Alvan

Must admit my biggest disapointment during the XMas event last year was the fact we didn't to put a XMas tree in our base. Or even some sort of Christmasy decorations to the walls.

Aye, was fun. Headed out around the same time as Jum. Managed to test out my Grav/Rad at WB (didn't really work) and had some good old-fashioned fun with Coldest.

Big thanks to everyone who was around, could be nice to do it again. But knowing my machine and the way there are more people in weekly events than random ones... It'd be unlikely I'd be able to do anything at a WB weekly event. My processor doesn't like to calculate big crowds doing many things real fast and the game goes from "Frames per Second" to "Seconds per Frame"

Any thoughts on the following? Currently have the character up to lv 27 with a prototype of the following build going, but been wondering how it will work later in the game..

The Endreds in Heavy Mullet and Seismic Smash will probably be replaced with Recharges if the Endurance consumption feels balanced at that point.

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: Entertainment
Level: 50
Archetype: Brute
Primary: Stone Melee
Secondary: Energy Aura
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Stone Fist==> Rechg(1)Rechg(5)Rechg(5)EndRdx(7)Acc(34)Dmg(50)
01) --> Kinetic Shield==> DefBuf(1)DefBuf(7)DefBuf(9)EndRdx(9)EndRdx(37)
02) --> Heavy Mallet==> Acc(2)Acc(11)Dmg(17)Dmg(17)Dmg(27)EndRdx(27)
04) --> Power Shield==> DefBuf(4)DefBuf(11)DefBuf(13)EndRdx(13)EndRdx(40)
06) --> Build Up==> Rechg(6)Rechg(15)Rechg(15)
08) --> Hurdle==> Jump(8)
10) --> Entropy Shield==> EndRdx(10)EndRdx(50)
12) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(12)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)Heal(43)Heal(43)
18) --> Seismic Smash==> Acc(18)Acc(19)Dmg(19)Dmg(25)Dmg(25)EndRdx(33)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Hasten==> Rechg(22)Rechg(23)Rechg(23)
24) --> Aid Other==> IntRdx(24)
26) --> Aid Self==> IntRdx(26)IntRdx(33)Rechg(33)Heal(34)Heal(37)Heal(37)
28) --> Energy Drain==> EndMod(28)EndMod(29)EndMod(29)Rechg(34)Rechg(42)Rechg(43)
30) --> Energy Cloak==> DefBuf(30)DefBuf(31)DefBuf(31)EndRdx(31)EndRdx(50)
32) --> Taunt==> Rechg(32)
35) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(35)Rechg(36)Rechg(36)EndRdx(36)EndRdx(48)
38) --> Overload==> Rechg(38)Rechg(39)Rechg(39)DefBuf(39)DefBuf(40)EndMod(40)
41) --> Dampening Field==> DmgRes(41)DmgRes(42)DmgRes(42)
44) --> Web Envelope==> Acc(44)Acc(45)Rechg(45)Rechg(45)Rechg(46)EndRdx(46)
47) --> Energy Protection==> DmgRes(47)DmgRes(48)DmgRes(48)
49) --> Resuscitate==> Rechg(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Rechg(1)Rechg(3)Rechg(3)EndRdx(46)
01) --> Fury==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
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Quick question about inspirations? Are they allowed? One could count them as "temporary powers" under rule 7, while someone else might argue they aren't powers at all.

The ones that immediately pop into mind as useful are respites, lucks and breakfrees. (*mumbles something 'bout madness magi*)

At later levels Stone/Energy really starts to shine as the 7th and 8th tier powers of /energy are basically there to take your endurance problems away and that's really the only bad thing about stone.

My Stone/Energy is more of a Single-targetter at the moment - building up Fury with Brawl and Stone Fists and when it's up, Heavy Malleting and Seismic Smashing things into bits. Will be adding Tremor to the fray later, not sure about Fault yet.

I agree about the passives being a bit pants, but if you're going to PvP, energy damage is something you'll be getting a lot, and at that point even small things can make a difference. Aid Other/Aid Self is a better combo when it comes to survivability, but if you somehow have enough powers to take both, it won't hurt.

Also one thing that might be altering your perception is that if you've played a MA or Ninja Blade Stalker before, they have slightly higher base Accuracy than the other sets.

So in comparison to those, Dark Melee has lower accuracy, but to normal sets it's the same.

