Nyghtmaire

Of course it’s a bogus argument, and one that didn’t appear in-thread until you raised it. Lot of knee-jerkin’ in this thread. If the general consensus is that the influence “lost” from using double XP is fairly minimal if not de minimus when compared to drops, merits, crafting and all the other ways it’s simple to earn influence in-game, then the trade for an XP booster is seems pretty illusory to me. Merely gives the impression that there’s a meaningful choice (forgoing influence for faster leveling) where there’s no real loss at all. Why have a fake choice? Ideally, I agree. Reading the responses here, seems more like illusory than anything else (see above). I agree. Completely laughable. I should have been clearer above. I used “hypothetical” but should have said “fictitious”. A real trade would be a complete inability to earn *any* influence (or a percentage, based on choice - 25% / 50% / 100%) while using a booster. I can get behind that. But current system has an extremely low impact on influence gained. /signed /convinced

The player with no influence after leveling is purely hypothetical. But the AE-leveled-new-player is a ridiculous straw man (gender neutral). That said, if the influence gains to 50 are minimal, what’s the harm again?

There’s a kernel of a good idea here. Maybe an on-the-go slider in options to self-select XP gain?

Good morning/afternoon/evening! I love my dominators. They feel like the core of the A-B-C’s: Always Be Casting. Permadom, tons of recharge, sick damage, hell - even the word “domination” is badass in and of itself. It’s the only AT for which I can imagine Batman Bubbles (from the original TV show… right? Right?!?). But sometimes, it stresses me out. Feel jacked up after playing my dom for more than a few missions. Like I’ve been drinking too much coffee brewed from caffeinated water. With a base assumption of NOT chasing permadom (which is amazing yadda yadda - you know, I know, we all know), what is the most positive power set combination for a mellow, lackadaisical dominator? Kinder, gentler. The slow arrest. Dare I say “chill”? My first thought is either gravity or plant, but I’m really a dominator dilettante. Maybe symphonic and lean on the extra controls from the Reverberant? At the same time, I have a earth/dark that I could mock up a second build for this sort of playstyle (the triple fire would be too sad - can’t fathom dousing that flame). What are your thoughts?

Leadership (and Maneuvers, obvi), yes. Assault, no thanks. Tactics helps with perception debuffs (one less to worry about) and gives some slotting flexibility. Maneuvers for that sweet, LotG proc. With the various sustains, one power pick + 2 slots provides ~3% def across the board and 7.5 recharge. Not the worst ROTI. Lots of good knowledge here. And really, how many *extra* attacks do you need?

@Hedgefund is on to something. My Bots were soft capped by level 30 (level 37 now). With the new issue, healing has been the least of my worries. I respecced out of Heal Other with the recent changes and haven’t looked back. My biggest problem is figuring out what my character will do while the pets are doing their damage cycle. I solo exclusively with this character through missions fwiw. Excited to see how this further develops.

More of a Les Paul guy, but whatever floats the boat. Except a Jaguar. Those are sweet…

Excellent suggestion! I just tried this over the weekend and had a surprisingly marvelous time.

Fun idea! Agree with @bellona100 re FF. Alternative would be Rad for the 3 key debuffs so you’ll defeat faster with the trade off of 3 casts for setup each encounter, although Lingering Radiation is really only for hard targets for the -regen. Build defenses to 32.5 (one purple away from softcap), relying on Radiation Infection’s ToHit debuffs for the remainder in most circumstances. Accelerate Metabolism will boost your recovery, recharge, and damage. Then, focus on capping resistances to at least S/L, and energy as high as you can get it. In full bodyguard with capped resistances (75% for mastermind), you’ll have a functional resistance of 95% in bodyguard, higher than a tanker/brute. Radiant Aura will heal whatever splash damage makes it through. Stock breakfrees for when your toggles suppress from any mez that gets through. Rad has two team-only powers you can skip (Mutation and Fallout). And while Choking Cloud might help with your survivability, it’s not worth it if you can’t build for the accuracy and endurance costs. Edit - Proof of Concept build. First pass with S/L resists overcapped (hard to avoid set bonuses), E resists at 66.9. At least 32% def for M/R/A. Recovery rate doesn't reflect Numina in Accelerate Metabolism (or Panacea and Performance Shifter procs), but is sustainable with Accelerate Metabolism up. Recharge could be better and the pets ignore "standard" slotting to reach defense/resistance goals. Fighting attacks are all usable. This is without Incarnates. After tinkering, going Rad would have to be a level 50 build planned around Incarnate usage. A. Data chunk cuz Mids has been weird lately: B. Full Export (fingers crossed though I can already tell Lingering Radiation is missing a slot):

So young, so very young. I’m deeply sorry for you and her family’s loss. Thank you for sharing this here. Truly, words fail.

