Best Char for Solo Missions 4/8 + AVs

[Rshock0n3]

Hello Heroes and Villains!

 

I just wondering what is the best Solo Char for doing Missions on +4/8 with AVs and everything. 

 

I know its a MMO which has Multiplayer in it but when you are on a Team you cant really read the hole Story behind each Arc and every Clue. It’s not really approved to say to a 8 Man Team : „Give me 5 Minutes to read the NPC Dialogue before we keep Going. 

 

So i just try to find a good Char for doing that. Most likely the one with the highest speed on doing that.

 

On a side effect Iwant some kind of silent farming while that (that’s what why i want to go 4/8) and really want to feel the AVs (no -1 Elite Boss). 

 

I know that a Spines/Fire is the best „farmer“ but only for AE Missions with Fire Attackers only. I want to farm every Enemy Type in each Story Line. 

 

What you guys recommend for my purposes?

 

 

 

P.S.: Sorry for my bad english, im german and my own Language is difficult enough 😛

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Rshock0n3

[Psyonico]

Fire armor can still be built to cap resistances for most damage types, so I wouldn't rule it out.  The real thing is you need both Resist and Defense to really be safe, though there are other ways to get around it.

 

I'm going to summon @Linea and @Werner as both have pulled off some mighty feats on +4x8 (Werner soloed ITF without any deaths/temps/inspirations)

[Werner]

I used my Katana/Dark Armor Brute to do the solo no inpsiration +4x8 MoITF, and it's also been done by at least a Sentinel, a Tanker, and an Arachnos Soldier. But I'm sure my Brute isn't the best overall choice for soloing +4x8 missions with AVs. My damage output won't allow me to solo a lot of the level 54 AVs out there. My lack of defense debuff resistance probably won't allow me to solo a lot of the level 54 AVs out there, though maybe if I picked up Ageless Radial rather than Barrier Core, I'd have a better shot. I've also yet to throw myself against all the enemy groups in game and see how consistent my performance is, how bad my weaknesses are. You're looking for consistency, and obviously consistently extremely good. Or you may even be looking for something with a weakness where that weakness can be easily addressed by inspirations and/or temporary powers. I also doubt that melee is the best overall choice for these things, but since Scrappers and Brutes are all I play these days, I'm not really in the know on what the other Archetypes are capable of. I would guess that you're looking for some specific sort of build in a Blaster, Sentinel, Defender, or Controller, but I just don't know.

[Coyote]

You will have several problems to overcome:

First, the obvious: you need high damage single-target to beat the regen of AVs, and solid defenses to survive them, and solid AoE damage to go through /x8 spawns reasonably fast.

 

Second, the not as obvious: if you're looking to do all types of story arcs, you need to have plans with dealing with mobs that have high +ToHit and so overcome Defense-based builds, and with mobs that resist different types of mezzing, and with mobs who drain Endurance or give large -Recovery.

 

I would suggest some of the following:

Demons/Traps or Thugs/Traps. Traps has enough -Regen to floor AVs, Demons and Thugs do good damage, and having henchmen disperses nasty debuffs away from you. You may have to get used to resummoning the lower tiers, though at +4/x8

Illusion/Traps. Same idea except that it has less overall damage but PA is indestructible.

Electric/Electric or Electric/Energy Stalker. High damage both in AoE and single-target, and defense sets that can be made very sturdy and with resistances to a lot of nasty debuffs. I also like Ele/Shield, but it doesn't have as good debuff resistance. And Electric can be slotted with Chance to Heal to help regain health in AV fights.

Dark/Psy Dominator. A varied set of controls with a lot of -ToHit gives you defenses against all mob types, and you can avoid AV issues by perma-Confusing them. Good pet damage and the -Regen from /Psy makes up for the DPS loss from spamming Possess.

