Crysis

Good lord that’s a helluva sturdy build for a Stalker.

I’m still sitting on well over a hundred unopened Winter Packs from last years’ sale. I flipped a bunch but then really slowed down my alt-creation-itis after the big AE XP nerfs last spring and so now just use the leftovers to outfit my own toons as needed. I doubt I’ll buy any this year. No longer Marketeering beyond conversions.

Perhaps. But I think knowing the Dev team we have now it would be much easier to boost Sent damage multiplier and shrink recharge. The aggro limit for Sents is almost as big of a detriment for DPS as is our lower damage levels. What I have found acceptable for certain Sentinel builds is the abundance of PbAOE damage powers, which augments a melee oriented AT. DP/SR/Ninja has a couple of good PbAOE powers as does Fire/Rad between Inferno and Ground Zero. Alpha spawn killers seems to be the Sents normal role with these two builds although neither can hold aggro worth a crap...not that they need to once said spawn has been leveled.

With HC’s Sustain powers for Blasters, and the ability to easily softcap most any blaster builds to Range, S/L, etc.....Blaster’s are survivable “enough” for almost any content. I’ve solo’d an ITF at +3/x8 and I know many others have done it at +4/x8 on a Blaster. So yes, a Sent is more like a gimped Scrapper with Ranged attacks. I’ve got a Fire/Time Corr, a Fire/Storm Corr, a Fire/Rad/Dark Sent, a DP/SR/Ninja Sent and a DP/Regen/Ninja Sent. Sentinels don’t rival almost any of my Corruptor builds. And they certainly don’t rival my Blasters or Scrappers for DPS. The Fire/Rad/Dark Sent is likely the most powerful of the bunch, quite capable of tanking and killing everything in the spawn. The Sentinel damage output is just unacceptably low in my opinion. I know the Devs have said as much as well, and also claimed that Sents may eventually rival Scrapper levels of damage. At that point, I’d literally consider them a Ranged Scrapper, and I’m betting if/when that ever happens, the base recharge of all attacks will be increased to offset the improvements in raw damage as well.

FWIW, I have almost a 100% success rate if I do the /buildsave before upgrading any ATO’s to Superior. And even when it doesn’t successfully load the Suprieor ATO’s, if I just keep clearing the errors as the box pops up, it will still populate all my powers/slots in the right order and MOST of my IO’s thereafter. Definitely has indigestion with something, but it mostly works.

