Nalrok_AthZim

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  1. You're still going to have a colossal damage crash either way. No point IMO.
  2. Not liking the direction these "packs" are going.

    Mutant Pack was a serious degradation from the previous packs. Solid proof Sexy Jay didn't work on it: All the freaking seams in the costumes. Neck, boots, arms, everything had seams. It was like someone decided to rework the Mutant pack as a "Rubber lolmask" pack.

    Now this? Sorry guys, the 8 bucks you want for this one is staying firmly lodged in my bank account until I decide to buy a value meal with it.

    Seriously, what the hell did you Marketing guys put on the table? I mean, I'm praying to every religious deity I can think of that Matt Miller and the rest of the core dev team facepalmed when they were forced to put this load of garbage up for grabs at the order of the Marketing team.

    Posi, Noble, BaBs? Are you being held hostage? Are you in danger? DO WE NEED TO COME SAVE YOU?! D:
  3. Nalrok_AthZim

    Mac Crashes

    No .panic logs, and nothing in the system.log to note any major crap-ups. This time I had a full-on computer seizing crash. That's never happened before.
  4. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Silverado View Post
    Those two are burst damage sets, I don't think their sustained DPS capabilites are that good

    Ninja Blade might be a good choice, however.
    Especially if you keep Divine Avalanche up as much as possible.
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Direwolf21 View Post
    Hey all . I tried looking around for this information, but couldn't find it explicitly laid out anywhere.

    I checked the guides here, and I Checked paragon wiki, etc.

    So - What enhancements (specifically) affect your henchmen vs don't? If I slot Recharge Reduction, for example, will my pets attacks recharge faster, or only the summon power itself?

    I know that End Reduction reduces their endurance use.

    How do you all typically slot your pets pre-sets? Right now I have them with 2 Accuracy, 3 Damage (level 25 Demon/Therm). I was gonna put an end-reduction in that 6th place, and as I just picked up Tactics at 24, I might eliminate one of the Accuracys.

    What sets do you recommend for them? I want to get the most out of their DPS potential.
    Definitely slot all of your demons for End Reduction. At 32, your demons will suck up so much of their own endurance you'll come to a dead stop mid-fight if you're not careful. The biggest end hog of the Demons set is the Ember Demon. Because of his heals he drains endurance like a really well-maintained bathtub pipe does water. Your lowest henchman need the most accuracy, and your highest need the least. This is due to the level your henchmen spawn at. You can 3-slot damage, but with the ED cap it's better to slot your henchmen with something specific to their ability. Here's my current setup for slots on my Demon/Dark:

    Demonlings:
    2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 EndRdx

    Demons:
    2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 Heal, 1 EndRdx

    Demon Prince:
    1 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 Slow, 1 Hold, 1 EndRdx

    I plan to change this when I have the money for sets, but it really enhances the attributes of your pets' abilities.
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by redtornado View Post
    I agree ^^. Crippling Axe Kick would be much better than Crane Kick for Genin. And then Dragon's Tail or Cobra Strike for the 2nd upgrade, either one would be very acceptable as a from of soft control. The third Genin as a Kin Meleer is a cool idea, but again, we would be dealing with knockback. Perhaps Energy Melee instead for the stuns.
    AND we NEED a Shuriken Bandolier for our Genin to show when upgraded.
    Also, Smoke Flash is the second worst Tier 8. It needs some SERIOUS rebalancing. Compared to Gang War or Hell on Earth it is almost completely useless. Hmm, how about a Group Stealth power that only works on your henchies. This is a Tier 8 primary we are talking about, here. Maybe a 2-4 min duration, recharging every 10-16 mins? Call it, Shadow Path.


