Adeon Hawkwood
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Posts
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Joined
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Pretty much all redside ATs solo well. Masterminds are probably the best but have a steep learning curve.
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Quote:I can't see people particularly looking for them but I also don't think they'll get turned away. Obviously it'll depend a bit on the modifiers but in general I'd expect it to play a bit like a Scrapper with some ranged damage.Originally Posted by Tonality
Do you think a AT with an Assault primary and a defense secondary would be desirable on teams? Personally, it does sound fun to play. But, will this AT be valued on SF's?
Personally I'd prefer Swashbuckling Assault. Pistol in one hand, Sword in the other. It makes a bit more sense than Dual Pistol assault, after all there are only so many ways that you can pistol whip someone.Quote:(For the hope of dual pistols assault) -
Quote:Just as a point, you removed the wrong IO from Flamethrower and Ignite. You removed the proc which means you're still overslotted for damageOriginally Posted by Cainus
Right, the toxic is indeed redundant so I've moved 2 of the slots over to Surveilance to take some Shield Breakers, and replaced the Dam/End for FA, FT And LRM with recharge.
. Also for Flamethrower I would strongly recommend NOT removing the Dam/End. Flamethrower is a horrible endurance hog and you'll really want the end reduction more than the extra range. For LRM and Full Auto you can go either way, they are slow recharging enough that the extra end cost doesn't really hurt but conversely the extra range doesn't help much although YMMV. This is especially true since you have Boost Range which blows the range enhancement of the Dam/Range out of the water.
Also, just looking over your build, you seem to be lacking focus in your slotting. You've got a few sets slotted for defense, but not enough focus to make a difference. You've got good recharge slotting but again there are several places where you passed it up. Personally with this starting block I'd move towards more recharge and try to get closer to perma-hasten. You probably can't hit it without using purples or LotG but even with cheap sets you can improve it's uptime. For example try 5-slotting Crushing Impacts in your melee attacks. Maybe put a Kinetic Crash or two in the knockback powers where damage is less of a concern (KC has damage enhancement but not ED capped). There's a couple of powers where the sets aren't really helping you so maybe franken-slot them to save a few slots. -
Quote:You know, I honestly never considered that that might be the issue. In the page UberGuy linked it's the one on the left.Originally Posted by Blue_Centurion
I have not installed any mids planner. I am just on the website. The website doesnt really seem to want to intall anything.
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Wellt he first thing that leaps out is that you've 6-sltted Positron's Blast in your powers. The last set bonus is Toxic Damage so you really only want to Five-slot it. I'd say leave out the Dam/Range, Positron is over-slotted for damage and you've got boost range. For LRM, Full Auto and Flamethrower it's worth putting a generic Recharge in there instead. For Buckshot and Ignite this is less useful so you may want to move the slots elsewhere. Normally I'd say 5-slot M30 in the same way but you've already got 5 Positron sets so that would be a waste. Although, if you've got the cash Ragnarok is a great set to 5-slot in Full Auto (leave out the Dam/End) and would allow you to put a Positron into M30.
Personally, I wouldn't have skipped Burst. AR is light on single target damage so you're going to be blapping against bosses, if you're comfortable with it then all's well, although Burst is a nice place to stick another Thunderstrike for Ranged defense.
You really need some accuracy in Surveillance, in fact I would say it's more important than defense debuff. Lysomes are normally pretty cheap so they're a good option for both if you don't want to slot it up. -
Go to the import/export menu select Import from forum and follow the directions.
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Quote:My response is pretty much the same as Talionis'. Regardless of whether Defenders are underperforming or not Vigilance is pretty much useless. First off it only works if you're on a team (the one place where Defenders definitely don't need help) and secondly it doesn't really do much there. Khelds and Tankers all get inherent powers that only work on a team so that part doesn't bother in and of itself, however I would like to see it doe something useful even if it only does it on a team.Originally Posted by Fulmens
Adeon and Talionis:
I sort of agree that Vigilance is a nonpower (well, sometimes it helps, but I agree that those are unpredictable moments and rare ones. ) However, to replace Vigilance with a power that improves Defender performance, shouldn't you first prove that Defenders need a performance boost?
As for the question of whether Defenders under-perform I'm going to say yes and no. I think that overall they probably are balanced, they do less damage than the other support classes (Corruptors and Controllers) but make up for it with better buffs. The problem is that solo the lower damage makes soloing painful for a lot of Defenders (obviously some powersets solo better than others) while on a team the difference between Defender buffs and the buffs of other support classes isn't really noticeable which means that performance wise playing a Corruptor gives you better solo power without hurting your teaming ability that much. Given that I'd like to see them get something to make soloing easier. I'm not saying a straight damage boost since I think that would make defender heavy teams to good but I'd like to see something done to make it a little easier to solo defenders. Talionis' change would do that by lowering their reliance on break frees and making them able to worry less about endurance slotting freeing up slots for other things (such as more damage). This would be especially useful in the lower levels when slots are scarce and boths your primary and your attacks need them.
