MoonSheep

i recently made a new alt, trying to break away from playing only the same 2 characters for the last 5 years. i quickly levelled Cold Sheep, an ice/shield stalker to lvl 15, decked him out with some SOs and decided to form a Posi 1 it quickly filled and we get going. i run it on +1 because why not we breeze through the missions without much drama and quickly find ourselves at the final mission. the heroes are rescued, the steps are cleared - now for the final battle, with the bosses all at +2 to us now, here's where people start getting nervous and start putting out the most insane and ridiculous ideas i've ever heard. ludicrous suggestions like "lets wait for everyone" and "we should pull one of them first" - just straight up nonsense. so anyway, i juice myself up to the eyeballs on T3 inspirations and dive right in. i'm having a great time waving my icy fists in all directions like someone trying to kill a moth in the dark, barely seeing beyond my nose from the glow of all the inspirations i was huffing in the corner before jumping in the rest of the team.. not having as great a time. red health bars soon give way to black and the rot spreads quickly through the team we regroup, i re-insp outside and we head back in. now, friends, the scenario that followed has fortunately been documented by PvP Comic's Scott Kurtz in 2004, shown below. Panel 3 represents your esteemed leader and his strategic choices as george bush once said, fool me once: shame on you. fool me twice: ..you can't get fooled again. well, we quickly got fooled. people are now starting to get a bit grumpy, it's time for a change in tactics. i'll entertain the team and their preposterous and zany ideas we regroup for a third time and pull just a handful of the bosses, laying a nice trap of debuffs for them as they round the corner at the top of the stairs. we quickly mash through the remaining enemies and complete the TF with what i think must be a server all time speed run record of 54 minutes anyway what i'm saying is, Posi 2 LF7M on excelsior, pst for invite

here's the build i'm currently running with. haven't yet slotted out poisonous ray because.. i'm lazy. it has a terribly long activation time, but it procs really well with achilles heel to give a combined -38.75% res which is helpful as /fire is a really strong ST damage dealer some of the sets could perhaps take a damage proc instead of the other IOs in the set, but it feels alright for now some notes: - combat jumping is an early level 'must have' for me. because i'm using incinerate (melee), fire breath (cone) and the rest of my attacks (ranged), i like to be able to hop around as required and get into the right position for battle. i have no idea how people can play with hover, it would feel like taking an armchair into a war front line trench - perma domination without hasten is helpful, a nice bonus - veng is optional, just fun to have. when people die it's a handy +32-35% ish def for the team - could probably put in the two 3% +def IOs into scorpion shield and slot poisonous ray less, one day i'll get round to it.. This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Moon Sheep 2024_orig: Level 50 Magic Dominator Primary Power Set: Mind Control Secondary Power Set: Fiery Assault Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Mesmerize (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage (15) Decimation - Damage/Endurance (39) Decimation - Damage/Recharge (48) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge (50) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge Level 1: Incinerate (A) Hecatomb - Damage (7) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance (7) Hecatomb - Chance of Damage(Negative) (9) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge/Accuracy (9) Hecatomb - Recharge/Accuracy Level 2: Dominate (A) Superior Ascendency of the Dominator - Accuracy/Control Duration (3) Superior Ascendency of the Dominator - Recharge/Chance for +Damage (3) Superior Ascendency of the Dominator - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance/Recharge (5) Superior Ascendency of the Dominator - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance (5) Superior Ascendency of the Dominator - Control Duration/Recharge Level 4: Super Jump (A) Unbounded Leap - +Stealth Level 6: Confuse (A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused (15) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge (17) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge/Accuracy (17) Coercive Persuasion - Recharge/Accuracy (19) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion Level 8: Fire Breath (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge (13) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range (13) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance Level 10: Fire Blast (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage (19) Decimation - Damage/Endurance (21) Decimation - Damage/Recharge (21) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge (23) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge Level 12: Telekinesis (A) Recharge Reduction IO (48) Recharge Reduction IO Level 14: Mass Hypnosis (A) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep (23) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Recharge (25) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Recharge/Accuracy (25) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Endurance (27) Fortunata Hypnosis - Recharge/Accuracy Level 16: Embrace of Fire (A) Recharge Reduction IO (27) Recharge Reduction IO Level 18: Total Domination (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold (29) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge (29) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold (31) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold (31) Recharge Reduction IO Level 20: Combat Jumping (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed (43) Kismet - Accuracy +6% Level 22: Terrify (A) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Recharge (31) Glimpse of the Abyss - Chance of Damage(Psionic) (33) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Fear/Recharge (33) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Endurance (33) Glimpse of the Abyss - Endurance/Fear (46) Superior Dominating Grasp - RechargeTime/Fiery Orb Level 24: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (50) Recharge Reduction IO Level 26: Mass Confusion (A) Malaise's Illusions - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge (34) Malaise's Illusions - Accuracy/Recharge (34) Malaise's Illusions - Endurance/Confused (34) Malaise's Illusions - Accuracy/Endurance (36) Malaise's Illusions - Confused/Range (36) Recharge Reduction IO Level 28: Blazing Bolt (A) Sting of the Manticore - Accuracy/Damage (36) Sting of the Manticore - Damage/Endurance (37) Sting of the Manticore - Damage/Endurance/Recharge (37) Sting of the Manticore - Chance of Damage(Toxic) (37) Sting of the Manticore - Damage/Interrupt/Recharge Level 30: Blaze (A) Apocalypse - Damage (39) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge/Accuracy (39) Apocalypse - Recharge/Accuracy (40) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge (40) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative) (40) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage(Toxic) Level 32: Consume (A) Accuracy IO (43) Recharge Reduction IO Level 35: Poisonous Ray (A) Accuracy IO (42) Defense Debuff IO (45) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff (45) Empty (46) Empty (46) Empty Level 38: Scorpion Shield (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed (45) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense Level 41: Personal Force Field (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed Level 44: Maneuvers (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed Level 47: Assault (A) Endurance Reduction IO Level 49: Vengeance (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense Level 1: Domination Level 1: Brawl

