Onlyasandwich

This is typically how I go, unless I just don't care about ranged defense for whatever reason. If you are going ham on a well built blaster, you can still suck wind even with the sustain running! Doubling down here gives you a lot more freedom to run expensive toggles, open up slotting on attacks, and free up other end support slots. You can even pull a Nemu and run whirlwind all day - do what feels good. 😉

I'd be going Dark/Electric myself just for the goofiness of it all. Just so many fun little powers to play with. Electric Melee is definitely not a typical go-to for me on tankers, as it is frustratingly weak on ST damage. However, nothing gives quite such an oddball assortment of neat powers to play with! You have a funky chain knockdown, a porting nuke, and a KD/Stun that would make most controllers jealous. Dark of course gives you the stun stacking baseline in OG. As always, theme and fun win the day! Go with what tickles your fancy. Shield/DM would probably be the most meta/powerful if fully optimized for softcap with a careful balance of procs mixed in.

A fun challenge build, and a well put together backstory! Is there a specific reason you didn't roll this as a Defender? Is it purely a challenge run? A Defender with traps would have superior values and access to all the powers you are actually using.

That would be a completely different build, as you'd have to select fortunada instead of night widow. But yes, Forts are outstanding! Check out the veat forums and you'll find many scrappy forts. Fortunadas are not quite as tough, but defenses are still outstanding, you get a nuke, and of course some solid controls.

I would add a few more! If you can focus on procs without sacrificing other goals, why not? For example Time with power buildup can easily hit softcap, and also has some baseline tohit in their kit. This allows them to slot attacks such that they both maximize ED and proc potential with extremely minimal trade-off. If you are on a heavily team focused build and less concerned about personal defenses for soloing, you have more freedom to make room for procs in your attacks, as you are less reliant on offensive power IO sets for defenses. Similar to the above, if you have many lotg and FFback opportunities, this mitigates the need for global recharge from IO sets in attacks, allowing you more freedom for proc focus. All that being said, ED is important! When choosing your procs, check to be sure there isn't greater return on further ED, or something "close enough" that mixes Damage/Endredux.

Definitely a classic there! I have a fun theme going for ice/Emp, which is always a good starting point. I do love Arsenal Control! My absolute favorite is my Arse/TA controller - don't want to draw any comparisons with Emp. It would only come up short. 😄

I was digging on one of the perennial "empathy is not so great" threads over on the Defender forums and inspiration struck. I haven't made an emp since live days - let's get something going! Defender buff/heal values are of course superior, but it occurs to me that a certain type of controller would make for a more complete character, for a few reasons: If you're going to be doing the things that justify being an emp (Keeping Fort up, Clear Mind spam where appropriate, etc), a decent amount of your time is taken up by clicking your support powers. This is at odds with the Defender's entire blasty secondary! Sure Controllers can be plenty busy, but many primaries can set things in action and refocus on other powers during the engagement. Ice seems especially decent here, as a good portion of their power is invested in a completely passive effect - Arctic Air. You have a lil buddy on which to use those buffs when solo. Note that I'm not trying in any way to advocate for Ice/Emp as some amazing meta combo. I'm just thinking about the best ways to use Empathy in day to day gameplay without impinging on other priorities. I also don't intend to just spam Emp buffs all day and nothing else. The idea is to mitigate the impact of any Empy buff spam I do on other things I can bring to the team. Anyhow, here I am with an Icy guy! I'd love your review and perspective. Here are some goals: Recharge first and foremost. Get those controls rotating easily, keep Fort and AB up as much as possible. Proccy damage in a few key powers where they are worth leveraging. I'm not trying to be a damage monster here, but I want the time I spend clicking for damage to really count. Max hit chance against +3's. Outside of this, it's basically just "good stuff" ie all the big defense and resist bonuses of any kind I can get with minimal side-tracking from the above goals. I'm not going for softcap on myself. I anticipate this being a so-so soloer at best, though most controllers can solo decently at higher levels anyhow on the strength of their controls alone. A side mission of slow resist. I haven't hit the totals I prefer here, but don't want to go too far out of my way to bend the build for it. Little tricks I have in mind: Endurance looks really bad off the bat! With my current recharge, I can rotate RA and Conserve Power and always have one or the other up as long as I'm careful with my timings. I think this should work pretty well! Do you disagree? If so, why? Jack is softcapped. Not much to say there - it's just something he gets with a secondary that provides decent defense. Go go Jack, do stuff! The Overwhelming force I have in Ice slick is a placeholder for the new chance for confuse proc from the Spring Fling event. I'm not sure if this is worth it at all! I dunno - I just sort of want to play around with it, and the occasional confuse stacking opportunity to hit bosses might be nice. Do you see a better place for this enhancement, or something tremendous I could otherwise do with the slot? Ice actually lacks a good slot for it. I know - no rez! I'm all for hearing arguments to grab it. I'm fine just leaning on the START power when it's truly needed. For me, I'd rather go all-in (veng+tp other+rez) or not at all, and none of the powers are easy drops for it. Doesn't help that Emp rez just isn't very interesting. As always, note that temporary buffs and powers with FFback are toggled off. Also note that Cold Snap does significantly higher proc damage here, as Mids doesn't reflect the Controller ATO damage proc. Build: Controller (Ice Control - Empathy).mbd Picture: Text:

It's been a while since I've had a build I'm satisfied with enough to share to this thread, but here we go! I've been on a CoH kick for a couple months, and recently revisited my Widow. I'd love to hear more about your recent "perfect builds" too, but am inspired to share. 😄 His original build was a Fortunata, and is of course super fun and effective. However, he lacks the absolute staying power in tougher content, even with maxed out defenses. After a certain point, you really need some meat behind that hard shell. Now he's living in Night Widow mode and loving it! What I especially like about this build: ST attack powers are absolutely maximized for damage within the bounds of what those 6 slots will allow. Without outside buffs, this is as far as they are going no matter what your other goals! Widows have several powers with outstanding DPA potentially, especially after stacking follow-up. Even with proc maximization, I still have max hit chance against +3's, even without follow-up accounted for. I hit max S/L resist at around ~50% health through my scaling resists. Other resists across the board are starting at ~30% base, and will max out at little above 30% health. Psi resist will max out from the scaling proc alone at ~90% health. The only hole is toxic, but even here I have a solid baseline. Completely immune to slows. Excellent end sustain for a Widow. (2.59 end/sec without accounting for Perf shifter and panacea procs). Though not totally seamless, very strong aoe rotation with (hidden) > spin > combat TP 40 feet up > Psy scream > Placate > Spin > follow-up > repeat. Despite Widow's low DDR, loads of extra defense pad to help with cascades in melee. Don't have to try very hard on widow for this of course. Smoke Grenade's unresistable debuff makes up the small difference for flooring incarnate hit chances as well. The only thing I would want but didn't squeeze in is Tactical Training: Assault. I could swap Smoke Grenade, but I think I'm happier with the utility and extra defensive tool. This guy can swim in pretty much any +4X8 content and stay afloat with no issue as long as I keep up the attack! I've revisited it a million times and found new improvements with each review, but I think he's finally at a point of near perfection for my goals. Night Widow is a great time! As always, I have disabled temporary buffs, as well as hidden status to reflect accurate damage and tohit totals. Build: Arachnos Widow (Night Widow Training - Widow Teamwork).mbd Picture: Text: So what builds have you pored over and come out with shining like a perfect gem lately? The one you just knew had an extra 2% defense in there somewhere, and after a a moment of inspiration the pieces fell into place and you found it, and the heavens rejoiced - you know what I'm talking about. 😉

It's something you can definitely skip if there's a convincing tool, but there are some good uses. Auto-hit with a substantial defense debuff. Helpful for certain types of solo pulls. Drop it in front of the group and mobs will clump very tight as they approach. Also great to drop in a corner pull. Additional soft control when you are trying to save the team from a heavy over aggro situation.

