Erratic
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Posts
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Quote:Originally Posted by Matuse
I checked out KM's animations in the chargen screen, and I can't fathom why anyone would ever want to play that set.
It's not fighting, it's interpretive dance. I was hard pressed to find any of those "attacks" which looked like they would actually threaten anyone.
Because slamming your hand foward into someone's chest wouldn't actually harm them of course. -
Quote:Granted, that healing is something that I have on occassion missed when playing my KM/SD as opposed to my DM/INV. On balance though I (perhaps irrationally) end up giggling to myself more often when I use Burst than I lament not having a heal.Originally Posted by DreadShinobi
KM's dmg debuff is better than DM's acc debuff though (because you should be softcapped already anyways), but DM has Siphon Life healing.
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Fire had best do more damage as that's its raison d'être. DM is debuffing the chances of its user taking damage and KM is debuffing the damage done to its user.
Checking out DPA in Mids, I can't say that I find DM to be all that different from KM. Shadow Punch and Quick Strike are identical. Smite is about 25% better than Body Blow. Shadow Maul is roughly 57% of Smashing Blow (but Shadow Maul is a cone, so when you hit 2 you've pulled slightly ahead and if you hit more than two all the better. Finally there is Midnight Grasp which a bit more than 16% up on Concentrated Strike (however Concentrated Strike both has a higher base accuracy and has a chance to reset Power Siphon).
I suspect Siphon Power comes into play more often for KM than Soul Drain does for DM. -
Quote:Was that directed at me or just a passing comment?Originally Posted by DreadShinobi
I got a Km/Sd to 50 when the set first came out, IO'd it to the max then deleted it shortly after. It is a good set for sure, but I wouldn't rank it as high as dm/sd or fm/sd
FM/SD clearly churns out lots of nice, AE damage and having a heal and endurance siphon is a nice plus for DM/SD. That said, I am quite happy with KM paired up with SD and would not change it if I could (which I suppose I could by making another character). My KM/SD has probably become my favorite character (though I have to say the EM/Nin Stalker has charms). -
KM/Shield here, and the only time I've had a problem with bashing things already dead was in a pretty stellar team on a large map where we were killing to fast that even tabbing and swinging nobody could be sure the target would still be there when the blow landed (i.e., I hit dead targets but then so did other people).
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I am not wowed by Weapon Mastery as a powerpool. It is thematic because of Shuriken (and Exploding Shuriken) and does get you Physical Perfection, but Shuriken and Exploding Shurikent don't get you a lot of damage and I wonder how often you are going to be in need of a ranged attack. But I can't say that any of the hero-side Power Pools really sings to me in terms of utility, so you might as well pick one you like.
Blinding Powder seems kinda iffy. I am guessing you would use it to reduce the number of mobs that will respond to you revealing yourself by attacking, hoping for it to hit the second (and third or more) dangerous opponent in a spawn (becuase you obviously are single target taking out the first dangerous one). Obviously the power seems to have situational usefulness, I just am not sure how often the situation arises.
Finally, you had three slots dedicated to Hide in your build. I didn't put the two extra slots in the power but I think you had a good idea there because it allows you to reveal yourself (say by using Caltrops) and still maintain a very high defense because you haven't taken damage. Opponents will then come after you and you would be somewhat closer to the defense cap while still hiden, meaning you might still successfully launch an attack without interruption. I took the two slots out in my build but that really comes down to how you want the character to be able to play and I can't say that what you had was wrong.
