Pocket Defender?

[Glowman]

Wanted to run the Barracuda Strike Force last night but there were only 3 of us. I was told we couldn’t pull it off without a defender. I dunn9 if that’s true, but it got me thinking...

 

if you were going to bring a defender with you on a second account, what sets would you bring?

 

I would think you’d want it to a) not require a lot of attention, b) debuff well, c) have some decent buffs and d) be tough enough to not die immediately when left unattended. 
 

Thoughts?

[Bopper]

sounds like you'd want it to auto-follow a character, have toggles, and have a power on auto? I'll see what fits that the best. A Time defender comes to mind, having Time's Juncture to debuff enemies around it, and have farsight on auto, plus a slew of leadership toggles. But I'll take a quick look and see if something else is more fitting.

[Parabola]

10 minutes ago, Bopper said:

sounds like you'd want it to auto-follow a character, have toggles, and have a power on auto? I'll see what fits that the best. A Time defender comes to mind, having Time's Juncture to debuff enemies around it, and have farsight on auto, plus a slew of leadership toggles. But I'll take a quick look and see if something else is more fitting.

I'd auto the heal and check in every now and again to fire off farsight and chrono but yeah time seems to bring a lot with minimal effort involved. It might be worth looking at a time mastermind rather than a defender though. That way you also get the benefit of the pets attacking. I did a bit of dual boxing back on live and an mm on the second account was generally the strongest option.

[Bopper]

5 minutes ago, parabola said:

I'd auto the heal and check in every now and again to fire off farsight and chrono but yeah time seems to bring a lot with minimal effort involved. It might be worth looking at a time mastermind rather than a defender though. That way you also get the benefit of the pets attacking. I did a bit of dual boxing back on live and an mm on the second account was generally the strongest option.

That does sound good, if you're able to occasionally check in, Time sounds good... or go with Sonic Resonance as you'd get more resistances to other types while also having status protection. But Time comes with a heal, Sonic doesn't.

 

For Epic, I'm thinking go Psychic for the Confusion Aura. 

 

But I like the MM idea. I was also thinking maybe a Darkness Affinity controller, they have nice AoE toggles. 

 

For Pool Powers, I'm thinking Leadership toggles, Hover, Stealth, and Tough/Weave. Things to stay alive and undetected.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Bopper

[Glowman]

I hadn’t considered a mm. That’s a good idea. How would you go about building that? I’m not very good with mids. 

[Parabola]

52 minutes ago, Zer0 Hour said:

I hadn’t considered a mm. That’s a good idea. How would you go about building that? I’m not very good with mids. 

I'm no expert on mm builds. I know the lower tier pets need plenty of accuracy but that's about as far as it goes. Be aware that running lots of leadership toggles and putting something like a healing aura on auto can get a bit end intensive so slot accordingly until the bot can self sustain. It's probably not worth spending a huge amount of inf on a bot though, they won't make much use of an expensive build.

 

A word of warning about dual boxing. No matter how hands off the second account bot is it will take attention away from what you are doing on your main character. You won't be able to play your main at 100%, particularly if it's in any way complicated to play. Sometimes simply getting the bot to navigate the map is a challenge in itself...

[Hardship]

I've found that having Recall Friend on your main is helpful for getting your char that is following you back to you when things go awry.

[Bopper]

37 minutes ago, Hardship said:

I've found that having Recall Friend on your main is helpful for getting your char that is following you back to you when things go awry.

who needs a pocket defender when you can just roll with Recall Friend and Vengeance? Pocket Venge-Bait is all we need

[Sir Myshkin]

Hmm, I dunno. I might say look at Pain Domination or Nature's Affinity for the group buffs. Pain has a toggle heal (regen on MM) on top of an aura heal, a PBAoE debuff, a group +Res/ToHit/Dam, and a strong ST +Regen/Rec/Dam on 90/s timers for the later two. Knowing that I can keep Demons alive with Electrical Affinity well enough with just Faraday Cage topping off their stats and a chain heal, I'd imagine Pain could manage just as well while also giving them that mass buff to ToHit and Damage. Naure's Affinity functions similarly, but that one requires a bit more hands-on to be taken advantage off, but it does have some "lazy options."

