Argentae
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Posts
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Joined
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There's a been a lot of info scattered here and there about Creepers and how some +dmg sources seem to be passed to the spawned vines and some aren't. I've read that regular +dmg SOs and Common IO's DO get passed, but that +dmg from sets don't?
And some seem to feel that Procs are the way to go while others. Many regard Creepers as a damage power, while others don't see it as a damage source at all.
So I thought I'd start a thread with a title that would be easy to find in searches to help put together some definitive info.
So all of you who've played Plant/ for a long time and have done experimentation to determine the best slotting for Creepers, could you please share your specific lessons learned, your slotting preference and why?
Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can pass on to future Plant/ Controllers! -
:: nods ::
As mentioned it's really too early to talk about Electric Control as anyone that knows anything simply can't talk about it, it's risky for them to even participate in speculation threads.
That said, I maintain that sapping isn't the most effective form of control IMO, and I think it unlikely that that will be any kind of primary focus for Electric Control. Electric Control will be a CONTROL set first and foremost. Judging by the improvement that the Devs have shown in the balance/utility of other sets introduced over the last couple of years, I expect that Electric Control will be a good set on it's own merits, though it'll be impossible to speculate about synergy till we all get a look at it in open Beta.
Thematically, Elec/Storm should be a perfect fit, but even if there *is* substantial sapping in the set as a side effect specialty (like Ice/ 's slows and Earth/ 's -def) /Storm doesn't have the -Rec to capitalize on it.
That said, the dev's HAVE done a decent job with sets that pair well thematically having some synergy, so I expect Elec/Storm will be a fun set.
But then *anything* /Storm is fun
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I'm not a farmer type, but just glancing over the builds I was puzzled by:
1. Full 6 pack of Trap of the Hunter slotted in Roots? That's got ZERO dmg enh except for the proc. I'd expect that to make things a bit slower. I know you've got Fissure as AOE, but more never hurts. I'd think maybe 5 of Posi + the TotH Proc? Roots would be a good place for dmg procs in general.
2. No Tornado? With all the -KB immob that you and Fly Trap are tossing around, Tornado is a very valuable source of dmg IMO.
3. Full suite of Trap of the Hunter in Creepers too?
4. Don't know that Tough/Weave are really worth the three slots?
5. I'd echo the concern about End usage, adding Tough/Weave on top of the existing end hungry nature of /Storm seems like it'd be a huge end sucker.
Anyway, that's my first impressions for what it's worth. Feel totally free to disregard any/all above ;-) -
Did you read this thread yet?
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=224081
Some good builds/discussion in there. -
Quote:Good feedback and it kind of echos some feelings I've been having as well. If I take Vines in the lvl 28 slot what would you suggest for the lvl 30? I'm not really big on Spores, played around with it, and wasn't impressed, though maybe that's 'cause I'm used to Mass Hyp when it comes to AOE sleep ;-). I could pickup Thunder Clap, but that's only going to work on minions and has a fairly slow (though visually awesome!) animation. Alternatively I could take something out of a pool, I've got Hasten, SS & Hurdle,Health,Stamina. One possibility would be Hover... It would improve the ability to line up some spawns, and act as a mule for a LoTG later. Probably want to swap out Hurdle for Swift if I do that.Originally Posted by Sweetmeat
I'm not sure if anyone else has commented on the leadership pool so far, I don't have much time this morning to read the whole thread. Here's my thoughts on it:
1. Freezing Rain pretty much completely negates any need for tactics.
2. Plant/Storm later on, when you are using everything, will run you out end pretty quickly even if the only toggle you're running is Steaming Mists. This is with three slots in Stamina, and lots of sets giving 1.5, 2, and 2.5 recovery bonuses.
3. Vines is your ONLY reliable control versus things that are resistant to charm. Not taking it will severely limit what situations you can handle comfortably. I tend to use Vines heavily vs both Rikti and Nemesis, and often vs Carnies too. Also Vines is a great panic button if you end up agroing a second or third group and other controls haven't recharged yet.
Conclusion: By taking leadership and not taking Vines, you will be looking to run yourself out of end before you get the job done, and really hamstring yourself versus several villain types.
