Psylenz

The happy coincidences are when the tank can take a group to a wall or corner where the storm defender can push and debuff, say a group of Crey including a purple Paragon Protector, and thus stack the positioning skills of the defender on top of the damage soaking ability of the tank while the tornado chews his autohit damage through the debuffed PP.

The Storm/Rad build as you can see from my first 50 is a viable build. Today we are no long limited to team or to solo, we can have both. We can change builds about once per mission at a trainer if we choose. Tweak out your favorite build and go generic IO or SO with your second choice.

The choices I would make is to have Freezing Rain up as fast as possible, up to 3 lightning storms at one time, and either more ranged defense or increased regeneration to enable enduring more damage potential in battle.

Specifically, snowstorm may be overslotted. Two SO/IO units of end reduction and one of slow usually max out its capability. Steamy mist is better suited to resistance slotting. Heat, Cold, and energy types of damage are common enough to boost steamy's resistance over the relatively small boost in defense. Freezing Rain is very under-slotted for recharge. I want that power up and I mean NOW. Slot for slows or defense debuff to taste. Tornado could use another slot of pure recharge. I tend to find more situations for my tornado than some do. It also appears to me that in the last couple years, tornado's aggressive aggro-beast style has been tempered a bit. Forcefeedback +recharge no longer boosts the recharge of lightning bolt blasts, you can replace it or delete that slot from lightning storm.

You took medicine and flight, and I cannot fault you for that. I took the Mighty Storm's suggestion for maximum mobility and I use teleport for combat movement on my current storm creations. You can tp into position and fire off gale or hurricane before the assembly of foes knows what hit them. It definitely gives you the jump on positioning. You might consider the Electric mastery in comparison to the Power mastery.

I took hasten for forge and pet resummons. I also took teleport for lost zombies in elevators and self travel speed. I hate that elevator bug.

At level 29, I am switching a lot from defensive to goto/aggressive so that they knock out foes faster instead of the slow grind of all at once. I didn't take the necro primaries other than 3 pet summons and the soul extraction, which I find to be handy. I am taking all the thermal secondaries. When I get a decent IO build or a self shield from the patrons, I will try to tankermind a little more often.

I have a necro/thermal. Why isn't soul extraction advantageous? You get full health pet in place of the dropped pet. Usually when I lose one, I lose the second.

I definitely think storms, rads, and darks can tank by any terms using their debuff AoEs to debuff and lock down large groups of foes.

This combination used to be seen more frequently. It is a very solid combo, and I have on one virtue in the 30s. It is an AoE machine, and the extra -tohit outside of the Radiation Infection area is a plus.

FWIW, I am enjoying my necro/thermal. I don't mind when _one_ minion dies, because then I get extracted soul.

I would add that Sonic/Sonic is a great great team defender. If you have the option, choosing a kinetic defender or a Forcefield, (or Cold) defender for a teammate just about pushes you totally to the delirious level. Sonic blast's howl power is almost a primary power in strength wielded by a Sonic defender, stacking the -resistance.

I also agree that Sonic Siphon is useful later in the sonic's career. It affords more debuff on a Crey tank than an Eidelon in my opinion. It is a wicked single target debuff.

Not all my defenders can tank, but my storms and darks can grab the aggro entire groups and not let go through continual debuff or controllerish powers.

In the long long ago, before IOs, my mid 30s level sonic was on a team fighting that evil wench Diabolique as an AV. We weren't getting wiped so much as we just didn't bring enough to put her down. So, I switched to my level 50 main Storm/Radiation. It wasn't lightning quick but we steadily wore her down and arrested her. The reasons I believe is that my stormy had decent -resistance, a ton of slow, and a ton of -defense with Mr. Twisty bouncing her on his knee when she wasn't scampering all over the friggin outdoor zone after hitting siphon speed (?)

Well, today, not a long long ago, there was a defender in a long lost shard teaming with some blasters, a lot of blasters, actually 7 of them. During a near team wipe the defender used his assemble the team. Horrified, the blaster gasped, were you trying to be a <Richard> by tp'ing me into that big group of Arachnos? To which the flustered defender replied , no I was trying to set up Howling Twilight and do a group rez! It was a perfect location on a platform with fluffy at the defender's side, spamming his fluffy twilight grasp in a nice cloud of Chill of the Night. Sadly, not one blaster was rezzed, and the defender himself was soon overwhelmed by the 8 man spawn of Arachnos.

I get a resistance proc to put in increase density and usually take hover on my defenders and blasters for hover/sniping ( I am sick that way). Hover and the kb protect in increase density is usually enough for me.

With tar patch, howling twilight, and your nuke, I would suggest getting recharge global bonuses. I slot Glimpse of the Abyss in higher level dark users because I like the bonuses, and I think fear is a good component when you have the other -tohit cooking well in the higher levels. Early levels, put -tohit in Fearsome Stare. I emphasize -tohit in the Dark Servant if for nothing else other than the Chill of the Night Aura your dust bunny uses to great avail. Electric is not a bad epic set since it has the recovery drain power sink to use after nuking. Yes, my defenders usually nuke for the guilty pleasure of it. Like the previous poster related, it's hard to go wrong with a DDD.

I would rate psi tornado higher than skippable. As Garent said, it's part of a potent triple whammy with lingering rad, psychic scream and psi tornado. Psy tornado is knock DOWN, not back and it doesn't travel around like the stormy tornado does.

Not too long ago, before the pets got another AI tweak in regards to power recharge rates, some players would not use certain equip/upgrades on certain pets such as the Bruiser (to remove his ranged attack) and the Assault Bot (to forego the long animating flame-thrower). To my knowledge most players since the AI changes have not been continuing that tactic.

OP, friend, make sure you are using bodyguard mode, take the alpha with your MM. Pull with weaken and envenom. Use macros/binds to push your first two tier minions into melee mode. You probably know all this. I trust you have envenom, weaken, neurotoxic breath, and paralytic poison when they are available.

You are also on the edge of the big break. Your second grave knight is a godsend for the big smack down. When the Lich arrives at level 26, your grave knights' AI improves to where they don't want to hang back as much. I don't mind a bit of ranged toxic damage from the boys, but they more effective in slap or sword mode. This is my second plug for a macro/bind.