MentalMaden
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Posts
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This thread needs some Farva.
(What's a Liter-a-cola?) -
You are using other forms of control, correct? Dropping PA then spectral terror should take care of most spawns. Add to that a good dose of deceive and debuffs and you should be very safe. For Illusion characters recharge heavy builds will do more (IMHO) than defense will. Perma PA will close that window where aggro falls to you.
If you are dying too much as a controller it's not because you don't have high enough defenses; it is because you aren't practicing good aggro management, over stepping realistic difficulty (biting off more than you can chew), and/or not using your controls enough or properly. Defense is nice, but not necessary for proper control play, even aggressive control play. *Personally, boxing-tough-weave is a waste of three power choices on the typical controller, especially an Ill/Rad.
(*I can see in instances where you can stack with primary or secondary powers i.e. sonic, FF, etc.) -
Quote:Before you get too bent out of shape, Foamy, I'm just trying to lighten to mood. No offense passive or aggressive intended.Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang
I simply exhausted my day's store of patience this morning on an actual family matter, to the point where I don't feel like tolerating all the passive aggressive comments. -
I hate when mommy and daddy fight.
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Yeah you should be able to find the service if you are near an average sized city. I know we have several where I am. I've even known a few people who did this for a living. It's just another type of personal chef.
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Quote:Ahhh Earth's Embrace, yeah I love it on a troller.Originally Posted by BL00DBATH
Hey Mental, good point on the defense, but I usually like stone mastery for easy capped hp. But now that I am starting to lean toward ill/time, that seems to be a pretty useless attribute. How do you folks feel about mu/soul/leviathan mastery for even more pet madness? Seems like a really good idea to focus on letting the pets do the dirty work while I do the debuffing.
I almost went the patron pool route myself and thinking of extra pet goodness. I think it's a viable option. To be honest I wasn't crazy about going primal.
[Slight tangent. My fire Illusion controller was an Illusion/Thermal/Fire. She is basically a stage magician and named Flash Powder Jane. So when /cold was ported I decided to make another Illusionist: Flash Frozen Jen (Ill/Cold/Ice). When time was announced I knew I was going to do another so I created Flash Forward Jill. The problem in the concept was what ancillary/patron pool worked? As I was leveling I just figured I'd go with /Primal until I hit 50 then I'd respec or change moralities and go for a patron. Conceptually though it all made sense AND functionally I couldn't be happier. Power boosted farsight (which is perma) and other powers (no I did not go fighting pool) and my defenses are very strong. Another benefit, especially when the doodoo hits the fan is power boosted heals on people buffed with temporal selection, I've seen numbers close to 800. You don't heal alot with the combo, but when things go south you can save the day. Now I couldn't be happier with my choice and it makes sense conceptually]
And to answer your question chronoshift boosts your recharge 50%, it also causes a sizable heal and heal over time and +end. The +end or heal over time can't be made perma, but the recharge can rather easily. -
I'm at work and without numbers (will edit later when I have them), but let me put a big push in for Illusion/Time/Primal. You don't need the defense from an epic shield (you mentioned /stone mastery) or set bonuses and end up with very impressive defense numbers (Edit-48 to ranged and 43 to everything else) as well as perma PA and chrono. I can play as aggressive as I'd like or at ranged. Its a very powerful and fun combo. I have 230% recharge as well.
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If we're talking SO's and scrapper mentality/playstyle then I'd say the following:
Fire, Ice or Plant both allow you to get in close and scrappy. (Illusion honorable mention)
For a scrappy secondary: Rad/Storm/Cold/Time/Kin
I'd remove Ice (high safety but low damage especially SOs)
I'd remove /Storm because its high end usage kind of begs for IO bonuses (recovery and +end)
I think given your scrapper background the easiest scraptroller with SOs only would be Fire/Rad (you'll need to slot heavily in end reducers or take an epic that deals with end reduction or +end/recovery like primal forces mastery or fire's consume (long recharge though)) Fire's hot feet along with choking cloud begs for aggressive play with added safety.
Plant/Rad is also a proven winner, but could also be played at range given a lack of damage aura.
I think a Fire/Time/Primal Forces would be an incredible SO only build. Damage aura/-to hit and slow aura combined with power boosted defenses would be safe and aggressive. I also have tons of /Time love at the moment given I just got my Ill/Time/Primal to 50. And love love love it. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly except it really benefits from an expensive IO build.
