Inspector6

You are confusing. Happy Birthday.

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I bet he has really enjoyed the [censored] storm he stirred up here.

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Pfft, it was clearly my [censored] storm.

Also, there were people who didn't enjoy this? Forum PvP ftw. This thread was golden.

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Don't talk about it like it's done. It can live on!

Psy, you have a bunch of SG leaders that obviously disagree with you. Regardless of what *you're* sure of, try treating your beloved PvP Community with a little respect - talk to them instead of insulting them. I'm starting to think you're only happy with the community when you get to act like you're in charge.

And as far as trash-talking NDX, nice try. You know better than anyone that we did no-vengeance matches against you whenever you asked... the trick for us was actually convincing you guys to do more than one match before you got disheartened.

It'll root you for 40 seconds too.

Ad hominem stacking ftl.

I agree with pudds on every point.

Don't forget that this group is the PvP EVENT Committee. While we are trying to get the ball rolling on fixes to bugs and other PvPer gripes, our main objective is, believe it or not, an upcoming event.

Name- Near Death Experience
Server- Test (formed from Victory SG's)
Faction- Heroes
Size- 15ish members
Recruiting- Not actively, but will consider
Contacts- [u]@Inspector 6[u] and [u]@Not Putzing[u] (Please contact us through our GP site)
PVP Preference- Arena, Zone

History- Briefly known as "POVL" on test, NDX is the combined arena team of two of Victory's most competetive SG's - Nightmare Titans and Vanguard League.

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One of those missions is clearly set in Recluse's Victory.

I'm guessing that's an instanced map, though. People wouldn't be sent into a PvP zone in the course of a TF.

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I've always wanted a PvP TF.



I'm probably the only person though.

I still refer to your previous version of this guide all the time. Thank you!

I haven't tested it properly, but it certainly seems like PFF - which has a resistance boost as well as a massive defense boost - should be mentioned in the "known exceptions" since I think power boost does affect it. I could be very wrong though.

Also, nofuture/CoD seems to be getting remodeled today - might want to check that link.

Honestly I was trying to help. I'll keep my ungrateful yammering out of your next post.

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My comments…

<ul type="square">Centriole Exposure - Damage and Range:[/list]Also works as a Damage [u]Resistance[u] buff and Range. Very useful in powers like Increase Density or the Sonic Resonance shields.

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Since WHEN is this true? Damage Enhancers of ALL typpes would be used that way, then. Ribo's would work in those shields, but there is NO way I'm adding this information.

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I understand if you feel these are cheats and don't want to include them, but they do work. IF you could add a Damage enhancement to a shield, you'd get the same results. The HO's work because the Range portion is an acceptable SO for them.

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<ul type="square">Microfilament Exposure – Travel Speed Increase (Run, Fly, and Jump) plus Endurance
-Defender/Controller - Kinetic - Siphon Speed (bonus -speed/recharge debuff on opponent)[/list]Is this confirmed? The little pop-up window in-game freaks out and shows me a bunch of “slow” numbers. If this is true, wouldn’t it work in any slow power? Things like Snow Storm would benefit greatly from this.

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I have received no confirmation. I know that Mez enhancers do not affect Slows. It's possible that the Movement enhancers do, but I'm not adding them without testing. Siphon speed is accurate - it can use both Run Speen enhancers and End reducers, so can use both effects. Whether it boosts the Slow effects I can't say.

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Siphon Speed does not accept Run Speed enhancements (despite what Sherk's hero builder may say). It only accepts Acc, EndRdx, Recharge, Range, and Slow. Your list implies it works as a slow, but as you say, "'Hearing' something is not 'Testing' it."


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<ul type="square">Membrane Exposure - Increase ToHit and Defense Buffs, and Increase Attack Rate:
-All - Power Pools - Leadership - Vengeance (uses all 3? Though I know you can't put Recharge reducers in it normally, so it probably just uses the first 2 parts)[/list]I can’t say I’ve seen it, but I’ve heard from reliable people that Membranes do increase the recharge of Vengeance.

