Mr_Grumpums

Quick question on this subject: How many slots would you put into the Auto defense powers like Agile and Lucky? I have 3 in each planned for my build right now, and I don't know if that's too many or not. I don't have Mids to give me the numbers on this Mac, so I've been mostly playing it by ear (My math-fu is weak, and I'm bad at putting in IO bonuses without a build to help me see what is or isn't too much or too little, etc.).

I HAD the build in Mids on my old PC, but its hard drive melted due to a bad fan that didn't oscillate fast enough, but made enough noise for me to think it was still working. >_<

Here's a layout of my build, power-wise:

(Using Ninja Run as Travel Power)
Lv 1 - Beheader
Lv 1 - Focused Fighting
Lv 2 - Gash
Lv 4 - Focused Senses
Lv 6 - Hurdle
Lv 8 - Swoop
Lv 10 - Practiced Brawler
Lv 12 - Agile
Lv 14 - Health
Lv 16 - Dodge
Lv 18 - Boxing
Lv 20 - Stamina
Lv 22 - Evasion
Lv 24 - Tough
Lv 26 - Cleave
Lv 28 - Weave
Lv 30 - Whirling Axe
Lv 32 - Pendulum
Lv 35 - Quickness
Lv 38 - Lucky
Lv 41 - Hasten
Lv 44 - Build up
Lv 47 - Elude
Lv 49 - Super Speed, Taunt, or Sprint. Haven't decided yet.

The character is currently at lv 44.

Hi there! I'm looking to make an Assault Rifle character for either a Blaster, Defender, or Corrupter, and I was wondering what you think the best combination is.

Sonic/AR Defender?
AR/Dark Corr?
AR/Ice Blaster?
AR/Energy Blaster?
AR/Kinetics Corr?
Traps/AR Defender?


I just don't know!

This thread was relevant to my interests. I was just thinking about making an Assault Rifle character. Thanks!

The powers I'd say that you HAVE to take are Swipe, Slash, Spin, Follow Up, Focus, your resistance toggles, Lightning Field, Energize, Power Sink, Lightning Reflexes, and Grounded.

Eviscerate and Shockwave are personally recommended, but I can see why some people would want to go without them because of Eviscerate's long animation and Shockwave's Knockback. Squeeze in Hasten if you can to keep Energize and Spin recharging as fast as possible. I personally like Power Surge because it lasts a good long time and you can instantly recover your lost endurance with a Blue Inspiration and Power Sink when you're near a mob.

As for powers you want to skip, Strike kind of sucks, since the whole set recharges fast and you don't need to worry about building Fury.

I like the Mu Epic with this set, in theory. Electrifying Fences could help mitigate the Knockback from Shockwave, and adding another Ranged attack or two might be fun. You could also pick the Fighting Pool and grab Tough, though I wouldn't get Weave unless you have some IO slotting plan for it. Electric Armor is a resistance set.

In terms of playing, try not to jump around too much while fighting. Grounded, the auto power that gives you your KB protection, only works when you're on the ground. It took me a little adjusting, since a lot of my other Melee toons have combat jumping.

I think that Claws/Elec is probably better as a Brute than a Scrapper. Fury's more steady damage buff does more for a build based on constant, quick recharging attacks than the occaisional Critical Hit.

I'm not bashing Scrappers. I love my DB/WP and Broadsword/Fire. I just think that Fury works better for Claws.

I grabbed Hasten, Lightning Reflexes, and threw in a couple of LoTG 7.5% recharge IOs that I picked up from merit hunting. I never have any problems. Also, my /SR defense rocks so hard that I don't NEED to constantly spam attacks in order to win. When my blue bar drops to about halfway, I just crank back on the throttle a little. I always have an overabundance of greens with enemies only having a 5% chance to hit me, so one or two shots aren't so terrifying.

Sonic/Mental/Elec. You'll have:
- Plenty of Cone attacks

- A Cone Sleep

- A Cone Knockback

- 3 ST ranged attacks

- Drain Psyche

- 2 PBAoE Stuns (one is the nuke)

- ST Stuns, a Confuse Aura (mostly good for keeping enemies from hitting you, rather than mezzing)

- THREE different types of damage (Energy, Smashing, and Psychic)

- Almost all of your attacks other than the ones from the Elec Epic will either have a -Res or a -Recharge debuff.