TW/Ele or TW/Ene Brute or Tanker. Like the Ele/x Stalker, but using TW which Stalkers don't have access to (and avoiding Electric Melee which is much better on a Stalker), and the Endurance management powers from Electric or Energy Armor to handle TW's endurance costs. Kind of like the Katana/Dark build from Werner, but with more DPS since you have -Res from the set directly rather than only from IOs. With a lot higher Endurance cost, which is why TW should be paired with a secondary that can really help with Endurance issues.

Fire/Dark Controller. High damage from Fire, and Dark neuters any single target. You have a mez protection hole which can be filled with Clarion.

[Bastille Boy]

@Rshock0n3, I notice that this is your first forum post. Will this be your first character on CoX? If so, I would steer you away from dominators and masterminds. Both archetypes can be powerful and great fun to play, but they don't make great first toons. Masterminds have complicated, fiddly controls that take getting used to. Dominators need to be built carefully and played with an understanding of game mechanics.

 

If you are looking for a good powerset that will be fun to play solo through mid-level story arcs but that will also be strong in the endgame, I'd suggest one of the melee ATs, a defender, a corruptor, or maybe a sentinel. Since you want to go fast, the three more damaging melee types (stalker, scrapper, brute) are likely your best options. Others can give advice on powerset selections.

 

My Rad/Sonic defender can handle a lot of things solo, but it is a slow process. On teams, he can really speed things up. There are other defender and corruptor powersets that are similar: able to help a group, and able to take on most anything solo, but slowly. For a new player, I'd suggest Time/Sonic over Rad/Sonic, since Time/ is less fiddly than Rad/. But again, this is probably not the best way to go if solo speed is what you're after.

[Linea]

That which kills AVs best is not necessarily that which kills hordes well.  8/10 of my builds have soloed a +4x8 ITF, but I'm not sure I'd recommend any of them for the job.  The ones that take out the AVs most easily struggle with the hordes, and vice versa.

 

All of the following have soloed a +4x8 ITF.  At least once ... and probably never more than once as it's a non-trivial task for most build.

 

Kat/Bio* - The more durable DB/Bio, 801 certified.  It struggles more on the AVs due to lower ST dps, but the durability more than makes up for it.  This is probably my top pick for the job.

 

DB/Bio - less durable, more dps, assuming you can keep yourself alive, it chopped up the AVs very nicely.

Armored Illusion/Rad - Destroys AVs, takes out 54+ GMs in 3 minutes.  By far one of the best AV/GM killers in the game.   But it struggles vs hordes, the AoE damage is relatively low.

Armored FIre/Atomic Sniper Blaster - This one will be difficult from a player resources perspective.  Consider it an advanced class.  But the payoff is nice.  you walk into a room, stroll around collecting up the whole room .... then nuke the whole thing flat in about 10 seconds.  Then with roughly 325 ST DPS you have enough firepower to take out most +4 AVs, it won't be fast, but you can do it ... assuming you can juggle your survival ... and use pets as available to speed things up.

StJ/EnA Stalker - 500+ ST DPS or more *rolls eyes*, but roughly equally durable as the armored blaster.   Harder to put in the durability hole as compared to the blaster, but once it's in the hole it has a harder time digging itself out of the hole as compared to the blaster.  Roughtly equal overall durability.  Also relatively low AoE, most stalkers have relatively low AoE due to an AoE Attack being sacrificed in order to add the Assassin's Strike.

 

Kat/EnA - Most broken (in a good way) build I've ever played.   The ST dps is probably too low for lots of +4 AVs without using reds.  The worst part of the build is the heal comes late-game.

Bots/Traps - Classic AV killer, but may struggle on some of the harder AVs or in over-aggro situations.  Relatively low objective DPS.  subjective DPS is much higher.

Time/(FIre,Water,Ice,DP)/(Dark,Soul,Mace)   -  Tank-Mage, but depending on build may need reds for the harder +4 AVs.

Armored Nature/Fire/Dark Self-Damage Cap Defender - I do not normally recommend resist based builds on 75% resist cap ATs ... but this one is might just be worth the cost.

