Nick_Riviera

I don't have access to Mid's right now, so I'll skip the build advice, mostly. You also asked for general tips, so I'll provide some.

First off, I am surprised to hear you describe your trip to 50 as arduous, since my Widow was both my fastest and most enjoyable ride I have ever had to 50. She rapidly became my favorite toon to play, so let me tell you what I did.

A big key for the Widow is positional defense. If you take and slot all of your defense powers and add in Combat Jumping and the Steadfast 3% defense IO, you ought to be pretty much at the soft-cap for defense in all positions while Mind Link is up. Get Hasten, and slot Mind Link with several Defense/Recharge set IOs, and you will get a lot of up time on Mind Link. At that point, you ought to be very survivable. If you want, you can pick up Smoke Grenade (I did) to add a little unresistable tohit debuff to help sweeten the pot.

As for the damage side of things, I liked every claw attack except Dart Burst. I ended up settling on Slash, Swipe, Lunge, Evicerate, Spin, and Poison Dart. That list has more to do with what powers I like using than any attempt at optimization, but I get along just fine. I ended up choosing Build Up instead of Follow Up simply because I got tired of having to spam Follow Up all the time.

As far as IOs go, since you get gobs and gobs of defense just from your powers, I think your first focus should be on recharge enough to get Mind Link permanent, and then lots of endurance help, both recovery and +max end. I think my Widow has TT:Maneuvers and Assault and also Leadership Maneuvers and Assault. Combined with my other armor toggles and CJ, it adds up to a substantial end drain. My IO slotting allows me to run all that comfortably, though I will still bottom out in long fights.

Anyway, let me try to summarize briefly. Take all the powers in your secondary that provide defense and you should become nearly unhittable. All your claw attacks do pretty good damage, so try them out and go with the ones you like.

I love my Widow because she has a ridiculous amount of defense (I regularly run around with about 67% defense to melee and 60% defense to ranged and AoE) and I give a good portion of that to my whole team. I also do plenty of damage for my tastes, so I ended up with a great support that can handle herself and also kill quickly. I love it!

I hope you find something that works for you so that you can have as much fun with yours as I have with mine.

So, how many Assassin Strikes would it take to kill Hamidon: two, three, or four?

Which would be more survivable? Ice/Dark, no question. Two single-target holds and the slow effect give Ice blast the clear lead.

That being said, they are both extremely strong, and either one would take you to 50 without outside help quite easily, so I wouldn't make this decision based solely on survival.

I would say, if you've narrowed your choices to just those two combinations, go for whichever one sounds more fun to you thematically, because you'll need to like what you're doing for 50 levels. :-)

Stone Melee for Defenders.

For another perspective, I'll post the build I have on my Storm/Dark now (roughly):

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Calm Horizons: Level 50 Natural Defender
Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Secondary Power Set: Dark Blast
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Teleportation
Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery

Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1: O2 Boost Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A)
Level 1: Dark Blast Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(9), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 2: Gloom Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 4: Gale Acc-I(A), Acc-I(31)
Level 6: Hover Srng-Fly(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly(13), Flight-I(13)
Level 8: Freezing Rain Achilles-ResDeb%(A), UndDef-Rchg(11), UndDef-Rchg/EndRdx(15), UndDef-DefDeb/Rchg(15), UndDef-DefDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(17), LdyGrey-%Dam(43)
Level 10: Swift Flight-I(A)
Level 12: Hurricane FrcFbk-Rechg%(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(19), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(21), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(21), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(23), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(40)
Level 14: Fly Flight-I(A), Frbd-Stlth(25)
Level 16: Tenebrous Tentacles Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(A), SipInsght-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Posi-Dam%(19), TotHntr-Dam%(23), Cloud-%Dam(27), Range-I(27)
Level 18: Health Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 20: Stamina P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(31), P'Shift-End%(31)
Level 22: Steamy Mist Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam(33), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(33), RedFtn-Def(33), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34), S'fstPrt-ResKB(48)
Level 24: Night Fall Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(34), Posi-Dmg/Rng(36), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), Range-I(36)
Level 26: Hasten RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 28: Dark Pit Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(29), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(29), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(39), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(39)
Level 30: Snow Storm EndRdx-I(A), Slow-I(50)
Level 32: Lightning Storm Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(40), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 35: Thunder Clap Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(39), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(43), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(45), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(45)
Level 38: Life Drain Nictus-Acc/Heal(A), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(45), Nictus-Heal(46), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Conserve Power RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam(46), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 47: Recall Friend RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Tornado BldM'dt-Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(50), SvgnRt-Dmg/EndRdx(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
------------
Set Bonus Totals:
4% DamageBuff(Smashing)
4% DamageBuff(Lethal)
4% DamageBuff(Fire)
4% DamageBuff(Cold)
4% DamageBuff(Energy)
4% DamageBuff(Negative)
4% DamageBuff(Toxic)
4% DamageBuff(Psionic)
6.25% Defense(Fire)
6.25% Defense(Cold)
8.75% Defense(Energy)
8.75% Defense(Negative)
6.25% Defense(Ranged)
3.13% Defense(AoE)
1.8% Max End
5% Enhancement(Heal)
6% Enhancement(Stun)
46% Enhancement(Accuracy)
23.8% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
13% FlySpeed
91.6 HP (9%) HitPoints
13% JumpHeight
13% JumpSpeed
Knockback (Mag -4)
Knockup (Mag -4)
MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%
18.5% (0.31 End/sec) Recovery
1.58% Resistance(Fire)
1.58% Resistance(Cold)
23% RunSpeed
2.5% XPDebtProtection



The build has total invis and tp for ghosting TFs and such, and the procs are nice in TT.

I like Gale better than Torrent, because Gale is wider, so I get to hit more people with it. Torrent, however, has a much shorter animation, which is really nice. I'd say it's personal preference there.

Dark Pit + Thunderclap gives you an alternate means of mitigation, which is nice, because there are times when Hurricane isn't the best option. If you take the Dark EPP, OG stacks well with this combo, as well.

Other stuff people have already said before...

My Storm/Dark is probably my favorite out of all the characters I have, so I hope you enjoy the toon. There is a whole lot of potential to capitalize on.

I can't get in, either.

My standard answer to every person who asks a variant of "What Defender do I roll next?" is Dark Miasma. The obvious exception would be those people who just did Dark, but that seems to be a surprisingly small number of people.

Dark is versatile, simple to understand, and extremely potent. It also goes well with every secondary, and it pretty much has no holes or weaknesses. It's very easy to recommend.

If you're looking for solo ability and high damage, your best bets will probably be Dark/Sonic or Dark/Ice. Any combination would work, but those two would probably be the most effective.

Of course, all the Defender sets are great, so you can't really make a poor decision. I just think everyone who wants to roll a Defender should try out Dark. It is one of those sets that can really show you what Defenders are capable of.

[ QUOTE ]
Defenders have low defense AND low offense. That's a fact, regardless of what power sets are being used.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are stating your opinion as fact. [eyeroll] To counter your "fact," I will give as examples my two favorite characters.

My Storm/Dark can solo 12 enemies quite easily, no inspirations required. I wouldn't say that she is an offensive powerhouse, but she gets the job done. She is replete with defense, however. Even the rare mez that gets through usually isn't enough to defeat her, because the debuff in 'cane lasts 10 seconds after they leave the toggle, so that's usually enough time to wake up and recover.

She isn't an unstoppable beast, but to say that she has low defense is absolutely laughable.

My Kin/Ice, on the other hand, IS an offensive powerhouse. His defense is definitely low, but I would bet money he could out-damage a non-AoE-focused scrapper fighting large groups. His damage is anything but low.

