Smash_Zone

Pretty silly on my part, but I never realized that Unstoppable from the Invulnerability set had a +Recovery aspect to it. I didn't notice until about a week ago when I was fighting some EB and I was like "Huh, how come I'm not using any endurance?"

The day they decide to revamp blueside is the day I actually start making new heroes again.

The Cardiac set might as well just be called "Smash Zone's Set" because it has everything I'm looking for on my main Tanker. Endurance boost? Heck yeah! Damage Resistance? w00t! Range probably won't be as useful for a Tanker, but it would still be useful with Gloom and Dark Obliteration.

Man, I've gotta get to level 50 before Issue 19...

I always play my SoA's with an undercover personality. For example, my Night Widow is named Solemn Shadow, but his bio suggests that he's just a killer for hire. He only dons his Arachnos persona when on official business.

In contrast, my soon-to-be Bane Spider is named Blood Red Bane, and his bio is opposite to Solemn's. His bio states that he is an elite Arachnos soldier, part of an expert branch of Arachnos. He usually goes around in his Arachnos uniform to enforce recluses will, but he will switch to his alter-ego when the time calls.

No, I am not asking you to make me a build. I simply want you to let me know what you think of the build I came up with. This is my first Willpower character, so I wanted to know if I was slotting him correctly.

I made him with the Issue 19 changes in mind, so there's no fitness. =P


Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.81
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Stalwart Commander: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Willpower
Secondary Power Set: Dual Blades
Power Pool: Teleportation
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- ResDam(A)
Level 1: Nimble Slash -- B'Snap-Acc/Dmg(A), B'Snap-Dmg/EndRdx(3), B'Snap-Acc/Rchg(7), P'ngS'Fest-Stun%(33)
Level 2: Power Slice -- B'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(A), B'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx(3), B'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg(5), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg(15), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 4: Mind Over Body -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg(5), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg(7), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(11), TtmC'tng-ResDam(27), TtmC'tng-EndRdx(29)
Level 6: Fast Healing -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(45)
Level 8: Rise to the Challenge -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(9), ToHitDeb-I(9), EndRdx-I(21), EndRdx-I(29), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 10: Indomitable Will -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(11), EndRdx-I(25)
Level 12: Ablating Strike -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(13), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 14: Quick Recovery -- P'Shift-End%(A), EndMod-I(40)
Level 16: Typhoon's Edge -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(17), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Erad-%Dam(34)
Level 18: Heightened Senses -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(A), S'dpty-EndRdx/Rchg(19), S'dpty-EndRdx(19), S'dpty-Def(23), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 20: Blinding Feint -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(21), EndRdx-I(23), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 22: Recall Friend -- Range-I(A)
Level 24: Teleport -- Range-I(A), EndRdx-I(25), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 26: Resurgence -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 28: Taunt -- Taunt-I(A)
Level 30: Vengeful Slice -- B'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(A), B'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx(31), B'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg(31), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 32: Strength of Will -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(33), ResDam-I(33)
Level 35: Sweeping Strike -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(36), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 38: One Thousand Cuts -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Sciroc-Dam%(42)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(45), Heal-I(45)
Level 47: Energy Torrent -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Laser Beam Eyes -- Volly-Acc/Dmg(A), Volly-Dmg/EndRdx(50), Volly-Dmg/Rchg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 4: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonuses:
Bonesnap
(Nimble Slash)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 1.1%
• 14.06 HP (0.75%) HitPoints

Bruising Blow
(Power Slice)

• 1% (0.017 End/sec) Recovery
• 14.06 HP (0.75%) HitPoints

Pounding Slugfest
(Power Slice)

• 8% (0.626 HP/sec) Regeneration

Titanium Coating
(Mind Over Body)

• MezResist(Sleep) 2.2%
• 28.11 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
• MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
• MezResist(Held) 2.75%
• 2.5% Defense(Melee), 1.25% Defense(Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Smashing)

Crushing Impact
(Ablating Strike)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%
• 21.08 HP (1.125%) HitPoints
• 7% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 2.5% Resistance(Psionic)

Eradication
(Typhoon's Edge)

• 1.8% Max End
• 3.125% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1.563% Defense(Ranged)
• 42.17 HP (2.25%) HitPoints
• 2% XPDebtProtection

Serendipity
(Heightened Senses)

• 4% (0.313 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 14.06 HP (0.75%) HitPoints
• 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 1.25% Defense(AoE), 0.625% Defense(Fire), 0.625% Defense(Cold)

Bruising Blow
(Vengeful Slice)

• 1% (0.017 End/sec) Recovery
• 14.06 HP (0.75%) HitPoints

Mako's Bite
(Vengeful Slice)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 3.3%
• 28.11 HP (1.5%) HitPoints

