jack_nomind

I'd ordinarily say Willpower, easily, but between those two builds it's Invuln. A bit WIP, but how does this strike you?

Are you entirely sure you're looking at the Tanker version? Everyone who's reading this thread should be +infing Sarrate for this.

Played BS/SR scrapper to 50, if that matters to you. Figuring out your best attack chain in sets without combo mechanics, follow-up, or etc is fairly straightforward; you don't need to 'test' them, you just math them. In BR, your highest DPA attacks are Head Splitter, Hack, and Disembowel, in that order (with HS and Hack having a negligible difference really). None of the other attacks in the set are close enough to reasonably act as filler. You want to get as close as you can to Hack->HS->repeat, but can use Disembowel as a filler. The minimum recharge times (500% speed) are 2.8s; 1.6s; and 2s; (total 6.4s); the animation times are ~2.51s; ~1.59s; 1.98s; (total 6.08s). This is a little worrisome because no attack charges faster than its own cast time. And since even at ideal recharge times HS takes longer than Hack's animation time to cycle, and the entire set of three takes longer to cycle than to cast, the best fit looks something like Disembowel -> Hack -> HS -> Hack (7.67 cast, 8s recharge). Since that still doesn't quite cut it, you'll need to throw in one other activation as filler. Highest DPA of the remaining attacks is Slash, but Parry would be a logical choice because of the secondary benefit. Build-Up also works, when it's up. You can do a similar thing to work out the highest AoE attack chain. Usually your AoE attack chain is less important because the things you're AoEing are much weaker than the things you have to focus an ST attack chain on, but for some builds their entire point is AoE. Anything not on either list, and not having some particular buff/debuff/other benefit that warrants occasionally losing attack time is skippable. Having a complete AoE attack chain is optional. Bit of a judgment call. For BS, Slash and (by end-game) Slice are often considered skippable, and sometimes Parry is as well (Build-UP/Whirling Sword are used as the filler attack even in ST attack chains at that point). Parry is less useful on Invuln and a few other sets because those sets rely on typed defenses, which are usually buffed in pairs; Parry only buffs a single typed defense, so it doesn't work as nicely. Most people prefer to have a stable softcap if at all possible and not rely on the unevenness of Parry. It can still, even in the worst case, serve as a slot mule for an LotG. Broadsword is one of the lowest-DPS melee sets. It's not quite "as bad" on Brute because Fury flattens out damage to an extent, but still... Hope all that helps.

It's not that it's City of Heroes lore -- it's that it's golden-age comic-book lore. Superman: Kryptonite Green Lantern: Originally "wood"; later "the color yellow." Wonder Woman: Having her hands bound by a man. Martian Manhunter: Fire Hourman, Elongated Man, etc: Drugs that wear off after an arbitrary time limit Hopefully you can see why they went with the "kryptonite" angle. The lore reason so many enemy groups have access to Quant guns is the same lore reasons so many of Superman's enemies have access to Kryptonite; they know it works, so they sought it out.

Because of the thing you just said -- because doing an average of 90% damage isn't the same thing as missing one time in twenty. One reason automatic or critical failure misses exist in tabletop games is because it occasionally forces the players to respond to missing a crucial attack. Combat in CoH lasts a lot longer in terms of number of attacks rolled than combat in tabletop games does, so it's not quite the same. CoH also, as was pointed out a little while ago in this thread, does force a hit after every miss at >90% hit chance. Sort of. I think that's an interesting proposal; retain forced misses in PvP, change only the accuracy clamp in PvE. I'm still worried about unintended consequences but I've got no specific objections to that one.

Too many of the missions were too dark for me to love the stories. I like anti-villains, archvillains, and/or camp; most of the early missions are about lackeying to bad people to screw over some random third party. There's only so many times you can run Burke... and if you're going to skip the story anyway, might as well go blueside.

