SemanticAntics

Forgive my ignorance, but what is 801.5?

I played a SR/Rad Tanker to 50 a while back and found it to be quite solid. IIRC, it had 95% DDR, so precious little made more than a momentary dent in my defenses, and the scaling resists make so much more impact with the deeper HP pool Tankers have. It seemed like such a clever pairing with /Rad (giving it the damage aura and heal SR lacks), but I found the damage to be...slow. Enough to get through just about everything solo, though, so I didn't mind it. But I couldn't finish the LRSF. That last fight was a stalemate for me. If Scrapper /SR is comparable, I'm expecting great things. Even if it falls short, it'll still be very good.

Oh, yeah. That's what originally attracted me to the set back on live. The old "buzzsaw" build. High recharge, quick attacks, lots of procs. Of course, proc calculations have changed quite a bit since then, but it's still decent. I'm more of a Tanker player at heart, though. Generally, I'd rather be the last one standing at the end of a protracted battle than the glass cannon that either ends fights decisively or is running back from the hospital to try again. As you might guess, I could never get the hang of Blasters.

Thanks again for the advice, everyone. I plan to incorporate what I can of your advice and see how it goes. I'm optimistic about the tweaks. So, already considering my next project. Given the feedback I've gotten here and elsewhere, when I'm ready to move on I think I'd like to try some kind of walking-nuke build. The idea of being pure DPS has never appealed to me, but then again, I have never given it a sincere try. So, a combination survivable enough to deal damage (DPS is 0 if you die, obviously), but whose primary defense is dead arrested foes, with particular emphasis on taking down hard targets. What primary/secondary would you recommend for that?

Oh, I feel dumb. I play solo virtually all the time, so I've become accustomed to ignoring taunt powers. It never occurred to me. Good tip on the knockdown proc! I'll add that.

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. Since there seems to be a bit of confusion, I'd like to take a moment to clear something up: I'm looking for advice on how to best make use of a character I already have, not how the combination compares to the current meta. I get that it isn't top-tier DPS and that isn't a problem for me. I'm enjoying it and will continue playing it until I either hit 50 or get bored. Honestly, the only complaint I have right now is the runners. Maybe it's because I spend most of my time playing Tankers, but I seem to be spending a lot of time chasing down runners. Kill-all missions are the bane of my existence right now. But the combination itself runs well.

I had a DM/SR Scrapper back on live that I remember enjoying, but I don't think I've touched Scrappers in years. Many of the builds and threads I found when searching for this combination are quite old now and I'm not sure how the various changes have affected this pairing. I'm in my mid-20s and looking to start slotting IOs, and I'd appreciate some advice. I plan to build for defense (no sense playing /SR without softcapped defenses, right?) and recharge. Is that enough, or should I have other goals as well? Are there any particular powers or quirks I should be aware of with this combination? Thanks in advance.

I realized recently that Enforcer's Leadership abilities stack with multiple Thugs/ masterminds. Do any other henchmen have abilities that stack or otherwise benefit across multiple masterminds?

Is there a slash command or something that can prioritize targets affected by Contaminate? My eyes aren't what they used to be and picking out a contaminated foe amongst a crowd is pretty hit and miss by hand, leading to a lot of wasted opportunities for Radiation Siphon's heal. If not, are there any tricks that help with singling out contaminated targets? Thanks in advance.

So many excellent suggestions! I think I'm going to try out /Staff and /Martial Arts for ten or twenty levels and see which of the two I like better. /Radiation is one of my favorite melee sets, so I might try to squeak in one of those later, but I have an SR/Rad Tanker that is pretty sturdy. It sailed through the LRSF solo until the last mission, when I couldn't outpace the Heroes' regeneration. That was before the recent tanker changes, so that might be easier now. I haven't tried again due to lack of time lately.

Question in the title. I'm planning to make a new Tanker and I have a concept for Dark Armor, but the secondary is wide open. What combinations do you like, and why?

I explored the function of Burn a long time ago and found that the Flames component did not actually use any slotted accuracy. I was thinking this had been fixed some time after I pointed it out, though. Maybe the changes were rolled back. Flames inherits to-hit buffs (and I think accuracy buffs--it's been a while and I don't remember everything), so powers or effects that buff that (focused accuracy, insight, etc.) will make Flames hit more reliably while the effect lasts (only briefly, on toggle powers). Another thing Burn does is create not one Flames patch, but one for each enemy hit with the Burn primary attack. This is why you'll see so many to-hit rolls in the log and why there are so many damage numbers each time it ticks. As written, Burn should create one patch which burns up to five targets within for 13 ticks of damage. In practice, it creates up to five patches, each of which does 13 ticks of damage to up to five targets. I believe this was the cause of the "knockdown procs throw enemies out of burn patches" bug that was around for a while (that did get fixed, right?), as each patch would have a chance of proccing the knockdown effect and knockdown effects that happen close together stack.

