Corr to play with my son's Titan Tank...??? Father Son Duo Time

[ATM Machine]

Howdie all,

 

I'm an old-timer at this game just getting back. My son wants to play with me. He has a new Titan Weapons/EA tank. We plan to level up as a Duo. I have no aspirations of having a full build IO build or getting incarnate with this toon.

 

What would be some good pairings that really augment his Tank and would be hella fun for me to duo through the levels with him?

 

I currently have a Rad/Kin to pair with him (level 10). I'm curious what other good options are. 

 

Thanks.

Edited February 21, 2022 by ATM Machine

[InvaderStych]

First thought:

 

Anything/Cold

 

Adds +def and +hp shields to your son's resistance* based armor.  The rest of /Cold is no joke for debuffs either.

 

 

 

* - Guessing that by /EA on a Tank we're talking Electric.

[Erratic1]

Seismic/Kinetics

 

Seismic, on top of being fun for you also does a fair amount of knocking things down or knocking things up, so your son will face fewer attacks because things are on their butts.

 

Kinetics will keep you and your son topped off on endurance, enable faster cycling of powers with its +Recharge, and of course buffs damage--something good to have when neither AT involved is a primary DPS AT.

[SeraphimKensai]

Ice/dark/dark.

 

You lay down tarpatch slowing them down and debuffing their resistance, he holds agro in the middle and swings his sword. You get team stealth, and darkest night/fearsome stare to really Debuff their tohit. And you have buildup ice storm/blizzard which really shine with scourge. You also get -Regen in the heal and aoe to soften up AV's if you two are doing anything hard.

 

The /dark allows you to take oppressive gloom chain stunning minions, and potential for Perma drain soul should you actually IO it at some point.

 

It's an amazing combo

[Six-Six]

If you're son is anything like mine when he was 10, then you don't need to worry about him and instead worry about keeping up. My then 6-year-old son "helped" me finish a boss fight on the gameboy while he was watching TV!) 

[SeraphimKensai]

13 minutes ago, Six-Six said:

If you're son is anything like mine when he was 10, then you don't need to worry about him and instead worry about keeping up. My then 6-year-old son "helped" me finish a boss fight on the gameboy while he was watching TV!) 

Honestly you're not wrong about keeping up with a 10 year old. We got the first on the way but way back when I was in 3rd grade, I built a deck for my mom for mother's day with my dad, and I was running tape, marking measurements on the boards and using the chop saw to cut 2x4s for my dad who was supposedly mounting and drilling them onto the deck accordingly.

 

Eventually I had to grab a drill and help him too. But then again this was a different age when it was socially acceptable for your dad to have power tools and was considered normal if your dad had taught you how to use them safely.

[StriderIV]

I ran a water/cold and I feel that would be a great pick! Cold has wonderful debuffs for tough targets, and water brings some extra mitigation for you guys.

 

Currently leveling a Water/Dark, and I feel that would be a great option for you as well. Best of luck!

[nebber]

I did a duo with me on an ice/TW tank and my buddy on a fire/kin corruptor.  It had lots of strengths and a few weaknesses.

 

Speed boost was a big help to me as I did better with my heavy-hitter attacks recharging faster, and helped with my endurance problems.  It was late blooming, but once we got fulcrum shift at 38 it was game-changing and we would absolutely melt through mobs the rest of the way to 50.

 

The downsides were, aside from being late blooming, kin doesn't have much by way of mitigation, and things could quickly turn for the worse when I couldnt keep all the aggro.  Taking the time out to taunt when you are in a TW-swinging groove is a bit of a drag.

 

So if I were to do it again I'd keep kinetics but swap for a primary with some mitigation built in.  Ice for the slows, or water for the kB/slows.

 

I also think a ice/dark or fire/dark would have been a good compliment, tar patch is available early and great for keeping mobs around the tank and debuffing. So perhaps a smoother levelling experience to be had there, just not as uber in the higher levels.

 

Scourge on rain powers is really good, and would shine even more in a duo (in bigger team stuff tends to die from other attacks before your rains finish).  Ice is great for this with ice storm and blizzard.   Fire is another good one, with rain of fire.  I think whirlpool from water is also DoT and scourges, but not played it myself.

[Without_Pause]

I would do something with Beam or Sonic due to Tanks having lower damage and TW being smashing damage on top of that. You want to find ways to to take on harder targets and get through them quicker. In all honestly, Tanks need little support. What they need is a way to boost their damage. /cold, /time, or /kin would be great. /cold for the debuffs and shields. /time and /kin offer recharge which TW will want.

