Heraclea
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Posts
2089 -
Joined
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Quote:One on one, the easiest custom character mobs with any two standard power sets are harder than many, probably most, dev-created mobs. I do think that they should give full XP.Originally Posted by je_saist
If you don't like that, and If you don't think the rewards are right, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT AE IS FOR OR WHY IT WAS PUT IN THE GAME.
Apart from that, I am happy with the rewards being handed out in AE currently. -
Quote:A Willpower tanker with Stamina should not need Physical Perfection. Mine don't, and I bore easily.Originally Posted by Postagulous
Level 41: Focused Accuracy Empty(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection Empty(A)
Well, maybe if you are running Focused Accuracy and Maneuvers you do; but as I understand it FA is a PvP thing, while Willpower is .... not a PvP thing. -
Quote:Ladder is probably skippable. It seems to be even harder to target than Shadow Maul; this may be an artifact of shorter activation time means you notice it less. My rule of thumb in tanker secondaries is to take the tier 2 or 3 attacks, but not both.Originally Posted by Postagulous
I'm not sure I could aim the cone of Ladder correctly w the enemy so close either.
Why do you want Leadership pool? If it's a concept thing you may need to make sacrifices.
Since IMO Electric Melee is the premier multi target tanker secondary, you'll get less mileage out of Salt Crystals than most. I do like Salt Crystals for WP tankers, but mostly because it's a big AoE attack without knockback issues. You also get less benefit from it because your tier 1 and 2 attacks accept sleep sets, if you want to slot them. They are a cheap way to set bonuses you might covet.
If you plan on early Tough and Weave, Strength of Will may sit idle on your bar most of the time. Its function can be duplicated with team buffs or inspirations. It can be skipped if your build is tight.
This skeleton build works in all your desired pool powers at the expense of SoW and a travel power:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 48 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Willpower
Secondary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Earth Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Charged Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Fast Healing -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Havoc Punch -- Empty(A)
Level 6: Indomitable Will -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Rise to the Challenge -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Quick Recovery -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Thunder Strike -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Mind Over Body -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Build Up -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Taunt -- Empty(A)
Level 28: Chain Induction -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Heightened Senses -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Tough -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Weave -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Lightning Rod -- Empty(A)
Level 41: Maneuvers -- Empty(A)
Level 44: Tactics -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Vengeance -- Empty(A)
Level 49: Salt Crystals -- Empty(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
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Set Bonus Totals: -
"Lesbian Hellions" come from an old thread about interesting player biographies. I can no longer find the actual thread, but an image of the biography has been preserved here.
Obviously, this cried to Heaven for exploration in Mission Architect. -
Now, after a few very minor tweaks and improvements, a Dr. Aeon's Architect Challenge entry as well!
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Amir Al-Muminin, Ninja/Poison
Genin:
Husayn
Umar
Khalid
Jounin:
Saddam.
Usama
Oni:
Muhammad -
As a tanker set there really isn't any primary that goes well with it any more.
Willpower would be able to eat the -HP in Energy Transfer. But stunned mobs wander, and that means you aren't holding aggro on them any more. EM is a very team unfriendly set for a tanker.
Dark Melee could use the stuns, and Fire needs a lot of control. But both of those sets rely heavily on self-heals. 3 second animations mean dying helplessly. And again, stunned mobs wander, so it does nothing to make Burn worthwhile.
Shields, Invulnerability, Ice, Electric Armor - EM does nothing now that other sets don't do better, with less sitting on your hands time as well.
EM is a powerset without a reason to exist. It does nothing to help a team tanker, and it's slow and boring solo. I mothballed my level 50 fire/EM tanker with a server transfer, mostly because the character used to be a lot of fun, and I couldn't bear to just delete a level 50. But I grind my teeth trying to play the combination now. First she lost her primary; then, her secondary, and there just wasn't enough left of the character to bother with afte that. -
What I had done is simply to put one objective in a clickable object, and put that in "back" on a map that will reliably observe that.
This way, the player will hopefully pass each "rescue" and hear their story on the way to the object. -
Quote:That depends on how you plan on going about it. My characters on my home server form a collective and craft and share drops. I also routinely roll Mission Architect tickets and merits, keeping the useful to any of my characters and selling the rest.Originally Posted by _Chin_
I've been playing my Shield/SS tanker a lot recently and I absolutely love it....the look, the feel (and the 2 handed shield uppercut), but does kind feel a little underpowered defence wise....probably not, but it feels that way to me.
