Reptlbrain
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Posts
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Joined
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I very recently got a new computer--not dedicated to gaming since CoH is really the only thing I run--and although the graphics are spectacular in comparison to my old rig, there's a major issue much of the time.
Interior instances (e.g., warehouse missions, sg base, the interior of Babylon) produce a flicker whenever the cursor crosses over certain things (what I can tell: the chat input window and selectable objects). The flicker basically reveals the skeletal structure of the instance (like the red grid underlying the base or the hall beyond the visible one). It's pretty maddening visually. This does not occur in outdoor zones or instances that are outdoor, at least so far as I've noticed.
I've tinkered with switching at least everything on the game's graphic settings (advanced and otherwise) and a little with the desktop's settings, and updated the video card's drivers, but nothing yet has worked. Any ideas? (I do not know much about hardware: my limits so far have been putting in additional RAM in older computers...)
I realize that the video card (Intel Integrated GX4500 HD) is not top-of-the-line, or even regarded as tolerable by hardcore gamers, but it otherwise renders the game beautifully. Other specs: Core i3-530 processor, Windows 7 64 bit, and 6GB DDR3 RAM. The monitor is older (exactly 5 years old), but I did not have this problem running the game in XP. -
Quote:I'd theorize that an unpleasant number of these have been thrown away/vendored. The plot goes something like this:Originally Posted by Organica
For several days I've had bids on two Siphon Insight accuracy/endurance/recharges in the 35-44 range for my 43 (now 44) MM. I suppose these are pool C's and midlevel range so yeah, I know that they're going to be hard to get, especially redside. But tonight a level 38 crafted popped up...
...and I was the first one to ever buy one.
That kind of illustrates for me how woefully inadequate the redside market is. I know they're a "newer" recipe, but still...
Pool B Siphon Insights drop a bunch.
"Casual" market users who get them think, "Huh, I surely don't need this, but new and decent bonuses and stuff and maybe I'll put it on the market."
Pool B Siphon Insights pile up on market and either sell for next to nothing or just sit there.
Siphon Insights become associated with market suckitude, thus when the rarely dropped pool C appears after a TF roll, casual market folks think "Gah, the new Crap of the Hunter," and vendor/delete without checking scarcity and such.
Slightly savvier market-users look at the crafting expenses and old price points for Siphon Insight crafteds, see that crafting will not be profitable, and then vendor/delete.
I was shocked a short while ago to be able to buy immediately 3 full sets (30s-40s) of Thunderstrikes (I only needed two, but candy store and all that) redside, all for 500k-1.1m (I didn't try for less than half-a-mil). This made me actually a bit lackadaisical about planning for my next IOing, and when I hit the Black Market last week, the below fifty T'strike cupboard was nearly bare.Quote:Originally Posted by DrMike2000
level 30 Thunderstrikes and Crushing Impacts, Positron's Blasts, Blessing of the Zephyr pairs for some of them, and so on.
...
This has totally failed to work on villains. The money's rolling in from generic IO crafting, but the recipes just aren't there. ... -
Several things:
Generally, with generic SO/IO slotting, most people tend to put 1 acc 3 damage in each regular attack. This gives you capped % to connect with even-con critters and max damage (at least with non-yellow SOs or lvl 30+ IOs) for each attack, so that you don't waste endurance.
Cobra Strike is an exception because it's not a regular attack, and does anemic damage. (It's probably not worth slotting much when you don't have plentiful slots.)
Someone else can give you much better advice on the value of the regular attacks in MA.
Focus Chi should not be slotted for ToHit (again, a luxury of high level, slot-heavy characters if at all), but rather recharge.