    As for the Mercs:

    I can't wrap my head around ALL the changes that this set DESPERATELY needs immediately. I'm too focused on something else right now, sorry. But, as to the Brawl that the Mercs have, it is a rifle-butt strike, and it is one of their soft controls. If it was feasable to get rid of the brawl altogether, then I would like for their Slug shot to have a chance to Proc a stun, like Executioner's Contract has for Snipes. Also, for whatever reason the Medics rifle is different than the others and has a shorter range. I can't think of a good reason why.
    Also, Serum is THE WORST Tier 8 power, period. It absolutely wiffles hard. There is no use for it at all in it's present state. It trully is a power that is only there to be ignored and skipped so you can take much more useful pool powers on your MM like Flurry or Whirlwind. :/ :/ It lasts a minute and is only useable once every 16 mins AND it crashes your Merc's End?!? Garbage. Hmm, how about a Group True Grit that is castable only on your henchies. Maybe a 2 min duration useable once every 16 mins instead, NO CRASH. Call it, Lets Rock! Or a Group Hasten that only affects your henchies. Maybe a 1 min duration useable once every 16 mins, it could have the usual Hasten 'crash'. Call it ,Let 'em have it!
    Drop Smoke Flash on your Oni as much as possible. It's a blast. Literally.

    I actually decided to play a friend's Nin/Pain MM. He's 35, and I have to say, fully upgraded Ninja's do a stupid amount of ST damage. Great against bosses, and always fun to Smoke Flash a Jounin and see what attack he has up his sleeve next.

    As for Mercs, they still brawl normally. All of them. They run into melee and just punch stuff. And then they get killed. That's the first and foremost thing that needs fixing.
  7. Well, I did and now I'm actually crashing more frequently. No more Assertion Failure boxes, the thing just up and quits.

    Funny enough, it's only when I get on a team. Minutes within getting a team I crash like a flimsy paper airplane.
  8. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon View Post
    No.

    Damage buffs stack. If you have a +200% damage buff, and a +50% damage buff, and a +25% damage buff, you have a 275% damage buff. That is applied to your base damage, which is the damage you would do with the attack if it was unslotted.

    Slotting an attack for Damage counts as a damage buff, up to ~95% maximum for ED. So a 3 slotted attack is +95% damage.

    If you have +200% Fury damage on a 3 slotted attack, you are doing +295% damage. Sorry, but that's the way the game works.

    Now, if a Scrapper or Stalker Criticals, or a Corruptor Scourges, that IS double damage. So if you slot for +95% Enhanced damage, that +95% damage will be doubled, along with the base damage. That is because a Critical doesn't add a percentage onto the base damage, it adds on an additional amount of damage, equal to the base damage, which occurs according to the rules of the Critical.

    In other words, if a Scrapper Criticals on a 100 damage attack, he does 100 damage, then another 100 damage. 3 slotted that would be 195 damage + another 195 damage. That's kind of a drawback to a Brute's Fury compared to a Scrapper's Critical. (On the other hand, full Fury is 300% damage, not 200%. Base damage + 200%, as opposed to base damage + 100%. And it's constant, not a chance of crit. And the max is really more like +150% nowadays)

    [edit] BillZ beat me to it.
    This is a good counter to people asking of Decimation: Chance for Build Up is diluted by Fury. I never understood that one.
  9. Unfortunately I have never been able to pass 35 as a DB/WP brute. I've tried 3 times, too... I hit 35 and it's a wall. That's just me though. o_O

    That said, the damage on DB is pretty spectacular if you're a whiz with lining up and positioning for melee AoE. Vital Strike combo is a great one, especially with Fury involved, and Sweep is no pushover either.

    The tankability of Willpower is excellent as it always is, but remember not to get cocky and go in over your head.
  10. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Infernus_Hades View Post
    As a medeival swordsman I really disagree with the speed differential.

    I have fought directly versus Katanas with a 2 two handed greatsword and a hand and a half bastage sword and slaughtered the katana user.

    Not understanding the flow of a broadswords attacks makes people think the sword is slow. I can strike you with one so fast you will not see my hand move. I know for the game they try to make something thats seemingly hard hitting versus a fast katana.

    As Miyamoto Musashi says by training you make the heavy single sword light.
    ... and this is a game. So whatever the Devs decide on, that's how the mechanics work. I mean, I've fired plenty of guns in my lifetime and not once could I curve a bullet like Bullet Rain, or toss them in the air to make the bullets go faster like Piercing Rounds. :/
  11. Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrandX View Post
    Performance Shifter has a 20% chance to proc every 10 seconds.

