What are your favorite things about Sentinels?

[Bopper]

23 minutes ago, nihilii said:

Do people really name Criticals as their favorite part of Scrappers, or Scourge as their favorite part of Corruptors?

 

Perhaps the question should be: what do you like about sentinels? Favorite does somewhat exclude things that are liked but are not favorites. But it is good to see what are everyone's favorite thing, it definitely provides the identity of the AT

[Bill Z Bubba]

4 minutes ago, Bopper said:

But it is good to see what are everyone's favorite thing, it definitely provides the identity of the AT

 

And from that consensus on identity, one might be able to move forward with changes that enhance it.

[Naraka]

57 minutes ago, nihilii said:

Do people really name Criticals as their favorite part of Scrappers, or Scourge as their favorite part of Corruptors?

 

I guess they *kinda* do sometimes, even if it's a minority. Whereas here, nada.

But I don't think I've ever seen anyone refer to the inherent of Defenders, Controllers, Masterminds, Kheldians or SoAs as their favorite part of the AT. Quizz time for that matter... How many of us can name the inherents for these from memory? I'm blanking out with Khelds and SoAs.

 

I don't want to insinuate you're making a point you're not making, it's an interesting comment. I'm happy with Sentinels not being an inherent-centric AT to the point people don't really think of it. I could see a strong counterpoint that Opportunity *is* one of these inherents that is fairly in your face graphically, so the lack of mention might hint it is really unsatisfying.

 

Defender's is easy to remember...people complained about it not being Vigilance but rather "Negligence" for ever.  Controllers, I want to say had their inherent power changed?  I just remember it being Containment because that's what their crit was called but maybe they changed it to Overpower?  Masterminds is easy since I often have to keep watching over my pets to make sure they have the Supremacy buff if I send them in to attack.  I've only ever played Peacebringer so Cosmic Balance is theirs but the Warshade version works similar.  I've never played SoA.

 

As for Scourge, I do pick Corruptors specifically for their benefit of critting on multi-hit attacks.  Picking an Ice or Fire Corruptor because it can crit the little hits otherwise I'll make a Defender.

 

I have a thread outlining my view of Opportunity.  It's likely just not useful later in the game outside of that first -res effect.

[Hardboiled Hero]

I honestly couldn't name most of the inherents off the top of my head, but I know what most of them do.

 

 with 'trollers  there's the issue of what do you want to consider their inherent?  Officially, 'trollers inherent is that they do extra damage to controlled targets (This is "containment") they also have a "hidden" ability to get extra magnitude from some of their controls (called "overpower").  Brutes similarly have "poke-voke" in addition to their damage ramping inherent.

 

  Inherents are factor when deciding what melee AT to play, not because the inherents themselves are amazing, but because the melee classes are very similar, so the inherent is a way to differentiate them. (of course their are other factors as well.)

 

 I know alot of people love scourge and domination.  Having discussed it recently in the 'troller forums, I know some players swear by containment as well.  I used to hear defenders talk about their inherent, but not so much recently..  At any rate, I think all of these are inherents that actually matter to people.

 

  I include Masterminds in the same sort of category as the eAT's..  Nobody really cares whether their inherents are good or bad.. they simply aren't why people play these AT's.   I'm not even sure if the widow HAS an inherent.. the SoA's inherent just makes them healthier (It may give them extra endurance and regen too).  The Kheldians inherent sounds cool as it gives buffs based on who else is in the party. The MM buffs it's pets when their fighting, or makes the MM extra tanky when the pets are chillin'.  I don't think anyone picks those AT's for that reason though.

 

  Then there's blasters..  Personally, I feel like the blaster inherent seems cool.. unlike the sentinel, the blaster gets hit by CC's, but they can fight through most of it anyway.  However, I still don't play blasters, so I guess it's not cool enough anyway.

 

As for Opportunity, the sentinel is different enough from other ranged attackers that Opp isn't needed to differentiate it.  It's not good enough that people will play sentinels specifically to get opportunity.  I guess this makes the sentinel like the MM and eAT's, where the inherent is just a kind of after-thought.

[SmalltalkJava]

1. Ranged Attack primary

2. Armor set secondary

3. Built in CC protection 

 

 

I never liked being stuck with melee attacks to get armor toughness.  They just fill a concept gap that other sets can't fill

 

[GraspingVileTerror]

The first time I solo'd Dr. Meinst in Death From Below was as a Dual Pistol / Super Reflexes Sentinel.

Opportunity definitely contributed to that.

[pblue]

It's a quality of life thing for me, especially as  I solo mostly.  I like that I can get a (subjectively) smooth play experience with a pretty cheap, casual build.

[Sunsette]

On 7/4/2021 at 1:25 AM, Galaxy Brain said:

Great replies! Something that stood out tho... it seems like Opportunity isn't on anyone's radar?

 

I mean... I actually did...

 

Without opportunity this is pretty much the most brainless AT in the game. Needs better implementation, however.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Sunsette

[Hardboiled Hero]

16 hours ago, Sunsette said:

 

I mean... I actually did...

 

Without opportunity this is pretty much the most brainless AT in the game. Needs better implementation, however.

