Redlynne

In that case, you might like the Tri-Form Kheldian builds (Peacebringer and Warshade) that I'm going to be posting up once I get done writing up all the ... pontificating ... that they're going to require (and their keybind files, and their proc chances, and ... and ... and ...).

Peacebringers can "get away with" going Human Only more easily/efficiently than a Warshade can, simply because there's additional synergies with the forms for Warshades that don't "translate" over to Peacebringers (the aforementioned Mire+Mire being but one example of this).

We make every pretense of competency around here ... 😎 Fun ... isn't it? 😎 My Soldier of Arachnos is still Level 10 at this point ... mainly because I've got 9 alts to feed, not enough hours in the day to play, and because I keep playing the forums more than I play the game(!). Which is a long winded way of saying I haven't even gotten to a point where Incarnates are relevant to ANY of my builds. I've had to reroll a couple of them, and I'm doing a Play All The Things™ route with my alts where I don't want to leave content behind and then have to circle back to do it later. On top of that I'm perfectly happy to be "taking my time" getting up to 50, since I'm not in a rush to get to max level. So my thoughts on Incarnate slotting are ... do whatever makes you happy. No seriously. It's your character, even if I made the underlying build for it ... so you might as well do what pleases you most with your Incarnate slot choices.

That's kind of like asking "which is better, high or wide?" without any context. The answer is ... IT DEPENDS ... on the context of the overall build. No context means you can't provide an answer that is useful under ALL conditions.

I actually downloaded the 2.6.0.5 for OSX build you posted and did a swap replace using it for the 2.6.0.1 version, just in case it worked (and it did) ... but going all the way back to my first downloads of Pine's back in May this app has NEVER been snappy to respond to clicks/changes.

If you're building a web app, the best feature you could add would be to have the web page URL update dynamically as the build receives changes. That way, there isn't a "file" to save, but rather just a URL that you can bookmark/update. So basically the "code hash" for the build is dynamically represented in the URL, and if you want to link to it in a build post on some forum (somewhere) all you'd need to do is copy/paste the URL and people could use the link to open a new tab in their browser with the build all laid out for them and it would be as easy as switching tabs to go back and forth from a conversation about a build to actually being able to LOOK AT the build in detail without needing to download anything or open another application to look at it. Note, this is exactly how the build planners for World of Warcraft were coded (for good reasons) ... click link provided to see this in action. I for one would be extremely grateful if you'd be able to add a calculator function to the page that would compute proc chances for all procs placed into powers given the specifics of the build in question. Refer to the PPM Information Guide if you need clarification of info to use for this purpose. Computing proc chances for everything by hand (with a calculator) is extremely tedious. I am FAR less interested in any kind of "optimize my build for be because I'm too lazy to think for myself" automation you might be able to build into the planner. However, being able to tell when you're running afoul of the Rule Of Five for set bonuses and being able to compute final enhancement values accounting for Enhancement Dysfunction (ED) is absolutely critical.

ALL of the versions of the application have been molasses in January slow to respond to clicks, regardless of whether I'm running the app in Windows or OSX.

A clutch of XP ...

I've had the same happen on the Atlas and King's Row mayhem missions. Apparently, the unlock is dependent upon your PC defeating ALL of the non-PPD/non-Longbow Foes, such that if ANY of them get defeated by Longbow and/or PPD then the side door mission is not awarded, even if the "Key Found" announcement appears on your screen.

To be fair ... most people don't know how Gaussian's Synchronized Fire Control proc for Build Up works. Almost everyone "just think they know" how it works and then stop paying attention (because they already "know" the answer, doan'cha know). This is one of those things that required @Bopper's research along with @Sir Myshkin doing all the proc monster builds to puzzle out and discover, because How It Works™ isn't intuitively obvious from reading the description when put into the context of a power like Tactics. We needed the PPM Information Guide in order to work out all the Proc Fu going on under the hood inside the game engine in order for the necessary AHA! moment to happen (I just got there first and have been riding the train on it since discovery). It's just yet one more example of "you need to know WHY things work on a starship" ... so to speak ... in order to get the most out of your build choices.

