Best at and power sets to experience all content 1-50 and beyond?

[Crossrealms]

I am looking to make a character for a refresher course on Cox I want to run all blue and red side missions, get defeat badges, etc. what would be the best at and power sets to do this? I saw snarky did an AR/dev but I'm scared of the lack of defenses rather they be buffs, heals, or debuffs.

 

I like ranged characters so that's a place to start. But when I asked in game I was told absolutely do not do sentinel. 

 

I don't know but I'd like to journey with something survivable and kills well.

[Maelwys]

You planning to mostly Solo or Team?

 

If Sentinel is off the table (and honestly they're not that bad as long as you slot them properly) then I'd recommend Mastermind or Corruptor. The former can solo the vast majority of content without breaking a sweat... but the latter will be more likely to find teams, particularly if you're playing on one of the servers where the recruiters are more vocally judgemental/biased against certain ATs.

 

Although it's probably worth pointing out that occasionally getting into Melee range is often optimal for both damage output and buff/debuff positioning.

[Crossrealms]

I'll be playing mostly solo but teaming for tfs/sfs and event badges

[EnjoyTheJourney]

There may be a few baseline facts to work with when coming up with a build. It sounds like you'd like an all-rounder that can solo pretty much anything and that won't be all that slow about doing it. Also, you're a returning player who is probably not super-rich and you'd need to run a budget build for at least a fair while. 

 

An arsenal control / dark affinity / psi mastery controller could work well for your plan. You can find sample builds in the controller forum.

Be sure to pick up the sorcery pool early for the absorb power, the ST blast, and rune of protection at level 20 or close to that. Get indomitable will at level 35 and get a couple of IOs that provide knock protection in your build. Absolutely take the arsenal control pet, it allows you to solo AVs because it is extremely tough and it has a built-in taunt. 

Edit: Found a build I had in my archives. It's not perfect. But, it's not a terrible resource for ideas to consider.

 

 

 

Controller (Arsenal Control - Dark Affinity - Psi mastery),v2.mbd

Edited March 15 by EnjoyTheJourney

[Maelwys]

8 minutes ago, Crossrealms said:

I'll be playing mostly solo but teaming for tfs/sfs and event badges

 

Will you be attempting to solo Archvillains and/or Giant Monsters?

 

If the answer to that is "yes" then unless you're prepared to throw an awful lot of influence at the build, I'd go with a Bot/Traps Mastermind. The other option would be a Controller with a tanky pet: Arsenal/ plus a secondary with decent regeneration debuffs certainly works, as would an Earth/Thermal... but they'll not have Mez protection and they'll be far squishier than a MM.

 

If you're planning to downgrade AVs to EBs when soloing and team up vs GMs then the standout for me would be a Fire/Ice Blaster (Ice Patch lets you solo at your own pace, and Fire Blast brings lots of AoE oomph for Teams) or a Corruptor (Ice/Cold can do everything and are always in demand on teams) in addition to what the above poster mentioned about Controllers (IMO /Kinetics or /Marine are particularly good there too!)

[Crossrealms]

29 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

 

Will you be attempting to solo Archvillains and/or Giant Monsters?

 

If the answer to that is "yes" then unless you're prepared to throw an awful lot of influence at the build, I'd go with a Bot/Traps Mastermind. The other option would be a Controller with a tanky pet: Arsenal/ plus a secondary with decent regeneration debuffs certainly works, as would an Earth/Thermal... but they'll not have Mez protection and they'll be far squishier than a MM.

 

If you're planning to downgrade AVs to EBs when soloing and team up vs GMs then the standout for me would be a Fire/Ice Blaster (Ice Patch lets you solo at your own pace, and Fire Blast brings lots of AoE oomph for Teams) or a Corruptor (Ice/Cold can do everything and are always in demand on teams) in addition to what the above poster mentioned about Controllers (IMO /Kinetics or /Marine are particularly good there too!)

I've got 100mil inf from a costume contest and using an influence making guide to make more. Bots/traps sounds appealing how will it do in the 1-10 bracket as I'll be spending a lot of time there?

[Maelwys]

19 minutes ago, Crossrealms said:

I've got 100mil inf from a costume contest and using an influence making guide to make more. Bots/traps sounds appealing how will it do in the 1-10 bracket as I'll be spending a lot of time there?

 

You'll have one henchmen and caltrops at level 1, then another henchmen plus an upgrade at Lv6. Acid Mortar (-Res and another means of pulling Aggro) is at Lv10.

