Kruunch

I suggest Spines out of the ones you've listed. Lots of AOE and pair really well with Bio. I have a Spines/BIO Scrapper version of this and is still one of my favorite toons played to date.

If you're trying for the tank route then yes. I pivoted on this toon and will be going Assault.

The AE farm thing was just a handy way to show you a bunch of mobs. In a real +8/+4, getting packs that big or bigger is easy. Hell just corner pull, and you can get all the gaggle you want. The point was to show you that 1) Thunder Strike hits more then 2-3 mobs (fairly easily) and 2) that unfortunately TS acts more like a 180 degree cone (notice the guys on my butt not getting hit). Having said that, when used with that in mind, it's worth its activation time (for me).

Here's a vieo illustrating what I'm talking about both positioning and number of mobs wise (sorry for the poor editing quality) .... thunder_strike_demo.mp4

Ah we're talking apples and oranges then as far as SD vs Inv goes but some of the logic still applies; Knockdown as a soft control protects not just you, but also your group. Now Invulnerability has more staying power against larger packs than SD does (statistically speaking) so having more mobs up but whittling greater numbers of mobs down at the same time (TS vs. BL damage and number of mobs wise) is viable for Invulnerability, but you want to cut down the number of mobs quick with a defense based set (less statistics gives RNG less chances to turn against you). Regarding the amount of mobs you're dealing with ... I generally go for agro saturation (16 mobs). If you're not doing that, then yes smaller packs will yield smaller results for TS. I like getting the bang for my buck 😉 As far as positioning, play around with it. I think once you're paying strict attention you'll realize more times than not, TS is working as I've outlined.

Well if TS just isn't your cup of tea, then yeah definitely spec out of it. Nothing worse than feeling stuck with something you don't like using. However if you're interested in trying to get TS to work a little better then try this: TS definitely can hit more targets than that, so if you're only hitting 2-3 targets, you need to review your positioning. Typically after telenukes I'll take a step or two back so most of the mobs are in front of me and then TS (if you're like me you probably telenuke directly into the middle of the pack). I average saturation on TS (which is around 5 or 8 or so). TS has the soft control of knocking down opponents which is one of the really good synergies about the Elec/SD build. It also does twice the damage of BL (or FB). I use Chain Induction, Havok Punch and Zapp to clean up individual stragglers. P.S. You should be looking for positional defense, not typed defense on an SD build (FYI).

You should definitely not use it for single target attacks (unless you love the animation lol). Thunder Strike is listed as a targeted AOE (or PBAOE depending the source you're looking at) but in actuality it behaves like a 180 degree cone (i.e. it doesn't hit enemies behind you), so positioning is something you need to keep in mind when using it. The way I use Thunder Strike is after coming out of my telenukes, so Thunder Strike benefits from still being in Hidden and has a 50% chance to critical per target hit. That's your bang for the buck with this power. Yes the activation time is annoyingly long ... my regular group likes to make a meta game out of it; can we kill all the mob before Kruunch's TS lands 😄 I have this issue with Jacob's Ladder and I usually skip it (and like T3 attacks). I wouldn't recommend replacing TS though ... what would you replace it with?

I play a Water/SR Sentinel and use Hover 100% of the time. Why do you feel it's ground bound? Whirlpool?

Stop being Debbie Drama. My point is that all of the sets we're talking about have certain play styles, and they can all be successful within those styles. SR (of the defense sets) is the easiest to cap and has the strongest debuff resistance which makes it the clear winner from a purely defense stand point. The play style of defensive based sets is such that you're always battling RNG. Occasionally you'll drop instantly and that's the way that play style goes. Most times you'll laugh at what's around you. Sometimes you'll need to gobble inspirations. Regen on the other hand you end up playing like a Scrapper. Jump in, duke it out, jump out when getting low so you regain health. Helped out by on-demand heals as they are up (i.e. these just shorten jump-out time). Obviously different people on this thread have found both to be playable at the end game (such as it is). In that regard, it just falls to what your preference in play style is.

Kind of is. You can settle for very casual normal and heroic dungeon crawls you can easily over gear and most pugs will blow through, but higher end content gets very mechanics focused.

Electric Radiation Invulnerability All highly survivable sets and get tough early on.

