KINETICS: A DIFFERENT LOOK v2.0
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Introduction:
The following is a guide on the power set 'Kinetics', found as a Primary set in the Defender Archetype, and a Secondary set in the Controller Archetype. The Defender Primaries are known as Support or 'Buff/Debuff' sets. 'Buffing' is a term used for any power that increases the abilities of yourself or an ally, and 'Debuffing' is a term used for powers that decrease abilities, usually on an enemy.
Kinetics, at its core, is what most people would call a true buff/debuff set. Its difference from the other power sets lies in it's concentration on both single targets, and the 'damage output' of your allies and enemies, along with a few great utility powers. Kinetics can be a strange set at first glance, but for those that are interested in a different type of Defender, it can be quite rewarding.
Players will find that they can be quite effective at soloing with this set, or even hardcore-soloing, but I personally feel that doing so actually detracts from the true power of this build. Fulcrum Shift is a great area damage debuff, but having the damage buff aspect hit a team is more beneficial to me. In other words, I feel the build-to-team option is inherently stronger than the build-to-solo option. Since most other guides I see about kinetics purely focus on stats or soloing instead of strategies, I will step from the norm and give ideas, and hopefully give you a different look at a rather fun set of powers from a more team-oriented position.
Incidentally, I personally feel that most defenders are at a loss when it comes to PvP, as it now stands. From the small testing I have done in the Arena, most of Kinetics effects are easily negated by inspiration use, forcing the player to adopt the phase shift -> buff/heal -> re-phase loop. If you have any consistent Arena strategies you would like to see added to this guide, please contact me. Otherwise, Im afraid that PvP puts Kinetics users at a distinct advantage outside of being a tragically simple buffbot.
As this is a Defender primary, I will concentrate mainly on discussing these powers with Defenders in mind. However, I will do my best to note the differences found when the Controller chooses this set as a secondary. Except where noted, keep in mind that controllers have roughly 80% of the effectiveness of each of the powers, in addition to getting them at much later levels.
PROS and CONS
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Why/Why not use the Kinetics powerset? Every set has pros and cons when compared to other sets, so I'll point out some of the more obvious ones that I've come across, or that I've heard asked about.
PROS:
++ Has it's own 'built in' transport powers, two of which can be used on allies, two on self.
~Siphon Speed (SipS - self) and Speed Boost (SB - ally) emulate Super Speed.
~Inertial Reduction (IR PBAoE) emulates Super Jump .
~Currently, none of the powers are affected by Travel Suppression.
++ Capable of letting entire team hit the fabled Damage Cap.
~Fulcrum Shift, looked at as *THE* power of the set, allows this.
++ Can function relatively well in both attack and support roles.
~Some powers affect you as well, allowing you to do more, more often.
~Build can be targeted to function well in melee range, blaster range, or both.
++ Has two Endurance Recovery powers, Speed Boost (ally) and Transference (AoE)
~By eliminating the need to wait for endurance, you decrease downtime.
++ Has two Endurance draining powers, Transfusion, and Transference
~Works fantastic with Elec. Blast, and many builds use End drain as a focus.
++Probably the only set that lets you create a Pure Build, and still function.
~Multiple powers can replace entire sets of power pools.
CONS:
--Little direct damage mitigation. No self defense/resist buffs versus damage/status.
~ Set must rely on decreasing damage/speed of foes, or Repel for KB.
~ Increase Density (ID) only affects allies and resists only Energy/Smash damage.
~Although the set can drain endurance for protection, the Elec Blast line is needed
~Usage of power pools or APPs needed if choosing a soloing build.
-- Nearly all powers require a to-hit roll on an enemy to have an effect.
~ Powers will require increased accuracy to get full, consistent benefits.
~ Misses can cause you to burn endurance or hit points trying to get an effect.
~ Some powers are useless outside of combat, or if the mob dies during casting.
-- The only heal in the set requires a to-hit roll *and* close proximity to the target mob.
~ This can cause your rear line to be frustrated with not getting vital heals.
~ This requires you to be relatively close to the action to get healed.
-- Players can see your powerset as being minimally useful until later levels.
~ This can cause problems finding teams, especially if they only desire healing.
-- Powers have short durations, which can cause the dreaded numb clicky finger.
~ Most buffs have short durations, which means some battles, thats all youll do.
~ Can be discouraging to newer players, making them feel like buffbots.
~ Some people dont like staring at recharging powers instead of the battle.
Although I am sure there are many other valid points, these are the ones I see or hear most often, especially from new players. Defenders are already hampered by the forced idea that Blue Shield icon=Healing so having an eclectic powerset can be a chore to explain continually.
POWERS
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Transfusion (lvl 1) Ranged (Foe AoE), Foe End, Foe Regen, Team Heal
Game Description: Transfusion (TFZ)drains an enemy of some endurance and transfers that energy, in the form of hitpoints, to allies near the affected foe. You can use Transfusion to heal yourself as well as your allies.
Explanation: This is a basic heal that requires you to hit an enemy with, which will then cause a comparatively large healing aura to emit from them. This is both a boon and a curse. Although the Area of Effect (AoE) of the aura is quite large, its usually only useful for your allies that are in range
which are usually the scrappers, tankers, and melee builds of other archetypes. Your rear-line blasters will either have to get up the guts to stay close enough for the heal, or complain about them not getting proper heal love. A nice side effect of this power is that it drains a small chunk of endurance out of the mob targeted. Although not much, it can add up quickly when combined with Transference, or Electric-based powers. Finally, this area heal is quite strong and fast compared to other area heals, and a few single-targets.
Play Tips: This can make you big friends with tankers and scrappers, and big enemies with blasters and controllers. Since not only does it need a bad guy to fire, its also centered on the bad guy
which can easily spell doom for those too far away from the effect, or those already high-tailing for cover. And if you target an enemy with it that dies, the power fires, but you get no effect. I believe this is currently a bug, but I have yet to get any definitive answer from repeated petitioning/bug reports. Because of these quirks, youll either have to explain this healing power often, or even skip it altogether. Yes
. People skip the heal. And yes, you can slot it for endurance drain instead, which will not add to the healing numbers, unfortunately. TFZ is very useful against certain mobs and AVs due to the regen component. For a short while, the enemy struck by this is unable to regenerate, and can really put the hurt on a big boss or AV, since they wont be able to regenerate that big HP bar back any time soon.