Your secondary powers are not the best ones from the set, other than Temp Invulnerability. You absolutely, positively should pick up Unyielding at 16, and it can serve on a single end reducer enhancement for a long while. That will make things a lot easier, as you won't be stunned half the time. Resist Elements is a power only affordable for higher level toons, and neither it nor Resist Physical Damage should see any slotting beyond the default slot early on. (Each SO in those powers basically adds 1% more resistance to a couple damage types. So the 100 pt smashing attack that would do 93 damage--with a single resistance SO--would do only 91 damage with your slotting.) Dull Pain is a much better choice than RE; its recharge is long so it should be first slotted with 3 recharge, then heal as slotting permits. When you can access Invulnerability at 28 and Tough Hide at 35 you should take them.
The second slot in Health could be better spent elsewhere (i.e., in attacks).
If you don't have any respecs, I would suggest switching to your alternate build and restarting. If you can't afford SOs/IOs to do that, tinker a bit in the market. -
Quote:Ah, Perplex conf/rng, my old nemesis.Originally Posted by UberGuy
I complain about it often.
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Quote:I recently leveled a Brute from 1-50, and he "earned" 400 million going from 49-50. Of course, that was a single purple drop...Originally Posted by Clebstein
I didn't read the whole thread but...I can't see how you get 312 million at level 50 just from playing and selling all drops. I would be surprised if that was normal for non-marketeers.
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Quote:Nice terminology. Didn't know this, and how come I got two Lady Grey Cs in the wild on one toon!?Originally Posted by Zombie Man
Pool C+D is weighted as a drop in the wild (from Bosses) and at the Ticket Vendor (Gold Roll) and at the Merit Vendor (Rare Roll).
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Quote:HA!Originally Posted by Fulmens
* I do occasional experiments, like "seriously, am I unable to affect the prices of Bat Wings if I REALLY TRY?"
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Quote:This sounds right as to the perception, though I generally take the view that flippers are storing salvage for me, so that I don't have to hassle myself storing it, since you can usually store less salvage than necessary for a full load of uncommon+ recipes. (Like, say, the grocery store--which produces nothing--stores lots of milk for me so I can come get some when I need some, and I pay for the price of that storage, but I don't have to keep a year's supply of milk on hand.) I also appreciate flippers' tells (hello, 800,123 salvage), as it clues me in to the minimum price I have to pay for orange salvage. That's service!Originally Posted by Another_Fan
its more resented for being parasitical, the way lawyers, lobbyists, etc are resented
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Quote:I'm sorry, but all support bubbler sounds like the most boring character imaginable. Please tell me the 4th power pool is Leadership.Originally Posted by Joe_Schmoe
My 99% All Support Bubbler runs without Fitness. With only one attack, the first tier, and the rest all FF, Medicine, Teleportation, and Flight powers, there was no room, or point to it.
I have a mostly AoE Cold/Ice that fares fairly well w/o Stamina. However, that toon does not run Snow Storm, end redux slotted in its Shields, has Health and the two Heal +end uniques, and has 20%+ ranged/aoe defense. Big teams usually make the end thing a little tricky, but usually there's some other buffer around to help balance that out. -
Quote:Level 50? Two of those recipes don't go up to lvl 50, so that kind of blows your argument about knowing what you're talking about.Originally Posted by eryq2
Just checked WW. Oblits at 35 are 0 for sale and up to 38mil uncrafted. Tha'ts about 4 times what they were. Level 50's are hovering between 10-30mil.
Posi's are decent.
Imperv's are up to 30mil on 3 pieces.
Kin Com are up to 60 mil on a couple pieces. (which is half of what you need)
Numina's are up to 40 mil on 3 pieces. (half of them aren't avail at 35)
LotG are all over the place on 35 and 50's. (cept for 7.5)
So, compared to the low 10's of mil that we used to pay, yes they are up quite a bit. Maybe you're the one that hasn't been around long enough to know what the prices use to be. These again were UNcrafted.
Kin Com's crafted are up to 100mil on 2 pieces atm. Im looking.
Imperv Armor are ave of 40mil
Numinas are ave around 40-50mil
Those are at 50. So, yes, i do know what i'm talking about.
