BoyScout

Hiya folks. Always had good luck searching out help in these forums, so I'm hoping things haven't changed. I've been away from CoH for nearly 2 years. Just came back this week. Yesterday I was playing around with my BS/WD scrapper, who I always enjoyed. He's just 33 and I realized that I could get him some brand new invention IOs to last him to 50. That's where the problem started.

I'd thought it would be a waste to just throw away all those lvl 30 IOs, so I decided to respec. What I didn't count on was that the fitness line is now a gimme. Threw off the build and I ended up taking powers I wasn't sure of, etc. I also wasn't as diligent as I should have been about seeing where all those powers went on my toolbar.

Really hoping someone can provide me a nice build using Speed as main travel power, including slotting up to 50. If you want to additionally provide optimal slotting that would be great, but I'd be happy with just invention slotting, as I can worry about the rest down the road.

If you could also provide a bit of insight as to hotkey placement, if you feel you've found something optimal that would be great. I understand that powers used early on may not be used at 33 or 50, so knowing what should be in my rotation would be very helpful.

Thanks so much for your help.

Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents. As others have said, the costumes look nifty, but they don't say mutant to me, nor do all but one of the emotes. This is the first booster pack I'll be skipping, and I do so without an ounce of regret.

Wow, I asked for mid's build and I certainly got em. Now to decide which way to go

Both have great ideas for me. I do have leaping rather than flight, and I have to keep that. He's a bunny after all.

Curious as to whether either of you actually use Boxing? Heraclea has slotted it, but it's always seemed a throwaway power to get to Tough and Weave. I don't usually bother even putting it on my power bar, let alone putting an enhancement in it. Know something I don't? Seems to me that EM has plenty of decent attacks already. Throw in temps like Sands of Mu and your 36 month reward (if you've got it) and you're more than set with attacks.

Wanted to thank the both of you for your help.

Hey Emporor,

Sorry for the delay with my response. To be honest, I went with EM for the... what did someone call them? The 'pink pompoms of doom'? My tank is a bunny, all in pink and white and I liked the idea of the pink animations.

As for what I want to accomplish with him, I guess what every tank wants, or should want, and that's the be the most effective tank he can be for his team. I want to be indestructible If I can do some decent damage at the same time then that's great. EM has a decent AoE attack, but having another would be nice, as it helps with the taunting.

He's 42 now and I'm still not sure where to take him. If anyone has a mid's build for this AT that would be great.

I made this suggestion awhile back on the costume forum, but figured it might be better here.

My problem first of all with the rocket boots is that there is only one type available. I have many toons who can fly but don't have a logical explanation for how they do so i.e. natural origin toons. As I like to apply that bit of logic to my characters I often use the rocket boots to provide that logic.

However, the rocket boots often look awful with the rest of the costume. Very often. Don't get me wrong, the tech wings are worse, but I have a quick solution which should solve this problem altogether.

Allow us, instead of a rocket boots recipe, to have the jet propulsion animation from the rocket boots emit from the bottom of our feet. This way it can appear on any style footwear we choose.

Simple.

The Epic Battle!

Ok, here's my situation. For years I paid using my CC, but I really liked the opportunity, when it arose, to use PayPal instead.

The problem is, you can't make In-Game purchases thru PayPal. You can purchase booster packs and the like, but Character Transfers or Character Slots? No go.

So, I figure, no biggy - I'll just pay with my credit card. 'You have no credit card on file'. Sigh, gonna be like that are ya? Ok, I'll just add my credit card on file. Only thing is, you can't.

After talking with Billing Support on the phone today I'm informed the only way to get the extra character slots I want to purchase is to cancel my account thru PayPal, then re-activate my account using the credit card, make my purchase, cancel the account, then reactivate it yet again thru PayPal.

Does anyone else think this is the stupidest thing they've ever heard?

Hey! NCSoft! Quick lesson in economics - When people want to give you their money, don't put up roadblocks to their doing so.

I'm supposed to jump thru hurdles to make you richer?

Tell ya what, you fix this problem then give me a call and if you ask nicely I'll give you my $20 bucks for 5 new toon slots. Maybe.

Hiya folks. So I've got this tank I've somehow managed to get up to 42 without really exploring the ins and outs of the powers. No, this isn't an AE toon. He's over a year old and has leveled slowly.

In any case, I'm at the point where I can dip into the epic pool and I realized I have no idea the best direction to go with this guy.

What I was really hoping for was sort of the optimum build for an Inv/EM tanker without going into purple IOs. Currently he's got leaping and fitness. I need to retain leaping for RP reasons, but I'm willing to change anything else.

