Six-Six

Sounds like you got yourself some Awesome Sauce! Blasters are contenders for my favourite AT (them and SoAs). I love Blapping, having both melee and range attacks (with maybe a control here and there). My top blapper is Rad/Energy. I enjoyed it so much that I made two of them... just to experience the levelling up all over again. One thing I've noticed in people's comments is the mez. I honestly don't mind the mez, and some of my blasters don't even build around it. You get used to it after a while. Defiance is cool like that. 😃

As one newb to another, best semi-solicited advice I can give is give it time. Hell, it took me practically a month or so to realise there was a game AFTER the character creation. I'm not from the min-maxer camp either. To me concept is king. The big difference, I suppose, is I don't mind gimping myself. I have toons with concepts that prevents them from taking certain powers in a set. (I currently have 4 toons that are part of a certain challenge that severely limits or even forbids them to take powers--have a look here: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/20888-six-sixs-101-toons/ ) At this point of my game play, I have created 101 toons, and my 35th Level 50 just dinged yesterday. Each one has been played extensively solo as well as in teams. I still have a tonne of ATs and power set combinations that I want to try, and some that I know that I don't want to try any more. Which segues into a huge talking point: Builds. I believe each build is a very intimate one, and one specific to you, your concept, and your play style. Even two toons with similar powers can be built and played very differently. And because of the option for 2 more builds in the same toon, you can really explore your character's power potential. Other people will readily share their builds, but keep in mind that it is THEIR build tailored to their own specific needs, wants, and nuances. That doesn't mean I don't look at other people's builds. I like glancing at them, as long as there's context as to why the picked this and why they slotted that and how they use it in their chain. I don't play to challenge myself, I play to relieve stress, suspend reality, and giggle maniacally as I send a mob flying off a building/bridge/cliff... Play what you think is fun. No one's stopping you, and no one should get in your way. I play solo most of the time, too. But over the course of the year, I've found a few in-game friends that share my particular flavour of fun, and we occasionally team up. I do join pick up teams, but mostly for a personal hidden agenda, like getting XP, getting certain drops, badges, rewards, etc. I sometimes chuckle at the things I do as well, maybe not as maniacal as to incur wife aggro. CoH is your world where YOU are the actual Hero (or main villain), do as YOU please. I'm not really into the whole math centric portion of this game... Neither am I. I don't keep spreadsheets and Excel files of statistics. And I do believe that the game is more than just numbers and that there is a discrepancy between the values and actual in-game play. But I still use them as a starting point to guide decisions that I make. (i.e. power X has 40 damage and power Y has 10 + buff/debuff, depending on the build concept, I will choose one over the other). I hate downtime between power usage... This is where the game kicks in. You have to create an Attack Chain which usually consists of 4 or 5 or more powers. You need to work on streamlining this chain so that you have an attack option at any given time. There are many tips and tricks to do that, which I won't get into, suffice it to say that I have one toon that only has 5 attacks which she repeats in a given cycle order, and I have a toon that has 12 which changes depending on what and who I'm fighting. I've also found that my brain can only handle X number of powers on a given toon. over that limit, I get confused which button I have to push. Now, onto my point... I'll try to keep mine as short and sweet as I can. I'm currently learning Masterminds. The only AT's I haven't played extensively are Tankers, Controllers, Stalkers and Warshades. I have tried Peacebringers, but only once and in human-form only, so I don't think that counts. Melee Classes. All the 4 classes have varying degrees of armours and attacks. This is where the math comes in (i.e. Scrappers go after the toughest goon to get the biggest crit hit, Brutes stay in the fight even with a sliver of HP to make the most of Fury, and stalkers set up an Assassin strike strong enough to one-shot a boss.) What you've noticed is you only have an average of 4 or 5 attacks and a butt-load of toggles. Toggles mean protection that comes at the cost of endurance. You'll need to address the end consumption so that your blue bar allows you to "enjoy" the fight. As for attacks, you can supplement them with the tertiary power pool. Force of Will has a nice foot stomp, Sorcery has some nifty spells, Fighting has... well... fighting, and others. Blasters and Sentinels. I learned the game with Sentinels since I liked range and it was a forgiving AT that let me enjoy the game as one that I fought mobs not one that I kept going from Hospital to Mission Door. I still play some of my Sentinels, and play them like Tankers. While they are ranged I like getting into the thick of things and having the option to kill things without chasing after them. Blasters can also be built to be tough. Don't let the absence of armour fool you. If you look at most of the blaster secondaries, there are quite a few melee attacks in the mix. I also tend to play my Blasters up close and personal. and in some teams, I even do the role of the Tank or lead meat shield. Corruptors and Defenders. This is your ranged support class. By support, I primarily mean they can do stuff for allies as well as enemies. They can be built to be tough and tanky as well as pack a decent amount of pain. They can also hold their own solo, and you are by no means forced to team if you don't want to. Some of their powers can only benefit allies, but some can be "hacked" to be cast on your pet and have the benefit applied to you as well. Dominators and Controllers. I think MY problem with dominators is that they HAVE TOO MANY powers. I want to take them all, but I can't... not without giving something up. I've mitigated this by limiting my power choices based on concept. I have a dark/martial who only took 3 primary powers so that she can take all the kicks and shuriken throws. Is she the strongest, of course not. But she can hold her own on +2 x4 solo, which is my sweet spot for most toons. I also have another dom that took most of the primaries and secondaries at the cost of def/res. both toons play differently, each have their own strengths and weaknesses and particular allure for me to keep playing them. If you like Dominators you should give Arachnos Widows a try. They're like Dominators on steriods... with claws.) More semi-solicited advice on Slotting: As you level up, you're given power choices and slotting allotments. Both are entirely up to you. I have powers only have a single thing slotted in them either because they don't deserve it or I've prioritised other powers. At low levels, your powers are quite weak (and does not make you feel super), so the temptation to slot something to increase damage is great. But be patient, that time will come. What I've found is you want to focus on efficacy and efficiency first. Efficacy is making sure your attacks are effective--that they connect. So an accuracy enhancement does a world of wonder. Next is Efficiency. Using those powers consume endurance, some more than others. Get that under control as early as you can. Next is up to you: you can slot for recharge (powers are up for use sooner), damage, or secondary effects like -to hit, slows, debuffs, etc. More on slotting: You have 3 basic types of slotting: Single Origin (SOs), Invention Origins (IOs) that come in two kinds--the sets and the single attribute enhancement. Take time to learn these and see which ones work best for you. Don't bother with DOs. And I personally don't bother with enhancements until my toon's 30. Also, while IO sets are NOT required for you to have a strong survivable toon, they do help to make you an unstoppable god. So I'll finish up by saying, give it time. At level 20 the "beginner's luck" wears off and you're thrust into the real game where RNG is god. 20-40 is the painful stage when you want to slot things to improve, but you can't. you simply don't have enough slots to go around yet. learn how to work with what you have, and make use of the respecs given every tenth level. Some powers you get at 10-20 out of need may not be the case at 40. look into IO set bonuses. those can really add up and either supplement certain aspects or plug holes in your defence. check out the tertiary pools and how they can be used to your advantage. When you hit mid-30s, the Epic/Patron pools open up to give you more choices. And most of all, make sure you're having fun.

