Reppu

Hrm. I see. Well, I might need to play around with Demons/Therm then. I just need to either make, or get, a build that fills my appetite for +Recharge and utility.

To say Ice has comparable AoE to SS is to think Foot Stomp is why SS is considered to-tier AoE. Ice doesn't have anything resembling Rage, which is the sole reason SS is so powerful. This was noted above.

Ice's (poorer) Foot Stomp clone wouldn't be enough. Ice DOES have another AoE in it's kit (Frost), but it's a short-range, wide-width cone. It tends to either be a hit or miss depending on devotion to positioning.

Let's not lie here. Ice is a poor primary in this day and age. Defenses are still important, but Ice is the sole Defense set that sacrifices Resistance to everything but Cold damage. It's (minor) saving grace is having easily capped S/L/E defenses.

Ice also has notoriously low DDR, around 50%. This is crippling for a defense based set. Abuse of the hami-o glitch would be needed.

However, Ice can hold aggro really well, and it shares an HP Steroid with Invulnerability. But the lack of natural resistances, and piddling DDR, makes Ice show it's waning age in a day and age with sets like Willpower and Shield Defense which can be fine-tuned to make everything else look redundant. Not even to include the obvious juggernauts of Invulnerability and Dark Armor.

Is Ice Armor bad? No. But is it "amazing" or other claims people make in this thread? No. Like all Defense sets (not named Shield Defense), you'll feel weak until nearing the end of your career. and even then...

Ice does have one major thing going for it, that it and it's other stepchild-brother Dark Armor share! They're rare to see in the field. So, expect some awe for your persistence!

And most of all, enjoy it.

What would be the point in 90% Resistances to the pets, in a game where avoiding damage is key? Going by their horrible health pools, wouldn't being hit at 90% HP still result in instagibbing? Not to mention all the little sources of constant damage.

Have been crashing since getting this computer (as a gift <3!) for nearing two months now. A pattern I've noticed is a hard-crash or failure to load graphics at around 1,700,000k of total memory.

Here's the CoH Helper report, none the less. Video card drivers are not up to date due to trying to find a way around this, but seems to be a major memory leak issue and nothing I can do.

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---

DxDiag gathered at July 27, 2011 00:13 (-05:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.101014-0432)
System Manufacturer: Acer
System Model: Aspire M3100
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Central Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 3198MB
.Net Memory Report: 1511MB out of 3198MB available
Page File: 4451MB (2192MB currently in use)
C Drive: (WDC WD3200AAJS-22RYA0 ATA Device) 74601MB out of 147487MB (50%) free
D Drive: (WDC WD3200AAJS-22RYA0 ATA Device) 141540MB out of 147761MB (95%) free
E Drive: (ATAPI iHAS324 B ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 7.00.6002.18107 (32-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.

No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce GTS 450
Video Memory: 2337 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.0012.7061
Driver Date: 4/8/2011 12:14:00 AM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.6002.18005
Driver Date: 4/11/2009 8:18:00 AM

Sound Device Description: Digital Output Device (SPDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.6002.18005
Driver Date: 4/11/2009 8:18:00 AM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Acer
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: F690GVM
Motherboard Version:
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Name: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Version: ACRSYS - 42302e31
BIOS Release: 20070625000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1440x880
3D Resolution: 1440x880 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: No
Maximized: Yes
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 5032
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Low quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High


World Texture Level: Medium
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Shadow maps
Shadow Map Shader: Low quality
Environmental Reflections: Disabled
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: Off
Occlusion Strength: Off
Blur: Bilateral
Ambient Resolution: Performance


Gamma Correction: 0.799
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.012
Music Sound Volume: 0.000

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 1.000
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: 2010.201105250125.1.0
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\NCsoft\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

Hum. Here's what I managed for KM/ELA, No Purple Rule, and a Tier 3 Alpha (Spiritual).

Unsure of what the choice of Destiny would be. Ageless for more recharge is always nice. Barrier to help push my resistances further and have some paltry defense is good. Rebirth is a decent "O SHIZ" button. Hum.

I am saddened at my lack of Focused Burst by a "It looks spiffy!" aspect, even though I know the power is worse than Quick Strike. But that aside...

You should worry about me cutting your tail off, more.

HIGH SIEGLINDE, HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

. . . I win at typing! That aside.


Hrm. I've seen KM/ELA and KM/SR pushing 200-300 DPS, for Scrappers. Depending on how often Power Siphon is adorable.