Power Boost boosts the ToHit part of Aim and Build Up. Makes cutting through elude/parrying scrapper fun for the whole family.

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Henches still see them though, and you can always pop yellows. I've been smoked by a widow maybe...5 times during my career, and never has it gotten me killed.

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Been smoked more times than I can count, but since the inspiration I never seem to need is yellow, they tend to stack up in my inventory. Usually have 5-15 of them at hand in case some sod needs attention. If not, been using Force Bubble will keep them out of melee range where they're at their most deadliest.

For the OP: Lv 40 Merc/FF, Didn't take Leadership, never regretted the decission. Allowed me to easilly skip Fitness as well as I don't have to worry about running those end-heavy toggles.

Well, from previous play experience, going against +2s isn't far fetched.

I'll have to see about moving powers about a bit and see how well I can manage to slip the snipe in. Probably easier done than thought - Beanbag can go to heck easilly.

Took some time off to level up my Tank and do Patron arc for my MM, but now I'm getting back to this concept. After reading the suggestions, I think the key powers I'll be toying with will be Ice Patch + Ignite and Shiver + Flamethrower/Full Auto(/Buckshot). Aid self and Chilling Embrace are for added survivability plus a couple of strong ST attacks (Ice Sword, Slug) to finish off bosses. Didn't take the Grenade because of the knockback and Snipe just didn't feel to fit there with the other powers that well. Question about slotting - Does AR have enough inbuilt Accuracy to pull this off with just one Accuracy in AR powers?

Stealth edit note: Might be changing Beanbag to Fly. Not sure.

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: Future of War
Level: 50
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Assault Rifle
Secondary: Ice Manipulation
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01) --> Slug==> Dmg(1)Dmg(3)Dmg(3)Acc(11)Rechg(11)EndRdx(13)
01) --> Chilblain==> Acc(1)
02) --> Buckshot==> Dmg(2)Dmg(5)Dmg(5)Acc(13)Rechg(15)EndRdx(15)
04) --> Ice Sword==> Dmg(4)Dmg(7)Dmg(7)Acc(19)Acc(19)EndRdx(46)
06) --> Hasten==> Rechg(6)Rechg(9)Rechg(9)
08) --> Swift==> Run(8)
10) --> Chilling Embrace==> EndRdx(10)EndRdx(43)EndRdx(45)Slow(45)Slow(45)Slow(46)
12) --> Hurdle==> Jump(12)
14) --> Super Speed==> Acc(14)
16) --> Build Up==> Rechg(16)Rechg(17)Rechg(17)TH_Buf(43)TH_Buf(43)
18) --> Hover==> Fly(18)Fly(23)Fly(23)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Ice Patch==> Rechg(22)Rechg(25)Rechg(25)EndRdx(27)EndRdx(27)
24) --> Beanbag==> Acc(24)Rechg(29)
26) --> Ignite==> Dmg(26)Dmg(29)Dmg(31)Acc(31)Acc(31)Rechg(33)
28) --> Stimulant==> Rechg(28)
30) --> Aid Self==> IntRdx(30)IntRdx(33)Rechg(33)Heal(36)Heal(37)Heal(37)
32) --> Full Auto==> Dmg(32)Dmg(34)Dmg(34)Acc(34)Rechg(36)Rechg(36)
35) --> Shiver==> Acc(35)Acc(37)Slow(39)Slow(39)EndRdx(46)
38) --> Flamethrower==> Acc(38)Dmg(39)Dmg(40)Dmg(40)Rechg(40)EndRdx(42)
41) --> Personal Force Field==> DefBuf(41)DefBuf(42)DefBuf(42)
44) --> Temp Invulnerability==> EndRdx(44)
47) --> Force of Nature==> DmgRes(47)DmgRes(48)DmgRes(48)Rechg(48)
49) --> Freezing Touch==> Empty(49)Acc(50)Hold(50)Hold(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Defiance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------

Grats man! So, who is the next project?

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As the title says, what is the damage cap for stackers?

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I think this is mighty damaging...

Sorry. Got nothing. Most sources I can find seem to claim +400%, but even those are a bit hazy. Just had to post that picture.

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Although there isn't ONE uber set, i'd recommend energy/or elec as secondaries unless u make ur toon to be a stalker killer.

