EricHough
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I second dech's recommendation, go with heavy burst.
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Membranes are fairly expensive since they are highly usefull for shield users as well as widows, since they can be slotted in active defense to buff up the def debuff resistance, which normally cannot be buffed any other way.
Even after the market merge in GR I wouldn't expect the prices to drop much - blueside its tough to get them for less than about 50 million. At best they are only going to save you 1 slot over the alternate choice, frankenslotting def/recharge IO's and the adjusted targetting recharge IO - which are going to cost you a million or so per IO at worst and are likely to be really cheap. -
Quote:Here is my widow - she is L44 and has perma-mind link and is at the softcap to all positions while it is up. The nice thing about her current slotting is that she can SK down as far as L30 and keep almost all her bonuses. Its not a horribly cheap build but I don't use purples an any build - the most expensive things are the 4 LoTG + recharges, which I picked up through merits instead of cash - I think the 4th is actually overkill, I probably would have had perma mind link with just 3.Originally Posted by Lord Mordeth
That said, anyone got a decent build they'd like to share, something that achieved perma Mind Link/capped defenses without the use of Weave/Hasten/etc powers or purple sets?
Obviously there are some personal preference choices in the build - I found I liked build up for the burst damage instead of follow up. I may switch back eventually but when I first tried a build with follow up in my late 20's I found it to burn end way to fast, now that I have a miracle +recovery and better end reduction slotting it may not be as big a deal.
The last 4 power choices are kinda up in the air right now - I took gloom because the damage is SOO nice, even with the redraw, but I rarely fit it in my attack chain and use it mostly on runners. As long as you take and slot the same # of single target melee, ranged and AE attacks the numbers will still work out - you could easily take follow up + strike in place of strike + slash and poison dart in place of gloom, or even lunge in place of gloom and use a third crushing impact set where I used decimation, 5% recharge vs 6.25 isn't that big a deal.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Crimson Mystique: Level 48 Natural Arachnos Widow
Primary Power Set: Night Widow Training
Secondary Power Set: Widow Teamwork
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Flight
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Swipe -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(11), DefBuff-I(11), LkGmblr-Rchg+(40)
Level 2: Strike -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(7), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(17), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(31), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFtn-Def(36), RedFtn-EndRdx(36)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 10: Indomitable Will -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 12: Spin -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(13), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(13), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(15), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 14: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Heal-I(40)
Level 16: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(37)
Level 18: Slash -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(25), EndMod-I(25)
Level 22: Foresight -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(23), DefBuff-I(23), LkGmblr-Rchg+(37)
Level 24: Mask Presence -- EndRdx-I(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(43)
Level 26: Mind Link -- RedFtn-Def/Rchg(A), Krma-Def/Rchg(27), Ksmt-Def/Rchg(27), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(29), AdjTgt-Rchg(31)
Level 28: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
Level 30: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Eviscerate -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Fly -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Tactical Training: Leadership -- AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(A), AdjTgt-ToHit(39), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(39), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(39), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 41: Gloom -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(42), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Ruin-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Summon Widow -- Empty(A)
Level 49: Tactical Training: Vengeance -- Empty(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
Level 6: Ninja Run
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Despite playing my own night widow a lot lately and teaming with other widows frequently, I don't think I have EVER seen anyone announcing 'gather up for mind link' or 'can I get a mind link', unlike things like rad's AM or kin's speed boost. Most teams never even mention it, I think the majority of players consider it more of a self buff that happens to have some nice, team based side effects than a true team buff.
That said, there are some folks out there who are demanding and anal about what they expect from team members, far more than I would have ever believed if I hadn't seen some of them post that info on the forums. So there IS a chance of running into someone who might kick you for not having mind link but I suspect it is very small.
I suspect the reason its considered must take is not as much for the team benefit, although that is nice, but because an extra 15% def to all positions is extremely difficult to make up with IO set bonuses and other powers. On an night widow ML is especially easy to perma as it has a lower recharge than the fortunata version and you get a free 20% global recharge from mental training. Additionally, night widows benefit hugely from recharge as it lets them use their high damage, long recharge attacks more frequently, so building for recharge is very common.
This means that hitting the softcap without using mind link is the harder task, which is probably why most folks are surprised to find you don't have it. -
Quote:In the build I gave you above you DO need hasten to make mind link permanent, although without hasten you only have about 8 seconds of down time. If you can get your hands on 2-3 LoTG +recharges then you WILL have perma mind link without hasten but as noted, the only way to get those on your current budget is to earn merits through TF's.Originally Posted by ChillBlaze_NA
Thank you very much for the detailed help. That is what I was looking for. Just a question or two for you, though.
1. Are you saying I don't need hasten, or that I need hasten to get almost to perma mind link?
The short answer is yes, you can start plugging things in as you pick them up.Quote:2. I noticed alot of the sets you put into the build were lvl 30ish (or less that 50). So that means as I hit 30, for example, I should start slotting all of the 30's set IO's in that lvl. I suppose what I'm saying is, I don't have to wait for a final respec to start plugging these things in. I can plug as I pick them up.
The longer answer: With invention enhancements, the higher level they are the more enhancement value you get. For example, a level 30 common damage IO gives you 34.8% enhancment, a level 50 common damage IO would give you 42.4% enhancement. The dual and triple IO's from the sets increase in a similar fasion. I habitually slot up L30 IO's to get a feel for the average enhancement value and that way I don't overestimate things and I know what my build wil be like as I level up, where if I slotted all L50 I would not be able to even start on the build until L47 at the earliest.
