Rathulfr

I'd recommend spending a couple hundred bucks on an old PC clone that will run the game flawlessly. Check your local traders page on FB, or visit a thrift store.

I played a WP/EM tanker on live, and recreated him as an EM/WP brute on HC, because nostalgia. I knew that EM was bad then, and it's apparently still bad now. So +1 to any suggestions of giving EM some lovin'. Because early HC made creating and leveling alts so easy (back before Canada), I genuinely tried out every other melee set to see which one could replace EM on my retconned hero. But while all of them were superior in numbers, nothing quite felt so heroic as Energy Melee. I love the animations, and I love the pink pom-poms of doom*. So I'm sticking with EM, even though it's frustrating to see all the other kids beating up the monsters better than me. And to see them run off to the next room down the hall to beat up another set of monsters while I'm still waiting to gracefully float down to the floor at the end of Total Focus. :P (*: YMMV)

Here's the updated build with Sudden Acceleration slotted in Explosive Blast. I discovered I was using an older version of Pine's, instead of the latest, version 2.2. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Rathstar: Level 50 Science Sentinel Primary Power Set: Energy Blast Secondary Power Set: Willpower Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Power Bolt (A) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage (3) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Damage/RechargeTime (3) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (5) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (5) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (7) Superior Opportunity Strikes - RechargeTime/Chance for Opportunity Level 1: High Pain Tolerance (A) Impervious Skin - Status Resistance (7) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance (9) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance Level 2: Power Blast (A) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage (9) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Damage/RechargeTime (11) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (11) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (13) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (13) Superior Sentinel's Ward - RechargeTime/Chance for +Absorb Level 4: Fast Healing (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance (17) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb (17) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration Level 6: Power Burst (A) Apocalypse - Damage (19) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge (19) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (21) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge (21) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance (23) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative) Level 8: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (23) Recharge Reduction IO Level 10: Indomitable Will (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (25) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (25) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (27) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (27) Red Fortune - Defense (29) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 12: Fly (A) Flight Speed IO Level 14: Hover (A) Freebird - Endurance (29) Freebird - FlySpeed (31) Freebird - +Stealth Level 16: Combat Jumping (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (31) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (31) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (33) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (33) Red Fortune - Defense (33) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 18: Explosive Blast (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Accuracy (34) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Recharge (34) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Damage/Endurance (34) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Damage/Recharge (36) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Accuracy/Damage (36) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown Level 20: Quick Recovery (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod (36) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge (37) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy (37) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (37) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge (39) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge Level 22: Mind Over Body (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance (39) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% (39) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection Level 24: Aim (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up Level 26: Focused Power Bolt (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (40) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (40) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (40) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (42) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (42) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 28: Heightened Senses (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (42) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (43) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (43) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (43) Red Fortune - Defense (45) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 30: Up to the Challenge (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance (45) Numina's Convalesence - Endurance/Recharge (45) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge (46) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge (46) Numina's Convalesence - Heal (46) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 32: Nova (A) Armageddon - Damage (48) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge (48) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (48) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge (50) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance (50) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage Level 35: Resurgence (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 38: Strength of Will (A) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP Level 41: Fire Cages (A) Accuracy IO Level 44: Char (A) Accuracy IO Level 47: Warmth (A) Recharge Reduction IO (50) Recharge Reduction IO Level 49: Afterburner (A) Flight Speed IO Level 2: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery Level 2: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO Level 2: Stamina (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod (15) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy (15) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Endurance Level 2: Swift (A) Flight Speed IO Level 4: Ninja Run ------------

I'm not 6-slotting for fire defense: I was 6-slotting for AOE, Fire, and Cold defense (the same values as in Force Feedback, actually), but I suppose I could reallocate one or two of those slots elsewhere -- maybe add 50+5 Health IOs to Warmth to make that self-heal even better? I'm going with Sudden Acceleration instead of Force Feedback because it has the KB-to-KD proc and guarantees the +7.5% Recharge global, instead of just a 33% chance for recharge on trigger. I don't plan to ever actually use Fire Cages or Char in my regular rotation: they're simply a means to get Warmth, which would be my only self-heal (aside from green candy). The fact that it's also a team heal is a bonus. I might find situational uses for Fire Cages or Char, which is why I'd slot them for Accuracy, to make sure they land.

