Aisynia
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10) In Closing
Well, I hope this guide has been helpful, and that you have enjoyed it. I've had a lot of fun writing it over the last day and a half. The Wolf Spider is a fun AT to play, all the way from 1-50 and can bring a hell of a lot to a team.
If you have feedback, suggestions, or constructive criticism, I would love to hear it, just be nice
Have fun out there everyone. -
9) Example Build
This is the build I've been using. I don't have everything listed there, but I do have about 98% of it. It was a fun journey leveling up, and I still play her regularly, a year later. This is build that has served me well. By all means, don't feel confined to it, I built this guide to help people design their own
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Marshal DiCosta: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier
Primary Power Set: Bane Spider Soldier
Secondary Power Set: Bane Spider Training
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Villain Profile:
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Level 1: Single Shot Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), LdyGrey-%Dam(36)
Level 1: Bane Spider Armor Upgrade S'fstPrt-ResKB(A), Aegis-Psi/Status(50)
Level 2: Burst Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Apoc-Dam%(34)
Level 4: Combat Training: Defensive RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(45), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(45), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), RedFtn-Def(46), RedFtn-EndRdx(46)
Level 6: Swift Run-I(A)
Level 8: Heavy Burst Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(9), Posi-Dmg/Rng(11), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), Posi-Dam%(27)
Level 10: Hasten RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(13), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 12: Tactical Training: Maneuvers RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(29), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37), RedFtn-Def(42), LkGmblr-Rchg+(43)
Level 14: Wide Area Web Grenade Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(19), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(19), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng(23), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(31), GravAnch-Hold%(34)
Level 16: Venom Grenade Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(17), Posi-Dmg/Rng(23), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), Posi-Dam%(33)
Level 18: Hurdle Jump-I(A)
Level 20: Stamina EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21), P'Shift-End%(37)
Level 22: Mental Training Run-I(A)
Level 24: Frag Grenade Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(25), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(25), Posi-Dmg/Rng(27), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), Posi-Dam%(36)
Level 26: Super Speed Run-I(A)
Level 28: Surveillance Acc-I(A), Acc-I(29), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(33), Achilles-ResDeb%(37)
Level 30: Build Up RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 32: Tactical Training: Assault EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Tactical Training: Leadership AdjTgt-ToHit(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(36), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(42), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(43), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(43)
Level 38: Call Reinforcements HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(39), Dmg-I(39), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 41: Assault EndRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Combat Training: Offensive Acc-I(A)
Level 47: Maneuvers RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(48), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(48), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48), RedFtn-Def(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 49: Vengeance LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
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Level 1: Brawl Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
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8) Patron Pools
I didn't take a patron pool on my Huntsman, but that doesn't mean they're terrible. You also need to complete a patron arc to unlock the Lord Recluse Strike Force anyways. VEATs as a whole get access to the same Patron pools as Brutes do (At least before some Brute pools got extra powers). Some people aren't very happy about this, and would rather have something like the Corruptor pools, but we get what we get.
Patron Pools work mechanically somewhat like normal pools. You must be at least 41 to take either the first or second power. to take the third, you must be 44 and have at least one other power in the pool. For the fourth power, you must be at least level 47, and have two other powers from the pool.
As of Issue 13, once you complete any of the four patrons, you can access any of their pools, which was a nice change, as before, you would be restricted to only the pool of the patron you chose. Forever. So now, just pick whichever seems more interesting to you as a story, and then pick the pool you want.
Leviathan Mastery (Captain Mako)
Overall Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼
Shark powers. Enough said. Some people will think it's silly, some people will eat it up.. If you can get past the visuals (or love the visuals), and can justify it within your theme, this isn't a terrible pool for a Wolf Spider, and that's primarily due to Bile Spray being awesome.
Level 41: Spirit Shark
Animation Time: 3 seconds
Recharge: 9 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.4 Lethal
Range: 80 feet
Type: Single target ranged
Also: Magnitude 1.45 Knockback
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, maybe 1 Recharge if you 6 slot this.
- Hamidon: 3 Damage/Accuracy HOs (Nucleolus), 1-2 Recharge.
- Sets: 5x Decimation. At least if you take this power, get some decent set bonuses out of it, though at this stage in your career, you may already have its meaningful bonuses capped.
You shoot a shark at your foe. Really. This would be a decent power if not for the very long animation time, in fact, I would describe it as prohibitively long. Skip this and stick to your gun powers unless you really, really need another ranged attack (and you shouldn't need one, especially one that causes redraw and takes 3 seconds to animate......).
Level 41: School of Sharks
Animation Time: 2.37 seconds
Recharge: 20 seconds
Damage: Scale 0.935 Negative Energy damage
Range: 50 feet
Type: Cone AOE Immobilize, 30 degree arc, 10 targets max
Also: Magnitude 3 Immobilize for 20.1 seconds on all targets
Slotting:- Common: 2-3 Immobilize Duration, 2 Accuracy OR 2-3 Damage, 2 Accuracy
- Hamidon: 2-3 Accuracy/Mezz HOs (Endoplasm) OR 2-3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus)
- Sets: 5x Enfeebled Operation for the bonuses, though I'm not sure I can recommend that many slots for this power. Alternatively you could use the 2 HOs above and then load it with procs, but I still wouldn't recommend it. Alternatively, you could slot this as an attack and stick Positron's Blast in here.
This power is alright for an AOE immobilize. the damage isn't stupendous, but it's rarely resisted. You can stack this on top of your Wide Area Web Grenade to immobilize Bosses and AVs if you like. It will also add a little bit of AOE onto your chain, but it's nothing amazing, and Bile Spray is way better for that. It's a better pick than Spirit Shark, overall, but it's nothing to swoon over. I recommend minimal slotting and using it in very specific situations. This is basically a prerequisite power for Bile Spray.
Level 44: Bile Spray
Animation Time: 2.67 seconds
Recharge: 32 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.2 Toxic Damage (DoT)
Range: 60 feet
Type: Cone AOE, 30 degree arc, maximum targets hit unknown
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 2 Damage/Accuracy HOs (Nucleolus), 1-2 Damage/Range HOs (Centriole), 1-2 common Recharge SOs/IOs
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast, assuming the bonus caps have not been reached at this point. Otherwise, use 5x Detonation and a Positron's Blast: Chance for Energy proc.
Despite the animation time, this is a great power for a Wolf Spider. It does pure toxic damage, which your Venom Grenade debuffs the resistance to by 40%. This is the reason to take Leviathan Mastery right here. You be stacking up some really nasty damage against biological targets with this (as long as you can deal with the fact you're essentially puking all over your enemies.. and they're dying from it).
Level 47: Summon Guardian
Type: Pet summon
Effects: Summons a Coralax Guardian Sentinel
Recharge: 900 seconds (15 minutes)
Duration: 240 seconds (4 minutes)
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 3 Recharge OR 2 Damage, 1 Accuracy, 3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 3 Recharge SOs/IOs.
- Sets: 4x Blood Mandate (Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End, Acc, Dam), and 2 common Recharge IOs
I have never had this power, so I'm not qualified to rate it, or really talk about it. I have heard that it's one of the crappiest pets you can get, but I would like some feedback regarding this.
Mace Mastery (Black Scorpion)
Overall Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼
Black Scorpion's Mace Mastery set is probably the most theme-compliant of the patron pools. All of the powers use the Arachnos Mace. Unfortunately this also means all powers will cause redraw from your gun to the Mace, and then back again. If it didn't, it would have received a higher overall score. Usually, in terms of VEATs, this would be reserved for the Bane Spiders because it wouldn't cause redraw with their mace. If theme is a big deal, remember that the Wolf Spider TacOps also uses an Arachnos Mace in a limited fashion. The pet is another spider bot, which fits in great with your other 2. It's a decent pool with a cool pet, but it's nothing spectacular, and would be a lot better if not for the redraw it causes.
Level 41: Mace Blast
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge: 9 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.32 Energy/Smashing
Range: 80 feet
Type: Singe target ranged
Also: 30% chance for Magnitude 0.7 Knockback (which translates into knockdown for being below mag 1).
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Damage/Accuracy HOs (Nucleolus), 1-2 Recharge, 1 End Redux
- Sets: 5x Decimation if the bonus caps have not been reached, otherwise 5x Devastation and a proc of your choice.
This power would have received a 3 or 4 point rating if it did not cause redraw. In fact, that's the biggest problem with the entire pool, the redraw. This isn't a bad attack in a vacuum, but add in the redraw, and it will quickly grow frustrating and probably cut into your damage rather than helping.
Level 41: Web Envelope
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge: 20 seconds
Damage: None
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 15 foot radius, 10 targets max
Also: Magnitude 3 Immobilize for 20.1seconds, to all targets, and renders them unable to jump or fly, slows their movement speed by 20%, and reduces their recharge bonus by 20%, all for 15 seconds.
Slotting:- Common: 1-2 Immobilize Duration, 2 Accuracy, 2-3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Mezz HOs (Endoplasm), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Enfeebled Operation and a Proc. The Enfeebled Operation will give you a small but usable bonus to recharge time.
This is a lot like your Wide Area Web Grenade.. except larger, but the debuffs themselves aren't as strong. It has the same range and target cap, but it has a wider radius, 15 feet as opposed to 10. The debuffs are smaller, 20% as opposed to 50, but it helps. It also doesn't immunize mobs to knockback like WAWG, which is either good or bad depending on the situation. The only issue with this is the redraw, and how late it comes, otherwise I would almost suggest you replace WAWG with this. Don't do that though. It just comes too late. If you use this right before or after Build Up, the redraw wouldn't matter. Still, it may be worth taking if you want the set bonuses, or you want to stack the immobilize and slow powers, which isn't really a terrible idea. Your build at this point may be complete enough so that you won't have room or a need in your attack chain to even use this. Still, a very decent power.
Level 44: Disruptor Blast
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge: 32 seconds
Damage: Scale 1 Energy/Smashing
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 15 foot radius, 16 targets max
Also: 20% chance for Magnitude 2.08 knockback
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge OR 2 Accuracy, 2 Recharge, 1-2 End Redux
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast, so long as you haven't capped the set bonuses at this stage. Otherwise, pick 5x Detonation and the Positron's proc
Whether this is worth it or not is really up to you. It has a better radius than Frag Grenade, but it has a smaller damage scale (though it does use one less resisted damage type). This would be worth working into your AOE chain if the redraw wasn't killing time inside your Build Up + AOE window. As long as your other AOEs haven't already recharged at the end of your AOE chain, and everything isn't dead yet, this would be worth firing, as it wouldn't interfere with anything. It's not a bad power, it's just not a good power either. It will stack up some extra AOE if you feel you need it, otherwise, skip it if possible.