You also won't always be able to get an IO at a certain level, especially if you are trying to buy them cheaply. Common IO's come at 5 levels like SO's do but set IO's drop at EVERY level in their set range. For example, the crushing impact set has a range of L30-L50 and will drop at all levels in that range. So when you go shopping for crushing impact sets you may find, say, the Accuracy/damage recipe selling at L31,32, 35, 37, 42 and 50 but not at 30, and the L32 might be the cheapest one.
A little of both - the only heal set that gives you really good set bonuses is numina's convalescence and you need 6 pieces for the ranged def bonus and it is the most expensive heal set on the market, since one of it's pieces is a unique IO that sells for 150-200 million or more. The performance shifter set in stamina would also give some ok set bonuses but it is fairly expensive, if not so much as numina's.Quote:3. I noticed that you didn't put in set's for health and end. Is that because they really aren't worth it, or that because the cost to benefit was out of budget?
Also, since stamina and health are auto powers that have no recharge or end cost most of the enhancement value provided by the heal and end mod sets would be wasted. Unless you want the set bonuses, these sets are best used in actual clicky heal or end powers.
For your electric/shield scrapper I would definitely suggest searching the scrapper forum for builds - thats all they do over there, is generate builds. Here is a good thread with some cheap, medium and expensive build options:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=216944
One warning, the scrapper forum regulars are a bunch of serious min/maxing power gamers (and I say that with respect :-) and their idea of 'cheap' is not everyone's idea. -
I just thought I would throw out my crab's build if you want to take some ideas from it. This build is a mix of melee and ranged and is softcapped to melee/ranged and close to softcapped for AoE (which is the hard one to softcap without doing what you did and slotting up a bunch of extra sets just for the AoE def). I quite like frenzy and get a lot of use out of it but you could replace that with Omega Manuevers.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Midnight Carnage: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier
Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier
Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Channelgun -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 2: Longfang -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27)
Level 4: Combat Training: Defensive -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 8: Suppression -- AirB'st-Acc/Dmg(A), AirB'st-Dmg/EndRdx(9), AirB'st-Dmg/Rchg(9), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(11), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(11), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31)
Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(21)
Level 12: Venom Grenade -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), AirB'st-Acc/Dmg(13), AirB'st-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(15), AirB'st-Dmg/Rchg(15), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 18: Arm Lash -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(19), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(19), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(21), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23), EndMod-I(27), P'Shift-End%(37)
Level 22: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
Level 24: Fortification -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(25), ResDam-I(31), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 26: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Serum -- Dct'dW-Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal(29), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(29), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(36)
Level 30: Boxing -- RzDz-Acc/Rchg(A), RzDz-EndRdx/Stun(40), RzDz-Acc/EndRdx(42), RzDz-Stun/Rng(42), RzDz-Immob%(42), RzDz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(46)
Level 32: Frenzy -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(36), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(37), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(37), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 38: Weave -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(39), EndRdx-I(39), DefBuff-I(40)
Level 41: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(43), DefBuff-I(43), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 44: School of Sharks -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(45), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(46), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob(46)
Level 47: Bile Spray -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
Level 0: Ninja Run
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THe first thing I would suggest is more recharge in omega maneuver. You have far to much damage slotted and could afford to drop the damage/endurance/range or the damage/range IO and just slot a pure recharge IO - that way you still get the AoE def bonus from the set but trim about 30 seconds off omega manuevers recharge. If you are replacing frenzy with this you will want it up as often as possible.
Acrobatics in place of hasten is a little iffy - I agree, there are a few things in the game that will overwhelm a single -KB IO and if you are hitting them often, then its a good choice since anything that does more than 4 points of KB will frequently do 12+, so just adding an extra KB IO won't help. However, you now have 2 long recharge powers that will benefit a lot from hasten (3 if you count serum). Only you can make that call and it will really depend on how often you find yourself getting knocked down. Another thing in favor of hasten over acro is the fact that with capped def those KB attacks are also likely to MISS a lot more. The only character I have with acrobatics is my bane and I picked it up for hamidon raids, because he is usually on the yellow spike team and the KB from yellow mito's is huge and hits through any amount of def, otherwise I have never had him knocked down with just a single -KB IO.
My next suggestion is not a great one, but I have to make it because I always cringe at the thought of a damage power with no damage enhancments. If there were someway to replace the shield breaker set in Longfang I would definitely suggest it but since you are getting both AoE and Melee def from the set, its hard to replace. So far the best suggestion I can come up with is to replace the current IO's in slice with a touch of death set, then pull 2 of the shield breaker IO's and replace them with L50 common damage IO's. Thats a pain though and might not be worth it, plus you lose the -res proc IO from slice, which is a nice IO.
The final thought I have is if you want to really go melee crab, take boxing, tough and weave. Crabs get TANKER numbers for tough and weave so they are a valuable investment. Taking weave will let you drop Maneuvers and may even allow you to pull some of the sets you have slotted purely for def as it gives you a base 5% vs maneuvers 3.5%. Tough will push your smashing/lethal resistance up to 55%, which will be nice in places like cimerora where you will notice the crabs lack of def debuff resistance. -
Well, if you are going for a softcapped, melee based crab with high recharge it looks ok to me, although I think you have may have far more recharge reduction than you really need. This is more of a personal preference thing - but usually you go for really high recharge builds on a crab if you are trying for a build with dual pets and the omega manuever, in which case you need all the recharge reduction you can get for the long recharge powers. With just attack powers the global recharge you have (71%) plus slotted recharge is probably going to be enough - hasten is kind of overkill. Its also going to be a very expensive build.
