Kierthos

Here's what I'm hoping people don't do... set as many of their powers as possible to as many different colors as possible.

Although... now that I say that, it would be rather amusing to have a blaster cycle through all of his powers on a ROYGBIV color scheme.

Side note: Anyone know if we're going to be able to change the color scheme of travel powers? I rather like the idea of leaving a trail of blue flame behind my speedster...

Oddly enough, I never seem to get Mapserver errors when I'm in missions. It's always when I'm at Wentworth's.

The only problem I have with running CoX in Vista is that I have to tell it "Yes, I REALLY want to run CoX." every time I launch it off the quickbar.

All of these are at level 50 and unmodified by any enhancements.

Death Shroud: 8.9 negative damage every 2 seconds - DPS of 4.45
Blazing Aura: 9.79 fire damage every 2 seconds - DPS of 4.895
Icicles: 8.9 negative damage every 2 seconds - DPS of 4.45
Mud Pots: 8.01 fire damage every 2 seconds - DPS of 4.005

So yeah, even before you add in the +DMG from Fiery Embrace, Blazing Aura does the most damage.

In all honesty, the Hecatomb and Armageddon sets are more wishful thinking than anything else... it's probably going to be a 6-slot Mako's Bite and a 6-slot Obliteration instead of those... which will actually increase my Melee and Ranged Defenses by a decent chunk.

But if I slot a Resist set in True Grit, aren't I losing out on a couple hundred hit points? Or should I just assume that I'll make those up through Accolades and whatnot?

Likewise, if I slot a Resist set in Deflection, I lose out on a good chunk of Melee Defense, but if I slot a Defense slot in there, I lose a good chunk of Smashing/Lethal resistance. It seems to be a bit harder to make up the Resistance then the Defense....

Okay, I finally got Vista to acknowledge that yes, I should be able to run Mids (don't ask), and I was tinkering around with one possible build... It's almost certainly not the best, but I'd appreciate some input.

I know I have some ordinary IOs in here (especially in my early Shield Defense powers), but it's really a first run for me at creating a level 50 build.

Anyway, thoughts?

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Midnight Shield: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Shield Defense
Secondary Power Set: Super Strength
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Flight
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection

• (A) Defense Buff IO
• (3) Defense Buff IO
• (3) Defense Buff IO
• (7) Resist Damage IO
• (11) Resist Damage IO
• (17) Resist Damage IO

Level 1: Jab

• (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
• (13) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
• (25) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
• (37) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

Level 2: Battle Agility

• (A) Defense Buff IO
• (5) Defense Buff IO
• (9) Defense Buff IO
• (19) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 4: True Grit

• (A) Resist Damage IO
• (5) Resist Damage IO
• (7) Resist Damage IO
• (9) Healing IO
• (11) Healing IO
• (17) Healing IO

Level 6: Haymaker

• (A) Hecatomb - Damage
• (13) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge
• (25) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (50) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge
• (50) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance
• (50) Hecatomb - Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 8: Against All Odds

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
• (21) Taunt Duration IO

Level 10: Swift

• (A) Run Speed IO

Level 12: Active Defense

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (46) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 14: Health

• (A) Healing IO
• (15) Healing IO
• (15) Healing IO

Level 16: Taunt

• (A) Mocking Beratement - Taunt
• (42) Mocking Beratement - Taunt/Recharge
• (42) Mocking Beratement - Taunt/Recharge/Range
• (42) Mocking Beratement - Accuracy/Recharge
• (43) Mocking Beratement - Taunt/Range
• (43) Mocking Beratement - Recharge

Level 18: Phalanx Fighting

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Run Speed +7.5%
• (19) Gift of the Ancients - Defense

Level 20: Knockout Blow

• (A) Smashing Haymaker - Accuracy/Damage
• (21) Smashing Haymaker - Damage/Endurance
• (37) Smashing Haymaker - Damage/Recharge
• (37) Smashing Haymaker - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 22: Stamina

• (A) Endurance Modification IO
• (23) Endurance Modification IO
• (23) Endurance Modification IO
• (29) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End

Level 24: Boxing

• (A) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
• (34) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
• (34) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 26: Shield Charge

• (A) Obliteration - Damage
• (27) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
• (27) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
• (33) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (33) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (33) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

Level 28: Tough

• (A) Resist Damage IO
• (29) Resist Damage IO
• (31) Resist Damage IO

Level 30: Weave

• (A) Defense Buff IO
• (31) Defense Buff IO
• (31) Defense Buff IO

Level 32: Rage

• (A) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff
• (43) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge
• (48) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Recharge

Level 35: Grant Cover

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (48) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 38: Foot Stomp

• (A) Armageddon - Damage
• (39) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
• (39) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (39) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
• (40) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage

Level 41: One with the Shield

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

Level 44: Focused Accuracy

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
• (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
• (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
• (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
• (46) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
• (46) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up

Level 47: Air Superiority

• (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage

Level 49: Fly

• (A) Flight Speed IO

------------
Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Run Speed IO

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 1: Gauntlet

Edit: Forgot my defense and resist totals:

Defense:
Melee: 52.3%
Ranged: 46.3%
AoE: 47.9%
(all the typed defenses are between 10.9 and 18.4%)

Resists:
Smashing: 47.5%
Lethal: 47.5%
Fire: 28.8%
Cold: 28.8%
Energy: 25%
Negative: 25%
Toxic: 33.8%
Psionic: 3.1%

You can't? *checks Paragonwiki*

Well.... poop.