[ATM Machine]

Thanks everyone.  If he rerolled as a brute with the same sets, would the advice change at all? 

[nebber]

Kinetics will be harder to make a success in leveling if he's a Brute because he'll not be as sturdy as a tank and he'll hold less aggro.  With no real AOE debuffs in kin, you'll be reliant on Transfusion to keep you both alive, sometimes with only a split-second's warning -- that is unreliable because when you miss, or you're out of range, or you're in the middle of an animation, then it's faceplant time.

 

I think a corruptor with good debuffs and who is a bit more self-reliant would be a better fit with that Brute.  Dark is a good option, -dmg, -res, -speed -tohit on the mobs, a heal and other CC - that'll mitigate a lot.  Pair with ice, fire, or water for the rains.

 

I can also recommend an ice/time -  good damage output, this also delivers a lot of slows/debuffs, and you can grant the brute good +dmg and +recharge (temporal selection and chrono shift) and defense (farsight) to compliment his resist-based shields.  Difference to /dark being you'll have to wait longer for these powers, but in a way that could be a rewarding progression. 

[Without_Pause]

14 hours ago, ATM Machine said:

Thanks everyone.  If he rerolled as a brute with the same sets, would the advice change at all? 

I don't think the advice changes, and Kin would absolutely work even if I might pick something else. Elec has a heal and end recovery so giving it more of that isn't as needed as other things.

[Outrider_01]

Consider a controller, bio is a little squishy if defense fails and it's click heavy which suffers from slows.  You get buffs and debuffs, but the control aspect likr a hold or stun can protect just much as a shield, defense, and buff. It mitigates the risky part.

[oedipus_tex]

EA as in Electrical Armor?

 

I'd roll an Electric Blast/Electric Affinity Corruptor or Defender. He can use his Power Sink to crash endurance bars and help you blast, and you can keep stuff drained with your blasts. Your big Electric bubble will also provide Resistance to stack with his, and even fill in his knockback hole. 

[Erratic1]

On 2/23/2022 at 3:41 AM, nebber said:

Kinetics will be harder to make a success in leveling if he's a Brute because he'll not be as sturdy as a tank and he'll hold less aggro.  With no real AOE debuffs in kin, you'll be reliant on Transfusion to keep you both alive, sometimes with only a split-second's warning -- that is unreliable because when you miss, or you're out of range, or you're in the middle of an animation, then it's faceplant time.

 

The Brute should never be getting so low in life that a missed Transfusion makes much difference. As for the corruptor, if there is particular concern about a missed transfusion making a difference then taking Water as primary give a self-healing attack. I can say from having taken one to 50 that Water/Kinetics is a lot of fun.

 

That said, I do agree with you on */Dark being a good choice for bringing an element of control that would be missing with Kinetics and would be handy when paired with a Brute. If one really wanted to play up the control angle, Ice/Dark though I do not feel that combination is necessarily head and shoulders above other */Dark choice one could make.

[Without_Pause]

11 hours ago, Outrider_01 said:

Consider a controller, bio is a little squishy if defense fails and it's click heavy which suffers from slows.  You get buffs and debuffs, but the control aspect likr a hold or stun can protect just much as a shield, defense, and buff. It mitigates the risky part.

They aren't using Bio.

[nebber]

8 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

The Brute should never be getting so low in life that a missed Transfusion makes much difference. As for the corruptor, if there is particular concern about a missed transfusion making a difference then taking Water as primary give a self-healing attack. I can say from having taken one to 50 that Water/Kinetics is a lot of fun.

 

I did enjoy the duo my friend and I did of a elec/shield brute and kin/elec defender, and it became glorious after we got fulcrum shift.  But there were also plenty of times when the brute would lose aggro and things went south all too quickly for the poor kin (me)., especially if the foes were tossing mez my way.  Kept me on my toes, that's for sure.  Maybe it also was because we mostly played on x8 difficulty settings for big spawns.  So if OP is going to run at more balanced difficulty settings, it probably wouldn't be as split-second-life-or-death as I'm making it out to be. 

[Erratic1]

56 minutes ago, nebber said:

 

I did enjoy the duo my friend and I did of a elec/shield brute and kin/elec defender, and it became glorious after we got fulcrum shift.  But there were also plenty of times when the brute would lose aggro and things went south all too quickly for the poor kin (me)., especially if the foes were tossing mez my way.  Kept me on my toes, that's for sure.  Maybe it also was because we mostly played on x8 difficulty settings for big spawns.  So if OP is going to run at more balanced difficulty settings, it probably wouldn't be as split-second-life-or-death as I'm making it out to be. 

