GuyPerfect

Make sure you go Degenerative Total Core Conversion for your Interface slot. It's the best there is.

Sister Psyche dies.

Technically those were +1s and +2s to begin with, but I was Level Shifted. Assuming level 53s and 54s, it works great offensively. It's a bit too fragile to pull that off on x3 like in the video, though.

All the attacks are 1.25X to 1.33X Accuracy, with a 1.70X global Accuracy and 90.42% ToHit. I didn't really mean to get it that high; it's just how the set bonuses fell into place while I was frankenslotting. Whatever the case, against stock 54s, it still has a 95% clamped hit chance (still 119% before clamping).

It also has +12% global damage, fully enhanced Damage and Endurance (~95% each per power), +20% Recharge, +60% Slow resist, +36% HP (still don't have High Pain Threshold or Born in Battle) and... pretty low Damage Resistance and Defense. With the debuffs, it gives -55% Resistance to all but Toxic (which is -75%) and -33.75% Defense to all (which *I* don't need, but my teammates appreciate).

All of the attacks have slots allocated for damage procs, but I still have two Gladiator's Javelins on the list for the single-target ranged attacks. I've got the 75% Toxic proc from Degenerative equipped as the icing on the cake.

I have a Toxic thing. Feel free to tell me how awesome it is!



Video:

Spines was a launch set. However, Codewalker and I investigated it and the Scrapper version did not appear to have the DoT. NPC versions did, and the DoT's type was Special.

Yay video! Here's an artist's conception of what a Toxic-oriented Arachnos Soldier would be like.

It's possible that Vahzilok were among the various Special damage types on launch day like Hydra and Devoureds, but I was able to find records of the attacks dealing Fire and Negative Energy before Issue 3 introduced Toxic. Possibly changed to make them at least somewhat resistible.

Zombie Horde deals some Toxic damage. This list doesn't really account for summonables; Demon Summoning was included more for the whip attacks.

I've been on a bit of a Toxic kick lately. Let me share the fruits of my research!


What is Toxic Damage?

Toxic is one of the eight damage types in the game. It wasn't around when the game was designed, but was introduced in Issue 3 because other damage types were insufficient for certain enemy attacks. Cadaver vomit was typed Fire, Reaper darts were Negative Energy, Hydra and Devoured spits were Special/irresistible, etc. There was no damage type to cover chemical-themed attacks, so they introduced one.


What deals Toxic Damage?

There's a few enemies in the game that pose a threat with Toxic Damage. This list may not be comprehensive:

• Arachnoids - Specialize in Toxic
• Arachnos - Toxic Tarantula and Mace attacks
• Devouring Earth - Devoured's Spit
• Hellions - Girlfriend From Hell
• Hydra - Spit
• Praetorian Devouring Earth - Seedlings, Greater Devoured, Avatar of Hamidon
• Snakes - Venomous Spray
• Vahzilok - Dart Gun, Projectile Vomit and Zombie Vomit

How can I protect myself from Toxic Damage?

When Toxic was added to the game, certain defensive powers were given moderate-to-light Resistance to it. This was usually in the form of self-heals and godmodes, though Dark Armor and Warshades got consistent protection to it through toggle powers. Though Toxic damage isn't particularly prolific in the game, it's still important to be wary of it because Resistance to it is not very prolific either.

It's important to note that a Toxic attack type was never implemented, meaning you can't have Defense to Toxic specifically. The only way to avoid Toxic attacks is to have positional Defense.

The powers that protect you from Toxic are as follows. Versions of these powers that are also available in the epic sets are not listed, but also provide Resistance to Toxic:

(Ancillaries) / Force of Nature
(Ancillaries) / Surge of Power
Dark Armor / Dark Embrace
Electric Armor / Power Surge
Energy Aura / Energy Protection
Fiery Aura / Healing Flames
Ice Armor / Hoarfrost
Invulnerability / Resist Elements, Unyielding, Unstoppable
Luminous Aura / Essence Boost, Light Form
Mace Mastery / Scorpion Shield
Ninjitsu / Kuji-In Sha
Stone Armor / Earth's Embrace, Granite Armor
Regeneration / Reconstruction, Resilience, Moment of Glory
Shield Defense / One With the Shield
Umbral Aura / Penumbral Shield, Eclipse
Willpower / High Pain Tolerance, Reconstruction, Strength of Will

Additionally, the scaling passive Resistances in Super Reflexes will protect you from Toxic damage under the right circumstances.

Assorted Invention Set Bonuses will also provide some light Resistance to Toxic.


How can I protect my allies from Toxic Damage?