First off, you're not disaggregating the various recipes in each set. Second, many of the prices have gone down, according to your numbers above.Quote:I've paid as little as under 10mil per for these before whatever is causing the increases. So, please tell me again how the prices are going down. Or shall i buy u a new compass?
Some Posi's Blasts (the pool B's) will go for 100k or so recipe. The Posi pool C's (the triple and the proc) have dropped in price at most ranges; they used to cost over 10 million. That price has gone down.
Level 50 Obliterations (you don't say which ones) hovering at 10-30 million? The pool C's (quad and proc) used to sell at lvl 50, uncrafted typically for 40 million, sometimes skyrocketing up over 100 million. At one point, people made the argument that the "big 3" C's, LotG, Numina and Miracle uniques, had become the "big 4" including the Oblit quad. That price has gone down. The B's (D/R, A/D/R) have definitely gone up in price in the middling levels.
My first pool C Impervium armors I ever sold--level 40s--both went for 40 million, as recipes. According to you, they're now 30 million. That price has gone down.
There are many prices that have gone up; more than have gone down. There is inflation in the game. You're just rather unobservant about which prices are inflating.
And if you're gonna complain about lack of recipes in the middling levels, then stop powerleveling your toons on a 50 map. You're part of that problem. -
Quote:Prior to the AE explosion, most high-tier and some mid-tier orange salvage went for more than a million. Prophecies, Deific Weapons, and Pangean Soils often sold for more than 5 million blueside. AE brought those prices down to a fairly stable 1 million for almost all mid- and high-tier salvage blueside, but also brought some prices up (Military Cybernetic, I remember, rocketed up to a million from under 100k per). I do actually miss the AE days a little, since it was very easy to estimate how much crafting rare recipes would run you. Since AE stopped, some of the expensive oranges have actually dipped in price--especially redside.Originally Posted by eryq2
Wow, really? Well orange salvage went to 2mil after AE from a couple hundred thousand AND hasn't really came down. (even with EVERYONE listing it lower to sell it) Hm, purples went from 30mil to over 200 and up to 400mil. Crafted and/or uncrafted. (cept for the sleep ones or confuse) And every other set that people like... Numina, Touch of Death, Oblits, Kin Com, Imperv Armors, Positrons Blast. Heck, anything with good bonus %'s. Maybe you haven't been around long enough to see the old prices and all you see is the manipulated market prices.
The price of most Touch of Deaths and Positron's Blasts have gone down recently, actually (throwing out the AE interregnum), though I've seen ToD go up just recently a bit. Some of the Impervium Armors have gone down, too. Obliteration doesn't seem to have changed much, though I haven't bought any in the last couple months. I don't know Numina's other than the unique, which has increased, but only that and Kinetic Combat have really increased in price. (The Kinetic Combat triple, lvl 35, once could be had for a million in recipe form, blueside.) So you're not telling the truth, or not very observant, or haven't been paying attention long enough to make a qualified statement about prices.
The main reason prices have gone up and up on the purple end is all those people powerleveling their toons to 50, using farming builds all the time, and generating enough influence to pay the silly prices. -
Quote:Had a couple of Detonation sets myself for a while (for the +AoE) in my bubbler, but a coupla BotZ -kbs later I was able to lay some Positrons over 'm. (Also, no Red Fortunes, so I needed them Thunderstrikes.)Originally Posted by Fulmens
I've been told that I'm NOT the only person to 5-slot Ruin for the AOE defense, but I'm not sure I believe it.
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The best thing to use to frankenslot is triples (and quads). Their overall enhancement value is bigger than the doubles. You can cram about 10-11 "SO's-worth" of IO enhancement into 6 slots.
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I also use it on my FF/Sonic's Siren Song, and with softcapped range/AoE it's nearly always enough to heal back damage from a medium-sized spawn, and lets me open Howl - Shockwave (if the right situation) - Siren's Song.