 

  *shrugs*  Well yeah.. but..  I mean.. nobody really listens to you. 😛

[Sunsette]

i mean, it's true

[Galaxy Brain]

On 7/6/2021 at 12:40 AM, Sunsette said:

 

I mean... I actually did...

 

Without opportunity this is pretty much the most brainless AT in the game. Needs better implementation, however.

 

Missed that part! I agree tho, the big glowy target has a really cool something waiting to be unlocked... its just not quite there.

[TheMoncrief]

On 7/3/2021 at 12:25 PM, Galaxy Brain said:

Great replies! Something that stood out tho... it seems like Opportunity isn't on anyone's radar?

There are inherents that define how the AT plays, and inherents that, well, don't. Fury or Domination are AT defining. Opportunity, self evidently, is not. Nobody plays Blasters for Defiance or Masterminds for Supremacy. One of those is actually a really good inherent, but it's entirely in the background. The other is and has always been kind of lackluster.

 

I don't think any realistic change to Opportunity is going to make it an AT-defining inherent. But they might manage to make it a good inherent that just happens to be operate in the background.

[JJDrakken]

They are not Blasters....... 🙂

[Pzn]

What makes sentinels unique to me is that they have a lower cooldown on their nukes while still maintaining the secondary effects.  Additionally some of their blast sets have a low damage mez power converted to a regular attack.  This lends itself to some interesting debuff and control combos.  Sonic blast is a good example that plays really differently.  Screech is a high damage blast attack with a mag 3 stun that stacks with your nuke.  You open Dreadful Wail>Screech doing good damage while stacking stuns and -res debuffs. 

 

Blackstar is another really strong sentinel nuke since anything that's left alive will have a massive tohit debuff.  Really great to pair with resist sets and builds well below soft capping.

 

I love the feeling of using your best attacks and debuffing/mezzing things as a bonus.

 

[Crysis]

My favorite thing about Sents….

 

[TombTyrant]

Well I haven't gotten one past level 11, but I like the idea of having ranged attacks and mez protection quite a lot. I hate being mezzed.

[DrInfernus]

Just been through the whole Maria Jenkins arc on my Psi/Invul Sentinel and solo’d all the AVs except Nightstar (just too much Psi resist 😡) without a single death. By contrast, when I try it on my blaster (main) he can kill the AVs faster but also suffers a few deaths here and there when a big attack penetrates his defences. 
 

Long story short: My Sentinel feels like my blaster’s more dependable yet less flashy big brother and I love him for that. 

[Bill Z Bubba]

I'm still playing and enjoying my new AR/Nrg Sent. Granted, the 8 hours of amps I bought for her at lvl 1 should be running out soon so we'll see if the enjoyment continues. Regardless, I look forward to firing off full auto every 25 secs or so.

[oldskool]

2 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

I'm still playing and enjoying my new AR/Nrg Sent. Granted, the 8 hours of amps I bought for her at lvl 1 should be running out soon so we'll see if the enjoyment continues. Regardless, I look forward to firing off full auto every 25 secs or so.

 

I thought AR was more fun than it should be.  It has a flamethrower...

 

[SmalltalkJava]

I've really enjoyed my DP/SR sentinel, I still play it.  I took some lessons learned and created a new Ice/SR sentinel and a Rad/SR Sentinel. I have really been enjoying the ease of use for Defensive Opportunity. The heal and endurance restore seems to be making difference.   The Ice/SR Sentinel has been surprisingly sturdy and is putting out nice damage and he has two heal procs in Chilling Ray.    I'll post the builds for the Rad and Ice build soon.  I just want to play them some more before I post them.

[Seed22]

On 7/3/2021 at 12:35 PM, nihilii said:

Do people really name Criticals as their favorite part of Scrappers, or Scourge as their favorite part of Corruptors?

 

I

Yes? It’s not the minority, it’s the majority. What? Do you think we grab the crit ATIO and hide ATIO on scrap/stalk respectively because they sound cool? Well you’d be 85% right! 😀 but that last 15% is because of the crits, like the AT falls apart without em for real

[nihilii]

A fairly silent majority, then, or I must be blind (which is entirely possible). Over the years I've seen many, many people praise Scrappers for, say, being crazy blenders of murderfest who can go off on their own in who-needs-a-team, I'm-the-team fashion, or "you guys take that one group, and I'll take the other group". I've seen people express their love for the damage, coupled with decent sturdiness.

 

And occasionally, I've even seen people name a cool Scrapper moment as landing a Critical on Eagle's Claw, for example. But I have never seen (before you) someone claim Criticals as their favorite part of Scrappers.

 

I think that's distinct and unrelated to slotting IOs, too. I slot the Critical Strikes ATO because more criticals = more damage. I also slot Musculature Alpha because Musculature Alpha makes me do more damage. Is Musculature Alpha my favorite part of Incarnates? Nah.

 

It's like, a mechanic. Part of the whole. Criticals are part of what makes Scrappers Scrappers, but the sum of Scrapperdom is so much more than just Criticals. At least to me!