Illusion gets honorable mention as they were strong pre-invention system and can be very powerful SO characters but have really come into their own in the age of IO bonuses. I'd even give a vote for Ill/Time but can't imagine it without my IO'd out recharge and endurance bonuses.
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And you still have mind control and terrorize to contend with.
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If DPS is all you are interested in, then Dom is probably the best route regarding Grav and likely go the single target route. While there are outliers in the AT, controllers are mostly not DPS characters and should be looked at as support characters. ***Now before anyone starts explaining how their X/Y controller out damages their [insert damage AT]. Yes there are certain controller builds that can put out the DPS, but the AT as a whole including all powersets, is best a support AT. It's best to look at a contoller as a character that can lockdown enemies and debuff the bejeebus out of them while buffing your team. You control the battlefield. Sure it's less sexy as doing uber damage and laying enemies to waste; but even without lots of damage it can feel very very powerful.
But if you a bent on a controller and grav, then you probably want to look at Grav/Kin or Grav/Storm for damage output and maybe Grav/Rad, TA or Time for safety/control. -
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Quote:I totally agree......but we have to know the mayor's a control freak!!!Originally Posted by Frostbiter
A sheriff's deputy would have more reason to be in authority over a accident/crime scene than a civilian mayor.
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Except I didn't use misinformation. Why would a newly deputized member of the police department be so intimately involved in a mineshaft rescue when the fire department, the sheriff himself and safety workers are standing around?
I initially didn't have time for a prolonged breakdown of the episode so my post was short.
I'm plenty lightened up, my skin is of a good thickness. That said, I won't be a push over when insulted. -
Quote:Jeez, I have no idea what I've done to deserve that kind of snark?Originally Posted by Clouded
You said...
Which was not true. My point was that you weren't paying attention and then to try to blame poor writing for your poor attention span.
My feeble little brain does in fact remember the Mayor bossing her around. Won't deny it. Not my point, but also heavy handed and poor writing. Why would a mayor call the shots during a rescue like that. There are experts for things like that, yet they don't seem to exist in Storybrook. We get it, she's a control freak.
The mayor yells at Emma that she is making it worse. To which Emma says "I am trying to save him".
Emma determines they are all clear when the explosives are rigged. And the mayor tells them to "Blow it". Not an explosives expert either one of them. It was after they almost blew them both up that they realize that drilling or using a dog may be more prudent. Emma's the more qualified to go down the shaft because the mayor has been behind a desk for 10 years. Again, not a firefighter or even the sherrif the shaft was plenty big? Why is everyone on the surface wearing a helmet and not the person being lowered down the mine shaft? Meanwhile Mr. Sherrifman says nothing but lets the battle royale continue between Henry's two moms.Why would the police or mayor run the rescue with the fire department there?
But if you think that scene was sharply written, then we'll have to agree to disagree. But the one thing I won't do is question your intelligence or brainpower. I said the writing was bad, and I stand behind it. I said nothing about the people who enjoy it so you shouldn't treat it as an insult to you in any way. -
Quote:Not sure I see your point? Is that supposed to make the writing better or worse?Originally Posted by Clouded
I remember the mayor barking out orders to both Emma and the sheriff. Did you forgot that part?
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And why is the newly deputized former private investigator with zero expertise in anything regarding the situation calling the shots? Meanwhile the Mayor is mustache-twirling telling her to go 'secure the perimeter' to keep her in her place. muahahaha?
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OUAT is slipping a bit for me. Henry is getting more annoying than convincing. The Mayor's performance and dialogue varies from good to over over over melodramatic (and not in the good way). The real world situations are less realistic than the fantasy world (and not in a good way). The 'lets blow a hole in the mineshaft' scene is an example of that. I like the concept but I think the execution is lacking.
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Quote:She had a huge bite mark on her left neck and a big blood stain on her shoulder.Originally Posted by Frosty_Femme
I'm just going to say it. Everyone is infected and Zombie Sophia is the proof. Granted they didn't show every inch of her body, but where were the bites? If she was attacked by a zombie, why didn't it eat more of her before she turned? We've seen what they do. They rip you apart. She wasn't ripped apart. She was fully intact from what I saw. Just...dead. So, she must not have been attacked. Which means she died from something else. Disease? Exposure? Starvation? Then she came back. Everyone is already infected. And that's what Dr. Jenner told Rick at the CDC.