Siphon Power (lvl 1) Ranged, AoE on Self
Game Description: You can siphon the power from a targeted foe, reducing his damage potential. The power is transferred back to you, increasing your own damage potential, and that of all nearby allies.
Explanation: Depending on the style of your build, this can easily become a bread and butter power for you. After the animation of SipP occurs (and it actually hits), youll have a nice AoE damage buff centered on yourself, while decreasing the targets damage. This can be used both offensively and defensively, and it can stack. Keep in mind that there is a damage debuff floor you can reach, which is around 80-90%, depending on the enemy.
Example 1.) KineticsMan is fighting a minion by himself. Upon a successful hit with SipP, the minion now has a -25% damage debuff on him, and KineticsMan gets a +25% damage buff. With the extra damage available, KineticsMan is able to defeat his enemy quickly.
Example 2.) KineticsMan is fighting a lieutenant and a minion by himself. Upon a successful hit with SipP, the lieutenant gets the -25% damage debuff. This decreases the incoming damage enough to where KineticsMan is able to defeat both enemies quickly, and without as much chance for death.
Example 3.) KineticsMan is in a mission with 3 of his friends. Through the powers of Hasten, Siphon Speed, and AM (Accelerate Metabolism, a power of the Radiation Emission line), and a line of 6 SO Recharge reductions, he is able to spam his Siphon Power and hit a nearby boss a total of *4* times with SipP, stacking 4 different icons of SipP onto himself, his friends, and the poor boss. The boss now has a total of -90% damage on him, and KM and company have a total of +100% damage! The heroes are able to dispatch their foe with alarming speed and a minimal chance of being killed thanks to the double-effect of SipPs damage debuff/buff.
Playtips: Because this power can stack, and continue to add effects each time, it is popular to slot it heavily with recharge reductions, and combine it with hasten. Against a single foe, you can easily drop them to minimal damage-dealing, while effectively doubling (+100% for 4) your own attacks, and any nearby allies in the powers AoE. For reference, 100% is a hair more than 3 damage SOs. Also, this is one of the only forms of defense that the Kinetics line has
reducing the amount of damage the enemy can deal. Generally speaking, it can take as little as two SO recharge reducers to get around 3 seconds of double-stacking, but many people choose to slot it a bit more, to at least have 1 accuracy and 3 rechargers. This can help you in your lower levels for the damage decrease/increase it will give you (especially against hard-hitting bosses), and in later levels, youll end up using it specifically to reduce bosses to the damage levels of minions. I feel its quite useful, even in the end game, especially for those nasty Praetorian AVs. However, be careful, as this counts as an energy attack, and can be resisted as such. Youll still get the +dmg benefit, but your target will have a reduced dmg modifier if they have heavy energy resistance. Also, the range on this (and Siphon Speed) can be useful as a pulling technique. Since they do no damage, they have a smaller chance of aggroing the rest of the group. And since youll get them doing less damage, the alpha strike would be markedly reduced. Much thanks to forum-goer Glowworm_Nexus and their buddy Southern.Cross for pointing that out.
Repel (lvl 2) Toggle: PBAoE Knockback (small AoE)
Game Description: Repel creates a zone of kinetic energy that violently repels nearby foes. Each villain that is repelled costs additional endurance.
Explanation: This creates a rather tight circle of knock-back around you, just a bit larger than melee range. This is Kinetics second answer to self-defense: If the opponent is flying through the air, they cannot attack. This power is heavy on end drain, especially since you can get it as early as level 2, and SOs arent widely available until as late as level 22. However, due to its knock-back potential, it can be used as both an OH CRAP! power, when swarmed with too many enemies to deal with, or as Boss Incapacitation by keeping a boss in near-perpetual lockdown from knockdown. This power emits pulses while its on, and each pulse generates a large non-damaging KB in a spherical shape around you. I hesitate to say this, but due to the quick amount of pulses, a whole ton of enemies in the game (save those immune or super-resistant to KB) can be put down with this power, including many bosses. Granted, resistance can mean you might stand next to the enemy watching your endurance bar get sucked away, but generally within the first 3 seconds or so, theyll fall down, if not get knocked back. But otherwise, this is a great power for keep away, or if you just want to have fun knocking minions off rooftops. Also, this power can be used for pseudo-herding (gasp!), by knocking all the mobs into the same corner. The endurance cost, however, keeps this from being a turn on and leave on power. And, like a lot of KB powers, hovering/jumping over the enemies turns it into a knock down, instead of a knock back, so keep that in mind if you enjoy hovering.
Playtips: This is the most hated power of the set, due to it not dealing damage, using an inordinate amount of endurance, and needing practice to use effectively. If you are more interested in dealing damage, you are better off *not* picking this power. Most players will drop this power in favor of any other power, including group teleport, due to its characteristics. Not all my characters have this power, but thats mainly due to character concept. If you are using this as your oh crap! power, youll want to put a recharge or two in the power, just to have it come up when you need it. If you really want to use it effectively, however, youll have to put at least another slot or two of endurance cost reduction into it to save your precious blue-bar. I have seen multiple kinetics defenders use this power in ways that would make Lord Recluse himself cry (unless hes totally immune to KB), just because the KB powers can keep an entire section of mobs stuck in the corner and not fighting. The only downfall is that occasionally enemies will get a hit on you in between pulses, and since this adds zero to your resists or defense, youll take the full brunt of the blow at full to-hit chances. This is not a bad power, it just doesnt do damage, so it is usually left out of most builds. I advise you to try it, and then spec it out if you find other powers you would rather use. Some final uses: Its great for annoying Storm defenders when they realize theyre not the only ones that can use KB for fun and profit, and theres just something fun about knocking back a mob high in the air, yelling Pull! and letting everyone (and yourself) try killing the mob before it hits the ground.
Siphon Speed (lvl 6) Ranged, Foe speed, -recharge, Self +speed, +recharge, Res Slow
Game Description: You can siphon the speed from a targeted foe, slowing his movement while speeding your own.
Explanation: Another combo debuff/buff, this power is similar to SipP but affects speed, and only affects you. This will reduce the travel speed and recharge rates of your enemy by about 25%, and increase your speed to *roughly* just below Super Speed levels, as well as giving you about a 25% increase to your recharge rates. 25% is not much, compared to the 70% of hasten, the 50% of Speed Boost (a later kinetics power), or the 25% AoE of Accelerated Metabolism, but it does have quite a few strong points. First, it can stack, meaning much like SipP, SipS can be used continually on the same mob to slow it to a crawl. Secondly, the speed stacks, but isnt noticeable after the first two, possibly due to the rate of diminishing returns, and the fact that it can be insanely hard to stack 3 for any length of time.
