Psylenz0511

QFT, It gets massively better at level 22 (SOs/IOs) and as stated gets better each even level to level 32. I am also a proud proponent of using Howling Twilight as an opening salvo on tough groups - auto-hit stun, slow and -regen - even with nobody to rez

You can definitely slot for sets in your dual pistols blasts, ranged damage sets, targetted AoE, PBAoE, kb sets, but you should keep in mind what a lot of other heroes slot for +recovery, +regen, +recharge are basic benefits provided by your primary kinetic powers. IO slotting for a kinetic would probably want to provide +def +resistance +mezz resistance or protection, kb protection. Kinetic powers like siphon power and fulcrum shift don't take sets IIRC. Siphon Speed takes slows, but I usually just slot generic accuracy and recharge. Transfusion takes healing or accurate healing -- you definitely need acc in transfusion. Transference takes end mod sets. It should be pretty straight forward. Most of the time while leveling to 50 I use generic IOs and put in slots as needed to make the hero effective and do a big respec at level 50 to maximize IO sets. By then you should have a feel for the synergy of your sets and have a feel for what 'holes' you need to fill.

I had a Kin/DP on Live. It was very fun. It had amazing synergy. To your point about surviving fulcrum shifting +4/x8, you as a team would expect the tank/brute/controller/dominator to dull the alpha strike, for just a tick or two before you jump in and fulcrum shift the spawn. Remember, Fulcrum shift in itself is -damage to your targets, too. Another tool you can get with the epic pools is mass hypnosis. Meat stick aggroes, you hit what punchvoke/taunt misses with the aoe eleep, then FS in more safety within less than a couple seconds. You can put sleep sets in mass hypnosis, but it really bare bones just needs some accuracy. They don't need to sleep long, just long enough to defeat them. Good luck with your defender.

I had a demons/thermal and a demons/sonic on Live. Thermal gives you heals for you and your pets the other sets don't have. The thermal shields stack with your pets +resistance abilities. The debuffs in heat loss and melt armor are both very good. Thermal does have a mezz 'hole'. Sonic performed better than I had hoped for. I made it mostly for theme (dead rockstars). The set has no heals; however, sonic disruption is a top tier debuff that synergizes very well with the melee minded hellfire demon and demon prince. The shields do make your pets tougher. Sonic dispersion covers most of the mezz protection except for sleep. Cold I paired with a necro MM on Homecoming. Cold has no heals, but does have a 'dull pain' type of buff that you can cast on a single ally. The defensive ice shields are very good. There is no compromise in Cold's debuffs; infrigidate, benumb, sleet, and heat loss are a powerhouse of debuffing. Cold offers no mezz protection. Forcefields I have not paired with anything besides Robots (although I am certain it would work well with necro and ninjas). Forcefields has no heals. The forcefield bubbles allow you to plan for soft cap defense. Forcefields has no debuffs. Dispersion bubble does provide PbAoE defense and mezz protection excluding sleep. Personally I would go with thermal for the heals, stacking shields, and very good debuffs, but a good case can be made for sonic and cold, too.

Did you unlock your patron epic power pools by doing the red-side patron story arcs that start in Grandville?

I cut my mastermind teeth on a Robots/poison, my first villain, my first mastermind on Live. i knew how to work the kb, the focused fire and stacking foes in the burn patches of the Assault Bot. Robots are fairly sturdy and definitely deadly. I do however, believe that demons are stronger. I could go on about demons healing other demons and allies ( unlike protector bots), the varied attacks, cones, AoEs, but to me when the Demon Prince wades into a group with his chill aura debuff slow, wielding the Greater Ice Sword circle attack along with the living hellfire running rampant is when the demons are the deadliest.

Don't forget your vault storage available as base improvements and also vault reserve in places like Steel and Talos. Plus, you can store things on the Auction House too.

All of the dark servant's attacks and heals debuff to-hit. Also remember the Chill of the Night PBAoE aura around the Dark Servant that has an unslotted -tohit of.... I can't locate the Red Tomax stat, but I vaguely remember it is ridonculous like 30% So when you can't shake that melee guy dogging you, hug the fluffy.

Yes, I lost connection just a couple minutes ago myself. I hope they have a weekend crew able to handle this situation

I have found this is not how pre-50 teams work efficiently. The team has to clear spawns in certain locations like the Yin TF mision 1 or the plot will not advance. I am not saying this to be mean but I think you figured out how 8 man teams kill stuff faster than a lone controller, blaster, defender. This goes for the kill all missions in Citadel TFs (yet another non incarnate setting). I certainly know teams run differently post-50 compared to pre-50. I was referring to content such as TV trials, Yin TF, Citadel. Post level 50 is an entirely different game. The collision between pre-50 styles and post 50 methods is usually readily observable in ITFs. God help the poor level 35-49 fighting +5s and all that defense debuff

When I say leave foes in their wake I don't mean minions and lieutenant s, I mean superstunners paragon protector boss werewolves jump bots that don't die in the first salvo

I know Positron hated the idea, but I have always dreams of a clown set.

