Kinslayer_

OK, I asked a while back about the viability of a fire/ice tank as part of pentad team.

I've now come up with a build and would like any advice. It will mainly be a tauntbot and will be used for pentads, so will have healing support.

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder - (http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php)
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Name: D-Zol
Level: 50
Archetype: Tanker
Primary: Fiery Aura
Secondary: Ice Melee
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01) --> Blazing Aura==> Acc(1)
01) --> Frozen Fists==> Acc(1) Acc(3) Dmg(3) Dmg(5) Dmg(5) Rechg(31)
02) --> Fire Shield==> DmgRes(2) DmgRes(7) DmgRes(7) EndRdx(9) EndRdx(9) EndRdx(21)
04) --> Healing Flames==> Rechg(4) Rechg(11) Rechg(11) Heal(13) Heal(13) Heal(15)
06) --> Combat Jumping==> Jump(6) Jump(31) Jump(33)
08) --> Hasten==> Rechg(8) Rechg(15) Rechg(17)
10) --> Taunt==> Rechg(10) Rechg(27) Rechg(29) Taunt(29) Taunt(31) Taunt(37)
12) --> Plasma Shield==> DmgRes(12) DmgRes(17) DmgRes(19) EndRdx(19) EndRdx(21) EndRdx(46)
14) --> Super Speed==> EndRdx(14)
16) --> Hurdle==> Jump(16) Jump(34) Jump(34)
18) --> Swift==> Run(18) Run(34) Run(36)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20) EndMod(23) EndMod(23)
22) --> Challenge==> Taunt(22) Rechg(37)
24) --> Health==> Heal(24) Heal(25) Heal(25)
26) --> Fiery Embrace==> Rechg(26) Rechg(27) Rechg(37)
28) --> Super Jump==> EndRdx(28)
30) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(30) EndRdx(46)
32) --> Ice Patch==> Rechg(32) Rechg(33) Rechg(33)
35) --> Burn==> Rechg(35) Rechg(36) Rechg(36) Dmg(40) Dmg(43) Dmg(43)
38) --> Greater Ice Sword==> Acc(38) Acc(39) Dmg(39) Dmg(39) Dmg(40) Rechg(40)
41) --> Focused Accuracy==> EndRdx(41) EndRdx(42) EndRdx(42) TH_Buf(42) TH_Buf(43) TH_Buf(45)
44) --> Consume==> Rechg(44) Rechg(45) Rechg(45) EndMod(46) EndMod(48)
47) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(47) Rechg(48) Rechg(48)
49) --> Build Up==> Rechg(49) Rechg(50) Rechg(50) TH_Buf(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Gauntlet==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
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I'll be playing my ice/ice Corruptor or fire/thermal corruptor and am looking for a team mate. I can see a */thermal duo being a pain

[ QUOTE ]
Yes bob, you got me, I feel really left out and want to be part of your attention seeking quest.

Either tell people or stop mentioning it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd rather he didn't. I actually find his smug "I know better than you, look at me" posts in here highly amusing... Like when my little 3 year old niece does something similar

Besides, how many of his posts get eventually locked or deleted anyway? They only last as long as it takes Bridger to see that he's posted yet again and is once more insulting people then acts incredulous that people respond to anything he posts in such a fashion.

I'm in with one of my Corruptors, Exofrost or Kinslayer(would prefer Exo but the lvl 50 limit's a problem as he's only 45 and IIRC, there's no auto SK system in arena?).

Will try to find my own partner and let you know if I can't

[ QUOTE ]
..Don't Dominators get mez protection from Domination?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup, and Dom should be up about 3-5 minutes after they're killed so not much point in it

[ QUOTE ]
What do you think?

[/ QUOTE ]

I like it. Having to be a FOTM scrapper to really have any chance in non pentad PvP events is a pain and i'm glad to see something being done to make PvP more enjoyable for squishies

[ QUOTE ]
i actually want to point out 1 thing missd in ths section.. and that is the RP-aspect of base. Having a base will massively increase the RP value of the game/SG. unfortunately i feel that in order to build a satisfying RP-base (only minor functions, but with several decorative rooms) u still need an extansial amount of pres if u ask me..sure u can do a low-budget version, but im sure due to the lack of space in the smallest plot, most RP-SGs dont see this satisfactory..

