EricHough
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Quote:I keep forgetting that the powers list now shows the actual pet powers in addition to the summon power, so you can see accuracy on the actual trip mine itself as opposed to the summon power.Originally Posted by Frosticus
Careful is my middle name. I have the power and have checked it in game and via Red Tomax. -
Quote:Be carefull with that number - its probably the accuracy on the summoning power, not on the pet itself which is almost always 1.0 accuracy. For some reasons the dev's chose to display powers that summon pets stupidly - they frequently have huge accuracies on the summon power itself (which can't miss anyways) but not on the pet power that actually carries out the attack.Originally Posted by Frosticus
It does have 1.2x acc though so you can skimp a bit on acc slotting.
For slotting I second many of the earlier recommendations - acc/dam/recharge is what you want and if you expect to fight anything higher than +1's and want the pet accuracy capped at least 60% accuracy is going to be needed. -
Quote:The real numbers display in game does not calculate in global recharge, only recharge enhancements actually slotted in the power. So mental training, hasten, speed boost, IO set bonuses will not be reflected by the recharge values listed in the power descriptions, although they will show up in the combat number monitor.Originally Posted by fbrooks
I have a question regarding Mental Training, as it appears to be bugged unless I just don't understand how it works.
In Mids, when I take MT, and then check the recharge of my attacks, sure enough, the numbers are shortened by the 20%. In Mids, however, I do not have any of the powers slottedwith any enhancements.
When I go to the Test Server, where all of my attacks already have some Recharge enhancements slotted, and take MT, then check the recharge of my various attacks, I do NOT see any improvement. Bug or is there something I am missing/not understanding? -
Quote:Running more broker missions won't help, if you have one of the contacts in that particular contact chain (Vince -> Crash -> Diviner Maros in this case) you won't get the next one from the broker. I have found that sometimes a contact won't introduce the one in the next level range until you are +1 into the range, i.e. Crash will probably give you Maros as soon as you hit L26. For some reason if you haven't done quite enough of thier missions to be fully trusted they wait until you have made the extra level. I see this more on hero side then villain but it occaisonally happens redside as well.Originally Posted by TeutonicRogue
So...i screwed up...I had taken great care to disable xp every now and then, so as not to outlevel certain contacts (want them all, with a full bar), but i wasn't paying attention when running Crash Cage's arc....dinged 25 after killing Silver Mantis and now she wont give me her second arc or even introduce me to Diviner Maros (who's 25-29).
Is he obtainable via a broker at all? -
Quote:Originally Posted by Atlas_Centurion
It is really ridiculous. I played around with my thugs mm today. Set all my thugs except the Bruiser to "stay/defensive" in one spot. Bruiser and I sashayed up to a mob (pretty far away, within mish), and I told the bruiser to attack w/o issuing new orders to the rest of the thugs. In short order, sure enough, the rest of the gang had marched up and was shooting the mobs.
Why isn't "stay" working?Quote:Originally Posted by JoeKent
Critter AI was reset to "CHARGE!" when issue 17 hit.
Actually your problem here is not the stay command or the changed AI, its the fact that you used stay defensive instead of stay passive. When your pets are in defensive mode they will react to attacks on you or other pets by attacking the aggroed mobs, whether they are on stay or follow mode.
Now, when attacking if your other pets fired off thier ranged attacks then ran right into melee, that would be an instance of the AI change everyone is complaining about. -
Quote:Go hurdle + health. Hurdle is WAY better than swift even if you aren't taking combat jumping. Hurdle gives a huge bonus to jump speeds where swift gives a very small bonus to run speed, so you get far more out of hurdle if you can handle bunny hopping and when you combine it with ninja run you will will be amazed at how much extra speed you get. Hurdle + ninja run = a sweet movement power. I have toons that have nothing but that and it is quite nice.Originally Posted by Col_Blitzkrieger
Is Health worth grabbing on a Stalker without any inherent regeneration to stack it with? (e.g. Ninjitsu)
Or would it be so unnoticeable that I'd be better off grabbing Swift + Hurdle to make up for a lack of travel power besides Ninja Run? Stalkers seem to have low-ish health, which means less health restored per regeneration tick...
Swift grants you a 35% run speed increase which with a single SO translates to an additional 6 mph on top of the base 14. While hurdle doesn't give you as much jump height increase as combat jumping it gives you a huge jump speed increase - 124% unslotted, which translates to an extra 22 mph on top of the base 14. With ninja run that becomes 55 mph total. As a comparison on my L37 blaster super speed + sprint gives her a run speed of 69 mph, so hurdle + ninja run gives you a jump speed that is about 2/3 of superspeed, plus you will have fairly good jump height (37 feet)
Health is kind of a stealth power - you don't really notice it working but it DOES cut down on your downtime considerably. You can live without it and I HAVE gone with swift + hurdle on some characters but usually thats on regen scrappers who already have a ton of regen from fast healing and integration. -
Quote:Are you sure about balancing melee and ranged? The bane mace ranged attacks are pretty sad compared to the melee attacks. Cloaking device actually gives you enough stealth that you are near full invis (50' - enough that even bosses will only aggro if you are right up in thier faces) and the melee attacks hit really hard with fairly fast activation times, especially when you factor in stealth strike, where the ranged attack do fairly sad damage and all have long (2 second) activation times.Originally Posted by OneWhoBinds
Good day.