I will freely admit that these are high-performing combinations and are not necessarily representative of Defenders as a whole, but honestly, what combination would be representative? Defenders are so diverse in function and even roles that it's hard to really nail down a baseline.

Finally, you said in your original post that scrappers don't benefit much from what teammates bring. Let me ask, what do scrappers bring to their teammates? If there was any AT that I felt had no role on a team, it would be scrappers. Every AT can kill things, and Blasters kill things faster than scrappers. Tanks take alphas and hold aggro better than scrappers. Defenders and Controllers have team support and force multiplication. What do scrappers have?

(For the record, I'm not saying Scrappers are useless, just that they bring less to a team than the other ATs. That doesn't stop me from enthusiastically inviting them to my teams.)

[ QUOTE ]
Raising the damage multiplier of the defender would give everyone the same increase without accidentally favoring one power set over another.

[/ QUOTE ]

A higher base damage would benefit sets with a means of increasing damage more than sets without such means. What I mean is, Empathy and Force Fields won't see as much from an increase to base damage as all the other sets will, because the other sets can multiply that increase.

I'm not giving an opinion on the idea. I'm just pointing out that a damage increase wouldn't be as egalitarian as you make it sound.

Yeah, you want Dark Miasma: Dark/Ice, Dark/Dark, or Dark/Rad for AoE damage. They're all great combinations, too, so no worries there.

Rad Emission is lame unless you're solo or fighting AVs. There, I said it.

[ QUOTE ]
I might as well add my opinion (just an opinion). I’ve leveled a FF to 35, and I’ve leveled a cold to 50. I’ve played with both sets quite a bit and through respecs have used every power in each set.

Cold blows FF away. There’s a reason one never made it past 35, and the other breezed right through and became my first 50. It wasn’t play style. It wasn’t because it was the new shiny. It was because it was just that much better. With cold shields I could support a team just as well as my FF. While the defense numbers may have been a little less they were more than enough when layered with their own mitigation. Also that +30 % damage to nearly every person on the team (a well placed sleet) made a heck of a lot more difference than the additional defense would have. Plus most of those mobs in sleet are flopping around on the ground and not doing damage. FF is overkill I think in a lot of cases. Most of those cases coming in the 30+ game when characters become more well rounded. Which is likely why my FF stopped at 35.

A lot of the TF and late game content is EB’s and AV’s. Cold is miles better than FF when dealing with hard targets. Let’s be honest. That is usually the ONLY time a team of 50’s is in danger usually. Cold debuffs typically make those AV fights a lot less dangerous.
Honestly, the biggest advantage FF has isn’t even the minor additional defense. It’s the AOE mez protection. That is pretty sexy. I would argue that the stealth of Arctic fog counters that somewhat but not completely. So when we are talking the defense powers, FF is ahead. Once you get past the shields and the main toggle, Cold has a ton of debuffs with some nice Buffs, FF has knockback basically. I’m sorry but I wouldn’t trade all the rest of FF’s powers for Sleet. No Cold ever would. That’s why it isn’t even a “fair” comparison in my book. Sleet is just that good, and that excludes all the other great powers in the cold set.

Knockback is not awesome. It never will be. It can control a chaotic situation. It can make a controlled situation chaotic. While “good” in the hands of a skilled user, it is absolutely horrible in the hands of an unskilled user. That isn’t a play style choice. That’s a well known fact. If I feel the need to “control” a mob, will lay down a sleet and let them flop around like fishes. It doesn’t require skill, it doesn’t require coordination with the team, it doesn’t require a wall or object, and the fishes die 30% faster. It controls just as well and is a ton easier to execute and it works in all terrains.

Did I mention I love sleet?

[/ QUOTE ]

<eye roll>

[ QUOTE ]
How do you complement a well played Trick Arrow?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have a lot of experience with Trick Arrow, but off the top of my head, I would say that a good AoE Scrapper would probably pair up pretty well with TA, maybe a Spine/Dark or Spine/Fire. It might be a little rough before SOs, but that can be said for other Defender primaries.