TACTICAL ARROW If I could make that blink like an annoying 90's web site, I would. If you're playing an Archery Blaster, you want Tactical Arrow. Eagle Eye, Agility, and Gymnastics, by themselves, make this secondary worthwhile, even if you don't train any other power in the set. Glue Arrow, Ice Arrow, and Flash Arrow are the utility powers from Trick Arrow that we all know and love. My level 50 main villain is Archery/Tactical Arrow, and I have only Electrified Net Arrow, Upshot, Eagle Eye, Agility, and Gymnastics -- I didn't take any of the other arrow powers because I decided I didn't need them. Instead, I was able to max out my defense by adding Hover, CJ/Acrobatics, Stealth, Leadership and Scorpion Shield to Gymnastics. BTW: no Hasten required -- Agility takes care of that. "But what about the End cost of all those toggles?" Eagle Eye is a toggle version of Quick Recovery, so I never run out of endurance -- while running 10 toggles (yes, 10 -- an entire tray of toggles).

[*]I did not know about slotting boosters in Pine's: thanks for the pro-tip. [*]I 6-slotted QR for the damage buff and defense. I 3-slotted Stamina for the +HP and +Recovery bonus. [*]I grabbed Fire Cages to get to Warmth. I plan to slot Sudden Acceleration into Explosive Blast, which includes the KB-to-KD proc. [*]Strength of Will is the tier 9 power available at 38: I trained it at 38. [*]I took Fire Mastery to get to Warmth, so that I could have a self-heal available. Using your tip to 2-slot it with 50+5 boosted Recharge, that's available every 13 seconds. [*]My goal for Hasten is to kill faster! I like my attacks to rotate quickly. ;D

Here are a few things I've learned along the way. [*]Don't buy TOs/DOs/SOs at all. Just use drops until you get to 22, when you can/should slot level 25 IOs. [*]For levels 1-22, sell all Salvage and set-bonus Recipes in the AH for cash. Each orange salvage should net you about 400K Inf. [*]Sell normal IO recipes (no set bonuses) to vendors -- they don't sell well in the AH, so you'll make more from the vendors. [*]At level 22, you should be able to fully slot your character with crafted IOs for under $2-4 million Inf. These will last you until you hit 50, so you never need to keep buying SOs every 5 levels. [*]When you're ready to start buying IO sets: Attuned set IOs cost the same as their non-attuned equivalents, so always buy the Attuned versions. If you get/craft a set IO that you want Attuned, just sell it on the AH, then turn around and use the money to buy the Attuned equivalent.

My first instant reaction to the topic header was: Roll a Sentinel. LOL! ;D

Is this hosted/mirrored somewhere other than DropBox? My corporate overlords don't allow us to use DropBox, so I can't get it here at work. *sob*

Ok, so I was getting frustrated with my Energy/WP Sentinel in his upper 30s/low 40s. I decided to shelf him for awhile and try something different. After playing other alts, I decided on a new Sentinel with Fire for the primary. But I was wondering about the secondary -- WP had let me down, so I was casting about for a different solution. A friend suggested Regen, and I said, "Regen? No, regen sucks since they nerfed it back in the day." But he insisted that I try it anyway, because the Sentinel Regen is markedly different than melee Regen. My Fire/Regen Sentinel rocketed to 50 in just under 3 days (with 2XP boosters, but no AE farming). And more importantly, it was hella fun to play. I also learned some important lessons about how to leverage regeneration to compensate for practically non-existent defense. I love my Fire/Regen Sent, and was ready to place him in the exalted "main" status formerly held by my Energy/WP. But then on a lark, I decided to logon to my abandoned Energy/WP Sent. Using what I learned from the Fire/Regen, I decided to respec him for regen instead of defense, and ZOMG! what a difference! It was a complete transformation. Night-and-day. Dogs and cats. Living together. Mass hysteria. My Energy/WP Sentinel is fun to play now, and is fighting back the challenge to his status. Now I just need to get him to 50...

I'm at work, so I can't check this, so maybe somebody else will. Try this: /macroimage Inherent_RedWispPet RWP "powexec_location me Red Wisp Pet$$powexec_toggleoff Fly" Binds/macros are executed in reverse order, right-to-left, so you want to put the toggleoff at the end, so that it executes before the summon.

