Hjarki

From my experience, I think it's the opposite. You're far more likely to see Blasters, Defenders, Controllers and Scrappers at high levels. The only AT that's really 'villain preferred' would be Brute - and that's likely due to the enormous number of people who build Spires/Fire Brutes as the go-to farming build. Even as people adapt to new mechanics/sets, I don't know that this is going to change. At least for the 'squishies', the hero side AT tend to be stronger than their villain side counterparts.

You don't need more than one of Ice Bolt or Ice Blast - and you'll probably spend most of your time using either Storm Summoning, Freezing Ray or Bitter Ice Blast. I don't consider it a wasted slot. I'm just pointing out that it's used a lot less at higher levels. It's a massive aggro magnet and there are often mobs in a spawn that can move right through the Repel. So it's more situational. I slot mine LotG recharge, D/E, Shield Wall +res, Shield Wall D/E while I slot Maneuvers in the same fashion except with Reactive rather than Shield Wall. My point was more about the fact that trying to buff the rather piddly defensive bonuses of Maneuvers/Steamy Mist generally wasn't as efficient as doing something like adding a slot to Super Speed so you could dump two BotZ into it.

Notes: - I like to split Scourging Blast between two powers to grab 10% recharge twice. - You don’t need both Ice Blast and Ice Bolt. Depending how ‘busy’ you get, you may not even get around either. - Ice Storm is a damage ability, not a debuff. Slot it for damage. Note that the two Rains are a great place to slot the split Scourging Blasts since Target AE sets aren’t very good. - Freezing Rain, like all Rains, has an extremely low chance to proc. I wouldn’t bother slotting procs in any of the Rains. - Bitter Ice Blast. To get the most damage out of these single target attacks, you probably should slot them heavily for procs. BiB can take slow sets, hit debuff sets and ranged damage sets - you can easily fit 3 procs in there if needed. - Hurricane. The proc rate of Force Feedback in Hurricane is low-to-non-existent. Couple that with the rarity with while you’ll use the power at higher levels and it’s probably a wasted slot. - Freezing Ray. This is your hardest-hitting single target nuke and you didn’t take it. It can also slot decent damage procs (since it’s a hold). - Tornado. Definitely put a Force Feedback in here - it’ll proc almost every time you activate Tornado. - Lightning Storm. Same here. You also probably want to reduce knockback to knockdown since it will toss around easier mobs. - Maneuvers/Steamy Mist. Slotting these to improve the defense they offer is less efficient than grabbing low-hanging fruit like BotZ. - Scorpion Shield. S/L/E defense tends to fall apart as a strategy at higher levels when you’re facing all sorts of control effects. You probably want to slot Steadfast Protection +def, Unbreakable Guard +7.5% hp, Gladiator’s Armor +3 def. You probably want to slot Shield Wall +5% res, Reactive Defenses scaling damage resist and potentially Kismet +hit. - Gale. You’re clearly not intending to use this. However, if you’ve got the slots you can throw range, accuracy and FF recharge into it. This would allow you to knock down an entire room while also getting a near guaranteed proc.

