GladDog
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Posts
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I did a fresh Windows 7 install, and installed a few games. CoX has all settings obviously at default, and I get the black screen with the 186.18 drivers. Its pretty frustrating that this is the only game that I play that REGULARLY has problems with the latest drivers. I'm considering rolling back to 185.85, but it is very frustrating that I have to do this type of procedure with just about every other driver update.
While I know Win7 is not supported, its so much less problematic on Co* than Vista.
My system, which is setup for much more resource intensive games than CoX:
Q9550 O/C to 3.4 on an ASUS P5Q Turbo (P45)
8GB of RAM running at 1066
EVGA GTX285 vid w/1GB
Fresh install of Win7 Ultimate beta
While its the driver that did it, its still mainly because Co* is an old game with a relatively small player base, meaning it does not get the same testing as WoW or several of the FPS games. -
Yes I know that the original reason that a travel power was not available until 14 was to make you appreciate them more. However, the vast majority of the CoH player base has been around a long time and that reason is no longer valid for 80+% of the players.
While requiring players to 'waste' a power to get to their travel ability may originally been a balance issue, the game has changed immensely since this decision. When that decision was made Fire tanks, Invul tanks and Stone tanks were able to cap their resistances to S/L damage, a Fire blaster's Inferno would kill Lts if Aim & BU were used, and 1 accuracy enhancement for an attack was more than enough for almost any fight. */Devices Blasters ruled the game. My point is that the game has matured and evolved immensely since the travel power acquisition method was determined.
GDN; ED; powerset diversification;, IO sets; Radio/Newspaper missions; PvP; 'purple' sets; the game has matured a lot. Many declared that any of these were going to ruin the game and make it unbearable to play. A change like I suggested just gives more choices to players. Also, my balance idea did not mean that you could not take Hover + Fly; it meant that if you took Fly for your starting travel power you would not be able to choose other powers from the Flight pool. If you picked one of the other travel powers you could still acquire the Flight pool as we always have. It's just that this idea gives a little more freedom of power acquisition. Some players would just take a travel power and invest the now freed up power choices for other powers. Some could take the Flight pool, but pick Super Speed as a starting power for thematic reasons.
Someone stated that you can get a travel power at 6 now. You can if you have had your subscription since the first few days of release and never cancelled it. Thats probably a pretty small sampling of the player base, and is not a good argument against this idea.
The GvE Jet Pack is not a travel power. It is a very limited use vaulting system.
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There is really no reason to diminish the game by allowing people to have travel powers at level 1. Because that is what it is doing, its diminishing the game.
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Its not diminishing the game, its evolving it. Get the power at level 7 or 10. I just think that starting with a travel power would be a fun thing that most players would like very much.
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It is diminishing the game in the same way as allowing someone to make a 50 from the get-go.
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Not the same thing. You can get a Raptor pack 1 hour into the game. No one thinks this cheapened the game. Comparing something that you get an hour or so into the game with bypassing the entire career of a character are two entirely different things.
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Earn the reward and the reward is worth something. Give the reward away and it isn't worth a thing.
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Systems evolve. Things change. What was once a reward is now drudgery. I don't think anyone would think a travel power was less worthwhile just because they got it at level 1 or level 7 or level 10. If your concern is that there are no powers spent to get this, you may have to rethink this after CO and DCUO release, since both games give travel powers very early in the career of a player and they are not counted as regular powers.
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The game is about the quest to become a great hero .... not start off as one.
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This idea does not change that goal. Not one bit. It just gives a little variety to builds and lets players experience one of the best parts of this game, travel, at an earlier level. -
A lot of people would like to gbe able to take one or two more powers. I've seen a lot of suggestions to help this. Here is another one: Travel is a commodity in this game that really makes it fun. For most ATs, however, its not available until level 14. Here is an idea that fixes both:
Allow all players to pick a travel power at character startup! This would not be considered a regular power choice, but a separate slot. This would give players two more power choices, and give them a travel power from the get-go. This would be particularly welcome for character concepts that include two travel powers.
As a balance, whatever travel power you pick would be the only one you got from that pool. For example, If you take Super Jump for your starting travel power, the rest of the pool is not be available to you. This would mena that players would have to choose carefully whether they want to pass on Combat Jumping or Air Superiority.
At levels 14, 28 & 42 enhancement slots would be added to this travel power, keeping this travel power separate from other power choices.
Thoughts, opinions? I am sure something like this has been suggested in the past, but its worth bringing to the forefront! -
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This is a disaster waiting to happen. The Freedom server already has a "less than an optimal gaming experience" due to its population size. We've seen the overpopulation problem on Freedom during Double XP weekend when players couldn't even log onto the server. Now the reality is that every day could be like Double XP weekend on Freedom.
Is this transfer of characters without server restrictions also going to be accompanied by a server upgrade? If not, the "we'll fix it if it breaks" philosophy contradicts your claimed sensitivity to population issues, because the population size of Freedom is already a known problem. Unrestricted server transfers to Freedom will only make an existing problem much worse.
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My suggestion is to not jump to the conclusion that everyone will be rushing to transfer ONTO the busy servers. I know of many people, including myself, that can't wait to get away from the crowds and lag and such.
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Yeah, not sure why he's leaping to this conclusion. Could it happen? Sure. But I'm sure there are a fair number of people who will be trying to move off Freedom and Virtue, too. And I'm very happy where I am on Justice, so I'm not moving at all.
We're not all lemmings trying to hop onto Freedom and clog ur interent tubez.
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I agree Missi! If anything, most people are going to be moving west coast characters to east coast servers and vice versa to free up character slots. This has the advantage of ensuring you have a beefed up character to play if your server goes down!
There may be some players on low pops that head to Freedom, but I doubt there will be a population doubling. I think it likely that a lot of players tired of the lag and long load times on Freedom will want to move to a low pop server! I think when it is all said and done, players are going to get what they want: to play the characters they want to play on the same servers as their friends... -
Barrage has a long animation for a power with that low of DPS. EP has a shorter animation and higher DPS. To me that means the animation is too long...
I would love to see Energy Punch and Barrage switched in selection order.
WH has a short animation in comparison to many melee AoE attacks.
LBE has a long activation considering its DPS, as there is a brief dead period after you fire before you can activate another attack. -
Attack Chains:
I am not a prescriber to attack chain optimization. I think that every circumstance requires a different attack chain. However, I was asked to list a few attack chains that I use.
I'll use the following abbreviations for my attack chains:
BU = Buildup
FE = Fiery Embrace
FB = Fire Blast
FBL = Fireball
BA = Blazing Aura
BS = Bone Smasher
ET = Energy Transfer
TF = Total Focus
WH = Whirling Hands
Box = Boxing
Single boss:
(with Hasten active) BU/TF/ET/BS/Box/FB followed by FE/BS/ET/TF/Box/FB
(without Hasten active) BU/TF/ET/BS/Box/FB follpwed by FE/Box/BS/ET/TF/FB
Large group of minions:
BU/FE/WH/FBL - with BA active this is usually enough to take out a minion group. Any remaining are handled as follows: Over half health is ET and TF -- under half health is Box and BS.