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True. Speaking of Stalker-killers, I think Elec/Dev could probably be the best combination for a pure stalker-killer build with the endurance drain combined with good solid range and damage in many attacks. I've noticed that Ice/ lacks a bit when it comes to killing stalkers as it relies quite heavilly on the ability to hold, and stalkers are usually hold-resistant. Fire/ and Energy/ could actually pull it off quite well as well - the high number of pure damage they deals should come in handy.

Well, that's just sudden rambling, it's 6 am here and I should be deep asleep already.

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OT, I don't think blasters are so awesome in pvp tho

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What in CoH constitutes as "teh awesomeness!1!1" in PvP depends much on the skills of the player and the enemy or enemies they're against. In good hands, a Blaster can easilly constitute as awesome. Not sure if it's the choise for a PvP beginner, since in the end, they're bloody squishy. Would still recomend it over a Stalker any day. At least you learn something while playing a Blaster..

(note: this post is about Zonal PvP, not saying a thing about Arena PvP)

Building an Ice/Energy means you'll have to deal with a lot of whine on the public channels, since your main method of attack will resemble the stalker - going in, killing stuff, hoping no-one has time to react back. You'll get called a ganker more times than you really want.

Stamina is pretty much a must for any blaster, so Fitness pool is a solid choise. Movement power is more to personal prefrence. I had Teleport Foe / Teleport on General Gamma for a long time, but switched it in favor of Combat Jumping / Superjump / Acrobatics a while ago. Flight works nicely too as people usually look at themselves from a camera angle above them, not below. Superspeed has the perk of giving you Hasten, but if you're in a situation where you need Hasten to kill someone you're already on a weak ground. Superspeed is quite good way to quickly close in on the kill, but you'll need another movement power for vertical movement in case your target flies away.

You'll be looking for most damage in least time or other ways for the foe to be unable to retaliate, so Bitter Ice Blast, Bonesmasher, Total Focus, Aim, Build-Up, Power Boost, Freeze Ray, Energy Punch, Ice Blast and Ice Bolt are your friends. You won't have the benefit of proper long-range attacks so Boost Range is pretty much either-or. Since you'll run into situations where an enemy is low in HP and you don't want to waste the biggest attack you got, Ice Bolt is damn fast and solid attack. Your need for Conserve Power is debateable. I don't have it anymore in my build.

The AoEs in Ice are pretty weak, but if you want to take out Masterminds at Recluse's Victory, you'll be wanting Blizzard.

Or to put it differently:

You can skip Frost Breath, Ice Storm, Bitter Freeze Ray, Boost Range and Stun. And Stun can work quite if stacked with other Disorienting powers from your Secondary.

You'll also be the favorite target of Stalkers, who you can't see without taking Tactics from the Leadership pool. And even if you take Tactics, you'll probably be blind as a bat against the better of them. Your low hitpoints guarantee that they'll flock on you and kill you before you have a chance to retaliate. And you'll find yourself cursing them many times, calling them unfair. But it's more or less hypocrisy, since your build is designed to do the same to others. They just do it better.

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The Ninja's sly grin or "you took the long road" winsome one-liner could just as easily be covering for a power that the hero doesn't want exposed as for any lack of powers.

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Of course. But one great thing about the game is that it's in the end a personal experience. One could easilly create a character who uses TP and say he's just moving so fast you have trouble tracking him on the map. You as a co-player can easilly dismiss the notion as a doohickey, but to that player it might be justification enough to use the power to emulate his movement. Maybe he's watched some Ninja Scroll type anime and likes how superhuman speed is displayed there more than the way it "by the book" works in CoX.

Won't go into a Batman vs. Superman bloodfest on this, that's a topic that can spin out of control easilly (granted: I planted the seeds there..)

But. Been thinking other ways of movement for all-natural-human-heroes.

Now, take Punisher for a good example. We see Mr. Castle making all sorts of leaping about in the comics, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, running around the jungle, that sort of thing. In CoX, this is stuff that could be represented by the swift+sprint+cj+hurdle combo. But it may be better represented by Superjump - Sure the leaps are awfully high if you do them at maximum height, but from tapping the jump button gently, you get speedy movement that's close to the ground, that can easilly be used to go around obstacles. With little imagination this can be passed off as running with leaping about trashcans and jumping over fences.

