SableShrike

That's without em! With maxed bubbles, Maneuvers, and zero Defense IOs, you can be .25% off softcap for T3 Wolves. Force Field's one of those sets that lets you have a bit more flexibility with pet IOs, as you don't seem to "need" the Defense aura IOs as much. I still use one as I had room, but yeah. With FF, Maneuvers, and one single Defense aura IO my T3 are at 49.75% to all, and the T2 and T1 are about 51% to all. This is not counting the Lion Roars giving even more Defense, mind you. I got a lot more mileage out of the Resist aura IOs and damage procs. Didn't bother with an ancillary as I'm softcap to Range with a single Luck or Support Hybrid going. Sorcery's proved really useful for FF. Spirit Ward is great for saving a pet or teammate from Defense RNG. Arcane Bolt procs well and the Energy damage is useful. Enflame is a great debuff when set up like this; it's an almost guaranteed Knockdown, -Resistance, and MAG2 Immobilize on your primary target. The subsequent burn patches can all fire the procs again in AoE. Edit: Just soloed Arbiter Sands as an AV in Faultline without capped Defense yet, so this is pretty damn strong. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.7.2.10 https://github.com/Crytilis/mids-reborn-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Sable Shrike: Level 50 Magic Mastermind Primary Power Set: Beast Mastery Secondary Power Set: Force Field Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Concealment Hero Profile: Level 1: Summon Wolves -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(25), HO:Nucle(25), AchHee-ResDeb%:20(27), TchofLadG-%Dam:50(27), ShlBrk-%Dam:30(29) Level 1: Force Bolt -- Acc-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(46), SuddAcc--KB/+KD:50(50) Level 2: Deflection Shield -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(3), RedFrt-Def:50(3), RedFrt-Def/Rchg:50(5), RedFrt-EndRdx:50(5), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg:50(7) Level 4: Insulation Shield -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7), RedFrt-Def:50(9), RedFrt-Def/Rchg:50(9), RedFrt-EndRdx:50(11), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg:50(11) Level 6: Train Beasts -- EndRdx-I:50(A) Level 8: Arcane Bolt -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg:50(13), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), Apc-Dam%:50(15), GldJvl-Dam%:50(15), ExpStr-Dam%:20(17) Level 10: Spirit Ward -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(34), Prv-Absorb%:50(34) Level 12: Summon Lions -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(29), OvrFrc-Dam/KB:50(31), EdcoftheM-PetDef:40(31), SvrRgh-PetResDam:50(31), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets):50(33) Level 14: Enflame -- Rgn-Dmg/Rchg:50(A), Rgn-Dmg:50(21), Rgn-Knock%:50(21), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc:50(23), Ann-ResDeb%:50(23), RechRdx-I:50(50) Level 16: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-Travel:50(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx:50(17), BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(19), EndRdx-I:50(19) Level 18: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), RedFrt-Def:50(36), RedFrt-Def/Rchg:50(36), RedFrt-EndRdx:50(37), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg:50(37) Level 20: Dispersion Bubble -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg:50(37), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), RedFrt-Def:50(39), RedFrt-EndRdx:50(40) Level 22: Rune of Protection -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(50) Level 24: Fortify Pack -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:50(A) Level 26: Summon Dire Wolf -- SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg:50(40), SprMarofS-Dmg:50(40), SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen:50(42), ImpSwf-Dam%:30(42), SlbAll-Build%:50(42) Level 28: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(43) Level 30: Personal Force Field -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:50(A) Level 32: Tame Beasts -- EndRdx-I:50(A) Level 35: Repulsion Bomb -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg:50(46), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(46), PstBls-Dam%:50(48), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg:50(48), JvlVll-Dam%:50(48) Level 38: Force Bubble -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(45) Level 41: Grant Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:50(A) Level 44: Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:50(A) Level 47: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:50(A) Level 49: Tactics -- RctRtc-Pcptn:20(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 -- UnbLea-Stlth:50(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I:50(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A), Mrc-Rcvry+:40(45), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:50(45) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod:50(A), PrfShf-End%:50(43), EndMod-I:50(43) Level 1: Alpha Howler Wolf Level 1: Howler Wolf Level 1: Pack Mentality Level 12: Lioness Level 26: Dire Wolf Level 50: Cryonic Radial Final Judgement Level 50: Talons of Vengeance Radial Superior Ally Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface Level 50: Ageless Radial Epiphany Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 0: The Atlas Medallion Level 50: Vigor Core Paragon Level 50: Support Core Embodiment ------------

Perfect, thanks @Coyote. Means I can drop two Defense IOs and still be near cap unless debuffed.

