GGG247

When I think of the OP's description of a big dumb guy who does lots of damage and shrugs off hits, I think of WM/WP or WM/Inv. Take the Mace and choose either the baseball bat or sledgehammer customization. Now, THAT'S a Brute!

With the change to Cobra Strike in I18, MA suddenly got a whole lot better. It also means that some power choices may need to get shuffled to take advantage of these improvements.

Cobra Strike now has the same damage, endurance cost, and recharge rate as Crane Kick, but subs a 75% chance of stun for CK's knockback. How does this affect a tricked-out MA/SR build?

I've been experimenting with Cobra Strike on my MA/Regen Scrapper and I'm really impressed. The damage is great and the stun really helps with mitigating incoming damage.

For low-level MA/SRs, I recommend that the power picks in my original post stay the same, so that your first attack powers are EITHER (TK-SK-CK) or (TK-SK-CS) (with Air Superiority at 6). The reason why you should keep both Thunder Kick and Storm Kick and take either Cobra Strike or Crane Kick (but not both) is because of END usage and recharge times. At low levels, using both Cobra and Crane will run through your endurance faster than you can believe! Also, with a recharge time of 8 seconds each, you're going to be waiting what seems like an eternity for your powers to come back up.

Once you've gotten to a higher level (low 30s), it makes sense to drop Thunder Kick from your build and replace it with Cobra or Crane (whichever you didn't take originally). By the low 30s, you should have a full attack chain and a much better handle on the END bar.

I replaced TK with CS on my lvl 26 MA/Regen (she also has SK, CAK, and DT) and still found a gap in my attacks. Once I get EC at 32 for her, this should be filled in nicely.

One other note: I'm really looking forward to I19, when Stamina becomes an inherent at lvl 1 or 2. For /SR characters, this will really help. However, we need to keep in mind that, from level 2-11, we'll be slotting Stamina with TO enhancements. Our END bar will improve over what it's doing now, but you certainly won't want to start loading up on 3-4 additional toggles prior to SOs (or IOs) at 22!

Listen to Local Man--he really knows what he's talking about.

Fire/Rad is a great combination and really fun to play. You'll be the hit of any team (PUG or otherwise) that you join, and the AoE damage you can put out once you level up is astonishing.

One thing--While leveling up, Ring of Fire is a terrific power to have, as the ST damage is nice, and you'll use it a lot. Once you get your Imps at 32, you may or may not decide to keep RoF (I kept it and still use it quite a bit).

My Earth/Fire Dom is almost at level 35 and I'm unsure as to which power to pick next. I originally planned on taking Consume and 6-slotting it, but this alt has practically no END issues at all, so I think I may be wasting a pick.

Blazing Bolt looks promising to take in its place, as I like the idea of starting a fight with some major damage (my Blaster sensibility), but I wanted to see what other players thought before making a final decision.

For the record, I've already taken the Fitness (soon to change), Medicine, and Flight pools, and I have:

Fossilize, QS, Stalagmites, EQ, VG, Animate Stone, Flares, Incinerate, Fire Breath, Fire Blast, and Fiery Embrace.

This is a pretty nice character to play, as he really came into his own once Stoney was slotted up.

Good to know. I'm up to level 22 now and he's rolling along nicely. I got an Achilles Heel -Res proc during a fight and slotted it in Grave Knight, and it makes a nice difference when it goes off.

Gloom is still slotted with 1 Acc 1 Rechg. Should I slot for damage next, or just to-hit debuffs? I usually click on my Zombies to attack and then hit Gloom to soften up the enemy as they move in.

Mind/Thorn was one of the few alts that I deleted (at lvl 20). He worked fine; I just found him boring to play. I've never been a fan of "attack chains", as I use whatever power I may need for a given situation, rather than just mindlessly pushing buttons over and over again. However, with Mind/Thorn, I quickly discovered that there WAS "one best way" to attack, anf I found myself doing this repeatedly.

I recreated this alt as a Plant/Thorns, and he's much more fun to play.

I found that I got much more use out of the Medicine pool for those hits that manage to hit rather than the Fighting pool for MA/SR.

