ClawsandEffect

What worked for me (I used to hate being Speed Boosted too)is this: Create a character or use your second build, and take the travel power Super Speed. Leave it on at all times for a while until you are used to navigating with it. After a while Speed Boost will not bother you anymore.

It has several benefits other than just making you run faster. It also increases the recharge on your powers so you can attack faster, and it increases your recovery speed so you will regain endurance faster.

I love Speed Boost now, but I do insist that my teammates either warn me or wait until I am stationary to SB me so I don't rocket into the next mob because I was unaware that I was about to be Speed Boosted.

I've found that, as long as my defense isn't being debuffed, more often than not OGloom is the ONLY damage I'm taking, which having Health makes up for nicely.

If I find that OGloom is counterproductive at the moment I just shut it off.

I just really really really dislike Cloak of Fear. It's the only power in the set that needs to be slotted in order to be useful. I wouldn't hate the power so much if the devs hadn't gimped it and left it that way when they removed the original problem (which was everything running away from you when hit with it) Once they fixed that they never returned the power to it's original state.

On my build I'm just barely endurance sustainable, and even then in long fights I start to feel it. Cloak of Fear is just too much end burned for too little return, and I really dislike taking powers just for use as a set mule. I did it with Boxing because I didn't have much choice in the matter. If I'd had extra slots I'd have taken Kick instead and slotted 4 Kinetic Crash in it for some more KB protection.

If you really like the power and can't find any way to replace those bonuses, by all means, keep it. I just dislike a power I have to slot that much before I can use. Any other toggle just needs 1 end reduction and 1 accuracy to be useful, CoF needs a lot more.

Ridiculously seldom is about the only thing that's been figured out. Purples drop more often than PvP recipes do, on average. (This is because there are criteria or PvP drops, while any level 47 or above NPC that is not in an AE mission can drop a purple at any time)

From what I've heard, they have about the same actual percentage as a purple drop, but since there are conditions that must be met for a PvP recipe they drop much less often in practice.

Purple drop chances are about 1 in 5000 if I remember correctly. I don't recall the percentage exactly, but you should get one drop for every 5000 enemies defeated on average.

In Avatar's case the story takes a back seat to the visuals of the movie. A new 3D camera was developed to shoot it, which is part of the reason it took so long to get made.

The story is nothing special, but in terms of movie making it was indeed groundbreaking. A movie can have a great story and be awesomely written, but if the visuals suck, it will be a crappy movie. And besides, what was the last movie that was truly original and didn't recycle the same stuff as 30 other movies from the last 25 years? It's all been done before, nowadays it's just a matter of figuring out how to do the same damn thing a little bit different.

James Cameron's last blockbuster was nothing more than Romeo and Juliet on a boat. That didn't stop it from being huge.

Avatar is heralded as a great movie because of the visual aspect of it, not because of the story. The story is basic and doesn't intrude too much on the awesomeness of what's going on on the screen, which was kind of the point.

I expect it to win several Oscars, especially in the technical categories. I don't think it deserves Best Picture, but it will probably get it if nothing else comes along that generates as much interest.

Not to mention comic book precedent. Sabretooth is a claws/WP brute. Venom is also sometimes a claws brute, depending on if he's making his symbiote sharp and pointy. I don't know DC characters that well, but I'm sure someone over there would fit the description fairly well.

CoH powersets seem to be given a yay or nay depending on whether a superhero has ever had those abilities (among many other considerations)

Also, if Corruptors ever get Psi blast, it will most likely be the defender version. My reasoning? They got Dark Blast unchanged from the defender's version of it. And since Dark and Psi are the only 2 sets originally designed exclusively for defenders, it stands to reason that an AT that got one unchanged would also get the other.

Except that Widows were designed from the ground up with that feature, it's highly unlikely the devs will add a 10th power to one set because some people don't like the fact that Soul Drain is inferior to Build Up in most PvP scenarios. You know as well as I do that as soon as that happens people will be clamoring for a 10th power for their favorite set, with the reason being "Dark Melee got one!" Can't say I'd blame the devs for not wanting to deal with that.

Really, in most of the game Soul Drain is superior to Build Up in every way. Especially for brutes, who can utilize it as an effective AoE when they have a full or nearly full fury bar.

It's just PvP where it lags behind, and more because it's difficult to use effectively than because it lacks punch.

My point being: You were killed with one attack by someone you did not know was there.

I remember stalkers oneshotting, it made me avoid PvP for over a year until I ran across the information that they couldn't do that any more. It still aggravates the hell out of me when I'm fighting someone and either get ASed out of nowhere or my opponent does. The stalker gets the rep and does almost nothing to earn it. It's especially annoying when it's a scrapper vs. brute fight in it's 7th or 8th minute that is ended in such a way.