From in-game, once logged into your character, type in (no quotes) "/buildsave" This puts the build of that current character into a folder called "Builds" that should be under your game directory>globalname>Builds. For me that's C:\COH\Crysis\Builds It's a flat text file called build.txt Now open up Mids. And use the File\Open command, point to that build.txt file and let Mids take care of rest. Counter-intuitively, don't use the Import function....just the File/Open function. It's -NOT- foolproof. Sometimes (and I'm not sure why), it will skip over certain enhancements. Superior ATO's seem to be particularly vulnerable. Some enh may show up empty as a result and you'll have to manually re-slot them. But I'd say it works 85% of the time with only slight re-slotting necessary. While I'm at it, I just exported my Thugs/Time build. I didn't take him into iTrials as I've got a lot of toons I prefer playing more than this one, so just retired him at 50. Cheap build, plenty sturdy (Ranged Def softcap), skipped all the primary attacks in favor of Epic Fireball. He won't win any min/max awards, but it's a very easy to play AT beyond the basic difficulty of just playing a MM. Feel free to borrow anything you want here. Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.1.25 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Mutation Mastermind Primary Power Set: Thugs Secondary Power Set: Time Manipulation Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Flight Ancillary Pool: Heat Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Call Thugs -- BldMnd-Acc/Dmg(A), BldMnd-Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldMnd-Acc/EndRdx(5), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), BldMnd-Acc(21), BldMnd-Dmg(21) Level 1: Time Crawl -- PcnoftheT-Acc/Slow(A), PcnoftheT-Acc/EndRdx(50) Level 2: Temporal Mending -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(3), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(9), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(11), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), NmnCnv-Heal(23) Level 4: Time's Juncture -- DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(A), DarWtcDsp-Slow%(5), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(15), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/Rchg(23), EndRdx-I(31) Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9) Level 10: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 12: Call Enforcer -- CaltoArm-Acc/Rchg(A), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg(13), CaltoArm-Dmg/EndRdx(13), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(31), CaltoArm-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(43) Level 14: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(15), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(33), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RedFrt-Def(33), RedFrt-EndRdx(34) Level 16: Distortion Field -- Lck-Acc/Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Rchg(17), Lck-Rchg/Hold(17), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39), Lck-%Hold(39), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39) Level 18: Gang War -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(19), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(19), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(25), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(34) Level 20: Super Speed -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 22: Time Stop -- Lck-Acc/Rchg(A), Lck-%Hold(46), Lck-Rchg/Hold(48), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(48), Lck-Acc/Hold(48), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(50) Level 24: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(43) Level 26: Call Bruiser -- BldMnd-Acc/Dmg(A), BldMnd-Dmg/EndRdx(27), BldMnd-Acc/EndRdx(27), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), BldMnd-Acc(40), BldMnd-Dmg(40) Level 28: Farsight -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(29), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(29), RedFrt-Def(34), RedFrt-EndRdx(37), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 30: Fly -- Flight-I(A) Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Slowed Response -- ShlBrk-DefDeb(A), ShlBrk-Acc/DefDeb(36), ShlBrk-Acc/Rchg(36), ShlBrk-%Dam(36), ShlBrk-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 38: Chrono Shift -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46) Level 41: Bonfire -- PstBls-Dmg/Rng(A), PstBls-Dam%(42), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(42), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(43), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(46) Level 44: Fire Ball -- PstBls-Dam%(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(45), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(45), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(50) Level 47: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- RgnTss-Regen+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(7) Level 1: Punk Level 1: Arsonist Level 26: Bruiser Level 12: Enforcer ------------

Threads like this are amusing. The only logic against PL’ing versus playing all the way up to 50 is personal preference. And since it’s personal preference, since the game allows both models and everything in between as valid (and always has), you play your way and I’ll play mine. The argument of “I hate teaming with a PL’d 50 who doesn’t know how to play” is silly. First, rarely have I seen that happen and I play PUG’s all the time. I’ve seen “naturally leveled” players in their 40’s and up to 50 who are still running on SO’s, many of them red, who can’t hit anything and are otherwise fairly fragile relative to where they should be with decent slotting. Not everyone reads forums, has MIDS, or even understands the crafting/IO system. Bad players are bad players, and even they can contribute in a game where so many buffs are shared and the mechanics pretty much boils down to Tab+Click buttons. It’s not that hard, and not hard enough to be plagued with bad players who are that way JUST BECAUSE they were PL’d. And second, if you don’t like the way someone on the team is playing, either leave the team or kick them. Problem solved. And, proving my point, that’s also a personal preference.

It’s very easy to export your build from in-game these days, then pull it right into MIDS and do a forum export from there to here. I do it all the time.

Isn't Agility merged with Gymnastics now? I'm so confused.

There’s a VERY lengthy thread on here somewhere that came out when /Elec Affinity was first released. There’s no doubt that Bots/Elec makes for a very sturdy build. I’d argue that Bots/Time does more for Bots/ than /Elec because you can easily cap all +DEF via Powerboost+ your secondary, plus the -TOHIT from Times Juncture covers any minor gaps you have. But if you prefer Resistance to Defense (I don’t), then /Elec is a good secondary. But survivability doesn’t help you kill faster, and in this game, Damage remains king. I played Bots/Elec to the high 40’s and promptly deleted the character as it offers nothing superior to Bots/Time. If you want raw damage output, Thugs/, Bots/ or Demon +Storm is going to be your go-to sets. /Kin or /Time are right up there if you want survivability and some other goodies. /Elec is just so-so short of the high +RES with a heal. Not my play style preference but many MM’s seem to think its a sin to let a henchman die and sacrifice all kinds of power to shore up pet defenses. In my mind, henchmen are expendable and resummoning is just part of the job spec of a MM. That’s why summon powers on such short cool downs in first place. It’s how the set was designed. YMMV of course.