Here's my 2 inf: So far, I've only tried /Ice, /Fire, /Energy, and /Martial. Now it's rather hard to compare them directly because how strong they are depends on their build; their build depends on their play style; and their play style depends on their primaries (and a little on concept and theme). Of the 4, /Ice is the only one with T4 incarnates, and it really shines in endgame and in teams. Solo, not so much... She can hold and slow down big mobs, but she hits like a wet noodle, only colder. I tried to play the /Energy like a blapper (scrapinator, brutinator???) and was rather disappointed. Again, maybe due to my build. Fire/Fire was my first ever dominator, and I'm quite certain I didn't build him right. All of them are rather late bloomers. the three other than ice could only handle +2x4 above level 40 (ice was much later). Now this could be attributed to my newbness or how sucky I am at builds. But on that they are almost on the same footing, so it all relatively evens out. I'd have to say /Martial is the most fun. I ended up taking minimal primaries so I can take all the kicks and shuriken throws (plus some def/res/heal/utility on the side). Is /Martial the strongest damage-wise? I'm not sure. I don't have the digits to back it up. But it's certainly the most fluid and the most enjoyable of my 4 doms. Again, it may be largely due to how they were built, and I suspect how fleshed out their concepts are. (my Dark/Martial is a Ninja with minimal mystical powers, a big black dog, and a lot of skill with kicks and throwing stars). I recently rolled another one: Ice/Martial (like a Mortal Kombat Sub-Zero). I look forward to trying him out soon. Bottom line? If it's fun to play, it doesn't matter if it's not that strong.