[/ QUOTE ]

Aye, even an RP base costs ludicrous money(i'm sure a meeting room is a must for any RP SG and it's not cheap)

However, I don't beleive in the school of thought that decorative bases should be made cheaper than functional/PvP ones.

I really don't see why the hell a PvP group should be forced to put more time and effort into getting a base the way they want to than a RP group.

[ QUOTE ]
Atm the only way to allow non-SG members into your base is to be in a coalition with there SG

[/ QUOTE ]

No, there are two options in SG settings regarding base entry. One to allow coalition entry and another to allow team mate entry.

I've had no problems with it being bugged as teammates frequently use my bases TP machines during SF's

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks, think I'll join this and pass on the info to the numerous others I know trying and failing to get on RSFs (general view seems to be if you're not a corrupter or a Stone brute you'll never get picked).

[/ QUOTE ]

I've done the RSF with just two corruptors and also done it with one brute and had several with a few stalkers, MM's and Doms in tow.

Corruptors and brutes are 'preferred' but as far as I know, BJB will always try to take 1 or 2 of the other AT's as long as he has the required AT's/builds in the core team.

The thread he posts every week with when he's planning runs is an open sign up and thread and if you're among the first to sign up out fo the three other AT's, you should get a place.

However, signing up 10th in line for the first time will make it more unlikely. No one is deliberately overlooking the other AT's, there is just a limited number of places available for them so it's a little tougher for them to get on one unless they sign up quick.

As for the channel, I would join but already have my limit of 5 global channels (like many people do. We need more channels!), hence using the forums as the primary sign up method.

If you really want a team for it, the forums are the best place to find one and it's reallt not that hard, no matter your AT, to get one after a week of looking out for them. Hell, I've even been part of single SG teams that are now farming this on a weekly basis.

/chan_motd "Recluse Strike Force" Welcome to the channel guys!

The channel name has to be in the quotes

The old one is as messy as hell now so starting a new one

I have the following HO's to Swap

Synthetic Centriole Exposure - Damage/Range
Synthetic Membrane Exposure - To Hit/Def Buffs/Recharge Reduction
Synthetic Golgi Exposure - Heal/End Reduction
Synthetic Cytoskeleton Exposure - To Hit/Def Buffs/End Reduction

I'm really looking for Synthetic Nucleolous Exposure - Damage/Acc in return but will consider anything that I can use on my Ice/Ice Corruptor(especially if it reduces end cost)

What Max means to say is that he's not had a chance to speak to me (cheers for pointing this post out to me Max)

Bloodline have some spots open and would love to have you on board. I could do the hard sell here but I've done it a lot lately and am lazy so will give you some links with our details in

Recruitment Ad
SG Spotlight

Grab me in game on @kinslayer for more info and an invite if you like what you see.

TA is pretty versatile and can adapt a lot but is probably better suited to zone PvP than arena but I don't think i've ever seen one in PvP to be honest. As for rads, they're great. Given that most pentads have a /regen for the scrapper(though it seems to be getting replaced by /SR since I7), a rad can really mess up something that is otherwise annoying to kill and a big threat.

The main problem with defenders is they're a LOT harder to play than something like a tank, stalker, scrapper etc so there aren't enough good ones about to really show how important they are. A defender who can stay alive will turn most battles around with heals/buffs/debuffs but the main problem is that as soon as one shows up he's gank material.

Enervator is a very good kinetic defender and if he's left in a zone to buff, becomes a real pain. I've seen empaths make a huge difference and in some one on ones with an ice blaster recently it was very frustrating to keep missing while he hit everything and done ridiculous damage thanks to the empath buffs he was getting that just made it a completely pointless battle and I couldn't even compete.

I've not seen many Rad defenders about but I have seen several Rad corruptors who can cause problems and they're very welcome when there are so many spine/regens about.

