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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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?)

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?

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): 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.

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

I have no serious criticism of the post quoted below, I'm going to use it to springboard some of my (alternate) thinking: The Numina's Convalescence unique (+10% Recovery/+20% Regeneration) only ends up in my builds (and always in Health) if I am also slotting a Numina's Healing piece.... and I only do this on high HP characters I expect to be taking regular damage. The 2-piece set bonus and the enhancement to Health itself is aces in my book. Often the high-HP characters are fitting on of these other pieces (Panacea, Miracle) in a primary/secondary power... if not those will probably also be in Health. This is the only circumstance when I ever have more than 2 slots in Health. Otherwise I never chase Regeneration; IMO a slot that would go to the solo Numina piece can almost always go in some other power that will improve offense, defense, or endurance consumption. There are a number of 2-slot set bonuses that offer +MaxEnd, for example. This is why I almost never add the Regenerative Tissue unique to builds.(*1) I also don't like the level requirement for the Numina piece. By the time it can be slotted, most characters should have improved defenses and Endurance usage should be relatively under control that those extra buffs are marginal. I suppose if someone took Hasten at level 4 they may have a different opinion, but that is a different field of discussion. Personally: I am much more concerned about the blue bar being managed than I am about the green bar. Often my characters can 'recover' more Endurance simply by not spamming/button mashing a single attack than they would get from the +10% Recovery from the Numina piece. (*1) As always, I will experiment with unslotters... and detoggling powers... to see how the choices of slotting impacts play style and outcomes.

Normally.... I'd suggest a Defender that also debuffs. However, given the multi-box constraint... I don't think 'passive' debuffs is that strong an option. Personally: I am not a fan of Venomous Gas (Poison's T9) but I suppose it could be made to work on a Pocket Defender if the defender itself has softcap+ defenses and some sort of PBAoE heal is the auto-power. You will almost certainly be able to have very high defenses by skimping on primary/secondary power choices and leaning into pools, modulo power/slotting choices for set enhancement bonuses. My first instinct/preference would be a Time Manipulation primary. There are a few different primary options for the auto-power (depending on content, and needs)... and when played more actively, the Pocket Defender should be able to buff an ally. My thinking is the toggle powers that reduce/slow down nearby enemy offense. Something else to consider (for a Pocket Defender): It might be worthwhile to consider an attack from the secondary to be the auto power targeting the Scrapper('s target). My first instinct is some sort of AoE, but that might draw more attention to the Defender than you want. Something 'simple' like Beam Rifle's Disintegrate for some single-target DoT and -Regeneration might do the trick. There may be better (secondary) choices, but a -Regeneration effect is where I would lean.

I'm not taking a strong side side in the discussion re: Time Stop and wanting more slotting options. My Dark/Temporal Blaster did take it, and has it 6-slotted with (boosted) Gladiator's Net. It is not as if there is a shortage of different slotting options for pure Holds. On the contrary: There are 3 excellent set choices (PVP, Winter, Very Rare) plus a useful Hami-O, plus more %damage options than any other non-damaging control power.... ok maybe I will take a side: I don't think there is any need to update Time Stop. For the record: I only have Time Wall with the default slot, using a level 53 Endoplasm (Acc/Mezz). I suppose it has some %damage potential. I generally don't try to slot single-target slows for much, YMMV. If I was going to ask for a buff to Time Wall, I'd want to know: Would it break the game if the 20 sec -Regeneration effect was increased? Looking at CityofData: it appears to be -25%, whereas purchasable Envenomed Daggers (10 sec) apply -250%. Every one of my characters restocks on Envenomed Daggers, so it simply strikes me as odd that there is such an imbalance, even when considering the other effects (in Time Stop) and base damage imbalance (that favors the Daggers) I will write this: paired with Dark as a primary, the Temporal secondary resulted in what is my least Blappy Blaster. Much of this is driven by the primary, but an not-insignificant portion is driven by the other (pool) choices I made for this character concept. In most content, I'm simply abusing the heck out of Chronos... I have it on Auto, with IIRC a 90% chance for %BuildUp.... and relying on Time Wall/Time Stop for select enemies. When this character gets swarmed or there are opportunities, End of Time or the Nuke (Blackstar) get used. Future Pain is in the kit, but I rarely use it... again, it's because of the concept-driven range-heavy choices.

