Force Redux

I'd recommend Heat Mastery for Bonfire. Lights up Oil Slick, and provides more needed mitigation, plus damage. RotP can get you back up again if things go south. You should be playing this build at range, well behind your pets, so aggro on rez should be minimal.

Not on my PC... Did we in fact get a patch for MMs this morning?

You are quite on point, Redlynne. Trick Arrow plays like half of a set - from the earliest days when devs seemed unsure of the role of debuffs. From the longish recharge times, to half hearted debuff numbers. Compare to Cold Domination or Time Manipulation. How TA came from the same original development pool as Dark Miasma, I'm not sure. It bears the same overcautious, punitive handiwork that originally designed the scrapper/tanker armor sets that had exclusive armor toggles (I.e Dark Armor, Invul, etc. All my grumbling aside, Beasts is a terrific set to run some of the less solo-friendly support secondaries. If you'd reconsider using Beasts over Demons or Necro, I'd enjoy hearing about your experiences with the combo. I just took a Beasts/Time to 50 last night and it's become my new favorite MM over my Thugs/Time (or even my old fave, Bots/FF). 🙂

IMO trick arrow only really shines with Illusion Control. It does nothing to protect the user or allies. It needs a complimentary set that is able to cover that glaring weakness. For MM I'd only ever consider it with Beasts because they can self cap Defense through Fortify Pack, and the pets have some minor healing and good resists. Even then I'd rather go Kinetics or Time. I mean thematically Beasts and TA go well together. Mechanically it leaves much to be desired. Back on track, of the two proposed I'd reluctantly go with Demons. Lich is not reliable enough control on his own, so I'd rely on Demon's superior damage, resists. Also the OF kd proc in T1 pets to help add more mitigation. Unfortunately it still sounds like a chore ☹️.

I just decided to finish up my Bots/FF (level 41) after leveling up and incarnating to 50+3 a Thugs/Time, Beasts/Time, Bots/Cold, Demons/Thermal and Necro/Dark. They were all great performers, each with their strengths, but I've missed my old main, and will be completing the build. Overall, I find my Robots/FF, Beasts/Time and Nero/Dark my most fun MMs based on a combination of mechanics, theme and play style. I'll post my build later. As Robots/FF is a popular level 50 combination according to the devs, perhaps some will find it of use.

Keep my existing characters Keep the i25 mods. No loot boxes.

I"m going to go against the grain and spout my love of Force Field. Its a great set that does two things very well: provide DEFENSE and (and this one all the nay-sayers seem to forget) also provides STATUS PROTECTION. That's right, status protection. Hate being held, stunned or immobilized? I know I do. Hate having to wait until Clarion? Hate not having Clarion when you are exemped? Well, Force Field has your back. And that of your pets, too. Now, you may not like Force Field, but you've really hardly been able to say you've tried it out if you are missing two of its three key powers: You are missing Insulation Shield. This is important. It protects against RANGED, ENERGY, NEG. ENERGY, FIRE and COLD damage. It also protects against END DRAIN, so your pets and friends can laugh at Malta, Freaks and Carnies who try to drain them dry. Many people do not realize FF does that. But it does, and its useful. How many other sets can protect against END drain? You are also missing Dispersion Bubble. This adds Defense again to EVERYTHING (and also protects YOU, the MM). It provides the status protection as well, in a huge area. I'm not sure how you can judge FF without having taken either of those powers. They are part of the Big Three (the third being Deflection Bubble, which protects vs. MELEE, SMASH, LETHAL, and provides resistance to TOXIC). Respec into them and see how you feel about it. Can't hurt. I'd also reccommend reading the Force Fielder's Bible, by Philotic Knight, linked in my signature below. It may help you consider how FF works and how it may apply to what you want to do with it. I'd also recommend Personal Force Field. Its a great buff that can help prevent wipes, allow you to run through maps, explore dangerous areas, and do stupid MM tank tricks (my favorite being bubble up the pets, then run in with PFF, take the alpha, and then drop it and let pets do the work). I hope you reconsider FF entirely before dropping it. And for those who dont' like it, that's fair, but at least recognize it does a bit more useful stuff than merely Defense. (Besides, your iCapped TW/Bio Brute who gets defense debuffed in the ITF is gonna wish he had you there to add extra defense to his own, because he has little or no Defense Debuff Resistance, and you'll help prevent those cascading failures, so MOAR defense is still a good thing - only Shield Defense or Super Reflexes can really afford to not worry much about defense debuffs)

Finished up and fully incarnated my Time/Thugs last month. They did not disappoint. Time is really an awesome all around set that offers masterminds everything they need: heals, defense, buffs, be debuffs, controls... I'm now working on a Beasts/Time. Currently at level 39 and performing very well. Good single target damage, surprisingly tough with pet IOs, thankfully. The pets have solid native defense to stack onto everything. I don't use fortify for defense, I leave it running for the crits.

For the OT, my Thugs/Time mastermind's guys are elite scum along the lines of Pitch Black's Riddick enhanced with Matrix-style time-fu powers bequeathed to them via my mastermind. So imagine Riddick with Neo's bullet time tomfoolery. There you go. Super-enhanced baddasses. Six of them. Plus my mastermind. Works for me. If the MM pet AI changes go through I might work up a Mercs/FF mastermind, and call them all super serum-enhanced troopers with reverse engineered Rikti force technology. Oh yeah.

