Rejolt

You'll have more than enough endurance, just leave Static Shield on while Surge is up. As for stacking more on.... sounds good but until I fight 20 Lost/Rikti bosses at once and see I'm getting owned I'm not going to be begging for it to be added to the uber Unstoppable power.

I agree. Grounded = You should be on the ground. Ask Stone tanks if they'd like to be in the air with Rooted on... of course! But it doesn't make sense. At least you won't be running at .2 mph to be protected from knockback, Elec brutes.

I like the combos with Electric so far, but I think I'm stuck debating whether to go DM or Elec/.

Going both DM and Elec I've found myself surprisingly durable while farming blues and whites. DM has a heal, Elec has AoEs and a great Knockdown power (both by lvl 8).

I like Super Strength but I think I've played it enough (I have a SS/Invin brute at lvl 27). I stopped playing the build at lvl 4. I don't think I'd like SS/Elec until I got Footstomp. I liked SS/Invin the moment I got Stamina at lvl 20.

I never tried Dark for much time (I got a dark/dark brute to 7 or 8 once before clearing for another toon and my dark scrapper i stopped at 16).
However, with Lightning Field giving you Fury you can avoid Shadow Punch and just stick to Smite and Shadow Maul. Siphon Life is a beautiful power - as it is just a normal part of my combo and gives unslotted 10 percent hit points back.
I've gotten a few bubs into lvl 8 and love the combo.

Electric/Electric is mainly theme, but it's very effective. Thunder Strike does nice knockdown/back at lvl 8. I've tested both Boxing and Charged Brawl and CB is 15 percent more damaging but I'm planning on Tough (on DM as well) so I'll skip. I like maul over Jacob's Ladder, but watching the shockwave brings out the kid in you. I'm at lvl 12 and like it, but I used the free respec to go into the leaping line (after just getting primary/secondary powers first) and wish I had another now lol.

Energy I like for burst damage and Barrage is the best minor melee power I've seen for building fury. Stuns are nice vs. Minions and Lts. but Super Strength is better for keeping bosses off their feet. Hands down Glowing Hands + Electric Auras = coolest looking AT in the game.

I haven't tried fire yet. If I'm going to go a melee build with Aoes I'm going to try the elec/ first. I can discover this later lol.

Does anyone else think the number of players even thinking of going fire/ or /fire just shrunk tenfold?

Sad to hear that about Chain Induction. With Grounded being your most useful defensive power after Charged Armor now, it looks like Chain is going to slide back into the 20s.

As for Thunder Strike, ahem (cough).... ahem-ahem.... OMG! What the hell is wrong with some people!? It's FOOTSTOMP at level 8!! It's your most useful crowd control power. You'll be able to herd, knock them down/back and then go back to work with your other powers. Thunder Strike animating faster and coming back quicker would be broken. You could Jacob's Ladder and TS the mob a cycle and they'd only get in one attack every 8-10 seconds (after hasten/LR/SO recharges).

Damage? ThunderStrike has never been an uber damage dealer for it's animation time. And the PBAoE does a much higher precentage to the crowd than the blaster version.

I've always wanted more energy damage out of the attack, but considering it's knockback feels like a big smashing attack - it's logical how it works.

And can someone tell me what the issue with Chain Induction is? I heard it was an issue of no experience gained for each additional target hit or players didn't like it's usefulness/damage.

I hope this hits live soon, but it's making me want to get my lvl 12 brute on test to 20 so I can see Grounded, CI and LR in practice.

My post on 5/12:

[ QUOTE ]
Simple: Add Combat Jumping-level immoblize protection to Lightning Reflexes. That means one immoblize.

That's still not as good as unyielding, but it makes sense as Weave and Combat Jumping (both agility type powers) protect vs. one immoblize themselves.


[/ QUOTE ]

I officially pat myself on the back. And bow down to however in the think tank added knockback. No one seemed to respond to this suggestion, because i was going to suggest Mag 1 knockback protection to Grounded if I started some conversation on it.

Thank you, developers!

My guess is this: You can drain endurance from mobs and so they included the animation for it. Draining endurance and siphons may have the same animation.