Just played another few levels. And you can slot higher level enhancements (at least DOs for now) even if you remain level 1. I don't really sweat it as much, but you're right. Enhancement is a thing you add or augment to another thing in order to improve its function. So IMHO, we should be allowed to put them in.

That makes sense. I was telling another friend about it, and he brought up a good point. Would it be possible to slot enhancements if we never officially level up? Haven't tried it, and I still haven't slotted any enhancements anyway.

Started the journal 😃 Here, toward's the bottom.

Btw, brought in another global friend into the fold. @Yar. His toon name escapes me atm. And I bumped into a MAVLE while I was online a while ago. I tried running your AE arc, but internet wasn't cooperative. I'll try again later 😃 Already looking ahead to which of my Loyalists I'll play next when Dank gets promoted to Praetor. When my connection's dodgy, I sit in Character Creator and cough up new toons. Not all of them make the cut after a test drive. Nonetheless, I now have 11 new Resistance toons (I know, it's a bit hard for someone with Loyalist blood flowing in his circuits). But the lore is just so rich. I'm even thinking of trying the base editor again to create a more rustic bare-bones encampment for them, something along the lines of aStar Wars rebel base on a cliff side... something 😃

Vanquisher, reporting for duty. Dank Farrik (formerly Dust Buster) will be here shortly.

😃

@Dracomicon Thanks. I am having fun. 😃 It's a nice change of pace from the speed runs and daily grind. While I do enjoy the story arcs, I've ran them enough times to almost know them by heart. I like what you did with the journal, and I'm doing something similar in my head (might write it down someday). It's HIS story arc 😃

Ok... was on the fence about this, since I do have other "challenges" currently in progress. But what the hell, it got me interested enough. So meet my pure human hero (disregard the aura, he just levelled so it's the ding buff you're seeing) Technically, he's Thugs/Poison MM. But challenge-wise, he's a normal (villain) guy with no powers other than the "power to persuade others to do his dirty work for him" and "throw drugs at them to keep them compliant" =). I have ignored P2W for now, but I might consider getting the "normal" temp powers like grenades, bat, gab's hammer, pistol... (maybe a drone???) once he has enough money. I'm playing him at 1 level per day or as my schedule allows. He doesn't do missions since he's got no clout like heroes and villains. So he just goes around the streets. I anticipate it would take much longer like this, but I don't mind. currently at (supposed to be) level 4 😃 I might slot DOs which will later be upgraded to SOs End redux in Sprint, nothing in Power Slide HP in Alkaloid (T1 Secondary) Damage or KB in Call Thugs (T2 primary) maybe a Damage in Brawl, though I don't plan on getting in on the fight.