Thanks for the input. I'm certainly leaning toward Bio/Spines now. After a quick search, I note that many of the builds I've seen skip Spine Burst. Is there a particular reason for that? Does it not translate well to a Tanker? Is it just because it's slow?

I have never tried Bio Armor before and I'm looking for a good secondary to go with it. I have a concept that lends itself to physical attacks (as opposed to elemental/energy/psychic) so I'm trying to decide between the following: Any of the weapon sets (except Dual Blades) Martial Arts (I'm disinclined to pick this set, personally) Savage Melee Spines (this is a pretty good fit for my concept) Stone Melee (this is a little bit of a stretch but, colored appropriately, can fit my concept) Street Justice I'd prefer average-or-better damage. With the coming changes, I'd prefer something with some good AoE powers. I would appreciate any recommendations and the reasons behind them.

You're going to want some accuracy in consume. It has to hit to work. Edit: Burn, too. Burn is about to be fixed so that it properly uses accuracy, but even now it is significantly better with accuracy slotted.

I'd recommend increasing the DoT portion's damage to compensate for the loss. Perhaps either by increasing the ticks' base value or by increasing the number of ticks. I'm not sure if either is a better solution. Me, personally? I'd change the target cap on both the initial pulse and DoT portion to 10. Increase the endurance cost to about 14. The damage values are fine for a PBAoE attack, but it's cheap and small at 5 targets. Also, maybe this is already on the radar, but the initial damage pulse doesn't seem to even try to hit more than four targets. I'd guess the player is taking up a target slot.

I am terrible at builds. How can this be improved? My goals were at least 46.5% defense to S/L/F/C/E, a healthy amount of S/L resists, and perma-hasten. I'm not sure how to gauge how effective the Force Feedback proc is for global recharge, but I think it will be enough to close the current gap. I have no idea what to pick for the last three powers, and I was out of slots anyway, so I just left them empty for now. I'm leaning toward Soul Mastery as it's the closest to the character concept. Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.2 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Psi/Energy Test: Level 50 Magic Brute Primary Power Set: Psionic Melee Secondary Power Set: Energy Aura Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Villain Profile: Level 1: Psi Blade -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(11), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(11), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Acc-I(34) Level 1: Kinetic Shield -- Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(3), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(3), Rct-Def/Rchg(13), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Rct-ResDam%(34) Level 2: Telekinetic Blow -- BrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), BrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(7), BrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), BrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), BrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 4: Power Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(5), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(5), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(15), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27) Level 6: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(19), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(19) Level 8: Psi Blade Sweep -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(9), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(9), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45) Level 10: Entropic Aura -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 12: Kick -- Acc-I(A) Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A) Level 16: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam(A), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(17), TtnCtn-ResDam/Rchg(17), TtnCtn-EndRdx(23) Level 18: Boggle -- MlsIll-Acc/Rchg(A), MlsIll-EndRdx/Conf(31), MlsIll-Acc/EndRdx(33), MlsIll-Conf/Rng(33), MlsIll-Acc/Conf/Rchg(33) Level 20: Energy Cloak -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(21), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(21), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(25), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42) Level 22: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(23), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(25), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(27), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43) Level 24: Dampening Field -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), TtnCtn-ResDam(40), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(40), TtnCtn-ResDam/Rchg(40), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42) Level 26: Greater Psi Blade -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(48), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Hct-Acc/Rchg(50), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(50) Level 28: Energy Protection -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A) Level 30: Energy Drain -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(31), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(31), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(43), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43) Level 32: Mass Levitate -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(37), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(37), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), FrcFdb-Rechg%(39) Level 35: Energize -- DctWnd-Rchg(A), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(36), DctWnd-Heal(36), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(36), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 38: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45) Level 41: Taunt -- MckBrt-Taunt(A), MckBrt-Taunt/Rchg(45), MckBrt-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(46), MckBrt-Acc/Rchg(46), MckBrt-Taunt/Rng(46), MckBrt-Rchg(48) Level 44: [Empty] Level 47: [Empty] Level 49: [Empty] 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: Fury Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), PrfShf-EndMod(15), PrfShf-End%(29) ------------

Hi folks. I have a concept for a Psi Melee / Energy Aura Brute that I'd like to try, but I don't have any experience with either set. I'm looking for some tips on what powers are most useful and which are skippable. Also, what should I try to build for once I start using IOs? Typed defense seems like the obvious first step. Recharge next? I'm not very good at builds. I realize that this won't be very good at farming, but I'd like to be able to solo most other content at higher difficulty levels, though not necessarily +4/x8. I didn't see any builds for this combo by searching, but if someone has a build they'd like to share, I would appreciate it.

