Zeh_Masteh

Also, just to add some focus to the discussion: what should be the point of the Blaster adjustments, if we get them?

I've seen posts saying Blasters should unambiguously be damage kings on all sets, but what does that mean? On SOs, are Blasters not already damage kings? On IOs, should Blasters *always*, on all sets, be the best damage? Will I expect my Ice/Dev blaster on SOs to easily outdamage an IO'd Fire/Shield scrapper? Should we even be better than Fire/Kin Corruptors, Defenders, and Controllers, who obviously are sitting at the damage cap?

It just seems to me that everyone is comparing average blasters to spectacular (insert AT). Not only that, but they describe average blasters played by poor players that don't use inspirations, even if mezzed, don't break Line of Sight, and just run in guns (arrows, radiation...) blazing and hope they don't die..

As suggested in THB's thread (though not by THB, just to be clear), I've made my complement to my Ice/Ice blaster, a Mercs/Pain MM, and gotten her to lvl10 (same as my blaster).

Nothing much to report again: everything was easy, no deaths. What *did* surprise me is that it took 2hrs to get to lvl10 on my MM when it only took 1.5hrs on my blaster- I attributed that to a combination of patrol xp (I got to lvl10 in 4 play sessions on my blaster, only 2 on my MM), as well as damage types (both are villains, with lethal-resistant Longbow and ice-susceptible Hellions). I'm going to hold off on the experiment for a few days to let the MM catch up in patrol xp, then make a push for lvl15: how many days does it take to get 10 bars of patrol xp again?

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=285444

just so everyone knows, I'm already doing the same on the above thread, but with an ice/ice blaster. I'm going a bit more slowly than THB (not playing every day, etc), so patrol xp should be a factor (if I start dying after lvl10, I'll lose the debt). I'm using HeroStats to track my progression.

I may just join this experiment by creating (yet) another MM (would've done Stalker, but THB beat me to it) to play, though I already know the results: my MM, whatever build, will level faster and never die. Whether that is because I'm better at MMs, I enjoy them, or there aren't really any enemy groups out there that kill all my pets in under a minute, who knows?

Tsumetai reporting in: got to lvl10 not too long ago, took about 90 minutes in total. Not much to report: everything was easy, but it was only the first few levels, which is easy for every character.

I died once , during Mr. Bocor's "Kill Hellions" mission, only because I was a lvl6 taking on lvl8s, which wasn't a problem until, while at half health and almost killing an orange Hellion, a purple Family boss spawned on me...

Made my Ice/Ice Blaster, Tsumetai, last night, and played around for only 15 minutes or so: for the purpose of researching the experience of a free player, I've put some limitations on my normal build plans-

1) No Going Rogue IOs (this makes me really sad...)

2) No IOs

3) No Hover (this requirement actually will be used to test the validity of a non-Hover blaster moreso than the general freebie player)

4) I plan on living in Melee. This isn't actually different from my normal playstyle, but I'm emphasizing the fact that I won't be playing it safe- really going for No-Defense-Nelly (probably should've gone Fire/Fire for this, but if I don't try ice blast now, I never will lol)

I'm running HeroStats to track my progress on the character, which I think will also keep track of my defeats.

Also, since you're Thugs/FF, I'd assume you have alot of defense: enemies don't like missing alot, so they will also run if they keep missing while also taking damage.

Basically, in the absence of a taunt power, these are the things I can recall making enemies run:
-even if not taking damage, if the other enemies in its spawn are dying too fast

-not being able to hit players

-just 'cause

-high DoT

-patches that do damage (Rain of Fire, e.g.) or debuff (Tar Patch, e.g.)

I'll go ahead and put my thoughts in on the issue of Blasters and mezzes, though it may very well be ignored.

I think it's a little silly to argue that Blasters need to do damage all the time, and therefore need to have mez protection/reduction. You don't see Defenders saying "I need to support all the time, so I need mez protection" (of the 13 support primaries, 3- Traps, FF, and Sonic- have mez protection, and Dark may get a nod for being able to floor ToHit before the enemies know you're there). A similar argument goes for Controllers (their mez protection comes from only one choice in APPs, and from similar arguments in this thread and others, we shouldn't be pigeonholed into specific sets), Corrupters, MMs, PBs, and WSs. In total, 6 out of 14 ATs. Since we need to cater to SO/generic IO-only builds, as also stated in this thread and others, we can also put half of Dominators on the list.