My original point in response to the OP was that it is perfectly fair for a stalker to need a pool power and an IO to counteract the pool power and IO that was taken in order to see him.

And what happens to any PBAoE damage sets you may have in Soul Drain when you enter a PvP zone? Do they just disappear when your power switches to being Build Up, which can't slot them? I'd be pretty mad if I had a purple set in there, entered a PvP zone, and found out my purples were just....gone.

Electric Melee does not involve a weapon of any kind. Claws, Dual Blades, and Spines a use the dual weapon combat mode, which precludes the use of a shield. The culprits in the case of Spines are Barb Swipe and Ripper at least, as they make use of the left hand node that needs to be free for a shield.

The reason some powersets have animations that use both hands is because those animations do not involve a weapon being in the node on the left arm, leaving it free to have a shield there.

I often use Maneuvers to get me the last couple percentage points toward softcapping if it's too expensive/not possible to do it with IOs.

I'm planning on taking it with my Ill/FF troller to add defense to Phantasm (by my math I should be able to get him within 5% of the softcap between FF powers, Maneuvers, and the unique pet IOs)

There are all kinds of valid reasons to take Maneuvers, it just depends on what your goal is with the toon.

No, the most common stalker tactic I see these days is waiting until someone else softens you up and ASing you while your attention is focused elsewhere. If half your HP is already gone an AS will drop anything but a scrapper, tank, or brute.

I was referring specifically to those players who do nothing BUT PvP.

There are at least a few I've seen in the PvP section who have stated that they hate the fact that they even have to PLAY PvE content to level their characters that they PvP with.

That's the "hardcore" crowd I was talking about. The ones who are here for PvP and nothing else. They are an extreme minority nowadays, granted, but they are still in existence.

There are a number of useful IOs that can go in this power. Probably getting ahead of myself mentioning it since the OP is so new, but I couldn't let it go unsaid. Kismet +Acc is great in here, combined with Targeting Drone it will get you at or close to 95% to-hit. (Which is important if you want to hit things higher level than you consistently) Karma KB Protection is another useful one, which actually stands a good chance of dropping just playing between 10 and 30. Personally I 6 slotted it with Red Fortune, but my Sonic/Devices is a hover-blaster that is sitting close to the soft cap for ranged.

I like to use this as a mini nuke on teams after the tank (if there is one) has gathered the mob. If the tank wants to herd I'll drop one where he is bringing them to.

I LOVE this power, though it doesn't get used very often. I use it when I'm fighting a single hard target to add a little more DPS that doesn't cost me endurance. Also, it gives a HUGE defiance boost, so if you drop one at the beginning of a fight your first few attacks will hit like a truck. I really really wish that A) the cast time were lower, and B) that you could summon it mid-air.

I didn't get a chance to throw together a Mid's build for you, as we got buried in snow where I live and I spent all day shoveling.

Quick slotting advice until I get around to doing that:

You will only need one accuracy in your attacks in most situations with Targeting Drone running.

Slot 3 damage in the following powers: Shriek, Scream, Shout, and Howl. Siren's Song and Screech should not be slotted for damage, since the damage they do is pathetic (and not the point of the powers anyway)

I usually round out my slotting with 1 end reduction and 1 recharge.

Amplify should get 3 recharge. It is the only damage boosting power you get (but not as much as Build Up) and you wantit back as fast as possible.

I actually disagree with the poster that said end reduction isn't worth it in toggles. I find that is very much not the case. At least one end reduction should go in both Targeting Drone and Cloaking Device (I put 2 in, but I usually have the extra slots to play with) If you run a lot of toggles like I do having them cost less individually is nice.

I usually don't slot Web Grenade beyond one accuracy, but if you do so one accuracy and 1-2 immobilize durations will do. I don't recommend putting more than 3 slots in it (total)

Caltrops should get 1-2 recharges, and maybe a slow or two. I've seen a few builds with multiple damage procs in it, but for a new player I'm trying to avoid going too deep into IOs.

Gun Drone should get 2 accuracies and 3 damage if you take it. It already recharges within it's own duration, so it doesn't need recharge. I say 2 accuracies because it is unaffected by Targeting Drone's boost (as are Trip Mine and Time Bomb)

Trip Mine can be slotted several ways depending on how you want to use it. If you want to lay minefields, slot 1 acc, 3 dam, 2 recharge. If you only plan on using it occasionally, 2 acc and 3 damage. I say less accuracy in planting minefields because of accuracy by volume, get enough blowing up at once and you'll probably hit most of what you want to hit.

I'll get into pool powers later, as I'm out of time on my break again