As a bonus, if you do play well, that Scrapper may compliment you by saying something like "Nice debuffs!"

Couldn't help myself.

[ QUOTE ]
Which they'll never do because the buff portion is too damn good.

[/ QUOTE ]

Does Heat Loss buff anything besides recovery? Because if all we're talking about is infinite endurance for the entire team, Kinetics already provides that with Transference (and to a lesser extent with Speed Boost). If infinite endurance is too good, Transference needs to be nerfed a whole lot.

Personally, I figure they don't think infinite endurance is too good, so I think they should bring the recharge down by a minute or so. Either that or make it like Fulcrum Shift with regard to recharge and duration, but lower the target cap.

[ QUOTE ]
1. 1 tornado, many LS.
2. They both randomly pick from targets in range. If you have only one target, they will rock it - great on AV's.
3. I found my stormies not to really enjoy getting in melee range, YMMV.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with 1 & 2 here, so I won't comment on that.

I like OG on my Storm/Dark for a very specific reason. Most of the time, with TT and FR and Hurricane and such, I can put enemies right where I want them and keep them there. Sometimes, however, TT is recharging and I missed one or two guys and FR is already down so I don't want to Gale everything out of the area and other complicated things that make those one or two guys free to do what they want. I run OG and Hurricane at the same time. They recently buffed the range of OG, so it's pretty close to the range of Hurricane now. Normal mobs that are mad a you will run at you, resisting the repel in Hurricane. If they are disoriented, however, they stop resisting.

So, to make a long story short, if you're faced with an enemy fighting against your Hurricane, the disorient from OG will make him stop and move back like he's supposed to. Since OG has a decent radius now, it's one more layer of protection/positioning for my toon, which I like. Also, since I am /Dark, I have Dark Pit and Thunderclap and Tornado to stack with OG, so I'm a stunning fool.

[ QUOTE ]
I chose to go for Power mastery on mine so I can give more -res to the entire team on AVs and the like.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damage resistance debuff is unenhanceable, so Power Build Up does nothing in that regard. I specifically didn't take Power Mastery because PBU doesn't do much for Storm except enhance the slow (and they're already at the slow cap with SS + FR) and enhance the KB, and it will enhance the stun duration of Thunderclap, but meh. None of those really interested me, and I liked the idea of a Soul-Drain-buffed LS blasting away. In my experience, though, it's not as cool as it sounds. I still find Dark Mastery more useful than Power, however.

[ QUOTE ]
Expect at least me to be doing Dominators hero side and Defender villain side. Those are my two classes that just make me smile the most, always have and always will.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm right there with you. Dominators and Defenders are my two favorites, as well.

Since I may not have been clear earlier, I wanted to go on record as saying that I think Defenders are fine as they are. I think all Defenders, even the non /Sonic Defenders, bring something to a team that Controllers don't, and vice versa. As such, I think they each have their own separate role, and neither one negates the other. I also think neither are necessary for a successful team.

I love my Defenders, and I would love them more if they got stronger, however that might be, so I will agree with suggestions to buff them. I don't really play Controllers, Tankers, or Blasters, however, so I don't have a vested interest in making sure buffed Defenders don't supplant those other classes. For all I care, they could buff Defenders until every single other AT was obsolete, and I'd still be happy.

Ultimately though, I am happy with Defenders as they are, too, so if nothing ever changed for them, I wouldn't mind. My offensive Defenders get the job done, and my defensive Defenders don't get played much. It all works out in the end.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Defenders contribute far too much to a team to act like their damage is such a crucial element of the class.

[/ QUOTE ]
Defenders have an entire secondary powerset specifically devoted to dealing damage. To say that damage for Defenders isn't important is like saying Scrappers don't need to use their defenses or Controllers don't need to use their buffs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where did he say it wasn't important for the class? Perhaps I'm misunderstanding but as near as I could tell he meant that individual damage wasn't the *point* of the class. Which is true as far as I can tell.

