Gemini_2099

Originally Posted by Seldom

Repeating a suggestion from before:

• Sonic siphon is a single target hit-checking, nonstacking debuff with a slow recharge and no mitigation
• Sonic shields give no protection at all to the effects of the attacks that they shield from.
• Sonic disruption costs as much as radiation's enervating field, which also supplies a -25% damage debuff. Disruption does half, and needs a buddy in melee range.
• Clarity, which shields people's minds, only protects from mez.
• liquefy needs to either last longer, or recharge faster. It seems balanced by the bevy of effect that it carries, even if many of those effects are minor. *coughholdcough*

At present, sonic is the least reliable shielding set. It can only soften damage, and in most cases makes the 'protected' allies still take full debuffs. This in contrast to defense sets that give 100% debuff resistance to attacks that miss. No other shielding set has such a complete lack of mitigation versus psy damage: all other sets offer safety either through overlapping defense tags, more abundant mitigating soft control and debuffs, or healing. Sonic has almost little to slow/avert/soften damage on the giving end, and no way to recover from it once it lands. This stands in stark contrast to forcefields, with its nigh invulnerability and ample KB disruption, thermal and its healing, and cold and its slows/weakening debuffs.

Sonic seems to put all its eggs in the 'mitigate by making tougher, and make things die fast enough to do less damage' basket, and does not do that well. In common practice it offers similar debuffs/shields to other sets with no extra layers of protection. It does less, and what it does, it isn't that much better at, if at all. I love the set, but while on my other shielders, my team mates don't need rest between battles, inspirations, or controls to stay healthy. My sonic character's team does. The shields, fully slotted, aren't strong enough to keep things in the green during constant incoming full damage, the debuffs are too limited to make things die before doing good chunks of damage.

Suggestions:

• Add -damage debuff to sonic siphon, so that it protects from its target as well as weakening it. It still should have its hit check/non-stacking flag.
• Add -defense resistance to sonic barrier, a common lethal debuff, and -rech/-speed/-end/-tohit resistance to sonic haven, as those are common ice/energy/neg. energy side effects. Add minor values of all the above debuff resistances to sonic dispersion, same reason.
• Add -25% damage debuff to disruption field, giving a damage mitigating effect to the ally you are asking to wade into a crowd.
• Clarity shields minds, it should shield from psy damage. There is no reason for a mental shield to still have weakness to mental damage, and sonic resonance does not need a psionic Achilles heel to pass on to those it protects.
• Liquefy should last longer, or recharge faster. It provides as much value as powers such as traps' poison trap, but on a far greater timer.

Originally Posted by plainguy

what the key powers are in AR.

Originally Posted by Knowmad

Beam rifle fills a major weakness of FF in that it provides 2 crucial debuffs helpful in downing hard targets (-regen and -res). You can apply a 225% regen debuff with disintegrate and single shot, and a 20% resistance debuff with piercing beam. Force Fields is astoundingly good now that the small bubbles are AOE. Powerboosted bubbles can provide AN ENTIRE LEAGUE with 38% defense, toxic resistance, and protection from endurance drain in just 3 clicks lasting 4 minutes.

My now level 50 FF/Beamer also has massive personal defense (50%+ range and aoe, 38% melee) with Dispersion, Maneuvers, Weave, Hover, the 3% steadfast unique, and set bonuses to Range and AOE defense from Red Fortune, Serendipity, Blessing of the Zephyr, Gaussian's, Detonation, and Ruin.

A true tank mage without purple or pvp sets, and pre-incarnate. As someone with 7 level 50 force fielders of various sorts, FF/Beam is tops in terms of fun, power, and thematic synergy. If you are a shield connoisseur like me, it's a can't miss combo.

Originally Posted by KnightofKhonsu

This weekend, my defender finally received 'Hail of Bullets' for my final power for dual pistols. I did not think much of it as just another AoE power. However, when I finally used it I was simply stunned. The effects of this power made me sit up a bit straighter in my chair. The amount of damage and number of targets I took out when I activated it made my eyes bug out. That is not all of it. When I activated Fulcrum Shift, the damage increased dramatically. When I fired it off again, my little defender did not leave an enemy standing even when the entire team engaged.

Since this is my first time using Dual Pistols, I was not prepared for an outcome of this magnitude. The amount of damage this power can do sure makes my lil defender even more dangerous. No wonder I found myself at the end of a numerous attacks from the enemy when I engaged them.

My question is this. Has anyone else found themselves shocked by what 'Hail of Bullets' can do with or without using Fulcrum Shift?

Originally Posted by Kioshi

DP has nothing to do with dual blades, there's no combo system.

Anyway, DP has an accuracy bonus (1.1). Less than Archery (1.155), but more than AR and Beam (1.05). Executioner Shot has 1.25, same as AR's snipe and MORE than the usual snipes (like Elec, Fire, all 1.2), even though ES isn't a Snipe.

Hail of Bullets has 1.4, same as BR's mini nuke and most usual crash nukes (Inferno, Blackstar, Nova, etc), while RoA from Archery has 1.6 and Full Auto has 1.35.

So DP is higher than most sets overall for accuracy except Archery.

Originally Posted by Supernumiphone

Because it needed its own thread:



From here.