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Quote:Oh there have been times I've wanted to swat you with a newspaper, but I held back.Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang
Well I appreciate you not jumping my **** just because I throw out criticisms. Some boards are pretty bad for that.
And to my shame I haven't watched this season of Dexter. We haven't had Showtime consistently since I'm not the one paying for the plan here and they keep switching it up.
I much prefer civility over typical internet flame wars. Life's too short.
Well shoot, was interested in your take on this season of Dexter. Everyone I know is a season behind or more and I haven't really heard anyone elses feelings about this season. I'm lukewarm to it. -
Foamy, I always find your opinions interesting even when we differ (which is often, I know).
Breaking away on a bit of a tangent I kind of wonder what you think about this season of Dexter (given your avatar). -
Quote:They haven't really failed at anything. They only gave that fact as a tid bit of trivia, not that they were trying to convey that in the scene we saw. And I'll point out as has been pointed out already, the scene really isn't over. We just have to wait until Feb to see.Originally Posted by Dark One
*shrug*
If they have to explain it in an after-show, then the show failed in that regard. There was no indication in the show which zombie was his wife or stepson. Hence, my belief that it would've been someone special to Herschel being the last one out. I was getting ready for Herschel to run up in front of the shooters trying to "protect" the person and then possibly getting bit.
Someone could've thrown him out of the way, shot the zombie, he gets mad, grabs a gun and puts it to Rick's head. -
Quote:Herschels wife was the one that had her mouth/cheek blown off.Originally Posted by Dark One
I thought it might've been Herschel's wife and step-son that were coming out rather than Sophia.
(per Talking Dead) -
The point of that scene wasn't to make the argument to members of Rick's group. They pretty much agree already. It was making a point to Herschel and the ironic twist of Sophia being among them drove the point even further. The mother didn't just cry because her daughter was shot, she was already crying because she saw her daughter was already dead.
I know a lot is said about Herschel and his faith, which obviously does play a part in his philosophy, but I see him more simply in denial. Denial for what has happened to friends and family and denial to what is going on in the rest of the world. His faith is merely his excuse or crutch for denying the obvious. There is also an irony to him being a vet, a profession that has always dealt easily with the idea of euthanasia. He's probably put down his fair share of rabid dogs in his day, but can't bring himself to realize that the people affected by the ZA are really no different: a hopeless cause. And while he can use the bible as his reasoning, I think it's really that he just can't say goodbye and make the hard choice. -
Going to break off a little tangent here. (But I loved the episode)
So Sunday nights are getting to be my cluttered night of TV watching: The Walking Dead, Dexter, OUAT, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire etc etc etc. Dexter and Walking Dead are both on at the same time (8 CST). I DVR the Walking Dead because it has commercials and Dexter doesn't, so I can just fastforward through them and don't have to worry about breaks during Dexter. I watch Dexter live, then just kind of flip around channels after because I'm about to log into CoH for an hour or so and I'll watch the Walking Dead later (around 11 CST). My phone is on the end table, so I decide to check (around 9:15) and see what's going on with Facebook. Then I see this post from someone I don't even really remember from like junior high or something: "OMG the Walking Dead fans....Sophia was in the barn!!!!" One line, too short to avert my eyes before I read something spoilery. ARG!!!
Uh yeah, totally spoiled it for me. The episode was still powerful, but lacked the punch because I was waiting for it to happen. Don't know if I would have been shocked or not. I'll never know. So thank you, to whoever you are from junior high for @!%#$ing up my evening. -
But I'll just add:
Neither defense or resistance (from epic shields and bonuses) is more important than the tools given to a controller in their primary and secondary.
A properly played controller has more than ample mitigation from its primary and secondary. As such I feel it is of most importance to enhance that before going for D/R bonuses. This is achieved through recharge, +recovery and +end. Recharge to keep better controls available more often and recovery/end so you can continue controlling and buff/debuffing. An understanding of how your powers work and on who and proper aggro management can make it where an epic shield is really just "extra".
This isn't an anti softcapping post, just a suggestion that other more important bases are covered. You are a controller afterall, your job is to control things and supply support through buff/debuffs. And your true strength and value come from that. It doesn't come from not getting hit. Your control and debuffs should be doing that anyway.
Yes I realize there are times where you can have your cake and eat it too and I'm not saying that softcapping is a 'bad thing'. There are times where its easy to achieve (/FF or stacking of resistance in /Sonic, etc.) and your primary goals are still easily done. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just stating it's a nice trick, but far from necessary for proper controller play.