This is what I'm running right now (more or less): Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Defender Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning Secondary Power Set: Dual Pistols Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: O2 Boost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(3), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(3), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(7) Level 1: Pistols -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(7), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(9), TchofLadG-%Dam(9), ShlBrk-%Dam(11), AchHee-ResDeb%(11) Level 2: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 4: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(42) Level 6: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(13), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(13), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(15) Level 8: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46) Level 10: Swap Ammo Level 12: Hurricane -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(43), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(43), DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(43) Level 14: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(15), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(17) Level 16: Bullet Rain -- SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(17), SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg(19), PstBls-Dam%(19), ImpSwf-Dam%(21), ExpStr-Dam%(21) Level 18: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(23) Level 20: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx(42) Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 26: Tornado -- ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(27), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(29), FrcFdb-Rechg%(29), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(31) Level 28: Executioner's Shot -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(31), ImpSwf-Dam%(33), Apc-Dam%(33), TchofLadG-%Dam(33) Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(34), Rct-ResDam%(34), Rct-Def(34) Level 32: Lightning Storm -- SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(A), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(36), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37) Level 35: Piercing Rounds -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), PstBls-Dam%(39), Ann-ResDeb%(39), ImpSwf-Dam%(40) Level 38: Charged Armor -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(40), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(40), GldArm-End/Res(42) Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 44: Summon Adept -- ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(A), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(45), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(45), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(45), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(46), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46) Level 47: Tactics -- GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(48), GssSynFr--ToHit(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(50), GssSynFr--Build%(50) Level 49: Suppressive Fire -- BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Hold(50) 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: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 1: Vigilance Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(25) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(23), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(25) Level 10: Chemical Ammunition Level 10: Cryo Ammunition Level 10: Incendiary Ammunition Level 50: Spiritual Radial Paragon Level 50: Clarion Core Epiphany Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement Level 50: Diamagnetic Radial Flawless Interface Level 50: Storm Elemental Radial Superior Ally Level 50: Control Radial Embodiment ------------ The Dual Pistols does quite a bit of damage/debuffing, although the rotation is muddied a bit by the need to turn off incendiary ammo for Piercing Rounds and turn it on for everything else. I still haven't figured out a good macro structure for it - it's easy enough to de-activate Incendiary Rounds every time I activate Piercing Rounds, but there's a small recharge and turning it back on involves activating a power so I can't do it immediately afterwards. Lightning Storm ended up muling the ATO simply because there wasn't a better place to put it. The fact that it activates on top of me is also helpful with the proc (although the proc only goes off on activation, so it's not a significant source of healing). Suppressive Fire is a pure mule - I really don't ever use it. I took the Mu pet primarily for the set bonuses, but I normally bring it out on the "why not?" principle. It's extra damage. Due to the extremely narrow cone on Piercing Rounds, the procs occur quite often. However, I'm more concerned with the ability to multi-stack the inherent -resist debuff on it. Coupled with Achilles' Heel in Pistols, I can debuff (single target) resistance about as well as Sonic can (which can't equip the procs I'm using). Bullet Rain and Tornado both tend to proc Force Feedback nearly 100% of the time, so I get a pretty good boost to global recharge there. Conserve Power means the ordinarily heavy endurance demands of the build are (mostly) a moot point.

Ultimately, Cold's buffs tend to be unnecessary - it's the same problem Force Field has at higher levels. That leaves the debuffs. Infrigidate isn't particularly important and it's a power anyone who can skip usually does. Benumb is a -regen debuff. Yes, it does other stuff, but the main purpose is -regen. The -regen is the same no matter what AT you're playing. Sleet is -resist debuff. Again, it's the same -resist for every AT. Heat Loss is a -resist debuff and endurance buff. The endurance buff is so ridiculously over-the-top that it ends up being full endurance no matter what AT you take. The -resist debuff is slightly better for Defenders than other AT. In terms of the key elements of the set, Defenders debuff -resist on an AV/GM by 60% instead of 54% for Corruptors/Controllers/Masterminds. Everything else is either the same or not particularly important at high levels.

Making Bonfire into Earthquake definitely gave Fire a boost. However, remember that Plant has both twice the damage on AE Immobilize but also a much higher damage AE power in Carrion Creepers. Its pet is also more likely to stay alive and functional. For single target damage, I think Dark has the lead right now - the pet is stronger than others, it has supplemental damage from Haunt and it can slot -hit procs into damaging powers. In terms of control power, I wouldn't rank Fire particularly high. Bonfire is a great trick, but Fire doesn't really have any decent 'anti-alpha strike' abilities. The classic examples are Confuse abilities, but other examples would Illusion's Phantom Army, Gravity's Wormhole or Electric's Sleep field. I think that Earth and Ice are definitely lagging behind. Illusion and Gravity are really in a category all their own since they play very differently. I think the real comparison would be Electric, Plant, Dark and Fire. For single target damage, I'd probably say Dark > Fire > Plant > Electric. For AE damage, probably Plant > Fire > Dark/Electric. For control, I'd probably go with Electric > Plant > Fire/Dark. Fire is still a well-balanced set, but I don't think it's quite the superstar you're making it out to be.

