Nova Knight
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:They tried to raise some money by having students sell candy, but it didn't go well. The Snakes thought the students were candy. A very ill-conceived venture. (although it did reduce overcrowding in the schools)Originally Posted by Twisted Toon
Maybe they should tax a villain everytime he/she/it robs a bank and throw more money at the schools. Or, just get rid of Westin Phipps.
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Quote:I guess Dark One didn't see the "No Loitering" sign. Spectral Demon Lords absolutely hate loitering.Originally Posted by Twisted Toon
I am quite certain that all CoT Spectral Demon Lords have (and use) a kill Dark One (one of my Brother's characters) setting. I have seen a SDL break away from a Tank run around 2 corners, just to take a shot at Dark One. Who, I might add, was doing absolutely nothing to anything on the map at the time.
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Quote:Fudd was probably aiming for Bwoad side of a Barn. After he was booted out of Arachnos, they immediately revised their curriculum and raised their admission standards. (Sadly, the Rogue Isle School District is not known for its academic excellence.)Originally Posted by Twisted Toon
For which my character, Broad side of a Barn (Rad/Dark Defender), is profoundly thankful.
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Quote:Muchas gracias!Originally Posted by Westley
Awesome. These are for you:
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Quote:Even dead guys got better moves than I do. Damn.Originally Posted by cursedsorcerer
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Quote:Not to be confused with the "kill the wabbit" vawiable. I think that's unique to one of the least competent AVs, Fudd. He used to be an Arachnos Huntsman, but was thrown out for poor marksmanship. Poor sap couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. What a maroon!Originally Posted by peterpeter
Yes, you're right. That's what I was thinking of. I remember the unused "kill the healer" variable.
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Quote:I solo and used TP Foe this way as a scrapper in order to "thin the herd" before tackling the enemy group leader. I agree that it's less useful for a ranged archetype unless you've got the ability to create an actual death trap beforehand.Originally Posted by Greaser
I'm playing around just that concept. But I'm saving TP Foe till later lvl's. I tried it early, and found that untill you can actaully place the poison and trip mines... There's no real death trap to speak of anyway.
I found TP friend to be of more use at early lvl's, tho if you're creeping outside, TP foe is a nice way to kill from roof tops. Pull one up, deal with him. When his mates arrive, tp'em off the side, and finish killing him, as they try and run all the way back to you.
But that's of limited use really... And you can't TP bosses. What you do is TP the stuff around him first.
It's awesomely fun tho!
A bit off the main topic, but one thing I really enjoyed was teleporting Tsoo sorcerors back into melee range after they ported away. Very satisfying way to finish off those annoying hit-and-runners. -
Quote:I'm guessing you're right.Originally Posted by Greaser
The only real issue I have, is that early lvl's, you're a tad squishy vs bigger mobs... But this is probably mostly because I skipped on caltrops till later lvl's... I'm guessing there's a connection
Have you any experience with teleporting enemies into the death zone? I like the concept but have had trouble fitting TP Foe into my build. Even it you can't grab bosses, I think it'd still be fun to watch yellow and orange lieutenants go boom. -
Quote:Totally agree. I enjoy this with my /devices blaster and am planning to try it villain-side with an archery/traps corruptor. Most of the gizmos from /devices with a few new toys to play with as well. Healing and defense? Gotta love it.Originally Posted by Greaser
Setting up your little ambush, pulling the mobs to certain death and relishing in a well executed death trap! -
Villains. Started out about a year ago and gravitated towards blasters & scrappers because I like the high damage. Tried a few bad guys but couldn't really get into it. Found it hard to adopt the whole "bad guy" mindset.
Since then, I rolled up a brute because I was intrigued by the capabilities of the class. All I can say is, "Wow!" The durability and offensive punch is incredible. A brute is like the illegitimate love child of a tanker and scrapper, but on steroids.
I'm still not comfortable with storylines that call for the harming of innocents, but I realize that it's just a game and not a real-life choice. And when Going Rogue comes online, it'll become even less of an issue. Am now planning to create a corruptor and/or stalker.
Ultimately, I expect to have alternate builds for my villains: One will be a "pure" villain so I can sample the story content redside. The other will be for Going Rogue, which will allow me to enjoy the villain archetypes without the moral baggage. -
Quote:Ya know, they may view humans as expendable fodder in their quests for world domination, but that doesn't mean they can't be FUN. Get a few drinks into Dr. V or Lughebu and you've got yourself a PAR-TAY.Originally Posted by Westley
Hey, they can do a VARIETY SHOW, comedy and music!
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I was under the impression that their raging stupidity was intended to provide game balance since they're so tough individually.