Playtips: I feel that Kinetics can do quite fine without any travel powers, and this power is the first reason why. This can easily become your default travel power, despite needing an enemy to suck speed from. One notable effect is that it is currently *not* affected by suppression like most travel powers are. Once slotted for stacking (and/or combined with Hasten) this power really starts to shine. Repeated stackings can cause you to bypass Super Speeders, and beat even teleporters to the mission door. Keep in mind that this does not have the stealth effect of Super Speed, so you can run the chance of barreling into a suddenly-spawning group of mobs bent on causing you debt, death, and destruction. This power becomes infinitely useful pre-14, especially if you combine it with Recall Friend. You can easily get around even more difficult areas to faraway mission doors (deep in the Hollows, anyone?) and teleport your entire team there, saving time, effort, and possible debt. By itself, that recharge rate buff, stacked or not, is by no means a perfect hasten replacement, but when combined with hasten, can make you an insane super-power-clicking crazyperson. Just make sure to have it suitably slotted with accuracy, because the recharge rate without hasten or SipS buff can be quite intolerable. Just keep in mind that this power *requires* a to-hit roll, and a mob to hit. There *will* be times in your travels that everyone will fly by you because all you have to pick from are a bunch of +5 purple minions to suck speed from. Other times, youll laugh as the slowbies try to keep up with your mad dashing around maps. And for those of you bent on taking Hover, The speed stacks with it, making it a bit easier to fly around. Finally, the speed buff is enough to overcome 1 or possibly 2 Slow effects on your hero, which is great for caltrop fields. For those interested, if you are able to have 3 SipS stacked on yourself, you basically get the effect of hasten, which is just about 70% reduction in recharge times.
Increase Density (lvl 8) Ranged, Ally +Res( Hold, Immobilize, Disorient, Knockback, Smashing/Energy damage), -SPD
Game Description: Increases an allys mass, freeing them from any Disorient, Immobilization, or Hold effects and leaving them resistant to such effects for a while. Increase Density also protects the target from Knockback, as well as Smashing and Energy Damage. Because the target grows more dense, their movement speed is slowed. You cannot use this power on yourself.
Explanation: The first true nod to stereotypical defendering, this is a single target buff for your allies. It focuses on removing 3 status effects (and gives resist to them) while adding some KB protection and a 25% Energy/Smashing damage resistance. The first thing to note is that this buff has had a pretty short duration. The duration is about 60s and is good for a few teammates, but if you have a full 8 man party, youll definitely notice how short it is. Other than that, its got some nice status resists, especially for those scrappers and tankers in your group. Mezzes can quickly spell doom for your teammates, making it quite useful to have. It can also be used to break those holds, so its useful after-the-fact as well. I have yet to notice any appreciable effect of the slowing, but I usually follow this up with a Speed Boost to prevent any problems.
Playtips: I get mixed reactions about this power. Some demand it stay on them 24/7, others could care less if you even have it in your build. It has a relatively quick casting time, which is great to get your allies out of a few mez loops. Depending on the concept, you can slot this any way you like, but if youre planning on using it heavily for buffs/protection, Ive found that a recharge reduction or two works wonders in keeping it in-line with Speed Boost, making it easier to hit your party members with quick 1-2 combo buffs whenever the original buffs start to drop. I dont think the Slow effect does anything, whether its by design, or a bug, or if its something I dont notice. The 25% Smash/Energy buff can be quite useful, especially against bosses/AVs that like to smash/use energy, and it can be increased easily. Hardcore/Solo/Offender builds usually opt out of this power the second-most (Repel being the first), due to the fact that its ally-only. I feel its great in a team, due to both the mez-breaking and the large combo of resists. Its also great one-slotted with a recharge or a resist enhancement, if youre saving slots for other powers. I personally use this as a reactive power instead of a proactive power, due to the extremely short duration. If youre interested in keeping this on your whole team, understand that you *will* be using this constantly, especially on an 8 man team. The casting time is about 2 seconds, with a recharge of about 3 seconds, with a total time of 5 seconds. If you cast it on everyone in your 8 man group (7, since you cant buff yourself), youll spend about 35 seconds *just* buffing everyone. And then 25 seconds later, youll have to do it again. Unless you plan on spending slots on this for recharge and endurance reduction, you might want to use this proactively only in smaller groups, or reactively whenever you see someone go zzz.
Speed Boost (lvl 12) Ranged Ally, +Speed, +Recharge, +Recovery, Res Slow
Game Description: You can hasten a single targeted ally. The targets movement speed, attack rate, and Endurance recovery are all greatly increased. You cannot use this power on yourself.
Explanation: Probably the most requested power out of any Defender set outside of Force Fields and Healing, this power wraps up a mini-superspeed, mini-hasten, and Stamina all in one tidy package. The Stamina portion is about .9/sec, which actually makes it almost as good as the real stamina, and can be slotted higher. The mini hasten adds about a 50% reduction in recharge rates, as compared to Hastens 75% and Accelerate Metabolisms 25%. The Super Speed portion puts your ally at just a bit under real-SS speed, but it still quite a benefit. Add in the fact that this power can be gotten at 12, before Superspeed, Stamina, and perma-Hasten are available, and youll see why this is so asked for.
