LarsenB

The merge between EU and US board is, alone, worth the change for me.

The full quote is: While never as effective in straight combat as a Blaster or Scrapper, a well built and planned Defender can certainly hold their own in combat, and can be a very easy hero to play solo

While it may be interpreted in more than one way, it is not completely off and it is also stressing the "not effective" aspect... i think that "well built and planned" here is not referring to a pimped IO high level toon, but instead to something like "given a proper choice of primary/secondary with a good mix of control/debuff/attacks"

And yes, "easy" and "effective" are indeed different... for example i got a TA/A in his 30s, still light on IO slots, which is actually quite easy to solo, meaning he is extremely safe, yet not really effective because he is a slow killer (rain of arrows still a couple of level ahead... )

Remember that with a bit of cheap IO frankenslotting, you can save quite a few slots here and there...

Personally i would beef up a bit your offensive powers; for example, Acc/Hold IOs from hold sets are easy to come by, so you might try dumping 1 slot each from T Cage, Shk Grasp and Shk Bolt and add one recharge in each of your main attacks.
Same thing for the epic armor, it doesn't need 2 End Red, more so if you consider your many +END powers

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What does your enhancement screen look like? Stretched? Are the circles more like ovals?

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Using 1680x1050 here, and every window that use the entire screen (enhancement, respec, tailor etc.) looks just right.... circles and all

Edit: note however that 1680x1050 is also my native desktop resolution

Thanks guys,
i've decided to go first with boxing/tough then fit in Unst. in the fouties to give it a try.

Now, since you were speaking of Insp tray management:
My 1st blaster taught me a very valuable lesson, in his 35-50 journey, about careful selection of inspirations before missions, and so far is the only toon that i bother preparing in advance...
What is the best setup for an Inv tanker? 1 column of blues & 1 of greens to recover from the crash and then focus only on purples?

Hello, tough hombres
My only tank is ready to level at 32, and i'm a bit unsure about getting Unstoppable now, or skipping the power altogether.

I intend to go for the fighting pool route and, for costume theme reasons, i'm also getting Laser Beam Eyes, so one possible build is something like this:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1,401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Mass Overload: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Invulnerability
Secondary Power Set: Super Strength
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Temp Invulnerability -- Empty(A), Empty(3), Empty(3), Empty(5)
Level 1: Jab -- Empty(A), Empty(17), Empty(19), Empty(21), Empty(43)
Level 2: Dull Pain -- Empty(A), Empty(5), Empty(7), Empty(15), Empty(19), Empty(21)
Level 4: Haymaker -- Empty(A), Empty(7), Empty(13), Empty(15), Empty(31), Empty(37)
Level 6: Air Superiority -- Empty(A), Empty(11), Empty(13), Empty(17), Empty(37), Empty(43)
Level 8: Unyielding -- Empty(A), Empty(9), Empty(9), Empty(11)
Level 10: Taunt -- Empty(A), Empty(40), Empty(43), Empty(46)
Level 12: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Health -- Empty(A), Empty(46)
Level 16: Fly -- Empty(A), Empty(36)
Level 18: Invincibility -- Empty(A), Empty(40), Empty(42), Empty(50)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A), Empty(25), Empty(27)
Level 22: Knockout Blow -- Empty(A), Empty(23), Empty(23), Empty(25), Empty(27), Empty(37)
Level 24: Resist Physical Damage -- Empty(A), Empty(33), Empty(34)
Level 26: Tough Hide -- Empty(A), Empty(31), Empty(34)
Level 28: Rage -- Empty(A), Empty(29), Empty(29), Empty(31), Empty(33)
Level 30: Resist Elements -- Empty(A), Empty(33), Empty(34)
Level 32: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Tough -- Empty(A), Empty(36), Empty(36)
Level 38: Foot Stomp -- Empty(A), Empty(39), Empty(39), Empty(39), Empty(40)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- Empty(A), Empty(42), Empty(42)
Level 44: Laser Beam Eyes -- Empty(A), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(46)
Level 47: Weave -- Empty(A), Empty(48), Empty(48), Empty(48)
Level 49: Resist Energies -- Empty(A), Empty(50), Empty(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet

Honestly, I could fit in Unstoppable anyway, without any major sacrifice, for example instead of one of the Resist En/El, but my main concern is about the crash; i'm used to a similar power on my blaster epic, however i find the Unstoppable one quite harsh and less manageable, given the tanker playstyle... also, i already have to deal with the Rage crash, and I would like a more controlled approach for the primary stuff

So, what do you think? will i be sturdy enough even for some end game tasks or will i regret not having an "oh s..." power available now and then?