The Protector Bots (with their AoE +Def shield) start at Lv12. Force Field Generator (more +Def and Mez protection) comes at Lv16. Lv18 is another Henchmen and Maintenance Drone (healing!). Lv20 is Poison Trap (-Regen and "puking animation lock" AoE Mez).

 

You can also either pick up Aid Other or Triage Beacon if you want more early healing (I'll often stick a Panacea Proc in it).

[Crossrealms]

28 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

 

You'll have one henchmen and caltrops at level 1, then another henchmen plus an upgrade at Lv6. Acid Mortar (-Res and another means of pulling Aggro) is at Lv10.

The Protector Bots (with their AoE +Def shield) start at Lv12. Force Field Generator (more +Def and Mez protection) comes at Lv16. Lv18 is another Henchmen and Maintenance Drone (healing!). Lv20 is Poison Trap (-Regen and "puking animation lock" AoE Mez).

 

You can also either pick up Aid Other or Triage Beacon if you want more early healing (I'll often stick a Panacea Proc in it).

Do you have a good build? I can pick powers easy enough but slotting them is another question. Also any binds or macros I should know about?

[EnjoyTheJourney]

If you're happy with an MM, then that's a very reasonable choice. Maelway is giving good advice with the suggested powersets. 

The suggestion that controllers don't get mez protection is an overstatement, though. Controllers can have decent access to mez protection with rune of protection from the sorcery pool (up 1/3 of the time), indomitable will (can be perma or almost perma, available from lvl 35, but do need knock protection from a separate source), and melee core hybrid incarnate. Clarion can be taken for a controller's destiny pick, although I don't favor that for the build given further up.

[Maelwys]

22 minutes ago, Crossrealms said:

Do you have a good build? I can pick powers easy enough but slotting them is another question. Also any binds or macros I should know about?

 

Mastermind control macros/binds is a topic that has a few forums worth of threads devoted to it already, but I'll point this and this out.

 

Regarding a build? It'll depend on your budget and the level you're aiming for. Most of the existing builds in my own stable are min-maxed for level 50 (and whilst they exemplar pretty well, it's still a lot different from how you'd slot whilst levelling up).

 

Typically when I'm levelling up a new character I'll just pick up the most important globals/procs ASAP and use Single Origin enhancements for the other slots until level ~22-27 (when I'll start either using level 25 or level 30 Common Crafted IOs, and potentially also "Frankenslotting" some cheap multiple aspect Set IOs).

In the case of a Traps MM, IMO the important globals/procs would likely be Panacea, a KnockBack protection IO, the +Def and +Res Pet Aura globals and an Achilles Heel for Acid Mortar. Thankfully Seeker Drones can slot the aura uniques, so your main headache will be fitting in sufficient Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction and Defense into Protector Bots without using multiple aspect set IOs that are level 50 and +5 boosted (although they only really start guzzling Endurance after the second upgrade so you'll have a little leeway. And Panacea in Triage Beacon can help a bit!).

 

Optimal damage slotting for Robotic Henchmen essentially requires being at level 50 and a fair bit of cash... but the rest of the build will be far more forgiving. The more Acid Mortars you can have out simultaneously the quicker you'll destroy AVs/GMs, but as long as you have at least one Poison Trap active plus a few personal blast attacks their Regeneration rate will be at zero, so you'll whittle them down eventually regardless.

[Maelwys]

28 minutes ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

Clarion can be taken for a controller's destiny pick, although I don't favor that for the build given further up.

 

TBH Clarion Core Destiny is such a boon to squishy toons like Controllers, Defenders, Corrupters and Blasters that I have a tough time picking anything else. The exception is stuff with long duration buffs that can be Power boosted... in which case I'll go Clarion Radial instead (and potentially also pick up Rune of Protection too just for giggles) 😜

 

Unfortunately it won't help much unless you're at level 50. And I get the feeling the OP wants to take things slowly.

[Parabola]

I've attempted different versions of completionist characters a few times. Something to decide up front is whether you are going to try to do everything at level or settle for doing everything you can as flashbacks. The former is the greater challenge and takes some organisation, the latter is frankly a lot more achievable.

 

If you are going to try to run at level you need to turn off xp at every level that ends in a 4 or a 9, and then work through all the contacts until they are out of missions. You can also do radio missions for the various safeguards and tip missions etc. Be warned, this is a slog, particularly blueside. There are a lot of filler missions including copy/paste hunts which test the patience.

 

Using flashback and working your way through the story arcs is a more pleasant ride. You get to keep levelling and can bring a much more fleshed out build to whatever you are running. I'm currently running a character in this way and just doing the blueside story arcs I'm vet level 4 with most incarnates unlocked while still running the 24-29 content.

