What's the hardest AT combination to play solo?

[FFFF]

I'm kind of thinking some variant of defender. Emp defender maybe? Perhaps a sonic defender?

 

I've soloed a FF defender (FF/Sonic) during when the game was live (non private servers) and while it was annoyingly slow, it was decently solo capable. Just about any defender with Sonic attacks had plenty of damage. I'm asking because I'm unsure of the newer (post issue 20) combinations.

[Blastit]

Defenders with Empathy have like three powers from their primary that at all work on them specifically, so that's probably the default hardmode for soloing without getting into additional rules and restrictions.

[biostem]

Petless mastermind.

[cranebump]

Any AT I play.:-)

[SeraphimKensai]

It largely varies on the difficulty level your playing. That said there's been a few Empathy defenders to have solo'd things like +4 ITFS. It just takes build creativity and patience.

[Jiro Ito]

I would think it would be something like an ice/sonic controller.  At least defenders get a blast set.

[SnowVix]

4 minutes ago, Jiro Ito said:

I would think it would be something like an ice/sonic controller.  At least defenders get a blast set.

controllers are incredibly safe solo. defenders have the low damage and don't really have much mez capability to shore it up

[Psyonico]

Ice/poison controller would be up there if you crank the difficulty.  The end cost in the sets would not fare well for your blue bar.

 

As for Empathy defenders, back on live I regularly solo'd my Emp/Energy/Psy on Invincible (remember when that was a difficulty?) just to prove that I could.  on HC I changed him to Emp/Energy/Mace, which less safe solo, but far safer on teams.

[FFFF]

34 minutes ago, Jiro Ito said:

I would think it would be something like an ice/sonic controller.  At least defenders get a blast set.

Ooh, that's definitely a contender. What about ice/empathy? I think mez protection would arguably be better than a self heal.

[Greycat]

4 hours ago, FFFF said:

I'm kind of thinking some variant of defender. Emp defender maybe? Perhaps a sonic defender?

 

I've soloed a FF defender (FF/Sonic) during when the game was live (non private servers) and while it was annoyingly slow, it was decently solo capable. Just about any defender with Sonic attacks had plenty of damage. I'm asking because I'm unsure of the newer (post issue 20) combinations.

 

Slowest things I've ever soloed were two controllers - Earth/FF and Ice/Emp. Very safe, sure, but watching enemies die of old age gets tiring.

[SomeGuy]

Before CoV I knew a guy that solo-ed a Mind/Rad controller to 50. I remember watching him lock down a mob, run in, and use boxing and brawl.

[Jiro Ito]

55 minutes ago, SnowVix said:

controllers are incredibly safe solo. defenders have the low damage and don't really have much mez capability to shore it up

 

I guess we interpreted the thread title "Hard" differently; I know controllers are safe, but at some point you have to defeat an enemy or two =P

[Captain Fabulous]

I guess it depends on your definition of "hard". Controllers are squishy and do crap for damage, but their controls make soloing relatively easy. Slow, but easy.

Defenders are also squishy, do a bit more damage than Controllers, but their primaries usually make up for it. Again, slow, but easy enough.

I'm gonna say a Peacebringer. Middling damage, minimal buffs/debuffs, no mez protection till Light Form, and not-so-great resistances. Also a massive end hog. If you want to make it an extra-painful experience, do a human-only PB.

Don't get me wrong, I love Kheldians. but they simply aren't all that solo-friendly.

[biostem]

8 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

Controllers are squishy and do crap for damage

This is only true if you don't properly leverage containment.

 

8 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

Defenders are also squishy, do a bit more damage than Controllers, but their primaries usually make up for it. Again, slow, but easy enough.

Defenders are definitely a lot more direct in their ability to deal damage, thanks to their secondary, but if you have a primary you can leverage for more damage or -res, then the sky is very nearly the limit.

 

10 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

I'm gonna say a Peacebringer. Middling damage, minimal buffs/debuffs, no mez protection till Light Form, and not-so-great resistances. Also a massive end hog. If you want to make it an extra-painful experience, do a human-only PB.

Don't get me wrong, I love Kheldians. but they simply aren't all that solo-friendly.

With the proper binds, and once you get some slots in your powers, a tri-form does really well.  It's getting over that hurdle that's the problem.

[Snarky]

You can really dial the game to what you want to do.  Almost any AT has a certain playstyle solo that works.  Some faster than others.  When you mention combo that opens it up.  Because certain power sets are just more team oriented.  I would think an Ice Control Force Field Controller would really be painful to solo with.  