- Both Aim and Build Up, which I think you'll like.

You never run out of endurance unless you nuke because of Drain Psyche. The Cone Sleep is a huge boon to your survival, since it lets you take all of the minions and Lieutenants in a mob out of the fight and focus on one enemy at a time with your ST attacks. Like to herd? Cone KB! Lots of AoE to throw around, as well. My blaster has a 3 Cone attack chain to which I mix in the Cone Sleep and Cone KB when solo to take care of nearly anything without taking a punch. It's an extremely versatile, customizable Primary/Secondary/Epic combination.

Punks: Bacon, Sausage, and Eggs
Enforcers: Waffles and Pancakes
Bruiser: Ham

My brother likes his Mercs/Poison. He says that you really have to slot up Neurotoxic Breath and Paralytic Poison, as well as go for one of the holds in the Patron sets, to hold the big bads out of melee range.

Personally, I'd make a Mercs/Dark, Mercs/Storm, or Mercs/Pain.

Thanks for the opinions. I saw a Thugs/Pain MM listed by Psyrene, and that got me interested. What exactly would a Thugs/Pain bring in terms of damage and protection? I'm not very familiar with /Pain.

I love my Sonic/Mental. I have it specc'd for lots of AoE: 3 cones attacks, a cone sleep, a cone KB for herding, 2 PBAoE damage/stuns (though one of them is my nuke), plus Drain Psyche and World of Confusion. It also has a 3-shot ST attack chain, a nice ST Stun, and a melee spike in Mind Probe.

The -Res and -Recharge effects on the powers are pretty nice, too. The debuff isn't big enough to be the deciding factor against an AV, but it makes taking down bosses much easier. It's a fun character who can solo anything short of an AV with few problems if done right.

My Radiation/Energy is just pure damage, with a little bit of -Defense to make the damage more likely to hit.

Energy/Energy is what I consider to be the Jungian Blaster Archetype. It's got cool animations, good damage, and mitigation in the form of KB. Bing bang boom.

Hi there! I've just finished leveling a Stalker to 50 that might or might not be viable in PvP, and I'm on the verge of getting my just-because-it's-awesome Claws/Elec Brute to 50, as well. I'd like to plan in advance for my next toon to ensure that it'll be able to fight in PvP, even if it isn't the best.

Since I already have a melee toon that I can fight with in PvP (I took him into RV and Warburg last night and had a blast, though I lost plenty), I was wanting to make a ranged PvP villain. Either a Corrupter or a Dominator would be fine, but I'd like to make something that isn't utilizing any exploit which can be fixed, as well as avoid a Rad/Ice because I believe it'll eventually be nerfed somehow.

I suppose I could make a MM, too, but I have no idea how I could make a PvP MM.

Just from guessing and reading, I made a list of sorts, but please feel free to make your own suggestions.

- Ice/Ice Dom

- Archery/Traps Corr

- Mind/Energy Dom

- Bots/Poison MM

- Thugs/FF MM

...And that's all I can think of, really. Any thoughts?

I have a DM/Nin Stalker who is just about to ding 50 after a long, long, IRRITATINGLY long wait. Is it still a viable PvPer? If so, what powers should I try to acquire or avoid, and what manner of IO bonuses am I looking for?

I cranked a Triform Peacebringer up to level 26 before I made the mistake of rolling a Warshade on a lark. Now the Warshade is at level 30, and the Peacebringer has been sitting at level 26 for weeks.

I like it my Peacebringer, but I'm having trouble with its build because I have some unanswered questions:

- Is Light Form worth getting? If so, which ranged attacks, if any, should I pick?

- Should I dip into the Presence pool for additional support? Is it worth it?

- Is Glowing Touch worth getting by itself, or should I dip into the medicine pool in order to make best use of it?

For a while, I was working on a Storm/Ice corrupter. I stopped it because I got bored and didn't like the damage output. This looks like a better combo. You have stronger attacks AND Scourge along with those lovely Storm debuffs and pets.

Archery/Traps just SOUNDS like a Special Forces assassin.

Remember: The devs say that redraw has been fixed.

My experience as a Plant/TA is that you're primarily lockdown. Your damage output won't be as constant as a Fire/Kin because the imps are just too much. Oil slick Arrow, however, WILL be a lifesaver on teams.