I've recently started a Soldier of Arachnos - a Wolf - and am loving the experience so far.
I've plans for using a 'Huntsman' build for her primarily, but it seems a shame to have a mace and never use it...
So - I'm actually planning for a second build, crafting a more traditional Bane Spider. But I don't want to go all-melee on the alternate build. So I'd like to see an example of a Bane Build that is rather balanced between ranged and melee, rather than excelling at one to the expense of the other...
Thank you.
I did basically the same thing you are thinking of doing on one character. My main build was a huntsman who skipped all the mace powers (except build up) so I went a with melee bane on my second build although I did take poisonous ray as the best of the ranged attacks. I found that the secondary build was an insanely hard hitter in melee and fairly safe due to the ability to chain knockdown in shatter and crowd control. I rarely used poisonous ray and only to finish off running targets. You will certainly never be a AE monster with just the melee attacks but you can kill hard targets fairly quickly and I found that build soloed better than the huntsman, which I kept for grouping.
Here is the build I went with on my melee bane:
Except for the Gaussian's set, this was a fairly cheap build that soloed at +2/x0 +1/x2 fairly easily. It was also fun to play - the melee attacks feel like the hit as hard as they actually do.Code:| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1428;709;1418;HEX;| |78DA9D93C94F13511CC7DFD0C2D04EDB6945CA5E042C3B056E2E07838A86088A292| |A01641CDA094CD24CEBCC60E4E61FE0C1F5885B5C2F2E178CA847CF7AD63F42A3C6| |9BA9BFE59588DC9CB4DFCFF4F77EDBFBBDBEA9CB4723425C392494E49182E979C69| |86BE6569CA267648B85BC6DB9EA49D35F75CD82508510E97F57BDCC61D3B18C6CC9| |CE5B6EC5989E714DDBB19D65E3B8995FB6FCED4E95C5C484B362B996E3672A2F91E| |962B1903966FB8EE579FC63D2324BE0ABF14AC15E5EF113F43EE15CB23D7BC92ED8| |FE5A72BC64E73267C7C7668C2933678178BEE5AE3542C37DF0AD1595A75C2DE6006| |DA26A9EB140089E672C126A0DC2730DA05094100D0A9A5E83496153959222AF9A6D| |D80087808C0934520C66A996C5AB1F56518147848EC784BD4F184F19CF0835306C5| |526527B29F71BC81462533014A5DC618D1126F4C4183A21068E9AACAB5DA00C9125| |468E10B3187942F3294214342AA3A2EB648ADF61DC25ECBAC7B84F483D20A8D0AD2| |EE7A297E111DDA43DA43AD8133267823BD96D32B8A1243794949D705FB590B34EE6| |ACA33C8D7FE93BD85ABD9C4FFD10A05324553E2630290D2932F5FFA6542FC0B9493| |6D08443EA14AD3A234C484509DD119A5C374F350EFE2D1C255A06285F838A0B5CA2| |ED331D54EA0B01F7D72E4BB497C879CF4586CB28123A7CC62AE1A5864A5181CE400| |0EB757D827CBDA2EB03E32365DF04BFB4AC9BEEA03D0DD1187E06D08BCBF65EA3B6| |FBAE336E306E12FA6F316E135EC1090FC8A8011CFAB018CCD15D19C473E91283782| |E6931643166A9E27B6822239BCD7C85BE46C5F037C60FC677C22FE86944FA8D5097| |A33BB435B87523E18396C91D96E9A0BC7E6051C87222B87523CBA138790A76FEAF6| |7335229193A1D06CDA29C413987328B3287328FB280B28862A094DF6E45EBFBB0AF| |FD2807500EA2D4E3DFE72A7AAA780B3594084A142586A2A3C451EA509A51D651CA7| |F00287F29FE| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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Quote:Villainside KB in the mid-high teens, lets see - trolls (Lt, bosses, some minions), Mooks (hitmen, melee LT's, almost all bosses), tsoo (ancenstor spirits - lots of KB and stun), Goldbrickers (bosses, LT's), arachnos (LT's with grenades), Longbow (LT's with grenades, most bosses). I have had every thing in this list knock my characters on their *** in the mid to high teens if they don't have KB protection.Originally Posted by Kelenar
Nothing villains have to face in the high teens really uses knockback enough for it to be more than a minor annoyance for me. I think the only time I recall really noticing it is against Spetsnaz, since their lieutenants and bosses both like to toss knockback grenades, and I usually avoid Dmitri anyway.