But I agonize over power choices when working up a character anyway, changing them and slotting as I pour more consideration into them while playing them. -
I would not make some of the power choices personally but I tried to mostly respect what you indicated you would take. But I feel the slotting on this might serve you better than what you last had indicated.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Natural Stalker
Primary Power Set: Kinetic Melee
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Weapon Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Quick Strike- (A) Accuracy
- (3) Damage Increase
- (5) Damage Increase
- (13) Damage Increase
- (A) Defense Buff
- (A) Accuracy
- (3) Damage Increase
- (5) Damage Increase
- (13) Damage Increase
- (39) Endurance Reduction
- (A) Defense Buff
- (9) Defense Buff
- (17) Defense Buff
- (A) Accuracy
- (7) Damage Increase
- (7) Damage Increase
- (9) Damage Increase
- (37) Endurance Reduction
- (46) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Flight Speed
- (A) Accuracy
- (11) Damage Increase
- (11) Damage Increase
- (15) Damage Increase
- (15) Recharge Reduction
- (46) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Recharge Reduction
- (34) Recharge Reduction
- (34) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Recharge Reduction
- (39) Recharge Reduction
- (46) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Defense Buff
- (19) Defense Buff
- (19) Defense Buff
- (A) Recharge Reduction
- (21) Healing
- (27) Healing
- (29) Healing
- (37) Recharge Reduction
- (37) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Recharge Reduction
- (23) Recharge Reduction
- (23) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Accuracy
- (25) Damage Increase
- (25) Damage Increase
- (27) Damage Increase
- (29) Recharge Reduction
- (39) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Accuracy
- (A) Endurance Reduction
- (42) Resist Damage
- (42) Resist Damage
- (43) Resist Damage
- (A) Endurance Reduction
- (31) Defense Buff
- (31) Defense Buff
- (31) Defense Buff
- (A) Accuracy
- (33) Damage Increase
- (33) Damage Increase
- (33) Damage Increase
- (34) Endurance Reduction
- (40) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Accuracy
- (36) To Hit Debuff
- (36) To Hit Debuff
- (36) To Hit Debuff
- (A) Recharge Reduction
- (40) Recharge Reduction
- (40) Recharge Reduction
- (A) Endurance Modification
- (42) Healing
- (43) Endurance Modification
- (43) Healing
- (A) Endurance Reduction
- (45) Defense Buff
- (45) Defense Buff
- (45) Defense Buff
- (A) Accuracy
- (48) Damage Increase
- (48) Damage Increase
- (48) Damage Increase
- (A) Accuracy
- (50) Damage Increase
- (50) Damage Increase
- (50) Damage Increase
Level 2: Swift- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Endurance Modification
- (17) Endurance Modification
- (21) Endurance Modification
Level 1: Brawl- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
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It looks better, but there are still a couple of things that might be tweaked.
You should not need the extra Accuray in Quick Strike, and Quick Strike recharges quickly enough as is that putting a Recharge Reducer in it is not saving you much (it will recharge in 2.25 seconds as opposed to 3 seconds--not really a savings worth having). If you are not planning on using the IOs, I would drop 2 slots in the power and leave it at Acc, Dmg, Dmg, Dmg.
Unless you are planning on regularly confronting things that are much higher level than you, most of your attacks have more Accuracy slotted than is advisable.
You have seriously short changed Burst in the damage department. Kinetic Melee is not a heavy, AE powerset, so you will want to get the most out of what few area attacks you have.
When I get home I will try to cobble together a build which respects your power choices but yields what I think might be a better levelling experience. -
As someone returned to CoH after 6 years, dabbling in the Invention system, and wondering how the world to make money, thank you for the guide.
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You are aware how Concentrated Strike works with Build Up? That a crit on Concentrated Strike (which you will get from Hide) doesn't do extra damage but instead refreshes Build Up and thereby leads to popping Build Up, using Concentrated Strike from Hide (and since Concentrated Strike hits like a tank dropped from orbit, whatever it is that you are targetting is likely dead) and immediately refresing Build Up for future use. Since your Build Up is still going to be going for another 6 seconds or so after you have used Concentrated Strike, drop a Burst on the area and put everything on its butt while doing damage to them and then, deal with survivors as you will. Again, I can not see not taking Concentrated Strike the very first moment it comes available.
My understanding is that Smoke Flash is a fairly weak power, but that comes from reviews of it here online. My Electric Melee/Ninjitsu stalker neither is high enough level to have it nor plans to take it.
Edit: Another thing, the slotting on your attacks looks odd. Is there some reason you are avoiding slotting them with 3 Damage each? -
Quote:Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
The combination you want is Dark/Ice. It has decent AoE damage, can be utilized entirely at range with out gimping yourself, and has the best usable mitigation of all blaster combinations in the game without sacrificing much, if any, kill speed.
Please try it before you frustrate yourself again with all of the other high damage, low survivability options.Both the above posters have good suggestions for synergizing sets to give yourself increased survivability. I suggested upthread Sonic Attack/Dark Manipulation, but did not go into details about it. A little bit from both of the previous poster's apply when considering Sonic/Dark, moreso the Sonic/Ice than the Dark/Ice because you have Dark Manipulation, not Dark Blast.Quote:Originally Posted by Infernus_Hades
I have to once again suggest a Sonic/Ice blaster.