Hiya gang, Trying to squeeze more damage out of my pets with procs, which means my Beasts/FF needs to cut two aura IOs from the six possible. In Mids my T3 wolves are supposedly rocking 44.75 or so when near me, but I don’t think it’s factoring -2 levels or Alpha +1. Anyone have actual numbers that I need to hit softcap or hardcap?

Yeah, almost positive it’s the “No Redraw” choice causing wierdness. It’s been a while but I remember not using the “No Redraw” because it made the sword disappear on my tank.

Giving Human Shades yet another reason to play in melee, would this be a good time now to argue that Kheldians need minor mez protection in Human? We already get the teaming buff, but solo a baseline MAG2 in our Auto armor (similar to Wolf Spider gets) would be a big help. As is, minion mez cuts Kheldians up if not running Light Form or Clarion. I’m fine with leaving them weak to a true Hold or Sleep power, but getting Orbiting Death detoggled by a MAG1 Stun sucks. You could tweak it so Shades also get Slow resistance and Peace get Defense Debuff or Endurance Drain resistance. As is, I do not see Shadow Slip being too useful on a solo Shade.

I’ll put my two cents in that Storm Kick (already great) or Crane Kick (could use the love) are better visuals for a cone attack. Crane has a strike-through look to it, and spinning heel kicks like Storm can be used to hit multiple targets. Eagle looks too much like a single heel strike to one target, personally. I’d make Crane the cone and just give Eagle’s damage buff a bit longer duration (to get three attacks off after it, not just Thunder and Storm). MA would be “fixed” then, to me.

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It’s pretty true for most paid sets. Water Blast and Titan are both great at what they do. Beam Rifle does well, but can be tricky to really leverage. Staff is high Defense and tons of AoE, so despite not being overpowered it has a niche in content play. Non-Stalkers could use a bit more singletarget DPS in Staff, if you ask me. But that’s not what the set excels at, so even as is I’m happy with it. And poor Kinetic Melee is way down the list with a lousy mechanic (apart from on Stalkers). You can build around the issues KM has by using procs, but then again every other melee set can use procs as well. I mainly Tank but steered clear of Titan on Live due to it feeling Gary Stu and unlike a Tanker “should feel like”. It was too strong either solo or teamed; it didn’t fit the basic description of the archetype: high defenses, slow offense. I do like the changes Beta has made here, and might run a Titan once these changes are ironed out. The set feels good without being facerolly to me.

Got a SR/Staff I’m working on at the moment. I’m pretty sure of the procced attacks I want: Eye of the Storm, Serpent’s Reach, and Sky Splitter. I’ve got Serpent’s, Mercurial, and Guarded as builders (with Serpent’s also being procced). I really dislike Innocuous Strikes’ animation, but wonder if I’m gimping myself by skipping it due to the good recharge values it has for proccing. Also toying with putting a Pounding Slugfest Disorient proc in Sky Splitter instead of a damage proc. Mids says this’d give about a 74% chance for turning Sky Splitter into a MAG5 Stun to hose Bosses. I think @Redlynne did something similar with MA. Any of you Staff types find some weird trick I’ve missed?

I'm not the smartest about procs, but I'm pretty sure you get the most reliable firing off Gaussian in a click power with long recharge. The weird exception to that is Tactics, as it seems to fire more often the more things Tactics is buffing. i.e. on a full team Gaussian fires a lot if you have it in your Tactics. That said, I'm pretty sure you can drop it in Nova and it has a chance to fire every so often while Nova is toggled on. That chance is probably rather small in a toggle power that only affects you. Not as reliable an activation as having it in Inner Light, though.