Obviously it's usefulness would vary by primary. Force Field and Traps would get less use out of the anti-mez capability for example and kins wouldn't need the end refill at higher levels but overall I think it's decent if something can be done to balance vigilance generation. -
Quote:It's an interesting idea (although I think you should only have two of the three bonuses) but I think that making it balanced for different flavors of Defenders would be tricky. Assume for the sake of an argument that you can charge your vigilance bar using both your primary and secondary and that for balance reasons only click powers count (i.e. no leaving your toggles on to charge Vigilance while AFK). This produces a large disparity in how well different primaries can charge Vigilance. The buff heavy sets will be able to easily charge it outside of combat but repeatedly re-buffing (or rocking the healing aura if they have one) while the debuff heavy sets will need to be in combat to charge it (and to add insult to injury these sets tend to have longer recharges on their powers). You could balance it by having it only charge when attacking but that doesn't work as well thematically (although it would help get rid of the "defenders shouldn't blast" mentality). I actually like the core idea, I'm just not sure how practical it would be to implement in a balanced and thematic manner.Originally Posted by Talionis
Use the mechanic from Domination. Instead of mez protection, have it work like a Break Free that way even if you are Mezed you can use this power as a one time wake up to try to save your team. Have it fill up your Endurance bar and have it cast Conserve power. Make it so its hard, but not impossible to Perma Vigilence just like Domination.
As an alternative, make it a static bonus (either endurance cost reduction or recovery) which scales based on team size (similar to the Khelds) but still provides a smaller bonus when solo.
I agree with you here, relying on Vigilance is a bad idea.Quote:Originally Posted by Fire_Minded
The Defender as is, is perfectly fine for the role they are supposed to play in the game.As for having difficulties with slotting your endurance?That ones gotta be on you.Vigilance is helpeful when your in a crunch, and dont think for a second that because your a Defender with heals and buffs, that your team should never be in danger.That would be silly.
Dont depend on Vigilance to do your dirty work with Endurance.Make a effort to slot your powers for Endurance like you would any other build.Vigilance is just a plus, and the best time it comes into effect, is when you are almost out of endurance, and things get hairy because of someones mistake, or your lack of Stamina, then all the sudden BOOM!The team is in trouble, and your Endurance bar is full once again!
However I disagree with you on this one. In my opinion Vigilance is basically a non-power. Sure I'll occasionally get an endurance boost and maybe it'll be in a situation where I need it. BUT, I build my defenders so that they don't have endurance problems when soloing so the situations where Vigilance actually helps are pretty minimal. Basically it only helps in situations where my recovery is debuffed but I still have endurance to spare and my team is taking damage. Recovery debuffs are pretty rare and the ones that do exist tend to be also accompanied by endurance drains. If defenders had no inherent power at all they would not be noticeably worse than they are now for either damage or buffs/debuffs. Consequently I think that Vigilance should be changed or improved.Quote:Alot of people cry out for extra damage, take away Vigilance, and I have to ask, why would you want to ruin the Strongest DeBuffer/Buffer/Healer in the entire game? -
Well first off I'll say that I'm surprised you didn't like Traps. I've got both a Devices blaster and a Traps Defender and while I enjoy both Traps is made of awesome while Devices... Devices means well.
Of the two you suggested I'd say Energy over Electric. I'd also suggest not going the hoverblaster route. As Ben says Devices isn't a set that works well with Hover, to many powers work best when you're on the ground.
Radiation might work as an alternate primary. It'll be reasonably thematic (he can control an anti-matter generator or something). -
Yep, badges and prestige are the property of the SG.
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Of course the devs have a hate base, they use it to store the delicious tears of villain players.
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As far as I know Smoke Grenade is not auto-hit (RedTomax supports this although it is no longer updated so if the change was VERY recent it wouldn't have been captured).
Unfortunately Smoke Grenade does not take Accurate To Hit. I assume that this is an oversight on the part of the devs although as far as I know they've never commented on it either way. I don't think there's a whole lot that we can do about this although I guess PM'ing Castle and asking for an explanation might be work.
