Snarky

I have only seriously built Invulnerability, Willpower and Dark Armor Brutes. Invulnerability is done using Hyperstrikes patented template (posted below). Willpower I try to cram on Resistance and added Hit Points, while hitting softcap on at least S/L Defense. (This while buffing attacks so as not to gimp build to achieve goals....always build with more than one target in mind) Dark....Dark is special. I would not run Dark Armor without Dark Melee. Not just for theme, but because the insanely good synergy. Lock and Key perfect fit. Dark melee feeds off Recharge. Dark Armor is Resistance based. So.... Increase resistance some. Global Recharge. My main Dark/Darks best Def is mid 30s. Because against most stuff that layer of protection is okay. against really hard stuff 40s aint enough. and against debuffers Def goes away. (no Debuff Res for Def on Dark) Dark depends on semi stealth, and two Mez auras to do some of the lifting for protection. Odd set. Dark/Dark uses the rule Stealth>Mez>Def>Res>Heal. Dont get seen, stun the garbage, Defense is prob going to be meh - (EXCEPT that all Dark attacks add a tohitdebuff, pumping my Def by debuffing my opponents!), Resists what you can, best heal in the game. One of the mez auras has crap base accuracy. Global Accuracy needs to be pumped. Need Recharge and Global Accuracy? Purple Sets! Which pump some odd resists! My Psi Res is over 89% stone cold. Running a Dark/Dark is like running a Nerva Spectral Demon. You want high accuracy and you debuff your opponents accuracy. It is a complex juggernaut doing a damage aura, 2 mez auras, a lot of Damage over Time. It is just a painful blob you dump where the enemy does not want you and survive whatever they do to get you to go away. oh, if you die (rare) you rez with a huge stun (which is great, but you spent a LOT of time throwing all the toggles back on lol) This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Invuln Baseline (Brute): Level 50 Magic Brute Primary Power Set: Battle Axe Secondary Power Set: Invulnerability Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Villain Profile: Level 1: [Empty] Level 1: Resist Physical Damage -- RctArm-ResDam(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(3), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(3), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(5), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(5), GldArm-3defTpProc(7) Level 2: [Empty] Level 4: Temp Invulnerability -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(11), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(13), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13) Level 6: [Empty] Level 8: Dull Pain -- Empty(A) Level 10: [Empty] Level 12: Resist Elements -- RctArm-ResDam(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(15), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(15), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17) Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A) Level 16: Unyielding -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(19), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19) Level 18: [Empty] Level 20: Resist Energies -- RctArm-ResDam(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(21), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(21), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23) Level 22: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(23), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(27), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(27), Rct-ResDam%(29) Level 26: [Empty] Level 28: Invincibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(29) Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(31) Level 32: [Empty] Level 35: Tough Hide -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(36) Level 38: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(39) Level 41: [Empty] Level 44: [Empty] Level 47: [Empty] Level 49: [Empty] Level 1: Fury Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(7), Mrc-Rcvry+(9) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(9), EndMod-I(11) 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 4: Ninja Run Level 50: Agility Core Paragon ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1013;492;984;HEX;| |78DA6552DB4E1351143DD3196EBDD042CBB491164B0DA03E34A2BC1B2A62549A909| |8F8DA0C655B4E32199A99C1C0A30FFE802FFC059F8017E073BC246A34BE8C7B662F| |75E29CA4DDE7ACBDD6DAABA7A77FBC553C7BF4EABE320A0F5C2708063DFF28A489B| |E33D2435329557FECBD3C72BD76CF09C8D51EB56F26845B53DCB393EDA04F2E51B7| |E784A14B83CD636A09BC452FC80BA82B06E43B7BDAD5E1892AED1E1EBADD6D3D3A0| |8B5372A26A71D72C67C28FF39EC931F1CE8713E393F1B13ED571F8EF5B0BBE90F43| |3D1CF49D2024FFA4C11956F913C5EB9C37CA88BFA209D5E1CD9AA5724BA8D7A55AC| |BA875AE2D4B4DDEE59FB86E89C15B969A62609ADFA491FF2EB5F803F5674AF08EA9| |F135B0404DC580C0EF1928C0A78020B308328B201504C9B1BE245C557A9D4BBC3FF| |0A90C7D19392AC8318F1CF3E91C174CAD4250C5C01A06D630D0C64093072E80BB00| |731BE60D9837606E31B70E6E3D163176AD86FA5438CDAFA920974C5D346245642C4| |2D084C066B39698192DF496D04BC457DCEA80D001E10608732C5E416F05BDD5B4F8| |BFB56DFD7D0B51D3525891BC14B59341762DD0193112E4639E11238D7CCA209FFF2| |1396359EE61F2B9A49A7E22F7FD25CD39953F78FA8DD47C5B25F57626CF9D0CB29E| |41EE65908D0C3253E1272D48F4CBE661B893DFB9AFEE8C| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Enhancement Diversification is specifically focused on the buffing of that power by enhancements. That part is not affected by anything besides the enhancers. Except....Incarnate powers. Those beautiful words " these bonuses ignore the effects of enhancement diminishing returns" Everything else that buffs a power (or the toon in general) have nothing to do with ED. Although, as mentioned above, each Archetype has hard parameters for nearly everything on the character. Health, total damage bonus, flight speed, you name it. Brute max for ability to add damage bonuses is HUGE. For the life of me I cannot remember the percentage. Its somewhere in the 500-700% range lol. It is very large compared to everyone (again guessing) except Blasters maybe From Uun in January (thanks) At full fury, brutes will outdamage scrappers. Scrapper base damage scale is 1.125. Assuming 95% +dmg from enhancements, scrappers will be at 2.19 before criticals. Criticals have a 5% to 15% chance to occur depending on the rank of the foe and the power being used. Assuming an average chance of 7.5%, scrappers should average 2.36. Brute base damage scale is 0.75. Full fury provides about 175-200% +dmg, which is added to the 95% from enhancements, bringing brutes to 2.78-2.96.

