ShoeTattoo
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Posts
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When a character hits 50 I am very unlikely to play them again, so performance at 50 is a non-issue to me. Also, the pace at which characters play can vary quite a bit while I still enjoy playing them, so performance has relatively little to do with my judgments about characters.
Overall, I tend to judge characters purely according to how I feel when I play them. As a set of "baseline" requirements for enjoying a character, I have noticed that I don't enjoy spending a lot of time waiting for my characters' green or blue bars to refill, repeatedly hitting brick walls when fighting certain mobs (although I don't mind being defeated from time to time), or spending a lot of time at the markets building a character up enough to have them perform at a specific level. Still, I would have difficulty finding many reasons to explain why I do or don't enjoy a character, even looking backward in time, and I'm OK with that.
Finally, there is ultimately no "we" here, I think. Each of us judge our characters in our own way, and we'll probably all continue to do that. -
EA brutes can play very nicely with AOE-heavy, endurance intensive builds. You can push out endless, relentless AOE damage when you've built up an EA brute well enough to have it survive incoming punishment. That can at least partially make up for not having a damage and/or taunt aura, as endless AOE has a way of grabbing mobs' attention. Essentially not needing to slot for endurance reduction frees up your character for different slotting choices. These capabilities make EA suited for an aggressive, get-to-other-mobs-first-and-kick-their-butts playstyle. Regarding survivability, unlimited endurance means you can swap in the fighting pool and swap out the fitness pool; the base stats of EA start to look better once you add in tough and weave, in place of health and stamina. AOE that does damage and mitigates damage would be particularly helpful, given the limited nature of EA's built in heal, and the downsides of the tier 9.
Also, if you have a way of grabbing aggro in other ways (ie: hit mobs over the head and keep hitting them), then the non-suppressing stealth has the pleasant effect of reducing the frequency with which the team gets beaten on by neighbouring spawns that activate before the team has finished with the current spawn--even good tanks and brutes using a set other than EA sometimes invite over-aggro, because of spawn placement. Also, stealth helps to reduce the importance of the psi hole by allowing an EA brute to close to melee range before opening up on psi damage dealers, such as rikti mentalists and lost bosses and anathema.
Putting everything together, you can end up with layered defenses (defense + resistances + mitigation in the primary + the tier 9 + how stealth puts the player more in charge of when aggro is generated) that are formidable.
If EA is ever ported over to tankers, I believe it will gain a better reputation. It would pair up very nicely with ice melee, given the superior mitigation and AOE damage that ice melee provides. -
I took a necro/FF to 50 fairly recently and I found the combination quite strong, once the defenses were strong.
On that subject, get both of the +5% pet defense set IOs, take maneuvers and slot it up, and slot up your shields and dispersion bubble. That puts your pets very close to the defense cap. Beyond that, all the -to hit they add is gravy, and helpful against foes that have defense debuffs.
I'm almost all the way out of the markets at present, and if you don't like using them then I really couldn't blame you. Still, if you were to use the markets for any build, I would use them for this one for the +5% pet defense IOs, as the difference they make to the survivability of pets is transformative.
Beyond building up defenses, I found aid other quite helpful. I took life drain instead of PFF or aid self, and I was happy with that choice; life drain adds to DPS while also keeping my necro upright, while the other choices do not. If you add in the achilles -resistance IO into the grave knight's sixth slot, you'll probably be quite satisfied with that choice, as well.
Soul mastery was my PPP pick as well, for thematic reasons. I was happy with how it performed.
If you were to pick up one temporary power, I'd recommend envenomed dagger for the hefty -regen that it offers (-250%), for battles against tougher opponents. -
This is a possible plan for a mind/TA that I worked up the other day, using only SOs.This character is still in her teens, but I like the possibilities.