Mixed group - target the toughest character, jump into the group and go BU/FE/WH/FBL. Next I use my boss attack chain. WH is used whenever it is recycled. Since many of the Lts and minions were stunned by WH, this method means that you should be seeing minimal incoming damage while you take on the stunned boss.
2 bosses: there are 2 ways to handle this, and I judge each individually.
Method 1: leap into the middle and use this attack chain -- TF/WH/FBL. Follow this with the boss chain until the boss is dead then switch to the other. This method works if you are highly resistant to the bosses damage type, meaning smash, lethal and fire.
Method 2: jump in targeting one boss, use TF/WH/FBL and then immediately switch to the other boss. Use this attack chain: BS/ET/Box/FB/BS/Box, then TF should be up. Use this then switch to the first boss and use your boss killer attack chain. Why all the switching? Because TF will stun almost any boss in the game for a significant amount of time. While he is stunned he is not attacking! So while one boss is stunned you work on the other. This would be a good method if you are not highly resistant to the prevalent damage type, meaning cold & psi.
Fighting foes using toxic, energy or negative energy would be your call. THe level of resistance is good to these damage types, but not high, so you would have to be the judge which method to use. -
A note about Consume:
I had thought it was on a 60 second timer, making it pretty useful. It is not. With 3 recharge reducers the recycle is 135 seconds. Adding Hasten brings that to 75 seconds. With that long of a recycle its really not worth it to slot damage. The damage is about base 18 per foe at level 50, about 30 with 2 damage SOs. I still would keep this and use it. The endurance replenishment is enough, but it also is a good tool to build agro in a hurry. My preferred slotting would be acc/acc/rech/rech using IOs.
A note about Stun:
I incorrectly said that Stun has the same disorient magnitude as Total Focus. While the mag is high, it is less than Total Focus. -
Here is a build based on 'normal' IOs.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.20
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php
IO GladBurn: Level 50 Mutation Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Energy Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(3), ResDam-I:50(3), ResDam-I:50(15)
Level 1: Barrage -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: Healing Flames -- Heal-I:50(A), Heal-I:50(7), Heal-I:50(7), RechRdx-I:50(9), RechRdx-I:50(31)
Level 4: Bone Smasher -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(5), Dmg-I:50(5), Dmg-I:50(9), Dmg-I:50(19), RechRdx-I:50(33)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I:50(A)
Level 8: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 10: Blazing Aura -- Acc-I:50(A), Dmg-I:50(11), Dmg-I:50(11), Dmg-I:50(23), EndRdx-I:50(34)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(13), ResDam-I:50(13), ResDam-I:50(15)
Level 14: Super Jump -- EndRdx-I:50(A), Jump-I:50(23), Jump-I:50(43)
Level 16: Whirling Hands -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(17), Dmg-I:50(17), Dmg-I:50(19), Dmg-I:50(25), EndRdx-I:50(34)
Level 18: Health -- Heal-I:50(A), Heal-I:50(34), Heal-I:50(40)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Consume -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(25), RechRdx-I:50(42), RechRdx-I:50(42), EndMod-I:50(43)
Level 24: Boxing -- Acc-I:50(A), Dmg-I:50(46), Dmg-I:50(46)
Level 26: Tough -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(27), ResDam-I:50(27), ResDam-I:50(43)
Level 28: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(29), RechRdx-I:50(29)
Level 30: Build Up -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(31), RechRdx-I:50(31), ToHit-I:50(37)
Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(33), RechRdx-I:50(33)
Level 35: Energy Transfer -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(37), RechRdx-I:50(37)
Level 38: Total Focus -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(39), Dmg-I:50(39), Dmg-I:50(39), Dmg-I:50(40), Dsrnt-I:50(40)
Level 41: Char -- Acc-I:50(A), Hold-I:50(42)
Level 44: Fire Blast -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(45), Dmg-I:50(45), Dmg-I:50(45), Dmg-I:50(46), Range-I:50(50)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(48), Dmg-I:50(48), Dmg-I:50(48), Dmg-I:50(50), Range-I:50(50)
Level 49: Super Speed -- Run-I:50(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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If I was going to make any changes to Fiery Aura or Energy Melee, I would do these:
Temperature Protection is a lame power. I would like to see it replaced by a toggle that makes Tough unneeded. Call it Burn Shield. This power would have the same end cost as Tough, and would supply 20% damage resistance to smash, lethal and toxic damage. This power would run exclusive to Tough. In other words, if you took Burn Shield and Tough, Turning one on would turn the other off, like what happens with Combat Jumping and Super Jump. Take the toxic resistance out of Healing Flames. I would like to see the 10% cold resistance potential that we would lose from Temp Prot put in Fire Shield, raising the Cold resistance base in FS to 20%.
The only change I would like to see in Energy Melee is for Energy Punch and Barrage to be swapped in position, so that Energy Punch was the first power in the list. That way Tankers won't be forced to take Barrage, but Brutes could still take it for its fury-generating ability. -
A guide to the ultimate Scranker: GladDog's guide to building a Fiery Aura/Energy Melee tanker ver 3.0 updated for Issue 9
I wrote a guide for the FA/EM tanker back in issue 2, and updated it every issue until issue 5. Issue 5 made so many changes to the playstyle of this build that I gave up. Enhancile Dysfunction angered me to the point that I gave up on the game. After a year of playing other games I came back to CoH and have come to terms with ED. Here is GladDogs guide to the FA/EM tanker updated for Issue 9. The changes coming in Issue 10 should not have any effect on this guide.
Before we start, let me say that THIS IS A GUIDE, NOT GOSPEL. I cannot dictate how you play the game. This guide is based on how I play, adjust to your playstyle and have fun!
Fiery Aura has a number of strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: FA has the highest overall resists after Stone Armor. It also has a buildup power, meaning that anyone taking FA gets 2 buildup powers available. FA can easily cap resistance to fire damage, and can even get close to the cap with DO enhancements. FA has the best heal power available to tankers, with a fast recharge. FA also has a power that can replenish your endurance. FA does have a very useful self rez, although I dont use it in my FA/EM build. FA has a very good damage aura in Blazing Aura.
Weaknesses: There is no defense (avoiding getting hit in the first place) in this set. This makes Fire tankers more susceptible to mez affects, since the more times you are hit with mez attacks, the more likely you are to get mezzed as the mag stacks up. FA has very low resist to cold damage. Fire is rather endurance intensive. Fire is the only tanker set without a hit point modifier like Dull Pain. FA has no knockback resistance in-set.
