Most useful Defender build for current fast endgame?

[Substaticman]

I've come to realize some Defenders builds aren't as useful (or at all) with how the game is played now. It's mostly blasters, brutes, and scrappers just face-rolling the screen. Like healing in general doesn't seem too useful. I've seen high praise for rad/sonic or cold/sonic on launch but now people say things die just too fast these days for that to be any help outside of some AVs. 

 

So which Defender builds pull the most weight in the current ultra fast teams, or even solo capability?  I have my eyes on Storm/X or Poison/X.   And if that is the most useful at the moment, what pairs best these it to get the most out of fast groups or soloing?  

 

I have not played a defender much but really want to go all in one. But I also don't want to basically be leeching in end game (cough empathy), or have a rough time soloing.

 

[Bastille Boy]

What kind of missions are you planning to run? Are you planning to focus on the missions and task forces people most commonly recruit for? Or are you going to do some of the harder stuff that people don't run as much? Is this toon going to be a badge collector? (That means you'll have to run some missions without enhancements for your Ouro badges.)

 

My badge collector, Dr. Iodine, is a Rad/Sonic defender. Iodine makes arcs with difficult AVs like the Katie Hannon TF go significantly faster. Because Radiation's best powers come early, Iodine is great at exemplaring. Because some of Radiation's powers are defensive, Ouro badges that involve losing non-AT powers or enhancement bonuses are doable, even though Iodine doesn't have softcap defense for those missions. (Endurance management is the big challenge.) Dr. Iodine is not an efficient farmer. The only reason to bring him to a Council stomp would be to level him up.

 

I find this post by @Hjarki helpful in thinking about late game defenders. I don't agree 100% with the tier lists at the end of the post (for instance, I'd rate both Ice Blast and Sonic Attack top tier). But I think the post is right that the most useful buffs and debuffs in the endgame are -resist, +damage, and -regeneration. The first two are useful in any fight. The third is really only useful against AVs and other hard targets.

 

Think about whether you want to build a "proc monster" or use a more traditional build with lots of set bonuses. If you are going for a proc monster, you want a primary that boosts your own defense, so that you don't need many IO sets to hit the defense soft cap. Time is a good choice. If you are planning a more traditional build, you have more options. Rad/Sonic is not a proc-friendly pairing.

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Bastille Boy

[Bopper]

You can play a sonic/sonic. Buff your allies at start of map for 2 minutes of resistance buffs. Anchor your tank with the toggle resistance debuff. Then follow the tank with your Sonic Dispersion and spam your howl for more resistance debuffs.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Bopper

[Substaticman]

20 minutes ago, Bastille Boy said:

What kind of missions are you planning to run? Are you planning to focus on the missions and task forces people most commonly recruit for? Or are you going to do some of the harder stuff that people don't run as much? Is this toon going to be a badge collector? (That means you'll have to run some missions without enhancements for your Ouro badges.)

 

My badge collector, Dr. Iodine, is a Rad/Sonic defender. Iodine makes arcs with difficult AVs like the Katie Hannon TF go significantly faster. Because Radiation's best powers come early, Iodine is great at exemplaring. Because some of Radiation's powers are defensive, Ouro badges that involve losing non-AT powers or enhancement bonuses are doable, even though Iodine doesn't have softcap defense for those missions. (Endurance management is the big challenge.) Dr. Iodine is not an efficient farmer. The only reason to bring him to a Council stomp would be to level him up.

 

I find this post by @Hjarki helpful in thinking about late game defenders. I don't agree 100% with his tier lists at the end of the post (for instance, I'd rate both Ice Blast and Sonic Attack top tier). But I think he is right that the most useful buffs and debuffs in the endgame are -resist, +damage, and -regeneration. The first two are useful in any fight. The third is really only useful against AVs and other hard targets.

 

Think about whether you want to build a "proc monster" or use a more traditional build with lots of set bonuses. If you are going for a proc monster, you want a primary that boosts your own defense, so that you don't need many IO sets to hit the defense soft cap. Time is a good choice. If you are planning a more traditional build, you have more options. Rad/Sonic is not a proc-friendly pairing.

 

I just want an all arounder for being able to do as many as activities for now, since I don't have other defenders or many characters at 50.

 

How good would Storm/DP be?  I was first thinking Storm/Sonic but I'm seeing people say sonic is overrated and to do DP or BR instead.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Substaticman

[Bopper]

1 hour ago, Substaticman said:

I just want an all arounder for being able to do as many as activities for now, since I don't have other defenders or many characters at 50.

