So, the ongoing homage characters...

[Ultimo]

As some may have already gleaned, many of my characters are not so loosely based on existing comic characters that I grew up with, sometimes combinations of characters.  The Canadian Shield, for example, is based on Captain America (for his origin) and Superman (for his powers).  My current project is the Stellar Ranger, based on Green Lantern.  But, he's proving to be a bit of a problem.

 

My first instinct was to make him a Defender, Force Fields and... something.  It's the something that's the issue.  When I was growing up, Green Lantern really didn't do a lot of just blasting things, he created constructs of energy and used them for various purposes, from bashing enemies, to trapping them, to tossing them about and so on.  That left me wondering what OTHER Archetypes might be better suited to the character, and that's brought me here for opinions.  The only real requirement is that he have a Force Field (or globe of similar appearance).

 

Right now, I'm tinkering with him as a Controller, Electric controls and Force Fields...  But what do you all think?

[Magairlín]

Why not Earth/FF? It sounds like it'd fit the bill.

[Ultimo]

8 minutes ago, Black Orchid II said:

Why not Earth/FF? It sounds like it'd fit the bill.

I looked at that, but it was too... earthy, if that makes sense?  It didn't look like energy constructs.  I thought about Ice, though.  I could explain that it's not actually ice, but force field constructs.

[EmperorSteele]

How about Illusion? You could tint all the pets and psuedopets green (or blue or red or whatever "I'm not green lantern but kinda" color you want)... I dunno about the Hold, it doesn't have a very visible effect like some of the other Control Primaries. On that note, you could go Earth or Fire and tint all THOSE green. The Earth effects in particular have an option to make everything look like green crystal instead of green rock, so it would definitely look like something made by an Oain Power Ring, albeit something made by someone with no imagination whatsoever. Though maybe that could be your Lantern's gimick, he has will, but no imagination, so everything comes out as a jagged mess.

[Ultimo]

57 minutes ago, EmperorSteele said:

How about Illusion? You could tint all the pets and psuedopets green (or blue or red or whatever "I'm not green lantern but kinda" color you want)... I dunno about the Hold, it doesn't have a very visible effect like some of the other Control Primaries. On that note, you could go Earth or Fire and tint all THOSE green. The Earth effects in particular have an option to make everything look like green crystal instead of green rock, so it would definitely look like something made by an Oain Power Ring, albeit something made by someone with no imagination whatsoever. Though maybe that could be your Lantern's gimick, he has will, but no imagination, so everything comes out as a jagged mess.

I have a Sorceror character that uses... excuse me, USED it.  I found it rather underwhelming, overly reliant on invisibility and the Phantom Army.  I've been blasting away with Electric Control, up to L10 now, and it's pretty decent.  Some GREAT area effects with a nice look (though the sound is a bit meh), and even a blast power that will knock foes down in bunches.

 

Here's what I've planned at first blush...

 

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!

Stellar Ranger: Level 50 Technology Controller
Primary Power Set: Electric Control
Secondary Power Set: Force Field
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Tesla Cage -- EndRdx(A), Acc(37), Dmg(37), Dmg(37), Dmg(40), Range(48)
Level 1: Personal Force Field -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(34), DefBuff(34)
Level 2: Chain Fences -- EndRdx(A), Acc(17), Dmg(19), Dmg(34), Dmg(40), Range(48)
Level 4: Fly -- Flight(A)
Level 6: Jolting Chain -- EndRdx(A), Acc(7), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Dmg(40), Range(46)
Level 8: Conductive Aura -- Acc(A), EndMod(9), EndMod(9), Heal(13), Heal(43), Heal(46)
Level 10: Hover -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(11), DefBuff(11)
Level 12: Static Field -- EndRdx(A), Acc(13)
Level 14: Force Bolt -- EndRdx(A), Acc(15), Range(50)
Level 16: Boxing -- EndRdx(A), Acc(17), Dmg(50)
Level 18: Paralyzing Blast -- EndRdx(A), Acc(19)
Level 20: Dispersion Bubble -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(21), DefBuff(21), DefBuff(29)
Level 22: Tough -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(23), ResDam(23), ResDam(29)
Level 24: Weave -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(25), DefBuff(25), DefBuff(27)
Level 26: Synaptic Overload -- EndRdx(A), Acc(27)
Level 28: Repulsion Field -- EndRdx(A)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(31), DefBuff(31), DefBuff(31)
Level 32: Gremlins -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33)
Level 35: Power Blast -- EndRdx(A), Acc(36), Dmg(36), Dmg(36), Dmg(43)
Level 38: Repulsion Bomb -- EndRdx(A), Acc(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(43)
Level 41: Temp Invulnerability -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(42), ResDam(42), ResDam(42)
Level 44: Energy Torrent -- EndRdx(A), Acc(45), Dmg(45), Dmg(45), Dmg(46)
Level 47: Cross Punch -- EndRdx(A), Acc(48), Dmg(50)
Level 49: Group Fly -- EndRdx(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Containment
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 -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(5)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(3), EndMod(3)
------------