Anyone have a good build in Mid's they can toss me? Would be much appreciated.

Hiya folks. Was really hoping for a response before this went off the front page, but it didn't happen. So please excuse the bump. Just want to make sure I'm heading in the right direction with my MM as he's very close to 47 now and I don't want to start spending the little money I have on IO sets just to find I've gone wrong.

Taking some advice from Diamant_Noir and others, I've come up with this build. This is pure PVE with my Bruiser doing most of the fighting. This is mostly for solo work, but threw in a couple of team friendly powers as well.

Any feedback much appreciated.

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

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Dark Theodore: Level 50 Natural Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Thugs
Secondary Power Set: Poison
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Call Thugs -- BldM'dt-Acc(A), BldM'dt-Dmg(3), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(3), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(5), EdctM'r-PetDef(7)
Level 1: Alkaloid -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(7), Numna-Heal/Rchg(11), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Mrcl-Heal(50), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(50)
Level 2: Envenom -- AnWeak-DefDeb(A), AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(9), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg(17), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(25), AnWeak-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Achilles-ResDeb%(37)
Level 4: Weaken -- Cloud-ToHitDeb(A), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(9), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(23), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 10: Neurotoxic Breath -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx(11), TmpRdns-Rng/Slow(37), TmpRdns-Acc/Dmg/Slow(39), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(40)
Level 12: Call Enforcer -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), BldM'dt-Acc(13), BldM'dt-Dmg(15), DefBuff-I(15), DefBuff-I(17)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Run-I(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(19), Mrcl-Rcvry+(19), RgnTis-Regen+(43)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(21), P'Shift-End%(43)
Level 22: Gang War -- C'Arms-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), C'Arms-+Def(Pets)(23), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(25), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(40), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 24: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Call Bruiser -- SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg(A), SvgnRt-Dmg/EndRdx(27), SvgnRt-Acc/EndRdx(27), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), SvgnRt-Acc(29), SvgnRt-PetResDam(31)
Level 28: Tactics -- AdjTgt-ToHit(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(31), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(33), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(42), AdjTgt-Rchg(42)
Level 30: Paralytic Poison -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(34), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-%Hold(39)
Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Dual Wield -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(36), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 38: Noxious Gas -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 41: Charged Armor -- S'fstPrt-ResKB(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(42), Aegis-Psi/Status(50)
Level 44: Electrifying Fences -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob(46)
Level 47: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Elixir of Life -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Supremacy

Very cool vid and grats

However, I'm much more interested in your screen. Didn't realize you could get those boxes so small. Can you share how? Also, what was the small readout to the right of your pet window? Finally, what screen resolution are you using?

Don't know enough yet to critique the build, but I do have a couple of questions.

First, you say this is more pve and solo (I assume) farming friendly than the tankerminding build? Why is that?

Second, I'm one of those guys that really hates sacrificing a travel power just for the sake of the 'perfect' build. Since you've chosen Hasten I assume you feel that's a decent power to have, so my question becomes what can you do without there to get Super Speed? Keep in mind that, like you, I do like Dual Wield, if only for cosmetic reasons.

Which brings up a third question - Is it worth slotting DW like that? Or would the slots be better used elsewhere?

Finally, how useful are the Patron Powers? Is that something you'd consider dropping for Super Speed? Or perhaps one of the Medicine powers? If so, what else would you take since you'd then have another 1 or 2 to choose from?

So Diran,

Can you suggest an alternative build? I'm just trying to be the most effective mastermind I can. If that means tanking myself, I'll do that. If it means allowing my bruiser that honor, then I'm up for that too.

The only problem I've come up with tanking myself is keeping agro. I'm guessing Presence would help a bit for that, but then I'd need to take it much earlier. Also, still unsure if I'm properly in Bodyguard mode, as I'm using Defensive/Attack constantly instead of Defensive/Follow.

Also, how helpful is the patron power pool? Is it only necessary if I'm tanking? Which one would be best?

Thanks a lot for the feedback. Couple of quick questions, just off the top of my head.

First, any particular reason to take Leaping over Speed?

Second, saw you took Maneuvers. Was told some time ago to avoid it, as your Enforcer has the same thing.

Third, why slot Gang War so much? I find I rarely use it. Am I missing out on something?

Fourth, why no slots in Noxious Gas? Figured it could use a couple of RechRed and maybe a range or two.

