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Defender >> Ice Blast >> Ice Storm: Using the blaster version
Defender >> Ice Blast >> Blizzard: Using the blaster version

Hm, well I'm playing a Night Widow which can provide a good 23% defense on top of the Blood Widow's inherent 5%, for a not great, but still pretty decent 28% defense total. On top of that I'll have Aid Other. That's probably good enough support to keep it alive without too much worry, isn't it? And maybe it wouldn't be too useful in large teams, but when I'm in a big group that usually means I'm on a TF with people I know and we're steamrolling anyway. I just really like the flavor of being an Arachnos grunt who has the ability to call for other Arachnos grunts to come help.

The thing that really worries me though is its travel abilities, really. By the time I get patron powers I'll probably be spending only a few seconds on each spawn, and if the pet is still chasing after me by the time I'm finishing off that last lieutenant, I can see how it might be limited in use.

I keep hearing about how much they suck, and that they're only good as set mules, but I looked up the Blood Widow's powers on City of Data and it looks like she does a solid 40 DPS, unenhanced. And with set bonuses and recharge enhancements, she's up at least half of the time. That is a considerable boost to anyone's total damage. Is it because they die too quickly? Does their AI suck? The numbers look really good to me but I've had no experience, so could somebody tell me if I'm overlooking something?

Is resistance debuff affected by the purple patch? The reason I ask is because resistance debuff is the exception for AVs resisting everything, so I wondered if it applied to purple patches as well.

Night Widows satisfy 1, 2, 3, and 5 handily. For number 4, widows are squishy in their teens and have some difficulty on anything besides challenge setting 1. By the twenties they start getting reasonable defense and by the thirties you will become nigh unkillable. And for number 6, Night Widows need softcapped defenses to be AMAZING in the defense department which requires some set bonuses, although I would estimate that it would cost no more than 20 million inf. Otherwise, they will be just "pretty okay" in defense but still have ridiculous offense no matter what.

Can't comment on the other SoAs since I only have experience with Widows.

[censored] grapefruit

I slotted the Ragnarok proc in Caltrops and it works great. Maybe the LTs you were fighting have knockback protection?

I was under the impression that the heal was actually "negative unenhanceable psi damage", so while it wouldn't be affected by damage enhancements, it would heal less if the enemy has psi resists.

I felt it would be worthwhile to point out that Mids' Hero Designer automatically assumes the target is contained when displaying the damage on epic powers. For all other powers, you can either toggle containment on or off (from clicking the Totals tab and then the Containment inherent power), but the epic power damages are doubled even when it is off. This led me to believe that epic powers deal way more damage than I thought they did originally, but it turns out most of them don't do much more damage than your immob and hold powers. Don't be fooled!

Perhaps this is old news already, but I didn't see anything anywhere about it and thought it would be helpful for new controllers who rely on Mids.

Yep, there's no "right way" and you should, indeed, play in whatever way you happen to like best (although I would frown upon powerlevelling from 1 to 50 without pausing to actually learn how to play your character). That said, if you're looking for good arcs to play pre-20, here are two that I recommend:

Flux the Outcast (5-9): I think this is the first time in a hero's career where you really get to feel "super". Okay, no one likes running around the Hollows without a travel power, but the last mission looks cool and it's a unique map, so you won't see it again except in AE and via Flashback.

All of the Faultline story arcs (starts at level 15): There's several of these, but I tend to think of them all as one massive story arc because they tie in to each other. You get introduced to characters that you can actually give a damn about, not these random faceless contacts. The plot here actually progresses and resembles something like a plot you might find in a book. Oh, and a couple of people you meet here show up again later in high-level content, which is cool.

But again, this is all personal preference, so your mileage may vary.

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Unless I've been missing something, Voids/Quants/Cysts/Dwarfs/Novas aren't all that common enough to be discouraging. My wife and I run into them often enough to keep us on our toes and still surprised when we see one, but not to the point that we're always looking out for them. Though we did get a good surprise the first time we ran into a Cyst... On a Synapse... In the boss room... Thankfully we had a team with a good sense of humor and ability to take it out after regrouping.

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Hey, I was on that team! I believe I was the one who said, after our second team wipe where we took the Cyst down with us, "...I have no regrets". Because that was awesome. Keep on trucking and don't listen to the haters, squid-lobster-guy.

I would really really like to have one more power, but since I can't seem to get that last experience point to level 51, I need to make a decision. The powers in question are: Deceive, Spectral Terror, Spectral Wounds, Mind Over Body, Mutation, Flash, and Psionic Tornado.

Deceive: Lets me slot cheap confuse purple sets, add more control, and do things that controllers without confuse simply can't do (whittle down a group-sized spawn solo, recruit Rikti Guardians and Cimeroran Surgeons).
Spectral Terror: Slot cheap fear sets, looks cool, excellent always up control.
Spectral Wounds: Gives me a full ST attack chain, and would be my ONLY damage power (not counting PA) when I exemp to 30's or lower.
Mind Over Body: Shields are nice, but I don't get hit much anyway so maybe this one...? I've never not taken an epic shield on a squishy before though.
Mutation: Awakens and other people with rez powers...? But Mutation's also got a nice buff with it, and I have Recall Friend which synergizes somewhat. And some people just sit there when they die out of laziness, so if I rez them they won't have an excuse. Also I know people say you shouldn't be dying in the first place, but if that's the case then my control powers are redundant too.
Flash: Stacks with EMP to hold bosses, also with the crazy amount of recharge I have it comes up every 63 seconds and holds for 27 seconds, which ain't shabby. Or I could alternate Flash and EMP for a hold every spawn, but maybe since I have soft controls, the hard controls are redundant...?
Psionic Tornado: No easy AoE containment to go with it, but looks cool, is my only AoE damage attack, and the knockup is good mitigation.