Curious, this. Looks like it'd be more worthwhile to wait.

Why am I asking this? Simple; Energy Aura.

I can either wait until Freedom goes live in a ... few months, or I can do an early KM/EA Stalker and live with the "trolololugimpedscrapper" shenanigans.

In a flat damage comparison, Stalkers aren't too terribly behind Stalkers. They're definitely squishier, but we'll ignore that for the time being. Thusly, I am curious about one major thing;

The 'forced criticals' of Placate, causing a refresh of Build Up with Concentrated Strike. Is there any remote net-gain of overall damage in doing so, considering the animation times associated? If I recall, Power Siphon grants more DPS over time than Build Up does, by a decent margin.

With a decent level of Recharge, Placate can sit around 15 seconds, and Power Siphon at 30 seconds. We'll likely use this as our basis for the comparison.

Ultimately, I'm expecting 'reduced DPS' from Stalker KM, even with the forced Build Up's and other such things. The curiosity is, just how much is being lost? If it's a slight difference, I may go for the KM/EA Stalker by merit of excitement for the future. If it's too substantial, I'd opt to wait for Freedom.

If I recall, however, Stalkers have superior AoE damage by merit of Forced Burst criticals, and Forced Fireball criticals should they rather that route. So that may be one thing to note.

If anyone is able to generate the given numbers, that would be superb. I can normally do DPS comparisons myself, but factoring things like Power Siphon Upkeep, and Build Up Upkeep, begin to confuse me.

For the sake something to base off of, we'll place Placate at a 15 Second Cooldown, which if I'm right, has Power Siphon at around a 30 Second Cooldown.

Thanks in advanced! Or simply helping me learn how to do all this is fine, too.

Now, before it's mentioned, I know it's been stated in the past that there's clipping issues with certain hairstyles and certain hats, but I feel in an age where player responsibility is paramount, with examples like the Steampunk Pack having many, MANY costume pieces that tear and cut into others... that it's time we were given the ability to place hats upon our characters, and being responsible with how they end up looking.

I love all of the hats in the game, but as someone who plays long-haired individuals, going from hair that reaches my rear-end, to suddenly being buzzcut'd with a beret is very jarring. And a lot uglier than any number of tearing issues I'd have otherwise.

Tails and Belts were made separate due to demand and plea, would this be at all possible? I'd love a beret with my glam hair~

Lend a voice of support, those who care! And thanks for the game, Paragon!


(PS: Please to be wanting large hair ribbons. And short boots. And Dual-Blade War Fans. <3)

Wh... I...

I don't even.

I'm tweaking a Fire/Earth build for Double Aura Shenanigans, too... but I can't say I like your build. Sacrificing PermaDom, and thusly PermaFlashfire, are the key to Fire's survivability. No amount of +Defense is going to compare to a Mag 6 PermaStun.

A pseudo softcap isn't worth it, considering this build is clearly meant for team play, where getting Soft Capped by allies is realistic. That's just my opinion. I'd link my build, but I'm still doing some tweaks.

. . .

OH! OH. Oh my. I thought this was a serious thread.

Phew, good. I can laugh and not feel bad anymore.

The Blaster design is damage, damage, and moar damage. If this is the case, why do they not pull ahead of the hybrid damage dealers? Or, rather, why do they not pull ahead /more/?

Blasters need more ratio adjustments. As do Stalkers (offense only). Only then will I say "Blasters are Fine".

Oh, and feel free to nerf Archery and Fire Blast to do this. Those two sets are likely the sole reason why further Blaster buffs are being hesitated on.

Please, nerf them as much as needed.

I made a rather large post for this, and it got eaten. So, let me sum it up;

Stalker survivability is fine. Their HP should stay at Blaster level, who a lot of people forget is a Melee AT just as much as it's a Ranged AT. Stalkers also benefit from a superior secondary pull for survivability, so tl;dr = qq moar?

Stalker AoE is fine. They should not be on Scrapper level of AoE. Scrappers have their AoE prowess due to being pseudo-tanks when needed.

Stalker (and Blaster) damage is NOT fine and should be addressed. Stalker (And Blaster) should, by a margin, out-damage the other ATs.

And that's all.

Let's just sum up Pain Dom before looking at anything else.

1) Pain Domination is a Buff/Debuff set with healing. Never forget this. It's Buff/Debuff before Healing.

2) Pain Domination works best with a primary that keeps the best close together, and has one huge heavy hitter.

3) Pain Domination enjoys AoEs.