Because you can animate 6 attacks from the gun in the time it takes to animate 5 attacks from the backpack. The Crab backpack animations take longer to animate than the counterpart gun animations. And the backpack attacks won't leave you standing ankle deep in brass when you're done ... 😎

So Homecoming did "A Thing" for Kheldians in that they allowed the T2 Human power to be used in Nova Form and the T1 Human power to be used in Dwarf Form. This is certainly NICE ... but when it comes to build planning it just means I've got more powers demanding slots than if I didn't have a multi-form use for the T1 and T2 powers. I propose taking this notion of allowing the T1 and T2 Human Form powers in Nova and Dwarf Forms to the next level. Simply DROP the T1 Nova power (Nova Bolt) and the T1 Dwarf power (Dwarf Strike) completely ... and simply allow both the T1 and T2 Human powers to be used in both Nova and Dwarf Forms (spoiler alert, the animations work just fine in both forms). Doing this would give Nova Forms access to 3 single target, 1 cone and 1 target AoE ... and Dwarf Forms access to 3 single target, 1 PBAoE, 1 heal, and 1 taunt, along with the obligatory Dwarf Teleport. The key here is that by slotting up the T1 and T2 Human Form powers you get to keep using those same slots in powers while in Nova and Dwarf Form. In practical terms, this means you'd only "need" to slot the T1-2 Human powers (2) along with the T2-4 Nova powers (3) and the T2-4 Dwarf powers (3), for a total of 8 powers that need Lots Of Slots to fill out a Tri-Former before dedicating the rest to your (other) Human Form powers. Compare that to the current situation on Homecoming where you can slot the T1-2 Human powers (2) along with the T1-4 Nova powers (4) and the T1-4 Dwarf powers (4), for a total of 10 powers that need Lots Of Slots. Even just 5-slotting 8 powers will require +32 slots (+4 each on 8 powers) and that's very nearly HALF your available slots to add of 67 total added slots. Trying to 5-slot 9 or 10 powers costs 36-40 added slots out of 67 total slots, which is just getting ruinously expensive. From where I'm looking at things, the T1 Nova and T1 Dwarf powers are just ... redundant ... if you have access to the T1 and T2 Human powers AT ALL TIMES in all forms. Be nice if we could mitigate some of the "Form Taxes" that Tri-Form Kheldians have to pay simply to exist in a semi-competent build state.

Have you ever considered piracy Huntsman? You'd make a wonderful Soldier of Arachnos ...

You might try Mind/Storm ... of all things ... since Storm will "bring the Pets" that Mind doesn't on its own (except as Confused $Targets) and will give you an incredible range of versatility, especially if you slot up Tornado and Lightning Storm with the Sudden Acceleration Knockback to Knockdown converter IOs. Mind will let you "lock them down" and Storm will let you "blow them away" and you aren't going to necessarily be limited by the combination all that much. And with Mass Hypnosis you can neutralize groups before they can even attack you. Of course, with a Mind/Storm build you're almost certainly going to want to have Hasten ... and I'd argue you'll want to have Assault and Tactics too ... but that still leaves you a decent amount of flexibility even if you're taking all 9x9 powers in the primary and secondary. Go Sorcery for Mystic Flight and Enflame and you'll be a wrecking machine, especially since you'll be able to push clusters into corners using HERDicane for Enflame to burn to a crisp.

Mercs are "fine" ... so long as you don't mind them being Gimped By Design™ thanks to them having terrible Damage Per Animation Second attacks for ALL of their attacks.

Slot the two +Resist aura procs for Pets into it.