At least I know that before buying/making the IOs. I didn't realize Against All Odds (Shield Defense power) couldn't take any sets before making a Perfect Zinger IO for it.

I've actually hit 41st level, but I'm looking at what powers I have, and what powers I have yet to take, and what I want to take... and I'm running out of power slots.

I noticed that you can buy Raptor Packs in the Shadow Shard for 10,000 Influence, though... and I thought about speccing out of Flight and just picking up a Raptor Pack for when I need to fly.

About the only way this could really hurt me is that I wouldn't be able to slot Fly with Blessing of the Zephyr any more, but I could still slot Swift with it, if I had to....

Anyone done this? Just gone with Raptor Packs from 40+ on?

I've had a few fights recently where it seems like I'm missing a lot more, but it usually turns out to be something in the group of bad guys that has defense buffs when everything else in the pack didn't.

I'm not at the defense cap yet (I know, bad tanker, no cookie), but I'm not horribly far from it. I'm working on filling out a couple of my attacks with Mako's Bite and Touch of Death, which will help a good deal, provided I can ever afford the pieces I need. Plus, another level, and I should be able to finish 6-slotting Rage with Gaussian's, which will also help fill the gap between where I am and the soft cap. (I'm still probably going to take Weave, simply because of Defense Debuffs...)

Based on what I've seen said so far in this thread, I'm going to try just one-slotting it (putting the Steadfast Protection Res/Def IO in there) to see how it goes. I already have pretty good ancillary damage resists from True Grit (and various little bonuses), and while my Smashing/Lethal could be better, that's what Tough is there for. (I figure a minimum of three slots in Tough, possibly taking it all the way to six-slots.... Impervium armor looks so nice, but I have so many things I already can't afford.)

Hrm... I'm thinking (probably just vile speculation) that there might be a Maelstrom Patron Pool as part of an early roll-out for Going Rogue.

Edit: Strike that. Forgot. Maelstrom works for Tyrant, not Lord Recluse.

Hrm... You have a pretty good point there. I'm probably going to get everything I want in terms of IO Resist Damage or Defense sets in my other powers. And I know I want to six-slot Foot Stomp (for the Oblit set or (big if) the Armageddon set).

Hrm.

I do have a couple veteran respecs sitting around, so at least I can correct some problems I'm seeing right now....

How many slots should I plan on putting in One with the Shield? I mean, is it considered a power that I should be looking at six-slotting, or what?

Basically, I just dinged 41, and I'm wondering if I should take it now (yeah, yeah, I know, I've had it available since 32, but I haven't really seemed to need it so far), so I can work towards six-slotting it as I level to 50, or if I should take Foot Stomp now and work towards six-slotting that (I'm thinking the Obliteration set for that one).

Honestly, with the powers I already have, and have yet to buy (I only get a few more as I just dinged 40 on my SD/SS Tanker today), the new Epic powerset would have to be pretty cool for me to take it.

I'm half expecting the final tier pet to be a Behemoth (or Behemoth Overlord).

So, I'm currently 37th level on my SD/SS tanker, and I'm looking at how many more powers I will be able to take. I know I'm going to take One With The Shield, and I know I'm going to take Foot Stomp (and not take Hurl), and I want to pick up the Fighting power pool for Tough and Weave, but that will require taking Boxing or Kick as well.

That would eat up all five of my remaining powers. However, I could respec and not take Jab at all, giving me one more power slot.

So, the question is, is Hand Clap worth taking? According to the paragonwiki site, it can't take PBAOE sets, and the stun sets seem a bit less then stellar....

Basically, I'm looking for your views on the matter, sort of a second opinion.

Well, my SD/SS (I know, not SD/EM) tanker is only 37th level, but I think I can safely give you some input on the SD side of things.

In order of powers:

Deflection: Available at level 1. Take it then. For the first few levels, there are far more mobs that have melee attacks then ranged attacks. It also provides the bread and butter in your resists - Smashing and Lethal. You're going to want to eventually six-slot this power, with three Defense Enhancements, two (or three) Resist Enhancements and one Endurance Reduction. (You'll need the End. Reduction before you get Stamina, but once you're on single-origin or IO Enhancements, the End. Reduction isn't as necessary.)