Bingo! It’s just additional damage and, if you can cap them, something to draw hate and mez a bit. On teams they may not add tons, but make no mistake they do still add some. You don’t have to babysit them; all the while they’re fighting you can ignore them and do your thing as you normally would. And, again, when soloing the damage they bring can be nice. The only real cost if you’re set up to max buff already is the power pick and a few slots. You can max them in just four slots for damage and recharge by boosting the following Soulbound Allegiance purples to +5: AccDamRech, AccRech, DamRech, and DamEnd. If you can spare a 5th slot, you can fit in the Soulbound +Build Up. It’s really not a lot of effort for a lot of potential damage. You summon them once, and that’s it. If you can keep them alive they’ll fight nonstop for four minutes.

Been thinking up some tricks for an updated build after reading a lot this weekend. At the fiancee’s parents’ so I’m away from my rig. It burrrrrnnnsss!!! Namely tweaking shields to plug Psi and not focusing on Defense this time to avoid mez. As pointed out above, we can rock Mag4 from just Defensive Amplifiers. Coupled with strategic use of Shade controls that should be enough. Gonna take it through arcs to 50 with zero farming, and then I’ll toss something up here. Again, you really need to build the Shade you personally like. You may not like the attack chain I build for, say, so I encourage folks to mess about. It’s more important to understand why a build does something than to simply copy my slotting. That’s the only way you can find weird mechanics and combos you personally love. (Like slowing the crap out of Minotaurs and Cyclops to easily kite them to death). Still got a lot of free time due to COVID, but I’ll sign off on this thread for now. I’ll let y’all know what I come up with in a fair while!

They can be handy when solo, I’ve found. Basically doubled my FF/Sonic’s singletarget damage when I have Coralax out. But yeah, steamroll teams overshadow a lot of things right now.

Heh. “PP pets...” But I digress! What are you hoping to do, man? My experience is mostly with the coralax, but from what I’ve seen the Mu and Arachnobot play at range. Fortunatas fight at range with mostly Psi damage. Coralax seems to have the most melee. Fortunata, Mu, and Disruptor have mez with damage types being the main differences. Unless you want the Coralax Punch and Haymaker, I’d pick based on the other Patron powers in each pool and theme.

Actually, the Hero’s Journey has death as an integral part of nearly every heroic myth in human history, according to Joseph Campbell. Be it literal or figurative, mind you. The struggle and success after defeat is what makes a classical heroic myth heroic. I’m not talking about gating content behind certain ATs, so I agree with you there, man. Everyone should be able to solo a bit. I know full well the pain of Ice Tankers before they could run all armor toggles together. I am talking about how the current game seems to lack that risk vs reward for the vast majority of older content. It’s mostly nothing but reward now. This means a lot of stuff is marginalized, and teaming is optional. Which is fine in a vaccuum, but this is an MMO many of us have been playing for years. Teaming used to be almost mandatory for bigger feats (it wasn’t just for iTrials), and everyone brought important stuff to the fight. Force Fielders were great to have even on a team of 50s. Triumph over adversity is why I often prefer the lower levels; we kinda lose that in the endgame as it is.

Capping Defense and Resistance needs to be looked at, in my opinion. It’s an optional thing to build for, but it seriously imbalances what used to be challenging content. Capped Blasters soloing the “Room of Death” on Citadel TFs, et cetera. (People used to actually die and get trapped in the prison area.) Capping defenses to the extent we’re able to now makes a lot of powers/sets superfluous in the mid to lategame, trivializes content, and makes it almost impossible to balance any difficulty changes on a global scale. People on SOs will get stomped if balancing is done with current caps in mind. Fix might be as simple as giving mobs at least a 10% minimum chance to hit. Have to be careful we don’t hose Defense armor sets, though. It’ll likely take someone mathematically smarter than me to sort it out. But the current capping is an issue I see as negatively affecting the game.