Every time an Angel gets its wings a Respec fails.

Sorry you had a rough one. Yesterday was actually one of my best CoH days, probably the best. And CoH is my favorite game...sooo. Yep, best day. Hands down. Why? Team. Or should I say SG. You see I usually just solo and PUG. I run solo SGs. I played WoW for 6 months last year, joined an SG. Could never get Discord to work. It was like being in a chat channel. I wasnt a good player, and they were friendly. Good place for help/advice when things went way south basically. Back to CoH in Oct. Solo SG. 90% my game since Oct has been on my main Dark/Dark Brute. Solo SG. PUG. Someone asked me to join their SG a couple weeks ago. I thought...sure, wtf. I was in in for about 10 days. 3-4 peeps on at a time. One night no one was on. Nope. Not for me, not why I quit solo SG. I looked at Excelsior message board and found a likely group. Did a shout in General "Is anyone on from...." Immediate response "what ya need?" "SG invite..." "We got a process" Sigh, I effing hate processes. But I booted up Discord enough to find their group and agree to their rules. SG invite. Okay, that wasnt too painless. And I ran with them for a week, semi PUG stuff, whatever they were doing. Got a few badges. very active. This was why I gave up my storage base! Saturday. Magi Master run. Need...list of expensive inspirations. (easy peasy) Rocking 50 (done) Discord. "F me" Okay. I needed those basges. I am approaching 1100 and while 200+ are just work the last 100-200 are not going to happen by luck. I plug in the $150 headset I never got to work (literally scrapping dust off it) and I could hear!. (this is a second comp, older than the main box I tried to Discord wow on...) Okay. win. As we get ready I play with the simple setting in Discord. They can hear me!?!. Holy crap. We load in. These folks do the Magi run weekly. The really hard way badg!, 1 death for me. gangbusters! We do Magi trial again for a different badge. Then two other incarnate trials. Smooth, fun, and I felt like I mostly brought something to the League. Even though I was the least experienced at the difficult Trials. (I pug, soooo lot of BAF and random 50 TFs) More importantly I had fun. I got to laugh with the SG. We had a very experienced and calm leader who kept folks updated on what was happening (props, lot of focus through 4 trials) and there was no drama. Just a few memes and laughter at various game oddities. Pretty much league text chat except by voice. And very excellent real time instruction. But being with the SG, and running in that League while just relaxing, chatting, laughing and getting badges? Yeah, definitely one of my best gaming days in years. again, really sorry you had a rough one. (and it sounds excruciatingly annoying) There will be good days though. And one of those days will end up being the best! Well, unless the best has already happened. And, um, by random luck all the future days are miserable and bleak. Yeah, then that probably will not be as uplifting. Could go either way. Cheers!