Notice almost all of the attacks on both sides are Ranged. The few Melee powers are used to KEEP them at Range!
You can in utter and complete safety wipe out nearly any foes within a very short time and if any get near you Shiver, Chilling Embrace and Ice Patch keep them away from you.
You have it - the Tank Mage ranged blaster.
There is an obvious tendency to look at Dark Manipulation in terms of being a melee ranged, blapping set. But when you can sleep and disorient your targets, debuffing their ability to hit you can visit melee range as necessary (becuase you aren't going to stay there). The powers from Dark Manipulation you are going to be focusing on from Dark Manipulation are Penumbral Grasp, Soul Drain, Dark Consumption, and Dark Pit with an option on Touch of Fear and Midnight Grasp. Note also you have a Disorient power from both powersets--Screech and Dark Pit. -
Quote:Well before you soft cap on your defenses you can be applying To-Hit Debuffs to enemies within range. Permanently pumped defenses plus enemies debuffed on their chance to hit is effectively the same as being soft capped. And that is before you get to heals. Admittedly you have to worry about being hit with something that will detoggles your To-Hit Debuff toggle that someone who is soft capped wouldn't have to worry about (in terms of an increased chance to be hit) and an extra bit of endurance drain, but that is hardly the end of the world.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
I'm not sure why most people haven't figured out how ridiculously broken time manipulation is yet, honestly. But soft-capping with time is more of a Defender thing than a Corruptor thing. Its possible, but not as easy on a Corruptor and I don't think you get there on an all SO build.
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I can't imagine not taking Concentrated Strike ASAP.
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Quote:Some consider Iron Man a brick (do note I included him when I noted the bricks on the 1970s Avengers), though addmittedly he kinda sits along the boundary of the definition.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Actually, you expect the brick to be the hardest puncher.** Subtle but important difference, because there's nothing really in the notion of a brick that says the Iron Man can't deal ten times more damage with energy blasts than any brick can physically generate with their fists in theory.
I think that represents somewhat of an evolution of the term. Brick originally only applied to the top tier of heroes--Thor, the Hulk, the Thing, and so on. Luke Cage? Well, in the right context he is a brick, just a brick in a setting where there exist a lot of people who could seriously hurt him if push came to shove.Quote:And even that is a bit relative. The notion of "combat level" is pretty hazy in comic books, but there is still the sense of there being, for lack of a better way of putting it, "weight classes." We expect a brick of a particular weight class to be the hardest puncher in that weight class, but we aren't surprised when something comes along that punches far harder but isn't a brick, its just of a vastly superior class. Cosmically powered, say.
No, the Brick isn't a CoH AT. I pointed to "lack of imagination" in my previous post, which isn't to say something bad about the initial game design, just nobody thought along the line of bringing in Bricks but more along the line of the division of labor already seen in MMOs to that point--someone who takes damange and controls aggro, someone who deals damage, someone who heals, someone who buffs/debuffs. And for all that it looks like I am criticizing the initial design, I do note that we got two different melee ATs as opposed to just one and that certainly fits the delineation between characters like Thor and characters like Daredevil to a better extent than trying to shove them all into one AT.Quote:I think the important point, though, is not that tankers are not bricks, or bricks are not tankers, but more that the concept of a brick is more closely related to a powerset combination rather than a class. A brick is not any archetype as City of Heroes defines archetypes. Its a very special case of a powerset combination that actually crosses archetypes. SS/Invuln brutes and tankers are both bricks, even though they have different offense and defense. They encapsulate the core concept of being a brick: strong, and resistant to physical damage.
Cannonball is a brick who has a weakness--has to be using his power to not be easily beaten down. Works well in comic books (he's taken on Gladiator before after all) but might be problematic in a game.Quote:** Actually, maybe not even that. Would you consider Cannonball to be basically a flying brick while he's in motion? He's not really a puncher, he's *literally* a brick thrown at someone. -
Quote:Something I clearly indicated in my choice of words. Indeed, my openning lines:Originally Posted by Hopeling
A brick isn't a CoH tank, though.
andQuote:Depends somewhat what you mean by "tanker". In terms of what a Tanker is in CoH, agreed. In terms of the big guy who can take hits and acts mostly physically (or is at least throught of mostly in physical terms). . . .