Damage over time AoE shouldn't give endurance back. Maybe because the endurance drain is the doing the 30 percent chance return but you don't actually get it... the game is giving it back to the minion and causing the animation.

Minions are Returning AoE drained endurance back to themselves. I've seen this siphon emote only when I used Jacob's Ladder or Lightning Field.

Simple: Add Combat Jumping-level immoblize protection to Lightning Reflexes. That means one immoblize.

That's still not as good as unyielding, but it makes sense as Weave and Combat Jumping (both agility type powers) protect vs. one immoblize themselves.

As for the knockback protection, dark and fire were not given the protection so you're stuck with hover or acrobatics. I had a friend with numerous 50s on protector get City of Villians, make a fire/fire brute and he quit over being forced to take the leaping line.

A 3-man team spawn of -1 longbow killed him easily. He never got off his back during one mission. He was so used to invincibility fighting 30 or 40 +5s from the old days he quit.

All drains do 1/4 what they do in PvE when it translates to PvP

Short Circuit is a 35 point drain in PvE, yet only 9 pts in PvP. So that 39 is likely a 10, so the resist taking it to 7 sounds like a 30 percent resist.

Amen. I love my Fire/Kinetic Corr in PvE but a SS tank was just laughing at me as i hit him with my best shots. His hopping appeared to be resistant to siphon speed too.

At least I gave him debt near some Arachnos. I hate to be that petty but four times it was KO blow, held, dead. The animation times on my attacks, no matter how fast, was enough for him to catchup with me. The times I survived I essentially had to completely run away and then catch him not looking for me.

I fear this happening to my hero blasters vs. SS brutes. However, in all fairness my elec/nrg currently wins more than losses in straight up fist fights with brutes. I just wish ranged attacks were a little more fearsome. Blasters are only using what works and that's usually not a ranged attack unless you're finishing off a runner.

Blaster + Any Stun = dead. Scrapper or tanker + Detoggle = maybe dead. I agree detoggling should be scaled back (where were was detoggling relief during issue 4 arena fights lol), just how much though?

The following facts have been disputed in the guide:
1. There is no interrupt effect in the goo:
It's hard to argue this. Past raids saw the goo always interrupt powers like sniper blasts, but recent ones have only seen rare interrupts. Chances are the mitos are causing the effect, as at least one player has said they have used aid other on the aggro tank and that they were never stopped from using it. Just know that during Mito phase some attacks may be interrupted.

2. The Area or Effect attacks cause mitos to split:
This is one of the biggest barked complaints by raid leaders. This is a widely held idea that any attack that hits more than one target will cause a mito to split into two. At least one hamidon veteran said this may not be the case. The AoEs may cause aggro from the Hamidon and so they should not be used.
Splits are actually based on a percent chance once it hits 50 percent health if you haven't held the mito. So basically, still do not use AoEs and be sure to cycle through all holds, stuns, etc. before using attacks on a Mito as to not give the mito a chance to duplicate.

It's already there on Freedom. I put the Freedom in front of it case different servers have different ways to kill the Hamidon.

I started on Infinity and had two different ways to attack the big old Egg. We called for damage dealers in the second half of the Hamidon's hit points.

We also used to skip the mitochondria and just attack the Hamidon. It took massive heals and illusion pets. The lag was insane and players with pets out would die a few times. We have not tried that way since Issue 6 launched.

Forgive the error in this paragraph:
"The Targeter will not fight, therefore avoid as much aggro as possible. You can move freely once you've got the Targeter on follow but be sure to stop attacking if he dies as to not accidentally target a mito the mass of the dmg team is actually attacking."

The Targeter will try not to fight as to cut down on aggro....

and try not to attack if the Targeter is killed. Wait until the Targeter is revived, as you don't want to attack a mito the damage team is not focused on. Things can get really bad if the Targeter goes down and you start hitting the hamidon.

I am sorry for the typos.

I posted on the old hamidon thread so people can see what players have done in the times before. That was mostly pre ED that I can see and it's last post was Jan. 16th

Here is what I posted in the Freedom Forum on how we've been running raids more or less:

Hamidon raids are now daily here on Freedom so I thought I should throw some raid guidelines done here as Cliff Notes for any first timers.