Thanks for chiming in, everyone! If anyone is curious where I landed, I went with Poison Dart myself this time around. I think Mental Blast probably slightly edges it out in terms of utility with T9 cutting, but theme won the day here. 🙂 Here's the build: Arachnos Widow (Night Widow Training - Widow Teamwork).mbd

Here you go! Stalker (Staff Fighting - Stone Armor).mbd

I do tend to avoid Bonfire with the KD proc in epics these days as well. Beyond the lower chances, the fact that it is no longer a one-slot wonder (requires accuracy!) makes it even harder to fit in. I do have a blaster who is all-in on ranged attacks and ranged defense who enjoys it though! As @Maelwys suggests, I don't use the KD proc for this guy. I just stand in it. It's really great in this context! I wouldn't go dropping it on a mob in a team, but a really great solo tool, and useful situationally on teams. There are even clever scenarios that come up with the geometry where you can constantly keep an entire mob squished against a wall or corner with it. You don't have the careful positioning tools to force this, but can capitalize on it when things line up.

As @Maelwys shared, I do see that it stacks to a useful extent, at least! I can't imagine many situations where I would actively use it when focusing down an AV or GM though. The better DPA attacks from my normal rotation would outpace any gains from -regen. If there is a big baddie that keeps me out of melee for an extended period for some reason, it is a further point in favor of Poison Dart! It is already the winner in that context (higher DPA than MB, quicker recharge), but it pushes it a bit further. Another one that doesn't always jive with folks is theme. Do I want my ninja concept character to shoot poison darts or do more wub wub? Hmm - point to poison darts here. 😄

I recently spun up a Night Widow alt build and am really enjoying it! The buffs are night and day - I feel like they really have a place now in a world with Fortunatas. The level 1 attack power pick ends up being sort of a throwaway used primarily at lower levels, and as a bit of a set mule. That being said, there are some considerations for occasional utility! What do you like to choose? At first I chose Swipe because hey - highest DPA. Then I got to thinking - do I really care about the DPA of an attack that isn't a regular part of my chain? What other utility might benefit me? I see it as: Swipe - useful on low recharge builds as decent filler, or if you want to skimp on picking attack powers (why are you playing a melee dps?). If you don't have enough slow res, might come into play at higher levels to fill out your chain. Otherwise, probably busy with something else 90% of the time. Poison Dart - Still a useful filler when needed! Lower DPA by a fair margin, but gives you some quick ranged utility. Can tag a runner, pull, or sit there and spit darts at range when you really don't want to be in melee on the rare occasion. Super quick recharge lets it basically be a ranged attack chain on its own. The -regen is small enough to mostly ignore. Mental Blast - Still useful for tagging runners/pulling. Even lower DPA than Poison Dart though, and not so fast to recharge (not proccing these powers!). However, gives you a nice little wedge to knock down mobs that pop T9s! You're not exactly nuking them, but it's a heckuva lot better than tickling them through 90% resist or floored hit chance. I'm actually not sure what I like best! I think Mental Blast probably has the best niche use. It solves a problem that, though a bit rare, is truly obnoxious. What do you like to choose, and why?

It is indeed outstanding on a stalker. Also - free built in staff form without choosing the power! Buildup, assassin staff - it's all upgrades in my book. You even have an extra lil bit of free defense from hide.

Or better yet, use lfg port on the lgtf!

I re-optimized a little bit further. Lost a very small amount of proc damage for a nice bump in resists and better recharge on Ground Zero. Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd

A few things: I still have one achilles and one fury of glad present. I don't typically bother slotting these in multiple powers. In a hard target scenario, it will have pretty decent uptime anyhow given how much you are cycling attacks on the same brick wall. Outside of those hard targets, a damage proc will often work as well or better, as the mob goes down in 1-2 attacks either way, or melts to the general aoe going off without your focus. It's not like the -res procs can self-stack if you're lucky and get back to back fires. Damage always counts though 😄 I'm sure that achilles in both LBE and Shin breaker probably maths out better in a pylon test, but this is the more balanced approach I prefer personally. The achilles in Beta Decay is just too random in my opinion. The proc chance isn't horrible, but you won't have any consistent way of applying single target pressure on the target it hits in order to capitalize on the -res. Meanwhile, the extra -tohit is sort of something, and the modest endredux is pretty noticeable as a one slot wonder. I used to put Enzyme here, but the small difference isn't really worth the inf.