So I would echo kheldarn's suggestion - take Indominable will as soon as you can - you don't have to run it all the time but when you DO want it, having it around is very nice. Knock back is one of the few things you can't 'recover' from with inspirations - once you have been knocked down you are going to finish the KB and kip up animation before you can do anything else, so the only way to avoid it is to pro-actively eat a break free or have KB protection. -
Quote:If I remember all the numbers starsman or somene else ran during the dominator revamp test, psi assault came in second to fire for AE damage (or vice versa - I know they where the top two sets, just not which was which), so you are off base on this at least. I don't remember how it came in on single target damage so I won't speak to that, or to your list of ratings except to note that if you are wrong about the AE damage, I certainly wouldn't trust a list of arbitrary numbers that don't look to be backed by actual in game data, just your 'experience'.Originally Posted by Frosticus
In general doms benefited from the revamp and all do more damage than before. /psi however, did not. It is a very low st damage set with mediocre aoe.
However, the original poster asked for a blaster vs controller as a good solo experience and to that question I would say that there is no good answer - both a psi/* blaster and a mind/* controller are going to solo fairly well - the blaster a little faster due to aim/build up and the controller a little safer due to all the lockdown a mind controller gets (but not a ton slower, especially when comparing mind control to psi blast). Both are going to be single target specialists as minds real AE damage is in mass confuse and psi blast is pretty much a single target set unless you take either psi/fire, and can handle getting up close and personal with FSC and hot feet, or psi/psi and live with the fact that certain enemies are just going to be a pain (council robots, etc).
If you want the AE goodness that blasters dish out I would recommend one of the two options listed above. If you want better safety I would recommend mind/rad for completele safety or mind/storm for reasonable safety + tons of chaotic fun. I found a mind controller to be a good soloer in the early levels - mass hypnosis to lock down a group, then dominate + levitate + mesmerize to kill single targets quickly - about as quickly as a blaster would once you allow for the initial lock down time and its a lot safer.
If you do want to try a redside char I would suggest a mind/fire dominator. You get the insanely good control of a mind and fire assault is one of the two highest damaging AE secondaries and is very good for single target damage as well. Fortunata's are ok but for an alt you are not sure of I wouldn't suggest 24 levels of psuedo claws/sr stalker just to get to your psi character although they ARE a great combo mind blaster/controller with a lot of defensive options. -
If you want to avoid redraw you could go with one of the other patron pools - while shatter armor is a really nice melee attack, you can get a lot out of leviathan mastery - school of sharks can replace web envelope and bile spray is an insanely good attack for a soldier as it is toxic damage and benefits from venom grenades full 40% resistance debuff to toxic.
Here is a similiar build I am working towards on my crab - its not all melee, I have a mix of both mostly to get more AE damage and to capitalize on the energy based attacks so I don't do all lethal.
Code:This one looks expensive but most of the real expense is in sets that I slotted for recharge bonuses and the unique's that I slotted in health for the +recover. If you drop those its a pretty cheap build with a nice mix of ranged, melee and plenty of AE damage.| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1460;713;1426;HEX;| |78DA9D93594F135114C7EFB485A1B4A52DA52C054A0B94C5428537970743108DD22| |20644A3C666A4937692665A6706C4373F800FAEC125B87D04D922FAE237D2375F4C| |3DCB9D46F4CD49FBFF75CE3DF77FCF39D3296C9D0F0AF1F09C50BAE7AB9A6D17E72| |C6DBD62D6ECE24AAD5A32744B5DD29C0D4BAB460A46C934CA4E2535AF59A656D655| |2144E6EF6C3B376F69778B2B75A3A45B6E30B36A69866998E5E245AD54D69DE349E| |E62F49259D12DDD7472EE8FE072AD56CDE575AD0ECB7C73C1704CDDB643F2A65C71| |6029ECE6819D5D31EAFD0B75633DB7B630B75ACCEB9B86E65434B358D06C47B71EF| |442D593F0ED14EED5F0896DC0A0F0BC24F85E115A5F137ADF103E05000AA50BD1A3| |60A8CB8D88468BB2C30E6FD9E11D3BBC27443E10121F098760E49546DE5F14EA864| |9B6C850CB4F0E81AAD25BDD058C8BB63DC63EA1FD807148487EF30811139FC1DBCF| |461E7F920F677431B0F980B40DB06D906D836CDBC1B61D6C3B9625B4422521595F6| |802302B54088539A4842FD33866D7145CE98158541E11ADD3A99DF7181697627387| |0E21BD417E6DE017633F6F2CC5098C046374DB83F80AD5C76529F1695AD90DF003C| |1AD3D53DC26232991261C415E1F1726FAD2D4D81E84FAE57FA07F99BA18B8C2C813| |4696180582A2A2726B833685C61DC2E4066393B14598BE4F4840FE90DC35C40349F| |140523C90140F24FDC740068517CE1AE6AE7CC3C35CC5086134C918E202D2041FA4| |67E41032FCACC724B8FB71BE8B42DE84CC9BE0D089E3E0F4EF5E21B2B2E8EC633A6| |2EA09E329E319F7F89CF182F00376E5E4AEDC2E199DDC63EC330E08B3878C2C210E| |3A231FCC0C87067CCD97133E7089FC3F91655FF3F5130A45167DCD77B4E18F50A6E| |0E4FFBA8E82EE91FEABEDA02B28D750AEA3DC40B989720BE536CA1D94224AE34B73| |77F814D6751AE50CCA599438D4271E61A68A2F640025881242E94009A3445062280| |9941D94C66FC1EE0A3E| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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Quote:I do agree that whatever fix they implement they need to do it selectively. pets/mobs who are ranged exclusively or mostly need to stick to the old behavior and melee mobs/pets need to use the new behavior. I think if they can get this right it will not only help with MM's but it should make NPC's more interesting as well.Originally Posted by Main_Battle_Tank
It does suck you all having those problems. Me, I have tried ninjas twice before and hated em with a passion ... now, I LOVE EM! The Jounin were always stuck, hesitating, hangin' back, now they're homicidal MANIACS! "I'm armed, I'm dangerous, and I'm OFF my PROZAC!" While I do hope they fix the problem eventually, I really hope they don't declaw my Ninjas.
