Adeon Hawkwood

The homecoming team propagated most powersets to all available classes so there are quite a few combos that are available on the servers that aren't listed on the Wiki. This includes some combos that the original devs didn't want to do for thematic and/or balance reasons.

If it's put into a click power then it lasts for 120seconds every time you use the power. If it's in a toggle power then it will remain active so long as the toggle is on (and 120seconds after you toggle it off). So the best option for Kismet is to put it into a toggle that you will run during combat, Combat Jumping and Hover are both excellent choices for Blasters to put it in.

Yep, you need Mids/Pines. This is the version that's been (mostly) updated for the Homecoming servers: https://score.savecoh.com/index.php/topic,541

You need about 90% Pre-ED Enhancement.

Don't forget Demons, they're also generally considered Tier 1 (or possibly 1.5). I'd also swap Mercs and Necro in that list, from what I can recall Necro was generally considered the weakest MM primary. That being said Masterminds as a whole are pretty powerful so even a weak primary makes for a pretty powerful character overall.

Sadly the player passed away a few years ago.

Dark or Cold is probably a good option then, decent damage good debuffs and some control. That being said, you do NOT want to concentrate on heals. Healing is the weakest form of damage mitigation in the game and even for Empaths healing is less important as you go up in levels. For an Empath good use of Fortitude and Adrenalin Boost is what really makes a difference, learning who to use them on for maximum effect makes a much bigger impact than spamming Healing Aura. Additionally don't neglect your attacks. Especially with sets like Dark and Cold using your attacks to debuff or control enemies will greatly reduce the amount of healing that you need to do.

The key powers that you want from Traps are Triage Beacon, Acid Mortar, Force Field Generator, Poison Trap and Seeker Drones (plus of course you have to take Web Grenade). Caltrops is nice to have but not critical for Masterminds. Trip Mine and Detonator are both kind of neat but generally aren't worth it for a Mastermind since you want to rely on your pets for damage. Of the five I listed Triage Beacon and Force Field Generator are your main damage mitigation tools for keeping you and your pets alive. Poison Trap is best used by jumping into the middle of a group and placing it there to maximize the debuffs and holds. Seeker Drones are another nice Debuff/Control and as a bonus can be used to eat an alpha strike. Acid Mortar is there to debuff resistance so your pets hit harder.

It depends on what you want to do with your secondary. If you're just looking for damage then Archery or Fire are probably the best (maybe Sonic as well although that's more about team damage). Alternatively if you want some light debuff and control than either Dark or Ice is a good choice with Psionic being an ok choice. To be honest any secondary can work with Empathy, it just depends on what you want from your secondary.

I always liked the idea of a Support set themed around the character being an inspired tactician and leader. Something like this: Tactical Leadership - Support Set 1: Focus Fire - single target resistance and defense debuff. 2: Pull Yourself Together - single target heal and mez protection 3: Tactical Leadership - Toggle AoE Damage and To Hit Buff 4: 5: Stealthy Assault: Toggle AoE Stealth and Defense Buff (more defense than Shadow Fall but no resistances) 6: Superior Terrain - Patch debuff that debuffs speed, defense and resistance for enemies within it 7: Don't You Die On Me! - Single Target Rez, target receives a damage and defense buff. 8: 9: Lightning Assault: Self Teleport forward. Enemies at the destination are knocked down or stunned. Allies at the launch point receive buffs to Damage, Recharge and Speed (alternatively could make it a team teleport but that would probably upset some people) I'm not really sure on the last two powers. I think some sort of control or To Hit debuff might be a good fit.

One thing to keep in mind is that healing is the weakest form of support in CoH. As you get higher level you'll find that your healing is overshadowed by the other abilities in your set (even for Empathy which is the most healing focused set). So don't focus on healing to the exclusion of other powers as you level up. To steal a quote: "What are you trying to tell me? That I can heal wounds?" "No, WyllPrime. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to."

Defenders DO have the highest EndDrain mods, 1.25 compared to Corruptors 1.1 and Blasters 1.0, but Elec Blast doesn't use them. Elec Blast drains the same on all ATs. Ah, I was not aware of that, well the rest of my point still holds.

