Call Me Awesome

Sounds like a bug allowing the slotting of non functional enhancements.

I've generally thought of Dark Blast for a Defender, that -to hit allows them to absolutely neuter a spawn... Blasters don't get nearly the same benefit. Damage wise it was middle of the pack on Defenders, I haven't looked at the Blaster numbers.

I'm quite happy with the /EM secondary... boost range is a great power. With my Fire/EM I'm never out of range of the enemy, if I can target them I can hit them.

I have one that just broke into the 40's, it's a capable set. It's not Fire Blast but it does decent damage and it has one of if not the longest ranged attacks. Another bonus is the endurance use, this thing is insanely light on your blue bar. I can fly, run 4 toggles and still attack full out without issues... and I have only the base slot in Stamina.

It's nice for the DDR it provides, however I usually pick it up very late in my build. My Elec/Shield Stalker got it at 49, my BS/Shield Scrapper is likewise planning it at 49. The only benefit it really gives YOU is the DDR and another LOTG mule. I did get it earlier on my Shield tankers, but that's for a different role in combat.

Dunno, it's always been a high damage set though. I tend to think more of the blame rests on the current state of Regeneration; it was repeatedly nerfed into oblivion in the early days of the game and hasn't recovered yet. It does take a lot of work to make it survivable, and it's much more demanding on your attention while playing it than other secondaries. Ah well, quite a few of my favorites are relatively rare; my namesake Inv/Stone tanker is a combination I've only run into a few times in all the years I've played. Then again I'm not immune to the FOTM, back on Live I had Fire/Rad & Ill/Rad controllers among others and my other Stalker now is Elec/Shield.

Really in my opinion Defenders get so much out of the pool you really ought to grab the big three, Assault/Tactics/Maneuvers. I fit them into every Defender I've ever played, and most Controllers as well.

I dunno, somehow I can see getting THIS: Edit Ok, maybe just this instead.

Fallout kind of suffered from the depressing environment and the repetitive nature of the quests. I enjoyed the series quite a bit but I tended to get bored with all the "go here and talk to everyone and their brother to find x". It got especially frustrating when replaying and having to go talk to this person about their cow and how that person might know about something else all over again. I did play all the versions of Fallout a few times, New Vegas may have been the high water mark for the series.

Honestly the last time I tried Dark Armor was probably way back around issue 7 or 8, pre IO in any case. I found the set frustrating to play because of it's high endurance usage... just running the armor and aura toggles ate up nearly your entire recovery pool leaving very little for attacking. I think I got the character, I believe a Spine/Dark Scrapper, to the mid-20's and abandoned it due to those issues. I do know that IO bonuses can solve it's woes nowadays but I've never tried it again. Too many alts, too little time.

One of the combos that surprised me with how functional it was is my Fire/Regen Stalker. I'm not sure why I started the character but by the time I'd reached 50 with a good IO build that provided a bunch of S/L defense she was a very survivable and powerful character. The latest statistics showed that I'm one of only two with that combination at 50; it's much better than you'd expect from no more popular it is. I will admit that a bone standard SO build would be lacking; we all know the current state of Regen. Still, with high defenses it's very effective.

I've used it for inspiration a few times when I didn't want to go with my default jeans & t shirt. Occasionally it does spark an idea.

Well, I've enjoyed http://grrlpowercomic.com/. If comics have a decent storyline and acceptable artwork I'll follow it.

While that would simplify things it would also end up being a nerf to the current power levels because you would loose a LOT of set bonuses. Assuming you're slotting like many Tri Form builds you'll have the Nova and Dwarf powers all 4-6 slotted. That's quite a few IO bonuses you'd be loosing. It's going to be tough to juggle overpowering the bonuses with nerfing them.