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I've heard it's true also, but 'Hearing' something is not 'Testing' it. There's no way of knowing whether those people who 'feel' it's true are correct.

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Tested it yesterday and it's true, but I would think that you'd see this as an exploit since it's not supposed to accept recharge enhancements.

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Oh! don't forget the cocky guy who believes hes the ultimate player and tells everyone what to do thus causing bickering and then there is actually negative communication!

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What? Me? No way...

My comments…

<ul type="square">Centriole Exposure - Damage and Range:[/list]Also works as a Damage [u]Resistance[u] buff and Range. Very useful in powers like Increase Density or the Sonic Resonance shields.


<ul type="square">Microfilament Exposure – Travel Speed Increase (Run, Fly, and Jump) plus Endurance
-Defender/Controller - Kinetic - Siphon Speed (bonus -speed/recharge debuff on opponent)[/list]Is this confirmed? The little pop-up window in-game freaks out and shows me a bunch of “slow” numbers. If this is true, wouldn’t it work in any slow power? Things like Snow Storm would benefit greatly from this.


<ul type="square">Enzyme Exposure - Increase ToHit and Defense Debuffs, and Endurance Reduction:
Cytoskeleton Exposure - Increase ToHit and Defense Buffs, and Endurance Reduction:[/list]A quick note on these two – just as damage and damage resistance are interchangeable, so are these two HO’s. But while a Cyto only does a 20% defense adjustment, the Enzyme does a 33.3% defense adjustment (I think both do 33.3% ToHit adjustments). I’m not sure if the game mechanics allow for the full 33.3% defense, but it’s definitely better than a Cyto.


<ul type="square">Membrane Exposure - Increase ToHit and Defense Buffs, and Increase Attack Rate:
-All - Power Pools - Leadership - Vengeance (uses all 3? Though I know you can't put Recharge reducers in it normally, so it probably just uses the first 2 parts)[/list]I can’t say I’ve seen it, but I’ve heard from reliable people that Membranes do increase the recharge of Vengeance.

With Issue 8 on it’s way, I figured I’d commemorate the “nerfing” of the Lord Recluse Strike Force with an Issue 7 guide.

The LRSF is an extremely difficult task, and discussions about it on the forums here tend to get a little heated. Please be nice, and take the following guide with as many grains of salt as possible.



HOW TO FAIL THE LRSF - Issue 7
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by Inspector 6

While there are sufficient guides for completing the Lord Recluse Strike Force, I’ve noticed a total lack of guides on how to utterly fail it. While failure may seem like a simple objective, it is in fact a very nuanced and subtle. For example, I am aware of 2 or 3 strategies for completing the LRSF, yet I can illustrate hundreds of ways to fail it.

This guide is not intended to be a step-by-step walkthrough, but an overall primer to boost your awareness and give you some insight into your technique. Perhaps with the information here, you’ll be able to develop your own style of failure and maximize your frustration.


THE TEAM
While an obvious answer to building a failing team might be to use 8 Stalkers or 8 Dominators, I suggest building a team that appears to be nearly capable. This will ensure the team members will put in their best efforts, and ultimately suffer their greatest defeat.

The “ideal” completion team is widely agreed to be a Granite taunt-bot brute with 6-7 Corruptors as support-damage hybrids (rads are a favorite). A near-miss team would ideally have no more than 4 Corruptors and Masterminds. While it’s probably possible to complete with this team, there will be other obstacles to ensure failure. Masterminds are particularly suited to a failing support roll since the Hero-class mobs employ excellent AoE. Masterminds forced to repeatedly resummon their deceased pets will give the illusion of assisting the team, while accomplishing very little.

To manage aggro, we’ll need a brute. Ideally, the brute should have a damage aura, but not taunt. This will give him some aggro, but not so much that he gets overwhelmed. To help him out, we’ll add another brute, who also doesn’t have taunt.

While our 4 “support” Corruptors and Masterminds are well suited to attacking, we should add a stalker to the mix for the illusion of extra damage.

With a team that appears this well-rounded, we have room for the so-called “pity spot” – a Dominator. Welcome to the team! Bet you’d like some SHOE’s huh?

