Six-Six

😃

@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. 😃

Therra (SG leader) just missed the photo session =(. Quite a fun run.

@Greycat Wait, there's an SG now? Grinding, welcome. and jump right in. I didn't get to play Live as well. I thought I'd try it this way.

BLASTRO join the channel. What time are you guys usually on?

I suggest playing it from level 1, and take it slow. Learn the toon, what works for you what doesn't. Will you be a stealthy sniper, a hover blaster that rains death from above, or a wanton blapper getting in up close and personal. Doing so familarises you with the attacks and the attack chain you will be using, and hence how you want to build it (build it for debuff, pure damage, kb, etc.) You'll also figure out what IOs or sets to put in or if you need IOs slotted in a particular power at all (sometimes a plain SO is adequate). Take some time to study IO sets and their bonuses. Not all sets are the same, and some cheaper ones are better than pricey ones.

Clave, I suppose it's very similar to the RL lament that "there are no jobs out there" or "it's so hard to find a job"... When in fact there are a tonne of jobs out there, and they are easy to find, it's just a matter of finding a job THEY like.

If you can, try hardwiring it from the router to the computer. It will be much more stable than over wifi. The game itself is an old game so its connection requirements aren't as demanding as newer games. Also, it's the weekend, so a lot of peeps are on. You can also try a different shard (like Reunion or Everlasting) to see if the server load could be the culprit.

@tidge I won't mind. I'm currently learning my first MM. and I think it would be great to have more attacks as well as more control over the robotic spiders. They could be in the form of power picks, so you have to sacrifice a couple of personal attacks to equip your pets with another attack and/or control... which makes you closer to an MM if you so choose. Or it could be a 3rd path altogether... making a total of 4: the huntsman, bane, crab, and brood mother. incidentally, I propose that all the spider pets get a Fear aura, because c'mon they're huge spiders. I also propose that this aura be called the Heebeegeebees.

I'm with Omega on this one. I think the crab is in a fairly solid place. And without meaning any disrespect, I do think you need to get to know your pets a little better. Sometimes the stats don't translate directly to actual play. As for spamming 3 attacks, no one's limiting you to just 3 or 4 attacks. My tankermind crab has 4 melee attacks including Shatter armour from BS pool, 3 ranged attacks (4 if you count web envelope which I rarely use except for pesky runners), 6 pets (blaster, reinforcements, spiderlings)--of which 3 are always by my side and rarely die before they expire. I do have the ginormous Toxic Tarantula T4 lore pet (and another giant spider from Recluse Victory in the pocket), but they rarely comes out to play since I rarely have need of them. Teaming with your spider. Just showing up with your double dipped Leadership is enough. Any damage, debuff, or tanking you do is just icing on the cake. My crab can solo an ITF at +2 or +3, Tank one at +4 without breaking a sweat. My usual attack chain is: open with Venom to soften them up, follow up with Suppression, jump in with Arm lash and Frenzy (and Slice/Shatter), then frag to disperse them again, jump back for another suppression. The recharge is fast enough that either just melee attacks or just range attacks are almost always up when i need them. The pets just do clean up. Armour holds up and rarely dips low enough to need Serum. And I don't even have any purples slotted (save for Panacea and a couple of Shield Walls IIRC)... I'm a cheapskate with many alts to feed. I did spring for the ATOs which I think are two of the best ATOs there are. You can take provoke from presence pool, if you opt for a taunt. I don't think you do if you open with either venom nade, frag or suppression as the attack will draw aggro to you anyway. but if you do, it does open up Unrelenting which you can supplement Serum with (though I think Serum + the villain alignment power is enough). I also have a pure Bane who cannot handle 4x8, but can solo an AV and a few GMs. The mace attack is slow so cycling through 4 or 5 is all right for her.