Playtips: If youre a team player, this will be your first game changing power. Chances are youll only ever hear this referred to as sb plz kthxbai, hey u sb, or PLAES PL ME WIT UR SB or Storm Defenders are Better, but youll eventually decipher the codes and reply with a quick-targeted Speed Boost to the requestor. Unfortunately, because of all these benefits, youll probably learn to hate this power. People will demand it from you if they see it in your power list, and will call you dirty expletives for not immediately dispensing with the power whenever commanded. If you do not have it in your build, and you team with people, the other heroes will make fun of you, and secretly plot your demise. Other defenders will scrawl terrible dirty lies about you on bathroom walls when they realize how nifty this power is whenever you use it. Then, youll have a few people who are desperately afraid of anything faster than a slow plod, and will call you an equal amount of dirty expletives for using this on them. This power, in and of itself, can totally change team dynamics, especially before levels 20+. In a team, youll want this running on every member, and youll want to re-cast it every time it drops. With just one SO end recovery enhancement, you can nearly double someones endurance recovery. Allies with powers in desperate need of recharge SOs will now be easier to cast with that 50% reduction in recharge time. Before the days of Perma-Hasten and Perma-Accelerate-Metabolism, this power can save your team, or kick it into overdrive. Although it can be a pain to keep an entire 8 man team fully SBd, that 50% reduction is insane
imagine having almost two SOs worth of recharge in each of your allies powers before they even have a full set of DOs? And a nice boost to endurance recovery to help keep their blue bars running full? Exactly. This is a truly awesome team power that should definitely be given attention if you like to group up. Incidentally, it gives a nice travel power to those who dont have one, especially if youre able to SipS off of badguys and need your team to keep up. This also stacks with Hover, so your flying allies will have an easier time maneuvering around the battlefield. Interestingly enough, this power can be slotted with both run speed and end recovery enhancements, so you can go a few different ways. One time I had this 6-slotted with run speed SOs (note: I believe the runspeed caps with just 2 SOs), just to watch lvl 7s zip across The Hollows at sound-breaking speeds. Unfortunately, they sometimes zipped neatly into a group of +6 bad guys, but hey
you can still slot it for speed! For me, 3 end recoveries is plenty for most of my uses, giving a better-than-stamina effect, and still saving slots. However, if you enjoy watching everyones blue bars stay relatively full, 6 slots of end recoveries will make that a definite possibility. On the flip side, keep in mind that the speed portion can be used to get your friends out of being Slowed, especially on those nasty Tsoo caltrops. Finally, you can also use this in combo with ID for someone using an awaken, especially in combat
Toss the ID first to remove the disorient, then the SB will start recharging their endurance. While its nothing to match a true resurrection power, it helps immensely when things go poorly for your team.
Inertial Reduction (lvl 18) PBAoE, +Jump
Game Description: You can reduce your Inertia, along with that of all nearby allies. The affected heroes can then jump incredible distances for a while.
Explanation: Everyone around you in a rather large radius effectively gets the power Super Jump for 60 seconds. The recharge rate on this power is also 60 seconds. So, it starts out being perma, and gives you another travel power to use, this one requiring no to-hit, and usable anywhere.
Playtips: My favorite power of the set, bar none. With SipS, I can emulate super speed. With IR, I can emulate Super Jump. With most kinetic builds I make, I pick no travel powers thanks to these two. IR is also great for those in your group that love using Super Speed
it will actually give them some ability to negotiate some tougher deep/high levels, such as Terra Volta and Faultline. And again, theres nothing like seeing the chaos you can create by casting this at the exit from the Hollows. Instant party maker as everyone instantly feels the need to jump for the next 60 seconds. This power does no damage, and doesnt affect enemies in any way. However, I feel its useful for a team build, just because it can help out those with super-speed (gives them vertical movement), flight (IR is faster), and teleport (Saves endurance). And since its part of your power set, youll effectively have a slot you could use in a different power pool. Super Jump requires two powers, and can be gotten at 14. This requires only one power, and its not affected by suppression (Jousters rejoice!). This power does not need to be slotted to be effective, but I know a few people that sometimes add another endurance reduction to help cut down costs. The endurance cost is negligible unless you run plenty of toggles, since it only costs 34, and lasts for 60 seconds. This power is often replaced by the Leaping line for those interested in solo play (or more defense), because the Leaping line gives you access to both Super Jump, and two great anti-status powers: Combat Jumping and Acrobatics. The two powers are enough to keep you out of most immobilizes and holds, so it might be worth looking into. (See Power Pool below for more info). For a final note, using the rock skip (tapping the jump button while running, giving you low-height hops) method, you can travel quite quickly when you dont have a target to SipS off of, because the increase in jump speed translates to quicker groundspeed, even while indoors.
Transference (lvl 26) Ranged Foe AoE, Target End, Team +Recovery
Game Description: Transference (TFE) drains an enemy of some of his Endurance and transfers that Endurance to all allies near the affected foe. You can use Transference to recover endurance for yourself as well as your allies.
Explanation: This works exactly as your Transfusion heal, except instead of getting HP back, you get back endurance. You can drain roughly 60 endurance, and get back about the same amount. Depending on the mob level, this effect varies greatly. On most minions, you can drain anywhere from half to almost all of their endurance with just one of these. On most bosses, you can take anywhere from a sliver to a half of their endurance. And, fair warning, theres quite a few enemies resistant or immune to endurance drain, such as plenty of AVs, sappers, FF generators, and a few others, including those mobs higher level than you. The good thing is that youll still usually get your normal amount of endurance back, but you wont have as much of an effect on the mob.
Playtips: Wow
another total game changer. By the time other people have 6 slots in your stamina (Lvl 20, all slots 21 & 23, 1 from 25), you show up fashionably late at 26 with this showstopper. Base Endurance for everyone (barring accolades) is 100pts. You can get 60 points base if this power hits something, and youre in the AoE. This can, will, and always will be an excellent substitute for Stamina, especially if youre saving your slots for other powers. Although I appreciate Stamina, I dont feel it should be the cornerstone of every build I hear about. This power, combined with your Speedboost, should keep you and your teammates from ever having to stand idly by and wait for endurance to charge. Add a hasten, or a few recharge reducers (or both) and this becomes a power you can toss multiple times a battle. With 3 recharges and 3 Endurance Recoveries, You can toss one of these about once every 15 seconds, and roughly fill up your entire bar when it hits. Or, slot it with 6 rechargers and giggle as you toss it out every 8 seconds. Also, this one is slightly different than Transfusion in the way they deal with enhancements. Transfusion can accept Endurance Drain enhancements, which have negligible (if any) effect on the healing properties. In other words, if it heals everyone for 250 hp, and sucks 10 endurance out of the enemy, adding 6 ED enhancements will just affect the endurance drain. However, Transference can accept endurance drains, and will effectively increase the amount of drain and the amount of return youd get. In other words, if you are draining now for 80pts of endurance, youll get 80 endurance back. The interesting thing is that Endurance Recovery enhancements will give the same effect, but will actually do better over the long run, because theyre not resisted like endurance drain is. In other words, if you use drain enh, youll get mixed numbers (70,80,50,etc). If you use recovery enh, youll get straight solid numbers (80, 80, 80). Longer story shorter, if you slot this for draining, use recovery enhancements, not drain enhancements
youll see a much bigger difference.
