CaptTastic

Elec Blast is definitely a better set on Sentinels than it is on Blasters. If you properly proc out Tesla Cage and Dominate (Psi Mastery) you will not be lacking for ST damage at all on a Sentinel. In fact it would probably be at least comparable recycling them with Zapping Bolt. While Thunderous Blast won't hit the spike damage of blaster, it is up twice as often, albeit affecting fewer targets. Sentinels are always a trade-off on spike damage and number targets in terms of AoE. That said, a blaster recycling Lightning Bolt, Zapp, and their version on Tesla Cage (procced) would probably be outdone by a Sentinel with advanced slotting who takes Psi Mastery. I have both an Elec3 Sentinel and an Elec3 Blaster and far far FAR prefer the Sentinel. It's a much more complete build.

Been a while since this thread was updated and figured more people have a lot more experience now (I know I have) so was worth reviving. Elec/Elec/Elec: Superb resist, reasonable defence with clever investment, good single target damage and a good level of soft control. A real Swiss Army knife of a Sentinel. Psy/Invul/Psi: Invul is brilliant with anything, but Psy Blast has good proc potential, a good nuke, and scramble thoughts is a delight. Rad/NRG/Psi: A bit of a surprise star this one. NRG secondary is a lovely set and quick animating rotation of irradiate —> psychic shockwave —> nuke —> irradiate —> psychic shockwave is delicious.

Well AVs don’t, in my experience at least, require anything more than enough recharge to cycle your biggest attacks and enough survivability to last the fight. They’ll resist just about all the -tohit from dark. Opportunity becomes an underrated asset against an AV. I’ve successfully solo’d, for example, an ITF on a fire/sr Sentinel which are probably the two most basic click-and-go sets around. Others have done similar far more impressively than me too. But yes, I’d say dark/rad would be a good combo generally. A good PBAOE punch, good survivability, and a lot of proc potential. I must confess though that I’ve never played on so my opinion is based solely on the theory.

I’d recommend Resist sets for Dark Blast synergy. On defence sets you’re likely going to be shooting for the def cap anyway, so resist sets make the most of the -tohit. I think a secondary with a strong PBAOE also works great with Dark Blast as you can fire off a good one-two punch with the nuke. So /fire and /Rad would be great choices. As for Elec Blast, it’s hard to look past /Elec and /NRG. I have a Elec/Elec/Elec and he’s a beast, but the sapping + defence of Elec/NRG sounds brilliant. No endurance means fewer attacks, and that’s really maximises a defence set. It depends what you want out of your Sentinel though. If you’re looking to show off a bit and run ahead like the guy you mentioned in the ITF, you’ll need a sturdy old Sentinel. Invul would be a great choice then, and /fire wouldn’t be.

Strange old thread, this. I mean, I don’t enjoy playing Masterminds but I don’t go on the MM sub-forum and start a thread to tell Mastermind players how WRONG they are to enjoy their characters. It has always amazed me that people want to turn the incredible variety of CoH into a negative. There is an odd concept that dealing damage is the only thing people should value or enjoy doing. That has always confused me too. I play Sentinels a lot and I play blasters a lot. Love them both. I also play corrupters and defenders a bit. I’m basically a ranged kind of guy. I mean, I have one particular Dominator I love too, but it’s only got ranged powers. I’ve got Incarnates in the other ATs too, I just don’t enjoy them as much. Obviously Sentinels are lower damage than Blasters. They’re designed to be. Look on the creator screen when you first make a new character and blasters have damage rating of 10 compared to 7 for a blaster. If you want to play a damage dealer, don’t play a Sentinel, and if you misunderstood and thought Sentinels are supposed to be huge damage dealers, that’s on you. Don’t blame Sentinels. Personally, I get a lot of pleasure from playing Sentinels, and the thing I enjoy about them isn’t the average damage but the immense versatility. On my Elec/Elec/Elec, if I fancy it I can run into a mob without fear, survive it, crowd control it, debuff it, and kill it. I can just as easily, if I fancy it, hover at range and do some pew-pewing. Same goes for my Psy/Invul/Psi. And my Dark/SR/Psi. When I join a team I don’t have to worry about buffers and debuffers and healers, or worry about buffers, debuffers, and healers worrying about me. My Sentinels are completely self-sustained steady-Eddys that are highly adaptive to most of my moods and the many situations CoH may drop me into. Sometimes, admittedly, I’m in the mood for dishing out pure, unadulterated, utterly obscene levels of damage with just enough survivability to keep me upright but very little else. When I’m in those moods I load up a blaster rather than slag off my Sentinels. Like @oldskool, I’ve had plenty of compliments about how my Sentinels perform too. The Elec/Elec/Elec and Psy/Invul/Psi are the stars of the show there. Much less so other builds, but all ATs have their combinations that click better with us. But either way, I’ve never felt like I’m not contributing to a team. Of course, Sentinels could do with some work, and I think they’ll get it sooner or later. I’d like to see a damage buff and at least a tweak to the inherent. But it’s not like people here aren’t aware of blasters or scrappers or brutes or whatever else the OP prefers to Sentinels. It’s not like he is some singular truth-seer who is nobly doing us the service of broadening our knowledge with obscure secrets. We all know about other ATs, probably enjoy playing at least most of them too in all their varied glory. We just enjoy what Sentinels have to offer too.