@Speed Freak i haven't been able to load this into mids as it's being buggy, but i assume the current build achieves perma domination? looks like it would judging from the amount of +rech bonuses at a glance some other thoughts if useful, but just my opinion Level 1: Flares > Sorry I forgot that Incincerate was the second power in rather than fire blast. Although it's a melee attack I'd pick it up, it's quite high in damage for the ocassions you'll use it Level 2: Gravity Distortion > I would put the ascendency of the dominator set in here instead of crushing field, you'll use the ST hold more often Level 4: Hover A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed 13: Blessing of the Zephyr: Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance 42: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points) > You won'tneed any KB protection when you have perma dom Level 18: Gravity Distortion Field > Fiery Orb is worse than you can possibly imagine unfortunately Level 20: Boxing > Why is Boxing here all on its own? If you have spare powers i would pick up vengeance, it gives you another place to put an LOTG +rech and is a helpful power when things go south on teams Level 24: Assault > I wouldn't put a second end reduction slot, it won't make much of a difference Level 28: Blazing Bolt A: Far Strike: Damage/Range 42: Far Strike: Damage/Recharge > This is one of your main 2 attacks and it's chronically underslotted. This and Blaze need to be 5-6 slotted. sacrifice slots from either Lift or Propel, you won't be using either much as the fiery assault attacks have a quicker animation and are more damaging Level 35: Tactics A: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: Chance for Build Up 37: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance > I'm not sure why you would choose Manuvers and Tactics if you're not going to pick up vengeance, it won't make much of a difference as your set bonuses will be more valuable Level 38: Consume A: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage > Go for accuracy instead

hey, this is my main alt - have been playing it non stop for 5 years on HC and a few years on live before shutdown from mind control: Dominate, Confuse, Total Domination, Terrify and Mass Confusion are all must haves. i think mass hypnosis really useful, having an AoE sleep is a useful tool to prevent additional aggro. telekinesis is a 'fun' power but it's not hugely useful, i have it on my build for fun but it's not essential Mezmerize - i'd recommend picking up Mesmerize and slotting it for damage, it's handy as a single target psi damage attack in some content Dominate - i've put the dominator chance for +dmg in here, i use dominate in every attack cycle, so it stacks reasonably well Confuse - slot the contagious confusion purple proc in here, it makes it very nice from fiery assault: incincerate, fire blast, embrace of fire, blazing bolt and blaze are my must haves. fire breath is a surprisingly strong cone, if you line it up well it's very helpful in lower level content. blaze + blazing bolt will be your main 1-2, complimented wth fire blast and incincerate for additional damage - incinerate being your only melee power, which leads me to.. i've built my dom primarily just for recharge, as all powers are ranged, you don't take much damage as you'll often lead combat with a mez power - a mezzed foe deals no damage. i also team for 99% of my CoH life. i have scorpion shield from the mace mastery which has a lil bit of defense, but mostly chose it for the aesthetics of the purple glow any mastery power is fine, after the recent nerfs none of them have notable "wow" factor anymore the combination is a very very high single damage, blaze and blazing bolt both have 1s animation times and market leading damage, in terms of burst output it's up there with a number of blasters mind control is the premier control set in the game, combined with domination will allow you to completely shut down battles that are getting out of hand. i primarily play my alt as a damage dealer, locking down the ocassional annoying boss during play. when things get hectic or a mob is particularly spicy, that's when i'll start using the AoE mez powers hopefully this is a helpful start. in summary: just build for recharge to get perma dom, embrace the ranged benefits, use the flexibility of remaining powers and slots to enjoy the pool powers and procs that tickle your pickle

