Force Fields

[smnolimits43]

So i thought i would give Force Fields another try.  One of my favourite powers from this set is Dispersion Bubble.  One of my problems is buffing, it drives me nuts.  Especially when a team splits, or runs off, before i finish buffing.  Second, i feel like all i do, is buff the team, i don't have the time to fire off attacks.  

[Nyghtmaire]

8 hours ago, smnolimits43 said:

So i thought i would give Force Fields another try.  One of my favourite powers from this set is Dispersion Bubble.  One of my problems is buffing, it drives me nuts.  Especially when a team splits, or runs off, before i finish buffing.  Second, i feel like all i do, is buff the team, i don't have the time to fire off attacks.  

No worries about buffing eating up your time here. FF (along with Sonic) is likely the slackest of the primaries for action economy in relation to buffs.
 

Roughly 5 seconds to cast both shields every 4 minutes (add ~1.3 seconds if you took Power Boost). Each cast of Deflection/Insulation Shield covers the entire team if in range. If they’re not in range because they split apart from the group, they missed the bus and will need to get on at the next stop. Anyone who splits presumably knows they can survive without your buffs. And if they don’t know, they’ll learn very quickly what they need when they bite off more than they can chew. 

 

Dampening Bubble could be seen as a buff, but it helps you too. Another ~1.3 seconds every 45 seconds. 
 

Otherwise you’re blasting and KB/KDing critters. And if you don’t take Heal Other (Medicine pool), you can safely ignore the demands that Defenders heal.

[StriderIV]

19 minutes ago, Nyghtmaire said:

No worries about buffing eating up your time here. FF (along with Sonic) is likely the slackest of the primaries for action economy in relation to buffs.
 

Roughly 5 seconds to cast both shields every 4 minutes (add ~1.3 seconds if you took Power Boost). Each cast of Deflection/Insulation Shield covers the entire team if in range. If they’re not in range because they split apart from the group, they missed the bus and will need to get on at the next stop. Anyone who splits presumably knows they can survive without your buffs. And if they don’t know, they’ll learn very quickly what they need when they bite off more than they can chew. 

 

Dampening Bubble could be seen as a buff, but it helps you too. Another ~1.3 seconds every 45 seconds. 
 

Otherwise you’re blasting and KB/KDing critters. And if you don’t take Heal Other (Medicine pool), you can safely ignore the demands that Defenders heal.

Great breakdown! Any specific secondaries you feel pair really well with Force Field?

[Nyghtmaire]

I see FF as a flexible primary that goes with everything. Because there are so few must-have powers, and the slot requirements are so slow for the primary, there is a lot of flexibility. Hell, the ally shields can be 2-slotted with an LOTG and boosted Shield Wall Defense. That’s kind of bonkers. That said, these 3 come to mind:

 

* Water and Dark both have a self heal. Dark’s -ToHit stacks with the defensive bubbles, and water’s KD’s add additional mitigation.

 

*storm (oh so new) is busy with dividends being paid when powers are spammed into the mobs engulfed in Storm Cell. No FF casts to get in the way of that. However, wishful NG for a little more debuffing in that combo.

 

I had a FF/Water before the changes. It got a little boring, but I built it before I understood the proc mechanics (operating under a Live model). It was very safe, could solo fine, and did well with the players who all seemed absolutely drunk. Wish I had not deleted it. For storm, I’m probably going to make one soon, but I’m leveling a TA/storm now to get a feel for the secondary. Sadly, I don’t participate in beta since I got a new job. It’s a little intense, asking more than I initially anticipated. But otherwise rewarding.

 

 

[StriderIV]

3 hours ago, Nyghtmaire said:

I see FF as a flexible primary that goes with everything. Because there are so few must-have powers, and the slot requirements are so slow for the primary, there is a lot of flexibility. Hell, the ally shields can be 2-slotted with an LOTG and boosted Shield Wall Defense. That’s kind of bonkers. That said, these 3 come to mind:

 

* Water and Dark both have a self heal. Dark’s -ToHit stacks with the defensive bubbles, and water’s KD’s add additional mitigation.

 

*storm (oh so new) is busy with dividends being paid when powers are spammed into the mobs engulfed in Storm Cell. No FF casts to get in the way of that. However, wishful NG for a little more debuffing in that combo.

 

I had a FF/Water before the changes. It got a little boring, but I built it before I understood the proc mechanics (operating under a Live model). It was very safe, could solo fine, and did well with the players who all seemed absolutely drunk. Wish I had not deleted it. For storm, I’m probably going to make one soon, but I’m leveling a TA/storm now to get a feel for the secondary. Sadly, I don’t participate in beta since I got a new job. It’s a little intense, asking more than I initially anticipated. But otherwise rewarding.

 

 

Water/FF on either a Corruptor or Defender seems like a BLAST. I might have to mess around with that. Power Boosted FF’s I hear are crazy for the HM stuff. Water provides some nice safety.

[SeraphimKensai]

I have a FF/Dark/Soul with clarion radial. It works extremely well for its intended purpose but I find it a little boring to be honest. It's definitely more fun now that FF was revamped.

[evetsleep]

I'm not at my computer, but I am pretty sure Storm Cell from storm blast includes a -ToHit debuff (unenhanceable -9% I think) which would stack nicely with FF.  My FF/Storm defender is a lot of fun and spends very little time buffing thanks to the AOE nature of FF buffs and their long duration.

 

I spend the vast majority of my time dropping Storm Cell and AoEing everything.  It's a lot of fun.

 

Another unusual pairing that I run is FF/sonic.  With the recent pass on Sonic and FF together they can apply a LOT of -RES on both single targets and groups.  It's a lot of fun if you can get passed Sonics sounds.

[Nyghtmaire]

16 minutes ago, evetsleep said:

It's a lot of fun if you can get passed Sonics sounds.

Ever since I became a parent (almost 26 years now? Sheesh…), I’ve played the game on mute. Now I’m accustomed to playing without sound. Also means that this is never a consideration! I suppose I should apologize now to all past, present, and future teammates for all my sonic (and symphony?) characters. 
 

P.S. would include demons but I can’t stand those pets.

[MonteCarla]

My main is FF/Sonic, and I find that pair works really well - defensive primary paired with an offensive secondary.

The sounds aren't awesome, but at least it's not Symphony Control 😛

 

[smnolimits43]

I usually pick up Energy Blast for my secondary