Titan Weapons. To a lesser extent, Katana, Street Justice, Ice Melee, Fiery Melee, War Mace, Radiation Melee, and Super Strength. If you can live with slightly lower damage but a lot of flexibility, Staff. Here's a build that uses Regeneration. Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Brute Primary Power Set: Dual Blades Secondary Power Set: Regeneration Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Nimble Slash -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), CrsImp-Dmg/Rchg(42), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42) Level 1: Fast Healing -- NmnCnv-Heal(A), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(7) Level 2: Ablating Strike -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(34), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(36) Level 4: Quick Recovery -- EffAdp-EndMod(A), EffAdp-EndMod/Rchg(5) Level 6: Kick -- Empty(A) Level 8: Reconstruction -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal(9), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(9), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(31) Level 10: Blinding Feint -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(37), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(37), CrsImp-Dmg/Rchg(37) Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(13), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(13), Rct-ResDam%(45), WntGif-ResSlow(50) Level 14: Tough -- UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(15), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(15), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17), GldArm-3defTpProc(27) Level 16: Integration -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(17), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(19), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(19), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(21), NmnCnv-Heal(21) Level 18: Vengeful Slice -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(43), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), CrsImp-Dmg/Rchg(43) Level 20: Resilience -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(25), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(27), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(33) Level 22: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(23), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(23), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(45) Level 24: Dull Pain -- NmnCnv-Heal(A), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(29), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(29), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(31) Level 26: Sweeping Strike -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(39), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(46) Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31) Level 30: Instant Healing -- Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal(33), RechRdx-I(34) Level 32: One Thousand Cuts -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(46) Level 35: Gloom -- SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(A), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(48) Level 38: Moment of Glory -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), RechRdx-I(50) Level 41: Darkest Night -- DmpSpr-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(A) Level 44: Revive -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 47: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50) Level 49: [Empty] 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: Fury Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), RgnTss-Regen+(3), Pnc-Heal(7) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EffAdp-EndMod(A), EffAdp-EndMod/Acc(3) Level 50: Spiritual Core Paragon ------------ Yes, in some sense nearly all of them except Fiery Aura. Regeneration has the lowest baseline mitigation of any armor set. It compensates by having a number of active click powers that make it very strong for short periods of time, but the activation of these powers cuts into time you could be attacking. It's also always a risk to rely on reflex, when plenty of sets are just passively tough. A classic Paladin would be Shield Defense, which boosts your damage, has a defense aura, and doesn't require a ton of clicking. Regeneration is more like a classic Barbarian. You're great for a few seconds but you have to spend time turning on your power and get exhausted in any fight longer than that. Any Brute can do good damage, particularly with a good primary. Try Titan Weapons/Radiation Armor or Street Justice/Shield Defense.

Rule of 5 is really a thing -- but a different thing. You can benefit from at most 5 of any specific set bonus (e.g., you could slot ten different sets that all gave you a 1.5% hp set bonus boost, but you'd only benefit from five of them. However, you could have five 1.5% boosts, and five 1.13% boosts, and benefit from all of those). The person who told you that was probably a bit mixed-up.

Staff is very good with Dark Armor. It has three stances; body, mind, and soul. As you build combo levels in Soul Stance, it reduces the endurance cost of all powers, including DA's toggles. One of the Soul Stance finishers also gives +regen/+recovery.

-KB is also baked into several sets. Standard reminder that you can use the Set Bonus Finder tool in Pines to look this up. Kinetic Crash, -3 at 4 IOs, which you probably don't have a use for. Fury of the Gladiator, -3 at 3, which is a PBAOE damage set with a -Res proc you probably want. This can go into Death Shroud, Dark Regeneration, or an actual attack. Gladiator's Armor, -3 at 3, which is a Resist set. You're already taking the set unique, so it's pretty easy to fit this into e.g. Obsidian Shield. Gladiator's Javelin, -3 at 5, which you are unlikely to manage. If you happen to have one or more ranged attacks you plan to slot, there are better sets for you. Overwhelming Force, -4 at 6; a bit of a commitment but the proc is great for Death Shroud, so if you can use the other set bonuses it's not bad.

Yes, definitely. It starts at +3% res/all, even at 100% hp. It's arguably worth it at that value alone. The value of the scaling res depends on how close to any given res cap you are; at cap and it does nothing, and too far away it's not enough to matter. For every type you're over ~70% in, it increases in value. You now get status resistance from all +res IO sets, which is pretty nice. Unfortunately it's not protection, which would entirely prevent mezzes below a certain magnitude, nor is it resistance against the types of effects Tankers would most like to have (Defense, Endurance, and Recharge debuffs mainly). You can get -rech/-slow resistance from the various winter-themed AIO sets and I do suggest it if it won't cost you too much elsewhere to pick up. Since most of them also include significant Defense and f/c Resist aspects, it shouldn't be too difficult to work them into your attacks.

Whomever has the best citation.