Nah, the group I got in with does a few Master runs every weekend, starting with Magi, then random ones. I only died three times in the two runs. (and I already see how to mostly avoid that in the future) They have a good simple system. the real time leadership in discord is truly great (and I have always avoided discord lol) and makes the difference between guessing what is happening and what is happening. The league moves as a tight unit and therefore buffs/attacks etc are all more effective.

Double F-ing clicking on Hybrid.... Who programmed this? If you turn it on WHY WOULD YOU SWITCH IT OFF. It needs to be a click not a toggle *facepalm. Slams head into wall.

we did it twice, once for the really hard way (succeeded!) and once for Triple Threat (got that, league couldnt pull off a 2nd really hard way though and used quills) thank you for the tips. really great league leader and teammates using discord did the trick

Level gates and such are true. Not sure how (any game) can get around the issue of truly less powerful characters teaming for late game content. Also, side note, every time I see your name I think of "The Terror" from The Tick.

nice to know for the future, i bought 20 off the AH lol. (in todays economy it wasnt much truly) In the future it will be a good use for the ...considerable....number of threads on my 105th level main lol

Looking for facts and suggestions on how to do this and be useful on my Dark/Dark Brute. The Magisterium Trial is never exactly easy. But on a normal run my Brute does okay. Now, once you start talking about the end battle and not destroying the Lights..... Things go south for my little melee toon lol. 1st) I know a very little about Ultimate Inspirations. a) yoiu can buy them off the AH b) they bump you one level. Questions, how long do they last? How many can you use at once? How many do I need to use at once for this fight? 2nd) What are my best tactics to avoid endless faceplants? Should i just give up on melee and use my limited range powers to plink? WTF are my tactics in this "cut down a tree with this herring while you are shot with Abombs....????" Lastly, i also bought 6 Immortal recovery to dunp into my mail for the inevitable... Is that enough lol? My dark self rez doesnt work if not near enough to Tyrant. Any other tips are appreciated. Thanks.

probably not. I agree your characters effectiveness is dependent on slotting. If you slot nothing, or heaven forbid whatever randomly dops without seeking out any other source of enhancers. Not good. I am saying if you ask a couple questions and spend a minimal amount of time on the character it will perform okay. I ran Brutes on Live for almost aa year using just SOs. If you ask for any assistance with getting funds because you do not understand how to do that I have seen lots of people take time to help you learn marketing and or give you cash. So yes, it is dependent on slotting. I am saying it can get to effective slotting with the tiniest amount of understanding and asking a couple questions. Hour, tops, and the character will play fine for its AT powersets. Will not be soloing ITF, but it will be okay.

If you need help understanding slotting there is PLENTy of help available in game and on the boards. If you need help buying stuff for slotting, and its for serious, just ask. I know LOTS of gamers who will just hand you Inf to get you kitted out.

I was stating I do not like to increase the difficulty of a TF because I am learning the build, I want merits, badges, and lastly experience. That to me the build is not complete. Not increased difficulty, Are you saying that the build is fine as is then, and therefor I should accept any difficulty even though that was not advertised nor is it what I want to do?

uh, if you think a level 25 levelling build looks anything like a level 50 build, that it is 'complete', or even comparable, I do not know what o say. Except, mine sure arent

I was talked out of the idea by the thread (and I have been a LOT of badging on my main lol) but you have me wanting to take another look at this. So....off the top of my head (and this is just mental spitballing here) I/O the build with a focus on global recharge, then take Unstoppable, Barrier, AND Rune of Protection. Rotating through these lovelies as the crap gets intense. Maybe maybe maybe even take Hybrid Assault instead of Hybrid Melee if the coverage is strong enough.....

