Primal_Dark

I Have a 50 fire/MM that is IO'd out with S/L softcapped and good recharge. He's pretty much a non stop death machine. With drain psyche on a couple mobs I can unleash firebreath, fireball and then psychic shockwave and still be at nearly full endurance when I start blasting away with my single target attacks for those few LT's that may be still alive. All of these attacks recharge quickly and have great animations/sound effects (in my opinion).

Archery does have an incredible nuke that can decimate entire spawns if used correctly. It's single target damage will lag behind fire though. I guess in the end it depends on you. I hate redraw and have no characters whose concept matches that of archery. I'm also a huge fan of charrred baddies.

Energy transfer. This power is such a shadow of its former self. It's called the "Corpse Smasher" for a reason these days. With the ability to implement a different effect/damage for PvP now, I don't see any reason whey they can't retro the power to be like it was in PvE. Make it useless in PvP damage wise (since CoX PvP is so widely played anyway), but let Brutes, Tanks and Stalkers have back the set defining power that it used to be.

Here's a S/L softcapped blaster with recharge at 95%. The new version of Mids is giving a +40% resis bonus for some reason to my blasters, so just subtract that in the totals menu. I think I took this build from Outlaw Omega, whoever that is on the forums (thanks, works great btw). I know your primary and/or secondary may not be the same, but it will give you some ideas for slotting. I realized yesterday when I posted that you probably have no resis powers to slot a steadfast. You can slot a blessing of the zephyr knockback protection in your travel powers though. They're just a bit on the pricey side. Hope this helps

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Another option would be to take the ice epic for the s/l defense and control. With some decent slotting you can get your recharge over 80% while still being capped to S/L. You'll be able to avoid most melee attacks and many of the ranged ones. Slot Blessing of the Zephyr in your travel powers to get yourself above 20% ranged.

The only trouble with this will be concept. You can't customize epics, so you'll look like an icicle. If this bothers you I like fire and force as alternates. Fire for Rise of the Phoenix and force for an extra AOE, God Power and some resistance.

The mez will still hurt you, but at least you can fire while held now. I've never kept acrobatics in a build, not with IO's so readily available. As far as help at level 21, you can get a steadfast KB protection IO which will keep you from getting knocked down/back as much and you can team to 22. Once a blaster hits 22 the damage gets a lot better with SO's. The death of your enemies is the ultimate mitigation.

I'll put this both here and in the archetype portion since I'm not sure which one the devs are reading.

Pros:

1. Very nice animations. Some people have complained of duration, but I enjoy the animations. We'll address damage below.

2. Great sounds. Actually feel like I hit something when I ever I fire. Great for....arresting

3. change Ammo: great idea. really appreciate the fact that it costs nothing to run. Would be great if it counted for a bit more of the damage type though.

Cons:

1. Damage! Damage! Damage! not even in the ballpark for animation times. This is the biggest complaint both for myself and for most of the others I know that have rolled this new set. Needs a blanket boost to damage. To make it subpar within an Archetype that was long ago dethroned by multiple other AT's as the damage king is strange. I've been very happy with most of the recent sets released: willpower, sonic, psionic, electric melee and shields to name a few. They seemed very well thought out and synergistic with most primaries/secondaries. Dual pistols is definitely a step back in that category.

2. Tier 9: While lethal damage sets within this AT already had very long animation times for Tier 9's, once again DP beats them (albeit slightly) and adds double the recharge for not even close the damage. The "Chance for" damage needs to go away, recharge needs to be cut in half and a damage boost would also be nice.

3. Slow: the set feels sluggish despite it's beautiful animations. I wish that for a couple of the powers my hero would just pull out the guns and shoot someone (Indiana Jones style) without all the frills. It would make the set feel quicker.

4. Blasters in general: Now would be a great time to revisit this AT. While the mezzed/rooted ability to fire your first and second powers is extremely nice, defiance itself is somewhat useless for me. Getting rid of the damage portion and adding a blanket 10% ranged defense would be a nice change for survivability. Also, Tier 9's in general need to go up to the level of Rain of Arrows and Full Assault in order to put blasters back on the damage throne. Most of the blasters skip their tier 9s because of the endurance drain/long recharge associated with it. Cutting the timers and drain would go a long way to rebuilding the credibility of the AT.

My first toon was a fire/energy blaster back in 2004. I enjoyed him until the late game then started trying out other AT's after I got tired of being mezzed all the time. When IO's came out I was able to softcap my blaster to ranged damage, but still felt that the lack of mez protection just wasn't worth the effort. Now I have a fire/shield/blaze scrapper that has fireball and fire blast, best of both worlds. With shield charge thrown in, it's just the total package of awesome.

