Lockpick

The suggestion was to have Hide provide endurance and regen, so it would take endurance modification and Heal IOs, so you could put a performance shifter + End in Hide or the Heal procs. A performance shifter + End in Hide and one in Stamina would probably cover most end issues. Sure, I do this now. The point was to make a suggestion so Hide would alleviate the need. Field Operative has End and Regen, so I was suggesting Hide could as well. Exactly! You are one of our resident number crunchers, so I am curious how OP would this make Stalkers. Anyway, it is all a dream. I think Stalkers are performing pretty well as they are, so I guess I shouldn't be greedy.

It might have been better to explain to the player the challenge with DS. I have a low level Gravity Controller that I was doing a Posi on and I had never used DS before. I decided to use it on a spawn to very poor effect. I didn't use it again, but some players may not know how the power should be used properly.

I have a Staff / WP at 50, so have a little experience with this power. Basically, taking this power, you will gain access to the 3 powers and the ability to generate Perfection. Once you generate 3 levels of Perfection you will be able to use another Power (Eye of the Storm or Sky Splitter) for additional effects. Form of the Body: This power is obtained by purchasing Staff Mastery. All Staff Fighting attacks will build a level of Perfection of Body while this toggle is active. Each level will boost the user's damage output slightly. Once the user has built up 3 levels of Perfection of Body and they execute Eye of the Storm, the attack will reduce the target's damage resistance (-7.5%) and will deal additional smashing damage. Executing Sky Splitter with three levels of Perfection of Body will deal additional smashing damage and grant the user a moderate resistance buff (9.98% to all) for a short time. Form of the Mind: This power is obtained by purchasing Staff Mastery. All Staff Fighting attacks will build a level of Perfection of Mind while this toggle is active. Each level will boost the user's recharge rate slightly. Once the user has built up 3 levels of Perfection of Mind and they execute Eye of the Storm, the attack will slow (-12%) the target slightly and will deal additional psychic damage. Executing Sky Splitter with three levels of Perfection of Mind will deal additional psychic damage and grant the user a moderate to hit buff (20%) for a short time. Form of the Soul: This power is obtained by purchasing Staff Mastery. All Staff Fighting attacks will build a level of Perfection of Soul while this toggle is active. Each level will grant the user an Endurance Discount. Once the user has built up 3 levels of Perfection of Soul and they execute Eye of the Storm, the attack will target's defense slightly (-7.5% to all) and will deal additional energy damage. Executing Sky Splitter with three levels of Perfection of Soul will deal additional energy damage and grant the user a moderate regeneration (125%) and recovery buff (83%) for a short time. Each of these toggle powers will allow the user to build up levels of Perfection, which grant the user a stacking short duration buff. Each buff is unique to the active form, and only one form can be active at a time. Perfection can be released by executing Eye of the Storm or Sky Splitter. When either of these attacks are empowered with Perfection they will have additional effects that are unique to each form. This information primarily comes from: https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Staff_Fighting#Staff_Mastery I personally generally just stay in Form of the Mind for the Psionic Damage, but if I run into enemies that resist Psionic I will switch to Body. I haven't really done a bunch of stance dancing in game to determine the values for the other effects, but I just now spent some time looking at Mids and added the values I saw above in the descriptions in bold. Form of the Soul may be very good if your secondary doesn't help with Endurance Recovery. Hopefully some of our number crunchers will see this thread and will add some guidance on the best stance, but they all look pretty decent to me. As a matter of fact they look much better than I thought, so I will start playing around with Soul and maybe move away from Agility to Musculature. I will generally build perfection by using: Mercurial Blow - Precision Strike - Guarded Strike (for the defense bonus) then either EotS or Sky Splitter depending on if I am against a single target or multiple targets. This is not necessarily the best attack chain, but it is easy to run and is effective. If I am just against single target I may run Precise Strike - Serpent's Reach - Precise Strike - Sky Splitter. Anyway, hope this helps. I like Staff as a power set, so hope you enjoy it.

I think Titan Weapons / Bio seems to be the FotM for DPS. TW apparently has the highest DPS and Bio adds more damage. That being said, you may want to peruse this thread:

Would you be willing to share your build?

