Da_Captain

You have to be evil

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Soul_Mastery#Soul_Storm

Ninjas get Smoke Flash = Guaranteed Crits (perma)

Zombies get Soul Extraction = Extra Pet

Thug get Gang War = mini army of disposible minions

Robots get repair = a full pet heal (on top of all the defenses and mitigation they get)

Then you get Mercs

Serum = turning your pet into a minute tank, one minute of very resistances. You are suppose to be a killing machine, but +7.5% to damage doesn't make you a killing machine and with a 1000sec recharge time, even at the recharge cap you would still have a two minute wait.

Mercs get the shortend of the stick when it comes to damage, defenses, controls, and a teir 7 power. They are easily outshined by any other primary.

Tried a Merc/Trap, but Thug/Trap seemed to go better. Tried Merc/FF but the Nin/FF and the Bots/FF needed to resummon less if at all other than Zoning and spent less time in the hosp if at all. I was sure when Pain Dom came out that was going to be it for them but my ninja/pain is much better.

Not Trying to say Mercs is a bad set, I love em, it is just, what do they shine at, what are they better at than the other Primaries.

Personally Serum needs a fix, like an increase in damage and increase in duration or decrease in recharge or both and a change in the Spec Ops.

Powerboost plus the fact that with a couple of primaries you will have 2 AoE Stuns and a readily available AoE Immo, the likelyhood of taking damage would be low, and getting it to a permadom level with two AoE stuns that would auto stun even bosses would probably make you a great asset on a lot of teams. Fire/Earth is going to probably be a great set considering you get Flashfire, Hot Feet, 2 ST holds, Fissure, Mud Pots, and 3 little damage dealers.

On my MA/Willpower I 3 slotted CJ and SJ with BotZ for 3.13 range and AoE defense good return for the slots I must say.

Also just a quick question, SoW is skippable? I always thought it was a good power, but I am going to revamp my build when I get home and check and see what it is like and try to take out another two powers so I can get stamina because Willpower toggles plus the fighting pool seem to require high amounts of recovery and I don't have the Numina's IO yet.

So I guess they are saving Illusion(of some type) and electric control as added powersets for later on, oh well maybe next time.

I don't know about secondary, but I am pretty sure for a fact that Fire is the most damaging primary, You got Hot Feet and Fire Imps, some contraversy was to Plant/ vs Fire/ but those creepers and the extra damage of the AoE hold don't compare to those two powers and considering fire is the least resisted in the game more than likely most times when you are looking for damage Fire is where it is.

Again I wouldn't know about secondaries, but I have heard the for ST /Energy is now coming ahead, as for AoE I would think Fire, because you have Fire Breath which has been buffed.

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Also what helps Bane dps is the 2 pets they get, and the -res increases their damage as well.

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I do think that the "pets" that the Bane has access to "should" be included into all damage figures as well as "mitigation" figures. It can be hard to do this calculation, but I think they should be added to the results to make them complete.

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Thank you, it seems they are added to Crabs but most people seem to forget that Banes have access to them as well, even though Crabs get more, Banes do better dps and don't need as many.

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Sigh... this again. To start off with, all the SoA are awesome and I've never understood the need to ignore that Forts, Crabs and NW have clear advantages over Banes.

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I have never understood why people think that Banes are so low on the totem pole. Yeah Crabs have more defense but their offense is poor and typically depends on pets to help add to dps, which also Banes have some access to.

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Night Widows have no mitigation in their attacks, which banes have stuns, a hold, and knockdown. This helps not only the Bane survive but any teammates as well. One major way this is important is the ability to de-toggle nasty debuffs or buffs that enemies may use (hurricane, chill of the night, invincibility).

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False. NW have very high levels of -recharge which they can stack up on a tough enemy in seconds. It's quite amazing when you see a mob running away because it no longer has any attacks recharged.

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Yeah I guess, if you look at it like that. But, I would go the route of saying that they don't have more mitigation or as much as Banes and although they haves ways of slowing down attacks, Banes have ways of stopping them altogether, mainly to offset the passive defense that Widows have with Active defense.

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Having access to -res makes the bane better at fighting tougher bosses not to mention that Banes do Smashing, toxic, and energy dmg which are less resisted than lethal and psi.