I don't have a Mind/Dominator; I enjoy my Mind/Poison Controller...but I think these ATs are different enough that not too much from my experience would inform a style of play for a Mind Dom. I feel like I can write this (about my own thoughts on a Mind Dom): Confuse and Mass Confuse are must powers. I slot the Very Rare Coercive Persuasion (6-slot) set in the single-target power, and then the AoE gets at least one %damage piece (any damage done gets you a %drop chance). Domination is what makes the ST Confuse so much "better" on Doms. The +Magnitude makes a big difference against the hardest targets. The content where I see (a full-kit) Mind primaries really shine are: Low/Mid 20-ish content that is 'turned up', because the AoE (including Sleep) keeps enemies from blanketing players with attack rolls Spawns/encounters with Elite Bosses/AVs The first bullet is also true for any content above those levels, but not all AoE-clearing builds scale down nicely to those levels. Mass Hypnosis (AoE) over Mesmerize (ST)... eventually the typical game reaches the point where it will almost certainly be too hard to try to leverage the single-target sleep. There are probably corner cases where Mesmerize could almost pull its weight, but I think this guy (points to self) would have to set up some targeting keybinds to use the single-target sleep effectively. I don't think I'd slot either the T1 or T2 Mind Primary Powers heavily (in a final build), no matter which one I picked. 5-slots of Call of the Sandman isn't a bad choice of Enhancement set for the AoE, but I could understand a build that uses fewer slots in Mass Hypnosis. For a Dominator, I think the first (and perhaps only) power I would try for any %damage would be Terrify... and depending on if the secondary has a cone attack, maybe that too. Dominators will need Global +Recharge bonuses, and the Holds will present the choice of +Recharge set bonuses or 4+ %damage. I think the set bonuses should be the priority, but mileage varies (secondary choice, play style, budget).

I have a Mind/Poison Controller... with Force of Will!.... I like the combo but I don't think I could reskin it to be a Mermaid.

The only reason I can see to 6-slot either Health or Stamina would be for set bonuses. IMO any other non-Auto power that takes the (non-global) enhancements is a better choice of slots. If another power is an Auto (or an early enough power that will be always on) power, I may not invest even a second slot in either Health or Stamina, depending on how tight the build is. Almost all my characters 2-slot each of them. I will occasionally add a third slot to Health (for Tankers, 2-slots go to Numina's... because MOAR regeneration..., 1 will be another global). On soft characters with few HP and poor defenses, sometimes I will make sure to have the Power Transfer %Heal added to 2xPerformance Shifters (EndMod and %+End) in Stamina. Leaping from what @roleki wrote: After the third slot in either power, I'm sure every AT has a better use for the slots.

I briefly experimented with a 50+ MM jumping from banner to banner. I'd try to defeat 20-ish enemies at one banner before moving to the next. I did get the blue bar to start to move, but I don't know that I could have completed the blue bar solo before time expired. From what I could tell, I had to have defeated some number of spawns at every banner before it moved... but I wasn't able to pin down what specifically I needed to do (solo). It felt like I would have had to have done this five times (each banner)... but it couldn't verify I had done enough at each banner until I got to the fourth one (in the cycle). Even in the lowest level zones that get the Apocalypse, I suspect that my MM build would take at least 2 minutes on each (vulnerable) banner... may less time if the Lore pets were out... so I don't know if I could have solo completed the event in 16 minutes.

I also don't believe there is any 'bug' in getting badges during the Deadly Apocalypse: every case where I have missed a Banner badge is one I attributed to being on a team that didn't do enough (or any) damage to the banner. This season so far: The time I was an Incandesence 'anchor' for one the later banners, I never landed a single hit on the banners I didn't engage. The time I was on a small team, again anchoring (so away from the action) and my team appeared to be mostly lower-level characters side-kicked up. I have come to believe that on a large league in a level 50 zone, there is literally no need to have Incandesence anchors... as long as one of the folks rushing between banners summons the entire league (or waits for someone who can) before attacking the banners. Same as with the Greater Aspect.

I Like Force of Will, it's a very viable Pool... especially for characters that make have lower DPS scales. Wall of Force is very suitable as an early-ish Cone attack that can use %damage. My immediate thought was to lean into the Water set early, and then end up leveraging a Psychic Patron/Epic pool. The trick would be to find an AT whose Epic allows the kind of things you want at that tier.... or as was written, lean into the Mind/Psychic early and then leverage Mako's pool for more "aquatic" things. I wouldn't rule out Pain or Sonic with a Mermaid type character.

This is how I prefer to do it (so I don't accidentally "buff" something like the FFG or Maintenance drone. If you keep reading the thread, I think I figured out what the cause it, and have a suggested work around. It's pretty much exclusive to the T3 henchman on my Robotics MM.