Battle Agility: Available at level 1. I took it at level 2, simple because I had the veteran power of Sands of Mu, and I didn't need another attack power at level 2. This is the ranged/AOE Defense complement to Deflection's Melee Defense. It also provides resistance to Defense Debuffs, but until later levels, there aren't a lot of these. You'll want to put at least four slots in there - 3 Defense, 1 End. Reduction (at least until you get Stamina), and maybe a fifth or sixth slots for Resistance Enhancements. YMMV, but so far, I've found it pretty easy going without worrying too much about Defense Debuffs. But as I said, I'm only level 37 with this tanker.

True Grit: Available at level 2. I took it at level 4, simply because at low levels, assuming you're not running cracked out AE missions, it's hard to find things in the level range you should be fighting that can kill you fast enough where you don't have an option to run away. This is where your elemental resists (Fire, Cold, Neg. Energy, Energy and Toxic) come from, and it grants bonus health. You want to six-slot this one, 3 Resists, 3 Health. (It's an auto-power, so you never have to worry about Endurance with this one.)

Active Defense: Available at level 6. This is where all your status resistances are (Knockback, Stun, Disorient, etc.). A tanker who is mezzed, held, whatever, can't do their job very well, can they? Now, at the very least, you always want one Recharge Reduction in here, just so it's usable as often as possible. Actually, at lower levels, or before you hit SOs or IOs, it wouldn't kill you to have two Recharge Reductions in here, switching out to one Recharge Reduction IO and one Resist IO at higher levels. (Or respec and just leave it at one Recharge IO.) With various global/IO set recharge reductions later on, it's possible to just one-slot this one and be fine.

Against all odds: Available at level 8. This is a fun power. First, it debuffs enemy damage. Then it buffs your damage. And it acts like a taunt. Unfortunately, it doesn't take any IO sets. You can get away with one-slotting this power, probably with an End. Reduction Enhancement.

Phalanx Fighting: Available at level 12. This power can be confusing to some. The way it works is like this - it provides a small Defense bonus to all positional attacks (Melee, Ranged, AOE). Then, it provides an additional Defense bonus to all those attacks for every ally (team-member) within a certain range. So, it's only somewhat useful by itself, but amazingly useful when you're teamed up, especially if you're working with a couple Scrappers or Blappers. The drawback is that if you have no team-members, you don't get any extra bonus. Plus, Defense slotting this power only affects the extra Defense from team-members. However, it is an auto-power, so you don't have to worry about slotting an End. Reduction in it. Really, the only reason to put slots in this power is to fill them up with a Defense IO set. I only have this one-slotted, as I recall.

Grant Cover: Available at level 18: I held off on taking this power for a while after it was available, simply because I solo a lot. It provides Defense (and a good bit of it), but only to team-mates, not to you. This is a very good power to have if you group a lot, and if your team-mates are not considerate about you needing to hold aggro. However, unless your team-mates are complete and utter glory hounds who have to deal all the damage and then some, you can probably get away with just one-slotting this for Endurance. As with Grant Cover, the only reason (in my opinion) to add slots to this is to fill them up with a Defense IO set.

Shield Charge: Available at level 26. This is a PBAOE. I love this power. I cannot say that enough. I. Love. This. Power. If you're not going for IO sets for this (and if you are, I suggest Scirocco's Dervish or Obliteration) then it still wouldn't hurt to six-slot this one, with your choice of Damage, End. Reduction, Accuracy, and Recharge Reduction. Standard would probably be three Damage, one Accuracy, one End Reduction, one Recharge Reduction, but YMMV. (I, of course, have five out of six pieces of Scirocco's Dervish in there.)

One with the Shield: Available at level 32. I haven't picked this one up yet, but not for lack of wanting it. This power gives you a huge bonuses to all resists (except Psionic), status effects, and it boosts your health and recovery. The crash is said to be a pain, though. Slotting this for Recharge Reduction is pointless (because it doesn't do anything for this power), so you want to slot it for Resists at the very least. It doesn't hurt to slot for Health or End Modification, though. IMAO, six-slotting it would be a waste, but four slots wouldn't be bad (two or three resists, one health).

Of all the powers, the ones that could be skipped are Phalanx Fighting and Grant Cover. Please note that I did not say that they should be skipped, merely that they could be. Frankly, Shield Defense is a very well knit power-set, and I have all of the powers in it, except for One with the Shield, and I'll almost certainly be taking that one at 38.

One of the IOs you'll want to look for is Steadfast Protection: Resistance/Defense. It adds a global +3% Defense to everything (all positions, all types). It's generally fairly inexpensive, compared to some of the IO stuff out there (by which I mean, it's probably only a million or so Inf).

Half the servers are up, half are down. I think someone's already working out there.

Beats me. Right now, it seems half the servers are down (Virtue, Champion, Justice, Guardian & Protector), but the others are up.

Thanks, that's what I needed to know. (And yeah, I'll probably wait a bit before slotting it. The other parts of the set will go in there first.)