The Monks “Complication”

Thinking this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone excited about Black Hole. I’ll confess to not having tried it since Live. Eagerly awaiting your test with an open mind.

Oh man, this (and the rest of your post) really resonates. [*grumbles* wish I said something like this]

Sorry to hear this project is not meeting your needs. I respect the take but don’t really understand it. I’m continually impressed how many options are available to play on Homecoming. Many leveling options. Decent to excellent grouping options (sever dependent). And a player base that, by and large, is maintaining the spirit of the original game (helpful, patient, funny, etc.). Regarding power creep, the ceiling is high for an interested player. Not exactly seeing it when playing across the board. This is a game a player needs to search out. Not really advertised in any traditional sense. Predominantly, this remains a game in which current players were folks who missed, and previously played, the original game. Knowledge seems to be collectively higher. The mechanics are also fairly clear once tracked down. With that combination, a person who wants to min/max can really go to town. And there is a functioning market to accommodate that. All in all, the core cool thing about this game is a character that looks super (or whatever other adjective the imagination calls for) at level 1. Anything past that fills in the story of the character. There’s no zero sum awarded/rewards. Anything can be available to every interested player. There’s no competition for any IO, benefit, or other defined goodie between players. Rather, there is a massive amount of freedom to build characters the way you want, play the way you want, and develop meaningful goals to meet your playtime needs. Many players don’t participate in the rush to 50, building incarnates, or even set bonuses. So, sorry it doesn’t meet your needs.

Sadly, Black Hole doesn’t work like Dimension Shift. It goes for the entire duration of the power, can’t be ended earlier (lasting full 30 seconds), and there’s no way to affect whatever is in the Hole. Very, very, very limited use, especially with all the other tools in the Dark Miasma toolkit. That said, Dimension Shift is at least situationally useful, albeit limited circumstances.

Everything goes well with storm! Merely need to identify your preference. Okay, that’s not the most helpful pair of statements. What do you want to be doing? For me, my preference leans to Masterminds. For masterminds, the pets in the primary can be ignored while focusing on the /storm powers for damage. And it can pump out some wild damage. Check the Pylon thread for specifics. Additionally, the tornado can a lot recharge intensive pet sets, resulting in more build flexibility for squeezing in the pet uniques. The MM set Superior Mark of Supremacy grants 10% recharge as a mere 2-piece set bonus. Most slot efficient since storm gets better the more recharge you can squeeze out (for more Lightening Storms, Tornados, and Freezing Rains). MMs have the benefit of the highest functional resistances in the game through bodyguard. With so much chaos, KDs, and ToHit debuffs flying around (Hurricane), what little damage makes it through is a usually shrugged off through native regeneration. MMs also have access to immobilization through Patron powers, at least one of which has -KB (Mu if I recall). That way, there is a meaningful option as to whether you need or desire to pay the KB-to-KD slot tax. Mercs and Thugs are the usual suspects here. I’ve run a demon in this combo which was pretty sick. With the changes to some of the mastermind primaries last issue, I’m tempted most be Mercs (haven’t played since Live; all range; easier to slot pet uniques; new Serum likes recharge) and Necromancy (most familiar primary for me; Soul Extraction likes recharge). That said, if you want to be doing hardmodes or similar content, masterminds are not the ideal choice. Also, the pet controls are counterintuitive and take some initial set up to get everything clicking. If not a mastermind, I tend to lean towards controllers as a runner-up. Illusion is a classic pairing. Fire Control is hilarious though can be painful to level due to each power set’s endurance woes.

Photon Grenade can slot the Annihilation proc. The others no, sadly. Pulse Rifle Burst can slot KB sets though. Otherwise you’re right on the money.