I'll have to look it up to make sure but I think it's like this: Human - "powexectoggleoff bright nova$$powexectoggleoff white dwarf$$powexectoggleon combat jumping$$powexectoggleon shining shield$$powexecname inner light$$goto tray1" Nova - "powexectoggleon bright nova$$goto tray4" Dwarf - "powexectoggleon white dwarf$$goto tray5" The first press of the human key drops me to Human, changes the bottom tray to my human form power tray and turns on CJ, the second press turns on Shining Shield and the third press fires off Inner Light. Yes, sometimes it doesn't register a button press, if that happens just push it again... since they're all toggle on commands it will eventually activate them all. The Nova button shifts me to Nova and changes the bottom tray to my Nova powers while the Dwarf turns me to Dwarf and swaps to the Dwarf power tray. You can use whatever tray you wish, I just use tray 1 for my Human attacks and whatnot, tray 2 & 3 are extra powers, tray 4 is just the Nova powers and tray 5 is just the Dwarf powers.

I've not had any experience good or bad with GM's here on HC but I have to congratulate everyone involved in our resurrect dead spell here. They're all working as volunteers in a frequently thankless job and I for one appreciate it. To anyone who's complaining about the crew here, just remember that they're doing it for FREE so we can have a game we enjoy playing. Let's all keep that in mind and cut them some slack if something happens you don't like.

Here's CMA's current build, it's about as optimal as I can come up with currently. Highlights: Soft Capped or within 1.5% of soft capped to S/L/E/N/F/C damage, 30% Melee/AOE, 20% Ranged Resistance 90% S/L, 84% F/C, 70% E/N, 55% T/P Endurance and recovery adequate for long AV battles. I did not build for Regeneration per se, I'm sitting at 196%. Gaining more regen would have meant sacrificing other areas of the build.

I'm probably not a good choice for advice on this, my default is jeans and a T Shirt. Why you ask? Well, have you ever tried getting Hami goo out of that fancy leather costume? Just go to Wally World and buy new, it's lots cheaper. 😀

This is a valid point, maybe the Dwarf and Nova shift powers should include the common binds like shifting as well as the "goto tray4", "goto tray5" for Dwarf and Nova powers? I use the 1-0 keys for my tray 1 powers so including the command to swap trays means I still use the same keys for the form powers. Lots of players are still going to be customizing them further, my bind to drop to Human form toggles both forms off and toggles on Combat Jumping, the Shining Shield and at a third press it fires off the Build Up power. Press the key and I drop to Human and Combat Jumping activates. A second press toggles on Shining Shield. A third press fires off Build Up (sorry, I forget offhand the power name). Then I may stay Human for a bit or go immediately back to Nova or Dwarf depending on the situation.

Well, you do have Dwarf to deal with Mez, how about when you go to Dwarf you also get a short term break free buff when you drop back to Human? That way Dwarf is your mez protection while active and a quick shift to/from eliminates the mez currently on you?

Meh, the character wasn't exactly a shining example... more of an obnoxious and overbearing boss you hated. The death scene in the SSA was rather poorly done, but the entire arc was as well so nothing unusual there. As I see it if he comes back there's two choices, either retcon the SSA arcs which they could certainly use or we open up the Oroborus Time Editing thing and drag him from just before he died and substitute a decoy. Or you could have the old standby of someone new taking up the colors, a "the King is dead, long live the King".

Ok, I had a couple of 50 PB's on Live and one here on HC who's currently approaching 40. Here's my thoughts. 1. Suppress the human form toggles instead of dropping them, currently they're very limited in usefulness to a Tri Form. I saw a Dev reply awhile back that they'd still draw endurance when suppressed... how about upping the bonus recovery of the forms to compensate? 2. The one thing Dwarf form could really use is to make their Taunt autohit like it is for Tankers and Brutes. An aura would be nice, but Dwarf is supposed to be an off tank/emergency tank so it's fine if they don't get one. If they do it should be substantially weaker than a Tanker's, possibly on par with Willpower's rather anemic aura before the Tanker upgrades. 3. As has been mentioned, change the Knockback to Knockdown or Knockup on all applicable powers. This would go a long way to make them more team friendly. 4. The Slot Crunch. Redlynne mentioned a novel solution a bit upthread. It would certainly solve the slot problem, but it would need testing to see just how badly it would affect power creep. I could see it allowing for ridiculously overpowerd builds once you started figuring all the extra IO bonuses it would allow you to get with 36 extra slots to fill. It would add to the expense but players able to afford an uber build aren't really uncommon. Perhaps as an alternative (if this is even possible) give the character one additional slot at the under-30 levels so you'd always have 3 slots instead of 2, then getting 3 after level 30. That would give you 13 additional slots instead of the 36 that Redlynne's suggestion gave. It still may be too much for balance, that would need to be tested. It would give you a potential 13 additional IO bonuses instead of 36 of them. That's what comes to mind at the moment, and those thoughts would also apply to Warshades. I'm on the fence about the reduced damage of Quantum/Void mobs currently vs where they were back when Kelds were introduced in issue 3. It was a challenge and taught you to be cautious, but was probably a bit high then but it may be too low now.

