Suggest me an AT (old player "new" to the game)

[Polestar]

hi everyone, I newly downloaded this awesome game again. The last time I played was back on live during the time Keldians were new.
I want to say that english is not my first language but I am in awe at how friendly and positive this whole community is and I feel right back at home here.
Sadly I am quite overwhelmed by all the options this game now has to offer, and I am suffering from restartitis and can not settle on a
character that I would like to play.

My highest character as of yet is an Arachnos Widow, she is level 12, going really slow and I die a lot in the Hollows. Also her powers seem really
underwhelming up until now, especially visually.

Could you guys suggest to me a fun AT and build that is good as a first character to level to 50 (solo and in groups) and that people like to have on their teams
when I finally hit 50?

 

Thanks a lot!

[Meknomancer]

Widows are great fun stick with it once you get your freespec at 24 and then mind link its a totally different toon and everyone appreciates the buffs veats bring to a team. Having a toon with mez protection that can melee/range and has control options makes it really versatile. If your already thinking of other options /time corruptors are great and Auroxis posted multiple builds here: Fire/Time/Dark, the ultimate DPS/Support/Tank hybrid - Corruptor - Homecoming (homecomingservers.com) that all work really well solo and in teams. 

 

If things are slow going solo its always going to be faster if you find people to team up with but if you plan to solo a lot then brutes are the easy option there's hundred of builds in the archtype section to look over and nobody is going to refuse dps toons when it comes to teaming. Some AT's level up faster than others and some are more team friendly, you get 1000 slots/server so try them all out and welcome back to the game 🙂

[Erratic1]

Widows are great but it may seem tough going until you get up towards level 24 with one.

 

Everyone loves being buffed, so Defenders, Corruptors, Controllers, and Masterminds are always welcome in groups. 

 

 

Edit: I second Meknomancer's suggestion of a Brute--tough, status protection, and solid damage all in one package. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by Erratic1

[PainX]

personaly i would likely make a brute very new player friendly AT both in cost and efficiency and it can also solo should the need arise on team it's a split between a tank and dps not quite as meaty as a tanker not quite as dps as a scrapper but due to how fury works probably the best lowbie damage dealer with a meaty health bar and an armor set on top

[Cutter]

nthing the suggestions to start with one of the more self-sufficient ATs. Brute, Scrapper, Tanker, Sentinel would all be good options to jump back in with (tho Sentinels suffer from an identity crisis of sorts at the moment). If you do go Brute, I'll go further and suggest one with a damage aura as that will really speed things up in the early game. Also for slotting, focus on accuracy and endredux first, & let fury take care of +damage.

[tidge]

Widows are GREAT, but I won't recommend as a "first" character for a couple of reasons:

• They eventually are forced to respec, and that respec will be confusing if you can't foresee what the new power choices will bring
• They burn a LOT of Endurance at low levels (few slots, many attacks and toggles)

For learning the game (or enemy types) I think a non-DPS AT is a good choice. It will be slow to level up, but that is no sin! There is no better way to understand how different powers work against different enemies than simply taking solo missions. Any of my characters will help out other players on missions, and I know I am not the only player that feels this way.

[InvaderStych]

1 hour ago, Polestar said:

Could you guys suggest to me a fun AT and build that is good as a first character to level to 50 (solo and in groups) and that people like to have on their teams
when I finally hit 50?

 

Welcome Back!  The good news is that in the year I've been here I've not once seen a pick-up team be particular about what ATs are on board.  Figuratively Anything can be built to solo steam-roll missions that would seem baffling to consider back when PB/WSs were added to the game. 😄

 

So .....

 

While it sort of depends your preferences, when I found HC I wanted something with minimal complexity for the first run to 50; I'm going to echo Brute along with the others.

 

More specifically <your favorite primary>/Willpower/<your favorite Epic/Patron Pool>.

 

Why Willpower?  No clicks to manage, easier on the blue bar than most armors, and gives comprehensive +def/+res although not as much as you'd get from other armors with bigger numbers in places but holes in others.

 

Also, it goes with any primary; so in the character builder you can skip over to the customization screen and preview animations if you want.