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Again, false. Both -res cause redraw which hurts Bane DPS which already lags behind Night Widows.

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Also what helps Bane dps is the 2 pets they get, and the -res increases their damage as well.

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I'm not biased by the way. I play a Widow/Fort and a Bane/Huntsman. I think that the Bane is good, the huntsman amazing (almost as good as a Crab without the ugly arms), and the NW/Fort obscenely strong.

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I wouldn't consider you biased, however, you did not include everything that a Bane has, something most people do, and consider them bottem of the totem pole as most do.

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I like Banes a lot. I really think they're fun to play. But they don't compare offensively to Widows and they are at best equal to Widows on the defensive front.

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I wouldn't even try to compare them on that level, again as I try to tell most, Banes and Widows are 2 different ATs.

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Dude, if you wanted to make a post about scaling resists, then make a post about scaling resists, not about bane/widow comparisons.

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He did make it about scaling resists...

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Edit: I've noticed a few other bane vs widow posts but the main question I have is about the widow's scaling resists, I'll base my decision probably on that information. Trying not to beat a dead horse here with the constant comparisons. Thanks!

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Edit: So basically his question is: Do scaling resists make a Widow more survivable than a Bane?

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Short Answer No.

Explaination, what really makes their survivabilty high is due to the fact they have two extremely high defense moves foresight (possibly one of the best auto powers in the game) and Mind Link which either requires minimal IO slotting and a power pick or substantial IO slotting.

Banes require a more active defense almost like Dominators, which means relying on mitigation to offset damages, i.e. KD keeps an enemy on their back stopping them from attacking, a held enemy can't attack you, and when pets draw aggro away from you, you are no longer the target of attack. In a sense Banes have ways of giving themselves 100% defense.

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NWs are just better versions of Banes.

The only advantage a Bane has is it's venom grenade and surveillance. Banes are better force multipliers than NWs in that sense.

Both Widow Combat Trainingef and Foresight have scaling Res. City of Data has it listed as an unknown effect for both. Combined, they provide better Resistance than SR's scaling res at similar HP percentages. NW's higher melee Def, Mindlink, superior scaling Res, Elude, and some def debuff res; and you're still not sure? I'm not even counting their better melee and ranged attacks.

Come on guys, this is more than a year later and the lol SoA forums still don't have a clue most of the time.

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Disagree fully, you didn't even read none of my post. Where are the pets that Widows get, what type of mitigation do they get, what hard controls do they have, Banes have a better stealth than Widows too, and Bane armor come with auto mez protection and res bonus and also hp boost which Widows do not have. If a Widow falls in battle they need a rez insperation and break free, Banes just need to get up and keep it moving since their Mez protection is auto. It is useless to try to compare Widows to Banes they are very different, it is like trying to compare a Fire/Devices Blaster to a Fire/Traps Corr some similarities but overall they are 2 different ATs.

And it is not the forums have a clue you just have yet to find it, keep looking though soon enough you will.

Ok most people talk about the defense debuff resistance and scaling resist that Widows get. Well to point out a simple fact here, Night Widows are probably meant more for melee hand to hand combat than Banes due to the simple fact they have a taunt in their primary. With that being said and also the fact that Widow get close to no mitigation, all of this justifies their high damage and defense. They have nothing else to stop oncoming. Banes have more of an active defense, some of their moves come with a disorient, some come with KB/KD, they get a hold and pets with a load of mitigation, they have moves that offer some nice debuffs and a force multiplier.

As far as survival goes, Widows have some great defense off the back with just SOs I mean spectactualar. However I think people are overcompensating the scaling resists, it requires you to lose health in order to use, which Widows don't have much of.

All in all, Widows are probably better at straight up battle survival, because as with most melee ATs it has a taunt in its set. Banes are clearly a Blapper/Dominator AT with stalkerish qualities along with some corr/defenderish buffs and debuffs and sprinkled with some hard and soft controls and pets, there is no way they were meant to be straight up melee like Widows so they are not going to get the same benefit of damage and defense because they have so much more.

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VEAT's are, in essence, the polar opposite of Kheldians in almost every sense. VEAT's get an extremely utilitarian inherent ability - Khelians get a crappy inherent + travel powers. VEAT's get mundane weapons, body armor, and military training, while Khelds get flashy powers. Kheldians get 3 forms - VEAT's get a bonus costume slot with a uniform. VEAT's are a solid, extremely utilitarian AT that performs extremely well in solo & even better when grouped on teams. Khelds appear at first to be very team-dependent & situational, but eventually bloom into a multi-role threat.