I just went in and checked my numbers for Omega Warrior: 50% Melee Defense (60% with Storm Kick) 49% Ranged Defense (59% with Storm Kick) 47% AoE Defense (57% with Storm Kick) 66% Defense Debuff Resistance 48% Smash/lethal Resistance ~ 34% Resistance for E/N/F/C (11% for Psi, its my hole) These resistance numbers increase up to about 16% extra when my ATO Proc goes off in Storm Kick, which is my defensive spam ability) Likewise, Storm Kick also has the ATO Absorb Proc in it 3,016 hit points Regeneration is about 33 hp per second Recovery is about 3.95 End per second. I have conserve power for when its needed, but its generally not except for rare occasions - END use is well under control. This is without any expensive Purple Sets, though I do have a few a couple of ATOs, and some of the pricier PvP procs, such as Gladiator's and so forth. The build probably cost~ 150 to 200 million, and while I could probably squeeze out a bit more performance, its not necessary to go that route. Alpha: Vigor Partial Core Interface: Paralytic Total Radial (helps keep damage debuffed)

I am pretty anti-melee these days. Back on Live I ran scrappers, tankers as well as ranged toons, but since I got back, I hate 1) not having anything to really offer a team other than damage (ie, blasters, scrappers, stalkers) and 2) I hate being jostled in melee, fighting to get to a target only to have it dead due to ranged attacks, etc. My reflexes ain't what they used to be thirty years ago. Once I examined SR through your post and got my interest renewed (as Tankers are essentially melee controllers), and got to wondering how its cousin Shield might fare, and low-and-behold, Shield was just as competitive but also offered some hp increases and resists, plus a damage boost and an AOE attack to help round out damage. It lacks vs SR in the DDR, but such is life. But it did get me out of the box I put Tankers in (I haven't had a tanker for years, since Live and 2) it made me consider the benefits of NOGETHITSU! I also had not examined Martial Arts since my old, old, old Issue 2 scrapper (MA/SR). I had no idea that Storm Kick had been buffed for Tankers with +DEF, and that really made all the difference in the world to filling the last bits to iCap. Super easy, actually. The pair work very well together for me. I get some boosts to AoE, solid defenses, decent resists, -Foe Damage debuff, hit point increases (IIRC i'm sitting at over 3,000 hp with my accolades), boosts to team Defense, solid aggro control / taunting, and a damage boost. I was initially leery of any set that did not include a heal, but while I added Aid Self, I find I rarely need it. I've tanked almost everything except for Lord Recluse, and normally difficult mobs (ie, Crimson Prototype) were not very worrisome at all. And with any mob that does not bypass Defense armors, the character is virtually immortal. What little damage gets through is usually patched up via regen and occasional spot heal. That was my 2 Inf. But I do owe even the desire to create and level the character up to your initial thread 🙂

True. It becomes more tolerable with the newer and improved Stony(tm), and Arcane Blast. Plus an Epic Pool such as Stone Mastery. It won't be a Fire/Kin by any stretch, but at least it can be do-able. Add in procs and it might close up to the middle of the pack (see that proc thread for what might work there).

Thanks for this Redlynne, this build helped me greatly with my Shield/MA tanker. She's an immortal beast.

I was looking for some Earth/Kin build ideas. I know this is old, but thanks. I've got a fun concept in mind, just need to plan it out.

I'll toss in a vote for Earth Dark. You get personal Defense buff, extra damage in Tar Patch, a mini-controller pet, regen recovery, stealth, resists, and much more. It also plays well with targeted control zones, such as Quick Sand and Earthquake (Stack with Tar Patch).

Thanks for the continued elaboration on RoP vs IW. I'm sure I wasn't the only person wondering 🙂

Thank you. Appreciate the info.

As an aside, does Rune of Protection from sorcery break Mez?

Thanks O_Tex! I've currently got a 30 second gap, it's something I can adjust to and work on over time I guess 😛

So I picked up the Psi Power Pool for my Dark/Grav, and I'm happy with the armor, and very happy with Psi Tornado for a fast-recharging AOE. However, I was excited to get Indomitable Will to help break mezz, but it seems that it does NOT break mezz, it only use of use when used proactively. Which is disappointing. If I'm HELD, STUNNED or SLEPT, it won't work. Is there something I'm missing here? I thought in the past during Live it broke mez. Thanks for any input.

I too had an Illusion/TA/Fire on Live and it's awesome in teams or solo. And very safe. Plenty of debuffs and control. Surprisingly decent damage, too. I imagine with procs it could be even better.

Looks like I can't get on Test to try this out. My own Demon/Dark is only level 20 on Everlasting, so not up to Fluffy yet there. Sorry Plainguy.

Knights are best anyway with Touch of Lady Grey proc, and a -Res proc, IMO

I can try this tomorrow and let you know.

Its rated # 136 on the power set combos in the Flavor of the Month report, but I really like my Shield Defense/Martial Arts tanker. Tough, decent AOE, looks great comboing MA attacks, and holds aggro like a champ. I never thought I'd like Shield, but I'm a convert. And Tanker MA just goes so well with it to boost Defenses/Damage.