**Side note**
In all honesty, there is nothing wrong with taking Stamina in addition to this power, or instead of this power. Stamina works 24/7, while this power works only in battle, and only if it hits. However, given the effect of the power, I feel its much stronger and useful than stamina, for a whole lot less slots, and a lot less powers. In addition, Stamina only affects you, where transference can affect your whole team, or at least whoever is surrounding the monster you target. Can you pick both? Yes. Can you pick one but not the other? Yes. However, in respect to this guide, I feel that Kinetics is a perfect team player, and those slots and powers are better used in other areas. As a Kinetics user, you have the capability to totally replace the need for any of your team members to take any of the fitness pool powers. Between Speed Boost (which can give nearly double the stamina effect, plus benefits) and Transference, you can remove the chance for most of your group to run out. As a side effect of all this endurance recovery, your allies will use less blue insps, and can probably spare you one or two if you ever run low or miss too many transfers. I feel that too many new players are instantly swayed by the current belief that Stamina is mandatory for every build, when in all honesty, it usually isnt. If youre going for maximum DPS and a few required respecs to get the most out of your build, then yes, youre going to want stamina, because youll be needing extra damage enh instead of slotting endurance reducers. Plain and simple, your play style may require Stamina and Transference both fully slotted, or you may not require either. The only way you can test this out for yourself is to do just that
test it out for yourself. Team-based PvE Kinetics defenders shouldnt need Stamina, and thats the way I feel.
Fulcrum Shift (lvl 32) Ranged Foe AoE, Foe Damage, Team +Damage.
Game Description: Fulcrum Shift drains the power of a targeted foe and all foes nearby, transferring it to all adjacent allies, the caster, and those near the caster. Affected foes will deal less damage, while your affected allies will deal more. The more foes that are affected, the more power your allies receive. Fulcrum Shift can dramatically turn the tide of a melee battle.
Explanation: The level 9 power of the set, and its the crowning jewel. You know how SipP works, right? Well imagine that when you used SipP, it also made an aura like transfusion or transference. Now imagine if any enemy in the range of that aura were also equally debuffed. Now imagine if all those enemies buffed any allies in range of them for as many enemies were debuffed. Oh, and since you cast it, you get an extra 50% buff. Get the picture? Confused? Roughly speaking, if you were to hit 6 enemies with this power (quite easy, even solo on heroic settings), you could effectively get 200% extra damage for a while (50% buff + 25%x6 buff=200% buff). If you have your attacks minorly slotted (3 dmg SOs, or less if you have one or two SipP icons floating), you can hit whats called the damage cap with your defender, as it all adds up to you doing a total of 300% more damage. I hate numbers, so just keep in mind that a group of 8 heroes can practically decimate a large amount of foes quite quickly with only one well placed Fulcrum Shift, especially if it hits a group of 10 or more.
Playtips: Oh. Em. Gee. This is the reason why people play Kinetics. All enemies affected get your standard 25% damage debuff. You and any nearby allies get +25% for each enemy hit by the FS, plus some extra emits from you. Hit 6 guys? 150%. 10 guys? 250%. And it stacks with itself, you can hit the same group twice. Keep in mind that every archetype has whats called a damage cap which basically means This is the most damage a hero can do with a given power at their level. What this can do is *almost* make up for not having lots of damage enhancement slots in your Secondary blasts. This also stacks with your normal SipP effect, so you can get a few nice rows of icons covering up your screen in a good battle. Because this is so useful and easy to pull off, I find myself slotting my attacks for damage less and less. Although some people believe that the AoE limit of i5 severely hampers the effect of FS, I dont really see too much of a problem. I tend to slot it heavy for rechargers, and when a team of 6-8 people are all hitting their damage cap, even an extremely large group of mobs can be whittled down in short order, especially if the team has their own AoE attacks. The one problem I *can* see is for those more interested in the damage debuff of mobs. Whoever doesnt get hit by your FS will still do max damage, but Ive had hectic battles where enemies werent tightly grouped enough for me to hit them all anyway, and I still survived. Again, Ive yet to see any huge problem with this, but I tend to team more than solo, especially since FS is more team-oriented than solo-oriented. Besides
10 guys doing 25% less damage pales in comparison to 8 different 100pt AoE attacks doing 300%-500% more damage. Ever get in an all blaster/defender group? Youll see what I mean.
***Whats a Battery?***
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Many of the kinetics powers are given an extra boost compared to other similar powers due to the fact that they require live targets, and generally, a close proximity to them. This is the reason why many Kinetics users have adopted the term battery much like how other powersets have used the term anchor. A battery is a mob that is allowed to enter amongst the friendly group, and then slept, held, or otherwise mezzed to keep it inactive. As long as the mob stays alive, the kinetics can use this enemy as a battery to keep everyone around it charged with health and endurance by repeatedly using transfusion and transference. Forum-goer Eisregen offers his strategy:
[ QUOTE ]
Requirements: A single target Hold or Immobilize -- Fear, Sleep or Disorient will do in a pinch. Tesla Cage works fine for this, as will any Controller set or a power like Electric Fence from the Electrical APP. Teleport Foe or Challenge will be helpful but not required.
Isolate an enemy from the herd, mez them, advise the squishies to hug that enemy. This is better explained ahead of time, of course. Now you have an anchor [battery]to use Transfusion (or even Transference if needed) on your backfield. A bit on the complicated side, I know. But in a longer battle it's proven thoroughly useful. And yes, my Controller does have Challenge... why?
[/ QUOTE ]
By using the Battery technique, you can keep a mob in your group for easy heals/endurance boosts, siphons, you name it, and if your team remembers to not carve the held mob into itty bitty pieces, you can effectively have your own Devouring Earth style pet that keeps your team alive against all but the heaviest onslaughts. This works great for your rear line, who might not be inclined to go charging at the enemy like many scrappers and tankers.
SECONDARY/PRIMARY POWERS
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The first separation between Controllers and Defenders will be found here. Defenders get this set as a primary, so their entire outlook for the game is vastly different than a controller. In other words, I will explain what secondaries a defender has to choose from, and explain how a controller primary will benefit from kinetics.