If I was in a team and got offered a good defender or two scrappers/blasters/tanks, I'd take the single defender everytime.

The main drawback of defenders though is that they rely on teamplay and that's still quite rare to see in a lot of the zones, making them one of the less popular PvP AT's

We just pulled Synapse on his own after Numi was killed

The pulls went very well with first attempt getting us Numi on her own, then Syn on his own. Then switched to the other side and got Manti on his own, followed by Psyche and BAB together, then Citadel and Posi together.

I didn't use the tried and tested method of pulling, trying something I was practising in the RSF's before I joined BJB's ones. I think the fact I managed all those single/double pulls on the first attempt with no resets show's it's quite effective and I must say I feel a lot more confident in it than the method without snipe. Hopefully I can get it to single pulls with a bit more practice as I did make a couple of mistakes, particularly on the Citadel pull as I should have got him on his own but hit the wrong button when I tried to run afterwards

I'm not sure I can pull BAB on his own before Psyche with a bit more practice i'll see so we can get the entire fight down to a series of eight on ones.

States then got totally destroyed on his lonesome under the Atlas statue. I was particularly pleased to see his lightning storm attack, which has caused me wipes in the past, didn't even put anyone in the orange and seeing him go down so quick was great. Not sure of the exact time but I hit aim just as we attacked and he was dead before it recharged with it's 3 lvl 53 recharges in!

Main hold up was the Vindicator wipe when we had two DC's just after I pulled, one of who was mentor for our brute! It was not pretty and there was also the wipe when I pulled Citadel and Positron. Still not sure why they caused us such problems but they just wouldn't die and Positron lasted a ridiculous amount of time.

Also, the terrible load times I was getting didn't help and getting into my base seems to take even longer since I did that complete overhaul of it at the weekend. Does anyone else get 2-3 minute loads when entering/exiting bases?

BTW, I want to run one for the Bloodline guys as there's a few who want to do it for the badge. Unfortunately, we only have two lvl 50 Corruptors and no brutes. Most of Bloodlines 50's are stalkers so was wondering if EVIL can flesh out the gaps?

We have

Fire/thermal corruptor(me)
Fire/kin corruptor
Necro/dark MM
Ninja blade/Ninjitsu Stalker

Can EVIL offer a Rad, Brute and two others(Corruptor or Brute)? If so, we'll arrange a day to run it.

I'm also happy to say that Bloodline has been the first VG selected for the new SG spotlight feature.

If you're interested, the feature can be read in full HERE

The reason Hami raids on Union have been failing has been related to the lag. The last one by Babel failed purely because too many people turned up, causing lag and too many people didn't even bother reading the raid instructions.

I really don't think organising public ones on the forums is the answer and a few of us have been organising and running private ones recently with strict limits on the numbers.

I know it's not the most community minded way of doing it but the simple fact is that with just 40 of us in there there was no lag, no noobs doing things to disrupt it and we were VERY organised as a result.

Union Hami raids have too many people turning up and the lag is dooming them to failure as a result. Eden simply cannot cope with the 80+ people we get turning up to these open raids

Also, if you are going ahead, you will need to have the PA drop team and relevant support teams practice PA dropping in advance of the raid as you can no longer drop in the standard way and the last few raids have required changes to that part of the plan.

The biggest thing Cap has missed off though is the epic powers. Focussed Accuracy turns stalkers into a poor mans scrapper, even more so when coupled with tactics.

Unfortunately, depending on WHERE you PvP makes a difference. In sirens, the players you really want to worry about are also the ones who will have fit stealth into their build before lvl 30, meaning tactics will not give you enough +PER to see them until it's too late and the same goes for Warburg.

In RV, FA and tactics make this no worry which is why so few stalkers venture there.

In all fairness though, a spine/regen should not be getting AS'd regularly even without all this as quills should interrupt the AS a lot of the time. If you're standing still long enough for stalkers to actusally time the AS to avoid Quills, I suspect your problems lie elsewhere.

Sign me up for the Wednesday and Sunday runs.

Well, I must say we've had a great response so far and want to welcome all the new members.