 

 

[ShardWarrior]

I have a Lantern Corps homage SG with the kids.  We have all kinds of combinations of powers and ATs in there.  Some of my personal favorites are Water/Rad Corruptor, Fire/Temporal Blaster, Psi Melee/Shield Tanker, Force Field/Energy Defender.  Kids have red, yellow and blue lanterns.  I have an idea for a Dominator that I will try as a Black Lantern.  Force of Will works nice with the theme as well. 

[Ultimo]

Actually, I'm rather enjoying the Electric Controls for the character... except the damage is REALLY anemic... and Force Fields isn't going to do anything to address that...

 

I think just ONE decent damage dealer would be very welcome.  Perhaps if they doubled the damage of Jolting Chain?  It looks like a standard blast power, but it does practically no damage...

[Ultimo]

Hrm.  Damage on the Electric/Force Fields is really low...  And I don't even get to use Force Fields on myself.  That's always been really disappointing.  There are SO many heroes in the comics who use force fields for SELF protection, beginning with the likes of Green Lantern, but also Invisible Girl, Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom, Guardian (from Alpha Flight), Magneto, and on and on.  It's too bad there's no Controller set that gives the Controller some sort of PERSONAL defense.

 

The only one I do get is the PFF, which isn't really of much use, as it prevents me doing anything but being a bubble.

[Blackfeather]

Just now, Ultimo said:

Hrm.  Damage on the Electric/Force Fields is really low...  And I don't even get to use Force Fields on myself.  That's always been really disappointing.  There are SO many heroes in the comics who use force fields for SELF protection, beginning with the likes of Green Lantern, but also Invisible Girl, Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom, Guardian (from Alpha Flight), Magneto, and on and on.  It's too bad there's no Controller set that gives the Controller some sort of PERSONAL defense.

 

The only one I do get is the PFF, which isn't really of much use, as it prevents me doing anything but being a bubble.

You'll want to proc out Jolting Chain and Repulsion Bomb to add some damage - does a fair amount that way.

[Ultimo]

4 hours ago, Blackfeather said:

You'll want to proc out Jolting Chain and Repulsion Bomb to add some damage - does a fair amount that way.

ya, Jolting Chain is one of those powers that looks like a normal blast... but does next to no damage.  In fact, there seems to be only ONE power, and single target at that, that does even halfway decent damage, and that's Tesla Cage.  I think if they doubled the damage output on Jolting Chain, it would be pretty good.  Still lower damage than Tesla Cage, but at least SOMETHING reasonable.  Right now, my Tesla Cage does around 16 damage (twice with Containment) while Jolting Chain does 5.  My enemies are routinely hitting me for 50+.  A Werewolf from a door knock threw a boulder at me that did 188 damage (I have 255 health).  That's rather a drastic discrepancy, especially when I have only ONE power capable of actually HOLDING him so he can't attack... and being single target, it leaves the Sorceress that appears with him free to zap me for around 80 damage.  Oh, I was damaging her with my Chain Cages (or whatever it's called), but that does 5 damage to her 80...

 

And heaven help you when facing anything that can't be held.  A Troll (Jutal, I think), was slaughtering me in a bank mission because he was immune to my holds.  I managed to immobilize him, but he threw a boulder that did 2/3 of my health in one shot.  Hard to compete when you have no defense and no offense...