Also, although Air Superiority is a good power (I slot it with 2 Acc for KDs), you have a couple of other very nice powers that you're missing--Crippling Axe Kick and (the new) Cobra Strike. CS in particular is nice, as it does as much damage now as Crane Kick, but has a 75% chance for stun.

I just bought the Pack with Ninja Run and really like it. Why not make a slightly different version of Ninja Run in the game as a new travel pool, with the added benefit of wall crawling, as others have suggested?

You could run fast to your mission, leap to the building, and then run up the wall to the roof. That would be cool as an "Acrobatics" Pool.

Since so many characters from Paragon City are also in Praetoria, I'd assumed we were in an alternate version of PC. That giant prison-like building in Neutropolis could be a re-built Zig, and the power plant is a rebuilt Terra Volta.

I would move Darkest Night, Petrafying Gaze, and Shadow Fall up in your build as closely to when they're available as possible. These powers (along with Tar Patch) will get a workout each battle, believe it or not. They're so good, they're even worth pushing the Leadership pool back some!

I have a level 13 Necro/Pain MM who's leveling up nicely. I have some nice heals (NP, Soothe, and Share Pain), but wanted to see the best way to buff my minions or de-buff enemies. I'm planning on taking Manuevers at 14, Tactics at 24, and Assault at 30. Are there any other powers I should consider (the Presence pool, etc.) in order to maximize my pets' effectiveness?

Also, I just got a Kismet 6% Acc drop during a battle. Does this accuracy work on my pets, too, if I slot it in Manuevers?

Also, since Gloom has a to-hit debuff component to it, and I like taking one attack power, should I slot this up for to-hit debuff or damage?

Thanks.

I took my character through all of Praetoria (Robot/Poison MM) and was given a nice send-off by several of my surviving contacts there. I stepped through the Rift and---- found myself in an empty parking lot in Talos Island.

--kind of a big let-down--

I thought there'd be some kind of welcoming committee or something, greeting me to the "new world". Instead, my character was just standing there looking around. Also, I didn't take a travel power on this alt yet (didn't really need one in Praetoria), so he was left with no way of getting around. I've played CoH enough to know that I needed to go to the Shadow Shard to buy a jetpack, but new players wouldn't know this. Also, that run through Talos, then through Peregrine, to get to the SS is tough for a level 20 character!

My suggestion is that Steve Sheridan (or someone) be on hand to greet new players; maybe have some NPCs with confetti or something; also, information about travel needs in Paragon City, and, okay, why not, move the jetpack vendor to Talos, too. All characters arriving from Praetoria have just completed a monumental series of missions. Walking into an empty parking lot with nothing to do and no one to talk to is depressing.

Greet us, Primals!!!! lol

My Mercs/Traps is now lvl 34 and rolling along nicely. It's a fun combination, and it fits, thematically. Mine is a small military force fighting in the Rogue Isles (and now Paragon City, too!). I took Triage Beacon, which many people don't like, but it does help. Of course, the Force Field should be up at all times.

Elec/Ice ended up being my favorite test character, and the one I'm definitely planning on recreating today on Live.

As far as Dragon*Con is concerned, I don't think anyone is expecting to have the CoH/CoV crowd to show up en masse with a booth and everything. Each year, we have a one hour City of... panel, where a FULL room of fans talk about our favorite game and what "we think" may happen in the future.

We'd be incredibly happy to have any one person from the game show up for that one hour just to talk with us.

We're easy, that way!

Now that you're in your 30's, I suggest you start working on IO +DEF bonuses. This'll be the key to your enjoyment on the Bane, as you'll feel like a Mace/SR Scrapper/Stalker once you get all of your positional defenses over 40%. Range is easy to softcap, while Melee and AoE are a little tougher.

Crowd Control is a great power and it'll finish off those pesky Minions while you concentrate on the big boys.