Level 47: Summon Blaster
Type: Pet summon
Effects: Summons an Arachnobot Blaster
Recharge: 900 seconds (15 minutes)
Duration: 240 seconds (4 minutes)
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 3 Recharge OR 2 Damage, 1 Accuracy, 3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 3 Recharge SOs/IOs.
- Sets: 4x Blood Mandate (Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End, Acc, Dam), and 2 common Recharge IOs
I haven't personally used this, but I have gotten feedback on it and teamed with people who have used it. I was considering taking this at one time, but passed in lieu of more leadership powers. Even so, I will take feedback regarding this by any one who has used it to better refine this little section.
This is apparently a decent pet power. It's kind of squishy, like your disruptors, but has some utility and ok damage. Like the Call Reinforcements power, I recommend HOs over IO sets, as the IO pet sets have no recharge built in, and you need that recharge badly for a power like this.
Mu Mastery (Scirocco)
Overall Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Mu Mastery is a great pool. The best thing about this pool is its very fast animation times; although they cause redraw, they are so quick that it can easily make up for it as opposed to a set like Leviathan Mastery or Mace Mastery. I have this on my Brute and I would take it on my Spider in a second if it fit the theme. It's ranged attacks are very nice, and it has a great pet. Besides, red lightning is cool.
Level 41: Mu Lightning
Animation Time: 1.17 seconds
Recharge: 9 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.32 Energy
Range: 80 feet
Type: Single target ranged
Also: -10% endurance
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Decimation and a Proc of your choice. If the Decimation bonuses have been capped by this point, then 5x Devastation. It should be noted that the procs that can be slotted in here are not generally of the extra damage variety, as it only takes Ranged and End Mod sets. You are pretty much limited to Chance for Buildup (not a terrible thing), Chance for End Drain, Chance for Self Heal, Chance to Hold, Chance to Disorient, and Chance for +10 End. What you choose is up to you, of course, you could just skip the proc and save yourself a slot.
This is an excellent ranged attack. It's fast and it does decent damage. If not for the redraw it causes, I would give this a 5 point rating. Even so, it's not killer redraw like Mace Mastery, where you switch between 2 weapons, and the animation isn't absurdly long like the Leviathan powers. It's a good power pick if you don't have a lot of recharge, or you get slowed and need to fill in a small ranged attack gap.
Level 41: Electrifying Fences
Animation Time: 1.17 seconds
Recharge: 20 seconds
Damage: Scale 0.8 Energy (DoT)
Range: 40 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 10 foot radius, 10 targets max
Also: Magnitude 3 Immobilize for 20.1 seconds on all targets
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Endurance Reduction
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 1-2 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Reduction SOs/IOs
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast if the bonuses aren't capped by this point, otherwise slot 5x Detonation and a Positron's proc.
Yes, I am suggesting that this be slotted as an attack. The damage isn't amazing, but the animation is very fast, that's really what makes this entire pool worth it in fact. Stack this on top of Ball Lightning and your Wolf Spider AOEs, and it's a win. The only thing to watch out for here is the end cost, as you can quickly kill your blue bar by sticking this and ball Lightning onto the end of your AOE chain.
Level 44: Ball Lightning
Animation Time: 1.07 seconds
Recharge: 32 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.02 Energy (DoT)
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 15 foot radius, 16 targets max
Also: -7% endurance to all targets
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Damage/Accuracy HOs (Nucleolus), 1-2 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 Endurance Reduction SOs/IOs
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast if the bonuses aren't capped by this point, otherwise slot 5x Detonation and a Positron's proc.
This is a very decent AOE. It has an extremely short animation time, clocking in at 1.07 seconds, which helps to justify the redraw it will cause. The damage is decent, especially for its animation time. Stick this onto the end of your Wolf based AOE chain for some extra carnage.
Level 47: Summon Striker
Type: Pet summons
Effects: Summons a Mu Striker
Recharge: 900 seconds (15 minutes)
Duration: 240 seconds (4 minutes)
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 3 Recharge OR 2 Damage, 1 Accuracy, 3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 3 Recharge SOs/IOs.
- Sets: 4x Blood Mandate (Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End, Acc, Dam), and 2 common Recharge IOs
This is a great pet. It does decent damage, it attacks a lot, and it has a good habit of staying out of harm's way. I'm told it heals too, and can be slotted for such, but I never noticed it doing that on my Brute.. then again my Brute has always been too busy smacking things in the face to pay attention to her pet. This is one pet certainly worth having. As a reminder, I don't recommend slotting sets, and the HO slotting should be used as soon as you hit 47.
Soul Mastery (Ghost Widow)
Overall Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Soul Mastery is another pretty decent Patron pool. It has great visuals, good damage, and overall decent animation times, though Mu Mastery beats it out in the animation department, on average.
Level 41: Gloom
Animation Time: 1.1 seconds
Recharge: 12 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.76 Negative Energy (DoT)
Range: 80 feet
Type: Single target ranged
Also: -5.63% ToHit to target
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Decimation and a Proc of your choice. If the Decimation bonuses have been capped by this point, then 5x Devastation. It should be noted that the procs that can be slotted in here are not generally of the extra damage variety, as it only takes Ranged and ToHit debuff sets. You are pretty much limited to Chance for Buildup (as noted in Mu Lightning, not a terrible thing), Chance for End Drain, Chance for Self Heal, Chance to Hold, Chance for Recovery Debuff, and Chance for Recharge Slow. What you choose is up to you, of course, you could just skip the proc and save yourself a slot.
Gloom is a highly excellent ranged attack. Even with the redraw, this got a 5 point rating. It's a DoT, so it may be hard to tell for some people, but it actually does slightly more damage than Burst, and it does it with negative energy damage, which is much less resisted than Burst's lethal. I have my recharge on Burst and Single Shot so low that I can cycle them together endlessly and I'm not sure how I would fit Gloom in myself.. but if you don't build for recharge, this would be an excellent addition to your attack chain (assuming you don't mind the redraw). Hell, it might be otherwise, but I don't have it on a Spider, so I don't know. Still, good ranged attack, well worth taking.
Level 41: Soul Tentacles
Animation Time: 1.67 seconds
Recharge: 20 seconds
Damage: Scale 0.935 Negative Energy
Range: 40 feet
Type: Cone AOE, 25 degree arc, 10 targets max
Also: Magnitude 3 Immobilize for 20.1 seconds to all targets
Slotting:- Common: 2-3 Immobilize Duration, 2 Accuracy OR 2-3 Damage, 2 Accuracy
- Hamidon: 2-3 Accuracy/Mezz HOs (Endoplasm) OR 2-3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus)
- Sets: 5x Enfeebled Operation for the bonuses. Alternatively you could use the 2-3 HOs above and then load it with procs. finally, you could slot this as an attack and stick Positron's Blast (or Detonation if the bonuses from Positron's are capped) in here.
This is a cone immobilize with very cool graphics. What holds it back from receiving a higher rating though, is it's very short range, and narrow arc. It doesn't really do amazing damage either (of course, none of the AOE Immobilizes do, but this one is compounded the range/arc issue). It will probably be a pain to use, as you may find yourself being forced to move closer in than you would normally be at for using Heavy Burst. I don't recommend taking this unless you just think the visuals are too sweet to pass up, in which case I recommend using as few slots as possible.
Level 44: Dark Obliteration
Animation Time: 1 second
Recharge: 32 seconds
Damage: Scale 0.9 Negative Energy
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 15 foot radius, 16 targets max
Also: -5.63% ToHit to target
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Damage/Accuracy HOs (Nucleolus), 1-2 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 Endurance Reduction SOs/IOs
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast if the bonuses aren't capped by this point, otherwise slot 5x Detonation and a Positron's proc.
This evaded a 2 point rating based on its animation time alone, allowing it to easily fill attack chain holes. The damage is sub par, less than frag grenade by a good deal. I wouldn't recommend taking this unless you wanted to use it as a prerequisite to get the pet. Ball Lighting is better than this, and Bile Spray is based purely on it's damage type. It is negative energy, which isn't resisted a lot, but I was never impressed with this power. It can fill in small gaps at the end of your AOE chain, but it isn't going to wow any crowds.
Level 47: Summon Widow
Type: Pet summons
Effects: Summons a Blood Widow
Recharge: 900 seconds (15 minutes)
Duration: 240 seconds (4 minutes)
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 3 Recharge OR 2 Damage, 1 Accuracy, 3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 3 Recharge SOs/IOs.
- Sets: 4x Blood Mandate (Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End, Acc, Dam), and 2 common Recharge IOs
I have not personally had this power, but I don't hear great things. I will gladly accept feedback regarding this power, but currently I'm putting her at a 2 point rating based on her being a melee oriented pet with a very small HP pool. I'm told she dies. A lot. If someone wants to contradict this, feel free, as this is hearsay. Once again, if you do want the pet power, I recommend HO slotting over set slotting due to Pet sets not having any recharge. -
7) Power Pools
Power pools are of course the extra powers outside of your primary and secondary that you can take to fill in some blanks in your build, grab a travel power, that kinda thing. Each pool has 4 powers.You can take the first or second power in a pool at level 6. To take the third power, you need to have at least one of the first two powers and be level 14 (all travel powers are the third power in the pool). To take the fourth power, you need to have at least two powers from that pool and be level 20. You can choose powers from up to 4 pools.
I'm not going to list the stats on them (as that would take longer than the first half of this guide), but I will give a brief overview of them, and my thoughts. The ratings are a rating of the pool in regards to building a Wolf Spider.
Fighting
Rating: ☼
The fighting pool has 2 attack powers, and 2 protective toggles. The attack powers (Boxing and Kick) aren't exactly awesome, and will cause redraw with your weapon any time you use them. They're mostly used by people as prerequisites, and I'm not sure how many people actually use them as attack powers. If I took this pool (and I wouldn't), I most certainly wouldn't slot or use the attack powers. Even for set bonuses, there are far better powers to slot out. The protective toggles, Tough and Weave, aren't the most expensive to run.
Tough might be worth it, but again, you have to take what amounts to a useless attack power to get it. Tough gives 15% resistance to Smashing and Lethal only, and you can get that somewhere to the tune of 23-25%. That's pretty decent. Take this if you want, but in my opinion, the Wolf Secondary leadership toggles are much more efficient in the benefit they provide. If it were +resistance to all, I would probably change my tune regarding this.
