TungstenShark

I never really enjoyed playing a Blaster in the past, but this concept might be the way to get me interested. Looks fun and a little bit suicidal (in a good way). What is your rotation (or priority system) when fighting, for both single target and packs?

Are you saying recipes are not single use? Have I completely missed something? I had to stop playing CoH back in live around Issue 3 or 4, so IOs and recipes are all brand new to me. :o

Heh, I asked the same question in a thread that has now slipped to the second page. I'll be watching this thread closely. :)

I wanted to roll a toon to both buff my party and debuff the enemy and settled on a Kin/Sonic defender. I have not seen any posts on this combo on the boards. I last played waaaaay back in Issue 3 (or maybe very early 4) so IOs were not even a glimmer in anyone's eye yet. As such, I am pretty lost when it comes to trying to slot set IOs, so let me ask some general questions: 1.) On the Kinetic side, I am likely going to take all powers except Repel and Inertial Reduction. On the Sonic side, I'll probably skip Shockwave, Amplify, Siren's Song and (maybe) Screech (unsure at the moment on this one). Have I over looked obvious reasons to include any of the skipped powers? 2.) Should I be 6 slotting all my attacks and using sets in each, or do some attacks manage fine with less slots? I see other builds and slotting is all over the place...3 slot attacks, or 5 slot, or 6 slot. I am still trying to figure out the optimal setup. 3.) On the buffing side, a lot of the Kinetic powers do not seem to require a lot of slotting (like Siphon Power, Siphon Speed, Speed Boost), but I might be terribly wrong. What about the "big" ones like Transference and Fulcrum Shift (and Transfusion to a lesser extent)? 4.) I plan on running the three Leadership toggles - how should these be slotted? Assault seems to require no additional slotting, but what about Maneuvers and Tactics? 5.) Are Tough and Weave needed in a build like this? If so, how should they be slotted? I was planning on getting them both, but maybe neither is necessary. 6.) Same with Hasten...I was planning on taking and 3-slotting for Recharge. But this might be some archaic thinking leftover from "the good old days." So...yeah...pretty lost, outside of knowing the the two powersets i want to use. LOL Any and all help/feedback/comments/criticism appreciated. Thanks!

A man after my own heart! I was forced to stop playing CoH early in its career (Issue 3 or 4). Back then DA was not an option for Tankers so I was working on making a Scrapper as tough as possible with Dark Armor. I would definitely like to give DA a shot again on a new toon. My only other Tanker right now is Stone/Ice. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to see how your experience is. Good luck!

Ah ha, more good info! Another question on set IOs...can they be of any level, or are some of the set IOs only a certain level or max at a certain level? @Redlynne...taking your Time/Dual Pistols/Dark Defender build for example...most of the set IOs you have posted in your build are Level 27. Is this because these sets do not come in higher level versions?

Ah ha, gotcha. So it's still going to be best to save up and IO-out all your enhancements at max level then. This makes sense to me. In a related question...there is no way to take a lower level IO recipe and max it out, right? That seems silly but I reckon I need to ask. I have some lower level recipes I've been hanging on to just in case.

I stopped playing on live well before IOs came on the scene so I'm still trying to learn all the ins and outs. Is it correct to say it does not matter what level you slot an IO enhancement, as the bonuses level with you? In other words, if I slot one at say 27, it's no different than I slotted it at 50? I'm really trying to figure out if I need to wait til 50 and do the majority of my slotting (and just use generic IOs until then) or can I slot as I go? By the same token, does that make say a level 27 IO recipe as valuable (or at least equal to) the same IO recipe at 50?

I'm not necessarily looking for "the most powerful"...either Super Reflexes or Ninjitsu would fit the concept I have and I had no previous experience with either. I like the idea of a low maintenance defensive secondary which is probably SR more than Ninjitsu. I had not considered Energy as a secondary so that's an interesting twist to throw in to consideration now too.

It seems to me the best way to take advantage of the Blaster primary is to pair it with sets focused on Defense, not forcing you in to melee range (unless you want to). I suppose the other school of thought is go Regen and just heal through whatever gets thrown your way, but that's a thought process for another time. Hard to find reliable information regarding Sentinel abilities online and I do not have access to Pine's at the moment so I'll ask here: what are the differences in these two secondary power sets and which do you prefer on a Sentinel?

Which do you like more and why? Obviously Storm Summoning has several different Knockbacks and how you use those is key to its effectiveness. Storm seems to be more offensive-minded, while Cold seems more controlling. Are powers like Arctic Fog and Steamy Mist basically identical, or are their inherent numbers different? What about Sleet and Freezing Rain? Back when I played, Cold was not an option for Defenders. I always loved Freezing Rain as a debuff, but if Sleet is an identical power, I might go with a different power set this time.

I've been through a lot of the combos, but not all of them. I know about the Stone option, which is cool. Is there an option of ice or crystal or something similar I have missed?