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Quote:I tried for a bit opening with Gale (and slotted that sucker) to beat the Caltrop opening, but the Gale victims do radiate a little, and scatter, of course, if you miss. If I want to debuff most of the critters in the spawn, then it's not usually possible to touch and retreat.Originally Posted by brophog02
Yeah, that's tricky in a lot of situations, especially since the Jounin want to toss caltrops immediately, and as a storm user you may not always want that to happen. You can just brush them with Hurricane and it not repel, but it requires you to hit them very lightly and move back instantly before you trigger the repel component......possible, but tricky.
Not skilled with the GoTo (all/def) myself; the ninjas seem mostly to run right back to where they were, so usually this seems to be a net loss of offense. I definitely should get better at placing the Oni/Jounin individually, but my mouse ain't got no extry buttons! Maybe the scatter is mostly the function of running a KoA arc recently...Quote:For the scatter issue, my advice is to utilize a goto command on an extra mouse button. Best thing I can advise for either of the melee pets because it makes control quick and seamless. -
Quote:Recent events lead me to agree wholeheartedly here. (I was planning on taking Group Fly instead, so I could have para-Ninjas, but the +40 game convinced me otherwise.) In addition, with one of the immobs, you can generally keep stunned groups clumped, which helps the ninja scatter problem, which keeps them in your Steamy Mist/Maneuvers/Unique Pet IO umbrella.Originally Posted by brophog02
Thunderclap is a very underestimated tool, as a whole, but especially for Masterminds. ... For a Mastermind, taking it and Oppressive Gloom locks down everything not resistant to the effect. Even by itself, it knocks out minions and lets you concentrate on the hard targets first. That alone mitigates a lot of the damage that tends to kill the Genin. Ninjas, overall, don't have a lot of problem mitigating damage from 1 or 2 targets......it is groups that can give them the most trouble. If you can buy a few seconds of time by stunning the group, the single targets fall pretty quickly.
If only the ("new") Hurricane repel didn't push critters so far--far beyond the effects of the power--even when you merely you brush them. I use it all the time to "soft-cap" the Ninjas' defense, but in an open situation, even a spawn-circling move will often push the critters off the Caltrops.Quote:I prefer Hurricane as it is one of the best tools in the game, but Thunderclap works so well with the Ninjas (and most of the other pets) that it is worth taking if at all possible. -
Of the leveling toons in my signature, seven have nearly full set IO load outs (one has two IO'd builds), two are partly setted (one is on a team with lots of defense, so I've been lazy about that), and three have merely plains or (gasp) SO placeholders. I'm not crazy about playing those. The ten 50s I have (and four 40-somethings that don't get much play time) all have substantial kits, though many with frankenslotting (for that particular min-max angle).
But I don't really min-max my 50s because I don't haul them out very often. Only one has more than a couple purples, a couple have HOs, and none have PvP IOs. And none of my toons have more than 3 LotG +7.5rech, which seems to be not quite getting to min-max. But the obsession with putting together frankenslot and +def builds as I go (and often respecking twice or thrice between 20 and 50) is pretty min-maxy.
The folks I know from real-life who play aren't min-maxers that read about the game a whole lot, or understand really how defense works, but they are people who get pretty deep into building with sets. They enjoy the shiny of more +acc and of course more +rech, and sometimes they short-change their builds' output in this pursuit. It's frustrating at times, but fun to chat about the build possibilities, which really wasn't much of a conversation through i8. -
Dammit!
One dropped for me on a boss kill today. -
Quote:I doubt this was their mindset--since the earliest iteration of /DA could not turn on all the armor toggles at once... It seems like they learned about a number of balancing elements as they went along.Originally Posted by Dunkelzahn_NA
My point was more that dark armor offers a bag of tricks like no other set and each trick is in itself balanced. Giving it an end recovery power would mean you could use all the tricks all the time which I think is overpowered and my guess is that the devs at least initially had the same thought.
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Quote:The concept is pretty thin--Colonel Mustard's lesser known brother--so I'm free to write in any power.Originally Posted by Twilight_Snow
I think it's ok. You've to decide whether it fits your character's concept or not.