Armored Water/Atomic Blaster - This is my "main tank".  Very Durable (at least in my hands), and good overall damage.  However, ST damage is a bit weak, you'll need reds or pets to take out any of the harder +4 AVS.

Armored Procced Storm with (Fire, Ice, Water, DP) - This is probably the very advanced class.  I'm not even sure which way I'd build it Def vs Cor, but probably Def.   Then balancing Armor vs Procs will be a nightmare.  However, the DPS potential along with debuffs is just plain old silly.   I can see a build like this hitting 500+ ST dps, more than enough to take out stubborn AVs in 5 minutes or less.  Add pets and you should have enough offense to rival the classic Illusion/Rad and have more overall AoE capabilities as well.  But it won't be an easy build to design nor easy to drive, at least not when facing +4x8 over-aggro cap hordes.

 

And more ... there are lots of builds that can do the job.   I've even soloed a +4x8 ITF with my Empath, but I really don't recommend that, it was a 4-6 hour run.

 

There is absolutely no build that is best at all three, Farming, ST, AoE, and Durability.  The closest you'll get would be Titan/Bio, but Titan/Bio really needs to be built toward relatively high recharge and not armor.  Titan without enough recharge falls off both an objective and subjective dps cliff.  If you can't build it to it's strength, you're better off with a different set, like DB/Bio.   Titan build correctly would be even less durable than DB/Bio, but higher dps.  But that in turn means you have to work much much harder to keep it upright vs the harder enemy groups and/or AVs when solo.  Teamed this isn't an issue, but solo can be a different story.

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Linea

[Apparition]

I have to agree with Linea.  It's usually one, or the other.  For taking down AVs and GMs, Beam Rifle/Rad Corruptor says, "Hello."  Massive amount of -Regen, very good single target DPS, and Scourge.

[CaptTastic]

I’d like to suggest a fire/rad corruptor with a few caveats: 

 

• IF it’s IO’d for ranged defence

• IF it has the clarion incarnate

• IF you pick up an AoE immob in epic/patron power pools to keep groups in RoF

• IF you’re not expecting it to be easy and are happy to embrace that. 
 

 

[Rshock0n3]

First of all thanks a lot for the Huge number of answeres in this short period of time. 

 

@Bastille Boy I have used to play CoX befor it went down a lot. And now im in it again for 3 Weeks. So relatively new in this state but i have some experience in COH. 

 

Hmm, i got a Time/Fire Corrupter which i have recently brought to 50. After all the answeres i guess this is one of my best bets. I have build im after a really god guide form the corrupter archetype forums. The only downside is that the build ist kind of expensive ( around a Billion i would say). So i have to do a lot of farming before getting there. I think the char is really fun and have a lot of potential. 

 

Further, i call a Fire/kin Controller which is on his way to 50 my own. He is really fun but i think the problem will be the AVs. 

 

The last Char i play a lot is my Illu/storm Controller. I think its the same as the fire kin = AV Problems on +4

 

As you can see im a little bit into Range/Support Chars. 🙂 

 

 

Regarding your POSTS:

 

-The whole Katana thing don’t really sound like a lot of AOE so i think that takes a lot of Speed and isn’t as i want it to be. 

 

-I don’t want to play a MM. I just think that the whole Class don’t suit to me as a good hero class (story wise) A hero who can call thugs and lay down traps? Not mine, but that’s personal.

 

-Elec/Elec Stalker sound really cool  to me and i will take a look a the Set optic and further if i can find some good builds in the archetype forum.

 

-The Dark/Psy Dominator is looking really really interesting to me and i will take a look at it. But i feel/think  there is a lack of killing large Spwans (8) good and efficient right?

 

- Rad/Sonic Defender? I get the feeling that nearly every combo on a Defender ist better on a Corrupter, especially when you are soloing. So Sonic/Rad could be an option.  and i already have a Corruptor i can imagine the story lines with (Time/Fire).

