Hermeneas

Being mezzed isn't the problem. I've always made sure that I have a healthy supply of break frees on characters that don't already have any form of mez protection. While I'm not entirely sure what, exactly, it is that's causing mobs to eat me alive, I know for sure that it isn't mezzers.

As far as any macros to pick out key targets, no, I don't have one. But as I've said, they're my first targets if they happen to be there. I use a combination of Shadow Cloak and a +Stealth IO to scout out groups before I fight them, and any particularly dangerous enemies are held/stunned/promptly dealt with before I turn my attention to the rest of the group.

On that note, no, I haven't taken Starless Step. While it might be handy to have it in order to teleport high priority targets, they're generally dealt with before the rest of the enemies start to beat me to death. =P

I tend to solo more often than not, but I've only ever taken the alpha on one particular team, when I was the only non-squishy around. Generally, I'll let the meatshields take the alpha before porting in and getting my mire on. Most of my survival problems exist when I'm soloing, really.

Now, semi-related question. Would trying a Peacebringer be a horrible idea? I know that the majority of people seem to prefer Warshades, but as I look over what Peacebringers have to offer, they really seem more up my alley - self-contained, and more of a toggle and go mindset, particularly if I go human-form.

Perhaps trying my hand at one of them would prove an easier transition than going straight to Warshades?

Utilizing Gravity Well effectively is one of the reasons that I'm constantly stealthing around in a mission. It lets me take a good look at the group and see what they have to offer - if I spot an enemy that happens to con a bit higher than the rest, a void/quantum, a mezzer, etc. they're subjected to a mired Gravity Well before the AoE barrage.

While that generally works fairly well (at least to hold them, given that it doesn't kill them in one shot, more often than not), it's generally futile. I either a) can't kill things fast enough to generate enough corpses to heal myself, or b) don't yet have the reaction time required to react to any given shifts in the battle.

As far as the switching back and forth thing goes, don't get me wrong, I don't linger in any one form for an extended period of time. I have the recharge to pull off a Nova cone--aoe--cone fairly quickly, and then, depending on how many enemies are still alive (again, assuming that I'm not dead by this point, which, let's be real, I usually am), I switch to the appropriate form: either Human for better damage at the cost of high resistances, or Dwarf to deal a bit less damage, but to attempt to handle the attacks being thrown at me.

I'm starting to think that I just suck. xD

I'm running at +0/x3 right now. I attempted to bump it up a bit higher in the hopes of having more corpses to fuel my Mires/Stygian Circle, but that only led to me faceplanting faster.

Generally, my strategy is as follows:

With a combination of Shadow Cloak and Sprint with a +Stealth IO, I get myself into the best possible position to target the majority of any given group. I then use Gravitic Emanation to stun them/knock the stragglers into the rest of the group. That's followed up by my Mires, and then a quick shift to Nova to lay down the AoE goodness. Then I use a mixture of Nova and human attacks (I'm only recently finding slots to spare to devote to the Dwarf attacks, so I believe only Smite is enhanced) to mop things up, assuming that I haven't been beaten to death yet.

Generally, that works fairly well. Things die, I move on with my life. But there are times that, for reasons that I can't begin to fathom, things are killing me before I can kill them. It happened occasionally earlier on, but it's happening more and more often as time passes.

I don't actually have access to Mids right now, but if I recall correctly, I'm running with about ~40% global recharge and Hasten. That's the most noteworthy thing, as my build was centered around recharge bonuses - I'd like to get some more defense in there, but given my budget (read: I'm broke as hell), I can't afford purples, so getting the amount of recharge I wanted meant that I couldn't fit in many defense bonuses at all, let alone ones that I would have room for at my current level.

Honestly, I'm thinking that it might just be that the play style isn't compatible with my way of doing things. The closest I've ever come to relying on bodies/enemies to consistently heal/buff me was using Dark Regeneration on my Staff/Dark Brute, and even taking that into consideration, I'm not used to branching out of my 'toggle up and hit things until they die' mindset. Could that be the problem?

I have, yeah.

Actually, it was one of the things that inspired me to go for a Warshade over a Peacebringer - it's in-depth, and full of helpful information. But even following it, I've died. A lot. xD

Hey there, everyone! As the title states, I'm new to Kheldians - I did try my hand at a Peacebringer a while back, but they quickly fell to the sidelines for reasons that I can't recall at the moment. Recently, however, in my attempt to take at least one of every AT to 50, I thought that I'd give Kheldians another look.

I've always found myself fascinated by Warshades. While, indeed, the playstyle of Peacebringers, from what I've heard, seems more up my alley (relying more on the buffs/heals/whatever they can give to themselves without having to rely on corpses), I've seen Warshades do amazing things, and thought that I'd give one a shot.