Superior Invisibility is a one-stop route to the best invisibility around. It's also convenient in that you don't have to remember to rebuff it. However, like most pure (single target) stealth powers, the defense drops when your stealth does. Group Invisibility provides less invisibility. However, it can be combined with Super Speed and Celerity Stealth IO to give equivalent Stealth (I'm not sure it's exactly the same but it's still "walk right up to the mob, they still don't see you" stealth). The defense bonus also doesn't drop when the stealth does. I believe it's also less endurance-intensive than Superior Invisibility so you can just run around invisible all the time. Many times you see Illusion Controllers take both so they can have LotG mules.

Hibernate is similar to Conserve Power in terms of endurance management. That being said, while Hibernate is fantastic for Storm Summoning, it isn't all that hot for Fire (which needs to continuously interact with the world rather than being able to step out for a bit and watch the chaos unfold).

I understand the motivation, but I think you may be pushing the concept beyond the point where you receive a reasonable return. A few notes: - Resistance debuffing. Being able to reliably blanket an entire group with a resistance debuff can be helpful. Being able to - even intermittently - resistance debuff a single hard target can be useful. However, randomly tossing resistance debuffs around a spawn just isn’t all that worthwhile. When you resistance debuff the spawn it’s really about hitting the bosses. You could care less about tagging the minions because they die too fast. Putting -resist procs in your AE actually just means you have an extraordinarily low return on that proc because (a) you have a sharply reduced chance to proc in an AE (b) most of those procs will be on enemies you could care less about debuffing. You’ll almost always get better performance from straight damage procs in an AE except in very specialized circumstances (for example, 4 degree Cones which are really just single target attacks in disguise). - Recharge/Slow debuffs. Recharge debuffs are a PvP thing. In PvE, they’re either resisted into the ground or they’re meaningless because the target isn’t going to live long enough to get around to using its big attack again anyway. Slow debuffs tend to only work well in two circumstances: AE slows at/above cap or Siphon Speed (which is unresistable). - Immobilize. The goal of an AE Immobilize is to contain the spawn. Randomly proc’ing on a few members of that spawn generally isn’t of any use. In terms of self-buffs, you have to be careful. Force Feedback is amazing in powers like Water Burst or Geyser because it only has to proc once but gets up to 16 chances to proc. However, most buff procs are based on power activation rather than the number of targets - which makes them far weaker in AE powers than single target ones. I’m not entirely sure how procs work with Rains, but my best guess is that they get only one chance to proc (on use) and that chance to proc is based on the pseudo-pet recharge - which means that their proc rate is ridiculously low. I know when I was testing procs with Rains, the proc rate I saw was something around 1/100th of a percentage and I never saw mid-Rain procs. However, this was more of a casual test - if you want to slot your powers this way, I’d urge you to test them extensively first. Lastly, if you’re going to proc out any power, it should be Water Jet. Proc rates are based on recharge times. But Water Jet fires far more than its recharge time strictly dictates, making it one of the most proc-friendly powers around. In a build where you’re slotted to the gills with procs, there’s no real excuse for not piling a triple-proc into Water Jet.

In general, DoT effects either Scourge or not in their entirety - if one tick Scourges, all the other ticks are Scourging - and the Scourge chance is based on the target's health when you activated the power. In contrast, Rain effects create pseudo-pets that periodically generate a blast of damage - and each of those periodic blasts of damage Scourges or not based on the target's health when it occurs. Is Dual Pistols different?