 

How good would Storm/DP be?  I was first thinking Storm/Sonic but I'm seeing people say sonic is overrated and to do DP or BR instead.

Who said sonic is overrated? It's very powerful in team content, but undesirable sometimes for solo content (slow attacks, AoE is mostly weak hitting cones, but the nuke is nice). DP is a good option too, thats what my main uses. I havent played beam rifle, but I bet it does well.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Bopper

[Bastille Boy]

1 hour ago, Substaticman said:

I just want an all arounder for being able to do as many as activities for now, since I don't have other defenders or many characters at 50.

 

How good would Storm/DP be?  I was first thinking Storm/Sonic but I'm seeing people say sonic is overrated and to do DP or BR instead.

Sonic Attack is a great set, but it's less about doing damage yourself, more about multiplying damage for your team. You can solo with it, but it's slow.

 

Beam Rifle is also a great set. It has -resistance as well. Its single target attacks are very strong, the AOEs less so. I think it'd be a good choice for an AV killer you sometimes want to solo with.

 

I can't comment on DP or Storm from experience, but other players like both sets. If you use Storm, you will want a KB to KD enhancement in the powers with knockback.

[Apparition]

Beam Rifle does great single target damage, and does -resistance and -regen.  It's not that great with AoE damage.  It specializes in destroying AVs and Giant Monsters, which it does very well.

 

Sonic Attack is not about you doing damage (it's not that great with single target damage, and it's at the bottom of the barrel for AoE damage), it's about letting your teammates do more damage.  If you exclusively team, it's a very good option.  If you plan to solo a bit, look elsewhere.

 

Dual Pistols with Incendiary rounds is one of the higher damage sets for both single target and AoE.  You can also use Chemical rounds for -dmg debuffs if your team is low on debuffs.  It's very versatile.

 

[Substaticman]

56 minutes ago, Bopper said:

Who said sonic is overrated? It's very powerful in team content, but undesirable sometimes for solo content (slow attacks, AoE is mostly weak hitting cones, but the nuke is nice). DP is a good option too, thats what my main uses. I havent played beam rifle, but I bet it does well.

Ahh nice. I was actually tempted for DP I saw a lot of interesting procc threads about that.

 

So now I'm thinking Storm/DP or Time/DP.  I don't know too much about CoHs procc mechanics, so I wonder which of those 2 can be bigger absolute powerhouses in both team/solo.

 

[Apparition]

2 minutes ago, Substaticman said:

Ahh nice. I was actually tempted for DP I saw a lot of interesting procc threads about that.

 

So now I'm thinking Storm/DP or Time/DP.  I don't know too much about CoHs procc mechanics, so I wonder which of those 2 can be bigger absolute powerhouses in both team/solo.

 

 

On a personal note, I would not get too attached to procs.  Captain Powerhouse has stated on multiple occasions that procs are too strong and he intends to bring them to heel at some point in the future.  So, if you don't want to be disappointed, I'd build without relying on them strongly.

[Bopper]

20 minutes ago, Substaticman said:

Ahh nice. I was actually tempted for DP I saw a lot of interesting procc threads about that.

 

So now I'm thinking Storm/DP or Time/DP.  I don't know too much about CoHs procc mechanics, so I wonder which of those 2 can be bigger absolute powerhouses in both team/solo.

 

For procs, Time/DP is strong because you gain so much To-Hit and Defense from Farsight that it affords you some trade space in adding more procs. Storm in itself is an offensive set, so you can go that route as well. My main is Time/DP so I know it well, but I havent played Storm so I can't provide you with any gameplay advice.

[Darkir]

3 hours ago, Apparition said:

 

On a personal note, I would not get too attached to procs.  Captain Powerhouse has stated on multiple occasions that procs are too strong and he intends to bring them to heel at some point in the future.  So, if you don't want to be disappointed, I'd build without relying on them strongly.

This is at least 3 months out though, if not 6. I see no reason not to build for procs now and worry about a new build later.

[DarkWings]

Speaking of rad/sonic, what ancillary powers should they have?

[Hjarki]

6 hours ago, Apparition said:

 

On a personal note, I would not get too attached to procs.  Captain Powerhouse has stated on multiple occasions that procs are too strong and he intends to bring them to heel at some point in the future.  So, if you don't want to be disappointed, I'd build without relying on them strongly.

I'm not sure how well this will work.

 

You've got what I like to term the NSTRLE (from Wheel of Fortune) 'procs' - the uniques that every build slots (def/res uniques, health/stamina uniques). Changing them would alter virtually every build in the game, requiring ground-up re-designs. We're almost at the point where they should simply remove some available slots from every build, give everyone their passive bonuses and remove those IOs from the game.

