tjknight

ooops.... well my old man eyes must have misread that.

This right here. People keep saying this, but it hasn't been my experience. I have a lvl 50+ Fortunata, and she tears through content. There have been very few incidents where I've felt her damage lacking. If I were the OP I'd give a Psi Sentinel a try, but I'd probably go Psi/Regen just because regen is so low maintenance.

Confirmed. Ice/Plant is apparently the FOTM pvp build. In fact it looks like the builds most likely to reach 50 is dominated by farming and pvp builds. *Interesting*

I go curious about this subsection, and the more I investigate, this list appears to be mostly Farming and PvP builds. Which is interesting.

I've played this game for a very long time, and I've never leveled a 50 blaster. Blasters frustated me way too much and I gave up on them. I have leveled several Dominators in the past to 50. So I noticed on the Flavour of the Month mentioned Ice/Plant blasters. Apparently, this blaster combo frequently makes it to level 50, just behind farming brute builds. My assumption that this is so because this combo probably plays similarly to a Domintor. In that it locks mobs down and then blasts them to smithereens while they're held. My second guess would be something like Fire/Plant/Cold might be a good choice. So am I close, far off... any Ice/Plant blasters out there want to chime in? *Edit: Further research indicates this might be a favored PvP build, but I'm still curious to hear more*

No 50 Mercs/Traps? I do find that surprising.

Well one thing that's obvious to me, (and others have said it) people like themed pairings. Which makes perfect sense since this is a comic book themed game. Most iconic characters have elemental themes (Iceman, Killer Frost, Fire, Liz Sherman, Black Lightning, Electro, etc.. etc..). So after some thinking the top pairings for Sentinels makes sense, people overwhelming choose theme over min-maxing. My most played Sentinel is my Rad/Rad, and he'd be 50 by now if it weren't for my altaholic tendencies :). My Dark/Nin would actually be a rarer choice to level up, since there aren't that many of them.

Had a level 50+ Fire/Psi dom back in the day. Overall (as long as you put Flashfire back), the build doesn't look bad. I used FlashFire + Fire Cages to keep mobs stunned, and in place. And if they stay in place you're free to unleash your AoE's on them. Plus they can't fire back. Good luck.

Well for Controllers Mind/Kin was often 'the solo build' back in the day. So it makes a lot of sense Mind works out well for dominators. It locks down spawns really well, and allows the Dom to safely blap. I'm pretty shocked by the sheer dominance that Empathy has with Defenders. Like.. wow. Also, in general how low powerful sets like Pain, Traps, Cold, Thermal, and Sonic rank among the Defenders. Inversely, Masterminds seem to make good use of sets that aren't as popular for Defenders and Corruptors. Very interesting.

Some people slot the Achilles Heel -resistance debuff proc into the mercs. To help with damage But they are pricey. Best thing to do is to look around for a mercs/anything build and see how it's suggested to slot them.

So the Flavour of the Month report is out. I'm surpised we're not discussing it here yet. What shocked me the most were the top three most popular Sentinel Power combos:

I finished up Kuhr'rekts arch last night. I was nervous about soloing Positron, but he spawned as as EB. After buffing up the Zombies and hitting him with debuffs, he went down incredibly fast. Valkyrie was next, so I opted for a team. I got a blaster and two scrappers to join me. Positron showed up again but as a hero. Still went down fast. Valkyrie was as difficult as expected. Her MOG and Rez make her tough to beat. But the team was successful. Necro/Thermal is proving to be a good combo both solo and teamed up.

I teamed with an electric/electric Dominator who was awesome. He endurance drained mobs, leaving them no energy to attack. This was on Cap du Diable Strike force. So we weren't high level.

Modest pretty much nailed it. Also, powerset selection makes a huge difference. You can build a damage focused corruptor by combining a heavier damage primary (ex: fire) with a debuff focused secondary (ex: radiation). The combo you're thinking about (dark/nature) would be more support focused. Dark does decent damage and floors enemies to hit. While nature is mix of strong team buffs and enemy debuff. The Fire/Rad would most likely out damage the Dark/Nature. But the Dark/Nature would offer strong team support while doing acceptable DPS. It all depends on how you play and what powers you pick.

I have to agree. Post 50 there's still a demand for strong healing/buffing builds. In my experience, most players aren't running around with super-efficient top tier builds after 50. The players who do have builds like that are pretty much playing the entire game solo by that point. They don't really need anybody else. There's nothing wrong with that, but other players do need support. And Empathy is a support set that can cover the deficiencies in almost any build.