I know I am not one of the 3 you asked for help, but I am currently playing a DP/SR and have a 50 DP/Ninjitsu. Your build looks pretty solid to me. What is the concern with needing Weave to softcap? A thought or 2: You might want to replace the IO in Afterburner with a Reactive Scaling Defense. You might want to add the Winter's Gift: Slow Resistance to Fly. With Afterburner you will be flying pretty fast, so the standard IO might not be needed. I don't think many people are taking Elude nowadays because of the crash and you generally soft-cap easily with SR. Oldskool made a very strong case for Procs in his write up on DP and I believe he mentioned trying to get most of your defense without using damage sets, so you proc your damage powers. This is one reason I decided to level another Sentinel (added my planned build below) because I wanted t see how the damage fared using procs I am using Thunderstrike (Acc/Dmg, Dmg/End, and Acc/Dmg/End) until I can slot HOs Again, your build looks solid to me, so please take anything I say with a grain of salt as they are merely suggestions, certainly not criticisms.

I started both a Plant / Nature Controller and a Beast / Nature MM. I'll run them both awhile and see which one I like better.

So many concepts... I was thinking about making a Shaman like character, but couldn't decide on the AT / Power Set. I was thinking Plant/Nature Controller with the Sorcery pool. Anyone have any thoughts? These are the powers Shaman has according to the Marvel Wiki: Alter Appearance Astral Projection Mystical Bolts Healing Illusion Casting Cause sleep Elemental/Weather Control: Shaman could affect weather, such as causing a blizzard. He could also use small elements within his pouch, such as creating a stone golem or a fire barrier. Plant Control-Shaman could cause vines to appear and entangle foes Natural Dimensional Nullification: Through the power of nature, he could nullify extra dimensional magics or return an extra dimensional being to its home dimension. Restoration: Using his pouch, Shaman could revert altered beings to their natural state. A special ritual could cure people possessed by the Wendigo. Teleportation Time Travel Flight: He could levitate and fly riding wind. He seemed to be mostly adept at flying vertically. Totems: Shaman could use various totems. Commune with Animals Commune with Spirits: He could request any spirits present in an area to assist him with the Spirit Staff. Telepathy/Empathy: Shaman has mentally linked to his daughter. He could also detect the presence of evil.

Yes, run Smoke and Mirrors instead. 12 merits in about 7:30, so 96 merits per hour. In your hour and 20 minutes of play time you would have 120 merits. Or run the SSA missions that give you 20 merits for about 10 minutes. On the other hand if you want suggestions on running the Task Force faster I would suggest: Investing in the 2 prestige mission teleport powers as that will help a little with the time Running with the notoriety at lowest settings Stealthing the missions you can stealth I can't remember the time it took me to do it, but I didn't have the mission teleports and I came away thinking the time to merit was slow when compared to the other options I mentioned.

I was checking out Hide on a new character the other day. I believe I was seeing the defense in combat was 1.88% with only Hide running. Are you sure it is 3%? I'll go check again when servers are back up. I was checking because Mids seems to over inflate the defense that Hide provides, so when I do my builds I turn Hide off to see what my defense will be. I was trying to figure out what number I could add to my defenses to make sure I soft cap which is why I tested Hide.

I find that on my Stalkers that endurance is painful until the later levels. I was thinking it might be nice if Hide functioned similarly to Field Operative. I don't think Hide should give as much Recovery or Regeneration as Field Operative, but was thinking allowing the ability to slot End or Heal IOs for the passives would help with endurance in the early levels. I also wouldn't mind if it allowed us to slot Resist IOs. How overpowered would this be?