Finally, guessing the answer to the last question lies in the choice of Presence? You're tanking yourself rather than letting your Bruiser do it for you? I'm a bit familiar with the concept (tankerminding, yes? Seen the term thrown around reading back thru these) but not 100% on the application. Does Bodyguard mode work as long as your thugs are in Defensive mode, or only if they are on Defense/Follow? I've been using a macro to send them forward in Defensive/Attack mode and I'm not sure if that actually works.

Hi folks. Sure you get these all the time. I read thru a bunch of the posts but didn't really find what I was looking for there. Poison Pill's guide was helpful, but you probably realize it's a few years out of date. At least I agreed with him about which poison power to take and which to skip.

What I'm looking for at this point is slotting advice and IO advice. My MM just hit 41, although I haven't trained yet because I'm trying to decide on which patron to take, if any. None seem particularly helpful, and my 3 power bars are already so full that I've lots of temp powers that won't fit.

I'm not rich by any means, so I won't be getting any purples unless I get very lucky, but besides that was hoping someone could give me a good build to which to aspire.

Currently, in addition to thug/poisons, I have Speed, Leadership, and Teleport. I'm open to changing Speed and/or Teleport if you find it necessary. Right now I have a mixture of plain lvl 35 and 40 IOs. No sets, just the basic ones. I won't want to start adding IO sets until I'm 47, but figured to start planning now.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Dark Theodore
Infinity Server
(yes, he's an evil chipmunk)

p.s. Hey, as a quick aside, anyone know how I can change my Forum name? With the migration they've added that _NA for some reason and I'd like to know how to get rid of it.

I'd like to address an idea that's been running thru my head for awhile now.

I wonder about the possibility of being able to go back and correct mistakes made during character creation.

For instance, on a few occasions I've made toons and selected an origin for their powers, only to have the character develop in such a way that when I write up a bio for them, I realize that I've chosen the wrong origin.

I guess it doesn't seem like a big deal, but as I often RP it just bugs me that my backstory isn't consistent with my character details. Perhaps you could offer a one time token for a change with the completion of a mission arc or even a small fee.

Along the same line is the issue of character height. I can change scale if I realize later that I've made a mistake of some sort, but I've got several toons where I've just realized after the fact that they are too tall or too short.

You obviously have a reason for not allowing people to change this at the tailor, so would it be possible again to charge a small fee to have this changed once by you folks?

Sorry if this should have gone elsewhere, but I looked around and didn't see an appropriate thread.

I'd like to suggest a couple of additions to toon voices. Several of my toons are in teen type SGs, so their ages range from about 10-14. The devs have given us the opportunity to create these great sidekick type toons by giving us young faces, etc.

However, it's very disconcerting to be playing a kid toon and hit the jump button and get this Conan-type grunt. For those of us who RP a lot it really sorta brings you out of the character.

Seems to me there should be at least 3 new voices added. One each for young males and females, and an even deeper one than we have currently for huge toons.

In fact, now that I think about it, I'm betting there would be a bunch of folks out there who would appreciate a more animalistic type of growl for those toons who aren't quite human.

You obviously don't have to hire professional voice actors for long speeches like other games use, but that should encourage you to provide more choices for the few grunts and moans we do get to provide a bit of reality to our toons.

I'm sure a quick session with a few devs who are players themselves would generate a decent list of voice possibilities which players could select at the time of toon generation.

Just a thought.

Can I assume from what I'm reading here that the butt cape is the only new costume piece included in this issue besides the unlockable ones from doing new architect missions?

Starting to make me wonder why I bother posting in the costume request thread if our posts are going to continually be ignored. Yes, many people have requested butt capes and it's a good thing (although I couldn't personally care less) that Jay has finally added them, but what about the other hundreds of requests, some of which have been looked for now for years?

Each time a new issue comes out with only a couple of throwaway costume pieces I die a little inside.

People have been asking me if I'm going to go try Champions. I keep saying no. My answer has been, if, after 6 months or so people are still talking about, maybe I'll try it then. However, I've just heard they have a fantastic toon generator, and frankly that's at least half the reason I play this game.

Get on the ball, devs, or many of us will be getting off. The... uh... ball. Oh, heck, you know what I mean.

On guys, the 2nd chest choice, Straps 1, fails to meet all the way around. There's a gap there on all 3 straps. A fix would be much appreciated.

First let me say that I love this guide. It's been invaluable.

I've only had one occasion to disagree with anything in it so far, and figured I'd put this here for anyone who cares enough to read this far (I myself cheated and didn't read the last 3 pages, sorry if someone else has mentioned this).

In the 30-34 arc it's suggested you do Rise of the Vampyri. I disagree. Keep in mind that this is coming from an MA/Regen Scrapper.