The only iffy thing I see is the kinetic combat set in slice - you don't need the smashing/lethal def as crabs are a positional def character and that is an extremely expensive set that is not worth slotting unless you need the def. I would drop the kinetic combat and the hami-o and put a 5 piece set of crushing impact here for another 5% recharge and save some expense (quite a bit - KC's tend to go for 20+ million a piece). -
Just as a contrast, here is the build I currently have for my night widow. She is level 44 and is mostly melee focused, both single target and AoE. She has perma-mindlink and is softcapped to all positions. She keeps most of her bonuses when SK'ing down as far as L30. This is not a horribly cheap build although most of the really expensive stuff is the LoTG +recharge IO's and the miracle +recovery, which I bought with merits earned in TF's. I skipped follow up and took build up instead so I could leverage burst damage - its more a playstyle choice than anything else.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
d: Level 48 Natural Arachnos Widow
Primary Power Set: Night Widow Training
Secondary Power Set: Widow Teamwork
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Flight
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Swipe -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(11), DefBuff-I(11), LkGmblr-Rchg+(40)
Level 2: Strike -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(7), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(17), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(31), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFtn-Def(36), RedFtn-EndRdx(36)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 10: Indomitable Will -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 12: Spin -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(13), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(13), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(15), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 14: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Heal-I(40)
Level 16: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(37)
Level 18: Slash -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(25), EndMod-I(25)
Level 22: Foresight -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(23), DefBuff-I(23), LkGmblr-Rchg+(37)
Level 24: Mask Presence -- EndRdx-I(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(43)
Level 26: Mind Link -- RedFtn-Def/Rchg(A), Krma-Def/Rchg(27), Ksmt-Def/Rchg(27), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(29), AdjTgt-Rchg(31)
Level 28: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
Level 30: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Eviscerate -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Fly -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Tactical Training: Leadership -- AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(A), AdjTgt-ToHit(39), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(39), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(39), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 41: Gloom -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(42), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Ruin-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Summon Widow -- Empty(A)
Level 49: Tactical Training: Vengeance -- Empty(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
Level 6: Ninja Run
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The primary goal when IO'ing out a night widow is to get to the def softcap (45%) to all positions when Mind Link is up, then get enough global recharge for mind link to be perma. That means that you need to slot for ranged and AE def, as you have enough melee def from your base power, and for recharge. You also want to slot Mind link with def/recharge IO's from various sets because while you can't directly slot recharge IO's or SO's in the power it WILL benefit from set IO's that have recharge in them.
With that in mind, I took a look at your sample build. I moved around almost all the slots, changed the order of some powers and dropped some things that would be mostly worthless due to a combination of IO bonuses and other factors. You had also far overslotted a lot of things - with ED and the extra enhancement you get from set IO's that enhance multiple aspects you only need to fully 6 slot powers that need to have a lot of different aspects enhanced, usually attacks. For example, 6 slots in hasten is wasted as after the first 3 slots you get like 5% recharge per slot.
The specific power changes I made where the following:
1) I dropped out CT: offensive - it gives you a fairly minor accuracy bonus and between my suggested slotting for attacks, +acc bonuses from IO sets and TT: Leadership your to hit should be huge. I replaced it with strike as removing extra slots from health and hasten freed up a lot of extra slots, plus followup + lunge + Slash is a pretty slow single target attack chain.
2) I swapped hasten and foresight so you could take foresight by L28. Foresight is one of your key defensive powers, giving you nearly 12% def in all positions and you don't want to lose it if you SK down. Personally, I would recommend taking it at L22 and putting combat jumping off until 28.
3) I dropped elude - if you get enough recharge to get mind link up permanently you will be at the def softcap and any def above 45% is wasted except in rare circumstances (lots of def debuffs). I replaced it with TT: vengance. You can swap back if you want but I dislike crashing god mode power, especially when they don't buy you much - alternatively you could take TT: Assault for bonus damage, but vengence is nice for team play.
I slotted the following sets for the following reasons:
1) Crushing impact in all single target melee attacks - as IO sets go, it is fairly cheap on the market (5-8 million per set, possibly cheaper if you shop carefully) and it gives you good enhancement bonuses and 5% global recharge for a set of 5. I finished out all single target melee attacks with a Focused smite accuracy/end reduction/recharge triple IO to maximize recharge and end reduction slotting on all attacks and to get accuracy to 60%
2) Thunderstrike in Poison dart: gives you 3.75% ranged def and good enhancement bonuses, costs about the same as crushing impact on the market.
3) Red Fortune in Tactical Training: Manuevers for the 2.5% bonus to ranged def and 5% to recharge. This is also a fairly cheap set that caps def enhancement and end reduction in the power.
4) I franken-slotted mind link with defense/recharge IO's from 4 different sets and a recharge IO from the adjusted targetting set to cap recharge in the power and come very close to capping def.
5) I put a set of 5 adjusted targetting in TT: Leadership because it gives you a 5% global recharge bonus and nice enhancement bonuses, it also tends to be a cheap set.
6) I put a set of 5 debilitative action in school of sharks for the 2.5% AE def. All the IO sets for immobilize powers are cheap except the rares in Trap of the hunter, so this is a good power to slot purely for set bonuses.
7) I frankenslotted arctic breath with various targeted AoE set IO's to maximize enhancement bonuses. The only good IO set you can put in here is positron's blast and it is NOT cheap.
8) Finally, I put a Steadfast protection +3% defense IO in Indomitable will. This is not a cheap IO (5-15 million depending on the current market) but 3% def to all positions for a single IO is to good to pass up.