Plus Vines really only needs three slots to e pretty effective if you give it 3x Acc/Hold/Recharge it's not bad at all for really low slotting requirements. (I ended up 6 slotting with Lockdown for the ranged defense bonus and the extra hold proc)
Honestly your way will work because Plant/Storm is very resilient but the endurance issues will probably make this build seem to bog down a bit later and, in for me, you would have to pry Vines from my cold dead fingers - it's that useful to the character as a whole.
::nods::Quote:Originally Posted by Sweetmeat
Ohh just wanted to add my thoughts on the APP. I went with Ice, because Hibernate = Win. Like I said earlier, you will find yourself running out of end, and sometimes you will find yourself taking more damage than you can regenerate. Hibernate is awesome for both problems. It can quickly refill your end bar in the middle of a tough fight, and it can keep you from having to run or face plant in a different kind of tough fight.
Also Frostbreath packs a serious punch to a large group that's already been debuffed by Freezing Rain and contained by Roots. I find that using it as my 4th power in the opener, half the minions dies at that point. The rest of the spawn follows quickly after a couple more roots applications.
I definitely don't ever go into melee with this character unless it's to use Sands of Mu on a held boss so the Stone APP is much less appealing to me than on some other Storm toons.
I'm leaning towards Ice for the APP as well, I can certainly see the point about Hibernate, and really, Frost Breath + Ice Storm would be *very* welcome AOE dmg as well as fitting perfectly thematically.
Current build-in-progress is:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Viridicane: Level 42 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- Acc(A), Hold(3), Hold(5), Dmg(7), RechRdx(19), EndRdx(34)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Roots -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(13), EndRdx(19)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx(A)
Level 6: Super Speed -- EndRdx(A)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- Mlais-Acc/Rchg(A), Mlais-EndRdx/Conf(9), Mlais-Acc/EndRdx(9), Mlais-Conf/Rng(11), Mlais-Dam%(11), Bfdlng-Acc/Conf/Rchg(13)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(15), RechRdx(15)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 14: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- EndRdx(A), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(31)
Level 18: Steamy Mist -- EndRdx(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Hurricane -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(23), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(23), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(34)
Level 24: Spirit Tree -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(25), RechRdx(25), Heal(34), Heal(40), Heal(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Acc(A), Dmg(27), Dmg(27), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(31)
Level 28: Vines -- EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg(A), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg(31), NrncSD-Acc/Hold/Rchg(37)
Level 30: Hover -- EndRdx(A)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33)
Level 35: Tornado -- Dmg(A), Dmg(36), Dmg(36), EndRdx(36), Empty(37), Empty(37)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), EndRdx(39), Empty(40), Empty(40)
Level 41: Hibernate -- Empty(A), Empty(42), Empty(42)
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run -
Quote:No kidding, I'd drop Gale in a heartbeat if it was an option. I suppose I should really play around with it more and look for some use for it, but I really prefer surgical use of Hurricane for positioning, not to mention the fact that it actually provides awesome debuffing.Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
Too bad we can't give up Gale.
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I think you're missing the point. I use Snow Storm to pull when the spawn is spread out, with some around a corner etc. Using Superspeed + Steamy mist for full invis, go to the guy in the back, activate Snow Storm, then run FAST back through the rest of the mobs and around a corner, drop Spirit Tree and wait with Hurricane up (turn off Super Speed and Steamy Mist to save End) standing right near the edge of the corner so the mobs mostly pile up just short of the corner. A few will probably make it through but they are thoroughly debuffed and the Tree will generally keep up with any dmg incoming from them.
That gets them all in a single clump, and the alpha is largely neutered by Hurricane. NOW hit 'em with Seeds, drop Snow Storm and go into a normal attack pattern. If you just used Seeds on the group that you could initially see, all the others on the other side of the cave bend/door/corner/crates/whatever would (most often) come running and you catch all their attacks in your teeth.
If you can see and hit the entire spawn with seeds at the beginning of the fight, then I totally agree that Seeds is perfect as an opener. Unfortunately when you're dealing with large 4/6/8 hero equivalent size spawns, the mobs are very often spread out, esp in caves and other broken geometry maps, so you need a tactic to group them up.