Is this the asymmetrical feature?

I -thought- they just reverted all those movement speed nerfs?

FIre/Rad is the original Sentinel TankMage. The lack of damage output relative to a Fire/ Blaster or Corruptor won’t -feel- right but between Inferno and Ground Zero (mini nuke) you just wade in and solo everything. Add /Dark for damage boost and you truly are a TankMage. DP/SR/Ninja ain’t a bad combo either post 45 or so. Nothing quite like exceeding Incarnate Softcap on +DEF well before you even reach Incarnate levels. It’s the original “Matrix” or John Wick build.

BR/TA was crazy good before the big Blaster nerf incoming. I hurried up and finished mine quickly because it won’t be anywhere near as good after these changes hit. But it was very fun build, fantastic range on most attacks (which made using Beams disintegrate bonus that much easier) and thematically a Beam Rifle and a high tech tactical arrow bow looked really good together. You can try to play it before it gets nerfed, and you really should just to enjoy the experience. Beam/Devices was less viable for me. Beam/Traps on a Corruptor is a better gadget set.

I took my long-since-retired Demons/TA into beta and then respecc’ed. It’s actually playable now, not as much a powerhouse like my Thugs or Bots/Time or Demon or Thugs/Storm. But definitely can notice the buffs to /TA. Still doubt I’ll be playing it though. I just don’t think these buffs go far enough on MM’s to make it now a must-play secondary. YMMV of course.

Nah, no respec, but I did just finish leveling a BR/TA from 41-50 tonight. That plus my AR/TA and Arch/TA will be retired once the nerfs go into effect. I honestly don’t understand the motives of this dev team.

Most MM’s who play /Storm effectively disdain Hurricane for good reason. You just don’t need the power. Build for +Recharge and play aggressive. Defensive is pretty much a great way to play a fairly useless MM.

I can see the general consensus here is that /Electric Armor shrugs off Arachnos. I have not found this to be true across many brute builds depending on level of brute and level of IO’s slotted and/or primary defensive bonuses (eg; Parry). The issue with Arachnos is realizing that the worst debuffs come from ranged attacks. Thus, as a Brute who in the late 30’s/early 40’s may not be fully IO’d up just yet, there’s a good chance your positional defense to ranged attacks isn’t great. Once you realize who is melting you/hurting you, you can adapt by targeting them first, but in reality, I still found myself face planting on tightly packed +4/x8 missions. The most effective method I’ve found is to use herding techniques to engage the critters so they use melee attacks and surround you, giving your damage aura (particularly if procc’ed up a bit) a good chance to do its thing while you quickly kill everything else. But I will agree that by the late 40’s and well into incarnate territory, /Electric Armor is a fairly unkillable set, and is often underestimated and overshadowed by the more popular sets.