The net result of the current slotting is that when Mind Link is active you will be well over the softcap for melee, slightly over it for ranged and right at it for AE def. One note - If you open the build below in mids and look at the totals it will show you at 43% AoE def, this is because I turned off mask presence as Mids adds in the full 7.5% def from the power, even though 5% of it goes away if you attack. I adjust for that by turning off mask presence and mentally adding 2.5% (the supressed value of mp's def) to all the totals.
A final note: with the global recharge from the IO sets I slotted mind link will not quite be permanent, you have about 8 seconds while it is down although it will be far better than permanent while hasten is up. You also had a lot of extra slots because you took so few attacks overall and only needed to 3 slot health, hasten and a couple other powers you had originally 6 slotted. I sprinkled the spare slots around to make room for the following expensive IO's if you can get your hands on them:
1) I left spare slots in CT: defensive, Combat Jumping, Foresight and Mask presence as possible places to put Luck of the Gambler +7.5% global recharge IO's. These are VERY expensive (they are the ones that someone probably told you they spent 200 million on) but if you run strike forces or task forces (Imperious and Lady Grey Task forces) you can save up merits to buy them - they cost 200 merits which is about 4-5 ITF's per IO. If you can get your hands on 3 of these Mind Link will be perma without hasten - but you don't have to.
2) I left a spare slot in stamina for a Performance Shifter chance for +end IO. This one you might be able to get for a reasonable price on the market but also costs 150 reward merits. It gives a nice bonus to end and when hasten is up you are going to burn end like a bandit.
Alternatively you could drop one of your utility or movement powers and pick up another attack - both spin and eviscerate are awesome AE attacks and smoke grenade, for example, is not buying you much as you don't need the -to hit from it and mask presence + super speed will give you full invisibility.
With that said, here is a build:
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Natural Arachnos Widow
Primary Power Set: Night Widow Training
Secondary Power Set: Widow Teamwork
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Poison Dart -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(7), DefBuff-I(7), Empty(43)
Level 2: Strike -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(33), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(33), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RedFtn-Def(34), RedFtn-EndRdx(34)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Follow Up -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 10: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx-I(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(39)
Level 12: Lunge -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(37), Heal-I(37)
Level 16: Smoke Grenade -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Slash -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(21), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(25), EndMod-I(25), Empty(40)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), Empty(50)
Level 24: Mind Link -- Krma-Def/Rchg(A), Ksmt-Def/Rchg(27), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(27), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(29), AdjTgt-Rchg(29)
Level 26: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
Level 28: Foresight -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(31), Empty(40)
Level 30: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 32: Mask Presence -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(46), Empty(50)
Level 35: Tactical Training: Leadership -- AdjTgt-ToHit(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(36), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(36), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(36), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(42)
Level 38: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 41: School of Sharks -- DblAc-Acc/Rchg(A), DblAc-Rchg/Immob(42), DblAc-Acc/EndRdx(42), DblAc-Immob/Rng(43), DblAc-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Arctic Breath -- AirB'st-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(45), AirB'st-Dmg/Rchg(45), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Tactical Training: Vengeance -- Krma-Def/Rchg(A), Ksmt-Def/Rchg(48), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(48), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(48), AdjTgt-Rchg(50)
Level 49: Super Speed -- Empty(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
Level 6: Ninja Run
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Quote:You should be able to build a pretty tough character - with a combination of the resistance in fortification plus the defense from CT: Defensive and CT: Maneuvers. When you throw in the HP boost and periodic heal from Serum you have a combo that is like mini-willpower (just minus the regen from RttC but with more def). If you really want to build a hardy character, pick up tough and weave from the fighting pool - you get tank level modifiers on those powers, so they are a great investment, even without a lot of IO support to finish softcapping your def.Originally Posted by DogTags
I am going crazy with my Crab spec myself. Having 2 builds I can pick from with Arbiter. I have gone broke experimenting. Thank god I sold some salvage worth 1mill... (Love you big spenders by the way).
I am still getting used to the crab..but when I did a respec (freeone) at 24 I picked up only crab attacks (ranged minus one AOE).... I took the Soldier Def and Offense + Crab Armor.
So far I can take some pretty serious blows....
Now to the question to those that have already experimented. How tough is the crab if I took the Resist and Def buff of soldier combined with the Crab versions and full slot those?
On top of that leaping tree combat jump defense.
Reason I ask is this is the route I was going to go...concentration on my own Defense ..slot out stamina and accuracy ... so that I can dive in Aoe aoe aoe...debuff..and pounce out of the cluster fudge I jumped into.
I have noticed every time I go in (i do wait like 10 seconds) and go nuts ....I pull all agro on top of me.....(crabs dont need a taunt just hit suppression =p) which sucks.
now with what I have at 25 I can take some serious hits but not for long ....I hope the answer i receive is ..."yes, a focus on your own defenses (not auras) both soldier and crab full slot will make you strong like ox"...... Then I will feel better.
