MinMin

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Nice vids, I just wanted to know how you manage to not get hit often or how you kept her held for so long. This must be a perma-dom only thing right???

[/ QUOTE ]

If you have enough recharge, you can hold AV's through the PToD.

[/ QUOTE ]
You also need to have a really fast animating ST Hold (like Mind/ or Fire/). Beyond a certain point that becomes a factor.

[ QUOTE ]
So I’m thinking about making a Dominator to team with a Bot/Pain MM and I can't decide on Ice/Psy or Earth/Psy. Earth and Ice are so similar I don't know which one to go with.


[/ QUOTE ]
I have played an Ice/Fire to 40 and an Earth/Psi to 41 and Ice/Psi to the mid-teens (didn't like the concept so she got deleted).

Earth really isn't more than superficially similar to Ice. Earthquake and Ice Slick are certainly comparable, but the similarity ends there. Earth gets two more very good AoE Control effects (Stalagmites, Volcanic Gasses). Ice gets Shiver and Arctic Air, which while ok, just aren't in the same league.

The differences are very noticable in gameplay. An Ice Dom always seems to attract aggro to some extent, making the Medicine Pool quite useful, but my Earth Dom very rarely has to deal with aggro issues at all. Additionally, Jack Frost is far inferior to Animate Stone.

Well, historically speaking, one of the trouble areas for Dominators is the 10-22 run. I'm thinking one good test would be to try a Dominator from 10 through as far as you can get towards 22, but staying away from the obvious crutches like really large teams or PL-like lackeying. It would be worthwhile seeing if there is both a qualitative and quantative difference from as it is currently.

I would also recommend a few arcs in the 40s. With the preponderance of mezzing foes, heavily damage resistant foes and AVs it's a good region to assess performance.

Personally speaking, one of my measures of a successful character is the ability to solo Silver Mantis as an EB in the "Expel Arachnos from the Circle base" mission from Crash Cage, usually at 22, 23 or 24. I can do it with most of my non-Psi Doms at Villainous difficulty, but I normally run a bit higher than that during my 20s, so I'd like to be able to do it at +1. As far as I remember I've only been able to do that with one of my Doms.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Castle has stated that the damage buff was only one of the upcoming changes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, but If I remember correctly, he said the buff to base damage was the major change.

[/ QUOTE ]
And besides, do you really think he would plan on giving us both a major buff and a major drawback and then only tell us about the buff?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I disagree with most of this entire thread. I have a grav/energy & love him.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's not that the set is unplayable; it's that every other set outperforms it and significantly enough such that Energy Assault stands out as a low performer in comparison.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ever tried thorns?


[/ QUOTE ]
I'm no fan of Thorns either, but even with its various issues it is still middle of the road damage-wise, has both decent single target and AoE damage and a consistently useful secondary effect.

Damage-wise it compares favourably against every set except for Elec and Fire (and Psi after 39), although even then it out performs Elec in AoE ability.

[ QUOTE ]
I disagree with most of this entire thread. I have a grav/energy & love him.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's not that the set is unplayable; it's that every other set outperforms it and significantly enough such that Energy Assault stands out as a low performer in comparison.

[ QUOTE ]
I don't see a sonic assault ever happening.
Sonic melee attacks don't really make sense...
And there's so many better assault options that would happen first.


[/ QUOTE ]
That being said, you could go for a more ranged Primary in the vein of Fiery Assault. For melee purposes, Hand Clap would be thematic and one melee attack would be all you'd really need.

Is it worth adding to your list of deficiencies that the animations are quite slow in comparison to most of the other sets?

[ QUOTE ]
Another breach of forum rules.

[/ QUOTE ]
I must be slow today, it took me all of 30 seconds to work out what you meant by that

Name: S.I.N.I.S.T.E.R

Concept: We are the premier Villain Group for players in the Australasian time zones (UTC+8:00 => UTC +12:00). We've been active since CoV launch when the various Australian hero SGs nominated to form a single VG for City of Villains.

RP: Not a primarily RP-oriented group, but we have plenty of RPers in the group as well as several characters specifically created to be part of VG RP teams.

PvP: We aren't a PvP group although we do have some members who enjoy it as well as a raid capable base. We have done base raids in the past as part of our regular weekly event night.

Activity: We're an active VG, certainly by the standards of groups operating in our timezone. Our weekly event night regularly raises enough players to do 2-3 Strike Forces at the same time.

Requirements to Join: Be nice, be considerate, have a sense of humour and don't be a PITA. By all means follow our Rules and Regulations (available on our web site), but ultimately they just boil down to that. Before you join though, best assess how realistic it is for you to play in the Aussie timezones on a regular basis. The main reason a lot of us are here is that it's too difficult for us to play regularly with people in the US; that goes both ways.

Leadership: @Lili and @Min Min

In-game Contacts: If you want to /tell us or in-game email us, use the globals above. If you want a VG invite, then a shout out on the Australia global channel during our peak hours should get you someone with invite privileges.

Out-of-game Contacts: You can PM MinMin or Liliaceae on these forums, or you can drop us a message on our web site http://sinister.wikidot.com or the shared Australasian SG/VG forums here.