My concept was similar, but I did decide to go with Build-Up. I adjusted my current build to replace Build-Up with Burnout. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Mercenary 2: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier Primary Power Set: Bane Spider Soldier Secondary Power Set: Bane Spider Training Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Medicine Hero Profile: Level 1: Single Shot -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(5), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Dcm-Build%(46) Level 1: Bane Spider Armor Upgrade -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(13) Level 2: Burst -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(5), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 4: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A) Level 6: Pummel -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(7), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(7), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), TchofDth-Dam%(43) Level 8: Heavy Burst -- SprSpdBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprSpdBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprSpdBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprSpdBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprSpdBit-Rchg/Global Toxic(29), AchHee-ResDeb%(33) Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(11), DefBuff-I(11) Level 12: Combat Training: Defensive -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(31), Ksm-ToHit+(33), Rct-ResDam%(34), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(45) Level 14: Bayonet -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(15), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(15), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), TchofDth-Dam%(43) Level 16: Wide Area Web Grenade -- HO:Endo(A), HO:Endo(17), HO:Endo(17) Level 18: Venom Grenade -- SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDmnofA-Dmg/Rchg(19), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprDmnofA-Rchg/DmgFear%(45) Level 20: Frag Grenade -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(21), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(42), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(45) Level 22: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(50) Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46) Level 26: Burnout -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 28: Surveillance -- HO:Lyso(A), AchHee-ResDeb%(33) Level 30: Cloaking Device -- LucoftheG-Def(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(46) Level 32: Mental Training -- Run-I(A) Level 35: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(36), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(36), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(36), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(37), GssSynFr--Build%(37) Level 38: Call Reinforcements -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(39), SlbAll-Dmg/Rchg(40), SlbAll-Acc/Rchg(40) Level 41: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(42), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42) Level 44: Injection -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 47: Aid Self -- DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(A), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(48), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(48), DctWnd-Heal(48), DctWnd-Rchg(50) Level 49: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(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: Conditioning Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(13), Pnc-Heal/+End(29), Prv-Absorb%(34) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21) Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 0: The Atlas Medallion Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface Level 50: Cimeroran Core Superior Ally Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment ------------ ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1613;739;1478;HEX;| |78DA65945B4F135110C7CFB60BB51728482F5C4B5BA85C4A0B4563E213414512A1D| 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I've got a great name for a Sonic character, but have never played Sonic before. I'm looking for a character that can solo, high DPS, and strong survivability. Any thoughts on the AT / power set combinations I should be evaluating?

Thank you! It is always cool to learn about new functionality. I saw another issue I thought I would bring up. When I make builds using Soul Mastery as the Epic pool, I cannot reverse the choice and select another option and Soul Mastery is locked. Example: I have a Stalker where I selected Soul Mastery: Moonbeam and Shadow Meld. I was able to softcap, so didn't need Shadow Meld. I deselected Moonbeam and Shadow Meld, but cannot select another Epic pool.

It does help! Thanks for your insight. I've been looking at Rad Armor for awhile, but all the builds I create do not look great. I have the same challenge with Bio, which everyone says is great. Oh well, now to find a name and a concept...

Getting ready to start a new character and I am thinking I want to try a Kinetic Melee. I may do SD as my secondary. Any thoughts on which AT fits best with Kinetic Melee? Also, any suggestion on a synergistic secondary? I don't have to do SD.

I have played StJ/SR to 50 and incarnates. It is a very strong build with high DPS and high defense. I have not played SD on HC, but my main on Live was a StJ/SD Scrapper. I think between SD and SR that SD brings more to a team due to Grant Cover and Shield Charge. I have no experience with Ice. I have played a few times with a StJ/Inv Stalker who took Provoke and he was able to tank pretty successfully on a 4/8 ITF.

Another suggestion: In Physical Perfection you have 2 standard Heal IOs. I would replace those with 2 heal set IOs at + 5. You can use a Panacea for 2.5% endurance and a Preventive Medicine for 3.75 S/L resist, etc. You could also use a Miracle Heal IO with the Panacea for 5% endurance, but the Miracle heal would only be a level 40 (+ 5).

The burnout mechanic was interesting to me because of the OP stating: You don't find that burnout would yield greater DPS?

I have been thinking about doing a Ninja/Storm, so have been looking for builds. I saw this one and thought maybe I would just try Thugs. Since the original build was not able to be imported in Mid's I rebuilt it, although I had to make some adjustments. The build is below.