 

You've also got damage procs. But I have a hard time viewing them as a problem. They're primarily useful for Controllers/Defenders to take anemic solo damage to acceptable levels. But it's not like Blasters/Stalkers are whining that they're obsolete because Defenders/Controllers can quad-slot Holds.

 

There are some hyper-specific procs like Theft of Essence that allow you to do some great things - the negative-end Dehydrate and the like - but aren't actually used all that much.

 

However, the elephant in the room is Force Feedback. It absolutely changes game balance to the point where builds without Force Feedback tend to occupy a lower rung of effectiveness than those that can make use of it. Virtually every power that can slot FF does. The problem is that changing it basically means people will need to re-roll their characters. It would be equivalent to normalizing the activation times of Blast set powers so every set did the same basic single target damage of Fire - a vast, sweeping change that would completely up-end the game.

 

 

[Sir Myshkin]

7 hours ago, Apparition said:

Captain Powerhouse has stated on multiple occasions that procs are too strong and he intends to bring them to heel at some point in the future.  So, if you don't want to be disappointed, I'd build without relying on them strongly.

Captain Powerhouse has stated that they are currently specifically looking at performance on a few key procs, and proc interactions with Epic/Patron abilities to try and find a balanced approached to maintaining the purpose of Epic abilities as to the original design goals and how that interacts with the PPM system. Please stop procmongering.

 

 

[Substaticman]

45 minutes ago, Hjarki said:

I'm not sure how well this will work.

 

You've got what I like to term the NSTRLE (from Wheel of Fortune) 'procs' - the uniques that every build slots (def/res uniques, health/stamina uniques). Changing them would alter virtually every build in the game, requiring ground-up re-designs. We're almost at the point where they should simply remove some available slots from every build, give everyone their passive bonuses and remove those IOs from the game.

 

You've also got damage procs. But I have a hard time viewing them as a problem. They're primarily useful for Controllers/Defenders to take anemic solo damage to acceptable levels. But it's not like Blasters/Stalkers are whining that they're obsolete because Defenders/Controllers can quad-slot Holds.

 

There are some hyper-specific procs like Theft of Essence that allow you to do some great things - the negative-end Dehydrate and the like - but aren't actually used all that much.

 

However, the elephant in the room is Force Feedback. It absolutely changes game balance to the point where builds without Force Feedback tend to occupy a lower rung of effectiveness than those that can make use of it. Virtually every power that can slot FF does. The problem is that changing it basically means people will need to re-roll their characters. It would be equivalent to normalizing the activation times of Blast set powers so every set did the same basic single target damage of Fire - a vast, sweeping change that would completely up-end the game.

 

 

Ahh very interesting information. I never really got into the whole procc thing, It seems like nerfing them would make already underplayed stuff that  kinda relies on them even worse off.

 

By the way I've seen you make some great in-depth analysis in this section. Do you have any opinions on what can be considered top tier Defender builds in the current state of the game just for general endgame play?

[Hjarki]

42 minutes ago, Substaticman said:

By the way I've seen you make some great in-depth analysis in this section. Do you have any opinions on what can be considered top tier Defender builds in the current state of the game just for general endgame play?

In terms of support sets, I think Storm Summoning, Time Manipulation and Kinetics are a step above the rest. If you want to play a certain Blast/Control/Pet set and just want a powerhouse support set to augment it, they're the go-to options.

 

That being said, I think Storm Summoning is the only one of those three sets that really works best as a Defender.

 

Kinetics is really a 'Corruptor set' from the standpoint of reaching its best performance with that AT. With Defenders, you don't have the higher +damage cap. With Masterminds/Controllers, you tend to be far too dependent on your pets surviving (without many tools that help you do that) to make best use of Kinetics.

 

Time Manipulation tends to be more of a Controller/Mastermind set in my mind. It's not really a 'high power' set in terms of the damage it brings to the table. Rather, it's a utility set that provides the core ingredients necessary to support your primary - Defense, Accuracy, Recharge, Healing. When you pair it with a Blast set, you end up with adequate-but-not-exceptional performance because it's more about covering holes than pushing pure blasting to the limit. When you pair it with a pet set covering the weaknesses of the pets allows you to bring them into the fray far more often/effectively.