Is the Sniper attack so bad that you wouldn't include it in your single target rotation? From what I can tell, you emphasize defenses (especially S/L resist) to the exclusion of damage. I think you'll also struggle with the problem I've yet to come up with a decent answer to - enemies that aren't subject to Location AE damage/control (fliers, highly resistant enemies, etc.). The ideal tool would be Mace Mastery's AE Immobilize - but it precludes grabbing a resist toggle (you can still slot resist in Steamy Mist, but you're left with very low levels of S/L resist).

No. I don't believe the +recharge affects Lightning Storm or Tornado at all. However, it affects you when you activate it. Since the recharge on these abilities is so long, they have a very high chance to proc Force Feedback. Here's an example Ice/Storm Corruptor I threw together: Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 2.22 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Corruptor Primary Power Set: Ice Blast Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Ice Blast -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(3), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Apc-Dam%(5), GldJvl-Dam%(5), ImpSwf-Dam%(7) Level 1: Gale -- SudAcc-KBtoKD(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(7), Acc-I(9), Acc-I(9), Range-I(11), Range-I(11) Level 2: O2 Boost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(13), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(13), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(15), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(15), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(17) Level 4: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(19) Level 6: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 8: Freeze Ray -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(21), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(21), UnbCns-Dam%(23), GldNet-Dam%(23), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(25) Level 10: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(25), Rct-ResDam%(27), Rct-Def(27) Level 12: Ice Storm -- SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprScrBls-Dmg/Rchg(29), SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(31), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(31), PstBls-Dam%(31) Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(33), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(33) Level 16: Freezing Rain -- SprScrBls-Rchg/+End(A), SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprScrBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), TmpRdn-Rng/Slow(34), TmpRdn-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(34), TmpRdn-Acc/Slow(36) Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(36), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(36), CldSns-%Dam(37), ImpSwf-Dam%(37), GldJvl-Dam%(37) Level 20: Hurricane -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39) Level 24: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(39) Level 26: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A) Level 28: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(39), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(40), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(40) Level 30: Bitter Freeze Ray -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(40) Level 32: Blizzard -- SprMlcoft-Rchg/Dmg%(A), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg(42), SprMlcoft-Dmg/Rchg(42), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), SprMlcoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43) Level 35: Tornado -- ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(43), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(45), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(45), FrcFdb-Rechg%(46) Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(46), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(46), ExpStr-Dam%(48), GldJvl-Dam%(48), FrcFdb-Rechg%(48) Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 44: Power Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50) Level 47: Temp Invulnerability -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-Max HP%(50) Level 49: Tactics -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(50) 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: Scourge Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(17), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(19) Level 50: Spiritual Core Paragon ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1458;681;1362;HEX;| |78DA65944B4F135114C7EF4C5BB1142C502850DED007145A3A82BA3401C1A090005| |5B74D03436942695320CAD2855F4017AE3471E35BD4C418BF81BA372ED40D7121F1| |01282B57F574FE7F4B49279DFCEE9CF739F7DECE5C3B57B375FEFA59A5B9C757926| |B6B89F16C3EBF915BCFE61D33C9547AC1A6E4A992D7575224E693AB2973313AB560| |26C6C467BDF35035B6B1B4148DCB2A93886F6432D9D5F46A4A55CF66B32BD178CE3| |4175DD67272259D5A5EAFB1D6D366322746EEFF1F8B667E6D399D6B98C8A517A2B3| |D9AB663E312339CCFC668B54119237A62B3E0587BA2730EC4ABF43DE05ED860E0ED| |92C1EBBAF29D56157DFB432DFAF76E86EC0F6B84F1D6175F82877C457A3AF7645B3| |643597C939F0C43C1907EB2E817D32421B7C35DB17E46BF8043A45E7B0021794A30| |9F6233AA65ECC55C51E1BD963237BF44EC1DF3B811E5B32F0FD2E70229ECDC9782D| |8DA0EF00B6BE5D705442B898C7E5C73CDA036410EC7C8D7C9DAFC837CC2F05D6228| |F5ECB3CDDECA9FB33F843C46EC6770F205E773FD813221FC3B7E70967F5003C2521| |EAE95BCF19F471067D9C817F47B7F6D5CFFDF573BF7FCAA707BECAD303DB5EA9B70| |9F56A4D8390054997E89AB93FCDEC21C81E9457A956C66A659FF562DFC619B75116| |E48C4317514368123C5D2C91B13B3EA0DED047F08CA08B3D76BD84FDC00BF229F90| |C0C6F91CFC15D49D74BDFDE03D41ADE07877E937FC86DF84478D6F7C43740DF0067| |1BE16C239CEDF0A6D87A849CE9307DDFCA673FE7D1CFF9BD13D9207B1CA4CC20DF8| |B2E4A5DF42462197F418FCC31C63D893D427CE321D86E2FDD55F9C9A3C215925885| |C4A8908C5448462B24538792C27471CDFBA89CA865D65EBAFB4AB33C9C75A51B5DF| |8552D5AAD5CBB572EB9200B39EBBB1556FB87125DBB8D4C7537F9EF700B2C1A16E6| |E42C1B302CFC03E7F1EC81| |-------------------------------------------------------------------| The three primary attacks are all kitted out for a bit of ranged defense and procs. Note that Ice Blast has no way to FF a single target attack, so you can't realistically run the rotation indefinitely (you need to exploit gaps for doing other things or get your Tornado/Lightning Storm/Gale working). Ranged Def is only capped while Power Build-Up is active. I choose Power Mastery rather than Soul Mastery (which has a much lower cooldown) to accommodate Conserve Power. However, you can run 50%+ uptime with Soul Mastery (albeit without the +damage component). The premise is that you activate it when engaging to pump up your defense/damage and then just rely on all the soft control in the recharge window. In general, single target power are slotted to proc damage while multi-target powers are slotted to proc buffs. In a multi-target power, damage effects have a much lower chance to proc per target than they do with single target powers. However, effects like Force Feedback only need to proc once across all targets so they have an incredibly high chance to proc - the way I slotted up Gale, using on a full spawn is almost guaranteed to proc Force Feedback. I'm not entirely sure how well Freezing Rain will proc +end. Spiritual Core is chosen because the single target rotation is simply too tight on recharge. In theory, something like Vigor makes more sense if you're willing to put up with rotation gaps. I'm not entirely sure how the Lightning Storm procs will work out either (I'm pretty sure the FF proc only works on use and doesn't do anything while it's just hanging around). In any case, I haven't tested it, but it might contain some ideas you hadn't considered - I've been going back and forth with Storm Summoning for a while.