Suddenly got a weird urge to make an Elec/Regen sentinel... 🤣

I think Doms don’t exemplar well, admittedly, because the attack powers that make a real difference are back loaded. A good tweak would be to give them a Blaze or Bitter Ice Blast or whatever much earlier, perhaps in the mid-20s. I didn’t notice it too much when I was levelling as I took the powers I could, but my Doms’ end-game build, like most people’s, respecced the vast majority of the early attacks out because of the recharge that comes with chasing perma-Dom. Then again, maybe there should be a trade-off like that for perma-Dom? I do though think we are still in the realm of minor tweaks rather than major surgery.

Reading this thread it appears many are suggesting Dominators are changed simply because they don’t personally like playing them. I find that odd. I don’t like Masterminds, the mindset required to play them well just isn’t in me, but fair play to the many people who love playing their MMs. That’s their AT and I hope they have a blast playing it. Dominators will never be hugely popular. Damage is popular, stacks of it. Cold, raw, unthinking, simple hack, slash, and blast damage. In fact with Homecoming I’d say players gorge on damage more than ever before. Dominators are much more of a finesse AT though in my experience. While Brutes, Scrappers, Blasters etc have one hammer and one job, Dominators come with a whole toolkit and playing them well is all about selecting, quickly, the right tool for the right situation. There are no shortcuts to getting to that stage either. It’s all about investment of time and accumulation of experience. I wish I played my Dom better, but I’ve not put the time in and scaled the steeper learning curve so I don’t. Same applies to VEATS and my Warshade btw. Can Dominators be improved? Absolutely. 100% they can. Small changes like trying to address the endurance issues would go a long way. Every AT could be improved though too IMO. But the biggest way to improve Dominators would be to improve Dominator players. It’s not a pick-up-and-play AT, it’s not a joyous blunt instrument designed solely for destruction. Way I see it, Dominators need love, but it’s their players they need to show them the love, not the Devs, because that’s the only way to put in enough time to learn them properly.

I have to say my Psy/SR is right up there for me as far as Sentinels go. I’m no @oldskoolwhen it comes to Sentinels but I have quite a few now who have been played all the way to T4 incarnate, and there is something I really like about Psy/SR. Obviously a thematic synergy with Psi Mastery helps, as I’m a slave to the thematic in general, but that is far from the whole story. Properly slotted (procced), Domination and Scramble Thoughts give you two huge ST attacks, and both have just a 5-6 second recharge, so there’s that. Then you also have the Psychic Shockwave and Psychic Wail PBAOE double quick punch with a Psionic Tornado chucked in as well. Fire has better AOE, without a doubt, but I think if you compare anything to fire in terms of damage you’re on a hiding to nothing. For me, it’s a particularly good set to pair with SR. You already have soft-capped defences and the only way to enhance the 5% rule is reduce the amount of incoming attacks, which Psychic blast’s soft controls (slows and stuns) do. Psychic blast isn’t perfect, of course. The slow speeds the blasts travel is a frustration. On big teams things can be dead between the time I attack something at full health and those blasts actually arriving at their target. But you know what? There is something about the combination that is just really good fun. For me personally, it has that little x-factor that doesn’t show up on Mids.

That’s easy. You should only need four words. Scourging Rain of Fire.

