Golden Azrael

Aha. Another vote for Barrier. (12% def positions and about 36% Smashing. Not enough for the crazy stuff I like to do...) So Barrier would certainly add a dollop of defence and res' for the initial alpha mob attack (currently doing +1x8 on Council maps....) allow to Drain Psyche and stack those AoE/Cone (Scream and Shock') plus Fear. Actually one thing I do remember from playing my Dark Dark Defender? Opening with Fear in combat can buy you some time to close to melee. (I@m not sure it's as all encompassing as the Dark defender version which is fearsome stare?) I'd have to respec to get the TP 'blink' to TP the mob so I can 'Drain Psyche' them. I just have Hover and CJ at L50 and the cheapo freebie athletic run. (I Know, that's no way for a L50 to be getting around...) You're spot on re: Melee Hybrid Core. I've used it on quite a few alts and it smooths out so many rough edged on a build in most general game content. Musc' core. Given the advice you and Tex have given. I'm going two ways. Cardiac, Ageless Radial and Assault Radial. Musc, Barrier and Hybrid. Mano' uh Mano. I'd like to try both on this. I suspect the latter when I'm built out will be the comfy slippers and armchair version I'm after. Azrael.

Hello _Tex. Ty for your reply. I'm reasonably efficient in 'energy siphon' style powers. (Dark/Dark tank/scrapper, Elec Domi/blaster, Elec/kin corr'...) Tend to like the ol' blap. I tend to eshew the 'play at range' style (in general.) Drain Psyche isn't 'bad.' I remember even thinking it was good on live when my Duo partner had it. (Wow. He has no end problems and I'm here with my tongue hanging out...) I guess I've been thoroughly spoiled by the room style end hoover that is a War Shade which I played to death one or two alts ago. (Azrael..., so you're saying?) By comparison, you have to be 'really tight' to the mob to get the full bounty on that Drain Psyche. I often find I'm getting 1, 2 or 3 mobs but not quite the fully monty on it. It works. But when you've floored your end bar (which is easy to do on Dominators...ie. Good job I have Power Sink on my Elec Elec Domi...) it can 'take its time' for the end bar to get back up (relative to the sun aka the War Shade.) I'm not fully hard wired in on Mind/Psi. So, probably more practice required on it. I have had more than 3/4 samples of DS from 'moar' mobs (if you're really surrounded.) Perhaps that is where Domi's could have their radius improved like you've suggested, _Tex? It's a bit tight compared to the WS mire hoover. Just something I've noticed from 'end sucking' on both. Not fully built out yet. But most major attacks or controls are x2 end reducted. I don't like alts that bleed end. Partly my reason for choosing Cardiac. It might partly be the hasten crash (which causes a chunk of end to go) just as you're in the 'thick' of giving the 'gift' in combat. Two mobs will give you a reasonable return from Drain Psyche. I've noticed that. It's good enough. For sure. But the combat tip of moving to the next juicy mob to get a more juicy return on it is the voice of experience talking. Good point. Hmm. Barrier. Wit you saying dat, it now seems such an obvious choice for so many reasons and yes, Drain Psyche. It's one of the two choices I'm considering. I know with end game content 40-50+. It's all about the debuff. I've had my fire/fire tank thrown to Hospital from a Carnie mission. And squishies, in addition to the handicap of being stunned, or slapped by a Wolf and HP'd in a few punches...the debuffs can cripple you're only modus operandi for survival. Your controls and assaults. Radial Ageless is the one I was thinking of taking to counter this. You get debuff, blistering speed and moAR end. Barrier was my other choice. Perhaps I can take the latter when my global recharge is 85%+. Caveat. I@m not built out yet. But I have started with the two global defence uniques in the Ice Shield. I'm looking at your build, in particular, _Tex. (if I can find out why the latest version of Mids won't load up...) Azrael.

Your thoughts are interesting. I can see what you're getting at, _Tex. I think of syncing Domination through the attacks. When it works great on the controls...it's really great. I wonder if it could be used to augment the assault side of the coin more. Proc damage. A flat rate boost. Mindmeltdown DoT dam' when Domi is active. The radius of Domi when it's rocking and the longevity are good. Just something missing on the assault side. Elec. Jolting Chain. Agreed. Each hit should end drain. S.O. Sure. More dominate in dat. Good power. Could be great. Assault. What you need is a reward for the danger of going into melee distance with a can of beans hit points and mediocre assault damage. The juice isn't quite worth the squeeze? For the danger you put yourself in. Though that doesn't stop me trying to 'tank' with my Mind/Psi. (Health Insurance.) Azrael.