I believe the rotation Ice is aiming for is a three stroke Ice Blast/Freezing Ray/Bitter Ice Blast rotation. However, this requires ~20% above perma-Hasten to pull off. It also means that, as a Defender, you'd be forced to waste a power on Ice Bolt. I know that when I took a look at Ice, I wasn't satisfied because having the FF procs (which Ice can't equip) really drives the damage of Tornado/Lightning Storm. I think Water actually works better with Storm Summoning - Water Jet has about the same cycle time as Freezing Ray with a much lower recharge demand. However, the single target rotation is still lacking. Water does enable both Achilles' Heel and FF procs, though. That being said, I'm skeptical of Water due to the inherent clunkiness of the Tidal Power mechanics - the fact that your 5% miss chance completely disrupts your rotation is an issue. Water is also incredibly intolerant of attack chain interruptions - and while Storm Summoning tends not to be considered a 'healer' the fact of the matter is that I've been the primary healer on the bulk of teams (not leagues) I've been in since almost no one else has a heal that can be targeted on a specific player (just AE heals). Beam is an option, but I think the rotation is another three stroke (Disintegrate, Piercing Ray, Penetrating Ray) that sits at almost exactly perma-Hasten. This also wastes an early power choice (or two) and your AE is largely limited to the ultimate. On the other hand, you'd be really, really good at single target between -regen, -resist and generally strong attacks. Dark has all the right kinds of effects - knockback AE, ability to slot -hit procs in all attacks, workable single target rotation and even an Immobilize. Unfortunately, the combination of Cones and knockback-not-knockdown really robs it of an enormous amount of power since you have to waste all those slots of removing knockback and increasing range. Energy has a similar problem. The knockback is just too much. While KB -> KD completely shifts the value of Tornado, it's a "slot tax" on Energy Blast that limits its effectiveness. I do have one 'trick' for dealing with Def soft-capping you may not have considered: Soul Mastery's Power Boost. While it can't be made perma, the recharge can be driven low enough that you can activate it at the beginning of every encounter (more or less). This will enable you to reach the soft-cap (somewhat) easily at the beginning of the encounter (when you most need it) and dramatically improve the secondary effects of your opening attacks. It will also have a minor beneficial effect on your endurance issues (since it will increase End Mod on your normal Stamina).

