Six-Six

As a newb, I fell in love with Sentinels. My first toon ever to 50. I thought Blasters were much too tough on someone learning the ropes. But now that I have a couple of dozen 50s and incarnates under my belt, I'm starting to lean towards Blasters. Sentinels are very forgiving. The secondary armour sets all make you very survivable (even if you don't know what you're doing... like me). Even a faultily-slotted sentinel secondary will see you walk out of a +2x8 solo fight. Damage-wise, it's there. you can build it up with your favourite IOs. But 1) there will always be someone with more damage than you, 2) sometimes damage isn't everything. The sentinel brings a few debuffs and a few other tricks to make up for the lacking damage. Blasters are not the glass cannons they're made up to be. Defiance is a very strong inherent. And while most people will throw in a power pool to slot def and res, I have some blasters that don't and are still quite tough (besides you don't need a lot of defence when everything is dead 2 seconds after you arrive). It would be unfair to compare Sentinels and Blasters, as their similarities end with the fact that they're both ranged and have similarly-named power sets. They play different roles in a team and different play styles (blasters have a handful of melee attacks that hurt as well). If I were you, I'd try both to see which one fits your style. Everyone's style is different, and the only one who can decide for you is you. 😃

I don't have mids so can't really share builds (plus, I build on the cheap), but I would like to share that I've slotted the End Mod (forget what it's called atm) Chance to Stun IO in almost all my attacks, even the aura. And it basically makes my Elec/Elec/Elec Sent strong enough to tank (minus the taunt, of course, but the aura makes up for that).

I'm the opposite. Started with heroes, but found my home in the Rogue Isles. I do have a few true-blues in the mix, but the exception rather than the rule. Most of my "bluesiders" are villains who think it's healthier for them to be around heroes because of the enemies they've made redside. The rest are red-blooded through and through. And a handful are the "true" villains, the ones bent on global domination, not just C-listers who want to enrich themselves or be someone else's lackeys. Gold side, I can't get enough of Cole. Primal Earth needs more Cole, as Praetor Duncan stated. (and I'm sorry, but resistance is futile) 😃

baby seals are also called pups. at least now you're clubbing

Yes, yes you can. But you're right, it's not enough to get to 50... well with a crap-tonne of patience, I suppose. 😃

Awesome! I, too, have two dedicated Praetorians. One Loyalist and one Resistance (who can go to hell, Resistance scum!) Haven't been on them for a spell. I'm trying to figure out a way the have them reach 50 without leaving (because the Gold Star icon on the toon list is awesome).

not that simple. this was the weekly discussion a couple of few weeks ago. bottom line is, not everyone is cut out to be a villain. 😃

Wow, I really like the effect. What paper did you use? The texture is awesome. I'm trying to discern whether it's from your technique or your paper, but my ancient eyes and crappy monitor won't let me.

and blue is much too bright. give me redside hospitals any day of the week 😃 As for Goldside, I honestly think they were on to something. Unfortunately, the devs never got the chance to finish it. I think it pulls ahead of redside content. Sadly, I have to leave at 20-25, which is my greatest frustration. Long live Emperor Cole!

I have a DP/Nin and I enjoy it very much. I saw this thread earlier and while I think I have enough (cough) alts, I figured I'd do something different-- picking a power set/combo and limiting it's power choices based on theme. For example, I have an AR/Dev Blaster who's a soldier and he skips the non-soldiery powers like Ignite and Flame Thrower (pri) and caltrops (sec); also just rolled a DP/Dev who's just a regular guy with a gun--he only picks the non-flashy ST attacks (T1, T2, T6, T7) and all of the Fighting Pool powers. Incidentally I have friend who likes doing this as well, but he's more of a fanatic than I am... like only choosing ignite and flame thrower from AR for a Firefly-inspired toon, or just the Mu Mastery attacks for his Mu.

you may have pressed an Fn key (I forget which one) that aligns an object to a surface. Sometimes when it's like that objects will turn sideways when you get too near a wall or vertical surface.

I never saw this as an issue. I have 5 level 50 VEATs, on my 6th now. And I always look forward to the L24 Choosing of the Paths. Then again, maybe it's just me. Sometimes I hold off on seeing a trainer even when I have 2 or 3 levels up for picking a power or slots, whether I'm on a TF or just a regular mission.