[CaptainLupis]

I'd suggest a Bots/Rad MM. The good thing about them is they are really useful even with common IOs, so it can be cheap to run on a second account. You have accelerate metabolism for a team buff and a PBAoE heal which could be set to auto. The you have your debuffs: Rad infection, enervating field, and lingering rad for AV fights. Choking cloud is also really useful for shutting down minions and and LTs, plus if you add the lockdown chance for +2 hold you'll be surprised how often it gets bosses out the fight for a whle.

 

Keep the pets in bodyguard mode and with the heal on auto the MM is unlikely to die quickly if things go south. 

 

The only real downsides are the bots don't really come into their own, damage wise, until they get the second upgrade at 32 and you'll probably want to invest in some sudden impact KB to KD IOs to keep targets in the bots, and the rest of the team's, AoEs. The first point shouldn't really be an issue as if you had a defender tied to a second account set to follow they probably wouldn't be attacking at all, so any damage the bots do is better than none. But once you get the second upgrade the damage will be good even when exemped down to level 27.

Edited June 20, 2020 by CaptainLupis

[Lady War]

I have 3 "pocket" Defenders for my SS/SD Brute.

 

Therm/BR fills my resistance holes, you can auto cast a single target or group heal and I alt tab to Forge and apply res buffs. Same concept with my Emp/Son minus the resistance but you get nice +reg and +rec. The last one I use is a Son/DP. This is the one I usually run when a team or TF is short. She is very passive - slap DF on the tank, have DR on and alt tab to throw your res buff on every few minutes. This works particularly well with defense based tanks - my SS/SD is essentially indestructible at this point and hits like a freight train. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Lady War

[Without_Pause]

Far easier to try and find a support character to be the 4th person versus dragging along a dual boxed character. Partly depends on the server, but if I knew I was going to have issues building a team, I would post about doing it on the relevant server page here.

[Glowman]

1 hour ago, Without_Pause said:

Far easier to try and find a support character to be the 4th person versus dragging along a dual boxed character. Partly depends on the server, but if I knew I was going to have issues building a team, I would post about doing it on the relevant server page here.

I totally agree. It just made me think the idea of a “pocket defender” could also be useful in other instances. 

[Ankhammon]

While it does depend on your needs on the char you are running, a good hands-off option to me would be Nat Affinity assuming you have no real worries over being mezzed.

 

Can be left on all the time (and WG cuz it's too good):

Wild Growth for added Resistance, Regrowth on auto for aoe heal and even Entangling Aura for a pbaoe hold on minions.

With Leadership, Fighting and maybe a Scorp Shield running he isn't gonna fall down anytime soon. Hover to add maneuverability.

We're talking 40% S/L, 32% E, 16.6% to the rest Def, 47.5% S/L, 41% Toxic and 23.8% to the rest resistances along with a mag 1 pbaoe hold on just SOs.

 

Toggles:

Sneaky good is Lifegiving Spores for added heal and End in a patch. Lots of heal and end in a big fight.

Spore Cloud can provide -tohit and -Dam and with the patch not ending after mob kill it lasts a good time.

 

One click Goodness:

Overgrowth for BU level Dam and toHit that lasts for a solid minute. It has an added end discount too.

Wild Bastion for a big heal/big absorb.
 

and the rest:

Rebirth if you ever fall down and can't get up.

