SBeaudway

Some controllers can do good damage but unless you plan on soloing, I'd slot for control over damage. On big teams there is plenty of damage. Your control is more helpful. Heck teams of 8 controllers optimized for control still have plenty of damage with their epic AOEs.

Controllers top my list, with any AT with buff/debuff a close second. It's just more interesting to me to have more things to do in combat than just attack. That said I really am liking both my Plant/Fire Dom and my Fire/Shield Scrapper too. The former is sufficiently busy and has fun sfx, the latter is just effective.

I'd rather have something with a heal + a Traps. So Pain, Thermal or Time come to mind. Even softcapped, you, and more annoyingly, your pets will get hit. Super Stunners I am looking at you. Thermal has some resists. I hear that Time's pbaoe -to hit toggle is nice. At any rate I'd pick any of those three over Sonic. Thermal is most similar.

For me it's mostly my real life friends since they still play this game, and thus I keep coming back to it. Other than Unicycle Peon, they don't post to the forums much.

Also, as I too am mostly interested in Controllers, some of the regular controller forum posters such as Local Man, Enantiodromos, Oedipus_Tex, MentalMaiden, and Amy Amp have been much appreciated over the years. As well as Arcanaville for doing the maths. And the drunk (and sober) posters on Pinnacle for being themselves.

Yes. Felt like a heavy truck rolled by. I didn't think earthquake until my wife mentioned we had one, then I knew.

On a semi-related note, what ever happened to the CoH RPG? I demoed it at GenCon (or maybe Origins) several years ago. I remember thinking it was not awful.

Thanks for all the comments everyone. You're all very helpful. As COH forums are (unlike those other MMO forums). I'm the friend Unicycle asked for.

I might just get Going Rogue to the get the extra goodies and be done with it.

I would point out that the "Tankability" is not a factor in the OP's question. He asked which was better Scrapper or Brute, not Brute or Tanker. A Tanker is the better Tank. Scrappers are better for damage and Brutes are the happy medium.

I prefer Illusion Empathy over an Empathy Defender due to it's synergy and the fact that damage not taken is easier than healing. I also like Illusion Empath over Illusion Rad for normal content. But that's me. I prefer Fire Rad controller over everthing else in COH. So I do like the Rad.

I have a 45% energy defense, 44%smash/lethal defense, perma hasten, perma AM build that I love. But it is very pricey. I use clarion for mez protection. I would rate mez protection on a fre/ rad as more important than soft capped defenses due to the toggles. But if you can get both, it is very very nice.

I also build controllers for control not damage. The AOE attacks are great as are the Imps, but I slot control powers for control not damage.

I don't think that anyone is owed double xp. It's a bonus you may oy may not be ablt to take advantage of. While it's a shame if you made special plans and can' t change them, it's not worth the vtriol. Certainly no malice was intended.

Pair something with willpower. WP is nearly all toggles so you can focus on attacking and you'll never run out of end.

I am surprised that UnicyclePeon has not commented yet. Hope he didn't kick Li Lung to the curb.

A birdie told me Dark/Dark Blasters were coming....
Just saying...

Fire/Dark Corruptor or soon Dark/Fire Defender are fun, effective and visually appealing to me also. If control and mitigation is more your thing, then Dark/Dark/Dark Defenders (D3) are very cool.

For controllers, /Traps and /Dark Miasma interest me. /Poison not so much. Still I am glad they are proliferating something.

No, it's some sort of newish bug. I get the same problem reasonably often, but not every time, on my Scrapper's Shield Charge. I never had the problem before. Issue 20 "issue" perhaps. It's annoying. Shield Charge is the only location based power I am using now so I can't comment on others.

So what you are really saying is, Scrappers should get Super Strength...
I concur!

I'd play a character in Trials the one I like playing the most outside of Trials. The Trials are a means to an end. They will get you powers and E Merits to unlock things for your favorite character and that account. In their own right the Trials are not that interesting, exp. once you're on run # 30. Also, whether your character is a min/max uber one will not make or break the trial. You're one out of 16-26. But playing a character that you don't love JUST because it's good for the Trials will get old fast. Ideally, you have a character that you love to play and also feel useful in the Trial. If you are not level shifted, then I don't think you can even tell really how useful you will be yet. Good luck! It's not WoW, don't let people tell you what you can play...

I am working on a Plant/Fire "blaster" too at the moment. Fun hero. Very visually pleasing. Effective both solo and teamed and from a low level on. Eventually. I hope to make it perma Dom and perma Hasten.

From my perspective you pick Energy Blast because it does knockback. I don't want to have to add KB slots just to get that functionality back. If you don't like that it does KB, pick another set. There are several. All sets have slightly different effects. I like that. I would not be opposed to a way to add an ehancement to change the Knock back to knock up or knock down. A -KB IO perhaps. But I am happy with my +KB enhanced energy blasts as they are.

I'd look at trying a AR/Traps or Traps/AR instead. The small reduction in damage is more than made up in utility and survivability. My Traps/AR Defender has softcapped defenses to all positions, has mez protection and is a great debuffer with acid mortar and poison gas trap. I do like Trip Mine though esp. if you have softcapped defenses and can activate it in a fight without being interrupted.