I did run into a difficult patch post 40's . Again, I'm playing content not power-leveling. I'm running Kuhr'Rekt's arc and man Longbow bosses are wrecking this build. I'm running into tougher bosses with powers like Illusion/FF or Energy Knockback powers. Which sort of mess up any MM. I'll probably lower the diff on this arc and set to 'no bosses' so I can finish it. And I was just bragging about how my zombies were eating Longbow for breakfast. I can still see a end game version of Necro/Thermal being very good. But I'm not there yet.

Ninja/Dark Misma was considered one of the better Mastermind builds back in the old days: I tried to find an old Ninja/Dark guide from back then, but no luck. Hopefully the video helps.

I've haven't had a lot of time to play, but my Necro/Thermal is at 40 now. I took a screenshot below, of the Combat Attributes. Basically, the Zombies are now mini-tanks with strong resistance to almost every damage type. Soul Extraction is being used as a mule to hold two 10% resist Pet IO's. This working out really well. I'm running Night Ward missions which are very tough for most builds. The zombies are just tearing through that content solo.

I can only really rate MM's I've tried but here we go #1 Bots/Traps Seriously underrated and very effective. Traps is loaded with buffs and debuffs. The Force Field Generator is mobile and stacks with the bots bubbles. Triage Beacon, needs to be slotted to be effective, but the regeneration aura it gives is nice. This build melts tough targets including AV's. It's also not expensive to slot up. TP Foe is a nice addition to this combo. Overall, a nice thematic build that's capable of soloing AV's right out the box. #2 Necro/Dark There's not much to say. Enemy to-hit is floored by this build, you get an extra pet 'fluffy' who also heals. The Zombies self-heal after the level 32 upgrade. Howling Twilight isn't only a rez, it also applies a strong stun and a regen debuff. Which makes it great for AV fights. Between the Lich, The Dark Servant, and Dark's control powers entire mobs get locked down. A very safe and tanky build. #3 Necro/Thermal I'm playing this build right now. Thermals shields stack very well the Zombies inate resistances while also covering the Zombies greatest weakness - aoe Fire patches. I currently have this build at 40 with the Pet Resistance unique's slotted. My zombies wade through Longbow fire patches like they are nothing. And for the most part are a small army of Pocket Tanks. Forge is very nice on the Grave Knights. The Lich tosses out enough control keep mobs bunched up. Warmth is an extremely powerful heal when fully slotted. However, it is easy to get overconfident and overwhelmed. I waded into a instance of +2 Malta and got ripped to shreds. But still I'm quite happy with how Necro/Thermal plays. #4 Ninja/Dark Ninja's work very well with Dark Miasma. I know, in general poor Ninjas get beat up on the forums. And I agree that they have issues. But Dark Miasma can help quite a bit. Tar Patch is great for the Oni's fire powers,, most notably his Rain of Fire and Fire Breath. Tar Patch's slow and -damage resist soften up enemies quite nicely. Fearsome Stare + Shadow Fall + Darkest Night + the unique Pet Defense IO's = Ninja Survival. Just spam Twilight Grasp and watch them tear mobs to pieces. I will more than likely recreate this build now that the game is back. It soloed quite nicely from what I remember. I've also tried both Rad and Kin and I'm not sure how feel about those sets on MM's. They weren't as powerful as you'd think they be. Kin on a MM is a lot of work for very little return. However, it is fun watch you pets zip around the map like lunatics. Rad has great debuffs and a solid heal, AM is amazing on pets, but there's no damage mitigation in the set really. So pets are pretty much defenseless.

This is great!!! I've been wanting to roll and EMP (Either Corruptor or Defender). This is really helpful!!