Soloing is incredibly easy with 2 ST holds and mezmerize.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Enchanting Archer: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Mind Control
Secondary Power Set: Trick Arrow
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Mesmerize -- Acc(A), Acc(21), Dmg(25), Dmg(25), EndRdx(27), RechRdx(27)
Level 1: Entangling Arrow -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Dominate -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(3), Dmg(5), RechRdx(5), RechRdx(7)
Level 4: Levitate -- Acc(A), Acc(7), Dmg(9), Dmg(9), RechRdx(11), RechRdx(11)
Level 6: Confuse -- Acc(A), Acc(29), Conf(31), Conf(46), RechRdx(46)
Level 8: Glue Arrow -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(17)
Level 10: Hover -- Flight(A), Flight(19), Flight(19)
Level 12: Ice Arrow -- Acc(A), Acc(13), Hold(13), Hold(15), RechRdx(15), RechRdx(17)
Level 14: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 16: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 18: Fly -- Flight(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Acid Arrow -- Acc(A), Acc(23), Acc(23), RechRdx(45), DefDeb(46)
Level 24: Total Domination -- Acc(A), Acc(42), Acc(42), Hold(43), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(43)
Level 26: Terrify -- Acc(A), Acc(31), Fear(34), Dmg(37), RechRdx(37), RechRdx(40)
Level 28: Disruption Arrow -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29)
Level 30: Telekinesis -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(31)
Level 32: Mass Confusion -- Acc(A), Acc(33), Acc(33), Conf(33), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Oil Slick Arrow -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(36), Dmg(36), Dmg(36), DefDeb(37)
Level 38: EMP Arrow -- Acc(A), Acc(39), Hold(39), RechRdx(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Indomitable Will -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(42)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(45), ResDam(45)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- Acc(A), Acc(48), Dmg(48), Dmg(48)
Level 49: Mental Blast -- Acc(A), Acc(50), Dmg(50), Dmg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run -
Mind/TA would work well, if you like TA enough to play it again, as would Mind/Rad.
I would echo those recommending a dominator, though; that seems like what you would enjoy playing most. You could play control-heavy secondaries such as earth assault (melee centric, good single target damage, and power boost makes your AOE controls last longer) or energy assault (stuns, again single target centric, again with power boost to make your AOE controls last longer). -
Would the "Windowed mode" display option (so you can see the start menu in the bottom left hand side of the screen) and clicking on the "maximize for window" button in the upper right hand corner of COX lead to the same results?
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Quote:I got a good laugh when reading this.Originally Posted by Epimethius
... A great game exploit is to tp the mobs into the side of the wall. Sometimes they get their heads stuck and can't get out, but you can still wail on them
So, wormhole turns mobs literally into wallflowers? You should water them to see if they grow ... -
Quote:If you never fight more than 10 mobs at a time (the target cap for fire breath), if you can line everything up beautifully for fire breath in every single battle (even in caves and corridors), and if you never fight more than +2 mobs, then your statement is true.Originally Posted by Fulmens
That's pretty much just as devastating MINUS the RoF. And you will have a better chance of hitting the full group with the fireball because they haven't had three+ seconds to scatter. (+2 minions. Go ahead, try it.)
When I'm playing a Fire Blaster I want stuff dead NOW. Now "when they get around to it."
If you're implying that situations falling outside one or more of these different assumptions are rare, then your in-game experiences are considerably different from mine.
The scatter issue can be managed if you use shiver or ice patch beforehand, or if a teammate helps out (which they very frequently do) you can skip straight to doing damage. That issue was covered already by multiple posters. -
Quote:An absolutely devastating combination is aim + BU + ROF + fire breath + fireball + hide behind something to stay alive. The mob hate you generate is intense, but anything minion-ish and some things lieutenant-ish will be gone before fireball finishes animating--which, incidentally, takes well under six seconds from when ROF begins hurting mobs and when mobs fall to the ground as crispy, extra tender versions of their former selves.Originally Posted by Fulmens
... I don't have time for six minute 1970's guitar solos and I don't have time for Rain of Fire.
More importantly, though, you're missing out by not putting guitar solos together with ROF; put on a little Jimi Hendrix for maximum joy, while casting a purple-tinted ROF.
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An ice/fire blaster might do reasonably well; the slowing abilities of cold and the hefty damage in the fire immobilize would make for reasonable damage and a decent leveling speed.