Here is the build I am working on for my current Crab - she is a hybrid melee/ranged/ae character who can fill in for a brute/tank. She is still only level 45, so not completely there but my plan is to max her resistances and softcap defenses to all 3 positions:
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Midnight Carnage: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier
Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier
Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Channelgun -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 2: Longfang -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27)
Level 4: Combat Training: Defensive -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 8: Suppression -- AirB'st-Acc/Dmg(A), AirB'st-Dmg/EndRdx(9), AirB'st-Dmg/Rchg(9), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(11), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(11), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31)
Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(21)
Level 12: Venom Grenade -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), AirB'st-Acc/Dmg(13), AirB'st-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(15), AirB'st-Dmg/Rchg(15), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 18: Arm Lash -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(19), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(19), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(21), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23), EndMod-I(27), P'Shift-End%(37)
Level 22: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
Level 24: Fortification -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(25), ResDam-I(31), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 26: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Serum -- Dct'dW-Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal(29), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(29), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(36)
Level 30: Boxing -- RzDz-Acc/Rchg(A), RzDz-EndRdx/Stun(40), RzDz-Acc/EndRdx(42), RzDz-Stun/Rng(42), RzDz-Immob%(42), RzDz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(46)
Level 32: Frenzy -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(36), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(37), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(37), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 38: Weave -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(39), EndRdx-I(39), DefBuff-I(40)
Level 41: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(43), DefBuff-I(43), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 44: School of Sharks -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(45), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng(45), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(46), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob(46)
Level 47: Bile Spray -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
Level 0: Ninja Run
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Quote:Barrage used to be a very fast recharging (like, 2 seconds), low damage attack, sort of like a 1-2 punch version of jab. The problem is that it had such a long animation (at least, compared to its damage) that it was an really bad attack. When the dev's nerfed ET's DPA the one attempt they made at balancing it was to up the damage/recharge/end cost of barrage to that of a normal, 6 second recharge attack. This brought up the overall DPA and made it a decent attack but because they don't like changing power order in fixes like this (mostly because it can make existing builds invalid) they left it as the first attack.Originally Posted by JD_Gumby
I prefer to look at the placement of Barrage in tier 1 as a bug they can't be arsed to fix. Looking at all the other melee sets (specifically, the Tankers'), the first three powers go in ascending order of recharge, so it should logically be Energy Punch -> Barrage -> Bone Smasher. Can't see why they'd deliberately mess with the standard power order to specifically disadvantage Tankers (since Stalkers & Brutes can easily take Energy Punch at creation), but only in Energy Melee...
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Quote:My experience is exactly the opposite - my hero's tend to have more merits than my villains. The catch here is that I make an effort to run the hero story arcs as I level up and while you don't get a lot of merits compared to villains before L10-12, by 15-20 you have caught up quite a bit and by L25+ you tend to be way ahead hero side vs villain side. Whine and complain as much as you like about all the running around you do (and it IS a pain) I would trade a few of the faster arcs redside for more merits, or I would have before GR was announced and I can take my redside characters blueside.Originally Posted by Bad_Influence
My villains always have significantly MORE merits than my heroes do. Why is that?
As a villain, esp. a lowbie villain, I am pretty much soloing. Most of that soloing is running contact missions. I will happily run lowbie villain contacts due to their almost complete LACK of the following type of storyline:
*Hi. Go cross Atlas with no travel power and say hi to some idiot in the Hollows.
*Done with that? Cool. Run all the way back. Now go hunt some bimbo's lost bracelet two zones over. Still with no travel power.
*Mission accomplished? Great. Re-cross those zones and go talk to your contact again, because you can't phone it in.
*Are ya done? Excellent. Go see what's shakin' in Perez. Then run all the way back here....
....GAAAAH! Whereas redside, I have a concrete storyline which, while I have run it many times in the past, is at least less zone-y and less frivolous. As a result my heroes do not bother with contact storylines until Faultline, they go get the O-portal in Faultline and then keep studiously ignoring contact mishes until its time for Croatoa. This results in way fewer merits for blueside folks, at least until they begin seriously running task forces.
Meanwhile the villains studiously run every contact they can get their hands on, all the way through or until seriously outleveled.
Without running TF's most of my hero's have enough merits to buy an LoTG +recharge or one of the +recovery uniques by the late 20's, early 30's. By the late 30's, certainly by level 40 I can accumulate enough for a second LoTG + recharge, Numina or miracle unique. I cannot even come close to matching that on villain side even WITH SF's added in.
A quick primer in getting merits heroside:
L1-10: Run David Wincotts and Flux the Outcasts arcs in the hollows (15 merits)
L10-15: Run Julius the Trolls and Talshak the mystics arc in the hollows, also do the Vahzilock Pollutant plot (L10-14 science contact) and the bonefire arc (L10-14 natural contact). 59 merits
L15-20: Run Tsoo Shenanigans (L15-19 magical contact) and The Mind of a King (L15-19 science origin contact). I also throw in the two faultline arcs cause they are fun, if not worth many merits. 42 merits with the faultline arcs, 31 without.
L20-25: Run both striga arcs (stephanie peebles and Long Jack), The Tsoo Coup (L20-24 mutant contact). 57 merits. You can add in the Wheel of destruction (L20-24 magic contact) and/or Hand of Iron (L20-24 tech contact for another 14 merits each).
By L25 it is simple (if not easy) to have 173-200 merits and the merit rewards for story arcs just get better after that. Yes, it takes a lot more running around than the same number of arcs would redside. However, without repeating arcs in Oro and/or adding in repeated SF's I know of no way to get this many merits redside. Which tends to screw over a solo character - and while I do a lot of TF's these days blueside the SF front is still pretty dead redside.
