MrTweety

In my experience it can team amazingly well or shockingly poor. Those that can use it well can do wonders with it and can be a real asset, those that can't can quite often be a menace to a team.

It's amazing solo, though I've only played the defender (storm/ice) and controller (fire/storm) versions, but I can only imagine how good it could be on a corruptor. I had a blast for sure and it was very safe and I don't know many people who've played stormies that don't love them.

I would go with Fire or Ice.

I'm not sure they do and I don't think we're talking about using an ST chain on everything, I know I'm certainly not. I use my AoE's to the fullest and only use ST's in those situations to clear up stragglers.

But there are times, especially against tough bosses, EB's and AV's that you need a good and effiecient ST chain. Running all those toggles and having to rely on too many AoE's for damage is going to suck that blue bar dry and see you dead in short time. It's those times you really need that ST chain.

I imagine I will spec into Flares later on. Not sure if I can get away with dropping Firebreath later or Inferno.

I actually find the bigger problem with fire, isn't the seemless attacks, but being disciplined enough to not attack again at the end of a cycle and let the dots do their job. I'm sure I waste a lot more endurance than necessary by using an extra attack when not necessary.

Haven't found it necessary so far .. by the time I've done Blast / Blaze / Fireball, Blast is pretty much up and ready to use again .. there really isn't much I'd be using ST attacks on that will survive more than 3-4 hits and if they do then I have them standing under RoF anyway .. and most of the time I find ST attacks are only used on stragglers that are lingering after ripping through a mob.

It was a bit of a struggle until lv18 though, but once I got Blaze I found Blast/Blaze/Ball more than enough for a decent attack chain.

I found I couldn't fit both flares and firebreath in my build and I get much more mileage out of firebreath atm, due to fire's aoe goodness. Maybe as I level more I will replace firebreath with flares, but by that time I should have some +rchg slotted so it will be even less necessary I'm sure.

I'm quite new to corruptors and especially Fire/ but this is what I've found ..

ST: FireBlast/Blaze/(Fireball if needed)/FireBlast - yeah I use Fireball for ST as I never took flares

AOE: FireBreath/Fireball/RoF - pretty much everything is dead, except the odd Boss or Lt, for which I just FireBlast/Ball it down.

What I've noticed and I can't remember where I read it too, is to make sure you end the cycle with the lower damage attack. I used to finish with Blaze on ST and I used to RoF/Breath/Ball on AoE, but I found I used to waste endurance/damage in doing so. Because of the wonders of scourge, once the enemy is under 1/2 damage (and especially when 1/4 or under) you're better off using those lower damage attacks like Blast, Flares, RoF.

I haven't taken my corruptor blue-side yet, but don't corruptors get the defender epic's blue-side? and I wasn't aware fire or ice was an option for defenders or do corruptors get blaster epics too?

Whatever options are available, I wouldn't pick Mace (or Ice if is availabe) as Dark/Dark will completely floor the enemies tohit anyway, so you don't really need the extra defence from the shield.

Assuming Fire isn't an option (if it is then take Fire), I would probably go with Dark or Electric.

Well.. cooking on gas now! well, maybe more of a frosty mist but you get the idea

The wall is perhaps over for now. Getting past 28 was hard work, but she seems to of turned a corner now and things are looking up somewhat. On hitting 30 I've slotted some IO's, so got a small amount of extra recharge, improved damage in my ST blasts and overall much better endurance management. Things are looking rosie again.

This is the current lv30 build ..

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Aurora Darque: Level 48 Magic Corruptor
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Dark Miasma
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15)
Level 1: Twilight Grasp -- Acc(A), Acc(7)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15)
Level 4: Tar Patch -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(9)
Level 6: Darkest Night -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(7)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(9)
Level 10: Hover -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A)
Level 12: Ice Storm -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13)
Level 14: Fly -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 16: Shadow Fall -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), EndRdx(17), EndRdx(27)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Acc(A), EndRdx(19), Dmg(19)
Level 20: Fearsome Stare -- Acc(A), Acc(21), RechRdx(21)
Level 22: Freeze Ray -- Acc(A), Acc(23), Hold(23)
Level 24: Frost Breath -- Acc(A), EndRdx(25), Dmg(25)
Level 26: Howling Twilight -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(27)
Level 28: Petrifying Gaze -- Acc(A), Acc(29), Hold(29)
Level 30: Aim -- RechRdx(A)
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Scourge
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(13), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(17)

Hover/Fly is working out ok. No extra drain on endurance, it's just not being use to it and my lack of control that makes it awkward.