It's complicated. Best way to explain is to try and give the 1 to 1 comparisons. If you're dealing with a "pure" Huntsman build where you aren't using any Mace attack powers as a Bane Soldier (so Single Shot, Burst, Heavy Burst, Venom Grenade and Frag Grenade) there's only a few powers left that make a difference between Bane and Crab. Build Up (Bane) vs Aim (Crab) The recharge times and durations on these two powers are the the same, but if you're looking for damage then Build Up on a Bane is the superior choice, since Build Up on a Bane is a +20/+80 mix of +ToHit and +Damage, while Aim for a Crab is a +50/+50 mix instead. Since +ToHit is something you're rarely hurting for, especially if you double up on auras with Tactics from the Leadership pool, often times you'd want Build Up more than you'd want Aim. Advantage: Bane (for damage) or Crab (for tohit) Bane Spider Armor Upgrade vs Crab Spider Armor Upgrade Oddly enough, on a passive basis the Bane Spider Armor Upgrade is superior in a 1 to 1 comparison with Crab Spider Armor Upgrade, since the Bane version is +7.5% Resistance (All) and a +20% HP boost compared to the Crab version with +3% Smashing/Lethal Resistance and +2% Psionic Resistance and no HP boost. All other parameters between them are equal. Advantage: Bane (for Resistances and HP boost) Cloaking Device vs Fortification Cloaking Device is a Bane's version of a Stealth power and cannot be used simultaneously with Stealth from the Concealment pool, although unlike Stealth you'll be able to Critically Hit with your alpha strike when attacking from non-combat "hidden" status under Cloaking Device ... but only with melee attacks, which are quite useless to a "pure" Huntsman build. To REALLY get the most out of this alpha strike capability you really want to be using Placate to let you get a "double alpha" strike, but it only helps Pummel and Bayonet for that, which a Huntsman build doesn't use ... so ... mostly wasted. Fortification, however, is the reason why the Crab Spider Armor Upgrade was downgraded relative to the Bane alternative. Fortification is what makes your Crab "tanky" against damage, since Fortification offers +15% Smashing/Lethal Resistance, +25% Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative Energy/Toxic Resistance AND an additional -8 MAG protection against Stun, Sleep, Immobilize and Hold this turns your Crab into a Scrapper/Tanker-esque level of mez protection that Banes simply don't have. Advantage: Crab (for Resistances and mez protection) Surveillance vs Serum Surveillance is good against a single target, and you can slot it with an Achilles' Heel proc to increase the resistance debuffing that the power does, but that Achilles' Heel proc will also negate the aggro-less aspect of Surveillance and turn it into an aggro causing power (because debuffs cause Threat generation). And while -20% Resistance (All) looks good on paper, and in the build planner, in actual gameplay it often winds up being more trouble than it's worth since it doesn't debuff resistances by all THAT much and it's only to a single target, rather than to a grouping of them via an AoE. Useful for doing a Surveillance+Build Up+Melee attack opener from under Cloaking Device for a guaranteed critical hit opener as a way to combo yourself into an Assassin's Strike knockoff on a single hard target in melee range, but nowhere near as useful to a Huntsman with 2 single target ranged attacks, 1 cone attack and 2 target AoE attacks who is using a lot more AoE damage to mow things down en masse in parallel rather than serially in a "take a number get in line" fashion. By contrast, Serum is ALL upside for Crabs since it's a Dull Pain knockoff that increases your pool of HP and heals you when used. This is the ONLY outright "heal" power you can get as an Arachnos Soldier without resorting to the Medicine pool to get Aid Self. Advantage: Crab (Dull Pain style boost and heal) Web Cocoon vs Summon Spiderlings Web Cocoon is a single target MAG 3 Hold that also has -Fly, -Jump, -Run and recharge debuffing built into it. Against a single target, it's decent against Lieutenants and can be slotted with the Lockdown set proc to have a chance to Hold Bosses. However, now with Proc Monster Fu it can also be slotted perhaps even more advantageously than Ice Arrow out of the Trick Arrow powerset as a proc monster as a damage proc power since it has a decently long base recharge time (16s) and the power can be slotted with both Hold AND Slow enhancements. This combination of power and slots can result in a deceptively powerful set of possibilities for Web Cocoon, but it's still a single target power. By contrast, Summon Spiderlings gives you additional Pets that can help soak alpha strikes for you in addition to acting as distractions/diversions/cannon fodder for you to spread incoming damage away from yourself, increasing your survivability. If you slot the +Def and +Res aura procs for Pets into Summon Spiderlings and into Call Reinforcements, Spiderlings can be surprisingly hardy while under the protection of your Defense aura(s), especially if you've also taken (and slotted) Maneuvers from the Leadership pool. Additionally, having Spiderlings accompanying you dramatically increases the odds of getting a Gaussian's proc from one of your +tohit aura powers every 10 seconds, which can be decidedly useful even when soloing. Advantage: Bane (mez plus proc potential) or Crab (sturdy(-ier) Pets that can help proc Gaussian's Build Up slotted in +tohit auras) Ultimately, it comes down to a question of needing to Pick Your Poison. Banes get a "better" Build Up power than Crabs with their Aim power, since Build Up buffs damage output more heavily. Banes get their HP boost from their Armor Upgrade (an Auto power) rather than from Serum (a Click power), but they also don't get any periodic healing from Serum. Also, Serum is not coded as being does not stack from same caster meaning that with enough (outside) recharge boosting you can double stack Serum. Cloaking Device winds up being a slightly better version of Stealth, but the critical hits feature is "wasted" on a Huntsman, while Fortification keeps you alive and gunning. Surveillance is really only useful once (or twice) per spawn group, while Serum is useful pretty much every time the power finishes its recharge. Web Cocoon simply plays differently, as a neutralizer/mez power, than Summon Spiderlings does. It's really a matter of preference here, although the Gaussain's proc chances on +tohit aura powers should NOT be overlooked! For me personally, the increase in survivability from the combination of Fortification+Serum+Summon Spiderlings is vastly more useful to (me using) a ranged attacker style of gameplay than the converse of Cloaking Device (barely useful), Surveillance (slows you down to animate) and Web Cocoon (plenty of potential for procs here). So on balance, I'm of the opinion that Crab "offers more" in the way of syngergies with a Blaster/Defender style of gameplay like the Huntsman favors than the Bane does.