1. When I run ahead of my team and jump into a suicidal situation, everyone understands.

2. Shield Charge, enough said.

3. Blasters don't have mez resist

4. Brutes are evil

5. Someone needs to use the +4/8 setting

Played all the new MMOs and came back to CoH. Very happy here. This game may have some small issues but it's "Fun". You wanna see dying games, go over to the previous devs new shiny MMOs. I feel as if the forums are going to be torn apart at any moment over there because of all the hate and discontent.

The Quality of life and content improvements that have been implemented over the last few issues as well as the ones that are coming are probably the things that make me the most impressed with the devs over here. Alternate animations, power customization, MA, alternate builds are all things that were asked for by the players and were responded to by the devs. Issue 17 has some huge QoL improvements that were also in response to player suggestions. Even if no new content were introduced for the next couple years, I'd probably still hang around.

(I will now put in my shameless plug for an alternate animation to energy transfer and thousand cuts)

Love ya devs.

I don't think any tanker I've met, including my own can compare to the sheer damage output of a fire/shield or elec/shield scrapper, especially with blaze as their epic. I can take out an entire spawn with just shield charge, then kill the next one with fire sword circle and fireball while it's recharging. An electric can do the whole map just alternating lightning rod, shield charge. fire/kin has incredible, consistent damage output. It's still my number 1 pick and the one I farm/powerlevel with. Once you get into a rhythm, you can clear maps at incredible speed. With IO's you can softcap both the scrapper and troller (at least to s/l) so survivability is not an issue, even in extreme situations. I don't mean to undermine shield/SS, but in a head to head competition I think the the fire/shield would come out ahead by a fair margin.

It should be noted however, that a fire/kin can only farm a couple maps effectively, even IO'd out, while a tank or scrapper that's softcapped can do pretty much anything. I usually do the RWZ arcs at level 50 with my scrappers with thh difficulty turned to +2/8 just for the heck of it. It could be just about any group or map (except for those dang Romans, can usually only do +2/6 with them).

I like Fire/Shield myself. Tons of AOE and top tier single target damage as well. You'll need to IO out the character to hit the softcap, but once that happens you really are a juggernaut of destruction. Electric/Shield is also great, I've just never really liked the electric set outside of lightning rod. For secondaries, Fiery Aura is great for damage but will be more squishy and harder to supplement with IO's. Same with Electric Aura. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input. I don't use superspeed very much, especially with ninja run, I was really just worried about the zephyr slots. The extra slot in blinding powder would give me ranged defense to make up for what I had lost, but not AOE, I'd be short of the softcap there unless I came up with the 6 billion to buy a gladiators defense proc. I'll try messing with the build some more and seeing where I could switch some slots.

I'm trying to make a soft capped build with high recharge for Elec/Ninj PvE. I really don't have any interest in PvP in its current form. With the following build I've softcapped all defenses (with the added 2% from hide) and have 87.5% recharge, but I'd like to find a way to include ball lightning. I'm willing to give up a bit of recharge but not any defense. Anyone have any suggestions?

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

e: Level 50 Natural Stalker
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

Villain Profile:
------------
Level 1: Havoc Punch Hectmb-Dmg:50(A), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg:50(13), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx:50(15)
Level 1: Hide LkGmblr-Rchg+:30(A)
Level 2: Ninja Reflexes HO:Enzym(A), HO:Enzym(3), HO:Enzym(5), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 4: Jacobs Ladder Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:50(17), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(21), Oblit-%Dam:50(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43)
Level 6: Assassin's Shock T'Death-Acc/Dmg:40(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx:40(7), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg:40(7), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(9), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(15), T'Death-Dam%:40(40)
Level 8: Build Up GSFC-ToHit:50(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(9), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(19), GSFC-Build%:50(21), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:50(40), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(48)
Level 10: Hasten RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(11), RechRdx-I:50(11)
Level 12: Placate RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(13)
Level 14: Super Speed Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(19), Zephyr-ResKB:50(37)
Level 16: Kuji-In Rin RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 18: Swift Run-I:50(A)
Level 20: Health Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(43)
Level 22: Stamina P'Shift-End%:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod:50(23), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(23), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg:50(29), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(31), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg:50(37)
Level 24: Chain Induction Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(25), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(25), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), Mako-Dam%:50(42)
Level 26: Thunder Strike Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:50(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), Oblit-%Dam:50(42)
Level 28: Danger Sense HO:Cyto(A), HO:Cyto(29), HO:Enzym(45), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(48)
Level 30: Kuji-In Sha Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:40(A), Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx:40(31), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg:30(40), Mrcl-Heal:40(45)
Level 32: Lightning Rod Armgdn-Dmg:50(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg:50(33), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(34)
Level 35: Blinding Powder CoPers-Conf:50(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg:50(36), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg:50(36), CoPers-Acc/Rchg:50(36), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx:50(39)
Level 38: Kuji-In Retsu Zephyr-Travel:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(39), Zephyr-ResKB:50(39), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 41: Mu Bolts Apoc-Dmg:50(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg:50(43), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), Apoc-Acc/Rchg:50(46), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48)
Level 44: Boxing HO:Nucle(A)
Level 47: Tough S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A)
Level 49: Weave LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A), HO:Enzym(50), HO:Enzym(50), HO:Enzym(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest Empty(A)
Level 1: Assassination
------------
Set Bonus Totals:
24.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
24.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
24.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
24.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
24.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
24.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
24.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
24.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
9.88% Defense(Smashing)
9.88% Defense(Lethal)
8.94% Defense(Fire)
8.94% Defense(Cold)
9.25% Defense(Energy)
9.25% Defense(Negative)
3% Defense(Psionic)
16.8% Defense(Melee)
15.5% Defense(Ranged)
14.9% Defense(AoE)
5% Enhancement(Heal)
4% Enhancement(Confused)
48% Enhancement(Accuracy)
87.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
10% FlySpeed
140.1 HP (11.6%) HitPoints
10% JumpHeight
10% JumpSpeed
Knockback (Mag -8)
Knockup (Mag -8)
MezResist(Held) 6.05%
MezResist(Immobilize) 6.05%
MezResist(Stun) 4.4%
19.5% (0.33 End/sec) Recovery
16% (0.8 HP/sec) Regeneration
5.04% Resistance(Fire)
5.04% Resistance(Cold)
10% RunSpeed