Gasp! It was dirty! It has been done on something of an ad-hoc, build-as-I-go basis. I do like to slot no set IOs higher than 42 (if they're getting set bonuses, anyway), so I can exemp to the 39/40 range.Quote:I took your build and cleaned up some of the franken-slotting.
Thanks for the ideas--I like the Footstomp slotting, as I never think of Cleaving Blow.
I did have a bit of surplus on s/l, mainly to buffer basically one def debuff. I was wondering whether building the neg def was worth the cost, but I do see that the concomitant range def could help with some of the psi problem.Quote:The build now capped all typed defense except psionic.
He's got one of the +hp accolades and will have another in a day or two. I hadn't actually looked at Brute hp range and didn't realize the cap was so high. For that I think I'll keep Overload, without needing to slot it too much. That, and for when I'm not paying good attention and the Hasten & Rage end crashes occur simultaneously and the toggles go down.Quote:The rest of the IO set bonus are optimized for +HP. I don't think you really need overload
A recurring harsh lesson of the 40s.Quote:and some psi attacks debuff your defense.
I'm not going to give up Dark Obliteration--it matches too well with Footstomp, is AoE, and tosses in a smidgen of tohit debuff. Why Dampening field? I thought about it--maybe to squeeze a slot by being the +res/def mule--but its benefits seem pretty puny. If 5% of smashing damage is coming in, it's reducing about 0.5% of incoming s/l if my math is correct. -
Quote:My question was more about whether DN seemed to slow down the SMASHing, whether it was fun; I realize it would fill the current neg def gap and help the psi problem. (Having run two toggle defenders and controllers into 40s and 50s, I grasp the mechanics of the power, and opening with it.)Originally Posted by Necrotech_Master
darkest night works good with EA cause you have the end abilities to support it and it in general is a good debuff, i would use that on the strongest enemy in every group regardless of what is going on with rage.
best strategy with darest night is to use it first thing into battle so it takes effect before they get too many hits off at you -
Quote:I meant turning on DN during rage crash in terms of--what can I do that's not debuffed damage (i.e., vet atks, Energy Drain, activating a debuff...). I was pretty surprised the first time rage crashed and my defenses disappeared, but made sure to slot it and Hasten right up.Originally Posted by Tonality
If rage is perma, your defenses will not be debuffed. I didn't look at the build, so no comments from me.
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Working on my highest brute (45 SS/EA) I'm not entirely happy with Soul Tentacles--the narrowness of the cone, especially--other than aesthetically.
I'm thinking about swapping it out for Darkest Night (Gloom will be the other Patron power), mainly to work against the common occurrence of Psi and Negative in the 40+ game villainside. The main drawback I see for Darkest Night is the activation time, though an early-in-spawn rage crash would be the perfect time to turn DN on.
This will lose 4% s/l defense when DN isn't activated, but of course gain a much more effective debuff to all on those in DN's area of effect.
Opinions about this move? Are folks happy playing with DN, or does it seem like a warm-up chore? (That it's a defender thing, not Brute smash nao-ish enough.)
Slotting possibilities--without a whole lot of slots left--and none of these are set in stone:- Swapping out one Smashing Haymaker Set for a Kinetic Combat set
Kismet in CJ (for stacked Dark bosses)
Possibly an additional slot to Rage for the perception proc (and then maybe squeak a little more +s/l with 2 50 recharges and the tohit/rech Rectified Reticle)
Devastation in Gloom (6 slots) for the hp boost and especially the Psi defense
Or...(and this would cut Gloom's damage by 20-25%) for one of the Accurate ToHit Debuff sets (replacement S/L def or more E/N)
BotZ for ranged (vs. Psi) and E/N (for the Neg) in CJ
Swap out the frankenslotted Footstomp for full Scirocco's set, losing some E/N def and 1.5/2 seconds recharge (hasten up/down), but gaining 3.13 psi def and a little more F/C
Subbing Impervium for Aegis, again for psi def
Any comments on these strategeries?