    It's not an automatic +10% END every 10 seconds.

    It's a 20% chance for +10% END every 10 seconds.
    Well, my Combat Logs usually list a buff every 10 seconds. So..
  12. Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrandX View Post
    Well, that's not a 100%.
    Actually it procs every 10 seconds. That's essentially 1 extra endurance per second recovery. So it's a very VERY noticeable boost. Considering the jump Sup. Conditioning gives, you get even more back as it's based on percentage of max endurance. It literally fixes any endurance problems you may have unless you take every toggle you possibly can and run them all at once.
  13. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jibikao View Post
    By the way, how does Performance Shift work in passive powers? The game checks once every 10s?
    Every 10 seconds you get an end bonus.
  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jibikao View Post
    Yeah that's my point. Scrapper/Brute have access to Quick Recovery and all of sudden they can solo AVs and Stalker can't? I don't think any of my Stalker is that weak.

    If it's about endurance management, you can slot Numina and Miracle or even get accolade to increase your max. endurance bar. That should be enough?


    I have soloed some AVs with Bane and Night Widow. NW is a bit easier only because of her god mode allowing me to slash nonstop. My Bane has end problems for very very long fight. I still need to put unique in him.
    Spec Energy Mastery and get Phys. Perfection + Superior Conditioning. Slot a Performance Shifter Chance for +End into Phys. Perfection. Did that on my Fire/Fire Brute and his endurance issues vanished.
  15. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jibikao View Post
    I highly doubt an AV with high regen and god-mode can be soloed by any Brute/Scrapper. They'll run out endurance eventually.


    I believe Stalker can solo most AVs/Heroes that can be soloed by Scrapper/Brute. Besides having lower HP, Stalker has Assassin Strike to back up the loss of some dps and it's not like Stalker's dps is that low with base 10% critical.
    Does Recluse have high regen? My Dark/Dark/Soul mastery Brute soloed him. Granted it took forever, but it went down.
  16. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Unassuming Gentleman View Post
    Thanks Local Man. Your Ill/Rad guide was the first one i read after rolling my controller!

    I agree about Confuse. I really like it's utility and for sheer entertainment value it can't be beat. Nothing like picking the biggest baddie in the group and making him do your dirty work while you pick off his friends.

    I'm definitely looking at the character quite differently now that I have Phantom Army. I am right in the middle of putting together a new Mid's for my lvl24 respec as we speak. Post to follow. At the rate I play it'll probably be a few more days until I hit lvl24 so I've got some time to craft something I'll be happy with for quite a few more levels.
    You just wait until you get Spectral Terror.
  17. Quote:
    Originally Posted by CuppaManga View Post
    If you're using a build earlier than 4462 this "rare issue" is much more common and capable of repeating itself.

    For build 4462, make sure you're updated to the latest Apple graphics via Software Update. That should fix the majority of issues with graphics-caused crashes.

    There seems to be an even rarer issue that doesn't involve any of the above, and I'm still researching it. It could be RAM, configuration, or 3rd party software related. So...

    If you are using build 4462 *and* have updated to the latest Apple OS updates for 10.6.x, *and* have already tossed out your game preferences, please reply with your Mac model, graphics, RAM, and whether your Mac loads any 3rd party software at startup.
    Manga, my current version is 1.0.3068. I need to update, don't I?

    Also:

    Macbook Pro Core i7, 7200RPM 500G HD, 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 8 Hr battery, NVidia 300M 256MB.
  18. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Muon_Neutrino View Post
    Yup, war mace does do that. It's awesome.

    My shield/mace does do a different sound for taunt with her shield out, but it's not the tough activation sound. If the regular taunt is an 'ah-HAH' sound, then the mace taunt with shield out is a 'grrRRR!' sound (while pointing the mace at the target), followed by banging the mace on the shield. I don't have any other shield tanks, but I wouldn't be surprised if the taunt sound is different since the animation would be.
    I have a Shield/Axe Tanker, and it's different from Inv/Ice. My Inv/Ice goes "Ah-AAhhh!" with a real growly noise. My Shield/Axe goes "HOUNH!" (sort of a 'I have to poop' noise) and then clanks his axe against his shield.
  19. Nalrok_AthZim

    Breathe of Fire

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joebartender View Post
    Any one else think this power could maybe use a passover?