 

(I won't hold my breath for a Scourge-lover to show up. 🙂 )

[Crysis]

Being serious with this reply there are really only two things I like about the current Sentinel AT:

 

1) There are certain thematic builds only available via Sent class.  Want an AR using super soldier with enhanced regeneration abilities?  AR/Regen.  I’m not saying these are by any means optimized builds but thematically it’s hard to replicate some themes in any other way.

 

2) Because their defensive capabilities are easy to soft cap/maximize they are cheap to build and cheap to throwaway if you don’t like them.  They have no lasting value to me like other AT’s and I seldom take them through incarnate levels as a result because even maxed out they are still subpar to just about everything else.  But they are these fun little excursions now and then to take to 50 just for the sheer economy of them.  I’ve got the influence and then some to spare but in general I only invest my time in alts of lasting play value to me and that’s the opposite of a Sent.

[DrInfernus]

14 hours ago, Crysis said:

Being serious with this reply there are really only two things I like about the current Sentinel AT:

 

1) There are certain thematic builds only available via Sent class.  Want an AR using super soldier with enhanced regeneration abilities?  AR/Regen.  I’m not saying these are by any means optimized builds but thematically it’s hard to replicate some themes in any other way.

 

2) Because their defensive capabilities are easy to soft cap/maximize they are cheap to build and cheap to throwaway if you don’t like them.  They have no lasting value to me like other AT’s and I seldom take them through incarnate levels as a result because even maxed out they are still subpar to just about everything else.  But they are these fun little excursions now and then to take to 50 just for the sheer economy of them.  I’ve got the influence and then some to spare but in general I only invest my time in alts of lasting play value to me and that’s the opposite of a Sent.

I think you need to rethink whether 2 is something you like about Sentinels, because it reads as, at best, damning with faint praise or, at worst, a passive aggressive open condemnation of the AT. 

 

I do find it a little odd, to be honest. Just looks like all you want to do is troll people who DO like Sentinels. I mean, I don’t like Masterminds or Stalkers, but I don’t go on the forums for people that do, find a positive thread, and tell them the AT they like is a pile of crap. Doesn’t bother me either way, but it’s definitely very odd behaviour. 

Edited July 22, 2021 by DrInfernus

[Crysis]

6 hours ago, DrInfernus said:

I think you need to rethink whether 2 is something you like about Sentinels, because it reads as, at best, damning with faint praise or, at worst, a passive aggressive open condemnation of the AT. 

 

I do find it a little odd, to be honest. Just looks like all you want to do is troll people who DO like Sentinels. I mean, I don’t like Masterminds or Stalkers, but I don’t go on the forums for people that do, find a positive thread, and tell them the AT they like is a pile of crap. Doesn’t bother me either way, but it’s definitely very odd behaviour. 

I think you are projecting a bit here.  Let me try again.

 

I can be an overly-OCD player when it comes to builds.  If I know my character can eek out just a little more *whatever* if I slot this way vs another, I obsess with it.  I routinely burn all my free respecs and usually do every respec trial just to have enough for my 5-6 respecs per alt. It’s an obsession of mine.  I don’t know why but even during the dark years between Live and HC Id still play with MIDS to keep tweaking builds for min/max performance.  I couldn’t actually build anything and test it anywhere then but I could stat-test one vs the other on paper, etc etc.

 

What I’ve found on my Sents is that even the best builds avail (usually high proc builds) really don’t compare to just about anything else and thus it’s not necessary for me to obsess about their performance.  Sents aren’t bad, but the difference between a top tier Sent build and a mish-mash one isn’t as great as almost all other AT’s.  So to me, it’s a relaxing AT to play on occasion because it eliminates the need for me to even desire multiple respecs.  Since to make a Sent perform it’s best requires procs, and procs are procs regardless of the AT, just slot as many as you want however you want and lean on your native secondary to achieve most of your defensive goals rather than the two dozen different ways you can build an equivalent alt in another AT.  Because again, on a Sent, slotting for good to great is not going to add much to the relative output of the AT.  

 

I don’t find this “damning” in the least.  The AT as it’s currently designed is for whatever reason designed with significant DPS limitations (damage class modifier, reduced aggro limits etc).  The procs used to augment this are great but they work the same on a Sent as much as on all other AT’s but the native Sent programmed limitations still hold them back.  So I just lean into it, enjoy the lack of stress about eeking out “top tier” performance and don’t think of the AT as worth the effort/time/expense of min/maxing.  Because the space between min and max is so narrow here vs almost anywhere else.  
 

If how I define “fun” offends you, my apologies. But I do find Sents fun, just don’t take them very seriously in their current incarnation and I suspect the Devs don’t either.  In fact it was another recent thread that brought me to this conclusion.  Don’t recall who but someone suggested that the AT was built intentionally weaker than it likely should be, with significant handicaps applied, for no other reason (or for a very good reason depending on your POV) than to ensure the class could NOT rival the performance of other AT’s.  
 

So I roll them, I build them, I play them…but as interesting side diversions of theme mostly.  Not as serious as my other alts and that’s actually relaxing for me.  Maybe not for you.  That’s fine.