The bottom line is that Fiery Aura gives the best damage potential available to tankers, and probably makes the least effective true tanker. While I often do the main tank role with my Fire/EM, I am aware that other tank types that are properly set up and played can do the job better.
Energy Melee also has a number of strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths: No tanker set can approach EM for single target damage. The secondary effect of the EM powers, disorient, is extremely effective and dramatically improves the survivability of the tanker. EM is very endurance efficient compared to other tanker melee sets, since the Tier 8 has a low end cost, taking hit points rather than a lot of endurance to activate. Total Focus is almost guaranteed to disorient your target unless they are an AV. Most of the attacks have very short animations and quick activation times. The combination of Buildup + Energy Transfer + Total Focus will take out almost all Lieutenants in the game if the powers are slotted correctly. EM is about half smash damage and about half rarely resisted energy damage. This varies power to power, with lower level powers generally being more smash, and higher level powers being more energy.
Weaknesses: The powers that define the set, Energy Transfer and Total Focus, are the last 2 powers in the set. It really takes until level 36 to start seeing the true strength of EM. There is only one AoE attack, and while it is available early, its not exceptional. The starter power that you are required to take, Barrage, is considered one of the worst available to tankers, due to low damage, long animation and low chance for stun. Total Focus has a very long animation and has a very high endurance cost, although similar powers in other tanker melee sets also have these disadvantages.
It is my determination that for me at least, the best way to play this combination is as a Scranker. A scranker is a tanker set up to do damage, with the ability to off-tank. Fire/EM can be set up as a true tanker, but there are other secondary sets that support tanking better than EM. EM is at its best inflicting damage on a single tough target.
I am going to go over every power in the sets.
[u]Fiery Aura:[u]
Fire Shield the bread and butter of the set defensively. 30% resistance to Smashing, Lethal and Fire damage, and 10% to Cold damage. This power also supplies resistance to Disorient. No other set gives mez resistance at level 1. This power should be activated at login and never turned off. The end cost is minimal compared to the level of protection. Slotted up this power gives about 48% resistance to smash, lethal and fire damage, and about 16% resistance to cold.
Blazing Aura a very effective damage aura that generates a taunt effect. A lot of players complain about the high endurance cost, but several player studies have been done over the years showing that damage auras are very endurance efficient as long as there are 3 or more enemies in melee range. Before Stamina this power should be used situationally whenever there are a lot of bad guys surrounding you. After Stamina this should be left on except when you are travelling, as this power will cause suppression of your travel power if it damages a foe.
Healing Flames after the recent improvements to this power it is an absolute must-have. This power makes up for lack of defense when fully slotted. It has a strong heal, and recycles relatively quickly. It recycles way faster than any heal other tanker sets have. This power also gives toxic resistance that lasts 45 seconds and can be stacked.
Temperature Protection also known as Hurl-bait. Probably the worst power in the game for a tanker. This supplies 30% resistance to fire damage and 10% resistance to cold damage. Since a fire tank can already more than cap to fire damage with FS + PS, the only thing you get out of this is 10% resistance to a rarely seen damage type, cold. Since this power wont get slotted up, all you get out of this is 12% cold resistance with an even SO damres enhancement. I highly recommend that tankers skip this power. Brutes get a little more usefulness out of this than tanks, but I think even Brutes skip it for the most part.
Consume this is an AoE attack that drains health from any bad guys in close range and converts it to endurance for the user. Hitting 3 bad guys will completely fill your bar. This is an absolute must have at low levels. It is highly useful at higher levels as well. It can be slotted for endurance replenishment at low levels and an AoE attack at higher levels.
Plasma Shield This power supplies 30% resistance to energy, negative energy and fire attacks. It also supplies sleep and hold resistance. Fire Shield + Plasma Shield with good slotting will cap the players fire resistance. Good slotting gets you about 48% resistance to energy and negative energy. This is another power that should be left on at all times after you get it.
Burn This used to be the premier power of any fire tank. This was the reason you became a fire tank. The power is still situationally useful, as it does pump out a lot of damage. Since there is no available way for a Fire/EM to immobilize bad guys they are Burning, I usually recommend that Fire/EMs do not take this power. Since there is no guarantee that you will group with a player with a mass immobilize, and Burn needs to be fully slotted to be effective, this is really a power left to the sets with a way to immobilize bad guys, like Fire/Ice. There are exploits out there that can be used to make Burn effective, but I would stay away from them. The more these exploits are used, the more likely the power is going to be adjusted. And I would bet any adjustment will not be good for players. Burn supplies Immobilization resistance for 45 seconds after casting.
Fiery Embrace this is a buildup power that buffs fire damage for 20 seconds and all damage for 10 seconds. This is a great 2nd buildup. I use them to fill gaps in fights, but once in a while I fire build up and FE followed by ET + TF. This combination does massive damage even if you are solo. While FE has a longer recycle than Buildup, I like having that extra accuracy and damage available.
Rise of the Phoenix Even with a tight scranker build, there is one optional power. This is a worthy consideration. RotP is a self rez that stuns all bad guys in close range. It also makes you damage-proof for a few seconds, long enough to get your toggles up. You cannot attack while you are untouchable. I like the power for its retribution effect and because you can give your team time to use wakies.
[u]Energy Melee:[u]
Barrage also known as tehsuk. This power is low damage, has a long animation and a very low stun chance. You have to take it but dont slot it, as it really is not a very good power. Brutes find it useful because of its very fast recycle helping with fury building, but not tanks. Keep it on your attack bar for comic relief.
Energy Punch If tanks had a choice to start with one of their first 2 powers out of their secondary, this would be a far better choice. It does more damage, has a faster animation and has a higher stun chance. This is another good choice for that optional power in a Scranker build.
Taunt Ranged AoE agro generator. This power attracts the attention of your target and the 4 closest bad guys to him. This power is auto hit in PvE, but has a to hit check in PvP. This power is very useful but not required by tankers. I have it on my true tankers but not on my Fire/EM scranker. The taunt duration is long, 41 seconds for even level minions. I usually slot this with a recharge reducer and 1 or 2 range enhancements. Since I use Hasten, I have to get all the way to +7 bosses for Recycle to exceed Taunt duration.
Bonesmasher High damage punch with a fast animation and activation. It does good damage and has a high stun chance. I consider this a must have as a filler attack for ET & TF. Energy Punch and Bonesmasher have approximately the same damage over time, but since fighting high value mobs is best served by heavy hitter attacks, I use Bonesmasher. At low levels EP is probably better, but as you get more attacks at high level, having heavier hitters usually works out better. Someone that chose EP and stayed with it all the way to 50 would not be losing much damage except in a short fight over taking Bonesmasher.
