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Posts
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I've found the Seekers are pretty pants in PvE to be honest, they're really not worth the big chunk of endurance to cast them. I recently respecced them out on my Bots/Traps and haven't missed them at all. FFG and Poison Trap are indispensible to a /traps, Acid Mortar is a bit naff for normal fights but can really help with tougher Bosses or EBs.
I know from past experience that Trip Mine is great too, and I'm expecting it to be a lot of fun versus mobs when my Henchies have taken the aggro. Currently my Bot/Traps is only 34 and the mines are 35... -
If you're a mainly or "Pure" support defender, then the usual cookie-cutter choice is Force Mastery for Power Build Up. As an empath, it'd roughly double your healing numbers and the +def/tohit granted by Fortitude.
Psionic has TK which can be useful against a pack of minions in PvE if you can keep your endurance up (it's more widely used as an annoyance power in PvP really). I wouldn't really rate the sleep as highly in teams though since any AoE will wake them up, and if you're "pure" support you won't be soloing much.
Dark's Oppressive Gloom can be useful, it negates all minions around you. The Endurance recovery power won't be great since it's on a long timer and you have RA anyway. Soul Drain is pointless with no attacks.
Elec's shield is the best of the bunch, and Power Sink means you'll never ever run out of endurance again. The ST immobilise can be used to good effect to keep AVs standing still (VERY useful vs Ghost Widow!).
For me I'd pick Force, purely for Power Build Up. None of them are particularly bad choices though, but I'd say that the Dark Epic has the least to offer an Empath. -
Or solo 'em on heroic.
You can leave a mission until it's a level or two old if it has a tough boss or an EB in it, but realistically if my Sonic/Elec defender with only two attacks could solo his way through Croatoa, anyone can do it!!
Shivans help a lot versus those EBs mind you... you'll start getting a few on DE/CoT/Nemesis arcs soonish. -
The only mobs I know of offhand that are virtually immune to taunt are the Banished Pantheon Masks and certain Rularuu... but I'm sure Gunslingers and some other mobs could resist it too.
I usually use Taunt to group a mob together rather than hold their aggro. If I'm herding more foes than can be bounced in the air with a single footstomp then I'm herding too many mobs. You get to the stage where you can roughly guess when you'll hit the aggro cap though... I'd only ever try to go beyond it in dire emergencies.
In those few cases playing Knockdown games and trying to "funnel" mobs is your only real option. You can try to only taunt the most dangerous mobs or trade-aggro between groups, but ultimately it's not a good situation. -
Katana for PvE and survivability/damage (Divine Avalanche).
MA for PvP and mez/damage (Stuns and Immobs).
MA has a slightly stronger + faster activating attack chain, but doesn't come close to Kat's survivability.
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[ QUOTE ]
TP works very very effectivley, and u can ET after droppinging into caltrops as it doesnt get interupeted
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But it won't help if you drop into caltrops AND mines. You can't activate an ET when just after you've finished the interruptable part of AS you get your [censored] blown up by a batch of tripmines.
The beauty of being able to hover above someone and line up an AS whilst at the stealth cap is that they usually won't be able to see you at all until the AS physically hits them. By then you will have ET queued up so even if they slap you with a webnade you're going to land that ET before the -fly kicks in.
If they're getting +perception from someone then you can always joust them with the BS + ET combo as Stalk and Xan both suggest above, there's no reason to be constantly relying on AS when you're Energy Melee.
Stormies for example... there was one stormie in particular who other Stalkers seemed to shy away from in Sirens when I was PVPing there. I simply popped Build Up and SJ'ed straight at her with ET queued up. Most of the time I could detoggle her Hurricane doing that, and that was before I picked up Force of Nature.
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Again TP for escape is amazing, your not getting hit by a defiance blaster as u run through trops. its an instant escape.
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Oh I know all about Teleport for escaping, both my MMS have it (one 50, one 34) and my 50 Kat/Regen Scrapper has it. It's a great tool, but it's bloody useless in PvP for trying to catch anyone.
