_Bobsy

Ouch. It had better have a VERY big control output then.

Oh thanks. I'll have to give it a look. I think our control room is stretched to its limit with mainframes at the moment.

Only if Lord Recluse becomes a patron.

My SG unlocked this last night, and I was wondering what the thing actually is. Presumably it's another [censored] defensive doodad, since it doesn't show up in any of the other categories (we have no defensive rooms, so I couldn't tell for sure).

Can anyone shed any light on what this thing actually does?

If this is running I'll join in with my level 24 brute. On the other hand, we should be getting freespecs with the upcoming patch (which should be coming alongside the winter event, so pretty sharpish), so I don't think it's quite so urgent at the moment.

We found Caleb in the end. He moves at a fair pace, was in fact high above the water well away from Thorn Isle, and can only be seen if you're pretty close. Considering he spawns so high up that's kinda silly.

Um. Yes. Short notice. And I really can't do it tonight or tomorrow night either. Some time in the week perhaps?

I have a level 24 brute who's duh-duh-duh-desperate for a respec. Is the lower cap 25?

[ QUOTE ]
I think it was Chain Control and Blade Assault that the devs referred to, as a new paired set?

I don't think they had the ninja ideal in mind, but the above sets are a fantastic idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

Blade Assault sounds intriguing... possibly the reason they've held back on broadswords for brutes/stalkers?

First off, you may want to post this in the Villains board.

I have an AoE sleep on my Plant dominator. It's not all that useful in a group fight to be honest, though it can come in handy while soloing and escaping nasty situations. The plus side of sleep powers is that they tend to be relatively accurate, and last a good long while as well.

Firstly, ninjas are always boring. You can tell because they can be described in a single word: ninja.

"So what's your CoV character?"
"Ninja"
"Oh."

Aaaanyway, dark armour is endurance heavy, sure, but not critically so, especially if you turn off unecessary buffs depending on enemy damage types. If ninjistu is like SR, then it does offer protection against psych, because it offers defense against melee/ranged rather than actual damage type.

The other thing to take into account is that a defense-based secondary can let you re-hide mid fight without using placate (if you're lucky), but a resistance-based set will not. Ever.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head there. Couple of things though:

Dark armour has a pretty useful self-heal in the form of Dark Regeneration, which does a hefty heal for every enemy hit in the AoE. Just remember to slot for endurance, and it becomes a lifesaver, literally. The downside is that DA NEEDS to self-heal more often. I have it on my brute though, and love it.

Oh, and the gadgets in ninjitsu are a little hit and miss, not *quite* as useful as you'd like them to be. Personally I prefer the autopowers from super reflexes.

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, most combos do work, but I mean.... Plant Ice... hmm... the Back story is...? An abominable snowman that also liked to bungee jump into Fly Traps?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a plant/ice dom. He's called Lord Winter. He's all about winteryness. See?

As for advice, at first I was absolutely disgusted with the weakness of vines - short hold time, poor accuracy, massive recharge time, but then I slotted it for duration, and combined it with Power Boost, Domination and a yellow inspiration, and dear lord was that effective. I mean, REALLY effective.

That said, the most effective tactic I've found so far is to open with seeds of confusion, and when they inevitably try to melee attack each other and get in close together, smack down an ice sword circle power. Then pick the rest off at your leisure. Job done. Try not to cackle maniacly.

And a good time was had by all. I ended the evening in the best way possible, by getting hit by Statesman so hard I actually fell off the server.

I'm not kidding.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Stealth + parry is a good combination. Around the low levels minions have serious problems hitting you.

[/ QUOTE ]Stealth is very low DEF buff, and half of the bonus is supressed in combat, making it even further useless.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, no. Not useless, not even a bit. Stealth first came to my attention fighting Longbow Specops and Knives of Artemis. I noticed that I wasn't hitting as often. Put it on my broadsword / regen scrapper and found that - hey! I wasn't being hit as often. Magic! Combined with parry, it's pretty damn useful, I've got to say.

Of course the defence buff isn't going to stack up against primary / secondary buffs - it's a pool power, and they're by their very nature not as strong. But add a defence buff to a build that's intended to survive combat without any defence buffs and you've got a very potent combination.

Also, it makes getting around the Hollows a lot easier before you get a travel power.

Stealth + parry is a good combination. Around the low levels minions have serious problems hitting you.

I'll sign up too. I know Merik would cry without me. Besides you clearly need someone of intelligence on this adventure. Quest. Thing.

Ysbo - Ninja blade / super reflex stalker
(@Bobsy)

Go for Seeds of Confusion first, deffo. But bear in mind that it's not AoE, it's a cone attack. Still great, but requires slightly more careful aiming to get right.

Spore Burst is not as useless as some would have you believe. It's handy for getting out of a tight spot, and also good if you've got stalkers with you. They can get criticals off slept enemies, but not confused enemies.

Another disadvantage to regen is that you're ALWAYS getting hit. If you're getting hit you can't re-hide without using placate.

My personal preference is super-reflex, because the idea of hardly EVER getting hit thoroughly appeals to me. There's nothing wrong with regen, but I just feel that being able to dodge bullets is somehow... cooler.

Shadow Fall makes you and everyone around you turn semi-transparent. This makes you all look RIDICULOUS. And if, like me, you take plenty of screenshots, you'll find that powers like this and Steamy Mist utterly ruin it.

Anything that makes you have *less fun*, like ruining the look of your character, should be entered into with extreme caution.

[ QUOTE ]
Hold enemy b

[/ QUOTE ]

Not helpful for those first 43 levels though.

You can get away with 'leccy, but those draw times will be a bugger if you're not careful. Be prepared to sacrifice some of the secondary powers, like the melee attacks, and prepare your attack chains carefully so you don't need to keep getting the damn bow out over and over.

As kitty says, Stalkers are kinda like the anti-brutes. Brtutes get stronger and stronger as a fight progresses, while stalkers actually get weaker after that first strike. Duoing with a brute can lead to quite a lot of friction:

"C'mon c'mon we gotta get to the next mob while my fury's still up!"
"No, we've got to wait a few seconds for me to hide."
"I KILL YOU! I KILL YOU IN THE FACE! Huh, where'd you g-"
*stab*