Eradication
(Sweeping Strike)

• 1.8% Max End
• 3.125% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1.563% Defense(Ranged)
• 42.17 HP (2.25%) HitPoints
• 2% XPDebtProtection

Scirocco's Dervish
(One Thousand Cuts)

• 10% (0.782 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 3.125% Resistance(Negative)
• 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 3.125% Defense(AoE), 1.563% Defense(Fire), 1.563% Defense(Cold)
• 3.125% Defense(Psionic)

Positron's Blast
(Energy Torrent)

• 2.5% (0.042 End/sec) Recovery
• 1.575% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
• 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)

Volley Fire
(Laser Beam Eyes)

• 4% (0.313 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 14.06 HP (0.75%) HitPoints

Well, the statesman and recluse TF's are pretty difficult. Not hamidon difficult, but still challenging.

What I'm saying is that with the states and recluse TF giving HO's now, and then adding them to the A-merit vendor, then there would be zero reason at all for ever needing to do the Hami Raid. You could get an HO it solo, but it would take a while. You could run a TF, but it's a bit challenging. but a Hami raid? That's too difficult, I think I'll just solo for a few weeks.

Hamidon has lost a lot of popularity. At least let him keep some semblance of reward for defeating him.

I disagree. It would take away any incentive to ever do the hamidon raid again. Why take the time to gather 50 players and carefully coordinate a large event when I could just solo for a few weeks? Sure, it takes a lot longer, but in the long run, it's about 10x easier than a hami raid.

There's only one power that I can think of that desperately needs a new animation. That power is Barb Swipe from Spines. *shudder*

Seriously, the attack animation is longer than the recharge time for pitiful damage output. Plus, it just looks plain stupid. Change the animation time, or just the animation in general. Either way, just get rid of the awful spaz-attack animation it's currently using.

They were all the same level as I was, level 44.

No, I had no debt. There wasn't any Patrol XP either.

I'll try repeating it again tomorrow, and see what happens.

I had a feeling that it was related to that, but that still doesn't explain why I got twice as much for the Spines protector.

Now, I'm not a big numbers guy, and I do know that certain enemies have different XP modifiers, but this one incident I had today seemed a little off.

I was playing on my level 44 Tanker, going through Janet Kellum's arc (One of the best blueside arcs might I add) and beating up Crey. I'm set to x3 players, so I usually get a Paragon Protector every other spawn. However, something really doesn't seem right about the XP from paragon protectors.

The particular one I'm talking about is the Energy blasting one with the old Moment of Glory power. The boss is of equal level to me, conning orange. After defeating her, I gain 6,541 XP. I thought this was a bit odd, as I usually get more XP for bosses than that. I keep going, looking for a different boss, and the next boss is also a Paragon Protector, although this one is the Spines scrapper with Elude. I defeat him and I get 12,294 XP, nearly twice as much for the energy protector.

So, either something is wrong with the Spines or the Energy protector I figure to myself. So I decided to head off to PI and look for even-level bosses to compare XP gain. I find a Nemesis Warhulk and a Malta Gunslinger boss, and they both award me the same amount of XP, 8,781.

So I have to wonder now, is there something wrong with the Energy protectors XP? And also, why did the Spines protector give me almost double the XP as the energy? Since the two Nemesis and Malta bosses both gave me the same 8,781 XP, I figure that's around the average XP for bosses I should be getting. Something doesn't seem right with the Protectors XP... any idea on what's up?

Just the way I look at them.

Hero: Seeks to help everyone, regardless of the danger involved or who they are saving. They could be helping some grandma who can't cross the street on their own, or they could be saving some crooked politician who, even though they may rightfully deserve what they've got, they think should always be given a second chance. A heroes motto would probably be "Everyone deserves a second chance."

Vigilante: While technically they are still a "hero" in that they stop crimes and thwart evil-doers, they are willing to go to the extremes in order to do so. If Crey was up to some illegal experimentation, they'd probably go and blow up the lab, regardless of how many innocent people would end up losing their jobs. A Vigilantes motto would probably be "The ends justify the means."

Rogue: A Rogue to me sounds like the type of person who is just in it for the money. He doesn't really care if he's robbing the bank or saving it, as long as there's a hefty paycheck involved. Rogues seem like the type of characters who try to play the sides in their favor. They'll save that hero in trouble, but only because that hero would now owe them a favor in the near-future. While not a mustache-twirling villain who kicks puppies just for teh lolz, he does evil acts if only to gain money. Rogues motto would be like "Good or evil, as long as I get paid."