There you go. The team looks perfect for a disappointing failure.

<ul type="square">1. Brute
2. Brute
3. Corruptor
4. Corruptor
5. Mastermind
6. Mastermind
7. Stalker
8. Dominator[/list]
COMMUNICATION
Devising and executing the perfect plan requires excellent communication. Ventrilo and Teamspeak are very useful for this, but several players shouldn’t use it for this approach. In fact, one team member should flatly refuse to use it. Initially, they’ll say, “I don’t have a microphone.” No biggie. You let them know that being able to hear their teammates will help a lot, even if they can’t speak. After a prolonged exchange of reasons for and against using VOIP, the ultimate response will be “Sorry, I won’t.” This sets the proper tone for events that follow.


TEAMWORK
Let’s take a look at the types of players you’ll need to optimize the failure.

<ul type="square">[u]The Positive Pusher:[u] Someone needs to get the ball rolling. No failing team isn’t without its supporters who urge on the others into wasting hours of their life to ultimately not complete the Strike Force. When you join the team, you may find it looks something like this: 1 Corruptor, 2 MM’s, 3 Brutes, and 1 Dominator. You contemplate the team as the leader looks for that last vital member. Well, it doesn’t look good. Maybe… just maybe with another corruptor, a rad or a therm or something… “OK, found one,” the Positive Pusher declares. Another Brute joins the team. You apologize to the team, “Guys, I’m really sorry, but I don’t think we can run it with this team.” The Positive Pusher replies by starting the strike force.

[u]Mystery AFKer:[u] Not all players need to be bad to successfully fail the LRSF. One special case of a perfectly capable player is the Mystery AFKer. This player uses every possible pause in the action to become unresponsive. Every time the team zones into or out of a mission, between spawns, or simply in those boring prep-times when the team’s buffing up for an assault on multiple Hero-class mobs, you can count on the Mystery AFKer to stand there - saying nothing, doing nothing. At times, after you’ve laboriously gone through every detail of an attack strategy, the Mystery AFKer may reward you with a “So what’s the plan?”

[u]The Avant Guard:[u] A key player for a failing team, and usually a brute. This is the guy that goes straight to the lab in the “Assault Longbow Base” mission, grabs the technician, and triggers several massive ambushes… all this while the rest of the team is still on the airstrip destroying chasers. For maximum effect, the Avant Guard should also not bother mentioning he’s under attack, so when his health plummets, 1 or 2 teammates can go to rescue him, leading to their own demise. With a solid Avant Guard on your team, you should be able to get your first team wipe within minutes of zoning into the first mission. Also look to the Avant Guard to go off-plan “to try something” for any AV strategies later – a key element in dragging out the LRSF as long as possible.

[u]The Wee Bit Slow:[u] The first clue you found one of these valuable assets is when you take them into Bloody Bay to grab Shivans. They may ask, “Where is BB?” Okay, so PvP is not their thing. You let them know it’s in Cap. Once in Cap, they’ll ask, “Where is the door?” Ahh, now you begin to see. Once you manage to get them into BB, you’ll take them through every step to collect Shivan Shards. In fact, you’ll have to escort them to each meteor because you notice that when you’re not leading them, the Wee Bit Slow’s little green arrow on your map just tends to meander around, turning to and fro. You’ll double-check it, but that character is actually level 50.

[u]Time Manager:[u] Another key ingredient of a failing Strike Force team will introduce himself with “How long will this take?” It doesn’t really matter what you tell them because they’ll inform you, “If we don’t start in 10 minutes I won’t be able to finish.” This is a lie. They won’t be able to finish anyway. The Time Manager will almost always need to go after the first or second team wipe in the last mission. Had the Time Manager chosen to leave in an earlier mission, the team may have realized their plight and opted to quit the Strike Force. By quitting at this critical moment, the Time Manager will ensure the most successful failure possible.