Weave on the other hand, is probably a waste of a power, even for set bonuses. It's only slightly better than the Pool Power Maneuvers, giving base 5% defense to all (Maneuvers gives 3.5%), and it's only for yourself. This on top of the fact that you have to take a useless attack power to get it. If you need an extra power for a defense set, Pool Maneuvers will provide similar defense, stack with your TT: Maneuvers to provide a bonus to your entire team, and you don't need a useless attack power to get it. The bonuses for Pool Maneuvers are lower and the end cost is higher, but I would still consider it on par, and I don't like being forced into useless powers in my build. Your decision, but I don't recommend it.
The fighting pool gets a Rating of 1 for the useless attack powers, one of which you must take to get the only decent power in the entire pool.
Fitness
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
The Fitness pool is awesome. In my opinion, all of the powers are good and will help out in your gameplay by making things just go generally smoother. they are all auto powers, and are always providing their benefits.
The first power, Swift, has identical speed bonuses to Mental Training, and they stack. If you have both, your character will run very, very fast. If you decide to throw an extra slot in each one and slot for run speed, then switch on Sprint, you can get going pretty darned fast. If you don't have room for a travel power, or want to skip one for theme purposes, Swift+Mental Training+Sprint makes a suitable replacement, as long as you have something to deal with the lack of vertical. some people will instead to choose to take Hurdle, because they already have "Swift+". Others will take Hurdle if they have Super Speed and Swift if they have Super Jump. Speaking of Hurdle..
The second power, Hurdle, provides a hefty bonus to both jump height and speed. I love hurdle. I don't always fit it into my build, but it's a fun power. Your character will generally just seem more badass when they can jump 20 feet up and 100 feet over without any super powers. This power provides some decent vertical and will get you over a lot of obstacles that normal jump height simple would not. that said, it's no super jump, and if you need to hop to the top of a skyscraper, this ain't gonna cut it. Still, I like it, it's a fun power.
The third power, Health, is pretty nice. It provides an always on regeneration bonus, and takes healing sets. I'm not 100% sure the regeneration bonus itself is worthwhile on a Wolf Spider, but if you are rich, or lucky, you can stick a Miracle: +Recovery unique and a Numina's Convalescence: +Regeneration/+Recovery unique in this power. The bonuses will always be on, and add up to an extra 20% regeneration, and an extra 25% endurance recovery - nothing to me laughed at. If you have Stamina (which is the 4th power in this pool and will be covered shortly), and still find yourself getting tired from the endurance drain of your toggles, by all means, slot this with those. Be warned however, they are incredibly expensive, as they are a reward from completing Strike Forces. I do a lot of Strike Forces while leveling up, and happened to find one of these myself (I forget which one), which was very lucky of me. Without the uniques, I'm not sure Health is worth it to a Wolf Spider. Though the Soldier inherent grants additional regen and recovery, and hence, will make this power more effective than it would be on another AT, if things are going to go downhill on your Wolf Spider, they are going to go downhill a lot faster than some extra regen is going to be able to compensate for.
The fourth power in the pool is Stamina. This is what gets the entire pool it's 5 point rating. Figure out a way to get this power, at 20. Preferably no later. I run 5 toggles, 3 from my Wolf Secondary, 2 from the Leadership pool. there's no way in hell I could do that without this power. It dramatically increases your endurance recovery rate, and it 100% worth the power pick. Slot this with 3 end mod enhancements. I also added a 4th slot and put in a Performance Shifter: Chance for +End. With that slotted, you have a 10% chance every 10 seconds to receive a free +10 endurance. It's awesome, and will help out quite a lot. I've definitely seen it working its magic. It's also typically much cheaper than the Numina's and Miracle uniques. If you can afford it, buy it. Really. anyhow, make sure to take this power. I've seen some people build without it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Flight
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼
The Flight pool is pretty decent. It almost got a 4 point rating, but 2 of its powers are of questionable use.
The first power in this pool is Hover. It provides a tiny defense bonus and lets you fly.. very slowly. I suppose you could take this and then use the default slot for a special enhancement, like a Luck of the Gambler, but I really don't see the point. The base fly speed on this is substantially slower than normal running, and even slotted out, isn't terribly useful for quick combat maneuvers. It will provide minimal protection to knockback (assuming you don't have a -KB IO like a Steadfast Protection). Instead of being knocked back, you will spin in place for a moment, unable to move. this can actually be worse than getting knocked back from the ground, as you won't be thrown out of range of enemy melee attacks while you spin helplessly in the air. I can't recommend this unless you want to stick a special enhancement into it.
The second power is Air Superiority. This is considered the best pool attack power in the game, and indeed it is. It doesn't do incredible damage, but its animation is quick, it applies a -fly effect (meaning it will ground most fliers instantly), and it does knockup 100% of the time (which amounts to a short knockdown). This can be used to keep problem targets permanently knocked down. Unfortunately, it will also cause redraw of your weapon, and if you want to use it a lot, that will seriously cut into your damage output from your primary. Since this power is generally considered a mitigation power, most useful for its knockdown, it can be kind of counter intuitive to the Wolf Spider. On top of that, a Wolf Spider can take another melee attack, Pummel, which will also do a pretty amazing job at mitigation. The -fly is nice, but the Web Grenade you get has the same effect (though they should stack to take down people or mobs using Hover). If you're gonna take the flight pool, I would take this over Hover, stick 1 accuracy in it, and use it in emergencies. I wouldn't use it very often though.
The third power is Fly. Fly is awesome. It's the slowest travel power, but also the most versatile, and a very, very good choice for City of Villain, as the terrain is very unkind to people stuck to the ground.. like Super Speeders. Super Jump also has a height limit, while Flight does not, and that can come in great handy in places like Grandville, which seems itself to be a giant joke played on everyone but Fliers and Teleporters. If you want to take this as a travel power, you can't go wrong.
The fourth power is Group Fly. Toggling this on will make everyone near you fly.. slowly. Not as slow as hover, but slowly. It will also kill their accuracy. Group fly would probably be much more useful if it people didn't have a habit of falling out of it. If you take this (and I don't know why you would), make sure that you have someone else in the team lead the formation, while everyone else puts them on follow. For some reason, people seem to fall out of this a lot more if they are trying to follow the person who has the power itself.
Concealment
Rating: ☼
Not a great choice for a Wolf Spider. Not only is it not very much in theme, but you can duplicate or get a better version of 3 out of these 4 powers, without ever dipping into this pool.
First power, Stealth. It's not very good. In fact, a Stealth IO from the market (in the sets Celerity, Unbounded Leap, Freebird, and time & Space Manipulation) are all exactly equal to this power. they do not require a power choice. Likewise, if you really want a stealth option, take Cloaking Device from the Bane secondary for substantially better stealth, and the ability to Stealth Strike with any of your melee attacks. This is a very poor choice.
Second power is Grant Invisibility. This is the only power you can't replicate through other means, but it's still not worth a pool pick for. It provides very good Stealth, and a small defense bonus for 120 second before wearing off. You can turn your entire team invisible and stealth a mission together if you want. I still wouldn't recommend it, but if this sounds up your alley, by all means, take it.
Third power is Invisibility. It has a very high endurance cost, and when it's active, you can only affect yourself. that means you need to detoggle this power to do anything. If you want a good stealth power, take Cloaking Device from the Bane secondary. It provides only slightly less stealth (basically not enough to actually matter), it has a much lower endurance cost, and you can use it to Stealth Strike with your melee attacks. Can't recommend this.
The fourth power is Phase Shift. This is not worth a power pick. You can get temp power version of this by completing a mission in Warburg. Likewise, you can also just buy a 5 use temp version of this off of the Black Market. Hell, there's even a mission from Archmage Tarixus that will give you a temp version of this. There may be others I don't know about. Phase Shift will make you totally invincible for 30 seconds before cutting off, and you can only affect yourself while using it. It would be a great "oh crap" power, if not for the 3 second delay before it actually took effect. Even if it did, with all the temp versions of this power floating around, this is just not worth it. Spend you power slot on something that can't be easily replicated through temp powers.
Leadership
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
The Leadership pool is great for a Wolf Spider! The Leadership pool powers are (typically) weaker versions of your secondary, and they stack! The downside is that they have higher endurance costs, but with Stamina and a special enhancement or 2, they are quite manageable.
The first power in this pool is Maneuvers. It's not anywhere near as good as the Maneuvers power from your secondary, only providing a 3.5% defense base, and costing 0.39 end per second as opposed to 0.21, but I still personally took this. It's not a lot of defense, but stacked on top of TT: Maneuvers, it's just that much more benefit to my team. I have mine 6 slotted with 5 Red Fortune and a Luck of the Gambler +Recharge, which means I get a total of 12.5% recharge bonus from this power alone (though all of my defensive powers are slotted in this way). Even if I don't turn it on, I'm getting a benefit from it, and I like that. The bonus is small but it's a decent place for a set, and still benefits your team. Whether or not you take it is up to you.
The second power is Assault. This provides an identical damage bonus to your TT: Assault, and stacks with it for a total of +30% damage. That's a very, very nice damage bonus. again, it costs more endurance than the TT version, but I took this, and I love it. The great thing is that you only need the default slot in this, just put an End Reduction enhancement in there, turn it on, and go. I love it. I strongly recommend this power. This entire pool pick is worth it for just this power.
The third power, Tactics, is essentially identical to your TT: Leadership power, but, as before, with a higher endurance cost. I really don't feel this is worth it for the +ToHit, as the TT version is just as good, for a lower cost. This would really only be useful for PvP, as the extra ToHit could help you hit through Elude powers. It does provide a perception bonus, and you can stack that with the TT version, but that would again, only really be useful in PvP, against annoying Illusion Controllers (or Stalkers in Arena/Warburg). Not recommended, but if you're a ToHit junky or if you PvP and feel you need the extra boost, grab it.
The fourth power is a real gem. Vengeance. Someone dies on your team. You run up to them, target their body, and hit this. It provides a substantial Defense bonus (base 25% to all), as well as good mezz protection, a ToHit Bonus and a +35% Damage Bonus. all this for 2 straight minutes. Without enhancements. Awesome. I recommend sticking a unique or special IO in there. If you stack Vengeance with your TT: Maneuvers, and pool power Maneuvers, you've hit the defense soft cap. You don't even need a defense enhancement in there. I recommend a LoTG +Recharge if you can afford it, though there are some other neat things you can stick in there if you like. This is a great power pick, and really fits into the theme of the "Squad Leader" that Huntsmen are. If you're gonna take the Leadership Pool, consider picking this up. I got mine at 49, for use on high level Strike Forces and teaming.
Leaping
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
It's hard to go wrong with the Leaping pool. 3 out of the 4 powers are great.