Whirling Hands a PBAoE attack with a nice looking and short animation. It is a very early AE compared to some powersets, available at level 16. Even though damage is kind of low, it is the only AoE attack in the set, and I consider it a must have. If I am main or off tank, I usually start all fights with this attack to generate gauntlet agro.
Buildup for 10 seconds the player gets a 20% accuracy bonus and an 80% damage bonus. If you can only take one of Buildup of Fiery Embrace, take Buildup because it has a much shorter recycle time. For a scranker build I recommend taking both. If you are on a team that has a +recharge power, by alternating BU & FE you can go about 35 seconds with buffed accuracy and damage with only a very short break. Also, these 2 stack so if you are attacking a tough foe, you can use both and get a 10 second buff of 40% to accuracy and 160% to damage, with a further 10 sec buff to BA and Consume (if you slotted it as an attack).
Stun a perplexing power. This attack does minimal damage, but will stun almost any target short of an AV. It has a reasonable animation and short recycle. This is an attack you can do without, but it is so handy. This can be used to incapacitate a bad guy that is attacking squishy teammates, or can be used to make a boss ineffective while you handle another bad guy. Playstyle will determine if you would take this power. I skipped it in my build, but I was really torn between this one and a couple of others.
Energy Transfer the Big Kahuna attack of the set. This is the highest damage attack a tanker can get. I often can one shot minions with this attack when Buildup is active. It has a fast animation, relatively low endurance cost, very reasonable recycle and a good chance to stun. The only drawback to this power is it takes hit points to activate. When the game released the level 50 cost was 44 hp. Now it is 167 hp. The hp cost used to be laughable, now it is an important consideration. A stretched out battle can see this power drawing over a thousand hp from you. While this power is staggeringly powerful, keep an eye on your hp.
Total Focus This power does the same damage as most other tanker sets biggest hitter. It is very powerful. BU + ET + Total Focus will take out most Lieutenants in the game. While this power has a high end cost and a long animation, they are in line with other similar powers in other tanker sets. TF has a very high chance to stun, as good as Stun. When fighting a boss I usually start with this attack to get them not hitting me. This is a power that is well worthwhile to slot with disorient duration enhancements. I have HOs in this power. I have a lot of invention sets in other powers but for TF I stayed with HOs. Mine is slotted acc-mez/acc-dam/dam-mez/dam-mez/IO rechrdx/IO endrdx.
Power Pools:
There are several power pools that are virtually required for this set. Some powers are no longer as important thanks to IOs. For a Fire/EM setup for scranking, you have 2 holes in your mez protection. You can either use pools to fill these or you can use IO enhancements. The holes are immobilization resistance and knockback resistance.
The power Burn supplies immob resist, but since this build normally skips this power, the only way to get immob resist is with Combat Jumping. This is part of the leaping pool that has the power Acrobatics, which gives knockback resistance. Obviously this is a good pool to take since it covers both the holes in your mez resistance. If you have knockback resistance from IOs, there is nothing stopping you from taking a different travel power other than annoying bouts of being immobilized.
Since Fire is relatively hard on endurance, getting the fitness pool with Stamina will make playing this setup a lot easier. I also recommend getting Hasten. Since your strength is in your heavy hitter attacks, getting them to recycle faster is a very good idea. It is also helpful to get Consume, Healing Flames, Buildup and Fiery Embrace to cycle faster.
[u]My pool choices are:[u]
Leaping: I got Combat Jumping and slotted it with a Karma: knockback protection enhancement. I also slotted a Steadfast Protection: knockback protection enhancement in Fire Shield. With these I dont need, nor did I take, Acrobatics. I use SuperJump as my travel power.
Fitness: I took this for Stamina. A little better health regen and better jumping are nice, but I got this for Stamina and faster endurance recovery.
Fighting: This pool has Tough, which adds 23% to smash and lethal resistance when slotted up. This really is a must have power if you are fighting tough enemies.
Speed: I took this for Hasten.
Epic pools: Each of the tanker pools is useful. The choice is really yours.
If you PvP a lot then Energy Mastery is probably the best choice. Focused Accuracy is good for adding accuracy against defense based foes as well as giving +perception. Conserve Power means that for 90 seconds you can attack like an energizer bunny without worrying about your endurance. Laser Beam eyes is a great attack, much better than people give it credit for. It does have a long activation and is a bit low on damage, but it has a lot of good things: Good range, short recycle, reduces defense of the target and low end cost. Energy Torrent is a good cone attack. It does reasonable damage and knocks down most foes in the cone. If you PvP and take this pool, it will take your optional power.
Cold Mastery has a really good hold attack, a lame immobilization power, a nice single target attack and a situational targeted AoE attack. All of these ice attacks have a movement recharge effect. The Targeted AoE, Ice Storm, will cause the foes in the storm to flee, so its not the best way to generate agro. Overall this is a good set because of the slow effect it puts on targets.
Pyre Mastery has a good hold, a good immobilize with DoT, a nice single target attack with DoT, and a very good targeted AoE with DoT. This was my choice of epic pools. I took Char, Fire Blast and Fire Ball. This epic has the highest damage thanks to the DoT effect, and I thought it would be good to use in conjunction with Fiery Embrace.
Stone Mastery is actually also a good fit. This is the most controlleresque epic set. It has a single target immob, a group sleep, a single target damaging hold and a targeted AoE that reduces defense and does OK damage. The AoE also has a low stun chance. Someone that likes the Disorient aspect of Energy Melee may like this set the best.
Taking the power pools I suggested and 3 epics, combined with 13 powers from primary and secondary pools, leaves one power that is totally optional. So even following my guide leaves a little variety! I considered a number of powers when picking out the one I finally chose: Taunt, Rise of the Phoenix, Energy Punch, Super Speed, Acrobatics, and Stun. I chose Super Speed to use for my occasional foray into PvP zones. If I did not have the resources to get KB resist enhancements, I would have chosen Acrobatics.
[u]Invention origin enhancements:[u]
These have changed the game forever, and they are a good thing. I am going to list my build that has a combination of IOs, IO sets and HOs. You will need to develop your own build, mine is just a guide. IOs are much better than SOs, and should be used liberally in your build. 2 level 50 IO rechrdx have an 83.3% recharge reduction effect (of course they dont reduce the recycle by 83%; they affect the recharge), whereas 3 +2 SOs affect recharge by 96.7%. 2 +2 SOs have a 70.2% reduction in recharge. The difference is negligible, a 30 second recharge power only sees about a 2 second gain in recharge speed, for the cost of an enhancement slot. Some powers, like Buildup, really need that few seconds and are worth the small increase from a 3rd slot, but a lot of powers see little benefit from it.