One final post on this thread to close out. I used Bopper's build in this thread and then made some minor changes to my build to match my play style. Instead of Hover and Grant Invisibility I took Combat Jumping and Super Speed. I lost 7.5% recharge from the LoTG in Grant Invisibility, but I gained additional stealth radius and some Knockback protection from the IO in SS. I also use SS way more than I would GI, so I think the trade off was fine. The final build is very good. Capped defense to all positions, capped S/L resistance, 100 ft stealth radius in PVE, and I can clear the 2 Ourborus solo missions I use for merits or incarnate progression faster than my Stalker, which was surprising to me. I also took this build into the Comic Con S/L farm at 2/4 with no issues. I haven't tried 4/8 yet, but I don't think there would be any survivability issues. I'm not much of a farmer, so doubt I would use it for 4/8 farming, but it is cool to know I can. This character is also the most team friendly character I have, so it has been a blast to play. I am interested to see how this character does against a Pylon. I have never really tried Pylon testing, so maybe I'll give it a shot. In case anyone cares, the 2 Ourborus missions I will run if I have limited play time, but want to progress are: Incarnate Salvage (Lvl 50): Burden of the Past - 1 Empyrean Merit, 1 Incarnate component, plus either 1 more Empyrean Merit or 1 more Incarnate component in ~13 minutes Merits (Lvl 30 to 34): Smoke and Mirrors - 12 merits in less than 8 minutes Thanks Bopper! Great build and very fun to play. Off to finish my latest character (Staff / WP Scrapper)...

Thanks for the feedback. This is what I thought as well, but this thread (page 2, Erydamus) is saying the proc is better in the AoE powers and you are penalized for using fast recharge powers. I agree. This build is soft-capped defense to S/L, capped S/L resistance, and softcaps Melee with one Guarded Spin (all without Agility). My Hasten is 5 seconds off of perma without Agility, but I have used most of the strong recharge sets (3 purple, 2 Winter, 2 ATO) I can get, so don't see a way to improve it without impacting something else. Staff Fighting is quick, so not sure I even need perma-Hasten for this build. I may even want to go down the Musculature path, since I am not sure perma-Hasten will be worth the Alpha slot. I will likely just level both Agility and Musculature and see what I like best.

Made some adjustments to my build. Now have soft-capped defense to S/L and capped S/L resistance. I also have Shadow Meld to cap all defenses when needed for hard content. Still not sure if I am putting the ATOs in the proper powers. Currently level 38 and I'm having fun with the build, but damage does not seem as good as I thought it would be. I was looking at attack chains yesterdays and Mid's is giving: Mercurial Blow --> Precise Strike --> Mercurial Blow --> Serpent's Reach. I am using this chain effectively with single target, but with the forms and Perfection it is probably not the best. I have thrown in Guarded Spin for Defense and Eye of the Storm (EotS) and Sky Splitter when I have 3 stacks of Perfection. Eye of the Storm is where I have the +50% Critical ATO, so I try to add that to the chain regularly. I have not used Innocuous Strikes very often, but not sure what to replace it with as the Superior Avalanche set gives good bonuses for this build. Not a fan of the animation, but not sure this is what keeps me from using it. When I do get in trouble the lack of a self heal can be a problem for burst damage, so carrying healing inspirations is key. I also am getting the temporary heal power from P2W vendor to help. Endurance is not an issue at all with this set to this point. Planning on Agility as the Alpha power. This will give a little more recharge, which will make Hasten permanent. Thinking about swapping the sets in Guarded Spin and EotS, so I can put a FF recharge in EotS. This might allow me to keep Hasten permanent without Agility. I originally wanted Agility for the Recharge and Defense, but now that S/L is capped and Melee is capped with one Guarded Spin I may not need it. Anyway, I am just jotting down some thoughts on this build as I play through it in case the thought process helps someone. I don't see many threads on Staff Fighting, so maybe this post will help people in the future.

I was trying to figure out an attack chain for my new Staff Fighting scrapper. I searched the threads and found a post by Werner that talked about using Mids - Windows - Power Graphs. What the hell?! I never knew this was there. Then while searching Mids I saw Windows - DPS Calculator (Beta). I selected all the power for my character and the result showed: Mercurial Blow --> Precise Strike --> Mercurial Blow --> Serpent's Reach Is that the best attack chain? Is it based on my slotting, IOs, set bonuses, incarnates, etc.? Does it take into account the Staff Fighting Perfection mechanic? If the answer to all the question is yes I am amazed! All these years I never knew about some of this functionality...

On Live it was my MA/SD, but then became my StJ/SD. I had played tons of scrappers until I settled on my main. I haven't really played scrapper much on HC, but I just started a SF/WP that is fun. I'm not to sure about these SF/WP from a high end performance standpoint, but the animations on SF are cool. I think there is some thing to this comment. If you have a cool costume and concept as opposed to something generic it makes the character fun to play regardless of sets.