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Quote:Actually, compared to most other defensive bonuses CJ gives you a lot for very little cost. Manuevers (the pool version) gives you 3.5% but costs 0.39 end/sec. Weave is better at 5% but takes 3 power picks and costs 0.33 end/sec. Most +def from IO's only benefits one of the 3 positions instead of all of them. So you point that it gives 'a little defense' is extreme misleading.Originally Posted by Dirges
Ok so you attack another poster about their opinion and spew this useless stuff. Why would anyone use CJ as a IO mule when Crabs already have a defense auto power and a defense toggle available. CJ is good for mobility and a little defense, but it is not needed as a defense IO mule.
I mentioned the slotting options for CJ because in an earlier post I had mentioned that one of the few valid reasons for taking wolf spider armor is it gave you a place to put one of the two usefull steadfast protection IO's (the +def and the -KB) so the fact that you can put a karma -KB in CJ means that you are free to put the steadfast protection +3% def in the crab spider armor instead of a -KB.
Ultimately though my main point was that insisting that 3% smashing/lethal resistance (and 2% psionic - can't forget that) made it worth taking the wolf spider armor on a crab build is completely off base. I threw out the other suggestions as to powers that would benefit you a LOT more in a crab build that could take the place of the wolf spider armor.
As many posters have noted - there are so many good powers available to VEAT's that taking the wolf spider armor is only of benefit in a VERY limited circumstance and even then only if you don't have other choices at that level. Crabs do have other choices. -
The primary end usage in any build is in the attacks, so if you can fit an end reducer in an attack it is generally the best choice. However, I would also suggest one or more of the following things:
1) Moving some slots around so your attacks are better slotted
2) Franken-slotting your attacks with cheap dual and triple set IO's so you can get more enhancement value out of the slots you are using.
3) TAKE DULL PAIN.
The first one is probably the simplest if you don't want to mess around with inventions. At your level the extra slots in RPD, resist energies/elements and health are a bad use of a limited resource, so moving those slots to attacks so you can come as close as possible to the damage cap AND get some end reduction in them will help a lot.
Second, if you are willing to dip into inventions even slightly you can get so much more out of your powers. It may seem a little expensive initially to pick up even the cheaper set IO's from the market and craft them but it saves a lot in the long run since you can keep them until want to actually slot some good IO sets or even until you hit 50.
The third option is a big deal - dull pain is invuln's get out of jail free card. It fills all the holes in your defense, especially the hole to psionic damage partially do to the heal but mostly due to the huge boost in hit point that it gives you. Because your healing rate stays the same no matter how many HP you have, more HP = faster overall regen.