Here is the build for my Fire/EM Scranker, GladBurn. This is done using Mids Hero planner on the long form. The short foem was kind of difficult to sort out... The next post includes a build based on ;normal' IOs using the short form.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.20
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php
GladBurn: Level 50 Mutation Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Energy Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield <ul type="square">[*] (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance: Level 30[*] (3) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%: Level 30[*] (3) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40[*] (9) Impervium Armor - Resistance: Level 40[*] (40) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40[/list]Level 1: Barrage <ul type="square">[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[/list]Level 2: Healing Flames <ul type="square">[*] (A) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (5) Miracle - Heal/Recharge: Level 40[*] (5) Miracle - Heal: Level 40[*] (13) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (23) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 4: Bone Smasher <ul type="square">[*] (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage: Level 53[*] (7) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (7) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (9) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (31) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (34) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 53[/list]Level 6: Combat Jumping <ul type="square">[*] (A) Karma - Knockback Protection: Level 30[/list]Level 8: Hurdle <ul type="square">[*] (A) Jumping IO: Level 50[/list]Level 10: Blazing Aura <ul type="square">[*] (A) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 53[*] (11) Multi Strike - Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (11) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 53[*] (13) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (34) Multi Strike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 53[/list]Level 12: Plasma Shield <ul type="square">[*] (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance: Level 30[*] (15) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection: Level 30[*] (15) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40[*] (17) Impervium Armor - Resistance: Level 40[*] (37) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40[/list]Level 14: Super Jump <ul type="square">[*] (A) Springfoot - Jumping: Level 53[*] (17) Springfoot - Endurance/Jumping: Level 53[*] (50) Jumping IO: Level 50[/list]Level 16: Whirling Hands <ul type="square">[*] (A) Cleaving Blow - Accuracy/Damage: Level 53[*] (19) Cleaving Blow - Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (19) Cleaving Blow - Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (23) Cleaving Blow - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 53[*] (29) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 53[*] (42) Multi Strike - Damage/Recharge: Level 53[/list]Level 18: Health <ul type="square">[*] (A) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (43) Healing IO: Level 50[*] (43) Healing IO: Level 50[/list]Level 20: Stamina <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[*] (21) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[*] (21) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[/list]Level 22: Consume <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Nucleolus Exposure[*] (25) Special:Nucleolus Exposure[*] (25) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (42) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (43) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50[/list]Level 24: Boxing <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Nucleolus Exposure[*] (46) Special:Peroxisome Exposure[*] (50) Special:Peroxisome Exposure[/list]Level 26: Tough <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Ribosome Exposure[*] (27) Resist Damage IO: Level 50[*] (27) Resist Damage IO: Level 50[*] (29) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection: Level 30[/list]Level 28: Build Up <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Membrane Exposure[*] (31) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (31) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 30: Fiery Embrace <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (33) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (33) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 32: Hasten <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (33) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (34) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 35: Energy Transfer <ul type="square">[*] (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage: Level 53[*] (36) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (36) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (36) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (37) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (37) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 53[/list]Level 38: Total Focus <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Endoplasm Exposure[*] (39) Special:Nucleolus Exposure[*] (39) Special:Peroxisome Exposure[*] (39) Special:Peroxisome Exposure[*] (40) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[*] (40) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 41: Char <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Endoplasm Exposure[*] (42) Special:Endoplasm Exposure[/list]Level 44: Fire Blast <ul type="square">[*] (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 53[*] (45) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (45) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (45) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 53[*] (46) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 53[*] (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 53[/list]Level 47: Fire Ball <ul type="square">[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (48) Accuracy IO: Level 50[*] (48) Special:Centriole Exposure[*] (48) Special:Centriole Exposure[*] (50) Special:Centriole Exposure[/list]Level 49: Super Speed <ul type="square">[*] (A) Special:Microfilament Exposure[/list]------------
Level 1: Brawl <ul type="square">[*] (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50[/list]Level 1: Sprint <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 2: Rest <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50[/list]Level 1: Gauntlet
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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</pre><hr />
I hope this guide has been helpful to you in developing a fun character to play! -
After a zillion (it seems that way anyway) years of PvP in computer games, I will say that for a lot of people it is not possible to have fun in PvP playing RPGs. Why? Because each class has strengths & weaknesses, & there is no way to plan & prepare to defeat every class. Games that thrive in PvP are very vanilla when comparing class to class, meaning no class has a big advantage on other classes, or the advantages are neutralized by the other classes advantages. RPGs on the other hand have HUGE differences between classes. Go into WoW battlegrounds & you will see how a random team that is mostly melee or mostly casters will get whomped by a balanced team. Some people thrive on finding ways to prevail in these conditions. Some people don't.
I actually had some good success in PvP last year. I had 2 level 50 fire tanks & specced one for PvP & one for PvE. The PvP one did well.
But the primary tactic to defeat tanks was to brawl their toggles off, & that got tiring very quickly. There was no way for a Fire tank to fend this off since there is not a lot of defense (avoiding being hit) in our builds. So after being detoggled over & over again (even other tankers were doing this to me) I quit. There was no fun to be had. & that is the bottom line. If you are not having fun, you stop doing whatever you are doing.
Now I know that a lot of players have fun at PvP. I nod tons of kudos & gratz at you. But I won't be one of the players you compete against. While I did quit the game for a while I quit PvP long before I quit CoH. -
I disagree. This is the BEST system there could be for base raiding. The only thing hurt is there is no surprise.
It looks to me like you were planning on raiding a lot of small SG bases at 2am to build up the 'loot' you could take, & now thats no longer going to happen.
I like Lord_Recluse's idea a LOT, & if there was not such a system my SG would close our base from being raided, or just not build one. -
-
Here is the I4 update!!
A guide to making a Fiery Aura/Energy Melee tanker version 2.0
My guide is written from an enthusiast point of view, & is not filled with numbers or number crunching. Not that numbers are bad, but there is plenty of info already on the boards for people seeking this type of information. I preferred a guide written from a players point of view, based on my 50 levels of experience dating back to Issue 1. I have since taken a Fire/SS tank to 50 & have a Fire/Ice to 32, I think I have a pretty good feel for fire tanking
Always keep in mind as you read this that THIS IS A GUIDE. I don't play the same way you do, so your build most likely won't end up exactly as mine did. But I wanted to post a guide that would make building a fire tank a little easier.
Due to the changes in mob AI, this guide is getting a radical update. Please note that I said mob AI changed. THERE WAS NO NERF TO FIRE TANKS. However, the AI changes affected fire tanks the most, hence the revision. Agro has become a big key now, & maximizing your agro tools is what will make you successful.
These 2 power sets are very good & complement each other well. Fiery Aura has one of the very best minion killing powers in the game, Burn. EM has 2 of the best Boss killing powers, Energy Transfer & Total Focus. These powers come late, but make a Fire/EM tanker one of the very strongest post L40.