No other AT can touch a blaster's ability to handle mez at level 2, and blasters have both good damage and decent base hit points. -
I like RoF on my fire blast characters. It offers reasonable DPE and DPA, and it has utility as a damage mitigation power. Its also "something different", and using it provides a nice change of page from the more typically used AOEs.
As others do, I like RoF best on characters that have some way of slowing mobs down, to keep them in the area of effect; I particularly like it on my fire / ice blaster, when paired up with shiver. I also like it for my fire/TA corruptor, who definitely benefits from having a little more mitigation.
I also tend to slot RoF up relatively slowly because it does at least have utility as damage mitigation even with a base slot, until I have enough slots to spare to slot it all the way up. -
I have a lowbie traps/pistols defender (only 18 so far), and I'm planning on getting swap ammo at 30. The first three attacks out of DP are all I have at the moment, I've slotted them up well, and they work out OK because of good recharge. That's allowed me to take and slot up primary powers quite early, making my defender more survivable and a better contributor on teams.
Thus, primary powers taken at 18 include (with slotting all being level 20 DOs at the moment) ...
caltrops (1 recharge)
acid mortar (1 acc, 2 recharge)
FFG (3 defense)
poison trap (2 recharge)
seeker drones (1 acc, just taken)
I'll want swap ammo eventually because toxic ammo will stack nicely with seeker drones to floor mob damage done, and also for fire ammo to increase kill speed against heavily lethal resistant foes. I don't want to take swamp ammo early, though; traps has so many nifty powers that can be taken early instead, and which require relatively few slots to make a noticeable difference in-game, while solo or teamed.
You'll end up in a good place in a lot of different ways, though, and if swap ammo early looks good to you, by all means go for it. -
Quote:I went online to check, and you're right. You can't slot to hit debuff SOs into spectral terror, and only fear sets can be slotted.Originally Posted by Local_Man
I don't think that Spectral Terror takes any ToHit Debuff enhancements. My understanding is that the -15% ToHit Debuff is unenhanceable. Spooky only takes Fear sets.
Maybe you could use an Enzyme to squeeze in some ToHit Debuff, but I've never tried it. And it may or may not work since Spooky is a pet.
That leaves the numbers at about 22-23 defense (after good slotting for +def on shields and arctic air) and 15 to hit debuff. The defense boost and to hit debuff is still a nice synergy between the sets, but not quite at the soft cap (even with a slotted up maneuvers) without further help. -
For soloing a melee type, there's a few tips likely to make your life much easier.
First, visit the forums devoted to the archetype you'll play, read through a general thread or two, perhaps a guide for your secondary and your primary, and your character will perform much better.
Second, take your "mez protection" power(s) as soon as you can, so that your characters spend much less time held and unable to move, stunned and walking around like a drunk, asleep and unable to fight, and in other ways incapable of defending themselves.
Third, as a melee character it really helps to hit the "f" key (which means "follow') when you'd like to get or stay in melee range with a mob. You end up fiddling with moving your character around much less that way, although you still need to manually move from time to time.
Welcome aboard, good luck, and have fun. -
Illusionists do psionic damage, confuse foes, cause fear, cause blindness, and bring phantasms to life. They're also mentalists, if you'd like a controller that levels at a decent pace (for a controller) and you'd rather not play mind control.
Sonic or FF are reasonable secondaries for a mentalist, and disruption field can be put onto phantom army to ramp damage up higher with a sonic than you would with force fields. -
The following website might provide inspiration for more day jobs ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCe78...1&feature=fvwp -
I like /cold on trollers quite a bit.
The powers that generally get more attention are the debuffs--especially sleet, which is an AOE debuff and an "every-spawn" kind of power. Heat loss, benumb, and infrigidate (sometimes snowstorm) also get quite a bit of attention when cold domination is discussed. For a defender and corruptor, these are highly visible contributions when on teams, and indispensable when soloing.