If we remove mez for Blasters because they need to do damage, we may as well remove mez for Controllers because they need to control, and so on, so we may as well just remove the ability for players to get mezzed.

Maybe yet another Blasting guide is in order, complete w/ "Avoiding Mez" as a topic...

I'll be on starting from around 4pm tomorrow.

I'm hoping that double xp and Stalker changes will allow us to recruit even more to revive these events.

It all depends on the level of the team we get going, but we can do Moonfire (WST) and several SSAs

Even though I already have 3 lowbie blasters, I'll go ahead and do this experiment from scratch: it'll give me an excuse to try Ice Blast, since I've heard many good things about BIB.

I personally think Blasters are already fine, and I think the solo experience is better on Blasters than Corrs, Trollers, or Defs, but I also don't like Melee ATs too much, so I may be biased.

I'll keep posting here w/ observations and strategies.

As for Storm, you'd be surprised how much melee pets don't actually mind knockback.

On my ninja/storm MM, I use KB all the time (2 Lightning Storms each fight, Tornado as a panic button), and my Ninjas haven't complained once about it. In fact, they do this very ingenious thing... they *move to the target and keep attacking*, rather than stand there mid-combat explaining the mechanics of Rise to the Challenge ( jk, jk, I don't use Tornado on most teams)

Seriously, though, because of the way Tornado chooses targets (KB's one target, then stays there until that target stands up again, then chooses another target), the KB isn't actually that bad. Usually my pets are focusing fire on troublesome enemies, or whatever's closest to me, so just summon the Tornado far away from you and you won't even notice it.

I got to lvl35, right on time for ITFs, and I think I'm currently close to 36.

I'm still interested in all-stalker teams, even moreso w/ I22, *and* this Thursday starts my Spring Break, so I'm all over Stalkers for a while

In addition to more keybinding, a more simple way is to right-click on the people you expect to heal the most, and choose "Add to Focus Group" from the popmenu. In most trials, groups split up, so you probably only need to worry about 12 people at most, but probably less.

Also consider Musculature: its higher tiers also have EndMod, but it also has Damage, so your blaptroller will be able to kill more easily.
My E3 is only lvl38 now, but when he hits 50, he will definitely be going for Musculature

I've yet to get any negativity about my Stalker on Champion or Exalted- sometimes it's hard getting a team for my lowbie villain Stalker on Exalted, but that's not a Stalker-only problem... (my rogue has no issues, as long as she stays in Paragon City)

Okay, so I've done some homework (not my *real* homework that's due Friday, though ) and came up w/ two SO-only builds to use by comparison.

The first is a Stone/Regen Brute, fully slotted. It has 30 slots in its secondary (including the initial slots), and every /Regen power was taken.

The second is a Stone/WP Brute, only secondary slotted. It has 27 slots in its secondary (including initial slots), and every /WP power was taken.

Differences that I found? They have the same recovery, but WP drains more endurance due to more toggles. WP obviously has more resist and more defense for the same amount of investment.

As for HP regeneration:
WP, w/ RttC and 6 enemies surrounding gains ~58 HP/s
WP, w/ RttC fully saturated gains ~71 HP/s.
Regen, w/ no Instant Healing, no Dull Pain, gains ~33 HP/s.
After activating Dull Pain, which has only a minute downtime w/o Hasten, Regen bumps up to ~52.5 HP/s

Woe unto Regen! , unless you count Reconstruction: w/o Hasten, Reconstruction heals for 730 HP every 30 seconds. You may not want to count this in the calculation (I would), but if you do, it comes out to +~24 HP/s

All said and done, 2/3rds of the time (DP being 2 mins up, 1 min down), Regen is a *little* better than WP on passive regeneration, even on fully saturated RttC, even w/o touching Instant Healing, and 1/3rd of the time being pretty handily worse than WP.

By the by, Instant Healing is up for 1.5 minutes, down for 4 minutes, which is comparable to Strength of Will being up 2 minutes, down for 3 minutes.

My verdict: Regen is about as good Willpower, but takes more effort. Also, Willpower is a smooth ride that never gets any better or worse, whereas Regen has it's great spells and it's not-so-great spells.., which is exactly what everyone's known all along!