I also find it odd that animated corpses who don't notice their comrades getting picked off right next to them still have the capacity for snappy banter and witty repartee. (i.e. "Here comes the meat aisle." or "Dinner and a movie, perhaps?") Apparently, Dr. Vahzilok chose to keep that part of the brain intact over other, more expendable, parts. Who needs situational awareness or an understanding of basic tactics when your undead minions can do standup?
Can't wait for the Vahzilok/Banished Pantheon All Dead Comedy Tour. Those guys rot... I mean rock. -
Quote:Agreed. Defiance doesn't make you invulnerable to mezzes, just less vulnerable.Originally Posted by Call Me Awesome
True, but it does limit you to fire blast & flares as well as your tier 1 secondary; it'll drastically cut down you damage output making it much more difficult to kill them before they kill you... the blaster's main defense.
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Quote:Blasters are a bit better suited to handle this than other archetypes because of Defiance. They can still keep blasting away despite being mezzed.Originally Posted by Call Me Awesome
Very little actually RESISTS fire, but there's only a few mobs who are truly vulnerable to it. Early levels Vahz are quite weak to it and in mid-levels the Banished Pantheon are also weak to fire. I hadn't known about the Redcaps, but they're bordering on overpowered already so I'm not sure they're the best choice for a solo blaster.
I'd say just find groups that you don't find actively annoying to fight and you'll be fine; after all doing 10% more damage to a specific group doesn't matter much if said group tends to send you to the floor quickly anyway. Ban Pan could fall into that category with all the mez they throw around. -
Quote:I'd probably be more confused than amazed since I have no idea what "huge elastic deformation portion" means. Rather than googling, I'll just take your word for it. Encountering familiar words in unfamiliar combinations makes my brain hurt. I'll have to beat up some Hellions now; that always makes me feel better.Originally Posted by Santorican
Not if you have a super alloy metal shield that has a huge elastic deformation portion while being extremely light weight and no that isn't that far fetched, google super alloys and you'll be amazed.
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I always thought that it was an attempt to inject actual reality into game reality.
If you have spines protruding from your arm, then the shield won't rest flat against it and the shield will be unwieldy, undermining your defense. The shield would also impair spine attacks because of its weight, as well as prevent spines on the shield-bearing arm from puncturing the enemy. You would actually be shielding your adversary from some of your attacks.
Likewise, I think that the diameter of most shields would exceed the length of the claws, making it impossible to actually stab something with your shield-bearing hand. (I know that this wouldn't be the case for a small buckler-style shield, but it's probably too troublesome to animate for every variety of shield.)
Just my 2-cents' worth...
EDIT: forgot to mention that claws is a fast-moving attack power and the weight of the shield would interfere with that. -
I see that Stone Armor has been mentioned, but not Stone Melee. I have this on a tanker and, if I recall correctly, Brutes also have access to it.
In addition, Shield Defense can be customized to various elemental themes, including earth. My tanker has SD and his shield looks like a big slab of rock, which sounds like what you're considering. I believe there's also a geode-type shield if you want another type of earth selection.
Characters also get access to auras at level 30, some of which are earthy.
With the recent introduction of power customization and auras, you should be able to create the type of character you're envisioning. Play around with the character creator a bit and see what appeals to you. -
Quote:Claws with Carp secondary is great for fish farming.Originally Posted by Fireheart
This just in, ALL powersets work quite well! Claws, Archery, Carp, it doesn't matter.
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With regard to synergies, I recommend pairing BS with either Regen or WP. I tried BS with both shield and SR and found the endurance drain very frustrating. Waiting to recover endurance really slowed down the pace of game play for me and I deleted both scrappers. After pairing BS with regen, however, I immediately noticed the difference and it just felt right.
Both regen and WP offer Quick Recovery, although at different levels. This is slightly better than Stamina and will allow you to substitute other powers for the Fitness pool if you're so inclined. Regen offers better healing capability while WP offers greater protection.
Can't really say much about the Katana since I never took a Katana scrapper beyond the teens. My own experience is consistent with what others have said, however.
Bottom line is to figure out which power set is more compatible with your character concept and play style and proceed from there. -
Quote:I did check it out. I enjoyed it, but it also convinced me that some of the other controller power sets might be easier for me to transition into.Originally Posted by Local_Man
Take a look at my Earth/Rad guide. It will give you a pretty good idea of what you may be in for, even if you choose a different secondary.
If you go with an Earth Controller, be prepared for low damage. You trade faster kill speeds for safety and AoE control.