If you want high individual damage do something else. Defenders are not meant to simply be tougher blasters.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure, Defenders should not be Blasters with buffs. That's why Blasters have damage in their primary and secondary. I don't want Defenders to do as much base damage as Blasters, either; that would be entirely too much, and would make Blasters obsolete.

I don't think a small buff to Defender base damage (say, a ranged damage modifier of 0.75 instead of 0.67) would be game breaking, and it might help show the teammates of Defenders that the Defender's blasts aren't just flashy debuffs. Then again, maybe such a small buff wouldn't make a noticeable difference, but I'd still rather have it than not.

As for my original comments, I read "Defenders contribute far too much to a team to act like their damage is such a crucial element of the class" to be another way of saying "Damage for Defenders is not a crucial element of the class, because they bring so much else to a team."

Defenders do bring a lot to the team, but they also have a damage secondary. If their damage isn't important (crucial, whatever), then their secondary isn't important. Name another Hero AT whose secondary isn't important to what they do.

Along the same lines, if we are tossing out Defender damage as relevant to a team, then Controllers really are better than Defenders, because they bring more total team support. It seems like the argument is that if Defenders get a damage buff, then Blasters are useless. As I see it, it should be that if Defenders don't get a damage buff, then Defenders are made useless by Controllers. I don't personally agree with either of those statements, but those who believe the first should take a long hard look at the second.

[ QUOTE ]
Defenders contribute far too much to a team to act like their damage is such a crucial element of the class.

[/ QUOTE ]

Defenders have an entire secondary powerset specifically devoted to dealing damage. To say that damage for Defenders isn't important is like saying Scrappers don't need to use their defenses or Controllers don't need to use their buffs.

Admittedly, in the right situations, all ATs could probably get by without using their secondaries. That doesn't mean they're not worthwhile or important, however.

Ultimately, I would be happier if Defenders did more damage. Do I think it is necessary? No, but it would sure help in the early levels, at least.

I'm surprised more people haven't posted their builds. Mine isn't even that good.

As far as the +Def IO goes, I'm sure it would be a great addition. It would stack well with all the -tohit, and Shadowfall and CJ have their own little bits of defense, as well.

Well, this is a build I worked on some time ago. My current Dark/Sonic/Dark isn't following it exactly, but I don't think this build is too bad to start with. Modify as you see fit.

Of course, it could be awful, but I'll let the Dark experts weigh in on that.

Edit: This is probably somewhere between a cheap and an average-cost build. I only went with expensive recipes ($1+ million) when I felt it was worth the cost, like Positron's Blast and the purple sleep set. No recipe here should run more than a few million influence.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Alex Marin: Level 50 Mutation Defender
Primary Power Set: Dark Miasma
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Twilight Grasp -- Acc-I(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(3), Dct'dW-Heal(3), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(7)
Level 1: Shriek -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(9)
Level 2: Tar Patch -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(11)
Level 4: Darkest Night -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(13), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(13), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(15), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(15)
Level 6: Howl -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(17), Posi-Dmg/Rng(19), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Range-I(21)
Level 8: Scream -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(23), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 12: Fearsome Stare -- Acc-I(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(27), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(27), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(29), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(29)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(31), EndMod-I(31)
Level 22: Shout -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(33), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 24: Shadow Fall -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(34), Aegis-Psi/Status(50)
Level 26: Howling Twilight -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(37), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(43), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(43), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(46)
Level 28: Siren's Song -- FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg(A), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(34), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg(36), FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx(36), FtnHyp-Sleep(36)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 32: Dark Servant -- DampS-ToHitDeb(A), DampS-ToHitDeb/Rchg(39), DampS-ToHitDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(39), Acc-I(39), H'zdH-Heal(40), H'zdH-Heal/EndRdx(40)
Level 35: Screech -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(43), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(46), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(46), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(50)
Level 38: Dreadful Wail -- C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx(40), C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg(42), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(42), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(42)
Level 41: Oppressive Gloom -- Acc-I(A)
Level 44: Dark Consumption -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(45), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(45), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Soul Drain -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]5% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]5% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]5% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]5% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]5% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]5% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]5% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]5% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]11.3% Defense(Energy)[*]11.3% Defense(Negative)[*]9.38% Defense(Ranged)[*]1.8% Max End[*]43.8% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]4% Enhancement(Heal)[*]45% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]6% Enhancement(Stun)[*]18% FlySpeed[*]87.7 HP (8.63%) HitPoints[*]18% JumpHeight[*]18% JumpSpeed[*]Knockback (Mag -4)[*]Knockup (Mag -4)[*]MezResist(Terrorized) 2.2%[*]25% (0.42 End/sec) Recovery[*]5.36% Resistance(Fire)[*]5.36% Resistance(Cold)[*]3% Resistance(Psionic)[*]18% RunSpeed[/list]