Bored at work, thought I'd play around with Hero Designer for my soon-to-be-50 Energy/Willpower Sentinel. Here's what I came up with. The regen is insane, and defense looks ok but not great. What do you think? What would you change? I'm interested to get different perspectives. Thanks in advance for your time and help. (edit:) I couldn't find Sudden Acceleration for Explosive Blast, so I put in Overwhelming Force as a place holder. Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Rathstar: Level 50 Science Sentinel Primary Power Set: Energy Blast Secondary Power Set: Willpower Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Power Bolt (A) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage (3) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Damage/RechargeTime (3) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (5) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (5) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (7) Superior Opportunity Strikes - RechargeTime/Chance for Opportunity Level 1: High Pain Tolerance (A) Impervious Skin - Status Resistance (7) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance (9) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance Level 2: Power Blast (A) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage (11) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Damage/RechargeTime (13) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime (13) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (15) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime (15) Superior Sentinel's Ward - RechargeTime/Chance for +Absorb Level 4: Fast Healing (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance (17) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb (17) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration Level 6: Power Burst (A) Apocalypse - Damage (19) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge (19) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (21) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge (21) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance (23) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative) Level 8: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO (23) Recharge Reduction IO (25) Recharge Reduction IO Level 10: Indomitable Will (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (25) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (27) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (27) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (29) Red Fortune - Defense (29) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 12: Fly (A) Flight Speed IO Level 14: Hover (A) Freebird - Endurance (31) Freebird - FlySpeed (31) Freebird - +Stealth Level 16: Combat Jumping (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (31) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (33) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (33) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (33) Red Fortune - Defense (34) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 18: Explosive Blast (A) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage (34) Overwhelming Force - Endurance/Recharge (34) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (36) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Endurance/Recharge (36) Overwhelming Force - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge (36) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown Level 20: Quick Recovery (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod (37) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge (37) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy (37) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End (39) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge (39) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge Level 22: Mind Over Body (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance (39) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3% (40) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection Level 24: Aim (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up Level 26: Focused Power Bolt (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage (40) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance (40) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge (42) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (42) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance (42) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge Level 28: Heightened Senses (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance (43) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge (43) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge (43) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge (45) Red Fortune - Defense (45) Red Fortune - Endurance Level 30: Up to the Challenge (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance (45) Numina's Convalesence - Endurance/Recharge (46) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge (46) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge (46) Numina's Convalesence - Heal (48) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery Level 32: Nova (A) Armageddon - Damage (48) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge (48) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge (50) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge (50) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance (50) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage Level 35: Resurgence (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 38: Strength of Will (A) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP Level 41: Fire Cages (A) Accuracy IO Level 44: Char (A) Accuracy IO Level 47: Warmth (A) Recharge Reduction IO Level 49: Afterburner (A) Flight Speed IO Level 1: Health (A) Miracle - +Recovery Level 1: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO Level 1: Stamina (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod (9) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy (11) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Endurance Level 1: Swift (A) Flight Speed IO ------------

Rathstar Rathulfr Wrongbow Major Rocket Wisewolf Supercritical (so many others...)

My bind for toggling between Hover and Fly on a single key press: /bind F12 "powexectoggleon Hover$$powexectoggleon Fly"

My wife and I used to duo Blaster + Defender: I killed, she healed. It worked out quite nicely, until she started teaming with other folks, who soon started demanding her time as soon as she logged on. :'( LOL! ;D

First thing I did was remake my main, if for no other reason than to secure the name.

It seems to me that the big problem nobody has mentioned here is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question "what's good", because defining "good" is entirely subjective. What I consider good may be vastly different than what most other players consider good. Some people want some want RP, some want min/max PVE, some want PVP, some want exploration, some want digital dollies, etc. For example, some ATs/power sets that might be good for min/max PVE are often terrible for PVP, and vice-versa. Same with builds for solo versus team play. Same with builds for missions versus farming. So before we can say "play what you want, it's all good" or "no, that's not true", we need level set on expectations and definitions of what we mean by "good" or "fun".

This was my main problem with CO, too. It was obviously intended to be a PC/console hybrid, like ESO. I'm a PC gamer: I don't like console games. I don't like games that are too "twitchy" or require thumbs for more than just the space bar. It might be a generational thing: I'm older, and my gaming experience predates the rise of consoles (Pong was my first and only console game). This means I'm not a big fan of "action-oriented" combat that requires moving, dodging, charging, kiting, etc. I prefer tab-target and key-press games like CoH and WoW. That's just my personal preference, it's not necessarily better or worse.

Wrongbow - Archery/Tactical Arrow Blaster villain modeled on Longbow Wrongbo - Staff Fighting/Super Reflexes Scrapper villain modeled on Wrongbow Major Malfunction - Mercs/Devices Mastermind (although I was thinking about re-rolling him to Robotics)