...and Electricity. I find it interesting enough. (I've elec Tanks, Blasters and Corruptors...) eg. I find the control set superior to Mind in every way. (You can tell the elec #trol set came later.) But not as dramatic as Gravity. For sure. The control damage is very grindy and 'wholesale' (can be helped by Musc' and Assault if you're post 50. Which actually brings the damage up somewhat to be noticeable.) Azrael.

An authorative (and civilised) reply, _Tex. I see your reasoning. I suppose the assault sets did seem somewhat 'thrown' together. Some better than others. The rebalance of Dominators by HC was a welcome beginning. But if anyone plays a Mind (control set) and Psi (assault set) and comes away with that paint drying feeling, you'll know what Tex is leaning towards here. eg. Controllers? Overdue an innovative bootstrap overhaul. The Holds are gapingly long to come around. You have to floor the global, hasten and recharge values until you can get the 'oh crap' button to come around. Wouldn't it be more interesting if it wasn't an 'oh crap' button? The light damage of psi only magnifying when you miss and get a tonnage crap load of damage from melee mobs for your troubles. Certainly, not as easy as an Elec or Stone control and assault dominator. Sure, if you want to piddle around with +0x1 content, you'll be fine pootling along. But I'd like to see Trollers/Dominators get a worthy 'aggregate' for their troubles. Eg. In Dominator? Something simple like adding 'Assault' style damage with the domi' button. For the Psi set? Perhaps Drain Psyche does 'Mind bleed' damage over time? Or a damage buff (no Build Up on mind) ala like the Mire effect on WShades? The extended range and the fact that it's Psi is supposed to compensate? *shrugs. It feels like it's showing its age somewhat. I wish I hit as hard as the Carnie Dark Mistress, she always seems to give my ATs a right galloping. Having just come off the back of the (much improved) tank AT with Rad/BSword? A Mind/Psi domi feels like pulling teeth. I've been trying out settings eg. -1x4, +0x1, 2, 4, 8. And (with a bit of skill and 'some' inspires...!) you can 'do' it and see some potential. That's with ten % def positions and 36% smashing def' base. Seems ok def? Depending on setting, you only need a shot or few to get through before you are 'bombed' out for trying. The consequences (obviously) on melee are less severe? But the added 'balladic' feel of the combat with the nice and graceful (long?) animations doesn't seem to have the cut and thrust of a melee alt. Al very slow. In short, I think the Troller/Domi ATs could do with another long look. Meagre diets compared to the Brutes and Scrappers...and a universe away from a rocking War Shade. Sure, I could go Mind/Rad...(and have...and Radiation adds much relief as it BOMPS the mobs....) I'm going to try Mind/Psi with the Psi epic. And try and bend the game to my will somewhat. Thanks to advice from _Tex and others on a Mind/Psi domi threads. Speed things up a bit with hasten and recharge recipes, add in some proc damage HERE and THERE and try and get base defence numbers up high enough to absorb the errant Wolf mobs that sprint up to me and SLAP half my HPs. Azrael.

The newer version of Mids won't load. For some reason, it won't load any of the builds. I think I got it to work the 1st time. It sure aint working now. Azrael.

So the assault sets have been rebalanced on 'other' servers? I see. Be interesting to know in what way? More damage? eg. Mind/Psi domi is pretty slow and light to medium damage. I wonder when or if Domis and Trollers are going to have a HC design pass/damage pass at some point. They seem pretty hard work to me next to blasters, brutes, scrappers or tanks. (I do have an elec/elec/elec Domi. Perma domi. And it's good at control/lockdown. But the damage, is at best, 'polite.') Azrael.

Double post.

Update. L45. Gone with Ice Epic. x3 slots. -def. Acc. End. Rech'. It's a great debuff. -41% def'. Slows. Makes Psi hit 'harder.' Added Ice Shield. Smashing def' x3 SO slots. 1 end red'. I'll probably go Ice Storm next... and then Hasten. Problems were? Speed. Dam (with -res and proc uniques to be added.) Def'. So all of those will have been addressed. Update: L50. Hasten aquired. Big difference. Went for Snow/Ice Storm to stack with Sleet...and the two other AoEs I have plus Terrorize. I use the 'Hold' to keep the mob from running off sleet. Alpha. Cardiac? Bit of an end problem. But the radial cardiac gives end red, fear, range, sleep, absorb. dam resistance. That's good value for a Domi? I was going to go Musc'. But does it give as much as that? Can I perma-domi this? What's perma-domi? 85% global rech'? I got Cardiac Alpha. I don't get hurt as much. End is a distant problem. Azrael.