I happen to particularly like the quieter powers on a /cold troller. The AOE stealth and resistance to -recharge from arctic air are very handy, and quite team friendly. Also, the shields, arctic air, and frostworks make a troller's pet(s) far more effective, especially when soloing. You can stroll or run up to mobs with arctic air on and your pet(s) heavily buffed, while in stealth mode, have your pet(s) take aggro on mobs, and then involve your troller. Its a relaxing way to solo, and very handy when fighting DE, malta, carnies, and other mez-heavy mobs.
Cold domination is also one of the most team-friendly secondaries because it is a nicely balanced set; it speeds up battles with tough single mobs with strong debuffs, helps in taking down crowds more quickly, and boosts team defenses in ways that makes progress more reliable and team wipes more unlikely.
To answer magikwand's question about illusion, specific synergies with illusion include the following:
1. the heavy amount of -resistance and -def that it can bring about, as those substantially increase the effectiveness of phantom army
2. the boosts you can bring about for your phantasm through shielding and frostwork
3. the previously mentioned ability to have your phantasm open battle after battle when soloing (even when phantom army is down), by using stealth from arctic air to let your phantasm get close to mobs
4. The -to hit in spectral terror is -15%, up to about 23-24% when well enhanced. This stacks very nicely with the +defense buffs in the shields and in arctic air; after defense totals have been enhanced in the shields and after spectral terror has been enhanced for -to hit, your pet and teammates will be functionally quite close the softcap limit on defenses. Almost any more boosts provided by teammates--or by running maneuvers on your troller, if you'd like to do that--will have mobs routinely whiffing. -
Quote:That mostly depends on your patience level vis a vis leveling. Human only gives you less raw power and weaker defenses at least until the late 20s, and more likely the mid or late 30s.Originally Posted by GRUDG
Would leveling as a Tri-Form first then switching to Human Form at 50 be the smartest idea for a first time Kheld?
Most will say "Go for the more powerful / flexible build first." There's a lot of sense in that, especially if you like leveling quickly because then you're much less likely to get frustrated with your rate of progress. There's another perspective, which is that if you challenge yourself to learn how to manage with less, you'll become a better player faster, or something along those lines. I don't find going human only too slow while leveling. But, many do, and so its hard for anybody else to say what's best for you.
If you have some influence to spare, then you try human only on one build and, if you get bored or you get frustrated by the pace at which you level (or your level of contribution on teams), then you can use your second build to go tri-form. -
I went back and ran more or less the same test three times, to see if I could replicate earlier results. I also noticed (and fixed) an error I had made in my earlier spreadsheet; the "Arcanatime" cast time for neutrino bolt is actually 1.188 (not 1.32, which I had mistakenly derived by referencing the recharge time of 1.11 seconds in my original calculations, instead of the casting time of 1.00 seconds).
Results of the newer tests below:
1st time: Mob hit: lvl 26 warrior bruiser, 24.366 seconds total time on stopwatch, 10 neutrino bolts counted in the combat log
2nd time: Mob hit: lvl 23 hewer, 26.650 seconds total time on stopwatch, 12 neutrino bolts counted in combat log
3rd time: Mob hit: Ancestor (Tsoo), level forgotten, 14.948 seconds total time on stopwatch, 6 neutrino bolts counted in the combat log
Methods: I used the same website (www.online-stopwatch.com) for all three tests. After targeting the mob and setting neutrino bolt to autofire, I switched to the stopwatch and hit "Start". I switched back to the game and watched the battle until the mob was moderately or seriously damaged, switched autofire off for neutrino bolt, which ended the attack sequence, and then immediately switched to the online stopwatch and pressed "Pause." I recorded the time on the stopwatch and moved on to the next test.
The results this time around are definitely not in line with my first test. In fact, subtracting out the cast time multiplied by the number of castings leaves very close to the expected recharge time unaccounted for, for each attack, when averaged, which supports the previous finding by others that attacks begin recharging after the casting time (or "activation time", as given in the Real Numbers screen in-game) is completed.
As a further control on battle conditions, the first two tests were done while hovering, and the third test was done while standing on the ground. The results are consistent for all three tests.
Running the tests for a longer period of time this time around left less room for measurement error to drive the results, which I now believe is what happened the first time; especially with prior evidence from others and all three later tests pointing toward recharge beginning *after* the activation time completes, that seems to be the correct conclusion.