I'd start by getting Roots, Seeds of Confusion, Glue Arrow, Ice Arrow, and Strangler, in no particular order. That'll give you the ability to hold bosses and have an AoE hold before you're level 12, and you'll use those powers all the way to level 50.

While you CAN use Spores and Poison Gas Arrow, I's suggest that this is one synergy you can skip. There are better power combos in this set. Of the two powers, Poison Gas Arrow probably better due to its 20% damage debuff.

If you get Disruption Arrow and Acid Arrow, use them! I rarely see a /TA controller using these two AoE resistance debuffs, even though they're great.

Oil slick Arrow can be ignited by fire nd energy attacks. If you don't have the veteran's reward that give you the choice of a Nemesis Rod, I'd go for a Magic or Technology origin because they deal energy damage.

I'd go with Earth, even if the armor isn't pretty. Seismic Smash beats Ice Storm due to Ice Storm's really long recharge time. Fissure is also a great power to have on hand, as long as you watch your endurance while using it.

Axe/SR is definitely doable. Mine is a crazy little hatchet ninja. The only thing you have to watch out for is endurance problems. I frankenslotted as much as I could after softcapping to ensure endurance reduction without losing damage.

My WM/EA is a lot of fun. It's got unlimited endurance, softcapped defense, and is an AoE monster.

I wouldn't get rid of Stamina and rely in Drain Psyche, but it does dramatically increase survivability.

Use Siren's Song on a mob, then hop into the middle of it while they're sleeping and use Drain Psyche. Then use Psychic Scream and Screech to stun as many enemies as you can. Next, just hop out of the middle of the group and go to town with your attacks.

Another safe Strategy is to use Siren's Song and just your Single Target attacks, killing one enemy at a time while keeping the rest napping. It's slow, but a good strategy when up against big numbers.

Dunno how good you are with cones, but you'll probably be an expert at them after playing a Sonic/Mental. After getting mine to 50, I like Cones better than Targeted AoEs. :P

My build uses Mind Probe instead of Telekinetic Thrust. I figured that I had enough control, and that a little damage spike would come in handy.

Be careful with Shockwave's KB. If you're good at herding then it's an awesome power, but scrappers get cranky when their usual strategy is interrupted by your usual strategy.

I have a Sonic/Mental and a Radiation/Energy.

My Sonic/Mental was made for steady ST and AoE damage with control, spike, and survival thrown in. My build has 3 ST attacks, 3 cone attacks, a very effective cone sleep, 2 PBAoEs, stacking stuns, a Confuse Aura, and can debuff both Recharge speed and resistance. The spike is Mind Probe, which is a fast melee attack which takes a big chunk out of enemy health, and Drain Psyche is a huge boon to survival. I fire off Siren's Song, saunter into the middle of a group, then Fire off Drain Psyche and Psychic Scream. Then I use Combat jumping to hop out of the middle of the group and hammer them with ST and Cone Attacks. Very safe solo, and very fun on teams.

My Rad/Energy is more about pure damage. I use its AoEs along with its built-in defense debuff to make them easier to hit, and then open up in melee. It's riskier, but still fun when things drop.

You guys are doing it wrong, apparently.

My Plant/TA has so many different way to immobilize, hold, mez, and debuff enemies that it's hard NOT to be useful.

Primarily, it's a lock down beast with 2 ST holds, 2 Immobilize powers (plus Carrion Creepers), 2 AoE holds, and 2 Location AoE KD powers (Disruption Arrow and Oil Slick Arrow). Oh yeah, AND Seeds of Confusion! The only enemies who give me trouble to lock down are EBs and AVs, and even those I can immobilize.

THEN add in Trick Arrow's debuffs to Damage, Resistance, Movement Speed, and Recharge Speed.

There's no doubt in my mind that Trick Arrow is primarily a support set for weakening and incapacitating enemies rather than speeding up the rate at which they're killed, but that doesn't mean it's a useless set. And it DOES give burst AoE Damage with Oil Slick Arrow.

You're right. It can't solo as well as a Fire/Kin can, and it isn't game breaking. It's still plenty useful, though.

I think the set is fine as is.

The whole thing just seems kind of pointless to me, honestly. The changes you suggest can either be mostly done via IO slotting or are unrealistic. The devs will never give blasters MM controls for their turret pet.