Carrion Crawlers is often even better if it's up, though the Snow Storm pull can also be used to herd several spawns together if you're playing with smaller size spawns, which is something that can be very effective on small teams.
The other time this method is useful is with Nemesis and other confuse resistent mobs.
Basically this method is part of a toolset, to be used when appropriate. It's not intended to be a one-size-fits-all attack pattern, but it IS quite effective in the right situation, and it's unusual and FUN.
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I must have missed it... Was there something juicy leaked?
No... Wait. Don't answer that ;-). -
My Main is a Mind/Kin from way back in I2 long before either set was "cool".
My first Villain was a Mind/Psi Dom back when Drain Psyche was broken and before the general public had any *clue* about how awesome Psi Shockwave was.
I chose those combos because they were fun, and I liked them both all the way from 1-50.
I've since played almost every variety of Mind/ on both sides of the red/blue line (Mind/Elec is a particularly good combo), so I know exactly what you're talking about. The big thing is that they really are Apples and Oranges as mentioned above.
If you're looking to solo or do small groups a Mind/? Dom is just plain awesome. If you're looking to take a so-so team and just make it a steamroller, a Mind/Kin rocks the house. They are both very clicky, very labor intensive, but the Dom is going to be a primary dmg dealer and the Controller is going to be a team force-multiplier. Wen it comes to the TF world, the Dom *does* have a clear advantage, simply because they can put out more control at a higher magnitude than the Controller in the pivotal A/V confrontations. The Controller will get the team through the rest of the TF missions faster though ;-).
I love playing both.
:: tosses two shiny coins in hat :: -
Slow progress as there's this annoying thing called PRW (Pesky Real Work/World) that keeps getting in the way
.
Anyway, got Viri to 27, so she's got her hands on the bright shiny new toy that is Carrion Creepers! Yum. Mostly been teaming the last couple of levels (just the way it worked out), so I haven't had much of a chance to really play around with the tactical possibilities yet.
I've also been spending a lot of time playing the market and getting her some initial sets! Kinda like a kid's first bike, but without wheels, not made of tubing and tires and without any training wheels. Ok... So not so much alike. But it's still a place to start.
She's setup now with a 5 pack of Malaise + the tri-aspect from Perplex (Seeds), a four pack Of Dark Watcher (Hurricane (thx LM!)) and a 4 pack of Gaze of the Basilisk(Strangler). Took a bit of bidding/waiting, but it was worth it, and +18% (ish) Global rech makes a difference at 27th, and the +Rec is VERY welcome. The +Rec will be even more critical once Tornado and LS put in an appearance!
That reminds me, need to make some time to finish up the Pupil, Silver Bullet and Slayer badges... Atlas would come in handy about now.
:: scribbles note to self ::
:: snort ::
:: throws away illegible note and types up reminder in iCal instead ::
Next up:
What to do at 28? Current plan has 28 and 30 openish... I've currently got Assault/Tactics penciled in as Tactics is *always* and esp helpful in the later game both with purple mobs and with those pesky Night Widows. But Oedipus_Tex had a good point about Hurricane and Aid Self. Or I could always go with Vines (for Nems) and either Spore Burst (as a Sandman mule) or Thunder Clap to pair with Fissure.
Hrm... That's if I go with /Earth. /Ice is pretty attractive with Ice Storm, and would go beautifully thematically.
Anyone got any good suggestions for the 28/30 pairing? Reasons?
Maybe I should start a poll....
'K, back to PRW! -
Quote:^Originally Posted by MentalMaden
/headdesk
That's a yes.
^
^
This
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Quote:Thanks!Originally Posted by TeChameleon
EDIT- was checking out your Plant/Storm journal and enjoying it, Argentae.
Totally hear you on the difference in playstyle too. On my end it's largely a difference in current build maturity, at this point in Viri's progress Creepers is FAR from being up often enough to use as a regular opener. Given that's a major focus of what you're working to achieve it makes total sense.