This happened to me too, yesterday.
Got the Physician accolade, but there was no Revive Ally power in the power list and/or power trays.

I /bugged it

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The Jet Pack is something people on the US boards want. It was originally only for those people that got the MMO Trial things where you get the game/game time for x cash. Like a super trial.

So they moaned and said "Why don't we get that temp you can only get for 30 days? We'd PAY for that!".

So now they can.

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More precisely it was included in these: http://www.plaync.com/us/gamecard/

those are basically 1 month game cards that also include a serial key so you can subscribe and download right away, and that's why they cost a bit more than a normal game time card...
The price difference is the price of the jet pack addon thay are now selling as standalone.

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...Poison Gas is the only one I have any real issues with, but that's mainly from the anchor dying all the time. If there's a boss or something in the group I'll usually try and get them with Gas early, but often, because I'm freezing or acid'ing them, they die quicker...

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Hmmm... maybe I've misunderstood what you were trying to say, but Poison Gas Arrow is not an anchored debuff, it's fire-and-forget just like Acid; not only that, the -dmg debuff is also auto-hit...

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The question for me (aimed at the OP only), is not that you didn't recieve the power, but why do you need it anyway? Surely a lvl 28 tank wouldn't need this power... Granted it helps, but not necessary.

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The usefulness is irrelevant: mission grants a reward, my other chars got the reward, this one, doing the same stuff, didn't: why so? Simple gameplay question.
Besides, on a mid-level Invul/* Tank is a very cheap way to occasionally cap S/L resistance and get a decent Psi resistance not easily available otherwise... used in short bursts can last quite long, even at 50 it should prove usefull for the Psi +RES alone.

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And as previously stated, Ouroboros gives it anyway if you didn't get it the first time, so 30-45 minutes of hard graft and you're get the power + more xp to boot...!!

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True, but since i've already done the same 30-45 minutes in normal play, if it works via flashback, and my level was not a factor, it should have worked in the first place.
The GMs apparently acknowledged there was some glitch and granted the power, or maybe they were just in a generous mood, they didn't specify

Update:
the GMs were very prompt in dealing with the petition and after a couple of emails where I got them the info they asked, the character got the power awarded.
I didn't get the full details, i think that the levelling in between the 2 missions might have caused that, but i'm not sure... i'll keep that in mind for my other toons.

Reward aside, i'm pretty satisfied at how quick they handled the matter.

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You do get the full power one first time you do it (just Ouro'd this over the weekend with a 50).

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Cool, i thought you would get the "echo" version no matter what; i might try that, however i actually completed the arc, only the power was missing, so i'm not sure how the system would consider that...

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Ouroboros

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True, but you'll get the limited duration (5 minutes?) one instead of the regular 2 hours version.
Meanwhile i sent a petition, we'll see if it's working as intended...

Here's the scenario:
Tanker level 27.9, got the "Talk to Long Jack" mission from Stephanie Peebles, when i talked to him I dinged 28 from the mission XP and got the follow-up mission to defeat Heracles and recover the ring.
After completing the mission and talking back to Stephanie I didn't got the temporary power as reward (not in the trays, not in the temp. powers small window; already tried to zone/relog).
Is this because I outleveled her when i turned 28 just before the last mission? I've done this many times on other toons but can't remember if i was always lower than 28 at the time...

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what really is the point in the merit system if it's going to take LONGER than farming a TF...

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Getting a rare receipe will take longer with the merit system. Get a particular rare receipe will be faster.

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Well, not strictly faster (if you are lucky with the dices ), however it will be guaranteed after a predictable amount of time, and that's a big plus... so we will have now 3 options to get the one recipe we want: influence on the market, luck on a single TF and just plain playing multiple TF

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So you bought those IO's at level 30, and from then on you just stuck with them and it worked great? That sounds brilliant.