Fire tanks are actually pretty strong at taking a hit. They are not as strong as the others due to the fact they rely on resistance for durability. Resistance is terrific, but defense (avoiding getting hit) is better. Resistance does have some advantages, mainly the fact that few bad guys mitigate it. So if your resistance is at 66%, you have 66% resistance to bad guys that are +9 or -9. The +9 bad guys have a huge damage bonus against you, but you are still mitigating 2/3rds of the damage they throw at you.
Defense means avoiding getting hit. This includes any secondary effect (stun, endurance drain, etc ) associated with the attack. The only defenses available to a Fire tank are from pool powers. Defense is affected by level variance, so a tank that relies on defense will get hit much more often by bad guys that are over their level.
Maximize your resistances ASAP. Since you rely on this, get it strong right away.
One bad thing about fire tanks is how much endurance they chew through. Endurance consumption is a key thing for fire tankers. With all the toggles they need at higher levels, they have to monitor it constantly & use whatever methods it takes to keep endurance at a usable level. As simple a thing as leaving SuperJump on while fighting a boss can lead to toggle drop/defeat. Consume is a good tool, but many times a fire tank has to quit attacking & just use Taunt/Burn until endurance builds back up. Due to the AI changes Taunt/Burn requires a lot of care to avoid scattering the groups.
Fire tanks have easy mez resistance. It used to be really difficult to manage this, but the changes added in issue 3 really simplified mez protection. While they have the lowest level of mez resistance compared to other tanks, it is still good. Fire tanks are the only ones that are just about required to take a power pool to get full mez protection, which is why its the worst. I dont have the numbers for the mez resist levels, but other than the power pool resists it seems on par with other tanks. Since fire tanks get hit the most (less defense than other types), they are the ones most likely to get mezzed in a fight. This makes luck & break free enhancements very important .
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Reviewing the powers in Fiery Aura:
Blazing Aura Minor PBAoE DoT, minor agro. This power is a must have at low levels. It fires about once every 2 seconds & does about half the damage of the basic EM attack, Barrage. After getting Burn, this power is most useful as an agro tool. Keep in mind that if you have BA on, travel powers will be suppressed if you are near a bad guy. If suppression causes problems for your playstyle, you should drop BA. If suppression is not a problem (Its not to me) then the agro this generates will make your game a lot easier. Since you need this power at low levels, try & determine if it affects your playstyle, really make a careful decision & if it works against you, respec out of it.
Fire Shield Your bread & butter, get this power first. It gives a base damage resistance of 30% to smash, lethal, fire & 10% to cold damage. These can all be enhanced to 66% (22% for cold) by 6 slotting single origin damage resistance enhancements. This power now supplies your stun resistance, so as long as you are not hit with 8 stuns in less than 5 seconds, you should be fairly immune to stun effects. The endurance cost is fairly low, there is no reason to ever turn this power off. Only slot damage resistance enhancements in this. Adding endurance reducers does little since the power has low end consumption. You are better off maximizing your resistance.
Healing Flames Self Heal + Toxic resistance. I would really like to see the toxic resistance put in a different power, but this is what we have. This power fires about once every 45 seconds. With 2 recharge enhancements & Perma_Hasten this is about every 20 seconds. The healing effect is very strong, a level 50 with 4 healing enhancements heals for 792.
Base resistance for toxic damage is 20%. Since you dont see a lot of toxic at higher levels, there is little reason to slot damres enhancements. You are better off slotting recharge reductions & stacking the toxic resistance. You see a lot of toxic damage at low levels, then a lot less at medium to high levels, so this power should be taken at level 4, slotted for resistance & then reslotted for healing after you get through with fighting Vhasiloks.
Temperature Protection. Passive resistance to fire & cold damage. 20% base to fire, 10% base to cold. While the extra cold resistance would be handy, cold damage is a type you rarely see. With the fire resistance in Fire Shield & Plasma Armor getting you to the damage resistance cap of 90% with even moderate slotting, there seems little reason to take this power. Personally I would like to see knockback resistance moved to this power, immobilization resistance put in Fire Shield & toxic resistance put in Plasma Armor replacing fire resistance. This would remove a fire tanks reliance on the leaping pool for its mez resist powers & give us a real reason to take this power, since we could get rid of 2 toggles if this happened.
Consume drains health from the bad guys, turning it into endurance for the caster. Should you take this power? Duh. This is an absolute must have. Fire tanks have HUGE endurance problems; this power makes the set usable. This power has a to-hit chance, so slotting an accuracy enhancement is a very good idea. Slotting one or two recharge reducer(s) & an endurance recovery enhancement is also suggested. A lot of people say you should not slot endrecs in this power, since even a moderate size crowd will max your endurance, but I find that I need it most fighting bosses. After you have killed all the minions & Lieutenants, (with most of your endurance remaining at this point since you used Burn to get this far) you are staring at one pissed off boss. You use your secondary attacks on bosses, which are a huge drain on your endurance. It takes little time to run out, so maximizing your recovery when fighting a single boss is a very good idea. If you get Conserve Power, this power loses some of its value, but it is still a good power to have in a pinch. If you get Conserve Power, you may find that you can respec out of this power, although I think it is a terrific power if you are in a bind for endurance.
Plasma Armor Now that your mez resist to sleep & hold effects is contained in this power, you need to get it ASAP. This power gives 32.5% resistance to energy, negative energy & fire attacks, which can be buffed to 71% with white single origin enhancements & 75% with all damres enhancements being +3 to your level. Having this combined with Fire Shield & even moderate slotting will get you to the damage resistance cap to fire. Also you are going to start fighting more energy based bad guys at this point; Outcast, Tsoo, etc so having resistance to energy & negative energy is welcome at this point. Endurance use is moderate, so leave this one on all the time after you get it.
Burn The center piece of the Fiery Aura set. This is the reason you become a fire tanker. Once you get this power & add a few damage slots you are very powerful. Burn is a summoned entity. It cannot be buffed with Build Up or any such power that buffs the caster. As a summoned entity it has an accuracy bonus. This power attacks around 4-5 times a second (seen both numbers listed, whatever, it attacks a lot), & after you add damage it can melt minions in just a few seconds. The huge mobs you can attack will stagger you. The damage scales more quickly than other attacks, so bad guys up to +4 are the best you can take on if you mainly rely on Burn. Once you get to L40 there are a lot of bad guys that are fire resistant, but even at that point Burn is still a very valuable tool in your arsenal. Endurance cost is low to activate this power. DO NOT STACK THIS ATTACK!! With the new mob AI stacking Burn patches will cause most bad guys to run. If you get Perma-Hasten, do not fire this if a patch is already applied.
Fiery Embrace For 10 seconds the damage for all your attacks is boosted 80% (this is off the base damage, not enhanced) & accuracy is buffed 50%. For a total of 30 seconds the damage from Blazing Aura & Consume is boosted 80% & accuracy is boosted 50%. This is really a power to take if you have the Fire secondary, since all your fire attacks are boosted by 80% for 30 seconds. Build Up recycles faster & also boosts your accuracy. The pittance of damage added by FE to BA & Consume is no reason to take this power.