    The short range of 15 feet with the tiny cone at 30 degrees just makes the power lackluster.

    I always thought it was odd that the power has such a low base recharge at 10 seconds. Is BoF intended to be a Shadow Maul typer power, an AOE that you normally hit only 1 or 2 mobs with but can be used on a ST without making your head hurt for wasted end?

    I could be happy trading 5 seconds of recharge base for say 5 feet of range base and 15 degrees of cone increase.

    Any thoughts?
    I use it all the time on my 50 Fire/Fire. It's a good opener attack, especially if you run to the edge of a spawn and fire it at a cluster of guys in the middle. It's good at ST damage, especially when you intend to use it as a ST attack and end up lighting some other mobs on fire. Accuracy is wonderful, damage is too. I wouldn't skip it. It's SORT of like Shadow Maul, but the greater range makes it awesome. It's just like the cone in Head Splitter/Cleave; you have to wrangle with it just a bit before you get your usage of it down enough to always hit 2+ people. Thankfully, BoF is easier to aim than the aforementioned powers.
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Brakner View Post
    Exactly , you and half the weekend warrior MM's here are speaking out of your *****. All you do is Mids this number crunch that then come here and post crap.

    I have 6 MM's all post 32 and 3 of them 50 and can tell you without a doubt that mercs damage is not that far off other sets. This was done in bank missions against a safe door timed. This has been done by myself and 2 or 3 other people over the years to disprove all this "the sky is falling crap" about mercs damage.

    What mercs suffer from is a small AOE cone, poor cycle time on their control and a really bad level 18 power..not lack of damage. If you insist on stating this give me some kill times against other sets , maybe use some other post 32 MM's you have against your high level mercs? Oh thats right.....

    Thugs/Pain safe door

    33.2
    31.3
    31.4

    Merc/Dark

    33.5
    32
    34.1
    Excuse me? I have a 50 Bots/Pain, 50 Demon/Dark, and a 46 Thugs/Traps. I also have 3 global buddies who all play Mercs/Traps (thematic SG thing) and they all complain that they have to either A) pull their Mercs back every time they order an attack or B) the dumb henchmen just run in and sit there before actually pulling the trigger. If you'd take the time to read some other threads on the Mercs set before charging in here with your megaphone of anger, you'd realize this isn't some conspiracy to make you mad. Sure, I use Mid's, but I don't use it to come here and wave things in your face. Besides, how exactly can I calculate the numbers of an attack after a proc affects the enemy? Can you even do that in Mid's? If you can, I don't know how to do it so the first half of your rage-filled post is moot.

    I and the other posters here would appreciate it if you toned it down a notch. A degree of respect would be nice, especially when no one insulted you personally. Just because you rolled up 6 level 50's and have some sort of MM trophy doesn't mean you get to waltz in here and be a total jerk.
  21. Local, can you explain how Soulbound Allegiance Build Up can apply to the Phantoms AND Phantasm when it's only slotted in to one pet power?
  22. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jibikao View Post
    Mmmm, when is the last time you play your Merc? I am pretty sure Soldiers don't run in that much after they got rid of their "punch" attack? I haven't played my Merc much after I came back though. Yes, Merc's damage can be low without procs.
    Two days ago before I deleted him. He was a 21 Merc/pain. My soldiers, to open the battle, would run in and attack, even used their ranged attacks from less than 3 feet away from the target. Doesn't matter if they melee or not, they're in melee range!
  23. Illusion Control



    Spectral Wounds
    Ranged, High DMG(Psionic), +Special (Illusionary Damage Heal-Back)

    Spectral Wounds is a special case when it comes to Controller-oriented damage attacks. You cast it and it hits, like any other attack. But only a certain amount of this attack is actually 'real'. After about ten seconds, some of the damage heals back! Your foe looks at the giant gaping hole in his stomach, tries to stick his hand through it, and ends up prodding himself in the navel. "Oh man, this isn't real! I'm just fine, sort of!" Something like that. Now, Containment has an interesting effect on Spectral Wounds. Instead of Double Damage, you just get Containment on the "real" output. So while it might look like it's not getting full bore, you're just not getting double damage on the fake damage. Make sense?
    Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 Rech (Or you can six slot and go 2 Rech, depending on how you feel like distributing)

    IO Slotting: A good bonus-granting Ranged Damage set, such as Thunderstrike or Decimation.