It's a fallacy that blasters are squishy. It's true they don't have the armour associated with the melee ATs, sentinels, and spiders. But they're hardly a rarity: Doms, Controllers, Corruptors and Masterminds (even PBs and WSs arguably) all start out with very little armour. What they do have is a unique tool set to mitigate that. Doms and Trollers have their holds and controls, corrs and fenders have some heals which could be worked around to benefit you as well as your ally. MMs have their pets. Blasters... blasters have damage, damage and more damage. Kill them before they can kill you. Blasters can fight from range or melee with devastating efficiency. As long as you're not being careless, blasters are quite survivable. here are just a few tips to enjoying blasters: 1) pick your fights. don't go rushing into a mob that's too much for you to handle. any blaster can easily take down one or two, but even brutes and tanks may have a problem with a +2 or a x4 solo. divide and conquer. use your T1 or T2 to pull them to a nice little corner where they can meet their death. 2) prioritise targets. If you do find yourself being mobbed, concentrate on killing one (kb is your friend--push back others, make them wait their turn to meet their maker). You can also do guerila tactics: run in. kill one or two, run out. next time you run in, the mob will be a bit smaller. 3) try to sneak in def and res through IO set bonuses. those can go a long way. I tend to prioritise defence and resistance against smashing and lethal AND range. the blaster's main weakness is mez. range def/res and to hit debuff is how to mitigate your enemy from mezzing you in the first place. but it's not that bad, blasters can still fire off their both their T1s and T2 primary even when mezzed, so don't skip those and build them up to do decent damage. (I have a few blasters that didn't take mez protection and you kinda get used to it after a while). having a few spare purple insps in hand don't hurt either. 4) don't be afraid to get into the thick of things. blasters are a damage AT, not just range damage, but ST, AoE, PBAoE AND melee. blaster melee damage can be built to high numbers. once you get the hang of it, congratulations, you are now a Blapper 😃 5) while they are primarily damage, they also have some nifty debuff powers. learn how to use your power set so you can squeeze every bit of effectivity out of them. It's not just about sniping and firing away (well, it is, but...) sometimes, you do MOAR damage if you set it up efficiently like a rad debuff prior to your high damage attack. Ice focuses on holds and slows--both slow movement and slower recharge... slower recharge = def/res for you: if they're powers are recharging longer, they're hitting you less. 6) find a way to stick a heal power into your build, like hoarfrost, Presence: unrelenting, aid self + field medic, etc. everyone needs a breather 😃

I suppose we blasters get a limit on weapons 😃 Pity, Katana, Rifle and Pistols would have been dope!

They're not exactly petless--Red's got doggos, Dee's got... erm... issues. And I've grown fond of throwing a bird at my enemies (I must say, the thought of chucking a bag of bees doesn't sound so bad either... might try it on her second build). In Dee's case, the absence of other attacks have made me realise that the Sorcery Pool's T2 and T4 aren't bad at all. Even the animation fits nicely with the theme. 😃 Can't say which one I enjoy better.

Not sure if PT's Chance to Heal counts, I doubt it though. Another mechanic is your stealth radius vs the mob's perception radius. If the difference is too small (not sure what the exact amount is) then they will see through your stealth.

Wow. Another challenge. 😃 Sounds interesting. Just a quick clarification on the rules: By unplayable, do you mean you've run out of contacts since you're level locked to 1? And when you do visit Ouro and a trainer, you can pick as many powers as your level allows (but only normal humanly possible ones)? As for the temp powers, I've found the 2 grenades to be very helpful (and natural). I'm also fond of the Axe and usually swap whatever origin power I got to either Throwing Knives or Taser. Since your toon is DP, you may opt to get the pistol temp (backup gun). I've heard praises for Gabriel's Hammer, but I've never tried it myself.

did you have any damaging procs in Cauterising Aura?