Fair warning ... I'm going to be rebuilding/refactoring both of my Tri-Form builds for v2.0 rebuilds at some point this coming week.

Fair warning ... I'm going to be rebuilding/refactoring both of my Tri-Form builds for v2.0 rebuilds at some point this coming week.

It can be done on the Bane side of things, but I honestly believe that a Bane flavored Huntsman is inferior (for various reasons). Although the build is now seriously outdated, you can use my efforts from back in May as a starting point for deciding what you'd like to do.

Granted. I was just explaining why I do what I do so as to make my motivation for doing what I do clear(er) and obvious, so people can evaluate for themselves if that level of effort is "worth it" to them to engage in.

It's all about "sharing the wealth" of knowledge gained and wisdom earned so that we can ALL benefit from what can be learned. Some people want to (jealously?) keep everything they know to themselves so that no one else can use it ... which perhaps makes sense when you're talking about PvP build, but in PvE why aren't you wanting to share the insights as widely as possible? I mean, I've been "well repaid" for sharing my builds in that other people take them (and run with them) and make other discoveries which then, like karma, return to me (threefold?). In other words, we're ALL made "richer" thanks to the effort I put into sharing this stuff ... and it is an effort(!) ... but it also makes us all both better and wiser in how we play the game we all love.

I post walls of text on my builds mainly because there are so many synergies that aren't ... obvious ... just by looking at a build (especially in a short form export). And let's be honest here, I write all that stuff up to get it out of my head so that it's memorialized on the forums where other people can read it and vet it and make use of it and take it and run with it. By posting all of those tips and tricks on how the entirety of builds can be fit together it will INSPIRE other people with notions of "well that's clever..." and then incorporate those ideas into their own builds that they're inspired to build for themselves. Or to put it another way ... a Forum Export (whether long or short) ... does not explain itself simply by virtue of existing. So in order to make the content of my builds "accessible" to others, I go to the extra effort of explaining what's going on. The side benefit of doing that is that I memorialize for myself (as well as others) what bits of nifty I'm getting up to in the builds that I post, because there's so much stuff going on in them that if I don't memorialize them I'm going to forget some of it over time, simply because there's SO MANY moving parts in them ... and those synergies are things that are easy to miss the significance of if they aren't laid out clearly. But then, once it's pointed out, that kind of stuff becomes "obvious" for everyone to make use of, not just me ... and THAT inspiration is my real reward for writing up those walls of text like I tend to do. So the real thing to know about my builds is that I don't assume that EVERYONE who skims over them will "know" everything that's going on in them unless I explain them ... mainly because if I don't write those explanations then even *I* would, over time, forget about those points of nifty that I get up to in my builds. So I time capsule them on the forums and provide documentation explaining what I got up to (and why). Needless to say, most people don't go to that kind of effort to "share the wealth" of their experience.

That's why you put it into the T1 Pets ... so you have 3 of them attacking to proc the Knockdowns.

Soul Storm ... if only for the animation it puts Held Foes into. Gotta have style points when you can't even SEE your avatar behind the puffball ...