Response has been so good that I've freed up some more spots so the recruitment is still on.

Hold up there, I never once said 'useless in PvE', what I said is that they will always be bottom of my list in a levelling team as other AT's can bring more to the table.

I've seen some great Dom's in action and I would take them in my team 9 times out of 10 because of their ability. That said, offer me the same player with a different AT and i'd prefer the other AT.

I really don't think anyone is doing Dom's a disservice when they say they are probably the most underpowered AT in the game and most Dom's I know agree with that.

With regards to them soloing, yes, they are late bloomers. Getting to the 30's on them is horrific if you're a solo player as they simply can't deal with EB's early on. If Dom isn't up when you stumble into one, you have almost no chance.

They do come back strong in the 30's but even then the simple fact is that any of the other 4 AT's can tear an EB apart in a fraction of the time a Dom can and be less likely to risk debt in the process or need to pop some greens. I also know quite a few brutes who hate teaming with Dom's as the holds stop brutes doing what they do best, getting fury up

Meh, the problem with Dom's is that they don't scare anyone. Blasters may be squishy but they pack a hell of a wallop so if one get's the drop on you it can hurt you quickly and be forced to flee. Trollers are pretty much the same as their holds can hurt but it's the fact they can add nastiness like slows and debuffs from rad and kinetics that make them more of a worry and they can keep themselves fighting a bit longer thank to the heals available to them. Even with a tray of BF's they scare the hell out of me because I know they might have debuffs that will ruin me.

Dom's on the other hand just don't scare me. If they go all out damage, there's actually not many AT's they can outpunch and I'm pretty confident that even if one get's the first hit on me I can still take them down before they finish the job with pretty much all my toons except my empath.

So that leaves them with the holds. I've fought trollers in the arena with my integration running regen and still burnt half a tray of BF's in 3 minutes due to being held. I've yet to see a Dom even come close to that, Dom holds are an inconvenience not a threat and the same goes for their damage. The only time to worry is when Domination is up.

IMO, squishy toons need to be one of two things to be effective in PvP. Support toons who don't really kill and rely on various combinations of buffs/debuffs/holds(yes, I know certain builds can be killers but this is in general terms) or the glass cannon that stalkers and blasters are, relying on massive damage output before the enemy can retaliate.

Dom's don't offer any of these. Damage is surpassed by nearly every one of the 12 AT's, they have no buff/debuff ability and their holds are too underpowered.

I have a dom that I really enjoy playing but it the simple fact is that when I am playing it, be it PvP or PvE, I feel like everything is 10 times harder than any other AT in the game.

This is one AT that still needs some serious love.

As for the team argument? The simple fact is that i'd rather almost any other build in my team than a Dom. I'm not saying they don't bring anything to a team but that they don't bring anything worth taking them over a corruptor, brute, MM or even a stalker. The biggest argument for them is that I have two long term players in my VG who both went Dom for their main villains on launch and have both abandoned them in the mid to early forties as they just didn't feel like they were ever contributing to teams and couldn't solo at anything faster than a snails pace.

You've not specified what weight these will be fought at?

Personally, I would suggest lvl 40(as was done in 3vP) as it gives everyone plenty of powers and access to all of their primaries and secondaries while not excluding too many who don't have a lvl 50(particularly on the villain side)

May also be better to post it in the PvP thread as the Union Villains one is woefully quiet

I don't think it will have escaped many peoples notice that CoV is very quiet at the moment.

One of the upshots of that seems to be that some of the smaller VG's out there are all but dead and some of the more dedicated players are suffering as a result of having no one to team with.

Well, your prayers are answered. I've just had a belated spring clean in Bloodline and managed to open up several spots for anyone who is looking for an active VG. Here's some info about us:

- Bloodline has been running on CoV since day one and is currently the 6th highest prestige earning VG on Union.

- We have a dozen or so level 50's and a lot of players within touching distance of 50 but are a little light on the lower levels. We're looking to recruit a mixture of both but will particularly be looking for those under lvl 30

- As can be expected from our prestige position, we have a fully functioning base with all the mod cons. Enhancement storage is over flowing, we have ridiculous amounts of salvage, TP's to all zones, medical facilities and so on.