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So would a PvP "merit" system help more then (after DR gets dropped) to try and lure more people into zones? Say...get a merit for every non player killed in the zone and 50 merits for every player killed in the zone, with rewards being given by a PvP specific vendor?

I think the secondary effect to this type of system would be more PvP since a lot more people would be in the zone.

And yes, I agree. DR needs to go away. What's the point of IO's if they're simply rendered inconsequential upon entering the zone. If there needs to be an elite anywhere, it's PvP.

Just looked at the market today and saw that the +3% def Gladiator's Defense recipe is selling for a cool 2 billion influence, if it ever becomes available. The -resis proc is selling in excess of a billion and other PvP recipes that are somewhat desirable are selling for fairly high amounts as well.

I can honestly say that I find at least the procs desirable and would love to have them on a number of my toons, but that still doesn't create any incentive to actually PvP. I think that most of the people I know feel the same way. So are PvP drops actually helping PvP at this point? It seems to me that all this has done is create another handful of "elite" IO enhancements provided by a few PvPer's and a small number of masochistic farmers.

If the recipes were allowed to drop from Spawns within PvP zones, I believe this problem could be partially solved. Sure, people would farm them, but wouldn't the competition among opposing factions lead to...PvP, which is what the devs want anyway?

I have no interest in one on one PvP, but would probably risk entering the zone and killing some minions for the chance of getting one of these recipes. Due to the risk, I would probably even bring a team in to help out. It might also drive the price somewhere south of the influence cap as well. Make it lower drop rate than a Player kill, but something still feasible for a dedicated player. I know mentioning other games is somewhat Taboo here, but even though I no longer play a recently released game that allows you to intermittently fly, I have to admit that its system of rewards in PvP zones is very capable of completely driving an MMO endgame, partially because you can just kill random monsters in the PvP zones and still qualify for the rewards.

Figured it out for anyone else having this issue. If you're running Windows 7 you need to right click the shortcut for Mids and go into properties/advanced and click on run as administrator. If you don't do this the changes that were made for I16 won't show up, it will simply look like the I13 version.

Ninja Run + Sprint is just about as fast as unslotted fly. With swift I think you come out ahead but are still slower than unslotted Superspeed. It also allows you to do back flips, which makes it just that much better

The new booster rocks!!! When I toggle ninja run with my Fire/Shield scrapper I feel like a warrior running into battle, with my shield out front and my greater fire sword at the ready. Wonderful animation. Also looks great with my dual blades and katana, but shield is truly amazing. Thanks for the pleasant surprise devs. This pack is full of win.

P.S. Costumes are also very nice.

I completely uninstalled old version and installed the new one and everything works fine until I close it. Once I close it it reverts back to issue 13, 2/12/08. I tried disabling the update feature before closing but that doesn't work either. Getting really annoying. I wonder if this has anything to do with windows 7.

For some reason Mids seems to be reverting back to the I13 version every day or two. I have to completely uninstall it then reinstall it again to get some new builds to work. I'm running Windows 7 and thought that maybe this might be the issue, but still can't figure out why it switches back to the 12/08 version. Any ideas?

I was looking to make an corruptor AV soloer redside. I'm looking at fire and sonic as my two primaries and rad and cold as my two secondaries. From a pure DPS standpoint, can anyone tell me which combination would come out on top (anyone done a pylon test with their build)? I'd appreciate the help, looks like a fun AT to play.