 

In contrast, Storm Summoning's power is almost entirely in the last few powers of the set so exemplar'ing as a Storm Summoner is much easier as a Defender. You don't receive any damage bonus for playing a non-Defender from Storm Summoning powers, but Defenders do receive more Defense/Resist/-Resist (as well as better support from pool powers). Since the damage dealt by Storm Summoning itself is a huge part of your overall damage, this makes the marginal value of Corruptor/Controller/Mastermind primaries far less important. Storm Summoning also has the "doesn't help pets" issue of Kinetics (even more so), so Controllers/Masterminds aren't ideal for it.

 

In terms of Blast sets:

• Corruptor sets. I'd categorize Fire, Ice, Dark and Archery as 'Corruptor sets' due to their use of Rains, ordering of powers and/or types of powers. I think all of these sets can be strong choices with the right builds, but I'd tend to avoid them on a Defender.
• PBAoE sets. Radiation and Electrical both fall into the obscure category of 'PBAoE' sets - you really want to be in the thick of things with these sets. While this is a perfectly valid tactic, it's not generally a strong Defender tactic due to the general lack of other reasons to be standing in melee range. Defenders don't get any decent melee attacks (which, aside from merely being nice, come in handy for set bonus reasons - especially on a character looking to build melee-range defenses) and about the only other worthwhile PBAoE option Defenders get is Soul Drain. I think you can make a lot of adequate, second-tier builds with these sets, but none that really fit into the top tier.
• Beam Rifle, Dual Pistols, Psychic, Water Blast. These are all what I'd term 'oddball' sets. If you've got enough support from your primary, you can do a lot with the slotting potential of the diverse attacks they bring to the table. That being said, I tend to view Water Blast as a step above the rest due to its ability to operate entirely at range, bring massive AoE and slot virtually every high-power proc in the game.
• Sonic Attack. This set is a bit like having a second primary. It's easily the worst damage of any Blast set in both AE and single target. It has very little in the way of useful utility. However, it does permit you to significantly improve other people's dps. I tend to be amongst the biggest critics of Sonic Attack precisely because it tends to lead to the 'Empathy Defender' syndrome of being a heros/villains who is helpless when not accompanied by more powerful heros/villains and is frequently a less effective addition to the team than simply bringing another one of those more powerful heros/villains.
• Assault Rifle, Energy Blast. I'm not a fan of either of these sets (in any permutation) because what they tend to bring is generally done better by other sets with a more diverse array of powers.

However, with all of this, you need to keep in mind that I'm not thinking of the ATs 'thematically'. That is, I don't build Defenders to 'defend', Controllers to 'control', etc. Rather, I look at them from the standpoint of game mechanics independent from what the AT is 'supposed' to do.

[Frosticus]

Fast moving teams?

Poison and kinetics

and to a lesser extent, Storm and cold.

 

Poison is the only one that is notably stronger as a defender though. 

[Bastille Boy]

4 hours ago, DarkWing said:

Speaking of rad/sonic, what ancillary powers should they have?

My suggestion would be to use whatever powers give you the resistance (from epic armor) and defense you need. I chose Electricity Mastery because it fits with my character's origin story better than the alternatives. I hardly ever use the attacks. They are there to be set mules for defense. I wanted softcapped ranged defense and melee defense. I do use Power Sink.

 

You could get similar results from other power pools.

 

The build I am using:

Spoiler

Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Technology Defender
Primary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Electricity Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(3), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(3), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal(7), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(7)
Level 1: Shriek -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(37), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37)
Level 2: Radiation Infection -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism -- EffAdp-EndMod/Rchg(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(5)
Level 6: Howl -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(11), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(13)
Level 8: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 10: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Maneuvers -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(13), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(15), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(15), RedFrt-Def(17), RedFrt-EndRdx(17)
Level 14: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(34), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(36), GldArm-3defTpProc(36), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)
Level 16: Shout -- SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(29), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(33)
Level 18: Weave -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(19), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(19), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), RedFrt-Def(27), RedFrt-EndRdx(29)
Level 20: Amplify -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(21), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(21), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(23), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(23), GssSynFr--Build%(25)
Level 22: Lingering Radiation -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 28: Tactics -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 30: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(33)
Level 35: Screech -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg(40), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb(50)
Level 38: Dreadful Wail -- SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(40)
Level 41: Electric Fence -- EnfOpr-Acc/Rchg(A), EnfOpr-EndRdx/Immob(42), EnfOpr-Acc/EndRdx(42), EnfOpr-Immob/Rng(42), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob(43)
Level 44: Charged Armor -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(45), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(45), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(45)
Level 47: Thunder Strike -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(48), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(48), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50), Obl-%Dam(50)
Level 49: Power Sink -- 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 -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(40)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(34)
Level 50: Agility Core Paragon
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 1: Quick Form
------------

 

 

[Substaticman]

Awesome thx everyone. I will probably do a Time/DP and then a Storm/Water.