Thus, my newest character was born: Epstein. I've taken him to level 31 thus far, and while he is indeed somewhat fun, particularly given the insane damage bonuses I can rack up from double miring and then switching to Nova to lay down the AoEs, I find that it's not quite what I had hoped.

Perhaps I've just been spoiled by soft-capped the Brutes/Scrappers/Stalkers that I normally play, but I find myself dying. A lot. It seems that no matter what I do, what combinations of attacks I use, what stuns or holds or other mitigation that I attempt to utilize to prolong my survivability, I inevitably end up faceplanting.

Is this something that is natural for Warshades pre-Eclipse? Is it something I'm just going to have to deal with? Indeed, when working up my build (which I can post up later, if it matters at all), I didn't have much room to work in defense set bonuses with all the recharge I was going for, but I've never died this much, on any character.

I'm not on a particularly high difficult setting, either (I'm presently attempting to play on +0/x3, in order to give myself larger mobs, and, consequently, more bodies to feast of off), and there isn't any particular enemy group that is causing me problems. Save maybe the Council, I'm getting my Kheldian behind served to me on a silver platter.

So, long story short, I'm looking for help. I want to love playing a Warshade. I'm having some fun playing a Warshade. But this constantly dying thing isn't fun at all. So, I'm turning to you. If you can offer any advice, personal experience with such problems, or whatever, it's greatly appreciated. While I may indeed have to face the fact that Warshades just don't play the way that I'm used to, I don't like giving up. Thanks in advance!

Thanks so much for all the help, guys.

With Topside hitting 50 this afternoon, unlocking her patron pools shortly afterwards, unlocking her alpha slot, and running a few trials to craft her first alpha ability (musculature), I'm finding that she works like a well-oiled machine. Ail, I used that build of yours (adapting it slightly to switch hover for combat jumping for thematic purposes, and slotting the ATO set into Blazing Arrow), and she's all slotted out, save for the purple set, which is my next order of business.

Nothing has been more satisfying in this game for me than accidentally splitting off from the group in an ITF and only realizing that I was killing things by myself when someone pointed it out. TA/A is a beast, regardless of how tedious leveling might have been (wasn't all that tedious, as I made Topside a week and a half ago and just have been doing a ton of TFs), and I don't regret my power choices for a second.

@New Dawn - The reason that I had Maneuvers in so early and Flash Arrow in so late is simply because I did fine through the early levels without Flash Arrow, and the only time I can see myself exemping will be when I'm on teams. I'd rather have a bit more defence early on than a debuff that I hardly used in the first place. The sleep in Poison is an interesting take, though - I tend to try and kill things fast enough that the sleep is rather pointless, but sleep sets are rather cheap, so I could likely slot a set in to add a bit more recharge. Thanks for the input. c:

@Ail - I actually don't plan on using stealth too much. It's more for concept/as a LOTG mule, but I do see what you're saying. I do totally understand the need for recharge, and was having a bit of trouble finding a way to get both softcapped defenses and decent recharge, so that's primarily why I just went for the defense angle, assuming you guys could help me out. Any slotting/set suggestions in regards to ways I could pump my recharge higher without sacrificing my softcap?

@Signal of Truth - I really do like your build, and the idea of having such high defenses certainly appeals to me, but I don't think that having such low recharge would really work well with how I play. My playstyle mainly consists of hitting mobs with OSA, Acid Arrow, Disruption Arrow, and RoA, which naturally requires a fair bit of recharge if I want OSA to be up for most fights. I also rely on EMP Arrow in tight spots, so not having that might not work out too well for me. Very interesting build though, and I might have to try it out at some point just to see how well that much defense feels.

Now here's another question for you all. Topside is at level 42 right now, and is only a vigilante. I'm aiming to take her to full villain for as long as it takes to unlock her Patron Power Pools for Scorpion Shield, which as of right now is my highest source of defense. In the meantime, I've dipped into the Power Master APP, and am absolutely loving Power Build Up. With my AOEs, it has increased my damage exponentially. I was wondering, given the fact that Temp Invulnerability is in that same APP, whether it might be better to slot for resistance instead of defense, which would likely be easier, wouldn't require me to go full villain, and would let me keep my Power Build Up.

I'm sure that with Tough + Temp Invulnerability, Weave, Maneuvers, and some clever slotting, I could softcap my S/L resist and get some decent defense, but truth be told, I don't know how effective resistance is when compared to defense. Any suggestions?