[Blackfeather]

12 minutes ago, Ultimo said:

ya, Jolting Chain is one of those powers that looks like a normal blast... but does next to no damage.  In fact, there seems to be only ONE power, and single target at that, that does even halfway decent damage, and that's Tesla Cage.  I think if they doubled the damage output on Jolting Chain, it would be pretty good.  Still lower damage than Tesla Cage, but at least SOMETHING reasonable.  Right now, my Tesla Cage does around 16 damage (twice with Containment) while Jolting Chain does 5.  My enemies are routinely hitting me for 50+.  A Werewolf from a door knock threw a boulder at me that did 188 damage (I have 255 health).  That's rather a drastic discrepancy, especially when I have only ONE power capable of actually HOLDING him so he can't attack... and being single target, it leaves the Sorceress that appears with him free to zap me for around 80 damage.  Oh, I was damaging her with my Chain Cages (or whatever it's called), but that does 5 damage to her 80...

 

And heaven help you when facing anything that can't be held.  A Troll (Jutal, I think), was slaughtering me in a bank mission because he was immune to my holds.  I managed to immobilize him, but he threw a boulder that did 2/3 of my health in one shot.  Hard to compete when you have no defense and no offense...

Both Jolting Chain and Repulsion Bomb work very well with procs. The former provides a chance on every 'jump', due to the way that it functions behind the scenes, and the latter has a small-ish radius and a relatively high recharge. Here's how they both stack up in Mids:

Spoiler

Jolting Chain can take three damage procs: Explosive Strike, Gladiator's Javelin, and Apocalypse. Repulsion Bomb can take four: Bombardment, Javelin Volley, Positron's Blast, and Explosive Strike.

 

Repulsion Bomb works well with Force Feedback too, easy way of building up some recharge. In general, most Controllers start off slow, you'll want to take the P2W prestige powers to get you through the lower levels. From there, once you build up some proper attacks and so on, you should be fine.

 

Once you hit level 20 and get Dispersion Bubble, you should get a boost to survivability. If you solo often, you might even like Detention Field for the lower levels - take out a boss for 30 seconds without too much hassle and deal with them later.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Blackfeather

[Supertanker]

On 10/17/2020 at 8:27 PM, Ultimo said:

My first instinct was to make him a Defender, Force Fields and... something.  It's the something that's the issue.  When I was growing up, Green Lantern really didn't do a lot of just blasting things, he created constructs of energy and used them for various purposes, from bashing enemies, to trapping them, to tossing them about and so on.  That left me wondering what OTHER Archetypes might be better suited to the character, and that's brought me here for opinions.  The only real requirement is that he have a Force Field (or globe of similar appearance).

It's too bad we can't colour tint the Propel objects in Gravity Control. Throwing all that crazy stuff is kind of Green Lantern.

[Ultimo]

So...

 

Got the character to L19 now, Electric Control/Force Fields.  However, I'm pondering the possiblity of switching to Electric Control/Electric Manipulation.  Anyone know how that set performs?

 

I also started a Peacebringer version of the character.  I've never played a Peacebringer, but I kind of liked the fact he gets force fields for HIMSELF that the Force Fields set lacks.  I mean, that he can actually use in combat.  PFF isn't really much use in that regard.  I find I'm missing the ability to support the team, though.  One of the things the Lantern can do is project force fields around others (either to contain them or shield them), or use them to carry/manipulate others.  The Peacebringer really doesn't have that.

 

Obviously, no power sets are going to perfectly emulate the kinds of things the Lantern can do, but I'm still trying to find something that hits enough of the right notes to make it work for me.

 

The Controller is pretty decent, but his damage and personal defenses are VERY weak.

The Peacebringer does decent damage (so far, only L10), and has decent defenses, but has no real support ability.

I thought of making him a Defender... but I really dislike them, their damage output is abysmal considering the endurance cost, and again with Force Fields, there's no personal defenses.

 

Any thoughts?

[Omega Force]

Force Field provides personal protection with Dispersion Bubble (at 20 on your controller), and in the epics you can go Fire or Force to get decent resist auras.  I'd stick with it a few more levels.

[Ultimo]

6 hours ago, Omega Force said:

Force Field provides personal protection with Dispersion Bubble (at 20 on your controller), and in the epics you can go Fire or Force to get decent resist auras.  I'd stick with it a few more levels.