Illusion/Radiation appeals to me because the damage is inflicted outright rather than over time, which I like. The inherent sneakiness of Illusion also lends itself to all sorts of interesting concepts and tactics. Your guide to that combo conviinced me to stick with my Ill/Rad controller long enough to get Phantom Army.
Gravity also appeals to me because of its larger number of attacks relative to the other primaries.
If I'm going to play a controller, then I'm going to have to adjust my mind-set away from what I'm used to. (blasters & scrappers) Earth has some great capabilities, but its strength in AoE control over damage makes me think that its optimal use is on teams. While I do like the safety aspect, Illusion and Gravity look like they would be more solo-friendly.
Of course, people's preferences change. In a year, I may be looking for a different type of challenge and be ready to give Earth a try. These forums are great for providing information and suggesting possibilities. -
I normally play Scrappers and Blasters (solo PvE) because I like high-damage characters. I've never been able to get a controller past level 12 because I miss the immediate gratification of those two archetypes. (i.e. SMASH... BLAST... Bad guy fall down... and there was much rejoicing)
That said, this thread has made me rethink my usual preferences. The enthusiastic discussion of the various combinations has intrigued me and suggests a different type of gaming challenge.
Hmmm... just got a new character slot for passing the one-year mark. Maybe it's time to get down and dirty with an Earth troller... Gotta think about this. -
Excellent guide. Comprehensive, well reasoned, well presented and obviously based on a wealth of experience. I appreciate the time and effort you put into sharing that experience with the rest of us.
I currently have a level 26 DM/DA scrapper and have incorporated several of your suggestions into my power selection. Specifically...
(1) I'm going to pass up Oppressive Gloom in favor of Cloak of Fear in order to stack it with Touch of Fear.
(2) After initially rejecting it, I'm now going to take Death Shroud (a.k.a. Minion Muncher). I've never munched a minion before... I hear they taste like chicken.
At any rate, thanks again for creating this very helpful resource. -
Quote:I totally agree with you about the cheesiness that was spines and how much better it has become. Aesthetically, I couldn't accept the "banana" representation and felt it looked horrible on a costumed character. The only way I could get around it was to create a nonhuman spines/FA who didn't wear a costume. In this case, I opted for a red reptilian toon because I wanted a magic-origin, dragon-themed character. Draconic wings complete the ensemble.Originally Posted by Chaos_String
Prior to power customization, I always disliked spines for much the same reason. It took a great deal of conceptual work to make the protruding spines "make sense" with a costume. Like, why isn't the costume all gnarly and tattered? I'm the sort of player who begins with a concept and min-maxes from there.
I had a spines/regen stalker who had no costume to speak of (The Boogedy Man, a form shifter--or more accurately, a manifestation of the irrational fears of his victims. His costumes are all various hideous monstrosities: a gaunt, skeletal figure with protruding spines, a reptillian fiend with protruding spines, a clown like Pennywise but with protruding spines... you get the idea.) But the spines still looked BAD. Like I can't hear you, there's a banana in my ear full retard bad.
But with power customization, some of the spines actually look *good* with costumes.
My "new" (OK, lvl 50, fully IO'd and accoladed) spines/electric scrapper is a mutant whose body is a capacitor and produces electrical fields. (Multispectral electrical fields because it's an i16 world we're living in now, kids.) His COSTUME is a genetically-engineered symbiant (think Venom) which feeds off his body's electricity to produce the spines and to sustain itself. The spines don't actually *poke through* the costume; they're *extruded from* the costume.
See?
There are spines now that are just metallic spikes; these look pretty good jutting out of a metallic body (tight/metallic for instance, also some of the "armored" textures). So you could maybe be some sort of metalman with an internal furnace...
I don't know. Anyway, my point is, spines are a lot more concept-friendly than they used to be.
With the free costume change, I selected the same version of spines that you did, but colored them white and light gray to look like bone protrusions. (think Doomsday)
Since the introduction of I16, I've been very happy with the new-and-improved spines. Guess I'll have to find something else to complain about. -
Quote:Not familiar with the song, but now I want to create a toon called Ponderous Man.Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja
I am still a bit new to tweaking to offer up anything useful and it is an impressive looking build. Are you popping any purples when facing down a boss or AV?
BTW, your title now has the awesome 2NU song stuck in my head.
"This in ponderous man, really ponderous..." -
Quote:That's good to know. Thanks for clarifying.Originally Posted by Fiery-Enforcer
Also, Fiery Embrace does stack with buildup. The thing is how FE works is it only increases your damage for all attacks for the first 10 seconds. After that it only boosts fire damage for the rest of the duration. I certainly wouldn't skip either of them especially on such an offensive oriented toon.