 

Well it could very well be split-second death for the corruptor in the duo, just not so much for the brute (usually). 😁

 

I do agree however that missing heals and lack of rez is a downside for Kinetics, but given Fulcrum Shift, Transference, and Speed Boost it needed some. For the more risk averse /Dark is a good choice.

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Well it could very well be split-second death for the corruptor in the duo, just not so much for the brute (usually). 😁

 

I do agree however that missing heals and lack of rez is a downside for Kinetics, but given Fulcrum Shift, Transference, and Speed Boost it needed some. For the more risk averse /Dark is a good choice.

Agreed. Currently leveling a Water/Dark Corruptor right now. Feels very safe.

[Nemu]

For leveling and non-IO builds, I'd go electrical affinity. It fills so many holes that bring woe to early level progression - early game mez protection/resists, endurance management, accuracy boost, heals, endurance drain resist, etc.... The Kinetics advocates are overlooking the fact that you have to wait 32 levels for the real payoff and that Kin offers little personal protection in a world without IOs. And frankly kinetics is busy, but quite unrewarding to play prior to FS.

 

Electric affinity will be fun for the both of you, it's good out of the box and provides your duo a much easier leveling experience. Tell your son to stay within faraday cage and whack away, and you don't need to worry about him zipping off to infinity with speed boost. Pair with radiation blast for some defense debuff goodness so you guys don't whiff, because whiffing sucks, even for adults.

[ATM Machine]

Electric Affinity is not a set I know, which is a good thing.  I have played a fair number of Dark toons over the years.  Dark Dark Defender was awesome. 

 

How does Electric Affinity compare to Dark Miasma?

 

Also, what would al new a good primary with Electric Affinity?

 

I have no problem being a busy player (I played a kin and an emp when I had to make binds to buff each person in the party). 

Edited February 26, 2022 by ATM Machine

[oedipus_tex]

20 minutes ago, ATM Machine said:

Electric Affinity is not a set I know, which is a good thing.  I have played a fair number of Dark toons over the years.  Dark Dark Defender was awesome. 

 

How does Electric Affinity compare to Dark Miasma?

 

Also, what would al new a good primary with Electric Affinity?

 

I have no problem being a busy player (I played a kin and an emp when I had to make binds to buff each person in the party). 

 

 

Electric Affinity is a set created by the Homecoming team. It didn't exist on live, and is not playable on any other server.

 

Electric Affinity's core gameplay mechanic is bouncing buffs off of teammates or pets. For that reason, playing with a Tanker (especially an Electric Tanker) you can target through will make it enjoyable. Electric Affinity can't heal or buff itself directly, but it can stand near a teammate or pet and bounce buffs of them. The buffs you can bounce this way are a heal, an endurance bar refill, and an absorb.

 

For its T9 Elec Affinity can Power Boost a teammate permanently, and cause him or her to proc lightning bolts with each attack. If your teammate is an Electric Tanker like your son will be playing, powers like Power Sink will double in their ability to drain endurance, and any Defense powers he has will increase in value.

 

The other standout ability Electric Affinity has is Fairaday Cage. It's a "big bubble" like Sonic or Force Field would have, except it doesn't follow you around. It stays locked in the place you cast it. However, the recharge on it is very short, the duration of the Cage very long, and you can even cast it while mezzed. It's one of the most interesting powers in the game IMO. The takeaway is that Electric Affinity is one of the small classes of powersets Corruptor/Defender/MM can take with native mezz protection for itself.

 

 

For secondary sets, almost anything will work, but given what Electric Affinity and Electric Armor bring, I'd consider Electric Blast as the blast set. Electric Blast has a new mechanic that does additional damage on enemies who are endurance drained. Although Kinetics will also do that, for a more support style character I think Electric Affinity will do great--especially on a two person team with a Tanker who will benefit a ton from the T9 and other abilities.

 

To get ultra specific, one synergy between Elec Affinity and Electric Blast is the new Voltaic Sentinel, which will detoggle if you get mezzed. But you won't get mezzed often, with Elec Affinity.

Edited February 26, 2022 by oedipus_tex

[ATM Machine]

Let's keep playing in this sandbox.

 

What other busy support toons will go well with a Tank or Brute in a duo?  They will be leveling the old fashioned way and no IOs.  They need to be fun as we level slowly.  I don't care about end game dominance. I have it toons for that. 

