Looking for a Buffer!

[Deadshot7]

I am running with a Plant/Storm controller, and I want to provide some buffs that will help him out. I think Endurance (or Recovery) is probably the most impactful--other buffs like Defense/Resisists/Foe -Resist/and/or Recharge would all be gravy.

 

I am thinking Cold/ (with Medicine) or Kin/ or Empathy/ or even perhaps Controller Darkness Affinity are some options. So my questions are :

 

1) Defender or Corruptor or Controller?

2) Which Support Set?

3) Which Blast Set (or Control Set) will give me enough Recharge to dole out buffs/debuffs

 

@RedlynneI was crit by the wall of text in your Time/DP guide (which is awesome btw), so I suspect getting 8 procs in 2 minutes from force feedback is probably what I need to be able to do (and this makes me think of water, energy--perhaps overkill?, DP, and are there others? I was also looking at @Darkir's Water/Cold and @Sir Myshkin's Mad King builds. I'm also looking at Kin options too--but Defense is very light. Anyway, I am hoping the gurus on here can give me some ideas. Thanks!

Edited May 20, 2020 by Deadshot7

[Redlynne]

If you're duoing with a Plant/Storm Controller, I would recommend either:

• Time/Dual Pistols Defender
• Kinetics/Dual Pistols Defender
• Beasts/Kinetics Mastermind

Kind of depends on you whether or not Mastermind would be something you'd want to play, but Beasts/Kinetics paired with a Plant/Storm Controller would just be a wrecking ball combination so long as you take Stealth AND Grant Invisibility on your Mastermind (so as to Stealth yourself AND your Pets and Plant/Storm partner and their Pet!) for getting into the middle of spawn groups before they're hit by Seeds of Confusion and then using Fulcrum Shift on them as they self-destruct around you(!) and then turning your Beasts loose onto them from within.  I'm thinking that Plant/Storm paired with Beasts/Kinetics would just be ... Ebil™ Incarnate ...

[War_L0ck]

24 minutes ago, Redlynne said:

If you're duoing with a Plant/Storm Controller, I would recommend either:

• Time/Dual Pistols Defender
• Kinetics/Dual Pistols Defender
• Beasts/Kinetics Mastermind

Kind of depends on you whether or not Mastermind would be something you'd want to play, but Beasts/Kinetics paired with a Plant/Storm Controller would just be a wrecking ball combination so long as you take Stealth AND Grant Invisibility on your Mastermind (so as to Stealth yourself AND your Pets and Plant/Storm partner and their Pet!) for getting into the middle of spawn groups before they're hit by Seeds of Confusion and then using Fulcrum Shift on them as they self-destruct around you(!) and then turning your Beasts loose onto them from within.  I'm thinking that Plant/Storm paired with Beasts/Kinetics would just be ... Ebil™ Incarnate ...

Compelling case---but isn't Grant Invisibility cast 1 at a time though? So you'd need to cast it 5 times (for the pets) before pulling, right? And this combo misses Defense and -To Hit/-DMG debuffs. Is the idea to use seeds and tornado to disrupt $Target (as you say 🙂 ) alpha and output?

[Redlynne]

1 minute ago, War_L0ck said:

isn't Grant Invisibility cast 1 at a time though? So you'd need to cast it 5 times (for the pets) before pulling, right?

6 Pets ... but the duration is 120s, so you won't need to refresh it before every fight.  You'd really just want to be using it to set up a Fulcrum Shift drain that will buff all of your Pets (and your Controller duo partner) for being able to take your time to get into the exact position you want to be in to use Fulcrum Shift to maximum effect.

[Camel]

In a nutshell.

 

Corrupter - Offensive support, a Fire/Kin for example, can buff both of you to the damage cap and rain destruction with scourge DoTs + everything the Plant/Storm is dishing out.

 

Defender - Similar to the Corrupter, but this is the AT you want to go for if choosing a set like Empathy, Cold, Pain, etc. Even Kinetics would yield better results with higher buff modifiers for Speed Boost, Increase Density, etc. I personally would go for the Corrupter if choosing Kinetics, one of the few exceptions being a Kinetics/Sonic Defender.
 

Controller - Strength multiplier, doubling down on controls and debuffs is a sure fire way to victory. Kinetics and Darkness Affinity are top contenders here.

[Deadshot7]

8 hours ago, Camel said:

In a nutshell.

 

Corrupter - Offensive support, a Fire/Kin for example, can buff both of you to the damage cap and rain destruction with scourge DoTs + everything the Plant/Storm is dishing out.

 

Defender - Similar to the Corrupter, but this is the AT you want to go for if choosing a set like Empathy, Cold, Pain, etc. Even Kinetics would yield better results with higher buff modifiers for Speed Boost, Increase Density, etc. I personally would go for the Corrupter if choosing Kinetics, one of the few exceptions being a Kinetics/Sonic Defender.
 

Controller - Strength multiplier, doubling down on controls and debuffs is a sure fire way to victory. Kinetics and Darkness Affinity are top contenders here.