 

-But Rad in general don’t look so amazing to me ( not from the debuff side, more from the optics, sorry im a diva what when it comes to look :D)

 

-The whole Armored Natur/Armored Water thing is out of my understanding. Is there a Water Armour set? I don’t think so right? So sorry for not understanding. 

 

- Rifle and DP are another set i really don’t like personally because of the hero thing. 

 

So just my thought on the posts. 

 

And again, thank you so much for your Posts. Means a lot to me 🙂

Edited May 6, 2020 by Rshock0n3

[Psyonico]

When they say Armored they mean building in Defense and Resists through IOs, Powers (tough/weave/Combat Jumping) and Incarnate abilities

[Linea]

Quote

The whole Armored Natur/Armored Water thing is out of my understanding.

It's how you build the build.  If you want to do everything, you really are going to have to invest in a build.  Exactly how to build varies widely, and will vary widely player to player.  I heavily armor my builds so that I can solo 'main-tank' stuff that is well beyond average difficulty.   +4x8 Council are not at all the same as +4x8 Resistance, as an example.

 

Here is an older chart of various builds.

For AVs you want at least 250 ST DPS ... for AOE you'll have to decide that yourself by the % listed. 

MPL is minutes per level, smaller is better.  This can be used as a proxy for AoE potential.

Note:  Some players say pylons and mpl are not valid ways to measure dps. ... For Pylons, IMO they are a decent proxy for AVs, and for the most part I only care about ST damage vs AVs or GMs.   Just be aware that Avs can run, and that running can halve your applied dps. "Yay, Track Stars!" ...  However, if you are worried about damage vs Bosses and EBs, you may want to do a 3rd ST DPS test for those purposes. .... For MPL, mostly I just say to be aware that if a build does not have an immobilize/taunt, it will be at a roughly 10:7 disadvantage; and that's why I have two columns for mpl. 

 

Dur is the durability rating.  It is both objective and subjective at the same time, and based on me doing the driving and my playstyle of +4x8 pulling the entire map well over aggro-cap such that you might just end up facing down 16+ Bosses+.  Soloing a +4x8 ITF you can end up facing 8 EBs, 8 Bosses, and that is going to be a real problem for Ciaraine who is rated 18, it will be 3 times more taxing for Faidh who is rated only 6.

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Linea

[Bastille Boy]

1 hour ago, Rshock0n3 said:

 

@Bastille Boy I have used to play CoX befor it went down a lot. And now im in it again for 3 Weeks. So relatively new in this state but i have some experience in COH. 

 

Hmm, i got a Time/Fire Corrupter which i have recently brought to 50.

If you've already got a 50 on Homecoming, my advice about first toons doesn't apply. At this point, play whatever interests you!

Quote

- Rad/Sonic Defender? I get the feeling that nearly every combo on a Defender ist better on a Corrupter, especially when you are soloing. So Sonic/Rad could be an option.  and i already have a Corruptor i can imagine the story lines with (Time/Fire).

 

-But Rad in general don’t look so amazing to me ( not from the debuff side, more from the optics, sorry im a diva what when it comes to look :D)

The choice between defender and corruptor is complicated. Neither archetype is consistently better than the other. It really depends on the specific pair of powersets you are considering. Does the blast set include rains, which benefit from corruptors' Scourge? Does the blast set include -res? Does the buff/debuff set include +dmg or -res? Damage buffs and resistance debuffs are bigger on defenders. Are you building mainly with full IO sets, or are you building a proc monster? If the latter, will you be able to softcap your defenses as a corruptor?