Nice write up. There are two sets that I would slightly disagree with you on though. First Trick Arrow. You mention that Trick Arrow is a bit weak and that is true but it does have one thing going for it that I think people overlook: it plays incredibly well with every other set. If you only have one Defender on a team then Trick Arrow is a bit underwhelming but if you've got two Defenders then Trick Arrow is one of the best choices for the second Defender. It's great at shoring up the weaknesses of the other Defender sets while synergizing with their strengths. Secondly Electrical Blast. Honestly I think Electrical Blast gets a bit of a bad rap because it's not great as a Blaster set, in my experience it's actually pretty good as a Defender secondary. Defenders have much stronger End drains than Blasters so for Defenders Short Circuit alone can drain enemies in about two cycles with just a single End drain enhancement so you don't need to worry that much about building for drain. Building for drain is less of an issue than it sounds, putting a single End Mod enhancement in Short Circuit will drain most enemies in two cycles, the trick is staying alive to do it which Defenders are better at than Blasters. Similarly the fact that Defenders are generally tougher than Blasters means that the other weaknesses of Electrical Blast (the need to be in close for Short Circuit and having to wait on DoTs to deal damage) don't matter as much. If you pair Electrical Blast with a primary that likes to be in close anyway (such as Traps or Time) you get a very effective Tankfender. Edit: Correction regarding end drain.

So unfortunately Perma-Haste is quite expensive but it's relatively straightforward. This wiki page is a good resource since it lists all of the sets and you can find the sets with good recharge bonuses. https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Enhancement_Sets Now in general the goal is to get to 125% global recharge. The important thing to remember is that you can only have 5 copies of each level of set IO bonuses so you have to spread things out a bit. In terms of breakdown, you'll want to start with five copies of the Luck of the Gambler passive IO which should be easy to fit into your build and will give you 37.5% recharge. After that purple sets are an excellent (if expensive) way of getting recharge. Super Strength is unusual in that you can actually put four purple sets into it (technically 5 but you probably don't want to put the hold set into Knockout Blow). So ignoring that you can put Hecatomb, Armageddon, Apocalypse and Absolute Amazement into your attacks for another 40% recharge (77.5% total). A fifth purple set is possible in your Ancillary power pool, either one of the other control sets (Unbreakable Constraint or Gravitational Anchor) in the targeted AoE power most of those pools have (Ragnarok) which would bring you to 87.5%. After that it starts getting a bit tricky and more dependent on your build. Crushing Impact and Red Fortune both have a 5% bonus and you can fit them into quite a few powers so those are an option. Preventive Medicine has an 8.75% bonus and can go into Dull Pain (if you can spare the slots). Anyway, I hope that gives you an idea of where to go. You'll probably want to play around with it a bit in Mids.

So I checked in-game and it looks like they have given Blasters a buff to their To Hit Buffs. Tactics was increased from 7% base to 10% base and Targeting Drone was increased from 13.88% base to 18.5% base. My guess would be that they changed the scaling modifiers for Blasters since I'm seeing the old values on Tactics for other ATs which means that Aim and Build Up should have a higher To Hit bonus as well. In any case this means that Tactics + Kismet should be enough to get insta-snipe.