Thanks. This helps. I'm also trying to understand from a numbers perspective which is better. For example, /Cold may as well be Corruptor (possibly) because the endurance and-resist aren't that different. I think Fire wouldn't be a good choice, because I'm looking for a proc based build to give +recharge, so I can cast the stronger buffs from /Cold, /Empathy, etc

Edited May 21, 2020 by Deadshot7

[Doomguide2005]

The other option potentially if this is to be a dedicated pairing that might be worth considering is team teleport +/- IO's for individual stealth.  Or a set like Storm with Steamy Mist.  They stack from different casters and should pretty much allow you to stealth into place as long as you keep their areas overlapping.

[Primantis]

Gonna chime in with the suggestion for an Emp/ Defender

 

PBU + Fort + Adrenaline Boost + CM will turn your Stormy friend into an unstoppable monster. With capped defense, (assuming they are rocking Mist and one of you pick up Maneuvers), a nice boost to both To-hit and +DMG,  infinite END, 100% more recharge, and Regen-levels of Regeneration. Plus mez protection.  It's not too hard to get AB perma either, with a modest IO build.

 

 

 

Time/ would be another strong contender. As it would make both of you pretty unstoppable with PBU + Farsight + Chrono Shift, along with its various debuffs. It takes a bit more work to get Chrono Shift perma however.

 

 

/Sonic would make a good secondary for debuffing. And depending on how ya'll are rolling, the KB in some of the AoEs might not be a big issue.

 

 

Just my 2 inf.

[Doomguide2005]

Yeah Empathy's AB is relatively easy to make perma and Fort is readily 22% defense buff plus to hit and damage.  Add in Assault, Tactics and Maneuvers on both of you for 30% defenses, 60+ damage buff and a ton of to hit before sets come into it. 

[Nemu]

Electric affinity

 

EA  is a low investment but highly effective secondary for what it does so you don't need proc gimmics to boost recharge to ridiculous levels to get the most out of it. It covers most of the holes you are looking to fill with the duo

 

1 - mez protection, most people that commented on this thread seem to forget that this is a thing, and even more so during the leveling process when you are not running with super dodgy softcapped builds.

2 - recharge and end in one package - great for storm, great for plant, great for you.

3 - everything else elec does.

 

I favor the mastermind version.

[Pzn]

You might be interested in nature if you are planning a high recharge build.  You can perma all the aoes buffs (that affect you too) and have great survability.  +Absorb, +Dmg, +Tohit, end discount, and +res to all damage types. 

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by josh1622

[Darkir]

7 hours ago, Deadshot7 said:

I am running with a Plant/Storm controller, and I want to provide some buffs that will help him out. I think Endurance (or Recovery) is probably the most impactful--other buffs like Defense/Resisists/Foe -Resist/and/or Recharge would all be gravy.

 

I am thinking Cold/ (with Medicine) or Kin/ or Empathy/ or even perhaps Controller Darkness Affinity are some options. So my questions are :

 

1) Defender or Corruptor or Controller?

2) Which Support Set?

3) Which Blast Set (or Control Set) will give me enough Recharge to dole out buffs/debuffs

 

@RedlynneI was crit by the wall of text in your Time/DP guide (which is awesome btw), so I suspect getting 8 procs in 2 minutes from force feedback is probably what I need to be able to do (and this makes me think of water, energy--perhaps overkill?, DP, and are there others? I was also looking at @Darkir's Water/Cold and @Sir Myshkin's Mad King builds. I'm also looking at Kin options too--but Defense is very light. Anyway, I am hoping the gurus on here can give me some ideas. Thanks!

I would suggest a corruptor for any kinetics character. So, I will suggest my kintank fire/kin build. You get softcapped s/l/e def, hardcapped s/l res with RoP AND mez protection, a bunch of recharge, and endurance recovery for the stormy through transference. You both will also be at the dmg cap and that really really shines on a fire corruptor. My water/cold corruptor build will also work well, as you guys won't have any problems with endurance due to heat loss and you'll be able to stack double freezing rain and double sleet for -144% -res (sleetx2, rainx2, heatx1). Time/DP will essentially mean that you guys shouldn't need to worry about survivability while leveling and your'll have plenty of +recharge, but I'd be a little concerned with the end drain.

 

5 hours ago, Deadshot7 said:

I think Fire wouldn't be a good choice, because I'm looking for a proc based build to give +recharge, so I can cast the stronger buffs from /Cold, /Empathy, etc.

 

Ah, in that case water/cold. Running 2x maneuvers and steamy mist+arctic fog should have you both covered for survivability (with weave, tough, and possibly dark embrace) and you'll get plenty of damage with the stacking -res, while heat loss covers the endurance.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Darkir

[Doomguide2005]

So there you have it "any/any" defender, corruptor or controller.  And really build to their strengths, cover each others weaknesses and you'll have a hell of a ride regardless.  Part of the beauty of this game is the way any/any does in fact work.🙂

[Peacemoon]

Empathy would be the best ‘buffer’ for your friend in terms of actual buffs. Unlimited endurance, (always loved on Storm), massive +recharge on Adrenalin Boost (another thing always loved) and with fortitude a nice defence, damage and accuracy boost. Combine with leadership and your friend will be a monster.