Given how my Fire/Storm progressed and my experience with other Plant/ characters, I'm guessing I might well follow the same path later. Using Creepers as the alpha really is an ideal method as you mentioned it's much better at clumping, except possibly for the mobs that are on the other side of a wall doorway (I.E. office/sewer maps etc. ) from the rest of the spawn. I'll need to experiment with that, and see if the Snow Storm pull is still sometimes useful in those situations even when you can lead off Creepers.
I really need to take a look at your build in my planner, though I'll likely never sink that much inf into the purple sets the Kin Crash sets are cheap, and generally yield *decent* +dmg... Like +60% ish? The -KB is also very useful, though obviously it's the tasty +rech everyone wants.
So far I'm focused largely on +rec (and + rech sets obviously) to combat the huge end vacuum that is /Storm. Have you tried the +Rec Proc in Perf Shift yet?
One thing I might look at (just skimming without having my planner) is your slotting for Gale? With no Acc slotted do you really think you'll get enough use out of it to justify the second slot? I *generally* prefer to use surgical bursts of Hurricane for mob positioning, though I can see some reasons to use Gale depending on the geometry of the map. -
What do you plan to do with the character? Mostly team, mostly solo or mixed?
I find that Super Speed + Steamy Mist is extremely effective, not really for being Stealthy per se, but mainly so that you can get in and line up mobs for Seeds. I can where you're sacrificing a lot for + global rech, but it's a lot of extra slots burned up... Don't have access to my planner atm so i can't really look at the bonuses, but if you can provide some info on your priorities and playstyle it'll probably help folks comment on the build? -
Had to take quite a break as we were up on the Hill in DC with an IAB Fly In lobbying effort talking to Senator offices/staff, great experience! Got an interview with NPR out of it too ;-).
Anyway, got Viri up to 25th so she's now got Spirit Tree and has Hurricane 4 slotted with 3 Acc Debuf and an Endred. She's hell on wheels with BP, ditto for Freaks, but have to be careful of CoT and Tsoo with the diff set to +1 and 4 hero equiv.
It's a really fun combination, not totally safe and you have to be ready to adapt your tactics as you go. The Snow Storm pull/Hurricane clumping tactic works reasonably well. The trick is to try and use hurricane to clump all the mobs into a single pack on one side of you so you can hit them all with Seeds. If one or two end up on the wrong side, Hurricane works very well to keep them off you while you focus on the main clump. Spirit Tree works very well so far to help you keep up with incoming dmg that gets through Snow Storm/Hurricane as well as generally having you come out of the fight with a full bar of green. At this level, a fight against a 4 hero spawn of +1/+2 mobs can take awhile, so the slow rech of Spirit Tree (only a single heal slotted so far) isn't much of an issue so far. Don't need it every spawn, but it certainly does add some resilience when needed.
The build is getting a LOT more flexible, and frankly I'm getting a lot better use out of Hurricane than I have in most of my other /Storm Controllers.
What it really comes down to is this: This is a FUN combo. Storm complements Plant/ very well indeed so far, as no self heal is one of the big drawbacks of /Storm, having the Tree does indeed help to fill that void. It's NOT as effective a heal as many other sets, but it's quite low maintenance as it's just a drop and forget which helps free up your attention for all the other things you're juggling.
So far I really don't see a need for Vines or Spores, though I haven't hit any Nems yet, which I know is going to be a major PITA mob type for a Plant/. Based on my experience thus far I'm thinking that a combination of soft control from /Storm, Flytrap, Carrion C, etc will still be workable.
1 levels to go till I get to toss Carrion Creepers into the Mix! -
Quote:Well, if you can handle a few attacks coming in (and this is where Hurricane and Spirit Tree will come in VERY handyOriginally Posted by Renardine
I am curious how you are doing this!
Are you hitting them with Seeds first? For me, when I hit an enemy with Snow Storm The effected target and all around them slo-mo run away from each other... slowly spreading the group apart.
If I hit them with Seeds first however, they all run into a clump attacking each other.. then I Snow Storm. For me Seeds makes the clump, not the Snow Storm... If you have an advanced strategy I am missing let me know! ) you stealth in with Super Speed and Steamy Mist running. Find the mob in the VERY back and make sure you have a clear path to a corner/obstacle of some kind to break line of sight. Then trigger Snow Storm on the rearmost mob and RUN for your corner and duck behind it, try to position yourself so you can rotate the camera to see around the corner but still be out of line of sight yourself.