Is there an ideal amount of recharge to aim for? or just as much as I can?

Blizzard? Is this a must have power with tar patch? I don't really like nukes much, but that probably stems from playing a lot of defenders, but I'm tempted to take it especially with the boost Tar Patch would give to it. What worries me though, is all the toggles and defences dropping and leaving me extra vulnerable.

Leadership - is it worth taking maneuvers for the extra def? or assault for the extra damage?

Glad I listened to you guys though, starting to enjoy her again

Not sure why you're having such difficulties. While it can be difficult at times, /Dark is one of the safest sets out there.

I don't know what you know and don't know, so apologies up front if I tell you things you already know.

From lv12 you can change all your enhancements to DO's (Dual Origins), which are roughly double the power of the training ones you get in Nova. So, apart from any IO's you've made, I'd get all of them replaced as a priority. You can do the same at lv22, when you can get SO's (Single Origins), when you move to primal earth.

Slot all attacks with 1 acc 1 end and then damage to suit, normally I add 2-3 dmg 0-1 rchg.

Slot 2-3 endurance modifications in Stamina.

Slot 2-3 endurance reductions in Darkest Night.

Slot 2 recharge in Tar Patch.

Slot 2 acc in Twilight Grasp.

Once you have Darkest Night on anything, you pretty much shouldn't be getting killed, as it will neuter them. Especially when you lay Tar Patch, as that will slow them and up your damage too. Then just run round lots and shoot and run away if need be. I usually cast DN on the back/middle one of the mob, then cast Tar Patch between me and the mob to prevent them getting to me, then change target to make sure I'm not killing the one with DN on, then open fire on them.

Your biggest issue will be endurance, which I learnt painfully, so if you take care of that you should be ok.

Hover is good as mentioned, or Combat Jumping as this allows great maneuverability and protects from immobilization. But either works. As I recall, most of Praetoria has pretty high ceilings so Hover should work very well there.

When you can, take Shadowfall. It gives a small def bonus, but also a nice resistance to energy based damage which you will come across a fair bit. Mostly it's handy for stealthing through zones and around missions. Some missions that would otherwise be a drag, you can ghost to the end of the mission and just take out the boss or complete the objective. Which, when going through a tough patch, can give you a small sense of progression.

Superspeed is the other consideration for a travel power. It stacks with Shadowfall to give invis level stealth which is very nice. You'd want hasten anyway, so it's a reasonable choice to go for. If you go with SS, then take Combat Jumping for some vertical movement.

At lv20 it will all change dramatically when you get the oh so awesome Fearsome Stare. So make sure you grab this at 20. It is a game changing power.

You mentioned single reds. I'm wondering if by this you are referring to the EB's (Elite Bosses) you find in some of the Praetorian arcs. The success of these is very much dependant on what set you play. My elec/therm struggled terribly against them. My Ice/Dark did very well and had them neutered so much she could take them out in her own time. My Fire/Rad owned them completely.

Open all presents you see, as mentioned. Sell the canes for inf, but more importantly, you will occassionally find some "Build Snow Beast" temporary powers which you could use when you face the tough EB's as it will give the boss something to focus on as you cut it to pieces.

If you're having trouble solo, get teamed up. /Dark really shines on a team and the xp boost will get you to 20 in no time and then the fun can really start.

This is worth checking out, it's Silas' guide to corruptors and he has a good section on Dark Miasma, of which his happens to be a Fire/Dark ..

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=196722

.. also, if you do a search on Fire/Dark, one of the threads has his i19 Fire/Dark build which I'd recommend looking at. It's quite a recent thread, just can't remember which one off-hand.

