Thorns

[oedipus_tex]

Does anyone actually play Thorns? I keep wanting to try it, but then backing away because it doesn't seem to have much going for it. Build Up and Thorntrops are the special powers, which seem pretty dull. Is there an evangelist for Thorns out there? I don't know that I've even seen a Thorns Dominator in the game before. 

[Tigress]

I have seen a few, though I never played it myself. With Dominators there isn't all that much difference in the secondaries and a lot of players like to take whatever fits best into their concept. Thorns naturally harmonizes well with Plant Control but the lackluster damage type and the rather dull specials indeed don't make it very attractive to more min-max-minded players. The differences in DPS to other sets are not really dramatic, but definitely present.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Tigress

[Coyote]

It works well with Plants because putting out -Def helps Confused mobs do more damage. With good AoE and helping mobs damage each other, it should be good at clearing out larger spawns.

But like everyone else, I looked at that, and I looked at Savage with -Def from Unkindness and far more interesting special abilities (and a cool stack effect), and I went Savage. I mean, Thorntrops... or Feral Charge. You make the call ;). Granted, if you don't like summoning birds for your ranged attacks, I can see Thorns being a lot more competitive then. And it works a lot better thematically with Plant Control than Rad Assault.

[Frosticus]

does /thorny still have redraw? if not then the recent round of dom buffs look good. 

 

I agree that savage is similar and certainly more fun

[ChetManly]

Had one on live back in the day. Plant/thorn that is. Loved it. Built her with only the ranged powers and I recall mowing thru enemies. Dont remember if I got her to 50, but upper levels for sure. I could be remembering incorrectly.

[Tater Todd]

I had an Earth/Thorns on Live that I loved.  I guess if anything Thorns excels at fighting large groups.  I think what sets thorns apart is the proc options and the scrappy feel of the set.  The only secondary that comes close to that scrappy feel is Earthy Assault and Savage.  Impale is also great as a proc ST bomb so to speak.  I treat it like I treat Bitter Freeze Ray from Ice Blast.  Impale also takes the Dom ATOs and it's animation has been sped up.  The Thorns redraw is still there though :'(.  Also two of Thorns powers take the Force Feedback proc and all the -Res procs the game has to offer.  The set also feel more streamlined and faster than Rad assault.  One thing I can say about Thorns, Savage, Rad and Earthy Assault is that I often forget my primary when I am using these sets and often times I get in trouble or die because I end up in "Assault-lock" when I play these sets.

[ThrillMill]

18 hours ago, Tater Todd said:

"Assault-lock"

My Fire/Earth/Fire and Electric/Nrg/Mu know of such things. I die more with these characters than any other. 

[Tater Todd]

On 1/9/2020 at 11:44 AM, ThrillMill said:

My Fire/Earth/Fire and Electric/Nrg/Mu know of such things. I die more with these characters than any other. 

It's crazy how awesome Energy Assault is now.  I ended up making a purely melee focused Energy Dominator because Energy is just so satisfying to play now.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Tater Todd

[RothenOrderCOH]

15 hours ago, Tater Todd said:

It's crazy how awesome Energy Assault is now.  I ended up making an purely melee focused Energy Dominator because Energy is just so satisfying to play now.

I just made a Plant / Energy Dom and I have really enjoyed him so far. I am going to have to invest in ranged defense for this build, because anything coming into melee range (mostly by RNG God hating me), is going to get a face full of punch and getting sent across the map. I'm still in my late teens, but already, I see how much better I can survive with this build than others I've tried. Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud? Please don't nerf me, please don't nerf..........

 

I will have to get back into my Dark / Thorns. I stopped playing him after level 24 only because I was just not feeling it with /Thorns. I will have to see if it's the combo of Dark and Thorns or just /Thorns itself.

Edited January 10, 2020 by RothenOrderCOH

[Tater Todd]

10 hours ago, RothenOrderCOH said:

I just made a Plant / Energy Dom and I have really enjoyed him so far. I am going to have to invest in ranged defense for this build, because anything coming into melee range (mostly by RNG God hating me), is going to get a face full of punch and getting sent across the map. I'm still in my late teens, but already, I see how much better I can survive with this build than others I've tried. Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud? Please don't nerf me, please don't nerf..........

 

I will have to get back into my Dark / Thorns. I stopped playing him after level 24 only because I was just not feeling it with /Thorns. I will have to see if it's the combo of Dark and Thorns or just /Thorns itself.

With procs Flings Thorns turns into a on demand KD which meshes well with Fearsome Stare.  Also the -Def of thorns helps Dark/'s horrible accuracy.  Dark and Thorns want you to jump in and out of melee too.  The pairing should work but and the combo def keeps you busy.

[RothenOrderCOH]

On 1/10/2020 at 11:22 PM, Tater Todd said:

With procs Flings Thorns turns into a on demand KD which meshes well with Fearsome Stare.  Also the -Def of thorns helps Dark/'s horrible accuracy.  Dark and Thorns want you to jump in and out of melee too.  The pairing should work but and the combo def keeps you busy.

I tried my character again last night. I'm just not liking the animation and constant pop of the thorns. It plays kind of rough for my liking. I gave it a good shot, but not every power will be my favorite.

[Frosticus]

yah same problem as always with /thorns. the redraw really impacts flow in a negative way.