Hi there, everyone. So I was wondering if I might be able to get a bit of input/advice on my TA/A build. Now, I have no idea how good this is - it's the first time I've ever put a build together, and I tried to aim for a few things, primarily by working off of various builds I've seen around.

Essentially, I was aiming for softcapped S/L defense, decent S/L resist, and a high enough recharge to have OSA/RoA up as often as possible. Additionally, I tend to solo a fair bit, so the ability to handle EBs and the like would be amazing, though certainly not required.

Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm on a bit of a budget, so I'd prefer it if we veered away from any purples, but other than that, feel free to suggest anything.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Topside: Level 50 Natural Defender
Primary Power Set: Trick Arrow
Secondary Power Set: Archery
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Entangling Arrow

• (A) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Recharge
• (3) Enfeebled Operation - Endurance/Immobilize
• (3) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Endurance
• (5) Enfeebled Operation - Immobilize/Range
• (5) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge
• (7) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Immobilize

Level 1: Snap Shot

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
• (9) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance

Level 2: Glue Arrow

• (A) Slow IO

Level 4: Aimed Shot

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (9) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
• (11) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
• (11) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

Level 6: Maneuvers

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (36) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 8: Ice Arrow

• (A) Neuronic Shutdown - Accuracy/Recharge
• (13) Neuronic Shutdown - Endurance/Hold
• (13) Neuronic Shutdown - Accuracy/Endurance
• (15) Neuronic Shutdown - Hold/Range
• (15) Neuronic Shutdown - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge
• (17) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance of Damage(Psionic)

Level 10: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (17) Recharge Reduction IO
• (19) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 12: Acid Arrow

• (A) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff
• (19) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Defense Debuff
• (21) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Recharge
• (21) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (23) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (23) Shield Breaker - Chance for Lethal Damage

Level 14: Kick

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
• (25) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
• (25) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
• (27) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 16: Tough

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
• (27) Reactive Armor - Resistance
• (29) Titanium Coating - Resistance
• (29) Titanium Coating - Resistance/Endurance

Level 18: Disruption Arrow

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 20: Stealth

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (31) Endurance Reduction IO
• (48) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 22: Blazing Arrow

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (31) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
• (31) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
• (33) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

Level 24: Poison Gas Arrow

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 26: Oil Slick Arrow

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (33) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (33) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (34) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (34) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 28: Fistful of Arrows

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (36) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (36) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (37) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (37) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

Level 30: Weave

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense

Level 32: EMP Arrow

• (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
• (39) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
• (40) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
• (40) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold

Level 35: Explosive Arrow

• (A) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Knockback
• (40) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Knockback
• (42) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Knockback
• (42) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Endurance
• (42) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Endurance/Knockback
• (43) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Damage/Knockback

Level 38: Rain of Arrows

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (45) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (45) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 41: Scorpion Shield

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (46) Red Fortune - Defense
• (46) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance
• (46) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (48) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge
• (48) Red Fortune - Endurance

Level 44: Flash Arrow

• (A) To Hit Debuff IO

Level 47: Grant Invisibility

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 49: Aim

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (50) Recharge Reduction IO

------------
Level 2: Swift

• (A) Empty

Level 2: Health

• (A) Empty

Level 2: Hurdle

• (A) Empty

Level 2: Stamina

• (A) Endurance Modification IO
• (50) Endurance Modification IO
• (50) Endurance Modification IO

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Vigilance
Level 2: Rest

• (A) Empty

Level 4: Ninja Run

I was scheduled to work last minute as a result of someone being sick, so I won't be able to link up with you guys until next week, sadly. D=

Alrighty, after hearing all of your advice, opinions, etc etc, I think I'll be going with the Mind/Energy Dominator first. I made my choice because being able to lock down spawns and take them out with bursts of glowy death sounds fun, and really quite safe, telepaths are badass, and it seems that even the goal of eventual permadom wouldn't be too difficult to achieve, money-wise.

Ill/Rad will likely be my next task after this first one, and will almost certainly be the one that I rely on for what I consider to be brag-worthy tasks - soloing AVs and whatnot. I'm sure that the Mind/Energy will be quite capable of doing so as well, but sitting there while a confused AV is beat on by his friends sounds really tedious, so I'm not making that a priority at all.

And Ice/Storm will be last. Why? Because it's a bit riskier, and I'd rather wait until I've accumulated a bit more influence, so as to permit me to purchase better IOs, which will result in better def/res values, which will result in less faceplanting. I'm sure I could manage without having to worry too much about that, but I don't like faceplanting. It makes me sad.