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Ummm, the VEAT inherent is of little quality, almost like they don't have one. Khelds inherent is great when teamed with certain ATs, just as long as your not on a team full of troller, doms and epics, you should be good. I guess you could call that a bonus costume, but 2/6 you can't really customize (yeah, like I would want to change the VEAT costume, those things are hot), one you can't change at all.

I wouldn't say team dependant as much as I would say role filling.

A PB on a team with all Blaster would end up with like a 140% damage increase. Which means the Blasters now have an efficient tank, as the Dwarf damage is going to be crazy.

A WS on that same team would have a 70% resistance to all, at that point you could be a Hum form tanker or a Blanker = Blaster that can take aggro.

Note: not sure on inherents so it could be reversed but there is the point.

I like the HEATs inherent way more than the VEATs

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I don't take Placate because I find it useless to be honest. I can understand taking it on a Stalker, but not a Night Widow and I don't do Build Up because I love Follow Up and its a more consistent damage buff. [/color]

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My Widow deals a lot of AoE death and build up and placate are good for that. Open up with Build up --> Eviscrate --> Placate --> Spin, doing that correctly kills mobs quick and you won't even need to follow up, however, for longer battles with EBs your tactics are good, but to eaches own.

1. depending on your patron shield, if you go Black Scorpion I would go with Weave, anyone else I wouldn't go past tough, the stacking S/L resists can be nice when dealing with certain enemies.

2. Spirit Tree I can't really comment on that much, I have a 37 Plant/Psy that has been collecting dust since like i8, but I took it on him and when Dom's were weak it was kinda worth it since I spent a lot of time on certain mobs. But since I have been floating though mobs with the i15 changes I don't spend nearly as much time on a mob as I used to. I would say since you are going to solo a lot NO but if you are going to team Consider it.

3. Double mag, longer durations, MEZ PROTECTION, and an End refill, I would still consider it, however, unlike times before you don't need a lot so you can stack double domination for a while, you only need about 80% to be comfortable. 70% is minimum, but that is a bare minimum, you can't get hit with a slow and you have to live by your hasten and have Dom on auto.

4. Don't know there that all comes down to personal preference.

Timeshadow, in a teaming sense you hit it on the nail (errr, nail on the head). But I believe the OP was talking about solo performance. Now so far I have level'd and Bane to 50 and a Widow to 50 twice (somehow my Widow was deleted and now I have to do it again). Also I have a PB at 33 and WS at 30 both all hum. All of them are blasts on teams, not a problem even at all hum my PB can tank well and my WS is a good Scraptroller, however solo their performance is not that great, it is doable but sometimes tough (in all hum mode). Their kill speed solo is not that great and the no mez protection in human mode (which is understandable) makes it a little hard. However, the two VEATs (Bane and Widow) float through a mish and don't hardly even get touched and do it quickly.

When it comes down to the amount of fun I have with each toon while playing.

1. Bane = Warshade (Those two it was really hard to find a winner, they are just so fun to play)

2. Peacebringer - Feels like a Tank/Scrapper/Blaster

3. Widow - I love her but man sometimes I find myself falling asleep when I play this toon, does not get touched. She kills quickly and moves quickly. Nothing really exciting about her, but if I need to grind money, merits, or drops she would more than likely be the one to play, other than that she probably won't get much PT.

Finally got two sets of Mako in my Widow so far (all I could afford) and I have Mind Link with like 10 sec downtime. With Mind Link my melee defense is at about 55% and range is at 52%, it does feel pretty good to kow that the NPCs have to be real lucky to hit you.

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And then there are those in game playing wiht it and noticing that the damage did not increase.

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They call those people 'blind.' They read braille and have a unique perspective on life.

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Too funny.

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The ONLY issue you will ever have as a Night Widow is endurance usage because you can some times just get into an attacking rythm and just go go go. I didn't find survival at the lower levels to be an issue, but it did get considerably easier once you hit level 22 and get another 7.5% defense from Foresight.

After you respec into either full Night Widow or Fortunata mode you are pretty much unkillable at that point depending on how you build your character.