 

Pure easy mode.  That way I could focus on remembering how to actually play the game.  FWIW: I went Savage/WP, but there's no wrong answer for picking a primary for this one.

 

-----

 

I am sure there is a support analog for "easy mode," but I am too unfamiliar with those ATs.

[Rathulfr]

For new players, I recommend Scrappers or Brutes if you like melee combat, and Sentinels if you like ranged combat.  These 3 are great for (re-)learning game fundamentals.

 

Sentinels are the new AT that are basically "ranged Scrappers": primary sets are ranged attacks, while secondary sets are damage mitigation (similar to those offered to Scrappers and Brutes).  Sentinels don't hit as hard as their Blaster/Corruptor counterparts, but they're a lot more durable at lower levels.

 

After you've played awhile with these 3 ATs, you can then branch out into others (Tanks, Blasters, Corruptors, Controllers, etc.).  Finally, the Hero/Villain Epic Archetypes (HEATs/VEATs), like the Widow, are meant to be challenging for players who have already mastered the fundamentals with other ATs.

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by Rathulfr

[Bastille Boy]

Welcome back to the game! For your first new character in nearly a decade, I think you're most likely to be happy with one of the melee archetypes. Brutes and scrappers are simplest to play. Stalkers are a bit less survivable, but they do amazing single-target damage, and the stealth mechanic is fun. Tankers are very survivable and very welcome in groups, but they're less fun to solo if you want to go fast. (I solo tankers a lot, but I don't care that much about going fast.)

 

None of the melee attack sets are bad sets. Take what you like thematically. (You can check the visuals in the character creator.) I would avoid stone armor on your first character.

 

Of the ranged archetypes, Sentinel is most friendly to new and recently-returned players. Sentinels don't do as much damage as blasters do, but they have an armor set, so they don't die as often while leveling up. (A well-built level 50 blaster can be very tough.) I have less experience with sentinels, so I won't make powerset recommendations.

 

If you want to go with a "support" character that can solo well, I'd recommend a Time/* Defender. Soloing the early levels may be challenging, but at level 18, you get Farsight, which is almost an armor set in itself. (Slot for recharge first!) At level 50, Time/* defenders are powerful solo characters, and they're welcome on teams (as most defenders are). Good blast sets to pair with Time include Fire, Water, Ice, and Beam Rifle. For a team-oriented defender, Sonic Attack is top-tier, but I would not recommend it for a first character that will be soloing a lot.

 

I would recommend against playing a controller, a dominator, or a mastermind when you're new to the game or newly returning. All three archetypes can be powerful and fun, but they take more skill and knowledge of the game to play well.  I would also recommend against Energy Blast or anything else with a lot of knockback, another mechanic that takes skill to use well. Knockdown is fine.

[Polestar]

Hi everyone, thank you for all your nice responses!

After carefully reading every comment I have now decided to put my Widow on halt. I understand, that the Archetype is not bad, but needs a lot more experience, thus I will level her later.

I am now going with the suggestion that has been posted the most.

 

Meet Atovtron my Science Radiation Brute:

I will report on his progress while I go along. 😃

 

If anyone is looking for members, I would love to join a supergroup.

 

[Braddack]

23 minutes ago, Polestar said:

Hi everyone, thank you for all your nice responses!

After carefully reading every comment I have now decided to put my Widow on halt. I understand, that the Archetype is not bad, but needs a lot more experience, thus I will level her later.

I am now going with the suggestion that has been posted the most.

 

Meet Atovtron my Science Radiation Brute:

I will report on his progress while I go along. 😃

 

If anyone is looking for members, I would love to join a supergroup.

 

 

Damm thats an impressive Costume ❤️

[JJDrakken]

14 hours ago, Polestar said:

hi everyone, I newly downloaded this awesome game again. The last time I played was back on live during the time Keldians were new.
I want to say that english is not my first language but I am in awe at how friendly and positive this whole community is and I feel right back at home here.
Sadly I am quite overwhelmed by all the options this game now has to offer, and I am suffering from restartitis and can not settle on a
character that I would like to play.

My highest character as of yet is an Arachnos Widow, she is level 12, going really slow and I die a lot in the Hollows. Also her powers seem really
underwhelming up until now, especially visually.