What I find amusing is that this change encourages a "Kill the Anchor" playstyle. You pick a minion in the middle of the pack, anchor it and then gun it down to ensure your anchor doesn't move during the battle.

The majority of a Storm Summoner's damage will ultimately come from sources that enjoy neither the advantage of Scourge nor the higher base multiplier. While Lightning Storm is certainly better on longer fights, it's still one of the highest dpa attacks you can make even on relatively short fights. Tornado - no matter the fight length - is probably going to do more single target damage than any other power in your arsenal (by a large amount). Add the damage procs from your powers and very little of what you're doing can Scourge. And that's assuming your Corruptor is willing to accept non-capped defenses (Defenders have ~5% advantage in defense over Corruptors) - if they're also trying to cap their defenses, it will inevitably come at the expense of damage. I think Fire is definitely a 'Corruptor set'. However, I think people often over-estimate its effectiveness. Back on Live, we knew that Ice was higher single target damage than Fire. It took me a while to remember why, but it was a byproduct of Frankenslotting attack powers. The ability of Ice to slot damage procs far outweighed the value of the additional burn DoT on Fire. The newer sets like Water and Dual Pistols really turn this up to 11 by granting a diversity of effects on their powers. A Dual Pistols user, for example, is arguably almost as good as Sonic at resist debuffing between the native debuff and the two resist debuffs it can slot into otherwise central attack powers. Or consider Bullet Rain (36.11 on 18s cooldown) vs. Fireball (43.12 on 16s cooldown). It should be obvious that Fireball is a lot better. Except, in actual play, Bullet Rain is a far more effective attack because the near certainty of a Force Feedback proc drives its cyclic rate far below what is reasonably achievable with Fireball - as well as accelerating everything else you do. Or consider the Blaster-style method of pumping up +damage and then launching an ultimate. On a Corruptor, your Soul Drain + Inferno will deal 15% more damage (it can't Scourge against full health targets). However, between Vigilance and Soul Drain, you have +42% more damage on the Defender. Even taking into account that this only yields about 20% more actual damage, Soul Drain + Inferno actually tends to work better with a Defender (solo). If you throw Freezing Rain (-5% resist more for a Defender), you've got an even bigger lead. There are obviously a lot of caveats that need to be thrown around, but I think it's important to recognize that the basic numbers are dramatically altered by the IO build - to the point where 'high damage sets' often end up being less damage than 'low damage sets' simply because of how you're forced to slot them and 'high damage AT' actually end up being 'low damage AT' because they don't have the supplemental features they need to support what they're doing.

Imps, Gremlins and Fly Trap are all about the same damage. Umbra Beast is higher damage, the rest of ultimate pets are less (Phantom Army is comparable to Umbra Beast). Perhaps the biggest difference for Fire from live is the value of Bonfire. I'd argue it's become the central power of the set - basically a high damage version of Earthquake with KB -> KD enhancements. The PPM changes have also increased the value of Earth (-def means Earth can slot a far broader/better set of procs than other control sets). Dark (mostly) shares this virtue.