EDIT: Just an FYI Bad_Influence but with the new abandon mission feature you can take a mission from a contact, then abandon it, then talk to the contact again and frequently they will offer you different missions. It is actually fairly easy to juggle a contacts missions this way until you get offered their story arcs, although you generally have to run at least 1 side mission for them before you can get the story arc. -
Quote:I see a lot of people saying this and I don't understand what it is that makes folks claim freezing rain better than tar patch. It does have a shorter recharge, I will grant you that, but it's not much shorter (60 seconds for FR, 90 for tar patch) and the -def is nice but frequently overkill. Both have the same resistance debuff (30%). Other wise tar patch lasts 45s where the freezing rain patch itself only lasts 15s, so tar patch will catch new mobs entering it 3 times longer than FR. While the debuff in FR is supposed to last for 30s there are bugs with the way it is applied so you frequently only get 15s worth of debuff out of it. Tar patch also has a 90% movement debuff vs the 50% debuff in FR and FR has an avoid in it, which causes mobs to run out where they tend to stay in tar patch.Originally Posted by Neogumbercules
Fire/Storm corr. Freezing Rain is way better than Tar Patch for that whole "slow em and blow em" routine.
that sounds dirty.
So, all in all I would suspect fire/dark is a far better area killer than fire/storm. Stealth up with shadow fall to where you can put darkest night on mob that will pull multiple groups, run back to a corner and drop tar patch and when the mobs hit it, lock them down with fearsome stare. You can pull in a similar fashion with snowstorm and freezing rain but you have a lot less room for error with the shorter FR and I find snowstorm to be an uneven puller - if the mob you target with snowstorm decides to stop and shoot at you or gets stuck on a terrain feature you get a bunch of mobs in the back who are slowed and don't get to you while the rest get out of the snowstorm effect and end up split. Plus you have nothing in storm that kills the alpha strike like fearsome stare does - hurricane, while a better debuff power is to chaotic and spreads out the mobs to much to use in a situation like this.
I agree that both storm and dark miasma are good secondaries for a fire corruptor but at best I would say a fire/storm and fire/dark are equal 'AOE Lawnmowers' and in most cases I would give a nod to dark. -
Like many other folks, I am also a fairly serious altoholic and will tend to bring whatever I am working on at the time (and I am always working on something new) to a TF, depending on level range.
That said, I have put most of my build effort into my huntsman, Midnight Renegade and my shield/SS tank, Andromache. MR has both a huntsman build for maximum group buff and AE carnage as well as a mace stalker style build for max single target damage. Andromache is softcapped and has as much resistance and regen as I have been able to fit in, plus a lot of recharge. These are the characters I use for their respective Hamidon raids and MR is also my primary co-op TF character.
When GR comes out I will probably take Midnight Renegade at least to rogue status so I can play him in the blueside TF's as well as the few redside/co-op TF's he runs now. I will probably leave Andromache as a hero - while I enjoy here I find MR to be a better add to the team. -
Ok - just realized I was in brute not scrapper forum - just substitute any immobilze power and single target blast for the two powers from the scrapper APP to keep the same def bonuses. The above build is softcapped to melee and ranged and close to softcap on AE - thats actually the toughest to softcap.
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Here is the build I am planning for my electric shield scrapper - except for the miracle/numina unique's and the LoTG +recharge, it should be a fairly cheap build (I get the expensive stuff with merits). It doesn't have a TON of recharge, but it has enough and I haven't shorted enhancements on any of the powers just to fit in the def bonuses.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Blaze Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Charged Brawl -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(3), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), T'Death-Dam%(7)
Level 1: Deflection -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(13), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(13), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(15), RedFtn-Def(15), RedFtn-EndRdx(17)
Level 2: Jacobs Ladder -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(7), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(9), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(9), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11)
Level 4: Battle Agility -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(19)
Level 6: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(19), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(21), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(21), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(23), GSFC-Build%(23)
Level 8: Thunder Strike -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(25), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(25), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(27), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 14: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(40)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Chain Induction -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(31), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(33), P'Shift-End%(34)
Level 22: Phalanx Fighting -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(29)
Level 24: Boxing -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(34), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(34), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(36), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(36), Stpfy-KB%(36)
Level 26: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 28: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(37), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(37), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37), RedFtn-Def(39), RedFtn-EndRdx(39)
Level 30: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(33)
Level 32: Lightning Rod -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(40), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(40), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-%Dam(39), Erad-Acc/Rchg(43), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(43), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 38: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 41: Ring of Fire -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(45), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(46), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng(46), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(46), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob(48)
Level 44: Fire Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(48), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 47: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 6: Ninja Run -
Quote:I pretty much agree with everything Chrome said but I want to point out that terrify does NOT have a to hit debuff. Everyone confuses it with fearsome stare, which does have a to hit debuff, because the power accepts to hit debuff enhancements and IO sets as well as accurate to hit debuff IO sets. However, there are no to hit debuffs in the power to actually enhance, just damage and a fear effect. I suspect the power was initially cloned from fearsome stare, then changed to do damage instead of a debuff but the dev's never re-coded it to not accept to hit debuff enhancements.Originally Posted by Chrome_Family
Also in ITF's romans have no resistance to Fear so Terrify becomes OP there and it does tohitt debuff as well.
I wish it DID have a to hit debuff instead of damage. As an attack power its recharge is way to long (base 40s recharge for an AE that does the same damage as flares to each target) and as a control power it's end cost is way to high (20.8 end compared to spectral terrors 16 end or fearsome stare's 8 end). Add in the fact that the fear effect is delayed (so as not to break as soon as the mobs take damage), which means that terrify doesn't function so well as an alpha absorber, and you have a power that is nice for controllers, who have secondaries to help absorb the alpha (and need the extra damage) but not so great for dominators.