 

It a more direct question, why not play a Defender for this duo? 

 

I realize that I am in the Corruptor forum asking about other ATs.  My sincerest apologies.

Edited February 26, 2022 by ATM Machine

[Nemu]

Defenders get less attack options early game, and there is also an urge to take all the "good stuff" since defenders get them earlier, so you are stuck with more a support role. Depending on your own definition of fun it may or may not be your cup of tea.

 

Corruptors get more attack options, and even with electrical affinity as a secondary you get most of your core support powers by level 20, which includes a heal at level 2, an end refill at level 10, a (complete including knockback) status protection/resist bubble at level 16, and a recharge/acc buff at level 20. That's 5 core powers from your secondary by level 20 which leaves you plenty of room to fit in attacks and a few pool powers. Like I said, electrical affinity is going to offer you the smoothest leveling progression and also offer your duo buffs that address some of the biggest challenges that lowbies have to deal with such as poor endurance management, low acc, not fully matured armors, recharge, status protection, etc...

 

While electric affinity isn't the offensive powerhouse like Kin (and kin's overrated if you are on a fast meta where mobs get blown to bits before you can pull off a saturated Fulcrum, or when you are fighting a single target like an AV or a GM), or a debuff juggernaut like poison, it does do one thing exceptionally well and better than any other support set - keep the team alive. Later in the game you will also get a fast recharging team absorb shield and between that, the heal, and Faraday cage you can keep the team topped off unless the team does something monumentally stupid.

 

Regardless of whether you choose defender or corruptor, I stand by my recommendation of electrical affinity, pair it with radiation blast so you both can enjoying hitting stuff more consistently. If your son likes more flashy stuff on the screen then dual pistols is also a good choice (although that might make him want to play dual pistols instead of just smashing with his tank, so nevermind, pick a boring, not flashing primary like rad blast.)

 

Even though you said no IOs I'm going to recommend a few attuned IOs that will improve you and your son's quality of life at a low slot investment, you can purchase attuned enhancements from the auction house or attune crafted enhancements using enhancement catalysts once your hit 50 and you get catalysts as drops. They have a minimum level requirement to be slotted in and it differs per IO, but they remain effective and some scale in effect as you level up or exemp down.

 

Kismet - Accuracy, can be slotted at level 7 in any defense power (unique) (I usually take combat jumping by level 6 so this gets slotted in once I hit level 7)

Panacea +hp +end - can be slotted at level 7, put it in health (unique)

Performance Shifter +end - can be slotted at level 17, put it in stamina

Force feedback chance for recharge - can be slotted in any power that does knockback, this is for titan weapons. Put it in titan sweep, whirling smash, and arc of destruction. slottable at

level 17

Luck of the gambler 7.5 - this one everyone knows. slottable in any defense power at level 22

 

Luxury early game IOs that won't have as big an impact but still nice to haves:

Achilles Heel Chance for resistance debuff - can be slotted in any of the rad blast attacks or powers that debuff defense, I recommend just one in proton volley, because extra procs don't stack. Slottable at level 7

Fury of the gladiator chance for resistance debuff - can be slotted in PBAoEs like irradiate. Slottable at level 7 (unique)

Annihilation chance for resistance debuff - can be slotted in targetted AoEs like electron haze or neutron bomb, most people skip electron haze. Slottable at level 17

Any of the following damage procs that you can slot prior to level 20 - they can raise your damage (sometimes significantly) at low levels, at the cost of consistency. Procs are not autohit so make sure you have enough accuracy to hit the target though (or enemies have their defense debuffed so they are easier to hit, that's why radiation blast). There are a lot of options, so I'm just going to list the set and minimum slottable level
All the starter damage procs available from the P2W vendor for free - these are good until level 21, then they stop working.

Eradication - level 7

Touch of lady grey - level 17

explosive strike - level 7

Gladiator's javelin - level 7

Gladiator's strike - level 7

Shield breaker - level 7

Scirroco's dervish - level 17

If you take electron haze for the early game then

Positron's blast - level 17

Javelin volley - level 7

 

Some of these are more expensive than others, but you have a wealth of choices if you want to splurge a little.

[ATM Machine]

Thank you so much for the details. It is very helpful.  I have a tendency to go all in Min-Max if I am not careful. I don't have time for that anymore.  I likely will pick up some one off IOs, because as you pointed out they can be very helpful and not too expensive.  I'll give Rad/Elc a spin. 

 

The hardest part now is coming up with a name.