I make the point it was not advertised as a plus. If the leader (and or team) says "well, it is a plus" Then consider me a minus. Bye! On the other hand, if I join an advertised +X I deal with it. Hopefully the team runs smooth, usually 90% chance. But since I joined a team running +X content that was what I got. I personally do not like running pre 50 TF/SF at + because I am generally learning the build and it is not complete. I am running the TF for experience (literally learning the build), merits, badges, and LASTLY experience to level. If you did not market it clearly that is not my fault. Or it is??? Either way I am out lolololol

This is my Dark/Invul Brute. Still have in the "alt garage" fully kitted out and ready to go. It is very very, did I say very? tough! High recharge provides an incredible synergy on Dark Invul, and the way the sets work together is magic to begin with. This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Brute Primary Power Set: Dark Melee Secondary Power Set: Invulnerability Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Smite -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury%(7) Level 1: Resist Physical Damage -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(7), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(9), UnbGrd-Max HP%(9), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(11), GldArm-3defTpProc(11) Level 2: Shadow Maul -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(13), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(17) Level 4: Temp Invulnerability -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(21), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(23), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23) Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25) Level 8: Dull Pain -- NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(A), Mrc-Heal/Rchg(25) Level 10: Siphon Life -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(27), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Hct-Acc/Rchg(29), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Hct-Dam%(31) Level 12: Resist Elements -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33) Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A) Level 16: Unyielding -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 18: Dark Consumption -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(34), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(36) Level 20: Resist Energies -- RctArm-ResDam(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(37), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(37), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 22: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(39), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(39), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(39) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(40), Rct-ResDam%(40) Level 26: Soul Drain -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(40), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Arm-Acc/Rchg(42), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Arm-Dam%(43) Level 28: Invincibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(43), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(45), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(45) Level 35: Tough Hide -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 38: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 41: Gloom -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(48), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Apc-Dam%(50) Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(46), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(50), Rgn-Knock%(50) Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 49: Tactics -- RctRtc-Pcptn(A) Level 1: Fury Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(17), Mrc-Rcvry+(19) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(19), EndMod-I(21) 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 4: Ninja Run Level 50: Agility Core Paragon ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1449;663;1326;HEX;| |78DA65945B4F1351148567DAA908B4B4A5D082D0ABD2420BB505BC6B4C14212A4D4| |8487C25154698D894A62D461E7DF05D51E38B287879F52778F7DF88A840405FC6DD| |594B249949A6DF9CB5F73E67ED73665AB83BE67E3B71EFA2A2B65E2E156BB5994BD| |5A5BAEE2A14E78D59A7225793DC414B9C29E8255DCF8E15ABB7F118863CA6DFD2CB| |353D7BB57C67A954D6ABC59B46C9A82F2B2D538B8BA5EC7445D7E73CD6E3B831BF5| |037CAF36E6B34A9172B32F0FE1BCCE9D5DA8251095DA918B359CC3CBDB8549A2914| |6B75BDBADC253E92727F6B98521B3FA64B59138B794D71AC932F41ED15F91A3CF40| |67C77B0765BB494C476C1C33BE46FB025248961E1306A371AA5AC55DD9AA5B93D64| |1BD8E6257DA0CF0FBE972A276A9DCE6DCCD7B1030677C93D30211BEE52AC5CD5955| |12CAD8BFCC0F368C49AA655C42654CBEFA6A8CD88B99A930E2B762445F683BD0364| |1A8C64C08F52D54A7FADDC9708F723C2FD89ED810E31E041AEE2B98FFA4F32F2B2D| |ECBFE62EC2FC6FEE2ECEFA764F9AD43305DFE67D89FF82AF91C3CFA825C23D7C1CF| |5215E03A8104FA3E1621A3641C748ACF4EE676D253929E92F494A4274D7243C8758| |43AB1AFA9EB88A5B6C05F12EDA6EFEED3E83B75061C384B9E23CF83E90BE017A9EA| |B15E1E53E9E1FC4159338CF352C2D4B66414E519461FA0E7F44372051C7C443E269| |F805FA52AC17349703EBFACD147AD8F5AE3ABEEC71A5AFF20FC1D1F22B3640ECCE7| |415D6A32F49519863634428E92275873923C05B68B872CFBCCC6F11E0744CBD1576| |E55F2029A32AEED7F9B66AFA6F0321B43D354266DCA94C67451544BD968D9FF42A9| |7CB7299BFF15871AC7C9FA6E6067DAAFE1CDF97130E729BB58013B62E8206DF393B| |329799B326253466D4AB34FFE2BA0987F82B2189FFF0263CBE8C7| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