    Rating:****

    ============

    Blind
    Ranged, Moderate DMG(Psionic), Foe Hold, +Special (AoE Sleep)

    I think Blind's name speaks for itself. You fire a giant flash of light out of your face, and it hits your target in the face, and then they sit there held and looking like they have a really pissed-off glowing butterly attacking their eyeballs. If you get close, it makes a really cool electric wavy noise. Now the interesting bit with this power here is, if there are any enemies near your target you'll actually nail them with a Sleep, and their faces will start flickering with light too! It's not a hard control, but if you aim well you can put 3 foes out with one Blind. Pretty nice, huh?

    Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Rech
    IO Slotting: Lockdown, all 6 pieces. It's a joy to watch the Chance for Mag 2 Hold firing off and taking a Boss out of the fight, especially with Overpower mixed in.

    Rating:*****

    TIP: Aim for the guys who are closest together and fire this at the center-most one. It'll knock 'em out, until the ones affected by Sleep are hit/disturbed.

    ============

    Deceive
    Ranged, Foe Confuse

    Deceive is your run of the mill Confuse Single-Target. At lower levels (before Phantom Army) I'd say it's pretty useful, especially for making a pesky buffing enemy give you some extra power. Beyond level 18, you'll find yourself too busy kicking bad-guy butt to use it (or at least, that's what happened to me).

    Slotting: 2 Acc, 1 Confuse, 1 Rech
    IO Slotting: Malaise's Illusions if you want.

    Rating:***

    TIP: I don't use this. Ever. My build is tight and I have very little room for it. I also don't have time to use it during battle.
    ============

    Flash
    PBAoE, Foe Hold

    Flash is a blinding, retina-searing flash of light (especially if you use Legacy color options). It's your basic AoE Hold, except it's PBAoE. That's right, you need to get yourself nice and snug with a large cluster of enemies to use it properly. However, after getting Phantom Army, Superior Invisibility and the remainder of your pets, it's suddenly 100% easier to run in and drop this on a cluster of baddies! Only downside is the recharge time and lowered accuracy. Slotted well however, it's enough to manage a spawn and take them down before they can rub the brightness out of their eyes.

    Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 1 Rech
    IO Slotting: Lockdown, 5 pieces including the Chance For. It'll make a difference when it goes off, I promise you that.

    Rating:****

    Tip: Use this in conjunction with something that'll keep you from dying. Send in Phantom Army, summon your Spectral Terror, or slink in with Superior Invisibility. The last thing you want when trying to use this is to get stuck in the animation and have your guts ripped out before it has a chance to be of any use to you.
    ============

    Superior Invisibility
    Toggle: Self Stealth, +DEF(All)

    Want to go anywhere and not get any aggro? Here's your power. Superior Invisibility is one of the best Self Stealth powers in the game. Very little will notice you, even baddies with +Perception! It also allows you to send in your Phantoms/Spectral Terror without a hitch, and can also let you sneak in and drop Flash to make clusters of enemies that much easier to handle.

    Slotting: I EndRdx, 1 Defense Buff, 1 Karma: Knockback Protection

    TIP: Always slot Karma -KB into this guy. You'll need it in order to properly use Kinetics.

    Rating:*****
    ============

    Group Invisibility
    PBAoE, Team Stealth, +DEF(All)

    Here's a power I found most teams hate, especially if you misfire it. It's essentially a click-AoE Stealth Buff. Anyone in the radius gets stealthed. Great for squishies, not so great for Tankers or anyone else who wants to willingly be in the fray. I skipped this power, but have occasionally used my second build to use it on stealth-mission SF teams.

    Slotting: Recharge? I don't know, I barely use it.

