the %proc against multiple targets, if I summon Tornado strategically or otherwise keep them clustered. Yet...

 

The real advantage I am imagining from the %proc rate is the use of the Achilles' Heel %-Resistance debuff. Normally I consider the choice between %-Res and %damage to be a coin flip (weighted towards %damage for reasons) but Storm/Storm exists in the sweet spot where there can be a lot of different sources of damage coming in the 10 seconds of a 20% resistance debuff. These will be the damage-over-time attacks, both from the (pseudo)pets and the Defender attacks... not to mention whatever attacks the Defender happens to land during that short duration debuff.

 

I had not originally planned to put any %proc in Tornado, but this testing has me reconsidering that choice, as well as re-evaluating the other pieces I had planned to slot it with.

 

EDIT: I should note that Freezing Rain should also take the Achilles' Heel set, and ought to %proc well (at least on cast)... however Freezing Rain does an order of magnitude less damage-over-time as Tornado, so I'm thinking the %-Resistance is better applied to a target that the Tornado will very likely be staying with and being dealt damage-over-time. Since Freezing Rain is already a reliable source of (non-random) -Resistance, I don't plan to stack a %-Resistance piece in it... at least not for my solo build. I'm more focused on getting the recharge times down on Freezing Rain, and if possible leverage it for %damage as well, at least for solo play.

[Storm / Storm First Impressions (and Leveling Up)]

I want to get this out of the way: I avoided the new Storm set(s) because everybody else jumped into them at release. I write this because some of what follows may be old news to others. I did see some messages that run counter to what I am seeing... and I am enjoying the Storm / Storm combo so I thought I'd share my initial thoughts.

 

I've almost entirely run solo, and I've got the character just shy of level 35. I can have whatever enhancements I want, so for leveling purposes think: ATO, leftover catalyzed PVP, Overwhelming Force, etc. I don't have any Winter pieces in the build right now... for leveling (especially low level) this is less about set bonuses and more about having enhancements that don't need to be replaced. I was carrying a bunch of KB->KD pieces, but as I was playing I found only a couple of powers actually needed them IMO.

 

This combo is the most Controller-like Defender combo I have run... and I really like it. I think it's a good sign when by level 30 I only have one power pick that isn't from the Primary or Secondary! I want to add this bit of personal mistake: I accidentally set myself a Bricktown level 30 Radio mission at +0x8 (Freakshow) and I was able to clear it... I would have stealthed it, but the map and spawns did not allow that option... that setting is not a solo setting for me with a fresh level 30! The ability to have a bunch of (pseudo) pets and area control options really made the difference.

 

My hot takes on the Primary, Storm Summoning:

 

T1 Gale. I toke this, slotted it with Accuracy and %damage and it actually works quite well both as a means of control and some extra damage. With Accuracy slotting it is a pretty reliable source of %damage (for an somewhat short recharge power). I had planned to make this KD->KB, but I'm pretty experienced with KB and so I think that choice would be wasting a slot.

 

T2 O2 Boost. I took it as a Mule for %Absorb. I've used it to heal allies.

 

T3 Snow Storm: Endurance reduction only, used as a means of area control

 

T4 Steamy Mist: Holds Kismet, Resistance and Defense mules. The real beauty is it allows me to get really close to most critters to set up Storm Cell.

 

T5 Freezing Rain: Area control with a great debuff. I have this slotted for Accuracy/Recharge and %damage. It isn't a great source of %damage on cast, but it isn't nothing. I'm reserving judgement if I keep %damage in it until after I regularly face large spawn sizes or not and test with some 50+5 pieces in it.

 

T6 Hurricane: Endurance Reduction only. I use this for indoor map control (rarely).

 

T7 Thunder Clap: I had intended to take this, but I ended up skipping. I wasn't seeing where in my chain I would use it and still be making best use of the secondary set's synergies.

 

T8 Tornado: This has a KB->KD piece. I have plans for some slotting it it, but I don't use it very often... pretty much only when I am facing enemies that can mezz me, as it gets their attention.

 

T9 Lightning Storm: A keeper! I like that it can be cast while nowhere close to a ground surface.