I'll keep that in mind, going forward. My thanks to Arcanaville & Umbral for pointing this out. -
Quote:Thank you for the explanation. Now I get that animations and recharge have nothing to do with each other--the powers system governs recharge, and the animation system does not.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Terminology. First, CoD doesn't list an activation time it lists an activation period. Activation Period is the rate at which passive and toggle powers "tick." For click powers, its ignored and usually set to zero. CoD is basically noting that whatever it might be set to, its not applicable for a click power.
Real Numbers calls "Cast Time" "Activation Time" just because its probably less likely to confuse casual players. They mean the same thing.
Neither CoD nor Real Numbers currently tells you what the Animation Time of the power is, which is itself a colloquial term for the technical phrase The length of time during which the power's animations will root you, making you unable to activate any new powers or move.
This may sound like a hair split, and for most casual observers of the game it probably is, but for technical people there's an important distinction. Jump Kick plays a three second long animation. Its "animation time" therefore you'd assume is three seconds. But only the first half of that animation is tagged as ROOTED, the second half is not ROOTED and interruptible, so its actually possible to cast another attack in the middle of Jump Kick's animation. So Jump Kick's rooted time is only half that, and that's the part that is significant to people attempting to figure out how fast they can attack with Jump Kick in their attack chain.
The important thing to remember is that cast time and recharge are governed by the powers system. Being ROOTED is governed completely independently by the animation system. Cast time determines how long the powers system will prevent you from activating any new powers, and when the power should start recharging. Completely separate from that being ROOTED will prevent you from actually doing anything, even if the powers system would otherwise let you. The combination of the two affects attack chains. But only cast time and recharge affect the actual availability and cycle time of powers.
What is not clear is when a power should start recharging. Should it start recharging immediately after it has been cast (perhaps with a lag of 0.132 seconds), or should it start recharging after the casting time for a power is completed? If it is the latter, then the testing I did earlier shows that Neutrino Bolt does not adhere to the intended rule; Neutrino Bolt begins recharging immediately or almost immediately after it has been cast, rather than after the casting period is complete. -
Quote:I see what you're saying, and thank you for responding. And, I was also able to confirm that "Activation time" is listed as 0.00 seconds for Hail of Bullets in the "character creation" screen, in-game.Originally Posted by Aggelakis
Animation time and cast time are not necessarily the same thing. Usually they are the same or close, but not always.
For instance, Dual Pistols>Hail of Bullets lists a cast time of 0.00, because of the defense buff. The animation time is still 3.something seconds. Hail of Bullets starts recharging as soon as its cast time (of nothing) finishes, which means it starts recharging while the animation is going.
Sometimes settling one question leads to another, though. On Red Tomax City of Data, Neutrino Bolt has a listed cast time of 1.00 seconds, and a listed activation time of "-", which seems to mean "doesn't exist." In the game, the "detailed data" section of the enhancement screen lists Neutrino Bolt as having an activation time of 1.00 seconds, and there is no listing for a cast time (or for animation time, for that matter).
The end result is that either my test was valid, at least for Neutrino Bolt, or I was using the wrong information source as a starting point for testing (or there is no publicly available and trustworthy information source that tells me when individual powers begin to recharge). What other sources are out there to verify when powers start to recharge?
I don't mind doing another test or two, but if I made some errors last time then I'd rather make certain that I use an appropriate source for numbers next time. -
Inflation is a definite issue. But, the key underlying reason for it is that influence and infamy sinks soak up less infamy and influence than is being generated by those playing the game.
A real world analogue could be a nation that keeps printing more and more and more money, and putting all that "new" money into circulation as they print it; doing that predictably puts upward pressure on prices for goods and services in that nation.