    TIP: Apparently, teams who want to stealth SF missions love it.

    Rating:***
    ============

    Phantom Army
    Summon Decoys: Ranged Minor DMG(Energy/Special (Illusionary Damage Heal-Back))

    Quote:
    Decoy
    • Decoy (Auto, untouchable, +threat level, Res to self healing)
    • Fire Sword (Melee, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Ice Sword (Melee, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Punch (Melee, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Hurl (Ranged, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Power Bolt (Ranged, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Fire Blast (Ranged, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Ice Blast (Ranged, single target, psionic, taunt)
    • Lightning Bolt (Ranged, single target, psionic, taunt)
    These three guys are your bread and butter. They have a very strong taunt effect on enemies, and essentially act as your tanks. The best part is, they can't be harmed. They can be hit, but it'll register as Unaffected. The damage they deal is damage you want to follow up on as soon as you can, as it will heal back if you take too long to defeat any enemies hit by them. Their life span is rather short, and they usually last about 70%-80% of any battle depending on what you're fighting. Now, you cannot buff them. I know, it's sad you can't, but they don't hang around long enough for buffs to matter anyway.

    Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 2 Rech
    IO Slotting: Expedient Reinforcement, with the Soulbound Allegiance Chance For in it. All 3 pets get affected by the proc, and it goes off far more due to all 3 pets attacking!

    Tip: Always start your attacks with these guys followed by your Spectral Terror. Otherwise the enemies will turn on you and strike you down before you can do anything.

    Rating:*****

    ============

    Spectral Terror
    Summon Terror: Ranged, Fear

    Quote:
    Decoy
    • Translucency (immobolized, intangible, untouchable, Res to self-healing)
    • Cloak of Fear (Auto, PBAoE, fear, -tohit)
    • Terrify (Ranged, single target, fear, -tohit)
    • ResistAll (untouchable)
    Your Spectral Terror is a monolith of fear and zappy face-cone attacks. The best part about this guy is his -ToHit. That's right, he scares your enemies so bad they not only crap themselves, they can't hit you as well! Plus, he has this really cool roar/scream he makes when he summons. Turn up your volume and listen to the entire thing in a quiet area. It rocks. Biggest upside to this guy is his recharge time. With the right slotting and Siphon Speed, you can have him out indefinitely.

    Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Fear, 1 Rech
    IO Slotting: Glimpse of the Abyss, 5 slots, include the Chance for Psi damage. It's fun to watch him ping out orange numbers.

    TIP: Your Spectral Terror should immediately follow your Phantoms into battle. The Phantoms will soak up the Alpha and make your job much easier, and the Spectral Terror will debuff ToHit and apply fear. Plus, after the Alpha is done, most enemies will just stand there and cower. Run in, Fulcrum Shift, attack!

    Rating:*****
    ============

    Phantasm
    Summon Phantasm: Ranged, Moderate DMG(Energy)

    Quote:
    Phantasm
    • DecoyPhantasm (Pet, summon Decoy Phantasm on target, duration linked to target hit points or 30 seconds, whichever reaches 0 first)
      Quote:
      Powers
      • Energy Torrent (Ranged, Cone, Psionic, Knockback, Taunt)
      • Fly (Flight)
      • Power Bolt (Ranged, Single Target, Psionic, Knockback, Taunt)
      • Translucency (Auto, Untouchable, +Threat Level, +Res(Healing)
    • Energy Torrent (Ranged, Cone, Smashing, Energy, Knockback)
    • Fly (Flight)
    • Power Bolt (Ranged, Single Target, Smashing, Energy, knockback)
    • Resistance (Auto, Self +Res (Energy, Lethal), vulnerable (Negative Energy)

    This is your big bad damage machine. He's huge, he flies, he shimmers, and he knocks your enemies around like a bunch of bowling pins. With Fulcrum Shift applied, your Phantasm can be a monstrous king of killing, even if he's scattering your mobs around. He has two attack, a single-target Energy Bolt, and a cone Energy Torrent. He also summons up a duplicate of himself. The duplicate is unkillable and has the same abilities as the Phantasm, but ALL of his damage will heal back. Remember, kill 'em hard and fast!

    Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 Rech, 1 EndRdx
    IO Slotting: Soulbound Allegiance, all but the Chance For.

    TIP: Speed Boost your Phantasm, summon your other pets into a group, and run in. If you time it well, your Phantasm's AI will pause a moment after coming to a stop. Due to it's rapid movement it'll take a moment for the AI to register it's in danger, and then it will begin attacking. Use that moment to Fulcrum Shift!

    Rating: ****.* (Four and a half due to all the knockback he does)
  24. Vince The Insane's Guide to:
    The Illusion Control/Kinetics/Primal Forces Mastery Controller

    Introduction

    The second level 50 I ever landed was my beloved Illusion/Kinetics Controller. I'd tried other Controller sets prior to Illusion, and just couldn't get a grasp on them. I finally picked the last combo I ever thought I'd like, which was Ill/Kin. As it turns out, this set worked so wonderfully with my playstyle I took the little guy all the way to 50 without making a single alt during the process (holy crap, y'all).

    So I figured after 3 years of playing this guy at 50, it was time to do what I did with my Dark/Dark/Soul Brute and write a guide for the powersets I chose. I'll explain in layman's terms what every power does, what I use them for, how I slot them, tips on their various uses and overall niftiness, and finally I'll rate the power from one to five stars (*-*****).

    Illusion Control

    Illusion Control is the odd man out when it comes to generic control sets. There really isn't a lot of "hard control" when it comes to the abilities you have access to. The true strength in this set is it's ability to pump out summoned pets that can greatly turn the tide of battle whether you're on a team or running solo. Your Phantoms are your tanks, your Spectral Terror is your floating fear cannon, and your Phantasm is your shimmering damage machine. Make sure you aren't seen with Superior Invisibility. Combine them all and infuse them with Kinetics, and you have yourself a potent combination.

    Kinetics

    Kinetics is the powerset that literally tips the scales in your favor. If you need health or endurance, transfer it from your enemy. Speed and increased recharge, more damage? Siphon it from your enemy. You also get a few team-oriented powers in the form of Speed Boost, Increase Density, and Inertial Reduction. Finally, you can turn battles into unfair slaughterfests by using Fulcrum Shift.

    Primal Forces Mastery

    When flashy and powerful isn't enough, make it more efficient! Primal Forces Mastery perfectly compliments Illusion with two Energy attacks and a shiny +Resist armor, and even moreso compliments Kinetics with Conserve Power and Power Boost. Ever shave off 70% of an AV's endurance? Hit Power Boost and go for it!

    So here we go. Ready?
  25. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jibikao View Post
    This means Ninja will be "dead" last IMO. The only thing that makes Ninja stands out a bit more is using Smoke Flash whenever it's up. Smoke Flash costs a lot of endurance and all the Archery attacks deal so little damage and you can't really get fancy with them 'cause they have no secondary effects that take sets. I would rate Ninja as the worst in most cases. The potential is there but reaching that potential is hard.


    I think the set that will see the most improvement having access to "personal attacks" is Necro. I have a lvl 50 Necro/Pain that I love but I skipped Life Drain in favor of other things. I would definitely pick up Life Drain when I respec.


    Merc also gets more controls from M3 Grenade if most people skip. 50% for a knockback is decent for adding more controls to a supposed "control heavy" set. And my lvl 50 Merc/Storm may pick up Serum again just because it belongs to the set. I would probably forget to use it like I used to. lol


    Demon will just be more melee-ish. I did take the whip attacks but since my secondary is Trick Arrow, I am already busy enough shooting arrows. With a different secondary, I can see Demon being fun.


    I think most primaries will see some benefits while Ninja will lag behind even more. The only power worth taking is Fist of Arrow but even that the damage is so low. You will need one proc damage to make it worthwhile, or you can just throw Smoke Flash like most Ninja masters do before the fitness change. I see no big change in Ninja and that's not good!
    Genin and Jounin hit freakishly hard, man. Mercs however, are currently stupid crappy, and stupid... stupid. I deleted two 20+ Mercs MMs because my minions kept running in rather than using their guns.