My Bane hit 50 last night! Although Lord Recluse calls all the VEATS "a possible Destined One", he recently e-mailed me and said MY Bane was his favorite and was THE Destined One. He then offered to sell me a LOT of Infamy for quite reasonable rates. What a guy! lol

Seriously, it's been an interesting ride with Bwana Devil. I started him as a Crab 2 years ago, when VEATS were first introduced, as part of a ST on Justice. When the team disbanded, he was level 30 and, as I found out, not much fun to solo (he did a little damage to a LOT of targets, who got really angry and shot back). I shelved him for a year or so, until I decided to use my Dual Build option to try out a BANE, despite reading less-than-enthusiastic reviews on them.

What a difference! I love playing him as a single-target melee assassin, and the damage he puts out is great. I was surprised to find last night that, of my 5 level 50s, he was my fastest to hit 50 (129 hours). Although levels 1-30 were teams, level 30+ was exclusively solo. I think that's because I stealthed through a lot of missions, stopping only to fight oranges/reds/purples whenever possible.

Below is my final build. I spent a lot of time on IOs, focussing exclusively on +DEF, which really paid off. With unsupressed Cloaking Device, he's over the softcap to all. Surpressed, he's over for Ranged and just under for AOE and Melee.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Bwana Devil: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier
Primary Power Set: Bane Spider Soldier
Secondary Power Set: Bane Spider Training
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Flight

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Bash -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(3), Dmg(5), Acc(9)
Level 1: Bane Spider Armor Upgrade -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), ResDam(5), ResDam(7)
Level 2: Combat Training: Defensive -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(27), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(31), S'dpty-Def(50)
Level 4: Combat Training: Offensive -- Acc(A), Acc(50)
Level 6: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(7), RechRdx(9), Rec'dRet-ToHit(48), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(48)
Level 8: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- S'dpty-Def(A), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(11), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(11), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), S'dpty-EndRdx(43)
Level 12: Pulverize -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(13), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(13), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), T'Death-Dam%(42)
Level 14: Poisonous Ray -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(15), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 16: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(31), Heal(48)
Level 18: Shatter -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(19), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(19), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), T'Death-Dam%(34)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Mental Training -- Run(A)
Level 24: Cloaking Device -- S'dpty-Def(A), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(40), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(46), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 26: Placate -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(27), RechRdx(29)
Level 28: Surveillance -- Acc(A), ExVuln-DefDeb(29), ExVuln-DefDeb/Rchg(37), ExVuln-DefDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(37)
Level 30: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(31), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Build%(46)
Level 32: Crowd Control -- 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: Maneuvers -- S'dpty-Def(A), S'dpty-EndRdx(36), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(36), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(36), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 38: Call Reinforcements -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(39), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(39), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), BldM'dt-Acc(40), BldM'dt-Dmg(40)
Level 41: Aid Other -- Heal(A)
Level 44: Aid Self -- Heal(A), Heal(45), IntRdx(45), Heal(50)
Level 47: Fly -- Flight(A)
Level 49: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Conditioning
Level 6: Ninja Run
------------
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 7.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 7.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 11.4% Defense(Smashing)
• 11.4% Defense(Lethal)
• 10.2% Defense(Fire)
• 10.2% Defense(Cold)
• 9.88% Defense(Energy)
• 9.88% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 17.1% Defense(Melee)
• 13% Defense(Ranged)
• 14.6% Defense(AoE)
• 19% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 9% FlySpeed
• 76.3 HP (7.12%) HitPoints
• 9% JumpHeight
• 9% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Held) 5.5%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 5.5%
• MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%
• MezResist(Stun) 3.3%
• 6% (0.11 End/sec) Recovery
• 16% (0.86 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 0.95% Resistance(Fire)
• 0.95% Resistance(Cold)
• 9% RunSpeed

------------
Set Bonuses:
Steadfast Protection
(Bane Spider Armor Upgrade)

• 3% Defense(All)

Serendipity
(Combat Training: Defensive)

• 4% (0.21 HP/sec) Regeneration

Rectified Reticle
(Build Up)

• 1.88% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 0.94% Defense(Melee)

Serendipity
(Tactical Training: Maneuvers)