Here's the build:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.951
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

SO Regen 30: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Stone Melee
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Arctic Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Stone Mallet -- EndRdx(A), Acc(40), Dmg(40), Dmg(40), RechRdx(43)
Level 1: Fast Healing -- Heal(A), Heal(3), Heal(3)
Level 2: Reconstruction -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(5), RechRdx(5), Heal(7), Heal(7), Heal(9)
Level 4: Quick Recovery -- EndMod(A), EndMod(9)
Level 6: Heavy Mallet -- EndRdx(A), RechRdx(34), Acc(36), Dmg(36), Dmg(36)
Level 8: Fault -- EndRdx(A), Acc(37), Dsrnt(37), RechRdx(37), Dsrnt(39)
Level 10: Dull Pain -- Heal(A), Heal(13), Heal(13), RechRdx(15), RechRdx(15), RechRdx(17)
Level 12: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(21)
Level 14: Boxing -- Acc(A)
Level 16: Integration -- EndRdx(A), Heal(17), Heal(19), EndRdx(19)
Level 18: Seismic Smash -- RechRdx(A), EndRdx(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(34), Acc(34)
Level 20: Resilience -- ResDam(A), ResDam(21)
Level 22: Maneuvers -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(23), DefBuff(23), DefBuff(25)
Level 24: Tough -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(25), ResDam(27), ResDam(27)
Level 26: Weave -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(31), DefBuff(31), DefBuff(33)
Level 28: Instant Healing -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(29)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(31)
Level 32: Tremor -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(43), Acc(46), RechRdx(46), RechRdx(46)
Level 35: Revive -- RechRdx(A)
Level 38: Moment of Glory -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(39), RechRdx(39)
Level 41: Block of Ice -- Hold(A), Hold(42), RechRdx(42), Acc(42), RechRdx(43)
Level 44: Shiver -- Acc(A), RechRdx(45), RechRdx(45), EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Ice Storm -- Dmg(A), Dmg(48), Dmg(48), RechRdx(48), RechRdx(50), RechRdx(50)
Level 49: Tactics -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(11)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(11)



..Aaand, the second:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.951
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

SO WillP 27: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Stone Melee
Secondary Power Set: Willpower
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership

Villain Profile:
Level 1: [Empty]
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- ResDam(A), ResDam(7), Heal(7), Heal(9)
Level 2: Mind Over Body -- ResDam(A), ResDam(9), EndRdx(11), EndRdx(11)
Level 4: Fast Healing -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(5)
Level 6: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 8: [Empty]
Level 10: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx(A)
Level 12: [Empty]
Level 14: Tough -- ResDam(A), ResDam(15), EndRdx(15), EndRdx(17)
Level 16: Rise to the Challenge -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(17), Heal(19), Heal(19), ToHitDeb(21), ToHitDeb(23)
Level 18: Weave -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(23), DefBuff(25), DefBuff(25)
Level 20: Quick Recovery -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21)
Level 22: [Empty]
Level 24: [Empty]
Level 26: Maneuvers -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(27), DefBuff(27), DefBuff(31)
Level 28: Heightened Senses -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(29), DefBuff(29), DefBuff(31)
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: Resurgence -- RechRdx(A)
Level 38: Strength of Will -- ResDam(A), ResDam(39)
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: Tactics -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(3)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(3)

Honestly, I feel this thread is becoming less and less helpful: it's degenerated into "Regen sucks b/c my Regen keeps dying" vs. "Regen is fine b/c my Regen never dies" posts (note: I'm guilty of this as well ).

I say, we hit the restart button, and try to be more constructive than "I [don't] die!" posts:

If you feel regen needs some help, why do you think it's lacking and how can it be made better?

Maybe putting up some builds (SOs as well as decked out IO) for comparison so those of us that think Regen is invincible can help those that think it's squishy?