Frustratingly, Flash Arrow (a very similar power) IS auto-hit in PvE (but not PvP) and can take accurate to hit debuff sets. -
Quote:It's important to note that those are both mez resistance (i.e. duration reduction) while the leaping powers are mez protection (prevent mezzes outright up to a certain point thne suffer the full effect).Originally Posted by Katze
To add, Health from the Fitness pool gives some Sleep reduction as well and the Aid Self from the Medicine Pool gives stun protection.
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From the context it sounds like you want the enhancemnt diversification soft caps which can be found here (rule of thumb is no more than three enhancements of the same type in a power):
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Enhanc...iversification
Alternatively the limits on character buffs can be found here:
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Limits
If you're IO'ing the character, you need to keep in mind the following (if not, ignore it):
1. The Rule of Five: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Invent...e_Law_of_Fives
2. Defense has a hidden PvE softcap of 45% -
I was going to post a wiki link to the item limits for base plots but for some reason the storgage items limits got left off, I will remedy that shortly. In any case here are the item limits for base plots:
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Hidden_Base_Plots
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Secure_Base_Plots -
Quote:Technically speaking the Cathedral of Pain wasn't a task force since it allowed up to 24 players to participate. If the devs do ever bring it back I'm hoping that rather than Ouroborosing it they get rid of the SG requirement and have it launch from the Shadow Shard zones. Personally I'd also like them to keep it as a multi-group event but we shall see.Originally Posted by je_saist
In the same way, Cathedral of Pain, as we knew it, is gone. There is a chance that the Task Force itself will return in Ourobous with a Merit Reward, although I suspect the Calvin Scott Task Force will be the first de-activated Task Force to be turned back on through Ourobous.
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Quote:I pretty much agree with you, however the main reason I asked was that a while back BaBs talked about wanting to eliminate redraw but that the method he tried didn't work (or more accurately didn't work with Shield Defense). Given that he apparently wasn't concerned about balance then I was wondering why he considered it an issue here.Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon
It may be minimal, but it is still an impact on balance. And keep in mind that powergamers will always choose the most effective option under any given circumstances, and so they will always choose to use the no weapon option. Casual players will interpret that as them being penalized because they choose to build for concept and not gameplay.
And really, we have evidence that the redraw feature has a significant effect on balance. When it was removed from the overall cast time of the weapon sets, they became significantly stronger. To the point where Claws actually had to be nerfed to bring it back to the DPS it had before. It may depend on how fast the weapon set is, with slower weapons being effected less, but it DOES have an impact.
The only argument I see would be that before the redraw was a constant thing, 100%, and now it is a smaller fraction, maybe 10-20% of the time based on your other powers and how well you manage it. Removal of that remaining 20% should be less than the original removal of 80%.
Personally, I think a better option would be a separate Power Set which is balanced around the idea that you have a Staff or other item you are casting attack effects from.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=200797 -
Quote:This is actually a different situation in many ways. There are two reasons for this. First off AR has poor single target damage so Sniper Rifle helps make up for that against bosses (the reason my AR/Dev blaster has it). Secondly Empathy is a purely buffing set so initiating combat with a snipe is a lot more practical than for corruptors who tend to have one or more powerful debuffs in their secondaries and will generally want to open with those (which is why my Traps/AR defender does not have snipe).Originally Posted by Phantom Patriot
Well reading this has not discouraged me to take Snipe. On an Empath/AR Defender, I feel another string(bullet) to my bow(gun) will help greatly.
A snipe is a very useful attack, however it is also situational and Blasters/Defenders/Corruptors will get differing usage out of it depending on both the set that it's in and their other power set. -
A few sets and IOs you might want to look at:
Thunderstike - These provide a nice chunk of ranged defense and some other good bonuses for your single target attacks. Also tend to be very cheap if you're on a budget.
Positron's Blast - A nice set for your AoEs with a global recharge bonus in the fifth position. I tend to leave out the Dam/Range IO since Positron's is overslotted for damag and the range doesn't help much. Consider a generic recharge IO in the sixth slot if you want a bit more recharge in the powers. You can put in a generic range (or the Dam/Range) in energy torrent if you want but my personal experience is that you don't really notice the difference.
Kismet: Accuracy (a specific IO, not the entire set) - If you've got Combat Jumping or Hover (or took Cold Mastery) this is an excellent use of a single slot. Despite the in game description it gives 6% To Hit while you run the toggle which can help a lot with any accuracy issues.