Domis have that Range to Blapper tension in their Primary and Secondary. And it is, indeed, for the individual hero to decided if they go range, or close to blap. Mediocre is how I'd describe Domi damage. I'd like a 20% Domination bonus to Damage. Just me. I think (along with Procs noted above) that -res debuffs are the way to try and tip the scales of balance in your favour. I 'have' used the ice epic set before. The Sleet, the Hiberate, the Cold Shield. All good powers giving debuff, Panic Press and Defensive capability. I'll have to look at your mids build to see what the Dark Patron brings to the table. I am intrigued by the 'Fold Space' idea with Drain Psyche. If you could bring the mob to the Sleet Ice mat. That could be interesting and then hit them with Drain Psyche. Having 2-4 attack powers fitted out with Procs and a sweeping -res power could stack to bring more 'bite' to the combo. (No build up. So I'm surprised at the Light to Medium damage with dominates the Psi assault set. Azrael.

My initial thoughts? Psychic Scream and Psychic Shockwave. Pretty mediocre damage as _Tex says. But my aim with AoEs is always to cut the mob to its knees with x2 AoE stacks. X2 mediocre with fast recharge becomes something 'better.' (If I stack Psychic Tornado on top...then that's x3 AoEs.) With proc damage? (If possible...) That can rough up mobs. Add in Terrify for more proc? And that's alot of AoE proc shock for mobs. A purple set in Shockwave and Erad'? Why not? Azrael.

Welcome insight Vince and _Tex. Thank you for the build suggestion, Oedipus. It is being perused. 🙂 The proc slotting of Dominate. Interesting. Something to try. Ice as an epic is interesting. It has some good debuffs. Are the two AoEs proccable to push the envelope on their damage? The Fold Space idea is innovative. TK is passable. I'm not that fussed about Mental Blast either. Too many of the blasts are 'medium' hitting. Much of the same. Though they do all look pretty. Mind Probe and Mind Thrust have a good 1-2 punch in melee for a dominator. Azrael.

Mind/Psi. Pretty. Sedate. Hard work. Interesting to play. Slower paced. I guess you are a 'mind tank.' Accept when you get hit, you really get hit. Such is the life of a squishie. The builds look decent enough. I have one at L40. It's slow, not enough recharge. Not damaging enough (no build up?) So x2 dam slots isn't quite enough to polish white even cons off in minimum shots. (It always takes an extra hit or two!) Not enough defence. (I'm on about 5%.) (This can be helped with a carefully chosen inspire tray and FILL it up before each missions. eg. DAMs and DEF'. And yes, until Perma-Domi? Breakers.) Even con. Vs. Council? I can plod along. I've tried +0x8 with some inspires(!) and AoE damage stacking with control spams. Doable. Tried -1x4. Much easier. Don't get hit as hard and I can hit harder. +0x1 on Carnie. The Illusionists are hard to handle (deflected...deflected...deflected...). So I try to get the minions confused to duff her up. Needs patience. What epic you'd go for? Scorpion Shield for S&Lethal protection via defence. Also get the energy def' too from that shield. Then you could go fighting pool and get the Tough, Weave (moAR) def'. slot Tough with x2 Global defences. There is the Psi Epic pool... Mind Link etc and the Psi Shield. I don't know how to play it fully yet. Usually takes me 50 levels to 'hot wire' the playstyle. I did get a L50/have a Mind/Rad Domi. The Damage was a bit more on the front foot. Azrael.

Double post.

Thank you for the tips, Invader Stych. 🙂 Logged and noted. I have finished my build and achieved L50. Fitting 2 purple sets to complete the damage on a couple of attacks. +1 Level Shift also achieved. So, this Radiation Broadsword walked into a Bar where Long Bow where drinking... +1x8. There's a disagreement... +2x8. Then things get personal... +3x8. and then a fight breaks out... +4 x 8. Oh dear... Long Bow aren't Captain America any more. I think that's my 1st tank that's stood there and took it from the Longbow. And then, took 'their turn.' This is the 1st tank where I've really thought to take Ageless Radial for the debuffs from the outset. Azrael.