Here is a quick build with SO slotting - I kept the same powers except I swapped resist elements out for dull pain and moved your slots around so that you get more use out of them. You could replace either of the passives or combat jumping with dull pain but of the 3 powers resist elements is likely to be the easiest one to skip for now. I also included some future slotting as a suggestion:
Code:In most cases I slotted a single accuracy, capped damage and slotted some end reduction, although in the case of flashing steel I went for a mix of end reduction and recharge at the expense of not quite capping damage. I slotted unyielding rather than RPD/resist energy because you get more out of it. Unyielding adds to all your exotic resistances (7.5% to fire/cold/energy/negative energy) and adds about half as much to smashing/lethal as well, so those 2 extra slots buy you nearly as much as the 6 extra slots you used to have in RPD, resist elements and resist energies. I also capped recharge on dull pain as you want it up as often as possible.| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1091;481;962;HEX;| |78DA9D925B6BD44014C7279B6CA7DB64EF6EEF565F45C8B3DA4A6DAD42B10B8B8A4| |FEA325DC6DD81211B9228D6A77E006FB4CFFD20C50F17CF993909644B411CC8EF3F| |F39F39972433FC7A143076BECF9CD6732DD274FC6692883896497D28A66AC26752E| |B799C72C6D8A0D81A0FA596327C25321189FBA57B243FC92895E171F4E5B38E6422| |4E9556D959F7389AC9444659584C82D17CAEC3972A8B649ADAC58914B18AA6BEDDD| |16A3ACBBA660EC954AA6CA6DE8B584DC2432DBEC9F150A4994CCED6A1AF07F0FCC0| |06CDC83D239ECB6AAE558F748934E05677511D13C358CF7A3F395990C7B92D0FC50| |75DAB7BB0766D9E9A4B795A0BFA0BCED46D5EA74E71EBA4BF618F9BAAB9C7A9E6B2| |5BD59542A9F653D086CD576B3C04B9CB3A15A9C3019F5ECEEFDB200E5E93BCE68AF| |5F6C16B93D7A6662FC0EBDAE4A657F47A6E55EF14CAAB2FB30CEB3E7D8CFE92F556| |17F4199C1950CD01D55C056FCDD6646B9EF52EC1DBA03E36A88F4DB7AADB85521F3| |BD4C701ACB71CF3516B5B946F6741F37F1CDB5E79B998096227379C91575E1CE618| |E79E575EAFBCD12977FF775C0745C9C66BFC776F1123C43BC47BC407C44784409C2| |22688FC4F19DD7E847D3D463C41EC2206D01FFB8E27B90FF01101A2896821DA880E| |A28FD8445C21F2BF31C1DD67| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
Now, if you are willing to try to slot some cheap IO's, here is what you can do:
I went with mostly focused smite IO's in the single target powers and Multi Strikes in the AE attacks, with a sprinkling of a few other set IO's that are not too expensive. Both smite and multi-strike are fairly cheap although in the case of multi-strike its only because the other options (eradication, obliteration or scirocco's dervish) are really expensive. You won't get any huge IO set bonuses from these but you WILL get great enhancement values. For example, in the first build gamblers cut had 33% accuracy, 94% damage and 33% end reduction (assuming even level SO's) where in the second build it has 43% acc, 95% damage, 39% end reduction and 39% recharge for the same 5 slots. Powers like the lotus drops come out even better: the first build has 33% accuracy, end reduction and recharge with 94% damage, the second build has 65% accuracy, 39% end reduction and 60% recharge with 95% damage. If you can handle going with some simple IO's like this you will find your end use a LOT better and your hard hitting attacks up a lot more often (which also improved end use).Code:| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1069;509;1018;HEX;| |78DA9D92DB6ED3401086D78E1D37B1737042DA342D855B84E46BA0ADCAA12DAA684| |4C4A1800444DB6849565A39C67611E58A07E024B8E641501FCECCEC6C2C116E102B| |E5FFEC7F676726E31DBEDF0F18FBB8C7ACE63DC5B36CFC7892F22411A93BE45339F| |16642A97992798CB1DE626B3C144A88E801CF79CCAF96EEBE7823E24C4447F1BB33| |158B949F4A25F3F3F0289E8954C479B4780846F3B98A0E651E8B2CA39763C113194| |F7DDA51723ACB43FD0CC964262953E7209193E8AEE21FC478C8B35CA4E77DE8EB1A| |FC3E63837A150E7B0AB8CCEC130DE79946F5A14670A0B18DE1960E67AC03702AEC8| |B672C48A1099E5D213A86558F1884C41D78AF501EBB62F23497F815625CCA6BB9E6| |5CDFF01BEC79BA6AE178D4F60AB5BD426DD7A9DFFA0B8D5D08AF512ABB765D5BED3| |FE042806FFE97DFA51A1E780DE335EAE4ED81D7325ECBF4F91DBC9092BB61A2D375| |DE12528D4B8A70A6D19F539F70AA6B26D0AD52A6D525DE86989EA9D633D556C15BA| |36A6CCD21EF0778EBA683759AC680A631A0696C3E27D034B6EE6BDC81531B969EA1| |BD61326D2DB1F8C7B5E994D788E943ECF82F67E494F78459DAB9E294B7A9A8B5CBD| |DFF5DBF8245C9DA23FC5E4F50462827282F515EA1BC46E128A7281394E2A23CDDBA| |817DDD44B985B28DD283FED8278CF47C101F254069A034515A286D942ECA00E5274| |AF11B5056E6BC| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
However, if you can't afford it or are not in the mood to mess around with IO's, the first build will still save you a LOT on end use and you are not losing that much in the way of defenses over your previous build. -
Quote:As much as I was willing to defend taking both armors on certain bane builds taking the wolf spider armor on a crab is just insane. 3% resistance is meaningless - it adds almost NOTHING to your defenses. I get that you like taking the wolf spider armor - but don't try and push it as a good, reasonable choice on a crab build, it is not. I don't like to come off harsh here and I certainly would never try to dictate how someone builds thier character - if you want it, by all means take it. However, I don't like the value of something being misrepresented on the forums to folks who don't know better. You keep claiming it actually adds something of value to your character and it doesn't, really. With the status protection in fortification + the crab spider armor you don't need the extra status protection from the wolf spider armor and the 3% smashing/lethal and 2% psionic resistances are a joke.Originally Posted by Madam_Enigma
It's a nice bonus though. And it's not like I'm short on power picks. Especially now that I don't need a travel power (thanks to Ninja Run). Now I need a respec to pull slots out of sprint, swift, and mental training. No longer need the insane run speed slotting.