[quote] Brick, as I've seen it used, refers to superhuman physical strength and durability. Tanks certainly CAN be bricks, but many combos like a Fire/Fire share little in common with the comic book definition of brick.[/qutoe]Quote:. . .[Brute as an AT] I think comes closer to the concept of a comic book brick than the Tanker class does.
You expect a brick to be the heaviest hitter. The Hulk could punch you through a building. CoH Tankers are not the heaviest hitters so I would have a hard time qualifying them as comic book brickesque. They do have the durabilty bit down though.
The brute class is basically designed to emulate the Hulk, and as I noted in my post, I think the Brute AT more closely represents bricks in comic books than Tankers do--Brutes being highly durable and top notch physical damage.Quote:And Hulk is clearly a brick, but also clearly a brute. So bricks and tanks are two different categories that only partially overlap.
Ms. Marvel, Wonderman, Thor, Superman, Wonder Woman, Rogue have plenty of powers they don't share in common and yet all are considered bricks. The are bricks due to two things--they shrug off damage that would stagger or kill others and can physically toss around big things, even if they have other powers up their sleeves.Quote:This is because the story characters tend to be classified by their power types, while in-game we classify them by their group role (which may be poorly defined in the comic, if it exists at all). This is true for other common classifications as well, like speedster (MA/SR scrapper or Kinetics defender, to name just two possibilities), psychic (blaster/corr/defender/troller/dom/widow), and so on. -
Quote:Depends somewhat what you mean by "tanker". In terms of what a Tanker is in CoH, agreed. In terms of the big guy who can take hits and acts mostly physically (or is at least throught of mostly in physical terms). . . .Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Before City of Heroes came along, no one was saying Superman was a "Tanker" or even really *thinking* it.
The comic book fandom term for Superman (and other characters of like property such as Thor, Wonder Woman, Ms. Marvel, etc.) is brick. And there was a distinction between them as and other characters such as Batman or Captain America. Even within settings such characters were noted to be apart from other characters, with consideration given when forming teams (particulay The Avengers, as they underwent and continue to undergo frequent lineup changes) that you needed/wanted a core of heavy hitters. In particular, the Avengers lineup from the 70s was known for its brickyness with Thor, Iron Man, Vision, and Wonderman as regular team members at the time.
While there are teams which lack bricks (think classic X-Men with Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, and Ice Man), the common pattern is for there to be at least one brick on the team.
Of course what suits a written narrative and what fits a game are two different things. Add too there are the limitations of imagination and the matter of legacy to deal with. Given a CoH version 2 the developers might not include the Tanker AT, in favor of the Brute, which I think comes closer to the concept of a comic book brick than the Tanker class does. But they did not have the Brute in the original AT lineup, introduced the Tanker, built a game about the original set of ATs, and that is where we are.
That quibble aside, I basically agree with how you outline things:
Quote:Its worth noting that when this game launched, *nobody* was asking "why aren't comic book tankers properly represented." Nobody. Lots of people asked "why can't I make Superman?" but no one attempted to make the argument that we all knew what a comic book tanker was, and City of Heroes got it wrong. That's a relatively recent revisionist invention. If anyone was thinking it when we launched, they were in such small minority that the discussion never happened. And it would have been very quickly ridiculed. MMOs have evolved a lot since then, but that's sort of the point. The state of MMOs when this game launched was such that it was almost inconceivable to classify Superman as a "Tanker." Tank classes back then weren't just outdamaged by the other melee fighters, they barely *had* offense. Our Tankers had plenty enough damage to solo virtually all the content. Anyone familiar with other MMOs at the time thought that was insanely weird. -
What you have certainly looks workable, depending on where you want to go with the character. Two small points you may want to consider though:
(1) You will probably want to take Farsight sooner rather than later. It is an incredible self and party buff which you can get to perma (being able to recast it as soon or sooner than it drops) with just 3 Recharge SOs. It provides considerably more defense than Manuevers does, and as it is click, there is no ongoing endurance cost for it. I think putting Manuevers off until later is the much better choice.