i led for a good season or so on live. did not enjoy the experience. recruiting is unrewarding and i prefer to be part of the chorus of common sense voices in a team saying no to +4 posi than the team leader trying to maintain authority over peeps that join a team and start telling you what is needed for the new world order. plus, i'm a rogue. that crap doesnt pay any extra

i go through periods where i run a LOT of alts. my standard practice is 4 DFBs for buffs the posi1, posi2, synapse etc. pretty much all TF in order. (including reedside, I run a lot of rogues) I get so irritated when we get into a Task Force and the leader has it cranked up, never told anyone or mentioned it in advertising. Grrrrr Badges, merits, quick experience until you hit places like ITF and there are some 50s on the team. Common sense, it is not common.

Thats as much of a challenge as flying a level 10 villain into the Grandville Web and trying to kill anything...are you up to it? No! The Challenge Awaits!.... Seriously got better things to do with my time, like relax lol. Been talking to someone in game that wanted to see how my Dark/Dark handled combat. I said sure. They picked an AE arc. I dialed up +4/x8 no AV, bosses okay. Standard for me. Can do any group (some are tougher than others) A couple minutes in I was getting mezzed and had a Death! WTF? That NEVER happens. I used Darks insanely good rez and really started to pay attention. There was Ghost Widow! as EB...but still, her and her arachnos groupies were stacking stuns on me! I started using insp and Rune of Prot/Melee Hybrid with a lot more care and took them down. Then the other 3 EB versions of Recluses Posse in the next room. sigh. Then my friend grabbed their main scrapper and we duo'd the thing 4/8 with AVs. I dont remember dying in there. Maybe I did once. It was a long fight. The Scrapper hit the ground a couple times (mace/rad i think) But we did it, we killed them. I seriously hate challenges lol. that is why I run a Dark/Dark Brute. Vampires are SUPPOSED to kill everything.

Blueside in particular is a snarled mess of contacts, some of which cannot be done, some of which are duplicate contacts and exact same story arcs but with a new contact name on it. This is one of the reasons I have never completed a solo every contact Blueside toon but have done so on Redside quite a few times. Not only is there more volume Blueside (of ahem, a lesser quality) but it is a part time job just figuring out which contacts to do. At least if you are trying to hit them all. Its a sad mess.

That is not "toughest", meanest...maybe. To test for toughest there would need to be a large and varied amount of all the types of damage the game has. Preferable ramping up every few minutes as it cycles through. The longest to take the strain = toughest.

I agree that Cims Debuff Defense really fast on Dark. No Debuff Resistance. Heck, My dark isnt even softcapped to anything. He has great resistance though. And, if we are talking about +4/x8 Cim, which lets get real, we are. Then, they will chew the defense off Dark armor in the first few seconds. My Dark Regen is on a 9 sec pop. I do not carry green inspirations. I do not drop even against mountains of +4/x8, including the mountaintop fight with Cims and Warshades and turtles. Part of this is using Hybrid Melee and Rune of Protection smartlky. But they really just preserve inspirations. I think one of the real keys is running the fear and stun toggles off dark all the time. and GLOBAL accuracy. That stun toggle is crap until you enhance accuracy a lot. Then....it will make a +4 wander around like a drunk. Others will be cowering. The greatest danger for me in that fight are the squids that hang out of my PB range and take shots. If someone is not dealing with them I need to wander over and take the fight to them. As their attacks slow that 9 seconds becomes a short time, not an eternity. The greatest challenge in normal combat I faced recently was in a Q in caves. There were a LOT of Rularuu packed into some intersection and I was solo looking for a glowie. I decided to clear the intersection for those following. They ate my cookies. twice. It was disheartening lol.

I can guess at this a bit (and I have to as I am ignorant of all the tech 🙂 ) There are many things that are possible in the game, but everything takes time. I am currently (and have been since the live forums 🙂 ) tilting at the windmill of getting more ranged Blaster set ups. But i generally try to avoid suggesting things that would add more work on the current team of volunteer Devs. They do a great job. But they do it for the reward of being part of the community. and life is busy.

i have done that. played some seriously gimped Blasters in my day lol. "game balance" be damned