Ya, my Mastermind based on Doom has that.  The thing is, there's very little kind of personal defense.  I envisioned the character having a globe around himself more or less all the time.  I suppose I could put an aura on him and just define his having things like Weave and Leadership as being his personal shields...

[Ultimo]

Uuuughhh.

 

So, tonight I got on the Positron 2 task force with my Electric Control/Force Fields Controller, based on Green Lantern.  Wow, what a painful experience.  Three, four attacks, and he's OUT of endurance.  Conductive Field is worthless, in part because I'm usually some distance away (having no defense), and partly because it seems to do essentially nothing.  The team was rolling through whole groups of enemies in the time it took me to defeat ONE minion, and even then I was only barely able to do it.  Just not any fun.  I mean, the Electric Control set looks pretty awesome... but the performance is REALLY underwhelming.

 

I also have been watching some episodes of Justice League Unlimited, and the Lantern just seems to hit a lot harder than the Controller is capable of doing.  I mean, my Tanker hits enemies for 50-60 damage with his basic punch attack.  My Controller's basic "blast" attack does around 5 damage (10 if the enemy is controlled, so against bosses, the hardest to hurt, I do the least damage possible).  So, I believe I'll be abandoning the Controller experiment.  He's just not capturing the combat style of the Green Lantern.

 

So what are my alternatives?  Perhaps I'll go back to the Defender...?  I've been toying with the idea of doing Electrical Affinity and Electric Blast... but I don't know much about the former.  It would be replacing Force Fields, which I have always been underwhelmed by.  What say you all, what would you suggest, and what do you think about Electric Affinity?

[BrandX]

Time/Elec/Mu Defender or Elec/Time/Mu Corruptor and be sure to grab the Epic Hold.

 

There's also Grav/Time/Any Epic You're Happy With

 

 

[Ultimo]

12 hours ago, BrandX said:

Time/Elec/Mu Defender or Elec/Time/Mu Corruptor and be sure to grab the Epic Hold.

 

There's also Grav/Time/Any Epic You're Happy With

 

 

My Sorceror character uses Grav/Time.  It's pretty fair, but doesn't quite feel like the Lantern.  Electric Control was nice because he was creating constructs of electricity to contain foes, and that's very Green Lantern.  Much of what he does is about making energy constructs.  Neither Gravity Control nor Time Manipulation makes constructs.  Force Fields kind of does, but it's so weak, and really doesn't help him solo.  In fact, the only real reason I was taking Force Fields was for the PFF, which seems very in character.... but kind of a waste if the whole rest of the set is useless to me... and the PFF is very situational.

 

So, still struggling with him.  I'll get him to where I want him, it's kind of fun to experiment... if a bit repetitious.

[BrandX]

1 hour ago, Ultimo said:

My Sorceror character uses Grav/Time.  It's pretty fair, but doesn't quite feel like the Lantern.  Electric Control was nice because he was creating constructs of electricity to contain foes, and that's very Green Lantern.  Much of what he does is about making energy constructs.  Neither Gravity Control nor Time Manipulation makes constructs.  Force Fields kind of does, but it's so weak, and really doesn't help him solo.  In fact, the only real reason I was taking Force Fields was for the PFF, which seems very in character.... but kind of a waste if the whole rest of the set is useless to me... and the PFF is very situational.

 

So, still struggling with him.  I'll get him to where I want him, it's kind of fun to experiment... if a bit repetitious.

 

Have you thought of using Cold Domination but color it a non ice color?

[Ultimo]

1 hour ago, BrandX said:

 

Have you thought of using Cold Domination but color it a non ice color?

Ya, I was looking at it in the character creator... but it's aesthetic just isn't quite working for me... A bit too crystally, and dusty, if that makes any sense.  Right now, I'm trying a Peacebringer again, but I'm finding myself missing the controls and the team support abilities.  I may have to go back to the Defender or Corruptor.

[Steel]

A bit late to the party, but may I suggest a Dark/Energy Dominator? Haunts and the puppy tinted green might work for you as GL constructs. My own Dark/Sav has more of a horror theme (and uses poison green to make it look like ectoplasm from Ghostbusters) and I'm quite pleased with the result. Perhaps you can make it work for a cosmic theme as well. Not to mention Power Boost is very beneficial to your primary.