[u]The Non-Leader Leader:[u] While the Positive Pusher is likely to have the star, the NLL is the ultimate know-it-all. Impatient, pessimistic, and bossy, the NLL will serve the vital role of making everyone else on the team feel bad about any team wipes and failures as a whole. While the NLL may have gained his authority by reading other guides, most likely he already has a slew of SHOE’s – either through sheer luck in the past or competent teams that have previously carried him through the LRSF. More aggressive NLL’s may turn to shouting (ie. more dots), while more passive ones may take their frustration out in other ways (ie. sarcastic guides).[/list]
PREP
PvP Zone temp powers are nearly a requirement to complete the LRSF. Shivans in Bloody Bay and Chemical Burn missiles from Warburg greatly increase your chances to complete it. Not only should some or most of the team not bother collecting them, there should also be one member on the team that is insulted by the fact you are asking them to prepare for a strike force like this. For those members that opt to get the Chemical Burns and Shivans, it’s best to collect them at the planned start time of the SF. Members who already have them or won’t get them shouldn’t bother helping other teammates get these temp powers. This leads into the next part…


TIMING
The perfect time to start a failed attempt at the LRSF should be very late in the evening. Maybe most of the team has been kicking the idea around all day, but now that the day is coming to an end, it’s time to do it. Don’t take into consideration times zones (or hemispheres) and rely on the fact that most gamers are content to play late into the night. Starting at this late hour will guarantee that most of the team will be cranky and tired in the last and most difficult mission. This will help your Time Manager make his exit, and even your Mystery AFKer may depart indefinitely and drift off to sleep somewhere.


CONCLUSION
Maybe Issue 8 (due for release any day now) will make finding the perfect failing team more difficult, but I anticipate it will actually help to this end. Not only will newcomers still anticipate just another old strike force, but now the seasoned vets will expect less of their teams. Add to that the increased frustration of not completing the LRSF [u]after[u] it was made easier, and you’ve got some spectacular failures ahead.

This is some cruel joke, I know it.

I think you need to relax.

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The frustrated Villains guide to Siren's Call - (a tongue and cheek observation of PvP).

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Sure there are errors - try helping him out by correcting them. Bias? It's a guide for "frustrated Villains." Is that you?

Funny guide, nice job! There are some details that could use tweaking, but the only one I'll harp on is the enhancements thing. A level 40 versus a level 30 does not have level 40 enhancements really. Higher level SO's are not more powerful than lower level SO's. What's important is:

1) the relative level of your SO's to your actual level (a level 27 with green 30 SO's gets better results than a level 42 with yellow 40 SO's)

2) the sheer number of enhancements a higher level toon has over a lower level. Maybe you both have Bitter Ice Blast 6-slotted, but a higher-level toon is way more likely to have other powers slotted up. Between levels 30-50 you get a LOT of enhancement slots to drop in your powers. There was supposed to be some code in the game that reduced to effectiveness of high-level toons' enhancements to balance out how many extra slots they had, but I think it's bugged and non-operational.

As for your damage comparison with a blaster - blaster's have a higher base damage than corruptors and a much higher base damage than doms. The same power would not result in the same damage.

Oh well, enough nit-picking. Again, nice guide.

FOLLOW UP to an EM/EA Brute’s Guide to Level 40
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by Inspector 6

Now that the release of Issue 7 and the addition of 40-50 villain PvP has fully set in, I feel it’s necessary to make an addendum to this guide. In the long wait for I7, my interest in this game turned entirely to PvP. High level PvP has brought some major disappointments to villains, and to Energy Aura brutes in particular.

Lackluster PPP’s have done almost nothing to help villain PvP, while hero APP’s do quite a lot for them. In all honesty, unless you have some novel idea for a specific team designed around an EA brute, there’s little point to rolling an Energy Aura brute for PvP. This guide should still work effectively for regular PvE play, though there is certainly a more comprehensive guide to be read on that subject.

Before I get into my thoughts on PvP though…


ERRATA
While there are a lot of changes that I could make to steer this guide for PvP, I’ll just correct the facts that are flat-out wrong.

<ul type="square">Energy Melee: EM Disorient Information: Technically, I’m told that Total Focus is actually a 100% Mag3 with an 80% chance of an additional Mag1.