Seriously, you talk about being able to skip a travel power and while I agree that ninja run + hurdle + mental training you don't need super jump or super speed but going into the leaping pool for combat jumping is always a good choice on a VEAT. You get a whopping 2.5% def to all positions for a cheap 0.07 end/sec and can slot a lot of usefull IO's (karma -KB, kismet +acc, LoTG +recharge). If you want more def you can dive into the leadership pool for another 3.5% def as VEATS get leadership bonuses nearly as good as defenders, or double up assault with TT: assault for a whopping 30% damage boost to all in your group. Indeed, while I personally don't like the power I would take CT: Offensive long before I took the wolf spider armor on a crab.
In summary, while you are free to build your character however you wish please don't try to push bad advice to folks asking questions on the forums.
EDIT: Ok, I will note that you do get an extra 2 points of fear and confuse protection from the wolf spider armor to stack with the crab spider armor for 6 total - but its still a pretty minor benefit from a single power pick. Everthing else you get from the armor is pretty much a waste on a crab. -
There are two things I find go well with regen as a secondary. The first is some kind of defensive support from the primary and the second is a hard hitting attack in addition to AS to use in a placate combo because you generally won't have the def you need to get off a placate + AS (unless you are only dealing with a single target of course). The sets that have the best heavy hitters are:
Broadsword: Disembowel (109 dam), Headsplitter (146 dam but only 50% chance of crit)
Claws: eviscerate (124 damage)
Dark Melee: Midnight grasp (153 damage)
Martial Arts: Eagles Claw (126 damage)
Ninja Blade: Soaring dragon (100 dam), Golden Dragonfly (126 dam but only 50% chance of crit)
Dual blades, electric melee and spines don't really have a good single target heavy hitter and energy melee's two heavy hitters don't get normal crits, on the other hand energy transfer does 246 damage without having to crit so there is a good arguement that you don't even need placate with energy melee.
I think the best attack in the above list is midnight grasp from dark melee - it does as much damage as head splitter but has a full chance to crit, combined with the -to hit in dark melee and the extra heal from siphon life and you have a good set to balance out regen. My first redside 50 was a DM/Regen stalker. Martial arts doesn't have much damage mitigation and claws, ninja blade and broadsword all suffer from redraw when using regen powers. If you can live with the redraw, either of the sword sets would support regen very well - the def from parry/divine avalanche is insanely good. -
Quote:Good description of how things work - I will add a couple of points that are likely to be specific to demon MM's. First, is that slow enhancements only affect movement slows, not recharge slows, so thier defensive use is somewhat restricted. Second, while both the demonlings and the demon prince will take slow enhancements ONLY one demonling will actually benefit from them - the frost demonling, as his attacks are the only ones that have a slow component. So while you might get some value from a slow enhancement in the demon prince, it will mostly be wasted in summon demonlings.Originally Posted by Derangedpolygot
Accuracy enhancements will boost the Pet's powers' accuracy
Damage will boost the Pet's Damage output
Endurance Reduction will effect both your end cost to summon them AND the endurance cost of the Pet's powers.
Recharge Reduction cannot usually be placed into Henchmen powers(The main Pet Summons all MM's can take). Even if you could, only the recharge time of the Summon Power itself would be affected.
Mez, Debuffs, Slows, etc:
Enhance the Pet's powers where applicable. Slows effect the powers with a slow component. Immobilize with Immobilize, Holds with Holds, Defense Debuff with Defense Debuff, and so on.
Invention Procs attach themselves to the Pet's powers if appropriate. (Impeded Swiftness: Chance for Smashing Damage only checks if the Pet's attack power has a slow component--as Impeded Swiftness is a Slow set.)
Also, if you slot set IO's only an attack or power that could take those set IO's will benefit from them - for example if you slot a ghost widow's embrace acc/end reduction IO in the demon prince ONLY his hold will benefit from that IO. So if you are going to slot set IO's, whether you are doing it to frankenslot for enhancement bonus or for a set bonus, you are better off slotting pet damage IO's since almost all attacks do a little damage and will benefit from the pet damage IO. If you want to enhance a specific feature, such as hold duration on the demon prince or resistance on the demons (to buff the ember shield), slot an SO or generic IO for that one feature. I suspect a hamidon enhancement would affect all powers as well, so that is another option for high level play but probably not a cheap one. -
I did take both armors on my mace bane melee build, primarily because my only alternative was to take one of the first two ranged mace attacks (which suck), one of the soldier gun attacks (which cause lots of redraw) or combat training: offensive, which tends to be a nearly useless pick considering how much accuracy I got from my IO slotting. The wolf spider armor, while not an awesome pick, is a better pick than CT: Offensive if only because taking both armors allow you to slot a steadfast prot -KB IO in one and a steadfast protection: +3% def IO in the other.