Two things you're forgetting are you can have another 5x7.5% bonuses from Luck of the Gambler specials and you get a 20% bonus from Mental Training. So it is technically possible to get to 125% without purples but purples make it a lot easier. Here's the build I had back on live: Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Operative King: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Channelgun -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(5), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9) Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A) Level 2: Combat Training: Defensive -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(9), LucoftheG-Rchg+(11) Level 4: Longfang -- Apc-Dmg/Rchg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Apc-Acc/Rchg(15), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Apc-Dam%(17) Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(34), WntGif-ResSlow(46) Level 8: Suppression -- Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(21), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Rgn-Knock%(23) Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- HO:Cyto(A), HO:Cyto(11), LucoftheG-Rchg+(43) Level 12: Venom Grenade -- SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprDmnofA-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), SprDmnofA-Rchg/DmgFear%(23) Level 14: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(25) Level 16: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 18: Frag Grenade -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(29), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(31), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), PstBls-Dam%(33) Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership -- HO:Cyto(A), HO:Cyto(36) Level 22: Mental Training -- Run-I(A) Level 24: Fortification -- HO:Ribo(A), HO:Ribo(25), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(34) Level 26: Maneuvers -- HO:Cyto(A), HO:Cyto(27), LucoftheG-Rchg+(27) Level 28: Serum -- NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(A), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(29), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(31), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(33) Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31) Level 32: Omega Maneuver -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(34), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(37), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), PstBls-Dam%(42), RechRdx-I(42) Level 35: Summon Spiderlings -- SlbAll-Acc/Rchg(A), SlbAll-Dmg(36), HO:Nucle(36), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(37), EdcoftheM-PetDef(42) Level 38: Call Reinforcements -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(39), SlbAll-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SvrRgh-PetResDam(40) Level 41: Web Envelope -- GrvAnc-Immob/Rchg(A), GrvAnc-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43), GrvAnc-Acc/Rchg(43), GrvAnc-Immob/EndRdx(46), GrvAnc-Hold%(50) Level 44: Shatter Armor -- Hct-Dmg/Rchg(A), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Hct-Acc/Rchg(45), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Hct-Dam%(46) Level 47: Summon Blaster -- ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(48), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(48), SlbAll-Dmg/Rchg(50), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(50) Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Dmg-I(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: Conditioning Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(3) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(3) Level 50: Musculature Total Core Revamp ------------ ------------

So I had a Time/Elec Defender which is pretty much the same thing. In general Elec/Time wants to be in close to maximize the benefits of both Time's Juncture and Short Circuit. So selecting sets for Defense buffs is a good idea since they stack with Farsight although you want to also add some Recharge to make sure you have your debuffs and drains up as much as possible. Thunderstrikes are great for your single target attacks. Positron's Blast or Ragnarok are best for Ball Lightning and Thunderous Blast. Short Circuit can use pretty much any PBAoE set (there are several with defense or recharge so pick the one that fits best). Malice of the Corruptor and Scourging Blast are also decent options to slot in your attacks. For Time it's less clear-cut. Farsight should be Franken-slotted, you want a Luck of the Gamble proc in there but mostly you want to maximize Defense and Recharge there and any other sets tend to short change you. A full Numina's in Temporal Mending isn't bad if you can spare the slots. Tempered Readiness isn't bad in Time's Juncture but again not really worth the slots. One other thing to consider is adding Tactics and a Kismet to get permanent insta-snipe since Electrical Blast lacks a normal T3 single target attack (that works for Defenders, I'm not sure if it's sufficient for Corruptors though).

Most of the characters I enjoyed I enjoyed because of their power sets so I'll probably end up recreating most of them at one point or another. For me powerset trumped character, I had several cases where I really liked the character but the powerset just didn't gel for me so I never really enjoyed them. In at least one case I liked the concept but found the powerset unappealing so I ended up rerolling them as a different AT to get a powerset that felt better (they went from an Earth/Storm/Fire Controller to an Earth/Fire/Cold Dominator).

I had a CrabMind back in the day and it is indeed a fun build. You can actually get the Disruptor and Blaster bots up permanently but doing so requires Perma-Hasten which in turn requires an expensive IO based build (you need about 125% global recharge plus hasten). General advice on your build: If I recall correctly Wolf Spider Armor wasn't really worth including, it's a small bonus on it's own. Don't bother to much slotting End reduction in the toggles it helps less than you think, you're actually better off slotting end reduction in your attacks that will actually help you more for endurance management It's worth trying to add Assault and Maneuvers from the regular Leadership pool since they stack and Soldiers get good bonuses from them (don't bother with Tactics though that's overkill) Frenzy is very Meh, I wouldn't bother with it Venom Grenade is crazy good, you want it earlier in your build and with more slots. Omega Maneuver is meh. That being said it's super fun to use so I kept it in my build, but I wouldn't slot it up as much Don't bother slotting up Combat Training: Offensive, it's worth having for a non-IO build but you only want a single slot in it. Similarly you should be fine with just one Accuracy enhancement in each of your attacks. Between TT:L and CT:O you should be at the hit cap anyway. The Defense Debuffs in your pets are a waste

So I haven't specifically done a Fire/Fire Sentinel but in general the thing that Fire Armor brings to the table is Damage. Between Blazing Aura, Burn and Fiery Embrace Fire Armor adds more to your damage output than other Armor sets. Now the downside of that is that your defenses are weaker than most armor sets but Rise of the Phoenix means that once you do go down you can just get back up again (and hurt your foes in the process).