Keep in mind that Kinetic Defenders have a few minor holes in their defenses. First, these Defenders get no status protection. Secondly, Kineticists get no direct damage mitigation for themselves (No stealth, no bubbles, etc). Thirdly, almost all of their powers must hit to have any effect. Now I know that can be said for every set in the game, but when your only defense is to hope you can stack 2-3 SipPs (Or a vitally needed Transfusion/Transference) on that AV youre helping beat down, youll go insane watching all those MISS! Comments float up over their head.
Defenders- Secondary Power Set
The blast secondaries are all nice since they all mesh quite well with Kinetics. Your best bet is to focus on what you want your hero to do, and how you want to accomplish it, and that will possibly help you pick your secondary. Ill explain each below, with what I feel is the strength of each set. These comments are made with the strengths and weaknesses of the Kinetics line, as a whole, in mind. One last note, if you choose to use SipP and FS a lot (heavy recharge slotting/perma-hasten), you can slot your attacks for their secondary status effects instead of damage. A 6-slotted Damage SO power can do quite a bit of damage off-hand, but 6-slotted for accuracy debuff or defense debuff can turn a tough battle into a cakewalk. For this simple reason, take a look at your favorite sets PBAoE or Cone attacks. These powers usually increase your risk by forcing you to be extremely close to the enemies, but they give you rewards in spades by usually giving a highly powerful version of your favorite sets status effect. Ill refer to these as Specials, because they have special effects, and it reminds me of old-school gaming. To get the most out of those specials, 6 slot them with their status effect (-accy, -def, -end, etc)
Electrical Blast (Endurance Drain): The Electrical Blast line focuses on damage, with a status effect of Endurance, or more appropriately, Endurance Drain. Short Circuit should become the cornerstone of this build, along with transfusion and transference to capitalize on the amount of endurance drained, and thanks to Short Circuits Recovery, keep it drained. Used effectively, a Kin/Elec defender can ruin the enemys chance of counterattack as they wait for endurance. I enjoy this type of build, as it fits well with my playstyle, and those I play with. If the enemy isnt able to attack, theyre not able to damage us. You can also slot your blasts for endurance drain instead of damage, especially once you obtain Fulcrum Shift. You wont see the massive drain that a 6-SO slotted Short Circuit or Transference can do, but it helps against the few pesky mobs that retain that eensy bit of blue left in the bar or were outside of the effect entirely. This power set is excellent for those who like to get close into battle and help out your tankers and scrappers. And even though Im personally annoyed that SC isnt the super critical-inducing robot destroyer power that the game description says it is, its still pretty useful against non-robot foes. If you choose to go the non-draining route, youll still have Aim and Tesla Cage at your disposal, along with a level 9 targeted (not PBAoE) nuke, and a sentinel (think pseudo-pet) that can help you dish out damage
or get more aggro. Keep in mind that with this set, Endurance Drain can become a valid defense, as enemies without endurance cannot make any big attacks (and sometimes small ones), which is almost the same as a hold in many cases. Short Circuit is this sets special, and as described above, can effectively eliminate an enemies endurance bar for a short while.
Radiation Blast (Defense Debuff): This set works well if you dont want to slot as many accuracy enhancements. These blasts all have Defense attributes, which will help your siphons hit more often. Cosmic Burst also has a disorient attribute, so it helps reduce some incoming damage for a while, and let you fire off a few more siphons without fear of retaliation. Irradiate is quite useful for the extra defense debuff it has, and can be the perfect wedge under those enemy shields to get your powers to hit. Slotting for defense debuff can really make the difference, especially against elite bosses and AVs. In any event, youll find that the powers in this set are generally quite quick, which can allow you to spread out your defense debuffs evenly between your enemies. And a team that hits 95% of the time is much better than a team that hits only 75% of the time. Irradiate is this sets special, and can very nearly bottom out the enemies defense, making them sitting ducks.
Dark Blast (Accuracy Debuff): This set is a great pick for adding some defense to your Kineticist. These blasts all have Accuracy attributes, which in a heated battle, can save your rear. Proper slotting can drop enemy accuracy to the floor, and things like SipP and FS can make up for the damage. You also get an early Snipe attack, and a disorient (Dark Pit) and an immobilize (Tenebrous Tentacles)
all great for team action, and either increasing the chance youll do more damage, or decrease the amount of damage coming in. Also, with three cone attacks, you have the opportunity to spread the damage from your Siphons and FS across a group of bad guys at a time. Dont knock accuracy debuffs
Some of your powers are strong enough to drop enemy accuracy by a large margin, and they can stack upon one another. An enemy that hits 5% of the time is better to fight than one that hits 95% of the time. Dark Blast sacrifices a PBAoE special to get two cones, Tenebrous Tentacles and Dark Pit. Tenebrous tentacles combines an AoE with a Accy debuff, and Dark Pit gives a disorient with a rather long duration. 6-slotting either can give you a unique special to use on those close-up mobs.
Energy Blast (KB/Damage): This set is usually picked for the large amount of single-target direct damage its capable of. However, do not discount the KB effects. Enemies that are busy getting knocked down arent attacking you, which can give you the extra bit of time you need to focus on another enemy, or fire off some other powers. Warning: If Repel annoyed you, EB will annoy you more. Dont forget that both Transfusion and Transference require you to be within range of your target to get the benefit, and reckless KBing can leave you stranded. I enjoy this set just because it makes me *feel* powerful. Enemies flying through the air gives a pretty good visceral rush, and combined with some of the damage, can make you feel a bit more like a blaster than a defender. EB is another set thats uses often for solo builds just for those reasons. In addition, EB comes with the Aim power, which is good for your alpha strikes. Oh, and sometimes the game will let you juggle an enemy with repeated blasts, giving you extra KB/KD, especially if you fire at an enemy you just Repelled. Id have to say that either Energy Torrent or Power Push would be this sets special. Energy torrent has an amazingly wide and long cone with a high chance of knockdown (and high damage
great for FS) while Power Push has a near 100% knockdown rate. Depending on your view, either can be six-slotted for maximum KB effect.