(2) You have gone with Soul Mastery but I am going to note the beautiful abuse possible with Power Build Up. On top of boosting your accuracy for its duration, most powers you use during the duration of Power Build Up will have their effects boosted as well. If it is a click power, then the boosted effects last as long as the power does. So if you cast Power Build Up then Farsight you and your party are looking at having your defense values boosted FOR THE ENTIRE 2 MINUTE DURATION OF FARSIGHT! Did I mention that Farsight takes Defense SOs? Suddenly you and your party are taking far less damage (depending on what your Defense value was before Farsight). And any other power you happen to use--like your slows from Time or Sleeps from Sonic will have their effects boosted. Of course if Soul Mastery fits a theme or even you just like it more, go with it, but I am planning to grab Power Build Up on my Corruptor ASAP. -
I have previously suggested (if the goal is to have a Blaster) going with a Sonic/Dark blaster. If the goal is a ranged character who can largely stay at range and not worry about things getting to them, a Sonic/Time corruptor (or really anything */Time) would seem to fit.
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Quote:I've got a DP/Time Corruptor who is in his mid 30s and am having a grand time with him. Slowing opponents down and shooting them (while also potentially playing with their To-Hit and upping your Defense value) is tons of fun.Originally Posted by ICBM
I been playing this game for over 5 years and got a corr up to maybe level 18 maybe. What I am looking for is a solo dual pistols corr. Right of my head I thought of dp/dark and dp/kin but would like to hear some other ideas. Thanks in advance
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Quote:Thanks. I look forward to hearing how things are going (which I expect will be extremely well).Originally Posted by xxmaelstrom
Awesome! I'll give it a go! If anyone else has any other input please let me know. Welcome back to the game!
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Quote:I have been out of the game for roughly 6 years, so I am probably not the best person to ask.Originally Posted by xxmaelstrom
Yep! That's pretty much the idea! Would this work for that or would there a be a secondary better suited?
I had previously started a Sonic/Dark Blaster and recently (week before last) started a DP/Time Corruptor, and with the Corruptor moving up into his 30s the thought had come to me that Sonic and Time both have some very nice tools to work with. Heck, Time Maninpulation is so good that it probably works with any primary. So I suspect Sonic/Time would be quite workable. -
KM apparently comes with a nifty trick where its Tier 9 attack can not actually crit for actual damage but when it does crit recharges Build Up. As single target attacks from Hide automatically crit that means you can pop Build Up, hit your target with Concentrated Strike (which hits like a truck and doesn't need to crit to kill even cons even before Build Up) and instantly have Build Up recharged so that after you're current use of it runs out you can pop it again. Of course if you happen to kill the spawn you're dealing with before the current use of Build Up wears off (and Burst is bound to hurt a lot when used under Build Up) you're good to go right onto the next spawn because Build Up is available again.
FWIW, I recently started an Electric Melee/Ninjitsu stalker and am having great fun with him. I might have gone with KM but for having just made and played up a KM/Shield Scrapper. -
Is the thought to stack Damage Resistance debuffs between attacks and Slowed Response while leveraging Farsight to be a Defense caps?
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Kinetic Melee, by most accounts, is better on a Scrapper.
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Having a KM/Shield Scrapper, I will note that Power Siphon and Against All Odds are powers where you want things near you. If the goal of a tank/mage is to be good at both range and in melee, well, you have the melee down with KM/Shield and I suppose it would not be unreasonable to bolt on ranged attacks. . .but your melee attacks are so powerful that I have to wonder just how functional your ranged attacks will be by comparison (note, not damaging, but functional--able to stand at range and meaningfully contribute).
A few things that catch my eye when looking at boppaholic's build below:
(1) The character seems to lack in the way of attacks until the mid 20s in level.
(2) Shouldn't Against All Odds be taken sooner? Sure, the characters is designed to deal damage at range, but it is a defensive character and should be able to survive being close. Having enemies close drives Against All Odds.
(3) A scrapper would deal more damage wouldn't it? Sure, they are less hardy than tanks but they can be built to hold up very well.
If the OP is not totally burnt out on trying Blasters, I will note that I have generally not enjoyed Blasters and given up on quite a few of them in my time playing, but I finally have one that was (a) enjoyable out of the gate and (b) gives that something to fill in that I was looking for beyond just blasting--an element of control, and (c) is almost abusively silly in dealing with spawns once you pick up the right powers. Sonic Blast/Dark Manipulation has been a lot of fun and fairly survivable. Sure, you're going to die some, but that happens with all characters.
Of course if you really want the ranged character that can stand toe to toe with mobs and ignore them, Defenders and Corruptors leap to mind. Time Manipulation's Farsight backed by Power Build Up is the new abuse I'm working towards on my Corruptor.