In the end, price controls won't stop inflation. -
Quote:I was thinking of healing efficiency as a kind of final value, or implicit performance ceiling, and trying to parse out the relative importance of its determinants. Attempting to sort out the relative importance of influences on a performance ceiling, or dependent variable, is not an uncommon thing to attempt in some fields, which is why I scratched my head at first after reading your feedback. After some reflection, I think I may get what you're thinking about.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
I'm not sure if (at least part of) this analysis is meaningful. By that I mean its arbitrary to "account" for the strength of powers in this way. If I had a 100 point heal with zero cast time (to eliminate cast/recharge issues for the moment) and 10s recharge, and I slotted it to +100% heal and +100% recharge, its overall performance becomes:
100h/10s x (1 + 1) x (1 + 1) = 10 h/s x 2 x 2.
Its a bit misleading to say that when you multiply 10 times 2 times 2, the 2's have a greater effect on the total than the 10 does.
Its meaningful to state that enhancements can increase your abilities by a factor of four or more, but I think its a meaningless side-track to assert which one is "responsible" for the greater part of the whole.
I think your concern about being misleading resonates most if the numbers 10, 2, and 2 are independently determined, or done as part of a simple math calculation that has no purpose beyond calculating numbers. If you have the freedom to alter any of those three numbers and you could not have them be independently determined--especially if you have some cap on the total to which these three numbers could be multiplied, for game balance reasons, then the question becomes whether to ...
1. put relatively more emphasis for determining power performance on the base attributes of the powers themselves: this would require more effective and efficient base stats for powers and generally lower enhancement values
2. ... or put relatively more emphasis for determining power performance on enhancements: this would require less effective and efficient base power values and higher enhancement values.
COX clearly puts a heavy degree of weight onto enhancements, for determining the performance of powers. The extent to which that is a helpful or unhelpful thing is another set of issues entirely, of course. -
Quote:You raise a valid point.Originally Posted by Icelock
Perhaps you should clarify that this does not really apply to Controllers/Dominators, as their holds are more than enough to permanently lock down even bosses unslotted. (usually 8 sec recharge, 22.4 sec duration for Controllers, 17.9 sec duration for Dominators)
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Umbral: You're right that I kept Arcanatime out to make things simpler. I should probably mention it anyways, though; it does affect calculations to some extent.
On the animation issue, I've read the claim many times that the animation had to finish before a power would start recharging. But, that never seemed to be the case to me, at least on casual in-game inspection of how powers seemed to work. So, I went ahead and did a crude test tonight about that issue using Neutrino Bolt, which others can (and hopefully will) replicate. The steps I took and the results are given below:
1. I looked at the enhancement screen on my level 24 dark/rad defender (who is using level 25 SOs only, with no IOs), and found the cast time with a single SO recharge enhancer set at 1.11 seconds.
2. I calculated the Arcanatime as 1.32 seconds for casting Neutrino bolt, given a 1.11 second listed casting time. The formula I used in a spreadsheet was [RoundUp(CastTime / 0.132) + 1] * 0.132
3. I found an online stopwatch at www.online-stopwatch.com.
4. I took my dark/rad defender to Steel Canyon and found a level 17 boss as a test subject. I targeted the boss, then I put Neutrino bolt on auto-fire, switched to the online stopwatch, and started the stopwatch. I waited several seconds (7.342 seconds, according to the stopwatch), hit "pause", then went to COX and stopped my defender from attacking.
5. I went into the combat log and confirmed that six Neutrino bolts were fired during the period of time being measured by the stopwatch, with a little extra time at the beginning and a little extra time at the end because of time lost swapping between the browser window and the game*.
* I played in "Windowed mode" to make swapping easier
6. I divided 7.342 by 1.32 and found out that 5.56 neutrino bolts would have been fired in that time interval if neutrino bolts had been chained one after another, such that the attack started recharging virtually instantly (or very shortly) after it was cast.
Summing up the results, I undoubtedly lost some fraction of a second by switching back and forth between the browser and COX, and so the measurements weren't perfect. And, the results of this crude test are only for one power, and so I can't definitively state that they are true for all powers. However, it is mathematically impossible for Neutrino Bolt to fire six times in 7.342 seconds if the animation has to finish before powers begin to recharge; the only way these results can be explained is if Neutrino Bolt begins recharging before the attack animation finishes (or perhaps before it starts, although that would need to be tested).
Edit: Wording change, reflects the results a little better.