Psychic Blast (Status/Damage): This set usually gets poked fun at, but can become powerful later on, usually around lvl 10. Users generally focus on their primary until Psychic Scream is available. Despite having two starter blasts that are slow to activate, the set is more of a jack-of-all-trades than anything. 4 powers with recharge help reduce the amount of attacks coming your way, and are complemented greatly by siphon speeds slow debuff. Theres also an immobilize to keep a baddie nicely planted for easy siphon/TF access, along with some disorients and a sleep. These powers are good for helping mitigate the damage you get coming in by taking a bit of each of the other power sets, adding in some pseudo-controls and mixing them together. Psychic damage is also not widely resisted early in the game, which results in having more damage early on, allowing you to get prepared for all those mindless zombies and robots which will give you a hard time later. I generally have the best luck with Telekinetic Blast, as it deals both Psionic and Smashing damage, and makes a great complement to Will Domination, your first two quick single target attacks. Will domination is also quite useful for its sleep component, as your attacks that do no damage (such as SipP/FS/etc) will not break the sleep. Psychic Scream would be this sets Special, having a recharge boost that meshes nicely with siphon speed. If you dont feel thats a good fit, Psychic tornado is an AoE you can get much later that has Knockback. Psychic is lucky in that its not usually until the 20s before you start to run across enemies resistant to it, so its almost a Special almost into itself.
Archery Inherent Accuracy bonus/-Def
Archery is often poked fun at for having a somewhat less-damaging set of powers. Kinetics can help alleviate that a bit with SipS and FS, and a SipP or two can turn you into a mini-gatling-bowman. Although this set doesnt have a Special as per se, it does get a rather nice Cone attack at lvl 4, which meshes well with the melee-range kinetics player. Theres also a disorient (and two Fire DoTs) that can supplement your otherwise lethal-based damage. The Def helps you and your teammates hit more often, which is always a plus. Otherwise, somewhat of an average set with some interesting quirks, and is probably best suited to work with Trick Arrow unless you just like throwing arrows around like a crazyperson.
Sonic Blast -Resist
Sonic Blast might end up being the next Flavor-of-the-Month for Offender builds, and you cant blame them with the wonderful Resist debuff. The secondary effect of Resist can really add up to a lot of damage, especially paired with SipP and Fulcrum Shift, and can technically have your team doing *more* than the damage cap. If you can do a maximum of 400pts of damage to an enemy when youre fully buffed/slotted, the resist will help you do just that much more. -25% resist? 500pts. -50% resist? 600pts, and so on. The special this time is a toss-up between Howl and Shout. Howl is a cone that can affect a small group with -Res and Shout is a single-target attack that has a nice Res debuff on top of great single target damage. If youre setting up for a nuke, or need to take a group/target down quickly, combine one of the two powers (or both) with your SipP and/or FS for a nice team-damage-buff sandwich. Serves up to a team of 8. Enjoy!
Summary: As a kineticist, you can either pick your secondary to fix problem areas for your powers (Dark Blast, Rad Blast, Psy Blast-all have direct negative statuses), or you can pick your secondary to augment a strength of your powers (Energy Blast, Elec Blast-Energy for power and defense through KB, Elec for DoT and defense through endurance drain). I dont feel one power set is better than another, but I do feel that each power set will distinctly change the way you need to play your hero. Electric-for-Drain defenders will sometimes want to play very close to melee range, where Energy-for-Damage defenders will want to focus on specific enemies, concentrating their blasts where they will have the most effect. One plays more like a scrapper, the other plays more like a blaster. Neither are wrong, and both are fun to the right player.
Controllers-Primary Power Set
Controllers can get away with using the entire Kinetic set as well, with the exception of possibly taking a transport power instead of IR, due to it not showing up until lvl 28. Depending on their build, Kinetics can be looked at as a pet buff set, or a self buff set, due to the ways the powers can interact. For the most part, if youre looking to make your pet stronger, or looking to make up for not having more than one, Siphon Power, Speed Boost, Fulcrum Shift, and Increase Density are powers you might want to look into, because even a fire imp can be happy with those buffs. And things like FS or SipP add a new dimension once things are held
Whats +300% damage times double-for-held again? Oh, and dont forget that if an attack does no damage, it wont break sleep, so you can definitely pull off some extra siphons from your enemies if you need to. Keep in mind with that 80% decrease in abilities, you wont always see the same effects as a defender does. Eg.: since your FS will buff/debuff for 20% instead, youll need 2 stacks of fulcrum shift for a total of 11 FS icons, in addition to the PBAoE icons, to hit your cap.
Earth Control: Earth is sometimes overlooked for its lack of damage output. However, with the addition of kinetics, it can be quite fun. For starters, with the large amount of immobilize powers at your command, powers like speed boost or siphon speed can help you run rings around the enemy, or scat quickly away to safety. SipS is also good as an augment to hasten, helping your holds cycle faster. Transfusion is great to pop on those held enemies to get some much needed life back. Although youll get the transport powers, especially IR, much later than your defender friends, they are still quite useful. Most importantly, all your buffs will affect your Stone Pet! Ever see a super-speeding Rocky-pet with a stacked Fulcrum shift on him? Thats some scary stuff right there. Picking Kinetics isnt for every earth controller, however, as most of the powers distinctly push you towards lots of pool powers (skipping much of the kinetics set), or a team-only build. If youre looking to stick with pool powers in your build, Kinetics might be a great choice.
Fire Control: Almost the same as earths response, youll be focusing either on teaming aspects, or buffs for your imps. Hot feet and siphon speed is pretty humorous to combo, since you can have an AV running slow-mo for a large part of the match. SipP is a good complement to this set, especially if you enjoy using Smoke, since the accy is a natural complement to SipPs damage. And those speedy little imps are just hilarious to watch scatter after you speed boost them
just be careful
it seems to make them a whole lot more aggressive, and can pull a ton of mobs in short order before youre even ready. And lets not forget how fun it can be to tear up a group of mobs with your FSed imp gang!
Gravity Control: Personally, I always thought GC got the short end of the stick, and that was even before they started fixing Singularity. GDF is no longer the superpower it once was, and a single singularity just doesnt do what it used to. In this case, youll probably want to use Kinetics as a self buffing set, and maximize your benefits from Transfusion, SipP, and SipS. You can make a fun team-only build with this set, but not everyone enjoys teaming. My advice is to grab SipS, slot it heavy, and spam it every battle to help your powers come back faster
this in and of itself can make you a force to be reckoned with, especially once something is held. Propel may have a terrible activation rate, but a few siphons can make it do a world of hurt, especially if the mob is held. And dont forget
those SipS stack and can give you the edge you need to have your AoEs to come up faster!
