KaizenSoze

Two minutes using Ageless and Judgement to wipe out 4x8 CoT group with three bosses.

I figured a picture(s) is worth a thousand words. Here is my TA/DP defender wiping out a spawn of 4x8 council in around a min. Including one boss. You can tell from the timestamps in the chat widow. I didn't even use Destiny, Judgement, or Hybrid Assault. Obviously, there is variation, but I would say it took more than 90-120 second to swipe council group out. Depends a lot on runners.

I guess I am the only one that finds putting the full set into my Fortunata's Aura of Confusion useful. Stealth into a spawn, fire AOC, most of the time everything will be confused. Including the bosses. The high recharge on AOC gives a very good proc rate on the confusion proc. The best part is that AOC is non-notifying. I can stand there for a few seconds till they alpha each other then nuke.

I would temper my expectation about AA and end drain. Search the thread for "sapper". Short version, is that is does not seem to make that much of a difference on normal mobs and have no effect on end drain resistant mobs. That is for one AA at a time, stacking AAs from multiple players should have an effect. I have not been able to test it, but I trust Boppers math.

Hah. I have an AR/dev blaster, was my first love on Homecoming. I made a Ninja/TA and a Necro/TA on the beta server. I am not a MM expert, barely play them, but I was able to solo some 4x8 content.

I hate to say it, but I think you are going to be disappointed with the end drain. I thought exactly as you did. My first build to test TA was TA/Elec with heavy end drain slotting. I think I posted it earlier in this thread. I definitely posted our comments. In my experience, mobs you could drain in two shots, still take two shots with AA. Mobs that resistant to end drain, have more resistance than at least one AA can overcome.

I did a quick test to verify the -perception aka blinding is still working. Power analyze a mob in the PI parking lot Power analyze shows 45.0 perception Flash Arrow drops the perception to .05 Turn off all stealth Run tight circles around the mob No Aggro It appears to be working as before.

The -special scaling against purple has been lackluster. For instance, it had no practical effect on an even con sapper, which has good endurance drain resists. 2+ TA players could make -special useful. I can already see all TA teams, like there are all Fire/Rad corruptor teams. I just don't want the -def to go away. I think it will be useful in many contexts, solo, exp'ed down, or herding newbies at high levels. The -def will allow the lowbies to hit the +4 or +5 in DA radios I like to run. As for the cast time, it's not a big deal. I can stand in the middle of a group after FA. AA->GA->PSA->OSA->DA in under 7 seconds. Let's call it 10 second all said an done. Then it's Hail of Bullets flaming death time. I used bind powexec_location to get them out that fast. I don't know why AA has a 1.83 cast time. I wouldn't complain if was dropped to 1.16 like others. It's still very quick. You want a slow cast time, let's talk about Hail of Bullets 4.17 second cast time!

I made a silly badge suggestion. More funny or Easter egg badges would be great.

As it stands now. Badge hunters have to use some tedious tricks to get all of the healing, damage dealt, damage taken, and mezzed badges. Non-healing ATs have to take Rebirth Core Epiphany and stand in a certain crowd in Mercy Island spamming for hours. Farming Mender Ramiel's alpha slot mission for damage dealt. Resting in Lava or various other damage patches for damage taken. Turning off mez protection, which is not possible for some chars due to auto powers. Then letting a sapper stun you over and over for mez time. If these statistics were shared between teams like kill X badges, then that would encourage teaming. And reduce the tedium for badge hunters.

Depends on your build. I need the minus -def and I will take any extra -tohit, because I am soloing 4x8 on the beta server. If you have a primary or secondary with slows, then Glue Arrow seems like overkill. If you have an high accuracy build, then maybe Acid Arrow is overkill. Keep in mind that at lower levels the -def will be very helpful for poorly slotted teams. Think Sky Raider force field generators.

For proc heavy builds, the -def from AA is needed. I can tell once it wears off in 4x8 missions, because I start missing a lot, even with tactics. AA allows me to load up on procs like crazy. Since, AA has a long recharge the procs have a high trigger percentage. Please, don't change the -def. Example build I have been running on beta, TA/DP Defender:

No redraw is available for bow and gun. No swapping.

Flash Arrow and Poison Gas Arrow handle the mitigation very nicely. They recharge fast enough that you can reapply as needed. I can stand in the middle of a spawn and fire away at 4x8 council.