This is what I'm considering respec'ing into (only a lv28 build)..

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Aurora Darque: Level 48 Magic Corruptor
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Dark Miasma
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(9), EndRdx(17)
Level 1: Twilight Grasp -- Acc(A), Acc(7)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(9), EndRdx(17)
Level 4: Tar Patch -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(11)
Level 6: Darkest Night -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(7), EndRdx(15)
Level 8: Freeze Ray -- Acc(A)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(11)
Level 12: Ice Storm -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(21)
Level 16: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Acc(A), EndRdx(19), Dmg(19), Dmg(27)
Level 20: Fearsome Stare -- Acc(A), Acc(21), RechRdx(25), ToHitDeb(27)
Level 22: Shadow Fall -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(23), EndRdx(23)
Level 24: Aim -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(25)
Level 26: [Empty]
Level 28: Petrifying Gaze -- Acc(A)
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Scourge
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(13), P'Shift-End%(15)

Used to have SS as well, but dropped that and popped a stealth IO in sprint instead, so I have a spare power pick for lv26.

What would be most useful for the 30's? FrostBreath, Maneuvers or maybe Howling?

At lv29 I will probably slot a Numina +rchg/+rcvry, is it worth putting an extra slot in stamina?

Hopefully the build is looking a little more endurance friendly and the damage looks ok. is there anything obvious I'm missing or anything that might help me in the short/lonf term?

EDIT: I was considering spec'ing into hover/fly instead of cj/sj, but not sure if the extra endurance (though small) of hover might be too much again.

Thanks again for all the help and it really is helping and I think you've convinced me to persevere as I'd like her to get her awesomeness back

Thank you both, that's great advice.

I try and turn off SF during fights anyway, coz of the massive drain.

DN I only really need to use on Bosses and EB's and it's against EB's I find the biggest issues, so I will go with 3 EndRecs as recommended.

Will replace the End% with an EndMod in Stamina too. Is it worth 4-slotting stamina and using then End% proc too?

It's BIB I have and not BFR, also have Petrifying but don't find that very good.

I don't have FrostBreath, but I'm thinking of getting it for the extra damage. I know it will cost endurance, but the increased damage might help me in the long run.

Thanks again.

Darkest Night - 2 EndRec
Shadow Fall - 2 EndRec
Ice Bolt - 1 Acc 2 Dmg 1 Hold% 1 Dmg% 1 EndRec
Ice Blast - 1 Acc 3 Dmg 1 Rchg 1 EndRec

Hmmm.. I noticed Freeze Ray and BIB have no EndRec in them, so that might help a smidgen.

Tar Patch and Ice Storm both have 2 Rchg .. is it worth slotting an EndRec in these? though they don't seem to be the main culprits or maybe I should add some damage or procs to them to help things along, especially in these early levels?

Might look at some frankenslotting some sets to get some recovery bonuses too and I guess if I persevere for a couple more days then I could slot a Numina +regen/+recovery too.

Yeah, I would definitely choose Dark. especially after everything you guys have said about it.

Doh.. didn't notice RI took an achilles.. have one of them lying around

Just been having fun with EB's .. I so love LR, watching an EB crawl after you, with RI neutering it, as RoF scourges it to death is a beautiful sight

I seem to of hit a brickwall with my Ice/Dark .. she seemed to go from awesome in the low levels to really struggling as she closes in on 30, to the point where she feels decidedly weak.

I don't know if it's just me and something I'm doing wrong, or whether it's an issue with Ice/ or /Dark in general and wonder if she will actually regain her awesomeness if I persevere with the levelling.

Granted there's loads of mitigation, but in CoV there's often EB's to fight. Put up DN, lay some AoE's, throw some blasts and bang, you're struggling for endurance and it's almost guaranteed DN will drop way before the EB is dead, which ultimately leads to your demise.

I have 1 End SO in every blast, 3 slotted stamina (2 Endmod 1 +end%), 1 miracle +recovery and it's still not enough.

My fire/rad has less mitigation, but fire has enough oomph to bring anything down before endurance actually runs out.