There's a bunch of ways to slot out a DP/SR/Ninja Sentinel build. Ultimately, I settled on this. I've not done the incarnate grind on her yet as I'm not sure it's worth it for a Sentinel. But it was easy leveling this and the guns-n-sword combo looks really unique. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.1.25 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Cimarron Starr: Level 50 Natural Sentinel Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Ninja Tool Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Pistols -- EntChs-Acc/Dmg(A), EntChs-Dmg/EndRdx(3), EntChs-Dmg/Rchg(3), EntChs-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), EntChs-Heal%(5), Dcm-Build%(7) Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def(7), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(9), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(9) Level 2: Empty Clips -- Dtn-Acc/Dmg(A), Dtn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Dtn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(11), Dtn-Dmg/Rng(13), Dtn-Dmg/EndRdx(13), AchHee-ResDeb%(15) Level 4: Dual Wield -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(37), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19) Level 8: Swap Ammo Level 10: Master Brawler -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(19), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(21), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(21), NmnCnv-Heal(23) Level 12: Bullet Rain -- Ann-Acc/Dmg(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg(23), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Ann-ResDeb%(27) Level 14: Focused Senses -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(15), LucoftheG-Def(17), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(17) Level 16: Enduring -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(29), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(29) Level 18: Executioner's Shot -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(31), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33) Level 20: Agile -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), Rct-ResDam%(33), Rct-Def(46) Level 22: Dodge -- DefBuff-I(A) Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 26: Piercing Rounds -- SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(34), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(36) Level 28: Quickness -- Run-I(A) Level 30: Kick -- Acc-I(A) Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(37), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(39) Level 35: Evasion -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-Def(40), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(40) Level 38: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(43), GldArm-RechEnd(43), UnbGrd-Max HP%(45) Level 41: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42), LucoftheG-Def(42), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42) Level 44: Sting of the Wasp -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(46), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48) Level 47: The Lotus Drops -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(48), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(50) Level 49: Elude -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 8: Cryo Ammunition Level 8: Incendiary Ammunition Level 8: Chemical Ammunition Level 1: Opportunity ------------

Very reasoned reply, and approach to the game. I have discovered a number of SG’s in-game that are most decidedly NOT min/max in play style. I’ve even found a couple of groups that were entirely SO-only for secondary builds, something I’ve since done for a few of my alts. I switch off on occasion just to feel what the game was built around (SO’s). Really want a challenge? Don’t take Hasten and don’t slot Stamina other than a single SO. Very difficult vs even +1’s. The choices are actually quite endless in this game.

You totally ignored the part about requiring choices. You can choose to be self sufficient in mitigating almost anything in this game. Or choose to not and deal with the challenges as they come. You can choose to min/max or freestyle. You can choose to not slot any enhancements or nothing but top end IO’s. You can even choose to play a pet less mastermind or a tanker with loaded up pool attacks. Your experience in this game is heavily influenced by YOUR choices. It’s a sandbox of mechanics. Move the fulcrum around, extend the length of the lever and you can lift almost anything. Or just try to use your bare hands and pop a gonad. Ultimately.....it’s all about choice. You choose your way and I’ll choose mine.

Ah ok. I misinterpreted your reply. Game on.

Are we even playing the same game? Perma-mezz hasn’t been an issue in a long time. Between empowerment stations, P2W, super break free inspirations, Clarion, Sorcery pool etc.....any AT can avoid mezz. It requires choices, load out planning based on mission and critter type, pool/power selections etc. And with the relatively common ability to max out positional and/or typed DEF, mezz attacks that don’t land have zero impact. Now if you want more challenge, take your risks with RNGesus and go commando and hope the Carnies don’t brain gangbang you. Or take any one of the very available mezz countermeasures and deal with it. ”Not so much” is basically the same as “I don’t wanna.” That’s fine, do or don’t, but please don’t make believe it’s an insurmountable challenge.

I think you entirely missed my point. I was solo in Night Ward because the content there (and it’s “normal” mission content by game standards) is just challenging enough that hardly ANY players will team up and run missions there. Why? Because it’s slightly more challenging “normal” story based mission content. Same for DA. So yes, in fact, dead zones of slightly more challenging mission content negates this entire argument. The overwhelming majority of the player base is not interested in challenge. They are interested in fun.

I always laugh at these threads about difficulty in the game, challenges, skill, etc. Then I whistle around Night Ward or DA playing missions on +4/x8 BY MYSELF, and dying repeatedly because most of my builds can’t handle that kind of difficulty. And the ENTIRE zones are overwhelmingly empty. Difficult content exists aplenty in this game for those that wish for it. AND NOBODY PLAYS IT. This is a casual game for casual players for the most part. When someone figures out how to speed something via exploiting game mechanics (in the skill sense of the word, not the hack sense), it simply represents someone trying to tune the difficulty meter to their liking. TLDR; Night Ward awaits your power creeping butt.