Coalitions: We have coalitions with various VGs that also play during out time period.

Other Details:<ul type="square">[*] The weekly event night is on Mondays and we usually do a Strike Force or three, but we've also done badge hunting nights, RP nights, base raid nights and a couple of times we've done a all-the-mayhems in a single night thing.[*]The main Australasian hero group on Justice is the Defenders of the Southern Cross, and we have many shared members with them.[*] We have a fantastic base with all the mod cons, including the obligatory teleporter pads, well delineated inspiration bins, plenty of enhancement storage and a skilled base designer who really cares about the aesthetics and usability of it.[*] We have a wide range of very experienced players who are extremely ready to answer questions about the game, various ATs and powersets, the markets, inventions etc.[*] Have fun! It's a game![/list]

That's why it's a good idea to bring at least one Dominator and preferably two. Locks down those boss turrets really well.

Actually Control+Printscreen.

The pics will be in C:/City of Heroes/Screenshots (or something close to that).

And there's a variety of image hosting sites out there.

You've got me really curious now. Why?

That's my all-time favourite SF.

Five rare maps plus a unique one. A variety of bad guys. A challenging final mission. An AV you don't get anywhere else in the game, even though he's been part of the CoH story since day one.

I love the gameplay when you finally get on top of the platform and there are turrets and skyraiders everywhere. Things go berserk and you get the sense of a small group shoulder to shoulder with the whole world coming down on top of them.

And then Duray turns up. And the action turns up a notch.

My VG does this on a semi-regular basis (every month or two), and it usually takes us just over 2 hours to do and it's usually a very popular SF.

Actually, I can't recall the last time I took a group with a "healer" on it. Dominators, however, are near mandatory. I've only ever done it without at least one Dom on the team once and the Boss Turrets made the whole thing a misery.

Just did this SF again last night and I resolved to get some good (well, as good as my video card is going to get) screenshots of the burning oil tanker off to the side of the ship in the final mission.

I was pretty happy at how they turned out so I thought I'd share:

Back towards the fire during daylight

From above during daylight

From above at night

Fire from the side at night

Something very minor to add to the Fiery Assault issues:

The delayed explosion sound effect for Incinerate. It's really annoying and a poor auditory cue as it makes you do a double take to see if you're being ambushed, particularly if the target is already defeated.

[ QUOTE ]
Strangler has multiple disadvantages when compared to the other single target holds, its targets need to be grounded, it has the longest activation time, and unlike the other long-activating holds does not have a secondary effect This is inappropriate for a power that is so critical to the control sets, especially against the toughest enemies.


[/ QUOTE ]
I like this wording.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Another issue was fixed in the recent patch, too bad it was a very obscure one.

[ QUOTE ]
Carrion Creepers continues to generate damage ticks on defeated enemies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks to Min Min for noticing it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, I'm still not convinced that this is the case. I thought it might have been fixed, but I could swear that I saw it still happening later on that night.

[/ QUOTE ]
I did test it independently. Do you want to make yourself certain?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I've made myself certain. It's definitely not fixed.

A few more notes, then I'm done.
<ul type="square">[*]You might want to mention the -Def in the Fly Trap's attacks. When you look at the figures, it's quite nice. "Worth enhancing" level of nice.[*] Also, regarding Frost Breath, it gets an accuracy bonus (1.2) and is also the first attack that gets a good slow secondary effect (in this case, -20% to recharge/movement for 10 seconds. It's a shame about its long animation, but it's still a good power.[*] You compare Chilling Embrace with the Tank and Blaster version. Don't do that. Turns out they're a completely different power. The Hero version gets an AoE damage debuff and a slow effect. Our version just gets a slow effect, but it's a MASSIVE slow effect. And despite the anti-synergy between this and Seeds, it can be part of the solution of keeping you alive in melee range of fairly tough foes. After all, on a decent sized team, you're not going to hit everyone with Seeds. I'm not saying it's a must-have, but I will say that it's not an automatic "no", particularly if you ever PvP.[*] Greater Ice Sword does indeed only do 20% more damage, but your phrasing is a little off. The increase in recharge and endurance use is also 20%, so it is proportionate. But it should also be pointed out that it has an accuracy bonus (1.2 again), twice the slow effect of the other ice swords (and in fact, the same as Frost Breath) and is a 66% PvP toggle dropper.[/list]Hope that helps! Still a really well written guide.

[ QUOTE ]
*Warning: Not a Remedy for All Situations. Know your Hero Infestation!
Throughout COV, there are enemies resistant to Confuse, either with inherent abilities that shorten its duration, or requiring two doses to succumb to its effects. These enemies are almost always Lieutenants, such as Anathema or Fortunatas (two applications); Longbow Nullifiers (shorter duration), or Wardens (who reduce the duration on the troops around them, thanks to inherent Leadership powers, curses be upon them). It’s also surprisingly hard to confuse Rikti Drones (insane defense) and Nemesis Army soldiers, as the latter activate Vengeance on the death of a comrade, which is a pain in the flora. Learn which foes you’ll need to take additional measures with.