This is basically a corner pull, and as the debuff from Snow Storm hits the mobs they will run with the SS anchor towards you, just *realllllllllllyyyy* slooooooowwly. If you hit the first couple of mobs with strangler (or drop Freezing Rain so it covers the corner just as they come around it to break up the alpha) as they come around the corner everyone else will bunch up behind them and if it all worked right the entire spawn will be in a REALLY tight clump when you hit them all with seeds. Then lock 'em all in place with Roots and line up a shot to get as many as possible with Sands of Mu if you have it .
I toggle off Steamy Mist and Super Speed as soon as I'm behind the corner to save end... And I *generally* toggle off Snow Storm once the spawn is confused and locked in place. You don't really WANT to slow down their dmg to each other most of the time.
Anyway, it's not perfect, but it's 1/2 of the tactic I'm building towards and I have hopes that it'll be an adaptable system that will work (by leaving on snow storm and using Hurricane) on mob types that resist Seeds. :: crosses fingers :: -
Great feedback Thx
What do you think for roots? Load up on the procs? Or a 5 pack of something like Posi for the globals and drop in one extra proc from an immob set?
I suppose I might lose the liking for Spirit tree after I've had it for a bit... But it seems like such a perfect match to fill the self heal hole in Storm. I like Oedipus_Tex's idea of Aid Self as you trigger Hurricane as a getto hibernate/PFF though. I'm really looking forward to exploring some of the less publicized Plant/Storm synergies...
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Quote:::nods::Originally Posted by Katie V
For me, that was really only a problem between level 8 (when I got Seeds of Confusion) and 22 (when I got Vines). After 22, it's simply a matter of tossing Seeds one direction and Vines the other; at 26 you can have Carrion Creepers take the alpha, and at 32, you can summon a Fly Trap in the middle of things to clump everyone up. There's also the option of using Freezing Rain to break the alpha up: enemies on their backs can't shoot at you.
Of course, I'm not exactly a believer in orderly fights. At 50, the basic tactic my plant/storm controller uses is to find the spot on the battlefield with the lowest density of chaos and throw the next available power there.
Mind/ is a bit like that in that you have multiple choices depending on what's up between TD and MC.
But I generally like to build towards a particular tactic or combination that catches my fancy in a pri/sec combination, and this time I love the idea of using Snow Storm to pull/clump the spawn(s) together and up against the edge of Hurricane where I can get 'em all with Seeds then root etc.
Heh. That's a good one! I'm currently planning Tactics vs dipping into the Med pool, but it's something to play with over on testQuote:Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
Sounds like you are having a blast.
One of the dirtiest tricks in /Storm, by the way, is powering up Hurricane and using that moment to fire Aid Self. The enemies who havent been sent flying are under a massive -ToHit penalty, and if they can't hit you, they can't interupt the power. Call it a "ghetto PFF." That's if you actually decide to spec into the Healing pool of course..
Update:
Well, Viri finally got Stamina after running through several of the Faultline Arcs. Had a lot of fun doing Lost missions esp the one where they have taken over a police precinct! I esp liked having full invis from Steamy Mist and Super Speed and going down the elevator to see the "escapee" with his crew hanging out waiting for me. Line 'em up, toss seeds and pop off a few Roots with Freezing Rain, then if things go wrong (usually not needed) just pop back upstairs and come back after recovering! Have to admit I tried that mission several times with different difficulty settings.
Was up to about 5-6 mil from selling salvage so I bought a set of Malaise for Seeds, got a 5 pack (missing the tri aspect) all in the 23-25 range. What do you all think would be worth slotting in the 6th slot?
Once I've got all the malaise slotted it should look more or less like:
Acc: 45.68
End: 38.38
Range: 11.56
Rech: 26.50
Conf: 38.38
I'm thinking that I might put in a tri aspect from another set to bump up the Acc/Rech/Conf values, but I admit that I'm tempted to go with a conf/range, as I imagine improved range makes quite a difference with Seeds being able to get more of a spawn.