This is a pretty specific case though - I put that build together as a secondary build around L34-35 and used it for soloing so the fact that I only had 2 attacks by L12 (bash/pulversize) was not a big deal, since I almost never SK'ed down low enough to lose any attacks. My other build on that character is a huntsman build (bane soldier that only takes gun attacks and group buffs) which is what I used in groups.
If I understand the way status protection works, though, there IS an advantage to taking both armors. Since the bane armor only gives you 4 points of status protection that means that 2 normal holds/stuns/etc will be enough to hold you as they will stack up 6 points total. The extra 2 points from the wolf armor will mean it takes 3 normal holds/stuns, etc to overcome your protection, since the total status effects need to be higher than your protection.
Mind you, I never took more than the bane armor on my huntsman build and never had any problems - but he capped ranged def fairly early and leveraged WaWG to keep foes at range (or played tag with them). If you are playing a melee bane you might need the extra 2 points, especially against foes that stack a lot of stuns up. -
Quote:I don't remember drones always moving into melee - I specifically remember having to corner pull them to get them grouped up so my fire/shield scrapper could unleash fiery death on them. I haven't played her since i17 as I am working on other chars nor have I fought any rikti, so I can't claim to see any new behavior but the OLD behavior was for drones to stay right where they spawned and snipe at you until you damaged them enough to kick in the flee code or you LOS pulled them.Originally Posted by Madam_Enigma
True, but remember that they always would move into melee. Maybe not often, but it happened. Oh god, I remember trying to fight them originally with Madam Enigma. Especially when my ranged defense was lower then melee defense. They were the pits. Almost as bad as Nemesis before I got the aoe toggle.
You can also see the changed behavior at lower levels with hellion/skull gunner LTs - they used to hang back and fire at you since they have no melee attacks whatsoever, now they fire one burst then run up. The shotgun LT's do it as well, although it isn't as noticable because they always used to run up partway to get in shotgun range, however now they run up to shotgun range, fire one shot, then close to melee. I have seen this on Lost LT's as well, the big gun toting ones - they never used to close to melee range now they always do.
This behavior HAS changed since i17 and it looks to be a general AI change in that everything eventually closes to melee after one round of ranged attacks, whether or not said mob has melee attacks. -
Quote:Accuracy is never better than to hit, its just easier to get. To hit buffs will ALWAYS be better than acc if you can get them as a to hit buff will be multiplied by any accuracy enhancement you have, whether slotted in the power or global. Check out the very formula's you are quoting - to hit mods, provided they don't boost you above 95% (which is hard to do) are going to be multiplied by accuracy AND they directly counter to hit debuffs, where accuracy does NOT counter to hit debuffs, although it can overcome them but it tends to take a LOT more accuracy.Originally Posted by Arbegla
But, yeah, Acc is generally better then Tohit, theres just much more ways to get tohit, then Acc.
Example - with no to hit mods all you need to hit the accuracy cap against even level mobs is a 26% accuracy bonus, so a single even level SO (33%) will put you above the cap (99.75%). However, apply as much as a 5% to hit debuff and you will fall below the cap and most to hit debuffs are more than that. A simple 10% to hit debuff will require 46% accuracy to overcome - so you need 16% more accuracy to counter a 10% to hit debuff where you would only need a 10% to hit buff.
Now, if you didn't have access to TT:leadership as a VEAT i would say that CT: offensive was a fine power. However, you do have access to TT: Leadership and not only is it far more effective than CT: offensive but it's bonus applies to your entire team, not just you.
So while I can see taking CT: offensive at lower levels when you don't have TT: leadership I would generally suggest swapping it for leadership as soon as you can. -
I have a fortunata named Crimson Mystique, a bane spider huntsman (bane build w/gun attacks only) named Midnight Renegade and a crab spider named Midnight Carnage.
No real backstory behind the names, I didn't want to stick to the usual Operative XXX or Widow YYY I saw most of the time, although with Midnight Renegade I figured it was a good name for a renegade arachnos operative. -
Quote:Heck - you want a tank mage, I offer my fire/shield scrapper. She is at the softcap to all positions, has a decent amount of DDR (as much or more than any VEAT) and dishes out HUGE amounts of damage. She soloes at x4 without even breaking a sweat and only runs that low because I am lazy and like to goof off. My shield/ss tank is pretty nice as well, not quite as much ddamage but can take even more.Originally Posted by dave_p
That's hardly kryptonite considering everyone but a select few powersets suffers from that. Plus soldiers have decent resists to back up their defenses. Add good mez protection and I'd say you have a pretty good case for the mythic "tankmage".