[Without_Pause]

Both will work fine. Debuffs sets are the most useful 1-50. Kin is the only real exception to this outside of specific cases, but Kin plays better on other ATs. Just about any AT can feel useless on a steamrolling team.

[ExeErdna]

On 6/1/2020 at 12:40 AM, Substaticman said:

Awesome thx everyone. I will probably do a Time/DP and then a Storm/Water.

Storm/Water can get real wild mainly due to it makes the best use of Force Feedback imo because I noticed if you set the proc in Hurricane you don't need to knockdown or repel for it to work. Then I advise you invest in Hurricane, I know a lot of players go for don't use it or slot "KB to KD" yet from my experience there's only 1 skill you should put that in and that's Lightning Storm. Yet back on Hurricane having something that rips 55% hit before incarnate and around 80+ with the Alpha and Clarion is worth having to chase down some enemies. I'm almost done with some tweeks to the build. It can hang with some steamrollers if they're willing to work with the chaos.

[Substaticman]

11 hours ago, ExeErdna said:

Storm/Water can get real wild mainly due to it makes the best use of Force Feedback imo because I noticed if you set the proc in Hurricane you don't need to knockdown or repel for it to work. Then I advise you invest in Hurricane, I know a lot of players go for don't use it or slot "KB to KD" yet from my experience there's only 1 skill you should put that in and that's Lightning Storm. Yet back on Hurricane having something that rips 55% hit before incarnate and around 80+ with the Alpha and Clarion is worth having to chase down some enemies. I'm almost done with some tweeks to the build. It can hang with some steamrollers if they're willing to work with the chaos.

 

Only issue I have sometimes things run away a lot and I don't have any roots. I wonder how good this build will be at 50 without a roots.

[Hjarki]

34 minutes ago, Substaticman said:

Only issue I have sometimes things run away a lot and I don't have any roots. I wonder how good this build will be at 50 without a roots.

Storm has two Slow powers that can drive enemy run speeds down to 5%. You can also grab an Immobilize from Epic/Patron pools for AV fights.

[Psylenz0511]

55 minutes ago, Hjarki said:

Storm has two Slow powers that can drive enemy run speeds down to 5%. You can also grab an Immobilize from Epic/Patron pools for AV fights.

Don't underestimate snow storm. It is a top-notch snare/slow, Leveling up you will like the interrupt feature that keeps embalmed vazilok, energy mages, skyraider engineers, etc  from doing their most annoying actions.

[Hjarki]

1 hour ago, Psylenz0511 said:

Don't underestimate snow storm. It is a top-notch snare/slow, Leveling up you will like the interrupt feature that keeps embalmed vazilok, energy mages, skyraider engineers, etc  from doing their most annoying actions.

I tend to 'under-estimate' Snow Storm not because it doesn't do a good job of what it intends to do, but because it is so narrowly useful.

 

Consider a theoretical power that reads: "Instant kill target whose name begins with 'L'". Now, against targets whose name beings with 'L', this is clearly an overpowered ability. But how often are you really going to use this power? It's not very relevant for minions (or even lieutenants) since you can do basically the same thing with standard, universally applicable powers. Unless you're planning to build an 'L'-farmer who only kills 'L'-named mobs, you're probably not going to take this power despite the fact that's ridiculously overpowered if you like fighting Lusca.

 

Snow storm tends to fall into that category (albeit with a bit less extreme results). The -recharge is only relevant if you're fighting enemies for a long time - which normally means AV who resist it so heavily you might as well not bother. The slow effect is useful against large groups that don't have AV-level debuff resistance, but it's also superfluous considering your have the far more generally useful Freezing Rain.

 

I've played Storm Summoning quite a bit and I've really only found two good reasons to take Snow Storm:

• You have to. You need 3 powers from amongst the first 3 primary and first 2 secondary powers. The first three Storm Summoning powers are all underwhelming. They're not useless, but they're definitely not why you're taking the set and they're frequently taken as pure throwaways - you don't slot them and you don't have them on your bars. But since you have to take one or more of them, you might as well try to get some use of out them if at all possible.
• To ground fliers. I already explained why the primary effects of Snow Storm weren't actually all that useful. However, this seemingly minor secondary effect is actually quite useful because Storm Summoning as a set completely breaks down against most fliers. You can't Freezing Rain a flier and Tornado travels along the ground. While fliers aren't terribly common, the fact is that Storm Summoning is almost completely ineffectual against groups like Sky Raiders without this power.