Villain: The villain is just your typical every-day evil doer. He doesn't do it for money or fame, he does it for teh lolz. Most of the time, the villain does what he does because of some psychotic, twisted pleasure he derives from it. Other times, the villain only seeks power and world-domination. He robs banks for money, but only to fuel his mad schemes. A villains primary purpose is either to rule the world, or to just create as much chaos as possible, with no moral qualms about either goal. A villains motto: "I did it for teh lolz." OR "UNLIMITED..... POWAHHHH!!!!!" *lightning blast*

I would probably go the Rogue route for the character you're describing. Someone who doesn't care who's side she's on, she's only out for herself.

As much fun as it is to get new stuff, the old stuff is what makes me hate blueside more than anything.

I can't stand playing heroes anymore. It's gotten to the point where I don't even make heroes at all, I just make villains and switch them over when the content starts to get good, and that doesn't happen until level 35+. Old Hero content is just so bland, boring, and even painful to read. Constant "Go beat up this guy," "Go hunt 10 of these guys," "Go take this thing to this guy," "Go to this impossibly far-away zone and do this, then walk all the way back to me when your done," with almost no explanation for why you're doing these things other than "Because I said so." There are hardly any story arcs early blueside outside of the Hollows.

Villains just have so much better content. Kalinda is a personal favorite. From level 1, you're engaged in this awesome story, how you could be the most powerful villain ever, you just have to prove yourself. There are tons of story arcs from level 1 onward, and much more developed contacts. Heroside contacts are just boring civilian models with some cheesy back-story added in an attempt to make them interesting. "So-and-so was a average office worker, when a clockwork robot stole his favorite metal thermos. Since then, he's been hell-bent on defeating the clockwork king once and for all!"

If blueside content ever gets looked at, I might be convinced to roll a hero again. Right now the only heroes worth rolling are Kheldians, and that's because of their awesome story-arcs.

A lot of contacts in Praetoria are available just by talking to them. You don't need a introduction, you just need to know where they are.

for example, me and some other guy were hunting seers in neutropolis before we left Praetoria. We were both Loyalists. After we got our seer badges, he wanted to know where to find Failed Experiments for the badge. I went and checked up on Aaron Walker (Resistance Warden contact) who I knew had them when I did his missions on my Resistance character. Sure enough, my Loyalist self walks up to Aaron, and after talking to him he is added to my contact list and starts giving me missions.

Now, I'm pretty sure that some contacts cannot be talked to by the other faction (Example: A Loyalist cannot talk to a Crusader contact, and Resistance cannot talk to a Power contact.) but I may be wrong on that.

Team Two finished in just over an hour.



Very good run guys, tons of fun!

Though I still can't believe that Colonel Sanders was a Council member the whole time...

I'll bring my Stalker, Proto-Zero. DB/EnA.

I think I'll just casually post in this forum... you know? I'm not at all referencing to the link in my sig for a guide on money making. Oh look? It would seem I just did. Silly me!

*ahem*

I'll just show myself out now.

I'll just list some of the more common ones.

Anchor: An enemy on which a certain debuff or other power is attached.

For example, Enervating Field from the Radiation Emission powerset is a toggle which is applied to an enemy. If I attach the debuff to Statesman, then Statesman is considered the "Anchor"

LFT - Looking for team. Level 43 Tanker LFT

PST - Please Send Tell. Imperious Task force forming, PST for invite.

TF/SF - Task force or Strike Force. The Lord Recluse SF/The Statesman TF.

TO's, DO's, SO's, and IO's - Training Origin, Dual Origin, Single Origin, and Invention Origin respectively. I hardly ever bother with TO's, I usually just wait until I can slot SO's.

SS and SJ - Super Speed and Super Jump respectively.

1. Male

2. Though I enjoy a lot of AT's equally, I would say that I lean more towards the Tanker. Being able to jump into a large group of enemies and laugh as they try to hurt me is so much fun. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you shooting me? I didn't notice..."

3. Redside, definitely. Blueside contacts are so outdated it becomes un-fun. Just a bunch of random "Go here and kill this guy" or "Go and arrest 100 of X." Praetoria is fun, but a lot of the enemy groups seem a bit tougher than average, and there are some downright frustrating missions where multiple deaths occur.

I like redside because a lot of the content is more story driven. It's all about your mad quest to become the destined one. I know a lot of people don't like playing second fiddle to Recluse, but I personally don't care. The whole story is just way better than boring "Go and save the world for the umpteenth time."

4. I love all of the RWZ arcs, and basically anything involving Nemesis. Automatic Villainy from Technician Naylor is just plain awesome, since is pretty much has you questioning if you are really you, or if you're just some kind of robot copy... Then there's the Television. Every single mission. If you don't enjoy the Television's contact dialog, there is something wrong with you.