I kept finding snippets of conversation on the web stating that Necro/Thermal is a very good MM build. As it turns out, I'd saved an old Necro/Thermal build from years ago, that I found online. I tweaked it a little and came up with this: Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962 http://www.cohplanner.com/ Click this DataLink to open the build! Morgana Shade: Level 50 Magic Mastermind Primary Power Set: Necromancy Secondary Power Set: Thermal Radiation Power Pool: Teleportation Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Zombie Horde -- BldMnd-Acc/Dmg(A), BldMnd-Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldMnd-Acc/EndRdx(3), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), BldMnd-Acc(5), BldMnd-Dmg(7) Level 1: Warmth -- DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(A), DctWnd-EndRdx/Rchg(7), DctWnd-Rchg(9), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(9), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), DctWnd-Heal(11) Level 2: Fire Shield -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(13), RctArm-EndRdx/Rchg(13), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(15), RctArm-ResDam(15), ResDam-I(17) Level 4: Cauterize -- DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(A), DctWnd-Rchg(21), DctWnd-EndRdx/Rchg(23), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(23), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(25), DctWnd-Heal(25) Level 6: Enchant Undead -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Heal(A), TchoftheN-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(27), TchoftheN-Heal/HP/Regen/Rchg(27), TchoftheN-%Dam(29), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(29), Acc-I(31) Level 10: Plasma Shield -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(31), RctArm-EndRdx/Rchg(31), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RctArm-ResDam(33), ResDam-I(33) Level 12: Grave Knight -- BldMnd-Acc/Dmg(A), BldMnd-Dmg/EndRdx(34), BldMnd-Acc/EndRdx(34), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), BldMnd-Acc(36), BldMnd-Dmg(36) Level 14: Teleport -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 16: Power of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 18: Soul Extraction -- SvrRgh-PetResDam(A), EdcoftheM-PetDef(36), CmmoftheM-Rchg/PetAoEDef(37), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(37), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(37), CaltoArm-Acc/Rchg(39) Level 20: Thaw -- Ags-Psi/Status(A) Level 22: Teleport Foe -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 24: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(39), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-Def(40) Level 26: Lich -- BldMnd-Acc/Dmg(A), BldMnd-Dmg/EndRdx(42), BldMnd-Acc/EndRdx(42), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), BldMnd-Acc(43), BldMnd-Dmg(43) Level 28: Forge -- ToHit-I(A) Level 30: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(43), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--Build%(45) Level 32: Dark Empowerment -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Heat Exhaustion -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 38: Melt Armor -- AchHee-ResDeb%(A), AchHee-DefDeb/Rchg(45), AchHee-DefDeb(46) Level 41: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(46), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46) Level 44: Dark Embrace -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), StdPrt-ResKB(48) Level 47: Oppressive Gloom -- Stp-Acc/Rchg(A), Stp-EndRdx/Stun(48), Stp-Acc/EndRdx(48), Stp-KB%(50), Stp-Acc/Stun/Rchg(50), Stp-Stun/Rng(50) Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) 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 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(17), Mrc-Rcvry+(19) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(19), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(21) Level 50: Vigor Core Paragon ------------ I'm currently running a version of this right now. I'm only lvl 37 with generic lvl 35 IO's slotted at the moment. I do have the pet +Resistance IO's slotted in Soul Extraction. It was a little rough at start, but around lvl 25 or so, the build started to come together. The Zombies are tough, and fire damage (which usually wrecks my other Necro build) doesn't stop them at all. There's still things I want to improve. For one thing, I'm not sure which Incarnate Slots to go for at 50. Any feedback or suggestions on how to improve things are welcome.

I've seen a few mentions about Demons/Nature as a very powerful build. But nobody ever gives details.

Bots/Time. I don't have one, but I've teamed with MMs running these builds. Time grants a good mix of healing, defense, and debuffs. While Bots do excellent ranged damage. The big Bot's AOEs are also a plus. Probably the most OP MM combo right now.

My favorite so far has been Dark Blast + Ninjitisu. I haven't dinged 50 with him yet, because I alt too much. But so far that combo provides a nice blend of debuffs and defensive abilities. Plus, I like the idea of flooring the +tohit of enemies, as it helps the team out. For the most part, I don't mind doing 75% of the damage a blaster does. 75% damage is plenty for most purposes. Having less available AoE hasn't been a big problem for me either. My Dark/Nin is a nice multi-purpose character that solos easily, and that's exactly what I wanted.

Quick update. I soloed Ghost Widows Patron arc with this toon, including defeating an Elite Boss level Numina (+1) . I have no set bonuses or procs slotted, just generic IO's. I did pop a six enrages but other than that inspiration use was rather minimal. I've tried this before on other toons and usually would have to get some help to beat her. So for me this is a big accomplishment on a AT. It may not be that big of a deal to other people. However, that pretty much sells me on this sentinel's build being quite solid. I've mostly soloed on red-side and nothing has given me that much trouble since lvl 22+. This has included missions arcs filled with Carnies (Jezebel Jones' arc) which normally are a problem for me. So far Dark/Nin is proving to be my favorite sentinel combo and I've tried a few others. Eager to give Fire/Regen a try now because I hear similar things about it's toughness and solo ability. Also, I keep hearing theres a Discord sever for COH Sentinel players, but I can't find it! So if anyone can link me to it, I'd appreciate it.