[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, couple of things wrong here.

1. It's not the Vengeance that's the problem with Nemesis. They are in fact innately resistant to Confuse. Even the Automatons and Warhulks. You can Confuse them with Domination up though.

2. The Longbow problem is with Longbow Officers not Wardens. And it doesn't just lower the duration, it grants mag resistance. Again, you can push through this with Domination up, but they're still a very unpleasant surprise.

3. Fortunatas are in fact weak to Confuse. Sure, they're hard to hit (they have a high defense), but once hit can be confused straight off the bat. In fact, Confuse is the only reliable mez effect that works on Fortunatas and Night Widows.

4. I think you'll find Anathemas confuse quite well. I also have not noticed shorter durations on Longbow Nullifiers. The only one I think you missed are Rularuu, most of which have some level of resistance to Confusion.

[ QUOTE ]
<ul type="square">[*]Entangle[/list]A single-target immobilize with a minimal DoT: you’re not going to get a lot of mileage out of this one. Early on (pre-12), sometimes keeping an enemy out of melee range is useful enough to justify using this power. It has a fairly quick activation and may have some form of accuracy bonus, since it hits reliably – but let’s face it, immobilize is never going to have its poster above someone’s bed.


[/ QUOTE ]
Entangle does indeed have an accuracy bonus. Like Strangler it has a base accuracy of 1.2.

I think you're underselling this power.

1. It has a base magnitude of 4, which means it will hold Bosses and (most) AVs with a single application. That's huge.

2. It is -Fly. I have used it to drop Colonel Duray on the Silver Mantis SF from near the flight ceiling to the water so this next bit is completely wrong unless there's been a bug introduced recently. (And I doubt that, I use Entangle on my L50 Plant/Ice all the time).
[ QUOTE ]
Now, unlike Strangler, Entangle has a –Fly component. Hooray? Well, not so much. Unlike Chillblain or Ring of Fire, you don’t get to drop that Longbow Eagle out of the sky because if the target is too high off the ground, the power has no effect. –Fly? Go figure.

[/ QUOTE ]

3. Still on the -Fly - Plant/Ice needs a -Fly, simply because of Stangler's limitations. For several reasons this is far superior to Roots (your other -Fly).

4. It's damage is comparable with your first tier attack. It is conceivable that some Doms could take it and slot it for damage (not Plant/Ice though, we already have too many good powers early).

5. Finally, if you happen to choose Mako as a Patron, Water Spout is significantly more effective if you have Immob powers available to you.

Enjoying the guide, it's well written.

[ QUOTE ]
I defy you to disagree with this one!

[ QUOTE ]
Bonfire animation is lame. (Liliaceae June 17th)

[/ QUOTE ]

All I need is one small voice of agreement. If I change it to "weaksauce" will that garner more support? You know, this might be one of the reasons for its initial unpopularity. A giant pile of burning skulls and bones would have people seething with jealousy!

[/ QUOTE ]
Just to be clear: the cast animation is kind of cool (if a bit long). It's the animation of the placed bonfire that looks poor. The fire graphic you see on burning buildings looks so much better.

[ QUOTE ]
Here's the current wording:

The AoE holds are very disappointing, their short durations, poor accuracy and long recharge mean that they are barely useful unslotted, and at best situationally useful at the cost of 4 or 5 slots.

Here's the proposed new wording:

The AoE holds are very disappointing. They cannot be used in every fight, due to their long recharge times. Since most spawns throughout a mission are of very similar difficulty and make-up, this means that the team must be able to deal with a regular spawn without the benefit of the AoE hold, which makes it an emergency power. However, emergencies are almost always in the form of an additional spawn, and the max targets of 10 means that the AoE hold cannot deal with that for more than a medium sized team. Finally, the poor duration and accuracy mean that they need to be 5 or 6 slotted to even perform this mediocre function. The only other use for them is stacking mag in order to hold bosses in a small team, but Domination is a far superior tool for this job.

[/ QUOTE ]

My problem with your new wording is the first sentence, specifically "They cannot be used in every fight".

If I were a Dev, I'd stop right there and think "Yeah, we know. We made it that way. Next issue."

Maybe a better approach would be accentuating the triple nerf (bad Acc, short duration, long recharge) as being the problem. Long recharge, but a reasonable duration would be better, or reasoable recharge and short duration, or, at worst, non-penalised accuracy.

[ QUOTE ]
Another issue was fixed in the recent patch, too bad it was a very obscure one.

[ QUOTE ]
Carrion Creepers continues to generate damage ticks on defeated enemies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks to Min Min for noticing it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, I'm still not convinced that this is the case. I thought it might have been fixed, but I could swear that I saw it still happening later on that night.

[ QUOTE ]
While it's a nitpick for an otherwise great set, is it worth noting that in addition to the listed "tends to get in the way" complaint for Plant Control's Spirit Tree, the tree's +regen effect is so small as to be underpowered?

[/ QUOTE ]
It's identical to Triage Beacon in terms of regen bonus, and that seems to get a fair bit of use for MMs. (Still won't make me pick it up on my Plant Dom though ... it's immobile ... eww!