Even Corrosive Enzymes can add significant -Dam and -Res

 

[DZKFire]

I'm not sure if you know this, but the reason that you need a defender (or MM) in Barracuda SF is because they get a temporary power that disables the phase shifting Reichsman has. It is basically impossible without a defender/MM since he'll just phase and regen

[seresibyl3]

Just run a pain defender... painbringer will make you eternal.... 😛

[Seigmoraig]

I ran a Sonic/lolwhocares pocket Defender for good while. Sonic is a very hands off set that does well as a bot.
You have the +res bubble and the +res shields that are nice but the real deal here is the -res aura that you can stick on your beater that never needs refreshing and has a super long range (70ft iirc). Just pick up Invisibility so that your bot is never detected and run all the leadership toggles, the bubble and Disruption Field. If your build is adequate you might not even need the 2 +res shields making it the perfect bot that you never need to touch once you have set up your buffs and followed somebody. Only problem is that if you stick it on a melee character the bot will end up taking collateral AoE damage so if it isn't at least def cap it will die easily.
When I would farm with this character I would just hover over the center of the map and Distuption Field had enough range to cover the whole map

[seresibyl3]

2 hours ago, Seigmoraig said:

I ran a Sonic/lolwhocares pocket Defender for good while. Sonic is a very hands off set that does well as a bot.
You have the +res bubble and the +res shields that are nice but the real deal here is the -res aura that you can stick on your beater that never needs refreshing and has a super long range (70ft iirc). Just pick up Invisibility so that your bot is never detected and run all the leadership toggles, the bubble and Disruption Field. If your build is adequate you might not even need the 2 +res shields making it the perfect bot that you never need to touch once you have set up your buffs and followed somebody. Only problem is that if you stick it on a melee character the bot will end up taking collateral AoE damage so if it isn't at least def cap it will die easily.
When I would farm with this character I would just hover over the center of the map and Distuption Field had enough range to cover the whole map

Like something silly?

Spoiler

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!

Level 50 Natural Defender
Primary Power Set: Sonic Resonance
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Sonic Barrier -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(3), Ags-ResDam(3)
Level 1: Shriek -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(21), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(29), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc(29)
Level 2: Sonic Haven -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam(11), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(11)
Level 4: Howl -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(9), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(9)
Level 6: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(15)
Level 8: Disruption Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 10: Maneuvers -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), Rct-ResDam%(31), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(33), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(33), LucoftheG-Def(33), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 12: Sonic Dispersion -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(13), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(15), EndRdx-I(40)
Level 14: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 16: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(17), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(17), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(19), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(19), GssSynFr--Build%(21)
Level 18: Sonic Repulsion -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), EndRdx-I(34), EndRdx-I(34), ExpStr-Dam%(50)
Level 20: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(23), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(23), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), GldArm-3defTpProc(31)
Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 26: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 28: Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 30: Grant Invisibility -- Ksm-ToHit+(A)
Level 32: Liquefy -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Consume -- PwrTrns-+Heal(A), PwrTrns-EndMod(46), PwrTrns-Dam/Rech(48), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(48), PwrTrns-Dam/Acc/End(50), PwrTrns-Dam/Acc/Rech/End(50)
Level 38: Dreadful Wail -- ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(39), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(39), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(39), ScrDrv-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Fire Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(42), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(42), UnbGrd-Max HP%(42), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(43), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Rise of the Phoenix -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(46)
Level 47: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Quick Form 
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 -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance 
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Prv-Absorb%(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(5), Mrc-Rcvry+(37), Pnc-Heal/+End(37)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(37), PwrTrns-+Heal(40)
Level 50: Resilient Core Paragon 
------------
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 2.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 2.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 14.44% Defense(Smashing)
• 14.44% Defense(Lethal)
• 32.56% Defense(Fire)
• 32.56% Defense(Cold)
• 12.88% Defense(Energy)
• 12.88% Defense(Negative)
• 6% Defense(Psionic)
• 22.88% Defense(Melee)
• 12.25% Defense(Ranged)
• 27.25% Defense(AoE)
• 1.35% Max End
• 36% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 7.5% Enhancement(Max EnduranceDiscount)
• 37.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 30% SpeedFlying
• GrantPower Preventive Medicine (10% chance, if Scourge)
• 137.3 HP (13.5%) HitPoints
• 30% JumpHeight
• 30% SpeedJumping
• Knockback (Mag -4)
• Knockup (Mag -4)
• MezResist(Confused) 60%
• MezResist(Held) 60%
• MezResist(Immobilized) 60%
• MezResist(Sleep) 60%
• MezResist(Stunned) 60%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 60%
• MezResist(Teleport) 100% (20% chance)
• 14.5% (0.24 End/sec) Recovery
• 46% (1.95 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 45% ResEffect(SpeedFlying)
• 45% ResEffect(RechargeTime)
• 45% ResEffect(SpeedRunning)
• 8% Resistance(Smashing)
• 31.25% Resistance(Fire)
• 31.25% Resistance(Cold)
• 17% Resistance(Energy)
• 17% Resistance(Negative)
• 11.75% Resistance(Toxic)
• 11.75% Resistance(Psionic)
• 8% Resistance(Lethal)
• 30% SpeedRunning
  