Yes and no. The raw damage is fairly middle-of-the-road. The slotted damage has a lot of options. Off the top of my head, my three primary attacks are slotted something like: Pistols: Achilles' Heel, Lady Grey proc, Shield Breaker proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E) Dual Pistols: Force Feedback proc, Impeded Swiftness proc, Explosive Strike proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E) Executioner's Shot: Force Feedback proc, Apoc proc, Lady Grey proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E) The additional options for slotting that you don't have with more conventional Blast sets allows you to get a lot of benefits. It's the same reason that Ice Blast traditionally out-performed Fire Blast single target at 50 (I'm not sure if this is still true with the Sniper changes).

In terms of perma-Phantom Army, it's mostly a matter of piling on recharge bonuses from IO sets, Hasten and (for Storm Summoning) very likely Alpha slot recharge. You can also get some recharge from Force Feedback procs. In terms of Storm, I'd call Steamy Mists, Freezing Rain, Hurricane, Tornado and Lightning Storm the 'essentials'. The heal is 'optional' in the sense that it's a team-only power, but I'd highly recommend taking it. The only power which really needs KB -> KD slotting is Tornado. Hurricane's knockback doesn't occur all that often and it doesn't disrupt the melee in your group because you shouldn't be standing anywhere near what they're fighting with Hurricane running (with the exception of enemies like AV/GM who can't be knocked back anyway). Lightning Storm's knockback is relatively minor, so it only knocks down enemies who don't have a susceptibility to knockback (or lower level). As an Illusion/Storm, you're forced to take Gale and may want to slot it up. Unlike Tornado, Hurricane or Lightning Storm, the entire purpose of Gale is knockback. While it can be used as a pseudo-Earthquake with KB->KD slotted, an equally valid use is to re-arrange the battlefield with a bit more precision than Hurricane allows (Hurricane tends to cause enemies to slide around the sides rather than fly straight back where you want them to go).

I can break them down independently. Dark is somewhat easier (and well-trod territory): Twilight Grasp: Targeted Heal sets are generally weak. Probably the best useful set bonuses you can glean here are from 5-slot Panacea and IO Accuracy. However, you can probably just 4-slot Touch of the Nictus and call it a day. Tar Patch: Recharge is really all this needs. Darkest Night: 4-slot Dark Watcher's Despair is a useful breakpoint, but you can use this out-of-the-box with just IO end reduction. Howling Twilight: Stun sets are notoriously bad and Geyser + Howling Twilight to stun bosses seems a trifle excessive. I'd just IO recharge reduction. Shadowfall: I tend to slot these stealth powers as LoTG global recharge + D/E and then either Shield Wall/Reactive Defenses uniques plus the corresponding D/E. In any case, this is primarily a mule for the defense/resist uniques. Fearsome Stare: Glimpse of the Abyss 5- or 6-slot. Petrifying Gaze: I never take it, but Lockdown is a great set (and almost justifies taking it). Black Hole: No one takes it and there's nothing useful to slot in it. Dark Servant: Honestly, I don't find this power much use. The Servant itself dies far too easily and the random effects it throws rarely turn out very useful. I'd probably just use it as a mule for whatever you need - it can slot for S/L Def, Ranged Def or recharge because of the variety of powers it has. Water is a bit trickier. I'd recommend something like: Aqua Bolt: Thunderstrike A/D, A/D/E, D/E, Touch of Lady Grey Neg damage, Javelin Tox damage, Achille's Heel -res Hydro Bolt: Thunderstrike A/D, A/D/E, D/E, Javelin Tox damage, Force Feedback global recharge, Impeded Swiftness smashing Water Burst: Vigilant Assault 3-slot, Force Feedback global recharge, Javelin lethal damage, Positron's energy damage Water Jet: Thunderstrike A/D, A/D/E, D/E, Apoc Neg damage, Javelin Tox damage, Impeded Swiftness Smashing damage Whirlpool: Defender's Bastion 6-slot Geyser: Vigilant Assault 3-slot (the recharge portions of VA go here), Force Feedback global recharge, Javelin lethal, Positron's energy Tidal Force: Either slot it up with Gaussian's or just IO recharge (probably the latter) I don't think Dehydrate or Steam Spray are particularly worthwhile, although I suppose you can use them for mules if needed. The Impeded Swiftness can be skipped to save a slot or re-purpose it for something like more Damage/Accuracy. Epic Pools will normally come with a resist buff that can be used to mule the uniques - it's not terribly important to pile up resists, but you do want to keep the endurance down.