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After trying it I wouldnt swap TP for anything now,, also gives u an instant attack time, the Second an enemy stops moving, Ur there,,, dont need to hope they stay still til u get to them
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Only very, very inexperienced players will stand still when they know a Stalker is about. TP self does not have a hope of allowing you to catch anyone that is using SuperSpeed, Fly or SuperJump and it's EXTREMELY hard for a Teleporter without ranged abilities to even catch someone with Hurdle + CJ who won't stand still.
It's even worse for Stalkers since by nature people are edgy and keep moving when there's one about. The amount of people who use an autojump bind is increasing too, and a Stalker usually can't do much versus someone using an autojump bind before PPPs unless they are very mobile and don't rely on their AS. -
You NEED stealth. Especially vs a /dev Blaster since they have +perc to stack with tactics. There's really no other way to cap your stealth solo and still be able to attack unless you get Hide + Stealth + Stealth IO.
TPing next to someone like that only lets you get the AS off, it won't let you cue up ET for a follow-up hit before you drop into a caltrop + minefield... and IIRC they can hear you teleport next to them whilst hidden.
I'd rather drop Placate + IH than Placate + Stealth, and on my Sirens EM/Regen (with tactics) build I've done just that. I took IH again at 38 though since it's still a useful power to have available. Placate is 35. I like the utility of Placate, but in SC I find I only use it in emergencies for a quick getaway... and most of the time anything I hit that won't die I can SuperJump away from and rehide behind a building's geometry.
If /regen could get +perc outside tactics then Placate would go back in in a heartbeat, even before IH... -
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Sirens Call = Max lvl for powers is 30 >.<
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Aye, but Bonesmasher --> Energy Transfer is nearly as good as Energy Transfer --> Total Focus when you're attacking from Hide (for double damage from Bonesmasher) using Build Up. And Howling Twilight's only level 10!
OK, so they'll have a split second longer to react with Bonesmasher's animation than with ET's, but you can work around that by properly timing your jumps. If they're STANDING in caltrops then you can even use one of those brilliant villain-side temp power flight packs to get off an AS. Cue up Energy Transfer and you'll easily kill them before they get a chance to webnade you into the caltrop/mines pit. If you're worried about defence, pop FoN or some yellows rather than risk them hearing you use Build Up whilst hovering above them. -
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This Blaster is different than others somehow? I dunno but she is just so blinkintough! I Duel'd her with my Thugs/Dark MM and got [censored]! God knows how cause I walk over most things with that toon, but she mowed me down in no time. >.<
Have try'd both my stalkers against her,, EM / Regen + Spines / Nin and to no avail.. and I'm not an inexperienced stalker. I pvp for hours, infact I have spent more time in Sirens than everywhere else put together, but this blaster gets me every time.
Unfortunately she isn't nice with it, =(
TP Foe into Mines, and Ice Storm to stop AS. and so tough that my Nrg stalker has trouble dropping her. >.< Was thinking maybe a Dominator... or a Brute would do the trick.
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Are you trying to fight them when they have that Pocket Bubble Defender tagging along? You'd need sleeps to get through the Bubbler's AoE mez protection, and villains have never been great against +defence.
I'd be surprised if an EM/Regen couldn't take her solo. Stealth cap plus Build Up --> Energy Torrent, TF = Dead Blaster. You can do that whilst flying or jumping, so you'd be safe enough from tripmines, she can't TP Foe you if she can't see you and Blasters have no way to get to the perception cap without using yellow insps.
Not sure what I could recommend for your MM. She'd have high tohit, plus access to Webnade, Caltrops, Blizzard, Ice Storm and (eventually) the AoE toggle slow from the Ice Epic. AoE damage and slows = MM kryptonite really... Maybe open with Howling Twilight, sic the pets on her, then kite with Teleport-Self...? -
Question #1: Force Bubble is definately worth taking on a Bots/FF. It stops melee foes getting near you, and Bots are perfectly happy to attack them from range. On other primaries and whilst teaming it isn't so great.
Question #2: I'm slotting my Protectors with a few IOs -
Blood Mandate - Acc/Dam/End
Blood Mandate - Dam
Sovereign Rgt - Acc/Dam/End
Sovereign Rgt - Acc/Dam
Common IO - Defence Buff
Common IO - Defence Buff
With Level 40 IOs, this works out at:
62.73% Acc, 101.33% Dam, 46.40% Def, 38.60% End.