 

 

 

[Seigmoraig]

20 minutes ago, seresibyl3 said:

Like something silly?

You could strip a LOT out of that build and it would still function exactly as it should.
AoE def cap is the priority here since if you are invisible it is the only thing that will affect you. Keep in mind that when Invisibility is turned on you deal 50% less damage, used to be that you could only affect yourself when using that power but it was changed last year to the -50% dmg mark allowing you to even buff other while having it toggled on.
If you plan on playing it as a fully passive bot, things like Miracle, Performance Shifter, the Luck of the Gambles IOs aren't useful too much. Also the damage procs you have will only cause to to lose stealth and get aggro, the idea is to never do any offensive actions so that you stay in invisibility all the time.
All in all though that build will get you to where you want to be as a bot though. Mine isn't even slotted and she is still super useful at what she does and she only rarely dies it's a little more micromanaging to keep her out of AoE range but I have 2 monitors with one instance on each so it isn't THAT bad

Edited June 22, 2020 by Seigmoraig

[kiramon]

40 minutes ago, Seigmoraig said:

You could strip a LOT out of that build and it would still function exactly as it should.
AoE def cap is the priority here since if you are invisible it is the only thing that will affect you. Keep in mind that when Invisibility is turned on you deal 50% less damage, used to be that you could only affect yourself when using that power but it was changed last year to the -50% dmg mark allowing you to even buff other while having it toggled on.
If you plan on playing it as a fully passive bot, things like Miracle, Performance Shifter, the Luck of the Gambles IOs aren't useful too much. Also the damage procs you have will only cause to to lose stealth and get aggro, the idea is to never do any offensive actions so that you stay in invisibility all the time.
All in all though that build will get you to where you want to be as a bot though. Mine isn't even slotted and she is still super useful at what she does and she only rarely dies it's a little more micromanaging to keep her out of AoE range but I have 2 monitors with one instance on each so it isn't THAT bad

I just figured you could be a little more useful while doing it with no significant risk lol

[Seigmoraig]

21 minutes ago, kiramon said:

I just figured you could be a little more useful while doing it with no significant risk lol

I really just play my Pocked Def as a 100% passive character, like if I'm letting go of the steering wheel of my main DPS character to go push some buttons on a defender, I'm for sure not gaining any damage output and most likely losing out

[kiramon]

13 minutes ago, Seigmoraig said:

I really just play my Pocked Def as a 100% passive character, like if I'm letting go of the steering wheel of my main DPS character to go push some buttons on a defender, I'm for sure not gaining any damage output and most likely losing out

True - but you can just auto target with howl on auto and call it a day plus you can get a bigger mob ... get some more resist lowering 

Edited June 22, 2020 by kiramon

[Seigmoraig]

27 minutes ago, kiramon said:

True - but you can just auto target with howl on auto and call it a day plus you can get a bigger mob ... get some more resist lowering 

But then you get aggro and die. Probably not with this guy's build but I was unwilling to spend 500mill on a build for my bot just to auto cast howl

Edited June 22, 2020 by Seigmoraig

[kiramon]

18 minutes ago, Seigmoraig said:

But then you get aggro and die. Probably not with this guy's build but I was unwilling to spend 500mill on a build for my bot just to auto cast howl

To each their own! Lol