I'm not a lawyer, but I've worked in law and am currently going to law school. My #1 piece of advice is, don't have public (or screen-shot-able) conversations about legal strategies or any acts that would, uh, invite legal strategizing.

Or just make all Travel Powers inherent.

As far as we can tell, Taunts never stack. Only the longest-duration one applies. As a Tanker, your Gauntlet or actual Taunt is almost certainly a longer duration than WP's aura, even slotted. The WP aura is marginally helpful when you're surrounded by enemies (since Gauntlet and Taunt powers only affect up to 5 at a time), but slotting it doesn't significantly improve that utility.

Drop the sixth (Recharge Speed) LotG slot in Heightened Senses for Reactive Defense: Scaling Resist Damage, drop the Taunt IOs from RttC (for reasons it's hard to explain, they probably won't help you meaningfully), calculate with your Alpha slot active (Agility would be a reasonable choice, but there are some others to consider), and see if you can work in Superior Might of the Tanker. In Live, you couldn't have both Standard and Superior versions of one ATO slotted at the same time. Assuming i25 still works that way, you won't be able to slot both Gauntleted Fist and Superior Gauntleted Fist in the same build, even if Pines lets you.

In broad strokes: defense and resistance effectively multiply together to determine mitigation. You want your highest mitigation by far against S/L, since it's by far the most common. The next two most common types are Fire and Energy. Psionic mitigation is important because there are some particularly dangerous enemies that do mostly Psionic damage. The other three types, C/NE/T, are "good to have" more than "must have." You can (will probably have to) make sacrifices to one or more of E/F/P mitigation, but really should avoid sacrificing S/L. There's a little bit of leeway for Defense in particular because it's exceptionally common as a bonus from Support. >=32.5% is an okay target for that reason, and because you're one small purple away from softcap. So if it would be expensive for this build to trade for more s/l defense I wouldn't do it, but if it were pretty even (-10% f/c for +10% s/l w/o other losses) I'd probably suggest it.

WP is a layered set. Saying it's "really about" one thing is a mistake -- it would be like saying Electric Armor, which can get into the same ballpark, is also "really about" regen. The best thing WP can do is get to or very close to softcap, get to the S/L cap like this build does, and get a solid maxhp and a well-slotted Rise to the Challenge. I didn't look carefully at this build to see why it falls a bit behind softcapping S/L Defense, but I'd say overall it looks pretty good.

And the different secondary effect -- WM (mostly) stuns, BA knocks down.

Almost all the tanker secondaries have some kind of defensive aspect (like the amazing +def in MA, the self-heal in DM, the toolbox of powers in Staff). Generally, tankers choose a secondary whose benefits complements their primary (which is why you'll see for example, a lot more SD/BS, thanks to the positional parry, than Inv/BS, which wants paired typed defenses; but DM on either because both benefit significantly from a quick heal).

Psi/X might not do the kind of damage at end-game you want. Lethal damage is very often resisted a little (so most S/L sets tend to offer higher damage numbers upfront), but Psi damage is occasionally resisted quite a lot.

You mean, like a slider that tracks what the cooldown would be at any given point on the Ageless wave? No, although it could probably be added to the Ageless power itself. Here's a page that lists the breakpoints. It averages out to a "net" ~15% recharge increase (which is obviously a lot less than the listed 70%).

Mace has the best damage by a large margin. (Axe and BS probably need some attention, tbh. They're among the lowest-damage melee attack sets and don't have much in the way of special tricks to justify that.) Axe has a chance for knockdown on every attack, making it pretty good at active mitigation. Broadsword is also there. It has a parry! (Technically it can slot more -res procs than either of the others, so there's that if you want to lean in.)

Thank you, brave spelunker! Without looking but based on Castle or Synapse comments, I think everything is damage. Mez damage just works slightly differently than, say, Smashing damage. (And we don't have Smashing Protection because, well, if you let one support toon provide 1 point of it...)

Original Afraid (all pre-i3 Fear) didn't; Terror (most post-i3 Fear) is complicated but is supposed to root an enemy temporarily. I think I was mistaken about a couple things in my earlier post, though. The cycle duration is supposed to be 10s, not 5, the mob has a chance to move for one cycle instead of attacking in response to an attack, and the fear might be able to 'break' (permit an attack or movement) at the beginning of a cycle rather than the end as I had believed and indicated. Not sure about the last part, but if so, it would definitely explain why they often wander out of your OG.