 

Hot takes on the Secondary (Storm Blast). As a Defender, I'm less concerned about uber-damage so I felt that a Blast set that requires a little bit of setup to leverage synergy is fine. When I've teamed, I don't sweat doing damage, except to get more attention to the group.

 

T1 Gust: I skipped. There is nothing wrong with it, it is more that there are only so many single-target ranged attacks I want in a build.

 

T2 Hailstones is the Single-Target ranged attack I chose. It eventually has 6x Defender ATO.

 

T3 Jet Stream is a typical cone %damage attack for me, which requires Accuracy. Works well, needs no KB->KD with Storm Cell, and otherwise is a reasonable board control attack.

 

T4 Storm Cell: Taken, holding 3x Vigilant Assault ATO (Dam/Recharge, Dam/End/Rech, Rech/%+Absorb) Honestly, this slotting strikes me as wasteful, but:

• The power strikes me as one that wouldn't benefit from %damage,
• The power shouldn't need many slots, and other powers benefit more IMO from more slots
• I wanted the %absorb on a power I would be using all the time, for a lot of content (so, "early power" pick),
• I wanted the 3-piece bonus. although I am often satisfied with a 4/2 split of Vigilant Assault

 

T5 Intensify: Taken, but no plans to heavily slot.

 

T6 Direct Strike: Taken, and used as my "opener" after Storm Cell. See Steamy Mist. Works reasonably well even with a few slots.

 

T7 Chain Lighting: Taken, not heavily slotted yet. Planned to have the three accuracy pieces of Vigilant Assault ATO and three %damage... I don't have this fully slotted, but so I may make this a four-piece ATO (for more Global Accuracy), and have another slot for somewhere else... I have to experiment with a more complete build. See note below on Global Recharge.

 

T8 Cloud Burst Chain Lighting: Taken, not heavily slotted yet.

 

T9 Category Five: Taken, not heavily slotted. It will probably get 6x Annihilation. The recharge time is too long IMO to go for %damage, and the 6xAnnihilation set bonuses are comfortable to me.

 

Note on Global Recharge: Without much in the way of Global Recharge at level 35, I am finding that solo I can still run through missions reasonably quickly, and depending on how many critters I face at once... the long recharge Category Five isn't needed ASAP... because this is a Defender. On teams... I think if the team is relying on this Defender to do MOAR damage (on top of debuffing, healing and controlling the field) then the team can bloody well be comfortable with my pace! This ends up with me not sweating trying to get every LotG or 5xPurple Recharge set bonus.

 

The shortcomings (so far):

 

Enemy mezzes. I'm probably going to respec into the Sorcery pool (I've been using Flight) and can fit Rune of Protection painlessly into the planned build at level 44.  For low level content, it is Inspirations. Sorcery lets me mule some other pieces, freeing up slots. I had intended to use Force of Will for Weaken Resolve, but I feel like Sorcery will do more.

 

Endurance: I have no accolades, not tons of slots yet, and not great set bonuses... so I am pretty much pacing myself.

 

Defenses: Not great! Maneuvers is in the build, but I don't expect to have particularly high Defenses even end-build.

 

The worry is seeing how it will do against +4 enemies. I pretty much only take Defenders against such content on teams, and I am mostly worried about having enough slotted accuracy to make the %damage work... and powers like Gale which have an inherently low base Accuracy can become unreliable as a control mechanism. I'll probably just end up with a second build explicitly for that kind of content, leveraging more set bonuses.

[Would you skip "One with the shield"]

I took it at 49 to mule a Psi resist piece.

[Tank primary set for a full time 5 person only SG team]

On 7/15/2024 at 11:54 AM, Triumphant said:

Invulnerability/Super Strength is always the recommended go-to for resist based tanker sets.  I always struggle with endurance management on INV builds at low levels.  Even after putting in End reduction IO's and Endurance Procs, I always find myself endurance starved on INV and it annoys me.

 

My experience with Inv Tankers is that they don't really need to run most of their toggles, especially at low levels. If teamed with others and running content where the toggles are needed, slow down on the attacks.

[No Moment of Glory for MOBs]

On 7/15/2024 at 8:20 PM, Rudra said:

And PPs can be killed through MoG too.

 

A well-timed Build Up with a big single-target attack works well.