One way to check is to open your Combat Stats while in Nova. If it counts a “set bonus”, most things do carry over to Forms. Fitness powers and IOs in them also carry over. That said, there are a few like the Kismet +Accuracy IO that do NOT; they have to be in a power that’s turned on. Generally these say “for 120 seconds” in their tooltip. Gaussian’s +Build Up is another one that you need in Nova itself for it to work in that form.

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@Veelectric Boogaloo mentioned this recently, but the Defensive Amplifier is Mag4 protection against everything for 1 hour of game-time. It’s available to everyone at the P2W provided you have the influence (which isn’t too hard to scrounge up). Influence cost scales with your level, so this can be an amazing tool to getting mez protection in Human or Nova.

Awesome advice, Vee! I always forget about the Amplifier. I’m gonna start up a new Human shade just to try levelling one from 1-50 with this. Orbiting Death shouldn’t get detoggled and your shields won’t suppress. Should be very potent. P.S. Probably also want to make sure you have a base beacon to Pocket D as well as the Pocket D teleporter. The P2W in Pocket is the only one you can access while on a TF or Ouroboros arc.

Was answering some things in my poor neglected Warshade thread when I had an idea. Why do khelds feel anemic in Dwarf, their most solo-friendly form? Because it lacks any way to add AoE to it. Every other AT can mix in Pool attacks to shore up AoE (Cross Punch, etc). So I thought, since we know that Forms can be given access to Human attacks (Bolt and Eye), why not give Dwarf access to their nuke? About every 30-45 seconds when maxed you could Dwarf stomp off a Quasar or Dawn Strike. Seems balanced to me in that we have to burn a power and slots at 32 to use this. It’d at least give them some more beatdown in the endgame. Maybe adjust the nuke’s numbers in Dwarf so it’s usable more often for less damage.

Been distracted, sorry! Reason I didn’t take Acro is that Mag2 Hold doesn’t really protect you. Most anything with a real Hold attack blows through Acro in one shot. And KB protection you can get from a single Blessing of the Zephyr IO. Not to mention, Acro is another toggle draining your End. As plainguy says, mez is death when soloing. You can easily get Clarion Core up to perma, though. The other way is to mez things first with your Stuns and Hold, but if you miss or there are too many targets for Gravitic to cover you’re rolling the dice. Maybe turn down spawn size to between 4-6 and see if your mez better preempts their mez. Human Warshades are never going to be AFK murder machines on max diffs simply due to how they are designed as an AT. You are in some ways gimping your solo potential to have a bigger bag of tricks in Human. There’s always a tradeoff when you build Kheldians. You definitely can build a Dwarf “only” that can solo max diff. This is slow though, as you rely on Dwarf Mire for AoE if you’re weathering mez. Just gotta manage expectations, I guess. Kheldians are widely regarded as lower tier in terms of OP Archetypes. You CAN do crazy stuff with them still, but they’re never going to be a TW/Bio Brute. Doing crazy stuff with a Kheld takes a lot of work, using specific Forms, and a deep knowledge of timing and enemies. Only you guys can say if this type of play is fun to you. It’s okay if it’s not! It can be nice to just hop on a faceroll Tanker or Brute sometimes. Long as you’re having fun there’s no need to keep up with the Jones’.

Thanks, Sir M! Guess I’ll move some slots around on toggles if I can get better results elsewhere. I sometimes wonder if building on Mids is reliable, hence me asking. It’s still got a few bugs I know of like the Perfect Zinger proc listing proc chance incorrectly.

Hi all, Recently started up an Ice/Super Tank, and I’m still working out what’s worth slotting as far as the toggle powers. Am I right in thinking that I want to max the native damage of Icicles first and only then fill in with procs? Also, is a slot in Chilling Embrace for the Impeded Swiftness proc worth a damn? Mids has it showing abysmal DPS, but I’m not sure how it does against a saturated aggro cap. Forgot: I’ve turned Spring Attack into a proc bomb that’s up every minute or so. Anyone messed with this before?

Yep, sounds amazing! Thank you again!