The first power is Jump Kick. It's the only real ******* here, and I can't recommend it. It does the exact same damage as Air Superiority, but it's knockup is a lot less reliable, only having a 20% chance. It's not even a jump so much as a handspring double foot kick to the face. It wil cause redraw and the damage is poor. I don't recommend taking it.
The second power, Combat Jumping, is a different story. This will boost your jump height by a good deal, and your jump speed a slight amount. It also gives you excellent air control. It does exactly what it's named, provides excellent maneuvering during combat. It takes a little getting used to, but it can work very, very well. In addition to the jumping bonus it also provides protection to immobilize, though with your wolf and/or Bane Armor, that will not likely be a big concern. On top of all that, it gives a tiny, 2.5% defense to all, which isn't worth slotting for. Some people like to stick Karna: Knockback Protection IOs in this, or even the Kismet +6% ToHit unique (though it would need to be activated for the latter to be turned on, though it would last 2 minutes after the power was turned off). It's a pretty decent power, if you plan to take Leaping pool for Super Jump, I recommend you take this as your first power.
The third power is Super Jump. This is the second slowest travel power.. technically speaking, but usually works out to be the second fastest. The second fastest technically is Super Speed, but Super Jump is only slightly slower, and Super Speed has to go around objects. In places like Grandville, Super Speed may as well not exist at all. Super Jump has excellent forward momentum and excellent vertical movement, though it isn't infinite. If you have a Jump Pack from the GvE edition of CoH/V, then for 30 seconds, you can have the equivalent of a very fast Fly if you know what you're doing. Excellent travel power.
The fourth power is Acrobatics. This was recently nerfed, but it's still a good power. It provides Magnitude 9 protection from Knockback, but only 2 points of that can be enhanced. Still, it's better than even 2 Knockback Protection IOs, and it also provides mag 2 hold protection. It may not be likely you will need the hold protection outside of PvP, but hey, who knows, there are indeed some enemy groups, rare as they may be, that will spam holds at you. If you take this power, I recommend a single endurance reduction enhancement.
Presence
Rating: ☼
Pardon me if I don't see the point of this on a Wolf Spider. 2 taunt powers, and 2 fear powers.
First power is Challenge, a single target taunt power that requires a ToHit check, meaning it can miss. I'm not sure why the heck you would want a taunt power on a Wolf Spider. I don't really have anything else to say, even for theme, I couldn't justify taking this.
Second power is Provoke, which is an AOE taunt that can hit 5 targets, which also requires a ToHit check. Read comments above. I don't really understand why you would want either of these taunt powers unless you wanted one or both of the Fear Powers.. speaking of which..
Third power is Intimidate, a magnitude 2 Terrorize power, which will cause 1 minion (...) to cower in fear. If you want a fear power, really bad, take this.. as a prerequisite to Invoke Panic..
The fourth power is Invoke Panic. It's the only remotely useful power in the pool, in my opinion, and even then I strongly question having to take 2 other nearly useless powers to get it. It's mag 2, like Intimidate, meaning it will fear minions and have a 50% chance to fear lieutenants (I think). It's far from reliable. If you need a control, just use Wide Area Web Grenade, Build Up, Venom Grenade, and then Heavy Burst. I find it easier to just massacre the minions instead... this power can hit up to 10 targets in a 15 foot radius. I cannot recommend it.
Medicine
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Medicine isn't a bad pool at all. I don't have this pool, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it if I had the room in my build. All 4 of its powers are at the very least, somewhat decent. Every power in this pool has a 1 second interrupt time, except the final power, which has 4 second interrupt time.
First power is Aid Other. It's not a spectacular heal, and it has an interrupt time, but it's certainly usable. When I have this power, I usually leave 1 slot in it and use it to heal lowbies in low level zones as I pass by. It's fun. Slotted out, it will actually heal for a pretty good amount, but should only be used in cases of dire emergency. With your toggle powers buffing the team, and your insane AOE damage, no one on the team should need healing very often, and if they do, there is hopefully someone on board more suited to shoot the occasional heal at someone. Take this either for theme, for healing lowbies in zones, emergencies, or for a specific build you and your friends all make together, something like that. If you take this and try to be a main healer, I will smack you. Leave the majority of the healing to the people who have heals in their primary or secondary (typically the people who make it so they don't need to use them that often anyways).
The second power in the pool is Stimulant. This is a much better power pick than Aid Other in the vast majority of situations. It has a hefty end cost, 13 points, and a 10 second recharge, but it's an Ally Status Protection power. If you're teamed, and someone gets mezzed, and there is not someone else on the team able to free them, hit them with this. It will provide magnitude 10.38 protection against Stun, Sleep, Immobilize, Hold, Confuse, and Fear. Not bad, and all you need is a single slot. either put an end reduction, or a recharge in there, and go.
The third power is Aid Self. Aid self is great. Keeping in mind the interrupt time of course, this can heal you, fully slotted, for upwards of 38% HP. Better yet, with enough recharge, it will come back pretty quickly. this is a great power and can really save your butt, though it doesn't do anything a few green inspirations won't do either. If you want it, take it, you can't go wrong. Slot it for 6 Doctored Wounds (if you can afford that), or 5 Doctored Wounds and the strongest common Interrupt IO you can slot.
The fourth power is Resuscitate. This has a longer interrupt than the other powers, clocking in at 4 seconds, but it's an ally resurrect power. I wouldn't take this power, but when people have busted it out to rezz me, I have been delightfully surprised. It should heal them to full, but they won't have any endurance. Even so, peeling them off the floor at all is quite the boon.
If you want to focus more heavily on team support, even beyond your aura buffs, this pool and Leadership pool are good places to start. Stimulant and Resuscitate are excellent powers to take for this role, and Aid Self is nice to have. Aid Other is of limited use, but it's not awful either, as long as you don't run off and try to be a healer.
Speed
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
This pool got a 5 point rating based on Hasten alone. Two of the three powers in this pool are pretty much pure crap, and the travel power is not exactly wonderful, but Hasten? Hasten is awesome.
The first power is Flurry. Flurry is downright horrible. It has a 20% chance for a magnitude 2 stun, which is weak.. it also really poor damage for its absurdly long animation time. Do not take this, it is easily the worst pool attack power. Just avoid it. Please.
The second power is Hasten. This is worth the entire pool pick for. Just this single power. With three recharges and no recharge bonuses, even from Mental Training, it will be active about 2/3 of the time if you control+click it to turn it on auto. It provides a huge +70% Recharge bonus, which will stack with Mental Training's 20%, giving you a 90% Recharge Bonus 2/3 of the time, without even a single recharge bonus from IOs. It's wonderful!! Wolf Spiders need recharge really, really bad. Their AOE chain will have a good deal of wait time without significant recharge and their ghetto single target ranged chain will be abysmal without a good deal of recharge. Hasten makes your life a lot smoother and more enjoyable as a Wolf Spider. Take it, even if it violates theme. The only downside is what, is in my opinion, the ugly visual effects that will cover up your gun. That may also not fit theme very well. In terms of theme, I treat Hasten as some kind of weapon modification, since it covers your weapon 90% of the time anyways, almost looking like it's coming from the weapon itself. Do whatever you have to do to justify this and take it.
The third power is Super Speed. In Paragon City, this isn't such a bad travel power, but you're not in Paragon city, you're in the Rogue Isles, and the terrain is a lot less forgiving. Most zones, you will ok. Port Oakes, Cap au Diable, Nerva, St. Martial, Cimerora, and the Rikti War Zone are all not too tough on a Super Speeder. Mercy Isle isn't kind to Super Speeders. Most of Sharkhead isn't that bad, but there are parts of it which almost nullify it. Grandville? Grandville is a giant, unfunny joke played on Super Speeders. This is the travel power I have on my Huntsman (to save room in my build), and while I'm ok in most places, I may as not have a travel power in Grandville for all the good it does me.
The fourth power is Whirlwind. Whirlwind is an very expensive toggle that makes you spin around at super speeds. Each time you touch an enemy, you lose endurance, and the enemy will go flying. this is a good power to take if you want to make teams really mad at you. I have seen this power used successfully two times, to throw a few things out of melee range, and not by Wolf Spiders (and certainly not on teams). Not recommended. Avoid like the plague.
Teleportation
Rating: ☼ ☼ ☼
The Teleportation pool isn't bad, it's just not great either. It has a couple of very useful powers, one of which being the fastest travel power in the game.
The fist power is Recall Friend. Unless you PvP, this should be your pick for a first power, and prerequisite for the travel power. It has an extremely long range, and can bring one ally to you. If you have a stealth IO, or if you took Cloaking Device, you can stealth through a mission and then teleport your team 1 by 1 to the objective. It's useful for bringing along people to mission doors that don't have travel powers too (like super Speeder in Grandville). It doesn't even need slots, just stick a recharge in it and go.
The second power in the pool is Teleport Foe. In PvE, this is used most often for pulling enemies, but any gun power will do that just as well. This is, in my opinion, mostly a PvP power, as it's excellent for surprising someone and snapping them up into your own homemade ambush. Team up with a traps Mastermind or Corruptor, teleport them onto a pile of Caltrops and mines (in Warburg or higher), and then hit them with your debuff grenades once they land, and you can have a grand old time. The range on this is not particularly long, 200 feet, and it requires a ToHit check. This means that you will want to slot it out for Accuracy and Range.
The third power is Teleport, the travel power. This is the fastest travel power in the game, but it is extremely endurance heavy. You need to slot this with 3 range enhancements to get the most out of it and make the end cost worth it. You can cross a zone very, very quickly with this power. the primary issue once it's slotted isn't the endurance costs, but the potential lag from traveling so quickly. With this power, you don't move smoothly along in the typical fashion, but instead make a series of huge "jumps" from point A, to point B, instantaneously. If you have a low end system, you should probably avoid this power. You can reduce the potential lag by first making two teleport jumps straight up, putting yourself high above the ground level of the zone, where you won't need to load any players or mobs. Then teleport across the sky until you are above your destination, and teleport down. If you feel you must take this power and still experience lag issues, turn your graphics down. If all else fails, run in safe mode, but I don't really see the point of doing that just for a travel power.