I also rely on a number of sets that don't go all the way to 50 - especially Eradication (max 30), Kinetic Combat (35), Touch of Death and Reactive Armor (40). My banker character usually has bids out for those sets, so I make them and slot them as soon as I am able. Any deficiencies in the resulting slotting (Kinetic Combat is weak on accuracy, but as Super Strength you can get by with less) gets made up with other IOs, generic or frankenslotted, or synthetic Hami-Os at 47+.
Generally, I start planning for sets at 32+, because any 35+ IO is just as good as a SO. For core powers I want them to be as close to the limit as possible.
I also always take into account what "exotic" and relatively un-demanded sets can be plugged into powers: Razzle Dazzle and Pulverizing Fisticuffs (25!) for Jab is one idea. KO Blow gives you a defense bonus for 2 Basilisk's Gaze, though that can get pricey.
Anything routinely selling for over 10M inf on the market is a "buy straight up with merits" situation IMO. Some characters roll theirs and others save theirs, and a lucky roll for something needed can free up more merits to roll and sell. -
You may take away our oversized epaulets.... but you'll never take our FREEEEDOOOOOMM!
Wait. You can have Freedom. Just don't even think about Victory. -
Quote:For scrappers and especially for brutes, it is absolutely godly. A brute with two +recovery powers is a juggernaut.Originally Posted by JanusFrs
The thing i dont get is why other ppl dont like it... What things about this powerful will is it that im skipping?
For tankers, it's quite solid in terms of keeping you alive, but as several will note you may have problems because the taunt aura does not last very long. Knockback can cause issues. I've written a guide with suggestions as to how to work around this. -
Many of my villains will be migrating to blueside, for both story and gameplay/practical reasons.
Even for my villains, the whole Destined One business and the forced relationship with Arachnos do not fit their backgrounds well. My villains want to be their own people. Some are not all that evil; the truly nasty ones are staying.
Some of my darker or less stable heroes may switch to redside. I think that some redside material might be a lot more entertaining with a real tanker on board, for instance. -
I know I will miss some of them.
Heraclea, Inv/SS tanker. first character and first 50. This character is based on drawings I had made featuring a female version of a sword and sandal character, an Amazon, sort of a cross between Wonder Woman and Hercules. Born on Dec. 24, 2004. Still played frequently. Working on a second build right now. +
Grandma Gnosis, ill/emp controller. Seldom played. I don't enjoy buffing sets on teams. A very old character, though, one of the first I made and kept. +
Daisy May, stone/axe tanker. Seldom played; I don't enjoy Stone Armor very much. Created during the dark ages of i5-i6, because it seemed needful to have a granite tanker then.
Damage Cushion, fire/energy melee tanker. Another i5 creation; for one issue fire was pretty good when you could six slot its armors for resistance. After her primary and secondary were taken from her, she became deadwood on my main server (Victory). I didn't want to delete the character completely, so I mothballed her by moving her to Champion, where she occasionally participates in Tanker Tuesdays. She's more fun to play when there are other tankers on the team.
Camilla (Camilia), willpower/stone melee tanker. My first level 50 not on Victory; she's on Virtue. Seldom played, though; I don't know that many people there. Made as my first initial and successful experiment with Willpower. +
Beata Beatrix, ss/inv brute. My first brute, made at the launch of i6. Just recently started to take an interest in this character again, but she still mostly lives in the shadow of +
Anactoria, dark melee/wp brute. My main brute. Will probably cross over when Going Rogue goes live. +
Androphonissa, shield/mace tanker. Still played somewhat often, but not as much since I have +
Yansan, shield/electric tanker. Played very often. My most fun tanker to play.
Toxotes, arch/devices blaster. The first blaster I really enjoyed. Played often. +
William Shakespeare, rad/arch defender. The first defender I really enjoyed. Also, the first male character to hit 50.
Baroness Munchhausen, electric/shield scrapper. Played often. Very useful. Can tank.
Drusilla Claudia, DM/SR scrapper. My first Mission Architect scrapper, born of a perceived need to take a very hard to kill scrapper into the MA. Now lives in the shadow of +
Betsy Ross, spines/wp scrapper. Played almost daily: my banking character. Rolled on a lark for a July 4th themed costume contest, this character became my favorite to take into Mission Architect. Another tanking scrapper.
Maiden Heaven, fire/regen scrapper. Played fairly often: my scrapper of choice to run lower level TFs for merits.
Melaena, WP/DM tanker. Played occasionally; my Rikti ship raid tanker. +
Hypsiste, WP/SS tanker. Played occasionally. May be sent redside when Going Rogue goes live. +
Madame Nhu, Widow. Played fairly often. May be coming blueside when Going Rogue goes live.