-------------------------
Eventually, I'm planning on slotting level 50s as follows -
Blood Mandate - Acc/Dam/End
Sovereign Rgt - Acc/Dam/End
Nucleolus HO - Acc/Dam
Nucleolus HO - Acc/Dam
Common IO - Defence Buff
Common IO - Defence Buff
For a total of
109.00% Acc, 109.00% Dam, 51.00% Def, 42.40% End.
The extra defence does makes a difference on my Bot/Traps, but it's not worth skimping on damage in order to get it. Protectors really need at least 1-2 SO's worth of Accuracy, and at least one SO's worth of EndRed. -
It looks like they're being immob'ed (by the epic power TT or webnade?) and aggro is being bounced about using confront. I assume that once taunted the taunter uses the dimensions of the train station to hide in.
You could also do silly things like get 8x SRs, one with vengence and another with teleport. One person dies, another recalls, cast vengence, all jump in (dead one hosps or gets resuscitated + pop a blue) and smack GW silly (all at the defence cap with /SR + vengence) and then all hit Elude when vengence is about to drop.
I'd rather have at least one /INV on the squad for Recluse though. Preferably two so they can perma-unstoppable-tank him (is quite easy to get unstoppable uptime more than 50% with IOs). -
Think that'd be the second one - "Pirates of the Sky" (Sky Raider mobs)... linky to detailed info here.
Level 20-25, 4 Person TF, 6 Missions- 1x 'Defeat All', 1x AV. Need a SG base Mission Computer to start. -
Looking good Stalk!
Do you think +67.5% will be enough +Recharge to keep Domination perma between Hasten cycles?
I make your 6-slotted Hasten about 9-10 secs from perma (counting animation) and Domination (counting animation) only has about 4.5 secs to spare. Not a large gap, but maybe enough to cause mez issues?
You could free up another slot by lifting the +Stealth IO out of SuperSpeed and sticking it in Sprint. Would just have to be toggled on-and-off once every 120 Secs for the +stealth, or can leave it on 24/7 with Superspeed.
[Edit:]
On closer examination, there's two other things I find sort of odd about the build:
(i) Why use Entropic Chaos rather than Decimation in Ice Bolt? Same +rech, better % numbers.
(ii) Why not use 5 Decimations in "Bitter Ice Blast" instead of 4? You're only on 4x +6.25% recharge bonuses and that would put you on +73.8%. You wouldn't lose much with a Devastation Acc/Dam/End/Rech in the 6th slot. -
Dom builds are getting pretty scary all right...
Made one up myself for a Mind/Thorns Dom that's not too different in style from this one (71.3% recharge). The only pointer that grabs my eye in terms of slotting is that the hold numbers are actually slightly better if you use Two Endos + 2 Acc/Hold (or Acc/Hold/Rech) IOs rather than 3 Endos + 1 IO. It's more of benefit when exemping to have some overlap in there... with 2x 50 Acc/Hold/Rechs the Hold/Acc %s will be capped in Sirens.
I'd still be a more than little worried about -recharge debuffs though... and I'm not confident that true "perma Dom" can be achieved over several Hasten cycles with around 70% constant recharge.
No defences against spike damage and no +perception would be banes of the build in general. More and more toons seem to be going the Stealth Power + Stealth IO route for full invis. Although it should do better than most Dom builds against Defensive toons: Aim plus Poison Ray's and Thorn attacks' -defence will add up.
I've no plans to roll this, but it was a fun exercise to plan out after being scared by that US boards thread!