QFT

So don't play it ... what can I tell ya?

Yes but that's true of any defense based set and I believe I've stressed that point previously. Having said that, there isn't much content I can't do in the game and at agro cap with my setup (some I have to be more dodgy about but that comes with the territory). This goes for my Sentinel, Scrappers, Stalker and Brute who have defense based sets (the latter of which doesn't really apply since you can layer some decent resists there).

So here was my logic on SR for a Sentinel (remember, my goal was to have a true tanking Sentinel): 1) Resist based sets for Sentinels are capped at 75%. Additionally reaching those caps can be a chore and you're certainly not doing it before your 40s (including full sets). That alone made resist based sets a non-starter for me. 2) Regen based and mixed sets (Will Power, Regen, etc ...) offer an interesting play style but don't hold up under direct agro (for non-tank ATs) except at the extreme ends (for some of them), meaning full sets and Incarnate. 3) That left me with defense based sets. Of those, SR is the easiest to soft cap (and beyond), be fully realized (defensively) well before L50 and don't require expensive sets to do it (not an issue for me but for others reading this, a point of clarification). SR also offers the best defense debuff resistance (a must for defense based main agro characters). There are other defense based sets that can get there of course, but I didn't want this to be the main issue at later levels, so I went with the easy choice. Also toggle status protection vs. click based (SR vs. SD) is just a nice convenience (I have several SD characters and is my one really annoyance with them). With that in mind I chose a Water/SR Sentinel. Water because it does much more damage then it reads as initially (proved out by a friend of mine who ran a great Water Blaster). It also offers utility in defense/regen debuffs, multiple AOE knockdowns, an AOE slow and heal options. And while Dark would appear on paper as the default primary for a defense based Sentinel, Dark's damage is kind of eh (that and I've played a lot of dark so was looking to try something new). If you are not looking for an agro-cap agro magnet (i.e. you have someone who will be breaking alphas and/or you're not planning on challenging the agro cap) then yes, most combinations of Sentinel (or other ATs) will work for you in CoH and yes, it's one of the really nice things about this game. P.S. - I'm on most nights from 5 PM est onwards (global is @kruunch). Hit me up any time and I'd be happy to show off (or die foolishly and hilariously for your amusement).

So a few of things to unpack here; 1) Cimerora is not the hardest chain by any stretch. You're literally talking about the easiest EBs and AV in the game. 2) You're describing how tough your sentinel is while flying against melee based mobs and having another toon soak the alphas. 3) while regen is great when in that type of role, so are most of the sentinel secondaries (i.e. tough enough to survive overflow but not main agro) If you really want to test your survivability, try soloing a Cimerora dark crystal door mission on 8/*. That's more of a litmus test for other content you might find a tad tougher (defense debuffs and neg energy in a cave). Note: this is not to denigrate your regen sentinel, just a reality check on your experience. Yes SR (and all defense based sets) are a one trick pony. SR (and SD for other ATs) offers an insurance plan in defense debuff resistance. After that it's a basic statistics class which inspirations will see you through the most extreme moments of. I'd be happy to show you the difference one night on Excelsior (currently working through incarnate stuff on my sentinel).

Having rerun my build a few times, I've traded out Body Mastery for Leadership and run Maneuvers and Assault. Running Numinas, Miracle and Panacea in Health offsets the recovery issue.

From a "tanking" point of view, Super Reflexes is the most survivable set out of the Sentinel line up in my opinion. Easy to soft cap and beyond before hitting Incarnate (or even L50). Best defense debuff resist in the game ensures no cascade failure (and that's with achieving perma-hasten and +30% damage before Incarnate). I wouldn't suggest resist based Sentinels if you want to try to tank a pack of mobs (much less +8/+4). For a primary you can do well with a number of choices.

So been trying MB ... working well so far, so yeah good call on that, thanks! As for the absorb, max HP and resists ... I've found that you cannot stack those enough to make a huge difference in game play. Possibly they come into play more when taking on less mobs, but if you're looking to do the +8/+4 content solo, you're going to definitely want to have your positional resists into the 50s and that should be your priority here for survivability. With SR it's very easy to softcap defense and get them into the 50s even on a budget build. Damage wise, yes you will be a hair off and definitely going Musculature on my Alpha to help mitigate. Having said that, I'm kind of liking my damage thus far. As long as you're not expecting Blaster damage I think you'll be pleased (I feel like a flying, ranged Scrapper).