Status resistance can never be high enough to do what you want - you need status protection. You can potentially take Acrobatics to stop Holds, but it's an expensive toggle that requires you waste a power on Super Jump. S/L/E Defense will help against some stuns, but it's nearly useless against Holds and Sleeps. You really need positional defense (Ranged and Melee) for that. However, it's nearly impossible to soft-cap both Ranged and Melee Defense on a Defender - and it might be literally impossible starting from a base of Radiation Emission as your support set. That being said, your goal (leaping into melee range against a large group of enemies) is ultimately unrealistic. In incarnate-level content, you will often encounter enemies with defense debuffs on their melee attacks. As a result, when you enter melee range with them you'll frequently suffer a cascading defense failure - that one stray hit that sneaks through leads to two hits, which lead to four, etc. as your defense is progressively torn down. Coupled with the fact that Choking Cloud will provide you with negligible protection (it takes a while for the Hold to land and the Hold won't affect anything except minions) while generating massive aggro and I think you'll find that this tactic is of limited use.

Sudden Acceleration's KB -> KD is not unique.

Another thought: Water Jet should probably be proc-heavy. Try triple-proc'ing it with 3 slots of Thunderstrike (all but recharge enhancements). Your global recharge should be enough to drop it below 4 secs and you'll get 3 proc chances every 8 sec with Water Jet due to the Tidal Power mechanics at a PPM calculated from its 10 sec cooldown. I also think Achilles' Heel should go in Aqua Bolt. Since Aqua Bolt doesn't require much beyond global recharge, you can probably keep up the proc near-constantly.

Defiance means you're not 'drooling like an idiot' but can still function fairly effectively. The major issue for Blasters is defensive in nature - getting held in the middle of a pack where they can beat you senseless is why status protection is necessary. Slightly cutting down the time where an entire army can pound away on your minimal melee defense doesn't help you all that much. If you're worried about status effects on a "squishies", Hover + high ranged def is the almost unbeatable solution. This is especially true of Blasters, most of whom can ground fliers even while stunned.

Due to the Tidal Power mechanics, you can't realistically skip either of the two initial powers. Nor can you skip the 'Aim' in the set since it allows you to instantly reach 3 Tidal Power for Geyser. Steam Spray is generally skipped because Cones are almost never very good (and this one isn't an exception). Dehydrate is sometimes skipped. If you're playing a secondary like Cold or Storm that can't self-heal, it can be tempting to take. However, it's not a particularly good attack or a particularly good heal.

I won't lay out a complete build, but I will make some points that might help you do a build of your own: - Ice Blast, Freezing Ray, Bitter Ice Blast (repeat) is a viable rotation at high enough levels of recharge. - Power Boost from Soul Mastery makes IO slotting much easier. With Steamy Mist and various pool powers, hitting Power Boost will soft cap your defense and raise Blizzard/Ice Storm to soft-capped debuffs. - Ice/Glacial Shield aren't really all that worthwhile. At higher levels, they're mainly just mules for LotG recharge. - Vengeance is a decent LotG mule and Victory Rush can often help solve endurance issues. - Splitting Scourging Blast across Ice Storm/Blizzard allows you to take the recharge bonus twice. Not only is this significantly cheaper than trying to 'purple out' (since you get 3/5 10% recharge bonuses from the two ATO sets) the normal way, but it means you're not forced to take otherwise underwhelming target AE sets and can frankenslot procs/additional features.