ALL DARK ALL THE TIME! All the above is great advice. I have two controllers that were very pleasant surprises: * Dark/Nature/Leviathan: dropping Shadow Field targeted on myself with Entangling Aura running is bliss. Haunt, the puppy and Water Spout are all fire-and-forget for damage. And the team support is pretty great. (Theme song: “Religious as Hell” by the March Violets) * Gravity/Dark/Stone: ultimate map control. Tele-stun mobs into zone of madness. Taking Fold Space too, it’s like pulling every opponent into a wood chipper of nightmares. With Fade, the character is walking tank and everyone hits back like a declawed, out of phase kitten. (Theme song: “Black No. 1” Type O Negative) Addendum: If not mastermind phobic, it’s well worth revisiting Necro/Dark after the recent primary changes. Necro has balls to wall burst now and pets out the ass with a recharge focused build. It’s a seat of the pants crazy combination. (Theme Song: “Something Must Break” by Joy Division)

Classic pairing with a satisfying feel. @Sailboat said on the OG forums that, "Broadsword is a toolbox, and every tool is a can opener. And the can contains Whoopass." See 2d post. And it’s so right. Never forget.

Off the top of my head: * backup singers for a singer just going solo * bodyguards for a “famous” person * leftist agitators mobilized against fascists * paintball enthusiasts in over their heads (lts = goths in trench coats, tier 3 is the dude who takes it TOO FAR) * a family (who is too close) taking matters into their own hands but have a heart of gold, the law be damned (good for vigilante alignment)

Hi @Aeroprism and welcome back from your CoH vacation. I’m leveling two Bots as a side- side - side - project (TA and Cold). For your build, check the /time sticky up thread. Also, Redlynne posted a ninja/time build and guide which has a lot of information (“Wall of Text Crits you!). Most of the slotting advice is still relevant in those threads. I’m not near a computer with Mids, so I’m merely eyeballing your build. Major changes since those builds were posted: only the Tier 3 has KB and that’s only one power (a KB to KD converter may be worth a slot, allowing you to consider no going with Mu - see below). Everything else for all the pets is KD now. You have the personal attacks which is good since that is your new source of -regen (removed from the Tier 3). Your level 6 upgrade provides resistance to your bots; slot for resistance! Level 26 upgrade also improves tier 2 healing so throwing a heal IO can’t hurt (and the endurance costs are pretty low now anyhow). For slotting, /time generally wants more global recharge than you have slotted. Most builds aim for perma hasten and perma Chronal Shift (as close as possible); Caveat: the recharge bonus lasts 90 seconds - which doable, but the recovery boost is merely 30 second - beyond possible to make permanent. Quick way to increase recharge is with Superior Mark of Supremacy - 2 pieces provides a whopping 10%. Also, Mace tends to be the preferred patron power with time as Powerboost will boost Farsight’s defense and ToHit attributes (speaking of which, Membrane HOs are pretty great here - defense, ToHit and recharge - sweet!). This will give you more slotting flexibility elsewhere to improve your defense numbers. Also will allow dropping by Tactics. Between boosted Farsight, Supremacy, and decent slotting in the henchmen, they will be alright for leveled shifted +3 (or higher) in almost all environments. Fully slotted with Powerboost, you can get ~22% defense and ~17% ToHit. Add the two pet defense procs (10% total), and unenhanced Protector Bot shield (~13%), all your minions are soft capped to regular content. This also means your mastermind will be at ~41% defense with the protector bot shield, the two defense uniques, and PB Farsight. Add slotted (~4%) maneuvers and you’re soft capped, before considering any other slotting or powers (such as Scorpion Shield). I hope the above helps.

Siousxie and the Banshees “Love in a Void” (that’s where the love is @ThaOGDreamWeaver!)

Thanks - and I go the Avalanche slotting on my Brute. I wouldn’t slot the multiple OWF items, just the proc. I’ll okay with the build and see if I can find some extra slots.

Does anyone select Death Shroud for Dark Armor? If so, how do you slot it? I have one free power pick in a Dark/Dark/Soul prospective build with basically everything already covered. My recollection was that Death Shroud was routinely skipped, but my memory is hazy. If I took it, I would likely throw an OWF proc in there for some random soft control. As always, many thanks.

I like this direction. The approach may be in having Fury provide an additional effect at certain breakpoints, whether endurance reduction, regen increase, HP increase, debuff proc (maybe based on interaction with the secondary), -dam, etc. Basically something not directly tied to damage but emulates the essence of BRUTE GETTING ANGRY. A bit of a benefit to teaming but also useful when solo.