Raids are 8 p.m. EST daily now btw. You can reach the Hive by going through Founders Falls, then Eden, followed by the Hive on the far side of Eden. You may not enter the Hive unless you are level 45.

The Hive has numerous devouring earth monsters that kill any blaster in about two hits even with epic armor on. There are even swarm spawns that fly over head that sting with anti-fly venom.

A few tips: have a team with recall friend or a Super Group base with a hospital. If you leave your base after dying in the Hive you will end up back exactly where you died. The hamidon spot is in the middle of the map about 45 degrees straight out from the lower left hand corner of the map (i think it's about 600-700 yards from the door). Most players huddle on a large rock where monster spawns don't wonder near.

The Hamidon is a sight to behold. Nothing else in the CoH universe can top it. It's essentially a large planet-sized single-cell organisim surrounded by 32 or so smaller moons or mitochondria in a large jello-like mass. The jello-mass will mess with interruptable powers and anyone in it will add to the hamidon's defenses like a tank's invincibility power.

The hamidon can kill any toon save maybe a toon using dull pain-type powers in about two or three hits and the AoE effect of the hit can effect scores of heroes. I've seen 80 players killed in at two-shot volley.

The energy fired by the mitos and hamidon is UNTYPED. This means it always hits players and is not stopped by any type of defense. The only defensive powers that should be used are the ones that offer hold/knockback protection like acrobatics or Unyielding.

Only single-target attacks should be used. Mitochondria attacked by area of effect attacks (or better said as hits more than one, and this includes melee attacks like Shadow Maul and Flashing Steel) will cause them to split. This means you have to fight another mitochrondria at full hit points in the same spot after you finish off the original mitochondria. They can split forever... and this really slows things down. Using AoEs such as Fulcrum Shift can also cause the main Hamidon to aggro you and may wipe out your entire team. So single-target attacks only.

Lag is also a serious issue. Considering turning off all armors and using non-cape, non-aura constumes (you may want to make one just for raids). Turning graphics option down to safe mode helps as well (Options/graphics and audio).

That's enough of the primer, on to the attack phases:
(NOTE: YOU USUALLY HAVE RAID LEADERS WHO WILL SPEAK THROUGH THE REQUEST CHANNEL. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THAT PURPLE CHAT CHANNEL VIEWABLE AT ALL TIMES FOR UP TO DATE INSTRUCTIONS. NO OTHER PLAYER SHOULD SPEAK ON IT)

Phase One Groups:
Aggro Team: Consists of a Tank for taking damage and a number of empath healers.

Drop Team: Illusion Controllers and at least one group fly having toon.

Damage team: Like it says. One toon per damage team with group fly is usually needed and a healer or two per team works as well. Healers will have Aura heals on autofire.

Phase One Battle Plan:
The opening phase will see the drop team sending in numerous illusion decoys to draw the mitochondria's fire. The aggro team's tank will then run in and taunt the hamidon's fire. Empaths will be directly healing the tank or else he'll be killed quick.

The damage teams, who will try to avoid getting near the aggro tank, will all focus fire through one player called the Targeter. The Targeter is best put on your firend's list so he/she will be easy to track in case things get to hairy for your PC to track.

The Targeter will not fight, therefore avoid as much aggro as possible. You can move freely once you've got the Targeter on follow but be sure to stop attacking if he dies as to not accidentally target a mito the mass of the dmg team is actually attacking.

The mitos will split, heal each other, hold players and attack with massive, 750-damage attacks that only heals will save you from. You may die a few times or none at all. I've had raids where I've died a dozen times, but can go the next half-dozen raids and maybe die one or two times total.

The nice part is occasionally you will get lvl 53 single origin drops of your Origin. You need to be on the highest damage team and even then the drops tend to be random on whether you get them.

Phase Two:
One-hit phase. If you do any damage to the hamidon and he dies later on ( you must stay in the hive for his death), you will get your dual-purpose Hamidon. Hamidons are lvl 50 max, b ut if you're a lvl 45-48 you might get a hamidon lvl 48 or 49. I'll explain what they do later on.