The only thing you lack is debuffs, but /Storm will cover most of that. Pick up a good blast set with nice AoE damage, and away you go!

[Deadshot7]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone. There are about 5 I already want to try... but first up has to be @Redlynne's suggestion for Beasts/Kin. And yes, I am open to MM. My only worry about this build is really low Defense (at least for early levels)--but Seeds, Tornado, and Pets (that can even Def buff themselves) are probably going to help with that. @Redlynneany chance that you happen to have a build handy for this?

 

As for Empathy, it just makes me think wouldn't it be nice if the AOE range for group buffs was doubled? --Spamming a "Gather" macro every 2 minutes is tedious.

 

 

[Parabola]

1 hour ago, Deadshot7 said:

Spamming a "Gather" macro every 2 minutes is tedious.

Don't bother with this. Just position yourself halfway between the melee guys and the squishies on the next spawn you engage and fire them off. You'll hit everyone most of the time. If people miss out for a cycle they miss out, it's not the end of the world.

[Nemu]

Poor Emps shout gather and wait until EVERYONE is gathered before firing off RAs before battle, good emps joust RA where they are needed the most and where it can catch the most people, in battle and outside of battle.

 

Honestly as a squishy I'd care more about you using CM or Fort on me. Those are life or death buffs, especially the former. RAs are just quality of life.

[Peacemoon]

It’s a bit like accelerate metabolism - just fire off the auras when you have a critical mass of teammates all together. I usually aim for 5+ members if I can. If a few people miss out because they’re awkwardly positioned then that’s their problem 😉

If you get everyone to stop and gather you are reducing the effectiveness of the buff, which is literally to try speed up the team not slow it down...

 

Kinetics is a good choice for a /Storm friend as well though, because again it brings endurance and recharge and brings it at a lot lower level. Empathy’s is more powerful but you have to wait longer to unlock it and not quite the same universal coverage.  

[Redlynne]

2 hours ago, Deadshot7 said:

@Redlynneany chance that you happen to have a build handy for this?

Haven't made one yet, but I probably will eventually.

In the meantime, you ought to be able to adapt my keybind system for your own use, if necessary.

[Doomguide2005]

6 hours ago, Nemu said:

 

Honestly as a squishy I'd care more about you using CM or Fort on me. Those are life or death buffs, especially the former. RAs are just quality of life

Big truth here. Getting mezzed means I can't move to cover, can't use my attacks, can't ... do much of anything for myself or my teammates.  And pretty much nothing is more frustrating than knowing the Empath on the team has CM while you stagger about the boss pounding on you till you eat carpet.

 

One of the pros of an Empath as your buffer is there's absolutely no requirement for any foes to be present for any of those buffs or heals to be used.   

[Golden Azrael]

19 hours ago, Deadshot7 said:

I am running with a Plant/Storm controller, and I want to provide some buffs that will help him out. I think Endurance (or Recovery) is probably the most impactful--other buffs like Defense/Resisists/Foe -Resist/and/or Recharge would all be gravy.

 

I am thinking Cold/ (with Medicine) or Kin/ or Empathy/ or even perhaps Controller Darkness Affinity are some options. So my questions are :

 

1) Defender or Corruptor or Controller?

2) Which Support Set?

3) Which Blast Set (or Control Set) will give me enough Recharge to dole out buffs/debuffs

 

@RedlynneI was crit by the wall of text in your Time/DP guide (which is awesome btw), so I suspect getting 8 procs in 2 minutes from force feedback is probably what I need to be able to do (and this makes me think of water, energy--perhaps overkill?, DP, and are there others? I was also looking at @Darkir's Water/Cold and @Sir Myshkin's Mad King builds. I'm also looking at Kin options too--but Defense is very light. Anyway, I am hoping the gurus on here can give me some ideas. Thanks!

DUO-ing is a the premier art in CoH.

 

Try to experiment by duo-ing with different ATs and power set combos.

 

They will each bring something to the table.

 

Some will do damage through put that will have you standing there...others will compliment you....and allow you to go at a synergistic pace.

 

So, I think a Defender would be my 1st pick.  A bit of co-depency on buff survival and making both more potent through buffs.  Two trollers and you have lock down.  Damage will be 'wholesale.'  And a tank and you may find yourself at odds but it can work if you work with the tank.

 

That's part of the fun of CoH.  Trying.  Finding out.  See what works.

 

Duo-ing is a great way to see what does and doesn't as it has its 'own pace.'  You gain an intimate understanding of how another 'hero' works over time.

 

Azrael.

[Without_Pause]

I got my Plant/storm to 50. The biggest issues while leveling was end and no self heal. Yes, I know about Spirit Tree. That's not an "oh crap" button. Going Cardiac for alpha solved the end issues, so I would focus more on def and healing for support although it can cover def when pimped out. Bring a AoE damage based build. Seeds just begs for it.

 

I can see Kin's heal being target based creating some issues, but I'm not sure it is a deal breaker. I think Nature, Thermal, or Time would all be good as well. 

[Zanthyna]

Consider going with Energy Blast.  Storm is a chaotic set and you could augment that with the knockback-heavy Energy, giving you the extra control (and fun) of sending everyone flying.