The fourth power is Team Teleport. Sadly, this is not like the teleport temp power you get from Mayhem Missions, or the Assemble the Team vet power. Those work like Recall friend, except for the entire team. This power instead works like the Teleport travel power, except the entire team. It's.. less that awesome. Your team has to get within 30 feet of you, and then if there's the slightest bit of lag, people will fall out of it between jumps. It's endurance cost is substantially higher (20 points!!!), and it's range is much, much lower. this power is all but useless. Here's hoping the developers one day find it in themselves to change this power to be more like the temp and vet powers. As of now, avoid this. Just teleport there yourself and use recall friend on your teammates. -
6) Bane Spider Pools
The Bane Spider Primary is called Bane Spider Soldier and the Bane Spider Secondary is called Bane Spider Training. The Primary set is completely dedicated to using the Arachnos Mace. While it is brutal and awesome, if we're building a Wolf Spider, we're not really going to want to touch that much, in fact, I only recommend taking 1 power from it: Build Up. As for the secondary, it is very small, 4 powers total. I recommend 2 powers from it, Bane Spider Armor Upgrade, and Surveillance.
Level 1: Bane Spider Armor Upgrade
Type: Auto run self buff
Effects: +20% HP, +7.5% Resistance to all damage types, Magnitude 4 protection against Stun, Immobilize, Confuse, Sleep, Hold, and Fear. It also has 500% resistance to Sleep.
Slotting:- Common: 1 Damage Resistance
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: As with Wolf Spider Armor, I recommend Steadfast Protection: Knockback Protection. You don't need more than the default slot. If you want, you can also slot the Aegis: Psionic/Status Resistance unique IO, and/or the Impervious Skin: Status Resistance unique IO. Make sure to put in that Knockback Protection IO as soon as you can afford it though, it will make a big difference.
This is a lot more like it. This power makes the Wolf Spider armor look like crap (well, almost anything will I suppose). This power grants resistance to all damage types, and more so than the Wolf Spider Armor to boot. On top of that, it has double the status protection. But the best part? +20% HP. It can't be enhanced, but so what? That's awesome. Take this power and replace the Wolf Armor with it. Alternatively, I suppose you could take both, and stack them. That's perfectly viable, and probably smart if you ever intend to PvP, but make sure that this power comes first in terms of choosing order.
Level 6: Build Up
Type: Self short duration buff
Effects: +20% ToHit, +80% Damage for 10 seconds on self
Recharge: 90 seconds
Slotting:- Common: 2-3 Recharge SOs or IOs.
- Hamidon: 2-3 Recharge/Defense/ToHit Buff (Membrane)
- Sets: I wouldn't recommend it, but I suppose if you were very desperate for bonuses you could slot Adjusted Targeting or something here. I still wouldn't recommend it though.
It's Build Up. There isn't much more to say, you hit this power, and then you melt stuff. Build Up + Venom Grenade + Heavy Burst + Frag Grenade = huh? what mobs? It's that great. With enough recharge, it will be up very often as well. This power will dramatically increase your ability to put out damage. I have had some people say to me "but doesn't that only last 10 seconds?" My reply? "Yeah, 10 seconds of pure awesome!" I cannot strongly enough recommend taking this. The only drawback is that it will force a redraw of the Mace... and then of course firing your weapon will force a redraw of that as well. It's a down side, but it's not enough of one to matter. By all means, take this power.
Level 24: Cloaking Device
Type: Self stealth
Effects: 50 feet of stealth (PvE), enables Stealth Striking with melee attacks from Hidden status
Endurance Cost: 0.21 per second
Recharge: 20 seconds
Slotting:- Common: 1 Endurance Reduction.
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: I don't know if I would bother slotting this out, but if I did, it would be with Red Fortune for the set bonuses.
This is a very good power, it's just not terribly conducive to the general "Wolf Spider" theme in my opinion. It's an excellent stealth power, needs only one slot, and it enables Stealth Striking from Hidden status. Your gun melee attacks, Pummel and Bayonet, will indeed Stealth Strike from Hidden. Generally useful for the person that wants to be stealthy and carry a gun, it's certainly much, much better than the Concealment pool. I wouldn't take this personally, as there is kind of a clash between "stealth striking assassin" and "gun toting, grenade lobbing badass", but there's nothing wrong with it either.
Level 28: Surveillance
Type: Single target debuff
Effects: -15% Defense to all, -20% Resistance to all, both effects for 20 seconds. Also allows you to view enemy combat attributes.
Recharge: 45 seconds
Slotting:- Common: 2 Accuracy, 2-3 Recharge.
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: A 4 slotted Undermined Defenses will net you a nice Accuracy bonus, but I'm not sure I can recommend it. The big things you want here seem best handled by common IOs. That is, except, for the proc. I recommend a Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff in this power. That grants a 20% chance for an additional 20% Resistance debuff... that is, a 20% chance to double the strength of this power.
Surveillance is awesome, pure and simple. It has a substantial defense debuff, but the real gem here is the -20% resistance to all damage. If you slot that proc as I recommended above, you will have a 20% chance of doubling this power's strength each time you use it. It's win/win! While this is single target, it will indeed stack with your Venom Grenade. Want to melt a boss? Surveillance, Build Up, Venom Grenade.. follow through with single target ghetto chain. This power also has the unique ability to let you look at an enemy's stats. If you open your combat attributes window after having hit an enemy with this, their stats will show up in the window instead of yours (with the option to clear the target in case you would rather just look at your own stats). This comes highly recommended. If you skip this, you will (or at least should) regret it.
Level 35: Web Cocoon
Animation Time: 2 seconds
Recharge: 16 seconds
Damage: None
Range: 60 feet
Type: Single target ranged hold
Also: Magnitude 3 Hold for 13.4 seconds, renders the target unable to jump or fly, slows its movement speed by 50%, and reduces its recharge bonus by 50%
Slotting:- Common: 3 Hold, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Mezz HOs (Endoplasm), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: None of the hold sets are really any good and I can't recommend using them over HOs. Even so, if you absolutely must, I think Ghost Widow's Embrace has the best overall set bonuses amongst the Holds (aside from the Purple of course).
It's a single target hold fired from the Mace, hence, it will cause redraw, so keep that in mind. I never really had much use for a single target hold, so I never took this, but you could use it to hold problem critters like Malta Sappers from a safe distance. In theory, it could be a very decent panic power as well. Like Wide Area Web Grenade, this power will put a significant speed and recharge slow on its target, as well as grounding them. Unlike WAWG, the slow (speed, not recharge), is enhanceable. Even given that, I don't recommend it, as you should take WAWG, and stacking them should hit the -speed and -recharge cap. This is why I said it could make a decent panic power. If that boss or elite boss is way too strong, you can stack this with WAWG to practically stop them in their tracks, and significantly slow their ability to fire at you. I didn't take this power personally but I almost did specifically for this. If this sounds like it's up your alley, grab it. -
5) Training and Gadgets Pool
Training and Gadgets is the Wolf Spider's secondary powerset. More training, less gadgets. A lot of training, in fact. Gadgets? Well, I wouldn't really call the two "mechanical" powers it has Gadgets, but I suppose it was easier than saying "Training, a piece of crappy armor, and a couple of robots."
That said, this secondary is actually quite full of win and awesome. The Training powers are largely divided into two types: Combat Training, and Tactical Training. Combat Training powers are self buffs that are always on. Tactical Training powers are toggle auras, that is, powers that require endurance to keep active, and buff not only you, but all of your nearby teammates. They are actually copies of the powers from the Leadership pool, except better. Not only that, but you can take Leadership pool powers and stack them up if you want. This is the true power of the Wolf Spider in terms of teaming up, and indeed, VEATs as a whole. Alone, these buffs are small, but nice. In a group with one or two other VEATs, they will all stack up and the difference in the survivability of the team as a whole will be significant and noticeable.
Level 1: Wolf Spider Armor
Type: Auto run self buff
Effects: +3% Resistance to Smashing and Lethal damage, +2% Resistance to Psionic Damage, Magnitude 2 protection against Stun, Immobilize, Confuse, Sleep, Hold, and Fear. It also has 500% resistance to Sleep.
Slotting:- Common: 1 Resistance
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: Steadfast Protection: Knockback Protection, a special IO from the Steadfast Protection set. You don't need more than the default slot. If you want, you can also slot the Aegis: Psionic/Status Resistance unique IO, and/or the Impervious Skin: Status Resistance unique IO. Make sure to put in that Knockback Protection IO as soon as you can afford it though, it will make a big difference.
Yeah.. this isn't the best power ever. As a matter of fact, as an auto damage resistance power, it's downright horrible. So ignore the resist, act like it isn't there, because it may as well not be. However, the status protection isn't bad. It won't save you in PvP*, but in the normal PvE game, mag 2 is quite enough for the majority of situations. Each player has an innate mag 1 of protection and stacking this armor on top makes it mag 3. The average mezz in PvE, as far as I can tell, is mag 3, meaning that it will reach, but not exceed your protection. That means you will not be mezzed from a single application. I was mezzed very, very few times while I had this power, but once you reach 24, I strongly advise taking the Bane Armor instead, which will of course be covered later.
*EDIT: Nothing will save you from mezz in PvP now. Thank you I13....
Level 2: Combat Training: Defensive
Type: Auto run self buff
Effects: +7.5% Defense to ranged attacks.
Slotting:- Common: 1-3 Defense Buff.
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: 5x Red Fortune, and if you're rich, a Luck of the Gambler +7.5% Recharge on top of that. The Red Fortune set most notably gives a small damage bonus, and a very decent recharge bonus. the LoTG? Well, if you can afford it (or are lucky enough to get one as a reward), by all means, go for it. Alternatively, you could also stick a Karma: Knockback Protection in here if you feel you need it.
This isn't the best power ever, but it ain't half bad either. It will more strongly benefit the Wolf Spider who chooses to totally forgo the melee attacks than the one who doesn't, as it won't help much in melee, but it's a great place to stick set bonuses too. Slotting this and stacking this with the other defense powers can actually push the Wolf Spider's defenses towards ranged attacks pretty high, upwards of 30%. Not much else to be said. If you think the extra defense would be useful to you, by all means, take it.
Level 4: Combat Training: Offensive
Type: Auto run self buff
Effects: +10% Accuracy, +33% Resistance to ToHit debuffs (I think).
Slotting:- Common: 1 Accuracy.
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: This power does not take sets.
This power is either really useless, or totally awesome, depending on your situation. In the early levels, even with the innate, early level ToHit bonus, this can be quite useful. I took it and noticed a substantial difference in my ability to hit things, and at lower levels, being able to hit things is very, very important. At higher levels, the bonus is.. minuscule, and can be easily overshadowed by set bonuses. I think it's very well worth a power pick through the low levels, but you should strongly consider dropping it during your level 24 respec.
Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers
Type: Toggle team buff
Effects: +10% Defense to all, to self and all teammates
End Cost: 0.21 per second
Radius: 60 feet
Slotting:- Common: 3 Defense Buff, 1-2 End Redux
- Hamidon: 3 End/ToHit/Defense Buff HOs (Cytoskeleton)
- Sets: 5x Red Fortune. Add a Luck of the Gambler +7.5% Recharge on top of that if you're rich or if you happen to get one. This goes a long way in improving your recharge.
Take this power. Do not skip it. I don't care how small 10% sounds, or what other powers you want to take. Take this power as soon as feasibly possible. Preferably at 10. I got mine at 12, and it bugged me. Once slotted up, this will be giving you at least 15% defense, possibly more. That is not as small as it sounds. Solo, no, it will not cause you to evade everything, but it makes a substantial, if not subtle difference. A few times, while soloing, I was getting my butt kicked. That didn't normally happen. I was like "what's wrong? why am I getting my butt kicked so- oh.." and then I toggled on Maneuvers. I had forgotten to turn it on. It's endurance cost is low and you shouldn't have much issue running this even before getting Stamina, so there's no reason not to take it immediately.
Now.. on a team? Whole other ball game. Imagine if you have yours slotted up to 15%+, and now imagine that there are 2 other Spiders on the team, also with Maneuvers slotted up and running. That's 45% or greater, and that's the soft cap. That means as long as your team doesn't split, you are hardly going to be getting hit by anything at all. It's beautiful.
If you do not take this, even as a soloist, well.. you're kinda crazy.
Level 16: Tactical Training: Assault
Type: Toggle team buff
Effects: +15% Damage to self and team, +10.38 mag protection to taunt and placate (there's some debate as to whether this is working properly or not).
End Cost: 0.21 per second
Radius: 60 feet
Slotting:- Common: 1 End Redux
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: This power does not take sets.
I'm a big fan of powers that are great out of the box, and this is one of them. Stick an Endurance Reduction enhancement in it, turn it on, and go. Easy! The +15% damage isn't the largest number ever, but as long as the toggle is running, it's always on. You can stack this with Leadership pool Assault to double the bonus. One word: sexy. I really recommend taking this. It's not super urgent, but if you have room for it in your build, pick it up for sure.
Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership
Type: Toggle team buff
Effects: +10% ToHit, +5.19 magnitude Fear and Confuse protection, +60.55% resistance to Confuse and Fear, +51.9% Perception, all to self and team.
End Cost: 0.21 per second
Radius: 60 feet
Slotting:- Common: 1-3 ToHit and/or 1 End Redux
- Hamidon: 1-3 End/ToHit/Defense Buff HOs (Cytoskeleton)
- Sets: 5x Adjusted Targeting, which will net you very decent Damage, Accuracy and Recharge bonuses.
This almost received a 2, if not for the ability to slot some nice set bonuses into it (which I recommend). The primary issue with this power is that ToHit is very rarely a problem in PvE, and in those cases, +15.8% (what mine is at enhanced currently) is probably not going to help a whole lot. I'm thinking specifically of Circle of Thorns Spectral Demons, which have taken my ToHit into the negatives on several occasions. Then again, every little bit helps. If I'm interpreting the cryptic buff explanations, then it will actually resist ToHit debuffs, which makes it a lot more valuable. Even with the low rating, I wouldn't drop this power. I get nice set bonuses from it, and should I run into an enemy where hitting is an issue, I can turn this on. On teams, I usually keep it running, but during long fights where my endurance is suffering, this is the first thing I detoggle. I recommend taking it if you have the room, but it is skippable.
Level 22: Mental Training
Type: Auto run self buff
Effects: +20% recharge, +40% Resistance to Run, Fly and Recharge debuffs, +13.7% Fly Speed, + 35% Run Speed.
Slotting:- Common: 1 Run Speed or 1 Fly Speed enhancement.
- Hamidon: Don't bother.
- Sets: This power does not take sets.
If my ratings system went up to 6, or even 7.. or even.. 9000, this would get it. This power is awesome. Not only is this power great out of the box, this power if freakin' amazing out of the box. First of all, it buffs your Run and Fly Speed in an amount exactly equivalent to the Swift power from the Fitness pool. But it's more than that. The +recharge it grants is substantial and noticeable. And then it gets better, the slow resistance. It's amazing. I can get hit with one of those annoying PPD glue grenades and not be slowed to a crawl. It's beautiful. There isn't enough good to be said about this power. Take it. Just take it. At 22. No later. You will be very happy.
Level 38: Call Reinforcements
Type: Pet summons
Effects: Summons 2 Arachnobot Disruptors to come and fight for you. They are awesome.
Recharge: 900 seconds (15 minutes)
Duration: 240 seconds (4 minutes)
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 3 Recharge OR 2 Damage, 1 Accuracy, 3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 3 Recharge SOs/IOs.
- Sets: 4x Blood Mandate (Acc/Dam, Acc/Dam/End, Acc, Dam), and 2 common Recharge IOs
15 minute recharge seems like a lot, and it is, but it can be reduced dramatically. Slotting this for recharge and then working on recharge bonuses, you can get the downtime on this power very low. The respec I'm currently working on has them with a .6 second downtime As I said near the beginning of this guide, recharge bonuses really, really help the Wolf Spider.
Let's just put it this way. I have a macro I hit when I summon these, in which my character cheerfully says "I'm sorry! I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome my robots are!" she couldn't be more right
These robots are quite awesome indeed. They are not the sturdiest things ever, but they do very decent damage and have great utility. Not only will they take some heat off of you, but they will hold bosses if you're lucky. They each have a single target hold, a version of Tesla Cage, and they almost always fire their holds at the same time, at the same target. If you're lucky, they will target the boss, and that boss will be held. If that boss is alone, well.. time to be electrocuted. I can't recommend taking these strongly enough, they are just plain awesome.
As a final note about slotting.. the HOs really win out here over sets. The pet sets don't grant recharge, so you need to rely on recharge from an outside source: common IOs or SOs. This means you end up kind of underslotting recharge, and then still somewhat underslotting other aspects of the power. Unless there are some set bonuses that you really want, stick to common IOs and when you are high enough, put in those Hamis. -
4) Arachnos Soldier Pool
The Arachnos Soldier Pool is the primary powerset of the Wolf Spider. It contains a couple melee attacks, and a nice suite of ranged attacks and debuffs, mostly in the AOE department. Wolf spiders have highly excellent AOE potential. It should be noted however, that this power set is not a complete power set in the same way that a Blaster or Corruptor might get. For instance, it only has two single target ranged attacks, and has no third, powerful blast. This can make it difficult to form a decent single target ranged chain. The only solution is to either take melee attacks to fill in the single target holes (at which point, it's no longer a ranged chain), or build for a lot or recharge.. or both. It also has no tier 9, there are only 8 powers in the set. That little disclaimer out of the way, let's get down to business.
Level 1: Single Shot
Animation Time: 0.9 seconds
Recharge: 4 seconds
Damage: Scale 1 Lethal
Range: 80 feet
Type: Single target ranged
Also: -7.5% Defense to target for 5 seconds
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Decimation and a Proc of your choice. Decimation will give you a nice recharge bonus, and you can slot Defense Debuff procs. I used the Lady Grey's Chance for Negative Energy myself.
UPDATED: As of I15, this this power is amazing. Its recharge is very good. Its animation time is VERY short now at 0.9 seconds, this is a significantly improved power, as it used to be 1.67 seconds, which made the power incredibly anemic. With enough recharge, you can chain this seamlessly into Burst, giving you a nice ghetto single target chain. Not much else to be said about this. Take this attack, now that it's been buffed, it's silly not to take it.
Level 1: Pummel
Animation Time: 1.67 seconds
Recharge: 4 seconds
Damage: Scale 1 Smashing
Range: 5 feet
Type: Single target melee
Also: 66% chance for 8.05 second Magnitude 3 stun versus critters.
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge OR 3 Stun, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge.
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Mezz HOs (Endoplasm), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Crushing Impact and a Proc of your choice if you're slotting for damage, this will net you a nice accuracy and recharge bonus. If slotting for stun, 5x Stupefy and Pounding Slugfest, Disorient Bonus proc. The Stupefy set will grant you a very sexy recharge bonus. The Proc is from a damage set, and gives you a 10% chance for an additional 2 magnitude of stun for 8 seconds. More on this below.
This power is practically identical to the old Single Shot, except it's melee, and it stuns. A lot. It now lags behind Single Shot in terms of damage.. the damage is indeed quite lackluster, but the stun component is sweet. I didn't personally have this, but if I had room for it in my build, I would have taken it without a second thought. It has a 66% chance to apply a mag 3 stun, meaning it will stun minions and lieutenants in 1 shot (should the attack roll somewhere in that 66% chance and apply the stun that is). If you hit two times in a row, and apply the stun both times, you will stun a boss. The duration isn't amazing, but you can slot this as a dedicated stun power if you like, since the damage isn't all that anyways. Hit a boss with this a few times. And it will be drunk walking while you smack/blow the crap out of it. Beautiful!
I seem to recall mentioning the Pounding Slugfest Proc above. I can't do the math, but the chances of both stuns in this firing aren't astronomical or anything. However, having played a character that slotted Chance to Hold in her hold powers, I can tell you that when that happens, it's a godsend, and will stun a boss in 1 shot. Then there's a chance that the mag 2 from the proc could fire while the mag 3 doesn't, stunning a minion, or stacking on top of a previous 3 mag you had to stun a lieutenant or boss. If you have room for it on your build, I definitely recommend this power, it's awesome, and it's something the actual Wolf Spider mobs use a lot.
Level 2: Burst
Animation Time: 1 second
Recharge: 8 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.64001 Lethal
Range: 80 feet
Type: Single target ranged
Also: -7.5% Defense to target for 8 seconds
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs, 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Decimation and a Proc of your choice (See Single Shot for better details).
Wow, what a great power. I'm not a math person, but I heard tell that this is one of the two single best DPS attacks in the entire Archetype, Bayonet being the other. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. This attack has a very quick animation, and very decent damage. This is your second ranged, single target attack, 2 of 2. If you don't take this, you're insane. It's just that good. With enough recharge, and a proc, you will dish out some serious hurt with this power. There isn't anything more that needs to be said.
Level 6: Wide Area Web Grenade
Animation Time: 1.67 seconds
Recharge: 30 seconds
Damage: None
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 10 foot radius, 10 targets max
Also: Magnitude 3 Immobilize for 20.1 seconds, immunizes targets to knockback, renders them unable to jump or fly, slows their movement speed by 50%, and reduces their recharge bonus by 50%, all for 15 seconds.