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So far (lvl 42) they are doing fine; consider that they offer better stats than what you could achieve, even at 50, pre-Invention (save for using Hamidon stuff).
Some of the melee attacks and Nova got a similar treatment too, the nuke, for instance, can easily reach 95% damage & recharge right when you ding level 34, by combining all the 3 available PBAoE set recipes with 2 common IO:

[*] Cleaving Blow - Damage/Recharge: Level 35[*] Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge: Level 35[*] Multi Strike - Damage/Recharge: Level 35[*] Damage Increase IO: Level 30[*] Recharge Reduction IO: Level 30[/list]

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This kind of slotting is good enough for new players,casuals and people that want to make cheap builds but is by far inferior from perfect possible slottings even if you look the stats alone.


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Yes, you're right, that was a build with cheap sets taken randomly just to illustrate the point; the lvl 25-30 were also chosen so you can build like that while leveling, with low influence cost and good of investment; hence the quotes in "perfect".

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Best possible slotting in blasts is usually a mix of Devastations+Thunderstrikes due to the best combination of bonuses + stats.

Devastations: Acc/dmg,Dmg/rech,Acc/dmg/rech,Acc/dmg/end/rech

Thunderstrikes: Acc/Dmg,Acc/Dmg/Recharge

This provides with a high hp regen bonus,+hp,+dmg,+recovery

The stats skyrocket to an awsome 101% dmg 97% acc 85% recharge 18% end discount


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Also true; however now you're comparing numbers between [u]6 slot[u] lvl 50 sets with [u]5 slot[u] lvl 25-30 sets... let's add a generic recharge slot to my example, and replace the 25s with 30s:

96% dmg 81% acc 52% recharge 21% end discount

Inferior? yep. Skyrocket inferior? nope.
Not to mention that the crafting cost alone for the 50s is around 1000% more and you need to wait 20 more levels to reach those values.

The only real selling points here are the set bonuses, which, i agree, are definitely superior.

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Frankenslotting is ok with low budget builds or for new players and casual gaming but for "Perfect" it doesnt even come close.


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Well, by definition, you proposed frankenslotting too... only less "franken"

In the Invention era we're living now, one way to achieve "perfect" slotting is to mix-and-match different IO set, without paying much attention to the set bonuses (also known as "Frankenslotting").

A simple example:
Power Blast

[*] Ruin - Accuracy/Damage: Level 25[*] Ruin - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 25[*] Ruin - Damage/Endurance: Level 25[*] Maelstrom's Fury - Accuracy/Damage: Level 30[*] Volley Fire - Accuracy/Damage: Level 30[/list]with 5 slots you achieve (after ED effects): 78% acc, 95% dmg, 20% end red, 16% recharge; you can then fill your 6th slot, if you have it, with a single-effect enhancement of your choice, (rech, end, range, ...).
Note that, due to ED reduction, you can use lvl 25-30 sets, as above, all the way to 50 without really losing much efficiency, which is also quite a money saver.

With Dual Core, my first En/En blaster, I went to 30 with the standard 2 ACC/3 DMG slotting, while bidding for those recipes in the meantime; once I got them all, I replaced all my 3 main blasts (Bolt,Blast,Burst) with a similar setup... work wonders and it didn't cost that much

In this guide
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...0&fpart=1&vc=1

you'll find some very nice examples of frankenslotting for the most typical powers

Got into Citadel with my TA/A Defender, that was a funny and smooth ride... very nice team-up.

With just the in-game options, not entirely... however you can setup some keybinds to help with that.

Have a look here:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....=3#Post10159414

(scroll down to "Popular and Useful Binds")

If you happen to own a G15 keyboard or something similar, you can achieve a higher level of automation, but it can be a bit unreliable because of variable recharge times and such...

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Worse. Testing decision ever.

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I know!

If anything they should have changed it to a fear or something, so mobs could fire back if attacked but then go back to cowering. The one-hit sleep is fairly useless.

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Especially because it clashes with Acid Arrow's damage ticks

On the other hand, being a clicker myself, I don't mind those being targetted; it feels more fluid alternating blasts and debuffs using the same target compared to having to activate+pointing with the mouse

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Slightly off topic but IIRC, the boost to flight speed that Swift gives is pretty tiny in comparison to run speed. I seem to recall seeing figures in another thread that suggested that slotting three Fly SOs in Swift would be less than a second Fly SO in Hover. I'll have a look around and see if I can confirm it.

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That's right; if fly speed is what you are interested in, than a slot in Fly or Hover gain much more than the same slot in Swift

Fly is ~135% fly speed, while Swift is only ~13%, so with 3 SO you end up with ~30%