I just saw the new breakdown of powerset combinations at level 50... my Fire/Regen Stalker clocks in as one of only two in the game at level 50 and I'm not really sure why. Yes, we all know Regen isn't the most powerful secondary by any means but it's still capable and the Fire primary has really nice damage. I built for soft capped S/L defense and I find the character to be quite effective and survivable in most situations. True, it isn't up with Elec/Shield, the number one combo of which I also have one at 50. Hmm, I've leveled the MOST popular Stalker combo along with one of the LEAST popular. Where do you guys fall in the popularity contest?😁

Here's what my Ill/Rad looked like at Shutdown, I haven't rerolled him yet so I haven't updated the build. He's based on Local Man's advice and suggestions. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Nameless Phantom: Level 50 Science Controller Primary Power Set: Illusion Control Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Teleportation Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Blind -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(3), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(5), Dmg-I(5), HO:Nucle(7) Level 1: Radiant Aura -- DctWnd-Rchg(A), DctWnd-Heal(7), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(9), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(9), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(11) Level 2: Spectral Wounds -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(13), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Dvs-Hold%(15) Level 4: Radiation Infection -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(A), DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(17), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(17), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(19), DefDeb-I(19) Level 6: Deceive -- CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(A), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(21), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(21), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(23), CrcPrs-Conf%(23) Level 8: Accelerate Metabolism -- EffAdp-EndMod/EndRdx(A), EffAdp-EndMod/Acc(25), EffAdp-Acc/Rchg(25), EffAdp-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(27), EffAdp-EndMod/Rchg(27), EffAdp-EndMod(29) Level 10: Superior Invisibility -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(29), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(31), RedFrt-EndRdx(31), RedFrt-Def(31), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(33) Level 12: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A) Level 16: Flash -- Acc-I(A), BslGaz-Acc/Hold(33), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(33), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(34), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(34) Level 18: Phantom Army -- ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(34), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(36), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(36), SlbAll-Build%(36), SlbAll-Dmg/Rchg(37) Level 20: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(37) Level 22: Recall Friend -- Range-I(A) Level 24: Lingering Radiation -- TmpRdn-Acc/Slow(A), PcnoftheT-Acc/Slow(37) Level 26: Spectral Terror -- GlmoftheA-Dam%(A) Level 28: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(39) Level 32: Phantasm -- BrlLdr-Acc/Dmg(A), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(40), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(40), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40) Level 35: Tactics -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(A) Level 38: EM Pulse -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(42), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(42), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42), RechRdx-I(43) Level 41: Fire Blast -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(43), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Dvs-Hold%(45) Level 44: Fire Ball -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(46), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(46), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(46), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(48), RechRdx-I(48) Level 47: Rise of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 49: Group Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Containment Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(48) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), EndMod-I(50), EndMod-I(50), EndMod-I(50) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) ------------

I bow to your superior knowledge; I've never played the set and those who have used the power on a team I was on never seem to realize they can turn it off so I didn't realize it was a toggle... making their use of it even stupider. My opinion of it is undoubtedly colored by the uniformly poor ways that it's been used in my presence. I'm sure there's a way to usefully use any power, unfortunately that's one that few players understand.