[ QUOTE ]
I can tell you that the idea that Kinetics is melee and messes with your cones is a myth.

[/ QUOTE ]

Um, no, it isn't. You even say so in the rest of your post. Kinetics is melee. If you stay in melee, it will mess up your cones.

You post a very nice explanation of how you can work around the problem, but if it was a myth, if there was no problem, then there would be no reason for an explanation.

Honestly, I freely admit that it isn't hard to do. I will also admit that most blast sets have at least one cone attack that is worth using, meaning most sets to pair with /Kin will need to move around to use their cone(s).

All I'm saying is, AR has 3 cones, and if you're intent on using them, you'll be outside of melee range a lot. That means you'll be outside of ideal Kin range a lot. Is that some impossible wall of frustration that will destroy your character's effectiveness? Absolutely not. I personally am not one that wants to move around that much, however. That's my choice.

Honestly, given those two choices, I might take Repel. Sure, its usefulness in a serious situation is pretty limited, but Repel is just a fun power. Bowling for Skulls in Perez Park is almost endlessly entertaining. Even when fighting real mobs it's sometimes fun to just throw things around a little.

I don't know. My Kin/Electric has VS, but I don't like it. I've thought about respecing out of it, but there isn't really anything else I want to take.

For me, when given the choice between a fun power I'll never get real use out of, or an un-fun power I can use all the time but doesn't do much of anything, I would take the fun power.

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Thanks. Im torn. Im not sure on a defender like this if I should be trying hard for soft capping bonuses or just going for buffing the powers as best as possible.

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For me, the first priority is power efficiency. If it's a power I use all the time, I want it to do what it does as best as possible. Most of the time I get off easy, because there will be a whole set that gives the power great numbers and good bonuses as well. Sometimes I need slots elsewhere, though, so I frankenslot in fewer slots to get the basic enchancement value I need.

My logic is that the important powers are probably going to do more for me and my team than generic set bonuses will, so I care more about the actual enhancement values than I do set bonuses. I tend to have very little influence on my characters, though, since I don't get time to play a lot and I don't play the market. As such, frankenslotting the cheap sets is usually all I can afford to do, anyway.

So yeah, that's what I do. It's probably super-noob-gimp and I should l2play, but it gets me by just fine.

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6. I personally hate Siphon Power. Not worth skipping an attack for this IMO. If you mostly solo, though, could be worth it on bosses or EB.

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I like Siphon Power for one reason: the damage debuff. Damage debuffs are one of the only debuffs AVs don't resist (of course, they resist it, but not to the same degree as they do other debuffs like -regen or -tohit), so I like to stack up a few SPs on top of my FS for some serious -damage. AVs and GMs hit like kittens once I'm done with them, and that can make a big difference.