Power picks depend on the toon's concept for me. Some toons pick all of their primaries and secondaries (except the crashing and/or self rez T8 and T9) and actually use them. Some only pick certain powers (I have a dom that only took 2 primaries and a blaster who only took 4) and try to find some way to compensate or complement them with other powers... Again primarily dictated by concept. Then there are some powers I wish I could take, but can't afford their end cost at the level which they are offered, so I wait until the toon is properly prepared.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity to run a petless MM 😃 Ok, just rolled Li'l Red. Beast/Dark MM. Reunion. Also rolled a Demons/Storm MM. Now at level 8 Regarding the rules... 1. No primary or secondary powers She DOES have a pet (T2 primary), and an occasional Hawk (T3) as well until the tertiary pools open up at level 4 2-6. Only original power pools. No P2W. No Auction House. Can buy enhancements from contacts. No IOs unless the recipe and salvage needed to craft it drop. I won't be adhering to this too much since I already have a few toons that do this. I'm much more interested in the no primary and secondary powers. Instead, I'll be stricter with the tertiary power picks they get with respect to their origin. (i.e. Red took Experimental Pool Toxic Dart since she's Natural--I don't plan on taking Speed of Sound; similarly, Dee took Sorcery pool since she's Magic, and will probably take all of the 5 powers). Same goes for temp powers: I did get a few prestige powers, like Athletic Run, Inner Insps, and a wisp but no prestige enh. Red got the axe, Dee got the wand. I won't get Sands of Mu and XP boost from P2W. I'm still debating whether either of them will be purchasing temporary powers. 7. Solo. I usually do... unless we bump into each other and decided to combine our gimped powers 😃 Update: I have quit Li'l Red from the challenge. Her concept is just too good to waste not taking the primaries and secondaries. If it's any consolation, I am still skipping some powers because of said concept (like no Lions, ...because wolves). I am retaining Dee in the challenge because her concept fits better for the challenge.

I think it varies greatly per shard. I play in Reunion almost every day for a min of 2 hours per session. I have never come across anything in Help or LFG that is anywhere near abrasive. In fact quite the opposite. People are genuinely trying to look for teams or look for people for teams, which usually works out for both parties. Help IS helpful. people would offer not only decent, but quite insightful feedback most of the time... and usually polite. Occasionally, the conversation will stray away from actual Help or LFG because of a funny thing mentioned or reaction, but it sets itself straight soon after. Again, rarely anything snarky (much less offensive) is said. I play a bit on Everlasting as well, and while I don't play as often in this shard, I have fairly the same experience as Reunion. I tried Excelsior a while back, and I did notice a slightly different "trend" in the chat which I didn't care for. It was a good thing that shard's connection didn't agree with mine, so I don't visit Excel too often. Haven't had the chance or reason to visit Torchbearer or Indom.

Here's a slightly different take. 😃 Nova.costume

Oh, and I found fresh meat. Bumped into @Grshoppa (global) in Reunion. apparrently he started his own Classic (Eelectro or Dyno1) without knowing about this thread. Invited him to the SG and pointed him to this thread. 😃

logged in a bit yesterday on an alt and saw Major Assault was around 18 as well. The team can help you with Dr. Vahz AV. Just set the time and date. (I think I'm getting near that mission as well.

Almost. Here's a better way: Server A, Whammy-Man (Tank) Server B, Whammy-Man (Brute) 1) Create Whammy-Funk (Scrapper) on Server B 2) Rename Whammy-Man (Brute) on Server B to Whammy-Man-X (Brute) 3) Still on Server B, Rename Whammy-Funk (Scrapper) to Whammy-Man (Scrapper). These 2 renames take 2 seconds, and will secure the name Whammy-Man on Server B 4) Move Whammy-Man-X (Brute) to Server A with Whammy-Man (Tank). 5) Rename Whammy-Man (Tank) to Whammy-Funk, and remove the -X from the Brute. Again, takes 2 seconds. 6) You now own Whammy-Man on both Servers A and B, plus Whammy-Funk on Server A. Your way also works, but the time it takes to rename the Tank on Server A, exit, log to Server B, move the Brute takes a tad longer and thereby poses as a risk to losing the name. This has happened to one of my toons in the past. Though I don't think the name Whammy-Man will be in high enough demand for the risk to be threatening.

You can have my toon's name... over my dead body. What if: Person A seeks to name his/her character "Toony McToon-Toon." However, the name is not available. Every attempt to use an existing player name 1) notifies the person attempting to use the name of the current holder of the name 2) notifies the current holder of the name that an attempt to use one of his existing toon's names 3) offers both of them the chance to "duke it out" by virtue of concept and theme, costume, playing ability. Person A can choose to fight for his right or not. If not, then life goes on, he picks a diff name that's hopefully available. If he chooses to fight for it, then the current holder has the prerogative to set the time and date of the showdown (in the Beta Test Server, I suppose). The loser is then deemed simply not deserving of the name. ... of course, the current holder can set the date to the year 2351, so yeah. 😃