 

Either way my top tip for choosing a character is pick something you enjoy. You are going to be spending an awful lot of time watching one set of animations. I personally favour brutes as they are unmatched in the early levels but my current run is a storm sentinel. Some form of stealth can be a useful time saver but it is perfectly possible to just bull your way through a mission to the objective if you are tough enough.

 

You are also going to have to fight everything including the more irritating enemies. Some form of boss level hold or stun is very useful against certain enemies and it's worth having a plan for heavy debuff situations. I'd also seriously consider having built in mez protection. This is all assuming you are going to turn up the difficulty as you go, at +0x1 you can face roll anything but where's the satisfaction in that?

 

Good luck with whatever you go with!

[Maelwys]

2 hours ago, Maelwys said:

Regarding a build?

FWIW, here's what I personally would currently be aiming towards at level 50 if I was to build a new Bot/Traps MM:
zMastermind - Robots - Traps.mbd  (the "Impervious Skin" proc in the T1 upgrade is pulling the least weight and can be swapped to a "Force Feedback" proc in Pulse Rifle Blast if you want more +Recharge... however as-is Hasten and Poison Trap are both Perma and there'll be 3 separate -res debuffs from Acid Mortar in play constantly)

And here's a very basic cut down version of it; using minimal procs/globals and lots of unboosted Common Crafted IOs:
zMastermind - Robots - Traps (Basic).mbd (power picks can be swapped around depending on what you prioritise. For example, taking Maneuvers at 30 instead of Hasten would softcap your defenses earlier; but vs AVs you wouldn't have multiple Acid Mortars out + there'd be about 8 seconds downtime on Poison Trap's -Regen debuff)

Both builds have softcapped Pet and Personal Defenses; the former just has better damage output and will be a bit more survivable.
 

Edited March 15 by Maelwys

[Heatstroke]

hmmm WHY did they say not to do a Sentinel.. just wondering if they gave a real reason or was it just bias?

[Maelwys]

12 minutes ago, Heatstroke said:

hmmm WHY did they say not to do a Sentinel.. just wondering if they gave a real reason or was it just bias?

 

Most Sentinel hate I've observed is from folk who have never seen one that's sensibly built and played.

 

Even an Ice Blast (consistently touted as one of the worst Sentinel options because they completely gutted Freeze Ray) Sentinel can hit ~240 sustained DPA with a Ranged attack chain and ~285 with a Melee one, before buffs like Aim and Assault Hybrid. For comparison, a Blaster would be sitting at around ~275 and ~305 sustained DPA under the same conditions.

Now if you're a team leader that's looking for maximum damage... then sure, the Blaster wins. But in the vast majority of PVE content the performance difference will be irrelevant and/or the Blaster will require far more babysitting, especially on PUGs.

 

Now if someone new was looking for a ranged AT that will have an easy time soloing it's way through most content? An Electric Blast Sentinel would be one of my first recommendations.

[Crossrealms]

1 hour ago, Maelwys said:

 

Most Sentinel hate I've observed is from folk who have never seen one that's sensibly built and played.

 

Even an Ice Blast (consistently touted as one of the worst Sentinel options because they completely gutted Freeze Ray) Sentinel can hit ~240 sustained DPA with a Ranged attack chain and ~285 with a Melee one, before buffs like Aim and Assault Hybrid. For comparison, a Blaster would be sitting at around ~275 and ~305 sustained DPA under the same conditions.

Now if you're a team leader that's looking for maximum damage... then sure, the Blaster wins. But in the vast majority of PVE content the performance difference will be irrelevant and/or the Blaster will require far more babysitting, especially on PUGs.

 

Now if someone new was looking for a ranged AT that will have an easy time soloing it's way through most content? An Electric Blast Sentinel would be one of my first recommendations.

What would you pair with an elec blast sentinel? The way people decried it I thought it might be absolute garbage but if I'll have an easier time...

[Heatstroke]

27 minutes ago, Crossrealms said:

What would you pair with an elec blast sentinel? The way people decried it I thought it might be absolute garbage but if I'll have an easier time...

 

I went with Electric Armor because it fit my concept and my goal was to make a sapper, which would allow the " Shocked " mechanic in Electric Blast to trigger more often but Bior Armor and Super Reflexes would both be good options IMO. 

[Maelwys]

3 hours ago, Crossrealms said:

What would you pair with an elec blast sentinel? The way people decried it I thought it might be absolute garbage but if I'll have an easier time...