EDIT: in the spirit of such a suggestion, here's my build: It's almost done: just you can choose the alternates for Golden Dragonfly, Waterspout, Tough and Soaring Dragon to see what the final product will be (also, replace the Panacea proc w/ a Numina's Heal/Rech). W/ the level shift, I solo at +0/x6 without touching my heals, +0/x8 actually using DP and Reconstruction. I'll also eventually get Rebirth instead of Barrier, but I feel that, unless Rebirth is T4, Barrier's better.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.951
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Mord Maedchen: Level 50 Mutation Stalker
Primary Power Set: Ninja Blade
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(29), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(31)
Level 1: Hide -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 2: Flashing Steel -- Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(7), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(31), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(31), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(33)
Level 4: Fast Healing -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Panac-Heal/+End:50(5), RgnTis-Regen+:30(7), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(9), Numna-Heal:50(11), Mrcl-Heal:40(11)
Level 6: Assassin's Blade -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(15), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(17), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(17)
Level 8: Reconstruction -- Dct'dW-Rchg:50(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(13), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:40(19), Dct'dW-Heal:50(19)
Level 10: Build Up -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(21)
Level 12: Dull Pain -- Dct'dW-Rchg:50(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(23), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(23), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), Dct'dW-Heal:50(43)
Level 14: Placate -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(43)
Level 16: Integration -- Dct'dW-Heal:50(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(21), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(25), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(25), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(27)
Level 18: Boxing -- Mako-Dam%:50(A)
Level 20: Resilience -- ResDam-I:50(A)
Level 22: Tough -- ResDam-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(34), EndRdx-I:50(45)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- EndRdx-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(40), Dmg-I:50(42), FrcFbk-Rechg%:50(42), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg:50(42), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43)
Level 28: Instant Healing -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(33), RechRdx-I:50(33)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Acc-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(34), EndRdx-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(36), FrcFbk-Rechg%:50(37)
Level 35: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(37), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37)
Level 38: Divine Avalanche -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 41: Water Spout -- Amaze-Stun:50(A), Amaze-Acc/Rchg:50(45), RechRdx-I:50(45), DefDeb-I:50(46), Dmg-I:50(46)
Level 44: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 47: Summon Guardian -- ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg:50(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg:50(48), ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg:50(50), C'Arms-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg:30(50)
Level 49: Moment of Glory -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(50)
Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Invader
Level 0: Marshal
Level 50: Void Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Spiritual Core Paragon
Level 50: Paralytic Total Radial Conversion
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Assassination
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(A), Numna-Heal:50(40), Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(40)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod:50(39), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(39), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(39)

As far as damage is concerned, you can probably do better, but my Stalker often used Placate in the late 30s and "early" 50s (before I finished IO'ing her) when fighting EBs and AVs from late game content. I haven't used it much since (nearly) finishing my build and getting iPowers, though...

Some nice history, there, but you forgot a major boon that Regen has that Willpower doesn't: Reconstruction.

Using the standard slotting example you have so far, giving Reconstruction 3 Heal SOs and 3 Recharge SOs, you can heal 49% of your HP every 31 seconds.

Considering how health regeneration works (in "ticks", so 5 hp/sec may mean 10 hp every 2 seconds w/ no regen in between), being able to choose when to heal a lump sum can be beneficial. This only gets better w/ +recharge (something WP doesn't really benefit from)... in my current /regen stalker build, I heal ~55% every 20 secs, and my final build will heal ~60% every 15 seconds

Currently, ranged MM pets already "prefer" ranged already: they don't run into melee immediately, but rather only when there's a gap in their ranged attack chain.

Also, the phrase "prefer to stay at range" is not the equivalent of "never goes into melee" that I feel many of you are taking it to be.

More to the point: I'm pretty sure that, if these tweaks are successful, they will port them to MM pets, but I'd much rather let Singy (or Phantasm) be a test dummy for how the new AI works, *then* port the changes to ranged MM pets at some later issue, rather than risk even wonkier things happening to MM pets...

It depends on *how* crazy they get...

If they only get a little crazy, I'd roll Assassination as an Inherent, Defender-version Psychic Blast as a Primary, Stalker-version Willpower as a Secondary, and call it a Sniper

If they got alot of crazy, I'd roll Fury as an Inherent, Super Strength as a Primary, and Umbral Aura as a Secondary, and call it a God

Yes, now that you're in the 30's you'll start getting 3 slots every non-power level, so start working on 5-slotting your previous attacks and toggles: Instead of Damx3,Accx1, go Damx2,Accx1,Endx1,Rechx1

In your Defense Toggles, go Defx3,Endx2
Hide doesn't give enough defense really to justify 4 slotting: I always go with the base slot for Defx1: It doesn't need Rech reduction since the only time it's shut off is when you die...