I'm with Yomo on this one. I don't see a problem that needs fixing. Some people farm comic con maps all day long. Some people like player-generated AE content (not fire farms). Some start with Matthew or origin contact, and progress through contact introductions all the way until Ephram Sha. Some do DFB, then Posi 1, 2, and all the TFs. And some to a little bit of everything. Isn't that the beauty of the game? there's no one way to play it? low-level content is there for those who like it, easily skippable for those who don't--with a butt-load of alternative content made by players themselves. How does it benefit the community if everyone plays the lower levels instead of power-levelling?

That's hardly fair. Not every AE arc/story is a fire farm. Some of them are really good, dare I say better than some of the "official" content.

Lose the cape, it adds drag. But seriously, if you took a fly power, either Flight's fly (not hover) or Mystic Flight, you will have exceeded your flight speed cap, even as Twisted said, having no IOs or even TOs in the power or swift. To raise your cap, you can take Afterburner. This is why most people prefer to run and jump or teleport, because it's way WAY faster. Flying is just convenient and fun and requires less attention to bump into things.

I have 60 alts, 17 of which are level 50. Only a handful have incarnates, and some toons will sadly be seldom played ever again. I enjoyed levelling them up, but I'm not enamoured enough to earn their incarnates. Of the 43 remaining, I currently play 3 (Levels 40, 33, and 14) plus my main and one whose incarnates I'm trying to complete... because altitis can be demanding on the inf. I have three that are stuck in their late 20s because I'm not enjoying them as much as I thought--either that or I can't get into the groove of their powers/play style yet--so they're "parked" for now. The rest are all below level 10 (as I test drive most of the toons right after costume creation, some more than others), but all of them I plan to play until 50, it's just a matter of which ones are picked for game time. I've found that I can only handle 2-3 active alts at any given time, since the controls and play styles tend to confuse me. Plus, I agree about the doing repetitive story arcs being a good recipe for burnout. So one plays mostly blue, one is red, and one does a lot of teaming. Also, I try to keep it as one is ranged, one is melee, and one is support/control so that I have a toon depending on what mood I'm in that day. I have two ways to keep my altitis at bay: One is not creating new ones until I've levelled up a few all the way to 50. I do play in the costume creator every now and then, but I just save a promising costume without creating a toon. The other is to not reuse a costume piece/power combination over... too much (I can only have three at the most that use a particular type of boots, for example); I could have a DP/Device Blaster but not a DP/Traps Corruptor because it would be basically the same. I could (and do) have a DP/SR, DP/Dark, DP/WP sent, which is fine because those are distinctly different power combos from the /dev. To date, I've only played Sentinels and VEATs extensively. I'm just now getting into Blasters/Corruptors and Brutes. I do have some Defenders, Doms, and Trollers waiting in line, but I've never tried them, same with Tanks, Scrappers, Stalkers and MMs, though I don't have ANY toons for those last 4 ATs... yet. 😃

I think the Patron Pools are fine as they are... to change them would warrant a change on the blueside counterparts... to be fair. Although if you think about it, redside has to put in effort to unlock Patron Pools while blue doesn't. maybe blueside should, too??? I've only played VEATs and Sentinels extensively, starting to get the hang of Blasters, Dominators, and Brutes (and incidentally, I think one of the best epics is the Energy Mastery for Brutes). On some toons, like a Fortunata that I have and a few other alts, I chose none of the Epics/Patrons. Reactions to some of the posts above. @Sir Myshkin, I think having a Lord Recluse Patron is a nice idea. Maybe not in the form you suggested (a few tweaks here and there) but in general, I would make it "inherent" to Soldiers and Widows/Forts. In the same vein as you get a mandatory respec once you reach level 24 to choose your path, maybe an auto unlock at 34/35 grants you the LRPP... then again, it might be unfair since HEATs don't get epics at all. (I don't want to get into nit-picking your fantastic idea, but wouldn't it be cool to instead of just summon Bane, you have summon Squad... of 3 or more huntsmen/banes, each one dealing a fraction of your damage and buffs?) @Katharos, I agree with you how the Leviathan is very thematically limiting. Although, unlike you I don't hate it. I made a specific toon (an Atlantean Water/Bio Sentinel) just for the Patron Powers. Other than that the powers themselves are underwhelming, I don't see how such a niche power can be popular. It would be great if they can make the animations for Spirit Shark and School of Sharks a tad more prominent and noticeable. 😃 I don't mind the vomiting at all. I think the only thing that I would change is the Mace Mastery. Scorpion is all about his armour, lore-wise. shouldn't it follow that his Patron Power would beef up your armour... instead of giving you a hitting stick? Don't get me wrong, Mace Mastery on my Bane is awesome and spot on. but an armour upgrade in the same vein as Muntions' Body Armour and Stone (controller) Rock Armour would be more fitting to his character. Just my two or three inf.