The Acc is a bit low, but should be ample for large +1 spawns esp if I pick up Tactics later on. I may also use Freezing Rain once I've got a spawn clumped up against hurricane, so that would make acc a non-issue, but obviously that's not something to rely on.
I'm also considering keeping the Psi Dmg proc out for now, though that would lose the 6.5 global +rech... Seeds is such a critical power I'm wondering if franken slotting those last two slots wouldn't be better than the Global Rech at this point. :onder::
Anyway, had great fun using Snow Storm to clump mobs up REALLY tight for extra fun as it let me use Sands of Mu to get some really hefty AOE dmg :-)
Next big waypoint is 22 when I add Hurricane AND get SOs simultaneously! Will have fully slotted Stamina at that point too, so things should really start moving.
Anyone have any advice on IO slotting for a Plant/Storm on the way up? I might as well start putting some bids in and start collecting things now, and judicious franken slotting is more cost effective than SOs over the long run anyway.
I've been playing around with the build planning, and the (very much in flux) current build looks like the below. Note this has been rehashed several times and is in no way a final build plan, more like a general idea of what I'm looking at.
I skipped both Spores and Vines. Spores I don't see the point other than as an IO set mule, since it generates aggro and I have full invis anyway. Vines... Well, The AOE hold requires so much investment to be useful, I think I'd prefer to rely on the soft control from Storm on the mobs that Seeds doesn't work on.
Anyway, my unconventional leveling build up to the APPs:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Viridicane: Level 40 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- Acc(A), Hold(3), Hold(5), Dmg(7), RechRdx(19), EndRdx(34)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Roots -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(13), EndRdx(19)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx(A)
Level 6: Super Speed -- EndRdx(A)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- Mlais-Acc/Rchg(A), Mlais-EndRdx/Conf(9), Mlais-Acc/EndRdx(9), Mlais-Conf/Rng(11), Mlais-Dam%(11), Empty(13)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(15), RechRdx(15)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 14: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- EndRdx(A), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(31)
Level 18: Steamy Mist -- EndRdx(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Hurricane -- EndRdx(A), ToHitDeb(23), ToHitDeb(23), ToHitDeb(34), EndRdx(37), Empty(40)
Level 24: Spirit Tree -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(25), RechRdx(25), Heal(34), Heal(40), Heal(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Acc(A), Dmg(27), Dmg(27), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(31)
Level 28: Assault -- EndRdx(A)
Level 30: Tactics -- EndRdx(A), ToHit(31), ToHit(37), ToHit(37)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33)
Level 35: Tornado -- Dmg(A), Dmg(36), Dmg(36), EndRdx(36)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), EndRdx(39)
Level 41: Fissure -- Empty(A)
Level 44: Seismic Smash -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Earth's Embrace -- Empty(A)
Level 49: [Empty]
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run -
Quote:I understand where you're coming from, but it depends on the # of mobs you're talking about and the geometry of the map. What I'm thinking about mainly uses indoor maps and/cave maps, anywhere that there is a a place you can bottleneck with hurricane. The problem I've seen in handling alphas from large spawns with just seeds comes in when you've got large spawns that are spread out so you can't get more than a few in the Seeds Arc. If I was only looking at the standard 2-3 mob spawn it's NOT a problem at all, but what I'm working for is the ability to reliably handle large spawns like 6-8 hero equiv. So handle that I need a way to clump them closer together and Snow Storm can do that... The problem is that is going to generate at least a partial alpha. By doing a corner pull of the entire spawn using Snow Storm and having them pile up against the Hurricane's repel you get them all nicely grouped and most of them miss... Those that do hit can cause a problem later in the game since /Storm lacks a heal, but since Snow Storm and Hurricane vastly slow the incoming rate of damage, Spirit Tree should be more than capable of keeping pace while you get everyone together for Seeds/Roots. And if you pull multiple spawns at once, then you can just mow though them en-mass esp with Carrion Crawlers ;-)Originally Posted by GreenBone
There's really not much to taking alphas if you toss out Seeds first. I got my Eerie Gator to 50 without ever taking Hurricane or Spirit Tree. I'll have to dig up that build and let you know what I took in their place. Hurricane seemed to me to require you to be in melee (not good for controllers) and cause too much chaos when you were. And fights were generally over much faster than a planted Spirit Tree could have much effect. I've noticed those stationary regens, if they're truly needed, don't seem to provide enough regen to turn the tides of the fight - but that's only my perspective.