Rise of the Phoenix This power is a lot better than it used to be. When you rez you have 50% health & endurance, & you are not disoriented. For 15 seconds you are impervious to damage, which is enough time to get most of your defenses up. Also it causes a disorient effect to all bad guys in a short range around you. This effect is auto-hit, although it can be resisted. With a single healing enhancement you are in a very good position to return to the fight after the invulnerability wears off. I would recommend taking this power late. You need too many other powers to take it before 44.
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A review of the Energy Melee power set.
I have heard people say that Barrage has as good of a DPS (damage per second) as Energy Punch. Dont believe them. I did some extensive testing on all the powers in this set. The DPS really falls into 6 areas:
Pathetic DPS: Stun
Low DPS - Barrage
Moderate DPS Energy Punch & Bonesmasher
High DPS Total Focus
Extreme DPS Energy Transfer
& the PBAoE, Whirling Hands, for which the DPS varies depending on how many bad guys are in melee range. Each hit has about the same damage as Barrage.
The Energy Melee set is defined as smash damage combined with an energy blast at the point of impact. Most attacks have at least a fair chance to stun the opponent.
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Barrage 2 low damage punches, but very fast recycle, about 3.5 seconds. A small chance to disorient.
Energy Punch Moderate damage, a little longer recycle that Barrage, but ending up with a higher DPS by about 15%. Better Chance to disorient than Barrage.
Taunt a ranged AoE provoke power. This draws the attention of any bad guy for about 30 seconds for even levels. The provoke effect is strong enough to hold bad guys in a Burn patch. It will draw enemies from attacking another friendly to attack you as long as they have not already started an attack animation. The effect is strong & has a good duration. Due to the changes in mob AI adding 1-2 Taunt duration enhancements is a good idea. I also have a fair amount of range added.
Bonesmasher High damage attack with a longer recycle than Energy Punch. These 2 factors combine to give Bonesmasher about the same DPS as Energy Punch. However, Bonesmasher has far higher damage per hit. This makes it more suited to using against bosses than Energy Punch. Since Fire/EM tanks consider their secondary their boss killing powers, most fire tanks skip Energy Punch & get Bonesmasher at L10. Bonesmasher also has a very good chance to disorient.
Whirling Hands PBAoE attack. The tanker spins in a circle striking everyone in melee range with Barrage type damage & disorient chance. A high value attack, this works very well with Burn, especially with the agro generated by the Punch-voke effect. The agro generated with this attack & later with Energy Torrent will save a Burn tanker.
Stun a low damage attack with a fast recycle. The DPS is similar to Barrage. This power will almost assuredly stun the target, even if it is a boss. This power is quite situational, & since most Fire tanks have limited power slots available for secondary attacks this is rarely taken.
Build Up Same old power used by Scrappers, Blasters & other tanks. 50% accuracy bonus & 80% damage bonus for 10 seconds, recycles in about 90 seconds without Hasten or recharge reduction enhancements, usually enough to boost 2-3 attacks. Since this does not buff Burn, this power is a much lower priority than for other tank types.
Energy Transfer - The premier power in this set. Extreme damage, low end cost & reasonable recycle give this the best DPS by far of any attack in this set. It does drain some of your hit points, & with the changes in I4 this is a factor to consider. Single target attacks can attack multiple targets in what is referred to as a mincone, meaning a single punch can drain enough hit points to take yourself out. Slotted with 1 accuracy & 5 damage I find I can one shot +1 minions.
Total Focus Long animation, long recharge & high end use, but the second highest single strike damage output of the EM attacks, & tied for second place with all tanker attacks for damage. The 1-2 of Energy Transfer & Total Focus will take out just about any Lieutenant. This power has very high damage & as good a chance to disorient as Stun.
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Power Pools
There are several power pools that are essentially required to Fire tank; Leaping, Fitness Speed & Fighting. I have seen some fire tanks use other power pools, but these are by far the most common choices.
Leaping This is needed for 2 powers: Combat Jumping & Acrobatics. CJ gives good mobility, a 5% defense buff & resistance to immobilization effects (This effect was improved in I4). When slotting this I usually add a jump enhancement. I find that the extra mobility is far more valuable than 1% defense. Acrobatics gives a good level of Hold & Knockback resistance. These 2 powers complete your mez resistance. Because you need these 2 powers, almost all fire tanks use SuperJump as a travel power.
Fighting you take this pool for the last 2 powers, Tough & Weave. Unfortunately you also need to take a nearly worthless power (either boxing or kick) to get them. I have seen many people say that Boxing & Kick have some value, but they add little to a Fire tank. Tough gives 20% damage resistance to smash & lethal. This gets you to the damage resistance cap to these damage types. Weave is 12.5% defense to melee & ranged attacks. Most fire tanks slot up Weave to 5 defbuf enhancements & 1 endrdx enhancement. This gives 25% defense, which reduces the bad guys chance to hit by half. Combined with combat jumping that gets you to 30% defense to melee & ranged attacks.
Fitness All you really need this pool for is for Stamina. You need to take 2 other powers to get this, so get Hurdle (improves the height & performance of CJ & SJ) & Health. Health reduces the downtime between fights, so it has some usefulness. It is also good for offsetting the health drain from Energy Transfer. 6 slotted Stamina with single origin endurance recovery enhancements improves your end recovery by 75%, which is barely enough to keep you going with all the toggles you run. To attack you will need to use Consume.
You get the Speed pool for Hasten. This power can cause big damage melee attacks to recycle quicker, meaning you can get away with fewer melee attacks. It also helps Healing Flames & Consume cycle faster. However, it speeds up the Burn recycle enough to allow stacking patches, which is now a no-no. After extensive play this last weekend, I really saw the value of Perma-Hasten, just watch to avoid stacking Burn patches.
Ancillary Power Pools
These give some good hold/immobilization effects & give the ethereal ranged attacks to tankers. This is great, but the best power in these pools in easily Conserve Power. This power lowers the end cost of all your powers by half. While it cannot be made perma, as long as you watch it & click it whenever it recycles you will be in lower power use mode more than you won't.
This opens up a lot of opportunity to attack for fire tankers that normally have to watch their endurance like a hawk.
Pick the ancillary pool that meets your character concept, but if it does not matter, the best is Energy Mastery. The ranged attack Laser Beam Eyes is also very effective. While it has fairly low damage, it recycles very quickly, has a low endurance cost to activate, has great range & debuffs the targets defense.
Focused accuracy is now a viable choice. The endurance cost has been lowered to the point it can be used situationally. With a bit of care it could be left on. I keep it for dealing with invisible or stealthed foes, as well as players that are using MoG type powers.