• 4% (0.21 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 8.03 HP (0.75%) HitPoints
• 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 1.25% Defense(AoE), 0.63% Defense(Fire), 0.63% Defense(Cold)

Touch of Death
(Pulverize)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%
• 16.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• MezResist(Held) 2.75%
• 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)

Thunderstrike
(Poisonous Ray)

• 2% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
• 2.5% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1.25% Defense(Ranged)
• 7% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 4% RunSpeed, 4% FlySpeed, 4% JumpSpeed, 4% JumpHeight
• 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative)

Touch of Death
(Shatter)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%
• 16.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• MezResist(Held) 2.75%
• 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)

Serendipity
(Cloaking Device)

• 4% (0.21 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 8.03 HP (0.75%) HitPoints
• 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)

Exploited Vulnerability
(Surveillance)

• 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 1.25% Defense(Melee), 0.63% Defense(Lethal), 0.63% Defense(Smashing)

Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control
(Tactical Training: Leadership)

• 5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
• 20.1 HP (1.87%) HitPoints
• 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• 2.5% Defense(Melee), 1.25% Defense(Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Smashing), 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative), 2.5% Defense(AoE), 1.25% Defense(Fire), 1.25% Defense(Cold)

Multi Strike
(Crowd Control)

• MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%
• 0.95% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
• MezResist(Stun) 1.65%
• 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)
• 1.88% Defense(Melee), 0.94% Defense(Lethal), 0.94% Defense(Smashing)

Serendipity
(Maneuvers)

• 4% (0.21 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 8.03 HP (0.75%) HitPoints
• 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 1.25% Defense(AoE), 0.63% Defense(Fire), 0.63% Defense(Cold)

Blood Mandate
(Call Reinforcements)

• 1.5% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery
• 1.88% Defense(Fire,Cold), 0.94% Defense(AoE)
• MezResist(Stun) 1.65%
• 3.75% Defense(AoE), 1.88% Defense(Fire), 1.88% Defense(Cold)
• 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I guess this Bane is more of a powerhouse than I thought! This is one of those characters who, for whatever reason, proved to be a lot of fun to play from beginning to end.

This is going to sound really stupid...

I have a Bane who's going to hit level 50 this week and I wanted to see how many hours I've played him. I found an NPC whose name began with the letter "M" and checked and she said I'd been playing him for 123 hours. That's great! This could be my fastest 50 yet!

Then I remembered that this alt is a dual build, and I spent a lot of time on the other (Crab) build before creating this Bane build. So my stupid question is, does the 123 hours include both builds or just the build I'm currently playing?

I've been having the same problem for about a week (including right now). Very frustrating....

In Stalagmites, replace the 2 Damages with Recharges, as you'll want this up as often as possible. Also, Volcanic Gasses would be better slotted with 2 acc, 2 rechg, and 2 holds. Otherwise, we have very similar builds.

I found Hover helped a lot in those early levels, too. Melee attackers can't hit you and, sometimes, if you hover directly over an enemy, they have a hard time targeting you for ranged shots, too.

It may be a cheap way to fight, but, hey, it's fewer trips to the hospital, and much less frustration!

This has been a great thread. Last Friday, I started following the system and quickly made 100,000,000 in a couple of days. Unfortunately, since then, I've been stuck with a lot of fairly priced high-value items that no one is bidding on. These are items like Far Strike (Dmg/Range, Dmg/Rechg) and Adrenal Adjustment, where the price is 1mm to 3mm when they sell; they just don't seem to sell very often. My 16 slots are full!

I got an Energy Manipulation tonight that has a going rate of $25mm to $30mm, with 3 bidders. I put mine up for $10mm and got no takers.

I'm going to keep at it. What's your threshold for activity on an enhancement before crafting and placing for sale?

This is a very interesting project; I'm looking forward to reading more. I hope you end up enjoying Banes. Mine is level 46 now and is great fun. I use all Mace attacks and he's very powerful. I've been working on maximizing Defenses lately, and that's been a little tough, as melee defense is the toughest of the 3 positionals to max out.

Stick with Bane, though; I think you'll like the results.