Have fun! My most fun toon too date! -
Heya Hell! Saw and said "Hi" to some of the F/Rad team last night in Faultline while I was out running some of the Jimmy Tremblor arc with Viridicane :-)
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Viri dinged 18 last night :-). So far it's been all soloing as I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the powers and how they can be used, teaming provides too many other variables atm...
I DID see some of the Fire/Rad super team last night over in Faultline though! :: waves ::
Anyway, got the Stamina pre-reqs out of the way and picked up Steamy Mist last night, so that's progress. On my wish list for the near future (after Stamina at 20) is still Hurricane (22) and Spirit Tree (24) then Carrion Crawlers (26).
Now that I've got full invis I plan on experimenting with pulling multiple spawns together into a single swarm so I can *prune* them all with extreme prejudice using Seeds/Roots. The big question is how much of an alpha I can take without Hurricane and Spirit Tree to dampen the alpha and give me more resilience.
Another question is whether it might be worth slotting Steamy Mist for some def to stack with the heavy -acc from Hurricane. -
Vir dinged 16 last night and got her Freezing Rain. Haven't had enough of a chance to play with it yet, but it's pretty much as awesome as I remember (though it REALLY comes into it's own once you have SO level enhancements), though the duration is a bit shorter.
Continuing to play with using Snow Storm to clump up groups better. It works. Will get a lot better when I have Steamy Mist to pair with Super Speed so I have full invis to tag the mob at the back of the spawn with aggroing those in the front prematurely. Hurricane will be a godsend to push the forerunners back and break up the Alpha. Add Spirit Tree to jack my regen up to soak up what gets through Hurricane, and Freezing Rain to boost the dmg from Roots as well as upping the dmg mobs do to each other with Seeds... Should be a lot of fun :-)
Moved from Kings Row/Skyway to Faultline and had some fun with first missions from Jimmy Tremblor. Fusionette is a MUCH better pet now that they've made her less suicidal.
Hope to play tonight with the mob lvl booted a bit now that I should be able to hit better. -
Didn't get too much time to play, so she's just up to about 13.5 now.
Changes: Picked up a full suite of DO's at 12, which had the normal impact.
Got a very pointed reminder of just how much of a PITA Fortunatas are for control types other than Mind/. Ran though a radio mission at +1 2 hero equiv and every span with a Fortunata there was a pain. A +2 Fortunata Lt with 4 or 5 other assorted minions and LTs is a major problem at this point. By doing a little pulling where needed, and some careful tactics I got though the mission (I think there was one faceplant), but it was tricky. Dom's have it easier with the much higher damage output.
Things will get a LOT easier once I've for Freezing Rain, the ability to make the Vet attacks HIT will go a long way to fix my single target dmg issues... Only 2. 5 levels to go!
Then the next major milestone will be Stamina at 20 (sooo needed for /Storm) and then start slotting IO sets and SOs at 22. I suppose I need to figure out IO load outs for Seeds, Roots etc. Seeds and Roots are definitely the cornerstones of the build at this stage (well strangler too, but that's a given )
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Best Reason?
Because Deceive (Confusion) does NOT cause SI to surpress! So you can run right into the middle of a spawn and confuse individual mobs without them ever twigging to the fact that you're even there ;-)
Great Party trick! -
So, Level 11.
So far I'm seeing much what I expected. Don't even have DO's (quite) yet, so basically my slotting is Acc with one Conf slotted for Seeds and one Hold slotted. It helps a lot that I have all three Vet attacks for single target dmg, without them I'd probably have gone with either Air Sup or Entangle. As it is, I'm basically using Seeds + Roots for AOE dmg and holding either the boss or time sharing between LT's.