Power Pools - Travel: Speed: Whirlwind never was a toggle dropper. It was popular because it kept toons from rooting while activating their powers (that is, toons didn’t stop on the ground to do the animation). This was never intended, and has since been removed from the game. Whirlwind is rare in PvP now, and is no longer a threat or a consideration for most PvPers.

Power Pools - Other: Concealment: Invisibility probably shouldn’t ever be considered for a brute. I have no idea why I said that. I think I meant to write “Phase Shift.”[/list]OK, now on to the task at hand…


A EULOGY FOR THE EM/EA PVPER
Firstly, there has been no indication that Fury will ever be fixed in PvP. It is a known bug that it does not build at the proper rate when facing against another player, but apparently the coding to fix it just isn’t worth it.

As for Energy Melee/Energy Aura brutes specifically, they have been pretty disappointing in high-level PvP. Any hopes that they’d have advantages over other brute secondaries have been mostly dashed. Unlike every other Brute secondary, EA is defense based – meaning it’s less likely that you’ll be hit. Other brute secondaries use resistance to mitigate damage, which means they are easy to hit but they take less damage. [Introduced in I7, Electric Armor has become a true FoTM for PvP brute builds. In many ways it resembles a resistance version of the Energy Aura set.]

When you are hit through your defenses, you will take full damage right to your squishy core. This balances fairly well in PvE, but in PvP there is no shortage of accuracy bonuses that your opponents will use to render your shields totally useless. Here are the main threats you will need to be aware of:

<ul type="square">Aim/Build Up: If you see your enemy pop one of these powers, back away. A ten-second retreat will do wonders for your health.

Focused Accuracy: Tankers and Scrappers in level 41 and up PvP will likely have this toggle. EA is almost entirely useless against it. I would not engage these guys unless I was running Overload.

Fortitude or Forge: These buffs both contain +accuracy. More enemy accuracy means more hurt on you.

Super Strength: The accuracy boost from rage will rip you a new one.

Radiation Emission: Radiant Infection is yet another common PvP power that will wreck your defenses (and Enervating Field will make you even squishier by dropping your nonexistent resistance). Although Entropy Shield claims to offer a good resistance to defense debuffs, I can’t say I’ve ever noticed it.[/list]Basically, if you’re looking to make a tough melee toon that can take a lot of abuse, EA IS NOT FOR YOU.


So Energy Aura sucks for PvP?

Well… yes and no. EA has one extremely valuable asset that makes it useful, especially in unorganized zone PvP and in certain team arrangements: Entropy Shield. In addition to disorient &amp; hold protection, this toggle grants protection against knockback, sleep, immobilize, enemy teleportation, and repel (which includes TK). Entropy Shield alone will make it very difficult for most controllers and dominators to kill you, and that’s not something every brute can say. If I could make a perfect “Incarnate” build, using any power in the game, Entropy Shield would be there.

Being a squishy-killer might not sound like something to brag about, but I’ve seen other brutes falter against controllers and doms when EA stands unaffected. You’ll still have weaknesses, but you have another way to deal with that… Energy Melee.

EM does NOT - in any way whatsoever - suck for PvP. While a controller is working on stacking mezzes on you, you can reduce them to a pulp. If they’re not prepared, it’s also likely they’ll be the ones mezzed – disorient is a squishy’s biggest annoyance.

While it’s not a terribly common choice for a PvP build, Energy Cloak can be used to great effect in Sirens Call. The heroes can have some significant +perception, but it’s pretty remarkable how many don’t. Drop in on them with an attack cued up and you can catch a lot of people off guard.

In one-on-one fights, Overload is a very powerful god-mode. Very few unsupported players will be able to crack your insane defense. Also, slotted perfectly, Overload will also give you a massive HP boost, and that alone will make you difficult to kill. “Perfect” slotting isn’t easy though, because you’ll need to be at least level 47 and have 3 Membrane SHOEs. With 3 Membranes and 3 Heals, you can effectively 9-slot overload (equal to 3 Recharge, 3 Defense Buffs, and 3 Heals) to get a huge defense [u]and[u] HP boost. Also, compared to other brute god modes, you have the least crippling crash. Life in Recluse’s Victory isn’t that bad if you know when to use Overload.