In my estimation, the team skills of players who tank have really fallen off. Too many tanks fall into a category which used to be called scrankers, tanks who want to be scrappers. There used to be topics of convesation whether you had to take taunt on a tank with other means of drawing aggro. Not anymore. I play a lot of characters and do a lot of pug groups and task forces. The tanks break off from the first couple groups and let the rest of the team clean up after them, pushing further and further into the mission regardless of what they leave behind and regardless if the mission is a kill all or not. The tanks are playing regular content like an AE mission and their teammates are the door sitters. I don't think 3/4 of the tanks in game know how to keep their team moving efficiently, taunting hard targets off teammates, managing aggro, balancing the team against support, dps, and those that heal them. Teams split all too frequently, but I am talking about when a tank just goes berzerk and abandons the rest of the team. It amazes me still when a tank gets to the final boss, EB, AV and says, 'I found him' but no teleports follow up. These tanks are selfish, rude, and parasitic. If they want to solo content, then do it. Don't drag a team behind you through the gauntlet of foes that are peeling off in your wake. I think the game needs to become harder, much harder, so that team play improves instead of having the berzerker and his cheerleaders fawning over how tough the tank is to fight so much solo.

The only thing I would add is what abilities can now be proc'd out on regular Force field abilities such as Force Bolt and Repulsion bomb. I am pondering what is available to proc on repulsion field if it were 'tamed' with a KB > KD enhancement. For what it's worth, on the Statesman Task Force, back on live, I would clearly indicate which of the towers buffing Lord Recluse would be Detained. Most of the time folks didn't complain. It mostly made it easier for whoever was tanking Lord Recluse. Also kudos to the suggestion for a beam rifle secondary. Most of Force fields isn't busy as say electrical affinity so you have the activation time available associated with some beam rifle abilities.

Does anyone else put the achilles heal proc in whirlpool. How many times can it proc during the duration of the activation?

I am not one to usually correct posters, but it should be noted that Darkest Night does NOT do -RES it is -DMG, reduces damage potential of foes within its affect. This offers more protection from big damage numbers from hard targets - bosses, elites, archvillains/heroes or Giant Monsters. Darkest Night does have the -tohit benefit.

When you are thinking ancillary power pools, fire with bonfire as a choice is a leading contender for outstanding mob control. You would just need to slot a knockback to KnockDOWN Invention Origin enhancement in the power for superior effect.

I had a Fire/Dark Corruptor on Live. It starts out very strong with Twilight grasp, Fireball, Tar patch, and Rain of fire coming very early. Any fire on a tar patch is just beast and you build on that on up.

When incarnate raids started, the devs realized that certain buff sets would need to buff continuously to protect a raid. That and the buff sets for masterminds needed some love. So now when you cast sonic shields abilities, forcefield shields, cold domination shields, thermal shields, the shields are applied to the allies within a radius of the targeted ally. In the bad old days, masterminds would summon pets, equip each pet (up to six times), upgrade each pet (up to six times), and apply individual shields like forcefields to each pet, just to fight the spawn camping the door to your mission. Next, after clearing the area near the door, you would zone into the mission, and your pets despawned. So there you were, alone facing an ambush at the door (frequently on red side) trying to summon, equip, upgrade, and buff your pets just to survive entering the mission. Now the pets will follow you into an instance (unless there is a level check for exemping) and keep their equips and upgrades. Times are much better for masterminds.

I am a big fan of defenders, but I think Ice/Cold corruptor is the way to go for the presented two sets. The biggest factor for me is scourge in ice storm, sleet, and blizzard

now wait a minute, gleek is a slang word and like any word you cannot license words like phantom, ghost, or captain

I couldn't believe I got Gleek

Nobody mentioned this, but back on live my cousin played a Necro/storm to very good success. It's hard to quantify in numbers the syngery between the hurricane repelling foes while the zombies melee them. Steamy mist does a good job of protecting zombies to fire, one of the damage types that zombies are susceptible to. If the foes can't stand up they can't attack

I haven't had Demons/Poison directly, but I have had Demons/Sonic, and my first MM was Bots/Poison - back the in the dark days when equip and upgrade were single target on long cooldowns. Oh and of course your pets wouldn't zone into instances or different zones with you. All this to say, I am not sure I would put my tier 9 poison debuff aura on the Cold Demon Prince. I would leant to putting it on the Hellfire Demon. He is more aggressive and moves from spawn to spawn quicker it seems to me. I got to where I put the demon pets in split stances with the boss demon and the 3rd tier on defensive follow and i would follow the 2nd tier demons on attack my target as they mowed down the foes. I am also aware the sonic debuff toggle works differently than the poison debuff aura but its something to consider.

I just got my Illusion/Electrical Affinity controller to level 50 this week. He has every primary and secondary powers. Group invisibility is kind of a dud. Superior Invisibility is an essential part of my build.