If you go fire mastery for your epic and take bonfire, you’d be surprised just how much control and damage mitigation you can get. Between bonfire (with knockdown) and hot feet, mobs barely get an attack away before they are burned into a heap on the ground. I took the new combat teleport to make it even more fun too. Start out with dropping a bonfire into middle of mob, combat TP in on top of it, drop burn, inferno, fireball, fire sword circle, maybe a bit of Rain of Fire or combustion. Whatever tickles your fancy really. Then of course you have your blaze and blazing bolt to finish off the runners and stragglers. In terms of defence, I went with Ranged cap, but only as I also love a bit of hover-blasting when in teams. Whichever way you choose to go though with fire you can’t go wrong. Yeah, you’ll take damage and occasionally get in over your head and face plant, but that’s all part of the fun. Way I see it, Rise of the Phoenix is just another AoE.

Interesting build. Here are a few pointers I’d give, not on your build specifically but on building Elec Sentinels in general. I took my Elec*3 down a slightly different route. • Hasten: I usually take hasten as a staple in all my builds but I skipped it on my Elec sentinel. With Lightning Reflexes buff recharge can be enhanced to a good enough level. I found I didn’t miss hasten at all. • Tesla Cage: I have five damage procs in Tesla Cage as well as an Acc/Dam (gladiator’s javelin I think). Makes it hit incredibly hard. • Resists: There is often almost a weird pressure in CoH to aim obsessivly for the defence cap in something. But resists are your friend with Elec Armour, so that’s what you need to shine up. 75% resists for S/L/F/E/C/P is achievable and will serve you better than defence. Of course, that still makes you resist-reliant on a relatively low HP archetype, so... • Layered mitigation: On any power set, not just Elec, you should always play to it’s strengths. Elec has two in-built damage mitigation tricks you can utilise. Firstly, sapping. No endurance, no attacks. No attacks, no damage. Get into melee and take their endurance before you do anything. The alpha may get dicey on occasion as they all hit you before you can floor their blue, but you have Energize up your sleeve to Regen you out of harm while they’re unable to attack. If you can throw in a 22-25% or so of defence too, all the better.

And a fine job you did of it too 😎👏🏻

I absolutely adore blasters and I can’t deny it. I have some really powerful ones too that do insane damage. Here is the kicker though... the toon I have that gets by far and away the most compliments and is noticed most by team mates on any content, whether it’s at lvl 15 or 50... is my Elec*3 Sentinel. Sentinels get a rough reputation in-game with many, perhaps even most, believing them to be underpowered and ultimately obsolete, particularly in end-game content. But that reputation is not deserved. The truth is that Sentinels probably have the hardest sweet spot to find of any AT. It’s very easy to go overkill on survivability and lose too much offence. It’s just as easy to chase too much offence and completely compromise your survivability. Find that sweet spot though and a Sentinel is a thing of beauty. It’s the most versatile and reliable AT in the game and is immensely satisfying to play. Now, you may not want the hassle of getting to that point, which is fine. In which case, blaster is an easier ‘pick-up-and-play’ bet in terms of teaming. Me? I love both.

I have a Fire/NRG blaster which is probably my favourite character. I personally completely agree that hasten isn’t required. I put Energize on auto for the Regen buff and endurance reduction, and have 100% global recharge in bonuses which is enough. I would, though, strongly disagree that you need S/L/E defence as well as ranged. For me it’s either/or. I hover blast so ranged is absolutely fine for me. If I blapped, I might go Scorpion/Ice shield instead, but not as well as. Few reasons for that: • If you’re teaming, it’s better to just manage aggro. Attack taunted or controlled targets for AoE, for example. If you’re soloing, you get to dictate the difficulty anyway, so it’s a controlled environment. • As a blaster you have more than enough damage to deal with isolated aggro. Even if you p**s off a boss or two, it’s unlikely they’ll get many attacks off before you can put them down. • You’ve got other damage mitigation tools at your disposal. I use bonfire from Flame mastery and not much attacks you when they’re falling down. Obviously if you go NRG blast you have knockback in your attacks too, and NRG melee has stuns to help even more. Don’t get me wrong, extra defence is nice if it doesn’t come at too great a cost. But when it comes at the expense of the a whole epic pool, or concept, or a great power like bonfire, or resistance, or enough recharge, or especially all of them... we’ll to me that’s not worth it. Ultimately: • AoE Crowd Control and extra AoE damage (bonfire) • Over 50% S/L/F resist • Capped ranged defence • 40% E/N defence Or • Capped S/L/E/R defence • 40% N defence Felt like an easy decision after trying both out. The defence route was just overkill and asked too great a sacrifice. What I will say though is that NRG is, for me, the best Blaster secondary by some distance. It’s the most complete bag of tricks and most versatile in terms of concept.