@Rainbow Avenger, I'd actually love to hear what other suggestions you have. The three that I mentioned initially were just the ones that I had in mind, but other suggestions are certainly welcome as well. I'm really open to any and all ideas, so long as they'd make sense conceptually. For instance, everyone raves about a Fire/Kin, but no concepts immediately spring to mind for me. /shrugs.

Wow, thanks for all of the responses, guys!

@Afocks, I've heard good things about Ice/Ice tanks, and in my eventual goal of getting one fifty of every AT to fifty, it'll probably be my choice for a tank - not for soloing, though. I've tried soloing with one, and it took for-ev-er.

@Obscure Blade, Haha, yes, well. I do intend to make all three eventually, it's just a matter of settling on one for the time being, as I don't have the budget to be playing and io'ing three characters at once.

@Agent White, Hmm, duly noted. Considering how much I solo, and the fact that I rather enjoy playing through solo arcs that tend to end with eb/avs (Mender Silos, the SSAs, Twilight's Son, et al) but when I tried my friend, one thing that I noticed is that it did feel a bit slow. Granted, he didn't have perma-PA yet, and was relying on Blind-SW in the downtime, but I have heard great things about it. I'll be sure to take a look at that guide.

@StrykerX, My budget isn't massive, by any means, but I have a decent amount laying about, and if I do go with an Ill/Rad, I can take advantage of the Black Friday sale and get hold of a few LOTG +rech without having to spend a metric crapton of inf/farm amerits to get them. That alone should ease the cost quite a bit, I believe, and the remaining sets required to get decent recharge bonuses seem to be pretty cheap, from what I've seen.

And while I understand that those other ATs would likely solo best, there are reasons for all of them (aside from corruptor, considering that it was one of my original options) that would stop me from playing them - I'm not a huge fan of being stuck in a mob of people when on TFs and the like, which Scrappers and Brutes tend to end up being. That's just a personal thing, and I want to veer away from the punchypunchy for a while. As for Masterminds, I do enjoy them, having played a Bots/Traps for a little bit, but I just feel a bit meh sitting back and letting my pets do the work. /shrugs

I do enjoy the feedback on the ice/storm though, thank you. ^^

@Deacon_NA, See, that's just the problem. They'd all be worth it in the long run, and I'm one of the most indecisive people out there. I just can't decide on anything, really, without the input of other people.

So let me add some additional criteria: as mentioned above in my response to Agent White, I love the soloable tfs/arcs. I'll play through them time and time again, from the Ouroboros arcs to the SSAs. Would any of these three characters be best for handling the various EBs and AVs that spawn in those? For instance, a friend of mine had a bit of trouble with the redside Silos SF on his Mind/Psi, but would Mind/Energy fare a bit better, as there's an example of non-psi damage right there in the secondary? Would Ice/Storm offer up enough damage and mitigation to take down EBs without having his face meet the floor?

See, questions. XD.

tl;dr, I'm indecisive as heck and I appreciate your patience.

Hi there, everyone. So basically, I have a few characters that I have been playing to get a feel for the game, but I'm really feeling the urge to make one that I will stick with in the long run, rp with, etc. etc. My problem is, while I have a few concepts in mind, I'm having a bit of trouble choosing which one to play. I primarily solo, simply so that I can sit back and read through all the storylines and clues, something that teams don't seem to do much, and for that reason, I turn to you.

I'm debating between an Ill/Rad Controller (with his powers tinted to make them appear to be light magic - trust me, it looks better than it sounds), a Mind/Energy Dominator (rped as a powerful telekinetic, hence the hard-hitting secondary), or an Ice/Storm Corruptor (because weather manipulators are amazing.)

I've noticed people saying great things about all three, and that's what makes my decision difficult. Again, soloing will be my focus, but I do intend to team from time to time, so group efficiency would be good as well. Any help with this decision would be wonderful, and I apologize for how long-winded this post is. =P

Also, if it helps, of the toons I've tried, my Crab Soldier has far and away been my favorite. He'll likely be played rather consistently, but the whole mechalegs thing makes rping a biiiit difficult, imho.

Well that sounds perfect! The character I'm running right now, Homestretch, is both a mutant and at level fifteen presently, so it shouldn't be any trouble at all to get him up to snuff.

And the Punisher morality works perfectly as well - he's a speedster, who literally just runs around and beats up criminals with a baseball bat.

Hi there! Out of curiosity, I was wondering whether you guys happen to have any free spots remaining, which I'll totally understand if you don't. Basically, I'm a long-time roleplayer, but a newcomer to COH, and I was enticed into playing by the idea of combining my love for MMOs and RP. And what better way to try and get my start than to try and join in with you guys? =P.

Anyway, I just thought it'd be worth a shot to ask, and I look forward to your responses.