So are there any hints or tips as to things I could do? or is Ice/Dark always going to have this problem?

I'm at the point of parking her atm and stripping her of IO's to slot in my Fire/Rad .. but I don't want to scrap her altogether, though I'm almost at the point of doing so.

Should I persevere? Is it really worth it? or is there a better combination to go with Ice/ or /Dark?

Lingering Radiation - wow, an almost game changing power. it neuters a mob so well and with fires killing speed it doesn't even need a second application <3

But, what's the best way to slot it? Not that there's many options lol, but I'm thinking Curtails for the +rchg and +def, or do people just generally just slot it for Acc and leave it at defaults?

And Radiation Infection, slot it for -tohit? So something like a set of DarkWatchers?

Absolutely loving Fire/Rad and might even prove to be be my overall fav, but we'll see as time goes on. So far, it's awesome and getting better every level.

You're right about /Kin and I had a blast when I played it before. I guess the benefit of /Kin too, is that the lower damage of Elec/ doesn't matter as I should be able to hit the damage cap anyway, plus of course the sapping potential is great fun. I never found kins lack of mitigation such a big issue. As long as you could survive the alpha, then everything had so many damage, speed and endurance debuffs on them that you were pretty safe. Plus you could run away fast lol.

Hehe.. I like your attitude towards SB.

I've tried /Traps for a few levels and it does feel somewhat different to /Dev like everyone's said. Not sure I like it enough to play to 50 though. But, I'm sorely tempted to try it, just to see what everyone is raving so much about.

So I guess I better start reading up on some /Traps guides for some info, but does anyone have any hints/tips?

I'm guessing with FFG+Mace it's easy to slot for S/L, but should Ranged or Melee be aimed for too? or is +rchg the priority?

Triage Beacon? Is it any good? 150% regen sounds ok, but in practice how effective is it?

Finally, would I need both trip and time bomb? or either of them come to that?

Well, hopefully it will work out. If not I will return to Elec/Kin, but the enthusiasm for traps has certainly got me interested in trying it.

Thanks again for all the help.

Probably the most obvious thing to say, but .. Endurance! Endurance! Edurance!

I've been levelling several corruptors, and granted I've been mostly solo and I'm quite new to corruptors, but endurance issues have been my biggest problems and especially on my ice/dark.

It's been most prevalent in the 20's.. I found against most EB's that I could neuter their ability to hit me very easily, but having the endurance to last the fight (with DN on) was the thing that would get me killed more often that not. If you can apply enough -tohit without DN then it will be so much simpler.

Fire/Dark might be a lot better as you have far better damage output, plus there's two of you, with nicely matching sets I think, so it should be a lot easier.

Have to say I've become a huge fan of Fire/ and I can see my Fire/Rad becoming my main and my Ice/Dark being shelved for the time being. That's more a reflection on Ice/ than /Dark I think.

ok .. n00b question time .. lol.

I noticed you mentioned about bosses, so does the -tohit still work even if the mob is immune/resistant to fear?

Hmmm ..

I don't know about traps. I had a /dev blaster ages and ages and ages ago and I never really got on with it. That said, I've often faced mobs with what looks like traps and it seems pretty effective.

The toon is Resistance (like most praetorian toons), so /traps does seem to fit concept-wise too.

So how does /traps compare to /dev or are they two different beasts?

I'm still toying with the idea of /kin or /therm.. as they seem quite thematic and useful with elec/.

As to Elec itself. It feels quite weak when played, or did when I tried it before, so what's the best way to build a toon with it? Pick a damaging secondary? a defensive secondary to compensate for lack of damage? or make use of elec's draining ability.

On a side-note .. (not an Elle based toon) .. how is Elec/Dark? I have a toon called Aurora Darque. I had initially chosen Ice/ as it suited Aurora, but on thinking about it and getting my brain in gear, Aurora is actually the lights which woudl suit Elec/ more.

Thanks again for all the help .. I am listening, or trying to!

Hmm.. an interesting idea and one I will bear in mind for the future.

As to FireBreath, I've given it a go and pushed Enervating back to the early 20's as I don't really have the endurance atm for another toggle. And I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by it and it's certainly cranked my dps up a notch

Thanks, that's some great advice.