[Captain Fabulous]

1 hour ago, biostem said:

This is only true if you don't properly leverage containment.

 

Defenders are definitely a lot more direct in their ability to deal damage, thanks to their secondary, but if you have a primary you can leverage for more damage or -res, then the sky is very nearly the limit.

 

With the proper binds, and once you get some slots in your powers, a tri-form does really well.  It's getting over that hurdle that's the problem.

Even with Containment Controller damage sucks. Any AT of any combination of powersets is easy mode with a full IO build. I assume that's not what the OP is talking about. Things are very different with an SO or common IO build, which is what most people use.

[biostem]

9 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

Even with Containment Controller damage sucks.

Patently false.

 

EDIT:  To elaborate, Controllers have a damage scale of 0.55, so doubled with containment makes that 1.10, (Blasters have a ranged damage scale of 1.125 for comparison).

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Damage#Damage_Scale

Edited May 11, 2023 by biostem

[Greycat]

7 minutes ago, biostem said:

Patently false.

 

Run Earth/FF solo. No, it isn't false for some combos. 2x piddly damage is still piddly damage. Especially when you're working your way up and nowhere near the point of "oh, just proc this and proc that and set this and that..."

[biostem]

Just now, Greycat said:

Run Earth/FF solo. No, it isn't false for some combos. 2x piddly damage is still piddly damage. Especially when you're working your way up and nowhere near the point of "oh, just proc this and proc that and set this and that..."

Sure, build using only low-damage sets and you'll get a low damage character - that isn't surprising in the least.  Build for damage, choosing sets with that in mind, and you'll do well.  If *you* choose to solo using low-damage sets, then that's on you, not the AT...

[Nyghtmaire]

2 hours ago, Psyonico said:

Ice/poison controller would be up there if you crank the difficulty.  The end cost in the sets would not fare well for your blue bar.

Definitely true from experience. But once it comes together, watch out! It can be a vicious beast. Until incarnates, he was sniffin’ blues like he had a limitless spending account. 
 

But controllers can be built to do completely adequate damage (arcane bolt is a savior, along with procs in the hold - usually at least 2 from the get-go). Solo leveled an earth/sonic before the power availability changes. It was not busting out x/8 until max level, but it was safe as a sloooooow sander.

 

I’d rather solo level a controller than a defender any day of the week…

[Captain Fabulous]

36 minutes ago, biostem said:

Patently false.

 

EDIT:  To elaborate, Controllers have a damage scale of 0.55, so doubled with containment makes that 1.10, (Blasters have a ranged damage scale of 1.125 for comparison).

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Damage#Damage_Scale

LOL, dude, I can't believe I have to explain to you why Controller damage sucks, even with Containment. A 1.1 scalar doesn't mean much when your base damage is half that of a Blaster and in most cases you have only 2 single target attacks that do Blaster T1 damage with Containment, while the rest either do no or trivial damage.

 

33 minutes ago, biostem said:

Sure, build using only low-damage sets and you'll get a low damage character - that isn't surprising in the least.  Build for damage, choosing sets with that in mind, and you'll do well.  If *you* choose to solo using low-damage sets, then that's on you, not the AT...

But isn't that exactly what the OP is asking?

Like I said, any AT with any combination of powers can be godly with enough INF. That isn't the point here.

[biostem]

2 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

you have only 2 single target attacks that do Blaster T1 damage with Containment

There are ways to supplements that, and I'm not talking about APPs, either.

 

4 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

But isn't that exactly what the OP is asking?

Then we have to compare ATs and their scalers as a whole, not just specific combinations, in which case my point still stands.

 

5 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

any AT with any combination of powers can be godly with enough INF

You don't need a lot of INF to get good damage.  Note I said "good", not "top-tier".

 

5 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

That isn't the point here

Then look at the ATs as a whole, and not cherry-picked combinations of underperformers...

[Wravis]

5 hours ago, biostem said:

Petless mastermind.

My Demon/Kin solos pretty well! But it took lots of work to get the build just right. And that's just one combo.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Wravis

[biostem]

Just now, Wravis said:

My Demon/Kin solos pretty well! But it took lots of work to get the build just right.

No doubt, and it is the only way to get those much sought-after whip attacks...

[Wravis]

Just now, biostem said:

No doubt, and it is the only way to get those much sought-after whip attacks...

So sad.