Here's my first round review of how that might look: Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd Of special note here is that the smot proc is in a power I want to use a lot. Putting it in a mediocre DPA power like a t1/2 attack gives you a bit of a bad choice - do I use my super awesome +res proc, or do I use actually good attacks? Here I have it in a middle of the road power that can absorb some of the recharge it brings, and put the purple proc in it too as I want to be hitting it as much as possible in my ST rotation. I've traded a little bit of F/C resist here for a big bump in Psi, and overall more damage efficiency across the board. Note that FFBack powers are toggled off for procs right now. Also remember that mids doesn't represent the extra resist you're getting from smot proc right now, and you'll be able to stack it 2-3 times.

Pretty solid build overall, Strider! As much as I like to cram in FFBack, I'd consider swapping the one in Heavy blow for the 4th ATO for the recharge bonus. 12% chance for FFback vs 10% global recharge is firmly in favor of the global for overall benefit. The 4th Gauntleted fist in Rib Cracker isn't doing much for you. I'd swap for a damage proc or siphon the slot elsewhere. Impervious skin is a pretty weak set. 4 slot aegis would be an upgrade (drop the Imp armor too). This gives you more S/L pad to back off on the overslotted tough. Could swap the aegis psi in tough for an imp armor psi and you'll be net ahead of psi resists. Swap the decimation in LBE for Purple damage proc for sure. Much better damage return if you're actually using it in your rotation. Spinning strike already does KD (based on combo system - not shown properly in mids), so no need for the KD proc. Could swap for a damage proc or a third winter IO to shore up F/C. There are some other optimizations around that I'd probably hit on a ground-up build, but overall it's good! I feel like there is a version of this build that, with enough playing around, can get the same totals but with more global recharge. The FFback in your attack chain (even without heavy blow) goes a long way though.

Fair enough! No need to overthink it, I suppose. My last little thought - I'm considering swapping Bash out for Mace Beam. The idea being I won't really be relying on either for my normal rotation, except when exemping, and either one is mostly a set mule. Why not add the utility of a ranged attack? Being able to spam beams and Poisonous Ray when needed is at least a tiny little trick to have. Attack chain calculation is both an iffy science at best and subject to so much variance based on the reality of how the game plays out. Do you find yourself relying on Bash very often to maintain your cycle?

Indeed! On average, the current slotting provides 100 damage per activation. Some activations the procs will provide more than 100, some less. As long as I can stay alive, I'm happy enough living in the averages. 😄 Even compared to the proccy Defender, the bane has a higher cycling high damage aoe in Crowd Control, and of course crits, so still some modest advantages here. Definitely proc-oriented builds will be closer to even across ATs than those without! I guess I was mostly surprised at how the layout of their set is sort of sneakily similar to a support set. Well - it is a support set I suppose! This isn't any news to folks who have played them as you noted. With my builds, I start with some baseline goals and hard focus. In this case, softcap to all and absolute damage maximization of mace attacks. Once I achieve that, I start to evaluate what I would gain by backing off of those goals. In this case, I could add some modest defensive utility (PM proc, maybe some S/L res, power transfer heal proc, more KB protection. The extra recharge doesn't hurt either) if I sacrificed some proc potential in Pulverize. Overall, these wouldn't be bad trades. However, I'm happy enough with the current defensive package that I'll take the 100 average damage in a staple ST attack. I definitely use and love Placate on my stalkers! What powers do you like to setup for crits with Placate, @tidge?

The period of time would be per activation of the power.

It occurs to me that, weirdly, this guy isn't super far off of a very proccy force field defender with a mace, but minus the ally buff shields.. Even the damage values aren't substantially different if you compare with a highly optimized Defender attack set. Crits are a big deal though - I'm sure that covers some of the distance. For some reason I had this impression that they'd be a little crunchier. The damage is very serviceable, but it really is closer to a support character than I thought. That's not a bad thing, but just wasn't my first impression of the AT.

I coooould, but then I lose 100 damage in Pulverize! The extra acc would be enough to pull the 4th lotg in both sets and push 2 slots to serve other goals, so it's not a bad trade necessarily, especially with the additional 10% recharge. However, in for a proc, in for a pound! Procs stay, baby 😉 . The only remaining question here is whether I pick up Shatter Armor in place of one of Pulverize, Shatter, or Poisonous Ray. I think I'm good as is! May just put it through its paces and see how I roll from there. I don't want my rotation to be overly reliant on 2+ second animation powers.