I am torn between these excellent powers! But, like a terrible reality show, one of them has to go! Here is my build, for reference. The slotting is not set in stone.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blind -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(3), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Dct'dW-Heal(9)
Level 2: Radiation Infection -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(11), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(11), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(13)
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13), EndMod-I(15), EndMod-I(15), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(17)
Level 6: Recall Friend -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Deceive -- CoPers-Conf/Rchg(A), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(19), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(21), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(21), CoPers-Conf%(23)
Level 10: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(19)
Level 12: Superior Invisibility -- Krma-ResKB(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17), EndRdx-I(36)
Level 14: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Phantom Army -- ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(23), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(25), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), S'bndAl-Build%(27)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(29), P'Shift-End%(29)
Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 24: Teleport -- Jnt-Rng(A), Jnt-EndRdx/Rng(31)
Level 26: Spectral Terror -- U'spkT-Acc/Rchg(A), U'spkT-EndRdx/Fear(31), U'spkT-Acc/EndRdx(31), U'spkT-Fear/Rng(33), U'spkT-Acc/Fear/Rchg(33)
Level 28: Lingering Radiation -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(A), Acc-I(33), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 30: Spectral Wounds -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(36), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 32: Phantasm -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), BldM'dt-Acc(37), BldM'dt-Dmg(46)
Level 35: Flash -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(37), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(37), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg(39), G'Wdw-Acc/Rchg(39)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(40), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(40), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(40), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(42)
Level 41: Mental Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(45), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(46)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Indomitable Will -- RechRdx-I(A), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(50), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment

I wanted to make an /SR scrapper to solo AVs with, and having already tried out Martial Arts and Broadsword, wanted another thematic pairing with /SR. I settled on claws as "feeling fast like someone with super reflexes might be", and then decided that a cat-theme would be a good concept for Claws/SR.

Only later did I find out about the reputation of catgirls, and even though I wasn't on Virtue or even RPing at all, I'm too embarrassed to play lvl 50 Claws/SR on teams anymore, even if she can solo pretty much any AV that's not hugely lethal resistant or has auto-hitting attacks. *sigh* I should just stick with cyborgs and wizards and such.

I found this formula for threat on Paragon Wiki:
Threat = Damage * Debuff Mod * AT Mod * AI Mod * Range Mod * (TauntDurationRemaining * 1,000)

However, according to this, if you do 0 damage to something, no matter how much you've debuffed or taunted an enemy, your threat rating will still be 0. Yet, you can clearly grab aggro without doing damage, via Taunt or a damage-less debuff. My assumption is that the value for "Damage" is floored at 1, which is a little weird. Is this correct?

This holds true for TauntDurationRemaining also. If you didn't taunt something then your attacks also wouldn't generate any threat, which seems not to be the case. My guess is (TauntDurationRemaining*1000) is also floored at 1. Is it?

Also, if a controller (AT Mod=1) uses Super Speed (Reduces AT Mod by 1), their AT Mod will be zero and thus they will totally stop generating threat no matter what they do. Isn't this awesome for say, that fire/fire blaster who keeps drawing too much aggro off of his less squishy teammates? Yet people don't seem to talk about it. Why is that?

Finally, regarding the argument of "Taunt does not absolutely ensure that you have aggro". We have the formula, why do people disagree so much? A Taunt effect with 2 seconds left will, all other things considered, generate as much threat as 2000 damage (assuming Damage is floored at 1), which is huge. That's like, twice the damage of a fully slotted Inferno, which I'm pretty sure even bosses can't survive. When you actually do damage (easily done to a bunch of mobs with just one AoE attack), the threat generated with Taunt gets even more ridiculous. And this is without even counting the fact that Tanks have 5 times the AT Mod of Blasters. Am I missing something here or do people just not look at this formula when they say they regularly peel aggro off of something a Tanker taunted?

I hear a lot about Indomitable Will, and had a question regarding it. I remember hearing some time ago that certain mez protection powers would be usable while mezzed, in effect turning them into break frees. Is Indomitable Will one of these?

I used Hover on my stormy so I could get an overhead view of the battlefield (nice for seeing the best place to place things) and so that Gale could be used for damage mitigation without scattering. One complaint that I have with Hurricane is that if you have even a little altitude, you can't see what's going on below you because you have this gray ring blanketing everything from sight. Now, that's actually fairly minor considering how powerful Hurricane is, but it's just one more thing to think about.

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I think Smoke Grenade causes aggro if that proc goes off.

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This is true. I slotted the -recharge proc in Smoke Grenade and thought I was a genius, until I realized that it made Smoke Grenade draw aggro, and that it almost always goes off on at least one mob.

By the way, I tested out Rise of the Phoenix in game with the hit rolls being shown, and the Phoenix's attack is, indeed, autohit. Stun, damage, knockback and all.

Thanks for the fast response, I guess set IOs are the key here then.

According to Mids, Rise of the Phoenix doesn't take accuracy enhancements. Yet, when I check City of Data, it appears to summon a pseudopet (the Phoenix) which does its attack at base accuracy. I'm not seeing anything that suggests that it's an autohit attack. So,

1. Is it, in fact, an autohit attack?
2. If it isn't, does slotting say, an Acc/Dam set IO help the Phoenix's accuracy?