Oh, I still like it and use it - I never turn down extra damage and it does slow down incoming damage, but I would prefer something that was more control oriented on my dominator, as I have plenty of damage in my secondary. I also like mind as a primary for dominators - it and plant are tied for me as the best, because I find them the most solo friendly primaries. -
Quote:The way domination works is that most control powers have a second effect that fires off at the same magnitude as the first, but at 150% duration. The net effect of this is to have a double magnitude control for the normal duration and a normal magnitude control for the extra 50% duration. So, for example, earth control's fossilze normally does a mag 3 hold for 17.88 seconds - when under domination you get an extra mag 3 hold that last for 26.82 seconds. As holds stack, this means that you effectively have a mag 6 hold for 17 seconds which drops off to mag 3 for another 9 seconds.Originally Posted by SonicRemedy
Real quick question about Fissure. I'm setting up a build here in mids and I as I hit Domination I watch it go from a mag 2 to a mag 1. My questions
A: Is this correct or does it turn to a Mag 3 stun?
B: Is it correct that its only a 33 percent chance to stun?
Just some quick questions for all you doms out there. Thanks again
Fissure is one of the odd powers - it has a 33% chance of doing an 11.92 second mag 2 stun to each mob in the area. When domination is up it also has a 33% chance to do an addition 17.88 second mag 1 stun. If both of these effects go off, then you get a mag 3 stun, if only the second one goes off you will only see a mag 1 stun (alternatly, if only the first one goes off you will see just a mag 2 stun). -
Quote:Those are all very expensive sets, if you want to go a little cheaper try the following:Originally Posted by Deus_Otiosus
Numi & Perf Shifter should cap you on 1.88%
Kinetic Combat in your attacks will add both +SM/L Def and 1.5%.
LoTG x3 will add 1.13%
I suggest you get http://www.cohplanner.com/ mids character planner and play around it a bit. It will help you get a feel for the sets, and let you customize the build to your liking.
Smashing Haymaker (smashing/lethal for 4 pieces)
Reactive Armor (e/ne for 3 pieces, smash/lethal for 4)
Thunderstrike (e/ne - 2.5% at 3 pieces, +1.25% at 6)
Smashing haymaker only gives you half the bonus that kinetic combat does but the IO's tend to be a lot cheaper. Reactive armor can be slotted in both Mind over Body and Tough.
You can also increase smashing/lethal with Touch of Deaths in melee attacks and obliteration in footstomp. These sets are primarily melee def sets but you get half the value in smash/lethal. You also get 5% recharge from Obliteration, although that one is likely to be pretty expensive.
You also want to pick up boxing/tough/weave (or kick, whichever floats your boat) - Tough gives you a nice boost to smashing/lethal resists and is worth far more than you would think, plus it lets you slot a second reactive armor set. Weave adds a decent amount to all your def. Adding two toggles is going to push up your end usage a lot but WP can stack stamina on top of quick recovery, so end is not as much of an issue. -
Quote:Huntsman builds are quite awesome although I find they work better in groups - if you are going to solo more a mace bane may be better as they play a lot like a stalker and can kill hard targets pretty well. You can also do both, using one build for each - however for this project that might not work so well, depending on how much you want to kit them out in IO's (it can get expensive for 2 builds).Originally Posted by Fury Flechette
I'm not 100% sure about this myself. I'm leaning going mostly melee and perhaps taking some of the ranged AoE powers. There hasn't been much written about "pure" Bane builds so right now that's my interest. I know that a Huntsman variant using the gun powers and being mostly a ranged type is pretty viable. I've talked to Aisynia about it in game and have seen her Huntsman in action.
As for the ride to 24, I found that until you get venom grenade at 12 you are correct about WaWG not lasting long enough to kill things. What I did when I leveled both my SoA's was to go with the following powers until L12:
Single Shot
Wolf Spider Armor
Burst
Pummel
CT: defensive
Heavy burst
TT: Maneuvers
Venom Grenade
This lets you open up with heavy burst to soften things up, pick them off with single shot/burst as they close and finish any that get to you with pummel.
Then generally around 12-13 or so I would switch to my alternate build and replace pummel with WaWG. At 12 you can slot it up with DO's and get the recharge down a bit nd venom grenade + heavy burst does a LOT better at whittling spawns down. Since you have already started with WaWG this advice probably won't help, since you can't switch builds until L10, but I thought I would throw it out.
The nice thing about alternate builds on SoA's (and Widows for that matter) is that you get the L24 respec on each build. -
Quote:Whoever said that is wrong - the pet IO's don't actually give the pet a power, it give YOU a power. You get an aura that gives all your pets within range the listed affect (10% resistance for each of the resist IO's and 5% def for each of the def IO's). The aura works a lot like a masterminds supremacy (and has roughly the same radius I think) except they give resistance or def instead of to hit and damage.Originally Posted by KingSnake
What the person told me, was that if i slot both resist IO's in the *same* pet only one works.
I know you can't check combat stats on a controller pet to verify if they are working but the are supposed to work - and stack up. If you really want to test them to prove to yourself they are working I would suggest an AE mission with a nice large map (so you can get out of range of your pet) and a single mob or something like that. Make sure one of your chat windows is set to list pet damage recieved and let the mobs pound on your pet when you are nearby - then go away from the pet (if you can) and see if the damage changes, use that to figure out how much resistance you are givign your pet. If you can't get far enough away, try using an alternate build that doesn't have the pet aura IO's - it will just take longer as you will have exit the mission to switch builds.