Energy Torrent is a good power. It is a cone attack, but the knockback for tanks becomes knock down, so it is quite a useful power. The agro it generates makes this a worthy power.
You will have to read other guides if you are considering the other APPs, I have only done considerable testing on the Energy & Pyre sets. & while the Pyre set has the highest damage potential of all the APPs, I would only consider it as a character concept pool, as Energy Mastery is just too dang good for endurance hungry fire/EM tanks.
You have to decide how to slot most of your powers. You need to slot a lot of attacks early, you can always respec out of them later. Here is my planned level 50 build, which can be acquired & played successfully without respec:
Archetype: Tanker
Primary Powers - Defense : Fiery Aura
Secondary Powers - Melee : Energy Melee
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Fire Shield /DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Barrage /Acc
Slot[03] Level 2 : Blazing Aura /Acc,Dam,Endrdx,Tnt,Tnt
Slot[04] Level 4 : Healing Flames /Heal,Heal,Heal,Heal,Rech,Rech
Slot[05] Level 6 : Combat Jumping /Jump
Slot[06] Level 8 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[07] Level 10 : Consume(T) /Acc
Slot[08] Level 12 : Plasma Shield /DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Jump /Jump,Jump
Slot[10] Level 16 : Taunt /Rng,Rng.Tnt,Tnt
Slot[11] Level 18 : Burn(T) /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal,Heal,Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Boxing /Acc
Slot[15] Level 26 : Tough /DamRes
Slot[16] Level 28 : Weave /EndRdx,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
Slot[17] Level 30 : Acrobatics /EndRdx
Slot[18] Level 32 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Energy Transfer /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[20] Level 38 : Total Focus /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[21] Level 41 : Conserve Power /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[22] Level 44 : Whirling Hands /Acc,Dam,Dam,Dam,Dam,Dam
Slot[23] Level 47 : Energy Torrent /Acc,Dam,Dam,Dam,Dam,CnRng
Slot[24] Level 49 : Rise Of The Phoenix /Heal
Hamidon class enhancements affect builds significantly. My build hs 42 Hami-Os in it, so I have altered my slotting a bit. The build I listed is with SOs only.
Remember this is just a guide. You have to decide exactly how to set up your Burn machine. Im just listing some knowledge that may make building the killing machine you are looking for a little easier. -
I like the option of melee attacks in the blaster secondary. I think Energy is the ideal in many ways, although I would like to see one of the boost powers be the initial one, maybe build up be the first power. It has 4 melee attacks that have specialized secondary effects. Power Thrust is a terrific power for knocking strong melee bad guys away from you. Punch & Bonesmasher have nearly Identical DPS & the same chance to stun over a minute (EP has less chance to stun per attack, but more attacks per minute, so the chance to stun is similar). Stun is situational, but can be beneficial to a blaster. & of course Total Focus, the big Kahuna. Thats 5 melee attacks that are really good situationally.
Besides that the power set has 4 effects boosts that are all valuable, Power Boost, Build Up Conserve Power & Range Boost. This is a nice versatile set, & a good one for a player that wants to make a Blapper.
I think all of the Blaster secondaries should roughly follow this example, except Devices which is a really good, but very different type of set.
If I was going to change Energy Manipulation, I would add something like Temporary Invulnerability or Force Bolt to replace probably Energy Punch. -
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OK gang, we'll throw at least 2 of your wants into Issue 4.
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My bet is:
assuming he is looking at the first post in the thread...
PvP - If you go to Peregrine Island towards the northwest of the main island on the test server there is some massive construction going on. The workers refer to it as, 'the arena'.
New Epic AT's - Stateman has previously said we will see more of them 'soon'. I would think Issue 4 fits with a game developers vision of 'soon'. -
Wow I built my Blaster (as far as primary & power pools) almost exactly as you listed. I am going to change a few things at my next (Epic pool) respec.
I am going to try the 6 slotted Hover thing. I spend most of my time super speeding nowadays, I only need flight for hill climbing, so to speak. So I will drop Fly & try your method. I have one more respec if I don't care for it after a few weeks.
I am going to replace the acc I have in Nova with a dam, so it will be slotted dam/dam/dam/dam/rech/rech. When I Nova reds they have a sliver of life if I don't have aim & build up ready, this may fix that.
I am going to CONSIDER getting Power Push. I will try it on test after respec, but I have avoided this one for a while.
Now, I disagree on Explosive Blast. It is a great power in my book. Slotted acc/dam/dam/dam/dam/dam, it is very effective when combined with Energy Torrent for mob killing. It just requires proper angle on the attack. It is also good as a 4th 'nuke' in certain situations, & it has a fast animation so you can fire the next attack quickly. -
I've been following this Epic AT thing for a while, reading interviews, etc.
While this includes a bit of speculation, this is what I have been able to piece together so far....
There are going to be 16 primary & 16 secondary power sets. It looks like Warspites are going to be scranker types & peacebringers are going to be blastdeftrollers. However, you pick the primary & secondary sets, so you don't have to follow the strict definition of the main ATs. If you pick a damage set as a primary, you have to pick a defense/buff/control set for your secondary. & vice versa. This means that you can build what ever you want. For example, you can take whatever passes for Fire Control as a primary & the pseudo fire blast as a secondary. Or you can make an Invul/Energy Blast guy. & so on. Now, I may not be describing the power sets exactly, but this is the gist of what the new Epics are all about. You get to make a character that can be as unique or mainstream as you want, but with new powers & power sets.
Little mention has been made of power pools, but it seems that there are Epic specific power pools as well that are different from the Epic power pools that main ATs get.
Also, they have been very quiet on the winged AT, which may indicate we won't see wings in issue 3. -
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ive been hearing that on the next update that is due on december 28th???? that max level will be extended to 75. but i can not find anything about it. i would have dismissed it but i've heard it from 3 other people. on 2 different servers..????
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Don't believe everything you hear, especially in-game.
When the cap was upped to 50, the devs said rather specifically that that would be IT.
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Well they did not say that would be it, but they did say that raising the level cap is not going to happen 'anytime soon', & it was implied that we will see CoV long before we see a level raise. & a level raise would only be to 60 I would think.
Adding levels means adding content, including new city zones, new mission types, new villains, etc... adding 10 levels means adding a lot of content, adding 25 levels means writing an expansion pack. This game will be dead long before we see L75 IMNSHO. & I don't expect CoH or CoV to die before 2007.
The stuff that came out in issue 1 was really just getting the game to where the devs wanted it at release. But they ran out of time & needed to put out a product, so they finished the content to L40. Once the L50 stuff was finished they raised the level cap. Regular level raises is not part of the program...
The beginning of December will be 3 months from the last update. Since it has been stated that they want issues to be released every 2-3 months, the end of December seems very late.