As I said, the Patron Power Pools aren’t very exciting for any villains. For brutes - especially zone players - I still think the Web Envelope is the only choice from the PPP’s worth taking.


OH WELL…
I hate to sound pessimistic, but there is no reason to think Energy Aura will be buffed in the future to make it viable for high-level PvP. You can take some solace in knowing that you can still be a big threat in Siren’s and Warburg – something some brutes will never be. It’s a shame that the pool of viable PvP builds is even smaller now.

Just to tag on a little information some people may find useful…

On occasion we’ve run into Uber-statesman. Maybe it’s a lack of debuffs, but sometimes Statesman’s god-mode is insanely hard to crack. Most recently, we had a team that pretty easily blew through every hero until States, but we could not overtake his regen rate while Unstop’ed. We dropped nukes, we made extra runs for Shivans, we OD’d on reds… nothing seemed finish him. After we used ALL of those up, I dug into my temp powers and tried out a few Venom Grenades from Sirens (tier 2), and we finally tipped the scale enough to take him down.

I can’t say the Venom Grenades were what did it for certain, but something was different on that last attempt. I did a little testing and found out that they appear to do about 20% -resistance for 30 seconds or so. You get 3 uses and the DoT isn’t bad either. They also stack from separate casters. Ever since then I’ve encouraged everyone to grab them when they can.

Another useful temp from Sirens is the Smoke Bomb (again, a tier 2 power). We’ve been using it when we pull to further push that –perception against them. Our pull strategy is far from perfect, but they're worth trying out.

Working on an illusion emp these days. Is Phase Shift worth getting even if any concealment is redundant with Illusion? Also, any giant advantages to running a Defender instead of a Controller?

Plus, I totally missed the mark on AP. I always figured it was bad because the only times I noticed it being used was when an emp was almost dead. That probably means bad emp though, not bad power.

Thank you for edumacating this hero newb... or n00b, if you prefer.

My opinions have changed somewhat on EM/EA (Energy Aura in particular). I may be reworking this guide with I7 in mind and a stronger bias for PvP. I'm glad it's helped so many of you, and hopefully I can improve on it. Thanks.

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I see so many blapper/scrapper/stalker insta-deaths for MM's. This should help cushion those initial attacks quite a bit. Offensively, I'm sure some nice tricks will develop.

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Well, I wouldn't go THAT far... 30% of all Blaster damage is unresistable and Scrapper crits are the same way. ..so umm.. 30% of 60%(assuming you even have all your pets close and are getting the full %)... would be 42%. ...It might be more like 51% against Scrappers though(unless there's one using powers with increased chances of critting like Gamblers and Eagle).

But I guess that's not SOOO bad, it does afterall turn most 1-shots into 2 or 3 shots.

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Thats another good point: Would this count as resisting the attack, since it is sharing out the damage? if it doesn't count as resisting, it might mean that all of the unresitable damage will be shared just like normal.

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Excellent points, but I did say "cushion." Turning a two-shot into a 3-5 shot might not seem like much, but any amount of added time for the pets to lay into an enemy is a pretty big deal.

I see so many blapper/scrapper/stalker insta-deaths for MM's. This should help cushion those initial attacks quite a bit. Offensively, I'm sure some nice tricks will develop.

You left out the part about how most costume contests are actually hottest female toon contests.

This looks like an excellent build to me. I'm assuming Resuscitate is a personal preference. While you won't have to carry any wakies around, personally I think you'll get more mileage out of some different choices. You really can't go wrong with Build Up, especially in higher levels when there will be certain Longbow, CoT, and Carnies you'll want to kill instantly (when you're not likely to have the fury going to do it). Bumping Whirling Hands to 30 and grabbing Conserve Power at 35 can also save you a few headaches.

Even if you keep Resuscitate, you'll have plenty of fun with this build.