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.20
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php
Mind_Thorn: Level 50 Magic Dominator
Primary Power Set: Mind Control
Secondary Power Set: Thorny Assault
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Mesmerize -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(3), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(7), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(9), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(46)
Level 1: Thorny Darts -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: Dominate -- HO:Endo(A), HO:Endo(39), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg:50(40), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg:50(40)
Level 4: Skewer -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:50(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(7), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(17)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 8: Confuse -- Mlais-Acc/Rchg:50(A), Mlais-EndRdx/Conf:50(9), Mlais-Acc/EndRdx:50(15), Mlais-Conf/Rng:50(15), Mlais-Acc/Conf/Rchg:50(17)
Level 10: Impale -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(11), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(11), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(13), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(13), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(46)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A), Ksmt-ToHit+:30(50)
Level 14: Super Jump -- HO:Micro(A)
Level 16: Health -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(23), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), Dct'dW-Heal:50(37), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(50)
Level 18: Telekinesis -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(19), EndRdx-I:50(19), Range-I:50(43), Range-I:50(48), RechRdx-I:50(48)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(23)
Level 24: Aim -- HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(25), HO:Membr(25)
Level 26: Terrify -- U'spkT-Acc/Rchg:30(A), U'spkT-EndRdx/Fear:30(27), U'spkT-Acc/EndRdx:30(27), U'spkT-Fear/Rng:30(29), U'spkT-Acc/Fear/Rchg:30(29)
Level 28: Stimulant -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 30: Aid Self -- Dct'dW-Heal:50(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(31), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(31), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), IntRdx-I:50(40)
Level 32: Mass Confusion -- Mlais-Acc/Rchg:50(A), Mlais-EndRdx/Conf:50(33), Mlais-Acc/EndRdx:50(33), Mlais-Conf/Rng:50(33), Mlais-Acc/Conf/Rchg:50(34), RechRdx-I:50(50)
Level 35: Ripper -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(36), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:50(37)
Level 38: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(39)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(42), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), RedFtn-Def:50(43), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(43)
Level 44: Poisonous Ray -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(45), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(45), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(45), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(46), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(48)
Level 47: Thorntrops -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Super Speed -- HO:Micro(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Domination
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]+7% DamageBuff[*]+6.75% Max Endurance[*]+7% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]+5% Enhancement(Confused)[*]+8% Enhancement(Heal)[*]+71.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]+2.2% Enhancement(Terrorized)[*]+54.2 (4.5%) HitPoints[*]+MezResist(Immobilize) (Mag 12.7%)[*]+MezResist(Sleep) (Mag 1.65%)[*]+MezResist(Terrorized) (Mag 4.4%)[*]+5% Recovery[*]+10% Regeneration[*]+3.78% Resistance(Fire)[*]+3.78% Resistance(Cold)[*]+2.5% Resistance(Negative)[*]+1.5% Debt Protection[/list]<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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</pre><hr /> -
That's an odd build. Mostly LOTGs, Makos and Numinas... but no LOTG +Recharges and only the Numina unique?
No Hami-Os, no Regenerative Tissue or Miracle uniques, and no +Runspeed Procs? You'd also be better off going for Crushing Impact's +Rech rather than Mako's +Damage if you're looking to offset GA's debuffs.
As it stands, I'd estimate around 250-300 Million including salvage and crafting. But for that kind of money I'd be trying for +runspeed and enough +rech for perma-Earth's Embrace outside GA / "Normal" recharge in GA. -
The point of Unstoppable wouldn't be to avoid the hold, but to weather it.
Unstoppable is a clicky buff, which grants you capped +resistance and considerable +mez protection which won't be detoggled regardless of how high Mag a hold is. Assuming you have your taunt slotted for +taunt duration, you can hold the aggro of GW through the effects of a Soul Storm when running Unstoppable.
When teamed of course, you just need several Clear Minds/Clarities stacked on you: Easy biccies! -
+ SS is high spike damage (KO Blow) with a very good accuracy/damage boost (Perma Rage) and a decent AoE (Footstomp). Attack animations (Hurl, KO Blow) are kind of slow though.
+ Stone is fairly decent all-round, with an AoE stun (Fault). It's high endurance consumption, and the attack animations are still sort of slow (Hurl, Tremor) though not as bad as SS.
+ Fire gets a few decent AoE attacks, and is much better at single-target damage than the tanker version due to "Cremate". Fast animating attacks, and the damage inflicted is much less resisted than Stone or SS. Incinerate deals a very good amount of ST damage for the recharge/endurance cost, but it's inflicted over a short period of time. No ranged attacks, but the highest-damage ST attacks have a short recharge.
