Redlynne

I like playing Ninja/Time (as mentioned above), in part because the general consensus is that Ninjas simply fold easier than pre-creased origami rice paper (and rightly so) ... so it then becomes a challenge to figure out how to keep Ninjas alive long enough to be effective, and Time Manipulation delivers on that (in spades). For Mercs, I'd honestly recommend going with Mercs/Nature because of the combination of buff/debuff, heal and absorb being a remarkably good fit for Mercs (on top of being good thematically for guys in camo fatigues).

Me? Maneuvers: usually 1 to 6 (sets vary depending on the rest of the build) Assault: 1 Endurance Reduction Tactics: usually 1 or 6 Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control Vengeance: 1 Luck of the Gambler global recharge Victory Rush: 1 Endurance Modification

Yes, they're different sources of the debuff. You just can't get multiple Achilles' Heel procs stacking on top of themselves (because they overwrite each other rather than stack).

LINK in case you need the reference point.

I DO like Eagle's Claw ... too cinematic to not use! In fact, you can see Redlynne using Eagle's Claw (more than once!) in a Samuraiko Productions video in the Issue 22 trailer! https://youtu.be/Py4RFU5X68g?t=118 Also as a side note, two of my other alts from back in those days appeared in that same video ... Ms Terry (Warshade) and Leggs (Hunts(wo)man).

Could call him "Speed Razor" ...

To have a Martial Arts attack chain of ... Crippling Axe Kick > Storm Kick > Cobra Strike (or Crane Kick) > Storm Kick > repeat ... you will need a LOT of recharge boosting. How much? Well ... Storm Kick ... 1.056s animation (arcanatime) and 6s recharge (base) Cobra Strike (or Crane Kick) ... 1.848s animation (arcanatime) and 10s recharge (base) Crippling Axe Kick ... 1.848s animation (arcanatime) and 11s recharge (base) Time between Storm Kicks = 1.848s 6 / 1.848 = +224.68% recharge bonus needed from all sources Time between Cobra Strikes (or Crane Kicks) = 1.056 * 2 + 1.848 = 3.96s 10 / 3.96 = +152.53% recharge bonus needed from all sources Time between Crippling Axe Kicks = 1.056 * 2 + 1.848 = 3.96s 11 / 3.96 = +177.78% recharge bonus needed from all sources So in order to be able to seamlessly chain ... Crippling Axe Kick > Storm Kick > Cobra Strike (or Crane Kick) > Storm Kick > repeat ... endlessly, you will need +225% recharge enhancement on Storm Kick, +153% recharge enhancement on Cobra Strike (or Crane Kick) and +178% recharge on Crippling Axe Kick. This CAN be done, but doing so will often involve compromises to your build which will "cost you" as soon as you Exemplar below Level 47 (since it will often times require an Alpha slot to do this). Not necessarily recommended. Possible ... yes. Exemplar Friendly ... probably not.

Damage Enhancements slotted into Single Target damage powers would use Schedule A. Damage Enhancements slotted into Cone and (PB)AoE damage powers would use Schedule B.

Okay, the spider's new ...

Cue Phantom of the Opera AMV ...

It's kind of sad that out of 9 movies, only 3 of them are particularly memorable ... and those 3 are most memorable in their original form, not the ruination they received some 20 years after their first release (HAN SHOT FIRST!!!). At this point, you might as well call the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy STAR WARTS since it would at least be truth in advertising ...

The only thing(s) missing is (are) the dumpster (and the fire patch inside it) ...

You might as well not even consider Caltrops at all because of their weird anchor behavior. The Caltrops that Jounin throw will only persist as long as the $Target they cast the Caltrops against remains undefeated. Defeat the $Target and the Caltrops vanish/expire.

This is why I very deliberately structured my attack chains so as to use Radiant Strike (for Knockdown) before following up with Incandescent Strike, so as to get the added protection of (usually) knocking down whatever it is you need to be hitting with Incandescent Strike for both the damage and the Hold.

I played TERA for a while, and its Action Combat (which was "new" at the time, although Tabula Rasa did it FIRST with RANGED combat rather than just 30 meters is all you get "melee" combat) was kind of fun to play ... but since TERA is just a Korean grindfest treadmill it failed to hold interest beyond the first few zones of gameplay.

Where's the emote for GAWP IN AWE ...

It's that this point that I lament your choice of replacement name. Why didn't you choose ... PsychoNOT ...? I'm just going to leave this reference link here for anyone to pick up ... 💫

I'm gonna believe that there IS a Queen of England ...

Agreed. Again, I would use the "Robots" distinction that is already encoded into the game as a partial answer to this problem. I would envision groups such as Vahzilok (zombies) and Warriors/Outcasts/Tsoo/Family (unarmored humans) and Banished Pantheon (zombies again) and Carnies (Strongmen, etc.) that are essentially "fleshy" types where being weak to Lethal would make sense. By contrast, groups that need "crushing" rather than "cutting" power (robots typify this) due to their armor/construction ought to be weak to Smashing. Groups such as Malta and Knives of Artemis would wear hi tech "modern" body armors which presumably ought to offer a balance of protection versus Smashing AND Lethal both. And so on ...

Except ... Fire would have a Fire DoT ... while Lethal would have a Lethal DoT. Code it such that the Lethal DoT doesn't happen vs Robots (an already defined category of $Targets, so piggyback off the distinction) and you'd be fine, I'm thinking.

So ... Ninjas "kick ads" ... if they can stay alive ... is what you're demonstrating, right?

Depends on your engagement strategy preference. Do you pull $Targets to you ... or do you want to dive into the middle of them? Do you want to be able to change position at a moment's notice ... or do you want to Plant The Flag™ and defend a (locked) position? Do you want to Tankermind ... or do you want to Scrappermind? Blastermind? Different sets have different strengths and weaknesses when synergized together. For Mercs though, I'd argue your choices come down to Nature, Time and Traps as being your best options, with each bringing different strengths and weaknesses to bear simply due to each secondary favoring different engagement strategies for "how to fight" with your Mercs in tow, in part because those three secondaries can AoE Heal to keep your Mercs topped up on HP without being "dedicated h34l0r" powersets (meaning they bring something else to the table besides JUST healing). I myself find Temporal Mending in Time Manipulation to be almost something of a cheat mode while soloing early on since I can use it both DURING and AFTER every fight in order to keep my Pets (Ninjas in my case) topped up before engaging the next spawn group. This works wonders for not needing to resummon due to defeated Pets, and Temporal Mending also includes an increased Regeneration for a duration after the Heal, meaning the best time to use Temporal Mending is AFTER taking some damage rather than preemptively BEFORE damage is taken. All you have to do is be near your Pets (within Time's Juncture FX range is often good enough) to heal and regeneration buff them all. For Mercs, I'd argue that Nature would make for the best blending (also the best thematic synergy).

Dragon's Tail ... assuming you even "need" more recharge in your build at all (a lot of MA/SR builds have no useful way to make use of extra recharge boosting, for example).

Brings up the possibility of alternating Elude and Incarnate Barrier ...