Omphale, inv/dark melee tanker. Played often. My toughest tanker, built for master's runs. +
+ These characters are from New Colchis. -
Quote:Ouroboros Portal is the Virtueverse for the rest of us.Originally Posted by Jophiel
I admit that I'm envious of the Virtueverse thing.
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Quote:I generally have some kind of biography in mind for every character. Having a shared background for many of them helps. We begin with relating them to the background, and noting their roles there.Originally Posted by Jophiel
Just idly curious and some questions on character biographies:
What percentage of your characters have biographies? Do you usually write them at creation or after you've had a chance to get a feel for the character? Has a good biography saved a character you otherwise weren't that thrilled with?
Many other characters are named after mythological or historical figures. At least for starters, these write themselves; you can always condense something from Wikipedia.
Then, I condense further. While every character needs a biography, I think that really good ones get to the heart of the matter very quickly. My characters do not to have particularly distressing backgrounds or angsty stories about how they took up their in-game lives for revenge or what not. So the long introductions don't need to be made.
A couple short favorites:
Maiden Heaven (fire/regen scrapper)
Why can't everybody just be nice?
I'm on a mission from God to find people who aren't nice and, like, set them on fire.
Betsy Ross (spines/WP scrapper)
Everybody goes on and on about how I originated the design of the American flag. But it really wasn't so hard to think it up.
William Shakespeare (rad/archery defender)
It is an insufficiently appreciated fact of history that William Shakespeare could shoot radioactive beams from his hands and infect his rivals. What do you think *really* happened to Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson, anyways?
Laird of Kinfyre (fire/kin controller)
I was playin' me bagpipes when all of a sudden the imps cam oot of 'em. I think they likes the music.
Probably even more important to me than the biography, though, is a good set of banter binds. That's what sustains my interest in a character. -
Quote:The set as currently constituted is probably harder on primaries that rely on click heals than on sets that lack them. Both Energy Transfer and Total Focus entail more than three seconds of forced AFK.Originally Posted by Nihilii
Coupling a primary without any regen/heal ability with a secondary hurting your hit points doesn't strike me as a good combo.
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I got back on and posted a number of reasonable bids for the level 30-35 enhancements I use often, in hopes of getting at least a couple bites now that the crazy prices are invisible.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Jabbrwock
Since you cannot reasonably build for all 3 positional defenses, I'd go for S/L instead - it's gonna defend you against more stuff than any one position.
Captain, your logic is sound. -
When I finally got done patching after the maintenance and got into the game, it seemed that all the past sale data in the auction house had been wiped. At least hero-side this was the case; did not look at villain side.
Is this regular and normal after the maintenance, and I had just never gotten on soon enough to notice? Or is it unusual? I /bugged it. -
Health, if you've tooken it. Fast Healing, in which case I'd give it an extra, regular slot. That button is doing more for you than an even level SO in Health. In Fast Healing, it's closer to an even break, since Fast Healing > Health.
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Quote:Energy Melee is probably playable with Shield. You don't have any self-heals or highly effective defensive overclock powers, so the horrible animation lag isn't going to do you particular harm. You have a full taunt aura, so the stuns aren't going to make you less of a tank. You will need recharge, recharge, and more recharge for both of them. You get a decent AoE attack in your primary, so EM's poor performance there is partially fixed.Originally Posted by BlueBattler
That sort of origin lended itself to SS, but I didn't really feel like playing another SS Tank as I remembered how unsatisfying the set had felt until I got Rage. I went with EM because it was a new set for me and changed her origin to make her a mutant like her brother.
But if you were disappointed with Super Strength as being a late bloomer --- I fear that you will find Energy Melee even more disappointing. Almost all the power of the set is in the last two powers, Energy Transfer and Total Focus. The other attacks will seem like ineffective and wasteful thrashing around in comparison.
Dark Melee adds a lot more, and gets useful earlier. Electric Melee is also very good with Shields, and plays to your strengths. -
Quote:Heraclea is /SS, not /EM; I made that mistake with my fire tanker. I do have a second Invulnerability tanker, an Inv/DM, that is softcapped against physical and energy damage, and close to that for elemental damage.Originally Posted by Fireheart
However, it gives up 20% global recharge and 37% global accuracy, then requires stealing slots from other powers, to get the accuracy, recharge, endurance and damage of the attacks back up close to previous levels. And if you have to ask me what I want with +10% to-hit and 180% accuracy, all I can say is Rikti Drones, Paragon Protectors, L54 Bosses, and AVs.
Heraclea's main build is old-school, not at all focused on defense bonus, more about recovery, recharge, regeneration, and hit points: a farming build. On it, she has around 25% defense across the board and 90% physical damage resistance. She has tanked the entire game on it, including Recluse - but she doesn't have the master badge from that TF yet. Pursuing that is one reason why I've started a defense based second build.
