Ankhammon

Good. Glad to hear it that about the tier 9 actually. It does make the whole set feel more in line. Still not sure about how it plays, long term, on a Defender but I'll find out... unless I make a... Time to take my altitus pills.

I've been just starting my EAffn/Beam defender and I can tell you the difference between 11 and 12 is particularly huge on this guy. The damage boost is significant and really helps the char. And if you keep your ordering right, you can get a lot of blasts going to. I know my char is a young'un but with all the freebie powers I can still blast/melee to my hearts content... or until I gotta hit a heal or buff and then go back to it. That being said, I want to say that I think Sir Mishkin is right about this being a mid or close distance kinda set. One of the things that sets it apart from ringers and bubblers is Faraday Cage is planted. It really kind of chains you to one small area. Yes it can be moved but that costs activation time which is precious. Sadly, I have to agree it is a better set for other ATs. I do think for a "Defender" primary it leaves a bit to be desired as there's not much that makes it stand out in a Defenders hands and some which are worse than in a MM or Controller. The -recovery doesn't seem to be all that good a trick as it's not really advanced unless you are using a draining primary so good news for Elec trollers and those who choose to take Elec secondary on a Def. The added offense is nice but mathematically inferior to what that damage output increase does to multiple pets like with a MM. The tier 9 is really kinda overboard for added Defense (on paper cuz I'm not there yet) for one person at 75%. You see numbers of 45% +Def on the MM version which is really high, IMO. With all the other added goodies listed it sounds like it's tailor made for a Necro Lich or some pet who can control. At least it's on a large recharge where the player may have to IO for recharging... oops forgot Energizing Circuit can make that perma too. MM discharge has a really small recharge rate and can deliver reasonable return as opposed to the Sentinel (I will say Sentinel seems better than a semi small radius targeted aoe -Dam). The -Dam numbers are in the Defenders favor though but that can be outclassed by several other defender sets (Naff, Dark, Time). Energize is exactly the same for MM and Def. The biggest draw of Faraday Cage is the mez protection and it's all but identical between the various ATs. Yes, the defender gets better resist numbers and is at a level it should be except for the maneuverability factor and everyone shares that trouble. The absorb numbers listed in mids for Insulating Circuit can't be right are they? We are talking ~400 HP for a MM and ~540 HP for a Def. That sounds very strange for a power that starts out perma. I looked and it appears they are listed as 25.00 no percent so I presume it's a typo (Naff absorb in Wild Bastion is 25%). Strange, I started this post in hopes of singing this sets praises for Defenders and the more I look at it, the less it seems to be something to help Defenders stand out. In conclusion, it's still fun on a Defender though.

I'm leveling up a Elec Affn/Beam character to see how it plays for a Defender. One of the things I've noticed is that the chain ability seems to be a bit limited in the range it can jump more than the static charges you can build up. It's easy to get a load of static on the char but if your first target is basically medium range (wish I knew the numbers) from something else that could be affected by it then it won't happen. To me that's the most infuriating part of the set so far. The other thing I've noticed is when playing solo I'm spending a lot of time targeting through G Sentinel. So I can take advantage of the chains on myself. Not a bad thing per se, but when combining this pet with your Faraday Cage you end up in no mans land sometimes. Mostly just a thing to get used to but it does present moments of limitation within the set. There's a lot to like in the set as a whole but you do have to act differently and some things like herding become much more difficult. What have you guys seen? I did read someone (sorry I forgot who) saying that it plays havok with the visuals in raids and stuff. And we all know it does fine for the MM crowd.

too bad. sounded like a lota fun on paper

While it does depend on your needs on the char you are running, a good hands-off option to me would be Nat Affinity assuming you have no real worries over being mezzed. Can be left on all the time (and WG cuz it's too good): Wild Growth for added Resistance, Regrowth on auto for aoe heal and even Entangling Aura for a pbaoe hold on minions. With Leadership, Fighting and maybe a Scorp Shield running he isn't gonna fall down anytime soon. Hover to add maneuverability. We're talking 40% S/L, 32% E, 16.6% to the rest Def, 47.5% S/L, 41% Toxic and 23.8% to the rest resistances along with a mag 1 pbaoe hold on just SOs. Toggles: Sneaky good is Lifegiving Spores for added heal and End in a patch. Lots of heal and end in a big fight. Spore Cloud can provide -tohit and -Dam and with the patch not ending after mob kill it lasts a good time. One click Goodness: Overgrowth for BU level Dam and toHit that lasts for a solid minute. It has an added end discount too. Wild Bastion for a big heal/big absorb. and the rest: Rebirth if you ever fall down and can't get up. Even Corrosive Enzymes can add significant -Dam and -Res

This setup is what I have been looking at for the Pain Dom/Rad I been thinking of. PB may be over the top but who can resist? Mistress on an extra ~92% +dam should hit plenty hard... and won't miss much with my blasts going too. on the other hand, a melee Coralax would provide more protection for me... hmmm.