Union was a great server back in the day. Such a small community that became very tight-knit. You recognised everyone. Good times.

Well, that’s one opinion. Have to say though, that it’s not one I share, and I’ve levelled up at least a dozen defenders. TA has some very strong AoE damage, and things being dead is pretty good damage mitigation as far as I’m concerned. And it’s got AoE knockdown, and AoE -recharge, both of which keep them inside the strong AoE damage. I wouldn’t call it the best defender set, but it’s certainly not a ‘weak’ one either, solo or otherwise. It has its weaknesses for sure, but that’s where the player comes into it to play to it’s strengths instead - just the exact same as any other set on the game really.

We’re they on Union? I definitely remember them! Empath defender iirc.

Surely every set has such a weakness though. Shame that invul folds when Psi start shooting at you. Shame shield defence folds when defence debuffs start stacking on you, etc etc etc. Every set has limitations. My TA def is no more squishy than any other of my characters whose AT wasn't specifically designed to take aggro, and he can solo fine. Yes, he may not solo +4/x8 (although he can certain weaker groups such as council), but he's by no means a 'weak' soloer.

It’s an outstanding set and one that doesn’t get anywhere near the credit it deserves. I had a TA/A Defender on Live and he’s about the only character I’ve remade on HC. If anything, he’s even better now because buff-heavy defender sets tend to feel a bit superfluous in end game given that most players seem to have buffed themselves with IOs before you even get to them. Since TA is all debuffs, though, a TA character makes everyone better. With a defence and recharge build, I find my TA/A solos great too. Ignited Oil Slick arrow, glue arrow, procced-out acid arrow, then a RoA and explosive arrow and a mob is pretty much done.

One major trick you’re missing is not proccing out Tesla Cage. I have one Acc/Dam then five damage procs (two of them purple) in mine and it turns it into an absolute beast of a ST attack. Have to say my Elec/Elec Sentinel is my favourite ever character because he’s so versatile. He has: Good damage, good control, great in the middle of the mob but easily able to hover-blast too, and survivability that puts many scrappers to shame. There is literally no situation he can’t adapt to or contribute to. Feel free to message me on Discord or on here and I’ll happily share my build with you if you’d like.

Absolutely this. No two blasters are the same and no two sentinels are the same, and the same can be said for every AT in the game. That variation is something that makes this game as brilliant as it is. Everyone can choose what they enjoy playing the most. There is no ‘best,’ there is no ‘better than.’ We all get to decide for ourselves. I love my Elec*3 Sentinel. Probably my favourite character to play because it’s the most versatile, even if it’s not the best damage I have available to choose from. To me, that versatility is worth more than the extra damage and more enjoyable. To others, damage is worth more and is more enjoyable. No one is doing the game wrong.

The egotists are my biggest annoyance on this game. You know the type... THEY always know best. They know what powersets you should be choosing. They know what playstyle you should enjoy. They know what powers you should pick and the exact order in which you should click them. Yeah, you’ve played YOUR character for untold hours, know it inside out, love it, but they feel the need to lecture you about it. They even want to tell you exactly what you should find fun. Then, of course, should you have the sheer temerity to not immediately prostrate yourself before them and acknowledge them as the singular truth-seers and experts supreme, expect the build-shaming to start.

I agree with you to a point: blasters are certainly better damage than sentinels. I disagree with your original premise, though, which is both AT’s role is ranged damage. A blaster’s role is definitely damage (though not necessarily ranged), but think a sentinel has more a utility role. If they were for meant damage, they’d have a higher damage multiplier.

I don’t miss power surge on my Elec*3 at all. With capped S/L/E/F/C resist, 60% Psi resist, 24-30% positional defences, and the Regen buff from perma-Energise, it’s got plenty of layered survivability - and that’s before you take their endurance