Tanks and controllers whose holds do no damage should get there hits in at least. Follow request channel to see how the leader wants to do this phase. Some leaders skip one-hit, but seeing as tanks won't be needed after this (save for the Aggro tank), you'd be best to remind him/her.

Phase Three: HOLD!
Phase Three Teams - Aggro team, hold team.
Hold Team: Any toon with at least one holding power in the zone combined with at least 10 Radiation defenders/controllers. Healing is no longer required outside of the Aggro Team.

Congrats! You've just helped kill about 3 dozen archvillian-strength bad guys. The experience stinks, but it's a little better now with double what we used to get for them. You've likely just spent 45 minutes to two hours (depending on raid size) fighting mitos, so know this should be the less-dangerous, but more patience-trying phase ahead.

Now it's on to the hamidon. The Aggro team will still draw fire for what we will now call the HOLD phase. The hamidon has about 47k hit points. If it hits 23.6k hit points (half) and is not held, he spawns a mitochondria for every player in the Hive (100 players = 100 mitos). Each mito can kill any player in two or three hits. If this happens, the raid is over and you have to wait for a respawn to try this again.

Also, the hamidon hits hard even without calling for mito support. This means no attacks of any sort will be done at this stage. Not even debuffs. Any power that says hold will be used at this point.

The hold phase is one of the most trying moments in City of Heroes. You essentially huddle up with several dozen players and use holds for 30 minutes to an hour or more until the raid leaders tell you otherwise. You can judge how well the hold is going by how often Hamidon fires on the Aggro tank.

The Radiation toon will cast Accelerated Metabolism on the tightly packed together hold team. About 10 to 12 are needed before you really start seeing the hold take shape. The raid leaders will start the next phase when a good number of minutes go by between hamidon shots.

Note: Immoblizes like Crey Pistol, Electric Fence, etc. will do no good. Holds only. Also Tanks are made to aggro, so any attack they use (even epic holds or Knockout blow, which is listed a hold) may cause the hamidon to fire on the hold team. It is wise if tanks stay out of the jello to avoid helping the hamidon's hold resistance or drawing unwanted aggro.

Also, slicks and rains do nothing to mitos and hamidon. They do cause lag, so they are not to be used.

Lag can kill a raid. The Hamidon will literally disappear at times. Pets, however, never lose sight of the Hamidon. Select the pet and you will automatically be targeting the Hamidon.

Pets that can be used: Jack Frost and Singularity. Dark Servants have been used, but they automatically heal, causing even more lag, so it's wise to not use them unless the raid leader asks. Fire Imps are major aggro and should not be used. Sigh, yeah, I hate the no monkeys thing too.

Phase Three: Debuffing.
Following leaders on Request channel, debuffs will be called for but not damage. Players who have been holding will continue to hold. Dark Servants may be called in for use at this point, but at raid leader's call.

Debuffs alone with the small damage some holds do can be enough to kill the Hamidon. However, raid leaders may call for damage dealers to enter the goo and attack. Players that run in MAY BE HELPING THE HAMIDON RESIST THE HOLD BETTER, so if you're not asked to help kill the Hamidon understand why. This is why we have the one-hit phase before things begin.

Someone usually counts off his hit points. If you have the Vanguard Medal or Power Boost be sure to use it during the home stretch (they help hold power). If the pet you are targeting with goes away, be sure to know where other pets are if you can't see the hamidon still.

NOTE: Be sure you have a slot open for hamidon enhancement. If you have 10 enhancements (remember Mitos drop SOs), you won't get a Hamidon! Make space.

Phase Four: Aftermath.
When the Hamidon dies he blows up, knocking anyone with no knockback protection over but no one takes damage. The Hamidon spits out about 2-3 dozen Hamidon buds (small glowing tennis ball-sized things) that will scatter wildly. Kill them and they will drop even more high-level enhancments, but they will be more in line with killing a regular boss (lvl 49-51 SOs, DOs, generics).

Congrats! You've just rid the world of its greatest threat, until 8 pm est the next day that is....

This forum needs some love. Freedom is running daily raids. This place will be important as developers tweak mito drops and such.

Hmmmm, I preordered CoV and entered the preorder code at this website on my account. Will be emailed the code to enter live 2 days before the game arrives at my local store?