There are three different Knockback protection IOs and you'll probably want to pick one up, try and get it at a low level if possible so that it works when you exemplar down. Here are the relevant sets and what power they go in:
Steadfast Protection - Combat Jump, Hover or Frozen Armor (from Cold Mastery)
Karma - The resistance shield form your non-cold mastery epic
Blessing of the Zephyr - your travel power (note that this one is a LOT more expensive than the other two
As others have said giving us a look at your current build makes it much easier to suggest what you might like. Even given that you're an Energy/Energy there are quite a few ways to build a good character and seeing what you've got will tell us a bit about how you play. If you haven't already download mids and use it to recreate your build then post it here.
http://www.cohplanner.com/
EDIT: Also as a side thought, compare my post to Postagulous and see what I mean about personal preferences? I like Thunderstikes in my single target attacks on my Blasters/Defenders since they provide ranged defense. He likes Entropic Chaos sets for the recharge. Both are perfectly viable options, he'll deal more damage and I'll be a little bit safer. -
As Dechs says you can't get mez protection through IOs (except knockback) and trying to build up resistance is not really worth it so defense (especially ranged defense) and break frees are the way to go.
Additionally the Leaping Pool offers some mez protection. Combat Jumping provides immobolize protection and Acrobatics provides Hold and Knockback protection. You still have sleep and stun holes but it's still useful.
Of course you could always re-roll as a Dark/Traps Corruptor, they get nice protection to Immobolize, Stun and Hold. -
Quote:Well Blueside you have to go Tanker for that which limits it's appealOriginally Posted by Sardan
SS/Shield is the combo of choice, at least with Brutes.
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Quote:Tell me that again after you spend 15minutes trying to find an oscillator hiding in the ceiling of a warehouse or a glowie hidden in the middle of a large group of crates. Even using the fog of war it is pretty easy to end up in situations where you've cleared part of the map but missed an enemy/glowie hiding in a weird location. To extend your analogy, he isn't telling you where all of the easter eggs are he's telling you where the one that you missed is once you've found all of the others.Originally Posted by Hube02
While it can be frustrating to find that one glowie or baddy hiding in some corner, or timed outdoor maps (like the one mentioned above) I can honestly say that I would not particularly like this enhancement either. This would be like going on an easter egg hunt and knowing ahead of time where all the eggs are... What's the point? Isn't part of the challenge not knowing where the eggs are? Again, I hope that if this is included that I can turn the feature off.
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Quote:For the most part I don't think the current inspirations are overpowered (except the defense ones), break frees in particular are a situation where a mechanic is needed since otherwise most squishies would have a very hard time soloing certain enemy groups. The only change I'd make is nerf purples a bit and buff oranges.Originally Posted by DaveMebs
IMO, most of the inspirations are pretty overpowered. Lucks turn you invincible, a small red is actually 1.5 times more potent that Build Up, break frees give easy mez portection to squishies, etc.
It's not like the insp would be as strong as power boost. I'm thinking 1/4 the strength, 6 times the duration. The same values that small reds have in proportion to build up.
The difference is that the current crop of inspirations affect you not your powers and the benefit ends as soon as the inspiration expires (ok technically you can use a red and a DoT power to get the benefit once it expires, but most DoTs have a short duration and the benefit ends as soon as the current group is dead). With a Power Boost style inspiration you can use it then cast click buffs which will benefit from the inspiration or the entire duration of the buff, the standard example is power boosted shields for an force fielder.
D'oh! I think I'm going to Lucas that one. I meant all mezzesQuote:Originally Posted by IanTheM1
Upon checking CoD, you're right. Though to be fair, you said it only buffed hold duration originally.
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Quote:Well, Ice is a set with primarily single target attacks so Trip Mine makes sense as a powerful AoE. My secondary is Assault Rifle so I'm better of kicking out Flamethrower and Buckshot since they have no chance of being interrupted and will probably hit more targets, and of course at higher levels I'll have Full Auto.Originally Posted by AWRocketman
The other day I was playing on a team and one of the players said the same thing. I don't agree, though it depends heavily on your secondary. Mine is /Ice. My teams strategy is always the same...
1) Tank grabs aggro
1a) If no tank, launch seekers
2) Jump in the middle and set Acid Mortar
3) If no tank then PGT _may_ be desired
4) Caltrops ==> Ice Storm
5) If no knock-backers on team -OR- team isn't made of AoE blasters then set Trip Mine
6) Start single target blasting
Once you've gotten 1-4 done, there is no action worth doing over the next 4 seconds that will equal the damage you can do with the AoE of trip mine.
Now, would the same be true of a /Dark? Of a /Sonic? I don't know, it still depends on the situation. You can still be doing things with those secondaries that can help the team that may bring more benefit than a mini-nuke. -
Yeah, I'm, hoping they'll toss some new information out today. As they say, it's not over until Statesman sings.