Slotting:- Common: 1-2 Immobilize Duration, 2 Accuracy, 2-3 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Mezz HOs (Endoplasm), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Enfeebled Operation and a Proc. The Enfeebled Operation will give you a small but usable bonus to recharge time. The proc depends on your tastes, and your level. I recommend Trap of the Hunter: Chance for Lethal below 50. It will give you a bit of extra damage. Once 50 however, you can buy one of the single cheapest Purple recipes there is, a Gravitational Anchor: Chance for Hold. This will give you a 25% chance for an 8 second mag 2 hold on every target you hit. This power becomes a ghetto AOE hold versus large groups of minions. It's awesome.
UPDATED: Issue 15 buffed this power, bringing its animation time down from 1.87 seconds, to 1.67 seconds.
I almost rated this power a 2 or a 3, but I gave it a 4, and I'm going to explain why. This is the first of your three grenade powers. Grenades are cool. Beyond being cool, this is one nasty debuff. It's really too bad you can't slot it for slow, and hence, slow sets, cause the immobilize is really secondary. Don't get me wrong, it's nice, but the slow, both to speed and recharge, is pretty substantial. On top of that, it will instantly ground fliers and prevent them from jumping. This power is also quite useful in PvP, and will prove to be a very fun enemy antagonization power.
The radius is dreadfully small, but usable. I like to pull a group of enemies around a corner (which gets them bunched together), and then ambush them with this, pinning them down. Once I do that, I just open up with my other AOEs from a nice, comfortable distance. I love the entire idea of it in fact. The lone gunman popping out from behind a corner, firing off a shot and then waving "Hey guys, over here!" The gunman disappears from sight and the stupid flunkies run around the corner directly into ambush. Capital!
What it won't do is automatically immobilize bosses, but it will slow them to a crawl, and that is valuable. I strongly recommend taking this power, I use it less than my other 2 grenades, but I wouldn't drop it for anything. When I need it, I really need it, and it saves me.
Level 8: Heavy Burst
Animation Time: 2.67 seconds
Recharge: 12 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.08997 Lethal
Range: 50 feet
Type: Cone AOE, 30 degree arc, 10 targets max
Also: -7.5% Defense to target for 12 seconds.
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast. This gives you nice bonuses all around, namely boosting Recovery, Accuracy and Recharge, all very respectable amounts. The 6th slot is the Positron's Chance for Energy Proc, and a hell of a proc it is.
Oh, Heavy Burst, what can I say about you that will do you justice? Nothing. But I'll try anyways. Heavy Burst is awesome. It's shorter range than every single one of your other attacks, but it has a decent firing arc, and great, fast damage. The animation is fun, all the orange numbers are fun, and with enough recharge, this can come back very quickly. It melts enemies. I didn't have much experience with cones before this attack, so it took me some time to learn how to most effectively line it up, but it's really not too hard. Back up, target something in the middle area of the spawn, and unleash hell. You'll love it, I promise. Once you get Venom Grenade, you should not fire this until after you have debuffed the mob with Venom Grenade. It will make this hit that much harder. This is another of those "you're insane if you skip it" powers. Take it, slot it.. fill people full of holes with it.
Level 12: Bayonet
Animation Time: 1.67 seconds
Recharge: 8 seconds
Damage: Scale 2.16 Lethal
Range: 5 feet
Type: Single target melee
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 5x Crushing Impact and a Proc of your choice, this will net you a nice accuracy and recharge bonus, plus some extra damage from the proc if you choose to go that route.
Bayonet is an excellent melee attack, as a matter of fact, it is the Wolf Spider's most damaging attack against a single target. I'm also told it's one of the 2 highest DPS attacks in the entire Archetype, Burst being the other. Unfortunately, there's nothing special about it beyond its damage. There isn't much else to say, really. If you like to close to melee, or if you have Pummel and already find yourself doing so, go ahead and take this. If you want the extra damage really bad, also go ahead and take this. For people who use Pummel a lot for boss stunning and killing, this is a must take, as you can hit this in between Pummel for some pretty sexy damage. It's a good power, but if you're trying to spec more for a ranged build, it's skippable.
Level 12: Venom Grenade
Animation Time: 1.87 seconds
Recharge: 24 seconds
Damage: Scale 0.982 Toxic DoT
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 20 foot radius, 10 targets max
Also: -20% damage resistance to all except toxic, -40% damage resistance to toxic, both for 16 seconds.
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge OR 2 Accuracy, 2 Recharge, 1-2 End Redux
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast. This grants good bonuses to Recovery, Accuracy and Recharge, and the proc is great.
UPDATED: Issue 15 buffed this power, bringing its animation time down from 1.87 seconds, to 1.67 seconds.
Oh boy, Venom Grenade. This is when your Wolf Spider will really start coming together. This is one nasty freakin' debuff, and it will serve you well, dramatically reducing enemy resistance. Take this as soon as you can, try hard not to put it off too far. I took mine at 16, I wouldn't want to take it much later. Open up with this before you use any of your other damaging powers, and they will be substantially more potent. I like to hit enemies with Wide Area Web Grenade, and then this, and then just unleash hell with everything else I have. The damage itself doesn't sound incredible, but it's all toxic and it debuffs resistance to toxic twice as much as any other damage type. Oh, there will orange numbers. This is a really, really good team support power, and will make everyone on the team, not just you, hit that much harder. Take this, really.
Level 18: Frag Grenade
Animation Time: 1.87 seconds
Recharge: 16 seconds
Damage: Scale 1.17 Lethal/Smashing
Range: 80 feet
Type: Targeted AOE, 10 foot radius, 10 targets max
Also: 50% chance for magnitude 1.25 knockback
Slotting:- Common: 3 Damage, 2 Accuracy, 1 Recharge OR 2 Accuracy, 2 Recharge, 1-2 End Redux
- Hamidon: 3 Accuracy/Damage HOs (Nucleolus), 2-3 Recharge SOs/IOs, 1-2 End Redux (and perhaps a proc).
- Sets: 6x Positron's Blast, like the other AOEs You can't go wrong with the bonuses (Recovery, Accuracy and Recharge), plus that energy damage proc is to die for on a largely lethal set.
UPDATED: Issue 15 buffed this power, bringing its animation time down from 1.87 seconds, to 1.67 seconds.
This is not the most amazing attack in the world, but I still recommend it if you're planning a mostly ranged or all ranged build. This completes the AOE attack chain:
Wide Area Web Grenade > Venom Grenade > Heavy Burst > Frag Grenade.
You can also use this chain, which may in fact be superior in terms of animation times taking better advantage of Build Up. I've moved to using this chain much more often.
Wide Area Web Grenade > Venom Grenade > Frag Grenade > Heavy Burst.
Not much lives through that. Not much at all. With enough recharge, you won't need to wait very long before hitting WAWG or Venom again, and starting it all over. It's truly nasty. Frag Grenade is mostly hurt by its small radius, much like the Web Grenade. If it had a larger radius, like Venom Grenade's, it would have gotten a 5 point rating real quick. Solo, this isn't much of an issue. Corner pulling will lead them into a Web Grenade ambush and then it's all downhill for them from there. While teamed, it's still useful, but you can't count on hitting everything. Just fire into the thickest bunch of enemies and watch the sparks fly.
This also has some knockback. It isn't a lot, but it's there. I've never really had an issue with it, as the magnitude and distance isn't substantial, but I'm sure someone you team with will find a reason to complain. I've actually had the knockback help me a great deal while solo, occasionally buying me precious moments. Also remember that your Web Grenade will nullify knockback for a time, meaning you can fire this all you want without even thinking about the knockback if you apply that first.
It's a nifty power that completes a devastating chain, but it isn't all that by itself (though it's certainly much better than its M30 counterpart in Assault Rifle). Whether you take it is up to you, but I recommend it personally. -
3) A Note on Inventions, Set Bonuses, and Other Special Enhancements
Inventions are crafted enhancements that you can slot into your powers. You need a recipe, found as loot from enemy defeats, mission completes, and as rewards for completing Strike Forces and Trials. There are several "drop pools" so what may be found from one, will not be found in another. they can be found as White (common), Yellow (uncommon), Orange (rare), and Purple (very rare).
You also need Salvage, which comes in several types, in 2 categories. First Salvage can be either Tech or Arcane. Secondly it can be White (common), Yellow (uncommon), or Orange (rare).
some invention enhancements are part of a set. When one or more of the same set is slotted into the same power, character-wide bonuses are granted, so long as the player does not exemplar/malefactor below the level of the enhancement. Most special enhancements will stay while exemped as well.Purples are different, and their bonuses always stay. You can have five of the same bonus stack up. Let's say you have five +6.25% recharge bonuses. If you add another, +6.25% bonus, it will not take effect, but if you add a +5% recharge bonus, it will.
For a Wolf Spider, recharge bonuses are the way to go. The more recharge, the better. Having good recharge will close the gaps in your attack chains, make your pets come up sooner (or even permanent), etc. My build has permanent Hasten, and I wouldn't give it up for anything.
Some people instead choose to slot for defense and soft cap. It's a perfectly viable playstyle, but I think the recharge approach is better personally.
There are also Hamidon enhancements, often called "Hamidon Origin" or "HOs". While they can be normal (which come from Hamidon itself), or "Synthetic" (which come from the Lord Recluse Strike Force), they are essentially identical. HOs work like normal SOs, except that they buff more than one stat at a time.
Remember that you can buy and sell Invention recipes, salvage, and enhancements, as well as HOs on the Black Market. Check Paragon Wiki for further information. -
2) The Huntsman
The Huntsmen are the most elite of the Wolf Spiders. They're described, in game, as the single most brutal and efficient Arachnos soldier. Sounds like my cup of tea. If you're reading this, it may be yours as well.
I built my Wolf Spider Huntsman to have great AOE damage abilities, but also to focus on team support. I have some very nice debuffs, and 5 leadership toggles which help out myself and my allies a lot. In addition to this, I have pets, which are totally sweet. When building Imperious Task Forces to level up in Cimerora, I was very specific about which ATs I invited, to create well balanced teams. After a while, I realized that if I was truly on top of things, I could easily replace a debuffing focused Corruptor, Defender, Mastermind, or Controller, and eventually stopped inviting them. Not to say they wouldn't do the job better, but I did it quite adequately, and that's saying something. Coupled with my debuffs, my aura buffs all stacked up are pretty substantial, and greatly benefit both me and my teammates. This seems closest to the theme in my opinion, and it's why I built the way I did, as the Huntsman aren't just soldiers, they are brutal, efficient leaders.