 

In the March 2020 statistics on level 50 characters, there were 186 Rad/Sonic defenders but only 86 Sonic/Rad corruptors. I think this combination is more popular for defenders for four reasons:

1. Sonic Attack has -res, which makes it a "defender set." (It isn't a proc-friendly set, so that's not the issue.)
2. Radiation Emission has -res, -def, and +dmg, all of which are stronger on defenders.
3. Radiation Emission does nothing to boost your defense. You need to rely on pool powers and IO sets to hit softcap. This is very doable, since both sets have multiple skippable powers, but it's easier on defenders.
4. @modest wrote a great post on Rad/Sonic defenders that a lot of people have read. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Bastille Boy

[Rathulfr]

6 hours ago, Rshock0n3 said:

I just wondering what is the best Solo Char for doing Missions on +4/8 with AVs and everything.

 

Why do you want to do this?  It's a noble goal for experienced players, but if you're new to CoH, this is not the best approach to take.  You might be setting yourself up for failure or disappointment.  There's no need for that, at least not before you've had a chance to play and enjoy the game as intended.

 

That said, there isn't really any one "best" character/build for doing all of the things you mention: soloing +4x8 missions and AVs.  As others above me have pointed out, this can be done with a number of different builds using a variety of different approaches.  And even then, those optimal builds won't necessarily apply to all missions or AVs.  Not all AVs are created equal: each have different strengths and weaknesses.  So there's no one build that can address all of the possible permutations.

 

For example, I have an Energy/Energy Blaster with soft-capped Ranged and S/L/E defense that can waltz through +4x8 missions solo, and even take on a few AVs at that difficulty, as well.  However, there's no way I can do that with every AV or GM (giant monster).  As a Blaster, I've got plenty of DPS/DPA, and with IOs I've got enough defense; however, Blasters are vulnerable to mez, and to achieve a good balance of both damage and defense, I had to sacrifice resistance, regen, and recovery.  So any AVs/GMs that mez me or get past my defenses can destroy me with relative ease.

 

I recommend that you try out several builds for yourself to see what suits you.  I think you'll find that some are better than others, depending on your tastes and circumstances.  In the end, you'll probably end up with more than one "best" character for doing different missions and AVs at different difficulty levels.  And hopefully, you'll enjoy yourself along the way.  I know I do!  Good luck.

 

[Linea]

Quote

...I get the feeling that nearly every combo on a Defender ist better on a Corrupter, especially when you are soloing. ...

As said above. That's complicated.  It depends very much on each build.

I have Mirrored Armored Self Damage Cap* Builds for Nature/Fire Defender and Fire/Nature Corruptor:   The Defender does 3% more ST damage and 6% less AoE damage.

Because of the way multiplier numbers work, and the lower damage cap of the defender, the defender build is essentially self-damage capped, while the corruptor with it's lower multipliers and higher cap is not damage capped.  The defender build is also easier and more flexible to build.   But if you join a team with other +damage boosts, or a Kin, then the corruptor's higher caps come into play and it will then, on the team, while damage buffed, assuming you stay damage buffed, then do 5/4 damage vs the defender due to the higher caps.  On the other hand, the defender with it's higher multipliers will have the team as a whole putting out more damage.

 

So which is better?

Higher ST damage?  Higher AoE Damage?  Higher personal damage on a team?  Higher team damage on a team?  Better durability?  More build flexibility?  Easier and Simpler to Build?

Define 'better'.  That definition will determine the answer.

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Linea

[Machariel]

If I had to pick one character that I would confidently throw at anything in the game I think I'd pick a Plant Control / Psionic Assault / Ice Mastery Dominator.

 

Rationale:

- You get a ludicrously strong AoE confuse power (Seeds of Confusion) at level 8.  Seeds of Confusion trivializes pretty much any mob of any size and the more enemies you're fighting, and the more dangerous they are, the better it is.  Very few things speed up regular fights at +4x8 as fast as making all the enemies attack each other.

- Carrion Creepers does a ton of AoE damage while demanding 0% of your attention.  It also scales up very nicely with the size of the mob.

- You also get a standard AoE hold and AoE immobilize to manage regular enemies and you can even take Spore Burst to sleep AVs and pause the fight. 