I think I might try Fire Breath then, as I have room for it in the build and it might be overall more useful than flares and I guess my ST chain will feel stronger once I get Blaze anyway.

I agree totally about RoF and FireBall .. absolutely loving them

Is the chance of KD proc useful in RoF to help keep them in it?

On the /Rad side, are mutation / choking cloud / fallout, all skippable?

I will try and push defence as high as I can .. but on a fire/rad should this take preference over recharge? .. or should I be aiming for something like perma-AM as a priority?

Have to see I've been surprised by Fire/Rad. I thought I would feel very squishy/vulnerable, but I don't. I guess that's down to the killing speed of Fire

And thanks again, for the advice

My fire/rad is in the high teens atm, but I have a few questions about it, as it seems quite a tight build..

For ST attacks where needed, I tend to cycle through Fire Blast and Fire Ball as needed. I'm at the point of being able to pick Blaze, but it's range is pretty low, so would I be better off with Flares? or should I try to squeeze in Flares + Blaze?

I haven't taken Fire Breath, but I'm wondering if I should. I never liked it on my plant/fire dom and have shyed away from the breath on my ice/dark corr, but the damage might be useful, especially for getting RoF to scourge sooner. What's the general concensus on this?

I rarely take the snipe in any build, but I'm curious how useful it is on fire/rad.

Building for defence? /rad has a reasonable -tohit debuff, so should I still try to soft-cap def or aim for around 25-30%? .. and what kind of defence? S/L? Ranged? both?

Finally, the epic pool .. Mace seems most useful, primarily for the S/L defence, but also web envelope looks great for keeps mobs in RoF. Would this be the most practical? or should I take a resist shield to cover myself for when def does fail.

Thanks again and I know it's a lot of questions lately, but being busy and having fun with my corruptors

Thanks for all the advice

Hmmm.. I never noticed that about Soul/Dark before and that does make Dark look so much more attractive .. Atm, I can't see much need for a PPP pet, but would I be missing out on something if I went Dark instead of Soul?

Mace does look interesting though, the s/l defence is nice of course, but doesn't seem very essential on /dark. Mostly I'm wondering about mace for Web Envelope for the aoe immob, but with Tar Patch is this essential? or would it be encouraged to keep things locked within tarpatch/icestorm?

I currently have 2 corruptors, an Ice/Dark and a Fire/Rad, and I have to say I love them both. After spending years playing mostly defenders and doms, I've just recently found corruptors and finding them so much more fun and wish I'd of found them sooner.

I have a toon I've been trying to build for a while now. She's inspired by Elle off of Heroes, though she isn't meant to be her or a copy of her. So, some kind of elec based toon would be ideal.

I've tried Mind/Elec dom, Grav/Elec dom and Elec/Therm corr. None of which worked really well, but that might of been down to me expecting more from elec.

So, it's time to try again. My current thought is either Elec/ dom or Elec/ corr. As things stand atm, I'd rather have another corruptor.

But what secondary would work best with elec? Hopefully I will be teaming a fair bit, but I will solo a lot too.

/Therm seems the obvious choice, but seems quite a late bloomer. I'm also quite a lazy team player and don't want to spend my time shielding team members and I'm worried that going Therm that it will be expected of me. Yeah, I know that's what I'm meant to do, but my first 50 was a kin/ fender and the constant "sbplz!!" has put me off of sets that buff team mates directly like that.

But, I'm not adverse to trying /Therm again and the sapping potential seems a lot of fun. What's the best way to level one of these though? Slot for damage or draining? or try to balance the two?

/Kin is also an option. I always loved my kin fender, so I'm not adverse to trying one of these again. My fender was kin/nrg and I've never tried elec with kin, so don't know the best strategy for this either. Damage or sapping?

Finally, is there any other set that works well with Elec/ ?

Any other strategies or build advice would be appreciated. Not looking for complete builds, but any tips on must haves/skips would be appreciated and advice on whether to slot for damage or sapping for best affect.

Thanks in advance.