- On the design side, i'm no interior designer and someone with a more creative flourish is welcome to actually make it a bit more homely. Unless you're in your two week trial period, everyone has base editing rights and the only restrictions I impose are that you don't delete functional items and if you make any huge renovations such as moving rooms, you just let someone know first.

- We operate on trust. We don't have a strict hierarchy or dictatorship like some of the other big VG's and nearly all our members have similar SG privileges. When making decisions about things, everyones opinion is valued and welcome.

- We've worked very hard on our coalitions. We have E.V.I.L, Demons & Vengeful Spirits and all 5 of the 1 AT coalition VG's as well as our two alt VG's and I can gurantee you'll get teams at any level within the coalition.

- We have some of the most helpful members in the game. One of our biggest requirements is that people work as a group and help out other members whenever needed. If you need a respec or want to do an SF, you only have to let me know and I'll arrange a team for it. If you're stuck on a mission and need a hand, we have a very busy global channel and someone will always drop what they're doign and switch toons to help.

- Our Global channel. This is something i'm most proud of. All members of the VG are on this channel as well as the members of our sister SG on CoH and I don't think i've ever seen less than 20 people on there. It's awash with banter at all times and we have some real veterans of the gaem on there for any questions you may have.

- We don't force prestige farming. Yes, we like people to play in VG mode and the reward for that is that one of the higher levels will always scrape up some inf to fund SO's for you but it is entirely voluntary as we have the luxury of several very dedicated players who cover our rent and make sure we're making progress in that regard.

- We're proud of our place in the community. One thing I will not tolerate in the VG is declarations of uberness. Yes, we are proud of our group and what we've achieved. I'm proud that i'm one of the three founders of the Union Leaders channel and that we were one of the first to spawn Caleb and the first to spawn the Kronos Titan for CoV, I'm proud of the fact I've run over 50 respec SF's. However, everything we're proud of are not things we've done for the VG but things we've done for the community. It's very rare we have 'VG only' events and I always encourage our members to be assets to the game and these achievements refelect that. We didn't keep the Kronos Titan to ourselves but offered it to all villains, I've run respecs for other SG leaders to help some of their new low levle members do it, we worked on trying to spawn Caleb with and for the community(very annoying considering the hours put in to find out it was bugged!)

So, if you're in a VG that's suffering because of the slump and is on it's last legs or are in one that just doesn't seem to offer what to you want, here is the chance to join a VG that may suit you.

As ever, I can be reached on @kinslayer at almost anytime in the game or by PM on this forum and I look forward to hearing from you.

[ QUOTE ]
Get your facts straight, WoW has had plenty of updates (a few very large ones with lots of content too) but no payed expansion yet, CoX isn't alone in this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Burning Crusade is out in a few weeks and they're already dropping teasers about the next boxed set to come out.

As for updates so far, there hasn't been 'loads' of new WoW content. They've added a few things to the original release which are a lot less than has been added to the CoX games(despite a much smaller subscription).

Most of the patches for WoW have contained mainly class balancing or power adjustments, quest amendments, etc. I really can't think of any substantial content that's been added or major advancements in the basic format.

Burning Crusade is the only thing I would consider on a par with a CoH Issue and you have to pay for it which is exactly what I said.

I really don't see where the problem is. If you take even a brief look round the MMO market you'll see that no one else offers the amount of free content CoH does. Take a look at Final Fantasy where you have to pay extra for having more than 1 character, or WoW and other games where every update is released as a boxed set you have to pay for again.

CoV was a completely stand alone game where you also got access to some neat features on CoH if you had both, those features were in my view to reward those showing loyally and supporting CoV. The subscription for the extra game didn't cost you a penny if you already owned CoH and you got shed loads more content by buying CoV.

I actually find it pretty surprising and a little ungrateful that some people seem to begrudge paying the £15 or so that CoV(and you can pick it up a LOT cheaper than that) costs to get all that extra content then complain because they haven't been given it for free several months later.