I think I have found the TA proc monster. Pair it with Dual Pistols and boom. The -def debuff plus tactics solve any accuracy issues. Then you can max slot any DP attack for procs. Can solo 4x6 Carnies and Arachnos, yes 6. 4x8 get you two bosses which can be brutal. Debuffs + Oil Slick Arrow + Fire ammo + Hail of Bullets = lots of dead mobs fast

This is a great build. Handles 4x8 Arachnos a lot easier than my Fortunata or Night Widow. Not easy, but easier. Carnies are a challenge, but Melee Core helps with both Arachnos and Carnies psi and toxic damage.

It's not just that Hydra do toxic damage. They are incredible accurate! Same problem with Arachnos Mu's. Only my Night Tank build could face tank the pylons in Apex.

How does this build do against Arachnos? The mistresses will debuff your defense to single digits in most categories at 4x8. Edit: I see you have 50% DDR. Edit 2: Definitely, worth testing on the beta server.

I have three level 50 stalkers IM/Ninja, Elec/SD, and BS/SD. They are much more fun than scappers, but nowhere near as durable as my VEATs. I find stalkers, like all pure melee, very repetitive. That's why I can't stick with them.

I changed the power order to be more newbie friendly. Yes, I hate "tank and spank", gets boring quickly. As for single target damage, this NW build scratches the stalker itch pretty well. Without the downsides of stalkers. Slash is such a monster. Nothing like two shotting 54 lts, Illusionists, or taking half health off a boss.

I admit power order is a bit odd. Comes from redoing the build many times and straight swapping powers instead of starting from scratch. I might move stuff and re-post the build. As for the lack of AOE it's fine. I did a level 40 red side SF with Mu available. I can stealth, EF, BL, then spin again. Now, there is a recharge gap before EF or BL are back, so it's claw, claw, then AOE. I have figured out that I am very sensitive to the attack rhythm. Even if another attack chain is "better", if the rhythm bothers me, then I won't stick with the build. That's what happened to the Widow build with proc'ed out dart burst and psychic scream. Lining up the cones with slightly different cast times and arcs was janky. Also, cones lose functionality once you're in melee. Hop and pop doesn't work for me. So, for the last three weeks I have played almost more on the beta server than live trying to find a build with good rhythm. After that SF, I did a Yin, so no Mu, only Spin. Did I miss Mu, yes, a little. The team had lots of control, so I didn't want to flip back to my Fort build. So, it's team friendly scrapper mode. The high run speed on this build is so much fun. Melee is easier than usual because things cannot get away. I can run down anything, Mu zappers, council wolves, etc... Or I can run the hell away very fast. The final battle in the Yin TF went sideways, so I spent several minutes kiting two groups with 3-4 super stunners in and out of the reactor to stay alive. I could run out pick off 1-2 mobs, run back into the reactor room much faster than any of the fliers could pursue. For a 20-30 second breather.

I know it's Carnies, but considering they have been around since issue 1. It's a shame they never got a TF, SF, or even an ITF. Carnival of Darkness are one of my favorite villain groups, but I wouldn't want a TF composed of just them. There are some many different types of carnies and lore now. I'm sure a couple of story arc like what's on the beta server could be created.

Finally, pulled the trigger and respec'ed my alternative build. Meet the Mu Widow. Pros: Extensive use of the Mu Mastery pool, hence the name. Took advantage of the easy to perma Mind Link to proc attacks. Swipe can hit close 400 without Follow up or Gaussian Build Up. Follow can hit close 300 without Follow up or Gaussian Build Up. Electrifying fences proc's well for 172, plus -12.5 resists. Ball Lightning proc's well for 190, plus -12.5 resists. I know the -resists don't stack, but I like to make sure each mob is debuffed. Almost soft capped to everything. One small purple or team buffs will cap you. Very high run speed with Mental Training and set bonuses. Really saves your bacon when things go sideways. Cons: Only spin for AOE below level 30 if exp'ed down Does chew through end when using single and AOE attacks continuous, but that's what Ageless is for. Or maybe Cardiac. Eviscerate just doesn't work for me. I just suck and melee cones. Note: Provoke is for when I run teams with lots a lowbies. I have done a 180 on TT:Offensive, the accuracy is great for proc builds. And the toHit resists allow me to hit much better against -tohit mobs like Carnies.

Yep, redraw is an issue for all VEATs. Talked about extensively in this thread.

A silly suggestion, you should add a badge called "You swiped left" for the AV Tinder in DFB. Let's say you have to defeat him in under a minute.