If it were me I'd probably pick Fire for a PvE brute due to the less resisted damage, but SS with perma-rage is no sloutch either. Stone can also be good fun if you manage to compensate for the endurance consumption. -
[ QUOTE ]
Hey there fellow Masterminds and Readers!
Heres a few ideas on how Traps could be changed....
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1: Projectile Net (Used to be Web Grenade)
[/ QUOTE ]
The main benefits of Web Grenade over the patron immobilise webnades are the stacking ability (can perma-immob an AV) and the prevention of -knockback.
I don't see knockback prevention mentioned in your power revisements, Robotic Masterminds would still be knocking eveything out of their Burn Patches even with Caltrops- "Slick Casing".
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2: Slick Casing
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Lighting on fire would imply it acts like Oil Slick, which causes a heap of AI problems with henchmen. Otherwise looks like Caltrops but without the damage-over-time, which renders it basically useless in PvP. Knockdown would clash with knockback prevention from the level one (now AoE) Webnades.
[ QUOTE ]
3: Triage Beacon
[/ QUOTE ]
"This Power was never really being used and even when it was unlocked it didn't really come in use or fulfill what the decription entails which is why its been improved"
It's already an excellent power for a Mercs/Thugs/Robotic primary MM since your henchmen tend to stay in one spot. I find it very useful in EB fights or when you have many incoming enemies. I wouldn't be opposed to buffing the +regen slightly though!
[ QUOTE ]
4: Acid Mortar
[/ QUOTE ][ QUOTE ]
5: Force Field Generator
[/ QUOTE ]
Both excellent already, as you've stated.
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6: Gas Trap
[/ QUOTE ]
"This has similar problems to Triage Beacen. It just does not accomplish what the Description implies which is false imformation and that wont work at all with a Online game as good as this one."
Poison trap??!? It's the single best power in the traps set (OK, maybe a very close second best after the FFG). It can nullify a mob of 16 enemies, it can nullify a single AV. It doesn't pull aggro to you. It rocks in PvE and PvP. The effects of the Gas can be made perma, the choking animation can't be resisted and the gas itself can't be destroyed. What's not to love? OK, maybe a slightly increased detonation activation range would be nice... but the power is brilliant as it is.
[ QUOTE ]
7: Seeker Drones
[/ QUOTE ]
"This is a good Gadget that does not to be changed much except for the ridiculous Recharge time."
I find them completely pants in PvE, and overkill in PvP. The -damage effect can't be made perma and the radius of the effect (inflicted when they detonate) is too small. They also suffer from the same dumb-as-toast AI of Peacebringer "Photon Seekers". The combined -40% damage can be useful against a single tough opponent for short-term in PvE, but it's virtually unnoticable against many mobs. In PvP they'll almost never hit your intended target, and when they do due to enhancements they work at about half effectiveness (less if your target is +damage buffed). The only thing I'd ever really use them for is Disorienting squishies in PvP (TP Foe into traps, Detoggled by the Drones, damaged by the henchmen and tripmines whilst they're rooted and debuffed with Poison Trap/Mortar/Captrops/Webnades).
[ QUOTE ]
8: Trip Mine
[/ QUOTE ]
I find it fine as-is. Can be used for setting as a pre-emptive trap, or toe-bombing foes while your henchmen take the aggro.
[ QUOTE ]
9: Detonator
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Although it's more useful than the Devices' version (Time Bomb) I've never really seen the need for it when you can already toebomb anything with a Trip mine whilst your minions have its aggro. Possibly useful when your tier 3 is just about to die and happens to be in melee range of many mobs. (Detonate, Resummon --> resume battle) but apart from that it's a fairly sub-par option for the damage inflicted. Mainly due to the long recharge and need to sacrifice a tier 3 henchman to get decent damage.
Overall, some nice ideas but unfortunately it'd break synergy with many sets. Traps is also probably the strongest MM secondary after Dark, so realistically I can't see it being buffed in the near future... -
He shouldn't be able to see you more than 10 feet away even with (Tactics + Focussed Senses + FA) assuming you're running (Hide + Invis) or (Hide + Stealth + a Stealth IO). Your defenses are as good as gone though. I'd rather have a /NIN than an /SR stalker for PvP, since you get toys and a Heal along with the +defence.