Other thing that comes to mind is mainly for CoV characters and ninja'ish scrappers. The good old "flash/smoke grenade trick" - poof the ground with a smoke grenade and when the smoke clears, the perpetrator has disappeared. This could be remade with teleportation. The effect is a bit flashy, but it's effectively the same. You're not there where the enemies expect you to be, but observing the situation from a safe distance. Thinking of it more as moving between the frames of the comic - it doesn't matter how he got there, he got there.

Both these methods are a bit of a fudge, but I could probably live with them.

Sure the problems start rising when you begin comparing characters with each others. "How is it possible that you got nearly as fast here as my superspeeder". In Punisher's case the answer would be something like "You took the long road" and in the ninja's a silent smile.

Can't think of a way to make flying believeable for a normal human without resorting to gadgets though...

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For me, no matter how hard a normal person trains himself, and no matter how much better than the average "man-in-the-street" he is, he will NEVER be as good as a Superhuman.

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*cough* *cough* *batman* *cough*

Sorry, had something in my throat there for a bit.

If I were to create a "fully natural human hero without any superhuman powers" (thus ignoring all the possible aliens, trolls, angels, creatures of living ice and human-cat-peacebringers that all can be seen Natural for game purposes), I'd go with sprint-swift-hurdle-combatjump combination. While CJ is a bit immersion-breaking (changing your direction mid-air), the speed isn't accompanied with flashy lights and the jumps are to "believeable" heights if you have the imagination to think your character is grabbing window-ledges and such to make it to the roof so quickly.

And if teaming, you can always resort to the age-old tradition of "tp plz"-fu.

Well, I started a new blaster a while ago, just because I hadn't seen such a thing around before. An Assault Rifle / Ice Manipulation combination. There are big downsides in the sets combined I've already noticed (at level 10), biggest I've found so-far being the lack of Aim.

But. I've been wondering what sort of a creation would the forumites make out of this combo. I know there is a horde of AR/s out there and must be more than one /Ice, so I have to ask you - What would you think are the good points of the sets, what are the powers to avoid, and what could you see working in strange synergy.

And yes, I know, AR/ sucks. And yes, I know /Ice blows. And I absolutely understand why no-one wants to play the combo. But amuse an old man. How to make it work?

(For PvE purposes)

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But yesterday I met one of those superb PvP'ers who think that TP Foe onto a batch of caltrops & traps etc is a really good tactic...

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Color me interested - Was it a good tactic? Ie. did it work well, him managing to get the kill in 1-on-1. Or were the pets TP:d with you and the bodyguard mode stayed active, keeping you near-invulnerable?

Grats. Don't think I've ever teamed with you, but the world needs more high-level empaths

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Sorry folks somethings come up and wont be able to make it

Good luck with the task force

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Same here, will have to be offline from 7pm to unspecified time in the future.

Good luck guys.

At low levels you'll find yourself missing a lot. Happens to pretty much everyone except the few lucky powersets that have inbuilt accuracy.

Things will get a bit better at lv 12, when you get access to Double Origin Enhancements, and should disappear at level 22, when Single Origins come to play.

I'll bring whatever AT is needed.

From personal experience, a Merc/FF(/Mace) is quite good a combo.

Thought it was bad, but then kept looking at how the other masterminds' pets were getting killed around me. The +def from shields and the AoE control the Spec Ops provide make you a mini- /ff -controller. Add to that a stackable armor from Mace, and you yourself is running with defenses that are comparable to an EA brute as are your pets if you bother to buff them.

FF lacks the Heal but you can always take medicine and the Mercs have a medic that will also provide some healing. And while you're at it, get Stimulant, so you can help a team-mate out of a sticky Confusing situation with a Succubus.

Mercs/FF forever.

/ This post was paid by the Mercenaries and Forcefielders Union.

Well, the reason I have SS secondary is because you have to pick one secondary pool. And since I'm not using any attacks from it, who cares which it is, SS just happens to fit the character profile better than the other stuff out there.

Beyond the 10 targetted persons, you can only keep total of 17 people (or 18 or how much it was, anyways) aggroed at a time, in which case control becomes more important than taunting - thus Earth Epic. The Salt Crystals is probably the one that has to go, but the ranged hold, the -fly immob and the AoE immbo are things that are staying.

About Foot stomp, it's a knockdown? Getting mixed info from various sources on that. The reason I opted out of it was that it was stated to be knockback in some guide I read. If it's a KD as you say, then it's 90% surely going to replace Salt Crystals.

But as said, I'm really not sure about post 32 powers, I'll be testing them once I hit the appropriate levels.