I didn't really know how Master Brawler played but it read as if it doesn't provide status protection, which is why I went with Practiced Brawler. Looking around the boards a bit, apparently it shifts status protection to the toggles. If it gives the same status protections, I'll look at rebuilding with Master Brawler. Having said that, I haven't run into issues with Practiced Brawler but I'm also used to the click-status protection from running /SD so much recently. Definitely will try with Master Brawler though, thanks for the heads up!

So I had a concept of making a ranged Tanker, and it kind of fell short due to the agro mechanics (agro multiplier, lack of Taunt aura, etc ...). He turned out to be a good off-tank but more on that later. However I ended up with a virtually indestructible Sentinel that's surprisingly a ton of fun to play. I'm not sure about the slotting choices still, but he's been so fun that I went full on twink with him. Highlights: High end soft-capped positional defenses (53/55/52 m/r/aoe), 75% defense debuff resistance, near perma-Hasten (3% off), +29% damage, 3.88 recovery/sec (no end issues whatsoever with total spam, laughs at Malta and Arachnos) and amazingly maneuverability/speed with Hover. Taking him through Incarnate content currently (will update once I start adding Incarnate abilities to him). On a tanking note, I originally had Leadership swapped out with Presence and picked up Provoke. It worked well enough to keep a squishy Brute upright as an off-tank but full on tanking, while survivable enough, didn't have the agro management as a main tank to keep all the squishies alive (too bad there). Let me know what you think. **EDIT** - Swapped Practiced Brawler for Master Brawler. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Tidal Pride: Level 50 Science Sentinel Primary Power Set: Water Blast Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Hero Profile: Level 1: Aqua Bolt -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(48), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Apc-Acc/Rchg(50), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(50), Apc-Dam%(50) Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(3), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(3), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(5) Level 2: Focused Senses -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def(9), LucoftheG-Rchg+(11), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(11) Level 4: Water Burst -- JvlVll-Dam/Rech(A), JvlVll-Dam/End/Rech(5), JvlVll-Acc/End/Rech(7), JvlVll-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(7), Ann-Dmg/Rchg(9), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42) Level 6: Hover -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(45), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(45) Level 8: Dehydrate -- Dvs-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Dvs-Dmg/Rchg(13), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(15), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17) Level 10: Agile -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(19) Level 12: Master Brawler -- RechRdx(A) Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A) Level 16: Enduring -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(19), PrfShf-End%(21), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(46), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(48) Level 18: Water Jet -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(23), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25) Level 20: Dodge -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(27), DefBuff-I(27) Level 22: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(29) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(29), LucoftheG-Def(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(31) Level 26: Steam Spray -- SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(31), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(34) Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34) Level 30: Tidal Forces -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(36), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(36), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(36), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(37), GssSynFr--Build%(37) Level 32: Geyser -- SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(37), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(40) Level 35: Evasion -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(43) Level 38: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def(45), LucoftheG-Rchg+(46), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46) Level 41: Quickness -- Flight-I(A) Level 44: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 47: Fly -- Flight-I(A) Level 49: Afterburner -- Flight-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(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: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(43), Pnc-Heal/+End(43) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), PrfShf-EndMod(42), PrfShf-End%(42) ------------

No problem. Just an FYI the builds and advice I post are from in-game experience. That doesn't always jibe with conventional wisdom but there you go.

That damage is incorrect. Stop playing COH via Pines/Mids. Give it a try in game.

This is incorrect. The damage difference is nominal at best (~15 points per activation ... maybe?), they both share autocritting out of Hide, and they share identical cooldowns. As I stipulated earlier, the secondary effect of Moonbeam is (imo) better but not a difference maker. You will not beat a boss with Moonbeam over Zapp (or vice versa), nor will you end any fight faster using one over the other, hence functionally equivalent.

I chose Zapp because it fit thematically. They both do the same damage, but Moonbeam's secondary effect is better (-toHit (MB) vs. -end (Zapp)). However realistically they're both equivalent.