Interesting. Thanks Frosti! I been considering a Pain Dom Def for a couple days now and I think it would be no real trouble to keep Coralax up and running with Painbringer and Share Pain. Any idea if Whirlpool acts like some patch powers cough*OilSlickArrow*cough and keeps the pets out?

For a defender, which of the pets seems to be the best offensively. Soul, Mu Mace, Leviathan? Are any of them as capable as any controller pet barring the amount of time you can have them out. I'm considering a Pain Dom Defender and a good offensive pet would make a considerable difference on that Primary for any solo time. Could potentially add 93% +dam to it during solo time but not so important on teams as Painbringer and Share Pain would be used on team

In particular though I was asking on the -Def portion. I know the -res procs are tasty (even though they don't stack) but there used to be issues with acc on teams even with IO sets. I was just wondering if that was still a potential issue with things like Cap'n Mako who used to bring trouble due to his high D numbers.

Is -Def considered needed/wanted these days? in particular I'm thinking about the high numbers that can be generated with Rad Blast as a secondary.

One of the reasons that Emps are still highly called on is Fort for the dmg and tohit and Def boost. You might consider Paid Dom with Painbringer, Share Pain, conduit of pain and World of Pain you can really up teammate damage. Along with Anguishing Cry you bring a lot of buffs/debuffs to go with the damage increases and you can healz when needed/wanted. And it can keep you plenty busy. Side benefit, heals get praises by everyone but buffs/debuffs only get praised by those who know.

True enough and I eventually got rid of Shockwave. But you have to admit it's a lotta fun throwing a whole group of baddies against a wall to bunch em up for the big sleep. My old rotation on the Sonic/Sonic was to target the biggest trouble in the group, Howl/Cage/Sleep/clean out all but the worst and then single target him. Worked nicely with some ranged D on your side. That was back in the day prior to resolving the end crash on nukes so slow but doable.

You got it right. I had a dark/sonic for a while back in the day and it was nice at all the above. Better still is when you get fluffy involved. Stealth over the mobs and he comes to engage them. they clump and you tar patch and cone em. great for outdoor fun. Fluffy does tend to ruin your DN herding though so be mindful of that.

The three cones in sonic work well together for solo life but two of them are control. one kback (or kdown with proc), one sleep (great with stealth) and one that adds a -res. NOTE: Clarion Radial does wonders for cones with the range increase. Adding the big blast at the end and the set is 'decent' at aoe. Would work well with a tar patch but damage is lower than you might hope so your mileage may vary with your procs. 🙂