The fact is that a scrapper or brute with decent AE will be about as much or more a tank mage as a VEAT - the primary difference is the VEAT buffs the team as well and have a little more range - but range is NOT garunteed protection in this game like it is in the classic MMORG, so the usual 'tank mage' doesn't really exist here.
I find it amusing how everyone is so worried about gimping the ranged classes so they can't be a 'tank mage' but totally ignore the amount of damage a scrapper or brute can dish out/take. I have found myself unable to play ranged classes lately because I find them SOO squishy and they don't kill any faster than my melee chars - much slower in many cases. VEATs are the only ranged class I don't find to squishy, although dominators are ok after the last set of changes. -
I wouldn't take all of the personal attacks - you will easily burn youself out of end and slots trying to make 3 attacks effective PLUS your pets and your secondary. Personally I suggest taking corruption for the resistance debuff since it has the best range and if you want another attack take the cone - it does great damage and will apply an AE debuff. The second attack, lash, is nice but it is very short range (20' vs 80' for the first attack) and the recharge is longer than the debuff duration so you won't even be able to keep up the debuff without some recharge slotting.
I would put hell on earth off a bit later - its a nice power, just like gang war and soul extraction, but has a long enough recharge that you won't have it up much without some good recharge slotting, which means waiting until you get SO's at least. So far most of the builds I have looked at for varous secondaries (storm, dark, pain and poison) can easily fit in corruption and hell on earth - Crack whip is a tougher fit and I personally would only take it with a secondary that doesn't have much resistance debuff. So if you are force field or poison it would make a good choice and it would probably be worth fitting earlier on at least for a pain or thermal, since they don't get any debuffs until the 30's. -
Quote:Is your mids in PvP mode? One of the buttons in the upper right hand corner sets this (Mode: PvP/PvE, Recipes: Off/On and Pop-Up: Off/On are the 3 buttons). I can't get your exact value to show in my copy but in PvP mode I show 796 base damage for unslotted pistols, 1552 fully slotted. There used to be a problem with Mids installs where they would override the PvP/PvE setting and set it to PvP. It didn't do this on my install, but it might have on yours.Originally Posted by bAss_ackwards
As always, thanks for the hard work! Mids is one of the core foundations that make this game so incredibly fun to play!
There is one weird bug though. The damage numbers are insanely high. At least, when I opened my Dual Pistols/Energy Manipulation Blaster the power Pistols is said to do 1120 damage! Don't get me wrong though, I'd love it if Executioner's Shot did 2374 damage.
Another possibility - if you have build up turned on (small green dot on the right hand side of power listing) it's damage boost will be applied to all powers in the power info display. -
Quote:My bane used a similar attack sequence, although I never had enough recharge on shatter to fire it off so quickly again. Usually I would open with surveillance > build up > shatter > shatter armor > crowd control, to knock everything around me off its feet and get the build up bonus on the AE, then finish off my main target with pulverize and/or bash (if he was still up), saving placate + shatter for the next biggest target. On an EB I would probably following the first sequence with placate + shatter.Originally Posted by Red Pirate Boggarts
One question about shatter armor. I understand it doesn't cause a stealth or executioner's strike when you're cloaked, but it has that -resistance. What would be your opener? hide > surveillance > build up > shatter > shatter armor > placate > shatter > pulverize?
Shatter armor makes a great opener if you are out of hide and don't have placate up, especially for ambushes and the like, but the huge executioners strike on shatter is too nice to waste if you do have hide/placate up. -
Quote:Because your base to hit is decreased considerably with enemy level you tend to need a lot more accuracy then you think you need as enemies level up. Your base to hit goes down to 65% for +1, 56% for +2, 48% for +3 and so on (see http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Attack...cs#Data_Tables for all the values). This means you need the following minimum accuracy enhancement to be capped on overall to hit:Originally Posted by GavinRuneblade
What level of enemy do you normally fight? Do you run against +4, +3, or +2?
If you are against +0 or +1 I believe you are wasting slots with two Acc SOs. But on the higher enemies you will notice it. 66% from Two +3 SOs will get you 90% or 95% to hit against +2 enemies.
+0: 26.7%
+1: 46.1%
+2: 69.6%
+3 97.9%
+4 143.6%
So if you want to be capped against +2's you will need at least 2 SO's - and you probably will slip below the cap when they are no longer +3 to your level. Now, adding in a to hit bonus changes those considerably, which is why follow up is a good power even on brutes. A single follow up drops the required accuracy to hit the cap to:
+0: 11.7%
+1: 26.7%
+2: 43.9%
+3: 63.8%
+4: 93.9%
So follow up does a lot on a brute even with the damage bonus getting swallowed up by fury. That said, I tend to leave follup up off until the early 20's on my brutes - the long recharge on it (compared to other claws powers :-) makes it hard to put it into an attack chain until I can slot it with SO's (or frankenslot it with IO's, which I put off until 22 at least) and I tend to solo my brutes at -1/x2 prior to SO's, so I don't need much accuracy beyond a couple of DO's worth. If you plan on running at higher level settings earlier on, go for follow up earlier.