However, considering that my necro/pain mastermind has both of the resist IO's slotted in soul extraction and yet all her pets STILL get the benefit I am pretty sure that the IO's work the way I described - instead of the way you where told. -
Quote:Did you at least take the bane armor? It provides twice the mez protection as the wolf spider armor: Mag 4 to everything (but KB) vs the wolf's Mag 2. Except for the armor, cloaking device(which provides 5% def to all positions when fully slotted), and surveillance I pretty much skipped all the bane powers on my huntsman as well. Those 3 powers are just to good to pass up and the fill out your defenses nicely.Originally Posted by New Dawn
My huntsman has no Bane or Crab pool picks at all. She is just Soldier/Training and Gadgets. I'd say that, that is being a bit more of a pure huntsman. I'd of never said that Huntsman had to have some Bane qualities.
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[QUOTE=Person34;2993194]Quote:I completely agree - this is one of the 'other variations' I mentioned after the sentence you quoted. In fact, my crabs current build is along these lines - I originally went for all ranged but I realized that without wide area web grenade, which I skipped because of redraw, enemies where closing with me anyway. So I respecced to take a mix - the two single target blasts, suppression, venom grenade, arm lash and frenzy. I also picked up boxing, tough and weave. Ultimately I plan on having her softcapped to all positions and with about 50% smashing/lethal def and about 40% to all other types of damage (except psionic) - basically a def/res tank that can unleash both ranged and melee damage.Originally Posted by EricHough
Keep in mind that there are at least 5 different 'standard' VEAT builds...QUOTE]
There's also the non-standard VEAT... the melee crab. I only bring it up because out of sheer curiosity I made one and it is probably one of the most fun toons I've ever played. More damage then the ranged crab, more survivable than a bane. It's only shortcomings are lack of a big hitting single target attack (shatter armor helps here, and maybe some of the pets) and endurace seems to evaporate if you don't slot end redux in attacks. Just like its ranged cousin it shreds groups of mobs largely without worry of faceplanting. Lots of fun.
Most folks will tell you to just play a bane if you want a melee toon, and for good reason. My main draw to the melee crab was that I -hated- the ranged attacks of the crab but liked the look of a softcapped toon (got to work at this a bit as soldiers are ranged-heavy defense and are light on melee defense out of the box) with great resists across the board and a dull pain clone-type heal. Grabbed up slice, arm lash, frenzy and use sands of mu + shatter armor as needed. Oh and took VG as well... too good a power to pass up.
Anyways, not the most popular choice but it's there if you want to try it out.
EDIT: The primary advantage a melee crab has over a bane is AE damage - unless banes dip into thier really bad mace AE blasts or into the base soldier tree (and suffer from a ton of redraw) they pretty much only have crowd control - its very nice AE, but its still a single attack. Crabs have venom grenade, suppression, a narrow cone in arm lash and a pbae in frenzy. Even if you skip suppression because of the long animation, that's still 3 good AE attacks plus the omega maneuver. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Post_Apocalypse
Hello everyone,
Seems like the widow can do big damage over time, and banes are burst Damage. As for survivabillity, I can get either capped fairly easy.
-PostKeep in mind that there are at least 5 different 'standard' VEAT builds, possibly even more with variations on those. (I call them standard because if you refer to a fortunata, nightwidow, crab, bane or huntsman on the forums most folks will have a rough idea of what you mean).Quote:Originally Posted by Timeshadow
You just about nailed it.
I've got both a Night Widow and Bane Spider at 50 and this is the most noticeable difference. Night Widows can, with proper endurance management, chew through hard targets thanks to their quick activating, high damage attacks. Also, having Follow Up allows them to increase their overall DPS without interrupting their attack chain. They play more like stealthy Scrappers.
Banes, on the other hand, function in a manner that's closer to Stalkers. Their attacks have very good DPA but the animation times are longer. They have access to Build Up (As do Widows) and Surveillance. Both powers enable Banes to deliver more damage from Hide. While they do, of course, have more functions than just that they lend themselves very well to delivering a single crushing blow as opposed to sustaining high damage in drawn out battles.
Widows can be either nightwidows or fortunata's. NW's tend to be a bit more bursty as they get crits from hide and CAN take build up and be more of a claws stalker or they can take follow up and be more of a sustained damage claws scrapper. Fortunata's are a ranged psi damage and control combo, much more of a hybrid than the NW.
Soldiers can be crabs and be a mini-tank with ranged AE damage and pets (with sub builds that focus on one more than the other, or a combo of the two), or they can go bane and basically be a mace stalker complete with crits, placate and build up - and I have to respectfully disagree with Timeshadows claim that bane attacks have long animations - the melee attacks, which are the ones a stalker type banes should be using, are very fast (the ranged single target and ranged AE mace attacks DO suck though). The 5th standard build is huntsman - a bane that sticks with the base soldier gun attacks (which are very fast animating and do good damage) and focuses on AE damage and group buffs - they can be amazingly effective in groups.
I currently have a L30 widow who is both a fortunata (build 1) and a nightwidow (build 2) and I am experimenting with both. I think the fortunata is more fun: using psionic tornado to throw everything up in the air, then following up with a psychic scream and single target blasts, but the NW build is likely to be more effective once I have enough recharge and end reduction.
I also have 2 soldiers - a L45 crab who is focusing on tanking and area damage (both ranged and melee) in her first build and will probably use her second build to play a minion master - taking call reinforcements and summon spiderlings, hasten and as much recharge as possible. My second soldier is a bane, with one build as a solo mace stalker type and the second as a group oriented huntsman. My mace bane dishes out HUGE amounts of single target damage and combines decent def with a lot of knockdown, I use this build on Hamidon raids as a yellow mito killer. My Huntsman is an insanely good group character - he has double stacked maneuvers, double assault and tactics which provide +20% def, +30% damage and +15% to hit to the group. Plus he can stack venom grenades 20% resistance debuff with arctic breaths 15% debuff for as much debuff as most corruptors.