 

Super Reflexes or Energy Aura. Both are predominantly Defense based sets, which perform much better than Resistance based sets on Stalkers, Scrappers and Sentinels due to their lower 75% cap.

 

SR is particularly good on Sentinels due to Master Brawler (which essentially grants both Absorb and Mez Protection) and it will have a slightly higher defensive performance ceiling (due to having more protection against Defence Debuffs). However Energy Aura would be easier to play and significantly more forgiving for a newer player (due to having a regular self heal and no worries about Endurance Consumption) and will have a slightly higher offensive performance ceiling (due to having Power Drain to sap endurance, which combos well with Elec Blast's Zapping mechanic).

 

The Electricity Mastery epic pool is thematic but also has a gimmick worth pointing out for anyone who prefers to fight at ranged: Shocking Field is a damage aura which keeps on affecting the foe for 10 seconds... which means you just need to jump in and use Havoc Punch every now and again rather than staying toe to toe with enemies. And Chain Fences can keep them in place.

 

Edited March 16 by Maelwys

[Shadowstormprime]

17 hours ago, Maelwys said:

 

Super Reflexes or Energy Aura. Both are predominantly Defense based sets, which perform much better than Resistance based sets on Stalkers, Scrappers and Sentinels due to their lower 75% cap.

 

SR is particularly good on Sentinels due to Master Brawler (which essentially grants both Absorb and Mez Protection) and it will have a slightly higher defensive performance ceiling (due to having more protection against Defence Debuffs). However Energy Aura would be easier to play and significantly more forgiving for a newer player (due to having a regular self heal and no worries about Endurance Consumption) and will have a slightly higher offensive performance ceiling (due to having Power Drain to sap endurance, which combos well with Elec Blast's Zapping mechanic).

 

The Electricity Mastery epic pool is thematic but also has a gimmick worth pointing out for anyone who prefers to fight at ranged: Shocking Field is a damage aura which keeps on affecting the foe for 10 seconds... which means you just need to jump in and use Havoc Punch every now and again rather than staying toe to toe with enemies. And Chain Fences can keep them in place.

 

Elec/Energy/Elec Sent is one of the premiere combos I feel.

 

I’ve been messing around with either Water/Bio, Dark/SR and Seismic/Stone for my next Sent project. I personally just love the “Battle Mage” aspect of them.

[Riverdusk]

The sentinel hate is definitely there and weird.  I think at least some of it is left over from before they were buffed.  They aren't that far behind what a blaster or scrapper can do now and a lot easier and cheaper to play.   Others I think just refuse to play anything that isn't the 100% best min/max option and even if something is 95% as good they go "it sucks!" even though 95% is more than good enough to do anything you need to do in Paragon.

 

You'll get some of the same "garbage" comments about masterminds btw.  

 

I love my electric/electric sent and had no problem doing anything I wanted from level 1-50 and beyond, solo or in teams.   

 

As to electric armor specifically, a lot of people don't realize but the sentinel version is buffed as well compared to the melee versions, as it gets an huge amount of extra +regen compared to the melee versions (charged shield) and Energize recharges faster.  Mine ended up with something like 764% regen perma, along with very high resists, and a big heal that is up in less than 30 seconds, I felt VERY tough.  I honestly felt tougher than the electric/energy that I tried, especially when I went up against psi attacks.  But ymmv of course.

 

Edit: corrected the regen rate, forgot to even turn energize on in Mids.

 

Edited March 16 by Riverdusk

[Heatstroke]

On 3/16/2025 at 4:43 PM, Shadowstormprime said:

Elec/Energy/Elec Sent is one of the premiere combos I feel.

 

I’ve been messing around with either Water/Bio, Dark/SR and Seismic/Stone for my next Sent project. I personally just love the “Battle Mage” aspect of them.

 

I went Elec/Elec/Elec mainly because I already have a lot of Energy Aura toons already and wanted something different. But that combos is very solid. If I did it again I would probably go Elec/Energy/Mu to get ThunderStrike

[Hogunn]

Elec/Elec/Elec Sentinel is fantastic. I play one as my main/badger. The damage is fairly descent. Not blaster level but good enough. It is unbelievably tough. Added bonus, Aim improves your -end powers. It is a very fast sapper. Most mobs just stand around blinking at you with an empty endurance bar. Even Bosses. Enjoy. 

[Troo]

eesh sentinels and masterminds. not my cup of tea.

 

my preference for a ranged character is more along the lines of a /dark corruptor. pair with it your preference (maybe fire/ or ice/). it is my opinion they offer a well rounded experience.

 

alternately, let me introduce the Widow Fortunata