Alright, let's go ahead and look down the list.

1m) Mercenaries: LOLNO.

2m) Zombies: This isn't a bad choice. Painbringer a Grave Knight is pretty solid. And zombies are easy to keep rounded up.

3m) Ninjas: Painbringer a Jounin or Oni = fun. Since this is the only 'pure melee' pet set, it is very easy to keep them in line to keep benefiting from your AoE Buffs and Healing.

4m) Thugs: It's Thugs. Painbringer the Bruiser and go to town. Problem here it's hard to keep the Bruiser and Arsonist in line with the Enforcers unless you send them all melee, which makes the Enforcers AoEing a lot more difficult. I wouldn't suggest Pain with Thugs due to positioning quirks, but it's Thugs. It's OP no matter what. Even with LOLTRICKARROW.

5m) Bots: This is pretty much where you should go with Pain Dom. Painbringer the Assault Bot, World of Pain stacks resistance with bot Resistance and Defense. Everyone is ranged so it's easier to keep them clustered up.

6m) Demons: Since this is a mix of ranged/melee that ends up melee after some time, this is another good choice for it. The stacking resistance easily lead to extremely high levels of resistance, plus a lot of AoE healing going around. Another solid choice.


Basically speaking, you want to decide between Thugs, Bots, and Demons. Ninjas and Zombies would also perform with the set but Ninjas really need -ToHit Debuffs or +Defense in a secondary to be happy.

Have fun!

Scorpion Shield isn't mandatory. Not having Electrifying Fences is /horrible/.

Additionally, it is retarded-easy for a /Traps to soft cap with out Scorpion Shield, allowing them to get 70% S/L Resistance with Charged Shield. Amazing, yes? If I can have 45% in my defenses prior to the Prot Bots, why would I want Scorpion Shield?

And, yes. I have high +HP and +Recharge.

As for Photon Grenade, it's useful due to having a stacking stun with the Prot Bots, but most important the damage + stun is a good aggro boost. Also, it can set off Interface. Caltrops + Fences + Grenade = A lot more damage than you'd think.

Just keep in mind, Tankerminding is pretty much strictly a soloing thing. It's just way too difficult to even pretend to do it in teams. Not that the Mastermind can't tank, they survive better than most Tankers do. It's just a simple matter of aggro.

Even for soloing purposes, it's not terribly /easy/. The presence pool is just that bad ;P

But yeah, soloing +4/x8 is hardly difficult as Bots/Traps. Incarnate Powers made it a joke, honestly. Although you'll still have twitchy moments, it comes with the RNG.

Ultimately, it's extremely easy to soft-cap, with out the Prot Bots, as noted by plainguy. My personal build manages this, although I do personally hate Force Field Generator at times for being a slow jerk. Thusly, as noted in a previous post, Charged Armor is where it's at.

Although it's just added on top. You'll never die before you pets unless you really bombed your positioning. Blah blah blah basic knowledge blah.

Have fun with it, so on and so forth.


Edit: Just keep in mind, for Tankerminding, AoE's are going to be important. I strongly suggest picking up both Electrifying Fences and Photon Grenade. Since the /entire/ point of Tankerminding is an AoE build, really. Also? Take. Caltrops. Caltrops is the best power in the game, period.

I'd say the following powers are what you want on a Tankermind:

Photon Grenade (Easiest way to get this is to not take Trip Mine. Trip Mine is just too much of a situational power, and Photon Grenade can do some hysterical things), Electrifying Fences (Mu Mastery), Provoke (Obviously), Caltrops.

I wouldn't personally bother with a single target attack, and instead just lob Web Grenades. Damage is a part of threat, but debuffs piss mobs off quite nicely too.

I can see the value in team teleport, but i've never had significant drama with pet management and positioning. Just, the two powers needed to build up to Team Teleport ultimately makes me go "Hm". It comes down to dropping the Fighting Pool, which'll make me sad, or the Leadership Pool, which'll also make me sad.

Mostly, though, this wouldn't be my choice of Soloing Mastermind. I'd rather use Thugs or Bots or anything else AoE centric. This is more for teaming shenanigans and general "pissing on AVs through ST damage."

And I know where this is where Ninjas shine; taking down a single target in a glorious manner. And in a team, there's hopefully a few defense buffs going around to soft cap the little jerks.

I also feel /Storm is a good way to go for even more AV damage dealing, with Tornado and Lightning Storm being beautiful in that department. As well as Freezing Rain being so brutalizing.

So, yeah. That's just me.