The problem with this arc is mostly the travel issue. There is a LOT of travel. The contact is on the far side of Founder's Falls, along the same wall as Eden. Good little hike to the train thru lots and lots of purple conning mobs. Even if you use the crystal trick to tp to your contact, you then have to get to the mish and that means running thru all those rikti and crey.

It gets worse. The missions are all over the place. It may be random, but my missions were in Bricks, Founders, King's Row, Steel Canyon, Skyway, and a couple other places I'm sure I'm forgetting. That's a ton of running on the first 2 runs where you have no travel powers (no travel for first run, AT only for 2nd).

The missions aren't that bad. Council is pretty easy, even with wolves and vamps. There's one kill all, but it's a pretty small map. Still, with the travel it took me hours to complete the thing.

Given all that, I decided to experiment. So I tried Hatred’s Hungry Heart. Sooooo much easier. Yes, there are some self healing Champion Tuatha, but set to heroic and running solo, these were cake.

First mish was rescue a guy. Make sure you clear a path to the door as he's a suicidal fighter type and you already have to deal with 4 ambushes. You don't want anything on top of that.

Second mish was one where you have to free 4 Tuatha from some witches. Hardest part is finding them. The 3 times I did it the Tuatha were always on the wooden platforms. Think that's always going to be the case. Still very easy, but witches drain end, so careful.

Then you have 2 missions where you have to kill, alternately, 10 Fir Bolg, and 10 Red Caps. These are zone kills (the whole arc takes place in Croatoa - no travel) and will all be grey to you. Only trick is, you have to kill them in a certain area. Two tips... for the Fir Bolgs, as you are facing your contact and the lake (can't remember which way she faces, so be facing the lake) turn right and back (so if the lake is north, go SE), and you'll circle into the woods. The pumpkin guys turn into little orange trees. Or they will be hiding in trees.

For the red caps, head back to contact and again face the lake (which we're assuming is north) You'll want to go west this time. There is a river that runs between two high banks. You'll find red caps up on either side of the bank and some below if you are lucky. DON'T kill them on the banks. It's considered out of the area. Pull them down into the little gorge and kill them there.

After that you have a final mission. Destroy 3 henges. You can ignore the mobs fighting around them as they are mostly concerned with killing each other anyway. 3 henges and you're done. That's it. Super easy compared to the Vamp arc.

Hope that helps someone.

[ QUOTE ]
Put BNY in a baby carrier on our back or front cuz he is ALWAYS getting stuck/lost merges into walls, doorway etc let us CARRY him = SO MUCH BETTER!!

[/ QUOTE ]

The only way he gets stuck is if you run to the exit without him. I've done this mish hundreds of time and he's never gotten stuck. Turn off your travel power and he'll be just fine.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
BNY mission and in general, fix the escort AI. Escorts should follow like pets and stop when they encounter mobs. 'Nuff said.

I avoid escort missions like the plague and drop them whenever I can because of the garbage AI.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand the problems people are having with the BNY escort. I've done this mish a few hundred times this year and haven't had a single problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

In my experience, the "problem" w/ NPCs that have to follow you only occurs when people want to just free the NPC, then run off back to the goal at full speed. They don't want to make the frequent stops to let the NPC catch up, since it's slower.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, heck, that's not a problem. That's just the way things is.

[ QUOTE ]
BNY mission and in general, fix the escort AI. Escorts should follow like pets and stop when they encounter mobs. 'Nuff said.

I avoid escort missions like the plague and drop them whenever I can because of the garbage AI.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand the problems people are having with the BNY escort. I've done this mish a few hundred times this year and haven't had a single problem.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't believe halos should be auras at all. They either belong under hats (assuming you can fix the hair issue) or under Head Detail 1. Why should I get screwed out of using a regular aura when I finally do hit 30? I had my angel's 'heavenly aura' already picked out in my head and now I'll have to decide between that and a halo. Not fair. Put em under Head Detail 1 and you solve all the problems people seem to have with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Same thing with the ear muffs. Why are they under Detail 1 and not hats? Having to choose one or the other I can't keep my ears warm and protect my eyes from the blinding snow at the same time. This is poor design IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]Or under Ears. Granted, the pointy eared folks would then be unable to use them, but considering it is intended to cover ears, folks with large pointy ears wouldn't really benefit quite as much from the covering that these things would provide.

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem with Ears is that many of the ears are not in a place which would be physically covered by the earmuffs. Rat ears for example. Now it's possible that players who have rat ears on a toon wouldn't want to use earmuffs which cover an area of the head which supposedly boasts no ears, but who's to say?