I'm getting a lot of mileage out of Snow Storm as well, even in the beginning lvls :-). Since I've got the Vet option of picking a travel power at lvl 6, I've been using SS to get up close to setup Seeds when the spawn composition seems doable And if it's all spread out, I target the farthest out Mob, hit Snow Storm and dash closer until it triggers than run out as fast as possible. If I can make the trip in and out fast enough not to aggro anyone else in the mob, then they tend to clump up and follow around the corner en-mass where I'm waiting with Seeds ready to go. Pop Hasten and start beating on the LT's etc. With Hasten running I find that I generally drop the vast majority of +0 or +1 Minions by the time Seeds drops LT's can get touchy and if I've got +1 or +2 bosses in the mix it get's quite dangerous to be handling a large spawn.
So for now I'm mostly running +0 or +1 missions as 3 Hero equiv and it's good and challenging. Hopefully once I get DO's slotted up I'll be able to move up to larger spawns.
I have to say: Viridicane has been the MOST fun in Perez of any character so far! Just a blast taking down huge spawns of even con Hellions and CoT.. Which has had the benefit of lots of good salvage :-). Viridi has saved up about 2.5 mil inf just from selling salvage drops, which is quite a bit better than past alts, though I suppose the salvage costs have gone up a lot too. Still it makes getting that full suite of DO's trivial cost wise, and means that I can probably start working on buying some franken slotting of IOs for the early 20's.
So far her build at 11 looks like:
Plant
Strangler: Acc Acc Acc dmg
Roots: Acc Acc Acc Dmg
Seeds of Confusion: Acc Acc Conf
Storm:
Gale: Acc
Snow Storm: Endred
Pools
Speed:
Super Speed: Endred
Hasten: Rechred Rechred Rechred
IIRC the build I'm tentatively going with has me taking Hurdle at 12, Health at 14 and (of course!) Freezing Rain at 16. I *think* I'm picking up Steamy Mist at 18 for the full invis (with SS) which will be awesome for positioning for seeds as well as getting close enough to tag the back most mob with Snow Storm. Then the obligatory (esp on a /Storm!) Stamina at 20 and Hurricane at 22.
Once I get Hurricane the pulling/clumping method using Snow Storm will REALLY start working, though I'll need Spirit Tree before I can handle doing +2 or +3 large spawns.
::rubbing hands gleefully::
This is *such* a fun build!
The good news from yesterday: Got and completed the Fortune Teller mission, that will come in handy later as the +end bonus will help IO set bonuses keep up with with the end demands I *know* /Storm is going to make.
Notes for IO set planning:
I'm thinking that +rech is going to be even more important on this build than on most. Carrion Creepers hugely useful, but not up nearly often enough ;-). Same for Spirit Tree, and getting the Roots spamming speed up will make a hugh difference. -
I've finally got a new alt!
Quick background for those that don't know me... My Main is a Mind/Kin from waaaay before Mind or Kin were cool, back in I-2 :-).
I've done just about every Mind/ combo of Pri/Sec both for Controllers and Doms. I've also done just about all the Fire/ Combos for both Controllers and Doms.
Took a break from CoH because I got two fingers on my right hand smashed (to the point where they practically needed to be reattached 0.o ) and using a mouse was awkward if I had to hold the button down for too long. And typing was kinda uncomfortable too.
Anyway, fingers are better (if the tips are still a bit wiggly as there is some missing bone) so I've been dabbling now and again with various of my chars. Recently I got a chance to play with some 41 (ish) variations on Plant/ characters and I found that Plant/Kin was fun, but too fragile. Plant/Storm however was awesome! Though I suspect I was playing it a bit differently than some as I was using Snow Storm quite a bit as well as Spirit Tree.
So I thought I'd start a journal bout my experiences playing Plant/Storm with the intent of eventually FINALLY doing my first Guide (still have plans for doing a confusion guide that covers best confusion targets by lvl ranges).
Anyway, have to go help put the kids to bed... We spent all day building a 20' X 10' turtle pen for the kid's box turtle (complete with pond!) and everyone's a bit wiped.
Viridicane's up to about 11th IIRC, so I'll try to catch up on journal entries later this evening. I'm picturing that the journal will be a bit like Ish's Solo Grav controller project for anyone that remembers that far back ;-)