5. Just the sheer amount of combinations and customization. There's so many different powersets, builds, playstyles, that the game has infinite possibilities. Don't like your Broadsword/Regen scrapper? Try swapping out Regen for Electric Armor, or maybe try Claws instead of Broadsword. Instead of Super strength for your brute, why not try Dual Blades? Or Stone Melee? There's just so many different combinations of characters and costumes it keeps everything fresh for me.

6. I like to play music games a lot like Guitar Hero and Rockband. Most of my free-time with video games is spent with either this game, or Guitar Hero. I occasionally dabble in some FPS action from time to time, games like Modern Warfare 2, even though I suck at them. I've played a few RPG's, like KotOR 1 & 2, though I don't usually like those kind of games becuase of the whole "Skills" idea. I hate skills. I hate having to put points to my Treat Injury skill, or my hacking skill, or my whatever skill. I always feel like if I don't pick the right one I'm gimping my character, and I always end up thinking "I should have put points in my X skill instead of my Y."

That's another reason why I love this game, no retarded "skills" or "attributes" to constantly worry about.

7. I subbed in June of last year, so a little over a year now.

8. Too many. Right now Freedom is full until I get more slots, and Guardian and Pinnacle are starting to reach the 12 character limit. Without having a list to look at, I would estimate that the average level would be around 15 or so. I only have one level 50 so far, my DB/EnA Stalker, but my Tanker is soon going to become my second. He's sitting at 43 right now.

9. Pff, I wish. I'm not mathematically gifted enough to bother with all that. I just throw in SO's and call it a day. When I hit 50, I'll slot some invention sets, but I'm not into hitting the soft-cap or maxing out my recharge. I just slot sets that are reasonably affordable. Not the real cheapo stuff, but any recipe that goes over 20 million INF is too rich for my blood. As for difficulty, I usually expect my characters to be able to solo at +0/x3 post level 30. So far, I've been able to do it with most of my characters using just Single-Origin Enhancements.

I think I wrote too much for a simple questionnaire... xD

Good luck with your paper!

Look buddy, there's a reason that Shivans and Nukes are placed in PvP zones. Do you realize how stupidly powerful those temporary powers are? An ally Elite Boss with -def attacks out the whazoo, and three nukes: Nuclear Blast; absolutely devastating attack power, Biological Mutagens; a temporary god-mode, and Chemical Burn; debuff hell for the enemy. When eight players can combine these powers and completely floor the level 53 Archvillains of the LRSF in less than thirty seconds, you can get an idea of how awesome these powers are.

If we were able to set ourselves for "no pvp" then these powers would completely ruin the risk/reward scenario that the devs love so much. The point is that these powers are so amazing, that there's a risk involving other players competing for the same prize.

If you want these powers so badly, go play at some absurd time, like 6:00 AM, when hardly anybody is even playing, let alone PvP'ing. Heck, PvP hardly gets any action these days, the powers are easy enough to get as it is. Even during ideal PvP times on Freedom, there's hardly ever more than 3-4 people in Bloody Bay, and Warburg is a ghost town 24/7 it seems like.

In fact, I wish that PvP was more popular. I think it would be fun competing with other players over the awesome prizes. The only problem right now is that the completely borked PvP system is preventing any sort of enjoyment in PvP.

My very first MMO was Runescape, played that for a little while. I got bored after a short time, and a friend told me about some super-hero MMO that he had heard about. Eager to try a real MMO, I searched online, and lo and behold I found this game. I tried it out and have been happy since.

I've done trials for other games, but none of them had the appeal that this one had. World of snorecraft was just unbearable with it's little-to-no customization, Champions turned the silliness meter waaay too high, and Star Trek Online was exactly like Champions with a Star Trek skin on top. I'm not really sure why I have stuck with the City for so long, the gameplay is just addictive and fun.

There's a bug that somehow un-flags your account for the Epic Archtypes. All you have to do is log on with your level 50 character, and then go back to character creation. That should open them up again for you.

Also, they lowered the level requirement from level 50 to level 20, so really any character above 20 will re-flag your account again upon log-in. Keep in mind that the Villain Epic's (Soldiers of Arachnos) depend on having a villain character. So, a level 20 hero will only unlock Kheldians, and a level 20 villain will only unlock Arachnos.

Oh, and I forgot to give you your obligatory welcome back. So uh... Welcome back! =D

The gold really needs to be turned down. A lot. I love Praetoria, and playing in it is so much fun, but the hardest part is making a character to go there in the first place. Everything is so bright I can barely see my costume or power effects. It's gotten to where I have to design my character on blue-side then save the costume and powers to load on blinding-gold-side.