Only a handful of ally buffs provide Resistance to Toxic:

Cold Domination / Frostwork
Force Field / Deflection Shield
Pain Domination / World of Pain
Poison / Alkaloid, Antidote
Sonic Resonance / Sonic Barrier, Sonic Dispersion


How can I deal Toxic Damage?

There's an assortment of Power Sets available to players that have some dedicated Toxic output; usually as a secondary DoT effect:

Demon Summoning
Dual Pistols - provided Chemical Ammunition is active
Spines
Thorny Assault
Bane Spider Soldier - Poisonous Ray and the melee attacks
Widow Training and Night Widow Training melee attacks

Additionally, there are some oddball powers that deal Toxic:

Arachnos Soldier and Crab Spider Soldier / Venom Grenade. This power applies an especially strong Toxic Resistance debuff to the enemy.
Leviathan Mastery / Bile Spray
Mace Mastery / Poisonous Ray
Degenerative Interface Abilities

There are also two Invention Enhancement damage procs that deal Toxic:

Ranged Damage / Gladiator's Javelin: Chance for Toxic Damage
Sniper Attacks / Sting of the Manticore: Chance for Toxic Damage


Which powers deal the most/least Toxic Damage?

Powers used by summonable entities such as Poison Trap and Zombie are not factored into this assessment.

The top 5 Toxic dealers, with the strongest listed first, are:

Bane Spider Soldier / Poisonous Ray
Dual Pistols / Hail of Bullets
Leviathan Mastery / Bile Spray
Spines, Thorny Assault / Ripper
Arachnos Soldier, Crab Spider Soldier / Venom Grenade

The bottom 5 Toxic dealers, with the weakest listed first, are:

Dual Pistols / Suppressive Fire
Trick Arrow / Acid Arrow
Thorny Assault / Thorny Darts
Dual Pistols / Pistols, Bullet Rain (tie)


Which character build deals the most Toxic Damage?

Until such a thing as Toxic Blast comes along, our best bets for Toxic characters are Dual Pistols and Bane Spiders. Dual Pistols suffers a bit of a weakness in Hail of Bullets, which is its strongest Toxic dealer, but typically isn't well-suited for general combat.

• Defenders and Corruptors have lower base damage than Blasters, but they do get access to some potent damage buffs and Resistance debuffs. Unfortunately, neither has access to Bile Spray or Poisonous Ray.

• Blasters have the highest base damage output, which is routinely boosted by Defiance. They have access to Bile Spray, but none of the secondary sets provide noteworthy Resistance debuffs.

• Bane Spiders have access to 3 of the top 5 Toxic attacks (all of which are purely Toxic), as well as three considerable Resistance debuffs (Surveillance, Venom Grenade and Arctic Breath). This amounts to a -75% Resistance debuff to Toxic in particular coupled with the strongest Toxic attacks. Their melee attacks also have a Toxic DoT component.

When Degenerative Interface is mixed in, Toxic output will increase proportional to the rapidness of the character's ability to attack. An assortment of AoE powers will deal more Toxic Damage as a result, and greater Resistance debuffs yield more effective Degenerative procs.

The verdict? Your mileage may vary, but to me it looks like the Bane Spider wins out.

I totally reinvented my Arachnos Soldier for the purposes of having a character that specializes in Toxic damage. While most of his attacks are either using the Mace or no weapon at all (Surveillance, Bile Spray, Arctic Breath), I still took Venom Grenade since it's got Toxic written all over it.

I generally don't notice in combat, but when I stop to look at him holding the Rifle, I realize that it seems a bit small relative to his frame. When he runs with it he's hunched all over like some kind of space marine.



And that's the biggest gun at his disposal. A quick experiment in the costume editor revealed one of the options to be entirely insufficient:



It's not a complaint or a request for change or anything; I just find it amusing. It reminds me of Huge characters wielding Ice Sword back in the day, where it would materialize in their gigantic hands as a tiny needle. That seems to have been addressed in years gone by, but at least Arachnos Soldier can still revel in the glory of having weapons that are far too small for their own size.

Second the Devices Blaster. With Cloaking Device and Smoke Grenade (I accidentally typed Cloking Grenade first), you can stand on top of spawns to drop a Trip Mine without them noticing you. If that's not stealthy, nothing is.

Poop, no channel ops online. Thanks for the heads-up, though!

I've decided I'm terrible at finding generic server-centric global channels for teams 'n' chat 'n' such. Which hinders my Pinnacle experience. Halp?

NoPhase triggers when you activate a Phase Shift power or Hibernate. It lasts for 120 seconds total, but the first 30 of them don't actually suppress phase at all. You'll still be phased while your power is active.