A lot depends on who your teammates are. I certainly can understand why an Energy Melee character would want to focus on recharge. But recharge buffs are a dime a dozen when every other character with a buffing set is Kinetics.
If you solo, your primary's SO values are more than enough, If you team with a predictable group of characters, you know what their powers can and can't do for yours. If you team with unpredictable pickup teams, you may want to focus on building for survival first. -
I have a DM/SR that I enjoy. This was my first Mission Architect baby.
For sets, my priorities were ----
First, get softcapped against all positions. Not hard.
Then, get your endurance under control with recovery bonuses.
Then, you can start adding luxuries like recharge bonuses.
I didn't really want a buzzsaw build on mine. I just wanted an essentially unstoppable character that was close to impossible to kill and that could take down hard targets.
Do, do, do take Touch of Fear. It may not do damage, but it's your best To Hit debuff. -
I favor Cafe Bustelo, bought ground in cans or bricks, brewed in a regular coffee pot and not as an espresso. I like the taste, and the coffee is good cold as well, so I never throw it away when I want hot coffee without just making reheated cold coffee.
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I made some modifications to your second build. This will be costly to assemble if you do it on the market, but if you run all of those TFs you missed you will make it easily. This will give you close to Granite performance while being a lot more fun to play.
I dumped Focused Accuracy in favor of Conserve Power, and moved around a number of slots. Apart from that the powers selected are all yours. I also changed the order of the Invuln passives.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Perfect Perry: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Invulnerability
Secondary Power Set: Energy Melee
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Temp Invulnerability -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(5), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(7), RctvArm-ResDam:40(9), RctvArm-EndRdx:40(37)
Level 1: Barrage -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(15), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(34), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(45)
Level 2: Dull Pain -- Mrcl-Heal/Rchg:40(A), Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:40(3), Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(11), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(15)
Level 4: Bone Smasher -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(13), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(21), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(34), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(46)
Level 6: Boxing -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(13), Acc-I:50(34)
Level 8: Unyielding -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(40), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(43), RctvArm-ResDam:40(43), RctvArm-EndRdx:40(45)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(42)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(45)
Level 16: Whirling Hands -- Erad-Dmg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(17), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(17), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:50(25), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx:50(40), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg:50(48)
Level 18: Invincibility -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19), LkGmblr-Def:50(19), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:50(21), GSFC-Build%:50(25), Taunt-I:50(43)
Level 20: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(A), Numna-Heal:50(46), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(50)
Level 22: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(23), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(23), P'Shift-End%:50(46)
Level 24: Resist Physical Damage -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A)
Level 26: Tough Hide -- GftotA-Def:40(A), GftotA-Run+:40(27), LkGmblr-Def:50(27), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(29)
Level 28: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(29), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(42), RctvArm-ResDam:40(50), RctvArm-EndRdx:40(50)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), LkGmblr-Def:50(31)
Level 32: Build Up -- AdjTgt-ToHit:50(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:50(33), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), AdjTgt-Rchg:50(33)
Level 35: Energy Transfer -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(36), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(36), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(36), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(37), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(37)
Level 38: Total Focus -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(39), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(40), Mako-Dam%:50(48)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(42)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%:50(A), RgnTis-Regen+:30(48)
Level 47: Resist Energies -- ResDam-I:50(A)
Level 49: Resist Elements -- Aegis-Psi/Status:50(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
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Set Bonus Totals:- 5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
- 5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
- 5% DamageBuff(Fire)
- 5% DamageBuff(Cold)
- 5% DamageBuff(Energy)
- 5% DamageBuff(Negative)
- 5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
- 5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
- 21.8% Defense(Smashing)
- 21.8% Defense(Lethal)
- 4.88% Defense(Fire)
- 4.88% Defense(Cold)
- 16.1% Defense(Energy)
- 16.1% Defense(Negative)
- 3% Defense(Psionic)
- 12.4% Defense(Melee)
- 17.1% Defense(Ranged)
- 6.75% Defense(AoE)
- 1.8% Max End
- 27% Enhancement(Accuracy)
- 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
- 5% FlySpeed
- 217.9 HP (11.6%) HitPoints
- 5% JumpHeight
- 5% JumpSpeed
- MezResist(Held) 3.3%
- MezResist(Immobilize) 24.2%
- 8% (0.13 End/sec) Recovery
- 54% (4.22 HP/sec) Regeneration
- 1.26% Resistance(Energy)
- 1.26% Resistance(Negative)
- 3% Resistance(Psionic)
- 12.5% RunSpeed