Ice Control: Wow. Look at all that Speed and Recharge in your powers
You know what that needs? Yep
Siphon Speed. Who cares about your holds when the enemy is moving/attacking at 5% speed? Jack benefits well from Speed Boost, as sometimes the speed can carry him all the way into melee range, letting him pull that Ice Sword out. You can also use repel to keep enemies on your Ice Slick. And the combo of Repel+Arctic Air, although a bit of an end-hog, can really reduce your chance of getting hit, and KB the heck out of anyone that breaks through. And with all those guys Slowed, your SipS can get you back home in case the battle was going sour.
Illusion Control: Spectral wounds gets a big boost from SipP, naturally. Although your Phantom army is not affected by your buffs, Phantasm *is*, so take that as a nice consolation prize. All this aside, I think Illusion is a perfect setup for a Sneaky Ninja Assistant type hero. Instead of dealing damage and snapping enemy necks, you focus on augmenting your team to tip the battle in your favor. Your invis powers are great to use on your allies, and with the addition of Recall Friend, you can scout territory for the perfect place to drop your friends off. Once you get your pets, youll be able to help out quite a bit more, but dont neglect your Kinetics line
It can get you into teams in those early levels when youll really need them.
Mind Control: Another set that people just dont like for whatever reason. This set works well with kinetics because between your siphons and your confuses, you can keep the enemy occupied, without letting your chosen confuzzled buddy steal all your XP.
Example:
MindConMan sees two minions mugging a beleaguered citizen. Afraid to lose out on vital XP and influence, he confuses minion 1. Minion 1 feels a bit strange and befuddled, so to figure out the problem, he begins striking at Minion 2. Minion 2, being quite angry at being struck for no reason, begins striking back. MindConMan sees his opportunity, and begins siphoning Speed and Power from Minion 1. Minion 1 is too busy fighting #2 to pay attention, and #2 is too busy fighting #1 to care. MindConMan is able to use those first few attacks to strengthen himself for the battle, and soundly trounce both enemies before vital XP is lost.
As long as you are careful on how fast you siphon your enemies, you can usually get off 2-3 shots before they notice, and 2 is definitely enough to get you powered up to use your other powers. Also, with transference, you can use Telekinesis with near impunity, scooping up quite a few bad guys at a time to throw into corners for your blasters or scrappers to go chew on.
POWER POOLS
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This is where it can get tricky. Many people swear by certain power pools, and refuse to make characters without them. Most notably, Fitness and Speed pools tend to be found in most builds you come across, just because theyre insanely useful. However, Kinetics is strong enough to forego almost all of the power pools. In case you didnt notice, if you pick every power in both primary and secondary, youre forced to pick at least two pool powers, one at 24, another at 30. Once you get Inertial reduction, you can be set for travel powers, unless you prefer another mode of transportation. Also, with powers like Transfusion (healing), Transferrence (Endurance recovery), you can also forego the entire fitness line. In each pool, Ill mention any Kinetics powers that give similar effects, but please feel free to play your character in any way you feel is fun, and the best for your playstyle. Also, keep in mind that your powers and buffs can reduce or eliminate the need for your allies to take these pools too, so if there is a person or group you know youll constantly play with, Kinetics makes a great addition to a Superteam build. With your buffs, they can focus on slotting their primaries and secondaries instead of the various power pools.
Concealment: There is no equivalent in the Kinetics line. This set is good for keeping you out of most agro ranges, and the minor defense it adds. This also has the much vaunted Phase Shift which honestly seems like the main point of defense for Defenders in the Arena.
Fighting: No self equivalent. Consisting of two attacks, and two toggles, (one resist, one defense), this can be useful for those wishing to have a melee attack, and the possibility of some resist/defense in a set without much of either. If you need defense, however, I advise picking another power instead, unless you are interested in the added resist of Tough as well. ID can halfway replace Tough on most of your allies, but leaves Lethal as still being unresisted. Tough can be useful, but i5 changes can make it one to avoid. Still, it takes only two power choices to grab, so its up to you on your selection.
Fitness: I am personally becoming quite angry at this powerset, mainly because everyone feels that its necessary in any build. In fact, one of the reasons why I started playing kinetics was due to not wanting to have to factor in a 6-slotted stamina and 2 other worthless powers into my build, especially pre-20. The benefit of Fitness is that the whole set is passive. No clicks, no toggles, no to-hits. You get it, and it works. To me, however, Fitness pales in comparison to Kinetics, especially if in a team. If you need to maximize DPS, you need to maximize your fighting time as well. Id rather have 120 extra endurance every minute than Staminas 70. And with transference, even if you only slot one accuracy and no recharges, you can still get this off (technically) twice a minute. If you slot in some recharges, or slot in some endurance recoveries, or get hasten, or a combination of all three, you can recharge quite a bit of endurance for yourself, as well as any nearby allies. 6 slotted transfusion, with 2 accy, 2 recharge, and 2 end recoveries gives you about a 140% chance (vs even minion) for an 99 point end boost, about 3 times a minute. Even if only one goes off, youre already better off than Stamina. Hasten and all Recharge SOs? One blast about every 8 seconds. But Im rambling... The point is I personally dont feel its necessary, but you might, especially if you play the range game, and dont want to get close enough to the enemies to get the effect of Transference. Stamina is very, very helpful, especially in many solo builds, or builds that are extremely toggle heavy. To team-oriented Kinetic defenders, its not as helpful, unless you play purely ranged. Solo builds will also want to look at this power set, because youll probably be too busy managing enemy movements to concentrate on casting and being in range of Transference whenever you need it. Longer story shorter, SB can replace stamina on your allies, and you can use Transference to help both yourself and your allies out. SB also trumps Swift the same way IR trumps Hurdle
theres just no comparison. Theres no equivalent to Health, unless you count repeated Transfusions.
Flight: For those of you who hate knock back, grab hover. Hover changes a play-altering toss through the air into a harmless and relatively quick aerial backflip. Hover is an amazing battle movement power when slotted, and is great for those who need to get a better view of the action, or just need to stay out of melee range. With just a few slots for fly speed, and a successful SipS, you can roughly fly as fast as base fly. Air Superiority is also good for those melee-fenders out there, especially for its high chance for knock-up/knockdown. Fly can be useful, but you might be better off with IR, especially with travel suppression. Group fly can be useful, but youll probably get much better mileage out of IR. So, no direct equivalent, but some pretty fun replacements. Keep in mind that being above a mob turns knockback into knockdown, so Hover and Fly can be very useful for those who use Repel or /Energy.
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