Some very interesting pearls of wisdom here. eg. Rad is really a 'regen' build for a tank. And building for recharge resistance is on the money advice. As for the procs, some incisive advice. -Res' on mobs is what we're after whilst, of course, boosting our own' resist values. The theft of essence is a cool and juicy noteworthy. Procs in Rad' Therapy and GZero. For dam. Juicy stuff. Intriguing advice. What 'FotG' is? 🙂 What I found pleasantly surprising is that Rad' has it's own 'hasten-ey' style power that depends on the amount of mobs you have surrounding you? (Particle Shielding?) Once I add hasten to 35-40% rech' we're really going to be cooking. I'll be adding a couple of 'slow sets' to boost the native slow resist power Radiation seems to have and(?) Winter's Gift for another 20%. Should be able to fit that into CJ. L40 and counting. Weave. Is next. Azrael.

🙂 I DID look at your Radiation stats from your build. Gave me ideas for slotting Gamma, some of the resist sets and the Radiation 'Therapy' (can't say Council mobs like the therhapy too much...) Some interesting ideas re: Weave slotting. Saved the build for ref' compared to my own mids build. I was wondering how your Melee defence was so high! Until I -du-OH' realised it was defensive sweep which is a bit like the +defence Melee power in Katana and BSword which give great 'reach' in terms of Inc' defence leavels and tanking ala Melay. Azrael.

Come on guys. Guys, GUYS! Where's the Radiation Broad Sword Tank builds? There must be some dirty secret builds out there. I checked the 1-50. And whilst I saw some Radiation Primary and 'some' (scant) Broad Sword secondaries, (and could have spliced them together...), there was no Union of Headsplitter with Radiation poisoning. So, in the absence of any builds. I made my own Necessity is the mother of invention build along these lines. Reactive Armour in the sheilds. Get some defence in there (as Radiation seems very Resist heavy and with the 'no big HPs button...you're got to be very active in your management of 'tools.'). Fitted the two AT tanker sets in Swirling Sword and the Slice AoE powers. (Though maybe one of those two sets might need to be in something more 'active' like Beta Decay?) Fitted Panacea in Health, ofc. Fitted the two global def 3% procs in Tough (using as mule.) No Hasten or Weave yet as I'm 'just' L35 at the moment and just got my 1st 'big' (allegedly) hitter. I'm surprised BSword doesn't have one 'high damage' power in the 1st three tiers. And the 'attack' after that is the self defence buff power. Then it's taunt and BU. You're waiting some for a 'hitter' (35 lvls) and I thought it might be excellent damage rather than just 'high' (it's base dam doesn't seem much higher than the tier 1?) Still, no mewling about that. You have Radiation. You debuff their defence. Whilst boosting yours with BS (no jokes.) Best builds posted get a thumbs up from me. Possibility of using procs in Swirling/Whirling Sword and Slice AoEs? Force feedbacks to go in the two knockback powers at 35/38? Boost the rech' for powers like Meltdown which has a big cooldown. Weave or Hasten at L41. *ponders. I'm going to fit an obliteration in Ground Zero. Boost the melee defence from 15% currently to about 19% in time for L40+ content. Adding weave to that would see me at about 27% defence in time for L41+. Regards, Azrael.

In the mod pack? You can now have the original 'Ahhh....' I haven't tried modding the female taunts yet. Azrael.

Stone tanker got an update with the recent patch? Anybody got any interesting Stone/Stone builds? I'm currently capped on Smashing, Energy and Psi defence at L45. (Mine is going to be a non-Breeze Block stone tanker.) Mainly an SO build with some obvious uniques placed here and there (eg. The two global def' uniques, the Numina in health, a couple of Unbreakable Guards for the end discount in the two resist armours. Early days re: the build out.) But resists are weak to mediocre. To compensate I've maxed out the regen and HPs boost powers. End is a bit of an issue if you go all out. But I've not double End reductioned Seismic Smash yet. I've got two force feedbacks in the AoE knockdown powers. That gives impressive recharge. I've also got two dam SOs in the damage aura. This does help 'wholesale' damage over time. Update. Well. I'm on the way to building this. And not bad at all. It's a tanker's tanker. Bit old school. Can take a 'rate' kickin' from Council and Malta. The Alpha? Went for Cardiac left side. Solved lingering end problems right there. The dam' resist? Very, very good. Adds a layer of 'toughness' to allow the heal to go 'over the top.' Green bar isn't moving at +3x8 on Malta 'too much.' Just a nibble here and there. Occasionally. Smashing Def' is rocking at 58%. I think I can get 60% and boost melee defence to past 30% with another purple special set. Energy is passed capped. Psi is well passed def'. Knocking on door to incarnate class. Accuracy and Recharge were prioritised. I can hit easily at +3. (Gone from missing at +1 to hitting most of the time at +3 on Malta.) Global recharge is above 80%. Then I hit hasten. 🙂 I have slow protection build in from the unique and a slow res' set. My resists for fire and ice were very low in the 50%s. That was were I was getting laced by CoT behemoths. But I'm capped for Fire now. If you're res' capped for Fire and defence capped for Psi? Those are two big worries out of it. Energy, quite popular too? Capped for def. Smashing? Most common type? Above cap with more to come. The damage toggle does add over time, by the way. I've got my Tanker AT in that. Hit the build up button (which I have coming around very often...) and it gives it even more reach. The battles with mobs that used to take much longer? Now don't. My AoE hitting power and 'churn' due to global speed boost chop mobs down below the knees. Any 'ard cases' get the seismic smash which has them rockin' on their heels. Bosses don't last as long as they used ta. Not a perfect build. But most effective. It's gone past the 'pain barrier' of grinding fights to, 'Where did the mob suddenly go to?' No 'brick wall' in this build. I'm not fond of it snail pace slow walk. But I have a rock solid stone tanker. I could put some procs in the two AoE powers. It's that or chase even more defence. Azrael.