They go in guns blazing, they control the situation, deal with it in the most brutal, efficient possible fashion, and leave. Nothing but a few smoldering corpses and charred floor tiles should be left when they and their contingent are done. They are the fire from the hip, grenade lobbing, lead spraying badasses that come in to put down a situation someone else couldn't handle. The strength to work alone, but rarely seen without some really serious backup. This is how I see them. This is how I built mine.
Before I go on, I should mention that there are a lot of ways to build any given VEAT, and Wolf Spiders are no different. While this is a guide intended to help you build a Huntsman, it can be used to build whatever kind of Wolf Spider you want to. Not only do you have a good number of Wolf Spider and Pool Powers to choose from, but you can also dip into Crab or Bane. Some dedicated Wolves don't want to dip into either of the branches at all, but I think there's good reason to do so, in terms of utility powers. I personally wouldn't recommend dipping into Crab, because even taking a non attack power forces you to use the giant backpack with the spider legs, which really kind of breaks the whole idea. May as well go Crab at that point. Bane on the other hand, offers some excellent powers that will add a lot to the playability of the Wolf.
As I said, this is a guide intended to help you build a Huntsman. Being a Huntsman means being a badass, so maximizing your badass potential is important. As such, I strongly recommend dipping into the Bane branch, so you can grab powers that will dramatically improve your damage capabilities and improve your mezz protection.
What I'm not going to do is continue writing some massive boring essay, what I will do however is give a rundown of all Wolf Spider powers, both primary and secondary, explaining how each one works, and how it works or doesn't work with other powers. While this is intended as a guide to building a Huntsman, I wanted to provide as much information as I could, so that people looking to build other kinds of Wolf Spiders could check out this guide for information. I will list the Bane powers I feel should be useful to building a Huntsman while staying within the Wolf Spider theme, and may even touch on one or two that I won't recommend. I will also, of course, go over Power Pools, and Patrons. It should also be noted that I strongly recommend, and will continuously emphasize building for recharge. Recharge makes the Wolf Spider work. The Primary power set, as I will note in more detail, is not necessarily a complete creature, and recharge fills the gaps in. Some sets that give recharge bonuses are fairly cheap, some aren't, but if you build as you go, selling your Strike Force loot on the Black Market, you should be all good. I was.
Let's get started. -
The Huntsman - A Comprehensive Guide to the Arachnos Wolf Spider
Contents:
1) Introduction
2) The Huntsman
3) A Note on Inventions, Set Bonuses, and Other Special Enhancements
4) Arachnos Soldier Pool
5) Training and Gadgets Pool
6) Bane Spider Pools
7) Power Pools
8) Patron Pools
9) Example Build
10) In Closing
1) Introduction
This is intended to be a comprehensive guide to helping you build and play the Wolf Spider version of the Arachnos Spider Archetype beyond level 24, and even to 50. First though, I want to go into some depth on what a Wolf Spider is, and how it relates to other Archetypes, how branching works, etc.
With I12, the Villain Epic Archetypes (VEATs) were introduced. They are incredibly flexible, and can (and often do) fill several roles inside a team. They are divided into two Archetypes (Widows and Spiders), but have a unique ability in all of City of Heroes/Villains: the ability to branch off into another sub-archetype, or even respec into it completely. They gain the ability to do this at level 24, in fact, training to level 24 forces a respec.
This guide covers Wolf Spiders. Spiders start as Wolf Spiders, gun toting, hardcore folks who know a well placed grenade is a good answer to almost any problem. At 24 they are given the option to branch off and become either Bane Spiders, or Crab Spiders. Bane Spiders are mace wielding zealots who do immense melee damage, and can even strike from stealth for a damage bonus. They get a couple of other neat tricks as well. Crab Spiders are dedicated AOE machines with giant, mechanical spider legs on their backs, that get access to more pets than anything outside of a Mastermind or an Illusion Controller (should they choose to take those powers).
A nice thing about branching is that you aren't forced into taking only powers from that specific branch, but you are barred from taking powers from the opposing branch.
Example 1: I play a Wolf Spider to 24. I decide that I will take some powers from the Bane branch along with my Wolf Spider powers. I am perfectly able to do this. I cannot however, take powers from the Crab Branch, because I took Bane powers.
Example 2: I play a Wolf Spider to 24. I decide that I will respec and become a Crab Spider, but use some Wolf spider powers in my build. I am perfectly able to do this. I cannot however, take powers from the Bane Branch, because I took Crab powers.
In other words, I can mix and match powers from my base Archetype (Wolf Spider for Spiders), and one of the two branches. This is really nifty and comes in handy when you're trying to build a Wolf Spider.
But why stay a Wolf Spider when you can become a really awesome cool Bane or a totally sweet Crab at 24? That's ultimately up to the individual, everyone will do it for different reasons. For me, it was play style and cool factor. I loved the idea of the gun toting badass.
Most people do indeed branch at 24, and respec completely or nearly completely into a new Archetype. A lot of people are also under the mistaken impression that a Wolf Spider is gimpy, or underpowered. Though the Wolf Spider has some disadvantages (that can be overcome with intelligent power picks and slotting), they're mistaken. Wolf Spiders are perfectly viable build from 1-50. It's largely a perceptual issue. Here's a quick rundown of what leads to this perceptual issue:
- People are forced to play Wolf Spider from levels 1-24, no matter what, and are forced to endure working their way through Training Enhancements, and DOs (assuming they don't move directly into IOs, which will still be weaker than SOs at those levels naturally).
- Upon reaching level 24, they respec, freshly coming out of the frustration from having to go through that, but they haven't had SOs in their Wolf Spider for very long, and some people don't bother until the level 24 respec.
- Because of the above, people are never forced to level up a Crab or a Bane and deal with being gimpy and low level with an incomplete attack chain while playing one. Though the Crabs and Banes technically have low level power picks, the only time they will ever experience their incomplete builds is while exemping/malefactoring, and most people never dip that low.
- In conclusion: People are forced through the low levels with crappy enhancements and an incomplete build on their Wolf Spiders, but upon building their Crabs or Banes, experience a much more complete (and possibly more well thought out) build, and better enhancements.
The above is what leads to the perceptual error that Wolves are substantially sub par to Crabs or Banes. They are different, for a certainty, but they can hold their own and bring a lot to a team. -
Creative criticism is part of my job IRL. I know how to take it, I take it all the time.
You tore me apart.
That said, you were right, even if you were totally horrible to me about it. I'm working on a revision but I'm leveling a couple of characters to 50 real quick first. -
EDIT: Actually your post depressed me so much I'm deleting the video. I feel like such a moron. Maybe another time I can get it right.
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Post deleted by Aisynia
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Sometimes, I'm on a bad day and I shouldn't be in a PvP zone, and I go [censored] upon losing. I feel very, very dumb afterwards, cause I'm normally not that kind of person and end up feeling really bad. Besides, it's losing, in PvP, in a video game. lol? Yeah, only on bad days, and I don;y hit zones on bad days when my friends drag me there. Still, I should be in better control of myself. -
You don't have to make a new thread for everything ya know..
Also, from what was said in the radio interview, this was completely intentional. -
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I cant tell you how excited I am for our games future, and although we have some major announcements yet to be made, one of the things I can talk about is a feature that we are planning. Similar in concept to our character creator, it allows you, the players, to create missions and story arcs for your characters and others to participate in. Youll be able to pick the map, villain group, and objectives, as well as write the dialog and any clues needed for the missions. When you are satisfied with it, you can upload it and have other players across all servers play it and rate it. Fame will come to the players whose stories rate the best overall. It is features like these that we never dreamed of including when we first shipped, but are excited to be able to offer players very soon.
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IT'S HARD TO OVERSTATE MY SATISFACTION -
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I think we have added more free features with our updates than any other MMO on the planet.
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Apparently hasn't played Asheron's Call 1.
No worries, I forgive you! -
Looks very neat, can't wait to test it
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well if they are re-balencing the zone for single player and small groups(1-3), does this mean they are finally admitting that some servers are ghost towns, and that for a MMO there are a lot of solo players?
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They realized that people don't (generally) fight outside or travel as groups in this game, and that the mob spawns were only serving as cheap, frustrating obstacle. Now the outer world is both less of an obstacle and probably interesting enough to run around in blowing things up/hitting things. -
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Yeah, while I support any and all upgrades to the CoX game, I have to say that I am a little disappointed at the use of the "easy button" on the Hollows. I feel like too much whining (no offense) has led to the dumbing down of many cool and challenging features of this game.
My first few toons learned the value of a travel power, aggro range, the power of a team, and the falsehood of "hey, they are all my level, i can take them!!!" really quickly when i was a noobling in the Hollows.
If anything, I felt that CoV needed a similar hazard zone.
Next time a low lvl squishy runs into an 8 man spawn alone, i'll think of this change!
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Have you even read the dev diary? This zone is gonna be like 10 times cooler. -
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I never had a problem with AC's story/lore. It was the gameplay....
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Oh ya, it was pretty 1 dimensional if you weren't a 4 school mage. I always felt AC needed special attacks
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Asheron's Call was more quality than quantity. You can't really put out a ton of new things on a month-to-month basis, but they offered tons of lore and depth using existing (if sometimes flawed) game mechanics.
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Damned straight. That game still has, to this day, the deepest, most intriguing and engaging lore of any game I have ever played, MMO or not. It was just a satisfying story. Everywhere you went, everything you did was somehow tied intrinsically to some story or group of stories. Almost everywhere you went, you would find notes on the ground left for those who might find it, or books on shelves (all respawning), all filled with story and lore, and interesting stories, sometimes not even having to do with anything special, just interesting fluff. The Floating City was a good example. Just a really interesting place that was hard to find and fun to go to, nothing more, nothing less. I think the "Spear of the Given Heart" quest started in Rithwic is still to this day the best quest I've run in any game. So full of story, and emotion, and humanity. It was a very human story almost anyone could identify with.
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Read the majority of this thread now, and I must say..
I was expecting wedding gear this year, in fact, I was counting on it. I wasn't counting on [censored] paying for it. I'm pretty pissed off. I just don't have 10 dollars to spend on costume items. I can just afford to eat, my $15 a month for CoH is my goof off money, and I think it's well spent.
$5? I could have justified that. $10? What a [censored] ripoff. -
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In fact, I don't know of a single game where anything other than a very minor addition/upgrade to the game is given away, except CoH.
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Asheron's Call 1. Free content updates every single month like clockwork.
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Which was usually in the form of a handful of quests... Quantity they had, but quality, not so much.
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Says you, I loved the content in AC. Every month you got something new to do and it was all part fo a huge storyline. It was engaging.