Overall it sounds like you're going a bit to hard with the AoEs, especially for a lower level. Fire/Fire blasters have excellent AoE but they are also likely to strip aggro if they use them indiscriminately so some care is required, especially at lower levels. Try holding back a bit and using your single target attacks to kill a Lt at the start of the fight to give the other characters (especially Brutes or Tankers) time to grab aggro before you open up with the AoEs. In particular don't immediately close in to use Combustion and Greater Fire Sword, those should be used later in the fight. The main thing to remember is that low level blasters are very fragile so some caution is required when using AoEs. At higher levels this will start to drop off when the melee characters start getting better at holding aggro and the support characters have more access to defense buffs (a Fire/Fire Blaster with Fortitude is terrifying). If you want a more survivable character you might also want to consider a Fire/Fire Dominator. They get their AoE attacks later than Blasters but they combine good fire AoEs (especially if you grab the fire ancillary pool) and can lock down their foes to reduce incoming damage.

The only character I ever built for perma-haste was my Crab-Spider. Perma-haste there let me have my Disruptor Bots and Blaster Bot up permanently (and replace my Spiderlings more often if they died) which was a lot of fun. Personally I only found perma-haste interesting if it let me get a long recharge power to permanent but that was more a case of personal preference than anything else. In general perma-hasten is useful if you're either getting a powerful ability permanent (perma-eclipse Warshades are a good example) or closing up your attack chain. The thing to keep in mind is that Hasten itself gives a 70% recharge bonus but requires about a 125% global recharge bonus from IOs so hasten itself is only about one-third of the benefit of perma-hasten, the rest of the benefit comes form the things you are doing to enable perma-hasten. Personally most of my characters ran with about 40%-60% global recharge from sets which required much less use of slots allowing more room for other useful set bonuses (mostly defense) and was sufficient for most of my characters. As an example, two purple sets and four LotGs will get you 50% global recharge and can easily fit into most builds with minimal changes. Most characters can easily include two purple sets (one in a single target attack, one in an AoE). For the LotG's I tended to take Combat Jumping and Leadership on most of my characters anyway (since I liked them) which gave me places to put three of the LotGs and most characters can fit one more LotG somewhere in their Primary/Secondary/Ancillary sets (even Blasters have the option to take a defense power in their Ancillary pool).

Do you have a link to Pines? I've found a few mentions of it but can't actually find a download link anywhere.

I imported your build and it shows a To Hit bonus of 17.5% which is what I'd expect for Tactics + Kismet on a Blaster. I'm not entirely sure why you're showing higher, I think you must have a slightly different version of Mids than I do (I've got 1.962). I can think of two things that might be causing it. The first is Reach for the Limit, that doesn't do anything in my version of Mids but maybe it's adding one stack of bonuses in yours? If that's the case then keep in mind that since it's a proc you won't get the benefit all of the time so it's not always going to be up. The other possibility is that when I imported your build enhancements 2 and 3 were missing from Reaction Time which could be the caue although I can't think of anything that would go there for a To Hit bonus.

So it's been a while and unfortunately the RedTomax data isn't available anymore so I can't check, but if I recall correctly Devices is the only Blaster set than can get perma insta-snipe (I recall arguing about it on the forums at the time). Defenders can get the required +22% To Hit by combining Tactics with the Kismet +6% To Hit IO but since Blasters get a lower scaling on To Hit buffs than Defenders do they don't get that high with just Tactics + Kismet. Dark Manipulation can get pretty close to permanent if combined with Perma-Haste to get the recharge down (although you'll probably still need a Kismet IO). EDIT: Ok. I downloaded Mids to check my memory. For Blasters Tactics + Kismet gives 16.9% so it's not enough on it's own and Blasters don't have any other access to permanent +To Hit outside of Devices and Targeting Drone. The second best option would probably be to combine Dark Manipulation with a primary that has Aim. In theory by alternating those two powers you could get permanent uptime but you'd need a total recharge of 300% (95% slotted, 70% from hasten and 135% from global recharge) which is going to warp your build pretty heavily.