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Yep have to agree with you there, with just an SO build at 24 my NightWidow was pretty unstoppable, still on SO's at 35 and still unkillable, haven't been to the Hospital since level... can't remember going to hosp with this toon. Oh well, the biggest problems Widows have, well NightWidows at least from my play experience, is that even with stamina and some end redux slotted into powers they eat through that blue bar, I am probably going to have to get some recovery set bonuses and end increasing ones, but other than that I can't really say I have been getting any problems.

On another note it is sometimes fun to play but at the same time boring, if you don't know what I mean read the sig.

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Survivability-wise my Sonic/Devices blows my other blasters out of the water.

Siren's Song a mob, wake one up with Screech, beat it down with ST attacks, wake one up with Taser, beat it down with ST attacks. I can go through a mob like that before SS wears off (they sleep for almost a minute and a half the way I have it slotted) and they never get a shot off, and if they do my ranged defense is close to softcapped, so they probably won't hit me.

I also have a Stealth IO in Hover and Cloaking Device so they don't see me before I put them to sleep.

Only downside to it is my AoE sucks.

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Just wanted to point out that the real key to what you describe is the AoE sleep of Siren's Song. You could just as easily be Sonic/anything and take Super Speed with a Celerity +Stealth IO for invisibility. I'm not saying your combo is bad, but some folks don't care for Devices so I wanted to point out there are other options.

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Yup, well aware of Siren's Song being the keystone of it. You'd be surprised how many powers from /Devices I DON'T have. I have no Caltrops, no Smoke Grenade, no Trip Mine, and no Time Bomb.

It was the problem of Faceplant vs. Glacier Speed Soloing that I was having. I solved it by dropping the majority of the /Devices powers and becoming a hover blaster. When I made the decision the character was already level 43, so deleting wasn't an option (I have a rule about not deleting anything above 35) and I didn't want to level another Sonic blaster. So, I worked with what I had and came up with a build I'm happy with.

For the record, it all ties in perfectly with his backstory too. He's a mutant, but the only power his mutation gave him was the sonic part, the rest is all gizmos and doodads. I even went with Munitions Mastery to flesh that out more.

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I went devices for a different reason, Fire/Dev to be exact. I like all the mitigation that devices has to offer, made being all ranged a lot easier. Caltrops adds slow and fear so any enemy trying to get to you usually can't (except for those pesky warewolves). Smoke Grenade combined with Cloaking Device make for some nice defense, a couple of IO sets with ranged defense and you are golden. Trip Mines is a good solo tool, good for opening battles and gives a good defience bonus, on a team with someone who can draw aggro, if you have decent AoE defense you can set one up in the middle of the group while the aggro is being held. Gun Drone a pet, all that needs to be said, sucks that you have to resummon every minute, but the extra damage and mitigation it offers helps off set the fact that you don't have build up, or at least to me.

Oh yeah almost forgot about targeting drone, even on teams with +4 - +5 enemies I rarely miss with that and all the added accuarcy from IOs but the tohit is good. If you decide to put in the chance for build up every now and again you will see an extra load of damage.

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Yeah, that's entirely true, but I don't really think of it as a cute power. Build Up is part of the damage suite. Energy doesn't have it because energy doesn't need it.

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Anymore.

But to compare the two, one buffs your secondary the other buffs your primary. Powerboost is great for laying down holds on an EB/AV think I had one held one time, I think it even increases the duration for the hold procs also.

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Too bad psi doesn't have any endurance management powers, eh. Us poor Psi doms...

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Good one.

I might have missed this as I have only skimmed through, but how are names for Villain created?

As for my Heroes

Fire/Fire Blaster Raahh (supposed to be Rah but I knew that was taken) = Anubis
Energy/Energy Blaster Da Captain = Da Conqueror
Fire/Rad Controller Container = Cauldron
Fire/Dev Blaster Fire Fleye = Combustable Maggot
Fire/Fire Tank Dark Candle = Midnight's Torch
Fire/Spines Scrapper Ruffness = Flagrant Foul
Dual Blade/Inv Scrapper Blessing to All = Curse

After reviewing this I seem to like to play with fire.

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Absorbed: I've only noticed MoG use this so far.

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I have noticed this with the temp power demonic aura on red side also.