So, with me having paid the cost of the box set(and been very happy to do so as I thought CoV was a bargain with the subs staying the same), how the hell do you think i'm going to feel when they suddenly start giving players who've NOT paid for the boxset the same stuff for free?

If people are that bothered about bases they can go out and buy the CoV box like the rest of us, not expect to be given it for free.

Idris, ignoring all the waffle in between, here's some comments on your build.

Blazing Aura - DMG in this is lowest priority as the initial damamge on it is so low that even if you double it with 3 damage SO's, you're only looking at doubling what is a pathetically low number anyway. I'd look at another accuracy and maybe a taunt before damage. I can't recall my slotting on D-Zol off the top of my head but if you holler at me in game I'll check it. BA will NOT help you kill stuff effectively but it WILL help you hold aggro so slot it for that first.

Attack slotting - Your attack chain is slow and every one counts so it becomes very annoying when one misses. I'd go two ACC on attacks if you can.

EndRdx Slotting - I see you're putting end slots in attacks but are light on them in toggles. Personally, I'd rather put them in the toggles. The simple reason for that is that if I'm running low on end, I can stop attacking as BA along with taunt will allow me to control aggro. Attacks I don't have to use if end is low, toggles I do so I prefer my end benefit in those. I normally open up with big end AoE's to get everything on me then just concentrate on taunting and mopping up stragglers when it's not going to cripple my end for toggles.

Consume - An annoying one to slot. The three recharge is a must and the other three are debatable. If you have a lot of aggro and hit it with three end mods, even if you miss most you will still refill your end bar. With one end mod, you may hit more but the return on each of those is feeble. With D-Zol, I found less ACC more end mod gave me a better return but had to be timed better. Unfortuantely, it also proved a lot more useless against AV's as it missed most of the time so decision is definitely personal preference but consume is a must have power on fire tanks

ROTP - I wouldn't bother with the disorient durations. The mobs get 'scattered' on ROTP and that gives you plenty of time to re-toggle so the slot can be used elsewhere. A green in there so it gives you more HP on rez is a lot more useful or even a recharge to get it available a bit quicker for tough missions.

Burn - Always debatable on this as to whether it's worth taking or not. If you're fire/ice, it's a must have as it's pretty much your only real offence. Anything not ice, it's probably too situational to worry about and every single non ice from my old SG respecced it out after the changes, finding it to be pretty useless(we had double figures of lvl 50 Fire tanks last time I looked and I was the only fire/ice one and the only one who still had burn). The only time you'll use it is if you have a controller who is timing his AoE's specifically to allow your burn to work.

Fiery Embrace - FE + Build Up = Kills. When you have annoying targets like Sappers it's worth it's weight in gold but unless you've gone fire/energy and have both, it's benefit is probably not worth it and you fitting something else may be more useful.

Epic - Conserve Power is VERY useful on fire tanks providing you're disciplined enough to use it whenever it recharges. I respecced out of it on D-Zol just to fit a hold in for the Hammi raids but I do really, really miss it.

If you want to see how well I can tank with D-Zol, just holler over the global channel and I'll bring him out for some teaming and shou you how he holds up against different mobs, I'll even do it without ice patch so i'm not cheating

Of course, my first advice to any fire tank will always be to take ice with it. Ice patch makes up for your weaker defences compared to other tanks and, more importantly, it allows you to make the most of what used to be the king of the fire set... Burn.

The reason base costs are so high is because NCSoft didn't want everyone having an all singing all dancing base within a couple of months of the game going live.

The new features added give small SG's a base they can actually use with medical facilities, power, control, and a TP machine, etc. In my opinion, that's the way it should be. Those SG's that put a LOT of time and effort into recruiting the top players would be pretty damn annoyed if they then see Mr X and his one man SG in a base thats on a par with theirs.

With the recent new features and 25% prestige increase(as well as the sizeable boost handed out on double XP weekend), I don't think bases are overpriced at all in terms of how much things cost.

Rent on the other hand? Don't get me started on how much of a foul abomination I think rent is