- Psionic Assault isn't the most damaging dominator secondary but you get a key power that will help you solo tough targets: Drain Psyche, which is a massive -regen debuff and gives you some much needed sustainability for long fights.

- Psionic damage is also useful for punching through powers like Unstoppable and other "tier 9s" that many enemies use at low health. 

- Ice Mastery gives you Sleet, a strong debuff that reduces enemies damage resistance.

- Ice Mastery has 3 other powers that improve your sustainability - Hibernate, a power that turns you invulnerable but unable to attack and quickly regenerates health and endurance; Hoarfrost, a +self HP power, and Frozen Armor, which gives you smashing and lethal defense (very common damage types)

 

It won't have the most single-target DPS but it'll have enough and the -regen of drain psyche means that just about any amount of DPS will get the job done eventually.

 

 

[Coyote]

1 hour ago, Rshock0n3 said:

The last Char i play a lot is my Illu/storm Controller. I think its the same as the fire kin = AV Problems on +4

 

It's my main, I've soloed lots of AVs at +4. In general it's just AVs who like to flee that are a problem, but even there I beat Romulus and Director 11, and they're both happy to run around all the time, and the pair of Durays (that was probably the hardest fight) even though one of them just teleports away every few seconds. So the chase-down is sometimes annoying, but it's almost never impossible. Madame of Mystery is probably impossible at +4 for several reasons, but every character will probably have some weakness.

 

1 hour ago, Rshock0n3 said:

The Dark/Psy Dominator is looking really really interesting to me and i will take a look at it. But i feel/think  there is a lack of killing large Spwans (8) good and efficient right?

 

If you slot up Heart of Darkness as an attack (4 damage procs), you can throw Psy Scream, then run in for HoD and Psy Shockwave, and Scream/Shockwave will recharge pretty fast. This opens every spawn with about 600 AoE damage, plus two reasonably fast-recharging AoEs. You also have the option to add a pair of damage procs to Fearsome Stare and add another hundred or so damage to that. It's not farming level, but IMO it's quite solid for general play. And, while damage-wise it's just okay, not great, it does do this with the advantage of an AoE Immobilize so you don't have to chase-down stragglers. Add in the AoE damage from a Confused Boss before aggroing the spawn, and you should clear spawns actually faster than the Ill/Storm, who does more theoretical damage but will spread the spawn around 😞

[Troo]

One character that could help "the best Solo Char for doing Missions on +4/8 with AVs and everything"..

a pocket emp named Bawlin Chain.. (I haven't played this way for ages)

 

Interesting the focus 4x8 solo, it is. (yep that's a bit of yodaese https://www.yodaspeak.co.uk/index.php)

 

Seriously though, is the request only for level 50 content? Do the suggestions work for the many lower level arcs?

[Kabuki]

I would recommend a DM/SD Scrapper. It has the defenses to keep you alive in most situations, added damage when surrounded, and a teleport AOE makes up for DMs relatively lackluster AOE attacks. While DM gives you an attack heal, a stamina recovery AOE, and a to hit debuff built in to bolster your survivability, while having excellent single target damage for AVs. Plus it is fun!

[Coyote]

5 hours ago, Troo said:

Seriously though, is the request only for level 50 content? Do the suggestions work for the many lower level arcs?

 

Every one of my suggestions will work at lower levels, though of course almost no one is doing +4 AVs before Incarnate powers. Not all of them necessarily start the AV soloing at Positron TF level, but all can do early. The Stalkers, like most melee characters, may take the longest to mature since they need solid slotting for attacks, solid slotting for defenses, AND set bonuses to add to defenses, and it's hard to get all that before you start getting extra slots in the 30s. But none of them depends on Incarnate powers or even on epic power pools.

Edit: as will the Plant/Psy suggested... once you reach 20 you can solo AVs with /Psy Assault. Also, both Rad Emission and Sonic Blast get their important powers pretty early so that should also be solid in leveling.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Coyote