blaze + blazing bolt quicksnipe will be a core part your attack chain, not taking it would really reduce your damage output unless you only play end game content i would also pick singularity at 26, blazing bolt at 28 and blaze at 30 your attacks and control powers will all be pretty much entirely ranged, as a result you will likely not as much defence as you think you need i haven’t got much def on my mind/fire dom other than shark skin and one or two set bonuses, it survives quite well as a mezzed foe deals 0 damage edit: i would also highly recommend choosing fire blast over flares, it does a good amount more damage overall i would mostly just recommend playing the character first and getting familiar with the powersets and archetype then focus on the build second. the player is more important than the build

a few months ago the game also changed the level at which you can access your powers. e.g you can pick singularity at lvl 26 and fulfcrum shift at lvl 30, rather than 32/38 unless you play solely end game content i would consider picking these powers earlier. you’ll be able to use FS on things like yin TFs

tanks tend to out damage brutes, the 50% larger AoE inherent helps a lot. better survivability too

make sure you have whirlwind and repel active on your energy blast/kin corrupter so you can fold space them into the air and then scatter them as far as possible alt name: Tornado of Hatred

my man! nice to see someone else who also chooses a defender to maximise their buff/debuff contribution

that's it, you've twisted my arm! i'm going to make the ice melee stalker i've been mulling over @Troo i organically levelled an elec/shield to 50, it's been really good fun. the double nuke is nice, however they don't crit and their ability to use procs isn't great i'm hoping ice/shield will be the perfect combo. fast recharging AoE and cone damage through Frost and Frozen Aura, a fast and heavy hitting ST damager in Freezing Touch to compliment AS in a nice 1-2 succession. shield charge into mobs without breaking hide (as it essentially deploys a pseudo pet) and then get some crits with frozen aura @Dungeoness Eloora how are you finding ice/ice? i have a build for it in mids and it looks quite fun. i'd mostly be taking it for chilling embrace, a nice herding tool for extra chaos

i won’t accept people talking smack about our lord and saviour Fold Space ”For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. And also Fold Space in the Teleport power pool” - 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV 🙏📿 @JasperStone

ooh, i didn’t know it was an AoE - i only remember it from Ye Olde days where it was single target

playing a mastermind is bad enough, but playing one with group fly is just adding another layer to the lasagna of disappointment

need an energy manip blaster with slotted TP and perma boost range 😀

thanks, i’ll have a look later and see will how i get on

i’m looking to replace the rather horrible looking patron pool colours within stalker soul mastery with the icons within the blaster dark blast set for dark blast and moonbeam, does anyone have a view on whether this will be possible? i assume it’s a case of finding the folder for the soul mastery powers and replacing it with the icon files for dark blast, renamed with the previous soul mastery file names?

if it was a full team of 8, one person wouldn’t impact the speed of the run 3 players lagging behind are unlikely to impact the duration if the other 5 players are experienced and fully slotted i wouldn’t worry about it mate. a good team knows how to make the best use of everyone onboard. even if that means sometimes letting people die for a nice vengeance buff

forum PvP is the hardest part of CoH, the turn based combat element of the game

yeah, i usually lead TFs but thought i’d tag along and see what was going down me being abandoned was what was going down

i agree completely - i’ll make a few attempts to politely get someone’s attention, including team messages and a tell so it’s a different colour mostly only on MO or speed runs though, i don’t notice as much on regular TFs or mishes if someones wandering around - they’re usually tasty veng bait

or just kick them from the team and carry on - usually the easiest option for non responsive players

in contrast.. i logged on last night ready to play for the first time in 3 months or so. saw several TFs were recruiting and nabbed the last spot on a KM ITF - sweet realised i forgot to line up my LFG port before accepting the invite, so i sent a message to explain and that i’ll be right there ported into zone, messaged lead.. no response.. waited for a min and sent a follow up.. lead jumps off to the first mish alright.. nevermind

i’ve also been tempted by an ice stalker - i levelled an elec/shield a while ago and enjoyed the AoE, i feel ice on stalkers has an even better combo of AoE and ST damage i agree with you too regarding the controllable crits, it makes for a really involving and strategic melee experience the only thing stopping me is the allure of ice melee on tanks having an even wider cone for frost and the PBAoE

i didn’t know this, thanks. will give it a go at the weekend

just to make sure i have the order of events correctly, you put your brain in a jar and are now experiencing flawless PuGs? 🤔