She might get frustrated with a blaster faceplanting most of the time. But if that's what she wants then you do might want an AT that can take aggro off of her, or something that heals or a controller/dom that ends the fight before it starts 😃 Ice blast and Ice manipulation focuses on slowing things down, but not locking them in place most of the time. You can play supplementary (another Ice, Grav, Time) or opposite/complementary like Fire, Rad, or Dark -- which lessens they're chance to hit. Storm might be a nice pair thematically, but not sure how it will perform in tandem with Ice. 😃 I hope you two enjoy... in case she does get frustrated with a blaster, she can go Ice Sentinel which is more survivable, but less punch.

A trend that I've noticed with all of my toons (I've only played Sentinels and Spiders extensively, Blasters, PB, Doms a little, and now just getting into Brutes) is that my brain can only handle a total of 12 attacks max excluding incarnates. so most attack/armour ATs, I tend to pick every single one except for the one with the end crash, and supplement it with power/epic pools to plug holes in the toon's build. Additionally, I tend to go thematic, so if a power fits the thematic, then it's taken. If not, it is skipped. power animation plays a role in this as well. And thematically, I've skipped epic pools (because a "normal" guy with a gun can't suddenly throw electric charges from his hands). Even when powers are popularly skippable (like T1 and T2 of dual pistols) I find a way to make them relevant and not just mules. On the other hand, as the case with blasters and doms (including fortunatas), most of the powers are attacks/controlls so it becomes tricky to prioritise which to pick since I can't pick them all even if I wanted to... well I can, but it would be too taxing on my brain to handle them effectively and efficiently (I'm looking at you PB/WS triform).

might help if you posted a pic?

I wish some of the travel powers (specifically Speed of Sound and Combat Jumping) would work together with ninja run/beast run.

New to brutes and melee in general. I started with a sav/dark (l17), then fell in love with EM/EA (mainly because of the concept... currently at L30). thanks for this. I'll use this as a guide... since I see expensive purple IOs in it... as I level up. 😃 Update: I'm slowly getting the much needed slots for my bloke, so slotting is becoming more complicated. So many IOs to choose from 😃 I find myself debating whether I should slot a power with an IO with a fitting sounding title (i.e. touch of death to Energy Transfer, Pounding Slugfest to Barrage, Focused Smite to Total Focus, etc.) without taking into consideration the set bonuses or level limits they have. But that's just me being petty 😃 Also, as I do with other ATs, I tend to make use of their inherent power. Energy Melee seems to be disorient and stun, so I've been working around that. (I mean they put it there for a reason... like Kb in Energy blast). So I have a bit of Disorient in most of his attacks. He's not the hardest hitting nor the sturdiest, but it's funny to watch him knock the senses out of his foes. Very enjoyable he is. Thanks again for the guide. Quick question. On set bonuses now... I'm thinking of 6-slotting the entire set of Numina vs Preventive. Which set do you guys think comes out better?

I like it. Demolitions Mastery or Grenadier. I would make all the grenades AoE's though. not ST like your gas idea. or one could be a cone like a claymore mine that you can control detonation 😃 Incidentally, have you tried an SoA? I think you'd like it. the toxic, frag and web grenades fire from the gun. 😃

I like caves. Why? Because they're hard to navigate (even with Reveal). It's easy to lose your way, get confused. You get caught in nooks and crannies. You have to look for your enemies as well as your way around. A mob might be waiting for you around the corner. Things get in the way of your shot. You can fall and lose your bearings. You can fall/slide and find yourself in the middle of a mob. You can't run away from a fight as easily. Which forces you to think before you jump into action. plan your actions, plan a plan b (escape route) in case things go south. be aware of your surroundings. Caves are my favourite especially on Hard Core (no deaths) toons.

I vote to have the power Reveal be useless in caves. 😃