The latest patch notes address Burn's multiple-patch issue. It's performing much more like it was intended. Sadly, finally getting fixed means it does significantly less damage than before. The DoT portion does only 20% of its previous damage, fully saturated. Its damage output no longer varies based on targets hit, though, so there's that. It was a necessary loss, but not a fun one. The up-front damage is still capping at 4 enemies, though. Now that there's only ever one burn patch per power activation, that up-front damage is much more important.

That's it! That's exactly what it's doing. After some testing, I was able to confirm this behavior. I couldn't find the post you mention, but thanks for pointing the behavior out. Summary of my results: - Burn summons one burn patch (called "Flames" in the combat log) on the caster for each target in range, up to five (including the caster), depending on a successful hit-check of the front-loaded pulse. I was never able to get that pulse to target five foes, even when five were in range. I think (as you said) that means the caster is target 1, leaving only the four remaining targets. - Each burn patch targets up to five targets as expected. - This results in a maximum expected number of ticks equal to 13 x (foes in range [up to four] +1) x (foes in range [up to five]). In short, against two foes Burn summoned three burn patches which each attempted to hit both foes 13 times, for a total of 78 ticks. Against five foes, it summoned five patches (but didn't try to hit foe #5 with the initial damage) that each tried to hit the five foes 13 times, for a total of 325 ticks. Once, against two foes, the initial pulse missed both foes and it only attempted 13 ticks, total. So the pseudopet is working properly (save for the accuracy issue that is going to be fixed), it's just being summoned too many times. I can't believe I didn't notice this before. I think it's because I was focused on the accuracy issue and was doing most of my testing on a single enemy to eliminate other factors. Going over those logs now, I see that it was summoning two burn patches for 26 total ticks. I think the initial pulse is tied to the on-caster effect (immob protection). If it can be separated, the initial pulse should begin targeting five foes properly. Once separated, the burn patch can be tied to the on-caster part instead of the on-target part so that it only summons one patch per activation. This would need to be tested in conjunction with the Mastermind Assault Bot power Incendiary Missiles, for which summoning a burn patch for each affected target is the intended behavior. Since both Burn and Incendiary Missiles summon the same pseudopet, care would need to be taken not to stealth nerf Incendiary Missiles while fixing Burn.

I see in the patch notes that a fix for Burn's accuracy problem is coming down the pipe. This is great. I don't see any mention of the other problem with Burn that I recently noticed: The DoT ticks hit twice. According to the in-game detailed info on Burn, it should be doing 13 DoT ticks. According to the combat log, it is attempting 26. Each tick seems to have its own hit roll, so maybe this is using an older tick count (from before the i18 change, perhaps?) by mistake. I think this is at least partly why the Avalanche (and Overwhelming Force?) proc is doing knockback instead of knockdown when slotted into Burn.

I sometimes use the buff pet to trigger a mob's alpha strike. Just summon it in the middle of the pack just before jumping in. Better it than me!

If I recall correctly, this was a known inaccuracy with the text, rather than the function. I believe it's working as intended, but not as described.

While testing, I spoke with a few other /Fire Brutes about this. One in particular had a very expensive build and had clearly spent a lot of time tuning it. He was shocked when he repeated my testing with similar results. None of them had noticed. That may seem strange to you, but I believe the main reason for that is because that portion of Burn does not report in the combat tab. Only the initial pulse of damage appears in the combat tab by default. I tend to play Masterminds a lot, so my default chat setup includes a tab with all the Pet channels. It's because of that Pet tab that I saw Burn's full reporting. In that reporting, I noticed that the DoT portion was making (and frequently missing) toHit checks for every tick of damage. I didn't think anything about it making frequent toHit checks--that's expected behavior. But I noticed that the hit chance was significantly lower than I would have otherwise expected. That's what initially led me to test the power's accuracy and discover that the DoT portion was not using the Accuracy enhancements slotted in the power. I agree that its endurance cost should be higher. It is not "ridiculously low," but it is below the adjusted cost of similar powers. Its small radius, low target cap, long recharge, and drawn-out, partially-unreliable effect cumulatively warrant a fairly low cost. I don't know how much weight each of those things has when balancing a power's cost, but I think around 8-13 endurance is appropriate. Keep in mind that I'm not asking for a buff. Burn is a strong enough power already. I'm just asking for what is clearly a bug to be fixed. That fix would affect several powers, not just Burn. Burn just happens to be the power I initially noticed it on. And again, if someone on the current team (or one of the original developers) were to go on record saying that this is working as intended, then I'd leave this alone. But I don't believe this is intended behavior.

Burn's area is so small that adding a slow effect would probably not make any difference. Plus, it doesn't make a lot of sense, thematically. The slow effect in Rain of Fire also doesn't make a lot of sense, but I think it may be necessary for the power to function well.