Any recommendations on Overload slotting (merely heal and recharge?)?
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Major Ketchup 35: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Energy Aura
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Punch -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg:30(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx:30(3), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg:30(3), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(5), F'dSmite-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(31)
Level 1: Kinetic Shield -- S'dpty-Def:30(A), DefBuff-I:35(5), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx:30(13)
Level 2: Haymaker -- S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(A), S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg:30(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx:30(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg:30(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(9), F'dSmite-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:30(31)
Level 4: Power Shield -- DefBuff-I:30(A), S'dpty-Def:40(11), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx:30(11)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Knockout Blow -- P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:25(A), P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:25(15), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(15), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(17), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(36)
Level 10: Entropy Shield -- EndRdx-I:30(A)
Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:30(A), RechRdx-I:30(19), RechRdx-I:30(19)
Level 14: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Rage -- RechRdx-I:35(A), RechRdx-I:35(21), RechRdx-I:35(21)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%:40(A), EndMod-I:40(23), EndMod-I:40(23), P'Shift-EndMod:40(39)
Level 22: Energy Cloak -- Krma-Def/EndRdx:30(A), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx:30(25), DefBuff-I:35(37)
Level 24: Boxing -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:30(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:30(25), KntkC'bat-Knock%:30(27), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(27), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg:30(39)
Level 26: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:25(36), Aegis-ResDam:25(36), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:25(37)
Level 28: Energy Drain -- Tr'ge-Heal/Rchg:30(A), H'zdH-Heal/Rchg:30(29), EndMod-I:30(29), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg:30(31), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:30(40)
Level 30: Weave -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx:30(A), Krma-Def/EndRdx:30(34), DefBuff-I:35(37)
Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Erad-Dmg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg:30(33), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(34), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(34)
Level 35: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt:40(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg:40(39), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:40(40), Mocking-Acc/Rchg:40(40), Mocking-Taunt/Rng:40(43), Mocking-Rchg:40(46)
Level 38: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow:40(A)
Level 41: Soul Tentacles -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg:40(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob:40(42), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx:40(42), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng:40(42), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg:40(43), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob:40(43)
Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:40(45), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:40(45), Posi-Dam%:40(45)
Level 47: Gloom -- Empty(A)
Level 49: Overload -- Empty(A), Empty(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury - Swapping out one Smashing Haymaker Set for a Kinetic Combat set
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Two quick notes:
damage enhancements in Gale do next to nothing, though the proc is not a bad idea. (The Explosive Strike proc is certainly cheaper blue side than the Positron's; dunno about red.)
The +end proc in Shackles will give endurance to the target, not you. -
A few critiques of your build and the Ride the Lightning (admittedly lark) build:
Freezing Rain should be at ED-capped recharge, or very close.
Never slot Hurricane for knockback--with the "new" repel function it already doesn't jibe as well with the Ninjas' caltrops as it could, and this would make it worse.
Skip slotting for slows in Snow Storm--you can stack it with Freezing Rain to floor the runspeed of +1 mobs. If Caltrops happen to be stacked there, you're flooring the runspeed of even higher level critters.
I would skip Medicine pool entirely. O2 Boost, however lame it is (and yes, it has a few decent but end-expensive side effects), is far superior to Aid Other (even though it heals for far less) in that you don't have to be still, close to the target, unhit; nor does it require such a long activation time. Besides, your Hurricane can stop about 50% of incoming damage from the entire spawn (if you tag them) by itself. Aid Self is largely unneeded (with bodyguard and decent defense), and again, a drag to activate.
Tornado--as was pointed out to me, earlier--is an excellent spot for the Recharge Intensive Pet unique IOs if you've saved yourself a bit of cash. It's especially useful if you pick up the Mu Mastery immobilize (and get the recharge down to 10 seconds or so), because you can use it constantly as an additional damage power.