Just for fun, I ran a mids for Time/Water w/ Whirlwind. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.1.25 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Time Elec Whirlwind: Level 50 Magic Defender Primary Power Set: Time Manipulation Secondary Power Set: Water Blast Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Temporal Mending -- Prv-Heal/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal(3) Level 1: Aqua Bolt -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A) Level 2: Time's Juncture -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(3), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(5), DarWtcDsp-Slow%(5) Level 4: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7) Level 6: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(9) Level 8: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(9), Rct-ResDam%(11) Level 10: Whirlpool -- TchofLadG-%Dam(A), AchHee-ResDeb%(11), ImpSwf-Dam%(13), PstBls-Dam%(13), JvlVll-Dam%(15), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(15) Level 12: Water Burst -- Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(A), PstBls-Dam%(17), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(17) Level 14: Whirlwind -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(19), EndRdx-I(19) Level 16: Tidal Forces -- AdjTrg-Rchg(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(21) Level 18: Farsight -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(21), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(23), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(23), AdjTrg-ToHit(25), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(25) Level 20: Dehydrate -- TchofLadG-%Dam(A), TchoftheN-%Dam(27), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Thn-Acc/Dmg(29), ThfofEss-+End%(31) Level 22: Time Crawl -- TmpRdn-Acc/EndRdx(A) Level 24: Distortion Field -- Lck-%Hold(A), UnbCns-Dam%(31), GldNet-Dam%(31), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(33), NrnSht-Dam%(33), NrnSht-EndRdx/Hold(33) Level 26: Slowed Response -- ShlBrk-%Dam(A), TchofLadG-%Dam(34) Level 28: Water Jet -- SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(36), Apc-Dam%(36) Level 30: Time Stop -- Lck-%Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Hold(37), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(37), GldNet-Dam%(37), NrnSht-Dam%(50) Level 32: Chrono Shift -- DctWnd-Rchg(A), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(39), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(39), PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(39), PreOptmz-EndMod/End(40), PreOptmz-EndMod/End/Rech(40) Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- AbsAmz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), AbsAmz-Acc/Rchg(40), AbsAmz-Stun(42) Level 38: Geyser -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(42), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(42), Bmbdmt-Dam(43), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(43), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(43) Level 41: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(45), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(45), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46), GldArm-3defTpProc(46) Level 44: Soul Drain -- Erd-Acc/Rchg(A), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(46), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50) Level 47: Dark Consumption -- Erd-Dmg/Rchg(A), Erd-Acc/Rchg(48), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50) Level 49: Soul Transfer -- Dsrnt-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Quick Form 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 1: Vigilance Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(7) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 0: The Atlas Medallion Level 50: Clarion Radial Epiphany Level 1: Combo Level 1 Level 1: Combo Level 2 Level 1: Combo Level 3 Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon ------------

Anyone tried Whirlwind on a Time/ character? Seems like if you put in the Sudden Acceleration Kdown proc and combine it with FF proc on top of Time's many abilities that let you get in close, you would get a lot of added protection, recharge and joy. I'm thinking maybe a Time/Water Fender might be in my near future.

Wow. Love for my old Sonic/Sonic defender from back in the day. On behalf of Tulamore, we thank you for the lub. 🙂

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Why would they do that? it's the saving awesome of many a Defender build. Oh well, time to find other stuff to exploit. 😄

Everyone always ignores the little piece of heaven that is Flash Arrow. With it's un-resisted nature and the fact that you can buff it to more than -21% tohit (Power Boosted with Clarion Total Radial mostly) while making the whole freakin team near invisible, it really shines in end game situations. Oh yeah, it's auto hit and has a radius of 35 and causes no aggro.

I'll hazard a guess that Rad/DP would find itself a little better off in an AV fight due to the -regen it can impose. Beyond that, Time just offers so much versatility without setup that alerts the baddies that it just flows better. And yeah, Time's more fun really. Time loves to be in the thick of the fight and DP is an almost perfect mate for it... I still loved my Time/Ice for that too.

Time/ is awesome for Tankiness. Bubbles and Rings would do also cuz there is no mez worries. For offense, there are lots of choices. /elec, /dp, /rad, even /h2o all can have the feeling of melee with good aggressive play. I've been toying with the idea of a poison/h2o that I would play very aggressively and spend most of his life either in melee or short range. Make a theme and have some fun is what I say.

Mostly a lack of experience. It has a large learning curve and you will want most or all of the "tricks". TA has great utility all around and it can add heaps of damage that many other defender sets lack. Look for any of my posts on TA and you will see it can be a very gifted set particularly when paired with /Sonic or BR (single target hunter with decent aoe) or /dark (better prot and more control options). The key to TA, and lots of others, is getting PB for extra ordinary excellence.

I'm right with ya Tex.

The way the game has evolved, you could make this run on anything really. Well, maybe not a petless MM. 🙂 I'd say if you wanna do it pick a more challenging set. As a self described defenderphile I can tell you lots of Defender possibilities will work for this. Time/Dark/TA/Traps/Cold/Poison/Storm/Rad will all work for primaries for this kind of challenge. Secondaries that will work quite well include /any if you proc well or /Sonic/Beam/Arch/DP/Ice Only things that can be tricky are EB and above and those can be had with a few vitamins or other tricks up your sleeve (Rune of Protection). I'd prolly look at Traps/Beam, TA/Sonic, Time/DP, but any combo listed above would work easily. You will never be as fast as a brute or Scrapper or Stalker against most things but you might be surprised with the right procs/build what one can do. Plus you can be the first defender on your server to do this. I tend to solo mostly but do team out of boredom so I've never actually accomplished the feat

Good for you, sir. TA is an awesome set it just needs some publicity. Mine is level 39 currently and it's been a nice ride. I'm doing TA/Dark though.