In theory you should be able to two-shot each other (Headsplitter and Energy Transfer being the main culprits). He'll be able to hit you much more often than you'll be able to hit him due to Focussed Accuracy, but he'll not be able to see you very often (Stealth cap ftw!)... so it'll really come down to player skill.
You could annoy the [censored] out of him with Patron Webnades, or Waterspout has some good -defence and can be dropped whilst hidden. Be sure to pick up the Force of Nature accolade ASAP too for the massive +tohit buff. Can be really good for a Stalker to have a guaranteed hit on their opening few attacks. -
He definately spattered through my own resistances with his PBAoE, and he seems to make good inroads into a Sonic-buffed INV Tanker (who should in theory be at the S/L cap). I haven't noticed a Stone Tanker in Granite being as badly pummelled, but an INV definately needs heavy support to tank him. GA's +defence shouldn't matter before the yellow tower is down, so that leaves Stone's high Energy/Toxic resistances as the culprit.
Haven't tanked him myself yet though, so I can't speak from combat logs other than that Energy based PBAoE. -
If it wasn't for the one-shot-code he'd one-shot my Sonic Defender (70% S/L Resists plus HP Set Bonuses + Accolades) - his attacks have a considerable Energy damage component.
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Energy Sword, Electric Hammer, Psionic Weaponry were amongst the new ideas suggested by Positron in that poll. There's definately more sets coming for Tankers/Scrappers, hopefully in the next issue.
Personally I'd like any good Single-Target set with Build Up that isn't based on Smashing or Lethal damage. -
When I was first levelling Maelwys (my first toon, Kat/Regen) there were a few tankers who stuck out above the rest. They were both INV, and the squishies on the team didn't tend to die when they were tanking.
I suppose that was something of an inspiration to me. It didn't come down to aggro greediness, or even being built for survivability, just "situation awareness": they simply always took the alpha and then kept an eye on the movement of the mobs, making sure that tough enemies didn't get to enter melee range with the squishy toons.
Whilst higher level enemies have other things to watch out for like ranged mez attacks, IMO it's much more fun for a team if things appear to be slightly chaotic. I first learnt tanking on my Peacebringer Dwarfie, and without an autohit taunt or a taunt aura I almost never had a teammate die on me because I was watching the mobs we were fighting like a hawk (for voids and cysts, if nothing else!!).
The chaotic aspect is part of why my INV tanker doesn't herd unless it's absolutely necessary. It's more fun when there's a certain element of risk involved. It's a fine line to walk though, and you need to really know mob abilities so you don't let the dangerous ones run amok.
When I'm tired or fighting mobs that mez a lot, I'll hold aggro completely to err on the safe side. When I'm not... Rage and Armors/Invincibility on --> Jump into the middle of a group of mobs [use Taunt on the most dangerous mob in that group whilst jumping - optional] --> Footstomp in the middle of the group --> look for dangerous enemies (Bosses, Mezzers) and taunt them and/or cycle melee attack chain on them. Then act sensibly: if a Scrapper picks off a Boss or LT, it's now the Scrapper's responsibility... leave it alone unless they get into trouble. But if a Blaster AoEs the group, keep their aggro.. etc.
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Stealth + a Stealth IO = full invisibility in both PvE and PvP (and the stealth cap for non-stalkers in PvP).
And yes, it's also a handy place to put a +recharge LOTG and grab an extra +10% regen...
SS is there for PvP zone excursions since SJ is so easily countered with villain Patron webnades. For PvE I'd take Resilience at 49 with a single Aegis 20% +Mez resistance IO... or maybe Acrobatics (Endred) for extra Hold protection or Taunt (Taunt Duration). There's really nothing else left that's worth taking...
Scrappers get really pants figures for assault/tactics, and he already has FA for +tohit and +perc. FA by itself will let you see any AT but Stalkers in PvP, and good Stalkers won't be seen with (FA + Tactics) anyway.
Revive is just for when I get bored and decide to go solo a GM... and it's just soooo "Regen"