Stone/Stone. Just got to L50 with mine. Much enjoyed. Who cares what groups think. They're just jealous at the size of your hammer? 😛 You could try? Invulnerability and Super Strength. Robust def and attack. To def. To hit. To dam. Good all rounder. Azrael.

Roll a Fire Fire tanker. Musc it. Assault it. Proc it. Plus. Instant popularity with mobs. Azrael.

I teamed my Brute Axe/Shield with a Brute Mace/Regen'. Two good attack sets. And on a brute, you hit progressively harder. Brutal stuff. As for an Ice/Axe tank. I could see that working well. They fall over on ice patch whilst you axe them into Oxo cubes. Azrael.

Me neither. 😛 Plenty to see here. If someone wants to try a kinetic, a corruptor and fancies the 'new' (revamped) elec set, they can try it with aspiration. I'm not a numbers expert. But to get to a place where you can hit 400% damage and circa 300% recharge is pretty good going. You do get the capability to get a sound heal, a turbo recharge when stacked with Hasten, a great end return power that can dampen down a noisy mob and the 'almighty' Damage buff of Fulcrum Shift. You can progressively stack and rack these buffs/debuffs as you fight your way through a map. It can be quite compelling. Kinetics can be tricky to play. But using hover-kin changed the way I approached things. And the new elec patch is a good fit with it. Elec is not all conquering fire. The damage can be a bit scratchy on the way up. But you can with Fulcrum Shift ramp it up. For the curious? Worth a try. Azrael. Update. +4x8 Council np. I think I like the mitigation the Corr' has over the duration of a fight. You gradually strip them of end to fight. You can hold them. You can AoE them. Snipe them. Nova them. Gradually ramp up your speed and damage where you're increasingly difficult to deal with. And Repel has been a revelation as has Hover-Kin'. It's much easier than trying to run around and in and out of combat applying Kin' buffs. Being a pervasive presence over the mobs is harder for them to deal with you and it's easier to see combat overall strategically with a bird's eye view. PPS. I haven't tried this on AVs. I imagine that a Kin/Defender may be more the deal for that. But for trash mobs? This elec/kin Corr hoovers things up very efficiently and takes apart bosses np. If you're addicted to pressing buttons and seeing your alt get progressively more powerful as it goes from mob to mob? This is for you.

Corruptor and Kinetic. Two birds. One stone. I finally have my 'last' project to L50. I wanted a Kin. I wanted a Corruptor. I have two in one. Not a cheap build out, either. Put in some -res to slow sets and Winter's Gift. I've managed in combat to hit the 400% dam cap. I've managed to have recharge in excess of 250%. I can drain the life out of mobs to the point where the aggro' suddenly goes very quiet. The transference power is very powerful. I'm one luck away from capping the positions and smashing. (Not melee, ofc.) You have to rev' the engine on this thing to get it going. (Where you may spend more time pressing debuffs to ramp up your offensive capabilities.) Some may wonder, why not just play an elec/elec blaster. And that is a debate. (I do have an elec elec blaster...) The revelation for me to make kinetics work (after a few attempts) was to be a 'hover' Kin' so no worries about knbk interrupting the debuff process which you have to spend more time in melee for the heal and end drain. So less stepping in and out of combat... ...as I have Repel deployed to great effect. Azrael.