Could you guys suggest to me a fun AT and build that is good as a first character to level to 50 (solo and in groups) and that people like to have on their teams
when I finally hit 50?

 

Thanks a lot!

 

VEAT aka Arachnos Soldier. Amazing classes, you can move em from red to blue via Pocket D and Null the Gull if you want it to be heroic. So yeah. They are dubbed Walking God Machines for a reason.  So long folks remember to 6 slot your TT: Maneuvers and other Leadership(You dont need to do that to assault, lol)powers. Widows don't come into their own till respec at 24 and you access either Night Widow or Fortunata. Soldiers come out of the box kicking names and taking ass!

Edited March 17, 2021 by JJDrakken

[Polestar]

13 hours ago, Braddack said:

 

Damm thats an impressive Costume ❤️

Thank you, I really like the look too.

Atovtron is level 8 now and way easier to play than my widow, haven't died a single time yet, apart from once where I got to join Death From Below which was a lot of fun.

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Trials, Incarnate Trials and Task Forces?

I remember Task Forces from back in the day (Synapse) but the other two I can not remember.

 

3 hours ago, JJDrakken said:

 

VEAT aka Arachnos Soldier. Amazing classes, you can move em from red to blue via Pocket D and Null the Gull if you want it to be heroic. So yeah. They are dubbed Walking God Machines for a reason.  So long folks remember to 6 slot your TT: Maneuvers and other Leadership(You dont need to do that to assault, lol)powers. Widows don't come into their own till respec at 24 and you access either Night Widow or Fortunata. Soldiers come out of the box kicking names and taking ass!

 

The Widow seems to be a great team Character which I love, but before I try bringing her to 50, I first need to understand how character building and slotting works again (where to get the good enhancements and so on). Back in my time on live as far as I remember there where dual origin enhancements and single origin ones, and than some endgame enhancements (no idea where from).

This system seems to have been updated a lot since that time. Apparently we even have enhancement sets now. I am way behind on the learning curve on all of this. 😃

 

This game really plays like new, its a great experience.

 

Here is Atovtron in the Hollows using his targeting optics to find some Hellions to arrest. He also just aquired learned that his Cybernetic Legs allow him to leap great distances.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Polestar

[Rathulfr]

4 hours ago, Polestar said:

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Trials, Incarnate Trials and Task Forces?

I remember Task Forces from back in the day (Synapse) but the other two I can not remember.

 

Incarnate Trials are "end-game content": they are Task Forces for level 50+ characters. 

 

Task Forces are series of missions connected by a single story arc, played by a dedicated team from start to finish (team members cannot be added after starting), and their levels are fixed to a certain range for the duration of the TF (team members must meet minimum level requirements, and never go over maximum, even they earn enough XP beyond maximum level).

 

Here's the link for the Homecoming Wiki to help you get back up to speed on game details, like Enhancements: https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Rathulfr

[Call Me Awesome]

Welcome back, you'll find your Brute is a Go Go Go Go character; once you get Fury built up you want to keep going in order to keep it up.  I suggest slotting accuracy and endurance reduction in your attacks for now, Brutes have a love/hate relationship with their blue bar and it tends to drain way too fast.  Also get a couple of endurance mod SO's into Stamina.

 

I found that all my Brute characters had endurance problems in the early and mid game until I got them under control via IO bonuses and the various +end unique IO's.  I suggest getting the hang of the game first before you start thinking about more advanced concepts like IO bonuses.

 

You'll want to consider the Miracle +recovery and the Numina's +regen/recovery IO's for Health at some point, save your Merits from running Task Forces and such for them as they'll cost around 4-6 million influence each.  You can slot Miracle at level 17 as I recall and Numina at level 27, they'll help a ton with endurance.

 

Oh, a quickie way to earn some cash for your enhancements early is to go to the Auction House and buy level 50 IO recipes that are really cheap and sell them to the vendors for a profit.  It's fairly easy to find worthless Rare IO recipes for 1-2k and vendors will pay I believe 10k.  Uncommon recipes can frequently be had for a few hundred and vendors pay 5K for them... the level 50 versions.  That'll fairly easily get you the money for SO enhancements.